FAUNA OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AND ALASKA PENINSULA 313 



quantities of walrus bones, witnesses of bygone slaughters, are to be found 

 at various points along the peninsula. One such place was reported by 

 the fishermen of Igigik, who had recently found it while on a hunting trip 

 near there. From their accounts, the remains must be in great quantities. 



Great numbers of walruses are known to have been killed at 

 Port Moller. In 1911, Wetmore reported that a few walruses 

 were still to be found on "Walrus Island", in Izembek Bay, near 

 the west end of Alaska Peninsula. In 1925, when I visited Izembek 

 Bay, parts of walrus skulls were found on Hazen Point and on 

 the ocean beaches of the Kudiakof Islands. These are a string 

 of sand islands that extend across the mouth of Izembek Bay. 

 About 14 miles offshore at this place is isolated Amak Island, 

 which has a long boulder beach thickly strewn with old walrus 

 bones. Assuredly, at one time this was a much-used resting place 

 for these animals. 



In 1936, the late Alexis Yetchmenef, Aleut chief then residing 

 at Unalaska, said that in 1880 to 1883, during his visit at his 

 old home in Morzhovoi Village, walruses were numerous on the 

 north side of Unimak Island and were found in St. Catherine 

 Cove. On one occasion, while hunting on Unimak Island, he saw 

 40 or 50 walruses leaving the island. For 2 years they were 

 plentiful there. Then, in 1898 or 1899, some white men "did a 

 lot of shooting there," and the chief believed that the walrus left 

 for that reason. Unimak Island undoubtedly marks the western- 

 most point in this area that is reached by the walrus in any num- 

 bers, because it also marks the western end of suitable habitat. 



In 1887, E. W. Nelson (1887, p. 270) said, "Today it is safe to 

 say that the number of these animals in existence is not over 

 50 percent of the number living ten years ago, and a heavy annual 

 decrease is still going on." 



In a letter dated March 4, 1921, C. L. Andrews wrote to E. W. 

 Nelson, at that time Chief of the U. S. Biological Survey — 



The walrus should be looked after. They are increasing, and are again 

 coming to the Alaska Peninsula in small numbers where they, in Russian 

 days, were by thousands. But the skin and ivory hunters will again wipe 

 them off the waters if nothing is done to stop it. If handled properly 

 an industry of at least a million dollars a year could be perpetuated in their 

 skins, oil, and ivory. I can't get the record of the amount brought down 

 for the last 8 or 10 years, the customs do not give it, but I know of 2800 

 skins being in Seattle about 4 years ago, and the "Belvedere" was lost in 

 the Arctic "walrusing" last year. 



An occasional walrus is still seen in the vicinity of Nunivak 

 Island, but the herds that Elliott thought would be "preserved in- 

 definitely" are gone from Bristol Bay and Alaska Peninsula. 

 Moreover, there is no assurance, with modern transportation 



