COUNTER-CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 121 



of the vessel, a boat was lowered and tbe seal was got. The mate 

 also shot them. I dou't know where these seals came from, but am 

 sure that they were fur-seals. I have known fur-seals for nearly 

 twenty years. 



UNIFORMITY OF MIGRATION ROUTES ONLY TRUE IN A 



GENERAL WAY. 



Of the remaining allesatious made in this connection in 

 the case of the United States, andieciteil at the bei>inning 

 of this chapter, some are subsidiary to the general conten- 

 tions dealt with above, while others are treated at greater 

 length in subsequent ]iages. It may here be added, how- 

 ever, that the statement — 



that its [the fur-seal's] course when absent from these islands is uni- c^Ye'^tf'^'g^**^^'' 

 form and contined principally to the waters adjacent to the coast of uu'ited" States 

 the United States, Case, Appendix, 



vol. i, p. 406. 



is one which can only be admitted with considerable modi- British com- 

 fications. As a general proposition, the uniformity of theport*'"°aras.'^26', 

 migration routes of the fur-seal is not questioned, but the -op , . ,, 

 actual routes followed by the seals at sea are largely intiu-enced by locality 

 enced by the abundance of food-fishes, amongst which the^'^^*'^!^ food sup- 

 herring appears to be one of the most imi)ortant, and a ref- 

 erence to any of the published records of herring migra- 

 tions will show iiow erratic and apparently inexplicable 

 these often are. 



The diversity thus met with is quite in accord with that 

 noticed in tlie case of migratory animals generally, and 

 particularly in that of marine animals with great powers of 

 locomotion. 



WINTER HOME OF THE FUR-SEAL IS ADJACENT TO THE 

 COAST OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. 



As to the second part of the above statement, that the 

 course is contined principally to the waters adjacent to the 

 coast of the United States, it must simply be said that it is 

 incorrect. The evidence personally obtained by the Brit- British com- 

 ish Commissioners, clearly shows that the principal winter po^.^^parag. ^^t', 

 habitat or winter home of the fur seal in the ea.^tern part 28. 192, and Map 

 of the North Pacific, lies oft" the coast of the Canadian 

 Province of British Columbia, extending beyond it in lati- 

 tude only for short distances to the north and south. 



STATEMENT THAT SEALS IDENTIFIABLE IN WATER 

 TOTALLY UNSUPPORTED. 



The further statement incorporated in the " Conclusions" united states 

 of the Case of the United States, to the effect— Case, p. 296. 



that at all times, when in the water, the identity of each individual 

 [fur-seal] can be established with certainty, 



is somewhat ambiguous. It would appear, however, 

 140 to mean that the individuals of the assumed Priby- 



loffand Commander "herds" of the United States 

 Case may thus be distinguished. If so, the allegation 

 made, in so far as can be discovered in the case of the 

 United States and its ajipended documents, is unsup- 

 ported by any evidence. 



