ISH 361 .U4 11898 Copy 1 SECOND PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE BKRlNfi SEA FOR SEAL INfESTlGATKINS BY DAVID STARR JORDAN ASSISTED BY LEONHAED STEJNEGER, FREDERIO AUGUSTUS LUOAS, AND GEORGE ARCHIBALD OLARK. 18 9 7. WASHINGT'""' ^^ ■ xviNTING OFFICE. GOVERNMENT t*" 1898. HoUingc SECOND PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE BERING m FUR SEAL INVESTIGATIONS BY DAVID STARR JORDAN ASSISTED BY LEONHAED STEJNEGEE, PREDERIO ATTGUiSTTIS LUCAS, AND GEOEGE AEOHIBALD OLAEK. 18 9 7. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1898. Treasury Depa ktm kx7 . Docuuieut No. 1994. Office 0^' Si'cniary. WAY \^ 1913 i OO^TEE-TS. Letter of transmittal 5 Scope of the investigation 7 Personnel of the commission 8 Assignment of work 8 Acknowledgments 8 Itinerary... 8 Rookery development - » Arrival of bulls - — » Arrival of cows 9 Record of arrival of cows 10 Changes from day today 10 Maximum population 11 Appearance of the breeding grf>unds. 11 Count of harems. - 1!' Photographs not to be relied on 13 Censusof 1896 - - 13 Summary of breeding seals Ig Revision of census of 189B 13 Erroneous estimates 13 Under and over estimates balance ... 13 Revised census, 1896 1| Census of 1897 If Nature of tlie problem - l* Comparison of counts of cows and piips,lH97 - - 15 Census, 1897. lo The work of counting - 16 Evidences of decline 16 Actual counts 1896-97..- 16 Count of pups the only sure basis 16 Summary of counts 1896-97 li^ Abandonment of breeding grounds 17 Shrinkage not everywhere equally visible — 17 Abandoned territory. 1* Shrunken appearance of massed por- ., - tions of rookeries - 18 Falling off in n umber of dead pups . , . 18 Other evidences of decline 18 Struggles among bulls, mortality among cows 4 18 Quota of killable seals -1 18 Further evidence of shrinkage 18 Statistics of killings. 19 Reduction in killable seals not an actual measure of decrease 31 Land killing and the decline - 31 No connection with the decline of the herd...- 31 Numbers of males spared 31 Contrast between Bering Island and thePribilofs 31 Statistics regarding land and sea kill- ing, 1871-1897 - 33 The cause of the decline - 33 Pelagic sealing the sole cause 23 Effects of pelagic sealing on the herd. 33 High proportion of females in pelagic catch -- 33 Loss through pups starved in 1894 34 Pelagic sealing and the condition of the herd 24 Future decline of the herd 25 The fate of pelagic sealing 25 Pelagic catches 1894-1897 25 Mortality among nursing pups. 25 Great mortality prior to August 1 25 Deaths due to parasitic worm 36 Recommended treatment of infected areas 36 Percentage of deaths from Uncinaria . 26 Page. Starvation of pups '. 37 Special study in 1896. 27 Investigations of 1897. 27 Every motherless pup starves 27 Regulations of the Paris award 28 Branding of pups 28 Method of branding. 28 Effectiveness of branding 28 Branded seals not taken on Asiatic side. - - 29 Herding of the bachelors 29 Inclosur e of the Salt Lagoon 29 The food of the fur-seal 30 Food in Bering Sea 30 Food ofif the Northwest coast 30 L^n warrantable assumptions 30 Proposed slaughter of the fur seals 30 Would not accomplish the desii-ed end .- .- 3(1 Possible restoration of the herd 30 Conclusions 31 Appendix I. Report on death of pups from Uncinaria, (by Frederic A. Lucas) 33 Autopsy of first pup secured 33 Number of pups examined 33 Duration of the disease 33 Symptoms 33 Relations between the disease and character of ground - 33 Why the mortality has been unno- ticed - 33 Cessation of plague - 34 Summary of dissections on St. Paul. _ 34 Siimmary of dissections on Tolstoi. .. 34 Summary of dissections by rookeries. 34 Pups containing Uncinaria 35 > Condition of uncinariated pups 35 Appendix II. Rookeries of the Commander Islands (by Leonhard Stejneger) 35 Bering Island, north rookery 35 Estimate of number of seals on reef 35 Estimate of number of seals on Kishotchnaya - 35 Bering Island, south rookery - 35 Number of pups and females 35 Sufficiency of males for impreg- nation - 36 Copper Island , Glinka rookeries 36 Death of pups, south rookery, Bering Island .- - 36 Glinka, Copper Island 36 North rookery, Bering Island 36 Land catch- 37 Statistics relative to the fiscal catch on the Commander Islands, summer of 1897. - 37 Bering Island drives, north rook- ery - - - 37 South rookery 37 Copper Island drives. Glinka 37 Karabelni 38 Summary of Commander Islands and Robben Island catch, summer 1897. . 38 3 Appendix III. Page, Practical Experiments (by Joseph Mur- ray) 38 Herding in the laejoon 38 Branding- - 39 Branding does not injure the animalB. 39 The death traps.. 39 Dead pups 39 Appendix IV. The control and protection of the salmon streams of Alaska ( by David Starr Jor- dan and C. L. Hooper) 40 Recommendations 40 Appendix V. Page. Affidavits of dyers and dressers of fur- seal skins 42 Appendix VI. The fur-seal conference 44 Joint statement of conclusions re- specting the fur-seal herd frequent- ing the Pribilof Islands, in Bering Sea .- 44 Appendix I. Statement regarding land and sea killing, 1871-1897. 47 Appendix II. Record of arrival of cows 48 LETTEE OF TEAISTSMITTAL. Leland Stanford Junior University, Palo Alto, Cal., November 1, 1897. Dear Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith a second brief preliminary report on the work of the Bering Sea fur-seal investigation for the season of 1897. This will be followed in the course of the coming year by a final report, monographic in character, which will take up in detail all phases of the fur-seal question. Very respectfully, yours, David Starr Jordan. Hon. Lyman J. Gage. Secretary of the Treasury, Washington, D. C. SECOND PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE BERING SEA FUR-SEAL INVESTIGATION. SCOPE or THE INVESTIGATION. The work for the season of 1897 represents a continuation of the investigations of 1896. The same comprehensive outline of inquiry-suggested in 1896 by Hon. Chai-les S. Hamlin, then Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, in his letter of instruction under date of June 13, has this year been followed out. This letter was published in full in the preliminary report of last year. It is only necessary here to repeat the following paragraph, which contains the gist of the whole subject: "The principal object of this investigation is to determine by precise and detailed observations, tirst, the