APPENDIX TO COUNTER-CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 809 



Taken and declared before me at the city of Victoria, this 29th day 

 of September, 1892. 



[SEAL.] (Signed) D. M. Eberts, 



A Notary Public in and for the Province of British Columbia 



and a Commissioner for taking affidavits to be used 

 in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. 



Declaration of John Kraft. 



Dominion of Canada, 



Province of British Columbia, City of Victoria, 



I, John Kraft, of the city of Victoria, make oatli and say: 



That I have been sealing eight yenrs — three as a hunter — one year 

 on the "Adele," and two years on the "Vancouver Belle." Three years 

 ago I got 213 seals, but did not count those that sank; there were 



very few. 

 183 I did not seal on the coast last year, but went straight to Beh- 



ring Sea; we were soon ordered away, and I got only 28 seals. 

 I did not lose one. This year I got 219, and not more than 4 or 5 were 

 killed by me that sank. When seals are badly wounded, severely enough 

 to die afterwards, we generally get them — nearly always. I saw more 

 seals on the coast this year than ever before, and that is what the other 

 hunters say too. 



1 have seen seals in schools both south along the Washington coast 

 and north on Fairweather Grounds. They are harder to get when in 

 schools. I went over to Copper Island side this year; saw no difference 

 in the seals there, unless it is that they are a little darker. 



It is hard to tell how many males 1 get and how many females, as I 

 never kept count, but I think about half are females; cows with young 

 in them are more on the look-out than others, and all seals on the coast 

 were wilder than I saw them before, and on the Copi)er Island side they 

 were not so wild. I account for this by the fact that seals are more 

 hunted on this side. 



I have seen males and females cohabiting in the water. I have seen 

 seals with shot in them, and believe even with shot in they will live all 

 light. 



1 was last year on the " Borealis," and we were over on the Copper 

 Island side, and landed there in November — at least we tried to land, 

 but the weather was too bad. We then came over to the Pribyloff 

 Islands, and tried to land on St. George, but did not succeed. We then 

 went to the southwest side of St. Paul Island, and lauded there. We 

 got 400 skins ; we saw no one ashore, but saw a cutter while we were 

 anchored under a high bluff'. It was about 2 miles off, anchored near 

 the village. We went right into the bay there, though we saw the cut- 

 ter, for we were bound to get seals. We anchored about 10 o'clock, and 

 lowered boats and went ashore. We left about 4 o'clock in the morn- 

 ing. We clubbed the vseals, and brought them on board without skin- 

 ning them. We got away without being seen, and were out of sight of 

 the island before daylight. We then came straight home. 



Two years ago this coming winter we raided the same rookery in the 

 "Adele," and got 400; we saw neither cutter nor people; we anchored 

 about 9 o'clock, and went away about six o'clock in the morning. No 

 one saw us. We then came back; 400isa fair night's work. Theseals 

 are easily got; we drive them to the edge of the water, and kill them 



