302 REPOKT OF BRITISH COMMISSIONERS. 



60. Q. You left as soon as ordered to leave? — A. I did; came direct home. 



61. Q. Who warned you? — A. The British steamer " Pheasant." 



62. Q. You.didn't try to seal after that? — A. No. 



63. Q. Or lowered your boats?— A. I didn't lower any boats after receiving the 

 order. 



64. Q. You have heard of some American schooners raiding Copper Island? — A. I 

 have. 



65. Q. Do you know the McLean brothers?— A. Yes; and the "City of San Diego" 

 here, and the "Webster" and "J. Hamilton Lewis," three American vessels who 

 raided Copper Island. 



66. Q. You have no idea of why the seals were more plentiful along the coast last 

 year than other seasons? — A. I have no idea. 



67. Q. There has been no practical theory advanced as to why last year the seals 

 were more plentiful close in shore than in other years? — A. I have none, except that 

 it is on account of their food fish. The seal follows the food. The earlier those fish 

 strike along the coast, and the closer in shore, the earlier and closer to the coast we 

 get the seals. 



(Signed) C. N. Cox. 



Sworn before me, this 18th day of January, a.d. 1892. 



(Signed) A. R, Milne, Collector of Customs. 



Captain Alfred Bissett, master of the Canadian schooner " Annie E. Paint," of 

 Victoria, British Columbia, being duly sworn, says: 



20. Mr. Milne. — How many years have you been engaged in sealing? — A. Two 

 years; this is my third year — have been master, mate, and hunter. 



21. Q. You have had about average luck? — A. Yes; about the average. 



22. Q. You have followed the seals from south of Cape Flattery north, haven't 

 you?— A. Yes, Sir. 



23. Q. During the last year, to your observation, were the seals as plentiful along 

 the coasts as they were the previous years? — A. They were. 



24. Q. Did the seals appear more frightened than usual? — A. I think not; I 

 noticed no difference. 



25. Q. Did you notice last year, or any year, in hunting seals, that the cows travel 

 together by themselves, and the bulls by themselves, in herds? — A. I did notice that 

 the bulls, in a general way, travel together, and the cows together, and small seals — 

 as a rule, pups — travel together. 



26. Q. When hunting, of course, if you struck a band of bulls the catch that day 

 would be principally bulls? — A. Yes; principally bulls. 



27. Q. Do you think more seals are shot while sleeping than when in motion ? — ^A. 

 Oh, yes; far more; about 80 per cent., 1 think. 



28. Q. What do you consider a safe shooting distance for a sleeping seal ? — A. For 

 a sleeping seal about 20 to 30 feet is a sure distance. 



227 29. Q. And when they are on the move, what is the distance? — A. Well, 



from 25 to 30 yards. 



30. Q, What is your opinion of the proportion of seals that are lost after being 

 hit? — A. I think from 3 to 5 per cent, would cover everything. 



31. Q. Where do you aim for in shooting a seal? — A. I aim for the head. 



32. Q. So when a seal drops his head down, the air is stopped from escaping? — 

 A. Yes; that is the reason we shoot in the head. 



33. Q. During last year did you notice the proportion of females to males killed? — 

 A. From countiug the skins, and noticing the seals coming on board the ship, I 

 I should form 75 to 80 per cent, were bulls, and the remainder females. 



34. Q. Do you know the reason of that? — A. I don't know, unless the cows travel 

 a little faster than the bulls, who follow the coast. I have always noticed that there 

 are more bulls killed on the coast than there are females. 



35. Q. Have you ever noticed when the number of females predominate? — A. I 

 hardly know, but I have noticed that during the months of March and April that 

 there were more cows than males than in the months of May, June, and July. 



36. Q. Can you form any idea, from what you have heard, whether there are more 

 females killed than males? — A. I should say that there are decidedly more males. 

 That is from what I have heard and seen myseK. There is no doubt that the low 

 price obtained in London this year is due to the large number of small bull skins 

 taken, the skins of the females being larger and better. 



38. Q. During the two years that you have been engaged iu sealiug have you ever 

 known any Canadian vessel to raid any of the seal islands? — A. No, Sir. 



