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APKII. o, 18011 Produced on the 4<>> April i893 by the Agent of the United SUtes to the Tribunal of Arbitration convened at Paris ' * t * * t * • 1 (til • • : PARIS PRINTED BY CHAMEIIOT & RENOUAIID 10, HUE DK8 SAIM'S-I'KRRS, 19 1893 • .•- . • . I-.- «. ••" ■ • > • • • • • • I ' NOTE This report by Mr. II. W. Elliott is accompained, in the ori- ginal manuscript, by 48 plates, representing various « rooker- ies )>, etc. : also bj 15 maps and plans chiefly intended to show the relative extent of ground occupied by seals on the PribylolF Islands in 1890 and 1872-1874. It has been found impossible to reproduce these plates and maps in the time available. The titles of the various maps and plans are as follows : North liookery, St. George Island, July 19th 1890. Zapaihiie Rooktry, St. George Island, July 20lh 1890. Liltle East Rookery, St. George Island, July 20tli 1890. Starry Arteel Rookery, St. George Island, July 20th 1890. Hatiling-y rounds at South-west Point, St. Paul Island, 1872. Great Eastern Rookery, St. George Island, July 20th 1890. Tolstoi Rookery, St. Paul Island, July 10th 1890. Polavina Rookery, St. Paul Isliind, July 13tli 1890. Lukannon and Ketavie Rookeries, St. Paul Island, July 10th 1890. NOTK. lAif/nnn^ Nah S/tcel and Zolini linokerm and Hnnliny- f/toimds, Si. Paul Island, 1890. Jieef and Gnrhotch liookcr'm, St. Paul Island, May, Juno and July 1890. Zapadnie liookeries, St. Paul Island, July 1890. Nomstnn/mah linokcncs {JSnrth-easl Point), Si. Paul Island. June, July 1890. -S/. Gm'^e/v/«/7tli, IS'JO. Siu : — On the 7tli of last ^April, I rcceivod from your hands my appoint- mont as Iho Special Agent under the act of Congress, approved April 5th, 1890, which orders and provides for a thorough examination into tlie present status of the fur-seal industry of our Government as em- bodied on the Seal Islands of Alaska, so as to make known its relative condition now as compared with its prior form and well being in 1872 : and, for other kindred linos of enquiry. I may as well frankly confess, at the outset, that I was wholly un- aware of the extraordinary slate of affairs which stared mo in the fJice at the moment of my first landing, last May, on the Seal Islands of Alaska. I embarked upon this mission with only a faint apprelicnsion of viewing anything more than a decided diminution of the Pribylov rookeries, caused by pelagic poaching during the last five or six years. But, from the moment of my landing at St. Paul Island on the 2lsl of last May, until the close of the breeding season those famous " rookeries " and " hauling-grounds " of the fur-seal thereon, and of St. George Island too, began to declare and have declared to my asto- nished senses the fact 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 on sea and on land by the Treasury Department, and enforced by it. T II LETTER TO THE SECRETARY I ! Oui(!kly roalizing aflor my arrival upon lliose islands Hint a rcmark- ablo cljanK<' l'«>r I ho worse had tak«fn phicp since my finished work of 187i, was given lo the public in thai sanu' year, and Iho year also of my last survey of those rooki-ries, I look llie lield at once, carrying hourly and daily with mo a series of note books opened under the fol- lowing heads : I. The " Rookeries "; fheir area, position and condition (I87'2- tKTinnd in IK»0). II. The " llaiding-Grounds »; their appearance (1872-1874 and in I8!t0). III. The MeDiod of " driving "and taking fur-seals (187'2-187 t and in 1890). IV. The Seleclionof Skins, grade and supply ^1872- 1874 and in 1890). V. Character, condition and number of nativs (1872-187 4 and in 1890). VI. Conduct of native labour and pay (1872-1874 and in 1890). To these heads I add the following sections; the whole series mak- ing up my report in the order oa they are here given. VII. The Protection and Preservation of th^se fur bearing interests of our Government on the Pribylov Islands and that imme- diate action necessary, viewed in the full light of existing danger. VIII. Appendix, in which the author's daily field notes appear, verbatim ot lilernlim, in order of day ,ind date. IX. Revised general maps of St. Paul and St. George showing the area and position of the hauling-grounds of the fur-seal there- on in 1872-1874, and again in 1890. X. A series of special maps showing the extict topography, area and position of the breeding rookeries of St. Paul and SI. George Islands in 1872-187 i and again in 1890, together with an illustration of each rookery drawn from life by the author. Althou;^!) I was unable to detect any sign of existing danger or in- jury to these interests of our (jovernment on the Islands of Pribylov in 1872-1874, y»!l the need of caution on the part of the Government, and their close annual scrutiny was pointed out and urged in my published work of 1874', in the following language : (pp.75-77). 1. A Report upon llie Condilidii of Affairs in ilic Tcnilory of Alaska, by Ilcnry W. Elliott, Special Agent Treasury Deparliucnt, Wasliiugtoa. Oovcrnment Prinliog Offlco, 1875. (pp. 27T : 8 vo.) OK THE THKASUHY. Ill L'tilil my arrival on lh<> Seal l^land^, April, 1872, no nleps liail btMct.'rt.-iiiiinu tlx* •*xl<-iit <*r lli<- iniportnnco of Ihosto iiilcrosis nt' the JioviTiimoiil l»y either the Tn-aMii y Agriil in cliarp', or tlie Affoiil of lh«! t'oiiipany loaMiif^ the inlands. Thiit wan n mailer of no esipfcial concern to the latter, hut wa^ of the liriit iiii|iortanof to the liovornniciit. It had, how- ever, faileil lo ohtain delinit*- kiiow|ed;:e upon the xuhjcet, on account of the inaccurate mode of aMvrtaining the number of seals which had heen adopted hj its aueiil, who r<-lied u|Kin an assumption of the area of the breeding " rookeiies '° but who nev<-r look Ihe lir>ubl)- to ascertain the urea ttud posi- tion ol these (treat seal grounds intrusteil to his care. Alter a careful »tuily of the subject during two whole seasons, and u tho- roUKli review of it during thi!> season of iH7^, in company with my associate, l.ieulenant Maynard, 1 propose lo »ho«' plainly and in sequence the stops wliicli have led me to a solution of the question as tu the number of fur-seals on till* i'ribylov Islands, together w ith the determination of means by which the ap'iit of tiie riovernmt'nt will be able to correctly reporl upon the condi- tion of the seal life from year lo year. At the closf of my investigation for the season of 1872, the fact becaiiiu evident that the breeding seals obeyed implicitly a fln'' instini'tive law of ilistiibution. so that the breedin;; ;.'round occupied by Ih^ . was always ''over- ed by seals in nn exact ratio, greater or less to the area to bo held : that they alwa\ < ^' reil the njround evenly, never crowding in a* oik- place and scattering out at another; that the seals lay just as thickly together where llie ..lokery is a small one of only a few thousand, as af iNah Speel, near the village, as they do where a million of them came together, as at North-east Point. This fact being determined, it is at once plain, that just as the breeding grounds of the fur-seal un thene ».s///n' ground proper : the breeding seals remain on the rookery perfectly quiet, and cm tnasse lor a week or ton days during the p.riod of greatest expansion, which is between Ihe lOlh and 20tli of July, giving amplf tiim- fur tin- agnit to correctly note the exact boundaiies of the area covered by them : this step on the part of the riovernment ofllcer puts him in possession every year of exail data upon which, to base a report as to the condition of the seal-life as comitared witV the year or years previous. In this way my record of the precise area and position of ths fur-seal breeding grounds on St. Paul Island in the season of 1872, ami t-xt of St. George i ntlie season of 1873, correctly serves as a delinite basis for all the time to I '15^ IV LETTER TO THE SECRETAHY n i come upon which to found nilliorilalivo reports from year to year, as to any cliauge, iiicroase or ilimiuution of Iho seal-life. It is liierefore very important that the Government should have an a^cnt in charge of these novel and valuable interests who is capable by virtue of education and energy, to cor- rcilly observe and report tiie area and position of the rookeries year by year. Therefore, in the light of Iho forejroing yon will observe, that al- though I was unable to detect myself, any danger to or diininiition of the seal-life on tlio Pribylov Islands, after three seasons of close study in the lield, ending with the season of 187 1, yet I was deeply impressed with tiie need of an intelligent careful search, every year for the signs of or real existence of such danger : thai 1 urged the Department to select men who were fit to make such a search, and who could be trust- ed to do it honestly and thoroughly. I made this reiiuest on the Itilh of November, 187 i, as I gave in my detailed report above cited to the Secretary of the Treasury, who ordered it published at once, and caus- ed it to be widely circulated by the Department. In 1 872-1 87 -t I observed that all the young male seals needed for the annual quota, of 7o,000 or 90,000 as it was ordered in tiie latter year, were easily obtained every season, between the Isl of June and the 'iOlh of July following, from Iho " hauling-grounds " of " Tolstoi, '" " Lukannon " and " Zoltoi Sands " — from these hauling-grounds adjacent to the " rookeries " or breeding-grounds of ** Tolstoi, " " Lukannon, " " Ueef " and '^ Garbolch. " All of these points of sup- ply being not more than one and a half miles distant from the SI. i*aul village killing grounds — the *' Zolloi " drive being less than 000 feel away. At North-east l*oint on this island, Webster got all the seals desired towards filling the above cited quota «»f 90,000, from thai sand reach between the foot of Cross Hill and Ihe Big Lake sand-dunes on the north shore beach. Then, that inunense spiead of hauling-ground covered by swarms of young male seals, at Zapadnie, at South-west Point, at ii^nglish Bay beyond Mjddle Hill, west, at Polavina, and over all that eight lung 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. Therefore, w hen atteni ively studying in 1 872-1 S'i, 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 statenjcnl of fact I was unable to see how any harm was OK THE TREASURY. being done to the rofrular supply of fresh blood for the breeding rook- eries, since those largo reservoirs of surplus male life, above named, held at least just half of the young male seal-life (hen belonging to the islands — these large sources of supply wore never driven from — novor even visited by the sealers, and out (jf their overwhelming abund- ance, 1 thought that surely enough fresh male seal-life must, did an- nually mature for service on the breeding roftkeries. Therefore, when summing up in my published work of IST'i-IS"!, I was positive in declaring that although I was firmly convinced thai no increase to the then existing number of seals on those Islands would follow any effort that we might make (giving n»y reas^ons in detail for so believing), yet I was as firmly satislied that as matters were then conducted, nothini; was being done which would injure the regular annual supply of male life necessary for the full demand of the ro(^k- eries. 1 then declared *' that prodded matters are conducted on the seal-islands in the future, as Ihey are (o daij 100,000 male seals, under the age (>f live years, and over one, may be safely taken every year from the Pribylov Islands without the slightest injury to the regular birlh rales, or natural increase thereon : provided also that the fur- seals are not visited by any plague, or pests, or any abnormal cause Tor their dcslruction, which might be beyond the control of men." {Mo- nograpli of l/ie Seal /slaiidx uf Alaxha, p. (i-2.) I repeatedly called attention to this fact, in my publislied report, that ;''il of the killable seals required, were easily taken in thirty work- ing (lays, between June iith and July '20th of every year from thos(? points above spocilied, and that those reservoirs of surplus male life al South-wosI Point, Zapadnie, nnglish Bay, Polavina, Tonkie Mees, (^Ic, were full and overflowing : that more than enough was untouched which suldced to meet the demands of nature on the breeding grounds. But, to make certain Ihat my thoory was a good one, and would be con- firmed by time, for 1 (|ualilifd my slatenient, at that lime, as a theory only, 1 made a careful and elaborato triangulation of the area and posi- tion of tli(! hroeding-j^rnunds in l8Y-2-'7;i on St. Paul and SI. (ieorge Islands, aided and i laboratcd by my associate in I87{, Lt. Washburn Maynard, U. S. N. This I did in order that any increase or diminution following our work could be aulhorilativoly staled — Ihat 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 accur- acy as to the slalements of fact then published was al that time unqueslion.d on these islands, and it is to day freely acknowledged r VI LETTER TO THE SECUETAHY there : bul, what has hoen the lojric of events ? Why is it liiat wo lind now only a scant tentii of Ihe number of younp nialo seals which I saw there in 1872? When did Ihis work i»f decrease and destruction so marked on Ihe breedinfr-jfrounds then'. bej:in? And how? This ans- wer follows : tsts. From ovrrdricing wilhotit lieetliiifj its irariiing, llrst he^'un in 1879, dropped then, until 1882, then suddenly renewed aj:ain with increased energy from year lo year, until the end is abruptly reached, this season of i8{»0. 2nd. Frovi the shooting of fiir-senls ichii'flij frmah's) in the open waters of the North Pacific (Jcean and Bering Sea, begun as a business ht 1888, and continued to date. Thus, Ihe seal-life candle has been literally" burning at both ends" during the last five years. That day in 187!», when it became necessary lo send a sealing gang from St. I'aul village over lo Zapadnie U> regularly drive fr»»ni that hitherto untouched reserve, was tlie day lliat danger first appeared in tangible form since 1870 — since 1857 f»>r that matter. The fact then, that that abundant snurce of supply which had served so well and steadily since 1870-SI, should fail lo yield its accustomed returns to the drivers — that fact ought to have aroused some comment — ought then lo have been recorded by thi" officer in charge in behalf of the Government at Ihe close of Ihe season's work in 1882; bul, it did not : possibly, the gravity of Ihe change was not Iben fully appreciated by the sealers theuiselves either through ignorance or inallontion. But, when in 1882 it became absolutely necessary to draw from that time on until the end of the present season, heavily and repeat- edly upon these hitherio untourbrd >our(esof supply for the rookeries, in order to get the customary animal quota — at that time that fact, that glaring change from the prosperous and healthy precedent and record of 1870-'8I, should have been it was ample warning of danger ahead : — it seems however, to have been entirely ignored — to have fallen unon inattentive or incapable minds : for, not until the report for I88i» from the agent of the Government in charge, who went up in the spring of that year for his llrsi season of service and experience — noi until his roport came down to the Treasury Department, has there been the slightest intimation in the amuial declarations of Ihe officers of Ihe (iovernment, of the least diminution or decrease of seal-life on these islands since my work uf 187i was hnished and given to the world. On the contrarv sti-an^'e as it mav seeni, all the Treasurv Agent* OF THE TREASUnV. VM since 1879 have, whenever (hoy have f'poken at all, each vied with the other ill their laudations of the " splendid condition ot'tho rookeries" — " fully up to their best shmdard ", etc., and one report in 1888, declares a vast increase over the larpe li}rures which I published in 1872-'74 which is ajrain reiterated by the same officer in 1888. But, how could these frentlemen reconcile their statements with thai remarkable evidence of the decrease in supply of youiiff males from the records made and before them — staring,' them in the face — of 187'2-7l? When they saw and daily recorded the fact that sealing {ranjTs were bein^r daily sent out from the villaf^e, miles and miles away to hitherto undisturbed fields, for killai)le seals — the roijular, custonuiri/ /lattliiifi-grninds, then at the point of pj-hnustinn, from ii'hich an abundant snp/tit/ hail bern easily .secured during the last ihirti/ yars, and jrrass {,'row- injr all over tlie hauling jrrouiids of ISl-l, — how indeed did (hat fact escape their attention? it did however; it was utterly ijrnored. I can see now, in the \\\ihl of the record of the work of six(een con- secu(ive years of sealing, very clearly one or two points which were wholly invisible to my sight in 187"2-'7i. 1 can now see what that effect of driving ov(!rland is upon the physical well boiiig of a normal fur-seal, and from thai sight, feel warranted in taking the following ground. The least reflection will declare lo 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 unsual and laborious effort, oven when it is voluntary; therefore, when thousands of young male seals arc suddenly aroused lo their utmost power of land locomotion, over rough, sharj) rocks, rolling clinker stones, deep, loose sand, mossy tussocks and other equally severe impedim'^nls, they in their fright exert themsolves vio- lently, ciowd in confused sweltering heaps one upon the oilier so that many are often " smothered " to death; and, in this manner of most extraordinary effort to be urged along over stretches of unbi*oken 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 elforl, unnatural and violent strain must leave a lasting mark upon the physical coiidiliun of every seal thus driven, and then sulfered to escajte from llie clubbed pods or the killing grounds; they are allernalely heated to the point of suffoca- tion, gasping, panting, allowed to cool down at intervals, then abruptly started up on the road for a fresh renewal of this healing 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 r Tin LETTER TO THE SECnETARY h^ suddenly cooled off for Ihe last lime prior to the final ordoal of clnb- binj;; then when driven up into the last surround or " pod, " as tlio seals are spared from cause of being unlit to take, too big or too little, bitten, etc., they are permitted to go olffrom the killing ground back to the sea, outwardly unhurt, most of them; but I am now satisfied that Ihey sustain in a vast majority of cases, internal injuries of greater or less degree', that remain to work physical disability or death thereafter to nearly every seal thus released, and certain destruction of its virility and courage necessary fur a station on Ihe rookery evtMi if it can possibly run this gaunllot of driving throughout every sealing sea- son for five or six consecutive years; driven over and over again as it is during each t»ne of these sealing seasons. Therefore it now appears plain to me that those young male fur seals which may happen to survive this terrible strain of seven years of driving overland, arc rendered by this act of driving whcdly worthless for breeding purposes — that they never go to the breeding grounds and take up stations there, being utterly demoralized in spirit and in body. With this knowledge, then, the full effect of " driving " becomes apparent, and that rosult of slowly but surely robbing the rookeries <»f a full and sustained supply of fresh young male blood, demanded by nature imperatively, for their support up to the standard of full expan- 1. I havn l)ppn ropeatcdly astonished at the amazing power possessed by the fiir- scal, of resistance to shocks wliirh would certainly kill any other animal. To exi)iain clearly, you will observe, by reference to my maps, thai ihere arc a jrreal many clilVy places l)elween the rookeries on the shore-lines of the islands. Some of these dill's, arc more than 100 feet in abrupt <'levation above the surf ami rocks awash below, Frequently ■' hollusckickie, " in ones, or twos, or liu-ces will stray far away l>ack from the jjreat masses of their kind, and fall asleep in the thick grass and herbaj;c which covers these mural reaches. Sometimes they will lie down and rest very close to Iho edge, and then as you come tramping alonjr yy field notes will testify and which appear in all their detail in the following appendix to this report. The present condition of these fur-seal preserves, is nothing new lo the history of their case while in the hands of the Russians. Twice before in the comparatively short period of a ccnlury since Ibey were lirst open- ed to the cupidity of man. have they been threatened with the same ruin thai Ibrealens Ihem to day : in t80(> and 1807 all killing was stop- ped to save them, but resumed again in 1808 — loo 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 I83i, and the causes which led then to threatened exter- mination of those fur-seal interests on the Pribylov Islands, is one that is now timely in its repetition and should be heeded. When these islands were first discovered in 178(i-'87 an indiscrimin- ate rush was made to them by the representative of every Russian trading organization then in Alaska — by every one then able to fit oat a vessel and hire a number of men. These eager, greedy parties locat- ed on and near all of the large :\>okeri(>s and hauling grounds, und kil- led 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 difiicull than it is now, since the present system of salting skins practically oilers no «lelay whatever to the work of killing and skinning. In my mind there is no doubt but what this inability lo care 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 Pribylov rookeries from utter extermination in those early days. Certainly it was ar.d must have been the cause, for, at least thirteen different trading organizations had their vessels and thei'-men around and on these two islands of St. Paul OF THE TREASURY. XI and SI. George onpapcd to their utniosi ability throufrhoul full seven- teen years in unbroken succession, in lakin;; fur-seal skins. Had these early Russian fur hunters then jtossessed the knowledge and means of curing skins in sall,lhat\V(^ now have, togelherwilh those appliances in use to day on the Seal Islands of Alaska, I am well satis- fied in my own mind, that they would have killed every fur-seal that remained to show itself in less than three years after they began opera- tions — that they would have swept every animal from these ground long before the old Russian American Company assumed autocratic, control of those interests in 179'>, and extended it, in 1805, and to a!! Alaska as well. But fortunately for us and the world as well, they did not ku(»w anything about curing skins in salt — they had hut one method, and that was to stretch nut 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. Thus, this tedious process in a climate as damp foggy and stormy as is that peculiar to the Seal Islands of Alaska, made these Slavonian sealers spend ten times as nmch time in the act of curing their fur-seal pells as it took them to drive <»ut 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 idiosyn- crasies of the Chinese trade, via Kiachta; but even with this extraordi- nary hindrance, it seems that they took in that laborious and risky man- ner, at least one landred thousand fur-seal skins every year'. They took so many that by tS03, several hundnvl thousand of these air dried pelts had accumulated over the ability of the Old Russian Company to profitably dispose of theui in time to prevent their decay, — moulding and damp, then abruptly decaying — rotting in large ]»iles, as they were stacked up in the warehouses at Kodiak — so it became necessary to cut or throw into the sea, 700,000 pelts " during that ycfii-. Naturally this loss of labor, time and money cooled the ardor of the sealing gangs which were working the Pribylov Islands, they worked slower, when they did work , and most likely never worked at all in wet weather; obliged to bow to the caprices of the climate, or 1. " In tlio Jirst yciirs ..n St. I^aul Isliiml from 50,000 to fiO.OOO were takoii annually, and on S. (ii-nr^'o from 40,000 to ."iU.OOO cvory year. Sncli liorrililc kil- linj^ was npillii'r necessary nor dcmandi-d. Tim skins were froquonlly taken without any list or count. In 1803, 800,(100 seals skins had accumulated, and it was impossiMe to make advanla^'eous sale of so many skins; for in this {jreat nund)er so many wern spoiled, that it liecauie necessary to cut or throw into th • sea, 100,000 pcllst! " (Bishop Veniaudnov, " Zupioskie " etc. 1848, Vol. I, chap. XII.) XII LETTKU TO TIIK SECRETAIIY I lose their labor, Ihoy woro thus obliged to spare the sesils and Ibis enforecd delay in 1788-1806 lias saved the Pribylov ftookeries from that swift destruction whicii the keen (juick witted Ameriean and Kn},'lish sealers visi»"d in 180ti>2rt upon the <;real breedin}? frrounds of the fur- seal in the Antarctic : — they, our countrymen, then used the kench and salt, they were never bothered with the (|uestion of how to dispose of their skins after killin},' and skinning; so as to save them ; and, they brought their methods of 180(i-':2(i — the same methods of to-day, up to these Seal Islands of Alaska for the iirst time in 18()8'. Mo one can state with more than mere estimation on his pari, the full number of seals slau},diten'd by the Itussians on the Pril)ylov 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 Venianimov who from 1825 up to ISIW was at the head of all matters connected with the church In this Onalaska district where the seal islands belonu:ed, and who had the respect and contidence of the old Russian American Company, made a zealous search for such a record in 1831-35 among the archives of the Company at Sitka, where he had full access : by the result of his painslakin}; search he sums up in the following terse statement, " Of the number of skins taken up to 1815, I have no knowlediic to rely u|»on; but, from that time up to the present writing, I have hue and reliable accounts, " which he puis 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 11 1. Thoy boij'iin at once that systoin of disciplined exhaustive sUiuglitcr which had proved so effcclivo in their iiands throiiixhor't llie Antarrlic — took nearly 250, UOO seal skins on these islands in the sliort spaci! of I'our months; ceased tlien only for the want of salt; but happily the Government intervened early in 186!) before they coidd resume their work of swift destruction. In 1851 the first salting of fur seal skins was attempted on the Priliylov Islands : but the rudeness of tlie method caused trouble when tiie shipment reached London. In 1862 it was tried again by the Russians, but it was still rudely done until our peoi)le went to work iu 1868 with their thorough methods. The Russians never bundled their skins when salted : they allowed them to dry without kcnching in salt, and ship- ped them just as they did their aij dried skins, or " parcmenl " peets. 2. " Zapieskie ob Onalashkenskaho Otdayla : St. Petersburg, 18i2; 2 vols 8vo. A full translation of that chapter wliich treats of that (lueslion will follow tliis intro- duction. OF TUF TnEASURY. XIII however, the supply abruptly fell from an expected !20,000 to 12,000 only from both islands in 1831 — " all thai could be got with all possible exortion. " Then the llussians awoke to the fact that if thoy wished to pre- serve these fur bearing intorosts on the Pribylov Islands from ruin that they must stop killing, irholly stop for a number of years — stop until the renewal of llic oxliauslcd rookeries was manifest, and easily recognized : this Zapooska of 1835 which they then ordered is the date of the renewed lease of life which those rookeries took and which by 1857 had restored them to the splendid condition in wliich they were when they passed in the hands of the United States, and which now, after 'ii 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 exlinclion unless full measures are at once adopted for their preservation and restoration on land, and in the sea, — half measures will not do — they failed in the Russian period signally, and they will as signally fail with us if we yeld in the slightest degree to any argument for their adoption. It is interesting, therefore, to study the figures which Voniaminov 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 tli;^ business, and yet continue sealing; until, finally, after seventeen years of continual diminution and repeated introduction of half way 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 continued, until 18i6-'o0; then a gradual rise above 10,000 " hollusehickie " or young male fur-seals per annum began to be safely taken; and, by 1834, the exhausted and nearly ruined rookeries of St. Paul and St. George were able to yield 35,000 prime fur-seal pelts without the slightest injury to them, and by 1857-60 they were so numerous thai the llussians ceased to regard them as objects of care: and there after 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 1834, then it was expected that 20,000 seals would be taken, but only 12,000 were secured with all pos- sible exertion; this year it was expected that 60,000 fine skins would be taken; but only 21,000 have been secured with all possible XIV LETTEIl TO THK SECHETAUY exertion, nearly lialf of this calch bein^' small, or 5 1/2 — 6 \/-2 lb, skins — raking and scraping tbo rookery margins wilboiil a days intermission from tbo opening to tbn closing of tbo season; of tliis work of 1890, i give you in this roporl tbo fullest detail of its pro- gression, day by day, to tbo merciful ending of it, ordered so happily by you. It will bo promptly observed from a study of this record of the Russians, which has been so plainly and so honestly given us by Vcniaminov and Shaicsnickov, that tlic Russians during their control were faced at two periods with the prospect of a speedy extermi- nation 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 slopping 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 sev^n years, ere any beginning was fairly made to kill more than a few thousand young male seals annu- ally. In the first year, only 100 of such animals were taken, the number being very slowly raised year after year until 18i7-'50. 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 : 1st. That wo restrict and prohibit all killing of fur-seals on the Pribxlov islands for tax and shipment of skins for the next seven years without reflection on the present 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 de- feating the object in view. Snd. This slop on our part warrants us in asking the cooperation of Great Britain and Russia : in asking these powers to establish a close time for the protection of the fur-seals of Bering Sea during their breeding season, and that these regulations be agreed upon by a joint commission which shall consist of experts selected by the powers interested, and who shall visit the seal islands of Bering Sea next summer for that purpose : pending the settlement of those regulations and the report of this commission, all pelagic sealing in Bering Sea to be declared illegal, by the several powers interested. In corcluding this introduction to my work of the past season, OF THE THEASURY. XV and its rnsulls, I desire to say that iiave been exceodin^'ly careful in gathering' my data upon whicli I base all statement of fact, and opinion, and to secure these data I have literally live out upon the iicld itself, where those fads alone can be gathered honestly, or else had belter not be gathered at all. I now submit, most respectfully, my detailed report covering above mentioncc' iieads, together with those fleld sketches and maps which 1 deem necessary to give a more distinct, clear and full idea of my meaning and understanding of the subjects treated : trusting that it will meet with your approval. I am very respectfully your obedient servant. HENRY \V. ELLIOTT. INTRODUCTION GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE FUR-SEAL AND ITS EXTERMINATION IN THE ANTARCTIC Peculiarities of Distribution. — Our first thought in studying the distribi lion of the fur-seals throughout 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 equator going north, we lind in the Atlantic above the tropics nothing that resembles them. Their range in the North Pacific is virtually confined to four islands in Bering sea, Sainl-Paul and Saint-George of the Pribylov group, and Bering and Copper of the Commander Islands. It siiould be observed that there ir~ abundant reason, owing to constitution and the habit of Catlorhiniis, for this remarkable res- triction 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 tritle to the southward of it, viz. on the Galapagos Islands, fur-seals are still found where they were lirst 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 conditions of landing, breeding ground, and climate, all combined, for their perfect life and reproduction. In the North 1 INTHODL'CTION. I \n Atlantic no suilablo ground for llioir reception exists, or over did exist; and really nothing in the North Pacilic, beyond whal we have designated in Bering sea will answer the requirements ollhe fur- seal. When wo look over the Antarctic waters, we are sinprised at what might have been done, and should have been done, in those southern waters. Hundreds of nnles of the finest seal-breeding grounds on the western coast of Patagonia, the beautiful reaches of the Falkland islands, the great extent of Desolation island. togelli'M- with the whole host ofsmallerislets, where these animals abounded in almost countless numbers when first discovered and should abound to-day — millions upon millions — but which have been, through nearly a century, the victims of indiscriminate slaughter, directed by most unscrupulous and most energelie men. It seems well-nigh incredible, but is true, nevertheless, that for more than lifty years a large Heel, numbering more than sixty sail, and carrying thousands of active men, traversed 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 sailed skins, and they were swallowed up in the marts of the world, bringing mere nominal prices — the markets glutted, but the butchery never stopping. 1 will pass in brief review the seal-grounds of the southern hemisphere; taking at the outset those which are peculiar to the waters of the Western ocean. The (jalapagos island come lirst to our notice; this scattered group of small rocks ami islets, un- nihabited and entirely arid, was, lifty years ago, resorted to by a very considerable number of these animals, Arctorrp/ifi/isanstra/is, together with many sea lions, Olaria IIoo/,cri ; ^i\'ix[ 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, remains to this day. Along and otf the coast of t^liili and Holivia are the St. Felix, Juan Fernandez and Ahis-a-fuera islands, the later place being one of t!ie most celebrated rookeries known to Arctic sealers. The west coast of Patagonia ond a portion of that of Tierra del Fuego was, in those early days of seal-lumling, and is to-day, the finest connected range oi seal-rookery ground in the south. Here was i ; was INTRODUCTION. 3 annually made Iho concent ralod Hack of that sealing fleel above referred lo ; and one can readily understand how thorough must have he(!n its lid,jr, as he studies the great extent and deep inden- tation of this coast, its thousand and one islands, and islets and when 'e sees to-day tiiat there is scarcely a rookery of fur-seals known to exist there. The Falkland islands, just ahreast of the straits of .Magellan, were also celebrated, and a favorite resort, not only of the sealers, but of the whale fleets of the world. They arc 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 millions that once existed, an insignificant number, taken notice of only now and then. The (leorgia islands and the Sandwich group, all a succession of rocky islands and reefs awash — the South Orkneys, the Shet- lands the Auckland group. Campbell's island, Kmerald island, and a few rocks lying just to the southward of New Zealanil — have 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 pntgressed and the merciless search and slaughter continued. These pinnipeds, however, never went to the south- Avard of 02" south latitude. In considering the western Antarctic hemisphere, I must not forget also to mention, that the fur-seal was in early times found, u|> the coast of South America, here and there in little rookeries, as far north as Cape St. lioi|nr; but the number was unimporlani when brought into contrast with that belonging to those localities which we have designated. A small clitr-bound rookery to-day exists at cape Corrientc s. This is owned and farmed out by the Argentine Republic, and we are iiil'orined that in spite i»f all their care and attimtion they iiave neither increased nor have they diminished from their original insignificance; from Ibis rookery only three to five thousand were and ar(> annually taken. An- other small preserve on llie Lobos islets, near the mouth of the River IMale is also protected and leased by the government of I'ru- guay, and from 12,000 to f.'J.OOO -kins are annually taken there. When we look at our northern Atlantic waters we spei'dily recognize the fact, that between North America and Europe, across INTFtODLCTION. I HI U >: 1, i : the Allatilic and inlo tho Aiclic, there is not a single island or islet orslrelcli of coast that the fur-seal could successfully strugj^le for existence on; therefore it has never been found there. It appears as if our fur-seals had orijiinally passed to Bering sea IVom the parent slock of the Patagonia region, up along the coast of South America, a few tarrying at the dry and heated (lalapagos island, the rest sj.eeding on to the northward, disturbed by the clear skives and sandy beaches of the Mexican coast, on and up to Ihe great fish-spawning shores of the Aleutian islands and Itering sea. There, on the Pribylov group and the blulfy Commander islands, they found that union of cool water, well-adapted landing, and moisi foggy air which they had missed since they left the storm- beaten coasts far below. In Ihe Antarctic waters of the eastern hemisphere seals were found at Tristan da Cunlia, |)rin.-ipally on Kittle Nightingale island, the Cro/ets group, all small rocks, as it were, over which violent storms fairly swept; then we observe the great rookeries of Iverguelen land, or Desolation island where perhaps ninc- lenlhs of all the oriental fur-seals congregated, thence over to a small and insignilieant islet known as the Hoyal Company, south of Good Hope. This list includes all the known resting-places of the fui"-seal in these waters. In the North Pacilic, during prehistoric limes, a legend from Spanish authority slates, that fur-seals were tolerably abundant on the Santa Barbara and Guadaloujie islands, off the coast of Cali- fornia, and the peninsula to the southward. A few were annually taken from these islands, up to 18;)"i. and irregularly foimd there until 1871; an interregnum of some ten years and a few hundred skins were taken IVom there in IS.S'J. None have been secured since. Also, t'ur-seals were wont to sport and rest on those celebrated rocks of the harbor of San Franci'sco. known as the Farralones; but no tradition locales a seal-rookery anywItiM-e else on the i; M'thwest coast, or anywhere else in all Alaska and its islands, save the Pribylov group, while across ami down the Asiatic coast (Uily the Commander islands and a little rock islet know as Uobben Reef (right under the lee of Saj:bali(>n Island, Okhotsk Sea) is known as the resort of this animal. The crafty savage of that entire region, f' ba'ry Aino and the Japanese 4 INTRODUCTION. 5 themselves have searched in vain during the last hundred years for other ground frequented by these fur-seals. In the light of Ihe foregoing remarks, is it not natural when we reflect upon the immense area and Ihe exceedingly favored conditions of ground and climate frequented hy the fur-seals of the Southern (tcean,to say that their number must have been infinitely greater as I hey were first apprehended, surpassing all adequate description, when compared to those which we did regard as the marvel and wonder of the age the breeding rookeries of Ihe Pri- bylov group? It is a great pity that this work of extermination and senseless destruction sliould have progressed as it has t(» the very verge of total extinction, ere any one was qualified to lake note of and record Ihe wonderful life thus eliminated. Tiie Falkland islands and Kerguclen land, at least, might have been placed under the same restrictions and wliolesome direction whicli the Russians established in the North seas, Ihe benefits of whicli accrue tons to-day. and will forever, as matters aic now conducted. Certainly is is surprising that the business lh(»ughl, the hard headed sense, of those early English navigators, should not have been equal t(t that of Ihe Russian Promyshlenik, who were renowned as Ihe most unscrupulous and Ihe greediest of gain-getters. The Antarctic islands offered natural advantages of protection by land f'ai- superior to those found on the Pribylov or Commander groups. They had harbors and they lay outside of Ihe track of commerce, advantages which are not all shared by our islands; at Desolation island, perhaps Ihe difficulties were insuperable on acc(»unt of the great extent of coast, which is practically inacces- sible to men and nearly so lo Ihe seals; but the Falkland islands imiglit have been farmed out by the British governmental a trifling (Outlay and with exceeding 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 |o-m(»rrow, as our seals do and are in Bering sea. Rut the work is done. There is nothing down there, now valuable enough to rouse the interest of any governmenl, still a beginning might be made, which possibly forty or fifty years hence would rehabilitate the scourged and desolated breeding ground of the South seas. We are selfish people, however, and 8 li 6 INTRODUCTION. look only lo tlio present, and if is. without question, more than likely that should any such proposition be brouj,'ht before the Brit- ish Parliament it would be so ridiculed and exaggerated by dema- gogues 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 Antarctic. Shall we be equal to the occasion? • 4 rf^ SECTION I THE " ROOKERIES " OR BREEDING GROUNDS OF THE FUR-SEAL ON THE PRI BYLOV ISL A N DS OF ALASKA THEIR AREA AND CONDITION IN 1872-74, 1890 It ,1 « SECTION I THE "ROOKERIES OR BREEDINGGROUNDS OF THE FUR-SEAL ON THE PRIBYLOV ISLANDS OF ALASKA : THEIR AREA AND CONDITION IN 1872-74,1890 The In-coding grounds or " rookeries " of the Pribylov islands have altered very sliglilly in as far as (heir toixtgraphical features are concerned since the date of my last survey of lliem in 1874; but a marked change in the numhers of the fur seals thai then repaired to those grounds has taken place. On Saint Paul's Island in 1872 we saw the breeding herds of the fur-seal in the following form and numhers contrasted with the ligures of to-day which are made in precisely the same time and method as those of 1872-74 were. 10 SECTION I. ■ n EM I V p SS -!J o nJ 03 CT! 00 ^- t4 U o » d H 09 (/2 •a V S« (>> o 0) I— .^ -< (» u 09 (72 o rr. 1-^ (3 ca 3 s c O OS c ^' o I* ?^ 00 ^-H «4 Q N U I» w CD tf th oa 6rf O u ^-^ o H b «/ O •d ^ V 1 nJ s K o 5 's -< '• O -M O e If? ,_ Cl O O o s If^ i'" r? *o a: o *-^^ o_ ■* '■■v *~. Cl^ 00 :*: ^ C/3 o cT cr X ;* 1* 1^ -A fc* oc CI ?c « X »■*■ I- •^. -o ^^ ^* Cl 00 OV 00 u o -• => 3 o < ** 2 » o^ 00 ^^ i-^ ja . 1) t^ .s cT cc I* •^ :■: WM 0* c*c CO ^-< ** !.-3 CI f— I'' 30 -* X Tl C| ^ ,£ a i' ^ . C = -I — ^ '— %-l — * c^ c; ■■— C Ci ^« Ci S t i C-i 't> 9 r^' CI n «• Cl Cl t^i — cT " — " — (M — ^-T _ "3 ■-5 !■? o ffl c *.* *i¥ :-■; n v4 r^ ■J f- — ;o r* "■?" •^ -0 Cl ro *«^ c .~,. C :/; •*^ •^. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^' ^ -J* -- - TS < ~ t-H *— * %-■ -' *•-• '— •-N <— 1 •— . '--H C^ d tfl c> — o /. =) ^ ;* iO ^=1 o ^ = J'^ CT « 1- 30 :■; r- Cl «.* « S ■* (T-l ^" Tl ■"* CI -* «■; cf ~ 75 rt , , . . • . . , "3 VI . • , . . . , , • ■ • , a « ?2 en if: '/. X tft tfl tfl 'X H .c a • !4 ■ 2 ez . rt c; • 2 • rt JS p^:; ^ A x: 3 . , . rt = 3 «3 a •ri yj , , , .— -^ _, 3 U _i ,„ " : - "^ C 5 5 'A •A O C ' J3 ■ s • o o o6 ^ c * il S 75 '.2 3 -/. s V. i^ So Ix: Sh il-ji r5 = •/I as ■■" ^ •^ ^ "^ , ^" — ^ , ™" . "" ^ - &. -s "rt = o ^-" Iri ~ — — :^"i5" ^ i-t n 1/1 >j i^. >, >j >, >* >^ >> >i >» — 2 's 3 3 3 3 ^ 3 3 c "3 "^ ■^ ""5 ^ -s ■^ •^ ~ -t l-l •-s a O o o O c Cl 00 K "^ ^ o o o = = ^ to o o o^ ^ ^ ■0 oo_ 3 ,-j ~t 5 c < s M r? »-" oc :^ ;ra r-- = 3' » ^M S S o* o oc 1- Cl 05 ^^ r-" in r? — •«•• ^1 fri n Cl = ■ja i'. lO — ri cf u o o o = _ ^ K = o o => => = o o o ^ '— . ^ a -^ J.'? 'jf oe '^ o — ' — «^ — — -^ m ■>— — ^ 3 • '■* i^'s y. . 4J .J _. r1 S ex d t*4 d cx C^ Ch tM «M c^ cx 00 — c CO o o ^ 'fi — 3 tj Bh U a: o ifi 3i 1- :0 00 = o CO t^ «V -, > - >*' > - ^r >•» 2 -i'2 rt >* C/i 2ai « ' "a- ■=5 '3 c t: c "s H ■3 .-. "a 'c ^11 ■32 M o o So "-3 C 00 1^ oc CI ^ -^3 00 r- 1-5 ci -3 • « "^ ^ ■■^ ■^ ^ ^^ ^ ^^ -. ^^ ^ "Ir '^ ^^ ,, o' o"" " "* LrS «*• :o"'* ^-1 * oc"" ■f4 ._^ ^ 1*» ^ ^ >^ >, >» ^ 6 >* 3 3 'd 3 3 3 9 3 3 C 13 1 1-5 •-3 •-s "-9 *-s ►-S i-s i-s *-i !-• •-5 ^ I 3 1-5 •^3 o 2 S c — ft S ft THE " HOOKERIES H o c O (fl no = n o -i" a » r: r- SO = 30 rs Ol — c ■— o o ao — c -r- 3 ga, « . % Without explanation, I may ho consitlorcd as making uso of paradoxical hinguage hy using Ihoso lornis ol'do.cription; lor the inconsistency of talking of " pups ", with " cows. ", and " hulls " and " rookorios ", on Iho hreeding-grounds of ho same, cannot fail to he noticed, hut this nomonclaluro has ho',>n given and used hy the American and English whaling and sealing |iarties for many years, and the characteristic features of the seals themselves so suit the naming, that I have felt satisfied to retain the style thro- ughout as rendering my description more intclligihlc, especially so to those who are engaged in the husiness, or may he hereafter. The llussians are more consislont, hut not so " pat ", they call the " hull " •' see-catch ", a term im|)lying strength, vigor, etc.; the cow '• matkah ", or mother; the pups, " kotickie ". or little seals; the noii-hreeding males under six and seven years," holluschickie" or bachelors. The name applied collectively to the fur-seal hy them is " morskiekot ", or sea-cat. The rookeries of Saint (leorgo's Islantl have sulfered also, but not to so great an extent, only half their number of 187:{-1874 is missing as we view them this season : the following statement tells the story. 12 SKCTION I. O ;s •< *j en u o ai o ua H CO Z c ij I ad Eu ba S H U. O w a z o cd o a S3 Ed OS CQ a a H O xn 00 >^ o 0) oo o « «( o CO •a >> > b (fl eu o ce o > o I M 00 09 a o 01 « 99 « 0) > d «1 - « o = a ■". fl ^ s 9 — n 03 ^ - = ^ S S CI — "r "< « 0^ l.'5 ^. O X L> K 0» n\ ^ s •^ '"■' § ^'^ .o s 00 ■ja "^^ ~^ 5 J s * X w ~ — * "■ €=■ s » * « c^ ^ cf rl "^ CI « — — — * fli I- a •.i TI o - .= "n 5 £ i C^ 3 C^ C^ -ri ?1 CI CO — " -0 r^ ** •/■. ^ • ■ ■ • • ' M O. 2 i t*rt %H c: t«, Ci *— ^ c; c a — «i = so S Jt » — = ^3 C/J In" — ^ (/•-■ 5 CI 00 ~. '^ 00 CI s — ' TI — 7r ^- 1 3 • ' tn '/. ■/. en w ts rt Ti, J: js ^ 3" w 1; t u J «* wT tn if S! Ed 'S ^ «•» c C. C u § ? § S J2 o 00 N sc OT 00 ^ 00 J 2 &4 o ffl "a CI cT fl CI "3 V5 l-S ^T ^ *^ 1-5 ?^ . o . _ _ = „ . 1 CI 1;; c r- =_ 1-^^ c- s » •< •= cc — " -_2" :-" z ■ :"^ 3 " 0>- rc 1- v^ CI \s zc fc 00 -^--^- — ^ 3 = -^ — ' — ' .^ = s s = u ■< t^ 0^ oc :c — 0^ •'v :- to ^ 1 0' — ■ CI o ^" :-r — " =r C a *- « "C — ^* 'M ** — Z ■" ^ ti, C 2 •- • ^ w ^ • ■ w ^ X OS & c C = '■« = : - 1- 5 Mm CI :-: CI 00 eft V > o 3 ^* ^- ci "" — « !-5 :- ?i .^ H cc i.-5 1- CI :-: « cf ,A V. -.^-^v-,^- X 1 •J^ -3" v-ta _." .« — «M 13 -* -3 S 1- c; 14 1^ rt f^ rt cS C: 1 _o >> ■£ >» >> tfi >> 'tft OS "a "a '3 ; 3 r-> 3 tfi U "^ >-» •-s ^ ■-» t^ >-» tn k^ rt u • « ^^ A M a, M u c^ b CS •^ ^ cS :« o r- rt r- A r^ 1^ f^ rt o 00 N 00 Vi 00 '/T. CO u 2 a 60 oi ^ ^ ^ ^ J ^ ^ a » >) >» ^ >» J3 ■3 "3 s "a ■3 ca l-S '-i ^ •-3 "^ ■■■■^^ ^^"^ ^^^HH ^^■" ^ ■^^^" ■ i I ! THE " ItOOKERIES ". 13 o •T3 o 9 3 e n «5 M o o o o o n I— 90 to a o JS III llielight of lhcf()rogoinglalil('s,itwillbosoonthat(lnring IS72- 74 till! lookoriesof St. Paul aiidSl. (Icorgc carri(>(l;{,II)i,(i70 brocil- iiig lur-scals ami llu'ir young : thai sixteen years later only 9.')9,4u.*) breeding seals and tlieir young can bo boncstly said to exist Ibereon. Great as Ibis loss is, yet it is faint in comparison willi tbat sus- tained on tbe bauling grounds as wo lind matters to-day — Ihoro not even bundiods can bo soon now, wbero we saw tbousands sixteen years ago : tbe young male seals bave been directly between tbe drive, club and poacber since 18S2, wbilo tbo females bavo bad but one direct attack outside of natural causes, they bavo been bowever tbo chief (|uarry of tbe pelagic sealer during the last (ivo years. Tbe slow elimination of tbat surplus young male life which was and is necessary for the continued support of those rookeries, and its abrupt curtailment entirely during the last two seasons, coupled with the deadly work of the open sea hunter Ihroughou, the last live years, brings those renowned holds of fur-seal life into inmediate danger of speedy extermination as matters are to-day. In order that the full gravity of this statement may be appreciated, 1 doom it proper that the several steps should be retaken which I took in 187:2-74 towards the determination of tbat number of seals I recorded then as existing in the Pribylov rookeries. I said then in my |)ublished Monograph under this particular bead'. " Hefoie I can intelligently and clearly |)resont an accurate estimate of tbo aggregate number of fur-seals which appear upon those great breeding grounds of the Pribylov group, every season, I must lake up ill regular se([uonco, my surveys of those remarkable rookeries which I have illustrated in Ibis memoir by the accompanying sketcb-ma[)s, showing topographically the superlicial area and dis- tribution assumed by the seal-life at each locality. " II will be observed, that the sum total on St. Paul Island pro- pondeiales, and completely overshadows that which is represented at St. George. Heforo passing lo the detailed discussion of each rookery, it is well to call attention to a few salient features in regard to the present appearance of the seals on those breeding grounds, which latter are of their own selection. Touching the ' 1. Pp. 48-DO Miin. Seal Islands. (Census Ed. 1881.) 14 SECTION I. M locution ol' llio lur-soals lo-duy, as I liavo reconlpd and siirvoyod it, compared willi llioii" dislrilmlioa in early linies, I am soiry lo say llial tliere is nola single line on a cliarl, or a word printed in u book, or a nolu made in manuscript, which refers to this all-ini- porlanl snbjecl, prior lo my own work, which I present herewith for the lirst time to the public. The absence of delinite informa- tion in regard to what I conceive to be of vital int(!rcsl and impor- tanc(> to the whole business, astonished mc ; I could not at iirsl bcdieve it ; and, for the last four or live years, I have been searching among tln^ archives of the old llussian company, as I searched diligently wlion np there, and elsewhere in the territory of Alaska, for some evidence in contradiction of this statement which I have just made. 1 wanted [n find,! hoped to discover, some old record, some clue, by which 1 could nn?asure 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 Ihc present, but was disappointed. " " 1 am unable, throughout the whole of the following discussion, to cite a single reliable statement which can give any idea as to the condition and numbers of the fur-seal on these islands, when they were discovered in 1786-87, or during the whole time of their occupation since, up to the dale 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. — In attempting to form an approximate conception of what the seals were or might have been in those early days, as thoy spread Ihemselves over the hauling and breed- ing-grounds of these remarkable islands, I have been thrown entirely upon the vague statements givei) to me .y the natives and one or 'wo of the iirst American pioneers pi Alaska. The only Russian record which touches ever so ligiitiy upon the subject' 1. Vciiiaiiiiiiov : Zapieskie oh Ooii.ilashkenskahn Otdayla, 2 vols. St. Pclei'slmri,', 1812. This work of Bishop Iniioccnl Veniaininov is the only one which the Russians can lay claim lo as exhibiting anything like a history of western Alaska, or of givinjj a sketch of its inhabitants and resources, lliat has the least merit of truth, or the faiutcst stanii) of reliability. Without it wo shoulil be simply in the dark as to much of wl.'t the Russians were al)out during tlie whole period of their occupation and possession of that country. lie served, cliietly as a priest and missionary, for 25 years, TIIK MOOKKUIKS fS ' ' i contains the roniaikahle statcinonl, wliicli is. in llio lij;ht of my surv<»vs. simply ri«liculoiis now, ilial is, llwil (lio mimher ol' fur- seals on Si. Cu'orge durin}^' llic fir-l y<'j\rs of Kiissian occupation, Avas nearly as jircat as that on St. IVuI. The most superlicial ex- amination of the geological character portrayed on IIk; accompany- ing maps of these two islands, will satisfy any unprejudiced mind as to the total error of such a statement. NVhy, a mere lillu^ only of the multitudes wliicli repair to St. Paul, in perfect comfort, over the sixteen to twenty miles of splendid landing-ground found thereon, could visit St. (Jeorge, when all of the coast-line lit for their reception at this island, is a scant two and a half miles; hut for that matter there was. at the time of my arrival and incred- ible legends afloat in regard to the rookeries on St. l*aul and St. George. Finding, therefore, that the whole work must bo under- taken de novo, I set about it without further delay. " •* Thus it will be seen that there is, frankly stated, nothing to guide to a fair or evri: approximate estimate as to the number of the furseals on these two islands, prior to my labour. " '• Manner of Computing the number of seals. — After a care- ful study of the subject, during three entires consecutive seasons, and a conlirmatory review of it in 1876, i feel conlident that the following ligures and surveys will, upon their own face, speak authoritatively as to their truthful character. '• At the close of my investigation, during the lirsl season of my labour on the grounds, in 1873, the fact became (>vi(lent that the breeding-seals obeyed implicitly an imperative and instinctive na- tural law of distribution; a law recognized by each and every from 1814 lo I8;{!), at Oonalashka, havin-.' the seal-islands in liis parish, and was mado bisliop of all Alaska. He uas £'on after recalled to Russia, where lio became the pri- mate ol the national church, rankiair »; :'>iid lo no man in the empire, save the czar. Hc> must liave l)een a man of fine personal appearance, iuii;.'ini,' from the followiuj,' desrription of him, noted by .SirGeorjre Simpson, wlio met him at Sitka, in 1842, just as ho was about to embark for Russia : " His appearance, to whicii I have already alluded, impresses a slran^'er with soinelhinL' of awe, while in further intercourse, tlio gentleness wliicli characterizes his every word and deed, insensil)ly moulds reverence into love; and, at the same time, his talents and atlainmenls are such as to bo worthy of his exalted station. With all this, the bishop is suflicienlly a man of the world lo disdain anything, like cant. His conversation, on the contrary, teems with amusement and instruction, and his company is much prized by all who liavo the honour <^f liis ac(|uaintance ". Such is the portrait drawn of him by a governor of tlio Hudson's Bay Company. At the advanced age of 'J3 years, this much beloved and esteemed iirelato died, in Moscow April 27, 1873. 16 SECTION I. seal upon the rookeries, prompted by a line consciousness of necessity to 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 ground evenly, never crowding in at one place here, to scatter out there. The seals lie 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 little strips which are abruptly cut off and narrowed by rocky walls behind. For instance, on a rod of ground, under the face of blulTs which hemmed it in to the 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 throughout the whole list, great and small; always exactly so many seals, under any and all circuns- tances, to a given area of breeding-ground. There are just as many cows, bulls and pups on a square rod at Nah Speel, near the village, where, in 1874, all told, there were only seven or eight thousand, as there are on any square rod at North-east point, where a million of them congregate. " " This fact being determined, it is evident that, just in propor- tion as the breeding-grounds of the fur-seal on these islands expand or contract in area from their present dimensions, the seals will increase or diminish in number ". " The discovery, at the close of the season of 187:2, of this law of distribution, gave me at once the clue I was searching for, in onler to take steps by which I could arrive at a sound conclusion as to the entire number of seals herding on the island '. '* 1 noticed, and time has conlirmcd my observation, that the period for taking these boundaries of the rookeries, so as to show thit< exact margin 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 20lh 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 organisation 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. " f t M THE «• ROOKERIES ". n f " There is no more difficully 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 surround; g a field. The breeding-seals remain perfectly quiet under your eyes all over the rookery, and almost within your touch, everywhere on thC outside Oi their territorv that vou mav stand or walk. The mar- gins of massed life, as 1 have indicated on the topographical sur- veys of these breeding-grounds of St. Paul and St. (leorge, arc 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 mak- ing the surveys, and in making them correctly. " Xow, with a knowledge of the superficial area of these breed- ing-grounds, the way is clearly open to a very interesting calcu- lation as to the number of fur-seals upon them. 1 am well aware of the fact, when I enter u{)on Ibis discussion, that 1 cannot 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 two square feet for each female may be considered as the superficial space required by each animal with regard lo its size and in obedience to its habits; and this limit may safely be said to be over the mark. Xow. every female, or cow, on this two square feet space, doubles herself I>y bringing '"orlh her young; and in a few days or a week, perhaps, .iffer its l)irth, the cow takes to the water to wash and feed, and is not back on this allotted space one- fourlh of the time again during Ihe season. In Ibis way, is it not clear that the females almost do'ilile Iheir number on the rookery- grounds, without causing Ihe exjtansion of the same beyond the limits that would be actually iT([uired. did they not bear anyyoung at alt? For every 100,000 breeding-seals, there will be found more than So. 000 females, and less than 15,000 males; and in a few weeks after the landing of these females, they will show for themselves; 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. 3 i8 SECTION I. It must be borne in miml. that perhaps 10 or 12 per cent of the entire number of females were yearlings last season, and came up on *o these breeding-grounds as virgins for the first lime 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-liffeonth the number of the females, much less in fact, they therefore occupy only one-eight of the space over the breeding-ground, where we have located the supposed 100.000: this .-^urplus area of the males is also more than balanced and equalized by the 10,000 or 20,000 virgin females which come on to this rookery 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 feel apart by 7 feet »»n the roo- kery-ground — have each a space therefore of about 70 square feet for an average family of 15 cows, I'i pups and o virgin fe- males, or 33 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 feet for himself and harem. " '' Taking all these points info consideration, and they are fea- tures of fact, I quite safely calculate upon an average of two square feet to every animal, big or lit lie. on the breeding-grounds as the initial point upon which to base an intelligent compulation of the entir" '^nmber of seals before us. Without folbnving this system ol eni'» Ti -ation, a person may b^ok over IJiese swarming myriads i). I we<^-. South-west point and Xovastoshnaii. guessing vaguely and wilaiy, at any figure from one million up to ten or twelve millions, as has been done repeatedly. How few people know what a mil- lion 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 accompli ',hed . " " Before summing up the grand total, 1 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 Heef point. The accompanying maps show the exact area occupied by the breeding- THE " HOOKEKIES ". 19 seals and their young in the season of 1874, which is the date of my latest field-work on the Prihylov Islands. " I may add that my method of surveying these breeding-grounds in 1872-"t was by means of measured base lines, taking n>y angles and cross-bearings with an azimuth compass : in 1890 I 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 the 2-2nd May and Itb of June, so that when the females all arrived by the 10th of July, I was able to go there out upon each one of these rookeries with my finished plat of the land in hand; and upon it in the Held again plat the mas- sing of the breeding animals as they exhibited themselves, with- out a moment's delay, so as to properly and deliberately finish 'le entire work before the rutting season was over by the 20th July : by this time those rookeries are scattering and scattered as they always do by the lap^e of tlial period, since the old bulls then relax their abs»dute control of their liarcms, and permit all to wan- der at will. In this connection it is pleasant for me to say now, that in 1874, I was accompanied by Lieut. Washburn Maynard, I'. S. N. who being also a trained to[)ographei , aided me in verifying my surveys of 1872-7.'{. He gave this subject close adention; he appreciated its importance and in his publislied report to the Secrorary of the Xavy in 187."}, he uses the following lan- guage. '• it i-i .f very great significance in this connection to know ho\ ns 11; ills come annually to the islands, or rather to under- stand I . iiniiiy may be killed for flieir skins annually, without causing Ic^.; lo come hereafter than do at the present time. To determine how many there are with accuracy is a task almosf on a par witli that of numbering the stais. Tlic singular motion of the animals when on shore, th(> great variety in si/e, colour, and posiiion ; the extent of surface over which they are s|>read. and the fad tliat it cannot be determined exactly what projiortioii of tb.-n. , of tlieir several classes, are on shore, at any given tinn*; all the-, iderala for comprehension make it simply imjiossible ti ^et mure than an approximation of their numbers. They have been variouslv estimated at from one to fifteen millions. " l^'r 20 SECTION I. " I think the most accurate enumeration yet made is that by Mr. H. W. Elliott, special agent of the Treasury Department, in 1872. This calculation is baseil upon the hypothesis that the breed- ing seals arc governed in hauling by a common and invariable law of distribution, which is, that the area of the rookery groimd is directly proportional to the number of seals occupying it. He estimates that there is one seal to every two 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 feel. He surveyed tliese breeding-grounds of both islands in 1872 and 1873, when at their greatest limit of expansion, and obtained the follow.' j '(^e'llls : Upon St. Paul island there were G,OGO,000 feet of grr .ccupied by 3,030,000 breeding- seals and their young. On . t. Cieorge island he announced 326,8.')0 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 non- breeding seals cannot 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 is. If so, it would give not far from 6.000.000 as the stated number of seals of all kinds which visited the Pribylov islands during the season of 1872. " " It is likely that these figures are not far from the truth, but I do not think it necessary 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. All the rookeries, whether large or small, are uniform in appearence, alike compact, without waste of space, and never crowded. Such being the case, it is unimpor- tant to know the actual number of seals upon the rookeries. For any change in Jhe number of seals, which is the point at issue, increases or decreases in si/e, and the rookeries taken collectively, will show a corresponding increase or decrease in the number of breeding-seals; consecpiently changes in the aggregate of pups born annually upon which the extent and safety of the fisheries THE " ROOKERIES ". SI depends, can bf> 'i^bserved accurately from year to year by follow- ing those lines of survey. " " If, then, u plan or map of each rookery be made every year, showing accurately its size and form, when at its greatest expan- sion, which is between the J 0th and 2oth of July annually, a com- parison 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 re|)ort 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 surveys niude by Mr. Elliott in 1872, show them now as they were in the season of 1874 as compared with that of 187:2. 1 respectfully recommend 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 ciiangc 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 "omparative certainty, so as to produce the greatest revenue to the government, without injury to this valuable interest " (44th Cong. 1st Sess. 11. R. Ex. Doc. No. 43), pp. 4, y. This finished work of 1872-74 I reproduce in the following maps of the several rookeries of St. Paul Island, and add the hauling grounds of SI. 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 1872-74 cannot 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 enlarg- ed scale. The general position however of the St. George rooke- ries 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 Pribylof Islands, giving first my published account of them as they appeared in 1872-1874, and each original description is supplemented by my 28 SECTION I. notes ami 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'. 1872-74. •• The Reef Rookery. — By reference first to the gene- ral map, it will bo 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 ofthc most striking of all the rookeries, owing probably to the fact that on every side it is sharpy and clearly exposed to the vision, as the circuit is made in boats. A reach of very beautiful drifting sand, a ([uarter of a mile from the village hill to the Reef bluffs, separates the breeding-grounds proper from the habitations of the people. Those Zoltoi sands are, however, a famous rendezvous for the " hollus- chickie ", and from them, during the season, the natives make regular drives, having only to step out from their houses in the morning and walk but a few rods to find their fur-bearing (|uarry". " Passing over the sands on our way down to the point, we quickly come to a basaltic ridge or back-bone, over wich the sand has been drifted by the winds, and which supports a rank and luxu- riant growth of the Elymus and other grasses, witii beautiful llowers. A few hundred feet farther along, our course brings us in full view, as we look to the south, of one the most entranc- ing spectacles which seals afford to man. We look down upon and along a grand promenade-ground, wich slopes gently to the eastward and trends soutiiward down to the water from llie abrupt walls bordering on the sea on the west, over a parade-plateau as smooth as the floor of a ball room, 2,000 feet in length, from 'iOO to 1 ,000 feet in width, over which multidues of " holliischickio " are liiing in long strings, or deploying in vast platoons, hundreds abreast, in an unceasing march and countermarch ; the breath which from a hundred thousand hot throats hangs like clouds of white steam rises into the cold air steam in the gray fog itself; indeed, it may be said to be a seal-fog peculiar to the spot, while the din, the roar arising over all, defies our description. " i. This combination of the work of 1872-74 ;inJ 1890 upon one chart of each rookery is much belter and more satisfactory than to publish the original survey by itself with a (luplicato series of charts for 1890. THE *' ROOKERIES ". 23 " Wo notice to our right and to our left, the immense solid masses of the breeding-seals at Gorbotch, and those stretching and trend- ing around nearly a mile from our feet, far around to the Reef point below and opposite the parade-ground, with here and there a neutral passage left open for the '' holluschickie " to go down and come up from the waves. " " The adaptation of this ground of the Reef rookery to the requirements of the seal is perfect. It so lies that it falls gently from its high Zoltoi bay-margin on the west, to the sea on the east ; and upon its broad expanse not a solitary puddLe of mud-spotting is to be seen, though everything is reeking with moisture, and the fog even dissolves into rain as we view the scene. ICvery trace of vegetation upon this parade has bi-en obliterated; a few tufls of grass, capping the summits of those rocky hillocks, indicated on the eastern and middle slope, are the only signs of botanical life which the seals have suffered to remain. " " A small I'ock, "Seevitchie Kamniin " live or six hundred feet high to the southward and out at sea, is also covered with the black and yellow forms of fur-seals and sea-lions. It is environed by shoal-reefs, rough, and kelp-grown, w^hich navigators prudently avoid. " " This rookery of the lleef |)ro|ier has 4,016 feet of sea-margin, with an average deptli of luO feel, making ground for 301,000 breeding-seals and their young, (lorbotch rookery has 3,r»00feet of sea-margin, with an average depth of 100 feet, making ground for liS;{,000 breeding-seals and their young; an aggregate for this great Keef Uookery of i8i,000 breeding-seals and iheir young. Heavy as this enumeration is, yet the aggregate only makes the Reef rookery third in importance, compared with the others which we are yet to describe. " 1890. The Reef Rookery . — On the accompanying map of this breeding-ground, the are:i and |)osition of the massed seal life as surveyed in 1872, is s'lown by a higher tint over which the reduced form and number of 1890 is sharply drawn, in dark relief; the ragged, scattered massing of to-day is also clearly shown by this survey : that solid uniform organization of 4872, is not more than suggested by it over the entire held : these curious, " jags " of breeding seals which show so plainly on the (lorbotch slope, K 84 SECTIUN I. form the most striking featuro af that changed order of affairs, whicii dechires a reduction of more tiian one-lialf of the females and fully nine-tenths of the males on this rookery. Then that splendid parade-ground of 1872 is now fairly deserted, grass and mosses and lichens and even llowers are taking root everywhere over its polished surface of 1872; and Zoltoi sands, it has not been visited by young male seals Ihis year during the seal- ing season, none left lo come. The whole of this llecf iXeck in 1872, south of (Irassy Summit and Fox CA'ilY was entirely bare of grass or any vegetation whatever, except lichens on inaccessible rocks to seals, and tufts of grass on the ov(>rhanging point and cliff edges of the west shore but, on the 9th of last xVugust, as I stood overlooking the whole held from the sumi lit of Fox Cliff, the interior of it was fairly green, and only struggling bands of a do/en seals here and a hundred there were healing over it. Eighteen years ago these slopes of " fiarbotch " and the Heef Parade were covered with angry, eager lusty bulls, two and three weeks before the first cows even arrived : they came in by the otli to 22nd May in such numbers as to lill the space at close intervals of from 7 to 10 feet apart, solidly from the shore line to tlie ridge summit, and over, even, so far that it required the vigorous use of a club before we could get upon " Old .lohn Rock " from the rear t then too, at that time they were lighting in every direction under our eyes. This season I do not observe a bull heri'e, where I saw at least ten at this time 18 years ago. Now, not a fujht hiprogrcss anywhere here, there are not bulls enough to quarrel, they are now scattered apart so widely over this same ground as to be a hundred and even a hundred and fifty feet apart over ground where in 1872 an interval' often feet between them did not exist. The labour of locating and maintaining a position on the rookery then was a serious business for these bulls which came in last; and it was so all the time to those males that occupied the water line of the breeding-grounds. A constantly-sustained fight be- tween the newcomers and the occupants progressed morning, noon, and night, without cessation, frequently resulting in death to the combatants. ' THE " ROOKERIES ". f» In 1874, I saiil '' It appears, from my survey of these breed- ing-grounds, that a well-understood principle exists among the able- bodied hulls, to wit : that each one shall remain on his ground, which is usually about six to eight feet square ; provided that at the start, and from that time until the arrival of the females, he is strong enough to hold this ground against all comers; inasmuch as the crowding in of the fresh arrivals often causes the removal of those which, though equally able-bodied at lirst, have exhausted themselves by lighting earlier and constantly ; they are linally driven by these fresher animals back farther and higher up on the rookery; and sometimes oil" altogether. " " Many of these bulls exhibit wonderful strength and desperate courage. I marked one veteran at Garbotch, who was the lirst to take up his position early in May, and that position, as usual, directly at the water-line. This male seal hud fought at least forty or fifty desperate battles, and fought off his assaillants every time, perhaps nearly as many different seals which coveted his position, and when the lighting season was over (after the cows are mostly all hauled up), I saw him still there, covered with scars and frightfully gashed; raw, festering, and bloody, one eye gouged out, but lording it bravely over his harem of fifteen or twenty females, who were all huddled together on the same spot of his first location and around him. " In order that every step shall show which I have taken in making these surveys as presented, I submit the following de- tailed figures which taken in conjunction with the map, explain themselves and declare the method and manner of my work. Detailed analysis of the Survey of "Reef Rookery" July 10th, 1890. Sea Margin of ''Reef Rookery' lieginnin(f at foot of Fox Hill. Sq. feet. 300 ft. sea margin beginning at foot of Fox Hill, witli 7o ft. average depth, massed 22,i)00 300 ft. from thence to "1st Point", with 30 ft. average depth, massed 9,000 200 ft. from thence, with 70 ft. average depth, massed 14,000 Curry forward. . . 