MIGRATION AND THE FOOD QUEST. 531 



sidiary movements in the way of offslioots from this migration, contribu- 

 tions to it, and barriers to its progress were effected up and down the 

 rivers and in the seas of India, China, Mongolia, and Siberia. That 

 such a movement was practicable, consider the following arguments: 



I. — ABUNDANCE OF FOOD. 



In each of the areas mentioned there are a great number of species 

 of food plants and animals; the individnals of many species are of 

 great size, and of all the species there is prodigal quantity. 



In the Indian Ocean and South China seas the animals are tropical 

 and the natives are expert in their capture. 



In East China Sea and Japan Sea are inexhaustible supplies of shad, 

 herring, mackerel, cod, and local species. Besides these, food plants, 

 water fowl, and marine invertebi-ates still abound for every need of the 

 ])eo])le. 



Before the Russians began their operations in northeastern Asia 

 the peninsula of Kamchatka supported (>0,000 inhabitants; but under 

 their rule the using up of the food supply and the introduction of 

 fatal diseases decimated that number. At the present time the sea 

 of Okhotsk would yield salmon and other aquatic food in abundance 

 for any aboriginal needs; and prior to one hundred and fifty years ago 

 the Rhytina afforded the absolute nnxxinuini of aliment for the least 

 effort. There was also no liniit to subsistence in Bering Sea. Further- 

 more, no sooner do we approach the latitude where the rigors of the 

 climate demand extra clothing and fuel for the body than we tind 

 nmrine mammals and land mammals superabounding. Whale, seal, 

 walrus, and sea lion in the water, and elk and reindeer and bears on 

 land, are even more serviceable than the fish, for they are house and 

 furnace and clothing and food all in one. In no region of the world do 

 food-fishes and land and sea mammals exist so abundantly and so 

 accessibly.^ 



II. — THE NAVAL TOSSIBILITIES. 



To investigate the second topic, namely, the possibilities of such a 

 voyage or journey with the appliances at hand, it will be necessary to 

 inquire as to — 



1. Its length and directness. 



2. The quality of the ships and other modes of conveyance. 



3. The ability of the mariners and native travelers. 



4. The depth of water and the character of land routes. 



5. Whether the environment is such as vsavages are accustomed to. 

 1. Length and directness. — All modern steamships travel on the great 



'Cf. U. S. Nat. Museum bulletins of London Fisheries Commission; Reports, etc., 

 U. S. Fish Commission; Report Japanese Commission, World's Columbian Pixposi- 

 tion. The -writer acknowledges his obligations to Dr. G. Brown Goode and Dr. 

 Tarleton H. Bean for information on these points. 



