142 THE ASIATIC FUR-SEAL ISLANDS. 



Lookiug again at the table of the classes in the 13 drives, we note that it was 

 necessary to drive off' over 29,000 seals in order to obtain 6,725 skins, and that of 

 those 29,000 no less than 20,568 were females. As already stated, there is no reason 

 to suppose that the percentage of females differed materially in the other 4 drives, 

 except one. If, therefore, we calculate the corresponding figures for a total of 8,231 

 (8,341—110) skins, we find that in order to obtain 8,341 skins, the total catch for the 

 season, it was necessary to drive off to the killing grounds 35,741 seals of all ages, of 

 which the astounding number of 25,174 were females. In this count are not included such 

 females as were allowed to escape along the road of the drive, although the number 

 of females thus culled was comparatively few, as the men were afraid of letting a 

 single killable bachelor escape. 



Nothing could better illustrate the straits to which this rookery has come. On 

 the other hand, nothing could better demonstrate how little the driving disturbs the 

 seals. Here is a rookery where the females have been driven probably as long as seals 

 have been taken, though not in the same proportion as now. Tet the females return 

 to be driven over and over again, and the breeding ground is the part of the rookery 

 least affected in the general decrease. 



A great amount of mortality due to starvation was observed among the pups, but 

 is here only alluded to, as I have treated of that question in another connection (p. 78). 



SOTJTH EOOKBET, 1882. (Plate 95.) 



This rookery, although probably the remnant of the innumerable multitudes which 

 SteUer speaks of, has not been of much account of recent years. After the interreg- 

 num, 1869-1871, it was so insignificant that no regular catch seems to have been made 

 until 1880, although occasionally, i. e., before and after the season closed on North 

 Eookery, a few seals were killed at Poludionnoye in order to get fresh meat for the 

 main village, Mkolski. Thus, in 1878, 50 were killed in June and 30 on November 5. 



The result was that the rookery was gradually increasing. Finally, in 1880, it 

 was deemed suflciently large to station a small force of men under Mr. Yolokitin at 

 the place, and in that year 787 skins were taken. It seems, however, that the capacity 

 of the rookery was underestimated and not enough salt was landed, so that no more 

 could be taken care of. In 1881, in spite of the complaint that although there are 

 "many sikatchi on both rookeries" there are "but few holustiaki, mostly in the water," 

 the South Eookery yielded 1,150 skins. The following year (1882) the catch was 1,410. 



When I visited this rookery on August 21, 1882, 1 found the entire beach between 

 the first and second cape west of the waterfall covered with seals, the breeding seals 

 occupying the portion nearest to the water, the bachelors patches at both ends and in 

 the rear up to the inner grass-covered belt. 



SOUTH EOOKEET, 1806. (Plate 96.) 



How different when I approached the same ground again August 17, 1895, thir- 

 teen years later almost to the date ! Only a handful of female seals were left at the 

 extreme western end of the rookery. 



I am very fortunate in being able to present copies of two photographs taken 

 by the late Colonel Voloshinof in 1885, which, as they are taken from almost the 

 same standpoint as one of my own (pi. 29), afford excellent comparison between 

 the conditions of Poludionnoye rookery then and now. In the right-side half of 



