110 SEAL LIFE ON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



"whicli will be accepted by the unwilling as the sole cause, we can at 

 least point to one which everyone must admit demands serious consid- 

 eration. We have the sworn testimony of the Treasury agents of the 

 islands tlint they counted this fall on St, Paul 23,000 dead pups. Every 

 unbiased observer is convinced that the cows suckle only their own 

 offs])ring; hence, unless these pups died of natural causes, it is certain 

 that 23,000 cows were destroyed at sea. That a large number of cows 

 were destroyed by sealers we know from the investigations of the com- 

 mission, and we know, also, that the pups were in such ])ositions and 

 condition as to indicate clearly that they died of starvation. Is there 

 any reason to look elsewhere for the cause of the decrease of the females ? 

 Certainly not. 



Now, whether this is the only cause of the decrease of females or not 

 is of no great moment, since, in its operation, it is a sutlicient one to 

 depopulate the rookeries. He would be regarded a very foolish man who 

 should spend time and money in investigating obscure causes of the loss 

 of his fowl while the fox was openly stealing hens from the roost. So 

 long as a sufficient cause of destruction is discovered, it is of no practi- 

 cal importance to search foi' others, since if this one continues to operate 

 it will destroy the rookeries, whether other causes are discovered and 

 eradicated or not. 



As it was a i)art of my instructions to search for obscure deleterious 

 agencies, however, I will say that I kept the matter constantly in mind, 

 but Avas unable to discover anything of inii)ortance. The seals ai)peared 

 to be healthy and vigorous. 1 did not see more than live adult dead seals 

 about the rookeries during my sojourn on St. I'aul. These were all 

 males, ]\Ir. Townsend informed me of the i>resence of a dead female on 

 Ketavie rookery, but I did not see it myself. It may be said that there 

 is no mortality of females on the islands before the pelagic sealing begins, 

 as there certainly would be if the seals were in anywise diseased. 



No recognized enemies were observed about the islands, with the 

 exception of two killer whales. These I observed for a short time in 

 front of Ketavie rookery, but they appeared only once. The imperfec- 

 tions which one finds among the seals are all such as have their origin 

 in wounds received during combats or result from falling or jumping 

 from high places on rocky ground. 



REMEDIES FOR THE DECREASE. 



If it be true that the present shrinkage of the rookeries is due to 

 human interference, as I believe it is, the simplest and most efl'ectual 

 remedy would, of course, consist in stopping for a term of years all 

 sealing operations of whatever character and wherever prosecuted. It 

 is certain that no harm could result to the seal herds from this pro- 

 ceeding, and even if the proposition that the decrease is due to human 

 interference should not be sustained (improbable as that may be), the 

 experiment would be worth all it might cost. It may be deemed, per- 

 haps, that the application of tliis remedy is impracticable for reasons 

 of state, as well as on account of the injustice to those persons who have 

 money invested in ai)paratus of thelishery. If the present international 

 situation is such that no change covering the whole fishery can be made, 

 it is useless to consider the subject of direct remedies. 



It is not within my i)rovince to decide whether such a cessation of all 

 sealing oi)erations can or can not be brought about. Taking it for 

 granted tiiat it can not, 1 may mention two plans, in the nature of indi- 

 rect remedies, which seem tome worthy of consideration. One of these 



