THE ARCTIC SEA-COW: EXTINCTION. 129 



course, to those aniuiiils which liavo been driven from their native haunts before advancing civili- 

 zation, and which with its decline would flourish again amidst the fallen columns and crumbling 

 walls, but to those of which no remnant remains, whose existence as the representatives of certain 

 definite stages of organic development is forever closed. Such a one is the Rhytina (Rhytina 

 gigas, Ziinmermann), which inhabited Bering Sea until within about a century. The story of its 

 discovery and extermination forms one of the most interesting pages of zoological history. 



THE GREAT NORTHERN EXPEDITION. At the opening of the last century the northeastern 

 portion of the Russian Empire was one of the least known quarters of the globe. The barrenness 

 of the land, the dreadful winter, and the almost impassable sea, had deterred travelers and voyagers 

 to a large extent from penetrating into its wilds. Those who adventured in the frozen seas went 

 principally in search of a northwest passage, or in pursuit of other matters relating to geography 

 and commerce, and paid little attention to the products of the land or of the waters. Early in the 

 seventeenth century, however, Peter the Great, desirous of knowing whether Asia and America 

 were contiguous, gave orders that an expedition should proceed to ascertain the truth. Before 

 they could be executed he died, but the Empress Catherine commanded that they should be fulfilled. 

 Capt. Vitus Bering was placed in charge of the expedition, and Gmelin, of the St. Petersburg 

 Academy, was appointed chief naturalist. After several preliminary cruises had been made which 

 extended over a number of years, two ships set sail from Kamtchatka on the 15th (4th) of June, 

 1741. Before the departure of this final voyage, however, Gmelin had withdrawn on account of 

 ill-health, and George William Steller, who had been sent out by the St. Petersburg Academy as 

 his assistant, was commissioned to complete the scientific researches. 



THE DISCOVERY OP BERING ISLAND AND WRECKING OF THE "Si. PETER." The two 

 vessels, the "St. Peter," commanded by Bering, and the "St. Paul," in charge of Tschirikov, sailed 

 eastward toward the American continent. Before arriving, however, on the 1st of July (20th of 

 June) a storm separated them. Having touched at Alaska, Bering started westward again, encoun- 

 tering before long the most tempestuous weather. The crew grew weak and sick through long- 

 continued hardship. On the 10th of November (30th of October) the ship approached Bering 

 Island, then unknown. A few days after the storm drove her upon the rocks, and the crew were 

 forced to take up winter quarters on the island. 



DEATH OF BERING. Many of the sick died as soon as they were removed to the land, and on 

 the 19th (8th) of December the commander also perished. After some days ''it was resolved to 

 examine what store of provisions there was, and compute how long they would last, to regulate 

 the distribution of the shares accordingly, notwithstanding which thirty persons died on the 

 island. They found the stores were so much exhausted that if they had not l>een supplied 

 with the flesh of sea-animals they must have all perished for want of food." 1 



USE OF THE RHYTINA TO THE SURVIVORS. Prominent among the animals which served 

 them as food was the Rhytina. Its well-flavored flesh and pleasant fat proved a great boon to 

 them. "And the sick found themselves considerably better, when, instead of the disagreeable 

 hard beaver's flesh, they eat of the Manati, tho' it cost them more trouble to catch than one of the 

 beavers. They never came on the land, but only approached tho coast to eat sea-grass, which 

 grows on the shore, or is thrown out by the sea. This good food may, perhaps, contribute a great 

 deal to give the flesh a more disagreeable* taste than that of the other animals that live on fish. 

 The young ones, that weighed 1,200 pounds and upwards, remained sometimes at low water on the 

 dry land between the rocks, which afforded a fine opportunity for killing them; but the old ones, 



1 M i 1 1 r ii : Voyages from Asia to America. English translation, Jeffeiys, 1761, p. 58. 

 * This is surely a typographical error for ayrrtable. 

 9 F 



