140 ALASKA. 



lioints close to tlie water. The cows, pups, aud those bulls 

 which have been iu retirement, now take possession, in a very 

 disorderly manner, of the rookeries; also, come a large number 

 of young, three, four, and tive year old males, who have not 

 been permitted to laud among the cows, during the rutting- 

 season, by the older, stronger bulls, who have savagely fought 

 them ofl' whenever they made (as thej' constantly do) an attempt 

 to land. 



Three-fourths, at least, of the cows are now off in the water, 

 only coming ashore to nurse and look after their pups a short 

 time. They lie idly out in the rollers, ever and anon turuiug 

 over and over, scratching their backs and sides with their fore 

 and hind flippers. i^Tothing is more suggestive of immense 

 comfort and enjoyment than is this action of these animals. 

 They appear to get very lousy on the breeding-ground, and the 

 frequent winds and showers drive and spatter sand into their 

 fur and eyes, making the latter quite sore iu many cases. They 

 also pack the soil under foot so hard and solid that it holds 

 water in the surface depressions, just like so many rock basins, 

 on the rookery; out and into these i^uddles they flounder and 

 i:>atter incessantly, until evaporation slowly abates the nuisance. 



The pups sometimes get so thoroughly plastered in these 

 muddy, slimy puddles, that their hair falls oft" in patches, giving 

 them the appearance of being troubled with scrofula or some 

 other plague, at first sight, but they are not, from my observa- 

 tion, permanently injured. 



Early in August (8th) the pups that are nearest the water on 

 the rookeries essay swimming, but make slow and clumsy prog- 

 ress, floundering about, when over head in depth, iu the most 

 awkward manner, thrashing the water with their fore flippers, 

 not using the hinder ones. In a few seconds, or a minute at 

 the most, the youngster is so weary that he crawls out ui)on 

 the rocks or beach, and immediately' takes a reCui)erative luip, 

 repeating the lesson as quick as he awakes and is rested. Tiiey 

 soon get familiar with the water, and delight in it, swimming 

 in endless evolutions, twisting, turning, diving, and when ex- 

 hausted, they draw up on the beach again, shake themselves as 

 young dogs do, either going to sleep on the spot, or having a 

 lazy frolic among themselves. 



In this matter of learning to swim, I have not seen any 

 " driving" of the young pups into the water by the old iu order 



