THE DRIVE FROM REEF. 3tl 



The result is that some part of the herd is moving all the time and the progression 

 is continuous. 



There is a tendency on the part of the young seals to go faster than the older 

 ones, of which a large number were included. By a gradual shifting process the old 

 fellows fell to the rear and on several occasions pods of from a dozen to twenty were 

 cut off and allowed to return to the sea. 



All the seals, and especially the larger ones, showed signs of fatigue. They 

 appeared to be hot and excited, and a cloud of steam rose constantly from the moving 

 animals. This steam had a strong musky smell. Wlien the herd stopped, individual 

 seals would often sprawl out on the ground, raising their hind flippers and waving 

 them fan-like evidently in an effort to cool off. After resting a moment the seals 

 were ready to move on, apparently refreshed. Continuous exertion is evidently hard 

 on them, but they quickly recover from exhaustion. As soon as the flock comes to 

 rest after a few moments' breathing they begin to bite one another and push in an 

 unconcerned fashion until they are reminded by the absence of their companions that 

 they must keep moving. 



The seals were not urged forward, but were allowed to take their own time. 

 When the herd was brought to rest for a few minutes, the rear man started them on 

 by clapping his hands or by rattling a stick on a rock. Our presence evidently urged 

 the seals and made the drive really harder than it would ordinarily have been. The 

 Aleuts seem to have a way of handling the seals that they understand. 



A short distance brought us to the end of the grassy plain and into an area of 

 ground filled with embedded bowlders. These were for the most part flat and worn 

 smooth. It looked like hard ground for the seals, but in reality they seem to get over 

 it belter than the flat ground. On the flat there was constant crowding, while here 

 the rocks kept the seals apart. Besides the animals are more familiar with the rocky 

 ground, their breeding rookeries, with few exceptions,' being on the rocky beaches. 



After passing over a slight ridge where the passageway became narrowed by 

 projecting cliffs and where there was a good deal of crowding and scrambling, the 

 drive left the bowlder-strewn path and passed into a valley overgrown with tall 

 Blymus grass and lying between rows of sand dunes, also grass grown. The seals 

 seemed to be refreshed by the moisture of the grass, which was wet with dew and rain. 



This grassy plain led into the top of the bowlder-set slope above Zoltoi sands, 

 from which the earlier seals were driven. The seals passed down this slope without 

 difficulty and came into the level sand flat. Here the first really hard work of the 

 drive began. The seals seemed to find their greatest difficulty in walking on the 

 yielding sand. Their flippers take hold of the rocks like rubber, but slip back in 

 the sand, ^o rocks prevented the animals from crowding. They stepped on each 

 other's flippers, became much excited, and seemed generally worried. 



But in a few minutes the sands were passed and the herd emerged into the' grass- 

 grown killing ground. As soon as the seals came to a standstill, they seemed to 

 forget their troubles immediately. They began biting, snarling, and blowing at one 

 another as though nothing had happened. They were at once turned into the little 

 lake beside the killing ground to cool off and were then herded up on the bank to 

 rest before their turn came to be killed. 



It was five minutes after 5 when the first herd reached the killing ground. The 

 second arrived three-quarters of an hour afterwards, having taken more time on the 

 way. 



