16 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



Nushagah. — This station, also one of the important points of service 

 of the Signal Oflfice, is in charge of Mr. 0. L. McKay, who went there in 

 1881 with the usual supply of apparatus for meteorological observation, 

 and of outfit by the Smithsonian Institution. Few localities on the 

 coast are more important than Bristol Bay, on which Nushagak is sit- 

 uated; and it is expected that Mr. McKay will do full justice to the op- 

 portunity ; having been well trained, both as an observer and collector, 

 under Professor Jordan, of Bloomington, Ind. A large amount of ex- 

 tremely valuable material has been furnished by Mr. McKay, those of 

 most interest being the ethnological objects. Many interesting species 

 of birds and their eggs, of mammals, and of fishes have also been sent. 



Some interesting collections have been received from Pribylov, one of 

 the fur-seal islands, furnished by Mr. J. H. Moultou. Of these a very 

 fine walrus head with tusks has been mounted by Mr. Hornaday, taxi- 

 dermist of the National Museum. 



KodiaTc. — A very accomplished naturalist and collector, Mr. W. J. 

 Fisher, is now established at Kodiak as tidal observer of the United 

 States Coast Survey, and from him the Institution has received a num- 

 ber of extremely interesting objects. These are, for the most part, 

 ethnological and zoological ; and will be referred to in another part of 

 this report. The most interesting acquisition of Mr. Fisher is a new 

 species of petrel, which has been called (Estrelata Jisheri by Mr. Ridg- 

 way, after the discoverer. 



The fishes collected by Mr. Fisher are particularly interesting ; as he 

 is well versed in Pacific ichthyology, and able to make a judicious se- 

 lection where it is required. 



From the other islands of the Aleutian group not much has come to 

 hand in 1882; a few specimens collected in previous years only having 

 been received. 



Commander Islands. — Not in any way inferior in importance to the 

 other work of the year have been the results of an expedition made 

 to the Commander Islands by Dr. L. Stejneger. This gentleman, an 

 accomplished naturalist of Norway, visited the Smithsonian Institution 

 in 1881 for the purpose of studying the collections of aquatic birds in 

 the National Museum, and when this was done, offered his services to 

 the Institution for any exploration that might be desired. His first idea 

 was that of research in the Sandwich Islands, and next in the West 

 Indies; but finally the interest of an exploration in the Commander 

 Islands induced the Institution to make the necessary arrangements to 

 send him to that region. It may be stated, in this connection, that 

 this group of small islands is situated about 100 miles off Petropau- 

 lovski on the coast of Kamchatka, and that its special interest lies 

 in the fact of its originally having been the locality of the northern 

 sea-cow — the Rhytina gigas — a marine mammal closely allied to the 

 dugong and manatee but of enormous size, measuring 30 feet and 