4i),a00 Ii ; ili| 11 I I M SECTION I. Sou Murgia of "Uoaf Uuokory" Uegiimiiij; at foot of Kux Hill. iSi]. feet. Browjia fovu'irU. . . 4i),H00 100 ft. from tlience, wilU 80 fl. averafic iloptli, mussed 8,000 iOO ft. from IhencQ willi 20 ft. iivcriifj;!! deplli, massed 2,000 900 ft. from tlioiico, with 7o ft. avt'rnge deptli mussed 07,500 1,400 ft. from tlience witli 20 ft. avera^^e depth, massed 28,000 J)00 ft. from theiiee ("li" and "F" "Jags" ineluded). with ;tO ft. uveraf;e depth, mussed 10,000 200 ft. from theiict? ("G" "Ju^'" ineluded), with too fl. uveruye depth, mussed 20,000 300 ft. from tliciici! to end of "'Keef Uookeiy', with 10 11. uveruge depth, mussed 3,000 Jag "A" is 2;>0 fl. deep above sea muigin, with 00 ft. uverage width, massed lo,000 do. "U" is 400 ft. deep above sea margin, with 60 ft. average width, massed 24,000 Jag "C" is 400 fl. deep above seu murgin, with 100 ft. uv(Mage width, massed 40,000 do. "D" is 130 ft. deep above sea murgin, with 100 ft. uveruge width, mussed 13,000 Total SQUAUK FKET. . . 281,000 This makes ground for and declares the presence of 140,300 seals, 5 $ and o (Bulls, Cows, and Pups). Detailed analysis of the Survey of 'Garbotch Rookery" July 10, 1890 Sea Margin of "Garbotch" Rookery liiji^iiiniiig uiiiler "Cap". Sij. feet. 800 ft. sea margin, beginningunder"Cnp"to"nik. Bend"base with 1j ft. uveruge depth, mussed. 12,000 300 ft. sea margin from "Black Heiid" to Jug "0", with 00 fl. average deiilh, massed 18,000 1,100 ft. seu sea murgin from Jag "0" to Jag "L", with 40 ft. average depth, mussed 44,000 300 ft. sea murgin from Jag "L" to Jag "J", with 30 ft. average depth, mussed 1 3,000 703 ft. sea margin from Jug "J" to end of "Carbotch lly" with 13 ft. average depth, massed 10,300 Jag "R" is 73 ft. deep above sea margin, with 73 ft. uveruge width, mussed 3,623 Carry forward. . . 103,125 THE " HOOKKRIKS ". «T Sea Margin of "Oarbotoh Rookery" be^riniilii); iiii'lor ••Cup. S.|. feet. Bnniijht fo'-HHird. . . H)'.i,i-l\i Jag "Q" is 00 ft. (li'c|i filiovo st>a iii.'irfjiii, with •iOll 11. ;ivurii;ie width, inassod 12,000 Jag "0" is 70 II. iioc|i (ihovo sea inargiii. willi "0 It. avt'iagf widlli, massed 4,900 Ja« "N" is 00 ft. tlo('|i ahovc sea inar^'iii wilh I.IO 11. avcrapT"' width, inassi-d 0,000 Jag "M" is l.iO ft. d(;i'|i abovi' sea iiiaigiii wilh i(» fl. average width, massed 0,000 Jag "L" is 70 fl. ,000 unburied carcasses that are sloughing away into the sand, which two or three seasons from now, nature will, in its inlinite charity, cover over with the green- est of all green grasses. The whitened bones and grinning skulls of over 3,000,000 seals have bleached out on that slaughtering spot, and are buried below its surface now. " ** Directly under the north face of the Village hill, where it falls to the narrow Hat between its feet and the Cove, the natives have THE " noOKEHIES M or sunk a well. It was oxcavatoil in 1857, Ihoy say, and snlise- qucntly tlfopenctl lo ils presoni condition, in 1808. It is twolvn foi'l deep, an*l llie difrjiorssaid that tlicy found honos of the sea-lion and fiir-scal lliickly disti-ii>ul(>d ovory fool down, from lop to hot- loni, liow niucli lower those osteologieal remains of jtreliistoric pinnipeds can lie found, no one knows as yet; the water here on that account, has never been fit to drink, or even to cook with; l)ul hein^^ soft, was and is used hy Ihe natives for washin{j; clnlhes. etc. Most likely, it records the spot where the Russians, ilurinfr llic heyday of their early occupation, drove llie unhappy visitors of Nali Speel to slaughter. There is no (lolgotha known to man elsewhere in the world as extensive as this one of St. Paul. " " Yet, the natives say that this Laj^oon rookery is a new feature in the distrihulion of Ihe seals; that when the people first came there and located a part of Ihe present village, in 1824 up to 4847, there never had heen a hreeding seal on that Lapton I'ookery of lo day; so they have hauled up here from a small Ixginning, not very long ago, until they have attained their present numerical exj)an- sion, in spile of all these exhihitions of hulchory of Iheir kind, executed right under their eyes and in full knowledge of their nos- trils, while the groans and low moanings of their stricken species stretched oul heneath the clubs of the sealers, must have been far plainer in their ears than they are in our own. " " Still they come, they multiply, and they increase knowing so well that they belong to a class which intelligent men never did molest; to-day at least they must know it, or they would not sub- mit to these manifestations which we have just cited, so close to their knowledge. " " The Lagoon rookery, however, never can be a large one on account of the very nature of the groimd selected by the seals ; for it is a bar simply pushed up above the surf-wash of boulders, waterworn and rounded, which has almost inclosed and cut oul the Lagoon from its parent sea. In my opinion, the lime is not far distant when that estuary will be another inland lake of St. Paul, walled out from salt water and freshened by rain and melting snow, as are the other pools, lakes and lakelets on the island. " 1890. Lagoon rookery. — There has been little or no change in the character of the topographical features of the Lagoon rook- 30 SECTION I. I i mi. k II ^ I ery since my survey of 1872, except that the sea-wall of boulders which separates the Lajjoon from lieriii}^ Sea, this hrcak-waler has been shoved up still hijjhor by ire-lloes, some six or ten feet per- haps. This shovinj; up of these boulders which compose the La- goon sea-wall on which the rookery is established has also resulted in shoaling' the " dove". This villafje lagoon has been filling up very perceptibly since ISGiS, when Hutchinson and Morgan Ihen were able to sail in a small sloop, drawing six feet of water, up to its head. To-day such a vessel could nol come nearer than a mile to their anchorage of 1808. The principal shoaling fakes place in a direct line here between Tolstoi Point and the Village" Mill, where a rocky reef seems to bo slowly rising, pushed up by ice helds. The sloop yacht " .Fabe/ Howe", which was wrecked in 187.3 on Akootan. is probably the last sea-going vessel that has or ever will gain an entrance to tlK village lagoon, St. Paul Island; or swing at anchor in the Cove. The singular location of this I^agoon Hookery, in close contact with the killing grounds where all the seals are slaughtered on St. Paul Island (save those killed at North-east point), and its im- mediate juxtaposition with the village, causes me to extend the lines of my survey of it so as to include the entire site of the town, the killing grounds, I he salt-houses and contiguous territory. It illustrates a remarkable paradox. The natives say that when the village was first established down here, it was placed under the southern slope of the Hlack lUull's, (m East Landing', in 1817 : but the need of ulili/inga good landing in the Village Cove, finally became so urgent that, in spite of the present village site being then a large hauling-ground for seals with Xah Speel rookery in the f(U'eground, the town was moved t)ver, and the seals driven off in IS2i : this caused quite an exodus of breeding-seals fnuu" Xah Sped" which established them- selves then for the first time on the Lagoon sea-wall, across the Cove : prior to this dale no fur-seals had ever hauled there to breed. The little rookery of " Nab Speel ", has been gradually dwindl- ing away since 1884 ; in 1886 (Uily a few harems remained, and they disappeared altogether in 1887. A detailed analysis of the survey of Lagoon Hookery, as it is h THE " nOOKKRIES n presented on the aeconipanying map, is unnecessary, since the eye at once grasps a simple extension of 1500 feet of ragged sea-margin and an irregular scattered massing which is hest expressed hy allow- ing 12 feet of s0 ft. sea margin between "T" ami "K" with 80 ft. average ileplli, massed 27,000 1,100 ft. sea margin from "i;" to "])'" loo scattered and thin for an average depth 10,000 Total syuAiiE feet. . . i t.S.OliO Making ground for 7:2, .')2o soals 6 9 *"d O (Bulls, Cows and Pups against a total here in 1872-74 of 17,000 : a loss since then of6o°/„. Detailed analysis of the survey of "Keetavle Rookery" July 10, 1890. Sea margin beginning at "A" and ending at "U". Sq. feet. 700 ft. sea margin between "A" and •'!{" with 30 ft. average deptli, massed 21,000 1,000 ft. sea margin between "C" and "D" wiih 3o It. average depth, massed 3"), 000 Total square fkkt. . . ;j(),00(t Making ground for 28,000 seals 5 9 i^^d O (Bulls, Cows and Pups), against a total of 165,000 in 1872-70 a loss of 137,000 seals, or 8o "/o since then. This rookery is one of the worst wrecks, in the general diminu- tion it is the worst, having suffered a greater loss than any other on St. Paul or St. George lor that matter. Un Lukannon this last summer, while there were two-hfths as many cows as in 1872, yet the hulls did not average more than one fifleentli of the nuniher tnoy showed in 1S72. On Keetavie, it was no hetter, if anything a shade worse. No young hulls anywhere olfering service or attempting to land. This undue proportion of the sexes and the general apathy and advanced age of the hreeding bulls is characteristic of all the rookeries to-day as we view them on Pi'ibvlov Islandn. Here and there at wide intervals we observe 3 34 SECTION I. I! an alcrl, virile bull, while its companions all around are stretched out in somnolence, or rejj;ardin}; the incoming cows with positive indill'erence. In 1872 it was just the opposite; I made then the following note " Between the 12th and 14lh of June, the tirst of the cow seals, as a rule come u() from the sea; then the long agony of the waiting hulls is over, and they signalize it hy a period of universal, spasmodic, desperate lightingamong themselves. Though they have quarreled all the time from the moment they first land- ed, and continue to do so until the end of the season, in August, yet that fighting which takes place at this date is the hloodiest and most vindictive known to the seal. I presume thai the heaviest percentage of mutilation and death among the old male from these brawls, occur in this week of the earliest appearance of the females. A strong contrast now between the males and females looms up, both in size and shape, which is heightened by the air of exceeding peace and dove-like amiability which the latter class ex- hiliit, in contradistinction to the ferocity and saturnine behaviour of the loimer. " 1872-74. Tolstoi Rookery. — •• Directly to the west from Kuk- annon, up along and around the head of the l>agoon, is the seal- path road over which the natives bring the '• hoUuschickie " from Tolstoi. We follow this and lake up our position on several lofty grass-grown dunes, close to and overlooking another rookery of great size : this is Tolstoi. " We have here the largest hill-slope of breeding-seals, on either island, peculiarly massed ou the abruptly sloping flanks fd" Tols- toi ridge, as it falls to the sands of l-inglish bay, and ends suddenly in the precipitous termination of its own name, Tolstoi point. Here Ihe seals are in some places crowded up to Ihe enormousdepth of nOO measured feet, from the sea-margin of the rookery to its outer boundary and limitation; and when viewed as I view it in July, taking the angles and lines shown on the accompanying sketch-map, 1 considcicd it \\«th the blulf terminating il at the south, and its bold s^veep, which ends on the sands of English bay, to be the most picturesque, Ihough it is not the most impressive rookery on the island, especially wheu that parade-ground, lying just back and over the point and upon its table-rock surface, is reached by the climbing seals. " THE •' ROOKERIES ". :i:i " If the observer will glance ai the map, he will see that the parade-ground in question lies direclly over and about 150 feet above, tiie breeding-seals immediately under it. The sand-dune tracts wliicli border the great body of (he rookery seem to check the • holluschickie ' from hauling to tiie rear, for sand drifts here, in a locality so iiigh and exposed to the full force of the wind, with more rapidity and consequently more disagieeable energy to the seals than anywhere else (»n the island, " A comical feature of this rookery is the appearance of the foxes in the chinks under the parade-ground and interstices (»i" the clilfs; their melancholy barking and short yelps of aslonisiiment, as we walk about, contrast ([uile sensibly with the utter indif- ference of the seals to our presence. " " From Tolstoi at this point, sweeping around three miles to Zapadnie, is the broad sand-reach of English bay, upon which and back over its gently rising flats are the great hauling grounds of the ' holluschickie ', which 1 have indicated on the general map, and to which I made reference in a previous section of this chap- ter looking at the myriads of '• bachelor-seals " spread out in their restless hundreds and hundreds of thousands upon this ground, one feels the utter impotency of verbal description, and I'eluclanlly shuts his note- and sketch-books to gaze upon it with renewed fascination and perfect helplessness. " "Tolstoi rookery has attained, I think, its utmostlimit of ex[)an- sion. The seals have already pushed themselves as far out upon the sand at the north as they can or are willing to go, while the abrupt clilTs, hanging over more than one-half of the sea margin, shut out all access to the rear for the breedhig-seals. The natives said that this rookery had increased very nmch during the last four or live years prior to the dale of my making (he accom- panying survey. If it continues to incre-ise, the fact can he in- stantly noted, by checking otT the ground and com[»ariiig it with the skel'-h-map herewith presented. Tolstoi rookery has ;{,000 feel of sea margin, with an average depth of l.'iO feet, making ground for 2:2o,000 l)reeding-seals and their young. " 1890. Tolstoi Rookery. — My picture of this rookery as above drawn in 1872, forms a remarkable contrast when held up in view of the picture which Tolstoi made in the height of the sealing rm 36 SECTION I. season last summer. The scant, scattered massing of the breed- ing animals as exhibited this year over those same areas of splendid congregation in 1872, where 500 feet deep from the sea margin, the breeding seals and their young lay in compact solid organization throughout the rutting season — this contrast bj- twcen the condition of 1872 and 1890 was most vividly made here, since it is the only one of the St. Paul rookeries whicli can be seen in all of its extent from a single point of view. It also was an exceedingly attractive rookery to visit in 1872, because from its height, the vast sweep of those English Bay hauling-grounds lay under your eyes, and the tens of thousands of holluschickie which then hauled out there, in sport or in sleep, were always to be seen whenever you glanced that way. Not even a faint suggestion of 1872 appeared on this hauling ground of English Bay last summer, and the shrivelled form of Tolstoi rookery in 1890 is best expressed by the figures which fol- low, explanatory of the accompanying map. Detailed analysis of the survey of "Tolstoi Rookery" July 10, 1890. Sea margin beginniug at ".V" ami ending at "D". Sq. foot. 800 ft. sea margin between "A" and "B", with 80 ft. average deplii, massed 6i,000 400 ft. sea margin between "IJ''and "C", with 00 ft. average depth, massed 24,000 1,600 ft. sea margin between "C" and "D" with 10 ft. average deptii, massed 16,000 Jag "E" has 300 ft. of. depth, with 40 ft. average width, massed 12,000 Jag "F" has 100 ft. of depth, with 40 ft. average width, massed 4,000' Jag "G" has 120 ft. of depth, with 40 ft. of average width, massed 4,800 Total sguAiu; keeT: . . 124,800 Making ground for 62,400 seals J $ and o (Bulls, Cows and Pups) against a total of 223,000 in 1872-IS74; these ligurcs dcclire a decrease here of 102,000 seals since my earlier survey, or u loss of S0i.ie 75 7o- ^Yhilo there appears to be a little more than one-fourth only ■I THE " ROOKERIES 37 Sq. foot. GV.OOO •24,000 If), 000 I -2,000 i,000' 4.800 124,800 ll Pups) Icl.u'o a it loss Ith only of the females here as compared willi their number of 1872 yet the proportion of loss in males is still more startling — there is not one-fifleentli of the slujwinp; made by the bulls in I872-I87i, and not a single young bull seen upon the ground offering service — not one even attempting to land at the water's edge : the half dozen that 1 did see on the outskirts of the rookery were evidently dropped from sealing " drives ", broken-spirited and utterly "wor'hless. The topographical features of this ground are wholly un- changed since my survey of 1872 : the sands still drift with their accustomed disagreeable energy backwards and forwards between Middle Hill and Ihe base of the rookery; but ]>eing 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. 1872-1874. 'Zapadnie Rookery. — From Tolstoi, before going north, we turn our attention directly to Zapadnie on the west, a little over two miles as the crow Hies, across Eiiglisli Bay, which lies between them. Here again we find another magnificent rook- cry, with features peculiar to itself, consisting of great wings separating, one from the other, by a short stri'Ich of five or six hundred feel of the shunned sand-reach which makes a landing and a beach just bctweeii them. TJie ncjrlhern Zapadnie lies moi^t- ly on the gently sloping, but exceedingly rocky, Hats of a rough volcanic ridge which drops there lothe sea; it, too, has an approxi- mation to the Tolstoi dej)lli, but not to such a solid extent, it is the one rookery which I have reason to believe has sensibly in- creased since my first survey in 1872. It has over-flowed from the boundary which 1 laid down al, that time, and has filled up for nearly half a mile, a long ribbon-like strip of ]»reeding-ground to the north-east i.'om the hill-slope, ending al a point where a few detactied rocks jut out, and the sand takes exclusive jMJssession of liie rest of the coast. These rocks aforesaid are called by the natives " Nearhpahskie Kammen '', because it is a favorite resort forthe hair-seah. Although this extension of a very decided mar- gin of breeding-ground, over half a mile in length, between 1872- 1876, does not in the aggiegate, point to a very large increased number, still it is a gratifying evidence that the rookeries, in- •1 38 SECTION I. ill ii!t If 1 1 j* : sloiul of landing 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 or rocky bar and beach connects it with the ridge walls of South-west point : a very small breeding-rookery, so small that it is not worthy of a survey, is located here; i think probably, on account, of the nature of the ground, that it will nev- er iiold its own, and is more than likely abandoned by this time ". " One of the prehistoric villages, the village of Pribylov's time, was established here between the point and cemetery ridge, on which the northern wing of Zapadnie rests. The old burying ground, with its characteristic Russian crosses and faded pictures of the sainis, is plainly marked on the ridge. It was at this little bight of sandy landing that Pribylov's men iirst came ashore and took possession of the island, while the others in the same season proceeded to North-east poini and to the north shore, to establish selUemenls of their own order, When the indiscriminate sealing of 1868 was in progress, one of liic parties lived here, and a salt- house which was then erected by them still stands; il is in a very fair state of preservation, although it has never been since occu- pic, except by the natives who come over hero from the village in the summer lo pick Ihe berries of the Empctrum and Rubus, which abound in the greatest profusion around the rough and rocky flats that environ the little lake adjacent. 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 lime, 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 ' hoUuschickie ' that sport here on the parade-plateau, and indeed over al! of thewestern extent of the English Bay haul- ing-grounds, have never been visited by the natives for the pur- pose of selecting killing drives since 1872, inasmuch as more seals THE " HOOKKUIKS ". W than woro waiilod have always hccii prociirtMl IVoni Zolloi, Liikun- non, and Lower Tolsloi |Miinls, wliicli arc all very close lo Ihc vil- lage. 1 liave been told, since making this survey, llial during the pasi year llie lireeding-seals of Zajtaduie have overllowcd, so as to occupy all of llie sand-slrip wliicli is vacant bolween llicni on the acconipiinyiug map ". 1890. Zapadnie Rookery. — II is impossible to convey the full sense oluller desolation wicli the vaeant seal area of 1872 on this line rookery aroused in my mind last July while then making my survey of it. (n'ass and llowers springing up over those broad areas back of the breeding-grounds here, where in 1872-1871, thou- sand 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 myselt"! No one then, even thought (d'such a thing as coming over from the village to make a killing at Zapadnie, more seals than wanted were close by, at Tolstoi, l.ukannon, and Zoltoi sands. This not alone, but that splendid, once dean-swept expanse of hauling ground in I'^nglish Bay between the Zapadnies and Tolstoi, is all grass-grown to-day except over its areas of drifting sand, with mosses, lichens and flowers interspersed : it is entirely bare of seals, save a lonely pod under Middle Hill, Lower Zapadnie is certainly the roughest-surfaced hroeding- ground peculiar to the Seal Islands, and it is a curious place on which [o view the seals as they locale themselves, for as you walk along they suddenly appear and disap[)ear as they lie in those queer little valleys and canons here which have been formed by lava bub- bles of the geological time of that ehnation of St. [*aul Island from the sea. I3ut to-day so scant is the massing of the breeding-seals, here that that unbroken uproai- which boomed out from thein in 4872, is wholly absent — it is jiositively ([uiet save the subdued sheep-like' calling of the females, and the lamb-like answer of their offspring. 1. Indeed, .so similar is tiic sound, lli.it I noticed that a number of sheep wliicli llio Alaska CniunienMal Company had brought up IVoni San Francisco lo St. Gcoi-go island, during' ilio summer of 1873 were constantly attracted to the rookeries, and were running in among the " hoUuschickie " so much so, that they neglected the good pas- turage on the uplands beyond, and a small boy had to be regularly employed lo herd them where they could feed lo advantage. These transported Ovidie, though they "mm 40 SKr.TION I. As this brec(linf;-f,^r(nin(l <»!' Ziipiulnic was tlio second (tnc in size and imporJunco on SI. Piiul in KS72, tlio lignros whiili my survey of last .luly warrant, sli(»\\ an extraordinary decrease liere, and make a melancholy exhibit. Detailed analysis of the survey of ''Lower Zapadnie Hookery' July 11, 1890. I III lilli Sc 2,700 ft. Jag It y" Jag "H" Jag "C" Jag "D" Jag "K" Jag .•K" Jag "(i" Jag "H" willi a mar^'iii lieniniiiiig at •' () ' .iml I'lnliii); at ■■ Z.ipiicliiio Point sea margin lietwicii "0" and "Zapadnit' I'oiiil", 20 ft, avfi'a^ic doplli, inassi'd is 400 fl. deep almvo sea niaiyin, willi ;i() II. average widlli, massed. . . . is 300 It. deep above sea margin, with (ii> I't. average widiii, massed .... is 380 ft. deep above sea margin, witli it.'l ft. average widlli, massetl .... is 200 ft. deep above sea margin, witii ".'I ft. aveia^ie width, massed .... is ITii ft. deep above sea margin, witli 7!) ft. average widlli, massed .... is 3;)0 ft. deep altove sea margin, with OO ft. average width, massed. . . . is 200 ft. (b'cp al>ove sea margin, willi (10 ft. average width, massed .... is 12i) fl. deep abovt; sea margin, with i() fl. average widlli, massed .... Total syu.\UK vv.v.t Si|. I'eet. ;;i,ooo 20,000 18.000 13,300 i:;,(ioo 13,1 2;> 21,000 12,000 ;i,(ioo . 171,425 y ¥* if! ]\Iakinpj ground for iS;),70"> seals ^ 9 ♦^'^*' O- (Bulls, Cows and Pups) against a total of ;{iu,0()() in 1872. The figures for '' Tppcr Zapadnie " are not much bettor — I regard it as part and parcel of one rookeiy i.e. Zapadnie, but for clearness of definition in survey, separate the wings. could not possibly find anylhiiij.' in liioir eyes sii;.'^rcslivc of cimipanionsliip among the seals, had ihcir cars so charmed by tin! slieeii-likc accents nf the female Pinni- peds, as to persuade them against their senses of vision and smell. The sound whicii arose in 1S7:! from these j_'reat hrceding-jrrounds of the fur-seal when thousands upon tens of thousands of angry, vigilant bidls were roaring, chuckling, and jiiping, and multitudes of seal-mothers were calling in hollow, blasting tones to their young, that in turn responded incessantly, is simply defiance to verbal description. It was, at a slight distance, softened into a deep booming, as of a cata- ract; and I have heard it, with a light fair wind to the leeward, as far as six 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 car for quite a considerable dislaacc away. TIIK " HOOKKRIKS 41 Detailed Analysis of the Survey of "Upper Zapadnie Rookery" July 11th, 1890. Sea iiiiirgiii liegiiminj; iit ■ Q", cnilirii; at -V" ii'siiiin'cl at •W" and oiidiiig at "U". Sij. I'eot. 1,200 ft. sea maifjin holwccn '••>" iind '-V", with K) It. av(M;it,'(! d('|)lli, luassfd iS.OOO 2,;t00 It. sea iiiar^'iii, (linadi) IicI\V(H'I1 "W" and "H". witli 10 It. avt'iagt' depth, massed 2:t,()00 Total syfAiii: I'KKT. . . "I.UOO Making jii'oiuitl fnr ;{,'». .'UIO seals ^ 9 and o. (Bulls, (lows and Pu|is) a-ainsta tolal (.1' !)7,800 in I.STi; or a lolul lo-day of I4l,!20:i for Zapadnie, enlire, a^^ainst 442, S(M) iti 1872. 1872-1874. " Polavina Rookery. — llaH-way lielweon Ihe village and Norlli-easI puinl lies Pulaviiia,ann||iei' one of tlio seven larjie hreedinji-^rnnnds on lliis island. The eons|)icnous cone- slia|)ed head (d' iNtlovina Sopku rises clearly eul and snioolh I'roni the |daleau al ils base, which Talis Iwo miles lo Ihe eastward and soulh-eastward, sharp oil' into Ihe sea, presenting; a hlull inar}j;in over a mile in lenfjlh, at the liase td" which the sea Ihunders inces- santly. It exhibits a very beautiful geuloi^ical section of the sim- ple structure of SI. ]*aul. Th(> ringing, iron-like basaltic founda- tions of Ibe island are lierc setting boldly up iVom Ihe sea to a lieight st of the way frum the village up to North-east point, as will be seen liv a cursory glance at the map, with the exce|dion of this blull of I'ltlavina and the terraced table setting back from its face to Pnjavina Sopka, 'he whole land is slightly elevated above the level of the sea, and its coast-line is lying just above and beyond the rearh (»f the surf where great ledges of sand have been piled by the wind, ca[»ped with sheafs and tufts of rank-growing /i////y/*/s. " *■ There is a small ri)okery, which I call, " IJltle Polavina "', indicated here, which does not promise much for the future ; the sand cuts it olT on the north, sand has blown around so at its rear, as to make all other ground not now occupied by the breeding- seals there <|iiite ineligible. Polavina rookery has '••,0()0 feet sea- margin, induiling Little Polavina, with I'lO feet average depth, making ground for .'{00,000 breedings-seals and their young. " 1890. Polavina Rookery. — My survey, .Inly \'\, 1890, of Ibis bi'ceding grnund shows it to be one of the two rookeries only which have sulfered on St. -Paul island no greater loss than from 'JO "/u to uo " „ of their general form and number, as re- corded in ISli. Yet i cannot avoid the conclusion, however, that this rookery has been hard driven from during the lasl eight years, since the chief hauling-grounds lay directly up in the rear of the breeding lines, therefere, when the shrinking of the supply of holluscbickie began, the driving of the killable seals here involved a regular scraping of the large semi-circular edge of I*olavina liookery whenever a drive was made : illustrative of this, a drive made here on the iStli July, brought in out of a total of l.'Jil animals 172 old breeding bull's, which had been scraped up on the rookery margin by the native drivers, who were obliged to lake these old fellows along, or lose the handful of killable 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. \M m 4l: 4 44 SECTION I. This is a locality where, until 1872 [1882?] like the Zapadnie and South-west Point areas, the fur-seals on St. Paul island had been undisturbed by the sealers, since 1837 : therefore the hol- luschickie and the breeding seals had polished the whole surface of that high plateau laying gently back from the blulTs 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 which compose the floor of ibis parade ground of Polavina was literally powdered by the altrition of seal flippers into an im- palpable red dust, which during every windy dry 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 soa, the idea of a steamer under way within lee of the land. During misty, foggy and wet days, this s<>il would and does now resolve itself into the condition of a rich moist humus, and alter heavy rains, a thick paste, if puddled by the seals. The natives, in Russian times, had a small village on tlie lake shore near by this rookery, and regularly worked this field, espe- cially severe up to that season of utter diminution which ended in 1834, by the stopping of all killing for shipment on St. Paul and St. George. When ''.uv Zapooska was ordered, the settle- ment at Polavina was abandoned, and the people removed to the present location which was established in 1824 ; also, the North- east point village was brought down at this time to the existing town site, and the consolidation was final. Since that time, up to 1882, beyond a few small drives made early in June, (driven for food) no seals have been drawn from the hauling grounds of Polavina, from Zapadnie or South-west point- But as the regular source of abundant supply near the village, became exhausted, then in 1882 the draft upon these five reserves of Polavina and Zapadnie, became sudden and steady, and every killable seal scraped up, easily at first and ruggedly during tbe last two years, and I may add with great severity during 1889 and also the present season of of 1890. So, when I regard this ground to-day after an interval of six- teen 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 THE " ROOKERIES ". 45 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 sea margin ; — and, still more remarkable in contrast, that pronounced utter absence of the hoUuschickie 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 frolicing in tireless antics one with another or wrapped in profound sleep : — this deserted parade ground of Polavina, like unto all the others on both is- lands, speaks most eloquently and truthfully of the present order and condition of the interests of our Governement : my survey as exibiled on the accompanying chart gives the following figures : Detailed analysis of the survey of "Polavina Rookery'', July 13,1890 Sea margia beginning at "K" ami ending at "D" Sq. feet. 150 ft. sea margin from "D" to "D", with 100 ft. average depth massed 15,000 900 ft. sea margin from "D" to "E" with 200 ft. average depth, massed 180,000 150 ft. sea margin from "E" to "E", with 100 ft. average depth, massed 15,000 Jags "1", "2", "3" and "4" have 400 ft. of sea margin, with 100 ft. of average, with 40,000 Tor »L SQUARE FEET. . . 250,000 Making ground for 13."), 000 seals $ $ and o (Bulls, Cows and Pups) against a total of 210,000 in 1872. Detailed analysis of the survey of "lii tie PolaviuaRookery" July 1 3 , 1 890 Sea margin tieginning at "C" and emlinf; at"D" 8q. foet 175 ft. sea margin from "C" to "b", with 20 ft. average depth, massed .1,500 280 ft. sea margin from "b" to "a", with 100 ft. average depth, massed 28,000 100 ft. sea margin from "a" to "d", with 30 ft. average depth, massed 3,000 Total sqcare feet. . . 34,500 Making ground for 17,250 seals $ ^ and o (Bulls, Cows and Pups) againsl a total of 60,000 in 1872. This survey gives a total for the Polavinas of li2,250 for 1890 against the total they possessed of 300,000 in 1872-74. ^^^KSSS^ I W Ti ii' l P ii iLW I M 1 i ii ■ ^Hi 46 SECTION I. 1872-74. " North-east Point or Novastoshnah Rooliei-y. — Though this is the last of the St. Paul rookeries whicli I notice, yet it is so much greater than any other one on the island, or two others for that mailer, that it forms the central feaiure of St. Paul, and in truth presents a most astonishing and exlraordinary sight. It was a view of such multitudes of amphihiaus, when I first stood upon the summit of Hutchinson hill, and looked at the immense spread around me, that suggested to my mind a doubt whetlier the accurate investigation which 1 was making would give me the courage to maintain tlie truth in regard to the 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 tine 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 wliole preliminary survey aside, and seizing upon the next favourable day, w^ent over tlie 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 tlie others are, endowed with ils own particular physionomy, 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. Ilulchinsoii Hill is the foundation of the point — a solid basaltic iloor, upon which a mas? of breccia has been poured at its north-west corner, which is so rough, and yet polished so highly by the countless pattering flip- pers of its visitors, as to leave it entirely bare and babl of every spear of grass or trace of cryplogamic life The hill is about 1^0 feet high; it has a rounded summit flecked entirely over by the " liol- luschickie ", while the great belt of breeding-rookery sweeps high up on its flanks, and around right and left, for nearly three and a half miles unbroken — an amazing sight in its aggregate, and infi- nite in its detail. '' '' A picturesque feature, also, of the rookery here, is the appear- ance of those tawny, yellowish bodies of several thousand sea- lions, which lay 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 THE •' ROOKERIES 47 ligh when they capturo them in the fall for their hitk's and sinews '. " " Cross, or St. John's hill, which rises near the lake, to a iieight of GO or 70 feet, and is quite a land-mark itself, is a perfect cone of sand entirely covered with a luxuriant growth of Elijmm; it is growing constantly higher hy the fresh deposit brought by wind, and its retention hy the annually rising grasses. " At this point, it will he noticed, there is a salt-house, and here is the killing-ground for North-east point, where nineteen or twenty thousand " holluschickie " arc disposed of for their skins every season; their carcasses heing spread out on the sand-dunes between the foot of Cross hill and Webster's house; a squad of sealers live there during the three or four weeks that they are engaged in the wtu'k. The " holluschickie ' are driven from the large hauling groundson the sand-llats immediately adjacent to the killing-grounds, being obtained without the slightest difficulty. " '* Here also was the site of a village, once the laigest one on this island ere its transhn* 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 barrabaras are still plawily visible. " The company's steamer runs up here, watching her opportu- nity, and drops her anchor, as indicated on the general chart, right south of the salt-house, in about four fathoms of water; and the skins are invariably hustled aboard, no time being lost, because it is an exceedingly uncertain 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 and interesting- phases of this remarkable exhibition of highly-oiganized life. When they lirst bunch together, they are all black, for they have not begun to shed the natal coat : they shine with an unctuous, greasy rellection, and grouped in small armies or great regiments on the sand-dune tracts at North-east point, they present a most extraordinary and fascinating sight. Although the api)earance of I. Tlie sea-lions tuvtul on no onfi of tlio oilier rooUorios at tlie island, ihc insignid- cani ninnbrr that I noticed mi .Si'Pvilcliie Kanimou excnjiied. At South-west jjoinl, however, I I'oinid a small sca-lioii rookcrv, but there ar.' no b;c:dinj,' I'ur-soals there. A handful of luimpfopias used to breed on Otter island, hut i!o not now, since it has been necessary lo station (.'overnment a^'cnts there, lor the aji[)ri'liension of fiu'-seal liii-ales, during the sealing season. «t SECTION I. if i\i tlie " holluschickie " at English Bay fairly overwhelms the observ- er with the impression of its countless multitudes, 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, I looked down to the southward and westward over a reach of six 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 res- tricted 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 (hiring the afternoon of that July day, when I first made my survey of this ground; indeed, when- ever I pause to think of the subject, the great rookery of Novas- toshnah rises promptly to my view, ami 1 am fairly rendered voice- less as I try to speak in definition of the spectacle. In the first place, this slope from Sen-lion neck to the summit of Hut- chinson Hill is a long mile, smooth and gradual from the sea to the hill-top ; 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 of not less than three-fourths of a million seals — pause a moment — think of tiie number — three-fourths of a mil- lion seals moving in one solid mass from sleep to frolicsome gam- bols, l>ackward, forward, over, around, changing and interchang- ing 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 a swift altornati(m over head of those characteristic rain fogs, between the succession of which the sun breaks out with transcendent brilliancy through the misty halos about it; this parade-lield retlected 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! " THE " ROOKEIIIES ". 49 1890. Novastoshnah — As this great rookery was the object of ray chief admiration in 1872, now it in 1890 becomes the again main idea «>f my cimcern, not admiration to-day bnt commisera- tion, for tiiis breeding-ground has suffered a startling loss of life during the last eight years : it presents the deepest siiadows now that that sunsliino which I saw it in, eighteen years ago. I have walked around and over it as I surveyed the ground last summer as one would pass thus, a grave-yard, and not even a suggestion of the massed life of 1872, have I been unable to see within its desolate area. That ground, which I described above, as covered with liosts of amphibians in 1872-74 is again before me to-day with not a single herd of seals upon it — actually green with upspringing grass and tinted and flecked with varied flowers ! The accompanying map with the tinted massing of 1 872-7 i, contrasted with that of 1890, speaks for itself — the great rookery of Novastosnah is a mere wreck to-day, and the chart rudely, but forcibly declares it. Detailed analysis of the survey of " Novastoshnah Rookery " July 13th, 1890. So:i margin extending from 'X" in tlie S.K. to "B" in the S.W. ll.Kij ft. "A" to "H" 700 ft. soa margin, 'M> f(. deep, massed Sea-lioii Neck, luirems scattered amon]L; Sea-lions, ail estimate only "C" to "D" 300 ft, sea margin, 200 ft. deep, massed . . — 10 ft. — — 35 ft. — . . — i8 ft. — — 3a ft. — — 10 ft. — — a;; fi. — 10 It. — . . — 20 ft. — . . — CO I'l. — . . — :io It. — . . — 20 ft. — . . — 10 ft. — . . — 30 ft. — . . — loo ft. — — 20 ft. — . . 10 ft. — Carry forward. "D" to "I."" iOO ft. "r to "(V 200 ft. "G" to "11" :vM ft. "li" to i' to ".I- JiOO ft. ".1" lo 'K" 400 ft. "K" to "L" 200 ft. "I," to "M" 700 ft. ".N" to "0" 2,l(tO f(. i'\>" to 'V 121 » fl. "H" to li^" 42:; ft. "S" 10 H'J"' 3:io ft. «i1"> to "U" :;5o ft. "U" to i; lo \\]c lari.'i'[' niir, ;iiid uulil I inadi; my surveys, 1872-74. il, was sn CMiisidercd liy .-ill iiaiiii'- irilcirstpd. The fact, howovcr, wliicli I soon disrovci'od, is lli.ii ,St. Ocrirge receives uidy nne- ci^'lileenlli of llie wlmlc! a'.'j.'roj.'ale of fur-seal visilalioii peruliar lo llie Prilivlov islanils, St. Paul eijlerlaiiiiiij.' llie oilier sevi'iileeu parls. This iiinazinj,' iliHei'eiice, in iju; li;.'hl. ol prior kiiuwled^'tf ami underslaudin^', caused me, on rcturnin)^ to Washiii^ilou in Oclolier 187:), lo lay the matter liefoi'e llie Trea- sury Dcp.-irtmeiil, and ask ih.il the l.iw he so iiiodilied thai, in Ihe event of .ihiiornially warm killin;.' seasons, for other reasons .i sm.iller nunihcr irii;.dil he taken from .St. 'jeorgi', with a cori"S)iondinL' inci'eas" .it .St. Paul; for unh'ss this was done, it ini};lit hocoinn al .any season .i manor of ;,'i'eat hardsiiip to secure 2.1,000 killahlo seals on Si. riror;.'e, in the short period aUolled liy law. The Treasury I»eparlment, while! fully roncurrin(f in my rejiresenlations, seemed lo douhl ils power to do so; ihen, with its sanction, I carried the (piestioii licf(U'e (!on^'ress .laniiary, 1871, and securefl from thai hody an amendment id' tiie act of July I, 1870, ('act. eic, appmvi'd .March2i, 1874), wliich ^'ivcs the Secretary of iho Treasury full discreiioii in ihc m.iiler, and Tin: " HOOKi:iui:s "■ 5!» pi-o- liniicd idlMlt- liow cilli-. •stotl, iirir- lllils, ■;iiis'"il Ti-e.i- iii.'illy from >Ui\ ii, sn.'ils whili' ilien, iircfl .ilK-l 1890. North Rookery. — I Ciuiic upon llii> iHOcding-^M-oiiiid lo-(lay, .Inly H). 1H!M), iil'tor an ahscncc of jnsl sixleon ycar^. I find the fttpofirapliy nnclian<:(>d : llic liauliri;; i^ionnds all j^rass- }.M'o\vn, and llic nsnul llowcrin;^ jdanls which seem to lollow On all of (hose declining; rookeries , Ihe ahandonmcnl ol' hilheili) polished rocU and hard-swept soil travelled over and laid ujion hy the seals; Ihe hicedin;^^ animals <»n the si.veral areas ol' Mils i'oolv(?ry are in Ihe nsnal lorni, and characleiislic of those which I have doscrihed on SI. Panl — the same scani; njiply ol' old hnlls — no yonn^ hidls (»n Ihe ro(d^ lart:e as this Noi-lh rookery in 187 i: It is an admirable |)oint al ground, well drained, and lr(M> from innddy pools dnring -"ain storms : il is in lull sight of tin; village, and only a slnjrl half mile walk away. fixes liic Ilillii'l'lM ilillexilile IVIlio nf killiii;.' nil f.u il i^l.iiiil llji^li .1 sliilln;; hC'iJi', as it wci'i', IdT .■nljiistijii'iil from season to si':isoii ii|)oii ;i iiioi'i' iiili'llij^i'iil Miwli'r'sl.aiiiliiij.' t,( the sulijoct; and. also, lliis .•irni'iiflalory aci ;.'i\i's \\\i- Sicreiary ol' llii' 'I'i'casuiv ilic |io\vrr lo (ix 111'' |i';,'al liniil. ol'killiiig as llir casi' may ri"|iiiri'. As the law is now amciidfil, iIm' killiii;.' on lli'' luo i-l inds can lie si'iisihls ailjii^l'd each .season, liy llio rolalive nnmln'i' of scaN on llic lu" i^l.in'ls, uliicli uill \ai'> s'l niarkf'illy on ISi. (Icor^ri' according as il may lif alitioniially iliy ami uaiiii u In n llic pci'iod lor di'ivin^' tlii; " li'dluscliickic ' is al hand, or "IIht causes. 'li SECTION I. U V i Detailed analysis of the survey of North Rookery July 19, 1890. Sea margin begins at '-a" an ft. sea margin front "d" to "e", wilii GO ft. average deptli, massetl 20,700 2o0 ft. sea margin from "e" to "1", «ilh 10 fl. avera^'c depHi, masse.! •2,"I00 186 ft. sea margin from 'i" lo '•g'", with 12 ft. average depth, massed 2,232 220 ft. sea margin from '-g" to -'h", with 60 ft. average depth, massed 13,200 240 ft. sea margin from "ii'' lo "i". wilh 12 ft. average deptli. massed 2,880 280 ft. sea margin from "i" lo "j", with 12 ft. average depth, massinl 3,360 1,300 ft. sea margin from "J" lo "I", with 10 ft. averagi- deptli. massed 13.000 Total s^juAin; fket. . . '7,122 flaking ground for 38. ."01 9 6 a'lJ O. (liulls, Cows aiul Pups) against a total of 7(;,2.";0 in 187:{-I87i. 1873-74. " Little Eastern Rookery.' — From the village lo the eastward, about half a mile, again, is a little eastern rookery, which lies on a low, blully >lo[)0, and is not a piece of ground adniitUng of much more expansion. It has suporHcial area for the reception of nearly 13,000 breeding seals and their young. " 1890. Little Eastern Rookery. — This was not much of a rook- ery in 1873-74 and allhoiigh it has fallen away in accord wilh the general diminulidu of the seal life on Ihesc islands, yet it has held its own proporlionalely, much belter than many others. The 1. Tho site of this lirceding-groiinil ami tliat of iho iiiarino slope of the killing- prounds to the (?asl of the villa^'c. on this island, is wiicre sea-lions h'-M exclusive possession prior to their driving olf l)y the Russians — so the natives il'drni — tho only plac .. on St. Georpe now where the Emnetopias liroeds, is that one indicated on the general chart, between Garden cove and Tolstoi Meos. ■the " ROOKERIES ". 61 most siriking' evidence of desolation is the grassing solidly over rank and Irxnriant, of the hauling-gronnds in its rear, and to the eastward, wliicli woi'c so well polished off by the restless flippers of young male seals in 1873-7 't : then these hauling grounds were not driven from much th<> seals were practically undisturbed here and when a drive was made, the seals were always merged into the larger drive from the (Ureal Eastern. ^'•\i Detailed analysis of the survey of Little Eastern Rookery, July 20th, 1890. Sea marfriii ijoi,'iiiMins at "A'ai.a euliiig at "H'' — soo foot. Sq. fe6t. 800 ft. sea iiiarf;iu from '"A" to '-B", with 1-i ft. avoiagc dppth, massed 0,600 Making ground for i.SOO seals J 9 '""I O . (Bnlls, Cows and Pups; against a total of 13,000 in !S73-7L 1873-74. 'The Great Eastern. — This is the lifth and last rook- eij ihat we lind on SI. deorgi'. It is an imittition, in miniature of Tolstoi on St. Paul, ivith the exception of (here being no parade ground in the rear, (if any character whatever. It is from the summit of the clilfs, overlooking the narrow ribbon of breeding- seals right under them, Ihat I have been able to stiuly the move- ments of the fur seal in the water to my heart's content; for out and under the water, the rocks, to a :onsiderable distance, are covered with a whitish algoid growth, that renders the dark bodies of the swimming seals and sea-iions as onspicuous as is the image thrown by a magic lantern of a silhouette on a screen prepared for its reception '. The low rocky Hals aroiunl the pool to the west- f; I'm Olv- ilh has 1. The alir.iiil V(>jretalion of llio iiiafiiu- siioros of tlicso islands is oiio tliat adils a pccuiiai' clianii and brMuly to Ihcii- tivolcss, snulc-; . coasts. Even- kelp l)ed that Ifoals ratt-liki' in BciMiif.' soa, nv is aucliorod lo ils I'lu'ky fCiMs, is fairly alive with iii'iiiito sca-diriinps. tiny ci'alis, and little sliolls wliicli rlinL: lo its masses of interwo- ven tV'inds nrdai'l in eeaseless niolion tliroiii;!i yet within ils intersliiivs. Il is my lirm liclier llial no better liase of uperaliiins can ha found fur si inlying: marine inveriel'rata llianis llie post of St. Paul or Si. (ieorfre; llie pela;.''.c and tiie lilloral fm-nis are sim- ply aluindani Ijcyond all estimation williin linunds'.r reasi>n. Tlie pliuspliiii-escenee of the walers of Hcrinj,' sea surpases in eiinliiii;ed .Streii;,'tli of briliant illiiniinatinn, anyihiiiL' that I have seen in southern and cipiaiorial oceans. The crests of the lontr un- lu'iiki^n line of breakers on Lukanmin bcaeli looked lo me, one nij^dil in Au^'usi.like an insianiancous llasliin;.', uf li^^htniny, between Tolsti Mccs and Lukaiinon head, at the billows successively rolled in, und broke ;tho seals swiinmini,' nnth'r llie water, hereon I il'. r 62 SECTION I. I i i r wartl and nortli-wost of the rookery soom to be lilled up with a miiddv alluvial wash that Iho seals do not favor ; hence nothinu but hoUuschickie ranj;e round about them ". 1890. The Great Eastern Rookery. — In 1S73-74 this breeding- ground ranked third in the list of live that belonj;- to this island ol' St. George. To day it seems to have been the heaviest loser over here — it has literally dropped down to a mere skeleton of its form in my early survey, that extended rocky Hat from which the rookery ground proper gently rises on the hill slope, was one of the most attractive hauling-grounds for the holluschickie on Si. (loorge sixteen years ago : now its surface is covered with a most luxuriant lui'f — it looks like a Kentucky blue grass meadow. 1 observed here in 1 873-7 '«■ a good many sea-lions hauled oul on the beach curve right under the rookery bluffs : these animals are very much more numerous now than I hen, not less than liv(» hundred of them being la/ily extended just above surf-wash here as 1 uuide my survey (July 20lh, 1890). their huge yellow bodies hauled out like Mississippi river steamboats on the levee at Si. Louis. mt i ' Detailed analysis of the survey of Great Eastern Rookery July 20th, 1890. Soa iiiari,'iii Ijegiiiiiiiii; at -\>" ami emliiij^ at "a" i.OlO ft. S.j. iVet. 2,010 ft. sea margin "a" to ••]>" with a sti'ng;.'ling average depth of ;> ft. (;i viMV lilxMviI cslini.ite) 10,000 ■200 ft. sea iiiaigiii '-f" to ••g", witii 30 ft. average depth, massed 0,000 1.000 ft. sea margin, "g" to "e", witii a straggling average depth too thin for calculaliou allowed 2,000 Total SQUARE FEET. . . 18,000 Making ground for 9.000 seals, J 9 ^"^ ^ (Bulls, Cows and Pups) against a total of :2.'),2."jO in lS7;{-7i. I think that this rookery presents the most eloquent illustra- tion of that ruin and ralization wrought by the present order of scraping the breeding liiu's on all the rookeries in getting the daily *" drives "of killahle seals: it presents itself in Ibis |)laiii St. Geor^'o and lioiio.iili the Black BlulTs, siroakcd thuir r.ipid cimrse like cuinois ii\ tlic sky; and every lime tlieir dark heads popped abuve tlic surface of the sea, they were marked bv a hhizc nt" sciiuillant Iji'ht. THE " HOOKKHIKS ". 63 mannor; — in 1873, tlicre ivas onlij 900 feet of roohortj sea mori/ln here: :200 feet ot" this total was a .solid niassinj;' of Iji'ootliiiji-scai.s from llic water up on llio liillsidc as shown hy the liS7'( tint on tlie accompanying,^ map; it was 200 feel (loop, and conhiinod 20,000 of the 2o,000 seals all told that then existed at this point. To (/(/>/. there is 3,275 feet of rookenj sea maryin hcrel a slraj,- gling, ragged belt, not even a lull harem's width in depth! except under that side hill expansion between " g "and " f " whore 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 Ibis sub- ject thai the [)rescnt order of raking and diiming by which the hol- luschickie are started out from the shelter of th(!S(> breeding grounds also starts the outlying cows and bulls and bustles them of ;aid down to the waters edge : this repeated day alter day has created that long extension of over ;{,000 feet to my sea margin of 1873-74 on this rookery, while the seals themselves, are barely oni' third the number that they were at first record. Recapitulation of the estimates of numbers of seals- — He- low is a brief recapitulation of those ligures niad(> from my sur- veys of the area and position of the breeding-grounds of Si. I'aul island, between the 10th and ISth of .lulv 1872, coniirmed and revised to that date in iS7i. On St. (ieorge Island. July I2lh to luth, 1873 coniirmed and revised to that date in IS7i. Oppos- ed to thcse^lables are my tigui-cs made .Inly Kllh to 161b 1890, — on St. Paul Island, and .luly 19l*k-20lb 1S90 on St. (icorgo. 1,1' ■ Breeding-grounds of the fur-seal, on St. Paul Island July lOth-lSth 1872-1874. Numlior of .si'uls. iii:ili', t'.'IIKllo. all'l J-OUtlJ.-. " l{>'t^r lookorv " has 4,ni('. ffct of S'M-iiiarL'iii, witli i;iO t'oet of avorayi' (ipplli, inakiii;i Kroitinl t'< GiiilMilcli roukeiv 3, (•.()() f.M'l (if sca-iiiar;.'in, wiih 100 foci avi'iM^'c i|('|illi, niaiciiii: firoiiml fi La:.'ooii lOokorv " lias T.'iO foci, of soa-iiiai'j,'iu, with IdO fool of avoiskfze dcptli, niakiiif; grouixl for, Cavvii fnriiiU'd . :t()l,000 is:i,ooi) :i7,ooo ; -J 1. 000 li V, i ill «4 SECTION I. Number of seals, rnule, female aiid young. Brought forward 521,000 " Nah Sped rookery " lias 400 feet of sea-margin, with 40 feet of average deptli, iiiakinii yi'ountl for 8,000 •' Luivannoii rookery " lias 2,270 feet of sea-margin, with l.'iO feet of average tlepfli, making,' '..'round for 170,000 " Keelavie rookery " has 2,200 ieet of sea-aiargin, with IJJO feet of average depth, making ground for ICojOOO " Tolstoi rookery " has, .'1,000 feet of sea-margin, with liiO feet of average depth, making ground for 225,000 " Zapadnie rookery " has .-1,880 feet of sea-margin, with liJO feet of average depth, making ground for 441,000 " Polavina rookery " has 4,0i)0 feet of sea-margin, with iliO feet of average depth, making ground for 300,000 " Novastoshnah, or Northeast Point " has lit, 840 feet of sea-mar- giu, with loO feet of average depth, making ground for. . . 1,200,000 A grand total of breeding-seals and young for St. Paul Island in 1874 of 3,030,000 Breeding-grounds of the fur-seal on St. Paul Island July 10th-16th, 1890. Numbor of spills, mall', Icmalo ami young, • Reef rookery " has 4,300 feet of sea-margin, with Oo 1/3 ft. ave- rage depth, makim.' ;:round for 140,1)00 ' Garbotch rookery " has 2,400 feet of sea-margin, with 70 2/3 ft. averaiie depth, iiiakinir ground for 8't,802 ' Lagoon rookery '' has l,;iUO feet of sea-maigiu, with 12 ft. ave- rage deptli, making ground for 9,000 • Nail Speel " has disap|»t'ared. ' Lukanuou rookery " has 2,o:i() feet of soa-iuargin, with (10 i '2 ft. average depth, making ;.'iound for 72,.-)()0 • Keelavie rookery "has 1,700 feet of sea-margin, with 3i- f(. a\e- ra;.'e depth, makin;.' ground for 28,000 ' Tolstoi rookery " has 2,800 feet of sea-margin, with 't't 1,2 It. ave- rage depth, making ^.-mund for 02,400 ' Za|i;idnie rookery" has 7, 200 feet of sea-margin, with 33 1/2 ft. iiverage depth, making ground for » 121,200 ' Polavina rookery " has 2,2j.'i feet of sea-iiiaigiii, with I2() 1/3 ft. average depth, making ground for 142,2;)0 ' Xovostln»linah " or Norlln-ast Pdiiit'", has ll,43;> ft. of sea-mar- gin with 37 1/2 ft, of average depth, making ground for 217,87.') A grand total of brLeding-seals and young for St. Paul Island in 1890 of ". 878,332 1 THE " UOOKEUIES ". 0.) Breeding-Grounds of the fur-seal on St. George Island. July 12th-15th, 1873-1874. Seiils 5-9-0 *' Zapadnic rookery " has GOO iwX of sea-margin, witli 60 feet of avera;;!e du[)tli, making f^round for IS, 000 " Starry .Uteel rookery " has oOO fuel of sea-margin, with i2;i feet of averafjje depth, makinfi f-Touud for 30,420 *' North rookery " has ~'M feet of sea-mar;.!in, with iiJO feet of averaf^e depth, and 2,000 feet of sea-niarj^in, with 2.'i feet of averajie deptii; niakinfj ground in ail for 77,000 *' Little Eastern rookery " lias 7.'iO feet of sea-margin, witli tO i'eel of average deplii, making gronnd for 13,000 " Great Eastern rookery " lias UOO feel of sea-margin, wilh (iO feet of average depth, making ground for 2ii,000 A grand total of tlie seal-life for St. (leorge Island, breeding- seals and young, of Iij3,i20 Grand total for St. Paul Island, brought down, breeding-seals and young, of 3,030,000 Grand sum total for the Pribylov islands (season of 1872-lS7t) breeding-seals and young 3,i')3,420 l;ioo looo Loo Loo k;io i32 Breeding-Grounds of the fur-seal on St. Georve Island July 19th-20th, 1890 Seals. .5. 9. O Zapadnie rookery " has 1,2!)0 feet of sea-margin, with 20 fl. ave- rage depth, making ground for 12,2a0 Starry Artnel rookery " has 800 feet of se;i-margin, with 40 ft. ave- rujW dei)tli, making ground for 10,000 North Rookery " has 2,000 feet of sea-margin, with 3! ft. average depth and 1,300 feet of sea-niargiii wilh 10 ft. of average L 70 SECTION I. *' III the above showing; I have put ihe very cxlroiue e^iUmalo upon the loss sustained at sea by the pup-seals too large, I am morally certain ; but, in attempting to draw this line safely, 1 wish to place the matter in the very worst I'jjit in which it can be put, and to give the seals the full benefit of every doubt. Surely I have clearly presented the case, and certainly no one will question the premises after they have studied the habit and disposition of the rookeries; hence, it is a positive and tenable statement, that no danger of the slightest appreciable degree of injury to the interests of the government on the seal-islands of Alaska, exists as long as the present law protecting it, and tiie management executing it, continues. " Upon this same basis of estimation, less than !tOO,000 pups were born upon the Pribylov rookeries, last year 1881) ; but not more than 7O,UO0 to 80,000 of them returned to these islands in 181)0, since their natural enemies are as numerous and as active as ever in the sea, while the surjilus store of seal-life upon which these enemies drew in 1872, as they draw now, has been rapidly diminishing during the last six years ; touching this question in 187i 1 said then : " These fur-seals of the Pribylov group, after leaving the islands in the autumn and early winter, do not visit land again until the time of their return, in the following spring and eaily summer, to these same rookery-and hauling-grounds, unless they touch, as they are navigating their lengthened journey buck, at the Russian, Copper and Uering islands, 700 miles to the westward of the Pribylov group. They leave the islands by in- dependent squads, each one looking out for itself ; apparently all turn by common consent to the south, disappearing toward the horizon, and are soon lost in the vast expanse below, where they spread themselves over the entire North Pacific as far south as the 48lh and even the 47tli parallels of north latitude. Over the immense area between Japan and Oregon, doulless, many extensive submarine fishing shoals and banks are known to them ; at least, it is dollnitely understood thai Bering sea does not contain them long when they depart from the breeding-rookeries and the hauling- grounds therein. While it is carried in mind that they sleep and rest in the water with soundness and with greatest comfort on its surface, and that even when around the land, during the summer, I THE " UOOKEKiES ". 71 tiloy fre(|uently put otV iVoni the licaclies lo In'^c a liath and a quiet sno()/.(> jiisl lieyonil llic siiri', wo can roaiiily a^roo thai it is no inconvi'nicnri' wlialovor, when Iho irpnulnclive functions have been (lischarp;u«l. and their coals it'ncwed, lor Iheni to slay the balance ol'lhc lime in their ninial element — the briny deep. " " That these animals are preyed upon extensively by killer- whales' {Orra t/iatiiafor}, in especial, and by sharks-, and probably other submarine loes now unknown, is at once evident; lor, were Ihey nttt held in cheek by some such cause, Ihey would, as they exist to-day on Saint Paul, ([uickly multi|)ly, by arithmetical proj-ressiou, lo so ^real an extent that the island, nay, llering Sea ilscir. could not contain them. The present annual killing of 100,01)0 (tut of ayearly total of over a million males doi's nol, in an appreciable degree, diminish the seal-life, or interfere in the slightest with ilsregular, sure perpetuation on the breeding-grounds every year. We may,therelore pntperly look upon Ibis aggregate of four or liv*' millions of fur-seals, as we see them every season ou llu'se Pribylov islantis, as the nuiximum limit of increase assigned to them by natural law. The great etpiilibriuni, which 1. Orfft i/lailiitlor. Wliili' rovolviiiv' this parliciilar liiir' nf iii(|uir,v in my iirind t\-1icn, on ilic> ground and amon;^' lli<> st-als, I invuliintarily lookoil cuiiHiaiitly I'or some isigii of ilisturbaiiru ill (lie sea whicli Would iiidi(';tl(> ilii> pivsciii'c of art uin'iny; and, s.ivi- sci'iii^r a iVw oxaiiipli's of dio Orca, I nrvi-r iliMi'rtcd iinylliiii>r ; l>ut tin' killor- wlialc is cotniiioii liili:illi>\vs of Al.'i.ik.i .iiul the nortliwest coast, nlon;; liy the end of Septcnibor to l»t of Noveiulier, every year, I believe that the youn^ fur-seal, in following them into the depths of the t-'real Vacillc, must have a really arduous struggle for existence — unless it knows of fishing banks unknown to us. The yearlings, however, and all THE " ROOKERIES 73 il- ** During Iho winter solstice — between the lapse of the autumnal, and the verging of the vernal equinoxes — in order to get this enor- mous food supply, the fur-seals are necessarily obliged to disperse over a very large area of Ashing ground, ranging throughout the North Pacific, 5,000 miles across between Japan and the Straits of Fuca. In feeding, they are brought lo the southward all this time; and, as Ihey go, they come more and more in contact with those natural enemies peculiar to the sea of Ihtse southern latitudes, which are almost strangers and are really unknown to the water* of Bering sea; for I did not observe, with the exception of ten or twelve perhaps, certainly no more, killer-whales, a single marine disturbance, or molestation, during the three seasons which I passed upon tlieislands thatcouldbe regarded in the sliglilestdegrcc inimical lo the peace and life of the Pinnij)ei/ia; and thus, from my observation, I am led to believe that it is not until they descend well to the south of the Aleutian islands, and in the North Pacific, that they meet with sharks to any extent, and are diminished by the butchery of killer-whales. " *• The young fur-seals going out to sea for the lirsl time and following in the wake of their elders, are the clumsy members of the family. When they go to sleep on the surface of the water, they rest much sounder than the others: and their alert and wary nature, which is handsomely developed ere they are two seasons old, is in its infancy. Hence, I believe that vast numbers of them are easily captured by marine foes, as they are stupidly sleeping, or awkwardly fishing. " *' NVith reference to the amount of ground covered by the seals, when first discovered by tli»' Uussians, i have examined every foot of the shore line of both islands where the bones, and polished ire »Tcr to nto aU above that ago, aro endowod with stifliciont muscular cnergv to dive rapidly in deep Boundiiigs, and to (Ish with undoiililed success. Tlie pup. howovor, whc>n it fiocs lo sea, lire or six nionlhH old, is not lithe and sinewy lik« the viMrlin^': il is podgy and fat, a coni|)arativc clumsy swimmer, and does not derelop, I beliere, into a good fishi'rnian until it has become pretty well starved .ifter leaving the Pribylov. I must not bo understood as saying that fish alone constitute the diet of the Pribylor pinnipeds; I know that they feed to a limited extiMit, upon crustaceans and upon thft squid ^Loligo), also, eating lender algoid sprouts; I believe that the pup-seals live lor the tirst live or six months at sea largely, if not wholly, upon crustaceai's and squids; the are not agile enough, in my opinion, to flsh successfully in any f.rcat degree, when they tlrsl Jcpart from the rookeries. 74 SECTION I. rocks, etc. , might be lying on any descried areas. Since llicn. after carefully surveying the new ground now occupied by tin* seals, and comparing this area with that which lliey have deserted, I feel justilied in stating that for the last twelve or lifteen years, at least, the fur-seals on these islands have not diminished, nor have they increased as a body to any noteworthy degree ;and throughout this time the breeding-grounds have not been disturbed «».\ccpl at that brief but tumultuous interregnum during lS(iS ; and they have been living since in a perfectly ({uiet and natural condition. " " Can the number be increased?— What can be done to promote their increase ? We cannot cause a greater number of females to be born every year than are born now ; we do not touch or disturb these females as they grow up and live ; and we never will if the law and present management is continued. We save double — we save more than enough males to serve; nothing more can be done by human agency; il is beyond our power to protect them from their deadly marine enemies as they wander into the boundless ocean searhing for food. " " In view, therefore, of all these fads, I have no hesitation in saying, quite confidently, that under the present rules and regula- tions governing the sealing interests on these islands, the increase or diminution of the seal-life thereon will amount to nothing in the future ; that the seals will exist, as they do exist, in all time to come at about the same number and condition recorded in this monograph. To test this theory of mine, I here, in the record of my surveys of the rookeries, have put stakes down which will answer, upon those breeding-grounds, as a correct guide as to their present, as well as to their future, condition, from year to year. " The theory has been well tested : I was right in then assuming that no increase could be noted over the record of 1872-7i ; but I was wrong in then believing that no injury to the regular supply of young male life necessary for tise full support of the breeding grounds, would follow from the driving and killing of the hollus- chickie as conducted : also, the daily work of the pelagic sealer was not suggested in any serious sense sixteen years ago, and I did not take it into calculation. I have given, in my letter of introduction, the reason why this driving of the hoUuschickic, has been so des- li THE " UOOKERIES 78 tructivc to yuung mule scai lit'o — a reason which I could not grasp in 187:2-74 since it rctjuired time and experience to develop the fact heyond argument and contradiction. It is easy to see now in the clear light of the record that had there been no poaching at sea and had every young male seal heen taken in every drive made from the outset in 1871, over one year «»ld and under live, the annual quota of 10U,0U0 would have been easily tilled without injury whatsoever in less than twenty wttrking days from the i4th (»f every June, with only one ({uarter of the driving necessary under the past and present order of culling out the largest seals for slaughter, and releasing the smaller ones from each drive, when on the killing grounds; — in other words, taking all the young male seal as driven, over one year old and under live years would have saved ou an average for every year the lives of at least oO,UOO to 60,000 holluschickie, which those sparet! from the club annually, during the last 20 years have nevertheless, perished or surviving, yet were rendered worthless for rookery service from the immediate or subsequent elTect of severe overland driving. It is a fact now plainly established, that, hereafter, should seals ever bo driven for tax and shipment of their skins again on these islands, tliat no cullimj of the " drivfs " be Penniltvu. The market for the skins will promptly adjust itself to the several ages, sizes and their value : the rookeries however, will not, cannot endure any further adjustmen! of that scale «>f sizes on the killing grounds, if it is resumed, then, the extermination of the fur-seal is right at hand, in so far as its life on the Pribylov Islands is concerned. I searched for danger to these iulerosis, tin ev«'ry side in 1872- 74. 1 could detect no disease whatever, even of Ihe most trilling character in Ihc vast herds, and no legend even, much less state- ment, of any sickness among the seals was extant '. 1. Tho thoiiglit of whiit a doatlly epiilcinic would clVoct among these vast conprejra- tions of Fiimepodia was one lliat was constant in my mind wlien on the ;;roiind and AD' 'igtbcin. 1 bavu found in the Uriiisli Annals (KlcmingVi on i)age IT, an extract frou. the notes of Dr. Tr.iil : " In 183;t I imiuiivd for luy idd acquaintanres, the seals of the Hole of Papa VVesiray, and was infornievl that about four years before they had totally deserted the island, and had only witliin the last few months lic|;un to re- appear. About ftOy years ago multitudes of their carcasses were cast ashore in every n SECTION I. II :! But the importance of making an accurate record of the areas and position of these great breeding grounds as I found them in 1872-74 was not lost on me ; — it impressed me deeply : and these surveys were made then of each rookery. In order that the oflicers of the (jovernient who came after me, charged with the care and protection of these interests, might understand the feasi- bility of annually surveying these breeding grounds without disturbing the animab in the least degree, I said then — " During the first week of ins|>eclion of some of those earliest arrivals, the * seecatcliie ', which I have described, will fre<|uently take to the water when approached ; but these runaways quickly return. Bv the end of Mav, however, the same seals will hardly move to the right or left when you attempt io pass through them. Then two we(>ks before the females begin to come in, and quickly after their arrival, the organization of the fur-seal rookery is rendered entirely indillerent to man's presence on visits of quiet ins|)t>clion, or to anything else, save their own kind, and so continues during the rest »tf the season. " *' 1 have called attention to the singular fact, that the breeding- seals upon the rookeries and hauling grounds are not ail'ecled by the smell of blood or carrion arising from the killing-liebls or of the stench of blubber (ires which burn in the native villages. This trait is conclusively illustrated by the altitude of these two rookeries near the village of St. Paul ; for the breeding-ground on this spot, at the head of the lagoon, is not more than forty yards from the killing-ground to the eastward; being separated from those spots of slaugbttu', and the seventy or eighty thousand rotting carcases thereon, by a slough not more than ten yards wide. These seals can smell the blood and carcasses, upon this held, from the time they land in the spring until they leave in the autumn; while the general southerly winds waft to then the odour and sounds of the village of St. Paul, not over 200 rods south of them, and above them, in plain sight. All this has no eilect upon the seals — they know that they bay in tho north of Scotland, Orkney, and Sliotl:ind, and numbers were foiiml at Bca in n sickly stato, " This note of Trail is the only record which 1 can find of a fatal epidemic among tho seals; it is not reasonable to suppose that tho Pribylov rookeries have never sulfored from distempers in tho ps^st, or arc not to, in the future, simply because no occasion socms to have arisen during tho comparatively brief period of their human domination. HI THE " nOOKEHIES ". 