AS Bis ia - poets a a ene r eee a han i aenigey Gase // shelf - ® 54TH CONGRESS, ,XHOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( DocumEntT ) 1st Session. ! (Woy 175: F ’ | ALT ATT RATHISLIN SH (Iyidet Gautpe. Dept. Cea R IBRD R J FHBUN, 2,¢ { LAMINA sé ¥ i > | : 5 Ee, Aaa 1S . me FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, e TRANSMITTING, IN RESPONSE TO THE HOUSE RESOLUTION OF THE 22D INSTANT, A COPY OF THE REPORT OF HENRY W. ELLIOTT ON THE CONDITION OF THE FUR- SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA, TOGETHER WITH ALL MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS ACCOMPANYING SAID REPORT. Ke c £ JANUARY 27, 1896.—Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and ordered to be printed. Pe eM rrae S ZA a Lu ON / 2BR ee. | Sep 2 193i | 4} & GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. LS9G: FoR rae ier nee : ‘ | i. , 3 (uy a I, 1 * ae twkis a te ett A, te ei ee ae aN eee eT = oo a} A drawing from nature by the author A GROUP OR HAREM OF FuR SEALS (Callorhinus ursinus), SAINT PAUL ISLAND, JULY 13, 1890. Old bulls 7 feet long, weight 400 to 600 pounds; adult females 4 feet long, weight 80 to 100 pounds. ‘These old bulls have been here without leaving their stations for a moment since the 5th to 20th of May; they will have reduced their weight to less than 200 or 250 pounds by the end of this month; the females feed at frequent intervals and never lose their weight, Re ee eR THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, In response to the House resolution of the 22d instant, a copy of the report of Henry W. Elliott on the condition of the Fur-Seal Fisheries of Alaska, together with all maps and illustrations accompanying said report. JANUARY 27, 1896.—Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and ordered to be printed. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D. C., January 25, 1896. Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of House resolution, dated the 22d instant, wherein I am requested to furnish the House of Representatives with a copy of the report of Henry W. Elliott, made pursuant to the order of special act approved April 5, 1890, on the condition of the fur-seal fisheries of Alaska, together with all maps and illustrations accompanying said report, as submitted to the Secretary of the Treasury on November 17, 1890. In reply thereto a copy of the report in question and its original inclosures are transmitted herewith. The original inclosures are for- warded, instead of copies, at the request of the author of the report, who claims that the original color maps should be sent, instead of pho- tographic copies, as the latter fail to express the idea involved. With the report is transmitted also an original paper forwarded to this Department on the 2d of February last by Mr. Elliott, which pur- ports to be a transcript from his field notes in 1874, and which, owing to its complicated character, can not be copied without recourse to photographie or electrotyping processes. The paper referred to has been inserted by Mr. Elliott on page 29 of the inclosed copy of the report. If practicable, the return of the inclosed original documents to the files of this Department is requested. Respectfully, yours, J. G. CARLISLE, Secretary. Hon. THomAsS B. REED, Speaker of the House of Representatives. List OF PLATES. To face page. Plate 1. Group of breeding fur seals...--...------------ ---+ e2---+ +--+ ------ 3 2. St. Paul Island, from the sea........ ..2--. s----- 2200-2 ono eo neee 5 3. St. George Island, from the sea.----..----------.------------------- 6 4, English Bay hauling grounds, 1872. ..---..--.----------------+----- 8 5. English Bay hauling grounds, 1890.-.---..-------------------------- 10 G: Reef and Garbotch Rookery grounds. .......-......2..2-sece meee 31 7. Lagoon and village, from Telegraph Hill-.........---..22.¢2scaene= 33 8. ears ROOKERY sees) cn aee wise oe cael = ae = alae ee 35 9, Ketavie Rookery and East Landing..-..-.-..-------.-----------.-- 36 10. Tolstoi Rookery, from English Bay -....--.------ ----<-22-eees-e== 38 ee Aanodine Rookery, St. AU. -. 26222 oe. sos 9 == eee ee 40 AZ EOlav in a OOKOLY) a= == <= <0 concn oo Sc ee cle o> alee 42 ip eOldsbullpionPolavina sl... 2. oc. ~-\an en ale eee oc ee ee ere 44 14, Pups: podding on Zoltoei Sands. -.-~ <--.c Seals hanling on Lukannon, 1872_....... 2.22... Seon 190 A7. Sea Lion Neck, Northeast Point.....=.<..22-.-.+s. cece coe 196 48. South shore of St. George Island. 2... .......2.c0-- cee ceed eee 4 ‘ie (jueysip sajiw 7/1) “LNIOd 1SV3HLHON O68 ‘IL SNSNY “AS eq} WOIT "dNOYD AOTIGINd ‘GNVIS| 1INVd LNIVS JO M3IA (389) 0S) (3995 009) "WHdOS YNIAV10d *“AO1SV90g (jue}sIp sajiw g{) “LNIOd 1S3MH1LNOS soupne au, Aq ainyeu wo) Buimeip y (jueysip sajiw f¢) “ONV1S| H3LLO REPORT UPON THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE ‘FUR-SEAL ROOKERIES OF THE PRIBILOV ISLANDS OF ALASKA, By HENRY W. ELLIOTT, Special Agent, Treasury Department. CLEVELAND, OHIO, November 17, 1890. Sirk: On the 7th of last April I received from your hands my appoint- ment as the special agent under an act of Congress, approved April 5, 1890, which orders and provides for a thorough examination into the present status of the fur-seal industry of our Government as embodied on the seal islands of Alaska, so as to ake known its relative condi- tion now as compared with its prior form and well being in 1872, and for other kindred lines of inquiry. I may as well frankly confess at the outset that I was wholly unaware of the extraordinary state of affairs which stared me in the face at the moment of my first landing last spring on the seal islands of Alaska. I embarked upon this mission with only a faint apprehension of view- ing anything more than a decided diminution of the Pribilov rookeries, caused by pelagic sealing during the last five or six years. But, from the moment of my landing at St. Paul Island, on the 21st of last May, until the close of the breeding season. those famous rook- eries and hauling grounds of the fur seal thereon, and of St. George Island, too, began to declare and have declared to my astonished senses the faet that their utter ruin and extermination is only a question of a few short years from date, unless prompt and thorough measures of relief and protection are at once ordered at sea and on land by the Treasury Department, and enforced by it. Quickly realizing after my arrival upon these islands that a remark- able change for the worse had taken place since my finished work of 1874 was given to the public in that same year, and the year also of my last survey of those rookeries, | took the field at once, carrying hourly and daily with me a series of notebooks opened under the fol- lowing heads: I. The ‘“‘rookeries,” their area, position, and condition in 1872-1874, and 1890. ll. The “hauling grounds,” their appearance in 1872-1874 and 1890. Lif. The method of “driving,” and taking fur seals in 1872-1874, and 1890. 1V. The selection of skins, grade, and supply in 1872-1874 and 1890. V. Character, condition, and number of natives in 1872-1874 and 1890. V1. Conduet of native labor and pay in 1872-1874 and 1890. ° To these heads I add the following sections, the whole series making up my report in the order as they are here given: VII. The protection and preservation of ‘these fur- bearing interests 5 6 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. of our Government on the Pribilov Islands, and that immediate action necessary, viewed in the full light of existing danger. VIL. Appendix, in which the author’s daily field notes appear ver- batim et literatim, in order of day and date. 3 IX. Revised general maps of St. Paul and St. George, showing the area and position of the hauling grounds of the fur seal thereon in 1872-1574 and again in 1890. X. A series of special maps showing the exact topog raphy, area, and position of the breeding rookeries of St. Paul and St, George islands in 1872-1874 and again in 1890, together with an illustration of each rookery, drawn from life by the author. Although I was unable to detect any sign of existing danger or injury to those interests of our Government on these islands of Pribilov in 1872-1874, yet the need of caution on the part of the agents of the Government, and their close annual scrutiny, was pointed out aud urged by my published work of 1874! in the following language (pp. 75-17) : Until my arrival on the seal islands, April, 1872, no steps had been taken toward ascertaining the extent or the importance of these interests of the Government by either the Treasury agent in charge, or the agent of the company leasing the islands. This was a matter of no especial concern to the latter, but was of the first impor- tance tothe Government. It had, however, failed to obtain definite knowledge upon the subject, on account of the inaccurate mode of ascertaining the number of seals which had been adopted by its agent, who relied upon an assumption of the area of the breeding rookeries, but who never took the trouble to ascertain the area and position of these great seal grounds intrusted to his care. After a careful study of the subject during two whole seasons, and a thorough review of it during this season of 1874, in company with my associate, Lieutenant Maynard, I propose to show plainly and in sequence the steps which have led me to a solution of the question as to the number of fur seals on the Pribiloy Islands, together with that determination of means by which an agent of the Government will be able to correctly report upon the condition of the seal life from year to year. At the close of my investigation for the season of 1872, the fact became evident that the breeding seals obeyed implicitly a fine, instinctive law of distribution: so that the breeding ground occupied by them was always covered by seals in an exact ratio, greater or less as the area was held; that they always covered the ground evenly, never crowding in at one place and scattering ont at another; that the seals lay just as thickly tegether where the rookery is a small one of only a few thousand as at Nahspeel, near the village, as they do where a million of them come toeether a3 at Northeast Point. si : This fact being determined, it is at once plain that just as the breeding grounds of the Jur seal on these islands expand or contract in area from their present dimensions, so the seals will have increased or diminished. i Impressed, therefore, with the necessity and the importance of obtaining the exact area and position of these breeding grounds, [ surveyed them in 1872-73 for that purpose, and resurveyed them this season of 1874. The result has been carefully drawn and plotted out, as presented in the accompanying maps. ; Che time for taking the boundaries of the rookeries is during the week of their greatest expansion, or when they are as full as they are to be for the season and before the regular system of compact, even organization breaks up: the seals ‘then scattering out in pods or clusters, straying far back, the same number covering then twice as much ground in places as they did before when marshaled on the rookery ground proper. The breeding seals remain on the rookery perfectly qniet and en rete Jikan Se hea cae Bete gente expansion, which i : a < July, @ g ample time for the agent to correctly note the exact boundaries of that area covered by them. This step on the part of the Goy- ernment officer puts him in possession every year of exact data upon whi a ] S a report as to the condition of the seal life as compared with the x ar e > pl se vious. In this way my record of the preci me YOar On years Pre- \ se area and position of the fur-seal br ; ) = eed- ing grounds on St. Paul Island in the season of 1872, and that of St George in she season of 1873, correctly serves as a definite basis for all time to come, upon which ‘A Report upon the Condition of Affairs in the Terri i ca; Oy Mee r vA Affairs ie Territory of Alasks my Elliott, special agent Treasury Department. yton? Gover eens : ae Washineton: Govern -rintine Office, 1875. pp. 277, 8vo. ston: Government Printing Coe eee: Se, ee Sat es A drawing from nature by the author. WATERFALL HEAD, GARDEN COVE. SEA LION BLUFFS. TOLSTO! MEES. DALNO! MEES. (7 miles distant.) (5 miles distant.) (5 miles distant.) (15 miles distant.) r VIEW OF THE EAST SHORE OF SAINT GEORGE ISLAND, PRIBILOV GRoupP. : Looking WSW., August 11, 1890. PP. ae » » FUR-SFAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. rf to fonnd authoritative reports from year to year as to any change, increase, or, diminution of the seal life. It is therefore very important that the Government should have an agent in charge of these novel and valuable interests who is capable, by virtue of edug¢ation and energy, to correctly observe and report the area and position of the rookeries year by year. Therefore, in the light of the foregoing, you will observe that although I was unable to detect, myself, any danger to or diminution of the seal life on the Pribilov Islands after three seasons of close study in the field, ending with the’ season of 1874, yet I was deeply impressed with the need of an intelligent, careful search every year for the signs of, or real existence of such danger; and I urged the Department to select men who were fit to make such a search: men who could be trusted to do it honestly and thoroughly. I made this request on the 16th of November, 1874, as I gave in my detailed report above cited, to the Secretary of the Treasury, who ordered it published at.once and caused it to be widely circulated by the Department. In 1872-1874 I observed that all the young male seals needed for the annual quota of 75,000, or 90,000, as it was ordered in the latter year, were easily obtained ev ery season between the Ist of June and the 20th of July following, from the hauling grounds of Tolstoi, Lukan- non, and Zoltoi Sands—from these lauling grounds adjacent,to the rook- eries or breeding grounds of Tolstoi, Lukannon, Reef, and Garbotch— all of these points of supply being not more than 14 miles distant from the St. Paul village killing grounds: the Zoltoi drive being less than 600 feet away. At Northeast Point on this island Webster got all the seals desired toward filling the above-cited quota of 90,000 from that sand reach between the foot of Cross Hill and the Big Lake sand dunes on the north shore beach. - Then that immense spread of hauling ground covered by swarms of young male seals at Zapadnie, at Southwest Point, at English Bay, beyond Middle Hill, west, at Polavina, and over all that 8 long miles of beach and upland hauling ground between Lukannon Bay and Web- ster’s house at Novastoshnah—all of this extensive sealing area was not visited by sealing gangs or spoken of by them as necessary to be driven from. In this connection it is proper to say that the name of Middle Hill was not known or given to that or any other particular point in English Bay or elsewhere when I surveyed the island in 1872-1874: it was not so named until a few years afterwards; and was never known as a Sealing drivers’ title until then. Therefore, when attentively studying in 1872-1874 the subject of what was the effect of killing annually 100,000 young male seals on these islands (90,000 on St. Paul and 10,000 on St. George), in view of the foregoing statement of fact, | was unable to see how any harm was being done to the regular supply of fresh blood for the breeding rook- eries: since those large reservoirs of surplus male life above named, held at leastjust half of the young male seal life then belonging to the islands. These large sources of supply were never driven from: never even vis- ited by the sealers: and out ef their overwhelming abundance I thought that surely enough fresh male seal life must and did annually mature for service on the breeding rookeries. Thereupon, when recapitulating in my published work of 1872-1874, I was positive in declaring that although I was firmly convinced that no increase to the then existing number of seals on these islands would follow any effort that we might make (giving my reasons in detail for so believing), yet I was as firmly satisfied that as matters were then con- ducted nothing was being done which would injure the regular annual 8 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA, supply of male life necessary for the full demand of the rookeries. I then declared ‘that provided matters are conducted on the seal islands in the future as they are to-day, 100,000 male seals, under the age of 5 years and over 1, may be safely taken every year from the Pribilov Islands without the slightest injury to the regular birth rates or natural increase thereon; provided, also, that the fur seals are not visited by any plague, or pests, or any abnormal cause for their destruction which might be beyond the control of men.” ! I repeatedly called attention to this fact in my published report that all of the killable seals required were easily taken in thirty working days between June 14 and July 20 of every year, from those points above specified: and that those reservoirs of surplus male life at South- west Point, Zapadnie, English Bay, Polavina, Tonkie Mees,’ etc., were full and overflowing; that more than enough was untouched which suf- ficed to meet the demands of nature on the breeding grounds. But, to make certain that my theory was a good one and would be confirmed by time, for I qualified my statement at that time as a theory only, I made a careful and elaborate triangulation of the area and position of the breeding grounds in 1872-73 on St. Paul and St. George islands, aided and elaborated by my associate in 1874, Lieut. Washburn May- nard, U.S. N. This I did in order that any increase or diminution fol- lowing our work could be authoritatively stated; that a foundation of fact and not assumption should exist for such a comparison of the past order with that of the present or the future. Sixteen years have elapsed since that work was finished; its accuracy as to the statements of fact then published, was at that time unques- tioned on these islands, and it is to-day freely acknowledged there. But what has been the logic of events?) Why is it that we find now only a scant tenth of the number of young male seals which I saw there in 1872? When did this work of decrease and destruction so marked on the breeding grounds there begin, and how? This answer follows: First. From overdriving, without heeding its warning: first begun in 1879: dropped then until 1882: then suddenly renewed again with increased energy from year to year, until the end is abruptly reached this season of 1890, Second. From the shooting of fur seals (chiefly females) in the open waters of the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea: begun as a business in 1886 and continued to date. Thus, the seal-life candle has been literally ‘burning at both ends” during the last five years! That day in 1879, when it became necessary to send a sealing gang from St. Paul village over to Zapadnie to regularly drive from that hitherto untouched reserve, was the day that danger first appeared in tangible form since 1870—since 1857, for that matter. The fact, then, that that abundant source of supply which had served so well and steadily since 1870-1881, should fail to yield its accustomed returns to the drivers, ought to have aroused some comment, ought then to have been recorded by the officer in charge in behalf of the Govern- ment at the close of the season’s work in 1882; but it did not. Possi- bly the gravity of the change was not then fully appreciated by the sealers themselves, either through ignorance or inattention. But, when in 1882, it became absolutely necessary to draw from that time on, until the end of the present season, heavily and repeatedly, 1 Monograph of the Seal Islands of Alaska, p. 62. 2“Tonkie Mees,” or Thin Point: named ‘Stony Point” by the white sealers in 1879, when they first began their killing on that ground; erected a salt house, ete. PLATE 4. x ies SOT RS TERT eas ———— Tn et OLN ee ¢ ! ‘ : iter EL AT ER 485 ait a ence t 44 sae ¢ ae get Sa aiachctei da 5 . Hovh¢ Yano be ae» the a ‘ ves bah nai Ah: A drawing jenn nature by the author. TOLSTOI, LOWER ZAPADNIE. UPPER ZAPADNIE. MIDOLE HILL. HOLLUSCHICKIE HAULING ON THE SANDS OF ENGLISH Bay, JULY 18, 1872. NATIVES “CUTTING OUT A Drive.” View looking west from Tolstoi Sand Dunes, over the bay to Zapadnie and Southwest Point, Saint Paul Island. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 9 upon these hitherto untouched sources of ol for the rookeries, in order to get the customary annual quota—at that time that fact, that glaring change from the prosperous and healthy precedent and recor d of 1870-1881, should have been—it was—ample warning of danger ahead. It seems, however, to have been entirely ignored, to have failen upon inattentive or incapable minds; for, not until the report for 1889 from the agent of the Government in charge, who went up in the spring of that year for his first season of service and experience—not until his report came down to the Treasury Department, had there been the slightest intimation in the annual declarations of the officers of the Government of the least diminution or decrease of seal life on these islands since my work of 1874 was finished and given to the world! On the contrary, strange as it may seem, all the Treasury agents since 1879 have, whenever they have spoken at all, each vied with the other in their laudations of the ‘“‘splendid condition of the rookeries,” “fully up to their best standard,” ete., and one report in 1837 declares a vast increase over the large figures which I published in 1872-1874! which is again reiterated by the same officer in 1888. But, how could these gentlemen reconcile their statements with that remarkable evidence of the decrease in supply of young males from the records made and before them—staring them in the face—of 1872- 1874? When they saw and daily recorded the fact that sealing gangs were being daily sent out from the village, miles and miles away to hitherto undisturbed fiélds, for killable seals—the regular, customary hauling grounds then at the point of exhaustion from which an abund- ant supply had been easily secured during the last thirty years, and grass growing all over the hauling erounds of 1872—how, indeed, did that fact escape their attention? It did, however; it was utterly ignored. I can see now, in the light of the record of the work of sixteen con- secutive years of sealing, very Clearly one or two points which were wholly invisible to my sight in 1872-1874. I can now see what that effect of driving overland is upon the physical well being of a normal fur seal: and, from that sight feel warranted in taking the following ground: The least reflection will declare to an observer that while a fur seal moves easier on land and freer than any or all other seals, yet, at the same time, it is an unusual and laborious effort, even when it is volun- tary; therefore, when thousands of young male seals are suddenly aroused to their utmost power of land locomotion over rough, sharp rocks, rolling clinker stones, deep, loose sand, mossy tussocks, and other equally severe impedimentia, they, in their fright, exert them- selves violently, crowd in confused sweltering heaps, one upon the other, so that many are often smothered to death; and, in this man- ner of most extraordinary effort, to be urged along over stretches of unbroken miles, they are obliged to use muscles and nerves that nature never intended ‘them to use, and which are not fitted for the action. This prolonged, sudden, and unusual effort, unnatural and violent strain, must leave a lasting mark upon the physical condition of every seal thus driven and then suffered to escape from the clubbed pods or the killing grounds. They are alternately heated to the point of sufto- cation, gasping, panting, allowed to cool down at intervals, then ab- ruptly started upon the road for a fresh renewal of this heating as they lunge, shamble, and creep along. When they arrive on the killing grounds, after four or five hours ‘of this distressing effort on their part, they are then suddenly cooled off for the last time prior to the final 10 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. ordeal of clubbing. Then, when driven up into the last surround or ‘““pod,” the seals which are spared by cause of being unfit to take—as too big or too little, bitten, ete.—are permitted to go off from the kill- ing ground back to the sea, outwardly unhurt, most of them; but I am now satisfied that they sustain, in a vast majority of cases, internal injuries of greater or less degree,! that remain to work physical disa- bility or death thereafter to nearly every seal thus released, and certain injury to its virility and courage so necessary for its station on the rookery, even if it does live to successfully run this gauntlet of driving throughout every sealing season for five or six consecutive years, driven over and over again, as it is, during each one of these sealing seasons. Therefore it now appears plain tome that those young male fur seals which may happen to survive this terrible strain cf four or five suc- cessive years of driving overland, are rendered by this act of driving, wholly worthless for breeding purposes; that they never go to the breed- ing grounds and take up stations there, being utterly demoralized in spirit if not in body. With this knowledge, then the full effect of “driving” becomes apparent; and that result of slowly but surely robbing the rookeries of a full and sustained supply of fresh nervy young male blood, demanded by nature imperatively for their support up to the standard of full expansion (such as I recorded in 1872-1874)—that result began, it now seems clear, to set in from the very beginning, twenty years ago, under the present system. Had, however, a check been as slowly and steadily applied to that “driving” as it progressed in 1879-1882 upon those great reserves of Zapadnie, Southwest Point, and Polavina, then the present condition of exhaustion, complete exhaustion, of tne surplus supply of young male seals as compared with the number of females to-day, would not be observed—it would not have happened. But, however, no attention was given whatever to the fact that in 1882 the reserves were suddenly, very suddenly, drawn upon, steadily and heavily for the first time, in order that a prompt filling of the reg- ular annual quota should be made before or by the usual time of clos- ing the sealing season for the year, viz, July 20; and, until the report ) [have been repeatedly astonished at the amazing power possessed by the fur seal of resistance to shocks which would certainly killany otheranimal. To explain clearly, you willobserve, by reference to my maps, that there are a great many cliffy places between the rookeries on the shore lines of the islands. Some of these cliffs are more than 100 feet in abrupt elevation above the surf androcks awash below. Frequently ‘“‘holluschickie,” in ones or twos or threes, will stray far away back from the great masses of their kind, and fall asleep in the thick grass and herbage which covers these mural reaches. Sometimes they will lie down and rest very close to the edge, and then as you come tramping along you discover and startle them and yourself alike. They, blinded by their first transport of alarm, leap promptly over the brink, snorting, coughing, and spitting asthey go. Curiously peering after them and look- ing down upon the rocks, 40 to 100 feet below, instead of seeing their stunned and motionless bodies, you will invariably catch sight of them rapidly scrambling into the water: and, when in it, swimming off like arrows from the bow. Three “hollus- chickie” were thus inadvertently surprised by me on the edge of the west face to Otter Island. They plunged over from an elevation there not less than 200 feet in sheer height, and I distinctly saw them fall, in scrambling, whirling evolutions, down, thumping upon the rocky shingle beneath, from which they bounded as they struck like so many ruboer balls. Two of them never moved after the rebound ceased, but the third one reached the water and swam away like a bird on the wing. While they seem to escape without bodily injury incident to such hard falls as ensué from dropping 50 or 60 feet upon pebbly beaches and rough bowlders below, and even greater elevations, yet I am inclined to think that some internal injuries are necessarily sustained in most every case, which soon develop and cause death The excitement and the vitality of the seal at the moment of the terriffic shock is able to sustain and conceal the real injury for the time being. PLATE 5. egg, ha ~~ | — ig _ Le 4 Be nnn MB SR A drawing from nature by the author. TOLSTOI ROOKERY. ZAPADNIE POINT AND ROOKERIES. MIDOLE HILL. (In middle distance.) VIEW OVER THE DESOLATE HAULING GROUNDS OF ENGLISH BAY, SAINT PAUL ISLAND, JULY 1 8, 1890. Looking west from Tolstoi Sand Dunes. Contrast this view with the preceding picture made by the author from this same foreground, eighteen years ago. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. Gh, for 1889, above cited, of the Treasury agent in charge, came into the Treasury Department, not a suggestion ever had been made in official writing, from 1872-1874, down to that time, of the slightest prospect even, of the amazing diminution of seal life which is now so painfully apparent. Naturally enough, being so long away from the field, on reading Mr. Charles J. Goft’s report for the season’s. work of 1889, I at once jumped to the conclusion* that the pelagic sealing, the poaching of 1886-1889, was the sole cause for that shrinkage which he declared manifest on those rookeries and hauling grounds of the Pribilov Islands—such a great shrinkage as to warrant him in the declaration which he makes in that report that ne believes that not over 60,000 young male seals can be secured here in 1890, and if more can be, that they should not be taken Still, charging it in this manner all to the pelagic killing was not quite satistactory to my mind. I could figure out from the known number of skins which these hunters had placed on the market, a statement of the loss and damage to the rookeries, to the females and young, born and unborn: for that is the class from which the pelagic hunter secures at least 85 per cent of his catch: I was prepared to find by these figures that the breeding grounds had lost heavily; but that did not even satisfy me as to his statement, which came so suddenly in 1889, that little more than half of the established annual quota of 100,000 holluschickie suitable for killing could or should be secured here in 1890; for, great as my estimated shrinkage on the breeding grounds was due to the pelagic work, yet that would not, could not, explain to my mind the ninefold greater shrinkage of that supply from the hauling grounds which must exist, or else 60,000 young males might be easily taken, judging from my notes of such work in 1872. There- fore, | landed here very much confused in thought as to what I should observe. 1 began at once, and finished by the 9th of June, an entire new topo- graphical survey and triangulation of the landed area of the seven rookeries of St. Paul Island: and those of St. George Island on the 19th and 20th of July: so as to have these charts ready for instant use when the time came in which to observe the full form and number of the breeding seals as they laid upon this ground, viz, July 10-20 inclusive; thereafter, until the closing of the season on St. Paul, July 19, and on St. George up to August 4, | have daily recorded the full details of the hauling, the driving, and killing of seals there, the condition of the breeding animals, their arrival and behavior, ete. A thousand varied incidents have been faithfully observed, as my field notes will testify, and which appear with much detail in the following appendix to this report... The present condition of these fur-seal preserves is nothing new to the history of their case while in the hands of the Russians. Twice before in the comparatively short period of a century, when they were first opened to the cupidity of man, have they been threatened with the same ruin that threatens them to-day. In 1806 and 1807 all killmg was stopped to save them, but resumed again in 1808; too soon; for, after seventeen years of halfway measures, the full and necessary term of rest was given to them in 1834. The story of this “zapooska” of the Russians in 1834, and the causes which led them to threaten the extermination of those fur-seal interests on the Pribilov {slands, 1s one that is now timely in its repetition and should be heeded. When these islands were first discovered in 1786-87, an indiscriminate 12 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. rush was made to them by the representatives of every Russian trading organization then in Alaska: by every one then able to fit out a vessel and hirea number of men. These eager, greedy parties located on and near all of the large rookeries and hauling grounds, and killed as many as they could handle. In those days all the skins were air-dried, and not salted, and that made the work of sealing then far slower and much more difficult than it is now, since the present system of salting skins practically offers no delay whatever to the work of killing and skinning. In my mind there is no doubt but what this inability to cure rapidly the skins for shipment in 1786-1805, as fast as they could then be killed and skinned—not one-tenth as fast as they can be to-day—that this delay alone saved the Pribilov rookeries from utter extermination in those early days. Certainly it was and must have been the cause: for, at least thirteen different trading organizations had their vessels and their men around and on these two islands of St. Paul and St. George, engaged to their utmost ability throughout full seventeen years of unbroken succession in taking fur-seal skins. Had those early Russian fur hunters then possessed the knowledge and means of curing skins in salt that we now have, together with these appliances in use to-day on the seal islands of Alaska, I am well satisfied in my own mind that they would have killed every tur seal that remained to show itself in less than three years after they began operations; that they would have swept every animal from these grounds long, long before the old Russian American Company assumed autocratic control of these interests in 1799, and extended it in 1805 over all Alaska as well. But, fortunately for us and the world as well, they did not know any- thing about curing skins in salt; they had but one method, and that was to stretch out the green skins and air-dry them upon frames in long, low drying houses: or in bright weather, during August, Septem- ber, and October, to peg them out upon the ground, or stretch them on hoops and frames. Thus this tedious process, in a climate as damp, foggy, and stormy as 18 that peculiar to the seal islands of Alaska, made these Slavonian sealers spend ten times as much time in the act of curing their fur-seal pelts as it took them to drive out and kill. Then, too, in those early days they were remote from a market; had no prompt, economical means of transportation to London; and, depended wholly upon the idiosynera- sies of the Chinese trade, via Kiachta; but even with this extraordinary hindrance, it seems that they took in that laborious and risky manner at least 100,000 fur-seal skins every year.' They took so many that by 1803, several hundred thousand of these air-dried pelts had accumulated over the ability of the old Russian com- pany to profitably sell and dispose of, in time to prevent their deeay— molding and damp, then abruptly decaying—rotting in large piles as they were stacked up in the warehouses at Kodiak; so “it became nec- essary to cut or throw into the sea 700,000 pelts” during that year. Naturally this loss of labor, time, and money cooled the ardor of the Sealing gangs which were working the Pribilof Islands; they worked slower, when they did work, and most likely never worked at all in 'In the first years on St. Paul Island from 50,000 to 60,000 were taken annually and on St. George from 40,000 to 50,000 every year. Such horrible killing was neither necessary nor demanded. The skins were frequently taken without any list or count. In 1803, 800,000 seal skins had accumulated, and it was impossible to make advantageous sale of so many skins; for in this great number so many were spoiled that 1t became necessary to cut or throw into the sea 700,000 pelts. (Bishop Veniaminoy, ‘‘ Zapieskie,” ete., 1848, vol. 1, chap. 12.) FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 13 wet weather. Obliged to bow to the caprices of the climate or lose their labor, they were compelled to spare the seals, and this enforced delay in 1788-1806 has saved the Pribilov rookeries from that swift destruction which the keen, quick-witted American and English sealers inflicted during 1806-1826, upon the great breeding grounds of the fur seal in the Antarctic. They, our countrymen, then used the kench and salt; they were never bothered with the question of how to dispose of their skins after killing and skinning so as to save them; and they brought their methods of 1806-1826, the same methods of to-day, up to these seal ‘islands of Alaska for the first time in 1868.! No one can state with more than mere estimation on his part the full number of seals slaughtered by the Russians on the Pribiloy Islands from 1786 to 1817; no lists, no check whatever on it appears to have been made, and the record certainly never was made, since Bishop Veniaminov, who from 1825 up to 1838 was at the head of all matters connected with the church in this Oonalashka district, where the seal islands belonged: and who had the respect and confidence of the old Russian American Company, made a zealous search for such a record in 1834-35among the archives of the company at Sitka, to which he had full access: but the result of his painstaking search he sums up in the following terse statement: “Of the number of skins taken up to 1817 I have no knowledge to rely upon, but from that time up to the present writing I have true and reliable accounts,” which he puts into the appendix of his published work.’ The bishop (who is the only Russian who has given us the faintest idea of how matters were conducted in his time upon these islands) seems to have witnessed them in a uniform condition of decline as to yield; for, in the time of his writing and up to its closing in 1837, the record was one of steady diminution. Until 1834 the killing seems to have been permitted, with all sorts of half measures since 1817, adopted one after the other, to no good result whatever. Finally, however, the supply abruptly fell from an expected 20,000 to only 12,000 from both islands in 1834, ‘all that could be got with all possible exertion.” Then the Russians awoke to the fact that if they wished to preserve these fur-bearing interests on the Pribilov Islands from ruin they must stop killing: wholly stop for a number of years: stop until the renewal of the exhausted rookeries was manifest and easily recognized. This zapooska of 1835, which they then ordered, is the date of the renewed lease of life which these rookeries took: and, which by 1857, had restored them to the splendid condition in which they were when they passed into the hands of the United States: and which, now, after twenty-two years of killing since 1868, and under the recent regulations of 1870, together with the pelagic sealing since 1886, we find again threatened with speedy extinction unless full measures are at once adopted for their preservation and restoration on land and in thesea. Half meas- 'They began at once that system of disciplined, exhaustive slaughter which had proved so effective in their hands throughout the Antarctic—took nearly 250,000 seal skins on these islands in the short space of four months; ceased then only for the want of salt. But, happily, the Government intervened early in 1869, before they could resume their work of swift destruction. In 1854 the first salting of fur-seal skins was attempted on the Pribilov Islands, but the rudeness of the method caused trouble when the shipment reached London. In 1862 it was tried again by the Rus- sians, but it was still crudely done until our people went to work in 1868 with their thorough methods. The Russians seldom bundled their skins when salted; they allowed them to dry while kenching in salt; and then shipped them just as they did their air-dried skins or ‘‘ parchment” pelts. 2 “*Zapieskie ob Onalashkenskaho Otdayla,” St. Petersburg, 1842, 2 vols. 8°. A full translation of that chapter which treats of that question will follow this introduction: 14 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. ures will not do; they failed in the Russian period signally; they will as signally fail with us if we yield in the slightest degree to any argument tor their adoption. ; It is interesting, therefore, to study the figures which Veniaminov gives us of the yield from these islands during that period extending down from 1817 to 1837. Study it in connection with his statement of what those attempts were, and which were being made—futile efforts by the old company to build up the business and yet continue sealing: until finally, after seventeen years of continual diminution and repeated introduction of halfway methods of restoration, the end came abruptly; — and, what ought to have been done at first, was finally forced in 1834, The absolute rest of the rookeries in 1835 came and practically contin- ued until 1846-1850; then a gradual rise above 10,000 ‘ holluschickie,” or young male fur seals, per annum, began to be safely taken; and by 1854 theexhausted and nearly ruined rookeries of St. Pauland St. George were able to yield 35,000 prime fur-seal pelts without the slightest injury to them; and, by 1857-1860 the seals were so numerous that the Rus- sians ceased to regard them as objects of care, and thereafter governed their annual catch by the demands outside alone, taking as the market called for them anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000 annually. As matters stand to-day on the seal islands, the situation is very much the same as it was in 1854. Then it was expected that 20,000 seals would be taken; but, only 12,000 were secured ‘with all possible exertion.” This year it was expected that 60,000 fine skins would be taken; but, only 21,000 have been secured with all possible exertion, nearly half of this catch being small, or 54 to 64 pound skins, raking and scraping the rookery margins without a day’s intermission from the opening to the closing of the season. Of this work of 1890, I give you in this report the fullest detail of its progression, day by day, to the merciful ending of it, ordered so happily by you. It will be promptly observed from a study of this record of the Rus- sians, which has been so plainly and honestly given to us by Veniaminov and Shaiesnickov, that the Russians during their control were faced at two periods with the prospect of a speedy exterm tion of these fur- seal rookeries of Alaska. In 1806 and 1807 they stopped all killing on these islands of St. Paul and St. George, but began to kill again in 1810; too soon. Veniaminov’s record and account shows that from 1817, in spite of everything they could do, save stopping short of all killing, ‘‘only made matters worse.” Finally, in 1834, with the second and positive threat of swift exter- mination again facing them, the Russians reluctantly surrendered and ordered a rest, which lasted seven years ere any beginning was fairly made to kill more than a few thousand young male seals annually. In the first year only 100 of such animals were taken, the number being very slowly raised year after year until 1847-1850. With reference to the preservation and conduct of this interesting and valuable industry, my study last summer of the subject has led me step by step to the following conclusions: First. That we restrict and prohibit all killing of fur seals on the Pribiloy Islands for tax and shipment of skins for the next seven years, without reflection on the pres- ent lessees: the Government to assume entire control, care, and supervision of the restoration of these interests during that period, since a division of responsibility will only provoke confusion and scandal, and probably result in defeating the object in view. 7 Second. This step on our part warrants us in asking the cooperation of Great Brit- ain and Russia in establishing a close time for the protection of the fur seals of Bering Sea during their breeding season, and that final regulations be agreed upoti by a joint comimission, which shall consist of experts selected by the powers inter- FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 15 ested, and who shall visit the seal islands of Bering Sea next summer for that pur- pose. Pending the settlement of these regulations and the report of this commis- sion, all pelagic sealing in Bering Sea to be declared illegal by the several powers interested. In concluding this introduction to my work of the past season and its results, I desire to say that I have been exceedingly careful in gather- ing my data upon which I base all statement of fact and opinion, and to secure these data I have literally lived out upon the field itself, where those facts alone can be gathered honestly, or else, had better not be gathered at all. IL now submit, most respectfully, my detailed report covering the above- mentioned heads, together with those field sketches and maps which I deem necessary to give a more distinct, clear, and full idea of my mean- ing and understanding of the subjects treated. Trusting that it will meet with your approval, I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, HENRY W. ELLIOTT. Hon. WILLIAM WINDoM, Secretary of the Treasury. SECTION IL. THE ROOKERIES OR BREEDING GROUNDS OF THE FUR SEAL ON THE PRIBILOV ISLANDS OF ALASKA; THEIR AREA AND CONDITION IN 1872-1874 AND 1890. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE FUR SEAL AND ITS EXTER- MINATION IN THE ANTARCTIC, PECULIARITIES OF DISTRIBUTION, Our first thought in studying the distribution of the fur seals through- out the high seas of the earth is one of wonder. While they have been so widely spread over the Antarctic regions, yet, as we pass the equa- tor going north, we find in the Atlantic above the tropics nothing that resembles them. Their landed habitat in the North Pacific is virtually confined to four islands in Bering Sea—St. Paul and St. George—of the Pribilov group, and Bering and Copper of the Commander Islands. It should be observed that there is abundant reason, owing to the constitution and the habit of Callorhinus, for this remarkable restric- tion in the Northern Hemisphere compared with its expansion to the south. It is, however, very singular, even in the light of all we know, that right on the equator itself, a trifle to the southward of it, viz, on the Galapagos Islands, fur seals are still found where they were first found a hundred years ago. The remarkable discrepancy which we have alluded to, may be better understood when we consider that these animals require certain condi- tions of landing, breeding ground, and climate, all combined, for their perfect life and reproduction. In the North Atlantic no suitable ground for their reception exists or ever did exist; and really nothing in the North Pacific, beyond what we have designated in Bering Sea, will answer the requirements of the fur seal. When we look over the Ant- arctic waters we are surprised at what might have been done, and should have been done, in those southern waters. Hundreds of miles of the finest seal- breeding grounds on the western coast of Patagonia, the beautiful reaches of the Falkland Islands, the great extent of Desola- tion Island, together with the whole host of smaller islets, where these animals abounded in almost countless numbers when first discovered (and should abound to-day, millions upon millions of them), have been, through nearly a century, the scenes of indiscriminate slaughter, directed by most unscrupulous and most energetic men. It seems well- nigh incredible, but it is true, nevertheless, that for more than fifty years a large fleet, numbering more than sixty sail, and carrying thou. sands of active men, traver sed this coast and circumnavigated every island and islet, annually slaughtering right and left wherever the seal life was found. Ships were laden to the “water's edge with the fresh, air-dried, and salted skins, and they were swallowed up in the marts of the world, bringing mere nominal prices—the markets glutted, but the butchery never stopping. I will pass in brief review the seal grounds of the Southern Hemis- phere, taking at the outset those which are peculiar to the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The Galapagos Islands come first to our notice. 16 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. a fer This scattered group of small rocks and islets, uninhabited and entirely arid, was fifty years ago resorted to by a very considerable number of these animals, Arctocephalus australis, together with many sea lions, Otaria hookeri. Great numbers were then taken by those sealers, who found to their sorrow, when the skins were inspected, that they were ‘thin- furred and worthless. A few survivors, however, remain to this day. Along and off the coast of Chile and Bolivia are the St. Felix, Juan Fernandez, and Masafuera islands, the latter place being one “of the most celebrated rookeries known to southern sealers. The west coast of Patagonia and a portion of that of Terra del Fuego was in those early days of seal hunting, and is to-day, the finest connected range of seal- rookery ground in the south. Here was annually made the concen- trated attack of that sealing fleet above referred to; and one can readily understand how thorough must have been its labor, as he studies the great extent and deep indentation of this coast, its thousand and one islands and islets, and when he knows to-day that there is scarcely a bunch of fur seals known to exist there. The Falkland Islands, just abreast of the Straits of Magellan, were also celebrated and a favorite resort, not only of the sealers, but for the whale fleets of the world. They are recorded, in the brief mention made by the best authority, as fairly swarming with fur seals when they were opened up by Captain Cook. There are to-day, in the place of the hundreds of thousands that once existed, an insignificant number, taken notice of only now and then. The Georgia Islands and the Sandwich group, all a succession of rocky islands and reefs awash—the South Orkneys, the Shetlands, the Auckland group, Campbell Island, Emerald Island, and a few islets lying just to the southward of New Zeal all been places of lively and continued butchery, the fur seals ranging in desperation from one of those places to the other as the seasons progressed and the merciless search and slaughter continued. These pinnipeds, how- ever, never went to the southward of 62 degrees south latitude. In considering these regions of the Antarctic I must not forget also to mention that the fur seal was in early times up the east coast of South America, here and there, in little rookeries, as far north as Cape St. Roque; but the number was unimportant when brought into con- trast with that belonging to those localities which we have designated. A small cliff-bound rookery to-day exists at Cape Corrientes. This is owned and farmed out by Argentina, and we are informed that in spite of all their care and attention they have neither increased nor have they diminished from their original insignificance. From these rook- eries only 5,000 to 10,000 were and are annually taken. Another small preserve on the Lobos islets, near the mouth of the River Plate, is also protected and leased by the Government of Uruguay, and from 12,000 to 15,000 skins are annually taken there. When we look at our northern Atlantic waters, we speedily recognize the fact that between North America and Europe, across the Atlantic and into the Arctic, there is not a single island, or islet, or stretch of coast on which the fur seal could successfully struge ole for existence; therefore it has never been found there. It appears as if our fur seals had originally passed to Bering Sea from the parent stock of the Pata- gonia region, up along the coast of South America, a few tarrying at the dry and heated Galapagos Islands, the rest speeding on to the northward, disturbed by the clear skies and sandy beaches of the Mex- ican Coast, on and up tothe great fish-spawning shores of the Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea. There, on the Pribilov group and the bluffy Commander Islands, they found that union of cool water, well-adapted H. Doe. 175 18 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. landing, and moist, foggy air which they had missed since they left the storm-beaten coasts far below. In the Antarctie waters of the Eastern Hemisphere seals were found at Tristan da Acunha, principally on Little Nightingale Island; the Crozets group, all smal! rocks, as it were, over which violent storms fairly swept; then we observe the great rookeries of Prince Edward’s Group and Desolation Island—w here perhaps nine-tenths of all the oriental fur seals congregated—thence over to a small and insignificant islet known as the Royal Company, south of Good Hope., This list includes all the known resting places.of the fur seal in those waters. In the North Pacific, during prehistoric times, a legend from Spanish authority states that fur seals were numerous or abundant on the Santa Barbara and Guadaloupe islands, off the coast of California and the peninsula to the southward. A few were annually taken from these islands up to 1835, and irregularly found there until 1874, an interreg- num of some ten years: and, a few hundred skins were taken from there in 1885. None have been secured since. Also, fur seals were wont to sport and rest on those celebrated rocks off the harbor of San Francisco known as the Farralones; but, no tradition locates a seal rookery any- where else on the nor thwest coast, or anywhere else in all Alaska and its islands, save the Pribilov group: while across and down the Asiatic coast, only the Commander Islands and a little rocky islet known as Robbens Reef (right under the lee of Sakhalen Island, Okotsk Sea) are known as the resort of this animal. The crafty savages of that entire region, the hairy Aino, and the Japanese themselves have searched in vain during the last hundred years for other ground fre- quented by these fur seals. In the light of the foregoing remarks is it not natural, when we reflect upon the immense area and the exceedingly favored ‘conditions of climate and ground frequented by the fur seals of the Southern Ocean, to say that their number must have been infinitely greater as they were first apprehended, surpassing all adequate description, when compared to those which we did regard as the marvel and wonder of our age—the breeding rookeries of the Pribilov group? Itis a great pity that this work of extermination in the Antarctic and senseless destruction should have progressed, as it has, to the very verge of total extinction, ere anyone was qualified to take note of and record the wonderful life thus eliminated. The Falkland Islands and the Shetlands at least might have been placed under the same restric- tions and wholesome direction which the Russians established in the north seas, the benefits of which accrue to us until now, aud will forever, if the evils now rampant are at once remedied. Certainly it is surprising that the business thought, the hardheaded sense, of those early English navigators should not hav e been equal to that of the Russian Promy- shleniks, who were renowned as the most unscrupulous and the greediest of gain getters. The Antarctic islands offered natural advantages of protection by land far superior to those found on the Pribilov or Commander groups. They had harbors and they laid outside of the track of commerce: advantages which are not all shared by our islands. At Desolation Island perhaps the difficulties were insuperable on account of the great extent of coast, which is practically inaccessible to man and nearly so to the seals; but the South Shetlands might have been farmed out by the British Government at a trifling outlay and with exceedingly good results, for millions upon millions of the fur seals could rest there to-day, as they did a hundred years ago, and be there to-morrow, as our seals do and are in Bering Sea. But the work is done. There is nothing FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 19 down there now valuable enough to rouse the interest of any govern- ment. Still, a beginning might De made which possibly fifteen or twenty years hence would rehabilitate the scourged and desolated breeding ground of the south seas. We are selfish people, however, and look only to the present, and it is withott question more than likely that should any such proposition be brought before the British Parliament it would be so ridiculed and exaggerated by unthinking men as to cause its speedy suppression. Now, we are brought in this season of 1890 face to face with the same danger on our own preserves which has destroyed these interests in the Antaretic. Shall we be equal to the occasion, or, shall it be said that they, too, have been ruined by human greed? THE ROOKERIES OR BREEDING GROUNDS OF THE FUR SEAL ON THE PRIBILOV ISLANDS. The breeding grounds or rookeries of the Pribilov Islands have altered very slightly insofar as their topographical features are con- cerned since the date of my last survey of them in 1874; but a marked change in the numbers of the fur seals that then repaired to these grounds, has taken place. On St. Paul Island, in 1872, we saw the breeding herds of the fur seal in the following form and numbers, contrasted with the figures of to-day, which are made in precisely the same time and method as those of 1872-1874 were: ° Analysis of the breeding grounds of the fur seal on St. Paul Island (Pribilov group). AS SURVEYED, SEASONS OF 1872-1874. < ALVEEARS S Namner or ene ea mar depth Square (seals (bulls, Rookeries, gin. solid feat. cows, and | | Massing. | pups). Feet. | Feet. ouly 10;,1872; July, 15,1874; Reefhad ....