- 12 — 



point of view this can scarcely be approved of). Small 

 groups of sea-lions make their appearance as constant 

 visitors from autumn until spring, coming from the Kamt- 

 chatka peninsula, where the bays are covered with ice 

 and the sheets of ice freezing together on the shore 

 attain considerable sizes. The sea-lion's skin is greatly 

 valued by natives, as out of it are made splendid straps, 

 the skin is used for canoes and seal-canoes and soles 

 for native boots. The bowels are used for making 

 camletswaterproof clothing (2 camlets out of one set of 

 bowels). 



The sea-lion as well as the fur seal, belong to the 

 number of migrating animals, but its migration takes 

 place in narrow boundaries. In comparison with the fur 

 seal, the sea-lion is a better swimmer and can stay lon- 

 ger under water, diving rather deep for its prey. Its 

 favourite food is Octopoda. As the sea-lion is, so is the 

 fur seal, more numerous along the American shore, but 

 there too a great decrease is noticed. At the beginning 

 of the XIX century the whole shore of St. George's 

 Island, was occupied by groups of sea-lions. The 

 Russ.-Amer. Co. ordered them to be exterminated — their 

 place was taken up by fur seals. In 1873 there were 

 about 25,000 sea-lions on St. Paul's and 9,000 on St. 

 George's Island. The natives drove them away by hun- 

 dreds; at the beginning of the XX century sea-lion skins 

 had to be brought from other places to supply the wants 

 of the inhabitants, On the Aleutian Islands, where sea- 

 lions used to be plentiful, the number of sea-lions is now 

 considerably smaller. On the Kamtchatka shore, which is 

 not inhabited at all, along the eastern coast, judging by 

 huntes' tales, the number of sea-lion herds has also 

 diminished. One cannot reckon that the extermination by 

 men is the sole reason of their decrease. This animal is 

 not persecuted b} r white men, and the natives are not 

 able to extirpate it with their primitive way of hunting 

 and their way of moving. 



