286 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



July 1.— At a drive from Reef 246 were killed and 95 per cent turned back. 



July 2.— At a drive from Halfway Point 242 seals were killed and 95 per cent 

 turned back. 



July 4._At the drive from Tolstoi 481 were killed and 90J per cent turned back. 

 To day the lessees lowered the standard of weight of skins taken to 5J clean.' 



July 5. — A visit to Otter Island showed not more than 50 seals hauled out, and 

 not more than a dozen seals were seen in the water between here and the island. 



July 17.— Of the 1,514 seals driven from Polovina, 87 per cent were rejected; of 

 1,320 from Lukanin and Kitovi 85^ per cent were rejected. 



July 18. — At the drive today from Zapadni 241 seals were killed out of a drive 

 of 1,192. The lessees began taking " wigs" this morning, 82 being taken. 



July 19.— Out of a drive of 4,620 from the Eeef and Zoltoi, 556 were killed. 



July 20.^— The drive from English Bay, Middle Hill, Tolstoi, Lukanin, Kitovi, and 

 Eocky Point furnished 780 skins; 3,956 were rejected. 



August 1.— Mr. Goff visited Kitovi, Lukanin, English Bay, Middle Hill, and 

 Tolstoi to-day and estimated that 5,000 seals could be driven from these rookeries and 

 that 10 per cent of them would be killable. 



RECORD KEPT BY JOSEPH MURRAY. 



August 14. — A drive for food was made from Lukanin and 124 killed; 6 were 

 smothered in the drive. 



September 7. — A schooner has been shooting seals off Northeast Point, within a 

 mile of shore, for several days; 100 shots were counted in some cases for one seal 

 taken. 



November 12. — Pups from Eeef rookery were killed, 324 in all, making a total of 

 2,364, or 12 each for the 197 natives on the islands.^ 



December 4. — A food drive from Eeef yielded 258 skins, of which 235 were prime. 



1891. 



April 24. — A native reports a bull seal landed at Northeast Point. 



April 29. — No seals are hauled out on the Eeef, but seals are in the water about 

 Sea Lion Eock. 



April 30. — The first bulls are hauled out on the Eeef to-day and on Sea Lion Eock. 



May 2. — Bulls are hauling out to-day on all the rookeries. 



May 15. — At a food drive from Reef 233 were killed. 



June 4. — A drive from Reef was made for the lessees and 476 killed; 13 small 

 seals died on the drive. 



' Heretofore an attempt w.is made to get a better grade of skins tban were taken in 1889, but 

 such seals being wanting it was necessary to take smaller ones. The weight of skins here authorized 

 would include 2-ycar-olds. 



2 This closed the season by order of the Treasury agent under protest from the lessees. In view 

 of the percentage of rejected seals in the drive even after lowering the weight to the unprecedented 

 figure of 5i pounds, and then authorizing the taking of "wigs," this course would seem to have 

 been fully justified. The seals were simply not to be had. This view is borne out by the small 

 showing of the hauling ground visited on August 1 after two weeks' rest. The quota of 1891) had 

 been anticipated in filling that for 1889. 



'In view of the depleted condition shown the bachelor herd of this year, it is incomprehensible 

 that this wasteful practice of slaughtering pups to furnish an article of luxury for the natives 

 should have been allowed. We are glad to note that this is the end of the matter, but that it should 

 have continued so long is hard to contemplate witli patience. 



