INVESTIGATION OP THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 529 



Mr. Clark. Yes, sir; that is, I stated that I helped to brand 1,741 

 and that after my departure from the islands the agent raised that 

 number to between 5,000 or 6,000. 



The Chairman. In what year was that ? 



Mr. Clark. In 1912. 



The Chairman. How old were these seals that were branded ? 



Mr. Clark. Between 2 and 3 months old. 



The Chairman. I think you said how they were branded, but I do 

 not remember it; I do not have the notes. Could you repeat that ? 



Mr. Clark. We drove up the pups in little pods, and then the 

 natives caught the little animals and held them by the sides of the 

 neck or under the ears, and Mr. Marsh and I took red-hot irons and 

 burned a little impression, and imperfect T, on their heads — that is, 

 we drew a line down the forehead between the eyes and another across 

 the top of the head in such a way as not to connect. We heated the 

 irons on a gasoline furnace. 



The Chairman. One mark between the eyes and another on top 

 of the head ? 



Mr. Clark. It was intended to make a rough T. 



The Chairman. It was between the eyes ? 



Mr. Clark. Well, the eyes were far apart, but it came down in the 

 direction of the nose between the eyes. 



The Chairman. And the next year they did not turn up, I believe 

 you said ? 



Mr. Clark. We got a few of them on the Reef, but later on in the 

 fall they came in in larger numbers. 



The Chairman. You say that the one that came back you meas- 

 ured? 



Mr. Clark. Yes, sir; we caught this one that was branded and we 

 measured it. 



The Chairman. What did you say was the length of it ? 



Mr. Clark. 36^ inches. 



The Chairman. For the entire seal ? 



Mr. Clark. From tip of the nose to the root of the tail. 



The Chairman. Then the skin would be how long ? 



Mr. Clark. It would be shorter by as much as the sealer might 

 leave on the nose in skinning. In drawing the knife across the nose 

 there is a patch left there, and on the larger seals it averaged 4 inches 

 in 1912, when we measured and were dealing with the 205 salted 

 skins. 



The Chairman. That was a yearling then ? 



Mr. Clark. Which one? 



The Chairman. The branded one. 



Mr. Clark. Yes, sir; most assuredly, because it had a mark on it 

 and that was an absolute identification. 



The Chairman. Now, Mr. McGuire, you may proceed. 



Mr. McGuire. Did you get through a while ago with your state- 

 ment with respect to the London measurements, do you remember ? 



Mr. Clark. I think so. 



Mr. McGuire. I think you answered all my interrogatories. 



Mr. Clark. I think I did, unless it might be that as a result of the 

 experiment with the salted skins in 1912 — and I want to emphasize 

 this fact — we had to readjust our whole knowledge and assume that 



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