FUR SEALS AND OTHER LIFE, PRIBILOF ISLANDS, I914. 121 



It will be seen that up to 1882 most of the sea lions killed were driven from North- 

 east Point to the village. This was done to avoid ha^^ng to transport the meat and skins. 

 It was necessary to let the huge animals travel very slowly, and from four to six days 

 were required for the journey of 12 miles. After 1882 the animals became scarcer and 

 more wary, and it became difficult to get enough together to make it profitable to conduct 

 drives. 



In 1 89 1 a few only were killed, mainly pups taken for food. In 1892 about 50, 

 mainly pups, were taken. In 1893 about 35 were killed; in 1894, 96; in 1895, 17 (bulls); 

 in 1896, 25; in 1897, 22; in 1898, 33 (bulls). From 1899 to 1909 only a few were killed 

 annually to furnish skins for covering the bidarras, but the number had then become so 

 reduced as to lead the agent to believe that it would be ad\'isable not to kill any more 

 for several years. Within the last 10 years the number has slowly decreased. In the 

 summer of 1904 there were on the breeding rookerj' at Northeast Point about 30 bulls 

 and 200 cows. In the summer of 1914 there were about 20 breeding bulls and some- 

 what over 100 cows. 



On St. George Island the location of the breeding rookery does not readily allow 

 driving, as the animals lie at the foot of bluffs and are difficult to approach. No figures 

 as to the numbers killed are available, but it is known that in former years a great many 

 were taken, probably being driven from the hauling grovmds near East Rookery where 

 about 50 were seen in July, 1914. Comparatively few have been killed in recent years. 

 No reliable data as to the number breeding on St. George Island are at hand, but it is 

 thought that there are fewer than on St. Paul. 



MEASURES FOR PRESERVATION. 



Although the sea lions are no longer of great economic importance to the inhabitants 

 of the Pribilof Islands, it seems desirable to preser\^e the remnants of the herds now exist- 

 ing there. The species is not of general distribution in the North Pacific, but is confined 

 to certain restricted and widely separated localities. Of these the Pribilof Islands con- 

 stitute one of the most northerly stations. In most other parts of its range the animals 

 are subjected to persecution and are being rapidly extirpated. On the Pribilof Islands — 

 a Government reservation — the sea-lion herds are protected from indiscriminate killing 

 without special expense or trouble, and an excellent opportunity is afforded to preserx^e 

 for all time small herds of these highly interesting animals. The herds may be drawn 

 upon from time to time to furnish scientific specimens to museums and a few may be 

 killed for other special purposes, but they should not be exterminated. The presence of 

 these small herds is not detrimental to the more numerous and valuable seals, and their 

 preservation as an example of an imposing and highly interesting form of wild life seems 

 to be highlv desirable. 



THE BIRDS. 



Even to the casual \dsitor, not especially interested in ornithology, the bird life of the 

 Pribilof Islands affords an experience which never fails to call forth expressions of wonder 

 and admiration, while to the naturalist the teeming hordes are a constant delight. Taken 

 as a whole, the islands present an array of bird life scarcely equaled in the world. Nearly 

 100 species have been detected on the Pribilof s, and of these about 20 species breed there. 

 With a few exceptions the breeding species exist by tens of thousands and nest in large 



