558 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PKIBILOF ISLANDS. 



The branded cow is gone from Lukaniu this moruiiig. She was present nursing 

 her pup on the evening of the 13th. 



GORBATCH AND REEF. 



A count of harems ou Gorbatch rookery shows a total of 308. Tlie count of 

 harems for hvst year was 302. The present count is manifestly more complete than 

 that of last season, because it is possible to reacli observation i)oints comniandini; 

 paits of the rookery, which could not be reached last year when this rookery was 

 couuted on the 16th. This fact in itself is the surest indication of decrease in the 

 rookery. Therefore, though more harems are shown in 181)7, it means simply that iu 

 1896 a portion of the rookery had to be estimated or imperfectly counted, and tlie 

 result fell below the actual facts. 



It was impossible last year, for example, to reach Old John's liock or the hill to 

 the uorth of it, nor could the crest of the slope be reached at any point up to where 

 the cinder slo])e begins because of the presence of idle bulls. A large harem lay at 

 the foot of Old John's Hock and several harems were on the hill. To-day the harems 

 are far from either place, and the line of idle bulls is some distance below the crest of 

 the slope. 



At the western extremity of Gorbatch rookery a bull has a harem of 150 cows 

 lying on a flat triangular shelf of rock which breaks oil' iu sheer clifts on two sides. 

 The bull is able to control the great body of seals because of the partic'ularly 

 advantageous ])osition he holds, liaving to guard only one side of the triangle. 



The count of harems on the IJeef is completed this morning. There are iO harems 

 in the section lying between the western end and the tirst bachelor runway. There 

 are 51 bulls on the flat in the two large wedge shaped bunches of seals about the 

 ponds. This gives a total of 45t harems for Beef rookery. 



There has been a tremendous falling ofl' in the large patches on tlie Keef. They 

 fall much farther short of the crosses and are much thinner throughout. For these 

 two masses last year 100 harems were estimated where there are only 51 to day. 



The harem between Ardiguen and Reef Toint is still there with four cows. There 

 is a marked jjersistency iu the way the seals coutinne to haul out in these places. At 

 the beginning of Gorliatch there was last year a harem with a single cow on the 

 Zoltoi side of the point. There is a single harem there this year with U cows. 



ST. GEORGE ISLAND. 



In the afternoon I went on board the Hush and was landed in the evening on St. 

 George Island. 



I visited Little East rookery in the evening in conii)auy with Mr. Dutiield, who also 

 visited St. George for the purpose of planning the work of the survey for this island. 

 A count of cows on this rookery by harems gave the following results: 



Total (OWcS 487 



Total liaiems 48 



Averaa:e bareiii 10. 1 



