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“Since our Women Must Walk Gay:”1 The Cultural Legacy of the North American Seal
Fishery in Literature, Song, and Art from the 19th and 20th Century
By
Caitlyn Stewart
MAST 4994
Dr. Matthew McKenzie
May 2nd, 2016
1
Rudyard Kipling. “Rhymeof the Three Sealers.” In The Collected Poems of Rudyard Kipling, introduction and notes by R.T
Jones, (Great Britain: McKays of Chatham, 1999).

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A research vessel motors over the choppy Bering Sea waters, east of the Pribilof Islands.
Two biologists holding tracking devices lean over the side and wait to tag a Northern Fur-Seal.
Something dark moves near a large rock in the water. Waves lick the smooth boulder, glossing
over the humps near-by. Fog hangs lightly over the shifting water, barely obscuring the dark
green trees several miles inland. The men on the boat do not see the wide black eyes, pleading
for help like a baby wanting his mother. These are the eyes of a Northern Fur-Seal. One-hundred
and twenty years ago, the seal would have witnessed a swash-buckling swarm of steam sealers
racing towards the Pribilof Islands to fill their holds with furs to fashionably wrap around
women’s shoulders. Rudyard Kipling wrote that the brave men pursuing the seals did it so, “our
women must walk gay.” But human values and cultural interest shifted to conservation and
scientific curiosity over time, making fur coats an undesirable commodity. The brave men, too,
were driven out of the sealing industry as new values assisted restrictions to prevent the
destruction of the fur seal. Scientists on the rookeries in the mid-20th and 21st centuries utilized
advanced research methods, such as attaching monitoring devices to the seals. Tracking seal
movement in this way provided concrete answers to questions such as “How does a mother seal
find her pup to nurse it if he swims from one rookery to another?” This is an important question
for gauging seal behavior because marine mammal management needs to continual evolve as
does the species. What the men in that research vessel see today is not the adventure or money
sealers saw a century ago, but rather its sad legacy.
It was not until the 1960’s and 1970’s that scientists and explorers recognized the impact
of western industrial powers on its ability to destroy the ocean.2 At this point in time, the entire
2 Gary Kroll. America’s Ocean Wilderness: A Cultural History of Twentieth-Century Exploration. (Lawrence, KS:
University Press of Kansas, 2008).

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ocean was being viewed from an environmental standpoint. Kurkpatrick Dorsey argued that
political, economic, and scientific forces made conservation efforts fail prior to the 1970’s. Not
until Green Peace formed in 1971 did the anti-whaling campaign gain momentum with artistic
components. Ideas of sustainability connected to literary works and motivated the public to take
conservation action. Works such as Mind in the Waters by Joan McIntyre entered the cetacean
consciousness and popularized that whales are intelligent and moral.3 The “Save the Whales”
movement radicalized the idea that people might not be as good as whales. Humans were made
to rethink their relationship to the ocean and its largest inhabitant, even if they had never seen a
whale. American biologist, Victor Scheffer, wrote about sperm whales in his 1969 tale, The Year
of the Whale. He made whales accessible to the public and enhanced their understanding of
wildlife management. If people were to grasp one message from his subsequent book, The Year
of the Seal, Scheffer writes it would teach, “Humans are richer for sharing a world with seal.”4
Peaceful cohabitation is morally right and humans must be stewards to even the smallest marine
mammals – not just the whales. As will soon be explored, earlier artists and authors like Henry
Wood Elliot and Rudyard Kipling similarly challenged the sealing industry to rethink pinnipeds
and see them as a charismatic megafauna. Diplomatic techniques alone were not working for
management, so the rise of sealing literature exposed the animal in a new light and challenged
the culture just as the popular 1970’s movements did.
Prior to the “Save the Whales!” movement and marine mammal conservation groups of
the 1960’s and 1970’s, a group of naturalists, artists, and authors questioned the lucrative sealing
industry. Between 1870 and 1911, a shift in attitude towards seals emerged in literature, art, and
3 Kurkpatrick Dorsey and William Cronin. Whales and Nations: Environmental Diplomacy on the High Seas, 237.
4 Victor Sheffer. The Year of the Seal (New York: Scriber, 1970), ix.

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song. This cultural shift affected the scientific analyses of seals, which in turn guided
regulations, and thus, resulted in one of the first conservation policy of a marine resource.
Amidst the new evaluation of human values, the romance and adventure spurred resistance to
regulations protecting the industry. Sealing ‘pirates,’ such as the infamous Alex McLean, whom
Jack London based The Sea Wolf’s antagonist after, dismissed the 1893 Bering Sea Arbitration
and killed more seals than any other year. At the same time, Rudyard Kipling published the short
story “The White Seal” anthropomorphizing the fur seals on St. George Island. The collision of
these creative minds advanced the public and government to support the North Pacific Fur Seal
Treaty of 1911, and founded the backbone for future conservation regulation defense. As a
result, and half a century before whales underwent similar cultural transformation, seals were
seen less as a marine resource and more as charismatic megafauna. The cuteness factor can
therefore be traced as far back to 1870 by literary men like Kipling. In short, a late 19th century
call to “Save the Seals” predated a mid-20th century call to “Save the Whales.” The fur seal may
even be “the most controversial animal in the history of modern diplomacy,” due to its
amphibious, gregarious, and ubiquitous nature.5 Literature and art was a critical point in the
public’s understanding of this feature, as well for the development of international policy. The
hunters and scientists were the only ones privileged to get so close to the majestic creatures, and
consequently, the only ones who understood them. Modern day whale and seal watches educate
the public and allow them to soak in the salty spray of a humpback whale; whereas the 19th
century folk lived through seal stories and artwork. The force of artistic influence on public
sentiment uncovers the changes that occurred to shape future conservation policies.
5 Don MacGillivray. Captain Alex MacLean: Jack London’s Sea Wolf. (UBC Press: Vancouver, 2008), 2.

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The Cultural Emergence of the Fur Seal as Charismatic Megafauna
Prior to any international controls on the seal trade, authors and artists had begun to
illustrate the emotional sides of an industry based upon the butchery of an amiable pinniped they
could relate to. Even before Herman Melville published the American classic Moby-Dick
(1851), the Arctic fur sealing Captain Henry Acton wrote about the natives he saw, ship-life, and
most crucially – seals. His didactic style of writing predated Melville’s chapters about whale
anatomy and the process of cutting in. Captain Acton wrote for his son to learn about whaling
life in 1838. No evidence of preservation exists within the book, but a foundation for learning
about the life and nature of seals is there. Most notable, Acton writes, “The view of hundreds of
creatures bearing some resemblance to the human, writhing in the agencies of death…was at
once distressing and disgusting to a spectator with any feeling.”6 Here, Acton recorded sympathy
for the human-like pinnipeds amid his descriptions of natural history nearly three-quarters of a
century before the first international fur-seal protection act – and a decade before the whale
gained literary attention. He also warned his son of the dreadful business that sealing entailed
because of the manner in which they are killed. In addition to mass slaughter on animals with
which human can easily relate, sealing sometimes also involved scenes when seals were flayed
alive after merely being stunned.7 Evidently for Acton, seals and sealing—as early as the
1830s—represented more than just the harvest of a marine resource. Despite his commercial
interest in the trade, Acton sympathized with the marine mammals and acknowledged their
livelihood as he killed them for his own living. The idea of a charismatic marine mammal
6 William Acton. A Whaling Captain’sLife: The Exciting True Account by Henry Acton, for His Son,William,
Charleston, S.C.: History Press, 101.
7 Ibid, 75.

