Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-04-29
The Far Seal Islands in Behring Sea.


\ year ago we gave an account by Dr.
Mcintyre of Randolph, the Superintend-
ent of the Alaska Commercial Company
at the Seal Islands, of the territory of
Alaska. In Harpcr'S Magazi11e for May
is a full account of the seal islands, the
most interesting and valuable part of the
territory. There will be the coming sum
mer quite colony of Vermonters on St
Paul, consisting of DR.. Mcintyre, his wife,
and two brothers, and Mr.. Seth NJ. Wash
burn, all of Randolph The paper in Har
per'S from which the following extracts
are taken, is from the pen of Mr. Henry
W. Elliot, and is quite profusely illus
trated.
Up in the heart, as it were. of Behring
Sea lies a small group of islands, to the
rocky shores of which annually repair
millions of highly organized animals to
breed and she'd their hair and fur. Insig-
nificant landmarks are these, the Pribvlov
Islands, but the sixty square miles of their
area support more available wealth to-day
than all the rest of the five hundred thou
sand belonging to Alaska--a strange
stockyard of amphibious beasts, which are
universally deemed wild and wary, but
among millions of which the agents of
the government walk on their tours of in
spection without giving or experiencing
serious alarm.
1t is remarkable that while thousands
of men and millions of dollars have been
employed in capturing, dressing. and sell
ing fur seal skins during the last hundred
wears, vet since the time of Stella, in 10, ,
up to the beginning of the last decade
even the scientific world knew nothing
definitely in regard to the habits of this
valuable animal, although the truth con
nected with the life of this seal of the
Pribvlov Islands is far stranger than fiction
With the exception of our seal islands,
there are none others of much importance
elsewhere in the world, the vast breeding
grounds in the antarctic having been, BY
the united efforts of all nationalties, mis-
guided, shOrt-sighted, and greedy of gain,
entirely depopulated. Only Il few thou
sand unhappy stragglers are now to be
seen on the Falkland Islands and contio-
uous islets, where millions once were
found, and small roOkeries are protected
and fostered by the government of Buenos
Ayres north and south of the mouth of the
Rio de III Plata; but the seal life on the
Pribvlov Islands, thanks to the foresight
of the Russians, has been preserved to the
present day in all of its original integrity
and wonder.
The seal islands of Alaska are four in
number, two Of which. however, are mere
rocks, and of little or no importance COM
pared with the others, st. Paul and St.
George, the former of which is the great
seal ground of the northern hemisphere.
and without u parallel at the present time
on the face of the globe This little island
lies in latitude SO s" north, longitude
170o 12' west, and is visited annually by
over five millions of fur seals; while st.
George, lying to the southeast, only twenty
seven miles from st. Paul, is resorted to
by less than two hundred and fifty thou
sand, the nature of the coast, high, bald,
and blutfy, not permitting the breeding
seals to lie upon the beaches i'll safety The
other two unimportant islets-Otter, five
miles south of St Paul, and Walrus Island.
six miles east of the same-are not I'M
worthy of mention, especially the latter.
upon which herds of hundreds of immense
bull walruses can be viewed to the greatest
advantage at all seasons of the year, in
company with clouds of breeding water
fowl.
On these islands the fur seals can come
from the cool water of Behring Sea, and
rest, without Inconvenience or ANNOYANCE
of sunlight, which rarely breaks through
the fog banks peculiar to this latitude, So
uncomfortable are these animals made by
heat that few hours of sunshine, with
the temperature as low rs fifty degrees in
the shade, will drive nearly all of the non
breeding seals back to the water, and cause
those that remain to pant, and resort to
various movements of their fippers in or
der to cool themselves. But the humid
fogs quickly regain their ground, and with
them the seals also. The certainty of 4
cool, foggy summer, coupled with the per-
/ feet isolation of the islands, gives rise to
the preference manifested by the swarms
/ of pinnigrades which come to them, to the
practical exclusion of all other land in the
northern hemisphere, small fur seal rock
cries only being.found on Behring and Cop
per islands. lying to the westward, which
are, however, owned and under the iuris
diction of the Russian government.
After the transfer of the territory sew
eral parties, who were OF became aware
of the importance and value Of the sea
life on these islands. Immediately fitte(
themselves out for the sealing business
and came promptly upon the ground; ant
had no limitation been imposed upon then
by the government and member of thei
| own fraternity, the great rookeries
would have been swept from the islands