SKAL LIFE ON' THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 255 



We got about one out ol every five that we killed or wounded. There 

 was any amount of them that we shot and did not get at all. It seemed 

 as if a good many got away. * * * We had some white and Indian 

 hunters. 1 do not think that we lost as many that year in propor- 

 tion to those that we killed and wounded. They were better hunters. 

 (William McLaughlin.) 



Q. According to your experience, what percentage of animals that 

 are shot at are actually taken by the boatsl A. That is according to the 

 ammunition that we use. About one-third are taken. (Daniel Mc- 

 Lean.) 



We had Indian hunters who used shotguns. The Indian hunters are 

 more expert than the white hunters and they do not lose so many 

 seals as they kill. I think they would get one out of every two or three 

 killed or wounded. (Thomas Madden.) 



About 50 per cent of the seals shot with shotgun are lost. (Edward 

 Maitland.) 



There were six boats on the vessel. Some of the boats would come 

 in without a seal after being out all day long shooting, but they would 

 wound a great many. On an average, taking all the boats together, 

 they got one out of every five or six that they killed or shot at. We 

 wounded a great many that we could not get. (Patrick Maroney.) 



About 50 per cent are lost that are shot with the shotgun. (Charles 

 Martin.) 



I do not think they would get more than one seal out of every six or 

 seven they shot, and sometimes only one out of ten. (Henry Mason.) 



Our hunter was a good one. His name was Joe Williams. I think 

 he got one out of every three, on an average. He used a rifle a good 

 deal, and was a fine shot. Some of the hunters in the other boats would 

 shoot at the seal and not get any at all, and come in at night without 

 any, or maybe one or two. There was one hunter from Xova Scotia that 

 did not kill any, scarcely. (William Mason.) 



I think about 33 per cent of the seals shot with a shotgun are lost. 

 (E. Miner.) 



About 20 per cent of the seals I shoot with shotgun are lost. ( Amos 

 Mill.) 



Q. What percentage of seals are taken, compared to those you destroy 

 in doing so; in other words, how many do you actually get out of those 

 you shoot? A. About 75 per cent. We lose about 25 per cent. 



Q. Is it not a fact that when you first started in the business and 

 were inexperienced in hunting, that you, like all other beginners, 

 destroyed a much larger proportion than you do now? A. Certainly; 

 there is no doubt about that. (Frank Moreau.) 



From my knowledge of the aquatic habits of the seal, and the diffi- 

 culty of accurate shooting when the object is in the water, I am of the 

 opinion that a large number of seals are killed by vessels engaged in 

 the business of taking seals in the open seas which are not caught. I 

 am unable to form an estimate of the number of seals shot or speared 

 from vessels which are lost, but in the last two or three years of my 

 residence at St. George Island, in taking 15,000 seals, I found approxi- 

 mately three pounds of lead, in the form of slugs, bullets, and buck- 

 shot, which I personally took from the bodies of male seals, some of 



