The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-07-08

comprehensive lecture on seals and
the sealing question. given in a manner
entertaining and brieI. points which els b.
GRATED upoR would fill volume was de-
itNered last night in The Seattle theatsr by
President David Starr Jordan, OF Stanford
university and United States seal commits
sioner. before a fair-sized audience COM
posed Of members OF the Young NATURAL
lists Society ard others interested in the
study OF a fascinating subject under 50
eminent 4 teacher
As lecturer. DIR. Jordan follows no rec
oSniZed precedent OF style or delivery. He
;aISs right along without gesticulating
and though he gnburders himself of no
rounded periods. his slip-shod sentences
are rcpicte with dry Wit which keeps
the audience IN good bumor with itself
ana with tho speaker lie spoke for an
hour and half. rapidly and Amos. with
Oh, pause. He impressed one as a man
whom nothing could embarrass and as a
dangerous antagonist in repartec.
As an illustration ~ his manner: The
last picture thrown on the canvas was
Of PROSTATE bull seal. This bail has
fought and been outelassed. said Or. Jor-
dan. He is dead" Then as a sort Of
afterthought he added This is my last
picture" and walked from the stage
The illustrations were Of the seal islands,
the rookeries and the seals. Photographs
OF these last Were invariably dim owing
as DR., Jordan explained 10 the fogginess
OF the atmosphere and to the fact that all
pictures were from instantaneous ex-
poSures. An excellent idea was obtained
from these pictures of the nature OF the
rookeries, and the numbers and charac-
teristic attitudes of the seals.
The lecturer took up his subject with
the first visit of the Russians TO the Aleu-
tian Islands l5o years ago. under Vitus
Bering. He told how they contracted
scurvy from drinking salt water and eat
ing salt food and how their teeth began to
get loose and fan out. and their coura &c
became as shaky as their teeth From
their first view of seals DR. Jordan car
ricd his hearers down TO the present day.
Tie told OF the habits OF the animals which
made the Expectations OF pelasic seaiers
important in result.
The results of the Paris tribunal na.
been OF no practical good he said. be
cause the United States had acted in tho
matter Ike a foot and Great Britain
like "knaye." He did not mean TO in
Guide all in this sweeping assertion. he
said. as some good work had been ac-
complished. But as n general PROPOSE
ton. the United States had gone into The
matter III blind confidence, while Great
Britain had gone in Ia win. Between
these two. blind confidence was a poor
equipment for success. The tribunal de-
cided that the Canadians might kill seals
IN the water and the United States on
land. Between the destruction of se-
males on the sea and males on the land
with the consequent starvation of pups.
II was easy To be seen, ne said. why the
seal herds We're being thinned Where
there used to he 500 600 seals in the Pribi-
lof Islands. there was last season less
than Coz 900.
one cause OF this lay in the wholesale de-
struction OF seal pups by being trampled
under fighting bulls. Starvation also
played havoc with the young as the moth
ers. going off for fond were Killed and the
pups starved. one Illustration showed L
beach black with pups trampied or starved
10 death, and Dr. Jordan said that last
season over 5000 dead pups were counted
To prevent the tramplins ii pups, f3r
Jordan said that rocks would he literally
distributed on the beaches. giving tne
weak ones an opportunity TO crouch out II
harms reach
The lecturer devoted much time 10 the
habits Of the seals, :hoir life in the rook-
cries. and their characteristics. He mem
toned the rather unusual fact that the
seals ~ the T'riai.of islands differed in col
or ard characteristics from those of the
Commander islands. OF those on the Jap4-
nese coast The latter q said had darker
fur and smaller heads. Pvt all were fight
erS and il would seem from the learned
mans account. that the bulls spent most
Of their elmo in bloody contests. His plan
for branding female seals in order 20 de-
pelagic sealing is already familiar TO read
ers Of the Post-Tnteligenccr
DR. Jordan will leave for Alaska today
on the steamship Queen.