442 TESTIMONY 



Deposition of H. Harmsen^ sealer [master). 



PELAGIC SEALING. 



IT. Harmsen, having been duly sworn, testified as follows: 

 Mr. Williams : 



Q. What is your name, age, residence and occupation? — A. My 

 name is H. Harmseu; age, 38; residence, San Francisco; occuijation, 

 mariner. 



Q. Are you an American citizen? — A. Yes, sir. 



Q. Have you ever been engaged in the business of catching seals in 

 the Pacific or Bering Sea? — A. Certainly. 



Q. For how long a period? — A. Since 1877. 



Q. Have you been master of vessels thus engaged, or any officer in 

 any oflicial capacity? — A. Yes, sir; since 1880 I have been master. 



Q. Have you any experience as to the habits of the fur-seal? — A. I 

 have been catching a good many of them. I don't know much about 

 their habits. You mean on the coast? 



ai ear on coast Q. Yes ; their general habits ofgoiug and couiiug? — 

 abouTchristaiasand A. Ycs, they generally comc rouudou the coast about a 

 k^vo about middle of y^^Q{^ bcforc Oliristmas and up until abtmt the middle 

 of June, when they leave the coast and go north. 



Q. What time of the year do you generally start out sealing in the 

 Pacific, and up to what time do you continue? — A. We start out about 

 New Year's. 



Q. What time do you come in again? — A. Al)out the middle of Sep- 

 tember or October. 



Q. What time of the year are the seals practically out of the Pacific, 

 having gone to the Bering Sea? — A. About the middle of June. 



Q. According to your experience, what percentage of animals that are 



shot at are actually taken by the boats? — A. That depends a good deal 



, , on the man that shoots them. Some fellows will miss 



Some secure but one „ j.j?^ i l.^ -j-i i. c £> 



out four or five; aver- four out of fivc and another may miss three out of five 

 age, three out of five, j^^^j cripple them. I tMuk on a general average we 

 will get about three out of five. 



Q. Are the seals shot at asleep on the water or awake, usually? — A. 

 Most asleep. 



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

 ing vessels in thelSTorth Pacific and Bering Sea? — A. Cows altogether; 

 nothing but cows. I never caught a bull in my life, and I have got 

 about 10,000 of them. 



Ei lit cr cent of ^* ^^^^'^^ percentage of the cows taken are with 



thosftakerpregDant pups? — A. You cau safcly Say about four-fifths of 



•=°^^- them. You get about 800 out of 1,000 seals. 



No pelagic Mrtb. Q- In your opinion, are any of the pups born in the 



water or anywhere else outside of the sea islands? — A. 



No, sir; I don't think it. 



Q. Have you noticed any decrease in the quantity of animals in the 



last few years ? In other words, do you find them as plenty now in the 



last year or two as you used to? — A. Of course not. 



Decrease. ^pj^^y ^^^ ^^^ g^ plentiful, that is surc. In 1880 we got 



2,100 seals. Now you couldn't get 300 in the same time. 



Q. To what do you attribute this decrease? — A. Too 



^'^'"''' many in the business, I suppose; too many after them. 



Q. Would you attribute it to the killing of the females and thereby 