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developed long before the popular campaigns and movements of the 20th century. Captain Henry
Acton’s book proves that sentiments began much earlier and should be passed on.
Seventeen years before the publication of the North Pacific Fur Seal Treaty (1911),
Rudyard Kipling’s fictional narrative “The White Seal” (1894) starred not the White Whale, but
rather the White Seal. In 1894, Rudyard Kipling published The Jungle Book which contains
many different narratives concerning man’s relationship with nature. Within the popular
children’s book is a tale about Kotick, the “White Seal.” The humanization of the seals points to
an early conservation plea. Kipling noticed the unwarranted violence that humans imposed upon
the animals and wanted to bring public attention to the environment. Sympathy for the marine
mammals emanates as Kotick witnesses Aleuts slaughter his friends with four-foot long clubs,
“He turned and galloped back to the sea; his little new mustache bristling with horror.”8 Kotick
confides in a sea lion and says how lonely he is now because men are killing all the
holluschickie. The sea lion dismisses Kotick’s cries by telling him that the drives have occurred
for over thirty years. Nothing new. But the white animal wants to discover a place safe from
men. His endeavors all over the seven seas leaves him with the realization that no one
sympathizes with his efforts. Kotick is called an idiot by fellow seals, just as some proponents
for regulations were called. Those animals eventually learn that Kotick is right, but it takes them
a long time to understand why. Kotick’s vivacity and humanistic qualities brought awareness to
the cuteness of marine mammals while pointing out larger conservation issues.
Literature also highlights white man’s role in sealing’s cultural legacy. Racial overtones
contributed to Rudyard Kipling’s story when he made his protagonist a white seal. Sources point
8 Rudyard Kipling. “The White Seal.” In The Jungle Book. The University of Adelaide: South Australia, 6.

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to the whiteness as an Anglo-American signifier and the importance of white men to protect the
environment.9 Anglo-Americans have caused decimation on the islands, and so they must lead
the way to regain the seal population. Kotick’s whiteness also represented his innocence to the
heartless killings. At first Kotick was horrified, but then he advocated to remedy the problem and
escape from the clubbers. His pure white coat set him apart from all the rest who needed to
realize that unity would protect them from future deaths. In reality, Kotick had a 1 in 100,000
chance of turning out white, or albino.10 Among these odds, the overall survival rate of an albino
seal decreases, placing Kotick as a unique being. The white man thus had an obligation to be
that unique being who took a chance and advocated for environmental conservation. Kipling
clearly provided a literary voice to the white race and portrayed the fur seal as an endearing
creature.
Naturalist and artist, Henry Woods Elliot, inspired Rudyard Kipling’s writings about
seals, as “The White Seal” was created into a seal’s perspective of Elliot’s report The Seal
Islands of Alaska (1881) and centered the protagonist, Kotick, off Elliot himself. Elliot
mentioned in the 1881 report how he was the only white man on the island to traverse the whole
coast.11 His distinction from the Aleuts made him a leader for Anglo-Americans in looking out
for island’s interests. Elliot’s connection to the white seal signified the guilt that the white man
should have, and took blame away from the native Aleuts who did not have the power to initiate
international agreements. Kipling harnessed Elliot’s report and provided insight from a seal’s
9 Rudyard Kipling. "Notes on the Text." Foreword. The Jungle Books. Ed. Kaori Nagai. (London: Penguin, 2013).
10 Busch, 97.
11 Henry Woods Elliot. The Seal Islands of Alaska. Washington:G.P.O., 1881. http://dx.doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.
(accessed February 6th, 2016), 18

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perspective – a new outlook that changed the public perception of marine mammals. Elliot’s
scientific involvement, discussed later on, coincided with his cultural contribution.
As an experienced topographic artist, Elliot focused his vigor on the Pribilof Islands to
document its natural history and call attention to an endangered species. Extensive notations that
supplemented his drawings suggested that he intended them to be accurate, visual records that
showed biological value of the seals.12 Emotional appeal from Elliot’s pinniped drawings
assisted the North Pacific Fur Seal Treaty’s American success. His drawings were some of the
earliest images people saw of the Pribilof Islands. From 1874-1890 Elliot sketched over two-
hundred black and white images of the islands, natives, seals, and slaughter. His persuasive
images sparked public sentiment. For instance, in “Hollushuckie Hauling out on Tolstoi Sands,
English Bay, St. Paul Island” (1872), Elliot sketched hundreds of seals dotting the sand and surf.
A sub-caption laments how in 1890, that sight was no more due to seal decimation. An 1890
piece portrays the abandonment of St. Paul Island. The seal population drastically decreased
every year Elliot visited the islands. He was able to depict the charismatic traits in his sketches,
and use natural appeal to rally public opinion that would put pressure on stricter regulations.13
His documentation of the Pribilofs left a long-lasting legacy of experimental conservation
efforts, but as will be discovered later, the road to conservation did not come easy.
German-born painter, Albert Bierstadt, took an interest in marine mammals around the
same time that Elliot visited the Pribilof Islands for the first time in the 1870’s. Although he was
not a known conservationist, his depictions of animal life on the Farallon Islands off the coast of
12
Robert McCracken Peck. “A Painter in the Bering Sea: Henry Wood Elliott and the Northern Fur Seal.” Polar
Record, (2014), 312.
13 Robert McCracken Peck, 311.

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San Francisco inspired tourism to the supposedly ‘treacherous’ islands. The artist arrived during
peak breeding season, and was able to paint several species of pinnipeds, varying from young
yearlings to old bulls. Vibrant colors glorified the island landscape and inspired awe. Most
notably, Bierstadt’s oil on paper Seal Rocks, Farallons (1872) shows the public a lesser-known
part of the world and illuminates the plethora of life that dwells on the rocks. The islands are also
known as “the Galapagos of central California” because of the rich wildlife. About a decade after
Bierdstadt’s paintings, pelagic sealing began. Many vessels started the season early, which meant
the ships would begin sealing at the Farallons and then follow the seals north into the Bering
Sea.14 This man’s art demonstrates the beauty of an animal and location, but in reality, no
rookery was left unturned.
Seal art from the other coasts, such as in the Antarctic and South Indian Ocean regions,
display the animals in a less majestic and simple manner. Instead of the charismatic fur seal
splashing in the surf, several paintings depict a bloody battle. The anonymous painting Heard’s
Island – South Indian Ocean was likely painted around the 1850’s and shows a large elephant
seal bleeding as a man stabs it to death for oil. The Bering Sea did not bear this type of image to
the public. However, a polar bear attacks a seal in Charles Raleigh’s The Law of the Wild (1881),
revealing a more natural state in which man is not the only predator to seals. These two artists
teach that killing marine mammals is the natural order of life. Unlike Bierstadt and Elliot’s art,
these works do not encourage visitation or awe, nor do they inspire the ‘cute’ sentiment. Author
and sailor, Jack London, questioned man’s relationship to nature’s marine creation.
14 Charles Haskins Townsend. Pelagic Sealing: With Notes on the Fur Seals of Guadalupe,the Galapagos,and
Lobos Islands. (Washington:Government Printing Office, 1899), 225.

