166 TESTIMONY 



()l)t ain so slie can nurse lier jm]). She goes on tliesc feeding excursions 

 sonu'timcs, J l)eliev<', 40 or in(»ie miles from tlie islands, and as she swims 

 ■with great rapidity, covers the distan(!e in a short time. She may go 

 much farther, for 1 liave known a coAv to be absent from 

 icmaicsicodiiig. j^^^^. ^^^^^ ^^^. ^^^^^ (lays, Icaviug it without nourishment 

 for this period. This shows how tenacious of life a young seal is, and 

 how long it can live without suvStenance of any sort. The three-year-old 

 male has meanwhile landed on the hauling grounds and is now of the 

 most available age to kill for his pelt. 



When the male reaches the age of seven or eight years he seeks the 

 rookeries, and is then able to maintain his position 

 against his fellows. He has come earlier than formerly 

 to the islands, having arrived in May, and after a little investigation 

 has landed upon the breeding grounds, giving battle to 

 all who endeavor to usurp his place. I have seen 

 twenty cows or more about a bull, but of course the exact number in a 

 harem is a matter of conjecture, as many cows are absent in the water 

 at all times after the season has fairly commenced, I am of the opinion 

 a bull can easily and effectively serve fifty or more cows in a season, 

 and I think at first he will fertilize six to eight a day. From their 

 arrival in May for three or four months the bulls remain constantly 

 upon the rookeries, never leaving their positions and never eating or 

 drinking, and sleeping very little. When they arrive they are enor- 

 mously fat, weighing from 500 to 700 pounds, butMiien they depart in 

 August or September they are very lean and lank. 

 The principal food of the fur seal is fish, which abound in all parts 

 ^^^^^ of Bering Sea, except in the neighborhood of the Pribi- 



lof Islands during the season the seals are on land. I 

 have seen a fish in the mouth of a seal in the water, and have also seen 

 fish in their stomachs when cut open. It is my belief they eat some 

 kelp also 



The above facts in relation to the habits of the fur seals are from my 

 own observations, which have in all cases been corroborated by the 

 natives on the island of St. George, with whom I had many conver- 

 sations in relation to these matters. 



Samuel Falconer. 



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

 District of Columbia, U. S. A., this 19th day of April, 1892. 



Sevellon a. Brown. 



Deposition of Samuel Faleoncr, assistant Treasury a<jent in charge of St. 

 Oeorge Island. 



pribtlof rookeries. 



District of Columbia, 



City of Washington ss : 



Samuel Falconer, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am Gl years 

 of age and am now a wool grower by occupation. My 

 Experience. residcuce is Falconer, ]\IcLean County, State of North 



Dakota. In October, 1870, having been appointed assistant Treas- 

 ury agent for the seal islands in Bering Sea, I proceeded to said 

 islands and from that time uutil Au.nist, 1876, I remained con- 

 stantly in charge of St. George Island, excepting during the winter of 