-..2-....--ce0-se0-. 4, 016 150 | 602, 000 | 301, 000 July 10, 1872, July 15, 1874, Garbotch had...........---...-- 3, 660 100 | 366, 000 183, 000 July 10, 1872, July HO MIOT4 Was oon NAG. .c2—- accent cl onic 750 100 | 750, 000 37, 000 July 10, 1872, Neanjoneclihadvem.- meen s aby sate eee. a 400 40 16, 000 8, 000 duly 15, 1872, July 19, 1874, Lukannon had..........-------- 2, 270 150 | 340, 000 170, 000 July 14, 1872, July TOWRA Webs Vile Ad! sca sccciomsiee encase] ] 2, 200 150 330, 000 165, 000 July 5, 1872, July Galera. Lolstovbad sjctccccseeceosss assess 3, 000 150 | 450, 000 225, 000 July 16. 1872, July 16, 1874: | Wipnperecapagmie DAGEN Aes. 65 SE Le abe S cc ccec ecco ese 2, 680 | 734| 195, 600 97, 800 MOM EL CAGE Ads ceicle see cele Sone ce eee 162, 670 enson’ OL. 1890 .255 0. coe Ss oct once Sek tee BREE e URGE ee ee kee be See an en Ue ee ee 80, 923 In the light of the foregoing tables, it will be seen that during 1872- 1874 the rookeries of St. Pauland St. George carried 3,192,670 breed- ing fur seals and their young; that sixteen years later only 959,455 breeding seals and their young can be honestly said to exist thereon. Great as this loss is, yet it is faint in comparison with that sustained on the hauling grounds as we find matters to-day—there, not even hun- dreds can be seen now, where we saw thousands sixteen years ago! The young wale seals have been directly between the drive, club, and FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 21 pelagic hunter since 1882, while the females have had but one direct attack outside of natural causes; they have been, however, the chief quarry of the pelagic sealer during the last five years. The slow elimina- tion of that surplus young male life which was and is necessary for the continued support of these rookeries, and its abrupt curtailment entirely during the last two seasons, coupled with the deadly work of the open- sea hunter throughout the last five years, brings these renowned fields of fur-seal life into immediate danger of speedy extermination as mat- ters are to-day. In order that the full gravity of this statement may be appreciated, I deem it proper that the several steps should be retaken which I took in 1872-1874 toward the determination of that number of seals I recorded then as existing on the Pribilov rookeries. I said then in my published monograph under this particular head: ! AUTHOR’S PLAN OF COMPUTATION IN 1872-1874. “Before I can intelligently and clearly present an accurate estimate of the aggregate number of fur seals which appear upon those great breeding grounds of the Pribilov group every season, I must take up in regular sequence my surveys of these remarkable rookeries which I have illustrated in this memoir by the accompanying sketch maps, showing topographically the superficial area and distribution assumed by the seal life at each locality. ‘It will be observed that the sum total on St. Paul Island preponder- ates and completely overshadows that which is represented at St. George. Before passing to the detailed discussion of each rookery, it is well to call attention to a few salient features in regard to the pres- ent appearance of the seals on these breeding grounds, which latter are of theirown selection. ‘Touching the location of the fur seals to-day, as I have recorded and surveyed it, compared with their distribution in early times, I am sorry to say that there is not a single line on a chart, or a word printed in a book, or a note made in manuscript, which refers to this all-important subject prior to my own work, which I pre- sent herewith for the first time to the public. The absence of definite information in regard to what I conceive to be of vital interest and importance to the whole business astonished me; I could not at first believe it, and for the last four or five years I have been searching among the archives of the old Russian company, as I searched dili- gently when up there and elsewhere in the Territory of Alaska, for some evidence in contradiction of this statement which I have just made. I wanted to find—I hoped to discover—some old record, some clue, by which I could measure with authority and entire satisfaction to my own mind the relative volume of seal life in the past, as compared with that which I record in the present: but, was disappointed. ‘“T am unable, throughout the whole of the following discussion, to cite a single reliable statement which can give any idea as to the condi- tion and numbers of the fur seal on these islands when they were dis- covered in 1786-87, or during the whole time of their occupation since, up to the date of my arrival. I mark this so conspicuously, for it is certainly a very strange oversight: a kind of neglect, which, in my opinion, has been, to say the least, inexcusable, RUSSIAN RECORDS. “Tn attempting to form an approximate conception of what the seals were or might have been in those early days, as they spread themselves | Pages 48-50, Monograph, Seal Islands (Census ed. 1881), ee FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. over the hauling and breeding grounds of these remarkable islands, I have been thrown entirely upon the vague statements given to me by the natives, and one or two of the first American sealers on the islands. The only Russian record which touches ever so lightly upon the sub- ject! contains the remarkable statement, which is, in the light of my surveys, simply ridiculous now—that is, that the number of fur seals on St. George during the first years of Russian occupation was nearly as great as thaton St. Paul. The most superficial examination of the physi- eal character of the coasts portrayed on the accompanying maps of those islands, will satisfy any unprejudiced mind as to the total error of such a statement. Why,a mere tithe only of the multitudes which repair to St. Paul in perfect comfort over the 16 to 20 miles of splendid land- ing ground found thereon, could visit St. George, when all of the coast line fit for their reception at this island is a scant 24 miles; but for that matter, there was, at the time of my arrival and in the beginning of my investigation, a score of equally wild and ineredible legends afloat in regard to the rookeries on St. Paul and St. George. Finding, therefore, that the whole work must be undertaken de novo, I set about it without further delay. ‘Thus it will be seen that there is, frankly stated, nothing to guide us to a fair or even approximate estimate as to the number of the fur seals on these two islands prior to my labor. MANNER OF COMPUTING THE NUMBER OF SEALS. ‘After a careful study of the subject during three entire consecutive seasons, and a confirmatory review of it in 1876, I feel confident that the following figures and surveys will, upon their own face, speak authoritatively as to their truthful character. ‘At the close of my investigation, during the first season of my labor on the grounds, in 1872, the fact became evident that the breeding seals obeyed implicitly an imperative and instinctive natural law of distri- bution—a law recognized by each and every fur seal upon the rookeries, prompted by a fine consciousness of necessity for its own well-being. The breeding grounds occupied by them were, therefore, invariably covered by the seals in exact ratio, greater or less, as the area upon which they rested was larger or smaller. They always covered the 'Veniaminov: Zapieskie ob Oonalashkenskaho Otdayla, 2 vols., St. Petersburg, 1842. This work of Bishop Innocent Veniaminoy is the only one which the Rus- sians can lay claim to as exhibiting anything like a history of western Alaska, or of giving a sketch of its inhabitants and resources that has the least merit of truth or the faintest stamp of reliability. Without it we should be simply in the dark as to much of what the Russians were about during the whole period of their occupation and possession of that country. He served, chiefly as a priest and missionary, for twenty-five years, from 1814 to 1839, at Unalaska, having the seal islands in his parish, and was made bishopof all Alaska. He was soonafterrecalled to Russia, where he became the primate of the national church, ranking second to no man in the Empire, save the Czar. He must have been a man of fine personal appearance, judg- ing from the following description of him, noted by Sir George Simpson, who met him at Sitka in 1842, just as he was about to embark for Russia: ‘‘His appearance, to which I have already alluded, impresses a stranger with something of awe, while in further intercourse, the gentleness which characterizes his every word and deed insensibly molds reverence into love; and, at the same time, his talents and attain- ments are such as to be worthy of his exalted station. With all this, the bishop is sufficiently a man of the world to disdain anything like cant. His conversation, on the contrary, teems with amusement and instruction, and his company is much prized by all who have the honor of his acquaintance.” Such is the portrait drawn of him by a governor of the Hudson Bay Company. At the advanced age of 93 years this much beloved and esteemed prelate died, in Moscow, April 22, 1879. -FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 23 ground evenly, never crowding in at one place here to scatter out there. The seals he just as thickly together where the rookery is boundless in its eligible area to their rear and unoccupied by them, as they do in the httle strips which are abruptly cut off and narrowed by rocky walls behind. For instance, on a nafrow rod of ground under the face of bluffs which hem it back as land from the sea there are just as many seals, no more and no less, as will be found on any other rod of rookery ground throughott the whole list, great and small; always exactly so many seals, under any and all circumstances, to a given area of breeding ground, There are just as many cows, bulis, and pups on a square rod at Nah Speel, near the village, where, in 1874, all told, there were only 7,000 or 8,000, as there are on any square rod at Northeast Point, where a million of them congregate. “This fact being determined, it is evident that just in proportion as the breeding grounds of the fur seal on these islands expand or contract in area from their present dimensions the seals will mnerease or diminish in number. ‘“My discovery, at the close of the season of 1872, of this law of dis- tribution, gave me at once the clue I was searching for in order to take steps by which I could arrive at a sound conclusion as to the entire number of seals herding on the island. ‘‘T noticed, and time has confirmed my observation, that the period for taking these boundaries of the rookeries so as to show this exact nargin of expansion at the week of its greatest volume, or when they are as full as they are to be for the season, is between the 10th and 20th of July of every year—not a day earlier, and not many days later. After the 20th of July the regular system of compact, even organization breaks up. The seals then scatter out in pods or clusters, the pups leading the way, straying far back—the same number instantly covering twice and thrice as much ground as they did the day or week before, when they lay in solid masses and were marshaled on the rookery ground proper. “There is no more difficulty in surveying these seal margins during this week or ten days in July than there is in drawing sights along and around the curbs of a stone fence surrounding a field. The breeding seals remain perfectly quiet under your eyes all over the rookery, and almost within your touch, everywhere on the outside of their territory that you may stand or walk. The margins of massed life, as I have indicated on the topographical surveys of these breeding grounds of St. Paul and St. George, are as clean cut and as well defined against the soil and vegetation as is the shading on my maps. There is not the least difficulty in making the surveys, and in making them correctly. ‘‘Now, with a knowledge of the superficial area of these breeding grounds, the way is clearly open to a very interesting calculation as to the number of fur seals upon them. Iam well aware of the fact when I enter upon this discussion that IT can not claim perfect accuracy: but, as shadowing my plan of thought and method of computation, I propose to present every step in the processes which have guided me to the result. ROOKERY SPACE OCCUPIED BY SINGLE SEALS. “When the adult males and females, fifteen or twenty of the latter to every one of the former, have arrived upon the rookery, I think an area a little less than 2 feet square for each female may be considered as the superficial space required by each animal with regard to its size and in 24 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. obedience to its habits; and this limit may safely be said to be over the mark. Now, every female or cow on this 2 feet square of space doubles herself by bringing forth her young; and in a few days or a week perhaps, after its birth, the cow takes to the water to wash and feed, and is not back on this allotted space one-haif of the time again dur- ing the season. In this wag, is it not clear that the females almost double their number on the rookery grounds without causing the expansion of the same beyond the limits that would be actually required did they not bear any young at all? For every 100,000 breeding seals there will be found more than 85,000 females and less than 15,000 males; and in a few weeks after the landing of these females they will show for them- selves—that is, for this 100,000—fully 180,000 males, females, and young instead, on the same area of ground occupied previously to the birth of the pups. “It must be borne in mind that perhaps 10 or 12 per cent of the entire number of females were yearlings last season and come up on to these breeding grounds as nubiles for the first time during this season—as two- year-old cows; they of course bear no young. The males, being treble and quadruple the physical bulk of the females, require about four feet square for their use of this same rookery ground: but, as they are less than one-fifteenth the number of the females, much less in fact, they therefore occupy only one-eighth of the space over the breeding ground, where we have located the supposed 100,000. This surplus area of the males is also more than balanced and equalized by the 15,000 or 20,000 two-year-old females which come on to this ground for the first time to meet the males. They come: rest a few days or a week and retire, leaving no young to show their presence on the ground. “The breeding bulls average 10 feet apart by 7 feet on the rookery ground; have each a space therefore of about 70 square feet for an aver- age family of 15 cows, 15 pups, and 5 virgin females, or 35 animals for the 70 feet—2 square feet for each seal, big or little. The virgin females do not lay out long and the cows come and go at intervals, never all being on this ground at one time, as the bull has plenty of room in his space of 70 square feet for himself and harem. “Taking all these points into consideration, and they are features of fact, I quite safely calculate upon an average of 2 square feet to every animal, big or little, on the breeding grounds as the initial point upon which to base an intelligent computation of the entire number of seals before us. Without following this system of enumeration, a person may look over these swarming myriads between Southwest Point and Novastoshnah, guessing vaguely and wildly at any figure from 1,000,000 up to 10,000,000 or 12,000,000, as has been done repeatedly. How few people know what a million really is! it is very easy to talk of a million, but it is a tedious task to count it off, and makes one’s statements as to ‘millions’ decidedly more conservative after the labor has been accomplished.” {Transcript from the author’s field notes of 1874.] NAH SPEELKIB, St. Paul Island, July 12. I am satisfied to-day that the pups are the sure guide to the whole number of seals on the rookeries. The mother seals are constantly coming and going, while the pups never leave the spot upon which they are dropped, more than a few feet in any direction until the rutting season ends; then they are allowed, with their mothers, by the old bulls to scatter over all the ground they want to. At this date the com- pact system of organization and massing on the breeding grounds is solidly main- tained by the bulls; it is not relaxed in the least until on and after July 20. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 25 This study of the breeding seals was made from the summit of a low bluff which rose perpendicularly back of and overhung these seals as depicted, and several thousand more on either side right and left, and beyond them down to the sea. The portions of the bodies of those seals which lay inside of the lines of this square, are not indicated; they belong to the adjoining harems. - NS w p wn oO ~ ao Vs) ro) | | | (1) ur > wow ft a a wh ee ee ee ee a a rt ee eo, ~I es be ° ORIGINAL FIELD. DIAGRAM. Diagram of a section of ‘‘ Nah Speel’”’ breeding ground, showing the relative area and numbers of fur seals thereon as they appear massed uniformly all over the entire breeding area of the Pribilov Islands between July 10 and 20, at the height of the breeding or rutting season. Seale one-half inch to the foot, showing exactly 100 square feet of superficial area, on which 18 breed- ing females (primipares, C, multipares, D); 4 virgin females (nubiles, B); 24 newly born pups (E), and Jold bull or sea catch (A), laid under my eye July 12, 1874, showing the presence of 47 seals, big and little on this area, not at alluncomfortably crowded. The numberof pups to the superficial area of the breeding ground, between July 10 and 20, is the surest guide to a correct calculation of the number of mothers, since it is seldom that more than one-half, generally only one-third, of the mothers are present at any one time. Six mothers are apparently absent in the above diagram ; but they really never are all on this ground at any one time; more here to-day than usual. 26 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. The following statements of fact as to this matter of the numbers of the breeding seals, as introductory, are pertinent: ! First. No fur seals except the females (nubiles, primipares, and multipares) and their young, and the full-grown males, are found upon the breeding grounds during the rutting season; emphatically none at the height of this season in July every year. Second, The proportion of females to males in 1872-1874 was an average of 15 bear- ing females, and their 15 young, newly born; and of nubiles or virgin females (or those coming into heat for the first time), an indefinite number, because they leave no evidence of their being on the ground by pupping. I believe that four or five of these young females to each male in 1872-1874 was a fair average. If the reader will bear these two leading statements steadily in mind, as he follows my explanation below, he will not get my argument mixed up with the size and weight of the bachelor seals, or nonbreeding males that never came upon these rook- eries in 1872-1874, during the breeding season aforesaid. Now for the physical fur-seal data: Typical examples of fur seals. ees Weight. Inches.* Pounds. A nubile female......... Samia anciinctei ta n> settee baal pace abe sisb cid pean oopuese ine’ 45 58 to 60 FAMINE TIL EMIDNG Sine eters amie imin oe See eu Soman sce cirate ais =e cee Re mae a seiaeeeie 48 75 to 100 A newly-born (two weeks old) ...--..----------- eS RE Pt ROSE EOnSae 14 10 to 11 Dh Schraal) uae wee) SBR eS Sk 8 ee Sa eee eso oriso ade Asosoe 75 300 to 400 * From tip of nose to root of tail; tail very short, never more than 2 to 4 inches in length. These figures are from a large series of measurements which I made on the killing grounds of the Pribilov Islands in 1872-1874, inclusive, and they can not be impeached. Therefore, the reader will observe that a female seal is not quite 4 feet in length: her greatest diameter is at her shoulders (where her girth is from 28 to 32 inches), from 10 to 12 inches, the body then tapering rapidly from thence to both ends, ante- rior and posterior, That a puppy seal from one to three weeks old (and when my estimates were made) is a scant foot in length, with its greater body diameter not more than 5 ineches— really not more than a full 4 inches in most cases. That a full-grown bull fur seal is between 6 and 7 feet in length, with an average of 64 feet, for the entire rookery; that its greatest body diameter, through its shoul- ders and under its ‘‘ wig,” isan average of 2} feet, tapering rapidly from here to the tip of nose and root of tail. Thesestatements of fact being understood, now I ask the reader to note the following : No fur seal, young or old, when resting on the breeding grounds stretches itself out at full length on the rocks or earth unless injured in the lumbar regions, or deathly sick: and, the number you can see in this condition, you can count on your fingers at the end of every day’s close observation of hundreds of thousands. The female fur seals and their young take three typical positions when hauled out on the breeding grounds, as shown in figs. 1,2,and 3; while the pups add a fourth position assuined by curling themselves up so as to form a round ball, as in fig. 4; and the adult males take relatively the same positions of the females above indicated ; but, owing to the great fatigue that ensues from fighting among themselves and serv- ing the females. they sprawl] out at intervals in almost every conceivable form except that of stretching themselves out at full length. All fur seals when at rest invari- ably throw their hindquarters up under their loins, just as a dog or cat does; in the case of the hair seals, it is the reverse. Now, understanding these points, the reader will please take a survey of the following diagrams, which show a female seal out- lined as she rests on 4 square feet of ground and her pup as it lies by her.2 The following diagram shows the superficial area covered by a “bull” as it rests 80 as to cover the greatest space in any one posture that it naturally assumes. ‘These detailed and expanded statements as to my method of calculating the num- bers of fur seals in 1872-1874 were published in Forest and Stream, November 19, 1891, New York, pp. 347,348. They were rendered necessary to meet the baseless criticism of a self constituted authority who pretended to know a great deal about the subject before the Biological Society of Washington, October 17, 1891, but who, in fact, knew nothing.—[Author, January 30, 1895, Washington, D. C.] ?In my Census Monograph of the Seal Islands (Tenth Census, U.S. A., 1881), on page 50, is an error in the types, where I am made to say that a female fur seal requires ‘‘an area a little less than 2 square feet.” This is self-evident nonsense not due to me, because on page 77 of my official report on this subject in 1874 (Condition of affairs in Alaska, Washington, 1875), the same sentence is correctly printed as a space ‘‘a little less than 2 feet square.” The printer had my printed pages of 1875 to copy in the Census Monograph, and I did not detect the error at the time of issue, and really did not observe it until 1891. 27 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. ‘PPE Surpaeaq ojo ong 07 pordde aos ‘aq3417 pur Siq ‘[eurray yova JoF qoay ouvuhs = 10 oS¥1DAG UB IO ‘Spunods Jo Qoos oLvNDS F UO Y8oz AVY] SB ‘(PlO SY9OA 9oAt]y Sunofk puv wos-anj oyvumey jo opyoud [vsio ae 3 J P } if PLO 8x pue Ty JF OT F JO OTf I a = jo jooy orenbs g SutAdhio90 oyeut A> q[upe ao plo Je o[goad yessod lars sc Teles ee Sessile te ee CoS SSS Tree SAS he a Te ee ==) ' OU] ' ' | i ( ! : ! I ng . : HBorgh HMU(ULes St a Hebse | ch ) "4h bg | | \ 1 ' 1 } | Thess \ t | 1 i { H t ' 1 r] 1 1 eae Se EP ee Ub Par an 1 er a | Seek ay re Ast cael PSL TSM . i i; tuanit = i §x "8; i ‘4 YT t tae 8 1 ovenma ) } 28 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. Now, is it not entirely plain that the females as they rest on the breeding grounds, require but 3 square feet of surface; that their pups require a trifle less than 1 square foot each, and that the bulls or adult males occupy little more than 8 or 10 square feet? But, right at this point, you may reasonably ask, ‘‘ While it is clear that 4 square feet of area will embrace a female fur seal and her offspring, yet why do you ignore that larger space which you admit the bull occupies?” For this reason: I have not been able to fix upon the number of virgin females which have been upon this breeding ground during the rutting season, for the reason that these females naturally leave no mark behind them of their being here, as the other classes of females do, and they do not remain themselves long on the field after being served; so, it was reasonable to give each bull an average of at least four of these nubiles, at the lowest calculation. This would cover the ground which he ocecu- pies, and reduces the whole basis of calculation to the simplest form, viz, 2 square feet for each animal, big and little—bulls, cows, and pups—that existed on those breeding grounds as these animals hauled out and bred in 1872-1874, Everybody admitted in 1872-1874, who was on the islands and especially charged with observing the seals, that I was right in then saying that the seals obeyed a natural law of distribution over a given area of ground when breeding; that they never crowded here or thinned out there; that the ground was densely occupied and uniformly, no matter whether only a belt under the cliffs or where the rookery ground extended for hundreds of feet away back from the sea margin. The dense massing of the seals on the rookery ground was then made evident to the most careless observer when his attention was fixed on the subject. It was made by the appearance of the pups themselves, which, between the 10th and 20th of July every year, lay in so solidly together that the ground itself seemed fairly covered by them alone, since not more than one-third of the mothers were on shore among the pups at any one time. Before summing up the grand total, I shall now, in sequence, review each one of the several rookeries of St. Paul, taking them in their order as they occur, going north from the Reef point. The accompanying maps show the exact area occupied by the breeding seals and their young in the season of 1874, which is the date of my latest field work on the Pribilov Islands up to this year. I may add that my method of surveying these breeding grounds in 1872-1874 was by means of measured base lines, taking my angles and cross bearings with an azimuth compass. In 1890, l used a fine prismatic compass; otherwise, precisely the same method was again employed. I made a careful land survey of each rookery on St. Paul Island between May 22 and June 4, so that when the females all arrived by July 10, I was able to then go out upon each one of these rookeries with my fin- ished plat of the land in hand: and, upon it, in the field, again plat the massing of the breeding animals as they exhibited themselves, without a moment’s delay, so as to properly and deliberately finish the entire work before the rutting season was over by July 20. By this time those rookeries are scattering and scattered, as they always are by the lapse of that period, since the old bulls then relax their absolute control of their harems and permit all classes to wander at will. In this connection it is pleasant for me to say now, that in 1874 I was accompanied by Lieut. Washburn Maynard, U.S. N., who, being also a trained topographer, aided me in verifying my surveys of 1872-73. He gave this subject close attention. He appreciated its importance, and in his published report to the Secretary of the Navy in 1875, he uses the following language: It is of very great significance in this connection to know how many seals come annually to the islands, or rather to understand how many may be killed for their skins annually, without causing less to come hereafter than do at the present time. To determine how many there are with accuracy is a task almost on a par with that of numbering the stars. The singular motion of the animals when on shore, the great variety 1n size, color, and position; the extent of surface over which they are spread, and the fact that it can not be determined exactly what proportion of them of their several classes are on shore at any given time; all these desiderata for com- prehension make it simply impossible to get more than an approximation of their numbers. They have been variously estimated at from one to fifteen millions, I] think the most accurate enumeration yet made is that by Mr. H. W. Elliott, FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF “ALASKA. 29 special agent of the Treasury Department, in 1872. This calculation is based upon the hypothesis that the breeding seals are governed in hauling by a common and invariable law of distribution, Which is that the area of the rookery ground is directly proportional to the number of seals occupying it. He estimates that there is one seal to every 2 square feet of rookery surface. Hence the problem is reduced to the simple operation of obtaining half the’sum of the superficial area of all the rookeries in square feet, He surveyed these breeding grounds of both islands in 1872 and 1873, when at their greatest limit of expansion, and obtained the following results: Upon St. Paul Island there were 6,060,000 feet of ground, occupied by 3,030,000 breeding seals and their young. On “St. George Island he announced 326,840 square feet of superficial rookery area, occupied by 163,420 breeding seals and their young; a total for both islands of 3, 193, 420 breeding seals and their young. The number of nonbreeding seals can not be determined in the foregoing manner, as they haul most irregularly, ‘but it seems to me probable that they are nearly as numerous as the other class. It so, it would give not far from 6,000,000 as the stated number of seals of all kinds which visited the Pribilov Islands during the season of 1872. It is likely that these figures are not far from the truth, but I do not think it nec- essary myself to take into consideration the actual number of seals in order to decide the question of how many can be taken each year without injury to the fishery. The law that the size of the rookeries varies directly as the number of seals increases or diminishes seems to me, after close and repeated observation, to be correct. Al) the rookeries, whether large or small, are uniform in appearance, alike compact, without waste of space, and never crowded. Such being the case, it is unimportant to know the actual number of seals upon the rookeries. For any change in the number of seals, which is the point at issue, increases or decreases in size, and the rookeries, taken collectively, will show a corresponding increase or decrease in the number of breeding seals; consequently, changes in the aggregate of pups born annually, upon which the extent and safety of the fisheries depend, can be observed accurately from year to year by following these lines of survey. If, then, a plan or map of euch rookery be made every year, showing accurately its size and form when at its greatest expansion, which is between the 10th and 25th of July, annually, a comparison of this map will give the relative number of the breeding seals as they increase or diminish from year to year. I submit with this report maps of St. Paul and St. George islands, showing the extended location of breeding rookeries and hauling grounds upon them. These maps are from surveys made in July, 1874, by Mr. Elliott and myself, and a map of each rookery on both islands drawn from careful surv eys made by ] Mr. Elliott in 187: 2, show them now as they were in the season of 1874 as compared with that of 1872. I respectfully rec- ommend that enlarged copies of these latter maps be furnished to the Government agents in charge of the islands, and that they be required to compare them each year with the respective rookeries, and note what change in size and form, if any, exists upon them. This, if carefully done, will afford data after a time, by which the seal fisheries can be regulated with comparative certainty, so as to produce the greatest revenue to the Government without injury to this valuable interest. (Forty- fourth Congress, first session, House Ex. Doc. No. 45, pp. 4, 5.) This finished work of 1872-1874 I reproduce in the following maps of the several rookeries of St. Paul Island, and add the hauling grounds of St. George Island to the original survey of 1874. The smallness of the rookeries on the latter island permits this addition to these charts, but the hauling grounds of St. Paul for 1872-1874 can not be drawn upon so small a scale and require a special general map of the entire island itself to properly show them. This map appears under Section II following. The hauling grounds of St. George are so limited in area that a general map of this island to clearly show them would need an immensely enlarged scale. The general position, however, of the St. George rookeries and hauling grounds is clearly defined on my revised map of St. George Island under the head of Section II. I pass to a description in detail of each rookery of the Pribilov Islands, giving my first published account of them as they appeared in 1872-1874, and each original description is then supplemented by my notes and surveys of last summer. The accompanying maps are so tinted as to express clearly the status of 1872-1874 as compared with the condition of 1890.' 'This combination of the work of 1872-1874 and 1890 upon one chart of each rookery is much better and more satisfactory than to publish the original survey by itself, with a duplicate series of charts for 1890, 30 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. THE REEF ROOKERY (1872-1874). [Its condilion and appearance July, 1874.] By reference, first, to the general map, it will be observed that this large breeding ground, on that grotesquely shaped neck which ends in the Reef Point, is directly contiguous to the village—indeed, it may be fairly said to be right under the lee of the houses on the hill. It is one of the most striking of all the rockeries, owing probably to the fact that on every side it is sharply and clearly exposed to our vision as the cir- cuit is made in boats. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 39 making ground for 62,400 seals—bulls, cows, and pups—against a total of 225,000 in 1872-1874. These figures declare a decrease here of 162,600 seals since my earlier survey, or a loss of some 75 per cent. While there appears to be a little more than one-fourth only of the females here as compared with their number of 1872, yet the propor- tion of loss in males is still more startling—there is not one-fifteenth of the showing made by the bulls in 1872-1874, and not a single young bull seen upon the gfound offering service—not one even attempting to land at the water’s edge. The half dozen that I did see on the outskirts of the rookery were evidently dropped from sealing drives, broken spirited and utterly worthless. The topographical features of this ground are wholly unchanged since my survey of 1872. The sands still drift with their accustomed dis- agreeable energy backward and forward between Middle Hill and the base of the rookery; but being bare of seal life last summer, they seem to aid in the expression of a deeper air of desolation than that given to any other one spot on the islands save Keetavie. ZAPADNIE ROOKERY (1872-1874). [Its condition and appearance July, 1874. ] From Tolstoi, before going north, we turn our attention directly to Zapadnie on the west, a little over 2 miles as the crow flies across English Bay, which lies between them. Here again we find another magnificent rookery, with features peculiar to itself, consisting of great wings separating, one from the other, by a short stretch of 500 or 600 feet of the shunned sand reach which makes a landing and a beach just between them. The northern Zapadnie lies mostly on the gently slop- ing, but exceedingly rocky, flats of a rough volcanic ridge which drops there to the sea; it, too, has an approximation to the Tolstoi depth, but not to such a solid extent. It is the one rookery which I have reason to believe has sensibly increased since my first survey in 1872. It has overflowed from the boundary which I laid down at that time, and has filled up for nearly half a mile, a long ribbon-like strip of breeding ground to the northeast from the hill slope, ending at a point where a few detached rocks jut out, and the sand takes exclusive possession of the rest of the coast. These rocks aforesaid are called by the natives ‘¢ Nearhpahskie Kammin,” because it is a favorite resort for the hair seals. Although this extension of a very decided margin of breeding ground, over half a mile in length, between 1872 and 1876, does not in the aggregate, point to a very large increased number, still it is a grati- fying evidence that the rookeries, instead of tending to diminish in the slightest, are more than holding their own. Zapadnie in itself is something like the Reef plateau on its eastern face, for it slopes up gradually and gently to the parade plateau on top—a parade ground not so smooth, however, being very rough and rocky, but which the seals enjoy. Just around the point, a low reach of rocky bar and beach connects it with the ridge wails of Southwest Point. A very small breeding rookery, so small that it is not worthy of asurvey, is located here. I think probably, on account of the nature of the ground, that it will never hold its own, and is more than likely abandoned by this time. One of the prehistoric villages, the village of Pribilov’s time, was established here between the point and the cemetery ridge, on which the northern wing of Zapadnie rests. The old burying ground, with its 40 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. characteristic Russian crosses and faded pictures of the saints, is plainly marked on the ridge. It was at this little bight of sandy landing that Pribilov’s men first came ashore and took possession of the island, while some others, in the same season proceeded to Northeast Point, and tothe north shore to establish settlements of their own order. When the indiscriminate sealing of 1868 was in progress, one of the parties lived here, and a salt house, which was then erected by them, still stands. It is in a very fair state of preservation, although it has never been since occupied, except by the natives who come over here from the village in the summer to pick the berries of the Hmpetrum and. Rubus, which abound in the greatest profusion around the rough and rocky flats that environ the little lakeadjacent. The young people of St. Paul are very fond of this berry festival, so called among themselves, and they stay here every August, camping out a week or ten days at a time, before returning to their homes in the village. Zapadnie rookery has, the two wings included, 5,880 feet of sea margin, with an average depth of 150 feet, making ground for 441,000 breeding seals and their young, being the second rookery on the island as to size and importance. The holluschickie that sport here on the parade plateau, and indeed over all of the western extent of the English Bay hauling grounds, have never been visited by the natives for the purpose of selecting killing drives since 1872, inasmuch as more seals than were wanted have always been procured from Zoltoi, Lukannon, and Lower Tolstoi points, which are all very close to the village. I have been told, since making this survey, that during the past year the breeding seals of Zapadnie have overflowed, so as to occupy all of the sand strip which is vacant between them on the accompanying map. ZAPADNIE ROOKERY (1890). [Its condition and appearance July, 1890. ] It is impossible to convey that full sense of utter desolation which the vacant seal area of 1872 on this fine rookery aroused in my mind last July, while then making my survey of it. Grass and flowers springing up over those broad areas back of the breeding grounds here, where in 1872-1874, thousands upon thousands of young male seals hauled out and over, throughout the entire season, and were undisturbed by any man, not even visited by any one except myself! No one then even thought of such a thing as coming over from the village to make a killing at Zapadnie, there being more seals than wanted then close by at Tolstoi, Lukannon, and Zoltoi sands. This not alone, but that splendid, once clean-swept expanse of hauling ground in English Bay between the Zapadnies and Tolstoi, is all grass grown to-day except over its areas of drifting sand, with mosses, lichens, and flowers inter- spersed! It is entirely bare of seals save a lonely pod under Middle Hill. Lower Zapadnie is certainly the roughest surfaced breeding ground peculiar to the seal islands: and it is a curious place on which to view the seals as they locate themselves, for as yon walk along they sud- denly appear and disappear as they lay in those queer little valleys and canyons here, which have been formed by lava bubbles of the geolog- ical time of the elevation of St. Paul Island from the sea. But to-day, so scant is the massing of the breeding seals here, that that unbroken uproar which boomed out from them in 1872 is wholly absent; it is PLATE 1/1). A drawing from nature by the author. ZAPADNIE ROOKERY, SAINT PAUL ISLAND, JULY 18, 1890. Viewed from the crest of Cemetery Ridge, above Upper Zapadnie ; the killing gang coming over from the village with the bidarrah. ap. At ee pyri ee, Q fh a ea a at '! Be .@0F 240.H ‘ ‘ ' i f . ] . . j ; a — ] a ; vs f f B 'Groltto is - POLAVINA POINT The POLAVINA ROOKERIES, Ja A 1[ , — 6th, 189. i ae 1 July *3th NRY W. ELLIOTT & CHAS. J. GOFF. Area and | Position of the Breeding Seals, July 13th, 1890 Area andj Position of the Breeding Seals, july 17th, 1872 Hauling Grounds, 1890 Hauling Grounds of 1872 — 74 Now Abandoned 1890, Magnetic FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. Al positively quiet, save the subdued sheep-like! caliing of the females and the lamb-like answer of their offspring. As this breeding ground of Zapadnie was the sceean one in size and importance on St. Paul in 1872, the figures which my survey of last July warrant, show an extraor dinary deer ease here and make a melan- choly exhibit. Detailed analysis of the survey of Lower Zapadnie rookery July 11, 1890. 7 [Sea margin beginning at Q and ending at Zapadnie Point.] Square feet. 2,700 feet sea margin between Q and Zapadnie Point, with 20 feet average depth, massed ..--..-.--.---.--- 22+ + 2222s eee ee eee ee eee eee nee eee 54, 000 Jag A is 400 feet deep above sea margin, with 50 feet average width, massed. 20, 000 Jag B is 300 feet deep above sea margin, with 60 feet average width, massed. 18, 000 Jag C is 380 feet deep above sea margin, with 35 feet average width, massed. 13, 300 Jag Dis 200 feet deep above sea margin, with 75 feet average width, massed. 15, 000 Jag E is 175 feet deep above sea margin, with 75 feet average width, massed. 13, 125 Jag F is 350 feet deep above sea margin, with 60 feet average width, massed. 21, 000 Jag G is 200 feet deep above sea margin, with 60 feet average width, massed. 12, 000 Jag H is 125 feet deep above sea margin, with 40 feet average width, massed. —_5, 000 HOUMA ARE TGC ema ™ S28 — fee eee asec cole Se aie Ne eRe eae eye fees ye 171, 425 making ground for 85,705 seals—bulls, cows, and pups—against a total of 545,000 in 1872. The figures for Upper Zapadnie are not much better. I regard it as apart and parcel of but one rookery, i.e., Zapadnie: but, for clearness of definition in survey, Separate the wings. Detailed analysis of the survey of Upper Zapadnie rookery July 11, 1890. [Sea margin beginning at Q, ending at V, resumed at W, and ending at R.] Square feet. 1,200 feet sea margin between Q and V, with 40 feet average depth, massed... 48, 000 2,300 feet sea margin (beach) between W and R, with 10 feet average depth, INASNG CME ee Se Sane Se was de of aie clare ennloae ns Sete ebelnes tae ae 25 OOO TONE! SQUIER IEG a ee ees a ek ee reas eee ere emer 71, 000 making ground for 35,000 seals—bulls, S, a against a total of 97,800 in 1872, or a total to-day of 121,205 for Zapadnie entire against 442,800 in 1872 POLAVINA ROOKERY (1872-1874). [Its condition and appearance July, 1874. | Halfway between the village and Northeast Point lies Polavina: another one of the seven large breeding grounds on this island. The conspicuous cone-shaped head of Polavina Sopka rises clearly cut and smooth from the plabeay at its base, which falls 2 miles to the eastward Indeed, so ee is ae ed that I monte Tine. a aes of sheep which ie Alaska Commercial Company had brought up from San Francisco to St. George Island, during the summer of 1873, were “const: untly attracted to the rookeries, and were running in among the holluschickie: so much so, that they neglected the good pasturage on 1 the uplands beyond, and a small boy had to be regularly employed to herd them where they could feed to advantage. These transported Ovide, though they could not possibly find anything in their eyes suggestive of companionship among the seals, had their ears so charmed by the sheep- like accents of the female pinnipeds as to persuade them against their senses of vision and smell. The sound which arose in 1872 from these great breeding grounds of the fur seal when thousands upon tens of thousands of angry, vigilant bulls were roaring, chuck- ling, and piping, and multitudes of seal mothers were calling in hollow bleating tones to their young, that in turn responded incessantly, is simply defiance to verbal description. It was, ata slight distance, softened into a deep booming, as of a cata- 4? FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. and southeastward, sharp off into the sea, presenting a bluff margin over a mile in length, at the base of which the sea thunders incessantly. It exhibits a very beautiful geological section of the simple structure of St. Paul. The ringing, iron-like basaltic foundations of the island are here setting boldly up from the sea to a height of 40 or 50 feet, black and purplish red, polished like ebony by the friction of the surf and worn by its agency into grotesque arches, tiny caverns, and deep fissures. Surmounting this lava bed is a cap of ferruginous cement and tufa from 3 to 10 feet in thickness, making a reddish floor upon which the seals patter in their restless, never-ceasing evolutions, sleep- ing or waking, on the land. It is as great a single parade plateau of polished cement as is that of the Reef: but, we are unable from any point of observation, to appreciate it, inasmuch as we can not stand high enough to overlook it unless we ascend Polavina Sopka, and then the distances, with the perspective foreshortening, destroy the effect. The rookery itself, occupies only a small portion of the seal-visited area at this spot. It is placed at the southern termination and gentle sloping of the long reach of bluff wall, which is the only cliff between Lukannon and Novastoshnah. It presents itself to the eye, however, in a very peculiar manner, and with great scenic effect when the observer scans it from the southern point of its mural elevation; viewed from thence, nearly a mile to the northeast, it rises as a front of bicolored lava wall, high above the sea that is breaking at its base, and is covered with an infinite detail of massed seals in reproduction. At first sight one wonders how they got there; no passages whatever can be seen, down orup. A further survey, however, discloses the common occur- rence of rain-water runs between surf-beaten crevices, which make many stairways for the adhesive feet of Callorhinus, amply safe and comfortable. ; For the reason cited in a similar example at Zapadnie, no hollus- chickie have been driven from this point since 1872, though it is one of the easiest worked. It was, in the Russian times, a pet sealing ground with them. The remains of the old village have nearly all been buried in the sand near the lake, and there is really no mark of its early habitation, unless it be the singular effect of a human graveyard being dug out and despoiled by the attrition of seal bodies and flippers. The old cemetery just above and to the right of the barrabkie, near the little lake, was originally established, so the natives told me, far away from the hauling of the holluschickie. It was, when I saw it in 1876, in a melancholy state of ruin. A thousand young seals at least moved off from its surface as I came up, and they had actually trampled out many sandy graves, rolling the bones and skulls of Aleutian ancestry in every direction. Beyond this old barrabkie, which the present natives have established as a house of refuge for the winter when they are ract; and I have heard it, with a light fair wind to the leeward, as far as 6 miles out from land on the sea; and even in the thunder of the surf and the roar of heavy gales it would rise up and over to your ear for quite a considerable distance away. It was the monitor which ‘the sea captains anxiously strained their ears for when they ran their dead reckoning up and were laying to for the fog to rise in order that they might get their bearings of the land. Once heard they held on to the sound and felt their way in to anchor. The seal roar at Novastoshnah during the summer of 1872 saved the life of the surgeon and six natives belonging to the island, who had pushed out on an egging trip from Northeast Point to Walrus Island. I have some- times thought, as I have listened through the night to this volume of extraordinary sound, which never ceases with the rising or the setting of the sun throughout the entire season of breeding, that it was fully equal to the churning boom of the waves of Niagara. Night and day, throughout the season of 1872, this din upon the rook- eries was steady and constant. et PLATE 12. sree nar ye + i Eiichi yd taovinn A drawing from nature by the author. POLAVINA SOPKA: 550 FEET. POLAVINA ROOKERY AND HAULING GROUND, SAINT PAUL ISLAND, JULY 18, 1872. View looking NNE., * Polavina Sopka” in the middle distance, to the left; most of the seal life in this view belongs tc schicki i 1 ; ‘ G st o »se gs to the holluschickie on the great haul ground, the main body of the breeding seals being to our left and back of this point of view. es sha’ : FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 43 trapping foxes, looking to the west over the lake, is a large expanse of low, flat swale and tundra, which is terminated by the rocky ridge of Kaminista. Every foot of it has been placed there subsequent to the original elevation of the island by the action of the sea, beyond all ques- tion. Itis covered with a thick growtlrof the rankest sphagnum, which quakes and trembles like a bog under one’s feet, but over which the most beautiful mosses ever and anon crop out, including the character- istic floral display before referred to in speaking of the island. Most of the way from the village up to Northeast Point, as will be seen by a cursory glance at the map, with the exception of this bluff of Polavina and the terraced table setting back from its face to Polavina Sopka, the whole land is slightly elevated above the leyel of the sea, and its coast line is lying just above and beyond the reach of the surf where great ledges of sand have been piled by the wind, capped with sheafs and tufts of rank-growing Hlymus, There is a small rookery which I call Little Polavina, indicated here, that does not promise much forthe future. The sand cuts it off on the north, and sand has blown around so at its rear as to make all other ground not now occupied by the breeding seals there, quite ineligible. Polavina rookery has 4,000 feet sea margin, including Little Polavina, with 150 feet average depth, making ground for 300,000 breeding seals and their young. PQLAVINA ROOKERY (1890). [Its condition and appearance July, 1890. ] My survey, July 13, 1890, of this breeding ground shows it to be one of the two rookeries only, which have suffered on St. Paul Island no greater loss than from 50 to 55 per cent of their general form and num- ber as recorded in 1872. Yet I can not avoid the conclusion, however, that this rookery has been hard driven from during the last eight years, since the chief hauling grounds lay directly up in the rear of the breed- ing lines. Therefore, when the shrinking of the supply of holluschickie began, the driving of the killable seals here involved a regular scraping of the large semicircular edge of Polavinarookery whenever a drive was made. In illustration of this, a drive made here on the 18th of July, brought in, out of a total of 1,541 animals, 172 old breeding bulls! which had been scraped up on the rookery margin by the native drivers, who were obliged to take these old fellows along, or lose the handful of killa- ble young male seals that they were after. I witnessed this driving, and saw not only these old bulls, but cows swept up into the stampeded herd; their pups left bruised and helpless behind to starve and to otherwise perish. This.is a locality where, until 1872, like the Zapadnie and Southwest Point areas, the fur seals on St. Paul Island had been undisturbed by the sealers since 1857; therefore, the holluschickie and the breeding seals had polished the whole surface of that high plateau laying gently back from the bluffs, a mile of sea margin, way back entirely free from vegetation, 1,000 to 2,000 feet; every vestige of vegetable growth utterly eliminated by their flippers. The reddish to blood-red breccia and cinders that compose the floor to this parade ground of Polavina was literally powdered by the attrition of seal flippers into an impalpable red dust, which, during every windy day, would rise in columns and clouds to betray the locality to your eye from all points of the island, and often has suggested to sailors at sea the idea of a steamer under way, within lee of the land. During misty, foggy, and wet days this 44 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. ‘ soil would and does now resolve itself into the condition of a rich moist humus: and, after heavy rains a thick paste, if puddled by the seals. The natives in Russian times had a small village on the lake shore near by this rookery, and regularly worked this field especially severe, up to that season of utter diminution which ended in 1834 by the stop- ping of all killing for shipment on St. Paul and St.George. When that zapooska was ordered, the settlement at Polavina was abandoned: then its people removed to the present location, which was established in 1824; also, the Northeast Point village was brought down at this time to the existing town site, and that consolidation was final. Since that time up to 1882, beyond a few small drives made early in June (driven for food), no seals in considerable number had been drawn from the hauling grounds of Polavina, from Zapadnie, or Southwest Point. But, as the regular source of abundant supply near the village became exhausted, then, in 1882, the draft upon these fine reserves of Polavina and Zapadnie becaine sudden and steady every killable seal was scraped up: easily at first,and ruggedly during the last two years: and I may add, with great severity during 1889, and also through the present season of 1890. So, when [regard this ground to-day, after an interval of sixteen years since my last survey, I find a square declaration from the ground itself of loss to this rookery of one-half of its female life, while its breeding bulls are not equal to one- fifteenth of their number here in 1872. Then, too, the utter absence of a young bull on the vacant spaces in the rookery or in the water at its sea margin: and, still more remarkable in contrast, that pronounced utter absence of the holluschickie from their grand parade ground here—that silent, empty space before me on which at this time in 1872 anywhere from 75,000 to 100,000 young male seals were trooping in and out from the water, frolicking in tireless antics one with another or wrapped in profound sleep—this deserted parade ground of Polavina, like unto all the others on both islands, speaks most eloquently and truthfully of the present order and condition of these interests of our Government. My survey as exhibited on the accompanying chart gives the following figures: Detailed analysis of the survey of Polavina rookery, July 13, 1890, {Sea margin beginning at E and ending at D.] Square feet. 150 feet sea margin, from D to D*, with 100 feet average depth, massed ...