St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-10-03
SEALING IN BEHR1NG SEA.

SEALING IN BEHRING SEA.
Figures Showing the Immense
Number of Animals That Are
Massacred.
San Francisco Examiner
All these facts have been obtained
and Systematically arranged from nu-
meTous official reports and from mass
of expert testimony by various govern
ment officers, captains, hunters and In
diaDs. who have been actually engaged
in the business.
The first Behring sea sealskins ever
handled IN British Columbia were taken
in 1881. Prior to that date no vessels
sailed in the Behring, but in 1881 the
American schooner San Diego caught
1913 seals in the Behring, and the skins
were sold to L. Lubbe. an American, in
Victoria for 1925 each. These skins
were shipped to London, as are nearly
all that are sold in Victoria.
In 1882 the same schooner took 1927
seals, which were sold to Lubbe for IS
each, and the same schooner was still
alone in the business during the season
of 1888, when she took 9OS skins, for
which Lubbe paid $40 each.
In 1884 the San Diego increased her
catch to $50, while the American
schooner Otter & Alexander landed
LOO skins in Victoria, which were
shipped to d. Liebes & Co.. of this city,
the owner of the two vessels. The
British schooner Mary Ellen also cap
tured 1,199 seals, which were sold at
$3.50. Thus it is seen that the British
Columbia seal industry began in the
Behring in 1884. The Mary Ellen was
owned by ID. Mclean, was of sixty-three
tons, carried crew of twenty-one men
and was worth $4,000, including her
outfit.
=. In 1885 there were four Americans
and two British schooners in the Beh-
ring. They captured a total of 9,179
seals.
In 1856 there were six American
schOoners in the business. and five of
them took 6,902 seals. The record of
the sixth can not be found. During the
same season the three British schooners,
Onward. Caroline and Thornton, were
seized at sea with about 1900 skins.
The Caroline, although sailing under
the British flag, was partly owned by an
American named Bechtel, who had a
One-half interest in the schooner and
Bechtel was also interested in the Brit
ish schOoners Mary Taylor, Pathfinder
and Viva. These vessels were sailed
under the British flag in defiance of the
British merchant shipping act,
which forbids any partnership
or interest in any English ship
by a foreigner. To secure himself
in case of trouble the schooners
were mortgaged to Bechtel. The Thorn
ton was half owned by another Ameri-
can named j. Boscowitz, who owned at
one time all or part of every schooner
registered under the British flag in the
name of Capt. Warren.
Besides the 1000 skins that were
seized with the three schooners named,
collections in the Behring sea by Brit
iSh SchoOnerS during 1886 amounted to
1858 skins, taken by thirteen schOon-
ers, and sold at prices ranging from
$3.50 to 81.
In 1887 there were only two Ameri-
can schooners in the Behring. They
made catch of 1856 seals, while eleven
British schoOnerS caught 1882, and
while five other British vessels were
seized by the United States government.
Four of the five were half owned by
BOscowitZ. the American.
In 1888 there were eleven British, one
German and five American schooners in
the Behring, and they made total
catch of 17,246 seals. In 1889 the record
is 1877, although there were three
schoonerS whose catch was not ascer-
TONED. Nearly all of the seals taken
that year were hunted by BIRTHS
SchOOnerS.
During 1889 the number of sealers
owned by Canadians was twentyfour,
with a total tonnage Of !, 464 tons, and a
total value. including outfits, of S173,35O.
They employed 261 whites and 3S5 In
Of
at $50, 500, were half owned by Amer
leans, leaving an apparent investment
of Canadian capital of S156,750. This in
vestment is called apparent because
all the schOoners are engaged in other
business, such as hunting and fishing
down the west coast and in the North
Pacific. If the sealing stopped entirely
{ the vessels would not depreciate in
value. The business requires no spe-
/ cial plant or anything which will not
bring its full value for other purposes;
and lastly. because less than third of
a sealing schOOner's cruise is in the
6 Behring.
A schooner with crew of twenty
men commonly has five boats and five
hunters. The cost of Quitting such a
vessel is about $4,000 for guns, salt, pro-
visions, 5000 rounds of ammunition, and
The expenses of four
months cruise are about S5,4OO, allow
ing the hunters 50 each for 1000 skins,
an actual average.
The expenses of vessel carrying In
dian hunters are much less.
g The actual destruction of seals in pro-
portion to the number taken is some
thing, enormous. Observation and
many interviews with hunters prove
that 95 per cent of all. the seals killed in
the Behring sea are females that are
either on their way to give birth to their
young, or have left their pups Oh the
islands while the mothers are In search
of food. In either case the death of the
mother means the death of the young.
During this time the males are all at
the islands guarding their harems, or
awaiting the coming of the females.
The testimony of persons who have
spent the season OH the Pribyloff islands
is to the effect that male seals remain
there while the females go forth fer
food as soon as they give birth to their
young. The males seldom sleep in the
water during the season. When the
northward migration begins in March
the males go to the rookeries
with all diligence and arrive
there about thirty days ahead of
the fpmaloC which mo In THAR ,uou Iaic