SEAL LIFE ON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 157 



hunter. The destruction wrought by them upon the seal herd was, 

 compared with the vast number of which it was composed, very slight, 

 and did little harm to anyone, while the result to the Indians was then 

 and is still of great importance. Now pelagic seal hunting is carried 

 on in quite a different manner. Numerous expeditions are fitted out in 

 well-equipped vessels, some of them under both steam and sail, manned 

 by whites and Indians, and armed with guns and spears. I am 

 informed and believe that the herd has greatly decreased within the 

 last two or three years, and that if pelagic sealing is not soon checked 

 the herd will be driven hither and thither and so decimated as to render 

 it commercially valueless. This would be a great wrong to the Indians, 

 who are dependent to a great measure upon the seals for a livelihood, 

 as well as needless, wanton waste, which civilized nations ought not to 

 permit. It can not be denied that the natives, who have utilized the 

 seal fisheries adjacent to their settlements from their earliest history 

 and profited by them, deserve some consideration. I believe that in 

 order to preserve the rookeries upon the islands and build them up to 

 their former productiveness it is only necessary to restrict pelagic seal- 

 ing to the coast south of 54 40' and confine it to the use of the primi- 

 tive methods formerly employed by the natives. 



JAMES G. SWAN. 



Deposition of Joseph Stanley-Brown, Treasury agent. 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 



City of Washington, ss : 



Joseph Stanley-Brown, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 37 

 years of age; am a citizen of the United States; reside at Mentor, 

 Ohio, and am by profession a geologist. 



I spent the entire season of 1891 upon the Pribilof Islands, and during 

 the summer of 1892 again visited them and spent the period between 

 June 9 and August 14 upon the islands of St. Paul and St. George in 

 continuation of my investigations concerning seal life. This season, in 

 addition to the continuous general examination of all the rookeries and 

 the plottings of the breed ing- ground areas upon charts, certain special 

 stations were selected at points within easy reach of the village and 

 daily visits made thereto. This method of work gave me an excellent 

 opportunity to make comparisons between the breeding areas of 1891 

 and those of 1892. 



As the result of my observations during the past season, it is my 

 opinion that there was no increase among the females the producing 

 class but on the contrary that there was a perceptible falling off. 

 This decrease was the more noticeable at points on the rookeries where 

 the smaller groups of breeding seals are to be found. 



There was so little driving during the season of 1892 that an excellent 

 opportunity was given to observe life upon the hauling grounds, several 

 of which were not disturbed during the entire season. There seemed 

 to be a slight increase of the young bachelor seals, although this may 

 have been more apparent than real from the fact that being unmolested 

 they accumulated in large bands. 



It is quite certain that the normal habit of the holluschickie is to 

 remain most of their time upon shore, and if left to themselves would 

 spend more time there than in the water. I have kept a close daily 

 watch upon groups of yonng males, the members of which did not go 

 into the water for a week or ten days at a time. 



