REPORT OF BRITISH COMMISSIONERS. 317 



Victoria, B. C, February 16, 1892. 



BE SEALING IN PACIFIC OCEAN AND BEHRING SEA. 



Abel Douglas, present master and managing owner of Canadian schooner "May 

 Belle," of Victoria, British Columbia, being duly sworn, in answer to the following 

 questions, says: 



Q. How many years have you been sealing? — A. I have been seven years. 



Q. You have been reasonably successful in the sealing industry? — A. Yes, I have. 



Q. You have followed the seals along the west coast and in Behring Sea? — Yes, 

 Sir; I have. 



Q. How many men composed your crew last year? — A. Twenty-one men, all told. 



Q. The number of your boats carried? — A. Six boats. 



Q. You have had every opportunity of being acquainted with the habits and life 

 of the seals? — A. I have. 



Q. On the coast, did the seals appear as plentiful last year as former years? — A. I 

 have seen no decrease; in fact, I saw more seals last year, but they appeared a little 

 shyer. 



Q. In Behring Sea, did the seals appear as plentiful last year as formerly? — A. I 

 saw more seals and larger bodies of seals in Behring Sea last year than in any year 

 before. 



Q. Did the seals appear more timorous in Behring Sea than formerly? — A. No, they 

 did not, but seemed quite quiet, and not frightened. 



Q. On the coast do tlie females travel by themselves? — A. The females generally^ 

 travel by themselves; think the males don't travel so far south. We tind the males 

 ajipear more iiientiful towards Alaska. 



Q. Are there more seals shot sleeping than travelling? — A. Yes, Sir. 



Q. What is the usual distance that seals are shot while sleeping? — A. About 40 to 

 45 feet. 



Q. What would be the distance shooting at a travelling seal? — A. About 30 to 40 

 yards. 



Q. Where are the seals usually struck when shot? — A. In the head and neck. 



Q. From your long experience, what do you consider the proportion of seals lost 

 as compared to the whole that are hit in pelagic sealing? — A. I am quite sure that 

 not more than I'rom three to live in the hundred, in one year in Behring Sea; out of 

 216 seals taken by myself, I never lost a single one; and last year I lost seven out of 

 205 killed by myself; the loss was by sinking. 



Q. Having personal experience hunting every year, how quickly do you reach the 

 animal shot sleeping? — A. About five to ten minutes if the seal has been shot 

 sleeping. 



Q. Sleeping seals don't sink quickly, do they? — A. Sleeping seals very seldom 

 sink. The loss by sinking is altogether the travelling seals. 



Q. Then you would say that the percentage of loss, that is, three to five in the 

 hundred, has been your experience for several years? — A. Yes; it has been about the 

 same. 



Q. Is the loss greater on the coast than in Behring Sea? — A. No, Sir; very few are 

 lost on the coast. 



Q. On the coast, have you taken a greater number of females in some months than 

 in other months ; say, have you observed a greater number of females taken in April 

 and May? — A. No, Sir. 



Q. Where do you find the yearling grey pups? — A. Always on the coast. 



Q. Do you find many pups in Behring Sea? — A. No; I have only found two grey 

 pups in Behring Sea. 



Q. Do you find any brown pups, about 2 yearsold, in Behring Sea? — A. Very few. 



Q. Have you observed in Behring Sea that the females have delivered their 

 young? — A. Yes, Sir. 



Q. Do you take any females with pup in Behring Sea? — A. Very few; say one or 

 two in the season. They have all delivered their young before the vessels enter 

 Behring Sea. 



Q. Did you observe any difference in the size of seal-skins last year? — A. None; 

 they are the same as former years. 



Q. What has been the distance from the seal islands that you usually hunted 

 in Behring Sea in the past years? — A. From 60 to 100 miles generally to the west- 

 ward. 

 240 Q. You were warned out last year, and by whom? — A. Yes, Sir; and by the 



United States ship "Mohican." 



Q. At the time you were warned, what distance were you from the seal islands? — A. 

 At the time I was warned I was 115 miles to the north-west of the seal islands. 



Q. At the time you were warned were the seals plentiful? — A. I have never seen 

 the seals so plentiful in Behring Sea. 



