274 EUMETOPIAS STELLERI STELLER's SEA. LION 



flavor, and it dries more readily in preserving it for winter use; 

 the flesh of the young at the age of four mouths is esteemed 

 a great luxury "by the natives and is not -easily distinguished 

 from veal by educated palates. . . . Only the skeleton is 

 left to waste. 



" The stomachs of the full-grown Sea Lions are found to always 

 contain from six to ten pounds of stones, varying in size from 

 that of a hen's egg to a large apple. These stones are the same as 

 those found on the beaches, worn round and smooth by the surf. 

 The natives say they take these stones into the stomach for 

 ballast when they leave the breeding-grounds, and cast them 

 out again when they land in the spring. I have, however, had 

 no means of verifying this, as the only season when they are 

 taken is during the winter. 



"As soon as the animals have all been killed the men proceed 

 to remove the skins and blubber, and the other useful parts, 

 Avhich the chiefs divide and distribute among the several fami- 

 lies. . . . Only a few of the skins are required for use on 

 the island, the remainder being shipped to Ounalashka and other 

 points where they are sold to the Sea Otter hunters. The value 

 of the skins at the island is sixty cents each. About eight hun- 

 dred are annually taken at St. Paul's Island, without appar- 

 ently any decrease in the stock. 



"There are many other places in the Territory where these 

 animals bring forth their young, but as they resort mostly to 

 outlying rocks and ledges they cannot be captured in any con- 

 siderable numbers. 



"The Sea Lion of Alaska, so far as my opportunities of 

 observation have enabled me to judge, is a much larger species 

 than that of California, the largest males I have ever seen at 

 San Francisco and vicinity being not much larger than the full- 

 grown female at the Fur Seal Islands, while I have seen at San 

 Francisco females with young that were not much larger than 

 i yearling of the species found at St. Paul's." 



The food of the Sea Lion is well known to consist, like that 

 of the other species of Eared Seals, of fish, rnollusks, and crus- 

 taceans, and occasionally birds. As shown by animals kept in 

 confinement, they require an enormous quantity. Captain 

 Scammon states that the daily allowance of a pair kept in 

 Woodward's Gardens, San Francisco, amounted to forty or 

 fifty pounds of fresh fish. 



