ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 65 



The seais return to the islands in spriug in the same order aud at 

 nearly the same date in point of time, the males always arriving first; 

 those full-grown, or 7 or more years old, land on the breeding grounds 

 and occupy them to the entire exclusion of all the younger ones, who 

 are obliged to seek resting places elsewhere. They select for their 

 breeding grounds the rocky slopes of the projecting points and head- 

 lands, each occupying as much space as he can defend from intrusion 

 for the use of his anticipated family. These, for sake of distinction, are 

 called " beach masters." When these grounds are fully occupied the 

 remainder of full-grown males fight their way to the rear of these 

 breeding places, and lie in wait for opportunities to rush down and 

 forcibly occupy any vacancies that occur among the beach masters. 

 These are called " reserves." When I first examined these grounds in 

 1809 none of these breeding grounds occupied continuous shore lines 

 of more than a quarter of a mile without spaces between, where the 

 younger seals pass to the uplands and lie down in groups by themselves; 

 but in 1871 and 1872 the increase in the number of females so crowded 

 the families that these spaces were entirely filled by the breeding seals, 

 and the seals less than C or 7 years of age were compelled to find rest- 

 ing places on the beaches at the head of the bays and coves formed by 

 these projecting points and headlands. This removed them farther 

 from the breeding places, and facilitated their being driven with less 

 chance of disturbing the breeding seals than before, when the separate 

 groups had to be gathered in the rear of the breeding seals and herded 

 for driving. 



The first females arrive about the middle of June, two months later 

 than the males, who have at that time all arrived and located in their 

 l)laces. The females do not laud until forced to do so to give birth 

 to their young, which generally occurs within two days, producing one 

 at a birth each. Immediately after landing, the female is appropriated 

 by the nearest inale and forcibly added to his family, where she is jeal- 

 ously guarded until she has borne her young and been covered for the 

 ensuing year, which occurs usually in three or four days after the birth. 

 Then she is allowed to go at will, and spends the greater portion of her 

 time in the Avater, returning to nurse her young when necessary, the 

 young seal being cared for by the male. The females all arrive, have 

 their young, and are covered by the end of July. Soon after this the 

 males leave the breeding grounds and do not return to them again. The 

 young seal requires to be 35 to 40 days old before going into the water 

 to learn to swim, and to be 4 months old to acquire sufificieut age and 

 strength to follow the mother at sea. Hence it is very important that 

 there should always be a sufficient stock of breeding males to insure 

 the impregnation of all the females during their first heat in July, for 

 the period of gestation being one year, if they miss the first heat and 

 return in August or September they have their young in the next year 

 too late in the season to give it time to get strength for living at sea. 



The young male seals return to the islands the first year at the same 

 time of the females, in July, and for every additional year of age ten or 

 fifteen days earlier, so that when they attain to puberty, at the age of 4 

 years their time of arrival is the same as the old seals — that is, from the 

 1st of April to the middle of June. These, on their arrival, not being 

 permitted to land on the breeding places, join the younger seals on the 

 beaches, where they lie quietly until the time of the female being in 

 heat, when they leave the beaches and play along the shores of the 

 breeding places constituting an auxiliary force in covering the females, 

 many of whom escape from the shore to be met by these males who 

 H. Doc. 92 5 



