SEAL LIFE ON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 273 



My knowledge, being from long experience, is that the seals are 

 becoming gradually scarcer in the northern waters, particularly so in 

 later years. The cause of this decrease 1 believe to be the indiscrimi- 

 nate slaughter of the mother seals. They are hunted too much, and 

 hence mother seals are becoming scarcer, which, if not checked, will 

 lead to their early extermination. (James Kiernan.) 



He also told me, from his own knowledge, that the Uchuckelset Indi- 

 ans had a few years ago caught off the coast 1,000 seals in a season, 

 and that now they could catch hardly any; that the white men's guns 

 were not only destroying the seals, but driving them farther from the 

 coast. (Francis K. King-Hall.) 



In my opinion, fur-seal life has not only enormously decreased in 

 numbers since 1880. but it lias become greatly scattered and grown 

 wilder and more timid, forsaking many places where they were formerly 

 to be found at certain seasons of the year engaged in feeding. This I 

 attribute to the large number of vessels engaged in killing fur seals 

 indiscriminately at sea. (James E. Lennan.) 



If they keep on hunting them in Bering Sea and the North Pacific in 

 the same way they have done in the last few years, they will exterminate 

 them in the same way, because most all the seals killed are females. 

 The young ones will all die, and every female seal you shoot makes the 

 killing of two, because after the seal has given birth to her young the 

 pup will starve to death on the land, or when you shoot them in the 

 water they may have a pup inside. (Caleb Lindahl.) 



I have observed a very great decrease in fur-seal life since 1885, and 

 believe it is almost entirely due to the large numbers of vessels engaged 

 in pelagic sealing. (E. W. Littlejohn.) 



The seals are much less plentiful the last year I sealed than the first. 

 I attribute this decrease to the hunting of them in the water and the 

 increased number of boats and men engaged in the business in the last 

 few years. (William H. Long.) 



Q. Has there been any decrease in the quantity of seals as compared 

 to previous years? A. There has been a decrease. 



Q. To what do you attribute the decrease? A. To the hunting of 

 the seals in Bering Sea. (Charles Lutjens.) 



There can be but one reason for the decrease, and that is they are 

 hunted too much in the open waters. (J. D. McDonald.) 



There were not as many seals in 1890 as there were in 1889. I think 

 there are so many boats and hunters out after them that they are being 

 killed off. They are hunted too much. (William Mclsaac.) 



There were not as many seals as formerly. Have noticed the decrease 

 in the last three years ; caused, I think, by the indiscriminate killing of 

 female seal. (James McKeen.) 



I was also cod fishing in 1884. There were a great many more seals 

 in the water then than there were in 1889. In 1884, when we were cod 

 fishing, we met the steam whaler Thrasher, and I heard the captain 

 remark that it was a damned shame the way they were killing the female 

 seals in Bering Sea. (William McLaughlin.) 



Q. To what do you attribute this decrease? A. I think this is on 

 account of killing those female seals when they have pups, and the 

 business is getting so that so many vessels are going into it, and they 



S. Doc. 137, pt. 1 18 



