RELATING TO ANTARCTIC SEALING. 695 



From hundreds of thousands of seals resorting to these islands and 

 coasts, the numbers have been reduced to a few luin- 

 dreds, which seek the land in scattered bands and rush nater'* ^^*^^™" 

 to the sea on the approach of man. 



Manner of sealing. — Wlien I first began sealing in Manner of seaiin 

 1871 these rookeries had not been worked for twenty- ''°*"" ** ^^^ "^' 

 five or thirty years, and the seals had had a chance to increase. The 

 seals were then very tame, and were all killed with clubs. So tame 

 were they you could go around among them like you could among cattle, 

 and at one place they wouldn't get out of the way, so had to be knocked 

 in the head in order to make room to set \\\) a tent. Before 1880, how- 

 ever the seals had become wild from hunting, and we firearm, since isso. 

 had to use guns, kdhng them on tbe rookeries and in 

 the water, wherever we could get at them. 



Waste of life. — We killed everything, old and young, y^^^^^^^f ,;f 

 that we could get in gunshot of, excepting the black 

 pups, whose skins were unmarketable, and most all of these died of 

 starvation, having no means of sustenance, or else were 

 killed by a sort of buzzard, when the mother seals, hav- ^'^'^^'*^'''° "f p»p«- 

 ing been destroyed, were unable to protect them longer. So too these 

 birds ate the carcasses of the dead pups and little traces were to be 

 found of the bodies. The seals in all these localities have been de- 

 stroyed entirely by this indiscriminate killing of old and young, male 

 and female. If the seals in these regions had been protected and only 

 a certain number of "dogs" (young male seals unable to hold theii- 

 positions on the beaches) allowed to be killed, these islands and coasts 

 would be again poimlous with seal life. The seals would certainly not 

 have decreased ahd would have produced an annual supply of skins 

 for all times. 



As it is, however, seals in the Antarctic regions are ^ 

 practically extinct, and I have given up the business praaictuy Vxtinctf^^ 

 as being unprofitable. The whole annual catch for 

 7 vessels has not exceeded 2,600 skins for the last four years. 



Habits. — The "wigs" (the old male seals) are the first seals to arrive 

 on the rookeries; coming about the middle of October. 

 They fight for advantageous places on the beaches and "^'S'" f'^""^^- 

 never leave their positions after once being established. The females 

 or " clap-matches " come a month later and are cap- 

 tured by the " wigs " who get as many as they can take [oowi]'!^'™'**^^®^" 

 care of. We never killed the seals until the females 

 had arrived. When I first went to these regions a "pod" or famUy 

 consisted of a " wig " and 12 or 15 " clap-matches," but 

 this year everything was disorganized and not more "i'ocis" [harems]. 

 than 2 or 3 seals were together; sometimes there being 1 " clap-match" 

 and 2 "wigs." There were in 1891 about as many "wigs" as "clap- 

 matches." This equality of numbers of the sexes on the rookeries is 

 unnatural, as the seals are polygamous. Th« cause of the great falling 

 off in the number of " clap- matches " is we used to kill a dozen females 

 to one male, and so not only the males are in excess but 

 the species has been destroyed by killing the producers. ^J^eniaies principally 

 The pups are born on the rookeries and are unable to 

 swim till six or eight weeks of age. If one gets washed ^"^*' 

 off the rocks before that time it is drowned. A pup born in the water 

 or on the kelp would certainly perish. I don't think a 

 pup is weaned till he is four months old. I am also u^^^^*^ ^*'"*^ '^»- 

 convinced that copulation takes place ou land before 



