A NEW FUR-SEAL ROOKERY 167 
be left, and were wasted. The day was very warm, 
with bright sunshine. 
We left for Hakodate, intending to ship our catch, 
and return with more salt for another lot. It took 
a fortnight running down ; we remained two weeks 
in port, and then returned to Srednoy, which we 
reached on August 27. More seals than ever were 
hauled up. In three days we took nearly 1,200, and 
then had to leave on account of the weather. Return¬ 
ing on September 10, we got nearly 1,200 more in 
five days. Our salt was again all used up. Not 
thinking it possible that so many more seals would 
haul out on Srednoy, I took salt enough only for 
about 2,500, and expected to have a lot to spare, 
whereas I could easily have secured a couple of 
thousand more. The day after we left we met the 
schooner Khiva Elizabeth bound northwards. She 
made a catch of 1,700 seals at Srednoy, having 
shipped in Hakodate some of my runaway sailors, 
who told her captain where we had found the seals. 
When about to leave Srednoy, I resolved to 
capture a couple of well-grown seals, and take them 
down to Yokohama alive. We had a salmon seine 
on board, with which we could easily secure the seals 
we wanted. Taking it on to the rookery, we selected 
a two or three years old female, and soon had her 
rolled up in the net, and carried on board, where we 
released her in the hold. Returning to the rookery, 
we secured a male of about the same age, and treated 
him in the same manner. We also captured a 
couple of three-months-old “ pups.’ 5 
On the voyage down, a few days later, we took the 
seals out of the hold by means of the net, and placed 
them in a large spare boat on deck, fastening battens 
