APPENDIX TO COUNTER-CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 853 



lies of Indians employed, from 100 to 200 dollars in value for all. This 

 donation is called in Chinook " Cultus Tottach." 



10. That in the last two years a higher figure has been paid to Indians 

 than the above, as well as to white hunters. As high as 6 dollars per 

 skin has been allowed, one-third to vessel, and remainder to the canoe, 

 or 2 dollars per man. 



11. That sealing with Indian hunters is about one-third cheax^er than 

 with white hunters, but a much less number of seals is taken by Indian 

 hunters than white hunters. As a rule, sealing men allow that one boat 

 (white hunters) is equal to two canoes (Indian hunters). The great 

 objection to Indians is their superstition. Often some trivial occur- 

 rence will be construed by them to presage some disaster, and they will 

 abandon the voyage. Once they make uj) their minds to this they will 

 go no further, in fact, in some instances they have destroyed spears and 

 canoes rather than continue the voyage. The seizures in Behring Sea 

 have greatly interfered with the employment of Indians in the sealing- 

 schooners. 



12. That since the year 1888, when I first went into the sealing busi- 

 ness, I have known of only two cases of sealing-schooners being employed 

 in any other pursuit except sealing. One case was that of the "0. H. 

 Tupper," that in the winter and spring of 1889 went to the Sandwich 

 Islands with a submarine cable outfit. I do not think the ^'0. H. 

 Tupper" did any sealing that year at all. 



This year the steam-schooner "Mischief" has been . emi)loyed in the 

 halibut fishery simply as an experiment. These are the only vessels 

 since 1888 that have been out of berth from the time of arrival at the 

 close of one season to opening of the next. As a matter of fact, there 

 is nothing else for the sealing-schooners except sealing. There is no 

 coast trade they can engage in, and deep-sea fishing is so far a failure, 

 owing to the great distance from markets and great cost of transporta- 

 tion. 



13. That, if the sealing business were stopped from any cause, the 

 entire fleet now engaged in that pursuit would be practically valueless. 

 It would cost more to take any one of the fleet to the North Atlantic 

 coast than such schooner would be worth when there. 



14. The cost of building the hull and spars of a fair-class sealing- 

 schooner at Victoria is not less than 125 doDars per ton. Many of those 

 built here cost over that. 



Schooners bought in the east and brought here cost nearly as much, 

 if no accident happen them en route. The class of both vessels and 

 outfits have been greatly improved since 1888, and the capital invested 

 per vessel when ready for sea is now double what it was in 1887. The 

 latest and best firearms are used, and the ammunition used is the best 

 in the market. 



Most of the sealing-boats are copper fastened, strongly built, and first 

 class in every detail. 

 223 15. That, in 1892, sixty- three schooners cleared from British 



Columbia ports for sealing voyages, exclusive of small schooners 

 owned by Indians. Ten of these were seized, and two wrecked and 

 lost. Ojje of the ten seized was an Indian schooner. This year the 

 fleet will number not over fifty-six, including new vessels. 



IG. That the sealing season for Victoria vessels lasts about eight 

 months, four of which are spent on the coast, and four on the Behring 

 Sea cruize. It takes from forty to fifty days' actual sailing to make 

 the trip from the point where the coast sealing closes into Behring Sea 

 and return to Victoria. 