77 arc not disturbed — and the rookery, the natives declare, has been slightly but steadily increasing. Therefore, with regard to survey- ing and taking those boundaries assumed by the breeding-seals every year, at that point of high tide, and greatest expansion, which they assume between the 8th and loth of July, it is an entirely prac- ticable and simple tusk. You can go everywhere on the skirls of the rookeries almost within reaching distance, and they will greet you with cpiiet, inoii^ nsive notice, and permit close, unbroken observation, \'hen it is subdued and undemonstrative, paying very little attention to your approach. " "Yearly changes in the Rookeries. — I believe the agents of the government there, are going to notice, every year, little changes here and there in the area and distribution of Ihe rookeries; for instance, one of these breeding-grounds will not bo quite as large this year as it was last, while another one, opposite, will be found somewhat larger and expanded over I lie rerord which it made last season. In 1874, it was my pleasure and my profit to relraverse all lli(>se rookeries of St. George and St. Paul, with my field notes of iS72 in my hand, making, careful comparisons of Iheir relative si/e as recorded then, and now. To show this pecu- liarity of enlarging a little here, and diminishing a lillle there, so characteristic of the breeding-grounds, I reproduce the following memoranda of 1874 : " Xorthoast Point, July IS. 1874. Contrast on St. Paul between t872 and I87t. — (Jiiile a strip of ground near Webster's liouso lias boon dosortod litis season; but a small expansion is observed on llulcliinson's bill. Tlio rest of Ibe jiTound is as niappoil in I87'i, wilb no iiolcworlliy incroaso in any diroction. 'I'bo condition oftbc animals aufl tlioir yonn^', oxcoUonl; small irroce of liaulin^- ground this morning, if the weather is favourable, to-morrow will see it covered a^ain jnsi as thiekly; and, thus they drive in this manner from Zoltoi sands almost every day during the killing-season, generally find- ing on the succeeding, morning more, or as many, seals as they drove off the previous dawn. This seems to indicate that the " holluschickio " recognize no particular point as favoured over another at the island when they land, which is evidently in obedience to a general desire of coming ashore nt such a suitable place as promises no crowding and no lighting. I.uk.'iniion and Keptavio, .Inly 10, 1874. Not materiallychangcd in any rcspoctfrom its condition at this lime in 1872. Just the same. Condition excellent. Oarbotch, July 19, 1814. Hoof, .Iiilv 19. 1874. A slight, contraction on the soulli sea-margin of this ground com- pensated for by fresh expansion under the bluffs on the northwest side, not noteworthy in either instance. Condition excellent. Nah Sped, July 20. 1874. A diminution ofone-half at least. Veryfewhere this year. It is no place for a rookery; not a pistol-shot from the natives houses, and all the natives children fooling over the blulfs. Lagoon, July 20, 1874. No noteworthy change; if any, a trifling increase. Condition good. Animals clean and lively. Tolstoi, July 21, 1874. No perceptible change in this rookery from its good shape of 1872. The condition excellent. THE •• ROOKEHIES ". If Zapadnio, July 22, 1874. A romarkablo cxtonHion or incronso I nolo liore, of '2,000 foct of shoro lin«>, witli an avurap' depth uf .HO fi>ut oi broodiii^-^roiind, whicli has bocii hiiilt on to Upper Ziipadnio, slrolrhin^ out toward Tohtui; the upper rookery |troper has not altertn il and Lower /apadnie is not occupii'd by breediiij;-seals; anen maile for arookery on the shore just southwest from Zapadnie lake, in 187*2, hut this year il has been sub- stantiallv abandoned. Contrast on St. George beetwen 1873 and 1874. — An opito- nie of my notes for St. (Jeorjjp. gives, as to this season of 1874, the followin^j data for comparison with that of I87:i : Zapadnie, .luly, 8, 187J. This rookery shows a slifjlil incroaso upon the figures of last year, about 5,000. Fine condition. Starry Artcol, July C, 1874. No noteworthy chaufre from last year. North Rookory. .lulyfi. 1874. No essential change from last year. Condition very pood. Lilllo Eastoin, .hily 0, 1874. A slight diminution of some '2,000 or so. Condilinn excellent. Ea.stern Rookery, July 7, lS7i. A small increase over last year of about 3,000, only trifling, how- ever; the aggregate seal-life here similar to that of last season, with the certainty of at least a small increase. The unusually early season, this year, brought the rookery " seecatchie " on the ground very nmch in advance of the general time •,they landed as early as tli(! 1 0th of .\pril, while the arrival of the cows was as late as usual, corresponding to my observations during the past seasons. 80 SECTION I. The p(>ncral ronclilion* of IIir animals of nil classes on St. George is moitt (ixcollont, — llioy aro nlook, I'al, and frou Troni any (liHcaso. In this way it is plain that, practically, Iho exact condition or Iheso animals can bo noted every season ; and shonlda diminution bo observed, due to any cau.^t*. known or unknown, the killing can bo promptly regulated, or stopped, to any riMpiired (piota. Had such supervision of thoric rookerios and hauling-grounds Irmmi mainlaiiit'd in this manner and methiMl above pointed out as essential to a correct understanding of their roiulilioti, ns it is, then in 18H-J the killing would have been "promptly regulato take their places, is virtually extinct. I )'evicwed in 187i my studies uf this topic in the following language : " I found it an exceedingly difficull matter to satisfy myself as to a fair general average number of cows to each bull on the rook- cry; but, after protracted study. I think it will be nearly correct when I assign to each male a general ratio of from fifteen to twenty females at the stations nearest the water; and for those back in order from that line to the rear', from five to twelve; but there \. Al the rr.ar of all these ro(ikilii<*l males which hiivo conic lati>, hiil wait pnliriitly, yd in vain, for families; most of them haviii-.' hail to li;.'hl as desperately for the privilop< of hoinj,' there as any of their more fortuitately-Iocatod nei^'lihors, who are iiea.-er the water, and in snceession from there to where they arc themselves; hiil the rows do not like to he in any outsido position. They cannot l>e coaxed out where ihi-y are not in close company with their female mates and masses. They lie most (piieily and coniendedly in tl'.e largest harems, and cover the surface of the j;r:iind so ihickly that there is hardly moving or turning room until the females ceas'j to come Iroui the sea. The inneiiun on the part of the males in the rear during the breeding-season only serves to qualify them to nioTO into the places which aro necessarily vacated by those males that are, in the mcaa-tinic, obliged to leave from virile exhaustion, or incipient wounds. All the sur- Tin: " lUKJKF.HIKS M ai'<* »o many oxco|)lit)iiiil rases, so many iiislaiicrs wlicrc fmiy- (iv(> and lil'ly fomaloH an> all nn«l«T llic rhargc ufuni' male: and thon, a^ain wlicir lliore are Iwo m- lliriM* females only, llial Hhh question was and is not entirely saiisfaeloryin its settlement to my mind. '' Near Ketavit) |)oint, and jiint above it to the north, is an odd >vas|i-ont of llii> basalt by (be surf, whirh ha» chiselled, as it were, from the fountlalioii of tbeiobuid. a lava table, with a single roadway or land passage to it. rpon the summit oflhi- fotttsbxil 1 counted forty-live cows, all under the charge of an ol i .eleran. He ba, as it were, through which they passed i ,i and passed down — a Turkish brute typified. '" Thus in l^^'J, when the rookerie-; were carefully o|>.(>if'd with reference to (his (juestion, I found a general average ut lil'teen cows to each bull : (without taking into consideration lli(> virr;in fe- males) : in 18U0,a general average of forty to tifly cows lo ea."h old bull (no young t>nes about;, is the result of careful invesligalitm : and single harems in which I have counted over one hundred cows each in the llimsy charge of an old annl, wholly so in a vast aggregate of cases. Thcroftu'c, with full knowleilge of this stale of the Pribylov r(K)keries, I sav that their condition will b«* still wor«e next year, will be no belter for the next four or live years ; indeed il will not, cannot mond until ircsh male blo(»il matures and comes upon these fields : these animals must grow up from the pu|is of last year and those born this season; the others are either dead or worthless, if alive, and il will lake at least seven years for them to do so, and prove their power to check and hold these demoralized and dimin- ished herds from their downward grade of Inc present hour. The y<'Ung male seals on the Islands must have a n I, a full and plus al)le-l)(>diod males, thai have not hccii Miiccessful in effectiii^ a landiii); on tin* rookeries, cannot at any ono lime durinj; the season l»c seen here on this rear lino. Only a portion of their number aro in sight : the others arc eiihi-r loaliiif; at sea adjacent, or aro baulod out in morose squad* bclwcca the rookeries on the beaches. 81 SECTION I. f earnest opportunity to mature and go unshorn of their virility upon these dwindling rookeries : if they are not at once spared and substantially undisturbed for at least six or seven years to come with a prompt suppression of pelagic sealing on the other hand, then it is idle to talk of or plan for the restoration of the seal-life on our islands in Dering Sea, and its preservation. Then, when it sh;ill be proper and safe to again kill surplus male fur-seals for their skins as a matter of revenue and profit, an entirely new set of regulations as to the manner of driving and killing must be enforced ; and these regulations must be, will be, quite diflVrent from those which have been the law up there during the last 21 years; that experience however, cz dearly bought since 1882, now gives us full knowledge of the disease, and understand- ing of its course. In 1874, 1 made the following analysis of a detailed description of the seals on the breeding-grounds. " Review of statements concerning life in the Rookeries. — To recapitulate and sum up the system and regular method of life and reproduction on these rookeries of St. Paul and St. George, as the seals seem to have arranged it, I shall say that : " ' ' Firsf. The earliest bulls land in a negligent, indolent way, at the opening of the season, soon after the rocks at the water's edge are free from ice, frozen snow, etc. This is, as a rule, about the 1st to the yih of every May. They land from the beginning to the end of the season in perfect confidence and without fear; they are very fal, and will weigh at an average 500 pounds each ; some stay at the water's edge, some go to the tier back of them again, and so on until the whole rookery is mapped out by them, weeks in advance of the arrival of the first female. " ''Second. That by the 10th or 12th of June, all the male sta- tions on the rookeries have been mapped out and fought for, and held in wailing by the " see-calchie ". These males are as a rule, bulls rarely ever under six years of age; most of them over that age, being sometimes three, and occasionally doubtless four, times as old. " . " Third. That the cows make their first appearance, as a class, on or after the 12th or loth of June, in very small numbers; but rapidly after the 23 d and 25 th of this month, every year, they THE " ROOKERIES ". 83 a class, !rs ; but r, they begin to flock up in such numbers as to fill the harems very per- ceptibly ; and by the 8 Ih or 10 th of July, they have all come as a rule a few stragglers excepted. The average weight of the female now will not be much more that 80 to 90 pounds each. " " Fourth. That the breeding-season is at its height from the lOlh to the 15 Ih of July every year, and that it subsides entirely at the end of this month and early in August : also, that its method and system are ccmfined entirely to the land, never elfected in the sea. '' ^'- Fifth. That the females bear their first young, when tliey are three years old, and that the period of gestation is nearly twelve months, lacking a few days only of that lapse of lime. " " 5/.rM. That the females bear a single pup each, and that this is born soon after landing ; no exception to this rule has ever been witnessed or recorded. " '' Seienlh. That the" scc-catchie" which have held the harems from the beginning to the end of the season, leave for the water in a desultory and straggling manner at its close, greatly emaciated and do not return, if they do at all, until six or seven weeks have elapsed, when the regular systematic distribution of the families over the rookeries is at an end for this season. A general medley of young males now are free, which come out of the water, and wander all over these rookeries, together with many old males, which have not been on seraglio duty and great numbers of fe- males. An immense majority over all others present are pups, since only about 2.') per cent, of the mother-seals are out of the water now at any one time. ^' Eifjht. That the rookeries lose their compactness and definite boundries of true breeding limit and expansion by the 2;>th to the 28th of July every year; then, after this date, the pups begin to haul back, and to the right and loft, in small squads at lirst, but as the season goes on, by the 18th of August, they depart without reference to their mothers; and when thus scattered, the males, females, and young swarm over more than three and four times the area occupied by fh(!m when breeding and born on the rook- eries. The system of family arrangement and uniform compact- ness of the breeding classes breaks up at this date. " ' * Nhith . That by the 8 th or 1 th of August the pups born near- est the vater first begm to learn to swin; and that by the 13th or / 84 SECTION I. 20th of Scplcmber they arc all familiar, more or less, with the exercise. " " Tenth. That by the middle of September the rookeries are entirely broken up; confused, straggling bands of females are seen among the bachelors, pups, and small squads of old males, cros- sing and recrossing the ground in an aimless, listless manner. The season now is over. " " Eleventh. That many of the seals do not leave these grounds of St. Paul and St. George before the end of December, and some remain even as late as the \\ th of January ; but that by the end of October and the beginning of November every year, all the fur- seals of mature age live and six years, and upward have left the islands. The younger males go with the others : many of the pups still range about the islands, but are not hauled to any great extent- on the beaches or the Hats. They seem to prefer the rocky shore- margin, and to lie as high up as they can get on such bliilTy rook- eries as Tolstoi and the Heef. By the end of this month, Novem- ber, they are, as a rule, all gone. " In precisely the same time and the same manner as above, did the breeding seals arrive and behave on the Pribylov rookeries this season of 1890. I know this by daily verification up to the 1 1th of August : the seals are not " coming later", nor are they changed in any respect except as to sadly diminished numbers, and the practical extinction of effective male life on the breeding grounds. Illustrative of the extreme regularity of the arrival of these animals every season throughout a period of 20 consecutive years I present the following statement of the annual dates of first arrivals of fur- seals for each year from 1870 to 1890 inclusive : these dates are taken from the -reasury Agent's journal, on the Seal islands. First appearance of Bulls and Coixts on the Rookeries of St. Paul and St. George Islands, Pribilof Group, Alaska. Island OK St Faul. Island of 8t. Gkokok. nulls. Covrs. Cows. Hulls. 1870 May 2 Juno 4 to 6 1870 May tst 1871 — 4 — 4 ;i 1871 — 4 1872 — 5 — 6-8 June 4-5 1872 — ft 1873 April 24 — 6-7 — 6-7 1873 — 12 1874 — 2.1 — 4-6 — 6-8 1874 April 30 1875 — 28 - 4-8 - 3-8 1875 May 5 THE •• ROOKERIES • Island ( )K St. Paul. Island ok St. G KORQE. Bulls. Co\ v». Cows. UulU. 1876 May 3 June 6-8 June 4-6 1876 April 28 1877 — 17 — 4-6 — 4-6 1877 May 17 1878 — 6 — 0-H — 4-6 1878 — 9 1879 April 29 — 4-6 — 4-6 1879 — 10 188U — .30 — 6-8 — 3-(> 1880 — 11 1881 May 5 — 2-6 — 3-6 1881 — tf 1882 April 26 — 4-S — 3-7 1882 — 6 1883 May 6 — 5-6 — 4-6 1883 — 7 1884 April 30 — 4-8 — 4-8 1884 — 3 188;> — 27 — 6-8 — 4-6 188;; April 29 1886 — 16 — 4-6 — 3-4 1886 May 1 1887 May 1 — 3-7 — 4-6 I8«7 — 7 1888 — 1 — 4-6 — 3-6 1888 — 8 1889 — 3 — 4-6 — 4-6 1889 — V, 1890 April 28 — 6-8 — 4-6 1890 — 26 85 The first " drives " for food each year on St. Paul island have been made with great regularity belwen the liJth and ;21 st of May annually throughout the lime specified above : and also on St. George island. The bulls all arrived prior to, and by the 1st of June : the cows all arrived prior to anr 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 Pribylov group, the only eligible land to which fur-?eal can repair for breeding; and on which at St. Paul Ishuul alone, there is still room enough of unoccupied rookery-ground for the accommodation 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 witliin the jurisdiction of Russia, arc two other seal-islands — one very large, on which the fur-seal regularly breeds also; and though from the meagre testimony in my possession, compared with St. Paul, the fur- sen' 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 rook- eries as is that of St. Paul, then what guarantee have we that the seal-life on Copper and Bering islands, at some future time, may not be greatly augmented by a corresponding diminution of our own, with no other than natural causes operating? Cer- tainly, if the ground on either 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 Pribylov islands, then 1 say confidently that we may at any time note a diminution here and find a corre.'ponding augmentatitm there, for I have clearly shown, in my ciiapter on the habits of these animals, that Ihey THE •• UOOKERIES 87 are not so particularly attached to tlio 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 retaining 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 »)ccur when an immense number of the fur-seals, which have lived during the last four or live years on the Pribylov 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 powerful stimulant and attraction for them to land there, where the romlitions for their breeding may be just as favorable as they desire. Such being the case, this diminution, therefore, which we would notic'^ on the Pribylov group, might be the great, increase ob- ser-. 1 at the Commander islands, and not due to any misnian- agen nt on the part of the men in charge of lliese interests. Thus, it appears to me necessary that delinite knowledge concer- ning the Commander islands and the Kuriles should be gathered. " "■ If we find, howewer, that the character of this Russian seal land is restricted to narrow beach-margins, under blulTs. as at St. George, then we shall know that a great body of seals will never atter«^"t to land there wiien 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 . sluuild we ever observe any diminution, to a noteworthy degree, on our seal- islands of Bering sea. " " Possible Deflection of Seals in Fe. ling. — 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. 88 SECTION I. in all probability, unless the fish upon which they arc nourished suddenly become scarce in our waters and soundings, (he seals will not chanj^,c their base, as matters now progress; but it is possible for I he finny shoals and schools to be so deflecled from their migration to and from their spav ling beds, as to carry this seal-life with it, as I have hinted above. Thus it cannot be super- fluous to call up this question, so that it shall he prominentia discussion, and suggestion for future thought. " " Need of careful yearly examination. — In the meantime the movements of the seals upon the great breed ing-r«»okeries of St. Paul and these of St. tieorge should be faithfully noted and recorded every year; and as time goes on this record will place the topic of their increase or diminution beyond all theory or cavil. '' Since writing and publishing the above, I have learned that the Russian seal islands have been steadily increasing their rookery areas from 1870 up to 1879-80, and since that lime, the yield of the hauling grounds over there was trebled in 1889 over the catch of 1876 : whether or no these Slavonian rookeries will stand this driving so as to annually get 62,000 young males hereafter, as was done last year (1889) or fail to do so in a few years to come, 1 can. at this distance, only conjecture. But our seals have not gone over there — they have been destroyed in i>lain view on this side. The follo\7ing salient points of change can be clearly stated in so far as the Pribylo-w Rookeries exist his season of 1890 accompa- nied with their condition of 1872. STATUS OK 1872. STATL'S OK 1890. 1 . On the rookery ground tlie BL'LLS were all by June 1st. 2. Located on this ground then no further apart than <» to 10 feet, and 3. were very active, incessantly fighting with one another and with the 4. thousands upon tens of lhou<^ snds of "1/2 bulls" or polseacatchic, which were tiien trying to land upon the breeding belt of sea-margin, provo- king and sustaining a constant light 1 . On the rookery ground the BULLS were all by June 1st. 2. Localedon this ground, now from 1>» to loO feet apart and are iner. and 3. somnolent : I have not seen a single fig' ' between the bulls yet. 4. .Not a single" l/2buU "or polsea- calchie attempting to land and serve liiecows — not a single oneimvelbeen able to observe — in fact there are none left : those that ex ist have been ruined THE •• nOOKERIES ". 89 STATUS OK 1872 and turmoil there, but being almost invariably whipped oirby the old bulls, stationed therr.. 5. COWS began to arrive on the breeding grounds by 4lh to 6th of June : and all arrived in good form by July and were 6. located on the breeding-ground in compact solid masses uniformly distributed over a given area of ground no matter how large or how small. 7. A general average of !;» cows to 1 bull was the best understanding : once in a while a peculiar condguration of the breeding ground enabled one bull the chance to pen up 35 or 43 cows, but it was seldom witnessed. 8. Cows all promptly and efficiently served when in heat : never witnessed a failure. STATL'S OF 1890 as breeders fron the effects of driving: and several thousand of these broken spirited bulls, old and young now loanngonthe outskirts of these rook- eries, and hauling out with the small hoUiischickie on the sand and rock margins 5. COWS began to arrive on the breeding grounds by 4lh to fitii of June, all arrived as a rule by July 10, and were 6. located on the breeding grounds in scattered harems, solidly here, one or two harems, then a dozen or so families .scattered over twice and thrice as much ground as they should occupy if massed as in 1872-74. The scanty su|iply of.and wide stations and feebleness of the bulls is undoubtedly the reason for this striking change in their distribution as they ordered it in 1872-74. 7. \ general average of V,i ov 50 cows tu 1 bull is the best estimate that can he made to-day : there are so many harems of CO and 75 cows in charge ot one bull to each, and fre- quently single harems of I OS to I'.'O: cows that, it makes the general ave- rage of 45 or 50 very conservative. 8. Cdws, man.v of them not served even when peisislly solicitous early in llie season. Vigorous willing ser- vice seems to be tiie exception not the rule. Hulls not one tenth as nu- merous as in 1872. and only one third of the cows here as a rule; and no new young male blood mature enough to take its station on these rookeries. In regard to the probable number of breeding bulls on each rookery, in 1872-'74, I n^dde the following note and tabulation : *' St. George Island. North Rookery : July 1-2 1873. I think now that this is a safe and equitable basis for beginning my calcu- lation : ... Every 100 feet of sea margin will have 10 bulls on 90 SECTION I. it : and for every 100 feel of depth from the margin, wc will have a bull for every 7 feet of that depth : ... they fight so desperately on the sea nu>rgin, that the average is widest there uniformly : but it will average up right the 7 X 10 very honestly, "... On the Rookeries : St Paul Island. IIASIS I'on ESTIMATION OK IILLLS ; IN 1872-74 WITH AN AVERAGE OF 1 ii COWS, 1.) PIPS, AND .'» V. F. TO EACH BULL. " npof" lias 4,016 ft. sea niarf,'in with 1 Rull on every 10 ft. sea margin loO ft. avenifio depth and 1 Kiill for every 7 ft. average depth, gives 402 bulls x 21 1/2 bulls, ur about 8,642 hulls. On this basis and method of calculation, therefore : " (iarbotcli " has about ;),207 bulls. " Lagoon " — ^80 — " I.ukannoii " — 4,880 — " KeeUivie " — 4.730 — " Tolsloi " - 6,i:;o — ••Zapaduie "has about. jl^'^P"^'"*''- I'lHl 12,;il4 - ' I Lower — . 9,700 ) ' " Polavina " has about 8,600 — " Novashoshiiah " has about :»4,(»06 — Total bulls fob st. paul. 8j,60y bulls. • • On the Rookeries : St George Island. " Zapaduio " has about ii99 bulls. •• Starry Arteel " has about 97.i — " North " — 2,302 — " Little Eastern " — 112 — " Great Eastern " — 714 — Total bulls i-or st. geouge. 4,702 bulls. 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 those breeding grounds for this season of 1890, together with the strange massing of immense harems around single bulls, while the others imme- diately around have no part in the service, render such a tabula- tion on the basis of 1872-74 as above given, quite out of the ques- tion, as a measure of just contrast, I therefore will not attempt it, since the comparison cannot be well made in this respect. In concluding my observations under this head , it is perhaps THE •• ROOKERIES ". 91 not supcrtluous to anticipate and reply to the following generali- zations 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 Prihylov rooke- ries 5)*>9,O00 seals, old and young and pups of this year's hirth, or ahoul one Hiird of the whole number of breeding seals and young recorded as being there in-7 4, how then can they be so near the danger of extermination, though they arc in danger of it? The explanation is as follows : 1 . There is but one breeding bull now upon the rookery ground where there were fifteen in 1872 : and the 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 I, 'J or 20 females to a male as in 1872- 74 now to reach the unnatural ratio of 30 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 non-breeding grounds to take their places on the breeding grounds, which arc 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 numerous in the sea and ocean as they ever were — the killer-whale and the shark are feeding upon them just as they did in 1 872-7 i. o. Therefore, we have destroyed by land and by sea the equi- librium which nature had established iu 1808 on these rookeries, and we must now restore it, or no oilier result can follow save that of swift extermination. 6. That condition of 1872, being restored, then that surplus male life can be taken again under better regulations than those of 1870, and the pelagic sealing can be restricted to proper limits, 80 as to enable the fur-markets of the world to have a regular sup- ply for all time to come. ^!i SECTION II THE" HAULING-GROUNDS " OF THE FUR-SEAL ON THE PRIBILOV ISLANDS OF ALASKA; THEIR AREA, POSITION AND CONDITION IN 1872-74, 1890 111 in! SEGTlOxX II THE •• HAULINQ-QR0UND8 "OF THE FUR-SEAL ON THE PRIBILOV ISLANDS OF ALASKA, THEIR AREA, POSITION AND CONDITION IN 1872-74, 1890 In 1872 t i, these flelJs of seal life on the Prihylov Islands were in themselves quite as impressive and interesting as the great rook- eries. Mien wer( ; to-day, (1890) it is a difficult matter to say where a single well defined hauling ground on either island exists of more than the least extent in superficf"! area; these hroad acres upon which not even a vestige of vegetable growth could live , owing to the tireless paltering of fur-seal (Hppers, — those clean swept holds are now mossy, grass-grown and decked with indig- eneous (lowering plants, clear down to the water's edge or to the very margins of the rookery grounds, where a scanty remnant of that swarming host of surplus male seal-life which so aston- ished me in 1872, now hauls; it hauls there now for quiet and protection instinctively to its 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 " rook- erics "' 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 of the testimony of those grounds and life thereon 1. " Rookery ", an old scaler's term derived from ihe swarming noisy rools of the rook-hird in England. 2. " Ezvairiii ", a Russian equivalent of " hauling up "; means literally a " coming out ", OP " coming up ". The natives call the ro 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 begin- :i F iOO SECTION II. ning lo the end of their appearance here during the summer and fall. It is quite dillercnt, however, with the ' see-catch '; we know how and where it spends two lo three months, because we find it on tlie grounds at all times, day or night, during that period. Sports and pastimes of the young ' bachelor '. — A small flock of the ycumg seals, one to three years old, generally, will often stray from these hauling-ground margins, up and beyond, over 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 manifest- ed, and they stretch themselves out, and curl up in all the posi- tions and all the postures that their lloxible 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 antl crushing the tall stalks of the grasses and umbelliferous plants; one will lie upon its back, hold up its hind-llippers, and lazily wave them about, while it scratches, or rather rubs, its ribs with the fore-hands alternately, the eyes being tightly closed du- ring the whole performance ; the sensation is evidently so luxurious that it does not wish to have any side-issue draw olf its blissful self-allentioii. Another, curled up like a cat on a rug, draws its breath, as indicated by the heaving of its ilanks, quickly but regu- larly, as though in heavy sleep; another will lie flat upon its stom- ach, its hind-flippers covered and concealed, while it lightly folds its fore-feel back against its sides just as a flsh carries its pectoral fins, and so on to no end of variety, according lo the ground and the fancy of the animals. " " These ' bachelor ' seals are, I 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, and it is ever accompanied with nervous twitchings and unoasy muscular movements; they seem lo be fairly brimful and overiunnihg vvilhaooi'laneitys lo be sur- charged with fervid, .electric life. " "Another marked feature whicii I hr^vecbsorved among the mul-' titudes of '• holluschickie ", which have come under my personal observation and auditory, and one very characteristic of this THE " IIAULING-GROU.NDS ". 101 class, is, that nothing like ill-humor appears in all of their playing together; they never growl or hite or show even the slighiest angry feeling, hut are invariahly as happy, one with antilher, as can be imagined. This is a very singular trait; they lose it, jiowever, with astonishing rapidity, when Iheir ambition and strength devel- ops and carries them, in due course of time, to the rookery. " " The pups and yearlings have an especial fondness frv sporting on the rocks which are just at the water's level and awash, so as to be covered and uncovered as the surf rolls in. On the bare summit of these wave-worn spots, they will struggle and clamber in groups of a do/en 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 lamling ; the successor has, how- ever, but a brief moment of exultation in victory, for the next roller that comes booming in, together with the pressure by its friends, turns the table, and the game is repeated, with another seal on top. Sometimes, as well as 1 could see, the same squad of ' holluschickie ' played for a whole day and night, without a moment's cessation, around such a rock as this, oil' ' Xah Speel ' rookery; but in this observation I may be mistaken, because the seals cannot 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 jieavy 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. Not at all. Through the wildest and most ungovernable mood of the roaring tempest and storm-tossed waters attending its transit, I never failed, on creeping out, ant peering over the blulTs, in such weather, to see squads of these perfect watermen, the most expert of all amphibians, gamboling in the seething, creamy wake of mighty rollers, which constantly broke in thunder tones over their alert, dodging heads. The swift succeeding seas seemed, every instant, to poise the seals at the very verge of death. Yet the Ca/iorhinus, exulting in his m SECTION II. skill and strcnglh, hade defianco to their wrath, and continued his diversions. " Swimming feats of the ' Bachelors '. — The ' iiolluschic- kic 'are the cliampion swimmers «tf all the seal-lrihe; at least, when in the water around the islands, they do nearly every fancy lumhle and turn that can be executed. The j;rave old males and their matronly companions seldom induljje in any extravagant display, as do these youngsters, jumping out of the water like st» many dolphins describing beautiful elliptic curves sheer above its surface, rising three and even four feet from the sea, with the back slightly arched, the fore-llippers folded tightly against the sides, and the iiinder ones extended and pressed together straight out behind, plumping in head lirst, to re-appear in the same manner, after an interval of a few seconds of submarine swimming, like th tlight of a bird, ( n their ct)urse. Sea-lions and hair-seals never jump in (his manner. " All classes will invariably make these dtdphin-jumps, when they arc 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 (»f abird on the wing; as they swim they are invariably submerged, running along horizon- tally about two or three 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 speed- ing animal when he rises a second time. " " How long they can remain under water without taking a fresh breath, is a problem which I had not the heart to solve, by institu- ting 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 1 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 THE " HAL'LINr.-GROU.NDS " 103 il his a fresh how thoy used their long, flexil)le hind-feel, other than as steering media. If these posterior members liave any perceptible motion, it is so rapid that my eye is not quick enough to catch it; but tlie fore-tlippers, iiowever, can be most distinctly seen, as they work in feathering forward and sweeping (latly hack, opposed to the water, with great rapidity and energy. They are evidently the sole pro- pulsive power of the fur-seal in the water, as ihey are its main ful- crum and lever combined, for progression on land. I regret that the shy nature of the hair-seal never allowed me to study its swim- ming motions, but is 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 Ihey 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 th;it spectacle which we can see every August, a short distance out at sea from any rookery, where thousands of okl males and females arc idly rolling over in the billows side by side, ruhbing and scratching with their fore-and hind-llippers which are here and the there stuck up out of the water by their owners like the lateen-sails of the Mediterraneen feluccas, or, when the hind- llippers are presented, like a ' cat-o'-nine tails '. They sleep in the water a great deal, too, more than is generally supposed, show- ing that they do not come on land to rest; very clearly not. " The foregoing description of the hauling-grounds and their oc- cupants, or the killable seals, as they were in 1872-'74 on the Seal Islands of Alaska was very sol)erly draANTi from the bright view which they then presented; but, moderate as the simple truth of it is, it reads like a I'omance 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 discrepancy betwen the area of the hauling-grounds on this island and number of occupants as presented in 1872, and again in 1890 is something positively startling, — is almost unreal — but 1 ; , ■ I? 104 SECTION II. the truth easily asserts its strange reality on the accompanying map of these hauling grt »nds of St. Paul Island : the tint of 1872 seems an almost fabulous expanse when contrasted with the micro- scopic shade of 1890. The loss is much greater here than on the rookeries for the fol- lowing reasons : Ever since 1879-'82 the surplus young male seal life has been sensibly feeling the pressure of the overland death drive, and the club; harder and harder became this wretched driving to get the quota in 1883-'84; finally when 1886 arrived, every nook and cran- ny on these islands that had hitherto been visitcjd by the " lioUus- cbickie " 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 Soulh-Wost Point, and to Otter Island, and even the little islet, Scevitchik Kamman, under the lee of the Reef was regularly hunted out. Every three-year old, every four-year old and every well-grown two-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 rookeries, prior to the 26th- 31st, 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, and at the moment of landing were marked and hustled into a drive; 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 oppor- tunity 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 " hoUuschickie ". — A careful comparison day by day of the arrival of the killable seals last season (1890) with my field notes of 1872-'7i, declares that the " hoUuschickie " arc hauling to-day in the same time and order of arrival from the beginning of the season in May until its close by the end of July; but their vastly reduced numbers, and the rig- orous driving to which this remnant is subjected have caused them to abandon the hauling-grounds of 1872-'74 entirely, with I THE " IIAULINC-GHOUNDS ". 105 the soliliiry exception of that sandhcach undei" Middle Jlill, English Hay, on St, I'aul; they now hanl close inlc- the rear of the breeding seals on the several rookery-grounds of both ishinds, — Iiuuling there, as I have said before, for shelter and projection. 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 /tlh to (ilh of that monlh and all of them arrive and land by tbe close of it, yet the " holluschickie '' do not come ashore until the loth or 20th of May as a rule; sometimes a few days earlier, and sometimes a few days later; only a few hundred ot these young males land at any one place or time as early as the l.'Jth of May. But after this date, rapidly after the 2.")th to 31st, May, the "holluschickie "of the largest growth, i. e., the 5-, A-, 3-, and many 2-year old males begin to haul. By the 14th-20th June, they then appear in their finest form and nuiiuier for the season, being joined now by the great bulk of lite 2-year olds, and quite a number ol yearling males. By the tOth of .Inly their numbers are begin- ning to largely increase owing to the inllux now at this time of that great body of the last year's pups or yearlings; by the 20th .Inly, the yearlings have put in their appearance for the sea- son in full force. Very few yearling females make their appear- ance until the tfllb of .luiy, but by the 20th they literally swarmed out, in t872-'7i,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 .Inly annually, therefore, the seals of all ages have arrived, that are to arrive; it was so in 1872; it was so last sea- son, 1890. If it were true, as the idea of some sealers would have it, that the young male seals all haul on the ground contiguous to the rookery where they were born, it would be very puz/ling to account for several marked exceptions to that rule : but it is not true : young male seals born upon St. Paul Island have been re- peatedly 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 following season or seasons. 1 1 i m SECTION II. Thisoxpfirimont was ropoalcdiy mndo by llie Russians', and has been made onco by us. I now Unuw that tlio '' liolluschickin" haul on eilhcr St, (loorgo or St. Paul ishind indiirfM'cnlly as thoy go and conic Ihrougliout the sealing season; the proportion of St. Paul hred "holluschiekie " must he quite large on St. (leorge, since that island lays directly in the path of the incoming and outgoing seals, as they first arrive from tln! south at I he (»pening of the season, and thereafter sally I. It is culi-rliiiiiiii;,' to imli! in ihis coiinccliini lli.it tlie Russiiins ilieiiisclvcs, willi the ohjecl of Icsliii),' Ihis inooiod query, diiriiij; ilic later years of their iiosspssiciii of tiip ishinds, drove up a nuniln'i' nl' youiij^ males I'roiu Lukannou, cut o(V ih ir ears, ami turned llieui out to sea a^raiti. The I'ollowinj; season, when tjie droves ranio in from tlie " liaulin;,'-f.'rounds ' lo the slaujrliterinj.'-(lelds qnilo a number of those cro|i])e morning, ami walk back a lew rods to liiid llirir I'ui- bearin(j <|narry. " June 2(1. 187', p. 71. " If the woallipr was lavo- nihle I'or landing, i.e., cool, moist and l'of.';.'y tlio Iresh hauling of the • lujiluschickie ' would cover the hare groiujds again in u very short space ofliinf,sonielimpsinafew hours after the driving of every seal from Zolloi Sands over to the killing liclds adjac- ent, tliosp dunes and the hoarh in question would be swarming anew with fresh arrivals. " July 2(1, 1874, p. 72. " As matters are to-day iOO.OOOseal alone can be taken and skinned in less than lorty wrjrking days wiliiin a radius of one mile and u half from the village, hence the driving with the e.vceplion of two experimen- tal drives has never been made from longer distances than Tolstoi to the westward, Lukannon to the nortii- ward, and Zulloi to the southward of the killing grounds at St. Paul vil- lage, " Tolstoi, p. 53. " Directly to the west from Lukan- non, up along and around the head of the Lagoon, is the seal path road over which the natives bring the hol- luschickie from Tolstoi. " July 20, 1874, p. 72. " As matters are to-day 100000 seals alone on St. Paul can be taken and skinned in less than forty working days, within a radius of one mile and a half from the village and from the salt house of North East Point; hence the driving with the exception of two experimental drives, which I witnes- Juiio iti. isgr). " Not a single holliischak of any age whatever on " Zolloi " this day, and there has no! been a killalilc seal there, thus far, this season : " JuiiH 2'.'. 1890. " Tine weather for seals to haul continues, but tlx! seals do nut haul, not a single seal on Zolloi S.inds this morning, has not been a hollnschak there yet, and this was tin; never-fail- ing resort of the natives in 1872-70. Therefore this vacancy mi Zultoi makes a deep impression on f>ne who has stood there in I S72-7 'mud observed the swarming plaloons of li.'iidiiiu hol- luschickic now eiilirely vaiii-lied." Jiilv 111. 1890, " Not a single lidlliiscliak on Zol- loi Sautls this morning and not one has hauled there thus far this season." Tiihtni, .hiMC ir>. 1890. " Duringthe last ten days while in- specting the several breeding groiuids of this island, 1 have paid careful at- tention to every scjuad ol'lioliiiscbickie that has appeared, uml, crcrpt an to numbers, 1 do not observe any change up to date in Mieir habit of hauling early in ilio reason. These early squads apj-ear just above the surf mar- gin at To'stf,i, in Knglish Hay precisely as they did in 1872, only the number is smaller. " Juno 10, 1890. "I had a full sweep of Eng- lish Hay, — a small squad of per- haps l,iO holluschickie at Middle Hill and another small pod at the intersec- tion of the beach with Tolstoi Rook- ery. " ToUloi, Juno 22, 1890, "At this time in 1872-74, in- clusive, I never glanced over at Zol- toi, but I saw holluschickie coming THK •• HAIMNC-RIOLNDS 109 sed in 1872, has never Itcon made from loiifioi- (lislancps lliati Tolstoi lo the westward, Lukmiiion to the norlli- wurd and /olloi to the; southward of thekiliing groiiiidsatSt. Paid village " TIIK STATUS OF 1 872-7 i. £uA-aMiioii, Juno 20, 1872. " The sand-donos lo the west and to the north are covered with the mos- luxnriniil fjrass, abruptly cinarKinaleil by Iho shai|> ahrasion of the hauling seaL; this is shown very cleirly ontlic ficnrral map Tliis is thn puint down aionp; tiio flat shoals of laikan- non Hay whore the sand dunes are most characlt'rislic as tJiey rise in their wind-whiiled forms just ahnvt; the surf-wash. This, also, is where the natives come from Iho village during the cariy morninf,'s of the season, for driving, to get any number of holliis cliickic. " July l-.», l.s;2. " The task of gelling up early in the morning, and going out lo the several hauling grounds closi.ly adja- cent, is really all there is of there la- bour involved in securing tlio nunibiT of seals re({uiredfor the day's wurk on the killing grounds. The two, three or four natives u[)on whom, in rota- tion, this duty is devolved, by liif or- der of their ciiief, rise at lirst glimpse of dawn between i and 2 o'clock, and hasten over to Lukamion, Tolstoi , or Zolloi, as the case may be, " walk out " their " holluschickie " and have them ready on the slaughtering field before G 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; and Koing from and lo the »oii Kay brach from IIm' high s.ind dini's of Tolstoi, but lo M'f llir same siu'ht only in vastly greater form and numbers I do not see to-day, except dt Middli> Hill, the least suggcs- lion of the pa>l. Will it improve? " Tnltliii, July 12, 1890. "When it is borne in miiul lliat in the very heiylit of the season, after .'» days rest, or non allenlion, only iWi:) medium fur seal skins, most- ly :» I 3 lbs. clean skins, of 2-year olds, can besecnred from thecombined scraping of everything in English Hay on Za|iadnie we know there is noth- in;: Middle Hill, Tolstoi, Lukannon, and Ketavie, the extraordinary con- dition of these interests can be well ur.derstood in a general way. Such a drivin;.' in 1S72, at this time and circum-tance of weather would have brought, 100,000 holluschickie np here, instead of the 0,1^0 to-day 3 rows in this drive. " THE STATUS OF 1890. Lukannon. Juno 10, 1H90. *' I ascended tlio basaltic ridge be- ween Lukannon Sands and the villages tate this morning between 8 and 9 o'clock, — not a single seal,' old or young on these liuulin;.' grounds and lands of Lukannon. " June 21. HOO. " From the volcanic ridge I had a clear view of Lukannon beach and haulini! grounds, — not a seal upon it of any age, and the weather superb for seals to haul in, cool, moist and f«ggy. ■' Judo 21, 1890. " In the afternoon I took a surveyor Lukannon Bay, and hauling m Ik' fio SECTION II. H while ZoUoi is so near by that the limi- is merely nominal. July 20, 187«. " As matters are to-tlay, 100,000 seals alone on St. Paul can he taken and skinned wilhin a radius of one mile and a halt' from the villafje, hence the driviuji; has never been made from longer dis- tances than Tolstoi lo the westward, Lukannon, to the norlhwanl, and Zol toi to the southward of the kilhuf; giounds at St. Paul village. " THE STATUS OF 1872-7'i. XiqM'Inii'. .Inly II, 1874. " The holluschickie that sport here on the parade plateau, and indeed over all of the western extent of the En^-'lish Hay hanlinjJ! ^iiounds have never been visited by Hie nativi's for the imrposeofselectingkillinml rives, 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. " 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 fiom my feel to Zapadnie a million and a half of seals spread onl on those hauling (and breeding^ grouuds. Of those I esti- mated fully one half at thai lime were pups, yearlings and holluschickie. The rookeries across the bay were plainly in sight and so crowded, that they looked e.xactly as I have seen surfaces appear upon which bees had swarmeii in obedience to that din and racket made by the watchful apiarian when he desires to hive the restless honey- makers. " grounds, — not a seal on Ihe beach except a half-dozen " 12 " bulls abreast of the volcanic ridfje. July 1, 1890. " Not a seal on the hauling ridge and sands of Lukannon Hay, and none on Ke'.avie. " July 8, 1890. " I came down on Iho sand beach between Tonkie Nees and Lukannon ; not a seal has hauled I here yet tlii?. year, — a jdace where thousands upon lens of Ihousjinds were to be seen al this time in 1872. " July i;i, 1800. " Along the entire spread of Lukan- non, Polavina, and N. E. Point sand beach, 8 miles, nearly, I did not see a single young seal, — only a dozen or two old worthless bulls scattered here and Ihere 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 simp- ly superb hauling wealher, — all day yesterday, last iiighl, and this morning. " THE STATUS Ol' 18',U). y^, are year- lings, ' rua!y ' 2-year olds, ' bitten ' •i-year olds , and a few ."i-year old ' wi^'s '. Lveiy 4-year okl ' wi^ ' was taken, — taken here as at Polavina yesterday, for the lirstlime Ihisseasoii, — every ' smooth ' 4 ye;ir old was taken in the tirst drives, and now tiie dreg's are dr.iwn also. " THE STATfS OF 1872-71. Polai-iwi. July 20. 187 J. " Surmounting this lava bed is a cap of ferru^iineous cemeni and tufa, from three to ten feet in thickness, making a reildish tloor npon which the seals palter In their restless, never ceasing evolutions, sleepin;:or wakiii;, on the land. It is as ureal a single- parade pialeau of polished cenii'nl as that of the Kecf, but we are unable iroiu any point uf observation to ap- preciate it, inasnuich as we cannot stand high (uiout'li to overlook it. Tlie lookery itself occupies only a small porti(Mi of the seal-visited area at this spot." For the reasons citf>d in a similar example atZapadnie,no liolluschickie have been driven from this pointsince 1872, though it is one of the easiest or extreme youth saves, — or in other words, the high tax of ;(|I0.22 saves. July 9, IS'.iO. " I went over to Zapadnie early this morning with the natives, and wit- nessed their drivin;;; most of the scanty drive was taken from the borders of upper Zapadnie Hookery, the whole sweep of Lower Zapadnie did not yield over 200 holhischickie, which had hauled in at several places jnstupward above the breeding seals. " " All that lartre space up above the rookery on Lower Zapadnie wiiich was literally alive with trooping platoons of liolluschickie in 1872, is to-day, eiitirelij vacant, — not a seal on it, and the natives peering over the higii bluffs on the south side of and lo the west- ward of the ' Point ' trying to lind a few seal skulking down there on the rocks awash: their eager search with I heir backs turned to I his silent parade ground of 1872, made me decidedly thoughtful. " TIIK ST.UL'S OK IS'lO. Puliaiii.il, Juno 10. 1S90. " I cami^ down on foot to the vil- •ri-'e, giving Polavina a survey down outside so as to see the old and new seal grass on that famous paradr, it is somewhat loo soon to arrive at a conclusion, but what 1 saw and noted causes surprise. " " Suii[iose you had, tourlen or six- tei'u years ag>i, stcmd upon iin cnii- nence overlooking a sheep pastuie or fold, some .T'4of a mile in length, and l,;iOO to 2,000 feet in width so tilled with a herd or tlock of sheep as to fairly cover the w'.iole surface of the earth itself within thos.' lines from your sight, at fretpu'iil intervals, and never lei you see more than a scat- tered glimpse of it ;it any one place or time. " " Then sixteen years later to stand ■B \f( ,'\i i I' '. f P Ml V 1 11-2 SECTION II. ! . , . I ■! worked. II was in the Russian times, a pet sealing ^rround witli tlicm. " July 11, 18:». " The vast numbers of the iiollus- chickie on tiiis ground of Polavina, where Ihoy iiave not been disturbed for some five years, to mention, in the way of taking. " THE STATUS OK 1872-7 i-. Xoi-d^tloshiuili, July 2, 1872. It was a view of such muUiludes of amphibians, wlion I first stood upon the summit of Ilnti-iiinson's Hill, and looked attiie immense spread around me tiiat suggested to my mind a doubt whether tiie accurate investigation wliich I was making would give me courage to maintain llie truth in re- gard to the subject. " " Ilulciiinson's Hill is the founda- tion of this point, wliicli is itself a solid basaltic floor upon a mass of breccia lias been poured at its north- west corner; it is rougii, very louizii in sp"^ and smoitlher in other : i.i , b 't very wlieie indicated on \,'l cliaii - lias been polished clean ana ' .■ of every spear of grass or iiace of moss; the hill is about 120 feet high, and has a rounded summit, over which, and swarming up and down over its Hanks to the west and the east is an astonishing aggregate of young male seals or hol- luscliickie; these herds taken toge- ther with the three and a half miles of unbroken rookery belt of solid massed life in reproduction make a truly amazing sight this afternoon, amazing in its aggregate, and inllnite in its vast detail. " July 16, 1872. " Webster gets all the holluschickie again there as I stood lo-day here, and look again upon that same place and the fissembled life, and then to see nothing of them but a few lonely pods of sheep, und they all timidly hiul'lled down at one margin of this pastui", and so few in number that it reiiuireu 'cally no elTort for you to count them one by one, that is precise- ly the way this rookery and this hau- ling-ground looks to me to-day. " June 25, 1890. The poverty of these celebrated hauling 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 fiuni the great parade plateau behind J these breeding grounds, under precisely the same circumstances suirounding the drive to-day 10,000 killable seals, not one over 4 years old, and very few under ;{ years old. (Comment is need- less. " July 2, 1890. "Now to-day, every good S-year old, every ',i- and 4-year old was knocked down here out of i,his 1030 animals to get 240 skins, — where at this rate is the new blood for the rooke- ries to come in, now so desperately needed? " THE ST.\TUS OF 1800. ^oi-axloxhiiiih, Juno 1,">. 1890. *' Arrived at Webster's House at 12.no P. M. The two natives stationed here on watch, declared that yesterday, which was a line day, was employed by tliein in making a circiiil of the lioint; that they carefully inspected the rookery margin and found only about .100 holluschickie hauled im- mediately up on the north side of the sea-lions on the ' Neck '. Peter Peshenkove declared that nowhere i! ' THE " HALLING-GUOUNDS ". H3 ■10 on wiiioli .Hi by )t' the peclt'd only I im- ide of Peter where that he wants from one spot on the nortli shore of the sand neck beach, west of the foot of Gross Hill : a short drive, and only what he wants for each day's work is driven ; he says that he could kill every day lliree and four tii.ies as many as he does, if ho had the men here to handle the skins : he lakes nothing' but large skins, nothing under 7 lbs. " else was tiiere any hoUuschickie: that there were a few polsoa-calcliie on the beach just below tiie ' south shoulder ', and nothing in the line of killable seals, exco|it under the north slope of Ilulchinson Hill, about •200 ' good ones. ' July IS, 1890. Fowler had over ."i.OOO seals dri»en up tills nioniing, and wlicn he had finished the killiii;.', he iiail only 473 skins, — ail the rest too small, — ciiiedy last year's pups; I hen in the afternoon, rain coming up, ho made a rapid drive of those hoUuschickie which he had been saving for to-mor- TO'y. fearing Ihat the rain would send them into i'le sea, and secured 108 more, making a total of Oil , l)eing the extreme liuiit reaclie.l in any one day's killing up here this year, and a total of 4-,l3.> only; on lliis day here last year Webster had killed 17,108 seals: Fowler will have no hoUus- chickie to-morrow. Websler killed on the lolli, i,8:)8 more. " " The driving up here has radically altered for I he worse since 1 872-7 V. It is a mere raking and scraping now of the rookery margins, no killable seals anywhere else. " " The parade lields of (his once magnilicent breeding ground are pos- itively vacant to-day, — grass and flowers glowing and sprini-'inj; up everywhere all over them. The hol- luscliickie as lliey hauled lo-duy did not occupy a space iiOO fi-et by .10 feet in depth: over the entire extent of this immense habitat of I87"J, and the drive of ."1,000 seals which we saw on the killing grounds had bvcn srvapixl from acven different points back of the rookery between the base of llulchiu- son Hill, and the S. E. terminus of the breeding grounds on the point. " iM I UJ J ■ ssm SECTION III THE METHOD OF DRIVING AND TAKING FUR-SEALS ON THE PRIBYLOV ISLANDS OF ALASKA, IN 1872-74, 1890 ha i ii 'Jl I !! n^i SECTION III THE METHOD OF DRIVING AND TAKING FUR-SEALS ON THE PRIBYLOV ISLANDS OF ALASKA, IN 1872-74. 1890 The increasing difficulty of getting that regular quota of 100,000 young male fur-seal skins annually ever since 1882 due to the steady diminution of supply on the Pribylov Islands, has made it necessary to drive right from the breeding grounds inces- santly with an annual increased severity during the last six or seven years; the hauling grounds of l872-'74 which were far dis- tant from these rookeries, and upon which large surplus herds of seal rested from the beginning to the end of each season, undis- turbed, were all abandoned as tlio seals fell away in numbers un- til by 1889-'90 grass grew and grows right to the waters edge over them. The remnants of these herds began as early as 1884 to seek quiet and protection by hauiing under the lee of the breeding animals, and in doing so hauled out and laid down upon the imme- diate flanks of the breeding cows and bulls, close to them, and often intermingled at the outer edge; therefor*^, in order to get the young male seals thus hauled, it became necessary as early as 1884-'85, to scrape the edges of the rookeries in driving out, and up, the killable seals; and, in 1889 it was done with great vigor, which was increased, if anything, during the past season. This extraordinary driving was never dn-amedof in 1872-'74, m f! 118 SECTION III. \' 1 I'M 1 i \ 1 i much loss done. Then the young male seals, heing in great num- bers hmdecl in the following manner which I have spoken of in 1874, thus : " By reference to the liahit of the fur-seal, which I have dis- cussed at length, it is now p'ain and beyond doubt, that two-thirds of all the males which arc 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 ' hoUuschickie ', so fitly termed, when it visits the island is obliged to live apart entirely sometimes, and some places, miles away from the rooke- ries; and, in this admirably perfect method of nature are those seals which can be properly killed without injury to the rookeries, selected and hold 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 per- petuated ". Such was the number and method of the young male seals in 1872-'74 : it is very different to day : from the hour of the first dri- ving of 1890, ]\Iay 2ist up to the close of the season, July 20th, all the driving was regularly made from rookery groundsfrom the immediate margins of the breeding animals with the solitary exception of that one place, Middle Hill, English Bay, St. Pauls Island. Not a drive made elsewhere 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 unbro- ken, very few cows were swept into these drives, though the distur- bance was incessant and great : but, when after the 18th, 20th, July, the rutting season subsided, and the pups began to pod out- i. 0. scatter back over thrice and live 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 hei'd, since they were no longer attacked or driven here and there by the old bulls ; hence the day or two preceding July 20th was marked by a large increased number of cows and old bulls in the drives, and had the driving been permitted later the cows and old bulls would have been swept into the droves of METHOD OF DIUVI\(; AND TAKING KMI\-SnAI,S. 110 jnglcd here ;July id old or the ves of small male seals by the hundreds where tens had previously heen taken in this manner. The driving of a. cow with hor udder distond(^d, and dragged for miles over rough sharp rocks humping heavily in and out of holes and over tussocks, cannot result in aught else than her physical ruin, and Ihe death of hor young pup which is left behind. Therefore any driving on those islands which, in order to get the holluschickie, necessitates the sweeping into it of cows, pups and hulls, 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 permission 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-'79, inclu- sive and the sealing gangs never wore oldigod to go noara 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 dis- turbed the breeding animals no matter when they drove in June, July or August. But to-day the whole order of hauling is changed, the scanty residuum of that surplus thousands and tens of thousands of kill- able seals of 1872-'74, haul now in close contact with the rapidly diminishing breeding animals in the rookeries, everywhere in fact but on those broad hauling gictunds of 1872-'7i 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 aUowed to rest long enough to become even acquain- ted 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 hol- luschickie off from Secvitchie Kammen, from Otter Island, from 11 i r i; : :' - i T!^ moist and cool, quite a largo nunibor of the weakest animals in the drove will he thus laid out and left on the track. If one of these prostrate seals is not loo much heated at the time, the native driver usually laps the heasl over I he head and removes its skin '. " " Prostration of fur-seals by heat. — This prostration from exerUon will always happen, no matter how carefully thoy are driven; and in the longer drives, such as two and a half, and live miles from Zapadnie on the west, or Pulavina on the north, to the village at St. I'aul as much as throe or f jur per cent of the whole drive will he thus dropped on !he road; hence I fool satisfied, from my observation and close attention to this feature, that a consider- able number of those that are thus rejected from Mie drove and are able to rally and return to the water, die suhsecjuently from internal injuries sustained on the trip, superinduced by this over- exertion. I, therefore think it highly improper and imj)olitic 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 erecled, and killing-grounds esta])lished contiguous lo all »d' the great hauling-grounds, two 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 re([uire a quota from all these places, in order lo make up the 100 000 which may be lawfully taken. " " Abundant supply of ' holluschickie '. — As matters arc to day 100 000 seals alone on St. Paul can be taken and skinned in less than forty working days, within a radius of one mile and a half from the village, and from the salt-house at North East Point; hence the driving, with the exception of two experimental droves 1. The fiir-spiil liki' nil of the iiiiinipods, li.is no swoat frLinds; liciicn, when it is lieiitiul, it ('(iiiis (ilV hy tho saiiio proci'ss of paiuiiijj which is so characlerislic of the dog, accoinpaiiied In- iho fanniiij; that I have hithin-lo fuUv described; the heavy breath- ing and low frruiilin'; of a tired drove seals, on a warmer day than usnal, can be heard several hundred yards away. It is surprising how quickly the hair and fnr will come cat of the ski:i of a blood heated seal — literally rulis olV bodily at a touch of iIk; rmj;-er. A line specimen of a throo-ycar old " hoUuschak " fell in its tracks at tho end of the lagoon while being driven to the village killing-grounds. I asked that itljo skinned with S])ccial reference to mounting; accordingly a native was sent for, who was on the spot, knife, in hand, within less than 'Ml minutes from the mumenl that this seal fell in liie road; yet, soon aftei' lie had got fairly to work, patches of the fur and liair came oil' here and there wherever he chanced to clutch the skin. METHOD OF DRIVING A.ND TAKING FUH-SE.VLS. 123 which I witnessed in 1872, has never been made from h)nf,^er dis- tances than Tolstoi to the eastward, Lukannon lo the northward, and Zoltoi to the southward of the killii.g grounds at St, Paul village. Should, however, and ahnormal season recur, in which the larger proportion of days during the right period for taking the skins he warmish and dry, it might ho necessary, in order to get oven 7;jOOO seals within the twenty-eight or thii'ly days of their prime condition, for drives to he made from Ihc olher great hauling grounds (o the westward and norlhwai'd, which are now, and have been for the last ten years, entirely unnoticed by the sealers. " "Killing the seals. — The seals, when linally driven upon those Hals between the east landing and (he village, and almost under the windows of the dwellings, are herded thereuntil cool and rested. The drives are usually made very early in the mor- ning, at the first breaking of day, which is half-past one lo two o'chjck of June and July in these latitudes. " '' Thoy arrive and cool oil on the slaughloring grounds, so that by six or seven o'clock, after breakfast, the able bodied male population turn out fi'om the village and go down lo engage in the work of slaughter. The men are dressed in their ordinary working garb of thick llannel shirts, stout cassiinere or canvas pants, over which the ' tarbossa ' boots are drawn; if il rains Ihey wear their ' kanilaikas ', made of the inieslines anil throats of the sea-lion .md fur-serd. Thus dressed, they are each armed with a club, a sloul oaken or hickory bludgeon, which have been made |)arlicularly for the [turpose at New London, Connecticut, and imj)orted here for this especial service. These sealiri'.;- clubs are about live or six feet in length, three inches in di-inieter at their heads, and th(! thickness (d' a man's fore ai-ni where the are grasped by the hands. Each luitive aho has his slabbing-knife, his skinning-knil'e, and his whetstone; these are laid upon I Ik; grass convenient, when the work of braining or i;'ioeking 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 work they are under the control of Iheir chosen foremen or chiefs; usually on St. Paul, divided into two working parties at the village, and a sub-parly at Northeast Point, whore another salt-house and -/' 'i' >il "I Ml 1 i 1 1' HI i t> if i it !ft I -t^ 4 ^1 126 SECTION HI. slaiiglitcring field is established. At the signal of the chief the work of the day begins by the men stepping into the drove, cor- raled on the Hats; and, driving ont from it 100 or I. "JO seals at a time, make what they call a pod, which they surronnd in a circle, huddling the seals one on another as they narrow it down, unlil Ihey are directly within reach and Jinder their clubs. Then the chief, after he has cast his experienced eye over the struggling, writhing * kautickic ' in the C(mtre, passes the word that such 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 ', 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 1 take to tell it. Those seals spared by the order of the chief, now struggle from under and over the bodies of their insensible com- panions and pass, hustled olV by the natives, back to the sea '. " " The clubs are dropped, the men seize the jirostrate seals by the hin(l-ilippers,and drag them out, so they are spread on Ihe ground without touching each other; then every sealer takes his knife and drives it into the heart at a point between the fore-llippers of each stunned form; Ihe blood gushes forth, and the quivering of the animal presently ceases. A single stroke of a heavy oak bludgeon, well and fairly delivered, will crush in at once the slight, thin bones of a fur-seal's skull, and lav the creature out almost lifeless. These blows are, however, usually repealed two or Ihree times with each animal, but they are very quickly done. The bleeding which is immediately elVectcd is so speedily undertaken in order 1. TliP ;iiiii aiul forco with wliicli the native directs his blow, determines ilio death of the seal; if struck direct and violently, a sin|,de stfoke is enouf.'h; llic^ seals' heads are stricken so hard sometimes that tliosi> crystaliiie lenses to their eves fly out from tiie orhital sockets like hail stones, or little [telibles, and fre(|uen(ly si.nick me sharply in the face, or elsewhere, while I sood near liy watching' the killing jzan^ at work. A sin^Milar luri'l green light siiddeidy suffuses the eye of Ihe fiu'-si-al at intervals when it is very much excited, as the " podding " for ihe clubliers is m lU'ogress; and, at the moment when last raising its head it sees the uplifted l)ludgeo:is on every hand above, fear seems then for the llrst time to posses it and ti) instantly gild its eye in this strange manner. When the seal is brained in this state of optical coloration, 1 have noticed that llie opalescent tinting remained well de/ined for many hours or a whole day after death; iIk-sc remarkai)le flashes are very characteristic to the eyes of tho old males during their hurly-hiu'ly on the rookeries, bat never appear in the younger classes unless as just described, as far as I could observe. METHOD OF DHlVINfJ AND TAKING FL1'-SEAF,S. 127 that Iho stran{?c reaction, which the sealers call ' heating ', shall be delayed for half an hour or so, or until the seals can all be drawn out, and laid in some disposition for skinning. " " 1 have noticed that within less liian thirty minutes from the time a perfectly sound seal was knocked down, it had so ' heated ', owing to the day being warnier and drier than usual, that, when touching it with my foot, great patches of hair and fur peeled oil". This is a rather exceptionally rapid metamorphosis — it will, however, take place in every instance, within an hour, or an hour and ii half on these warm days, after the first blow is struck, and the seal ic^juiet in death; hence no time is lost i)y the prudent chief in directing the removal of the skins as rapidly as the seals are knocked down and dragged out. If it is a cool day, after bleed- ing the first ' pod ' which has been prostrated in the manner described, and after carefully drawing the slain from the heap in which they have fallen, so that the hodies will spread over the ground just free from touching one another, they turn to and strike down another ' pod '; and so on, until a whole thousand or two arc laid out, or the drove, as corraled, is finished, ''he day, however must be raw and cold for this wholesale methu ;. Then after killing, they turn to work, and skin; but, if it is a warm day, every pod is skinned as soon as it is knocked down. " The labor of skinning is exceedingly severe; and is trying even to an expert, demanding long practice ere the muscles of the back and tliighs are so developed as to permit a man to bend down to, and finish well, a fair day's work. The knives used by the natives for skinning are ordinary kitchen or case handle butcher-knives. They arc sharpened to cutting edges as keen as razors; but, something about the skins of the seal, perluips fine comminuted sand along the abdomen, s- dulls these knives, as the natives work, that they are constantly obliged to whet them. " " The body of the seal, preparatory to skinning, is rolled over and balanced squarely on its back; then the native makes a single swift cut through the skin down along the neck, chest, and belly, from the lower jaw to the root of the tail, using, for this purjiosc, his long stabbing knife '. The fore and hind fiippeis are then suc- 1. When turning the stuiiiiotl ;ind soiiscIpss caccusses, tlio milv jjliysicil d.intror nf ttliich the sealers run ilio sliv;lUi.st risk, during tho whole circuit nf their wur!.