S44 
[May 5; 1900 
sea lions and its enormous multitude 01 sea birds, which 
flew out and ni about the clilts, looking at this distance, 
as one prosaic individual remarked, "uke a lot ot mos- 
quitoes about a cow," we steamed away into the gather- 
ing night. 
When we arose next morning the weather was gray 
and heavy. It did not '"ain, and there was no actual 
fog, yet one could see only a little distance from the 
ship, ihere was a fresh breeze, which had in it some 
keenness, so that the morning felt like an October day 
at home. There was a good sea on; the black water 
tossed n:erriJy, with frequent whitecaps, and there was 
more motion to the good ship than had been felt before. 
Calculations had been made that about noon the ship 
should reach the Pribilof Islands, and the actual navi- 
gators and some others who imagined themselves navi- 
gators were on the lookout at middr.y to try to see St. 
George Island. The ship was slowed down, soundings 
were taken, and every one was on the alert, but a dense 
fog had fallen, and St. George Island was passed without 
being seen. 
About 4 o'clock, however, St. Paul hove in view, at 
fir.st a dim mass, scarcely to be distinguished in the fog, 
but before long the loom of the land grew stronger, and 
at length we anchored but a few hundred yards from 
the shore. With the glasses we could now see the bright 
•green slopes of the island, the little settlement with 
large white-painted houses for the Government officials, 
and the smaller dwellings of the Aleuts, the men hurry- 
•ing down to the landing, place to view the unaccustomed 
sight of a big ship anchored off it, and more interesting 
than all, to the right of the landing place the dark rocks 
wliere the seal rookeries are situated. Careful inspection 
of these soon showed a few bull seals on the beach, mov- 
ing about, black even against the dark rocks, and aS 
we looked more and more closely, and our eyes became 
accustomed to the view, we could see that some of the 
bulls were surrounded by smaller yellowish objects, 
which sometimes moved, and which we knew must be the 
cows. 
Before long a boat. puUed by a half-dozen sturdy 
Aleuts, put off from the shore, and we were boarded by 
three or four Americans, two of whom were officials of 
the Treasury Department, and one the representative of 
the North American Commercial Company. 
Landing on the seal islands is forbidden by the regu- 
lations of the Treasury Department, but a permit to land 
had been obtained from the Secretary of the Treasury 
before the party started, and before long the naphtha 
launches and the lifeboats were lowered and the ship's 
company began to pass down the long companion ladder. 
Only one or two of the party were left on board, for all 
were an.xious to see what is one of the most interesting 
congregations of animal life in all tlie world, and now 
quite unique. 
At the landing in a little cove, protected from the 
swells of the ever restless Bering Sea, the members of 
the party were helped out over the slippery rocks by the 
willing hands of of the natives gathered there, and before 
long the whole party, carrying innumerable cameras, were 
strung out over the road toward the rookeries. The 
first seals seen near at hand were a few bulls, restlessly 
moving about over the rocks, and so timid that, at our 
approach, they slowly started toward the water. Further 
on we came to a point where there were more seals, and 
several familieshad established themselves. In each of these 
the great bull occupied some commanding position, and 
all about him la.v the paler cows, and among them here 
and there a little black pup, just born. The number of 
cows in the family varied from six to thirty, and wander- 
ing about behind them, and sometimes almost among 
them, were scattered unattached bulls. Now and then 
one of these would pass too close to one of the families, 
and would be charged by its head, who, in three or four 
quick but lumbering jumps would place' himself before 
the intruder. The two would feint at each other with 
their heads, and then one or the other would make a 
quick dart, fastening his teeth in the neck of his oppo- 
nent, jerk back his head, and the fur would fly; then the 
two would separate. Most of these attacks were mere 
feints, and nothing more, the intruding bull usually re- 
treating. 
Once a bull, frightened at something, bolted from the 
upper part of the rookery for the water, passing through 
one or more families, and attacked and bitten at by every 
bull and cow that he passed near. 
