120 ALASKA. 



the entire sum of seal-life, as given by them, is 4,100 of all 

 classes ; now, Bishop Veniaminov publishes an authentic record 

 of the killing on these islands from 1817 to 1837, (the time in 

 which he finished his work,) by which it will be seen that in 

 this year of 1835, 4,052 seals were killed and taken ; and if the 

 account of the natives was true, that would leave on the island 

 only 50 for 1836, in which year, however, 4,040 were killed, and 

 in 1837 4,220, and there was a steady increase in the killing 

 by the Kussians up to 1850, when they governed their catch 

 by the market alone. 



This great diminution of the seal-life, setting in at 1817 and 

 running on steadily in decline until 1834, when it began to 

 mend, is well accounted for by Veniaminov's account. From 

 this it will be seen that after greedy Eussian companies on 

 these islands had killed seals for over fifteen years in unknown 

 numbers without causing any great change in the ratio of num- 

 bers, a diminution began gradually to set in, which became 

 obvious in 1817, and attained its maximum in 1834-'35, when 

 hardly a tithe of the former numbers appeared on the ground ; 

 but from that year change in the management, &c., promoted 

 an increase, and they steadily augmented up to their former 

 great numbers, by 185j-'57 reaching a maximum at which they 

 have remained, as far as my investigations throw light on the 

 subject ; a few years more of proper observation on the ground 

 here will settle the matter to the satisfaction of all concerned. 



A variety of reasons have been given for this diminution, 

 but the case is clear that as the animals to be slain were 

 selected at random on the breeding-grounds from males and 

 females, they gradually, in consequence of this incessant mo- 

 lestation, began to shun the islands, seeking some other land, 

 and there breeding, in spite of many natural difficulties; but 

 as soon, however, as the Eussians began to respect the princi- 

 ple of never driving or killing the females, the seals gradually 

 regained their confidence, and finally returned to these islands, 

 the most convenient and best adapted for their occupation in 

 the northern hemisphere. TLis was the reason for their dis- 

 appearance at that time, or they were suffering from the rav- 

 ages of some unknown distemper. 