present condition of the American fur-seal herd; second, the nature and imminence of the causes, if any, which a.ppear to threaten its extermination ; third, what, if any , benefits have been secured to the herd throvigh the operation of the act of Congress and act of Parliament based upon the award by the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration; fourth, what, if any, additional protective measures on land or at sea, or changes in the present system of regulations as to the closed season, prohibited zone, prohibition of firearms, etc., are required to insure the preservation of the fur-seal herd. '' The most important part of the work for 1897 has been to ascertain, by a dupli- cation of the census of 1896, the changes which have taken place on the rookeries of St. Paul and St. George Island and to trace their causes. In addition to this work of making the census, the commission has taken up the following general matters relative to the fur-seal question: 1. The changes, if anv, which have taken place on the Commander Islands since 1896. 2. The formation of the rookeries in the spring, including the observations nec- essary to complete our account of the life history of the fur seal. 3. The vakxe and significance of counts and photographs in determining the population of the rookeries, and especially the degree of permanence in rookery outlines during the so-called height of the season. 4. The corrections which should be made in the provisional census of 1896. 5. The condition of the bachelor herd, as shown by the quota of killable seals, considered with reference to the changes which have taken place since 1896, and the causes of such changes. 6. The investigation in greater detail of the causes of early mortality of fur-seal pups. 7. Experimentation on a larger scale in the branding of female pups and adult cows for the purpose of depreciating the value of pelagic skins. 8. Further experimentation in the herding of young bachelors in the salt lagoon of St. Paul Island during the season of pelagic sealing for the purpose of protect- ing them from the pelagic fleet. 9. A reconsideration of all causes which have contributed to the decline of the herd. 10. A reconsideration of the effects of the Paris award. 11. An investigation of the methods of hunting the sea otter, with a view to devising means of saving these animals from extermination in Alaskan waters. 12. An investigation, so far as time might allow, of the present condition of the salmon fisheries of Alaska. 7 PERSONNEL OF THE COMMISSION. In the work of 1897 I have again had the assistance of Dr. Leonhard Stejneger and Mr. Frederic A. Lucas, of the United States National Museum. Mr. George A. Clark was continued as secretary of the Commission, and took an active part in the work of investigation. Mr, Elmer E. Farmer, instructor in electrical engi- neering, and Howard S. Warren, student in electricity in Stanford University, accompanied the Commission to carry out the experiments in electrical branding. They were assisted by Messrs. Robert E. Snodgrass, Arthur W. Greeley, Arthur J. Edwards, students in Stanford University, and Trevor Kincaid, assistant in the University of Washington. Their natural -history collections and observations on the rookeries, after our departiire from the islands, have been of value in our work. Mr. Bristow Adams, artist assistant to the Commission, made a very valu- able series of drawings from life of the fur seals. Mr. Harry D. Chichester, an employee of the North American Commercial Company, resident on the islands, acted as photographer for the Commission, obtaining a most acceptable series of photographs. ASSIGNMENT OF "WORK. In the division of labor incident to this investigation the study of the Com- mander Islands was again assigned to Dr. Leonhard Stejneger, the mortality among the seals to Mr. Frederic A. Lucas, while all matters pertaining to the census of the rookeries and to the condition of the bachelor herd were placed in the hands of Mr. George A. Clark. The experiments in branding and herding were left, as heretofore, to the immediate supervision of Col. Joseph Murray, now chief agent in charge of the Pribilof Islands, Messrs. Farmer and Warren being appointed to act as his assistants. For my own part, I retained general supervision of the investigations as a whole and witnessed the important work of counting the pups. I also made investiga- tions of the sea-otter problem, with a view to offering recommendations for the protection of this animal. More important work in this .direction, however, car- ried out by Capt. Calvin L. Hooper, commander of the •Bering Sea patrol fleet, whose observations have been much more extensive than mine, makes it unneces- sary for me to do more here than emphasize the recommendations already made in his reijort, which has been published by the Treasury Department. The results of my investigations of the salmon fisheries have been incorporated in a joint let- ter with Captain Hooper to the Department. This letter is attached as Appendix IV to this report. The preparation of the text of the present report is the joint work of Mr. Clark and myself. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. I may here make acknowledgments for favors and assistance to Capt. Jefferson F. Moser, of the United States Fish Commission steamer Albatross, to Capt. Calvin L. Hooper, commanding the Bering Sea Patrol, to Capt. W. H. Roberts and the officers of the United States revenue cutter Rush, to Col. Joseph Murray, chief agent in charge of the islands, and his associates, Messrs. John M. Morton and James Judge, to Mr. Joseph Stanley-Brown, superintendent of the North Amer- ican Commercial Company, and to the resident agents and physicians of the com- pany on the islands of St. Paul and St. George. ITINERARY. May 22. — Mr. Clark sailed from San Francisco on the North American Com- pany's steamer Del Norte May 23. Mr. Bristow Adams accompanied him as artist, assistant to the Commission. Col. Joseph Murray, chief a.gent, Mr. John M. Morton, assistant agent, and Mr. James M. Macoun, Canadian Commissioner, wei'e also passengers on the vessel. The Del Norte arrived at Wood Island, Kadiak, May 81, and at Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, on the morning of June 4. June 7.