DISADVANTAGES OF WHITE HUNTERS. 



305 



had been thrown overboard many rejected specimens, among which were a number of 

 macruri, which woukl be apt to float for some time at or near the surface if not molested. 



It has been claimed that seals will not eat dead fish, but this is a mistake, for the 

 writer has seen theui devour salmon that had been dead several days. 



Surface fishes, and especially squid, seem to be the natural food of the seal. In 

 the stomachs that have been examined a variety of material was found, such as pieces 

 of Alaskan pollock, salmon, and other fishes, but it has also been observed that in 

 localities where squid are plentiful very little other food may be looked for. I am 

 informed by hunters that on the coast of Japan and off the Commander Islands squid 

 occur in great abundance, and that it is not an lancommon sight to see a half dozen or 

 more seals together feeding on the tentacles of octopus floating on the surface. Sealers 

 usually find squid plentiful off the island of Kadiak, and in that locality they have 

 often been found in large quantities in the stomachs of the seals. 



WHITE HUNTERS AT A DISADVANTAGE. 



The white hunters on the Dora Sieiverd did not have the same opportunity ot 

 getting seals as the Indians for several reasons, one of which was that, as a rule, they 

 were the last to leave the vessel in the morning and the first to return at night. They 

 were expected to hoist out all the canoes, and in the evening to hoist them in again, 

 stow them away, and lash them. Indians are useless in this kind of work, and upon 

 their arrival alongside their duties have ended, as the skinning of the seals devolves 

 upon the steersmen. 



The Indians, therefore, had every advantage in respect to hunting. On leaving 

 a vessel the boats nearly always form a line so that each will have a clear space to 

 windward. When all the boats start out together they are all on an equal footing; 

 but when one or two boats, as was the case with our white hunters, are obliged to 

 follow in the rear of others, their chance of seeing many seals is greatly lessened, for 

 they are hunting in water already passed over, but the situation improves as the boats 

 become more widely separated. Sometimes, also, a sudden change of wind favors the 

 last boats to go out and places theui to windward, a coveted position which they could 

 not otherwise have secured, a windward position being always considered the best. 

 In perfectly calm weather one position is as good as another. 



Record of the position of the vessel and of the catch of fur seals each day hy the sealing schooner Dora Siewerd 

 during a cruise in Bering Sea in August and September, 1895, showing also the number of each sex taken 

 daily as entered in the official log of the vessel. 



1895. 



Lat. N. ■ 



Long. W. 



Males. 



Fe- 

 Diales. 



Total. 



1895. 



Lat. N. 



Long. W. 



Males. 



Fe- 

 males. 



Total. 





O ' 



54 28 

 54 41 

 54 43 

 54 37 

 54 42 



54 58 



55 10 

 55 02 

 55 03 

 55 08 



o / 

 167 08 

 167 51 

 167 



167 20 

 167 43 

 167 31 

 167 40 

 167 48 

 167 45 

 167 40 



36 



26 



7 



8 



14 



18 



29 



6 



14 



48 



(a) 



38 



1 



2 



44 



26 



6 

 19 

 6 

 8 

 

 55 



42 

 45 

 13 

 16 

 20 

 73 



Aug.22 



24 



26 



27 



28 



31 



Sept. 1 



2 



8 



9 



10 



15 



20 



O ' 



55 06 

 55 26 

 55 15 

 55 08 

 55 06 

 55 02 

 55 28 



55 25 



56 32 

 55 51 

 55 55 

 55 18 

 54 36 



o / 

 168 38 

 168 30 

 171 55 



171 45 

 170 43 

 170 10 

 170 26 



170 50 



172 50 



171 56 

 171 45 

 170 06 

 167 33 



20 



10 



74 



68 



28 



5 



191 



6 



4 

 5 



16 

 5 



24 



U 



83 



78 



29 



6 



145 



4 



3 



5 



12 



8 



5 



44 



2 



21 



3 



157 



4 



146 



9 



57 



10 



n 



11 



60 i 89 



9 15 



16 30 



51 99 



(a) 12 

 47 85 



1 2 



2 4 

 67 ] 111 

 43 1 6B 



336 



12 



10 



14 



10 



15 



9 



15 



17 



17 



18 



55 15 



55' 21 



54 56 



55 15 

 55 28 



168 30 

 168 32 

 168 



168 15 

 168 05 



24 

 10 



19 





20 ... 



Total 







756 



809 



1,577 



21 

























a On August 15 a canoe went astray, but afterwards returned, bringing in 12 skins, of which the sexes were not 

 detei-mined. , 



5947— PT 3- 



-20 



