FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 159 



ON THE ROOKERIES— ST. GEORGE ISLAND. 

 NORTH. 



July 19, 1890.7-1 came upon this breeding ground to-day after an 

 absence of just sixteeen years, I find tlie topography unchanged: the 

 hauling grounds all grass grown together with the usual flowering 

 plants that seem to follow the abandonment of hitherto polished ground 

 laid upon by holluschickie. 



The seals upon its breeding area are in the usual form and number 

 characteristic; of this season over on St. Paul — a scanty supply of old 

 bulls : no young bulls in the rookery or outside : large scattered harems, 

 and every evidence of imperfect service — in all these forms precisely as 

 they are over on St. Paul. 



But this rookery, which held 76,250 bulls, cows, and pups in 1874, 

 has suffered a loss of only one-half of its cows and pups. Of the bulls, 

 however, a vastly greater proportion, five-sevenths of them, are missing. 

 This rookery was the largest on St. George in 1874; it has been so ever 

 since, and is to-day, diminished as it is. But large as it is over here, 

 there are only two on St. Paul smaller. One is the Lagoon, and the 

 other Ketavie, though the letter was twice as large as this breeding 

 ground in 1874. 



July .25, 1890. — Ca])tain Lavender and Dr. i*^oyes made a careful sur- 

 vey of the holluschickie that have hauled out here, since they were 

 driven off on the 10th instant. They agreed that if driven to day, this 

 rookery would not yield 300 holluschickie of over 5^ to 7 pound skins. 



July 26, 1890. — No increase of holluschickie on this ground. If I may 

 believe the apparent honest statement of Dr. Koyes and Mr. Webster 

 (agents of the N. A. C. Co.), this rookery has shrunk one-half from its 

 margins of three years ago: and, it is greatly worse to-day, than it was 

 at this time last year. 



This is the testimony also of Mr. Goff as to the status of the St. Paul 

 rookeries as between this season and last. It now points with my v,^ork 

 to the certainty of a still further marked reduction in the form and 

 number of the breeding seals next year : while the killable seals or hol- 

 luschickie will simply be minus. 



July 27, 1890. — The cows and pups in full swing of "podding;" the 

 holluschickie scant in numbers and mixing up with the scattered 

 harems; a small pod, chiefly yearlings, hauled out on the extreme 

 western extension, and two other small pods at the "Kaichka" and 

 "Seraidnee" on this rookery — altogether not 200 7-pouud skins. 



I am surprised at not seeing the due proportion of yearlings out now 

 that a rookery of this size should claim. At least 20,000 pups left this 

 ground last October. Half of them should be back now as yearlings, 

 and as such show up a thousand or two every day until the end of the 

 season. I am therefore, inclined to think that the pups are suffering a 

 heavier ratio of loss than in 1872-1874. They are now fewer in number, 

 and their natural enemies, such as " killer whales" here and sharks in 

 the North Pacific, and the "killers" there too, are just as numerous 

 and voracious as of old. The loss, therefore, inflicted from this source 

 would be more apparent now, than when the pups were twice and thrice 

 as numerous. In 1872-1874 I estimated that about 1,000,000 pups left 

 the Pribilovs every October and November in fine physical trim; and of 

 this 1,000,000 not over half of the number came bad- next June and July 

 as yearlings. To-day, judging from the scanty returns of yearlings, I 



