330 THE PUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



SO during the season of 1897 fencing was taken up to St. Paul Island and the salt 

 lagoon was inclosed. This lagoon, covering as it does upward of 300 acres of space 

 and having a direct connection with the sea, is admirably adapted for the purjjose. It 

 is, moreover, conveniently located for all the rookeries on the southern end of the 

 island. For the two remaining breeding areas — Polovina and l^Tortheast Point — fresh- 

 water lakes are available, several in the vicinity of the former and one of considerable 

 size — Webster Lake — near the latter. 



The fencing, unfortunately, was not delivered at the islands until late in August, 

 and so the only use which could be made of the inclosure for the present season was 

 in further testing its utility. Seals were confined in the inclosure during the first 

 week of September, and it was found entirely feasible to so retain them. Of the details 

 of this experiment an account will be found in the daily journal of the commission 

 for September, 1897, and also in Colonel Murray's brief report appended herewith 

 (Appendix II). 



The proper time in which to utilize this inclosure is in the early part of August. 

 The younger bachelors come to the islands late in July, and in the last few days of this 

 month the bachelors should be gathered up and held in the lagoon or elsewhere as 

 long as it is possible to hold them. Whether they could be retained longer than the 

 month of August would remain to be seen. But judging from the length of time 

 which it takes the fur-seal pup of three months old to starve, they would not suffer 

 for want of food within a month. 



It is to be hoped that neither branding nor herding the seals may be necessary in 

 the future as a means for the protection of the fur seals j but in case such measures 

 are necessary, we desire to call attention to the fact that both plans are entirely feasi- 

 ble, and that, systematically carried out, they furnish a means of doing away with 

 pelagic sealing, or at least so seriously crippling it as to make its abandonment certain. 

 With its mark of ownership and reservation thus stamped upon its herd of breeding 

 females, the United States should then set about a determination of its rights of redress 

 against the slaughter of such animals, wherever killed. 



In conclusion we may call attention to the fact that both of these experiments 

 have an important place in the proper management of the fur-seal herd, aside from 

 their bearing on the fur-seal question. As the young yearlings and 2-year-old males 

 swarm over the hauling grounds late in July, they crowd the drives and become a 

 nuisance and obstruction on the killing fields. From the beginning of the season, 

 moreover, the half bulls and idle bulls, of which many get into the drives, are a menace 

 to those conducting the killing. These seals, rejected from the killing, should be 

 turned into the salt lagoon instead of being allowed to go back to their hauling 

 grounds to reappear in the very next drive. They should be held for a week at least,- 

 or until a second drive has been made, and then released, their place in the lagoon 

 being filled by the new lot of rejected seals. The unnecessary driving which marks 

 the close of the season will be in a large measure diminished, and the work of handling 

 the seals on the killing grounds will be made much simpler and easier. Furthermore, 

 it will not be devoid of interest to study the actions of the seals themselves under 

 confinement, opportunity to do which will be thus afforded. 



In the matter of branding, also, we may note it is of the utmost importance to the 

 Government to know just what proportion of breeding males are necessary for its 