--. 15, 000 900 feet sea margin, from D? to E?, with 200 feet average depth, massed...... 180, 000 150 feet sea margin, from E? to E, with 100 feet average depth, massed ...--. 15, 000 Jags 1, 2,3, and 4 have 400 feet of sea margin, with 100 feet of average width. 40, 000 Motalisquare teebes< = 6 Sass aa 6. nese eee cece ee eee 2 ee eee 250, 000 making ground for 125,000 seals—bulls, cows, and pups—against a total of 240,000 in 1872. Detailed analysis of the survey of Little Polavina rookery, July 13, 1890. [Sea margin beginning at ¢ and ending at d.] Square feet. 175 feet sea margin, from C to b, with 20 feet average depth, massed ....-.--.. 3, 500 280 feet sea margin, from b to a, with 100 feet average depth, massed -.....-- 28, 000 100 feet sea margin, from a to d, with 30 feet average depth, massed......... 3, 000 Motal’squane feet... .. 225: fo2k. ols serene pe eee eee eee eee 34, 500 making ground for 17,250 seals—bulls, cows, and pups—against a total of 60,000 in 1872. This survey gives a total for the Polavinas of 142,250 for 1890 against the total they possessed of 300,000 in 1872-1874. - PEATE 13. Ms So as ‘ A drawing from nature by the author. OLD BULLS SPRAWLED OUT ON POLAVINA, JUNE 3, 1890. View showing the scant and scattered distribution of the bulls on the breeding grounds, season of 1890. Not one bull out here where ten were located at this : aS time in 1872. Looking north from the sands and abandoned hauling grounds thereon. iene nie a Aacesy2cg ith ot oe eee y a * one * - = . . ‘ 5 ~ i NORTH WEST SHOULDER. i SOUTH SHOULDER\ WEBSTER'S POINT. } an Walrus island. E10°5 (400.6 m.) NOVASTOSHNAH ROOKERY, ST.-PAUL’S ISLAND. Land Angles Surveyed and Drawn | : H June 2d — 4th, 1890, by ee HENRY W. ELLIOTT, ! NECK. f oy, f | 2 ,, Area and Position of the Breeding Seals, Magfetic on Plotted July 13th, 1890,) by i a . st : HENRY W. ELLIOTT and CHAS. J. GOFF. Surf breaks plear across aot SUIE Arago” amt St — "5" - | here IV Btorms, A id June 319 1699 Seale in Feet Y Area and Position of the Hauling Grounds | Bare driftin, sand with * a h | [2] Seasons of 18721874 (incl.) : Bie and" Rosition of the Breeding ‘Seals, patches of basaltic bowlders: Area ahd Position of the Hauling Grounds eason of 1890 1 |_| Season of 'Bgo . Area and Position of the Breeding |Seals: =— : - [=] Seasons lof 1872— i874 (incl) H_ Doc 175, 541 | FECT ERO RE TT SE ET eee FUE 2 Sy a ee Ee Se FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 45 NORTHEAST POINT OR NOVASTOSHNAH ROOKERY (1872-1874). [Its condition and appearance July, 1874. | Though this is the last of the St. Paul rookeries which I notice: yet it is so much greater than any other one on the island, or two others for that matter, that 6 forms the central feature of St. Paul, and in truth presents a most astonishing and extraordinary sight. It was a view of such multitides of amphibians, when f first stood upon the summit of Hutchinson Hill and looked at the immense spread around me, that suggested to my mind a doubt whether the accurate investigation which I was making would give me full courage to maintain the truth in regard to this subject. The result of my first survey here, presented such a startling array of superficial area massed over by the breeding seals that I was fairly disconcerted at the magnitude of the result. It troubled me so when my initial plottings were made, and I had worked them out so as to place them tangibly before me, that I laid the whole preliminary survey aside, and seizing upon the next favorable day went over the entire field again. The two plats then, laid side by side, substantially agreed, and I now present the great rookery to the public. It is in itself, as the others are, endowed with its own particular physiognomy, having an extensive sweep, everywhere surrounded by the sea, except at that intersection of the narrow neck of land which joins it to the island. Hutchinson Hill is the foundation of the point; a solid basaltic floor, upon which a mass of breccia has been poured at its northwest corner, which is so rough and yet polished so highly by the countless pattering flippers of its visitors, as to leave it entirely bare and bald of every spear of grass or trace of cryptogamic life. The hill is about 120 feet high; it has a rounded summit flecked entirely over by the hollus- chickie, while the great belt of breeding rookery sweeps high up on its seaward flanks, and around right and left for nearly 354 miles unbroken— an amazing sight in its aggregate, and infinite in its detail. A picturesque feature, also, of the rookery here is the appearance of those tawny, yellowish bodies of several thousand sea lions which le in and among the fur seals at the several points designated on the sketch map, though never far from the water. Sea Lion Neck, a little tongue of low basaltic jutting, is the principal corner where the natives take these animals from, when they capture them in the fall for their hides and sinews. ! Cross or St. John Hill, which rises near the lake to a height of 60 or 70 feet, and is quite a landmark itself, is a perfect cone of sand entirely covered with a luxuriant growth of Hlymus. It is growing constantly higher by the fresh deposit brought by wind, and is retained by the annually rising grasses. At this point it will be noticed there is a salt house: and, here is the killing ground for Northeast Point, where 19,000 or 20,000 holluschickie are disposed of for their skins every season, their carcasses being spread out on the sand dunes between the foot of Cross Hill and Web- ster’s house. A squad of seaiers live there during the three or four 'The sea lions breed on no one of the other rookeries at this island, the insignifi- cant number that I noticed on Seevitchie Kammin excepted. At Southwest Point, however, I found a small sea lion rookery, but there are no breeding fur seals there. A handful of Eumetopias used to breed on Otter Island, but do not now, since it has been necessary to station Government agents there for the apprehension of fur-seai pirates during the sealing season. 46 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. weeks that they are engaged in this work. The holluschickie are driven from the large hauling grounds on the sand flats immediately adjacent to the killing grounds, being obtained without the slightest difficulty. Here also was the site of a village, once the largest one on this island ere its transfer to the sole control and charge of the old Russian- American Company, ten years after its discovery in 1787. The ancient cemetery and the turf lines of the decayed barraboras are still plainly visible. The company’s steamer runs up here, watching her opportunity, she drops her anchor, as indicated on the general chart, right south of the salt house in about 4 fathoms of water; then the skins are invariably hustled aboard, no time being lost, because it is an exceedingly uncer- tain place to safely load the vessel. The “podding” of these young pups in the rear of the great rookeries of St. Paul is one of the most striking aud interesting phases of this remarkable exhibition of highly organized life. When they first bunch together they are all black, for they have not begun to shed the natal coat; they shine with an unctuous, greasy reflection, and grouped in small armies or great regiments on the sand-dune tracts at North- east Point, they present a very extraordinary and fascinating sight. Although the appearance of the holluschickie at English Bay fairly overwhelms the observer with the impression of its countless multi- tudes, yet I am free to declare that at no one point in this evolution of . the seal life, during the reproductive season, have I been so deeply stricken by the sense of overwhelming enumeration as I have when, standing on the summit of Cross Hill, f looked down to the southward and westward over a reach of 6 miles of alternate grass and sand-dune stretches, mirrored upon which were hundreds of thousands of these little black pups, spread in sleep and sport within this restricted field of vision. They appeared as countless as the grains of sand upon which they rested! There is no impression in my mind really more vivid than is the one which was planted there during the afternoon of that July day when I first made my survey of this ground. Indeed, whenever I pause to think of the subject, this great rookery of Novastoshnah rises promptly to my view and I am fairly rendered voiceless as I try to speak in definition of the spectacle. In the first place, this slope from Sea Lion Neck to the summit of Hutchinsons Hill is a long mile, smooth and gradual from the sea to the hilltop. The parade ground lying between, is also nearly three-quarters of a mile in width, sheer and unbroken. Now, upon that area before my eyes, this day and date of which I have spoken, were the forms cf not less than three-fourths of a million seals. Pause a moment. Think of the number: three-fourths of a million seals moving in one solid mass from sleep to frolicsome gambols, back- ward, forward, over, around, changing and interchanging their heavy squadrons, until the whole mind is so confused and charmed by the vastness of mighty hosts that it refuses to analyze any further! Then, too, I remember that the day was one of exceeding beauty for that region. It was aswift alternation overhead of those characteristic rain fogs, between the succession of which the sun breaks out with tran- scendent brilliancy through the misty halos about it. This parade field reflected the light like a mirror, and the seals, when they broke apart here and there for a moment, just enough to show its surface, seemed as though they walked upon the water. What a scene to put upon canvas, that amphibian host involved in those alternate rainbow lights and blue-gray shadows of the fog! PLATE 14. 5 a Es a eee | e., Fade Hi by. 3Sar 3 = f ry Fe A drawing from nature by the author. ear SEAL Pups PODDING ON ZOLTOI, SAINT PAUL ISLAND, AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, 1872. Characteristic movements of the young fur seals when six to eight weeks old; f a I é they haul off from the breeding grounds in large bands or pods to sleep and play together. It is during this podding period that they sooner or later come in contact with the water and learn to swim. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 47 NOVASTOSHNAH (1890). [Its condition and appearance July, 1890. ] As this great rookery was the object of my chief admiration in 1872, now it, in 1890, again becomes the main idea of my concern—not admira- tion to-day, but my chief pity, for this breeding ground has suffered a startling loss of life during the last eight years. It presents the deepest shadow, now, to tat sunshine in which I saw it eighteen years ago, as I then walked around and over it. I surveyed the ground last sum- mer as one wouid locate a graveyard: not more than a suggestion of the massed life of 1872 have I been able to see within its desolate area. That ground, which I have described in 1874, as covered with hosts of amphibians, is again before me to-day with not a single herd of seals upon it—actually green with upspringing grass and colored and Jlecked with varied flowers ! The accompaying map with the tinted massing of 1872-1874, con- trasted with that of 1890, speaks for itself—the great rookery of. Novastoshnah is a mere wreck to-day, and the chart rudely but forcibly declares it. Detailed analysis of the survey of Novastoshnah rookery, July 13, 1890. (Sea margin extending from A in the southeast to B in the southwest, 11,435 feet. | Square feet. A to B, 700 feet sea margin, 35 feet deep, massed. ..-...--.-------.------0-- 24, 500 Sea Lion Neck harems scattefed among sea lions, an estimate only .--..---- 6, 000 Cito D; 300 feet sea margin, 200 feet-deep, massed. -.---..---..-.--.---. 222252 60, 000 Dto Hi, 400 feet sea margin, 10 feet deep, massed ....-.-----.-.--2.-2-25222 4, 000 ¥' to G, 200 feet sea margin, 35 feet deep, massed. ..-.--»%----.-.--.-------- 7, 000 G to H, 550 feet sea margin, 12 feet deep, massed. -......-..-.---..----.-.-- 6, 600 H to I, 400 feet sea margin, 35 feet deep, massed..-......--..-..---.-1..---- 14, 000 Ito J,/500 feet sea margin, 10 feet deep, massed..-....----.---.-----..------ 5, 000 J to K, 400 feet sea margin, 35 feet deep, massed....--.----...--.---------- 14, 000 K to.L, 200 feet sea margin, 10 feet deep, massed.---....--.-----..--------- 2, 000 Lito M, 700: feet sea margin; 20 feet deep, massed _.--. ..-..---------- <2-----5 14, 000 N to O, 2,100 feet sea margin, 60 feet deep, massed. --..---.---.-----..----- 126, 000 P to Q; 420 feet sea marcin, 30 feet deep, massed -....-.-.-.----+.:----.---- 12, 600 RB to 8, 425 feet'sea margin, 20 feet deep, massed. .-.....--..---..------ +... 8, 500 S to T, 350 feet sea margin, 10 feet deep, massed.’...--.-..-.----=--+-3..--- 3, 500 T to U, 550 feet sea margin, 30 feet deep, massed .--..-----.-.------..------ 16, 500 U to V, 500 feet sea margin, 100 feet deep, massed ...........-..------------ 50, 000 W toS, 225 feet sea margin, 20 feet deep, masséd.......--..-..----.-------- 5, 500 S to X, 350 feet sea margin, 10 feet deep, massed.._-.......:..-..--.--------- 3, 500 Y to Z, 710 feet sea margin, 10 feet deep, massed. .-.....--...---.---------- 7, 100 Z to Z?, 350 feet sea margin, 20 feet deep, massed. -.--...-..-...-------------- 7, 000 Z? to A*, 125 feet sea margin, 10 feet deep, massed. ..-..........------------- 1, 250 A? to A’, 500 feet sea margin, 40 feet deep, massed..........--....--.-------- 20, 000 A? to B!, 480 feet sea margin, 15 feet deep, massed............-..------.----- 7, 200 Rotalisqulareteeuss ses. sis) so oe ee ese Se Ge ee Ra ee 435, 750 making ground for 217,875 seals, bulls, cows, and pups, against a total of 1,200,000 in 1872-1874. With this enumeration of Novastoshnah we close the list at St. Paul Island, and now turn to the breeding grounds of St. George, merely mentioning the fact, as we do so, that no fur seals breed on Otter Island or Walrus Islet, which are near by. The method in vogue here during the last six or seven years of scraping the margins of the rookeries for killable seals has so harassed and broken up the compact organization of the Reef rookery, as to cause quite a hauling out of breeding seals on Seevitchie Kammen, a small islet less than 900 feet in greatest length, with an average width of less than 200 feet. This rock, as may be seen on my detailed chart of the Reef rookery, lies just south-southeast of the Reef point a few hundred yards (about 1,000 feet). It is a bad place for the location of even a small rookery, since most of its elevation is 48 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. only slightly above surf wash in moderate weather, and a storm in the summer or fall would destroy nearly every pup born upon it. It is a small crescentic splintered rock and reef bar, with a little shoulder of gray basalt in its center some 25 or 40 feet only above tide water. The “ears,” or wings, which make that odd, half-moon shape of this islet, are simply ice-ground and pushed basaltic bowlders, over which the surf of every storm from the southwest backing around, and to the northeast rolls and breaks completely. In 1872 the fur seal did not breed here; its instinct warned it of this danger to its offspring from sea storms. But, since then, so harassed has it been, that a few hundred families or harems have preferred to risk the chance of a quiet living there, rather than to longer submit to that hustling of those sealing gangs all along the margin of their breeding grounds on the Reef point. I estimate that some 6,000 or 7,000 breeding seals and their young were hauled out on Seevitchie Kammen this last season of 1890, ST. GEORGE (1873-74). [As it appeared during the summers of 1873-74. ] St. George is now in order, and this island has only a trifling contri- bution for the grand total of the seal life; but, small as it is, it is of much value and interest. Certainly Pribilov, not knowing of the existence of St. Paul, was as well satisfied as if he had possessed the boundless uni- verse when he first found it. As in the case of St. Paul Island, I have been unable to learn much here in regard to the early status of the rook- eries, pone of the natives having any real information. The drift of their sentiment goes to show that there never was a great assemblage of fur seals on St. George; in fact, never as many as there are to-day, insignificant as the exhibit is compared with that of St. Paul. They say that at first the sea lions owned this island, and that the Russians, becoming cognizant of the fact, made a regular business of driving off the “seevitchie” in order that the fur seals might be encouraged to land. Touching this statement, with my experience on St. Paul, where there is no conflict at all between the 8,000 or 10,000 sea lions which breed around on the outer edge of the seal rookeries there, and at Southwest Point, I can not agree to the St. George legend. I am inclined to believe, however (indeed, it is more than probable), that there were a great many more sea lions on and about St. George before it was occupied by men— a hundredfold greater, perhaps—than now: because a sea lion is an exceeding timid, cowardly creature when it is in the proximity of man, and will always desert any resting place where it is constantly brought into contact with him.! 1This statement of the natives has a strong circumstantial backing by the pub- lished account of Choris, a 'rench gentleman of leisure and amateur naturalist and artist, who landed at St. George in 1820 (July). Hep ssed several days off and on the island. He wrote at short length in regard to the sea lion, saying ‘‘that the shores were covered with innumerable troops of sea lions. ‘he odor which arose from them was insupportable. These animals were all the time rutting,” etc., yet nowhere does he speak, in the chapter or elsewhere in his volume, of the fur seal on St. George, but incidentally remarks that over on St. Paul it is the chief animal and most abundant. (Voyage Pittoresque au tour du Monde, Iles Aleoutiennes, pp. 12, 13, Pls XIV, 1822.) Although this writing of Choris in regard to the subject is brief, superficial, and indefinite, yet I value the record he made, because it is prima facie evidence, to my mind, that had the fur seal been nearly as numerous on St. George then, as it was on St. Paul, he would have spoken of the fact, surely, inasmuch as he was searching for just such items with which to illumine his projected book of travels. The old Rus- sian record as to the relative number of fur seals on the two islands of St. George and St. Paul is clearly and palpably as erroneous for 1820 as I found it to be in 1872-73. No intelligent steps toward ascertaining that ratio were ever taken until I made my survey, ZAPADNIE ROOKERY, St. George Island. Surveyed and Drawn, July 20th, 1890, by Henry W. Elliott. ‘ & 100 200 300 400 500 Scale in Feet. H.Doc.175, 541. 5) Area and Position of the breeding Fur-Seals, Seasons of 1813-74. GM do. do. . do. do. do. 1890. CI Hauling Grounds of 1873-74 Now abandoned and Grass grown in 1890. do. do. 1890. PLATE 15. sasstas omy Aq peyeursavuie se spunoas Surpesaq pue Sayney peuopurqr jo voar ony Surmoys ‘Avg erupedez pur Atoyoo.d aq] A6a0 “TQS SULYOOT MOLA ‘0681 ‘1S ATNP ‘GNV1S| 3DYO35 LNIVS ‘AYSNOOY GNV SGNNOYS) ONIINVH AINGVdvVZ Joyyne ay} Aq ainjyeu woly Buimesp Se = -- ie FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 49 The scantiness of the St. George rookeries is due to the configura- tion of that island itself. There are five separate, well-defined rook- eries on St. George, as follows: ZAPADNIE ROOKERY (1873-74). [Its condition and appearance July, 1874.] Directly across the island from its north shore to Zapadnie Bay, a little over 5 miles from the village, is a point where the southern bluff alls of the island turn north and drop quickly down from their lofty elevation in a succession of heavy terraces to an expanse of rocky flat, bordered by asea sand beach. Just between the sand beach and these terraces, however, is a stretch of about 2,000 feet of low, rocky shingle, which borders the flat country back of it, and upon which the surf breaks free and boldly. Midway between the two points is the rook- ery, and a small detachment of it rests on the direct slope of the bluff ‘tself, to the southward, while in and around the rookery, falling back co sone distanee, the holluschickie are found. A great many confusing statements have been made to me about this rookery—more than in regard to any other on theislands, It has been said with much positiveness that in the times of the Russian rule this was an immense rookery for St. George; or, in other words, it covered the entire ground between that low plateau to the north and the high plateau to the south, as indicated on the map; and it is also cited in proof of this that the main village of the island for many years—thirty or forty—was placed on or near the limited drifting sand-dune tracts just above the plateau, to the westward. Be the cz use as it may, it is certain that for a great, great many years back no such rookery has ever existed here. When seals have rested on a chosen piece of ground to breed they wear off the sharp edges of fractured basaltic bowlders, and polish the breccia and cement between them so thoroughly and so finely that years and years of chiseling by frost and covering by lichens and creeping of mosses will be required to efface that record. Hence, [ was able, act- ing on the suggestion of the natives of St. Paul, to trace out those deserted fur- seal rookeries on the shores of that island, at Maroonitch, which had, according to their account, been abandoned for over sixty years by the seals; still, at their prompting, when I searched the shore I found the old boundaries tolerably well defined. I could find nothing like them at Zapadnie. Zapaduie rookery in July, 1873, had 600 feet of sea margin, with 60 feet of average depth, making ground for 18,000 breeding seals and their young. In 1874 I resurveyed the field, and it seemed very clear to me that there had been a slight increase, perhaps to the number of 5,000, according to the expansion of the superficial area over that of 1873. From Zapadnie we pass to the north shore, where all the other rook- eries are located, with the village at a central point between them on the immediate border of the sea; and in connection with this point it is interesting to record the fact that every year, until recently, it has been the regular habit of the natives to drive the holluschickie over the 25 or 3 miles of rough basaltic uplands which separate the hauling ground of Zapadnie from the village; driving them to the killing grounds there in order to save the delay and trouble generally experi- enced i in loading these skins in the open bay. The prevailing westerly and northwesterly winds during July and August make it for weeks Hy Dog. iio——4 50 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. at a time, a marine impossibility to effect a landing at ts a as suita- ble for the safe transit of cargo to the steamer. This 5 miles of the roughest of all rough walks that can be imagined is made by the fur seals in about fourteen to sixteen hours when driven by the Aleuts and the weather is cool and foggy. I have known one Treasury agent who, after making the trip from the village to Zapadnie, seated himself down in the barrabkie there and declared that no money would induee him to walk back the same way that day, so severe is the exercise to one not accustomed to it; but it exhibits the power of land locomotion possessed by the holluschickie.! ZAPADNIE ROOKERY (1890). [Its condition and appearance July, 1874. | The St. George Zapadnie was a very small edition of the St. Paul Zapadnie in 1872. It is still asmall rookery, but relatively has held its own mnuch better than its big namesake during the last seventeen years. I often wondered in 1875, why this little rookery way over here, and all by itself on the south shore, should be the mark of the best hauling of the holluschickie on St. George Island. I now believe that its location is the cause, since the scent and noise of the breeding seals must appeal strongly to the upward-bound bands of holluschickie, as they come en route from the Aleutian passes for St. Paul Island. The south shore of St. George would be the first land met by them, hence the largest and best drives on St. Geo orge can always be made here, although the rookery itself is, and always has been, one of the smallest. Yet, it is the finest lay of seal landing for a breeding ground on the island, since the polished, flat basaltic shelves and cubes that are its chief topographical characteristics could easily receive ten times as many seals as I found there in 1873, or to-day, July 20, 1890. But, for some reason or other, the eligible rookery ground here has never been occu- pied beyond the beach belt or sea margin. The area in the rear is a superb rocky slope, nearly flat, but well drained. It never had been occupied prior to 1872-73 in so far as I can trace the record, and cer- tainly has not been since. Upon the accompanying map of this rookery I have also added the hauling grounds, which are all confined to this single spot on the south shore of St. George. There are none on the east shore, and there is no west shore to speak of, owing to the peculiar shape of this island. Each rookery map belonging to St. George must carry also the hauling grounds adjacent and contiguous, since these seal fields over here are on too small a seale to be shown clearly by a general map of this island unless drawn on a vastly larger scale than that which can be success- fully employed for St. Paul Island. 1The peculiarly rough character to this trail is given by the large, loose, sharp- edged basaltic bowlders which are strewn thickly over all those lower plateaus that bridge the island between the bluffs at Starry Arteel and the slopes of Ahluckeyak Hill. The summits of the two broader, higher plateaus east and west, respectively, are com- paratively smooth and easy to travel over; and so is the sea level flat at Zapadnie itself. On the map of St. George a number of very small ponds will be noticed; they are the fresh-water reservoirs of the island. The two largest of these are near the summit of this rough divide. The seal trail from Zapadnie to the village runs just west of them and comes out on the north shore a little to the eastward of the hauling grounds of Starry Arteel, where it forks and unites with that path. The direct line between the village and Zapadnie, though nearly a mile shorter on the chart, is equal to 5 miles more of distance by reason of its superlative rocky inequalities. o6gt “0p “op pre Opes oe o6gr ul umosS sszif) pue pauopueqe mou ‘yL—€/gr ul sjeag BSuipeeiq-uoy a4} jo spunoss) Suyney [| bgt opp “op o- 7 a 146 °SLT20C'H ‘yL—€ELgr jo suoseag ‘sjeeg inj Suipseig ayy jo UoNIsoy pue eay [| ay A “peal ul B3]e9¢ eS A OOS OO OO COZ ati Oo Op meed Saud Nae ee eed ATs aie * G jee Jay Wlousey 7 Se ab dap es ae QL JO apts siqg gsnl sprog ArexyOoy TIWAON eq] pure ‘voueysip a] ppl ay] ULaseyTIA oq} fjooy.ry Aaaeyg Jo spunors Suyneyq puw AvsyxOO.! oy] 19A0 JSBva SuLyoo, MoLA ‘O681 ‘Og AlNf ‘ssinig TaSLYY AYYVLS WOYS ‘GNV1S] JOYOS5) LNIVS 340 S3YHOHS HLYON SHL youne ay} Aq ainjyeu wo Buimeip y 5 - — ~ a PLATE 16. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 51 Detailed analysis of survey of Zapadnie (St. George) rookery, July 20, 1890. [Sea margin extending from A to B and C to D, 1,250 feet. ] Square feet. 1,250 feet sea margin, from A to B, C to D, with 20 feet average depth, massed. 25, 000 making ground for 12,500 seals—bulls, cows, and pups—against a total of 18, 000 In 1875-74. It will be observed, by my tinting on this map of 1590, that in 1873 there was but 600 feet of sea margin to this rookery, but that it had the greater depth of 60 feet, which threw a third more seals into the field then than is seen to-day, with a sea margin twice as great, but no backing to speak of. This great scattering of these breeders along the sea margin here, instead of massing solidly as in 1873, is due to that rough driving by the sealing gangs along the rookery margins during the ‘last Six or seven years. This scraping has the decided effect of forcing the outside harems, laying farthest back from the water, down along the edges of the rookery to a spot Jess exposed to the hustling of the native drivers. That steadily kept up, spreads the rookery out along the water’s edge. This again operates badly in still another very sig- nificant manner—the doubled extension to the sea margin of a small rookery, like Zapadnie here, brings an unduly increased number of the pups born here every year Within the danger line of heavy surf in Au- | gust and September, before these little fellows can swim well. There- fore, the method of driving as practiced to-day, is actually foreing the exposure of a decreasing life to a fresh and an unwarranted increasing danger of destruction which every August and September gale will surely visit upon it. Such storms are not lacking: and, when they do prevail, thousands and tens of thousands of pups within the reach of their surf-washing violence, are destroyed. STARRY ARTEEL ROOKERY! (1873-74). [ [ts condition and appearance July, 7S74. | This rookery is the next in order, and it is the most remarkable one on St. George, lying as it does in a bold sweep from the sea up a steeply inclined slope to a point-where the bluffs bordering it seaward, are over 400 feet high, the seals being just as closely crowded at the summit of this lofty breeding plat as they are at the water’s edge. The whole oblong ovalon the side hill, as designated by the accompanying survey, is covered by their thickly covered forms. It is a strange sight, also, to sail under these bluffs with the boat in fair weather for a ‘landing: and, as you walk the beach, over which the cliff wall frowns a sheer 500 feet, there, directly over your head, the craning necks and twisting forms of the restless seals, ever and anon, as you glance upward, appear as if ready to launch out and fall below, so closely and boldly do they press to the very edge of the precipice. There is a low, rocky beach to the eastward of this rookery, over which the holluschickie haul in proportionate pre and from which the natives make their drives: ‘Starry Arteel, or Old Settlement: a few hundred yards to the eastward of the rookery, are the earthen ruins of one of the pioneer settlements in Pribilov’s time, and which, the natives say, marks the first spot selected by the Russians for their village after the discovery of St. George in 1786, 52 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. coming from the village for this purpose, and directing the seals back in their tracks.! Starry Arteel has 500 feet of sea and cliff margin, with 125 feet of average depth, making ground for 30,420 breeding seals and their young. STARRY ARTEEL ROOKERY (1890), [Its condition and appearance July, 1890. | This rookery, I am inclined to believe, is the only one on St. George Island that really did increase in size since my work of 1873. The natives all unite in saying that it “ grew larger and larger” until 1878; then it ceased to expand, and during the last four years it has gone into a rapid decline—“ worse than any other here except the E: ast rookery; nothing, really nothing, there.” In 1874, when on this rook- ery, In reviewing my survey of 1873, I could not detect any increase or change worthy of note whatever: but, at Zapadnie I thought L found ground for a small increase there of nearly 5,000: still | was not wholly certain of it, inasmuch as the day was very foggy, and I could not entirely trust my compass bearings. Here, as at Zapaduie, is that undue extension of sea margin for the number of seals occupying the ground, caused by that peculiar driving which has been in vogue on each island ever since the shrinking of the supply of killable seals in 1882. 11873, this breeding ground of Starry Arteel was a compact oblong oval mass of breeding seals resting on that steep lill slope of volcanic breccia and cement which these seals seem to love so well (happy as it is as to drainage and always free from mud and dust). Then it had but 500 feet of sea and cliff margin, but had an average depth of 125 feet. Within these lines 30,000 breeding seals and young were easily located. ‘To day it presents a straggling belt of 800 feet of cliff and sea margin, with a scant 40 feet of average depth: upon which a very liberal estimate can not place more than 16, 000 animals, old and young. ‘Driving ine. hollmachinae. on eh Guanes, owing to the eeere sonmees of hauling area for those animals there, and consequent ‘small numbers found upon these grounds at any one time, is a very arduous series of daily exercises on the part of the natives who attend toit. Glancing at the map, the marked considerable distance, over an exceedingly rough road, will be noticed between Zapadnie and the village; yet in 1872 eleven different drives across the island, of 400 to 500 seals each, were made in the short four weeks of that season. The following table shows plainly the striking inferiority of the seal life, as to the aggregate number, even as far back as 1872 on this island, compared with that of St. aul: Rookeries of St. George. Number | 4; of drives nets made 1n | Roa 1872. ts Zapadnie (between June 14 and July 28)... ...0.-ccscceccncccccccecsccecscccenes 11 | 5, 194 Starry Arteel (between June 6 and July OO) ais arses craain areoere pel eiale nie. eters eraje eee eat 14 5, 274 North rookery (between June 1 and July Dl) cam So eeay 5 ct cio see lcee sea Reee ae 16 4,818 Battle Wasterm 2h ods hice sels cicmne wn acoso aired areca walaeiea = wereeatn ns RRteny wise ciara a eS ote Oe | eee Great Eastern (between Jue Siand:J) uly 28)... 2c-cces0c ceeenceseccosmeenceseewe 16 9,714 The same activity then in ‘‘sweeping” the hauling grounds of St. Paul would have brought in ten times as many seals and the labor have been vastly less; the driving at St. Paul was generally done with an eye to securing each day of the season only as nhs as could be well killed and skinned on that day, according as it was warm or coo PLATE 17. # yee eRe her noe { A drawing from nature by the author. STARRY ARTEEL ROOKERY, SAINT GEORGE ISLAND, JULY 20, 1890. View looking west, over the desolate hauling grounds. Natives ‘‘cutting out a drive.” This foreground was the site of the first settlement made by the Russians on the island, July 11, 1786; hence the name of the place, ‘Starry Arteel,” or ‘‘ Old Settlement.” i ' : ' H.Doc.175, 541 ee = Area and Position of the Breeding Fur Seals. Seasons of 1873—7,4 ' Tey do. do jo 1c do 19Go Ey Hauling Grounds of the Non-bree jing Seals in 1873— 74. "Ow abandoned and Grass grown in 18Q0, do dc do. do. 1890. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 53 Detailed analysis of the survey of Starry Arteel rookery, July 20, 1890. [Sea and cliff margin beginning at O and ending at G, 800 feet.] ; Square feet. 800 feet sea and cliff margin between G and O, with 40 feet average depth, massed 32, 000 making ground for 16,000 seals—bulls, cows, and pups—against a total in 1873 of 30,420. This rookery, Hast, and Zapadnie are the only ones on St. George which have, thus far, been landed upon and raided by seal pirates. Three attempts have been made here, but only one at Zapadnie. The damage done was insignificant, since the marauders were detected before they had fairly got to work, and driven off by the natives and officers of the Government. NORTH ROOKERY (1873-74). [ Lis condition and appearance July, 1890. ] : Next in order, and half a mile to the eastward, is this breeding ground, which sweeps for 2,750 feet along and around the sea front of a gently sloping plateau,' being in full sight of and close to the village. It has a superficial area occupied by 77,000 breeding seals and their young. From this rookery to the village, a distance of little more than a quarter of a mile, the holluschickie are driven, which are killed for their skins, on the common track or seal-worn trail, that not only the ‘‘bachelors” but ourselves travel over when en route to or from Starry Arteel and, Zapadnie. It is a broad, hard-packed erosion through the sphagnum and across the rocky plateaus; in fact, a regular seal road, which has been used by the drivers and victims during the last eighty or ninety years. The fashion on St. George, in this matter of driving seals, is quite different from that on St. Paul. To get their maximum quota of 25,000 annually it is necessary for the natives to visit every morning, the hauling ground of each one of these four rookeries on the north shore, and bring what they may find back with them for the day.” 'T should say ‘‘a gently sloping and alternating bluff plateau.” Two thousand feet are directly under the abrupt faces of low clifis, while the other 750 feet slope down gradually to the water’s edge. ‘These narrow cliff belts of breeding fur seals might be properly styled ‘‘rookery ribbons.” * he original text of the existing law for the protection of the seal islands pro- vides that 100,000 seals which may be annually taken from them shall be proportioned by killing 75,000 on St. Paul and 25,600 on St. George. This ratio was based evi- dently upon the published tables of Veniaminov, which, if accurate, would clearly show that fully one-third as many seals repaired to the smaller island as to the larger one: and, until I made my surveys, 1872-1874, it was so considered by all parties interested. The fact, however, which I soon discovered, is that St. George receives only one-eighteenth of the whole aggregate of fur-seal visitation peculiar to the Pribilov Islands, St. Paul entertaining the other seventeen parts. This amazing difference, in the light of prior knowledge and understanding, caused me,.on returning to Washington in October, 1873, to lay the matter before the Treasury Department and ask that the law be so modified that, in the event of abnormally warm kiliing seasons, or other reasons, a smaller number might be taken from St. George with a corresponding increase at St. Paul. For unless this was done it might become at any season a matter of great hardship to secure 25,000 killable seals on St. George, in the short period allotted by law. The Treasury Department, while fully concurring in my representations, seemed to doubt its power to thus modify the law. I carried the question before Congress, January, 1874, and secured from that body an amendment of the act of July 1, 1870 (act approved March 24, 1874), which gives the Secretary of the Treasury full discretion in the matter: and fixes the hithertoinflexibleratio ofkilling oneachisland upon a sliding scale, as it were, for adjustment from season to season, upon a more intelligent under- standing of the subject; and, also, this amendatory act gives the Secretary of the ‘Treasury the power to fix the legal limit of killing annually, as the case may require. As the law is now amended, the killing can be sensibly adjusted each season by the relative number of seals on the two islands: this total will vary decidedly on St. George according as it may be abnormally dry and warm when the period for driving the holluschickie is at hand, or other causes. ; 54 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. NORTH ROOKERY (1890). [ [1s condition and appearance July, 1890.) I came upon this breeding ground to-day, July 19, 1890, after an absence of just sixteen years. J find the topography unchanged; the hauling grounds all grass grown, and the usual flowering plants which seem to follow (on all of these declining rookeries) the abandonment of hitherto polished rock and hard swept soil traveled over and laid upon by the seals. The breeding animals on the several areas of this rookery are in the usual forin, and characteristic of those which I have deseribed on St. Paul—the same scanty supply of old bulls; no young bulls on the rookery or outside at the water’s edge; large scattered harems and every evidence of imperfect service. In all these forms, precisely as they are over on St. Paul. Yet this, the chief rookery of St. George, which held 76,250 breeding animals and their young in 1874, has suffered a loss of only one-half of its cows and pups—but, the bulls, fully five sevenths of them are miss- ing. This rookery was the largest on St. George in 1874. It has been so ever since, and is to-day; but, large as if was, there was only one on St. Paul sinaller in 1874, the Lagoon rookery: (Nah Speel we can not count). However, to-day there is still another one on St. Paul smaller, and that is Ketavie, though it was twice as large as this North rookery in 1874, It is an admirable point of seal ground, well drained and free from muddy pools during rain storms. I[t is in full sight of the village, and only a short half-mile walk away. Detailed analysis of the survey of North rookery, July 19, 1890. {Sea margin begins at a and ends at J, 3,366 feet. ] Square feet. 150 feet sea margin, from ato b, with 15 feet average depth, massed...-.-.-.-. 2, 250 300 feet sea margin, from ) to c, with 60 feet average depth, massed....--..- 18, 95 feet sea margin, from ¢ to d, with no depth (a few scattered seals. ) 245 feet sea margin, from d to e, with 60 feet average depth, massed.-...... 20, 700 250 feet sca margin, from e to f, with 10 feet average depth, massed........-- 2, 500 186 feet sea margin, from f to g, with 12 feet average depth, massed...-..--.. 2, 232 220 feet sea margin, from g to li, with 60 feet average depth, massed........ 13, 200 240 feet sea margin, from h to i, with 12 feet average depth, massed.......--- 2, 880 280 feet sea margin, from ito j, with 12 feet average depth, massed........-- 3, 360 1,300 feet sea margin, from j to 1, with 10 feet average depth, massed .....--. 13, 000 Total SqNare feetes.>22-x ores epic reece mess seeoe enced «ee cease 77, 122 making ground for 58,561 seals—bulls, cows, and pups—against a total of 76,250 in 1875-74, LITTLE EASTERN ROOKERY! (1873-74). [Its condition and appearance July, 1874. | From the village to the eastward about half a mile again, is a little eastern rookery, which lies on a low, bluffy slope and is not a piece of ground admitting of much more expansion. It has superficial area for the reception of nearly 13,000 breeding seals and their young. 1The site of this breeding ground, and that of the marine slope of the killing grounds to the east of the village on this island, is where sea lions held exclusive possession prior to their driving off by the Russians, so the natives affirm, The only place on St. George now, where the MLumetopias breeds, is that one indicated on the general chart between Garden Cove and Tolstoi Mees, * Lee es HDoc175,54 1. GGG Area and Position of the Breeding Fur-seals, Seasons of 1873-74. do. do. do. do. do. 1890. CoSJAbandoned Hauling’ Grounds of 1873-74.Now Grass grown in 1890. and no Seals hauled here outside of the Rookery line in 1890. PLATE 18. ‘O6ST ‘0% AINE ‘suol vas aq} aAOge adojs YO oy} WAT PAaMatA ‘GNV1S] 39YO35 LNIVS ‘AYaxOOY 41SVy 3H1 NOdN NMOG ONIXOO 7 ‘youyne ay} Aq ainyeu woly Buimeip y ate : . ; e FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 55 LITTLE EASTERN ROOKERY (1890). [Its condition and appearance July, 1890. | This was not much of a rookery in 1873-74, and although it has fallen away in accord with the general diminution of the seal life on these islands, yet it has*held its own proportionately much better than many others. The most striking evidence of desolation is the grassing solidly over, rank and luxuriant, of the hauling grounds in its rear and to the eastward, which were so well polished off by the restless flippers of young male seals in 1873-74. Then these hauling grounds were not driven from much; the seals were practically undisturbed, and when a drive was made the seals were always merged into the larger drive from the Great Eastern. Detailed analysis of the survey of Little Eastern rookery July 20, 1890. [Sea margin beginning at A and ending at B, 800 feet.] Square feet. 800 feet sea margin, from A to B, with 12 feet average depth, massed.....-.-. 9, 600 Making ground for 4,800 seals—bulls, cows, and pups—against a total of 13,000 in 1873-74. , THE GREAT EASTERN (1873-74). [Its condition and appearance July, 1874.) This is the fifth, and last rookery that we find on St. George. It is an imitation, in miniature, of Tolstoi on St. Paul, with the exception ot there being no parade ground in the rear of any character whatever. It is from the summit of the cliffs, overlooking the narrow ribbon of breeding seals right under them, that I have been able to study the movements of the fur seal in the water to my heart’s content; for, out and under the water, the rocks to a considerable distance are covered with a whitish algoid growth that renders the dark bodies of the swim- ming seals and sea lions as conspicuous as is the image thrown by a magic lantern of a silhouette on a screen prepared for its reception.! The low , rocky flats around the pool to the westward and northwest of the rooker y seemed to be filled up with a muddy alluvial wash that the seals do not favor, hence nothing but holluschickie range round about them. 1'The algoid vegetation of the marine shores of these islands is one that adds a peculiar charm and beauty to their treeless, sunless coasts. Every kelp bed that floats raft-like in Bering Sea, or is anchored to its rocky reefs, is fairly alive with minute sea shrimps, tiny crabs, and little shells, which cling to its masses of inter- woven fronds or dart in ceaseless motion through, yet wit thin, its interstices. It is my firm belief that no better base of operations can be found ‘for studying marine invertebrata than is the post of St. Paul or St. George. The pelagic and the lit- toral forms are simply abundant beyond all estimation within bounds of reason. The phosphorescence of the waters of Bering Sea surpasses in continued brilliant illumi- nation anything that I have seen in southern and equatorial oceans. The crests of the long unbroken line of breakers on Lukannon Beach looked to me, one night in August, like so many flashings of lightning between Tolstoi Mees and Lukannon Head, as the billows successively ‘rolled in and broke. The seals swimmin under the water here on St. George and beneath the Black Bluffs streaked their rane course like comets in the sky, and ever y time their dark heads popped above the sur- face of the sea they were marked by a blaze of scintillant light. 56 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. THE GREAT EASTERN ROOKERY (1890). [Its condition and appearance July, 1890.) In 1873-74, this breeding ground ranked third in the list of five that were found on the island of St. George. To-day, it seems to have been the heaviest loser. It has literally dropped down to a mere skeleton of. its form in my early survey. That extended rocky flat from which the rookery ground proper gently rises on the hill slope, was one of the most attractive hauling grounds for the holluschickie on St. George, sixteen years ago; now, its surface is covered with a most luxuriant turf—it looks like a Kentucky blue-grass meadow! I observed here in 1873-74 that a good many sea lions hauled out on the beach curve, right under the rookery bluffs. These animals are very much more numerous now, than then: not less than 500 of them being lazily extended just above surf-wash here as I made my survey (July 20, 1890), their huge yellow bodies hauled out like Mississippi River steamboats on the levee at St. Louis. Detailed analysis of the survey of Great Eastern rookery, July 20, 1890. [Sea margin beginning at e and ending at f, 1,230 feet; sea margin beginning at b and ending at a 2,040 feet. ] Square feet. 2,040 feet sea margin, a to b, with a straggling average depth of 5 feet (a WenyaliperaleshimMaGe).22-26e-o8a2 ot ai os. ea ee os Se Re ee eee 10, 000 200 feet sea margin, f to g, with 30 feet average depth, massed..--..---.---- 6, 000 1,000 feet sea margin, g to e, with a straggling average depth too thin for callenlation; allowed). 32 22.05.52 ote yf ocean eee Sees ee = tee eee ee ee 2, 000 otal square feetind. cs..5 Pease se che ck leo es oe eee Eee eee 18, 000 making ground for 9,000 seals—bulls, cows, and pups—against a total of 25,250 in 1873-74. I think that this rookery presents the most eloquent illustration of that ruin and demoralization wrought by the present order of scraping the breeding lines on all the rookeries in getting the daily ‘ drives” of killable seals. It presents itself in this plain manner: In 1873 there was only 900 feet of rookery sea margin here; 200 feet of this total was a solid massing of breeding seals, from the water upon the hillside, as Bin by the 1874 tint on the peg Wil map. It was 200 feet deep and contained 20,000 of the 25,000 seals, all told, that then existed at this point. To-day there is 3,2 5 feet of rookery sea margin here: a straggling, ragged belt, not even a full harem’s width or depth, except under that side-hill expansion between / and g, where there is instead of the 200 feet of massing cited above, only 30 feet of average depth. Thus it becomes entirely plain, upon the least study of this subject, that the present order of raking and dinning, by which the hollus. chickie are started out from the shelter of these breeding grounds also starts the outlying cows and bulls and hustles them off and down to the water’s edge. This, repeated day after day, has created that long extension of over 3,000 feet to my sea margin of 1873-74 on this rookery, while the seals themselves are barely one-third the number that they were at first record. RECAPITULATION OF THE ESTIMATES OF NUMBERS OF SEALS. Below is a brief recapitulation of those figures made from my surveys of the area and position of the breeding grounds of St. Paul Island between the 10th and 18th of July,1872: confirmed and revised to that date in 1874; on St. George Island, July 12 to 15, 1873: confirmed and revised to that date in 1874. Opposed to these tables are my figures nade July 10 to 16, 1890, on St. Paul Island, and July 19 and 20, 1890, on St. George. “Op ‘Op _ ‘Op 069} Ul UMOLS. SSe15) PUP PSUOPUege MOU “H/-C/O] Ul sjeasg Ssulpaaig uOK| ayy jo SPUNOAS suljneyy ‘068! ‘Op “Op _ “OP ‘OP ‘Op ‘LPS GLT20qQ YH "¥L-€L9Q| JO Suoseas ‘sjpas-uny Sulpaaig a} JO UOIISOdG pue Paty > SUOI-PaS Wx Sn Ss PS = oe ~ “yaaj ul ajeog —ooy-—o—} “HOIIZ "M Aiuay Aq ‘o6gr ‘yor Aine ‘umeig pue paferins ‘puejs} aD10a5 1S ‘AMSNOOU NUSLSVS LVIuD 7 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES Breeding grounds of the fur seal on St. Paul Island, July 10-18, 1872-1874. OF ALASKA. 57 Breeding grounds of the fur seal on St.Paul Island, July 10-16, 1890. Rookery. Seals, male, fe- male, and) young. Rookery. Seals, male, fe- male, and young. Reef rookery has 4,016 feetof sea mar- gin, with 150 feet of average depth, _tmaking ground for Garbotch rookery bas 3,660 feet of sea margin, with 100 feet of average depth, Makino oround {Orla = ~~ | DM) OUIMOF OO 4 Wayne Om melaliOrtaee PATA ze cetloe- 26> a! ce on dorne sonne seiees See eegees bese e senk aes Apr: Peale Ue Gy el pe eel. melons en Le eee ee eee eee eae sab ate ana oe ee oe an ee aoe | Apr. 23 | June 4-6 Apr. 30 | June 6-8 IGS Ba Se noe SEC as 8 one Goes ot See Bao sabeana| Apr. 28 | June 4-8 May 5! June 3-8 IIL el Rae ee ye are Se EEE ase emcee eel pel nebo bl MA fount tess Sire ei) yin) ar Te FR 5 =a Be Se eS ao ee Pea a May 17 | June 4-6 | May 17 | Do. Iie ode secoss Je Se Be eer Spee ae ee na ane pp secu Stace as May 6) June6-8 May 9) Do. TO Dede c BaP EE SR See tet ee ae Seas Seen eee a ae Apr. 29| June4-6 May 10| Do. LG G2 oS SUGARS Se eon 9 one CRS heobeee sate Denese Se oseSe Apr. 30 | June 6-8 May 11 | June 3-6 USSU Sees ponents aaa oan ean ee Oe emo a = ae erite ne see enee ne] MLL) © ule) Lnets, 0) len epvaneiead Do. MS ee see te ee Oe na ee ame nts cue lotae nme ce etait oe tots Apr. 26| June 4-8 ....do-..| June 3-7 TSUS Sess ag a oe SoS Soe ae Onn Ae = see enoce apeer ioe = sce May 6) June 5,6 May 7 June 4-6 TS LS OSS ee Gees Sian Seep a Snes mone Sen aee oa se Oore Apr. 30 | June4-8 May 3, June48 ere Aa ena ee ort Ee Se ae me A ae actin oe ae em eels coed Apr. 27 | June 6-8 Apr. 29 | June 46 TDD BS Settee Ss tan a ee dade aeons Cone anand ccs ---| Apr. 16 | June 4-6 May 1/)| June 34 LSAT ee eae Re eee a nc ae eee oem ees ee | May 1] June 3-7 | May 7] June 4-6 AGB Rey Ce coe bies bb ack dwcewe lh othiente clase beep bwheer essen .---do...| June 4-6 | May 8 | June 3-6 TERRES EBSA SOS ne cae ones See ene oe Seen SR gees aseer May 3/]....do..... May 5 | June 4-6 IBM UG .daoé SSeS GSS aes Oe SSA amare aiacse ne sSetaEeer | Apr. 28 | June 6-8 | Apr. 26 Do. The first drives for food each year on St. Paul Island, have been made with great regularity between the 15th and 21st of May throughout the time specified above; and also on St. George Island. The bulls all arrived prior to and by the Ist of June; the cows all arrived prior to and by the 20th of July of every year. AS TO THE CAUSE FOR THIS DECREASE ON THE PRIBILOV ROOKERIES. This point of inquiry does not require elaboration. The reason is plain; the cause fairly asserts itself—overdriving since 1882, on land, together with the spear, bullet, and buckshot of the pelagic sealer since 1886. The overdriving has chiefly robbe d the rookeries of that supply of fresh male life absolutely required every season and the water pirate has destroyed the females with unborn and born young.’ It is needless to 'This silly ery was dinned into my ears by the white employees of the lessees, incessantly, from the middle of June, 1890, until the end of July, 1890; these men, however, knew better; but that was the way, in their estimation, to hide the truth from ignorant Treasury agents: one man only, of these white agents of the lessees, was manly enough to admit the fallacy of this argument when I faced him with the ruin of the herd. His name is Daniel Webster, a veteran New London, Conn., sealer, who first began his operations on these islands in 1868, and has been here ever since, with a slight intermission, when he passed one sealing season on the Russian seal islands, in Bering Sea. He had, also, prior to this, experience as a ‘‘raider” on Rob- bens Reef, Ochotsk Sea. 2Out of 77 fur-seal skins seized on the Mattie T. Dyer (schooner), only 6 of them came from animals without pups (i. e., 71 were pregnant females). They (the seal- ers) had little black pup skins fresh cut out from the womb; womb moist; 17 fresh female fur-seal skins, and every one of these bodies had a pup in them. ‘These men declared that they got only 1 out of every 5 that they shot, that is, for the 5 hit they only got 1 of them. The number of shots fired they did not count; but of the 5 bets that they undertook to get that they hit they usually got but 1 of them, —(United States Collector Emmons, Oonalaska, August 14, 1890.) FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 69 speculate as to other causes, for the two cited above are full and ample reasons for the existing diminution. Were they not so patent, we might speculate, as I did in 1872-1874, in the following tone: THOUGHTS UPON THE POSSIBLE MOVEMENTS OF THE FUR SEALS IN THE FUTURE. As these animals live and breed upon the Pribilov Islands, the foregoing studies of their habits declare cértain natural conditions of landing ground and climate to be necessary for their existence and perpetuation. From my surveys made upon the islands to the north—St. Matthew and St. Lawrence—together with the scientific and corroborating testimony of those who have visited all of the mainland coast of Alaska and the islands contiguous, including the peninsula and the great Aleutian archipelago, I have no hesitation in stating that the fur seal can not breed, or rest for that matter, on any other land than that now resorted to, which lies within our boundary lines; the natural obstacles are insuperable.! Therefore, so far as our possessions extend, we have in the Pribilov group the only eligible land to which the fur seal can repair for breeding: and, on which at St. Paul Island alone, there is still room enough of unoccupied rookery ground for the accom- modation of twice as many seals as we find there to-day. But we must not forget a very important prospect, for we know that to the westward only 700 miles, and within the jurisdiction of Russia, are two other seal islands—one very large—on which the fur seal regularly breeds also; and though from the meager testimony in my possession, compared with St. Paul, the fur-seal life upon them is small, still, if that land within the pale of the Czar’s dominion be as suitable for the reception of the rookeries as is that of St. Paul, then what guaranty have we that the seal life on Copper and Bering islands at some future time may not be greatly angmented by a corresponding diminution of our own, with no other than natural causes operating ? Certainly, if the ground on éither Bering or Copper Island, in the Commander group, is as well suited for the wants of the breeding fur seal as is that exhibited by the Pribilof Islands, then I say confidently that we may at any time note a diminution here and find a corresponding augmentation there, for I have clearly shown in my chapter on the habits of these animals that they are not so particularly attached to the respective places of their birth, but that they rather land with an instinctive appreciation of the fitness of that ground as a whole. NEED OF MORE DEFINITE KNOWLEDGE CONCERNING THE RUSSIAN SEAL ISLANDS.” If we, however, possess all the best-suited ground, then we can count upon retain- ing the seal life as we now have it by a vast majority ;and in no other way: for, it is not unlikely that some season may occur when an immense number of the fur seals which have lived during the last four or five years on the Pribiloy Islands should be deflected from their usual feeding range at sea by the shifting of schools of fish and other abnormal causes, which would bring them around quite close to the Asiatic seal grounds in the spring, and the scent from those rookeries would act as a power- ful stimulant and attraction for them to land there, where the conditions for their breeding may be justas favorable asthey desire. Such being the case, this diminution, therefore, which we would notice on the Pribilov group might be the great increase observed at the Commander Islands, and not due to any mismanagement on the part of the men in charge of theseinterests. Thusit appears to me necessary that definite knowledge concerning the Commander Islands and the Kuriles should be gathered. If we find, however, that the character of this Russian seal land is restricted to narrow beach margins under bluffs, as at St. George, then we shall know that a great body of seals will never attempt to land there when they could not do so without suffering and in violation of their laws during the breeding season. Therefore, with this correct understanding to start on, we can then feel alarmed with good reason should we ever observe any diminution to a noteworthy degree on our seal islands of Bering Sea. POSSIBLE DEFLECTION OF SEALS IN FEEDING. I do not call attention to this subject with the slightest idea in my mind, as I write, of any such contingency arising even for an indefinite time to come; but still I am sensible of the fact that it is possible for it to occur any season. But, the seals undoubtedly feed on their pelagic fields in systematic routine of travel from the time they leave the Pribilov Islands until that of their return; therefore, in all proba- bility, unless the fish upon which they are nourished, suddenly become scarce in our waters and soundings, our seals will not change their base as matters now progress; yet, it is possible for the finny shoals and schools to be so deflected from their migra- tion to and from theirspawning beds as to carry this seal life with it, as Ihave hinted In Section VIII of this report will be found the best arrangement of notes bearing upon this subject which I have been able to make. *See p. 211, Appendix. *See p. 212, Appendix. 70 above. Thus it can not be superfluous to call up this question, so that if shall be prominent in discussion and suggestion for future thought. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. NEED OF CAREFUL YEARLY EXAMINATION. In the meantime the movements of the seals upon the great breeding rookeries of St. Paul and those of St. George should be faithfully noted and recorded every year, and as time goes on this record will place the topie of their increase or diminution beyond all theory or cavil. Since writing and publishing the above I have learned that the Rus. sian seal islands have been steadily increasing their rookery areas from 1870 up to 1879-80; and, since that time, the y ield of the hauling grounds over there was trebled in 1889 over the catch of 1876. Whether or not these Slavonian rookeries will stand this driving so as to annually get 62,000 young males hereafter, as was done last year (188'}), or fail to do so in a few years to come, I can at this distance only conjecture. But, our seals have not gone over there; they have been destroyed in plain view on this side! The following salient points of change can be clearly stated, in so far as the Pribilov rookeries exist this season of 1890, and contrasted with their condition of 1872 Status of 1872. (1) On the rookery ground the bulls were all by June 1,—and (2) Located on this ground then no farther than 6 to 10 feet apart. (3) They were very vigorous, very ac- tive, incessantly fighting with one an- other. (4) Thousands upon tens of thousands of half bulls, or polseacatchie, which were then trying to land upon the breeding belt of sea margin, provoking and sus- taining a constant fight and turmoil, but being almost iny ariably whipped off by the old bulls. (5) Cows began to arrive on the breed- ing grounds by “June 4 to 6, and all arrived in good form by July 10. (6) They were located on the breeding ground in compact solid masses, uni- formly distributed over a given area of ground, no matter how large or how small. (7) A general average of 15 cows to 1 bull was the best understanding. Once in awhile, a peculiar configuration of the breeding groundenabled 1 bull the chance to pen up 35 or 45 cows, but it was seldom witnessed, as a rule. (8) Cows all promptly and efficiently served when in heat. Never witnessed a failure. Status of 1890. (1) On the rookery ground the bulls were all by June 1,—and (2) Located on this ground from 15 to 150 feet apart. (3) They are inert and somnolent. I have not seen a single fight between the bulls yet. (4) Not a single half bull, or polsea- catchie, attempting to land and serve the cows. Nota single one have I been able to observe. In fact, there are none left. Those that exist now have been ruined as breeders, from the effects of overdriving several thousand of these broken-spirited bulls, old and young, are now loafing on the outskirts of these rookeries and haul- ing out with the small holluschickie on the sand and rock margins. (5) Cows began to arrive on the breed- ing gounds by June 4 to 6. All arrived, as a rule, by July 10. (6) They are located on the breeding grounds in scattered hareims, solidly here, —there oneortwo harems, then adozenor so familiesscattered over twice and thrice as much ground as they should occupy if massed as in 1872-1874. The scanty sup- ply of, the wide stations and feebleness of the bulls is undoubtedly the reason for this striking change in their distribution as they ordered it in 1872-1874. (7) A general average of 45 or 50 cows to 1 bull is the best estimate that can be made to-day. There are somany harems of 60 and 75 cows in charge of 1 bull to each, and frequently sin ele harems of 100 to 120 cows, that it makes the general average of 45 or 50 very conservative. (8) “Many of the cows not served even when persistently solicitous early in the season. Vigorous, willing service seems to be the exception, not the rule. Bulls not one-tenth as numerous as in 1872, and only one-third of the cows here as arule, and nonew young male blood mature and virile enough to take its station on these rookeries. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. a In regard to the probable number of breeding bulls on each rookery in 1872-1874, I made the following note and tabulation: Sr. GEORGE, ISLAND, North Rookery, July 12, 1878. I think now that this is a safe and equitable basis for beginning my calculation. ~ * * Every 100 feet of sea margin will have 10 bulls on it, and for every 100 feet of depth from the margin we will have a bull for every 7 feet of that depth. * * * They fight so desperatély on the sea margin that the average is widest there, uniformly, then it will average up right back, through, 7 by 10 feet, very honestly. * * * Basis for estimation of bulls in 1872-1874, with an average of 15 cows, 15 pups, and 5 nubile females to each bull. The reef has 4,016 feet sea margin with 1 bull on every 10 feet of sea margin, 150 feet average depth, and 1 bull for every 7 feet of average depth, which gives 402 bulls by 203 bulls, or about 8,642 bulls. On this basis and method of calculation, therefore, the rookeries have approximately as follows: St. Paul Island: Bulls. ARGS ter.< See 2 Des. EAL a he Sera te ey A Nahai; See chs wae orale ial a evan 8, 642 (Garhouchy. 2(t8 6252S) y Seep ese hae eosise ns fe secosisinjecinsine ites 5, 207 COOMBE oo e rot eerie SEE Sei a Soe oe bom ayo cect pace eee ce om 580 Toga) OFT 0YC rc ee ear A, Saale Stn tel one a A a ee Se See One eee 4, 880 WeStaNd G2 Secrest oe aoe seins cicce scan ate citer etsiniaaeine oo etaeerar 4, 730 NO IS WO Th ate taco a ee eek er ne ee Lem ee a a ae meats, Amaya eaten e iarae 6, 450 Zapadnie, upper wine, 2,614; lower wing, 9,100.2 --- so. ooo6 wane oan - 12,514 PE Gol savanna ete ee es eee foe ere eee ere eyavey Set an nc nao ye tre ee rapvasteralcusteexe 8, 600 Novashoshnah -....... 5... ---- ---- --- + seeees ene e eee eee eee eens een ee 34, 006 FRotalapuls tor Sure aM: 2s acca e ines cence seme cise nme aaa ae eae aoe OUS! St. George Island: AWA Ose ars a Secs Lae Sace 2 csale sejaie = aiid ee whale cis we we cca tesaltaee semcet 599 SS UAT MA LO Mae sta cia crs ets ca ae a hase enn aa oie s or ha avec Saree oe aaa euisee Sameer 975 NOT bReSe pAcysas Ste ches cee einen ee Re ee ee eee ane eee eens 2, 302 LOTR) DASE A TL. oe Seer aes ees eae te ReR CO ae a eager aretha ae oss oe eee 112 (GREET he Si aE a a en a A a Pr ge a ee eS CCS 714 otalebwmlllsstOrm Guy CCOLCC =. 2225-2 ce se aececls-oste/Seecicaaieseccs veces 4, 702 Or, in round numbers, a grand total of 90,000 breeding bulls on the rookeries of both islands. The wide and scanty hauling of the bulls on these breeding grounds for this season of 1890, together with the strange massing of immense harems around single bulls, while the others immediately around have no part in the service, render such a tabulation on the basis of 1872-1874, as above given, quite out of the question as a measure of just contrast. I therefore will not attempt it, since the comparison can not be well made in this respect. |My figures for 1890, give 11,708 bullsfor St. Paul; 800 for St. George. | In concluding my observations under this head, it is, perhaps, not superfluous to anticipate and reply to the foilowing generalizations which will naturally arise to the mind of the general reader. It seems from the foregoing surveys, that at the close of the season of 1890, there are still existing upon the Pribilov rookeries, 959,000 seals, old and young and pupsof this year’s birth, orabout one-third of the whole number of breeding seals and young recorded as being there in 1872-1874. How, then, can they be so near the danger of extermination, even if they are in danger of it? The explanation is as follows: (1) There is but 1 breeding bull now upon the rookery ground, where there were 15 in 1872; andthe bulls of to-day are nearly all old, and many positively impotent. (2) This decrease of virile male life on the breeding grounds causes the normal ratio of 15 or 20 females to a male, as in 1872-1874, now to 2 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. reach the unnatural ratio of 50 to even 100 females to an old and enfeebled male. (3) There is no appreciable number of young males left alive to-day on these hauling or nonbreeding grounds, to take their places on the breeding grounds, which are old enough for that purpose: or will be old enough, if not disturbed by man, even if left alone for the next five years. (4) Meanwhile the natural enemies of the fur seal are just as numer- ous in the sea and ocean as they ever were. The killer whale and the sharks are feeding upon them, just as they did in 1872-1874. (5) Therefore, we have destroyed by land and by sea, that equilibrium which nature had established in 1868, on these rookeries, and we must now restore it: or, no other result can follow save that of swift extermi- nation. (6) That condition of 1872 being restored: then, that surplus male life must be taken again under better regulations than those of 1870:' and the pelagic sealing must be restricted to proper limits: this action will enable the fur markets of the world to have a regular supply for all time to come, provided that it is carried out in good time. | See terms of such regulations, p. 228, Appendix. PLATE 19, ‘O6ST Ul JUBpPIAG SBM FI JO UONSadsns B UBAD JOU * PART-ZLQ] JO Suosvas 949 Sulinp ys pue Aep I9AIISGO VY} OF Poquasaad speas vse} YOM JySIS oq SI SIq ‘ANV1S| 1NVd LNIVS ‘Avg HSITSNA ‘SGNVS IOLSTO, NO SNITINVH AaIMOIHOSN110H ANIOd 4334 S33W 101S10L “souyne ay} Ag aunjeu Wold Suimeip y arent ron H | ST 13 7 Re iii y TO Fy PRR q +r ar , Arr pa 5 3 : ROR Bane om Se SECTION IL THE HAULING GROUNDS OF THE FUR SEAL ON THE PRIBILOV ISLANDS OF ALASKA—THEIR AREA, POSITION, AND CONDITION IN 1872-1874 AND 1890. THE HAULING GROUNDS OF THE FUR SEAL. In 1872-1874 these fields of seal life on the Pribilov Islands were in themselves quite as impressive and interesting as the great rookeries then were. To day (1890) it is a difficult matter to say where a single well-defined hauling ground on either island exists of more than slight extent in superficial area—those broad acres of 1874upon which not even a vestige of vegetable growth could live, owing tothe tireless pattering of fur-seal flippers—those clean-swept fields are now mossy, grass-grown, and flecked with indigenous flowering plants clear down to the water’s edge, or up to very margins of the rookery grounds, upon which a scanty remnant of that swarming host of surplus male seal life, which so aston- ished me in 1872, now lands! It hauls there to-day for quiet and protec- tion—instinctively does so, as the last stand for self-preservation left for it on these islands during the past six years. In 1872 there was a marked distinction between the “rookeries,”! or breeding grounds, and the “ezvairie,”” or hauling grounds; not in name, not on paper, as it literally is to-day, but in reality then, by the testimony of those grounds and the life thereon itself. I gave the following descrip- tion of the Pribilov hauling grounds and of that life characteristic of them, in 1874: [Monograph Seal Islands of Alaska: 1881, p. 43.| THE HAULING GROUNDS AND THEIR OCCUPANTS. I now call the attention of the reader to another very remarkable feature in the economy of the seal life on these islands. The great herds of holluschickie,* num- bering about one-third, perhaps, of the whole aggregate of near 5,000,000 seals known to the Pribilov group, are never allowed by the ‘‘see-catchie,” under the pain of frightful mutilation or death, to put their flippers on or near the rookeries. By reference to my map it will be observed that I have located a large extent of ground, markedly so on St. Paul, as that occupied as the seals’ hauling grounds. This area, in fact, represents those portions of the island upon which the hollus- chickie roam in their heavy squadrons, wearing off and polishing the surface of the soil, stripping every foot, which is indicated on the chart as such, of its vegetation and mosses, leaving the margin as sharply defined on the bluffy uplands and sandy flats as it is on the map itself. The reason that so much more land is covered by the holluschickie than by the breeding seals—ten times as much, at least—is due to the fact that though not as numerous, perhaps, as the breeding seals, they are tied down to nothing, so to speak, are wholly irresponsible, and roam hither and thither as caprice and the weather may dictate. Thus they wear off and rub down a much larger area than the rookery 1“ Rookery,” an old sealer’s term, derived from the swarming, noisy roosts of the cook-bird in England. 2Wzvairie,” a Russian equivalent of ‘‘hauling up;” means literally a “‘ coming out” or ‘coming up.” The natives call the rookeries ‘ laying out” places or ‘‘laas- bustchie,” and the hauling grounds, ‘ezvairie.” ’The Russian term ‘‘holluschickie” or ‘‘ bachelors” is very appropriate, and is usually employed. 73 74 fUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. seals oceupy. Wandering aimlessly and going back, in some instances, notably at English Bay, from one-half to a whole mile inland, not traveling in desultory files along winding, straggling paths, but sweeping in solid platoons, they obliterate every spear of grass and rub down nearly every hummock in their way. DEFINITION OF ‘* HOLLUSCHICKIE.” All the male seals, above 6 years of age, and under, are compelled to herd apart by themselves and away from the breeding grounds, in many cases far away, the large hauling grounds at Southwest Point being about 2 miles from the nearest rookery. This class of seals is termed ‘“‘holluschickie” or the ‘‘ bachelor” seals by the peo- ple, a most fitting and expressive appellation. The seals of this great subdivision are those with which the natives on the Pribilov group are the most familiar; naturally and especially so, since they are the only ones, with the exception of a few thousand pups and occasionally an old bull or two taken late in the fall for food and skins, which are driven up to the killing grounds at the village for slaughter, The reasons for this exclusive attention to the bachelors are most cogent, and will be given hereafter when the business is discussed. LOCATING THE HAULING GROUNDS. PATHS THROUGH THE ROOKERIES. Since the holluschickie are not permitted by their own kind to land on the rook- eries and stop there, they have the choice of two methods of locating, one of which allows them to rest in the rear of the rookeries and the other on the free beaches. The most notable illustration of the former can be witnessed on Reef Point, where a pathway is left for their ingress and egress through a rookery—a path left by common consent, as it were, between the harems. On these trails of passage they come and go in steady files all day and all night during the season, unmolested by the jealous bulls which guard the seraglios on either side as they travel. All peace and comfort to the young seal if he minds his business and keeps straight on up or down, without stopping to nose about right or left; all woe and desolation to him, how- ever, if he does not, for in that event he will be literally torn in bloody griping, from limb to limb, by the vigilant old ‘‘ see-catchie.” Since the two and three year old holluschickie come up in small squads with the first bulls in the spring, or a few days later, such common highways as those between the rookery ground and the sea are traveled over before the arrival of the cows and get well defined. A passage for the bachelors, which I took much pleasure in observing day after day at Polavina, another at Tolstoi, and two on the reef, in 1872, were entirely closed up by the “‘see-catchie” and obliterated when I again searched for them in 1874. Similar passages existed, however, on several of the large rookeries of St. Paul. One of those at Tolstoi exhibits this feature very finely, for here the hauling ground extends around from English Bay, and lies up back of the Tolstoi rookery, over a flat and rolling summit, from 100 to 120 feet above the sea level. The young males and yearlings of both sexes come through and between the harems at the height of the breeding season on two of these narrow pathways, and before reaching the ground above are obliged to climb up an almost abrupt bluff, which they do by following and struggling in the water runs and washes that are worn into its face. As this is a large hauling ground on which, every favorable day during the season, 15,000 or 20,000 commonly rest, the sight of skillful seal climbing can be witnessed here at any time during that period, and the sight of such climbing as this of Tolstoi is exceedingly novel and interesting. Why, verily, they ascend over and upon places where an ordinary man might, atfirst sight, with great positiveness say that it was utterly impossible for him to climb. HAULING GROUNDS ON THE BEACHES. The other method of coming ashore, however, is the one most followed and favored. In this case they avoid the rookeries altogether and repair to the unoccupied beaches between them, and then extend themselves out all the way back from the sea, as far from the water in some cases as a quarter and even half of a mile. I stood on the Tolstoi sand dunes one afternoon, toward the middle of July, having under my eyes, in a straightforward sweep over from my feet to Zapadnie, 1,500,000 seals spread out on those hauling grounds. Of these I estimated that fully one-half at that time were pups, yearlings, and holluschickie. The rookeries across the bay, though plainly in sight. were so crowded that they looked exactly as I have seen surfaces appear upon which bees had swarmed in obedience to that din and racket made by the watchful apiarian when he desires to hive the restless honey makers. The great majority of yearlings and holluschickie are annually hauled out and packed thickly over the sand beach and upland hauling grounds which lay between FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 15 the rookeries on St. Paul Island. At St. George there is nothing of this extensive display to be seen, for here is only a tithe of the seal life occupying St. Paul, and no opportunity whatever is afforded for an amphibious parade. GENTLENESS OF THE SEALS. Descend with me from this sand-dune elevation of Tolstoi, and walk into that drove of holluschickie below us. Wecan doit. You do not notice much confusion or dismay as we go in among them; they simply open ont before us and close in behind our tracks, stirring, crowding to the right and left as we go, 12 or 20 feet away from us on each side. Look at this small flock of yearlings, some 1, others 2, and even 3 years old, which are coughing and spitting around us now, staring up at our faces in amazement as we walk ahead. They struggle a few rods out of our reach and then come together again behind us, showing no further sign of notice of ourselves. You could not walk into a drove of hogs at Chicago without exciting as much confusion and arousing an infinitely more disagreeable tumult; and as for sheep on the plains, they would stampede far quicker. Wild animalsindeed! You can now readily understand how easy it is for two or three men—early in the morn- ing—to come where we are, turn aside from this vast herd in front of and around us 2,000 or 3,000 of the best examples, and drive them back, up, and over to the village. That is the way they get theseals. There is not any ‘‘hunting” or ‘‘chasing” or “capturing” of fur seals on these islands. HOLLUSCHICKIE DO NOT FAST. While the young male seals undoubtedly have the power of going for lengthy intervals without food, they, like the female seals on the breeding grounds, certain] y do not maintain any long fasting periods on land. Their coming and going from the shore is frequent and irregular, largely influenced by the exact condition of the weather from day to day. For instance, three or four thick, foggy days seem to call them out from the water by hundreds of thousands upon the different hauling grounds which the reader observes recorded on my map. In some cases I have seen them lie there so close together that scarcely a foot of ground over whole acres was bare enough to be seen. Then, a clear and warmer day follows, and this seal-covered ground, before so thickly packed with animal life, will soon be almost deserted: compara- tively so at least, to be filled up immediately again when favorable weather shall reappear. They must frequently eat when lere, because the first yearlings and holluschickie that come in the spring, are no fatter, sleeker, or livelier than they are at the close of the season; in other words, their condition, physically, seems to be the same from the beginning to the end of their appearance here during the summer and fall. It is quite different, however, with the ‘‘see-catchie.” We know how and where it spends two to three months, because we find it on the grounds at all times, day or night, during that period. SPORTS AND PASTIMES OF THE YOUNG BACHELORS. A small flock of the young seals, one to three years old generally, will often stray from these hauling-ground margins, up and beyond, over on to the fresh mosses and grasses, and there sport and play one with another just as little puppy dogs do: and when weary of this gamboling, a general disposition to sleep is suddenly manifested, and they stretch themselves out and curl up in all the positions and all the postures that their flexible spines and ball-and-socket joints will permit. ‘They seem to revel in the unwonted vegetation, and to be delighted with their own efforts in rolling down and crushing the tall stalks of the grasses and umbelliferous plants. One will lie upon its back, hold up its hind flippers and lazily wave them about, while it scratches or rather rubs its ribs with the fore hands alternately, the eyes being tightly closed during the whole performance. The sensation is evidently so luxurious that it does not wish to have any side issue draw off its blissful self-attention. Another, curled up like a cat on arug, draws its breath, as indicated by the heaving of its flanks, quickly but regularly as though in heavy sleep. Another will lie flat upon its stomach, its hind flippers covered and concealed, while it tightly folds its fore feet back against its sides just as a fish carries its pectoral fins. Andsoonto no end of variety according to the ground and the fancy of the animals. These bachelor seals are, 1 am sure, without exception the most restless animals in the whole brute creation which can boast of a high organization. They frolic and lope about over the grounds for hours without a moment’s cessation, and their sleep after this is exceedingly short: it is usually accompanied with nervous twitch- ings and uneasy muscular movements. They seem to be fairly brimful and overrun- ning with spontaneity, to be surcharged with fervid, electric life. Another marked feature which I have observed among the multitudes of hollus- chickie that have come under my personal observation and auditory, and one very 76 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. characteristic of this class, is that nothing like ill-humor appears in all of their playing together; they never growl, or bite, or show even the slightest angry feel- ing, but are invariably as happy, one with another, as can be imagined. This is a very singular trait; they lose it, however, with astonishing rapidity, when their ambition and strength develops and carries them, in due course of time, to the rookery. The ape and yearlings have an especial fondness for sporting on the rocks which are just at the water’s level and awash, so as to be covered and uncovered as the surf rollsin. On the bare summit of these wave-worn spots they will struggle and clamber in groups of a dozen or two at a time throughout the whole day, in endeavoring to push off that one of their number which has just been fortunate enough to secure a landing. The successor has, however, but a brief moment of exultation in victory, for the next roller that comes booming in, together with the pressure by its friends, turus the table, and the game is repeated, with another seal ontop. Sometimes, as well as I could see, the same squad of holluschickie played for a whole day and night, without a moment’s cessition, around such a rock as this off Nah Speel rookery; but in this observation I may be mistaken, because the seals can not be told apart. SEALS AMONG THE BREAKERS. The graceful unconcern with which the fur seal sports safely in, among, and under booming breakers during the prevalence of the numerous heavy gales at the islands has afforded me many consecutive hours of spell-bound attention to them: absorbed in watching their adroit evolutions within the foaming surf that seemingly every moment, would in its fierce convulsions, dash these hardy swimmers, stunned and lifeless, against the iron-bound foundations of the shore which alone checked the furious rush of the waves. Notatall. Through the wildest and most ungovernable mood of the roaring tempest and storm-tossed waters attending its transit I never failed, on creeping out and peering over the bluffs in such weather, to see squads of these perfect watermen, the most expert of all amphibians, gamboling in the seeth- ing, creamy wake of mighty rollers which constantly broke in thundertones over their alert, dodging heads. The swift succeeding seas seemed every instant to poise the seals at the very verge of death. Yet the Callorhinus, exulting in his skill and strength, bade defiance to their wrath and continued his diversions! SWIMMING FEATS OF THE BACHELORS. The holluschuckie are the champion swimmers of all the seal tribe; at least, when in the water around the islands they do nearly every fancy tumble and turn that can be executed. The grave old males and their matronly companions seldom indulge in any extravagant display as do these youngsters, jumping out of the water like so many dolphins describing beautiful elliptic curves, sheer above its surface, rising 3 and even 4 feet from the sea, with the back slightly arched, the fore flippers folded tightly against the sides and the hinder ones extended and pressed together straight out behind, plumping in head first: to reappear in the same manner, after an interval of a few seconds of submarine swimming, like the flight of a bird on their course. Sea lions and hair seals never jump in this manner. All classes will invariably make these dolphin jumps when they are surprised or are driven into the water, curiously turning their heads while sailing in the air, between the ‘‘rises” and ‘‘plumps,” to take a look at the cause of their disturbance. They all swim rapidly, with the exception of the pups, and may be said to dart under the water with the velocity of a bird on the wing. As they swim, they are invariably submerged, running along horizontally about 2 or 3 feet below the surface, guiding their course with the hind flippers as by an oar, and propelling themselves solely by the fore feet: rising to breathe at intervals, which are either very frequent, or else, so wide apart, that it is impossible to see the speeding animal when he rises a second time. How long they can remain under water without taking a fresh breath is a problem which IJ had not the heart to solve by instituting a series of experiments at the island ; but I am inclined to think that if the truth were known in regard to their ability of going without rising to breathe it would be considered astounding. On this point, however, I have no data worth discussing: but will say that in all their swimming which I have had a chance to study, as they passed under the water, mirrored to my eyes from the bluff above by the whitish-colored rocks below the rookery waters at Great Eastern rookery, I have not been able to satisfy myself how they used their long, flexible hind feet other than as steering media. If these posterior members have any perceptible motion it is so rapid that my eye is not quick enough to catch it; but the fore flippers, however, can be most distinctly seen as they work in feath- ering forward and sweeping flatly back, opposed to the water, with great rapidity and energy. They are evidently the sole propulsive power of the fur seal in the . Tepreq ,, OT UL [Ne Jae Wor, 1A0 SUISSO.19 SOATIVN ‘O68 ‘G ATNP ‘dNOYD AOTISINd ‘GNVIS] H3LLO 4O SYOHS HLYON 3HL 4O M3IA "S43N1G ON 1S3M “ONIONY “LNIOd H3LVHO 1 ae royine ayy, Aq ainyeu wioyy Buimeip y tag AER aie . ie Fae FiLATE 20. oo RIT ay: Me Ratti ipkensiilan . : , sis PF ae FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 77 water, as they are its main fulcrum and lever combined for progression on land. I regret that the shy nature of the hair seal never allowed me to study its swimming motions: but, it seems to be a general point of agreement among authorities on the Phocide, that all motion in water by them arises from that power which they exert and apply with the hind feet. So far as my observations on the hair seal go, I am inclined to agree with this opinion. All their movements in water, whether they are traveling to some objective point or are in sport, are quick and joyous ; and nothing is more suggestive of intense satisfaction and pure physical comfort than is that spectacle which we can see every August, a short distance out at sea from any rookery, where thousands of old males and females are idly rolling over in the billows side by side, rubbing and seratching with their fore and hind flippers which are here and there stuck up out of the water by their owners like the lateen sails of the Mediterranean feluccas: or, when the hind flippers are presented, like a ‘‘cat o’ nine tails.” They sleep in the water a great deal more than is generally supposed, showing that they do not come on land to rest—very clearly not. The foregoing description of the hauling grounds and their occupants, or the killable seals, as they existed in 1872-1874 on the seal islands of Alaska, was very soberly drawn from the bright view which they then presented; but, moderate as the simple truth of it is, it reads like a romance when contrasted with the condition of these fields and life as it is to-day! While the diminution of the area and the life on the breeding grounds of St. Paul is such as to show a trifle more than one-third of its extent and volume to-day compared with what existed in 1872, yet the discrep- ancy between the area of the hauling grounds on this island and num- ber of occupants as presented in 1872 and again in 1890, is something positively startling—is almost unreal—but the truth easily asserts its strange reality on the accompanying map of these hauling grounds of St. Paul Island. The tint of 1872 seems an almost fabulous expanse when contrasted with the microscopic shade of 1890. The loss is much greater here than on the rookeries, for the following reasons: Ever since 1879-1882 the surplus young male seal life has been sen- sibly feeling the pressure of the overland death drive, and the club. Harder and harder became this wretched driving to get the culled quota in 1883-84. Finally, when 1886 arrived, every nook and cranny on these islands that had hitherto been visited by these seals in peace, was now daily searched out—close up, back of, and against the breeding rookeries, under every cliff wall by the sea, over to Southwest Point and to Otter Island, and even the little islet, Seevitchie Kammin, under the lee of the Reef, was regularly hunted out. Hvery 3-year old, every 4-year old, and every well-grown 2-year old male seal has been annually taken here, during the last two years, within a day or two at the latest, after it showed up on the beaches and in the rear of the rookeries, prior to the 26th to 31st of July! In 1872, the killable seals were permitted to ‘‘ haul up” in every sense of the word. They hauled out far inland from the sea. In 1890, the few killable seals that appeared never had time in which to “haul up” over the land. They simply landed: then, at the moment of landing, were marked and hustled into adrive. Up to the 20th of July, last summer, from the day of their first general hauling as a body in June, this class of seals never had an opportunity to get wonted or accustomed to the land—never were permitted to rest long enough to do so after landing. ORDER AND TIME OF THE HAULING OF THE HOLLUSCHICKIE. A careful comparison day by day of the arrival of the killable seals last season (1890), with my field notes of 1872-1874, declares that the holluschickie are hauling to-day in the same time and order of arrival, 78 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. from the beginning of the season in May until its close, by the end of July; but their vastly reduced numbers and the rigorous driving to which this remnant is subjected have caused them to abandon the haul- ing grounds of 1872-1874 entirely, with the solitary exception of that sand beach under Middle Hill, English Bay, of St. Paul. They now haul close into the rear of the breeding seals on the several rookery grounds of both islands; hauling there, as I have said before, for shelter and protection. When the old bulls first appear for the season at the rookery grounds early in May of every year, as a rule only a few squads of holluschickie accompany them. While these early bulls land promptly by the 4th to the 6th of that month, and all of them arrive and land by the close of it, yet the holluschickie do not come ashore until the 15th or 20th of May, as a rule; sometimes a few days earlier and sometimes a few days later. Only a few hundred of these young males land at any one place or time as early as the 15th of May. But, after this date, rapidly after the 25th to the 31st of May, the hol- luschickie of the largest growth, i. e., the 5, 4, 3, and many 2 year old males, begin to haul. By the 14th to the 20th of June they then appear in their finest form and number for the season, being joined now by the half bulls, the 2 and 3-year olds and quite a number of yearling males. By the 10th of July their numbers are beginning to largely increase, owing to the influx at this time of that great body of the last year’s pups or yearlings. By the 20th of July the yearlings have put in their appear- ance for the season in full force. Very few yearling females make their appearance until the 15th of July, but by the 20th they literally swarmed out, in 1872-1874, and mixed up completely with the young and older males and females, as the rookeries relax their discipline and “ pod” or scatter out. By the 20th of July annually, therefore, the seals of all ages have arrived that are to arrive. It was so in 1872; it was so last season, 1890. If it were true, as the idea of some sealers would have it, that the young male seals all haui on the ground contiguous to the rookery where they were born, it would be very puzzling to account for several marked exceptions to that rule; but itis not true. Young male seals born upon St. Paul Island have been repeatediy marked as they left for the season, and these marked pups have been taken up in St. George drives as yearlings, 2-year olds, and even 4-year olds, during the follow- ing season or seasons. This experiment was repeatedly made by the Russians, ' and has been made once by us. It is Scie to note in this connection that the Russians themselves, with the object of testing this mooted query, during the later years of their possession of the islands drove up a number of young males from Lukannon, cut off their ears, and turned them out to sea again. The following season, when the droves came in from the hauling grounds to the slaughtering fields, quite a number of those cropped seals were in the drives: but, instead of being found all at one place—the place from whence they were driven the year befor e—they were scattered examples of croppies from every point on the island. The same experiment was again made by our people in 1870 (the natives having told them of this prior undertaking) and they went also to Lukannon, drove up 100 young males, cut off their left ears, and set them free in turn. Of this number, during the summer of i872, when I was there, the natives found in their driving of 75 ,000 seals from the different hauling grounds of St. Paul up to the village killing grounds, two on Novastoshnah rookery, 10 miles north of Lukannon, and two or three from English Bay and Tolstoi rookeries, 6 miles west by water; one or two were taken on St. George Island, 36 miles to the southeast, and not one from Lukannon was found among those that were driven from there. Proba- bly had all the young males on the two islands this season been examined, the rest 14% e@ Rocks *% TOLSTOI MEES Pribylovs Landing June 1786. “SEA Lion Pr. 20 Hard bottom Sealion Rookery N GaRDEN Cove "12 . Maginetic (22° 27! 40°. | Easterly Variation.) a hi i ATER Fatt Pr. { iM 1 20 | | RGE ISLAND; Pribylov Group. Position of the Fur Seal Breeding and Hauling ne, July, 1873 — 74, and August 1890, and drawn HENRY W. ELLIOTT. alia I no & > Scale: STATUTE MILES. H, Doc 45,54: 1. V3 * pec Qvichagnd Lae i Rookery TOLSTO! MEES Grassy Plateau 390 to 400 ft 16, Pribylovs Landing June 1786, ‘ene Y : ° Bee) i \; Sea Lion Pr. “ “e, 3 3 Fs c¢ Rank Grass Mier ne Hills 600 ft. ¢ 20 rave bottom A Sealion Rookery is Old Cairne #3 ad ‘i ‘ae po eSail ; W (aa) Goverooskie P] Lake 600 to 700 Fr Mayifirds Hill Swe Clinker Stones, Moss and 7-05?! : re gn ft Xo: Clinker Hat DALNO! MEES Fox Coatle 20M — Plateau 200 Ft Pesy cane Scant Grass 5 sir / sy y, aa Cairn fs He detiem ES fr Grassy uplands ITS ft Grassy uplands jarrabora = TS fr re High Grassy Plateau pools and bogs ZAPADNIE Bay. \p Zapadnie’ ° seer Rookery, Mosses, ferns and flowers Water FAtt Pr. 400 ft Rocky - esott ry Reef awash at low water. Red Blufs MEH Area and Position of the Fur Seal Breeding and Hauling Grounds, : ; Season of 1872 — 74. ST. GEORGE ISLAND; Pribylov Group. (Insofar as the Breeding Grounds of 1890 lay. the above location is correct Showing the Area and Position of the Fur Seal Breeding and Hauling also; but the Hauling Grounds of 1890 can not be seen in the scale of this Grounds. Surveyed June, July, 1873— 74, and August 1890, and drawn chart—they have practically disappeared. H. W. E.) August and, 1890. By HENRY W. ELLIOTT. ° % ' 2 —— —=— = = ScaALE: STATUTE MILES. H.Doc. 175,54 1% oa ee eee 7 hn eet 2 een r . Red Biels | 4 ee : | tplibrbac: gies laa? Ww? at to nino bik ssrA ogy Per . py —ey8 to noesee . pe i : Be tpGiode ot oA age Yo soiucit) eiboentt eft fe saislliy aa al eh oe WG Meseiad! von asm o98r to ebautnd yritasH edt tud jeelende - . a. WH anes Yassin sa otal ee . a =~ ©€ a _—Te oy j t = FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 79 I now know that the holluschickie haul on either St. George or St. Paul islands indifferently, as they go and come throughout the sealing season. The proportion of St. Paul bred holluschickie, must be quite large on St. George, since that island lays directly in the path of the incoming and outgoing seals as they first arrive from the south at the opening of the season and thereafter sally forth from the St. Paul haul- ing grounds during the summer at frequent intervals to fish and search for similar food. The greatest cod and herring schools, pollock and salmon runs of Bering Sea lie to the scutheastward of St. ‘Paul, around to the northwest, and “St. Geor ge is squarely in the road. These hauling grounds of St. George Island, which were never, by the nature of the land, as broad or extended as those of St. Paul, were, however, in 1872 polished very brightly by the holluschickie: but now, in 1890, the same utter desolation which prevails over them on St. Paul also exists there. The hauling grounds at Zapadnie are simply grass- grown, also those of Starry Ateel; while the Great Eastern parade is a mere suggestion, and the fine sweep of the North Rookery looks like a soft green lawn from the village. As for the Little Eastern, not a single arive has been made from there this.year; at no time was there more a 12 to 15 holluschickie upon its grassy borders last July or August! As for St. Paul, I walked day after day last summer, over the grass- grown deserted hanling grounds of Southwest an of Zapadnie, of English Bay, Lukannon, Ketavie, Polavina, and Novastoshnah with the same feeling I should have were I to enter upon and walk over the abandoned and grass-grown streets of a once populous and busy city, which I had previously visited in all of its prosperity, only sixteen years ago! In order to present a clear, sharp contrast between the appearance and condition of these hauling grounds and their occupants as they were in 1872-1874 and are to-day, 1890, I have arranged the following epitome. I do not carry the parallel column beyond St. Paul, since the status of St. George is precisely similar: My publication of the 1874 notes were made in my Monograph of the Seal Islands: Tenth Census, United States, 1881. of the croppies that had returned from the perils of the deep, whence they sojourned during the winter, would have been distributed quite equally about the Pribilov hauhng grounds. Although the natives say that they think the cutting off of the animal's ear gives the water such access to its head as to cause its death, yet, I noticed that those ex amples which we had recognized by this auricular mutilation, were normally fat and well developed. Their theory does not appeal to my belief, and it certainly requires confirmation. These experiments would tend to prove very cogently and conclusively that when the seals approach the islands in the spring they have nothing in their minds but a general instinctive appreciation of the fitness of the land as a whole: and no special fondness or determination to select any one particular spot, not even the place of their birth. A study of my map of the distribution of the seal life on St. Paul clearly indicates that the landing of the seals on the respective rookeries is influ- enced greatly by the direction of the wind at the time of their approach to the islands in the spring and early summer. ‘The prevailing airs, blowing as they do at that season from the north and northwest, carry far out to sea the odor of the old rookery fiats, together with the fresh scent of the pioneer bulls which have located themselves on these breeding grounds three or four weeks in advance of their kind. The seals come up from the great North Pacific, and hence it will be seen that the rookeries of the south and southeastern shores of St. Paul Island receive nearly all the seal life, although there are miles of perfectly eligible ground at Nahsayvernia or north shore. To settle this matter beyond all argument, however, 1 know is an exceed- inely difficult task, for the identification of indiv iduals from one season to another among the hundreds of thousands and even millions that come under the eye on one or all of these great rookeries, is well nigh impossible. 80 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. CONDITION OF THE HAULING GROUNDS, ST. PAUL ISLAND, PRIBILOV GROUP. [From my field notes made in 1872-1874, and pub- lished in 1874, and again in 1881. ] Status of 1872-1874. ZOLTOL. JUNE 19, 1872 (pp. 50,51). These Zoltoi sands are, however, a famous rendezvous for the holluschickie, and from them during the season the natives make regular drives, having only to step out from their houses in the morn- ing and walk back a few rods to find their fur-bearing quarry. JUNE 20, 1872 (p. 71). If the weather was favorable for landing, i. e., cool, moist, and foggy, the fresh hauling of the holluschickie would cover the bare grounds again ina very short space of time. Sometimes, in a few hours after the driving of every seal from Zoltoi sands over to the killing fields adjacent those dunes and the beach in question would be swarming anew with fresh arrivals. JULY 20, 1874 (p. 72) As matters are to-day 100,000 seals alone can be taken and skinned in less than forty working days within a radius of 14 miles from “the village, * * hence the driving, with the exception of two experimental droves, * * * has never been made from longer distances than Tolstoi to the westward, Lukannon to the northward, and Zoltoi to the south- ward of the killing grounds at St. Paul village. * * * TOLSTO!. (Page 53.) Directly to the west from Lukannon, up along and around the head of the lagoon, is the seal path road over which the natives bring the holluschickie from Tolstoi. JULY 20, 1874 (p. 72). As matters are to-day 100,000 seals on St. Paul alone can be taken and skinned in less than forty working days within a radius of 14 miles from the village and from the salt house of Northeast Point; hence the driving, with the exception of two experimental droves, which I wit- nessed in 1872, has never been made from longer distances than Tolstoi to the west- ward, Lukannon to the northward, and Zoltoi to the southward of the killing grounds at St. Paul village. [From my field notes as per date, made last summer. | Status of 1890. ZOLTOIL, May 22, 1890. The sand has drifted very slightly from its boundaries during the last eighteen years. JUNE 19, 1890. Not a single holluschickie of any age whatever on Zoltoi this day, and there has not been a killable seal there thus far this season. JUNE 22, 1890. Fine weather for seals to haul con- tinues, but the seals do not haul; not a single seal on Zoltvi sands this morning. Has not been a holluschickie there yet, and this was the never-failing resort of the natives in 1872-1876. Therefore, this vacancy on Zoltoi makes a deep impres- sion on one who has stood there in 1872- 1874 and observed the swarming platoons of hauling holluschickie, now entirely vanished. JULY 19, 1890. Not a single holluschickie on Zoltoi sands this morning, and not one has hauled there, thus far, this season. TOLSTOI. JUNE 15, 1890. During the last ten days, while inspect- ing the several breeding grounds of this island, I have paid careful attention to every squad of holluschickie that has appeared, and except as to numbers I do not observe any change up to date in their habit of hauling early in the season. These early squads appear just above the surf margin at Tolstoi in English Bay oe ie precisely as they did in 1872, only the number is smaller. JUNE 19, 1890. I had a full sweep of English Bay; asmall squad of perhaps 150 holus- chickie at Middle Hill and another small pod at the intersection of the sand beach with Tolstoi rookery. * * *» JUNE 22, 1890. At this time in 1872-1874, in- clusive, I never glanced over at Zoltoi but I saw holluschickie coming and going from and to the sea in steady files and platoons. I never looked over the broad sweep of English Bay beach from the high sand dunes of Tolstoi but to see the same sight, only in vastly greater form * * * 1872, 1874 and 1890, by HENRY W. ELLIOTT. H.Doc.175.54 § dunes srniectee Pend —, om High Bluffs a fi SLES ((\" AS. ssssioai B. ‘ } Seethoh AS = ew 7 | oa el 7 SRRAONE ‘ Ss V ST. PAUL ISLAND. A REVISED, GENERAL MAP OF St Paul Island; Pribylov Group. Showing the Area and position of the Hauling Grounds of 1872 and the location of the Rookeries of 1872— Pianeta 74 and 1890. a A i ft r Scale in Statute Miles. S53) Area and position of the Hauling Grounds, 187 2— 74. aq Location of the Breeding Grounds. 1872—74 and ‘go. Nore. — The Hauling Grounds of i890 are so scant in area that they can scarcely be seen on this scale, large as it is; | indicate them by white spots, thus -°O Surveyed and Drawn during the Seasons of 1872, 1874 and 1890, by HENRY W. ELLIOTT, Orrer Istand Weat heads e&... b> Crater Point H.Doc.175,54 |, a 7 ieee mens @e ; FUR-SEAL FISHERIES LUKANNON. JUNE 20, 1872. The sand dunes to the west and to the north are covered with the most luxuriant grass, abruptly emarginated by the sharp abrasion of the hauling seals. This is shown very clearly on the general map. * * * This is the point down along the flat shoals of Lukannon Bay where the sand dunes are most characteristic, as they rise in their wind-whirled forms just abovethesurf wash. This, also, is where the natives come from the village during the early mornings of the season for driv- ing to get any number of holluschickie. JULY 12, 1872. The task of getting up early in the morning and going out to the several hauling grounds closely adjacent is really all there is of the labor involved in se- curing the number of seals required for the day’s work on the killing grounds. The two, three, or four natives upon whom, in rotation, this duty is devolved by the order of their chief, rise at first glimpse of dawn, between 1 and 2 o0’clock, and hasten over to Lukannon, Tolstoi, or Zoltoi, as the case may be: “walk out” their holluschickie, and have them duly on the slaughtering field before 6 or 7 o’clock, as a rule, in the morning. In favorable weather the ‘ drive” from Tolstoi consumes two and a-half to three hours’ time; from Lukannon, about two hours, and is often done in an hour and a-half, while Zoltoi isso near by that the time is merely nominal. JULY 20, 1872. As matters are to-day 100,000 seals on St. Paul alone can be takenand skinned within a radius of 14 miles from the vil- lage; * * * hencethe driving * * * has never been made from longer dis- tances than Tolstoi to the westward, Luk- annon to the northward, and Zoltoi to the southward of the killing grounds at St. Paul village. if oes 20-3 OF ALASKA. 81 and numbers. * * * [donot see to- day, except at Middle Hill, the least sug- gestion of the past. Will it improve? JULY 12, 1890. When it is borne in mind that in the very height of the season, after five days’ rest, or nonattention, only 633 medium fur-seal skins, mostly 5} pounds clean skins, or 2-year olds, can be secured from the combined scraping of everything in English Bay (on Zapadnie we know there is nothing), Middle Hill, ‘Tolstoi, Lukannon, and Ketavie, the extraordi- nary condition of these interests can be well understood in a generalway. Such a driving in 1872, at this time and cir- cumstance of weather, would have brought 100,000 holluschickie up here, instead of the 5,150 to-day. Three cows in this drive. : * * * LUKANNON. JUNE 19, 1890. I ascended the basaltic ridge, between Lukannon sands and the village, late this morning, between 8and 9o’clock. Nota single seal, old or young, on these hauling grounds and sands of Lukannon. JUNE 21, 1890. From the Volcanic Ridge I had a clear view of Lukannon beach and hauling grounds. Not aseal upon it of any age, and the weather superb for seals to haul in; cool, moist, and foggy. JUNE 24, 1890. In the afternoon I took a survey of Lukannon Bay and hauling grounds. Not aseal on the beach except a half-dozen half bulls abreast of the Voicanic Ridge. *~ * * JULY 1, 1890. Not a seal on the hauling ridge and sands of Lukannon Bay, and none on Ketavie. * * * JULY 8, 1890. I came down on the sand beach between Tonkie Mees and Lukannon. Not a seal has hauled there yet, this year, a place where thousands upon tens of thousands were to be seen at this time in 1872! JULY 13, 1890. Along the entire spread of Lukannon, Polavina,and Northeast Pointsand beach, 8 miles, nearly, I[did not see asingle young seal; only a dozen or two old, worthless bulls scattered here and there at wide intervals. Over this extent and at this time in 1872 such a walk as mine this morning would have brought me in con- tact with and in sight of 50,000 to 100,000 holluschickie! and the weather simply superb hauling weather all day yester- day, last night, and this morning. 