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Jack London investigated the nature of sealers and their treatment of the charismatic
megafauna in his sealing novel The Sea Wolf (1904). Born in 1876 San Francisco around the
same time that Henry Woods Elliot first visited the Pribilof Islands. London “got down to naked
facts of life” while onboard the sealing schooner Sophie Sutherland, which he clearly exhibits in
The Sea Wolf. The narrator, Humphrey van Weyden, uncovers the “naked facts of life,” one fact
teaching him to rid pessimism from life, when he counts the faceless animal detached from all
feeling. He describes counting seal pelts as a very hardening and wholesome experience.15
Sorting furs teaches him to look more closely at life despite images of brutal butchers flinging
skins onto blood-smeared decks. This sealer’s experience can be related to Jack London’s
sentiments on his first sealing voyage. London put the naked facts of life into literary form and
left the moral interpretation up to the reader.
In 1893, Jack London signed on to the sealing schooner, Sophie Sutherland that left
Oakland port. Although London had a close bond to the sea already, this voyage was his first
adventure on the Pacific Ocean. He called this sole sealing voyage the happiest period of his
whole life.16 The pelt-chaser aimed to reap seal skins from the Bering Sea, cruising seven months
from Oakland, California to the coast of Japan. It was onboard the Sophie Sutherland, most
likely in the dim f’o’csle, that London first heard of the infamous brutal seal ship captain,
Alexander McLean. Of course, these sailors’ yarns could have exaggerated McLean’s adventure
stories. His sealing days uncovered the ruthless killings that public literature started to warn
against.
15 London, 155.
16 Don MacGillivray. Captain Alex MacLean: Jack London’s Sea Wolf, 103.

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Besides the inspiration for London’s Wolf Larsen in Sea Wolf, Alexander McLean
achieved folk-hero status for his pirate-like jaunts in the Pacific Ocean during the late 19th
century. At the time of The Sea Wolf’s publication in 1904, McLean was in the midst of seal-
poaching on the Carmencita. The public and his own greed prevented many from seeing the
seals as feeling creatures. Fur coats were all the rage at the turn of the century, and the public
demanded more sealskins despite restrictions. Men would go to great lengths to secure a catch of
seals. The Japanese also started to cause problems when they began to take seals from the islands
and increased their fleet to exceed the Canadians.17 It is no surprise that many American and
Canadian poachers abandoned ship to join Japanese flagged vessels. Americans and British
citizens were prohibited from pelagic sealing since 1898, so to avoid confrontation, McLean
sailed the Carmencita under a Mexican flag. The American Revenue Cutter, Bear, stopped the
ship only once, but their papers satisfied the cutter and they sailed on through the Bering Sea to
continue poaching. A series of events led to dismantling the pelagic sealing captain’s escapades
on the Carmencita when several crew members were injured and the seal island lessee, North
American Commercial Company, became aware of the illegal activities. Attempts by the revenue
cutter men to stop men like McLean were not left unpreserved. They left behind a cultural legacy
of their own.
In Below Zero: Songs and Verses from the Bering Sea and the Arctic, songs record a
romantic view of sailing the Bering Sea, while placing the coast guard officers above the
immoral sealers. The revenue cutter service men claimed to possess a more conscientious
outlook on the killing of seals than the illegal clubbers they aim to stop. Their role in sealing’s
cultural legacy was attributed to something deeper than economic and political motive. These are
17 Don MacGillivray. Captain Alex MacLean: Jack London’s Sea Wolf, 161.

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the men who stopped vessels like the Carmencita and attempted to dissuade raids, but their
moral stance may derive from the humanistic qualities they saw in seals. Rather than viewing
sealing in economic and legal terms, the verses feature the enforcers’ morality. Revenue cutter
service men guarded the Bering Sea. The United States Coast Guard men began patrolling the
waters around Alaska in 1867, the same year the United States purchased the territory, and the
same year pelagic sealing increased. These men serviced in the Bering Sea Patrol, with the goal
of protecting the northern fur seal from illegal killings.18 By the 1890’s more cutters entered the
Bering Sea to guard the seals during the Bering Sea Controversy between Great Britain and the
United States.
“The Arctic” is an undated song from Below Zero and recounts their duty in a rhyme:
“To spend the summer in the Bering Sea
Protecting the sealing industry;
Searching for sealers in vain we ran,
Finally asked an Aleutian Man,
Said he, ‘Don’t you know they’re all in Japan?’”19
Many pelagic sealers flocked to Japan when the sealing fleet was banned from the Bering
Sea’s American side in 1892. American and British Columbian vessels sealed in the Western
half of the Bering Sea as a result of the Paris Tribunal. From the above verse, it is clear that the
patrolmen did not find many sealers on the Eastern half of the Bering Sea. Yet, the next verse
recalls their desire to purchase a seal pelt or two from the Seal Islands. The song laments the
pricy London charges for the fur, which the speaker wants for a sealskin sacque. He ends each
verse, “And I’ll never go there any more,” suggesting that protecting the sealing business was
18 Dennis L. Noble. “Fog, Men, and Cutters: A Short History of the Bering Sea Patrol.” United States Coast Guard.
19 Officers of the U.S Revenue Cutter Service and Some of their Friends. Below Zero: Songs and Verses from the
Bering Sea and the Arctic. U.S Coast Guard Alumni Association,3.

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tiresome. The Bering Sea Patrol men did not highlight their masculinity or urge for adventure as
in more well-known Newfoundland seal fishery songs. The men have a deep respect for all the
great sailors before them, as well as Old Noah, but their deeds will get great renown for guarding
“the jaunty sealskin sacques.”20 Whereas Rudyard Kipling believed the sealers would go to hell
for their greedy job in the fictional poem “The Rhyme of the Three Sealers” (1893), the opposite
side of the spectrum puts belief in the guards ascending to heaven one day for enduring the
hardships of the Bering Sea. The Bering Sea Patrol men were the first to safeguard the future of
marine mammal, and their protection over the adorable fur seal would reap favorable benefits
because their dangerous job allowed them to see the conservation side over the greedy slaughter.
In the same decade, Rudyard Kipling also raises moral questions in “The Rhyme of the
Three Sealers” (1893). He highlights the sins of sealing and what would happen to man if he did
not stop killing seals. Many versions of the three sealers that Rudyard Kipling publicized exist
today. At least two sources dispute the information Kipling relayed in his take on an actual event
in “The Rhyme of the Three Sealers.” He speaks of the wrath of man and the wrong they did,
particularly the “sinful” fight that led to Reuben Paine’s death. Of the sealer Tom Hall, he writes,
“Evil he did in shoal water and blacker sin on the deep.”21 Kipling alludes to the raider’s pelagic
sealing, which was an illegal act at the time of the tale. He also touches upon the sin of killing
seals with guns, “O men, put back your guns again and lay your rifles by.”22 Surely this omen
teaches readers that the business will lead to dire consequences. He retells the tale to teach
people about the more tragic side of sealing – perhaps a warning to those thinking about raiding
an island or surpassing regulations. Others, however, took more lightly to the subject.
20 Officers of the U.S Revenue Cutter Service and Some of their Friends, 7.
21 Rudyard Kipling. “Rhyme of the Three Sealers.”
22 Ibid.