— The Del Norte arrived at St. George Island, remaining at anchor dis- charging cargo until the evening of the 11th, during which time Mr. Clark visited all the rookeries of St. George," and made daily visits to North rookery near the village. June 12.— On the morning of June 12 Mr. Clark was landed on St. Paul Island and began daily observation of the breeding rookeries. 9 July 1. — Mr. Lucas arrived on the Rii>, 11,593 4-5.S 13.511 17() 5,192 308 9,086 33 73o 454 13,393 loa 3,009 i4:i 4,218 40 1,180 910 26,845 Z^6 0.873 3. 858 112, 864 ST. GEORGE. North 196 46 128 1313 57 5.782 Little East - 1. 190 East 3.776 3. 923 1,681 Total - 560 16,a52 RECAPITULATION. St. Paul... St. George. Total 112,864 16.3.52 4,418 16 THE WORK OF COUNTING. The work of counting the seals is most diflficnlt and demands skill and experience to make it of value. Inexperienced counts are usually below or above the facts according to the personal equation of the person doing the work. The live pups must be counted while in motion, as they are run olf in pods, and unless the work is done surely and quickly confusion results. Many of the dead pups are hidden among the rocks and it reqtiires keenness of vision to pick them out. The cows themselves are with difficulty distinguished from the rocks among which they lie. With a view to securing the most satisfactory results, the work of counting dur- ing the season of 1897 has been left almost wholly to Mr. Clark, whose experience in counting dead and living pups in 189(5 was greater than that of all other mem- bers of the commission combined. For the British commission the work has in like manner been done almost entirely by Mr. Macoun, the two men working together, making separate counts and verifying results whenever differences arose. As director of the investigations, I think it proper to say emphatically that the keen eyesight and conscientious accuracy of these two observers are very unusual, even among skilled naturalists, and I believe the results of their work in this regard to be above criticism. I should not accept a count of my own if differing from theirs, nor should I accept a count of any other member of either commis- sion as opposed to any numerical conclusion they might reach. EVIDENCE OF DECLINE — COUNTS. Wherever counts were made during both seasons they show a marked decline in the breeding herd. Fewer harems were found on the typical rookeries in 1897, fewer cows in the height of the season, smaller apparent harems, and a lesser number of pups. The following is a summary of the actual counts for the two years: Actual counts, lS'Jei<. In going to the Pribilof Islands for the work of 1897 I was given, by the cour- tesy of the United States Fish Commission, transportation on the steamer Alba- tross, Capt. J. F. Moser. This vessel was engaged in the study of the salmon rivers, and hy its means I was enabled to give some special attention to the prob- lem of the preservation of the salmon, as well as to that of the sea otter. My views in regard to the sea otter are fully expressed in the recent excellent report of Capt. C. L. Hooper. I need only say that my own observations simply tend to show the thoroughness with which he has done his work. In response to the request of Hon. W. B. Howell, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, I have combined my own observations on the problem of salmon pro- tection with those of Captain Hooper, in the form of the following joint letter from Captain Hooper and mj'self to Mr. Howell: RECOMMENDATIONS. Washington, D. C. , November 4, 1897. Hon. W. B. Howell, Assistant SecTetary, Treasury Department, Washington, D, C. Dear Sir: In response to your verbal request, permit us to give our views as to the proper management of tlie salmon rivers of Alaska. They are as follows: 1. We strongly indorse the recommendations of Governor Brady that provision should be made for a commission to codify the statutes of Alaska. 2. The statutes relating to the salmon and salmon fisheries should ])ecome part of this code, 3. The present statutes governing salmon fishing are good as far as they go. 4. In deference to the opinion of those who observe Sunday as a day of rest or worship, the period in each week in which the rivers are closed to fishing should include Sundaj^ rather than a day recognized as secular. 5. The present exception of the tributaries of Bristol Bay from the requirement of a closed period is wise in view of the extreme shortness of the season there. 6. The chief inadequacy of the present statutes is that they secure no rights to the owners of the cannery properties and require no duties of them. These com- panies are virtually squatters on G-overnment land. They have no exclusive rights in the salmon rivers near which they are built. 7. As a result of this they have no permanent interest in the preservation of the salmon rivers. They have no incentive to preserve or improve them. In case of valuable streams, the company in possession is forced to be constantly on its guard to maintain its advantages of possession. It is often necessary to work nets continuously day and night through the season to prevent others from taking possession of the beaches adjacent to its canneries. This action is wasteful, depleting the body of salmon, and it has been continued at times even though the canneries can make no use of the fish taken. 8. Such a condition of anarchy provokes dissensions among the owners and managers of canneries. It leads to constant complaints and recriminations, and in some cases even to bloodshed. ' ' The present statutes prohibit the setting of a net v/ithin a certain distance of one alreadj' in the water. But there is nothing to prevent a small steamer from crossing the lines of a net and casting anchor, then steaming away dragging the anchor through the net with intent to tear it to pieces. Nor can the statutes pre- vent the owner of the net from hauling it up by means of a steam winch, drawing in the vessel by means of its anchor and throwing it up on the beach. Such con- tingencies, which are not imaginary, do not favor the orderly conduct of this most important industry. The following article, from the San Francisco Chronicle of November 12, 1897, indicates a case in point. Without prejudice to either side, I may say that, being present at Karluk when the difficulty began, I do not suppose that the facts are impartially stated in this paragraph, which I introduce solely as an illustration of a condition which I believe to be unfortunate and menacing to good order: ' ' The superior court was called upon yesterday to settle a dispute over valuable 41 9. The inability to secure exclusive rights and privileges has led to the building of twice as many canneries as can be profitably worked. 