294 EXTRACTS FROM VARIOUS PUBLICATIONS. 



the females, in order to propagate the stock. Moreover, this female 

 herd — for, almost invariably, those of the band which had been taken 

 by the Indians were females — are found to have fetuses in them that 

 must necessarily be brought forth in the course of a month or two, 

 which would probably be about the time they would arrive in that far 

 northern region. The Indians unanimously affirm that they come from 

 the south and go to the north. It is quite certain that they do not 

 resort to any islands in or near the strait, or the adjacent coast. As 

 near as can be ascertained, the main body pass by the mouth of the 

 strait during the months of March and April and a part of May, after 

 which comparatively few are seen. Scattering ones, however, remain 

 till the close of summer, as before mentioned. But where these count- 

 less herds of fur-bearing animals resort to in winter seems a mys- 

 tery. All we know is, that at the proper seasons of the year they 

 come on shore plump and fat, the females have their young, and all 

 remain about the land until the little ones are sufficiently matured to 

 migrate. 



EXTRACT FROM VENIAMINOFF'S "NOTES ON THE ISLANDS OF 

 THE UNALASKA DISTRICT." 1 



From the very discovery of the Pribilof Islands up to 1805, that is 

 to say, until the time of General Rezanoff's arrival in America, the 

 killing of seals on both islands was carried on without the least method 

 or economy, because there were many companies, and, consequently, 

 many masters, and every one of them tried to kill as many as possible. 

 But Mr. Rezanoff, seeing that such a management of the industry 

 threatened the final extermination of the seals, gave orders to stop 

 the killing, and in consequence of these orders no seals were killed on 

 these islands in 1806 and 1807, and all the employes were transported 

 to Unalaska. 



In 1808 orders were again given to begin killing them, but circum- 

 stances that year only admitted of their being killed on St. George, 

 and they were not killed on St. Paul until the following year, and even 

 in the fourth year (1810) there was only a half catch there. From the 

 time of these close-times, that is to say from 1808 on the island of St. 

 George and from 1810 on St. Paul, up to 1822, killing was carried on 

 on both islands without the slightest economy and even with extreme 

 recklessness, so that the bulls were killed for their skins, and the 

 females perished by hundreds during the drives and on the way from 

 the rookeries to the slaughtering-places. It was not until 1822 that Mr. 

 Muravieff, the chief manager, gave orders to spare the young seals 

 every year for breeding purposes. But the then manager of the Pribilof 

 Islands, instead of sparing fifty or forty thousand seals, as he should 

 have done, in accordance with Mr. Muravieff 's instructions, did not 

 spare more than eight or ten thousand during a period of four years. 

 Mr. Chistiakoff, who was governor of the colonies after Mr. Muravieff, 

 presuming that, in consequence of the instructions given by Muravieff, 

 the seals on St. Paul had increased in these fouryearsto at least double 

 their former number, and receiving assurances to that effect from the 

 manager of the Pribilof Islands himself, gave instructions to kill 40,000 ; 

 and the new manager of the Pribilof Islands, in 182S, after employing 

 every means to kill as many seals as possible, that is to say, to extermi- 

 nate the seal species, with all his exertions procured scarcely 28,000. 



'Part II, pp, 368-382. 



