NO.    I  ARCHEOLOGY    OF   ST.    LAWRENCE    ISLAND — COLLINS  1 5 
The  indigenous  mammalian  fauna  on  St.  Lawrence  Island  includes 
very  few  species :  the  Arctic  fox,  Alopcx  lagopns ;  ground  squirrel, 
Citellus  lyratus;  meadow  mouse,  Microtus  innmtns  innnitus;  red- 
backed  mouse,  Clethrionomys  albiventer;  shrew,  Sorex  jacksoni;  and 
lemming,  Dicrostonyx  exsul.  Polar  bears  frequently  visit  the  island  in 
the  winter,  and  in  recent  years  the  Government  has  introduced  reindeer 
for  the  use  of  the  Eskimos. 
Only  a  few  birds,  such  as  ravens,  the  snowy  owl,  and  hawks,  remain 
on  the  island  throughout  the  year,  but  in  summer  there  are  countless 
numbers  of  migratory  birds,  many  of  which  have  their  breeding 
grounds  on  the  marshy  inland  tundra  or  on  the  rocky  cliffs  along  the 
shore.  Dr.  Herbert  Friedmann,  who  has  recently  described  the  avi- 
fauna of  St.  Lawrence  Island  on  the  basis  of  the  few  previous  records 
and  a  collection  of  109  skins  obtained  by  the  writer  in  1930,  lists  61 
species  as  occurring  on  the  island,  the  families  represented  being 
loons ;  albatrosses  ;  fulmars ;  petrels  ;  cormorants ;  ducks,  geese,  and 
swans ;  cranes ;  plovers  and  turnstones ;  sandpipers  and  godwits ; 
phalaropes ;  jaegers ;  gulls  and  terns ;  murres,  guillemots,  auklets,  puf- 
fins ;  cuckoos  ;  owls  ;  ravens ;  wagtails ;  redpolls  ;  longspurs  and  snow 
buntings  (Friedmann,  1932). 
The  birds  that  are  of  economic  importance  to  the  Eskimos  are 
mainly  the  ducks,  geese,  cormorants,  auklets,  gulls,  and  murres,  all 
of  which  are  eaten ;  the  skins  of  some  of  these  are  also  used  for  cloth- 
ing but  not  as  extensively  as  in  the  past.  It  is  of  interest  to  note 
that  the  St.  Lawrence  Islanders  catch  the  auklets  with  a  long-handled 
net,  in  exactly  the  same  way  as  do  some  of  the  Eskimos  in  Greenland 
and  the  Central  regions. 
The  Eskimos  inhabiting  St.  Lawrence  belong  to  the  Yuit  or  Si- 
berian group.  At  present  they  number  some  400  individuals,  but  in 
earlier  times  there  was  a  considerably  larger  population,  which  was 
greatly  reduced  by  a  severe  epidemic  and  famine  in  the  winter  of  1878- 
79.  About  three-fourths  of  the  population  is  now  concentrated  at  two 
large  villages,  Gambell,  or  Sevuokok  (Chibukak) ,  at  the  extreme  north- 
western end  of  the  island,  and  Savunga,  the  reindeer  village,  about 
40  miles  to  the  eastward  on  the  north  coast.  Several  smaller  settle- 
ments of  a  few  families  each  are  found  near  the  southwestern  end 
of  the  island  and  also  along  the  coast  between  Savunga  and  Gambell. 
HISTORY  AND  PREVIOUS  EXPLORATIONS 
The  northern  Pacific,  with  the  lands  bordering  its  shores  in  .Asia 
and  America,  was  the  last  large  section  of  the  habitable  world  to 
become  known  to  European  geographers.    While  the  persistent  belief 