-, occurs : .1 128 SECTION in. I-: 1 1.' [ i cossively lifted as the man straddles the seal and stoops down to his work over it, and a sweeping circular incision is made through the skin on them just at the point where the bo ly-fur ends; then. seizing a llap of the hide on oitlier one side or the other of the ahdonien, the man proceeds with his smaller, shorter hulcher- knife, rapidly to cut the skin, clean and free from tlu^ body and blubber, which he rolls over and out from the hide by hauling up on it as he advances with his work, standing all this time stooped over the carcass so that his hands are but slightly above it, or the ground. This operation of skinning a fair sized ' holluschak lakes the best men only one minute and a half; but the average time made by the gang on the ground is about four minutes to the seal. Nothing is left of the skin ui)on the carcass, save a small patch of each upper lip on which the coarse mustache grows, the skin on the tip of the lower jaw, the significant tail', together with the bare hide of the llippers. " thus : ;it iliis inoiuont tlip prone ami (iiiivcring body of the " holluschak " is nol wholly inert, perhaps, ihouL'h it is in nine limes out of ten; and, as the native takfs holil of the fore-flippei- to jerk the carcass over on to its back, the half-brained seal rouses, snaps suddenly and viciously, often bitinji the liunds or leirs of the unwary skinners, who llii'n come leisurely and unconcernedly np into the surgeon's nflice .il the villagi", for bandages, etc.; a few men arc l)il(en every day or two iluring the seu- .son on the islands, in tliis manner, but I have never learned of any serious result fol- lowing any case. The while sealers of the Antarctic always used Ihe orthodox Imtchers' '• ste>^l " in sharpening tlieir knives, but these nalives never have; and, probably never will aban- don those little whei stones above referred to. During the Russian nianagenienl, and throughout the strife in killing by our own peojile in IS(i8, a very large numb(>r of the skins wore cm through, heri? and there, by the slip]iing of the natives'knives, when they were taking liieni frum the carcasses. " llensing '" tlnMii from the superal)undance, in si)ots, of blubber. These knife-cui-i through the skin, no matter how sligiu, give great annoyance to llie dresser: henC'» they arc always marked down in price. The prompt scrutiny of each skin on Ihe islands, by the agent of the Alaska Conunennal Company, who rejects every one «>f them thus inpn-ed, has caused Ihe natives id exercise greater care, and the number now >.i> damaged, every season, is :»bsolutely i.'ifling. Another source of small loss i', due to a habit which the " iKdluschickie " hav>> of occasionally biting one anolher .\ hen they ar(! being urged along in the drives, and thus crowded once in a while ono mion the other; u ually these examples nf " z.>..ba- den " are detected by the natives prior ti) the '' knocking down ", auil spared; yet those which have been nipjied on the chest or abdomen cannot lie thus noticed: and. imlil the skin is lifted, the damage is not apprehended. \. This tail of the fur-seal is just a suggestion of the article and that is all. I'nlike the alibrevialed caudal exlreinities of the bear or the ral)l)it, it does not seem to be under ihe slightest control of its owner — at least I never could see it move to anj appreciable degree, when llic seal is in action on land. Certainly there is no service required of it, but it does appear to inc rather singular that none of the changeful I \ METHOD OF DRIVIXr. AND TAKING FLU-SEALS. 129 a I fol- . by -ouis m lUo •ne of :\T'' of <. and |Z,,..V>a- •d. yei ' ■ r»nJ. Hrnlike |l to >)C Ito any |t.Tvice .ugcful But during the last five or seven years, a somewhat different method has hecn in vogue, by which change the work has been expedited very much. Two or three white men, servants of the company leasing the islands, together with two or three of the natives alone constitute the killing or clubbing force; they make the selection, and knock down the killable seals as the pods are driven up by them in swift rotation then; four or hve of the youn- ger sealers constitute a force known as the *• llippering " and stabbing or " slicking " men : these workmen seize each seal im- mediately after it is knocked down and plunge a long knife into its heart at a point directly in the centre of its chest between its fore nippers — then with a single swift sweep of this knife, the skin of the prostrate seal is cut through to the blubber in a straight line from the rims of the lower jaws to the fundament, another circular sweep cuts the skin right around the head so as to just leave all that forward of the eyes and the tip of the lower jaws; then another sweep of the keen blade cuts the furred skin clear from its junction into each naked fore dipper, and a final sweep separates it from the same junction with its hind flippers, and the abortive tail; this done the work of the tlippering man ceases; and he is succeeded by the regular skinner who steps in soon after and completes the skinning out of the carcass, as was done in 1872, and described above. The wooden clubs and steel knives are not essentially different to day from those used in 1872, and the treatment of the skins not materially changed in the salt houses; only they are cured more rapidly, salted over and changed five days after first salting into a fresh kench where they lay ready for final bundling in ten or iiioiids of Callorhinus arc capable of giving rise to oven a irenbn- in its short stump of a tail. It is never raised or depressed, and, in fact, amounts to a mere excresenee, wliie'i many casual ol)servers would not notice. The shrinkini;, twitchinsr movement* of the seal's skm, here and there at irregular intervals, are especially noticed when that animal is asleep, so that even when awake, I believe that dermatological motion is an involuntary one. The tail of the sea-lion is equally inconsequential; that of the walrus, even more so, whih; Phocn vititlina has one a trifle longer, relatively, and much stouter, flcsiiier than tliat of the seal. 1 found that tlio natives here were pronounced evolutionists, as are all the many Indian tribes with which 1 have been thrown in contact during my travels from Mexico to the iiead of the Stickeen river. They declare that their remote ancestry undoubt- edly were fur-seals ; indeed, there is a better sliowin;' for the brain cases of the fur- seal over tliatof the monkey's skull as to weigiii with reference to physical bulk; while their tails arc as short or even shorter than most of the anthropoid apes. m u i ■ i. 130 SECTION III. twelve days time from date of first salting. I say five days after first salting, because it is done as soon as that if possible, though it is not essential — ten days often elapses; this re-salling is neces- sary to insure a complete curing of the edges of the pelts; if it is not done, then a great many " soft" spots will be found on the outer edges of the skins, from which the fur pulls out and thus destroys the par value of those skins. Touching this subject, in 1874 1 said in relation to the work : " The skins are taken from the field' to the salt-house, where they arc laid out, after being again carefully examined, one upon another, ' hair to fat ', like so many sheets of paper, with salt profusely spread upon the fleshy sides as they are piled up in the ' kenches ', or bins'. The salt-house is a large barn-like frame \. Under tlio old order of alVairs, jirior to the present management, the skins were packed up and carried on the backs of the boys and girls, women and old men, to tiie salt-houses, or drying-lVamcs. AVhen I lirsl arrived, season of 1872, a slij.'lil variation was made in this respect, by breaking a small Siberian bull into harness and iiitching it to a cart, in which the pelts were hauled. Before the cart was adjusted however, and the " bulk " taught to pull, it was led out to the killing-grounds, tjy a ring in its nose, and literally covered wilh the green seal hidi-s, which were thus packed to the kenches. The natives were delighted wilh even this partial assistance ; but now they have no further concern aliout it at all, for several mules and carts render prompt and ample service. They were introduced here, (irst, in 1874. The Russian American Company and also the Alaska Commercial Company have brought up three or four horses to St. I'aul, but they have been unfortunate in loosing theiu all soon alter land- ing, the voyage and the climate combined being inimical to equine health; but the mules of the present ordei'i)f all'airs have been successful in their transportatiim to, and resilience in, the Pribilov Islands. One of the first of these horses just referred ti>. perhaps did not have a fair chance for its life. It was saddled one morning, and sever- ,al camp kettles, coH'ee pots, etc., slung on the crupper for the use of the Russian agent, who was going up to Northeast Point for a week or ten days' visit. He got into tiic saddle, and while en route, near Polavina, a kettle or pot broke loose behind, the alarmed horse kicked its rider promptly oil", and disappeared on a full run, in the fog, going towards the bogs of Kamminista, where its lifeless and fox-gnawed body was foimd several days afterward. 2. The practice of curing in early times was quite dilVeren from this rapid and elective process of salting. The skins were then all air dried: pegged out, when " green ", ujion the ground, or else sirelched upon a wooden trellis or frame, which stood like a rude fence adjacent to the killing-grounds; it was the accuinulaiiou of such air-dried skins from the Pribilov islands, at Sitka, which rotted so in !80;l, that " 7."J0.00(I of th II were cut up, or thrown into the sea ", completely destroyed. Il.id they Ijeen treated as they now arc, such a calamity and hideous waste could not have occurred. The method of air drying which the old settlers employed, is well portrayed by the practice of the natives now, who treat a few hundred sea-iioii> : kins 'o the process every fall; preparing them thus for shipment to Oonalshk;,', wliei'^ tl ey are used by brother Aleuts in covering their bidarkies or kyacks. The natives in speaking to me of this matter, said that whenever tlie weather was METHOD OF DHIVING AND TAKIXfi FUR-SEALS. 131 ll anil Iwlion hvhich tdU of that Had have l»y the •OCCSS ted fey structure, so Iniilt as to afTord one-third of its width in the center, from end to end, clear and open as a passajje way; while on each side are rows of stanchions, with sliding planks, which are taken down and put up in the form of d(>ep hinr>. or hoxes — 'kenches ', the sealers call them. As the pile of skins .'s laid at the hottom of an empty ' kench ', and salt thmwu in on I he outer edges, these planks are also put in place, so that the salt may he kept intact until the hin is filled as high up as a man can toss the skins. After lying two or three weeks in this style they hecome ' pickled ', and they are suited then at any time to he taken up and rolled into hundles, of two skins to the package, with the hairy side out, tightly corded, ready for shipment from the islands. " '• The hundled skins are carried from the salt houses to the hai- dar, when the order for shipment is given, and pitched into that lighter one hy one, to be rapidly stowed; 700 to 1,800 bundles make the average single load; then, when alongside the steamer, they are again tossed up, on her deck, from whence they are "stowed in the hold. " '' Description of killing ground at St. Paul village. — The ki'l- ing ground of St. Paul is a bottomless sand Hat, only a few feeJ; above high water, and which unites the village hill and the reef with the island itself; it is not a stone's throw from the heart of the settlement — in fact, it is right in town — not even surburban, and a most singular and striking characteristic of the island of St. Paul, is the fact that this immense slaughtering field, upon which ;J5,000 to 70,000 fresh carcasses have laid every season sloughing away into the sand beneath, has not, and does not cause any sickness am^ng the people who live right over them, so to speak. The cool, raw temperature, and strong winds, peculiar to th( place, seem to prevent any unhealthy effect from the fermen- tation of decay. The Elijmiis. and other grasses once more take heart and grow with magical vigor over the unsightly spot, to which the sealing gang again return, repeating their bateau, which wo have marked before, upon this place, three years ago. In that way this strip of ground, seen on my map between the village, the rouL'li anil the wiml hlovviii;; iianl, llu'si"' air-driml seal skins, as they were tossed from ihe Ijidarrali to tiic shiji's dock, niinibei's ot' llieni would frequently turn in the wind and fly clean evci- the vessel into the water beyond, where they were lost. m '4 <« -r: %i 1 * .- I'M ! 1 ;] :i I i 132 SECTION III. oast landing, and the lagoon, contains tlio bones and tiie oil drip- pings and other fragments thereof, of more than 4,000,000 seals slain since 1780, thereon, while the slaughter Holds at Xovastosh- nah record the end of a million more. " " I remember well the unmitigated sensations of disgust that poscssed me when I first loaded, April 26, 1872, on the i*ribylov islands, and passed up from the beach, at Lukannon, to the village, over the killing grounds; tliough there was a heavy coat of snow on the fields, yet each and every one of the oo,000 decaying car- casses was there, and bare, having burned, as it were, their way out to the open air, pointing the same to a sad degree. I was laughed at by the residents who noticed my facial contortions, and assured me that this state of smell was nothing to what I should soon experience when the frost and snow had fairly melted. They wore correct; the odor along by the end of May was terrific punish- ment to my olfactories, and continued so for several weeks until my sense of smell became blunted and callous to this stench by long familiarity. Like the other old residents 1 then became quite unconscious of the prevalence of this rich "funk", and ceased to notice it. " " Those who land here, as I did, for the first time, nervously and invariably declare that such an atmosphere must breed a plague or a fever of some kind in the village, and hardly credit the assu- rance of those who have resided in it for the whole period of their lives, that such a thing was never known to St. l^aul, and that the island is remarkably healthy. It is entirely true, however, and, after a few week's contact, or a couple of month's experience, at the longest, the most sensitive nose becomes used to that aroma, wafted as it is hourly, day in and day out, from decaying seal-flesh, vicera, and blubber; and , also, it ceases to be an object of attention. The cool, sunless climate during the warmer months has undoub- tedly much to do with checking too rapid decomposition, and consequent trouble thcrefr >m, which would otherwise arise from the killing grounds. " " The freshly skinned carcasses of this season do not seem to rot substantially until the following year; then they rapidly slough away into the sand upon which they rest; the envelope of blubber left upon each body seems to act as an air-tight receiver, holding METHOD OF DIIIVING AND TAKINT. FLU-SEALS. 133 most of the putrid gas thatis evolved from llie decaying viscera until their volatile tension causes it to give way; fortunately the line of least resistance to that merciful retort is usually right where it is adjacent to the soil, so holli putrescent lluids and much of the stench within is de-odorized and absorbed before it can contaminate the atmosphere to any great extent. The truth of my observation will be promptly verified, if the skeptic chooses to tear open any one of the thousands of gas-distended carcasses in the fall, that were skinned in the killing season; if he does so, he will be smit- ten by the worst smell that human sense can endure; and should he chance to be accompanied by a native, that callous individual, even will pinch his grimy nose and exclaim, it is a ' keeshhi pahnoot ". " At the close of the third season after tlie skinningof the seal's body, it will have so rotted and sloughed down, as to be marked only by the bones and a few of the tendinous ligaments; in other words, it requires from thirty to thirty-six month's time for a seal carcass to rot entirely away, so that nothing but whitened bones remain above ground. The natives govern their driving of the seals and laying out of the fresh bodies according to this fact; for they can, and do, spread this year a whole season's killing out over the same spot of the field previously covered with such fresh car- casses three summers ago; by allornaling with the seasons thus, the natives are enabled to annually slaughter all (»f the * hollus chickie ' on a relatively small area, close by the salt houses, and the village, as I have indicated on the map of St. Paul. " " Description of the killing-ground at St. George village. — On St. (icorge the ' holluschickie ' arc regularly driven to that northeast slope of the village hill which drops down gently t(t the sea, where they are slaughtered, close by and under the houses, as at St. Paul; those droves which are brought in from the north rookery to the west, and also Starry Ateel, are frequently driven right through the village itself. This slaughtering field of St. George is hard tufa and rock, but it slopes down to the ocean rapidly enough to drain itself well; hence the constant rain and humid fogs of summer carry off that which vrould soon clog and deprive the natives from using the ground year after year in rotation, as they do. Several seasons have occurred, however, when this natu- ral cleansing of the ground above mentioned has not been as 1 bo- s'' Ill 134 SECTION III. rough as it must be to be used again immediately; (hen the seals were skinned back of I he village hill, and in the ravine to the west on the same slope from the sunimil. " " This village site of St. George to-day, and the killing-grounds adjoining, used to be, during early Hussian occupati(jQ, in Pribi- lov's time a large sea-lion rookery, the linest one known to either island, St. Paul or St. George. Natives are living there who told me that their falher^ had been emphtyed in shooting and driving these sea-lions so as to deliberately break up the breeding ground, and thus rid the island of what they considered a superabundant supply of the Eumetopias, and thereby to aid and encourage the fresh and increased accession of fur-seals from Ihe vast majority peculiar to St. Paul, which could not take place wiiile the sea-lions held the land. " " These killing groundsatlhe villagesofSt. George and Si. Paul islands, are Ihe chief slaughtering lields : but another killing ground at " Zapadnie " is established on St. (ieorge with a small sail-house, in which Ihe skins as taken arc temporarily cured, aiul then transported over the trail on Ihe backs of donkeys, lo Ihe village salt-house for final sailing and bundling. Un St. Paul at North-east Point, a regular salt-house and killing ground has been ordered and maintained over since ISG8, and some 2."j,000 lo 30,000 skins have been regularly taken there every year since 1870, until last season (1890), when only a trifle over 8,000 were scraped up. Also, on St. Paul, a small killing ground has been established at Stony Point, or Tonkie ^Ices, ever since 1879 : a salt-house was built there then, but during Ihe last foui" or five years, so few seals have been secured in its vicinity, that loams have gone, and now go up from the village, on the killing days, and haul the fresh pelts directly down lo the village sail-houses; another killing ground at Zapadnie close by * Antone's House ' has been used ever since 1879 ; but no salt-house erected here, since the natives now row one of their big skin lighters or' bidarrahs ', right over from the village to this spot, and sail back with the catch for each days work. No where else on cither island, have seals been killed by the lessees since 1870. SECTION l\ THE SELECTION OF SKINS. GRADE AND SUPPLY IN 1872-74, 1890 ;V SECTION IV THE SELECTION OF SKINS. GRADE AND SUPPLY IN 1872-74, 1890 As the law of 1870 permits the lessees of the seal islands to kill male seals of any age that they may select from the herds of iiolluschickie there assemhied ahove one year old, this seleclion has been very rigorously made from the beginning of the leasing, in 1870; it is entirely natural and in accord with business sense that the aim should have been every year to get only that grade of skins which will bring the most money in the best market : London, England. In that regular effort made since 1870 to get annually 100,000 seal skins, all to be of the best possible grade, it has been cus- tomary during each season to drive up to the killing grounds every herd as it was found hauled out; then when ready to kill, pods of from uO to 100 animals at a time would be taken from this herd, as drivers, and only thosf of the best grade in that pod were clubbed, the rest permitted to shamble off and back to the sea. The grade for each summer's work was proclaimed by the general superintendent of the lessees on the islands before the work of the killing season opened, and th(! clubbing of the pods was then executed in accordance with this order; therefore, no seals were killed above that standard set, or below it, no matter how many or how few were driven up. This growth and grading of the fur seal on the Pribylov Islands, I found last summer to be the same as it was in 1872- 74; the following table expresses it : 1 •'■ 138 a a a 0) S T3 (4 0) J3 -«« O e. a A V a o SECTION iV, ! I i i i " 5j a V (A b a O -*» o & o «r N do •»» 60 a -s m a X 2 o 3 ^- x' 00 ^ 1>* „ 00 4) ^ a , 3 i^ -^ o ■^ TI "i y. »" rt "3 N '^ 1 •T3 a '3 9 0) u X *« x- tj tA < 5 o o c o 75 =2 S 3 O s •1^ >. <-> tn *5 o a !0 5 0) a a V rr ■H. 13 "rt o &0 (7 c rii c to c w o rn to — "a. 2. s 3 ^ "a* S "Ot 3 o a« S c« U - e >t > s d >! « 4) « o ■*» rt K O O "5 0) o i? ci ■5 d a; 'a u o 1 o o c o o o O ^ rf el 2 rt r3 5 ■S "rt 1) a. c £) aj /. £ S 5 = c s a s 3 <^ ^ '■- •< -^ <; <^ <; H O H X hi^ CI 'M i^ w f^ y. C ~"~- "~^ - o •^ -ji 1 ^ ce -? "^ " ^•^ '■'■ i- Tl o •.o '^i ,^ r. ■/. = J^ •r I- o CJ 00 t- ^^ ^ O o o ^ Is o z: re ^ :-5 !X> f^ 'O 00 o o 'Tl '?( '"' a — "" o c (T* _. ^""' -o •— • ■/' ,_1 I-- L.4 a' ^ :.e :-5 C o Ol f^} ^^ o ^ T* Tl 5^ rt -* ;^ » " i o 1- ^ -* o H VI 00 ^ C ^Oi X ;* 'Tl oo so 'Tl o ^ T" -^ 3>t n '^ ;f5 :~ o (~ •A 2 T* .» >J 1- • ' /' • • rt o >* , >-, 4>J ^* ■/. 1^ 1; en 9 is O > >-> o •-> c a> f^ u 9 O 4J .MH c ►< s 5 > « wU ^ •y^ ^ u. H '^ m u THE SELECTION OF SKINS. 130 J I did not permit myself to fall into error by estimating- this matter of weight, because I early found that the apparent huge bulk of a sea-lion bull or fur-seal male, when placed upon the scales, shrank far below my notions; ! took a great deal of pains, on several occasions, during the killing season, of 1872-'7.'{, to have a platform scale carted out into the Held, and as the seals were knocked down, and before they w(!re bled, I had them care- fully weighed, constructing the table above from these records thus obtained ; also, I made the following classification then (1872), which is still entirely applicable to these seals, as they exist now (i8<)o:. Glassing the " holluschickie" by age. — When the " hollus- chickie " are up on land, they can be readily separated into I heir several classes as to age, by the colour of tlicir coals and size, when noted, namely, the yearlings, the two, three, four, and live year old males. When the yearlings, or the first-class, haul out, they are dressed just as they were after they shed their pup- coats and took on the second covering, during the previous year in September and October; and now, as they come out in the spi'ing and summer, one year old, the males nnd females cannot be distinguished apart, either by color or size, shiipe or action; the yearlings of both sexes have the same steel-gray backs and white stomachs, and are alike in behavior and weight. Next year these yearling females, which are now trooping out with the youthful males on the hauling-grounds, will repair to the rookeries, while their male companions will be obliged to come again to this same spot. Shedding the hair : stagey seals. — About the 15lh and 20th of every August, they have become perceptibly *" stagey ", or, in other words, their hair is well under way in shedding. All clas- ses, with the exception of the pups, go through lliis [)rocess at this lime every year. The process requii-es about six weeks between the first droj)ping or falling out of the old over-hair, and its full substitution by the new. This takes place, as a rule, between August 1 and September 28. The fur is shed, but it is so shed that the ability of the seal to take to the water and slay there, and not to be [)hysically chilled or disturbed during the process of moulting, is never im- ' 1 ft mi 'i! 140 SECTION IV. If i I paired. The whole surface of these extensive breeding grounds, traversed over by us after the seals had gone, was literally matted with the shed hair and fur. This under-fur or pelage is, however, so line and delicate, and so much concealed and shaded by the coarser over-hair, that a careless eye or a superficial observer might be pardoned in failing to notice the fact of its dropping and renewal. The yearling cows retain the colours of the old coat in the new, when they sliod it for the first time, and from that time on, year after year, as they live and grow old. The young three-year- olds and the older cows look exactly alike, as far as colour goes, when they haul up at first and dry on the rookeries, every June and July. The yearling males, however, make a radical change when they shed for the first time, for they come out from their " stagi- ness " in a nearly uniform dark gray, and gray and black mixed, and lighter, with dark ochre to whitish on the upper and under parts, respectively. This coat, next year, when they appear as two-year-olds, shedding for the three-year-old coat, is of a very much darker gray, and so on to the third, fourth, and fifth season; then after this, with age, they begin to grow more gray and brown, with rufous-ochre and whitish-lipped over-hair on the shoulders. Some of the very old bulls change in their declining years to a uniform shade all over of dull-grayish ochre. The full glory and beauty of tho seal's moustache is denied to him until he has attained his seventh or eighth year. Change in pelage, — This change for the worse or detei-ior- ation of the pelage of the male fur-seals takes place, as a rule, in the fifth year of their age; it is thickest and finest in texture during the third and fourth year of life; henco, in driving the seals on St. Paul and St. George up from the hauling grounds the natives make, as far as practicable, a selection from males of that age. Comparative size of females and males. — The female does not get her full growth and weight until the end of her fourth year, so far as 1 have observed, but she does most of her growing longitudinally in the first two; after she has passed her fourth and fittli years, she weighs from .'10 to 50 pounds more than she did in the days of her youthful maternity. THE SELECTION OF SKINS. 141 Tho malo does not get his full growth and weight until the close of his seventh year, but realizes most of it, osteologically speaking, by the end of the fifth; and from this it may be perhaps truly inferred, that the male seals live to an average age of eigh- teen or twenty years, if undisturbed in a normal condition, and that the females attain ten or twelve seasons under the same favorable circumstances. Their respective weights, when fully mature and fat in the spring, will, in regard to the male, strike an average of from four to five hundred pounds, while the females will show a mean of from 70 to 80 pounds. ull he the te. ing and \ in Gradation of the fur of Callorhitnis tirsinus. — The gradation of the fur of Callorhimia ursinus may, perhaps, be best pre- sented in the following manner : Onk-year OLr 5 • ^vell grown : at July 1 of every season : Fur fully developed as to uniform len^'lh and thickness and evenness of dislribution; it is lighter in color, and softer in texture, than hereafter, durinif; the life of the animal; average weight of skin as removed by tho sealers from tho carcass, 4-1/2 pounds. Two-YEAK OLD $ : Well grown : at .lune 1 of every season : . Fur fully developed as to even leni^lh and thickness and uniformity of distribution; it has now attained the darker buff and fawn color, sometimes almost brown, which it retains throughout tho life of the animal; it is sli,i,'htly and perceptibly lirmer and stilfor than it was last year, not being at all " llutl'y " as in the yearling dress now; average weight of skin, as taken from the body, 0-I/2 pounds. TniiEE-YEAR OLD ^ ". wcll growu : at June 1 of every season : Fur fnlly developed, as to even kngtli, but a sliade longer over the shoul- ders, where the incipient" wig " is forming; otherwise perfectly uniform in thickness and even distribution; this is the very best grade of pelt whicii the seal all'ords during its life; average weight of skin, as taken from the body, 7 pounds. Four- YEAR old 5 : well grown : at June 1 of every season : Fur fully developed as to even length, except a decided advance in lengih and perceptible stilTness over the shoulders, in tlic *' wig "; otherwise ]ier- feclly uniform in thickness and even distribution; this grade is almost as safe to take, and as good as is tho Ihree-yoar-old; average weight of skin, as removed, 12 pounds. M _ \ ( ii } III \|, f' t \ 1 t it'i'i -I' . it- I ; if m " '-IT i 81 J j I-, * if! i i' il lit: i !^ 142 SECTION IV. Five-year old 5 ; well grown : ftom May lo June 1 of every season : Fur fully devolopod but mucli longer and decidedly coarser in the " vsii;" region; otliorwisc uniform in licickuess and distribution; the coarseness of the fur over the sboulders and disproportionate length thereon destroys that UFiiforniity necessary for rating A I in the market; in fact it does not pari© take this skin; average weiglil, 10 pounds. Six-YEAH oi.n 5 : well grown : from May to Juno 1 of every season : Fur fully developed, slill longer and stiffer in the " wig '" region, with a slightly thinner distribution over the post-dorsal region, and shorter; this skin is never taken — il is profitless; average weight, 2o pounds, Seven-yeau old and li'wahd 5 '• fi'om May to June 1 of every season : lur fully developed but very unevenly distributed, being relatively scant and short over the posterior dorsal regii u, while il is twice as long and very coarse in the covering to the shoulders especially, and the neck and chest. Skins are valueless to the fur trade ; weights, 4a to 60 pounds. The analysis, as above, is a brief epitome of the entire subject; only, it should be added that the female skins are as finely furred us are the best grades of the males; and also, that ^.ge does not cause the quality of their pelage to deteriorate, which it does lo so marked an exlent in the males. Hut, taking them into conside- ration is entirely out of tiie question, and ought to be so forevt'r. The fu'lal coat of the pup is composed of coarse black hair alone, the underwool not at all developed; when this is shed and the new coat put on in September and October, it is furred and haired as a yearling, which I diagnose above; this pelage has, however, no commercial value. All the skins taken by the company have been prime skins, in the fair sense of the term. To this diagnosis of 1872-'74, 1 may add the i-year olds are divi- ded by the sealers into " smooth '' 4-year olds and " wigged " i-year olds: the " smooth "skin is the finest one in the field: the '* wigged"* skin is way below par and never taken unless fear of not gelling the quota for the season impels the clubbing of them. These ymmg bulls vary remarkably in this matter of being " wigged ", or not, at the culmination of their fourth yeiir — just as young men at 18 vary as to having moustaches and beard, or not. THE SELECTION OF SKINS. 143 in vi- ar H»g In o U at Therefore, since the finest skins are the 3-vear aiiu " on:iooth ' 4-year olds, the standard set for killing has heen kept steadily at that mark, and unless a 2-vear old was unusually \tell jirown, it and the yearling male has not heen cluhbed at all to speak of until lS87-'88 : then it became ahsoluteiy necessary to l;ill a large pro- portion of these smaller seals or fail to get the quota of 100,000 annually, since the larger seals were missing — (had been killed by the driving and clubbing of the preceding seasons) : in 1889, in order to get the quota of 100,000. more than lialf of the entire catch were "long" and " short" 2-year olds, more than 25,000 "long" yearlings were taken for the first time in the whole period dating from r370, the balance, some 20.000 only, being the prime 3-year and "smoolh" 4-year old skins, which have hitherto, prior to 1887, been the (mly ones taken as a rule. Among the many bits of evidence of the rapid elimination of the " holluschickie " which 1 gathered last season (1890), one of the most self-asserting is the following statement of the percen- tage of rejection which took place on these killing-grounds of St. Paul in 1872-187i. contrasted with that which 1 recorded last summer: — the standard for 1872-1874 was three-and " smooth " /.-year old skins (7 lb. and 12 lb. peltsi; and it was not lowered; the standard for 1890, at the outset, was the same until the kth of July, then, the supply of those skins having pratically failed, the standard was dropped on thai day lo " long " 2-year olds [o 1/2 to 1/2 lb. skins), and finally on the ISlh-2i»th .luly, the days of the last killing permitted, the standard was again dropped so as lo take in " short " 2-year olds and a few *• long"' yearlings I Vet ^yith all this effort (and the aUem|)t Miis year to gel 60.000 skins \yas most vigorously made), only 21,000 skins in rountl numbers were thus secured, with all possible exertion. 1. A " Imi^' " 2-yeMr oUl is one tli.it is woll irr.iwn, or aliovo tlio avoraprc sizo for that a^'i> : i. (\, 6 lli. skins; a" short " 'i-yi-ar nM i^i oin' tliat is uni.lpr-s.'ri>\vn for its JiL'i" : i. 0. a .") 11). skin; the same classilicalion is applicable aiul )i\\c\\ to iho yearlings. ■1. In the report of the Treasury ApMit in eliars.'e, Mr Charles J. Goff. for the cur- rent year, will be foumi a detailed daily statement nf ihis work last summer, to;,'ethcr with a lull aiiil exhaustive laliulatioii of the wi>rk a> it has been done durinj^' the last 20 years upon these islands. I take much pleasure in reprinting this work of Mr GolT; it will 1)0 1)0 found in the Appendix, posti'n. i '►■li 1' M : ! '^r I! .1 1. '! m lU iM MKl 144 SECTION IV. i i W s ^ DO a a 3 « a o to i o P4 6 A .2 5 ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^l_^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^B o8 to a CI _o I t J3 1 1 1 1 e 1 1 ^ 1 1 1 1 o • > "^ 12 5 •fl m ■< 1 1 O — 1 1 1 1 1 1 s u "o IM « CO T. r- 1 1 o is _2 -3 c m 1 1 1 I 1 1 >i tS »J •■■* !» • • 1 ■ " '^ • 4 . \ =3 1 « 1 &. _ ^ 2 'o 1 H^ _2 1 3 a o V3 ^ 2 t (^ TT *j 5 "o . s ■- .5 - 3 ts: =a - . r * o .- <$ *> _c. oa £ n T. » o '3 - "i 'S O _2 "x ^ ^ V4 Vi 1 as ri £ \ -2 N H Cm t S li) ,j *• 4 ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ■ " ■* " ■* ■■ ■* ■* " . a C S s ■a 'S I 1 'J2 1 1 1 1 1 1 is < g a tr CO S g ^ i fee s ^ x5 w ^ § !S 1 t CJ 1 1 1 1 1 i H O o ^ CO rt z r- o Bd « — ■-< " CI o o ^ ^ ^^ M O U u C o :r5 o (Tl S5 o (i. — 1- i'- f^ r- t- 1- 30 3C r> e. M M pa v: s S 1 a = X .- « 1— -M ^ r? — CO f— CI C5 rs O •ri i -s ^ :.-5 vM :■> -r CO T i^ -_ o o o o 00 l~ -M »2 « ° s 1.-5 o o c-l a> — ?^ ? r-_^ -* co_ oo C-: o^ TI i— 1 tn "^ * M CO ^ •J a o 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 o C " ^ B3 '- ♦* iff ^ . 30 n ^* :.-5 « 1- oc _ ^ ^ 5 § c Cl TI (M e>i G\ ?l o ,1 "■'■^ III [i. :di 10 146 SECTION IV. \V Comments. — The dclailod figures upon wliicli the foregoing tabulation is based appear in Section VIII of this report. I In tbe drive from July 17lb from " I'olavina ", above cited, in order to swell the shrinking catch, all the 4-year old " wigs " in the drive were knocked down — I bey have been regularly rejected thus far as they came up daily in the drives; out of the total of d72 killed in this " I'olavina " drive, 84 were 4-year old " wigs "; had the standard not been lowered so as to take them, tbe percen- tage of rejection would have been 95 "/". In the drive of July 18th from " Zapadnic", also cited above, all tbe 4-year old " wigs" were again taken to swell the diminishing catch ; 94 out of the total here of 241 were '' wigs "; had they not been taken, 88 "/o of re- jection would have been tbe record of that killing. On the two last days of killing permitted by the Secretary, viz. July 19th and 2()th, the standard was again lowered so as to take all the " short " 2- year olds : and tbe catch of those last killings Avas increased more than 70 "/'' '^y ^'ic acceptance of 5 lb. skins, which had been rejected emphatically up to that hour. Had the lessees been permitted to kill longer, the result would Tiave been another quick " run to emptyings " by tbe lapse of three or four mon^ killings; the supply of " short "2-year olds would then have been exhausted in turn, as the higher grad 's had hith- erto; the seals are simply not in existence sufficient to fill the quota; and, tbe above statements of fact prove it. Suuimary of the percentage of seals rejected from the herds (as driven from the hauling-grounds) -when upon the killing- grounds of St. Paul Island, Pribylov group, Bering Sea. u AVERAGE PKnCENTAOF, OF SEALS " Tl'llNED OUT FnOJl HIE DRIVEN " PODS , SEASONS OF 1872-1874, INCLUDING NOTHING IlL'T 7 TO 12 LU., SKINS TAKEN FROM THE START TO THE FINISH. From Juno 5th to liJMi, incl. — Juno loth to 30lh, incl. — July 1st to lalli, incl. — July loth to 20th, incl. H °/o to 8 »/o of each driven herd. 10 0,0 to l2 0jo — 3o o/o to 40 »/„ — CO "/o to 7o 7o — I Till-: SKLECTION OF SKINS. 117 AVERAr.K I'KHr.ENTACE OF ^iEAI.S " Tflt.MCD Oir"l-HnM TIIK lilllVE.N " I'ODS ". SEASON OF 1890. NOTIIING IIUT 7 TD 12 Lll. SKINS TAKEN UP TO 4tI1 JULY; THEN A1.I, .■i-1/2 I.B. SKINS included; last T\Vi» DAYS, ALL ."> LI). SKINS WKHI; TAKEN. From Juno Stli lo i.'ilh, incl. (J0»/o to 70 "/o of eacli diivtMi iieril. — Juiiu lolii tu 30lii, iiicl. 70 "/o lo 8.') „/o — — July 1st lo l"iUi, incl. s:; »,'<, to 90 »/o — (Standaril lo\verc'(l lo 5-1/2 lb. skins.) — July loth lo20lli, incl. 90 '■ to 9.1 "/o — (Slaiidard afjaiu lowoied to o Ih. skins.) TIic foregoing statement declares that in 1872-74 to get tlie quota, llien secured, of 100,000.7 lb. and 12 lb. skins (15- and 4-yr. olds chiefly then taken) rcqiiireil the drivimj of onlij 120,000 seals from the hauling (jrouiids to the slaughter lields. But in 1890, if a quota of 100,000 such skins could have been secured, it would haxereqiiireil the(lriciHffofatleasti,000,OOOAealf! It is today an extremely liberal estimate of mine when I admit the existence o/ 80,000 " hollusihiclde'" , or male seals from 1 yr. old to i-yr. olds, as left xipon these islands of Pribgtov, July .31, 1890; and 90 % of this 80,000 are yearlings. The strange absence of a due proportion of 2-yr. olds in the assembled " hoUuschickie " of this year, 1890, I believe is largely due to the killing of some 25,000 yearlings, last summer, in that desperate elfort made then to fill out the quota allowed of 100,000; coupled with the subsequent deadly effect of last summer's driving upon the spared yearlings. The following field notes and data arc now given in this con- nection : " June 23rd, Monday, 1890. Those two pods of hoUuschickie which I have observed under Middle Hill and Tolstoi, during the last two days, were driven up this morning. I made an itemized count of percentages — the number driven up in each pod' and the number turned out lo the sea from it. " 'If i ' ',:' '( !, 148 Pod No. 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 (Not 79 27 :i7 61 40 61 50 47 39 43 69 U Pods; of .iOl SECTION IV. in liiiio to count il\ animals driven up; 9 of llicm killed. — _ _ 7 _ _ _ _ __ _ 8 — — — _ _ _ 15 _ _ _ — — — 7 — — — _ _ _ 6 — — — — — — 9 _ _ _ animals and only 110 of tliem taken, ir! \: I U ill or 80 % of the whole number driven, rejected. " " Tliis f,Mves a fair average of the whole drive today, some 2,800 animals, since 518 skins were taken. " " At this time in 1872, only 10 to 12 % of such a drive were turned away, the standard being the same to-day us it was then. To-day all the seals taken, with the rare example of a few -i-yr. olds, were 3-yr. olds, not one 4-yr. old in twenty taken, and a remarkable absence of 2-yr. olds — a few only. " " Those turned away were, 95 "/„ of them at least, " long " and ' short' yearlings ! a few 5-yr. olds, and a very few 6-yr. old bulls, and a very few ' short ' 2-yr. olds, also. " " A small pod of holluschickie have just made their appear- ance, close lip under the bluffs at Zoltoi, 100 to 150 of them at about H A. M. Now, that calls up to my mind this question — where have those tired seals, driven this morning, and released from the pods into the Lagoon Slough and from there, direct into the sea, — where do they go? Do they haul up again? Yes, everybody says so, and I do not know anything to the contrary, and much in affirmation. Then, that being so, these seals spared today, may be driven tomorrow from Zoltoi Bluffs ; to be spared again, and driven next week, and so on, all over through the season. What indication, truthful one, have we of what number of fresh holluschickie really arrive from this time forth if Ihese released seals are to continually present themselves ? as they do! So, as matters go, the steady increase daily of discarded seals, together with the fresh or new arrivals, are driven day THE SELECTION OF SKINS. 149 ul'lcr (lay over and over again lliroiif?lioiil llie killing; soasoii. '" " Now, in lS7:2-'74, tlii- pmixtrlion ol' rcjoclod ui " luriicd away* seals Iroiu all Ihc Irives up to llic IslolMuly was not over 10 "/oor i"! "/" (»r the wh -le drove driven — now, it /s 80 " „ and 90 "/o • of this nninl)(M', yearlinjjs lluit will reqnire G years of vr^i ere lliey are lit lor rookery service. This is IIk; slatns at llic present luo- nienl on the killing'- grounds right in the very height ol Ihc hest hour fur sealing in lli(! whole season; anil this, loo. must be con- sidered in the light of the positive declaration of Ihe natives that this repeated driving renders Ihe spared males wholly unlit for rookery service ". " lluw many of these released seals this morning have been driven over that road before this season? On Ihe ITlli, Hn; last drive prior to this one to-day from Middle liill and Tolstoi was made, 70 "/o uf Ihat drove was turned away; and now, to-day. the same drive is made over again, after an interval of G days rest of the ground and 80 °jo is turned away. I shall observe I! ■■ next drive very closely as it comes in from Middle Hill and Tolstoi. At this rale of increase of rejection, where will Hk; driving be in .luly ? when the yearlings begin to haul in bodies. " " On June 2Uh, KS!)0. ."».">() A. M. A drive this morning from the Zoltoi lilull's of about oOO all told, and another '' pod" from the ' Hcef ', some 7o0 coming. Yesterday morning at 7 o'clock there was not a single holluschakhie under Zolloi IJIulls. Hut in less than three hours after the killing began on the i^agoon Hats and the turning out there of iSO°/o of all thai Middle Hill drivi.', I observed holluschickie hauling under these bluffs at Zolloi, and a few on the sands, the first that have hauled there this year. Now the query enters my mind of — were any of these spared seals of yesterday, hauling up at Zolloi yesterday? Look at the map and observe the significance of the surroundings. Everybody in 1872, and everybody to-day, admits that these seals which are released from the drives haul up again, are driven over again, released once more and still driven again and again throughout the season. " ** In 1872, on this St. Paul village ground, a five-year old bull was pointed out to me by Chief Booterin, which was marked by some curious pink-white mottles on its dark fore llippers. i'?j« :.m m i.m fill ( • t: . ? « 1 f t!)0 SECTION IV. Booloriri said lo mo thai ' polscatalcli ' ' had Ijccii thivcn np in Ihis way already l\vic(; jVom Ihc hauling };r since Iho season opened. II was nol nolieed in any of llio snhse(|uenl drives, — il may have j;one over lo St. (ieorjrc in disj^nst, or have haided al Zapadnie, al Sonth-wosI iNdnl, Poia- vina. Tonkie Mc es. nhore at any one ol' these resorts at thai thite, it wonid have remained in peac(>. Cor no seals were then driven from any of those points. Or it may have p>ne (o N. 1]. Point and cxhihited itself to Webster and his men, ami aj^ain Ihis last drive above noted may have so enfeebled it as to rans<> ils snbse- (jncnt dealh at sea. " That Iheso " 1/2 bulls " or " polseecaleh " thus driven in IS7-2 should not attempt then to land on the rookeries, was not stirpri- sinj;- they simply could not for the crowds of old and virile bulls stationed Iherc, never let them. Hut to-day where there are wide gaps in the water lines and above these breeding " bulls ", why is it that these "1/2 bidls" in these drives to-day ('J- and li-yr. olds) do not ever attempt lo go there now, where there is no sign of op- position? Il is remarkable; — Hie slatonient made by Ihe natives in 18;ri-'3.">and today, thai this driving renders Ihem nnlit for breed- ing, is Ihe only solution. Al 7 A. M. I wont down lo the killing grounds and followed the podding and clubbing of the entire drive as brought up from the " Heef " crest and Zoltoi blulls early this morning; the " Zol- toi " pod arrived on Ihe ground long before Ihe '' Heef " pod, 2 hours sooner; it was made np largely of '* polseecalohie " and yearlings the oldest bulls thus far of the season, 0- and 7-yr. olds, and in this drive were many bulls wbich llu^ natives said, as they pointed them out, had come over from Ihc^ Lagoon killing yesterday they knew the individuals by certain clubbing marks, etc. " The seals turned aside Ihis morning were exclusively year- lings and ' short ' 2-yr, oldf , and a large number of * 1/2 bulls". No ' long' 2-yr. old escaped, so, therefore, many ;}-t/2 and 6 lb. skins will appear in this catch; there was, however, a notuble ab- sence of 2-yr. olds in proportion to the number driven, and the bulk of the catch was 3-yr. olds as was yesterday's killing, with 1. " I'otseacaick or half-ljuU "; namn given liy iialivcs lo all fur-.soal males over 4 and under 7 years of aire. THE SELECTION OF SKINS. i;>i a very largv nunilter <>l' i-yr. olds in proporlion for the siniill nunilxM* (>r skins secured A few rows aiipeured in llie di-ive, two (d' llieni wore nxdvery cows, and Iwu or three were what 1 called ' barren females ' in IS"2-'7i. II is inipossible, as tlie driving; is now (Mitidiicled, lo avoid •.-flliii;; a few eows in llie herd, since nearly Iwo-lhirds of thai diivc this niornin;;' came from the hreed- inj,^ lines on the ' Heef (]rest '. iJrivinj;, thus from tin; close proximity of hreedinj; lines was not done in liS72-"7'i; and then, too, I never saw such an extraordinary numher of 6-yr. old bulls driven up here before. True it was that in 1S72 yreal numbers of these ' va},M'anls ' or ' driven bulls ' were to be seen on the haul- ing grounds then, yet the natives could and did ' walk ihcm out ' on the start, and very few of them cauje along in the drive. I have often watched them ' cut out ' lhes(! large young hulls and any older ones fiom the drives as they started from Knglish IJay or Lukannon : they don't do it now they are afraid to lose a single eligible seal ! " ".Iune27th, I8!JU. In liS7:2-'7i. very little attention was paid to driving seals until the I2lh or I itii of Juno; true it was that bands of thousands of holluschickie were then already long before that dale hauled out (»n the several resorts, yet, tben, becaus(i these animals were not in greater numbers, and were nearly all of them down by the surf margin, it was deemed best to wail until the 1:2th or lilh before beginning in earnest to drive; but after Ihe l-ilh of .lune usually, there was such an abundant supply of hol- luschickie an hand within a mile and a half of this village, and from the salt-house at \orth-east I'oint, that no concern was ever given as to the number that they uniUl'^ai — it was the number that they .vAo? unfortunate seals are beguiled again very soon or a few days later into that deadly procession to that ground from which they wore driven early this morning. How the significance — the death of this Jriving — now keeps rising to my mind I I had little occasion in 1872-'7i to give it ■" ,e mood. " 'e&^ THE SELECTION OF SKINS. lo3 *' I passed up from llic killing grounds over lo Tolstoi Rookoiy and gave the seal-path or road a careful review. A few lioUus- chickic were again hauled out under Middle Hill and a dozen perhaps on the Tolstoi Il(jokery sand intersection; but the great hauling grounds ot'Knglish Bay are utterly destitute of seal life at the hour of this writing, and jiave been so ever since the season opened with the nuirked exception of those small s([ua(h under Middle Hill, in the rear (tf Xearhpahskie Kammen, and t!i' ^and beach at the immediate ending of the Tolstoi brcding lines; these microscopic areas are the only points now in all that vast extent of ground over which, in 187:2-'7i, the holluschickie of English Bay spread their heavy squadrons. " Not a holluschik on Zoltoi Sands today, and only a handful on the rocks beyond and above, from which the ' Zoltoi ' drives, so called, have all been thus far. Mr CiolV assures me that there wasni^ driving from the ' Sands' here last year — it wiis all from these rocks above the Zoltoi Bluffs. \Vhen this famous hauling ground began lo fail, was the lime lor a note of warning to have been heard^ when did it fail?" From the Journals of the Treasury Agent's oflice on St. l*aul and St. George islands 1 have extracted the following data which declares plainly enough that until the season of 188") closed the an- nual ([uotacjf 100 000 [)rim'' -kins was easily taken on these islands between the lst-14lh June and the :20th of July; that in ISiS'i the work suddenly dropj'cd behind and continued to lag until the total failure of 1890 closes this record. 'J'i '■I , •1«| Table shelving dates of the first and last killings of each official sealing season on the Pribylov Islands; the season of 1890 closed on the 20th July by order of the Secretary of the Tceasui'y. ISLAND OF ST. PAIT.. First, I.S70. No rocord 188:i. June t Last, ISTO. No ri'cord 188.1. July 10 First, IsTI. May 1(1 .. 188k Juiii; 1 Last, 187t. July 31 1884. July 21 First, 1872. June 1 188;f. JiiMf 3 Last, 1872. July 30 The catch of 7j,0()U was sulislautially ISS.'i. July 27 taken on i7thJu[y, ,V few thousand skins left for food driving until 301 h. 1^)} I i^ V.-.!, i iM SECTION IV. First, 1873. Jiuio I 1880. Last, 187;t. .luly -il- Tlu" catch of Tii.OOO was substunliiilly i»8ii. taken by the 2Ulli. A few tliou- saiid skins left for food driving' until tiie -2i-lii. First, 1871. June 3 1887. Last, 187 1. July 28 The catrli of yi),0(){) was substantially 18«7. taken on the lOtli July; but a IVw thousand skins for food driving wer(> lel'i ovci' lo :J8lli. First, 187o. June I 1888. Last, 1875. July 2:i 1888. First, 1870. June 188'J. Last, 1870. July 10 I88',t. First, 1877. June •• IS'.'O. Last, 1877. July 18 1890. FirsI, 1878. June 8 LasI, I1S7.S. July 18 First, 187'.i. June 1 LasI, 187'.i. July 10 First, 188(t. June :( Last, 18H(). July 17 First, 1881. June Last, 1881. July 20 First, 1882. June i Last, 1882. July 20 IS I. A.N I> or ST. GKOIUiE. F'irst, 1870. No record 188.1. Last, 1870. No record 188;i. First, 1871. June 4 1881. Last, 1871. July ;il (Delayed for "food drives" after 22nd). 1884. First, 1872. June :t 188:1. LasI, 1872. July 27 188;;. First, I87:t. June 4 1880. Last, 187:). July 28 1880. FirsI, 187V. Junt! 1 1887. Last, 1874. July 27 1887. First, 187;;. June 1 1888. Last. 1S7;;. July 17. . 1888. FirsI, ISTO. Jinu> 1 I8S'.I. Last, 1870. July 7 1881). First, 1877. Jum- 18no. LasI. 1877. July lo I8!t0. FirsI, 1878. June 10. LasI, 1878. July 21 First, 187'J. June :} This season's work covers Ihe first draft made upon the reserves. June July June Julv 2 26 23 June ■> July 27 June ii Julv :tl JUM"' Julv 20 June 11 July 31 June t Aufi. i June 1 Julv 27 June to July 23 June 'J July 2"' Juni; (■) July 27 June 4 July 2',t Jiim> 2 Julv 20 Ml; THE SELECTION OF SKINS. 133 Last, 1879. July 10 First, 1880. Juno :t Last, 1880. July ',) • First, 1881. June '.) F>ast, 1881. July ifi First, 1882. June 12 Heavy dial'l ljof,'un this year upon the reserves. Last, 1882. Jnlv I'.l Oflioial entries in the Journal of Uie (lliief Special Aj^^ont of the Treasury Di^parlment, in St. Paul Island relative to the close of the sealin;.:; season on that island since 1879, the year of lirst hint of dim; tuition : July a, 187'J. Drive from Zoltoi, 2,6j2 skins taken. July 10, 1879. LasI diiy of llie sealin„' season. Diive from Middle liill niakiuj™ iiH III!' lull (luola I'or lliis island. Tlie naliv('s wdund up the sealinj.' willi a yell. (II. C. Otis, p. 99.) July 17, 1880. Drive from Zoltoi, the last drive of the regular season, making up the lull (juota, 80,000. (11. (,. Otis, p. 181.) July 20, 1881. Drives from Tolstoi, Zoltoi, Ketavie and l.ukannon, llu' last of tile rt'!,'ular sealing season, 2,.)i!0 skins laUeii, lilling the island's quota of 80,000. (II. (;. Otis, p. 2:0.) July 20, 1882. The seals killed to-day lill th ; quota of 1882; total killed 81,510. (II. A. (iLiui)i;N, p. 268.) July 19 I88:t. This entry closes the sealing season. ,11. A. r,r.i')i.F,N. p. :io:;.) July 21, 188i. To-day's killing closi's th'' sealing seiison of l8Hi; total killed 88,951. (II. A. Cii.iuiiKN, p. ;ti'7.) July 27, 1885. The A. 0. Co. made a linal driv^ from Zoltoi Heef and Middle Hill, and killed 983, which eloses the season's quola, making in all 99,990. ((;. 1«. Ti.NGu:, p. 379.) July 20, lK8r). The .V. C. Co. comphded Ihe seascui's killing today seeuring the full ()UOia for this island, viz. 8l),00(». (C. It. Tl.NGI.E. p. VW.) July 12, 1887. A. G. Co. killed and sailed 4,812 ^kiiis. ' ' I '■!■;] ■ /' '.! fl ,.; ,.11 Nil ■ - -fh i56 SECTION IV. ii il »t July 13, 1887. A. C. Co. killed and salted 4,9o8 skins; tlic last two kiliiuj;? are the largest for years in a single day. July 23, 1887. A, C. Go. made a drive at S. W. Bay to close the season. (G. R. Tingle, p. 13.) July 27, 1888. The sealing season closed to-day, compleling the full ifuota of 100,000, being 8o,000 for tliis, and lii.OOO for St. George island. " (G. R. Tingle, p. 76.) July 31, 1889. The season closed today, the full quota being secured for this island (85,000). (C. J. GOFF.) The foregoing statements of fact declare that the first break- down from the regular time, July 20th, of getting the wiiole catch since 1870, took place in 1883, when it fell suddenly to the 2Tth of July, rallied a little in 1887, but fell back again in 1888. and down to the bottom in 1889. This season of 1890 never had a real beginning if a comparison of the seals killed daily sinc^ it opened is made with the daily record of any of the preceding 20 years. The custom on both islands in driving of combining the herds from several localities into one drive as it is brought upon the killing grounds makes a direct comparison between years of the catch taken from any one hauling ground very diflicult, indeed incorrect if attempted. But there are two localities. North-east Point on St. Paul, and Zapadnie on St. George island, where there is no opportunity to merge any other seals driven, except those found there alone; this makes the following contrast between the work of 1881) and 1890 very direct and honest : ill w\ Daily record of seals taken at Novastoshnah, seasons of 1889-1890. Date. 1889. 1890. skill grade ; No. of skinis. No . of skins. Nothing iimier 18K9. I8st(1 June 17 I,0o4 10 O-Ib. 7-1 — 18 1,270 78 — — — 19 494 » — — — 20 }> 438 — — — 21 i,2o;i 96 — — Carry fowarJ. 4,023 028 :r I THE SEIECTIOX OF SKINS. rn Da to. 1889. 1890. No. of skins. No. of skins Brought forward : 4,023 628 — 22 » >> — 23 » 176 — 24 754 202 — 2;i 1,407 164 — 26 441 M — 27 84* 22;> — 28 479 79 — 29 35S » — 30 L. . . » 97 Tot A 8,403 1,601 July 1 1,200 130 — 2 968 96 — 3 » 380 — 4 1, :-;;;<) 118 — I'l i,;i24 74 — 6 376 » — 7 )> 336 — 8 914 378 — 9 641 271 — 10 800 112 u 12 13 14 i'6 16 17 IS 19 20 22 23 24 26 •i',t :il 793 1,838 1 , 1 36 948 1.282 834 243 3.'iO 7+0 010 1,433 1 .623 938 641 » 245 3ii 48.-; 4o;i 446 » » » » Skill grado ; Nothing under. 18S0. 1890. 6-II> o- 1,21b. 0-1/2 lb. Sea-ou ciused lor 1890 by order of Stvn-tary of Treasurv. The contrast thus clearly di-awn betweon the work at North- east Point l,is>tyear. aiitl this season of I8JH). tells its own story down on the killing grDinids at the village of SI. Paul, the general manager bocanie alarmetl at the prosf)ect of failuie to get the sea- w. \^y\! ! -f 188 SECTION IV, son's quota of 100,000 for both islands; ho accordiii^^ly lowered, on the KJlh of .hily, the standard from a 6 11). skin to a i-1/2 lb. skin; thus lakinj,^ in all tbo " long " yearlings, and everytbing above to tbe ."5 yr. olds. lUit Webster, then at N. E. Point, stub- bornly rcfused-to kill anything- imdera "short"2yr. old or ,'5 lb. skin. At the Village, however, over 20.000 of these "long" year- lings were knocked down and taken after thel3lh July, 1889; that enabl'Ml the shipment of that season's quota of 8."}, 000 skins from St. Paul after the 31st Julv. 5 i< :- i)' l,L.: :.i i Daily record of seals taken at Zapadnie, St. George Island; Seasons of 1889-1890; between the 10th June and 20th July. Date. June 10 — 17 — 20 Total . . July 22 — 211 — 28 1889 No. ot skins. 207 244 » ;i9;i 22:{ 1890 No. of skius. » » 3'J4 » 189 Total. . 1,20!J o83 July 1 167 » — 7 » 58 — 8 229 » July 12 192 » - 14 » 53 — IH 371 » — 18 439 » — 20 tt S27 1,498 iiOO 279 :;g8 633 !Skiii grade Nol liiiii; uuder 1889 1890 C-ib. 7-lb. G-lb. :-lb. :i-lb. Extracts from the Journal of the Treasury Agent, St. Paul Island, showing the dates of the lirst regular drafts made upon the reserved male life at Zapadnie i"S. W. May"', and I'olavina. These dates also tleclare llif lime of that exhaustion in part of the regular sources of hitherto abundant supply at Tolstoi, Middle Hill, Lukannon and Zolloi : Page 92. Juih 9, iS7'.t. Anlone Meloviedov started witli a gans: to make a drive at Half-wav l*oiiit Polavina. THE SHI.KCTION OF SKINS. 139 Pago 93. Jnno 10, 1879. Tlie drive to day (at Polavina) resulted iii the takiiij; of 1,118 skins. (II. (i. Otis.) Pnfje 03. June II, 1879. Drive made from S. \V. Hay (Za|iadnie) today. and 1,402 skins taken. (11. G. Otis.) From this day on to the closo of lliat scaling- soason's work, July 20lh,Za[)adnie was driven often, and Polavina also; but in 1880 onli/ one f/rive was niadf from lliis reservoir at Zapadnie, that on the 7lh of .June, in which 1,490 skins were taken; and, again, in 1881, it ivas not drico} from at all, and onh; one drive that year made from tlic Polavina reserve, on the 10th June, in which 474 skins were taken : But in 1882, the draft hegan in earnest and has never ceased up t(» the end of the present season of 18!>0. The work of rapid depletion of the seal life on the hauling grounds of the Prihilov islands takes its origin at the beginning of this season of 1881 ; the following citations from the Treasury Agent's Journal on St. Paul's Island, show the suddenness, Uie regularity, and the frequency of these heavy drafts of 1882 upon that surplus male life which was nhoUy undisturbed by man in 1872-'7.i. 1882 : June 2nd. — 7tli — 12tli — I3lh — 17th — 20lh — 23 rd — 26lli — 27lli — 301 li July 3rd — 8 th — I3lh — 20 th "Drive made from S. \V. I-ay", etc. Polavina", etc. S. \V. Bay", etc. Polavina", elc. S. \V. Hay", etc. Polavina", etc. S. W. Hay", elc. Polavina", elc S. \V. Bay", etc. -■■■•'• ii ' i II 11 ■;!' ■ -' ■ ( t1 I- • ;i 1 Season closed on the 20th, the full quota then taken of 8o,000 for St. Paul. And another feature of this draft is Ihat the skins taken from these reserves were all large skins nothing under 3-and i-yr. olds, or 7-1/2 to 12 lb. skins, until ll'.e end was reached in 1889, after the 13th of July, of that season. ■ '■ ih ifi SECTION V CHARACTER, CONDITION AND NUMBER OF NATIVES OF THE PRIBYLOV ISLANDS IN 1872-74, AND 1890 iv I i 1 ' M t t « Jt 11 mmmmmmmm SECTION V CHARACTER, CONDITION AND NUMBER OF NATIVES OF THE PRIBYLOV ISLANDS IN 1872-7A, AND 1890 What constitutes a native. — Tlicro has been some diver- gence of opinion on the ishinds as to who are the real " natives " thereof, because tliese natives enjoy certain privileges that are very valuable to them and coveted by all outside Alaskan brethr(>n. In this connection the people living here are divided into three classes ; thai is, the males : First, — The natives, properly speaking, or those who have been born and raised upon the Pribylov Islands; not over one- tenth of the present adult population can lay claim to this title. Second. — The people who were living thereon, but not born natives at the lime of the transfer of all Alaska, July, 1S67; this class constitutes a majority of the citizens of the two islands as they exist to-day. Third. — The people who were living and working as sealers on the Pribylov Islands at the date of the granting by the govern- ment of the present lease to the Alaska Commercial Company, August 3rd, 1870. Of the above three divisions, strict justice and true e(iuity unite in recognizing the third class as the '* natives " of the Pribylov Islands. This settles the question also to the best satisfaction of these people themselves, and removes every quibble of dispute in the premises. Accurate records of the men, women, and children is Hi !. < & r A i ^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 ^ Ki I I.I 11.25 25 n m t.4 2.2 2.0 1.6 ^- Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 3? WiiJ MAIN STRKT WiBSTER, N.Y. M58U (716) S73-4»03 ^>' 4 6^ L 164 SECTION V. living oil each island at the dulc of the lease in 1870 can be found in the rhurcli registers on both St. I'uul and St. (icorgc. According to Itisliop Veninminov, tlio inhabitants of the Priby- lov Islands belonged to the | 'uisli of I'nalashku, the jiriesl of which was obliged t(» visit them once every two years (" to marry, bapti/e ", etc.) " These islands were not known before the year 178G; mate (■. Pribylov, then in the service of a swan-hniiting coin|mny, first, in the Hussian name, found them, but at the same lime he was not the first discoverer, because, as before said (Part I, chap. 1,) utlnvest side of St. Paul) signs such as a pi|)(\ brass knife-handlo, and traces of lire, were found, indi- cating that people had been there before, but not long, as places were observed wln'ie the grass had been burned and scorched. But if we can believe the Aleuts in what they relate, the islands were known to them long before they were visited by the Uussians. They knew and called them " .Vteek ", after having heard about them. W hen Pribylov, in taking jiossession, landed on St. (leorge a part of his litf'" ship's crew, July, 178(i, ho knew that, as it was uninhabited, it would be necessary to ereate a colony there from which to draft labourers to do the killing, skinning, and curing of the peltries; therefore he and his associates, and his rivals after him, imported natives of I'nalashka and Atkha, passive, iloeile Aleuts. They founded their lirsl village a (piarter of a mile to the eastward of one of the principal rookeries on St, (ieorge, n(»w called " Starry -\tcel", or "Did selllement";a village was also loca- ted at Zapadnie, and a succession of barrabaras planled at (iarden Cove. Then, during the following season, more men were brought up from Atkha and taken over to St Paul, where live or six rival traders posted themselves on th(> norlh shore, near and at '' Maroo- nitch ", and at the head of the Hig Lake, among the sand dunes there. They were llien, as they are now, somewhat given to rio- tous living, if they only had the chance, and the ruins of the Hig Lake settlement are pleasantly remembered by the descenuants of those pioneers to-day, on SI. Paul, who take olT their hats as they pass by, to atreclionately salute, and call the place" Vesolia.Misla", or " Jolly Spot '* ; the elder men told me, with great unction, that " in those good old days they had plenty of rum. " liut when the CIlAHACTEn, CONDITION AND NUMREIt OF NATIVKS. 165 prossuro of coni|M>ti(i<>n horamo {jroat, nnollior villago was localod ut Polavinu, and still anolhor at Zapadnio, until tho arlivity and unHci'upulons energy of all those rival settlements well-nigh drove out and eliminated the seals in I790. Three yoars later the whole territory of Alaska passed into tho hands of the ahsohile power vested in the nussian-American Company. These islands were in the hill of sale, and early in 171M) the eom|»eting traders were turned off neck and heels from tln'm, and lln Prihylov group passed under the control of a single man, the iron-willed Itaranov. The people on St. !*au! were then all drawn li»gether, for economy and warmth, into a single settlement at Polavina. Their lif(> in those davs must have lieen miseraldc. They were mere slaves, without the slightest redress from any insolence or injury which their masters might see lit, in petulance or hrutal orgies, to inllict upon them. Here they liveil and died, unnoticed and uiicared for, in large harracoons half under ground and dirt-roofed, cold and filthy. Along towani the heginning or end of I8:2r>, in order that they might reap tli(> advantages of heiiig located hesl to load and unload ships, the Polavina setth-ment was removi'd to the present village site, as indicated on the map, and the natives have lived there ever since. On St. (leorge the several scattered villages were ahaudoned, and consolidated at the existing location some years later, hul for a dilferent reason. The lahonr of hringing the seal-skins over to (larden Cove, which is the best and surest lantling, was so great and that of carrying them from the north shore to Zapadnie still greater, that it wasd»'cided to pla<'e the consolidated settlement at such a point between them, on the n<»rth shore, tliat the least trouble and exertion of <'onveyance would be necessary. \ better place, geographically, for the business of gathering the skins and salting them down at St. (leorge cannot be found on the island, but a poorer place for a landing it is tlifticult to pick out. though in this respect there is not much choice outside of (iarden ('ove. The Aleutian stock on the islands, as it appears to-day. has been so mixed u|) with Hussian. American, and Kamtschadale blood, that it presents characteristics, in one way or another, of all the various races of men, from the negro up to the Caucasian. The predominant features among them are small, wide-set eyes, broa d _ •CO sk<:tion V, u anil liif^li clipok-honos, f*uusii^^ tlir jaw. which is full nnil si|iinr(>, to uflon a|)|H>ar poakod ; coarso, slraif^hl, hhick hair, small. iiimiIIv Klin|K>(l fort and lianils. logrlhcr willi l>rnwni>h-y(>lluw cnniph'xion. TIh' nuMi will avorago in slalnrr live f»M'l, four or livi' inrlir-: ihi> women less in proportion, alllion(;li llii*rr> ar<> cxci'plionx t«> lliiM rnio among Ihcm, somo hcini; over six Irrt in lirighl, and uIImts nrc decided dwarfs. The nninners and ensloms of these |H>iiple lo-day possess nothing in themselves of a harlmrons orremarkalde character, aside from that which Iteloiigs to an advancetl >lalc of semi-civili/alion. They are exceedingly |ints of the (iovernment and the com- pany on the seal-islan as if hy sympathy as to what may he occupying each other's minds, rendiM'ing s|ieecli superlluous. II is only when under the iniluence of l)ei>r or strong liipior. that they lose their naturally (|uiet and amialde disposition; they then relapse into low, druidven orgies and loud hrawling noises. Ha- ving huen so long under the control and iniluence of the l(us>iuns, they have adopted many Slavic cusloms. such as giving hirlhday- dinners, naming their children, etc.; they are remarkahly attached to their church, and no other form of religion cunid he better adapted to or have a iirm(M'hold upon the seiisihilities of the people* Their inherent chastity and sobriety cannot he commended. 1hey have long since thrown away the uncouth garments of the Itussian rule the sluiggy dog-skin caps, with coats half seal and half sea- lion for a compl<*te oullil, ra/t-fl-jiir, such as our own peojde buy in any furnishing house; the same hoots, socks, underclothing and clothing, with ulstiM'sand ulslereltes; hut the violence of the wind |)revenls their selecting the hats of our /mnt ttni and s|iorting fraternity. As for the women, they loo have kept pace and even advanced to the level of the men, for in these lower races there is much more vanity displayed hy the masculine element than the feminine, according to my observation ; in other words. I have noticed a greater desire among the young men than among the r.ilAnACTKII, CONhlTION AM» M MIIKIt OK NATIVKS. 107 young wnniPi) of suviigo and H>ini-rivilizc«l people to Ito gaily dressed and (o look line. Itnl the visits of ilie wives of our trea- sury oflicials and the eonipany's agents to tli<>se islands, during the last twenty years, bringing with Iheni a full outfit, as ladies always do, of everything und(>r the sun that women want to wear, has given th(> native female mind an undue expansion up there, and stimulated it to unwonted activity. They wateli the rut of the garments, and borrow the |»utterns: and some of them are very expert tlress-makers to-day. When the Russians eontnilled alfairs, the wimuMi were the hewers of the drift-wood and the drawers of the water. At St. Paul there was no well of driuking- tUiis at the head of the lagoon, a mile and a half, as the crow Hies, from the village, and right under Tele- graph hill. This is (|uitea journey, and when it is renu>mbnred that they drink so much tea. and that water has to go with it. some idea of the labour of the old and young feme'es can bo derived fnun an inspection of the map. Litterly. within the last fourteen years, the company opened a spring less than half a mile from the " gorode ", which they have plumbed and regulated, so that it supplies them with water now. aiitl rentiers the labor next to nothing, compared with the former difliciilty. Hut to-day. when water is w.tnted in the Aleutian houses at St. Paul, the man often has to get it ; he trudges out with a little wooden tirkin or tub on his back, and brings it to the hous<>. The fad that among all the savage races found on the northwest coast by Christian pioneers and tt>aclM'rs. the Aleutians are the only practical convj'rts to Christianity, goes far. in my opinion, to set them ajiart as very diiTerently constituted in mind and dispo- sition from our Indians and <»ur Eskimos of Alaska. To the lat- ter, however, they seem to be intimately allied, though they do not mingle in the slightest degree. They aulopted the Christian faith with very little opposition, readily exchanging their bar- barous customs and wild superstitions for the rites of the 168 SECTION V. Greek-Catholic church, and ils more refined myths and legends. At the time of their first discovery, they were living as savages in every sense of the word, bold and hardy, throughout the Aleu- tian chain, but now they respond, on these islands, to all outward signs of Christianity, as sincerely as our own church-going people. Up to the time of the transfer of the territory and leasing of the islands to the Alaska Commercial Company, in August, 1870, these native inhabitants all lived in huts or sod-wulled and dirt- roofed houses, called '* barrabkies, " partly under ground. Most of these huts were damp, dark and exceedingly filthy; it seemed to be the policy of the short-sighted Russian management to keep them so, and to treat the natives not near so well as they treated the few hogs and dogs which they brought up there for food and for company. The use of seal-fat for fuel caused the deposit upon everything within doors of a thick coal of greasy, black soot, strongly impregnated with a damp, mouldy, and indescribably of- fensive odour. They found along the north shore of St. Paul and at Northeast point, occasional scattered pieces of drift-wood, which they used, carefully soaked anew in water if it bad dried out, split into little fragments, and, trussing the blubber with it when making their fires, the combination gave rise to a roaring, splut- tering bla/e. If this drift-wood failed them at any time when winter came round, they were obliged to huddle together beneath skins in their cold huts, and live or die, as the case might be. But the situation to-day has changed marveiously. When Congress granted to the Alaska Commercial Company of San Francisco the exclusive right of taking a certain number of fur-seals every year, for a period of tw(>Rty years on these islands it did so with several reservations and conditions, which were confided in their detail to the Secretary of the Treasury. This of- ficer and the president of the Alaska Commercial Company agreed upon a code of regulations which should govern their joint action in regard to the natives. It was a simple agreement that these people should have a certain amount of dried salmon furnished them for food every year, a certain amountof fuel, a school-house, ' and the right to go to and come from the islands as they chose ; and also the right to work or not, understanding that in case they CHARACTER, CONDITION AND NUMBER OF NATIVES. 