152 SKAL LIFE OX THE PRIHILOE ISLANDS. 



animals were not diverted from their usual paths of travel. All tire- 

 aims were forbidden and never have been used on these islands in the 

 killing and taking of seals. In fact, unusual noise even on the ships at 

 anchor near these islands is Avoided. 



\ isitiug t he rookeries is not permitted only on certain conditions, and 

 anything that might frighten ; he seals avoided. The seals are never 

 killed in or near the rookeries, but are driven a short distance inland, 

 to grounds especially set apart for this work. I do not see now it is 

 possible t () conduct the sealing process with greater care or judgment. 

 I nder the direction of Mr. Uedpath. on St. Paul, and .Mr. Webster, on 

 St. tieorge islands men who have superintended this work lor many 

 years the natives do the driving, and the killing is performed under 

 the supervision of the Government agents. The natixes understand 

 just how much fatigue can be endured by the seals, and the kind of 

 weather suitable for driving and killing: no greater precaution in that 

 regard can be taken. The evidence of this is in the small percentage 

 of animals injured or overlie, ited in these drives. I do not believe the 

 animals are much frightened or disturbed by the process of selecting 

 the drives from the rookeries, nor do 1 think it has a tendency to scare 

 the animals away from the islands. 



During the seasons of 1S!K) and 18iU I was in command of the reve- 

 nue cutter h'uxli in P>ering Sea and cruised extensively in those waters 

 around the seal islands and the Aleutian group. In the season of 1890 

 I visited the islands of St. Paul and St. (leorge in the months of -July, 

 August, and September, and had ample and frequent opportunities of 

 observing the seal life as compared with 1870. I was astonished at the 

 reduced numbers of seals and the extent of bare ground on the rook- 

 eries in ls<M) as compared with that of 1870. and which in that year was 

 alive with seal life. In 181)0 the North American Commercial Company 

 were unable to kill seals of suitable sixe to make their quota of 00,000 

 allowed by their lease, and. in my opi'iion. had they been permitted to 

 take ~o.OOO in 181)1, they could not have secured that number if they 

 had killed every bachelor seal with a merchantable skin on both islands, 

 so great was the diminution in the number of animals found there. 



1 arrived with my command at St. Paul Island June 7, 1S1M : at that 

 date very few seals had arrived and but a small number had been killed 

 for fresh food. ( >n the 1-th of June. 1891. we were at St.<ieorge Island 

 and found a few seals had been taken there, also for food, the number 

 of seals arriving not bei g enough to warrant the killing of any great 

 number. During that year I was at and around both these islands 

 every month from and including June until the 1st day of December 

 (excepting October), and at no time were t here as many seals in sight as 

 in ISIID. I assert this from actual observation, and it i> my opinion we 

 will find less tin's year: and should pelagic sealing in the North Pacific 

 and llering Sea continue, it is only a question of a very lew years when 

 seal in these seas, and especially at the seal islands, will be a thing of 

 the past, for they arc being rapidly destroyed by the killing of females 

 in the open sea. 



As to the percentage of seals lost in pelagic sealing where the use of 

 firearm- is employed. 1 am not able to state of my own observation, 

 but from conversations with those engaged in the business I am of the 

 opinion that the number secured is small compared with those lost in 

 attempts to secure them. No mention was ever made of any unusual 

 number of dead pup^ upon the rookeries having been noticed at any 

 time prior to my visit in 1*70. but when I again visited the islands in 

 IS'.MI I found it a subject of much solicitude by those interested in the 



