REPORT OF BRITISH COMMISSIONERS. 63 



in the longitude of the Pribyloff Islands, from the Aleutian chain north- 

 ward to about the 59th degree of latitude, includes the whole vicinity 

 of the western Aleutian Ishmds, and spreads again to a greater width 

 with the Commander Islands as a centre. 



217. In 1891 the area of abundant seals about the Pribyloft" Islands 

 appeared to be not only changed in form, but considerably reduced iu 

 size in the second monthly period; while that of scattered seals was 

 not only changed iu form, but much enlarged in area. It appears, that 

 in most years, in the later summer this area of scattered seals extends 

 to the north-east of the Commander Islands, quite to, or even beyond, 

 the 60th i)arallel of north latitude. This particular extension is prob- 

 ably to be explained by the drift of that branch of the Japan current 

 which flows through the western part of Behring Sea, assisted by the 

 prevailiug southerly winds in the same part of the sea in June and 

 July;* while the comparatively restricted spread in a northward direc- 

 tion iu the eastern part of the sea may be similarly connected with the 



general movement of the water from north to south in that region. 

 36 218. The northern outline of this wider region of scattered 



seals iu the second monthly period, may be practically assumed 

 as that of the normal range of the fur-seal to the north, and is adopted 

 as such on one of the accompanying maps. On other maps the outlines 

 of the areas of abundant and scattered seals in each monthly period are 

 shown. The extreme northern range of the fur-seal, however, extends 

 far beyond the line just referred to, for Captain Healey and Lieutenant 

 Jarvis, of the United States Eevenue Cruizer "Bear," state that fur- 

 seals are occasionally seen by whalers as far as St. Lawrence Island, and 

 even on the northern shores of that island. They also found iu 1891, at 

 Cape Tchaplin or Indian Point on the Siberian coast, the natives in 

 possession of a few skins of old bull seals, which they stated had been 

 taken near St. Lawrence Island. Our own inquiries on that island and 

 at Plover Bay on the Siberian coast were purely negative as regards 

 fur-seals, though hair seals, including the rare banded or ribbon seal 

 {Histrloplioca fasciata), were being taken by the Tuskis iu nets. It 

 was, however, further ascertained that one or two instances had occurred 

 of old male seals being taken near St, Michael, not far from the Yukon 

 mouth, and it is therefore probable that a line drawn from Cape Tchap- 

 lin to this place may be considered as defining the extreme maximum 

 northern range of the fur-seal of the North Pacific. This limit, how- 

 ever, appears to be but rarely attained, and then only by mature and old 

 males, which have probably become useless on the breeding rookeries, 

 and have been driven or have wandered away alone far from their kind. 

 219. With the idea that the general distribution of the fur seals iu 

 Behring Sea, from the breeding islands as centres, might show some 

 direct relation to the prevailiug winds, meteorological observations 

 made during the summer by ourselves and on several of the cruizers 

 were sent to the Meteorological Department of Canada, and were there, 

 under the direction of Mr. Carpmael, analyzed by Mr. Stupart, who 

 prepared wind-roses for each of the monthly periods for the vicinity of 

 the Pribyloff Islands. The observations taken near the Commander 

 Islands were, however, insufficient for such treatment. The wind-roses 

 thus obtained for the vicinity of the Pribyloff Islands were then com- 

 pared, both in a direct and in an inverse sense, with the outlines of the 

 area of abundant seals, but without bringing to light auy manifest con- 

 nection of the kind conjectured, though there appeared to be a slight 

 balance of evidence iu favour of the belief that the seals tended rather to 



" See Maps 37 and 39, " Challenger Expedition Report," Physics and Chemisty, vol. ii. 



