180 MIGRATION OF THE HERD. 



From the islands the pup with his fellows goes southward, passing 

 through the passes between the Aleutian Islands, 



T. F. Morgan, p. 62. and holds its course still south till' lost sight of in 

 the ocean. From this time until the herd reap- 

 pears off the Californiau coast their course is a matter of belief; but 

 from information of sea captains of coasting vessels who have sailed 

 during the winter, seals during December and the first part of January 

 are found heading southeastwardly toward the Californiau coast. In 

 January and February they begin to appear along that coast; then 

 turning northward they proceed along the coast, reaching Vancouver 

 Island about March, the Southern Alaska coast in April and May, and 

 in June the herd reenters Bering Sea and proceeds again to their island 

 home. It is impossible to state the course or exact time of migration 

 with complete accuracy, but this course here designated I believe to be 

 approximately correct. The pups which left the island the year before 

 have now become ''yearlings," the males and females herding together 

 indiscriminately and not coining on shore until sometime in August or 

 September; they also leave the islands a little earlier than the first 

 year and make the same course of migration as before. On their sec- 

 ond return to the island as "two-year-olds" the sexes separate, the fe- 

 males going on the breeding rookeries where they are fertilized by the 

 bulls, and the males hauling up with the nonbreeding males, called 

 "bachelors," on the so-called "hauling grounds." The "two-year- 

 olds" again migrate southward over the same course as formerly. On 

 their return to the islands the female goes again to the breeding rook- 

 eries and there brings forth her first pup. From this time forward she 

 iucroases the seal herd by one pup annually, and the male of the same 

 age is on the hauling grounds and is now considered of a killable age. 



The fourth and fifth migrations are practically the same as the third. 



Matthew Morris, p. 286. First took the seal off this island [Prince of 

 Wales] in May. 



The seal first come into Dixons Entrance in March. The weather is 

 bad during that month, and I do not hunt them 



Nashtou, p. 298. in canoes< The seal are constantly on the move, 



north. 



Always hunted fur-seal between March and June. They make their 



appearance in March in Dixons Entrance, but at 



Smith Natch, p. 298. that time of the year the weather is so bad we 



can't hunt them. May is the best time to hunt 



them, because the weather is always good. They all disappear in June 



and go north up the coast — I think, to have their pups. 



When I was a boy I hunted seal in Dixons Entrance and off Queen 



Charlottes Islands. Always hunted during April 



Dan. Nathlan, p. 286. and May In Juue the seal aU leave, going 



north. 



Hunt in Dixons Entrance and Queen Charlotte Sound. The seal 



make their appearance the last of March and dis- 



Jos. m?Maith,p. 287. appear tlie lst f June, and I hunt them during 



that time. 



