480 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PKIBILOP ISLANDS. 



boundary of B's harem. Her pup begins nursing eagerly. You can almost imagine 

 you can see his sides inflate. 



The brown bull B starts for the rook, drives off the cow, and settles down on it. 

 She wanders off and the pup after her. Presently the bull starts after another 

 cow. At once the cow returns with her pup. The bull comes back and gets on the 

 rock. When last seen he was lying on the rock and the cow sitting on an edge beside 

 him, while the little pup stands in the mud. 



There are at least 3 freshly dead pups in the slide. In one place there are 4 

 close together, all of which have died within a week. Two hopelessly starving little 

 fellows are seen moving about. 



Eeturning by Zoltoi sands, I find that the half albino which was so conspicuous 

 in the earlier part of the season is out again, wet. It looks as though these were 

 home-coming days. 



SliPTEMBXiR 19. 



I went this morning to Lukanin to see the branded pups. Search was made for 

 the castrated pup, but it could not be found. 



It is evident that when you pick up a pup on a rookery you can't be certain that 

 he belongs where you find him. He may belong to another rookery. At the very 

 upper extremity of Lukanin are 2 of the little single brand pups from Kitovi, and 

 one of the triple brand pups taken at the upper extremity of Lukanin certainly 

 belongs in Kitovi. 



A number of branded pups are in sight. The backs of some are beginning to 

 heal, the scars growing narrower. Most of them still look uncomfortable, but none 

 seem in danger of dying. Colonel Murray found one of the branded pups dead early 

 this morning, but I have been unable to find it. He said the pup must have been dead 

 ten days or two weeks, and probably died soon after the branding. 



I see one of the little fellows with a sore back nursing. His mother notices his 

 back and puts her nose to it. He stops nursing with a snap as though to prevent 

 her touching it. The little branded fellows have usually one or two admiring or 

 criticising or perhaps sympathizing neighbor pups looking at them and investigating. 

 They snap and growl resentfully. 



It is impossible in going to the Eeef to go round and over the ridge. The whole 

 space is fall of bulls with bachelors mixed in. In order to i)ass by way of the angle 

 you must drive into the water 200 or 300 bulls. 



KILLERS. 



Going out over the killing ground with a view to coming in along the beach on the 

 east side under the cliffs, I find a school of killers in the water, perhaps a third of a 

 mile out. Tliey are moving up toward Kitovi Point. It takes twenty minutes for 

 them to get out of sight. They are moving along slowly, rising at regular intervals 

 in a curve, which brings the head, then the fin and part of the back, and last the 

 tail out of the water. They have a motion very similar to that of the seal, except that 

 they do not rise entirely out of the water. There are 7 of them. One is a large fellow, 

 bearing somewhat the same relation to the others that a bull seal might to his harem 

 of cows. There is a small one, a young one probably; it is following and evidently 

 playing with the big fellow. Three of the others are together and the remaining two 



