Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1889-09-12

q uennlIe ptcpOsttlon, TO deSerluD some OF
the conditions OF seal life; and for this
purpose 1t IL believed that Il concise state.
msnt as to that part of the life of the seal
which is spont In Bshring SEA- will be sri.
flcient.
All those who have made study OF the
seals In Behring Ssa are agreed thar, on an
average, from five to six months, that IL to
say, from the middle or towards the end OF
spring till the middle or end OF October,
are spent by them In those waters ln breed
ing and In rearing their young. During |
this time they have their rookerles on the |
Islands OF 1t. Paul and s.. George, which |
constitute the Pribyloff group and belong |
to the United States aud on the Com |
msnder Islands, which belong to Russia.
But the number OF animals resortinR to the
latter group 10 small IN comparison with
that resorting to the former. The rest OF
the yeas they are supposed to spend in the
open sea south OF the Aleutlan Islands,
Their migration northward, which has
been stated as taking place during the
spring aud till the miidle of june IL made
through ths numerous passes IN the long
chain OF the AleuttAn Islands. above which
the courses OF their travel converge chiefly
to the Pribyiof group. During this mtgra-
tion this female SEALS are 50 advanced In
pregnancy that they generally give birth to
theit young, which are commonly called
pups, within two weeks after reaching the
EOuAbEibs. B5tWstn inc lllnb OF tue DlTIH
OF the pups and of the emigration of the
seals from the Islands In the autumn the
females arc occupied In euckling their
young aud by far tho largest part of tho
seals found at Il distaucs from the islands
Ia Bthrlng S1a during the summer and early
autumn are females ia search OF food,
WHICH ls made doubly necessary to enabio
them to su9kio ttle!r young as we'll as to
support condition OF renewed pregnancy,
wn'Gl begins Ia u week or little more
after their delivery.
2'De malt seals, or bulls. as they are COM
monty called, require little food while ON
the ialanos, where they remain guarding
taelr hArems, Watching the roOkarles and
sustaining existence on the large amount
CT blubber which they have secreted bs-
meath their skins and which IL gradually
absorbed during the five or Fix succeeding
months.
Moreover, 1t Is impossible to distinguish
the male from the female sgalS In tho Watet
or pregnant females from those that aIe
not so. Whom the animals ara Killed In the
water With firearms many sink at once and
are never recovered, and some authorities
state that nos moro than one out of three
OF tb6ss So slaughtered Is ever secured.
This may, however, b9 an overestimaid Of
tho nutOber lost.
Il Il taus apparent that to permit the de.
sirIctlon vi thsteais by the use OF hcearns
bDNSgDl OtAl AlAAbhNONohS is1It' 10 III D1DLAuS
SoA would result In the 'peeiY ezrernina
! lion Of the race. There appears D1 no
| difference OF opinion GU this subj sct pmong
| experts. And the fact Ia 81 clearly und
| fJlcluly stated Ia the report of tho inspee-
| Tor of fisheries for British Columbia on the
3lst Of December, 1886, that l will quote
therefrom the following pertinent passage:
| There were killed this year, so far, from
| 10000 10 5O,WO lur-seals, which have been
| taken by schooners from San Francisco and
| Victoria. The greater number were killed IN
| Beilring Sea, and were nearly I'LL COWS Or fe-
| male seals. This enormous catch, with the i'll
crease which will take place when the vessels
| fitting up every year are ready, will, am
| afraid, soon drplete our fur-5eal fishery, and
! ii is great pity that such valuable industry
| Of Thomas M0wnt, Inspector OF Fisheries for
| British Columbia; seasonal papers, Vol ID,
| No. III, y. 96S; Ottawa, lSSi.l
Tho only way OF obviating the lament
able result above predicted appears to be-
by tie United States, Great Britain, ami
other Interested powers taxing concerted
action to prevent their citlzans or subioc;s
from killing fur-seals With firearms or other
destructive weapons, north of 4uo OF noItn
latitude, and between 1872 OF longitude
west and l7Uo oflongtude east from Green
Wioh, during tins period intervening be-
tween April l5tn and November lsr, To
| prevent the killing within Il marine belt u
period would bs Intellectual as preservA-
tive measure. This would clearly De no dur
ing tne approach Of the seals to the ISLANDS.
And after their arrival Tiers such a ll:nit
OF protection would also be- insufficient,
since the rapid progress Of the seals
through the water enables them 10 go greal
distances from the Islands Ia so short u
time that 1t has been calculated that al
ordinary seal could go to the AleutiAu
Islands and back, in all distance of 49,
or 400 miles, Ia less than two days.
Ga the Pibylon Islands themselves,
where the Rllitn. Is vt present uadsr tue
direction OF tho Alaska Commercial Com
pany, which by the terms OF Its contract l:
not permitted to take over 100. 00O skins O
year, no females, pups or old bulls are eve
killed. aud thus tue breeding of the ami
mails is not Int 'tered with. The old bull
are the flrst to reach the Islands, wh3rt
they Il walt the coming OF tho fem lies. A
the young bulls arrive they are driver
away by the old bulls TO the sandy part o
the islands by themselves. And these ar,
the animals chat are driven inland arc
there gilled by clubbing, so tnat the ekin
are not perforated, aud Discrimination /;
exercised in each Case.
, That the extermlaAtion OF the fur-sea'
must soon takt place unless they are pro
tected from destruction. In Bshring Sea 1
; shown by the fats OF this animal III othe
pats OF the world, Ia tue absence OF con
, certed action among ths nations interested
| for its preservation. Formerly many thou
sand OF seals were obtained annually frou
the South Pacific lslands and from tn
, coasts OF Chill and SJnTh Africa. Che
were also common in the Falkland I-land
, and ths adjacent seas. But In thos
, Islands, where hundreds of thousaudE G
skins were formerly oolained, there nav
: been taken, according to best statistic
a slucs 1881 less than l 500 skins. Iu som
/ places tne iniiscriniuare slaughter, espec
. Ally by use of firearms, has In u few year
i resulted in completely breaking up exten
i slve rogketies.
4 AT the present time 1t is estimated tbs
: out OF au aggregate yearly yield OF lS5,UL
seals from all parts OF the globe, Ovt
, 49, 900, or more than two-thitds, are OF
tain6d from toe roOkerler on Tue America
i and Russian Islands III Bahrlny SEA OF ID
remainder, the larger pAEe are tgken
Buurtng S,a, although such taxing, ut lea
Oh su h u slate, IN that quarter, Is a con
. parariyely recent thing. But II the KILN
. OF the fur seal there with tiTeatme, nsts an
other destructive implements were pc
: mitto1 hunters would abandon other and
t lausted places OF png-uit for n = more Pre-
? d GIVE Il ,lds OF Eahring Sea. where exte
) mingtiOn OF this valuable animal Youi
also rapidly eusue.
IT IL manitestiy for the interests of al
. nations thar 80 dsplorable thing shoal
/, not be allowed to occur. AZ has alread
i been stated, on the Pribylotf Islands tn
u government strictly limits the number &
q seals that may be killed nndsr itl uw
Q leaae to an American company; and cit
a zens Of the United States have, during h
. past year. been arrested and 10 America
y vessels se.zed for killing fur-seals
: Bahring SEA.
England, however, has an especial
/ great interest In this matter, IN addition I
NgnI IL. H.. "a
ID determination Of an animal which col
trinmtaa 40 munh To fha gain md nnmfn