86 ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



and around the head of the hisi^oon, is the seal-path road over which 

 the natives bring the "holluschickie" from Tolstoi. We follow this 

 and take up our position on several lofty grass-grown dunes close to 

 and overlooking another rookery of great size; this is Tolstoi, 



We have here the greatest hill slope of breeding seals on either 

 island, peculiarly massed on the abruptly sloiDing flanks of Tolstoi 

 Ridge, as it falls to the sands of English Bay and ends suddenly in 

 the precipitous termination of its own name, Tolstoi Point. Here the 

 seals are in some places crowded up to the enormous depth of 500 

 measured feet, from the sea margin of the rookery to its outer boundary 

 and limitation; and, when viewed as I viewed it in July, taking the 

 angles and lines shown on the accompanying sketch map, I consid- 

 ered it, with the blutf s terminating it at the south and its bold sweep, 

 which ends on the sands of English Bay, to be the most picturesque, 

 though it is not the most impressive, rookery on the island, especially 

 when that parade ground, lying just back and over the point and 

 upon its table-rock surface, is reached by the climbing seals. 



If the observer will glance at the map, he will see that the parade 

 ground in question lies directly over and about 150 feet above, the 

 breeding seals immediately under it. The sand-dune tracts which 

 border the great body of the rookerj^ seem to check the ' ' holluschickie " 

 from hauling to the rear, for sand drifts here, in a locality so high and 

 exposed to the full force of the wind, with more rapidity, and conse- 

 quently more disagreeable energy to the seals, than anywhere else on 

 the island. 



A comical feature of this rookery is the appearance of the foxes in 

 the chinks under the parade ground and interstices of the cliffs. Their 

 melanchol}^ barking and short yelps of astonishment as we walk about 

 contrast quite sensibly with the utter indifference of the seals to our 

 presence. 



From Tolstoi at this point, sweeping around 3 miles to Zapadnie, is 

 the broad sand reach of English Bay, upon which and back over its 

 gentlj^ rising flats are the great hauling grounds of the ' ' holluschickie, " 

 which I have indicated on the general mai?, and to which I made ref- 

 erence in a previous section of this chapter. Looking at the myriads 

 of "bachelor seals" sjiread out in their restless hundreds and hundreds 

 of thousands upon this ground, one feels the utter impotency of verbal 

 description, and reluctantly shuts his note and sketch books to gaze 

 upon it with renewed fascination and perfect helplessness. 



Tolstoi rookery has attained, I think, its utmost limit of expansion. 

 The seals have already pushed themselves as far out upon the sand at 

 the north as thej^ can or are willing to go, while the abrupt cliffs, hang- 

 ing over more than one-half of the sea margin, shut out all access to 

 the rear for the breeding seals. The natives said that this rooker}' 

 had increased verj^ much during the last four or five years prior to the 

 date of my making the accompanying survey. If it continues to 

 increase, the fact can be instantly noted by checking off the ground 

 and comparing it with the sketch map herewith presented. Tolstoi 

 rookery has 3,000 feet of sea margin, with an average depth of 150 

 feet, making ground for 225,000 breeding seals and their young. 



Zapadnie rookery. — From Tolstoi, before going north, we turn 

 our attention directly to Zapadnie on the west, a little over 2 miles as 

 the crow flies, across English Bay, Avhich lies between them. Here 

 again we find another magnificent rooker}^, with features peculiar to 

 itself, consisting of great wings separating, one from the other, by a 

 short stretch of 500 or GOO feet of the shunned sand reach which makes 