82 ZAPADNIE. JULY 14, 1874. The holluschickie that sport here on the parade plateau, and indeed over all the western extent of the English Bay hauling grounds, have never been visited by the natives for the purpose of select- ing killing drives since 1872, inasmuch as more seals than were wanted haye always been procured from Zoltoi, Lukan- non, and Lower Tolstoi points, which are all very close to the village. JULY 4, 1872. I stood on the Tolstoi sand dunes one afternoon, toward the middle of July, and had under my eyes in one straight forward sweep from my feet to Zapadnie 1,500,000 seais spread out on those haul- ing (and breeding) grounds. Of those, I estimated fully one-half at that time were pups, yearlings, and holluschickie. The rookeries across the bay were plainly in sight and so crowded that they looked exactly as I have seen surfaces appear upon which bees had swarmed in obedi- ence to that din and racket made by the watchful apiarian when he desires to hive those restless honey makers. JULY 22, 1874. and a fair track for the hol- luschickie, 500 feet wide, left clear, over which they have traveled quite exten- sively this season, some 20,000 to 25,000 of them, at least, lying out around the old salt house to-day. * * POLAVINA. JuLy 20, 1874. Surmounting this lava bed is a cap of ferrugineous cement and tufa, from 3 to 10 feet in thickness, making a reddish floor upon which the seals patter in theirrestless, never-ceasing evolutions, sleeping or waking on the land. It is as great asingle-parade plateau of polished cement as that of the reef, but we are unable from any point of observation to appreciate it, inasmuch as we can not stand highenonghtooverlookit. * * ~* The rookery itself occupies only a small Be Ret abd FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA, ZAPADNIE. JULY 3, 1890. These drives at Zapadnie are made just as they are made at all the other rook- eries this season—just swept up from the immediate skirts of the breeding seals, cows, pups, and bulls. This method of driving was not even suggested at any time in 1872-1874. Such a proceeding would have been voted abominable then ; it is still more sonow. It sweeps every young male seal that is 4, 3, and 2 years old into death as soon as it hauls to-day. Nothing escapes except that which old age or extreme youth saves—or, in other words, the high tax of $10.22 saves. JULY 9, 1890. I went over to Zapadnie early this morning with the natives and witnessed their driving. Most of the scanty drive was taken from the borders of Upper Zapadnie rookery. The whole sweep of Lower Zapadnie did not yield over 200 holluschickie, which had hauled in at several places just upward above the breeding seals. AJ] that large space up above the rookery on Lower Zapadnie which was literally alive with trooping platoons of holluschickie in 1872 is to-day entirely vacant! nota seal on it, and the natives peering over the high bluffs on the south side of and to the westward of the point trying to find a few seals skulk- ing down there on the rocks awash. Their eager search, with their backs turned to this silent parade ground of 1872, made me decidedly thoughtful. JULY 18, 1890. This last scrape made here to-day was opened by the appearance of only 1,192 animals on the grounds after a rest of nine days since the last drive from this place; 115 of these 1,192, were old bulls, all over 6 years, and the balance outside of the catch (241) are yearlings, ‘“‘runty” 2-year-olds, ‘‘ bitten” 4-year-olds, and a few 5-year-old ‘‘wigs.” Every 4-year-old “wig” was taken—taken here, as at Pola- vina yesterday, for the first time this season—every ‘‘smooth” 4-year-old was taken in the first drives, and now the dregs are drawn also. POLAVINA. JUNE 16, 1890. I came along on foot to the village, giving Polavina a survey down outside so as to see the old and new seal grass on that famous parade. It is somewhat too soon to arrive at a conclusion, but what I saw and noted causes surprise. Sup- pose you had, fourteen or sixteen years ago, been upon an eminence overlooking a sheep pasture or fold some three-fourths of a mile in length and 1,500 to 2,000 feet in width, so filled with a herd or tlock of sheep as to fairly cover the whole surtace FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. portion of the seal-visited area at this spot. *~ ~*~ * Forthereasons cited ina sunilar example at Zapadnie, no bollus- chickie have been driven from this point since 1872, though 1t is one of the easiest worked. It was in the Russian times a pet sealing ground with them. * JuLy 14, 1874. The vast numbers of the holluschickie on this ground of Polavina, where they have not been disturbed for some five years, to mention in the way of taking, * * * NOVASTOSHNAH., JULY 2, 1872. It was a view of such multitudes of amphibians, when I first stood upon the summit of Hutchinson’s Hill and looked at the immense spread around me, that suggested to my mind a doubt whether the accurate investigation which I was making would give me courage to main- tain the truth in regard to the subject. Hutchinson’s Hill is the foundation of this point, which is itself a solid basaltic floor, upon which a mass of breccia has been poured atitsnorthwest corner. Itis rough, very rough, in spots, and smoother in other places; but everywhere indicated on my chart it has been polished clean and clear of every spear of grass or trace of moss. The hill is about 120 feet high, and has a rounded summit, over which, and swarming up and down over its flanks ‘to the west and the east is an astonishing aggregate of young male seals or hollus- chickie. Theseherds,taken together with the 34 miles of unbroken rookery belt of solid massed life in reproduction, make a truly amazing sight this afternnoon— amazing in its aggregate and infinite in its vast detail. JULY 16, 1872. Webster gets all the holluschickie that he wants from one spot on the north shore of the sand-neck beach, west of the foot 83 of the earth itself within those lines, from your sight at frequent intervals, and never let you see more than a scattered glimpse of it at any one place or time; then, six- teen years later, to stand again there, as I stood to-day, and look again upon that same place and the assembled life, and then to see nothing there but a few lonely pods of sheep, and they all timidly hud- dled down at one margin of this pasture, and so few in number that it required really no effort for you to count them one by one—that is precisely the way this rookery and this hauling ground look to me to-day. JUNE 25, 1890. The poverty of these celebrated haul- ing grounds of Polavina is well illustrated by the catch from the drive to-day (263 skins). At this time in 1872 I could have driven from the great parade plateau be- hind these breeding grounds, under pre- cisely the same circumstances surround- ing the drive to-day, 10,000 killable seals! not one over 4 years old, and very few under 3 years old. Comment is needless. JULY 2, 1890. Now, to-day, every good 2-year-old, every 3and 4 year old was knocked down here, out of this 1,930 animals, to get 240 skins. Whereat this rate is the new blood for the rookeries to come in, now so des- perately needed? * * * NOVASTOSHNAH. JUNE 15, 1890. Arrived at Webster’s House at 12.30 p.m. * * * The two natives sta- tioned here on watch declared that yester- day, which was a fine day, was employed by them in making a circuit of the point; that they carefully inspected the rookery margin and found only about 300 hollus- chickie hauled immediately up on the north side of the sealions on the neck. Peter Peshenkov declared that nowhere eise was there any holluschickie; that there were a few polseacatchie on the beach just below the south shoulder, and nothing in the line of killable seals, except under the north slope of Hutchin- son’s Hill, about 200 good ones. JULY 138, 1890. Fowler had over 5,000 seals driven up this morning, and when he had finished the killing he had only 473 skins. All the rest too small; chiefly last year’s pups. Then in the afternoon, rain coming up, he made a rapid drive of those hollus- chickie which he had been saving for to-morrow, fearing that the rain would send them into the sea, and secured 168 more, making a total of 641, being the extreme limit reached in any one day’s killing up here this year, and a total of 4,135 only. On this day here last year Webster had killed 17,168 seals. Fowler 84 of Cross Hill. A short drive, and only what he wants for each day’s work, is driven. He says that he could kill every day three or tour times as many as he does if he had the men here to handle the skins. He takes nothing but large skins, nothing under 7 pounds. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. will have no holluschickie to kill to-mor- row. Webster killed on the 15th 1,838 more. Sonim The driving up here has radi- cally altered for the worse since 1872-1874, It is a mere raking and scraping now of the rookery margins, no killable seals anywhere else. ‘ihe parade fields of this once magnificent breeding ground are pos- itively vacant to-day; grass and flowers growing and springing up every where all over them. The holluschickie, as they hauled to-day, did not occupy more space than 500 feet by 50 feet in depth upon all the entire extent of this immense habi- tat of 1872! and the drive of 5,000 seals which we saw on the killing grounds had been scraped from seven different points back of the rookery between the base of Hutchinson’s Hilland the southeast termi- nus of the breeding grounds on the point. PLATE 21. Ak, ~~ y Seah VIEW OF THE SAND NECK AND Cross HILL, NORTHEAST POINT. Looking up and over from the Big Lake Sand Dunes, Saint Paul Island, July 13, 1890. pas Mee , SECTION III. THE METHOD OF DRIVING AND TAKING FUR SEALS ON THE PRIBILOV ISLANDS OF ALASKA, SEASONS OF 1872-1874 AND 1890. DRIVING. The increasing difficulty of getting that regular quota of 100,000 young male fur-seal skins annually ever since 1882, due to a steady diminution of supply on the Pribilov Islands, has made it necessary to drive right from the breeding grounds, incessantly, with an annual increased severity during the last six or seven years. The hauling grounds of 1872-1874, which were far distant from these rookeries and upon which large surplus herds of seal rested from the beginning to the end of each season undisturbed, were all abandoned as the seals fell away in numbers, until by 1889-90 grass grew and grows right to the water’s edge over them. The remnants of these herds began as early as 1884 to seek quiet and protection by hauling under the lee of the breeding animals, and in doing so, hauled out and Jaid down upon the immediate flanks of the breeding cows and bulis, close to them, and often intermingled at the outer edge. Therefore,in order to get the young male seals so hauied, it beeame necessary as early as 1884-85, to scrape the edges of the rook- eries in driving out and up the killable seals: and, in 1889, it was done with great vigor, which was inereased, really intensified, during the past season. This extraordinary driving was never dreamed of in 1872-1874, much less done. ‘Then the young male seals, being in great numbers, landed in the following manner, which I spoke of in 1874: By reference to the habit of the fur seal, which I have discussed at length, it is now plain and beyond doubt that two-thirds of all the males which are born, and they are equal in numbers to the females born, are never permitted by the remaining third, strongest by natural selection, to land upon the same breeding ground with the females, which always herd thereupon en masse. Hence this great band of bachelor seals, or holluschickie, so fitly termed, when it visits the island, is obliged to live apart entirely, sometimes and some places miles away from the rookeries; and in this admirably perfect method of nature are those seals which can be properly killed without injury to the rookeries, selected and held aside by their own volition: so that the natives can visit and take them without disturbing in the least degree the entire quiet of the breeding grounds, where the stock is perpetuated. Such was the number and method of the young male seals in 1872- 1874. It is very different today. From the hour of the first driving of 1890, May 21, up to the close of the season, July 20, all this driving was regularly made from rookery grounds, from the immediate margins of the breeding animals, with the solitary exception of that one place, Middle Hill, English Bay, St. Paul Island. Nota drive was made else- 85 86 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. where, in the course of which cows and pups and bulls were not disturbed and hustled as the young males were secured. As long as the breeding season was at its height, and the compact, solid organization of the rookeries was unbroken, very few cows were swept into these drives, though the disturbance was incessant and great; but when, after the 18th to the 20th of July, the rutting season subsided and the pups began to pod out, i. e., scatter back over three and five times as much ground as they had previously laid upon, then the cows followed them, and then the young males mixed up right and left and mingled with the herd, since they were no longer attacked or driven here and there by the old bulls. Hence the day or two preceding July 20, was marked by a largely increased number of cows and old bulls in the drives: and, had the driving been permitted later, the nursing cows and old bulls would have been sweptinto the droves of small male seals by hundreds, where tens had previously been taken in this manner. The driving of a cow with her udder distended and dragged for miles over rough, sharp rocks, bumping heavily in and out of holes and over tussocks, can not result in ought else than her physical ruin and the death of her young pup which is left behind. Therefore, any driving on these islands which, in order to get the holluschickie, necessitates the sweeping, into that drive, of cows, pups, and bulls, should terminate instantly on that day it begins; and since the breaking up and spreading of the breeding animals begins as a rule on the 20th of July (a few days earlier if it should rain hard), that date is the very latest day of per- mission to drive that can be safely given whenever killing is resumed again for tax and shipment of skins from these islands. Of course, when seals were in abundance, as in 1872-1879, inclusive, and the sealing gangs never were obliged to go near a rookery to get their quota daily, it did not signify one way or the other as to when and how they went about their work. Then, they never disturbed the breed- ing animals, no matter when they drove, whether in June, July, or August. But, to-day, the whole order of haulingischanged. The scanty resid- uum of that surplus thousands and tens of thousands of killable seals of 1872-1874, haul now in close contact with the rapidly diminishing ening animals on the rookeries—everywhere, in fact, but on those broad hauling grounds of 1872-1874, as they were wont to do then. They do so naturally and intelligently enough, since it is the last resort for protection and rest that the islands afford. From the beginning of this season of 1890 (and it was so last year also) the moment a small pod of a few hundred holluschickie hauled up into the rear of a rookery, or appeared on the sand beach just above the surf wash in English Bay under Middle Hill, that very moment these seals were marked and ordered driven. They were never allowed to rest long enough to become even acquainted with terra firma ere they were hustled up by the drivers and urged over to the killing grounds. Last season, during that desperate effort made then to get the catch of 100,000, parties were regularly sent over to drive the holluschickie off from Seevitchie Kammen, from Otter Island, from all points under the high bluffs at Zapadnie and Southwest Point, St. Paul, and the north shore of St. George. This year, however, there were too few hauled out on those spots to warrant this effort. There was no sign of seals hauling at all on Otter Island. When I expressed my surprise at this ferocious driving, begun early in June, I was met by apparent equal surprise on the part of the driv- ers, who, wondering at my ignorance, assured me that they had been - = Teh Up i ‘OUNas nN bn is : a Mi \ y 7 7 PLATE 22. “TOFSTO, ‘ Lu 10. Ay »AO YI 101g IAG, sey ‘SZ81 ‘bp AINL AALIP STL, “USL aq] Uo 8ou ‘ ONV1S] 1NVd LNIVS “SIXOIHOSNTIIOH JO SAING V NI SNISNIYS SYSAING JAILVN Spe) Soe NRA VENAS SY Oe soujyne ay ISTP 9YQ UL LOISTOT, TITM SQAO(-) OSRITLA pue syey oC 3R'T a] 1dAO SULYOOT MOLA + Aq Of] WOsy Buin Meip V FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 87 driving seals in this method ever since 1885—‘“‘ had been obliged to or go without the seals.” ! The driving itself, in so far as the conduct of the natives conducting the labor was concerned, was as carefully and well done as it could be. They avoided to the very best of their ability, any undue urging or hastening of the drive overland from the rookeries; they avoided as nearly as they could, under the circumstances, sweeping up pods of cows and pups; did all that they could to make as little disturbance among the breeding animals as possible. But even with all their care and sincere reluctance to disturb the rookeries, cows were repeatedly taken up in their scraping drives on the margins of all the rookeries, and their pups left floandering behind to starve and perish ultimately. The manner to-day of driving overland to the killing grounds is unchanged from the method of 1872; but the regular driving from every spot resorted to by the holluschickie on both islands has caused the establishment of killmg grounds and a salt house as early as 1879 at Stony Point (Tonkie Mees), and a slaughter field at Zapadnie, on St. Paul, the skins being taken from the latter point by a bidarrah, to the village (which was sent over from there every time a killing was made), and they are now hauled down in wagons (mule teams) from the former locality to the salt houses of St. Paul. In 1872-1874 the work of getting the seals on the killing grounds was conducted in the following manner: The manner in which'the natives captured and drove the holluschickie up from the hauling grounds to the slaughter fields near the two villages of St. Paul and St. George and elsewhere on the islands was then deemed all right. It was in this way: At the beginning of every sealing season, that is, during May and June, large bodies of young bachelor seals do not haul up on land very far from the water, a few rods at the most, and when these first arrivals are sought after, the natives, in cap- turing them, are obliged to approach slily and run quickly between the dozing seals and the surf before they can take alarm and bolt into the sea. In this manner a dozen Aleuts, running down the sand beach of English Bay in the early morning of some June day, will turn back from the water thousands of seals, just as the moldboard of a plow lays over and back a furrow of earth. When the sleeping seals are first startled they arise and, seeing men between them and the water, imme- diately turn, lope, and scramble rapidly back up and over the land. The natives then leisurely walk on the flanks and in the rear of the ‘The subjoined extract from my field notes under date of Sunday, July 13, 1890: “Walked up to Northeast Point this morning for the purpose of platting the area and position of the breeding seals on Novastoshnah and the Polavinas; also to see the natives drive at Polavina. I was on the ground at 5a. m. and saw the whole modus operandi at this place. The holluschickie haul close up against the sand beach drop to the rookery at Polavina: then the drivers, in getting the young males, swept four cows into the drove, and their pups were left behind them on the sand, bruised, mauled, and paralyzed by the stampeding flippers of the herd. To get the hollu- schickie they are obliged to drive in this violentmanner. Anothersquad of, say, 1,000, mostly 2-year-olds and yearlings, was swept up by these drivers on the parade plateau, and another squad was driven from Little Polavina rookery, the first drive that the natives have been able to find there thus far thisseason. Along the entire spread of Lukannon, Polavina, and Northeast Pointsand beach—8 miles, nearly, of it—I did not see a single young seal—only a dozen or two worthless bulls scattered here and there at wide intervals. Over this extent and at this time in 1872 such a walk as mine this morning would have brought me in contact with and in sight of 50,000 to 100,000 holluschickie! and the weather now simply superb hauling weather all day yesterday, last night, and this morning,” 88 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. drove thus secured, directing and driving it over to the killing grounds close by the. village. ! PROGRESSION OF A SEAL DRIVE. A drove of seals on hard or firm, grassy ground, in cool and moist weather, may be driven with safety, at the rate of half a mile an hour. They can be urged along, with the expenditure of a great many lives, however, at the speed of a mile or a mile and a quarter per hour: but, this is seldom done. An old bull seal, fat and unwieldy, can not travel with the younger ones, though it can lope or gallop as it starts across the ground as fast as an ordinary man can run over 100 yards: but, then it fails utterly, falls to the earth supine, entirely exhausted, hot, and gasping for breath. The holluschickie are urged along the path leading to the killing grounds with very little trouble, and require only three or four men to guide and secure as many thousandsatatime. They are permitted fre- quently to halt and cool off, as heating them injures their fur. These seal halts on the road always impressed me with a species of sentimentalism and regard for the creatures themselves. The men dropping back for a few moments: the awkward shambling and seuffling of the march at once ceases, and the seals stop in their tracks to fan themselves with their hind flippers, while their heaving flanks give rise to subdued, panting sounds. As soon as they apparently cease to gasp for want of breath and are cooled off comparatively, the natives step up once ‘The task of getting up early in the morning and going out to the several hauling grounds closely adjacent, is really all there is of the labor involved in securing the number of seals required for the day’s work on the killing grounds. The two, three, or four natives upon whom, in rotation, this duty is devolved by the order of their chief, rise at first glimpse of dawn, between 1 and 2 o’clock, and hasten over to Luk- annon, Tolstoi, or Zoltoi, as the case may be, ‘‘ walk out” their holluschickie, and have them duly on the slaughtering field before 6 or 7 o’clock, as a rule, in the morn- ing. In favorable weather the drive from Tolstoi consumes two and a half to three hours’ times; from Lukannon about two hours, and is often done in an hour and a half; while Zoltoi is so near by that the time is merely nominal. I heard a great deal of talk among the white residents of St. Paul when I first landed and the sealing season opened, about the necessity of ‘‘ resting” the hauling grounds; in other words they said that if the seals were driven in repeated daily rotation from any one of the hauling grounds, that this would so disturb these ani- mals as to prevent their coming to any extent again thereon during the rest of the season. This theory seemed rational enough to me at the beginning of my investi- gations, and I was not disposed to question its accuracy; but, subsequent observa- tion directed to this point, particularly satisfied me, and the sealers themselves with whom I was associated, that the driving of the seals had no effect whatever upon the hauling which took place soon or immediately after the field, had been swept clean of seals by the drivers, forthat hour. If the weather was favorable for landing, 1. e., cool, moist, and foggy, the tresh hauling of the holluschickie would cover the bare grounds again in a very short space of time. Sometimes in a few hours after the driving of every seal from Zoltoi sands over to the killing fields adjacent, those dunes and the beach in question, would be swarming anew with fresh arrivals. If, however, the weather is abnormally warm and sunny, during its prevalence, even if for several consecutive days, no seals to speak of, will haul out on the emptied space. Indeed, if these holluschickie had not been taken away by man from Zoltoi or any other hauling ground on the island, when ‘‘ tayopli” weather prevailed, most of those aol would have vacated their terrestrial loafing places for the cooler embraces of the sea, The importance of understanding this fact as to the readiness of the holluschickie to haul promptly out on steadily ‘‘swept” ground, provided the weather is inviting, is very great; because, when not understood, it was deemed necessary, even as late as the season of 1872, to ‘“‘rest” the hauling grounds near the village (from which all the driving has been made since), and make trips to far-away Polavina and distant Zapadnie—an unnecessary expenditure of human time, and a causeless infliction of physical misery upon phocine backs and flippers. Seed Hor ww A a ees nee ‘ i i Rie te epee Pets tat PLATE 23, Hed Juresg jo asevy[ia ‘spanoas Saye, 9yg uo Sayre ur paoy oq, “COLBL Hii ANN ‘AIMOIHOSNT10H dO ,,3AIYGd,, lOL10OZ V oe a q FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 89 more, clatter a few bones with a shout along the line, and the seal shamble begins again—their march to death and the markets of the world is taken up anew. DOCILITY OF FUR SEALS WHEN DRIVEN. I was also impressed by the singular docility and amiability of these animals when driven along the road. They never show fight any more than a flock of sheep would do. If, however, a few old seals get mixed in, they usually get so weary that they prefer to come to a standstill and fight rather than move; otherwise, no sign whatever of resistance is made by the drove from the moment it is intercepted and turned up from the hauling grounds, to that time of its destruction at the hands of the sealing gang. This disposition of the old seals to fight rather than endure the pant- ing torture of travel, is of great advantage to all parties concerned, for they are worthless, commercially: and, the natives are only too glad to let them drop behind, where they remain unmolested, eventually return- ing tothe sea. The fur on them is of little or no value; their under wool being very much shorter, coarser, and more scant than in the younger; especially so on the posterior parts along the median line of the back. It is quite impossible, however, to get them all of one age without an extraordinary amount of stir and bustle, which the Aleuts do not like to precipitate. Hence the drive will be found to consist usually of a bare majority of 3 and 4 year olds, the rest being 2-year olds principally, and a very few at wide intervals of 5-year-olds, the yearlings seldom ever getting mixed up prior to the 20th July, annually. METHOD OF LAND TRAVEL. As the drove progresses along the path to the slaughtering grounds the seals all move in about the same way; they go ahead with a kind of walking step and a sliding, shambling gallop. The progression of the whole caravan is a succession of starts, spasmodic and irregular, made every few minutes, the seals pausing to catch their breath and make, as it were, a plaintive survey and mute protest. Every now and then a seal will get weak in the lumbar region, then drag its posteriors along for a short distance, finally drop breathless and exhausted, quiv- ering and panting, not to revive for hours, days, perhaps, and often never. During the dryest driving days, or those days when the tem- perature does not combine with wet fog to keep the path moist and cool, quite a large number of the weakest animals in the drove will be thus laid out and left on the track. If oneof these prostrate seals is not too much heated at the time, the native driver usually taps the beast over the head and removes its skin. 'The fur seal, like all of the pinnipeds, hasno sweat glands. Hence, when it isheated, it cools off by the same process of panting which is so characteristic of the dog, accompanied by the fanning that I have hitherto fully described. The heavy breath- ing and low grunting of a tired drove of seals on a warmer day than usual, can be heard several hundred yards away. It is surprising how quickly the hair and fur will come out of the skin of a blood-heated seal—literally rubs off bodily at a touch of the finger. A fine specimen of a 3 year-old holluschickie fell in its tracks at the head of the Lagoon while being driven to the village killing grounds. I asked that it be skinned with special reference to mounting. Accordingly a native was sent for, who was on the spot, knife in hand, within less than thirty minutes from the moment that this seal fellin the road: yet, soon after he had got fairly to work, patches of the fur and hair came off here and there, wherever he chanced to clutch the skin. 90 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. PROSTRATION OF FUR SEALS BY HEAT. This prostration from exertion will always happen, no matter how carefully they are driven; and in the longer drives, such as 24 and 5 miles from Zapadnie on the west, or from Polavina on the north, to the village at St. Paul, as much as 3 or 4 per cent of the whole drive will be thus dropped on the road. Hence I felt and feel satisfied, from my observation and close attention to this feature, that a considerable num- ber of those that are thus rejected from the drove and are able to rally and return to the water die subsequently from internal injuries sustained on the trip, superinduced by this overexertion. I therefore think it highly improper and impolitic to extend the drives of the holluschickie over any distance on St. Paul Island exceeding a mile, or a mile and a half. It is better for all parties concerned, and the business, too, that salt houses be erected and killing grounds established contiguous to all of the great hauling grounds, 2 miles distant from the village on St. Paul Island, should the business ever be developed above the present limit, or should the exigencies of the future require a quota from all these places in order to make up the 100,000 which may be lawfully taken. I used this language in 1874 and repeat it to-day. ABUNDANT SUPPLY OF HOLLUSCHICKIHE. As matters were in 1874, 100,000 seals alone on St. Paul were taken and skinned in less than forty working days within a radius of 14 miles from the village, and from the salt house at Northeast Point. Hence the driving, with the exception of two experimental droves which | witnessed in 1872, has never been made from longer distances than Tolstoi to the eastward, Lukannon to the northward, and Zoltoi to the southward of the killing grounds at St. Paul village, and I then said should, however, an abnormal season recur, in which the larger propor- tion of days during the right period for taking the skins be warmish and dry, it might be necessary, in order to get even 75,000 seals within the twenty-eight or thirty days of their prime condition, for drives to be made from the other great hauling grounds to the westward and north- ward, which are now, and have been for the last ten years, entirely unno- ticed by the sealers. KILLING THE SEALS. The seals, when finally driven upon those flats between the East landing and the village, and almost under the windows of the dwell- ings, were in 1872, and are herded there now, until cooland rested. The drives are usually made very early in the morning, at the first breaking of day, which is half past 1 or 2 o’clock of June and July in these latitudes. They arrive and cool off on the slaughtering grounds, so that by 6 or 7 o'clock, after breakfast, the able-bodied male population turn out from the village and go down to engage in the work of slaughter. The men are dressed in their ordinary working garb of thick flannel shirts, stout cassimere or canvas pants, over which the ‘“‘tarbossa” boots are drawn. If it rains they wear their “‘kamlaikas,” made of the intestines and throats of the sea lion and fur seal. Thus dressed they are each armed with a club, a stout oaken or hickory bludgeon, which has been made particularly for the purpose at New London, Conn., and imported here for this especial service. These sealing clubs are about 5 or 6 feet in length, 3 inches in diameter at their heads, and the thickuess of a man’s an He | PLATE 24, [,cunys., paw ,zeddiy,, sea ayy fasye SUITIOU OP OFM “Tau AMOJ 10 9aaqy AjUO Aq euOp st Surqqnye ayy Avp-oL,| “Sesnoy yes esv]PA oY Woay “Surpuvry ysvop puv sYU_ Wor[_ ety 07 taro Suryooy, mora ‘SLEL “bh AINE ‘GNVIS| TNVd LNIVS ‘A13I4 YSLHONVIS 3DVTTIA 3HL NO XYOM LV ONVS ONITIIM SHL “ONIONY] 1S¥Q ‘souyne ay} Aq ainjyeu wo su — ImeIp A . v. er FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 91 forearm where they are grasped by the hands. Each native also has his stabbing knife, his skinning knife, and his whetstone. These are laid upon the grass convenient when the work of braining or knocking the seals down is in progress. This is all the apparatus which they have for killing and skinning. » THE KILLING GANG AT WORK. When the men gather for this work, they are under the control of their chosen foremen or chiefs—usually on St. Paul divided into two working parties at the village, and a subparty at Northeast Point, where another salt house and slaughtering field is established. At the signal of the chief the work of the day begins by two of the men stepping into the drove corraled on the flats, and driving out from it 50 or 100 seals at a time, making what they call a “pod,” which they surround in a circle, huddling the seals one on another as they narrow it down, until they are directly within reach and under their clubs. Then the chief, after he has castvhis experienced eye over the struggling, writhing ‘ kautickie” in the center, passes the word that sueh and such a seal is bitten, that such and such a seal is too young, that such and such a seal is too old. The attention of his men being called to these points, he gives the word “strike!” and instantly the heavy clubs come down all around, and every one that is eligible, is stretched out stunned and motionless, in less time really than I take to tell it. Those seals spared by the order of the chief now struggle from under and over the bodies of their insensible companions and pass, hustled off by the natives, back to the sea.! The clubs are dropped, the men seize the prostrate seals by the hind flippers and drag them out, so they are spread on the ground without touching each other. Then every sealer takes his knife and drives it into the heart ata point between the fore flippers of each stunned form. The blood gushes forth, and the quivering of the animal presently ceases. ae we : 5 PLATE 36. ad FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 12% sealing gang into those lower grades of the division and putting better men up. The loafers were usually men of influence with the church, and, strange as it may seem, with their own industrious townsmen, 80 they were able to have their names generally placed at the top of this list. Strictly speaking, this action of the agents of the company and Government in revising the list, was entirely in the right, but the natives were better satisfied with their old way of 1872-1874, for the reasons which I give in the citation above. This payment of 40 cents per skin taken by the natives covers nothing except the labor of driving the seals, skinning them, and help- ing the: outside employees of the lessees to salt them in the salt houses. The extra work of bundling these skins for shipment was paid for by the bundle—1 cent per bundle—so that a smart native could make 82 per day while at this work. Then, when the ships arrived and sailed, the great and necessary labor of lightering their cargoes, off and on, from the roadsteads where vessels anchor, was principally performed by these people: and they were paid so much a day for their labor, from BO cents*to $1, according to the character of the service they rendered. This operation, however, is much dreaded by the ship captains and seagoing men, whose habits of discipline and automatic regularity and effect of working, 1 ‘ender them severe critics and impatient coadjutors of the natives: who, to tell the truth, hated to do anything after they had pocketed their weward for sealing; and, when they did labor after this, they regarded it as an act of very great condescension on their part. Until 1882, all the labor outside of sealing incident to the business on these islands, was executed by the natives of the two settlements of St. Paul and St. George, with the aid of a half dozen white men on shore, employees of the lessees, and the crews of their vessels. But in 1882 an epidemic of typhoid pheumonia scourged the village of St. Paul, and fully one-half of the able-bodied men were dead when it subsided in 1883. This made it necessary for the lessees to bring up thirty or forty natives from Oonalashka every sealing season thereafter, to do this work of salting and bundling skins and unloading and loading the vessels. These outside laborers came up on the lessees’ s steamer every May, or by the Ist of June: were quartered ashore: and worked here until the close of the season in July; then returned by the 3d to 10th of August, to Unalashka, receiving pay at the rate of $40 per month and found. They never have been permitted to drive or skin seals. That work has been done entirely by the Pribilov men ever since 1870, up to the present hour. In 1872-1874 and up to 1885, these seal islanders elected their chiefs after their own choice. They finally got into so much internal liking and disliking over this selection that the chiefs so elected began to be disobeyed and slighted by many of their men. Thereupon, the Treas- ury agent and the company’s representative in charge, took the matter up, Selected a new man, and pronounced him chief. That settled the difficulty and ended it; he was promptly obeyed. Some of the natives save their money: but there are very few among them, perhaps not more than a dozen, who have the slightest econom- ical tendeney. What they can not spend for luxuries, groceries, and tobacco, they manage to get away with at the gaming table. They have their misers and their spendthrifts, and they have the usual small proportion who know ho» to make money and then how to spend it. A few among them who are in the habit of saving, opened a regular bank account with the company. Some of them have to- day $2000 or $3,000 saved, drawing interest at 4 per cent. SECTION VIL THE PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION OF THE FUR-BEARING INTERESTS OF OUR GOVERNMENT ON THE PRIBILOV ISLANDS—THE IMMEDIATE ACTION NECESSARY, VIEWED IN THE FULL LIGHT OF EXISTING DANGER. Those statements and exhibitions of fact contained in the foregoing Sections, I to IV, inclusive, warrant me in declaring that the close of the present season’s work of 1890 brings a grave question and its alter- native promptly forward—shall our Government make no further effort to prevent the extermination of its sealing preserves on the Pribilov Islands? or, will it step forward again and try anew to prevent that ruin? There is a universal, a hearty wish, not only at home, but abroad, that these Alaskan fur-seal rookeries be preserved: and a hope that these anomalous and valuable interests can be saved: and every repu- table commercial, scientific, and political organization throughout the whole civilized world will applaud any action that will draw the Powers of Great Britain, Russia, and the United States together in harmonious effort to that end. Telling the truth, as I have been compelled to tell it in detail, will have, however, this compensation—it will arouse and enlist the sym- pathy and support of a very large element that has heretofore declared its utter indifference as to whether the hunting of fur seals in the open waters of Bering Sea was prohibited, or not: since it believed that the last official reports published up to 1889, as filed in the Treasury Depart- ment, were correct in declaring that the Pribilov fur seals were vastly increased and increasing still over their fine form and number of 1872- 1874.1 And it also said, ‘‘What real harm are these poachers doing? Why, only look at the figures! after all their work, yet in spite of it, there are more seals than ever on those islands. Their work may annoy and injure somewhat the leased monopoly up there, but what of that? If the seals can stand it, we do not feel concerned.” Those erroneous statements made in 1886, 1887, and 1888? by official reports to the Treasury, declaring a steady increase of seals on the Pribilov Islands, have given to the pelagic sealers during the last four years, solid aid and comfort, that has been advanced to them from official circies not only at home, but in Great Britain and Canada: and which would not have been proffered from any quarter for a moment, had the fact been believed that ever since 1882, the Pribilov seals have been declining in number, rapidly dwindling ever since 1886. Those, who did not, and do not believe that we are right in claiming Bering Sea as a mare clausum will at once heartily unite with those who do believe in that doctrine, in so far as making it a closed sea to all pelagic sealing at the moment such action becomes necessary to prevent an extermination of those world-renowned rookeries of Bering Sea. And, in the presence of this threatening ruin, the most pro- “1 See Appendix, pp. 205-207. 2 See Appendix, pp. 203-207. i 128 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 129 nounced opponents of the leasing system, monopolies, ete., will be equally prompt in joining hands with those who do believe in this plan, to advance any order that promises preservation and conservation. But, this plan of restoration must be an unselfish one: must be free from any taint of private gain or profit, or it will fail to receive this uni- versal sympathy and indorsement. Jt will fail, and it ought to fail, if if is not so planned, Before sketching an outline of the action which I deem necessary for the Secretary of the Treasury to take for the coming season of 1891, aud that legislation by Congress to strengthen his hands, the following account! of a similar decline of the seal life on these Pribilov Islands aud its restoration, way back from 1817 to 1834, is pertinent in this connection : INDISCRIMINATE SLAUGHTER BY THE FIRST DISCOVERERS. From the time of the discovery of the Pribilov Islands up to 1805 (or that is. until the time of the arrival in America of General Resanov),? the taking of fur seals on both islands progressed without count or lists, and without responsible heads or chiefs, because then (1787 to 1805, inclusiye) there were a number of companies, represented by as many agents or leaders, and all of them vied with each other in taking as many as they could before the killing was stopped. After this, in 1806 and 1807, there were no seals taken, and nearly all the people were removed to Una- lashka. * PARTIAL CHECK ORDERED. In 1808 the killing was again commenced, but the people in this year were allowed to kill only on St. George. On St. Paul, hunters were not permitted this year, or the next. It was not until the fourth year after this that as many as half the number previously taken were annually killed. From this time (St. George 1808 and St. Paul 1810) up to 1822, taking fur seals progressed on both islands without economy and with slight circumspection, as if there were a race in killing for the most skins. Cows were taken in drives and killed, and were also driven from the rookeries to places where they were slaughtered. It was only in 1822, that G. Moorayvev (governor) ordered that young seals should be spared every year for breeding: and from that time there were taken from the Pribilov Islands, instead of 40,000 to 50,000, which Moorayvey ordered to be spared in four successive years, no more than 8,000 to 10,000. Since this, G. Chestyahkov, chief ruler after Moorayvey, estimated that from the increase resulting from the leg- islation of Moorayvev, which was so honestly carried out on the Pribilov Islands, that in these four years the seals on St. Paul had increased to double their previous number, (that) he could give an order which increased the number to be annually slain to 40,000; and this last order or course directed for these islands, demanded as many seals as could be got: but, with all possible exertion, hardly 28,000 were obtained. ‘Translated by the writer from Veniaminov’s Zapieskie, etc., St. Petersburg, 1842, Vol. I, p. 568. The italics are mine, and my translation is nearly literal, as might be inferred by the idiom here and there. *Resanoy, in his official letter to the Emperor of Russia dated Oonalaska Island, July 28, 1805, says: ‘The multitude of seals in which St. Paul abounds is ineredi- ble. The shores are covered with them. They are easily caught, and as we were short of provisions 18 were killed for us in half an hour. But at the same time we were informed that they had decreased in number 90 per cent since earlier times. These islands would be an inexhaustible source of wealth were it not for the Bos- tonians, who undermine our trade with China in furs, of which they obtain large numbers on our American coast. As over a million had already been killed, I gave orders to stop the slaughter at once, in order to prevent their total extermination, and to employ the men in collecting walrus tusks, as there is a small island near St. Paul covered with walrus.” Headds that he met with sufficient evidences of care- lessness and waste: ‘‘ The skins of the fur seal were scattered about over the beach and the bluff in various stages of decomposition. The storehouses were full, but only a small part of their contents was in a marketable state.” As many as ‘30,000 had been killed for their flesh alone,” the skins having been ‘left on the spot or thrown into the sea.” After questioning the Aleutian laborers and Russian over- seers, Resanov came to the conclusion that unless an end were put to this wanton destruction,a few years more would witness the extirpation of the furseal.—[H. W, E. ] H. Doce. 175 9 130 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA, POOR RESULTS. After this, when it was most plainly seen that the seals were, on account of this wicked killing, steadily growing less and less in number, the directions were observed for greater caution in killing the grown seals and young females which came in with the droves of killable seals, and to endeavor to separate, if possible, these from those which should be slain. PARTIAL CHECKS AGAIN ORDERED. But all this hardly served to do more than keep the seals at one figure or number, and hence did not cause an increase. Finally, in 1854, the governor of the company, upon the clear (or “handsome” ) argument of Baron Wrangel, which was placed before him, resolved to make new regulations respecting them, to take effect in the same year (1834), and, following this, on the island of St. Paul only 4,000 were killed instead of 12,000. On the island of St. George the seals were allowed to rest in 1826 and 1827, and since that time greater caution and care have been observed, and headmen, or fore- men, have kept a careful account of the killing. From this it will be seen, that no anxiety or careas to the preservation of the seal life began until 1805 (i. e., with the united companies). It is further evident that all half measures, seen or not seen, were useful no longer, as they only served to preserve a small portion of the seal life, and only the last step (1834) with the present people or inhabitants has proved of benefit. And if such regulations of the company continue for fifteen years (i. e., until 1849), it may be truly said that then the seal life will be attracted quite rapidly, under the careful direction of headmen, so that in quite a short time a handsome yield may be taken every year. In connection with this subject, if the company is moderate, and these regulations are carried out, the seal life wil] serve them, and be depended upon, as shown in this volume, Table No. 2. IDEAS OF THE OLD NATIVES, AS TO VIRILITY OF DRIVEN SEALS. Nearly all the old men think and assert that the seals which are spared every year (‘‘zapooskat kotov”’), i.e., those which have not been killed for several years, are truly of little use for breeding: lying about asif they were outcasts or disfranchised. About these seals, they show that after the seals were spared, they were always less than they should be: as, for instance, on the island of St. George, after two years of saving or sparing of 5,500 seals, in the first year they got, instead of 10,000 or 8,000 as they expected, only 4,778. WHY THE SEALS DIMINISHED. But this diminution, which is shown in the most convincing manner, is due to wrong and injustice, because it would not have been otherwise with any kind of animals—even cattle would have been exterminated—because a great many here think and count that the seal mother brings forth her young in her third year, i. e., the next two years after her own birth.! As it is well shown here the spared seals (‘‘zapooskie”) were not more than 3 years old, and therefore it was not possible to discern the correct and true numbers as they really were. Taking the females killed by the people, together with all the seals which were purposely spared, it was seen that the seal mothers did not begin to bear earlier than the fifth year of their lives. Illustrative of this is the following: (a) On the island of St. George, after the first zapooka, in 1828, the killing of 5-year-old seals was continued gradually up to five times as many as at first. With those of 5 years old the killing stopped. Then next year twelve times as many 6-year-olds were observed on the islands, as compared with their number of the last year; and with, or in the seventh year, came seven times as many. This shows that females born in 1828 did not begin to bear young until their fifth year, and become with young accordingly; that the large ones did not appear or come in six years (from 1828), as is evident, for in the fifth year all the females did not bring forth. (b) It is known that the male seals can not become ‘‘seecatchies” (adult bulls) earlier than their fifth or sixth year. Following this, it may be said that the female bears earlier than the fourth year. 1And these natives were right. The females do bear their first young in the third year of their lives. Veniaminovy falls into an error when he concludes that they do not. He has read a little too much of Buffon. Better not have read him at all,—H. W. E. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 131 (c) If the male seal can not become a bull (seecatchie) earlier than the fifth year, then, as Buffon remarks, ‘“‘animals can live seven times the length of the period required for their maturity.” Therefore a seecatch can not live less than thirty years and a female not less than twenty-eight. ! VENIAMINOY’S BELIEF THAT FEMALES CAN NOT BEAR YOUNG UNTIL FOUR YEALS OLD. Taking the opinion of Buffon for ground in saying that animals do not come to their full maturityeuntil one-seventh of their lives has passed, it goes also to prove that the female seal can not bear young before her fourth year. Itis, without doubt, a fact that female seals do not begin to bear young before their fifth year, i. e., the next four years after the one of their birth, and not in the third or fourth year. That, however, is not the rule, but the exception. To make it more apparent that females can not bear young in their third year, consider 2-year- old females, and compare them with seecatchie (adult bulls) and cows (adult females), and it will be evident to all that this is impossible. Do the females bear young every year; and how often in their lives do they bring forth? HIS DOUBTS ON THE SUBJECT. To settle this question is very difficult, for it is impossible to make any observa- tions upon their movements. But I think that the females in their younger years (or prime) bring forth every year, and as they get older, every other year. Thus, according to people accustomed to them, they may each bring forth in their whole lives from 10 to 15 young and even more. This opinion is founded on the fact that never (except in one year, 1832) have an excessive number of females been seen without young; that cows not pregnant hardly ever come to the Pribiloy Islands; that such females can not be seen every year. As to how large a number of females do not bear, according to the opinions and personal observations of the old people, the following may be depended upon with confidence: Not more than one-fifth of the mature or “effective” females are without young. But to avoid erroneous im- pressions or conflicting statements between others and myself, I would state that 1 have had but one season (‘‘trayt”) in which to personally observe and consider the multiplication of seals. HIS THOUGHTS ON BIRTH OF PUPS. There is one more very important question in the consideration of the breeding or the increase of seals, and that is, of the number of young seals born in one year how many are males? and is the number of males always the same in proportion to the females? Judging from the holluschickie accumulated from the zapooska in 1822-1824 on the island of St. Paul and in 1826-27 on the island of St. George, the number of young males was widely variable. For example, on the island of St. Paul, in three years 11,000 seals were spared, and in the following three years there were killed 7,000, i.e., about two-thirds of the number saved. Opposed to this, on the island of St. George, from 8,500 seals spared in two years less than 5,000 were taken, hardly one-third. Why this irregularity? Why should more young males be born at one time and at another less? Or, why should there be years in which many cows do not bear young? According to the belief of the people here I think that of the number of seals born every year, half are males and as many females (i. e., the other half). To demonstrate the above-mentioned conditions of seal life table No. 1 has been formed of the number of seals annually killed on the Pribilov Islands from 1817 to 1838 (when this work was ended). From this it will be seen that— (1) No single successive year presents a good number of seals killed as compared with the previous year; the number is always less. (2) The annual number of seals killed was not in a constant ratio. 'This remark is sustained by the observation of old men, and especially by one of the best creoles, Shiesneekov, who was on the island of St. Paul in 1817, and who kuows of one seecatch (known by a bald head) which in that time had already a large herd of cows or females, surrounded and hunted by a like number of females and strong, savage old bulls. Therefore it may be safely thought that this bull did not get his growth until his fifth year, and at this time he could not have been less than ten years old. And this same bull came every year to the island and the same place for fifteen years in succession up to 1832, and it was only in the later years that his harem grew smaller and smaller in number. 