or of New
South Wales, were found to be swarming with these valuable animals, and
for two years after their discovery was made known, many vessels visited
the place, landing gangs of men to procure skins and returning at
frequent intervals to carry the proceeds of their labours to the markets
of the world.

The slaughter of the seals was so great that the animals were almost
exterminated within a few years. One ship is known to have left
Macquarie Island with a cargo of 35,000 skins during the first year of
operations. High prices were obtained for them in London and China, and
many American, British and Sydney firms were engaged in the enterprise.

The value of a skin is determined by the condition of the fur, which is
often damaged by the animals fighting amongst themselves. Furthermore,
at a certain season of the year, the seals moult, and if taken within
a certain time of this natural process, the skin is almost valueless.
These facts were ignored by the sealers, who killed without
discrimination.

Again, both male and female, old and young were ruthlessly slaughtered,
with the obvious result--the extermination of the species. If
supervision had been exercised and restrictions imposed, there is no
doubt that the island would still have been used by the fur seal as a
breeding-ground. During our stay none were seen, but Mr. Bauer, who acts
as sealing herdsman and who had visited the island in that capacity each
summer for eleven years, stated that he had seen odd ones at infrequent
intervals.

Associated as the island has been since the year 1812 with sealing and
oil ventures, it follows that a history has been gradually developed;
somewhat traditional, though many occurrences to which we shall refer
are well authenticated.

It might be supposed from the foregoing, that a good deal is known about
the place, but such is not the case, except in a general sense. Several
scientific men from New Zealand, recognizing the importance of the
island as a link between Australasia and Antarctica, visited it at
different times within the past twenty years, only remaining long enough
to make a cursory examination of the eastern side. They had to depend
on the courtesy of the sealing ships' captains for a passage, and the
stormy conditions which are ever prevalent made their stay too brief for
any exhaustive work.

A Russian Antarctic expedition, under Bellingshausen's command, called
there in 1821 and stayed for two days, c