Show THE sir SEAL IL PIRATES an alarming Dec decrease renso or of tho the pur fur sort son animals two of 0 the ho happiest and most interesting arrivals who live recently stopped oil tile tho cars in washington on a are william palmer of tile tho national nation museum and it 11 IV elliott of tile treasury they hivo have lust just returned froni tho the seil sell rookeries rook eries 0 of the ov islands in henring sea where they have spent a part of tile tho spring and all 0 the summer I 1 mr r elliot wn was not tit in tile city yesterday afternoon but mr palmer was found by it a post reporter at the Musti ont building while hn he did not but experience what aro are usually described as hardships ho he does not recommend the trip to summer tourists mr palmer was sent on this round trip of miles for tho the pur purpose e of collecting a series of groups fully illustrating tho the lifo life of the main mammals nials on t these hose little isles of the tha northern waters ile ho was especially to study the habits of tho the spa seal tho the soa sea llon hon and tile alio walrus from a taxidermists point of view not neglecting lec ting however to gather lit in everything thin that th atwould would bo be of interest in tile tho groat great national museum collection tho the government lias has hall had so littile opportunity to obtain specimens from st paul and st george islands island that lie ho has lia been able tit in ills his trip rip to collect miny many now and valuable things ile he brings with lit bilm in 1000 specimens specimen which in thenis elvos will mike make quite art an interesting study we lye loft left washington april hand hanI took passage from san Francisco for tho the ov islands on may bill said mr palmer aboard the north american trading Lr aling companas Comp anys swain steamer pr arago stopping for a week at atO Ouri alaska island imand on en route tho the north american trading company Is the 4 successor to tho the alaska commercial company which for foi years has monopolized mono polled tha seal fur bugh business less of tho the world through its contract art w I 1 tit the united states stales hut but tile tho company has it a less advantageous contract than the alaska company enjoyed ity by clio terms of tho new contract the price paid the geyer government u manthas has been raised from 53 per pelt to 10 and the right has haa been reserved to stop th slaughter at any time m alion hen it was deemed necessary I 1 the old company hm has taken I 1 pelts per year tor for the past twenty years and between it and the poachers poacher tho I 1 seals have decreased to an alarming extent mr elliott Ell ioli who was at the lalands as an alfont of tile tho government from 1872 1871 to was astonished beyond bend YO nd measure at the state stale ol of affairs lio lie found on oil his aril in ival val at tho rookeries rook eries lie ile says lie ho did not soo see ono one seal where there were fifty lit in 1872 I 1 ilas has any official action lieen been taken take yes this alarming condition or of affairs has aroused the government and tho the slaughter has been stopped slopped for this year promptly on july 20 tho the total number of pelts taken being 2099 from which SOO no will bo be realized by tho the treasury Practical practically lypo po attention 1 1 on I 1 lias been pa paid id to the poachers hers u who lip t it t la Is illi havo have killed as many m any more seals limiting the number of skins skills which will he be on oil the market this 5 icar ear to about a decrease bf from previous years year for this reason said mr air raimer palmer 1 I would advise those aho vho ito expect to buy sealskin Oal sacks to 10 make maho their purchases hages early as sealskins seal skins N ft ill bo be sealskins seal skins and few in a hill t are arc seal pirates numerous r bahring sea swarming with them anti and tile the government cutters rush Ili ish and dear bear have been powerless in tile the absence of orders from washington to prevent tho the wholesale carried on by them tile gohei government ament has not been attempting to enforce jurisdiction over the behring sea and the poachers have been at work everywhere outside of the three milo mile limit it if their pelts represented anything like lika tho the num muni her of 0 seals killed by them it would nol noh bo be so bad but it is estimated that they only succeed in getting ono one out of overy four they kill they aro compelled to shoot the iho seals lit in tile water and as they sink as soon as they die d ic fully t ahree fourths of them ara lie or recovered from tills this wo we estimate that tho the pirates have killed this year about seals nearly all of which aich aro are females hy by the terms of tho the north american trading trad ing companas Comp anys contract the company can call kill only malo male seals under penalty of forfeiture but with iho clio girat pirat pirates cs none but females aro are slaughtered tho the females conic como to the islands early carly in july giving birth usually to their young within a few days and often within a few hours after their arrival at the rookeries rook eries within two weeks they aro are oil off for their feeding grounds a distance of 0 about miles into tho the open sea hero here the poachers ha hao 0 this year been killing them by the thousands with impunity aud and it if this condition of affairs continues n the e seal eal will bo be an extinct species within a very short time the vessels aro are hy by no DO moans means all from english and canadian ports tho the yankee poacher is there in groat great numbers and tho the hags flags of many other nations can bo be found among them tile tho arago 1 11 continued mr pain palmer passed tho the british schooner ariel 1 from st johns Jo lins before setting getting out oat of tho the aca ca when tho nors captain sa saw iv the arago he lowered ills hia canvas rua and sot set a all 11 hands to fishing As aa soon scion as tho the arago came close enough for him to distinguish that it was not a government cutter tho fishing lines were wera dropped sail made and tho the voyage resumed her dock deck was covered with selling canoes and sho she had a crew of over twenty hunters aboard in III san francisco tile men interested in tile tho selling scaling trade were jubilant over the aragon A news they had received tho the news ol of tho the success of their own vessels find and seemed to feel equally good over losses of tile the north american trading company pott post |