FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 



183 



Whole number of aiiiuiiils driven, 1,865; number taken, 255, or 87 

 per cent turned out. Last drive for this place, July 2, when 1,929 ani- 

 mals were driven and 210 taken, or 88 j)er cent turned out, but the 

 standard to-day being lowered to i5J-i)ound skins prevents the increase 

 of rejection percentage. Had the same standard prevailed to-day as on 

 July 2, the rejection would have been as high as 92 per cent ! 



This drive was iniiicipally made from the sand beach under Polavina 

 rookery, and on its outskirts to the north; and that is where these 85 

 half bulls (really, nearly all of them were 7 and 10 years old) were 

 gathered in. The two prior droves were chiefly made from the parade 

 ground up above the breeding ground, and there these bulls were first 

 gathered in. To-day every 2-year-old was tahen that teas well grown, 

 and had not these smaller seals been taken there would not have been 

 over 120 or 150 skins at the most. The tirst citation, 120, is the near- 

 est correct; this would have given us a rejection of over 93 per cent. 



I came down to the village on the sand beach between Stony Point 

 and Lukannon. Not a killable seal has hauled there yet this year, a 

 place where thousands upon tens of thousands of them were to be seen 

 at this time in 1872. Not a holluschak has as yet hauled upon Zoltoi 

 sands. That was one of the finest resorts for holluschickie that the 

 island boasted of in 1872-1874. 



July 9, 1890. — I wei>t over to Zapadr.ie early (4 o'clock) this morning 

 to witness the driving there by the natives. Most of the scanty drive 

 was taken on the immediate borders of Upper Zapadnie rookery. The 

 whole sweep of Lower Zapadnie did not yield over 150 or 200 hollus- 

 chickie, which had hauled out at several places just up and above the 

 breeding seals. 



All that large space above the rookery on Lower Zapadnie, which 

 was literally alive with trooping platoons of holluschickie in 1872, is 

 to-day, entirely vacant, not a seal on it ; and the natives peering down 

 over the high blutts on the south side and to the westward of the point 

 trying to find a few seals skulking down there on the rocks awash. 

 Their eager search in such a quarter, with their backs to this silent 

 parade ground of 1872, made ine decidedly thoughtful. They said that 

 they would go with a "bidarrah" and pick these secluded seals up. 

 They did so last year, they averred. I made the following field notes 

 of the podding and clubbing of a drive made from Upper and Lower 

 Zapadnie, July 9, 1890 : 



Whole number of animals driven, 867; number taken, 172, or 83 per 

 cent rejected. Last drive from this place July 3, when 925 animals 

 were driven, and 180 taken, or 81 per cent turned out. Lowering the 

 standard on the 4th instant prevented an immense percentage of rejec- 

 tion here to-day. Had it not been for the small 5^-pouud skins taken, 

 there would have been 95 per cent rejection! 



