THE NORTHERN IUR SEAL. 219 



These we need not enter into, but only further state that the fur undergoes a process of dyeing which 

 produces that deep uniform tint so well known and admired. We may, however, mention that it is 

 the dyeing process which causes the fur to lose its natural curly character and to present its limp 

 appearance. 



THE NORTHERN FUR SEAL.* The habits and life history of this animal are probably more 

 accurately known than those of any other of the Eared Seals. Fully a hundred and twenty 

 years ago Steller, a naturalist in the employ of the Russian Government, spent a season in 

 Kamstchatka and the islands in the neighbourhood of Behring Strait. During his sojourn 

 he carefully studied the habits and anatomy of an animal termed by him Sea Bear, which 

 existed in innumerable quantities in the region in question, publishing the results of his obser- 

 vations in the " Transactions " of the St. Petersburg Academy. A missionary, Krasheninikoff 

 by. name, some years later, under the title of Sea Cat, also gave an account of the same animal, 

 but possibly deriving his information from the preceding writer. For a long period little was 

 added to their narratives. In 1868 the Russian Government ceded to the United States the territory 

 of Alaska, including several of the Aleutian Islands, and among others the Pribyloff group. These 

 latter are remarkable and important, inasmuch as they are the resort of literally myriads of Seals, some 

 of which are exceedingly valuable for their fur. A Captain Pribyloff had discovered the small island 

 which bears his name in 1786, and thereafter a Rxissian company established themselves, carrying on an 

 extensive trade in skins and oils up to the date of cession. The Russian Bishop Yeniaminov, in 1840, 

 gave an account of the Seals of the Pribyloff group, containing a statistical table of their probable 

 numbers and evident decrease unless measures were taken to prevent their wholesale extermination. 



The American Government wisely appointed agents, the result being reports by Captain 0. Bryant 

 and Mr. H. W. Elliott, which contained wonderfully graphic histories and descriptions of this Fur 

 Seal and others of the group. To these gentlemen's reports we are chiefly indebted, and do not hesitate 

 to abstract without stint. 



The " Kautickie " is the name given by the Russians to this Fur Seal. It repairs to the Pribyloff 

 Islands to breed in almost fabulous numbers, between the beginning of May and the middle of 

 September, some few stragglers occasionally remaining even to the close of December ; but between 

 the beginning of June and end of September, they remain on the islands in grand force. The haunts 

 of these creatures during the winter season, after leaving the islands, are doubtful ; but it is supposed 

 that they take up quarters by a southward migration to the Pacific coasts of the United States. 

 At all events, it is known that in the stomachs of the voracious Killer- Whales and Sharks the 

 remains of these and other species of Seal are not ^infrequently obtained by the whalers in the 

 region in question ; and likewise the Indians of the North-west American coast, as low as California, 

 then capture them in numbers. 



The males, when full-grown, are between six and seven feet long, the females not being over four 

 to four feet and a half in length, from head to tail. The former will weigh between four to six 

 hundred pounds, the latter scarcely reaching one hundred pounds, but oftener eighty or less. The 

 male, with a greyish shoulder, has the rest of the body varying from a reddish-grey to deep, almost 

 pure, black ; the nose and lips are brownish ; the breast and abdomen with more of an orange and 

 reddish-brown tint ; the naked parts of the hind limbs are much blacker. The female is considerably 

 lighter, being nearly uniform grey above, and brownish-grey on the sides. The young, previoiis to the 

 first moult, is uniformly glossy black, with a yellowish-brown tint on the under parts. As it grows 

 older, it becomes gradually lighter, especially in the females, and the two sexes then can hardly 

 be distinguished. The distinction even in the young animal between the long, coarse hairs of the 

 outer coat, and the dense silky fur of the inner coat, is very marked. There is occasionally some 

 variation in the colour of the sexes, both as regards age and otherwise, but the above is that most 

 common. The male of this Fur Seal does not attain its full size until about the sixth year, 

 although it breeds at the fourth year. The females bear their first young when three years 

 of age. The breeding-ground, or "rookery," as the colony of the Seals is termed, lies among the 

 belt of loose rocks along the shores, between high- water line and the base of the cliffs, and varie3 

 in -width from 60 to 150 feet. There are, besides, sand-beaches of large extent, and these stretch 

 * Otaria ursinus, the genus Callorhinus of certain authorities. 



