176 TESTIMONY 



of studying seal life. From carefullj' observing tlie grounds formerly 

 occupied by breeding seals, as i)oiiited out to me by tlie natives, and 

 from statements made me by those on the island, I believe there were 



more seals on the islands in 1881 than in any year 

 ^jeais numerous in previous to that tiuie. I bclieve that the increase and 



decrease of seal life can be certainly told from accurate 

 measurements of the breeding grounds, because the seals herd to- 

 gether as closely as possible, whether there are few or many of them. 

 But the number of seals can not be estimated with even approximate 

 accuracy, because of the roughness and unevenness of the ground, and 

 Females feed in'' bccause duriug the height of the season a majority of 

 eeiing. ^^^ feuuiles (callcd cows) are out at sea feeding, being 

 often obliged to go 30 or more miles fi om the islands for this purpose, 

 and not returning till late at night. I think the number of seals here- 

 tofore estimated has been largely exaggerated, and no dependence can 

 be placed on any estimate as to their nnmbers. 

 During the year I was on the Island of St. George I did not see to 



exceed tM-enty-five dead pups on tlie rookeries, and the 

 nir '^'"^ ^"'^' '" bodies of these were not emaciated, but had evidently 



been killed by the old bulls climbing over them in their 

 combats. From my observations 1 am convinced a pup must be 



or 8 weeks old before it can swim, and that a fe- 

 s^\^"r '''■'™'"^' *" male generally teaches her own pup the nse of his tiij)- 



pers. Birth in the water would mean immediate death 

 to the pup, both because of the fact last stated and from the further 

 fact that for a day or two after birth a pup is entirely helpless. In my 



judgment, then, a seal pup for the first few weeks of its 

 ped's'!^' ^''°'^ q«adru- j-^^ -^ ^ j.^^^^ quadrupcd and in no sense an amphibian. 



I believe that a seal is natnrally a laiid animal, as all 

 copulation, birth, and nursing takes place on shore, and the only reason 



I think the seals seek the water is because they are 

 jeok water only for compelled SO to do iu ordcr to obtain food. This is 



verified from the fact that the seals remain on land as 

 long as possible, until the need of food and severity of the weather 

 compel them to take to the sea. A female when she returns from the 



feeding grounds will always select her own pup from 

 tiSwn'innr °''^^' all those on the rookeries, and will give suck to no other. 



It is therefore myopinion that if a mother seal is killed 



the pup will certainly die of starvation. 



I made a very particular examination and study of the methods em- 



. . ^ i)loyed by the natives in driving ai.d killing the youiig 



'""'^' males, or bachelors, and in myopinion these methods 



are the very best that could be adopted, and I can conceive of no other 



way which could be employed and preserve seal life so ett'ectually. In 



starting a drive the bachelors are driven from the hauling grounds, 



which are separated from the breeding grounds. Great care was always 



„ ,. ^ , , taken not to disturb the breeders; no one was ever al- 



Brcedinff protected. , -, , ,i ^ t i i • j.i ij.- 



loweti to go on the oreeding grounds during the rutting 



season, all observations as to the habits being made from overhanging 



cliffs or some elevation in the vicinity of the harems. I never saw but 



one female killed out of the 20.000 taken on St. George 



o/isiSnds. °"* ^''^*''' Island in 1881, and that was accidental. A drive is 



always made between 2 and o'clock in the morning, 



when the weather is cool and there is less liability of overheating theseals. 



.,.,. .• „ Seals are driven as slowly as is possibh> and still keep 



j^oovei ii\m-. tiiein in motion, i do not think that there were fifty 



