164 THE ASIATIC FUR-SEAL ISLANDS. 



Coasting in small open boats along these stormy islands is neitlier pleasant 

 nor without danger. It thus took us five days to make the distauce of 20 miles from 

 Nikolski to South Eookery, ou Bering Island; five days of storm, heavy swell, rain, 

 dangerous surf, and long, weary, wet nights on sandy or rocky beaches, with no other 

 shelter than the overturned boat. Nor was the sail from Preobrazhenskoye to Glinka 

 and back without its hardships. Then the long, dreary waiting for the ships, the 

 arrival of which can not be known beforehand within weeks, with the necessity of 

 being present and prepared to embark immediately. Under such circumstances work 

 is difficult and at times impossible, and the trip, which in addition involves rough 

 passages at sea for weeks and weeks in vessels not meant for passenger transportation, 

 is anything but a pleasure excursion. 



Bering Island. 



North Rookery. — It will be remembered that in "The Russian Fur-Seal Islands" I 

 made it a point that, while the Copper Island rookeries in 1895 showed tremendous 

 falling off in the number of breeding females as compared with what I saw there in 

 1882-83, the North Eookery of Bering Island was much less affected, although, of 

 course, a great diminution was quite perceptible even then. As an evidence I 

 mentioned the general outline of the breeding mass of seals, and more especially a 

 characteristic feature of the same, viz, a "band" of harems across the northern end of 

 the "sands." This "band" was well shown in photographs taken both in 1885 and 

 1895. 



In 1896 my visit to this rookery was so late that I had no opportunity to institute 

 an intelligent comparison with the conditions of 1895, but during the present year 

 (1897) my inspection was contemporaneous with that of 1895, at the height of the 

 season, and consequently fully comparable. 



As a result of this inspection, I am able to demonstrate a very great decrease in 

 the breeding females ou north rookery since 1895. 



This rookery was visited by me twice during the height of the season of 1897 



first on July 13, in company with Prof. D'Arcy Thompson and Mr. Barrett-Hamilton; 

 the second time on July 16, in company with the latter gentleman. 



On July 13, at our first visit, the weather was very warm, probably as much as 

 + 64° F., with bright sunshine, and at the time of our inspection it was very low 

 water. 



Quite a large number of females were in the water off the Reef Eookery, but even 

 allowing liberally for these it was at once evident that the number of females had 

 greatly decreased since I inspected the rookery in 1895. The characteristic outline of 

 the breeding mass had not only disappeared, there being hardly a trace of the 

 "band," but there was a general thinness of the ranks, and the "massed" patches 

 had shriveled up to an ominous degree. The best portion is still the western side of 

 the "sands," but even here the decrease was noticeable, while to the north of this 

 the density showed the greatest falling off'. The "sands" were fringed all around, 

 though on the east side there were now a.ctual breaks in the continuity of the line. 

 As already noted, a large number of females were in the water off the rookery, both 

 on the western and eastern side of the Reef. However, on July 15, 1895, the date 

 when I photographed this rookery, the weather conditions were exactly similar, viz, 

 a hot, sunshiny day, with hardly a breeze stirring, and the seals in the water were 