10. The present overfishing of the salmon rivers is diie chiefly to the absence of any legally recogiiized rights or duties on the part of the cannery companies. 11. In our judgment each packing company should have the exclusive right to take salmon m the streams adjacent to which it stands and along the beaches for a distance (say one- fourth mile) on each side of the mouth of the stream, 12. This privilege should be in the form of a lease, and it should hold good for a term of years (as 10. 12, or 15), unless in the judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury the provisions of the lease have been violated. 13. The lease should require («) that the statutes forbidding obstructions, etc., in the rivers should not be violated; (b) that the native people should not be excluded from the fishing necessary to their sustenance. 14. To these may be added the maintenance of a hatchery of adequate capacity. It is better, however, that such hatcheries should be owned and managed by the United States Fish Commission. 15. In return for these privileges, each cannery or salting establishment should pay annually a certain sum as rental. 16. This sum may be a certain tax on each case of salmon packed or on each package of salmon salted or smoked. Or it might be a lump sum annually, pro- portioned to the output of the river or to the capacity of the cannerj'. 17. It would seem to be undesirable that the cannery or similar companies should acquire absolute title to land at the mouth of any salmon river. 18. It seems desirable that no additional canneries or salting establishments be built in Alaska except by permission of the Secretary of the Treasury. 19. Provision should be made for the proper protection of salmon breeders who may have established hatcheries on small streams for the purpose of selling the increased output to the canneries. 29. The proprietj' of the present custom of placing inferior or injured cans of fishing rights in Alaska. The matter was presented through a suit commenced b3^ the Pacific Steam Whaling Company to recover §100,000 damages from the Alaska Packers' Association. Sensational charges are made in the complaint, arid owing to the prominence of the two corporations and the magnitude of the inter- ests involved the case promises to attract more than an ordinarj' amount of public attention. ••It appears from the complaint that the Pacific Steam Whaling Company has for a number of years maintained an extensive plant for the taking of salmon at the mouth of the' Karluk River and along the Karluk beach on Tanglefoot or Kar- luk Bay. The corporation claims to have been seriously interfered with in this year's fishing by employees of the Alaska Packers' Association, the corporation defendant. It is on account of such interference that the whaling company now demands damages. ' ■ The trouble between the two corporations is described as having commenced in July last, when the fishing season was at its height. A charge is made that, in order to prevent the taking of fish by the employees of the plaintiff, agents of the defendant corporation had resort to force and the use of firearms. ' ' It is the theory of the Pacific Steam Whaling Company that the fishing grounds at Karluk are public property. The company avers, therefore, that an exclusive fishing right or o\\Tiership cannot vest in any one corporation or individual. Such a right and ownership are asserted by thedefendaut corporation, and hence the dispute which has now given rise to litigation. " The complaint tells of an occasion early in July when the employees of the plaintiff company were interrupted while drawing a seine. They were told to desist, and at the" same time thejr attention was called to a formidable array of firearms in the hands of a numbef of Packers' Association employees, who had been posted on a bluff which overlooked and commanded the entire beach. On a sub- sequent date in the same month the drawing of another seine of the plaintiff com- pany was prevented by agents of the defendant, who are said to have connected the seine bj' cable to a steam winch. "Feeling between the two companies reached its highest point on July 28th. Several steam schooners of the whaling company on that day dropped anchor in the bay just off the beach. Employees of the packing company promptly ordered the vessels removed. The men in charge of the vessels refused to move, and then, according to the complaint, the packers' crew attempted to wreck the vessels by tripping their anchors on seines and dragging them ashore. This attempt failed, but the vessels sustained serious injury in consequence of the seines becoming entangled in the propellers." 42 salmon on the market (known as ' • duos ") as the output of canneries or companies having no existence and to which imaginary names are given sliould be ques- tioned. Such methods tend to injure the high reputation of the Alaska salmon pack. 31. The pack of each of the different species of salmon should be sold under its own recognized trade-mark — King Salmon (Tyee or Quinnat),Red Salmon (or Sugkegh), Silver Salmon (or Coho), Pink Salmon (or Humpback), Steelhead Trout. This distinction is at present in general honestly made, the output bear- ing the recognized names of existing companies and being for the most part what it pretends to be. Concerning the work (3f the inspectors of salmon fishing, we have the following- suggestions to make: 23. At present this work is virtually ineffective for the following reasons: a. The appointees in general have been men who know little or nothing of the problems involved which demand expert knowledge of (1) salmon, their kinds and habits; (3) the methods of fishing, and (8) the conditions and peculiarities of Alaska. For effective work special knowledge is requisite, as well as general intelligence and integrity. b. These men are largely dependent upon the courtesy of the packing companies (1) for their knowledge of the salmon, (2) for their knowledge of fishing methods, (3) for all trcinsportation and sustenance (except in southeastern Alaska), and (4) for all assistance in enforcing the law. c. The inspectors can not go from place to place at need and so spend so much of their time in enforced inaction. (d) They have no authority to remove obstructions or to enforce the law in case of its violation. For this reason their recommendations largely pass unheeded. 