502 OFFICIAL REPORTS. 



Neither do tlioy confine themselves to shooting at sleeping- seals, but 

 shoot at evervthini!' that comes within Dossible ran^e, 

 and remain above water h)nf>; enongli lor the hunter to 

 get his gun to his shouhler. If the distance is too great for the shot- 

 gun the rifle is substituted. The chances of missing entirely or only 

 wounding a seal increase with the increased distance, and if killed the 

 chances of the seal sinking before it can be reached by the boat al<o 

 increase with the distance, on account of the greater time required to 

 get to it. Therefore, while the percentage of loss by 



^asteo 1 e. sinking of seals shot while sleeping is comparatively 



small, the lost by sinking and wounding i)ast recovery of seals shot at 

 in the water under all conditions is considerable. The estimated per- 

 centage of loss of seals in this way, as shown by the average of the afld- 

 davits of sealers, both white and Indian, is about 37;^ per cent. The 

 actual percentage of loss by us by sinking and wounding of seals shot 

 was 41) per cent. The estimated loss as shown by the ahidavits of the 

 sealers vary greatly, some claiming little or no loss and others admit- 

 ting as high as 50 ])er cent. I account tor these discrepancies by sup- 

 posing, first, that the percentage of loss differs with diflerent men and 

 under^ditferent C(uiditions. That the sealers are not close observers, 

 and are only interested in those they secure, and that those who claim 

 no losses do not tell the truth. We know positively by our own experi 

 ence that there are losses — some seal shot by our hunters sunk immedi- 

 ately. On the coast of Washington sealing begins in March and is car- 

 ried on in small schooners manned by Indians. They hunt in canoes, 

 each canoe containing two men. They are propelled by sail and paddles, 

 and while 1 hey all carry shotguris and rifles they depend almost entirely 

 upon the spear, with which they are very exi)ert. 



The schooners take from eight to fifteen canoes on deck, according to 

 the size of the vessel. They remain at sea as long as the weather re- 

 mains suitable for scaling, and cruise within a radius 



Sealing off coast ^^ ^^^ .^^, -^^^^^ ^^^.^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ Fliittcry. Thc Iiidiaiis fur- 

 nish canoes and outfits, spears, paddles, guns, ammunition, and their own 

 food, fuel, and water, and receive two-thirds of the catch, the vessel 

 taking one-third and buying the other two-thirds troin the Indians. 

 Some of these vessels, after the close of the sealing season off Cape 

 Flattery, fit out for Bering Sea. The schooner Lotta, 



■^''"'*' of about 30 tons, owned and commanded by an In- 



dian crew, has been three seasons in Bering Sea; she carried six canoes, 

 and made a good catch each time. Many of the Neah Bay Indians 

 are in aood circumstan(;es, the resiilt of successful seal hunting. Two 

 of the Indian hunters taken on board tlie Conciii at Neah liay, Kla- 

 hosh and his son Schuyler Colfax, while at Sitka bar- 



'^""'^' gained for the schooner Ethel, sei/.ed by this vessel in 



^^"''"'- Bering Sea last year, now owned at Sitka and named 



the Clara. She is to be delivered to them on Puget Sound at the end 

 of the present sealing season on the coast for the sum of SToO. Later 

 in the season the Indians at Quillehute and Neah Bay go out from the 

 land sealing in their canoes; also from the harbors on the south and 



, . , west coast of Vancouver. The Vancouver Indians go 



out somewhat earlier than the others, tor the reason 

 that the seals come nearer the coast, and are not compelled to venture 

 so far from shore in the treacherous weather of early spring. Two men 

 constitute a crew tor a Vancouver Island or Cape Flattery canoe. They 

 seldom remain out over night. The Quellehute canoes carry three men, 



