Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-07-04
THE SEAL POACHERs.
An Experts Opinion to the Operations In
Bering Sea This Year.

now is THE TINE THAT THE SEAL HERD PASSES
INTO BERINa Seattle END OF oPEN-sEA
HosTILITIEs-wHY THE RUSSIAN SIDE WILL
BE VISITED THIS YEAR-THE PROBABLE CATCH.
This is Just the time that the seal herd in
body passes down to the westward and up near
the Aleutian Islands into Bering sea-" said an
official who has had years of experience in
studying the habits of seals to STAR reporter
today. Sup to this time.'' he continued. 'the
great bulk of the fur seal had engaged in feed
ing south Of Kodiak island and the Shoomagin
Islands over a strip OF the North Pacific ocean
some 400 miles east and west and fifty miles
north and south. l am satisfied, too, that it
was in open water that the sealing schooners
have been carrying on their depredations
against the seals thus far and not in Bering
sea. This is shown by the fact that the seizure
of the Coquillau at Port Etches. Prince William
sound, published in saturdays STAR. SIM
ply for violation of the revenue laws and the
twenty-five sealing schoonersfou in that port
were ordered out and not seized. The Coquillan
is a supply vessel and had on board
stores for the sealing feet which is about to fol-
low the seal herd into Boring sea. 1t is the
practice Of the sealers to haul off as soon as the
herd has passed from the open sea into Boring
sea and transship their catch.
II am of the opinion that the majority of the
sealers will then head for the Russian side Of
Boring sea-
IF the fur seals we're as numerous today as
they were in 1872 there might be good reason
for sealer to work in Boring sea before the
opening of July but those animals have been
run down SO in numbers that literally nothing
is left of the herd now but vast majority Of
mother seals or females. and these seals do not
go into Boring sea until the expiration of their
period of CESSATION drives them to the Pribylov
Islands. where they must land to be safely deliv-
cred of their young. But until that time ar
rives they prefer the better fishing grounds Of
the North Pacific ocean south of the Aleutian
passes, the peninsula Of Alaska and Kodiak and
they tarry there as long as they can.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAST YEAR AND
THIS YEAR.
"The present arrangement between Great
Britain and our government is an improvement
upon that Of last year. As it now stands these
sealers can and will be held up at any time in
Boring sea without the formality Of being
warned previously They are all liable to seiz-
ure when first apprehended. Last year they
had the express immunity of getting off scot
free when seized unless it was proven that they
had not been boarded and warned before enter
ing Boring sea or while in it. The sealers have
no such fine loophole for escape this year. and
comparatively few of them will risk run into
Boring this year.
''Six men-of-war. three revenue cutters and
the Albatross all cruising in that area Of a
radius of 200 miles around the Pribylov Islands,
spread out over this field. with the fog rising
and falling over the scene in the most arbitrary
and unexpected manner, what guarantee has a
poaching schooner that after sailing two or
three days or a week in thick weather when
1t suddenly clears up she will not be lying right
under the guns of one Of these police vessels!
THE PoAcHINa pLEET.
hax -
schooners busily engaged in shooting and spear
ing fur seals off Kodiak and the Shoomagins.
and think that they have secured about As. 900
to 81, 900 skins. We will know by the 14th Or
18th of this month, and not until then, the re-
suit Of the seasons catch by these people,
''These vessels, / think will go over into
kamchatkan waters, because Russia is not in
this modus vivendi that We share with Great
Britain; it has been thought queer by some that
Russia has not entered the agreement but things
move very slowly in the circles of 8utocrntic
Russia. and the manner in which public affairs
reach the emperor is one that we do not UNDER
stand over here and very likely would not toll
crate, If practiced. but for q moment.
1.-THE RUSSIAN SEAL ISLANDS
will be exposed to a deadly attack this coming
season, and they will suffer as they have never
suffered before; the result will no doubt stimu-
late the needed activity and interest that is
lacking on the part of Russia, so that il can be
safely predicted. Thus far, since the open
water sealing began in 18S6-S7 to be any kind
OF an extensive business, all the schooners
that could get a chance to enter Ber-
ing sea on our side did so. because our fur seals
wear better skin than their Russian relatives
do. the difference in value being nearly twice
as great in favor of the Alaskan pelts; then.
too, until 1880 the great female hard of the
Pribylov Islands was far more numerous than
that of the Kommandor Islands of Russia. and
the open-water sealers had a better field also
for following the fur seals on the American
side than they have over against Asia.
THE RELATIVE NUMBERS.
but it is very doubtful today whether the
remnant of the Pribylov breeding herd is any
larger than that of the Russian islands. In
1872, when We had exact figures as to the num-
bers of our herd. nothing of the kind was ex-
tant as to those of the kamchatkan side of Ber-
ing sea. Nothing but vague estimates were
given in answer to all queries and these esti-
mates then indicated that the Russian rookeries
were not quite half as large in the aggregate as
those of Alaska. Our herd has, however, drawn
nearly all the fire Of the open water sealing
fleet and has been SO decimated that il is safe to
thing, more densely populated than those which
we are trying SO hard to save on the Pribylov
Islands.
THE CARGOEs OF FUR SEAL SKINS.
IF it were not for the fact that these cargoes
Of fur seal skins which the little schooners CO.
lect must be transhipped 30 to pass over to
London through Canada or the United States
the salvation of the fur-seal herds Of Alaska and
Russia could not be accomplished without draw
ing into convention all the civilized powers Of
the earth. II these cargOes could go down by
way Of Panama or the Suez canal then the
agreement now projected between Great Britain
and ourselves and Russia also would not shut out
a vessel flying the German. the French, Span
ish or Italian flag from the open waters Of Ber-
ing sea. But the simple act of closing Russian.
British and American ports in the north Pacific
to these sealers and making their cargoes liable
to conf:scation is quite enough, for they cannot
go down into tropical waters safely with their
cargoes imperfectly cured az they are only able
to cure them in the bilges Of their small craft
1T may be necessary to call Japan into this
agreement at Paris and the Sandwich Islands,
too, since a German vessel for instance. might
take a cargo of sealskins to Yokohama and there
have them properly cured and sailed and re-
packed in casks, go that these skins could then
be safely shipped via Suez or Panama TO Lon
don. This, however involves q good deal of
delay and extra cost and unless done on nrge
scale it would hardly be undertaken, yet it
could be done, and if done must be headed Off
THE CATCH THIS SEASON.
''The prices Of the raw sealskins will naturally
be high this coming winter. for the catch will
not be much more than $1,000 skins from all