Cat. N4P-51 Accession No. LIBRARY of the DEPARTMENT OF ANATOMY, HISTOLOGY AND EMBRYOLOGY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY Date Cost Binding iy /5- sr r fa'dese-g444.47, FISIERIES-NEANOGRAPHY LIBRARY FRONTISPIECE. A WAITING BEACH-MASTER, LUKANIN ROOKERY, SAINT PAUL ISLAND. Drawn from life by Bristow Adams. Org \ ,, ::::::„4'1.1-',,,,,,,„'A's""--':C01--'-':" i ',,--:1 LS:, 41.1, ‘,1, l, • ... ..1.sk -••••••C , , 1 —........4— A-i- `\4044,1( , mdt ,„0- 4 4 - poi" "73:4-- li t ‘ , ' ' ''' T H FL R SEALS AND FUR-SEAL ISLANDS OF THE NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN. RV DAVID. STARR JORDAN, President of Lelana- Stanford Jr. University, COMMISSIONER IN CHARGE OF FUR-SEAL INVESTIGATIONS OF 1896-97. WITH THE FOLLOWING OFFICIAL ASSOCIATES: LEONHARD STEJNEGER and FREDERIC A. LUCAS, Of the U. S. National NIusetiin. JEFFERSON F. MOSER, Lieutenant-commander, U. S. N., In, Command of the U. S. Steatrier CHARLES H. TOWNSEND, Of the II. S. Fish C~oxz mission. GEORGE A. CLARK, Secretary and Stenographer. JOSEPH MURRAY, Special Agent. WITH SPECIAL PAPERS BY OTHER CONTRIBUTORS. PART 1. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. I 898. ay I__ CONTRIBUTORS OF PAPERS ON SPECIAL SUBJECTS. WILLIAM H. ASHMEAD, NATHAN BANKS; 0. FULLER COOK, DANIEL, W. coQuiLa.,--r, WILLIAM H. DALL, VVILLIANI R. DUDLEY, HARRISON G. ID 1(A,.R, ELMER E. FARMER, PIERRE A. FISH, CHARLES H. GILBERT, ALBERT HASSALL, MARTIN LINNELL, JAMES M. MACOUN, JENNIE C. MILLER, WALTER MILLER, -WILLIAM PALMER, MARY J. H.A-r FT 13 LI N , WILLIAM E. RITTER, JOSEPH N. ROSE, EUGENE A. SCHWARZ, ROBERT E. SNODGRASS, WILLIAM A. SNOW, CHARLES W. STILES, WILE3UR W. -rmon-uRN, FREDERICK W. TRUE. 841606 PAR.PF I. THE HISTORY, coxmox, AND NEEDS OF THE HERD OF FUR SEALS RESORTING TO THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. BY DAVID STARR JORDAN AND GEORGE ARCHIBALD CLARK, ILLUSTRATED BY PHOTOGRAPHS, AM) BY DRAWINGS FROM NATURE BY BRISTOL ADAMS. 15184-1 1 TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Document No. 2017. Dirision of As'pecial Agents. 2 FEBRUARY 24, 1898. SIR : I have the honor to submit herewith my final report as commissioner' in chary cur-seal investigations for the seasons of 1896 and 1897. Very respectfully, yours, DAVID STARR JORDAN, Commissioner. Hon. LYMAN J. GAGE, Secretary of the Treasury, Washington, D. C. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS. PART I. CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER I.—INTRODUCTION: Page. The occasion of the inquiry • 17 The act of Congress 17 The commission 17 The scope of the work 18 The investigations 19 The report 19 Itinerary, 1896 20 Itinerary, 1897 21 II.—HISTORICAL SKETCH : Discovery and exploration 23 Bering's second voyage 23 Discovery of Commander and Pribilof islands 23 The Russian-American Company 23 Its organization 24 The ukase of 1821 24 The second and third charters 24 The company's management 25 Injurious methods Protection of females 25 The herd at the close of Russian control 26 The interregnum 26 Professor Dall's notes 26 The number of seals killed 26 Mr. Howes's notes 26 The trading companies 26 The work of sealing 27 Methods of driving 27 Russian methods 27 The killing not indiscriminate 28 American management 28 The Alaska Commercial Company 28 The first lease 29 The North American Commercial Company 29 The present lease 29 The decline in the bachelor herd 29 Land and sea killing 29 The extension of sealing to Bering Sea _ . .. ...... ........ 30 The Tribunal of Arbitration 30 The effect of the Regulations 30 III. —THE HOME OF THE FUR SEALS : A. The Pribilof Islands 31 Their geography 31 St. Paul Island 31 St. George Island 31 Otter Island 32 Walrus Island 32 a C:IAPTEIt TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page. HIL—THE HOME OF THE FUR SEALS-Continued. A. The Pribilof Islands—Continued. Sivutch Rock 32 The climate 32 No good harbors 32 Vegetation 33 The mammals 33 The birds 33 inhabitants 33 Conditions in Russian days 34 Conditions in American days 34 The handling of the seals 34 The support of the Aleuts 35 The Government agents 35 B. The fur-seal rookeries 36 The breeding grounds 36 The hauling grounds 36 The St. Paul rookeries 36 Vostochni 36 orj ovi 37 Polovina 37 Lukaifin 38 Kitovi 38 Reef 38 Sivutch Rock 38 Gorbatch 39 Ardiguen 39 Spilk i 40 Lagoon 40 Tolstoi 40 Zapadni 40 Little Zapadni 40 Zapadni Reef 41 Marunichen 41 The St. George rookeries 41 Zapadni 41 Staraya Artel 41 North 42 Little East 42 East 42 IV.-THE FUR SEAL OR SEA BEAR: Its relatives 43 The sea bear and true seal 43 The fur seals of the Antarctic 43 The fur seals of the North Pacific 44 Steller's account 44 The three herds 44 The Pribilof herd 44 The Komandorski herd 44 The Robben Island herd 45 Three distinct species 45 Callorhinus alascanus 45 Callorhinus ursinus 45 Callorhinus curilensis 45 The nomenclature of the fur seal 46 The categories of seals 46 The male 46 6 CnAPTER TABLE OF CONTENTS. 7 CHAPTER CHAPTER IV.-THE FUR SEAL OR SEA BEAR-Continued. Page. The categories of seals—Continued. The female 46 The bachelor 46 The half bull 47 The idle bull 47 The yearlings and virgins 47 The pups 47 The migrations of the seals 47 Their summer movements 47 The limits of migration 48 Its course and duration 48 V.—THE l)AILY LIFE OF THE ROOKERIES : The arrival at the islands 49 The males 49 Date of earliest arrivals 49 The oldest come first 49 The bachelors 50 Statistics of killings 30 Beginning of the sealing season. 50 The arrival of the cows 51 Their incoming gradual. 51 Their arrival not the occasion of fighting 52 The method of landing 52 Massed rookery formation 52 Daily rookery counts 53 Synopsis of Kitovi rookery 53 The height of the season 53 Fluctuation of population 54 Amphitheater of Kitovi 54 Increase of families 54 What the height of the season means 54 The period currently misunderstood 55 The birth of the pup 55 The feeding of the cows 55 Swimming seals 55 The seal digests its food in the water 56 The evidence of the pups 56 The listing of the seals 57 The harem 57 Large harems 57 Harem sizes 58 Harem discipline 58 The departure of the cows 58 Methods of discipline 59 The fighting of the bulls 59 The early fighting overestimated 59 No fighting over arriving cows 60 Fighting influenced by sexual instinct • 60 Manner of fighting 61 Real fighting. 61 The treatment of the cows 61 The wounds of the fur seal 62 The instinct for fighting 62 The noise of the rookeries 63 The sleeping seals 63 TABLE OF CONTENTS. CIIAI'TER V.-THE DAILY LIFE OF THE POOKERIES-COlati1111Cd. Page. The arrival at the islands—Continued. Their attitudes 64 The coloration 64 The pelage 65 The stagy season 65 The arrival of the younger seals 66 The breaking up of the breeding season 67 The condition of the bulls 67 The food and feeding grounds 68 The age of the fur seals 68 The fur seal pup 68 The swimming of the pups 69 The excursions of the pups 69 Mortality among the seals 70 Death of pups 70 The parasite, Uncinaria 70 The count of dead pups, 1896 70 Comparative counts 71 The departure of the seals 71 The enemies of the seals 71 The Great Killer 71 The departure of the bachelors and bulls 72 The swimming of the seals 72 The rate of travel 72 Habits of the southern fur seals 73 Their movements 73 They do not migrate Breeding habits 73 Breeding grounds 74 The fighting of the bulls 74 Difference in time of birth 74 CHAPTER VI.-THE CONDITION OF' THE FUR SEAL HERD: A. Past conditions 75 Acreage measurements 75 Their difficulty 75 Absence of reliable surveys 76 The irregular nature of the ground 76 Chiefly guesswork 76 Magnitude of the problem 76 Early estimates 77 Captain Bryant's estimate 77 The beginning of acreage measurements 77 Elliott's estimate of 1872-74 77 Important assumptions 78 The law of distribution 78 Assumptions incorrect 78 The true law of distribution 78 Stability of rookery conditions only apparent 78 Results of Elliott's enumeration 79 The figures unreasonable 79 The methods of enumeration 79 The surveys can not be verified 80 The effect of inaccurate surveys 80 Inadequate unit of space 80 A more rational unit 81 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 9 THE CONDITION OF THE Fun SEAL HERD—Continued. Page. A. Past conditions—Continued. The estimate for Kitovi and Lukauin 81 A measure of the overestimate 82 The counts of Mr. Beaman 82 Captain Bryant's note 82 Spilki and Polovina 83 Personal estimates differ 83 Elliott's use of figures 83 Mr. Tingle's estimate 84 84 84 84 The True and Townsend estimate for 1895 85 The estimate must be doubled 85 It anticipated the season 85 Arbitrary reduction for massed rookeries 85 The estimate revised 89 The important feature of the estimate 86 Mr. Crowley's estimate for 1895 86 Colonel Murray's estimate 87 Defects of this estimate 87 Contrast of estimates for 1895 87 Contrast of acreage measurements 88 Summary of past conditions 88 A reconstruction of earlier estimates 88 The earlier and later quotas 88 The quota dependent upon the breeding herd 88 Estimates of non-breeding seals 89 The reconstruction still only an estimate 89 Completed estimate 89 B. Present conditions 90 The census 90 Its difficulty 90 Actual counts 90 Kitovi rookery taken as typical 91 Census of harems and cows 91 Original counts for St. George 91 Estimate for St. George 91 This estimate unsatisfactory 92 The great excess of pups 92 Count of pups 92 Correction for absent cows 93 Summary of breeding seals 93 Revision of census of 1896 93 Corrections on St. George 93 Corrections on St. Paul 94 Sivutch Rock 94 The important error in the census of 1896 94 Revised census of 1896 95 The value of this census 95 The census of 1897 96 The count of pups in 1897 96 Comparison of counts of cows and pups 96 Proportion of cows to pups 96 Average harem of Kitovi 97 Census of 1897 97 The estimate incorrect Elliott's 1890 estimate This estimate unsatisfactory CHAPTER TABLE OF CONTENTS. V1.-THE CONDITION OF THE FIR SEAL llEm)—Continned.. Page. B. Present conditions—Continued. Its value 97 The enumeration of nonbreeding seals. 98 Idle and half bulls 98 The bachelors 98 Rejected seals 98 The one and two year old females The losses among the young seals 99 9999 The estimates of nonbreeding seals The completed estimate for animals of all classes 10() Animals present, season of 1897 100 Deductions for losses 100 Animals dead, season of 1897 100 The value of the estimate 101 The true basis of enumeration 101 V11.-THE DECLINE OF THE HERD: Russian management 102 Gradual improvement in methods 102 The equilibrium of the herd 102 The beginning of decline 102 The failure of the quota 103 The breeding herd 103 The quota since 1890 103 Quota of 1894-95 103 The evidence of decline. 104 Abandoned grounds 104 Their extent 104 (;rass-grown areas 104 Time necessary to establish these areas 105 Photographs 105 Between successive seasons inadequate 105 Their value covering long periods 105 Their record of the abandonment of territory 106 Their limitations 106 Their relations to daily rookery counts 106 The true value of photographs 107 Townsend's crosses 107 Shrinkage of breeding area 107 Tolstoi sand fiat, Ardiguen, etc 107 Decrease-of dead pups 108 Dead pups, 1896-97 108 Increased mortality among the cows. 108 The diminished quota 108 The decline between 1896 and 1897 109 Comparative counts 109 Actual counts 109 Summary of percentages 110 Decrease in the average size of harem 110 The count of cows 110 The count of pups an absolute measure 110 Lagoon rookery 111 The quotas of 1896 and 1897. 111 The quota of 1896 fixed 111 The quota of 1897 indefinite 111 Killings for the quota, 1896-97 112-113 10 CHAPTER TABLE OF CONTENTS. 11 CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER VII.—THE DECLINE OF THE HERD-Continued. Page. The evidence of decline—Continued. The quota of 1897 harder to get 114 The quota a direct measure of breeding herd 114 The quota of 1897 and the Paris regulations 114 The total decline in the herd 114 VIII. -THE CAUSE OF THE DECLINE : Joint agreement of 1892 ...... .......... ........ 115 No competent natural cause 115 Natural causes of mortality constant 115 The real cause an artificial one 116 Land and sea killing 116 A. Land killing—its methods 116 Animals killed. 116 Killing season 116 The driving 116 The drive 117 The killing 118 The Aleuts 118 The skinning of the seals 119 Division of labor 119 Treatment of the skins 119 The effects of land killing 119 Removal of superfluous male life beneficial 120 Possibility of overkilling 120 A hypothetical case 120 Such killing not practicable 121 Otter Island not driven 121 Defective skins. 121 Overkilling of males has not occurred 121 Statistics of the quota 122 Land killing, 1870-97 122 Voluntary reduction of quota, 1876-77 122 Voluntary reduction, 1882-83. 122 No dearth of male life 122 Killing of males not a factor in decline 123 Premature killing 123 Anticipation of quota 123 Table showing date of filling quota, etc 123 The killing of undersized seals 124 Such killing did not affect the herd 124 Premature killing wasteful but not injurious 124 Killing of pups wasteful 124 Absence of injury to the herd 125 Methods on the Commander Islands 125 Dr. Stejneger's observations 125 The dearth of male life on Bering Island 125 IX.-THE THEORY OF OVERDRIVING: Driving and its supposed results 126 The process of driving 126 The animal driven 127 The theory intangible 127 Its logical conclusion 127 The drives and driveways . 128 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX.-THE THEORY OF OvERDmviNG—Continued. Page. The Russian drives OOOOO • 128 The drive from Northeast Point 128 The American drives 128 The drives greatly shortened 129 Reef driveway 129 The character of the route 129 The length of the drive 130 Comparison of drives 130 The Commander driveways 130 Zapadni 130 Palata 131 No evil results from these drives 131 Care exercised in driving 131 The fur seal not ill-adapted to land travel 131 The " carcass-strewn " driveways 132 Fatalities on the drives 132 Injuries to bachelors could not affect herd 132 The impossibility of sexual injury 133 Voluntary movements of the males 133 DrNing not a factor in the decline 133 CHAPTER. X.-ALLEGED POSSIBLE CHANGE OF HABITS : Migration to Commander Islands 134 The fixity of habits 134 The seal's low intelligence 134 Contact -with man has bad no effect 135 Alteration of conditions 135 The bachelors of Bering Island 135 Arbitrary selection of males 136 The effect of decline 136 Possibility of driving the seals elsewhere 136 The abandonment of Spilki 137 The presence of the village not the cause 137 Exposed condition of Lagoon rookery 137 The real cause of the abandonment 137 Origin of Lagoon and Spilki 138 Abandonment of Marunichen 138 Elliott's theory for Sivutch rookery 138 Sivutch overlooked hi 1872-1874 138 The notions of the Aleuts 139 These notions shared by Government agents 139 The policy of seclusion detrimental 140 Intelligent inspection not wanton invasion 140 Inspection not harmful 140 Relations of man have not affected the seals 141 CHAPTER XL-PELAGIC SEALING, OR KILLING Al' SEA : The nature of pelagic sealing 142 The hunting of the Indians 142 Introduction of white men and vessels 142 The expansion of the industry 142 The use of firearms 143 The modus vivendi 143 The regulations of the Paris a ward 143 The sealing vessels 143 Methods of sealing 144 The seals as found 144 Methods of capture—the spear 144 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 13 CHAPTER CHAPTER XL—PELAGIC SEALING, OR KILLING AT SEA—Continued. Page. The shooting of the seals 144 Loss resulting from shooting 145 The spear least wasteful 145 Northwest Coast sealing 146 Bering Sea sealing . 146 Pelagic catch 146 Does not include seals killed, but lost 147 Early sealing confined to Pribilof herd 147 Suspension of land killing 147 Modus vivendi transferred sealing to Asiatic side 147 Decline of the catch 148 Unfavorable weather not the cause 148 Pelagic killing and land killing compared 148 Statistics regarding land and sea killing 149 The period from 1871-1882 149 Growth of the catch 149 Relation of gains and losses in the herd 149 Period subsequent to 1882 150 Expansion of pelagic; decrease of land sealing 150 Cause of decline to be sought in breeding herd 150 The beginning of the decline 151 Early pelagic sealing a mere check 151 Irregular quota since 1890 151 Pelagic sealing and the Commander herd 152 Interrelation of pelagic and land catches 153 XII.—THE EFFECT OF PELAGIC SEALING : Pelagic sealing kills females 153 Pelagic sealing and the sealing of the South Seas 153 Methods of southern sealing 153 " Indiscriminate " not " excessi ve 154 The preponderance of females 154 The sealing captains' record of sexes taken 154 Customs-house examination by experts 155 Contrast of sex returns 155 The sex of salted skins easily determined 155 Investigations of Alexander and Halkett 155 Females more easily taken 156 The capture of males not important 156 Possibility of equilibrium 156 Equilibrium a theoretical fact 157 Death from old age 157 A hypothetical case 157 Possible abstraction of females 157 Secondary loss of pups 158 Pelagic catch still involves 16 per cent 158 Pelagic catch must still fall to one-third before equilibrium 158 The equilibrium could not be maintained 159 Equilibrium exists only far below commercial ruin 159 Destruction of unborn pups 160 Females pregnant and nursing 160 Pelagic sealing takes compound interest 160 Destruction of nursing pups 160 Pups dependent upon milk until December 160 The absence of excrement 161 The supposed uonfeeding of females 161 14 TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER XII.-THE EFFECT OF PELAGIC SEALING-Continued. Page. Absence of food in stomachs 161 The seal digests its food in the water 162 Absurd theory of indiscriminate nursing .. 162 Fur-seal mother and pup 162 Mistaken observations 162 Supposed self-feeding of paps 163 The absurdity of the theory 163 Determination of the matter by killing pups 163 Pups absolutely dependent upon mothers' milk 164 XIII.-THE STARVATION OF PI'T'S: The count of starved pups 165 Beginnings of starvation 165 Notes on starving pups..165 The hungry pup 166 The breaking down 166 The death of the starveling 166 Difficulty of distinguishing early dead pups 166 Many early dead pups disappear 167 Starving pups 167 The work of the foxes 167 Dead pups, St. George Island 167 Reconstruction of St. George estimates 168 The detailed estimate 168 Pup statistics • 169 The count of starved pups in 1897 169 The removal of the early dead 170 Estimate of starved pups for 1897 170 Importance of these figures 170 Destructive effects of pelagic sealing established 170 The cumulative effect 171 Total effect of pelagic sealing 171 The effect since 1883 171 The effect under the Paris regulations 172 XIV.-EFFECT OF PELAGIC SEALING ON THE SEAL SKIN INDUSTRY: International interest in the fur seals 173 United States interests 173 Russiaii interests 174 The interest of Great Britain 174 Canadian pelagic sealing interests 174 Valuation of the fleet 174 Pelagic sealing suicidal 175 Effect of the declining catch 175 Legality of pelagic scaling 175 Prohibition to Americans 176 Distinctly a Canadian industry 176 XV.-THE RESULTS OF THE PARIS AWARD: A. The arbitration 177 The origin of the fur seal question 177 The seizure of vessels 177 Efforts to secure international action 177 Proposed measures of protection 177 Objection by Canada 178 Renewal of negotiations 178 The counter proposition unsatisfactory 178 Proposals for arbitration 178 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 15 CHAPTER XV.—TIIE RESULTS OF THE PARIS AWARD—Continued. Page. A. The arbitration—Continued. The modus vivendi 179 The joint commission of inquiry 179 The tribunal 179 The joint report of the commission 179 The American contention 180 The British contention 180 Their comparative merits 180 B. The regulations 180 The minor provisions 180 The sixty-mile zone 181 The close season 181 Regulations adapted to work of sealers 181 The cost of enforcing the regulations 182 The failure of the regulations 182 The redeeming feature of the regulations 182 The purpose of arbitrators 1 The obligation to protect and preserve 18833 CHAPTER XVI.—SUMMA RY OF CONCLUsI“NS : Statements of fact 184-186 CHAFFER XVH.—THE REMEDY FOR THE DECLINE OF THE HERD : Revision of the regulations not adequate 187 Pelagic sealing can not exist without the killing of females 187 Total prohibition of pelagic sealing the only remedy.. 187 CHAPTER XVIII.—THE FUTURE OF THE HERD : A reconsideration of the question 188 A basis for the reopening of the subject 188 Findings of fact—the decline 188 Slow rate of increase in the herd 188 Males can be killed with impunity 189 Excessive destruction of females 189 Compromise findings 189 The herd commercially ruined 189 Pelagic sealing incompatible with preservation 189 The skin of the female to be contraband 190 The proposed extermination by slaughter on the rookeries 190 Importance of the fur seal herd 190 A strong nucleus remains 190 CHAPTER X1 X.—RECOMMENDATIONS : Inadequacy of past knowledge 191 The Government agents not investigators 191 Failure to understand conditions 191 The wild-animal policy 192 Lack of faith in our methods 192 Wasteful management 192 The two vital questions yet unknown 192 The fixing of the quota 193 Questions which require continuous study 193 A fixed quota not desirable 194 The proportion of males needed 194 Minor problems 194 The herd should be placed in charge of a naturalist 194 APPENDIX I.—Statist Cs 197 Table of killings 197-207 Summary of totals 207 16 TABLE OF CONTENTS. Al'I'ENDIX L—Statistics—E on tinned. Page. Killings, Northwest Point-Zanadni . . 207 Total seals killed—accepted, rejected 208-209 Killings, 1896 209 Killings, 1897 210 Statistics of land and sea killing 211 Daily counts of cows 212 Comparative census 213 Pup statistics, 1896 213 Dead pups, 1897 214 American fur-seal catch, 1894 215 Canadian fur-seal catch, 1894 216 American and Canadian catch, 1895...217 American and Canadian catch, 1896.219 American and Canadian catch, 1897.220-221 Statistics of pelagic catch 222-225 Percentage of females 225 Value of pelagic fleet 226 Cape Horn seals 226 Lobos seals 226 APPENDIX II.—Documents. Modus vivendi 227 Arbitration treaty 228-231 Award of the tribunal 231-234 The regulations 234 Declarations 236 Alaska Commercial Company's lease 236 North American Commercial Company's lease 238 The conference of fur-seal experts 240 Joint statement of conclusions 241 Furriers' affidavits regarding sex 244 The law prohibiting sealing by Americans 246 APPENDIX M.—Illustrations 247 C II A I_"11 14.: It I. INTRODUCTION. THE OCCASION OF THE INQUIRY. The present inquiry into the condition and needs of the fur-seal herds of the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea is the outgrowth of a belief on the part of the United States that the regulations formulated by the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration for " the protection and preservation of the fur seal" had failed to accomplish their avowed object. The inadequacy of these regulations was apparent at the close of the first season of their operation, and each succeeding season has only rendered it more conspicuous. Failing to secure the cooperation of Great Britain in the immediate revision of the regulations, the United States in the spring of 1896 accepted the proposal of Great Britain for a scientific investigation of the whole subject, to be made independently by each nation, the results of such an investigation to form the basis.of a reconsideration of the regulations at the end of the specified trial period of five years. THE ACT OF CONGRESS. The act of Congress under which the present commission of investigation for the United States was organized is as follows: Resolved by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and is hereby, authorized to expend, from any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, a sum sufficient to provide for the employment of persons to conduct a scientific investigation, during the fiscal years eighteen hundred and ninety-six and. eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, of the present condition of the fur-seal herds on the Pribilof, Commander, and Kuril islands in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, said amount not to exceed for both 'said years the sum of five thousand dollars. The Secretary is also authorized to employ a stenographer in connection with this investigation at a rate of compensation not exceeding one thousand five hundred dollars per annum, and to pay his compensation and expenses out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. The President is authorized to detail, for the purposes of assisting in this investigation, any officer or officers or employees of the United. States Government, their actual expenses and the expenses of the person or persons employed under the preceding paragraph to be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury out of any moneys in the Treasury not othem-ise appropriated. The President may detail a vessel of the United States for the purpose of carrying out this investigation. THE COMMISSION. In accordance with the above act, Dr. David Starr Jordan, president of Leland Stanford Junior University, was appointed commissioner in charge of the investigation, and with him were detailed as associates Lieut. Commander Jefferson F. Moser, commanding the United States Fish Commission steamer Albatross; 1)r. Leonhard 17 15184-2 18 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. Stejneger, curator of reptiles, United States National Museum; Mr. Frederic A. Lucas, curator of comparative anatomy, United States National Museum, and Mr. Charles II. Townsend, naturalist of the Albatross. Mr. George Archibald Clark, president's secretary of Stanford University, was appointed secretary to the commis_ sion, and Col. Joseph Murray, of Fort Collins, Colo., formerly United States Treasury agent at St. Paul Island, and reappointed in 1897 to the same position, was made special assistant. Great Britain named as her commission of investigation Prof. D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson, of University College, Dundee, Scotland; Mr. Gerald E. H. Barrett-Hamilton, of Dublin, Ireland, and Mr. James Melville Macoun, of the Geological Survey of Canada. The Canadian government detailed Mr. Andrew Halkett to make special investigation of the operations of the pelagic fleet. THE SCOPE OF THE WORK. In his letter of instructions to the commission, under date of June 13, 1896, lion. Charles Sumner Hamlin, then Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, outlined the general scope and purpose of the investigation, as follows: Your final report will be expected to relate more specifically to the group 'of seals which resort to the Pribilof Islands, but the Asiatic herd may be investigated to such extent as seems advisable in order to afford the opportunity for instituting comparisons from which important deductions may be reached. The principal object of this investigation is to determine by precise and detailed observations, first, the present condition of the American fur-seal herd ; second, the nature and imminence of the causes, if any, which appear to threaten its extermination ; third, what, if any, benefits have been secured to the herd through the operation of the act of Congress and act of Parliament based upon the award by the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration; fourth, what, if any, additional protective measures on land or at sea, or changes in the present system of regulations as to the closed season, prohibited zone, prohibition of firearms, etc., are required to insure the preservation of the fur-seal herd. Your inquiries should furthermore be extended, in so far as the time and circumstances permit, to embrace the consideration of all important questions relating to the natural history of the seals, both at sea and on the islands, with special reference to their bearing upon the sealing industry. To this general plan. of inquiry was appended the following list of specific questions : 1. The effect of pelagic sealing in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea upon the fur-seal herd, due account being taken of the classes of seals killed. 2. What effect, if any, has the annual removal of bachelor seals, which has taken place on the Pribilof Islands, had upon the fur-seal herd? The solution of these two questions involves a study of the entire subject of the regulations of the two sexes and the proportion of the male seals required to be preserved in order to maintain the stability of the herd. 3. Whether killing on land or sea has interfered with the regular habits and occupation of the islands by the herd, or has operated to reduce the strength of the seal race as a whole by a natural selection. 4. The propriety of existing methods of driving seals from the hauling grounds to the killing grounds, culling, and other practices connected therewith. 5. The cause of the destruction of nursing pups upon the islands. During the seasons of 1894 and 1895 about 20,000 and 30,000 dead pups, respectively, were found upon the islands. You should specially consider the causes of their death, whether from starvation or other cause, preserving specimens whenever practicable. fl The extent, date, and cause of mortality on.the islands of seals of all classes. SUBJECTS FOR INVESTIGATION. 7. The breeding habits of the seals, with special reference to the age at which the females begin or cease to breed, and the frequency of the breeding, whether annually or at longer intervals. 8. The condition of female seals taken at sea, as to nursing and pregnancy. 9. The distance which the several classes of seals go from the islands and the directions which they take in search of food or rest at different times during the season. 10. The actual decrease, if any, in the number of seals in each class on the Pribilof Islands which has occurred during the past year, and also since-the year 1890, and since the year 1870. A careful census of the rookeries should be taken this season for comparison with tbe enumeration made in 1895 and previous years. 11. An examination of the question as to the character of the food of fur seals. 12. Whether the Pribilof Island herd of fur seals intermingle with the Asiatic herds of the Commander or Kuril islands. 13. Whether nursing seals nurse other than their own pups on the islands. THE INVESTIGATIONS. Acting under these instructions the commission of investigation have made a. detailed inspection and study of the habits, condition, and needs of the Pribilof Islands herd, with a comprehensive and almost equally exhaustive study of the herds of the Commander and Kuril islands. The main results of our investigations for the season of 1896 have already been published by the Treasury Department in the form of a preliminary report.* The work during the season of 1896 was sufficient to prove the depleted condition of the herd and to point out the cause of its threatened destruction. It, however, showed clearly that all preceding calculations as to the number of seals resorting to the Pribilof Islands were useless for purposes of comparison, being grossly exaggerated in the early years of American control, and as largely underestimated in the later years through a misapprehension of the actual conditions of rookery life. It therefore became impossible to form au accurate estimate of the relative conditions of the breeding herd or of the rate of its decline. The work of investigation was therefore continued during the season of 1897, and its supplemental results have been embodied in condensed form in a second preliminary report- which has recently been published by the Treasury Department. It now remains for us to bring into the shape of a final report the completed results of our labors. In accordance with the broad scope of our instructions we have endeavored, so far as opportunity afforded, to consider " all important questions relating to the natural history of the seals, both at sea and on the islands," and the work has therefore become very voluminous. THE REPORT. This report naturally falls into four parts or divisions. In Part I the main phases of the fur-seal controversy have been taken up and discussed at length, such historical matters as seem necessary for a clear understanding of the matter being added. In this general discussion the results of more detailed studies on special topics, which appear in Part III, are freely used and the original studies referred to for more complete information. Part I, therefore, becomes a complete report in itself of the investigation so far as the general condition, needs, and possibilities of the Pribilof Islands herd of fur seal are concerned. Observations on the Fur Seals of the Pribilof Islands, Jordan, 1896. I Second Preliminary Report of the Bering Sea Fur-Seal Investigations. Jordan, 1s97. 20 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRII3ILOF ISLANDS. In Part II is given the minute and detailed journal of daily observations of the members of the commission. This record, being the chief basis for the conclusions in the general report, becomes a most important part of the work. To it is appended an abstract of the record in the log of St. Paul Island for the past twenty-seven years, in so far as it pertains to the life history, and habits of the seals. The third division of the report contains the series of special papers and reports, already referred to, which deal with various phases of the life history, movements and the surroundings of the seals, and which have been prepared by different members of the commission and by various specialists. These take up in minute detail such phases of the subject as have important bearing on the fur-seal question. In Part IV are included the reports for the seasons of 1896 and 1897 by Dr. Stejneger on the Commander and Kuril islands, which form a continuation of his more extended investigations in the season of 1895, the results of which have already been published.* To the reports on the Commander herd such reference as has been necessary to throw light upon the condition of the Pribilof herd have been made in the general discussion. ITINERARY, 1896. The United States Fish Commission steamer Albatross, with the American commission and Professor Thompson and Mr. Macoun, of the British commission, left Seattle on the morning of June 24, arriving at St. George Island, Bering Sea, on the afternoon of July 8. July 9, 10, mid 11 were spent in and about this island making general observations, photographing the rookeries, and counting the breeding seals. The time between July 12 and 18 was occupied in similar work on St. Paul Island. July 18 the Albatross steamed for Unalaska, leaving Mr. Townsend there and taking Dr. Stejneger to the Commander Islands. July 30- to August 9 were spent about these islands, August 22 to 26 about the Kurils, and August 28 to September 2 about Itobben Island, reaching Ilakodate, Japan, September 10. On July 28 Mr. Lucas, Professor Thompson, and Colonel Murray visited St. George Island, the first two returning to St. Paul on August 5. Mr. Townsend returned from Unalaska August 8, and he and Mr. Lucas spent the time until the 12th at sea, on board the Rush, boarding vessels of the sealing fleet. August 8 to 14, inclusive, was occupied in counting dead pups on St. Paul. A similar count was made by Mr. Lucas and Mr. Macoun August 16 to 21 on St. George. On August 16 Professor Thompson and Dr. Jordan left St. Paul Island in II. M. S. Satellite for the Commander Islands, spending August 24 and 25 on the rookeries of these islands and returning to St. Paul on September 1, bringing with them Mr. Barrett-liamilton, another member of the British commission. Mr. Townsend left St. Paul on the company's steamer Homer for San Francisco August 23. Colonel Murray returned from St. George September 1 and on the following day made experiments in branding pups on Lukanin rookery. Messrs. Lucas Barrett-Hamilton spent September 2 to 5 at sea on the Rush, among the pelagic taleis. The Russian Fur Seal Islands, Stejneger; Bull. V. 5. Fish Coiii., 1896. ITINERARY. 21 On September 8 Dr. Jordan, Professor Thompson, and Mr. Lucas sailed with the Rush for Sitka and thence to Seattle, Messrs. Clark, Macoun, Bamrett-Hamilton, and Colonel Murray remaining on St. Paul. On September 11 further experiments in branding were made. The starved and starving pups on St. Paul were counted September 28 to October 1. A similar count was made on St. George October 6. On October 7 Messrs. Clark and Macoun returned to St. Paul, Mr. Barrett-Hamilton remained on St. George, and Colonel Murray went to Unalaska. On October 22 the remaining commissioners left the islands on the Bear and arrived in Port Townsend November 3. ITINERARY, 1897. May 22.—Mr. Clark sailed from San Francisco on the North American Company's steamer Del Norte May 22. Mr. Bristow Adams accompanied hint as artist assistant to the commission. Col. Joseph Murray, chief agent, Mr. John M. Morton, assistant agent, and Mr. James M. Macoun, Canadian commissioner, were also passengers on the vessel. The Del Niwte arrived at Wood Island, Kadiak, May 31, and at Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, on the morning of June 4. June 7.—The Del Norte arrived at St. George Island, remaining at anchor discharging cargo until the evening of the 11th, during which time all the rookeries of St. George were visited and daily visits were made to North rookery, near the village. June 12.—On the morning of June 12 Mr. Clark was landed on St. Paul Island and began daily observation of the breeding rookeries. July 1.—Mr. Lucas arrived on the Rush at St. Paul July 1, Dr. Stejneger, who at.companied him to Unalaska, having sailed direct from that port for the Commander Islands on board the Grant. July 7.—Dr. Stejneger was landed by the Grant on Bering Island. July 9.—Mr. Lucas examined the rookeries of St. George Island. Mr. Chichester accompanied him and photographed the rookeries for the United States Fish Commission. July 12.—The counting of the cows was begun on the rookeries of St. Paul and the series of photographs for the United States Fish Commission made. July 25.—Dr. Jordan arrived at St. George Island and, after visiting the rookeries there, was landed on St. Paul July 28. July 30.—The count of live pups was begun on the test rookeries. Kitovi was counted by Messrs. Clark and Macoun on August 2. This was followed by a count of dead pups on the " death traps" of Zapadni and Tolstoi. August 5.—Professor Thompspn arrived at St. Paul on If. M. S. Rainbow front time Commander Islands. August 8.—Mr. Macoun left St. Paul on IL M. S. Pheasant. August 11.—Dr. Jordan and Mr. Clark left St. Paul Island on the revenue-cutter Rush, arriving at Seattle in the evening of the 21st. August 15.—Dr. Stejneger was transferred from Bering Island to Copper Island on the Russian cruiser Koreets. August 16.—Professor Thompson left the Pribilof Islands on 11. M. S. Amphion, August 18.—Mr. Lucas left St. Paul on the Del _Norte, arriving in San Francisco August 31. 22 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. August 31.—Dr. Stejneger returned to Bering Island by the Russian cruiser Yakut, leaving immediately for Petropaulski, where he arrived on September 4. September 2.—Seals were driven from Reef, Lukanin, and Middle Hill and retained in the Lagoon inclosure until the 9th. September 9.—Beginning with this date Colonel Murray, on St. Paul, and Mr. Judge, on St. George, branded fur-seal pups. September 11.—Mr. Farmer and assistants in the work of electrical branding left St. Paul Island on board the revenue-cutter Perry. September 27.—Dr. Stejneger made a final visit to Bering Island to investigate the starvation of pups, returning to Petropaulski on October 20, sailing thence homeward by way of Japan. October D.—Colonel Murray made a final counting of starved pups on Lukanin and Kitovi rookeries of St. Paul Island. A more minute daily record of investigations will be found in connection with the journal of daily observations kept by the commission, and which appears in full elsewhere in this report. CHAPTER II. HISTORICAL SKETCH. DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION. The early discoveries and explorations in and about the waters of Bering Sea followed as a result of the occupation of the eastern coast of Siberia by the Russians in the latter part of the seventeenth century. The organized efforts to explore the unknown seas beyond were begun in the reign of Peter the Great and were completed after his death by his successor, the Empress Catherine. The first important expedition sailed in two vessels from Kamchatka in 1728 under charge of Vitus Bering. One vessel discovered St. Lawrence Island and sailed through the straits to the north; the other reached the continent of North America near the mouth of the River Yukon. BERING'S SECOND VOYAGE. Thirteen years afterwards Bering set out with a second expedition which reached America at Kayak Island, in the vicinity of Mount St. Elias. Upon the homeward voyage the Commander Islands were discovered, and the ship on which Bering sailed was wrecked on the island now called Bering. Here Bering died, and, after wintering, such of the crew as survived made their way to Kamchatka in the spring under the direction of the famous naturalist, Georg Wilhelm Steller. DISCOVERY OF COMMANDER AND PRIBILOF ISLANDS. This second voyage in 1741, making known the valuable fur resources of the Commander Islands, stimulated the fur trade and led to many expeditions among the islands of the Aleutian chain in search of other regions inhabited by fur seals. During these voyages the herd of seals now known to resort to the Pribilof Islands were encountered on their migrations through the passes of the Aleutian Islands, and efforts were made to ascertain the shore to which they belonged. They were followed to the northward and to the southward for this purpose, but without result until, in 1786, Gerassim Pribilof, a navigator in the employ of one of the Russian trading companies, finally succeeded in finding the group of islands which now bear his name and are the home of the American fur seals. The island of St. George, so called from the name of his vessel, was the first land found. In the following year St. Paul Island was discovered. THE RUSSIAN-AMERICAN COMPANY. Immediately upon the discovery of the Commander Islands in 1741, and later upon the discovery of the Pribilof Islands in 1786, numerous trading companies began to develop their lucrative fur resources. The rivalry and competition which naturally arose nearly resulted 'in the destruction of the fur-seal herds. To prevent this, the entire fur trade of the Russian colonies passed into the control of a single powerful 23 24 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. organization, the Russian-American Company. This company was created in the year 1799, by decree of the Imperial Government, and was vested for a period of twenty years with exclusive privileges to trade along the shores of northwestern America, between latitude 550 north and Bering Strait, on the Aleutian and Kuril Islands, and the islands of the Northeastern or Bering Sea. ITS ORGANIZATION. The company's chief place of business was originally at Irkutsk, but was afterwards transferred to St. Petersburg. Its shareholders, exclusively Russians, numbered members of the Imperial family and the high nobility. For purposes of administration the Imperial Government and the directors of the company jointly appointed a chief manager. who resided at Sitka, in Alaska, then called New Archangel. The powers of this manager were absolute within the territory over which the company exercised jurisdiction. Under him were submanagers, overseers, and other agents. Reports of the company's affairs were required to be submitted to time Imperial Government. Under its charter the Russian-American Company paid no royalty or rental to the Government, but as its trade consisted chiefly in the exchange of furs for teas on the Chinese frontier, the Government received indirectly large sums through the resulting duties. THE UKASE OF 1821. On the 4th of September, 1821, the Emperor Alexander I issued an edict known as the ukase of 1821, which provided for a set of rules and regulations controlling the boundaries of navigation and trade on the coasts and waters over which the Russian-American Company exercised jurisdiction. These regulations provided for the prohibition of all foreign vessels from landing on or approaching within 100 Italian miles of the coasts and islands belonging to Russia.* Shortly after the issuance of this decree the Emperor renewed for an additional term of twenty years the charter of rights and privileges of the Russian-American Company. The ukase of 1821 involved Russia in a controversy, on the one hand with the -United States and on the other hand with Great Britain, which resulted in the treaties of 1824 and 1825, the former between the United States and Russia and the latter between Great Britain and Russia. These treaties left undisturbed the right of strict control claim • ed by Russia " over all interior waters and over all waters inclosed by Russian territory, such as the Sea of Okhotsk, Bering Sea or the Sea of Kamchatka, as well as all gulfs, bays, and estuaries." t THE SECOND AND THIRD CHARTERS. The second charter of the Russian-American Company was revised in 1829 to conform to the treaties of 1824-25 and its provisions reconfirmed. In 1842 it was again renewed for a period of twenty years, with all its exclusive franchises and privileges. This third charter expired in 1862 and was not renewed. The company, however, continued to operate under it, pending a decision of the question of renewal. But before a decision was reached the territory of Alaska was transferred to the United States by the treaty of 1867. 'Appendix to case of 1T. S., Fur Seal Arb., p. 16 I Appendix to ease of U.. S., Fur Seal Arb., Letter No. 10, p. 63. HISTORY OF THE FUR SEAL ISLANDS. 25 THE COMPANY'S MANAGEMENT. At once upon assuming control of the islands the Russian American Company put a stop to tile ruthless slaughter which threatened the fur-seal herds with destruction. They, however, attempted to limit the extent rather than to reform the character of the slaughter. They still continued to kill males and females alike. The injury to the herd naturally continued, and in 1806 and 1807 it was found necessary to suspend killing in order to give the herd an opportunity to recuperate. In 1808 killing was resumed, but still without proper regard for the conditions of seal life.* INJURIOUS METHODS. Gradually, however, the habits and interests of the herd began to be better known and cared for. In 1820, Yanovsky, an agent of the Imperial Government, after an inspection of the fur-seal rookeries, called attention to the practice of killing the young animals, leaving only the adults as breeders. He writes : "If any of the young breeders are not killed by the autumn they are sure to be killed in the following spring. "t From this course of action lie concludes that the industry decreases every year in volume, and may in the course of time be extinguished entirely. Probably as a result of this, in 1822, as Veniaminof tells us, provision was made for the reservation of young seals for breeding purposes. This provision was hardly sufficient, however, to accomplish the desired end so long as females of ally age were killed. As a natural result, another crisis in the history of the herd was reached in 1834. But it is not clear whether this was due entirely to indiscriminate slaughter or to the combination of this with disaster resulting from the continuance of the ice floes about the islands far into the summer, preventing the cows from landing to give birth to their young and grinding them to pieces in the ice itself. This latter possibility exists as a tradition among the Aleuts, though in their minds it may have been confused with a subsequent catastrophe of a similar character recorded by the manager of St. Paul Island in 18594 In any event, it seems very clearly established that in the year 1834 the herd was in a most precarious condition. The natives were not even allowed to take seals for food, and for a time all killing was suspended. PROTECTION OF THE FEMALES. At this time it seems to have become fully understood that if the herd was to continue its females must be protected.§ Accordingly from this time on the taking of seals was limited strictly to the males. But the managers of the fur-seal herds had still something to learn. The requirements of the Chinese market were the only guide to the class of skins desired, and as all sizes were taken the killing of males included all ages from old bulls down to the gray pups. Gradually this wasteful killing stopped. The bulls were no longer taken and the killing of gray pups was limited to such as were needed for food and oil.11 Veniaininof, Trans. Elliott, Monograph, Fur Seal Tads., 1881, p. 140. t Appendix to case of U. S., Fur Seal Arb., Letter No. 6, p. 58. t Appendix to case of U. S., Fur Seal At-b., Letter No. 29, p. 87. The dire results here predicted seem not to have been felt by the herd. Appendix to case of U. S., Fur Seal Arb., Letter No. 23, p. 82. II Appendix to case of U. S., Fur Seal Arb., Letter No. 24, p. 82. 96 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THE HERD AT THE CLOSE OF RUSSIAN CONTROL. Under these gradually perfected methods of operation the herd seems to have prospered and increased so that in the year 1864, as we learn from the instructions* to the agents of the Russian-American Company on the islands it was considered possible to take annually 70,000 seals on St. Paul Island alone. The number for St. George Island is not given. This in brief is the condition of the fur-seal herd as it came into the possessiontof the United States. In definite facts and data there is but little; but it may be taken for granted in the light of subsequent events that the herd was in a condition of normal increase. THE INTERREGNUM. The year 1868, or the season following the transfer of Alaska from Russian to American control, is generally known as the "interregnum." It was impossible immediately to provide an administrative system for the Territory, and a period of lawlessness reigned on the islands. The state of affairs is thus described by Prof. William H. 1)a11,f who visited the islands during the year: PROFESSOR DALL'S NOTES. During my visit to St. George Island in 1868, this vast territory of Alaska had just fallen into the possession of the United States, and the Government had not yet fairly established more than a beginning of an organization for its management as a whole, without mentioning such details as the Pribilof Islands. In consequence of this state of affairs private enterprise, in the form of companies dealing in furs, had established numerous sealing stations on the islands. During my stay, except on a single occasion, the driving from the hauling grounds, the killing, and skinning was done by the natives in the same manner as when under the Russian rule, each competing party paying them so much per skin for their labor in taking them. Despite the very bitter and more or less unscrupulous competition among the various parties, all recognized the importance of preserving the industry and protecting the breeding grounds front molestation, and for the most part were guided by this conviction. THE NUMBER OF SEALS KILLED. During this year a very great number of seals were killed on the islands. Estimates vary, but it is evident that the number amounted to not far from 300,000. As this subject has been frequently referred to and strenuous efforts made to connect the heavy killing of this year with the subsequent decline of the herd, we feel justified in quoting here at length the statement of Mr. Osborne Howes, now editor of the Boston Herald, who spent the summer of 1868 on St. George Island as agent of one of the companies. He says : MR. HOWES'S NOTES. I left San Francisco early in March on board a schooner cleared by Messrs. Parrott & Co., of that city, for a trading voyage in Bering Sea and the coast of Kamchatka. Our schooner put into Sitka on the way up and took on board a number of natives, sailing from Sitka to the Shumagin Islands and thence into Bering Sea. It was the first vessel to reach the island, arriving at St. George in the latter part of April. I was landed with the goods, and the schooner continued her voyage toward the coast of Kamchatka. I immediately secured possession of the salt house and the services of the natives for the season. "Appendix to case of U. S., Fur Seal Arb., Letter No. 31, p. 89. I Fur Seal Arb., vol. 2, p. 132. METHODS OF TAKING FUR SEALS. 27 THE TRADING COMPANIES. In a few days a schooner representing the firm of Hutchinson, Kohl & Co. also landed representatives on St. George Island. Not long after the arrival of this second schooner a third, in the interest of the firm of Williams & Haven, landed men on the opposite side of the island, at Zapadni rookery. This firm had headquarters on St. Paul Island. It was impossible for these separate interests to carry on their operations independently, and they therefore placed their business under my charge. Drives were made alternately for the different companies and the natives employed in turn. Before the season was well under way a fourth expedition was landed on the south side of the island across the point from East rookery. There were three men in the party, and they set about killing the seals on the rookery without driving them. The natives objected to this because it involved the killing of females. The men were remonstrated with, but were obdurate. One was bribed off by the promise of double wages, but the other two continued their work. They were finally taken prisoners and sent off to Sitka by the first schooner that touched at the island. With them were returned the men brought from Sitka, who were found to be unsuited for the work. When the captain of the schooner whose men were interfered with arrived in the fall for his cargo of skins he was pacified by being allowed to take the results of one big drive made by the natives for his benefit. THE WORK OF SEALING. The work of sealing was carried out by the natives under the direction of their chief. Representatives of the different companies did not concern themselves with the work of driving or killing. They simply paid the natives so much per skin----30 to 35 cents—payment being made iii trade goods. The natives evidently followed the traditions of earlier days in their work. They seemed very jealous and careful of the seals, avoiding any disturbance of the breeding grounds. Their objection to the methods of killing on East rookery was based upon the ground that if the females were killed there would be no seals in the years to come. It is my belief that not a single female was killed on St. George Island during the season, except by the three men above mentioned. Occasionally a. female was included in the drive, but it was quickly detected by the natives and released. Most of the seals killed were taken from North rookery and Zapadni. No drives were made from Staraya Artel. Only occasional drives were made front East rookery. All the animals were killed on the ground below the village. METHODS OF DRIVING. The method of driving was to gather up the pods of bachelors from the-different hauling grounds and drive them back from the rookeries, dividing them into pods of 150 to 250, and bringing them 'thus into the village. As the pods were being formed and driven in, the small and large seals unsuited for killing were worked out and released. Each man knoCked down his own allowance of seals and skinned them afterwards. Sixty was considered the usual day's work for a man. Practically all the seals driven up were killed. Not more than one seal in ten was rejected. The rule of the companies was that skins too small, too large, or cut would not be accepted or paid for. The sealers were therefore very careful in the work. A day's killing averaged front 800 to 1,800. There were about thirty available men among the natives. Of the conditions on St. Paul I heard only indirectly through the representatives of Williams Sr, Haven, who in their work were evidently directed by instructions front the head station on St. Paul, where the same methods were probably employed. The Williams & Haven and Hutchinson, Kohl & Co.'s interests were supreme on St. Paul Island, and they divided the rookeries between them. To the best of my recollection 115,000 were taken on St. George and 250,000 on St. Paul during the season. Prior to this season it was understood that for several years no seals had been killed. In 1869 no skins were taken, except a few from seals killed for food for the natives. The privilege of taking these skins was given to Hutchinson, Kohl & Co., who, owning the principal salt houses and stores on the islands, were allowed to visit them to care for their property. Parrott & Co. sent a schooner to St. George to take off the skins which had been left over, but they took no new skins. RUSSIAN METHODS. The testimony of Mr. Howes, corroborating the evidence of Professor Dall, is valuable for a double purpose. It gives us an idea of the final methods of handling 28 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. the seals which the Russians had evolved. It is evident that in these operations of 1868 the natives were carrying out rules and methods which had become traditional with them. One of these rules, as we learn from instructions to the officer in charge of the islands in the year 1853, was the strict protection of females.* THE KILLING NOT INDISCRIMINATE. We are also justified in assuming that the killing as practiced in 1868 did not in any way injure the herd, being confined as heretofore to the killing of the bachelors. That so large a number were killed is in part accounted for by reduction in in the years immediately prior to the transfer of the islands to the United States. A surplus of the larger animals thus saved remained to be gathered in. It is further evident that the killing extended down to the younger seals, doubtless including all or most of the two-year-olds. This latter fact is given support by the absence of any regular killing for the year 1869 and the small quota of 23,000 only which was taken in 1870. We are not aware that the usual number of seals could not have been obtained in these years, but it may well have been that the quota for 1869 and 1870 had been anticipated to large extent in the year 1868. This much, however, remains certain, that the absence of large killings in 1869 and 1870 removed any possible injury which might have resulted to the herd from the too close killing of bachelors in 1868, and the fact that for fifteen years subsequent to 1870, 100,000 and more males were to be obtained on the hauling grounds of the islands shows conclusively that not only were the breeding females not disturbed in 1868, but furthermore that the supply of male life was not so reduced as in any way to affect the life of the herd. AMERICAN MANAGEMENT. In the spring of 1869 Dr. II. H. McIntyre, the representative of the United States Government, landed upon the island, establishing the authority of the Government, and taking the necessary steps for the protection of the rookeries. The period of lawlessness which marked the 'season of 1868 was thus terminated in 1869 by Dr. McIntyre. He was appointed in 1868 and endeavored to reach his destination in the fall of that year, but on account of the lateness of the season he was forced to winter at Sitka. THE ALASKA COMMERCIAL COMPANY. In the meantime the Government had under consideration the most advantageous method of managing its fur-seal industry. After a thorough consideration of all recommendations and suggestions bearing upon the matter, it was decided to lease the islands to a single reliable company under the immediate supervision and control of agents of the Treasury Department, duly commissioned for that purpose. In accordance with this decision in July, 1870, Congress passed an act authorizing this course of procedure, and immediately afterwards the Secretary of the Treasury advertised for bids for the lease of the seal fisheries for a period of twenty years. Of the numerous offers received from various companies and associations, that of the Alaska Commercial Company, with a capital of $2,000,000, was accepted as the one most likely to promote the "interests of the Government, the native inhabitants, the parties heretofore engaged in the trade, and the protection of the seal fisheries." Appendix to Case of U. S., Fur Seal Arb., Letter No.. 23, p. 82. LEASES OF THE FUR SEAL ISLANDS. 29 THE FIRST LEASE. Under the terms of this lease the company were given the right to take 100,006 male seals over one year of age during the months of June, July, September, and October of each year. In 1874, by act of Congress, the number of seals to be taken and the time of sealing was made subject to the control of officers of the Treasury Department, and killing after August 1 was limited to the necessities of the food supply of the natives. The use of firearms or of other methods of killing, tending to drive the seals away, was prohibited, as was also the killing of the animals in the water. In consideration for the skins so taken the lessees agreed to pay to the Treasury of the United States an annual rental of $55,000 for the islands, and a revenue tax of $2.621. on each skin taken and shipped by them. In addition they were to furnish free of charge to the inhabitants of the islands each year 25,000 dried salmon, 60 cords of firewood, and a sufficient quantity of salt and preserved meats. The company was also to maintain a school on each island for at least eight months of the year, and were forbidden to sell any distilled spirits or spirituous liquors. THE NORTH AMERICAN COMMERCIAL COMPANY. Under the provisions of this lease the affairs of the islands were conducted until the close of the season of 1889, when it expired. The Treasury Department again advertised for bids and again leased the islands for a term of twenty years to a new company, the North American Commercial Company, their offer having been accepted as most advantageous to the Government. THE PRESENT LEASE. The new lease differs from the old to the advantage of the Government in the following points: The rental of the islands is fixed at $60,000. The tax of each skin is $9.62. Eighty tons of coal are furnished the natives. The quantity of salmon, salt, and other provisions to be furnished can be fixed by the Secretary of the Treasury. The company furnishes free dwellings, churches, physicians, medicines, employment to the natives, and cares for the aged, the widows, and the orphans. The quota was fixed at 60,000 for the first year, and has since been subject to the regulation of the Secretary of the Treasury. THE DECLINE IN THE BACHELOR HERD. During the closing years of the lease of the Alaska Commercial Company a marked decrease in the fur-seal herd had begun to be noted. In the opening year of the new company's lease the depleted condition of the herd became apparent in the reduction to one-fifth in the original quota of 100,000 skins. Various factors entered into this decline, which it is not necessary here to discuss fully. These, as well as the original cause of decrease in the herd, were at best but imperfectly understood at the time. LAND AND SEA KILLING. To make the matter clear in the briefest possible space, at this point it is necessary to review somewhat the history of the. herd. Conjointly with the killing on land, as practiced by the Russians and Americans, there had been going on from time immemorial killing of another sort now known as pelagic sealing. This was carried on at 30 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. first by the Indians off the Northwest Coast, going out in their canoes to capture the seals in the course of their winter migration. The number of animals so taken was at first merely nominal, and it was not until about the year 1879, when schooners were first introduced to transport the canoes to their field of operations and care for them there, that the industry began to make itself felt on the herd. The rise of pelagic sealing thereafter was rapid, and in 1880 it was extended into Bering Sea. From this time on the killing at sea steadily increased, and as the bulk of the catch was composed of females the operations of pelagic sealing necessarily produced an injurious effect on the herd, which disclosed itself first in the diminished product of the hauling grounds already noted. THE EXTENSION OF SEALING TO BERING SEA At the first entry of sealing vessels into Bering Sea the United States acted on the precedent established by Russia in the Ukase of 1821, seized a number of the sealing vessels and confiscated them. Pelagic sealing being largely a Canadian industry, this action at once started a controversy with Great Britain which extended over the period from 1886 to 1890. Meantime the injurious effect of the slaughter of large numbers of fen iales was more and more evident in the herd, until in 1890 it became alarming, the number of killable seals having decreased to one-fifth the usual number. From the discussion of the seizures of Canadian vessels and the efforts of the U-nited States to secure protection to its fur-seal herd, resulted a treaty, in the spring of 1892, remanding the whole matter to the consideration of a tribunal of arbitration which should pass upon the legal questions involved, and if need be provide such measures as were necessary for the proper protection and preservation of the herd. As a basis for such action, provision was made for a thorough investigation of the condition of the herd by a joint commission of experts. THE TRIBUNAL OF ARBITRATION. This Tribunal of Arbitration met at Paris in the summer of 1893, and as a result of its labors a set of regulations was formulated, the essential features of which were the establishment of a closed zone of 60 miles in Bering Sea about the islands and a closed season, from May 1 to August 1, within which all sealing was prohibited. THE REGULATIONS. During the pendency of the deliberations of the Tribunal, pelagic sealing was in part suspended. The season of 1894 witnessed the first operations of the regulations, and the resumption of pelagic sealing under them showed an increased catch over the unrestricted killing of 1891. The United States became convinced at the close of the first season that the regulations were inadequate. A protest was entered and Great Britain was asked to consider their immediate revision. At the close of each subsequent season this protest and request were again renewed. Failing to obtain such reconsideration the United States early in 1896 accepted the proposal of Great Britain to prepare for a reexamination of the regulations at the end of the five-year trial period, by subjecting the whole question to independent scientific investigation on the part of the two Governments. The present report is the outcome of this investigation so far as the United States is concerned. (111A1"11E11 I1I. THE HOME OF THE FUR SEALS. A. THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THEIR GEOGRAPHY, The little group of rocky islets known as the Pribilof Islands, from the name of their discoverer, is situated in the Bering Sea, in latitude 57° north and longitude 170° west. They are isolated from other land, the nearest point to the south being Unalaska Island, at a distance of 214 miles. Cape Newenham, ou the mainland of Alaska, at a distance of 309 miles, is the nearest point to the eastward, while St. Matthew Island, 220 miles away, is the first land to the northward. The islands are of volcanic origin, and are five in number—St. Paul, St. George, Otter, Walrus, and Sivutch Rock. The first two only are of importance. The last three are small islets lying about St. Paul Island and within about 7 miles of its shores. The main islands are separated by about 40 statute miles of water. ST. PAUL ISLAND. St. Paul, the largest island, lies in latitude 57° 07' north and longitude 170° 17' west.* It has an extreme. length from northeast to southwest of 13? miles. Its maximum width is 74 miles. It has a shore line of about 451 miles and an area of 43 square miles. The surface of the island is in the main low. Rocky plateaus alternate with low valleys, some of which contain ponds of fresh water. One of these covers a space upward of 2 miles in length by half a mile in width, but is very shallow. It is shut in by sand dunes, and lies along the narrow neck which joins the rocky headland called Northeast Point with the main body of the island. Iii the southeast end of the island is a salt-water lagoon, covering some 169 acres in extent, and connected with the_sea by a narrow channel some 75 to 100 feet in width. The average elevation of the upland areas is not more than 150 feet, but a number of cinder cones and volcanic craters rise to varying heights in the interior portion of the island. Bugoslof attains, an elevation of 590 feet, but Rush Hill on the west shore is the highest, 665 feet. A number of shallow bays indent the coast line, bordered by long stretches of sandy beach, behind which are areas of shifting sand dunes; but for the most part the shores are bowlder-strewn and rugged, rising in sheer cliffs at the headlands. ST. GEORGE ISLAND. St. George lies to the southeast of St. Paul at a distance of about 40 miles, in latitude 56° 36' north and longitude 169° 32' west.* It has a total length of 12 miles and a width of. 4,i miles. The area is about 35.9 square miles, and it has a coast line of 30 miles. The central portion of the island is composed of an elevated ridge containing one peak over 900 feet in height. The general altitude of the island Latitude and longitude of the village. 31 32 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. is about three times as great as that of St. Paul. The coast line is for the most part a succession of steep, rocky cliffs, breaking at intervals into short stretches of rocky slope. High Bluff; on the north shore, with an elevation of over 1,000 feet being the highest. The perpendicular cliffs and crevices among the bowlders in the upland portions of the island are the homes of innumerable sea birds. There are practically no sand beaches on the island, and the shore space available for rookery purposes is limited. By blasting off the cliffs it might, however, be greatly extended. OTTER ISLAND. Otter Island is situated on the south of St. Paul Island and about 6 miles distant from it. It is said to be the only island of the group which shows evidence of recent volcanic action. Its area is very small, being less than 115 acres in extent. Its shores are for the most part inaccessible. At the western end a cinder cone rises in a grassy slope to the height of 300 feet and drops off in a sheer cliff on the seaward side. At the eastern end is the pit of a crater, connected by a subterranean passageway with the shore. On the northern face the surface of the island slopes down into a low, rocky beach of limited extent, the only one on the island. WALRUS ISLAND. Walrus Island lies about 7 miles to the east of St. Paul. It is a narrow ledge of lava rock about half a mile in length. It reaches no degree of elevation, and in stormy weather the breakers wash over it. It is the home of countless numbers of sea birds and was formerly frequented by walruses. Sea lions occasionally land there. SIVUTCII ROCK. Sivutch Rock is a little crescent-shaped rocky islet about a third of a mile off the southern shore of St. Paul. Its area is insignificant, but the island attains some degree of importance through the presence of a small fur-seal rookery, which fills its available space. NO GOOD HARBORS. There are no harbors of any kind about the islands of the Pribilof group. The bays are small and very shallow. In calm weather, however, there is anchorage for small vessels at various points. In stormy weather it is impossible to load or unload vessels of any kind with safety. Dangerous reefs are found about both islands,-and navigation in their vicinity is subject to many risks. THE CLIMATE. The climate of the Pribilof Islands in summer is damp and chilly. Dense fogs almost constantly envelop them, rain falls frequently, and the sun is seldom seen. The summer temperature ranges between 400 and 45° F., reaching its highest point in August. During June, July, and August but few clear days occur. In September the cold winds sweep away the moisture from the atmosphere and bright days become more numerous. On a clear day the islands are extremely picturesque. Toward the end of October the storms become more violent, and in November winter begins, the change of season being very rapid. LIFE ON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 33 During the winter much snow falls, but it is swept away by the high winds which prevail throughout the season. The winter temperature ranges front 220 to 26° F. The waters about the islands do not freeze, but toward the end of the winter the drift ice from the north floats down and incloses the islands, piling high upon the beaches and in the bays under the action of the surf. It remains packed about the islands until about the 1st of May, when it gradually disappears under the approaching change of season. VEGETATION. The surface of the elevated portions of both islands is in summer clothed with moss and grasses, in which are surprising numbers of showy wild flowers. Conspicuous among them are the Iceland poppy, monkshood, species of lupine, betony, chrysanthemum, senecio, saxifrage, harebell, and many others. The lower parts of the islands are covered with a soil of black lava sand, in which flourishes a coarse, rank, useless grass—the wild rye grass (Elymus Mingled with it is the coarse putchki, a species of Archangelica, used by the Aleuts as a spice. The abandoned hauling grounds of the fur seals are rapidly invaded by two species of slender, light-green grasses, Glyceria angustata and Deschampsia mspitosa, known as "seal grass." These contrast sharply with the coarse, dark-green rye grass and a luxuriant species of wormwood, neither of which grow on land where seals have regularly hauled. About the rookeries themselves the movements of the animals virtually destroy all vegetation. There are no trees or shrubs. A small, dwarfish willow and a species of crowberry are the only approach to them that are to be found. THE MAMMALS. The principal mammals of the Pribilof Islands are the fur seals, which have their breeding grounds on the rocky beaches of St. Paul and St. George islands. At certain points on the islands are sea lion rookeries, and numbers of the animals are at all times to be seen lying about among the fur seals. A smaller number of hair-seals also frequent points about St. Paul Island. Formerly sea otters and walruses were not uncommon, but they are now practically extinct. The blue fox is common to both islands, and mingled with the blue foxes are a limited number of white ones. Lemmings are found on St. George and shrews on both islands. THE BIRDS. Myriads of sea birds breed on the rocky cliffs of St. George Island. Among these are the cormorants, murres, and chutchkis, sea parrots and gulls. Walrus Island is literally covered with these birds in the nesting season. Their eggs are gathered by the natives in boat loads in the spring. About the little ponds in the interior of the islands sandpipers abound. Phalaropes are numerous in the summer. Teal and mallard, ducks are found in the fall. Geese in limited numbers alight on St. Paul to feed on the berries near north shore. White owls have been found on both islands. INHABITANTS. At the time of the discovery of the Pribilof Islands, in 1786, they were uninhabited. In order to obtain laborers to handle the seals, natives were brought over from 15184 3 34 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. the Aleutian Islands, and the first colony was established on St. George Island, near Staraya Artel rookery, so called from this fact, the name meaning "old guild" or association. Other villages were afterwards established on this island at Zapadni and at Garden Cove. In the course of time men were carried in similar manner to St. Paul Island, the Aleutian settlements at Unalaska and Atka being chiefly drawn upon. Time first settlement on St. Paul was established at the foot of the large shallow i\lishalke Lake at the northern end of the island. Later settlements were located at Polovina and at Zapadni of St. Paul. CONDITIONS IN RUSSIAN DAYS. When, in 1799, the Russian-American Company came into control of the islands, the various settlements on St. Paul were grouped into one at Polovina. Afterwards they were transferred to the present location of the village, in order to be near the most advantageous landing places. In like manner, the villages at Garden Cove, Zapadni, and Staraya Art el were gradually broken up and the inhabitants grouped on the present site of the village of St. George, on the northern face of the island. Of the condition of the Aleuts in these early days of Russian control Mr. Elliott says: They were mere slaves, without the slightest redress from any insolence or injuries which their masters might see fit in petulance or brutal orgies to inflict upon them. Here they lived and died, unnoticed and iincared for, in large barracoons, half underground and dirt roofed, cold and filthy. This is probably not an extreme picture of the condition of the natives in Russian times. The Aleuts at the present time look back to these as their halcyon days; but this feeling may exist as the memory of indulgences which they are forbidden now. It is certain that but little thought or care was bestowed upon them by their Russian managers beyond seeing that they (lid the required work. CONDITIONS UNDER AMERICAN CONTROL. Under American control matters changed. The Alaska Commercial Company early in the period of its lease erected suitable frame cottages, furnished with the substantial comforts of life, which took the place of the cheerless and insanitary sod houses, or barrabaras. A physician with the necessary medical supplies was stationed on each island to care for the wants of the people. Churches were erected and presided over by priests of the Russian-Greek faith. Schools in which the English branches are taught were established. Wood and coal took the place of the filthy seal-blubber and driftwood fuel. The former exclusive diet of seal meat was supplemented by many of the staples and even luxuries of civilized living. THE HANDLING OF THE SEALS. All the work of driving, slaughtering, and skinning the seals, as well as the curing of the skins, is done by the Aleuts under the direction of the agents of the lessees. They are paid by the lessees for this labor at so much per skin. Under the old lease this was 40 cents, and for the 100,000 skins regularly taken this gave a fund of $40,000 for the support of a total population of between 400 and 450, of both sexes and all ages. At the present time the price is 50 cents a skin, but the number of skins taken has greatly decreased. THE ALEUT PEOPLE. 