THE RUSSIAN FUR-SEAL ISLANDS. 
61 
island is still beset by ice,” ' and take up the same place as the previous year, being 
extremely fat upon their arrival. They pass most of tlie time sleeping, before the 
arrival of the females, when the sikatchi ti ies to get hold of as many as possible for 
his harem, in which he succeeds not without bloody contests with other males. “From 
1 to 150 females have been observed with one sikatch, the number depending simply 
upon Ins bravery. He is the unrestricted lord, the guardian and protector of his 
harem. He takes no food whatever when staying ashore.” 
The polusikatchi and holustiaki arrive later and congregate in large companies 
upon the grounds which are usually separate and more distant from the sea than the 
breeding grounds. The females commence to arrive on May 20, rarely on May 21, 
shortly before giving birth to their single pup, the season for the delivery being from 
the end of May “ through the whole of June, and even as late as July 10.” The kotiki 
arrive usually by southerly winds, but not with the same regularity as the others, all 
not having arrived even by the middle of June, “as there are instances of yearlings 
having arrived as late as July.” The sikatch comes together with the female some time 
after the birth of the pup, but only once; he “is able to cover from 21 to 25 females in 
21 hours.” The pups “feed exclusively upon the milk of their mothers until leaving 
the land. The female never suckles her young while in the water, but coming ashore 
for that purpose attends her offspring in a resting position.” The pups do not go into 
the water until they are 30 to 35 days old, becoming familiar with the water when 10 
to .50 days of age. “The color of the ])ups when born is black, but from September 
10 changes to gray, the old hair being cast off.” The seals leave the island (St, Paul) 
gradually, beginning about October 5, and always with north and northwest winds, the 
young ones remaining longest. A few old bulls may occasionally be seen in November, 
or even December, but none in January or February. “Very rarely 2 or 3 sikatchi 
show themselves again in March, but always for a very short time only.” 
I have thought it worth while to give the above short summary of the natural 
history as it was known in 1810, since it has been assexffed that from the time of 
Steller to about 1S70 “the scieutilic world actually knew nothing definite in regard to 
the life history of this valuable animal.” Not even the jiictorial representation of the 
northern fur-seal in that period was so bad as it has been made to appear, as will 
be plain from an inspection of Choris’s drawing of a fur-seal rookery on St. Paul, 
published in 1822 as i)l. xv of his “Voyage pittoresque autour du Monde” (Fol. 
Paris, 1822) of which 1 append a greatly reduced copy on pi. 5!). 
Since Veniamiuofs account, no original contributions to the natural history of the 
fur-seal, of any magnitude, appeared until the studies of Scammon, Bryant, and 
particularly Elliott were given to the public in the early seventies. These, with the 
' The arrival of first Imllis ou Boring- Island rookeri(ss are reported for a few yearH as follows: 
Date. 
^J'o. of 
Imlls 
avrivcMl. 
Looabty. 
1879, Mar •'> 
2 
North rookery. 
1880, A]>nl 27 
3 
Do. 
1881, M, ay 20 
2 
South rookerv. 
1882, April 19 
4 
Nortli rookery. 
188.1, May 23 
2 
Sou til rookery. 
1884, April 27 
2 
North rookery. 
1895, May 10 
1 
Do. 
On Copper Island the first hulls, 7 in nnniher, were observed in 1895 on May 1.3. 
