494 



THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



and there are nearly always large quantities of ice in the neighborhood. The shore 

 line here, as is indeed the entire Alaskan coast north of Bering Strait, is very low and 

 monotonous, with gravelly and sandy beaches. The fish are apparently not plentiful, 

 and the natives at Point Barrow depend upon them but little for food. 



Herschel Island, 80 miles west of the Mackenzie Eiver, was the next and farthest 

 point reached by us. This island is composed of low clay hills and is about 25 miles 

 in circumference. Here we remained at the whaling company's winter quarters from 

 August 18 until September 5. We were unable to make any extended trips, but did 

 all of our fishing on the shores of the island and on the opposite mainland, 2 miles 

 distant. There were no streams in the immediate neighborhood, so that all the fish 

 taken were from salt water. The herring are usually seen at the island earlier in the 

 season while on their way to the Mackenzie River, but none were seen by us. 



On our return trip, after leaving Bering Sea, we made a stop of two days, Septem- 

 ber 28 and 29, at Chignik Bay, on the mainland opposite Kadiak Island. The coast 

 here is very rocky and the sand beaches are few and small, so we obtained but little. 

 Our collecting during the trip was limited to the four places mentioned: Herschel 

 Island, Point Barrow, Point Clarence, and Chignik Bay; of these. Port Clarence and 

 Herschel Island were the only ones favorable for thorough investigation. 



1. CInpea pallasi, Cuvier and Valenciennes. 



We found this fish abundant at Port Clarence, where it appeared a day or two 

 after the ice went out of the harbor. 



2. Coregonus kennicotti, Milner. 



We obtained one large specimen of this species, which was taken by native fisher- 

 men at Barter Island, near the mouth of the Mackenzie Eiver. D., 10; A., 13; scales 

 11, 86, 11; gill rakers, 8 + 14, 8 + 13. 



We have compared it with a specimen obtained by Miss Elizabeth Taylor in Great 

 Bear Lake and find they are the same, A description of the specimen obtained by 

 Miss Taylor has been published by Dr. Gilbert, Bull. U. S. Fish Commission, 1894, 23. 



3. Coregonus nelsoni Bean. 



We found this fish in considerable numbers in the brackish water of Grantley 

 Harbor. Our largest specimen is 13 inches long; the others but little smaller. The 

 backs are not so conspicuously humped as in the type, which is a larger and more 

 mature fish. The distance from snout to nape about twice in distance from nape to 

 origin of dorsal, but it would be more in a more humpbacked individual. We did not 

 find this fish at Herschel Island. 



4. Argyrosotnus pusillus (Bean). 



This fish we found quite abundant in the river back of Grantley Harbor. We also 

 obtained two large specimens from Barter Island near the mouth of the Mackenzie 



