INVESTIGATION OF THE FUB-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 679 



Mr. Clark. I say not, because the stars are here. If there were no stars, I would 

 say that it might be unintentional. 

 "Mr. Elliott. It is sensibly omitted, and for good reasons. 



The fact that I had direct evidence from the sons of the men who 

 had killed those pups (4-months-old pups), between 1808-1847, 

 which evidence declared that they never killed the female pups — 

 always separated them from the males just as I saw them separate 

 over 9,000 of them in November, 1872, and that they also verified 

 the separation of the yearlings — the females from the males, as stated 

 by Veniaminov, caused me to omit it in this statement here, just as 

 I did from my own version of it, published in 1875. 



These self-evident salient, and fairly absurd errors of Veniaminov 

 are itemized in the following order, as they are all published by- 

 Jordan and are duly cited as follows, to wit: 



1. Page 219: Fur Seal Investigations: 1896, 1897, part 3: 1898; 

 Yeniaminov says; 



Kotiki are the young males and females from four months to a year old, including 

 those born in the spring and killed in the fall. It is the furry pelt of these which 

 is the most highly valuable. 



As no pups are " born in the spring," the nonsense of this is declared. 

 In fact the term "Kotik," or "Kautig,*' is given to the little black 

 pups born in June and July; then when later, in early October, they 

 have changed their natal coats to one of gray hair and light under 

 wool or fur, they are called "gray pups." This is the class of pups- 

 which the natives annually killed for food in October and Novem- 

 ber, always separating the females from the males; the latter only, 

 being slaughtered. The skins of these "gray pups," were either 

 tanned by the natives and sewed up into blankets, rugs, etc., or else 

 baled in "parchment," they were never used in the outside trade 

 of the Russian-American Co., except as they were given to the 

 employees at the different stations in the territory for domestic use. 

 These skins were never shipped out of Alaska by the Russian-- Ameri- 

 can Co., as fur-seal skins for their trade, or used by it with British 

 or American traders who visited Sitka and Kodiak. 



The fact that these little gray pup skins never have had any com- 

 mercial value, and never can have, on account of the fluffy under- 

 wool or fur, makes this error of Veniaminov's account self evident, 

 as above quoted. 



Veniaminov says: 2, page 220: 



* * * Each harem is separated from all others by a space which is not " allowed 

 to be intruded upon by any outsider." 



This is just the reverse of the normal condition when & very con- 

 siderable number of breeding seals are assembled on any rookery. 

 They are massed together without lines of division. 



Veniaminov says (3, p. 220) : 



Nor do they arrive all at the same time, but gradually and singly, not all being 

 assembled by the middle of June, as there are instances of yearlings having arrived as, 

 late as July. When gathered in bands these young fur seals keep up a constant calling 

 day and night, particularly, as has been observed, before bad weather. 



This idea of the "gradual" and "single" arrival of the seals is sim- 

 ply nonsense. They haul out after June 14 annually, in great waves 

 or large bands. Veniaminov is right, however, in saying that they 

 have practically all assembled by the "middle of June," or 1st to 4th 



