EELATING TO PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 73 



near future, that tbey must be protected iu Bering Sea and in the Kortli 

 Pacific Ocean. Pelagic sealing must be absolutely pro- 

 hibited, because tlie majority of seals killed in this way ^^Pro^'i^'ition ueces 

 are pregnant or milking females, and this is certain to ^'''^^' 

 cause extinction of the species very soon, if continued. If pelngic seal- 

 ing is stopped, and the present regulations enforced on tlie islands, the 

 seal herd will slowly but surely increase again, as they did before 

 pelagic sealing had grown to such proportions as to aflect seal lite. 



J. H. MOULTON. 



Subscribed and sworn to before me, a notary public in and for the 

 District of Columbia, U. S. A., this 10th day of April, 1802. 

 [l. s.] Seyellon a. Brown. 



Deposition of Joseph Murray, Treasury agent 07i the rrihiJ of Islands. 



DECREASE OF HERD. 



Joseph Murray, being duly sworn, deposes and says : I reside at Fort 

 Collins, Colo. ; I am 49 years of age, and I am the first 

 assistant special agent at the seal islands in Bering ^^i'e"*'°<=«- 

 Sea. That in pursuance of Department instructions to me, dated April 

 20, 1880, I proceeded to the seal islands and landed on St. George 

 Island May 31, 1880. That I had charge of that island until July 1, 

 1890, and I was present during the whole of two sealing seasons on the 

 island of St. George. 



That my attention was called to the decrease of seals and the deple- 

 tion of the rookeries at an early date after my arrival, 

 and that I attempted to study the habits and conditions ^''''^'' '^°'' ^^^• 

 and to note the numbers of seal on the several rookeries and hauling 

 grounds, and that the natives and employes of the Alaska Commercial 

 Company were unanimous in their opinions that the seal had been de- 

 creasing steadily and rapidly since 1884, and I reported the fact to 

 Agent Goff, who had found similar conditions existing 

 on St. Paul, and he so reported to the Department and Suggested diminu- 

 suggested that not more than 60,000 seals should be "' '^"°*^ 



taken in any one season in future. 



In pursuance of instructions from Agent Goff I left St. George Island 

 on the 10th of July, 1800, and landed on St. Paul Island on the 20th of 

 the same month, and remained there until August, 1891. During the 

 month of July, 1890, I walked over the rookeries 

 and hauling grounds of St. Paul Island and Agent Diminibiied area of 

 Gofl^ pointed out to me the lines to which iu former iS'"' "'' ^*- ^^""^ 

 years the seals hauled and the large areas which they 

 covered; and then he called my attention to the small strip covered by 

 seals on that date, which was smaller than the year previous. 



Agent Goff stopped the killing of seals by the lessees on and after 

 the 20th of July, 1890, because of the depleted condi- 

 tion of the hauling grounds; and I fully concurred in Killing by lessees 

 his order and action. I spent the seaUng season of ^*°pi'*'''- 

 1891 on St. Paul Island, and pursuant to instructions of Agent Williams, 

 I gave my time and special attention to the study of the condition of 

 the rookeries, both the breeding and grounds. I visited the rookeries 

 daily from the 7th to the 22d of July— during the period when the rook- 



