200 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



is no doubt true of places where tliey are caught in great numbers and have learned 

 by long experience that men are dangerous to them. It was the same way with the 

 otter, seal, and blue fox {Isalis), which lived in this desert island and never saw a 

 man before and never were disturbed while lying at their ease. They were slain with 

 no trouble at all when we first came to Bering Island, but now they have become just 

 as wild as those living in Kamchatka, and take tiight at once as they discover, not 

 only with their eyes, but even with their sense of smell, the approach of an enemy. 



It sometimes occurred that these animals were cast uj) dead by storms around 

 the cape called Kronotskoi, as well as about AvatchaBay. Because of the food they 

 eat they are called by the inhabitants, in their language, '■'^Kapustnik" (Kraut Esser; 

 weed eaters); this I learned after my return in 1842. 



Now, I must tell the uses to which the parts of this animal are put. The skins, 

 wliich are very thick, firm, and tough, are used by the Americans, according to 

 Hernandes, for the soles of shoes and for belts. I understand that the Tschuktschi 

 use the skins for boats; that they stretch it with sticks and use it in the same way as 

 the Koriaks use the skins of tiie largest sort of seals, called ^'■Lachtaky 



The fat underlies the cuticle and the skin and covers tlie whole body to the depth 

 of a span, and in some parts is almost 9 inches thick. It is glandulous, stiff, and 

 white, but when exposed to the sun it becomes yellow like May butter (bvtyri maialis). 

 Its odor and flavor are so agreeable tliat it can not be compared with the fat of any 

 other sea beast. Indeed, it is by far preferable to that of any other (piadruped. 

 Moreover, it can be kei)t a very long time, even in the hottest w(;athei', without becom- 

 ing rancid or strong. When tried out it is so sweet and fine flavored that we lost all 

 desire for butter. In flavor it ai)proximates nearly the oil of sweet almonds and can 

 be used for the same i)urposes as butter. In a lamp it burns clear, without smoke or 

 smell. And, indeed, its use in medicine is not to be desjjised, for it moves the bowels 

 gently, ijroducing no loss of api)ctite or nausea, even when diunk from a. cup; and, in 

 my opinion, ii would do calculous persons more good than the nnisticatory bones or 

 so-called stones {lapides) of the manatee. The fat of the tail is haider and stift'er and 

 so more delicate when tried out. The flesh has a grain somewhat tougher and coarser 

 than beef, and is redder than the fiesh of land animals; and what is remarkable, even 

 in the hottest days it can be kept in the open air for a very long time without any bad 

 odor, e\lMi though all full of worms. I attribute this to the fact that the animal lives 

 entirely upon seaweed and sea plants. Tiiese weeds contain a sn)aller proportion of 

 sulphur and more sea salt and nitre. This salt i)revents the loss of sulphur and the 

 softening and decaying of the flesh, preserving it in the same way as salt or brine 

 sprinkled uj)on meat; but they work even more i)owerfully, as these salts are more 

 intimately mingled with the substance of the flesh and are combined more permanently 

 with the sulphurous parts (or particles of sulphur f) (cuin sniphnrcis jiarlibus fortius 

 colidcretint). 



Although the flesh needs to be cooked longer, yet when done it has an excellent 

 taste, not easy to distinguish from that of beef. The fat of the calves resembles fresh 

 lard, so that you can hardly tell the difference; but their flesh is just like veal. When 

 boiled it soon becomes tender, and if the boiling is continued it swells up like young 

 pork so that it takes up twice as mucli space in the pot as it did before boiling; but 

 the muscles of the abdomen, back, and sides are far better. The flesh does not really 

 refuse to be salted, as many have thought, but the salt only modifies it, so that it 

 becomes quite like corned beef and very excellent in flavor. 



