334 REPORTS OF BERING SEA COMMISSION. 



Visit of Com- Poiiit Rookery in company with the British and. 



missioucr:3. 



United States Bering Sea Commissioners, August 

 5, 1891, and stated that when he visited the 

 same rookery in the hitter part of June, 1885, 

 the broad zone here referred to "was covered 

 soHd with seals." Lieut. John C. Cantwell, of 

 ■ the Revenue Steamer Uush^ Dr. H. H. 

 Mclntyre, Capt. Daniel .Webster, Mr. J. C. 

 Redpath, and Mr. George R. Tingel, corroborate 

 Mr. Townsend's statement that the yellow-grass 

 zone, or zone of former occupancy, was densely 

 covered with seals in 1885. 

 Native testi- The testimony of nativcs and othcrs iL. resrard 



niony as to de- "^ *-' 



^^*^^^®- to other rookeries agrees very well with the above, 



or places the time of abandonment at a still later 

 date, some of the natives maintaining that the 

 yellow-grass zone was covered with seals as 

 recently as 1887. It is evident, therefore, that 

 the extensive area here described as the yellow- 

 grass zone, behind the narrow strip at present 

 occupied by the seals on the various rookeries, 

 was thickly covered not longer ago than 1885 or 

 1886, and in some cases perhaps as late as 1887. 

 The great de- In our examination of many persons who had 



crease, -^ ^ 



long resided upon the islands, there was univer- 

 sal agreement that there had been a great decrease 

 in the number of seals within a few years. 

 Although the testimony gathered by us on this 



