MAMMALS. 61 



chaser not over 3 to 7 cents, and this mostly in tobacco, trinkets, or ship 

 stores. To encourage them to procure more skins, they are furnished 

 with a cheap breech-loading gun and a few hundred cartridges, which 

 they soon waste, and then their guns are of course worthless. At the 

 rate both young and adults are slaughtered at the present day, they 

 will soon become so scarce that there will not be enough to supply the 

 wants of the natives. 



11. Pagophilus groenlandicus, (Miill.) Gray. 



"Iviolik," Cumberland Eskimo. 



The saddle-back is of frequent occurrence about the southern waters 

 of Cumberland Sound in spring and autumn. It is rather rarely found 

 singly, but generally in considerable schools. They are even occasion- 

 ally found as far uj) the sound as Annanactook, but mostly the young. 

 Their procreation is unknown to the Cumberland Eskimo. A few schoojs 

 were noticed at different times during September, 1877, and October, 

 1878, from the islands off the middle Labrador coast to Cumberland, at 

 times at considerable distances from land. Every Eskimo who can 

 secure it will have an adult male kiolik skin on the back of his toopik. 

 The skins are here never used for clothing, the hair being too short and 

 thin. They disappear from Cumberland when the ice makes, and return 

 again in spring with open water, but stay only a short time. The flesh 

 is much inferior to the netsick. 



12. Phoca barbata, O. Fab. 



"O^ook," Cumberland. Eskimo; "Oo-sook," Greenlanders. 



This seal was first noticed a little to the southward of Cape Chidly, 

 and thence northward to our winter harbor in about lat. C7° Z*>r. Ac- 

 cording to the Eskimo they are the most common about Cape Mercy, 

 Nugumeute, and the southern Cumberland waters, where they remain 

 the year around, if there is open water. They remain in the sound only 

 during the time there is open water, as they have no atluk. 



On the west coast of Davis Straits they are not rare, but are said by 

 whalemen to diminish in numbers above lat. 75° N. They appear to be 

 more common on the southern shores of the west coast of Davis Straits 

 than on the northern, so that the natives go southward some distance 

 to secure the skins. Was noticed among the pack-ice in Davis Straits 

 in July and August. 



The ogjook delights in basking upon pieces of floating ice, and gen- 

 erally keeps well out at sea. I have never seen any numbers together, 

 but almost always singly. The old males do not seem to agree well, and 