3a The earnings of the natives are treated as a community fund, which is distributed to the workers in several classes, according to their skill or experience. The amount due to each family is credited to them on the books of the lessees and is drawn upon by them through the island store as it is needed. THE SUPPORT OF THE ALEUTS. When, in 1890, the quota of seal skins fell to about one-fifth its former number, and when it was still further reduced under the modus vivendi of 1891-1893, the income of the Aleuts became so greatly reduced as to be inadequate to meet their wants. To cover the deficiency the Government has each year since that time appropriated an additional sum of money for their support. The liberal, not to say prodigal, character of this allowance can be judged by the fact that for the season of 1896 these people exhausted, in addition to their earnings, of about $16,000, from the taking of seal and fox skins, the full Congressional appropriation of $19,500. They pay nothing for rent, taxes, or for medical attendance, and during the greater part of the year their meat is free. There are few laboring communities whose people can boast of such generous conditions of support. The original colony of Aleuts transported to the islands numbered, according to Mr. Elliott, 137 souls. To these additions were made from time to time. In 1871 Captain Bryant tells us that the population of the two islands numbered 426 persons, of both sexes and all ages. No new accessions have been made lately, and the population has dwindled to slightly less than 300 at the present time. The Aleuts are a gentle and tractable class of people. They are courteous in their manners and unusually skillful in their work. They have the usual aboriginal weaknesses for rum and the vices of civilization, but as a result of the isolated position of the islands, and the strict control which the Government is able, through its officers, to exercise over them, the people of St. Paul and St. George are a respectable and orderly class. THE GOVERNMENT AGENTS. The interests of the Government on the islands are in charge of agents of the Treasury Department, who supervise the work of the natives, look after their wants, and enforce the authority of the Government. The natives are allowed, in large measure, nominally to govern themselves. They have a head chief and second chief, who deal directly with the people, and are in turn dealt with by the Government agents. The relations of the people with one another are controlled by a council of the wise men, chosen, like the chiefs, by the people themselves. On the whole, the lot of the Aleut on the Pribilof Islands is an unusually favored one. He works but a few months in the summer and is liberally fed and clothed by the Government. If the seal herd is again restored to its former capacity, he may in time even become wealthy. The chief social drawback in his relations lies in the want of consecutive work. The lack of anything to do through the long winter induces laziness and gambling. Even useless work if continuous would be a real boon to the Aleut. 36 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. B. THE FUR-SEAL ROOKERIES. THE BREEDING GROUNDS. Wherever there is a rocky beach of some breadth or a sloping rocky hill on the Pribilof Islands the fur seals have located their breeding grounds, or rookeries," as they are called. The best type of rookery ground is a moderate slope covered with coarse rocks and descending to a beach of shingle or rounded bowlders. these beaches their gregarious habits cause the animals to crowd together in close-set masses. The limits of the rookeries are defined by abrupt cliffs or headlands, which cut off the beaches, by inaccessible cliffs that rise in the rear and by intervening sand beaches. They seldom extend far back from the sea under any condition, as access to the water is an essential feature. THE HAULING GROUNDS. Adjoining the breeding grounds and an essential part of each rookery are what are known as the " hauling grounds" of the bachelors, frequented by the young males of the ages of 5 years and under, these classes being strictly excluded from the breeding grounds. These hauling grounds are usually located on sandy beaches bordering the breeding grounds or on the flat "parade" grounds above and in the rear of the harems. In most cases the bachelors are forced to encircle the end of the breeding grounds to reach their locations in the rear, but in some cases neutral strips or runways are left, among the harems through which the bachelors haul out unmolested. Not infrequently the bachelors seek to use runways which are not recognized as neutral, and they are summarily thrown out by the harem masters. This leads to confusion and fighting among the bulls, and the consequent destruction of females and young pups. In many cases the hauling grounds are at a considerable distance from the breeding grounds, but even where they are located immediately in the rear of the harems, a buffer of idle or reserve bulls keeps them at a safe distance. The young males have a wholesome and well-defined fear of the bulls, which experience amply Justifies. In the present depleted condition of the fur-seal herd much ground once occupied has been abandoned. The tendency of the animals, in obedience to their gregarious instincts, is to crowd together, and as their numbers decrease the rookeries shrink up. With the restoration of time herd these abandoned grounds will undoubtedly be reoccupied. It is probable that the occupation of absolutely new ground could only result from an overcrowded condition of the rookeries. Not all the available space on the islands was ever occupied even in the time of greatest expansion, as there are long stretches of suitable beach line on which seals have never been known to breed. THE ST. PAUL ROOKERIES. The following is a brief description of the breeding rookeries of St. Paul Island, beginning at Northwest Point : 1. Vostochni* (eastern). —This rookery lies on the northern face of the peninsula of Northeast Point. It extends from the vicinity of Cross Hill, at the termination of the The different fur-seal rookeries have for the most part retained their picturesque Russian names. It is very desirable that they should continue to do so, and it would be appropriate if Russian equivalents were substituted for the few English names which have come into use. In the spelling of the Russian names we have followed the present accepted methods of transliteration under the advice of THE ROOKERIES OF ST. PAUL. 37 great sand beach known as "North Shore," to the tip of the point itself. It occupies for the most part beaches of coarse bowlders, with occasional outcroppings of harems on the flat ground above. The line of harems is frequently broken by short stretches of sand beach, which are used by the bachelors as runways to reach their hauling grounds. On the seaward slope of Hutchinson Hill, which forms the highest part of the peninsula, the rookery becomes greatly widened and closely massed. Late in the season harems were even found at the summit of the hill. • From this point to the end of the rookery the harems scatter along the bowlder beach in a narrow band. About midway to the end is a small sea-lion rookery. At the eastern angle of Hutchinson Hill and on the sand beach behind Cross Hill are the most important hauling grounds of the rookery, though at the present time, owing to the numerous breaks in the lines of breeding seals, small pods of bachelors are to be found at a large number of other places. 2. Morjovi (of the walrus).---The line of division between this and the preceding rookery is a purely arbitrary one. At the point there is a considerable break in the line of harems and behind is a small hauling ground. The harems resume and follow along the bowlder beach as before for a short distance. Then a break occurs, with a runway for the bachelors and another sea-lion rookery. Beyond this is the principal portion of the rookery. It consists of a large body of harems closely massed and lying back on the that at the angle of the sand beach at Walrus Bight. Behind and to the west of this mass is the great hauling ground of INIorjovi rookery. Beyond the sand beach scattering groups of harems occur on the sides of a long, narrow, tongue of land jutting out to the eastward, called Sea Lion Neck. Another sand beach intervenes, and the rookery ends in a considerable mass of harems grouped about a rocky point nearly opposite Webster Lake, on the eastern side of the peninsula. An unimportant hauling ground lies at the extreme end of the rookery. Vostochni and Morjovi combined furnish the greatest continuous fur-seal rookery on the two islands. Along their 3 miles of coast line are upward of 100,000 fur seals of all classes, about one-fourth of the total number on the Pribilof Islands. From the summit of Hutchinson Hill a bird's-eye view of the two rookeries can be had, and the sight is a most impressive one. A greater number of fur seals (or for that matter any other animals) is to be seen here than for any other point in the world. 3. Polovina (halfway).—This rookery, as its name indicates, is located halfway between Northeast Point and time village. The main part of the rookery lies massed upon the beach and the fiat above the cliffs that rise from the low reef of Polovina Point and shade down with a gentle slope to the great sand beach whkh stretches away 2 miles or more to Stony Point. At the angle of the sand beach the bachelors make their way to the hauling ground in the rear of the massed portion of the rookery. a competent Russian scholar, Mr. Alexis V. Babine, librarian of the University of Indiana. Much confusion in the records has arisen through the current use of a Russian and English name for the same place, as for example, Zapadni and Southwest Bay, Polovina and I lalfway Point. We have in each case tried to select the most suitable name for the purpose, and it is to be hoped that in the future agents and others concerned, will conform to the usage hero adopted. We have given a separate name to each of the three parts of what has been generally known as Zapadni. The great rookery lying about the shores of Northeast Point has been divided for eonvenience at the tip of the point. It has been thought best, because of the importance it has obtained through the frequent observations made upon it during this investigation, to designate as Ardignen rookery, a small detached breeding area on Reef peninsula. 38 TIIE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. Above Polovina Point extend steep cliffs with a narrow beach of shingle, along which harems are scattered in detached groups. Occasional breaks or runways in the cliff wall give access to the flat ground above, and at one or two points the harems overflow on the level. At the last break in the cliff is a large hauling ground. The cliff then closes in, and for a half mile leaves no room for the seals to lie. Again, as at the southern end, theb cliff shades off in a gradual slope to the sand beach, which continues to the northward as far as Northeast Point. On this northern rocky slope of the cliff is situated the small but picturesque rookery of Little Polovina, in reality an overflow of the greater rookery. The Polovina rookeries have a population of about 20,000 seals of all classes. 4. Lukanin (name of an early seal hunter).—Froin Stony Point to the southward is the great sand beach of Lukanin. At its end rises the rocky slope of Lukanin along which the rookery of the same name lies. At the northern end is the hauling ground of the rookery. It is a favorite resort for the very young bachelors, a greater proportion being found here than on any other rookery. Part of the breeding ground lies at the foot of cliffs, which are easy of approach, and as the rookery is Bear to the village it has been made the subject of close study by numerous observers. 5. Kitori (of the whale).—This rookery is merely a continuation of Lukanin, from which it is separated by the purely arbitrary boundary of Lukanin Point. The rookery lies along bold rocks, basaltic columns, and slopes of cinder and lava. It is an ideal rookery ground, as the slight mortality of pups indicates, only about 109 dead pups being found in 1896 in a total of 6,049. The hauling ground of this rookery is unimportant, probably because the bachelors haul out with those from Lukanin. The few which haul out at Kitovi proper are found at the southern end of the rookery, back of Kitovi Bay. Kitovi and Lukanin are in reality one great rookery. They represent a total population of about 25,000 seals. lle(f (llussialt,riforoye).—At the southern end of St. Paul Island another long Barrow neck of land juts out, known as Reef peninsula. On the southern shore of this peninsula is the great breeding ground known as Reef rookery. The harems lie along the irregular beach for a distance of nearly a mile. In the central portion the seals extend back in long, wedge-shaped masses for a considerable distance over the gentle slope strewn with large bowiders. In the rear of the central portion of this rookery is the great hauling ground, which lies in a hollow between two rocky ridges. Connecting this hauling ground with the sea are four runways, which divide the rookery into five large masses. In two of these runways occur ponds of water, which fill by the surf in the winter and become indescribably foul in summer, as the bachelors wallow through them. Reef rookery is one of the largest Oil the islands. It is separated from its fellow (Gorbatch) on the other side of the peninsula by a broad flat upland, known as the "parade ground." This parade ground occupies the highest part of time peninsula. It extends back from the perpendicular cliffs at the westward end in a long easy slope to the eastward, where it falls to the water's edge at the beginning of the rookery. This space was a favorite playground for the bachelors of the two rookeries in the palmy days, and the wandering bands of seals kept its surface bare. A few bachelors still haul across it, but for the most part it is to-day overgrown with grass and weeds. Sirutch (sea lion) Rock.—About a third of a mile off shore from Reef rookery is a small crescent-shaped rocky islet. Its southern side is an abrupt cliff, but to the THE ROOKERIES OF ST. PAUL. 39 north it slopes back gradually to the water. This northern slope and such other points on its surface as are accessible, are occupied by a small rookery of three or four thousand seals. At either end of the islet is a hauling ground. On the southernmost one the returning bachelors are said to haul out first in the spring. Six miles farther off to the south lies the larger islet called Otter Island. This is not a rookery proper, but contains a hauling ground, and is resorted to by bachelors, probably front the rookeries of Reef peninsula. A few seals still haul there, mid during the season of 1896 a single harem of five cows with their pups was found among them. This is the first record of breeding seals having occupied Ottin. Island. No trace of the harem was found daring the season of 1897. The hauling ground, which lies on the northern face of the island, is one of considerable extent, and in former times a large number of seals evidently occupied it. About 200 were fbund there at the time of our visit in 1896, and upward of a thousand in 1897. 8. Arditmen (piie stonex).—On the western edge of Reef peninsula, and just north of the ultimate point, is an isolated concave rocky slope and beach overlooked by high parapet-like cliffs, above the general level of Reef rookery, to the surf ace of which the breeding ground ascends at one point in a "slide." The rocky beach, the slide, and, in 1896, a part of the flat above were filled with harems. Other harems extended along the narrow beach at the foot of the cliff, which everywhere rises sheer from the western end of the peninsula. The wall-like rocks above the slide portion of the rookery make it possible to watch time seals at close range without disturliimg them. It is the best point on the island for the observation of rookery life. Almost daily observations, a record of which will be found in the Daily Journal (Part II), were made upon it during the summer of 1896, and on this account it has been given a separate name. It has heretofore been included in Reef rookery. 9. Gorbatch (the hump.---This picturesque rookery lies on the north shore of Reef peninsula a,nd faces Zoltoi Bay. The steep cliffs on the western end, at Gorbatch Point, break down in a long cinder slope, which rises rather steeply from the shingle beach to the parade ground above. Along the bowlder beach and the foot of time slope the harems lie close together, extending back at one or two points in wedge-shaped masses. On the fiat rocks at the point marking the beginning of the bay is a favorite sleeping place for a few sea lions, and near by is an isolated rock on which a small group of hair seals are usually to be seen hauled out. To the northward the cinder slope shades into a slope of smooth rock, and this is succeeded in turn by a slope covered with great irregular bowlders. At the end of this an abrupt cliff begins, and the rookery terminates in a long belt of harems on the narrow beach at its foot. At the angle, where the cliff breaks down suddenly into the sand beach of the bay, is the famous hauling ground known as Zoltoi, (golden) (more correctly spelled Zolotoi), from its yellowish lava sands. This is the only hauling ground for Gorbatch rookery, and in the days when the shores of the Reef rookery were packed with harems it was practically the only hauling ground for the two rookeries. Across the neck of the peninsula, which is here very narrow, is a small cove-like beach frequented by bachelors, probably from the Reef rookery. The nearness of Zoltoi to the village (about one-fourth of a mile away) has brought its herds under constant inspection. The earliest and latest drives are always made from this point. 40 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. _ Reef and Gorbatch rookeries are in reality one great breeding ground. They represent a total population, including Ardiguen and Sivutch Rock, of about 70,000 seals. 10. Spilki (the points).—This is the abandoned rookery space, which formerly occupied the slope and beach of the hill back of the village of St. Paul. The ground was occupied until about ten years ago as a rookery, when it was gradually abandoned. 11. 14«goon.—This rookery is separated from the site of Spilki by a short stretch of sand lieach and the narrow channel connecting the salt lagoon with the village cove. It is situated on a long reef of coarse bowlders, which has been gradually pushed up by the ice until it has almost completely shut off the lagoon from the sea. The rookery is a small one, having a population of only about 6,000 seals. There is a small battling ground on the rear or lagoon side of the reef, but no drives are made from it. 12. Tolstoi (thick).—From the angle of the reef on which Lagoon rookery is located the cliffs rise abruptly, leaving but little beach. At the bold point of Tolstoi Mys or headland the rookery of this name begins, extending along the southern curve of English Bay to the great sand beach at its foot. For a considerable distance the harems lie on the narrow beach at the foot of steep cliffs. About the middle of the rookery the cliffs break down in a long concave slope strewn with angular bowlders. Back of this are sand dunes, and the wash from them has produced at the foot of the slope a broad sand flat just above the bowlder beach. This sand tract of Tolstoi has a denser population than is to be found on any other rookery ground on the island. In the height of the season the crowded area is the scene of constant fighting among the bulls because of the crowding of the harems. The breeding mass extends part way up the slope, and in the latter part of the season the seals move back from the sandy Bat, leaving it bare. At the back of the slope among the sand dunes is a hauling ground for the bachelors. To reach it they must encircle the end of the rookery. A more important hauling ground is situated on the sand of English Bay, just beyond the rookery. Halfway along the curve of the bay is another hauling ground, known as Middle Hill, which is removed from any rookery and is probably more or less common to all the breeding grounds about English Bay. On the whole Tolstoi is the most interesting of the rookeries, and offers the greatest diversity of conditions of life. It is also fatuous for the great mortaility among the young pups born there. The view of the rookery from the sand dunes to the eastward is exceedingly picturesque. 13. Zapwlni (westerly).—This rookery, begins at the rocky cliffs of Zapadni headland and extends along the convex shore to the sand beach of Southwest Bay. It occupies the usual bowlder beach and extends back along the gradually sloping upland. The seals are in many places massed in shallow depressions and gullies which seam the rocky slope. In these places, as on the sand flat of Tolstoi, many pups are killed. At different places in the course of the rookery are runways through which the bachelors haul out to their grounds in the rear. The principal hauling ground, however, is at the angle of the rookery with the sand beach of Southwest Bay. 14. Little Zapadni.—The sand beach of Southwest Bay intervenes between this rookery and Zapadni proper. It occupies a similar but smaller convex beach and THE ROOKERIES OF ST. GEORGE. 41 hillslope toward the east. The surface of this little rookery is rugged and broken in the extreme, making it an ideal breeding ground. At its eastern end is the single hauling ground, reached through the open space that lies between this and the narrow breeding ground which occupies the reef beyond. 15. Zapadni Reef: This rookery lies on a reef of bowlders similar to that occupied by Lagoon rookery. The harems are grouped in scattered patches along the narrow, rocky beach. At the end of the reef is a large hauling ground which is also more or less common to the younger bachelors front the three Zapadni rookeries. Here the sand beach of English Bay begins, which stretches around to Tolstoi rookery. These three breeding grounds were originally one, but the decrease of the herd has so separated them as to make it advisable to give them distinct names. Their combined herd is next in size to that of Reef Peninsula, having about 60,000 seals of all classes. At a considerable distance above Zapadni headland is an isolated hauling ground for the older bachelors and half bull's, known as Southwest Point. A few still haul out there, and a hair-seal rookery is situated on an islet offshore. The place probably never contained a breeding rookery. 16. illarunichen (personal name).--This is an abandoned rookery ground on North Shore. It was never au important rookery, and has long been deserted. The oldest inhabitant of the village of St. Paul simply remembers hearing it spoken of when he was a boy. No cause was assigned for its abandonment. A herd of hair seals haul out in the neighborhood of this old rookery. THE ST. GEORGE ROOKERIES. The rookeries of St. George are five in number. They are smaller and less important than those of St. Paul, containing only about one-sixth of time total number of seals on the two islands. On account of the rugged character of the coast line of St. George its rookery space is limited and the conditions less varied. The harems lie chiefly along broken cliffs, on basaltic columns, and bowlder-strewn slopes. Four of the rookeries are grouped on the northern face of the island, while the fifth lies isolated on the southwestern corner. Beginning with this last rookery, the following is a brief account of the breeding grounds of St. George Island: 1. Zapadni (mcesterly).—This rookery lies along the rocky beach of Zapadni Bay, ascending the slope of the long bill where time harems are located on fiat benches of rock. A part of the beach line lies at the foot of the cliff formed by the breaking off of the hill. In the rear of the lower or beach portion is the hauling ground of the rookery, reached by two breaks in the mass of breeding seals and extending inland some distance. 2. Staraya Artel (old guild).—This is a very picturesque rookery, lying in a narrow belt along the steep slope of a hill which breaks off in an abrupt cliff on the seaward side. The beach at the foot of the rookery is a limited one, and time lower harems are situated on shelf-like, rocky projections which gradually shade into the even surface of the hill slope, on which the harems are closely massed. Time hauling ground of time rookery lies in time hollow formed by the inward sweep of the hill. In the hollow is a small pond, once a lagoon, which the reef-like beach has cut oft Over this beach the bachelors haul out and lie on time bank of the pond. 42 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 3. North (Russian, serernoye).—This is the largest of the rookeries of St. George. It is located about midway between Staraya Artel and the village of St. George. The rookery is the nearest one to the village, and therefore well adapted for observation. It lies throughout the greater part of its length on the narrow beach at the foot of perpendicular cliffs. Through occasional slides or breaks in the cliff wall the harems draw back to the hill slope behind. The bachelors have runways at both ends of the rookery a-nd occupy the flat ground above and behind the cliffs. 4. Little East.—This is a rather small collection of harems located on the broken slope formed by the breaking down of the cliffs, which from the village landing eastward to this point rise perpendicularly. From this point the cliff curves inland in a gradual slope, to appear again beyond east rookery at the eastern angle of the island. The small hauling ground of the rookery is located at the eastern end. Little East rookery resembles Little Polovina rookery of St. Paul island both in size and in its relation to the larger rookery of which it is a branch. 5. East.—From Little East rookery for a considerable distance to the eastward the beach is low, and behind it lies a level plain covered with seal grass, and evidently once hauled over by bachelors from both rookeries! East rookery begins in a long line of scattering harems occupying the rocky beach. At the angle where the OM resume, the harems are massed together on the slope and along the narrow bowlder beach until cut off by the breaking out of the cliff. The hauling ground of East rookery is in the rear of the first beach portion, and is reached by several breaks in the line of harems. Along the beach portion of East rookery the sea lions also haul out and lie among the fur seals, and at the point is a small rookery located among the fur-seal harems. A larger and more important sea-lion rookery is located on time southern side of St. George Island toward Garden Cove. --N \ \ \\\ \, ‘,‘ \\ \V ' \ ' \ \ \‘ • \\ \ \ \ ' -\\ \ • \ ' •\. s' `, \ \ \\ \\\ \ \\ \ \\ \\ \ \\\ \ \\ , \ \ \ \ .', \\ \ \ , \ . • , ' \ \ \ \ \ \ ( I ' N \ \ . , \\ \ • \ \ , , \ \ \ \ \ \\ \ \\\\ _ \ \ , \\\\ \ ,\ \\\ \ \/ .\ \\ \ --....., _ -- / "--' , — /------ ,- - ------ 1 - , , / --- ------,.-.---- --, ' --'' ile)1010Il _ YOUNG MALE SEA LION. Drawn from nature by Bristow Adams. .•- /0( N. N CITAPTER THE FUR SEAL OR "SEA BEAR." ITS RELATIVES. The fur seals, with their associates, the walruses and sea lions, constituting the suborder Gressigrada* (Mien), are obviously related to the bears. The animals comprising this group, among other characters, have plantigrade feet, the anterior limbs modified as oars, and with rudimentary claws, if any. The posterior limbs bend forward at the knee and the long, webbed toes extend beyond the claws. Only the anterior limbs are used in swimming. The head and neck can be elevated as in the bear, and the external car is moderately developed. The animal can run or lope along the ground as do ordinary mammals, and with considerable rapidity. THE SEA BEAR AND TRUE SEAL. Much misconception as to the nature and habits of the fur seals has arisen from their supposed resemblance to the animals in the North Atlantic and elsewhere, called " seals." The fur seal, however, has no close affinity with the suborder Pinimipedia, to which the true or earless seals belong. The various forms of true or hair seals constituting the group Pinnipedia have the feet not truly plantigrade, short, with long claws. Only the posterior limbs are used in swimming, and these are not susceptible of bending forward at the knee. The animal, therefore, can not walk or lope at all, and only wriggles while on land. Its neck is short and it can scarcely raise its head. It has no external ear. The internal structures of the animals show equally marked differences. The hair seals, whatever their origin, must come from a different parent stock, and their relation to land carnivora is more remote. Beyond the fact that both fur seal and hair seal are carnivorous mammals, feeding on fish and adapted for life in the water, the two types have little in common. In both species the thick blubber under the skin goes with the life iii cold water. The resemblances associated with aquatic habitat are only analogies and have no value in scientific classification. Iii structure, appearance, habits, disposition, and method of locomotion, they are entirely distinct, and their evolution as pelagic animals has been along separate lines. THE FUR SEALS OF THE ANTARCTIC. The fur seals of the world belong to two distinct groups or genera, closely related to the sea lions. One of these, the genus Arctocephal us, is widely distributed over time Antarctic oceans, where its members formerly existed in vast numbers along portions of the coasts of South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, as well *Called Rentipedia in our preliminary report, page 12, but the name Gressigrada is earlier and includes the same forms. 43 44 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. as many of the pelagic islands of the Antarctic regions.* Perhaps the most northern extent of this genus is the herd which formerly existed in considerable numbers on Guadalupe Island, and other islands in its vicinity, where a remnant probably still breed hidden in the caves and recesses of their shores. THE FUR SEALS OF THE NORTH PACIFIC. The fur seals of the North Pacific belong to the second group, the genus C«//o-rhinus. ft is resident upon certain barren and rocky islands in Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, unknown to aboriginal man, and, so far as we are aware, never visited by man before the discovery of the Komandorski Islands by Vitus Bering in 1741 and the Pribilof Islands by Gerassini Pribilof in 1786. In addition to the Komandorski and Pribilof islands, seals of the genus Callorhinus also occupy certain islands of the l(uril group, and also the rocky islet known as Robber Reef, off the coast of Saghalin. STELLER'S ACCOUNT. Our first knowledge of the fur seals of the North comes from the account of Georg Wilhelm Steller (1709-1745), a German naturalist, who accompanied Bering on the voyage which resulted in the discovery of the Komandorski Islands. During the winter which the survivors of the ill-fated St. Peter spent on Bering Island, Steller visited the south, or Poludinnoye rookery of this island and wrote au accountt of the fur seals or "sea bears" as lie called them. On Steller's description of the "sea bear" ((rm. marinus) of Bering Island, Unmet's based his description of Phoca ursnm, or the bear-like seal. From the Linntean name the fur seal of the North Pacific came to be called Callorhinus ursiuns, the type of the species being the Komandorski herd. THE THREE HERDS. The fur seals of the North Pacific comprise three distinct herds, which do not intermingle in any way, having distinct breeding grounds, feeding grounds, and routes of migration. THE PRIBILOF HERD. The most important of the three herds is that which resorts to the Pribilof Islands. These breed upon the islands of St. Paul and St. George during the summer, and in winter pass down through the channels of the Aleutian Islands into the Pacific Ocean, in their migrations reaching as far south as the coast of southern California and returning along the west coast of North America. THE KOMANDORSKI HERD. The next herd in importance is that resorting to the Komandorski Islands. These breed upon the islands of Bering and Medni, passing in winter down along the eastern coast of Japan and returning by the same route. A 1(111 account of the southern far seals will be found in Part III of this report. t A translation of Steller's account will be found in Part III of this report. THE SUBSPECIES OF FUR SEAL. 45 THE ROBBEN ISLAND HERD. The third herd is resident in the Sea of Okhotsk on Robben Island, where a considerable remnant still exists, and formerly occupied other rookeries, now virtually extinct, on four islands of the Kuril group—Musir, Raikoke, Srednoi. and Broughton. The migration route of this herd lies in the inland sea of Japan. THREE DISTINCT SPECIES. The fact that the seals of the Pribilof herd differ from those of the Commander Islands in color, in form, and in character of the fur has long been recognized. These differences, though slight, are permanent and constant. As no intermediate forms are known, and as the life courses of the herds are wholly distinct, apparently no intermediate forms can exist. We may therefore hold that the herds represent distinct species. As the Komandorski seals formed the type of Callor•hinus ursinus, the Pribilof seals may be taken to represent a new species, to which the name Callor•hinus alascanus may be given, and the Robbed Island herd, likewise different, may be called Callorhinus curilensis. CALLORHINUS ALASCANUS. The description of this new species or subspecies is given in full in a special paper which appears in Part III. It may be noted here that alascanus may be known by the stouter, broader head, by the thicker neck, by the prevalence of warm, brown shades in the coloration of the females and the young males, by the more silvery color of the gray pups, which have the whitish patches on the rump less than in ur•sinus. In . general it shows a lack of sharp contrast between the coloration of the sides and belly. The fur is of superior quality and exhibits sufficient difference to make it possible for the dealers handling the skins to distinguish them by this means alone. Iii alascanus the claws on the foreflipper are undeveloped, being represented by pits in the skin. CALLORHINUS URSINUS. The true ursinus has a slenderer head and neck. The females and young males are sooty rather than brown, the light and dark shades being alike for the most part without ochraceous tints. The belly is usually rather sharply paler than the back, and the gray pup is more brownish and less gray than in the Pribilof animal, having a pale patch on each side of the rump. The fore feet have two or three rudimentary claws. CALLORHINUS CURILENSIS. The seal of Robbeu Island and the Kurils, differs from both of the foregoing in the whitish color of the under fur. This is rusty brown in ur•sinus and alascanus. It is said also to have a broader head than ursinus and to exhibit other differences in the quality of the fur, distinguishing the seals of llobben Island from either of the other herds. In the following discussion our attention will be directed chiefly to a consideration of the Pribilof Islands seals. In Part IV of this report the herds of the Komandorski and Kuril islands will be discussed in detail. 46 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THE NOMENCLATURE OF THE FUR SEAL. The eccentricities of the nomenclature of the far seals have frequently been noted. Attention is here called to the matter merely to avoid confusion. It is, for example, incongruous that a " cow " should occupy a place in a "harem" on a " rookery " and bear a " pup," which, if a male, should be known for the first four years of its life as a "bachelor " and afterwards as a " bull." Moreover, it is absurd that this animal, which is in reality more like a bear, should be called a "seal," thus confounding it with a distinctly different animal. But these names are all so closely identified with the animals and their history that it is useless to attempt to change them, and so we may expect the "sea bears" of the North Pacific to continue to produce "seal skins," which, though originally and properly taken only on land, will remain the product of a "fishery." The Russian names " sikatch" (grown bull), "polosikatch" (half bull), "holostiak" (bachelor), "matka" (mother), and "kotik " (pup) are in common use among the Aleuts on the Pribilof and Kotuandorski islands. These words form their plurals ill i, thus: sikatchi, holostiaki. The Aleut names "atagh" or "adakh" "ennatha" (cow), lakutha " (pup) are now used mainly by the native children. THE CATEGORIES OF SEALS. THE MALE. The male fur seal or bull reaches full maturity at the age of about 7 years. lie is probably sexually mature at an earlier age, but does not possess the strength and courage necessary to win and hold a place on the breeding grounds. The weight of the adult bull is about 350 to 450 pounds. A typical animal measures about 6 feet in length, has a girth over the shoulders of about 41 feet, and measures nearly 6 feet from tip to tip of the outstretched fore-flippers. In color the adult males vary considerably, the general shade being blackish or dark brown, with longer hairs or bristles of yellowish white. These are especially long and numerous on the thickened back of the neck, forming the so-called " wig." The bulls are excessively fat on their landing in the spring, but grow gradually lean and thin during the season on land, never tasting food or leaving their posts during the breeding season. Early observers made use of the appropriate name of beachmaster" for the bull, a name which deserves to be retained for its descriptive qualities. THE .FEMALE. The female fur seal or cow is much smaller than the male. When fully grown she measures about 4 feet in length, has a girth of 2A feet over the shoulders, and measures 4 feet from tip to tip of the outstretched fore-flippers. The cow has a soft, smooth fur of varying shades of grey, the younger females being usually, though not always, silvery white underneath the throat. The cow bears her first offspring at the age of 3 years, but her full growth is not attained until a year or two later. Tier average weight is about 70 pounds. The name "clap-match," used by early explorers to designate the female, is now obsolete. THE BACHELOR. The young male or bachelor is very similar to the female in color, size, and appearance until the end of the third year. Iii this year his skin is at its best. In A "POD•• OF PUPS ON LUKANIN ROOKERY, SAINT PAUL ISLAND. FUR SEAL PUP. Drawn from nature by Bristow Adams. \\\\\N \' \ HEAD OF FUR SEAL PUP. Drawn from nature. by Bristow Adams. ---,-..-----,-.., -....--------,-,----_,--57:. .,—:-.,,-0, ..,, --.---'---Zr-"=-ZWI' 4c, -*-----f"---a=r-r----_---40A/4"740- --7..g..--a--_---r,i4---, '-7-,!:„„/,.'wiwf -- -- ' - - --- , ;--.---,,-- ,...4 9A, , - „ . 0:4 ,---- ,-- _4, .0-; ./.,1,, ,1* j i ......-zi,_.---,z---4-_,,- -- -......5.,%-, 5. - ..---- ---.- • _ _,---r- -,*,7 7, 4 'Hi/ -------1---,--572---.:-.=7 SV ---------------fa--,,-,-, - - , , ,-...-1-4-..,„,--,#:/ 0' _,-_----_;,-,-- _f4ft ,,--,4-7-';--4; , 44;74.wv-~ ....jit...., ... ":„.„ .... HEAD OF FEMALE FUR SEAL. Drawn from nature by Bristow Adams. HEAD OF A TYPICAL ROOKERY BULL. Drawn from nature by Bristow Adams. A TYPICAL ROOKERY BULL. Drawn from nature by Bristow Adams. THE MIGRATIONS OF THE FUR SEALS. 47 the fourth year his neck begins to thicken and develop the " wig." After the wig has appeared the skin depreciates in value, until in the adult bull it has no value as fur. THE HALF BULL. In the fifth and sixth years the young male grows rapidly, and in size and appearance approximates the adult bull, but lacks his strength and courage. He is then known as a "half bull." The males under 7 years of age are not allowed on the rookeries, though they hang about the rear and in the water in front of them. The bachelors are forced to herd by themselves in separate bands on the haulinggrounds. THE IDLE BULL. In addition to the half bulls there is a class of males called "idle" or "reserve" bulls. These are in no way different from the breeding bulls, but on account of the lateness of their arrival, the unfavorableness of their location, or because of defeat in battle, they have been unsuccessful in securing harems. They take up their places in the rear of the breeding grounds, or as near to them as they can get, and there they fight among themselves, watching for opportunities to invade the harems of their more successful rivals, and occasionally forming small harems by capture. Late in the season the idle bulls succeed to the posts vacated by the departing harem masters and take charge of the late arriving cows and the 2-year olds. THE YEARLINGS AND VIRGINS. The seals of 1 year old of both sexes are known as yearlings. There is no marked difference between the males and females at this age. The yearling males are found in the latter part of July on the hauling grounds with the older bachelors. The females come late to the islands and spend much of their time on the rookeries among the young of the year•. They do not associate to any considerable degree with their brothers on the hauling grounds. The females of 2 years old are known as " virgins," and come on the rookeries late in July and early in August to be served by the bulls. THE PUP. The young of the fur seal or pup is black in color at birth, sometimes with a brownish strip under the throat and with a large whitish spot in the aril. Its weight at birth is about 11 pounds, and it is comparatively helpless, though it becomes able to care for itself in a short time. Its head is large in. proportion to its body and proves a serious handicap in the early efforts of the animal to learn to swim, an art which it does not possess at birth. When the pup is about 3 months old it sheds its black coat and takes on a new one of gray. lhy this time it has learned to swim well and weighs 25 or 30 pounds. THE MIGRATION OF THE SEALS. THEIR SUMMER MOVEMENTS. In their annual movements the seals of all classes with few, if any, exceptions visit each season the islands on which their breeding grounds are situated. The earliest arrivals come about the 1st of May; the latest to depart go some time in December. 48 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. In the interval the offices of reproduction are accomplished. The females come and go from the feeding grounds at intervals, caring for their young. The younger males spend most of their time resting on the sand beaches, visiting the sea irregularly. In November the females and young of the year leave the islands. The males, especially the bachelors, remain until December and even January, in mild seasons probably not all leaving the vicinity of the islands during the winter. THE LIMIT OF MIGRATION. The adult males and the older bachelors spend the winter in the Pacific Ocean, somewhat below the Aleutian Islands, and eastward in the Gulf of Alaska. The younger males go farther south. The pups probably reach the latitude of Cape Flattery. The adult females go farthest south, being found as low down as the Santa Barbara Channel, off southern California. ITS COURSE AND DURATION. The southward trip of the seals must be rapid and more or less direct to the turning point. The females do not leave the islands much before the,. middle of November, but are taken in the latitude of southern California early in December. On the return trip the movements of the animals are slower, the remainder of the winter and spring being occupied in the northward journey along the coast, which they follow at a considerable distance offshore. In December, January, and February they are found off the coast of California. They are in the neighborhood of Cape Flattery and Vancouver Island in. March, April, and May; and in May and June they are found in the Gulf of Alaska and along the southern coast of the Aleutian Islands. They reach the islands at various dates according to the different classes of animals. In this outline of the movements of the seals at sea only the general course of the herd as a whole is traced. A more detailed account will be found in connection with the migration chart prepared by Mr. Townsend and published in Part III of this report. In Mr. Lucas's account of the feeding habits of the animals, also in Part III, the movements of the seals on their summer feeding grounds are more fully given. CII[1.PTEll V. THE DAILY LIFE OF THE ROOKERIES. THE ARRIVAL AT THE ISLANDS. THE MALES. The adult males arrive first at the islands in the spring. Their appearance is governed largely by the movements of the drift ice, which packs in about the islands late in winter and remains until the latter part of April, sometimes until late in May.* In 1895, when the ice remained thus long about the islands, making the landing of the bulls difficult, roads were cut in it, through which the animals hauled to reach their stations. THE DATE OF THE EARLIEST ARRIVALS. The average date of the landing of the first bulls, as shown by the record in the log of the islands, is about the 1st of May. Instances are recorded where the animals have landed on the ice and traveled in for a mile or more, taking up their places on the snow-covered rookeries. The incoming of the bulls is gradual. They appear almost simultaneously on all the rookeries, each being represented by one or two.t The number increases, slowly during the early part of May, rapidly in the latter part. By the middle of June, practically all of the regular harem bulls are located in their places on the breeding ground. During the season of 1897 a count of bulls on North rookery of St. George, June 7, gave 180, where 196 harems were found later in the season. On Kitovi rookery of St. Paul, a count of bulls made on the 12th of June gave 156, where 18;2 harems existed in 1896, and 179 later in the season of 18974 THE OLDEST COME FIRST. It is probable that the earliest bulls to arrive represent the veterans of many seasons, and that those arriving subsequently come in the order of their ages. Thus the young half bulls and the idle bulls as a class do not locate about the rookeries until the time of landing of the cows. They then haul out around the rookeries to • places in the rear, or fight their way through the territory of bulls already in place. Some of them are doubtless successful in displacing earlier arrivals, or in gaining advantageous places on the breeding grounds. The young bulls for the most part in the beginning of the season hang about the water front and try to intercept the landing cows. It is only after the breeding season is well advanced that they are seen in numbers about the rear of the rookeries, and even then they come and go from the water more or less regularly. See extracts from log of St. Paul, Pt. II, under date of May, 1895. t See extracts from log of St. Paul, Pt. II, May of any season. t Daily .Journal, Pt. II, under date of June 12. 15184-4 49 50 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THE BACHELORS. The bachelor seals begin to arrive at about the same time as the bulls. Their first appearance about St. Paul is usually on Sivutch Rock. The average date of the first recorded food drives is about the 20th of May.* This, however, is not the date of their first arrival, but the one at which the animals are out in sufficient numbers to make a drive worth while. The older bachelors come first. This is shown by the excess of older seals that are turned back in the earlier drives, and the larger percentage of killed in the number driven. This can best be made clear by citing the statistics showing the animals rejected, large and small, and the average per cent of animals killed, for the different dates during the season of 1897, on St. Paul Island: Statistics of killings, St. Paul, 1897 Date. Rejected. ! Percent.age June 15. 1 killed. 0.65 Large. Small. 144 119 18 130 26 . 67 23 556 184 .48 26 402 214 . 64 30. 376 214 . 57 July 1 288 224 . 58 2 107 90 . 53 5 229 175 . 63 6 301 306 . 67 8 355 551 . 65 9 97 115 . 68 12 140 638 . 50 14 216 661 . 58 16. 391 586 . 53 17 180 412 . 66 19 377 1, 174 . 39 22 500 2, 047 . 34 2:3 161 698 . 24 24 352 1, 380 . 23 26 491 890 . 27 27 221 545 . 20 29. 298 1, 114 . 16 30. 183 708 . 20 31 118 456 .16 Aug 2 350 1.440 . 19 159 376 .15 This record of rejected animals was, for the most part, kept by Mr. John M. Morton, whose duty as Treasury agent reilniret1 his presence constantly on the killing field. From this table it is apparent that among the rejected animals prior to July 9, those too large for killing predominated. The large percentage of animals killed for the total number driven shows that the greater proportion of the seals on the hauling grounds at this time were of killable age. After July 9 the smaller seals began to predominate, showing the advent of the 2-year olds and yearlings. About the same relative number of animals were killed in the later drives, but owing to the increase of little seals, the percentage steadily diminished from a maximum of 68 per cent to a minimum of 15 per cent. THE BEGINNING OF THE SEALING SEASON. It is not until the 1st of June that the regular driving for the quota begins. At this time the 3-year-old seals, from which the skins for the quota as a rule are taken, h Log of St. Paul, Pt. II, May of any season. ARRIVAL OF THE FUR SEALS. 51 begin to arrive as a class. About the middle of July the 2-year-old seals begin to come in numbers, followed very soon by the yearlings, which swarm in large numbers on the hauling grounds during the latter part of July. As the breeding season advances the young half-bulls, which throng the earlier drives, withdraw from the hauling grounds to the water front of the rookeries or take up places in their rear. The arrival of the younger males in the latter part of July makes it advisable that the driving for the quota should be completed as early in this month as possible. In the early days of American control, when the seals were numerous, the quota was, as a rule, filled before the 20th of July. THE ARRIVAL OF THE COWS. It is about the 10th of June that the adult cows begin to arrive.* Their appearance, like that of the adult bulls, is very gradual. In 1897 a cow appeared on East rookery on June 3; a second cow joined her on the 7th ; no others had arrived on the 10th. On St. Paul, the first cow arrived on the 10th; a second appeared on the 12th, and after this date a few could be found at almost every point where harems were located the previous season. So quietly did the cows come in and take their places that, though the rookeries of St. Paul were kept under the closest scrutiny, and many new cows were found at each inspection, it was more than a week before the landing of a single cow could be noted. THEIR INCOMING GRADUAL. This quiet and gradual incoming of the cows can best be illustrated by the record of the daily count on Lukanin rookery: Luk«nin rookery, 1897. Date. Cows present. June 12 1 13 1 14 3 15 5 16 6 17 11 18 19 19 25 20 37 21 52 22 74 23 103 24 131 25 176 26 207 27 257 Thus, though cows began to arrive on this rookery on the 12th of June, by the 27th of June there was on the half mile of its shore front no more than 257 cows. At this date few, if any, had begun to go to sea. When we contrast this number with the total of about 3,000 cows which visited the rookery during the season, we get some idea of the gradual arrival of the breeding females. These figures must also correct the long current notion that they come in a body or in a succession of great waves. * For details of the landing of the cows here described, reference should be made to the Daily Journal in Pt. II, under date of June 12, 1897, and following. 5`) THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. It is probable that with the cows, as with the bulls, the date of landing is influenced by age, the oldest coining first. The fact that the young cows are first impregnated early in August, coupled with the fact that pups are born as early as the 10th of June, shows that there must be a gradual recession of the date of delivery, which may reasonably be supposed to correspond to the increasing age of the breeding animals themselves. THEIR ARRIVAL NOT THE OCCASION OF FIGHTING. The observations of the season of 1897 must also correct the tradition that the first appearance of the cows is the signal for a general battle among the bulls for their possession. Nothing could be further from the truth. There was in 1897 no general disturbance at this time nor during the month of June. No general recognition of the arrival of the cows was made by the bulls. The landing female reconnoitered the shore, swimming backward and forward until she was satisfied of the location, and then landed on the rocks, being taken in charge by the nearest bull. If the bull discovered the landing cow and attempted to secure her, she escaped to the water if she could; if not, she submitted to the inevitable, and took up her place beside him. Sometimes the escaping cow was overtaken by the bull and carried back. If the cow escaped, she usually returned to the same place, and in time was located there. THE MANNER OF LANDING. This represented the method of the earliest arrivals. The choice of the cow was limited to the place of landing. When a bull once obtained a cow, his harem became the objective point for all cows landing in its vicinity. The landing cow came in quietly and took her place among the others, in most cases without even the knowledge of the bull whose circle she joined. When be became aware of her presence, lie gave her a cordial welcome, taking occasion to round up his harem and to show the new arrival marked attention. As a result of this desire of the cow to join the crowd, it happened that large harems were formed at favorite landing places which grew constantly in numbers, though the shore front on either side remained for the time being entirely wanting in cows. On all the massed rookery portions this became the regular method of development. MASSED ROOKERY FORMATION. The large mass of breeding seals on Tolstoi sand flat* was originally a single harem, which in the course of time numbered upwards of a hundred cows in charge of a single bull. So long as the cows lay quietly resting before and after the birth of their pups the single bull was able to control them all. But in time the task became too great, and when the cows began to come in heat in numbers, lie soon lost control of them. The idle bulls about him entered the circle. He was unable to exclude them, and in time a large number of bulls controlled the mass in common, apparently without clearly defined harems. With the podding and scattering of the pups and the influx of new cows, the seals became spread out over larger areas, and new bulls were taken into the circle until the farthest limit of expansion was reached. What was true for Tolstoi was true also for the great breeding masses on the other large rookeries. tinder Hutchinson Hill, the great mass occupying this space See plate opposite p. 40. Photograph by Chichester. A HAREM IN AUGUST ON GORBATCH ROOKERY, SAINT PAUL ISLAND, SHOWING BULL, COWS, AND PUPS. . •aalsagam Aq gclim2owid A PORTION OF NORTH ROOKERY, SAINT GEORGE ISLAND, JULY 10, 1897, SHOWING THE BEST TYPE OF ROOKERY GROUND. -0 O O O O co H C) I O O n1 DJ H C cn I — 0 i s, 0 M > X cn 0 8 -0 z 0 O I co )› I H I m 0 O -n 0 2 C H C) -71 r f A VIEW OF TOLSTOI ROOKERY, SAINT PAUL ISLAN SHOWING THE SEALS MASSED UPON THE SAND PLAT AND BOWLDER BEACH. THE HEIGHT OF THE SEASON. 53 was, on June 28, represented by four of these monster harems located at intervals along the shore and projecting but slightly above the bowlder beach. They were then on the point of breaking, and already around the edges were numbers of small harems of one or two cows which had plainly been stolen from the larger mass. In the course of a few days thereafter the disintegration of these abnormal harems began, and they became broken up into numerous smaller families under hitherto idle bulls. The seals later became spread back over the entire flat. A similar course of development marked the formation of all the large masses on Reef rookery. Where the rookeries occupied the narrow bowlder beach, as on Kitovi and Lukanin, Lagoon or Gorbatch, the distribution of the harems was more regular, and when the period of scattering and fusion came, they were united in a more or less even band throughout the entire length of the rookery. DAILY ROOKERY COUNTS. 'With a view of determining the relative condition of the rookeries from day to day, daily counts were begun on Lukanin and Kitovi rookeries with the first arrival of cows and were kept up throughout the season, or from June 12 to July 31. A part of the record of these counts has already been given to illustrate the arrival of the cows. The full record will be found in Appendix I. The following is a synopsis of the count on a part of Kitovi rookery known as the Amphitheater: Synopsis of Kitovi rookery, 1897. 1>a te. , Cows present. June 14 2 21. 9 26 76 29 168 July 1 246 5 499 15 703 20 429 375 THE HEIGHT OF THE SEASON. These counts show that the population of breeding cows gradually increases from the beginning of the season, about June 10, until a climax is reached about the middle of July. It then decreases until at the close of the breeding season, about August 1, it numbers about one-half the maximum population present at any one time, or about one-fourth of the actual rookery population. There is a temporary fluctuation during the first ten days of August, while the virgin 2-year-old cows are present on the rookeries. For the rest of the season the adult population remains at about the point reached at the end of July, probably varying more or less from day to day according to the condition of the weather. It bad until 1896 been currently believed that at time period known as the "height of the season," say from July 10 to 20, rookery conditions were fixed and all or practically all the breeding animals present. The counting of pups in August in 1896 first dispelled this error, by showing that the pups outnumbered two to one the breeding females counted in the height of the season. 54 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. FLUCTUATIONS OF POPULATION. The daily counts of the breeding season of 1897 may here again be cited to give an idea of the real condition of the rookeries at their maximum. The following figures are for that part of Kitovi rookery called the Amphitheater, which contained, according to the count of pups made on August 3, about 1,245 breeding females for the season: Amphitheater of Kitori. Cows Date. present. July 10 660 11 703 12 13 634 14 556 15 703 16. 678 17 698 18 566 19 556 20 429 Such is the height of the season. The actual count shows a difference of 6 per cent between its beginning and its maximum and a difference of 38 per cent between the maximum and its close, while between two individual days of the period there is as great a difference as 20 per cent. INCREASE OF FAMILIES. Nor is the fluctuation in individuals all that is to be noted in this consideration of the height of the season. The following count of harems on this same breeding ground shows equally important results: Amphitheater of Kitori, 1897. Date. Harems. June 14 1 20 3 30. 10 July 8 35 13 46 25 53 It is thus apparent that during this time of supposed rookery stability the number of harems underwent quite as marked a change as did the number of individual animals composing them. The daily observations of this breeding ground and frequent photographs of its area show, moreover, that the extent of ground occupied grew steadily from day to day. WHAT THE HEIGHT OF THE SEASON MEANS. What the height of the breeding season really means, therefore, is a time in rookery development when the stream of incoming cows about equals the stream of outgoing ones. It is the time when the greatest number of cows are actually present at one time. It marks the maximum of rookery development, which probably covers FEEDING OF THE FUR SEALS. 55 no more than a single day. In observing the rookeries the eye can not adjust itself readily to the change, and the result is that the period seems to comprehend several days. From about the 10th or 12th of June onward new cows are constantly arriving on the rookeries. About ten or twelve days after her arrival each cow goes away to feed for the first time. The first arrivals and first departures therefore run roughly in parallel lines. A disturbing element is brought in by the return of cows from feeding and their subsequent departure and return at intervals. All these various elements result in a period of apparent equilibrium at about the 15th of July, which is the height of the season. THE PERIOD CURRENTLY MISUNDERSTOOD. That this period of rookery development should have been misunderstood is not strange, since the matter was never before tested by mathematical standards. Events in rookery life, though recurring by the thousands, are difficult of observation. Their very multitude distracts the observer. In the summer of 1897, at the maximum period of rookery life, when thousands of pups were being born, the closest observations, extending at times through nine hours a day, failed to disclose the actual birth of more than a dozen pups. Tinder this same close scrutiny it was a week after the first landing of cows before one could be discovered in the act, and a much longer period elapsed before the departure of one could be observed. General observations of the rookeries have therefore only relative value unless they are checked by figures. They can be trusted to show large results, but can not be relied upon to indicate normal changes. To get definite results, exact enumerations and minute observations are necessary. THE BIRTH OF THE PUP. Within a period of from six to forty-eight hours after her arrival the cow gives birth to her pup. After a further period of five to six days she comes in heat and is served by the bull. Five to six more days pass, during which time the pup grows rapidly and becomes able to take care of itself; then the mother goes to sea to bathe and feed. Her first return is possibly within three or four days. Of her subsequent returns no record has been possible, but from the gradual decrease in the number of cows present after the height of the season is reached, it must be inferred that the time of absence lengthens as the pup grows older and is able to remain longer without food. As the cow does not leave the harem until after impregnation it necessarily follows that adult cows whenever found at sea are pregnant. THE FEEDING OF THE COWS. When the cows first enter the water after their long rest on the shore they exhibit every evidence of genuine satisfaction and pleasure. They do not at once swim away, but play about, rolling over and over in the water, scratching and rubbing themselves with their flippers, getting thoroughly cleaned from the filth of the rookeries. This done, the animals swim away to the feeding grounds. SWIMMING SEALS. During the breeding season a baud of sleeping, playing, or swimming seals skirts each rookery front. Some are plainly bachelors, but most are cows. This 56 TlIE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. band of seals evidently represents the animals preparing to depart and those just arriving. No one ever sees a seal landing directly from the sea; and one seldom sees a seal leave the rookery to go directly out to sea, though at a distance from land, as on our trips to Otter Island, numbers of the animals were seen going rapidly out to sea and coming in in the same direct manner. The incoming seal doubtless quietly joins the outer edge of the group of swimming seals, becoming one of them in their motions and pastimes, gradually working to the shore when ready to go on the rookery. The departing seal, in like manner, evidently takes its place among the swimming seals and when ready slips away from them on the outer side. The tendency on the part of the seal on first going into ..the water to loiter and enjoy a bath accounts for the delay of the departing seals; but in case of the arriving seal something more definite must keep the tired animal, eager for her hungry pup, from landing at -once. The reason for this seems to lie in the feeding habits of the animals. The bachelors, as has long been noted, are never found with food in their stomachs, whether taken on first landing in the spring or later in the season. It has been erroneously supposed on this account that they fasted more or less throughout the season. In the summer of 1896, however, a large number of cows were either directly killed or examined after accidental death and their stomachs also found to be devoid of food. Even the stomach of a cow dead from choking on a fish bone was empty. The cows are, of course, absolutely known to feed. THE SEAL DIGESTS ITS FOOD IN THE WATER. It seems necessary, therefore, to find some more rational explanation for the absence of food in the stomachs of animals taken on land. This explanation seems to be that digestion with the fur seal is completed in the water, and that if not so completed before it reaches land, the animal loiters offshore until it is accomplished. This explanation accounts for the empty stomachs of bachelors as well as cows. It also explains the reason why the cows do not come directly on shore from the sea. The fact that digestion is thus accomplished at sea also accounts for the relatively small amount of excrement to be seen on the rookeries compared with the number of animals. It is voided at sea. THE EVIDENCE OF THE PUPS. In the investigations regarding the feeding of pups carried on during the fall of 1896 some additional light was thrown on this subject. Where the animals were killed while swimming or sleeping in the water, they were found almost without exception to be well filled with milk. Where they were killed on the rookeries, they were as a rule empty or had little milk. The conclusion seems warranted that the little fellows, after learning to swim well, spend most of their time in the water after feeding and come on shore when hungry to await the return of their mothers. That their presence in the water was connected with the digestion of their food was borne out by the fact that in October, when hundreds of pups were playing and sleeping just oil-shore from the sand beaches of Zoltoi, Lukanin, and English Bay, the sands were strewn with pup excrement washed up by the receding tide, together with the shells and pebbles. ATTITUDES OF FUR SEALS from nature by Bristow Adams. THE FUR-SEAL HAREM. 57 THE FASTING OF THE SEALS. Tt is of course known that the fur seals are probably capable of abstaining from food for greater or less periods. Thus the cows evidently do not leave the rookeries on their first landing within ten to twelve days. Whether such periods of abstinence from food are regular or not, we do not know; but that the bachelors and cows do not fast for any considerable part of the summer is plain, if for no other reason, from the fact that they maintain a uniform condition throughout the season, always showing a plentiful supply of blubber, but appearing in no better condition at one time than another. The bulls, on the other hand, which do undoubtedly fast, on coming ashore in the early spring are loaded down with blubber, which is gradually absorbed, leaving the animal thin and greatly reduced by the time the breeding season is over. There is abundant reason why the bulls should fast, for it would be impossible for them to leave their places, and nature has made provision for their necessities. A similar provision seems to be made for the period of fasting which the newly weaned pup must probably endure after going to sea on the winter migration, before it has become proficient in the new art of fishing. During the months of October and November, and up to the time of their departure, the pups grow excessively fat. THE HAREM. The unit of life on the rookeries is the harem. The rookeries themselves are merely great bands or masses of harems grouped together along suitable beaches. The average size of a harem, as found from the enumerations of 1896 and 1897, is about thirty females to a single bull. The minimum and maximum limits range from a single cow to 150. The single cow harems are formed generally in proximity to large harems, and are as a rule the result of stealing on the part of idle bulls. Such bulls, when the harem master's attention is taken from his charges, rush in, seize and carry off cows bodily. It is rarely that such pirate harems can be made to exceed a single cow, as the animal must be held against her will, and in the effort to secure a second the first one usually escapes. Sometimes, however, through the voluntary desertion of cows from the large harems, it happens that these small harems rival the original ones in size and are again subject to pillage by other idle bulls still further in the rear. These small harems are found chiefly in the rear of and on the flanks of the large breeding masses, such as on Tolstoi, Reef, and Vostochni. LARGE HAREMS. The excessively large harems are the result of accident or favorableness of location rather than strength or prowess in the bulls. They are to be found in isolated stations and where peculiar angles and turns of the breeding ground hem them in. Thus on Gorbatch rookery a large bull held in his charge a group of 150 cows for a week or ten days.* When allowance is made for absentees, this harem must have numbered between 200 and 300 cows. Behind this bull and his family were a score of idle bulls lying about on the cinder slope. The secret of his success lay simply in the fact that the harem occupied a triangular piece of ground bounded on two sides by precipitous cliffs, and it was only necessary for the bull to guard the neck of land *Daily Journal, Pt. IT, under date of July 15, 1897. 58 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. connecting with the slope. He, however, held the cows only during that period when they are quiet and resting after the birth of their pups. When the animals became restless and demanded attention in numbers, the large mass was presently broken up into a number of smaller harems in charge of the rival bulls, which could no longer be held in check. HAREM SIZES. But such large harems were exceptional, though harems numbering 50 cows were not so rare where the conditions were favorable. The following is a section of Kitovi rookery, counted by individual harems, which will give an idea of the diversity in their size: A portion of Kitori rookery, July 13, 1896. 25 85 14 30 8 25 60 30 3 4 7 10 18 2 11 24 21 2 12 10 1 17 13 30 1 10 3 1 2 12 3 35 72 16 30 3 4 25 6 2 55 25 2 45 21 7 12 11 20 7 18 9 36 6 1 51 16 58 25 6 60 24 3 30 19 14 1 1 12 20 1 24 5 20 25 12 15 21 9 2 17 4 15 20 25 14 9 20 3 1 10 15 2 24 7 2 2 40 5 50 10 10 4 3 2 40 35 3 4 HAREM DISCIPLINE. In the management of the harem the bull is an adept. Whether he has five cows or fifty, he is master of the situation. his will is law. Not that it is always tamely accepted as such, but the result is the same. If a cow becomes restless and moves about, a warning growl usually quiets her. If the movement is persisted in and an attempt to escape evident, the bull is up at once with a show of fierceness and in chase. He may simply strike the cow down with his open mouth. Often in doing so his sharp canines tear a gash in her skin. He may even seize her in his mouth and deliberately throw her or carry her back into the harem. If the cow thinks she has a chance to get away, she may try to outrun the bull. If she. miscalculates the distance, he seizes her by the skin of the back and restores her, sometimes in a torn and bleeding condition, to the family circle. As a rule, however, the cow avoids this seizure by turning and facing the bull, biting him in the breast and neck. The bull then, by gradually pushing her before him, forces her back into the fold. THE DEPARTURE OF THE COWS. These persistent efforts to get away are made by the cows who are ready to leave for the water. The cows are not allowed to go until they are served. The bull's actions seem to be based upon a desire to be absolutely sure and to take no chances. The cow, when forced against her will to stay, bides her time, and when the bull is asleep she slips away unmolested. It frequently happens that she has to run the gauntlet of a band of young bulls which are stationed along the water front and are always ready to intercept the departing cow. The cow shows much skill and shrewdness in outwitting them. Once in the water her superior quickness enables her to DISCIPLINE OF THE BEACH MASTERS. 59 outswim her pursuers. In one or two instances a chase of this sort could be traced for a half mile or more out to sea by the dolphin leaps of the animals as they rose above the surface to breathe. These instances were chiefly to be seen late in June, before the band of seals off the rookery front was large enough to furnish protection to the departing cows. METHODS OF DISCIPLINE. In the ordinary discipline of the harem a growl from the bull usually quiets the cows. This growl is also forthcoming when the cows quarrel among themselves, as they frequently do. Sometimes it is necessary for the bull to get up and quiet them by chuckling and scolding over them, apparently in a tone of remonstrance. At times, even when his cows are all asleep, the bull rouses himself up and by encircling his harem and whistling, chuckling, and snarling starts the cows up and crowds them together. No apparent reason for such action can be seen. It seems on the face of it an unnecessary exhibition of authority, which, however, may serve some purpose. Having rounded up his harem, the bull may return to his favorite sleeping spot to resume his nap, or he may pick a quarrel with his neighbor. THE FIGHTING OF THE BULLS. At times the young bulls, in attempting to reach the rear of the rookeries without going around, break through the line of harems. Their entrance into the rookery confines sets everything in an uproar. Each bull into whose domain he comes attacks the intruder and passes him along to the next. Occasionally some over-valiant bull goes too far from his harem. The idle bulls are on the alert and seize the occasion to carry off cows. In very rare instances an idle bull may step in and take the whole harem, whipping out its rightful owner when lie attempts to return. So, over the whole section of the rookery thus stirred up, fighting ensues and confusion reigns. In the height of the breeding season such incidents are of hourly occurrence. THE EARLY FIGHTING OVERESTIMATED. It is in the height of the season, and then alone; that the excessive fighting among the bulls occurs. It has been currently supposed that from the period of the landing of the first bulls they were engaged in defending their positions in bloody battles; that a truce resulting from these first contests for places was gradually established; that this was broken on the arrival of the first cows, when a period of desperate and spasmodic fighting began. Such, however, was not the case in 1897, and has probably never been the case. As the bulls spend the days, after the breeding season is over, in resting and sleeping ill good fellowship on the sand beaches, so they seem to spend the period of waiting, prior to the arrival of the cows, in sleeping and resting. At the time of our landing at St. George, on June 7, it could not be determined from the deck of the vessel, anchored but a few rods off the rookery, whether it was occupied or not. With a glass a few bulls could be seen. On close inspection the beach was found to contain 180 adult bulls evenly distributed over the rookery territory. When disturbed they roused up and roared both at the intruder and at one another; but they soon returned to their sleep. There was no commotion, no excitement. When pressed too closely they gave evidence of willingness to yield their ground. No test of whether they could 60 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. be driven off was deemed advisable. There was no fighting among them at that time nor any apparent inclination to fight voluntarily. That no marked fighting had occurred previous to this time was evident from the fact that but few wounds or fresh scars could be seen upon the animals. In this regard they were in marked contrast to their condition in the middle of the season, when the harem bull or idle bull that did not show gashes about the breast and shoulders was the exception and not the rule. At this early date the bulls not only did not pay any attention to one another, but even allowed the bachelors to occupy places among them and to haul out where they pleased. Later in the season this could not have occurred. A bachelor or young bull then appearing within range of an adult bull was violently attacked. NO FIGHTING OVER ARRIVING COWS. As the description of the arrival of the cows has already indicated, there could be nothing more incorrect than the reported battles over them. To the first arrival of the cow the bulls are utterly indifferent except where she becomes the object of capture by a particular bull. Once in the harems, the cows receive little attention even from their lords after the first brief welcome and absolutely none from other bulls. This was but natural. The landing cows were heavy with young. These must be born and a period of a week elapse before they could become an object of interest to the bull. The attitude of the bull at the outset was one merely of defense or straggle for possession. He was not influenced, as he was later on, by sexual excitement. The real period of struggle and contest on the rookeries occurred after the 1st of July, when the cows began to come in heat in large numbers. From this time on to the close of the season more or less fighting could always be seen. FIGHTING INFLUENCED BY SEXUAL INSTINCT. When the breeding season was over and the bulls had returned to the sand beaches from feeding, their fighting instincts were plainly gone and they could be gathered up and driven about like the bachelors. In securing specimens for dissection or other purposes, two or three men could round up from 400 to 500 bulls on Zoltoi sands and drive them over to the killing grounds. They could be handled and driven exactly as sheep are. In the breeding season a dozen men could not move one of these bulls from his place or make away with him otherwise than by killing him. His courage and fighting qualities are simply boundless in the defense of his harem. He will not interfere with the observer who keeps at a reasonable distance, but when too closely approached lie will charge fiercely and quickly, and the adult bull on the breeding grounds is about as dangerous as a bear. ,Tudging from the way in which they tear one another, a man would fare badly in their clutches. The bull, however, does not follow up his enemy beyond a certain point, and always returns to his real or imaginary harem. This makes escape an easy matter. The chief source of danger in getting about among the bulls is in the possibility of slipping or stumbling on time rocks, or of running into the range of a sleeping animal while escaping from another. One can not always easily distinguish, in the foggy atmosphere of Bering Sea, the idle bulls from the stones among which they lie. That no accidents have occurred to the various investigators from the attacks of bull seals is due to the wholesome caution and respect which their courage and apparent capacity for mischief have inspired. A ROOKERY DISPUTE. Drawn from nature by Bristow Adams. A DEFEATED BEACH MASTER. Drawn from nature by Bristow Adams. _ 7 / • FIGHTING OF THE BEACH MASTERS. 