RELATING TO THE RUSSIAN SEAL ISLANDS. 195 



the service of ITutcliiuson, Kohl & Co., lessees from liiissia of the right 

 to take seals u])oii the Coiniiiaiider Islaiuls, and was placed in charge 

 of Copper Iwsland, of this group, and so remained constantlyfor ten years, 

 until 1881, without once leaving my post of duty. In this position the 

 habits of the seals, the condition of the rookeries, the best methods of 

 obtaining seal-skins for market, and, in general, everything in and about 

 the business of my employers on the island, received my careful and 

 constant attention. 



The management of the sealeries upon Copper Island, under Ilnssian 

 occupation, was left wholly to the native chiefs and ignorant laborers 

 of the Eussian-American Company. The worlc of kill- 

 ing the seals and curing the skins was done by them in eudn""kinT'^''' ^^^ 

 a very unsystematic, careless way; but even then it was """""^ 

 understood that, as the seals are polygamous, the surest way to secui'C an 

 increase of the herd was to kill off surplus males and spare the females, 

 and this was systematically practiced, resulting, as far as I am aware, 

 most satisfactorily. After the exx)iration of the franchise of the Rus- 

 sian American Company, in 18671 think it was, and their abandonment 

 of the island and the execution of the lease to Hutchinson, Kohl & Co., 

 in 1871, several different parties visited the island, 

 killed seals inj ndiciously, and inflicted great inj ury upon and'mV'''*^^**''" ^^"^ 

 the rookeries. They were restrained to some extent by 

 the natives from indiscriminate slaughter, but I have no doubt they killed 

 more male seals than they ought to have done, and perhaps also some 

 females. Upon my arrival at the island, in 1871, the na- 

 tive chief told me that the seals were not as plentiful as ^''''''''' "^ *" ^^^^• 

 thej^ had been formerly. I announced that we intended to secure 6,000 

 skins that year. They protested that it was too many, and begged that 

 a smaller number be killed for one year at least. We, however, got the 

 6,000 skins as proposed, and an almost constantly in- 

 creasing number in every subsequent year as long as I ^g^J^^"^ secured in 

 stayed on the islands, until in 1880 the rookeries had so 

 developed that about 30,01)0 skins were taken, without in the least in- 

 juring them. This is proved by the fact that the in- 

 crease for the next ten years allowed still larger num- taSn'^^,p''^t^ iggo™^^"" 

 bers to be killed, amounting, I think, in one of the 

 years of the second decade of the lease to about 40,000 skins. 



In order to secure uniformity in the methods pursued, respectively, 

 upon the Pribilof Group and Commander Islands the. uniformity in mcth- 

 respective lessees of the two interests sent Capt. Dan- oria on Pribiiof and 

 iel Webster, an expert sealer of jnany years' experience Commander island.. 

 in the business, and who was at the time in the service of the Alaska 

 ('Ommercial Company at St. Paul Island, to assist and instruct me 

 through the summer of 1874 in the best manner of handling seal droves, 

 salting skins, and, generally, in the conduct of the business. In work- 

 ing under his direction I found that tlie methods pursued by the re- 

 spective parties upon the differerent sealeries did not differ in any 

 essential feature. The main object in both places was to select good 

 sldns for market and spare all female seals and enough vigorous bulls 

 to serve them. When the supply of bulls is more than enough I have 

 no doubt the number of offspring is diminished. The 

 bulls, when overnumerous, light savagely for the pos- je^^^f ''^ °^ ^"^^*'' ^'^' 

 session of the cow seals and unintentionally destroy 

 many young in their conflicts. The healthiest condition of a rookery 

 is, no doubt, when, under the laws of polygamous reproduction for thiH 

 species, the proportion of the sexes is jjroperly balanced. I believe one 



