156 TESTIMONY RELATING TO ST. PAUL ISLAND. 



tliiii.ij to prevent the iimnediate conversiou of the entire herd into mar- 

 ketable skins, and so into eash, Avas the limit of the catch im[>osed by 

 the terms of lease, unless, that limit being- removed, the inhabitants 

 were possessed of foresight and jtublic spirit enough to preserve the 

 herd for their own future profit or the future public good. 



The seal has many traits of a domestic animal, and his birthi)lace is 



so certain a home for him that, in its habitable season, 

 ^^Dmncstic uature of j,^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ j^^g^^ ^^ ljg liuuted, but cau be found there 



as regularly as a farmer's cattle at night. To me it 

 seems a jiity to wastefully destroy his useful race when x^asturiug in 

 the great oceanic international common. 



Setii M. Washburn. 



Subscribed and sworu to at Bethel, Vt., this 13tli day of June, A. J). 

 1802, before me, 

 [L. s.] Ci UY Wilson, 



Notary riibliG. 



