188 SEAL LIFE ON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



Deposition of Alfred Fraser, member of firm of C. M. Lampson & Co., 



furriers, London. 



STATE OF NEW YORK, 



City and County of New York, ss : 

 Alfred Fraser, being duly sworn, says: 



(1) That he is a subject of Her Britannic Majesty and is 52 years of 

 age and resides in the city of Brooklyn, in the State of New York. 

 That he is a member of the firm of C. M. Lampson & Co., of London, 

 and has been a member of said firm for about thirteen years ; prior to 

 that time he was in the employ of said firm and took an active part in 

 the management of the business of said firm in London. That the busi- 

 ness of C. M. Lampson & Co., is that of merchants, engaged princi- 

 pally in the business of selling fur skins on commission. That for 

 about twenty-four years the firm of C. M. Lampson & Co. have sold 

 the great majority of the whole number of seal skins sold in all the 

 markets of the world. That while he was engaged in the management 

 of the business of said firm in London he had personal knowledge of 

 the character of the various seal skins sold by the said firm, fiom his 

 personal inspection of the same in their warehouse and from the phys- 

 ical handling of the same by him. That many hundred thousands' of 

 the skins sold by C. M. Lampson & Co. have physically passed through 

 his hands, and that since his residence in this country lie has, as a 

 member of said firm, had a general and detailed knowledge of the char- 

 acter and extent of the business of said firm, although since his resi- 

 dence in the city of New York he has not physically handled the skins 

 disposed of by his firm. 



That during the last year or two a large number of skins have been 

 sold in London by the firm of Culverwell, Brooks & Co., and that said 

 firm, as deponent is informed and believes, have secured the consign- 

 ment of skins to them during the period aforesaid by advancing to the 

 owners of vessels engaged in what is now known as pelagic sealing 

 sums of money, which is stated to be $15 per skin, as against ship- 

 ments from Victoria of such skins. 



(2) That the seal skins which have been sold in London from time to 

 time since deponent first began business have been obtained from 

 sources and were known in the market as 



(a) The South Sea skins, being the skins of seals principally caught 

 on the South Shetland Islands, South George Islands, and Sandwich 

 Land. That many years ago large numbers of seals were caught upon 

 these islands, but in consequence of the fact that no restrictions were 

 imposed on the killing of said seals, they were practically exterminated, 

 and no seal skins appeared in the market from those localities for many 

 years. That about twenty years ago these islands were again visited, 

 and for five seasons a considerable catch was made, amounting, during 

 the whole five seasons, to about 30,000 or 40,000 skins. Among the 

 skins found in this catch were those of the oldest males and the small- 

 est pups, thus showing, in the judgment of deponent, that every seal 

 of every kind was killed that could be reached. That in consequence 

 thereof the rookeries on these islands were then completely exhausted. 

 Once or twice thereafter they were visited without result, no seals 

 being found, and about five years ago they were again revisited and 

 only 3(> skins were obtained. Deponent is informed that all the South 

 Sea skins were obtained by killing seals upon the islands above men- 

 tioned, and that it is obviously every where much easier to kill seals upon 

 the land than in the water; and, in the judgment of the deponent, the 

 seals of the above-mentioned islands were thus entirely exterminated 



