TAKEN AT OR NEAR SITKA. 271 



Deposition of Peter TrearsJieit, sealer [master). 



PELAGIC SE'ALING. 



Peter Trearsheit, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 27 

 years old and reside at Sitka. Am by occupation ^^ ^ . 

 a seaman and seal hunter. Have been engaged in ^-^penence. 

 catching seal three seasons. Last season I commanded the sealing 

 schooner Sitka, of Sitka. Took seal along the coast as far as Yakntat. 

 First seal were seen and caught last year oft' Sitka Sound and last 

 year oft" Salisbury Sound in April and May. The ^j^j.^^^-^^ 

 seal are working to westward all the time. Have 'g^"* ^<^"- 

 always used a shotgun to take seal. About GO per cent of the seal shot 

 with shotgun are lost. A much larger per cent are lost when rifle is 

 used. The seals taken by me have been females mostly 

 with pup. Have never killed a bull in my life. A few feSs takor^'"'""* 

 yearlings are taken, all of which are females. The sex 

 of the seal can not be told in the water. Hunters use . indiscriminate kiii- 

 no discrimination and everything in the shape of a seal '""' 

 that comes near the boat is killed. When seal are asleep lying with 

 their heads on the water and are killed, they most always float, but if 

 shot as they put their heads out of water they sink almost immediately. 

 Always shoot a seal in the head when it is possible to do 

 so. Never heard of nor seen pu])S born in the water or la^rbhtiK*"^ °^ ^'^' 

 on the coast of Alaska, outside of Pribilof Islands. 

 Have never seen or heard of seals hauling up on the co^sV"* ''*"^ "^'"^ 

 coast, elsewhere than on the Pribilof Islands. They 

 very seldom come nearer this coast than 20 miles, when advancing north 

 towards Bering Sea. I think if sealing was stopped in 

 Bering Sea that seal would become more plentiful along 

 the coast, and if it is not stopped the herd will soon be destroyed. 



Peter Trearsheit. 



Subscribed and sworn to before me this 8th day of April, 1892. 



A. W. Lavender, 

 United States Treasury Agent. 



Beposition of James Unatajim, sealer. 



PELAGIC SEALING. 



James TJnatajim, being duly sworn, depo.ses and says: I reside 

 in Sitka; am by occupation a seal hunter; have been engaged 

 in that business since I was a small boy. I am 

 now about 38 years old. Have never been in Bering Experience. 

 Sea; have always hunted seal along the coast of Alaska. The seal first 

 make their appearance on this coast oft" Sitka Sound. M^^ratiou 

 They are then advancing up the coast. When I first ^™ '""' 

 began to hunt spear and arrow were used exclusively; the shotgun is 

 now used by the Indian hunters for the same x>urpose in lieu of the 

 spear and arrow. When the spear was used all seal speared were se- 

 cured. About 50 per cent of the seal are lost when shot with shotguns. 

 Whenever I have used a rifle for shooting seal a much larger proportion 

 of those killed have been lost on account of shooting them at a 



