208 ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



and St. George, I neglected no opportunities, as they occurred, to 

 secure everything that was jieculiar to the feathered life upon these 

 islands. The dreary exi^anse and lonely solitudes of the IS^orth owe 

 their chief enliveninent, and their principal attractiveness for man, 

 to the presence of the vast flocks of circumboreal waterfowl, which 

 repair thither annuall}'. It is true that the mammalian life of the 

 Pribilof grou}) renders its immense aggregate of avifauna insignificant 

 by comparison, but to the naturalist and many Avho are not technic- 

 ally versed the following check list of those siDccies which I found 

 there, together with a brief biography accompanying each title, maj^ 

 be of more than passing interest. 



While a few species of waterfowl come to these islands in myriads 

 for the purpose of breeding, it will be noticed that the list of names 

 met with here is a brief one; still it is of much value to the naturalist, 

 inasmuch as it comprises so many desiderata scarcely to be obtained 

 elsewhere. 



The immense rookeries op St. Georc4E.— Over 15 miles of the 

 bold, basaltic, blufE line of St. George Island is fairl}^ covered with 

 nesting gulls, Rissa, and "arries," Uria, while down in the countless 

 chinks and holes over the entire surface of the north side of this 

 island millions of "choochkies," Simorliyncus pusiJhis, breed, filling 

 the air and darkening the light of day with their cries and fluttering 

 forms. On Walrus Islet the nests of the great white gull of the 

 north, Larus glaucus, can be visited and inspected, as well as those 

 of the sea parrot or puffin, Fndercula, sp., shags or cormorants, 

 Graculus, sp., and the red-legged kittiwake, Larus hrevirosfris. 

 These birds are accessible on every side, can be reached, and afford 

 the observer an unequaled opportunity of taking due notice of them 

 through their breeding season, as it begins in May and continues 

 until the end of September. 



Economic value to inhabitants. — Not one of the water birds 

 found on and around the islands is exempted from a place in the 

 native's larder; even the delectable " oreelie " are unhesitatingly eaten 

 by the people, and indeed these-birds furnish, during the winter sea- 

 son in esijecial, an almost certain source of supply for fresh meat. 

 But the heart of the Aleut swells to its greatest gastronomic happi- 

 ness when he can repair, in the months of June and July, to the 

 basaltic cliffs of St. George, or the lava table bed of Walrus Islet, and 

 l^ut his grimy liands on tlie gaily colored eggs of the " arrie," Lomvia 

 arra; and if he were not the most improvident of men, instead of 

 taking only enough for the day he would lay up a great store for the 

 morrow, but he never does. On the occasion of one visit, and my 

 first one there, July 5, 1872, six men loaded a badarrah at Walrus 

 Islet, capable of carrying 4 tons, exclusive of our crew, down to the 

 water's edge with eggs in less than three working hours. 



Disappearance of birds in winter. — During the winter months 

 the birds are almost wholly absent, especially if the ice shall have 

 closed in around about the islands. Then there is nothing of the feath- 

 ered kind save the stupid shag, Graculus bicrisfatus, as it clings to 

 the leeward cliffs, or the great burgomaster gull, which sweeps in 

 circling flight high overhead ; but early in May they begin to make 

 their appearance, and they come up from the sea overnight, as it 

 were. Their chattering and their harsh caroling wakes the natives 

 from their slgthful sleeping, which, however, they gladly break, to seize 

 their nets and live life anew, as far as eating is concerned. The stress 

 of severe weather in the winter months, the driving of the snow 