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A 1911 San Francisco Call article exposed Captain G. Knox’s side of the story, who
most likely ignored the seals’ charismatic appeal. Captain Knox sealed out of Japan and claimed
to be a hero of the episode on which the poem is based. He said Kipling took liberal poetic
license and pretended to describe events he never witnessed. According to Knox, Kipling got the
names and facts of the heroic tale all wrong. This newspaper article asserted Knox’s version
about the 1890 Robben Island raid. The captain boasted of his trickery onboard the Arctic
(named Northern Light in the poem), taking responsibility for all the genius ideas for fooling the
other schooner into thinking his schooner was Russian. Kipling’s poetic license surrounding a
real event and this boastful account reveal that there are many sides to one event. A poet
attempted to project the darker side of a raid, while a sealer bragged of his trickery. One saw the
emotional side to seals, and the other only saw an adventurous game.
An adventurer and admirer of Kipling, Roger Pocock, interviewed Kipling in 1897 about
his “Rhyme of the Three Sealers.” Apparently, Pocock had the same tale in his notebook years
before the public knew about the poem. He spun the account differently from his literary hero, as
he himself was a sealing pirate. Pocock heard the tale from a Yokohoma pirate, while Kipling
said he got it from Captain Lake in Yokohoma. After this exchange, he blamed Kipling for an
idiotic blunder in “The White Seal.”23 Nonetheless, Pocock admired Kipling’s creative license.
These frequent raidings inspired literary writers like Kipling and London to write about the
events and ‘heroes,’ preserving a romantic era that may or may not be exaggerated. Gordan J.
Smith argues in “The Raiding of Robben Island” how the sealing got all the romance kicked out
of it and no more raids occurred. But prior to this, the rapid 1880’s expansion of the Victoria
23 Geoffrey Pocock. Outrider of Empire: The Life and Adventures of Roger Pocock,1865-1941.(University of
Alberta Press: Alberta, 2007), 68.

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sealing fleet – most likely pelagic sealers - attracted a tough and varied crowd. Cape Breton on
the East coast experienced land based economic opportunity which led to vessel ownership
reduction and caused over ten-thousand men to move to Victoria. Victoria Times reporter, J.
Gordon Smith provided insight into how the sealing industry garnered romantic characters in
literature, as well as put a bad name to men like Alex MacLean who illegally killed seals.24 He
made the claim that most of the old sealing crew found work in saw-mills or steam-boating near
China and so the days where “Half the fascination of sealing was in dodging gunboats”25 slowly
dismantled with stronger regulations. Literary works soon represented the only trace of an era
wracked by venturesome pirates who were driven by greed and thrills rather than the whiskered,
fur seal friends.
Manhood and sealing were synonymous – leaving little room for the men to consider the
seals as charming. Literature confirms the manhood for west coast sealers, but songs represent
the brotherhood of rough and tough men who spent their early years on adventurous seal ships on
the east coast. Unlike the Bering Sea songs, Haulin’ Rope and Gaff: Songs and Poetry in the
History of the Newfoundland Seal Fishery presents many chants that detail a romantic breed of
men. The songs also preserve the fur seal industry changes. Non-sealers could be educated about
the business as the songs brought experience to community. Steam technology increased during
the 1860’s but that did not mean all sealing captains changed their ways to adapt. An 1867
incident is recorded in the song “Captain Bill Ryan Left Terry Behind.”26 Captain Terry Halleron
was an inexperienced steam master, having previously mastered a sail ship. He jammed the
24 J. Gordon Smith, “Cape Bretoners in the Victoria Sealing Fleet and Beyond.”
25 Don MacGillivray. “Cape Bretoners in the Victoria Sealing Fleet and Beyond.” (Northern Mariner/Le Marin de
Nord, 2010), 243.
26 Shannon Ryan and Larry Small. Haulin’ Rope and Gaff: Songs and Poetry in the History of the
Newfoundland Seal Fishery, p. 32.

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Esquimaux in the ice, unknowing how to properly steer the steamship. The song ridicules the
captain for not knowing how to steer. The collection does not disclose thoughts on conversation,
regulations, or sympathy for the seals, as art from the Bering Sea exposes. Sea songs were a
specialized form of cultural expression for Newfoundland sealers, yet one could also find the
rare collection of verses from non-sealers on the Bering Sea. The absence of songs by sealers on
the Bering Sea but the presence of songs by men against the sealers points to heavier
conservation concern on the west coast of North America.
Like the MacLean brothers’ infamous raids, the Victoria sealing fleet was not deterred by
American cutter pirates who would seize the vessel. Victoria-based sealers were feisty with a
romantic outlook and disregarded the value of the marine specie’s life. Jack London represents
seal hunters as a “very superior breed to the common sailor-folk.”27 Similar to separating whale
harpooners from sailors, men who shot seals were also set a part. London saw their job as a
singular mission. In The Sea Wolf, the hunters lounge around in the companionway. When asked
by Wolf Larsen, the captain, whether or not they had a Bible, the hunters merely laughed. This
scene suggests that seal hunters lacked morality. The killers were less moral then the sailors who
produced a Bible.28 The protagonist of the novel, Humphrey van Weyden, goes as far as to say
the sealers are childish.29 London denounces their mental caliber when the men argue about
whether or not a seal pup could swim instinctively. However, the animal murderers do it for the
same reason that Larsen sails the schooner – to live and breathe.30 Both captain and sealers live
on the edge of death and soak in the thrill of gambling one’s life away. By no means did this
breed of man see a cute, human-like face on the seals. The cultural legacy of being a brave sealer
27 London, 22.
28 London, 23.
29 London, 40.
30 London, 195.