109 did ncl work, their places would and could be supplied by other people whowhould work. The company, however, went far beyond this exaction of the government; it added an inexpressible boon of comfort, in the formation of those dwellings now occupied by the natives, which was not expressed nor thought of at the time of the granting of the lease. An enlightened business policy suggested to the company that it would be much better for the natives, and much better for the company too, if these people were taken out of their fdthy, unwholesome hovels, put into habitable dwellings, and taught to live cleanly, for the simple reason that by so doing the natives, living in this improved condition, would be able physically and mentally, every season when the sealing work began, to come out from I heir long inanition, and go to work at once with vigor ami energetic persistency. The sequel proved the wisdom of the com- pany'. Many experiments, however, were made, and a dozen houses built, ere the result was as good as the style of primitive housing when it had been well done, and kept in best possible repair. In such a damp climate, nalurally, a strong mouldy smell pervade:, all inclosed rooms which are not thoroughly heated and daily dried by (ires ; and in the spring and fall frost works through and drips and trickles like rain adown the walls. The present tranie houses occupied by the natives owe their dryness, their warmth and pro- lection from the piercing " boorgas", to the liberal use of stout tarred paper in the lining. The overpowering mustiness of the hall-ways, outhouses, and, in fact, every roofed-in spot, where a 1. Bcfi)ro this action on their part, it was physically impossible for thu inhabitants of St. Paul or St. Oeorge islands to lake llu^ lawful qiioia of 100,01)0 si-al-skins annually in less than thivo or foui- workin^rs ni'inihs. They can take tli(>iu iii loss than thirty workint; days now willi llu! saiiif nunibor of men. What is tho pain ? Simply this, and it is cvorylhing. The fur-seal skin, from the I4lh of Jiiue, when it first arrives, as a rule, up to the :JOth of July, is in prime condition; friini thai laitor date until the middio of October it deteriorates, to slowly appreciate a;»ain in value as it sheds anveii in the lioHl-liuili residences, is one of the iirst disagrciihlc sensutions wliicli the new arrivals al- ways experience when they lake up their quarters here. Perhaps, if it were not for the nasal misery that floats in from the killing- grounds to the novice, this musty, mouldy state of things up here would be far more acute, as an annoyance, than it is now. The greater grief seems to soon fully absorb the lesser one; at least in my own case, I can aftirm the result. We see here now at St. Paul and on St. (Jeorge, in the place of the squalid, lilthy habitations of the inni(>diate past, two villages neat, warm and contented. Kach family lives in a snug, frame- dwelling; every house is lined with tarred paper, painted, furnished with oul-liouses, elc, with a stove comph>te ; streets laid out. and the foundations of these habitations regularly plotted thereon. There is a large church at St. Paul, and ii l(>ss pretentious but very credit- able structure of the same character on St. (ieorge; a phiirniacy on St. Paul, with a full and complete stock for the people, free of cost. There is a school-house on each island, in which teachers have been paid by the company eight months of every year, to in- struct the youth; while the Itussian church is sustained entirely by the pious contributions of the natives themselves on these two islands, and sustained well by each other. There arc 6:t family- houses, on St. Paul, in the village, with 20 or 2V such houses to as many families at St. (ieorge, and H other structures. The large warehouses and salt-sheds built by the Alaska Commercial (lom- pany's skillful mechanics, as have been the dwtdlings just referred to, arc also neatly painted ; and, taken in combination with the other features, constitute a picture fully equal to the average presenta- tion of any one of our small, eastern towns. There is no misery, no downcast, dejected, sulTering humanity here to-day. These Aleuts, who have enjoyed as the price of their good behaviour, the sole right to lake and skin seals for the company, to the exclu- sion of all other people, are known to and by their less fortunate neighbors else-where in Alaska as the •'Bogatskic Aloulov", or the "rich Aleuts". The example of many of the agents of the Alaska Commercial Company on both islands, from the beginning of its lease, and the course of some of the treasury agents during the last twenty years, have been silent but powerful promoters of CIIAnACTEn. CONDITION AND NUMIIKR OF NATIVKS. 171 [\\(* woHiirn of lliesp pooplc. They huvc* nmintaiiKMl |n'ifoct order; tlicy liavo (lirrct(Ml iumiIiipss, uiuloleanlinoss, aiulsliiniilal(>«l iiuliis- Iry, such as those nativos ha«l never hefore (h'eanied ol'; and have enforced sobriety. The agents of the (lovernment and the rompany found so much difliculty ail first, in getting the y^uth of th(> viUages to attend their schools, taught hyoiH' own peo|)h>, especially hrought up there and hired hy the cnnipnny, that they adopted the plan of bringing one or two of thu bri^ litest boys down every year and putting them into our scho<;ls, so that they might grow up here, and be educated, in order to return and serve as teach(>rs tiM're. This policy is war- ranted by the success attending the experiment nuutc at the time when I was up there lirsl, whereby a son of the chief was carried «lown and over to Kulland, Vermont, for his education, icmained there four years, then returned and took charge of the school on St. Paul, which he served until his death, with the liap|»iest results in increased attendance and attention from the children. Hut, of course, so long as the Kussian church service is conducted in the Itussian language, we will find on the islands more Itussian-speak- ing people than our own. The non-altendance at scliold Philip Volkow seems reasonable. I hope, therefore, that in the course of time, the Rus- sian church service may be voiced in luiglish; not that I want to substitute any other religion for it — fur from it : in my opinion it is the best one we could have for these people, but until this sub- litution of our language for the Hussian is done, no very satisfac- tory work in my opinion, will be accomplished in the way of un English education on the seal-islands. As they are living to-duy up there, there is no restruint such us the presence of policemen, courts of justice, lines, etc., wich wc employ for the suppression of disorder, und maintenance of the law in our own land. They understand thai if it is necessary to make thcni law-abiding, und to punish crime, that such officers 172 SKCTION V. |i I will be among thorn; and lionco, perhaps, is due Ihe fnci, tlial, from the time that the Alaska (lomniercial (iompaiiy's h>ase was made, in 1870, there has not been one single occasion where the simplest functions of a justice of the peace would or need have been called in lo settle any difficulty. This speaks elo(|uenlly for their docile nature und their amiable disposition. Surprise has often been genuine among those who inquire, over the fact that there is no law officer here at either village, and wonder is expressed why such provision is not made by the government. Hut, when the following facts relative to this subject are understood, it is at once clear that a justice of the peace and his constabulary, would be entirely useless, if established on the seal-islands. As these na- tives live here, they live as a single family in each settlenuMit, hav- ing one common purpose in life and (miy one; what one native does, oats, wears, or says, is known at once to all the others, just as whatsoever any member of run* household may do will soon be known to us all who belong to its organization ; hence if they steal or quarrel among themselves, they keep the matter wholly to themselves, and settle it to their own satisfaction. Were there rival villages on the islands and diverse people and employment, then the case would be reversed, and need of legal machinery apparent. As it is, the agent of the Treasury Department is clothed with all the power necessary to maintain order u|) there ; he is recog- nized and respected as the trusted representative of Ihe Secre- tary of the Treasury, who is the supreme temporal ruler of their little commonwealth; and, as such, he is never ilisobeyed. Seal-meat is their staple food, and in the village of St. Paul they consume on an average fully 500 pounds a day the year round ; and they are, by the permission of the Secretary of the Treasury, allowed every fall lo kill 5000 or 6 000 seal-pups, or an average of 22 lo 30 young "kolickic" for each man, woman and child in tho settlements. The pups will dress 10 pounds each. This shows an average consumption of nearly GOO pounds of seal- meat by each person, large and small during the year. To this diet the natives add a great deal of butter and many sweet crac- kers. They are passionately fond of butter, no epicure at home, or butter-taster in Goshen, knows or appreciates that article better than these people do. If they could get all that they desire, they CIIAItACTEn. CONDITION AND NIMBER OK NATIVES. i:3 would coniiumo 1,000 pounds of butltM* and .'>00 pounds of swoel crackers every week, and indePmite (|uanlilies of suf;ar the swecl- ost of all sweet leetli are found in lli(> jaw of llie average Aleut. Uul it is of course unwise to allow tliem full swing in this matter, for they would turn their stomachs ini<) fermenting tanks if they had full access to an unlimited supply of saccharine food. If un- able to get sweet crackers they will eal about .'tOO pounds of hard or |iil<»t bread every week, and in addition to this nearly 700 pounds of Hour at the same time. Of tobacco they "re allowed 50 pounds per week; candles, 7.j pounds; rice, .'10 pounds. They burn, strange as it may scorn, kerosene oil here to the exclusion of the seal-fat, which literally overruns the is!and. They ignite and consume over (JOG gallons of kerosene oil a year in the village of St Paul alone. They do not fancy vinegar very much, perhaps 50 gallons a year is used up there. Mustard and pepper ar«' spar- ingly used, one to one and a half pounds a week for the whole village; beans they peremptorily reject, for some reason or other they cannot be induced to use Iheni. Those who g«» about the vessels contract a taste for split-pea soup, atul a few of them arc sold in the village st(>r(>. Salt meat, beef or pork, they will take reluctantly, if il is given to and |)ressed upon them, but they will never buy it, I remember, in this connection, seeing two barrels of prime salt pork and a barrel of prime mess salt beef opened in the company's store, shortly after my arrival in ISTi. and, though the people of the village were invited to help themselves. I think I am right in saying thai the barrels were not emptied when I left the island in 187.'). They use a very little coffee during the year, not more than 100 pounds, but of tea a great deal, — about 400 chests (?very year, but I can say that they do not drink less than a gallon of tea apiece per diem. The amount of this beverage which they sip, from the lime they rise in the morning until they go to bed late at night, is astounding. Their '"samovars", and latterly, the regular tea-k(;tlles of our American make, are bub- bling and boiling from the moment the housewife stirs herself at daybreak until the fire goes out when they sleep. It should be staled in this connection, that they are supplied with a regular allowance of coal every year by the company, gratis, each family being entitled to a certain amount which alone, if economically 174 SKCTION V. 1180(1, k«'P|)s (luMi) wiirni all winter in Ihoir now liousns; liul, for tliOHC who nn; (>xli'ava};anl and an> ilcliing to Mp«'nany for sale. Their appreciation ofanti tlesin^ to possess all the eanned fniit that is laniled from the steamer is marked to a great degree. If they had the opportunity, I doubt whether a single family on that island to-day would hesitate to hankrupl itself in purchasing this commodity. Potatoes they somctimos demand as well as onions, and perhaps if these ve<;etahles could he brought her(> and kept to advantage, the people would soon become very fond of them. Six or sev(Mi years ago, and after the sup|dy of sugar had boon cut oiT from their purchase at t'le store, on account of their abuse of it in making qnass and getting fre- quently drunk, they developed a great fondness for (banned milk, — ordered it at all times, and never got enough of it; soon the reason appeared. — there was and is a good body in two cans of Itorden' s condensed milk for the making of sevenil gallons of beer. Most of these articles of food just mentioned are jsurchased by the natives in the company's store' at either island; this food and the wearing apparel, crockery, etc., which the company bring up here for the use of the peo|»le, is sold to them at the exact cost price of the same, plus the expenses of transportation; and, many limes within my knowledge, they have bought goods here, at these stores, at less rates than Ihey woulil have been subjected to in San Trancisco; the object of the company is not, under any cir- cumstances, to make a single cent of prolil out of the sale of these goods to the natives; they aim only to clear the cost and no more. Instructions to this elfecl were given to its agents, while those of the (iovernment were called upon to lake notice of the fact. Another important factor to the physical well-being of these people, is the presence on the Pribylov Islands of an abundant 1. The stnro at St. Paul, ns wrll as tliat at Si. 0(><)i-<;o, has iix rr<.MiIar aiinual "opcnin}?" aftop tlip arrival i>f the slfaiiipr in liic spriiij;, lo which llio iiiitivr>i sppin to pay al)sorl)nil atlciitiuii; Ihcy crowd the buil(liii<:s day and ni|;lit, capirly loitkin;; for all the iiovrltios in food and apparel; those sloucliy men and shawl-hnodcil wnnicn, who pack the area before \h(: counters here, seem lo feel as deep an interest in the process ofshoppin;; as the most enthusiastic votaries of thai business do in our own streets ; it certainly aeeins to give theui the greatest satisfaction of their lives on tiie Pribylov islands. CIlAltACTHIt. CONDITION AMI MIMIIKK OF NATIVKS. |T:i iiiinilH'i' oflii^ wn-\ion» {Eumetnpiu\ Stc/ipri) : (his aiiiniiil !«ii|i|iliiv4 tliL'in with its hide, moiislachos, llrsh, fat, sinews ami int<>stinos, which thoy iiuiki* up into as many nocossary garmonts, ilisht's, «>lr. They havoahiinihint reason to ti-i>asnn> its skin highly, forilistht' coviM-ing to their neat hiilarkies an latter is a hoat of all work pxploration ami transportation. These skins are nnhairoil hy sweating in a pile; then th(>y are (i(>rtly sowed and carel'ully stretrhed over a light keel and IVanio of wood, making a perfeetly water-tight hoat that will stand, uninjured, the s(d'teiiing inlliience of water for a day or two at a time, it' properly airdri-Ml and oil<>d. After being user eleansing. are distended with aiir and allowed to dry in that shap<>; then they are cut into rihhons and sewcil strongly together into that most eliaraeteristic water-proof garni) nt of the world, known as the " kainlaika' "; whieli, while heing fully as water-proof as India rubber, has far greater strength, and is never ulfecled by grease and oil. It is also transparent in littiii;: over darkclolhes. The sea-lion's throats are served in a similar manner, und, when eured, are made into boot-to|)s, which are in turn soled hy the tough skin that compost's the palms of this animail's forc- llippers. Around the nativ(>s' hous(>s, on St. I*aiil and St. tieorge. constantly appear curious objeets. which to the unaccustomed eye. resemble overgrown gourds or enormous calabashes with utteuuanled necks; an examination proves them to be the dried, distended stonuich-walls of the sea-lion, lillud with its oil (and I. Tim .MiMiiimi Dniiio for this ;;.'iriiii-ni is uii|M-i>iiiiiiiiri".il)l'' in our I iii).'ii,i!;'*, anil f!(|ually sii in tlip ni lli'\il)li- Uiissi:iu; hi-nri' tlio Alaskan " kainluiict ", ilfrivnl iVom the Siliorjnn " kaiiiiaia ". That is niailc of laniu-d ruindiM-r skin, nnliaircil, anil snmkotl by lai'ili hark nntil ii is cnlnri'il a salVrnn vcllow; ., -I is wnrn ovcf llu" n-inili'i'i- skin undci'sliirl. whii-li has tln' hair ni>\t t" iho nvvni-r's skin, ami III" nltvorso side stained red liy a decDciiiin iil° alilor bark. Tin; kaiiiiaia is closed Ih hii I and iK-l'iire, and a hood, fastened to the hark of the neck, is drawn over the head, when leaving' shelter; HO is the Aleutian kandaika ; onlv the one of Kolyma is used to keep out piercing dry Cold, while the garnionl uf ihu Uchring Sea in a iierfecl water reiiellanl. 176 SECTION V. Ill I w sometimes with dried meal) which, unlike tho oflcnsive blubber of the fur-seal, boils oiil clear and inodorous from its fat. The flesh of an old sea-lion, while not very palatable, is tasteless and dry; but the moat of a yearling is very much like veal, and when properly cooked I think it is just as good; but the superiority of the sea-lion mealovor that of the fur-seal is decidedly marked. It recpiiros some skill, in the cuisine, ore sausage and steaks of the Catlorh'nms are accepted on the table ; while it does not, however, require much art, experience, or patience for the c ook to serve up the juicy ribs of a young sea-lion so that the most fastidious palate will not fail to relish it. Tho carcass of the sea-lion, after it is stripped of its hide, and disembowollod, is hung up in cool weather by its hind-llippors, over a nido wooden frame or " labaas ", as the natives call it, where, together with many more bodies of fur-seals treated in the same manner, it serves from November until the following season of May, as the meat-house, of the Aleut on St. Paul and St. George. Exposed in this manner to the open woathor, the natives keep their seal-moat almost any longlh of time, in winter, for use ; and, like our old duck and bird hunters, they say they prefer to have the meat tainted rather than fresh, declaring that it is most lender and toothsome when decidedly " loud ". In 1872, when slowly sketching by measurements, the outlines of a line adult bull sea-lion which Ihe ball from Bootorin's rille had just destroyed, an old " sfarooka " came up abruptly; not se?ming to see me, she deliberately threw down a large, greasy, skin meat-bag, and whipping out a knife, went to work on my specimen, (lurlosity prompted me lo keep still in spile of the first sensation of annoyance, so that 1 might watch her choice and use of the animal's carcass. She first removed the skin, being actively aided in this operation by an imcoufh boy; she then cut ofTlhe palms of both fore-flippers ; the boy al the same time pulled out the moustache bristles; she then cut out its gullet, from the glottis to to its junction with the stomach, carefully divested it of all fleshy attachments, and fat; she then cut out the stomach itself, and turned it inside out, carelessly scraping the gastric walls free of copious biliary secretions, the inevitable bunch o( ascaris ; she then told the boy lo take hold of the duodenum end of the small CHAUACTER, CONDITION AM) NUMBKH OF NATIVES. 177 the lo ml of ion lull intostino, ami as ho walkod away wilh it sho rapidly clearod it of its attachments, so that it was thus uncoiled to its full lonj?lh of at least (10 foot; then sho severed it, and then it was recoiled hy the " molehiska ", and laid up with the other niemhors just removed, exci'pt the skiu, which she had nolhin}; more to do with. Sho then cut out the liver and ate several larjje pieces of that workhouse of the hlood heforo dropping' it into the moat-pouch. She then raked up several handfnils of the " loaf-lard ", or hard, while fat that is found in moderate (pumlity around the viscera of all these pinnipeds, which sho also dumped into the tl(>sh-ha{ij; she then drew her knife through the large heart, hut did not touch it otherwise, lookinj;- at it intently, however, as it still (piivorod in unison with the warm llesh of the whole carcass. She and the hoy then poked their lingers into the tumid lohi's of the immense lungs, cutting out portions of them only, which wore also put into the grimy pouch aforesaid; then sho secured the gall-hladder, and slipped it into a small yoasl-powdor tin, which was produced hy the urchin; then she tinishod her economical dissection by cutting the sinews out of the hack in unhrokon hulk from the cervical vertohra to the sacrum; all these wore slutTod into that skiu hag, which she threw on her hack and supported it hy a hand over her head; she then trudged hack to the harrahkio from wlionco she sallied a short hour ago, lik(> an old vulture to the slaughter. She made the following disposition of its contents. The |)!)lms wore used to solo a pair of tarhosars. or native hoots; of which, the uppers and knee tops were made of the gullets, one sea-lion gullet to each hoot-top; the stomach was carefully hlown up, and left to dry on the harrahkio roof, oventutilly to he filled with oil rendered from sea-lion or fur-seal hluhhor. The small intestine was carefully injected with water and cleansed, then distended wilh air, and pegged out between two stakes, 00 fool apart, with little cross- slats here and there hotween to keep itclear of the ground. When it is thoroughly dry, it is ripped uj) in a straight line with its length and pressed out into a hroad hand of |»archment gut, which she cuts upand uses in making a water-proof " kamlaikie" sowing it with f'oso sinews taken from the back. The liver, leaf-lard, and lobes of the lungs were eaten without further cooking, and the little gall-bag was for some use in poulticing a scrofulous sore. 12 nit mi m m « St lit -1 # n in — 178 SECTION V. ^il I Tho mouslaclio-hrisllos were a vonlmv olllio hoy, who <.'alhors all thai he ran. Ihen soiuls Ihcin lo San iManeisco. where lliey lind a ready sale lo llie Chinese, who pay ahoiil oneceiil apiece for Iheni. When llie natives etit up a sea-lion careass, or one ol" a fur-seal, on the killing: }:ri>un*ls for meat. Ihey lake only the hams ami the loins. Later in the season they eal theeulire carcass, which Ihey hanj; up hy hinil-rii|»[»eis on a '* lahaas " hy iheir houses. The Si. George natives manaj;;e lo secure a good many coil and halibut; hul the St. Paul jieople have very poor luck lishiu::; so what they gel in this line is really unimporlnnl : in the early years, 1870-78 Ihey all used Iheir own hoals. i. e., hidarkas. hul during Ihe last leu or twelve years Ihey have purchased yawls and Whitehall hoals of our make, for lishing. egging trips, elc. Ihey are not active lishermen in any sense of Ihe word; lhe\ are very font!, however, of sea-eggs, and fre(|uenlly the nalives have hroughl a dish of sea-urchins' ovaries for our lahle, ollering il as a great delicacy. I do not think any of us did more Ihan lo hole il. Tho native women are Ihe chief hunters fur /:/7/////V/,r, and, during Ihe whole spring and summer seasons Ihey may he seen al hnlh islands, wading in Ihe p(»ols al low waler, with Iheir scanly skirls high up, eagerly laying possessive hands u|)on every " hrislling " egg thai shows itself. They vary this search hy poking, with a short-handled hnok, into ludes and rocky crevices foi- a small colloid lish, which is also found here al low waler in Ihis manner. Specimens of Ihis " kalog ", which I brought down, declared themselves as representatives of a new de[)arhn"e from all olher recognized forms in which Ihe sculpin is known lo sport; hence the name generic and specific. Mrllclrs pnpilio. By Ihe 28lh of May to Ihe middle of June, a fine lahle crab, large, .,.l, and sweet, with a light, brillle shell is taken while il is skurryngin and out of Ihe lagoon as the tide ebbs and Hows. It is th- bcst-llavored crustacean known to Alaskan waters. The natives affirm Ihe existence of mussels here in abundance when the Pribylov group was first discovered, but now only a small su|)ply of inferior size and quality is lo be found. The native cooking is now all done in their houses, on small cast-iron stoves of American pattern and make. In olden limes the unavoidable use of fur-seal blubber in culinary opeiations CHARACTER, CONDITIO.S AND MMRER OF NATIVES. 179 causeii the ercclion, oulsitle of most '* biirrabarus ", of a small sod- wallod and low. diii-roofcd kilclicn. in which the stronjr-sniollinj; blubhor liros wore kindled. IndilTerenf as Ihe native became to smells and smoke in the lilthy life of early days upon these islands, yet Ihe acrid, stiflin};, asthmatic effect of the blubber clouds never failed to punish him whenever he atlempt<>d to make use of such a lire in his living-roDUi. .\b»st of these " cookhnets ", or '* po- vaeniks ", were in full blast when I lirsl landed at St. Paul, and comii,}; freijuenlly inttt range of their smoky eftluvium, I was infinitely annoyed; now, however, the complete substitution of new frame houses for Ihe " barrabkies "' has, I believe, caused a perfect abatement of Ihe nuisance. On account of the severe climatic comlitions it is of course impracticable to have any sort of a ve^etabb» garden or keep slock her*' with any pntfit oi- pleasure. Tin- experiment has been tried faithfully. It is found best to brin^ bo-f'-cattlr n|> in the spring on the steamer, turn them out to pasture until tin' dose of the season, in October. anIands renders hay-making impracticable. The natives keepa few chick- ens, — some years Ibey tlo very wtdl. then epidemic will break out and, for several seasons theicafter. poulti-y raising is a com- plete failure on the islands; in short, chickens are kept with much difficulty ; in fact, it is only possible to save their lives when the natives lake them into their own rooms, or ke<>p them above Iheir heads, in the little attics to fheir dwellings during severe wint«'rs. lint for some reason or other, these jieople have a strange passion for seal-fed pork, and in l.S72-Tf, there were quite a large number of hogs on the islands of St. Paul and a few on St. (leorge. The pigs stMin become entirely carnivorous, living, to the jtraclical exclusion of all other diet, on the carcasses of seals ; it appears, however, that these hogs became so numerous by 1879-80 that the agents of the (.lovernment and company in 1881-81 made up an I n m il 180 SKCTION V, ! , indiclmcnt agiiinsl llio Soul IsluiiJ UiVfi and juocccilfJ io sliool them right and lei'l, until the cxtcMiiiiniitiun of (he species soun followed. The natives olFered no resistance, but they still plead for permission to keep hogs'. Last hut not least in this statement of native food-resources, is the aniuial uidiniiled sup|dy of water- fowl from .May until November, auks, arries, gulls, many ducks and a few geese ; the llesh and eggs of which are extensively con- sumed. After the dead silence of a long ice-bound winter, the arrival of large llocks of those sparrows of the north, the •• cliootch kies ", Phalrt'is mirroceros , is most cheerful and interesting. Those plump little auks are bright, fearless, vivacious birds, with bodies round and fat. They conu* usually in chattering llocks on or inmiedialely afler the 1st of May, and ai'e caught by tln' people with hand-scoops or di|)-nets to any number that may Im* reipiirt'd for the day's consumption; their tiny, rotund forms making |iies of rare savory virtue, and being also baked and roasled and stewed in everv conceivable shape bv the I'lissian coidvs — indeed Ihev are eijual to the reed-birds of the South. These welconu* '.isilors are succeeded rapidly by thousands and countless tens of thousands of guillemots cu' '* arries '', Lunivin tirra ; this bird is the great egg producer of that region. These people ar> singularly alfectionale and indulgent towards their children. There are uo " bald-headed tyrant<^ " in our homes, as arbitrary and ruljiless in their rule as ai-e lhnnuf|]v babies aud young children on the seal-islands. While it i>H very young the Aleut gives up everything to the caprice of his child, ami never crosses its path or thwarts its desii-e; the '• deetiah literally lake charge of the house ; but as soon as these callow members of the family become slnmg enough to bear burdens :md to labour, y;enerallv between \i and I.'* vers of ai;e, thev are then ' f pre par ssed into hard service relentlesslv bv their hithi>rto induL'ent en ts ; the extremes literally meet in this applicat ion. The urchins play marbles, spin tops, and lly kites, intermittently, with all the feverish energy displayed by the youth of (»ur own surroun- dings ; they frolic at base-ball, ami use " shinny " slicks with much volubility and activity. The girls are, however, much more 1. I think that they should bo poriniitod to kocp .i few, if thfv will iii-n thcin up and caro for them properly. CIIAIIACTEH. CONHITIOX AM) NLMBEn OF NATIVKS. 181 roprcsscd, and thou^'hl llicy liavo a fow jjamos, and play (|nietly illv di d dolU •I llicv d< to I) ed \sn\i quauilly tirosscd tioiis, yoi iiicy do not appear to bo |)ossess of that usual I'cmininc animation so conspiiuuusly marked in uur homo liiV. (Uio of the pfculiarilies of those people is that they seldom undress when Ihoy p» to hod — neither the men. women, iiorehil- dron; and also that at any and all hours uf the night during the summer season, when 1 have passed in and out of the village to and from the i-ookerios, 1 always found several of the natives squalling h«>fore Ihoir house doors or leaning against tho walls, stupidly slaringout into the misly darkness of the fog, or chatting one with Ihoolhor over Ihoir pijx's. A numher of the inhahilants, by this disposition, are always up and around throughout the seltlomoni tluring the onliro night and day. In (dden limes, and even roconlly, Ihoso involuntary sentinels of the night have often startled the whole village hy shouting at the top of their voices the ploasenl and elecli'ic announeemont of the ** ship's light " : or have fio/oii it with superstitious horror in the recital, at dayhreak. f>f ghostly visions. The inherent propensity of man to gamble is developed here to a very appreciable degree, but it in no way suggests the strange gaming Iov(> and infatuation with wjiich the Indians and Kskimo of -Maska are elsowhoro possessed. The chief delight of the men and boys of tho two villages is to stand on the street-corners, " |)itching "' half dollars; so d voted, indeed, have I found the native mind to this hap-ha/ard s[mrt. that frequently I would de- tect gron|)s of them sta?»ding out in pelting gales of wind and of ral 1, shying " tho silver coin at the little dirl-drivon pegs. A few of them, men ami women, play cards with much skill and in- tcllig«'nce. The allachment which Ihe natives have for their respective islands was well shown to mo in 1871. Then, a numberof SI. rioorgc people were taken over to St. Paul. tem|>orarilly, to do the killing incidental to a reduction of the (juota of 5o,000 for their island and a corresponding increase at St. Paul; they became homesick im- mcdiatly, and were never tired of informing the St. Paul natives that St. George was a far handsomer ani more enjoyable island lo live upon: that walking over the long sand reaches of " Pavel " made i i.g i4 ! ■ f ; t ; II r V i1! * !i ; 18:^ SECTION V. Ihoir legs grievously weary, and that the whole effect of this change of residence was '' ochen scootcimie ". Naturally, the ire of the St. Paul people rose at once, and they retorted in kind, indi- cating the rocky surface of Si. (leorge, and its great inferiority as a seal-island. I was surprised at the genuine feeling on both sides, because, as far as I could judge from a residence on each island, it was a clear case of twcedle-dee and tweedle-dum between them, as lo opportunities and climate necessary for a plea- surable existence. The natives, themselves, are of one and common stock, though the number of Creoles on St. (leorge is relatively much larger than on St. Paul; consequently the tone of the St. George is rather more sprightly and vivacious. This question is often asked : " How do these peoj.le employ themselves during the long nine months of every year afler the close of the sealing season and until it begins again, when they they have little or absolutely nothing to do? It may be answered that they simply vegetate; or, in other words, are entirely idle, menially and physically, during most of this period. Uut, to their credit, let it be said, that mischief does not employ Iheir idle hands; they are passive killers of lime, drinking tea and sleeping, with a few disagreeable exceptions, such as the gamblers. There are a half-dozen of these characters at St. Paul, and perhaps as many at St. George, who pass whole nights at their sittings, even during the sealing season, playing games of canls, taught by Rus- sians and persons who have been on the island since the transfe" of the territory ; butthe majority of the men, women and children not being compelled lo exert themselves to oblain any of the chief, or even the least, of the necessaries of life, such as tea and hard bread, sleep the greater portion of the lime, when not busy in ' iting, and in the' daily observances of the routine belonging to the Greek Citholic church. The teachings, pomp, and circum- stance of the religious observances of this fai Mi alone preserve these people from absolute stagnation. In obedience to its teachings they gladly attend church very regularly. They also make and receive calls on Iheir saints' days, and these days are very numer- ous. 1 think some 160 of the whole year's calendar must be giv- en up to the ceremo.iies attendant upon the celebration of some holy birth or death. ClIAnAflTER, CONDITION AND NUMBER OF NATIVES. 181 III early times the same disgraceful heer-driiiking orgies, wliicli prevailed to so great an extent, and still cause so much misery and confusion seen elsewhere in the territory, pre- vailed here, and I reniemher verv well the diflicullv which I had in initialing the first steps taken hy the Treasury Department to su|)press this alioininahle nuisance. During the last fourteen or fifteen years, it gives me pleasure to say, since the new order of things was inaugurated, the several agents of the department have faithfully executed the law. The natives add to these entertainments of their saints'days and birth festivals, or " Kmannimiks ", the music of accordeons and violins; upon the former and its variation, the concertina, they play a nitmhcr of airs, and are very fond of the noise. A great many of the women, in particular, can render indilVerently a limit- ed selection of tunes, many of which are the old hattl(>-songs, so popular during the rchellion, woven into weir«l Itussian wall/es and love ditties, which they have jointly gathered from their for- mer masters and our soldiers, who were (piartered here in 1869. From the Hussians and the troops, also, they have learned to dance various figures, and have been taught to waltz. These dances, however, the old folks do not enjoy very much. They will come in, and sit around and look at the young perfor- mers with stolid indiU'erence; but, if they manage to get a strong current of tea setting in their direction, nicely sugared and toned up, they revive and join in the mirth. In old limes they never danced here unless they were drunk, and it was the princi- pal occupation of the amiable and mischievous treasury agents, and ollic' ■•.. ill the early days to open up this beery fun. Ila|)|)ily, that nuisance is abated. During the last six or eight years they have organized a very good string ami brass band on St. Paul Island, and play well. Number of the Islanders . — The populalicm' of St. Paul Island in 1872, was 23o souls : to-day, in 1890, it is 171 souls : of St. (leorge Island in 1872 it was \'21 souls : to-day it is 98. This declares a decrease since then of 93. Prior to 1873, they had nei- ther much increased nor diminished for oO years, but would have 1. Ill till- report of Mr Goff, which I reprint in Section VIII, will be found all the details of this Census for 1890 : to it, I add there a note (giving the details for 1812. I mi m m -V. i S ji 184 SECTION V. fallen olT rapidly (for the hirlhs wore never equal to the deaths) had not recruits boen regularly drawn from the mainland and other islands every season when the ships came up. As they lived then, it was a physical impossibility for them to increase and multiply; but since their elevation and their sanitary advancement became so marked, it was reasonably expected that those people for all lime to come would at least hold their jwn, even though they do not increase to any remarUabli' degree. Perhaps il is belter that they should not. They are. of all men, especially fitted lor the work connected with the seal-business; no comment is needeil; no- thing better in the way of manual labor, skilled and ra|)id, could be rendered by any body of men, etjual in numbers, living under the same circumstances, all the year round. They appear l»t shake off the periodic lethargy of winter and its forced inanition, to rush with the coming of summer into the severe exercise and duly cd' capturing killing ami skinning the seals, with vig(»ur and with per- sistent and commendable energy. To-day only a \i'ry small |»roportion of the population are des- cendants of the pioneers who were brought here by the several Russian companies, in 1787 and 17.SS : a colony of l.*{7 souls, it is claimed, principally recruited at Oonalaslika and Atkha. The principal cause of death among the people, by natural infirmity, on the seal-islands, is the varying forms of consumption and bronchitis, always greatly aggravated by that inherited scro- fulous taint or stain of blood wiiich was, in one way or another, flowing through the veins of their recent progenitors, both here and throughout the Aleutian Islands. There is nothing worth noticing in the line of nervous diseeses, unless it be now and then the record of a case of alcoholism superinduced by excessive quass drinking. This " makoolah " intemperance among these people, which was not suppressed until 1876, was a chief factor in the immediate death of infants, for, when they were at the breast, the mothers would drink quass to intoxication, and the stomachs of the newly born Aleuts or Creoles could not stand the infliction which they received, even second-hand. Had il not been for this wretched spectacle so often presented to my eyes in 1872-'73, 1 should hardly have taken the active steps which 1 did to put the nuisance down; for it involved me, at first, in a bitter personal CIIAnACTKH, CONDITION AND NUMnKIt OF NATIVES. 18!) controversy, which, although I know at the outsol it was inovi- tablu, still weighed nothing in the scales agiiiiist the evil itself. A lew febrile disorders are occurring, yet thc^y yield readily to good treatment, but they have this peculiarity : when they are ill, slightly or seriously, no njatter which, they maintain or alFeet a stolid resignation, and an> patient to positive apathy. This is not due to deliciency of nervous organization, because those among them whoexhibit examplesof intense liveliness and nervous activ- ity, behave just as stolidly whenillasllieir more lymphatic towns- men do. Uoys anti girls, men and women, all alike are patient and resigned when ailing and under treatment; but it is a bad feature after all, inasmuch as it is well-nigh impossible to rally a. very sick num who himself has no hope, and who seems to mutely deprecate every ellorl to save his life. 1. This evil III' lialiit\iiil .111(1 L'iNiss iiitiixicMliidi, tiinlor I'li-isiaii rule was not charac- teristic lit" llic'sn isl.iiiiU almie, it \v;is universal llirinij.'h.iut Alaska. Sir Ocor^ro Simp- son, speaking' nf the subjecl, wlu'ii in .Silka, Ajirii, l8iJ, says : " Sume ri't'oriii.itiuu rertaiuly was waulr-d in this I'i'iiccI ; fiH' ipfall liic drunkiMi, as well as of all tin- diriy places that I had visited. New Archau^'cl (Silka i w.is the wcirst. On the holidays in jiarticular, of which, Sundays inclmled, liicri' ;ire one hundred and sixty-live in the year, men, women, .ind even children were to l)o seen s I, i^' jeering about in all direc- tions. " (Siiniisoii : .louruey Around the World; I8il-i2, j). 88.) ■rri! SECTION VI CONDUCT OF NATIVE LABOUR, AND PAY, IN 1872-74, 1890 ! i i; * SECTION VI CONDUCT OF NATIVE LABOUR, AND PAY, IN 1872-7lv, 1890 Liviiif? as Ihc soal-islanth'rs do, ami doing what lli;\v do, llio seal's life is naturally llioir gival study and objoclivc point. It nourislio and sustains thorn. Williout it tlioy say tlioy could not livo, and they tell the tiutli. Ilonco, llicir attiMition to tlio few simple rotjuiroments of the law, so wise in its provisions, is not forced or constrained, but is continuous. Self-interest in this respect appeals to them keenly and eliKjuently. They know everything that is done and everything that is said by anybody and by everybody in their little community. Every seal-drive that is made, and every skin that is taken, is recorded and account- ed for by them, by their chiefs and their church, w hen they make up their tithing-roll at the close of each season's labour. Nothing can come to the islands, by day or by night, without being seen by them and spoken oi". 1 regard the presence of these people on the islands at the transfer, and their subsequent retention and entailment in connection with the seal-business, as an exceed- ingly good piece of fortune, alike advantageous to the govern- ment, to the company, and to themselves. When we go back to the beginning of the sealing industry on these islands, the time of Pribylov and his rivals in 1786 to 1799- 1801, and attempt to lind any record of the conduct of the labour or compensation paid to labourers here, we discover nothing that if li ill Ml .1 i t 190 SECTION VI. throws the least light upon the subject ; when the old Russian- American Company was put into supreme control of all Alaska in 1799, and Baranov had time in 1803 to visit these islands and close them to everybody save his own agents, we may safely as- sumt! to know pretty well what was done in this respect; we know it because we have the following statement from the best au- thority. "The Aleuts serving the company sustain the following rela- tions between themselves and it, to wit. Each of Ihom worked without solicitation, were ordered to do whatever was found, and to which they were directed, or at that which they understood best. Payment for their toil was not established by the day, or by the year, but in general for each thing taken by them, or standing or put to their credit by the company, for instance, especially, Iheskins of animals, the teeth of walrus, barrels of oil, etc. These sums, whatever they might be, were placed by the company to their credit, for all general working and hunting was established or fixed for the whole year fairly. These Aleuts, in general, re- ceive no specific wages and they are all not alike or equal, there being usually three or four classes. In these classes, to the last or least the sick and old workmen are counted in, although they are only burdens, and therefore they receive the smaller shares, about 150 rubles (i. e., $40) u year, and the other and better classes receive from 220 to 2o0 rubles per year (po to ji|00). Those who are zealous are rewarded by the company with 50 to 100 rubles ($10 to $25). The wives of the Aleuts who worked at the seal hunting received from 25 to 3{> rubles ($6 to $9) per annum". (Veniaminov : " Zapieska ", etc. St. Petersburg, 1840). This definition of the subject by Bishop Veniaminov shows us the precise relation and nature of pay that we are looking for; it covers the whole of that extended period from 1801 to 1868, (i7 years; the " rubles " that all payment in Alaska during that time was made in, were paper or parchment tags, stamped u ith the private mark of *he old Company, and rated at about 20 cents per ruble, in the Aleutian district, according to Veniaminov ; inasmuch as he states that in 183o " 4 paper rubles here are worth 1 of silver ". CONDUCT OF NATIVE LABOUR. 191 ). )ws us lor; it 8, 07 time 1 tho s per much 1 of At the time of the transfer of Alaska, July, 1867, and from lb ' time until December, 1867, nothing was known by the people on these islands of the change, and they had no realization of the significance of that change until April, 1868, when three rival American sealing parties all landed on St. Paul Island within a few days of each other, and promptly began to make prepara- tions for the coming of the seals, and taking their skins; and four different parties under the American flag established themselves a little later if at all behind, on St. George; these several par- ties, all bent on sealing, and many of them having old Antarctic fur-sealers in control, were anxious and desirous of securing all the native labour each one to itself, as against its rivals. The fore- men then began to offer to pay the natives more and more, as they bid over one another, per skin, when delivered during the sealing season; they finally found that they would bid so high for the na- tive labour in this manner, as to leave no profit; this brought them to an amicable agrei^nient among themselves by which they would, none of them, pay more or less than 40 cents per skin de- livered by the natives ; then the natives worked for all hands during the season of 1868 without any particular advantage in serving one party better than the other. This season's v.orkof 1868 fixed the price of labour for skinning a young male fur-seal at 40 cents for the first time on these islands, — a tariff a't least four times greater than ever before received by the native sealer here : and this rate of 40 cents was at once assumed and poid by fhe Alaska Commercial Co at the inception of its lease in 1870, and continued in the new lease of 1890 to the North American Commercial Co, by order of the Sec- retary of the Treausury for the present season of 1890. During the last 20 years, and throughout the present season, the natives themselves worked under the direction of their own chosen foremen, or " toyone". This chief calls out the men at the break of every working-day, divides them into detachments according to the nature of the service, and orders their doing. All communication with the labourers on the sealing-ground and the company passes through his hands ; these chiefs having every day an understanding with the agent of the company as to his wishes, and they govern themselves thereby. % . t I i \ ! : 192 SECTION VI, The company directs its own labour, in accordance with the hiw, as it sees fit; selects its time of working, etc., in accordance with, and obedience to the regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury from year to year. The treasury officials oa the seal-islands are charged with the careful observance of every act of the company ; a copy of the lease and its covenant is conspicuously posted in their office is translated into Russian, and is familiar to all the natives. The care and supervision of the welfare of the rookeries, and of na- tives was and is their chief charge. The old company paid, and the new company pays iO cents for the labour of taking each skin. The natives take the skins on the killing-ground. Then the skins arc brought up and counted into the salt-houses, where the agent of the company receives thom from the hands of his own employi'^s. When the quota of skins is taken, at the close of two, three, or four weeks of labour, as the case may be, the total sum for the entire catch is paid over in a lump to the chiefs, and those men divide it among the labourers accor- ding to their standing as workmen, which thoy themselves have exhibited on their special tally-sticks. For instance, at the annual divisions, or '* catch" settlement, made by the natives on St. Paul Island among themselves, in 1872, when I was present, the pro- ceeds of their work for that season in taking and skinning 75,000 seals, at 40 cimts per skin, with extra work connected with it, making the sum of ^30,037.37, was divided among them in this way : There were 74 shares made up, representing 74 men, though in fact only 56 men worked, but they wished to give a certain proportion to their church, a certain proportion to their priest, and certain proportion to their widows; so they watered theif stock, commercially speaking. The 74 shares were propor- tioned ?s follows : 37 first-class shares, at ,^41)1.22 each 23 socoiid-class shares, at 4()().08 each 4 third-class sliarcs, at 300.97 eacli 10 fourth-class shares, at 3lo.8ii each And since 1870, up to 1 0, tliey have never received less than this, except in one season (sic) when only 80,000 instead of 100,000 was taken, But last summer, the catch on St. Paul was CONDUCT OF NATIVE LABOUR. 193 little more ihan 16,500 skins, so that the division was but slightly over one-fifth of the cash equivalent of the annual settlement hitherto during the last nineteen years. In .\ugust, 1873, while on St. George Island, I was present at a similar division, under similar circumstances, which caused them to divide among themselves the proceeds of their work in taking and skinning 23,000 seals, at 40 cents a skin, $ 810,000. They made the following subdivision : Per share 17 shares each, 961 skins $ 384.10 2 shares each, 933 skins 374.00 3 siiares each, 821 skins 328.40 1 share each, 820 skins 328.0(> 3 sliares each, 770 skins 308.00 3 shares each, 400 skins 160.00 These 29 shares referred to represent only 23 able-bodied sealers; two of them were women. This method of division as above given, is the result of their own choice. Four shares went to the church. In August, 1890, I was again present on St. George, when the list was made up, but instead of the division being based upon the proceeds of taking 25,000 skins, it was the mere form of divid- ing ^ 30 or $ 60 apiece among the sealers who have been able to take only i,132 skins on St. (ieorge this year. There has always been much difference of opinion as to how this annual settlement should be made among the natives. I said in 1874. " ll is an impossible thing for the company to decide their relative merits as workmen on the ground, so they have wisely turned its entire discussion over to them. Whatever they do they must agree to, whatever the company might do they possibly and probably would never clearly understand, and hence dissatis- faction and suspicion ivnnld inevitably arise; as it is, the whole subject is most satisfactorily settled ", and I am still of that opi- nion ; but since then a gradual removal of llie whole control from the natives has been made in the following manner : At the close of the season's work, /. e. when the quota had been secured, by the 16th to 20lh of July as a rule, the chiefs and their people would make up their division, in the method above described; 13 fill i i94 SECTION VI. ! ! I this when submitted to the company's aj^cnt and the Treasury officer was usually altered by ciiangin^ the names of Ibe noto- rious loafers in the s(»aling K'^ng into those lower {grades of the di- vision, and putting better men up : the loafers were usually men of " iniluence " with the church and slranjre as it may seem, with their own industrious lownsmen, and so they were able to have Iheir names generally placed at the lop of this list. Strictly speak- ing, this action of the agents of the company and (jovernment in revising the list was entirely in the right; but still the natives were better salislied with their old way of 1872-1874, for the reason which 1 gave 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 helping the outside employds of the lessees to salt these skins in the salt-houses. The extra work of bundling these skins for slii|»- ment was paid for by the bundle, i cent per bundle, so that a smart native could make 4 2 per day, while at this work; then, when the ships arrived and sailed, the great and necessary labour of lightering their cargoes olf and on from the roadsteads where they anchor, was principally performed by these people, and they were paid so much a day for their labor, from 50 cents to tM, according to the character of the service they rendered; this operation, however, is much dreaded by the ship-captains s'nd sea-going men, whose habits of discipline and aultimatic regula- rity and effect of working render them sc'vere critics and impatient coadjutors of the natives, who, to tell the truth, hated to do any- thing after they had pocketed their reward 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 labour 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 of white men on shore, employds of the lessees, and the crews of their vessels. But in 1882 an epidemic of typhoid pneumonia 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 IJnalashka every scaling season thereafter to do this work of salt- <:ONDLCT OF .NATIVE LABOLH. lOii in^^ und buiidlin^ skins, an rapidly, iiiidt>r lliu carct'iil (iiKH-tiou of hiNidsnicii, so that in qiiilo a sliort limo a liaiidsumo yield may ho takoii every yar. In connection with this suhjecl, if the company are moderate and these regulations are carried out, the seal-lile will ser\e them and he depended u|)on, as shown in this volunu^. Table No. 2. " Ideas of the old natives. — Nearly all the old men think unJ assert that the seals which are spared every year ('' zitpnnskat ko- lov ") — i.e. those which have not been killed Tor several years, arc truly of little use for breal cannot hecome a hull (' seecatchie ') earlier than the liflh year, then, as HuiVon remarks, ' animals can live seven times the length of the period recjuired for Iheir matiirily '; therefon*. a ' seecalch ' cannot live less than thirty years, and a female not less than twenty-«'ight '. Veniaminov's belief that females cannot bear young: imtil four years old. — " Taking the opinion of IJulVou for ground in saying, that animals do not come to their full maturity until one- seventh of their lives has passed, it goes also to prove that the fe- male seal cannot hear young hefore her fourth year. " *' II is, without douhl, a fact that female seals do not hegin to hear young h(>fore their tifth year, i.v. the next four years after the (Uie of Iheir hirth, anar. consi- der two year old females, and coni|tare Ihem with ' seecatchie ' (nilult hulls) and cows {inlull fcmalrs), and it will he evident to all that this is impossihhv " " Do the femid(>s hear young every year; and how often in their lives do I hey Itfing forth ? " His doubts on the subject. — " To settle this qiu'slion is very diflicull, for il is impossihle to make any ohservations upon their movements; hut 1 think that the females, in Iheir younger years (of price) hriug forlh every year, and as they gel older, every other year; thus, according to people accustomed to Ihem, they may each hring forth in Iheir whole lives from ten to fil'lecn young, and even more. This o|tiuiou is fouiuled on the fact Ihat never (except in one year. 18.'{il) have an excessive numher of females heen seen without young; that cows not pregnant hardly ever come to the Prihilof islands; that such females cannot he seen every year. As to how large a numher of females do not bear, according to the opinions and personal ohservations of the PROTECTION AND IMIESER VATION. 205 old people, the following may Ite depeniled upon wliilli confi- dence; not more than one nilh of the mature or ' etfeclive ' fe- males are without young; hut to avoid erroneous impressions or conlliding slalemonls helween others and myself, I have had hut one season {traf/t) in which to personally ohserve and consider the multiplication of seals. " His thoughts on Birth of Pups. — "There is one more very important (juestiou in the consideration of th«> hreeding or the increase of seals, and that is, of the numher of young seals horn in one year, how many are males; and is the numher of males always the same in proportion to the lemales ? " " Judging from the * lu)lluschickie ' accumulated from the ' zapooska " in 18-22-'»2; on the island of St. I'aul. and in IS2r)-'i27 on the island of St. (Jeorge, the numher of young males was widely variaMe; for example on the island of St. Paul, in three years, H,000 seals were spared and in the following three years there were killed 7,000 i. c. ahout two-thirds of the numher op- posed to this, on the island of St. (leorge from 8,500 seals spared in two years, less than 3,000 were taken hardly one-third. " " Why this irregularity? Why should more young males he born at one time, and at another l(>ss? Or why shouhl there he years in w Inch many cows do not h(>ar young ? " " According to the helief of the people h(>re, I think that of the numher of seals horn every year, half are males and as many females (/. f., the otln'r hnlf). " Table No. I : Ita iisr. — ' To demonstrate the above mentioned conditions of seal-life, the table \o. I has been formed of lln^ num- ber of seals annually killeil on liie I'rihilov iriands, from l(St7 to i83S (when Ibis work was ended). " " From this it will he seen thai : '• 1 . No single successive yea" presents a good number of seals killed, as compared with the previous year; the number is always less. " " 2. The annua! number of seals killed was not in a constant ratio. " "3. And, therefore, in the regular himling season there is less need or occasion, during the next fifteen years, to demand the whole seul kind. " 206 SECTION VII. I i I 11 I ' ' 4 . Fewer seals were killed in those years, generally, following a previous year in which there were larger numbers of the ' hol- luochickie ', that is, when the young males were not completely destroyed, and more were killed when the number of ' hoUus- chickie ' was less. " " .'). The number of ' hoUuschickie ' is a true register or show- ing of the number of seals; i. e., if the * hoUuschickie ' increase and exist like the young females, and conversely. " " (). * HoUuschickie ' 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-'2i to 183:i-':n, inclusive; the former from 182G-27. " "7^ The number of seals killed on the island of St. George, after two years ("zapooska") was resumed, and gradually increased to live times as many. " "8. In the fifth year from the first ' zapooska ' {or sav'nuj) it became impossible to count or reckon on the number remaining, and six-year olds began to appear tv»'elve times as numerous, and seven-year olds came in numbers sevenfold greater than their pre- vious small number*) and, therefore, the number of three-year-old seals was quite constant. " " 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, n'en at the diminished ratio of one-eightii, in 1840 or 1842 there v uld not have been a single seal loft, as appears by the following able : Soals. 18>:; K,:ioo 1826 i,400 1827 :),;i20 1828 2,816 1829 2,408 !8:J0 2,100 1831 1,890 1832 l,o54 Seals. 1833 1,300 1834 1,190 183:; 1,040 1830 8;i0 1837 700 1838 ;i80 1839 \m 1840 400 10. Results of the " Zapooska ". — " Following two years of ' zapooska' (saving), the seals life is enhanced for mor" thru ten years, and the loss sustained by the company in the Uuie of ! \ PROTECTION AND PUESERVATIO.N. 207 ' /apooska ' (about 8,^i00) is made good in the long run. The case may be tlius stated : if the company had not spared the seals in to 1826-27 they would have received, from 182(>to 1838 (twelve years), no more than 24.000, hut hy making this ' zapooska' regu- lation for two years, they got in ten years 31 ,*J76. and, heyond this, they can yet take 15,000 without another, or any ' zapooska. ' "11. And in this case, where such an insignilicant number of seals was spared on St. George (about 8,.j00), and in such a short (two years), the result was at once significant every yo-w; thai is, three times more appeared than the number spared. The result therefore, must be large annually on the island of Si. I*aul, whore in conse({uencc of the last orders or direclions of the governor, already four years of saving have been in f»M'ce, in which time over 30,000 seals have been lefl for breeding. "On Ihisaccounl.and iu conformity with the above, I here pre- sent a table, a prophecy of the seai.> thai are to come in the next fifteen years from 7. 060 seals saved on the island of St. Paul in 1835. " " On the island i>f St. Paul, at the diroclion 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 leslimony of the inhabitants no more than 12,200 seals would or could have beeri taken from the islands, it being Ihought Ihat this nimiber (12,'2H.'0) was only one-twenty -fifth of Ihe whole; but instead of killli^ jS,000, only 4,052 were taken, leaving in 1833, for breed- ing. f>.U8 fresh yong seals, males and females, together. " ' I tn iking Ibis hypothetical table of seals that are to come, I take the average killing, thai is oiie-eighlh pari, and proceed on the supposition Ihat the number of saved seals will not be loss than 7,060. " " In the number of 7,060 seals \ve can calculale upon 3,000 fe- males; that is, a slighl majority of females. With the new '"eniales born under this ' zapooska ' 1 place half of those born i) j; first year, and so on. " •• FeoaleSjinthe twelve or eighteen years next after their birlh, must become less in number from natural causes, and by the twenty-second year of their lives they must be quite useless for breeding. " % l4 1: ? i 11 208 SECTION VII. " 3. A constant nui I six years of tlicir ' zapoosk ** Of the number of seals which may he horn during '.he next four years of ' zapooska ', or longer, we may take half fov females. This number is included in the table, and the males, or ' hol- luschickie ', make up the total. Table No. II: its showing. — " From the table II observe that : " 1. Old females, that is, those which in 183.^ were capable of bearing young, in i 8S0 must be cancelled (minus). They probably die in proportion of one-eighth of the whole number every year. " " 2. For the first four years of ' zapooska ', until the new females begin to bear, Ih ir number will generally be less. " " seals will continue during the first in twelve, these seals will double; in fourteen years Ihoy 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 30,000; in the fifth, U,000; thus in five years more than 100,000 can be taken. Then, under the supervision of persons who will see that one-fifth of the seals be steadily spared, 32,000 may bo taken every year for a long time. " " 4. Moreover, from the production of fifteen years' ' zapooska ', there can be taken from (>0, 000 to 70,000 " holluschickie ", which, together with 160,800 seals, makes 230,000. " " S. If this ' zapooska ' for the next fifteen years is not made for the seals life, diminution will certainly ensue, and all this time, with all possible effort, no more than oO.OOO seals will be taken." " Here it should be said that this hypothetical table of the pro- bable increase of seals is made on the supposition of the decrease of females, and an average is taken accordingly. 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 i ,"100 females tluis saved in two years, and which are omitted from the table, will also make a very significant addition to the incom- ing seals'. " 1. Tho roiidor, in following thn calculations ot" the Bishop, as exhibited by this tabic, must not forget to boar in mind, as ho runs it over, tiiat ii is .-irranj^ed with a sliding scale of inci'oasi", that counts steadily down from 1840 to IS19; and also, a sliding down scale of decrease by reason of natural death-rates, that works steadily accross these (Igiires of increase just specified. i (3 > a •a V > >, a >> 1 a 0. < 1856 s : :oooo = Oi.-:3t*oos-*-«-ooc:0>>4>(Maoo>«oo «■* ^-s — i.- !.■;-• o rs — rj •♦ ci o ■»< 09 »« ■•_ 05 -^ — — * -^ -^ ei oi m 19,358 19,342 e i-_ 00 n o^ooOLt'M — c. :coc^o — r-ov^r^ortooor- *-os3:.';'Mr-mor*3COw*-toccsCi.*'7ioco**r30 : s i.-T -J a — :.- :■; -r :-. r; — r: -* !n to — c:_ — -«■_ a>^ — _^ 0' SI CJ A 1 o i 1 a • •0 s -s 5 1 ts .a ■♦» oa •3 O f s a u a o ji m 1 •H H n < S ooo=j.-:o:.-;-M — c: 5Sac = e — r-o-»«o«aoioo o o 1- o — o ■•• r~ 3- o r- 00 o -» «» 30 e: o> •* (N 00 o (M o — — — — ei fff fff (M CI 00 00 • 5C CO o = = :.-! = :- = 1.-: -M — sitsocoo — r-o — so 00 = = = — = 'Mi-:-=»~oc = -»-*ooo-. Cio — -* t* C-. 3C r- — ts •* 10 — = = — = -:i r- !- 3t- 3C -M -M z, a 0:^ "'■ "■ " a a - mW CO 1* r-_^ 0" 0' in CI *f i ^4 = ae :- !■: = :■: Ti — c; X » . ^ © o« = !•": — = — = ■Mf- J-: = :- oc > t. :■: 00 ^ « c =^- c n^ ci^ to__ 00" n 30 ir: S3 .- — :- CIS--; = . - g 00 • "S :- — O = — = Cll^ -Ml- ^ n-S — (rioc;3Ci*;itMi.-::.-:rc-.c z ■ s S : £ = =-♦« = -s i a " a = C5 — t-T 00 to" o ^4 0:- — o = — = — -M > oeiM 2 !-5 :c es 30 r-_^ to to n - i w* = 3C :- o S -M • - a so 1-0 • "P ^ »C ■^ s" :* ;» 'Mr* . w .r; = c-. oct*-*— I • = ? = £ = =!* -MitfiC- s = o_ to" to of o 1 o=oo:-r= • • ~ a = r; . r; = :-: — = :o . - = fl 2 n 00 CI J- so* :C r-_^ o ^n 00 11 ^. — _ 0" 00 ^4 _'-- ':ni; _--M- 1 H 36 ^ CJ Cl^ 00' I" V4 S ix ^ X • 2 1 .- .- .to rj re re' 1^' - ^H i_.4i.^J. ...... 1- l.r 1- r-_^ l.T 00 4H ^ 7\' '?.' f- 1 ci CI ci Cl_ -r Si 0==--*5= = = = - ~ - = - - -m' cf ci CI n OOf-S: = = = = - Z ~ = : I . ci ci !« ^t ^4 0— _=;J= - = = = = s : : = r<5 to- - in s |== .=.==....., , to to »* es to •S>IV5I.\. ji^ ;0 1- 3C r: s — -M r: -* ;- cs i- oo Ci rcr^rsrccc^- ** -j* ** *>• <-♦ ** «* «^'«« *.i« ococ3cocac3C ->: v: ac ac oo ao oc oo ao .J < 1 .M 1 ^ CI CC ** :.^ :5 r- ac O o — ffl c^ ** ifj m ^1 I ■I I 14 1 — 'I i i ]' I 210 SECTION VII. " From this table behold that : " a. Every fifteen years, from 3,600 females, there can be re- ceived in sixteen years 24,700 seals; in sixteen years still more; and in twenty years 41,610. " "A. In the twenty-first year, the incomes begin to diminish, provided that if in the meantime, or the following sixteen years, a certain number of young seals are not left to breed; and if every year a known number are left to breed, then in all following years the yield will never be less than 20,000 every year. " The foregoing chapter of Bishop Veniaminov was written in 1837; and closes his knowledge of the topic with that year; the *' zapooska " of 1834 which stopped all killing except a few food seals for the natives in the seasons of 1835-'40 ran on in the fol- lowing manner for St. Paul Island until the restoration of the rook- eries in 1846-'50 : this is the only record extent, and 1 was fortunate in getting it. Proeezvodaytva Pooshnik Promissloo vie e droogich. sah, 1835, zoda Zapooska. (List of the killing for furs and other purposes since the Zapooska of 183i)). 1st 183o 2nd 1836 3rd 1837 4th 1838 3lh 1839 6th 1840 7th 1841 100 skins. 3,902 — 1,200 — 2,840 — 2,000 — 2,020 — 2,560 — 1,380 — 0,000 — 230 — o,3;iO — 6o0 — 7,100 — 900 — »"• - i ?:": I Bachelor Fur Seals. Pups — Gray. Bachelor Fur Seals. Pups — Gray. Bachelor Fur Seals. Pups — Gray. Bachelor Fur Seals. Pups — Gray. Bachelor Fur Seals. Pups — Gray, Bachelor Fur Seals. Pups — Gray. Bacliolor Fur Seals. Pups — Gray. Bachelor Fur Seals. Pups — Gray. 1. This list above quoted is a record kept by the Rev.Kazcan Sliaisnikov who lived on St. Paul Island throughout the period covered by it; tlic autographic original was given to me to copy by his son Father Paul Shaishnikov and Kenick Artamanov, wlio had it in their possession, on the 2nd of July, 1890. No similar writing exists for the same period on the island of St. George. PROTECTION AM) PRESERVATION. 9tli I8't:j io,o;u) skins Bachelor Fur Seals. 1,294 — Pups — Gray lOlli 1844 \ 10,150 — Bachelor Fur Seals. \ 2,r):t2 — Pups — (Jray mil i84;i 9,550 — Bachelor Fur Seals. i 3,428 — Pups — Gray i-jiii 1846 j 12,000 — Bachelor Fur Seals. \ 3,503 — Pups — (Jray. 13,300 — Baciielor Fur Seals. iMh 1847 ■ 450 — Pups — Gray. ( 3,258 — — — i Wll 1848 1 1 3,()00 — Bachelor Fur Seals. 3,370 — Pups — Gray Killi 184!) t 10,000 3,350 Bachelor Fur Seals. Pups — Gray ! 2,450 — Bachelor Fur Seals. IGth IS.iO 1 3,080 — — — — . ( 538 — Pups — (Way ( 1,200 — Bachelor Fur Seals. ITlli 1851 1 1 9,095 — — ( 935 — Pups — Gray / 5,300 — Baciielor Fur Seals. ISIh 1852 1 4,080 1,250 __, , Pups — Gray 8,950 — Bachelor Fur Seals lUlli 1853 5,040 — I 1,700 — Pups — Gray ( 29,850 — Bachelor Fur Seals. 20II1 1854 1 4,011 1,400 I Pups — Gray 211 if ■S hi Now with this list in hand, the following " table 1 " of Bishop Veniaminov becomes inintelligible; without it, I have hitherto been unable to reconcile his statement that all killing was stopped in 1835, on the one hand and on the other, with the tigures which he gives below for 1833, and up to the end of his record in 1837; but, on turning to Shaishnikov's item for that year, we see that the Bishops total of " *,0o2 " as taken that year on St. Paul really was onlij " 100 skins of Bachelor fur-smls ", and *' 3,932 skins of pups " " (jnaj " pups or five months old, having by that time shed their black natal coats, and donned their gray overhair sea-going jackets; thus we observe that the killing was literally stopped : The pups were taken for natives food and clothing. I 212 SECTION VII. Table I, Part. II. — Bishop Veiiiamonov*s zapooskb,, etc. , sho'nring the seal catch during the period of gradual diminution of life on the islands, from 1817 down to 1837. TAKEN FROU. 1817. 1818. 1819. 1820. 1821. 1822. St. Paul Island 47,860 4o,lt;»2 40,.300 39,700 35,750 28,15 St. George Island 12.328 13,921 11,925 10,520 9.245 8,319 Total. (10,188 •)!t,85() 52,225 50,220 44,9t>5 3G,4()9 TAKEN FROM. 1823. 1824. 1825. 1826. 1827. St. Paul Island 24,100 19,850 24,000 23,250 17,750 St. George Island 5,773 5,550 5,500 1,950 Tola! 29,873 23,400 30,100 23,250 19,700 TAKEN FROM. 1828. 1829. 1830. 1831. 1832. St. Paul Island 18,450 17,150 15,200 12,950 13,150 St. Georr- Island 4,778 3,001 2,834 3,084 3,296 Total 23,228 20,811 18,034 10,034 16,446 TAKEN FROM. 1833. 1834. 1835. 1836. 1837. St. Paul Island 13,200 12,700 4,032 4,040 4,220 St. George Island 3,212 3,051 2,528 2,550 2,582 Total 16,412 15,751 G,a80 6,590 0,802 Grand total for St. Paul Island 464.259 Grand total for St. George Island 114,605 Tolal catch during nineteen years of diminution. . 578,924 It should be borne in mind as this table I is scanned, that during all this time from 1817 up to 1834, all sorts of" half way mea- sures " were being tried, without success, by the Russian American Co. so as to try and save the seal life and yet at the same time, continue a modified annual killing for shipment ; they finally con- cluded that in 1834, as a result of a half measure of saving, they ought to get at least 20,000 to 25,000 skins of, one and two year olds, (taking them just as they came for that matter); but after " all possible exerticm " only 12,700 skins were secured, and the natives declared the ruin of these rookeries at hand if another such a season of driving and killing was inaugurated; then the Company reluctantly, but wisely ordered that cessation of sealing which Shaishnikov's list testifies to. A study of this killing throughout the " zapooska " of 1834 on St. Paul Island shows that for a period of seven years, from i i PROTECTION AND PUESERVATION. 