The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1893-05-26
The Fur Seals.
EDITOR TIMES

met to determine a question OF vital IN
terest, not only to the government and
people of,thiscountry, but measurably to
the people of every civilized country on
'searth. refer, of course, to the Behring
Sea seal question. Now, as have had
perhaps better opportunity to investi-
gate this question than some of your
readers may, trust without any I'M
sdue display of vanity, give some facts
1that may be of interest to some of them
have become greatly interested in
sthe fur seal of the north Pacific-a most
curious and interesting animal. In this
paper propose to give some account
of the seal, of his home his habits, his
value and the possible future of the in
dustry.
In 1867 Mr.. Seward bought Alaska,
with all its adjacent islands, from Rus
STA, for which we paid seven million of
dollars. 1t was the opinion of many at
that time that we had not got the worth
of our money; but the fur seals alone, if
left undisturbed, will pay large per-
-scentage on the purchase money, and
besides Alaska is rich in mineral, and
the time will surely come when, by our
thoughtless, criminal wastefulness we
have exhausted our lumber supply, we
shall be glad to avail ourselves of the
vast wealth of Alaska in this respect:
And so the wisdom of Mr.. Seward in
rthis, as in multitude of other instances,
has been indicated.
Five hundred miles west of Alaska
and two hundred miles northwest of the
Aleutian Archipelago in the Behring Sea
will be found cluster of islands known
sas the Pribyloff group. These islands,
think, constitute the extreme western
boundary of the United States, and it is
because of these that the geographical
sScenter of our country took such an inn
Ynense jump to the westward These
ISLANDS are thousand. miles farther
west than Hawaii Of the Pribyloffs
two only, ST. George and st. Paul, are
~ofointerest to us. Upon these small
rocky islands are the ''rookeries" of the
North Pacific fur seals. Here they come
three to five millions, for the purpose of
breeding and bearing their young. Not
far from the 9th of May there arrives
the first company or division. These
ARE the Oldest males, known to the trade
as the bulls They Chamber up onto the |
rocks and each selects a spot where for
sthe next six months he remains in abso |
lutte control. During the next ten days |
sthe remainder of the immense herd ar |
rive and take up their quarters. The |
ecows, heavy with young, are first and
proceed at once to the rookeries estab- |
lished by the bulls, from twenty to thir- |
sty of them ranging around each one of
the bulls Then come the younger seals !
from one to five years old. They estab- |
lish a colony by themselves and are
never permitted to mix or mingle. For
"a young male to attempt to intrude into |
sthe harem of the bulls would be to court |
ecertain death, unless he is able to inflict |
sthe same penalty upon the occupant.
a Very soon after their arrival upon the
Islands the cows drop theiryoung some
rtimes within an hour, rarely later than
sten days. Soon after the birth of the |
-scalf, they mate with the males, and thus
the process of reproduction goes on
from year to year and has from time out
of mind AS the time arrives for them
to visit the islands they gather in the
North Pacific in countless multitudes,
and pass up through the channels of the
.Aleutian Isles. In the narrow passes
oof these islands they are so thickly
packed that they almost crowd each
other out of the waterfall intent upon
the single purpose of reaching their
summer camping grounds as soon as
possible.
The sealsat birth weighs about six
pounds, and for six months lives upon
the mothers milk. The seals remain
upon the islands until October, when
sthey plunge into the sea, go out in
group to the North Pacific, when they
scatter no one knows where only to re-
1turn again next May. The seal is total
lily unlike any other animal. 1t is warm
Dblooded animal, bringing forth its young
ssalive, and in that respect resembles the
whale, but it is not confined to the wa
ster. Indeed, one-half or more of its life
is passed upon land. The young seal
does not naturally take to the water
and knows nothing about swimming
till taught by its mother. For this pur-
pose when it is three or four months
.old she takes it into the surf, where at
first it is awkward and timid. This
process goes on for the next threeor four
months when the young seal is sufii-
sciently expert to take care of itself.
The seal can swim easily twelve miles
AN hour, and it can remain under water
for half an hour without Inconvenience.
While on the island there is q perpetual |