THE COURSE. 177 



I seldom see an old bull, and when I do he is much farther from land, 

 and it is early in the season. 



The seals appear off the coast outside of the heads in the early part 

 of January. They are traveling" all the time 



north, and from that time on to June they are William K. Long, $.457, 

 traveling towards the Bering Sea. 



Q. "When does sealing commence in the Pacific and when does it 

 end? — A. It commences about the 1st of January 

 and ends about the last of June. Charles Lutjens, p. 458. 



Q. When does sealing commence in the Bering 

 Sea and when does it end? — A. Sealing commences in the Bering Sea 

 about the f>th of July and ends about the middle of September. 



Q. Judgiug by the direction that seals were traveling in the spring 

 of the year, during your experience, where do you suppose was their 

 destination? — A. The Bering Sea. 



First seal were taken off Cape Flattery about George McAlpine, p. 266. 

 the middle of February. We followed them up 

 the coast as far as Mount Edgecumbe. 



Have hunted from San Francisco to Kadiak. j. d. McDonald. 2>- 266. 

 First start to hunt about the last of March. They 

 are constantly on the move up the coast. 



The fact remains, however, that the great mass of the pups migrate 

 with their elders down through the passes between 

 the islands of the Aleutian Archipelago into the h. r. Mclntyrep. 42. 

 North Pacific, and are found at any time during 



the winter months east of longitude 17(P west and north of latitude 35° 

 north. Toward spring they appear in increasing numbers off the coasts 

 of California, Oregon, and Washington, and as the season advances 

 still farther north along the British Columbia and Alaska coasts in 

 March and April; thence westerly in May and June and July until 

 they reappear in Bering Sea. The course pursued by the seals in their 

 migration is, to some extent, a matter of conjecture, and the knowl- 

 edge upon which evidence is given concerning it can not of course be 

 based upon actual personal cognizance by any one man of all the facts 

 from which the conclusion is reached; but it is, nevertheless, I have no 

 doubt, as accurately stated in this paragraph as is warranted by any 

 series of observations. 



The pups which I have so far followed in their first migratory round, 

 now appear as " yearlings." They spend perhaps the greater por- 

 tion of their time, the second summer, in the water, until the latter 

 part of August and September, when they come upon the land, both 

 sexes herding together indiscriminate]}'. They are not at this time, nor 

 are their elders, particularly timid. Upon the near approach of a human 

 form they start toward the water, but generally stop and look about 

 them, unless closely followed, without any indication of fear, and leis- 

 urely proceed to the beach, or again lie down upon the sand or rocks. 

 The same demeanor in the water, when about the islands, as they calmly 

 float upon the surface until a boat is almost upon them before they 

 awaken to any sense of danger, seems to indicate that they feel at home 

 on and about the islands. 



They again migrate southward for the second time, upon the approach 

 12 b s 



