502 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



STARAYA ARTEL. 



On Staraya Artel 10 bachelors were lyiug far out and up the hill, at the outer 

 limit of the area, which we remarked as being ten times the present area of the 

 rookery. These bachelors had cut a narrow baud or way through the grass-grown 

 area to the outer limit. The space behind the rookery in the earlier part of the 

 season occupied by idle bulls is now covered with the cows and pups of the rookery. 



That certain areas on the breeding grounds are bare in the breeding season does 

 not mean that this unoccupied territory is all recently abandoned rookery ground. 

 As a matter of fact the backward movement of the seals at this time of the year 

 covers all this ground. On the Eeef rookery of St. Paul fully an acre of grassy plain 

 of the parade ground has been occupied by the cows and pups to such an extent as 

 to beat down and kill the grass. 



The grass-grown areas of the hauling ground merely represent the area once 

 trampled over by the seals, the roaming bands of bachelors, and the grass-grown 

 extension of the rookeries represents ground once occupied, when the herd was larger, 

 by the backward movement of the animals late in the season, as the bare areas now 

 represent the ground at present occupied by this movement. 



The bachelors are extremely few on St. George just now, and the same is true of 

 St. Paul. 



On Staraya Artel rookery 194 dead pups were counted in a similar condition to 

 those on Zapadni. Only 3 starving pups were seen. The same disinclination to 

 go into the sea was noticeable here. After driving the seals off the upper half of 

 the hill and counting it, we simply went below and turned the greater part of them 

 back up the hill to their former location. 



NORTH ROOKERY. 



On North rookery 145 carcasses only could be found. Here the loss between the 

 two counts becomes striking. Two hundred and fifty pups were originally counted 

 here. Seven starving pups were noticed on this rookery. 



The pups on the rookeries of St. George were a fine lot, the majority of them as 

 large as the yearlings seen about the rookeries of St. Paul. 



It was on North rookery that Colonel Murray did the branding. Mr. Macoun 

 and I watched closely for the result. Eighteen of the 62 branded pups were counted, 

 one with one brand, one with two bars, and one with three bars. 



We saw 2 of the 9 branded cows 1 full grown cow, evidently with a pup, and 1 

 small cow probably a virgin 2-year-old. Each cow had 5 distinct brands on her 

 back, and there could be no mistake as to the spoiling of the skin. The wounds on 

 cows and pups alike were perfectly healed and the animals showed no bad effects. 



EAST ROOKERY. 



Only 15 dead pups were found on East rookery where 112 were counted by Mr. 

 Lucas in August. On Little East 16 were found out of 31 in August. Four starving 

 pups were seen on East and 1 on Little East rookeries. Treasury Agent Judge and Mr. 

 Barrett-Hamilton made the count. The foxes were very numerous in the neighborhood 

 of these rookeries. Only 1 whole pup carcass was found, and the pups were busily 

 eating that. The count had to be based upon skulls and fragments. 



It is likely that the foxes on the east side are more numerous, at least more so in 

 proportion to the supply of pups. It may also be that there are fewer starved pups 



