308 OUR ARCTIC PROVINCE. 



of former multitudes could be observed upon the seal-grounds of 

 St. Paul and St. George. 



On the Lagoon rookery, now opposite the village of St. Paul, 

 there were then only two males, with a number of cows. At Nah 

 Speel, close by and right under the village, there were then only 

 some two thousand. This the natives know, because they counted 

 them. On Zapadnie there were about one thousand cows, bulls, 

 and pups ; at Southwest Point there were none. Two small rook- 

 eries were then on the north shore of St. Paul, near a place called 

 " Maroonitch ; " and there were seven small rookeries running 

 round Northeast Point, but on all of these there were only fifteen 

 hundred males, females, and young ; and this number includes the 

 "holluschickie," which, in those days, lay in among the breeding- 

 seals, there being so few old males that they were gladly permitted 

 to do so. On Polavina there were then about five hundred cows, 

 bulls, pups, and " holluschickie ; " on Lukannon and Keetavie, 

 about three hundred ; but on Keetavie there were only ten bulls 

 and so few young males lying in altogether that these old natives, as 

 they told me, took no note of them on the rookeries just cited. 

 On the Reef, and Gorbatch, were about one thousand only. In this 

 number last mentioned some eight hundred "holluschickie " may 

 be included, which laid with the breeding-seals. There were only 

 twenty bulls on Gorbatch, and about ten old males on theEeef. 



Such, briefly and succinctly, is the sum and the substance of 

 all information which I could gather prior to 1835-36 ; and while 

 I do not entirely credit these statements, yet the earnest, straight- 

 forward agreement of the natives has impressed me so that I nar- 

 rate it here. It certainly seems as though this enumeration of the 

 old Aleutes was painfully short. 



Then, again, with regard to the probable truth of the foregoing 

 statement of the natives, perhaps I should call attention to the fact 

 that the entire sum of seal-life in 1836, as given by them, is just 

 four thousand one hundred, of all classes, distributed as I have in- 

 dicated above. Now, on turning to Bishop Veniaminov, by whom 

 was published the only statement of any kind in regard to the kill- 

 ing on these islands from 1817 to 1837 (the year when he finished 

 his work), I find that he makes a record of slaughter of seals in the 

 year 1836 of four thousand and fifty-two, which were killed and 

 taken for their skins ; but if the natives' statements are right, then 

 only fifty seals were left on the island for 1837, in which year, 