213 1835 down to the close of (he season of 1841, no seals practically were killed save those that were needed for food and clothing by the natives; and that in 1835 for the first time in the history of this industry on these islands was the vital principle of not killing female seals, recognized ; it will be noticed that the entry for each and every year distinctly specifies so many " bachelor seals " or ** hoUuschickovkotovie " [Korocmekobkomobrozi's). Thesealingin those early days wiis carried on all through the summer until the seals left in October orNovember, on account of the tedious method then in vogue of air drying the skins. This caused them in driving after the breaking up of the breeding season by the end of July, to take up at first, hundreds and thousands, later on, of the females in the same manner that they have been driven up during the last two seasons of 1880 and 1890 : but, they never spared those cows then when they arrived in the droves on the killing grounds, prior to this date above quoted, of 1835. In 18l2-'43, it will be observed, the killing is advanced to a otal of 9,000 and 10,000 skins for these years respectively; and imtil 1854, this killing was not greatly increased, per annum; then it was suddenly put up to 33,000 " bachelor seals " and in 1857 the old natives assured me last summer, that there was as many seals on the islands then as there was when 1 recorded their area and position during 1872-'74; and that from the year 1854, the Russian Company never had any more concern as to the sup- ply of killable seals on the Pribilof Islands; they got annually thereafter " all that was ordered taken ", each season. While the supply of killable seals in 1890 was not quite so low as that of 1834, yet it was nearly as bad — worse perhaps when the calculations of the old and new companies for the sea- sons catch are taken into account, and with reference to next year, far worse, because the additional danger and source of in- jury from pelagic sealing is added to the cause for present decli- nation of these rookeries : it did not enter into Russian calcula- tions — the seals of Rering Sea were never seriously disturbed by these hunters until 1886. The condition of the Pribylov rookeries to-day is such as to make the following imperative demands upon our Government, if they are to be saved as they should be from speedy ruin. '^ fi I 214 SECTION VII. ■: FiiisT. T/iat no younrj male .seals ^vhalsoovor shall bv killed on these islands as a source of revenue either to the public treasury or to private corporations for the next seven years : i. e. duriny the seasons o/" 1891-98 inclusive. This step is imperative since there was scarcely a drop of young male blood in service on the breeding grounds of either St. Paul or St. (Icorge throughout the reproductive season of 1890. There are no young bulls left to speak of on these hauling grounds above the one and two year old grades, very few of the latter, and not many of the former; it will take at least live years of perfect rest for the scanty stock now left of this character in which to mature so as to [serve on these breeding grounds; and it will be two years after this new service is first rendered before Ihe appie- ciable gain can be well seen and in this necessary period of five years growth, not more than one-half of these young bulls thus maturing can be estimated as certain to survive the attacks of their natural enemies at sea (sharks, killer whales, etc.) Second. That all pelagic sealing in the ivaters of Bering Sea be prohibited and suppressed throughout the breeding season, no matter how, so that it is done, and done quickly. This step is equally imperative : the immorality of that demand made by the open water sealer to ruin within a few short years and destroy forever these fur bearing interests on the Pribylov Islandss the immorality of this demand cannot be glossed over by any sophis- try; the idea of permitting such a chase to continue where live thousand female seals heavy with their unborn young are killed in order to secure every one thousand skins taken is repugnant lo the sense of decency and the simplest instincts of true manhood. I cannot refrain from expressing my firm belief that if the truth is known, made plain to responsible heads of the civilized powers of the world that not one of these governments will hesitate to unite with ours in closing Bering Sea and its passes of the Aleutian chain, to any and all pelagic fur sealing, during the breeding season of that animal. If these two steps are taken next year, and a perfect rest esta- blished throughout the breeding seasons on the islands, and in the waters of Behring Sea for the next seven years inclusive then PHOTECTION AND PHKSEH VA TION. 2IS the restoration of these sadly (liminislied interests lo their good form of 1872-'74, will huve heen well udvanced, if not wholly rea- lized hy the expiration of the season of 1898. Then with revised and proper regulations for driving and kil- ling, the 20th century may open with another «'ra of commercial prosperity for these islands and pleasure and profit for those not only at home hut all over the world where furs are worn and valued. In taking these two steps, the Government cannot divide the responsihility; it must assume the entire order and conduct of affairs on these seal islands of Alaska for the next seven years : the new lessees of 1890 should have a fair rehate — they are not to blame in any sense whatsoever for the present condition of the rookeries and hauling grounds — not at all : they cannot be asked to nurse these shrivelling rookeries into shape, to feed and clothe the natives and maintain an establishment on these islands for that purpose during this necessary period of rest; and if they offered to do it, this offer, for obvious reasons, should be refused. The skins of a few thousand yearlings and pups which the na- tives may safely kill under order of the Secretary of the Treasury every year, for food and clothing just as they killed them in 1834-'43 inclusive, will, when sold by the Secretary of the Treasury, fully meet all the cost of caring for these dependent people pro- perly, and enable them to live just as comfortably as they have been living; these food skins can be annually brought down to market on the revenue cutters and these vessels can bring up the supplies of food, fuel and clothing necessary for the natives after their purchase in due form by the Treasury Department. The new lessees of 1890 in full belief, and warranted bv offi- cial reports in believing that they would get at least 60,00 ; i"me skins in the first season of their contract and annually more there- after during the period of their contract, purchased the entire land plant of the old lessees i.e. the salt-houses, dwelling and school houses, barns, stores and goods, and divers chattels, and paid for it togother with the eighty-one sniall dwelling houses which the old company built for the natives occupation, about jj( 61.000; those people have lived in these cottages, rent free, dur- ing the last eighteen years, and do live in them now under the !l ! 216 SECTION VII. i^ same privilege; repairs and paint being also furnished gratis. Under the present changed order of afl'airs, the Government needs at once, part of this plant above cited, at least, and for that mailer should not hesitate to take it entirely off the hands of the new lessees, as the condition of the business now stands; also the money paid on account of the native houses should be promptly refunded by the Government to the new lessees ; for as I have said there cannot be any division of responsibility in the coming change of nursing these exhausted rookeries back to good order; the work has got to be entirely free from any and all suspicion, of private intrigue and gain during the next seven years, or it had better not be undertaken; this will require the removal of every- body from these islands except the natives, and the Government officers and employes : these men resident should consist of the existing staff of four Treasury agents, a physician for each island, and a school-teacher and store-keeper also in each village, includ- ing a mess cook and laundryman. On account of the remoteness of their situation, those officers and employes of the Government should be housed on these islands, and supplied with rations and fuel free of cost to them- selves : otherwise the enforced abnormal expense of living there would render their salaries absurdly inadequate; these supplies can be regularly purchased in San Francisco every spring by the Collector of Customs of that port, and sent up to the Seal Islands on the revenue cutters which annually have cruised, and will cruise around about them throughout each coming season '. While the Secretary of the Treasury is fully empowered by existing law I believe to take any or all steps necessary to preserve and protect these interests of the Government on the Seal Islands of Alaska, yet the passage of a bill substantially like the following draft will save him from some misimderstanding and doubt in the minds of our people, as to the precise limit of his authority; also he needs the authority of law for the establishment of the school teachers, physicians, etc. 1. It is wholly unnecessary to enter into the details of this programme they will all suggest themselves in duo form to the officers of the Treasury Department and be promptly attended to; when the work is undertaken. ^S^teS I PROTECTION AM) PRESERVATION. 217 A BILL For the protection and preservation of the interests of the Government on the Fur-seal Islands of Alaska (Pribylov group) Bering Sea. ALASKA Sec. 1 . Bo it enacted, etc. — That for the period of sevon years from and after the passage of this Act, no fur-seals shall be killed for their skins, on or around the Fur Seals Islands (Pribylov Group), of Alaska, by any person or persons whatsoever, Provided : That the natives of said islands shall have the privilege of killing such young male seals, only, as may be re quired for their food and clothing and the construction of their small boats for their own use, which killing shall be limited an I controlled by the Secretary of the Treasury, as he may prescribe, and he is hereby authorized to incur any and all proper and necessary expenses incident to the establishment, and maintenance and employment of one physician, one school-teacher, one storekeeper, and one cook on each island, also for the proper housing of the natives, the government officers in charge, and property, with rations for the same and fuel, throughout the time specified in the fore- going section. Provided also : That such food-skins taken as above cited shall be sold annually for the defrayment in part or in whole of these expenses, at public auction by the Secretary of the Treasury; said food-skins to be classified for such sale by the Treasury Agent in charge, and accompanied by him from the islands until sold as proscribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. Sec. 2. And he it enacted, etc. — That no persons, other than the natives, and the authorized Agents of the Government shall be permitted to occupy said islands, or either of them, from and after the passage of this Act, and any person or persons who may attempt or attempts to violate this order of this section or that of the first section of this Act, shall be punished on conviction there- of for each offence by a fine of not less than one thousand dol- lars, or more than ten thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not I? t -I ( .:S; '■ ■) m 218 SECTION VII. '1! v. I ;: exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the Court having jurisdiction and taking cognizance of the offences : and all vessels, their tackle, apparel and furniture, whose crew shall be found engaged in the violation of any of the provisions of this Act, shall be forfeited to the United States. Sec. 3. And be it furt/in' rnncted, etc. — That the provisions of the seventh and eighth sections of an act entitled " An Act to extend the laws of the United States relating to customs, com- merce and navigation over the territory ceded to the United States by Russia, to establish a collection district therein, and for other purposes ", approved July 27th, 1868, shall be di-emed to apply to this Act : and all prosecution for offences committed against tiie provisions of this Act, and all other proceedings had, because of the violation of the provisions of this Act, and which are authorized by the said Act above specifieil, shall be in accord- ance with the provisions thereof, and all Acts and parts »,f Acts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed. THE I:XIST1.NG LAW, HEADS AS HEL0W AN ACT TO PREVENT THE EXTERMINATION OF FUR-BEARING ANIMALS IN ALASKA Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rrpt'csentatirrs ,>/ the United States of America in Conf/rf.ss as.senihled. — That it shall be unlawful to kill any fur-seal upon the islands of St. Paul and St. George, or in the waters adjacent thereto, except during the months of June, July, September, and October, in each year; and it shall be unlawful to kill such seals at any time by the use of fire-arms, or the use of other means tending to drive the seals away from said islands : Provided , that the natives of said islands shall have the privilege of killing such young seals as maybe neces- sary for their own food and clothing during other months, and also such old seals as may be required for their own clothing and for the manufacture of boats for their own use, which killing shall be limited and controlled by such regulations as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. Sec. 2. Andbe it further enacted , etc . — Thatil shall be unlawful to kill any female seals, or any seal less than one year old, at any season of the year, except as above provided: and it shall also be i».i_ia«. ■'S^M^SlA^i..^'! IMIOTECTION AM) PRESEIIVATION. 219 unlawful lo kill any seal in the waters adjacent to said islands, or on the beaches, clifTs, or rocks where they haul up from the sea to remain; and any person who shall violate either of the provi- sions of this or the first section of this act, shall be punished on conviction thereof, for each offence, by a fine of not less than two hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or by impri- sonment not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and im- prisonment, at the discretion of the court having jurisdiction and taking cognizance of the offenses; and all vessels, their tackle, apparel, and furnii'ire, whose crew shall be found engaged in the violation of any of the provisions of this act, shall be forfeited to the United States. Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, etc. — That for the period of twenty years from and after the passage of this act, the number of fur-seals which may be killed for their skins upon the island of St. Paul is hereby limited and restricted to seventy-five thousand per annum; and the number of fur-seals which may be killed lor their skins upon Ihe island of St. Cleorge, is hereby limited and restricted to twenty-five thousand per annum : Provided, that the Secretary of the Treasury may restrict and limit the right of kil- ling, if it shall become necessary for the preservation of such seals, with such proportionate reduction of rents reserved to the govern- ment as shall be right and proper; and if any person shall know- ingly violate either of the provisions of this section, he shall, upon due conviction thereof, be punished in the same way as provid- ed herein for a violation of the provisions of the first and second seetions of this act. Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, etc. — That immediately after the passage of this act, Ihe Secrelaiy of the Treasury shall lease, for the rental mentioned in section G of this act. Lo proper and res- ponsible parties, lo the best advantage of Ihe lulled Stales, having tlue regard to the interests of the governement, the native inhabi- tants, the parties heretofore engaged in the trade, and the protec- tion of the seal-fisheries, for a term ol twenty years from the last day of May, 1870, the right to engage in the business of taking fur- seals on the islands of St. Paul and St. George, and lo se.c' a ves- sel or vessels lo said islands for the skins of such seals, giving lo the lessee or lessees of said islands a lease duly executed, in du- 4 m ^•m .if! 220 SECTION VII. m plicate, not transferable, and taking from the lessee or lessees of said islands a bond, with sufficient sureties, in a sum not less than $500,000, conditioned for the faithful observance of all the laws and requirements of Congress, and of the regulations of the Secre- tary of the Treasury touching the subject-matter of taking fur- seals and disposing of the same, and for the payment of all taxes and dues accruing to the United States connected therewith. And in making said lease the Secretary of the Treasury shall have due regard to the preservation of the seal-fur trade of the islands, and the comfort, maintenance, and education of the natives thereof. The said lessees shall furnish to the several masters of vessels employed by them certified copies of the lease held by them, res- pectively, which shall be presented to the govci'nment revenue- officer for the time being, who may be in charge at the said islands, as the authority of the party for landing and taking skins. Sec. 5. And be it furt/ter enacted, etc. — Thatatthe expiration of said term of twenty years, or on surrender or forfeiture of any lease, other leases may be made in manner as aforesaid for other terms of twenty years; but no persons other than American citi- zens shall be permitted, by lease or otherwise, to occupy said is- lands, or either of them, for the purpose of taking the skins of fur- seals therefrom, nor shall any foreign vessel be engaged in taking- such skins; and the Secretary of the Treasury shall vacate and declare any lease forfeited, if the same be held or operated for the use, benefit, or advantage, directly or indirectly, of any person or persons other than American citizens. Every lease shall contain a covenant on the part of the lessee that he will not keep, soli, furnish, give, or dispose of any distilled spirits or spirituous liquors on either of said islands to any of the natives thereof, such person not being a physician and furnishing the same for use as medicine ; and any person Avho shall kill any fur-seal on either of said islands, or in the waters adjacent thereto (excepting natives as provided by this act), without authority of the lessees thereof, and any person who shall molest, disturb, or interfere with said lessees, or either of them, or their agents or employes, in the law- ful prosecution of their business, under the provisions of this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall for each offence, on conviction thereof, be punished in the sam^ way and PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION. 221 by like penalties as prescribed in the second section of this act; and all vessels, their tackle, apparel, appurtenances, and cargo, whose crews shall be found engaged in any violation of either of the provisions of this section, shall be forfeited to the United States; and if any person or company, under any lease, therein authorized, shall knowingly kill, or permit to be killed, any num- ber of seals exceeding the number for each island in this act pres- cribed, such person or company shall, in addition to the penalties and forfeitures aforesaid, also forfeit the whole number of the skins of seals killed in that year, or, in case the same have been disposed of, then said person or company shall forfeit the value of the same. And it shall be the duty of any revenue officer, officially acting as such on either of said islands, to seize and des- troy any distilled spirits or spirituous liquors found thereon; Provided, that such officer shall make detailed report of his doings to the collector of the port. Sec. (i. And be it further enacted, etc. — That the annual rental to be reserved by said lease, shall be not less than fifty thousand dollars per annum, to be secured by deposit of United Slates bonds to that amount, and in addition thereto a revenue tax or duty of two dollars is hereby laid upon each fur-seal !' taking fur-seals on the islands of St. Georjje and St. Paul williin tlio territory of Alaska, and to send a vessel or vessels to said island for the skins of such seals. And the said Alaska Commercial Company, in consideration of their PROTECTION AND PUESERVATION. 223 rifrht under this lease, hereby covenant and afrree to pay for each year duriup; said term and in proportion during: any part thereof, the sum of ^'5;i,000 into the Treasury of the United States in accordance with the rejJTiilations of the Secretary to be made ft)r this purpose under said act, which payment sliall be secured by deposit of United States bonds to that amount, and covenant and a^'ree to pay annually into the Treasury of the United States, under said rules and rejrulations, an internal- revenue tax or duty of $i for each seal-skin taken and shipped by them in accordance with tlie provisions of the act aforesaid, and also the sum of 60 1/2 cents for each fur-seal skin taken and shipped, and 55 cents per gallon for each gallon of oil obtained from said seals, for sale in said islands or elsewhere , and sold by said company ; and also covenant and agree, in accordance with said rules and regulations, to furnish, free of charge, the inhabitants of the islands of SI. Paul and St. George annually during said term '-2o,000 dried salmon, 60 cords fire- wood, and a sufficient quantity of salt and a sufficient quantity of barrels for preserving the necessary supply of meat. And liie said lessees also hereby covenant and agree during the term aforesaid to maintain a school on each island, in accordance with said rules and regulations and suitable for the education of the natives of said islands, for a period of not less than eight months in each year. And the said lessees further covenant and agree not to kill upon said island of St. Paul more than seventy-five thousand fur-seals, and upon the island of St. George not more than twenty-live thousand fur- seals per annum ; not to kill any fur-seal upon the islands aforesaid in any other month except the months of June, July, September and Oc- tober of each year; not to kill said seals at any time by the use of lire- arms or means lending to drive said seals from said islands; not (o kill any female seals or seals under one year old; not to kill any seal in waters adjacent lo said islands, or on the beach, cliffs, or rocks, where they haul up from the sea to remain. And the said lessees further covenant and agree to abide by any restriction or limitation upon the right lO kill seals under this lease thai the act prescribes, or that the Secretary of the Treasury shall judge necessary for the preservation of such seals. And the said lessees hereby agree that they will not in any way sell, transfer, or assign this lease, and thai any transfer, sale, or assign- ment of the same shall be void and of no (Effect. And the said lessees further agree to furnish to the several masters of the vessels employed by them certified copies of this lease, to be pre- sented lo the government revenue officers for the time being in charge of said islands, as the authority of said lessees for the landing and taking of said skins. And the said lessees further covenant and agree that they or their agents shall not keep, sell, furnish, give, or dispose of any distilled ■^1 r ii < I ! . ,i , m SECTION VII. spirituous liqours on either of said islands to any of the natives thereof, such person not being a physician and furnishing the same for use as medicine. And the said lessees further covenant and agree that this lease is accepted, subject to all needful rules and regulations which shall at any time or times here-ifter be made by the Secretary of the Treasury for the collection and payment of the rental herein agreed to be paid b;*, said lessees for the comfort, maintenance, education, and protection ol^ the natives of said islands, and for carrying into effect all the provision^' of the act aforesaid, and will abide by and conform to said rules and regulations. And the said lessees, accepting this lease with a full knowledge of the provisions of tiie aforesaid act of Congress, further covenant and agree that they will fulfil all the provisions, requirements, and limita- tions of said act, whether herein specifically set out or not. In witness whereof tiie parlies aforesaid have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and year above written. Executed in presence of J. H. Savii.lk. William A. Richardson (Seal.) Acting Secretary of the Treasury. Alaska Commercial Company : By John F. Miller, President. (Seal.) This lease having terminated on the 1st day of last May (1890), the following new lease was execuled in accordance with the law. This indenture, made in duplicate this twelfth day of March 1890, by and between William Windom, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, in pursuance of Chapter II of Title 23, Revised Statutes, and the iNorth American Commercial Company, a Corpo- ration duly established under the hiws of the State of California, and acting by I. Liebes, its President, in accordance with a reso- lution of said corporation adopted at a meeting of its Board of Direc- tors held January 4th, 1890. Wilnesseth : That said Secretary of the Treasury, in consideration of Iho agree- ments hereinafter stated, hereby leases to the said North American Commercial Company, for a term if twenty years, from the 1st day of May, 1890, the exclusive right to engage in the business of taking fur- seals on Ihe islands of St-Heorge and St. Paul in the territory of Alaska and to send a vessel orvessels to said islands for the skins of such seals. The said North American Commercial Comnan^', in consideration of :i!* PROTECTION AND PllESERVATION. 223 the rights secured to it under this lease above stated, on its part cove- nants and agrees to do the things following that is to say; To pay to the Treasurer of the United States each year during the said term of twenty years, as annual rental, the sum of sixty tiiousand dollars ; and in addition thereto agrees to pay the revenue lax, or duty, of two dollars laid upon each fur-seal skin taken and shipped by it from said islands of St. George and St. Paul ; and also to pay to said Treasur- er the further sum of seven dollars sixty-two and one half cents apiece for each and every fur-seal skin taken and shipped from said islands ; and also to pay the sum of fifty cents per gallon for each gallon of oil sold by it made from seals, that may be taken on said islands during the said period of twenty years; and to secure the prompt payment of the sixty thousand dollars rental above referred to, the said company agrees to deposit with the Secretary of the Treasury bonds of the United States to the amount of lifly thousand dollars, face value, to beheld as a guarantee for tiie annual payment of said sixty thousand dollars rental, the interest thereon when due to be collected and paid to the North American Com- mercial Company, provided the said company is not in default of pay- ment of any part of the said sixty thousand dollars rental. That it will furnish to the native inhabitants of said islands of St. George and St. Paul, annually, such quantity or number, of dried sal- mon, and such quantity of salt and such number of salt barrels for pre- serving their necessary supply of meat, as the Secretary of the Treasury shall from time to time determine. That it will also furnish to the said inhabitants eighty ton > of coal annually, and a suffic ont number of comfortable dwellings ii whicli said native inhabitants may reside ; and will keep said dwellings in proper repair, and will also provide and keep in repair such suitable school- houses as may be necessary, and will establish and maintain during eight months of eacli year proper sciiools for the education of the child- ren on said islands; the same to be taught by competent teachers who shall be paid by the company a fair compensation; all to the satisfac- tion of the Secretary of the Treasury; and will also provide and main- tain a suitable house for religious worship ; and will also provide a com- petent plij Mcian or physicians, and necessary and proper medicines and medical supplies; and will also provide the necessaries of life for 'he widows and orphans and aged and infirm inhabitants of said islands who are unable to provide for themselves; all of which foregoing agreo- ments will be done and performed by the said company free of all costs and charges to said native inhabitants of said islands or to the United States. The annual rental, together with all other payments to the United States, provided for in lliis lease, shall be made and paid on or before the first day of April of each and every year during the existence of this lease, beginning with the first day of April 1891. t8 226 SECTION VII. I \i ■ : i The said company furllif^r agrees to employ Ihc nalive inhabitants of said islands to perform st; 'h labour, upon the islands, as they are fit- ted to perform and to pay therefor a fair and just compensation, such as may be fixed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and also to contribute, as far as in its power, all reasonable elforls to secure the comfort, health education, and promote the morals and civilization of said nalive inha- bitants. The said company also agrees faithfully to obey and abide by all rules and regulations that the Secretary of the Treasury has heretofore or may hereafter establish or make in pursuance of law concerning the taking of seals of said islands, and concerning the comfort, morals and other interests of said inhabitants, and all matters pertaining to said islands and the taking of seals within the possession of the United States : It also agrees to obey and abide by any restrictions or limitations upon the right to kill seals, that the Secretary of the Treasury shall judge necessary, under the law, for the preservation of the seal fisheries of the United Slates ; and it agrees that it will not kill or permit to be killed, so far as it can prevent, in any year a greater number of seals t»;an is authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury. The said company further agrees that it will not permit any of its agents to keep, sell, give, or dispose of any distilled spirits or spirituous liquors or opium, on either of said islands, or the waters adjacent there- to, to any of the native inhabitants of said islands, such person not being a physician and furnishing the same for use as a medicine. It is understood and agreed that the number of fur-seals to be taken and killed for their skins upon said islands by the North American Com- mercial Company during the year ending May 1st 1891, shall not exceed sixty thousand. The Secretary of the Treasury reserves the right to terminate this lease and all rights of the North American Company under the same at any time, on full and satisfactory proof that the said company has vio- lated any of the provisions and agreements of this lease, or of any of the laws of the United States, or any Treasury regulation respecting the taking of fur-seals, or concerning the islands of St. George and St. Paul or the inhabitants thereof. In witness whereof, the parties have set their hands and seals the day and year above written. William Windom, Secretary of the Treasury. North American Commercial Company by : I. Liebes, President of the North American Commercial Company. Attest : H. B. Parsons, Asst. Secretary, PROTECTION AND I'RESEHVATION. 227 In both of these instruments it will be observed that Ihe old and the new lessees emphatically and unreservedly " agree to abide by any restriction or limitation upon the right to kill seals under the lease that the act prescribes or that the Secretary of the Treasury shall judge necessary for the preservation of such seals ". Had there been any refusal on the part of the lessees to thus covenant and agree in this important regard, no seal-island lease ever could have been sustained by its friends. The powerful and jealous opponents of this system would have carried the day in 1870, and again in 1890. The wisdom and propriety of this express reservation in behalf of the Government is now apparent : there is no legal or moral obstacle in the way of taking the action which I suggest for the restoration of these interests on the seal islands themselves, and I lirmly believe that a visit by some representative Commission of Great Britain to these Pribylov rookeries next season will result in securing the prompt, hearty co-operation of that power with our Government in protecting these seals from slaughter in the open waters of Behring sea and certain portions of the North Pacific Ocean during the breeding season of those animals. 'I ■fj SECTION VIII APPENDIX CONTAINING THE AUTHOR'S DAILY FIELD NOTES TOGETHER WITH OTHER MEMORANDA ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE PRECEDING SECTIONS I TO VII, INCLUSIVE m m i I \i m i SECTION VIII ! i APPENDIX CONTAINING THE AUTHOR'S DAILY FIELD NOTES TOGETHER WITH OTHER MEMORANDA ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE PRECEDING SECTIONS I TO VII, INCLUSIVE I give in extenso the following field nolos, bocansc each one belongs to a particular place, day and date for every sealing season that is to follow this one just ended of 1890. These notes on hand on the islands during the coming years will aid the officers of the Government up there to observe and contrast the condition of the rookeries and hauling-groundsas it shall change for better or worse hereafter. For convenience and easy reference, I divide my notes into three subdivisions, ./..". *' Hookcri/ Notes ", " UauliiKj Ground Notes ", and " Note>i on Ihe Drlvinrj ant/ Ki Hint/ ", together with a HoWowin^ oi general memoranda. I I P ROOKERY NOTKS. — ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1890. The Reef and Garbotch. " Thursilay, May 22, I8!)0. The " Roof and Garhotch ". Spent the day in taking a fresh set of angles over this fine area of breeding ground ; the sand has drifted very slightly from its boundaries on Zoltoi during the last 18 years, but a large field of basaltic rocks has been uncovered by the ludluscbickie just wearing away tiie grassy co- vering; thai opens the sand to tiie full play of the wind and away it goes, down to Mie rocky foundatiuns; the Reef Point from Gull Hill ii w < !1 "I I' ^1 ^1 232 SECTION vin. down to the extromo S. W. " drop " of Garbotch is a solid lava table with " bubbles "of hot eruptionat later intervals — all pushed up from the sea; then from old John's Rock down to the slopes of Parade Pin- nacle, is a thick superstratum of volcanic cinders — all reddish and fine, polished and smoothed in 1872 into that remarkable " parade ground " which I have plotted carefully as it lies ; below Fox CHIT, strewn from the beginning of the Reef Rookery, is a surface profusion of basal- tic boulders, all knee and waist high as a rule, though many of them are nearly sunken; this covering is characteristic of the entire Reef Rookery and of Garbotch as far down as the intersection of the " tst Point " of rocks, on that ridge S. W. Bui, that N. slope of Garbotch is as smooth as a floor — a hard cinder pavement that slopes do'vn gently, yet rapidly, will) ils broad expanse lo the sea. It looks as though it might have been graded by the hand of man. In the bight of this rookery and in the rocks awash at its point, 25 or 50 hair seals, Phoca vitulina, were basking, lulled into asonseof security by the haul- ing fur-seal bulls. The whole of the Reef Point south of Grassy Summit and Fox Clifl", was entirely bare of grass, or any vegelalion except lichens on rocks inaccessible lo fur-seals, and lufls of grass only grew on the jioinls and cliff edges of the west shore; tufis of grass and a few flowers appeared also over the " 2nd Droj) ". It looks to-day as llidugh much vegetation had crept in and over this field since I hen, but it is too early now to fairly observe it. I galhered and gave lo Palmer (for the S. I.) a lovely sample of that characteristic green confervoid growth that appears so strange to me growing only upon Ihese hauling grounds and the rookeries; it seems to grow on the pulverized shedded hair and fur comminuted; this makes a beautiful green carpet and it seems to be in its best form at this time of the year; in other words, 1 take it to be in blossom; by the lOlh — 12th June, it shrinks and crocks up but is as bright as it is now. I do not observe one bull here today where I saw at least 20 at this time 18 years ago; then these slopes of Garbotch were covered with angry, lusty bulls, in solid mass from the shore line to the ridge sum- mit — so far over, even, lliat it required a ciub vigorously used before we could got up on Old John's Rock, so as to look over and bi'low ; then they were fighting in every direction under our eyes ; now, not a fight in progress anywhere, not bulls enough to quarrel — they are scattered so widely over this same ground where in 1872 an interval of ten feet between them did not exist — today there are intervals of hun- dreds of feel ! June 7, 18!)0. Tiie kelp on tiic submerged reef extends at least 1000 feel lo S. S. W. from the rocks awash as indicated on my chart of the peninsula; this kelp marks a shoal everywhere rough and rocky APPENDIX. 233 within its borders, of a fathom to 6 fathoms depth, making it a very dangerous point for vessels especially when picking up the land in a fog. In this kelp and over these rocks awash, the first bands of hoUuschi- ckie that reach these islands every spring, sport and haul. A few of them may be seen here at or about the arrival of the first bulls, and it is from this point that the first " drives " of the year are regularly made by the natives for food — as early as the 10th — lith May, some seasons, and the 20th — 2-4th May in late or cold springs. June 8, 1890. This pencil sketch of the sweep of Garbotch, 1 have made this after- noon with extreme care, since it shows to the best advantage the real character of a first class breeding ground in the eyes of a fur-seal. The entire underpinning to the Ileef and Garbotch is lava, • basalt in which at some points, notably on the Reef Point, much iron is embo- died ; this basalt is cither dark purplish or reddish black, or else of light gray tint ; sometimes it is solid and compact, then again thickly peppered with air holes and bubbles; on the point of Garbotch in this picture, the breeding ground is a smooth slope down to the sea from the summit of polished breccia of soft grayish black and dull red scoriae; worn en- tirely with a gravelly surface by the attrition of the flippers of hauling seals. But luider Old John's Rock large boulders are heaped promis- cuously from the crest of the ridge to the surf; and this rough surface continues to the limit of the rookery under my seat by the edge of these bluffs by the " Cap ". When I first came down to this rookery in May (21) 1872, I had great difficulty in getting in from behind to Old John's Rock; clubs had to be used to drive the bulls away first; now, there is nothing in the road there, or anywhere else on the crest of the entire rookery. It does not seem to me, as I write, that there are o bulls here to-day where there were 100, eighteen years ago I lichens and mosses now growing on rocks here where restless breeders annually polished them brightly then. Junn 11, 1890, Natives made their first drive of the year for the Company this mor- ning, early, from the " CresI "; al)oul 1,000 holiuschickie (See Note Book II, hauling grounds). This picture opposite shows the ground as it is really occupied by the bulls today; it is a fair sample of the occupation of every other one of the great breeding grounds of SI. Paul. In 1872, there were right on the field of this drawing, just as many bulls to i)e seen as there were rocks uncovered — look at the scene now ! This is a pre-Raphaelitic sketch. Visited " Beef " and Garbotch this morning, no change in bulls substantially from what is above noted; 2 cows on Garbotch, and Aiitone reports a pup on llie " Reef ". <\ I Ml T ''\ i 234 SECTION VIII. June 1", 1890. The cows aro hauling in small squads; this is about as in 1872; uut not a single " polseecatch " along the water margin of this rookery t»»-day : not a single one, and none upon the ground with the old males, where there is plenty of vacant spaco and nothing to oppose them. Where are the " half-bulls " which played so prominent a part in the rookeries, 1872-71? I asked T. this evening and his assistant, Mr. U. ; they replied that they observed that this class of seals were not on the rookeries to-day. Mr. T. said that five years ago he saw the last of them in so far as his observation went at Tolstoi. On calling Mr. Goff's atten- tion to it, he declared that he never observed a young bull attempting to land on the rookeries last year, and that he believed that the natives told the trnth, whea they said to me in his presence at N. E. Point that these animals wore " quite all killed ". June IS, IS'JO. How singularly regular the fog and drizzle is around and on these islands! Here, during the last two weeks, with only one or two brief intervals, the wind has blown from every point of the compass, from a stiir breeze to a gentle air, yet the fog and the drizzle have been and are constant, just as it was in 1872. Not so much rain, but a steady drizzle daily beaten into your ej'es and clothes by fresh to violent winds. A thick fog and " booze " or drizzle does not prevent seals from landing, indeed it seems to encourage them; but a heavy rain with hail or sleet will drive them into the water from the hauling grounds. They will, however, soon reappear after the cessation of this particular kind of meteorological disturbance. June 10, 1890. I myself have not seen a " killer " (Orcn), yet thus far, but I am credibly informed that these enemies do appear here every summer, later on and in the fall (when the pups are just beginning to go to sea) in greater and greater numbers every year. Also, that within the last three years, two exceedingly severe Octo- ber gales have prevailed, causing those deadly " surf-nips " by which an immense number of pu|)s were destroyed. If it be true what 1 hear now, then between the " kilhn- whales ', the " surf-nips ", the killing of the " half-bulls ", the killing of year- lings, driving from rookery margins, and pelagic poaching, the seals of these islands have little chance short of extermination unless the remedy is ajiplied at once. Juno 21, 1890. Again Hook over the sea margin, and not a single " polseecatchie " at the water's edge. In this connection arises the strong assurance w!ii;'li the natives here gave Bishop Veniaminov, in I8;52, that these APPENDIX. 233 " lialf-buUs " which are driven up in the daily drives become (hereby utterly useless as breeders thereafter, that they are demoralized and brokon up physically so that they lay around simply as outcasts or va},'rants. I took notice in l8'-2 of the fact that there was a larpe number of these a^-parently big able-bodied bulls always hauled up out and haul- ing: with the hoUuschickie, and laying; in squads alonfr on the sand heacht^s whenever and wherever I went out in June and July durinj.,' the iiicpption and he:>rht of the broedin-7i, and that algoid growth which always appears immediately llie next season after the one the seals cease to haul on an old hauling ground, 1 cannot walk over tiiis pluce without positive feelings of regret and astonishment; the alterati"n is simply immense, and all for the worse ". July 10, 1890. In company with Mr. Goff and Dr. Lutz. I made my plotting of Hie breeding seals as they lay on the Hoof and Garbotch today; Here at the very height of the breeding season, when the masses were most compact and uniform in their distribution in l8(i-2-7i, I find the animals as they lay today scattered over twice and thrice as much ground as a rule as the same number would occupy in 187-2- scattered because the virile bulls are so few in number and the service which they render so delayed or impotent. In other words, the cows are restless, not being served when in heat, they seek other bulls by haul- ing out in green great jagged points of massing, (as is shown by the chart), up from their landing belts. This unnatural action of the cows, or rather unwonted movement, has caused the pups already to form small pods everywhere, even where the cows are most abundant, which ahado\,s to me the truth of the fact that in five days or a week from date, the scattering completely of the rookery organization Avill be thoroughly done; it did not take place until the iJOth-!25lli July, 1872. APPENDIX. 237 In 1872, lliese cows were promptlj' met with the service which they cnived Ihe rookery ground. The scattering of these old bulls today over so largo an area, is due to extreme feebleness and combined in many cases to a recollection of no distant day whon they had previous- ly hauled thus far out on this very ground surrounded by bareness, though all is vacant and semi-grass grown under and around them now. It is impossible not to consider the (juestion which this scene every moment prompts — " what proportion of (hose old males which we see hen; now, over-done and scant in numbt;' — what ratio of their mimber will live to return next year? — and if they do all live to return, what manner of good will they be? — in many cases will they be potent at all? " And again, not a single young bull to be seen on the breeding grounds oral (he breeding margins 1 Where are they coming from? They, so conspicuous by their numbers and aggressiveness in 1870-'7i I Where is Ihe new blood which nuist take the place of the old and enfeebled sires before us? already failing to meet the demands of the hour on every side and ahead of us I Where is it? The only answer which ujy study of this season gives me is there is no new blood, mature euomjh, left. The club and effects of driving has destroyed it, slowly al lirsl.but surely Ihrough-oul the last eight years! and rapidly during the last three of this period — especially ra[ti{l last year and al the present hour. The poacher at sea has lent his aid since 1885 to (his destruction; he has destroyed the cows in especial but the " half-bulls "have been chiefly elimintded by driving, and the club, which has smiKen every one of Ihem as " sujooth " i-year-olds, whenever they appeared in the drives during (he last 20 years, throughout the killing seasons. In 1872-'7i, when no driving was made from S. W. Point, from (he Zapadnies, and all En;5 from these placi^s marks the beginning of the decay and present deplorable condition of these rookeries of the Pribylov Islands. This sys(<'ma(ii' driving began in 1882, and was (irmly es(ablisheil in i.S8i ; the poaching began in 188t) and from that year (hese (wo agencies have gone hand in hand forward with (his work of ruin and depletion. m The Lagoon. Juno 13, 1890. " I think (hat there has been little or no change in the topographical character of this Lagoon sea-wall since my surveys of 1872-7i, except that in its height I think the boulders are shoved up higher by ice floes. 238 SECTION VIII. some (i or 10 feel, perhaps; tlie lower segments of llie rookery wall are unchanged, heinj? just above surf wash at high water. The shoving up of these boulders which compose the Lagoon sea- wall, on which this rookery is established, has also resulted in percep- tibly shoaling the cove; although the sand therein has shifted some, yet it all appears very natural to me. Th(! rookery itself does not show up any better than a ragged rem- nant of what it was in 1872. My sketch shows the Lagoon Rookery, the slough and the killing gang at work on the village killing grounds, Lagoon salt-house, all, as they appeared this afternoon at I P. M. Lukannon. Juno 2, 1890. A strong W. N. W. wind blew all day yesterday with snow and covered everything white and wet last night — the wind still blew this morning, but the sky cleared at noon, and the snow quit. I made a visit to Ketavie, taking angles from the base of Black Bluff up to Lukan- non Hill. I do not observe any great increase of bulls today, a few more, but still, large areas unoccupied by these animals right down to the water line. They have hauled at odd intervals as far back as they did in 1872, but no crowding into the same area at all. Some bulls have ascended high up on the Hanks of Lukannon Hill, but large intervals of vacant ground lie between them of from 50 to 100 feet! and this day is not more than two or three days in advance of the tirst arrival of the females. I cannot avoid taking signilicant note of this point. These old bulls that do appear are all in good phy- sical trim outwardly — they look well. The snow seems to surprise some of these bulls ; they smell at it, then roar angrily. These small holluschickie were in the centre of the rookery area on Keetavie this A. M. June 12, 1800. Very slight change in bulls during the last ten days; they have hauled here very widely far back from the water, with large areas of 30 and iO feet between them; i cows in sight here; one " rusty ", so must have been hauled out several days — she has a pup. Mr. GofF reported the arrival of a cow here two days "go — perhaps this is the one, so that this pup has not been born long, a few hours or a day rd the most. June 22, 'dOO. A survey of Lukannon Rookery this afternoon shows an astonishing apathy among the bulls, and not a single " half-bull " on the shore, or in the water — a few clusters of cows just along the water margin are APPENDIX. >;j'j all I soo. They liavo boon out at least i or 5 days bocauso tliey all look rusty; the newly arrived cows are very conspicuous lor a day or two after arrival by reason of their shining white abdomens, and silvery gray backs and necks. There is not a bright cluster of cows anywhere in sight today on Keetavie, Tolstoi, Lagoon Reef or Garbotch ; this shows how gradually and slowly these small clusters have grown in size since Ibo first arrivals on the ith-oth inst. Juno 24, 1890. Scarcely any change for the cows today ; those holluschickie on the sand have hauled up on the bill, about 100 feet, and are now sleeping in among the breeding bulls. June 27, 1890. Scarcely any change. July lat, 1890. I have passed three hours this afternoon marking and watching the service of the bulls in their harems ; it is simply lifeless, languid and fairly impotent — wholly so in many cases at this early date — what will it be ton days from now? if it is so feeble now at the outset. Saw ;2 " polseecatchie "at the water's edge, and one at the rear; where, indeed, are these aninmls? What, indeed, is on hand, or will bo for tilt! next ti years to come, to supply the places of these scattered and already enfeebled sires of the rookery? July 10, 1890, " I made a careful survey of the area and position of the breeding seals on Lukannon and Keetavie this afternoon in company with and aided by Mr Charles J. Golf. On Lukannon, while there appears to be i/b as many cows as in t87i2, yet the bulls do not average more than 1/15 of the number they showed in iSli. Mo better on Keetavie ; if any thing, a shade or two worse. No young bulls any where olfering ser- vice or attempting to land on the rookery. 'f' ill III ^! If I Keetavie. June 13, 1890. A comical picture was made today when in the afternoon the entire herd of mules, 10 in number, fUed over from the village and pas- tured on the seal grass that grows on the deserted outskirts of the rookery at Kelavie ; the old bulls in waiting paid not the least attention to them that I could see, while the mules were equally indillerent. I presume that such a pastoral scene as this has never been witness- ed outside of these islands. ■t^ 240 SECTION VIM. 3 > r* Juno 22, 1890. As this is the lime tho cows begin to haul in appreciable num- bers, I took a careful view at this (Ketavie) Rookery today from that point of sight in the sketch opposite. I saw but three clusters of cows in all the sweep of this picture, and they in the fore-ground right be- tween the 1st and 2nd rollers as they come in; these pods were bevies of from 30 to SO cows each, all thickly clustered around a single bull with all the other bulls stretched in somnolence around them, just as I recorded the state of affairs on Tolstoi yesterday; and as I go over the field on Lukannon right after this I find it precisely that way there, too; this apathy of the bulls coupled with the total absence of the " polsee- catchie " (or " half-bulls ") on these breeding grounds at this hour is a striking contrast with liiat vim and fury tlial was so marked among the swarming bulls of 1872 on this and every other one of the breeding grounds of the Pribylov Islands. It is in order to record the fact that the cows are not Iiauling in anything like the numbers of 1872-74. On Lukannon and the Lagoon, the dearth of cows to-day is noteworthy, while at Tolstoi nearly every cow there this afternoon is as I described it yesterday — three small pods right down at the junction of rocks and sand under the cliffs — 250 cows perhaps on that whole ground this P. M. ! Tolstoi. June 12, 1890. A tour to-day on Tolstoi shows little or no change in " seecatchie '" from last date I saw no cows; quite a troop of holluschickie on the sand just above surf wash and beyond the drop of the rookery to the sand beach. The old bulls are hauling here very wildly — way back 500 feet with 50 to 100 feet between them in many instances. No fighting anywhere, and no young bulls at the water's edge; the polseecatchie; perhaps I shall see some of Ihom when the cows begin to haul next week, but they were in swarms by this time in 1872-74. June 21, 1890. An inspection to-day shows the odd scattering of cows as they haul, and which Mr. Goff early called my attention to as a great deviation from the habit which they exhibited in my work of 1872. As this is the date in which this class begins to haul in appreciable numbers, 1 now begin my daily examination of the manner and number in which the cows arrive. They commenced just as they did in 1872 a few cows here and there by the-4th 6th June; then by the 15lh, little clusters appeared of 10 to 50 along the water's edge, and to-day here instead of that exhibi- APPENDIX. >4I lion of solid " wavo-likfi " sircaks sproad up from tlio water's mar- gin, to tlio roar limits of llio brccdini,' jj;rounds, wliicli tlioy }]favc mo in 1872, I can son nothing,' of thckind — not cvcnan a|tproximation oillial staf.'o. Still these animals have yet 20 days in whicii to fill up the rook- eries as they did in 1872, and it is not the time to finally speculate on their coming? or number, merely idlt; now to do so. But the behavior of the old bulls is extraordinary this morninf^ at this time of the inilowiniL,' cows ; they are listless; three-fourths of their scanty number, stretched out sound asleep, while rijiht alongside of these sleepers, a pod of l.'l or .30 cows will he closely clustered around a sinjile alert bull, or one that at least is not inert and stupid. There arc three such pods as that right under my eyes as I make this note, lying at the junction of flu; sand b(>a(h and rocks of Tolstoi rookery ; no such scattering of bulls and indifl'erence was ever witnessed on any of these breeding grounds in 1872-'7'l; then every bull was alert and furious in his struggles to get possession of at least one, if not all the females within reach; — now, look at them I Why, it seems to me that these bulls arc enfeebled and sick. At least it is a most remarkable deviation from the method and order of flrsi arrival of the females in 1872; such a picture of perfect lilslessncss and indifference as this is, from the beginning to the end of the season, never met anybody's eye on these breeding grounds then. No young bulls anywhere along the water's edge, or back among the old bulls — widely scattered as they are — way upon the hill sloj)es of Tolstoi this morning at least 550 to 000 feet away from these first cows widely and thinly scattered old bulls, all of them now stretched out in sound sleep. June 2;j, 1890. " This is the day in 1872 when the cows had hauled in suflicient numbers to impress me deeply for the lirst time as the season IIkmi advanced ; at this time in 1872 the most casual observer would note the arrival of the cows as " coming up in families, or streaks as it were from the waters line upon the ridge " as per MS. note of .lune 23, 1S72, made as I looked then at Garbolch slope). Tiie i)e(iiliar " fanning ' of the cows then as they used their hind ilip[»ers, made th(!ir resting jilaces conspicuous at any moment to the eye glancing then nvor the rook- eries. To-day it takes a sharp trained eye to lind the scant scattered pods of cows, as they rest just above the surf margin, and as for ' hauling back ' up on the ridge, — not the first symptom of such a movement is in progress. As you stand and look across the cove at the Lagoon Rookery not over 900 feet away you cannot see the least visible evidence of the land- ing 5f feuialos this morning. I can make out a few scattered heads, 16 • ■hi M 242 SECTION Mil. I)ul no conccrlod arrival ol' llicsc animals, so very (il)vi(His in l,S7-J-"Ti, at tliis tiiuf (if llio season ". June ii, 1S90. Thai poculiar poddinj: of llic cows wliidi I nolo on llii' '■2'2w\ slill conlinuos lioro : — llio cows slill i-lnslor in^Tonpsal lli(> water's i't\'^i', Willi no alUnnpl vol made lo haul ui> in lout; " wavcliUc slicaks" lo lh(> hiyh f?round in llip roar. Slranj.M\ in this connection is the liaidin;; of llioso somnolent scant bulls, why, several of them, yes. a dozen are now up tlOO feet l>ack from these cows at the surf marjrin on the sand, and vacancies of hundreds of feel between them : Not a li^hl in proj^ress. and nut a sinj,de younj; bull in sijfht at the landinjr of the cows. .Timo27, IS'.II). 1 observed on Tolsloi the arrival of a few more cows, the lirst I have yet seen that wore the fresh attractive toilet of these creatures; they are slill crowdinj; in on the sand in that siranjjre manner above alluded to, and still but a very faint advance made in any siiijiie spot towards filling in the ground back from Ihe surf margin. The bulls are slill hauled in that wild manner which I have so frecpiently noted, and are sleeping stupidly everywhere, with the cows lauding just iuound them and below them! Junn IJI), I8!m. A survey of Tolstoi this morning shows Ihe most siriking want of bulls — that there are pods or harems of tiO femah^s with oidy one bull; that Ihe sand beach end is the chosen resort of lh(> solid hauling of cows, while the rocks up in their rear are [jositivtdy deserted. I do not see Ihat the cows are arriving so as to make any considerable number of them show while and silvery. Hut Ihe few Ihat are heri' are und(>r full swing. The strange wild hauling of old hulls, and the remarkable absence of the " polseacat<;hie " is still prominent, i see hvo '• half- bulls " at the lower end of the rookery ground right under Fox Castle; these are the only examples of their kind on the field. I liav(> btMMi constantly saying lo myself, "now I can easily count every bull on this rookery thai is here to-day ! " They certainly do look lost among the rocks in the rear, and in the large pods of cows at the water's edge. The cows are pupping, are caring for themselves precisely as I have hitherto recorded the act, in ISl'i, at this time. July 1, 1890. A survey of Tolsloi this afternoon shows little change during the last three days, if any, it has been an increased solidity lo th(> belt of the females on the sand. 1 think their hauling here as they do one of the anomalies of Ibis all around extraordinary state of allairs. ■N APPKMtlX. tH As 1 a;.'aiii look al llit'sc old bulls haiilcd oul Iifit* above (lios(! cows, .'tOO and liOO IVct away Iroiii IIumii and iiol a ball' do/.i>ii bulls b)-lw(ii Ibi'iii, 1 bf^'in to lliiiik llial |iiM'ba|is Ibcy do >(> bt'iaii^r a trw years apt when lliey were berc cows Ibcii liaiib-d oiil lo Ibciii. in solid masses Iroiii llie water — llieydid soin IS7-2. 1 lliid by my -iiaiis; and s(i|ieilia|>rt Ibal islbe i ison wli\ lliey, llie bulls are out beie a.irain wilbout any visible it'a> h lor llieir so bein;^'. It is tbe same way on tbe Meet and Garbolcb, at liiikaniion, and es|iecially so at /apadnie. I lo(dv notice ol'a lai';;i< |ii'o|>ot'lion oi' small or *2-year old i'emnles, and tbe nnusiial slowness (dlianlinu, compared wilb IST-J, wbitb was not al its f^'realest activity ii|) to .lidy 7tli. Tbe nsnal [larade oi' foxes in aii*l oiif amonu tbe breedini: seals now presents itself. I Sitw me lo-day runniii.:; (df witb a l're>b placenta, or " afler-birtb ", in its mo ilb ; tbere is a markcil dinuiiiilinn of Ibc nnm- l)er of foxes as (lontrasled witb my notes of |S7-J. Tbey bave bi'cn mercilessly •mnted dnrinj: tbe last ten years, and last winter Mr. (lolf onb'red a " zapooska ' for tln'ir bcnciil anil preservation. Tbis season is one of imalloyed pby>ical and mental i-omforl bir Itcxnard: be lias all tbe fresb meal, waN'rlowi. e^j^s and Ix'clles Ibal be can cat, and tbe deliiibiiiil assurance llial be is never sbol al oi' trapjied at tbis time of tbe yeai'. .\t tbeprescMit bour Ibcy incsbcddinj.'. and tbey |o(d\ scrnbby enonj^li ; Lrenerally, tbe old bairoii Ibc tail banj:s Ibc ionp'>l, '-vcn after all is renewed everywbci'e (dse on tlieii' bodice ; tliiis yoi ■ on>lanlly see around yt)ii now a blnisb j;i'ay fox runniii).r t)ll° wilb a Unify, dried yrass colored tail, a very odd lookinj^' coidrast. .Inly -, 18!t0. From a station on tbe blnlfs ovi'riookintr tbe entire stri'tili of tbo clilTbell tbe breedini,' seals at Tolstoi, I pas-^cd Iwo lionrs Ibis afternoon intently observing;' tbe service wbicb Ibc bulls below were rendering;; Ibero were (i7 bulls diri'clly williiii distinct sweep of my vision ; dis- tinctly aiul widely scjiaraled; ami He se bulls bad som<' •2,0(1(1 to '2,,"iO() cows! 11 is fairly idle lo allem[)t to express Ibc peib-cl imjiotency of Ibese ovtu'dont! and fe(d)Ie old males; sleeping' or do/.injr neaily all of tbe lime, and on wakini:, leased by llie females wilbonl arousinj;- tbem in lb(> least. I saw in tbcsc two lull lionrs of attentive watrbinj:, only Ibreo attemps (o serve IIk; cows by Ibor (17 bulls; and carli allempi was a lani.niid I'ailui'c. Nol a sinulc " li;dl'-bull "or polscccMlcb atti'mptiiij; to land bere or auywbere tdsc for Ibal malti-r on Ibc rookeries lo-day. Jlow many of tbese cows are ^Miiii; otf wilboul impre^^nation if nol served wben in beat? Do tbey ever return b>r it? And if they do, wliero is Ibal service lo come from? Certainly not from tliose already useless bulls wbicb are bourly f^rowin;;' weaker as tbe season culminates, i saw to-day a mobile virjiin cow, and an (dder one, eni^aired at the sann^ moment in teasing a languid old bull, wbicb made an ineireclual allempt :I it 2'ti SKCTION VIH. m to satisfy one of thoni and failod. I iicvor wilnossod surh a scono in all ol' my obsorvations of 187'2-'7i. Then lliorc avptc 20 l)nlls wlicio liicre is 1 now, and three limes or four times as many cows, hale in I lie rut- ting season, about '20lh-'2itii July, an occasional cxiiibilion of lan^niid impotence was seen, but it made no impression on my mind other than to note the fact that here and there have and there was a bull which was physically exhausted, chielly from the eifecls of tij,'htinn'; but tlicre were tiienso many virile bulls ri^dit around it ready and eager, that it did not signify. One of the odd orders at Tolstoi is the fact that the best massing of the cows now is seen down on the sand at the extreme ext<'nsion of the rookery out towards Middle Hill; it gives one the only suggestion of what the compact, solid massing of the rookery was in IST-i, and which massing is now utterly lacking on these breeding grounds of St. Paul and St. George. There are so few cows, pups and bulls today on that cliir belt of Tolstoi that instead of an area there of itti feet in width, densely covered as in XSli, actually today there is great diflicully in reconciling the mind to allow a depth so covered of 10 feel : as I look down upon this same ground — that gives us 1750 feet by 10= 17,500, or ground for 8,750 seals J., $. and O . instead 36,750 in 1875. That parade ground up and over this breeding belt under the cliffs at Tolstoi is wholly deserted by the holluschickie — not a single animal has hauled out there upon its grassy patched surface thus far this season. Out near the point is that queer climbing path up the clifl's from the sea to this ground; here, in 187!2, I have sat for hours at a time watching the seals come up and go down in ceaseless files of hundreds and thousands, actually climbing up places so steep that it was all an agile man could do to follow them safely! I saw about 50 or (50 holluschickie on the cliff steps to this path to-day ; but none of them seem inclined to go up on to the old parade ground above; the natives call this {(articular locality '• Bobroviayama ", or the " sea otter cave ". July 10, 1890. Made a careful survey of the area and position of the breeding seals on Tolstoi this day in company with Mr. Charles J. (iolf. In July (lilh), iSli, this Tolstoi Rookery held 225,000 $., $. and O-, a startling de- crease here of nearly 3/i or 72/00, or loss here, since 1872, of 162, 600 seals!" Zapadnie. June 13, 1890. 1 think the bulls on Lower Zapadnie show the thinnest in distribu- tion : — certainly this great rookery which swarmed with rousing fight- APPENDIX. HVt mn l»ulls, closoly nmssoil over all tlm brocMlinj,' space iiiappod out on Uiis f-rnund al lliis liiuo in 1S7'J, is in a ^'it-at dcclino. Tin- iVw hulls lliaf licivarchaiilt'doulsowidrlyaudso I'ar from llm \valt»r in places tlioy arc a l,((0(» led I I tliink they act as lhouj,'h they were anliciitalin;,' no- thing,'. A few cows, perhai>s i or o, are all that I saw this day here, and 3 on Upper Zapandie. I have fairly jfol this rouf;h surfacM'd rookery charted lo-day it is a queer place to view the seals — Ihcy lay in curious liltlt- valley and canons which have been created hy hot lava huhhies in pre-l)ioloj,'ical days. Hut that scant distribution t>f the bulls in these places to-day |tuts ine continually in mind of thai sonj,' of the — " ban(piel hall desert- ed, — whose fjarlands dead and jfuesis have fled ", etc. I'pper Zapad- nie is eipially thin and distribution its hill slopes, and what is more, the water's (>d;j;c line, is vacant on frequent intervals; there is an occa- sional roar and some characteristic " spitting ", but none of that des- |>erale, incessant lifrhtinf,' that prevailed anion;; the closely thron;.'ed bulls on all these places in IST'i; the rookeries to-day, on this occasion of th(> tirst arrival of the females, are positively (juiell The unbroken uproar thai boomed night and day from them then in 1 87 '2 is not more than even suggested by what I hear now ". June -26, iS'JO. I have not seen much of Lower Zapadnio to-day, only a running survey from the sand beach, while I had a fine view of Upper Zapadnie and its beach extension. Upper Zapailnie shows the same decadence, but not so painfully marked as in Lower Zapadnie; the beach exten- sion, however, is remarkably vacant in so far as cows are con- cerned. I I i! July :t. 1890. The hauling of the cows on Zapadnio to-day is extraordinary in contrast with its appearance here in 1 87:2 at this time, and only a week from the hour of its utmost limit of expansion. Really, I cannot see much increase since my notes last week, but such rusty cows, such somnolent stupid bulls I such an abnormal average as 60 to 75 cows in the harems I while lots of sleeping bulls all around, though only some iO or nO feet away from these harems, whore the bulls in charge are so feeble that they have refused the advances of eager cows repeatedly under my eyes within less than 20 minutes after I had set a fixed watch on half a dozen right within njy view and near by. Driving as they are obliged to do has the deplorable effect of widening and scattering the already too wide and scattered distri- bution of these breeding animals. I saw this result on the lleef after it had been swept on the 1st inst. the same extending vacancies 246 SECTION VIIJ. i {;:'■' K ii f .■: : ^ 111 on the walor linn of this oncoyreal conij, vcl brooding i^touikI is plainly visible (o-day. Every liltlo pod of bolluscbickit! (hul creeps in now boliiiid a lianiui, layiny rloso up lo il inslinctivoly for sbrllor, is at onoe marked and swept oul, up and into tiio drives, tliis huddles tiio cows into larger and larger niasst's, sweoi)s (jfl" and away the few sur[)lus old males, and leaves the ground in worse and worse shape for a bad season at the least. This driving from the immediate vioinity io " was well demonstrated lo me at Zapadnie in 1870; there, in l8(iS, .Morgan's APPENDIX. 247 scaling Prc(l hy surf and ice-lloe pressure during storms in the lall and Ihe winter and early spring. The land angles of "Little Polavina' are precisely as they were in 187!2. .hini; 4, 18911. An odd seal bridge and gi'otto is on the extreme point of Pulavina, and msikes one of Ihe (pu'crest sort of subjects for the pencil; when [ shall visit it in .Inly, i presume 1 sliall liiid it tenanted witii a harem, although it may be a thoroughfare, since Ihe seals can haul up through it. I take this sketch of Polavina INdnt IVom my Sta. "tl", jus! :i()0 fetit below those bulls in the loregi'ound and which m;ip out as Ihey lay today the southern limit of Ihi' picseul exieul of Ibis bn.'cding grounds. On (his Hat of sand, just ;ihove siul wasli, hasaltic boulders, mostly small (uies, arc strewn thickly over, and many pieces of driftwood. That I'cmarkahle reef t;iii!e wliieii projee!> nut under pcdavina I'oiiil is well bared to-day by the low water and gives me a full view. II is a solid, Hat table of basalt eovered with innunierabh! poids of water and fon;sls of sea-we(!d, whieji fairly glisten as Ihey aie now bare(| diinip ami (hipping by the tide '. .Tunc i">. (800. I revisit Ihis morning Ihe spot from whii h this sketeh is taken; a few small cluL-lers of females have arrived as shown in the sketch on !!• .■if- m .1 il K:'U [Hi m Kii i 111 if 'AH SKCTION VIII. Ilin oliicr side dT lliis |i;i^'('. Tin' iiiimlicr ol' Vii;^ianl liiill< (In/.iii^' (ni litis s;iii»l l)(!a

