134 SEAL LIFE ON THE PRIHILOF ISLANDS. 



yessel was Love to under sealing canvass. Excellent observations were 

 taken, it being the first time the sun had remained out for any length 

 of time since the cruise began. All day birds had been numerous, and 

 occasionally a sleeping seal was observed; sometimes two and three 

 were seen together. This, combined with the great number of birds, 

 assured us that we were on good ground. We fiequently wore ship in 

 order to hold our position. In the evening rain scjualls passed over. 



On the morning of August 20, the wind and sea having subsided, the 

 canoes were lowered in latitude 55° l.l' north, longitude 170° 53' west. 

 The weather was j)leasant but cool, the air being 2 degrees colder than 

 the water. This ditierence, according to the theory of many sealers, 

 would cause seals to "lay low," or, to put it in clearer terms, they 

 would sleep with less of their bodies exposed. 



In view of the number of seals observed before the boats went out, a 

 large catch was anticipated, nor were we disappointed, lor in the even- 

 ing M'lien the last canoe had returned there were 157 seals on deck. 



The opinions advanced to the effect that seals are more plentiful where 

 birds occur seem to be entitled to consicb'ration, and it is very ])robable 

 that had we not heeded their presence yesterday, and had sailed by 

 them,oui" catch to-day would not have been large. Our captain had 

 become thoroughly convinced of the value of these signs after years of 

 experience. 



The canoes were all back at G..'>i! p. m,, having been absent over twelve 

 hours. In the forenoon seals were inclined to be restless, but occasional 

 warm rays of sun in the afternoon caused then) to sleep s(nindly. It was 

 noticed that a large ])ortion of to day's catch was s]»eared either in the 

 breast or back, close to the forward flippers, indicating that the seals 

 8lei)t soundly, with their bodies largely exposed, which gave the hunters 

 an opportunity to strike the u>ost vital ])art. Aside from the favorable 

 condition of the weather, the absence of other vessels from the ground 

 materially aided in iiu'reasing the day's catch. 



In only lli stomachs was foo<l found which could be identified, the 

 others being emi)ty. In the full stomachs were observed squid, ])ollock, 

 and one ])iece of salmon. Fifty of the (J2 nuiles were 4 to .") years old, 

 the other 12 about 3 years old. Ninety-two of the feuuiles were adults, 

 and "2 under 3 years of age. 



All through the night of the 2(>th and the morning of the 27th the 

 weather was (;alm, or nearly so. At daybreak a liglit fog hung over 

 the water; in the nn'ddle of the day it cleared away. On the strength 

 of yesterday's success the hunters went out at an early hour. From 

 the vessel scattering seals were observed all through the day. The 

 water was very much discolored, and whales and porpoises weie abun- 

 dant, but there was a marked scarcity of birds as compared with yes- 

 terday. At noon a good observation of the sun was taken, which placed 

 us in latitude T)")'^ 10' north, longitude 170° 47' west. 



At 4 p. m. the hunters began to return, and at 7.30 o'clock the last 

 one had arrived. The catch nearly equaled that of yesterday, amount- 

 ing to 14C seals, dS being males and 78 females. It will be seen by this 

 that there are times when the sexes are nearly e(]ually distributed, but 

 as a rule the majority of seals t.aken at sea are females. Sixty of the 146 

 seals were opened ; food was taken from 6 males and 14 females, consist- 

 ing of scpiid, i)ollock, and a small (piantity of fishbones. The stomachs 

 of the females opened contained a greater quantity of food than the 

 males. Thus far, in the examination of stomachs, it had been noticed 

 that those of the males contained much less material than the females. 



Most of the males caught to-day were very young, 3 and 4 years old; 



