WINTER HABITAT THEORY. 103 



Capt. Kelley, one of the witnesses whose testi- Testimony in op- 



x " position. 



mony is submitted with the Report (p. 219), states 

 that he has sealed south of Cape Flattery "and 

 has followed the seals all along the coasts of Brit- 

 ish Columbia to Bering Sea" (p. 219, Question 3). 

 Capt. Petit also makes the same statement (p. 

 220, Question 5). It is evident from these state- 

 ments that sealing below the area termed "winter 

 habitat" in the Report was a matter of common 

 occurrence, and not unusual, as would be inferred 

 from the chart heretofore referred to. This is 

 also supported by the statement of every witness 

 whose deposition is submitted with the Report 

 and who was questioned on this point (pp. 231, 

 237). 



A quantity of testimony may also be found in 

 the Case of the United States proving that sealing 

 begins off the Californian coast. 1 The Commis- 

 sioners state that "it would appear no large 

 catches have been recorded south of the Columbia 

 River, and much of what has been classed in the 

 returns as 'south coast catch' has been obtained 

 off the entrance of the Straits of Fuca" (Sec. 

 190). This statement is entirely unsupported by 

 evidence of any sort, and seems to have been ad- 

 vanced for the sole purpose of establishing the 

 "winter habitat" theory. It may also be noted in 



Appendix to Case of the United States, Vol. II, pp. 330, 331, 

 344, 346, etc. 