  • t()if'-;;i(>iiii(l has iiicrt'ascd \aslly, i>iil Hit' lows art- vnv scant in iiiiiiiiici' lor' llic day; lii<'.\' arc Icdjly sn}rf.'c>liv(' i>\' lliat wondciiiil massing wliicli llicy wcic niai\in^ u illi iiisl.j llial il was way Ixdow w licic llic rmd^'iy w niild ^^n Iliis year, jnd;;- in;: li'oni liie lay of llic Inills llicn ; I imw sec il jilaiiily. .Inly :i, l«'l(l. Visilcd Iliis I'dokciy ^^roiitid and surveyed llic irea and |iosilii)ii of llic lircedin;.'' animals in ci)m|)aiiy willi .Mr. (idll'. My liiial Mirvey {,{' jjiis loukci y sliuws it to he one ! I'orni and rnunhcrs. 1 eaiinol avoid the eonehision, however, tliat this rookery liki' /apadnic, has heen ernelly driven dnriiiL: the ja-^t loiii' or live sea- sons, |iciha|(S the last ei^hl years, simc tliiiiliicl haiilin;:-;.roiind^always laid lip hchind tin- lircedin;; lines of iNdaviiia; tlierc|i)re, wiicn the shrinking of h. ISOd. (iame into the ;^reat roidide hy side with their liiij:e i oiisins. I saw very lew hollnscliieki<; lo-day,alllionjili I iiis[iecled ,caial< hie here luday appear in as K'lod mimhcrs as anywhere else on St. I'aiil Island; ^lill, I mii-t trnlli- fiilly add that they are in uoidiil c()nli.i-l willi what I have recorded here in t«7l. APPENDIX. 249 .Iiiiic 4, 1890. Tl <'S<' sand (liiin' liacN al and around llif, ".\o wholly a-> il was; likewise. Hie liail down anion,:; the -,and dunes on ils eastern shore. The ^eiie>is ol' a linely lixed sand dniie here, is as lollow^ : lirsl a heap (d wind -dill led sand Irom its Ihe dryiii;.'- out aho\e siirf wash, into this the seeds ol' Hie A7/////i/.v (iii'iKiriii. are e.nricd and sproiiliii;j, throw the >lroii;: deep rrnds olthal coarse ^^rass down dee|), hindiiii; the heup as it were; this ;;rass alone seems to possess Ihe power ol takiii;.' hold at lirsl ami siieees>l'iilly jii'ow- inff — the othi'i' plants and via>^"^*'s can and do u'erminate hid l!ie Ijrsl slron^'' wind therearier raises the ^aiid ahoiil Ihem or Irom under them, ordeslioy their roots; hut llii> "wild wheat', Ihe /i'//////;/.v, has siieli deep-reaehiii;: loots — a> |)ioiioiinrcd in tlii> respeel as those of IJie alia I la ale, that il e;innot he hlowii oiil . or Idown under very olteii. hill when the /■.'li/mii\ has lirmly anchored a sand (|ime,llieii a i.-'iass closely resemhlin;:' oiir tiiiKdhy or orchiird ^.nas> takes hold in its eom- [laiiy, and with several species il mosses and the creeping: willows {Salixj, and wild pia-vine-., linallv crowds Ihe hardy l:'lijiniis tairly out within a leu years, or at lea>l leavcv hnl ;i scanty remnanl ol' its loinier exclusive holdini^; however, Iheri' are extensive tracts on St. I'aiil where the sand is imii>iially liuht. deep and re-.lless; upon Ihese areas, ami on the kiiliii;: ;:idiiiids where the hoilie-, ol inillions oIMmIs have decayed, makiiij.' a rich, hoi i-ompo-,! oij ol the dr> . sterile sand, there Hie /;'/i/niiis i:iows slioii;: and Inxiiiiant, u ilhoiil a risa!, — iiotlim;^ else can gel in. .Inly l:i, I8!MI. I made my l.md survey of jids |iotnl on the I'nd and ilh ol'.liine; and Irom that liin* until this day I have not lieen on the hreedin|.'-^'ronnds here; hill now I he hour lia\ iiii: arrived in wliichlosee Ihe hreeders at Hieirlinesl limit ol expansion on Hie ;;i'oiind occu|iied hy Ihem,! made this morning', in company with Mr. (ioll, a caiel'Ml, rod hy rod, inspedion I il III in ■!': V V m : ■250 SECTION VIII. t t ! Jin 11^ and survey of tlio Hold : cvoiy soction froiiiiioinl (o point as wo advancfil rniiu slation to station \va> cartTnlly iilottcd on tlie chart with a lUs- tincl nicnioranihini ol'ils massed do[ilh,lhi' land an;.drs ;.'iving (lie cxai-l number of I'eet ol'sea margin whicdi eaeh seclioii [lossessed. In liiisway, fool l)y fool we proyress(ul around the eulire circuit, jottinir down every expansion and contraction of liie IjreeiUnir lines and every vacant}'. Tiiis is the only method jjy which a unilinni fair slalemeni of faet and estimation of the numhers, area and jinsiticn of these rookt^ries can he made. To attenii)t to carry in your mind an estimate over this irrej.'n- lar f^round and distrii)ution of life upnn its surface, is simply a |diys- ical impossibility; and an atleni]>t to measure this area with tiie life as massed upon it with a tape line, is (Miually abortive and ludicrous. But, my andes lakcMi with a line [irismatii- compass from my seve- ral stations established with initial base lines, locate these herds just as they rest upon the }.iround lo-day. U\ having' tlie topo;_rraphy all finished .lune 'Jnd-tth, now 1 rapidly and aciurately plot njion it as I traverse the field, these herds, just as they lie under my eyes. Thus all pn>ss work is wlndly eliminated, as it sl.joidd be. from the exact location of the position and area of these rookeries; then upon this known ground of occupation, a sensible rule for estimation can be based. July 20, IS'JO. Danitd W(>bster is the v»>leran while seah'r on these islands; he came to St. Paul in 18(i.S,an(l, savelheseasorud' I.STfi thenona trip lo IlielUis- sian Seal Islands), he has been scaling here ever since, being in charge of the work at North Kast Point, annually, until this sunnner of 18!t0, when he has conducted Ihe killing on St. (ieorgi-. lie spcd^e \ery freely to me this afternoon while calling on uje and said there is no use trying to build these ro(d lirm at Novasloshnah or North llasi I'oinl. Ilnlciiinson, Kohl andt'.o. had (lie only other parly up there al that lime. This was llie lirsi inegular sealing t.-ver done upon Ibis island since l.SOl. \Vel)ster said that II. K. and Co. and he toidv ovei' T.'i.OOU young male seals alN. IL Point alone, thai sunnner of IS()S, and only stopped work from sheer exhaustion of their men. who were not only piivsically " used up", but also llu'y had used \\[> all their salt and had no suitable means left of saving any more skins. ^\hL'n, then both parties slo[iped work he saidliialno ap[iarenl dimi- APPENDIX. 2bl ru- ;is nulion of Ihc nuiiilxM' of Iiolliiscliickio was evidiMil [o any of tliciu ; and lliat this fad rroaft^d unnli romuHMil ; ho doclaros that llioro li.iays that in lS7-i-'7l be was then able to j;el all the liol- luscbickio he wanted from that sand beaeli on the Norlli shore of the " Neck 'at N. K. I*oinl *■ never went anywhere else for lliem, or near a rookery. llo says that the bollnsrhi( kie never a^ain came down u[ion fbo, southern slo[ie (d' lluli-liin>oirs Hill, after the season's work of 18()S closed. .i < , Al iwi i On the rookeries : St. George Island. " North. " of .Inly l;i, 1890. I came ii[iiiii this breediuj^-icround to-day after an abse ice of just sixteen yeiiis. 1 liud the tHiiut:iaidi\ unchani^ed — the baulinp-tii'ounds all iiiass i^i'own. anil the usual tloweiin.L;- planls that scimii to Inilow the abandonment of hitherto |iolisbed ground laid upnii by liniln^cliiikie. The seals upon its breeding' area are in the usual foiiu and iiuiuln'i' «diaracteristic id' this season over on St. l»aul — a sraiity supply 'ii nld bulls — no yoniij.^ bulls in the rookery or ont>ide — lari^e scattered harems, and eveiy evideiiic of imperfect seivirc — in all these torm--. preci>ely as Ihey are over on St. Paul. Hut tbi> ro(deveiilli> of them, are mis lo-dav dimini-hed as il is. l>«t larire as il is o\ri heir, tlnie are oii|\ iwo Ml SI. Paul ^mallei ; oip is the La; •oon am 1 II le iillier Kctavie, Ihoada it wit? twice as Larue as this brot'diny, yiround in 1871. P'- '•■ m i- SKCTION VIII. July 2:;, 1890. Ciiitl. LavorultT and Dr. Noycs iiia{■>, 1800. No iiicreasfi of hollu^chickic on this ground. If 1 may believe the apparent honest statement of Dr. Noyes and Mr. Webster (agents X. A. C. Co.), this rookeiy lias shrunk Iri from its margins of 3 years ago, ttud, it is (jnmlbj worae lodai/, them it was id this time last year. This is tiu! testimony also of Mr. Golf as to the status of the St. Paul rookeries as between this season and last ; it now points with my work, to lite certainly of a still farUwr inarlced reduction in the form and nnm- bcr of the bi'eeding seals next year, while the killablc seals or hoUus- cbickie, will simply be minus. ;Ju!y 27. tS'JO. Th(! cows and jiups in full swing of " podding "; the hollusehickie scant in numbers and mi.\ing up with the scattered harems; a small pod, chiefly yearlings, hauled on! on the extreme western extension and the two other small pods at the " Haiehka ". and " Seraidnee " on this rookery — altogether, not 'iOO of them 9-lb. skins. 1 am surprised at not seeing the due i)ro|iorlion of yearlings out now, that a rookery of (his size should claim. At least !20,000 pups left this ground last October; half of them should be back now as yearlings; and as such, show u[» a thousand or twt) every day now until the end of the season. I am therefore inclined to think that the pups are sulVering a heavier ratio of loss than in l(S7;2-'7i; they are now fewer in number and their natural eneuiies, such as " killer-whales "' hero and sharks in the North i'acilic, an left Si. Paul every October and November, in line physical trim; and of Ibis one million, not over half of the nundjer came hack next June and .Inly as yearlings. To-day, judging from the scanty returns of yearlings. I know that the loss in puj* returns is far greater — it looks as though not more than nne-((uarter are returning this season of I.SOO as yearlings. Tliere shoidd be at least from ;{,()()0 tn o,000 yearlings out on the hauling gi'ound- of thir. rookery daily now. estimating that oidy half of them, as in I.s7-J, are or have been destroyed at sea since they lel'L this ground (d' their birlh i.isl aidiimn. Hut raking and scraping the whole extent of this rookery lo-day would not [u-oduce a " drive " of apim:m>ix. •2o3 600 liolluscliickie of all apes — ioO of lliem to SOO yoarlinjrs and the Lalaiict! clii<'lly iJ-year-olds. 1 have been lookiiij^^ every day aflcr another since the toth inst. over llie rookeries and haulinfr grounds for Ihi' percentage of yearling returns. By this time all those seals should show uji if they are lo show u[i at all this year. They all arrived here by the iOth July LSTtJ-'Ti. and 1 presume now this l27th day of July, that it is fair to demand a count. July 30, 1800. Tlie pui»s nearest the water's edge on this rookery under the bluffs are all attempting lo swim this afternoon; a high S. S. \V. wind has caused a heavy black swell, and that lliiows up a series of odd yel per- fect salt water l)atli tubs, caused by ' le foundation of several basaltic basins in the beach margin of the rookery here; above and below this place, those pups which are exposed to the full and direct wash of the surf are not making any ed'orl to play and swim in the water, but have crept higher up and are still crawling up so as to gel entirely out of the spray. Most of the pups today on this Rookery have; " podded "" back — some of them loO feel from the sea margin, where with their mothers they are mixed up, and mixing all the time with the holluschickie that are hauling. The iiolluschickie are chielly one-year olds; 9/ 10 of the several jiods hauled out here today are yearlings; a great many yearling femah>s are halting down at landings in and among the scati( r(>d harems, aimlessly paddling about ; — their slight f<>rms and ^ light, silvery backs, while throats and abdomens, are s'lining out very brightly in contrast with the dark rocks, the dull brown and rusty coals of the " Matkahs ", and still rustier forms of the old " seacatchie " , these young yearling cows linally drifl up into the rear, join in the medley of sex and age; there, and go and come with the rest as they go andcomeduringthe remainder iif the season. I have iiiiiictMl this year, because I began al the oulsel lo look tor them, the yearlings which come out in June were invariably males as far as 1 could see, whenever they were examined (as 1 had frequ(>nl opportunity to do, aslliey tMsily and dlleii smnljii'r ami fall, in the ]i(ids, into a sorl fif stujjor which permits you to lit'l liieni 'ly lln'ir hind llipiters and drag theui out of the way.) Bui when I he cows lii'gin lo arrive in full form and mmiber about the Isl — lOlh July, Hit ii the female yearlings also appeared in the herds as a class, for the lirst time. This points to the natural fact that the young yearliuu males instincliveh' flock logelher and follow the older males on their relurn trip to lln' islands while the cows attract the young females as a class, ''4 Kl m 'J3 m W 1 I! M} : 2:ii SECTION VIII. — jusf as loddlinj,' boys will follow the older boys and mon, wliilo llio litll(! ^'iils avoid llicniaud Hock with (bo vouiijj: women and Ibeir elders ol' tbe same sex. By tbc "iOtb of every .Inly all Ibo cows, mobile and maternal, bave arrived, and tbat arrival brinus in the last wave of yearling animals for Ibe season; so tbat all of tlie si'als tbat are to appear for llie year are now on land, bave banled onf, and now linally haul out ; it is Ibis final and linisbing arrival of the yearling,' cows thai swells the numbers of tbe yearlinjis as a class, so markedly, after the iJlh — 10th .Inly — some- times as early as the 1st to .'ilb of that month, if Hit? season iiai>pens to be a very forward one. Still, I lindliiat tbe records of (be airival of Ibe females on the rookeries durinj; Hk? last '•20 years, as they have been aniinally recordiMl on these islands — these yearly entries show (hat liie cows came here every season wilh an amazing' regularity, and l»recisely in this respect as I observed Ibem in l.S7'2-"7l. The old bulls are njorc irregular, varying as to tbe character of the seasons, favorable seasons early in -May; unfavorable seasons, only three or four days later; and all of them invariably on land by tbe I si of every .luue. Since the bollnschickic here bave l)e(>n perniilled to rest for a few days without being at once swept up, aflt.'r lauding, and over to the village killing grounds, Ihey bave become sensibly lamer; and like (be foxes here, when traii|iiiig ceases, they s(>em to know that they are not going to be hustled over to tbe shambles again when we come in sight ; today, Capl. Lavender, who is a very large man, and myself, walked to within a few yards dislance from every i»od of hollnschickie on this rookery, and save in case where (be Captain happened to vigorously nourish his can(» i in em|)basis of something said), these animals gave no sign of rushing into tin' water or of stampeding. This simply goes to pro.e (ba( the " wildn(?ss'" ofdiese hollnschickie of 1890, which some of ll;e sealers attempted to tell me was a marked natural changt; in (heir babil of lS7!2-'7i, is naturally due to tbe extraor- dinarily changed fashion of driving which tbe sealers themselves have inslituled during the last six or (Mgbt years of increasing scarcitj- of killabb; seals; from the time since 1881, when tbe llrst regulardriving began early in .lune, until tiu' catch of 100,000 was secured in .Inly, following, these animals have never been allowed to rest anyv.ntM'c on tbe islands as Ihey hauled out, long enough to become wonted to (he grounds. Naturally enough, we find them " wild ", esjiecially when there is not a tenth of the number on the ground there to-day of the holluscbickie which used to be here in 187-2. August 3, 1800. The pups in that small area under the bluffs where (be surf has filled cerlain cavKies so as to form incipient bath tubs— these pups are APl'KNDIX. 2!i3 now all swimming: onlsido, in llic f^onllo swell Hint now rolls in. Tlicy have k'inncfl lo swim, linl llic •neat niajoiily ol' llicir kind arc slill I'ar back on Iho nplands to llio roar, and wliolly niuiscd as lo water vol. Also, 1 notice that those pnjjs on the sea niarfrin wiiitii are not in the inunediale vicinity of tiieso " hath Inhs " ai'e slill lianLrinj.' alooirroni the surf; they will, however, soon hi^iiin their water exercises, hy llio 13th insl., at thelali^sl, as they did so in 1S7'2. Tho numbers of yoarliufr females that are loitoriuf,' on the rookeiv fjround, lollinji' over the rocks and iiajijiiii^' llie iiii[is, arc larj^'cr than 1 have usually ol)served thus far since the season for their arrival opened on the l.'ith of ,)uly last. But the mixture lo-day of all classes of li(dlnschickio, with tlie cows and pups, is complete; it would he a mattcrulterly impossible to make a " drive " of a 100 killablc seals from iiiis jilace todaj', and not swce[> into that " drive "as many cows, drajx pups out and demorali/.(; thinjis generally. The nund)er of holluschickie out this afternoon is no! equal to half the of what [ observed here day i)efore yesterday durinuthe i»revalcnci> of thai S. W. };ale, which threw ui» a heavy, furious surf; when the oee- an is troul)led, the non-breedini,^ seals always haul oul in liicalesl nundx-rs; the brcMnliuii' s(>als are, however, (piite unilorm in liieir attendance, however, without much rell'ienic to weatlier, unless it b<; a very abnormally warm, sunshiny day; then the cows nearly all taketo the water, leaving their i)ui)s with the hulls behind them; they doni go faraway, hut lie in the rollers idly scratcbingin lliecoolembraceoftbesea. 1 noticed one action this afternoon which has hitherto completidy escai»ed my eyes. A young pu[i near these " bath tubs ' under the blufl's was eagerly endeavouring lo get over tho rocks and join those sporting pups which were so joyously s|)lurging in and out of the [tools there; but no sooner did the little fellow fairly gei started than its inotber would lunge after, and catching tiH> pup [jrecisoly as a cat does a kitten, would pitch it rudely back, sometimes full three t"el at, a swing, bumping it without mercy on the boulders; tln^ pup would then lV)r a few moments lie i)erfectly quiet, then start uj) suddenly, get a few feet under way for the pools again, when the juolher woidd repeat the lesson just cited. 1 watched her check and bunqi this puj) of hers against the rocks for nearly half an hour; then seeing no sign of cessation of this action of the mother, or desir(> of the i)up lo have its own way, 1 did not wait for the ending of the conlrov(>rsy. it shows very plainly, however, that so far from learning their [uips to swim, the moliier steals try lo keep their pups from the water as long as tbey can, seeming to have an instinctive appreciation of the fact that a heavy swell and surf could and would drown their olfsitring when so young, should these little creatures happen to gel out and within the reach of its breaking force. r i fft- iiiG SECTION VIII. , '■» • ! f'i ; \\ : \ \ 1 i h i ! 1] ; ►^'! 1 ! i ;■< i ■ [J i 1 i ;1 ^ m !■■ l ! .1 r ■ 1 ■' m- 1 Great Eastern. July 23, 18'.)0. 1 passod up aI)ov(' lliis rookery in |.'oiii^' lo Tolsloi Mfcs and lli<> sna- lion rookery Iliis niorninj,^ no liolluscliickie, save a small [mkI, hauled out ; and I also observe lliat llie iKdIuscIiickie have not pul in an appear- ance in the Norlh llookory oilher — have nol hauled since (he SOIh inst., simply hecause there are none left lo haul. There are very lew seals in llie waler — no " killer whales " ahoul oilher — Ihey were lierc in larf.'t^ numbers u[> lo llie 'JOIh June, Ihen suddenly deiiarttMl. Capt. Lavender inl'orms me llial he has seen schools of" killers "; " hundreds of Ihem " skinnninjr alon;;' close lu Ihe shore helween llie Villa^'e landiuf,^ and Ihe Norlh Hookery; Ihal Ihoy have pi'ohidjly fione norlh inio some of the l)ays Ihero or rivei' esluaries where shoal water perniils Ihem lo calve and jj;elfood; and Ihen relurninj; this way Ihey hanjj: around lli(red over those hauling grounds of IS73, and even now, where the breeders Ihemsclves are lying and podding, the ground is not wholly free from scattered vegetation. The natives assure me that this rookery actually increased in 187(1- '78 considerably over my lines of l(S7;)-'7'i ; also, the Kast Itooki'ry; inil to-day it has shrivelled up to half its numbers of that time and the i:asl Rookery lo less than one-third 1 Why the breeding seals should elect lo haul up on Ibis unusual spot in this ((ueer manner is diilicull lo [losiliveiy say, because Ihere is more vacant space at North Rookery or Litth," Ivistern than is neces- sary for the reception of ten times as many as are here assembled; perhaps, however, the drainage is so perfect that it meets exactly the wishes of the breeding seal, since it is compelled to rest from two to three months upon a single spot ere the work of reproduction is com- pleted. This rookery and Zapadnie are the only ones on this island thus n •I I ^ ;^> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 !r ■••0 IM 2.2 1.8 1.4 111.6 6' <^ w /a %A /a ^^"% # ^\ Kiotographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY MS80 (7t6) 872-4503 ,.■% % v^ 258 SECTION VIII. far raiiloil aslioro liy |*inil<>s: the lii^'li liluirMii wlii<-li lli«> f-rcrtliM;: >«>als rest, just N. N. K. ahoiil iWt) H-fl !>|i;ii-|> inlu IIm* M>a from the slrai^lit \V. uiitl K. In'iiil <>rilit> Nitrlli >liorf <>r llif i>laii> a |)r«'lly >imi;: sli«>ll<>r rmiii liiiiiiaii ohst-na- liuii ill llu' villap*, or n-oiii any ollit i- |Hiiiii tuisl: IIhti* is no nNik<>ry and iiohoily living' west ^r it : and nnl«'>'> >4iiii«'l)ody !>taiid< ii|m>ii IIic i'Xtri'ino siiniinit <>r Hit* r«M>kcry IdulTs. or \\v>\ or il, uolhing can lie seen ol anybody iH*lo«. |{4>liiiid llir Starry AiiiM-I Idiiiroii its w«-<m taco. just at and only a Irillc ahovt' snii'-wasli, is a walrr-woni rav«> — a small ravoni in wlii«-|i a dozi'ii men tan liiiddl**: lirn*. in iKHti.a scaiiii}; S4*lioonor's rp'w sysl(>m- ali«-ally passed llieir days in hiding, and llicir nijrliis in raiding the rookery. Tli"y \v«»rked some lliree weeks ere lliey »ere delrrted l»y the natives, who, in seanhin^ aloii;: the >hore for driftwood, afler flu* scaling season hail ended Tor them, found the fre-hly kilh*d InMlit". itf a nuinher ofeowsat the month of this eave. the s«-alers having; ski|i|>ed. A^ain. at /apadnie, in the month of .Vu^iist last year. IH^t'.i. a similar raidinf; of lliat ntokery was attempted; hnt as the pirate> hoats came in at 10, iO I*. M. fr<»ni their sehooner. they tired into them, and the startled marauders turned ahoni and disappeared in the Ut^:. Z.-ipadn3c lias been visited three times prior to this in this niauner hy pinites — but no ^reat number of seals has been taken hy them — a hundred or i»u perhaps; but it i> a ehos«>n spot for the marauders luanehoroirfioin, une half to one mile a? sea, where they ha\e shot a ^eat many H-als; at no other rookery on either island have they done !>o to any extent. .\t Starry Artcel. in \Hii6, those cave pirates above desi-ribed took several hundred skins, some (itlU: this i» the largest haul made by illegiti- mate landing on either island, aliH). July 27. 18^. I made u circuit of this unique breeding ground today: climbed up through a few scattered pups, cows and holluschickie. all commingled on its sleep hill slo|>o of breccia and cement, which these seals seem to lovo so well, happy as to drainage, and free from dust. The podding of the pups here simx- the 2Kth July has made the driv- ing of hollusrhickio simply impossible from this place, for the mixture of all cla^sos is thorough toilay. 1 notice also that the effect of that peculiar driving which has been in vogue here ever since the shrinking of tSSi caused ilse>tablishment). of the holluschickie in creating an undue extension of sea marg'^ for the number of animals occupying it as a breeding ground. In 1873 this rookery was a compact, oblong, oval mass of breeding seals. 500 feel by 12,'» feet, in which my tigures declared a gathering of 30.000 cows, |)ups and bulls; today there is a straggling belt of 800 feet by 40 feel (a ver} liberal estimate) on which only 16,000 ^., 9-i and o. rest... APPENDIX. V» Zapadnie. July 20, IS80. I ofion woiulorcd in 1873 why this liUlo rookery over here was always the best hauling ground on St.deorjye's; I now believe tlinl il is due to ilsloealion on the south si0.was the "Cygiujf of San Francisco, (.apLD. Kiud)erley, and the "Sun Diego", of Sau Francisco, Capt. F. V. Herendeeu, was llie next craft in order, having paid SI. Paul's island a visit of that doubtful character, designateil as 'piracy" in I S7'». Aii^'ust t, I SOD. A careful review of the rotikery to-day disclosed some 1,200 hol- luschickie, half of that number apart I'rom Ihe cows, Ihe other half commingled with the podded females and their young: i); 10 of this scpiad of holluschickie were yearlings. I observed not only hero but on all the ttther rookeries a strange absence of the proportion of two-years-olds which should show up now. M9 SECTIOX VIII. (lie fad lliat 2.1.000, |Mi«Mbly 30.00 i yoarlings wen> killed last year after (li(> I3tli July may ac>-»unl f»rllii«. — it siiiiitly shuws, however, wlial an empty !ili«*ll now muaia'>-. The condition of lliei« breeding seals at Zapadnie barring? Ilieii* scant nitniliers. i:» pNid pbr«jcally : lli«> piip:^ and cows have podded out in some plac«'s. n«-arly I.OtO feet back, up and away from the sea; these pups on the nplaiMl^ v> i*r ba<-k will not get into the water much earlier tham the l>l •»! neil iu««atli. while a few of these pups on the beach mar^rin are di>w swiDimii^: ainl U-arninf; to swim. The heavy surf »f y^ltfrdzy and Uie day preceding has not injured any pups here as fur a* I can obst^r^e : they are all safely hauled up out of its fury. When. bowe*er. nu catches thousands of them unawares, and destrovs Iheni. On the haoliBg-trounds : St. Paul Island. Mil J 21, 1890. The llrst " drive " fud of the season made this morning on Seevitchie Kammen by lh*>- natives : abv a> in 187:2. June II, 1800. The lirst regular basine«« drive of the season made this moining at 3 A. .M., from the " Cn^sl ' -n lh«- R«M'f rookery. The natives made this drive of alxMit l:M)0 b«j>lla'!ng" i and a few 4-year-«»lds, the balance, a large proportion of it. •• long " yeariings and *• short " ;2-year-olds ; the drive was made from the s«*ulb «l«»|<<* of the " Crest " where about l.')0 feet back from the surf on Ibe rocks, these animals had hauled, having slip- ped in between the breedin;r bulls, which are widely scattered there on 111).* sea-margin; thi'» gn.>und when visited by myself, four or live hours later, wa> tilling a{> again with holluschickie, showing clearly (bat the act of visiting and driving ('niii this point early this morning has hati no etTecl in prvrenlin^ or delaying the continued hauling of this class of seals... 5.J» >Lin> taken, — <»0 per cent, rejected) : These old bulls by Ibv way on the rookeri* s, behave now as they did in 187i, precis«-ly : linn are a little shy and sensitive when they first haul up in May or lai*' in April i and for the next ten days there- after; but by the |.>tb — iOlb of May. they have become so settled thai Ihey will not leave their |»>>Hlions. but Inddly face and defy you, when you walk d«»wn to lli»>ni tw in>|io well doiiucd rookeries whieh I term " vap'anis " beeause they have no location, — these hulls will scuttle away prccise- Iv as the holluschickie do. June tl), I8!)0. During' the last ton days while inspecting the land anodes and bulls on the several hreediu}; (grounds of !his island, I have paid careful attention to every scpiad of Imlhischickie that has appeared, and except as to nuudiers, I do not observe any chan^'e up to dale in their habit or <»f hauling; early in the seas(»n, from my notes of 1872. These early squads appear just above the surf-mar^'in in English Bay, just at the back of the breeders on Lukannon.Ketavie.and thelleef ; they are captured by the natives just in the manner ihal I describe as cbaracleris'.ic of the work st» early in season of 1872, and they are driven overland also in the same method, except that the drivers use whistles occasionally, instead of bones, f^rass, etc., to start the lair^riu}; herd- There is not uuu-h chan^'c, however, in the method of handling the skins after they are taken, which is also done exactly as I have described it, only a white man supervises the clnhhin;;. Now a team of mules and a full sized " Sludebaker " farm wajron is busy in carry- ing the skins fntm the tield to the salt-houses; and two men easily do this part of the work to-day, which all hanrls had to keep to do in 1872; in 1871 carls and mules were first em|doyed for this purpose, and lliese teams aforesaid, soon followed. At 8 A. M. a report came down fr(»m N. E. P»»int which declared the presence of two marauding' scho(»ners up there nearly, with their boats down, sealinjj. This is the first notilicalion td" (he kind for the season. Mr. (loff and I started at once for Novasloshnah with four selected men. I went with him becaiist> indepcMident of the h^^'itimate errand,! desired to persomially experience a ride ;ip on a two-wheeled cart, as he rode in a jrij; drawn by a team of nudes; tiie road is bad, — very bad and will re(piire considerable work laid out on it before it is fit even for slow driving' ovit in any vehicle; thus far the mule-back ride is best, and after all, I prefer my own h>j:s. We arrived at Webster's house at 12. .10 P. .M. Still" N. K. pale charj?ed with rain and hail whole way. The two natives stationed there on watch were not clear in their understanding of (he vessel which they saw yesterday; because it was at one time a steamer, and at another, a schooner, etc. ; we came to the conclusion that it was and is one of the several steam whalers tliat wc know to be cruisinfr in Bering Sea this season. v.^rt' 202 SECTION MM. Polor Posliorkov. ono «if tlioso wnlclinini, Haifl that yoslordny was n lino (lay. still and sonii-rlrar; he \vt>nt aronnd the *>ntiri> circnil ol' tin' rookrry Iuti*. rarol'nlly ins|H>rlin^ tin* soa-niai^'in ; lie says that li«' fuiuul about HH) linlluscliirkic, only, liaulod iinini>dial«>ly up «)ii tlic north si, IK90. Wohstor llouso, !* A.M. Carp Uoolorin and Noon Mandriggan niado a oirouit of N.K. Point this niorning; thoy rojiort to Mr. (jolT no sign of vossol landing or soaling anywhoro on Iho circuit : Ihoy say that there aro about 300 holluschi(kii> on the " Staff Itight "; about !200 good ones on Iho North slope of llulchinson's Hill, and a few, very fow at or near tho South Shoulder.... I came down on foot to tlio Village, giving P«davina a survey along outsidi> so as to see tho old and now seal grass on that famous parad(>; it is somewhat too soon t(» arrive al a conclusion, bul what I saw and noted causes surprise. Suppose you had sixteen years ago sto«ul on an eminence overlook- ing a sheep-pasture, 3/4 of a mile in longlh and 3 i lo l/;2 a mile in width, — this lot tilled with a flock of sheep so full as lo fairly whiten with their bodies tho whole surface of the green earth upon which they slept, gaxed and stotxl in groups. Then to-day to stand again upon the same ominonco. overlooking the same ground and life, and see nolhiug bul a fow lonely wide scal- Icrod bands of sitoop, and those so few in nundtor thai il requires no eiltirt to count them one by one, - thai desolate im|)rossion made thus upon you is precisely tho impression thai those hauling grounds of St. Paul Island make uptui mo to-day. Perhaps the next inonlh may improve matters, — bul Mr. Golf says- thai it will not, — thai I will see. Juno 17, 1890. I made a review of the abandoned site of Nah Spoel rookery this morn- ing. Tho best bulls and cows hauled here in 188(5. In IHTtJ-'Ti, there were some 8.000 Bulls, Cows, and Pups hero; 400 feet of sea-margin, 40 feet deep : in IK7(>, they had fallen olf to less than half that number, having gone ovor across Ihe way lo l.agoon Hookory. This abandoiunoni gives mo a good bartis for estimation of the time il takes to remove striking traces of seals hauling on tho rocks. Now, these rocks of Nah Spoel ro»»kery umlor my feet Ibis morning wore in 1872-'74 so polished by Ihe flippers of Callovhiiius that nothing save the APPKNDIX. M3 shiny baHnll, oliviiio and proy lava was U) bo soon : hwlay llioy aro lito- rally covcimmI wiUi yollowand ftray lichons.andwcro it not \\n llio ovid- encc of llioso soal-^rrass lussocks np abovo llioin, a |ii'a<-ti<'od oyo wonid not, c^tmld not dolccl ll;o piovimis oxislonco of a liit'cdinp rook- pry on llioni and this all ollarod in loss llian twolvo years, partially tlioii, and wliolly within tho last livo yoars. How inipoilanl il is tlion>- fore lo havo thoso brooding pronnds oorrootly survoyod at fro(pionl intervals so thai ebb or How of this seal-liCo tide can be Irnthfully ie},Ms- tered. Certain, it is, nothing' can bi; dolinitoly trnstod lu memory in this respect. June \T, 1 890. On tho Hoof and fiarbatcb. — ^VIlero arc tho pidsoacalchie or " 1/2 bnlls "? where, indeed, are lh(»se yonn^' li and ti years old bnlls which wore literally swarming: at the water's edj.'e of lliese breeding gronnds in 1S7>2? trying' to land and repelled in vicious battle olfered and wapod by the old bulls : then tboiisann from llio suniniil of Telegraph Hill, I had a hill s\viM>p of Kn^lisli Hay, on]y a small s(|iiad rlia|is 150 liolliischickio und<>r Middlu Hill and anolluT small pod al Iho iiilcrsrclion of llic sand-licacli willi Tolstoi Hodkcry... A small drivi; tVom Kn^lisli Hay was made yesl<>rday, some 300 skins taken, and llio llrst drivo from N. K. Point y<»sterday jr.ive only 78 skins! WlM'thcr this tr(»uhl<> hc^'ins on the rookeries or on the killin]; grounds I have to find out, and it is important to know it. Not a single holluseliak of any age whatsoever on Z(dloi Sands this day, and there has not heen a killahle seal thus far there this season! June 21, tS'JO. From the high sand-dunes of Tolstoi 1 have a full sweep of English Bay, — a few hundred hollusehickie only under Middle Mill, and right down under me at the intersection of the sand-heach with the breeding ground of Tolstoi are a few more, 200! The weather has heen good for hauling ever sinee the last drive (17lh) from this place, yet it has not tilled up any heller than this' From this time on, the killahle hollusehickie should appear in as good or better number u|) to the 4 Ih of July, — better form than tliey will thereafter. In other words the best «-lasses of these killahle seals, viz., the 2, 3. and i year olds were here now in their linest form and number for the season during the seasons of 1872-74. From the Volcano Hidge I had a clear view of Lukannon beach and hauling grounds, — not a seal (tf any age upon il, and the weather su- perb for seals to haul in, cool, moisi and foggy. June 22, 1800. Fine weather for seals to haul in continues but the seals do not haul; not a single seal on Zoltoi Sands this morning, — has not been a hollusohak there yet ! and this spot was the never failing resort of the natives in 1872-74, acc(»nling to my own observation. Sometimes two drives of thousands e.ich would b(' taken, one right after the other, in the same morning from Ibis place right under the village at Ibis time in June. Every seal would be swept oil" from Ihe sands of Zoltoi then in the early hours of a morning like this, — a drove of anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000, and even more htdluscbickie of allsizes, and Ihousands permitted to hustle into the water al the moment (tf driving; then alter breakfast, at 7 o'clock I would again go u|> to look, and behold ! these sands of Zoltoi only a few hours earlier which were swept bare of every seal, were now fairly covered with a fresh swarm of ludluscbickie; and which, later in the day, might be driven up to Ihe killing grounds not more than 1,000 feet away ! provided that the day was a very favorable i APPENDIX. 265 one for work there, and I ho iin'ii on tlio killing grounds woro not un- willing to inpot tho aclivc lahor for llu* day, «'lc. Now, not a single young male seal has hauled on Zidtoiihus far this season : (June 23nd, H A. M.) This is the day and this is the hour of (he season in which to see the ho||uschi<'kii> in their hest form and numher, — all classes, cxeept llie yearlings. Therefore this vaeaney on Zoltoi Stands, ttn I.ukannon H<>aeh and the uplands of Voleanie Hidge, on Ketavie uplands, on the sands of Knglish May, on those of Polavina and the utter solitude oflhose of S. \V. Point and of Novaslvtshnah makes a deep impression nn one, who has, like myself, stc mI upon them all in 187*2-7 i, and ohserved the swarming pidoons of young mah^ seals then existing, — now entirely vanished. Yesterday, when the work <»n the killing grounds closed, only 3,(110 skins have thus far heen taken and every little scpind catch next year? not more than a few hun- dreds ! these are facts which the status of the hour declares, and whith can not he s«>nsihly overlooked at this finest season of the catch. Th(?n, t(»o, the utter shift (tf method in driving which characterizes the present from the past. Now, with the solitary exception of the small drives from Middle Hill, every drive has heen right from the hor- a. I do not ohserve to-day, except at .Middle Hill, the least, the faintest suggestion even, of thai past. Will it improve? the 20th of July will tell the whole story heyond speculation or cavil. Juno 2-2, 1890. " From the fact that this morning opened warm, clear, and hright sunshine, I did not expect to see any hauling of the holluschickie, — it 206 SECTION VIII. has lioon tlio (Irsl day siiioo llic Idlli '.iislanl. tli.'il has nut lioon Hiiitnlilo fur hauling; the woatlier IhIImtIo li:tt lM><'iiexc«-ll<>nt. Lukaiinon Bcarli is as haro an it wuH yoslorday, and lii" Iwo small puds at KuKJisli Hay roniain at tlid tu m-«> iln'ni all in llit> water sincu it lias hocn so warm, — the lirst warm day uf iIh> year, — but they wen? not. It tlii('kiM)s up tliis I'vcnin); and hiTumfs cuol. Nul a soal on Zultoi Sands tliis moriiiux^and not onu siniM> during this day. June 23, 1890. Tlioso twu puds uf liulluscliirkir wliirli I have uliscrvt'd under Midcile Hill and Tulsloi duriuK the last twu days wore driven up I his nmrninm I be^an an itemized aeeuuni «»f pereenta^es, — llie number driven up in eatli pud and tlic number turned unt tu the sea, ur reject- ed fruni il. No. of I'ods. Wholo No. Drivoii. No. Tukeii. No. of. l>od>i. Whole No. Urivru. No, Taken. Hoinark*. i 7 61 I.'i 3 ♦ m m y 7 H H 9 to *7 tli 7 rml. No, 1, 1 ilM not RKl a <-arract count »r. tn It !• oniltlnil. H 01 i:i II »•> It 6 m tu 12 G'J t) I II pods uf .'Mil animals tiriven up: 310 of tboni killed or l/.'i taken or 80 percent turned away. — all under 7 lb. skins, with the e.xception of a few wi^'j^ed 4-year »diirxl \viM*k, aiwl soon all ovoi- IIm* island lliron;;li IIm> soason. Wlial indiralion lliru n>ally liavr> wt', or wlial nnnilMT of Tn'sli liollnsrliirkic really arrive from lliis lime forth. — if lliese released seals are to eonliniially present themselves anew as Ihey do? So. as matters pt we wil! note the steady iiu'rease daily of disearded seals in the drives lop>llier with the new arrivals, or freshly driven seals lhron);h«tnl the kdlin^' season. Now in lH7i-"7i. this |tr«>|)ortion of rejected or turned away seal, from all the dri\es up to 1st of .Inly was not over 10 jter eenl or M per rent of the whole number driven, iioir, it in beliren 70 pn' cent, and SO per rntl.\ and !K» per eent. of the rejection yearlings, that will require ti years of rest ere they are (It for rottkery service : this is the status at the present moment on these killing grounds, and. this also, must be ronsidered in the \'\y}\\. of the native's positive declaration in IK.'ii that this repeated driving; renders the spared male seals wholly until lor ri>okery service. How many oi iliese released seals this morning have been driven uver this road before this season? (hi the t7th iiislan* the last drive prior to this one lo-day was made from Tolsioi and .Middle Hill; 70 percent, of thatdro>e was turned away; and now. lo-day. the same (rround is driven over apiin, and 80 per cent, is turned away. I shall observe the next drive very closely. .\l this rate of increase, where will the driving bo in July? when the yearlin|;s then bcfrin to haul in bodies. June 31, IROO. 5.50 A. M. .\ drive this morning from Zoltoi Hlufl's of about iiOO all told and also pod from the lieef, 7.'»0 coming,'. Yeslenlay morning' al 7 o'clock there was not a sin^de h«dluschickie on Zoltoi hlull's. Hut in less than three hours after the killing' be-.nin on (he La}.'oon l-hUs, and the turning ou( from the pods there. I observed that hw. the cpiery cannot leave my mind of " Were any of those spared seals of yesterday, hauling u|» soon thereafter al Zoltt)i? " " look at the map and observe the sij:iiilicaiice of the si:rrouiidinffs. Everybody in IS73 and everybody to-day admits that these seals which we released from the drives haul up ajfain. are driven over, released, and still driven a^'ain and a^ain throughout the season. In 1S7>2 on Ibis SI. I'aul Villap' killing' ^rttund such a 5-year-old bull was pointed out (u me by Chief Hotilerin; At 7 A. .M.. I went down to the killing; grounds and followed the " podding: " and " clubbing " of the entire drive brought up from the Reef Crest and Zoltoi Hlull's, this morning; (he Zoltoi pod arrived on the 268 SKtlTIO.N VIII. groiitxl loii^ lioforo Ihn llrof poil, — (wo lioiirs soonn-; il was nimli' up largely of |Mtls(>a<'al<'lii<> aiul yoarlinjrs, — llic «»l«l«'sl ImiIIs of llif sea- son, «> and 7 ,vi>ar-olA i:i ti HroHijht forii' 781 23 1 02 39 14 4 'iO 38 13 3 it 12 •2 21 m 12 1 '»« 12 3 22 m 9 3 27 II 3 •23 m 2 :>i 20 4 2 k m 11 .'i :rt i:i 3 23 m 1.1 4 42 10 4 if, m '•J 3 Hi 12 .i 27 m 9 4 10 40 to 2 28 m 7 3 il :i9 i:i 3 29 ♦t 7 1 l» 27 7 1 30 37 8 4 # :«('. to 2 31 m 8 2 m «t 14 " 32 m 11 1 m U) to :i 33 38 to 10 40 (0 .*> 34 m ii 17 Xi 11 3 35 « 9 18 :i(i 14 36 » t;i 19 :i;i t2 \ 37 30 i:> Cart y forw, 781 2;i4 02 Total. . l,.38ti 42i'> 90 Summa ry : NVIkiIc number of iUlillK lis pnddt'il or driven. • 1,386 — — — xkins - lialf-1 taken, . . . 420 >ulls in il. . . 96 i ii or 71 por ccnl. of this drive rejecled. Kvery 3 ami '• smooth" i year old taken, and every " long" 2 year old : nothing under or (»vorlhat grade. The seals released this morning were exclusively yearlings, " short" 2-year-olds, and (he S-and 6-year-old "half-hulls "or " polseecalchin ". No " long " 2-yoar-old escaped, and so, (herefore, many 5 if"! Ih. and 6 lb. skins will appear in this catch ; (hero was a notable absence, how- ever, of 2-yoar-olds in proportion, and the bulk of the catch was 3-year- oids, 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 AIM* KM) IX. M» groiimh, — iiol a i lioncli, oxcopt a liair dozen half-bulls, abreast (if lliu Volcanic Kidgo; lli«!not> over to ToUloi ^and-dunuH, wlM*re 1 saw about HOO or 700 yi'nrlingH conspicunus by tlicir wbito bi>l- lics. — and a Tuw killablu seals sandwiched in : another small pud un- diT Middle Hill. I should n-niark that the driving of (he seals has been very care- Tully doiii*. no extra rushing ami smollnTing of llit> herd, as it was rrcquenlly done in I87i. Mr. GolT ixtgan with a sharp admonition and it has bei'U scrupulously observed, thus far, by the natives. This drop- ping of exhausted seals along the road in l87i-'74 was a matter which then aroused both Lt. .Maynard and myscll' in lH7i : the iiKent of the A. C. Co. then promised to correct the evil; but it will always re(|uin> the <>yo of the Treasury Agent to rest upon this foature of the business since he is the executive head in this small coinwiui'ity,uni({uo and isolated, and he should be. Jiin<> U}, t890. An inspection «>f Zolloi beach this morning doe- )t show a single seal upon (hi- famous hauling-ground ; yesterday morni:.;; u small drive of consiuerahly less than 500 was taken from the rf< -kx ..'zninencu jusl I > the soulhward of (his spo(, being also the- first drive made from there this year. When driven from in such line sealing weather as that now prevailing in iS7:!- 71, these sands in less Ihaii an Ikput afterwards woiihl begin lo (111 up again wilh fresh arrivals from (he sea; and oiten af(er the lapse of seven or eight hours after the llrst drive had been made, (o till up an additional demand another drive would b«^ ordered from the same spot, and duly driven. Also, I did not see this morning a single seal sporting in the waters of Zoltoi Bay. and (he only one in sight was right under the Village blutfs where I stood by the llagstalV. June ar.. I SOD. I went up at (i A.M. to tin; killing at Tonkio Mees or Stony Point, where over since I87ii, the seals that have hauled at Polavina, and on the sand bea«;h between and towards Lukannon below, have been dri- ven for slaugh("r: a small herd collected this morning, and only 263 taken, — the balance, some 500 or <>00 turned back to (he sea : the selection was made in the same manner as yesterday, and the same class of seals sparcil; — an enormous number of 5-and «)-year-old bulls in it for the whole number 0 — 16 — all 3 and 4 year-olds. Then after the killing-gang had llnished, and started to return to lii ; 1 ' SliCTION Mil. Ihe villafjc al 8. SO A.M., I prucrrdcil up Id l^^laviIla following' Hit; seal drivfl path iiKuUi hy Wm nalivus early tliis tunniiii^'. I ohstTV.;,! at Sloiiy Point, or Ti»iikie iM.M>s, llie spared seals as (hey were released from llie pods, pluiif.'C back iiilo the surl", and to my surprise all of lliese seals headed diroetly back for I'olaviiia jumping' in rapid " dolphin " leaps and swiinmin^M'apidly. .\s 1 walked alonjr. I repeatedly stepped up nii to the summit of a sand-dune, and (-(lutinut'd to wateli the pro^^ress of these liberated herds; Ihey all beaded directly for I'olavina, anre lorcihly arises to my mind the statement of the natives, in lijJi who then on this i>land assured Hishup Veuiaminov that the yoini}:, males driven here and spared never he- came ill afterwards for hreedinj; purposes, and never WJ'ul after this drivinj; upon the rookeries. Certaiidy it heroines clearer and clearer to my mind that those younj; males which as yearlings survive the driviuf; here of that year of their a;;e, and then return t«i survive the drivin;; of the second year of their age; — then surviving this trial, reappear to he driven over again in their third year, — to he released ami again if alive to he redriven up here in their fourth year, and then llnally if surviving these Ave consecutive seasons of unwonted violent physical ellort, — unnatu- ral ellorls to he again driven as 1 see them to-day in their tilth year of growth, what indeed can we reasonahly ex|H,'ct tdlhem in Iheir sixth year, even if they do manage lu endure, some of them, not many ofUiem), all of this intense physical suHering, exhaustion, straining of tendons, congestions of lungs and hrain, and heart sull'usions : The more I Ihink over this matter, the more I helieve thai the natives were right and Veuiaminov says that they '• truly assert "it. I hati this point in my thought during my studies of l87'2-'7i : hut at thaf time, no hoUuschickit; were driven from S. W. Point, hom Za- padnie, from Tonkie Mees or ^touy Point, or from Polavina, — no seals were driven from these plai-es where evervhody admilled that full half of the t'utire numher helonging to the islaml, laid, and tluui, the per- centage (»f rejei'led or turned-out seals on the killing gi'oumls was really very small, — there was not much wasted energy, — most of the st>als driven there were killed and duly skinn<'d. Thus, then it did not impress me. — il seemed immaterial for there was an iuunense reserve of undriven. undisliu!)ed young male life; and the uali\es lliemsehrs said thai all was well even if those spared --eals of tS7-2 never went 'o the rookeries. How dillerenl at this writing I in IS7't the dislani ('riving hegan here; and that marks the dale of llu; decline of the hauling grouitd> : — al that rali- of decrease up in ihc present wrelelied order of allairs il will reipiire >e\en years oj nuhroken rest to hring iiack al the earlie>l moment, a condition such a«; I foimd and recorded here in I.S7-J-'7l, — |.erfecl rest nuist he given here on tiic islanils and full |u-otection in liering Sea. June 2(1, 1800. Not a . ingle liolluscliak or '• half-hidl " eilher on Zoltoi Sands this morning, and there has not heen one near it since that sweep, ofaUO half 272 SECTION Mil. : i bulls toyoarlin^s ina«lo lliore on llir iiiomin;.' of lli«» Ittli inslanl. — this tiiii<; in IHli, it w<»ul«l liav«' l»fM«n ovvrrunnin;: with seats froiii llie Bay, clear «»ver t«» tin- suninit of Gull Hill, even if tlrivi-n riear every morning ! The sealin;; weather lii-re since the 1st June har> >iniply been perfect : it is as line as conlil be desired, and yet the a.'^lonishin^ |»uverly of these empty hanlin !•<■ i^'nored in «-ands of Zoltoi, as they app)*al to your eye and understanding llii:» morning. I walked over to theZapadiiie killing ^rrounds this morning;, arriving there about !> o'clock. The drivi-rs had collected a si{uad of aboul 3i0 holluschickie. which were clubbed thus; •N.i. of Whole .No. Pod. Driven. Taken. -Ualf- bulU' • No. of e.Ki. Wbolo No. I>nven. No. Taken. • llalf- 1 3U a 37 12 .» 1 Itroii'jht forir. ft IH6 ioT 60 1 19 3 80 11 *J 7 ;.;i \i « 4 40 15 .1 H 47 12 1 5 n y '.\ 9 IS ft 5 'iitrii forward 186 6H KV TOT.IL :r»» T. 30 ^? ii or about 7-2 p«'r cent, unfit to take, being made up chii'lly of I year- lings, c*) " short ■' ;*-year-olds . and 3; *• wigg«>d " i-year-idds, and 5-year-old bulls up to 7-year-olds. — of this latter class of " \,i bulls " an enormous percentage in this little drive appears. Now this little drive was not taken from the regular hauling grounds of these holluschickie as I knew them in KH'i. but from the immediate line of the rookery on Lower Ziipadnic at a s«>ction about midway be- tween the point, and the sand beach. The weather cannot be blamed for the small killing to-day here at this date, on that fine hauling-ground of \.%li-l',; the w«'ather is simply superb sealing weather, and nol a word over lier«" against it was uttered by the disappi>inted sealers this morning. Nearly every one of these released or spared seals this nioniing. re- turned at once to the rear of the breeding bulls on Lower Z;ipadnie.and right unde /ureyes: they refused to return to the sea.allbough the path was open to them and it was as near, or nearest ! They will all be dri- ven again in the next visit, plus the new arrivals which may come along between now and then. .Mil — this driving an>l re'lnvhig, — iis full signilicance is beginning to appeal to my understanding successfully. That pod of holluschickie which I have seen under Middle Hill during the last two days, still lies there, and also that one ne.\t to the clustered cows on the san«l at Tolstoi; they will drive it to-morrow. Thus far no holluscbickie have hauled-<>ut 50 feet above surf-wash, except where they are found in back of the rookery margins as the Reef APPENDIX. 273 " Crest ", Zapadnic, and N. E. Point, where the breeding bulls drive them back some 150 to iaO Tcet. In English Bay, to-day, eighteen years ago, the holluschickie were hauled by thousands upon thousands back nearly half a mile ever}'^vhere 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, 1890. " The drive to-day from Middle Hill, Tolstoi, and Bobrovia Yama ^of Tolstoi, near thePoint), panned out as follows : this is the result of saving the drive over since the 23rd instant. Pod. i 2 3 4 8 • 7 8 9 iO II Whole. No. Driven. 108 82 57 o6 68 34 :>8 60 i>4 53 73 No. Taken. • Half Balls". 14 » 13 1 12 )i 11 » 12 3 3 "2 12 II 16 .) 10 ■> 13 II lo II 136 iU Pod. Whole No. Oriven. firouijht furw 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 703 55 54 61 81 49 53 40 60 49 63 No. Taken 136 8 12 20 16 10 13 4 15 13 16 •Half Kulls". 10 C<>rr»A>rH. 1268 263 20 (Deduct 24 over Whole Pod. No. "Half Driven. Taken. Bulls". nroui/ht furw. 1268 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 45 59 41 44 50 53 42 50 203 15 15 14 15 18 17 15 22 20 II 1 II » II 3 1052 394 Counted.) 1028 Summary : Whole number of animals driven. . . 1628 » » » i> )i taken . . . 39 i, 78 per cent. rejeoteJ : — nothing taken under a Ih. or " long " 2-ypar- old skin. Thus this drive in the very best of Ihe season shows thai 78 per cent, had to be rejeoled. Now, those little fellows which were turned aside here on the 23rd instant, will be out a^rain in a few days to be redriven, plus these that are released to-day, plus all the rest lo be released like- wise, — they will be all up in July, — what will these drives be ? Six- teen of the three hundred and uiiiety-four skins taken in the killing grounds as above cited, were rejected in the salt-house by the com- pany's manager, because they were too small, — Ibey were normal 2-year-olds, 5 1,2 lb. skins; perhaps they will be glad lo gel them later. In i872-'74 very little attention was paid to driving seals until the I2th-I4th of every June : true it was that bands of thousands of hollus- chickie were baulcd-out on the several resorts, yet because these animals It 274 SECTION VIII. then wero not in comparalirelr great numbers, and were nearly all down at that early date by the surf margin, it was deemed best to wait until the lilh-lilh be(«>r? banning in earnest to drive; but, niter the 14th June, there ulway« was such an abuudcant supply of hollusohickie on hand within a mile and a half of this village, and N. E. Point salt- house, that no concern wa< erer given as to the number that they could gel, — it was just the other way: if it was a warmish dry day, then a small drive only was made soa» to secure some 1,!200 or 1,500 skins; if it was a cool favorable day tlien some 2,500 or 3,000 skins would be taken, which latter fipue va^ then the utmost number that the work- ing force at the village could handle under the best circumstances in one day. How different this year! on the 6th June here, the most eager energelic driving began $inialtaneously with the arrival of each and every squad of ho||a:>«.'hickie big enough to warrant it; and it has been, kept up unreinilingly until the present hour. Tlie spared seals lamed away this morning were saved by their small size, — only it of them, of the whole IH;28 in the drive, were 5-and 6-yi'.ir oKI boll?^. Every " long " or well-grown 2-year old was taken (•) lb. skin and every 3- and " smooth " 4-year-old. Not a holluschak or any other clas> of fur-seal on Zolloi Sands this morning, or noon. I valched the progress of the released seals this morning as they came onl over the Lagoon slough and rookery ; they or most of them, swam directly out to sea, — not heading in any par- ticular way except fn>m land; a few swam under the Village Hill bluffs and (hence out aen:»** in the direction of the Reef and a few headed back for English Bay. Xol one of them started for Zoltoi as they did on the 2:trd instant. (>n that occasion it was the hauling of some 50 " half-bulls " on Zoitoi thai lured the younger seals but after them ; they were released together. This afternoon 1 took another survey of Lukannon and Tolstoi, and the vacant baulinji; grounds of English Bay and the Volcanic Ridge. Another small pod of bolluschickie at Middle Hill, from whence they drove last night for theday's killing, and another adjoining the podding cows on the sand beach a! Polavina; about 250 or 300 in both pods, and chielly yearlings. June 28, 1890. ealher slill continues; the natives are bring- The superb sealing ing up a small squad from the reef as I write, (5 A. M.).. tb APPENDIX. 275 Field Notes of the podding and clubbing of drive from Reef and Zoltoi Blulfa, June 28th, 1890. Xo. of ToU. 1 •> 4 5 6 7 8 9 iO 11 12 13 Whole Xo. Driven. 71 7."» Hi) W 80 62 ru) 40 .'ill ;;; .•)2 GO 772 (iii-ry furir Sunimarv Xo. Taken . i:) IO 14 :t 8 8 10 10 i 114 "Malf- bulls". 3 II 3 1 » 1 1 2 » 4 » » 1 16 No of I'od. Wliolo \o. Driveu. Brniii/ht fiinr. 772 14 lii 16 17 18 IK 20 21 22 23 24 /.t 8:i 4 63 46 I't 43 40 :i2 141- No. Takon. 114 7 l.'i 7 4 'J 10 7 10 6 8 10 203 'llalf- liulU". 16 » Whole iiumltcr of animals driven 1417 — — — — taken 203 or 83 percent, turned oiil. Last drive from tins placo, June i'ilh, and 71 per cent, turned out. i^vfrythin;,' taken in this days killing above a normal i-year old, and under 5-year olds and *' wiggod " 4-year olds, i.e. all (J lb. skins and "ipwards. Juiu- 30, IS'JO. Field Notes of the podding and Clubbiag of Drive from Middle Hill ', English Bays Tolstoi \ Lukannon *, and Keetavie -K Xo. of poa. Wliolo Xo. Drivou. 108 3y 41 69 33 Carry Coru: 310 Xo. Tuki'ii, II 6 12 8 42 • Half Hulls ••. 15 Xo. of I'oil. Wliolo Xo. Driven. Broiii,/,! forir. A\0 6 40 7 .•i3 8 47 '.» 58 Cany forw. 508 Xo. Taken . 42 10 10 14 6 82 •' Half Hulls ". 15 1 1 4 1 1. Last Drive from those places, Juno 27lli,an(17'J per cpiit. turned out, of rejected 2. Uiid. 3. Ibid. 4. Last Drive from this place, June 20th. 5. First Drive from this place. The small lontingenl from Lukannon and Kcetavio numbered less than 300 animals before merfred in the single drive. Everything: taken that was above a 3 1/2 lb. skin and under those of the S-year- olds and '• wijrged " 4-year-olds. V '« tt9 SECTION VIII. No of. Pod. Whole N Urivpu. 0. No. Takon. " Half UuUs ". No. of Pod. Whole No. Driven. No. Taken, " Halt Bulls". Brought [orw . 308 82 22 Brouyhl (orw. 021 131 31 10 !iK H n 17 70 9 4 ii III 10 n 18 47 12 5 12 ;i3 7 » 19 49 y 1 13 56 4 u 20 46 10 » 14 55 13 2 21 48 6 5 i:> 63 IS 2 22 81 6 » lU / 1 10 5 1262 203 50 Cavry forir. 021 151 31 Sum mary : Whole number of animals driven. . . • • 1262 or 84 1/2 per rent, rejected. The signiflcance of this day's work can he seen by the most casual ohservor. I counted over 24 blind-eyed or " moon-eyed "holluschickie as they escaped from the several pods; " zapooskas " — all of which have been crippled in this manner by prior driving this season ! How many of these yearlings and " short " 2-year-olds that were released this morning will again be driven, and driven before this season ends? Nearly all of them will; they pass into the sea over the Lagoon Bar; they meet squadrons of cows playing in the water around the rookery margins — they pause, listen, join in the general comfort which the water certainly affords them, and as these females and the fresh animals of their own kind haul out on land, they join again and fall into Ibis deadly procession for them, to the land from whence they were driven early this morning. How the significance of this driving now keeps rising to my mind! I had little occasion in 1872-'74 to give in thought, and what I did was only in a suggestive mocd. I passed up from the killing grounds over to Tolstoi Rookery and gave the drivers' path or seal-road a careful review. A few hollus- chickie were again hauled out under Middle Hill and a dozen perhaps on Ihe Tolstoi rookery sand intersection; but the great hauling-grounds of English Bay are utterly destitute of seal life at the hour of this writ- ing and hove 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-'74. Not a holluschickie on Zolloi 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 assure me that there was no driving from the sands he*-, last year; it was all from these rocks above. When this famous hauling ground began to fail was the time for the note of warning to have been sounded — when did it fail? APPENDIX. 177 July 1, 189C. Field Notes of the podding and clubbing of Drive made from every section of the Reef; ever3rthing in baclc of Zoltoi Blalfs, Garbotch, and the entire circuit of the Reef. No. of Pod. Whole No. Driven. No. Taken. "Half Bulls". No. of Pod. Whole No. Driven. No. Taken. "Half Bulls". 1 109 15 2 Drought forw 1025 136 26 8 »1 4 1 17 66 7 3 3 77 1-2 1 18 49 6 3 4 83 9 » 19 78 4 4 8 84 7 » 20 58 9 5 6 69 4 » 21 60 6 4 7 88 10 » 22 78 11 4 8 61 4 » 23 67 7 4 9 48 9 » 24 56 7 » 10 73 12 1 2:> 60 4 1 11 100 8 3 26 91 7 4 12 88 8 2 27 57 11 3 13 48 9 4 28 71 8 4 14 82 7 3 29 69 7 1 18 46 8 3 30 38 6 )> 16 68 1025 10 136 6 •26 31 75 9 » Cnrru forw. 1998 245 66 Summary: Whole number of animals driven. 1,998 — — — — taken. 245, or 89 per cent, rejected. Last drive from this place June 28th and then 85 — — Everything taken over a 5 1/2 lb. skin and under the "wigged" 4-yr. and 5-yr. old pelts. The seals rejected to-day were over 90 7o 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; ihe yearlings driven before plus the now arrivals are making tiie 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 t at pod near the sand beach at Tolstoi rookery tliat I saw yes- terday P. M.; they have evidently made for Middle Hill. July 2nd, 1890. Field Notes of the podding and Clubbing of Drive made from every section of Polavina and Stony Point. No. of Pod. AVhole No. Driven. No. Taken. '•Half Bulls". No. of Whole No. Pod. Driven. No. Takon. "Half Bulls". 1 83 7 » ttroiiijlu forw. 275 24 4 a 91 11 » 4 59 4 )» 3 in» 6 4 4 Cnrrtj forw. ^334 28 4 Carry forw. 275 278 SECTION VIII. No of Pod. Whole No. Driven. No. Takoo. - luir Bull". No. of Pod. Whole No. Driven. No. Token. •Half Dull". Hroitght fortv . :m 28 i fh'Oiiijht furv 1183 122 33 i\ 50 (i t» 17 104 8 2 « :itt 2 18 113 12 ■'» f 03 •i 3 1 21 <)1 13 ii 10 (10 it ;» 22 03 8 7 11 100 12 7 23 49 2 li 71 13 2 24 47 <( 7 13 72 14 3 2;i 40 .'i 14 (>:> 8 ■> 20 43 11 4 IB 60 ri 3 27 :ii 6 16 r>:i 122 2 33 l:» 1 » IH 3G 10 » 3 t><> 4 » 10 :jo 6 )) 4 :«:; « 1) 17 28 1 » » v* t) » 18 42 4 u d ('.2 4 n 19 29 tt » 7 it) (I » 20 .19 it » 8 ;i2 J » 21 :«o 2 » 9 47 8 » 22 :t8 • i » iO i2 :j I) 23 :n 3 » 11 (>t( \\ M 24 2C. ii »l VI (12 •1 » 23 22 4 120 » 13 1,103 14 sy 4 69 1) << Half bulls " not tallied Carry fnrw. 744 Summary : Wlioln number of animals driven 1,103 — — — taken 120, or 91 ■1/2 "/o rejected Field notes of the podding and clubbing of Drive made flrom every section of Upper and Lower Zapadnie, July Srd, 1890. No. of Pod. Whole No. Driven. No. Takon " Half bulls •■. No. of Pod. Whole No. Driven. No. Takon. •' Half bulls ". 1 99 to 3 BroHfih' funv. 331 97 33 2 70 11 ■> 9 03 17 9 3 71 10 3 10 70 8 8 4 C3 9 » 11 62 17 i> 8 50 16 3 12 46 13 » 6 78 18 4 13 71 12 ii 7 8 Carry forw. 61 59 5:il 11 97 8 6 14 02 923 18 180 4 64 Summary : Whole number of animals Jriven, 923 — . — — taken 180, or 81 »/„ rpjec ted. .Nolliing under a lb. skin taken, or " long " 2-yr. olds. Last drive from this place, June 26, 1890— when 341 animals were driven and 97 taken, or 72 »/o rejected. These drives at Zapadnie are made just as they arc at all the other I 280 SECTION VIII. i' i rookeries this Hoason — 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 I872-'74. Such a proceeding would have been voted abominable then ; it is still more so now — it sweeps every young male seal that is 4, 3 and 2 yrs. old into death as soon as it hauls on these shores today ! Nothing escapes except that which maturing age or extreme youth saves — or rather which the high tax of 1890 ($ \0.' Half bulls ". t 84 4 » Broil fj htforie. 349 21 3 2 81 1 .•) 6:; 8 I) 3 90 94 349 3 8 21 2 » ■» 6 ~a 8 3" 1 4 Carri) foite. Carry fonc. 489 APPENDIX. t No of Whole No. No. " Hair Wliola No No. •' luir Pod. Driven. Taken. Bull ' . Pod. Drivan, Taknn. Bull". BroHghl fort. 489 .17 4 Oroui/hl forw . 2529 284 45 < iii !i 3 3:1 61 10 II i r>i 7 3 3» 61 4 t "« 8 3 37 52 II 1 m 70 11 4 38 36 3 )i H 126 14 1 39 40 6 2 m 82 15 1 40 49 5 6 13 71 13 1 41 52 6 M 14 81 11 » 42 67 ii 1 15 92 10 3 43 64 4 4 te 6:i 9 )l 44 58 3 1 17 7(1 11 3 4:i 59 9 11 It 69 7 » 46 68 10 1 19 68 9 1 47 58 8 11 «» 58 7 1 48 56 2 II « 74 9 2 49 70 6 w it o6 6 3 .jO 45 2 » tt :i3 4 2 HI 58 4 II tt 92 10 4 52 64 8 II » 72 7 3 53 38 3 » IS 4ti 10 1 54 36 2 » 17 70 4 » 55 66 8 » 18 8:i 10 1 56 62 8 » 99 77 12 » 57 53 5 » ao 69 4 » 58 K3 8 » 31 97 8 » 59 56 14 » 32 Ml 12 1 (iO 40 8 » 33 4:i 6 )l 61 41 7 » 34 47 8 )> 62 42 5 II Carry {one. 2d29 284 4:i 4,323 432 67 m Summary : Whole number of animals driven 4,323. _ — — taken 432, or 90-1/2 »/« rejected. Last drive from this place, June 30tli.; 1,202 animals driven, 203 animals taken, or 84-1/2 "»/o rejected. July 5, 1890. Visited Otter Island ; no seals whatsoever hauled out there save a small squad of 50 right on the rocks awash above our landing ; has been none thus far this season, or no sign either of thcni; last year some 1, 500 or 2,000 were hauled-out here at this date. Grass has thickly and solidly grown all over the hauling grounds here, clear down to the surf, all over those places which were polished bare of every trace of vegetation by the hauling seals in 1872-74. MS SECTION VIII. July 7, 1890. Field notes of the podding and olabblng of Drive made from Englleh Bay, Middle Bill, Tolstoi, Lnkannon and Keetavie. No. of WlioU- No. No. ■ Hklf No. of Whole No. No. Half Pod. Iirivtn. Tukcii. bull* --. P.mI. briVKii. Taken. ImiIU ". 70 7 1 Ilnniiihl f» .. 2121 197 32 ii2 il >» :io «i3 7 3 41 7 1 31 74 8 11 79 <) (> 32 :i9 4 » 77 17 1 33 73 3 II (m 8 I 34 ••2 10 >i liO 10 1 3:i 79 13 » i8 7 3(} 74 8 w 70 11 3 37 36 3 1 as 4 » 38 70 4 1 89 2 39 77 6 2 lOi 4 » 40 43 9 >» Ai 2 II 41 39 7 » 42 2 » 42 39 3 » 121 12 It 43 41 2 » 102 <'i .1 ii 36 » » 78 6 II 45 84 13 » 70 H » 41! 30 S » 78 8 II 47 60 3 » 20 86 11 II 48 38 8 » 21 70 4 2 49 33 6 2 22 82 2 II ■M 43 6 » 23 72 S » :>i 43 4 » 24 7» 3 11 32 43 8 M 25 62 It 3 33 40 4 » 26 100 7 3 :i4 47 3 » 27 61 7 3 .'t.'i 70 1 » 28 80 4 » 3(1 42 2 » 29 iio 8 )> 37 66 7 It Ctimj forw. 2121 197 32 4,001 330 42 Summary : Whole number of animals driven, 4,001 . — — taken, 330, or 92 <>/o turned out. Last drive from this place, July 4th; 4,323 animals drive..; 432 animals taken, or 00-1/2 »/o turned out. To-day, every 2-yr. old down to middle or medium, or every 5-1/2 b. skin, was taken; had the standard been kept at original mark, the rejection would have been as high as 95° o to 96"/o ! AIM»K.\DIX. SS3 .luly Mth, tR90. Yc'slcniay an«»rn«ni I wonl back to Tolsloi over llic hj'.-iI road on vvliich th)Miriv<> abov«> tallied was inado in IIh> niKiil and inorninKof lln> 7tli inst. ; lli<> number »»!' road" faints "or skins w .s not larjre, wbieb sbftws tbat the natives had taken ^reat care in driving; these Heals ; this they have nnilornilydone thus tar ; but when tbey pick np the drives at /apadnie, at Lukannon, on the Keel' and at I'ulavina, Ihey are obliged, in order to >.'et «//orthe holluschiekie, to sweep the very skirls oi' the rookeries there: that is wron^' ; it should not be perniilled : when matters become so desperate hero as to obligate such a method, it is lime to call a hall. I went up to Stony Point this morning' early and made the I'ullowing : Field notes of the podding and clubbing of Drive from Polavina and all the beach below to Stony Point. No. of Pod. Whole No. llrivi-ii. No. Tukpri. " Hair Hulls ". No. of I'od. Wlinlo No. Driven. No. Taknii • Hall f •.Hi •) » Itniiniftt font 1096 If.) 24 t r>2 !i » Hi r.:» It-. •J 3 <>o ii 1 it*. r.i '»• :» 4 87 •) 1 17 t'l'» 12 8 3 t'l.'i ('» i» 18 :in 1 Itt d m it tt 1!> ))0 72 \i t 8 Wi <» » il r)2 '.) .*> Nt> <( •2 22 01 2t» t'l iO lOK 7 2 2.\ 78 I'.t / 11 SU H •* •n :>>.) 8 •I 18 T.'i i I 2:i r.i II :i 13 :i8 i:t IIU 4 S •24 2(J v:» 7 n 14 l,8o;» 2;i:i Hit Carry foru-. um> Sumninry : Whole number of nnini lis driven , i.8('.:i — — — — taken 2;i;i, or 87 • turned o Last drive from this plucp, July 2nU, 1,029 animals driven, 210 — taken, or 88 " . turned, but the standard to-day being lowered to .i-l 2 lb. skins, prevents the increase of rejection percentage; — had t!ie same standard prevailetl to-day as on July 2nd, here, tiie rejection would have been as high as 02 */,,. " This drive was principally made from the sand beach under Pola- vina rookery and on its outskirts to the north ; and Ibat is where these 8o " half bulls " (really, nearly all of them were 7- and 1 0-year-olds!) were gathered in; the two prior drives were chiefly made from tlie parade ground up above the breeding-ground, and there these bulls t I ::i li- 284 SECTION VIII. were first gathered in ; to-day every 2-yr. old was taken that was well- grown, and had not these smaller seals been taken, there would net have been over 120 or 150 skins at the most ; the first citation, 120, is the nearest correct; this would have given us a rejection of over 93 % : I came down to the village on the sand beach betwen Stony Point and Lakannon; not a killable seal has hauled there yet this year! — a place where thousands upon tens of thousands of them were to be seen at this time 1872. Also, not a hoUuschak has as yet hauled upon Zolloi Sands; that was one of the finest resorts for holluschickie that the island boasted of in 1872-'74. July 9, 1890. I went over to Zapadnie early (4 o'clock) this morning to witness the driving there by the natives ; most of the scanty drive was taken on the immediate borders of Upper Zapadnie rookery; the whole sweep of Lower Zapadnie did not yield over 150 or 200 holluschickie which had hauled out at several places jusf up and above the breeding seals. All that large space above the rookery on Lower Zapadnie, which was literally alive with trooping platoons of holluschickie in 1872, is today entirely vacant, not seal on it ! and the natives peering down over the high blufTs on the south side and the westward of the " Point " trying to find a few seals skulking down there on the rocks awash! Their eager search in such a quarter, with their backs to this silent pa- rade ground of 1872, made me decidedly thoughtful. They said that they would go with a " bidarrah " and pick these secluded seals up — they did so last year they averred. I made the following Field notes of the podding and clubbing of Drive made from Upper and Lower Zapadnie, July 9, 1890. No. of I'od. Whole No. Driven. No. Taken. •• Half Bulls". No. of Pod. Whole No. Drivea. No. Taken. "Half Bulls ". 1 i2o tl )> BroHijht (ono. 5i>0 108 28 2 67 19 2 10 37 6 2 3 48 9 3 11 47 8 4 4 U 12 4 12 52 9 1 55 9 4 13 43 15 2 ft 86 17 5 14 34 9 3 7 44 7 :; 15 59 (i » 8 47 lioO 11 13 •> 10 45 9 2 3 867 172 42 Carry forw. 108 28 Summary : Whole number of animals driven, 867 _ _ _ _ taken, 172, or 83 "/o rejected. Last drive from this place, July 3rd, 925 animals driven; 180 — taken.ofSl o/o turneuout. APPENDIX. 285 Lowering the standard on the 4th inst. prevented an immense percentage of rejection here today, had it not been for the small 5-J/2 lb. skins taken to-drv. there would have been 9o»/o rejection ! 28 2 4 1 2 3 » July 10, 1890. Field notes of the podding and clubbing of Drive made ftrom every section of the Reef and Garbotch, July 10, 1890. No. of Whole No. No. " H«lf No. of Whole No. No. "Half Pod. Driven. Taken. bulls'. Pod. Driven. Taken. bulls". i 86 5 » Drowjhtforw. 1703 201 14 2 67 8 » 26 56 10 » 3 62 8 » ' 27 57 i M 4 74 7 » 28 52 8 » 5 35 9 » 29 106 1 » 6 76 14 )i 30 101 14 » 7 47 8 1 >» 31 70 7 1 8 54 7 ,, i 32 65 7 2 9 87 tl u 33 86 7 1 iO 80 5 » 34 68 6 2 11 74 13 2 35 68 19 1 12 56 9 1 36 59 10 1 13 46 4 2 37 60 10 1 14 94 4 » 38 70 7 2 lo 76 6 1 39 81 7 1 16 52 4 » 40 74 3 1 17 73 10 3 41 59 15 » 18 74 9 3 42 64 15 » i9 70 15 2 43 78 6 » 20 61 12 » 44 62 5 » 21 104 ii M 45 77 3 5 22 62 9 » 4!> 37 7 » 23 :i8 10 » 47 52 3 » 21 (19 »i6 6 3 » }) 48 41 7 » 2o 3,246 377 31 Carry foriv 1703 201 14 Summary : Whole number of animals driven, 3,2'*6 _ _ _ _ taken, 377, or 89 "/o rejected. The last drive from this place and killing was made on the 5lh inst. and was not tallied by myself — I was over to examine Otter Island while the killing was in progress. o*2t» skins were taken, however, with the standard U)\vered to 5-1, -2 lb. skins, and as I looked up at the drove in wailing on the killing grounds that morning, I estimated that there was at least 4,000 animals in it. On the 1st of Juiy a drive of some 2,000 animals was made from this place ; and with the higher standard, the original standard, 245 skins b 286 SECTION VIII. wore then taken: that standard, applied today would have cut the catch of 377 down to less than 200 ! more Hkely to 150 1 As the clubbing pro- gresses now every i-yr. old hoUuscliack from average size up is taken lo the 5-yr.olds and " uigged " -S-yr. olds: the " short " i-yr. olds and the yearlings escape. The standard used on the I ith of June, by which nothing under a good 3 yr. old skin was taken, if followed to-day. the ugh the i>odding and clubbing of the 3.'S4H driven seals above itemized, would not have given the lessees more than 80 skins I Field notes of the podding and dabbing of Drive made from Knglisli Bay, Middle Hill, Tolstoi, Lnkannon, Keetavie, July 12. 1890. I: Ca. No. of Whole No. No. Half No. of Whol« No. No. - Halt Po.1. Orivea. Taken. Lulls ". Pod. brivea. Takea. bull*'. 4 «8 7 » Brought font. 2015 242 21 2 65 » i» 3:; 79 .5 5 3 78 8 2 36 26 51 4 64 5 » 37 58 6 8 53 8 » :w 58 11 6 64 2 i ■.m 68 9 7 63 6 1 40 50 11 8 73 10 4 41 54 6 9 :i9 9 » 42 76 4 10 78 10 » 43 63 6 11 C3 2 » 44 37 6 a 69 9 » 45 64 13 13 51 6 1 Vi 87 14 H 46 7 » 47 77 18 15 62 9 » 48 76 16 16 49 6 » 49 71 8 n 58 6 2 50 71 II 18 63 6 3 51 9! 11 19 59 9 1 52 88 13 W 77 10 2 53 89 13 jei 40 1 >» 54 86 5 » 49 10 1 55 89 9 33 50 13 » 56 100 10 U 88 8 » .'»7 92 13 SS 26 i » 58 72 8 86 33 10 » 59 87 10 VI 87 9 » 60 76 « S8 SO 16 a 61 93 10 i» 51 5 ■ 62 114 16 30 65 8 » 63 48 6 31 60 4 1 64 81 6 38 61 4 » 65 71 15 33 44 3 » 66 79 10 34 5it 8 1 21 67 Cany fonc. 69 10 rry foric 2015 242 4433 559 40 APPENDI.X. ■ No of Pod. Whole No. Driven. No. Taken. •Half Bull'. No of Pod. Whole No. Driven. No. Taken. •Half Hull". Bi-oiii/ht foni . 44.i3 5o9 40 fl/i)ii.v/i( /'o/-ir. 4730 002 43 68 91 12 » 72 47 4 2 89 60 6 » 73 5a !> 3 70 66 00 4730 12 13 602 » 3 74 101 aloO 13 033 I) H ~w Carry foru: 43 MT Summary: Whole number of animals driven, ii.lSO — — — _ Taken, 633, or 89-1 /2»'„ turned out. Last drive, July 7th, from this place, 4,001 animals driven, 3o0 — taken,or92''/'»ionnf4 oui This is the second drive from these places, rankin}.'' largest in num- ber, but it has rested since July 7lli, or live days, a day longer than has been given yet to it this season; and (hen, the natives purposely left a s(|uad of at least 300 yearlings in the lakes at the head of the lago»>n, and another squad of at least ^ioO under the Lukannon sand- dunes. When it is borne in mind that in the very height of the season after Ave days'rest or non-attention, only »>3i{ medium fur-seals skins, most- ly ,'»-l/i lb. clean, skins, t>r i-year-olds can be secured from the com- bined scraping of everything in Engli.-ii Bay (on Zapadnie and S. W, Point we know there is nothing). Middle Hill, Tolstoi, Lukannon and Ketavie, the extraordinary condition of these intevesis can be well un- derstood in a general way. Such a driving in 1872 at Ibis lime and 'av- cumslamces of weather would have brought at least 50,000 iiolluschi- ckie up here, instead of the o, 150 to-dayl There were a number of cows in this drive; I counted 3 that I was sure of ". July 13, 1890. Walked up to N. K. INiinl early this morning for the purpose of plotting the area and position of llu^ breeding seals on the Polavina and Novastusbnab. Also, to see the natives drive at Polavina. I was on the ground at o \. M. and saw the whole modus operaudi at this place; the ludluschickie haul up close against the sand beach " drop " of Big Polavina rottkery. and the drivtMs, in getting the young males, swept I cows into the drove, and their little black pups were left behind them on the .sand, brui>e(l and marked by the stampeding flip- pers ol the herd. To get ine iioiiuschickie, they are obliged to drive in tliis violent manner. Another squad of say 1,000 mostly young or " short " iJ-year-olds and yearlings, was swept upon the parade plateau, and another squad was driven from Liltle Polavina parade — the lirst drive that has been made from there thus far this season — no seals in this division but small ones; I have charted these areas of hauling. 4 m SECTION VIII. Along the entire spread of Lukannon, Polavina and N. E. Point sand beach — 8 miles nearly, 1 did not see a single young seal not one hauled out — only a dozen or two old worthless bulls scattered here and there over this extent at wide intervals. At this time in 1872 such a walk as mine this morning would have brought mc in contact with and in sight of from j^.OKKi to 100,000 hoUuschickie ! and the weather, too, is simply superb sealing weather — all day yesterday, last night and this morning. About 300 yards north of that basaltic shoulder which terminates the sand beach above Little Polavina rookery, and fully one mile from that rooker>% 1 saw on the sand beach there this morning a single cow, guarded by two old bolls: this is the first example of solitary hauling of a female (an old C'>w. it was), that I have ever witnessed ; it is a straw, however, showing the way which the wind is blowing up here this season — points to the demoralization which the present order of affairs is working, and whieh has been pretty steadily at work ever since 1882. Found Fowler busy on the killing grounds just across the lake from Webster's house, where I arrived at 7 1/2 A. M. Mr. GofT joined me soon after, and we at cHice lake np the rookery survey. Fowler this morning had over 5,000 seals in his drive, but took only 473 of them: then in the aflernoon, the rain coming up, he made a rapid drive of those hoUuschickie which he had been saving for to-mor- row, fearing that the rain would send them to the sea, and thereby secured 168 more, making a total of Oil, being the extreme limit reached in any one day's killing up here this year. On this day last year Webster killed iS^J. and the next day 1,156, but Fowler will have no hoUuschickie to kill l«>-morrow. The driving up here has radically changed since 1872; then Webster got all the killable s^als he wanted from that sand beach on the "Neck", between the f»>ot of Cross Hill on the North Shore, and the Big Lake sand- dunes. He never went out along the outskirts of the rookery ; it was not pven thought f. The hauling now al Xovastoshnah takes place at seven intervals or breaks in the breeding belt, and right in the rear and fairly among the scattered harems in many instances. We saw the scraping tracks of the drive which had be^n made in the early hours oflhis morning (10 A. M. we are here,, and found over 15 or 20 pups which had been swept away and out into the near and killed or dying by the stampede incident to such driving, and which I witnessed at Polavina only this morning on my way up here. The parade fields of this once magnificent breeding ground are posi- tively vacant tt>-day. grass and close white bunched flowers are growing and springing up everywhere all over them, while large areas of well polished ground of I8'2-'7i are sodded over. The hoUuschickie as they hauled to-day did not occupy a space of ground 500 feet by 50 feel APPENDIX. 