APPENDIX.* 



By David Starr Jordan and' George Archibald Clark. 



The report of Mr. Henry W. Elliott on the Seal Islands of Alaska, 

 first published in full in connection with the United States Census of 

 1880, is the basis of our first broad knowledge of the habits and life his- 

 tory of the fur seal. The work is comprehensive in its conception, vivid 

 in its presentation, and, considering the difficulties of the undertaking, 

 generally speaking, accurate in its conclusions. 



To criticise that part of the work which in the light of later investi- 

 gations seems erroneous is an ungracious task. It is, however, one which 

 can not be avoided, in view of the part Mr. Elliott's numerical calcula- 

 tions have had in the subsequent history of the fur-seal herd and in 

 view of the republication of the work now at practically the same time 

 with the more complete results of the investigations of 189G and 1897. 



That the first investigator of this difficult subject should have com- 

 mitted errors, or that he should not have looked at all phases of the 

 subject, can not be surprising. Whoever does real work must make 

 mistakes, and Mr. Elliott has been no exception. At the same time 

 the present writers wish to put on record their respect for the energy, 

 ingenuity, and faithfulness with which Mr. Elliott has performed the 

 labor of love of making known the history of the fur seal. 



Page 7 : It is to be doubted whether a fur-seal rookery, at least of 

 the Alaska species {Callorhinus alascanus), ever existed on the Faral- 

 lones. On the Mexican island of Guadalupe a considerable rookery of 

 a distinct species of fur seal, recently described by Dr. Merriam under 

 the name of Arctocephalus townsendi, existed until about 1885, and 

 there is reason to believe that a few animals still remain in that 

 neighborhood. 



Besides the little rookery on Eobben (not Eobbins) Eeef, or Tiuleni 

 Island, considerable rookeries existed on the Japanese Kuril islands — 

 Srednoi, Kaikoke, Musir, and Broughton. These herds are not yet 

 wholly extinct. 



Page 16 : It is not true that blue foxes are restricted to St. Paul and 

 St. George islands. They are native also to the Commander Islands, 

 and were found upon the Aleutian Islands at the time of their discov- 

 ery, in 1741. They are reported to have existed in the vicinity of the 

 mouth of the Yukon and on the Siberian Coast. A fuller account of 

 the distribution of the blue fox will be found iu Petroff's report on the 

 resources of Alaska, vol. 4 of this series, page 890. The contrary state- 

 ment that they were introduced on the Pribilof Islands by the Alaska 

 Commercial Company is without foundation. By reference to the sum- 



' Prepared at the request of the Secretary of the Treasury. See prefatory note to 

 Vohime I. 



H. Doc. 92. pt. 3 44 689 



