REPORT OF BRITISH COMMISSIONERS. 197 



1871 to 1889. The figures for tliese years were taken from Corre- 

 spondence relating to Bebriiig's Sea-seal Fisheries, Parliamentary 

 Paper [0. 0308], pp. 44-47, and include all seals, other than pups, killed 

 for any purpose. From 1870 to 1889 (both inclusive), 92,804 pups were 

 killed for food, an average annual killing of 4,043. 



yi.— Historical Notes on the Condition of the Fur-seal 



EOOKERIES OF THE PrIBYLOFF ISLANDS IN VARIOUS YEARS,* 



782. 1780. Pribyloff discovered the islands now known by his name 

 in June of this year. He returned to the Asiatic coast with 31,100 fur- 

 seal skins. It is elsewhere recorded that about 40,000 fur-seal skins in 

 all were taken on the islands in this year. (Bancroft's works, vol. xxxiii, 

 pp. l«^ "^^ 193.) 



In the first years (after the discovery of the islands), the seals in St. 

 George Island were only five or six times less than those on St. Paul, 

 i. C.J equal to one sixth or one-seventh of tho^e on St. Paul. (Venia- 

 minov, quoted by I^Uiott in Census Beport, p. 147.) 



From 1786 to 1797 or 1799, several Companies were engaged in taking 

 seals, without count or list. Veniaminov estimates that 50,000 to 00,000 

 skins were obtained annually on St. Paul and 40,000 to 50,000 on St. 

 George. He characterizes this as "horrible killing." (Quoted by 

 Elliott. Census Eeport, pp. 70, 140, and 147.) 



783. 1799. The islands came under the control of the United Ameri- 

 can Company, which was organized at Irkutsk in August 1798. 



784. 1800. First year of control of Kussian American Company, an 

 out growth of the last, organized in 1799. 



785. 1803. Baranoff ordered Banner to go to the Pribyloff Islands, 

 Avhich "had not been visited for many years" (by traders), and where 

 a vast number of skins must have been accumulated by the natives. 

 (Bancroft, p. 417.) 



780. 1804. Between 1801 and 1804, the Eussian American Company 

 are said to have accumulated about 800,000 skins, many of which rotted 

 for want of care. (Bancroft, p. 477.) 



787. 1805. Veniaminov states that no care as to the preservation of 

 seal life on the islands was exercised till this year. (Census Eeport, 

 p. 141.) 



1800. Eesanoff visited St. Paul Island in July. He found that a very 

 wasteful killing of seals had been in progress, that 30,000 had been 

 killed for their llesh alone, while over 1,000,000 in all hiid been killed up 

 to date. He was informed that the seals had decreased 90 per cent, in 

 number since the earlier years, and concluded that if the slaughter was 

 not reduced a few years would witness extirpation. He ordered the 

 killing to be stopped j but from the season of his visit it is certain that 

 some seals had been killed in 1806 before his arrival. (Bancroft, pp. 

 445, 446.) 



788. 1806-1807. Following Eesanoff's order, no seals were killed on 

 the Pribyloft' Islands during these years (with the probable exception 

 above noted). Nearly all the natives were removed to Unalaska. 

 (Census Eeport, p. 140.) 



* Notes given below which have not been derived from published reports and docu- 

 ments, but have been obtained as a result of our own inquiries, are inclosed in 

 brackets, thus [ ]. 