32, To remedy these conditions provision should be made — (a) For the appointment only of men of scientific or practical training, thor- oughly familiar with fishes or fishery methods, or both, and capable of finding out the truth in any matter requiring investigation. For such purposes expert service is as necessary as it would be in bank inspection or in any similar specialized work. (6) The Deijartment should provide suitable transportation facilities for its inspectors. It should be possible for them to visit at will any of the canneries or salmon rivers under their charge. They should be provided with means to pay for expenses of travel and siistenance, and should receive no financial courtesies from the packing companies or be dependent upon them for assistance in carrying- on their work. (c) The inspectors should be instructed to remove and destroy all obstructions found in the rivers in violation of law. They should have large powers of action and discretion, and they should have at hand such means as is necessary to carry out their purposes. Very respectfully, yours, David Starr Jordajj, Commissioner in Charge Fur-Seal Investigations. C. L. Hooper, Commaitding Bering Sea Patrol Fleet. Appendix V. AFFIDAVITS OF DYERS AND DRESSERS OF FUR-SEAL SKINS. The following affidavits of dyers and dressei's of fur-seal skins, submitted to the conference of fur-seal experts, may here be placed on record: Queen Street, London, E. C. I, Geo. Rice, of the city of London, England, make oath and say that I carry on the business of a dyer and dresser of furs and seal skins in this city ; that 1 have been engaged in the seal-skin trade for over thirty years and have personal and ]3ractical experience in the various processes of dressing and dyeing skins; that I employ 500 men in my business; that of the seal skins that have been taken in the waters of North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea by sealing vessels I have dressed or dyed skins of the pelagic catch of 1894, 85,000 skins; 1895, 70,000 skins; 1896, 50,000 skins. That I personally and through my expert employees have had every opportunity of examining these skins; that a part of them, being those of pups or young seals, are not with certainty distinguishable as to sex, but the greater portion of the 43 skins can be readily determined: that of these latter, embracing the pelagic catches of 1894, 1895, NO per cent, and of 1896, 70 to 80 per cent, were the skins of females; that of the skins of adult seals in these catches, the skins of males were rarely found. I fiirther say that I make this declaration in the interest of truth and for the information of those wno are concerned in making regulations for the preservation of the seal herd, and I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true. Geo. Rice. Sworn to at '• The Elms," Edmonton, in the county of Middlesex, this 26th day of October, 1897, before me. Alfred Hodgkinson, ' A Covimissioner for Oaths. 1. Edmund Wischhusen, of 138 New North road, Islington, in the county of London, seal dresser and unhairer, solemnly and sincerely declare as follows: 1. I have been engaged in the seal-skin trade for over thirty -five years. I have actually worked on seals for the last forty years, and on the Bering Sea seal ever since they have been brought to market. I have had personal and practical exi^e- rience in the various processes of dressing and unhairing seal skins during that period, I have been regularly employed as an expert by the largest fur merchants in London to examine the skins as they arrive from the pelagic sealers, at Messrs. C. M. Lampsons & Sons', of 64 Queen street, in the city of London, at the Hudson Bay Company's premises in Lime street, and at Mes.srs. Culverwell & Brooks, at St. Mary Axe. These are the only firms to whom seal skins have been sent for sale during the last few years. I inspect them in order to determine the quality and condition of the skins, and it is my business to report to the merchants from time to time the quality of the skins, and the merchants act on my report. From my per.sonal inspection in this way I am able to saj- that fully 80 per cent of the skins which have arrived from the pelagic sealers during the last three years are the skins of female seals. Of the 185,000, or thereabouts, of the pelagic northwest catch of 1894, fullj' 120,000 came under my notice and were examined by me: and of the 102,000, or thereabouts, of the like catch of 1895 about 100,000 came under my notice and were examined by me; and of the 70,000 forming the like pelagic catch of 1896, the whole parcel came under my notice and were examined by me. 2. There is absolutely no difficulty Avhatever in distinguishing the sex of the adult seals, as, apart from all other distinctions (and there are several, as, for instance, a difference in the size and shape of the head and also in the color), the distinction in the breasts is very marked, those of the females being very large and prominent and those of the males hardly distinguishable. It requires no expert to distinguish the sex. In most instances the hair round the nipples of the female seals has been worn off by the young pups. The only reason there is a doubt as to the sex of the remaining 20 per cent of the skins is that about this proportion are the skins of very young animals in which, the breasts and heads not being fully developed, the sex is not so easily distin- guishable, but this only applies to young pups and not in any way to adult seals. There is no difficulty whatever in identifying the Bering Sea seals from those caught on the coast of Japan and round or in the vicinity of the Copper Islands. And I make this solemn declaration, conscientiously believing the same to be true, and by virtue of the provisions of the statutory declarations act of 1835. E. Wischhusen. Declared at No. 138 New North road, in the county of London, on this twenty- sixth day of October, 1897, before me, John Venn, Notary Public, Note. — Attached