The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1892-04-21

breeding, and feeding within the limits Of Be
ring Sea.
This migration route of the fur-seal herd Of
Alaska Is now well understood by at least 10l
vessel owners and masters Of sealing schooners
presume, to-day, there are at least 100 to 100
of these craft busily engaged, with their crews
aggregating some 900 Canadian and American
hunters.
This fleet consisted of only II vessels In 1885.
20 in ST, 81 in 'S8, 80 in 49, AZ in 80, and sc
in 81 Thus its growth has been rapid and
the end is right at hand for the seals, unless the
business be checked.
The pelagic catch of 1891 covering every
thing taken In the open water, was $4,000
skins. OF these IL, 900 were taken in Russian
waters, 10000 in Boring Sea, $4,000 in the
| North Pacific, and some 1000 off the California
coast and the Straits Of Fuca.
Had it not been for that mo1us vivendi OF
81 (Which will BIO renewed for 1927, whereby
this pelagic feet was shut out from Boring Sea
last Summer the catch would have been at least
| 10000, and the absolute ruin of the rookeries
| accomplished. For that matter they are sub
stantially ruined now, and it will require great
care and nice management on the part of our
Government to restore them, even if we get 4
satisfactory settlement from the coming Board
OF Arbitration at Paris.
Now, this pelagic catch Of 1891 some 81, 900
skins, represents the actual killing, in my
opinion. of at least 10000 adult animals, and
| as 80 per cont. of them arc females heavy with
| their unborn young, it means the destruction
Of some 100000 seals old and young.
| frankly admit that / cannot prove this
| frightfni waste of life by the peagic sealor. l
| know that Canadian and American sealcrs can
be found who will swear that they do not lose
| 10 per cent. of what they wound and kill, and
that they do not kill an undue proportion Of
| females; that they can shoot just az we'll at sea
as on land, and they never, hardly ever, shoot
at seal unless they arc sure of getting it.
But just think moment. These seals have
the popularity of Immediately sinking when
| instantly killed by bullet or buckshot and
of diving and swimming away when slightly
or even mortally wounded, unless so wounded
az to be dazed or stunned and while in this
state they then founder about at the surface
| of the water
| Understanding this, suppose, for the sake Of
argument, that the hunter never makes 4 mis-
take, but always clean kills his seal, unless
that seal is close by his boat, which so seldom
occurs that it Is hardly worth presupposing, he
| must row that dory over some so to 100 yards
of rut1ed, choppy water to the exact spot where
the seal shot at disappeared. Now, if that
| water is rufiled by the wind, how is that boat
going to be so steered as to bring up exactly
over the wake of the seals diving, so that the
hunter can look down into the sea and discern
the sinking carcass, which will be anywhere
slowly sinking2 Tho wake of that seals dis
appearance is not marked by the sinking carcass
in the slightest manner, and it is pure guess
work on the part of the hunter as to the precise
locality OF sinking; and unless, after shooting
he is not over that small spot in less than a
minute or two he cannot possibly secure the
body.
Last year this pelagic fur sealing feet captured
at least 10000 fur-seals in the North Pacific
Ocean, and If that number of seals can be de-
stroyed and secured in this manner without
single vessel entering Bering Sea, is it not
perfectly clear that closing Boring Sea alone
will not save the fur-soal herd of Alaska from
commercial ruin 4?
If it were mere matter Of saving these ami
mails from determination as Species then there
would be no need of concern from any quarter;
but if these Alaskan rookeries are to be of the
least value to the commerce of the world, then
the concern is great and the danger positively
tangible.
If we ever restore these interests to their
former fine form and number, such as | beheld
them In during 1S72-'74, we must protect the
existing remnant of that herd in the waters of
the North Pacific Ocean, as well as in the
Boring Sea; we must save them frcm molesta-
ton there from May until October every year,
and to do this we must have the cordial aid
and agreement of Great Britain. 1t is mat
ter of agreement, and not of arbitration.
If she will agree with US, and Russia, too, for
that object. then closing her ports and our
ports to tho entry and shipment of contraband
sealskins will make 1t necessary for Illegal car
goes to go around to London where all seal
akins must go for profitable sale) by Suez or
Panama q long journey in heated waters,
which will ruin any schooner's cargo If UNDER
taken. The sailed skins taken to the Chinese
market will not pay the expenses of the pelagic
sealer. In short these skins must eventually
4 i IL
The Canadian sealers and Americans, too
have through their agents been during the last
10 years industrious!y trying to establish the
fact Of there being distinct race of fur-seals
in the North Pacific Ocean, which Is repre-
sented by the herd seen off Vancouver Island
every March and April; but have repeatedly
exposed the incorrectncss oil, that claim. Then,
again, have been confronted in other quarters
with the positive declaration that the destrue-
ton of the fur.seal would bs a great benefit,
after all, because these animals prey so extern
sivey on food-fshes up aud down the North
west Coast.
have had little trouble, however In show
ing that the fur-seal is in fact, the best friend
that these food fishes have. He is the sworn
and active enemy Of the dogfsh (Sgualus dcafi-
hias) which is in turn the most destructive
agency TO food fishes in those waters that Is
known to man. You diminish the fur-seala In
number, and as you do so you increase the
number of dogfshes. One dOgfsh can and does
destroy more food fishes In the course of sea-
son than 50-yes, q undred-fur- seals will or
can, because it gorges itself with the fry of
these species, while the seal dsdains such
"small deer" and takes the dosfsh itself on
sight.
The fur-seal n not distinct species from
that known to tho Russian rookeres or the
Commander Islands 1t is the same animal,
but the difference in temperature over there,
some 100 Fab warmer, gives the Russian seals
a lighter coat of fur, and hence they are not 80
valuable as the Alaskan pelts are
The record of the London sales which has
been made during thelast 90 years declares that
in all this time up to date no Alaskan skin has
ever been taken in the Russian catch and vice
versa no Russian seal has ever been taken on
the Pribyiov Islands. The difference in the
value Of the skins is that the Russian skins are
from 40 to 90 per cent. less than ours. They
are distinguished instantly ut London, where
the two kuds are sold side by side at public |
auction In the old Hudson Bay Csmpsny's |
warer0oms.
The Russian fur-seal herd spends its Winter
months down among the Japan and Kurile |
Islands. 1t leaves the Commander Islands, in |
Beripg Sea- every November, and returns to |
them next June and July. The herds never |
cross over in their Winter mi grations but each |
keeps to its side of the great Pacific Ocean.