REPORT OF BRITISH COMMISSIONERS. 309 



56. Q. Wliat is the largest number •vcliich you ever saw an Indian canoe bring 

 aboard in one day? — A. Forty -eigbt in one cauoe, in Bebring Sea. 



57. Q. On the coast, how many ? — A. Thirty-four; that is over the average. 



58. Q. In leaving the schooner, how far do the hunters, both Indians and Whites, 

 go? — A. They go as far as 10 or 12 miles, sometimes 15 miles, from the vessel, till 

 they can jnst see the tops of her sail. 



59. Q. And this in pretty rough weather? — A. Yes; pretty rough. It might be 

 smooth when they go out, but it often comes on rough before they can get back. 



60. Q. In following the seals up the coast in February, March, and April, and May 

 and June, where do you begin to get them in larger numbers? — A. Off Queen Char- 

 lotte Islands. 



61. Q. At this time, are the females in advance of the males, seemingly hastening 

 to the sea? — A. They get through as soon as they can, the males in advance of the 

 females — they haul out hrst. 



62. Q. Some sealers think the cows go ahead? — A. The males haul out, and each 

 one gets his batch of females, and as the cows come in they make up their herd of 

 females. 



63. Q. Have you ever, when with sealers, heard the percentage of loss talked of? — 

 A. No; I have never heard it mentioned with sealers. 



64. Q. Yon speak from your experience with Indians? Your percentage of loss of 

 1 in 10 wonl!"! be based on actual experience with Indian hunters? — A. Yes; 1 in 10. 



65. Q. You have stated that in the month of May you think there would be more 

 females than in the other mouths of the season? At that time what part of the 

 ocean would you be?— A. Up off Queen Charlotte Island. 



66. Q. You have also stated that the more plentiful the food, the slower the seals 

 travel. — A. Yes; they stay longer where the food is. 



67. Q. At the end of any of your seasons, have you actually counted the number 

 of females you had in your cargo? — A. I have never done so. 



68. Q. Have you any idea of your last year's catch, what proportion of females 

 you had in the coast catch? — A. I think there would be about 3 males in 5 — 3 males 

 to 2 females. 



69. Q. That applies to the const catch only? — A. Yes; up to Kodiak. 



70. Q. In the Behring Sea, what proportion would it bear? — A. I think about 4 

 males in 5 — 4 males to 1 female. 



71. Q. Were you in Behring Sea last year? — A. The vessel was. The way lacconnt 

 for getting so many males was, during the beginning of July and August, when the 

 females would be ashore nursing their young the greater part of the time. 



72. Q. At any time in Behring Sea, what has been your nearest point of hu»iting 

 to the seal islands? — A. I have never been closer in hunting than 30 miles — usually 

 30 to 90 miles off. We got blown in there once, the only time I saw the island; we 

 were within 10 miles of them then. 



73. Q. You never saw or heard of any schooners, or spoke any schooner, who made 

 a boast of raiding the islands? — A. None belonging to us. I heard of the "Webster," 

 "Mollie Adams," the "Hamilton Lewis," and the German schooner "Adele" raiding 

 the islands. 



74. Q. All these were American schooners? — A. Yes; except the "Ad^le." 



75. Q. There is no doubt, then, among sealers, that these vessels did actually raid 

 the islands. — A. It has been commonly reported, and I have no reason to disbelieve it. 



76. Q. Did any of those vessels at that time belong to Victoria? — A. No; they did 

 not. 



77. Q. Can yon advance any idea as to when the seals leave Behring Sea? — A. To 

 the best of my knowledge, about the middle of October. 



233 78. Q. Is it the accepted idea that those seals which leave Behring Sea in 



the fall are the same that return in the spring? — A. That is my opinion. 



79. Q. You have never heard at any time any inducement ever offered by a captain 

 or sailor from Victoria to ship men or to perform any work with the intention of 

 raiding those islands? — A. Not from a Canadian vessel. 



80. Q. It is a fact that every ship-owner and master of Canadian vessels has depre- 

 cated the raiding of the islands, that is, have never agreed with it? — A. They do not 

 agree with it at all. Every one I have sijoken to are very well satisfied to go into 

 the sea and get their catch legitimately. 



81. Q. Yon think there is ample field for hunting seals without raiding the 

 islands ? — A. Yes, I do. 



82. Q. Is it your opinion, Captain Laing, that, with the increased number of 

 schooners here and in San Francisco, there will be any material injury to the sealing 

 industry? — A. I do not think so. 



83. Q. From observations made last year, you are quite of the opinion that the 

 seals were more plentiful than you had ever seen them before? — A. They were more 

 plentiful last year, 1891, than the year before, 1890. 



