St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-06
SEALS ALMOST EXTINCT.
The Worst Reports From Alaska Fully
Confirmed.
P0ACHING MUST BE STOPPED
And Legal Catching Suspended, OF the
Seal Interests of the Government
Will Be Ruined.

Special Telegram
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29.-That the or,
tire number of killabIe seals ON the
Aieutian Islands, which COMPRISE the
only sealing grounds belonging to the
United States. is now less than one
hundred thousand, was the startling III
teillgenee presented to-day to Secre-
tarleS Window and Blame. This in
formation comes from Prof. Henry w.
Elliott, Of the Smithsonian institution.
ana VIII be transmitted by the secretary
OF the treasury i'll special message TO
congress so soon as that body conyenes.
IIoI; Elilott has Just returned from
the fishing grounds.
reports OF special treasury agents
prior 10 1890 had been so conflicting that
congress last summer decided to send a
man to the islands whom they could
trust. George X. Jingle, special agent
unueI the cleveland administration, re-
ported that seals by the millions
swarmed upon the islands. and pooh
p00hed the talk of danger. Charles !
ION. OF West Virginia. later presented
10 secretary Window 4 carefully pre<
pared statement demonstrating tfIat NOT
oIe-tehth OF the seals described in Tin
gle's report came to the island. Now.
Prof. Elliott fully corrobOrates MI. Golf
This fact places Tingle in dueer p0si-
tlon, especially as he is how superin-
tehoeht OF the corporation which Sc
cured the sole right to catch the seals.
Prof. Elliott refuses to talk until his
report has been submitted to congress
but from other sources it is learned that
very crooked work perpetrated during
the Cleveland administration is laid bare
by the professor
The report is backed bv surveys
plates and afidavits, ana will show that
since 1872 the number Of bachelor seals
has been reduced from I.5O0. OtsD to less
than 100000. La fact, Prof. Elliott
doubts very much If enough kiilable
seals remain for next years catch. The
report VIII recommend that the govern
iheht snail desist from its catches for at
least seven years. 1t urges that unless
this IS done the seals will be Absolutely
eXtefminated.
MI. Gof was aDprehensiye as to the
propriety OF taking even $4,000 seals a
year-the number Secretary Window
had specified in his advertisement call
ing for proposals for a new lease of the
seal islands. He suggested that 10000
be the limit.
His advertisement having been made
public, however. Secretary Window de-
clIned, for obvious reasons, to change
the hgures. The lease was awarded
70 the North American Commercial
company, of San Francisco. They
bid s10.25 per skin, the next
highest offer being out S. 10. No
doubt was expressed by any one. unless
by Mr.. G0tf, of the ability of the new
company to get its 10000 skins, and their
manager, ex-SpeciaI Treasury Agent
Tingte, assured his EMPLOYERS that he
would secure 60,000 of the finest skins
that were ever brought down from those
islands.
How false was Mr.. Tingls's prognostf-
Prof. Elliott.
The four resident special treasury
agents who assisted Pref. Elliott. and
The officers of the revenue marine.
twenty-five OF thirty all told, have lit
tie hesitation in expressing themselves.
ana Frof. Elliott seems to indorse their
views. In short, these agents declare
that the sealintereSts Of the government
on the PrIvyloV islands, are to-day on
the verge or speedy and complete exter-
mlnatlon, unless the government orders
ana enforeeS a rest on land and
succeeds in stopping the poaching at
sea. Ihey positively assert that
the point has been reached where
further killing on land and con-
tInued hunting in open waters means
the Immediate ruin of the sealing INFER
ests of the United States. Of course.
the agents of the new corporations
naturally would like to continue killing
next year, even if they get bat a few
thousand seals, for the determination
of the animals in Alaskan waters would
make sealskins correspondingIy more
valuable.
Last year 100000 seals were caught by
the most vigorous and terrific driving
and scraping. This year the same rak-
ing and seraping yielded only 21.OO0 on
both Islands-1G.000 on St. Paul, 1000
on st. George
The old hauling grounds of these isl
ands. which, when Prof. Elliott was
there years ago, were covered with
thousands and tens of thousands of sur
plus young males. are now grass-grnwn
and abandoned. The few Young male
seals caught are taken from the imme-
diate margins of the sealing rookerles
which no sealing gang ever visited IN
the old times