FUR-SEAL HERD OF ALASKA. 



221 



Lucas claims that he first dis- 

 covered the hookworm cause of 

 pup's death. 



Mr. Elliott. Isn't it true, Doctor, that 

 it was through C. W. Stiles that the hook- 

 worm was discovered? 



Dr. Lucas. No. 



Mr. Elliott. Didn't he first call your 

 attention to that? 



Dr. Lucas. No; I called his attention 

 to it. (Hearing No. 12, p. 720, May 16, 

 1912.) 



Now, how did he get the idea that they 

 would be exterminated after he had con- 

 ferred with your scientific acumen? 



Dr. Lucas. Men may confer, you know, 

 and do something entirely different. 



Mr. Elliott. How did he get that im- 

 pression, if not from you? 



Dr. Lucas. I do not know. You will 

 find all my publications entirely different 

 from that. 



Mr. Elliott. So you will not be re- 

 sponsible for what Dr. Osborn says? 



Dr. Lucas. Not in this case; certainly 

 not. 



But, pinned down, he admits 

 that Stiles had told him first. 



Dr. Lucas. * * * Mr. ("hairman, 

 may I makea statement right here? 



The Chairman. Yes. 

 * Dr. Lucas. This will 1)e the best an- 

 swer I can possibly make. In 1896, as you 

 may remember, I stated we penned up a 

 pup and allowed it to die; to starve to 

 death. I took it with me to St. George 

 Island and let it lie out there overnight 

 and dissected it, noting carefully the con- 

 dition of the organs, so that we could say 

 what were the conditions of the organs 

 after starvation. In examining this pup 

 I found two or three small worms in the 

 intestines. Now, to find worms in the 

 intestines of a young animal struck me 

 as a very curious circumstance, so I pre- 

 served them carefully and submitted 

 them to Dr. Stiles. In 1897, before I went 

 up on the islands. Dr. Stiles brought those 

 to me and said that they were l^ncinaria,. 

 a very dangerous parasite, and under suit- 

 able conditions it might lie the soiirce of 

 a great death rate among the young seals. 

 Acting on the advice of Dr. Stiles I looked 

 very carefully for this worm and found it. 

 I have a record of the first pup actually 

 found to have died from Uncinaria. 



Mr. Elliott. So Dr. Stiles really did 

 advise you of the direct cause of death 

 of these seals? 



Dr. Lucas. No; he said it was possible. 



Mr. Elliott. And then you found it 

 to be true? 



Dr. Lucas. Yes. 



Mr. Elliott. So Dr. Stiles deserves the 

 credit for having found it? 



Dr. Lucas. He deserves the credit for 

 having made a prediction that came true. 

 (Hearing No. 12, p. 721, May 16, 1912.) 



