1 62 NATURAL HISTORY ESSAYS 



hunters. Chodilov during 1747-48 took 1.481 

 blue foxes and 350 sea-otters on Behring Island : 

 Jugov in 1751-53 killed 6,844 black foxes, 200 white 

 foxes, 2,212 sea-bears, and 790 sea-otters: a third 

 worthy obtained over 2000 blue foxes and over 1000 

 sea-otters. The Siberian fur-hunters in the race 

 for wealth made their head-quarters on the Com- 

 mander Islands, and several expeditions were fitted 

 out to winter there. All these adventurers required 

 food : the flesh of the sea-cow, if not appetising, 

 was at least eatable, and beincj fresh meat would 

 ward off scurvy — the bane of all the early Arctic 

 voyagers. The consequence was that the otter 

 hunters used to call at the Commander Islands for 

 sea-cow flesh as modern steamers stop at Aden for 

 coal. The rhytina was hunted by men in boats — 

 eiorht men to a boat — one of whom standing in the 

 prow harpooned the stupid quarry with a pokohiga, 

 or long iron lance, the others plying the oars. The 

 sea-cow having been struck, the hunters retreated 

 lest the struggles of the victim should sink the boat. 

 Apparently this species was very "soft": it soon 

 ceased to struggle, turning belly upwards like a 

 dying goldfish. The carcase was then towed to 

 shore with stout thongs, and cut up as quickly as 

 possible, owing to its special liability to putrefaction. 

 The skin made good light skifls, like the kayaks 

 which the Esquimaux make from walrus or seal- 

 hide. Since it was easy to slaughter one after 