289 in depth: over the entire extent of this immense habitat of theirs, and the drive of 5,000 which we saw on the killing ground had been scraped from seven different points oetween the base of Hutchinson's Hill and the S. E. extremity of the rookery. On the North West shoulder a small pod of say -iOO hoUuschickie were laying in just back of the narrow strip of rookery there, about !250 feet back from the sea; again, a little ways right over across to the south was another small pod of less than 300, near the small sand beach between the middle and the N. W. shoulders; then another small pod appeared just below the south shoulder, laying above surf wash on the sand: and another small squad laid out on that once iamous reach of sand beach under Gross Hill and the Big Lake sand-dunes — all told, there could not have been over 3,500 of them; these, plus the 5,000 which Fowler had in hand, gives us all there is on this great rookery today, 8,500 hoUuschickie; 95% of them yearlings! This hauling in under the cover of the breeding seals by the non- breeding young males, as we see it today, recalls forcibly that account which the natives gave to Lt. Maynard and myself about the hoUus- chickie as they hauled in 1835, and several years thereafter. They then " laid in among the breeding seals ". In 1872, instead of these frequent breaks that now appear in the circuit of this rookery belt here, only one place then existed from Sea- lion Neck clear around to the end of S. W. shoulder — the hoUuschickie were then literally obliged to haul out over that sand beach opening in Sea-lion Bight where there was an open roach of several hundred feet of sea margin, which was avoided by the breeding seals — too much sand. Today there are 25 or 30 vacant spaces in the breeding belt of the Novastoshnah all open for the hoUuschickie. m m M July 14, 1890. Field notes of the podding and clubbing of Drive made from every section of the Reef peninsula, July, 14, 1890. No. of Pod. Wliolo no Diivcn. No. Taken. "Half Hulls". No. of. Porl. Whole no Diivon. No. Takou. " Halt- Hulls ". 1 117 4 :i lirniii/ht forir 005 48 7 2 51 4 » y oy 4 1 3 80 i » 10 73 2 1 4 73 5 » li 82 4 » ti 08 7 » 12 71 3 » 6 77 11 » 13 60 4 » 7 69 11 o 14 69 3 » 8 70 5 2 7 Ca lo try /brio. 63 9 » Carnj fonra •rf. GOo 48 1101 77 9 19 9m SECTION Vlll. §1 ii No. oJ Whole No. No. "Half Fod. Driveo. Taken. null". hpporl . not 77 16 60 7 » 17 61 6 » 18 47 3 1) 19 61 2 1 20 :»8 4 » 21 •i 2 )) l.ii'Ji 101 10 Remarks 1 'lis drive shows the elimination of tho 2-yr. oMs which wcro tirst taken hero on the 5th. inst. Summary : Wliole number of animals driven, 1,592 _ _ _ _ taiien 101, or 93 '/o rejected. Last drive, July 10, 3,246 animals then driven, 377 — taken, or 89 »/" rejected. July lu, 1800. Field notes of the podding and clubbing of Drive made from English Bay, Middle Hill, Tolstoi, Lukannon and Ketavie, July 15, 1890. I 'i No. of. Pod. 1 2 3 4 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Id 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Whole No. Driven. 82 90 89 77 69 80 66 77 83 70 79 76 57 55 84 80 66 80 78 79 68 89 53 98 90 76 Carry forUHird. 1991 No. Taken. I 4 3 6 3 1 •> 8 2 6 2 3 3 5 4 4 1 5 4 4 3 2 5 8 4 104 "Half Bulls". 4 9 25 No. of. Fod. nrouf/ht forv\ 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 31 35 36 ?1 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 Whole No. Driven. 1991 80 109 93 117 104 102 76 85 88 77 102 84 74 76 120 91 76 84 78 81 80 84 119 94 83 No. Taken. 104 9 5 6 8 8 8 10 6 o 4 8 6 11 6 8 Half Unlls ". 1 2 3 1 )) 1 1 Carry form. 4248 265 44 APPENDIX, i No o> Pod. Whole No. Driven. No. Taken. " Half Uulls." No. of I'od. Wholo No. Drivou. No. Taken. "Half Bulls.* liiOHulil foru\ 4,248 20H 44 Hroiif/lit furii •. 4,472 282 47 \\l OH 3 )) li'i no 7 1) »3 08 8 3 :i6 8:i (i » 84 «1 » ■M 8".» CI }} Cnfi-ij forir 4472 'lH-1 47 4,644 30f» il ifft Summary : Whole number of animals driven, 4,644, — _ _ _ taken, 309, or 93 "/o rejected. Last drive from those places, July 12, b.l.'iO animals driven, 633 — taken, or 89 0/0 rejected. In this drive I do not think there were (iO skins taken that were ;5-year- olds, or 7 Ih. skins ! and certainly not 20 i-year-olds ; of course every one of them was instantly cluhhed as they have regularly heen the moment they have appeared in the pods since the season opened. No 2-year-oId of normal growth escaped today, only the yearlings, the " runty " or " short " 2-year-olds and few " half bulls " which I have numbered; these " half bulls " in all my tallies are those that run all the way up from 5-years-ol(ls to advanced age — 10 or 15 years. The evidence of redriving was stronger than ever today ; the number 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 repeatedly before this season. In my opinion as 1 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 the other grounds here, (here 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 as above cited. an/o lurned out. Of this 172 taken as above, 82 were i 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 notbeen taken today, the percentage of rejection would have been 95o/°. Field notes of the podding and clubbing of Drive made from Lukannon and Ketavie, July 17, 1890. No. of. Pod. Whole no. Driven. No. Taken. " Half Bulls. 4 yr No. of. Pod. Whole of Driven. No. Taken. "Half Bulls ". 1 96 9 6 )> liio„!,/,t fonr. 988 too 8;; 2 84 io 6 10 1.18 18 20 3 81 11 5 )) 11 70 6 14 4 124 9 G » 12 73 IH 26 S 134 9 13 10 13 61 18 17 6 101 7 8 7 14 70 3 » 7 114 IC 10 15 41 .'i 7 8 124 14 14 12 Iti 07 1 9 130 10 100 17 8j 49 l,ol4 172 108 Cany forw. 988 No. of. Pod. Whole no. Driven. No. Taken. •' Half Bulls ". No. of. I'od. Whole no. Driven. No. Taken. " Half Bulls ". i IIJO 18 6 Bmiiiilil fofic. 440 70 19 3 1.37 20 3 5 80 18 7 a 91 14 ii 6 73 12 6 4 62 12 l> 7 83 14 3 ry fonv. 440 70 19 Ciirn/ forw. 070 114 26 8 1 1 81 APPENDIX. No of Pod. Whole No. Driven. No. Taken. "H.Mf Bulls". No. of J'od. Whole No. Driven. No. Taken. "Half Bulls ' Brought forw. 676 114 3.) Broiii/hl forir. 944 170 72 8 80 12 4 13 6:i ,'i 2 80 9 "> 14 67 5 7 !0 70 12 11 IH 63 7 1 11 12 (j() 11 10 16 74 10 » ~i 12 7 1 ,320 197 83 Carry foru\ 944 170 72 293 Summary : Whole number of animals driven, 1,320, — _ — _ taken, 197, orS;il/4 'o rejoclecl. A small squad of 3-ycar- and 4-year-olds hitherto undriveu, though marked on Ketavie during the last three days, some 80 or 90 all told, ■were secured in this day's drive, being brought right up through the scattered breeding animals from the Point of Ketavie; this raises the ■catch proporlionaly in the little drive; the Lukannon seals were nearly all yearlings and only 7 " wigged " i-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 irrej^iMarity in their percentage, both being due to exceptional incidents. The Pola- vina, catch of 172 would not have tone!. J !00 skins, had it not been for the sudden drop to "wigged" i-j ear-old bulls, St of which were knocked down ; it is the very lirsl systematic killing of this class made thus far this season : it is, however, a small mailer, diive, catch and all. The Ketavie drive was principally made from the extreme point, a new spot which has not been driven from before, bul (he rookery is now so thin and straggling that Ihe drivers were able lo gel fairly down on the point and dislodge about 100 good 3- and i-year-olds ; the balance of the 197 skins taken in Ihe united drive with Lukannon are small 5-1/2 to 6 lb. skins. Going up to Polavina early (his morning, I did not see a single young male seal on Ihal long reach of sand beach between Lukannon and Polavina — only weak, sickly or dying seacalcbie, a dozen or two of them, and nothing else. The utter absence of the holluschickie from these sands of Lukannon Beach and (hose extensive hauling grounds back of them on Ihe Volcanic Uidgo and half a mile again to the Northward — this desolation is fully as startling a contrast with their life and animation in 1872 as is that of Zolloi sands and English Bay. r ' 'I f;| ' 'i I I 204 SECTION Mil. July 18, 1890, Field notes ol the podding and dabbing of Drive made from Zapanie — the last drive here for 1890. No. of I'od. Whole No. Drivou. No. Taken • Half Dulls 1 vr. •' wig*". No. of l'o.l. Wholo No Urivcii. No. Taken. " Half Dulls i O't i:» it G Ilrouijli 1 f >rw. 089 114 53 29 s 50 11 11 :» 10 72 15 2 5 3 76 17 9 ,i 11 89 15 4 6 4 78 Id !> V 12 M 12 4 vr. 29 5 6 3 7 (> 8 5 that matter, the " \vi}r{,'od " i-ycar-olds do not number l/IO of their class as they ;.'ro\v up ". July 1!), 1800. t-l '2 A. M. As I j,'o over to tlio " Hush " al the KasI landing. I observe tliat not a si;i>;le young male seal is on Zoltoi Sands tiiis mor- ning' — not one lias hauled there thus lar this season; (I leave for St. Georj:e Island on (he " Rush " at .'i A. M., arrive there at 11 \. M.) Field notes on St. George Island. July 211, 1890. I made a careful survey of the North Rookery this afternoon and its hauling' frrounds ; — the perfect desolation — the }j;rass jfrowinj;, flowers blooming over the polished hauling grounds of 1873-'7t are as much or even more nuirked here if possible than on St. Paul ; the natives, ever since this season of 1890 opened, have been scraping the rookeries anrl up to this morning had but 2,9(54 skins taken, ruled by the standard of nothing under a 7 lb. pelt (which was started as the rule on St. Paul but dropped day after day down to 5 lb. skins this morning . These St. George natives were unable to gel out of every 1.000 animals driven up, more than 50 to tiO such 7 lb and I'i lb. skins as the rule of killing called for. The order was given to-day for Webster to take everything down to 5 lbs. in the drive then awaiting, and he did so for the (irst lime this year, getting about (iiO 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 " t-year-old knocked down also, and several yearlings, by accident in shaving so fine down to 5 lb. skins. July 22, ISnO. I examined this morning, one by one, the skins thai were taken from the drive of yesterday; Ihree-fourths of Ihem will not weigh more than 5-1 2 lbs., or belonging lo the small grade which was ordered not taken until yesterday; had this standard not been lowered lo these small skins, not over 150 would have been secured as it was, tJil were taken. At Zapadnie, where I went this morning, I observed another drive, which has been saved up for a week from date; 521 skins 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 Captain Lavender and his son, that he had taken these small skins yesterday and to-day for the first time this year. Had he taken them in June and early in July, he would have nothing to-day on this field but yearlings and " half bulls ". m SECTION VIII. ■i M; i The haulinp grounds nl Znpadnic are simply grass grown ; those at Starry Arteel, dillo; the Great Kaslorn parade is a mere suggestion, and Little Eastern has not had a single drive made from its faint reminder of a once good resort for holhischickic. In the " wake " of this drive to-day, here, I saw a number of pups which had been swept along in the driven herd — their mothers gone in it — they, left to perish behind. The podding of those pups way back by iOlh July on (o the abandoned hauling-grounds, so that the holluschickio can and do mix witii 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 as it progressed every day after. July 22, 1890. These hauling grounds of St, fieorgo which were never by nature of the land and life thereon, as broad and extended as those of St. Paul, were in 1873 polished very brightly here by the hoUuschickie, but that same utter desolation which prevails over them at SI. Paul, also prevails here ; the driving, however, thanks to the good sonse of Web- ster, has not been so excessive as it would have been had a less expe- rienced 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 iS'H-'ll, however, then so many seals were on hand at every place that it was necessary to take no ujore 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 holluschickio which can be secured just as well if driven all up once a week. Jt is the driving, as well as the clubs, which kill, just as surely. The method of driving as now ordered ma'^es the selection of hol- luschickio, after the pups begin to pod in bulk on or before the 'iOth of July, every season, — makes such selc ti.ii utterly impossible without sweeping cows into the " drive '", and dragging their young out to die in the track of this " drive. " Every day or two from this 20th 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 again if our Government means to preserve and perpetuate these fur-bearing inte- rests on the Pribilov Islands. Bad as driving in effect on the hoUuschickie is, the driving of cows is certain death 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 APPENDIX. »l and cattle; that means death or pcruiiuuMil (lisabiUly, oven if Jhe cowi are driven but onco — death to both cow and lier pup left behind, since that pup will not be ponuitted to suckle any other. The scraping or sweeping of these rookeries on St. Georgo did not fairly begin until 188i ; while it was not really begun in t aniest on St. Paul until 188ti or 1887 ; but the driving here has bocu lighter than it would have been had I not changed the quota from tiiiiOOO to 10,000 in 187i ; in 1887 the difficulty of getting even 15,000 holluschickie be- fore the end of July was evident, far more difticult than that of secu- ring 25,000 before the 20lh July in 1872 was; yet, in sjtite ofthisniarked deviation from the working record of the preceding seasons, the Trea- sury Agents of 1880-1887, in charge of these interests up here, actually sent in a report to the Treasury Department criticizing my (igurcs of 1873-'71and declaring that there were riij/tt liiiii:s d into the t;mpty path of the holluschickie which leads up by the " Uaichka " : this dune to help the holluschickie " to land faster! " July 2.";, t890. St. George Island : Weighed 100 skins as llicy came over fromZapad- nie to-day, from the little salt-house there, and which were taken on the last day of killing, the 20tli inst. ; Ihree-fiflhs of the whole number weighed were 5-1/2 — 6 lb. skins — average to " long " 2-year-olds; the balance, 7 to 7 1,2 lb. skins, four 8 lb. skins and one 1> I i lb. skins and one 4 lb. skin or yearling). .luly 26, 1800. Weighed 170 skins of the Zapadnie catch of the 20th inst. ; ju.'.t as they came over on the burro train ; as I handled the skins, they ran thus : Ci skins, 3-1/2 lbs. = 352 lbs. 20 — ;> — =1 130 — 4 — 42 — Carry forward 130 10 252 730 r I ■!' 298 SECTION Mil. Brouyht forward 130 750 20 — 0-1/2 lbs. =--- 130 lbs. 12 — 7 — rr-z 84 — 4 — 7-1/2 - r.-- 30 — 2 ^- 8 — =-- 16 — 1 — 8-1/2 — --= 8-1/2 — 1 - 170 skins — -=^ 9 — 1,027-1/2 lbs. making the average as low as a 5-7 8 lb. skin ; this is the run of the last killing on St. George on the li)th-20th inst. ; had the standard fir^t or- dered been adhered to, only 20 skins would have been takon instead of 176, in the above catch. July 30, 189(1. A stiff S. W 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 rookeries in so far as my search for pups of last year or yearlings, goos. A careful examination of the largest rookery of this island, •' North ", revealed the presence of about 730 holliischickie 700 at the least, and possibly 900; all wore 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 haulod out (with the except ion of one pod of some 150 near the Raichka), and commingled with podding pups and cows. A drive could not he made there to-day of more than 200 hoUuschickie without driving as many cows and pups : Such a day as tiiis should show up at least 4,000 yearlings here, on these spots of that rookery alone, this afternoon 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 siu'f wash at sheltered spots. Those pups, where the surf directly breaks upon the sea margin and strikes the beach with unbroken force — those pups to-day are not in tiie water at all. A vast majority of the pups will not get into the water before the end of the next two and Ihree weeks. 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. Augusl 1st, 1890. Heavy rain has fallen and a stiff S. W. gale has raged all day yester- day ; il clears up this afternoon. Desiring to see the hauling grounds APPENDIX. 299 at Zapadnie and the rookery there immediately after such a storm where the surf breaks in with full force and fury, 1 went 'ver 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, a 1,000 to 1,500 feet back ''rom the surf margin of the rookery, and way up and into the green grass and moss in the rear. Squads of hoUuschickie mingled in with them everywhere, and their mothers, of course ; but how many in proportion I cannot say, since the yearlings and the 2-year-olds so close- ly resemble the young cow when all huddled up and startled by the approach of man. However, if you walk slowly, and occasionally sit or sloop down for a few minutes, when an unusual rush by the seals soems pending, you can traverse every one of these breeding grounds to-day without start- ling 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 tliat you arc I'ut following or moving, thon they bolt, altogether, and regard you intently for a minute or two ; then if you do not move in a few moments more, they all resume their occupation of sleeping or playing one with another as thoy were doing when you first startled them by your coming. Then, if you rise slowly to an oroct posture, and rcsunio your walk, very quietly and slowly along parallel with or away from tiiem they do not sooin to r-iy you any special atlention furllior; thoy will not again start to ruii or " llipp-nappor ' " back into the sea. August 1, 1890. Natives drive a pod of 97 seals up for food, this morning; o«/y.'5 skins out of the whole niuuber of the 97 seals killed, lor they wore all killed, only 5 skins wore 7 lb. pelts : the rest yearlings and '2-year-oUls ; (8,'> 7* yoarhngs). St. Paul Uv.wxA, .\ugiist9, 1890. A careful survey of the Reef and Zolloi.Garbolch and Gull Hill haul- ing-groiuuls this moniin.i:' discloses no change whatever in the lonely character of those places, and 1 observe the same scarcity of yearlings that has recently impressed mo on SI. George. Not a single young male seal on Zoltoi Sands this day, and none have haided there at all this season: and now it is safe to say that none will Uiitil the pods of swimming pups in Ociobor come lier<' from Gar- botch. What few hoUuschickie are left here have become so demor- alized by the driving early in Juno and up to the •ii)\\\ July, as to now haul in among the podded cows where you can easily distinguish thom right and l':ft among the " matkahs " and pups. II would be very dif- I ^ h 300 SECTION VIII. ficult now 'o say as we look out over the field, how many of ibem are thus haulcii out there to-day — are here — but the spectacle is a quiet, sad one to see, is that silent parade ground of the Reef ahead of us. Over its whole smooth sweep a soft, velvety grass and moss is sprin- ging up bright and strong under the stimulus of an August air; that wide expanse is entirely deserted by seals where, in ISl-i. it was fairly alive with restless trooping thousands and tens of thousands. That S. W. gale of the 3Uth-3l'o. Ihey go rigiit above the cows and drive from the very Was any man now present at N. E. Poin! this year? Yes. three of us. .\l what d> vere you there ? .\l the he^n j the season and during the third week. Were any ofyo . .>forth-east Point since the " podding" or " spreading" onl uf the cows and pups occurred ? A nswer. So. Question. To K»"rick Booterin and to Artamonov.) Were you born at North-east Point and what are your ages? Answer. Yes. and Artamonov is now 65 and Booterin is 61. Question. (To same two men.) Do you remember whellier there were more or less s<^als betore 1872 thanthen (1872-187-4) or afterwards? Answer, to iSiti* the hauling-grounds and rookeries were at their very fullest — the entire ground from the lake upwards being covered with seals. Question. When did yt talk about it among yourselves? "' Ansirer. In I.ST7. we first began to notice that the holluschickie were getting fewer, and have continued from that year to grow less and less. " Question. .\l what lime did you talk among yourselves as to when the time would come when there would be an end to the seal busi- ness? "' Answer. (By Ge«>. BcK«terin.) 1 began to see in 1877 Dial this troubb^ was ahead, bat whenever I or my people spoke about it we were told by the conipany men " .Vmericans '" {sicj that it was not of our business and we must not talLab<«ut it. Wenever we talked about the seals the company men threatened to send us away from the island. Question. (By Mr Goff to Booterin). Was that the reason you would not talk lo me last year? Answer. \ hardly remember now why 1 did not like to talk about the seals. Question. What do you men think of the effect on seal life of the driving of the seals? Answer. When the old Russian Company drove, and the drives came in here. Ihey never killed anything over a three-year-old ; all over that were either never disturbed, or else spared ; and if the same thing f APPENDIX. had been praliced ever since, there would be no scarcity of seals to-day. Question. How many three-year-olds do you tiiink you can get next year? Answer. If they were to drive all the seals on this island next year they would get nothing and would only disturb and injure the rook- eries. (By Kerick Booterin.) Whenever any killing is allowed, if they never kill any over three-year-olds, and kill only three-year-olds and under, I believe (here would be no injury done. Question. Do any of you remember the " Zapooska " of 183-i? Answer. Yes, Booterin and Artamonov remember it well. Question. How many seals were killed after the first year of that order, and how were tlioy killed? Answer. The first year we killed only one hundred iiolluschitkie, and we increased the number every year afterwards. Question. What do you think of another " Zapooska " for today? Answer. (By Kerick Booterin.) When the Russians ordered their Zapooska, little by little afterwards, everyliiing grew better, and if the same thing is repeated today, everything will grow better, and if it is not done, no seals will come here. We observed that the men sent here by the (iovernment since old Capt. 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. Question. Did you men ever talk or attempt to talk about seal life to any of the Government officers before Mr Goff's time ? Answer. Yes, on several occasions, and they answered we did not know anything about it. Question. Have you any questions you would like to ask (he Govern- ment? Answer. Yes, we want to know what is to be done about the seals? Answer. (By Mr Elliott. )Wepropose to immediately inform (he Secre- tary of (he Treasury of (he exact condition of affairs, and we know that he will take care of the seals and the people too. That he is the only man who can talk, but that he sent us here to get the facts, and he will act upon that information, Tiiat none of us in Washington knew of the true condition of affairs up hero ; until Mr Goff wrote down last year to the Secretary of the Treasury not a word has ever gone from here since 1870 which even hinted at any danger to llie seals. (By Kerick Booterin.) We think had it not been for Mr GofT, the seals would all be gone. We are not now afraid of being hungry although we cannot take seals. (By Mr Elliott). " We want you natives to understand that the Gov- n 304 SECTION VIII. 'ai ernmenl 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-'74 were old enough then to really observe and think; these men above named are the only survivors of that age when I was on the island in 1872; also, when the above interview was in progress, Kerick Boote- rin during the whole time held a small note book in his hand, open, and not seeing 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 that 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 whe- ther we should meet and talk, or not, before I left the island. Translation. August C, 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, 1 think all will be well. If the " Zapooska " is not mad*', then we will lose the land if the Trea- sury does not look out. If the hauling-grounds could sustain the com- pany, then the grass and everything like it would not grow there now. This loss will fall upon us and upon our children. We cannot longer sit quiet and talk about there being lots of seals. General memoranda concerning the seal islands. St. George Village, July 2ft, 1890. In many respects a resident here enjoys a far more pleasureable life than if stationed at St. Paul. lie has a finer view of the sea, which in storms boils at his feet, in surf of suprising power, or leaves the black basaltic base of the Village Clilf in low, rippling murmurs when calm days prevail; he can see from morning until night endless flocks of waterfowl, from the 26th of every April until the end of every October flying to and from the uplands and Clio's, some days beating their way stubbornly against a stifl' head wind, or darling ofl" through the fog or mist like bullets from a gun. I notice a great increase in the floral display over that exhibited here in I873-'74; indeed, now I think that the flowers at Garden Cove APPENDIX. 308 Paul. They are as numerous and as beautiful as can be seen on St. were not so in 1873. The grass in and around the village here is the finest turf in Alaska; it is a close growing, line speared species or variety that very closely resembles the blue grass of 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 it is 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 rest here by millions from June to August 30lh September 10th all over the uplands around the town. On St. George in 1868 no regular list was made of the number of seals taken then; 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 II. M.Hutchinson and Daniel Webster, who were on the ground then, sealinglhere, 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 A. C. Co. next year; i.e. most of them, since they did not get possession until August, 1870 and then the sealing season was substan- tially 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- pied by 08 souls; there were 120 when I was here in 1873; the little streets or roadways are clean and well drained ; the grass in and about the village is much boiler than that at St. Paul, and a small sheep pad- dock 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 North-west Coast. In my monograph of the Seal Islands of Alaska fp. 61.), I called attention to the amou it of lish that a fur-seal probably consumed every day on an average throughout the year, showing that these animals undoubtedly required and secured some six millions of 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 tinny prey must pass down their voracious throats as every year rolls by. A crea- ture so full of life, strung with nerves, muscles like bands of steel 20 306 SECTION VIII. i ! i cannot live on air, or absorb it from tbo spa. Tiioir I'ood is fisb, to (bo practical exclusion of all otbor diet. I have never seen tbcin touch, or disturb with the intention of toucbinj? it, one solitary example in the flocks of water fowl which rest upon the surface of the water all about the islands. 1 was especially careful in noting this, because it seemed to me that the canine armature of their mouths nmst sug{,'est flesh for food at times as well as fish ; but fish we know they eat. Whole wind- rows of the heads of cod and wolf fishes, bitten ofl' by these animals at the nape, were washed up on the south shore of St. Georjre during a gale in the summer of 1873 ; this pelagic decapitation evidently niarked 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 certain in my mind. Judging from the appe- tite, however, of kindred animals, such as sea-lions fed in confinement at Woodward's gardens, San Francisco, I can safely say that forty pounds for a full grown fur-seal is a fair allowance, with at least ten or twelve pounds per diem to every adult female, and not much less, if any, to the rapidly growing pups and young " hoUuschickie ". There- fore, this great body of four and five millions of hearty, active animals which we know on the seal islands, must consume an enormous amount of such food every year. They cannot average less than ten pounds of fish each per diem, which gives the consumption, as exhibited by their appetite, of over six million tons of fish every year. What wonder, then, that nature should do something to hold these active fishermen in check. " " 1 feel confident that I have placed this average of fish eat per diem by each seal at a starvation allowance, or in other words, it is a certain minimum of the whole consumption. If the seals can get double the quantity which Icredit them with above, starllingas it seems, still I firmly believe that they eat it every year. An adequate realization by ichthyo- logists and fishermen as to what havoc the fur-seal hosts are annually making among cod, herring, and salmon of the north-west 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 labours of these ichthyophagi in those waters adjacent to their birth. What catholic knowledge of fish and fishing banks any one of those old ' seecatchie ' must possess, which we observe hauled out on the Pri- bilof rookeries each summer. It has, undoubtedly, during the eighteen or twenty years of its life, explored every fish — eddy, bank, or shoal APPENDIX. 307 lein tain the rmly lyo- ually and c of and lown and will orial irth. old Pri- iteen ihoal thioughoul tho whole of that vast ininionsily of the North Pacillc and Bering? Sea. II has had inorepiscino sport in a single twelve month Ihan Izaak Walton had in his whole life. " An old sea-caplain, l)ami»ier, crnising around Ihe world just ahout ;200 years ago, wrote diligently thereof (or, rather, one Funnel is said to have wrillen for him), and wrote well, lie had frequent referenee to meeting hair-seals and sea lions, fur seals, etc., and fell into repeal- ing this maxim, evidently of his own making : ' For wherever there he plenty offish, there he seals'. I am sure thai, unless a vast ahundance of good fishing-ground was nearhy, no such congregation of seal-life as is thai under discussion on Ihe seal-islands, could exist. The whole eastern half of Bering Sea, in its entirely, is a single lish-spawning hank, nowhere deeper than bO to 75 falhoms, averaging perhaps, 40; also there are great reaches of fishing shoals up and down the norfhwesl coast from and above Ihe straits of Fuca, horderingihe entire southern, or Pacific, coast of the Aleutian islands. The aggregate of fish food which Ihe seals find upon these vast ichthyological areas of reproduc- tion, must he simply enormous, and fully e(pial to the most extravagant demand of the voracious appetites of Callorliinl. " 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 extenuinating 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 equilibriun, 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 dog fish, 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 dog-fish {Sguatno ancarlhias), which family swarms in these waters an innnense impetus lo ils present extensive work of destruction of untold millions of young food fishes such as herring, cod, and salmon. A dog-fish can and does destroy everyday of its existence hundreds and thousands of young cod, salmon, and other food fishes-destroys at least double and quadruple as much as a seal; what is the most potent factor to the destruction of the dog-fish? Why the seal himself, and unless men can, and will, destroy the dog-fish first, he will be doing positive injury to the very cause he pretends to champion, if he is permitted to disturb this equilibrium of nature, and destroy the seal. w SECTION VIII. till li ifi I: J ;;' 1 ; LIST OF RESIDENT TIIEASURY AGENTS WHO HAVE SERVED ON TUB SEAL-ISLANDS OF ALASKA FROM 1869 TO 1890. Chief Special Agents. No. Name. Seaiions of Service. 1. CuARLKs RnvANT 1869 fo May 20lh 1877 (incl.) 2. John M. Morton lf«:7 to 1878 (incl.) 3. Harrison G. Otis 1879 to 1881 (incl.) 4. HknryA. Glidde.n 1882 to July 1st 1885 (inci.) ii. (Jko. H. Tingle 1883 to April 1889 (incl.) 0. Charles J. Goff 1889 to date (November 1890.) Assistant Special Agents. No. Name. Seasons of Service. 7. Samuel Falconer 1870 to 1876 (incl.) 8. Henry W. Elliott.. 1872 to 1873 (incl.) 9. Francis Lessen. . . . 1872 to 1874 (incl.) 10. Geo. Marston.. . . 187o to 1877 (inch) 11. Wm. J.McIntyre. . 1874 to 1876 (incl.) 12. J. H. MOULTON.. . . 1877 to 1882 (incl.) 13. B. F. SCRIBNER.. . . 1879 to 1880 (incl.) 14. John W. Beauan.. . . 1879 to 1880 (incl.) la. W. B. Taylor.. . . 1881 to August 3rd. 1881. 16. Geo. Wardsian .... 1881 to May 29th, 1883. 1882 to 1883 (incl.) 1884 to 1883 (to July 1st only) 17. Louis KiMMEL. . . . 18. Herbert G. Fowler. 19. A. P. Loud 1885 to 1889 (incl.) 20. Tuos. J. Ryan 1883 to 1886 (incl.) 21. J. P. Manchester. . . 1886 to 1889 (incl.) 22. Wm. Gavitt 1887 to 1888 (incl.) 23. Joseph Murray. . . 1889 to date (Nov. 1890). 1889 to date — 24. S. R. Nettleton . . 2'6. A. W. Lavender.. . 1 .1 •* • t 11- 1- 1 1890 to date — In addition to the above list of names of regularly specified seal island Agents of Treasury Department, S. 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 seasons work of 1870 on St. George, tiiree months : then he passed another period of nine months on St. Paul from July 31st, 1871 to April 26th, 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. Elliot, and Lt. Washburn Maynard, U. S. N. made a thorough survey of the seal-life as embodied on these islands. APPENDIX. 309 The foUowinp citations arc from tho daily Journal of tho Treasury Agent's Office on St. George IslanJ in reference to the visits of ma- rauders or pirates; a few of the extracts are given helow to show the general impression made at the time, means of prevention, etc. 1884. Sept. loth. Schooner reported at Zapadnie. Sept. 1 1th. About 1:2.45 A. M. we noticed boats coming towards the shore.... as a warning to let them know, and not to land, we fired a half dozen shots. The marauding boats inunediately lurniul about and disappeared in the fog and darkness " (p. 376). 1885. July 2nd. ... About five 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 ... Juhj 3rd. The men we sent to Zapadnie yesterday evening. returned early this morning reporting they could see no pirates or signs of any (p. 413). July 20th. ... 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 nmrks in the shape of many seal skeletons some fresh shown (/. e.) thai they had been killed but the night before. July 22nd. (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, one hundred and twenty seal skins and evidence enough to satisfy the Government Agent that between six and seven hundred seals had been killed nearly all female... We found hundreds of skinned seals hid under rocks and in caves ... (p. 419). Sept. 7th... 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). 1886. June 19th. " At 3 A. M. this morning, the Chief reported that the two watchmen at Starry Arteel discovered within 400 feet of shore a ship's boat, and they tired four shots in all, and the boats left : this occured about 1 A. M.... Arkently reported no vessels at Zapadnie last night, but fog was heavy, and it was dark (p. 469). Aug. 6th. Dense fog. Went to Starry Arteel Rookery taking Chief with me to see the dead seals reported yesterday found there; they had been killed by clubbing and had evidently been dead a week... 310 SECTION VIII. li I 1 S 1 Aug. 9lh. " ... Schooner sigliled about 8 A. M. somo six miles lotiio Norlli, headinff West. Soon after natives reported seeinj; a boat just off Bluff at West Point... Two boats close in shore at West I'oinI, flrrd upon Ihein Avheu they at once pulled out into the fog in direction of the Schooner. Sept. 2llh. At about I P. M. the Revenue Steamer " Bear" came lo anchor in front of the village... Capl. llealy reports that in his opinion all marauding vessels (su) have left these waters (p. 187). 1888. A'ov. 17lh. ...At 12 M. saw a schooner from the village at the west end of the Island heading to the N. \V. Sent 2nd Chief and three men to Zapadnie, etc. iVot;. 18th. ...Nothing seen of the schooner to-day. 2nd Chief re- turned lo village and reports that some persons had landed as there were fresh tracks, and the windows ol the native house were all broken. No signs could be discovered of much danjage b(>ing done lo the rookery as the few seals left there at this time are all quiet. 1889. Sept. 30th. ...Messenger from Zapadnie reported that men had landed and killed seals on the Rookery last night. Oct. 1st. ...At 10 o'clock P. M. three boats hove in sight and came up to within a few yards of where we were conct>aled. Hero they se- parated one going towards the end of the Rookery and two steaming towards the center of the Rookery... so I tired across the nearest boat and gave orders to the men to tire. Instantly the boats turned and pulled for the open sea (p. 277). Oc^ 21 st-22nd. Schooner anchored off Zapadnie 21st. Captain came ashore on 22nd and spoke to watchmen at Barrobskie saying he belong- ed to the A. C. Co. Compasses out of order, etc., bound for Kams- chatka. Natives refused to go aboard with him, and he went off and go', underway — left. Nothing seen of him since, and no other vessoll this year. The following citations from the Treasury Agents Journal on St. George's island refer to the appearance of the " Killer " whales {Orca gladiator), ami the havoc they create; there is but one brief entry of the kind in the St. Paul Journal : I am not surprised at it, howevei", because I did not see myself a killer whale around St. Paul during lht> whole of my visit there last season May 21st lo August lllb inclusive. But at St. George, the letter of Capt. Lavender which follows, declares the presence of a great many. APPENDIX. 311 1S81. Sept. I bill. A scliool of a[)parontly Ion orlwolvo killors ran into Ihc slioal around tlio " near " llookory lo-d.iy, and soon mad(^ liavoc among llif iiujis... II was esUnialed I'roui the nianuor in wliicli tin? seals were thrown up out ol' llie water that 25 or 30 were eaten by llieir pealest enemies. Sept. 18lh. Anotlier visitation of killers similar to llial of loth instant (p. 269). 1882. Mai/ 9th. A school of killers were also seen this morning for the Jirsl lime since the seals left last fall (p. 28t)). Oct. 29th. The weather being fair and favourable to-day I made a trip to Starry Atcel Rookery noticing on my wav there that a good many so called killers were chasing and destroying young pup seals in the sea ofl" the beach (p. 304). 1885. Sept. 3rd. ...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 great discomforture {sic) of the pups. The number of pups devoured by them must be great... (p. 429). 1886. Maij 5th. Three killers passed by to-day, the monsters (p. 450). 1887. Sept. i4th. ... A school of killers made their initial appearance. There were about eight in school. They passed the length of the Island three times and killed all the seal and sea-lion they could get. Sept. 22nd. Killers again appeared this afternoon : there were about fifteen of them. They passed from East to West and killed many seals. Oct. 16th. ... A school of killers, about four in all came at 8-30 A.M. from East... (p. 39). Oct. 19th. ...K.llers came again this evening passing from East to West. Their work as usual very destructive. The gulls followed picking up remnants of meat. Oct. 19th. Killers at an early hour this A. M and they cleared the sea of all the seal were in it at the time (p. 50). 3J2 SECTION VIII. in 1888. tlj r !| , July 1st. ...Killorts have been in this vicinity for a week and were in front of village all afternoon (p. 158). Oct. 23rd. ...There were 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 a letter addressed by Capt. A. W. Lavender on this subject to the writer, he says that he " is now stationed on St. George island as Trea- sury 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, he has 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 something oi" the past in a short time ; they also inform- ed 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 witli all the modern improve- ments for the killing of whales and to 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 wherever an opportunity is afforded. These boats should be in charge of experienced whalemen from some part of the New England states wiiero this whale and other similar species exist in large numbers, there would be no trouble in obtaining men who were well versed in this kind of whal- ing, 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 sea-pups would be changed so much, that cod fish and other similar varieties would be good enough for them. I shall endeavour 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. Lavk.ndkb. Extracts from the Journal of the Office of the Treasury Agent St. George Island, in reference to the number of seals thereon : the following citations show that several of the assistant agents over here APPENDIX. 313 have paid considerable attention to this important subject by making field observations in the breedinjor seasons, since my published work of 1874, the Journal of the St. Paul Office does not give any similar evi- dence of attention until the season of 1889, or until the notes of Mr. Chas. J. GofF were entered last year. All finJ surveys and population notes of the breedings 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 10th-20th inclusive, are valueless. Also that in 1884 a dis- tinct note of warning was sounded from St. George by Assistant Agent Wardman; the St. Paul office gave it no attention. The first survey made after my work of l873-'74 was llie following which seems to have been made in all sincerity : but the extraordinary allotment of space which he gives to the seals, two feet in some places and eight feel in others, is due to the fact that he must have struck those particular eight, four, and five feet areas when the [tups were podding bark and the cows scattered with them; the work, however bears evi- dence of pains and sincerity and is entitled to respect. 1 made that season of 1871 a total of ttrJ.iO'i; he makes it 198,tiJ8 breeding-seals and young; his figures of sea-margin am' average dejith, show that when contrasted with mine, tlial his tape-line and the podding wliici; is evident that he encountered were not safe factors for a close calcu- lation. This calculation (tf Wm. J. Mc Intyre is copied from his autograph entry in the Journal of the Treasury Agent St. George island and is a Table sho^/^lng the present condition of the Breeding Rookeries on Saint George's Island from a survey made by "Wm. J. Mc Intyre : The limits of expansion were defined in the middle of July 1874, and measured in April of the following year. I, l,„.i„. '-""Kth of AvorafTP. Space allowo.l Total miinb..r nookcnos. s,„,, „„,. ,„,„,„„. ,.,, ,^,,h seals. p„„^ ^ J'j ^^^ p^^^ Zapatliiie 87."; i:tO ."i squaro feet 24,600 Starry Artoel (VM) iTA :t — — :{4,t;i() North 1st part .... 900 M 2 — - 18,450 \ — 2iid — . . . . 900 ;j4I/.3 8 — — fi,ll2 S6,:i02 — .Iril — . . . . 1,000 1-24 2 — — 02,000 I Little East iVM 72 3 — — t-2,:t:ir) East, 1st Part .... 260 240 4 — — 15,00() — 2iul — . . . . 1,240 49 2 — — 2:;,:i80 GnAND TOT.\L. . . 6,47:; 11118 3.i8-- — 19S,648 With all due deference to Mr. Elliott's opinion that 2 square feet of ground for each seal on the breeding lookeries is approxnualely rorrcci, 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 feci, in 1^^ 314 SECTION VIII. others 3, t, 5, and S square feet accordinfr to the topography of the ground, its adapUibility for hreodinir purposes, and the condition of the rookery at the time of it greatest expansion, i. e. about the middle of July. It would be utterly impossible for any series of measurements lo give the accurate number of seals that haul up on the breeding rook- eries or hauling grounds. The least that can be done under the cir- cumstances is to form some basis for measureuient during the middle of July, mark the limits of the breeding grounds, and measure them carefully witli a tape line as was done in this case before tl>e 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. WM. J. MC INTYRE. ■M A N ^ i Jan 30, IST:. ... The month has been rather dry for killing seal, but yet a large number has been killed for this month, a much larger nundifr than has been taken in June in any pre\ i<>us year since the island has been in the hands of the A. C. Co. The number taken this month is 9.987. — lacking only 13 of being as many as was taken in the whole season of 1876. The highest number ever taken in June was 8,3i3 in I87d : the number taken in June last year was 3,397. The tirst drive last year, June, was lOH. The tirst drive this year was made June 1st., and num- bered 198 : this drive of 198 has been equalled only once, — that was in 1873 when 198 were driven June itli. It will be seen by the above comparisons that there was an increase of seals the 1st of June, which continued throughout the month. During this month therf has been but one drive from " Zapadnie " on account of the prevailing dry wea- ther. At this date there are at least 5.000 seals on that rookery large enough to kill. The last drive this month was made frum East Hook- ery, numbering 1,589, .''n*! several hundred were left on hauling grounds. After conferring with Mr. Mor^'an, Co.'s .\genl. and th*» Chief of this islands, I am convinced that there is a large incrciise of all classes of seal this year over last year fur the month of June. But whether this increase will continue lo the end of the hauling season, remains to be seen. J. H. MociTox, .\sa't. ia Cbarge. July 10, |!*T7 (p. 115 . ... The natives made a drivp of 880 seals from Eakin> having been taken in that time. This number might have been increased at Zapadnie by killing the seals there, num- bering sooie iOOO or more, being held as a reserve to draw upon in case the quota. IS.OiW. should not be available on tiie North side of the island. The nnmb,000 37,500 Starry Arteel 900 37ii 517,000 2.S8,7oO Near North 3,500 300 l.O.'iO.OOO iJ2;i,000 Totals. . . 9,300 2,4l8,o00 1,209,500 The measurement of the above rookeries by H. "W. Elliott, July 12th-15th, 1873, gives as the totals of males, females and young seals on the breeding rookeries, 163,420, whilst the Co. killed 25,000 seals on St. George, or one-fourth of the citch. The same officer gives the number of breeding seals on St. Paul Island, July 10th to 18th, at 3,030,250 or twenty times the number on St. George, and yet only three times the number of seal were taken on St. Paul. It is evident that Mr. Elliott's measurements of St. George rookeries were not correct, or the Company could not have taken 25,000 from so small a showing. The very careful and correct measurements by Dr. Noyes shows the true condition of the rookeries, and is in proportion to the St. Paul Island seal population, as follows : Scu-Margia. Square feet.. Seals. St. Paul 49,830 10,297,000 5,148,500 St. George 9,300 2,418,500 1,209,250 St. Paul quota (s?'c) 85,000; St. George quota (sic) 15,000. To equa- lize the income of the natives on the two islands, the Company allows the St. George men to assist on the St. Paul island, where they earn about 3,000 each year equal to taking 7,500 additional seal on St. George as far as the St. George natives' income is concerned. Please enter the foregoing in your journal for future reference. I am, resp'y. Signed : Geo. R. Tingle, Treasury Agent. St. Paul Island, June 10, 1887. as " .absolutely correct " (neither man had ever seen, up to that hour, the rookeries when covered with breeding-seals as specified in these measurements aforesaid), — Dr. Noyes entered a disclaimer, to me, as to any responsibility for these estimates of the numbers of seal, on the St. George rookeries, which Tingle declares " absolutely correct ". He said to me tliat he did not know anything about surveying, that ho made those measurements of space in length and depth at Mr. Tingle's request, and sent them over without making, himself, any estimates of the number of seals thai might be within the lines of his measurements. That estimate of 1,209,000 seals on the St. George rookeries in 1887 >Vas " made wholly outside of his knowledge or suggestion ". APPENDIX. \pril )0 )0 50 00 00 , July 5 seals eals on t. Paul iber on iken on George n 25,000 s shows St. Paul Extract from Treasury Agent's Journal : St. George Island, June 22, 1888, (p. 471). ... We think from the outlook under the next lease tlie Government ■will get a revenue of not less tlian ^500,000 a year from the seal ol St, Paul and St. George Islands. We think 150,000 can be taken each year instead of 100,000, especially if the Government will com- mence at onco and give them good protection. Tlie crop of seal are (sic) big upon these Islands, the largest and best in the world. J. P. Manchkster. St. George, September 2j, 1888 {p. 187). ... Made an examination of all tlie rookeries on north side, mate about two thousand killable seals. A. P. Loud. Ksli- St. George, July 1889, 10. (p. 251) ... It is feared by Mr. Clark of the A. C. Co., that we cannot get our quota of skins this year. The seals are coming in very slowly. JosKPii Murray. als. 8,o00 i'.>,-2o0 o equa- ly allows ere they seal on nee. INGLE, ic rookeries 'orosaid), — ?sl'unalcs of absolutely ing, Ilia*' ^^^ request, and [)/■ seals that 000 seals on Lnowlcdgo or With that entry of Col. Murray of the lOlh of .luly 1880, 1 close the St. George official extracts, and turning to the official entries on tlic pages of the St. Paul Journal, I find notliing there of the character cited from the St. George records, i. e. direct entries made from field observation like those quoted above, until I reacli the record of last year : tbey are summed up in tlie fi)l!owing direct significant warning, wliieh that gentleman (who uttered it) promptly embodied in tliis report to the Treasury Department : tlius giving tlie first direct information on file in the Secretary's Office wliieli warned him of the true state of affairs up there. Sept. 1889, .... Dr. Luiz and myself look a walk to the Reef this afternoon : the old bulls arc about all gone, pujts are getting rather large, and could be seen by tliousands playing in the water yet. I am satisfied that tbey are not near so rmmerous as in the past. It is hnpossible to continue killing 100,000 seals per annum and expect a continuation of seal life and a revenue to the Government. My obser- vations this summer of the rookeries have fallen far short of my ex- pectations after reading Elliott and others on seal life '. 1. Treasury Agent's Journal, St. Paul's Island: p. 173. C. J. GOFF. 21 1^^ 322 SECTION VIII. Field notes relative to Pelagic sealing. In re : Seal Pirates. I 4 I als i(>n. The Colhu'lor says that out of liie 07 skins wiiich he sci/.ed on, liie sealers informed him thai «iO of those seals were females, when killed all heinjr with their uid)orn younf;. Certainly the absence of seals in the water as we came down yester- day over a sea thai was smooth and glassy — the absence of these ani- mals was surprisinj; — we saw but t youn^; seals on the entire stretch between Oonalashka and the Isld. of SI. (jcor},'e. The opporlnnity for viewinj; these animals never could be heller and lli»! inference is unavoidable that they are rapidly running out. 1 lind the opinion connnonlj- expressed here, as it was when 1 Ursl came n[t that the active uninterrui»ted shootiny and hunting? of these seals on the several paths of travel up to the Seal Islands from the Paeilic on one side, has deflected larpe bodies of them over to the Russian rookeries. It stands to reason that a lleet of 40 or io or more vessels all hoverinj? about the entrances to the passes of the Aleutian chain on the Pacilic side — the passes of Akoolan, and Oonimak in especial — that such a reception would head off and turn aside a regular orderly migration of these tiniiuals. 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 Pribylov Group counts heavily against the future life and preservation of those interests. Capl. Tanner has beiMi cruising in Bering Sea between Oonalaska and Biistol Bay and as far to the westward as 175". Long. N. K. the a\)° Lat. and has seen but three schooners in Rering Sea up to date : two of those vessels were in the full tide of sealing as above stat- ed 60 miles, west of SI. Paul Island, and the other was a rusty little cralt just above Anak Island west of Oonimak Island. But thai does not signify that there are no more — on the contrary it is very likely that there are more. .\ careful inquiry here to-day discloses the fad that I'lu-scals have never hauled on the beaches of Oonalaska Island, and have never come into the harbour here within sight of the natives e\ce[)f for a few days only when strong northerly gales prevail : as soon as it becomes calm they go out and down into the Pacilic ; from lime inmu'morial, fur- seal pups have been shot and speared every fall, in November chielly, 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 lirst opened up the country in 17H8-'86. 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 search of the Russians for the Seal Islands. ^^ 324 SECTION VIII. !• The scarcity of seals this year has hern coiiiincntod upon hy thn fishoriiu'ii of Alaska, who declare that they have hoen gellinj,' larger catches this season than ever hefore, and lay the chanffo to the decrease of seal-life. Ca[tl. Tanner says that he has seen several of thes(! men who have ch.irge of canneries and cod-llshing stations at Oorza el Paper Islands, they all said that inqueslionibly the increase of llsli was due to the decrease of seals, — if not wholly due to that, it certainly was due in a measure to it. I myself am hy no means inclined to regard the circumstance as noteworthy to any appreciable dejfrec! whiitever. Nor can I believe nnich in the delleclion of any larjje body of fur- seals from the Aleutian passes up to our side of Berinf Sea and the Pribylov Islands : there is not as yet onoufjh ground covered by these poachers to make that abrupt turn down south of the Aleutian chain of the fur-seal herd — wherein loo long, and too wide, and too frecpient an opportunity exists for them to go wholly unmolested tip to their places of birth in Bering Sea : they might be so headed olf 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 docs clear up, becomes calm, and the horizon is vis- ible in every direction — then these pelagic hunters can and do work rapidly ami successfully during the brief intervals wliicli such weather afl'ords ; brief I say because the clear calm bright day olf the Aleutian Chain and in its passes is a rare one, and is easily remcndjered during each season. Therefore I do not feel warranted in believing that asyet any dellecl- ion 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 delleclion might be caused by the withdrawal ot large schools of food fish supply from the Aleutio-Bering St>a region — by its abandonment of this region and location in the Occident — such a course would be quite sufficient, since the seal is a hearty feeder and would follow its source of food supply. But lish are now more abund- ant, 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. APPENDIX. Lost of seaU by poachers. Witnesses under oalli before the (jonimitlee Merchant ilarine and Fisheries 50 the Congress, 2nd Sess. Hoi). No 3883. II. U. Pago 61. T. F. MohaAx. — *' Question. \\hii\ numhor of soals arc rocovorod Ihal are killed in the walor? —Ansirer. 1 could not state it as a positive fact, but 1 siiould say not over 50 per cent. " Page 5i. W. B. Tayloii. —^ Question. When Ihoy kill the seals in the waters, about what proportion of thoni do thoy recover? — Answer. 1 do not believe more than one-fourth of them. " Pago 87. C. A. Williams. — '^ Question. kuA tho conditions are had.' — Ansu-cr. Yes, sir; and often worse, for this reason : if you kill a pup yne boat getting 0. July 9, 1887. — I am now on the hunting-ground, but keep sail on the vessel as we may pick up a sleeping seal. July 11, 1887. — Caught 7 seals. July 13, 1887. — Caught li seals; they were around the vessel as thick as hoes (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 1 know that I am not over \i miles from St. George Island, July 17, 18S7. — Out boats at 10.30 a.m.. The seals were around the vessel in hundreds. 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 3.30 p.m., and continued thus all the rest of the day. They are the hardest sot of hunters that were ever in Boring Sea, who caught 20 seals and used 250 rounds of amunitiun. They get 1 out of every 10 they tire at. Well, I will never be caught with such a crowd again. The head hunter (ircd a 100 shells and got 6 seals. The vessel is lying between the Islands <>f St. Paul and St. George. Just as soon as the fog clears off the land 1 will have to move, as 1 might have the cut- ter after me. I came here to get a load of seals, and by God, if I had 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 the vessel at 9 p.m. One boat returned al 7 p.m. This was the head hunter. He is last out and first back always ; caught 30 seals ; one boat got 1-i. This is the best day's work we have done yet. From the amount of growl- ing among the boat-jjuUcrs, 1 conclude that they fired at and missed nearly 200 seals. They had 100 loaded shell each when they left the ship, and when they came back all were emptied, so they did some tall liring. July 23, 1S87. — To-day I askod Daniel Mc Cue, boat-puller for Charles Loderstrom, how it was that his boat got only 9 seals. 1 told him that I had seen iO sleeping seals from the vessel, and that he must have seen more as he was pulling about. His answer was that if he had a man 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 discour- SECTION Vill. age a man. You pull up to a sleeping seal to within 10 fc', fire at him and see the shot go 6 feet the other «ide of him. 1 then a^'-'-d J. Linquist, puller for boat two. He said, captain, don't ask me how many we have seen hut ask me how many we missed, and 1 will tell you. 1 asked him the above question ; he said !00. I now asked Joe Spoonor the same tjuestions 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 Hat calm with the sea as smooth as glass. Got out the boats at 6.30 p.m.; coming back at 7.30 witli I '» seals. Why I One boat with an ordinary hunter could get that many without going 100 yards from the ship. I killed two inside of ton minutes, and it was than nearly dark. July 25, 1887. — Nice weather. 0«it boats at 7 p.m. Dime 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 tardi- ness of the hunters. .\t {.30 I put the boats out; came back at 7.30 with I seal. The water was fairly covered with seals, yet they only caught I. The ki(j closes on the 28//i of July, 1 887, on irhich day the captain was killed and his vessel seized, for violation of the recenue laics. His sifjnals icere ; (I , Come hack to the vessel; 'i) Want a hoat fo/ dead seal; (3) A'eep near the vessel. Bad weather or fog ; (i; Cutter in si{;lit. This paper is a transcript of the log-book of the schooner Angel Dolly, captured by .Mr. Tingle in July, 1887. Number of seals. Witnesses under oath before the Committee Merchant Jkiarine and Fisheries. oOnd Sess. Rep. No. 3883. H. R. i. Page 211, 1885-1887. T. F. RvAN. — " Question. Will you state about the location of these- islands and the condition of the seal rookeries while you were there. — Answer. St. George island is in Rermg Sea, 180 miles to the north- west of Oonalaska, om* of tho Aleutian chain of islands. It is an island about 6 miles wide and 10 miles long, to which 175,000 to 200,000 seals come annually — male, female, and pup. "' Page l^'-let ser/., I8S0-I888. G. R. Ti.NGLE. — "(Juestion. What is your observation as to the number of seals resorting to the islands amiually; are they dinunishing or in- 'iM>l.tiii»a",-i-rir. <»-'ihr lIlWl APPENDIX. 320 croasinp:? — Ansici^'. Upon that subject, if it is in order, I would like lo answer the question by reading from my report to the Treasury. May I in(|uire if it is in Mr. Elliotts evidence that he made his state- ments as to the seal life upon the island from personal observation? " " "^'be Cliairioan. 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 ajfo." "The Witness. He made a statement that there was no <;reater num- ber of seals upon the islands now than at the lime he measured the rookeries. Since I have been on the islands I have observed very closely the breeding rookeries. I have visited Ihem daily, remaining around and observing them for hours at a lime. I gave them very closo attention. The reason I did so was that I desired I': be able to I)lace the Department in possession of the very best information I could in regard to this seal properly; whether it was increasing or diminish- ing. I found on llie islands this book of Mr. Elliolt's, giving his measure- ments of llie si'al rookeries, and 1 conceived Iht^ idea of making some measurements myself on the Elliott basis to lind out if Ihe seals were increasing. Mr. Elliolt's measurements of the fur-seal islands showed an area of (i,()"21,lHlO s(|uare feel, and he says llial uj)on that basis there are o,()!0,!)oO ^eals. Taking Mr. Elliott's basis, I made measurements fourteen years after his, and they showed an in- crease of 8-2;{i feet in sea-margin of the rookeries and an increase of -{,•27.'). I (10 feet of superficial area occupied by breeding seals, showing ui)ou Si. Paul Island, at the time I made my measurement, 5,1{8,500 seals, or an increase of :2, 137,500. " The number of seal's at present shown to be on the breeding rookeries of the tMro islands is as follovrs : St. Paul Island ;),I48,')0() St. Geor^'e IshinJ l,'J()!»,2;iO Total 0,;'..'>7,750 Pago 50. 1883. W. B. Taylok. — "Qai\slii,n. Is it your opinion that a larger num})er of seals may be taken annually without didrimenl to the rookeries? — Ansirer. No, sir: I would not reconunend thai. The lime may come, but 1 think that one year with another they are taking all they ought to lake, for this reason : " "I believe that the capacity of the bull seal is limited, the same as any other animal, and I have very frequently counted from thirty lo thirly-tive, and even, al one time, forty-two cows with one bull. 1 w 'II N I* I n 390 SECTION VIII. Uiink if lh*-fi^ vcre aioro bulls there would be less cows to one bull, and in llial way th<" increase would be greater than now. While the number of 5«al in the a^rgrefrate is not apparently diminished, and in fact Ihore is und'-mbl^'dly an increase, yel if you lake any greater num- ber of <»'al iLaji i? tak«'U now, this ratio of cows to one bull would be greater, and fur that leastm there would be a less number of young seals, nitdtj'uble'dly. I look upon the breeding of the seal as something like the bre^ilinjr of any olhei' animal, and that the same care and res- trictiuD and jud^fUKul should be exercised in this bn.'eding. Page 39. I«7«i-lxis0. (lEc Wai&jian. — •■Qui'slion. What is your impression t>f the number of seals thai vs-^il these rookeries annually'.' — Amiccr. 1 never could make it >«> much a> l*rt«fessor Klliolt has done. I made many estimates. I have been toallihe rookeries on these islands many limes, and coni- ]tar»M| tljem wilh llie sj'ace orrupied by the carcasses on the kiiliiig- grounJ. and 1 fe*'3 prelly conlidenl thai the lolul nundjer has been ov«'r- Cjlimated. " fjut^*tin». He estimated it at something less than t, 000, 000 on Sue two islands? — Antfce> . 1 think he estimates !2oO,000 to iTi^OOO on St. (leonre. 1 have figured it out in several ways, and I think '20,l»00 that we kilb-d wr.uM Ix' 10 pi-r cent, of the killable seals. " '^^ Qmxti-m. !■• that your estimate 10 per cent, of all , I hat come? — .4»/L'fri lakt>s the cxtenl of territory where the seal luid laid and measured that, and eomiuites his ligures from the 1. Til.! fl^'ures here given do not exactly agren with those in the work cited, nor with those in Elliott's " Census llepui't ", p. "til. The coini)utation appears to have been revised (Ed.). 332 SECTION VIII. territory; but they do not lie all over the territory which he marked out." '•'Question. He measured all around, taking a given area? — Answc)\ The seals did not cover the whole area as thoroughly as he measured it. The only lime he could make his measurement was after the seals had left. These were made then. You cannot measure a rookery while the seal 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. " " Question. Do you think under careful treatment and the present policy a large number might be readily taken off after a year with safe- ty? — Answer. Possibly, but I would not suggest that they should in- crease the catch very fast. 1 should go carefully and observe the elfect, increasing at the rate of 5,000,10,000 or 15,000." Page 29, 1880-1885. H. A. Glidden. " Question. What was your estimate of the value of those rookeries ? — Ansive)'. I could not estimate them. The seals are there by the millions; you cannot count them." Page 12. 1869-1872. S. N. BuYMTSKV. "Question. Have you any means of making an esti- mate of the probable number of fur-seals that visit these islands and rookeries? " ''Answe)'. 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. " " Question. You say that Professor Elliott has made some estimate of that? Answer. Yes, sir, I stiy I did not make any estimate. 1 do not think any estimate would be within a million or two. I think he puts them at Ave millions, but it may be three or seven millions, 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. " APPENDIX. 333 i Table showing the number of fur seal skins taken trom the Prlbylov Islands since their transfer in 1867 from Russian to American ownership : tax and rental paid. I do No. Tax and 'Vear. of Skins. 1 Uovalty Paid 1868 21)0,000 1869 85,901 t 1870 9,o77 101,080.001/2 1871 99,741 317,082.021/2 1872 99,975 317,444.371/2 1873 99,744 316,927,00 1874 99,998 317,404.75 187?; 99,976 317,446.971/2 1876 89,964 291,153.50 1877 75,526 253,255.75 1878 99,980 317,461.39 1879 99,962 317,410.221/2 1880 100,036 317,594.50 1881 99,766 316,984.75 1882 99,925 317,2!t5.24 1883 75,000 251,875.00 1884 99,962 317,410.221/2 188o 99,996 317,488.20 1886 09,982 317,467.94 1887 90,950 317,378.721/2 1888 100,000 317,."iO().00 1889 100,000 317,500.00 1890 21,000 210,000.00 Remarks. Tlie skins of 1860 wore called "food-skins", and carried over to 1870 are added to the catch of that year of the beginning of the lease, making a seem- ing return for this year of 9.'), 477 skins taken in (Irst year of Alaska Commercial C'o's lease; Tax §2.02 ','j per skin taken and Rental of §d5,nOC> per annnm. As this lease did not go into operation until August 1870 , tho Secretary made a rebate of sonic §22.000 Rentul. Total. . 2,206,057 $6,208,916.17 Lease of Alaska Com'l Co. ex- pires May 1st 1890. I.oaso re- newed to Nortli American Commercial Co. Allowed to kill (iO,(lOO but secured only 21,000; tax §0.(12, for each skin taken and §60,0(10 rental per an- num. 1. Tlic forprroinfr fi"iires only account for (hose skins takfn anfl shipped from tho Islands between 1870 and 1890; of those taken in ISdS, no lime list has Ijeen kept. Nearly 140,000 " I'ood-skins " have l30on laken ijcUvccn 1870 and 1800 which have never gone from tho islands — were wasted and destroyed. — Tliis shoidd never occur again. The 1809 skins paid a lax of only $1-00 per skin and the rental for that year was only §5,480. 75. i 334 SECTION VIII. Table shovring the number of Fur-seal skius taken trom the Russian Rookeries on the Commander Islands, Bering Sea, since 1871, and shipped to the markets. Romarks. Boring and Copper Islands constitute what is known as the Commander Oroup. Uob- ben Reef or Island is a small islet, or rock rather, about 30 miles off-shoro from the Kast shore of Saghalicn Island in the Okotsk Sea; it belongs to Russia, also. Those skins wore all taken under the Lease to Hutchin- son, Kohl Philippaous ct Co. and paid a tnx of $1.50 to the Imperial Treasury for each skin taken. This leaso expired in November IKUO, and at tliu date of t!iis report, it is not known definitely as to its renewal. Year. Robben Island. Bering and Copper Islands. Total. 1871 — 3,614 3,614 1872 — 29,336 29,336 1873 2,694 27,710 30,404 1874 2,414 28,886 31,300 187:> 3,127 33,132 36,279 1870 1,328 23,432 26,960 1877 2,949 18,384 21,333 1878 3,142 28,198 31,. 340 1870 4,002 38,748 42,730 1880 3,330 43,174 48,304 1881 4,207 30,314 43,321 1882 4,106 40,314 44,620 1883 2,049 26,630 28,699 1884 3,819 30,034 33,833 188;i 1,838 41,737 43,373 1886 — 34,391 34,;i91 1887 — 46,347 46,347 1888 — 47,362 47,362 1889 — 32,733 32,733 1890 — 32,302 32,302 769,863 Under Russian management the yield from these Islands I have the record of, as follows. 1862 1863 1864 1803 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 4,000 4,000 4,300 3,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 12,000 24,000 24,000 No account of the proportion that Rob- bou Reef gives to this total for each year between 1862 and 1870 has boon found by the writer. APPENDIX. ;}3j Table showing the number of Pur-seals skins taken by the pelagic sealers and poachers In the North Pacific and Bering Sea. Pelagic and I'oacliing catch of 1880. Skins. Landed at Victoria, B. C. by British Sealers 23,338 (( « <( American « 3,000 « « San Francisco, Cal. « « 2,9 ii- Seized in BchringSea by U, S. R. M. Culler "Hush" -.t"' Total .... 33,630 Pelagic and Poaihing catch of 1887. Skins. Landed at Victoria, B. G. by Rrilish Sealers 17,07ft ,< « <( by American « 2,3:10 « (< San Francisco Cal., by « « 0,i'02 Seized in Behring Sea by Cutters "Bush" and "Bear" 12,343 Total .... 38,401 Pelagic and Poaching catch of 1888. Skins. Landed at Victoria by Rrilish Sealers 10,011 « « <( San Francisco by American Sealers 3,;)4s ToT.\L .... 24,330 Pelagic and Poaching catch of 1889. Skins. Landed at Victoria by British and American Sealers 30,338 << San Francisco by American Sealers 1 ,800 Seized in Behring Sea by Cutlers "Bear" and "Hush" 2,331 Total .... 43,809 Pelagic and Poaching catch of 1890. Skins. Landed at Victoria, R. C. by Rrilish and American Sealers. . . 38,404 « San Francisco by American Sealers 7,228 Total .... 43,632 Comments : Only in a general way can the relalivo number of skins taken in Bering Sea, be declared, as distinct from the North Pacific catch. In 1885, the Boring Sea catch can be said to be very near i!0,000 in 1887, 29,000 in 1888, 19,000 (no seizures were made that year); in 1889, 25,500; in 1890, 16,000 (no seizures). tIic short supply and threatened exlerminalion of the fur-seal toge- ther made the London sale a very lively one last October; the following citation from the " Fur Trade Review, " for December, 1890, is inter- esting. October sales. Report by Messrs. Blatspiel Stamp and 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 51 336 SECTION VIII. beon salted fur-scnls, sold on tlio 271 li inst., and llin various calalo^'uos hav('conlainnd20,tt!)J Alaska. i-iJ-JI C()I)I)f of Good Hope, etc., making,' a lolal of only 9o,;j;vt (as a},'ainst 12»),2I7 last year), and this total was only broii},'hl tof;t!tlior now by including llie larger part of the caloh I'roni Coi)i>er 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 nund)er of buyers from Germany i)rescnt than last year, and buyers generally were not eager, " " As soon as the small catch of .\laska 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 IIk; Seal Islands had been greatly diminished by the indiscriminate slaughter of fmales on the open seas, and therefore the catch for next year on the Pribylov Islands could not now be forecast, it might again have to !)(> very small. '' " The quality of the 20,99 1 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 de- mand was far greater than the supply, and consetpicntly prices advanced rapidly and greatly, averaging about 90 per cent, all round. Separated, the ratio of advance was : On ()o9 middlings and smalls, 7,) i)er cent.; on 2,939 smalls 65 per cent.; 3,ltt large pups, 85 per cent.; 7,(i81 middling pups, 100 per cent.; 3,7o2 small pups, 130 per cent., and 71 extra small pups, 100 per cent. There were exceptionally few (743) low and cut ■skins, which were also in good demand. Nearly all were secured for America. " " The 12,721 Copper Islandskins were alsoof somcwhatsuporiorqua- lity, 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 tlie sizt's; these were also largely secured for America, but part wN II The '• HAi:LiNO-OROUNns " ok iiii-. kur-seal on tiik i'i;iuyi,ov ISLANDS OK ALASKA; T H K, I R AUKA, POSITION AND CONDITION IN l872-"!4, 1890 "■' sKr/rioN ]\i The METHOD ok iiRivivVii IviCii I'AuNij 'ftX-VsiSA^s; . •• I •> Piris. — Printed l». m • V, R K s T a I K 11 1 A T K X I 8 T I N O 197 S T O (1 E- PRHC I'.D- 221)