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and adventurer ended when human values started to form expansive policies; policies that at first
were to benefit the country economically, and then to benefit the seals.
Much of the literature and debate regarding the industry has been about man. The
women’s role in the fur-seal industry is seldom noticed, save for their fashionable consumption
on land. A female’s presence on-board the Ghost therefore poses several questions: Does Maud’s
appearance signify man’s mythical connection to seals? And, why does Jack London use a
woman to mention David Starr Jordan in his fictional work? The Ghost crew rescues poet, Maud
Brewster, from the water and brings her on deck. At first, her descriptions of light brown hair
and large, lustrous brown eyes resemble that of a selkie – or a mythical creature that transforms
between human and seal. Van Weyden even remarks, “She seemed to me like a being from
another world,”31 as if she possessed mythical qualities. The men have not seen a woman in
months, so finding Maud in Japanese waters stirs feelings of hunger in the men. This hunger
points to women as a commodity for men, just as seals are a commodity. Maud Brewster may
represent men’s understanding of seals, and the value that is placed on them. An essay by Vinnie
Oliveri points out issues of gender in The Sea Wolf, noting how Maud connects to the consuming
economy (of seal skins).32 Perhaps Jack London created Maud to live in the men’s mind as a
selkie and reflect upon the sealing industry’s effects.
Scientist David Starr Jordan Impressed Public with Charming Seal Story
Scientists involved with assessing the seal herd conditions on the Pribilof Islands made a
key contribution to literature that depicted seals as a feeling being, and less as a marine product.
Originally published in 1910, The Story of Matka by David Starr Jordan resembled “The White
31 London, 177.
32 Vinnie Oliveri. “Sex, Gender, and Death in "The Sea-Wolf.” Pacific Coast Philology 38 (2003), 100.

18. 18
Seal” in purpose. Yet, Dr. Jordan claimed that his true tale was very different from Kipling’s
account because his experiences on the Seal Islands were genuine and actual occurrences.33
Unlike Kipling, Jordan contributed effective nature essays to American literature and humanized
aspects of nature that he studied. A review of the tale noted that it was for “a reader with any
sympathy or liking for animals, the pathetic appeal of this story is tremendous.”34 Names such as
Matka and Atagh allowed the reader to sympathize with the seals, as Kipling’s story also does.
But Dr. Jordan’s 1896 trip to the Pribilof and Komandorkski Islands prepared him for turning his
government reports into true fiction for the public. He observed the rookeries and the pinnipeds’
behavior, then compiled his experiences into a detailed story. A chronology of events on St. Paul
Island outlines his sightings at the end of the book, adding an extra element of truth to the tale.
Right away, the reader is told, “This is a true story,” and explains how he knew Matka before
Kotick was born – as if Dr. Jordan commanded expertise over the animals that Kipling never
met. Likewise, Kipling introduces the bearer of the story, a Winter Wren named Limmershin,
who “knows how to tell the truth.”35 Both pieces of literature carry sincerity and acknowledge
that the charismatic critters must be protected from human brutality.
Despite Jordan’s denouncement of “The White Seal,” both stories share a type of seal
lullaby at the very start. Kipling’s lullaby promises that the baby mammal will be safe in the
slow-swinging seas, and soothes the innocent, sleeping animal. Jordan’s poem speaks of the
lonely Mist-Islands, barren of a once thriving seal community. The scientist’s version offers no
hope; the seals are on their own. The author’s version uses the seal to guide the reader towards
33 David H. Dickason. “David Starr Jordan as a Literary Man.” Indiana Magazine of History 37 (4). Indiana
University Department of History (1941): 355.
34 Ibid.
35 Rudyard Kipling. “The White Seal,” 1.

19. 19
activism – much like Henry Woods Elliot’s role in the creation of the North Pacific Fur Seal
Treaty of 1911. The activism portrayed in Kipling’s story and introduction lullaby exhibits how
literature could not be entirely separated from science and ensuing regulations.
Artistic and Literary Minds Shake the Scientific World
Science and literature intersected between ichthyologist, David Starr Jordan, and Jack
London. The author of The Sea Wolf avidly read the scientist’s work and attended his lectures at
Stanford University during the 1890’s. The ‘iron facts of biology’ and Darwinism influenced
London’s thinking in his work. These ideas are clear when Humphrey van Weyden and Larsen
have an exchange about the value of life. Wolf Larsen, the captain of Ghost, believes that life is
limitless and plentiful – life has no value because “nature spills it out with a lavish hand.”36 Life
inherently regenerates itself which allows for accepting the death of living things. Van Weyden
tells Larsen that he has mistaken Charles Darwin by assuming that the wanton destruction of life
is justifiable. Human and animal life are no different from each other. Larsen’s view on life’s
value explains why the sealing trade came easily to many men. The sealers died during the hunt
for the sake of devaluing the lives of marine mammals. No prospect for change occurred to them
because some believed the seals would always replenish themselves.
Henry Woods Elliot not only drew sketches, but he immersed himself in the science
aspect of the seal herds by gathering census data. He was only enhanced to the public eye
because of his artistry. To others investigating the fur seal trade, he was not wanted on any seal
advisory board due to several inaccurate reports. Fur seal estimates in 1872 on the Pribilof
Islands ranged from 4.5 million to 7 million. Elliot’s exceedingly high 4.5 million became the
36 London, 69.

20. 20
government standard for twenty years – until scientists realized his guess was about two million
too high.37 The 800,000 herd estimate in 1890 still sparked alarm at the decreasing rate. In a
1901 letter to President Theodore Roosevelt addressing the proposed bill “An act to prevent the
extermination of fur-bearing animals in Alaska, and for other purposes,” Dr. Jordan called Elliot
“irresponsible and vindictive.” He further claimed that Elliot should not be allowed on the fur
seal advisory board. Eight years later, Dr. Jordan stated that Elliot’s work was “marred by
unbalanced assertions, many of which seem to show a lack of honesty and sanity.”38 Thus, Elliot
was not included on the seal advisory board in which David Starr Jordan chaired. He was a
persuasive proponent, but lacked the scientific credibility of men like Dr. Jordan. Elliot’s legacy
lay largely in his artwork and proved as a powerful conservation tool that everyone could view.
Unsurprisingly, there was a mutual distaste between the artist and ichthyologist. Elliot
used art not only to bring awareness to the seals, but to ridicule his scientist opponents, including
Dr. Jordan. During a 1914 hearing for the Investigation of the Fur-Seal Industry of Alaska,
George W. Clark showed the committee a cartoon of a lady with a cane and hat. Elliot’s caption
read, “Here is your hat, Dr. Stejneger, the toboggan is waiting outside with Dr. Jordan and the
whole advisory board, sir.”39 The artist clearly discredited the scientists involved with the Fur-
Seal Commission. His sentiments are revealed early on in the 1912 hearing in which he
interviewed Leonard Stejneger about the Pribilof Islands. Appointed member under David Starr
Jordan’s Fur-Seal Investigation Commission, scientist Dr. Stejneger believed that it did not
37 Dorsey, The Dawn of Conservation Diplomacy: U.S.-Canadian Wildlife Protection Treaties in the Progressive
Era, 117.
38
Don MacGillivray. Captain Alex MacLean: Jack London’s Sea Wolf, 226.
39 Hearings Before the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Commerce, House of Representatives:
Investigation of the Fur-seal Industry of Alaska (Oct. 13, 1913-Apr. 2, 1914), Volume 1, U.S. Government Printing
Office, 577.

