EELATING TO PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 31 



Deposition of Capt. John A. Henriqucs, U. S. Revenue Marine. 

 rookeries on rribilof islands. 



District of Columbia, 



Ciiy of WasJii)i{/to7i, ss: 

 John A. Hcnriques, of New London, Conn., being (Inly sworn, deposes 

 and says: I am 05 years of age, and a captain in the ^. , „ 



TT c-i tS -mt ■ 111 • ^1 • Lincoln, 1869. 



U. S. Kevenue Marine, and have been m the service 

 for twenty-nine years. In the fall of 1808 I was ordered to Sitka 

 and in the spring of 1809 received instrnctions to proceed at once 

 with the revenue steamer Lincoln to Bering Sea in order to pro- 

 tect the seal life from depredations, information having been received 

 that seal-skins liad been taken from tlie Pnbilof Ishmds by unauthorized 

 persons during the previous season. On the 4tb of 

 May, 1809, Heft Sitka for Kodiakj on the 13th of May laklnX^m topro' 

 I left Kodiak pursuant to orders, with 14 men of the t^^/ggo ■'■'•'* "" islands 

 Second Artillery and the commissioned ofii( er. Lieu-" 

 tenant Mast. Thence proceeded to the Pribih)f islands, touching at 

 Unalaska. On May 22nd, I landed a portion of the troops and Lieuten- 

 ant Barnes, of the revenue service, with rations and stores, on St. I'anl 

 Island, one of the Pribilof group. The troops were here landed for the 

 purpose ot enforcing the United States statute providing for the pro- 

 tection of seal life. Lieutenant Barnes had charge of St. Paul Island, 

 and no seals were allowed to be killed, except a sufficieut number for 

 the food of the natives, and these were to be killed only under the 

 direction of said Lieutenant Barnes. 



After landing I called the natives together, and through an inter- 

 preter informed them of the purport of the orders and directions of the 

 Treasury Department in relation to the island, and the natives readily 

 agreed 'to follow such instructions. I had heard from the natives that 

 seals were very timid, and thereupon ordered all tlie dogs on the island 

 to be killed, which order was executed within ten minutes after it was 

 given. I further asked the natives to surrender all lirearms in their 

 possession until the close of the sealing season, so- that the sound of 

 the tiring of the same might not disturb the seals; this also they im- 

 mediately did. During the time I was on the island I particularly 

 noticed the care that the natives took not to disturb the seal rookeries, 

 even warning some of our party from the use of tobacco in any form 

 in the neighborhood of such rookeries. On May 24th I landed Lieu- 

 tenant Henderson, of the Eevenue Marine, on St. George Island with 

 the remainder of the troops, their stores and equipments. Lieutenant 

 Henderson was vested with the same authority on St. George Island 

 that Lieutenant Barnes had on St. Paul Island. Here I also had an 

 interview with the natives as on St. Paul Island, and they, too, readily 

 complied with the orders in relation to dogs and the use of lirearms 

 above stated. Every precaution that was jiossible was taken by the 

 Government officers to i)rotect the seal lile on the islands, aud also to 

 prevent the breeding rookeries from being disturbed in anyway. While 

 in Bering Sea during the summer of 1809, 1 never saw 

 a vessel sealing about the islands or anywhere in the iu'^^Berillg'^sea^'i'^ 

 sea, nor did I hear any report of the presence of such is^o. 

 sealing vessels in those waters. j ^_ Henriques, 



Captain, U. S. E. M. 



Subscribed and sworn to before me this 7th day of April, 1892. 



[SEAL.] Geo. Y. Coffin, 



Notary I'ublic in and for the District of Colutnhia. 