With one of the young girls of the party I very slowly 
approached a good-sized bull that was roaring and 
threatening at the back of the rookery. As he stood 
there, raised on his front feet, his head stood nearly as 
tall as mine. His neck and breast and sides were black, 
but his back was grizzled or tawny. As we approached 
he swa3'cd his head from side to side, and at intervals 
of a few moments opened his mouth, roared fiercely and 
then closed his eyes and swayed his head from side to 
side again. Once or twice he seemed a little alarmed, 
and looked over his shoulder toward the water, as if 
he contemplated retreat, but our advance was so im- 
perceptible that it did not really frighten him. At last, 
when we had come within 12 feet, he made a threatening 
motion with his head and shuffled forward about 2 feet 
to meet us, so that we were perhaps 10 feet apart. I 
thought that this distance was quite close enough. Very 
likely he would have retreated if we had gone nearer, 
but there was a possibility of his getting near enough 
to reach one of us, and the risk was hardly worth taking. 
Out in the water in front of the rookery were hundreds 
of seals, playing, appearing and disappearing, slipping 
through the sea as easily as so many fish. We who weie 
tmfamilinr with the animals could not tell whether they 
were bulls or caws, or young, but there were many of 
them, and they kept up a continual motion. 
Down on tlie rookery something was going on all the 
time. A cow, anxious to get into the water, slipped out 
cf reach of -lier bull, and made a quick run. Every bull 
between her and the water tried to stop her by getting 
in the way. None bit at her. but she was not so con- 
sidered, for she snapped at everj-^thing that barred her path. 
it was interestit^g to watch the pups, all of them as 
blacW as night. They were constantly caressed by their 
mothers. 
The seals were scattered — with some mtervals — for a 
considerable distance along the beach, but the herds did 
not extend very far back above high water mark. The 
best estimates to-day give about 100,000 seals on the 
islands, where there used to be perhaps ten times as 
many. x:.lliot. who was the first man to mak« an ex- 
haus'tive study of these islands, estimated thai in his 
time there were several millions here, but it may be 
doubted whether they were ever so numerous 88^ that. 
Dr. Dall has expressed the opinion that in ot }f time- 
that is to say, since the United States possrgged the 
islands — there were never more than six or seven hundred 
thousand, and that perhaps there have never bttn on 
these islands more than a million seals. 
We arc sure, however, that once they were vaMf aiore 
numerous than they are to-day, and those who liBve read 
of the vast herds formerly found on these rookeries ex- 
perience a feeling of disappointment at the scattering 
fringe of animals now seen lying along the watiVs edge. 
The old limits of the rookeries are easily recoETaiied by 
the worn basalt boulders, which have been poLished by 
the passage over them of many generations of feals, and 
by the new vegetation which is now invading the old 
bare soil back from the water, where the seals u£.ed_to_ lie. 
In recent F years, it is said, the British conMnission- 
ers , who, with the commissioners of the United States, 
investigated the seal islands claimed that the seals there 
were as numerous as ever, but when the full extent 01 
the old rookeries was pointed out. and it was shown 
them that beneath this vegetation, which is now en- 
croaching on the bare soil, might be found the hair and 
other remains of former generations of seals, they were 
forced to admit that in previous years the herds had 
covered a much greater area than they do at present. 
The cause of this diminution of the seals — a cause 
which promises before long to result in the practical 
extinction of the species — is pelagic sealing. Of_ the 
^eals'taken by this method two-thirds are females, either 
carrying young or nursing new-born pups. In the legiti- 
mate land-killing on the islands, only males are killed, 
while in pelagic sealing for one male taken there are 
five destroyed. The pelagic sealers follow the migrating 
herds over the great curve which they make toward the 
equator, and this has been done so often, and the move- 
ments of the seals have been so carefully observed, that 
many sealing captains have charts of the Pacific Ocean, 
in which the position of the herd is marked for each day 
of the winter and early spring. When the sealing vessels 
find themselves among the herds they keep along with 
them, traveling about as fast as the seals travel, and 
hunting every day. 'After the animals have reached their 
breeding places on the islands the sealers hover about 
them a good distance from land, but often a cow will 
travel from sixty to eighty miles to the fishing ground 
for her meal, and then return to the islands. On this 
journey she is likely to be intercepted and killed, and her 
pup at home starved to death. Cows which have pro- 
duced their young and are still nursing them often re- 
turn from their fishing excursions bearing fresh bleeding 
wounds inflicted by the sealers. 
