CRUISE OF THE STEAMER CORWIK 89 



Lepus timidus Linnc. Polar Hark. 



On July 4 I saw a solitary hare in the Kowak delta, the only one seen during our explora- 

 tions. I do not remember having seen any skins in the villages along the river, although they 

 were sometimes seen in the possession of the coast peojale. 



Sorex sp. 



I saw a diminutive shrew on August 23, not far above the delta of the river. It was the 

 only one observed in the coixutry. 



Phoca vitulina TAnne. Harbor Seal. 



The harbor seal, which is abundant all along the northern coasts, and which is constantly 

 hunted by the people for food and clothing, often wanders far up the Kowak River. 



Ursus richardsoni And. and Bach. B.\rren-grouxd Be.\r. 



The brown and yellowish bear skins in the possession of the natives should probably all 

 be referred to this vai'iety. Bear tracks were often found in the sand-bars along the river; 

 none of them appeared to indicate animals of very great size. 



Gulo luscus (Liniie). Wolverine. 



I only saw two or three skins of this animal. They ai'e frequently worn by the natives, 

 but the majority of them are obtained. I think, for other localities. 



Putorius vison (Schreber). Mink. 



saw a mink on the upper river August 1. Pelts were to be found in all the villages. 



Putorius erminea (Linne). Ermine. 



Skins of this animal were very common among the natives, and the inference is that they 

 were taken on the river, as the species is abundant in Northern Alaska. 



Vulpes fulvus (Z)«'s»i. ). Ked Fox. 



Skins of this and the next species were often seen. 



Vulpes lagopus (tiH/if'). Arctic Fox. 



Elephas. 



Tusks, teeth, and bones of the mammoth were seen in manj- of the villages on the Kowak 

 River. The natives frequently carve ornaments and useful articles out of mammoth tusks, and 

 I saw some very large soup-ladles made out of this fossil ivory. At Cape Prince of Wales, 

 where the Corwiii anchored for a short time on her way north, several tusks and large bones of 

 the mammoth were brought aboard for barter. When questioned as to their ideas respecting 

 this great extinct elephant, the natives told us that it was a very large reindeer, and pointed 

 out to us, from the size of the bones lying on the deck, how large it must have been. I brought 

 out a copy of Le Conte's Geology, which we had on board, and showed them a picture of the 

 skeleton of a mammoth, which they recognized at once, and delightedly pointed out the bones 

 resembling those lying upon the deck. When I produced a picture of the same animal restored, 

 in which it greatly resembles the elephant, their enthusiasm reached a high pitch. 



The matter was apparently perfectly clear to their minds, and they listened with attention 

 while the sirrgeon and I explained, through the interpreter, what we knew about the mammoth. 

 Before the book was put away one of them borrowed a pencil and piece of paper to copy the 

 outlines of the picture, and I am bound to say that his sketch was very creditable, considering 

 the crude ideas of art among such people. 



On August 28, at Schismareff Inlet. I found the front half of the skull of a mammoth 

 lying on the open tundra, which was not fossilized in the least, being simply a mass of dry 

 bone, firm and light. This is rather remarkable, considering the long extinction of the mam- 

 moth and the geological and climatic changes which have since taken place in North America. 

 H. Ex. 153 12 