132 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. (3) And therefore in the regular hunting season there is less need or occasion, dur- ing the next fifteen years, to demand the whole seal kind. (4) Fewer seals were killed in those years generally following a previous year in which there were larger numbers of the holluschickie—that is, when the young males were not completely destroyed—and more were killed when the number of hollus- chickie was less. (5) The number of holluschickie is a true register or showing of the number of - seals; 1. e., if the holluschickie increase and exist like the young females, and con- versely. (6) Holluschickie break from the (common) herd and gather by themselves no earlier than the third year, as seen in the case of the spared seals on the islands of St. George and St. Paul, the latter from 1822-1824 to 1835-1837, inclusive; the former from 1826-27. (7) The number of seals killed on the island of St. George after two years (zapooska) was resumed and gradually increased to five times as many. (8) In the fifth year from the first zapooska (or saving) it became impossible to count or reckon on the number remaining, and 6-year olds began to appear twelve times as numerous and 7-year-olds came in numbers sevenfold greater than their previous small number, and therefore the number of 3-year-old seals was quite con- stant. (9) If on the island of St. George in 1826-27 the seals had not had this rest (zapooska) and the killing had been continued even at the diminished ratio of one- eighth, in 1840 or 1842 there would not have been a single seal left, as appears by the following table: Seals. Seals. Seals. | Seals. Die Le paeree He DOOM S2oeese dace 2A bOa| Wl Gootaeseiete = 1, 360 BY fpsse see 700 BSR ose. 4 ADO: AR80. <5 dey 9 160. | (etl oo. 1,190 1838........ 580 So ieesteer SPA UP Il ben be aes Ses 1 COO eco: pees D020 Wt RSo eee emer 500 [oan PBs ASO te, es, 1, 554 | 1836......-- 850 | 1840.....--- 400 RESULTS OF THE ZAPOOSKA. (10) Following two years of zapooska (saving), the seal’s lite is enhanced for more than ten years, and the loss sustained by the company in the time of ‘‘ zapoo- skov” (about 8,500) is made good in the long run. The case may be thus stated: If the company had not spared the seals in 1826-27 they would have received from 1826 to 1838 (twelve years) no more than 24,000; but by making this zapooska regulation for two years they got in ten years 31,576, and beyond this, can yet take 15,000 with- out another or any zapooska. (11) And in this case, where such an insiguiticant number of seals was spared on St. George (about 8,590), and in such a short time (two years), the result was at once significant every year; that is, three times more appeared than the number spared. The result therefore must be large annually on the island of St. Paul, where in con- sequence of the last orders or directions of the governor already four years of saving have been in force, in which time over 30,000 seals have been left for breeding. On this account and in conformity with the above I here presenta table, a prophesy of the seals that are to come in the next fifteen years from 7,060 seals saved on the island of St. Paul in 1835. On the island of St. Paul, at the direction of the governor, a zapooska (or saving) was made of 12,700 seals. That is, before the year 1834 there were killed 12,700 seals, and, on the following year, if this saving had not been made, according to the testi- mony of the inhabitants, no more than 12,200 seals would or could have been taken from the islands, it being thought that this number (12,200) was only one-twenty- fifth of the whole; but instead of killing 12,200 only 4,052 were taken, leaving in 1835, for breeding, 8,118 fresh young seals, males and females, together. In making this hypothetical table of seals that are to come, I take the average killiing—that is, one-eighth part—and proceed on the supposition that the number of saved seals will not be less than 7,060. In the number of 7,060 seals we can calculate upon 3,600 females-—that is, a slight majority of females. With the new females born under this zapooska, I place half of those born the first year, and so on. Females, in the twelve or eighteen years next after their birth, must become less in number from natural causes, and by the twenty-second year of their lives they must be quite useless for breeding. Of the number of seals which may be born during the next four years of zapooska, or longer, we may take half for females. This number is included in the table, and the males or holluschickie make up the total. From table 2 observe that (1) Old females, that is, those which in 1835 were capable of bearing young, in 1850 must be canceled (minus). They probably die in proportion of one-eighth of the whole number every year FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 133 (2) For the first four years of zapooska, until the new females begin to bear, their number will generally be less. (3) A constant number of seals will continue during the first six years of their zapooska; in twelve, these seals will double; in fourteen years they will have increased ‘threefold; and after fifteen years of "this zapooska, or saving of 7,060 in the first year, 24,000 may be taken from them; in the second, 28,000; in the ‘third, 32,000; in the fourth, 36,000; in the fifth, 41,000. Thus in five years more than 160, 000 can be taken. Then, under the superv ision of persons who will see that one- fifth of the seals be steadily spared, 32,000 may be taken every year for a long time. (4) Moreover, from the production of fifteen years’ zapooska there can be taken from 60,000 to 70,000 holluschickie, which, together with 160,000 seals, makes 230,000. (5) If this zapooska for the next fifteen years is not made for the seal’s life, dimi- nution will certainly ensue, and all this time, with all possible effort, no more than 50,000 seals will be taken. Here it should be said that this hypothetical table of the probable increase of seals is made on the supposition of the decrease of females, and an average is taken accord- ingly. Furthermore, on the island of St. Paul, in 1836-37, instead of 7,900 seals being killed but 4,860 were taken. Hence it follows that these 1,500 females thus saved in two years, and which are omitted from the table, will also make a very significant addition to the incoming seals.! : “The ae in following the Pigs of ‘he bishop, as jena by this table, must not forget to bear in mind as he runs it over that it is arranged with a sliding scale of increase that counts steadily down from 1840 to 1849, and also a sliding- down scale of decrease by reason of natural death rates that works steadily across these figures of increase just specified. I made this translation at Oonalashka, in the house of the Rev. Innokenty Shaish- nekoy, a son of that Shaieshnikov which the bishop quotes on p. 181, ante. I took great care to preserve the exact English equivalent of the bishop’s Russian text, and was aided very much by the Creole priest, who had that copy of Veniaminoy’s Zapieska in his possession, which I used. “Deacon” Kazean Shaishnekov, the father of the Oonalashka priest, was the agent in charge of this island of St. Paul for the old Russian company from 1828 or 18: 29 up to 1854, when he died. He left a copious and carefully written diary, covering every- thing that transpired daily on the seal islands during all that period. A stupid and unworthy relative actually took this precious MS. and had pasted it all over the doors, the walls, and the ceiling of his house on the island in 1860-1864, and I saw a few of the smoke-stained sheets still sticking there in 1872. Thisis a species of vandalism that beggars adequate description. —H. W. E. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 134 | | | 00L ‘88 | 002 ‘OF! FF9 ‘TH OOF ‘ge OGz‘ZE ONE ‘8z| OL ‘FZ ODE TZ) 009 '8T| 000 ‘9T) 009 ‘or 000 ‘ZT 002 ot 00L'6 | 00¢'8 | 000'L OGF'S | OZZ‘F | Oz8‘F| OTS‘S 008 9 ogo ty/sreeeeeeeo- ly | ae ia ee ee ae er | = et | eos el ae See ail Sea we Te a Paar am | I | ae So aie ae ar | oer SL ae GFE ‘GI | 60 ‘NZ! F2Z8‘0Z| FET ‘ST SOT ‘91 LPL FI] Tee ‘Z1| 9FL‘OT] L9G ‘6 | O10'S | G6L°9 | 0009 | SLE ‘S | GOLF | STS‘F | S&h'E | SFL'S | OIT SG | OLF ‘Z| SSL 'Z! OST‘) OOF S|" ~~“ SoTBUI [BIO 7, Bee ‘BI | GOL ‘0G, 028 ‘0G| OIG ‘RT| SFL ‘9T| EST FI] 69E‘ZI| FSL‘OT| E68 °6 | 066‘L | G08‘9 | 000'9 EsE'S | BGR'F | GRZ'F | GOC'e GFL'S OTT'S | OIF 'G| GoL's OST 'E 009 'E)~~ SeTBUIOY [RIOT =, — a = — —|— | pone —)|— to, aa| wom = oes [aoe [my |} { | L8T'€ | 280‘ | 0S¢'% ae FS9 OT} “Mou [RIOT eo eee tri 4 emenae eer oA esas eaeece BeNOR weecee|eee eee eeceee|se eee eee eo -gggr OF or =| & Alpes OOMe sist oes ee | | | 806'Z | 806'G | 806'% | FSz‘% ‘souo MoT WONT = 7" 7 --| g9‘6 | ‘MOU [R}07, oengh Ae Sects 1 eeiaen| See Pileeaee ee o Sale ees -lem “= =F aT 68 £8 €8 1 ek ee peas [ae ee ese os 0gz Haass 40 10 Hy || SOhoS as asee 28 UY Beans eee tps 35 9 Bull S7omene ce: 30 it foie ieee 36 14 6 —_. + -_—— ieee 35 12 4|| Total..| 1, s66 | 426 96 ee io ae 38 | 13 3 || | | z= } 173 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. Seventy-one per cent of this drive was rejected. Every 3 and “smooth” 4-year-old taken, and every “long” 2-year-old. Nothing under or over that grade. The seals released this morning were exclusively yearlings, “short” 2-year-olds, and the 5 and 6 year old half bulls or polseecatchie. No “long” 2-year-old escaped, and so, therefore, many 54 and 6 pound skins will appear in this catch. There was a notable absence, how- ever of 2-year-olds in proportion, and the bulk of the catch was 3 year- olds, as was yesterday’s killing with a very large number of 4-year-olds in proportion to the whole number of skins taken. In the afternoon I took a survey of Lukannon Bay and its hauling grounds. Not a seal on the beach, except a half dozen half bulls abreast of the Volcanic ridge. Thence over to Tolstoi sand dunes, where I saw about 600 or 700 yearlings, conspicuous by their white bellies, and a few killable seals sandwiched in another small ped under Middle Hill. The only record which I can find of any driving upon land to slaugh- ter other seals than the fur seal is the curious relation in Charlevoix’s account of his voyage to North America (Journal of a Voyage to North America, vol. i, 1761, pp. 222-226). Speaking of the seals of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, under date of March 21, 1721, at the close of a rather lengthy but quaint description of them—‘sea wolves,” as Charlevoix calls the phoce—he says: ‘Lastly, I have been told that a sailor having one day surprised a vast herd of them ashore, drove them before him to his lodgings with a switch, as he would have done a flock of sheep, and that he with his comrades killed to the number of 900 of them. Sit fides penes autorem.” This is the only authenticated (7?) record which I can discover of any driving of the Phocide to land killing grounds away from ice floes or the sea margin. The sea-elephant, Macrorhinus, is driven, it is true, but only a few yards inland from the subtropical beaches of California or the for- bidding shores of Antarctic Kerguelen and Herd’s islands. Like the the hair seals, they are usually knocked down wherever they are sur- prised by the sealers. I think the seals above alluded to as driven by Charlevoix, were Phoca vitulina or fetida. I should remark that the driving of the seals has been very carefully done, no extra rushing and smothering of the herd, as was frequently donein 1872. Mr. Goff began with a sharp admonition and it has been scrupulously observed thus far by the natives. This dropping of exhausted seals along the road in 1872-1874 was a matter which then aroused both Lieutenant Maynard and myself in 1874. The agent of the Alaska Commercial Company then promised to correct the evil. But it will always require the eye of the Treasury agent to rest upon this feature of the business since he is the executive head in this small community, unique and isolated, and he should be. June 25, 1890.—An inspection of Zoltoi Beach this morning, does not show a single seal upon this famous hauling ground. Yesterday morn- ing, asmall drive of considerably less than 500 was taken from the rocky eminence just to the southward of this spot, being also the first drive made from there this year. When driven in such fine sealing weather as that now prevailing, in 1872-1874, these sands in less than an hour afterwards would begin to fill up again with fresh arrivals from the sea: and often, after the lapse of seven or eight hours after the first drive had been made, to meet an additional demand, another drive would be ordered from the same spot and duly driven. I did not see this morning a single seal sporting in the waters of Zoltoi Bay, and the only PLATE 43. LUKANNON SANDS, SAINT PAUL ISLAND, JULY 7, 1890. View looking up to Stony Point from the foot of Lukannon rookery. In 1872 these sands were fairly alive with hauling bachelor seals; in 1890 the best exhibition that they ever made is here depicted. The telephone line between Northeast Point and the village runs up here, and Polavina Sopka is in the middle distance. The Stony Point salt house is directly across Lukannon Bay in the middle distance, near the point. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. Ita one in sight was right under the village bluffs where I stood by the flagstaff. June 25, 1890.—I went up at 6 a.m. to the killing at Tonkie Mees, or Stony Point, where, ever since 1879, the seals that have hauled at Pola- vina, and on the sand beach between and toward Lukannon below, have been driven for slaughter. A small herd collected this morning, and only 263 taken. The balance, some 500 or 600, were turned back to the sea. The selection was made in the same manner as yesterday, and the same class of seals spared. An enormous number of 5 and 6 year old bulls were in it for the whole number driven, even greater than that I recorded yesterday. I tallied these pods thus: Pod 1, 76 driven; 9 taken, all 3 and 4 year olds. Pod 2, 35 driven; 9 taken, all 3 and 4 year olds. Pod 3, 56 driven; 16 taken, all 3 and 4 year olds. Then, after the killing gang had finished and started to return to the village at 8.30 a. m., I proceeded up to Polavina, following the seal-drive path made by the natives early this morning. I observed at Stony Point, or Tonkie Mees, the spared seals, as they were released from the pods, plunge back into the surf, and to my surprise most of these seals headed directly back for Polavina, jumping in rapid *dol- phin” leaps and swimming rapidly. As I walked along I repeatedly stepped up on to the summit of a sand dune, and continued to watch the progress of these liberated herds. They all pointed directly for Polavina, and filed right along in swift procession, passing me con- tinually as I walked in the same direction. When I came up to my land angle, Station C, I saw these small seals, liberated only a few hours ago at Tonkie Mees, beginning to haul anew at Polavina, from whence they had been driven overland early this morning. They were lured up as they returned, just below the rookery ground proper, on a broad sand beach by the large number of somnolent, apathetic bulls that are stretched out here in a confused medley, all quiet, however, or heavily sleeping. From this station (C) I could easily see distinctly that last remnant of the zapooska at Stony Point, 2 miles below, creeping down into the surf, then heading toward me, join the others, all swimming up along shore just outside of the outer breaker margin of the rollers, up to that point of retarding, as I have stated above. Thus, in this way, for the first time, I have seen an unbroken circuit of released seals as it plunged back into the water and hauled out again, within the space of three hours from the time of the release until the landing was made anew. The present poverty of these celebrated hauling grounds of Polavina is well illustrated by the catch from the drive of to-day—only 263 skins. At this day and date in 1872 I could have driven from the great parade plateau behind this breeding ground, under precisely the same cireum- stances surrounding the drive of to-day, 10,000 killable seals, not one of them over 4 years old, and not a single one of them under a good 35-year-old, 1. e., all 8 to 12 pound skins. Comment is unnecessary. Yesterday, from the summit of Volcanic Ridge I saw three released holluschickie sporting in the village lake, right under my feet. They seemed to be thoroughly happy; were lolling on their backs with their flippers lazily held up or turned up and over on their chests, scratching, ete. Isat down and watched them sport for some ten minutes. This morning while on my way up to Stony Point and Polavina I saw that one of them had died—its body laid just awash at the water’s margin: and, only one of the other two was remaining in the lake. Now, certainly, this particular seal died last night from the strain or effect of that drive overland from Tolstoi or English Bay, in getting over here from that 174 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. point, for it was driven this far from there on the morning of the 23d instant. So, again, this question keeps rising, How many of these driven seals that are released finally die of internal injuries received during their overland trip to the slaughtering grounds? and How many of them really live well after they have been redriven in this manner, many times from these several hauling grounds of St. Paul? Moreand more forcibly arises to my mind the statement of the natives in 1834, who assured Bishop Veniaminov that the young males driven here and spared, never became fit afterwards for breeding purposes, and never, after this driving, went upon the rookeries. Certainly, it becomes clearer and clearer to my mind, that those young males, which as yearlings, survive the driving here of that year of their age, and then return to survive the driving of the second year of their age; then, surviving this trial, reappear to be driven over again in their third year, to be released and again, if alive, to be redriven up here in their fourth year, and then finally, tf surviving these five consecutive seasons of unwonted violent physical effort, unnatural efforts, to be again driven, as I see them to-day, in their fifth year of growth, what, indeed, can we reasonably expect of them in their sixth year! even if they do manage to endure (some of them, not many of them) all of this intense physical suffering, exhaustion, straining of tendons, congestions of lungs and brain, and heart suffusions. The more I think over this matter the more I believe that the natives were right: ana Veniaminov says that they ‘‘truly assert” it. I had this point in my thoughts during my studies of 1872-1874; but at that time, no holluschickie were driven from Southwest Point, from Zapadnie, from Tonkie Mees or Stony Point, or from Polavina; no seals were driven from these places, where everybody admitted that full half of the entire number belonging to the island congregated: and, then the percentage of rejected or turned out seals on the killing grounds, was really very small. There was not much wasted energy: most of the seals driven then, were killed, and duly skinned. Therefore, it did not then impress me. It seemed immaterial: for, there was an immense reserve of undriven, undisturbed young male life. The natives themselves said that all was well, even if those spared seals of 1872, never went to the rookeries. How different at this writing. In 1879 the distant driving began here: and that marks the date of the decline of the hauling grounds. At the rate of decrease up to the present wretched order of affairs, it will now require seven years of unbroken rest on land and sea to bring back a condition such as I found and recorded here in 1872-1874. Perfect rest must be given here on the islands, and full protection in Bering Sea. June 26, 1890.—Not a single holluschak or half bull on Zoltoi sands this morning, and there has not been one near it since that sweep of 500 half bulls, or yearlings, made there on the morning of the 24th instant. This time in 1872, it would have been overrunning with seals from the bay clear over to the summit of Gull Hill, even if driven clean every morning! The sealing weather here, since the 1st of June, has simply been perfect; itis as fine as could be desired; and yet, the astonishing poverty of these empty hauling grounds is sought to be ignored in cer- | tain quarters. A hundred oifted tongues, speaking in emphatic har- | monious acc ord, could not tell the story of destruction better than those. vacant sands of Z oltoi, as they appeal to your eye and understanding this morning. I walked over to the Zapadnie killing grounds this morning, arriving "SI9MO|4 PUB POS YIM paJ9A0dD MOU payzedipul BAOGE kaly ajJOYM ay] "O6QI $0 uoseag ay} Ul papue ‘IaAs}eYM oUOU ‘PEgT aouUIs jo yeads 0} e194 no painey BABY SjBBS ON ‘6L81 4O NOSV3S ‘dix aojAquy ps] sjneg ys ‘L#S GLP 20TH ‘LNIOd LSAM HLNOS LY SQNNOYD SNIIAVH "LLOITIZ’M ANNA Aq 219i AINC UMesg 8 Pakanuns yg ystpbug a ~ ’ sale ocoe soapy) 00s (‘e1ey yNO joey peg) ‘ld 183M" HLNOs "UStYy “34 OF 03:09 ‘S4iN198 DiLIvsvE “Figen : ute at s , ean 3 ; 4 = z “JOYS S1U} 19A0 UMaS “S@AJBYS JIVESeg > . ; _pyny pue yEseg jo SOSSPW 9d1l7 ‘SHD0YU NOIT Y3S z , PS ("4314 “OOH Fe Fa Pi ee een = “SAINTE SIL isve -,, ANOD FILLS Me, tL @& FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. bTS there about 9 o’clock. The drivers had collected a squad of about 340 holluschickie, which were clubbed thus— a5 a 7 | Number! Number! Half Number | Number | Half ; Pod. | driven. | taken. | bulls. Pod. | driven. taken. | bulls. [eee Rise 7 Tears | (e | Te esse | 30 | 12 | 2 fies an! 53 12 | 4 oe. adel 37 13 | fea erSesees =: 47 12 | 1 | 3... | 56 11 Bri rg e 2 sh | 18 | Bi 0B, dive Es 40 15 | 2 Bae oo pee ey ees Leet 23 9 5 Total _| 344 97| 30 gi keeees | 40 7 | 1 || | ~ or about 72 per cent unfit to take, being made up chiefly of yearlings, “short” 2-year-olds, and ‘“‘ wigged” 4-year-olds, and 5-year up to 7-year- old bulls. Of this latter class of lialf bulls, an enormous percentage in this small drive appears. Now, this little drive was not taken from the regular hauling grounds of these holluschickie, as [ knew them in 1872, but from the immediate line of the rookery on Lower Zapaduie, at a section about midway between the point and the sand beach. The weather can not be blamed for the small killing to-day; it is simply superb sealing weather, and not a word against it was uttered by the disappointed sealers this morning. Nearly every one of these released or spared seals this morning returned at once to the rear of the breeding bulls on Lower Zapadnie, right under our eyés. They refused to return to the sea, although the path was open to them and the distance was less. They will all be driven again in the next visit, plus the new arrivals which may come along between now and then. Ah! this driving and redriving; its full significance is beginning to appeal to my understanding successfully. That pod of holluschickie, which I have seen under Middle Hill dur- ing the last two days, still lies there, and also that one next to the clustered cows on the sand at Tolstoi. They will drive it to-morrow. Thus far no holluschickie have hauled out 50 feet above surf wash, except where they are found in back of the rookery margins,as the Reef crest, Zapadnie, and Northeast Point, where the breeding bulls drive them back some 150 to 250 feet. In English Bay, to-day, eighteen years ago, the holluschickie were hauled by thousands upon thousands back nearly half a mile everywhere upon the soil, sand, rocks, and grass of the uplands; to-day, not a sign of a seal there except the handful down close by the surf under Middle Hill! June 27, 1896.—The drive to-day from Middle Hill, Tolstoi, and Bobro- via Yama (of Tolstoi near the point) panned out as follows. This is the result of saving the drive ever since the 23d instant: Pod | Number Number} Half Pod Number Number | Halt : | driven. taken. | bulls. | 5 driven. taken. bulls. 1. 226 108 | 1 4s) hae Sey a eee 53 13 3 Qeastes 82 | 13 | Upt| Oeereee 40 | aiiess 228 | aeaeses 57 | D2 ees toe Pe) gape S 60) lS@leeacbas: | up eee 56 | ERS ee pipes esis 49 | 13 2 eee 68 | 12 SBeoiee ee 63 16 3 (Veaase 34 3 4 AN phe Beem 45 1 |e Fn tee 58 | TT ie Ue Ost) ea 59 15 1 Siect 60 | 15 Pa | ee ee 41 | Nee oe Oa eee 54 | 16 racer 44 PON erase cia i TOE 53 TS oppeeucs- (poGee ae 50 EM Bice eee Wisse cet 73 | ry ae eae = ae 53 17 3 1. dS 55 cu eee peo Dotrine” 42 1g | ati 19:2 288 54 12 | PaO ae 2 50 a Tac ise 61 20h eee | Sue 5 = ll Se 15S 258e 81 iG |e eeseeel| ios3 16 eee 49 | 10} | Beate te Total Z| 1, 652 394 24 176 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. Deduct 24 overcounted, leaves the whole number of animals driven, 1,628; number taken, 394, or 78 per cent rejected. Nothing taken under a 6-pound or “Jong” 2-year-old skin. Thus this drive, in the very best of the season, shows that 78 per cent had to be rejected. Now, those little fellows, which were turned aside here on the 23d instant, will be out again in a few days to be redrivei, plus those that are released to-day, plus all the rest to be released likewise—they will be all up in July. What will these drives be? Sixteen of the 394 skins taken in the killing grounds, as above cited, were rejected in the salt house by the company’s manager because they were too small. They were normal 2-year-olds, 54-pound skins. Perhaps, they will be glad to get them later. In 1872-1874 very little attention was paid to driving seals until the 12th to the 14th of every June. Trueit was that bands of thousands of holluschickie were hauled out on the several resorts, yet because these animals were not in comparatively great numbers, and were nearly all down at that early date by the surf margin, it was deemed best to wait until the 12th tothe 14th before beginning in earnestto drive; but after the 14th of June there was always such an abundant supply of holluschickie on hand within a mile and a half of this village and Northeast Point salt house, that no concern was ever given as to the number that they could get. It was just the other way; if it was a warmish, dry day, then a small drive only was made, so as to secure some 1,200 or 1,500 skins; if it was a cool, favorable day, then some 2,500 or 3,000 skins would be taken, which latter figure was the utmost number that the working force at the village could handle under the best circumstances in one day. How different this year. On the 6th of June the most eager, energetic driving began simultaneously with the arrival of each and every squad of holluschickie big enough to warrant it, and it has been kept up unremittingly until the present hour. The spared seals turned away this morning were saved by their small size. Only 24 of the whole 1,628 in the drive were 5 and 6 year old bulls. Every “long” or well-grown 2-year-old was taken (6-pound skin) and every 3 and *“ smooth” 4-year-old. Not a holluschak or any other class of fur seal on Zoltoi sands this morning or noon. I watched the progress of the released seals this morning as they came out over the Lagoon slough and rookery. Most of them swam directly out to sea, not heading in any particular way except from land. A few swam under the village hill bluffs,and thence out across in the direction of the Reef, and afew headed back for Eng- lish Bay. Not one of them started for Zoltoi, as they did on the 23d instant. On that occasion it was the hauling of some 50 half bulls on Zoltoi that lured, perhaps, the younger seals out after them. They were released together at the same time on the killing grounds. This afternoon, I took another survey of Lukannon and Tolstoi, and the vacant hauling grounds of English Bay and the Volcanic Ridge. Another small pod of holluschickie at Middle Hill, from whence they drove last night for the day’s killing, and another adjoining the pod- ding cows on the sand beach at Polavina: about 250 or 300 in both pods, and chiefly yearlings. June 28, 1890.—The superb sealing weather still continues. The ae are bringing up a small squad from the Reef as I write (5 a.m.). FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 17 The following are field notes of the podding and clubbing of drive from Reef and Zoltoi bluffs, June 28, 1890: * Pod Number | Number| Half || Pod Number| Number| Half ; driven. taken bulls. | | driven taken. | bulls. 1... 71 13 Saal eee 73 + gy ee ies 75 Dia: desea hat: ee 85 Td eae Bees 80 14 eh eee 49 Ch Sc ce ober EAS 46 3 aa ed by a = Se 54 4 | 3 5tie. 8 80 3 Sa i} oo 66 9 2 G2 stis2- 62 8 a USN) kt eee ee 63 pt) eee ee S(Seese 59 10 Pel P20 sac ote 46 i 6 SF Fie 40 5 24) | 20S Sas 74 LON ac eee Qe ssc oe 55 ee Geearsnisee Doe ee 43 al eeoeE ae deere 45 7 4 || 23.- 40 8 1 it aoe 56 VON casscees Deiat apie 52 10 4 1 ee 52 Gh atte aiaqs om — —_———_ [3es3.4. 60 5 1 Total 1, 417 203 | 27 Whole number of animals driven, 1,417; number taken, 203, or 85 per cent turned out. turned out. Last drive from this place, June 24, 71 per cent Everything taken in this day’s killing above a normal 2-year-old, and under 5-year-olds and “ wigged” 4-year-olds, i. e., all 6-pound skins and upward. June 30, 1890.—The following are field notes of the podding and clubbing of drive from Middle Hill,' English Bay,' Tolstoi,! Lukannon,? and Ketavie:* Pod Number | Number | Half Pod Number | Number | Half ; driven. | taken. | bulls. | driven. | taken bulls a Pee 108 11 Cg) | (as ee 56 Og Sees Qeeemi 39 Ol teen ae pf ae a et 55 15 2 Seeaacie 41 6 MEW SLES Se arte 63 15 2 eee 69 12 AN 16. occas 77 10 5 De caeae 53 8 Tigi ih) ‘7 (eee 70 9 4 6322s 40 10 ale) a bs ee 47 12 5 Nise seee 53 10 a ai | ee 49 9 1 8isess- 47 14 im 20528 46 Be) ee, sae 9. Sees 58 6 BAR 2E << 38 48 6 5 10. 22025 58 Bol aa om ae 2eanacaes 81 6) Joan Be=- 1 eee 51 POP aerate: ———_ tes ssese 53 Minion emcee Total -. 1, 262 203 50 Whole number of animals driven, 1,262; number taken, 203, or 844 per cent rejected. The small contingent from Lukannon and Ketavie, numbered less than 300 animals, before merged in the single drive. Everything taken that was above 54-pound skin, and under those of the 5-year-olds and ‘“wigged” 4-year-olds. The significance of this day’s work can be seen by the most casual observer. I counted over 24 blind-eyed or ‘‘moon-eyed” holluschickie as they escaped from the several pod ‘zapooskas,” all of which had been crippled in this manner by prior driving this season. How many of these yearlings and “short” 2-year-olds that were released this morn- ing will again be driven before this season ends? Nearly all of them. They pass into the sea over the Lagoon Bar; they meet squadrons of cows playing in the water around the rookery margins; they pause, lis- ‘Last drive from these places, June 27, and 70 per cent turned out or rejected. 2Last drive from this place, June 20. 8First drive from this place. Be Doc: 175 12 178 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. ten, join in the general comfort which the water certainly affords tnem, and as these females and the fresh animals of their own kind haul out on land they join again and fall into this deadly procession to the land from whence they were driven early thismorning. How the significanee of this driving now keeps rising to my mind! I had little occasion in 1872-1874 to give it thought, and what I did was only in a suggestive mood. I passed up from the killing grounds over to Tolstoi rookery and gave the drivers’ path or seal road a careful review. A few holluschickie were again hauled out under Middle Hill and a dozen perhaps on the Tolstoi rookery sand intersection; but the great hauling grounds of English Bay are utterly destitute of seal life at the hour of this writing and have been so, with the marked exception of that small spot under Middle Hill and the juxtaposition of Tolstoi rookery, which are the only points where the seals now haul in all that vast extent of ground pattered over by them here in 1872-1874. Not any holiuschickie on Zoltoi sands to-day, and only one or two on the rocks beyond and above, from whence they have been driven thus far, as Zoltoi seals. Mr. Goff assures me that there was no driving from the sands here last year; it was all from these rocks above. When this famous hauling ground began to fail was the time for the note of warn- ing to have been sounded. When did it fail? July 1, 1890.—The following are field notes of the podding and club bing of drive made from every section of the reef, everything in back of Zoltoi Bluffs, Garbotch, and the entire cireuit of the reef. Pod Number} Number| Half | pog Number | Number} Half i driven. | taken. | bulls. || : driven. | taken. | bulls. Ree = 109 15 fi || esos ee 49 6 3 Dian nisie 51 4 WN | a RE Se 78 4 4 Beesooe 77 12 ala || Pe Berea 58 9 5 eer 53 DS toa Piece ss 60 6 4 omorcie 54 (P\\CeSacene 7 EEE OOE 78 11 4 Wee eade 69 BN enmetatetetalll P eeoee ric 67 7 4 fesse 58 HO ete a Pye eave 56 7 eee s6 61 CS eee | PEPE eee 60 4 i 48 U)ifeseecase 202 o 214 - 91 7 USS oe 73 12 1) | 2a feeeo ac 57 1 MQhecscne 100 8 3 ||) 28-5 «=a 71 8 12 oeemae 58 8 24h PA a 69 7 URE So 252 48 9 CUP CLUES eres 38 6 dees 52 7 Bl Bb same =e 75 9 ipeeeeee 46 8 3 1G sear 68 10 6 Total -- 1, 998 a Wy (ese 66 7 3 Whole number of animals driven, 1,998; number taken, 245, or 89 per cent rejected. Last drive from this place, June 28, when 85 per cent were rejected, Kverything taken over a 5-pound skin and under the “wigged” 4 and 5 year old pelts. Ninety per cent of the seals rejected to-day were yearlings. This is the largest number yet driven in any one drive from this place thus far this season, and the catch among the smallest. The yearlings driven before, plus the new arrivals, are making the ratio. Not a seal on the hauling grounds and sands of Lukannon Bay, and none on Ketavie; about 500 yearlings at Middle Hill, and none of that pod near the sand beach at Tolstoi rookery that I saw yesterday after- noon. They have evidently made for Middle Hill. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 179 July 2, 1890.—The following are field notes of the podding and club- bing of a drive made from every section of Polavina and Stony Point: Pod Number} Number} Half | pog Number | Number| Half 2 driven. taken. bulls. | : driven. | taken. | bulls. | a 83 ra ae es 1 BSE. 5D aa ha oreat 91 WY |oaa ace HWelivic see cae 104 8 2 Bsclees 101 6 BA Becca 113 12 5 A atere a 59 fa Wena phere 19. c= 252 73 5H leer Gusaaees 50 6: losers DO sarsmers 62 11 3 Groene 56 6 Pala || arses 91 13 5 (ppeeee 63 5 8 ||, 2-2-3 .c8 63 8 7 Soceeas 65 61 ean Voice sce 49 6 2 Qrees4e 102 CO Peer eorS || 24.----.- 47 9 a 1022325 90 6 BH 25s -o ses. 40 5 WW s.522 100 12 7A eX ee 43 11 4 1 eS 71 13 2. |Palissccceis 51 6 18,2 se 72 14 3 ——— 1 ena 65 8 2 Total 1, 929 230 | 80 15 ES eeee 60 5 5 Whole number of animals driven, 1,929; number taken, 230, or 884 per cent rejected. There were also 10 “road” and ‘‘*smothered” skins, which made a total of 240 taken. Last drive from this place, June 25, when 800 animals were driven and 263 taken, or 65 per cent rejected. This drive to-day tovers a whole week’s interval since the last drive from Polavina, and it shows that as the season advances, the numbers driven rapidly increase, while the proportionate catch diminishes. In other words, the new arrivals, plus those redriven, will continue to steadily swell the gross aggregate driven day by day from now on, and not proportionately increase the catch. Rather, I believe that the catch will markedly diminish. To-day, every good 2-year-old, every 3 and every “‘smooth” 4 year old was knocked down out of this 1,929 animals: every one! Where, at this rate of killing, is the new blood left for the rookeries now so desper- ately needed there? Hardly a young bull left, between the effects of driving and the deadly club, save a few hundred of those demoral- ized and worthless half bulls, which I make note of as they come up in every drive; and these, the natives truly declare, will never go upon the rookeries. Thus far, this season, every seal that is eligible in weight, from a “long” 2-year-old male up to 5-year-olds, has been ruthlessly slain within a few days after its appearance on these desolate hauling grounds of St. Paul Island. They were as ruthlessly knocked down last year; and to-day, the yearlings and everything above to 5-year-olds, would be knocked down, did not the new $10.22 tax per skin save their lives! The new deal, in this respect, was lucky for the seals. ; My assistant, Palmer, came in from Northeast Point this afternoon. He tallied a killfng there, yesterday, as follows: Counting the seals one by one as they shamble out from the pod when released, and then the ones knocked down, adding the two counts gives the whole number in the pod. 180 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. The following are field notes of the podding and clubbing of a drive made at Northeast Point (Fowler’s party), July 1, 1890, taking nothing under a 6-pound skin, or “long” 2-year-olds.! Number | Number Number | Number Pod. driven. taken. | Pod. driven. taken. eS A= 62 8 36 10 | . eee 53 1 35 6 Benneee 56 4 || 28 1 | lee 35 1 42 4 Bece: 44 6 29 6 Go 2e25. 62 4 39 5 Woccses 46 6 30 2 6. 223 52 7 38 5 Cae 47 8 31 3 i oie Se 42 3 ?6 os i eee 66 3 22 4 i eee 58 9 — —_— DS) eee A 62 FF 1, 103 120 Rae as 59 4 | Whole number of animals driven, 1,103; number taken, 120, or 914 per cent rejected, July 3, 1890.—The following are field notes of the podding and elub- bing of a drive made from every section of Upper and Lower Zapadnie, July 3, 1890: { | | Number | Number; Half | Number Pod. | driven. | taken. | bulls. Pod. | driven. | ) ee 99 16 5 eee 63 pi eae 70 ET yh | att 5 eee Se 70 SEL ISLS 71 10 OL Esses~< 5 62 : 63 te eee 1 Ree 46 Dusseose 50 16 Sa lat Bs ese val ease 78 18 A ivglas., «ee 62 Me cae wate 61 6 8 Bete. 59 11 6 Total -. 925 Whole number of animals driven, 925; number taken, 180, or 81 per cent rejected. Nothing under a 6-pound skin taken, or ‘‘long” 2-year- olds. Last drive from this place, June 26, 1890, when 344 animals were driven and 97 taken, or 72 per cent rejected. These drives at Zapadnie are made just as they are at all the other rookeries this season—made from the immediate outskirts of the breed- ing animals, cows, pups, and bulls. This method of driving was not even suggested, much less done, in 1872-1874. Such a proceeding would have been voted abominable then; it is still more so now—it sweéps every young male seal that is 4, 3, and 2 years old into death as soon as it hauls on these shores to-day. Nothing escapes except that which maturing age or extreme youth saves, or rather which the high tax of 1890 ($10.22) saves. The only spot on this island where seals have hauled outside of their close and immediate juxtaposition with the breeding classes, is on Mid- dle Hill sand beach, at a point on the English Bay sea margin about halfway between Neahrpahskie Kammen and Tolstoi rookery. I can not summon language adequate to express my condemnation of the present method of driving. Careful as it is, it is a method made necessary by the amazing scarcity of young male seals. Under any and all circumstances there should be a stated and positive reservation of half the hauling grounds on these islands as a place of undisturbed rest and ‘Half bulls not tallied. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OK ALASKA. 181 refuge for these young male seals and yearlings—places where material can and would grow up in full vigor to supply the imperative demands of nature on these breeding grounds. These reserves would, in fact, be reservoirs that would be a steady source from which this stream of particular seal life can regularly flow, without diminution in its volume, from year to year. This method of driving in 1890, huddles and hustles the breeding lines, and sweeps the few surplus bulls that may be outside, up and away to the killing grounds—stampeded into the drive. July 4, 1890.—To-day, finding that the supply of 3 and 4 year olds and “long” 2 2-year-olds was pr actically exhausted—in other words, that more and more seals were being driven up every day, and less and less skins taken—the company’s agent dropped his standard to 53-pound skins. This takes in all the average 2-year-olds, which have hitherto been rejected as they appeared in the pods. But even this tumble to a lower grade did not prevent a small catch, as the following tabulation of the biggest drive of the season as to numbers testifies. The following are field notes of: the podding and clubbing of drive made from English Bay, Middle Hill, and 'Tolstoi, July 4, 1890: Pod Number | Number, Half | Pod Number] Number} Half ‘ driven. taken. bulls. || 3 driven. taken. bulls. | 1 ae 84 pe ee ee |~33so5c058 45 Gi) 202 hence > Senne 81 6 WBE ae male 47 Silasaeea-at bE ee 90 3 Ohi BO oas See 61 AOU [Eset Lee 94 a eee i aOsce aces 61 A ee eee Ses se 65 Bi ncsce LO WS Tt... Ppl Sassen Se 1 (ase 75 8 0 BRS eee ae 36 3: caus aa (Sadeck 52 5 Se 39.5 40 6 | 2 Ben date 61 tl 3 Wpaeees ose 49 5 | 6 ee 76 8 ey CL voceer 52 on a eS OW S8Se2 70 11 Bil) 42. 222224 67 5 | 1 1 eee 126 14 Leah = Sa, 20S. 79 4 94 ig Pisses _ 68 4 83 7 C7 eae 89 3 65 3 RE 53 2. 68 8 CA wieas 98 5]. 91 6 logocacee 2osen. a0 90 8 90 Mails Oeste ton 2 ee 76 4 85 CES one ,- (e S 80 9 89 Lal Se oie aoe 7, «eae 109 5 —————— 4! ee 93 6 4, 644 309 47 B0e. ogee 117 8 Whole number of animals driven, 4,644; number taken, 309, or 93 per cent rejected. Last drive from these places, July 12, when 5,150 animals were driven and 633 taken, or 89 per cent rejected. Nearly all yearlings in this drive—the dregs are now being drawn upon! In this drive, I do not think there were 60 skins taken that were 3-year-olds, or 7-pound skins, and certainly not 20 4-year-olds. Of course every one of them was instantly clubbed, as they have regularly been the moment they appeared in the pods since the season opened. No 2-year-old of normal growth escaped to-day; only the yearlings, the “runty” or short” 2-year-olds and few half bulls, which I have num- bered. These half bulls in all my tallies are those that run all the way up from 5-year-olds to advanced age, 10 or 15 years. The evidence of redriving was stronger than ever to-day; the num- ber of **moon-eyes” being so large that every pod exhibited one or more examples. Fully half of the animals in this drive have been up here over and over again this season. In my opinion, as I have been watching the course of these released seals, I believe that some go back at once on the day of their release to the hauling grounds. Not all return to the same place from whence driven that day, but haul out on other grounds here, there, and anywhere else on the island. They are then soon again picked up in the rapid rotation of driving,and put through this painful land journey again and again in this manner. The others go out to sea in quest of food, and perhaps are gone a week, to return and land as above cited, and then be again driven and redriven. Thus it becomes an exceedingly difficult matter or problem to solve, i. e., the query of how many of these seals that appear in this drive to-day, 4,644, are up here for the first time? How many of them have hitherto been driven from the seven or ten different hauling spots on this island this season? And how often have they been thus redriven? FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 189 Ever since the 10th and 12th instant the yearlings, i. e., last year’s pups, have been hauling in greatly increased numbers daily, and will do so until the 20th instant. This was their habit in 1872-1874, and I notice by these tallies on the ground that it is their habit to-day. Of course the $10.22 tax paid this year rules them out safely from the club, otherwise they would have been slaughtered. This shift from the $3.17 tax of 1870, to the $10.22 tax of 1890, is an exceedingly fortunate one for the seals, and the Government. It has prevented what would have been close to the finishing touch relative to the destruction of these rookeries; yes, perhaps such a killing which would have made it the labor of fifteen years to restore them and the hauling grounds depend- ent, to their standard of 1872. As it now appears, it will require at least seven years of absolute rest, killing nothing here during that time save that small numbers of pups and yearlings required annually for the food and clothing of the natives of the Pribilov Islands. Had there been no killing at all this year, it even then would have required a rest of at least five years, beginning with this season. The work of last year, and this, was and is literally, ‘‘robbing the cradle and the grave.” July 17, 1890.—The following are field notes of the podding and club- bing of a drive made from Polavina July 17, 1890: | Four- || . | Four- Number | Number; Half || | Number! Number} Half Rod: | driven. | taken. | bulls. wee | Pods: driven. | taken. | bulls. SSPE | \| es || Ue csose 96 9 Gajtree- 2 | ORS tas 158 18 20 8 PB ene 84 15 6 OF eae 76 6 14 4 en eobe = 81 1l Gh Re onee | (ae Sedecar 73 15 26 7 Fle SSSERA 124 9 Ct ea ee NMS a tose 61 18 17| 8 ee eetat 134 9 13 | OP eles sae 70 UE | See Re 1 Ga Baael 101 7 8 | ied pd ese 41 5 7 1 ice eters 114 16 10 PHOS ceece 67 ff 9 3 Booey 124 14 i4| 12|| —- (ne CREE ELAS 130 10 17 | 5 || Total... 1,514 172 168 81 Whole number of animals driven, 1,514; number taken, 172, or 87 per cent turned out. Of the 172 taken as above, 81 were 4-year-old “ wigs.” This is the first killing of this low-grade skin made thus far this season; they have been driven up steadily and redriven, and as steadily rejected. Had they not been taken to-day the percentage of rejection would have been 95! The following are field notes of the podding and clubbing of a drive made from Lukannon and Ketavie July 17, 1890: Pod Number | Number | Half || Pod | Number | Number | Half 7 driven. | taken. bulls. |) * | driven. | taken. | bulls. ea Pa > aes | ge os: 150 18 Gl nos? 70 ot A Deh 137 26 Billede ceasas 66 11/ 10 aise shee 91 14 ia | ies Pe 72 12 7 BPR 62 12 Bw il Wee eee 65 5 2 Leese 80 18 Tie | oa = ee 67 5 rf Geesssts 73 12 Cat meee RR 63 7 | 1 Y fern 83 14 Wa LO aces oats 74 HOG) en sue Srause ce 80 12 4 -———— — |--— - — —-—_ {eee 80 9 5 Total - - 1, 320 197 | 83 Whole number of animals driven, 1,320; number taken, 197, or 854 per cent rejected. A small squad of 3 and 4 year olds hitherto undriven, though marked on Ketavie during the last three days, some 80 or 90 all told, were 190 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. secured in this day’s drive, being brought right up through the scat- tered breeding animals from the point of Ketavie. This raises the eatch proportionately in the little drive. The Lukannon seals were nearly all yearlings, and only 7 “‘ wigged” 4-year-olds were knocked down in this batch; at least 25 or 30 of them were released. Thus these two small drives for this day show an irregularity in their percentage, both being due to exceptional incidents. The Pola- vina catch of 172 would not have touched 100 skins had it not been for the sudden drop to ‘“‘wigged” 4-year-old bulls, 81 of which were knocked down. It is the very first systematic killing of this class made thus far this season. It is, however, a small matter—drive, catch, and all. The Ketavie drive was principally made from the extreme point, a new spot which has not been driven from before, but the rookery is now so thin and straggling that the drivers were able to get fairly down onto the point and dislodge about 100 good 3 and 4 year olds. The balance of the 197 skins taken in this united drive with Lukannon are small 54 to 6 pound skins. Going up to Polavina early this morning, I did not see a single young male seal on that long reach of sand beach between Lukannon and Polavina ; only weak, sickly, or dying seecatchie, a dozen or two of them, and nothing else. The utter absence of the holluschickie from these sands of Lukannon beach and those extensive hauling grounds back of them on the Voleanic ridge and half a mile again to the north- ward—this desolation is fully as startling a contrast with their life and animation in 1872 as is thatof Zoltoi sands and English Bay. July 18, 1890.—The following are field notes of the podding and clubbing of a drive made from Zapadnie, the last drive here for 1890: = » | Four- Four- Number | Number | Half i Number | Number | Half Pod. driven. taken. | bulls. digs: Pod. driven. taken. | bulls. Ba 94 13 5 Gil ase eat 89 15 4 6 50 11 11 Sill Dee ees 51 12 9 3 76 17 9 Ba felis psec = 61 20 9 i 78 15 5 AD fe te es 63 15 6 6 82 12 2 3 | loses: wee 72 23 7 8 85 LG sescee=e 8: PMBeree ee 46 11 16 5 81 12 Bi te cette Di sess 69 16 9 5 71 11 8 4 _———_—_—_|—__ 72 8 8 1 Total -. 1, 192 241 115 74 72 15 2 | 5 Whole number animals driven 1,192; number taken, 241, or 79 per cent rejected. Minus the “wigged” 4-year-olds, 88 per cent turned out. This tally of the final killing of the season at the Southwest Bay killing ground of Zapadnie shows that extraordinary scarcity of hollus- chickie in a most lucid manner when contrasted with the other drives of this year, which I have tallied on this once-famous rendezvous. This last scrape made here to-day was opened by the appearance of only 1,192 animals on the grounds after a rest of nine days since the last drive; 115 of these 1,192 seals were old bulls, all over 6 years, and most of them 7 and 10 year olds, and all the balance, outside of the 241 ani- mals knocked down, were yearlings, chiefly, a few “‘runty ” 2-year-olds, a few bitten 4-year-old ‘“ wigs,” and a few 5-year-olds. Every 4-year- old “wig” was taken, as at Polavina yesterday, for the first time this season. Every “smooth” 4-year-old was taken in the first drives and now, the dregs are drawn also! These young bulls vary remarkably in this matter of being with PLATE 46. pecmutonlr ee = an ee RMR RR REET Be A drawing from nature by the author. A STROLL ON LUKANNON BEACH, SAINT PAUL ISLAND, JULY 13, 1872. Every rod of these long sand beaches between Lukannon and Polavina, and Polavina and Northeast Point, in 187 “hauling in” and “hauling out” day and night during the breeding season, together with a lar, the rookeries by their rivals; sulky and mo 2-1874, was covered with bachelor seal bands, ge number of old bulls which had been whipped off from rose, they slowly and reluctantly got out of the pedestrian’s pat FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 191 manes, or “ wigged,” or not, at the culmination of their fourth year of growth, just as young men aut 18 vary as to having moustaches or beard or not. The “smooth” or unwigged 4-year-old is a fine skin, but the ““wigged ” 4-year-old is a poor one. Thus far this season until yesterday morning, I observed that from the beginning, though every “smooth” 4-year-old was clubbed, yet every *‘ wig oged ” one of that age and upward was never taken unless struck down by accident. ' J have seen once in a while a 3-year-old so wigged as to be a really poor skin; but that is a rare example when found of this age, and, for that matter, the “wigged ” 4-year-olds do not number one-tenth of their class as they grow up. July 19, 1890, 4.30 a. m.—As I go over to the Rush at the East Land- ing I observe that not a single young male seal is on Zoltoi sands this morning—not one has hauled there thus far this season. I leave for St. George Island on the Rush at 5 a. m., arrive there at 11 a.m. FIELD NOTES ON ST. GEORGE ISLAND. vareful survey of the North rookery this etter: noon and its hauling grounds. The perfect desolation, the grass growing, flowers blooming over the polished hauling grounds of 1873-74 are as “much, or even more marked here, if possible, than on St. Paul. The natives, ever since this season of 1890 opened, have been scraping the rookeries, and, up to this mor ning, had taken but 2,964 skins, ruled by the standard of nothing under a 7-pound pelt (w hich was started as the rule on St. Paul but dr opped dae after day down to 5-pound skins this morning). These St. George natives were unable to get out of every 1,000 animals driven up more than 50 to 60 such 7 and 12 pound skins as the rule of killing called for. The order was given to-day for Webster to take everything down to 5 pounds in the drive then await- ing, and he did so for the first time this year, getting about 640 this evening out of the herd, some 2,500 or 3,000 animals all told. The only seals escaping were the yearlings and old bulls. Every “ wigged” 4-year-old knocked down, and several yearlings, by accident, in shaving so fine down to 5-pound skins. July 20, 1890.—I examined this morning, one by one, the skins that were taken from the drive of yesterday. Three-fourths of them will not weigh more than 54 pounds, or belonging to the small grade which was ordered not taken until yesterday. Had this standard not been lowered to these small skins not over 150 would have been secured; as it was, 641 were taken. At Zapadnie, where I went this morning, I observed another drive, which has been saved up for a week. Five hundred and twenty-one skins were taken, as per the above standard. Had the standard not been thus lowered not over 60 or 75 skins could have been taken from this drive. Mr. Webster freely admitted to me, in the presence of Cap- tain Lavender and his son, that he had taken these small skins yester- day,and to-day, for the first time this year. Had he taken them in June and early in July, he would lave nothing to-day, on this field but year- lings and half bulls. The hauling grounds at Zapadnie are simply grass-grown; those at Starry Arteel, the same. The Great Hastern parade is a mere sugges- tion, and Little Eastern has not had a single drive made from its faint reminder of a once good resort for holluschickie. In the wake of this drive to-day I saw a number of pups which had 192 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. been swept along in the driven herd—their mothers gone in it—they left to perish behind. ‘The podding of these pups way back by the 20th of July on to the abandoned hauling grounds, so that the holluschickie can and do mix with them and their mothers, makes the act of driving from this hour forth, during the remainder of the season simply ruinous to the rookeries; since, bad as it is to-day, it would become worse and worse as it progressed every day after. July 22, 1890.—These hauling grounds of St. George, which were never by natureof the land and life thereon, as broad and extended as those of St. Paul, were in 1873, polished very brightly by the hollus- chickie; but that same utter desolation which prevails over them at St. Paul also prevails here. The driving, however, thanks to the good sense of Webster, has not been so excessive as it would have been had a less experienced sealer been in charge. For instance, driving every day from a given hauling ground this season will not yield at the end of a week’s work any more seals than it would were the drive made but once in all that time. In 1872-1874, however, so many seals were on hand at every place, that it was necessary to take no more each day than the working force of skinners at the village could handle. But when the seals are scarce, as they are everywhere this year, it is folly to rake and scrape the ragged edges of these breeding rookeries every day or two for a mere handful of holluschickie which can be secured just as wellif driven allup oncea week. Itis the driving, as well as the clubs, that kills. The method of driving as now ordered, makes the selection of hollus- chickie, after the pups begin to pod in bulk on or before the 20th of July every season, utterly impossible without sweeping cows into the drive, and dragging their young out to die in the track of this drive. Every day on from this 20th of July, makes the work of such driving worse and worse for the rookeries; so much so that no driving under any and all circumstances after that date ever should have been permitted or will be permitted againif our Government means to preserve and perpetuate these fur-bearing interests on the Priblov Islands. Bad as driving in effect on the holluschickie is, the driving of cows is certain injury to them; they are fuller in habit and less muscular; their milk glands become inflamed and swollen, and the result must ensue of ‘“garget” or ‘‘milk sickness,” so well known in cats, dogs, and cattle. That means death or permanent disability, even if the cows are driven but once—death to both cow and her pup left behind, since that pup will not be permitted to suckle any other. The scraping or sweeping of these rookeries on St. George did not fairly begin until 1884; while it was not really begun in earnest on St. Paul until 1886 or 1887; but the driving here has been lighter than it would have been had I not changed the quota from 25,000 to 10,000 in 1874. In 1887 the difficulty of getting even 15,000 7-pound skins before the end of July, was evident. far more difficult than that of securing 25,000 before the 20th of July in 1872; yet, in spite of this marked deviation from the working record of the preceding seasons, the Treasury agents of 1886-87, in charge of these interests, actually sent in a report to the Treasury Department criticising my figures of 1873-74 and declaring that there were eight times as many fur seals on the St. George rookeries then, as when I made my surveys in 1873-74! I can not see any difference in the character of the holluschickie here on St. George from those I have studied all summer on St. Paul; indeed, I know that these animals haul on either island indifferently, as they go and come throughout the season. They will haul out here to-day; FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 193 and next week, just as likely as not, many of them will be over on St. Paul hauled out there for a spell in turn. One of the queerest ideas of how to help the holluschickie to haul (when there were none to haul) was a desperate notion of the lessees’ agent here last summer, who, on the 9th of June, actually went down into the ragged sea margin at the Near or North rookery, and drove away a few old bulls which had hauled into an empty path of the hol- luschickie which leads up by the “Raichka.” This was done to help the holluschickie “to land faster!” July 25, 1890.