DEAD PUPS AT NORTHEAST POINT. 403 



dead bulls. Mr. ;M;u()iiii, Laving tiiiislicd liis pliotograpliing, entered upon the work 

 at this point. 



To the foot of Hutchinson Hill there are -55 dead pups. There are 2 additional 

 dead bulls and 7 dead cows. 



Under Hutchinson Hill is another sandy area like that on Tolstoi, and rivaling 

 it in deadly et!ect. In this tract there were 8S7 dead pups; 10 dead cows, and 1 dead 

 bnll. 



Professor Thonii)son suggests as a result of examination that the ])U])S with brown 

 bellies and brown shades upon the axilary parts are females, while those jtlain black 

 on the belly as well as above are males. This should be verified.' 



A small living pup found with a patch 2 inches square torn from Lis back, the 

 wound full of pus; it is unable to use its hind flippers, but seems active in spite of the 

 injury. The pup was killed, as it could not be expected to recover. 



One fine i)ure white albino pup, large and strong, was found which was blind but 

 very active. It took hold of a notebook and shook it violently. The yellowish 

 substance which coats the lips and teeth of the pup appears as a yellow brown stain 

 on the book. As he is blind, and therefore worthless, his skin is taken for museum 

 purposes. 



The great patch northwest of Hutchinson Hill begins beyond the sandy tract 

 with hard smooth ground containing many rocks which are, however, too small and 

 too far apart to be of use. The corner next the hauling ground on the eastern side 

 of Hutchinson Hill is very bad ; some other places are moderately so. 



The bulls on Northeast Point are unusually ugly. The young bulls, with large 

 harems behind the rookery, are easily driven. Many old ones with one or two cows 

 on the rookery grounds can not be budged even now.' 



The day is wonderfully clear, giving a beautiful prospect from Hutchinson Hill of 

 the ocean and the island. Walrus Island shows distinctly in the distance. 



The bad place directly under Hutchinson Hill is composed of smooth hard gi-ound 

 with no depressions. It can easily be mended by rolling in stones after the breeding- 

 season. In the breeding season, it is no more possible to inspect the inside of a 

 rookery than the lair of a bear. Hence small rookeries which can be overlooked from 

 cliffs have been studied instead of large ones. One studying only small rookeries has 

 no idea of the difference of conditions on the large ones. 



One greatly emaciated pup, apparently dead, proves to be insensible, but still 

 alive. It is killed and its skin taken. A pup with an eye full of pus seems to be-very 

 active. Some little i)ups show evidence of starving; the fat is disappearing from their 

 shoulders and rum}); their ribs feel bare. Such jjups do not grow. Their weight is 

 not half as great as that of well-fed pups. 



'Later observations at the time of tlie examination of pups, to itetermiue tlie relative proportions 

 of the sexes, showed this not to be the case. Doubtless the browu-belliid pups are those destiueil to 

 bepome the silvery throated animals. 



• It became evident in 1897 that the idle bulls do not Itecome fixed in their positions in and about 

 the rookeries muih before the arrival of the cows about the middle of .June, where,as the rejfnlar harem 

 masters take their plaees e.arly in May. It is doubtless the earliest arrivals which leave first, and the 

 idle biills whieh have fasted for a shorter period are still comparatively fresh. These are the ones 

 which stand their ground in August. 



