244 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA.. 



TESTIMONY OF CAPT. CHAELES A. ABBEY. 



Capt. Charles A. Abbey, sworn and examiiied. 

 By tlie Chairman : 



Q. Do you occupy any official position under the Goveruinent? — A. 

 Yes, sir. 



Q. Please state what it is. — A. Captain of the revenue steamer Gal- 

 latin, at Boston. 



Q. In the discharge of your duties as the officer in command of a 

 revenue-cutter, have you at any time been in the waters of Alaska? — 

 A. 1 have. 



Q. State what time you were there and what your observations 

 were. — A. From June, 18SG, until the latter part of August, 1880, 1 was 

 in charge of the revTuue-steamer Coricin for tlie protection of seal life 

 and the lur-seal industry and the Government interests in Alaska gene- 

 rally. 



Q. In that connection give the committee an account of your obser- 

 vations in the exercise of your duties. — A. Well, I was ordered from 

 New York to the west coast to take comma d of the Concin, without 

 any knowledge of where I was to go. Arriving at San Francisco, 1 

 proceeded to Astoria, Oregon, and tliere took charge of her, received 

 mj instructions, and learned her destination. It was to the seal islands 

 for the protection of the fur seal on those islands. I had a chance to 

 study my instructions on the w\ay across. I knew very little about 

 what was to be done, except what 1 had read in the reports of the offi- 

 cers who preceded me, and I had never looked uj) the law previously. 

 In looking the matter up I found I was clothed with sufficient power 

 to do almost anything that 1 might be called upon to do. I found that 

 the law protected all fur-bearing animals in Alaska and the waters 

 thereof. I stopped at Oonalaska for a week and then proceeded toward 

 the seal islands. I fell in with two vessels, I think the first day oat 

 from Oona-laska, in the Bering Sea. Both of them were sealing, but the 

 first one had no boats down when I first saw her. She had a permit for 

 her arms and ammunition. She had a number of seal skins in her hold, 

 but 1 could not claim that she had killed those seals in the liering Sea; 

 consequently I was obliged to let her go. 



During this time I sighted another vessel, with her boats in the water ; 

 they were sealing, but before I reached her they took the boat in. 

 They also had seal skins. I inquired if she had a permit for arms and 

 ammunition, and as she had not I disarmed her, to which the master ob- 

 jected very strenuously. That made no difference, however. He then 

 suggested that he would go over on the Eussian side and pursue his 

 avocation there if I would let him have his arms; but 1 would not do 

 that. The next day I found a vessel within perha])s 20 miles of the 

 southeastern end of St. George Island. He confessed he was sealing, 

 but said he had taken no seal in the Bering Sea. He had no pern)it for 

 his arms and ammunition, so I disarmed him, which was all I could do. 

 I think this fellow afterwards succeeded in getting guns from here and 

 there from other vessels and managed to make son)e sort of a cargo. I 

 then stopped at the islands and cruised about there for some days and 

 heard of no vessels. I did hear that some of tlie Aleuts on the rook- 

 eries had reported that some one had landed there. ])rol)ably from the 

 vessel I had spoken; then I heard that the sealers were off southwest 

 of St, George and I went there. I did not find any and so cruised down 



