RELATING TO FUR-SEALS AND SEALSKIN INDUSTRY. 361 



they were unloaded. Eacli cask was there headed, marked as to its 

 weight and the number of skins it contained (two skins being allowed to 

 each bundle), and then taken directly to the railroad station and shipped 

 to London. 



On the arrival of my vessel at the port of San Francisco several 

 bundles of skins were regularly opened to inspect the 

 manner in which they were packed. I never saw more sld ^ s e fn r a bundle tw ° 

 than two skins in a bundle, nor do I believe that it 

 would be possible to put more than two skins in a bundle in such a 

 manner that the fact would not be evident to the most casual observer. 

 I never saw a bundle among almost two millions such, which my vessel 

 has carried, which I believe contained more than two skins. I have in 

 a few cases seen only one large skiu in a bundle, but this was in all 

 cases done by the natives, who were paid so much for each bundle which 

 they tied up, and thus increased their pay slightly. None of the bun- 

 dles were ever opened on board ship, except in a few instances a bundle 

 becoming loose it became necessary to rebundle them, but all the bun- 

 dles so opened contained only two skins, and only two skins were put 

 in a bundle when they were again tied up. 



Prior to 1876 all skins were either transferred to another vessel in 

 the harbor of Unalaska, landed at said port or at San ^ „ „ . . 



■n c*. ,, , ; ,. ,, _f> j? i Transfer of skins 



Francisco. Since that time all my cargo of fur-seal from company's 

 skins have been landed at the wharf in San Francisco, steamer 

 and in all cases such transfer or landing was made under the supervi- 

 sion and direction of a United States custom-house officer. No sealskin 

 was ever transferred to any other vessel from my vessel anywhere, ex- 

 cepting in the port of Unalaska, as aforesaid. No seal-skin was ever 

 landed at any other point or points than Unalaska and San Francisco, 

 as above stated ; and all sealskins ever transferred or landed from my 

 vessel were so transferred or landed under the direct supervision of 

 the customs authorities of the United States. 



I would further state that never during any one year of the period 

 from 1870 to 1889, inclusive, did I, to my knowledge or Klimber of k - 

 belief, bring away from said Pribilof Islands over one brought e Iway &om 

 hundred thousand fur-seal skins, and in some years the islantls - 

 quota was short several thousands of reaching said number. 



M. C. Ersrtne. 



Subscribed and sworn to before me this 15th day of November, A. 

 D. 1892. 



[seal.] Clement Bennett, 



Notary Public. 



Deposition of Walter H. Ferguson, master mariner. 



State of California, 



City and County of San Francisco, ss: 



Captain Walter H. Ferguson, of San Francisco, being duly sworn, 

 deposes and says : 



I have followed the sea as a profession for twenty years 

 and have been master of a vessel for seven years. I have Ex P enence - 

 made two voyages to Alaskan waters, one on the Russian and one on 

 the American side. For the last six years I have made a careful study 

 as to the location of the winter resort of the Alaskan fur- 

 seal herd, my object being to lit out a vessel and make a AisSk^K^d. ' 

 catch of seal during the winter months. In order to lo- 

 cate the winter resort during these six years I examined several logs 