Aside from the seals themselves, there are many in- 
teresting things to be seen here. Curious little birds, like 
auks or tiny puffins, congregate in great numbers in the 
rookeries, sitting on the rocks in little groups. Some- 
times a half-dozen flocks of these will suddenly rise on 
the wing, much like a flock of blackbirds, and from some 
sudden impulse swing from the ground and fly off to- 
gether. These little birds sit bolt upright on the higher 
rocks, and are grotesque, with their red, turned-up bills. 
They breed in holes excavated among the rocks and feed 
on the refuse of the rookeries. Besides these, there are 
found on St. Paul's Island the gray-crowned finch. th;e 
Lapland longspur, and the snow-bunting, all breeding 
here. We saw a number of young gray-crowned finches 
just from the nest. 
The flowers on the islands are beautiful. Of these 
the mo3t showy are the yellow poppies, the great blue 
lupins, the harebell, raspberry, pink spring beauty and 
verbena. Some of the sloping hills look like real flower 
gardens, and their sides are literally yellow with poppies, 
huge bunches of which were brought on board ship. 
Three or four most interesting hours were spent on the 
island. G. B. G. 
Through the Parsonage Windows. 
vn. 
How much pleasanter is life in its retrospection than 
in its reality. I look out through the window to-day on 
a bleak plain of wind swept snow. The prospect is in- 
expressibly cold and dreary, and no inspiration rises out 
of it. But in restrospection we are not bound to the nar- 
row paths fate chisels for the original, but may leave out 
parts or even shift the scenes entirely. In this case we 
will shift the scene, so I have pulled down the curtain 
and turned to the fire. 
Why is it we close our eyes to see far down the aisles of 
the distant and unfrequented past? It seems strange 
that it should be so, yet mine are hardly closed when they 
fall on the gray ashes of a smouldering camp-fire on the 
banks of a stream. It is a wild looking spot in a prairie 
country, and next to the stream the grass and other growth 
is S feet tall. It is still glistening with rnorning dew and 
shuts in those two glum looking boys, sitting beside the 
fire, like a wall, for they well know a five minutes walk 
in that tangle would find them wet to the eyes. 
We had joined in with a couple of men who were going 
into the West on' a hunting and exploring trip, and had 
been two months coming through Illinois and Iowa, and 
getting a hundred miles out on the plains. The men 
owned the team and wagon, so we boys paid the bulk of 
the expenses to even up. 
They had organized expressly to get bej^ond the reach 
of civilized man and luxuriate awhile in the realms of 
untamed nature. All through Iowa they had been very 
boastful, but when, after crossing the Missouri River, the 
settlements began to dwindle they became less and less 
talkative, until, when at last we were compelled to camp 
down on the raw prairie with no settlement in sight or 
hearing, they were comnletely cowed and announced their 
intention of turning back in the rnorning. 
We boys had regarded the expedition as a special orovi- 
dence sent to aid us in carrying out our earlier formed 
designs of seeing the great plains for ourselves. We 
had often read descriptions of them and been fevered and 
fired thereby. 'Tis true that these descriptions had been 
written mostly by men who had never seen the great 
plains themselves, but this made little difference to n-. 
They were there, and we were resolved to see them. 
The turning back of the men was an unlooked for dib 
appointment to us, for, tliough we had noted the change 
in them, we had no idea tliat such courageous fellows 
would ever show the white feather. They had carefully 
concealed the state of their minds from us, for on our 
side we displayed not the faintest tinge of yellow, and 
they were afraid to own their fears to us. But that night 
on the bank of the Platte the climax came; their fear 
of that vast solitude got the upper hand of their fear 0/ 
us, and they declared their intention of turning back. 
The announcement came like a thunderbolt to us, and 
we withdrew and held a long consultation. We felt that 
we were at an important period of our career. Should 
we turn back we would be the laughing stock of the little 
hamlet where we lived, for we had marched forth, witK 
sounding timbrels, amid the plaudits (and otherwise) of 
all the men and hoys of our acquaintance. We felt that 
if we turned back here without having an adventure of 
some kind the opportunity would never come to us again, 
and we resolved to stay, hence the camp-fire and the 
boys on the river bank after the men had driven away. 
Had we known what the future held in some of the dark 
cells of its gloomy old box, perhaps we should not have 
regarded this particular expedition as of so much con- 
sequence. 