thereto are the official certificates of John Venn, notary pub- lic, of the city of London, and Wm. M. Osborne, consul-general of the United States, with their official seals. I, Walter Edward Martin, of 4 Lambeth Hill, in the city of London, member of the firm of C. W. Martin & Sons, of the same place, fur dyers and dressers, sol- emnly, sincerely, and truly declare as follows: I am a British subject. I have been in the business of dyeing and dressing fur seals" skins in London about twenty-five years, and have personally handled many hvmdreds of thousands of such skins, and I have in consequence a special knowl- edge of seal skins. I have at various times made a special examination of the skins of the north- west (pelagic) catch of seals (a very large number of which come through my 44 firm's hands) with a view to ascertaining whether they are the skins of male or female seals, and I say that of the seals caught in the Bering Sea and in the North Pacific Ocean by the pelagic sealers fully 80 per cent of them are female seals, and I believe a still larger proportion. The remaining 20 per cent are mostly skins of young pups in which the sex is not very distinguishable, and a few large bulls, not more than about 3 per cent of the entire parcel. With.regard to adult seals, there is no difficulty whatever in detecting the skins of males and the skins of females. The breasts are very prominent in the female seals, and it requires no expert to detect which is the skin of a male seal and which the skin of a female seal, and very often round the breasts of the females the fur has been worn away. The regulations of the arbitrators, made in August, 1893, at Paris, with regard to pelagic sealing have not tended to in any way dimin- ish the proportion of female seals to males killed by the pelagic sealers, and the large majority of the skins of the pelagic catch still bear traces of the seals hav- ing been killed by means of shot. There can be no doubt whatever that a continuation of the present system of slaughtering such a large proportion of the female seals in the open ocean, with the consequential death of such a large i^roportion of piips, as is admitted by Prof. D'Arcy Thompson in his recent report to be due to pelagic sealing, and the death of the mothers, is fast tending to exterminate the seal from the ocean, and that unless some steps are promptly taken to stop pelagic sealing, which under the present conditions can not be profitable to the sealers, the herd will soon be entirely exterminated and destroyed, and I submit that the only means of pre- serving the seals from entire extinction is to absolutely put an end to pelagic sealing, which it ought not to be difficult to bring about by mutual agreenaent, due regard being had to the interests of all parties concerned. And I make this solemn declaration, conscientiously Ijelieving the same to be true, and by virtue of the provisions of the statutory declarations act, 1835. Walter Martin. Declared at No. 4 Lambeth Hill, in the city of London, this sixteenth day of September, 1897, before me, John D. Venn. Notanj Public. Note. — Attached thereto are the official certificates of John Venn, notary pub- lic, of the city of London, and Wm. M. Osborne, consul-general of the United States, with their official seals. Appendix VI. THE FUR-SEAL CONFERENCE. Since the greater part of the foregoing report was prepared a meeting of the representatives of the United States, Great Britain, and Canada, engaged in the investigations of the past tVo seasons, was held in Washington and the following joint statement of conclusions agreed upon: joint statement of conclusions respecting the fur-seal herd frequent- ing THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS IN BERING SEA. The undersigned, dulj' empowered delegates, engaged during recent years in the investigation of the condition and habits of the fur-seal herd frequenting the Pribilof Islands in Bering Sea, viz, on behalf of the United States. Charles Sum- ner Hamlin and David Starr Jordan; on behalf of Great Britain, D'Arcy Went- worth Thompson: on behalf of Canada, James Melville Macoun, have met in conference under instructions from our respective Governments. Under these instructions we were directed — " To arrive, if possible, at correct conclusions respecting the numbers, condi- tions, and habits of the seals frequenting the Pribilof Islands at the present tinie as compared with the several seasons previous and subsequent to the Paris award." As a result of such conference, now completed, we, the above-named Charles 45 Suinner Hamlin, David Stan* Jordan, D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson, and James Melville Macoun, find ourselves in accord on the propositions contained in the fol- lowing joint statement of conclnsions respecting the fur-seal herd frequenting the Pribiiof Islands, and make this our report: JOINT STATEMENT. 1. There is adeqiiate evidence that since the year 1884, and down to the date of the inspection of the rookeries in 1897, the fur-seal herd of the Pribilof Islands, as measured on either the hauling grounds or breeding grounds, has declined in numbers at a rate varying from year to year. 2. In the absence for the earlier years of actual counts of the rookeries such as ha^e been made in recent years, the best approximate measure of decline now available is found is these facts: (a) About 100,000 male seals of recognized killable age were obtained from the hauling grounds each year from 1871 to 1889. The table of statistics given in Appendix I shows, on the whole, a progressive increase in the number of hauling grounds driven and in the number of drives made, as well as a retardation of the date at which the quota was attained during a number of years previous to 1889. {b) In the year 1890, 28,964' killable seals were taken after continuing the driv- ing till July 27, and in 1897, 19,189 after continuing the driving till August 11. We have no reason to believe that during the period 1896 and 1897 a very much larger number of males of recognized* killable age could have been taken on the hauling grounds. The reduction between the years 1896 and 1897 in the number of killable seals taken, while an indication of decrease in the breeding herd, can not be taken as an actual measure of such decrease. A number of other factors must be taken into consideration, and the real measure of decrease must be sought in more pertinent statistics drawii from the breeding rookeries themselves. 