700 APPENDIX TO CODNTER-CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



were of all kinds. When captain of the barque " George," running 

 from China to Victoria, I, on three different trips, noticed seals in about 

 the same locality, but do not now remember the time of year in which 

 they were seen, as no note was taken at the time. After I left the 

 " George" I put Captain Townsend in charge, and he has told me that 

 on two voyages he saw seals in about the same latitude and longitude 

 as that mentioned above; the locality was marked on a chart by him. 



The chart is now on the "Ainoka." Captain O'Leary, of the 

 113 " Ocean Belle," told me that in October last year, when returning 



from sealing near the Commander islands, he found seals very 

 abundant about half way between Cape Kapury and Attn Island. 



(Signed) William Grant. 



Seven hundred seals were taken by "Ocean Belle" in three days at 

 locality mentioned. 



W. G. 

 Victoria, Jime 1, 1892. 



Deposition of Edward Pratt Miner, 



State of Washington, King County, City of Seattle, 

 Edward Pratt Miner, being duly sworn, deposes as follows: 

 I went out sea otter or seal hunting in 1876, when I went sea-otter 

 hunting on the coast of California. Between 1876 and 1878 I was hair- 

 seal hunting on the Santa Barbara Islands. In 1878 I was again sea- 

 otter hunting on the California coast. In 1879 I was not out at all, but 

 in 1880 I was out in the scliooner "Three Sisters," of San Francisco, 

 Captain Beckwith, master. She was chartered by H. Liebes & Co., 

 and was supposed to be going out on a sea-otter and fur-seal hunting 

 expedition, but as a matter of fact all of us who shipped as hunters 

 knew that the vessel had been fitted out for a raid on the rookeries on 

 the Commander Islands. We lowered boats twice on the Alaskan 

 coast on the way north and got one sea-otter, but did no fur-seal hunt- 

 ing. Early in July we started from the Alaskan coast for the Com- 

 mander Islands, and about the middle of the month landed on the west 

 side of Copi^er Island. We landed in the day-time in a fog. There 

 were three boats. We had killed about 800 seals before we were seen, 

 but had taken none of them on board the vessel. A bidarka with 

 natives in it came along then, and we knew that warning would be 

 given to the peoj)le on the island, and we began skinning the seals. 

 In about an hour what appeared to be fifty men came across the island 

 to where we were, and began firing at us with blank cartridges. We 

 started off at once, but when some distance from land began killing 

 seals in the kelp. They then fired on us with bullets, and we went on 

 the schooner. All the skins we got of the seals we killed was 153. 

 Before we made the raid on the seal rookery we had anchored at the 

 north end of Coi)per Island where sea otter are plentiful, and while 

 there a bidarka full of natives came out to us and served a warning on 

 the captain, telling him that he must not hunt within 5 miles of the 

 islands — the miles were, I suppose, meant for Eussian miles. We went 

 from Cop])er Island to the Kurile Islands to look for sea-otter, and after 

 getting one sailed on the 4th August for San Francisco. 



In 1881 I went out on the "Annie Cashman," of San Francisco, on a 

 seal-hunting trip. During April and the early part of May we sealed 



