358 



FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 



dents of tbo islauil to marry. The jiriest controls all marriages ; his perraissiou is 

 absolutely required before a marriage can take place. This rule of the church forces 

 the men to go to Oonalaska or other islands for wives, and every year pilgrimages 

 are made for that purpose. The priest tirst being applied to tells the wife-seeker 

 whom he may marrj-. Whilst accessions of females are made to the population in 

 this way, no adult males are allowed to come from other islands and become citizens 

 of the fur-seal islands without special permission of the Secretary of the Treasury. 

 The usual eight months' school was conducted on both islands with about the usual 

 results; 25 children attended on St. George and 55 on St. Paul. The native 

 children are stupidly dull, and not encouraged by their jiarents to learn English. 

 They would not send a child to school if not compelled by the Treasury agent to do 

 so. The teachers on both islands do their duty faithfully, but their work is not ap- 

 preciated or rewarded with very brilliant results. 



THE BREEDING ROOKERIES. 



As I was unable to accompany my report of last year with a statement showing the 

 number of seals on the breeding rookeries of St. George Island, I made arrangements 

 with acting assistant Treasury agent, Dr. L. A. Noyes, in charge, to make a complete 

 measurement of all the rookeries on the island, which he did, and the result is here 

 given : 



Measurement of hreeding rookeries iy Dr. L. A. Noyes, acting assistant Treasury agent, on 

 St. George Island, January, 4, March 1, and April 22, 1887. 



Name of rookery. 



East 



Zapadni 



Little East 



Starry Ateel 



■fiTear'and North. 



Total , 



Sea margin. Depth. jSqnare feet. Seals. 



EECAPITULATION.— (Seventeen rookeries.) 



St.PaulIsland,1886 5,148,500 



St. George Island, 1887 1,209,250 



Grand total of breeding seals only 6, 357, 750 



Note.— I think that a deduction of one-fourth from the above would show more nearly correct the 

 true number of seals on the islands. lu my judgment Mr. Elliot does not allow them space enough. 



The breeding grounds on St. George Lsland, surveyed July 12 and 15, 1873, gave the 

 following figures (H. W. Elliot's "Condition of Affairs in Alaska, 1874," page 78): 



The information furnished by the estimates of seal life are very valuab le, though of 

 course not absolutely correct. 



The measurement on St. George Island is undoubtedly as near correct as it is pos- 

 sible to make it, and differing so widely from the estimate made by Mr. H. W. Elliot, 

 July 12 and 15, 1»73, I am forced to conclude that that gentleman, so uniformly cor- 

 rect in his voluminous and interesting history of the fur seal and his home, has made 

 a great mistake somehow in his work of measuring the rookeries at that time. It is 

 quite evident such is the case, as the number of seals he makes on the breeding rook- 

 eries, viz, 172,500, is out of all proportion to the number of males killed in 1872 and 



