TAKEN AT VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA. 339 



Deposition of Thorwal Mathasan, sealer {hoat-jpuller). 



pelagic sealing. 



Dominion of Canada, 



Victoria, British Columbia, ss : 



Thorwal Mathasan, being duly sworn, deposes and says: My name is 

 Thorwal Mathasan; my age is 39 years; occupation, 

 seaman ; I reside at Victoria, British Columbia. I went Expeiieuce. 

 sealing in 1891 in the Oscar and Hattie, Gault, master, 

 asaboat-puller, from Victoria, British Columbia; sealed ^g^*'''**' '*"'' Hattie, 

 up to the last of January; we had six boats and one 

 stern boat, with three men to each boat and two men with the stern 

 boat; we used shotguns and rifles, and sealed along the west coast to 

 the Bering Sea. We caught over 1,000 seals off the catch on coast 

 coast, most all females, and a great number of them had mostly femai*e"?^a 

 young pups in them. We generally tried to kill them great part being preg- 

 while asleep in the water, but fired at everything 

 that come around us. A good many would sink when we shot them 

 and would go down like a stone and were lost, and nearly all the 

 wounded ones would get away. Those that we would kill we would 

 try to get up to them before they would sink and get them with the 

 gaff hook, but we could not get many that way. We ^ t of uf 

 carried two gaff hooks to each boat. It takes anywhere 

 from one to twenty shots on the average to secure a seal, and, I think, 

 we got about three out of five that we killed, but we may not have got 

 as many, for poor hunters wouldn't get more than one out of five. 



Entered Bering Sea in July and was chased out by the cutters. Did 

 not catch any seals in the American waters in the Bering jjgj.i^„ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ 

 Sea, but went over across on the Russian side and enteriug. ^'*' ^^^^ 

 sealed there. The whole catch for that year was about . 

 1,500 seals. Those that we killed on the Russian side "" 



was about in the same proportion as to females as those killed on this 

 side. I know of no place on the coast where the seals g^^j^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ 

 haul upon the land. I think the seals are not so plen- upon coast. 

 tiful on the coast as last year. Decrease. 



I went sealing again on the 28th of January, 1892, in the same ves- 

 sel, Captain Gault. Went down to the Yaquina Bay. 

 On the 17th of February one of our small boats cap- igg^""*'' ""'^ -^""**' 

 sized and we lost the captain, three hunters, and one 

 sailor. We went into the Yaquina and got a new captain and went 

 down to Clayquot and completed our crew and went out sealing again, 

 off' the coast, and returned to Clayquot the forepart of Ai^ril; then 

 I left the vessel. Our whole catch was 33 seals during 

 the voyage the three months we were out. Seals 

 did not seem to be near as plentiful as last year. Decrease. 



Th. Mathasan. 



Subscribed and sworn to before me on this 22d day of April, A. D. 

 1892. 

 [SEAL.] Levi W. Myers, 



United States Consul, 



