ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



201 



child to school if not compelled by the Treasury agent to do so. The 

 teachers on both islands do their duty faithfully, but their work is not 

 appreciated or rewarded with very brilliant results. 



THE BREEDING ROOKERIES. 



As I was unable to accompany my report of last year with a state- 

 ment showing- the number of seal on the breeding rookeries of St. 

 George Island, I made arrangements with Acting Assistant Treasury 

 Agent Dr. L. A. Koyes in charge, to make a complete measurement of 

 all the rookeries on the island, which he did, and the result is here 

 given : 



[January 4, March 1, and April 22, 1887.] 



Name of rookery. 



East 



Zapadnie 



Little East 



Starry Ateel 



Near and North. 



Total 



Sea 

 margin. 



2,200 



2,100 



600 



900 



3,500 



9,300 



Depth. 



200 

 160 

 125 

 575 

 300 



Square leet. 



440, 000 



336, 000 



75, 000 



517, 500 



1, 050, 000 



2, 418, 500 



SeaLs. 



220, 000 

 168,000 

 37, 500 

 258, 750 

 525, 000 



1, 209, 250 



KECAPITULATION (SEVENTEEN ROOKERIES). 



St. Paul Island, 1886 ?' i^a' .^2a 



St. George Island, 1887 1^^2()V!50 



Grand total of breeding seals only ^i 357, 750 



I think that a deduction of one-fourth from the above would show 

 more nearly correct the true number of seals on the islands. In my 

 judgment Mr. Elliott does not allow them space enough. 



The breeding grounds on St. George Island, surveyed July 12-15, 

 1873, gave the following figures: 



[H. W. Elliott's Condition of Affairs in Alaska, 1874, p. 78. ^ 



Name of rookery. 



Eastern 



Little East.. 



North 



Near 



starry Ateel 

 Zapadnie . . . 



Total . 



Sea mar- 

 gin. 



900 

 750 

 2,000 

 750 

 500 

 600 



Depth. 



60 

 40 

 25 

 150 

 125 

 60 



5,500 



Square feet, 



54, 000 

 30, 000 

 50, 000 

 112, 500 

 62, 500 

 36, 000 



345, 000 



Seals. 



27, 000 

 15, 000 

 25, 000 

 56, 250 

 31, 250 

 18, 000 



172, 500 



The information furnished by the estimates of seal life is very val- 

 uable, though, of course, not absolutely correct. 



The measurement on St. George Island is undoubtedly as near correct 

 as it is i)ossible to make it, and differing so widely from the estimate 

 made by JNIr. H. W. Elliott July 12-15, 1873, 1 am forced to conclude that 

 that gentleman, so uniformly correct in his voluminous and interesting 

 history of the fur seal and his home, has made a great mistake some- 

 how in his work of measuring the rookeries at that time. It is quite 

 evident such is the case, as the number of seals he makes on the breed- 

 ing rookeries, viz, 172,500, is out of all proportion to the number of 

 males killed in 1872-73, being 25,000 each year, while on St. Paul 

 Island, with 3,030,250 seals on the rookeries, only 75,000 males were 



