The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-04-03

slaughter of this herd of valuable crea-
lures, which are today almost 80 per cent.
females. They are at this writing passing
up the coast by Vancouver's island. OF
those which are now being killed, so per
cent. are heavy with unborn young.
By July 10 the entire herd will be on
two islands in Boring sea, breeding and
nursing th.ir young. The pups are all
born by July 20, and up to November 10
the mother seals are constantly going out
to the ocean fishing banks for food. They
nurse their offspring at intervals of from
one to four days, aad travel in search of
fish fifty to 800 miles away from the is
lands. The fleet entering Bering sea in
July would draw Gordon around the
islands, practically annih:late all the
mothers before the helpless young are
weaned in November, and leave the infant
seals to starve by myriads on the rocks.
While not literally exterminating the
species, the result of this would be TO des-
troy the sealing industry forever. True,
the pelagic sealers would ruin their own
business, but they belong to a class of
people who care only for today and do not
look forward to the morrow.
If Lord Salisbury could see one of these
Canadian sealers thrust his gaff-hook
into the carcass of g nursing female seal
and drag the body over the gunwale into
the boat; If, as this ruthless destroyer
cuts the hide from the animal, he could
watch the milk squirt on which a poor
little family of baby seals depend for SIS.
tenance, how quickly would he cry shame
upon such beastly, barbarous butchsry.
How long would it be before he signed an
agreement with the United States for the
protection of the prosecuted creatures?
1t is most unfortunate that the details of
this inhuman business have not hitherto
been made familiar to the public.
The Indian hunters carried by the sail
ing vessels take an important part In the
chase. They are turned loose on days
when calm weather has succeeded storm.
At such times the seals, which have been
SO tossed about in the water as to have had
no sleep for a considerable period, indulge
in the luxury of sound maps on the ocean
pillows, lying on their backs at the surface
with only their noses and "heels" show
ing. Thus rocked in the cradle of the
deep, they peacefully repose, doubtless en-
joying pleasant dreams, while the savage
in his canoe approaches silently from the
leeward. When within striking distance,
the hunter drives a toggle-headed spear
into the unconscious animal, drags the
prey up to the boat and knocks it on the
head. This method of slaughter, though
not less indiscriminate than that adopted
by the white man, has the advantage that
no seal that is struck is lost
The pelagic sealers have asserted that
the breed of seals hunted off the Straits
of Fuca and Vancouyer's island is not
the same as that of the Pribilof islands,
and that the Alaskan seals frequent more
or less the Russian seal islands on the
other side of Boring sea, seals from the
latter, known as the Commander islands,
sometimes joinining the Pribiiof herd.
As a matter of fact, every seal which jour-
neys through eastern waters of the North
Pacific was born and bred on the Pribilof
islands. Never within historic times
have the animals composing the Pribilof
herd hauled out" to breed anywhere else
than on these islands, which they