The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1910-01-25

LONG JOURNEY
FOR SEAL PUPS
Orphan Animals From Alaskan
Waters Taken to Washington.
The ONLY TWO IN CAPTIVITY.
How Boatswain Thurber Succeeded In
Raising Cherished Pets He Found
starving-Experts Believe Orphaned
Seals Can Be Saved by His Plan.


starving--Experts Believe Orphaned
Seals Can BE Saved by His Plan.
"There they are, and If you don't
treat 'em right you'll hear from me-"
said a rough voiced sailorman as he
carefully put down Slated box in
the office Of the bureau of fisheries at
Washington the other morning. In
side were the only two fur seal pups
In captivity The man who gave
them this defiant introduction to their
new home was Boatswain Judson
Thurber of the United States revenue
cutter Bear. Thurber is believed by
the United States government to have
solved the problem of raising orphan
seals.
It has been many years since as in
teresting q combination as Boatswain
Thurber and his seals has reached
Washington Every effort Of science
has failed to hit upon n method for
feeding the seal pups orphaned by
hundreds through the killing Of their
mothers in Alaskan waters by Japan
csc sealers. Boutswain Thurber found
these two starving. He got some
milk and found and rugged up the &C.
cessories of nursery. The seals tried
but could not get the milk. They
seemed to lack something of the equip
ment of the milk fed animal.
Got Ahead of Science.
Right here Thurber seems to have
stumbled upon something which sci
ence In trying to bring up baby seals
has overlooked He investigated the
mouths Of the seals and found their
tongues held down by ligaments which
he thinks kept the animals from get
ting the milk. Then the rough sailor
put his big foretinger in and remedied
the difficulty. The two baby seals
straightway began to get the milk out
of the bottle aud to thrive.
When the Bear came south last fall
for the winter the commanding OIL
Ger reported Thurbers success to
Washington. Mr.. Nagei, secretary OF
the department of commerce and Ia
Dor, asked Mr.. MacVeagh, secretary Of
the treasury department, under which
the revenue cutter service comes, TO
have Thurber bring his seal pups to
washington. Meanwhile the proteges
had passed the milk stage and begun
to call for something which they could
chew. Here Thurber found another
difficulty He threw the fish down
on the deck, and the babies swayed
their heads from side to side and
looked at him hungrily with big brown
eyes.
Hundreds May BE Savsd.
"Drat ye Can't We eat2" asked
Thurber as he picked up one of the
fish and shook 1T In the face of the
biggest seal Snap went the little
jaws, and Thurber had discovered that
seals do not pick their food up of a
floor like other animals. A little
thought convinced him that the seal
snatehes its fish from below, aid after
that the pups were fed from the hand
and seemed to enjoy the fish better
IL they had to jump for them.
At the bureau of fisheries they believe
that the hundreds of baby seals or
phaned outside the three mile limit,
protected by the United States, where
they go to feed, can be saved by Thur
ber's method. Thurber is famous, and
he does not like It. Born whaler,
social Washington appalls him. He
wanted to start back few nights ago
for the south, but he was ordered to
stay few days.