70 TESTIMONY 



aud ill the absence of offensive demon stiatioii on his part quickly 



learn to regard liis proximity with indifference. At no time can they 



be called aggressive animals, but if suddenly attacked and their escape 



shut off', thev will snap and bite viciously. The 



Courage of bulls. ^.^^^.^j^y ^^^^^^ \^,ill defend his harem valieutly, and 



nothing- less than superior physical force on the part of his adver- 

 sary can dispossess him. To test his courage in this respect I have 

 occasionally attacked him with clubs and stones, and, though his 

 family Avere driven off' or deserted him, he still held his ground and suc- 

 cessfully resisted my utmost efforts to expel him from the rookery. 

 Upon their return to the islands in the spring the seals approach the 

 land confidently and their occupancy of the rookeries 

 ^^BuUs return to same jg regular aud Systematic. That the male seal returns 

 year by year to the same familiar spot or ground on 

 the rookeries, when it is possible for him to do so, appears to be prob- 

 able. I have seen this fact demonstrated in certain instances without 

 any possibility of error; and when this is considered, and his well- 

 known systematic and methodic habits are taken into consideration, 

 the theory that such is the prevailing practice, at least among the 

 rookery bulls, seems a most natural and plausible one. 



It is now well established that, outside of the Pribilof group, there 

 are no other islands or grounds in northwest America 

 on^the^s^auds''^' ""^"^ wlicre the seals haul up for breeding purposes. These 

 islands are their natural and j)ermanent home, without 

 which they could not exist. They leave it only when necessity demands 

 and return to it as soon as the climatic conditions make it possible for 

 them to do so. Here they find that protection and supervision indis- 

 pensable to the reproduction of theii' kind and the multiplication of 

 their numbers. 



During my residence on the islands the uative inhabitants were pros- 

 perous and contented. The profits resulting irom the 

 tiveT'^"'"" "^ ''^" l^^or of killing the seals and salting and shipping the 

 skins were not only ample to supply them with the 

 needs of life, but with many of its luxuries. Those who were carefal 

 and provident in tlie matter of their earnings M^ere enabled to and did 

 deposit some portion each year of the same with the Alaska Commercial 

 Company or in the banks of San Francisco. 



The company furnished to each native family, without charge, a com- 

 fortable frame dwelling, employed a physician on each island, and sup- 

 plied medicines and medical attendance gratuitously. It may be said, 

 perhaps, that it was plainly in the inteiest of the company to faithfully 

 carry out all of its obligations designated or implied by the terms of its 

 lease. Such was undoubtedly the fact, but, in justice to the lessees, 

 it should be stated that they always interpreted their contracts in a 

 most liberal spirit, and in many ways exceeded their obligations as far 

 as their treatment of the native people was concerned. 



J. M. Morton. 



Subscribed and sworn to before me this 11th day of May, A. D. 1892. 

 [l. s.] Clement Bennett, 



Notary Public. 



