ON PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 275 



state of the rookeries in 1889 I carefully observed that in the majority 

 of cases the four and five years old males were allowed to drop out of a 

 " drive " before the bachelors had been driven auy distance from the 

 hauling grounds. These seals were let go for the sole purpose of sup- 

 plying- sufficient future breeders. 



I believe there has been a great decrease in the numbers of the fur- 

 seal species; I do not believe that there are now 

 one-tenth as many fur-seals frequenting the chas. J. Hague, p. 208. 

 Pribilof Islands as there were ten years ago. 



Nine or ten years ago, when lying off the Pribilof Islands in the fall, 

 the young seals used to play in the water about the vessel in large num- 

 bers; in going to the westward in the month of May many seals were 

 always to be seen between Unalaska and the Four Mountain Islands. 

 In midsummer, when making passages between Unalaska and the Prib- 

 ilofif Islands, used to see large bodies of fur seals feeding — they were 

 invariably to be met with most numerously about GO miles north -north- 

 west true from Unalaska, and from there up to the islands a continuous 

 stream of seals was to be seen moving to and from the feeding grounds. 



When last I visited the rookeries three years ago, in 1889, I noticed 

 a great shrinkage in the area covered by seals on the rookeries. 



In 1886 and 1887 there appeared to be enough seals and the men 

 were kept pretty steadily at work after the first 

 few days of the season until the catch was com- Alex. Hansson, p. 11Q. 

 pleted. Good-sized skins were taken in these 



years and there was no trouble in getting them, but large seals grew 

 very scarce on the island in 1888, and still more so in the three follow- 

 ing years. * * * 



I am sure the size of the rookeries on St. Paul Island and the num- 

 ber of seals on them in 1891 were less than one-half of their size wnd 

 number in 1880. 



Coincident with the increase of hunting seals in the sea there was 

 an increase in the death rate of pup seals on the 

 rookeries ; also a perceptible diminution of female ir> S. Hereford, p. 32. 

 seals. As hunting increased it became self-evi- 

 dent, even to the most casual observer, that the rookeries were becom- 

 ing devastated. It is positively a fact that there are not near as 

 many seals occupying the rookeries now, at the present time, as there 

 were when I first saw the islands. The vacant spaces on the breeding 

 and hauling grounds have increased in size from year to year since 

 1881, and have been very noticeable for the last four or five years. 



When I first went to the seal islands the seals were actually increas- 

 ing in numbers instead of diminishing. Two facts presented them- 

 selves to me later on: 



First. Seals were arriving each year in diminished numbers. 



Second. At the same time that the female seals were decreasing in 

 numbers the number of dead pups on the rookeries was increasing. 



The indiscriminate slaughter of seals in the water has so depleted 

 their number that the company is at present unable to get their quota 

 of skins on the island as allowed per contract with the Government, 

 and is restricted to such an insignificant number that it is not enough 

 to supply food to the native population of the islands. 



It is an indisputable fact that large portions of the breeding rookeries 



