ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 207 



masters of sailing schooners that not one seal out of ten killed or 

 wounded had been caught. These inquiries I pursued at San Francisco 

 until quite recently. The chief killing by poachers was done between 

 the passes of Aleutian Archipelago and the Pribilof Islands. (George 

 R. Adams.) 



Have always used a shotgun and rifle in taking seal since a young 

 man. I rarely lose any seal I shoot, as I never shoot at them unless 

 they are very close to the boat. (Adam Ayonkee.) 



Have always used a shotgun for taking seal, and lose about 40 per 

 cent of what I shoot. (Maurice Bates.) 



No seal were lost when struck with spear. About 40 per cent of seal 

 shot with shotgun are lost, and more when the rifle is used. (Wilton 

 0. Bennett.) 



I use the shotgun for taking seal. I lose about 25 per cent of the 

 seals shot. (Edward Benson.) 



The spear and shotgun have been used by me. But few seals are 

 lost that are struck by spear. About 66 per cent are lost when shot 

 with shotgun, and a larger proportion are lost when rifle is used. (Mar- 

 tin Benson.) 



On the Pioneer we had a couple of good hunters, who would get 

 almost all they shot at, while some of our hunters would lose a good 

 many that they would kill and wound. A green hunter will not get 

 more than one out of five, and I have known one hunter on our vessel 

 who shot eight shots and got only four seals. Indian hunters that use 

 spears seldom lose any that are struck, and there is no wounded to go 

 away and die. (Neils Bonde.) 



This year the seals are wilder than the year before; I think it was 

 because they were hunted so much. We did not capture as many in 

 proportion to the number shot as we did the year previous, and did not 

 save more than one out of six that we shot. (Thomas Brown.) 



We got on an average three or five out of every twelve killed and 

 wounded.- It depends a great deal upon the weather. There were lots 

 of seals in the water at that time. (Thomas Brown.) 



The average hunter would get one out of every three that he shot; 

 a poor hunter not nearly as many. There are 21 buckshot to a shell. 

 * * * When they are in school sleeping we get a good many. We 

 did not get as many as we shot at in Bering Sea as we did on the coast. 

 If we got one out of every three we were doing pretty well. (Charles 

 Chalall.) 



I used a shotgun almost exclusively last season, and lost about one- 

 third of all furs shot. (Julius Christiansen.) 



I think about 50 per cent of the seals shot with shotgun are lost, and 

 greater proportion are lost when shot with a rifle. (Peter Church.) 



I always use the shotgun for taking seal. I think about 25 per cent 

 are lost. (William Clark.) 



Over 50 per cent are lost when shot with shotgun. (John C. Clement.) 



My observation of the seal hunting by white hunters in 1888 is that 

 they do not secure more than two or three out of every hundred shot. 

 The number of shots fired by a hunter in an ordinary day's sealing 

 is something enormous, and the waste of seal life in the water is 



