The record-union., 1891-10-06
SEAL FISHERIES QUESTION.
A SERIOUS DIFFICULTY IN THE
MATTER POINTED OUT.
Il1egitimate Slaughter of Females and
Their Young in the
Open Sea.
Special to the RECoRD-US1ox.

Special to the RECoRD-UNIoN.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5. - Lyman T.,
Knapp, Governor of Alaska, in his an
nual report to the Secretary of the Inte-
rior, devotes considerable space to the
seal islands and the seal industry. The
most serious difficulty in the matter,
says the Governor, is the illegitimate
slaughter Of females and their young in
the open sea. There is no doubt that a
most valuable industry and the fruitful
source ofa national income is in danger.
More than one hundred marauding YES
sells are lowering about the islands in
Behring Sea during the season and large
numbers OF skins are taken. The steamer
Danube made special trip to the North
ern Pacific during the latter part of June,
reaching Victoria on the return July 9th
last, having on board nearly $4,000 seal
skins received from thirty-five sealing
vessels, which 1t met apparently by ap-
pointment. Those delivering their car
goes to the Danube were all British YES
sells.
The Governor estimates the number of
seals illegitimately taken during the
small part of last season at from SO, 600 to
60,00O, and the value of the products
Alaska exported during the year was
s., ,042, ,000.
INVESTIGATIONS OF THE BRITISH COM
MISSION.
OTTAWA (Ont.), Oct. 5.-Word was re-
ceived here by the Department of Marine
and Fisheries from Victoria, Il. c., that
III. NJ. S. Pheasant brought news from
Behring Sea OF the movements Of Powell
and Dawson, British Commissioners. in
vestigating the seal fisheries question.
They are at present on board the steamer
Danube, and have been visiting the Com
mander Islands, in Russian waters. to the
west of Behring Sea. They obtained from
the Russian authorities permission to
visit these islands in order to study the
movements of seals, and to discover what
truth there is in the theory that in seasons
when seals are plentiful on st. Georges,
St. Paufs and other islands on the east
ern side of Behring Sea they are scarce
on the Commander Islands, and vice
versa. This season seals were plentiful
AT the breeding islands there are millions
of them. At st. Paul Island fully half n
million seals are in sight. AT st. George
Island, however, the number is not so
great. 1t was found by fastening tin clins
TO the tails of young seals that they do
no remain in the vicinity of their native
place, but cross from side TO side of Behr-
ing Sea.
The Pheasant brings the report that
several female seals were killed during
the sucking season by the commission
ers and their stomachs found to contain
nothing but little seaweed and pebbles.
rms Is an important point, and one on
which the commissioners received special
instructions. During the last conference
in Washington Secretary Blaine held
that the most serious reason for the strin-
gent restrictions on taking seals in Beh-
ring Sea was that the mother seals, which
during the sucking season swan fifty
miles every day TO the feeding grounds
would be taken in great numbers, and
the young seals which they left on the
shore islands would perish unless the
mothers were protected. He said the
race of seals would thus soon be exter-
minated.
Sir Charles Tupper argued against this.
that, as a matter of fact, the mother seals
never left their young in the sucking
season, during which time the mothers
took no food at all. Secretary Blaine rid
iculed this idea as one unheard of in
nautical history, but Sir Charles pointed
out that the seal, as alternating animal
had store of fat on which it could we'll
subsist for long time. The report that
the stomachs of the mother seals were
found empty bears out Tupper's state
ment.
The steamer Danube is expected at
Victoria before the end of the week.