"I've wondered what that fierce bird was," said Teddy, who was always
quite carried away with Kalitan's strange legends.

"Well, what else do we see on the way to Nome, father?"

"The most remarkable thing happening in the Bering Sea is the seal
industry, but I do not think we pass near enough to the islands to see
any of that. You'd better run about and see the ship now," and the boys
needed no second permission.

It was not many days before they knew everybody on board, from captain
to deck hands, and were prime favourites with them all. Ted and Kalitan
enjoyed every moment. There was always something new to see or hear, and
ere they reached their journey's end, they had heard all about seals and
sealing, although the famous Pribylov Islands were too far to the west of
the vessel's route for them to see them. They sighted the United States
revenue cutter which plies about the seal islands to keep off poachers,
for no one is allowed to kill seals or to land on this government
reservation except from government vessels. The scent of the rookeries,
where millions of seals have been killed in the last hundred years, is
noticed far out at sea, and often the barking of the animals can be heard
by passing vessels.

"Why is sealskin so valuable, father?" asked Ted.

"It has always been admired because it is so warm and soft," replied Mr.
Strong. "All the ladies fancy it, and it never seems to go out of
fashion. There was a time, when the Pribylov Islands were first
discovered, that sealskins were so plentiful that they sold in Alaska for
a dollar apiece. Hunters killed so many, killing old and young that soon
there were scarcely any left, so a law was passed by the Russian
government forbidding any killing for five years. Since the Americans
have owned Alaska they have protected the seals, allowing them to be
killed only at certain times, and only male seals from two to four years
old are killed. The Indians are always the killers, and are wonderfully
swift and clever, never missing a blow and always killing instantly, so
that there is almost no suffering."

"How do they know where to find the seals?" asked Ted.

"For half the year the seals swim about the sea, but in May they return
to their favourite haunts. In these rookeries families of them herd on
the rocks, the male staying at home with his funny little black puppies,
while the mother swims about seeking food. The seals are very timid, and
will rush into the wa