162 Zoological N. Y. Zoological Society. [I; 8 



west side in the hope of finding a few survivors of the elephant 

 seal.* After a forenoon's search we located a herd of about 125 

 of these animals on Elephant Beach. I killed one large male and 

 one large female which we skinned and took to the ship. Re- 

 turning with larger boats and some nets, six yearlings were cap- 

 tured alive and sent on board. While the Albatross went to the 

 east side to pick up the scientific staff, I devoted the afternoon to 

 making observations and taking photographs, the ship not re- 

 turning until nightfall. There is deep water all about the Island, 

 but after much cautious sounding Commander Burrage found an 

 anchorage in fifteen fathoms of water about a mile off shore. 

 The following day being too stormy to make landings, the time 

 was spent in the preparation of our specimens. On the morning 

 of the fourth we succeeded after some difficulty in effecting a 

 landing when I killed two more of the large males the skinning 

 and skeletonizing of which occupied us for several hours, f 



The sea becoming rough, we were compelled to leave the 

 beach in the afternoon and the embarking of our heavy specimens 

 was both difficult and dangerous. 



Elephant Beach is located under high and impassable cliffs 

 and is flanked by cliffs which extend into the sea, making the top 

 of the island altogether inaccessible from this point. Its north- 

 ern end is well marked by heavy rock slides. The beach is ac- 

 cessible from the sea only, and is usually further protected by a 

 heavy surf. It is not more than three or four hundred yards in 

 length by thirty in width, the greater part of it is sandy, the inner 

 margin being lined with talus from the cliffs. 



The seals had little fear of man, and the few animals which 

 left the beach would probably not have done so had they not been 

 disturbed by sailors walking among them. While the large 

 specimens were being skinned and skeletonized, some of the ani- 

 mals slept undisturbed within thirty feet of where the men were 

 working. I succeeded in obtaining about fifty good photographs 

 showing the general character of the rookery and the attitudes of 

 the animals. The herd consisted chiefly of large males and im- 



*Members of scientific staff: Dr. J. N. Rose, Dr. Paul Bartsch, U. S. National 

 Museum. W. L. Schmitt, L. M. Tongue, U. S. Bureau of Fisheries. Preparators: 

 H. E. Anthony, J. C. Bell, American Museum of Natural History. 



fThese skins are now being mounted and will constitute an important group 

 in the American Museum of Natural History. 



