UNIVBKSITY 



THE ANTARCTIC SEAL FISHERIES. 



GOUGH'S ISLAND. 



Gough's Island, or Diego Alvarez, as it was originally named by the Portuguese, who discov- 

 ered it, is in latitude 40 19' south, 9 44' west longitude, a short distance to the southward of the 

 Tristan Group. It was seen in 1713, by Capt. Charles Gough, in the Richmond, bound to China, 

 and has since gone by his name. The highest part of the island rises some 4,000 feet above the 

 sea. The island at one time abounded with fur-seals and sea-elephants, but is now about deserted 

 by those animals. About 1825, a party of American sealers lived there, but met with such indiffer- 

 ent success that it was abandoned. 



WEST COAST OP AFRICA. 



The southwest coast of Africa, from Cape of Good Hope to about 16 south latitude, was 

 frequented by American sealing vessels at the beginning of this century, and until about the year 

 1835, when fur-seals had become very scarce. As many as 500 to 700 skins were sometimes 

 taken in a day by the crew of a small vessel; the fur of about the same value as of those captured 

 at Falkland or at Cape Horn. It is impossible to estimate the total number of skins secured on 

 the African coast by American vessels, but it certainly numbered several thousands. 



Capt. Gurdon L. Allyn, of Gale's Ferry, Conn., gives us an account of his experience on this 

 coast in 1830, and subsequent voyages until 1835. In 1830 he commanded the sealing schooner 

 Spark, of New London, Conn. In describing this voyage, he says : 



"We arrived on the barren coast of Africa, in the latitude of 26 south, on January 14, 1830. 

 At that place is a small island, a mile or more from the coast, on the inside of which is a fair 

 anchorage. This island, called Ichaboe, is the rendezvous of millions of sea-birds, which there lay 

 their eggs and hatch their young, and we obtained at this time and afterwards quantities of eggs, 

 many of which are excellent for food. The birds were so thick as to prevent our traveling on 

 shore without first beating passage-way with our seal-clubs, and yet we endeavored not to hurt 

 them, although they regarded us as intruders, and attacked us with ferocity, scratching and biting 

 with such effect as to draw blood through the legs of our pantaloons. We were plentifully sup- 

 plied with eggs during the fifteen months that we were on this coast, our men eating gulls' and 

 penguins' eggs without much distinction, although the former are much superior. We had arrived 

 at this island too late for the season, for an examination of the shore revealed about a thousand 

 carcasses of seals which had been deprived of their skins by those who had arrived there on a 

 similiar errand to ours. 



" The coast was well sealed, and we could only glean a few from the roughest rocks. Six days 

 passed, and our consort, the schooner General Putnam, of Newburyport, arrived ; and as we were 

 likely to fall short of water, this being a barren, sandy coast, without rain oftener than once a year, 

 we put our water-casks and our mate on board of her and despatched her south to Saldaua Bay, while 

 her captain came on board of our vessel and proceeded with us to seal along the coast. We found 

 a lew seals at each landing, * * * an( i by the 6th of September had taken 600 seal skins. 

 On the 13th of September we obtained 175 fur-seal skins ; * * * on November 21 we took 234 

 prime seal-skins ; on December 29 230 seal-skins, and on the 31st 250 skins ; January 1, 1831, took 

 500 skins ; March 2 we took 740 skins, which was a good day's work, and attended with great 

 labor and excitement. On March 21, we started for home."* 



In the year 1834 Captain Allyn was on a sealing voyage on the African coast in the schooner 

 Betsy, in company with the brig Tampico. They arrived on the coast October 5, and at Angra 



* The Old Sitilor's Story ; Norwich, Conn. : 1879. 



