f;4 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 



were copied, however, by Buffon, Sclireber, Pennant, and other early writers, and are the only 

 representations of this species known to me that were made prior to about the year 1830, except 

 Choris's plate of a group of these animals entitled " Ours marins dans 1'ile de St. Paul," 1 published 

 in 1822. This represents three old males, surrounded by their harems, and indicates very faithfully 

 the mode of grouping and the variety of attitudes assumed by these animals when assembled 

 on the rookeries. Hamilton, in 1839, gave a figure of the "Sea Bear of 8 teller (Otaria urn! mi)" 

 which he tells us is "from the engraving of the distinguished Naturalist of the Rurick," 2 the original 

 of which I have not seen. This represents a male and female, the latter reclining on its side, with 

 a pup resting on its right flipper. 



The first figure of the skull is that published by Gray in 1859, 3 a view in profile of the skull 

 of an adult male. A wood-cut of the same was given in I860, 4 and a fine lithographic plate in 

 1874,* representing the skull in profile, from above and from below. 6 



In 1870 I gave figures of two adult male skulls (two views of each), of an adult female skull 

 (three views), of a very young skull (three views), and of the scapula, dentition, etc. These, so far 

 as known to me, are the only figures of the skull or other details of structure thus far published. 



In 1874 Captain Scammon gave figures of the animal, 7 a zincograph of an old male, 11 from a 

 sketch by Mr. Elliott, a wood-cut of the head of a female seen from below (drawn by Elliott)," 

 two outline figures representing the female as seen from below and in profile, and two others in 

 outline illustrating "attitudes of the Fur Seals." Mr. Elliott, in his first Report on the Seal 

 Islands, in a series of over two dozen large photographic plates (from India ink sketches from 

 nature), has given an exhaustive presentation of the phases of fur seal life so faithfully studied 

 by him at Saint Paul's Island. Among these may be mentioned especially those entitled "The East. 

 Landing and Black Buttes The beach covered with young Fur Seals"; "The North Shore of Saint 

 Paul's Island" (giving an extensive view of the rookeries) ; "Lukannon Beach" (Fur Seals playing 

 in the surf, and rookeries in the distance); "Old male Fur Seal, or 'Seecatch'" (as he appears at 

 the end of the season after three months of fasting); "Fur-seal Harem" (showing the relative size 

 of males, females, and young, various attitudes, positions, etc.); "Fur-seal Males, waiting for their 

 'Harems'" (the females beginning to arrive); "Fur-seal 'Rookery'" (breeding-grounds at Polavina 

 Point) ; " Fur-seal Harem" (Reef Rookery, foreground showing relative size of males and females) ; 

 "Fur-seal Pups at Sleep and Play"; "Hauling Grounds" (several views at different points); 

 "Capturing Fur Seals"; "Driving Fur Seals"; "Killing Fur Seals Sealing gang at work," etc. 



The only other pictorial contributions to the history of the Fur Seal of noteworthy importance 

 prior to the publication by the Census of Mr. Elliott's latest work, is Mr. Clark's colored plute, on 

 which are represented a nearly full-grown male, a female, and a pup, prepared from skins sent to 

 the British Museum by the Alaska Commercial Company. In these the attitudes are excellent and 

 the coloring fair. 



For detailed discussions of this species, its capture and its commercial uses, the reader is 

 referred to Elliott's "Monograph" and to the chapters on THE HABITS OF TIIK FUR SKAL, and 

 TIIK FUR SEAL FISHERY, in subsequent pages of this work. 



'Cliows, L. : Voyage pittorcsquc autour <lii Monde, Paris, 1822. lien Ale'oulieiiiies, pi. xv. 



1 HAMILTON, R. : Marino Amphibia;, p. 2t>6, pi. xxi. 



'GRAY, J. E., in Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1859, pi. Ixviii. 



'GRAY, J. E. : Catalogue of the Seals and Whales in the British Mnsi-nm, p. <if>, fig. 10. 



T.RAY, J. E. : Hand-List ofSeals.pl. xix. 



I infer this to he the same specimen in each case, not only from the resemblance the figures lic:ir to each other, 

 luit from Dr. Gray, fu> far as I can discover, referring to only the single skull from Bering's Strait, received in 18&!>. 



'ScAMMnN, ('. M. : The Marine Mammals of the Northwest Coast. A B., pi. xxi, two figures. 



ELLIOTT, HENRY W. : Report on the Pribylov (froup. or l-'nr Seal Islands, of Alaska, unpaged, and plates not 

 numbered. 



9 Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1878, 271, pi. xx. 



