SEAL LIFE ON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 143 
had noticed a marked ditference in that respect, and attributed it to the 
hunting that had been carried on. In many eases they appeared to be 
unusually shy when there was no apparent cause for it. 
FOOD OF SEALS. 
The material which has been found in the stomachs of seals taken in 
ditferent parts of Bering Sea indicates that only a small percentage is 
composed of fish which inhabit deep water. It is only reasonable to 
suppose, however, that when seals are in shallow water they feed both 
on bottom fish and on those swimming near the surface. A not uncom- 
mon component of their food is the red rockfish, which occurs both in 
deep and shallow water and possibly also near the surface at times, 
which would account for its being found in the stomachs of seals cap- 
tured where the water is 100 fathoms or more deep. 
On August 22, 1595, in latitude 55° 04’ north, longitude 168° 35/ west, 
the head of a macrurus was found in the stomach of a male seal. This 
group of fishes inhabits considerable depths and much speculation 
arose as to how it had been obtained by the seal. It was subsequently 
learned, however, that the Albatross had been dredging in deep water 
near our position from the 18th to the 22d, and during that time there 
had been thrown overboard many rejected specimens, among which 
were a number of macruri, which would be apt to float for some time at 
or near the surface if not molested. 
It has been claimed that seals will not eat dead fish, but this is a 
mistake, for the writer has seen them devour salmon that had been 
dead several days. 
Surface fishes, and especially squid, seem to be the natural food of 
the seal. In the stomachs that have been examined a variety of mate- 
rial was found, such as pieces of Alaskan pollock, salmon, and other 
fishes, but it has also been observed that in localities where squid are 
plentiful very little other food may be looked for. I am informed by 
hunters that on the coast of Japan and off the Commander Islands squid 
occur in great abundance, and that it is not an uncommon sight to seea 
half dozen or more seals together feeding on the tentacles of octopus 
floating at the surface. Sealers usually find squid plentiful off the 
island of Kadiak, and in that locality they have often been found in 
large quantities in the stomachs of the seals. 
WHITE HUNTERS AT A DISADVANTAGE. 
The white hunters on the Dora Siewerd did not have the same oppor- 
tunity of getting seals as the Indians for several reasons, one of which 
was that, as a rule, they were the last to leave the vessel in the morn- 
ing and the first to return at night. They were expected to hoist out 
all the canoes, and in the evening to hoist them in again, stow them 
away and lash them. Indians are useless in this kind of work, and 
upon their arrival alongside, their duties have ended, as the skinning of 
the seals devolves upon the steersmen. 
The Indians, therefore, had every advantage in respect to hunting. 
On leaving a vessel the boats nearly always form a line so that each will 
have a clear space to windward. When all the boats start out together 
they are all on an equal footing; but when one or two boats, as was the 
case with our white hunters, are obliged to follow in the rear of others, 
their chance of seeing many seals is greatly lessened, for they are hunt- 
ing in water already passed over, but the situation improves as the 
