CAUSE. 173 



culty to procure their quota in 1889, a sufficient, Lack of male 



lil'o U(ft the caviso. 



number of males were reserved for breeding- 

 purposes/ Col. Joseph Murray, assistant agent 

 on the islands in 1890, and still holding that 

 position, says: ''I saw nearly every cow with a 

 pup by her side and hundreds of vigorous bulls 

 without any cows."^ And this statement is sup- 

 ported by Mr. J. Stanley Brown, who was on the 

 islands in 1891.^ Maj. W. H. Williams, the pres- 

 ent agent of the United States Government on 

 the Pribilof Islands, and v/lio held that position in 

 1891, says: ''During the season of 1891 nearly 

 every mature female coming upon the rookeries 

 gave birth to a young seal, and there was a great 

 abundance of males of sufficient age to again go 

 upon the breeding grounds that year, as was 

 shown by the inability of large numbers of them 

 to secure more than one to five cows each, while 

 quite a immber could secure none at all.* Aggie 

 Kushin, for several years assistant priest in the 

 Greek Catholic Church, and resident on St. Paul 

 Island since 1867, says: " We noticed idle, vigor- 

 ous bulls on the breeding rookeries because of the 

 scarcity of cows, and I have noticed that the cows 

 have decreased steadily every year since 1886, 



1 Vol. II, p. 112. 

 2Vol.II,p.74. 

 8Vol.II,p.l4. 

 <Vol.II,p.94, 