61 MANNER OF FIGHTING. Much of the so-called fighting, especially among the harem bulls, is a species of "bluing" accompanied by a good deal of roaring and blowing, but ending without injury. The signal for such a performance is a challenging roar on the part of some bull and an answering roar from the challenged bull. The two animals approach each other, and when at a certain distance apart, both strike out with that long serpent-like stroke characteristic of the seal. In making the stroke the bulls let themselves down with their breasts on the ground, and, after puffing out their intisky breath, which forms a cloud in the cool, moist air, they right themselves and, standing for a minute with averted heads, return to their places. REAL FIGHTING. These are merely exchanges of friendly greetings between the harem masters. Between the harem masters and the idle bulls, or between individuals of the latter class, the matter is more serious. The same preliminaries are gone through with, but the stroke does not fall short and end in fiasco. The aim is taken for the foreflipper at the angle of the body, and if it is true, a deep red gash is the result. But the animals are expert in averting the attack by throwing the flipper under the body. Failing in reaching the coveted point of attack, a compromise is made, each animal seizing the other by the skin of the shoulder or breast, wherever the hold can be obtained. They then clinch and tug and strain in their efforts each to overturn the other or to push him from his place. The strength of the powerful jaws is such that not infrequently a great gaping rent in the tough hide is the result. if, however, the hold is firm, and one animal is strong enough to push the other, this ends the fight, the one yielding giving it up. If the animals are more evenly matched, after each clinch they return to renew the struggle in a species of rounds, gauged by the endurance of the bulls. They are soon fatigued on land, as they have difficulty in getting breath, and any exertion must be of short duration. That some of these fights are continued until one or the other of the animals dies of exhaustion, is abundantly proved by the bodies of dead bulls found on the rookeries and especially in that territory occupied by the idle bulls. On Zapadni rookery no less than ten of these animals, freshly dead, were seen about the middle of July. The bodies were torn and gashed, but none of the wounds were capable of causing death, which probably resulted directly from exhaustion. THE TREATMENT OF THE COWS. The fights between the harem masters and the idle bulls are at bottom due to the attempts of the latter class to steal the cows. When an idle bull steals a cow, he is usually attacked by her master. Sometimes he drops the cow, which returns to the harem while the bulls settle the account. It sometimes happens, however, that the master or perhaps a third bull seizes the cow and she is pulled about until one or the other hold loosens. Doubtless a certain number of cows are literally torn to pieces in this way. One was seen on Kitovi rookery to lie limp and insensible for five minutes after being thus treated. She afterwards crawled away, evidently seriously hurt. That the number of cows killed by the bulls in their struggles or by the rough treatment of the harem masters is considerable is shown by the fact that 62 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. no less than 42 dead cows were found in the season of 1897 on Reef rookery, the majority of which were so torn and mangled as to point to the harsh treatment of the bulls as the probable cause. Other cows were found dead from similar cause on all the rookeries. In 1896 131, all told, were thus counted. The bulls are anything but gentle with the cows. Examples of their rough treatment can at any time be seen on the rookeries. Living cows, cut and slashed and torn, are everywhere visible. In most cases the injury is due probably to accident rather than intention. In one case, however, on Lukanin rookery during the summer of 1897, a bull simply bit and worried a stolen cow until he killed her. When first seen she was considerably torn, having been stolen from a neighboring harem by her master, an idle bull. She was restless and kept making constant efforts to escape. The bull treated her roughly, but while observed was not seen to injure her seriously. At every time the rookery was subsequently inspected, however, she was found to be in worse condition, until after two days she was found dead. The bloody jaws and front of her master showed plainly who was responsible. The body was recovered and the skin taken and tanned as a specimen of the wanton cruelty of the bull. THE WOUNDS OF THE FUR SEAL. The attitude of the fur seals toward their wounds is striking. There is no attempt to nurse, lick, or otherwise notice them. A bull, whose foretlipper is hacked and bleeding, his every movement lacerating still further the injured muscles, may be seen rushing about, rounding up his harem, bidding defiance to every idle bull within reach. A cow may be seen going about with a flap of skin 6 inches square torn from her back. A pup was seen from whose side the skin and blubber was torn and hanging in a flap, leaving the intestines bare, and it was still a lively and apparently cheerful pup. A bull in attempting to carry off a cow from a harem was attacked by the owner of the cow. Instead of dropping her and defending himself he clung to her and took his punishment, struggling on. The harem master seized him by the exposed flank, and when he released his hold, after almost overturning the bull, the blood gushed out from the holes made by his ugly canines. The thief escaped with the cow and added her to his small harem of two. In his self-satisfied perambulations about his family group lie soon made a space of about 10 feet square crimson with his blood. The next day the bull was just as pugnacious as ever, and even made an attempt to steal a fourth cow. His wounds, of which he had many, were a source of no apparent annoyance to him. The thick coating of blubber under the skin with which the seals of all classes are lined is doubtless not very sensitive, and this, not the muscles, is torn and lacerated. The climatic conditions, the salt water, and the absence of flies render the healing of the wounds rapid, and by the middle of August but few traces remain, except the welt or scar in the skin which at times results from imperfect healing. The wound which so many bulls receive at the angle of the foretlipper is usually kept gaping open to such an extent by the movements of the animals that a perpetual scar remains. THE INSTINCT FOR FIGHTING. The fighting among the bulls has evidently been a feature of the breeding grounds so long that it has become aim instinct with the males. On every hauling ground the bachelors of all ages are constantly going through in play the movements of their  a: 1 (i) I— cc o o 0 >cc w O O cc Q AN ABDUCTED COW. Drawn from nature by Bristi r THE SKIN OF A COW TORN AND BITTEN TO DEATH BY HER BULL ON LUKANIN ROOKERY, SAINT PAUL ISLAND, JULY, 1897. SLEEP OF THE FUR SEALS. 63 elders. By twos they are striking for the foretlipper or dodging the blow, bracing and pushing and struggling with each other. They pant and strain, rest for a time, and then resume the contest. This same thing is true of the little pups. As soon as they are able to play at anything it is bull fighting. The little black head of the 2-weeks-old pup strikes out for his neighbor's foreflipper, which involuntarily tucks itself under the body, and the little yellow teeth close on the fur of the neck and pull and tug until their owner has put to rout its antagonist or been routed. In each case, while it is plainly play, it is such dreadfully earnest play that one can only distinguish it from the fighting of the bulls by its-results. THE NOISE OF THE ROOKERIES. To appreciate fully this picture of the animated life of the fur-seal rookery one must take into account the medley of sound that accompanies it. The bulls are giving vent at intervals to their savage roars of defiance. In their more subdued efforts to maintain discipline in the harem they are constantly whistling, chuckling, and scolding in various notes. Mingled with all this is the shrill bleat of the female and the answering call of the pup, which correspond to the voice of the sheep and the lamb, though greater in volume. When it is understood that thousands of these animals are calling and answering all the time, some idea of the uproar and confusion incident to rookery life is possible. Nor is the din and noise peculiar to the day. It can be beard at all hours of the night; in fact, the activity is, if anything, greater at that time. THE SLEEPING OF THE SEALS. In the early days of the breeding season all the animals sleep much of the time. The cows, as they come in from their long journey, spend most of the first ten days they are constantly on land in sleeping. It is with the height of the season, when the cows are landing in large numbers from their trips to the feeding grounds, that the noise and confusion becomes so marked. But even then through it all a large proportion of the animals are comfortably asleep. A harem may be seen in which, for the time being, every animal from the old bull down to the pups is sound asleep. Beside it may be a harem which is all confusion, every animal up and stirring, and most of them calling. Still another harem has part of its occupants awake and active, the rest asleep. On the hauling grounds, among the pups and among the idle bulls, it is the same. The seals sleep very soundly at certain times. In counting the live pups it frequently happened that a pod of 50 or 100 pups would be driven over a space on which a half dozen or more pups slept undisturbed by the shuffling feet of their companions. To the seal's habit of sleeping soundly in the water the success of pelagic sealing is largely due. The pelagic sealer, taking advantage of the habit, is able to row close up to the sleeping animal and throw his spear into it or fill it with buckshot. The attitude of the seal thus sleeping in the water is interesting. It lies on its back in a bowed position, the nose ,just peering above the surface, and, it is said. always to the leeward. The hind flippers are raised aloft as a windbreak to keep the animal in this definite position. In this attitude the seal can apparently sleep with 64 THE FUEL SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. the greatest comfort, rocked by the gentle swell. Iii such calm days as occur during the months of September and October the water off the rookery fronts and sand beaches is literally black with the swimming and sleeping pups. Occasionally older seals at this time, and more frequently earlier in the season, are to be seen in the same position. THEIR ATTITUDES. An interesting feature about the fur seal in its naps on the rookery is the variety of attitudes which it assumes. The sleeping animals assume every conceivable shape and position. One animal is stretched out at full length on its back, another on its side, still another on its stomach. Again, the hind flippers may be tucked up under the body, the foreilippers outstretched. These conditions may be exactly reversed. Or the hind flippers may be waving lazily in the air like a fan. On a day when the sun shines for a few minutes the seal lies prone upon the ground with its flippers in the air. The sight of thousands upon thousands of the animals thus stretched out, almost gasping for breath and with every hind flipper waving in the effort to keep cool, is a most interesting one. The seals enjoy the rocks. They do not care for a smooth and even bed. The body has a wonderful power of adaptation to its rocky bed of water-worn bowlders. One cow finds a flat rock ou which she curls up and lets her head hang over the side at a most reckless angle. Another lies with her head elevated upon a rock, as though on a pillow. A favorite position among the animals is to sleep sitting up with the head thrown back and the body wavering with the respirations as if it would fall. On rookeries where perpendicular cliffs form the back ground the animals are to be found stowed away on little shelves and in little angles where it is a wonder they can keep their positions at all. THE COLORATION. There is more or less diversity in the coloiation of the various animals, which lends interest to the picture of rookery life. The little pups are at birth shiny black with a white spot in the aril. Some of them show a brownish shade along the throat and belly. In September they shed their black coats and don coats of gray, which, under the action of the weather, soon change into the brownish or combination brown and silvery color of the adults. On her first landing the adult female is dark, slightly olivaceous, gray. Under exposure to the weather, and especially the sunshine, she turns to a rusty reddish brown, somewhat darker on the back, lighter on the throat and belly. The great uniformity of this coloration, as seen among the cows during June of 1897 before they had begun to go to sea, confirms the belief that these darker colors, as a rule, go with the older animals. About the middle of July, the time at which the younger bachelors begin to appear in greatest number, the rookeries also show large numbers of animals which in their silvery throats and bellies contrast sharply with the animals already present. Their backs present the same dark-brown shade, but the silvery gray underneath the body is entirely different. Their small size, the black whiskers, and the lateness of their arrival proclaim them to be younger animals. But not all the younger animals are of this sort, as two virgin females killed side by side were each of a distinct type THE FUR OF THE FUR SEAL. of coloration. This makes it possible only to say that the older seals are more uniform and darker in color, while among the younger seals there is more diversity. It seems likely that the lighter colors in the young seals correspond to the brownish bellied black pups. Among the bachelors the colors seem more uniform, though the younger males show again a preponderance of the lighter shades. The greatest diversity exists among the bulls. Among the harem masters there are two general types, one almost black, the other reddish-brown. Both styles of coloration are associated with the older animals, but which is the older of the two is not apparent. The younger bulls are, as a rule, gray. But these three are only general types. There is the greatest individual variation among the bulls of all classes, and almost any combination of shades or mingling of shades can be found. Much of the individual variation is due to the length of time the animals have been out of the water; in other words, to the influence of exposure. In the water and when wet there is butt little difference in the coloration. In rainy weather the animals are all of one shade. THE PELAGE. The diversity of color in the fur seal is confined chiefly to the outer or water hairs, which project beyond the fur. The fur itself is fairly uniform. In the pups the water hair is glossy black at birth and is replaced in two to three months by hair of gray. In the females the water hair is more or less uniform in length, and the same is true of the males until after the third year. From this time on the hair on the neck of the male becomes longer and coarser, developing with the growth of the bull into stiff bristles, constituting the mane, or "wig," as it is called. Beneath this water hair is the short, thick fur of the seal. In the preparation of the seal skins these hairs are carefully removed, leaving only the short, thick fur. It has been asserted that the pup is born without fur, having only the black hair, and that it does not attain its full pelage until the second year. This is not the case. The pup at birth has short fuzzy fur, which grows rapidly, and is of considerable length when the animal begins to swim. By the time it is ready for the sea in the fall its fur differs in length and thickness from that of the older seals only as time size of the animal varies. THE STAGY SEAS()N. Between the middle of August and the middle of October the adult animals shed their hair and get a new coat. During this season the skins of the seals are said to be stagy, and they are not taken on land. The fact, however, that one of the most important catches at sea is taken in August and September has led to some confusion. It has been held by those interested that no stagy seals were found at sea, and from this, by inference at least, it has been suggested that these animals are, for some reason, a different class. In his report for 1896, the Canadian commissioner, Mr. Andrew IIalkett, quotes the statements of a large number of sealers to the effect that they had never known a stagy seal at sea and had seen very few in poor condition as to fur. Mr. Halkett expresses his own opinion as follows: I have simply to say that nothing resembling a seal in poor condition, eit1a as to hair or fur, was seen by me, although some 800 passed through my hands. 15184 5 66 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. He adds the remark: I have no difficulty to decide as to a bird in a molting condition or in full breeding plumage, or a mammal when casting its hair, so that I cannot understand why it should be so difficult to tell a stagy seal. The trouble here arises from a misunderstanding of what is meant by "staginess." It does not designate any marked difference in quantity of the fur. It has chiefly to do with the condition of the water hair. During the months of August, September, and October the water hairs are gradually replaced by a new growth, While this new hair is growing and before it has attained its full length it sticks tightly, and is very difficult to remove in unhairing the skin in the process of dressing.' The practical impossibility of removing all the short hairs depreciates the value of the skins. When the seals are taken on the islands in June and July the skins are approaching the time when these hairs are ready to fall out, and they are consequently more easily removed. As a large part of the value of the skin is the result of the labor put upon it in preparation, anything which tends to increase this labor decreases the value of the pelt in the raw state. To the eye of the casual or untrained observer the skin of the seal taken in August or September does not show staginess. If the fur is parted, however, the short hair can be seen among the fur and hidden by it. Under these conditions it is not strange that sealers and others do not recognize the seals as stagy. Staginess is a condition fully recognized and appreciated only by the furrier. In deference to his wishes, the seals on the islands are not taken while they are in this condition. As a result, for this reason among others, the island catch is regarded as superior to the catch taken at sea. The pelagic sealer does not respect the stagy season, and declares that he takes no stagy seals, but the price he obtains for his skins clearly indicates that the furrier does not agree with him. THE ARRIVAL OF THE Y ()UNGER SEALS. There remains yet to be recorded the arrival of the young 1 and 2 year old females. Their brothers, we found, arrive at the islands about the middle of July and spend their time on the hauling grounds. Whether the young females come with them to the vicinity of the islands or are associated with them on the migrations is not known. But they do not associate with them to any great extent on the islands. The 2-year-olds come to the rookeries about the first of August. They take up their places in the old harems or in new and temporary ones in charge of young bulls on the water front and in the rear of the regular breeding grounds. Here they are served by the bulls and return to the water. 1 The difficulties in the way of treating stagy skins are well put in the following extract from a letter by Mr. Isaac Liebes, of the firm of II. Liebes & Co., furriers, of San Francisco, Cal. : "The short or water hair (in stagy skins) can never be entirely removed, and in attempting to do so a great deal of the wool is pulled out with the hair, which of course deteriorates the quality. Then again, the stumps of the hair being left in the leather (as they cannot be pulled out, but are cut off), makes the pelt stiff and harsh, so that after it is prepared the stagy skin can be clearly indicated by the color and texture of the leather. The water hairs can never be removed from the thin sides of the animal, where the fur is shorter than in the back, and in the process of machining, which these skins undergo, the wool is separated so as to expose the stiff hairs, which are then cut out, but the sides, being so short in fur, the machine cannot successfully separate the hair from the wool." CLOSE OF THE BREEDING SEASON. 67 The yearling females doubtless come to the islands in company with the 2-year olds, but do not put in au appearance on the rookeries much before September, at the time when the pups of the year are able to swim well and begin to make their first excursions about the islands. For the rest of the season these young seals spend their time playing among the pups and ranging like privileged characters over the rookeries. That they do not, as has been supposed, frequent the hauling grounds with the males is doubtless due to the fact that these would annoy them, for the instinct of rounding up a harem and lording it over others is early developed in the young male. A young yearling male may frequently be seen rounding up a pod of sleeping or resting pups with all the gusto of an adult. The pups themselves not infrequently attempt the same thing with their fellows. THE BREAKING UP OF THE BREEDING SEASON. As has already been said, about the 25th of July the old harem bulls, that have fasted since the first of May, begin to leave and seek the feeding grounds. As they withdraw, their places are taken by the idle bulls. This class of males does not locate definitely on the breeding grounds much before the arrival of the cows. They have, therefore, fasted a shorter period and are able to remain out the season. By the 5th to the 10th of August all the able-bodied adult bulls have gone, and the younger bulls, together with the bachelors, flock over the breeding grounds. The bachelors have, during the breeding season, been strictly excluded from the rookeries, but with the departure of the bulls they take advantage of their new freedom, and mingling with the cows and pups, they round up mimic harems and make themselves generally at home. In a few weeks, however, the novelty of the situation wears off, and the bachelors return to their favorite lounging places on the sand beaches. THE CONDITION OF THE BULLS. Much has been said of the wasted and broken condition of the harem masters as they leave the islands after their long fast. It is true that they become reduced in condition from their earlier state, but they are by no means so reduced or broken in spirit as they are reported. During the season of 1897, in counting the pups on the several rookeries it was necessary to enter them late in July or early in August and turn off the adults into the water. These so-called weak and emaciated bulls were found not only able but willing to fight us or one another to the last. In many cases they could not be moved at all any more than in the height of the season. This was at a time when these animals must many of them have been without food or water for at least two months. Our experience taught us that so long as an adult bull is on the breeding ground there is fight and courage enough in him to make him master of the situation; it is when the breeding season is over and he has removed to the sand beaches that he becomes tame and tractable. The harem bulls on their first departure seek the feeding grounds and by the first of September return, some of them to their former places on the rookeries, where they plainly show their rejuvenation by their renewed combativeness, and also by their efforts to round up and monopolize such cows as still remain about. Most of them, however, haul out on the great beaches along North Shore, English Bay, and Lukanin, to sleep during the rest of the season, going to and coming from the feeding grounds as they feel like it. 68 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THE FOOD AND FEEDING GIMUNDS. The feeding grounds of the fur seals in Bering Sea lie to the south and west of the Pribilof Islands, just oft the 100-fathom curve, at a distance of from 100 to 200 miles. In the migrations the seals seem to follow in a general way this same curve The food taken by the seals in Bering Sea consists mainly of squid, pollock, and a small smelt-like fish known only through the bones found in time stomachs of the seals. On the migrations along the coast squid is again the chief diet, though occasional salmon, herring, and rockfish are taken. This subject is more fully treated by Mr. Lucas in Part III. THE AGE OF THE SEALS. Of the age of the fur seals we know practically nothing, but one striking thing about the fur-seal rookeries is the absence of any animals which seem to be aged or decrepit. On certain sand beaches and out-of-the-way places animals in poor condition were seen, which at first glance seemed to correspond to the class of aged and infirm among other animals, but on dissection they were found without exception to show- injuries which fully accounted for their condition. Some had dislocated joints, broken bones, injuries to the spine, buckshot wounds, and like troubles. None were suffering from old age. Nor is this a thing to be wondered at. 'Tice severest strain which the fur seal undergoes is the winter migration in Bering Sea and the North Pacific. An animal weak or broken down from old age or injuries of one sort or another would succumb first to the hardships of the sea and would not return. To the breeding rookeries and hauling grounds are returned each spring only those animals which have possessed the hardihood and strength to survive the adverse conditions of the winter. These may be relied upon, unless overcome by accidents, to maintain themselves during the summer, to be again sifted out in the struggle for existence which the ensuing winter renews. THE VIII-SEAL PUP. Of all the different classes of animals the pups are the most conspicuous and interesting. For the first two months of their lives they are always present on the rookeries where they are born. Their black coats contrast sharply with the gray stones and with the brown fur of their mothers. For a few days after the pup is born it is watched over by the mother with a moderate show of interest, which manifests itself chiefly in supplying it with nourishment and keeping it out of the way of time clumsy bull. But before long the little fellow grows independent and leaves the lhmily circle, seeking the lee of a sheltering rock at a distance from the harems. There it spends its time sleeping and playing with its companions. Whether this " podding" of the pups is a matter of choice or the outgrowth of the instinct of self-preservation, the result is good, for it keeps time little fellows out of the way of the fighting and trampling bulls. From the time when the pup joins the pod it receives no attention from the mother except on her return from the sea, when she feeds it. Her absences are at first brief; but as the pup grows older they lengthen out. The pup gorges itself with milk while the mother is on land and goes hungry until her return. THE SWIMMING PUPS. 69 When it is about a month old the pup seeks the water's edge, and after paddling about for a time in the tide pools gradually learns to swim. This art, in which it becomes wonderfully expert, it finds evident difficulty in acquiring. THE SWIMMING OF THE PUPS. Many accounts have been given of the way in which various classes of animals are supposed to assist the pups in learning to swim. If these have any foundation whatever it arises from a misinterpretation of the fact that the young bachelors, and probably the yearling cows as well, play with and tease the pups in their first attempts to swim. Bachelors were thus often seen to shove the little pups oft` the rocks into the water, or even to attempt to catch and duck them. But the purpose was not to assist the pups. What first starts the pup to the water is not clear, though why any other reason than the mere fart that it must eventually learn to swim and that the water is at hand, should be necessary, is not clear. It may be that the first pups seek the water -fifflowing the example of time departing cows. But, once a single pup has made the experiment, every pup in its section of the rookery soon follows the example. The pup seeks first the secluded and protected tide pools, of which numbers can be found along the rookery fronts. Here it paddles about, gradually seeking the open water, but keeping close to the shore. lts chief difficulty at the outset is to keep its disproportionately large bead above water. In a very short time it becomes perfectly at hone in the water and spends most of the daytime in it. As the pups are accustomed to play on shore, so they play in the water, rolling over and over each other, diving for shells, shaking strips of kelp, pieces of sticks, feathers, or anything that comes to hand, Just as young dogs might. THE ENICI-RSIONS OF THE PUPS. By the middle of September, when the pups have learned to swim well, they suddenly develop a roving spirit and pass back and forth between neighboring rookeries, and there is a continuous band of pups coming and going between them. Thus, such a belt of pups was found in the early part of September to extend from Kitovi rookery past East Landing to Reef rookery, nearly a mile distant. Another followed around the cliffs back of the village connecting Gorbatch with Lagoon. Lagoon was in like manner connected with Tolstoi head, and a band of pups stretched on along time water front of English Bay, uniting Tolstoi and t!e Zapadnis. At certain points intermediate between these terminals, the pups hauled out in groups of varying sizes and slept on the rocks, apparently remaining there for days and days at a time. But after the pups were branded on Kitovi rookery, observations on a pod of these pups hauled out under Black Bluff showed that while the number in t hese distant places remained nearly constant, the individuals came and went regularly. The pups doubtless returned to the rookery to meet their mothers, timing their visits with her return. Toward the close of the month of September these excursions of the pups ceased as suddenly as they began, and the pups remained about their respective rookeries and in the waters adjacent to them, sleeping on shore when hungry, sleeping and playing in the water when full of milk. 70 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. MORTALITY AMONG THE SEALS.1 On the rookeries but a slight mortality occurs among the adult seals. A few of the cows are killed in various ways, chiefly in the struggles of the bulls for their possession. A total of 131 of these dead cows was found on the rookeries of the two islands last year. A score or more of bulls were found dead at the same time, evidently as a result of contests with one another. But this loss in a herd of nearly 160,000 adult animals is insignificant. DEATH OF PUPS. Among the pups the mortality is more striking. The average fur-seal pup after it is a few weeks old is not an easy animal to kill or injure. In our experience we have seen them stand hard knocks and even come from under the feet of the bulls uninjured. We have seen them tumble off and go bounding down the cliffs like rubber balls without apparent injury. But when the little pup is only a few days old it is a very different matter. In the rushes of the clumsy bull in his efforts to defend or discipline his harem a certain number of the little fellows are crushed to death before they are old enough to get away and pod by themselves. THE PARASITE UNCINARIA. In our investigations of the subject of mortality among the pups in 1896, which were begun late, we assumed that the chief cause of death among the 11,000 pups counted before the middle of August was the trampling of the fighting bulls. The more thorough investigations of 1897, however, prove this an error. The principal cause of death was found to be a small parasitic worm of the genus Uncinaria, which infests sandy areas where the seals are crowded and the ground has become filthy. The embryos of the worm are taken in from the fur of the mother by the nursing pup and develop in the intestines, sucking the blood and causing the pup to die of antemia. It is an infantile disease, and those which do not -die before the middle of August outgrow it and survive. After that time these natural or accidental causes of death have but little effect on the pups, though, as we shall see later on, another and more serious cause of death presently begins, namely, the starvation of the young due to the loss of the mother at sea. For this man is solely responsible. THE COUNT OF EARLY DEAD PUPS IN 1896. This early mortality among the pups was made the object of a careful enumeration in 1896. A full record of the count by rookeries will be found in the statistical appendix to this report. The following counts of the "death traps" where the injury of the worm was greatest will give some idea of its destructive effects: Record of pups, 1896. —11 Pups born. Pups de; (August). Rookery. Tolstoi (main, including sand tlat) 11, 775 1.495 Zapadni 17, 648 3, 095 Reef 15, 258 950 Gorbatch 9,142 712 This subject is more ft ly treated in a special paper by Mr. Lucas in Part III. DEAD PUPS ON TOLSTUI IN From a photograph taken by the British ( •puasumoy Aq qdt/a2oqoqa A PORTION OF THE SAND PLAT OF THE TOLSTOI ROOKERY IN AUGUST, SHOWING PUPS DEAD FROM THE ATTACKS OF THE WORM Uncinaria. ENEMIES OF THE FUR SEAL. 71 On the island of St. George a complete census of the dead pups for both seasons was made. This will illustrate the relative death rate on typical rookery ground from more or less accidental causes. The worm is practically absent from the rookeries of St. George, which are all located on bowlder beaches. On these rookeries there were born in 1896 about 19,000 pups; in 1897, 16,000. The following is the count of dead pups by rookeries: Comparative counts of dead pups, St. George. Rookery. 1896. 1897. North 259 244 Little East 31 34 East 112 93 Zapatlni 199 112 Staraya Artel 135 75 Total 736 558 THE DEPARTURE OF THE SEALS. At the first approach of winter, usually in November, the cows and pups go away together. The pups are doubtless weaned at this time, as they nurse and subsist solely on their mothers' milk until the time of their departure. Following the example of their elders, they doubtless soon learn to subsist on fish. They have a hard time of it the first season by reason of the difficulty of securing food and because of 'the severity of the winter storms. It is pretty clearly ascertained that only about one-half return the second spring, and that not more than one-third of those born reach the age of 3 years. THE ENEMIES OF THE SEAL. What enemies the seals encounter on their migrations we do not know. Doubtless the greatest cause of destruction among them is the storms of winter, and these affect most strongly the old or injured and the young and inexperienced, which possibly fail to secure the requisite amount of food. Much has been said about the ravages of certain species of sharks. It is not known that any shark preys upon them, in the north at least. The Great Killer (Orca orca) is a known source of loss about the islands. Whether the killers attack them in the open ocean or not is not known, though it is probable that they do not to any great extent. TIIE GREAT KILLER. Killers were seen in schools of from three to seven plying about the islands in the latter part of September, undoubtedly destroying many pups. These big fish swim into the bays, which fairly swarm with seals, old and young, at this time. Their course, as they move along the rookery fronts, is marked by hovering gulls, which alight to pick up the fragments. The seals seem absolutely stupid in presence of the danger. On one occasion after a raid by these killers the carcass of a mangled cow was found washed up on Zoltoi Sands. On another occasion a killer in heavy surf followed the seals into Village Cove and became stranded on the rocks, but another 72 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. heavy roller enabled it to get away before steps could be taken to kill it. One of its mangled victims, a large gray pup, was washed ashore, and an opportunity was thus given for its examination. The killers are reported to visit the islands also in the spring at about the time of the landing of the cows, and a few were seen early in June in the spring of 1897. Whatever may be said of these animals, and the destruction they may cause, their feeding on the fur seals can not be considered as more than incidental, else they would remain about the islands all summer. They probably do not depend upon the seals in any way for food. THE DEPARTURE OF BACHELORS AND BULLS. The bachelors still linger about the islands after the departure of the cows. They are taken for food by the natives all through the month of December and at times far into January. On mild winters they are to be seen about the islands all winter. Thus, in the season of 1896-97, a food drive was made on December 14, and seals were reported on Sivutch Rock on December 30, January 7 and 29, February 6 and 16. Nineteen seals were killed for food on the rock on March 2. But as a rule November closes the stay of the seals on the islands, and, class by class, they set out on their winter migrations. THE SWIMMING OF THE SEALS. The fur seal is wonderfully adapted for its long winter residence in the water. Its movements are as quick and graceful as those of a fish. In swimming it uses the fore flippers only. The hind flippers are held flat together, projecting backward like a rudder, and they may serve the animal in that capacity. There are abrupt cliffs on St. Paul Island from which the motions of the swimming seals can be watched. A stone thrown near a submerged seal causes it to turn about and dart away with lightning speed. So rapid are its movements when thus disturbed that it is impossible to distinguish the motion of the flippers, which are powerful enough in the case of the bull to make the water boil in foam. THE RATE OF TRAVEL. In traveling rapidly the seal alternately rises clear of the water and dives under it in a series of compound curves. The dolphin-like leap, " breaching" as it is called, enables the animal without loss of time to recover its breath. How fast the seals can travel is not known and can probably not be computed. They have, however, been seen to follow and swim with apparent ease about vessels going at from 10 to 12 knots per hour. Under force of circumstances they could doubtless reach a higher rate of speed, but whether it could be continued through long distances can not be known. Observations of the movements of a branded cow on Lukanin rookery in 1897 seemed to indicate that in her earliest absences she was gone from three to four days. As the feeding grounds in Bering Sea are upward of 100 miles distant from the islands some idea of the distance she must have traveled can be gained. She would doubtless spend some time on the feeding banks eating and resting. This trip the females make regularly throughout the summer at intervals of from five to ten or more days. Further evidence of the rapidity with which the seals travel can be seen in THE SOUTHERN FUR SEALS. 73 the fact that, though the females do not leave the islands much before the middle of November, they are taken off the coast of Southern California ill December. Their trip down through the ocean must be rapid and more or less direct. HABITS OF THE SOUTHERN FUR SEALS. It may be worth our while to contrast with the foregoing account of the fur seal of the north some account of the life history of the fur seal of the Southern Hemisphere, the species of Aretocephalus, from the recorded observations of such early explorers and sealers as Delano, Fanning, Wedell, and Morrell. Dr. J. A. Allen has brought together in a paper, which appears in the Proceedings of the Paris Tribunal the important notes bearing upon this subject.' Without quoting in detail we may here give a brief summary of these observations. THEIR MOVEMENTS. The adult males land first in November, taking tip their places on the rookeries and awaiting the arrival of the females, which come in December to bring forth their young. They come and go, caring for their young, until about the 1st of February, when the pups are left to shift for themselves. In February the younger males or bachelors come on shore to shed their hair which is accomplished by about the 1st of May. This period corresponds to our stagy season. The bachelors then take to the water and do not return on shore much before the 1st of July. For a month or six weeks they come and go regularly, abandoning the shore at the end of thik time until some time in August. For the rest of the season mixed herds, young males and females, occupy the shores, coming and going at intervals, until the old males begin to arrive in November. The young then retire. This seems to be the round of life for the various classes as recorded. The', is no lucid account of what becomes of the adult males and females after the offices of reproduction are accomplished. The bulls are reported as fasting from the time of their arrival until the breeding season is over, when they leave thin and lean, to return the following season plump and fat. THEY DO NOT MIGRATE. It is asserted that the seals do not migrate, though the record of observations seem to indicate that certain classes of the animals are absent front their breeding places for longer or shorter periods. While some of the animals are about the shores at all seasons, the evidence seems to show that they ate of different classes and have different periods of movement. BREEDING HABITS. The offices of reproduction are accomplished on land. The female bears, as a rule, a single pup, though suggestions of the possibility of twins and even triplets are offered. The young are helpless at birth and learn to swim about a month afterwards. It is freely suggested that the mothers teach them. The pup at birth is covered with black hair. It gets its fur and changes its black hair for a coat of gray in a month or six weeks. 1 Appendix IT. S. Case, Far Seal Arb., Vol. I, p.375. 7 4 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. BREEDING GROUNDS. The seals occupy for their breeding places narrow bovrlder beaches at the foot of high cliff's and extend their harems into the crevasses and channels in the cliffs through which streams flow. In places their breeding grounds extend inland one or two hundred yards. The animals clamber over the rocks, reaching places inaccessible to man. They have good powers of locomotion, and the young walk on all fours. In climatic conditions the home of the southern fur seals resembles that of the northern, though there is not the same marked difference between summer and winter. Doubtless there is no migration because no necessity for it. An average annual temperature of from 400 to 450 is recorded, which is about the summer climate of the Pribilof Islands. The sky is almost constantly overcast. Rain falls daily. The fur seals of the south are gregarious and herd closely crowded on their rookery grounds, class by class. The young males are forced to withdraw by themselves in the breeding season. THE FIGHTING OF THE BULLS. The bulls struggle with one another for possession of the cows as they land. Each harem has from fifteen to twenty cows. These are jealously guarded and are not permitted to leave. The bulls fight valiantly against intrusion, whether by one of their own number or by man. There is the same disparity between the males and females. The former is recorded as 6 to 7 feet long, the latter about 4, with a corresponding difference in weight. They are found sleeping and playing in the water, just as the fur seals of the north are, and it is reported easy to approach and spear them. DIFFERENCE IN TIME OF BIRTH. It may be worthy to note in this connection that Capt. W. L. Noyes, who visited the Galapagos Islands during the summer of 1897, found cows with pups already born in July on Wenman Island, just north of the equator, whereas cows on other islands of the same group to the south of the equator, killed in September, contained pups still unborn and apparently not to be born until October or November. The seals of these islands are reported by others to bring forth their young at all seasons. There is, however, no essential difference in the habits of the seals of the two hemispheres. Tice differences in date of the stagy season and of the breeding seasbn are matters dependent upon the climate. The absence of migration periods so marked as in the case of the northern seals is due to the absence of such harsh conditions as the winter of the north exhibits. CHAPTER VI. THE CONDITION OF THE FUR-SEAL HERD. A. PAST CONDITIONS. We have given in the preceding sketch a brief description of the more prominent general features of the life history of the fur seal. This is only a brief summary of the record of daily observations made by the commission, and which is given in full in a subsequent part of this report. Many of these topics also are discussed in greater detail in special papers contained in Part III. We may now pass to a discussion of the main questions involved in the fur-seal controversy and made the principal object of this investigation. The first and chief of these relates to the condition of the fur-seal herd, past and present. ACREAGE MEASUREMENTS. Until the season of 1896 all estimates as to the number of seals have been based upon acreage measurements of one sort or another. In the early days, when the rookeries were teeming with seal life, it is probable that any other method of enumeration would have been exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. At any rate, no other method was tried. We may say at the outset that acreage measurements of rookery population are exceedingly unsatisfactory. It is no easy task to find the area of a given rookery. Its length or sea front is easily ascertained, but its average width is at best purely a matter of conjecture. It spreads out over the level ground, shrinks away from a sand beach, climbs up hills in gullies, extends over cliffs, breaks at a cove to permit bachelors to land, thins out among rocks, and widens in great amphitheaters. Its lower boundary fluctuates with the tides; its inland extension grows daily with the arrival of late-coming cows, and the whole outline is changed in a few days as the bands of virgin 2-year-olds come into the ranks late in July. THE DIFFICULTY OF ACCURATE RESULTS. To measure a rookery, it is necessary to determine its boundaries from a distance in the breeding season, and after the departure of the seals to go on the ground and make the necessary measurements. It is impossible to approach the breeding mass in the height of the season near enough to locate landmarks by which the person making the measurements is to determine what he is doing. The best that can be done is to take the natural features available, a stone here or a break in the bank, or a log of driftwood there, and trust to being able to relocate them later on. The occupancy of the seals themselves leaves no permanent trace. Behind the rookeries for a considerable distance the ground has exactly the same appearance as that occupied by the seals, and late in the season the rookery population, where possible, moves back over its rear boundary, taking up a new position. Only natural landmarks can 75 76 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. therefore be taken, and in a mile of rookery space the number of distinguishable marks of this sort is exceedingly small. Where stones exist, there are thousands of them practically indistinguishable. On bare slopes, as on (lorbatch, Vostochni, and Polovina, there are no natural landmarks whatever. THE ABSENCE OF RELIABLE SURVEYS. If perfectly recognizable artificial landmarks could be placed at every angle, turn, and projection of the belt of breeding seals, or if these points could be taken from a distance by instruments and then reproduced with certainty in the same manner after the animals have left the ground, accurate results might be obtained. Nothing of this kind, however, was done, at least no landmarks remain to show for it. THE IRREGULAR NATURE OF THE GROUND. But a determination of the rookery borders is not the only difficulty. The character of the ground is extremely variable. It lies at every conceivable angle and slant. There are narrow, rocky beaches hemmed in by perpendicular cliffs. There are long slopes of jagged bowlders. There are sand flats and cinder slopes. On the bare places the seals still mass together as closely as they can be crowded, and on the rocky areas they lie about among the rocks as best they can. Their distribution over the rookeries is as irregular as the nature of the ground. It is in general true that the greater the number of females the more extended are the boundaries of the rookeries; but it is also true that with the decrease of the number of seals the population of the rookeries grows sparse without a corresponding decrease of dimensions. It is probable that when the seals were more numerous they were as evenly distributed over the ground as its nature would permit, and the greater part of each rookery was closely massed; but at the present time their distribution is very irregular, as unequal as the arrangement of the trees in the forest. On some of the rookeries, as on Tolstoi sands, in the breeding season the seals lie as thick as swarms of bees. On other rookeries, as the Lagoon, detached harems sprawl over the rocks and individual seals are greatly scattered. Nor are the mechanical imperfection of these estimates all. The counts of live pups made during the seasons of 1896 and 1897 show that at the time when these past estimates were made not more than half of the cows are present at any one time. ACREAGE MEASUREMENTS CHIEFLY GUESSWORK. In a word, the acreage measurements of the rookeries in the past have been based chiefly upon guesswork. More guessing has been done in determining the space to be assigned to individual animals, and finally the rookery population sought to be enumerated has at best represented only about half the actual number of animals belonging to the herd. The last element of uncertainty was not known until 1896, it having been assumed up to that time that during the period between the 10th and 20th of July all or practically all the animals belonging to the breeding herd were present upon the rookeries. THE MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM. I t is easy to find in the magnitude of the problem an explanation for the adoption of 511(.11 a faulty method. It is not so easy to find an excuse for implicit reliance ESTIMATES OF NUMBER OF FUR SEALS. 77 put upon its results. The parts of rookeries which can be counted to-day are so circumscribed by cliffs and the narrowness of the beaches that to make a count of them, even at the time of the greatest density of their population, would have been but little more difficult than it is to-day. More seals were present on a given area, but the area was no greater. The counting of these areas would of course not have relieved the difficulty as to a complete census; but a definite and exact enumeration, even of so small and accessible a breeding ground as Spilki, in 1874, could not have failed to clear up many of the problems which have tended to increase the confusion in past conditions. EARLY ESTIMATES. In considering the various estimates of earlier times, we purposely pass over that of Bishop Veniaminof. It is too vague and unsatisfactory to be of any value. It is, moreover, a prophecy of future results, based on assumed premises, rather than a measure of actual conditions. Furthermore, it was made at a time (about 1834) when, as we know, the herd had reached from some cause or other a state of approximate annihilation. CAPTAIN BRYANT4S ESTIMATE. After the islands came into the possession of the United States the first attempt to reach an estimate of the number of seals was made by Capt. Charles Bryant, agent of the Government, sent in 1869 to investigate the condition of the herd. Captain. Bryant sums up his method of enumeration as follows:1 There are at least 12 miles of shore line on the island of St. Paul occupied by the seals breeding grounds, with the average width of 15 rods. There being about twenty seals to the square rod, gives 1,152,000 as the whole number of breeding males and females. Deducting one-tenth for males leaves 1,037,800 breeding females. He estimates the number of seals on St. George at one-half the number on St. Paul. He further makes a rough estimate of the number of nonbreeding males, but he does not work it out or give a total. In comparing the estimate of Captain Bryant with the subsequent estimate of Mr. Elliott it must be noted that the young are not included. THE FIRST ACREAGE ENUMERATION. This estimate is crude both in its methods and in its results, but it certainly contains the germ of all subsequent acreage estimates of the seals. It was made and its results were published at least two years before the work of Mr. Elliott, which was begun in 1872. Whatever credit, therefore, belongs to the invention and execution of this method of arriving at the population of the rookeries must rest with Captain Bryant. His enumeration, though but a rough approximation, and probably so considered by him, brought for the first time the fur-seal herd within the range of a numerical estimate. ELLIOTT'S ESTIMATE OF 1S72-1874. The next attempt at enumeration was made in 1872-1814 by Henry W. Elliott, special agent sent by the United States Treasury Department to investigate the condition of the herd. He followed the same general method inaugurated by Captain Bull. Mrs. Comp. Zool., 1870, Vol. II, p. 106. 78 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. Bryant, finding the shore extent and width of the rookeries and allotting a certain space to each individual animal. He, however, worked out the plan in much greater detail. IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS. In Mr. Elliott's census two important assumptions are made at the outset. The first is that the time when the rookery population has reached its " exact margin of expansion, at the week of its greatest volume, or when the rookeries are as full as they are to be during the season, is between the 10th and 20th of July every year; not a day earlier and not many days later."' Mr. Elliott assumes as a result of this observation that at the period in question all, or practically all, of the aniinals were present 'and would be included in an enumeration made at that time. THE LAW OF DISTRIBUTION. He then assumed' " an imperative and instinctive law of distribution, recognized by each and every seal," in obedience to which " the breeding grounds occupied by them were invariably covered with seals in exact ratio, greater or less, as the area upon which they rested was larger or smaller;" that the seals always covered the ground evenly, never crowding in at one place here to scatter out there;" that " on a rod of ground under the face of bluffs, which hem it in from the sea, there are just as many seals, no more nor less, as will be found on any other rod of rookery ground throughout the whole list, great or small." BOTH ASSUMPTIONS INCORRECT. One who is familiar with the nature of the breeding grounds can not help feeling that in the formulation of this law Mr. Elliott did not have the picture of the rookeries before him. Had he traveled over the length and breadth of the rookeries, as was done in 1896 and 1897, he never would have proposed such a law. That there should be as many seals to the square rod on the jagged and broken lava blocks of Kitovi, or on the broken slopes of Gorbatch, where the animals are now and must have then been separated by bowlders weighing tons, should be the same as on the smooth sand fiat of Tolstoi or the level slope of Hutchinson Hill is on the face of it impossible. THE TRUE LAW OF DISTRIBUTION. The law of distribution which the fur seal obeys is very simple. The gregarious instinct of the animals leads them to crowd together as closely as possible. They are, therefore, even now to be found in as close proximity as the nature of the ground will permit. Where the ground is broken and interspersed with angular bowiders they are necessarily farther apart than where the ground is free from obstructions. It is probable that in Mr. Elliott's time the seals, because more numerous, were more evenly distributed, but the nature of the ground would never permit the same distribution everywhere. STABILITY OF ROOKERY CONDITIONS ONLY APPARENT. For the first assumption Mr. Elliott has some justification. During the period in question rookery conditions are to the eye of the observer apparently stable and fixed. Elliott, Monograph Fur-Seal Islands, 1881, p. 50. Ibid., p. 49. ESTIMATES OF MR. ELLIOTT. 79 That they were so was held as a tradition from Elliott's time down to 1896. It was, however, a great mistake to assume, as has been done, that at that time all the seals were present. Counts of live pups I made in the seasons of 1896 and 1897 show that at the height of the season not over half of the cows are actually present at any one time. The apparent stability of the rookeries is due to the fact that then the arrivals and departures among the cows for a time practically balance each other at their maximum point. But daily counts of the rookeries show that the stability is in no sense real, there being from day to day even then a variation of from 10 to 30 per cent in the rookery population.' RESULTS OF MR. ELLIOTT'S ENUMERATION. But of these things Mr. Elliott was not aware. He was content to assume that all the cows were there and, moreover, though he could not locate the virgin 2-year-olds, a class of animals numbering, in his estimate, 225,000, which were not present until long after it was made, he did not hesitate to assume that they were included. He was also content with his impossible law of distribution. It only remained for him, therefore, to find the area of breeding ground occupied and to divide it by the unit of space to be assigned to each individual animal, to arrive at the rookery population. As a result he found, in his estimate of 6,386,840 square feet of rookery ground on the two islands, "room," as he puts it, " for 3,193,420 breeding seals and young." THE FIGURES UNREASONABLE. Waiving, for a moment, the method of obtaining these figures, we may remark that they are not easy to understand. Of this total of " breeding seals and young," Mr. Elliott, in the same connection, tells us that 1,000,000 are " young." There must then be an equal number of mothers, or 2,000,000 adult breeding females and their pups. To this must be added the young 2-year-old cows which are included, though not present. Mr. Elliott has himself given us an estimate of these. Considering that of the 1,000,000 pups born 500,000 are females, he says that " at least 225,000 of them safely return in the second season after birth." This, therefore, gives us a total of 2,225,000 females and young in the complete estimate of 3,193,420, leaving 868,420 animals which can only be accounted for as breeding bulls. This is impossible, and yet no other explanation of the discrepancy is at hand. Mr. Elliott estimates, in a separate category, all the nonbreeding males and the yearling females, finding 1,500,000 of them. Of the breeding bulls, as a class, Mr. Elliott does not give us a separate estimate in 1872, but in 1890 lie tells us they numbered 90,000 at that time. THE METHOD OF ENUMERATION FAULTY. But if these figures were in themselves reasonable, we must still take exception to the method by which they were obtained. We have already spoken of the general difficulties in the way of acreage measurements. On his method of surveying the rookeries Mr. Elliott has given us practically no data. He dismisses the subject with the remark "that there is no more difficulty in surveying these margins than there is in drawing sight along the curbs of a stone fence surrounding a field," a statement which is not by any means self-evident to anyone who has visited the 'See page 109. See page 51. 3Elliott, Monograph of Fur-Seal Islands, 1881, p. 61. 80 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. fur-seal rookeries. The surveys of the rookeries themselves can not be verified, for the conditions have changed with the reduction of the herd, and no permanent landmarks were left. Not even of the survey of 1890 is there left a single recognizable stake or stone to show that it ever existed. All that is left of either survey is the unsatisfactory estimate of the seals based upon it. These surveys should have formed the basis for subsequent comparisons of the condition of the rookeries. As such they would have been extremely valuable, but all traces of them have disappeared. THE SURVEYS CAN NOT BE VERIFIED. It is therefore not possible for us to verity Mr. Elliott's surveys of the rookeries, but his maps giving the shore line of the islands are available as a measure of his work as a surveyor. Of these maps Captain Moser, in his hydrographic report on time islands in 1896, made certain tests. Of Mr. Elliott's shore line he says: "It was a bad misfit * * * and rarely stood the test of an instrumental angle." He further says of the topography of the maps that " it is so vague and indefinite that it is next thing to impossible to do anything with them; I should call them sketches." If this is true of the fixed and permanent shore line, it is not to be supposed that the changing rookery margins, which were necessarily noted from a distance in the summer and measured in winter, after they had melted away, were more correctly located. THE EFFECT OF INACCURATE SURVEYS. The correctness of the survey of the rookeries is of vital importance to the accuracy of this enumeration. This importance does not lie in ascertaining the mere length of a given rookery. This can be easily obtained, and in any event a mistake of a few feet or of a hundred feet in the length is comparatively insignificant; but the width of the rookery is another matter. To each one of seven of the ten rookeries of St. Paul Island, Mr. Elliott ascribes an even average width of 150 feet. Two of the remaining breeding grounds have a width of 100 feet each, and the third 40 feet. Therefore, for the 40,000 feet of rookery shore line on this island, 35,000 have an average width of 150 feet.2 Suppose there is an error of but 1 foot in this average width, it is multiplied throughout the entire distance. According to the method of the computation involved this would mean the addition or subtraction of 17,500 animals, depending upon the side upon which the error falls. Again, suppose the average width was 140 or 160 feet, this would mean a difference of 175,000 seals one way or the other, as the case might be. AN INADEQUATE UNIT OF SPACE. But aside from the question of accuracy in the surveys themselves, Mr. Elliott has assigned an impossible space to each individual sea]. His unit of space is 2 square feet to each animal, young or old, or 4 square feet for the cows, ignoring the Hydrographic Notes, Captain Moser, Part III. 2 Whatever the average width of each rookery may have been, it is certain that it was not the same for all. Neither now not• at any past time have Tolstoi, Polovina, Vostochni, the Reef, Kitovi, Lukanin, and Zapadni had the same "average width." The 150 feet is a guess, and that only. ESTIMATES OF NUMBERS. 81 pups. The average adult female is 4 feet long, and measures an equal distance from tip to tip of her outstretched fore-flippers. In a standing position she would need at least 3 square feet, but as the cows are constantly moving about, and coming and going to and from the sea, it is impossible to limit one to such a space. A MORE RATIONAL UNIT OF SPACE. During the past two seasons an effort was made to test the unit of space which the average seal occupies. A count of 650 closely crowded dead bodies on Polovina killing ground showed that each body occupied a space of 1.3A square feet. The arrangement and proximity of these bodies corresponded very nearly to the condition of the massed rookery where the animals are stretched out sleeping. On Ardiguen rookery a harem containing thirty three sleeping cows and pups was observed on a flat space circumscribed by stones in such a way that its boundaries could be definitely located. Later in the season, when the seals had abandoned the spot, it was measured and found to give 8 square feet to each animal, old and young. This may be regarded as an example of extreme massing, as the animals could not have been packed closer together. The great sand flat of Tolstoi, the most densely massed rookery ground on the islands, was roughly measured late in the season of 1896 and found to contain about 140,000 square feet. Each of the 11,000 animals estimated for this area would therefore have a space of about 13 square feet. Messrs. True and Townsend, in 1895, found the average space for each individual adult seal in unmassed areas, as on Lagoon or Tolstoi cliffs, to be 46 square feet. For the massed areas a space one-half as great, or 23 square feet, was arbitrarily assumed. It is true that Mr. Elliott justifies, in part, his small unit of space by certain references to the coming and going of the animals. He asserts that after the pups are born the individual cows are not on "their allotted space one-fourth of the time," and that the females "almost double their number on the rookery ground without expanding its original limits." But Mr. Elliott failed to grasp what this really meant. He sees in it only justification for the unit of space which lie has assigned to the individual animals. It should have called his attention to the fact that the breeding seals which he saw before him, and which he was attempting to enumerate, were but a part and not the whole of the rookery population. THE ESTIMATE FOR KITOVI AND LUKANIN ROOKERIES. When we leave the general features of this estimate and come to consider its details we find still less reason to be satisfied with it. Of all the rookeries Kitovi and Lukanin have been most minutely studied and counted during the seasons of 1896 and 1897. Their present conditions are absolutely known. They may be taken as typical examples. To these two rookeries in 1874 Mr. Mott ascribes a total population of 335,000 "breeding seals and young," or 158,000 breeding females, and, using his estimate of 15 cows to an average harem, 10,000 active bulls. At present there are 318 bulls, or less than one-thirtieth the former number, and 9,000 breeding females, less than one-seventeenth the former number. To anyone who understands the situation of these rookeries this is simply absurd. It would be impossible to plat 10,000 harems on the space they occupy at present or 15184-6 82 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. which they occupied at any time past. Mr. Elliott's own maps show, wheq compared with present conditions, that no such reduction has occurred. His average width of 150 feet for these rookeries proves the same thing. With such figures nothing can be done. Mr. Elliott must have been wholly devoid of mathematical sense or else must have failed to appreciate what his figures really meant. No other hypothesis will account for them. A. MEASURE OF ELLIOTT'S OVERESTIMATE. It happens that in the log of St. Paul are two references to these rookeries which throw light on their early condition and help us to penetrate the haze of exaggeration which Mr. Elliott has thrown about them. Under date of May 24, 1880, Mr. J. W. Beaman, then agent on St. Paul, records in the log I of that island that he made " an inspection of Kitovi and Lukanin rookeries; 112 bulls were counted on Kitovi and 142 on Lukanin, with a possible error in the count of 25 to 50." On the 24th of May by no means all of the bulls were in place, but a reasonable proportion of them may be supposed to have been. Mr. Elliott tells us himself that all the bulls were located by the 1st of June. This, however, the observations of the season of 1897 disprove. A count of North rookery of St. George on June 7 gave 180 bulls, where about 200 harems existed in 1896 and where 196 were found a month later in 1897. Even on the 12th of June a count of bulls on Kitovi rookery gave only 156, where 182 harems had been in 1896 and where later, in 1897, 179 harems were found. THE COUNT OF MR. BEAMAN. These recent counts justify us in assuming that a large proportion at least of the bulls were on the ground by the 24th of May, and although we can not say just what proportion the bulls counted by Mr. Beaman bore to the whole number on this rookery for the season of 1880, we may rest assured that had there been any such number as 10,000, or even 5,000, taking the average harem, which recent observations show to be correct, there would have been at least between 1,000 and 2,000 of them in place on that date. Referring again to the log, we find that in 1879, the preceding season, bulls began to arrive on Lukanin rookery on May 2, and on May 17 there were 60 of them. This number is not greatly out of proportion to the 142 found a week later the following season, and argues still more strongly against the supposition that bulls by the thousand would occupy that rookery in June. CAPTAIN BRYANT'S NOTE. In this connection another note in the log of St. Paul Island has significance. In the fall of the year 1876 difficulty was experienced in securing the normal quota of pup seals for food. Captain Bryant, commenting on this, says: "Ordinarily Kitovi rookery alone would have supplied the necessary pups"2—four or five thousand. As only males were killed, and as a liberal allowance must be made on account of the swimming of the pups for the impossibility of reaching all the males, the inference Extracts from the log of St. Paul, Pt. II, date of May 24, 1880. Ibid., date of November 23, 1876. ESTIMATES OF NUMBERS. 83 plainly to be drawn from this is that at the time in question Kitovi rookery by a most liberal estimate bad about 20,000 breeding cows. Mr. Elliott would have us believe it had nearly 160,000. SPILKI AND POLOVINA. Two more examples may be cited in this connection. Mr. Elliott ascribes to Spilki rookery a population of 8,000 cows and pups in 1874 and something like 260 bulls. This was a small rookery under the hill behind the village of St. Paul, afterwards abandoned. It is recorded by Agent Beaman in the log for the year 18791 that this rookery on June 20 (a date at which all the harem bulls must have been in place) had 23 bulls. This is less than one-tenth of Mr. Elliott's estimate. In the same year Mr. Beaman records, under date of June 10, that there were " a couplo of thousand bulls" on Polovina rookeries, where Mr. Elliott estimates fully 10,000 in 1874. While these entries do not give us definite proof as to the early condition of these rookeries, yet they clearly and conclusively show that Mr. Elliott's figures are grossly exaggerated. PERSONAL ESTIMATES DIFFER. To sum the whole matter up, we are unable to accept Mr. Elliott's estimate as representing anything more than an individual opinion greatly overdrawn by a too-vivid imagination. The value of individual opinions in matters of this kind is well shown by a comparison of the estimate of Mr. Elliott with that of Lieut. Washburn Maynard,- who was on the islands in 1874, with him. Lieutenant Maynard estimates the total population of the rookeries at 6,000,000, as against Mr. Elliott's figures of 4,700,000. A difference of a million one way or another seemed to be a matter of no moment. LOOSE USE OF FIGURES. That Mr. Elliott himself did not originally attach close and definite meaning to his own estimate is evident from the discrepancy already referred to, whereby he assumes in his total of 3,193,420 " breeding seals and young " that only 1,000,000 are pups. Further, on the basis of this birthrate, which is an understatement of his own estimate, he finds that after making due allowance for an " extreme estimate of loss sustained at sea " there will still be left "180,000 seals in good condition that can safely be killed every year." The quota never exceeded 100,000, and the turning back annually of 80,000 young males to grow up as bulls would by 1880 have given the island a stock of approximately 800,000 bulls. This, of course, never occurred, for the simple reason that no such number of males in excess of the quota ever existed on the islands. In making the above criticisms of Mr. Elliott's census, it has not been our purpose simply to tear down and condemn work which in many respects under the circumstances deserves commendation ; but a disposition has of late been manifested to insist upon the absolute correctness of these figures, and in setting them aside it becomes necessary for us to give reasons for such action. Extracts from log of St. Paul, Pt. II, date of June 20, 1879. 84 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. MR. TINGLE'S ESTIMATE. The next estimate of the seals was made in the year 1886 by Mr.. George H. Tingle, then Treasury agent on St. Paul Island. Mr. Tingle purported to measure the breeding areas in the early spring when unoccupied, and then to compare them with the ground occupied in the summer to make the necessary corrections. He found a rookery space of 12,715,500 square feet, with a population of 6,357,750 breeding seals and young. Mr. Elliott's rookery space had been 6,386,840 square feet, with a population of 3,193,42() breeding seals and young. Mr. Tingle, however, took exception to the estimate of space assigned to the individual animals, believing it too small. He therefore reduced his estimate by one-fourth, 9r to 4,768,430, still an increase of 1,574,900 over Mr. Elliott's figures. THE ESTIMATE INCORRECT. The absurdity of this estimate makes it hardly worth considering. At the time it was made time herd was well on the way of decline. One element in the estimate may perhaps be cited as indicative of its value as a whole. The rocky beach at the foot of the cliffs, between the termination of Gorbatch rookery and the angle of Zottoi sands, was made a separate rookery, with a population of 11,000 seals. The ground has never been occupied as breeding territory. Whatever may have been the purpose of this enumeration, it certainly did not give the facts in the case. ELLIOTT'S 1890 ESTIMATE. hi the year 1890 Mr. Elliott again visited the fur-seal islands and made another estimate of their population. He employed the same methods used in 1872-1874. He found the seals occupying breeding territory to the extent of 1,918,786 square feet.' In his former estimate the ground occupied contained 6,386,840 square feet. Applying his original space unit to the area of 1890, Mr. Elliott found a population of 959,393 "breeding seals and young." THE 1890 ESTIMATE UNSATISFACTORY. For this second estimate we can only say that it is as bad, if not worse, than the first. All that we have said regarding the census of 1872-1874 applies with equal force to the census of 1890, for, as Mr. Elliott tells us, "it is made in precisely the same time and method." We may call attention specially to the fact that notwithstanding Lagoon rookery is found to be reduced from 37,000 animals to 9,000, the shore front of the rookery had been doubled in length, being 750 feet long in 1872-1874 and 1,500 in 1890. No explanation is offered or suggested for this extension. On the island of St. George, which has at the best only a limited extent of breeding territory, and this probably fully occupied in 1872-1874, Mr. Elliott in 1890 more than doubles the length of all its rookeries. On East rookery alone lie expands the water front from 900 feet in 1872-1874 to 3,240 in 1890. As a result of this expansion he finds that though the seals have become reduced to one-fourth on St. Paul Island, on St. George the reduction has only been to one-half. Elliott's estimate for 1890 is 500,000 square feet less in extent than that of Messrs. True and Townsend for 1895. Dealing with the more accurate maps and when the herd was at least a half smaller, they found 2,616,063 square feet of rookery space as against his 1,918,786. ESTIMATES MADE BY TRUE AND TOWNSEND. 85 It is not possible for us to suggest any explanation or justification for the vagaries which these estimates of Mr. Elliott show, and they need not be further discussed here. In an appendix to the recent republication,' by order of Congress, of reports of agents and others connected with the fur-seal islands, they have been considered at length in connection with the subject-matter of the reports of which they are a part. THE TRUE AND TOWNSEND ESTIMATE FOR 1895. The most recent computation of the seals by acreage measurements is that made by Messrs. True and Townsend in 1895. In this a decided improvement was made in securing the space unit occupied by the individual seal. Instead of using an arbitrary estimate, a count of the cows was made on Kitovi and Lagoon rookeries and on parts of Lukanin and TolStoi. The area of the counted districts was then taken from the current maps, and the average space occupied by the individual seals found. For the 4,110 cows counted, this average was found to be 46 square feet, ranging from 65 square feet on Lagoon rookery to 29 on Tolstoi. As the spaces counted were all of the scattered or " un m assed " sort, an arbitrary reduction to one-half of this space, or 23 square feet, was made for the crowded or " massed" breeding grounds. Taking these averages and applying them to the acreage extent of the breeding grounds as obtained from the current maps of the rookeries, an estimate of the population of all the rookeries was arrived at. The total number so obtained was about 75,000 adult breeding seals. To make it comparable with the former estimates of Mr. Elliott we may add the 70,000 pups, making a total of 145,000 " breeding seals and young." THE ESTIMATE MUST BE DOUBLED. In this enumeration it was assumed that, at the time the census was made, all, or practically all, the animals were present, including the yearling and 2-year-old females. The effect of this assumption we have already alluded to in connection with Mr. Elliott's estimate. The fact is that at no time during time season are more than half the cows present. The estimate must therefore be doubled at least to make it represent actual conditions. IT ANTICIPATED THE SEASON. But as a matter of fact, for the estimate of 1895 this will not be sufficient. The counts on which the estimate is based were made before time real maximum of population on the rookeries was reached. The counting was done between the 8th and 10th of July, whereas the investigations of 1896 and 1897 show that the maximum of population is probably not reached until about time 15th of the month. Mr. Townsend himself, in referring to the estimate of 1895, remarks that "the rookeries may not have (as yet) reached their breeding height." ARBITRARY REDUCTION FOR MASSED AREAS. Another weakness in this estimate lies in the arbitrary reduction to one-half in obtaining the space for the massed rookeries. Our investigations on this point seem 1" Seal and Salmon Fisheries, and General Resources of Alaska," vol. 3. 86 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. to indicate that the space unit for massed breeding grounds should be smaller. But for the underestimate which may therefore be involved on this account we can offer no correction. For the underestimate due to the early date at which the count was made we can make a rough estimate. The daily count on Lukanin rookery for time season of 1897 shows that between the 8th and 15th of July there was an increase of 15 per cent in rookery population. This would increase the figures for 1895 as originally given to about 80,000, and after doubling for absentees the corrected total would be about 160,000 breeding females. The inclusion of the yearlings and 2-year-old females does not affect the total, as they were not present, and no allowance need be made for them. THE ESTIMATE REVISED. This total of 160,000 females, or giving to each female a pup and adding the estimated number of breeding bulls, making 325,000 "breeding seals and young," is probably within 10,000 of time facts for the season of 1895. That it comes thus near the truth, however, is the result of accident rather than good management. The corrections which, in the light of subsequent experience, we have been able to make, are vital to its truth and change the results radically. The original results could not have been trusted alone, and were wholly misleading. THE IMPORTANT FEATURE OF THE ESTIMATE. The really important feature in the estimate of 1895 is the count of cows in which it originates. This was a distinct step in advance, in that it approached a rational basis. In the application of the unit of space to the rookeries not counted the method was unfortunate. The area of breeding ground was taken from maps in themselves imperfect, on which the rookery outlines were sketched by time aid of the eye. The rookery boundaries, as we have shown, are constantly changing as time season advances, and there being no definite landmarks to guide the observer, it is impossible that the outlines should be correctly located. The enumeration is therefore carried into the region of pure speculation and has only the value of the individual judgment of the person tracing the maps. It is fair to say, however, that nothing definite and exact was claimed for the census of 1895, as Mr. True's own words, in commenting upon it, will show. He says: "I do not think that any estimate can be made which will approximate the truth more than remotely," and he continues to say that the chief use of such calculations is "the elimination of fanciful estimates of the number of seals." MR. CROWLEY'S ESTIMATES FOR 1895. In leaving time estimates of 1893 it is necessary to refer to two other calculations of rookery population made for the same year on a different basis. One of these is by Mr. J. B. Crowley, chief agent in charge of these islands. He finds, as he says, by actual count, a total of 99,936 breeding cows and 5,552 breeding bulls. When we make the necessary doubling of this estimate of cows and add the pups we have a total of about 305,552 "breeding seals and young." Of the methods or details of this ESTIMATES OF NUMBERS. 