398 ARTICLE BY DR. J. A. ALLEN, 



SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS. 



The South Shethmds constitute a nuuieious group of small islands 

 situated about 300 miles south of Cape Horn. Sealing began here in 

 1819, when the American brig HersUia, from Stonington, Conn., and an 

 English vessel from Buenos Ayres obtained cargoes of very tine fur- 

 seal skins. News of the discovery of this new sealing ground quickly 

 spread, and before the end of the following year a ileet of thirty vessels 

 (eighteen American, ten English, and two liussian) had reached the 

 South Shethiiid to gather in the valuable ])elts of the hapless seals. 

 Captain Weddell, writing in 1825, gives the following account of the 

 slaughter whicli ensued: "The quantity of seals taken off these islands 

 by vessels from different parts during tlie years 1821 and 1822 may be 

 computed at 320,01K), ami the quautity of sea ele[>hant oil at 1)40 tons. 

 This valuable animal, the fur-seal, might, by a law similar to that 

 Avhich restrains hshermen in the size of the mesh of their nets, have 

 been spai-ed to render annually 100,000 fur-seals for many years to 

 come. This would have followed from not killing the mothers imtil the 

 young were able to take the water, and even then only those which ap- 

 peared to be old, together with a proportion of the males, thereby dimin- 

 ishing their total number, but in slow progression. This system is 

 practiced at the river of Plata. The island of Lobos, at the mouth of 

 that river, contains a quantity of seals and is farmed by the Govern- 

 ment of Montevideo, under certain restricti<Mis, that the hunter shall 

 take them cmly at stated periods, in order to prevent extermination. 

 The system of extermination was practiced, however, at the South Shet- 

 lands^ for whenever a seal reached the beach, of wiuitever denomina- 

 tion, he was inunediately killed and his skin taken, and by this means, 

 at the end of the second year the animals became nearly extinct. The 

 young, having lost their mothers when only three or four days old, of 

 course died, which at the lowest calculation exceeded 100,000." (Voy- 

 ages, etc., p]). 141, 142.) The history of the South Shetland seal fishery 

 since this indiscriminate and exterminating slaughter is thus given by 

 C. A. Williams in his report to a committee of Congress on Merchant 

 Marine and Fisheries in 1888: " In 1872, tifty years after the slaughter 

 at the Slietland Islands, the localities before mentioned were all revisited 

 by another generation of hunters, and in the sixteen years that have 

 elapsed they have searched every beach and gleaned every rock known 

 to their predecessors and found a few secluded and inhospitable places 

 before unknown, and the net result of all their toil and daring for the 

 years scarcely amounted to 45,000 skins; and now not even a remnant 

 remains save on the rocks off' the pitch of Cape Horn. The last vessel 

 at South Shetland this year of 1888, after hunting all the group, found 

 only thirty-hve skins, and the last, at Kerguelan Land, only sixty-one, 

 including pups. So in wretched waste and wantou destruction has gone 

 out forever from the Southern Seas a race of aninnds useful to man and 

 a possible industry connected with them. Audit is plain thatwithcmt 

 the aid of law to guide and control no other result could have been ex- 

 pected or attained." 



The narrative is brought down to date by the following testimony 

 from the affidavit of Capt. James AV. Budington: "The shores of these 

 islands were once covered with seals, but there are ])ractically none 

 there now. I don't think 100 skins could be taken from there at the 

 present time, wliile I have known of one vessel taking ()0,000 in a sea- 

 son." He adds that in the season of 1871-'72, six vessels took about 

 12,000 skins, and that in 1873-'74 a Ileet of seven vessels took about 