3. From these data it is plain that the former yield of the hauling grounds of the Pribilof Islands was from three to five times as great as in the years 1896 and 1897, and the same diminution to one-third or one-fifth of the former product may be assumed when we include also the results of hunting at sea. 4. The death rate among the young fur seals, especiallj^ among the pups, is very great. While the loss among the pups prior to their departure from the islands has been found in the last two years to approach 20 per cent of the whole number born, and though the rate of subsequent mortality is unknown, we may gather from the number which return each year that from one-half to two-thirds have perished before the age of three years— that is to say, the killable age for the males and the breeding age for the females. 5. The chief natural ■ causes of death among pups, so far as known at present, are as follows, the importance of each being variable and more or less uncertain: (a) Ravages of the parasitic worm Uiiciiiaria, most destructive on sandy breeding areas and during the period from July 15 to August 20. (b) Trampling by fighting bulls or by moving bulls and cows, a source of loss greatest among young pups.^ (c) Starvation of pups strayed or separated from their mothers when very young or whose mothers have died from natural causes. (d) The ravages of the great killer (Orca), known to be fatal to many of the young and perhaps also to older seals. At a later i;)eriod drowning in the storms of winter is believed, but not certainly known, to be a cause of death among the older pups. 6. Counts of certain rookeries, with partial counts and estimates of others, show that the number of breeding females bearing pups on St. Paul and St. George was, — • ■ . . ' The nominal quota of 30,000 for 1896 and of 20,890 for 1897 included food skins taken in the fall cf 1895 and 1896. - That is to say, not including losses ensuing from the killing of mothers at sea. The number of dead pups counted on the rookeries between August 8 and 14, in 1896, was 1 1,045. It is recognized that this number is an underestimate, inasmuch as a greater number must have been overlooked than were counted twice. It is also recognized that the great majority of these pups died from the attacks of the worm Uiicinaria. ■'• The importance of this source of loss we now find to be much less than was supposed to be the case from the investigations made in 1896. (See Reports for 1896, Jordan, p. 45; Thompson, p. 20; Macoun, MSS.) 46 in 1896 and 1897, between 160,000 and 130,000, more nearly approaching the higher figure in 1896 and the lower in 1897.' 7. On certain rookeries, where pups were counted in both seasons. 16,341 being found in 1896 and 14,318 in 1897, or applying a count adopted by Professor Thomp- son, 14,743 in the latter year, there is evident a decrease of 9 or 13 per cent within the twelvemonth in question. The count of pups is the most trustworthy meas- ure of niimerical variation in the herd. The counts of harems, and especially of cows present, are much inferior in value. The latter counts, however, point in the same direction. The harems on all the rookeries were counted in both seasons. In 1896 there were 4,933; in 1897 there were 4,41 8, a decrease of 10.41 per cent. The cows actually present on certain rookeries at the height of the season were counted in both seasons. Where 10.198 were found iij 1896, 7,307 were found in 1897, a decrease of 28.34 per cent. - 8. It is not easy to apply the various counts in the form of a general average to all the rookeries of the islands. We recognize that a notable decrease has been suffered by the herd during the twelvemonth 1896 to 1897. without attempting, save by setting the above numbers on record, to ascribe to the decrease more pre- cise figures. 9. The methods of driving and killing practised on the islands, as they have come under our observation during the i^ast two years, call for no criticism or objection. An adequate supply of bulls is present on the rookeries; the number of older bachelors rejected in the drives during the period in question is such as to safeguard in the immediate future a similarly adequate supply; the breeding bulls, females, and pups on the breeding rookeries*are not disturbed; there is no evidence or sign of impairment by driving of the virility of males; the operations of driving and killing are condiicted skilfully and without inhumanity. 10. The pelagic industry is conducted in an orderly manner and in a spirit of acquiescence in the limitations imposed by the law. 11. Pelagic sealing involves the killing of males and females alike, without dis- crimination and in proportion as the two sexes coexist in the sea. The reduction of males eifected on the islands causes an enhanced proportion of females to be found in the pelagic catch; hence this proportion, if it vary from no other cause, varies at least with the catch iipon the islands. In 1895 Mr. A. B. Alexander, on behalf of the Government of the United States, found 63.3 per cent of females in the catch of the Dora Sieimrd in Bering Sea, and in 1896 Mr. Andrew Halkett, on behalf of the Canadian Government, found 84.3 in the catch of the same schooner ill the same sea. There are no doubt instances, especially in the season of migra- tion and on the course of the migrating herds, of catches containing a very dif- ferent proportion of the two sexes. 13. The large proportion of females in the pelagic catch includes not only adult females that are both nursing and pregnant, but also young seals that are not pregnant and others that have not yet brought forth young, with such also as have recently lost their young through the various causes of natural mortality. '■'' 13. The polygamous habit of the animal, coupled with an equal birth rate of the two sexes, permits a large number of males to be removed with impunity from the herd, while, as with other animals, any similar abstraction of females checks or lessens the herd's increase, or, when carried further, brings about an actual dimi- ^ For detailed account of the census of 1896, see Jordan, Preliminary Report for 1896, p. 15; Thompson. Report for 1896, p. 19; Macoun, Report. 