Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1893-11-10
PRIBYLOVs QUEST.
The Discovery OF tho Breeding Haunts Of
tho Fur-behring Seals.


From the Chicago Herald,
"Now that the Behring Sea Commits
sion has concluded its labors and,
singular to say, both England and the
United States claim to have come out
best in the decisions, it might be in
teresting to narrate the history of
the discovery of the seal islands," re-
marked A. G. Baperten, agent for
large New York house which deals in
sealskin goods. Mr.. Caperton has
made several trips to Alaska, and is
perfectly familiar with the seal indus
try, from the roaring of the seals in a
rookery on some arctic coast down to
the persuasive tones of the smiling
Gotham clerk who is making the sale
Of fine sacque to some wealthy wom-
an.
"For the lover of trus romance there
is more than an international interest
in the Behring Sea question" contin-
ued Mr.. Caperton. sit was only about
the close of the Revolutionarywar that
the seal islands we're discovered by
civilized man, aud that discovery is as
full of romance as was the expedition
of Ponce de Leon in search of the fa-
bled fountain of immortal youth
Before that time the mysterious is
lands where the fur bearing seals had
their breeding places were known only
to the Esquimos and only with grunt
and unsatisfactory shrug of the should
ers would they answer any inquiries on
the subject. For an hundred years
Russian keels ploughed the waters of
Behring Sea and the North Pacific in
the search for fur-bearing animals.
KamtschatIa was discovered and set
tied, and the Alcutian Islands were
dotted with the trading stations of
Russian companies. Alaska was ad-
ded to the possessions Of Russia and
a government established there. The
numerous sea otters were almost ex-
terminated. Two dozen Russian COM
panies, with hundreds of vessels and
thousands Of men, were employed in
the business.
Meantime, every year at certain
seasons the channels around the Aleu-
tian Islands swarmed with fur seals,
passing north in the spring and south
in the fall No seal was ever known
to stop even for an hour on any part of
the known Alaskan shore. The ma
tives professed absolute ignorance as
to where the s. ais went ashore to
breed. 1t was somewhere Ia the north,
they said, but no Aleut had ever moor
cd his little skin canoe on the beach
of that mysterious land. For many
years Russian vessels piled the Arctic
waters in a fruitless search for this
mysterious home of the seal, where
wealth ia fabulous sums awaited the
lucky explorer.
''But a Columbus finally appeared.
His name was Gerasslm Pribylov. He
was mate on Russian vessel. An
old gray-haired Aleut related to him
legend of the natives regarding certain
islands said to exist in Behring. Old
PrlbylOv was superstitious as any sail
or, and believed there was some truth
in the legend. The next spring he 1T
ted up the little sloop St. George, and
sailed from Ounalaska out into the
foggy northern sea. He passed through
great swarms of seals as nc sailed to
the north, bnt gradually they disap-
peared, and after sailing all summer
over the icy waste OF waters, with
never a ship or even an island In sight,
he returned south again to his winter
quarters. AS he came back the seals
came with him, for they also had
mysterious hiding place south for the
winter. But old Pribylov was chuck
full OF grit. The next spring he fol-
lowed the seals back north again. He
kept this up for three seasons, and
finally in 1856 was rewarded by max
ing the Joyful discovery OF the myster-
GUS breeding grounds. For, weeks he
had been enyeloped 10 dense fog and
was making a progress so slow that his
patience was severely tried, when sud-
denly one day in July he heard a vague
roaring and rumblIng sound coming
through the dense vapOr. Old Priby-
Low danced with glce, for his exper-
fenced ear told him that the great
roaring came from a seal rookery.
Guided by the sound, he steered the
vessel through the dense fog and soon
ran up against rocky island that rose
like a wall out OF the ocean. Along
the rocky shore millions Of seals we're