REPORT OF BRITISH COMMISSIONERS. 151 



ber of Wliites emi)]<).ved ns linnters vnried, but, as a rule, coinpeteut 

 Indian hunters liave always been prefened wlieu they could be obtained. 



585. The Indians themselves benefited largely from a pecuniary point 

 of view, and, in consequence of the encouragement offered by the pur- 

 suit of the fur-seal, began themselves to own and naviga.te sealing- 

 schooners. Perhaps in no other way is the influence of the sealing 

 industry toward the civilization of the Indians rendered more apparent 

 than by the facts, that three sealing schooners are now actually owued 

 by the Makali Indians of Cape Flattery, while five are similarly owned 

 by Indians of the coast of Vancouver Island, while in addition it is esti- 

 mated that the payment to the Indians employed in the British Colum- 

 bian sealing fleet in 181)0, calculated on the number of skins obtained, 

 was probably between 35,000 dollars and 50,000 dollars. 



580. Ke verting to the question of the date of the first known practical 

 attempts at what is now classed as pelagic sealing i)roper, it appears, 

 from information kindly supplied by Mr. J. W. Mackay, that this method 

 of sealing was first attempted by Captain Hugh Mackay, of the sloop 

 "luo," in the spring of 180G. Captain Mackay, however, soon found 

 that this sloop was too small to conveniently carry two or three Indian 

 canoes, and he accordingly built, for the purpose of sealing, the schooner 

 "Favourite," 75 tons, which was registered in Victoria on the 18th June, 

 1868. Little is known as to these first sealing voyages, but, doubtless, 

 as a consequence of their success or good promise, other vessels were 

 fitted out. Thus, Judge J. Gr. Swan, of Port Townsend, in a letter on 

 this subject, quotes Captain McAlmond, of New Dungeness, Washing- 

 ton, as follows on the matter: "The first schooner to take Indians 

 that I know of was the 'Lottie,' in 1869, from Neah Bay, believing that 

 we were the pioneers. I afterwards understood that a vessel from Vic- 

 toria was also taking an Indian crew." The vessel from Victoria here 

 mentioned was evidently the "Surprise," of which Mr. Charles Spring 

 writes : "The first attempt at sealing, in a practical way, with schooners 

 and Indian hunters, was made in or about 1869 by Jas. Christienson in 

 the schooner 'Surprise,' owned by the late Captain William Spring, of 

 Victoria, British Columbia." From other sources it was ascertained 

 that the Indian hunters emi)loyed on this and other pioneer sealing- 

 schooners were obtained at Pachena, on the south-west coast of Van- 

 couver Island, near the entrance to the Strait of Fuca. 



587. The history of the progress and continued expansion of the 

 pelagic sealing industry may be here briefly set out. In regard to that 

 carried on from the British Columbian coast, it has been particularly 

 inquired into and recorded by Mr. A. E. Milne, Collector of Customs 

 at Victoria, upon whose investigations, checked and amiflified in so far 

 as has been possible, the subjoined summary is based.* It has already 

 been stated, however, in another part of this report, that, for the earlier 

 years of the development of the business of sealing at sea, the data are 

 very incomplete, as in these years it had scarcely begun to receive any 

 particular attention, and records were not systematically kept of it by 

 the Customs authorities, as has been required of them in later years. 



588. From 1871 to 1878, it is known that three schooners were 

 engaged more or less continuously in the sealing business on the west 

 coast of Vancouver Island, where, however, they were also em^floyed 

 as traders. In 1879 to 1881 four or five schooners were employed in 

 sealing along the same coast. In 1882, auxiliary steam-power was 

 added to two of the schooners, and eight vessels in all were employed 



* Parliamentary Paper [C — 636S], August 1891. 



