FUR SEALS AND OTHER LIFE, PRIBILOF ISLANDS, 1914. 119 



USE AND VALUE OF THE HERD. 



It would seem that the reindeer on the Pribilof Islands are destined to be useful 

 mainly as a source of fresh meat for the Government employees on the islands and as 

 a possible source of supply for stocking other places. The training of some for driving 

 has been suggested, but considering the small size of the islands and the rough nature 

 of the ground it does not seem advisable to take this up on an extensive scale. The 

 killing of a large proportion of the young males is desirable, and the meat of these 

 would form a welcome substitute for some of the more costly canned foods which now 

 necessarily form a large percentage of the provisions in the islands during the entire 

 year. At times the meat could be issued to the natives, although it is doubtful if it 

 would be as acceptable to them as that of the seal, which naturally forms their staple 

 meat diet. The skins of the animals killed could be tanned and used for making gloves 

 and other articles of clothing, but it would involve a radical departure from fixed habits 

 on the part of the natives and it is doubtful if much can be hoped for in this regard, 

 especially as the supply of skins will never be large. But by turning into desirable 

 food certain natural resources which would otherwise be wasted it is believed that the 

 reindeer herds will more than justify the expenditure of the comparatively small amount 

 of time and money involved in their introduction and care. 



The presence of growing herds of reindeer on the Pribilof Islands seems to afiford 

 an excellent opportunity to make detailed studies of great value. Here in a habitat 

 which is favorable and yet is so limited in area as to allow of easy observation, a natu- 

 ralist can study the diseases and the general relation of the animals to their habitat 

 with comparative ease, and the knowledge thus gained should be of help in realizing 

 to the best advantage the fullest value of the herds, not only on the Pribilofs but in 



other parts of Alaska. 



THE SEA LIONS. 



Steller's sea lion (Eumeiopias stelleri) is a huge animal, the adult male being about 

 three times the bulk of the fur seal and weighing probably as much as 1,500 pounds. 

 The females are rather less than half as large as the males. Such imposing animals 

 occurring in numbers and in such situations as to admit of easy observation excite an 

 interest, especially to the lover of wild life, scarcely second to that created by their 

 smaller and more numerous relatives the fur seals, which they resemble rather closely 

 in habits and beside which they dwell in amicable indifference. 



EARLY ABUNDANCE AND USES. 



Until comparatively recent times sea lions were found in thousands on both St. 

 Paul and St. George Islands. In the primitive economy of the natives these animals 

 played an important part. In addition to the use made of their skins as covering 

 material for the bidarras, or large boats, the animals furnished to the Aleut material 

 for waterproof clothing and boots and for many lesser articles, while the flesh, espe- 

 cially that of the pups, was particularly relished. But in later years, with the growing 

 tendency of the inhabitants to adopt imported food and clothing, the importance of the 

 animal has dwindled until practically its only economic use is found in the manufacture 

 of the huge bidarras. The adoption of modem methods of managing the business of 

 the islands will undoubtedly demand the discarding of these boats as a means of landing 

 cargo, and with them will vanish the importance of the sea lion as an economic factor. 



