90 THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



which had been but thinly populated, if at all. An attempt to secure 

 even an approximative census of seals may well be regarded with sus- 

 picion. 



I believe that it is utterly impossible to even 

 J. H. Moulton, p. 71. approximately estimate the number of seals 

 which resort to these islands. I do not mean 

 that it is impossible to measure the breeding rookeries, for that can be 

 done by the use of surveyors' instruments with practical accuracy, but 

 after the measurements are made, it is impossible to estimate the num- 

 ber of seals contained in these areas, the ground being covered with 

 broken rocks of all sizes, some weighing over a ton, between which the 

 seals lie, so that where the large rocks are not so thick there will be a 

 greater number of seals; thus all over the rookeries the density of seal 

 life varies, and besides this the seals are constantly in motion, the fe- 

 males coming from and going to the water. I do not believe any esti- 

 mate of the number of seals on the islands heretofore made can be 

 relied upon at all, as there may in reality be twice as many seals as es- 

 timated, or half as many. 



It is utterly useless to endeavor to estimate the number of seals on 

 the islands. One might as well try to estimate a 



B. F. Scribner, p. 89. swarm of locusts, for they are constantly in mo- 

 tion, never for an instant seeming to be at rest. 

 The breeding rookeries can, of course, be measured from year to year, 

 and these measurements would show an increase or decrease of seal 

 life, for the harems on the rookery are in close proximity, whether there 

 are few or a great many of them. 



The areas covered by these rookeries are very broken and uneven, 

 on account of the huge masses of rock which are distributed in unequal 

 quantities over the surface of every rookery. Therefore, to count the 

 seals on a given area and use that to estimate the whole number on the 

 rookery would be absurd. The estimates of the number of seals which 

 have been made heretofore are entirely unreliable in my opinion, and 

 no dependence or calculations should be based on such guesses. 



But the number of seals can not be estimated with even approximate 

 accuracy, because of the roughness and unevenness of the ground, and 

 because, during the height of the season, a ma- 

 W. B. Taylor, p. 176. jority of the females (called cows) are out at sea 

 feeding, being often obliged to go 30 or more miles 

 from the islands for this purpose, and not returning till late at night. 

 I think the number of seals heretofore estimated has been largely ex- 

 aggerated, and no dependence can be placed on any estimate as to 

 their numbers. 



It is impossible to estimate with any sort of accuracy the number of 

 seals on the Pribilof Islands, because of the seals being constantly in 

 motion, and because the breeding grounds are so 

 Daniel Webster p. 181. covered with broken rocks of all sizes that the 

 density varies. I think all estimates heretofore 

 made are unreliable, and in the case of Elliot and others who have 

 endeavored to make a census of seal life, the numbers are, in my opin- 

 ion, exaggerated. 