21. 21
matter what age seals were killed. Elliot called his view “science with a vengeance,” and noted
how Dr. Jordan would appreciate this science as tools for the lessees. Prior to 1889, when the
Alaska Commercial Company carried the lease, Dr. Jordan condemned yearling killings but
when the NACC took over, he permitted the murders. Clearly, Elliot found art as a way to
showcase both the seals and the political and scientific disagreements that comprised
conservation efforts.
The hearing further revealed that Dr. Jordan falsified records of killing 30,000 seals in
1896, none of which were yearlings. However, London sales records proved that 8,000-9,000
yearlings were taken that year.40 Many discrepancies such as this filled the hearing’s interviews
and Elliot was sure to call out the flaws. He said, “…but Dr. Jordan the ‘great naturalist,’ was
there, ‘branding’ seal pups to put the pelagic hunters out of business and not putting an end to
this illegal business on the island,”41 pointing out how scientists did not always act in the best
interests of the seals. Census reports were slated to support the end of pelagic sealing, but
continue land sealing.42 Empowered by the Secretary of the Treasury, Dr. Jordan killed harems
for skins by the lessees to fix the number of seals that might be killed for skins in the next
season. Raiders and hunters were least likely to take branded seals, as it lessened their value. The
branding particularly deterred the recent Japanese hunters from taking skins. An 1898 San
Francisco Call news article discusses the branding of seals and how the fur seal question was
40 Ibid.
41 Ibid, p. 951.
42 Dorsey, The Dawn of Conservation Diplomacy: U.S.-Canadian Wildlife Protection Treaties in the Progressive
Era, 126.

22. 22
more or less a matter of fashion.43 Women did not care to wear a branded piece of clothing, so
this process, along with cute images of seals, also aimed to deter fashion.
Upon Maud and Humphrey’s arrival at Endeavor Island, London reinforces Maud’s
disapproval of seal clubbing when she talks mentions the famous ichthyologist. She suggests
using tundra grass instead of seal oil to light a fire, holding human life above seal. At this
moment, she suggests that van Weyden leave the harems alone and devote his attention to the
lonely and inoffensive seals. Maud cites Dr. Jordan twice in the same conversation, saying she
read this information in his book.44 London uses Maud as an advocate to one side of the seal
conservation debate. She agrees with Dr. Jordan’s studies, and channels the scientist as a hero,
just as London did, “He is, to a certain extent, a hero of mine.”45 Her protection over the female
seals resonates Dr. Jordan’s advice to President Theodore Roosevelt in a 1903 letter. One step to
defend and restore the seal population was to end pelagic sealing because too many females were
murdered out in the open water. One cannot distinguish the animal’s sex, so banning all pelagic
sealing intended to solve that issue. Interestingly enough, Dr. Jordan suggested an international
Game Law that preserved other marine mammals, such as the walrus and sea otter.46 His call for
protecting the picturesque pinniped and other majestic mammals revealed an early onset to the
idea of charismatic megafauna. Maud is the moral voice in The Sea Wolf, and as a woman,
represents the voice of the harem seal. She and Dr. Jordan shared similar sentiments about the
special pinnipeds based on principles of science.
43 Lieutenant J. G Berry, “Branding the Seals a Success.” San Francisco Call, (1898), http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-
bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC18980214.2.16 (accessed April 3rd, 2016).
44 London, 288.
45 David H. Dickason. “A Note on Jack London and David Starr Jordan.” Indiana Magazine of History 38 (4).
(Indiana University Department of History, 1942), 409.
46 David Starr Jordan. Letter from David Starr Jordan to Theodore Roosevelt. 20 Jan. 1903. Letter.

23. 23
Science Acknowledged the Seals as “Intelligent Beings”
In 1884, ichthyologist, George Brown Goode, published volume one of The Fisheries
and Fishery Industries of the United States, organizing the present state of all American
fisheries. The volume contains the natural history of marine products, including the Northern Fur
Seal. Henry Woods Elliot authored “The Habits of the Fur-Seal” and detailed the animals’ life
history as he observed on the Pribilof Islands. He begins by praising the seal’s physical
superiority in the animal kingdom, and holds the animal to the human intelligence level.47 Bluish
hazel eyes that burn with revengeful, passionate light, but change to tones of tenderness and
good nature portray Elliot’s view of the seal. Not only did he document the physical
characteristics of seals, but he began to ascribe human qualities and feelings towards them. The
marine mammal section discusses how territorial old and young male seals fight each other on
the rookery prior to the July mating season. Elliot was impressed by their courage and defensive
nature. His natural observations, paired with anthropomorphized thoughts created a new way of
viewing the pinnipeds.
Almost one hundred years later, a similar piece of literature A Field Guide to the Whales
and Seals of the Gulf of Maine illustrates the habits of seals. The guide encourages readers to go
seal watching and enjoy the pleasures of the wilderness.48 Elliot may not have imagined people
taking boat trips to look for seals, but the artist, Albert Bierstadt, from his time did have the
notion of increasing tourism to the Farallon Islands where thousands of seals bred. Literature, art
and science combined to influence the public and change their behaviors towards the clearly
47 George Brown Goode. “The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States.Section I and IP.” Government
Printing Office: Washington, 75.
48 Steven Katona. A Field Guide to the Whales and Seals of the Gulf of Maine. (Maine Coast Printers: Rockland
Maine, 1975), 67.

24. 24
majestic pinniped. Likewise, modern-day regulations such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act
1972, continue to influence and be influenced by public sentiments.
As the science changed the sealing industry, so did the mind-frame about treatment of
marine mammals. Rebecca D’Angelo writes about knowledge systems and labor along
Connecticut’s Southeastern coast for pelagic hunters at Desolation Island in her 2011 Holster
Scholar project, “Modern sensibilities, cultured by the institutionalized field of environmental
science and innovation that has allowed us to reduce our exploitation of animate creatures may
be unable to comprehend the pairing of environmental understanding through natural knowledge
with unmitigated slaughter.”49 Her research connects to the knowledge gap that modern people
have about sealing today. Sealers collected a wealth of natural knowledge about the industry and
the environment, yet the human drive for money and growth spurred them to utilize their
knowledge for personal economic gain. A growing faith in the ability of trained scientists and
experts to regulate natural resources reveals how knowledge is used to benefit the animate
creatures. If it were not for literature, art, and song preserving the exploits of the seal-clubbers –
both the romance and realities – a piece of North American history would be forgotten. Along
with the growing scientific expertise there arose changes in marine resource regulation.
Fashion Driven Industry Stimulates Illegal Hunt and Urges Regulation
The seals, however, would not recover without proper international agreement. Demand
only rose as America and Europe increasingly craved to dress a la marine mammal mode
towards the end of the 19th century and early 20th century. While 10,000 fur seal skins were used
49 Rebecca D'Angelo, "Nearly Allied”: Natural Knowledge Systems and Flexible Labor Amongst Southeastern
Connecticut’s 19th Century Pelagic Hunters at Desolation Island" (2011), 6.