87 enumeration we know nothing beyond Mr. Crowley's statement that " the breeding seal herd has been reduced to such proportions that it can now be counted with comparative accuracy." COLONEL MURRAY'S ESTIMATE. The other calculation is one given by Colonel Joseph Murray.2 He finds 5,000 bulls and 200,000 cows. Here again we have no details and only know that his method of enumeration was to count the breeding bulls and then to apply to each an average harem of 40 cows. This average size of harem is so large as to make it unnecessary to double for the absentee cows. We have, therefore, simply to add the necessary 200,000 pups and we have a total of 405,000 breeding seals and young." DEFECTS OF THIS ESTIMATE. That Colonel Murray's count of bulls is more than a rough approximation its author has never claimed. That in greater part it is incorrect is clear from the fact that, while it was begun about July 18 it was not completed before August 21. Our investigations show that a count of harems after July 25 can give no idea of actual conditions. In examining the count, as given, moreover, our attention is attracted to the fact that on Lagoon rookery he finds only 50 harems, whereas Mr. True and Mr. Townsend, counting separately, found between 115 and 120 harems in the same season. While having manifestly suffered additional decline, it still had in 1897 115 harems. On the other hand, for a total of about 300 harems on Kitovi and Lukanin rookeries, counted by Messrs. True and Townsend, Colonel Murray records 500. These differences tend to show that the latter's count is made in round numbers, no account of anything less than 50 being taken. CONTRAST OF ESTIMATES FOR 1893. To give an idea of the nature of these various estimates for 1895, it is worth while to contrast them in tabular form: Estimates, season of 1895. It is not a gracious task to call attention to these widely variant and conflicting estimates put forward by authorized agents of the Government, and published simultaneously; but as they have been used by the British Commission to weaken the force of the more accurate and conclusive statistics of 1896, they must be shown in their true light as rough efforts at approximation, not corrected by other data. CONTRAST OF ACREAGE MEASUREMENTS. In leaving the subject of acreage measurements it will serve our purpose, as showing the unsatisfactory nature of the results thus obtained, to compare for a Sen. Doe. 137, Pt. I, p. 33. Sen. Doe. 137, Pt. I, p. 372. Bulls. Cows. True and Townsend 4, 402 70, 423 Mr, Crowley 5, 552 99, 936 Colonel Murray 5, 000 200, 000 88 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. moment the various estimates that have been made on this basis. They are as follows: Acreage estimates of far seals, Pribilof Islands. Square feet. Bryant (1869) 23, 328, 000 Elliott (1872-1874) 6, 386, 840 Tingle (1886). 12, 715, 500 Elliott (1890) 1, 918, 786 True and Townsend 2, 616, 063 (1895) By whom made. Area. Animals. Remarks. Breeding seals. Breeding seals and young. 1)o. Do. Cows only, including one and two year olds. 1 1, 728, 000 1 3, 193, 920 ' 4, 768, 430 959, 393 70, 423 SUMMARY OF PAST CONDITIONS. To sum up this discussion of past conditions, we may conclude that the estimate of 1869 by Captain Bryant is only a rough approximation, and gives but little idea of the real condition of the herd. Mr. Elliott's estimate of 1872-1874 is scarcely less unsatisfactory, being, as we now know, nearly twice too great. Ilis 1890 estimate, through the arbitrary curtailment of the breeding territory occupied, is nearer the truth, but still far from it. The estimate of Mr. Tingle is wholly untrustworthy. The estimate of Messrs. True and Townsend for 1895, when subjected to the obvious corrections and additions, which later observations show to be necessary, is very near the facts. A RECONSTRUCTION OF EARLIER ESTIMATES. In view of what has just been said, it becomes evident that the early estimates, made shortly after the herd came into the possession of the 'United States, can not be relied upon. There is abundant proof that the estimates are grossly exaggerated, but data, is wanting to enable us to determine the real facts. Some estimate of these early conditions is, however, necessary, and no better method for obtaining it is available than a theoretical reconstruction of the herd on the basis of the present known condition of its breeding seals. To assist in this we have the record of the bachelor herd, as indicated in the history of the quota for the first twenty years of American control. THE EARLIER AND LATER QUOTAS. From 1871 to 1889, inclusive, the hauling grounds of the Pribilof' Islands yielded 100,000 skills annually. The seals for the greater part of this period were obtained before the 20th of July. It is the testimony of those connected with the work that there were always killable seals left at the close of the season, and we know that the rookeries never lacked the necessary supply of male life. During the present season a quota of slightly more than 20,000 seals was obtained after continuing the driving until the 10th of August and killing closer than ever before. In other words, at the present time the hauling grounds are not capable under like conditions of supplying one-fifth the number of killable seals to-day that they were able without difficulty to furnish for 13 years prior to 1884. THE QUOTA DEPENDENT UPON THE BREEDING HERD. The bachelor herd is directly dependent upon the breeding herd. It is nominally taken from the surviving 3-year-old males and is directly related to the birthrate of three years prior to its taking. Three years ago, or in 1894, therefore, the birthrate ESTIMATES OF NUMBERS. 89 of pups was between one-fifth and one-sixth of what it was in the period from 1871 to 1880. The breeding herds of the same years bear the same relation to each other. The present total of breeding females on the islands is about 130,000. We may infer, therefore, that in the period 1871-1880 there were about five times as many, or in the neighborhood of 600,000 breeding females. ESTIMATE OF NONBREEDING SEALS. Of the bachelors or nonbreeding seals no satisfactory estimate has been or can be made, but it is evident from the data now available that about one half the seals are lost in the first migration at sea, while the number is still further reduced to one-third, possibly to less, before the age of 3 years is reached. From this we can in a rough way calculate that in connection with the quota of 20,000 bachelors we have a. total of approximately 400,000 animals, including breeding females, their young, and all other classes. This is a ratio of 20 to 1 between the entire herd and the herd of killable seals, and would, when applied to the herd of 1871-1880, give a total of about 2,000,000 animals of all classes. THE RECONSTRUCTION STILL ONLY AN ESTIMATE. In putting forward this reconstruction of past conditions we are well aware that it is still only an estimate. We have, however, in making it the advantage of definitely known premises to start from, and the results harmonize fully with the conditions of our problem. COMPLETED ESTIMATE. Assuming the figures we have arrived at, we find that they work out in harmony with the recorded facts of the quota for this period. Thus, with a birthrate of 600,000 pups, we may assume one-half, or 300,000, to survive to the age of 1 year, and 200,000 to the age of 3 years. One-half of these were males and were killed to fill the quota. We know, of course, that not all the surviving males were killed, and therefore that either the birthrate of pups was greater by 25,000 to 50,000 than the one assumed, or that the ratio of loss was slightly less than one-half and one-third. The computation is not intended to be exact, and can not be made so, but it is sufficient to show the direction in which the truth lies, and is conclusive enough to show- that during the time of the herd's greatest expansion its breeding females numbered about 600,000, a figure sufficiently exact for all practical purposes. Adding an equal number of pups annually and 20,000 breeding bulls, we have a total of 1,400,000 " breeding seals and young," for the period in which Mr. Elliott estimates 3,193,420.1 1 We must insist that the calculations in the preceding paragraphs are intended merely as rough approximations to show the early condition of the herd. Such discrepancies as exist between these figures and those tentatively put forth in our Preliminary Report for 1896 are the result of more mature deliberation. The attempt of the British Colonial Office (see letter of Mr. Wingfield to Foreign Office, Corr. on Seal Fisheries, Brit. Blue Book, No. 4, September, 1897, P. 121) to make capita. out of them is wholly unwarranted. The statements both here and in the former report are coucheL in sufficiently guarded language to leave no doubt in the mind of the candid reader. We merely wish to show that since the herd formerly yielded 100,000 skins annually and now yields but 20,000, it must once have been approximately five times as large as now. On the other hand we infer that it could not under the circumstances have been seven or ten times as large. These figures represent a: attempt, more or less imperfect, owing to the complexity of the problem, to give concrete expressioi • to this undeniable fact. 90 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. B. THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE HERD. THE CENSUS. In the work of the present investigation of the fur-seal herd the most important consideration was the making of as accurate an enumeration as possible of the number of animals. This has always formed an important part of every investigation in the past. But, as we have seen, the results have been anything but satisfactory. The great multitude of the animals, when the herd was five times as great as at present, may have left no other result possible. At the present time, even with the herd so greatly reduced, the task of making a complete census of all the rookeries is by no means an easy one, as the details of our work, which will be found in the Daily Journal, will indicate. ITS DIFFICULTY. Without going into detail here, we may mention among the difficulties of the problem the fringe of idle bulls, savage and immovable, that skirts each rookery, the danger of stampeding the rookeries themselves, the broken and irregular nature of the ground, and, finally, the constantly shifting nature of the rookery population. These are some of the merely mechanical difficulties. But more serious for us than any of these was the fact that at the outset the conditions of the problem before us were not at all understood. It had been currently accepted that during a period between the 10th and 20th of July the breeding rookeries were at their height and practically all the animals present. Upon this supposition all previous estimates had been based. With this idea in mind we began our work, only to find as we advanced that the supposition was unfounded. For the smaller rookeries of St. George, and such rookeries as Kitovi, Lagoon, Zapadni Reef, and the cliff portions of Polovina and Tolstoi, it was found possible to make a count of the individual animals by harems. This was accordingly done. On the greater rookeries, as those of Northeast Point, Reef, and Zapadni, no count of individuals was possible, and for these rookeries only harems were enumerated. ACTUAL COUNTS. Our count of individual cows in 1896 covered about one-fifth of the rookery space on St. Paul Island, embracing 1,245 harems, with a total population of 16,679 cows, or an average of 13.4 cows to each harem at the height of the season. The average harem of the individual rookeries and parts of rookeries counted ranged from 11 in the lowest to 17.3 in the highest. The lower averages represented thin and scattered portions of rocky breeding ground, and none of the counted area contained any of the massed conditions characteristic of portions of the larger rookeries. The highest average belonged to Kitovi rookery, the largest continuous rookery space counted. It contained 3,152 cows in 182 harems, an average of 17.3 cows to the harem. The conditions of this rookery as a whole being more typical of the general conditions prevailing on the larger rookeries, its average was taken as a basis for computing the population of those rookeries on which only harems could be counted. The appropriateness of this average was the more apparent as on North rookery of St. George the 129 harems accurately counted gave an average of 17 cows to the harem. CENSUS OF ROOKERIES IN 1896. 91 KITOVI ROOKERY TAKEN AS TYPICAL. Applying then the average of Kitovi to the rookeries of St. Paul on which individual counts could not be made, we obtained the following tentative census for this island : Census of harems and cows, St. Paul. Rookery. Date of count. Harems. Cows. Kitovi a July 13 182 : 3, 152 Lukanin July 20 147 i 2, 543 Lagoon a July 13 120 1, 474 Tolstoi (math) July 14 389 6, 729 Tolstoi (cliffs) a July 14 108 1, 498 Zapadni Jury 14 583 10, 085 Little Zapadni 210 2, 400 July 14 Zapadni Reef a 176 2, 236 July 14 Gorbatch July 16 302 5, 224 A rdiguen a 27 550 July 16 Reef July 16 504 8,710 Sivutch Rock Aug. 12 63 1, 090 Polovina, (main) July 23 138 2.387 Polovina (cliffs) a July 15 86 1, 268 Polovina (Little) July 23 45 779 Vostochnib July 16 975 15, 879 Morjovi b July 16 293 4, 328 Total 4,348 70 361 a Cows and harems counted. b Cows and harems counted in part only. All other rookeries were counted only by harems. ORIGINAL COUNTS OF ST. GEORGE UNSATISFACTORY. The rookeries of St. George bad been counted on the 8th, 9th, and 11th of July before the counts on St. Paul were made. Later experiences led us to doubt the trustworthiness of these earlier counts, and, furthermore, the condition of the rookeries of St. Paul being different from that witnessed on St. George, it seemed likely that at the time of our first landing on the latter island, the season had not yet reached its height. This view was strengthened by the fact that while the original count gave to St. George only one-tenth as many seals as were found on St. Paul, the former island had furnished more than one-fifth of the quota of killable seals. In the latter part of July we made a more careful count of bulls on Zapadni and North rookeries, which gave a much higher number of families than were shown on the original estimates. Finally, when live pups were counted on Little East Rookery, they were found to exceed the cows counted on the 9th of July by 4 to 1. ESTIMATE FOR ST. GEORGE. Having these matters in mind, in preparing the estimate for St. George Island last season, a compromise was reached in which all these elements had a share. This estimate was as follows: Census of cows and harems, St. George. Rookery. Harems. Cows. North 225 3, 891 Little East 44 761 East 135 2, 335 Staraya Artel 75 1, 297 Zapadui 182 3,148 Total 661 11, 432 92 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THIS ESTIMATE ALSO UNSATISFACTORY. In the light of our experience of the present season, however, this estimate for St. George still proves unsatisfactory. It was found that in the first hasty view of Little East rookery on July 9,1896, a considerable portion of the breeding ground was hidden from view by the cliffs, because the most advantageous observation point was not selected. The proportion of killable seals furnished by St. George in 1896 proved wholly misleading because in 1897 the island furnished only one-ninth of the quota. The observations of the present season also show that a count of harems after the 25th of July gives no idea of the real condition of the rookeries at the height of the season. On rookery ground under inspection during 1897 for this purpose it was found that between the 13th and 25th of July, while the number of cows diminished one-third the number of families had been increased one-seventh through the ingress of young and idle bulls following the breaking up of the harem system. But this information was not at hand when the census of 1896 was prepared on August 1, and the estimate seemed to represent as nearly as possible the actual condition of the breeding herd at the time known as the height of the season. THE GREAT EXCESS OF PUPS. As our observations on St. Paul continued, and especially when we came to enter the rookeries to count the dead pups, our attention was attracted to the fact that the pups seemed to be much more numerous than the estimates of cows in the height of the season would warrant. This was particularly noticeable on the sand flat of Tolstoi. To test the matter a careful count of the live pups on Kitovi rookery was made on August 15. This rookery had been taken as the typical one in making up the census and the most accurate count of cows was made upon it. A total of 5,940 live pups were found. To this number 109 dead pups counted a week before were to be added, making a total of 6,049 pups for a rookery where 3,152 cows had been counted on the 13th of July at the supposed maximum of its expansion. COUNT OF PUPS. The counting of live pups was continued on all parts of rookeries where cows had originally been counted. In some cases the counts could not be made accurately because the pups were beginning to swim well and took to the water. Where the counts were most satisfactory the proportion of live pups to cows was about 1.90 to 1. The proportion on Kitovi was 1.91, and here the count was made under favorable conditions because a heavy surf kept the pups from going to sea. Where the lowest percentages were found the least accurate counts had been made. The following is a detailed statement of the count of live pups: Count of live pups, 1896, St. Paul Island. Rookery. Cows. Pups. 3, 152 , 6.049 1, 498 : 2, 664 2, 256 1, 474 3, 862 ' 2, 484 Kitovi Tolstoi (clilts) Zapadni Reef Lagoon Polovina 1,268 2,496 Vostocluii (part) 2.887 4, 412 \ orjovi (Part) 1, 194 2. 289 Total 13,729 24,256 CENSUS OF ROOKERIES IN 1896. 93 CORRECTION FOR ABSENT COWS. Averaging the various counts it seemed that the proportion of live pups to the apparent number of cows present in the breeding season was 1.75. Our experience during the season of 1897 shows that this was too low, and that it would have been better had the simple conditions of Kitovi rookery been taken as typical of the other rookeries, using its proportion of 1.91 to 1. On the basis of our count of live pups the previous census was corrected by the addition of 75 per cent to allow for absent cows in the height of the season. In this way the completed preliminary census put forward in 1896 was made. It is as follows: Summary of breeding seals (counts and estimates) 1896. Rookery. Harems. Cows (count). Actual total. 182 147 120 389 108 583 6,019 4,450 2,484 11, 775 2, 664 17, 648 Kitovi ST. PAUL. 3, 152 Lukanin 2.543 Lagoon 1.474 Tolstoi (main) 6. 729 Tolstoi (cliffs) 1, 498 Zapadni 10, 085 Little Zapadni 210 2.400 4,2(10 Zapadni Reef 176 2. 256 3. 862 Gorbatch 302 5. 224 9, 142 Ardiguen 27 550 6.52 Reef 504 8. 719 15, 258 Sivutch Rock 63 1, 090 1.007 Polovina (main) 138 2. 387 4, 177 Polovina !cliffs) 86 1, 268 2. 496 Polovina. (little) 45 779 1.363 Vostochni 975 15, 879 27, 148 Morjovi 29:1 4, 328 7. 773 Total 4, 348 70,361 123, 048 ST. GEORGE. North 225 3, 891 6, 809 Little east 44 761 1, 350 East 135 2, 335 4. 086 Zapadni 182 3, 148 5, 509 Staraya Artel 75 1, 297 2. 269 Total 661 11, 432 20, 023 Grand total 5, 009 81, 793 143, 071 Bobrovi (Otter Island) had 1 harem, containing 5 cows and 5 pups. REVISION OF CENSUS OF 1896. As already intimated, the estimate for St. George Island for 1896 is not satisfactory. That Little East rookery was considerably underestimated is evident from a closer inspection of this breeding ground during the season of 1897. The original count gave only. 27 harems, but probably included no more than two-thirds of time rookery. As there were but few idle bulls about this rookery, the count of bulls made late in July can not be far out of the way here, and in the absence of a better estimate it may be allowed to stand. CORRECTIONS ON ST. GEORGE. On Zapadni and North rookeries, however, the number of harems counted in the latter part of July can not be accurate. When the rigid harem system breaks up and the original harem masters begin to leave, the idle bulls (of which there were many about these rookeries) enter the breeding grounds, increasing the number of families, 94 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. though the actual population has been diminished by the more frequent and prolonged absence of the cows. The number of bulls therefore found for those two rookeries on July 31 can not be accepted as representing the number of families in the breeding season and must be reduced. CORRECTIONS ON ST. PAUL. The need for revision in the census of St. Paul Island is not so great; but our experience during the past season shows that in all probability the harems on Zapadni and Tolstoi rookeries were slightly overestimated and those on the main part of Polovina underestimated. Zapadui rookery occupies a long gradual slope back of the more abrupt bowlder beach. This slope was filled with savage bulls, making close approach in 1896 impossible. The count of harems was made from a boat offshore and was not corrected by a count from behind. From this point of view of the water the whole field could not be inspected, and the figures of last year were felt to be merely a rough approximation. The estimate for those not clearly seen was certainly too large. This year the rookery had shrunk so largely that observation points from the rear, commanding the entire breeding ground, could be reached. In like manner the estimate of Tolstoi for 1896 was made under difficulties, which were more satisfactorily overcome in 1897. On Polovina the conditions were similar to those on Zapadni. The main part of the rookery lies on a gradual even slope, behind which the idle bulls were collected in such numbers as to prevent near approach, while there was no opportunity to inspect the rookery from the water. This year the conditions were so changed as to permit of much closer inspection, and although the mass of breeding seals had plainly shrunk at every point, practically the same number of harems were counted, making an addition of harems necessary. SIVTTCH ROCK. A third correction must be made in the estimate of Sivutch Rock. The original estimate of this rookery was made after an inspection of the rock with a field glass from the plateau of the Reef, which showed 27 bulls in charge of harems on the northern face. At the time of the count of dead pups in August a landing was effected and an attempt made to estimate the number of harems, as the rookery seemed plainly greater than our original estimate allowed for. Sixty-seven bulls occupying harems were then found, though it was plain that the rookery was wholly disorganized. This season Sivutch Rock was inspected from all sides in a boat at the height of the season and an adequate notion of the extent of the rookery obtained. Harems were found on the southern side and in places where their presence was not suspected in 1896. The total number counted in 1897 was 102. It is therefore necessary to largely increase the original estimate for this rookery. In balancing these under and over estimates, however, they practically neutralize each other and leave the total for St. Paul for 1896 about what it was. For St. George Island also the difference resulting from the revision is not great, being only about 600 cows. THE IMPORTANT CORRECTION IN THE CENSUS OF 1896. But the chief error in the census of 1896, and this applies to both islands, lies in the percentage of correction to be added for absent cows. This has already been REVISED CENSUS OF 1896. 95 referred to. Instead of the average correction of 75 per cent, one of 100 per cent would have been more nearly correct. However, since in the original census of 1896 and in the census of 1897 Kitovi rookery has been taken as typical of the rookeries as a whole, we may use its percentage of correction, 91, in the revision. After making this correction and such alterations in the estimates of harems as experience shows to be advisable, we have the following revised and completed census for the season of 1896: Revised census, 1806. ST. PAUL. Rookery. Harems. Pups (cows). Kitovi 182 6, 019 Lagoon 120 2, 484 Polovina (cliffs) 86 2, 496 Zapadni Reef 176 3, 862 Lukan in . 147 4. 880 Tolstoi I 467 15. 504 Zapadni 2 543 18, 027 Little Zapadni 210 4, 584 Gorbateh 302 10, 026 Ardiguen 27 3 896 Reef 504 16, 732 Sivutch 4 105 3, 486 Polovina 153 5, 079 Little Polovina 45 1,494 Vostochni 975 32, 370 Morjovi 293 9, 727 Total 4, 335 137, 696 ST. GEORGE. North 6 200 6,640 Little East 44 1,350 East 135 4,482 Zapadni, 143 4,747 Staraya Artel 75 2,490 Total 597 19,709 RECAPITULATION. St. Paul 4, 335 137, 690 St. George 597 19, 709 Grand total 4, 932 157,405 1A reduction of 30 harems from the original estimate. 2 A reduction of 40 harems. 3 The original count of 650 pups used in the census /of 1896 was made from the cliffs above the rookery under circumstances which make it certain that it is an underestimate It is therefore discarded. 4 An increase of 42 harems. 5 An increase of 15 harems. 6 A decrease of 25 harems. 7 A decrease of 39 harems. THE VALUE OF THIS CENSUS. This elaborated and corrected census of 1896 gives our best possible judgment as to the conditions on the rookeries of St. Paul and St. George during the season of 1896. The revision and alteration which have been found necessary make the estimate more or less unsatisfactory. But no other result could be expected. The census was a growth and an experiment from the start. The conditions under which it ought to have been made were not understood until the time was passed. Notwithstanding 96 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. all this the total results as here given are close enough to the actual conditions for all practical purposes. The total of 157,405 breeding seals means between 150,000 and 160,000. No closer accuracy is claimed for the figures, and none is needed. The margin of error can not be greater than this. THE CENSUS OF 1897. In making the census of 1897 no such difficulty as that encountered in 1896 was met with. From the start we had a clear idea of the problem and were guided by the experience obtained in the work of the former season. The first thing to be done was to make a full enumeration of the breeding harems on all the rookeries at the height of the season. The remaining step was to obtain an average size of harem by making a count of live pups on some typical rookery space. Accordingly between the period of July 13 and 20 the count of harems was made. For purposes of comparison the cows actually present on rookeries counted last year were recounted this year on the same dates. THE COUNT OF PUPS IN 1897. The count of pups was made between the 28th of July and the 3d of August. A comparison of the number of pups with the number of cows counted showed clearly the inadequacy of our correction of 75 per cent for absent cows in the original census of 1896. These counts of cows and pups for 1897 are as follows: Comparison of counts of cows and pups, 1897. Rookery. Cows p uPs' present. Kitovi 2, 436 5, 289 Lagoon 1, 319 2, 598 Zapadni Reef 1, 049 3, 041 Polovina (cliffs) 747 2, 200 Ardiguen 470 736 Little East 497 1, 190 Total 6, 518 15, 054 THE PROPORTION OF COWS TO PUPS. These counts seem to show that the cows belonging to any rookery for the season are about 2.61 times as numerous as the cows found present at any one time in the height of the season. But an examination of the figures for Zapadni Reef and for Polovina cliffs indicates an abnormal condition of things on these rookeries. In both cases the pups outnumber the cows nearly three to one. It would seem likely that the weather or some other cause had on these rookeries produced an unusual effect for the day when the counts were made. In view of this apparently abnormal condition in part of the rookeries counted, it has been thought best in the census of 1897 to waive the general average results and take the simple conditions of Kitovi rookery as again typical. We find from a comparison of this rookery for the two seasons that its condition is apparently normal. In 1896 there were 182 harems, 3,152 cows present on July 13, in the height of the season, and 6,049 pups in August; in 1897 there were 179 harems, 2,436 cows actually present on the same date, and 5,289 pups in August. CENSUS OF ROOKERIES, 1897. 97 THE AVERAGE HARE:VI OF KITOVI. Dividing this total of 5,289 by 179, the number of harems, we find the average harem of Kitovi rookery to contain 1:9.5 cows. This harem is applied to all the rookeries on which only counts of harems were made. Where pups %were counted, the figures so obtained are used without change. The only difference in the method of computing the census of 1897 from that of 1896 is in the dropping out of the intermediate step of completing the provisional census of cows and afterwards adding the necessary correction for absentees. This step, now that the conditions are known, becomes superfluous. Constructed on this basis the following is the completed census of breeding seals for the two islands for the season of 1897; Ceetes, 1S97. ST. PAUL. Rookery. Kitovi. Lagoon Polovina (cliffs) Zapadni Reef Lukanin Tolstoi Zapadni Little Zapadni Gorbatch Ardiguen Reel Sivuteh Polovina Little Polovina Vostochni_ Morjovi Total Pups Harems. (cows). 179 5, 289 115 2, 598 61 2, 260 114 3, 041 139 4, 100 393 11, 593 438 13, 511 176 5. 192 308 9, 086 33 736 454 13, 393 102 3, 009 143 4. 218 40 1, 180 910 26, 845 233 6, 873 3, 858 112.864 ST. GEORGE. I North. 196 5, 782 46 1, 190 128 3, 776 13:3 3, 923 Starie Artel. 57 1, 681 Total 560 16, 352 RECAPITULATION. St. Paul 3.858 112, 864 St. George_ 561 16.352 Total 4, 418 129, 216 THE VALUE OF THE CENSUS FOR 1897. Whatever doubt or uncertainty may exist regarding the census of 1896 there is none with regard to that for 1897. No estimates were made. The count of harems was complete for every rookery. The count of pups was carefully and accurately made. While not claiming infallibility for these figures, the margin of error is slight. 15184-7 Little East East Zapadni 98 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. From this census we have therefore a total of 4,418 breeding bulls and 129,216 breeding cows for the season of 1897. Each of these cows bore a pup during the season. There were therefore a total of 262,850 "breeding seals and young" at one time or another on the rookeries of the Pribilof Islands during the past season. Thus far our census of the fur seals call lay claim to accuracy, but it does not cover all classes of animals, and when we attempt to extend it beyond the breeding herd to include idle bulls, bachelors, and yearling and 2-year-old females, we must leave facts and begin to theorize. THE ENUMERATION OF NONBREEDIN“- SEALS. During the season of 18 6 a rough approximation was made of the class of males known as idle bulls. The number found in close proximity to the breeding grounds was estimated at about 3,000. _No attempt was made to include animals located on various sand beaches and such hauling grounds as those of Sivutch Rock, Zapadni Bead, Lagoon, etc. The enumeration of this class of bulls was therefore only partial at best. On certain rookeries where they were counted last year, counts were made this year for comparison, but beyond this nothing was done or could be done. Only a general estimate of idle bulls can therefore be given, but the number would seem to be not far from '),000, or ill round numbers, a number equal to those occupied. IDLE AND HALF BULLS. In addition to these idle bulls the hauling- grounds and the water front were full of young half bulls, 5 and 6 years of age, which had not yet even attempted to secure places on the rookeries. From the killing grounds during the present season 8,000 of these animals were turned back from the drives. As some of the young bulls may have been driven two, three, and even four times from the same hauling ground, this number can not be taken at its face value. But in corners of many of the hauling grounds, in the runways on the Reef and in the various ravines on Zapadni, large numbers of these animals were not disturbed at all, while the water front of all the rookeries was lined with them. A fair estimate of the young bulls would not fall liar short of 10,000. This class represents chiefly the natural reserve which has accumulated from the escape of the animals of killable age since 1893. The idle bulls as a class and the oldest of the half bulls are the aftermath of the modus vivendi. THE 11A(111EI,oRS. But these animals are not numerous and their record is not important. It is concerning the bachelors below killable age and the cows below breeding age that we ought to have exact information. but can not get it. It is impossible to count the yearling and 2-year-old bachelors. They do not arrive at the islands until late in the season. They occupy their hauling grounds very irregularly, coming and going from the water according to pleasure and the state of the weather. R EJECTED SEALS. From the killing grounds during the present season 15,000 animals too small to kill were turned back. As in case of the young bulls, some of these, perhaps many, were driven and redriven: several drives being made from each hauling ground ESTIMATE OF YOUNG FUR SEALS. 99 during the season. The actual number represented by this total of rejected animals can not be exactly determined. From this it would seem necessary to suppose that by no means all the younger seals appear on the hauling grounds during the killing season. hi fact the records of the drives show that it is only after the middle of July that the yearlings begin to arrive in numbers. The older bachelors appear earliest, and by the time the killing season is over the great majority of the killable seals are secured, leaving the population of the hauling grounds almost exclusively yearlings and 2-year-olds. THE 1 AND 2-YEAR-OLD FEMALES. What has been said about the 1 and 2-year-old bachelors applies equally well to the same class of females. These do not appear on the islands before the 1st of August. The 2-year-olds come on the breeding grounds and are scattered about among the harems, spending a few days and leaving. They come and go at intervals during the rest of the season, playing among the pups in company with their yearling sisters. It will never be possible to enumerate these younger classes of seals. THE LOSSES AMONG YOUNG SEALS. One element of uncertainty regarding all the younger classes of seals lies in the absence of any definite information regarding the losses they sustain at sea during their early migrations. We know that such loss must be great, but that is all. From all the data at hand it seems certain that not more than one-third of the pups born in any particular year survive to killable or breeding age. This percentage must have been still smaller in the earlier days, when the herd was more crowded and occupied to greater extent the sandy areas. Doubtless, when the herd was at its maximum, in the seventies, not more than one-fourth of the pups reached the age of 3 years. It is fortunate that no vital importance attaches to the exact number of these younger animals. The important matter is the number of breeding animals, and this we have. But it is worth while to construct an estimate of the younger classes, if such a thing can be done, and in the quota of the year 1897 we have a basis for fairly satisfactory results. THE ESTIMATE OF NONEHEEDING SEALS. During this season a quota in round numbers of 20,000 skins was taken on the Pribilof Islands. This number included some 2-year-olds and some 4-year-olds, but as a rule the animals taken were 3-year-olds. Some 3-year-olds were left over, and some that would have been 3-year-olds in 1897 had been killed as 2-year-olds in 1896. We might even the matter up and say that the quota practically represented the normal quota of animals of 3 years old. But as there are elements of uncertainty in the problem, to be on the safe side and for the purposes of argument, we may suppose that there was a maximum of 25,000 3-year-old males which did or should have survived in 1897 from the birth rate of 1894. An equal number of females survived from the same year. These young breeders, which came upon the rookeries to bear their first pups in 1897, have already been included in the estimate of breeding cows. As nearly as we can judge, the total birth rate for the year 1894 was approximately 200,000. Of these, under normal conditions, about one-third, or something like 65,000, 100 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. should have survived. The difference between this number and the 50,000 which we have found to actually survive is accounted for by the starvation of pups in 1894. Treating in the same manner the approximate birth rate of 170,000 pups in 1895, we find that, after making the deductions for loss through natural causes and from starvation, probably 40,000 returned as 2-year-olds in 1897. Of the 160,000 pups born last year treated in like manner, probably 60,000 appeared in 1897 as yearlings. THE COMPLETE ESTIMATE FOR ANIMALS OF ALL CLASSES. This completes our estimate of the younger classes of seals. The figures are merely rough approximations and are to be considered as such. They, however, point in the direction of the truth and are probably not far from it. Putting these various estimates in tabular form we have the following completed estimate of all classes of animals on the rookeries of the Pribilof Islands for the season of 1897: Animals present at one time or another, season ()f 1897. Breeding females 129, 216 Pups born 129, 216 Active bulls 4, 418 Idle bulls (approximate) 5, 000 I calf bulls (approximate) 10, 000 Three-year-old males (approximate) 25.000 Two-year-olds of both sexes (approximate) 40, 000 Yearlings of both sexes (approximate) 60, 000 Total 402, 850 In round numbers, therefore, there were on the Pribilof Islands at one time or another during the season of 1897 400,000 seals of all classes. We wish to again emphasize the fact that these figures, in so far as they refer to other classes of animals than the breeding seals and young, are mere approximations. DEDI-CTIONS FOR LOSSES. These animals were of course not all alive at the close of the season. Their number had been reduced from various causes, as the death of nursing pups, pelagic sealing, and the filling of the quota. These losses to the herd may be estimated as follows: Animals known to hare died from carious causes, season 1897. Pups, from Uncinaria, trampling, etc estimated _ 7, 750 Pups, from starvation do_ _ _ _ 14, 000 Bachelors (quota) 20, 890 Pelagic catch (Bering Sea) 16, 464 Total 59, 101 Total alive during season 402, 850 Total dead 59, 104 Total alive October 15, 1897 343, 746 THE COUNT OF PUPS. 101 THE VALUE OF THE ESTIMATE. The weakness of the foregoing estimate lies in the figures for the nonbreedin ()animals. It is worked out merely because such au estimate is asked for in our instructions. The figures, however, satisfy the conditions and we believe approximate the truth as closely as it can be reached at the present time. For the estimate of breeding animals, which is really the important thing, we have no apology to offer. It is practically exact. To eliminate the last element of uncertainty in arriving at a full enumeration of the herd it is only necessary to continue the census of the breeding herd each year for a certain period. Knowing the number of pups born in 1896, in 1899 it will be possible from the quota of that year to tell with reasonable exactness the number which survive to killable age. With each succeeding year the data will become more exact, and in the future the Government can know exactly what quota to expect and what the condition of the hauling as well as of the breeding grounds is. Given the birth rate of any year and the quota of three years later can be determined. In like manner from the quota, of any year the birth rate of three years previous can be determined. THE TRUE -BASIS OF ENUMERATION. The only reliable basis of enumeration has been found and demonstrated. This is a count of live pups. The pups as a class are fixed in their places on the rookery for the first six weeks of their lives. Their mothers may come and go, but they remain. It is not necessary that all the pups on all the rookeries be counted. It would be impossible to make a count on the larger rookeries. But if some typical rookery, as Kitovi,-be counted each year to obtain the average size of harem, and then the harems be counted on all the rookeries about the lah of 'July, the average harem of Kitovi being applied to them, a census exact enough for every purpose can be obtained. From this census and the quota itself the completed estimate for the nonbreeding animals can be made up. CHAPTER 'SIT. THE DECLINE OF THE HERD. ITS HISTORY. It necessarily follows from the foregoing review of past and present conditions that the fur-seal herd of the Pribilof Islands has largely declined since it came into the possession of the United States. That this decline is still in progress is shown by the decrease in breeding seals between the seasons of 1896 and 1897 and in the diminished quota. We may now take up in detail a consideration of this decline and endeavor to trace its history and find its cause. RUSSIAN MANAGEMENT. Of the condition of the fur-seal herd before it came under American control in 1867 we have but little definite information. That it had a varied history we know. The excessive slaughter which threatened its existence in 1799 was stopped by the advent of the Itussian-American Company. Under the earlier years of its regime, however, the seals were indiscriminately slaughtered, females as well as males, the only difference being that it was limited slaughter. GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT IN METHODS. Gradually the habits and needs of the herd began to be understood by the Russians and more conservative methods came into vogue. After some catastrophe which involved the herd about the year 1834, of which the cause is not clearly known, the killing of females was prohibited, and for twenty or thirty years before the transfer to the United States in 1867 the killing was limited, as now, to the superfluous males. On coming into the control of the United States the herd was in a growing and prosperous condition. THE EQUILIBRIUM OF THE HERD. From the growing ease with which the quota was filled in the years 1871-1875, as shown by the gradual recession of the date at which the required number of skins could be obtained, we may infer that the herd even increased somewhat. For a few years longer, or until 1880 or thereabouts, the herd appears to have remained in a state of equilibrium, or at least a state in which there was neither marked increase nor decrease. It is probable that during this period the annual increment of breeders was practically balanced by the various checks acting upon the herd, chief among which were the natural mortality among the young upon land and the natural death of adult females at sea from old age. THE BEGINNING OF DECLINE. About the year 1884, and more particularly after 1886, a decline began to be observable, gradual at first, then more rapid, becoming in the year 1890 alarming. 102 THE QUOTA OF KILLABLE SEALS, 103 This decrease in the herd was first felt in a shifting of the hauling grounds and afterwards in a growing scarcity' of the killable seals frequenting them. From the year 1871, a quota of 100,000 skins had been annually taken. After 1883, the date at which this number could be obtained from the hauling grounds became relatively later, requiring more frequent and later driving. Filially it was necessary successively to lower the grade of killable seals, until iu 1889 to get the quota of 100,000 nearly the entire bachelor herd, down to and including most of the yearlings, was taken. In 1890 the collapse came, when only 21,000 skins could be secured. THE FAILURE OF THE QUOTA. The sudden drop from a quota of 100,000 in 1889 to 21,000 in 1890 of course does not represent a correspondingly sudden drop in the breeding herd. In the latter the decrease has been gradual but steady, the deficiency in breeding cows lessening the birthrate of pups, which in turn diminished the annual increment of 3-year-old breeders. It also indirectly affected the hauling grounds by diminishing the supply of bachelors, and this was the effect which first made itself felt. As seals of the proper age became scarce the quota was filled by lowering the age to 2 years and afterwards by including the larger yearlings, thus anticipating the quota of succeeding years. Such a course of action would not have been indulged in except for the fact that the lease under which the islands were then held was approaching its expiration. THE BREEDING HERD. The fall in the bachelor herd served to call attention forcibly to the condition of the breeding herd, a matter which up to that time had received no attention, interest being centered solely" in the quota of the bachelors. Since 1890 the breeding herd has been more or less constantly under investigation, the results of which, however, owing to misinterpretation of some of the important facts of rookery life and development, leave us confused and uncertain as to the actual number of animals constituting the breeding herd during these years, though they leave no doubt as to its continued decline. THE QUOTA SINCE ago. In the meantime events conspired to confuse the hitherto definite results obtained from the history of the quota. During the years 1891-93 land killing was limited under the modus vivendi to 7,500 annually. After this long rest, when it would have been natural to expect an increased quota, only a limited one was taken, a fact which seems to arise rather from restrictions in the methods of driving than from the lack of seals. We find from the table of daily killing (Appendix I) that during 1894-95 only two drives each were made from the various hauling grounds in the killing season. Middle Hill was not driven from at all in 1895, nor English Bay in 1894. The quotas of 16,000 and 15,000, respectively, for these years do not therefore give any definite information as to the normal condition of the bachelor herd. THE QUOTAS OF 1894-95. The probable failure to take the full quota in 1894-95, aided in 1896 to further confuse matters when normal driving was resumed. In this latter year every important hauling ground was driven from at least three times and some of them four See table of drives and hauling grounds, p. 123. 104 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. times, there being 19 drives, including 31 hauling grounds. In 1894 but 14 drives were made from 15 hauling grounds and in 1895 12 drives from an equal number of hauling grounds. The quota of 30,000 taken in 1896 was therefore affected in a measure by the nature of the killing of the seasons immediately preceding. The quota of 1897 is more nearly normal, but' with the years immediately preceding it can not properly be compared. But if these matters have tended to confuse the data which might have led to a definite measure of decline, they do not obscure the fact of decline. This is everywhere distinct and unmistakable. THE EVIDENCE OF DECLINE. ABANDONED GROVNDS. To the eye of the observer perhaps the most striking proof of decline is in the abandoned rookery spaces. On the rear and on either side of the present rookery areas are great tracts of ground which were once occupied, but which are now grass-grown. The evidence of former occupation is to be seen in the felt-like matting of hair over the surface, in the smooth condition of the stones, worn by the moving animals, and especially in the peculiar vegetation covering the area. These abandoned grounds are now covered with fine yellow grass, known as "seal grass," which grows here and nowhere else. GRASS-GROWN AREAS. On some of the rookeries this grass-grown area shows three distinct stages. Close to the space at present occupied is a narrow belt of ground, which is still occasionally wandered over by the seals, and on which the grass is just beginning to spring up in spots protected by stones. This area shades imperceptibly into the absolutely bare region now regularly occupied. Behind this space lies an area of dark green grass, covering ground not now entered by the seals. The luxuriant growth of this grass is due to the fertilizing matter in the more recently abandoned grounds. Beyond this there is an extensive area of thinner yellowish grass of the same general character, its less vigorous growth probably connected with the impoverished condition of the soil. THEIR EXTENT. On several of the rookeries these three areas are clearly defined, and on all of them the yellow-grass area is very extensive. On the hauling ground of Lukanin rookery measurements made during the season of 1896 show the area of dark grass to be 16 feet in width and the area of yellow grass 64 feet. The area on which the grass is just starting is less definite, and can not be measured accurately. The outward line of the yellow-grass region marks the extreme limit of ground at any time occupied by the seals. The dark green area marks a stage of more recent abandonment. On certain hauling grounds the area of abandoned territory is anywhere from ten to twenty times the area at present occupied. This, however, does not mean that there has been a corresponding decrease in the bachelor herds. Observations show that a small band of bachelors can in a few days denude a large grass-grown area if they begin to wander and sleep upon it. Five or six times the present number of bachelors would doubtless denude all these areas. VALUE OF PHOTOGRAPHS. 105 These abandoned areas, while they do not give exact information regarding the amount of decrease, certainly do offer unmistakable evidence of a large decrease. The presence of the dark green grass area shows also that part of the decrease has been recent, while the area where the grass is just starting indicates that it is still going on. THE TIME NECESSARY TO ESTABLISH THESE AREAS. The period necessary for these grass-grown areas to become established was the subject of much debate in 1892. In that year a small plot of ground, then entirely bare, was marked off with cairns of stones. It is now closely filled with the characteristic "seal" grass and other vegetation, including saxifrage and wormwood. This furnishes proof that within four, or at most five, seasons an area abandoned by the seals may become grass-grown. The yellow-grass areas are therefore not of too remote date to be identified with the decline of the herd, which began to make itself felt about the year 1884, thirteen years ago. PHOTOGRAPHS. A second evidence of decline is to be found in the comparative condition of the rookeries as shown by the annual series of photographs which have been taken each year since 1892. On certain rookeries, which lie for the most part within circumscribed limits on bowlder beaches, differences are not clearly marked; nor do the photographs of one year compared with the year immediately preceding or following it show very definite results. But when we compare photographs of Tolstoi, or Reef, for example, for 1896 or 1897 with photographs of the same rookeries for 1892, the evidence of decline is marked and unmistakable. In Appendix III will be found examples of these and similar photographs, to which reference should be made. PHOTOGRAPHS BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE SEASONS INADEQUATE. That a comparison of photographs for two successive seasons should not show definite results is not strange, considering the shifting and changing character of the rookery population and the broken nature of the ground the seals occupy. By way of illustration, the estimated decline between the season of 1896 and 1897 was in the neighborhood of 15 per cent of the breeding herd. This would mean the absence of 20,000 animals. But as only half of the cows are ever present at one time even at the maximum height of the season, the actual absence of seals involved could not exceed 10,000. There are more than 8 miles of rocky and broken shore line occupied by the breeding seals throughout which this loss must be distributed. That it should not be perceptible to the eye at any one point or be capable of measurement in a photograph is but natural. THEIR VALUE COVERING LONG PERIODS. But while it is in general true that the photographs of one season compared with those of the next do not show definite results, we must make one exception. A comparison of the series of photographs for 1894 with those for 1895, wherever the conditions are favorable for showing anything, show a marked diminution in the latter year. In Appendix III some examples of these photographs will be found. 106 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. It is evident that between these two seasons the decrease in the herd was more strongly marked than between any other two seasons. The reason for this is of course plain and will be referred to again in its appropriate connection. In a word, the resumption of pelagic sealing in 1894, nearly doubling as it did the draft of the preceding year on the herd, naturally showed itself very strongly on the rookeries in 1895. PHOTOGRAPHS OF ABANDONED TERRITORY. There is one way in which the photographs of successive seasons show definite results, and this is in the recording of the absolute abandonment of breeding ground. Thus on the fiat at the head of the "slide" on Ardiguen rookery there were 78 cows in the season of 1596 and none whatever in 1897. This fact is clearly recorded in the photographs of the two seasons. Photographs of the large breeding masses on Reef rookery, Tolstoi, and Vostochni, which are calculated to show most plainly the effects of shrinkage, give clear evidence of the fact even between two successive seasons. This evidence might not, however, in view of the daily fluctuations in rookery population, be so clear if it were not corroborated by more definite proof. THEIR LIMITATIONS. There are, on the whole, nany reasons why photographs are at best unsatisfactory guides to the actual condition of the rookeries from year to year. In the first place, it is difficult to take them on exactly the same dates on account of adverse weather conditions, and to be of value for comparison between two successive seasons they should be so taken. Again, the period during which photographs of any value can be taken is short. It falls within a few days before or after the 15th of July, which was found in the season of 1897 to be the maximum date of rookery population. But between this maximum and the population of the 8th of July there had been an increase of 20 per cent, while on the other hand from the maximum of the 20th of the same month there was a decline in population of 38 per cent. THEIR RELATION TO THE DAILY COUNTS. To take a concrete example: The population of the Amphitheater of Kitovi, as counted at its maximum on July 15, showed 703 breeding cows present. On the 14th its population was 556, a difference between the two days of 20 per cent. Photographs for these two days of this rookery in the breeding season of 1897 would have indicated 20 per cent of difference, if they indicated anything. Suppose similar conditions for the year 1896, and that a photograph taken on the 14th of July in one year is to be compared with one taken on the same date of the next, or vice versa. Such a comparison would clearly be misleading. The result would be_ more striking if the comparison was made between a photograph in one season for the 15th and one in another season for the 20th. If we continue the comparison we find that by the 31st of July our population of breeding cows has declined 46 per cent from its maximum. Here, however, conies in another element of confusion in the use of photographs. The pups have been growing in the meantime and are becoming more and more conspicuous. They are always at least twice as numerous as the cows, and in a distance photograph they can not be readily distinguished from their mothers. It therefore happens that a photograph taken on the 31st of July for the Amphitheater EVIDENCES OF DECLINE. 101 of Kitovi, when only about half as many cows were present, shows to the casual observer vastly more animals than one taken on the 15th. This condition of things continues throughout the remainder of the summer, the cows becoming more scarce and the pups more conspicuous. THE TRUE VALUE OF PHOTOGRAPHS. It is not the purpose of this discussion to belittle the value of photographs. They have their place and importance, but it is not their function to measure the decline which the fur-seal herd is at present suffering, or has suffered in the past from year to year. By a comparison of photographs taken at widely different dates, some of them in July, others in August, Professor Thompson, in his report for 1896, sought to prove that no decline had occurred in the herd between the seasons of 1896 and 1895. In view of this fact it becomes necessary for us to define the importance and limitations of photographs as a measure of decline in rookery life. Photographs, in our judgment, are of value only as showing the large results or changes which come through long periods of time. The photographs of the rookeries of the Pribilof Islands show us plainly that its herd of seals has suffered a heavy diminution since 1892. Those for the years 1894 and 1895 show clearly the disastrous results of the resumption of pelagic sealing under the regulations of the Paris award. Between the seasons of 1896 and 1897 photographs can only be trusted to record change where breeding ground has been actually abandoned. Of the magnitude of the decrease which the herd has suffered in the past five years photographs afford abundant evidence, but they give no measure either of the total decrease nor of its rate from year to year. Finally, for comparison only photographs taken at middle of July can be used. TOWNSEND'S CROSSES. One of the most definite evidences of decline is to be found in the shrinkage of certain large breeding masses on such rookeries as Tolstoi, Zapadni, and Vostochni. This is most plainly shown in the relation of the breeding masses to certain crosses which Mr. Townsend, in 1895, painted to mark their outward extension. During the season of 1896 these crosses were in no case reached at the corresponding period. In some cases the breeding masses fell away from them from 50 to 100 feet. In 1897 the shrinkage was measured by yards where in 1896 it was measured by feet. SHRINKAGE OF BREEDING AREA. Another positive evidence of decrease is to be found in the disappearance of certain small patches of breeding seals noted and marked on the rookery maps of 1895, but which were not to be found in 1896. One of these groups of harems was at the southern end of Vostochni. Two others were at the extremities of the breeding ground, known as Zapadni Reef. TOLSTOI SAND FLAT, ARDIGUEN, ETC. In 1897 this abandonment of breeding territory was still more noticeable as a result of the minute inspection of the two seasons. On the sand flat of Tolstoi but a small fraction of the area occupied in 1896 was covered this year, and practically no seals were on the slopes behind. At the head of the " slide" on Ardiguen last year were three harems, aggregating 78 cows, as seen on the 14th of July. Making the necessary allowance for absentees, there must have been an actual total of at least 108 THE FUR SEALS OF 'TIE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 150. This year not a single cow located permanently on this territory, and the three bulls, corresponding to the harems of last year, remained idle throughout the season. Another point where the shrinkage was plainly marked was at a prominent observation point known as " Old John's Rock," about which during the summer of 1896 a large harem clustered; the ground was fully occupied between it and the water. This year the breeding seals did not reach within 100 feet of this rock at any time during the season. Again the absence of breeding seals from the runways and breaks in the cliffs of Lukanin rookery, another observation point frequented during both seasons, was very marked. Similar examples might be cited from all the rookeries closely observed. Such abandonment of rookery ground can have but one explanation, namely, decrease in the breeding herd. THE DECREASE IN DEAD PUPS. A striking, though indirect, evidence of decline in the breeding herd is brought out by the marked decrease in the mortality among nursing pups in the breeding season. On all the massed rookery portions the population of breeding seals was much sparser during the season of 1897. On the sand flat of Tolstoi and in the gullies of Zapadni only a small portion of the space occupied in 1896 was occupied in 1897. We are not, therefore, surprised to find the following contrast: Dead pups, .ingust 10. Rookery. 1006. 1897. Tolstoi Sand Flat and adjacent beach 1.495 593 Zapadni Gullies :Ind adjacent beaches 1,314 , 689 Gorbatch 712 302 Reef 950 642 These counts were made where the death rate had to do directly with the crowding of the seals on certain detective breeding spaces. THE INCREASED MORTALITY AMONG COWS. In this connection may he cited one further evidence of decline. On Reef rookery, where 25 cows were found (lead in 1896, 42 were found in 1897. The diminished supply of cows led to fiercer struggles for their possession and consequently the death of a greater number. The deaths of cows on the breeding grounds are due chiefly, if not wholly, to the rough treatment by the bulls. THE DIMINISHED QUOTA. But the most clear and positive evidence of decline is found in the reduction of the quota of killable seals. The sexes are equal at birth. They must be subject to like natural enemies and hardship. Whatever tends to diminish the bachelor herd must in like measure affect the number of 3-year-old cows which each year take their places as breeders on the rookeries. For twenty years after the islands came into the possession of the United States it was possible to take each year a quota of approximately 100,000 young males. During at least thirteen years of this period this quota, could be obtained easily and without exhausting the hauling grounds. This year it was more difficult to get a quota of 20,000 skins than it was in 1880 to get one of 100,000. The inference is obvious. ACTUAL COUNTS OF PUPS. 109 TIIE DECLINE BETWEEN 1896 AND 1897. As a result of the investigations of the past two seasons we are able now to submit definite and final proof not only of the fact of decline, but also au approximately accurate measure of its rate. COMPARATIVE COUNTS, 1896-97. During the season of 1896 a very accurate estimate of the total number of harems on the two islands was made. On certain rookeries and parts of rookeries careful counts of the individual cows present were made at the height of the season and on approximately the same dates each year. Afterwards a thorough enumeration of the live and dead pups on the same breeding grounds was made. We have had occasion to criticise and revise our detailed census of 1896, but this revision does not affect the actual counts for that year, which we have no occasion to alter. These comparative counts for the two seasons are as follows: Actual counis, 1396-97. Rookery. 1896. - • Kitovi 182 Lagoon 120 Tolstoi (cliffs) 108 Zapadni Reef 176 l'olovina (cliffs) 86 Little East2 (b) Ardiguen 27 Harems. 1 1897. Cows. Pups. 179 115 98 114 61 :13 33 1896. 1897. 1896. 1897. 3, 152 2, 1, 474 1, 1.498 1, 2, 256 1, 1, 266 (0) 550 436 6, 049 5, 289 319 2, 484 2, 598 286 2, 664 (a) 049 3,862 :1,041 747 2, 496 2, 200 497 1, 350 1, 190 470 (1) 736 allot counted. Count of 1896 rejected as obviously incorrect. 1These figures are the joint work of Mr. Clark, of the American commission, and Mr. Macoun, of the British commission. They were accepted by Professor Thompson, though made in his absence, as he did not arrive in time to witness the work. After the departure of Mr. Macoun and ourselves from the islands Professor Thompson, assisted by Mr. Lucas, undertook a recount of the live pups. Mr. Lucas's action in the matter was one purely of courtesy, no responsibility for the work of enumeration having been assigned to him by the commissioner in charge. In the recount on Kitovi rookery Professor Thompson found 5,534 live Pulls; Mr. Lucas, 5,577. In a single portion, of the rookery Mr. Lucas found 1,318 pups, whereas Professor Thompson found only 1,247. No effort was made by recounting or otherwise to remove discrepancies. The mean of the two counts, or 5,555, was assumed as the total. To this the dead pups being added, a total of 5,760 pups for this rookery was found as against 5,289 originally counted. Afterwards a recount of Zapadni Reef was made. Here, following the same methods, a total of 2,786 pups was found as against the total of 3,041 of the original count. No further recounts were attempted. Professor Thompson has seen fit to substitute the results of his recount on Kitovi rookery for the official one, rejecting as unsatisfactory his recount of Zapadni Reef. A comparison of the two counts shows plainly why. Had Professor Thompson substituted both counts, or better yet, had he completed the recount on the remaining rookeries and used the completed results, his action would have been less open to criticism. The results of the recounts are in no sense binding upon the American commission. They bear on their face the evidence of their faulty character, which is strengthened by the admission that one at least is in error. It may be said that Mr. Macoun does not share with his colleague the faith which is placed in the recount. We may say that in these recounts no precaution was taken which was omitted in the original count. The conditions of the count by Clark and Macoun were more favorable. The pups were ten days younger, were less active, and were not going into the water. The count was made in a continuous session of five hours, whereas in the recount the rookery was abandoned for a period at noon, giving room for the possibility of shifting among the pups. The grave objection to the recounts, however, rests in the fact that neither Mr. Lucas nor Professor Thompson had had any considerable experience in the work of counting. On the other hand Messrs. Clark and Macoun made their count on Kitovi rookery after having counted 10,000 live pups in 1897 and nearly 25,000 in 1896, to say nothing of 27,000 dead ones and great numbers of cows and harems. There is no work in which experience and adaptability count for more than in the counting of the live pups. The original counts, therefore, stand to the recounts as the work of experts to that of amateurs. It is with great reluctance that we refer to this matter, and we would not mention it were it not that. Professor Thompson has used it to cast discredit on figures undoubtedly accurate and trust worthy. Even with his substitution there is still left by his own accepted figures a positive decline of 9.1 per cent. The difference between this and 12 per cent is of no real importance except that the use of the discrepant figures serves needlessly to weaken the apparent force of evidence drawn from actual enumerations. 110 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. SUMMARY OF PERCENTAGES. From these figures we may draw the following summary of percentages: Percentages of decline as shown by counts. Count of— Percent- 1890. 1897. age of decrease. Harems 699 633 9. 5 Cows 10, 198 7, 307 28.34 Pups 14, 318 11.8 16, 241 The results in this limited count of harems are not so striking as in the completed count of harems for each season on all the rookeries. These were 4,932 in 1896 and 4,418 in 1897, a decrease of 10.41 per cent. DECREASE IN THE AVERAGE SIZE OF HAREMS. In connection with this marked decline in the number of breeding families it may be noted that on Kitovi rookery, which we have taken as typical of rookery conditions in general, there is also a marked decrease in the size of the individual harem. In 1896 the apparent size of harem, as shown by a count of cows, was 17.3; in 1897 it was 13.6, a decrease of 21 per cent. As this rookery was counted on exactly the same date and under like conditions these figures may properly be compared and are significant. THE COUNT OF ('OWS. The count of cows, which shows a decrease of 28.34 per cent, is less certain but is still significant. Owing to their constant coming and going, the number of females on the rookeries in the height of the season varies greatly from day to day. This will be clearly seen by reference to the daily counts of cows on Lukanin and Kitovi rookeries during the season of 1897, which will be found in Appendix I. The count of cows and pups, as recorded above in the case of Zapadni Reef and Polovina cliffs, where the latter were three times as numerous as the cows, furnishes a good illustration. At the same time, while the decrease shown by the comparative counts of cows can not be taken at its full value, the fact of large decline thus shown can not be ignored. THE ('OUNT “14' PUPS AN ABSOLUTE MEASURE. The final and absolute measure of decline, however, is to be found in the counts of pups. As we have seen, the number of harems fluctuates. The cows come and go, and throughout the breeding season the rookeries are undergoing constant change. With the pups this is not the case. They are fixed upon the rookery to which they belong at least for the first six weeks of their lives. A count of these animals, living and dead, is an exact index to the number of breeding cows which have during the season appeared upon the breeding ground in question. THE QUOTA OF KILLABLE BACHELORS. 111 LAGOON ROOKERY. For the whole number of pups counted, and the area covered is varied enough to be typical, we find that there has been a decrease of 11.8 per cent. By reference to the count on Lagoon rookery, however, it will be seen that instead of a decrease since 1896 there has been an increase of 3 per cent. This increase is apparent rather than real for both the number of cows and the number of harems present on this rookery in the height of the season had decreased. As a matter of fact we know that the count of Lagoon rookery for 1896 was much less accurate than that for 1897 because in the latter year it was made under more advantageous conditions. We are convinced. therefore, that the count of 1896 is somewhat in error. If we drop Lagoon rookery from the calculation the percentage of decrease, as shown by our count of pups, rises practically to 15 per cent. We do not insist upon this, and are willing to abide by the figure of 12 per cent which the completed count shows. The difference between 12 per cent and 15 per cent is immaterial. The fact remains that by the count of pups, which is the surest basis of knowledge as to the condition of the herd, the birthrate, and consequently the herd of breeding females, has suffered since the season of 1896 a decrease which can not be less than 12 per cent, and which we have good reason to believe is as high as 15 per cent. THE QUOTAS OF 1896 AND 1897. There remains one further element of comparison between the seasons of 1896 and 1897 to complete the proof of the decline in the fur-seal herd. This is the comparison of the quotas of the two years. THE QUOTA OF 1896 FIXED. 111 1896 30,000 skins were obtained, the quota being fixed at that figure. It is probable that a few thousand more killable seals could have been taken had the quota been an indefinite one. On the other hand, however, a number of 2-year-old seals were taken, which to a certain extent anticipated the quota of 1897. To the best of our knowledge these two elements in the quota of 1896 balance one another, and we may consider its total as fairly representative of the hauling grounds of that year. THE QUOTA OF 1897 INDEFINITE. In 1897 the quota was left without definite limit to secure the utmost product of the herd, the rookeries being already grossly overstocked with male life so far as the need for breeding purposes was concerned. The driving was therefore done more thoroughly and continued for a longer period, extending until the 10th of August, whereas in 1896 it was terminated on the 27th of ,July. To make the conditions surrounding the quota of 1896 and 1897 clear, we may here insert the statistics regarding the killings of the two seasons. 112 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. Aillings.for the quota, 1896. ST. PAUL ISLAND. Hauling ground. Date. Animals killed. 384 Foodskins 929 2 Do 283 # Percent iage killed. Zoltoi Watchmen Autumn 1895 Spring June 19 Juue 20 Northeast Point June 23 1, 414 Do June 24 1, 408 Reef June 27 2, 076 English Bay. Middle Hill, Tolstoi. June 29 1, 398 Northeast Point July 2 1, 396 Do July 3 1, 109 Zoltoi, Lukanin July 6 1. 535 Zapadni July 7 784 Polovina July 8 961 Reef, Zoltoi July 10 1, 271 Northeast Point July 13 1, 045 Do July 14 1, 169 Reef, Zoltoi 849 0.44 July 15 Tolstoi, Middle Hill, English Bay July 16 1, 138 . 46 Northeast Point ' July 21 808 . 35 Do 1, 047 ' July 22 Polovina July 23 585 . 47 Lukanin, Kitovi, Zoltoi, Reef July 25 1. 630 .42 Middle Hill, Tolstoi, Lukanin ' July 27 621 .43 Total 23, 842 ST. GEORGE ISLAND. Hauling ground. Date. Animals killed. 327 Spring-Autumn . 576 Percent. age killed., 0.32 July 19 Food skins East rookery Zapadni July 24 568 . 76 North and Staray-a Artel 999 . 72 July 26 East July 99 804 .62 Zapadni 333 . 68 July 2 North and Staraya Artel July 6 700 .56 East and Little East July 7 614 . 57 Zapadni July 9 221 .40 North and Staraya Artel July 13 487 .46 I East 221 .27 July 21 North and Staraya Artel July 24 308 . 17 Total 6,158 KILLINGS FOR QUOTA OF 1897. 113 Killings for the quota, 1897. ST. PAIL. Hauling ground. , Date. Number killed. Percent-kff:d. 1 , 1 [ 1, 701 492 316 708 1, 098 790 703 208 703 1, 230 0. 65 Food skins Autumn and spring.. .67 Reef June 15 .48 Zapadni June 18 .64 Zoltoi, Reef, and Lukanin June 23 .57 Tolstoi, Middle Hill, English Bay June 26 .58 Northeast Point June 30 .53 Do July 1 .63 Lukanin July 2 .67 Reef and Zoltoi July 5 Tolstoi, Middle Hill, English Bay July 6 Northeast Point July 8 1,713 .65 Polovina July 9 456 .68 Reef and Lukanin July 12 804 .50 Northeast Point 1, 249 .58 July 14 Zapadni July 16 886 .53 Middle Hill and English Bay July 17 297 .66 Lukanin, Zoltoi, and Reef. 988 .39 July 19 Northeast Point July 22 1.322 .34 Polovina July 23 274 .24 Lukanin and Reef July 24 526 .23 Zapadni July 96 514 .27 Tolstoi and Middle Hill July 27 199 .20 Northeast Point July 29 268 . 16 Do July 30 276 .20 Polovina July 31 108 .16 Reef and Lukanin August 1 418 . 19 Middle Hill and English Bay... August 5 101 .15 Reef August 7 172 .20 Total 18,520 • ST. GEORGE. 15184-8 9 370 Total Hauling ground. Date. Percent. Number age killed. Food skins to date East Food skins Zapadni Food skins Staraya A rtel Food skins East Food skins North and Staraya Artel East Food skins Zapadni East, North, and Staraya Artel Food skins East North and Staraya Artel Food skins Fast, North, and Staraya Artel Food skins 228 June 16 150 , 0.36 June 19-24 10 June 25 140 July 1 2 July 3 70 ! .16 July 3 4 July 7 227 1 . 22 July 8-10 6 July 13 253 1 . 26 July 16 209 .22 July 17 4 July 19 104 . 13 July 22 391 . 18 July 24-31 10 August 2 179 . 16 August 4 . 153 1 .16 August 5-9 6 August 10 .... _ _ _ . 207 . 12 August 11 17 . 34 114 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THE QUOTA OF 1897 HARDER TO GET. It must be evident from a study of these figures that the quota of 1_896 was in every way easier to procure than that for 1897. In the latter year the driving was continued ten days longer on St. Paul Island and sixteen days longer on St. George. The lowest percentage of animals killed in any drive on St. Paul in 1896 was 35; in 1897 it was lowered to 15 per cent. On St. George the lowest point reached in 1896 was 17 per cent; in 1897 it was 12 per cent. The reduction in the percentage of seals killed marks the degree of exhaustion of the hauling grounds. THE QUOTA A DIRECT MEASURE OF THE BREEDING HERD. This comparison of the bachelor herd of 1896 and 1897 is a direct measure of the condition of the breeding herd in the years 1893 and 1894 when these killable seals were born. It is not a measure of the condition of the breeding herd of 1896 and 1897. To understand why the loss in the breeding herd for the season of 1894 as compared with that for 1893 was nearly 30 per cent, while the present rate of decrease is but 15 per cent, it is only necessary to consider that in 1894 pelagic sealing was resumed in Bering Sea after the modus viveiidi and the herd that year suffered its greatest loss, amounting to 60,000 seals, whereas in 1893 its loss was only 30,000. This fully accounts for the great difference between the decrease for the season of 1897 in the fur-seal herd as measured by the product of its hauling grounds and as measured by its birth rate for the same season. The pelagic catch which affected the breeding herd between 1896 and 1897 was about one-half as great as that which affected the breeding herd between 1893 and 1894. In other words, the pelagic catch of 1894 was double that of 1893, while the catch of 1897 was about one-half that of 1896.1 THE QUOTA oF 1897 _1N I) THE PARIS REGULATIONS. Not only does this marked decrease in time quota emphasize the fact of decline in the herd, but it fixes more clearly than ever the responsibility upon pelagic sealing, and forcibly condemns the regulations of the Paris Award, in the opening year of the operation of which the loss which it indicates was sustained. TI-EE TOTAL -DECLINE IN THE HERI). In this comparison of the quota of killable seals with the breeding nerd of the year in which its individuals were born, we find the necessary basis for an estimate of the total decline which time herd has suffered. The killable seals found in 1897 bear a direct relation to the breeding herd of 1891. In like manner the quota of 100,000 skins taken in 1880, for example, bears a- direct, and we may suppose, proportionate relation to the breeding herd of 1897. The breeding herd which could without difficulty furnish 100,000 killable seals in 1880 must have been at least five times as great as the herd which can to-day with difficulty furnish 20,000. And when we take into account the increased effort required to secure the latter quota, we may assume that the total decline in the herd really lies between four-fifths and five-sixths of its maximum size. 'This fart is overlooked by Professor Thompson when lie asserts that the ratio of the catch (quota) of 1897 to that of 1896 is not a fair proportionate measure of, but is largely in excess of the actual diminution of the general herd." (Report of 1897, p. 11.) CITA,.PTER THE CAUSE OF THE DECLINE. JOINT AGREEMENT OF 1892. At the joint meeting of American and British investigators in 1892, preceding the Paris Arbitration, an agreement was reached that " since the Alaska purchase a marked diminution in the number of seals" on the Pribilof Islands had taken place, and that this diminution was "the result of excessive killing by man." But when an attempt was made to analyze what was meant by "excessive killing" each commission took a different view. The commission for the -United States claimed that it was the slaughter at sea of female seals that was responsible; the commissioners for Great Britain held that land killing was chiefly, if not wholly, responsible. As has already been shown, the decline admitted in 1892 has continued to time present time and is still going on. It only remains for us now to locate if possible the cause of the decline, to distinguish between land and pelagic killing. NO NATURAL CAUSE COMPETENT TO EXPLAIN THE DECLINE. It may be remarked at the outset that the investigations of the past two seasons have brought to light no natural cause of injury to the herd which can be connected with its decline. The subject of mortality among the fur seals is discussed ill detail in Part III of this report. It is only necessary here to say that among the adult seals no mortality was found which was not due, directly or indirectly, to contests among the bulls, or to rough treatment of the cows by the bulls. In the case of the very young pups an hitherto unknown but apparently customary cause of death, due to the ravages of a parasitic worm infesting crowded and sandy breeding areas, was found to be responsible for a large number of deaths. In the case of very young pups a certain number are also trampled to death by the bulls. The number dead from these causes in 1896 as counted amounted to 11,000. Doubtless a considerable number were overlooked. NATURAL CAUSES OF MORTALITY CONSTANT. It may be said, however, that both these causes of death are as old as the herd itself, and were more active when the herd was in its prime. They are directly related to the crowded condition of the rookeries and are, therefore, to-day, at a minimum. The photographs 1 taken by the British commissioners hi 1891 and 1892 show that the ' A photograph taken in 1891 by Dr. George M. Dawson shows a part of the sandy northern end of Tolstoi rookery thickly strewn with dead pulps, evidently killed by the worm. The photograph will be found among the illustrations in Appendix III. In the following year Mr. Macoun reports finding by actual count 4,000 dead pups on the sand flat of this rookery. These facts, tending to show- the presence of breeding seals and their young in territory far beyond the present confines of Tolstoi rookery, are also valuable as proving the great shrinkage of this rookery since 1891. 