200 TESTIMONY 



distant from the bluff, and the bank itself, isan aieaof scant soil, on which 

 a scattering- growth of vegetation has sprung up. This growth ap- 

 peared to me to be of comparatively recent origin — within five or six 

 years, I should say. I believe this area was formerly occupied by seals. 

 On June 1 I estimated the total number of seals on the entire rook- 

 ery to be about forty; three of them bachelors, one cow, and the remain- 

 der bulls. The three bachelors, the cow, and one of the bulls were 

 killed on the grassy space between the lagoon and the base of the 

 bluff, where they w^ere driven. A young- pup, unborn, was taken from 

 the female seal; I think it would have been delivered in about a week's 

 time. The North rookery of Bering Island is in every way rougher 



than any I observed on the Pribiiof Islands. I saw 

 ro?k5' ^'°"' ^"'^^ two of the drives from the North rookery. One of the 



routes leads over the rough rookery, through the shal- 

 low lagoon, and up the bluff" at a place where the angle is about 35° 

 to the grassy plain in front of the temporary dwellings of the natives, 

 a distance in all of about a quarter of a mile; the other leads up the 

 bluff from the sand beach at the western arm of the rookery, out beyond 

 and back of the settlement, over a comparatively level but marshy and 

 broken country, to a distance of from 1^ to 2 miles. I consider these 

 drives harder and rougher than those of the Pribiiof Islands. The 

 killing ground at the terminus of the shorter drive is small and did not 



appear to be used to any extent. On June 4th, 1892, I 

 8cri°??on of^'poiatka ^^^^^^^^ ^ii aud pliotographcd Polatka rookery, on the 

 Kookeryon. " ^ "" wcstem coast of CoppCT Islaud. This is somewhat 



similar to the North rookery of Eeriug Island, but is 

 very much narrower, and instead of being composed of loose rock heaps 

 is largely of great tilted masses of stratified volcanic rock with very 

 sharp and jagged edges. It is less than a mile long and at the widest 

 part, including the outlying rocks, not more than 300 yards in width, 

 measuring right up to the base of the bluffs. It lies at the foot of 

 abrupt cliffs from GOO to 800 feet in height along its whole length with 

 the exception of one point. This is about the center of the rookery, 

 where there is a small hill of hard-packed sandy soil about 60 feet high, 

 back from which a very steep ascending ravine leads to the summit of 

 the ridge, an elevation of about 700 feet. 



The drive from Polatka rookery leads up over this 

 latooklr/™"'^"' sand hill and through the ravine; over the ridge, I 



was informed, the rest of the 2 miles is on a descend- 

 ing grade to the other side of the island, where the killing ground is 

 located. The rocks of this rookery also did not have the appearance 

 of being flipper-worn. There were no signs of vegetation on the entire 

 rookery, and no soil apparently, except on the sandy hill at the mouth 

 of the ravine. I estimated about 250 fur-seals on Polatka rookery, 

 about 30 of them bachelors. I saw no cows, and think they had not 

 yet arrived, as 40 codfish were landed on the decks of the Albatross, 

 where she lay within 500 yards from the shore, in an hour. I think if 

 feeding cows had been about the rookery, the fish would not have been 

 found so close to it. From an elevated position on Polatka, I obtained 



a good view of the rookery next above it, called Pest- 

 Pestchanni rookery chauui. The character of this is similar to Polatka, 



ana drive from.de- uj-i ni tt ,,•,-, ,-.■. ,* 



sciiption of. but has a sand beach adjacent to it where the bache- 



lors doubtless mostly herd. The drive from here, as I 

 was shown it, leads up a shallow stream a short distance, and then 

 over the mountain side to the ridge, a height of fully 800 feet, from 

 whence it continues down to the opposite side of the island. Both of 



i 



