ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 707 



been "scraped up" od tlie rookery margins by the native drivers, while 

 put to another use by Mr. Elliott, should be borne in mind when con- 

 sidering the value of the contention that the rookeries were in 1890 

 deficient in male life for breeding purposes. One who has seen the 

 herd of idle bulls during the past two seasons lying among the bache- 

 lors or between the bachelors and the cows on this rookery, can easily 

 understand that in 1890, as at the present time, there was a surplus of 

 idle bulls which could not get harems on account of the dearth of cows. 

 Page 354: We have already shown the falsity of this statement here 

 repeated that "since that time (1857 or 1872) up to 1882, beyond a few 

 small drives made early in June for food, no seals in considerable num- 

 bers had been drawn from the hauling grounds of Polovina," etc. It is 

 w^orth while to cite a few figures from the record of killings (Murray's 

 report, 1894, Vol. II, p. 258). The following is the record for Polovina: 



1876 811 1879 3,650 



1877 2,849 1880 4,968 



1878 3,710 1881 a2,131 



Like results are fonnd on investigating Zapadni, or Southwest Bay, 

 as it was called in the early days. Southwest Point here and elsewhere 

 mentioned was never a breeding ground and only a temporary overHow 

 hauling ground. It is still the favorite hauling ground of young luilf 

 bulls. The reference here to Soutliwest Point is plainly for the purpose 

 of misleading, as in the whole period of twenty years only two drives 

 had been made from this hauling ground. These occurred in 1886. 



Page 357: The close inspection of Sea Lion Eock during the seasons 

 of 1890 and 1897 gives no reason for supposing that it has not always 

 been a breeding ground for the seals. The statements regarding its 

 exposed condition and the wisdom of the seals in avoiding it are abun- 

 dantly disproved by the fact that they breed there now, the rookery 

 being in fact nearly as large as Lagoon. The islet is not unduly 

 exposed and is protected from the north and westerly storms by Keef 

 Peninsula itself. The truth probably is that Mr. IDlliott failed to inspect 

 the rookery in 1872. There is no evidence tliat he visited it in 1890. It 

 is not necessary to suppose any more difficult reason for the occupation 

 of this rock as a breeding ground than the fact of its suitability for 

 such purposes and its i»roximity to Keef rookery. 



Page 359 : Mr. Elliott liere says that " the scantiness of the St. George 

 rookeries is due to the configuration of the island itself." This may be 

 true, but it does not accord well with Mr. Elliott's statements that when 

 the rookeries were teeming with seals in 1872-1874 they only covered 

 one-half the shore space they occupied in 1890, after being reduced 

 one-half. 



Page 361 : Mr. Elliott attempts to account for this absurd increase in 

 the shore extension of the St. George rookeriesby the theory that it "is 

 due to that rough driving of the sealing gangs along the rookery margins 

 during the last six or seven years. This scraping has the decided effect 

 of forcing the outside harems lying farthest back from the water," etc. 

 He continues to draw a picture of the evil effects of this supposed 

 result of an imagined cause by saying that when storms prevail "thou- 

 sands and tens of thousands of pups within the reach of the surf are 

 destroyed." This is a fair specimen of Mr. Elliott's generalizations. 

 By his own figures Zapadni rookery had in 1890 only 12,500 "bulls, 

 cows, and pups." 



a Two other drives were made in this year, but were combined with seals from 

 Lukanin, and the proportion can not be deteimined. 