115 116 THE FUR. SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. deaths from Uncinaria were greater then in proportion as the herd was greater. The whitened bones of pups on. Tolstoi sands, in areas not occupied in 1891, show plainly that it antedates even that time, and there is no reason to suppose that it did not exist throughout the period when the herd was in its prime. It was probably the determining check which prevented the herd's indefinite increase. We may infer from the fighting and struggling of the limited number of bulls at present on the rookeries that in a state of nature, when the males were practically equal to the females, the destruction from such fighting among all classes of seals must have been enormous. THE REAL CAUSE OF DECLINE AN ARTIFICIAL ONE. We may therefore assume that the cause or causes which have lead to the decline of the herd are not inherent in the herd itself. In short, we may come at once to the conclusion arrived at in 1892 that interference by mall, and that alone, is chargeable with the decline. LAND AND SEA KILLING. There are two ways and two only by which the acts of man have come to affect the fur-seal herd. These are (1) by killing on land, which has been practiced ever since the islands were discovered in 1786, and for the last half century, at least, without change; and (2) killing at sea, which has been practiced to a limited extent by the Indians off the west coast of America from a very early date, but which since about 1880 has been greatly extended by the introduction of sailing vessels under the management and direction of white men. We may consider first the operations of land killing and their effect on the herd. A. LAND KILLING-ITS METHODS. ANIMALS KILLED. Land killing on the Pribilof Islands has since about the year 1835 been confined strictly to the removal of a definite number of young males, chiefly 3-year-olds, with occasional "long" 2-year-olds and "short" 4-year-olds, which approximate the 3-year-olds in size. At times the average size of seals killed has varied from this standard, leaning to the larger seals and again to the smaller animals, as the demands of the market or the condition of the hauling grounds have dictated. KILLING SEASON. The regular killing season on the islands lies between the 1st of June and the 1st of August. During the period from about the middle of August until about the middle of October the skins of the seals are not in prime condition, being stagy, as it is called, owing to the shedding of the hair. After the middle of October killing is resumed to a limited extent to furnish meat for the natives. In like manner the seals are killed for food as soon as they arrive in the spring, usually early in May. These food skins are accepted as part of the quota and are included with those taken in the regular killing season. THE DRIVING OF THE SEALS. The young bachelor seals, which are the class taken for their skins, haul out on the sand beaches or in the rear of the rookeries and at a distance from them. In the A DRIVE FROM THE REEF. 117 early morning the natives visit such hauling grounds as have been selected, and, surrounding the animals, drive them inland to the point where they may conveniently be slaughtered. As illustrating this process of driving, we may quote the following record taken from the field notes of the commission: THE DRIVE. The drive from Gorbatch and Reef rookeries this morning (July 15) was witnessed by Dr. Jordan, Professor Thompson, Dr. Stejneger, Mr. Lucas, and Mr. Clark. Captain Moser and Lieutenant Garrett, of the Albatross, were also present. Mr. Crowley, Treasury agent, conducted the movements of the visitors. Fifteen Aleuts made up the driving party. We left the village at 2 o'clock in the morning. It was then light enough to make one's way without difficulty. After a few minutes' walk we reached Zoltoi sands, a beach about one-fourth of a mile from the village, at the angle of which the bachelors from Gorbatch rookery haul out to reach the rocky slope above. The drivers ran in quickly between the seals and. the sea and soon had the animals rounded up in a large pod. From a similar hauling ground on the shore just across the neck of the peninsula another pod. was in like manner rounded up. The two pods combined were left in charge of three men to be driven across the sands to the village killing ground a few hundred yards beyond. We then proceeded to the extreme point of the Reef peninsula. The hauling ground of Reef rookery lies in the rear of the breeding ground and has four well-marked runways connecting it with the sea, on which no harems are located. A line of idle bulls keeps clear a considerable space between the hauling ground and the rookery. From the head of the various runways and in the intervening space pods of sleeping bachelors were rounded up, the Aleuts passing between the idle bulls and the bachelors and turning the latter up the bank to the flat parade ground back of the hauling ground. Here the pods were all united in one large group and the drive started on its way. It was 3 o'clock when we reached the point, and by 3.30 the drive was in motion. After passing over a short space of ground, scattered at wide intervals with irregular bowlders and having a gentle slope, the drive came into the level grassy plain of the parade ground. Here the herd, which numbered about 1,500 bachelors, was separated into two parts for greater ease and safety in driving. While one pod was allowed to rest the other was driven slowly forward in the direction of the village. Three men were now assigned to each pod, and the rest of the drivers allowed to return to the village to make ready for the killing. We followed the first herd. Over the green turf of the parade ground the drive moved along quietly and without difficulty. The drivers took their positions one on each flank to repress any lateral movements, and the third brought up the rear. There was no noise or confusion. In general the seals were allowed to take their own time and go at their own pace. Those in the advance acted as leaders, and the rest of the flock followed naturally after them. At the beginning the seals showed some reluctance in leaving their hauling grounds, and made ineffectual attempts to break away. But after the drive was under way they moved forward apparently as a matter of course. When the leaders showed an inclination to take the wrong course the men on the flank simply stood up and raised a hand, which was sufficient to turn them back into the way. For the most part the men kept out of sight of the seals. The seals on the drive do not keep up a continuous motion. They take ten or a dozen steps and then sit down like dogs to rest and pant, resuming their way when they find that their companions have gone on. The leaders set the example, and as they are rested by the time the rear members of the herd have come to a standstill, they move on and are ready to stop by the time the rear guard have started. The result is that some part of the herd is moving all the time and the progression is continuous. There is a tendency on the part of the young seals to go faster than the older ones, of which a large number were included. By a gradual sifting process the old fellows fell to the rear, and on several occasions pods of from a dozen to twenty were cut off and allowed to return to the sea. All the seals and especially the larger ones showed signs of fatigue. They appeared to be hot and excited, and a cloud of steam rose constantly from the moving animals. This steam had a strong musky smell. 'When the herd stopped, individual seals would often sprawl omit on the ground, raising their hind flippers and waving them fan-like evidently in an effort to cool off. After resting a 118 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. moment the seals were ready to move on apparently refreshed. Continuous exertion is evidently hard on them, but they quickly recover from exhaustion. As soon as the flock comes to rest for a few moments' breathing, they begin to bite one another and push in an unconcerned fashion until they are reminded by the absence of their companions that they must keep moving. The seals were not urged forward, but were allowed to take their own time. When the herd was brought to rest for a few minutes, the rear driver started them on by clapping his hands or by rattling a stick on a rock. Our presence evidently urged the seals, and made the drive really harder than it would ordinarily have been. The Aleuts seem to have a way of handling the seals that they understand. A short distance brought us to the end of the grassy plain and into an area of ground filled with embedded bowldeis. These were for the most part flat and worn smooth. It looked like hard ground for the seals, but in reality they seem to get over it better than the flat ground. On the flat there was constant crowding, while here the rocks kept the seals apart. The animals are really more familiar with the rocky ground, their breeding rookeries with few exceptions being on the rocky beaches. After passing over a slight ridge, where the passageway became narrowed by projecting cliffs and where there was a good deal of crowding and scrambling, the drive left the bowlder-strewn path and passed into a valley overgrown with tall Elymus grass and lying between rows of sand dunes also grass-grown. The seals seem to be refreshed by the moisture of the grass, which was wet with demand rain. This grassy plain led into the top of the bowlder-set slope above Zoltoi sands, from which the earlier seals were driven. The seals passed down this slope without difficulty and came into the level sand flat. Here the first really hard work of the drive began. The seals seemed to find their greatest difficulty in walking on the yielding sand. Their flippers take hold of the rocks like rubber, but slip back in the sand. No rocks prevented the animals from crowding. They stepped on each other's flippers, became much excited, and seemed generally worried. But in a few minutes the sands were passed and the herd emerged into the grass-grown killing ground. As soon as the seals came to a standstill, they seemed to forget their troubles. At once they began biting, snarling, and blowing at one another as though nothing had happened. They were then turned into the little lake beside the killing ground to cool off, and were herded up on the bank to rest until their turn came to be killed. It was minutes after 5 when the first herd reached the killing ground. The second arrived three-quarters of an hour afterwards, having taken more time on the way. THE KILLING. After the seals have sufficiently rested and cooled off the killing is begun. The large drove of animals is put in motion in the direction of the spot where the killing is to begin. Two men close in on the moving animals and cut off a small pod of from twenty-five to fifty, turning the main body back. This small group is driven up within reach of a number of men armed with clubs. These "cull" out the "killable" seals (3-year-olds, large 2-year-olds, and small 4-year-olds) by striking them on the head, allowing the nonkillable seals (yearlings, small 2-year-olds, and all "wigged" seals) to escape and make their way back to the sea. As soon as one pod is knocked down, a second is cut out and driven up. This process is continued until the drove is exhausted. THE ALEUTS. The operations of the killing ground are carried out by the Aleuts, under the immediate direction of the native chief, who is in turn subject to the direction of the agent of the lessees. The latter supervises the clubbing and indicates time proper grade of animals to be selected. The drives are authorized by the agent of the Government, and he is required to be present on the killing grounds to look after. the interests of the Government as the owner of the herd. LUBBING, AND PRIVIN OFF R TD A S A POD" OF SEALS JUST KNOCKED DOWN. V30 3H1 01 ONINE1111321 S1V3S C13103r38 f S1V3S "ON154011S, IBII71W -I!J1 SKINS REMOVED, FOOD MEAT BEING CUT FROM THE CARCASSES. EFFECTS OF LAND KILLING. 119 With the knocking down of the killable seals and the release of those not suitable, the work of handling the seals on land ceases to have any effect on the life of the herd. The processes of taking and curing the skins have been so well described by Mr. Elliott and others that it is hardly necessary to redescribe them, but for the sake of completeness a brief summary may be given. SKINN1N(4- THE SEALS. As the animals are clubbed they are stretched out in order, with space for the skinners to work about them. The skull of the fur seal is its weakest point, and the blow of the club renders the animal instantly unconscious, if it does not kill it outright. It is immediately stuck to the heart with a knife, which serves the double purpose of insuring death and bleeding the animal. THE DIVISION OF LABOR ON THE KILLING FIELD. The Aleuts, by whom the various operations are carried on, follow at present a systematic division of labor, working in four sections, the operations of "clubbing," "sticking," "flippering," and "skinning" going on simultaneously. The clubbing and skinning are done by the most skillful and experienced of the men. The beginners do the sticking and flippering. This last process involves the cutting of the skin loose from about the nose, tail, and flippers, and slitting it through the median line of the belly. When this is done the animal passes into the hands of the skinner, who removes the pelt with a few quick strokes of the knife, spreading it out flesh side downward on the grass to cool. THE TREATMENT OF THE SKINS. The skins are gathered up in wagons and counted into the salt house, where they are salted in, tiers, with the flesh side up, layers of salt alternating with the skins. After lying thus for five or six days they are taken out and resalted in reverse order. They remain in this salt for about ten days or two weeks, when the process of curing is complete, and they are taken out, wrapped in neat bundles, each containing two skins, and tied securely, ready for shipment. The skins are then counted into the bidara, which is to lighter them to the ship, and are counted for a third time into the hold of the vessel. At San Francisco they are placed in casks and shipped to London, where they are dressed and dyed and filially distributed to be manufactured into garments. THE EFFECTS OF LAND KILLING. Owing to the polygamous habit of the fur seals, time greater part of time male life born is superfluous for breeding purposes. For the 130,000 breeding cows found on the rookeries of St. Paul and St. George islands in the season of 1897, 4,418 bulls were adequate, or at least out of fully 10,000 adult bulls ready and willing to serve harems, only this number were able to obtain them. Therefore only 1 bull in 30 is absolutely necessary under present conditions. That this limit could be materially lowered without positive danger to the herd is conclusively shown by the -history of the Russian herd on Bering Island, where the observations of the past three years, as detailed by Dr. Stejneger, show that a male fur seal is capable of attending to the wants of between 100 and 200 cows.' Stejneger, Prel. Report, 1897, p. 11. 120 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. REMOVAL OF SUPERFLUOUS MALE LIFE BENEFICIAL. Moreover, the removal of this superfluous male life is not only possible, but is really beneficial to the herd. As already indicated, the only deaths among adult bulls and cows discovered upon the rookeries of the islands resulted from the struggles of the bulls among themselves or to obtain possession of the cows. In time death of young pups also this fighting and struggling of the bulls is a small but by no means insignificant cause of loss. In 1896 the great early mortality among nursing pups was wrongly ascribed to the trampling of the fighting bulls. But while the more complete and satisfactory investigation of 1897 shows another and more important cause, there still remains a considerable loss from this source. Timis loss is now insignificant compared with what it was in the wild state of the herd. When the number of adult males and females was practically equal, the destruction both among the cows and among the pups must have been enormous. It undoubtedly rivaled the ravages of the worm thwiiiaria in its destructive work and combined with it to offset the natural increase of the herd. POSSIBILITY OF OVERBILLING. While as a general principle the removal of these superfluous males is beneficial to the herd, excessive removal would undoubtedly lead to disastrous results. The percentage of males required for time needs of propagation is small, but it is essential, and if reduced too low or cut off entirely the effect must be injurious. Such excessive killing would be felt in the scarcity of bulls, from which cause, through inadequate service, the usual increase of pups would not be born and the herd must ultimately begin to fail. It is on this ground that land killing becomes a possible source of danger to the herd. A HYPOTHETICAL CASE. To understand bow such killing would act, let us take a hypothetical case. If in any given year absolutely every 3-year-old male was killed to fill the quota, this would involve the absence of representatives of this class of seals from the reserve of bulls for the replenishment of the rookeries in subsequent years. It would not affect the breeding bulls, nor the reserves of four, five, and six years. These latter would supply the deficiency in the breeding stock caused by old age for at least ten years, and it would take that period at least to show the effect of the close killing. If it was not repeated, no influence would be felt. The 7-year-old bull of the following year would simply enter the rookeries as a 6-year-old. But suppose the killing was continued through a series of years, every 3-year-old being killed, the reserve would in time be cut off and time stock of breeding bulls would die out. It is impossible to say how long it would take to produce this effect, because we do not know the length of the life of the bull. We may infer, however, that it is not less than fifteen years, and therefore time injurious effects of this excessive killing begun in any given year and continued indefinitely would not be seen within ten years at least. This is only a hypothetical case, but it shows what is meant by too close killing of males in filling the quota. The killing of males, which would produce immediate and disastrous results, must strike at time adult males. To destroy this class or any considerable number of them would at once weaken the herd. But there would be no object in such killing, and it has never been thought of. NO OVERKILLING OF MALES. 121 ST'CH KILLING- NOT PRACTICABLE. In the hypothetical case above cited we have supposed that every male of a given age could be taken. While in theory this is possible, in practice it could probably never be done. There are certain hauling grounds, such as Lagoon, Zapadni Head, Otter Island, Sivatch Rock, and Southwest Point, from which the seals are not and have never been driven. The young males frequenting these are left undisturbed, and it is safe to suppose that the majority of them pass killable age before the sexual instinct draws them to the vicinity of the rookeries from which seals are driven. Furthermore, there are always little pods of bachelors in the tarns and corners of the rookeries which either can not be reached or are too insignificant in number to be followed up. OTTER ISLAND NOT DRIVEN. Otter Island, one of these hauling grounds from which seals are never killed, must have been a source of reserve male life throughout the history of the herd. From the records in the log of St. Paul of the (lays when a guard was stationed there to prevent raids, we know that anywhere from two to ten thousand bachelors hauled out there regularly. During the past summer at least 1,000 young males were found at the time the island was visited. There were also from 500 to 800 males of this sort on Sivutch Rock at the time of its inspection in 1897. These young males are not disturbed, and from these hauling grounds alone an adequate supply of reserve male life might be expected to-day if none whatever escaped otherwise. In the earlier days when the herd was larger their yield was also larger. DEFECTIVE SKINS. One other matter in this connection is worth mentioning. From the killing field at every killing a considerable number of young males, otherwise strong and vigorous, are rejected because of some defect in the skin, chiefly bites or sears of imperfectly healed wounds. These males go to swell the quota of reserve male life. OVERKILLING OF MALES HAS NOT OCCURRED. 'So far we have considered the possibility of too close killing of males. Let us examine the facts in the case. At the time the herd came into the possession of the United States it was in a prosperous condition, probably increasing, and it maintained a maximum condition of expansion for a number of years. We need therefore not go back of the transfer of the rookeries to the United States in considering the causes of decline. From the year 1871 a nominal quota of 100,000 male seals was taken each year to and including 1889. Since 1889 the quota has fluctuated as a result of various causes. To and including the year 1890 there were killed, in addition to the normal quota each year for food for the natives, from 3,000 to 5,000 male pups. There was further a large killing of males for food in the stagy season and of animals too young to furnish skins of the desired grade for the quota. Since 1890 the killing of pups has been stopped, as also the killing of stagy seals. 122 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. STATISTICS OF THE QUOTA. The annual killing of male life on the fur-seal islands during the period of the first lease we find has averaged about 105,000 per year. The following table gives the total killings of males for all purposes whatsoever for the period in question: Land killing, 18'10--1889. Year. Land Year. Laud Y.qtr. Land killing. Year. Land killing. 1870 93,773 1877. 106,460 1880 105,718 1885 105.024 1871 102 960 1876 94,657 1881 105,063 1886 104.521 1872 108,819 1877 84,310 1882 99,819 1887 105,760 1873 109,177 1878 109,393 1883 j 79.509 1888 103,304 1874 110.585 1879 110.411 1884. 105.434 1889 102,617 VOIA REDUCTION OF QUOTA IN 1876-77. From an examination of this table we find that between the years 1871 and 1875, inclusive, an average of 107,500 male seals were annually killed on the islands. In 1876-77 this average was reduced to 88,500. Some question lead been raised by Captain Bryant,' then agent in charge of the islands, as to the effect of the killing of this full quota. lie had even recommended that it be reduced. This may have influenced the contraction in the quota, but it was not insisted upon by the Government and was voluntary on the part of the lessees. The fact that in 1878 killing was resumed and continued at an average of 105,000 for four years shows clearly enough that the alarm about the quota felt by Captain Bryant was without foundation. The temporary reduction for the two years could not have influenced the herd. But in these two years we have a right to assume that at least 38,000 young males of the age of 3 years were allowed to escape and grow up as an addition to the reserve of bulls. VOLUNTARY REDUCTION IN 1882-83. In 1882 and 1883 we find a similar reduction to 88,700 of the quota of male life from the preceding average of 105,000. This contraction was, as we know, purely voluntary 011 the part of the lessees and due to the overstocked condition of the seal-skin market. That it was not due to any scarcity of seals is clearly enough shown by the fact that the killing was in 1884 resumed and continued at an average of 104,400 until the year 1889. The point we wish to make clear is that the 38,000 males in this first extraordinary reservation made in 1876-77, 3 years old at the time, were 7 years old, or ready for harem duty in 1880-81, and 10 years of age, or in their breeding prime in 1885-86, when the decline in the herd was well begun. Likewise, the second reservation of 32,800 young bulls was ready to replenish the rookeries in 1886-87, and they were still in their prime in 1889 and subsequent years when the decline was in the height. NO DEARTH OF MALE LIFE. That the young male life represented by these annual killings from 1871 to 1880 should have been produced upon these rookeries is in itself abundant proof that there was no dearth of breeding males. In its prime 25,000 bulls were ample for the See extracts from the log of St. Paul, Pt. II, under date of June 10, .Iuly 25, August 4, etc., 1875. ANTICIPATION OF THE QUOTA. 123 needs of the beard. By the extraordinary reservations of male life which we have just noted more than sufficient bulls were supplied to the rookeries from and after 1880 to meet their needs. This was in addition to the regular reservations which were made from year to year and, further, in addition to those which escaped naturally on hauling grounds not driven. In the history of this period, as recorded in the log of St. Paul Island, there is nothing to show that the breeding grounds were not amply stocked with bulls, and on the killing grounds systematic provision was made for the necessary reserve of male life. KILLING OF MALES NOT A FACTOR IN DECLINE. When we consider all these things in connection with the difficulties which we have shown to stand in the way even of a deliberate attempt to kill too closely, we believe ourselves fully justified in asserting that land killing has not, through too close killing of the males, been a factor in the decline of the herd. PREMATURE KILLING. It remains to be noted that there is another class of close killing which, while it does not injuriously affect the herd as a whole, produces effects which are unfortunate and which may appear to be harmful although they are not so. We have said that from 1884 to 1889 an average of 104,400 male seals were killed on the islands each year. This would seem to indicate a normal condition of the herd, while as a matter of fact we know that during this period the herd was rapidly declining, and the immediate drop from 100,000 skins in 1889 to 21,000 in 1890 proves it. ANTICIPATION OF QUOTA. To understand how this killing could be thus maintained it is only necessary to remember that the quota of killable, or nominally 3-year-old seals, is culled from a herd of bachelors which contains also the quota of two subsequent years as 2-year-olds and yearlings. When in 1885 the killable seals began to gradually become scarce upon the hauling grounds, it at first became necessary to drive oftener, to include more hauling grounds, and finally to increase the period of driving. This matter can be made clear by the following table: Table showing date of filling quota, 'number of hauling grounds and drives, St. Paul Island. Year. Date Hauling Number quota grounds of driven.2 drives.' 1880. July 17 78 38 1881 July 20 99 34 1882 July 20 86 36 1883 SI 39 . July 19 1884i 101 42 July 21 1885 ' July 27 106 63 1886 117 74 July 26 1887 July 24 101 66 1888 July 27 102 73 1889 110 74 July 31 I Date at which last regular drive for the quota was made. 2 Several hauling grounds are included in a single drive: as, for example. Tolstoi, Middle Hill. aim English Bay are regularly included in one drive. 1' 4 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THE KILLING OF UNDERSIZED SEALS. For a time these more vigorous methods had the desired effect, but the scarcity of bachelors as a result of the decreasing birth rate made it necessary filially to lower the age for killable seals so as to include first the 2-year-olds and in the end many of the larger yearlings,' in order to secure the requisite 100,000 skins. By these methods it happened, in 1889, that practically the whole bachelor herd of four years and under, down to the yearlings, was wiped out. The result was the abnormal drop to 21,000 in the quota of 1890. SUCH KILLING DID NOT IN.TURE THE HERD. It is evident, however, that this sort of killing is not inimical to the breeding herd. It simply destroys the superfluous bachelors through premature killing. It is an anticipation in the quota of one year of the product of the next. That even the close killing of 1889 did not endanger the herd is clearly shown in that it was possible to secure, in 1890, 21,000 seals of killable age. This fact alone shows that in the nature of things it is impossible to get all the males of a certain age in any given year. That there were 21,000 seals which were of killable age in 1890 may be taken as showing, indirectly at least, that, in like manner, other older bachelors escaped, which, in the interval between 1889 and 1890, had passed to the " wigged" stage, where they were no longer suitable for the quota. Of this class Mr. Elliott records in his 1890 report the turning back of 1,112 from a part of the killings of that year. PREMATURE KILLING WASTEFUL, BUT NOT INJURIOUS. It is not the intention here to justify the methods of killing employed in the closing years of the lease of the Alaska Commercial Company. Such killing ought never to have been allowed. It would not have occurred had not the termination of the lease been approaching, as it would have been wholly against the interest of the lessees. But it is not conceivable that such killing could ever affect the life of the herd, as it would necessarily bring to ruin the business of taking seal skins on land long before it could produce any effect on the breeding herd. KILLING OF PUPS WASTEFUL. Nor can the wasteful practice of killing pups for food and killing seals when stagy, which unnecessarily augmented the draft on the male life of the herd, be passed over without condemnation. The magnitude of this waste may be inferred from the following synopsis taken from the records : 2 Seals killed whose skins were wasted, 1871-1890. Pups (for food) 95.628 Food skins (rejected) 27, 790 Bachelor skins (rejected) 30, 798 Total 154,216 Letter of Dr. McIntyre, Senate Doe. 137, Pt. I, p. 345. See Appendix I. METHODS ON THE COMMANDER ISLANDS. 125 ABSENCE OF INJURY TO THE HERD. This condemnation, however, must rest solely on the basis of the waste involved. It resulted in no injury to the herd because there were still enough males, and to spare. In spite of the unnecessary draft on its male life, and in spite of the premature gathering of its product in the closing years of the old lease, the male life needed for the breeding herd never failed. The breeding grounds are to-day grossly overstocked with adult breeding bulls which can not be less than 8 years of age, and many of them must be older, their birth dating from the very period when the closest killing took place. In addition to these the rookeries are being flooded by a swarm of younger bulls as a result of the partial suspension of killing under the modus vivendi of 1891-93. METHODS ON THE COMMANDER ISLANDS. Over the whole subject of land killing, as conducted on the Pribilof 1 slands, a flood of light is thrown by a comparison with the methods in vogue on the Commander Islands. On Bering Island, for some years past, no killable bachelors have been spared, and the proportionate number of bulls is very far below what it has been under the closest killing on St. Paul and St. George. On Poludinnoye (South) rookery, Bering Island, for example, there were in 1895 five bulls, in 1896 three bulls, for between 500 and 1,000 females. Vet this number, assisted, doubtless, by immature bulls, has been shown to be entirely adequate for the impregnation of all the females. According to Mr. Barrett-Hamilton of the British commission, so far as could be seen, every cow on this rookery had a pup in 1896. This observation was confirmed by Dr. Stejneger and Captain Moser, who visited the rookery at about the same time. DR. STEJNEGER7S OBSERVATIONS. In his report for 1895,1 Dr. Stejneger observes: On that rookery (Poludiiinoye) the disproportion between the two sexes was excessive in 1895. According to reliable information, the number of bulls on the whole rookery did not exceed five. Judging from what I saw of this rookery during two visits, I should place the number of breeding females at about 600, possibly only 500.2 It would be a comparatively easy matter to observe this year (1896) whether the number of pups born be very markedly small in proportion to the number of females hauling out. THE DEARTH OF MALE LIFE ON BERING ISLAND. For the three bulls which had charge of the 600 or more cows on South rookery, Bering Island, in 1896, Dr. Stejneger found in 1897, by actual count, 526 pups. Considering the proportion of seals which must have died during the winter of old age, and those which were taken by pelagic sealers, this birth rate shows clearly enough the capacity of the three bulls. For this rookery, which in 1897 contained at least 526 cows, there were but two adult bulls and a young half bull. Such reckless killing as that practiced on the Commander rookeries is by no means to be commended nor to be imitated, but in the face of the absence of injurious results from it, it becomes impossible to charge against the more moderate and conservative killing of the Pribilof Islands any share of responsibility for the decline of the herd breeding upon their shores. ' Russian Fur Seal Islands, 1895, p. 64. 2 Dr. Stejneger's estimate of 300 to 600 cows was made under the supposition that the cows seen on the rookery represented practically all belonging to it. It was not until 1896 that it was discovered that not over half the cows are present at one time. CHAPTER IX. THE THEORY OF OVERDRIVING. DRIVING AND ITS SUPPOSED RESULTS. From the foregoing it must be clear that laud killing has never produced a scarcity of male life for breeding purposes, and has not therefore been a factor in the decline of the herd. This would naturally end the matter, were it not for the prominence which certain absurd theories have received. These we must consider in some detail. It is to Mr. Henry W. Elliott, who was sent in 1890 to investigate the condition of the fur-seal herd, that we are indebted for the theory that overdriving is a cause of injury to the herd. In his report Mr. Elliott has elaborated this theory at great length. It is plainly not the outgrowth of his investigations, but their guiding hypothesis from the beginning to the end. Mr. Elliott, instead of seeking in the breeding herd the cause of its decline, impressed by the great diminution of the bachelor herds, confined his attention solely to them. The condition of this class of animals is only an incident to the life of the herd. The causes affecting it necessarily originate in the breeding herd. He found, what is undoubtedly true and has been from the first, that the young males began a course of driving from the hauling grounds to the killing grounds at the age of 1 year. They were rejected because too small. The following year they appeared in the drives again as 2-year-olds, and were again rejected for the same reason. In the third year they were, so far as driven, killed. The fourth and subsequent years found those which escaped as :3-year-olds unsuitable for killing on account of the incipient wig, and they were accordingly again rejected, as certainly as they appeared in the drives. This course of driving resulted, according to Mr. Elliott, in the death of practically all the animals released, or else the impairment of virility in those which survived. The only recruits which the breeding males received therefore was an insignificant number of debilitated males, whose sexual powers were lost. In this way the herd had been destroyed, This, in brief, is the theory of overdriving. THE PROCESS OF DRIVING. Let us examine for a moment this process of driving and the animal which has to undergo it. As we know, very few of the yearlings get into the drives till after the middle of July, when the sealing season is nearly over; therefore, not many of the seals are driven at this age. In the second and subsequent years they come earlier and are driven more frequently. The seals on each hauling ground are gathered up about six times in a season; but as in each drive new killable seals are found which certainly have not been driven before during the season in question, we may assume that the rejected seals themselves are not all driven each time. In fact, we must assume that in the years immediately subsequent to 1890 the seals of the age of 3 years that escaped to grow up were not driven at all; otherwise they could not have survived. 126 ALLEGED EVILS OF DRIVING, THE ANIMAL DRIVEN. If we suppose that any rejected seal is driven fifteen times in five years we have made a liberal estimate. This means au average of 15 miles of land travel for each animal, for the drives on the islands do not average more than a mile in length. The seals, as we have already seen in the description of the drive, are allowed to take their own time and rest frequently on the journey. The animal, moreover, is not ill adapted to land travel. It is not a fish, but a bear which has become adapted to life in the water. It can and does voluntarily climb cliffs which a man would find difficulty in scaling. It makes considerable journeys of its own accord. When on its hauling grounds, it is constantly in motion, pitted against its fellows in contests requiring violent exertion. On its migrations it is capable of swimming thousands upon thousands of miles and buffeting the storms of an unusually tempestuous sea. Such is the animal which is supposed to be fatally, or at least permanently, injured by an average of 3 miles of laud travel annually in five years. The conclusion is preposterous. THE THEORY INTANGIBLE. When we come to scrutinize Mr. Elliott's theory, we can not find a tangible bit of evidence to support it. There was no dearth of bulls in 1890. He found 12.000 bulls on the rookeries, with more to spare idle on the sand beaches. This was a number entirely adequate to the needs of the herd. The presence of idle bulls showed there were more than enough. It is true lie asserts that the bulls were impotent. Why they should seek the rookeries in this condition is not explained. Furthermore, Mr. Elliott has not, in support of this charge of impotency, recorded the dissection of a single animal, the only way by which the fact of impotency could be ascertained. Mr. Elliott declares that no fresh male life existed in reserve to replenish this wornout stock. In the face of this statement lie records. however, in his data for the killings lie witnessed, the rejection of more than 1,100 young half bulls, which are just the class lie says does not exist. He lays great stress upon the strain and exertion which the few miles of land travel produces in the driven seal, and asserts that practically none of them survive it. Of the thousands rejected under his eyes on the killing grounds in 1890, he records but a single instance of death resulting from this cause, and inasmuch as 110 autopsy examination is recorded, we have only his opinion in the matter and must dissent from it. When we attempt to fit this theory of overdriving to the conditions during the period prior to 1890, we meet with no great success. That the driving in these years did not kill the 2 and 1 year old animals driven is shown by the fact that these seals appeared each year as 3-year-olds to be driven. From the younger males so released each year and from these alone could the killable seals of subsequent years come. That the bulls serving the rookeries in these years were not impotent is shown by the number of young males which the hauling grounds were able to supply. The thousands of yearlings which lie has recorded as turned back from the killing grounds in 1890 show clearly enough that the bulls were not impotent in 1888. Subsequent events show as clearly that the bulls lie saw in 1890 were not impotent. ITS LOGICAL CONCLUSION. This contention as to the effects of overdriving, pushed to its logical conclusion, means that animals are killed by it which persist in appearing afterwards distinctly 128 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. alive; others are rendered impotent which are yet able to fill the rookeries with pups. The whole matter is too absurd for serious consideration, and might be passed by with the silent contempt it deserves were it not for the fact that it was accepted by the British commissioners in 1891 and made the chief foundation of the British contention before the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration. In view of this fact, it has seemed necessary to give more attention to the theory than it deserves. THE DRIVES AND DRIVEWAYS. As other effects than those contemplated by Mr. Elliott's theory, for example, the driving of the animals away from their breeding haunts, the stampeding of the breeding rookeries, etc., have been associated with the methods of handling the seals on land, it will be useful for us to consider the subject in detail as it came under our observation during the past two seasons. We have already given an account of the process of driving. At the outset it is well to contrast the driving of the present time with that of the past. THE RUSSIAN DRIVES. In the early Russian days the drives were all long and tedious. On St. Paul, everything was brought to the village, at the extreme southern end of the island. Thus the seals from Northeast Point had to travel a distance of about 12 miles; those from Polovina, and Zapadni, respectively, 5 and 6 miles. On St. George Island the seals were driven over the rocky ridge from Zapadni, a distance of about 6 miles. Days and nights were occupied in these long drives. The seals were allowed to take their own time, resting frequently, the natives watching and guarding them in relays. Of the time taken by the drives from Northeast Point in the Russian days we have no record, but in the year 1888, in January, according to the log of St. Paul Island,' a food drive of 500 seals was made to the village from this point, and it gives us sonic idea of what such a drive meant. THE DRIVE FROM NORTHEAST POINT. The seals were driven in in two sections, the time on the road being, respectively, eighty-two and one hundred hours. No deaths are reported to have occurred. The instructions to the men were to be " careful and go slow, if it took a week, and to kill and bring in all that perished on the way." The seals are reported as arriving in good condition. -Drives of sea lions have in recent years also been brought from Northeast Point to the village. THE AMERICAN DRIVES. Under American control the long drives were done away with. Salt houses were established at Northeast Point, at Polovina, at Zapadni of St. Paul, and one bad already been established at Zapadni of St. George in 1868. The seals on these rookeries are to-day killed near the hauling grounds, and their skins are salted and cared for there. From Northeast Point the skins are loaded directly on the vessel. From Zapadni of St. George they are packed across the island by the natives on their backs. See extracts from the log, Pt. II, date of January 20, 1888. CHARACTER OF THE REEF DRIVEWAY. 129 THE DRIVES GREATLY SHORTENED. The drives have been still further shortened by the location of new killing grounds still nearer to the rookeries, and to-day the longest drive on St. Paul is not over a mile in length, while several are less than half a mile. On St. George, except in the case of Zapadni, the drives are the same as in the old days, everything being brought to the village. North rookery, however, is within half a mile of the village killing ground, and this is the largest of the rookeries. From Staraya Artel and from East rookeries the drives follow a course upward of 21 miles in length in opposite directions from the village. On these driveways there are marshy places and occasional ponds of fresh water in which the seals are allowed to cool off. These drives, therefore, though long, are easier than shorter drives would be under ordinary conditions. REEF DRIVEWAY. The Reef drive on St. Paul, though only about a mile in length, is in fact the hardest of the drives. It contains all the different conditions to be met with on any of the drives, and therefore a detailed description of its course will answer for the rest. Reef drive begins at the very point of Reef peninsula. The hauling ground of Reef rookery lies in the rear of the central portion of the breeding ground in a hollow between two rocky ridges, one dividing it from the rookery itself and the other leading up to the fiat ground of the " parade ground." The hauling ground has four runways connecting it with the sea. From the heads of these runways and from the central portion of the hauling ground the straggling bands of bachelors are gathered up and driven to the fiat of the parade ground above. Here on the level the different groups are united in one great pod. THE CHARACTER OF THE ROUTE. After the drive is formed the first 90 yards of its course lies over practically level ground, sloping very gradually toward the east, the direction to be taken. Toward the end of this first section the ground becomes strewn with large bowlders, sufficiently far apart, however, to offer no obstructions to the seals. The course then leads out into a level, grassy plain, 325 yards in length, with a scarcely perceptible slope to the east. The ground is level, free from stones, and the damp seal grass makes going easy. In this plain the larger drove of seals is usually divided into two smaller ones for convenience in driving. Beyond the grassy plain is a bowlder-covered area, the rocks imbedded in the soil, flat and worn smooth. This area was once hauling ground, perhaps breeding territory in the palmy days of the herd. Between the stones are patches of yellow seal grass. At the ridge, about midway in this rocky stretch, the course is narrowed by piles of rocks, traces of the original cliff which formed the ridge. In this narrowed passage there is a tendency to crowd, due to the desire of the seals to go in a mass wherever they go. The whole length of this rocky area is about 262 yards. From the rocks the driveway leads up a gentle sand slope to a plain lying between two rows of grass-grown sand dunes. This plain is 400 yards in length and furnishes very easy going for the seals. Its surface is covered with a heavy growth of rye grass, which is always wet with rain or dew, and serves to cool off time seals. 15184 9 130 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. At the end of the grassy plain the course drops down over a short ledge of rocks some 3 feet in height, to a bowlder-covered area of about 200 yards in extent. This area at first level falls in a gentle slope at the end to the level of Zoltoi sands. The bowiders are large, smooth, and flat, and the interspaces are filled with lava sand. Along the 400 yards of level sand beach is the hardest part of the drive. The seals slip and sink in the loose sand. They do not mind the rocky and grass-grown areas, but the sand worries them. This sandy area leads by a narrow passage, lined on either side by sand dunes, to the grassy plain between East Landing and the little pond at the foot of the village. This is the village killing ground. THE LENGTH OF THE DRIVE. The total length of Reef drive as paced off is about 5,031 feet. Its greatest elevation is not over 75 feet, and the slopes are very gentle. The drive is usually made in about two hours. In the preceding pages is given a detailed account of a drive over this course witnessed on July 15. On none of the other drives of Pribilof Islands are there rocky areas such as those described on the Reef. On Tolstoi and Middle Hill are short stretches of sand, but they are of limited extent. With these exceptions, the driveways on St. Paul are comparatively level and grassy throughout. The same is true for the long drives of St. George. COMPARISON OF DRIVES. It is only necessary to contrast this drive from Reef, the longest and hardest on St. Paul Island, though less than a mile in length, with the 12 miles which the seals were forced to travel from Northeast Point in Russian times, or with the 5 and 6 miles of travel from Zapadni and Polovina, of St. Paul, and Zapadni of St. George. That Rio injury resulted to the seals from these early drives is clear from the condition in which the herd was when it came into the possession of the United States. THE COMMANDER DRIVEWAYS. To appreciate the ease of the Pribilof Islands drives it is only necessary to contrast them with those of the Commander islands. The following description of the driveways of lledni Island is quoted from Dr. Jordan's record in the Journal for August 25, 1896 Zapadni dri reway.— The drive from Zapadni goes up from the stony beach between two towers of rocks, climbing the gorge of a little brook which cuts into the bowlders and clay of the hillside, an excessively hard, rough little gully, very difficult for a man to climb, there being small cascades and wet clay in its course. The way is marked by road skeletons. After an ascent over ground of this sort for 300 or 400 feet, more or less, the drive goes up through steep, grassy slopes, some of them of soft clay, somewhat cut into rough steps by men's boots. The general character of the ground is unrelieved, although more or less broken by cross gullies and ridges. The final ridge is 760 feet above the sea. On time Glinka side is a long slope, at first quite steep, everywhere grassy, and rather easy, but marked with road skeletons, as it is very long. The rye grass grows rather longer below, and a little stream has deep depressions, which serve as death traps, as the skeletons show, when the seals fall in piles one over another. Above Glinka is a steep slide of yellow clay, from which the village is said to have received its name. This slide must be a hard place for the seals. The seals (few in number) that are released because too young or too old are allowed to go down to the sea, whence they go back to the west again. THE PALATA DRIVEWAY. 131 Palata driveway.—The drive from Palata is now rarely made, as the seals have grown so few. They are killed all along the beach, and the myriads of flies about the decaying carcasses must be the source of great annoyance to the breeding seals. The drive ascends from the parade ground on the top of the landslide. This was formerly occupied by bachelors, but there are no separate droves of bachelors now. They are scattered in little chimps about and between the rookeries. The drive then for about 100 feet ascends a grassy cliff so steep that steps have been dug in it to facilitate climbing. Then follows some 700 feet of irregular but very steep slope, in which the easiest depressions are sought, though the hill is everywhere about as steep as a man can climb, and one who goes up it must cling to the grass. Above this slope the drive reaches the back of the knife-like ridge that separates Palata from Zapalata. This widens out into au easy, level plateau for about 20 rods, marked with road skeletons. The elevation is about 850 feet by Dr. Stejneger's map. Then follows a steep climb up gravel and clay, with scanty grass and heather, worn into steps, the driveway bounded on the southwest by a slanting precipice that lies above Sabatcha Dira. A steep shoulder of heather and small plants is followed by a final 'limb into the clouds to the summit of the pass, 1,220 feet above the sea. From the summit an abrupt descent leads down a distance of about 500 feet by a zigzag trail as steep as a horse could pass over, strewn with gravel and covered with low flowers, to the bed of a swift little brook. This stream flows down into a grassy basin, the slopes becoming less and less steep, the rye grass and putchki growing taller. At the junction of this stream, flowing into the little brook from the west, the drive merges into the one from Zapadni. The drive from Palata is not in any place so difficult as the gully just above Zapadni, but it is half higher and twice as long, a trip one could not take on horseback, nor would it be easy to lead a horse over it. Comparing it with conditions on St. Paul, the Palata Pass is as steep as the cone of Bogoslof, twice as high, and is without water. Compared with the severest drive on St. Paul, it would stand as the ascent of Mount Blanc to a walk in the park. It is a very fatiguing trip for a man. It took me, walking rapidly, thirty-eight minutes (deducting stops) from Palata to the grassy level, 860 feet; thence twenty-eight minutes to the top, 1,220 feet; fifteen minutes down the upper slope, and fifteen more to Glinka. NO EVIL RESULTS FROM THESE DRIVES. And yet, notwithstanding the severity of the drives of the Commander Islands, no harm has resulted to the breeding herds of these islands which can be traced to this cause. CARE EXERCISED IN DRIVING. Many drives were witnessed during the past two summers on St. Paul Island. In connection with none of them was seen warrant for the harrowing tales of animals dying of exhaustion and fright by the wayside or smothering under the feet of their terrified companions. In the drive of July 15, numbering 1,500 seals, from the Reef not a seal fell by the way or showed signs of dangerous exhaustion. Many were plainly fatigued by the journey, and when allowed to rest sprawled out panting on the ground. But after resting, when the drive was ready to move on, they were ready and able to go with it. THE FUR SEAL NOT ILL ADAPTED TO LAND TRAVEL. The fur seal's only difficulty in land traveling is the inconvenience occasioned by its thick blanket of blubber. In the water and in a moist cool atmosphere this does not trouble it. But under the action of dry hot air it experiences great difficulty in making the least exertion. Combined with all this is the fact that the great oar-like feet of the seal make it clumsy, and undoubtedly its muscles become tired quickly under the unwonted exercise of walking instead of swimming. When a seal becomes exhausted and is unable to continue the journey it is killed on the spot. This is not because the animal is necessarily permanently injured. If 132 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. left to recover it would doubtless make its way to the sea. But to save time and avoid possible loss of the skill the animal is at once killed and skinned, the pelt being brought in by the drivers. These skins are called "road" skins and the carcasses left to be eaten by the foxes soon become the " road skeletons " of which so much has been said. THE "CARCASS-STREWN" DRIVEWAYS. So much had been said about the carcass-strewn driveways that it seemed worth while to verify or disprove the matter by personal observation. Accordingly, after the killing season of 1896 was over, each and every one of the driveways of St. Paul Island were traversed and closely inspected. Two skeletons were found on the Reef; two others were found in the course of a small food drive, brought over from Lukanin to the salt house at the foot of the cove. This latter (hive was evidently carelessly made, as its small size and the short distance made any casualties unnecessary. The deaths on Reef driveway each occurred on separate drives, and neither occurred on the drive witnessed on ,July 15. On none of the other driveways were skeletons found. Scattered bones were found here and there, but these were common to all parts of the islands in the vicinity of killing grounds, having been carried away by the foxes. Four deaths are therefore known to have occurred on the drives of St. Paul Island during the season of 1896, which aggregated 24,000 animals killed, besides many driven up but rejected as of unsuitable age. It is safe to say that in the handling of no similar body of animals, of no matter what kind, would a smaller percentage of deaths by accident occur. Moreover in the few cases involved the animals were at once relieved from suffering, and their skins were saved. FATALITIES ON THE DRIVES. During the season of 1897 a much greater proportion of accidents occurred on the drives, the number of seals dying probably reaching a total of 25 out of about 20,000. This was due in large measure to the unfavorable weather of this season, At times the sun came out warm and occasioned considerable suffering among the animals driven. In the books of the islands is kept a record of the skins of animals dying on the drives. The list is a small one. Of the 21,000 seals killed on the two islands in the year 1890, only 11 are recorded as dying by the wayside. This moreover is the year and the driving on which Alr. Elliott has based his theory of the evil effects of overdriving. INJURIES TO BACHELORS COULD NOT AFFECT THE HERD. But even if the young males were driven to death on the driveways it would not affect the herd of fur seals any more than the slaughter of steers would affect a herd of cattle. It would be cruel and inhuman to do it, but the responsibility would rest with the person doing the driving, and the evil effect would end with the life of the animal so tortured. If the animal as a result of the ordeal of driving goes back weakened in physical strength and vigor, it either recovers from such injury or dies, if not at once, then in the next migration. No seal physically injured in any serious manner survives the harsh sifting process of the northern winter, which sends back only those perfect in every way and fit to survive. We may therefore assume that if a seal returns to the hauling grounds the next spring, he has fully recovered and is physically able to repeat his experiences. DRIVING NOT A FACTOR IN THE DECLINE. 133 THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF SEXUAL INJURY. There remains, then, but one further point, namely, the possibility of the male seal becoming sexually injured as a result of driving while still retaining his physical vigor. The organs of generation in the male fur seal are carried like those of the dog or similar animals, and owing to the peculiar character of the hind legs of the seal they appear to be in an exposed and dangerous position. It would seem as if the testes must come in actual contact with the ground when the animal is in motion. A hasty observation might lead to the supposition that to force an animal in this condition to travel several miles over rocks and stones would produce direct injury to these organs. Whether or not this is the source of Mr. Elliott's theory of the impairment of the virility of the bulls through overdriving we do not know, but if this did not suggest the theory it is hard to understand what did. VOLUNTARY MOVEMENTS OF THE MALES. The violent voluntary movements of the adult bulls on the rocky floors of their breeding grounds would be sufficient answer to this contention. No efforts required of the seals on the drives are any harder than those they undergo of their own accord. But without relying upon this, the investigations of the past two seasons show that the testes of the male seal are under direct control of the animal, and when he is in motion are drawn up into the body, where they are absolutely protected.' Thus there is no possibility for direct injury to the generative organs of the male from driving. DRIVING NOT A FACTOR IN THE DECLINE. Therefore, after a full consideration of the subject of driving in all its bearings, we are inevitably brought to the conclusion that it is not and has not been a factor in the decline of the herd. It would be possible under thoughtless or unfeeling management to make the operation the source of great physical suffering to the animals concerned, and the driving should be, as it evidently is, always under humane and intelligent supervision. The interests of the herd, however, are not concerned in the presence or absence of such care. The treatment of the bachelors on the drives and killing grounds of St. Paul Island no more affects the breeding rookeries than would inhuman treatment of horses on the street-car lines of San Francisco affect the breeding herd of the Palo Alto stock farm. It is not necessary for us to consider certain alleged sources of injury to the herd through stampedes occasioned by fright on the rookeries or through raids by seal poachers. These and many other more or less imaginary causes of injury to the herd were used to support and strengthen the main contention of the British case before the Paris Arbitration that land killing was the cause of decline. But these causes, if they ever actually existed, could produce only temporary results, as they were themselves necessarily temporary in their nature and action. The decline of the herd, to whatever it may be due, has been constant, and for it must be sought a permanent cause. 'See observations in the Daily Journal under date of October 11 and 19, 1897. CHAPTER X. ALLEGED POSSIBLE CHANGE OF HABITS. MIGRATION TO COMMANDER ISLANDS. It may be worth while here to note certain supposed possible changes of habits on the part of the far seals as a result of the interference of man. Much has been said at the Paris Tribunal and elsewhere regarding the danger of driving the seals from their haunts on the Pribilof Islands to seek other shores. There is no such possibility. It has been a tradition in the history of the fur seals that the Commander Islands were originally occupied by seals which had abandoned the Pribilof Islands. This tradition has not the slighest foundation. Doubtless all came centuries ago from one parent stock, but as the two herds exist to-day they are distinct races or species and do not intermingle in any way. Notwithstanding this, it has within recent times been thought possible that under exceptional circumstances we might expect an exodus of seals from the Pribilof Islands to the Russian islands. Even so late as the present year it has been asserted that Pribilof seals were taken on the Asiatic side, the alleged cause of their going there being the fact that they had been branded on their native rookeries. These stories are all very absurd and rest upon no basis of fact or knowledge, but, in view of the persistency with which they have been urged, it will not be out of place to consider the habits of the animals in the light of such possible results. THE FIXED HABITS OF THE SEALS. The habits of the fur seal are strongly fixed. From the natural ruthless destruction of all seals in which the geographical instinct or the instincts of feeding and reproduction are defective results the extreme perfection of the few instincts which the animal possesses. The life processes of the fur seal are as perfect as clockwork, but its grade of intelligence is low. Its range of choice in action is very slight. It is a wonderful automaton, and the stress of the migrations will always keep it so. THE SEAL'S LOW INTELLIGENCE. By intellect or intelligence in this sense is meant the power to choose among different possible courses of action. External influences and internal impulses produce certain impressions on the nervous system of the animal. By the automatic instinct the response which follows is directly related to the cause, and there is no choice among responses. So much influence, so much rebound. By the operations of instinct each individual in given conditions will act just as any other individual will. Intellect, however, implies individuality. One animal will choose to do this, another that, adapting action to certain needs and circumstances. A fur seal will do what its ancestors have had to do to perfection. If he is forced to do anything else he is dazed and stupid. 134 EFFECTS OF CONTACT WITH MAN. 135 As a result of all this the habits of the fur seal are fixed and immutable. No better illustration of this can be cited than the fact that after having been driven from their hauling ground, culled over, and subjected to the excitement of the killing grounds, bachelors have been known to return quietly and take up their places on these same hauling grounds as if nothing had happened. During the past two seasons seals have been repeatedly watched as they were released from the killing ground at the village, swim away directly through Zoltoi Bay, round Reef Point, and haul out on the hauling ground of Reef rookery from which they had been driven perhaps three hours before. And this thing goes on throughout the season and has been going on for half a century. The seals have no remembrance of past events. Once in the water they are solely governed by the instinct which leads them to haul out at the particular point where they are accustomed to rest. That they have been so recently disturbed there is merely an incident of which they remember nothing. CONTACT WITH MAN HAS HAD NO EFFECT. The fur seals on the Pribilof Islands have been constantly in contact with men during more than a century. At times, in its early history, the herd has come near annihilation as a result of man's rapacity and improvidence. But neither this nor the more systematic and reasonable treatment which has been accorded them in recent years has affected in the least the habits of the animals. So far as we know, the fur seals of a century and a half ago did exactly what their descendants of to-day are doing. There is nothing in present conditions nor in the conditions of the past to warrant the assumption that in the future they will cease to do the same thing. At the approach of winter they depart on their migrations. With the returning spring they unfailingly arrive class by class and go through the routine of their daily life. There is no evidence that any phase of their life activity has changed since man found them. None have been found to seek other shores. It is probably not possible for man to drive them from their breeding haunts. Their rookeries are their home, and to them they will return so long as they live. ALTERATION OF CONDITIONS. Some slight alteration in the conditions of life among the fur seals have necessarily resulted from the interference of man. Land killing has lessened the number of bulls, reducing their turbulence. In the natural state of the animals, when the adult males were practically equal in number to the females the fighting among them must have. been something terrific. To-day, when the adult bulls are only about one-thirtieth of the number of females, the amount of fighting indulged in is sufficient to show that the male fur seal.bas lost none of his belligerent qualities. THE BACHELORS OF BERING ISLAND. From the excessively close killing of the males on the Russian islands, a curious result has been brought about. On North rookery of Bering Island, for a number of years, every male that could be found had been killed. As a result, there were in 1895 not more than 6 adult bulls to a herd of about 1,000 breeding females. On this rookery the bachelors were found to occupy places among the breeding seals instead of hauling by themselves, as under normal conditions. In this, however, we are not to assume a change of habit. It is the instinct of the male to seek the breeding 136 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. ground. On his return as a yearling force of habit draws him there. As he grows older sexual instinct exerts its influence. Eventually, if he is not killed, he arrives at the age when his strength enables him to win a place and rule a harem of his own. It may therefore be said that the =tural habit of the bachelor is to get on the breeding ground or as near it as possible, the fear of the bull alone keeping him away. And he has good reason to stand in dread of the harem master. At the close of the breeding season, as soon as the old males go away to feed, the bachelors scatter over the rookeries and enjoy their new found freedom until the bulls return. If the bulls were allowed to increase on Bering Island, they would certainly drive out the bachelors and restore the normal conditions. ARBITRARY SELECTION OF MALES. There is not the slightest evidence that the race of fur seals as a whole has been in any way affected by the arbitrary selection of males for killing. Only strong, vigorous males can maintain themselves on the rookeries, and those allowed to live are neither more nor less vigorous than the others would have been. Effects resulting from variations in the character of the breeding males can not be great, and would not, if they existed, make their appearances for many generations, perhaps not for centuries. Careful supervision might possibly make effective artificial selection of males, and such experiments, whether leading to practical results or not, are worth trying. But whatever may be done in the future, it is certain that the character of the herd has not been changed by the action of man in removing its superfluous male life. It must be remembered, in this connection, that a strong selective influence is exercised by the migrations in the sea. Only the vigorous members of the herd survive the experience of winter. No decrepit individuals have been known to come back in the spring. The rough sea of the north tells no tales, and it sends back to the islands only those fit to survive. THE EFFECT OF DECLINE. The decline which the fur-seal herd has suffered within the past decade has so diminished its stock of breeding females that the rookeries have contracted in area and at the same time become more sparsely populated. The harems are more isolated and distinct. The bulls have more room and are farther removed from their neighbors or the idle bulls. These alterations, however, represent mere adaptation to changing conditions and are not indication of changes in the habits of life. THE POSSIBILITY OF DRIVING THE SEALS ELSEWHERE. Most of the dire evils charged to man's interference are vague and intangible. Before the Paris Tribunal much was urged by the British representatives about the danger of the methods of land killing driving the seals to seek other breeding haunts. But no proof was adduced of such result. Perhaps the best illustration of this class of vague possibilities is found in Mr. Elliott's monograph.' The subject of how best to manage the fur-seal islands had been under discussion. In objection to the plan of the Government itself controlling the taking and selling of the seal skins Mr. Elliott, assuming that such a course would involve the sailing of Seal Islands of Alaska, 1881, p. 27. ABANDONMENT OF SPILKI ROOKERY. 137 "a thousand ships to be present at the sale," exclaims that "the rattling of their anchor chains and the scraping of their keels on the beaches of the two little islands would alone drive every seal away and over to the Russian grounds in a remarkably short space of time." The quality of seamanship implied in the second feature of this dire calamity is a fair indication of the value of the prophecy as a whole. THE ABANDONMENT OF SPILKI ROOKERY. There are, however, a few of the alleged injurious effects of contact with man which can be located and considered. One of these is the abandonment of the small breeding ground formerly occupied by seals under the cliffs behind St. Paul village. This breeding ground, though out of sight of the village, is very close to it. The claim is made by Mr. Elliott that the children and idlers from the village, by playing with the fur-seal pups and teasing them, gradually brought about the abandonment of the rookery. The abandonment of Spilki was gradual and finally culminated in 1886. The old bulls came and took up their places, but finding no cows they withdrew. In 1872-1874 Mr. Elliott reports this breeding ground, in common with all the others, in good condition and full of seals. In 1890 he found it deserted. His conclusion was that the seals, under the annoyance of the natives, had withdrawn elsewhere. THE PRESENCE OF THE VILLAGE NOT THE CAUSE. It is sufficient answer to this theory to say that the village of St. Paul has existed on its present site, and consequently in the same proximity to Spilki rookery, ever since 1824. For fifty years, therefore, according to Mr. Elliott's own testimony, no ill effects on the seals had been produced by the presence of the villagers. MORE EXPOSED CONDITION OF LAGOON ROOKERY. In further opposition of this theory we may mention the example of Lagoon rookery, which lies just across the little cove from Spilki. It is in plain sight of the village and but little farther away from it. All the traffic of loading and unloading the ships passes before it. Moreover, this rookery existed undisturbed -for years and years with the operations of the great common killing ground of the island going on within plain sight of its inmates and only a few yards away. For a time all the seals oil the island of St. Paul were slaughtered on the fiat beside the narrow channel of water, about one hundred feet in width, separating Lagoon rookery from the killing ground. No clearer proof could possibly be asked than the example this rookery shows, of the utter disregard for the presence and actions of man manifested by the fur seal. THE REAL CAUSE OF THE ABANDONMENT. When we come to seek a more rational cause for the abandonment of Spilki rookery, it is not hard to find. The rookery was but a small one at best, as the ground it occupied was limited. Mr. Elliott ascribed to it in 1872-1874 about 275 harems and about 4,000 breeding cows. We know that as a matter of fact this estimate is largely exaggerated. The log of St. Paul Island shows that in 1879 its breeding families numbered 29. There was at that time no hint given of abandonment or unusual diminution of the rookery. With the decline of the herd, which began a few years later, and may have been begun earlier, this rookery suffered diminution with the 138 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. others. In 1890 Mr. Elliott found that the herd on St. Paul had diminished to about one-fourth. A proportionate reduction for Spilki would have diminished it to less than a dozen families. To one who understands the gregarious nature of the fur seal there is no surprise excited by the abandonment of so small a rookery as this. The conclusion is inevitable that when reduced to a mere handful of harems, the animals moved over to the larger Lagoon breeding ground across the cove. ORIGIN OF LAGOON AND SPILKI. We do not know which of these two rookeries was first established, but it is reasonable to suppose that the one originated as, an overflow of the other, as both are limited in extent. As the rocky spit on which Lagoon rookery is established appears to be of recent formation, it may be that Spilki was the original breeding ground. But in any case the simple explanation of the abandonment of Spilki is found in its small size originally, the known fact of decrease in the herd, and the gregarious instinct of the animals. When the remnant became too small to exist as a unit, its individuals moved over to the Lagoon, to be with the crowd. THE ABANDONMENT OF MARUNICHEN. In further support of this, we may cite the only other example of absolute abandonment of breeding territory on the islands. On the north shore of St. Paul formerly existed a small rookery which has long since disappeared. Even the oldest inhabitant (Kerick Artimanof) merely remembers it was talked of in his childhood. His explanation that it was a small rookery and never looked upon as important gives the key to the situation. Its breeding seals abandoned their isolated position to be with the crowds on the shores of Northeast Point or Zapadni. Interference on the part of man can not be offered as a reason for its abandonment, for there is no more isolated and inaccessible place on the island. ELLIOTT'S THEORY FOR SIVUTCH ROOKERY. In his 1890 report Mr. Elliott explains the presence of a breeding rookery on Sivutch Rock by saying that the seals had been so harassed by the severe methods of driving employed on Reef rookery that they had sought on its surface a place where they might rest in peace. He says that prior to the beginning of the severe driving in 1882 the seals had instinctively avoided this place because of its exposed position and the probable destruction of the young by the storms which sweep over it. In short, he assumes a few seals had chosen to waive the instinct of self-preservation and to locate themselves in a dangerous position simply because of temporary annoyance. We have already spoken of the strong instinct of the fur seal and its lack of reasoning powers. Such an explanation as this is wholly inconsistent with both. If the animal possessed any such powers of discrimination as here assumed, there would never be a second drive made from any hauling ground on the islands. SIVUTCH OVERLOOKED IN X872.1874. We are inclined to believe that Mr. Elliott in 1872-1874 simply overlooked the presence of this rookery. lie says nothing about it in his earlier report. In 1890 he NOTIONS REGARDING THE SEALS. 139 says it did not exist then at the earlier date.' Inspection of this rock on several occasions during the seasons of 1896 and 1897 shows that it has probably always been occupied as a breeding ground. It is certainly well adapted as such. It is not wind swept or dangerous to breeding seals. The high ridge of Reef peninsula protects it from the northern and western storms, while Otter Island breaks the force of the storms from the southwest. Furthermore the drowning of pups by storms is one of the rarests of accidents. The occurrence of a breeding ground on Sivutcli Rock is perfectly natural. The ground is adapted for rookery purposes. It is within a few hundred yards of the shores of Reef rookery, and lies directly in the line followed by the seals in approaching it. There is no need of seeking a more complex explanation. It would be a matter of greater surprise if it did not contain a rookery. THE NOTIONS OF THE ALEUTS. Most of the absurd notions current regarding the seals have their origin in the minds of the Aleuts themselves. At least they possess such notions now, though originally they may have adopted them from the earlier restrictions which were once in vogue on the Pribilof Islands, and some of which are still enforced on the Commander Islands. Some of these rules are the following : The prohibition of the use of tobacco on the rookeries, of the wearing of hobnailed shoes, or of the lighting of fires when the wind was in such a direction as to carry the smoke into the vicinity of a rookery. The Aleuts may be excused for their beliefs. Their training and experience is limited. They have had nothing to do with domestic animals, and have never had opportunity to test the theories they hold regarding the seals. It was plainly the belief of these people that direful results would follow our work of the past two seasons on the islands. One intelligent native declared that the scarcity of the seals was due to the tramping of investigators about the rookeries in recent years. Another complacently declared that the rookeries were all right, because the old bulls came back regularly and in large numbers. THESE NOTIONS SHARED BY GOVERNMENT AGENTS. That the fears of the natives have been shared in to a certain extent, at least, in the past and are still held by the agents in charge of the islands, is evident. Thus, we find recorded in the log of St. Paul Island, under date of June 11, 1891, the opinion that the " constant and persistent running over the rookeries of Elliott last year at this time may be charged with a large part of the falling off of seals driven." Again, under date of November 11, 1895, the opinion is recorded that the " daily scientific and photographic investigations" of the summer have demoralized the rookeries. During the season of 1897 serious objections were made to the experiments in electrical branding as conducted in the vicinity of the rookeries because of supposed injurious effects which might result from the noise of the gasoline engine, yet the animals themselves paid not the slightest attention to the engines or to the branding operations. Most of them have not even yet noted the existence of man. See extract from log of St. Paul, Pt. II, under date of August 18, when Captain Bryant reports many seals hauled out there. 