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ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



Smiday afternoon. — From the fact that this morning opened warm, 

 clear, and with bright sunshine, I did not expect to see any hauling of 

 the holluschickie. It has been the first day since the 12th instant, that 

 has not been suitable for hauling. The weather hitherto, has been 

 excellent. Lukannon beach is as bare as it was yesterday, and the two 

 small pods at English Bay remain at the close of the day, just as they 

 were hauled yesterday — no more of them. I rather expected to see them 

 all in the water, since it has been so warm, the first warm day of the year : 

 but they were not. 



It thickens up this evening and becomes cool. Not a seal on Zoltoi 

 sands this morning, and not one seen during the day. 



Monday, June 23, 1890. — Those two pods of holluschickie, which I 

 have observed under Middle Hill and Tolstoi during the last two days, 

 were driven up this morning. I began an itemized account of percent- 

 ages — the number driven up in each pod, and the number turned out 

 to the sea or rejected from it. 



«Pod No. 1 1 did not get a correct count of, so it is omitted. 



Eleven pods of 561 animals driven up ; 110 of them killed or one-fifth 

 taken, or 80 per cent turned away ! All under 7-pouud skins, with the 

 exception of a few wigged 4-year-olds and a dozen or two old bulls. 

 This gives a fair average of the whole drive to-day, some 2,500 animals, 

 since 518 only were taken. At this time in 1872, with the same stand- 

 ard of nothing under 7-pouud skins, 07ily 10 to 12 per cent were turned 

 away ! 



To-day all the seals taken, with the rare exceptions of a few 4-year- 

 olds (11-pound skins), were 3-year-olds (7i-pound skins). Not one 

 4-year-old in twenty taken, and a remarkable absence of 2-year-olds. 



Those turned away (nearly 2,000) were 95 per cent at least, "long" 

 and "short" yearlings. A few 5-year-old, and a very few 6year-old 

 bulls. A very, very few 2-year-olds also. 



A small pod of holluschickie made their appearance close up under 

 the bluft's of Zoltoi, 100 to 150 of them, at about 11 a. m. This calls to 

 my mind. Where have those tired seals gone which were driven this 

 morning, and let loose from the pods on the killing grounds into the 

 Lagoon slough, from there, direct to the seal Where do they go? Do 

 they haul up again"? Yes, everybody says so: and I do not know any- 

 thing to the contrary, and do know a great deal in affirmation. Then, 

 if that be so, these seals sx)ared to-day may he driven to-niorroiv: to be 

 spared aqain, and driven next weeTc, and so on all over the island through 

 the season. What indication, then, reaUy, have we of what number of 

 fresh holluschickie really arrive from this time forth, if these released 

 seals are to continually present themselves anew as they do? So, as 

 matters go, we will note the steady increase daily, of discarded seals 

 in the drives, together with the new arrivals or freshly driven seals, 

 throughout the killing season. 



In 1872-1874 this proportion of rejected or turned-away seals from 

 all the drives up to the 1st of July was not over 10 or 12 per cent of the 

 whole number driven. Now it is between 70 and 80 pei centj and 95 