25. 25
for clothing in the 1860, more than 200,000 were demanded in 1880.50 By the 1890’s, the United
States was a quickly developing nation. Fast paced industrialization meant more demand for seal
skins. Technology to rapidly sort seal fur made the fashion readily available in the 1850’s to
early 70’s. By the latter year, fur was fashionable among both men and women. Twenty years
after the technological advances, fur fashions elaborated to include sealskin muffs and hats and
full-length coasts with cuffs and collars.51 Demand for skins did not peak until 1880, and so in
turn, pelagic sealing by surrounding nations rose to meet popular demand.
Several sources point towards women as the main drive for the fur seal industry. In “The
Romance of Seal Hunting, an Interview,” the yachtsman Sir George Baden-Powell declared that
man only knows the seal for his wife’s coat. He further calls the seal-clubbing process “cruel and
destructive.”52 London also expresses the killing of seals for the sake of females, “It was wanton
slaughter, and all for woman’s sake.”53 In the author’s experience, the seal was used for
commercial use, and not consumption. The seal was pure commodity, but not everyone agreed
that the fur coat was a necessary fashion statement. Henry Woods Elliot believed that the fur
coats were mistakes and not attractive. In his 1881 report Seal Islands of Alaska, Elliot notes how
the fur was taken from seals to create a “coat of stiff overhair, dull, gray-brown, and grizzled.”54
He further voices how it takes three seal skins to make a lady’s sacque and boa. Demand was
made by the “mode,” but like gold, seal skin will always have intrinsic value.55 Women never
saw the bloody slaughter of the charismatic seals or the process that went into its manufacturing.
Nor did they understand how many lives were lost on the dangerous seas to secure the pelts.
50 Busch, 128.
51 Ibid.
52 Gordon J. Smith “The Romance of Sealing.” The Canadian Magazine, Vol. 21, September 1903.
53 London, 155.
54 Henry Woods Elliot. The Seal Islands of Alaska. Washington,78.
55 Ibid, p. 151.

26. 26
After an Aleut sealing canoe was lost to sea, Gordon J. Smith pointed out “Two more sealers
have gone to pay the price of a woman’s garment”56 Perhaps the fashionistas saw Elliot’s
drawings of the Seal Islands or read “The White Seal” – spurring a cultural change in the years to
come.
Regulation Transformations on the Pribilof Islands
Science and culture eventually intersected to form the 1911 Northern Pacific Fur Seal
Treaty. But the Pribilof Island management that preceded this pivotal regulation began when the
Russians discovered a bounty of northern fur seals in the Bering Sea. Credit goes to Russian
explorer, Gerasim Pribylov, for discovering the abundant seal rookeries on the Pribilof Islands.
In 1786 he founded St. George Island, and then St. Paul Island a year later.57 Navigators realized
the northern fur seal had a migration pattern that led the seals north through the Bering Sea and
to the Pribilof Islands to breed – St. George and St. Paul consisting of the two largest islands.
The Russians brought over a group of natives from the Aleutian Islands to the Pribilofs in need
of their labor and seal hunting skills. Contact with Aleuts had begun earlier in 1741 when Danish
explorer in Russian service, Vitus Bering, and Russian explorer, Alexei Chirikov, sailed from the
far eastern Russian peninsula, Kamchatk. They first came across the Aleutian Islands, which is a
chain of islands south of Alaska and the Pribilof Islands. As the sea otter trade declined, Russians
began exploiting the fur seal with native Aleutian assistance. The majority of the pelts the
Russian American Company cured between 1799 and 1867 were traded with China via the small
trading port of Kiachta on the Russia and China border. The rough winter climate and
concentration of wealthy people in northern China demanded furs, spurring the Russian trade.
56 Gordon J. Smith. “The Romance of Sealing.” The Canadian Magazine, Vol. 21. (1903), 397.
57 Alton Y. Roppel and Stuart P. Davey. The Journal of Wildlife Management 29.3 (1965), 450.

27. 27
Thus, China’s culture and desire for a luxurious fur wardrobe drove the initial fur seal industry in
the Bering Sea.
Without the Aleut’s help, the Russians would not have been as successful killing seals on
the islands. However, they did not capture as many as they could have due to poor skin
preservation methods. Over 700,000 pelts had to be discarded in 1803 because the product was
not marketable. The drying process spoiled many of the skins, as the Russians were not salting
the skins as the Americans would. Wastefulness spurred the Russians to manage the annual
catch, and soon enough, Russia’s grand chamberlain instituted the first regulation in 1821 to
temporarily halt sealing every five years for one year.58 The sequential moratoriums resulted in
mixed success. Russian law forbade killing female seals from 1835-1865, but exemptions caused
this to be a failure.59 Similar laws were maintained when the United States’ purchased Alaska in
1867. Above all, the Russian seal hunt demonstrated an early attempt at sealing conservation,
determined by a demanding culture. At this time, the Russian’s conservation did not consider the
marine mammal’s amiable, humanistic qualities.
Before the United States purchased Alaska and the adjacent islands from Russia in 1867,
the U.S had a keen interest on the Northern Fur-Seal (Callorhinus ursinus). One American
merchant, Lewis Goldstone, along with a group of San Francisco investors hoped to replace the
Hudson Bay Colony company as lessee of the Russian fur enterprise. The San Francisco based
group sent two schooners to Alaska for the prospect of claiming all operations of the existing
Russian American Company (RAC), which existed as a monopoly since 1799. Later, a San
Francisco based operation named Hutchison, Kohl, and Company purchased the RAC.
58 Busch, 100.
59 Stackpole, 450.

28. 28
Businessman, Hayward Hutchison, understood the wealthy fur sealing opportunity awaiting on
Alaska. His advantage towards the business can be credited to his friend, Gen. Lovell H.
Rosseau, who was appointed American commissioner to receive Alaska at Sitka. Hutchinson’s
opportunistic nature, as well as the financial backer, Lewis Sloss’s experience in the Alaskan ice
trade, spurred the company to act on the RAC purchase, which later was renamed the Alaska
Commercial Company (ACC). In 1870, a twenty-year sealing lease deal between the ACC and
Russia permitted the ACC to take 100,000 mature male seals a year between the months of June
to July and September to October, but none were to be taken at sea or killed by guns.60 The ACC
also permitted natives to hunt. The lease expired in 1890, and the North American Commercial
Company resumed responsibility of managing the fur seal industry.
Under the NACC, other nations beyond the U.S, Canada, and Russian took interest in fur
sealing – both on land and illegally in the sea. By the 1890’s, Japan was involved in pelagic
sealing. This destructive practice most likely began early in 1880 on the Bering Sea when one
Canadian captain named Kathgard simultaneously hunted walruses and seals. In one year, he
procured 950 seal skins, alongside a rich amount of walrus products. As one can imagine,
Kathgard’s harvest caught the attention of many sealers. It comes as no surprise then when
George Archibald Clark, Dr. David Starr Jordan’s secretary at Stanford University and his
commission, argued that 1884 marked the decline of the Pribilof Islands’ herd and the rise of
pelagic sealing. Prior to this year, the 100,000 skin quota was easily obtained, but the seal
decline made the hunter’s job more difficult. Further problems with this hunt were that the U.S
claimed ownership over fur seals on the high seas and would seize Canadian vessels. Great
60 Busch, 110.