140 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. As a result of this spirit which has pervaded the management of the rookeries the policy of the past has been virtually to keep the fur seal herd in a wild state, it being shut out from all sight or contact with man except in so far as it was necessary to disturb it to secure the product of the herd. THE POLICY OF SECLUSION DETRIMENTAL. This mistaken policy bore its fruit. From the time of Mr. Elliott's investigation in 1872-1874 until the collapse of the herd in 1890 the history of the rookeries is a blank, so far as any real knowledge is concerned. What was needed was a thorough and systematic study each year of the condition of the breeding herd. It is safe to say that had this been done, the error, falsehood, and confusion which so effectually stifled the truth before the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration, and caused that bewildered court to legalize pelagic sealing, would not have been possible. Under this policy of seclusion the herd melted away to one-half of its size before it was known that any danger threatened it. Year by year thousands of the young died and rotted on the rookeries as the result of the ravages of a dangerous parasite, which should have been recognized and measures taken, if possible, to suppress it. Others of the young died of starvation on the rookeries, proclaiming not only the fact but the cause of the decline of the herd, bat they were unnoticed. Had the fur-seal herd been treated as any valuable herd of animals are and should be treated, its habits, needs, possibilities, and limitations studied from year to year from the beginning, it is safe to say that there would now be no fur-seal question. For the difficu!ties of the situation to-day the policy which deferred to these groundless fears of what might result from examination and disturbance of the animals is in a measure, at least, responsible. INTELLIGENT INSPECTION NOT WANTON INVASION. It is, of course, not contended that the precautions taken against wanton invasion of the rookeries by the natives and by casual visitors are not wise and necessary. They should never be wanting, but they should never include or influence the officers in charge of the herd. We make a clear distinction between mere disturbance and intelligent inspection and supervision. it is possible to visit the rookeries daily and study them closely, to count their families and to photograph them, without disturbing the breeding seals in the least. After the breeding season is over and the harems have broken up, the rookeries can be entered, the animals driven off, and their grounds inspected without harm. INSPECTION NOT HARMFUL. In the work of the past two seasons it was assumed that the herd could be inspected and disturbed to any extent necessary. Whatever would throw light on its condition was unhesitatingly carried out. The breeding grounds were under constant inspection from the beginning to the end of the breeding season and until almost the departure of the animals from the islands in the fall. On all the rookeries the seals were twice driven off into the sea. They returned immediately to their places and resumed their usual routine as if never disturbed. On the rookeries most frequently visited the animals came apparently to ignore our inspection. They were manifestly less troubled by our presence than on rookeries seldom visited. EFFECTS OF CONTACT WITH MAN. 141 RELATIONS OF MAN HAVE NOT AFFECTED SEALS. In short, our experience leads us to believe that not only has contact with mai4 produced no injurious effect on the herd, but, on the contrary, more intimate and constant contact under intelligent direction would tend to render the seals more tractable, and certainly open the way to the improvement of their condition. It will never be possible to house and feed the fur seals, but their breeding grounds can be drained of the filth which now breeds death to the young. These breeding grounds can be extended and improved. An exact enumeration of their number can be made. The males to serve the breeding grounds can be selected and more closely limited, thus obviating loss of revenue on the one hand and injury to the herd on the other. In other words, much if not all that can be done with other animals is possible with the fur seal. To sum up this matter of the relations of man to the animals on the islands: We find that the killing of males as carried on, at least since the islands were transferred to the United States, has not been so great as to endanger the breeding stock; that the methods of handling the seals on the drives and killing grounds has not been such as to permanently injure those surviving them. In a word, the interference and operations of man have in no way contributed to alteration of the life habits of the fur seal and are in no way responsible for its decline and threatened extermination. C Ell XI. PELAGIC SEALING, OR KILLING AT SEA. THE NATURE OF PELAGIC SEALING. We may now pass to a consideration of the second way in which man has come in contact with the fur seals, namely, by hunting and killing them at sea. Pelagic sealing, as it is called, means the taking of seals at sea, either on their migrations or on their food excursions to and from their breeding grounds. It is necessarily indiscriminate in its character, animals of both sexes and every age and condition being taken. The animals are killed both by the spear and with firearms. THE HUNTING OF THE INDIANS. From the earliest times the natives in the vicinity of Cape Flattery and Vancouver Island have been accustomed to hunt the fur seal in their dugout canoes, going out from shore for this purpose a distance of 10 to 30 miles. It is probable that this hunting has existed as long as Indians have occupied these regions and fur seals have annually passed their shores. The taking of the fur seals was at first doubtless associated with the hunting of the sea otter, and it has been suggested that the flesh of the seal rather than its fur was the original object of its capture. With the decline of the sea otter and the various land furs, the skin of the fur seal came to have a value and found its way into the markets through the hands of the traders. In time the taking of fur seals became the object of special attention, and the plan was developed of transporting the Indians and their canoes to the sealing grounds by means of sailing vessels, thus enabling them to carry on their operations consecutively and over a wider area. THE INTRODUCTION OF VESSELS. This first use of vessels in hunting the fur seals dates from about the year 1872, and for several years the lumber employed was small, probably not exceeding five or six before 1879. By their means the hunters were able to reach a distance of from 7. to 100 miles from shore and to follow the herd on its northward journey to the breeding grounds. From 1879 onward the number of vessels engaged in pelagic sealing increased rapidly. In 1880 the fleet numbered 16 vessels, making another bound to 34 vessels in 1886, this second increase being due to the opening up of Bering Sea in 1883,' when the schooner City of San Diego took a catch of between 2,000 and 3,000 skins there. THE EXPANSION OF THE INDUSTRY. After the introduction of vessels there was a steady expansion of the territory covered by sealing operations. The fleet gradually began to go south of Cape Flattery 1 Since this was written there has come into the possession of 111r. Charles 11. Townsend the log of the schooner San Diego (often confused with the City of San Diego, another vessel), which shows that she took a catch of seals in Bering Sea in 1580. See Mr. Townsend's paper on Pelagic Sealing, in Part M. 1.12 METHODS OF PELAGIC SEALING. 143 to meet the herd before it reached that point, and the hunters followed its course from the mouth of the Columbia River to the passes of the Aleutian Islands, finally entering Bering Sea, and continuing their operations on the summer feeding grounds of the animals. THE USE OF FIREARMS. Before the year 1886 Indian hunters were used exclusively, and the primitive methods of the spear and the canoe were employed. But with the great increase of the fleet it was necessary to employ white hunters, and as these could not compete with the Indians in the use of the spear, firearms were introduced, the rifle first, and afterwards the shotgun loaded with buckshot. The use of the rifle resulted in a great loss by sinking of the seals killed. The shotgun proved more effective, though many seals were still lost, especially at first, before the hunters had learned to avoid piercing the lungs. The development of pelagic sealing in Bering Sea after 1886 was a steady growth, though the number of vessels fluctuated on account of seizures by the American authorities. In 1891 the fleet numbered 115 vessels. THE MODUS VIVENDI. In this year a modus vivendi was declared, closing the waters of Bering Sea to pelagic sealing. The measure was put into force too late in the season of 1891 to prevent the fleet front entering upon its work. It had, therefore, at best only a deterrent effect. As a result of being warned out of the sea, certain vessels crossed over to the Asiatic side and obtained seals there. On this account, notwithstanding the fact that the modus vivendi was renewed in 1892 and made effective, the pelagic fleet in that year was increased to 122 vessels. More vessels engaged in sealing on the Asiatic side, and in 1893, still under the modus vivendi, the bulk of the sealing was transferred to the Commander herd, 66,000 skins in all being taken from Asiatic waters. THE REGULATIONS OF THE PARIS AWARD. Bering Sea was opened again in 1894 under the regulations of the Paris Tribunal and the largest catch ever made in these waters was taken. Since this date sealing has continued under certain limitations, the chief of which are a closed zone of 60 miles about the islands and a closed season from the 1st of May to the 1st of August. The decline in the herd has effected a decline in pelagic sealing itself. During the season of 1897 less than half the vessels engaged in sealing in 1896 entered the sea and the catch from all sources for that season was but little more than one-half. From a fleet of nearly 100 vessels in 1894 the sealing vessels have diminished to less than 30 in 1897. THE SEALING VESSELS. The vessels comprising the pelagic fleet are sailing schooners ranging in size from 25 to 125 tons burden. Each vessel carries a crew- of from ten to fifty men with from half a dozen to twenty boats or canoes. Boats are used where white hunters are employed. The Indians use their own canoes. Each boat is manned by three men, two hunters, armed with rifles or shotguns or both, and a rower to manage the boat. The Indians hunt with two men in a canoe, one a steerer to manage the craft and the other the hunter to throw the spear. 144 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. METHODS OF SEALING. When the schooner comes into sealing territory and the weather is favorable, her boats or canoes are lowered and sent in search of seals. They go to the windward and at slightly different angles ; the vessel follows under slow sail trying to keep in sight of the boats. Night or the approach of bad weather drives in the boats with their catch of the day whatever it may be. THE SEALS AS FOUND. Seals at sea are designated in three different classes. When found in motion they are called travelers." When at rest they are called "sleepers." Sometimes resting seals are awake, but listlessly floating on the water, and from the movement of their flippers they are said to be "finning." METHODS OF CAPTURE. THE SPEAR. In favorable weather seals are found sleeping between the hours from 9 o'clock in the morning until 5 or 6 in the evening. In stormy weather the seals can not rest and so sleep more soundly in the first good weather after a storm. Sleeping seals are as a rule taken with the spear. Mr. A. B. Alexander has given us the following graphic account of the operation : At the end of an hour we saw our first seal about a quarter of a mile ahead. The canoe was kept off under its lee, the sail taken in, :m41 everything put in readiness for action. Cautiously we paddled toward the prey, care being taken not to make the slightest noise. We approached within about 40 feet when the seal began to grow• restless, as if it was dreaming of danger. The hunter stood braced, spear in hand, :►lid with true aim he hurled it with all his force at the sleeping object. In an instant the scene of repose was changed into one of intense excitement and pain. With a jump the seal instantly disappeared below the surface, but not to escape, for when once a spear becomes fastened to an object it seldom pulls out. Soon it came up to breathe and renew its desperate struggle for liberty. It stood in the water facing us, with its body half exposed as if taking in the situation, and with a kind of low piteous growl, as though it realized its end was near, it renewed the contest. It fought madly, diving, jumping, and swimming with great speed, first in one direction, then in another, sometimes on one side of the canoe and then on the other, the Indian all the time holding the spear rope, trying to draw the seal near the canoe so as to strike it on the head with the killing club. In its frantic efforts to escape, it bit at the line several times, but soon abandoned the idea of gaining its freedom in such a manner and again resorted to jumping and diving. The loss of blood soon caused it to grow weak, and after a fight, which lasted perhaps live minutes, it ceased to struggle altogether and was hauled to the side of the canoe and dispatched with the club. THE SHOOTING OF SEALS. Traveling seals are taken by shooting. Sleeping seals are of course shot also, but with these animals the spear is more effective since they are frequently found sleeping in groups. To shoot into one of these groups means the taking of but one animal, and the report startles all the other seals in the vicinity. With the spear but little noise is made. Where the traveling seal is ,jumping clear of the water, " breaching," as it is called, the rifle is used, as the shot must be made at longer range. Where the seal is within close range or can be approached, as when it is asleep, the shotgun discharging buckshot is used. The aim is for the head or breast of the animal. ' Proc. Fur Seal Arb., Vol. 9, p. 346. SHOTGUN AND SPEAR. 145 The following description of the methods of taking seals is given by Lieutenant Quinan,' of the revenue-cutter Corwin, in relating his experience in a canoe with Indian hunters off Sitka Sound, May 1, 1892. We had. pulled several miles without seeing anything, when suddenly the steersman gave the canoe a shake and pointed in silence to a seal 75 yards distant. " The bowman took in his oars and substituted the paddle, and the canoe glided noiselessly toward the unconscious seal. When within 40 yards of it the after paddle alone was used and the bowman stood ready with the shotgun. * During all this time not a word was spoken, and so noiselessly did the canoe glide that we got within 10 yards of it and the hunter fired, pouring a charge of buckshot into its breast. The seal, to my great astonishment, was not killed, but gave us a surprised look, and instantly dived out of sight. It rose again 50 yards off, gave us another look, and a second time disappeared. Then followed a chase to windward, the Indians dexterously applying their paddles in that direction. Three times it disappeared and reappeared before it was finally shot and captured. Even then it was necessary to use the club to kill it. One hook with the gaff, a sudden pull, and the unfortunate seal was in the canoe. LOSS RESULTING FROM SHOOTING. It is plain that by the method of shooting a certain percentage of loss results from the wounding of animals and also from the sinking of animals before they can be recovered. That many of the wounded animals escape is shown by the considerable number of bachelors on the hauling grounds which carry buckshot in their bodies. At each killing the natives gather up a collection of slugs. That other animals escape only to die later on may reasonably be inferred. In the summer of 1896 several seals wounded by shooting were known to die after coming ashore on the rookeries.2 What the percentage of loss may be which thus results can not be determined. The limiters themselves can not tell what effect their shots produce, where the animal is not recovered. It may escape unhurt, may have been slightly wounded and thus likely to recover, or so seriously injured as to cause it to give up later on and die. The greatest loss probably results from the use of the rifle. Where the range is considerable and the animal is killed instantly it sinks out of reach bethre the boat can get it. With the shotgun the same result is likely to occur, but the range being shorter not so many animals are lost. Of late years the loss of shot seals has been greatly diminished, because it has been found that when the animal is shot in the head or neck and the lungs left full of air the body does not sink so rapidly. THE SPEAR LEAST WASTEFUL. With the spear the loss must be very slight. Where the animal escapes by the tearing out of the spearhead it doubtless recovers, but these instances are rare. That some animals escape through the breaking of the line attached to the spearhead is showit by the number of these weapons picked up on the rookeries. Two spearheads with the lines attached were found fastened in the rocks on Zapadni rookery of St. Paul in 1896. The lines had become fast and the animals bad torn themselves loose. During the past season a cow came ashore on St. Paul with a spearhead through her back which, while it did not kill her, left her crippled and useless. 3 Proc. Fur Seal Arb., vol. 9, p. 351. '2 See Daily Journal, Part II, date of July 25, 1896. " See Daily Journal, Part II, date of August 15, 1897. 15181 10 146 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. Of the two methods of killing the seals at sea the spear is the surest and results in the least waste. Both methods have their special fields, however, and the regulations under which pelagic sealing is now carried on, as if designed expressly for the pelagic sealer, recognizes them clearly. Thus, when the seals are on their migrations and consequently alternately traveling and resting both firearms anti spears are allowed. For the traveling seal the gun can be used; for the sleeping seal the spear. On the feeding grounds in Bering Sea only the spear is allowed. There the animals are found almost exclusively sleeping or feeding. The noise of the gun would be a positive disadvantage, as it would startle all the seals in the vicinity. From the point of view of the herd both methods are deadly, the difference being merely one of degree. NORTHWEST COAST SEALING. Pelagic sealing is carried on in two distinct areas and at two distinct seasons. While the seals are on their return migration along the American shore they are met by the pelagic fleet off the coast of California at about the latitude of Point Conception. From here northward to the vicinity of Middleton Island the herd is followed by the pelagic fleet. Formerly seals were also taken along the coast of the Alaskan peninsula to the passes by which they entered Bering Sea. At present the closed season begining in May shuts off this catch. BERING SEA SEALING. In Bering Sea sealing is carried on in the summer feeding grounds of the fur seals. These grounds are located from 100 to 200 miles distant from the islands and lie chiefly to the westward and southward in the deep water off the 100-fathom curve. They are frequented chiefly by the female seals which leave the rookeries at regular intervals during the summer to feed, returning to nourish their offspring. It is not necessary here to go into greater detail regarding these matters nor to mention the sealing grounds of the Commander Island herd. These matters are all taken up in detail by Mr. Townsend in a special paper which appears elsewhere in Part III of this report. THE PELAGIC CATCH. In the statistical appendix to the present volume will be found a detailed table of the pelagic catch from the various limiting grounds. From this table we may here give the following summary: Total pelagic catch in all waters, 1868-1897. Pribilof herd: Northwest coast 880 395, Bering Sea 908 940, 636, 788 Commander herd: ,Japan and Russian coasts 259 256, Total 893,047 EFFECT OF MODUS VIVENDI. 147 In addition to this total there are 95,000 skins which have been taken, but thr which the definite locality of capture has not been determined, making a grand total of 988,047 animals, or approximately 1,000,000 seals, known to have been killed at sea from the combined Russian and American herds. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE SEALS KILLED BUT LOST. The figures just given include only animals actually secured and whose skins were brought to market. No attempt has been made to form auy estimate of the number of animals which escaped to die of their wounds, or of those killed outright, whose bodies sank before they could be secured. The loss arising from these sources is considerable even at the present time, where firearms are used, and in the early days of their use it must have been very great. EARLY SEALING CONFINED TO PRIBILOF HERD. Until the year 1891 all pelagic sealing was confined to the Pribilof herd, and prior to the year 1883 all the seals were taken off the Northwest coast. After 1883 sealing in Bering Sea was added. In 1891 a modus vivendi was declared on June 15, designed to close Bering Sea.' This measure was renewed in the two succeeding years, pending the results of the Arbitration Tribunal. It may be remarked in this connection that the importance of this modus vivendi of 1891-1893, in its relation to the herd, was not great. Its promulgation in 1891 was too late to make it effective, as the fact that the herd lost 19,000 more seals at sea in that year than in 1.890 abundantly shows. In 1892 it merely checked the increase of the catch, leaving it still 6,000 more than it was before the measure was put into effect. In 1893, when the catch fell to 30,000, which was but 10,000 less than the catch of 1890, the herd derived some benefit. Of course, if we take into account what the herd might have lost through the increase of the catch in this period, the benefit to the herd was greater. But it was at best only a postponement of the loss, as in 1894 the catch rose immediately to 61,000—double that of 1893—and was in 1895 still 16,000 greater than the catch of 1890; its decline since that time has been due to the diminishing herd. THE SUSPENSION OF LAND KILLING. On the other hand the suspension of killing on land only released young males to grow up which are now, as idle and superfluous bulls, a menace to the rookeries. In the case of the pelagic sealers the measure only postponed the time of taking the seals, as the females which escape in one season are still available the next, while on land the young males released were irrevocably lost to the Government and the lessees, because before normal conditions were resumed they had taken on the wig of the half bull, and their skins became of no value. The suspension of land and sea killing, therefore, during the modus vivendi, was at best of very doubtful value. MODUS VIVENDI TRANSFERRED SEALING TO ASIATIC SIDE. The modus vivendi, however, had this effect: It influenced a certain number of sealing vessels to try their luck on the Asiatic side of the Pacific Ocean. These, in 1See footnote to page 144 of this volume. 148 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 1891, took a small catch of 8,000 seals from the Commander herd. In 1892, when the modus vivendi was renewed and made etlective, a larger number of vessels crossed over at the close of the spring sealing off the Northwest Coast; and in 1893, Bering Sea being again closed, the greater part of the sealing was transferred to the Asiatic side. The growth of the catch from the Commander Island herd was very rapid. Beginning with 8,000 skins in 1891, it numbered 66,000 skins in 1893. THE DECLINE OF THE CATCH. During the period from 1868 to 1880 the pelagic catch was merely nominal, ranging from four to five thousand skins yearly. With the year 1881 it increased steadily until 1894, when the maximum was reached in a catch of 141,143 skins. Since that year it has rapidly declined to a total of about 39,000 skins in the season of 1897. The following table will make clear the fact of this decline: UNFAVORABLE WEATHER NOT THE CAUSE OF DECLINE. The decline in the pelagic catch has been explained by the sealers as due to unfavorable weather 1 and ill luck in locating the animals rather than to any lack of seals. It is unnecessary here to discuss the matter at length. Reference to Mr. Townsend's notes and tables of daily catches, published in Part III of this report, will show clearly enough that no marked difference has existed between the weather conditions of recent seasons and those of earlier ones. The real cause of the decline in the pelagic catch, of course, is the depleted condition of the herd. With a herd reduced to less than one-fifth its original size it could not be reasonably expected that the usual number of animals could be found at sea. PELAGIC KILLING AND LAND KILLING COMPARED. It will help us to arrive at a just appreciation of the relation of pelagic sealing to the history of the fur-seal herd if we compare its catch with that taken on the islands. In the following table we have this comparison fully set forth. There is given, in addition to the total number of males killed for all purposes, the date at which the quota was each year filled, the number of hauling grounds which it was necessary to drive from, and the number of drives required. These are taken from the records of the islands. The statistics of the pelagic catch are taken from the official data of the Treasury Department, which is given in full in Appendix I. Ber. Sea Quest., Dept. Marine and Fisheries, Ottawa, 1896, Yenning, p. 16. Pribilof Commander herd. herd. Year. 1894 61, 838 79, 305 1895 56, 291 37, 035 1896 43, 917 24, 191 I 1897 24, 321 13, 801 STATISTICS OF LAND AND SEA KILLING. 149 Statistics regarding land and sea killing, 1871-1897. Year. Date Hauling Number Killed on land.2 Killed at sea. quota grounds of filled.' driven.' drives.' 1871 July 28 46 43 102, 970. 16, 911 1872 July 25 , 43 30 108, 819 5, 336 1873 July 24 51 ' 37 109, 177 5, 229 1874 ' July 17 1 61 41 110, 585 • 5, 873 1875 i July 16 j 55 37 106, 460 ; 5, 033 1876 Aug. 13, 36 30 ; 94, 657 ! 5, 515 1877 July 14 44 32 84, 310 5, 210 1878 July 18 54 35 109, 323 5, 544 1879... July 16 71 36 110, 411 8, 557 1880 July 17 78 •38 105, 718 8, 418 1881 July 20 99 34 105. 063 10, 382 1882 July 20 86 36 99, 812 15, 551 1883 July 19 81 39 79, 509 16, 557 1884 July 21 101 42 105, 434 16, 971 1885 July 27 106 • 63 105, 024 23, 040 1886 July 26 117 • 74 104, 521 28, 494 1887 July 24 101 66 105, 760 30.628 1888 July 27 102 73 103, 304 ! 26, 189 1889 July 31 . 110 74 102, 617 29, 858 1890 , July 204 87 55 28, 059 ' 40, 814 1891 (5) (5) 12, 040 59, 568 1892 (5) (5) 7,511 ' 46,642 1893 (5) (5) 7, 396 i 30, 812 1894 Aug 4 16. 270 : 61, 8:18 1895 July 27 14, 846 56, 291 1896 July 27 31 21 30, 654 - 43, 917 1897 Aug. 7 42 27 19.200 24. 321 These figures refer only to the hauling grounds of St. Paul. 2These totals include all males killed for any purpose on the islands. 3 In 1876 the killing wan closed at an unusual date, said to be on account of an exceptionally late season. 4 Closed by order of the agent in charge. 5Years of the modus vivendi. THE PERIOD FROM 1871-1882. For purposes of study we may divide this record into two sections, the first covering the period to and including 1882. During this time we find that the number of animals taken on land as well as at sea was each year relatively constant, the former being maintained at a maximum, the latter at a minimum. We find that from 1874 to the close of this period the requisite number of killable seals could be procured at such an early date as to clearly indicate that no difficulty was experienced in filling the quota. During the whole of this time the number of drives and hauling grounds driven from was uniform and normal. In short, all the evidence goes to show that the herd was in a state of practical equilibriiun, neither increasing nor diminishing to any marked degree. The reduction of the number of animals killed on land in the last year of this period has already been discussed in its appropriate place. It has no significance here. THE GROWTH OF THE CATCH. It will be seen, however, in the record of pelagic sealing that from a normal catch of slightly over 5,000, covering a period of eight years, it advanced to 8,000 in 1880 and to 15,000 the closing year of the period. This latter fact is significant. RELATION OF GAINS AND LOSSES IN THE HERD. We have already shown that the condition of the fur-seal herd is determined by the relation of its gains and losses. Its losses are of two kinds, natural and artificial. We may class as natural those losses arising from old age, accidents of the sea, or the 150 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. struggles on the rookeries. The sole artificial loss to which the herd has been subjected is that resulting from pelagic sealing. We may-assume that the natural losses of the herd were in these early days, as now, constant and uniform. With the small added loss resulting from pelagic sealing they balanced the gain of the herd due to the influx of young breeders. It may be that the loss entailed by the pelagic catch was the final determining check on the herd's increase. As we have seen, in the last year of the period we are considering, this pelagic catch was trebled. PERIOD SUBSEQUENT TO 1882. If now we take into consideration the period subsequent to 1882 we find that this increase in the pelagic catch was maintained and steadily augmented until at its maximum in the year 1894 it exceeded by twelve times the normal size of the catch in the former period of equilibrium. On the other hand, we find the land catch which was maintained at its normal rate until the year 1889, suddenly fell to one-fifth its size in 1890, and has remained there since. EXPANSION OF PELAGIC, DECREASE OF LAND SEALING. From a study of these statistics two important facts are made clear: First, that there has been since 1880 an enormous expansion of pelagic sealing; second, that there has been in the same period a marked decrease in the product of land sealing. From what we know of the nature of the two industries and their effect on the herd we are prepared to find these two facts related to each other as cause and effect. We need not repeat here the proof that land killing has had nothing to do with the decline of the herd. It must be pointed out, however, that land killing is strictly dependent upon the condition of the breeding herd. The quota of any given year represents the male animals which survive to the age of three years from a given birthrate. As the quota of males is, so will be the increment of young breeders which the herd receives. A diminished quota therefore means a diminished gain to the breeding herd for the same year. CAUSE OF DECREASE TO BE SOUGHT IN THE BREEDING HERD. Naturally, the cause of any diminution in the supply of killable seals must be sought for in the condition of the breeding herd three years previous. From this fact it becomes apparent that for the cause of the enormous reduction in the bachelor herd seen in the quota of 1890 we must look back to the year 1887, and inasmuch as the decline in the bachelor herd was great and alarming in 1890, the depletion of the breeding herd in 1887, when the seals for this quota were born, must have been equally great and striking. The date of the decline in the herd must, therefore, fall prior to the year 1887. From what has been said about the relation of the bachelor herd to the breeding herd it must also be plain that no serious diminution had occurred in the birth rate prior to 1882, else it would not have been possible to maintain, as was done until 1889, by any possible means the killing of 100,000 animals of no matter what age or size. THE BEGINNING OF THE DECLINE. We may therefore assume that the decrease in the breeding herd began somewhere between 1880 and 1887. It is impossible to locate the exact date. We have EFFECTS OF PELAGIC KILLING. 151 assumed the years 1882-1885 as the approximate date, because in the latter year it was necessary to greatly increase the number of (hives and the number. of hauling grounds driven from to get the regular quota. This will be apparent from an inspection of the preceding table. The cause of this scarcity of killable seals must necessarily date back three years, or to 1882. Moreover, within this period occurred the extension of the operations of pelagic sealing into Bering Sea. Again, in the year 1882, the pelagic catch was trebled in size and thereafter continued to increase, while from the steady retardation of the date at which the quota could be filled and the increased number of drives necessary, the bachelor herd as steadily declined. PELAGIC SEALING AS A CHECK FROM 1871-1880. During the long period from 1871 to 1880, we may infer that the pelagic catch had no influence on the herd except perhaps with other causes to neutralize possible increase. With the rise of the catch to 15,000 in 1882, we may assume that the strain was too great and that the equilibrium was broken. The further increase to 24,000 in 1885 intensified the decline, and when in 1887 the pelagic catch reached 40,000 it became serious. In estimating the influence of the pelagic catch in these early days it must always be borne in mind that the catch as recorded is only a part of the loss which the herd sustained through pelagic sealing. It will never be possible to estimate the loss, due to the killing of animals which were not recovered, but that it was great we have no reason to doubt, and it must not be left out of the account. IRREGULAR QUOTA SINCE 18go. Since the year 1890 the results of land killing can not be taken as an index of the condition of the herd from year to year. In the years 1891-1893 land killing was arbitrarily contracted under the modus vivendi. The quotas of 1894 and 1895 were influenced by the changed methods of driving practiced in these years, and by the heavy pelagic catches of 1890 and 1891 resulting in the starvation of pups in these years. The quotas of 1890 and 1897 have been in turn slightly influenced by the protection afforded by the modus vivendi, which reduced in a measure the pelagic catch of 1892 and 1893, thus saving pups front starvation. The results of the heavy pelagic catches of 1895 and 1890 have yet to show themselves in the coming quotas of 1898 and 1899. PELAGIC SEALING AND THE COMMANDER HERD. We may here, for the sake of illustration, compare similarly the land and sea catches from the Commander herd. Pelagic sealing began on this herd in 1891. As the fleet was a large one, its results have been more rapid and disastrous than in connection with the Pribilof herd. The following are the comparative figures: Pelagic catch of Commander herd, 1S9.1-1897. Year. killing. killing. Year. killing. killing. 1891 8, 432 36, 815 1895 37, 035 17, 719 1892 26, 752 31, 244 1896 24, 191 13, 516 1893 66, 143 32, 786 1897 13, 801 11, 335 1894 79, 305 27, 287 Sea Laud Sea Land 152 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THE INTERRELATION OF PELAGIC AND LAND CATCHES. The relation of the pelagic catch to the land catch is here well illustrated. The catch in 1891 was small. Its effect on the bachelor herd was slight and together with the larger catch of 1892 accounts for the reduction from 36,000 to 31,000 in the land catch. Bearing in mind the fact that the really important effect of the pelagic catch of any year is only seen in the herd of killable seals after three years, we are prepared to find the first marked reduction in 1895, and are not disappointed. The quota of 1895 is less than half the quota of 1891. Since 1894 the pelagic catch from the Commander herd has rapidly declined, showing how pelagic sealing has exhausted its own resources. Its catch of 1897 on the Asiatic side is about one-sixth the size of its catch for 1894. In the case of the Pribilof herd the result has not been so striking. As against 61,838 seals taken in 1894 we have 24,321 taken in 1897. But the results of the modus vivendi, the closed zone and the closed season are seen in this herd. The Commander herd has had no modus vivendi or closed season, and the protected zone has been but one-half as great as that of the Pribilof herd. The example of the Commander herd strengthens the evidence in the ease of the Pribilof. With the former, as with the latter, the decline of the herd and the expansion of pelagic sealing practically go together. If no other proof was available than what these figures adduce we must be forced to the conclusion that pelagic sealing has been the cause of the decline. CHAPTER XII. THE EFFECT OF PELAGIC SEALING. PELAGIC SEALING INVOLVES THE KILLING OF FEMALES. In the foregoing discussion we have assumed for the time being that pelagic sealing has been the cause of the decline in the fur-seal herd. The relation of the land catch to the sea catch is such as to lead inevitably to this conclusion. But there remain other and better reasons for holding pelagic sealing responsible for the decline. As has been already shown, only males are killed on land: the females are not disturbed. On the other hand, at sea animals of every age and condition, and of both sexes, are taken. In the water it is impossible to distinguish the sexes, and all animals seen are killed if possible. On land the habits of the animals are such that the males can be readily separated and handled without disturbance to the females. PELAGIC SEALING AND THE SEALING OF THE SOUTH SEAS. With the above contrast between land and sea killing in mind, we may pause for a moment to consider the strange proposition put forward in the British contention before the Paris Tribunal, that " the methods practiced on the Pribilof Islands and those practiced in the southern hemisphere" were parallel in results. This was in answer to the contention by the United States that pelagic sealing was essentially the same as the sealing which destroyed herds of the Antarctic. On the contrary, say the British commissioners in 1891, the history of the rookeries of the south seas proves incontestably that " excessive slaughter on shore in the entire absence of pelagic sealing results in commercial extermination." I The absence of pelagic sealing in the southern hemisphere has nothing to do with the matter. It would be absurd to expect pelagic sealing there when there was nothing to prevent the sealers from landing and directly invading the rookeries. It is safe to say that there would have been no pelagic sealing in the northern hemisphere had it been possible for any who might choose to do so to land and kill females on shore. METHODS OF SOUTHERN SEALING. In the case of the rookeries of the southern hemisphere, men armed with clubs or firearms were landed on the rookeries, who killed all the animals they could secure, making no distinctions as to sex, age, or condition. In a day or a week they returned to complete the work of destruction if it was not complete at the first trial. It must appear from a candid contrast of such slaughter that it has nothing in common with land killing on the Pribilof Islands beyond, perhaps, the fact that in both cases the killing is done on shore and with a club. 1 Rep. of Brit. Comm., Fur Seal Arb., vol. 6, p. 217. 153 154 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. Suppose that a crew of 25 or 30 men were landed in July on Reef rookery of St. Paul; that these men entered the breeding grounds and slaughtered every animal they could reach, keeping up the operation day after day as new animals came ashore or until no more were found, returning the following season to pick up any remnant which might be left. This would be the method of slaughter in the southern hemisphere transferred to the northern. " INDISCRIMINATE," NOT " EXCESSIVE." The trouble with the contention of the British commissioners lies in the use of " excessive" for " indiscriminate." It was not the contention of the United States that the land killing of the south seas was identical in method with open-sea killing in the north, but rather that the results were identical. Both were indiscriminate killing, and, as a result, it was to be expected that the fate of the southern rookeries would overtake those of the north if such slaughter were continued. That the herds of the north have lasted longer than those of the south is simply the results of their protection on land. 'Were it possible for the pelagic sealers to land on the Pribilof and Commander islands, they could accomplish in one season what it has taken a dozen years to accomplish contending with the uncertainties of the sea. PREPONDERANCE OF FEMALES. Before the Paris Tribunal, and even subsequent to it, the claim has been made that land killing was excessive in its reduction of male life, and had been in large measure, if not wholly, responsible for the decline. We have already discussed the latter part of this contention and shown its untenable character. The fact, however, is freely admitted that the killing on land had greatly reduced the male life of the herd. The investigations of the past season, showing that about twenty-nine males out of thirty born are destined to be superfluous, indicate how this has been possible without affecting the herd. Since the islands came into the possession of the United States nearly 3,000,000 male seals have been taken on land, while no females whatever have been killed. The point we wish to make clear is, that with such an abstraction of male life it naturally results that the herd as a whole under normal conditions must show a large excess of females. Notwithstanding this self-evident fact, it has been persistently contended by those interested in pelagic sealing that the pelagic catch contained no preponderance of females; that in fact the sexes as found and taken at sea were practically equal. THE SEALING CAPTAINS' RECORD OF SEXES TAKEN. To illustrate this, we may say that under the regulations of the Paris award it was made obligatory on the captains of sealing vessels to keep a record of the sexes of all animals taken. It was manifestly absurd to suppose that men engaged in a business like pelagic sealing would take the trouble to report accurately facts which must injure their business. The result has been that whenever the sex returns have been supplied by the sealers themselves the sexes have been reported so nearly equal that the proportion of females has on the average rarely exceeded 55 per cent. What we have said regarding the relation of land killing to the proportion of the sexes is sufficient proof of the thlsity of these returns. But we also note that during the THE SEX OF PELAGIC SKINS. 155 period covered by these returns by the sealers, showing an excess of no more than 5 per cent of females, it was possible to secure only 81,000 males on land, whereas 187,000 animals, males and females, were taken at sea. That 45 per cent of this latter number should have been males is simply out of the question. CUSTOM-HOUSE EXAMINATION BY EXPERTS. Fortunately, however, we are not forced to rely merely upon inference or upon the reports of interested parties for our information in this matter. For the past four seasons the United States Government has provided for the examination, by experts, of the pelagic catches of American vessels in the custom-houses on their landino-These returns are as follows for the seasons 1894-1897 : Experts' sex returns for _-Interican retch. 1894. Per cent. ' 1896. Per cent. Northwest coast 88 ' Northwest coast 93 Bering Sea 69 Bering Sea 75 1895. 1897. Northwest coast 74 Northwest coast 93 Bering Sea 73 CONTRAST OF SEX RETURNS. With these figures may be compared the percentages furnished by the logs of the captains of the Canadian• sealing fleet, which we are forced to use, as Great 131 itain has refused to permit the inspection of the Canadian catch in port. No returns for these vessels are available for the Northwest catch until the spring of 1896, when the percentage of females is given as 40. With it may be compared the expert report of 93 per cent for the American vessels on the same grounds in the same season. For the three seasons, 1894-1896, the Canadian reports for the Bering Sea catch are respectively 55, 55, and 61 per cent females. The vessels of the American fleet were engaged during the same time and side by side with the Canadian vessels. The latter average 52 per cent of females and the former 80 per cent. Comment is not necessary. This high proportion of females in the pelagic catch is borne out by the expert examinations of furriers in London. See affidavits in Appendix II. THE SEX OF SALTED SKINS EASILY DETERMINED. It may be remarked that it is entirely feasible to determine the sex of the salted skin, as refeience to Mr. Townsend's paper on this subject published in Part III will show. There is, therefore, no doubt of the accuracy of the results of the custom-house examinations. THE INVESTIGATIONS OF ALEXANDER AND HALKETT. With a view to studying the operations of pelagic sealing in 1895, Mr. A. B. Alexander was detailed to make the cruise on one of the pelagic sealing vessels.' The results of his observations are published elsewhere in this report and contain the most complete account of the methods and operations of pelagic sealing yet obtained. Mr. Alexander found in the catch of the ])ora Sieward, numbering about 1,500 seals, 62 A complete account of the cruise will be found in Part III of this report. 156 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. per cent of females. The following year Mr. Andrew Halkett, making a similar investigation for the Canadian government, found in the catch of the same vessel also in Bering Sea the percentage of females to be 81.' The difference between the results of these two investigations shows that the proportion of the sexes may vary considerably from season to season and between different vessels. It must not be -1)rgotten, however, that these reports are based on the catches of individual vessels. The returns for the fleet of 18 American vessels in 1895 gives the percentage of females as 73, while for the fleet of 13 vessels in 1896 it is 75 per cent. It is probably not possible to determine more definitely the exact proportion of females, but these figures are sufficient with the known preponderance of the female sex to show that the proportion is large. THE FEMALES MORE EASILY TAKEN. it may be noted that the habits of the animals are such as to make it probable that were the sexes equally numerous at sea the females would be taken in greater numbers. In the spring of the year off the Northwest Coast the female is heavy with young, and consequently more sluggish than the young males. In Bering Sea it is the mother driven by the necessity of nourishing her offspring that is found constantly on the feeding grounds. In either case her necessities and habits leave her the easy victim of the pelagic limiter. THE CAPTURE OF MALES NOT IMPORTANT. We have not taken into account the fact that a certain number of males are necessarily taken by the pelagic sealers. It is unnecessary to do so. With the males taken in this way we have no concern. Their capture decreases the profits of the lessees of the islands and the revenue of the Government, but does not affect the herd any more than does the killing of males on land. It is for this reason that they may be left out of consideration in this discussion. The important matter is that of the animals taken at sea by the pelagic sealers from 62 to 84 per cent are females. It may be remarked here that we are not concerned to make this percentage of females high. Were it a fact that among the animals taken at sea the males were in the excess of time females, the difference would be merely one of degree. So long as females in any number are taken, the herd is injured, and time injury is greater in proportion as the number killed is greater. POSSIBILITY OF EQUILIBRIUM UNDER PELAGIC SEALING. Much has been said of late by those interested in the retention of pelagic sealing about the tendency to equilibrium which is to be found in the rapid falling oft' of the pelagic catch. In 1896 Professor Thompson of the British Commission professed to believe that this equilibrium had then been reached, and that we might under present conditions hope for a perpetuation of the numbers of the herd as found in that year.2 The investigation of 1897, showing a marked decrease from the condition of 1897, demonstrated clearly that this was a mistake, a fact which Professor Thompson admits in his 1897 report. 'See Halkett MSS., Report 1896. 2 Thompson, Mission to Bering Sea, 1896, p. 35. THE EQUILIBRIUM THEORY. 157 THE EQUILIBRIUM A THEORETICAL FACT. There is, however, a certain amount of truth in this idea of equilibrium, and we may inquire what it is and what will be the condition of the herd and of the industry of pelagic sealing when it is reached. As already indicated, the condition of the fur-seal herd is determined by the relation of its various losses to its single source of gain, the yearly accession of young 3-year-old breeders. From the history of the herd in the period from 1871 to 1880 we know that the various losses which the herd suffered about balanced its gain, and there was neither increase nor diminution. From the nature of the losses which the herd is subject, to we may infer that in its less crowded condition within the past few years, they have been somewhat mitigated. This would be especially true of the loss through the parasitic worm and through fights and struggles on the breeding grounds. tinder normal conditions in its present state, the herd might be expected to increase by a slight margin each year. That it does not so increase is due to the action of pelagic sealing. The measure of this possible increase in the herd is the margin of difference between the number of 3-year-old females which enter the breeding grounds in any season and the total number of deaths resulting to the adult breeding herd from old age and the incidents of the sea. DEATH FROM OLD AGE. If we assume for the breeding female an average life of thirteen years, this would give a breeding life of ten years, and the death rate from old age must each year amount to about 10 per cent of the breeding herd. On the other hand, it is clear from the proportion between the breeding herd of 130,000 and the quota of 20,000 for the present year that the proportion of pups which survive from any birth rate to the age of 3 years is about one-third to one-fourth of the total number. The quota of the present time is therefore roughly a measure of the gain of the herd, as an approximately equal number of young females must survive. A HYPOTHETICAL CASE. As an illustration, let us assume for any given year a total breeding herd of 180,000 cows. Of these 150,000 would be adults and 30,000 young cows coming into the herd for the first time as breeders and representing the normal gain of the herd. Assuming that, as a result of storms at sea, old age, and attacks of enemies, 10 per cent of the herd are lost in the winter migration, this would mean the absence of 18,000 animals for the succeeding season, to cover which and provide for continued increase the herd receives a gain of 30,000 young animals. The net gain to the herd is, therefore, 12,000 breeding females. This is a liberal estimate of gain. THE POSSIBLE ABSTRACTION OF FEMALES. If the killing of female seals produced only the direct loss entailed by their absence, this removal of 12,000 females from the hypothetical stock of 180,000 breeders would leave the herd in a state of equilibrium. But for each life thus lost results the death of au unborn pup, and with such part of the 12,000 females as are taken in Bering Sea nursing pups die also. This secondary loss is felt later in a 158 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. diminished accession of breeding 3-year-olds. In other words, the yearly increment of 30,000 could not be maintained, and as a matter of fact the taking of 12,000 females would cause the herd to decline. THE SECONDARY LOSS OF PUPS. We can estimate approximately this secondary loss. For the 12,000 females killed an equal number of unborn young are destroyed, and if one-half of them are killed during the summer, 6,000 additional young will starve; in all, 18,000 young are lost. But as only one-third of them would naturally survive to the age of 3 years, and but one-half of these would be breeders, the total loss would be about 3,000. This, at least, must be deducted from the 12,000, leaving 9,000 females which can be taken from the herd and still leave it in a state of equilibrium. The abstraction of females, therefore, which the herd of 180,000 breeding females can stand without declining, is not to exceed 5 per cent. We do not put this percentage forward as absolute. Its value rests solely upon the percentage of young which survive to the age of 3 years. We have assumed that one-third so survive, and this is probably a maximum, but for the purposes of the calculation it will answer. To determine whether or not the effect of pelagic sealing is such as to warrant the supposition that a state of equilibrium has been or is likely to be reached soon, we have only to refer to the pelagic catch for the year 1896. The summer catch of 1896 in Bering Sea numbered 29,500, of which 84 per cent were females. The spring catch of the same year was 14,400, of which 93 per cent were females, making in all 38,000 females from a herd of about 160,000, approximately 24 per cent, with additional loss to appear in 1899 from the destruction of young life. PELAGIC CATCH STILL INVOLVES 16 PER CENT OF ALL FEMALES. In view of the heavy falling off which pelagic sealing has undergone in 1897, we may carry out the computation for this season also. There were taken in the spring of 1897 off the northwest coast 7,857, of which 93 per cent, or 7,300, were females. In Bering Sea 16,454 were taken, of which, using the percentage of 1896, which is low, 84 per cent, or 13,800 were females, making in all for 1897 21,000 females. This for a herd of 130,000 is 16 per cent. It is evident that pelagic sealing must still fall considerably before equilibrium is reached. IT MUST FALL TO ONE-THIRD BEFORE EQUILIBRIUM COMES. In short it would appear that the pelagic catch must fall to about one-third its present size betbre the decline in the herd ceases. It is doubtfUl whether such a reduction will result. The haunts of the seals are too convenient. The same vessels may not go out each year. but enough will be ready to risk the chance of a remunerative catch to keep the herd on the down grade. The very reduction of the fleet in one season will stimulate the business for the next, each vessel hoping that its neighbors will drop out, thus leaving a clear field. It is probable that so long as the herd exists there will be a sufficient number of adventurous spirits to prey upon it and continue its decline. The history of the repeated unsuccessful attempts to secure seals on the rookeries of the south seas fully illustrate what may be expected in the north. If the spirit of adventure is sufficiently strong to lead to the fitting out of a schooner, as was done in 1897, to visit the Galapagos Islands on the possibility of EQUILIBRIUM MEANS COMMERCIAL RUIN. J.5 9 taking seals there, we may not expect that the more accessible haunts of the seals of the North Pacific will be abandoned. THE EQUILIBRIUM COULD NOT BE MAINTAINED. In a theoretical sense there is a state of equilibrium of the herd which is compatible with a limited amount of pelagic sealing. The condition of this equilibrium we have just discussed. We know it must be too low to leave any profit either in pelagic sealing or in land sealing. Pelagic sealing, already unprofitable, must be reduced to less than one-third its present extent bethre this state of ck4luilibrium is reached. No manner of protection could enforce the necessary limits to such pelagic sealing and they are not self-adjustable. Furthermore, the herd under such conditions would not be worth protecting on land. Any such protection must be maintained at a loss to the United States. To remove it from the herd even for a short period of time would leave the breeding haunts of the animals open to invasion, and the destruction so vigorously begun at sea would be speedily completed On land. EQUILIBRIUM EXISTS ONLY FAR BELOW COMMERCIAL RUIN. Thus, while an equilibrium is possible, it must not be forgotten that it exists only far below the point of commercial profit, and must prove unsatisfactory either to the interests of the United States or to those of the pelagic sealer.' This equilibrium of the fur-seal herd is a mere figure of speech, a juggling with words for diplomatic purposes. Iii the conclusions of the recent conference of experts at Washington the possibility of this theoretical equilibrium was acknowledged by both sides, because self-evident whatever the conditions. But the fact was not considered in any way pertinent, as "equilibrium" in this sense is only another name for commercial destruction. This admission that pelagic sealing tends to cease as the herd dies out has however been used by the Canadian Government as a pretext for declining to take immediate action in the fur-seal matter. (See Senate Poe. 40, Fifty-fifth Congress, second session, 1897, p. 65.) This theory of equilibrium has received an attention wholly undeserved. In his report for 1896 Professor Thompson suggested that the equilibrium was then reached. He was forced in the investigations of 1897 to admit that the herd had suffered a measurable decline since 1896. Notwithstanding this fact we find the following statement iu the concluding paragraph of his report for 1897: "A remedy has already been automatically applied in the reduction of the pelagic fleet to less than one-half its numbers of a year ago. The tendency is to equilibrium. Tice total pelagic catch for this year is not likely to exceed 20,000, against 36,000 last year, and it may be that with a catch so greatly diminished the point of equilibrium has at length been attained." It is certainly remarkable that Professor Thompson should speak of commercial destruction as a " remedy" for zoological destruction. This is another way of saying that death cures all ills ;but that mode of cure does not satisfy the friends of the patient. It is, moreover, not true that the point of equilibrium is reached, nor can it be reached until the catch at sea falls to less than one-twentieth of the actual number of breeding females. Pelagic sealing must therefore decline to one-third its present catch before the equilibrium is reached. The British Government is not unaware of these facts, but to give them due recognition in action would interfere with the national policy in this matter. This is to permit the Canadian sealers to get out of the fur-seal herd everything they can before the failure of the herd forces the alleged industry wholly out of existence. In other words, one chief function of British Imperialism is to serve as a "fence" for greedy colonies over whose actions she has no control. We find no more fitting words to characterize the attitude of Great Britain toward. this fur-seal question than the words of Professor Nicholson, of Edinburgh : "There can be no question, in the light of history, that the political instinct of the English people—or to adopt the popular language of the moment, the original sin of the nation—is to covet everything of its neighbors worth coveting, and it is not content until the sin is complete." 160 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THE DESTRUCTION OF UNBORN PUPS. Hitherto we have considered only the direct loss to the breeding herd resulting from the killing of females. There is, however, an important secondary loss resulting from the destruction of the young. Not only is the adult female, with the possibility of future increase through her, lost to the herd, but the times and seasons of her slaughter are such that her unborn and her dependent offspring must alike die with her. PREGNANT AND NURSING FEMALES. The investigations of the commission as to the condition of female seals taken in Bering Sea are given in detail in a special paper on the breeding habits of the seals, by Mr. Lucas, in Part III of this report. We may here quote a brief summary of the results : A total of 176 females taken during the seasons of 1895 and 1896 between August 10 and September 3 were examined. and may be considered as fairly representing the age and condition of seals taken at sea. Of these 176 there were 14 yearlings, sixteen 2-year-olds, and 146 over 2 years old. All over 2 years old had brought forth young the season in which they were taken, and 151 of those 2 years old and upward were pregnant. The total number of seals examined whose condition was at all uncertain was 11, and 7 of these were 2-year-olds examined before August 22, which might have been impregnated later in the season. PELAGIC SEALING TAKES COMPOUND INTEREST. Thus pelagic sealing eats into the life of the herd at compound interest. The rookeries in 1897 showed a direct diminution from the loss of females killed during August and September of 1896 and the spring of 1897. This direct loss was supplemented by the aftereffects of the premature destruction of the young born in 1894, which manifested itself in the diminished quota of killable seals and in the correspondingly diminished increment of young breeders. In like manner the future will show the continued effects of the destructive industry. For the pups starved to death in 1896 and those starved in 1897 the rookeries must suffer in 1900 and 1901 whether pelagic sealing continues or not. DESTRUCTION OF NURSING PUPS. As the starvation of pups has been the source of a great deal of discussion, it will be necessary to consider the matter in some detail. It was strongly contended in the British case before the Paris Tribunal that no such result as the starvation of the pup followed from the killing of the mother at sea. The claim of the United States that the pups were, left to (lie of hunger was denominated in the same connection as " a contention wholly novel." It was further asserted that "it is not known that the breeding females go to sea for food while their pups are dependent upon them."' PUPS DEPENDENT ON MILK UNTIL DECEMBER. In the investigations of the season of 1896 these subjects received special attention. It was found that the pups continued to nurse their mothers as late as the 5th of December, being up to that time wholly dependent upon milk for nourishment. British Counter Case, Fur Seal Arb., Vol. 9, pp. 179 and 183. FEEDING OF THE SEALS. 161 Of pups killed for examination during September and October some were found to contain from one to two quarts of rich milk, the result in each ease of a single meal. That the mother seal, an animal averaging 70 pounds in weight, should continue for upward of four months to nourish her young in this manner without feeding is sufficiently absurd on the face of it. But the results of Mr. Townsend's and Mr. Lucas's examination of adult females taken on the feeding grounds in Bering Sea, proves absolutely that the nursing females go to sea to feed. THE ABSENCE OF EXCREMENT. In support of the theory that the females do not leave the rookeries to feed while their pups are dependent upon them, the British commissioners of 1891-92 cited the "absence of all excrement on the breeding places.' What the investigators of 1891-92 did or did not see we do not know, but during the past two seasons excrement was seen in quantities both on the breeding grounds and on the hauling grounds, as were also spewings containing the bones and flesh of fish. It is true that the aggregate amount of excrement seen is small in proportion to the number of animals, but this is due in all probability to the fact that the fur seal digests its food for the most part, if not wholly, before coming ashore, and as a natural result most of the excrement is voided in the water. THE SUPPOSED NONFEEDING OF FEMALES. A second proof adduced in support of the nonfeeding of the females was that no food had been found in the stomachs of the limited number of these animals examined up to that time. It was known that the stomachs of the bachelors were found to be empty at all times during the season. It was further absolutely known that the adult bulls fasted during the breeding season. From analogy to the bulls and from the absence of food in their stomachs it was assumed in a general way that the bachelors also fasted, and by carrying the chain of analogy one step farther it was assumed that the cows fasted also. THE ABSENCE OF FOOD IN STOMACHS. It is true that the stomachs of adult animals of all classes are wholly devoid of food when examined on laud. Investigations on this score were made in 1896 and 1897 on a large number of bachelors and many cows. Some of the latter were killed immediately on coming ashore expressly to throw light on the question. But no food was found, not even in the stomach of a cow- found choked to death on a fish bone. These facts, however, can not be expected to weigh against the conclusive evidence of the stomachs of both females and bachelors taken on the feeding grounds in August. That the fur-seal bull should fast is necessary. He collies on land in the spring loaded down with blubber in preparation for it, and grows excessively thin before the season is over. The cows and bachelors show no such provision. They maintain an even and moderate condition throughout the season. They could not do so if they fasted. 15184-11 162 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. • THE SEAL DIGESTS ITS FOOD IN THE WATER. For the absence of food in the stomachs of the seals we must find a simpler explanation, and this seems to be that they remain in the water to digest their food. If it is not fully digested when the animal reaches the islands on returning from the feeding grounds, it loiters offshore swimming about, sleeping, or playing until digestion is completed. This assumption also explains other things. For example, the band of idle seals hovering off the rookery fronts; the fact that the cows are not seen to come directly in from the sea; and the fact that pups killed in the water, sleeping and sporting in the same way, were found full of milk, while those killed on land were, as a rule, empty. THE ABSURD THEORY OF INDISCRIMINATE NURSING. But not content with establishing the fact that the mother seals did not leave the rookeries while their pups were dependent upon them, the British commissioners went on to show that if they did go away and were killed the pups did not necessarily starve, because they could obtain nourishment from other cows. In short, it was contended that the female fur seals in contrast to all other animals, nursed their young in common. This theory was supported by a series of ostensibly minute but faulty observations, which gave an air of plausibility to it. FUR-SEAL MOTHER AND PUP. The fur-seal mother displays little affection for her own young, but she displays less for her neighbors'. When she wants her pup, she calls lustily for it, and, finding it, lies down and nurses it without farther ceremony. The pup when satisfied goes off and does not seek its mother until it is again hungry. As the majority of the mothers are absent at sea, the majority of the pups are always hungry. They are willing and ready to flock about the calling cow, who has difficulty among so many in attracting the attention of her own pup. The savage treatment she accords these strange pups makes them keep at a safe distance, and is clear enough proof of her unwillingness to care for them. MISTAKEN OBSERVATIONS. The mistakes that have been made in this matter have resulted from a misunderstanding or a misinterpretation of very simple actions. When the cow lands, she is likely to be met at the shore by half a dozen hungry pups waiting for their mothers. They flock about her and she snaps and snarls at them, calling her pup in the intervals. In due time it responds and ,joins the crowd of expectant pups. The mother recognizes it for a brief instant by shaking her head and smelling over it. This is all the attention it receives. She at once sets out to find a suitable place in which to rest. She may travel back the full length of the rookery, taking up her place in one of the rear harems. The pups may all follow her for a short distance, but gradually give up and return to the water front. all but her own pup, which persists, and in the end is allowed to nurse. To omit from the observation the brief and simple recognition of the pup by the mother destroys its accuracy. This is exactly what the Canadian commissioner in his observations of 1892 did. He then tried to prove that a cow would nurse any pup if it was only persistent enough. His interpretation of au incident like the one cited above was that the pup which ultimately succeeded in nursing was a strange pup, whose persistency was finally rewarded. THE FOOD OF THE PUPS. 163 It is not necessary to go into greater detail. In the daily journal are recorded the observations of the commission in this matter. It is not a matter of great moment, but from the prominence which this absurd proposition was given it has been necessary to discuss it. THE SUPPOSED SELF-FEEDING OF PUPS. But not content with proving that the mother did not leave the pup, and that if she did, the pup could easily find a foster mother, the British commissioners insisted that the pup could shift for itself and gain sustenance independent of any mother. This theory has been thus stated by Mr. Macoun : From the time the pups first go into the water, they are to be seen with pieces of seaweed in their mouths, and there is no reason for doubting that from this time until they leave the islands a considerable portion of their food is composed of seaweed, picked up along the shore or in the water adjacent to it. THE ABSURDITY OF THE THEORY. What nourishment an animal, whose natural diet for the time being is milk, and which is destined ultimately to feed on fish, could find in seaweed is not readily apparent. But this objection seemingly offered no difficulty. It may be observed that this theory rests again on a misinterpretation of very simple facts. The pup fur seal, like a young dog, loves to play with anything it finds at hand. It is a common sight, therefore, to see a pup swimming about with a yard or more of kelp streaming from its mouth. If observed closely, other pups will be found tossing dead shells, pieces of sticks, or even pebbles. A pup was observed to play for an hour with a small feather. It is as reasonable to suppose that the pup feeds on the feather or the shell as on the seaweed. They are all objects of play; nothing more. This theory naturally went a step further, and assumed that crustacea and other animal life in the waters about the rookeries was drawn upon to supplement the seaweed diet of the pups. The leathery tunicates which are found strewn in large quantities upon the sand beaches of St. Paul after a storm have been looked upon as palatable and nutritious food for pups. It is supposed that these are the " tender algoid sprouts" of which Mr. Elliott makes mention as serving as food for pups. DETERMINATION OF THE MATTER BY KILLING PUPS. There being but one way to settle such a question as this, namely, to kill and examine the stomachs of the pups themselves, this method was adopted and thoroughly carried out during the months of September, October, and November, in 1896.' Mr. Macoun, of the British commission, was present while these investigations were made, an,t examined the stomachs of the pups killed. The stomachs in some eases contained milk, in others none. One stomach well supplied with milk contained two small amphipods ; one had a small I unicate mixed with pebbles; another contained part of a soft-shelled crab; several had shreds of seaweed mixed with milk. All the stomachs contained the characteristic pebbles. This was the sum total of material aside from milk found in the stomachs of twenty pups killed from day to day and under circumstances most favorable for determining whether they were feeding or not. Mr. Macoun on the spot agreed that the examinations were sufficient and that there was nothing found to warrant the supposition that the pups had begun to feed for themselves. Notwithstanding this, in discussing the matter in his 1896 report, he makes the following grossly misleading statement : "In addition to milk, it will be seen that the stomachs examined contained (1) seaweed, (2) ascidians, (3) small crustaceans, (4) soft-shell crab. That these were found with one exception only in stomachs which contained no milk, goes to show that the young seal when hungry avail themselves of the food that is to be found in abundance in the places most frequented by them." (Macoun, 1896 Report, MSS.) 164 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. A score or more of pups were killed under circumstances specially fitted to throw light on the subject, and their stomachs, with those of others dead from starvation and other causes, were found to be devoid of all food except milk.' Pups killed as late as the 5th of December were found full of milk, and at that time the cows were -nursing their pups as at earlier times in the season. Owing to the mild weather, this was nearly a month later than the usual time for the departure of the cows and their young, and the pups had evidently not yet been weaned. PUP ABSOLUTELY DEPENDENT UPON ITS MOTHER'S MILK. It would necessarily follow from these considerations that the fur-seal pup is dependent upon its mother's milk for nourishment throughout the entire season and until its departure with her from the islands. This fact, taken in connection with the killing of nursing females at sea, is enough to settle the question of whether pups starve to death; but that there should be no mistake, the subject of starvation, as shown in its direct effect on the pups themselves, received special attention, and may be here considered somewhat in detail. 1 See fuller discussion in Mr. Lucas' paper on the Feeding of the Seals. Part III. CHAPTER XIII. THE STARVATION OF PUPS. THE COUNT OF STARVED PUPS. The fact of the death of pups by starvation has long been noted, and for several seasons prior to 1896 partial enumerations of deaths supposed to be from this cause have been made. In the light of the early mortality due to the ravages of TTncinaria, which was found to have occurred prior to August 1, and consequently prior to the beginning of pelagic sealing, these figures were unsatisfactory, as they plainly confused the two causes of death. The earlier mortality has already been referred to and is discussed in detail by Mr. Lucas in his treatment of the general subject of mortality among the seals.' At the time of the count of early dead pups between August 8 and 14 a few were found to have plainly starved. It is probable that some of these in the later days of the count were the first victims of pelagic sealing. A mother taken at sea on the 1st day of August might have been absent for some time, and her pup would naturally succumb within a shorter period than would be required for one more recently fed. The majority of the early deaths from starvation, however, were undoubtedly caused by separation of mother and pup by the wandering away of the latter when very young or by the death of the mother from accidental causes on the rookeries. A considerable number of dead cows were found on the rookeries, whose pups would naturally starve unless otherwise killed. THE BEGINNINGS OF STARVATION. The first direct evidence of the destructive work of pelagic sealing was seen in 1896, at the time of the count of live pups on Kitovi rookery, August 15. In counting the live pups they were separated into pods and allowed to run off in narrow lines to make counting possible. The weaklings naturally fell behind, and a group of from three to six starving pups followed in the wake of each pod. The victims of starvation could from this time on be seen in increasing numbers as the rookeries were daily inspected. The following notes on the starvation of pups are extracted from time daily journal of the commission. NOTES ON STARVING PUPS. In the first stages of starvation the doomed pup was to be recognized by a growing thinness. The ordinary pup is plump and fat, and its sides stick out with milk while its mother is on land. A thin pup might, of course, menu only a hungry one, which would recover itself in a few days after its mother's return. If the mother did not return the pup continued to grow thinner. A premature grayness began to show about the eyes and month. The eyes assumed a wide and staring look, giving the animal a hunted appearance. ' Paper on "Causes of Mortality," by Mr. Lucas. Part ITI. 165 166 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THE HUNGRY PUP. While the pup was merely hungry, it called frequently for its mother. It hung about the water's edge as if awaiting her there. It would even follow a wet cow back for a distance from the water, but, on being repulsed, it would return to its position. In one or two instances starving pups were seen to attempt to nurse sleeping cows, but never with success. While their .strength remained the starving pups played about as usual with their healthy companions; always, however, with an effort. They went into the water, and that they swam farther at times than their strength warranted was evident from the fact that occasionally they landed to die on the rocks at considerable distances from the rookeries to which they belonged. Thus two pups came ashore in the little cove across the neck from Zoltoi and died there in 1896. THE BREAKING DOWN. After the first stage of sharp hunger was passed the little animals seemed to weaken physically. They lay about on the rocks, sometimes sleeping, but always easily startled. When aroused, some would run away, crying in terror; others would turn at bay and bite savagely at the boots of the disturber, perhaps only to fall down helpless the next instant. In crossing the sand flat of Tolstoi, which was deserted by the living seals in September, a dozen or more of these gaunt little specters would start up from among the dead and stumble away, crying piteously. One day, on the "death-trap" gully of Zapadui, a little sleeping starveling was aroused with difficulty. When it caught sight of the intruder it fell in a fit of terror, then stumbled off in a frantic manner, only to fall in convulsions, which ended in unconsciousness. This pup was about to die. It was as thin as a shadow. THE DEATH OF THE STARVELING. When undisturbed, the starving pups in the last stages showed little evidence of pain. They looked utterly miserable, but indifferent and stolid. Their healthy companions occasionally attempted to play with them, but they either resented the interference or else ignored it. For the most part they were left to themselves. Toward the end they slept most of the time. This sleep merged into unconsciousness and torpor, from which they could not be awakened. Death finally came after a brief period of convulsive shuddering and gasping, in which the animal bit the ground and voided quantities of black, tarry feces DIFFICULTY IN DISTINGUISHING EARLY DEAD PUPS. It was not possible at the time of the first count of dead pups in August to remove the bodies from the rookeries, and it was believed then that when the time came for counting the starved pups it would be possible to distinguish between the earlier and later dead. As the season advanced, however, it became evident that it would not be possible to make the distinction. Those dying in September could easily be separated from those which died in July, but no distinction could be drawn between those which died between the 1st of August and the 10th and those which died between the latter date and the 20th of August. When the count of starved pups was made about October 1 it was necessary, therefore, to count every carcass to be found at that date. From the total thus counted those dead before the middle of August were deducted to determine the number of additions which had resulted from starvation. Of the details of this count a full record will be found in the daily journal and need not be repeated here. A total of 20,331 dead bodies were found on St. Paul Island and 897 on St. George. As against this total of 21,228 dead pups found in October, 11,045 were found in August, which, being deducted, left 10,183 pups shown by the actual count to have died of starvation. / \''"\\' \ ' \ N \ \ \AI \ \ \ \ ,(ih A\ < ' DISAPPEARANCE OF DEAD PUPS. 167 MANY EARLY DEAD PUPS DISAPPEARED. In considering this count, however, several facts must be noted. It was found that a large number of the pups originally counted in August had wholly disappeared or been reduced to loose bones. This was particularly true on the sandy areas and where the dead lay in the route of the living seals as they passed back and forth to the sea. An effort was made to establish a correction for this loss, and 20 per cent of the original number counted in August was fixed upon as likely to cover as nearly as could then be determined bodies which had so disappeared. Making allowance for this correction the total number of starved pups, as shown by the enumeration, would be increased to 12,392. STARVING PUPS. It was further evident from the outset that all the pups about to die of starvation had not yet died. It was impossible, however, to delay the count longer, and so, to overcome this new difficulty, an effort was made to count the starving pups among the healthy ones as they were driven from the rookery preparatory to the counting of the dead. The best estimate, which was a very unsatisfactory one, gave 1,546 as the number of pups whose appearance indicated that they were certain to starve. This number was doubtless very inadequate, as later observations on the rookeries in the same season showed that pups continued to starve until as late as the 20th of October, twenty days after the count was completed on St. Paul Island. Making, however, the addition of the dying pups just mentioned, as shown by the actual count, we have the number of deaths justly chargeable to starvation increased to 13,930. THE WORK OF THE FOXES. Another fact in connection with the actual count must be noted. On the Island of St. George, as already indicated, the total number of dead pups found in October was 897. In August the number found was 735. On some of the rookeries of this island, however, a much smaller number of dead was found in October than was found in August. The condition of the St. George rookeries was so peculiar that we may give here in detail both counts. They are as follows: DEAD PUPS, ST. GEORGE ISLAND. Rookery. Dead pups, Total dead Octo- August, ' pups, 6,1896. 