FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 



193 



and next week, just as likely as not, many of them will be over on St. 

 Paul hauled out there for a spell in turn. 



One of the queerest ideas of how to help the holluschickie to haul 

 (when there were none to haul) was a desperate notion of the lessees' 

 agent here last summer, who, on the 9th of June, actually went down 

 into the ragge^.! sea margin at the Near or North rookery, and drove 

 away a few old bulls which had hauled into an empty path of the hol- 

 luschickie which leads up by the "Raichka." This was done to help 

 the holluschickie "to land faster!" 



July :J/j, 1890. — Weighed 100 skins as thej' came over from Zapadnie 

 to-day, from the little salt house there, and which were taken on the 

 last day of killing, the UOth instant. Three-fifths of the whole number 

 weighed were 5i to 6 pound skins — average to "long" 2-year-olds; the 

 balance, 7 to 7^ pound skins, four 8-pouud skins, and one 9^-pound skiu, 

 and one 4-pound skin (or yearling). 



. July 26, ^§5*0.— Weighed 176 skins of the Zapadnie catch of the 20th 

 instant, just as they came over on the burro train. As I handled the 

 skins they ran thus: 



making the average as low as 5^ pounds per skin. This is the run of 

 the last killing on St. George on the 19th and 20th instant. Had the 

 standard first ordered been adhered to, only 20 skins would have been 

 taken instead of 176 in the above catch. 



July 30, 1890. — A stiff southwest wind ever since yesterday, has kicked 

 up such a rough sea that to-day, by noon, nearly every seal by the island 

 has hauled out on shore, and it is a good afternoon to inspect the rook- 

 eries in so far as my search for pups of last year or yearlings goes. 



A careful examination of the largest rookery of this island, North, 

 revealed the presence of about 750 holluschickie — 700 at the least, and 

 possibly 900. All were yearlings, save a small percentage of 2-year- 

 olds, with s(;attered examples, wide apart, of 3-year-olds and a dozen 

 perhaj)S of 4-year-olds. 



They were all hauled out (with the exception of one pod of some 150 

 near the Eaichka) and commingled with podding pups and cows. A 

 drive could not be made there to-day of more than 200 holluschickie 

 without driving as many cows and pups. 



Sucli a day as this should show up at least 4,000 yearlings on these 

 spots of that rookery alone. Where are these yearlings'? 



The pups at the water's edge are beginning to familiarize themselves 

 with their native element, essaying to swim in the pools and surf wash 

 at sheltered spots. Those pups, where the surf directly breaks upon 

 the sea margin and strikes the beach with unbroken force, are not in the 

 water at all to-day. A vast majority of the i)ups will not get into the 

 water before the end of the next two or three weeks. 



H. Doc. 175- 



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