—Weighed 100 skins as they came over from Zapadnie to-day, from the little salt house there, and which were taken on the last day of killing, the 20th instant. Three-fifths of the whole number weighed were 54 to 6 pound skins—average to “long” 2-year-olds; the balance, 7 to 74 pound skins, four 8-pound skins, and one 94-pound skin, and one 4-pound skin (or yearling). . July 26, 1890.—W eighed 176 skins of the Zapadnie catch of the 20th instant, just as they came over on the burro train. As I handled the skins they ran thus: 2 Pounds. | Pounds. 64 54 352 26 5 130 4 4 16 42 6 252 20 64 130 12 7 84 4 1k 30 2 8 16 1 83 84 1 9 9 7G}, |(Ss224 2225 1, 0274 making the average as low as 57 pounds per skin. This is the run of the last killing on St. George on the 19th and 20th instant. Had the standard first ordered been adhered to, only 20 skins would have been taken instead of 176 in the above catch. July 30, 1890.—A stitf southwest wind ever since yesterday, has kicked up such a rough sea that to-day, by noon, nearly every seal by the island has hauled out on shore, and it is a good afternoon to inspect the rook- eries in so far as my search for pups of last year or yearlings goes. A careful examination of the largest rookery of this island, North, revealed the presence of about 750 holluschickie—700 at the least, and possibly 900. All were yearlings, save a small percentage of 2-year- olds, with scattered examples, wide apart, of 3-year-olds and a dozen perhaps of 4-year-olds. They were all hauled out (with the exception of one pod of some 150 near the Raichka) and commingled with podding pups and cows. A drive could not be made there to-day of more than 200 holluschickie without driving as many cows and pups. Such a day as this should show up at least 4,000 yearlings on these spots of that rookery alone. Where are these yearlings? The pups at the water’s edge are beginning to familiarize themselves with their native element, essaying to swim in the pools and surf wash at sheltered spots. Those pups, where the surf directly breaks upon the sea margin and strikes the beach with unbroken force, are not in the water at all to-day. A vast majority of the pups will not get into the water before the end of the next two or three weeks. H. Doe, 175——13 194 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA, I observe a very large proportion of yearling cows scattered all over the breeding ground from end to end near the sea margin, while the yearlings of both sexes are completely mixed up on the outskirts of the rookery here and everywhere else, commingled with the adult cows and their young pups. August 1, 1890.—Heavy rain has fallen and a stiff southwest gale raged all day yesterday. It cleared up this afternoon. Desiring to see the hauling grounds at Zapadnie and the rookery there immediately after such a storm, where the surf breaks in with full force and fury, I went over and made a survey of the entire field. Since my last visit the pups have podded to the uttermost length and breadth of the place, 1,000 to 1,500 feet back from the surf margin of the rookery, and way up and into the green grass and moss in the rear. Squads of hollus- chickie mingled in with them everywhere, and their mothers, of course; but how many in proportion I can not say, since the yearlings and the 2-year-olds so closely resemble the young cows when all huddled up and startled by the approach of man. However, if you walk slowly and occasionally sit or stoop down for a few minutes, when an unusual rush by the seals seems pending, you can traverse every one of these breeding grounds without startling or stampeding many of the seals thereon into the water. As these animals, first startled by your unexpected form, cough, spit, snort, and then turn to fly, at that moment you gently squat down. Then they pause, turn curiously to look, and notice that you are not following or moving; then they bolt, altogether, and regard you intently for a minute or two. If you do not move in a few moments more they all resume their oceu- pation of sleeping or playing one with another, as they were doing when you first startled them by your coming. Then, if you rise slowly to an erect posture and resume your walk very quietly and slowly along parallel with or away from them, they do not seem to pay you any special attention. They wil) not again start to run or ‘flip flapper” back into the sea. August 1, 1890.—Natives drove a pod of 97 seals up for food this morning. Only 5 skins out of the whole number of the 97 seals killed (for they were all killed) were 7-pound pelts, the rest yearlings and 2-year-olds; 85 per cent yearlings. St. Paul Island, August 9, 1890.—A careful survey of the Reef and Zoltoi, Garbotch, and Gull Hill hauling grounds this morning discloses no change whatever in the lonely character of these places, and I observe the same scarcity of yearlings that has recently impressed me on St. George. Not a single young male seal on Zoltoi sands this day, and none have hauled there at all this season; and it is safe to say that none will until the pods of swimming pups in October come here from Garbotch. What few holluschickie are left here have become so demoralized by the driving early in June, and up to the 20th of July, as to now haul in amoug the podded cows, where you can easily distinguish them right and left among the “matkahs” and pups. It would be very difficult now to say, as we look out over the field, how many of them are thus hauled out there to-day, but the spectacle is a quiet, sad one to see— that silent parade ground of the Reef, ahead of us. Over its whole smooth sweep a soft, velvety grass and moss is springing up bright and strong under the stimulus of an August air. That wide expanse is entirely deserted by seals where in 1872 it was fairly alive with restless trooping thousands and tens of thousands. That southwest gale of the 30th and 31st of July, which I experienced FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 195 and followed so closely on St. George, seems to have destroyed a great many pups over here on the Garbotch sea margin. There are 17 dead pups lying half buried in the sands of Zoltoi right before and under my eyes. oth closing these copies of my field notes on the hauling grounds the following is pertinent. During the killing season several of the elder men, natives 6n St. Paul, expressed a desire to talk with me about the condition of affairs. I asked them to wait until the work of the season was over, then to come up to the Government house when I returned from St. George, where what they had to say could be heard by all of the Treasury officers as well as myself. The notes below of this inter- view were made by Mr. Murray. I copy them literally: VILLAGE OF St. PAUL, August 6, 1890. In the presence of and hearing of Henry W. Elliott, Charles J. Goff, Joseph Mur- ray, and 8. R. Nettleton, United States Treasury agents, the following natives (old ‘men) were called into the Government house by Professor Elliott and examined by Messrs. Elliott, Goff, Murray, and Nettleton, Treasury agents (Simeon Meloviedovy, interpreter): Kerick Artamonov, Kerick Booterin, Vasilie Sedoolie, Markeel Vollkov, Eupheem Korchootin, Fedosay Sedick. Mr. Murray took the following notes of the conversation : Q. Do you remember Professor Elliott being on this island (St. Paul) in 1872?— A. Yes; weremember him well. Q. Do you remember,that thousands of holluschickie were then hauling at South- west Point?—A. Yes; we do remember. Q. Were there thousands and thousands lying there undisturbed—that there were no drives made from that point?—A. There were no drives made from there for many years, notably—1872, 1873, 1874, and 1875—and yet there were thousands and thousands there and at Zapadnie and Middle Hill, from which we made no drives. Q. Do you remember the small rookery and the hanling grounds on Professor Elliott’s map just west of Zapadnie, and called by him “Kursoolah?”—A. Yes; we remember it distinctly—there was a small rookery there and a large hauling ground. Q. Are there any seals hauling there to-day, or have you seen any seals at South- west Point?—A. No; there is nothing there to-day but growing grass—where it used to be covered with seals from point to point. Q. Do you remember the hauling grounds west of Middle Hill, in English Bay and Zapadnie, in 1872, 1873, and 1874?—A. Yes; it used to be covered with seals in those years; we drove them from English Bay—from half-way over only—and even then we would often leave half of the seals behind, and were often obliged to divide the drives into four or five divisions because the seals were so numerous. (The above answer was given by Kerick Booterin, who at that time was chief.) Q. Do you remember the hauling grounds of Polavina, and is it true that in Mr. Elliott’s time there were thousands upon thousands of young male seals hauled upon those grounds undisturbed by any driving from beginning to end of the seasons of 1872, 1873, and 1874, inclusive?—A. Yes; there were lots of seals there, thousands upon thousands, undisturbed. Q. Do you remember the hauling grounds of Stony Point and the beach around it?—A. Yes, we know the place well, and there were seals scattered there allalong it. Q. Are there any seals there to-day ?—A. No; they are all gone. Q. Do youremember the hauling grounds between Webster’s house and Pola- vina?—A. Yes; and there used to be lots of seals there, especially at a point called “‘Dalnoi.” Q. Are there any seals there to-day?—A. No; there are none there. We drove there this year, but could not get more than 100 seals. ©, Do you remember old man Webster in 1872 to 1874 at Northeast Point and where he got his seals in those days?—A. Yes; we do remember. Artamonov was then second chief aud worked with Webster six weeks. Q. (To Artamonoy.) Is it true that Webster got all his seals from that strip of sand beach on the north shore, west of Cross Hill?—A. Yes; there were alwaysa sufficient number. Q. Did Webster drive from or near a rookery then at Northeast Point?—A. No; he never allowed the men to go near a rookery. Q. Where do they drive from at Northeast Point to-day ?—A. They drive from all around the point. Q. Do they go among the cows to get out the holluschickie?—A. No; they go right above the cows and drive from the very edges. 196 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. Q. Was any man now present ata drive at Northeast Point this year?—A. Yes, three of us. Q. At what date were you there?—A. At the beginning of the season and during the third week. Q. Were any of you at Northeast Point since the ‘‘podding” or ‘‘ spreading” out of the cows and pups occurred?—A. No. Q. (To Kerick Booterin and to Artamonov.) Were you born at Northeast Point and what are your ages?—A. Yes; and Artamonov is now 65 and Booterin is 61. Q. (To same two men, ) Do you remember whether there were more or less seals before 1872 than then (1872-1874) or afterwards?—A. In 1868 the hauling grounds and rookeries were at their very fullest—the entire ground from the lake upward being covered with seals. Q. When did you first notice the shrinking or scarcity of seals, and when did you first talk about it among yourselves?—A. In 1877 we first began to notice that the holluschickie were cetting fewer, and have continued from that year to grow less and. less. Q. At what time did you talk among yourselves as to when the time would come when there would be an end to the seal business ?—A. (By George Booterin.) I began to see in 1877 that this trouble was ahead, but w henever IT or my people spoke about it we were told by the company men (Amerie: ws”) (sic) that it was not of our busi- ness and we must not talk aboutit. Whenever we talked about the seals the company men threatened to send us away from the island. Q. (By Mr. Goff to Booterin.) Was that the reason you would not talk to me last year?—A. I hardly remember now why I did not like to talk about the seals. Q. What do you men think of the effect on seal life of the driving of the seals ?— A. When the old Russian Company drove, and the drivers came in here, they never killed anything over a 3-year-old; all over that were either never disturbed or else spared, and if the same thing had been practiced ever since there would be no scarcity of seals to-day. Q. How many 3-year-olds do you think you can get next year?—A. If they were to drive all the seals on this island next year they would get nothing, and would only disturb and injure the rookeries. (By Kerick Booterin.) Whenever any killing is allowed, if they never kill any over 3 years old, and kill only 3 years old and under, I believe there would be no injury done. Q. Do any of you remember the zapooska of 1834?—A. Yes; Booterin and Arta- monov remember it well. Q. How many seals were killed after the first year of that order, and how were they killed?—A. The first year we killed only 100 holluschickie, and we increased the number every year afterwards. Q. What do you think of another zapooska for to-day ?—A. (By Kerick Booterin.) When the Russians ordered their zapooska, little by little afterwards, everything grew better, and if the same thing is repeated to-day, everything will grow better, and if it is not done, no seals will come here. We observed that the men sent here by the Government since old Captain Bryant, till we saw you men and talk now with you, took no interest in the seals, but whenever busy, were engaged in shooting our hogs; in fact, they very seldom visited the rookeries. (). Did you men ever talk or attempt to talk about seal life to any of the Govern- ment officers before Mr. Gofi’s time?—A. Yes, on several occasions, and they answered—and they answered we did not know anything about it. Q. Have you any questions you would like to ask the Government ?—A. Yes; we want to know what is to be done about the seals. Mr. ELtioTr. We propose to immediately inform the Secretary of the Treasury of the exact condition of affairs, and we know that he will take care of the seals and the people too. He is the only man who can talk, but he sent us here to get the facts and he will act upon that information. None of us in Washington knew of the true condition of atfairs up here. Until Mr. Goff wrote down last year to the Secre- tary of the Treasury, not a word has ever gone from here since 1870, which even hinted at any danger to the seals. KeERICK BooTEeRIN. We think had it not been for Mr. Goff the seals would all be gone. Weare not now afraid of being hungry, although we can not take seals. Mr. Eviiorr. We want you natives to understand that the Government cares more for the preservation of the seals than for any money that may be received in the form of a tax. The interview closed at this point. The foregoing statements are made only by those natives who in 1872-1874 were old enough then, to really observe and think; these men are the only survivors of that age when I was on the island in 1872. When the above interview was in progress Kerick Booterin during the whole time held a small notebook in his hand, open, and not seeing PLATE 47. ‘< LB a a en ls RD A drawing from nature by the author. . SEA LION Neck, NORTHEAST POINT, OR NOVASTOSHNAH, SAINT PAUL ISLAND, JULY, 1890. View looking north from Webster's Point, over the abandoned hauling and breeding grounds of the fur seals. This neck was the favorite tr the capture of sea lions in 1872-1874 by the Aleuts; it is the best locality on the Pr ibilof Islands for that purpose. apping place for FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 197 him make any notes or refer to it, at the close of the talk he was asked by the interpreter what he wanted to do with the book—what he had there. He then showed us the following written statement (in Russian) which he said he made for me, as he was not certain whether we should meet and talk or not, before I left the island: 7 [Translation. |, Auaust 6, 1890. Pardon me, Mr. Elliott, I never call myself a big man, but now I shall talk what I know, and will not tell what I do not know. I think that as the hauling grounds were they will be if the drives were made and the killing made from small ones, the large ones spared. If that is done, I think all will be well. If that is not done, more harm will come to the rookeries so that there will be no more hauling out on the rookeries. If a zapooska is made, I think all will be well. If the zapooska is not made, then we will lose the land if the Treasury does not look out. If the hauling grounds could sustain the company, then the grass and everything like it would not grow there now. ‘This loss will fall upon us and upon our children. We can not longer sit quiet and talk about there being lots of seals. GENERAL MEMORANDA CONCERNING THE SEAL ISLANDS. ST. GEORGE VILLAGE, July 29, 1890. In many respects a resident here enjoys a far more pleasurable life than if stationed at St. Paul. He has a finer view of the sea, which in storms, boils at his feet in surf of surprising power, or laves the black basaltic base of the village cliff, in low rippling murmurs when calm days prevail. Hecan see from morning until night, endless flocks of waterfowl, from the 26th of every April until the end of every Octo- ber, flying to and from the uplands and cliffs, some days beating their way stubbornly against a stiff head wind or darting off through the fog or mist like bullets from a gun. I notice a great increase in the fioral display over that exhibited here in 1873-74; indeed, I think that the flowers at Garden Cove are as numerous and as beautiful as can be seen on St. Paul. They were not so in 1873. The grass in and around the village here is the finest turf in Alaska; it is a close-growing fine-speared species or variety that very closely resem les the blue grassof Kentucky. The seal “road” leading to the eastern rookery is of this sod, sodded smoothly, and it crops out on the south side at Garden Cove especially attractive. Such a compact, smooth, glassy green turf makes the little hamlet here look attractive, as itis kept clean everywhere and not littered or strewn. The water here is abominable, however—nothing but the seepage from the hilly tundra back of the village—and perhaps owes much of its “flatness” to that drainage which it represents of the ‘“‘ Choochkie ” ridges, which breed here by millions ftom June to August 30 and September 10, all over the uplands around the town. On St. George in 1868 no regular list was made of the number of seals taken, but it seems likely from all I can gather that at least 30,000 were killed. On St. Paul, also, no regular count was made, but H. M. Hutchinson and Daniel Webster, who were on the ground then sealing there, assure me that the number did not exceed 240,000. This was followed in 1869 by the killing of 60,000 or a few more on St. Paul and St. George for natives’ food, the skins being salted, and finally taken by the Alaska Commercial Company next year—i. e., most of them— since they did not get possession until August, 1870, and then the seal- ing season was substantially ended for the year. The condition and appearance of this little town of St. George is one of good order and cheerfulness. The 21 native houses here are occu- 198 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. pied by 98 souls. There were 120 when I was here in 1873. The little streets or road ways are clean and well drained. The grass in and about the village is much better than at St. Paul, and a small sheep paddock directly under the window of the ‘Treasury agent’s house is one that suggests a Kentucky blue grass meadow most forcibly. GENERAL MEMORANDA. THE FOOD OF THE FUR SEAL AND ITS RELATION TO THE FISHERIES OF ALASKA AND THE NORTHWEST COAST. In my monograph of the seal islands of Alaska (p. 64) I called atten- tion to the amount of fish that a fur seal probably consumed every day on an average throughout the year, showing that these animals undoubtedly required and secured some 6,000,000 tons of fish as food annually. I said: Think of the enormous food consumption of these rookeries and hauling grounds; what an immense quantity of finny prey must pass down their voracious throats as every year rolls by. Acreature so full of life, strung with nerves, muscles like bands of steel, can not live on air, or absorb it from the sea. Their food is fish, to the practical exclusion of all other diet. I have never seen them touch, or disturb with the intention of touching, one solitary example in the flocks of waterfowl which rest upon the surface of the water all about the islands. I was especially careful in noting this, because it seemed to me that the canine armature of their mouths must suggest flesh for food at times as well as fish; but fish we know they eat. Whole windrows of the heads of cod and wolf fishes, bitten off by these animals at the nape, were washed up on the south skore of St. George during a gale in the summer of 1873. This pelagic decapitation evidently marked the progress and the appetite of a band of fur seals to the windward of the island, as they passed into and through a stray school of these fishes. How many pounds per diem is required by an adult seal, and taken by it when feeding, is not certainin my mind. Judging from the appetite, however, of kindred animals, such as sea lions fed in confinement at Woodward’s Gardens, San Francisco, Ican safely say that 40 pounds for a full-grown fur seal is a fair allowance, with at least 10 or 12 pounds per diem to every adult female, and not much lessif any, to the rapidly growing pups and young holluschickie. Therefore, this great body of 4,000,000 and 5,000,000 of hearty, active animals which we know on the seal islands must consume an enormous amount of such food every year. They can not average less than 10 pounds of fish each per diem, which gives the consumption as exhibited by their appetite of over 6,000,000 tons of fish every year. What wonder then that nature should do something to hold these active fishermen in check.! An old sea captain, Dampier, cruising around the world just about two hundred years ago, wrote diligently thereof (or, rather, one Funnel is said to have written for him), and wrote well. He had frequent reference to meeting hair seals and sea lions, fur seals, etc., and fell into repeating this maxim, evidently of his own making: “or wherever there be plenty of fysh, there be seals.” Iam sure that, unless a vast abundance of good fishing ground was near by, no such congregation of seal life as is that under discussion on the seal islands could exist. The whole eastern half of 'T feel confident that I have placed this average of fish eaten per diem by each seal at astarvation allowance, or, in other words, it is a certain minimum of the whole consumption. If the seals can get double the quantity which I credit them with above, startling as it seems, still I firmly believe that they eat it every year. An adequate realization by ichthyologists and fishermen as to what havoc the fur-seal hosts are annually making among cod, herring, and salmon of the northwest coast and Alaska would disconcert and astonish them. Happily for the peace of political economists who may turn their attention to the settlement and growth of the Pacific Coast of America, it bids fair to never be known with anything like precision. The fishing of man, both aboriginal and civilized, in the past, present, and prospective, has never been, nor will it be, more than a drop in the bucket contrasted with the piscatorial labors of these ichthyophagi in those waters adjacent to their birth. What Catholic knowledge of fish and fishing banks anyone of those old ‘‘seecatchie” must possess, which we observe hauled out on the Pribilov rookeries each summer. It has, undoubtedly, during the eighteen or twenty years of its life explored every fish eddy, bank, or shoal throughout the whole of that vast immensity of the North Pacific and Bering Sea. It has had more piscine sport in a single twelvemonth than Izaak Walton had in his whole life. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 199 Bering Sea, in its entirety, is a single fish-spawning bank, nowhere deeper than 50 to 75 fathoms, averaging perhaps, 40. There are also great reaches of fishing shoals up and down the northwest coast from and above the Straits of Fuca, bordering the entire southern, or Pacific, coast of the Aleutian Islands. The aggregate of fish food which the seals find upon these vast ichthyological areas of reproduction must be simply enormous, and fully equal to the most extravagant demand of the voracious appetites of Calg hini. Using the above as a Suggestion, several writers have hastily assumed that it would be a good thing if the seals were exterminated; that by exterminating them, just so much more would be given to our salmon and cod fishermen to place upon the markets of the world. These men forget the fact that all animal life in a state of nature, existing to-day as the fishes and seals do, is sustained by a natural equilibrium, one animal preying upon the other, so that year after year only so many seals, so many cod, so many halibut, so many salmon, so many dogfish, and so on throughout the long list, can and do exist. Suppose, for argument, that we could and did kill all the seals, we would at once give the deadly dogfish (Squalus acanthias), which family swarms in these waters, an immense impetus to its present extensive work of destruction of untold millions of young food fishes, such as herring, cod, and salmon fry, upon which it feeds. A dogfish can, and does destroy every day of its existence, hundreds and thousands of young cod, salmon, and other food fishes—destroys at least double and quadruple as much asa seal. What is the most potent factor to the destruction of the dogfish? Why, the seal him- self; and unless man can and will destroy the dogfish first, he will be doing positive injury to the very cause he pretends to champion if he is permitted to distarb this equilibrium of nature, and destroy the seal. OFFICERS OF THE GOVERNMENT. List of resident Treasury agents who have served on the seal islands of Alaska from 1869 to 1890. CHIEF SPECIAL AGENTS. No. Name. Seasons of service. Ty) | GT SS Eat eee ABBR BOBS OROOOCONDOOCTICOE DOCUE OD SBHOCOM AnD SHOMenanooee 1869 to May 20, 1877. AonmeMeMMOrione 2c c4. sak eee oS kee ee nase soe ace wean Ret ceee aoe 1877 to 1878. DeaErisOn GAOtis.s As dt}. t oo «setance mise e mia eee en sale Eee aauee 1879 to 1881. BUBHOnE VPC IdGOM es 6 tcesen- cere os emes - dat onisesne sc sasensp mses 1882 to July 1, 1885. || Ceci I ROU Nin) Ripe: So Sn eco epea eed oseeseeees Son Se ace seco see aeoreeeeeo: 1885 to April, 1889. OUMe AMOS aC Oliadenscccetoids cease siecclescrcveee vevliisecctercescanasernas coos 1889 to date. Tio | ISERIES OF EGG) PE Ree ON ODO CE TO AIODE CE DOA an ane Saree eer Ease naa sae 1870 to 1876. Sp Henry WarblitObbioncccte cs Cate cne ce on ae ae tees ce eres ee re eee | 1872 to 1873. Oy PRMATIOIS MGOSSON™ 5.22/92 sc) teas See ek enon ee seems ene Sonne See ae ae | 1872 to 1874. LON GOES SMMiarsuOn a2. cin52 alae cleme ate see sat sce selene eee ee een sacs ese een 1875 to 1877. 1G) SWalliami dis Melntyre 222 = 225-- soctse's 2 oo eae ies os anes ee eee | 1874 to 1876. Pn pep ELM OTE OR. (ee 4 oe tere oe is OA) aan eteate ware Casein cocire Onerine eee 1877 to 1882. d 5 bol ose QPS LY 2S) pte Ap EN I I ey oe DU A Ba ES me ee bla | 1879 to 1880. SP OU MROW HBCAMAN © a. ssetecnct stot ns codes eee web cone eee oad pega | 1879 to 1880. OO Da Pe agmOres e202). Saou estas os cease eke eet ae aden ose a nee ee eRe 1881 to August 3, 1881. Loh George \ Wardman Son xp ostan Sas. ots amen Sine Satins = eee 1881 to May 29, 1885. BA PYGOU IR CIMINO] fae 5. oo ent ook cee cia, Seman 2d pee acm rime oer le Se en eee 1882 to 1883. 1G) MELCLDOLb Cr MOWASR oo soe emia caine e eee tee nea Mot as Cates eee 1884 to July1,1885, only. TO | BACHE LOUMAL Cee cs tighn etc SoIAG Cetae SE meee s TLE Lee Re as 1885 to 1889. eOn homes Iitivanss: usd saab eee see es kek eee ee 1885 to 1886. SA Glee MianiGhesberses snes out teal neem ama he eS ee el a pee 1886 to 1889. Pala sunyy Goanvadieen oe ah ce ars ae te eae Seat os ot Sd eae ees 1887 to 1888. Dot OOS PU ME UTR y ae memset aera tla Muon GONE NRE aie 2 172-1 ee ee ant 1889 to date. SAM SS MOT OUGM St sere ao 8 cc EER RRL S02 a ed IN a le 1889 to date. COR RA A #URVOUUGET erecin senna! soccem te ame coh eeckiae ss Seas dol ooeee means 1890 to date. 200 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. In addition to the above list of names of regularly specified seal island agents of the Treasury Department, 8S. N. Buynitsky, a clerk in the customs division, Office of the Secretary of the Treasury, was detailed as a temporary agent and served through the season’s work of 1870 on St. George, three months; then he passed another period of nine months on St. Paul, from July 31, 1871, to April 26, 1872, in charge. But he was not regularly enrolled or appointed as a Treasury agent for the seal islands. In 1874, under order of special act of Congress, Henry W. Elliott and Lieut. Washburn Maynard, U.S. N., made an elaborate and detailed survey of the seal life, as embodied on these islands. SEAL PIRATES AND THEIR WORK ON THE ISLANDS. The following citations from the daily journal of the Treasury agent’s office on St. George Island in reference to the visits of marauders or pirates are given to show the general impression made at the time, means of prevention, ete. September 10, 1884.—Schooner reported at Zapadnie. September 11, 1884.—About 12.45 a.m. we noticed boats coming toward the shore. * * * As a warning to let them know, and not to land, we fired a half dozen shots. ‘The marauding boats immediately turned about and disappeared in the fog and darkness (p. 376). July 2, 1885.— * * * About 5 o’clock the watchman came over from Zapadnie with the news that a schooner was in sight, and its crew were catching seals in the water by shooting. * * * July 3, 1885.—The men we sent to Zapadnie yesterday evening * * * returned early this morning, reporting they could see no pirates or signs of any (p. 418). July 20, 1885.— * * * The men with the boat brought the information that they had seen marauders near Starry Arteel rookery. * * * We failed to catch the rascals, but found their marks in the shape of many seal skeletons, some fresh, showing that they had been killed but the night before. June 22, 1885.—(At same place.) * * * On the arrival of Mr. Morgan and myself on the ground we found the marauders gone, but their work left on the beach, 120 seal skins and evidence enough to satisfy the Government agent that between 600 and 700 seals had been killed, nearly all females. * * * We found hundreds of skinned seals hid under rocks and in caves (p. 419). September 7, J8S85.— * ™ ™ The marauders who are in the habit of hanging around this island at this season of the year are keeping themselves at a distance this year, for which we are very much obliged (p. 427). June 19, 1886.—At 3 a. m. this morning the chief reported that the two watchmen at Starry Arteel discovered within 400 feet of shorea ship’s boat, and they fired four shots in all and the boats left. This occurred about 1 a.m. * * * Arkent reported no vessels at Zapadnie last night, but fog was heavy and it was dark (p. 469). August 6, 1886.—Dense fog. Went to Starry Arteel rookery, taking chief with me to see the dead seals reported found there yesterday. They had been killed by elub- bing and had evidently been dead a week. August 9, 1886 — ~*~ * * Schoonersighted about 8 a.m. some 6 miles to the north, heading west. Soon after natives reported seeing a boat just off bluff at West Point. * * * Two boats close in shore at West Point. Fired upon them, when they at once pulled out into the fog in direction of the schooner. September 24, 1886.—At about 1 p.m.the revenue steamer Bear came to anchor in front of thevillage. * * * Captain Healy reports that in his opinion all maraud- ing vessels (six) have left these waters (p. 487). November 17, 1888.— _* * * At 12m.sawa schooner from the village at the west end of the island heading to the northwest. Sent second chief and three men to Zapadnie, etc. November 18, 1888.— __* * * Nothing seen of the schooner to-day. Second chief returned to village and reports that some persons had Janded,as there was fresh tracks, and the windows of the native house were all broken. No signs could be discovered of much damage being done to the rookery, as the few seals left there at this time are all quiet (p. 196). September 30, 1889.— * * * Messenger from Zapadnie reported that men had landed and killed seals on the rookery last night. October 1, 1889.— * * * At10 o'clock p. m. three boats hove in sight and came up to within a few yards of where we were concealed. Here they separated, one FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 201 going toward the end of the rookery and two steaming toward the center of the rook- ery, * * * so] fired across the nearest boat and gave orders to the men to fire. Instantly the boats turned and pulled for the open sea (p. 277). October 21 and 22, 1889.—Schooner ‘anchored off Zapadnie 21st. Captain came ashore on 22d and spoke to watchmen at Barrabkie, saying he belonged to the Alaska Commercial Company. Compasses out of order, ete. , bound for Kamchatka. Natives refused to go aboard with him, and he went off and got under way—left. Nothing seen of him since, and no other vessel this year. DESTRUCTION OF SEAL PUPS BY KILLER WHALES CLOSE AROUND THE ROOKERIES, IN THE SEA. The following citations from the Treasury agent’s journal on St.George Island refer to the appearance of the killer whales (Orca gladiator) and the havoc they create. There is but one brief entry of the kind in the St. Paul journal. I am not surprised at it, however, because I did not see a killer whale around St. Paul during the whole of my visit there last season, May 21 to August 11, inclusive. But at St. George, the letter of Captain Lavender, which follows, declared the presence of a great many. September 15, 1S81.—A school of apparently 10 or 12 killers ran into the shoal around the near rookery to-day and soon made havoc among the pups. It was esti- mated from the manner in which the seal were thrown up out of the water that 25 or 30 were eaten by their greatest enemies. September 18, 1881.—Another visitation of killers similar to that of 15th instant (p. eee) May 9, 1882.--A school of killers were also seen this morning for the first time since the seals left last fall (p. 286). October 29, 1882.—The weather being fair and favorable to-day, I made a trip to Starry Arteel rookery, noticing on my way there that agoodmany so-called killers were chasing and destroying young pup seals in the sea off the beach (p. 804). September 3, 1885.—- * * * The killers put in an appearance in force about the beginning of ‘this month, remaining or coming near every day up to this date, to the oreat discomfiture (sic) of the pups. The number of pups devoured by them must be great (p. 429). May 5, “1886. Seiiiae killers passed by to-day—the monsters (p. 456). September 14, 1887.— * * A school of killers made their initial appearance. There were about eight in the school. They passed the length of the island three times and killed all the seal and sea lion they could get. September 22, 1887.—Killers again appeared this afternoon. There were about 15 of them. They passed from east to west and killed many seals. October 16, 1887.— * * * A school of killers, about four in all, came at 8.30 a.m. from east (p. 39). October 19, 188S7,— * * * Killers came again this evening, passing from east to west. Their work,as usual, very destructive. The gulls followed, picking up rem- nants of meat. October 21, 1887.—Killers at an early hour this morning, and they cleared the sea of all the seal that were in it at the time (p. 50). July 1, 1888.— * * * Killers have been in this vicinity for a week, and were in front of village all afternoon (p. 158). October 23, 1888.— * * * There are many pup seals in the water now, and we often see killers among them. I think that they kill many of the pups (p. 192). In aletter addressed by Capt. A. W. Lavender on this subject to the writer, he says: Lam now stationed on St. George Island as Treasury agent, and not having been long enough on the island to be a competent judge as to the number of seals destroyed annually by these monsters, I have asked the opinion of gentlemen who have spent every season for the last ten years here, and the answers to all my inquiries have been that this species of whale must be destroyed or the seal rookeries will be some- thing of the past in a short time. They also informed me that during the month of October, when the pups first take to the water, they are killed by the “thousand, and that the water along the shore of the rookeries is red with the blood of young seals, which fall easy victims to these monsters, having no fears of them. * He closes with the following sensible recommendation : The next Congress should make an appropriation sufficient to furnish two whale boats and crews with all the modern improvements for the killing of whales, and to 202 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. station one boat and crew on each island during the ensuing year, with orders to patrol the islands, daily if possible, and destroy this whale whenever an opportunity is afforded. These boats should be in charge of experienced whalemen from some part of the New England States, where this whale and other similar species exist in large numbers. There would be no trouble in obtaining men who are well versed in this kind of whaling, and it is my opinion at the end of the year it would be found that killers were very scarce and would not come near the shore, while their appetite for seal and seal pups would be changed so much that codfish and other similar varieties would be good enough for them. I shall endeavor to write more fully on this subject in the near future when I have had a little more experience on the islands, as I consider it one of great importance. Truly, yours, A. W. LAVENDER. CERTAIN OFFICIAL SURVEYS OF THE SEAL ROOKERIES. Extracts from the journal of the office of the Treasury agent on St. George Island, in reference to the number of seals thereon, show that several of the assistant agents over there have paid considerable atten- tion to this important subject by making field observations in the breeding seasons since my published work of 1874. The jowrnal of the St. Paul office does not give any similar evidence of attention until the season of 1889, or until the notes of Mr. Charles J. Goff were entered last year. All final surveys and population notes of the breeding grounds made before the seals arrive, and not when they are to be seen at the right time for measurement of area and position, viz, July 10 to 20, inclusive, are valueless. In 1884 a distinct note of warning was sounded from St. George by Assistant Agent Wardman; the St. Paul office, however, gave it no attention. The first survey made after my work of 1873-74 was the following, which seems to have been made in all sincerity; but the extraordinary allotment of space which be gives to the seals, 2 feet in some places and 8 feet in others, is due to the fact that he must have struck those particular 8, 4, and 5 feet areas when the pups were podding back and the cows scattered with them. The work, however, bears evidence of pains and sincerity and is entitled to respect. Imade that season of 1874 a total of 162,402; he makes it 198,648 breeding seals and young. His figures of sea margin and average depth show, when contrasted with mine, that his tapeline, and the podding, which it is evident that he encountered, were not safe factors for a close calculation. This calculation of William J. McIntyre is copied from his autograph entry in the journal of the Treasury agent, St. George Island. Table showing the present condition of the breeding rookeries on St. George Island, from a survey made by William J. McIntyre. [The limits of expansion were defined in the middle of July, 1874, anc measured in April of the following year.] Space | Total bulls, Rookeries. Penge. ts ratty © | allowed for cows, and ee * | each seal. pups. Sq. feet. Zepaaiiets JS sss sch. HULA Dee aR eee 875 136 & 24, 600 Starmy tAmteel |: <.c2. 12. cut faeces See ese Ses ee 650 173 3 34, 150 North: ODS TE SUSE onsen a a aia ow a xen k Abie ROSE OE es 900 41 2 18, 450 SHOU DAL Uc cnewccs bee scaun ete eee ee Ene ae 900 544 8 6, 112 MEE Pash s. Ie 555354. [NS EE ea ae 1, 000 124 2 62, 000 Aime Masts must. tse. 2c Joalh ek cee ee ee 650 72 3 12, 356 East: UST UN RRUD bats sms sam ae pooeee nee eee EE ee 260 240 4 15, 600 SOCond PAR se cack Ol cts se. Sees eee eee eee 1, 240 49 2 25, 380 Mo taliet tem sccd cs cece e a550 nin cose ene een 6,475 1113 a 3 198, 648 a Average. PLaTe 48. TA Of DALNO!| MEES. — (N.4W,, 10 miles distant.) ZAPADNIE ROOKERY. (NNE., 74 miles distant.) VIEW OF THE SOUTH SHORE OF SAINT GEORGE ISLAND, PRIBILOF GROUP. Taken from the Rush, August 5, 1890. WATERFALL HEAD. (NE. by N., 9 miles distant.) FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 203 With all due deference to Mr. Elliott’s opinion that 2 square feet of ground for each seal on the breeding rookeries is approximately correct, I am inclined to the opinion that this is too liberal an estimate for all of the rookeries. In some cases I have allowed 2 square feet, in others 3, 4, 5, and 8 square feet, according to the topography of the ground, its adaptability for breeding purposes, and the condition of the rook- ery at the time of its greatest expansion, i. e., about the middle of July. It would be utterly impossible for any series of measurements to give the accurate number of seals that haul up on the breeding rookeries or hauling grounds. The least that can be done under the circumstances is to form some basis for measurement during the middle of July, mark the limits of the breeding grounds, and measure them care- fully with a tapeline, as was done in this case, before the seals return. This will give their approximate number, and, if carefully done, will not be far out of the way; Still these figures are not exact and should be proven by the measurements of 1875.—Wo. J. McINTYRE. With that work of Assistant Agent McIntyre, all effort in this line by him or his successors seems to have ceased, and not until 1886 was the subject taken up again: CONCERNING THE OFFICIAL REPORTS OF CERTAIN UNITED STATES TREASURY AGENTS, 1886-1888. In my letter of introduction to this report I allude to the extraordi- nary fact that the official reports of the Treasury agents in charge of the public interests on the Pribilov Islands, for the years 1886, 1887, and 1888, declare a great increase of fur-seal life on these islands then, over my large figures of 1872-1874; that they make this declaration to the Secretary of the Treasury in spite of or ignorance of the truth, which was just the reverse! 'The trouble with these responsible agents of the Government on the islands at that time was that they were mainly engrossed with contemptible personalities between themselves, which caused them to forget and neglect the chief object of their official duty. The following extracts from the official and regular daily journal of the United States Treasury agent on St. George Island are enough, and will give a very clear understanding of what they were busy about at that time, when the seals were vanishing rapidly from the hauling grounds and fading out on the rookeries. [Extract copied by the author from Treasury agent’s journal, St. George Island, Alaska (oflicial record), p. 166.] July 30, 1888.—Str St Paul arrived from St. Paul Island at 4.30 a.m. She took on board 9,948 skins. The Rush soon came and Mr. Tingle came ashore. We hada long talk and I gave him a history of affairs on this Island. At the finish of the history he said that he had no fault to find with me and thought that the Co’s men had given me a hard time. (Gavitt.) July 31, 1888.—Mr. Tingle remained ashore. This morning he was receiving from me a verbal statement of how the Co’s men try to blacken the character of every one with whom they conflict, when one who was present (Capt. Loud,) and should know better became abusive and wanted to fight because my statements ‘reflected on some of his friends.” Mr. Tingle said he believed my statement and intended reporting the matter to the A. C. Co. of San Francisco. ‘The lie was passed between several and the meeting was lively. Its time that a Gov’t officer can come here without being called a thief, drunkard ete. This made some dirty talk to Mr. Tingle about me and I proved to Mr. Tingle how they talk about every one, and after I told him he was perfectly satisfied. (Gavitt.) Aug. 1st, 1888.— * * * The Rush and St. Paul still at anchor. Mr. Tingle, Clark Mead and several natives went on board. * * * (Gavitt.) Aug. 2d, 1888. * * * ‘The Rush and St. Paulat anchor all day. No one came ashore. A boat containing Loud Jack Hall, the cook Alex. Lugebil and some natives (the Oostigoff tribe) went out at 2 p. m. and remained until 3.30 p.m. As they went on board, I suppose some of them had a lot of filth to dump but as Mr. Tingle said on 31st that he was sick of the way things are here, I hardly think Mr. Tingle held any investigation, because he would have come ashore or sent forme. * * * (Gavitt. ) 204 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. William E. Gavitt remains in charge of St. George until he boards the steamer St. Paul, August 9, 1888, en route for Evansville, Ind., on ‘a leave of absence.” Then he is succeeded by Capt. A. P. Loud, who has been living on this island of St. George with him all summer (as his assistant), and who then takes up the journal! for the first time. All entries up to date of August 10, 1888, are in Gavitt’s handwriting and name, as the assistant agent in charge of the island. Captain Loud commences his first service as assistant agent in charge, on page 174, by making an unintroduced entry of the following letter of George kh. Tingle. [Iam obliged to copy it verbatim et literatim.| {Extract copied from United States Treasury agent’s journal, St. George Island, by the author, p.174.] St. Paut ISLAND, Alaska, Aug. 10, 1888. Capt. A. P. Loup, Assistant Treasury Agent in charge of St. George Island. Sir: in the matter of the charges and complaints of Wm. Gavitt, Assistant Treasury Agent against the Alaska Commercial Cos. Employees on St. George Island as spread on the Journal in the Treasur y Agents office, and as Set forth to me in his letter of 3d June on file in this Office I have to say that I made an exhaustive investi gation into the whole matter complained of to me taking the sworn statement of those per- sons who had wintered on the Island with Mr. Gavitt as well as his own statement: The affidavits of Dr. C. A. Luts, Daniel Webster and Eugene Kirk disproves wholly all the charges made by Mr. Gavitt, whilst the recital to me by Mr. Gavitt, himself on the occasion of my visit to St. George Island on 30th ulto, only strengthened the Statement of Others and leaves him in the unenviable positionof having been the main cause of disturbing the harmony and personal friendly relations whitch Existed amoung the White peopel of the Station, whare I left him in charge one year ago. Many of the things complained of and recorded by Mr. Gavitt in the public journal improperly are of a trivial nature not proper to be written in the Journal. I can only excuse Mr. Gavitt’s conduct in many things on the ground of ill health, in taking this Extremely Charitable view I must in Justice say that he manifested a disposition of insubordination to his Superior Officer and was quarrelsome to a degree whitch became unbearabel, many of the entries in his Journal are absolutely false and disgraceful] so mutch so that I cannot refrain from placing on record in the Journal this Letter and thairfore ask you to Spread it in full upon the Journal With such additional Endorsements by you whitch your associations and knowledge of Mr. Gavitt warrent. (Signed) GEO. R. TINGLE, Treasury Agent. I have been living in the house with Mr. Gavitt for the past sixty seven days and ° am well acquainted with him. I have no hesitation to say that he is neither truthful nor honerable and that his actions words and general behavior were a disgrace to any man holding a position under our Government. A. P. Loup, Ast. Treas. Agt. St. George Island. AuG. —, 188-. In the clear light which the above-quoted extracts throw upon the occupation and concern of these agents of the Treasury Department, I wish to make an especial record of those particular reports made to the Secretary of the Treasury, which, being utterly incorrect and mis leading, gave infinite aid and comfort to the cause of the pelagic hunters, and worked serious harm to the public interests of our Gov- ernment, [The bogus official report of 1886.] OFFICE OF SPECIAL AGENT TREASURY DEPARTMENT, St. Paul Island, Alaska, July 31, 1886. Str: I herewith transmit my report of the operations of the sea islands for the past year and up to the close of this sealing season. * * * * * * * Mr. Elliott embraced in his report of 1874 a measurement by him of the breeding rookeries on this island, made July 10 to 18, 1872, since which time no measurement has been made so far as the records of this officeshow. Deeming it of great importance that the Department should be in possession of the best infor mation as to the present FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 205 conditicn of the rookeries, I made a thorough measurement of all on this island, com- mencing on the 3d day of May, before the bulls hauled up on the land, when an abso- lutely correct measurement could be made. In making my measurements I was assisted by Dr. L. A. Noyes (Captain Loud, assistant Treasury agent, not having returned to the islands) and four of the best- informed natives. As to the boundaries of the breeding rookeries in July, when the rookeries were fullest, we verified our work by observation, and found the ground included withifi our lines fully covered some of the rookeries, viz, Northeast Point, Tolstoi, Garbutch, Polivana, were densely packed, covering more area than my state- ment shows, while others were not so closely packed. I do not agree with Mr. Elliott in his assignment of 2 feet square to each seal; at this date it is not enough. 1 inclose my statement, marked E, as compared with Mr. Elliott’s, which on his basis gives us now on the breeding rookeries 5,148,500 seals, an increase since 1872 of 2,137,550. I think the calculation of 1872, as well as 1886, would stand a reduction of one-fourth in aggregate number of seals, and be nearer the true number than our figures show. Statements at best are merely approximate estimates, but in the absence Of any absolutely correct method of arriving at the count, they serve as a guide. Frequent inspection of the rookeries during last season and this shows a decided increase of cows, with an ample supply of bulls. The same report is also made by the assistant Treasury agent in charge of St. George, on which island I was not able to obtain measurements of the rookeries this spring, but will do so next, and forward the result with my next report. * * * * * * * GEO. R. TINGLE, Treasury Agent. E.— Measurement of breeding rookeries, St. Paul Island, Alaska. » = = By W. H. Elliott, assistant Treasury | By George R. Tingle, Treasury agent, agent, July 10 to 18, 1872. May 8 to 8, 1886. * Rookery. 5 eae ie est Total ea : ee ee TW a} Sea 73 ; seals on margin. Width. | Total area. eee sandne margin. Width.| Total area. Elli ott's male seal, basis. Feet. Feet. DROOL os islsiniaaie’t a's aaincinn 4, 016 150 602, 400 301, 200 5, 550 175 971, 250 485, 625 Garbuteh)--22s. file in the secretary’s office which warned him of the true state of affairs up there. September 1, 1889.— * * * Dr. Lutz and myself took a walk to the Reef this afternoon. The old bulls are about all gone, pups are getting rather large, and could be seen by thousands playing in the water. Yet I am satistied that they are not near so numerous as in the past. It is impossible to continue killing 100,000 seals per annum and expect a continuation of seal life and a revenue to the Govern- ment. My observation this summer of the rookeries have fallen far short of my expectations after reading Elliott and others on seal life.