1896. ber North 259 145 Staraya Artel 135 194 Zapadni 199 527 East 112 I 15 Little East 31 16 Total 736 897 The investigations of 1897 show clearly that this estimate of 20 per cent to cover the disappearance of dead bodies between August and October is far below the facts. Our experiences with Kitovi and Lukanin in 1897 would indicate that 50 per cent would not have been au excessive estimate. Many of the carcasses are washed away in the storms. Every one on which the skin is broken is quickly reduced to bones by the gulls and foxes. Furthermore, many bodies are necessarily overlooked as they lie hidden among the rocks. 168 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. The explanation of this condition of things is that on the rookeries of St. George the blue foxes,' of which there are many, had eaten all the pup carcasses without exception. The final count had to be made simply by skulls, or spinal column, or such parts of the animals as could be positively identified. RECONSTRUCTION OF ST. GEORGE ESTIMATES. It is unnecessary to remark that these figures for St. George can not be used as they stand. Some sort of estimate must be made to take their place. No fairer basis for such an estimate exists than to apply to the rookeries of St. George the ratio of dead pups found in October on St. Paul. On this island the ratio of dead pups found in October to the total number estimated to have been born was 11.19 per cent.2 This would necessitate the addition of 1,362 pups to make the conditions of St. George comparable with those on St. Paul. This amount, together with 150 pups which were removed from the rookeries of both islands during the breeding season for purposes of dissection, makes the total death rate subsequent to the middle of August, and directly chargeable to starvation, aggregate 16,019.3 THE DETAILED ESTIMATE. This total, as will be seen by the explanations already given, is not entirely satisfactory. but it is a real one so far as it goes, and fully 12,000 of it is an actual count, 1 In Mr. Mayoras report for 1896 this undoubted fact, which he saw with his own eyes, is needlessly glue-stoned. If the foxes, as was the fact, had completely destroyed the 897 carcasses which lie co-uPted, it is begging the question to assume, as he does, that they, aided by the elements, could not /-1v,) destroyed the 1,362 additional pups necessary to make the conditions of St. George agree wqh those of St. Paul. This percentage is computed on the original census of 1896, not on the revised figures substituted in 1897. " A strong effort has been made by Professor Thompson and by Mr. Macoun in their reports of 1896 to weaken the force of these definite results regarding the starvation of pups. Not finding it possible to deny the fact of starvation or its importance, they have endeavored to minimize its effects by insisting that the causes of early mortality continued into and were at work in the period of starvation. Nothing could be more misleading than this. The early causes of death are Uncinaria, trampling, starvation through early separation from the mother, drowning, accidents. All these have to do with the weakness and helplessness of the very young pups, and must necessarily cease with the close of the breeding season. The pups die from or outgrow the worm before September 1. In fact, this cause is practically inoperative after August 20. Pups are only trampled in the first few days after birth, and they are only lost from their mothers, if at all, at this time. They certainly do not drown after they have learned to swim, which they do by the middle of August. The period of death from starvation lasts from August 15 to October 20. The causes of the early and later mortality were absolutely distinct, and that the latter was due practically without exception to starvation needs no demonstration to those who made the count of the dead and dying pups on the rookeries of St Paul in October, 1890. STATISTICS OF STARVED PUPS. 169 the accuracy of which can not be questioned. The following table will give in detail the statistics of the estimate: Pup statistics—summary. a These are the figures of the original census of 1896 as published in the preliminary report of that year. The figures herein given for starved pups on the rookeries of St. George are estimates based upon the conditions of St. Paul. STARVED PUPS IN 1897. The investigations of the season of 1897 have made the count of dead pups in 1896 seem still less satisfactory. It may be said that the dead pups lie concealed among the rocks, and as they quickly wear away under the action of the elements and the trampling of the living animals they are not easily seen in the hasty inspection, which alone is possible in counting them. A good illustration of the probable inadequacy of the counts of dead bodies is shown by the results on Kitovi rookery. A count of this breeding ground, made with a good deal of care on the 3d of August, disclosed 126 dead bodies. When a week or ten days later the carcasses were actually gathered up and removed from the beach, the closer inspection disclosed 202 dead. This inadequacy of the counts of dead pups in 1896 is, however, of such a nature as to make the case all the stronger, because it leaves an under. rather than an over, estimate. Starved.; Starving. Rookery. Total Dead. born. a August. October. ST. PAUL ISLAND. Kitovi Lukanin Lagoon Tolstoi. Zapadni Little Zapadni Zapadni Reef Gor batch Ardiguen Reef Sivutch Rock Polovina Little Polovina Vostochni Morjovi Total 123, 048 10, 309 Addition of 20 per cent for loss between August and October counts Starving pups to be added as starved Addition for bodies taken for dissection Total starved ST. GEORGE ISLAND. North 6, 809 259 Staraya Artel 2, 269 135 Zapadni. 5, 509 199 East. 4, 086 112 Little East 1,350 31 Total 20, u23 736 Starving pups added as starved 20, 331 10, 022 2.061 1,527 150 13,760 1 145 762 194 253 527 617 15 457 16 151 897 b 2, 240 19 19 1, 527 7 3 4 4 1 Total 2,259 Grand total for both islands 143, 071 J 11.045 21, 228 16, 019 1, 546 6, 049 109 4, 450 205 2, 481 78 14, 439 1, 895 17, 648 3, 095 4, 200 134 3, 862 104 9, 142 1 712 1 2 652 15,258 950 1,907 50 6,673 635 1,363 47 27,148 1,808 7,773 485 809 500 579 374 316 238 2, 449 554 4, 395 1, 300 693 559 327 223 , 1,878 1,166 78 , 76 2,786 1,836 284 i 234 1,555 920 119 1 72 3,313 1,525 950 445 42 27 51 191 154 64 18 126 8 300 31 55 22 329 109 170 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THE REMOVAL OF THE EARLY DEAD. In the work of the present season a distinct step in advance was made in the enumeration of the starved pups. One element of confusion in last year's count resulted from the difficulty in distinguishing between the early and the later dead. To obviate this the pup carcasses on Kitovi and Lukanin rookeries were carefully removed on August 12, before the starvation from pelagic sealing began. Frequent counts of the dead, as they accumulated from and after the 12th, were kept up until the 10th of September, and the accessions, all plainly due to starvation, were found to be fairly constant from day to day. These counts will be found in the daily journal, under date of September 6 and 10. On October 15 a count by Colonel Murray of the dead on these two breeding grounds gave a total of 1,057. These had died after August 12, and may be taken as a very exact measure of the contribution of these two rookeries to the general quota of death caused by pelagic sealing. THE ESTIMATE OF STARVED PUPS, 1897. There were in round numbers about 9,500 pups born on Kitovi and Lukanin rookeries in 1897. The number starved was therefore about 11 per cent of the birth rate. Applying this percentage to the total birth rate of the islands, the total death rate from starvation in 1897 must have been approximately 14,000. In 1896 the percentage of females taken in Bering Sea was 84. From the greater scarcity of males this year and the closer killing practiced on the islands, we are justified in assuming that the percentage for this year could not have been below 90 per cent. This would give a total of about 15,000 females killed. The difference of 1,000 will account for the small proportion of virgin two-year olds, and the adult cows in the pelagic catch, which had already lost their pups through natural causes. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FIGURES. These data regarding the results of starvation are very important, and from them we can review our findings of last year. Applying a proportionate relation of starved pups to the pelagic catch of 1896, we find that the estimate for last year should have been about 24,000 instead of 16,000. It is not desired, however, to press either of these calculations too closely. The percentage of the two rookeries counted may be slightly too high for the other rookeries. It certainly is too high for those rookeries on which the early mortality is great. THE DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS OF PELAGIC SEALING ESTABLISHED. But the mere matter of the number of pups which starve is not important. The essential thing is that a very large number of pups do starve. This is settled beyond cavil. As we know the pups are wholly dependent upon their mothers' milk for nourishment until fully a month after pelagic sealing ceases, it follows necessarily that the pup dies as a result of the mother's death, if it has not already died from other causes. That more than 16,000 pups, which had otherwise escaped accidents on the rookeries in 1896, and about 14,000 in 1897 died of starvation is sufficient proof of EFFECTS OF PELAGIC SEALING. 171 the destructive effects of pelagic sealing. This artificial and added source of loss among the young pups is all the more impressive when taken in connection with the previous loss which they suffer from natural causes. THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF PELAGIC SEALING. We are now ready to consider finally the full effects of pelagic sealing on the fur-seal herd. It is apparent that a large proportion of the fur seals taken at sea are females; that every female above the age of 2 years is pregnant, and that when taken in Bering Sea she has a pup dependent upon her whose death results from her own. Using an average of all the data available, the proportion of females in the pelagic catch is about 80 per cent, or, to be on the safe side, and for the sake of ease in computation, we may consider it to be 75 per cent. THE TOTAL EFFECT OF PELAGIC SEALING. In the earlier discussion of the pelagic catch we found that a grand total of 988,047, or approximately 1,000,000 seals, had been taken at sea since 1868 from all the herds of the North Pacific. With this data at hand we may make the following tabulation of the losses thus suffered by the fur-seal herds of the Pribilof and Commander islands: Loss in all waters through pelagic sealing, 1868-1897. Animals actually secured (in round numbers) 1, 000, 000 Animals shot, but lost (undetermined). Unborn pups destroyed with females (75 per cent of above) 750, 000 Nursing pups starved (proportion of females killed in Bering Sea) 180, 000 Total 1, 930, 000 Though the second item in the above enumeration is not and can not be determined, it is nevertheless an important one and must be borne constantly in mind. During this period it is significant to note, as bearing upon the proportion of the sexes at sea, that approximately 3,000,000 males were killed on laud during the equivalent period. THE EFFECT SINCE 1883. But inasmuch as land killing was at its maximum during the first fifteen years of this period, and pelagic sealing only nominal, the effect of the latter will be more strikingly apparent if the comparison be based upon the results since 1883, when the pelagic catch in Bering Sea began. This computation for the Pribilof herd alone would be as follows: Loss to the Pribilof herd through pelagic sealing since 1883. Animals actually secured 336, 000 Animals shot, but lost (undetermined). Unborn pups destroyed with females (75 per cent of above) 402, 000 Nursing pups starved 180, 000 Total 1, 118, 000 Total land killing covering the same period. 842, 000 1-2 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRII3ILOF ISLANDS. THE EFFECT UNDER THE PARIS REGULATIONS. From these figures we begin to appreciate the effect which pelagic sealing has had on the fur-seal herd. At the risk of repetition it is worth while to carry this computation one step further and see what has been the condition of things since the regulations of the Paris Tribunal went into effect. The following is the result: Loss to the Pribilof herd through pelagic sealing since 1894. Animals actually secured 187, 000 Animals shot, but lost (undetermined). Unborn pups destroyed with females (75 per cent of above) 140, 000 Nursing pups starved (proportion of females killed in Bering Sea) 122, 000 Total 449, 000 Total land killing, same period 80, 000 It is scarcely necessary to add anything to this arraignment of pelagic sealing. In its known effects, coupled with the absence of any other known cause, we must adjudge it the efficient cause of the decline. The fur-seal herd has declined and is declining solely because of the slaughter of its gravid and nursing females and the premature destruction of their offspring. It naturally follows that these figures constitute an equally striking and conclusive condemnation of the regulations of the Paris award. C A I" TER XIV. EFFECTS OF PELAGIC SEALING ON THE SEAL-SKIN INDUSTRY. Thus far we have considered solely the effect of pelagic sealing on the fur-seal herd. It is worth while, however, to look at the effect also on the general seal-skin industry. In former days the supply of seal skins came in part from the southern hemisphere; but these herds are practically extinct, except for a few thousand skins taken at certain protected points. The fur-seal skin industry is therefore practically dependent for its existence on the preservation of the seal herds of the North Pacific. INTERNATIONAL INTEREST IN THE FUR-SEAL HERDS. The United States and Russia on the one hand, and Great Britain on the other, are vitally interested in this industry, the former nations because of their property rights in the seals and the revenue they should derive from the safe and legitimate killing of males on land; the latter nation through the interest of her citizens in the city of London engaged in the dressing and dyeing of seal skins. Practically all the seal skins of the world are prepared in London. Practically all the seal skins of the world are supplied by the herds frequenting the Pribilof Islands and Commander Islands and belonging to the United States and Russia. UNITED STATES INTERESTS. Speaking more directly for the interests of the United States, it may be said that during the first twenty years of its possession of the islands our Government derived an annual revenue of $317,500 in tax paid by the lessees of the rookeries. During this period the annual quota averaged 100,000. With a like quota and the more advantageous terms of the present lease with the new company, the United States ought now to be receiving a revenue of $1,000,000 annually from its fur-seal herd; but instead it receives an income scarcely sufficient to meet the cost of patrol in the enforcement of the regulations for the protection of the herd. The United States has also other interests than its revenue under the lease. For example, it derives a revenue from the importation of prepared skins brought from London to the American market. Seventy-live per cent of the dressed seal skins find their ultimate market in the United States. On the 75,000 skins which American dealers should now be importing were conditions normal, the United States should be deriving an annual income of $375,000. Iii the manufacture and sale of seal-skin garments American citizens have an important interest. Putting these various elements together, it will be seen that under normal conditions the United States should be enjoying to-clay an income of about $1,375,000' from its fur-seal herd, whereas it receives less than one-fifth this amount. Case of United States Fur Seal Arlo., Vol. I, p. 272. 173 174 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. RUSSIAN INTERESTS. The interest of Russia lies solely in the revenue which she should derive from the taking of seal skins on her islands. lier citizens are not to any extent engaged in the sale and manufacture of the garments made from the skins. THE INTEREST OF GREAT BRITAIN. Great Britain's interest in the fur-seal-skin industry is next in importance to that of the United States. There was invested in the city of London, in 1892, a capital of $5,000,000 engaged in the work of dressing and dyeing seal skins.' Between 2,000 and 3,000 skilled workmen were employed in the business. This capital and labor, on account of their highly specialized nature, can not be advantageously turned into other channels. The extermination of the fur-seal herds means the ruin of the seal-skin industry. THE CANADIAN PELAGIC SEALING INTERESTS. It is worth while here to contrast the value and importance of the so-called industry which is opposed to these several interests. In the report of the British commissioners for 18922 we find this statement : " The estimated value of the British Columbian vessels employed in sealing, with their equipments, as they sailed in 1892, was $359,000." This valuation may be looked upon as an extreme one, and the vessels have deteriorated since. Mr. T. T. Williams3 gives the value of the Canadian sealing fleet of 24 vessels in 1889, including outfits, as $173,350. The average value per vessel would according to this be approximately $7,200. For the 49 vessels in 1892 the average valuation would be $7,300. A recent estimate by Capt. C. L. Hooper4 of the value of 19 of these vessels engaged in sealing in 1896, but not in 1897, was in round numbers $45,000, which would give an average valuation of $2,400 per vessel, a figure probably much nearer present conditions. VALUATION OF THE FLEET. Applying this later valuation to the entire sealing fleet of 1896-21 American and 66 British vessels—we have as opposed to the important interests of the United States and Great Britain a capital of not to exceed $208,000. This should be contrasted with the capital of $5,000,000 invested in the preparation of the seal skins in London and with the revenue of $1,375,000 a year which the United States should by right be enjoying. Taking the average number of men employed per vessel in 1889 and 1891, we find that for the fleet of 87 vessels in 1896 there was a total of 2,000 white men and Indians. With these should be. contrasted the 2,000 or more skilled workmen engaged in dyeing and dressing the seal skins in London. The pelagic fleet in 1896 took, all told, about 70,000 skins, worth $7 apiece, or a gross income of about $490,000. It is not easy to estimate the expense of fitting out such a fleet, but if we take out of this gross earning of a little less than half a million the wages of 2,000 men for from three to six months, in addition to the provisions for 'Case of United States Fur Seal Arb., vol. I, p. 273. 2Proc. Fur Seal Arb., vol. 6, p. 35. 3 Fur Seal Arb., vol. 3, p. 499. 4See Appendix. EFFECTS OF PELAGIC SEALING. 175 the voyage, the profit of the pelagic investment is small. In fact, it is not a matter of profit at all, but one of loss. The true nature of the business was plain in 1897, when only 38 vessels as against 87 in 1896 engaged in sealing. PELAGIC SEALING A SUICIDAL INDUSTRY. This effect of pelagic sealing upon itself is interesting and important. The true character of the industry can be seen from the following tabulation of its product under the regulations of the Paris award: Pelagic catches,1894-1897. a In 1895 there were 59 vessels engaged in sealing, as against 37 in 1894. Not only is pelagic sealing a destructive and wasteful industry, but it is suicidal in its nature. It is at best but an insignificant industry. It threatens the destruction of vastly more important interests and with them its own interests. Pelagic sealing preys upon its own capital. The more successful it is the quicker will come its ruin. Its bankrupt condition to-day is clearly shown in the declining catch and the withdrawal of its vessels. THE EFFECT OF THE DECLINING CATCH. As the business of pelagic sealing is, so is the fur seal-skin trade. Pelagic sealing has until this year in a measure supplied the deficiency occasioned by the decrease in the land catch. The combined land and sea catches of 1897, however, number all told only about 60,000 skins. Tile pelagic catch alone in 1894 furnished 140,000 skins. The uncertainty and especially the inadequacy of the supply of skins has seriously affected the seal-skin market, which as a result is badly demoralized. The effect of the shortage of supply in seal skins makes it necessary to substitute other furs. This tends to drive the seal skin out of fashion, as the substitute becomes itself fashionable. Concerning this phase of the question we may quote the words of one of the best informed dealers in fur-seal skins who said in a recent interview : The seal skin will probably never go out of fashion so long as the supply is fully adequate to the demand. But if the supply were to be cut off or reduced too low, it would be necessary to supply the demand_ from other furs and seal skins would go out of fashion. What is worse, with the change of fashion the men now employed in curing the skins would have to seek other lines of work and would be lost to the business. When it was again attempted to bring the seal skin into fashion, it would be necessary to train up a new set of men. For many years after the resumption of the curing of seal skins the results would be so poor and unsatisthctory that they could not be sold to anyone familiar with the present grade of skins. It is not likely therefore that, if the seal skin was lost to fashion now, it could be brought back within the present generation. THE LEGALITY OF PELAGIC SEALING. Such is the nature of pelagic sealing, the sole cause of the threatened destruction of the fur-seal herd, the sole obstacle which stands in the way of its restoration. North- Bering west Coast. Sea. 1894 . I 24, 101 31, 585 1895 12, 122 a 44. 169 1896 14, 417 29, 500 1897 7, 857 16, 464 176 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. Much has been said of the legality of pelagic sealing, and to this we take no exception. Pelagic sealing is perfectly legal, but this legality was fixed by a tribunal which was so confused by false testimony and ignorant and worthless affidavits, that, while attempting to formulate measures for the protection of the seals, it legalized the very cause of their destruction. But the whitewash of respectability which was thus put upon pelagic sealing can not hide its true character. Judged by its methods and results, it is merely a species of legalized barbarism. Pelagic sealing is simply a public nuisance which can now only be disposed of by an international agreement. THE PROHIBITION OF PELAGIC SEALING TO AMERICANS. It is with a great sense of relief that we find ourselves able to record the recent action of Congress in the prohibition of the practice of pelagic sealing by our own citizens and the exclusion of skins of females from our markets. This step should have been taken long ago. It must be remembered that until the passage of this law 1 Americans as well as Canadians have been engaged in slaughtering the fur seals. Of the 87 vessels which took seals during the season of 1896, 21 were American. And not only have our citizens helped to destroy our own herd, but they have crossed the Pacific and have been instrumental in depleting the herd of friendly Russia. American enterprise has also had the leading part in the practical extermination of the fur-seal rookeries of the Kuril Islands, belonging to Japan. PELAGIC SEALING DISTINCTLY A CANADIAN INDUSTRY. Henceforth, however, our hands are clean and we can with dignity and assurance urge that other nations take steps to put an end to the business. Pelagic sealing—with its slaughter of gravid females and the starvation of their dependent young, with its waste of a noble and valuable animal life, with its threatened destruction of varied and important commercial enterprises and of the sole source of supply of a commodity of utility and value to mankind—is from this time on distinctly a Canadian industry and under the fostering care of Great Britain. If she permits its continuance, the odium must rest with her. ' See text of this law in Appendix II to the report. CHAPTER, XV. THE RESULTS OF THE PARIS AWARD. A. THE ARBITRATION. Before taking up the question of what benefits have resulted to the fur-seal herd from the regulations formulated by the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration, it will be worth our while to review briefly the history of the fur-seal controversy which led up to the Tribunal. THE ORIGIN OF THE FUR-SEAL QUESTION. It was not until after the extension of pelagic sealing into Bering Sea, first by unlawful raiding of the rookeries, begun about the year 1879, and afterwards, by the invasion of the summer feeding grounds of the herd in 1880, that there came to be a fur-seal question. The first recorded pelagic catch in Bering Sea is that of the schooner City of San Diego in the year 1883.' THE SEIZURE OF VESSELS. In 1886 a large fleet of sealing vessels was engaged in Bering Sea, and of these a number were seized by the United States vessels detailed to guard the islands, among them three Canadian schooners, the Carolina, the Onimrd, and the Thornton. The fleet was still further increased in the following year and more seizures were made. Against the seizure of Canadian vessels Great Britain protested, and from the resulting correspondence the fur-seal question, as we now know it, arose. EFFORTS TO SECURE INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION. Realizing the danger which threatened its fur-seal herd in the rapid expansion of pelagic sealing, and especially in its extension to the waters adjacent to the breeding grounds, the United States, in 1887, opened up a correspondence with the Govern-merits of Germany, Sweden and Norway, Russia, Japan, and Great Britain with a view to such international cooperation as should secure the protection of the herd. Secretary Bayard, in his letter to these several Governments, called attention to the fact that " the unregulated and indiscriminate killing of the seals in many parts of the world has driven them from place to place, and by breaking up their habitual resorts has greatly reduced their numbers." He predicted a similar result to the seals of the northern hemisphere, unless steps were taken for their protection. Nothing came of this correspondence. PROPOSED MEASURES OF PROTECTION. In the year 1888 Secretary Bayard proposed to Great Britain that by mutual arrangement among the nations interested there should be established a close season See foot note to page 142. 177 15184-12 178 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. for the fur seals beginning with April 13 and ending with November 1, and also a closed zone covering the waters of Bering Sea between the one hundred and sixtieth degree of west longitude and the one hundred and seventieth degree of east longitude, north of the fiftieth degree of north latitude. This proposition was assented to by Lord Salisbury on behalf of Great Britain, with the stipulation, in deference to the wish of the Government of Russia, that the provisions of such an arrangement should be extended to the waters of Bering Sea in which the Commander Islands are situated and also to the Sea of Okhotsk. This extension was agreed to by the United States. OBJECTION BY CANADA. When the negotiations looking to an agreement on this basis were on the point of a successful termination they were suddenly brought to a standstill by objections on the part of Canada. Great Britain declined to further consider the matter without the consent of Canada, which could not be obtained. THE RENEWAL OF NEGOTIATIONS. In view of this state of affairs United States vessels in 1889 renewed the seizure of sealing vessels. This action had been waived the preceding year in view of the favorable progress of the negotiations. In the spring of 1890, Great Britain suggested that the tripartite arrangement which was dropped in 1888 be resumed. This suggestion was accompanied by a change on her part of the original proposition. It was now asked that an inquiry be made by a mixed commission of experts, and that pending the results of their labors pelagic sealing should be prohibited in the waters of Bering Sea, the sea of Okhotsk, and adjoining waters, during the months of May and June and during the months of October, November, and December, and at all times within a radius of 10 miles of the breeding islands. THE COUNTER PROPOSITION UNSATISFACTORY. To appreciate the nature of this counter proposition it must be borne in mind that the summer months excepted from this close season are the only ones in which the breeding seals are regularly in Bering Sea. Secretary Blaine, who had succeeded Secretary Bayard, in declining this proposition, called attention to its radically different nature from the one originally accepted. The unreasonableness of. the proposition seemed, in Mr. Blaine's estimation, sufficient warrant for breaking off • the negotiationks, but as 'he. intimated they were continued:by, the. 'United' 'Stites' in hope; of Teaching 'a 1.)atteriutitlersiAliding:;- J ; ,:• .9..1;q0iLtn:.;i1Jii 1(ft 1)!Afiftl!,','INN titc;c1, Thd`: • • • !. 7,91391N4 CFt.91}' "FI:fr41)`749:1[Gti ".(1 Cr' i" t: bt'IC).:1( Aftet much fruitless .ecirrespondsgnelesitisin effolit the pelagic sealing pending ,further 11;ekoftiktiolis;t ,citt tifiellatiff tiff' the 'Milt:a' States, submitted a series of propositions which, in his opinion, 'thitiitsfliriffSli,' the basis of an arbitration looking to ..t140. ftnaL, 5qtlement; pf. the matters in dispute. These propositions were six in number. The first fiveprovided for a determination of, the questions of jurisdictional rights . B.erhxg -.Sea-exercised by Russia, and transferred to the United States,: and .of they property rights ,and Tights of protection which the United States possessed over the seals when beyond the ordinary territorial waters about the islan6. COMMISSION OF INQUIRY. 179 In the event of an adverse decision for the United States on these legal questions, the final proposition provided that the court of arbitration should take up a consideration of the rules and regulations necessary for the proper protection of the herd when at sea and beyond the jurisdiction of the United States. These propositions, after amendment and discussion, were finally accepted as the basis of an arbitration and were embodied in a treaty between the United States and Great Britain, signed on February 29, 1892, and duly ratified. This treaty is printed in Appendix II of this report. THE MODUS VIVENDI. While the discussion of the treaty was under way, and in view- of its probable consummation, a modus vivendi was agreed to in June, 1891, which closed Bering Sea to pelagic sealing and limited the land catch on the islands to a nominal figure for the support of the natives depending upon the fur seals for food. The promulgation of this measure was too late in the season to make it possible of enforcement, the pelagic fleet having already gone to sea. After the signing of the treaty in the following year this modus vivendi was renewed and continued in force until the conclusion of the labors of the arbitration convention. The text of the agreement will be found in Appendix II. THE JOINT COMMISSION OF INQUIRY. In the progress of the discussion leading up to the convention of February, 1892, it was decided that a commission of experts representing each Government should visit the seal islands and report on the habits and condition of the fur-seal herd with a view to the information of the arbitration .convention. To expedite matters this commission was tentatively designated and entered upon its work in the summer of 1891, being officially recognized after the treaty was filially agreed to in the spring of 1892. THE TRIBUNAL OF ARBITRATION. In accordance with the provisions of the treaty of 1892 the Tribunal of Arbitration duly convened at Paris in February, 1893, and concluded its labors on the 15th of August. Its decision of the legal questions involved being adverse to the United States, the Tribunal proceeded to formukate regulations for, the protection and preservation ot* the fig, seals. (1.1 -" JOINT REPORt OF irEt coMmY§siON. :f 1 ' I `'; 1 -11 ;„ r , Before, u.g lip al SietiOilqd ettniOderation off ,these .regulationg, rit, will assist us our,, unflerstAtid,ing, of •,t1tem, to, cpu§ider, briefly, the results' of the iigvestigations on which they were based, ,,The joint commission of investigation representing the United States and Great Britain, after its visit to the islands in the summer of 1891, met at Washington in the spring of 1892, and after much discussion found itself unable to..agree upon any facts of importance beyond the general proposition that n the fur herd had largely declined and that man was responsible for the decline. Accordingly, each commission of investigation submitted a separate report to its Go,vernment. These reports became the basis of each nation's: contention before the' Tribunal regarding the condition and habits of the fur seals. 180 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THE AMERICAN CONTENTION. The _American contention was in brief that the decline of the herd was due to pelagic sealing; that pelagic killing was indiscriminate, the female sex predominating in the catch; that these females when killed off the Northwest Coast in the spring were gravid, and when killed on their feeding excursions in Bering Sea were nursing, and left dependent pups upon the rookeries whose death resulted from starvation. THE BRITISH CONTENTION. The British contention, on the other hand, held that the proportion of females in the pelagic catch was comparatively unimportant and composed chiefly of barren cows; that nursing females did not leave the islands while their pups were dependent upon them; that in case they did so leave and were killed, their young could be nursed by other cows or could subsist on food procured from the sea. Having thus disposed of the contention of the United States, a counter proposition was set up that land killing as practiced on the islands rather than sea killing was responsible for the decline of the herd. THEIR COMPARATIVE MERITS. It is not the intention at this point to discuss the comparative merits of these contentions. They have been fully treated in the preceding pages. It is sufficient here to say that subsequent events have conclusively proved the essential truth of the American contention and the falsity of the British counter claims. From the conflicting evidence brought before the Tribunal, it is not strange that the regulations formulated by it—which are a blind effort at compromise—are an utter failure for the purpose for which they were intended. B. THE REGULATIONS OF THE AWARD. The regulations are published in full in Appendix II to this report, together with a more extended account of the Tribunal of Arbitration itself. We may here briefly summarize the provisions of these regulations as follows : (1) the establishment of a closed zone about the Pribilof Islands of a radius of 60 miles; (2) a closed season from the 1st of May to the 31st of July; (3) the restriction of pelagic sealing to sailing vessels and undecked boats and canoes; (4) the requirement of a special license and flag by sealing vessels; (5) a record of the place, number, and sex of seals taken; (6) a proficiency requirement on the part of those engaging in the business; (7) the exemption of Indians on the Northwest Coast from the provisions of the regulations; (8) a provision for the reconsideration of the regulations at the end of five years if found to be inadequate. These regulations were put into operation by appropriate legislation both by the United States and Great Britain in the spring of the year 1894. THE MINOR PROVISIONS. The minor provisions of the regulations we need not dwell upon. Sailing vessels are doubtless the only ones which can profitably be used in the business. The license and flag are no doubt useful, but immaterial. The prohibition of firearms in Bering Sea is a provision wholly in the interests of the sealers. The proficiency requirement borders on the ridiculous. Exemption of the Northwest Coast Indians is just and EFFECTS OF THE REGULATIONS. 181 proper, but the discrimination against the Aleuts on the shores of Bering Sea is unjust. These requirements; one and all, have absolutely no bearing upon the welfare of the seals. The requirement regarding the record by the sealing captains of the sex of animals taken was a useful one, as providing a means for the securing of valuable data bearing upon the effects of the regulations. The method was, however, unfortunate, and for the very natural reason that it could not be expected that the sealers would take the trouble to make honest reports which must be injurious in the highest degree to their business. The sequel shows, as we have already pointed out, that they can not be depended upon for correct information. THE SIXTY-MILE ZONE. The remaining provisions are more vital. The 60-mile zone about the islands has a positive value in keeping vessels at such distance from the rookeries as to make successful raiding impossible. When we have said this regarding the protected zone, we have stated its only importance. The feeding grounds of the seals lie far outside of its limits. On the journeys to and from the grounds the seals do not loiter much in the protected area. A protected zone, to be of any value, should cover and include the feeding grounds to which the nursing females resort. THE CLOSE SEASON. The provision for a close season is of more importance, though even its value is by no means great. It shuts off that catch which was formerly made in May along the southern shore of the Alaskan Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. This catch was unusually destructive, because the females were growing heavy with pup. Under the regulations these animals, which have escaped from the hunters off the coast in March and April, are allowed to continue their way in peace to the islands. During June and July they are protected, but as they then spend a large part of the time on shore the protection is not so important as it seems. REGULATIONS ADAPTED TO WORK OF SEALERS. As if suited to the needs of the sealers and against those of the seals, the sea is opened on the 1st of August at the time when, under the necessity of furnishing nourishment for their growing offspring, the mother seals are forced to spend the greater part of the time on the feeding grounds. To understand fully the destructive force of this month of August, it is only necessary to observe that in the spring the herd is constantly moving on, and there is more or less difficulty in locating it. In Bering Sea the seals frequent certain feeding banks regularly, coming and going at intervals. If a seal is not taken at her first trip, other opportunities will occur on her second and subsequent trips. The sealer has only to wait for her, and in the meantime go on taking other seals. The close season, therefore, offers little protection to the female fur seal. It permits her to escape at one place and time only to allow her to be taken at another and more favorable time and place. It saves her from death before the birth of her offspring only to leave her liable to be killed after it is born and to subject her offspring to death by starvation. 18' THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. To the pelagic sealer the close season offers no impediment and entails no loss. He can rest assured that the seals he is prevented from taking in the North Pacific will be more easily taken in Bering Sea in August, when the storms of the early summer are over and the conditions in every way more favorable. In the meantime lie is given opportunity to refit his vessel, or he may cross over to the Asiatic side at the beginning of the close season and prey upon the Commander herd before returning to Bering Sea in August. On the whole, it is difficult to see how a more comfortable and convenient set of regulations could have been prepared had the pelagic sealers themselves drawn them up. It is difficult to see how they could be made more destructive to the herd if that had been their deliberate intent. THE COST OF ENFORCING THE REGULATIONS. It is not enough, however, that these regulations legalize the destruction of the herd. They are necessarily maintained at a tremendous cost. The Government of the United States paid for the maintenance of its patrol in the North Pacific and in Bering Sea during the period from April to October, 1896, the sum of $176,380.16. The cost to Great Britain for her share in the patrol was smaller, but yet a considerable sum. THE FAILURE OF THE REGULATIONS. It is scarcely necessary to state that the regulations of the Paris Award have proved a signal failure. As has already been shown, the herd has continued to decline steadily under them. The herd suffered its greatest loss under the first year of their operation, when 61,000 animals were taken at sea. In the year 1896, of the catch taken in Bering Sea, 84 per cent were females, practically all of them pregnant and having nursing pups dependent upon them. Between the seasons of 1896 and. 1897 the breeding herd suffered a diminution of from 12 to 15 per cent, notwithstanding the fact that the pelagic catch had largely declined through the exhaustion of the herd. To this it is only necessary to add that under the rigid patrol which has been maintained the regulations have been strictly enforced and fully complied with. No further condemnation of these measures for the "protection and preservation of the seals" could be expected. THE REDEEMING FEATURE OF THE REGULATIONS. The one redeeming feature about the regulations is the final provision for their reconsideration and revision. The only difficulty here is that the trial period fixed at five years was too long. One season would have been sufficient to test them. They were calculated to show their quality at once. As a matter of fact it was clearly demonstrated by the recorded catch of the first season of their operation that they had stimulated rather than retarded pelagic sealing and consequently had heightened the decline of the herd. That a fleet of 87 vessels in the first year of the operation of the regulations should have been able to take 61,000 seals, whereas 115 vessels, in 1891, before pelagic sealing was interfered with, took but 59,000, was clear enough evidence that the regulations had only altered matters for the worse. OBLIGATION TO PROTECT THE SEALS. 183 THE PURPOSE OF THE ARBITRATORS. The final provision of the regulations has another feature of importance—it defines the purpose of their formulation. This is " the protection and preservation of the fur seals." It is fortunate that the Tribunal of Arbitration placed this matter on record, as otherwise its work in framing these measures would be without justification and its own sincerity could be called into question. Truth enough to condemn every feature of the regulations was placed before the Tribunal, but the real issues were so thoroughly confused by the statements made in opposition that the outcome was a matter of chance. This is the only explanation which can be offered for the irreconcilable difference between the evident purpose and the actual achievement of the regulations. THE OBLIGATION TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE. This statement of the purpose of the Tribunal has another important bearing. It leaves no doubt that the obligation to protect and preserve the fur seals was laid upon the two nations concerned by their acceptance of the decision. From all this it must follow that at the close of the trial period of five years, if not before, the United States and Great Britain must take up seriously the reconsideration of these regulations, and by their emendation or by the substitution of more adequate measures provide for what was plainly the object of the Tribunal of Arbitration, namely, the protection and preservation of the fur-seal herd. CITAPTER SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS. Before passing to a consideration of the final topic, the remedy for the condition of the herd, we may give the following brief statement of the chief facts concerning the fur-seal herd which have a bearing on its future protection and preservation. This statement, while in a sense a summary of the preceding discussions, was originally prepared by Messrs. Hamlin and Jordan, the American delegates to the recent Fur-Seal Conference at Washington, for the use of the conference. A few of the estimates here given may be open to difference of opinion, but in general the accuracy of these statements has not been questioned and can not be: STATEMENTS OF FACT. The delegates of the United States present for the consideration of the meeting of experts the following statements of fact regarding the condition of the fur-seal herd resorting to the Pribilof Islands: 1. Since the year 1885 the fur-seal herd, as measured by its breeding females, has steadily declined in numbers at a rate varying from year to year. 2. The best available measure of this decline is found in these facts: (a) During the period between 1871 and 1885 no difficulty was experienced in obtaining each year 100,000 male seals of recognized killable age by the 20th of July. (b) In 1896 only 30,000 killable seals were taken after continuing the driving until July 27, and in 1897 only 20,890 were taken after continuing the driving until August 11. 3. From this and other data it would appear that the herd of breeding females on the Pribilof Islands in the years 1871-1885 must have been about five times as great as at present, or from 600,000 to 700,000 in number. 4. The natural life of the female fur seal is estimated at from ten to fifteen years. Assuming thirteen years as an average, each female would have ten years of breeding life. If this be true, 10 per cent of the breeding females die of old age each winter in addition to the unknown losses from other causes. The stock of breeding females is recruited solely by the accession each year of 3-year-old cows. 5. The natural death rate among the young fur seals, especially among the pups, is very great. At present about two-thirds die from natural causes before they reach the age of 3 years, or killable age for the males and breeding age for the females. 6. The chief natural causes of death among the pups are: (a) Ravages of the parasitic worm, Uncinaria, infesting sandy breeding areas. (b) Trampling by fighting or moving bulls and cows. (c) Starvation of pups strayed or separated from their mothers when very young. (d) Ravages of the great killer (Orca). (e) Drowning in the storms of winter. 184 STATEMENTS OF FACTS. 185 The natural losses from other causes are relatively small. 7. Counts and estimates show that the number of breeding females bearing pups on the rookeries of St. Paul and St. George in 1896 was about 157,000 and in 1897 about 130,000. 8. On certain rookeries pups were counted during both seasons. Where 16,241 were found in 1896, 14,318 were found in 1897, a decrease of about 12 per cent. The harems on all the rookeries were counted during both seasons. In 1896 there were 4,932; in 1897, 4,418, a decrease of 10.41 per cent. The cows actually present on certain rookeries at the height of the season were counted both seasons. Where 10,198 were found in 1896, 7,307 were found in 1897, a decrease of 28.34 per cent. 9. It is not possible to state absolutely the decline in the actual number of breeding cows from 1896 to 1897, but it is not far from 15 per cent. 10. The number of killable seals taken on the islands in 1897 shows a decrease of about 30 per cent from the number taken in 1896. This represents approximately the decrease in the 3-year-old breeders which entered the rookeries in 1897, the number of males and females born being practically equal. 11. Land killing is not now a factor in the decline of the herd, and has not been since the islands came into the possession of the United States. It has not caused injury to the breeding herd either by undue reduction in the number of males or by impairing their virility, or in any other way. 12. Land killing has tended to increase the size of the breeding herd by the reduction of the number of adult bulls and their consequent fighting, which results in the destruction of females and pups. 13. No appreciable part of the decline of the herd is due to illegal killing or killing in defiance of the regulations of the Paris award. 14. The reduction in the breeding herd has been due to the killing of females at sea, with the resulting starvation of nursing pups and the destruction of unborn pups. 15. Pelagic sealing necessarily involves indiscriminate killing of males and females. The greater proportion of the animals taken in the ge]agic catch are females. The statistics for the American catch, obtained by expert examination in the customhouses, show an average of 78 per cent for the years 1894, 1895, and 1896. The examination of pelagic skins in London confirms this percentage.' 16. The natural increase of the breeding herd is about 1611 per cent each year, being one-half of the surviving 3-year-olds. The natural death rate from old age each year is not far from 10 per cent. The death rate of adults from other causes can not be accurately estimated. The killing of females by the hand of man therefore can not reach 6i per cent of the total number each year without involving the decline of the herd. If the herd is to be restored, the killing of female seals should not be permitted. 17. As neither land killing nor sea killing now yields a profit for the money invested and for the money spent in protection, the fur-seal herd is therefore, from a commercial point of view, virtually destroyed. But this has not involved the biological destruction of the herd. Under wise protection it may regain its former numbers. To this may be added the testimony of Mr. Halkett, obtaineds ince the original preparation of this statement, showing the percentage of females in the Bering Sea catch for 1896 to be 84 per cent. 186 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 18. In our judgment all facts in any way vital to international action regarding the protection and preservation of the fur-seal herd are now in the possession of both Governments. 19. These facts show that the herd has largely declined from its original condition and from its condition in 1891 and in 1894; that it is still declining, and that the cause of the decline is the slaughter of females involved in pelagic sealing. 20. The regulations of the Paris award have proved ineffective to protect and preserve the herd. They have not prevented its decline, which has continued and must continue in spite of them. They can not bring about a restoration of the herd, as they permit the killing of females in numbers vastly in excess of their natural increase. CHAPTER XVII. THE REMEDY FOR THE DECLINE OF THE HERD. We have thus covered the first three divisions of our subject. We have found the seal herd diminished to between one-fifth and one-sixth of its original size and still declining. The cause of this decline is simply and solely the slaughter of females at sea. The imminence of the danger thus threatened to the herd may be judged by the extent of the loss which has already been inflicted and by the fact that at 6he present time the herd is commercially ruined both on land and at sea. The regulations provided for the protection and preservation of the herd are utterly ineffective. REVISION OF THE REGULATIONS NOT ADEQUATE. The fourth division of our inquiry must therefore be short. It follows, of course, that some radical change is necessary. This can not be brought about by alterations in the present regulations or the substitution of new ones. It is not a question of the regulation of pelagic sealing, but of its abolition and the cessation of all traffic in the skins of females. The nature of the problem is such that the killing of seals at sea in any form and under any restrictions that can be made effective is wholly incompatible with the preservation and restoration of the herd. PELAGIC SEALING CAN NOT EXIST WITHOUT THE KILLING OF FEMALES. It is impossible to distinguish the sex of the animals at sea and so exempt the females. It is immaterial whether the animal is shot or speared, so long as it is killed. It makes no difference whether the female is killed when heavy with young on the migrations or whether she is left to bring forth her young and is then killed, leaving the young to starve. The herd could be commercially ruined in the single month of August on its feeding grounds in Bering Sea, even if all other sealing were prohibited. If Bering Sea were fully closed, the concentration of the operations of the fleet olf the Northwest Coast would be sufficient to maintain the continued, though perhaps slower, decline of the herd. So long as pelagic sealing exists in any form or at any time or place, females will be killed, and their continued slaughter means the ultimate destruction of the herd, biologically as well as commercially. THE TOTAL PROHIBITION OF PELAGIC SEALING THE ONLY REMEDY. In a word, there is no remedy for the present decline of the herd, nor hope for its restoration and preservation, except in the absolute and permanent prohibition of pelagic sealing. 187 CHAPTER XVIII. THE FUTURE OF THE FUR-SEAL HERD. A RECONSIDERATION OF THE QUESTION. With the season of 1898 will close the five-year trial period of the regulations of the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration. These regulations were, as we have seen, formulated for the "protection and preservation of the fur seals." In the treaty of 1892, under which the arbitration was convened, "the preservation of the fur seal in, or habitually resorting to," Bering Sea was expressly designated as part of the object of the convention. Furthermore, in the declarations which the tribunal made to the respective governments concerned we find that "in view of the critical condition to which it now appears certain that the race of fur seals is reduced" it was recommended that all killing of seals, whether on land or at sea, be prohibited for an agreed period of years. From these references, it must be clear that the avowed purpose and intention of the Tribunal of Arbitration was to accomplish the protection of the fur-seal herd. It is equally clear that the responsibility for carrying this purpose was placed upon the nations concerned in the arbitration and which accepted its decision. A BASIS FOR THE REOPENING OF THE SUBJECT. In approaching a reconsideration of the regulations the two nations have now a much clearer knowledge of the conditions surrounding the problem. As a result of the recent conference of American, British, and Canadian fur-seal experts at Washington, an agreement as to facts was reached sufficiently broad and conclusive to show the true condition of the herd, the cause of its decline, and the remedy. This joint agreement will be found in full in Appendix II of this report. We may here briefly summarize its conclusions: FINDINGS OF FACT. THE DECLINE. First, it is found that the fur-seal herd has declined largely from its condition in 1884 down to the date of the inspection of the rookeries in 1897. This means that the herd has continued to decline under the regulations. The decrease is stated as equal to from two-thirds to four-fifths of its maximum size. Between the seasons of 1896 and 1897 the rate of decline is found from the most reliable data to be between 9 and 12 per cent. For this same period the pelagic catch has itself declined fully one-half. SLOW RATE OF INCREASE IN THE HERD. Second, it is found that the natural death rate among the seals, especially the young, is high, so that but one-half to one-third of those born attain the age of three years. This means that the rate of increase in the fur-seal herd under the best of conditions is slow. iss THE RUIN OF THE HERD. 189 MALES CAN BE KILLED WITH IMPUNITY. Third, it is agreed that owing to the polygamous habit of the fur seal, coupled with an equal birth rate of the sexes, it is possible to remove a large number of males with impunity, and that the operations of land killing as now conducted do not affect the virility of the males or fail to leave an adequate supply of male life for breeding purposes. As land killing has always been confined to the males, and as its operations are to-day what they have been since the herd came into American control, except in so far as they have been improved, this means that land killing is not and has not been a factor in the decline of the herd. EXCESSIVE DESTRUCTION OF FEMALES. Fourth, it is agreed that pelagic sealing involves the killing of males and females alike without discrimination, as the sexes coexist in the sea; that the proportion of females taken in the pelagic catches of recent years has been from 62 to 84 per cent; that the females so taken are in large part pregnant and nursing, their death involving the death of their offspring. It is agreed that this abstraction of breeding females, which in recent years has been largely in excess of the natural increment of the herd, has gone too far, and has caused the diminution found in the herd. In other words, put in plain terms, this means that pelagic sealing has been the cause of the decline in-the fur-seal herd. COMPROMISE FINDINGS. It is also agreed th a limited number of females, within the natural increment of the herd, may be killed without causing actual diminution. It is found that in the rapid decline of the pelagic catch there is a tendency toward equilibrium at this point of safety. It is further found that as a species the fur seal is far from being exterminated, and that under the present conditions of protection such extermination is not probable. These statements are self-evident truths, though wholly irrelevant to the question. We have already discussed this supposed equilibrium. The supposed safety of the herd as a species is made to depend upon the maintenance of a costly patrol, which would naturally be abandoned by the United States if it saw no hope of the restoration of its industry. THE HERD COMMERCIALLY RUINED. Finally, it is agreed that the herd in its present condition yields but au inconsiderable return either to the lessees of the islands or to the owners of the pelagic fleet. In a word, it agreed that the fur-seal herd has declined until it is commercially ruined both on land and at sea; that land killing is not responsible for this decline, and that pelagic sealing is responsible. PELAGIC SEALING INCOMPATIBLE WITH PRESERVATION OF HERD. We have shown clearly enough in our discussion of the methods and conditions of pelagic sealing that the continuance of the industry in any form is incompatible with the preservation and restoration of the fur-seal herd. In taking up a reconsideration of the matter there is but one thing to do, namely, abolish pelagic sealing; in other words, remove the cause of the decline. This is the task which must confront the United States and Great Britain as well at the close of the season of 1898. 190 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THE SKIN OF A FEMALE TO BE CONTRABAND. As to ways and means for accomplishing the desired end we have nothing to offer. We are glad to be able to call attention to the action of our Government in the passage of the bill forbidding the citizens of the United States to engage in pelagic sealing. We may suggest that should Great Britain enact and enforce a similar law this would end the matter. If the fur-seal herd is to be preserved its breeding females must be protected from slaughter. To make the skin of a female fur seal a contraband article, subject to seizure and confiscation when brought into a port of a civilized nation, will protect her from slaughter. THE PROPOSED EXTERMINATION BY SLAUGHTER ON THE ROOKERIES. We have had occasion, in the preliminary reports of the commission, to denounce a method of settling the fur-seal question, which has already received more attention than it merits, namely, the extinction of the herd by the slaughter of the animals on their breeding grounds. We trust that the day is passed when such a proposition would be tolerated. The measure is an abominable one, without a single redeeming feature. It would condense into one wholesale act all the objectionable features in pelagic sealing, against which we, as a nation, have been from the first contending; and it would lodge upon us alone and for all time the odium for the extermination by a barbarous method of a noble race of animals. The United States can not afford to shirk her responsibility for the protection and preservation of the fur seals by any such makeshift. It remains for the two great nations interested in the welfare of the fur-seal herd, and under obligation to look after that welfare, to find a way of settling the problem that shall be effective and honorable. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FUR-SEAL HERD. We have already had occasion to refer to the importance of the fur-seal herd as a property investment, adding to the wealth and comfort of mankind. Great Britain and the United States both share in the profits to be derived from the legitimate product of the herd, the former through the interests of her citizens in the preparation of the seal skins for the market, the latter through the revenue she derives under her lease. In its present condition the fur-seal herd is sadly reduced. Under the expensive conditions of protection necessitated by the eXistenee.of pelagic sealing the profits of its pro00. of hind flfe eaten up. But, event tuowi if the [present ekpensive pafrol ,could be waived, the -return from the. lierd.,,Would:b% :by means insignific-hart 'Under theY. quota_ of .,189 ,the ,revenue itorthe Government-lam:not be far frtitn 4250,000, ‘5. per den-t, wan investment of f$5,000,000.:i <„r.r fr ; , ; I., 1 L'i,c,•t! '” I ••1. A STRONG NUCLEUS REMAINS. The nucleus of the herd which remains is strong and vigorous. Under. proper conditions it will increase,. and in. fifteen or'•tWentkyeatbs should equal its Maximum condition. This would mean, mder the piesent lease Of The islands, a revenue initak alone' of $1,000,000 annually. .But with proper proteCtion• the product of the herd from the start would increase and grow as. the 'herd' grows:;•becoming .greater each year, until 'normal 'conditions were againcreachetL CHAPTER XIX. RECOMMENDATIONS. Assuming that the fur-seal herd will ultimately receive that protection which it deserves, it is in order for us to make certain recommendations and suggestions which naturally grow out of our investigations of the past two seasons. INADEQUACY OF PAST KNOWLEDGE. We have had occasion in our present discussion to point out the faulty and misleading character of much of the information which has been published concerning the fur-seal herd. It is not necessary to recur to it here. We must, however, note the fact that between the first two investigations instituted by the Government a period of fifteen years elapsed, during which there was absolutely no provision made for obtaining information concerning the real condition of its breeding herd. THE AGENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT NOT INVESTIGATORS. After the investigations of Mr. Elliott, covering the period from 1872 to 1876, the herd was given over to untrained men, who were not prepared to conduct the investigations necessary to understand the nature of the trust they were set to guard. To make matters worse, these men were speedily replaced by others equally inexperienced as soon as, by reason of practical contact with the affairs of the islands, they began to acquire some knowledge of their duties. The result is that the herd passed unnoticed from its state of maximum prosperity into one of rapid decline, and was reduced to one-half its size before the Government or its agents were made aware of the fact. THE FAILURE TO UNDERSTAND THE CONDITION OF THE HERD. How, little the situation was understood in 1889 by the officers of the Government may be seen from the fact that in that )7,a,tfr ;agent charge of the islands rmnmagnd"I tflAa+ %,,q4otp.,,pfrAifIlalAer sellsdn recei4 from, 1Q0,00Q, to 60,000, when, 4.,p4pter.4 104104, grotu4s .were opily capable of fqrn ishiu g r 20,000, as r}: • , • f TIMP:9-g4 feXPOenePfillA,Wiltg rauim.41s, or .1s)e(,,4ause iutluenced by tiligf eq149-119.0,onsiofitheinat,i,y the, 4gents. of,ttiq Governmont, eavly in the historyrof the herdiietablis4cd the tradition; that ,Oe seals: were virtually wild animals, which must b.eleftev,erel,y, alone if Oey: were not to tbe Ariven.laway. Accordingly, they instituted stringent rulesAgainst the visitation and molestation of the breeding grounds. These rules were not only enforced against the natives and casual visitors, but for the most part they were so rigidly Adlieied to by the agents. themselves that they too remained tn,,practical4gnorange of the Nal,condition of the herd. 191 192 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THE WILD-ANIMAL POLICY. This jblicy, which systematically treated the fur seals as wild animals, bore fruit later on, when the theory of exclusive ownership in the seals became vital to the interests of the Government. This theory, being wholly incompatible with its management of the herd, was legally untenable. It is safe to say that had the United States looked after its herd with the care and attention that a cattleman on the plains would bestow on his stock, the theory that ownership in the fur-seal herd must be shared with the pelagic sealer would not have been established. Had the United States in 1886, instead of seizing sealing vessels under a shadowy right of jurisdiction over the waters of Bering Sea, branded a mark of ownership upon each female, cleansed the rookeries from worm-breeding sands, and then seized the vessels that destroyed its property, it is probable that to-day there would be no fur-seal question. LACK OF FAITH IN OUR OWN METHODS. But so little attention had the Government paid to the condition of its herd and the results of its own methods of handling the animals, that it was possible in 1891, for those interested in maintaining pelagic sealing, to set up the counterclaim that our own methods were responsible for the depleted condition of the herd, and the Government found itself unable to successfully combat the charge. Indeed, it would seem that it was not itself assured of its own innocence, otherwise the useless repression of driving in 1894 and 1895, after the modus vivendi, is without explanation. In these years, after three years of rest, the full product of the hauling grounds should have been taken. Instead of this we find that the taking of seals was limited to two drives from each hauling ground in the season, this change being made with the avowed purpose of avoiding injury and disturbance to the rookeries. WASTEFUL MANAGEMENT. We must again, at the risk of repetition, call attention to the financial loss which the management of the fur-seal herd in the first twenty years of our control involved. From the published records of the islands we find that no less than 154,000 animals, either too young to furnish skins or whose condition was such that the skins were not available, were killed and their pelts wasted. Had these animals been killed in the proper season or been allowed to grow to the proper age, the revenue in tax alone from these skins would have been $460,000. Why this waste was permitted we can not understand unless it be that the matter was never properly urged upon the attention of the Government. It seems certain to us that had the agents in charge of the islands ascertained the uselessness and wastefulness of this proceeding it would never have been allowed to continue. This money would have paid five times over for competent and systematic investigation of the herd from the day it came into control of the United States to the present time. It would in all likelihood have averted its depletion and all the expensive litigation and friction which the fur-seal question has involved. THE TWO VITAL MATTERS YET UNKNOWN. There are two important matters which the Government ought to understand in order to handle its fur-seal interests intelligently, and these two vital facts it has not QUESTIONS RELATING TO THE QUOTA. 193 yet ascertained. They should have received first attention, and they should have been determined twenty years ago. These are: First, the proportion of males necessary to attend to the needs of the breeding female herd; second, the proportion of young seals which survive to the age of 3 years. Without knowing the real facts in regard to either of these matters, the Government assumed to fix a definite quota and to maintain it through twenty years. As a matter of fact, we know from the history of the herd that for the greater part of this time this quota was too small and that a large additional product of male life was wasted. For another part of the time this quota was too great, and this led to waste of another sort by involving the premature killing of the yearling and 2-year-old bachelors. Since 1894 the Government, acting on the advice of its agents, who clearly did not understand the situation, has each year assumed to fix in advance what quota should be taken. THE FIXING OF THE QUOTA. Let us take as a concrete example the quota of 1897. As a matter of fact, the number was left indefinite and at the discretion of the commission, so that the full product of the hauling grounds was taken in so far as that was possible. But suppose the quota had been fixed at 15,000. In that case the loss to the Government in tax under its lease would have been $65,000; or had it been fixed at 20,000, the loss would still have been $9,000. One or the other of these figures would certainly have been chosen had the advice of anyone relying on such data as were available:, in 1896 been taken. The quota actually taken in 1897 was 20,890. So long as mere personal judgment is trusted in these matters any quota that may be fixed in advance must be a very conservative one. The Government must avoid, on the one hand, the too close killing of the male life. On the other hand, it must see to it, at least in the present depleted condition of the fur-seal catch, whether on land or at sea, that the full product of its bachelor herd is gathered and utilized. It must therefore face this problem : If in fixing the quota the figure be placed too low, say 1,000 below the number of skins which could be taken with impunity, the Government loses $10,000 in tax, and the lessees an equal, if not greater, amount. If the margin of uncertainty is greater or less, the loss is proportionately increased or diminished. It would manifestly be disastrous were the limit of safety systematically exceeded by a like number. QUESTIONS WHICH REQUIRE CONTINUOUS AND EXPERT STUDY. The questions involved in the safe and intelligent gathering of the annual quota are of such a nature that they can not be determined in a single season, nor in two, possibly not definitely in five; nor can the matter rest when they are once determined. The investigations of the past two seasons have, however, laid the foundation for this work. If the census of the breeding herd, begun in 1896 and improved upon in 1897, is continued for two or three seasons it can be made practically exact. The birth rate of the present season is accurately enough established. If, as can safely be done, the full product of the hauling grounds is taken from now until the season of 1900, it can then be determined with reasonable accuracy, from the quota of 3-year-old males of that year, what percentage of the young survive to killable and breeding age. 15184 13 194 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRII3ILOF ISLANDS. FIXED QUOTA NOT DESIRABLE. With this filet once determined, the rate of the herd's increase is known, and also the size of the quota that can safely be taken. From any given birth rate, then, the quota of the third year following can be very definitely determined. It will probably never be wise to again fix a hard and fast quota, but a maximum and minimum limit within close range can be fixed, and this should serve the purposes of the lessees as well as of the Government. THE PROPORTION OF MALES NEEDED. The second problem of itnportance, namely, the proportion of males needed on the rookeries, is perhaps more easily determined. It will, however, be well to verify it by continued observations and experiments. The investigations of the past two seasons show clearly that with the present breeding herd of 130,000 cows 4,500 adult bulls is a number entirely adequate, even though twice that number are ready and willing to do service. But the mere fact that the rookeries are so evidently overstocked with bulls makes it desirable that this subject should be further studied before final judgment is taken. The importance of the second problem, however, does not lie in its solution, but in its practical application. Knowing the proportion of males necessary for breeding purposes and the proportion of males which survive to killable age, the practical question is, how to see that the necessary reserve is set aside each year to replenish the breeding stock as it deteriorates through old age and other causes. MINOR PROBLEMS. We have mentioned these two important problems which directly concern the taking of the product of the herd. They are absolutely essential. There are other questions of a minor nature, such as the more definite determination of the movements of the seals, and their ages. There is also an important work to be done in the improvement of the breeding grounds, their extension, their drainage, and the purging of places infested with the parasitic worm. THE HERD SHOULD BE PLACED IN CHARGE OF A NATURALIST. It is not necessary to go into greater detail. We have probably said enough to make clear the wisdom of the one important recommendation which the present commission strongly urges upon the Government at this time. This is the placing of its fur-seal herd permanently in charge of a competent naturalist and practical man of affairs, whose business it shall be to visit the islands each year in the breeding season and to study the condition of time herd and ways for its improvement; to determine the size of the quota which shall be taken, and supervise its taking; in short, to make the needs, possibilities, and limitations of the fur-seal herd his life study. By such a course time Government can hope to have at hand at all times that expert advice and assistance that have been so signally lacking in the past and which are so essential to the proper administration of its future interests. This superintendent of the herd should not take the place of the present agents, but should be an additional officer, and his duties should lie wholly with the herd. The agents, as at present appointed, should continue to deal with the natives and A SUPERINTENDENT OF THE HERD. 195 with the lessees. Their only connection with the herd should be as executive officers to carry out the suggestions and plans of the superintendent. We have gone into detail in this matter simply for the purpose of emphasizing its importance. What such a man should or should not do must be left to his judgment, the fact of his competency being assured. His study and ingenuity will undoubtedly show other or more important ways in which he might serve the interests of the Governmei t. Under proper protection the fur-seal herd may be expected to become again in time a valuable interest of the Government. Its condition to-day, as a result of the investigations of 1896 and 1897, is very thoroughly known. With this knowledge as a foundation, and assisted by the excellent survey, which has just been completed, of the breeding grounds, it should be possible henceforth for the Government to be at all times possessed of complete and accurate knowledge as to the condition of the fur-seal herd. It is to be hoped that the proper steps will be taken to insure this result. APPENDIX T. STATISTICS PERTINENT TO THE PRECEDING DISCUSSION. TABLE OF DAILY KILLINGS OF FUR SEALS FOR ALL PURPOSES ON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS FOR THE YEARS 187.7, 1880, 1886, AND 1889 TO 1897, INCLUSIVE. INTRODUCTORY NOTE. The complete table of daily killings for the period 1870 to 1889, prepared by Col. Joseph Murray, having been published in Senate Doc. No.137, Seal Life, Part 1,1896, and recently republished in " Seal and Salmon Fisheries and General Resources of Alaska," House Doc. No. 92, 1898, it has not seemed necessary to repeat it in full here. From this table we have taken the record for the years 1875, 1880, 1886, and 1889. The first of these years is intended to illustrate the normal driving in the period of equilibrium during the years 1871 to 1880. The record of the year 1880 is given to show that no radical change had yet occurred. With it is contrasted the record of 1886, when, the killable seals became scarce through the decline of the breeding herd, and it was necessary to multiply the drives and hauling grounds driven from to secure the necessary quota of skins. The record of 1889 is introduced to form a contrast to that of 1890. The driving in neither year shows normal conditions. The record for 1890 and following is a continuation of Colonel Murray's set of tables, taken from the official records of the islands. In the names of the rookeries we have used the spelling adopted in the present report. ST. PAUL. ISLAND, 187.5. Pate. Rookery. Total Total 1875. males Date. Rookery. males • killed. killed. 