55"2 THE FUR SP:ALS of the PKir.ILOF ISLANDS. 



these bulls come and go rfgiilarly I'rom the water. This has also been noted on 

 Lukauiu rookery. At the killings the relative proportion oi' rejeeted seals has 

 changed. In the earlier killings the large seals outnumbered the small two to one. 

 Since the 6th of tliis inontli the small ones have been iu the majority. Not only have 

 the large ones declined in proportion to the little ones, but the number of large ones 

 from any particular rookery has steadily diminished. For example, ouO large seals 

 were rejected from Keef and /oltoi on June 2,;; on July 5 there were 229. These 

 young half bulls are now hanging about the water front or in the rear of the rookeries, 

 and are therefore not picked up iu the drives. 



MR. Lucas's notes. 



East rookery has shrunken away from its position of last year, judging by 

 photographs and maps. The western portion hardly comes up on the hillside, there 

 being only one good-si/.ed harem there. Tlie beach portion to the westward is very 

 thinly populated. The branded cow with her pup is under the clitt' portion of the 

 rookery. There is no question about the distinctness of the brand. 



East rookery has 128 harems, 1,.53.3 cows, and 41 idle bulls. 



Visiting North rookery this afternoon I find that the aspect of afiairs has 

 materially changed during the last two days, and it would seem that the count has 

 been made at the time of the greatest stability of harems and when probably the most 

 cows are ashore. 



JULY 11. 



This is St. Paul's day and a great holiday for the Aleuts. The Ornnt touched in 

 on her return trip from the Commander Islands and held her anchorage oif East 

 Landing during the <lay. She was joined by the Hush in the afternoon. 



The Amphitheater has 703 cows on it to-day. For 13S cows in 7 harems there are 

 150 pups. These harems are so situated as to make the count of pups certain. This 

 evidently indicates a large absence of cows, as many of those present are still gravid, 

 but the steady increase on the breeding ground shows that the incoming cows exceed 

 the outgoing. 



A count of cows on Lukanin still shows increase. There are 1,75.5 today. There 

 is a marked change in the appearance of the rookery within the past day or two. The 

 former comi)act appearance of the harems is gone. The cows are scattering out so that 

 the harems can not be clearly tleliued. Under the circumstances it becomes difHcult 

 to count the entire rookery, and the count may soon have to be discontinued. This 

 thinning out is evidently due in part to shifting of the cows, but also in part to absence 

 of cows from the places they have heretofore occupied. 



MR. LUCAS'S NOTES. 



The hillside of Zapadni is more dense than last year, and so far as one can judge 

 there are actually more seals. The northernmost patch, however, is now a thin line, 

 and the middle portion has shrunk percejitibly. This year these two sections contain 

 39 harems and 431 cows. Last year they contained G(i harems and 916 cows. The 

 dense southern mass can not be comited. There are not far from 65 harems altogether. 

 This was estimated last year at 1 ,200 (h)ws in 75 harems. The idle l)nlls on this rookery 

 are as numerous and tierce as ever. 



