The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-10-06
THE RUSH SENT BACK.
Bering Sea Full of Poachers
Who Need Watching.
BRITISH COMMISSIONS RETURN.
They Claim to Have Evidence That the
Mother Seals Do Not Leave the
Rookeries to Feed.

| PoRr TOWNSEND, Oct. Especial. THE
Bering sea feet is returning south for the
! winter.
The British steamer Danube, with the
English sealing commissioners, DIR. Daw-
son and Sir George Baden-Powell aboard,
will reach Victoria tomorrow from Alaska,
with report on the sealing question. The
commissioners killed i've polar bears on
the trip and examined the rookeries.
SAN Francisco, Oct. 5.--A Washington
City special says: Orders were tele-
graphed from the treasury department to-
day for the revenue cutter Rush, now at
San Francisco, to return at once to the
seal islands and remain there until the
last of December. Instructions were sent
to the Rush during the latter part of
August to remain at the seal islands until
further orders, but by some mistake the
orders were not delivered. The fact that
there are many poaching vessels in Bering
sea awaiting an opportunity to take seals
Is well known at the treasury department,
and is the cause of the order sent to the
Rush.
OTTAWA, Ont, Oct. 5.-Word has been
received by the department of marine and
fisheries from Victoria, B. c.. that H. NJ.
>. Pheasant brought news from Boring sea
of the movements of Powell and Dawson,
the British commissioners investigating
the seal fisheries question. They are at
present on board the steamer Danube, and
have been visiting the Commander islands,
In Russian waters, to the west of Boring
sea. They obtained from the Russian au-
thorities 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 the seasons when the
seals are plentiful on st. George, ST. Pau's
and other islands in eastern Boring sea
they are scarce on Commander islands and
vice versa. This season seals were plenti-
full, and at the breeding islands there are
millions of them. At st. Paul ISL
and full half million seals were in sight.
At st. Georges island, however, the num-
Der is not so great. 1t was found by fas-
tening tin clips to the tails of young seals,
that they do not remain in the vicinity of
their native place, but cross from
side to side of Boring sea.
The Pheasant brings report that several
female seals were killed during the
sucking season by the commissioners,
and the seals stomachs were found to con-
tain nothing but little seaweed and
pebbles. This is an important point, and
one on which the commissioners received
special instructions during the last con-
ference at Washington City. Secretary
Blaine held that the most serious reason
for stringent restrictions on taking seals
In Boring sea was that the mothers, 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 shores
of the islands would perish unless the
mother seals protected them. He said the
race of seals would thus soon be exter-
minated.
Sir Charles Upper argued against this,
stating that as a matter of fact the mother
seals never left their young in the suckl-
ing season, during which time the mothers
took no food at all. Secretary Blaine ridi-
culed this idea. as one unheard of in nat
ural history, but Sir Charles pointed out
| that the seal as alternating animal had
store of food on which it could well sub
sist for long time. The report that the
stomachs of the mother seals were found
empty bears out Tupper's statement.
WASHINGTON CRY, Oct. 5.-Lyman E.
Knapp, governor of Alaska, in his annual
report to the secretary of the interior, de-
voted considerable space to the seal
islands and sealing industry. The
most serious difficulty in the matter,
| says he, is the illegitimate slaughter of
females ard young in the open sea. There
| is no doubt that the most valuable in
dustry and fruitful source of national in
| come is in danger. More than 100 ma
raudlng vessels hover about the islands
In Boring sea during the season and large
number of skins are taken. The steamer
Danube made special trip to the North
ern Pacific ocean during the latter part of
June, reaching Victoria on her return on
July g, having OH board nearly $1,000 seal
skins, received from some thirty-fve seal
| ing vessels which it met apparently by
appointment. Those delivering their car
| goes to the Danube were all British vessels.
| The governor estimates the seal illegitim-
ately taken during the small part of last
season at from $4,000 to 10000.