September, 1922.] 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



103 



Odocoileus columbianus subsp.? Black-tailed 

 Deer. — Mr. Carpenter informed me that dead deer 

 are sometimes washed up on the beaches, and 

 during our stay at Tow Hill he observed one near 

 Rose Spit but it was carried away by the sea before 

 I could secure the skull. 



"Wild Cattle." — The so-called "wild cattle" 

 were the descendants of some Short-horn stock 

 that was brought to Graham Island about thirty 

 years ago, by a man whose name is said by Mr. 

 Dave Rutten of Massett to have been "Alexander." 

 For several years, during the absence of the owner, 

 these cattle were neglected and allowed to roam at 

 will. When an effort was made to round them up 

 on Rose Spit they broke away, and after several 

 further unsuccessful attempts to capture them had 

 been made, they were abandoned by the owner. 

 Up to two years prior to 1919 when the last animal 

 is believed to have been killed, the settlers shot 

 these cattle at every opportunity for meat. One 

 of the settlers is said to have captured a cow and a 

 heifer calf, which are believed to be the only wild 

 cattle taken alive. Owing to the fact that the 

 wild bulls sometimes associated with the settlers' 

 cattle, individuals in the settlers' herds show re- 

 lationship to the hardy, wild Short-horns. The 

 greater part of the foregoing information was given 

 to me by Mr. Cecil Baker of Tow Hill. 



Rangifer dawsoni. Dawson Caribou. — None of 

 the Indians with whom we came in contact had 

 heard anything relating to the caribou of the Virago 

 Sound district since the 1910 expedition of Mr. 

 Francis Kermode, who saw tracks of what he 

 thinks may be the surviving individual of the four 

 caribou seen by Indians in 1908 when the three 

 specimens in the British Columbia Provincial 

 Museum were taken._ 



Mus norvegicus. Norway Rat. — I shot a two- 

 thirds grown specimen in the cabin at Tow Hill. 



Peromyscus keeni. Keen Mouse. — Ten speci- 

 mens were taken in the forest near Massett Reserve 

 A jay was observed to capture a half-grown speci- 

 men 



Ursus carlottae. QuEEN CHARLOTTE BLACK Bear. 

 — On July 10 a female specimen measuring 57 

 inches in length was purchased from Indians who 

 took it on the beach between Virago Sound and 

 Massett Inlet where accompanied by two cubs 

 said to be large enough to shift for themselves, it 

 was feeding — Henry Edenshaw said — on insects 

 found under the sea-weed strewn on the beach. 

 Bear tracks were fairly common in the vicinity of 

 Tow Hill and on several occasions bear tracks and 

 scattered leaves indicated that bears feed on the 

 roots of skunk cabbage. During our stay at Tow 

 Hill a large bear was chased along the road back of 

 the Hill by Cecil Baker's dogs. During the winter 



preceding our visit several bears were taken between 

 Rose Spit and Tow Hill _ 



Lutra canadensis subsp.? Land Otter. — Chief 

 Harry Wiah told me that during the winter of 1918 

 he trapped seven otters on the west side of Massett 

 Inlet. 



Putorius haidarum. Haida Weasel. — Mr. Cecil 

 Baker informed me that nearly every inhabited 

 cabin harbors a weasel, which is unmolested because 

 of its ability as a mouse catcher. 



Muslela nesophila. Queen Charlotte Marte n 

 — Chief Harry Wiah said that during the winter of 

 1918 he trapped twenty-one martens on the west 

 side of Massett Inlet. 



Latax lutris. Sea Otter. — I found a sea otter 

 skull in a deserted cabin near Rose Spit. Chief 

 Harry Wiah said that about a year before our visit 

 an Indian shot at a sea otter which was resting on 

 kelp near North Island. He also said that about 

 thirty years ago his father, his wife's father, and 

 other Indians — a total of nineteen boats — got 

 twenty-one sea otters in a forenoon and six in the 

 afternoon. 



Eumetopias jubata. Steller Sea-lion.— A young 

 male, the only specimen observed, was taken on 

 Yakan Point. 



Phoca vitulina. Harbor Seal. — Twenty or so 

 seals were frequently observed on or near the sand 

 bar on the east side of the mouth of Massett Inlet. 

 Seals were also seen resting on the point of Rose 

 Spit. (Under "Killer Whale," see reference to 

 seals and whale.) 



Sorex longicauda elassodon. Qlt;en Charlotte 

 Shrew. — Three specimens were taken in the forest 

 near Massett reserve where they inhabited the same 

 localities as peromyscus. 



Myotis sp.? Bat. — ^Bats were several times ob- 

 served at Tow Hill. 



BIRDS 



Aechmophorus occidentalis. Western Grebe. — 

 On September 5, eight birds were observed just oflF 

 the rocky point at the base of Tow Hill. 



Colymbus holboelli, Holboell Grebe.— Near 

 Rose Spit, on August 1, I observed twenty-eight 

 birds of this species a hundred yards or so off shore 



Gaoia imber. LoON. — Both adults and birds of 

 the year were observed. Two, three or four were 

 usually seen a hundred yards off shore in the course 

 of a day's walk along the north or the east beach. 

 No individuals were observed on the lakes visited. 



Gavia stellala. Red-throated Loon.— A few 

 individuals were observed in Massett Harbour and 

 in the vicinity of Yakun Point. "Charlie" Spence 

 of Massett informed me that this species breeds 

 on Lumme Lake. 



