TAKEN IN SAN FRANCISCO. 437 



Q. Do you shoot at seals when they are awake or breeching? — A. 

 Yes, sir; when th^ey come within range. 



Q. Of what sex are the seals taken by you or usually killed by hunt- 

 ing vessels in the North Pacific or Bering Sea'^ — A. Principally fe- 

 males. 



Q. What would be your judgment as to the percentage? Out of a 

 hundred that you kill, how many of them would be 

 females?— A. Say I would bring 2,000 seals in here. feSaf"^"''^'^''*"'"* 

 I may have probably about 100 males; that is a large 

 average. 



Q. Lots of times there are not nearly as many ? — A. No, sir ; not near 

 as many. 



Q. AYhat percentage of the- females taken are with pup? — A. That 

 depends on the season yon are killing them in. When they are gettiiig 

 heavy in pap in the latter part of the season, the 1st of June, when 

 you take a seal then you take two for one. You take the pup with 

 them. That is, when it is a female. This is before we go into the sea. 

 I have been into the sea for several years. For the last two years 1 

 have not gone in there; that is, while this restriction act has been put 

 on. I have not interfered with the business. 



Q. Your experience is that all of the adult females that you shoot 

 during the forepart of the season up to July are with 

 pup ?— A. You may take it all the way from April, May, ujS*^^ pregiiant fe- 

 and June; froi 

 are with pup. 



Q. Up until about the 1st of July? — A. Yes, sir. 



Q. Until they go into the Bering Sea? — A. Yes, sir. 



Q. In your opinion, is it feasible that pups can be born in the water 

 and live? — A. I don't believe they can be born in the water at all and 

 live. I have beard several people express themselves 

 differently. 1 think myself it is impossible. Seals poSf ° ^"'^^ ""' 

 have got to haul up on land to breed, and leave their 

 X)ups on shore. 



Q. Do you know any place where these seals go to laud, except the 

 seal islands on the Anic^rican side? — A. No, sir; not any place that I 

 know of. There have been lots of reports of places, 

 but I have been to these places and could not find any j^^f^'^ "i^ °'^'y*''^ ^«- 

 seals there. 



Q% Have you noticed any decrease in the quantity of seals in the last 

 few years over what it was a few years formerly? — A. I have noticed 

 a decrease since I have been in the business; I have Decrease 

 made a catch from 3,500 coming down to 1,500, a little 

 less than one-half. 



Q. You do not consider there are nearly as many seals now as there 

 used to be in the water? — A. No, sir; not now. I have been in the 

 business for ten years, and I think in another ten years there will be a 

 great deal less. 



Q. To what do you attribute this decrease? — A. I think it is on ac- 

 count of killing those female seals when they have pups, and the bus- 

 iness is getting so that so many vessels are going into it, and they are 

 killing those pups off". A seal has not got a chance to go to work aud 

 increase. 



Q. Killing the females, of course, destroys the pup and the female, 

 and makes one less breed? — A. Yes, sir; when you kill the female seal 

 you kill the pup with her. 



Q. Did you ever kill any seals later in the season that were giving 

 milk ? — A. Yes, sir. 



