64 FUR-SEAL FISlIElilES OF ALASKA. 



tweeii bim and the water would fight him back for mvading bis terri- 

 tor\'. 



Q. What are the instructions of the company as to the number of seals 

 to be killed on these islands; are you directed to kill any in excess of 

 the (luota ? — A. Most assuredly not. We are instructed in the spring 

 that we shall take so many. 



Q. The agents of the company are instructed not to take any excess 

 of seals over what is allowed by the contract? — A. Not a seal. If they 

 are taken it is a mistake that they do it. The number of seals taken on 

 those islands were never to exceed 100,000. 



Q. What will be the eiiect upon the seal rookeries if this surreptitious 

 and unlawful killing in the Bering tSea is to be permitted ? — A. In my 

 judgment it would eventually exterminate the seal. If you would tell 

 me exactly how far this shall be allowed to go I can give you better in- 

 formation of the tmie it will take to exterminate them. If they are 

 allowed to land there it will take but a short time. 



Q. What number of seals are recovered that are killed in the water? — 

 A. I could not state it as a positive fact, but I should say not over 50 

 per cent. 



Q. Have any seals been killed by unauthorized parties on the Pribylov 

 Islands, to your knowledge? — A. Yes, sir; lean not state the date, be- 

 cause it was several years ago ; but we have had raids on the rookeries 

 several seasons. 



Q. Was a revenue cutter ever in that neighborhood? — A. Yes, sir; 

 there was a schooner's crew landed at Starrie Artille Rookery. We 

 bad watchmen at Zapodnie and East Rookery. Starrie Artille Rook- 

 ery is at the east end of high cliffs, which run 4 or 5 miles to the west 

 end of the island, and we thought it impossible for a vessel to come 

 there without being seen. The boats which landed had left the vessel 

 west of the island and pulled a distance of 8 or 10 miles to tbe rook- 

 ery, landed and killed about GOO seals, I should think. 



Q. About how many white men have you on the island, including 

 the governor and company people? I speak in case of an attack. Sup- 

 pose a buccaneer came with some fifty armed men, how many did you 

 have there who could resist them ? — A. We had seven white men on 

 St. George. 



Q. What protection have you beside these seven men if a buccaneer 

 should come with an armed crew ? — A. Nothing but the natives. A man 

 that was desperate enough to take chances, and knew the situation, I 

 do not think it would be at all a difQcultjob to come and load a schooner. 

 If I wanted to make an outlaw of myself, 1 could take all the skins I 

 want, and not have any trouble at all, for the very reason that I know 

 the points on St. Paul where they take a catch of from 25,000 to 35,000 

 skins, and it is customary there for the native sealers, a gang of about 

 twenty-five or thirty men, to go to the town, 12 miles off, every Satur- 

 day evening to attend divine services on Sunday. They do not return 

 until Monday morning. During that time there are but two white men 

 left. It is true they have telephone connection ; but there is a long, 

 low neck of land, a sand-spit like; it is about a nnle long, and if a 

 crew should land in a fog and cut the telephone connection, why, three 

 men could put those two in a cabin, and wait until the natives came 

 down Monday morning, and hold them up and put them to work load- 

 ing the schooner. 



Q. How many white men bave tbe company at Ooualaska! — A. 

 Some six or eight ; blacksmith, agent, assistant agent, etc. 

 Q. What is tbe condition of tbe natives at Oonalaska compared with 