After we had been alone for a while some of the diffi- 
culties in our way began to appear. We were alone there 
on the prairie with our duffie and no possible means of 
transportation at hand. We had guns and ammunition, of 
course, but what object could there be in hunting with no 
means at hand for handling our game? In all the hunting 
stories we had ever read we had never seen any account 
of what was done with the slaughtered game, and it had 
never occurred to us that there was anything to be done 
but shoot down the game that came in our way. When it 
came to planning for practical work w^e found all sorts 
of difficulties rising before us. 
The place where we were located was not on tlie main 
channel of the Platte, but was separated from the main 
channel by a large w^ooded island. The water of the 
stream was very muddy and the current swift, having a 
verj'- ugly look, so that we did not investigate its depth at 
first. The rank growth that surrounded us, saturated by 
a heavy dew, was a long time in drying, so that it was 10 
o'clock before wc could make any explorations. During 
this time we were engaged in summing up the situation. 
The more we talked the matter over, the more it became 
evident that we had done a very foolish thing in not going 
back with the team to the first settlement at least. My 
companion grew more and more gloomy over the situation 
and finally declared he was going out to the overland 
trail, only a few miles away, to wait' until some wagon, 
train came along and get them to take us out. 1 pooh- 
poohed at this, but the longer I thought of it the more 
I became convinced that it was the only thing there was 
left for us to do. But I persuaded him to wait a couple of 
days in camp, as we had ample stores for a month. This 
would give us a chance to hunt some, and perhaps get a 
shot at some big game before returning. 
It was late in July, the sun being quite warm, and 
we finally concluded to go in swimming. I was first to 
make the plunge, and went into the sullen stream with 
some misgiving, but landed on a sand bar covered by onlj 
two inches of water. The channel on our side of the 
island was 50 yards wide, and at no place was it more 
than a foot in depth, and this only close under the bank on 
either side ; the rest of the way it was 2 to 6 inches. We 
soon waded down through the shallow water to the lower 
end of the island, taking our clothes along, and had our 
first view of the Platte River. 
It was a full mile wide at tliis point, tte most of its 
bed being a long extended plain of yellow sand. Looked 
at in these days of close settlement, the Platte is not a 
particularly imposing stream, nor are its sandy bed and low 
banks a very impressive sight, but looked at from our 
point of view it was grand. We imagined ourselves to 
be in the very midst of the great plains of the West, and 
far from the haunts of man. Looked at with the glamor 
of solitude hanging over us. that plain of sand, with 
shallow ribbons of water shimmering over it here and 
there, was an awe inspiring and long to be remembered 
sight. 
W''e spent a very interesting day wandering up and down, 
the sand and noting the animal and bird life that was 
new and strange to us. I noticed here a peculiar little 
sand runner about the size of a sandpiper. Its color 
was a du'^ky white, and its mournful note left an in- 
delible impression on me. We called it a sand mourner 
on account of its note. I have never noticed many of these.- 
birds in any other part of the country, and it has been 
years since I have seen a single specimen. There were 
deer tracks all over the bars, though of a truth we never 
saw any deer or other large game during the entire trip. 
We returned to camp at dusk without having had a 
bite to eat since morning. We were much fagged 
with the tramos of the day, and got only a light lunch 
before lying down. This was bad for us, for with the 
falling of the gloom of night came a corresponding gloom 
over our spirits. Had we spent a couple of hours in 
preparing and eating a hearty supner this sort of an after- 
glow would have been avoided, There was little sleep for 
us that night, and the time was mostly put in in planning 
for the morrow. ■* 
My companion openly declared he had enough of the 
wild West, with no way to help ourselves in moving about 
and said he was going to begin to watch the trail for teams 
in the early morning. The thoughts of retreating in this 
ignominious manner made me feel rather blue, but T could 
not help but agree that it was about all there was left to 
do. although I was inclined to urge staying where we 
were for a week before making anv attemnt to get away. 
The coming of day strengthened this feelins, and T nre- 
pared for another day on the sand bar, while my friend 
stprfed on a hunt for the overland trail. 
Had we known it there was a settlement of several 
hundred peonle ten rni'es further on, but we were without 
man'!, and having left thp trail twentv-five mile<5 b^ck 
vrp had =ppn but one small settlement since crossing the 
Missouri River at Omaha, and supposed we were far 
bevond their limits. A couple of years later I made an- 
other trip, and extending it somewhat farther, found 
this out. 
