72 BULLETIN OF THK UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



the big ones commence to fight each other immeiliately upon the halt beiug made. Only one single 

 seal dropped voluntarily out of the line on the roiid, viz, a large and particularly fat half-bull that 

 got tired very early. 



The killing gang arrived from the village in two boats a little after 7 a. m. Six men with nicely 

 liuished oaken clubs did the killing while the others were skinuiug. Mr. True and 1 took the tally 

 of each of the first ten "pods" of seals as they were separated oil' from the big herd to be killed. 

 These "pods" consisted of from 1.5 to 40 seals, averaging about 25. Of these the killing gang clubbed 

 to death those Avhicb appeared to come within the required size; the others, being either too large or 

 too small, were allowed to escape to the beach ilose by. About .50 per cent were thus turned away, 

 about one-half consisting of too sm.all seals, the other half of too Large ones. The killing was over at 

 10.30 a. m., about .500 skins having been secured. It is to be uoted that no female was observed auioug 

 the seals driven. 



On the whole the art'air was conducted with care, although a certain hurry in order to get through 

 as soon as possible was quite manifest. This haste, probably due to a desire to be back in the distant 

 village before diuner, was responsible for the less deliberate way in which the "pods" to be killed 

 were cut out from the main herd. This resulted in great worry and cousei|ueut heating of the remain- 

 ing seals, which made it necessary to drive them repeatedly into the ice-cold waters of an adjacent 

 pond in order to cool them oft'. This necessity was rather startling in view of the chilliness of the 

 atmosphere and the long rest enjoyed by the seals between the drive and the killing. 



Apart from its length — about 2 miles — this drive must be characterized as very 

 easy. An inspection of the ground over which the drives from some of the other rook- 

 eries must travel impressed me, however, with the fact that not all the seals on St. Paul 

 Island are let oft" as easily. Mr. True also informs me that this impression is correct, 

 and that the drive we witnessed iu company was rather easier than the average. 



I will now submit a description of a few characteristic drives observed by me on 

 the Commander Islands. The first one (which took place during the palmy days of 

 the business on these islands) occuired on July 13, 1883. A thousand seals were to 

 be taken from the Pestshaui hauling-grounds (p. 49), G-linka, Copper Island, to finish 

 up the catch of the .season. 



We started out at 4 o'clock in the morning from Glinka village. The weather was very dis- 

 agreeable. A wet, gray fog concealed everything, ])reventing us from seeing 20 paces ahead. The 

 thermometer indicated +43'^' F. Tlie patii, whiidi in two places rises to over 800 feet above the sea, 

 with a drop of 500 feet and another rise of nearly 200 feet between them, was slippery in the extreme, as 

 the protracted rain had softened the clayey ground. After a very tiresome walk of nearly an hour we 

 halted on top of the third hill, where we had a pretty good view of Festshani hauling-ground, as the 

 foghad lifted somewhat by this time. The projecting jioint of the beach, so named, was densely covered 

 by a black mass of bachelor seals, which here haul out by themselves in large numbers apart from the 

 breeding-ground. When the last of the gang of about 20 men had arrived the lino of action was 

 decided upon, the chief assigning to each man his duty, and the whole crowd ran or slid down the steep, 

 grassy descent about 700 feet in one continuous slope. 



We approached the compact mass of bachelors rapidly. The nearest animals showed signs of 

 uneasiness upon our coming within ,50 feet of them. The chief then ordered "Go ahead," and we all 

 made a rush to cut the big herd oft' from the sea. Those located near the water's edge were successfully 

 intimidated along the whole line and prevented from seeking s.afety in the sea; they fell back upon 

 those behind, thus eftectually barring them, and soon the whole mass was surrounded and slowly moving 

 away from the water until 8toppe<l by the precipitous walls of the coast escarpment. The flock thus 

 secured consisted of about 2,000 bachelor seals of various ages. As rigorous orders had been received 

 not to accept skins under 8 pounds, the sorting would have to be very careful, hence the necessity of a 

 large number to select from. 



The whole regiment of .seals were now divided into companies, which were driven slowly along 

 the escarpment to the steps built of driftwood (see fig. h, pi. 58). These were ascended with but little 

 difticulty. Altogether, ten companies were formed, each driven by two men. A space of several 

 hundred yards was allowed between each section. 



The progress was slow, averaging less than a mile an hour. There was consequently good oppor- 



