552 THE PUK SEALS OF THE PEIBILOP ISLANDS. 



these bulls come and go regularly from the water. This has also beeu noted on 

 Lukanin rookery. At the killings the relative proportion of rejected seals has 

 changed. In the earlier killings the large seals outnumbered the small two to one. 

 Since the 6th of this month the small ones have been in the majority, l^ot only have 

 the large ones declined in proportion to the little ones, but the number of large ones 

 from any particular rookery has steadily diminished. For example, 556 large seals 

 were rejected from Eeef and Zoltoi on June 23; on July 6 there were 229. These 

 young half bulls are now hanging about the water front or in the rear of the rookeries, 

 and are therefore not picked up in the drives. 



ME. LUCAS'S NOTES. 



East rookery has shrunken away from its position of last year, judging by 

 photographs and maps. The western portion hardly comes up on the hillside, there 

 being only one good-sized harem there. The beach portion to the westward is very 

 thinly populated. The branded cow with her pup is under the cliff portion of the 

 rookery. There is no question about the distinctness of the brand. 



Bast rookery has 128 harems, 1,533 cows, and 41 idle bulls. 



Visiting Forth rookery this afternoon I find that the aspect of affairs has 

 materially changed during the last two days, and it would seem that the count has 

 been made at the time of the greatest stability of harems and when probably the most 

 cows are ashore. 



JULY 11. 



This is St. Paul's day and a great holiday for the Aleuts. The Grant touched in 

 on her return trip from the Commander Islands and held her anchorage off Bast 

 Landing during the day. She was joined by the Bush in the afternoon. 



The Amphitheater has 703 cows on it to-day. For 138 cows in 7 harems there are 

 150 pups. These harems are so situated as to make the count of pups certain. This 

 evidently indicates a large absence of cows, as many of those present are still gravid, 

 but the steady increase on the breeding ground shows that the incoming cows exceed 

 the outgoing. 



A count of cows ou Lukanin still shows increase. There are 1,755 to-day. There 

 is a marked change in the appearance of the rookery within the past day or two. The 

 former compact appearance of the harems is gone. The cows are scattering out so that 

 the harems can not be clearly defined. Under the circumstances it becomes difficult 

 to count the entire rookery, aud the count may soon have to be discontinued. This 

 thinning out is evidently due in part to shifting of the cows, but also in part to absence 

 of cows from the places they have heretofore occupied. 



MR. LUCAS'S NOTES. 



The hillside of Zapadni is more dense than last year, and so far as one can judge 

 th«re are actually more seals. The northernmost patch, however, is now a thin line, 

 and the middle portion has shrunk perceptibly. This year these two sections contain 

 39 harems and 431 cows. Last year they contained 66 harems and 946 cows, The 

 dense southern mass can not be counted. There are not far from 65 harems altogether. 

 This was estimated last year at 1,200 cows in 75 harems. The idle bulls ou this rookery 

 iire as numerous and fierce as ever. 



