<>( ^\:\\. LIFK o.\ TIM-: I'uir.n.or ISLANDS. 



one wlio was on the i>land a few years ago, and who ever paid any 

 attention to the seals when the rookeries were tilled out to their fullest, 

 and thousands were to be seen spoiling" in the waters around them. 



Indeed. 1 do not hesitate to say that there was not to exceed -'100.000 

 seals on St. 1'anl and St. tieorge islands in August. 1S1M. 



It is here the questions naturally arise. "What is the cause of the 

 decrease of the seal herd.' Is there a reined v: and if so. how can it 

 be applied .'" 



I shall attempt to answer the questions in the order in which 1 have 

 Mated them, and I aim to show that all of my own views are in strict 

 a c co I'd \\ it h t hose whose disinterestedness, practical knowledge, or sci- 

 euti Me attainments warrant t hem in expressing 1 views on t he question at 

 issue. 



And it will be found, i think, that while we may ditfer in on;- estimates 

 of the number of sea's on the islands at any particular time or period, 

 or that our notions about methods and management may never be exactly 

 alike, we are all agreed that the cause of the decrease of the fur seal herd 

 is pelagic sealing. 



Speaking for myself.after an experience of six years on the seal islands, 

 I have no doubt that were it not lor pelagic sealing the seal herd would 

 be as numerous and as nourishing today as it was in ISiiS or 1SS1, or 

 at any other period since the discovery of the islands: nor is it at ran- 

 dom or without long study that I say this, {or 1 have given the subject 

 a great deal of serious thought during the world-wide discussion of the 

 question since ISW). 



When the question of the decrease of the seal herd was first men 

 tioned publicly as a reality, theories as numerous as the men who enter- 

 tained them were offered in explanation of the cause of such decrease, 

 and tor awhile it was argued with consummate ability and persistent 

 energy by Mr. II. W. Klliott. who was considered an authority on all 

 that relates to fur seals, that the driving 1 from the hauling to t he killing 

 grounds injuied the young males to the extent of impotency. and thus 

 unfitted them at maturity for service on the breeding grounds. 



A mere idle guess at first, this theory was pushed to the front with 

 energy, although, could angry personal feelings and prejudice have been 

 eliminated from the controversy, the gentleman might have discovered 

 what every scientist, naturalist, and impartial observer saw from the 

 first, that so long as all t he cows on the rookeries had pups beside them 

 in season, and every mature cow killed at sea was either a nursing 

 mother or about to become one, the theory of a scarcity of bulls could 

 not be maintained. And after the passions and prejudices existing on 

 the seal islands in istio cooled down or had ceased to exist. Mr. Klliott 

 made an affidavit in which he says: 



it na t ion. actual records, and t rust wort hy test imony 

 \ lioiii I have conversed, and also Irom Knowledge ol 

 <! rcnmst ances of seal life. I am of the opinion that 

 ic.xpeedv destruction of the 1'iibilof herd ol' fur 

 e and the lied increases in number of vessels and 

 ion'.;h the present modus vivendi should remain in 

 commercial ruin of the herd; that in order to pre- 

 serve I lie seals from eomplet e dest rnct ion, as a commercial fact or, it is nceessary t hat 

 jM'laiiic sealing should not only be prohibited in l',eriiij Sea, but also in flic North 

 J'ai-i lie i ron i the Is; of Ma until t he end of October, annually. The pelagic hunters 

 toda\ Kill at least '.HI p, r cent cows it ho ureal majority beini: \s it h \ onn^. nearly 

 j-eai l \ I'm i ie: i < i \ in the Pacific Ocean. 



As the phvfsieaj condiiions are smh that it is uttcrlv impossible to discriminate, in 

 mallei- of so\ or a'_M- \\hen shooting or xpcarin^ in ihe water, it is evident that 

 pelagic sealing can not be regulated in the -lightest decree beyond its complete pro- 

 hibition \v jt bin certain 1 imi i s. ' Klliot t's affidavit, 1 >',*_' ; see Appendix. ! 



