ST. PAUL AND ST. GEORGE. 87 



The greatest length of either of these islands would be covered by 12 

 miles, while 6 would easily span them at their widest part. Otter and 

 Walrus islands, the former about 6 miles to the southward and the lat- 

 ter about 7 miles to the eastward of St. Paul, are mere rocky remnants 

 and now play no part as breeding grounds for the seal, and it is ques- 

 tionable if they ever did. The islands are far removed from other land 

 areas, the nearest point on the Aleutian Archipelago lying 20 miles to 

 the southward. 



As a result of the volcanic origin of the islands their shores are, with 

 few exceptions, either made up of bowlder-strewn lava ledges or covered 

 by jagged fragments of basalt of all sizes, the sharp edges of which are 

 only slightly worn by the seals' flippers or more completely rounded by 

 the waves at the water's edge. There are a few true sand beaches; 

 occasional level areas are found at the back of the rookeries, and in 

 some places between the rock masses comparatively smooth interspaces 

 occur, but even the level portions referred to must be reached by cross- 

 ing a wide belt of bowlders of all sizes that have been pushed landward 

 by the waves and by the ice which annually surrounds the islands. It 

 is upon such shores that the seal "rookeries" are located. Of the 

 ruggedness of these shores or of the irregularity and confusion of the 

 lava blocks that cover them it is difficult to form a picture, but it is in 

 a measure indicated in the accompanying photographs. 



BREEDING GROUNDS. 

 Page 91 of The Case. 



A rookery thus presents two distinct features structurally, while from 

 the standpoint of the seal life thereon there are 

 again the two well-recognized divisions of "breed- j. Stanley Brown, p. 12. 

 ing grounds " and " hauling grounds." The word 

 "rookery" is a general one and includes the specific terms "breeding 

 grounds" and "hauling grounds." 



In general and by preference the more rocky areas are selected by 

 the females as "breeding grounds," and here, of course, the breeding 

 bulls are found; while the young, immature males or bachelor seals 

 are relegated to the adjacent sandy shores or smoother spaces at the 

 rear of the rookeries for their " hauling grounds." 



Over these masses of rock the females scramble and stumble during 

 the entire breeding season, and in maintaining the control of his house- 

 hold the bull dashes here and there, striking repeatedly against the 

 sharp edges of the rocks with a force that to the onlooker would seem 

 to threaten his life. * * * 



Shoreward the limit of a breeding rookery is sometimes defined by 

 topographic conditions, as in the case of a bluff, but the seal life pres- 

 ent in any one year upon the breeding ground is the true standard for 

 the determination of boundaries. Upon the large scale charts A, B, 

 C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, will be seen the approximate areas occupied 

 as "breeding grounds" in 1891, as observed by me, while the areas for 

 certain previous years have been indicated by other observers. 



I made a survey of said islands and also of the seal rookeries on both 

 of said islands. The charts signed by me and 

 marked A, B, 0, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, and K were J- Stanley Brown, p. 20. 

 made by me during said survey of said rookeries 