1875. Jan. 1, Northeast Point 25 June 12 English Bay and Southwest Feb. 10 do Bay.. 1, 201 16 9 • 1 Tolstoi 203 do 17 16 .• 5 Zoltoi and Tolstoi 692 do May 7 Southwest Bay 498 ! 7 Zoltoi and Reef 711 10 Northeast Point 9 7 Southwest Bay 1, 560 14 20 7 Northeast Point 27 do 18 Reef 143 !I 10 English Bay, Southwest 24 do 657 Bay, Tolstoi 1, 456 31 .....do 492 !I 12 Reef and Zoltoi 631 Seals taken in this and subsequent years prior to June 1, when the regular sealing season began, were for natives' food. Such of the skins as were of suitable grade were accepted and became a part of the regular quota. 2 Where, as in this initial drive of the season, two or more names are joined, it means that adjacent or convenient hauling grounds were united in a single drive. Thus Zoltoi is always driven with Reef, because the route of the longer drive crosses Zoltoi hauling ground. In like manner Tolstoi, Middle Hill, and English Bay are so situated as to be conveniently driven together. 197 198 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1S75—Continued. ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1875. - Date. Rookery. Total Rookery. Total males Date. killed. males killed. 1875. 1875. June 12 Northeast Point 4, 065 July 14 Tolstoi and English Bay.... 14 Tolstoi and English Bay 739 15 Lukanin and Kitovi 16 Halfway Point 2, 115 16 English Bay 16 Tolstoi and Reef 707 16 Zoltoi 17 Lukanin 452 17 Northeast Point 18 Southwest Bay, English Bay 3, 303 22 Zoltoi 19 Zoltoi 1, 363 28 do 19 N ortheast Point 5, 252 Aug 4 do 22 Tolstoi 1, 830 14 Kitovi 22 Zoltoi 1, 150 21 Zoltoi 24 English Bay 3, 009 Sept. 2 do 25 Lukanin 262 12 do 26 Northeast Point 7, 349 21 do 26 Southwest Bay 4, 047 30 do 28 Reef 1, 527 Oct. 12 ......do It) Zoltoi and English Bay 3, 927 Nov 5 do July 2 Lukanin, Kitovi, Zoltoi 2, 534 17 Tolstoi 3 Northeast Point 5, 024 29 Southwest Bay 6 Zoltoi and Lukanin 1, 248 : Pups killed for food 2 8 English Bay 3, 370 Dec 2 Northeast Point 9 Tolstoi and English Bay....- 2, 093 4 Tolstoi 10 Lukanin and Kitovi..... 1,125 10 Northeast Point 5, 937 1 Total 13 Zoltoi , 565 1,810 748 2,700 1,205 7,439 557 159 235 192 159 210 143 146 153 115 172 1,990 24 3,745 15 694 94,960 1875. 1875. June 1 Staraya Artel. 302 ; June 30 ! Staraya Artel and North.... 9 256 July 5 ' East do 11 East 177 : 7 Staraya Artel and North.... 14 Staraya Artel and North 307 ; 12 East 16 East 358 14 North 18 Staraya Artel and North.... 334 i 17 do 19 Southwest Bay 1, 294 I • Killed for food 23 East 666 24 Staraya Artel and North. 540 : Total 28 East 692 : 1, 412 717 1, 019 1, 073 1 676 177 1, 500 ,: ' 11, 500 i ! The killings subsequent to July 17, at which time the quota of the season was filled, were for natives' food, and, as in the case of the killings before the regular season began, the skins so taken when suitable were included in the quota of the following year. 2 Prior to the year 1891 it was customary each fall to allow the killing of a certain number of young male pups by the natives for food. Before leaving the islands in the fall the pups become very fat, and as their diet is exclusively milk up to that time, the meat was dearly prized by the natives. The method employed in taking these pups was to drive them up from a given rookery, sort out the males and drive them to the killing grounds for slaughter. Their skins were of no value. The wasteful practice was discontinued after 1890. For details regarding this matter, reference may be made to extracts from the log of St. Paul, Part II, under date of November in any season. 3 St. George had furnished 27,000 male seals up to the close of 1873, when the quota was arbitrarily reduced to 10,000. The driving of this year was adapted to the reduced quota. In 1887 the quota of St. George was raised to 15,000, and the driving increased accordingly. DAILY KILLINGS. 199 ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1850. Total Total Date. Rookery. males Date. Rookery. males killed. killed. 1880. 1880. May 141 Southwest Bay 209 July 5 Lukanin and Kitovi 651 22 Reef 225 6 Tolstoi 1, f 77 22 Northeast Point 19 7 Tolstoi and Lukanin 1, 654 June 1 Reef 216 8 Zoltoi, Reef, Lukanin, Xi- 2,221 8 Southwest Bay 1,497 tovi 9 Reef 926 9 Tolstoi, Lukanin, Middle 11 English Bay, Tolstoi 889 Hill 1, 428 12 Southwest and English 10 Zoltoi, Kitovi, Lukanin 1, 221 Bays 763 5-10 Northeast Point 7, 073 14 Flalfw ay Point 1,204 12 Zoltoi, Kitovi, Lukanin 817 15 Reef and Zoltoi 765 13 Tolstoi and English Bay ... 1, 763 16 Zapadni and English Bay . 990 14 Reef, Zoltoi, Lukanin, Ki- 17 Kitovi, Zoltoi, Reef 18 tovi 2, 640 18 Tolstoi and English Bay.... 1, 619 15 English Bay 1, 834 19 English Bay and Middle 16 Middle Hill and Lukanin 2, 461 Hill 802 17 Zoltoi 534 14k Northeast Point 5, 279 28 Northeast Point 43 19J 30 Halfway Point 228 21 Halfway Point 1, 459 , 31 Zoltoi 218 22 ; Kitovi, Zoltoi, Reef 1, 035 Aug. 11 o 253 23 Tolstoi and Middle Hill 1, 702 19 do 160 24 Reef, Zoltoi, Kitovi 1, 437 28 do 189 25 ; English Bay and Middle Sept. 8 195 Hill 2, 582 18 do 239 26 Kitovi, Zoltoi, Reef 1, 062 30 do 227 21i Northeast Point 6, 202 Oct. 12 Lukanin 260 26f 25 English Bay 193 28 Halfway Point 1,516 Nov. 21 Lukanin, Reef, Kitovi 4. 410 29 Kitovi, Lukanin, Zoltoi 1,743 3, 5, 6J 30 Tolstoi and Middle Hill 2,997 Dec 6 Reef 1, 176 July 1 do 1,692 Southwest Bay 13 2 English Bay and AI iddle 24 Northeast Point 82 Hill 9,374 Nov 11 Middle Hill 270 3 Kitovi, Zoltoi, Reef 1,386 99 English Bay 270 3 Northeast Point 7,167 84, 779 5 Halfway Point 789 Total ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1850. 1880. 1880. May 18 North 14 July 6 East 1, 483 26 Staraya Artel 23 7 Southwest Bay 1, 814 June 3 North 82 9 East 949 9 East 338 During season perished OIL 12 North and Staraya Artel 564 the drives 3 28 14 East 352 16 North 72 15 Southwest t ay 2 738 17 Zapadni 17 - do 254 20 8 do 17 North and Staraya Artel.. . 559; 28 North 60 19 East 599 Aug. 6 do 51 19 Southwest Bay 223 11 North and East 226 21 North and Staraya Artel.... 1,183 . Sept. 1 North 40 22 Southwest Bay 518 2 Zapadni 35 23 East 814 27 North 47 25 Southwest Bay 839 Oct. 5 do 62 25 North and Staraya Artel.... 1,322 28 do 501 28 East 1,770 Nov 1 do 765 29 Southwest Bay 846 Zapadni 30 30 Staraya Artel 808 18 do 10 July 1 North 392 Dec. 1 East 65 East 956 3 Zapadni 16 2 Southwest Bay 961 20, 939 5 North and Staraya Artel- . 515 Total 1 The hauling ground here as elsewhere designated as Southwest Bay, is identical with Zapadni in later years. In like manner Halfway Point and the later name Polovina are synonymous. In each case one name is Russian and the other the English equivalent. 1 Southwest Bay and Zapadni are the same rookery. 3 A record was kept of the animals which were overcome by exhaustion, or accident, and had to be killed and skinned on the drive. For this season, involving the handling of 20,000 seals killed, to say nothing of those driven and rejected, the number lost seems to have been 28. 200 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1886. Date. Rookery. Total • , Total 1886. males Date. Rookery. males 1886. killed. Jan. 21 Sea Lion (Sivutch) Rock'. _ 84 July 9 English Bay, Middle Hill, 29 Southwest Bay 49 Tolstoi 1, 563 May 5 Northeast Point 9 Northeast Point 636 8; do 5 10 Reef, Zoltoi, Kitovi, Mika- 17 Southwest Bay and Reef 300 n in 1, 133 10-17 Northeast Point 49 12 Halfway Point 1, 044 29 Reef 153 12 Northeast Point 1, 501 June 42 do 562 13 Southwest Bay and South- 8 Tolstoi, English Bay, Southwest Point 1, 442 west Bay - 1,323 14 English Bay and Middle 9 Halfway Point 299 Hill 1, 074 10 Reef and Zoltoi 634 14 N ortheast Point 602 11 English Bay 214 15 Zoltoi, Reef, Kitovi, Luka- 14 Lukanin, Reef 427 Din 1, 957 14 Northeast Point 1,343 15 Northeast Point 899 15 Southwest Bay 1,166 16 Halfway Point 937 15 Northeast Point 1,116 16 N ortheast Point 1, 013 16 English Bay, Middle Hill, 17 Southwest My and South- Tolstoi 850 west Point 2, 057 16 Northeast Point 585 17 Northeast Point 407 17 Halfway Point 833 19 Reef and Zoltoi 2, 312 17 Northeast Point 761 19 Northeast Point 753 18 Reef and Zoltoi 651 20 English Bay, Middle Hill, 18 Northeast Point 376 Tolstoi 3, 140 19 English Bay, Middle Hill, 20 Northeast Point 801 Tolstoi 1, 064 21 Halfway Point ...... _...... 1, 476 19 Northeast Point ....... 371 21 Northeast Point 312 21 Southwest Bay 1, 891 22 Southwest Bay and South- 21 Northeast Point 1, 161 west Point 2, 015 22 English Bay and Tolstoi.... 1,007 22 Northeast Point 923 22 Northeast Point 659 23 Reef, Zoltoi, Lukanin, Xi- 23 Halfway Point 1, 770 tovi 3, 147 23 Northeast Point 955 23 Northeast Point 739 24 Zoltoi 1, 555 24 English Bay and Middle 24 Northeast Point 498 Hill 1, 625 25 Reef, Zoltoi, English Bay, 24 Northeast Point 658 Middle Hill, Tolstoi 2, 158 26 Halfway Point, Southwest 25 Northeast Point 581 Bay. Lukanin, and Zoltoi 1, 993 26 ... do 441 Aug. 3 Zoltoi 75 28 South west Bay 1,070 9 do 152 28 Northeast Point 926 19 do 134 29 English Bay, Tolstoi, ZoltoLl 1, 503 30 do 96 29 Northeast Point 794 Sept. 6 do 148 30 Halfway Point 490 17 do 146 30 Northeast Point 1, 056 29 Reef 148 July 1 English Bay and Tolstoi.... 1, 319 Oct. 11 do 144 1 Northeast Point 1. 202 28 do 1 152 Southwest Bay 856 Nov 5 do 768 2 Northeast Point 566 Reef anti Lukanin . I 445 3 Reef and Zoltoi 1,263 8 Reef 900 5 English Bay and Tolstoi. 1, 163 10 do 71.1 5 Northeast Point 1, 180 22 do 379 6 Halfway Point 942 93 Tolstoi 289 6 Northeast Point 866 Dee. 1 Reef 380 7 Zoltoi, Reef, Lukanin 1, 969 21 Tolstoi 191 7 Northeast Point 1, 187 88. 085 8 Southwest Bay 1, 466 Total 8 Northeast Point 952 The killings on Sivutch Rock occur only at intervals in the winter or early spring when no seals are left on St. Paul. The natives go to the island in boats, killing the seals and bringing the carcasses home for food. No seals are killed on the rock in the breeding season. 2 The relative number of drives between June 4 and July 26 in this year should be noted in contrast to the number required in 1880 between -Tune 1 and July 17. The extension of the season of driving ten days is also significant. DAILY KILLINGS. 201 ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1556. Date. Total Date. Rookery. Total 1886. Rookery. males 1886. males killed. killed. , May 18 East 39 J illy 14 East 888 28 North 102 15 Staraya Artel and North.... 712 June 8 Captured skins 4 19 Zapadni 663 14 Zapadni food skins 81 21 , Staraya Artel and North_ 8Y, 10 Staraya Artel, North, East 1,430 22 East 527 14 Zapadni 779 23 East and North 295 17 Staraya Artel, North, East.. 1,438 Aug. 2 Near ( North) 14 21 Zapadni 843 2 11 do 22 Staraya A rtel and North 742 9 East 66 23 East 343 17 North 42 24 I Zapadni 306 23 ' East 70 28 do 288 Sept. 6 North 76 29 Staraya Arteland North.... 632 Oct. 26 759 do July 1 East 482 East 24 5 Zapadni 620 Nov 28 North. 527 6 Staraya Artel and North 503 13 East 3 7 East 650 Perished on drive 12 10 Staraya Artel and North 867 Total 12 Zapadni 745 16,436 ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1559. 1 1889. 1889. May 22 Sea Lion (Sivutch) Rock.... 124 July 13 Southwest Bay 1, 006 25 Reef 41 13 Northeast Point 793 28 234 15 English Bay and Middle Hill . 3, 085 do 31 Northeast Point 133 15 Northeast Point 1, 838 June5' Reef 201 16 Reef, Zoltoi, Lukanin 1, 911 10 _do 120 16 Northeast Point 1, 156 12 Tolstoi 947 17 HalfwayPointand Lukanin 1,931 14 Zoltoi and Reef 762 17 Northeast Point 948 15 Southwest Bay 340 18 Lagoon, English Bay, Mid- 17 Halfway Point 895 dle Hill. 2, 046 17 Northeast Point 1, 054 18 Northeast Poi 1, 282 18 English Bay, Tolstoi, Mid- 19 Southwest Bay.............. 2, 017 dle Hill 1,161 19 Northeast Point 834 18 Northeast Point 1,270 20 Reef and Zoltoi 1,913 19 494 20 Northeast Point. 243 do 19 Reef, Zoltoi, Lukanin 1,561 22 English Bay, Middle Hill, 20 Southwest Bay 253 Lukanin 1, 943 21 Northeast Point 1,205 22 Northeast Point 350 22 English Bay, Tolstoi, 3,1id- 23 Reef. Zoltol, Kitovi 1, 122 dle Hill 1, 355 23 Northeast Point 740 24 Northeast Point 754 24 Halfway Point 1, 384 24 Reef and Zoltoi 2, 578 24 Northeast Point 616 25 Halfway Point and Lukanin . 979 25 English Bay and Middle Hill . 1. 756 25 Northeast Point 1, 407 25 Northeast Point 26 English Bay and Middle Hill. 1, 314 26 Southwest Bay 680 26 Northeast Point 441 26 Northeast Point 1,483 27 Southwest Bay 311 27 Zoltoi and Lukanin 1,105 27 Northeast Point 844 29 English Bayand Middle Hill. 1,643 28 Reef, Zoltoi, Kitovi 1, 349 29 Northeast Point 1.624 28 Northeast Point 479 30 Halfway Point 973 29 335 30 Southwest Bay 615 do 29 English Bay and Tolstoi.... 1, 038 31 Northeast Point 538 July 1 Northeast Point 1, 200 31 Zoltoi 160 1 Reef, Zoltoi, Lukanin 1, 023 Aug 6 Lukanin 163 2 Halfway Point 814 14 Zoltoi. 131 2 Northeast Point 968 22 do 141 3 English Bay, Tolstoi, Mid- 31 Tolstoi 179 dle Hill 1,841 Sept. 9 I Zoltoi 141 4 Reef. Zoltoi, Lukanin 1,706 18 _do 110 4 Northeast Point 1,559 25 do 107 5 Southwest Bay 1,255 Oct. 5 do 120 5 Northeast Point 1,594 15 do 103 6 English Bay, TolNtoi. Mid. 26 Lukanin 132 die Hill 1, 302 Nov 4 Zoltoi 1,169 6 Northeast Point 376 19 Tolstoi 1,460 8 Reef, Zoltoi, Lukanin 814 21 Reef 347 8 Northeast Point 914 27 do 192 9 English Bay and Tolstoi— .. I, 314 27 Zapadni 10 9 Northeast Point 641 30 Reef 240 10 Halfway Point 654 Dec 11 Zapadni 243 10 Northeast Point 800 12 Reef and Zoltoi 2, 004 Total 87, 394 1 The driving in this season was not essentially different from that in 1886, except that it was continued until the 31st of July. That what was difficult in 1886 had not become an impossibility in 1889 was owing to the fact that in the latter year the size of skins to be taken was lowered, so that. the younger bachelors down to the yearlings were taken. Even this resource failed in 1890. 202 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1859. ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1590. Date. Rookery. Total Rookery. males Date. killed. Total males killed. 500 628 279 1,430 942 568 515 55 56 48 64 50 33 37 32 4 606 477 61 15,225 1889. 1889. May 22 North and East 60 July 22 Zapadni June 4 East 156 23 North, East, Staraya Artel.. 10 Zapadni 207 24 Zapadni 17 244 25 North, East, Staraya Artel.. do 18 Staraya Artel, North, East. 773 27 ' do 21 East 176 28 Zapadni 22 North and Staraya Artel... 284 29 I North, East, Staraya Artel 24 Zapadni 596 Aug 10 , North 25 East and North. 496 19 ' . do 27 Zapadni 223 30 do 29 Starava Artel and East.. ... 429 Sept. 7 , East July 1 Zapaani 167 21 do 2 North, East, Staraya Artel.. 275 30 North do 418 Oct. 11 do 8 Zapadni 229 21 Staraya Artel 10 North, East, Staraya Artel_ 270 31 North. 12 Zapadni 192 Nov 6 do 13 North, East, Staraya Artel.. 667 12 do 15 Zapadni 371 25 I Staraya Artel 16 North, East, Staraya Artel.. 1, 028 18 Zapadni 439 Total 19 North, East, Staraya Artel.. 1, 140 1890. July 9 9 10 10 12 13 13 14 15 15 16 17 17 18 18 19 19 220 175 131 ' 119 116 574 182 317 16 167 274 78 ' 339 438 292 96 521 179 426 205 266 166 117 396 20 230 28 206 Aug. 5 79 , 14 23 209 30 98 Sept. 6 246 13 131 22 242 29 96 Oct.4 183 14 180 N 22 29 494 H Nov 4 321 6 526 H 10 74 12 1, 14 411 H Dec. 4 336 :I 261 .; Total 21,920 379 1, 1 Southwest Bay . Northeast Point Reef Northeast Point English Bay, Middle Hill, Tolstoi, Lukanin, Kitovi Halfway Point. Northeast Point Reef English Bay, Middle Hill, Tolstoi, Lukanin, Kitovi.. Northeast Point do Polovina, Lukanin, Kitovi Northeast Point .....do Zapadui Reef and Zoltoi Northeast Point English Bay, Middle Hill, Tolstoi, litovi, Rocky Point Northeast Point Lukanin Reef Lukanin. Reef do Lukanin do do Middle Hill Lukanin Middle Hill do do Lukanin Reef do do Middle Hill Reef 163 271 378 112 633 211 658 104 315 245 312 372 485 405 236 556 445 780 556 1 129 123 124 155 110 83 93 110 109 109 114 95 134 515 989 536 324 255 283 Sea Lion (Sivntch) Rock.... _do Southwest Bay Reef do Tolstoi Reef Northeast Point Halfway Point Tolstoi and Middle Hill Northeast Point Reef and Lukanin... Northeast Point Southwest Bay Northeast Point English Bay and Lukanin Northeast Point. Reel and Zoltoi Northeast Point Halfway Point Northeast Point Southwest Bay English Bay and Middle Hill _ Northeast Point Reef Northeast Point Tolstoi, Middle Hill, Eng- lish Bay, Kitovi Northeast Point Reef Northeast Point Halfway Point . Northeast Point Southwest Bay Northeast Point Tolstoi, English Bay, Mid- dle Hill. Northeast Point Reef. Northeast Point English Bay, Middle Hill, Tolstoi, Lukanin, Kitovi Northeast Point Halfway Point. Northeast Point 1890.' Jan. 27 May 21 28 June 6 11 13 16 17 17 18 18 20 20 21 21 23 23 24 24 25 25 26 27 27 28 28 30 30 July 1 1 2 2 3 :3 4 4 5 5 7 7 8 8 'The contrast here visible between 1889 and 1890 is by no means a measure of corresponding decrease in the breeding herd. The fact is that the fictitious quota of 1889 was made up largely of yearlings which belonged properly to the quota of 1891. In like manner the quota of 1889 and the preceding year had largely absorbed the legitimate quota of 1890. It is probable that had the quota been reduced in proportion to the decreasing birth rate, and been confined to the regular ages of animals, the normal quota of 1889 and 1890 would have been between 50,000 and 60,000. 21u this year driving for the season was closed on July 20 by order of the Government agent, it being evident that the full quota of 60,000 skins could not be secured, or in fact any considerable number in addition to those taken prior to that date. DAILY KILLINGS. 203 ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1890. Date. Rookery. Total Date. Total males I 1890. Rookery. males killed. killed. 1890. May 13 North 32 July 15 East 1 132 23 do 37 16 Staraya Artel and North ... 119 31 Zapadni 109 18 ! East 71 June 9. North 71 20 Staraya Artel an.1 North ... 641 16 East 218 20 Zapadni 527 18 North 118 Aug. 1 North 97 19 East and Little East 181 131 do 52 20 Zapadni 394 14 do 42 23 Starava Artel and North ... 164 21 .....do 55 25 East and Little East 184 30 do 63 28 Staraya Artel and North ... 189 Sept. 9 do 18 30 Zapadni 189 24 do 38 July 1 East and Little East. 149 Oct 16 do 32 3 Staraya Artel and North ... 238 22 do 42 5 East and Little East.. 57 30 do 59 7 Zapadni 58 Nov 5 ! do 579 8 East and Little East 24 7: do 525 9 Staraya Artel and North ... 193 . Dec. 4 1 Zapadni 79 11 East 60 ' 4 do 147 I 12 Staraya Artel and North 103 6, 139 14 Zapaaui 53 Total ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1891.' 1891. 1891. May 15 Reef 233 1 July 15 Liikanin 122 29 _do 114 21Middle Hill. 178 June 4 Zapadni 463 27 do 248 11 Zapadni and Reef 718 Aug. 3 Reef 118 11 Northeast Point 1, 112 5 Northeast Point 407 12 Zapadni 428 10 L ukan in 100 13 Northeast Point 430 Nov 2 Middle Hill 31 13 Middle Hill 232 9 Zoltoi 37 15 Northeast Point 866 14 Middle Hill 142 16 Reef 842 19 do 188 17 Southwest Bay 186 21 Northeast Point 2 18 Reef 1, 027 24 Middle Hill 133 20 Middle Hill 119 25 Reef 102 25 Reef 215 29 do 162 29 .....do 400 Dec. 5 Northeast Point 3 July 8 do 100 9, 579 13 121 Total do ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1891. 1891. 1891. May 12 North 17 July 24 North 72 22 East 23 25 East, and Little East 181 29 North 85 Aug. 1 North, and Zapadni.. ...... 26 ;lime 9 . North, East, Staraya Artel 442 6 do 15 10 Zapadni 274 13 East 83 15 Staraya Artel 101 17 do 55 17 Zapadni 235 Sept. 24 N. )rth 36 19 East 48 Oct. 23 do 104 29 North 25 28 Staraya Artel 25 30 East 153 Nov 18 ; East (by marauders) 2 July 1 Staraya Artel 105 23 North 71 , 3 North 30 For watchmen's food 26 6 East 119 2, 461 16 North 54 Total 20 East 54 The years 1891-93 cover the period of the modus vivendi during which land killing was limited to the nominal figure of 7,500 seals a year to supply food for the Aleuts. The excess over this figure in 1891 is due to the fact that the skins taken prior to the date of the agreement, June 15, were not included in the limited quota allowed, this being held by the agents to begin on the date of the agreement. As a result of this unnecessary restriction of land killing the rookeries are now grossly overstocked with bulls. 204 THE FUR. SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1892. Date. Rookery. Total Date. Total 1892. males Rookery. males killed. killed. 1892. May 19 Reef 83 Aug 9 Specimens 16 24 do 155 Nov.11 Reef 111 :30 126 12 Tolstoi and Middle Hill 151 do .Tune 10 Zoltoi 1:12 19 Middle Hill 143 18 Reef 119 22 Reef 56 25 Middle Hill and Lukanin... 497 22 Zapadni 12 July 1 Reef 469 26 Halfway Point . 10 8 Middle Hill 450 • 28 Zapadni 158 15 Zoltoi 534 Dec. 5 Reef 113 25 Lukanin 274 16 Zapadni and Northeast Aug. 1 Lukanin and Zoltoi 403 Point 25 4 Middle Hill 354 16 Road skins 5 8 Halfway Point 293 9 Middle Hill. 320 Total 5, 009 ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1892. 1892. 1892. May 14 Zapadni 17 Oct 25 Zapadni 21 20 North 36 26 North, East, and Staraya June 2 _ . do 103 Arta 30 8 East 111 28 North 50 15 Staraya Artel. 149 Nov 1 Staraya Artel 15 22 East and Little East 318 2 East 53 :It) Staraya Artel 189 3 Zapadni 54 July 7 East 190 9 North 11 14 Staraya Artel and North 310 11 East 54 21 East, N"orth, near, and Sta- Food for watchmen for sea- raya Artel 483 son 30 Aug. 2 North 103 10 North and East 124 Total 2, 502 Oct. 20 North, East, and Staraya Artel 51 ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1893. 1893. 1893. May 19 Reef 192 July 21 Lukanin and Zoltoi 1, 044 June 1 do 147 • 27 English Bay 88 By watchmen 14 Aug. 2 Gorbatch and Lukanin...... 252 9 Reef 395 5 Halfway Point 255 16 Tolstoi 471 7 Zoltoi 43 26 Zoltoi 736 ' Nov 2 do 69 26 Northeast Point , Middle Hill 82 July 6 Reef 489 1 14 Reef 173 6 Northeast Point 4 22 208 do 10 Lukanin 171 27 Tolstoi 188 Northeast Point and South- 30 For watchmen to date 67 10 west Bay 3 5, 500 14 Middle Hill 215 Total 17 Halfway Point 193 ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1893. 1893. .1 1893. May 20 Staraya Artel 49 :1 Oct 20 North 30 29 I North 132 .1 23 Zapadni 77 June 12 .....do 197 27 East and North 47 21 East 278 1 Nov. 6 North and Staraya Artel.... 38 26 North and Staraya Artel 555 17 do 31 July 8 East 90 1! Food for watchmen 44 15 North 92! 22 Staraya Artel and North.. 171 Total 1, 896 29 East 65 1, DAILY KILLINGS. 205 ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1894. Date. Rookery. 1894.' May 9 Sea Lion (Siviitch) Rock. 23 Tolstoi and Reef 31 Gorbatch June 14 Reef 19 Tolstoi and Middle Hill 23 Zapadni 25 Lukanin July 2 Zoltoi 4 Northeast Point 5 do 6 • Halfway Point 13 Lukanin 17 Zapadni 21 Reef Rookery. 1894. 87 ' July 23 ! Northeast Point 104 24 do 141 25 do 1, 215 30 Middle Hill 541 Aug 1 Halfway Point 850 4 Reef 558 Nov 6 Middle Hill 967 21 Reef 869 25 Tolstoi and Reef 917 28 do 522 D3C. 4 Tolstoi, Lukanin, and Reef_ _ 251 For watchmen to date 944 • 1, 177 I Total 1 Total I males killed. 370 1.025 909 154 287 272 132 147 87 218 474 80 13,298 Total Date. males killed. ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1894. 1894. 40 July 26 Zapadni 1894. May 23 North June 8 do 22 East July 2 Starava Artel 9 Zapadni 13 East 16 Staraya Artel. . 21 North. 178 126 !I Aug 6 • Little East and North 152 826 II Oct. 20 : North 58 468 II 26 • East 19 303 1. Nov. 6 I North 35 275 II Watchmen's food for season_, 62 181 249 i I Total 2, 972 ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1895. 1895. 6 July 79 Aug 3 76 Cct. 3 Nov. 184 1, 961 1; 1, 548 r 575 ir 751 1 861 364 '; Dee. 960 431 r; 1,138 324 834 827 27 , Lukanin 6 1 ' Reef 1851 10 Watchmen to date. ... 18 31 ' Watchmen 1 ' Middle Hill 9 12 19 22 25 25 26 1 2 5 Tolstoi 6 Reef 12 Watchmen Watchmen Reef Middle Hill. Watchmen Reef Watchmen Reef Watchmen Tolstoi 3 106 6 158 4 57 16 4 , 78 10 127 81 169 9 Total 12. 324 1895.2 May 27 Watchmen, Northeast Point 27 Reef June 1 Watchmen, Northeast Point 4 Reef 8 Watchmen, Northeast Point 13 Tolstoi 16 Watchmen, NortheastPoint 20 Northeast Point 24 Reef 26 Halfway Point July 1 English Bay 2 Zapadni 3 Lukanin 9 Northeast Point 10 ..... do 15 Reef 17 Halfway Point 19 ' Zapadni 22 I Northeast Point ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1895. 1895. 1895. May 25 Great East . 16 i Oct 15 i North 7 June 3 North 25 I 19 ! Zapadni (by guard) 1 14 do 139 : 21 North 29 24 Staraya Artel 483 1. 23 . Zapadni 18 24 Zapadni (by guard) 2 I 26 I Zapadni (by guard) 3 26 Great and Little East 471 1, 29 ! North I 16 29 Zapadni (by guard) ...... .. 2 I! Nov. 2 I Zapadni (by guard) 3 July 1 North 156 I 2 1 East 27 8 Zapadni 232 I 9 , Zapadni (by guard) 2 8 Zapadni (by guard) ..... .... 3 , 12 I North 8 11 Great and Little East 538 I 17 I Zapadni (by guard) 4 20 Zapadni (by guard) 3 ! 26 I North 30 22 Staraya Artel and North.. _ . 279 30 Zapadni (by guard) . 7 . Total 2, 522 Aug. 6 do 18 • . , . I The reduced number of drives to be noted in this and the following year was due to the action of the Treasury agents in limiting the number of drives from each rookery to two for the season. This mistaken policy was followed to avoid the supposed injurious effects of driving, a concession which should never have been made. The result was a disadvantage rather than an advantage to the herd. 2 See note to 1894. Here again the driving was limited to two drives at long intervals in the regular season. 906 THE R SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1596. Pate. Rookery. Total Date. Rookery. Total 1896., males males killed. killed. , 1896. May 13 Sea Lion (Sivutch) Rock.... 121 July 14 i Northeast Point 1,169 26 Tolstoi 102 15 Reef and Zoltoi 849 June Ei Reef 149 16 Tolstoi, Middle Hill, English 19 Zoltoi 283 Ba • 1, 138 , 23 Northeast Point.. 1, 414 21 Northeast Point 808 24 do 1, 408 22 1,047 do 27 Reef 2, 076 23 Polovina 585 29 i English Bay, Middle Hill. Tolstoi. 1, 398 25 Lukanin, Kitovi, Zoltoi, 1, 630 Reef July 2 i Northeast Point 1, 396 27 Middle Hill, Tolstoi, Luka- 3 _do 1, 109 niu 621 , 1, 535 For watchmen to date 14 6 Zoltoi and Lukanin.... _ _ . 7 Zapadni 784 Oct. 15 Zoltoi 59 8 Polovina 961 Dec. 31 Killed for food to date 1,545 10 Reef and Zoltoi. 1,271 13 Northeast Point 1.045 24,517 Total. ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1596. 1896. 1896. May 18 North 15 July 21 East 221 31 46 24 North and Staraya Artel _ 308 do............ June 11 do 100 Oct. 20 59 do 19 East 576 21 Zapadni 18 24 Zapadni 568 31 Watchmen 6 26 North and Staraya Artel . . 999 Nov. 2 North and Staraya Artel 22 29 East 804 14 28 1$ July 2 Zapadni 333 Watchmen ........... 8 do 6 North and Staraya A rtel _ 700 30 North and Staraya A rtel 17 7 East and Little East 614 6, 137 9 Zapadni 221 Total 13 North and Staraya Artel 487 ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1897. 1897.2 1897. Mar. 2 Sivutch Rock 19 July 14 Northeast Point 1,249 17 do 29 16 Zapadni 886 May 11 do 90 17 Middle Hill, English Bay_ 297 22 Tolstoi 36 19 Reef, Zoltoi, Lukanin 988 June 15 Reef 492 22 Northeast Point 1,322 18 Zapadni 316 23 Polovina 274 23 Zoltoi, Reef, Lukanin 708 24 Reef, Lukanin 526 26 Tolstoi, Middle Hill, Eng- 1, 098 26 Zapadni 514 lish Bay 27 Tolstoi, Middle ... 199 30 Northeast Point 790 29 Northeast Point 268 July 1 _do 703 30 _...do 276 2 Lukan in 208 31 Poiovina 108 5 Reef, Zoltoi 703 Aug 2 Reef, Lukanin 418 6 Tolstoi, Middle Hill, Eng- 1,230 5 Middle Hill, English Bay 101 lish Bay 7 Reef . 172 8 Northeast Point 1,713 '16, 993 9 Polovina 456 Total to date 12 Reef, Lukanin 804 In this year more normal driving was permitted, but the increased quota is not wholly due to this fact. In the season of 1896 the hauling grounds felt the beneficial effects of the modus vivendi of 1893. No pups starved to death in that season and the result was a larger proportion of survivors. A part, also, of the seals which the limited operations of 1895 tailed to secure were doubtless taken into the quota of 1896. 2 The quota of 1897 was left indefinite under the direction of the commission, and the driving was planned with a view to making the quota represent the full product of the hauling grounds. For the same reason the killing was continued into August. This total, as well as that for St. George Island following, does not include such seals as may have been killed for food in the fall of the year 1897. SUMMARY OF KILLINGS. 207 1ST. GEORGE ISLAND, lt,497. Date. i Rookery. Total males killed. Date. Rookery. Total 1897. 1897. males killed. May 23 ! North 22 July 10 Watchmen 6 June 1 ; East 45 ' 13 Staraya Artel and North .... 253 13 Watchmen. 4 16 East 209 16 East 150 19 Zapadni 108 19 Watchmen 4 22 East, North and Staraya 24 - do 2 Artel.. 391 25 Zapadni ; 140 , 31 Watchmen 10 July 1 Watchmen 2 . Aug. 9 East 179 3 Staraya Artel. 70 ' 4 i North and Staraya Artt-l 153 3 Watchmen 4 10 ' Watchmen 23 7 East 227 10 i East, North and Staraya Artel 207 Total to date 2, 207 Summary of total killings for all purposes on Pribilof Islands, 1870-1897.' Date. St. Paul. St. George. Total. Date. St. Paul.St. Total. George. 1870 15, 314 8, 459 , 23, 773 1884 88, 861 16, 573 105, 434 1871 81, 803 21, 157 102, 960 1885 88, 880 16,144 105, 024 1872. 81, 819 27, 000 108, 819 1886 88, 085 • 16, 436 104, 521 1873 81, 987 27, 190 109, 177 1887 89, 092 16, 668 105, 760 1874 98, 139 12, 446 , 110.585 1888 86, 270 17, 034 103, 304 1875 94, 960 11, 500 106, 460 1889 87, 394 15, 2`25. 102, 619 1876 83, 157 11, 500 94, 657 1890 21, 920 6, 139 ! 28, 059 1877 67, 810 16, 500 84, 310 1891. 9, 579 2, 461 12, 040 1878 88, 519 20, 804 109, 323 1892 5, 009 2, 502 7, 511 1879 88, 221 22, 190 110, 411 1893 5, 500 1, 896 7, 396 1880 84, 779 j 20, 939 105, 718 1894 13, 298 2. 972 ; 16, 270 1881 83, 774 21, 289 105, 063 1895 12, 324 2, 522 14, 846 1882. 79, 834 19, 978 99, 812 1896 24, 517 6,137 30, 654 1883 63, 295 16, 214 79, 509 18972 16, 993 2. 207 19, 200 This table includes all males killed for any purpose on the islands, pups, stagy seals killed for food and seals whose skins were not accepted by the lessees. The totals here given are taken for the year beginning January 1 and ending December 31, and therefore do not correspond to the totals as represented by the quota. 2 To date of August 7 on St. Paul; of August 10 ou St. George. Record of killings on Northeast Point (St. Paul) and Zapadni (St. George) rookeries, 1871-1897. NOTE -These figures are in part taken from the foregoing table of killings. Where this does not distinguish the rookeries concerned, the information is taken from the log of St. Paul Island. The results from these two isolated rookeries are interesting and important in that they show the same relative conditions as are shown by the herd as a whole. The average quota from Northeast Point for twelve years (1871 to 1882) was 24,500. With very much closer killing it only yielded this year about one-fourth this amount. 2 In this year as well as the year preceding the quota was contracted to about 85,000 for commercial reasons. Date. Total Total Northeast Zapadni. Point., Total Total N • 'Zapadni. Northeast Point. Date. 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 4, 840 20, 113 1885 5, 194 i 26. 082 1886. 7, 507 26, 376 1887 1, 436 31, 569 1888 1, 294 35, 193 1889 599 20, 014 1890 1, 389 20, 266 , 1891... .......... ..... 5, 428 22.961 1892 4, 866 29, 212 I 1893 6, 037 25, 865 1894 3,861 18,294 1895 91, 482 1896 5, 226 213, 423 1897 5, 463 23, 068 3, 873 19, 532 4, 325 26. 911 4, 017 29, 602 4, 063 31, 834 4, 015 28, 349 1,330 16,592 509 2, 820 92 10 77 6 481 4, 090 287 4,193 1,122 9, 396 293 6, 321 208 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. Fur seals killed on the island of St. Paul, for allimrposes,fma 1870 to 1889, both inclusive. [Compiled from tables on file in the Treasury Department.] I Seals killed for skins for Totals of bachelors killed, Seals killed for natives' food. Grand lessees. accepted, and rejected. otals o Bache-lors. Skins Skills Skins , Skins Bache-fors. Skins `Skins seals killed for all pur- ac- reBache- ac- re- jected. cepatee-d. re cepted. jected. lors. cepted. jected. poses. 2,800 6, 449 6, 449 6, 065 6, 017 48 . 12, 514 6, 017 6, 497 , 15, 314 2, 877 • 2, 341 2, 290 51 75, 585 74, 628 957 77, 926 76, 918 1, 008 81, 803 5, 121 6, 916 5, 365 1, 551 69, 782 69, 576 206 76, 698 74, 941 1, 757 . 81, 819 5, 489 2, 090 1, 198 892 74. 408 73, 884 524 76, 498 75, 082 1, 416 81, 987 4, 897 4, 874 4, 225 649 88, 368 88, 258 110 93, 242 92, 483 759 98, 139 3, 745 6, 282 5, 784 498 84, 933 84, 860 73 91, 215 90, 644 I 571 94, 960 3, 958 5, 061 3, 064 1, 997 74, 138 71, 137 1 79, 199 77, 201 1, 998 83, 157 5,007 4,041 2,853 1, 188 58, 762 58, 732 30 62,803 61,585 1,218 67,810 5, 206 4. 718 3, 632 1, 086 78.595 78,570 25 83,313 82,202 1,111 88,519 5, 071 5,970 3, 898 2, 072 77. 280 77,280 83,250 81,178 2,072 88,321 4,413 4,466 3,408 1, 418 75. 900 75,872 28 80, 366 78, 920 1, 446 84, 779 7, 538 6, 068 1, 470 76, 236 76, 169 67 83, 774 82, 226 1, 537 83, 774 5, 175 3, 362 1, 813 74, 659 74, 581 78 79, 834 77, 943 1, 891 79, 834 2, 982 3, 168 2. 194 974 57, 145 57,070 75 60, 313 59, 264 1, 049 63, 295 9, 741 3, 907 2, 582 1,325, 82, 213 82, 086 127 86,120 84, 668 1, 452 88, 861 I 2, 788 3, 184 ' 2, 508 676 82, 908 82, 866 42 86, 092 85, 374 718 88, 880 2, 824 3, 081 2, 480 601 82, 180 82,150 30 85, 261 84, 630 631 88, 085 2,177 4, 207 3,973 232 82, 708 82, 679 29 86, 915 86, 654 261 89, 092 2,178 3,762 3,700 62 80, 330 80, 314 16 84, 092 84, 014 78 86,270 2, 280 3, 400 2, 570 830 I 81, 712 81, 698 14 85, 112 84, 268 844 87, 392 67, 554 90, 630 64, 796 25, 834 i1, 463, 907 1, 461, 427 2, 480 1,554,537 1,526,212 28.314 1, 622, 091 Year. 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 Total.. NOTE. -The above statement includes all seals killed from all causes, either intentional or accidental, incident to the taking of seal skins on the island of St. Paul. Fur seals killed on the island of St. George, for all purposes, from 1870 to 1889, both inclusire. [Compiled from tables on file in the Treasury Department.] Seals killed for skins for ' Totals of bachelors killed, Seals killed for natives' food. Grand lessees. accepted, and rejected. totals of - - - - seals Bache Bache- Skins I Skins , Skins Skins ! killed for - a C • re- ac- re- all par- lors. lors. cepted. jected. cepted. j ect ed. poses. Pups. 1, 200 Bach- Skins Skins slurs. ac- re- cepted. jected. 2, 090 237 237 2, 000 2, 190 2, 446 i 1, 500 1. 500 1.500 256 256 1, 500 1.53*) 1, 216 316 1. 506 843 564 279 1, 330 702 565137 1.031 812 509 I 303 483 371 I 112 oo6 475 468 7 1, 500 345 223 122 1, 080 319 304 15 1.286 544 413 131 1, 356 585 471 114 978 1.409 1, 321 88 1, 071 512 280 232 28, 064 9, 054 7, 198 1.856 Year. 1870 1871 1872 , 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 Total 7.259 7,259 18, 830 18, 830 25, 000 25. 000 25, 000 25, 000 10, 000 10.000 10, 000 10. 000 10, 000 10, 000 14, 744 14, 744 17, 772 17, 772 19, 841 19, 758 18, 907 18, 830 19, 446 19, 360 19, 495 19, 440 14. 739 14, 675 14, 728 I 14, 620 14, 745 14, 686 14, 606 14. 578 14, 727 14, 725 14, 647 14, 582 13. 642 13, 641 318,128 317, 550 7, 259 7, 259 19, 067 19, 067 25, 000 25, 000 25, 000 25, 000 10, 000 10, 000 10, 000 10, 000 10, 000 10, 000 15, 000 15, 000 19, 304 18, 988 83 20, 684 20, 322 77 19, 609 19, 395 86 20, 258 19, 869 55 19, 978 , 19, 811 64 15, 214 , 15, 143 108 15, 073 ' 14, 843. 59 15, 064 , 14, 990 28 15,150 I 14, 991 2 15. 312 15, 196 65 16, 056 15, 903 1 14, 154 13, 921 628 327. 182 324, 698 ...... ..... ...... :116 362 214 389 167 71 230 • 74 , 159 116 153 I 233 1 8, 459 21, 157 27, 000 27, 190 12. 446 11, 500 11, 500 16, 500 20, 804 22. 190 20. 939 21, 289 19, 978 16. 214 16, 573 16, 144 16, 436 16, 668 17, 034 15, 225 2,484 ! 355,246 NOTE. -The above statement includes all seals killed from all causes, either intentional or accidental, incident to th4 taking of seal skins ou the island of St. George. STATISTICS OF KILLINGS FOR 1896. 209 Fur seals killed on the islands of St. Paul and St. George, for all purposes, from 1870 to 1889, both inclusive, being a summary of the two foregoing tables. St. Paul Island. St. George Island. Total. Seals killed for natives' food : Pups 67, 554 28, 064 • 95, 628 Bachelors. 90, 630 9, 054 99. 681 Skins accepted 64, 796 7, 198 71, 994 Skins rejected a 25, 834 1, 856 27, 790 Seals killed for skins for lessees : Bachelors 1, 463, 907 318, 128 1, 782, 035 Skins accepted 1, 461, 427 317, 500 1, 778, 927 Skins rejected a 2, 480 628 3, 108 Total of bachelors killed, accepted, and rejected Bachelors 1, 554, 537 327, 182 1, 881, 719 Skins accepted 1, 526, 212 324, 698 1, 850, 910 Skins rejected a 28, 314 2, 484 30, 798 Grand total of seals killed for all 1, 622, 091 355, 246 1, 977, 337 purposes. a We have had occasion to call attention to the waste which these figures show, due to the killing of pups and seals whose skins were unsuitable for use. Statistics of regular killings for the quota., 1896. NOTE.-These tables refer only to the drives of the regular killing season. The totals do not include the accumulated food skins of the autumn and spring which became a part of the quota From these figures an idea of the relative degree of exhaustion of the hauling grounds for the two seasons can be obtained. ST. PAUL ISLAND. Rejected. Percent- • Animals Date. Rookery. killed. ageLai'ge. Large. Small. killed. 1896. June 19 20 23 24 27 29 July 2 '3 6 7 8 10 13 14 lb 16 21 22 23 25 27 Zoltoi Watchmen Northeast Point do Reef Northeast Point English Bay, Middle Hill, Tolstoi do Zoltoi, Lukanin Zapadni Polovina Reef, Zoltoi Northeast Point do Reef, Zoltoi Tolstoi, Middle Hill, English Bay Northeast Point do Polovina 585 Lukanin, Kitovi, Zoltoi, Reef 1,630 Middle Hill. Tolstoi, Lukanin 621 Total 22, 529 ST. GEORGE ISLAND. 1896. June 19 East 576 24 Zapadni 568 26 North and Staraya Artel 999 29 East 804 July 2 Zapadni 333 6 1 North and Staraya Artel 700 7 ! East and Little East 614 9 I Zapadni 221 13 i North and Staraya Artel . 187 21 1 East 291 24 North and Staraya Artel 308 Total 5. 836 283 2 1,414 1, 408 2,076 1, 398 1,396 1,199 1, 045 k 1, 109 I 849 I 1, 138 803 1, 047 1,535 784 961 1,271 1, 159 548 522 44 279 1, 038 46 811 637 35 313 344 47 1, 008 1, 177 42 457 137 53 32 76 72 62 68 56 57 64 : 265 ; 40 46 27 17 RECAPITULATION. St. Paul Island "2, 529 St. George Island 5. 836 Total 28, 365 15184.-14 210 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. Statistics or' regular killings for the quota, 1897. ST. PAUL. Dal e. Rookery. Animals killed. Rejected. 1 Percent- -Weight age I of killed. skins., Pounds. Large. Small. 1897. June 15 Reef 492'1 144 119 65 18 ' Zapadni 316 130 26 67 ' 9 23 Zoltoi, Reef', and Lukanin 708 556 184 : 48 7. 7 26 Tolstoi, Middle Hill. and English Bay - 1, 098 402 214 . 64 7.4 30 Northeast Point 790 376 214 57 7 July 1 _do 703 288 224 58 • 2 , Lukanin 208 107 90 53 7.7 5 ' Reef and Zolioi 703 229 175 63 7.8 6 Tolstoi, Middle Hill, and English Bay _ 1,230 301 306 . 67 : 7.6 8 Northeast Point 1,713 355 551 65 9 Polovina 456 97 115 68 7.5 12 Reef and Lukanin 804 140 638 50 14 Northeast Point 1,249 216 661 58 16 Zapadni 886 391 586 53 7.8 17 Middle Hill and English Bay 297 180 412 66 ' 8 19 Lukanin, Zoltoi. and Reef 988 377 1, 174 39 7 22 Northeast Point 1,322 500 9, 047 34 23 Polovina 274 161 698 24 8.5 24 Lukanin and Reef 526 352 1, 380E 23 7.4 26 Zapadni 514 491 890 , 27 8.3 27 Tolstoi and Middle Hill 199 221 545 : 20 29 j Northeast Point 268 298 1,114 16 30 .....do 276 383 708 i 20 31 ' Polovina 108 118 456 ; 16 7.9 Aug. 2 Reef and Lukanin 418 350 1,440 , 19 8 5 Middle Hill and English Bay 101 159 376 15 7.7 7 Reef 172 200 486 20 7 Total 16, 819 ST. GEORGE. 1897. June 16 East 150 19-24 Food skins 10 25 Zapadni 140 July 1 Food skins 2 3 Staraya A rtel 70 21 330 16 3 Food skins 4 7 East 227 41 i 741 8-10 Food skins • 6 13 North and Staraya Artel 253 54 645 26 7.5 16 East 209 34 I 690 22 : 7 17 Food skins 4 19 Zapadni 104 71 563 13 22 East. North, and Staraya Artel 391 82 1, 620 18 , ' 7. 3 24-31 Food skins 10 A ug. 2 East 179 47 902 16 4 North and Staraya Artel 153 23 725 16 . 5-9 Food skins 6 10 East. North, and Staraya A rtel 207 87 1, :143 12 I 11 Food skins 17 * Total 2, 142 1 RECAPITULATION. St. Paul Island 16,819 St. George Island 2.142 Total 318, 961 I The total number of animals rejected during the season can not be taken as indicating the number of bachelors not of killable age left, as many of these were driven several times and many of the younger seals doubtless do not come to the islands at all during the killing season. The small seals will be taken into the quotas of 1898 and 1899: the large seals go to swell the already overstocked reserve of breeding male lire. Until this excess of male life is reduced to normal conditions au effort should be made each year, as was done in 1897. to exhaust the supply of killable seals. 2 The weight here given is that of 100 skins weighed in lots of 10 each. 3 This includes all animals killed. The skins of 131 animals were rejected by the lessees. 93 I 159 74 192 36 34 22 LAND AND SEA KILLING. 211 Statistics regarding land and sea killing, 1871-1897. Note: A study of this table clearly indicates the decline of the herd since 1884, as measured on its hauling grounds, and shows in the expansion of pelagic sealing the cause of this decline. Date Hauling Number : Year. quota , grounds of Killed Killed I tilled. a ! driven., drives. a on land.b at sea. 1871 July 28 1872July 25 187 3 July 24 i July 17 ' 1874 1875 July 16 1876 c Aug. 1 1877 July 14 1878 July 18 1879 July 16 1880 July- 17 1881 July 20 1882 do ..., 1883 July 19 1 1884 July 21 1885 July 27 1887 886 July 26 . July 24 1 1888 July 27 1889 July 31 1890. dJuly 20 ; 1891 ' 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 a These figures refer to the hauling grounds of St. Paul. These totals include all males killed for any purpose on the islands. c In 1876 the killing was begun at an unusual date, said to be on account of an exceptionally late season. d Closed by order of the agent in charge. e Years of the modus vivendi. f These figures as originally published (28,964 and 20,890) in an appendix to the report of the fur-seal conference are slightly in error because of confusion resulting from an effort to eliminate certain food skins taken in the fall of the year preceding. NOTES ON FOREGOING TABLE. The figures refer to the Pribilof herd. 2. The dates given for the filling of the quota refer only to St. Paul Island. The same is true of the data regarding the number of drives and hauling grounds. 3. The totals for land killing represent all males killed for any purpose-the filling of the quota and the supplying of food for the natives. They therefore include pups and seals whose skins were rejected because stagy or otherwise unsuitable. The figures are taken from the list of daily killings prepared by Colonel Murray, and, in accordance with the method adopted by him, they begin and end with January instead of with August, the date at which the quota is begun and ended. 4. The totals for the pelagic catch are taken from the statistical tables , published by the Treasury Department for 1896. 5. The later date at which the quota was filled in 1871-1873 is due to the fact that in these years part of the quota was taken the preceding fall. After 1893 the regular driving for the quota was all done in June and July. 6. Front the log of the islands it would appear that the season of 1876 was a peculiar one, the movements of the animals being some two or three weeks behind that of preceding years. 7. The contraction in the killing on land in 1876-77 and 1882-83 was voluntary on the part of the lessees. 8. Iii 1891-1893 land killing was limited under the modus vivendi. Bering Sea was closed for the same reason in 1892-93, but pelagic sealing went on off the Northwest Coast. 9. The driving for the year 1890 was closed on July 20 by order of the Department. Published to 1890 in Senate Doc. 137,1895. Fur-seal catch, season of 1896. Treas. Dept. Doe. 1932,1897. Aug. 4 July 27 .do . _ . Aug. 7 46 43 102, 960 16, 911 5, 336 5, 229 5,873 43 30 108, 819 51 37 109, 177 61 41 110,585 55 37 106, 460 , 5, 033 36 30 94, 657 5, 515 44 32 84, 310 5, 210 54 - 35 109, 323 5, 544 71 36 110, 411 8, 557 78 38 105, 718 r 8, 418 99 34 105, 063 10, 382 86 36 99, 812 15. 551 81 39 79, 509 16, 557 101 42 105, 434 16,971 106 63 : 105, 024 23, 040 117 74 10421 28, 101 66 105,, 5 760 30, 624948 102 73 103, 304 26,189 110 74 102, 617 29, 858 87 55 28,059 40,834 (e) (e) 12,040 59,568 (e) (e) 7, 511 46, 642 (e) (e) 7, 396 30, 812 16, 270 61, 838 14, 846 56, 291 31 21 /30,654 43,917 42 27 f 19. 200 24, 321 212 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. Daily counts of cows.' Note: These counts show clearly the gradual development of rookery population during the breeding season. The cows begin to arrive about the 12th of June. The maximum of population is reached about July 15, from which time on there is a gradual decrease of population due to the lengthening absence of the cows on their food excursions. Date. Cows present. Date. Cows present. Amphitheater of Kitovi. June 12 13 14 15 16 1k.... 19 20. 21 2' ‘,3 24 95_ 26 98 99 30 July 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Record of harem a. June 14. 20 30 'July 8 Record of harems—Continued. 0 July 13 46 0 25 53 2 Lukanin rookery. June 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 July 1 2 4 a 6. 7 654 556 678 698 566 429 416 465 463 703 556 528 469 426 , 406 • 20 21 10 11 13 1.5 143 15. 16.. 18 ............. ...... 19 12 17 8 9 304 2:3 414 24 427 25 :375 '6 27 28. 1 29 3 30 10 :11 35 3 3 4t 6 8 9 • 2:3 37 • 45 56 76 105 137 168 ,. 210 • 246. 290 362 • 414 499 518 550 585 2 587 660 703 1 1 3 5 6 11 19 25 37 52 74 103 131 176 207 257 635- 886 939 1, 088 1, 197 1, 264 1, 371 1, 531 21, 541 1, 680 1, 755 1, 736 1, 841 306 327 325 338 228 290 214 215 219 212 196 186 148 157 177 149 127 124 Weather clear: no storms or surf. except one day when rain fell, causing a larger number of cows to take to the water and making it difficult to distinguish those present front the rocks. 2 Rain. 3A fter July 14 it became impossible, on account of the scattering of the cows, to continue the count for the entire rookery without too great loss of time, and so a section of 18 harems was singled out and the count continued on it. BREEDING SEALS AND DEAD PUPS. 213 Comparative census, 1896-9; . Note: These figures represent in detail tin' final estimates of the Commission as to the number of breeding seals on the rookeries of the Pribilof Islands for the seasons in question. 1896 (revised). 1897. Harems. Cows. 179 115 61 114 139 393 5, 289 2, 598 2. 200 3, 041 4, 100 11, 593 458 111.511 176 5, 192 308 9, 086 33 736 454 13, 393 102 3, 009 143 4, 218 40 1, 180 910 26. 845 233 6. 873 3, 858 112, 864 • 196 5, 782 46 1,190 128 3. 776 133 3, 923 57 1, 681 560 16, 352 3, 858 112, 864 560 16, 352 4. 418 129. 216 Rookery. ST. PAUL. Kitovi Lagoon Polovina Cliffs Zapadni Reef Lukanin Tolstoi. Zapadni Little Zapadni Gorbatch Ardiguen Reef Sivutch Polovina Little Polovina Vostochni Morjovi Harems. Cows. 182 6. 049 120 2.484 86 2.496 176 3, 862 147 4, 880 467 15, 504 i 543 18, 027 1 210 4, 584 ! 302 10, 026 : 27 896 504 16, 732 105 3. 486 153 5, 079 , 45 1, 494 1 975 32, 370 293 9, 727 Total 4, 335 137, 696 ST. GEORGE. North . 200 6,640 Little East 44 1, 350 East 135 4, 482 ; Zapadni 143 4,747 ' Staraya A rtel . 75 2. 490 Total 597 19, 709 RECAPITULATION. St. Paul 4, 335 137. 696 St. George 597 19, 709 Grand total 4, 932 157. 405 Pup statistics, 1896-Summary. Note: The dead bodies of pups were originally counted in August. These together with the accessions through starvation were recounted in October, the earlier counts being deducted to determine the number starved. As the period of starvation was not yet completed, a count of those plainly dying was made, and these are designated as " starving." Dead. Rookery. • August. ST. PAUL ISLAND. Kitovi 109 Lukanin 205 Lagoon 78 Tolstoi 1,895 Zapadni 3,095 Little Zapadni 134 Zapadni Reef 104 Gorbatch 712 A rdiguen 2 Reef 950 Sivutch Rock 50 Polovina 635 Little Polovina 47 Vostochni 1,808 Morjovi 485 Total 10, 309 I Addition of 20 per cent for loss between August and Octo- ber counts Starved. ; Starving. October. 009 579 316 2,449 500 , 374 238 554 , 42 27 51 191 4,395 1,300 1 154 693 ' 559 1 64 327 223 , 18 1,878 1,166 , 126 78 76 ' 8 2,786 1.836 : 300 284 234 ' 31 1,555 920 55 119 72 22 3.313 1,525 329 950 445 109 20, 331 10. 022 1, 527 2, 061 Starving pups to be added as starved 1.527 Addition for bodies taken fur dissection 150 Total starved 13, 760 The estimate of 20 per cent hero made for the disappearance of carcasses between August and October is shown by the experiences of 1897 to be an underestimate. Fifty per cent would have !wen nearer the fact. 214 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. Pup statistics, 1R96 Summary—Continued. Rookery. Dead. Starved. Starving. ' August. October. ST. GEORGE ISLAND North 259 145 762 Stitt aya Artel 135 194 253 3 Zapadni 199 527 617 4 East 112 15 457' 4 1 Little east 31 16 151 1 ! 736 1 897 . ' 2, 240 19 1 Total 19 Starving pups added as starved Total 2, 259 Grand total for both islands 11, 045 21, 228 16, 019 1, 546 The figures herein given for starved pups on the rookeries of St. George are estimates based upon the conditions of St. Paul. The foxes had eaten not only the carcasses of the earlier dead pups on St. George, but also those of the starved pups. _Dead pups before August 10,1896-1897. Rookery. 1896. 1897. 109 202 70 252 ' 592 78 . 205 1, 895 , Kitovi ST. PAUL. Lagoon . [lkali in Tolstoi Zapadni. 3, 095 2689 Little Zapadni 134 (3) Zapadni Reef 104 7() Gorbatch 712 382 Ardiguen 2 10 Reef 950 642 Sivuteh Rock 50 (3) Polovina.635 ' (3) Little Polovina 47 (3) Vostochni 3, 805 (3) Morjovi . 485 ' (3) Total 10, 309 2, 910 ST. GEORGE. North 259 244 Little East 31 34 East 112 93 Zapadni 199 ' 112 Staraya Artel 135 75 Total 736 558 Grand total 11, 045 Only the sand flat was counted, on which were 1,495 pups in 1896. Only the gully known as the " death trap " was counted. 3 Not counted iu 1897. PELAGIC SEALING. 215 PELAGIC SEALING CATCHES, 1894-1897. Note: The detailed catches of the American and Canadian sealing fleets for the period 1894-1897 are here given to illustrate the absence of beneficial effect from the regulations of the Paris Award under which the pelagic sealing industry has been conducted since 1894, and incidentally to show the decline of the herd as manifest in the declining catch. The latter fact taken in connection with the diminishing fleet shows the growing unprofitableness of the pelagic industry. Fur-seal catch of American vessels for 1894.1 [ Prepared by A. B. Alexander.] Vessel. Northwest coast. Japan coast. Copper Island. Bering Sea. Alton 1, 185 Alexander 810 , Anaconda 397 Anna Matilda ., 785 Allie I. Algar 1, 395 327 Bonanza 1, 724 Bowhead 1, 407 C. G. White 936 Emma and Louisa 1, 166 Emma 66 Eppinger 1.080 Edward E. Webster 1, 650 EllaJohnson 1,214 Ethel 5 Geo. Peabody 231 Geo. R. White 2 80 H. C. Wahlberg 326 Henry Dennis 6 855 Herman 968 324 Ida Etta 126 736 Jane Gray 1, 155 138 Sate and Anna 15 672 Louis D 15 1.600 Louis Olsen 1. 197 I 84 Lillie L 594 I 84 Josephine I 150 ' Mary H. Thomas Mascot 4 535 Mattie T. Dyer 862 290 Mathew Turner 5 857 Penelope 656 Prescott 325 109 Retriever 837 661 Rattler 1, 046 109 Rosie Sparks 420 197 St. Paul 36 Sophie Sutherland 1, 788 San Diego 5 600 Stella Erland 761 Teresa 686 318 Volunteer 100 Willard Ainsworth 893 201 Winchester 1, 606 Amateur 6 225 Columbia 6 564 403 C. C. Perkins 6 45 Deeahks 6 400 ' 1, 023 Dart6 29 ; Felitz 6 160 James G. Swan, 600 Puritan 6 180 Total 2, 652 31. 376 1, 771 5, 201 Total. 1.185 810 397 785 1, 722 1, 724 1, 407 936 1. 166 66 1,080 1, 650 1,214 5 231 80 326 861 1,292 862 1. 293 687 1.615 1, 281, 678 150 535 1, 132 857 656 427 1.498 1,155 617 36 1, 788 600 761 1.004 100 1. 094 ; 1, 606 225 967 45 1 1. 423 29 160 , 600 180 41, 000 Senate Doc. 137, 1895. 2This vessel had not yet returned. 3 Lost ; number of skins not known. Lost 535 skins taken: none saved. 5 Lost skins not saved. 6 Indians from Neah Bay. 216 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. Fur-seal catch of Canadian vessels for 1894., [From official sources.] ICrews. Catch. Vessels. Tons. British - 1 White. Indi- Colum- Japanese ans. bia coast. coast. Enterprise 69 22 Rosie Olsen 39 . 6 I'intaina 99 25 Oscar and. Hattie 81 24 Diana 150 : 19 Brenda 100 • 26 Arietis : 86 25 Casco 63 22 Dora Siewerd 24 26 Walter A. Earle i 68 ' 8 Fawn 1 '59 , Agnes Macdonald 107 26 W. P. Hall 99 ! 24 ! Mermaid 73 25 : City of San Diego 46 16 Mary Taylor 43 19 Libbie 93 22 May Belle 58 14 Ellen 63 23 MaryViva 92 26 W. P. Say ward 60 20 Penelope 70 20 Vera 60 19 Carlotta G. Cox 76 24 Triumph 98 8 Otto 86 25 E. B. Marvin 96 23 Sapphire 109 8 Annie E. Paint 82 26 Geneva 99 27 Teresa 63 25 Sadie Turpel 56 29 Ocean Belle 83 22 Maud S 97 24 A urora 41 18 Florence M. Smith 99 27 Beatrice 66 5 Mascot 40 4 Favorite 180 5 Annie C. Moore 13 8 Labrador 25 5 Wanderer 25 2 Pioneer 66 24 Saucy Lass 38 7 Borealis 37 6 Katharine 82 6 Ainoko 75 1 5 Kate , 58 : 5 Shelby 16 I 5 Venture48 ! 3 Walter L. Rich ........ 76 j 9 Mountain Chief ; . 23 i 1 Fisher Maid 21 : Minnie 40 1 6 San Jose 31 I 5 Kilmeny 19 ' 2 Henrietta 1 11 ' 5 C. D. Rand 51 7 Beatrice 49 21 . Canoe catch by Indians Senate Doe. 137, 1895. 1, 254 16 ! 1, 043 2, 588 1, 733 2383 1,961 1, 197 1, 926 , 2, 584 i 20 I 1,471 18 1 1, 911 ' 1, 603 I 1, 304 1 ; 874 1 1, 010 1 925 I 1, 909 i I 1, 437 1 606 ' 1, 306 1 1, 075 1, 947 36 I 1, 320 1.014 2, 118 32 • 535 1, 497 1, 092 1. 102 1, 783 1 530 i ! 1, 343 I 693 ' 96 22 : 358 16 : 558 37 606 37 : 309 14 1 308 7 400 418 17 : 170 20 303 26 : 269 22 467 20 1 79 10 ' 34 17 25 ; 691 13 ! 175 8 ' 92 20 ; 488 14 i 20 12 ' 17 ' 315 22 • 357 1, 703 , 3, 989 ______•____ ____, , Total 3, 866 888 518 , 11, 703 i 48, 993 Copper Island. Bering Male. Sea. Total. Female. 314 1, 568 425 43i 1, 899 153 30 30 ' 2, 801 176 1, 909 433 2, 394 343 2, 726 39 52 1, 288 1, 926 2, 584 155 517 2,143 310 336 1, 557 471 2,178 1 ! 710 503 2108 250 1, 554 250 1, 124 200 ?1:1 907 1: 86 105 352 2, 452 1,437 35 641 296 1,602 ........ 80 115 1,270 1,947 1,163 2, 077 1 4, 560 623 1, 637 ' 2,118 1,226 879 2, 640 531 2, 028 558 1, 650 120 1, 222 171 1,954 274 804 86 1,429 21 79 138 931 81 177 342 818 1, 518 299 246 1,103 752 488 1,846 938 1,009 2,256 179 381 868 400 1, 263 1, 681 290 378 838 90 1, 059 1, 452 490 569 1, 328 1,092 565 2,124 303 564 946 232 145 411 417 492 909 1, 000 749 2, 440 175 92 679 986 2,153 256 593 869 107 327 684 427 340 1.082 357 - 1,703 3, 989 7, 437 11,705 I 14,636 94,474 PELAGIC SEALING. 217 Catch of American vessels engaged in pelagic sealing during the season of 1895.' Japan Russian American coast. Bering Total. Vessel. waters. waters. Sea. J. Eppinger 925 452 1, 377 Herman 637 430 1, 067 E. E. Webster 766 270 1,-036 Alton 316 142 358 -Matti° T. Dyer 149 149 Emma and Louisa 269 507 .776 Bonanza 926 289 1, 215 Bowhead 666 18 684 Winchester 589 102 232 923 Sophia Sutherland 295 309 14 Columbia 369 544 913 James G. Swan 224 1, 084 1.308 Stella Erland 165 676 841 Puritan 10 10 Teazer 87 87 August 6 6 Matilda 35 35 C. C. Perkins 34 34 Elsie 209 209 Bering Sea 180 663 843 Deeahlis 82 592 674 Emmet Felitz 49 49 Idler 41 41 Jessie 24 24 R. Ecrett . 99 99 Kate and Anna 391 391 Georg) W. Prescott 329 329 Allie I. Algal,. 1, 004 193 1,197 Rattler 576 472 1,048 Jane Gray 1,112 185 1, 297 Teresa 426 426 W. Ainsworth 1, 180 61 ....... . 440 1, 681 M. M. Morrill 591 393 984 Louis Olsen 660 349 1.009 Ida Etta 574 484 1, 058 Total a 10, 817 1, 250 2,269 8,251 22,587 Report of Secretary of Treasury, 1895, pp. CLXXI-iI. Fur-seal catch of Canadian vessels for 1895.1 Crew. I Catch. Vessel. Tons. .0 g k H Agnes McDonald.... 107 28 14 8 7 Ainoko 75 7 26 2 ' 13 325 Amateur 18 2 14 7 65 Annie C. Moore 113 8 30 2 15 105 Annie F. Paint 82 26 8 Arietis 86 22 7 Aurora 41 7 22 2 11 108 Beatrice (Shanghai) 66 5 28 1 14 230 Beatrice (Vancouver) 49 18 6 : 2 Borealis 37 21 6 Brenda 100. C. D. Rand 51 7 16 3 8 - 143 Carlotta G. Cox 76 26 8 Casco 63 19 6 City San Diego 46 17 5 Diana 50 19 6 Director 87 23 7 Dora Siewer 93 7 36 2 18 503 E. B. Marvin........ 96 27 8 Enterprise .69 7 30 2 15 221 Favorite. 80 5 36 1 18 150 Fawn 59 6 28 1 14 248 4. Bering Sea. 0 • e'S cl 8 t:4 gtd. ..P., p. ?. 5931 669 479 515 730 812 135 191 575 186 527 • 608 838 931 109 96 641. 182 459 176 449 ........ 317 66 300 813 125 251 10 947 782 927 720 460 316 949 1,121 680 920 1,308 370 872 711 801 881 ....... 426 22 351 243 292 71 110 a El 1,973 1, 319 65 1, 647 2, 022 1, 106 821 1, 676 202 1, 648 881 784 1, 567 1, 659 613 1,164 688 2, 082 1, a32 1, 950 1, 797 1, 024 Annual Report Department Marine and Fisheries, Canadian Government, 1895. 218 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS Fur-8eal catch of Canadian ressels for 1895—Continued. Vessel. Tons. Fisher Maid 21 ; Florence M. Smith .. 99 i 97 I Fortuna Geneva 92 , Henrietta 31 1 Kate • 58 Katherine 8181 Kilmeny Labrador 25 • Libbie 92 Mary Ellen 63 Mary Taylor • ..... .. • 43 ; Mascot 40 Maud S 97 May Belle 58 Mermaid 73 ; Minnie 46 ; Mountain Chief 23 ' Ocean Belle 83 Oscar and Hattie 82 Otto 86 Pachwellis Penelope 69 i Pioneer 66 Rosie Olsen Sadie Turpel..... 56 Sapphire 108 1 San Jose 31 : Saucy Lass 38 ' Shelby 16 1 South Bond 21 I Teresa 63 1 Triumph 98 Urbrina 99 1 Vera 60 Victoria 63 Viva 92 ! Walter L. Rich 76 I Wanderer 25 I Indian canoes catch Total 3, 892 • 705 I 854 210 421 9, 853 18, 687 6, 281 15, 949 1 1 1 Crew. Catch. 8 19 39 i 1 ' 12 8 ; 41 18 29 , 7 8 6: 21 73 , 218 4 1 11 : 21 10 : 20 18 • 7 : 16 9 ' 32 7 28 . 24 • 8 ; 18 2 : 16 23 ' 9 8 ; 5 24 19 8 ; 37 5 20 6 1 21 10 4 10 8 17 8 , 43 25 19 7 25 23 9 24 2 ; 10 !41 -F4 4 24 32 14 24 g ca Cl2 -'a Japan coast. 219 1,137 470 2 1 6 109 20 285 9 2 4 2 10 181 2 11 159 4 15 6 51 , 11 234 5 10 854 5 369 434 2 8 787 168 2 1 16 287 2' 13 234 7 1 1, 113 753 3 6 39 7 1, 056 562 3I 12 147 3 ; 14 285 7 66 2 1 12 7 6 3 ; 19 192 2 : 10 147 iI 10 257 4 124 1 4 2 9 102 3 19 353 7: 6 2 12 187 2 12 145 1 5 3,787 1,187 853 ........ 601 845 790 627 798 470 562 15 177 272 601 566 367 30 563 45 279 288 76 183 451 1, 016 106 356 126 223 750 642 437 676 266 393 652 515 432 364 238 532 827 956 318 251 269 432 37 111 335 532 862 995 678 534 259 97 Bering Sea. a a a rt4 19,969 594 156 394 403 109 1, 443 219 1, 607 201 854 850 15 310 1, 701 1, 316 803 1, 304 1, 679 1,347 1, 866 659 39 1, 618 1, 314 1, 111 66 770 1, 635 627 1, 268 1, 975 716 958 124 148 969 2, 210 1, 749 1, 317 1, 354 968 1, 357 356 3, 787 70, 739 PELAGIC SEALING. 219 Fur-seal catch for 1896.1 AMERICAN VESSELS. Catches. Japan • North- and Bering west Total. Russian ! Sea. coast. coasts. Vessel. Alton ... .... ' 99 547 Bering Sea 228 935 Columbia 244 C. C. Perkins 39 Deeahks (Indian) • 88 Elsie FalconI J. Eppinger I . 1,361 Jane Gray 487 Jas. G. Swan 120 . Jessie . .. 140 Kate and Anna 595 Louisa D. 531 M. M. Morrill 639 Puritan 24 . Penelope ' 400 Rattler 649 St. Lawrence 405 Sitka 32 Teaser 117 Willard Ainsworth 724 Indian canoes, etc 227 Twenty-one vessels 3, 714 4.917 1175 821 637 865 ' 404 648 39 j 535 623 ' 935 340 340 1. 361 257 734 93 213 140 595 154 685 265 904 24 400 289 938 450 855 32 117 201 i 926 227 3, 800 12, 432 Statistical tables, fur-seal catch, Document No. 1932, Treasury Department, 1897. CANADIAN VESSELS.' Commander seal Pribilof seal herd. herd. Vessel. Japan Russian North- Bering Sea. coast. coast. west coast. Total. 545 I 428 659 : 48 109 43.1 , 815 ' 1, 034 : 360 381 1 363 ! 327 1, 222 I 808 : 202 169 997 , 95 1, 076 502 377 836 824 I 429 63 602 . 537 171 499 451 663 ' 204 215 . . I 100 91 502 Ada Agnes McDonald Ainoko Allie J. A.lgar Amateur Annie C. Moore Arietis Aurora Beatrice (Shanghai) Annie E. Paint Beatrice ( Vancouver) Borealis C. D. Rand Carlotta G. Cox Casco Carrie C. W City of San Diego Dolphin Diana Director Dora Doris ,. E. B. Marvin Favorite Fawn Fisher Maid (wrecked) Florence M. Smith Fortuna Geneva Kate Ida Etta Katharine (foundered, 208 skins lost) Kilmeny Labrador Libbie Mary Ellen Siewerdi 21300 723 723 232 827 139 567 411 1,118 109 1.088 1, 519 225 1, 040 438 1, 472 77 437 532 913 92 455 305 632 569 569 234 1, 456 903 1. 072 1.010 613 4607 1 1, 109 1, 092 1, 076 826 1, 203 662 662 251 1, 087 1, 049 1, 873 614 1. 043 63 271 873 708 950 370 1, 033 318 522 215 100 308 399 593 1,095t3 536 • 1 Thompson Report, 1896, pp. 56-37. 220 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. Fur-seal catch .for 1896—Continued. CANADIAN VESSELS—Continued. Commander seal Pribilof seal herd. herd. Vessel. Japan coast. 940 383 Nzt1:- Bet' g Total. 192 s 520 Russian coast. 609 coast. ! 602 1,285 Mary Taylor.. 137 417 602 345 Mascot Maud S Mermaid Minnie 486 . 484 970 Ocean Belle 584 316 900 Oscar and Hattie 353 589 942 Otto 719 501 1,220 Ocean Rover 602 602 Osprey 200 200 Pachwellis 152 152 Penelope 458 894 1, 352 Pioneer 893 375 1, 268 Sadie Turpel. 582 281 863 Sapphire 418 1, 002 1, 420 San Jose (wrecked, 4 sk ins lost) 230 605 835 Saucy Lass 471 555 1, 026 Selma 185 185 South Bend 70 359 429 Teresa 231 483 714 Triumph 606 20 750 1, 376 Umbrina 742 41 298 1,081 Venture 269 442 711 Vera 579 264 836 Victoria 164 901 1, 065 Viva (seized) 607 70 677 Walter L. Rich 93 399 492 Zillah May 821 821 ndian canoes 2, 353 2, 353 Sixty-eight vessels 18. 246 1. 028 10, 703 25, 700 55, 677 • SU1S1MARY OF CANADIAN VESSELS. Japan coast 18, 246 Russian coast.. 1, 028 Commander .sal herd 19, 274 Northwest coast 10, 703 Bering Sea 25, 700 Pribilof seal herd 36, 403 RECAPITULATION. Canadian vessels 55, 677 American vessels 12, 432 Total 68, 109 Pelagic fur-seal catch of America'? vessels, 1897. Vessel. Northwest 3263 323 284 56 88 30 ' 389 ' 55 1 10 19: 1 Bering Sea. , Russian coast. Total. 3 2320 1,085 3729 56 88 30 3898305 9515 racist. ; 81 3 614 661 860 443 Fisher Eros \V.1 . Kate and Anna 215 J. Eppinger . 199 Louisa D Jas. G. Swan Columbia Deealiks Ainsworth Bering Sea Teaser Rattler Elsie St. Lawrence Total. 758 857 1, 275 4, 648 1, I Iii addition to this total for the year 1896 there was a catch of 2,623 skins made by Japanese vessels on the Asiatic side. 2 There was a difference of 6 in the catch of this vessel between the statement of the master and inspector at Astoria. The Eppinger took 319 skins, all females. south of the award area, and the Louisa D. took 445, 47 males and 398 females, in the same waters. PELAGIC SEALING. 221 Pelagic fur-seal catch of Canadian ressels, 1897. Vessel. Northwest Bering : Russian Total . coast. I sea. I coast. 602 13 I 263 878 Pioneer C. D. Rand 302 Mary Ellen . 290 Alice T. Algar 610 Arietis 167 897 1 , (62;7:2:6(13' 740(01 Amateur 20 , 515 553 Enterprise 38 Beatrice 158 Teresa 53 ' 848 Victoria 57i75167t: 56513) : . _ 776 Mary Taylor 379 ; . . ...... K B. Marvin 277 944 1, 250 Fawn 51 440 I 491 Ainoko 407 924 ! 1, 331 Dora Siowerd 85 1, 954 1. 339 Minnie 101 • 895 996 City of San Diego 61 402 1 1 463 Triumph 909 1, 551. ! 1,761)95, Ocean Belle 167 • 1792 Favorite 553 : Otto 1 19:1 , 828 1,021 Penelope 11970822 2523 Sadie Turpel 647 i 899 Sapphire 98 98 Zillah May 164 663 827 Annie E. Paint 71 393 834 1, 298 Borealis 312626 314 Umbrina 190 818 1, 008 Mermaid 151 . 972 1. 123 Charlotta G. Cox 172 1. 266 i 1, 438 Vera 264 276 540 Director 4 1, 048 1, 052 Casco 14 1. 050 , 1, 064 Labrador 25 25 Agnes McDonald 489 -189 Geneva 78 726 804 Fisher Maid 27 27 Mountain Chief 12 12 Pachwellis . 24 24 Indian canoes. 1, 018 1, 018 Total 6, 100 15. 607 8, 703 30. 409 SUMMARY OF PELAGIC FUR-SEAL CATCH, 1897. American vessels 648 4, Canadian vessels. 409 Total 30, 135, 057 1 In addition to this a catch of 3,823 skins was taken by Japanese vessels on the Russian coast. •qaluo POI 0'3 C, I NI 1, co 4., i • czn :1 cta •-• cb . • ....I .0 re; 1,-,4 i 00 , • C.4 00 v-1 , , 00 t- CI co .-. o o Cl F., 4 psCCCCCI CICCCClItI „, F0 CC 'C 'C Cl r • I 8 • .4-06-cd.iLi-LiL5kfc.ii6.00-0c50-Li...4115.-7,0-ac c.6 N C.• NNNNNN fl el el LT s. . . . . . ......—. . . . . ..' ... . . . . . . „, . . . . . ., • 1 . ........ . . . . ..... . . . • . ' CC . 0 .-[ N ,t, `.1. ,t" CZ t.. CO C.4 0 •,-.I C.4 C. '11 ,r, . ts. 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C r OD CO (TO BE COMPARED WITH PLATE II.) rT1 0 -n I rn I I rn rn 0 -n 0 O m 1, C r Ei3 C 01 cr) (.0 CH 31V-1d HIM C138Vd1A100 38 01) m I m -0 II m m H -71 0 C m .e X 0 C r D Z 0 C r co co (TO BE COMPARED WITH PLATE I.) 'L681. 'el Ainr 'CINV-ISI invd ('I 31Vid HUM C131,1VdW00 38 01) -q ii 31Vid D '0 I] 31Vid < IF' 0 m —i I m > E -o I 11 I m > —I m x 0 -n 0 x 0 0 m ”d x 1:s" 5' o) OD 1Z P, —I 'CS a' > t•C c r 0 '6' • r L7 D g z , p f.-1 c r CO .... co ,0 :4 (TO BE COMPARED WITH PLATE I. 0 -0 r z m Dzi C z 0 0 cn z • > c i" r r > - z • C • r 5. -‹ 1894. (TO BE COMPARED WITH PLATE V.) D 13 cn r m > 0 m -I 0 z o -n > x o 5 C m z 0 0 x m x cn D_ -1 > tj c • r o — , CO 0 r ,4 > ig Z SI tr Cr. c- r H -< i 2 g E P. al PTO BE COMPARED WITH PLATES III AND V.) 0 om 0 z 0 0 Cr C O CD in z 0 0 z -0 C z C co co 'III 31Vid HJIM 03HVd1A100 39 01; mz in m N0 7 0 5 7 0 ▪ 6• -) ▪ m O O in - cn r z c- 0 C r c3.3 (To BE COMPARED WITH PLATE VII.) .1.41sorpluio Act tidua2oloqd A GENERAL VIEW OF ZAPADNI ROOKERY, SAINT GEORGE ISLAND, JULY 11, (TO BE COMPARED WITH PLATE VI.) CO (1) , -0 r > H m = • 1111WKaAg VIEW OF AREA MADE BARE BY THE MOVEMENTS OF THE SEALS IN 1892, GRASS-GROWN IN 1895. (TO BE COMPARED WITH PLATE VIII.) INDEX. Abandonment of— Page. breeding territory 104 cause crf 137, 138 Marunichen 138 Spilki 137 Acreage measurement— 88 contrast of difficulty of 75 summary of 88 Act of Congress 17 Actual counts 90, 109 Adams, Bristow 21 Affidavits of furriers 244 Agents, Government 35, 191 Alaska Commercial Company 28 lease of 29, 236 Alaska, transfer of 24 Aleuts, condition of ....... . 34 notions of 139 Alexander, A. B.: investigations regarding sexes 155 spearing of seals 144 Alleged change of habits 134 Allen, Dr. J. A. 43, 73 American contentions 180 American fur-seal catch : 1894 215 1895 . 217 1896 219 1897 220 Page. Arctocephalus 43 Ardiguen 39, 107 Arrival of seals 49 Atlantic seals 43 Average harem_ 90 Babine, A. V 37 Bachelor, the 46 Bachelors : landing of 49 of Bering Island 135 Bachelor herd, decline of 29 Barrett-Hamilton, G. E. H 18, 125 Basis of enumeration 101 Bayard, Secretary 177 Beaman, J. W., counts of.... 82, 83 Bering Island 119 dearth of bulls on 125 Bering Sea, sealing in 143, 146 Bering, Vitus, second voyage of 23 Blaine, Secretary 178 Breeding grounds 36 Breeding seals : estimate of 89 summary of 93 Breeding season : breaking up 67 height of 53, 54 British contentions 162, 87, 153, 154, 159, 161, 163, 168, 180 Bryant, Capt. Charles 77,139 estimate for 1869 77 note on Kitovi 82 Buckshot in seals 145 Bull, the 46 Bulls : condition of_ 67 count of 100 discipline of 58 fasting of 57 fighting of 52, 59, 60, 61 no lack of 122, 127 not impotent 127 proportion of, to cows 119, 194 scarcity of, on Bering Island ....... 125 superfluous 120 1 American citizens prohibited from sealing 176, 246 American management Amphitheater of Kitovi : 28 count of . 54, 212 harems on 54 synopsis of counts 53 Antarctic seals 43 Arbitration Tribunal 30, 177, 231 award of 231 declarations of 236 regulations of 180, 234 Arbitrary selection of males 136 Arbitration : proposals for 178 treaty of 179, 228 II INDEX. Callorhinus- Page. alascauns 45 curilensis 45 ursinus 45 Canada : interests of 174 objections of 178 sealing industry of 176 Canadian fur-seal catch: 1894 216 1895 217 1896 219 1897 221 Cape Horn seals 226 Carcass-strewn driveways 132 Catastrophe of 1834. 25 Categories of seals 46 Cause of decline. ............... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 116, 150 not killing of males 123 pelagic sealing 153 Census of 1896 93, 213 chief correction in 94 overestimates in 94 revised table of .. _ 96, 213 revision of 93 Census of 1897 . - - - 96, 97, 213 Census of breeding seals, tentative- for St. George. 91 for St. Paul 91 Chinese markets, standards of 25 Clark, George A 18, 109 Close season 30, 181 Closed zone 30, 181 Commander Islands : discovery of 23 driveways of 130 suggested migration to 134 Commission, the 17 Comparative census, 1896-97 213 Conclusions, summary of 184 Condition of herd : past 75 present 90 Conference of experts 188, 240 findings of 188, 241 Counts of cows and pups : 1896 92 1897 - 96 count in 1895 85, 86 Cow, the 46 Cows: daily counts of 51, 53, 212 dead 62 departure of 58 feeding of ..... .. increased mortality in 1897 62, 108 landing of 51, 52, 60 treatment by bulls 61 Page. Custom-house examination of skins 155 Daily counts of 1897 ... 51, 52, 53, 54, 212 Dall, Dr. W. H., notes of 26 Dawson, Dr. G. M 116 Dead pups : counts of 213,214 decrease of, in 1897 108 early death of 70, 166 eaten by foxes 167 loss of bodies 167 on St. Paul 168, 169 on St. George 71, 168, 169 on death traps 70 removal of 170 total for 1896 70, 169 Death traps : contrasted counts 108 record of. 70 Decline : beginning of .. 102, 150 cause of 115 evidence of 104 history of. 102 in quota of 1897 108 percentages of 110 total extent of 114 Defective skins 121 Discovery and exploration 23 Discipline of the harem 58, 59 Dora Siewerd, cruises of 155 Drive, the 117 Driving : animal driven 127 process of 126 Drives : absence of sexual injury 133 American 128 care exercised on 131 comparison of. 130 fatalities on . 132 from Northeast Point 128 from Reef 117, 129 not a factor in decline 133 on Commander Islands 130 .Russian 128 shortening of 129 Early rookery esti mates- of 1869 77 of 1872-1874 77 of 1886 84 of 1890. 84 of 1895 85, 86, 87 reconstruction of 88, 89 value of.. 82, 84, 86, 88 East rookery 42 Effect of pelagic sealing 153 INDEX. III Page. Elliott, H. W 34, 35, 77, 79, 126, 136, 138 estimate of 1872-1874 77 estimate of 1890 84 surveys of 79, 80 unit of space 80 Etupty stomachs, explanation of 161 Equilibrium of herd 102, 158 under pelagic sealing 158, 159 could not be maintained 159 exists below commercial ruin 159 Estimates of 1895: contrast of 87 Crowley 86 Murray 87 True and Townsend 85 Estimates of 1897 : bachelors 98 bulls 98, 100 cows and pups 98, 100 idle and half bulls 98 seals of all classes present 100 seals dead during season 100 seals alive in October 100 yearlings and virgins 99 Excrement of seals 161 Fasting of seals 57 Females, protection of 25 ease of capture 156 effect of killing 171, 189 feeding of 161 killing of 25, 153, 156 percentage in pelagic catch 155, 225 possible abstraction of 157, 243 preponderance of 154 skins should be contraband 190 Fighting, of bulls 52, 59, 60, 61 due to sexual excitement 60 instinct for 62 Findings of fact 1.88, 242 Firearms, used in sealing 143 Fixity of habits . 134 Food and feeding grounds 68 Food, digestion of 56 Fur-seal herd: condition of 26, 88, 89, 100 importance of 190 international interest in 173 Fur seal or sea bear 43 Fur-seal question, origin of. .......... . 177 Future of the herd 188 Gains and losses of the herd ....... 149 Galapagos Islands 74 Gorbatch rookery 39 Grass-grown areas 104 Great Britain, interests of 174 Great killer, the 71 Page. Gressigrada, suborder of 43 Growth of pelagic catch ___. 149, 150 Guadalupe Island 44 Halkett, A 18, 65, 185 report on proportion of females. 155 remarks on stagy skins 65 Hamlin, Chas. S 18, 241 Harbors, absence of 32 Harem, the. 57 Harem sizes 58 Harems, count on amphitheater 54 summary of 96, 97 Hauling grounds 36 not driven 121 number driven, 1871-1889 123 Historical sketch 23 Home of the fur seals 31 Hooper, Capt. C. L 174, 226 Howes, Osborne 26 Hunting by Indians 142 Hutchinson Hill 37 Ice, obstruction by 25, 49 Idle bulls, estimate of 100 Indiscriminate killing 154 Inquiry, occasion of 17 Inspection, effect of 140 need of 194 Instructions 18 Interregnum : Dall's note on 26 females not killed in 28 Howes's notes 26 methods of killing 27 number of seals killed 26 Introduction 17 Investigation, the 18, 19 Itinerary : 1896 20 1897 21 Jordan, Dr. David S 17, 130 Joint agreement of 1892 115 Joint commission of 1892 179 Joint report of experts, 1897 188, 240 Killable seals 116 Killing season 116 Killing : indiscriminate 154 premature 123 wasteful 124 Killers. 71 Killings : at Northeast Point 207 at Zapadni (St. George) 207 comparison for 1889 and 1890 124 for food 25, 121, 124 116, 211 laud and sea IV Page. INDEX. Killings-Continued. Page. on Commander Islands 125 Morton, John M 22 operations of 118, 119 Moser, Capt. Jefferson F 17 percentage killed at 50 Murray, Col. Joseph 18, 170, 197 rejected seals at 50 estimate for 1895.... 87 summary of 207, 208, 209 Naturalist, need of 194 Killings, daily tables : Natural mortality 70, 115, 157, 184, 185 1875 - 197 Need of continuous expert study 193 1880 199 Nomenclature of the seals . . 46 1886 '200 Nonbreeding seals : 1889 901 estimate of in past 89 1890 202 estimate for 1897 97, 98 1891 203 North American Commercial Company, lease 1892-93 204 of 29, 238 1894-95 205 Northeast Point : 1896-97 - . ............ 206 killings at 207 Kitovi rookery 38, 49 rookeries of 37 average harem of 90 North Pacific, seals of 44 taken as typical 90 North rookery 42, 49 Komandorski (Commander) herd 44 Noyes, Capt. W. L 74 Kuril Islands, the 45 Old age, death from 157 Lack of knowledge in past 191 Old Johns Rock 108 Lagoon rookery 40 Orca orca 71 apparent increase on Land and sea killing : 111 Otter Island 32, 56 bachelors on 39 history of 29 harem on 39, 93 statistics of 149, 211 Overdriving : Land killing : has not occurred 127 confined to males 116 theory of 126 effect of 119 Overkilling : in 1869 27, 28 has not occurred 121 suspension of 147 impracticability of 121 Law prohibiting American sealers 246 possibility of 120 Liebes, Isaac, note on stagy skins . ..... 66 Palata drive 131 Little East rookery 42 Parade ground of reef 38 Little Zapadni rookery 40 Parasites of seals 70 Lobos Island seals 226 Paris award 231 Lucas, F A 18, 48, 109, 160, 165 results of 177 Lukanin rookery 38 Parrott & Co., expedition of 26 count of 51, 212 Patrol, cost of 182 Management : Pelage of fur seals 65 American 28 Pelagic fleet, value of 174, 226 Russian 25 vessels sealing in award area 225 wasteful 123, 124 Pelagic catch : Macoun, James M 109, 163, 168 compared with land catch. 148 Males, killed with impunity Martin, Walter E., deposition of Marunichen 189, 243 decline of 148, 175 abandonment of 245 from Commander herd 148, 151 18, 41 growth of 149 138 Massed rookeries 52 relation to land catch 152 Maynard, Lieutenant. 83 percentage of females in 154, 155, 225 McIntyre, II. II 28, 144 statistics of 149 Middle Hill 40, 103 summary of 116, 222 Migrations 47 summary since 1894 175 period and limits of 48 Pelagic sealing 142 Modes vivendi 143, 179, 227 Asiatic waters 147, 151 effect of 147 a check 151 text of 227 a suicidal industry 175 Pelagic sealing—Continued. INDEX. V Pups—Continued. Page. counts of, 1896 92 count of, 1897 96 death of 70, 158 dead unborn 160 dependent upon milk 164 estimate of starved 169, 170 excess over cows 92, 96 excursions of 69 killing of 25, 124 play of. 163 podding of 68 starvation of 160, 165 starving 166, 167 stomach examinations 163 supposed feeding of 163 swimming of 69 trampling of 115 Pup, the 47 Questions still unsettled 193 143, 225 Quinan, Lieutenant, account of shooting Page. a Canadian industry 176 by Indians 30, 142 by white men 30, 143 catch of, since 1894 215-221 cumulative effect of 171 destruction of pups by entry into Berina. Sea 30, 142 expansion of 150 in Bering Sea — . . 30 legality of . 176 loss from, total 171 loss since 1883 171 loss under the regulations 172 off northwest coast 146 possible equilibrium under 156 prohibited to Americans 176 prohibition necessary 187 slaughter of females 187, 189 summary of statistics 222 vessels engaged in 102 seals 83 Quota : 44 Period of equilibrium, 1871-1880 Personal estimates Phoca ursina Photographs : of Tolstoi in 1891 115 limitations of ........... _ . _ ...... 106 relation to counts 106 value of.... 105, 107 Pinnipedia, the 43 Policy of seclusion 140 Polovina rookery 37 early estimates of 82, 83 Polygamous habits of seals 119 Population of rookeries : difficulty of estimate 76 fluctuation of 54 Present condition of herd _ . _ .. 90, 100 Promiscuous nursing of pups, theory of... 162 Proportion of bulls to cows 119 Protection : proposed measures 178 counter proposition 178 Pribilof, Gerrasim.. _ _ .... 23 Pribilof herd 44 Pribilof Islands area of 31 birds of 33 climate 32 discovery of 23 geography of 31 inhabitants of 33 latitude and longitude of 31 mammals 33 vegetation 33 Pups : birth of 55 145 anticipation of 123 contraction of 1876-77 and 1882-83. 122 data regarding 123 date of tilling 123 decrease of in 1897 108 fixing of 193 failure of, in 1890 103 irregular since 1890 151 measure of breeding herd 114 of 1871-1889 88 of 1890 and since 103 of 1894-95.... . 103 of 1896-97.. 88, 111 112 113 209 210 relation to breeding herd 88 Recommendation 191 Recounts of live pups 109 Report, divisions of _ 19 Reef driveway • 129 Reef rookery 38 Regulations of Paris award . 143, 234 adapted to work of sealers ...... _ 181 effect of 30 failure of 182 obligations of 183 purpose of 183 revision not adequate 187 trial period of 182 Rejected seals 98 skins 124 Remedy for decline . 187 Remipedia 43 Revised census of 1896 _ . ..... . ..... 95 Revision of early estimates : of 1872-1874 . . 88,89 of 1895 86 VI Rice, George, deposition of Robben Island herd Rookeries, the determination of boundaries formation of inspection of life on names of____ . ................ noise of obstructed by ice unstable population of Russia, interests of Russian-American Company Salisbury, Lord San Diego, the Sealing season, beginning of Seal grass Seals, species of ability to travel age of arrival of attitudes of "breaching" categories of coloration of departure of enemies of fasting of fixed habits of " finning" individual space occupied 80, 81 injuries to 68 law of distribution 78 low intelligence of 134 migrations of 47 mortality among _ . ......... _ 70 mortality among young _ 99 not affected by man nomenclature of parasites of possibility of driving elsewhere rate of travel shooting of sleepers" sleeping of spearing of staginess, meaning of swimming of " travelers " wounds of Sealskin industry, demoralized condition Sealing of the South Seas Seizure of vessels Sex of salted skins Sex returns : Alexander's report 30, 177 Tingle, estimate of 1886 84 155 Tolstoi rookery _ 40 photograph of, 1891 115 155 i Townsend, C H 18, 48, 146, 148 INDEX. Page. Sex returns—Continued. 244 Halkett's report . 45 sealing captains' 36 customs experts' 76 Shooting, loss through 52 Shrinkage of breeding area 139 Ardigueu 49 Tolstoi sand flat 36 Sivutch Rock 63 estimate of. 49 Sivutch rookery, cause of occupation 78 Skins : 23, 24, 174 defective rejected124 25.26 • 178 treatment of 142 stagy . 50, 116 Slaughter of the seals 33, 104 Southern fur seals, habits of 45 South rookery, Bering 127 131 Spearheads on rookeries 68 Spilki, abandonment of_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 49 count of 64 St. Paul: 144 count of cows.. 46 count of harems 64 description of 71 rookeries of 71 St. George, description of 57 rookeries of 134 Stagy season 65 144 Starvation of pups.. .. 135,141 46 70 121 119 124 190 73 125 145 137 83 91 91 31 36 31 41 165 Starved pups, count of 166, 169 estimate for 1897 169, 170 Starving pups, notes on 166, 167 Steller, George Wilhelm 44 Stejneger, Dr. L 17, 119, 125 Summary of killings 207, 208, 209 Superfluous males 120 Texts : affidavits of furriers 244 Alaska Commercial Company's lease__ 236 136 arbitration treaty 228 72 declarations of tribunal 236 144 joint conclusions of experts 240 144 law prohibiting sealing 246 63 modus vivendi ........... _ _ 227 144 North American Commercial Company's 66 lease 238 72 Paris award 231 144 regulations, the 234 62 Theory of overdriving 126 173, 175 Thompson, Prof. D'Arcy W 18, 107, 109, 114, 153 156, 159, 168 Page. 156 154 155 145 107 107 107 32, 38 94 138 Townsend's crosses INDEX. Veniaminof VII Treaties : Page. Vostochili rookery Page. 1824-25 107 Virgin cows 25, 77 36 47 32 1867 24 Walrus Island 24 1892 179, 228 Wasteful killing 124 Trading companies : Williams, T. T174 Parrott & Co 27 Weather, effect on sealing 148 Williams & Haven 27 Wingfield, reference to letter of 89 Hutchinson, Kohl &. Co 27 Wischhusen, Edmund, deposition of 244 Tripartite agreement of 1888 178 Yanovsky, report of 25 True and Townsend, estimate of 1895 85 Yearlings 47 Ukase of 1821 24 Young seals, losses among 99 Uncinaria 70, 116 Zapadni (Medni) drive • 130 Undersized seals, k ill in g• of . _ 124 Zapadni rookery . ......... ....... 40 United States, interests of 173 Zapadni (St. George) 41 Unit of space: killings on 207 Elliott's 80 Zoltoi 39 True and Townsend's 81, 85 15184-17 0 P • ; • UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON LIBRARY Date Due CAT p\\1_, 1 • M -I 4 DAY `.; SH361 .U5 v.1 II I 1 111 11 3 9352 0152506 i