—C. J. Gorr. (Treasury agent’s journal, St. Faul Island, p. 173.) FIELD NOTES RELATIVE TO PELAGIC SEALING—IN RE SEAL PIRATES, AND MINGLING OF RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN SEAL HERDS. OONALASHKA, August 13, 1890. From what I saw yesterday as I came down on the Arago, from what Captain Tanner of the Albatross informs me, and from what I learned through the collector here, there is no doubt but that a number of pelagic sealers are at work in Bering Sea at the present hour: and get- ting everything that they can lay their hands upon in the form of fur seal. Werandownupon atypical sealing schooner yesterday morning, about 7 o'clock, as she was partly becalmed, about 60 miles north of Akootan Pass. She had her sails at first clewed up: but, as we drew near, she hoisted her foresail and jib and lazily drew off so as to turn her stern away from sight, in order that her name might not be taken. But, we ran clear around so as to disclose the name “Ariel, St. John, N. B.,” in white letters on her black hull, under her stern. We passed so near to her that we could look right down upon her crowded deck—crowded with northwest-coast canoes and Indians, so that there was hardly moving room on her. She was a small schooner, not over 50 tons, and extremely shabby in her equipment: rigging frayed and slack, sails patched like a crazy quilt, and the crew made up entirely of Indians (some thirty or thirty- tive), except three white men. The Indians were dressed in blanket coats or shirts, with their flaps overhanging; some breeched and some unbreeched. ‘Their canoes were telescoped on deck precisely as the dories of a Gloucester codfisherman are packed or stowed. They all crowded up on the diminutive poop deck of the schooner, and stared at us in mingled fear and wrath, while some one of the white men ran below, and reappeared with a rifle under his arm. The name of the schooner being disclosed, the Arago bore away, and when the craft wassome 5 miles astern, we saw her canoes dropping down for seals—she had 8 or 10 canoes. I am not certain as to the count, but not any less, that is sure. These Indians use both spears and guns. Captain Tanner says that last week when at work, 60 miles west- northwest of St. Paul Island, on the 100-fathom line, he saw two schoon- ers anchored, with their boats out sealing. The skinned carcasses of the seals that they had shot, were floating everywhere. The collector here says that he has been informed by these men who have been running in here frequently during the last three weeks, osten- sibly in distress, but really to find out where and what the cutters were FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 211 and doing, that the catch outside of Bering Sea up to July 1 was 47,000 skins. These skins were shipped on a special Victoria steamer by the sealers at a common rendezvous at Sand Point, and at Thin Point, or Sannak Island, before they ventured into Bering Sea. This is an enor- mous catch, and must have been wholly taken from the cows, since there are little or no male seals left. The collector says that out of the 67 skins which he seized, the sealers informed him that 60 were females when killed, all being with their unborn young ! Certainly, the absence of seals in the water as we came down yester- day, over a sea that was smooth and glassy, was surprising. We saw but four young seals on the entire stretch between Oonalashka and the island of St. George. The opportunity for viewing these animals never could be better, and the inference is unavoidable that they are rapidly running out. I find the opinion commonly expressed here, as it was when [ first came up, that the active, uninterrupted shooting and hunting of these seals on the several paths of travel up to the seal islands from the Pacific on one side, has deflected large bodies of them over to the Rus- sian rookeries. It stands to reason that a fleet of forty or forty-five or more vessels, all hovering about the entrances to the passes of the Aleutian chain on the Pacific side—the passes of Oonimak, Akootan, and Oonimak especially—that such a reception would head off and turn aside a regular, orderly migration of these animals. How many of them are thus turned over to the Russian herds, which really belong to us, I have no idea; who can say? But at this present hour every seal lost to the rookeries of the Pribilov group counts heavily against the future life and preservation of those interests. Touching this matter of the commingling of the two herds, I can not think of a better illustration of the fact that they do not visit back and forth on the islands—do not interchange on the islands—than the following: Farmer A has a large number of chickens, white Leghorns, which he breeds in his barnyard year after year, with great success. Farmer B, who lives up and beyond, across the country road from Farmer A, also has a fine flock of these same white Leghorn fowls, which he, too, breeds with great success and profit, and has done so for a long time. Now, during the summer months, a number of these chickens reared by Farmer A regularly range out into the country road, up and down, in search of food, and, in so doing, meet and scratch together with the fowls of Farmer B, which come also out into the roadway in obedience to the same instinct. Anybody seeing them together on this common meeting ground, could not possibly tell them apart as the special prop- erty alone of Farmer A or B. But, the chickens never make a mistake; they invariably separate and return every evening to their respective barnyards, where they were hatched and reared. So it is with these fur seals of the Russian and Alaskan herds in Bering Sea. I believe that they, like the fowls above described, meet each other frequently when feeding throughout the waters of Bering Sea, that roll between the Asiatic and American seal islands of their birth; but that they always return, when desirous of hauling out on land, to the rookeries on which they were born; the Russian fur seals always returning to the Commander Islands, and the Alaskan callorhini always returning to the Pribilovs. Abnormal conditions might change this fixed habit of their lives; as far as I know to-day, no such conditions have prevailed. 212 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. Captain Tanner has been cruising in Bering Sea, between Oonalashka and Bristol Bay, and as far to the westward as longitude 175° west, latitude 59° north, and has seen but three schooners up to date. Two of those vessels were in the full tide of sealing, as above stated, 60 miles west of St. Paul Island, and the other was a rusty little craft just above Amak Island, west of Oonimak Island. But that does not signify that there are no more—on the contrary, it is very likely that there are more. A careful inquiry here to-day, discloses the fact that fur seals have never hauled on the beaches of Oonalaska Island: and have never come into the harbor here, within sight of the natives, except for a few days only: when strong northerly gales prevail: and, as soon as it becomes calm, they go out again and down into the Pacific. From time imme- morial, fur seal pups have been shot and speared every fall, in Novem- ber chiefly, as they migrated south into the Pacific from Bering Sea. Anywhere from a few hundred to 2,500 annually have thus been secured since the Russians first opened up the country in 1768-1786. The best resort for such hunting is Oomnak Pass; it was in the past, and is now. It was this annual passage of these animals, down in the autumn and up in the summer, through these passes of the Aleutian Archipelago, that aroused the first search of the Russians for the seal islands. The scarcity of seals this year has been commented upon by the fishermen of Alaska, who declare that they have been getting larger catches this season than ever before, and lay the change to the decrease of seal life. Captain Tanner says that he has seen several of these men who have charge of canneries and codfishing stations at Oonga and Popov islands; they all said that unquestionably the increase of fish was due to the decrease of seals; if not wholly due to that, it certainly was in a measure. I am by no means inclined to regard the cireum- stance as noteworthy to any appreciable degree whatever; nor can I believe much in the deflection of any large body of fur seals from the Aleutian passes up to our side of Bering Sea and the Pribilov Islands. There is not as yet enough ground covered by these sea hunters to make that abrupt turn down south of the Aleutian chain of the fur-seal herd, wherein too long, too wide, and too frequent an opportunity exists for them to go wholly unmolested up to their places of birth in Bering Sea. They might be so headed off by a cordon of hundreds of schooners hovering steadily in the mouths of these passes, with the wind and weather always clear and calm, still water, and foggy only at short intervals; but such is not the case here; the weather is treacherous, the winds rise and blow for days and days; the fog settles and hangs for weeks and weeks so thick that the oldest and most experienced seamen actually get lost in its confusion. During these periods, the fur seals can and do pass safely through into Bering Sea, no matter how many schooners, filled with no matter how many hunters, may be in the waters outside waiting to intercept them. Then, when it does clear up, becomes calm, and the horizon is visible in every direction, these pelagic hunters can and do work rapidly and successfully during the brief intervals which such weather affords; brief, I say, because the clear, calm, bright day off the Aleutian chain and in its passes, is a rare one, and is easily remembered during each season. Therefore, I do not feel warranted in believing that as yet, any deflection by hunting in the open waters of the ocean has been made to or in that path of migration regularly pursued by the fur seal. I think that such a deflection might be caused by the withdrawal of large schools of food-fish supply from the Aleutian Bering Sea region— by its abandonment of this region and location in the Occident—such FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. . 213 a course would be quite sufficient, since the seal is a hearty feeder and would follow its source of food supply. But fish are now more abundant, if anything, than ever thus far in the waters of the Alaskan Coast, and the seals have no cause on that score to deviate from their regular route of travel. “LOSS OF SEALS BY PELAGIC HUNTERS. Witnesses under oath before the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Fiftieth Congress, second session, report No. 3883. T. F. Morgan (p. 64). Q. What number of seals are recovered that are killed in the waters?—A. I could not state it as a positive fact, but I should say not over 50 per c3ab. W. B. Taylor (p. 54). Q@. When they kill the seals in the water, about what propor- tion of them do they recover?—A. I do not believe more than one-fourth of them. C. A. Williams (p. 87). @. And the conditions are as bad?—A. Yes, sir; and often worse, for this reason: If you kill a pup you destroy a single life, but in killing a cow you not only destroy the life that may be, but the source from which life comes hereafter, and when they are killed there in the water by a shotgun or spear, the proportion saved by the hunters is probably not one in seven. That was their own estimate, that out of eight shots they would save one seai and seven were lost. If they were killed on the land, those seven would go toward filling up their score. H. H. McIntyre (p.118). Q. What proportion of the seals shot in the water are recovered and the skins taken to market?—A. I think not more than one-fifth of those shot are recovered. Many are badly wounded and escape. We find every year, embedded in blubber of, animals killed upon the islands, large quantities of bullets, shot, and buckshot. Last year my men brought to me as much as a double handful of lead found by them embedded in this way. George R. Tingle (p. 164). Q. The waste of seal life was only 53 in 1887?—A. Yes, sir; in securing 100,000 skins, while these marauders did not kill, last year, less than 500,000. The logs of marauding schooners have fallen into my hands, and they have convinced me that they do not secure more than one seal out of every ten that they mortally wound and kill, for the reason that the seals sink very quickly in the water. Allowing one out of ten, there would be 300,000 that they would kill in get- ting 30,000 skins. Two hundred thousand of those killed would be females having 200,000 pups on shore. Those pups would die by reason of the death of their mothers, which, added to the 300,000, makes half a million destroyed. Iam inclined to think, because the seals show they are not increasing, or rather that they are at a stand- still, that more than 300,000 are killed by marauders. T. F. Ryan (p. 220.) The number of seals taken by marauders from seal islands, or in the waters nearby, are very few in comparison to the great numbers taken in the 50 or 60 miles south of the islands. Old seal hunters seldom bother the islands, and from the information to be had, 95 per cent of seals taken by seal hunters in Bering Sea are taken at a distance of from 40 to 75 miles south of St. George Island, and 90 per cent of those taken are cows, the producers. Capt. L. G. Shepard (p. 237). Q. It has been stated in testimony here that not one out of five, six, or seven of the seals wounded in the water are recovered. I think you put the estimate a little lower than that. Have you any knowledge on the subject?—A. I think they recover about one-half. Capt. C. A. Abbey (p. 246). Q. What was your opinion about that?—A. In the earlier days they shot them with bullets and with rifles, and when they are shot with a bullet the seal sinks, and probably out of half a dozen they would not get more than one. If the seals are not killed, but simply wounded, that leaves a chance to get them into a boat. They were very expert hunters who hired for that purpose, but I judge that they killed about three for every one they got. I got that from the conversation with the hunters themselves. J.C. Redpath (p. 316). Q. And if they wound a seal in the water, the seal is likely to sink before they can recover it?—A. There is no doubt about that. Q. What proportion do they recover of those that are killed by firearms in the water?—A. Very few, Ishould suppose. I have never seen a seal shot in the water. Ihave known of sea lions that if wounded in the water could be recovered, but if shot and killed they will sink. Q. In your judgment, what proportion of seals that are shot in the water are recovered?—A. It is hardly possible to recover one-half of them. H. H. McIntyre (p. 332) submitted the following extracts from the log of the schooner Angel Dolly, kept by Capt. Alfred N. Tulles, who was accidentally killed by his own hand on the 28th of July, 1887, near Otter Island: aoe 4, "St Repel to 30 miles southwest of St. George Island. At 1.30 out boats, v) seals. 214 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. July 5, 1887.—Out boats at 6.30a.m. Returned at 11.15 p. m. with 11 seals, one boat getting 6. July 9, 1887.—I am now on the hunting ground, but keep sail on the vessel as we may pick up aSleeping seal. July 11, 1887.—Caught 7 seals. July 13, 1887.—Caught 12 seals; they were around the vessel as thick as bees (the seal). Had it been clear we would have caught 100 easy. July 16, 1887.—Saw 3 sleeping seals from the vessel. Got boat over and got them. I have not seen the sun for nine days, therefore I have had no observations, yet I know that I am not over 14 miles from St. George Island. July 17, 1887.—Out boats at 10.30 a.m. The seals were around the vessel in hun- dreds. The boats would not go any distance from the vessel. Had they gone away they could have caught 200 or 300 seals. They were afraid of the fog, yet I told them that it would clear up, which it did at 3.50 p. m., and continued thus all the rest of the day. They are the hardest set of hunters that were ever in Bering Sea, who caught 20 seals and used 250 rounds of ammunition. They get 1 out of every 10 they fire at. Well, I will never be caught with such a crowd again. The head hunter fired 100 shells and got 6 seals. The vessel is lying between the islands of St. Paul and St. George. Just as soon as the fog clears off the land I will have to move, as I might have the cutter after me. Icame here to get a load of seals, and by God, if Thad any men with me, I would get them, too. They are all a set of curs, genuine ones, too. July 21, 1887.—Out boats at 6.30 a. m., coming back to vessel at 9 p.m. One boat returned at7p.m. This was the head hunter. He is out last and first back always. Caught 30 seals; one boat got 14. This is the best day’s work we have done yet. From the amount of growling among the boat pullers I conclude that they fired at and missed nearly 200 seals. They had 100 loaded shells each when they left the ship, and when they came back all were emptied, so they did some tall firing. July 23, 1887.—To-day I asked Daniel McCue, boat puller for Charles Loderstrom, how it was that his boat got only 9 seals. I told him that I had seen 40 sleeping seals from the vessel, and that he must have seen more as he was pulling about. His answer was that if he had aman that knew how to shoot, that the boat could not carry all the seals that were missed. ‘‘ Why, Captain,” said he, “it is enough to discourage aman. You pull up toa sleeping seal to within 10 feet, fire at him and see the shot go 6 feet the other side of him.” I then asked J. Linquist, puller for boat two. He said: “Captain, don’t ask me how many we have seen, but ask me how many we missed, and I will tell you.” JI asked him the above question; he said 100. Inow asked Joe Spooner the same questions as above; his answer was, ‘‘ We only want hunters, and we would be going home now with 1,500 skins at the very least.” July 24, 1887.—As fine a day as was ever seen in San Francisco. A flat calm with the sea smooth as glass. Got out the boats at 6.30 p. m., coming back at 7.30 with 14 seals. Why, one boat with an ordinary hunter could get that many without going a aan from the ship. I killed 2 inside of ten minutes, and it was then nearly ark. July 25, 1887.—Nice weather. Out boats at 7 p.m. Came back with 4 seals. Big catch. July 26, 1887.—There were thousands of seals around the vessel. I shot and killed 7 from the vessel, but only got 1, through the tardiness of the hunters. At 4.30 I put the boats out; came back at 7.30 with 1 seal. The water was fairly covered with seals, yet they only caught 1. The log closes on the 28th of July, 1887, on which day the captain was killed and his vessel seized for violation of the revenue laws. His signals were: (1) Come back to the vessel; (2) want a boat for dead seal; (3) keep near the vessel; bad weather or fog; (4) cutter in sight. This paper is a transcript of the log book of the schooner Angel Dolly, captured by Mr. Tingle in July, 1887. I introduce this sworn evidence, above quoted, because it may be the honest, and doubtless is the honest understanding of these gentlemen: But, as for myself, I do not believe that they, or any man knows how many seals he kills, injures slightly or fatally, or misses outright, after the close of a day’s hunting on the water: he can not know; for each and every seal that he fires at, is going to instantly disappear; and he only gets those seals that he kills outright, or dazes or stuns: the others, not hit, or wounded fatally or slightly, all dive instantly and speed away Jrom his retrieving ! FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 215 NUMBER OF SEALS. Witnesses under oath before the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Fiftieth Congress, second session, Report No. 3883. 1885-1887. T. F. Ryan (p.@11). Q. Will you state about the location of these islands and the condition of the seal rookeries while you were there?—A. St. George Island is in Bering Sea, 180 miles to the northwest of Unalaska, one of the Aleutian chain of islands. It is an island about 6 miles wide and 10 miles long, to which 175,000 to 200,000 seals annually—male, female, and pup—resort. 1885-1888. G. R. Tingle (p. 162 et seq.). Q. What is your observation as to the number of seals resorting to the islands annually; are they diminishing or increasing ?—A. Upon that subject, if itis in order, I would like to answer the question by reading from my report to the Treasury. May I inquire if it is in Mr. Elliott’s evidence that he made his statements as to the seal life upon the islands from personal observation ? The CHAIRMAN. Yes; and estimates. The WiTnEss. Was it shown that Mr. Elliott had not been on the fur-seal islands for fourteen years? The CHAIRMAN. His evidence was that he was last there in 1876, twelve years ago. The WirneEss. He made a statement that there was no greater number of seals upon the islands now than at the time he measured therookeries. Since I have been on the islands I have observed very closely the breeding rookeries. I have visited them daily, remaining around and observing them for hours at atime. I gave them very close attention. The reason I did so was that I desired to be able to place the Department in possession of the very best information I could in regard to this seal property, whether it was increasing or diminishing. I found on the islands this book of Mr. Elliott’s, giving his measurements of the seal rookeries, and I conceived the idea of making some measurements myself on the Elliott basis, to find out if the seals were increasing. Mr. Elliott’s measurements of the fur-seal islands showed an area of 6,021,900 square feet, and he says that upon that basis there are 3,010,950 seals. Taking Mr. Elliott’s basis, I made measurements fourteen years after his, and they showed an increase of 8,254 feet in sea margins of the rookeries, and an increase of 4,275,100 feet of superficial area occupied by breeding seals, showing upon St. Paul Island, at the time I made my measurement, 5,148,500 seals, or an increase of 2,137,500. The number of seals at present shown to be®*on the breeding rookeries of the two islands is as follows: Strbaulislands se sate sean an sae elem oma see aaa. soos lave set seers) ala 5, 148, 500 Sub GROHEG USER Ao once pnbedo Bouche DSonscecd ScSu DEBaoUgabe sae Bao depaAae 1, 209, 250 LG fil enna Stet Sate eal setae erate siciaieiainaimiaie siainis aaa te a meee 6, 357, 750 1883. W. B. Taylor (p. 59): Q. Is it your opinion that a larger number of seals may be taken annually without detriment to the rookeries?—A. No, sir; 1 would not recom- mend that. The time may come, but I think that one year with another they are taking all they ought to take, for this reason: I believe that the eapacity of the bull seal is limited, the same as any other animal, and I have very frequently counted from 30 to 35, and even at one time 42 cows with one bull. I think if there were more bulls there would be less cows to one bull, and in that way the increase would be greater than now. While the number of seals in the aggregate is not apparently diminished, and in fact there is undoubtedly an increase, yet if you take any greater number of seals than is taken now this ratio of cows to one bull would be greater, and for that reason there would be a less number of young seals, undoubtedly. I look upon the breeding of the seal as something like the breeding of any other ani- mal, and that the same care and restriction and judgment should be exercised in this breeding. 1876-1880. George Wardman (p. 39): Q. What is your impression of the number of seals that visit these rookeries annually ?—A. I never could make it so much as Professor Elliott has done. I made many estimates. I have been to all the rookeries on these 216 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. islands many times, and compared them with the space occupied by the carcasses on the killing ground, and I feel pretty confident that the total number has been overestimated. Q. He estimated it at something Jess than 4,000,000.0n the two islands.—A. I think he estimates 250,000 to 275,000 on St. George. I have figured it out in several ways, and I think the 20,000 that we killed would be 10 per cent of the killable seals. Q. Is that yonr estimate—10 per cent of all that come?—A. I take that for one thing. I take our killing ground, where we kill 20,000, and where we lay these seals along as close as we can, so as to give us greater area. We want to make room to take the next year another piece, so that by the third year we can get back again. I measured off that space two or three different times where 20,000 car- casses Jay, and where I considered they lay as close as on the rookeries. I came to the conclusion we had about 40,000 at Zapadnie, 30,000 at Starry Arteel, and about 50,000 at North rookery, 10,000 to 15,000 on Little East rookery, and about 25,000 or 30,000 on East rookery. That is all the rookeries. I could never make it any more than that during that time. I measured the places carefully.! Q. Do you put it at the same numbers annually?—A. About. I think the breed- ing seals on the rookeries come in about the same numbers; but the first year I was up there we killed 20,000 with great ease, and in a short time, and I considered that we could kill more easily; and I recommended Colonel Otis to make a bigger allow- ance for St. George, because we wanted to bring up our men’s dividends a little. The next year he gave permission to take 25,000 on St. George, and they would take 75,000 on St. Paul. We got 21,000 or 22,000 that year. We had exceeded in our esti- mate the number that we could take at that time, and they had to finish our quota on the other island. Later in the season—perhaps two weeks after that—we could have got perhaps 10,000 more seals, but we certainly could not get them when we wanted them. 1887. L. A. Noyes, per G. R. Tingle (p. 177). Measurements of breeding rookeries of St. George Island, by Dr. L. A. Noyes, acting assistant Treasury agent, January 4, March 1, and April 22, 1887. Rookery. mh em Depth. cv Seals. LOPS eget aot COs ge aeh inc CEO acn SO au S Rae aga ene ec 2, 200 200 440, 000 220, 000 Zapadnie ........... F 2, 100 160 336, 000 168, 000 Little Eastern ...... 600 125 75, 000 37, 500 Starry Arteel....... = #2 900 575 517, 500 258, 750 Near and North....... 3, 500 300 | 1,050, C00 525, 000 TUDES 3 aspen ar SS eR A eg eine A 8 9°80" | cnet. 2,418,500 | 1, 209, 250 The breeding grounds on St. George Island, surveyed July 12 and 15, 1873, gave the following figures (H. W. Elliott’s ‘‘Condition of Affairs in Alaska, 1874,” p. 78): Rookery. = ke _| Depth. Ppees Seals. — | INSRTOT «sae coivasnienindeinclceesamemocemed slemacn erase eet 900 | 60 54, 000 27, 000 Little Eastern ...--. Dedas cskbe a tetnc cee aoe ce meee ee seee 750 | 40 30, 000 15, 000 INORG: ical ets seb ss Se ee BE OS RR Seeeteeese 2, 000 25 | 50, 000 25, 000 Wier babe es3cae kan ce Ese. ee Gs Soa eee a 750 150-112, 500 56, 250 Starry, Attoel ...1 a1. 's Siar cic ogame ct de daep me dacie'esomaceede 500 | 125 62, 500 31, 250 ZAPAANIG <= < im~ donne pawns eaeacae ub teers poste renee Deer 600 60 36, 000 18, 000 Dotel s.2502..1sd. ee BER IRE ee DONOR Less Jas? 345, 000 172, 500 1868-1888. T. F. Morgan (p. 69). Q. Have you ever formed an estimate of the probable num- Ce ee that visit the rookeries annually ?—A. I have attempted to do it, but it is hard to do. ‘Here he gives his figures, and after telling the committee that he can not make as many seals in counting as ‘‘ Professor Elliott has done,” yet he does do so, and more! His total for the St. George rookeries, as given by him, is 185,000 seals, against my sum total of 172,000. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 217 Q. You are aware that Professor Elliott, in his book, estimates in the neighbor- hood of 4,000,000. What do you think about that estimate?—A. I think that Pro- fessor Elliott has overestimated it. When he was there the way he figured out the estimate was that he laid down the carcasses of seals and measured around them and then measured the rookeries. ' Q. He estimated the average size of a harem?—A. Not only a harem, but every size of seal, each old bull. He measured the 4-year old, and the 3-year old, the 2-year old, and the 1-year old grown male, and then he took the extent of territory where the seal Had laid and measured that, and computed his figures from the terri- tory; but they do not lie all over the territory which he marked out. Q. He measured all around, taking a given area?—A. The seals did not cover the whole area as thoroughly as he measured it. The only time he could make his measurement was after the seals had left. These were made then. You can not measure a rookery while the seals are lying there; but he observed the ground covered by the animals during the season and sketched out the details and where they were lying, and measured that after they had left there.! Q. Do you think under careful treatment and the present policy a large number might be readily taken off after a year with safety?—A. Possibly; but I would not suggest that they should increase the catch very fast. I should go carefully and observe the effect, increasing at the rate of 5,000, 10,000, or 15,000. 1880-1885. H. A. Glidden (p. 29). Q. What was your estimate of the value of those rook- eries?—A. I could not estimate them. The seals are there by the millions; you can not count them. 1869-1872. S. N. Buynitsky (p. 12). Q. Have you any means of making an estimate of the probable number of fur seals that visit these islands and rookeries?—A. I saw an approximate estimate made by Mr. Elliott. I do not know that I ever indulged in any figures as to that. I simply expressed my impression here [examining report] ; no; I see I did not indulge in any guessing. Q. You say that Professor Elliott has made some estimate of that?—A. Yes, sir; I say I did not make any estimate. I do not think any estimate would be within a million or two. I think he puts them at 5,000,000, but it may be 3,000,000 or 7,000,000, as they are countless. It is a sight never to be forgotten by one who saw it, and it recurs sometimes in my dreams—that vast extent of beach covered by these animals. THE BEGINNING AND PROGRESS MADE IN DRIVING FROM THE UNDIS- TURBED HAULING GROUNDS OF ST. PAUL. The statement made by the natives to Messrs. Goff, Murray, Nettleton, and myself, that no commercial driving was made from Zapadnie, West English Bay, Seuthwest Bay, Tonkie Mees, or from Polavina during the seasons of 1871-1874, and that it was not really begun in earnest until 1879,” is confirmed (independent of my own personal knowledge that no such driving was done during the seasons of 1872-1874) by the entries made.in the Treasury agent’s office journal, St. Paul village. I made a careful examination last July of this, the only official record kept by the Government officers on either island of St. Paul or St. George. This journal on St. Paul is a large ledger-made book, which is opened there for the season of 1872, and continued without break from that time up to date of my examination. In this journal the Treasury agent in charge of the island makes a daily entry of the chief affairs of the day, i. e., the weather, doings of the natives in the village, and whites, employees of the lessees, etc.; arrival and departure of ships, steamers, etc.; and during the sealing season a daily record of the num- ‘Mr. Morgan means well, but is painfully ignorant of my method of surveying the rookeries: See pages 21-24, antea. 2See p. 195, antea, Conference of natives with Government officers, etc. 218 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. ber of seal skins taken, together with a note of that place or places on the island where these skins were taken or driven from for that par- ticular day’s killing. Extracting this record of the driving, as I have below for Polavina, involved a lengthy and patient reading of these rambling entries. To make sure that I overlooked nothing, I requested Mr. 8S. R. Nettleton, assistant Treasury agent, to make a similar examination and give me the dates. We agreed in our findings exactly as to Polavina; but the Zapadnie drives were so badly mixed up in this record after 1878, that it was not possible to make a truly accurate list, as in the case of Polavina. But as Polavina was one of the several fine, large, hauling grounds, never visited or driven from in 1872-1874, together with Zapadnie and Southwest Point, this record of the driving there and its frequency in progression, etc, is valuable, independent of the testimony of the natives above referred to. With reference to this particular driving from Polavina, the natives, Artamanoy and Booterin, in particular, claim to know that these drives, up to 1879, were not taken from the Polavina hauling grounds back of that great rookery, but were gathered up any- where between the old Polavina barrabkie and Tonkie Mees, or Stony Point, and that no driving from the great Polavina hauling plateau and Little Polavina up to Datnoti was done until the new salt house was built at Stony Pointin 1879. These old native chiefs also averred that these early drives from those undisturbed reservoirs of 1872-1874 were made up exclusively of ‘‘ big seals,” i. e., smooth 4-year olds, or 11-pound skins. The Treasury agent’s official record of drives made from Polavina or Halfway Point. [Extracted from the journal of the Treasury agent's office, St. Paul Village. ] 1875: 1881 : 1884 : 1887 : June 16. a June 17. June 23. June 16. 1876: 24. eu yeas 23. June 14. 4 25. 12. 30. 1877: July 2. 14. July 6. June 13. a 4, = 19. 14. 22. a 7. TP ae 21. 26. a 12 oF Gaia: 1888 : 1878: 13. 26. June 15. June 24.4 ae 18. ° 28. July la aot 16 July a: July 7. 1879: 99. 94. as June 10. 30, 1886 : : 14, 14. ral ". June 9. 19: 16. 1883: ae 17. 24, July 8. yaa 6 23. 1889: 1880: 13. 25. June 17. June 21, 20. 30. 25. 28. Tala sae. July 6. July 2. July 5. mn Ah 12. 10. 17. 17. 16. A WG 1881: 1884: ; 21. 24. June 10. June 18. 26. 30. Every one of these drives above noted made since 1879, embrace seals taken up from the entire region between Little Polavina down to Stony Point. The drive was finally rounded up and killed a short distance only from the Point, near the new salt house. a Not taken from Polavina proper; someways south, including Stony Point. FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 219 Taole showing the number of fur-seal skins taken from the Pribilov Islands since their transfer in 1867 from Russian to American ownership; also the tax, honus, and rental paid. Number |Tax,bonus, and}, Number |Tax,bonus,and Year of skins. rental paid. |, Year of skins. rental paid. BOON OOO) aacaeeiae cee see ET epcsconenoriac sc 99, 766 $316, 984. 75 SO GOT as ose Mee a PeSaier ane view emma steel 99, 922 317, 295. 24 9, 577 | $1015/0803.00) || 28832. 2. ss 2ee ce 75, 000 251, 875. 00 99, 841 SLTO82) G22 W884 sone. 5 = os Soo 99, 962 317, 410. 224 99, 975 S444 STA BSD ek <2 ees ca 99, 996 317, 488. 20 99, 744 SLGSO27F 00)! W886 sec -.- ieee D oa > & La} = be 19'S! a lease es 5 On|o Z| o ® ° D Be 28 aS lees = | es — Sa | ° oO Pe z : Lo} rs J H 2B a eco a 2 izle ites faa N= D a} ey gig |Hig| # [Sle(s/8| 8 lal ee | Rn es nan) p |O)}] aA mn m| a Southwest Bay. .sscusascecncsesen- 119 115 | 3/1 1A5 ya |Seee MEAP ES LIS ic Ay eID ROG ac cca ammeeecisnececte teaches aware Sod oe ns Oe ee [ee ub 115 if 116 Sees TE Oot eas Se ete cinta: miei ninisiere sl ieee aya 589) ee] Oo |i; 2) ao 539 | 385 574 POISTOI Spe actn= ice eciamateme ane mate Stetele fetei= SM Ne a a Pe ty ee 182 MSGi eee elves pute ac cece ceeletoecelEces ae B15 (ESAs al eeelon| pod 317 Narthesatboint-- ec. sstesetes. x= Basa poe NGisenl eee oie} 16 Se 16 Halfway iPoint.ts-.ccse-- 2-22 == Bhaa =| arotaval (eles ay fal een | S2iie AGT ee eon, Wolstewand, Middle, Balle... 222 422-|S. 2/5. 2 - 2 PO) ea moon aaly a 270 | 4 274 DMR HITE STE ett boll Wee oe eeier oor eel laere [aeee - Sl acieeseleealeaee TB ccc 78 eel and sunkannon==.. --2 w >| cla a 2 o H 5 SS] ow : x a iy DQ ©) c =] oO = n nD ct eee ls last. & Sig |i] S| 8 Skea es Sine PEC Rss) REI EP Gels} alii} | 35 He |PJO| A j~/P |O|H |] @ |a] A 1890. 19) Reefiand: Zoltoi 2... -0-.-.0-5ceeeen|- ee leee bY: by fl 75 rs Ta al Vey 549 | 7 556 19 | Northeast Point.......-..---.---.-]. Aadoas eT ee ees eee ween|| 446 |5-2-| 0446 20 | English Bay, Middle Hill, Tol- . stoi, Lukannon, Ketavie, and | POINTE OCKY eesees een isseiewia miata cll stoi = tet iate om Go leiSila le 758 | 22 780 20s) Northeast POM ss. 2 -s.c0e-ccee cs al. - BOM aol 4g eeslae 509 | 47 556 Matai ene eaters eee 119 115 | 3 | 1 [16,783 |50 {185 |50 [344 |16, 833 [391 |17, 724 CHAS. J. GOFF, United States Treasury Agentin Charge. Daily statement of fur seals killed on St. George Island, Alaska, during the sealing season ending July 20, 1890. Number of seals killed by lesse for skins. 3 oe Aggregate. Date. Rookery. ccepted. | Rejected * ee for other Skins Shing Total reasons otal. lease ted ralaated seals Prime, | Second | died on jaccep ver izeu *| killed. : class. | the road. | 1890. PENIS weer he NC OX Ghia te pernraratatete sla /perata(e cine Wily |sacastae|esctee ames 71 (th eer 71 Gash soe 214 (ear San Be 218 DIB) | isccncisae 218 1S*| North _ = |- a US AOC OOEOE Ane loate Giaiseiniets 3, 614 | On OLA: || CUS82 Saar aces | 4, 106 40, 514 | 44, 620 1) VP E SS e eee See oe leeafemneteterere BOGOR 2000. ||) LeOGtcceswienceee ae } 2, 049 26, 650 | 28, 699 bi Elpee eee ee fees oapd || Vo7a7109|" v0.40" || 1SB4iee ae eee 3,819 | 50,034! 53,853 te ee Ie 2,414 28, 886 D1, 300: | 1885 i5324 eo net 1, 838 41,737 | 43, 575 ISTHE cosets cis 3,127 33, 152 BOKSTO: wI8S6.o an oaeepacee ee bteteeed 54, 591 | 54, 591 ABTRE ee see ee on om oe 1, 528 25, 432 2660 BRT cee. pote ote eee se 46, 347 | 46, 347 LB fission ome nc a ees 2, 949 18, 584 PAIR D) | RE BRAS Se aac sco.) |G sose Sei 47, 362 | 47, 362 LO(Riceeee st aaiseoace 3, 142 28, 198 DL BLON | CeaO Ses es eee Race eee ee 52, 755 | 52, 755 1R7D ates: > A087)! 8 eS Sao. BeOS ROO. oh snoc Mon noe mechan 52,502 | 52, 502 MESO porcee trea bj.o saa = 3,330 | 45,174) 48,504 —_ —_ — —— TESTA ee es Ore 4, 207 39,314 | 43,521 Totals couw =: | widte’sleteiss ote nia a eee | 769, 863 | | | 1 Bering and Copper islands constitute what is known as the Commander group. Robbens Reef or Island is a small islet, or rock, rather, about 30 miles off shore from the east shore of Sakhalen Island, in the Okotsk Sea; it belongs to Russia also. hese skins were all taken under the lease to Hutchin- son, Kohl Philippaeus & Co., and paid a tax of $1.50 to the Imperial treasury for each skin taken. This ones expired in November, 1890, and at the date of this report it is not known definitely as to its renewal. Under Russian management the yield from these islands I have the record of, as follows: 1S Eid oe AOD. (ARGS lo sake anatte 4; 000:| 1868 2. 2 as ee 12, 000 1 OR OPES 1 BIN ORG + ee dasa sos 4000.) 1869... tee 24, 000 Pee oS | ABBY eben reco A000 | 18702. eo ee 24, 000 No account of the proportion that Robbens Reef gives to this total for each year between 1862 and 1870 has been found by the writer. THE PELAGIC CATCH FROM 1886 TO DATE. {With the year 1886 this work of hunting fur seals in the open waters of the ocean by white men, outfitting vessels, and hiring hunters, practically begins: it is the first year that the British hunters ever got into Bering Sea. | Table showing the number of fur-seal skins taken by the pelagic sealers and poachers in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. Pelagic and poaching catch of 1886: Skins. Landed at Victoria, British Columbia, by British sealers............--- 25, 538 Landed at Victoria, British Columbia, by American sealers...-.-.------ 5, 000 Landed at San Francisco, Cal., by American sealers.-..-.-....... Se eiae 2, 944 Seized in Bering Sea by the United States Revenue-Marine cutter Rush. . 2) aris Total. 2.2 2- sec n22 oe tie Es to ee 35, 659 Pelagic and poaching catch of 1887: Landed at Victoria, British Columbia, by British sealers .......-....---- 17, 078 Landed at Victoria, British Columbia, by American sealers. ...--. crbatoaeee 2,536 Landed at San Francisco, Cal., by American sealers........-.---.------ 6, 502 Seized in Bering Sea by cutters Rush and Bear ........ aap cmpia sna na) =e an ene FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 224 Pelagic and poaching catch of 1888: Landed at Victoria, British Columbia, by British sealers. .....--...---- 19, O11 Landed at San Francisco, Cal., by American sealers.-...-.....---.----- 5, 348 RG ener e ine ree cee et ee Reel | Deets e Se te eae Be Sees PA eS 24, 359 Peieeic and poaching catch of 1889: Landed at ictoria, British Columbia, by British and American sealers.. 39, 538 Landed at San Francisco, Cal., by American sealers.......-.-.-- Sekt et L 800 Seized in Bering Sea by cutters YUU SEN ING Oi COTE) [pee eer SOL 2) 531 Portes GN 55, NG IEEH | (oes Dek A ee hee Rag a ae ee oe to een es es Pelagic and poaching catch of 1890: Landed at Victoria, British Columbia, by British and American sealers. 38, 404 Landed at San Francisco, Cal., by American sealers..................-. 17,228 POHL eps Ses oR SE Be Sh BN RR rs Poe ae ag ee Rares SERRE em Si 45, 632 Only in a general way, at this writing, can the relative number of skins taken in Bering Sea be declared as distinct from the North Pacific catch. In 1886 the Bering Sea catch can be said to be very near 20,000; in 1887, 29,000; in 1888, 19,000 (no seiz- ures were made that year); in 1889, 25,500; in 1890, 16,000 (no seizures). The short supply, together with the threatened extermination of the fur seal, made thes«London sale a very lively one last October. The following citation from the New York Fur Trade Review for December, 1890, is interesting: OCTOBER SALES. { Report by Messrs. Blatspiel, Stamp & Heacock. | The sales covered six days and comprised a larger variety of furs than previously offered in the autumn. Of course the chief item has been salted fur seals, sold on the 27th instant, and the various catalogues have contained 20,994 Alaska, 42,721 Copper Island, 20,117 Northwest Coast, 9,649 Lobos, and 1,873 Cape of Good Hope, etc., making a total of only 95,554 (as against 126,217 last year), and this total was only brought together now by including the larger part of the catch from Copper Island, which were heretofore always sold in the following spring. The attendance for the seal sale was large, but for the other furs there was a smaller number of buyers from Germany present than last year, and buyers generally were not eager. As soon as the small catch of Alaska by the new company became known early in September, the fur-seal market became excited and values speedily advanced. It was mentioned that the herds on the seal islands had been greatly diminished by the indiscriminate slaughter of females on the open seas, and therefore the catch for next year on the Pribilov Islands could not now be forecast; it might again have to be very small. The quality of the 20,994 Alaska was excellent and chiefly large sizes, the great number of small skins which we have had the past few years being conspicuously absent. Of course, for the Alaska the demand was far greater than the supply, and consequently prices advanced rapidly and greatly, averaging about 90 per cent all round. Separated, the ratio of advance was: On 659 middlings and smalls, 75 per cent; on 2,939 smalls, 65 per ceut; 5,144 large pups, 85 per cent; 7,684 middling pups, 100 per cent; 3,752 small pups, 130 per cent, and 71 extra small pups, 100 per cent. There were exceptionally few (745) low and cut skins, which were also in good demand. Nearly all were secured for America. The 42,721 Copper Island skins were also of somewhat superior quality, but having already somewhat improved last March, they now sold at an average advance of fully 50 per cent, being nearly level in advance in all the sizes; these were also largely secured for America, but part were taken by European dealers and furriers. The Northwest Coast skins were of average fair quality, and ranging lower in prices, were more appreciated by the English trade; the advance, however, proved about 60 per cent on rates current last sprimg. The Lobos, although the quality was on the whole nothing choice of the sort, ranged nearly 50 per cent dearer than last year. The small low “skins har dly ady anced in the same ratio; many were taken for France. The Cape of Good Hope also participated in the general advance. 228 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. Suggestions for the new rules that should be adopted and enforced by the Secretary of the Treasury for the land killing, in lieu of the existing order and conduct of affairs, when- ever said land killing is again permitted by the Government. REVISED REGULATIONS FOR THE DRIVING AND KILLING OF MALE FUR SEALS ON THE PRIBILOV ISLANDS OF ALASKA. 1, No herd of male or killable fur seals shall be driven over a greater distance than one-half mile from the hauling ground upon which it is found and from which it is taken by the drivers. 2. At a distance of a half mile from the borders of the several hauling grounds of the killable fur seals on the Pribylov Islands, and well back from the sea margin, killing grounds shall be established; so that each and every locality known on “the islands of St. Paul and St. George (of the Pribylov group) as a hauling ground shall have its own slaughtering field, : and upon which all seals killed for tax and shipment, as Ya from said localities, must be killed and skinned. . All male fur seals that are driven in these herds up to these killing grounds Foi the hauling grounds adjacent, as above specified in regulations 1 and 2, shall be killed without culling out any save those which are under 1 year of age, known as ‘‘short yearlings,” and over 4 years of age, known as ‘‘ wigs.” These two classes, under and over age, may be culled out and rejected, and those only, These regulations, when enforced, wil! prevent any injury from redriv- ing and culling the herds. Their language is too plain for any Govern- ment agent to fail to understand, and their evasion is only possible by the collusion of everybody on the islands—natives, officials, and employees of the lessees—a fairly improbable event, and one that can not take place without swift detection, even if such collusion were undertaken. ‘The topography of the islands makes the location of these killing grounds, as above ordered, entirely practicable and proper. is EN Deb INS Page. Abandoned fur-seal rookeries, sites of--...-........25-...2.-22-502--- & 35, 49, 155, 167 Abject condition of seal-island natives under Russian rule. .....--.---.-.--- 112 Absence of 2-year olds in holluschickie of 1890 .-..-.......2.....---....-- 102 sealing data concerning the Antartic rookeries.............-.. 18 Abundant supply of killable seals in 1872-1874. ............--2.-----.----- 90 Act Spproved April 5,1890, ordering this report.-..-.-......2.. ...-.22--.-. 5 Advantages offered to fur seal by the Pribilov and Commander islands... -.. 17, 18 Affairs on the seal islands of Alaska, review of official reports...... 200, 201, 202, 204 Age of adult seals; how long will they live, Veniaminov ...-.....---..--.-- 131 Agents of Treasury Department from 1869 to 1890; .inclsines 5243-22 282255 = 199 Age, classing the holluschickie or bachelor seals’ ‘fur, Wye tos. ss See eae 99 of females when BDV ooiee aia ote cinin visto ian = nfs eit oe See ee 26 PLIMEPAVER Io sas) Sa) Saree y Sea eet ste eens ates Oe 26, 28 male fur seals when prepotent sires............--..-----.--------.. 26, 28 pups when first learn te:swim :- 22.22.52 ssslfoSe sos s soetsie ls See ee ee 130, 193 mothers abandon or wean them. .-....-.------.....------ 59 AMO MI-SeaMMUNbOrs'==5. > 2. 5502 $2 oo bobo Peete bed wn nee ee ae ek oe eee 18 AMO CUeBO TI OlUS snis)4 25s ae 54 oes oe nde e ee scces wee Helle CULE eaee Meda eeoenee : 94 Alaska Commercial Company : Amount.paid to Government, 1870-1889..........-.....--..----.-------- 219 WUSPACSSRUOUNOUS Ofc +. cc, fo ec cdc sinS piss cobs. obs Sas Wee seid eae eee 113 NIM PLONCES Of = 2 etm cee = oe eo = So wiz ai nfa'e wees = Sslcd tins nee eelrale cee 114 Prices paid by it tonative sealers; reason why......-..---.-------.---- 125 Terms: of sealing lease; TSTOSISSS: 22 so Se SSS eos cee te Shee. 141 Aleutes of the seal islands, manners and customs of..--.....--.-..--..-...-- 111 physical features and characteristics of........-- 109, 110 first knowledge of sealislands.2252222222.52 0555.53 2 cee ec ce: 109 Algoid vegetation, shores of seal islands—character of........--.--.-------. 55 Amendment of seal-island law of 1870, made by author in 1873. .........-_-. 53 Amount and kinds of food consumed by fur seals.--.-...---.----.---....-.. 61 of rookery space occupied by single seals..--....--...----.--.- 23, 24, 26, 28 revenue derived from fur-seal ‘industry on Pribilov Islands... .. 19 Amusenents of the natives, music, dancing, etc ....--.-.....---..-.-.- 121, 122, 123 Antarctic fur-seal waters, ereat range of seal/in' them.22:2. 300s. ne. 2 oe 18 Annual rental, tax, and bonus in lease of Alaska Commercial Company... ---- 141, 219 North American Commercial Com- J Coop Bae Osa SomG ee Bo Ssas ane 142, 220 Appearance, first annual, of breeding fur seals...............--..----.-----. 68 holluschickie, or killable'seals....-..........--.-.-%-.---.-- 78 Aquatic birds of the Pribilov Islands, economic value of.........--...----- 120 evolutions'of the fur: sealscs cist gels ea eee eee ee reas 76 Area and description of the Pribilov breeding grounds....-........-...-.--- 57 hauhingiprewunds* sess 73-84 “Arries” (Lomvia arra), the great egg bird of the islands. .................- 120 Artamanov, Kerick, Chief, gives author Shaishnikovy list........... 2... es 135 Amiival ot all classesiof seals, regularity Of 322. -)-22--- ccs as os oe eee ee 161 fur-seal holluschicki on the hauling grounds.........--.--...--- 78 the breeding seals on the rookeries....-. ....-.-- 2-2 -00---0-0- 65, 68 mibachment or the natives tor the islands2. 0 322s .c.- cers scenes oon = 121 Attempts in old Russian rule to check seal slaughter. ........°......-...-.-- 13,14 Penh TOs Of THE SORIGION, LARGe. 55.25 Nep ei nabs ssa 2c sip eee a eeeiens + <=. 75 MCRL iets oe lorena An, Sl iol wate MOIS mo UE he ae Serle ee gata. oe 144-228 me KLANG Groups tir SOM sONE sss ae se eee ss iss Seaeie ates eee oe abc 17 Average werghts off the raw: seal SKINS <<. <1-\=,-.0c cee sence comedic cin ce vec 97, 99 230 INDEX. Bb. Bachelor or holluschickie seals: Page. GIES Oh erases te dirome po rinne on oc Sob r OS oI6 DOmeA mean amo bemeac aces 99 Description of. -.=--- <2 -- 22sec = nnn een ee ses = = ener 73, 74 Duspersal Of. 5 -~ 22 peak aye neces heen hea ee en nee ee ee 62 PVILOMESS”> anes CON LLOHESS aiOl = oc. 2 clatajere aya «ate ersten orn nro teen ere 75 Hauling grounds on‘St..Paul island |. 0... 22. 2-22-25 eee 73, 79 St:tGeorre Island. --.22 5. 28. oe jae eee eee 75,19 Ottergistand <= 225. sees eee eee ee eines 181 Moyvementsin Wwatersaeccs-ocicos's oc eee w= Secs se oe ai ee ae eee 76 Not:allowedion thewookenies 22:5... 2 sea ces as. cone ee alee os eee 74 Sorts are aa uIMeSO ha soe cto soe a ee eee eg ans See ee oe eee 7d SwiMMIN WPOWers Ol Soss2.- .-855s esas sewes docs. sachs me nee Seeeeeeeee 76 Baranoy, abject condition of seal island people under him .........--- Bee 112 [SLAMS PASS WhO MIS CONULON atm a) seinem oe eee ee eres Ssh 110 Baskime sharks andvkiller whales 2: 4:5 <5: -< 2. .:5-52535. 88 425 5) 2 oe eee ee ee eee 153 Bogus reports of Treasury agents concerning seals....... 9, 128, 203, 204, 206, 207, 209 Bocterit, Chief, Kerick—hiswiews.=:o..<+s-55-/esssse eee eee ee 195, 196, 197, 218 Bulls, apathy of, on Ketavie and Lukannon, June 22..-........-.-.-..----- 150 behavior wihenvimstunauledsoute =. ee. oes eee ers oe ae 166 cowardlyand:vaoranbONeS= a=. > alma cee sees alee eee eee 166 hauling on Lukannon, wide and wild, June 12.............--.....-.. 149 wildilyon: Lolsto1; Jumed2es_.-22s~ 3-6n =e ese hoe eee 150 on Tolstoi rookery, not a fight among them June 24..........--..---- 152 impotent lancuid service of, on Tolstoi July 7......----..----.------ 153 always Noh tine imilSi 21874 — yc sewnaniealosasse nose ees sos eeeee 31, 32, 41, 70 nonchine among themiemn 1890. - 2. sss -n se oo eee 31, 145, 147 on Tolstoi; June 125.22). Bas = S355 Sone oes eee 150 unpotence:.of, on ulkannon, J ulyiliso- eee ow ae See ee eee 150 on’ breeding. grounds, 1872, estimate of. §=.-22 262 2-2-2 2 eeeeeee 71 1890, estimate.of.- chasse ye eee Soe eee (fl North rookery, scant, feeble, and scattered, July 19.......---.---- 159 scarcity of, on reef, July 10-225 - 21-2 saw d oc Ree eee ee eee eee 145 Virllersires 222 See65 4p. de Se Soe ee ee oe ee os See eee 148 no fighting among them on Zapadnie, June 13.........-..:--..------- 154 scattered and apathetic on Tolstoi, June 21..-....-.....-...-..---.-- 151 somnolent and stupid on Zapadnie, July 3. -.-.-.---.-----.-----...-- 154 somnolence of—apathy of. - - 22 scoot eee ee oe == ee eee 147 strange behavior on rookeries to-day, July 14....-...---....--..-.--- 152 vagrant on) Polavina June) =sses..-- eh ee eee ee eee 156 172 old breeders hustled into drive, July 18.....=.-.--..---------- -- 45 on Zapadnie (St. Paul) scant in number, June 13......---.-----..---- 154 Buynitsky, S, N., temporary Treasury agent, 1870-1872..............-..----- 200 Cc. Campbell Island; far-seals.on<..c20,t62050 -.-:-- ..--2.-22- cocse- eee 91 Exhaustion of far'sealsin the drive-ss.cs- =- 22). ee ee 9, 10, 89 FE. Painting of fur seals on the roadac.a eee 118 Heating Ot-tur senlwhen Griveneen..- ./<. 25. sce =~ son eee ee eee 9, 10, 89, 90 ; SORES BUN Ee iss oc a ws Seine has arene eae ae eee 89, 91 Hogs, strange liking of natives for seal-fed pork...............--..---.---- 119 Holluschickie, never driven in 1872-1874, from...--....--.-------.---------- 174 definition ofwsberm,..-5: 5.262 /.ccecs toenes weenie sree 7A none on Voleanic Ridge and Lukannon beach, June 24 ..--.-. 172 early Mana imor foce sccieeiejoms cls see als ciem d. i oeeiin esi ela eee 166 none on Lukannon sands; June 19 ees. se. eee eee eee eee 168 scarcity of, at Northeast Point, June 16...........-.-.-.---- 166 none on Zoltoi sands thus far, June 19. ............-..-....- 168 fine sealing weather, but not single seal on Zoltoi. .----.--.. 169 avsmall herd im Hnelish Bay, June 20.5262 22-2. sete ee 168 very few at Northeast Point, June 2...........-..--.-.----- 156 all mixed up with cows to-day, August 3.......-.-.---...--- 161 on Zapadnie, St. George, August 1, and pups --------...--.- 165 mustuhave awest =. 2 see cco ese ns cca ee eee oe eee 66 not fllins wp on North rookery, July 26 -...---22225--.-5..- 159 on English Bay in 1872 and 1890, the difference...........-.-. 176 MO MO bast he ee te ea ee ea ek ee ees ee 75 4-year-old ‘‘ wigs” first taken, July 17, 1890 ......-...-..-.- 189 taken; July Ss. nc-teces cee ee eee 190, Horses, introduction of, and loss on. St. Paul -..\.. 2.22. .<.5-2 <2 a0 -~ emer 94 Housessanative; built. by lessees, (value Of 2 2-2 eo nee ye 138, 225 Housing of the natives, new frame dwellings, etc...........--------------- 113 I. Idleness of the natives—during winter, spring, and autumn, annually ..... 121 Immorality of the pelagic work at sea, waste and cruelty..--....---..----- 137 InTpROWACent Nabi vies ON be 1S lan Sine 2 cme Santen: nmap eto a alate eee ene 127 Increase of seals—can the number be increased? -.....--..-...--------.---- 62 can not be above a certain limit of nature......-.....--- 58, 59 fur seals, above limits of 1872-1874 not likely.......----- Imduerenceror fur seals;to Sounds, stench,iete--522-2----- 2] a eee 63 Indiscriminate slaughter by first discoverers. -<...-. 22-2 ---- 2252 seuss eon eles itianectven ot uOluschickie J aly... 25 3.2. ond ose a ee ke ee 161 farssea)l skins 2 for cca oe ee eee oe ee eee ne eee 92 rookeries, ease'of s0. doing )-2/--. 075.22 oie oe cee 63, 64, 65 Interview held with old natives as toseals, August 6.....---..------------- 195, 196 Intestines or ‘sea lion-——nse;of thems. --\-cec.- -. «soe ae eee ee a oe eae aoe 117 Ironclad reservation in favor of the Government in seal lease...-....-...-- 143 J. Japanese fur-sealtunters sx 63st at eee een ae eee 145 Ketavie rookery, comical picture of mules feeding there, June 13. -.-...----- 150 and Lukannon rookeries, condition and appearance, July, rhe oat = Sa s=see drive, made from center of mookery, July 17! soos a2 e eeee 190 Koallinoof pups by ‘killer whales:co2-.ee- ce 6 ee eee Roe nae eee 201, 202 Kalling of seals:on St. George in 1868 2522 3... 2-2. 2 eee ee 197 or slaughter ground of St. (George: 1/252.) los: 2) ee 96 abiSbe Baal. . :csceas ein ae aan ee eee 94, 95 the fur sealsion: land: methods of:2 422. 40os-e es eene sees ee eee 90, 91, 92 INDEX. 235 Page. Killing of seals, contrast at Zapadien, St. George, 1889 with 1890 .........- 107 Novestoshnah, 1889 with 1890................-- 106 onilandimustibeystopped.at on@e. 22. 2-252 .5<5.2- 82h. 5.5. .0226 eee 136, 137 at sea must be stopped atonge..=--- 52.22.5222. .-5220 222. eisesepe eae fe 137 Killer whales, not seen at St. Paul up to June 19............:..22.. 22.222. 146 SCOULZIN Ge TOOKERIES Ob Shy GEOLeGs.. 25 a2 ee nts eee 162 Wampback whales mistaken for ...................--2. ee 60 (Orea gladiator) mistaken for humpback whales, ete.......... 60 HOSUTO Ye DU See see Sao e ee a ae ada d, Se or Wo! ber ee 201, 202 Jo UTA SURI LS CS Ta TUTTLE gl a i a en) YG 93 L. Labor on islands, extra laborers from Oonalashka, etc..............e.eeee-- 127 salting and bundling seal skins, extra........ sTeiwietnc setae 127 COMMIT TOL, MOVs ALVES (a)ajelat= ns saa et pe ee ee eee 124 wages as fixed under American rule...................... 125 carly wages under Russian role. 550.22 225. - 32 a eae 124 division of proceeds among natives........-.........-.-. 126, 220 Law of distribution on breeding grounds observed by seals. ........... ---- IRS ESSN YO BR eS, ah an ree a eae ce eet 139, 140 BMendedy March 24 Wikies... sence see sees) oe seen ee eee ee 141 Lagoon rookery: its condition and appearance July 1, 1874 ............---- 3 TSOO re net eae ee 34. few cows hauled: Out JUNG 2) s2ecisse cee. oe] snc eee 151 notes, topographical changes, etc..-.-..-.....-...-2.---- 149 Bene arivine and, killmne, now Tules Tors ..-/ 0. lis. secce coc sclsces cedemaee 228 RUA Must estopped. at ONES. 202225 oes one an n)s om acd ogc we sean 136, 157 Laverder, Capt. A. W., surveys numbers of holluschickie July 25.......... 159 recommendation for killing of killer whales.......- 201, 202 Lease of islands, etc., 1870-1889; Alaska Commercial Company, text of .... 141, 142 1890; North American Commercial Company, text of. 142, 143 Pecend-or- lems: ag. to.seal islands. ........ 2.22 2... -..s2 see) secede ce aee 5s 109 Legislation necessary for the restoration .......-...---...----.--0.-------- 138, 189 Length of rest required on seal grounds, 7 years. -......----...-....-------- 189 Bite ots white agents OMSb.GeONge -..0-)----. sen. cee -es sateen +ecnens Seem 197 List of the killing of fur seals, 1835-1854, in St. Paul -...................-. 135 skins or killing, by Veniaminov, 1817 to 1837 ...-...-/-...-..s22-<- 135 Little Eastern rookery, its condition and appearance, July, 1874.........-.- 54 tes USERS Seeree= 5d Nishtincaleisland, tam seals, ONoes. sc «