MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 65 



canoe to a lighter of twenty tons' burden. The natives of all the Aleu- 

 tian Islands and of the coast as far east as Sitka, beside those of many 

 ports on the mainland to the north, rely on this island for a supply of 

 the skins of this animal. The rookery is on the northeast end of the 

 island, and the animals have to be driven ten or eleven miles to the vil- 

 lage to bring their skins to the drying-frames. It sometimes requires 

 five days to make the journey, as at frequent intervals they have to be 

 allowed to rest. It is a somewhat dangerous animal, and the men fre- 

 quently get seriously hurt by it in driving and killing it. They are 

 driven together in the same manner as the fur seals are ; and while 

 impeding each other by treading upon each other's flippers the small 

 ones are killed with lances, but the larger ones have to be shot. 



" This animal is the most completely consumed of any on the island. 

 Their flesh is preferred to that of the seal for drying for winter use. 

 After the skins are taken off (two thousand of which are required 

 annually to supply the trading-po.«ts of the territory), they are spread 

 in piles of twenty-five each, with the flesh side down, and left to heat 

 until the hair is loo-ened ; it is then scraped off, and the skins are 

 stretched on frames to dry. The blubber is removed from the carcass 

 for fuel or oil, and the flesh is cut in strips and dried for winter 

 use. The linings of their throats are saved and tanned for making 

 the legs of boots and shoes, and the skin of the flippers is u>ed for 

 the soles. Their stomachs are turned, cleaned, and dried, and are used 

 to put the oil in when boiled out. The intestines are dressed and 

 sewed together into water-proof frocks, which are worn while hunting 

 and fishing in the boats. The sinews of the back are dried and 

 stripped to make the thread with which to sew together the intes- 

 tines, and to fasten the skins to the canoe-frames. The natives receive 

 thirty-five cents apiece for the .-kins when ready for shipment. But 

 these skins are not so much valued by the trader for the profit he 

 makes on their sale, as for the advantage it gives him in bargaining 

 with the hunters, since by buying these they are able to secure a 

 right to the purchase of the hunter's furs on his return, the natives 

 always considering such contracts binding." 



Choris, in his description of the '"lies S. -Georges et S.-PauFs," thus 

 speaks of the sea lions that he met with on these islands fifty years 

 ago: — 



" Le rivage etait couvert de troupes innombrables de lions marins. 



VOL. II. 5 



