TAKEN IN SAN FRANCISCO. 423 



left undisturbed ia tlie waters. From my observation of the metliods 



employed by the open-sea limiters I believe that a very 



large proportion of those killed by them are lost. I ^^Wa«teofiifesoper 



have often heard sealers so express themselves. They 



have said to me that they get only about 1 out of 5 shot or kibed; 



others made the loss still greater. I think the latter statement more 



nearly correct. 



The large decrease of seals in the waters of the ocean and sea must 

 unquestionably be caused by the indiscriminate killing 

 now going on by poaching schooners, and if not dis- .^^^n<i'scnminate kiii- 

 continned, it will most certainly be a matter of a very 

 few years before the seals will be exterminated. I have been for the 

 past twenty -four years and am now employed by the Alaska Commer- 

 cial Company, the former lessees of the seal islands, and my opportu- 

 nity for gathering the facts herein set forth has been of the most favor- 

 able character, both at the seal islands as well as in the Bering Sea. I 

 am not now and never have been in the employ of the present lessees 

 of the seal islands. 



M. C. Erskine. 



Subscribed and sworn to before me this 6th day of April, A. D. 1892. 

 [SEAL.] Clement Bennett, 



Notary Public. 



Deposition of George Fairchild, sealer {ho at- puller). 



pelagic sealing. 



State of California, 



City and County of San Francisco, ss : 

 George Fairchild, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I re^ 

 side in San Francisco. I am a sailor by occupation. 

 I made a sealing voyage to the North Pacitic and xpenence. 

 Bering Sea on the Sadie Clyde, of which Captain ^'"''' ^^^'*"' "'^• 

 Dockerty was master. I was a boat-puller. We sailed from Victoria 

 on the 10th of April, 188S, We went noi-th to the Bering- Sea, sealing- 

 all the way up, and got 110 seals before entering- the sea. Most of 

 them were cows, nearly all of which had pups in them. 

 We took some of the pups alive out of the bodies of p^^g.^^^ ^°^^ '"^ 

 the females. We entered the Bering Sea May 25th, 

 and we got 703 seals in there, the greater quantity of which were fe- 

 males with their breasts full of milk, a fact which I know by reason of 

 having seen the milk flow on the deck when they were being skinned. 

 We had 5 boats on board, each boat having a hunter, ^^^^ 

 boat puller, ^nd steerer. We used shotguns and rifles. 

 We got 1 out of every 5 or 6 that we killed or wounded, caught seals lo-so 

 Wewoundedagreatmany that we did not get. We '""es from islands. 

 caught them from 10 to 50 miles off the seal islands. 



George Fairchild. 



Subscribed and sworn to before me this 13th day of April, A. D. 

 1892. 

 [l. s.] Clement Bennett, 



Notary Fuhlic. 



