SEAL LIFE ON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 105 



Zapadnie: 



July 2 2,266 



July 19 2,690 



Lukannon : 



Julys 1,011 



July 27 1,217 



Again, the proportion of seals rejected from the killing grounds 

 increases gradually as the season advances. As shown by the table at 

 the first killing I observed that 50 per cent of the seals driven up were 

 rejected. This was on June 26. On August 1, the last killing of the 

 season, the per cent rejected was 79.2 of the whole number driven up. 

 The increase in the i^roportion of rejected seals is reasonably regular. 

 That there should be such a proportional increase is of course to be 

 expected, but it appears to be a fact that the relative proportion of 

 killable seals decreases as the season advances, whether a hauling 

 ground has been swept over previously or not. Thus, 50 per cent of 

 the seals were rejected from the first drive from Polavina on June 20^ 

 and 04 per cent from the first drive from Lukannon on July 3. Simi- 

 larly, we find that 73 per cent were rejected from a third drive from 

 Northeast Point on July 22, while 70.5 per cent were rejected from a 

 second drive from Lukannon, which took place five days later. 



Another matter to receive attention before a general estimate is 

 made relates to the length of the period during which the bachelors 

 are arriving at the island. My own observations are of no value in 

 this connection, because, as the foregoing table shows, the two largest 

 hauling grounds at least were full before I arrived. It is necessary, 

 therefore, to refer to the statement of other observers on this point. 



Bryant, referring to the year 1860, states that "by the middle of June 

 all the males, except the great body of the yearlings, have arrived." 

 (N. A. Pinnipeds, p. 384.) The American Bering Sea commissioners, 

 quoting various observers, state that they "begin to arrive in the vicin- 

 ity of the islands soon after the bulls have taken up their positions upon 

 the rookeries, but the greater number appear toward the latter part of 

 May." (United States, No. 6, Bering Sea Arbitration, p. 120.) 



These statements are not so definite as could be desired, and I do not 

 find any others that are more so; but from the foregoing table it ap]>ears 

 probable that while the hauling grounds fill up early in June, bachelors 

 continue to arrive in greater or less numbers until August. If this is 

 not the case it is diliicult to understand how so comparatively large 

 numbers of killable seals can be found late in July. 



Whether the seals return to the same hauling grounds as that from 

 which they are driven is perhaps of no great moment, as the net result 

 appears to be the same whether they do or do not. 



Taking the six weeks in the foregoing table as the period during 

 which the hauling grounds are full, we can arrive at a conclusion 

 regarding the number of bachelors in the following way: 



The number killed between June 20 and August 1, as shown by the 

 official count, is 11,045. Earlier in the year 353 were killed, making a 

 total of 11,398. To this amount is to be added the number rejected 

 from the first drives from each of the several hauling grounds, viz: 



Northeast Point 1,603 



TheRt-ef 1,487 



Halfway Point 575 



English Bay 1, 126 



Zapadnie 1, 405 



Lukannon 647 



Total 6,843 



