THE RUSSIAN FUR-SEAL ISLANDS. 137 



One year's total prohibitiou on laud is thought sufficient to furnish enough males 

 to start with for the increasing- number of females. It is also supposed that there will 

 be enough males left every year from those not hauling out until August 1. The 

 reason why I do not advocate a longer prohibition of killing on land than one year is 

 that I regard a large surplus of mature nuiles on the rookeries beyond the actually 

 indispensable number for the impregnation of every female as a check to the increase 

 of the herd. The herds on the Commander Islands, as well as on the Pribylof Islands, 

 must have been practically at equilil)rium at the time of their discovery by man, and I 

 attribute this solely to the fact that there must have been a superabundance of males 

 sufficient to prevent an increase. The killing off' of the superfluous number of males 

 must inevitably result in a rapid increase of the herd. Similar conditions exist among 

 other polygamous animals, which liave been known to increase rapidly by the killing 

 off' of a great number of tlie nmles. 



The natives would have to be supported for one year, but that undertaking ought 

 not to be so expensive on the Commander Islands as it might appear at lirst glance. 

 The first thing to be done would be to exterminate the sledge-dogs on Bering Island. 

 They eat more seal meat and fish than the natives, and are a general nuisance. A 

 few Kamchatka horses would do much better service than all the dogs, and, supple- 

 mented with a few more good boats on the island, would suffice for transportation and 

 travel. The Bering Islanders, having nothing else to do during the whole year of the 

 prohibition, could easily put up an extra quantity of dried salmon at Saranna, which, 

 with the quantity saved from the dogs, would go a long ways toward the feeding of 

 the Copper Islanders. The latter, having still the sea-otters, could well afford to pay 

 the Bering Islanders something for the fish. Besides, it might be so arranged as 

 to have fox hunts on both islands during the year of the "zapuska," or prohibition. 



There seems to be no good reason why the Clovernments in question should not 

 be able to agree upon some such scheme of protection, which appears to be both e(iui- 

 table and effective. However, should both reason and self interest prove unavailing, 

 and it should be found impossible to eff'ect a satisfactory x^rotectiou, the (piestion 

 naturally arises. What is to be done with the remaining seals? 



There would certainly be no reason for limiting tlie number of male seals to be 

 taken on land. The restriction placed upon the killing on the islands under the 

 present conditions results in nothing but a one-sided attempt at preservation of the 

 rookeries for the benefit of the pelagic sealers. 



As for a total extermination of the herd, simply to prevent the pelagic sealers 

 from getting any more seals, it may well be remarked that the measure seems well-nigh 

 superfluous, as there will soon be no seals for the pelagic sealers to kill. A perusal 

 of the chapter on Robben Island might raise the question whether it would be effective. 



However, the issue is not an actual one in the present case; for, so far as I 

 know, the Russian authorities are not publicly discussing the possibilities of such a 

 step. At the same time it should not be forgotten that Russia's position is more 

 advantageous than that of the United States in this respect, as it is bound by no 

 such moral obligations, much less legal ones, as would have confronted her had she 

 ever submitted the main points in the case to international arbitration. 



