The National tribune., 1888-02-23

and demand, the thought arises that our
Government is exceedingly fortunate in hay
ing tins great amphibiOus stocllyard, far up
and away IN the quiet seclusion Of Berfup
Sea- from which il can draw an
EVERLASTING REVENUE,
and on which its wise regulations and firm
hand can continue these seals to the end Of
time
Those islands the Pribylov Group. are insig-
nlhcant specks Of land, which We find 200 miles
north OF the Aleutian Chain. In Beriup Sea
and about the same distance west Of the main.
land. They stand in the center of warm
Hood which sweeps up from the Chinese coast
and passes through Behring'S Straits into the
Frozen Ocean. This ocean current. warfnerf ban
TIE normal temperature Of the air gives rise dur
ing the Summer and early Autumn 70 constant.
cehse ana humid iogs which hang ia heavy
banks over those islands. That shroud OF gray
fog IS what ailuTes and secures 20 the fur seal
DIS blgnesJ physical peace and makes the land
ing az the Pribyl0v Group one that iusures him
from what be most dislikes-thc sunlight Il
ls too much for BIN. When the solar rags strike
ms lat body, turgld with rich, warm blood. he
L Obliged 70 plunge back from the rocks into
that cooling flood from whence he came
There Is probably, no part Of the world to.
Gay upon which 50 dense a mass Of animal life
ID state q nature can be found, as we find If
gathered upon these seal islands Of Alaska
bat II was more than rivaled only a few, a.
eades ago IN the southern waters Of the earth
is true, bnt that mighty aggregate of the Ant
arctic has been fairly eliminated, never to re-
turn.
To these islands Of Pribylov $50 named after
their oiscoverer Russian, in 1856 the fpr seal
u obliged 70 annually repair for the n,rnoss ,f
reproduction and Of shedding its hair and fnr
In normal seasons by the lst of Nav every
year inc Oldest males put in the first appear
snce o. ineIr KIND. They are heavy shoulder
60, obese animals, about seven feet long and
viii weigh nearly 400 pounds each; some a
little more and Others trife less Their fat
bodies fairly culver as they land as though
they were forms Of wine Jelly trembling an a
huge earthen plate before you When thew
land they
"HAUL Up"
on the sloping rocks and beaches Of the breed
lDg grounds. The 6rst-comers take the ,lac.s
nearest the sea but each one has TO maintain
us ground against the new arrivals Of the b,,ste
yet 10 come. At once these old males are en-
gagged IN bloody tooth-to-tooth battle with each
other, the yictors holding the stations and the
Tanquished retiring 10 posts higher Up from
the surf
his order Of fighting for position goes on in
this sanguinary manner until about the I2tb
o. 14th u June when the females now begin
70 make their appearance, none having arrived
Is yet. When they come they land in great
swarms Each female, or COW" as she reaches
the iaho IS eoaxed by the males in the softest
terms Of endcarment which bull seal can
devise TO rest within the precincts which they
nave appropriated, and 10 these gentle endear-
mehI7 lcfce IS not lnfrequently added. The
bull, which is more than six times the WEIGHT
q cow seal, often seizes her IN his mouth
Just as a cat VII catch a kitten and losses her
OF 70 has seTagiio ground. Such proceeding.
however, is sure TO excite the jealous wrath Of