LIFE ON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 33 
During the winter much snow falls, but it is swept away by the high winds which 
prevail throughout the season. The winter temperature ranges from 22° to 26° F. 
The waters about the islands do not freeze, but toward the end of the winter the drift 
ice from the north floats down and incloses the islands, piling high upon the beaches 
and in the bays under the action of the surf. It remains packed about the islands 
until about the Ist of May, when it gradually disappears under the approaching 
change of season. 
VEGETATION. 
The surface of the elevated portions of both islands is in summer clothed with 
moss and grasses, in which are surprising numbers of showy wild flowers. Couspic- 
uous among them are the Iceland poppy, monkshood, species of lupine, betony, 
chrysanthemum, senecio, saxifrage, harebell, and many others. The lower parts 
.of the islands are covered with a soil of black lava sand, in which flourishes a coarse, 
rank, useless grass—the wild rye grass (Elymus mollis). Mingled with it is the coarse 
putchki, a species of Archangelica, used by the Aleuts as a spice. The abandoned 
hauling grounds. of the fur seals are rapidly invaded by two species of slender, 
light-green grasses, Glyceria angustata and Deschampsia cespitosa, known as “seal 
grass.” These contrast sharply with the coarse, dark-green rye grass and a luxuriant 
species of wormwood, neither of which grow on land where seals have regularly 
hauled. About the rookeries themselves the movements of the animals virtually 
destroy all vegetation. There are no trees or shrubs. A small, dwarfish willow and 
a species of crowberry are the only approach to them that are to be found. 
THE MAMMALS. 
The principal mammals of the Pribilof Islands are the fur seals, which have 
their breeding grounds on the rocky beaches of St. Paul and St. George islands. At 
certain points on the islands are sea-lion rookeries, and numbers of the animals are 
at all times to be seen lying about among the fur seals. A smaller number of hair-seals 
also frequent points about St. Paul Island. Formerly sea otters and walruses were 
not uncommon, but they are now practically extinct. The blue fox is common to 
both islands, and mingled with the blue foxes are a limited number of white ones. 
Lemmings are found on St. George and shrews on both islands. 
THE BIRDS. 
Myriads of sea birds breed on the rocky cliffs of St. George Island. Among these 
-are the cormorants, murres, and chutchkis, sea parrots and gulls. Walrus Island 
is literally covered with these birds in the nesting season. Their eggs are gathered 
by the natives in boat loads in the spring. About the little ponds in the interior 
of the islands sandpipers abound. Phalaropes are numerous in the summer. Teal 
and mallard ducks are found in the fall. Geese in limited numbers alight on St. Paul 
to feed on the berries near north shore. White owls have been found on both islands. 
INHABITANTS. 
& : 
At the time of the discovery of the Pribilof Islands, in 1786, they were uninhab- 
ited. In order to obtain laborers to handle the seals, natives were brought over from 
151843 
