39 



without dilTiciilty. The drivers took their positions one on each Hank to repress 

 any Literal niovoinents and the tliird hroni;ht up the rear. Theie was no noise or 

 conlusion. In j;eneral the seals were allowed to take their own time and go at their 

 own pace. Those in the advance acted as leaders and the rest oC the Hock followed 

 naturally after them. At the beginning the seals showed some relmtauce in leaving 

 their hauliig grounds and made inetii'ectual attemjjts to break away. But after the 

 drive got under v\ ay they moved forward ap]iarently as a matter of course. Wlieu 

 the leaders showed an inclination to take a wrong course the men on the flank sim- 

 ply stood uj) and raised a hand, whicli was sufficient to turn them back into the way. 

 For the most part the men Icept out (tf sight of the seals. 



" The seals on the drive do not keep up a continuous motion. They take ten or a 

 dozen steps and then^t down like dogs to rest and pant, resuming their way when 

 they lind that their companions have gone on. The leaders set the example, and as 

 they are rested by the time the rear members of the herd have come to a standstill, 

 they move on and are ready to stop l>y the time the rear gua' d have started. The 

 result is that some part of tlie herd is nu)ving all the time and the progression is 

 continuous. 



•'There is a tendency on the part of the young seals to go faster than the older 

 ones, of which a large number were included. By a gradual sifting process the old 

 fellows fell to the rear and on se\'eral occasions pods of from ado/en to twenty were 

 cut off and allowed to return to the sea. 



"All the seals and especially the larger ones s'lowed signs of fatigue. They 

 appeared to be hot and excited, and a cloud of steam rose constantly from tlie mov- 

 ing animals. This steam had a strong musky smell. Wlieii tlie herd stoji[)ed, indi- 

 vi(lual seals would often sjjrawl out on the ground, raising their hind flippers and 

 weaving tliein fan-like evidently in an effort to cool off. After resting a moment the 

 seals were ready to move on apparently refreshed. Continuous exertion is evidently 

 hard on them, but tlrey quicdvly rect)ver Ironi exhaustion. As soon as tlie llociv comes 

 to restatter afew moments' bvoathing they begin to bite one anotlier and push in an 

 unconcerned fashion until they are riuninded by the absence of their companions that 

 they must keep moving. 



"The seals were not urged forward, but were allowed to take their own time. 

 When the herd was brought to rest for a few minutes, the rear man started them on 

 by I lapping his hands or by rattiing a stick on a rock. Oar pres Mice evidently 

 urged the seals and made the drive really harder than it would ordinarily liave been. 

 The Aleuts seem to have a way of handling the seals that the}' understand. 



"A short distance brought us to the end of the grassy jjlain and into an area of 

 ground fllled with embedded bowlders. These were for the most i>art flat and worn 

 smooth. It looked like hard ground for tin; seals, but in reality they seem to get 

 over it lietter than the flat ground. On the flat there was constant crowding, while 

 here the rocks kept the seals apart. Besides the animals are more familiar with the 

 rocky ground, their breeding rookeries with few exceptions being on the rocky 

 beaches. 



"After passing over a slight ridg(! where the passageway became narrowed by 

 projecting clitt's and where there was a good deal of crowding and scrambling, the 

 drive left the bowlder-strewn path and passed into a valley overgrown with tall 

 Elymus grass and 1> ing between rows of sand dunes also grass-grown. The seals 

 seem to be refreshed by the moisture of the grass, whicli was wet with dew and rain. 



"This grassy plain led into the top of the bowlder-set sloi)e above Zolotoi sands, 

 from which the earlier seals were driven. The seals passed down this slope without 

 difticulty and came into the level sand flat. Here the iirst really hard woik of the 

 drive began. The seals seemed to flud their greatest difticulty in walking on the 

 yielding sand. Their flippers take hold of the rocks like rubber, but slip back in 

 the sand. No rocks prevented the animals from crowding. Tiiey stepped on each 

 other's flippers, became much excited, and seemed generally worried. 



"But in a few minutes the sands were passed and the herd emerged into the grass- 

 grf>wn killing ground. As soon as tlie seals came to a standstill, they seemed to 

 forget their troubles immediately. They began biting, snarling, and blowing at one 

 another as though nothing had happened. They were at once turned into tlie little 

 lake beside the killing ground to cool otf and were then herded up on the bank to 

 rest before their turn came to be killed. 



"It was Ave minutes after fl\e when the first herd reached the killing ground. 

 The second arrived three-quarters of an hour afterwards, having taken more time 

 on the way. 



"Killing was already begun when we reached the ground. The Zolotoi seals, 

 which had come in about 3 o'clock, having rested in the meantime, were killed first. 



"The larger ]>od8 of seals were in turn sejiarated into smaller ones containing 

 from 20 to 50 each. These were driven up one after anot!;er and the killable onea 

 culled out by clubbing them on the head; those too small or too large to kill were 

 allowed to escape and were driven into the water. Some of these, released on the 



