SEAL LIFE ON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 133 
had been cut off. Numerous birds were hovering over the carcass and 
many were feeding on it, but no seals were noticed near at hand. 
On August 22 the boats were lowered at an early hour, the weather 
being similar to that of the day before, with light and geutle winds 
from the westward. At the time of lowering 4 other vessels were 
in sight, directly to windward. This, of course, placed our boats in a 
bad position, as a windward berth is superior to all others. When 
following in the wake of other boats only poor results are to be 
expected, as the windward hunters disturb the sleeping seals. 
At noon a hunter on the Agnes McDonald, who came on board, 
reported his vessel as having 920 skins, the highest catch for one day 
having been 253, and the next highest 180. The 253 seals were taken 
on the 15th, and not far from our position on that date. The hunter 
informed the writer that on the day before he speared a large male 
just as it came to the surface with a red rockfish in its mouth. The 
fish was alive, and as it was not at all mutilated it was taken on board 
and cooked. He also stated that he speared a sleeping seal close to 
the floating carcass of a dead one. Indians claim that seals will not 
remain where carcasses are floating, but this is not always true, for on 
several oceasions we had noticed seals among such objects. 
At 4p. m.a heavy fog set in, putting an end to further hunting for 
the day. Forty-four seals composed the catch, 12 being males and 52 
females. The males were all young bachelors and all the females were 
in milk except 2. The stomachs of 33 were empty, 11 contained pieces 
of squid, salmon, pollock, and numerous fish bones. 
_In the evening we shaped our course to north-northeast, and during 
the night ran 25 miles in order to get near our position of the 21st. In 
the morning the weather was unfit for sealing, and as the day advanced 
the chances grew less favorable. 
At 10 a. m. we sounded in 90 fathoms, the first time we had been on 
soundings since leaving Unalaska. At 4p. m. our longitude by obser- 
vation was 168° 05’ west, latitude at noon 55° 28’ north, near where 
the 69 seals had been taken on the 21st. In the evening we were 
boarded by officers from the revenue cutter Rush. 
On August 24 the weather was too variable to entertain hopes of suc- 
cess at hunting. <A heavy, wet fog in the morning, combined with a 
moderate breeze and choppy sea, prevented an early start. At 7.30a.m. 
a slight clearing caused the canoes to be lowered. The signal gun was 
kept firing at short intervals until 10 o’clock, when the fog entirely 
cleared. The spell of good weather was of short duration, however, 
for at noon a squall from the north brought all the hunters back. In 
the short time that the boats were out 21 seals were taken. This was 
encouraging, for it indicated that we were on good sealing ground. 
Most of the seals captured were restless, few being sound asleep, or, in 
sealers’ parlance, they did not ‘lay up” well. The mate came across 
two seals sleeping side by side, one of which was speared. Instead of 
the other one becoming alarmed and diving, as is usually the case, it 
remained near its struggling companion until the latter was hauled 
into the boat. The food found in the stomachs of the seals to-day did 
not vary much from that recorded in those previously examined in this 
locality, namely, squid, squid beaks, salmon, pollock, and fishbones. 
The males were comparatively large; the females were all adults and 
with milk. 
During the night we stood to the westward 50 miles, and then hove to. 
The weather on August 25 prevented sealing, being cold with a fresh 
breeze from north to north by east, accompanied by a rough sea. The 
