APPENDIX TO COUNTER-CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 607 



63 Subscribed and declared by the said Abel Douglas before me, 



a Kotary Public duly commissioned, and residing and practising 

 at the city of Victoria, in the Province of British Columbia, this 20th 

 day of October, A. D. 1892. 

 [SEAL.] (Signed) Aethue, L. Bblyea, 



A Notary Fublic in and for the Province of British Columbia. 



Declaration of George Roberts, 



Dominion of Canada, 



Province of British Columbia, City of Yictoriay 



I, George Roberts, of the city of Victoria, in the Province of British 

 Columbia, seal hunter, do solemnly declare as follows: 



1. That I have been out in sealing-vessels four years. In 1889 and 

 1890 I was on the "Mary Ellen" as steward; in 1891 I was on the 

 "Teresa" as hunter, and this year, 1892, I was on the "Annie E. 

 Paint" as hunter. 



2. In 1891 I got 232 seals. I lost that year by sinking after being 

 shot not more than seven seals, probably less. In 1892 I got 222 seals, 

 and lost by actual count 5. The other four hunters on the "Annie E. 

 Paint" lost about the same proportion. 



3. That this year I saw more seals on the coast from Cape Blanco 

 north than in any previous year I was out. The greatest number I 

 saw at one place was off Pami)lona Bocks. I saw more seals there this 

 year than I ever saw before at any one time or place. 



4. That all along the coast from Cape Blanco to Middleton Islands I 

 have seen every year I have been out seals in bands from five seals up 

 to hundreds. When in bands seals are very hard to get at. There 

 are always some awake on the watch. They never seem to sleep well 

 in bands. Our best catches are always made when the seals are scat- 

 tered. They are then generally asleep. 



5. I got more male seals this year on the coast than females. I am 

 safe in saying that three seals out of every five I got on the coast were 

 males. About one-half the females I got were with pup, the other half 

 barren cows and young females. On the Asiatic side this year I got 

 100 seals; about half were females in about the same proportions as on 

 the American coast. 



6. That I shoot sleeping seals at from 5 to 15 yards range. I never 

 lost but one seal shot at while sleeping, and that was by going after 

 another seal, and leaving it too long. I shoot travelling seals at from 

 20 to 50 yards range. 1 have never used a rifle. 



7. A few of the female seals I got on the Asiatic coast this year were 

 in milk, but a very few. 



8. That wounded seals, as far as my experience goes, are either cap- 

 tured or live if they escape. I picked up one dead seal in Behring Sea 

 last year. It had been dead about twenty-four hours, and had been 

 shot. I never heard of any one else finding dead seal in the water, 

 and that is the only one I ever saw. 



9. That as a rule the bands of seals are mixed, that is, males and 

 females are together. Sometimes I have shot all males in a band, and 

 sometimes all females, but very seldom. I have never seen more than 

 two or three old bulls ("wigs") on the coast in a season. These were 

 generally alone, and up north about the Fairweather Grounds, 



