126 WILD LIFE CONSERVATION 



State Fish Commission that the sea-lions be 

 destroyed. 



Without pausing to make even a pretense of 

 investigating the charges, the Fish Commission 

 ordered that the sea-lions should be destroyed; and 

 the Commission obtained from the United States 

 Light-House Board, in Washington, written per- 

 mission to carry out the slaughter on the govern- 

 ment lighthouse reservations, as well as elsewhere. 



The news of the proposed slaughter was at once 

 laid before certain eastern naturalists, who doubted 

 the justice of the death verdict on the sea-lions, and 

 demanded proof that the animals were guilty as 

 charged. Finding that there existed no evidence 

 of a specific and convincing nature, and that no 

 scientific investigation of the food habits of the 

 California sea-lions ever had been made, they 

 entered quick and vigorous protests against the 

 proposed slaughter and demanded its suspension 

 pending an adequate investigation. When the 

 facts in the case were laid before the Light-House 

 Board, the Board's permission to kill was imme- 

 diately revoked by telegraph. 



But the California state authorities had power 

 to act on the water frontage of the state, and in a 

 few localities the killing of sea-lions proceeded. 



By good fortune, it happened that during the 

 killing operations that took place in Monterey Bay 

 and vicinity, Prof. L. L. Dyche, of the University 

 of Kansas, arrived upon the scene to pursue special 



