SEAL LIFE ON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 83 



islands, the evil would not be cured, although its etlccts might be less noticeable, 

 for the killing of females, many of them heavy with young, would necessarily con- 

 tinue, since all experience shows that female auimalH always constitute the chief 

 catch of the open sea sealer. 



NICHOLAS A. (JKKBXIT/KI, 



District Chief of the Command? r IxluiidH, District St. rettmbury. 

 (Counter case, United States, p. 362.) 



Here we have the testimony of one who is at once a scientist and one 

 of the most practical of men; a man who has been officially interested 

 in the fur seal industry for many years, and who has devoted a great 

 part of his life to the scientific and practical study of the species. 



Every word he utters shows his intimate knowledge of the subject 

 treated, and his practical common sense and scientific acumen, coupled, 

 with a breadth of view all his own, gives an extraordinary value tp 

 everything he says on the subject of fur seals. 



True, he is interested in the fur-seal industry on the Commander 

 Islands, belonging to Russia, and for that reason he may fall under the 

 ban of the hypercritical who seem to suspect the honesty and thq 

 motives of all who have, or ever did have, any connection with the fur? 

 seal islands on either side of Bering Sea. 



That the class of critics alluded to may be silenced on this point I 

 will introduce the testimony of leading naturalists, which is in full 

 accord with all that I have already quoted. It will be seen that Dr. 

 Merriam briefly stated the question at issue to the naturalists of Europe 

 and asked for their views, which were freely given and which I take the 

 pleasure of quoting in full. 



CIRCULAR LETTER OF DR. C. HART MERRIAM. 



Dr. C. Hart" Merriam, one of the American Bering Sea commission- 

 ers, addressed the following circular letter to various leading naturalists 

 in diflerent parts of the world, for the purpose of obtaining their views 

 as to the best method of preserving the fur seals of Alaska: 



WASHINGTON, D. C., April 2, 1892. 



DEAR SIR: The Government of the United States having selected me as a natu- 

 ralist to investigate and report upon the condition of the fur-seal rookeries on the 

 Pribilof Islands, in Bering Sea, with special reference to the causes of decrease and 

 the measures necessary for the restoration and permanent preservation of the seal 

 herd, I visited the Pribilof Islands and made an extended investigation of the sub- 

 ject, the results of which are here briefly outlined. 



FACTS IN THE LIFE HISTORY OF THE NORTHERN FUR SEAL (CALLORHINU8 URSINU8), 



(1) The fur seal is an inhabitant of Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, where it 

 breeds on rocky islands. But lour breeding colonies are kuown, namely, (1) the 

 Pribilof Islands, belonging to the United States; (2) the Commaudi-r Islands, belong- 

 ing to Russia; (3) Roblieu Reef, belonging to Russia; and (4) the Kurile Islands, 

 belonging to Japan. The Pribilof and Commander islands are in Bering Sea; 

 Robben Keef in the Sea of Okhotsk, near the island of Saghalien, and the Kurile 

 Islands between Yezo and Kamtchatka. The species is not known to breed in any 

 other part of the world. 



(2) lu winter the fur seal migrates into the North Pacific Ocean. The herds from 

 the Commander Islands, Robben Keef, and the Kurilo Islands move south along the 

 Japan Coast. The Pribilof Islands herd move south through the passes in the Aleu- 

 tian chain. The old breeding males are not kuown to range much south of these 

 islands. The females and yonng reach the American Coast as far south as California. 



(3) Returning, the herds of females move northward along the coast of California, 

 Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia in .January, February, and March, -ccur- 

 riiig at varying distances from shore Following the Alaska coast northward and 

 westward they' leave the North Pacific Ocean in June, traversing the passes in the 

 Aleutian chain, and proceed at once to the Pribilot Islands. 



(4) The old (breeding) males reach the islands much earlier, the first coming the 

 first week in April or early in May. They at once land and take stands on the rook- 

 eries, where they await the arrival of the females. Each male (called a bull) selects 



