REPORT OF BRITISH COMMISSIONERS. 313 



38. Q. Bnt there is a larger number of males killed than females in April, May, and 

 June? — A. Yes; in those three mouths we get a larger number of males; bulls from 

 3 to 4 years old ; all about the same size. 



39. Q. Your opinion is that the females, after the month of May, hasten on to the 

 Behring Sea? — A. Yes. 



40. Q. Now, from the beginning of the sealing season, when you start out this 

 time of year (January), till the time you enter Behring Sea, what is your opinion as 

 to the percentage of female seals, including both bearing aud barren cows, killed? 

 What would be the proportion of female seals, including both bearing and barren 

 cows, killed? What would be the proportion of females as compared with the 

 bulls? — A. Right up to the Shumagin Islands? 



41. Q. Yes. Would it be 60 per cent., or 70 per cent., or what? — A. Yea, I think 

 it would be about 65 or 70 per cent, of males, and the remainder mixed cows — bear- 

 ing and barren cows. 



42. Q. About what percentage of barren cows? — A. I think about equally divided ; 

 about 15 per cent, of barren and 15 per cent, of bearing cows, and 70 per cent, of 

 bulls, would pretty near represent the catch on the upper and lower coast. 



43. Q. There is an opinion expressed that a seal pup will not swim ; some people say 

 so? — A. I have seen three with their dams in the water on the Alaskan coast. 



236 44. Q. How far from shore? — A. 40 or 50 miles from shore, in the month of 



June. 



45. Q. Is it your opinion that they would be born in the water? — A. Yes, or on the 

 kelp. Seals mate in the water, sleep in the water, and I have seen pups taken from 

 the dead mother on the vessel, and thrown overboard aud swim about awhile in the 

 water. I have watched such pups swim about for half-an-hour or more. They 

 seemed to have no difficulty in swimming. 



46. Q. You have never seen or heard of a Canadian sealing-schooner attempting to 

 raid the Pribyloff Islands? — A. I have never heard of one. 



47. Q. If such a thing had been done or attempted it would bo sure to be known 

 among sealers? — A. Yes; it would be impossible to keep it a secret. 



48. Q. Is it your opinion that our ship-owners and masters have done everything 

 they could possibly do to discourage anything of that kind? — A. Yes; everything. 



49. Q. What has been the general distance you have sealed — the distance from the 

 seal islands? — A. From 100 to 140 miles. I was within 80 miles of them last year; 

 that was the nearest I was to them. 



50. Q. Of course your men on board would, if they had ever been engaged in such 

 raiding of the islands, certainly have told their fellows? — A. Yes, it would soon have 

 become known. 



51. Q. It is well known to all sealers that certain schooners have raided those 

 islands?— A. Yes, during 1889 and 1890. 



51*. Q. Do you remember what their names are? — A. Yes; the American schooner 

 "Mollie Adams," " George R. White," and others. 



52. Q. Do you remember any other schooner raiding the islands? — A. Yes; the 

 German schooner "Adele." 



53. Q. It was well known that it was a German vessel? — A. Oh, yes. 



54. Q. Those American vessels that raided the Pribyloff Islands recruited their 

 crews — where? — A. I think the "MoUie Adams" recruited her crew at Gloucester. 



55. Q. In the United States? — A. Yes; she fitted up in Port Townsend, Washington. 



56. Q. Did you ever hear of any American vessels fitting out at Sand Point to raid 

 the islands? — A. I do not remember it. 



57. Q. Were you ordered out of Behring Sea last year? — A. Yes. 



58. Q. By whom? — A. The British steamer " Porpoise." 



59. Q. On being ordered out of the Sea, you immediately complied? — A. Yes; I 

 came right away. 



60. Q. Did you lower your boats afterwards? — A. I did not. I came right out of 

 the Sea. 



61. Q. What month was that? — A. 9th August. 



62. Q. Had you not been ordered out, were you in good hunting ground? — A. Oh, 

 yes. 



63. Q. Were the seals plentiful at the time you were warned; that is, as plentiful 

 as you had previously seen them? — A. Yes; just as thick as ever. 



64. Q. What was your catch up to the time you were warned out? — A. 2,434 in 

 Behring Sea. 



65. Q. What was your coast catch? — A. 1,008 on the coast, and 2,434 in the Sea. 



66. Q. Had you been unmolested for another thirty days your chances were good 

 for a large catch? — A. Yes; our chances were good for quite doubling our catch. 



67. Q. Your principal ground for sealing you found — where? — A. About 100 miles 

 westward of the Islands of St. George and St. Paul. I took 1,000 in four days there. 



68. Q. During that time, when you were getting seals so quickly, was your per' 

 ceutage of loss greater tlieio tliau on the coast? — A. No; they were very quiet. 



