296 THE FUR SEALS OP THE PKIBILOF ISLANDS. 



their presence yesterday, and had sailed by them, our catch' to-day would not have 

 been large. Our captain had become thoroughly convinced of the value of these signs 

 after years of experience. 



The canoes were all back at 6.30 p. m., having been absent over twelve hours. 

 In the forenoon seals were inclined to be restless, but occasional warm rays of sun in 

 the afternoon caused them to sleep soundly. It was noticed that a large portion of 

 to-day's catch was speared either in the breast or back, close to the forward flippers, 

 indicating that the seals slept soundly, with their bodies largely exposed, which gave 

 the hunters an opportunity to strike the most vital part. Aside from the favorable 

 condition of the weather, the absence of other vessels from the ground materially 

 aided in increasing the day's catch. 



In only 12 stomachs was food found which could be identified, the others being 

 empty. In the full stomachs were observed squid, pollock, and one piece of salmon. 

 Fifty of the 62 males were 4 to 5 years old, the other 12 about 3 years old. Ninety -two 

 of the females were adults, and 2 under 3 years of age. 



All through the night of the 26th and the morning of the 27th the weather was 

 calm, or nearly so. At daybreak a light fog hung over the water ; in the middle of the 

 day it cleared away. On the strength of yesterday's success the hunters went out at 

 an early hour. From the vessel scattering seals were observed all through the day. 

 The water was very much discolored, and whales and porpoises were abundant, but 

 there was a marked scarcity of birds as compared with yesterday. At noon a good 

 observation of the sun was taken, which placed us in latitude 55° 10' north, longitude 

 170° 47' west. 



At 4 p. m. the hunters began to return, and at 7.30 o'clock the last one had 

 arrived. The catch nearly equaled that of yesterday, amounting to 146 seals, < 8 being 

 males and 78 females. It will be seen by this that there are times when the sexes are 

 nearly equally distributed, but as a rule the majority of seals taken at sea are females. 

 Sixty of the 146 seals were opened; food was taken ii-om 6 males and 14 females, con- 

 sisting of squid, pollock, and a small quantity of fishbones. The stomachs of the. 

 females opened contained a greater quantity of food than the males. Thus far, in the. 

 examination of stomachs, it had been noticed that those of the males contained much 

 less material than the females. 



Most of the males caught to-day were very young, 3 and 4 years old; the females 

 were much larger. Seventy-four of the latter were in milk; those that were not were 

 from 2 to 3 years old. 



On the morning of August 28 the weather looked favorable for a repetition of 

 the previous day's work. The hunters were well clear of the vessel at 5.30 o'clock, at 

 which time another vessel and the smoke of a steamer could be seen low on the 

 horizon. In the middle of the day a canoe belonging to the schooner James G. Stcan 

 came alongside arid reported that vessel as having 860 skins. During the latter part 

 of the day the weather became threatening. The barometer had been falling rapidly 

 since noon, the wind had shifted from southwest to southeast, and no seals had been 

 observed from the vessel. At 6 p. m. the hunters returned, bringing 57 seals. Two 

 of the males were large, the others were all small. 



As soon as the canoes and boats were hoisted in and secured for the night, a 

 single reef was put in the foresail and a reefed trysail set, and preparations made for 

 stormy weather. At dark the wind began to increase in force, and by midnight it was 