1896. MSS. For a discussion of suggested corrections to the census of 1896, Jordan, Final Report, 1897. For details of the census of 1897, see Thompson, Report, 1897; Macoun, Report, 1897; Jordan, Report, 1897. A correction to be made in the censusof 1896 arises from the agreed assumption that the total number of breeding females was 1.75 times the number seen in the height of the season. Later observations show that the actual total is at least tv^ace the maximum number ever seen at once on a rookery. ■■^ The extreme irregularity of the number of cows present on the rookeries from day to day and the consequent invalidity of any comparison of their number is shown by the counts made on Lukanin and Kitovi rookeries diiring the season of 1897. See Appendix II. ^Statements on which to base an estimate of the relative numbers of these several classes are necessarily incomplete, but the following notes may serve as a partial guide: Townsend, Report 1895, pp. 46, 47. Alexander, Report 1895, pp. 143, 143. Macoun, Report 1897, MSS. Lucas, Report 1897, MSS. 47 nution of the herd. It is equally plain that a certain number of females maj- be killed without involving the actual diminution of the herd, if the number killed do not exceed the annual increment of the breeding herd, taking into considera- tion the annual losses by death through old age and through incidents at sea. 14. While, whether from a consideration of the birth rate or from an inspection of the visible effects, it is manifest that the take of females in recent years has been so far in excess of the natural increment as to lead to a reduction of the herd in the degree related above, yet the ratio of the pelagic catch of one year to that of the following has fallen off more rapidly than the ratio of the breeding herd of one year to the breeding herd of the next. ' 15. In this greater reduction of the pelagic catch, compared with the gradual decrease of the herd, there is a tendency toward equilibrium, or a stage at which the numbers of the breeding herd would neither increase nor decrease. In con- sidering the probable size of the herd in the immediate future, there remains to be estimated the additional factor of decline resulting from reductions in the number of surviving pups caused by the larger pelagic catch of 1894 and 1895. 16. The diminution of the herd is yet far from a stage which involves or threatens the actual extermination of the species, so long as it is protected in its haunts on land. It is not possible during the continuance of the conservative methods at present in force upon the islands, with the further safeguard of the protected zone at sea, that any pelagic killing should accomplish this final end. There is evidence, however, that in its present condition the herd yields an incon- siderable return either to the lessees of the islands or to the owners of the pelagic fleet. Appendix I. — Statistics regarding land and sea killing. 1S71-18V7. Year. Date quota filled, rr Hauling grounds driven, o Number of drives.^/ Killed on land. 5 Killed at sea. 1871 July 38 July 35 July 34 July 17 July 16 Aug. Ic July 14 July 18 July 16 July 17 July SO 46 43 I 55 36 44 54 71 78 99 86 81 101 106 117 101 103 110 87 (e) 43 30 37 41 37 30 33 35 36 88 34 36 39 43 & 74 66 73 74 55 (e) («?) 102,960 108, 819 109. 177 110, 585 106, 460 94, 657 84,310 109.323 110,411 105, 718 105, 063 99,813 79, 509 105, 434 105.034 104, .531 105, 760 103,304 103,617 38,059 13,040 7, .511 7,396 16,370 14,846 38,964 30,890 16 911 1873 5 336 1873 5 339 1874 5 873 1875. 5,0;33 5 515 1876 1877 -.. 5 310 1878 5 544 1879 8 557 1880 - 8,418 10 383 1881 1883 - 15 551 1883 ... July 19 July 31 July 37 July 36 July 34 July 37 July 31 July 20d 16 .5.57 1884 16,971 33 040 1885 -.- - 1886- 28 494 1887 30,638 26 189 1888 1889 , 29,858 40,814 59, 568 1890 1891.. 1893 - 46,642 30.813 1893- -.-- ..- 1894 Aug. 4 July 37 do 61 838 1895 56,391 4:j,917 /35.079 1896 31 42 31 37 1897 Aug. 7 a These figures refer to the hauling grounds of St. Paul. ' b These totals include all males killed for any purpose on the islands. c In 1K7() the killing was begun at an vinusual date, said to be on account of an exceptionally late season, rf Closed by order of the agent in charge, f Years of the modus vivendi. /As reported to date. 'The catch of the pelagic fleet, Canadian and American, in 1S97 in Bering Sea was 16,657 seals. In the summer of 1896 it was 29,500. The aggregate catch which directly influenced the herd of 1897 was 38,932, a number made up by adding to the summer's catch of 1896 the northwest coast catch in the spring of 1897. Up to the present time, accordingly, the pelagic catch already taken (1(5,657) and oper- ating directly against next year's supply is 57.22 per cent le.ss than the pelagic catch which operated against the supply of 1897 (see. also, Appendix I) : or, if we compare merely the summer catches, inasmuch as the possible spring catch of 1898 is an unknown factor, we have a reduction of 43.46 per cent. 48 Appendix II. — Becord of arrival of coics.a Date. Amphitheater of Kitovi. June 13 - 13- 14. 15. 16- 17- 18- 19- 30. 21- 33- 33. 34. 35- 36. 27. 28. 29. 30. 1. July 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 30. 21 33. 23- 34. 35. 26. 37. 38. 29- 30. 31- June 14. 20. 30. July 8. Record of harems. Cows present. 33 37 45 56 76 105 137 168 310 246 290 362 414 499 518 550 .585 6587 660 Date. 654 556 703 678 698 566 556 429 528 416 469 465 426 463 4<36 304 414 427 375 Cows present. Record of harems— Continned. July 13. Lukanin rookery. June 12. 13. 14. 15- 16. 17. 18- 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 38- 39- 30- July 1. 2. 3- 4- 5. 6. 7. 9... 10 .. 11.. 12.- 13-. 15.. 14 c 15.- 16.. 17 . 18.-. 19.. 20... 21 - I 1 3 5 6 11 19 25 37 52 74 103 131 176 207 257 635 939 088 197 264 371 .531 .541 680 755 736 841 306 337 325 338 328 290 214 215 219 212 196 186 148 1.57 177 149 127 124 aWeather clear; uo storms or surfs, except one day when rain fell, causing a larger number of cows to take to the water and making it difficult to distinguish those present from the rocks. 6 Rain. , ^ ,.■ ^^ c After July 14 it became impossible, on account of the scattermg of the cows, to continue the count for the entire rookery without too great loss of time, and so a section of 18 harems was singled out and the count continued on it. LIBRPRY OF CONGRESS 002 894 260 6