The herald., 1897-08-06
HOW TO SAVE THE SEALS

hitherto all the EFFORTS OF tne OnlteS
States authorities assisted, after fash
ion, by the British government, to save
the seals from destruction at the hands
of pelagic sealers, have been Intellectual
The greed of hunters has baff1ed every
scheme, whether inspired by humane OF
commercial motives, to this end. 1t is
estimated, says Scribner Gully, 1S97)
that in a comparatively brief period
pelagic sealing has destroyed 100000 OF
these animals that with 400, 900 females
killed at sea perished not only their un
born young but the nursing pups left
without food by the death of their
mothers"
This was cruel waste of the lives of
these inoffensive creatures and willful
spendthrift waste of valuable CONNER
cial material. 1t is the killing of the
mother seals that constitutes the swift
est means leading to the utter extermi-
nation of these animals.
The pelagic hunter makes no nice dis
elimination. With him every seal is le-
gitimate prey and is killed on sight.
Numerous fleets of small schooners and
boats and thousands of men annually
engage in the sealing business. From
5000 to 10000 men have embarked in this
pursuit from Newfoundland alone.
The Canadians, too, are famous seal
hunters and are not troubled by com
punctious visitations Of conscience" in
violating treaty stipulations or proto-
coils when a valuable seal skin is in
sight. Then our own Yankee shippers
are not whit behind their enterprising
neighbors of the farther north in the
annual indiscriminate slaughter of the
seals. English and Russian seamen
also bear a willing and winning hand in
the business, 80 that among this host of
hunters the seal has but narrow chance
of escape.
Our government has before now in
voked the participation of England in in
stituting preventive and protective
measures in this behalf, but has had,
up to date, it's labor for it's pains. In
point of fact the British government
treated the solicitations of Uncle Sam
in this matter in spirit closely border
ing on contempt. Yielding to the in
huence of an enlightened public senti-
ment, President Cleveland last year ap-
pointed President Jordan, of Leland
=
tical as we'll as scientific investigation
of the seal question, with a view of as
certaining the exact cause of the rapid
decrease in the number of seals. If Mr.
Cleveland were inclined to look on life
in the vein in which Mark Twain"
views 1t this appointment of the learned
head of the Leland Stanford University
to investigate a matter already patent
to every wayfarer might be regarded in
the light of a ponderous joke. But
President Jordan performed his work
faithfully and we'll and in the official re-
port of his mission makes novel and in
teresting suggestions in the interest of
the prosecuted seal.
To safeguard the mother seals, which
as we have said is the main point, Presi-
dent Jordan proposes branding every fe-
male seal so effectually as to render
their skins unavaila BILE for commercial
purposes. This, he contends, not only
can be done without serious inconven-
ience to the animal but that he and his
aids actually branded more than $50
special commissioner last summer. The
hunting season, by reason of the cli-
matte conditions of Behring sea. is lin
tied to the months of July and August
and as means of saving also fair
contingent of the bachelor seals from
the destructive hand of the pelagic seal
er, President Jordan contends that il
would be entirely feasible to herd up
10000 bachelor seals in the month of
July on st. Paul or st. Georges island
and keep them fenced in during August.
after which time the rigors of the Arctic
ocean would drive their Unsuitable
hunters away. He cites the fact of the
allotment of specified number of seals
for food to the Indians of the Aleutian
island in proof of the feasibility of the
herdng scheme.
What ex-Secretary Foster and Hon.
Charles S. Hamlin, Mr.. McKinlev,s
newly appointed seal commissioners
will do with President Jordan's sugges-
tions in the premises remains to be
seen. Certainly the case is desperate
and desperate remedies are in order.