294 REPORT OF BRITISH COMMISSIONERS. 



apparently mortril wouud. There was a cut about 2} by 3 inches a little above tlie 

 side behind the flipper. This wound appeared to have been made about three days 

 previously, and in that time it had healed half-an-inch all rf)uiid. 



8. Q. Are there more seals shot sleeping than in motion? — A. I should say that the 

 larger proportion of seals are shot whilst sleeping, that is, as far as my own expe- 

 rience goes. 



9. Q. What do you consider the vital part of a seal? Where do the hunters aim 

 for generally — the head or the heart? — A . It depends largely upon the iiosition of the 

 seal. The vital parts are in the head, in the vicinity of the heart, and, if a seal is 

 shot so as to bleed internally, the hunters are sure of securing it. The head is the 

 usual mark. 



10. Q. What is usually a safe shooting distance? — A. It depends largely upon the 

 circumstances of the case. Somewhere between 10 and 30 yards would be about the 

 distance. I should say that it is the average with sleeping or travelling seals. The 

 sleeping seal is often approached to within even less than 10 yards, but the average 

 is from 10 to 20 yards for sleeping seal, and from 10 to 30 yards for travellers. 



11. Q. The seal is very sensitive, is it not? — A. Yes; we have to approach them 

 from the leeward always. Their sense of smell is very acute; 



12. Q. Do the seals generally travel far when wounded? — A. That will depend 

 upon where it is wounded. If it is vitally wounded in the head, it will hardly move 

 from its position, for it is likely to die right there, but it will not sink. This is 

 from my own observation. There is only one way that a seal will siuk after being 

 shot, that is, when it is shot in such a manner as to be thrown backwards, sinking 

 tail first, thus allowing the air to escape out of its mouth. I might say, further, that 

 I have never seen a seal sink which was shot while sleeping. 



13. Q. Will you state the proportion of seals lost as compared with those hit in 

 sealing? — A. My own personal exi)erience during the past two years is that 



220 my loss by seals sinking would not average 3 per cent. During the last yeur 

 (1891) I actually lost only two seals out of seventy -seven — that is, I shot sev- 

 enty-nine, and secured seventy-seven. 



14. Q. In hunting seals, what is the direction in which they usually travel? — A. 

 In the spring months they are leisurely travelling towards the north, when they 

 change their position. 



1.5. Q. In hunting seals, have you ever met with pups in the water? — A. Not gen- 

 erally ; but during the season of 1890, while off' Middleton Island, the hunters reported 

 seeing two seal pups, probably a week old, bat they appeared to be only just born. 



16. Q. What is your opinion of the proportion of males to females killed during 

 the hunting season? Are there any months in the year when there are more 

 females than males killed? — A. It depends upon circumstances. My experience is 

 that groups of bachelor bulls will travel together, and sometimes groups of females, 

 including barren cows, willtravel together, and again groups of yearlingpups appar- 

 ently travel together. That is my experience, and the experience of a number of 

 others. The catch of any schooner coming into contact with groups of bulls, or of 

 females, would be no criterion of the catch of other schooners as regards the number 

 of females. In the year 1890, while in Behring Sea, one day we took seventy-five 

 seals, and the next day we took eighty, and in the whole of that number I observed 

 only one female, and the hunters particularly informed me that they did not see any 

 female seals at all; that they were all vigorous young bulls. 



17. Q. Would anything lead you to think. Captain Kelley, that there is a likelihood 

 of more females than males being killed between here and Shumagin Islands? That 

 is, from January to June? — A. I can safely say that my personal experience has been 

 on the side of the males, largely — both on the coast and in the Behring Sea the num- 

 ber of seals caught is made up largely of males. 



18. Q. Are there any months of the year during which there are more females 

 caught than males? — A. I should say that, as far as my own observation has gone, 

 there is no dilFerence; but in every month, during my voyages, I have had more males 

 than females. 



19. Q. Do you know of any Canadian vessels who have raided the seal islands 

 during any year in which you have been engaged in the sealing industry? — A. I have 

 every reason to believe that none of the Canadian fleet have ever raided, or attempted 

 to raid, or made any preparations to raid, any seal islands in the Behring Sea.. If 

 any such a thing had. happened, I should most certainly have heard of it, and I 

 believe it to be true that the American schooners "George R. White" and "Daniel 

 W^ebster" did raid these islands, as also the "Mollie Adams." That they did raid 

 the seal islands is a fact well known to all Canadian sealers. I also heard that the 

 German schooner " Adele" raided the Pribyloff Islands, which action met with the 

 strong disapprobation of every Canadian sealer. 



(Signed) C. J. Kelley. 



Sworn to at Victoria, British Columbia, this 22nd day of January, 1892. 



(Signed) A. R. Milne, Collector of Custom*. 



