466 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



rookery when I was a boy, about seventy-five years ago. In those days a small body of 

 seals gathered on the rocks of the point south of North Shore. There was a little 

 hauling ground behind and another farther east on the next point and on the island 

 adjoining it offshore. The rookery was smaller tl:an Little Polovina is to day. I 

 never saw a drive from there, but heard the men talking about itr They used to kill 

 the seals there and carry the skins to the village at Northeast Point." 



Artimonof continued and said: 



" At Northeast Point, you would not believe it, but the seals, cows and bachelors, 

 covered the whole point as far south as Webster Lake and in from the east shore to 

 where the present salt house stands. The beach all around was one continuous 

 rookery. 



"Thirty-four years ago (probably in 1834) the summer was late, so that all around 

 the island was piled up with snow and ice, so that the seals could not land. Thousands 

 of them were killed under the ice, and after that there were very few seals on the 

 island, so that only 100 bachelors a year were killed for several years. They never 

 killed cows. After that time the rookeries were very small for a long time. There 

 were only 2 bulls on the Lagoon; only 7 bulls were left on Gorbatch, and all the 

 rookeries, Northeast Point and all, were very much smaller than now. 



"In later days they killed 3,000 male pups for food each winter, but the seals 

 went on increasing just the same. They did not kill female pups. They took the 

 pups up and examined them, letting the inatkas go. 



"At that time they used to kill half bulls (4 and 5 year olds) to make strings 

 and cords to tie up the bundles of skins with. 



"There has not been any more killing of the seals under the ice since 1834. The 

 natives always go now and break roads through the ice to let the seals laud. 



" One thing you ought to know is that the cow seal never lets any pup suck 

 except her own ; they never feed other pups. The matka comes on shore and feeds 

 her pup and then she goes off 60 miles or more to eat. She can't lie around on the 

 rookeries like the bachelors and have milk for her pup." 



GENERAL NOTES. 



Mr. Eedpath says that the killing of seals by the blocking of the ice was formerly 

 well known among the natives. The most disastrous season was somewhere about 

 1834. 



The natives have several times in the spring dug away the ice so that the seals 

 could haul out. The earliest drives of bachelors are for food, and the natives are 

 anxious to get fresh seal meat as soon as possible, so they see to it that every 

 obstruction is removed. 



The rookery of Spilki, according to Mr. Eedpath, gradually disappeared. The 

 cows seemed to go first. The bulls would haul out, but finding few or no females, 

 after a time they went away, probably going over to the Lagoon. It was thought that 

 the running of the steam launch close to the foot of the rookery in the spring while 

 unloading the company's vessel had something to do with the disappearance of the 

 rookery. There was no hauling ground of any consequence connected with the 

 rookery. Its extent was between the present landing and the cliffs under the hill. 

 Its former extent and outline are marked by the usual seal grass. 



