TAKEN IN OR NEAR DIXON ENTRANCE. 279 



Deposition of William Duncan, resident of New MetlaMhtla. 



PELAaiC SEALING. 



William Duncan, bein^ duly sworn, deposes and says: I am GO years 

 of ai^e; I have resided in British Columbia thirty years and at JSew 

 Metiakahtla live years, and have always been with the ^^^^^.^^,^_ 

 Tsimshean Indians, both in British Columbia and 

 Alaska The Tsimsheans are great hunters of fur-seal, ihe incUans 

 Mt their homes in March and remained away until May. Their hunt- 

 in riodies were on some small islands outside of Dundas Island. 

 From what they tell me the majority of seals taken ^^.^^.^^ ^^^^^ 

 bv them have been females with young, ihe Indians pvegnant females. 

 reDort to me that the seal are very much scarcer 

 SLTthey were in former years, and I know tl^^* f %,f ^^J ^^^"^f 

 in as many skins as they did in former years, although skms are 

 bringing a much better price than they used to. I ^^^ ^^^^ .^ 



have never known of any fur-seal pups beri.g born ^«ter. 

 in the water or on the hind in British Columbia 

 or Alaska, but have heard they are born on the Pribilof Islands. 

 The Indians have always reported to me when they re- ^ ,^^ 

 turned from hunting that the seal had all gone north 

 to have their young. I have never known or heara of any fur-seal 

 hauling up on the land in British Columbia or Alaska d„ j.ot haul up ou 

 outside of the Pribilof Islands. My connections with --t outside of Prib- 

 the Indians have been such that had there been a fur- 

 seal rookery in British Columbia or Alaska i certainly should have 

 known it. The Indians have always hunted seal with a shotgun, 

 and I am sorry to say that they have killed a great many more than 

 they secured. There can be but one cause for the ^^^.^^^,^^,^^,^^,,,. 

 scarcity of seal, and that is the indiscriminate kiUmg ^^g. 

 of them in the water, and unless that is stopped the 

 seal must soon be exterminated. The sea-otter, which were plentiful 

 on this coast at one time, are now scarcely seen at all, p,,,^,,^ 

 and the indiscriminate slaughter of them m the water 

 has almost entirely exterminated the animal. Some few remain in the 

 far north, but they are very hard to secure. t^ ^ . . 



William Duncan. 



Subscribed and sworn to before me this 10th day of May, 1892. 



A. W. Lavender, 

 United States Treasury Agent. 



Deposition of Eclion, sealer. 



pelagic sealing. 



Echon, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Am about 50 years old 

 and was born at Shakan. Have lived there all my ^^^^^^^^^ 

 life. Am a hunter by occupation. Have hunted seal 

 in the summer time and land game in the winter. Have hunted seal 

 off Prince of Wales Island in the spring. In former years I used 

 to catch seal with a hook by paddhng up close to them when they 

 were sound asleep and hooking them. Can't use the hook now, as the 

 seal have become very wUd since they are hunted so much by schooners. 



