DRIVEWAYS FROM GLINKA. 65 



land them at those hauling grounds. The seals were slaughtered and skinned on the 

 beach, while the pelts were taken on board the steamer and salted in the hull. 



On the photograph representing Palata rookery (pi. 60) a small patch of numerous 

 white dots will be observed on the grass-clad hills near the extreme right of the picture. 

 These white dots are sea gulls feasting on the carcasses of a small drive of seals killed 

 here. It will be seen that this drive was neither long nor could it have been particularly 

 severe, considering that it is on Copper Island. A glance at the photograph of the 

 driveway (pi. 79) shows that the seals have to climb a considerable incline into the sod 

 of which steps had to be cut to give the animals a foothold, but with the above proviso 

 it involves comparatively little hardship on the seals. Not so the regular driveway 

 from this rookery to the killing grounds at Glinka village, a distance of Jiearly 2 miles 

 over a ridge more than 1,200 feet high. The slopes to be climbed, or slid down, are in 

 places 35° to 40°. They are partly grass-clad, and then very slippery. 



Prom Zapadni and Babatcha Dira the driveway is somewhat shorter and the pass 

 over the mountains lower, only about 835 feet, but the ascent is exceeding rough. 

 The lower part follows the bottom of a narrow V-shaped valley — or rather gully — the 

 bed of a short torrent filled with large bowlders, over which the seals have to struggle 

 hard (pis. 13 and 58a). Higher up the slope becomes steeper and at the same time 

 covered with a tenacious clay, hence very slippery. Steps have been cut in the 

 ground to facilitate the ascent, but the clayey soil is soon smoothed down and made 

 as slippery as before. 



From Pagani the distance is about the same and the pass to be scaled slightly 

 lower (780 feet), but the ascent is not quite so steep nor nearly so rough, and the 

 drive from this hauling ground may be characterized as the least severe at this end 

 of the island. 



The seals hauling up west of Pestshani Mys used to have the longest of all the 

 driveways on the island and one of the most severe as well. After being driven along 

 the beach for some distance they entered the Pestshani Valley, where the river has cut 

 down the coast embankment, and then had to climb the first ridge on the east side. 

 If the drive was a large one — and in former days drives of 4,000 seals were not rare ' — 

 it took too long a time to ascend only in one place, so that one portion T^as driven 

 over the ridge where it was only about 670 feet high, while thfe other had to climb at 

 least 900 feet. On the other side of this ridge was a descent into Pagani Valley, 

 then another hill was ascended, and finally a third ridge, 780 feet above the sea, had 

 to be climbed before the final descent into the trlinka Valley took place. The length 

 of this drive was about 2J miles, and in warm weather it sometimes took two days to 

 finish it. 



This was finally found to be too great a waste of time and energy, and as more 

 salt-house room was required it was decided to drive the seals the shortest way across 

 the island, and as th«re was a good anchorage and a tolerably decent beach for 

 landing boats, to build a new salt house there. This is now known as the Pestshani 

 salt house (pi. 58c). 



' In 1887 as many as 6,000 seals were taken in one drive at this place, according to Dr. Slunin. 

 15183— PT 4 5 



