RELATING TO PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 13 



An inspection of the general map of St. Panl Island will show that 

 there are nowexistiDg thereon practically ten rookeries, some of which, 

 however, coalesce. 



These rockeries are: Northeast Point, Little Pola- 

 vina, Bio- Polavina, Lnkannon, Ketavie, Eeef, Garbotch, pa^xSna. "° '^^^ 

 Lagoon, Tolstoi, Zapadiiie. 



Upon the island of St. George it will be seen that 

 there are five rookei ies : Great East, Little East, North, G^SSiand"" ^*" 

 Starry Arteel, Zapadnie. 



Shoreward the limit of a breeding rookery is sometimes defined by 

 topographic conditions, as in the case of a blnff, bnt -r. ., ^ 



.-, ^ ^ -.T (, j_ • ' J.T 1 1- Limitsof a rookery. 



the seal lite i)resent in anyone year upon the breeding 

 ground is the true standard for the determination of boundaries. 

 Upon the large scale charts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, will be 

 seen the approximate areas occupied as "breeding grounds" in 1891, 

 as observed by me, while tjie areas for certain previous years have been 

 indicated by other observers. 



The area of a "hauling ground" is an ever-changing quantity, but 

 the locality at which bachelor seals hauled in 1891 and the ai)proximate 

 areas hauled over is also indicated on the charts. 



The seals which make their home upon the Pribilof Islands are 

 readily thrown into five general groups. (1) The breed- 

 ing males or bulls. (2) The breeding females. (3) The pfl^"'''^"^ *^^*' s'wips 

 immature males or bachelor seals. (4) Virgin females, 

 and (5) The pups. Each has its own time of arrival, each its separate 

 career on the islands, and each its season for the annual expedition into 

 the Pacific Ocean. 



The records kept upon the islands concerning the arrival of seals 

 show that in the last days of April or first days of May ^j.j.i^,^j ^f i,^jjg 

 the bulls begin to make their appearance. The first '"^'^ o u s. 

 arrival on St. Paul in 1871 was on May 1, in 1890 on April 2G. In the 

 year 1876 the unusual fact ai)pears in the record that a large number of 

 bulls were in the waters about the island on February 15. About one 

 month after the arrival of the bulls or in the first days ^j.j.j^aiof 

 of June the females begin toai)pear. In 1891 the max- ^"^^ ° 

 imum of daily arrivals Avas reached from June -i to 28. Between the 

 arrivals of bulls and females bnt rather closely follow- 

 ing the bulls, come the bachelors; those immature young loj^''"''"^ °^ ^'^^^^' 

 males which furnish the skins of commerce. The na- 

 tives after the long winter are eager for fresh meat and it is usually 

 possible to make drives of them for food not later than May 15, and 

 sometimes from a week to ten days earlier. 



The time of the arrival of the virgin cows is not easy to determine, 

 but from my observation my present conclusion is that 

 they arrive with the cows and for a while spend their cow"''^^ "^ ^'^^'° 

 time in the water or on the land adjacent to the rookery 

 margin. 



The birth of the pups is nearly synchronous with ^-^^^^^^f 

 the arrival of the mothers. '^ " ^"^^' 



Upon reaching the islands in early June I found that the bulls, in 

 accordance with their habit had not only preempted ^^^^^^ 

 their claims upon the breeding grounds but were well 

 established in their possession. Being polygamous each bull seeks to 

 gather around himself as many cows as possible to form .. naroms " 

 what has appropriately been called his " harem." Here 

 and there at wide intervals a few cows were already to be seen beside 



