680 INVESTIGATION OF THE EUE-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 



July of our calendar; and that the "yearlings" are there, too, at the 

 same time. 

 Veniaminov says (4, p. 221): 



Sealers are doubtful about the age of the female when she bears her first young, and 

 also in regard to the age generally reached by the fur seals. The first probably takes 

 place in the fifth year, while the age hardly exceeds 25 years. 



Ever since my publication of the fact, in 1874, that the female seal 

 bears her first pup in her third year, there has been no dispute of that 

 by anyone since. I think the male seal lives from 15 to 18 years; the 

 female from 12 to 15 years. I only reason from analogy. 



Veniaminov says (5, p. 221): 



The delivery of the female commences the 30th May (June 10, n. s.) and lasts 

 through the whole of June and even to the 10th July (July 21, n. s.). Usually only 

 one young is born annually, though instances are known, however, of a mother 

 giving birth to two pups, but always paying for it with her life. 



This absurd mingling of truth and fiction needs no further comment. 

 Veniaminov says (6, p. 221): 



The siekatch is able to cover from 15 to 24 females in 24 hours. 



This is an exhibition which no man ever witnessed, and which is 

 utterly absurd. 



Veniaminov says (7, p. 221): 



In spite of the disproportion of their bulk, it never happens that the male crushes 

 the female. But the female of the fur seal will sometimes get crushed when covered 

 by a young sea lion. The result of such intercourse, if she survives, is a hybrid, having 

 the head, feet, and hair of a sea lion, together with the fur of a fur seal. 



The grotesque untruth and nonsense of this description of that 

 crossing of the fur seal with the sea lion is hard to beat. Yet Stejneger 

 who translates this rigamarole, makes no footnote comment on its 

 absurdity as he does to others frequently, which are not so absurd. 

 Of course, Stejneger knows better. 



Veniaminov says (8, p. 221) : 



If one of the pup< stays away longer than 24 hours, the mother will go in search of it. 

 Probably a misinterpretation of the action of cows fresh from sea and looking for 

 their young. — Ed. 



Yes, it is a "misinterpretation," but how about the scores and 

 scores of others in this "account"? Why has no such "editorial" 

 comment by Jordan and Stejneger followed them? 



Veniaminov says (9, p. 222): 



The taking of fur seals commences in the latter days of September. A chilly disa- 

 greeable day is selected for the purpose when the wind is blowing against that quarter 

 where the animals are lying so that they may not discover the approaching sealers. 

 Such weather setting in, the entire gang, old and young, men, women, and children, 

 proceed to the hauling ground of the animals. 



There is not a single line of truth in that description. The positive 

 and absurd untruth of the whole relation — the nonsense of it, should 

 have drawn at least one little "editorial" footnote calling attention 

 to it, but it has not. 



Think for a moment of these facts in the premises. 



First. From the very day of the earliest arrivals of the holluschickie 

 and yearlings, too, in May and June, these natives in Russian times 

 went to work by driving, and killing them, and preparing the skins. 



Second. The Russians never stopped that work as we do in August 

 and September annually because of "stagy " skins when the seals are 

 shedding the hair of their coats then. 