29. 29
Britain and Canada saw no dilemma – that is, until seal stocks were so low that they realized
something needed to be done.
Great Britain, Russia, and the United States met to form the 1894 Treaty of Paris, which
resulted from the Bering Sea Arbitration. But sealing practices under 19th century laws were
unsustainable. This regulation pertained only to Great Britain (Canada), Russia, and the United
States, so a larger agreement still needed to satisfy all involved nations. Unbound to the treaty,
Japan sealed in the open Bering Sea for eleven more years after the 1894 treaty. Japan’s interest
in international negotiations peaked when the country acquired the western Bering Sea
Commander Islands after the 1906 Russo-Japanese War. Meanwhile, in 1905, Elliot helped draft
a treaty with U.S Secretary of State, John Hay to outlaw open-water sealing.61 Mr. Hays directed
Elliot in finishing the treaty, permitting the naturalist to draft the treaty and communicate the
treaty’s terms with Britain. Hays fell ill on March 15th, 1905 and died four months later, putting a
delay on the completion of the treaty. Elliot placed the unfinished agreement in the hands of
newly appointed Secretary Elihu Root. He urged Root to allow him to finish the draft at Ottawa
because he believed it could get ratified there and in the U.S. Not until February, 1911 did the
treaty get ratified in completed form by Russia, Japan, Great Britain, and the United States. This
very first international wildlife conservation treaty addressed all four signatories’ interests in the
sealing business. The successful 20th century treaty lasted longer than previous regulations from
the 19th century, however Japan was first to withdraw from the treaty in 1940, and by 1984, the
U.S failed to extend the terms due to no more commercial interest in seals. But negotiations were
not purely based on economics and science. As has been laid out, sentimental influence pushed
61 Kurkpatrick Dorsey. The Dawn of Conservation Diplomacy: U.S.-Canadian Wildlife Protection Treaties in the
Progressive Era, (U of Washington,1998), 100.

30. 30
the treaty’s ratification. The cultural legacy that encompassed literature, art and song drove the
scientific research, which reinforced the wildlife conservation treaty and steered the fate of
man’s new friend.
Climax of an Era: 1913/1914 Hearings Signified Stronger Conservation
The 1911 treaty ratification by the four interested sealing nations did not put an end to
scientific or political disputes. The hearings on the new Investigation of the Fur-Seal Industry of
Alaska in 1913 and 1914 can be viewed as the climax of three decades of quarrels between
scientists and politicians. The congressional hearings that followed the 1911 treaty resurfaced
past concerns, including events like Alexander McLean’s piratical acts and even the falsification
of early 19th century Russian seal census records. Between October, 1913 and March, 1914 the
committee investigated allegations that the government conspired with lessees of the seal islands
to illegally obtain the animals and secured their lease by fraud. Former Secretary of Commerce
and Labor, Charles Nagel, was at the center of these investigations. In a March 19th, 1914
statement, Nagel concluded that there should not be an issue with evolving policy due to past
experiences, but a percentage of seals must be killed each year because a complete reservation on
sea and land would be impossible.62 This 1914 hearing revealed that Nagel, along with many
other government officials, were not overwhelmed with sentiment for the seals. Rather, Nagel
expressed more concern for the salmon, lobster and other fisheries that the Bureau of the
Fisheries managed. He did not hold pinnipeds to a higher importance than other species. It was
up to literary, artistic, and new scientific minds to reinforce the 1911 treaty for the public.
62 Hearings Before the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Commerce, House of Representatives:
Investigation of the Fur-seal Industry of Alaska (Oct. 13, 1913-Apr. 2, 1914), Volume 1, U.S. Government Printing
Office, 840.

31. 31
After the 1911 treaty was signed, the Secretary of Commerce appointed three biologists
to an impartial investigation of the Pribilof Islands seal herds – none of whom were previously
involved with the fur seal controversies. Their specific instructions were to, “ascertain the actual
state of the Alaskan seal heard in 1914,”63 as the scientists before them had diverging views on
how to conserve the herd. Careful and accurate accounts of the seal herds supposedly produced
more precise data and brought past census information into question. The Secretary of
Commerce wrote to G.H Parker, a biologist from Harvard, that his assignment on the island
would differ from previous studies because he would not be influenced by seal industry profits.
Careful attention to accuracy was vital following the North Pacific Fur Seal Treaty. Advanced
methods of calculating the herds took into account the number of harem bulls on duty and in
reserve, the number of bachelors returning each summer, and the number of pups born each year.
Their study on the islands would be considered ‘wildlife management research today.’ But
George Archibald Clark believed that the Bering Sea commission was a ‘farce,’ particularly the
1914 census when new men with a new set of equations evaluated the numbers. However, he did
agree that the 1912-1913 census exhibited 12.5% herd growth since the 1911 treaty, supporting
the treaty’s effectiveness.64 These new findings strengthened the accusations that arose in the
1913/1914 hearings by proving past records to contain false information. The hearings did not
resolve all problems, but it was a climax to the long battle of pinniped management in the Bering
Sea.
63 Wilfred H. Osgood et al. “The Fur Seals and Other Life of the Pribilof Islands,Alaska, in 1914,” (U.S Bureau of
Fisheries Bulletin,1915), 14.
64 George Archibald Clark. “The Census of Fur Seals, 1914 and 1915.” Science 44 (1139). (American Association
for the Advancement of Science, 1916), 608.

32. 32
The 19th century sealing industry roots still exist in the form of human behavior and
attitude directed towards the marine environment. Human values, whether adhering to a
traditional way of life or advocating for animal rights, are affirmed in sealing art spanning over
140 years. The North Pacific Fur Seal Treaty of 1911 links to the Marine Mammal Act of 1972 –
an act that echoes human values and makes exemptions for Native Americans who still hunt
seals for spiritual sustenance. And now, rather than profiting from seal products, the government
can reap benefits from curious tourists who flock to the Pribilof Islands. Value has shifted and
the awareness of seal management is more widespread than before. Literature, art, and song
have shaped the North American cultural sealing landscape today, and represents the prospect for
further change as new standards – such as climate change – affect pinniped management.
Fishermen currently compete with nuisance seals on both the East and West coasts. The past
informs policy decisions, and an examination of modern sealing literature offers a comparison to
19th and 20th century ethos. Explorer and author of Mocha Dick (1839), J.N Reynolds reflects on
the role of sealers and whalers to society, “after all their exertions, justice to ourselves as a great
people requires that this mass of information should be reviewed and preserved in careful literary
labors for the benefit of all mankind.”65 People can use literature to secure a better future, since
sealing’s cultural legacy hints at wider implications, such as inspiring present day conservation
efforts. Not only do science and economics drive diplomatic decisions in protecting a species,
but human empathy rooted in social heritage sways the future of the powerless and voiceless.
65 Stackpole, 452.

33. 33
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Son, William, Charleston, S.C.: History Press, 2008.
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http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC18980214.2.16. (accessed April 3rd, 2016).
Clark, George Archibald. “The Census of Fur Seals, 1914 and 1915.” Science 44 (1139).
American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1916: 608–9.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1642397.
Clark, George Archibald. “The Problem of the Pribilof Islands.” Science 41 (1068).
American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1915: 902–4.
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Hearings Before the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Commerce, House of
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drawings/
“Hero of Kipling’s ‘Three Sealers’ Tells of Episode.” San Francisco Call, November 10, 1911,
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(accessed February 4th, 2016).
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