398 TESTIMONY 



to bring- forth their young after this date. I presume that by the 25th 

 of July not over 1 per cent of them were left. 



On July 12th the cows, having nearly all given birth to their young, 



were going to and coming from the sea. The English 

 cra!missioi^r r s! tlsh Commissioners arrived at the Islands about noon of 



July 27th and remained on and about St. Paul Island 

 until the morning of the 31st of July, at which time they sailed for St. 

 George Island, about forty miles distant, returning to St. Paul on the 

 evening of August 2nd and remaining until the morning of August Gth. 

 They next returned to the Islands August 19th and left August 20th, 

 again returningon the morning of the 15th of September, and took their 

 final departure September 16th. The foregoing dates cover all the time 

 that the English Commissioners were on or about the Islands, and as 

 they had their quarters on board the S. S. Danube, anchored from a half 

 to a mile off shore, they spent but a portion of their time each day on 

 the Islands. During the time included in the foregoing dates there 

 were but three small drives of seals made and they were for food, to wit: 



St. Paul Island: 



August 3rd. Eeef Rookery, killed 118 seals 



August 11th. Northeast Point Rookery, killed 467 seals 



St. George Island: 

 August 1st. North and Zapadnie Rookeries, killed 2G seals 



The seal drives take place very early in the morning, and to the best 



of my recollection the English Commissioners did not 



•British Commis- see a drive nor were they present at any of the killings 



sinners present at but o,j -ni i j_ j_i i 1- » j_ n -i mi • • l 



one killing. on St. Paul except that of August ord. The principal 



drives had taken place that year, as in all previous 

 years, prior to July 27th, and between July 27th and August 11th only 

 a few seals were killed, and those were for food. From August 11th 

 to October 1st no seals were taken for any purpose, except that during 

 this period 178 were killed for food on St. George. 

 I visited Southwest and English Bays about the middle of July, 1891, 

 when the harems were at their fullest, in a small sail 

 frightened* ° a s * * y boat and sailed close in shore near the rookeries ; while 

 the seals were somewhat disturbed, yet they would only 

 retreat a few feet from the harem when they would turn and show light, 

 and as soon as we had passed them a short distance they would resume 

 their usual position on the rookeries. 

 In the forepart of July, 1891,1 saw a cow seal give birth to her young 

 on Lukannon Eookery, and watched her for a long time; 

 fo^pup W ° u of cow after giving birth to her young she fondled and ca- 

 ressed it; placing herself in a good position she gently 

 pushed it to her breast that it might suckle her, showing all the care 

 and affection for her young that is exhibited in other animals; a few 

 days thereafter while visiting the same rookery I came upon a cow seal 

 with her young sheltered behind a rock just back of the rookery ; she 

 at once showed fight and refused to leave her young, but stayed with it, 

 and I went away leaving her there. Also in the latter part of July I 

 went out on the Eeef just back of the rookeries on the west side, and 

 as I came near one of the rookeries there were a few cow seals that were 

 scattered some little distance from their harems; one of the cow seals 

 that had her young by her side picked it up in her mouth and carriedit 

 some distance and then, placing it on the ground by her side, prepared 

 to defend it, and showed the greatest solicitude for its safety. 



