100 THE ASIATIC FUR-SEAL ISLANDS. 



300 pups were driven off to the killing grounds before they could be released. The 

 whole breeding ground not located on outlying rocks — and it was now low water — was 

 gone over and swept absolutely clean. Ifot a living seal, except a few pups too weak 

 from starvation to move, was left on the " Eeef." 



As usual, the seals were driven in squads of 300 to 300, The length of tlie drive 

 was only 650 yards, and in the cold morning entailed no hardship on the seals. On 

 the killing ground they were again collected into two large herds. The segregating 

 of the "pods" to be killed was done very quietly and deliberately, without worrying 

 the entire herd. Only about 190 grown males (too large and too small) were allowed 

 to escape, or 20 per cent of all the males driven. Whatever injury the driving might 

 inflict would consequently be trifling so far as the male element was concerned. 



But how about the feni/ales ? More than three times as many females were driven 

 and returned to the sea as there were bachelors to be killed. How did it affect them ? 

 Did they suffer much physically"? Does the driving of the females seem to have any 

 influence upon their return to the rookery ? 



These and many related questions will find an answer iu the notes and remarks 

 which I wrote down on the spot during an earlier drive on the same rookery, viz, on 

 July 19, 1895. 



A separate tally of the number and kind of seals driven is submitted elsewhere 

 (p. 139), and some of the following notes refer to the "pods" therein enumerated, by 

 " pod " meaning each little flock of seals taken out of the big herd to Le killed. Bach 

 pod usually consists of bachelors, females, bulls, and pups. The killing gang attempt 

 to hit as many of the bachelors on the head with their clubs as possible, while the 

 other classes are allowed to escape. Occasionally the club glauces off and hits the 

 wrong animal or, more rarely, a mistake is made in the identification of the animal 

 clubbed. The following remarks are transcribed from the diary without any attempt 

 at classification : 



Female seals were accidentally hurt, more or less severely, during the killing. I noted the more 

 severe cases as follows : 



In pod i, 1 stunned; soon recovered and scampered off. 



In pod 18, 1 so severely stunned tliat a man carried her off by the hind legs; recovered in fifteen 

 minutes. 



In pod 25 the most severe case occurred ; she was perfectly unconscious for a long while ; finally sat 

 up, but could not be induced to move ; at 2 p. m. I found her still iu the same place in a dazed condition. 



In pod 31 a female waa^lso badly hurt and bleeding, but not so severely as one in pod 35, which 

 received a very big scalp wound; both ran away with the others, however. 



In pod 7 a yearling was so badly hurt that it was thought best to kill him. 



In pod 28 a pup was hurt, but I don't believe it was done by clubbing; it was probably injured 

 in the crush. At 2 p. m. I found it still unconscious in the place where it first fell, but as I roused it 

 by lifting it up by the hind flippers it came to and in a little while ambled off. 



Returning to the killing grounds at 7 p. m., I found there a lonely pup roaming about aimlessly. 

 As I saw the other pups escape with and follow the various pods of females, I am inclined to believe 

 that this was the same pup which was hurt and which I was speaking of above. If so it was very 

 lively now and made a furious resistance, when Abraham Badaef made an attempt to grab it bv the 

 hmd legs. This he had to be very careful about, for a bite of even such a little fellow-probablv not 

 so very many weeks old-might be serious enough ; but he finally succeeded and carried the pup off to 

 the beach, where it was left to take care of itself. 



I watched the handling of the seals very carefully iu order to ascertain the amount of injury 

 they might receive during the affair. The natives were certainly not very particular, much less so 

 than those on St. Paul Island when Mr. True, Mr. Stanley-Browu, and the Treasury agent were 

 observing them, but I can not say that I was much impressed with the severity of the hurt that could 



