1911] Swarth: Alaska Expedition of 1909. 17 



in the region, was in this sheltered spot almost imperceptible. 

 Along the shores of the lake are stretches of grassy meadow 

 land, while the forest was in places open enough to be traversed 

 readily. The weather was pleasant during our stay here, May 

 26 to 29, but neither birds nor mammals were at all abundant. 



SUEMEZ ISLAND. 

 Prom Klawak we headed due south, planning to go direct to 

 Forrester Island if the weather permitted, but it turned so 

 stormy that we were obliged to anchor in a sheltered spot at 

 the eastern extremity of Suemez Island. A short exploration 

 showed it to be discouragingly barren, hardly a bird to be seen 

 anywhere, and no indication of mammals, large or small. A line 

 of traps set out the night of May 29 brought in scanty results. 



"ROCKY BAY," CALL ISLAND. 



A deep and perfectly sheltered indentation at the north- 

 western extremity of Dall Island. This bay is unnamed and 

 uncharted, but is shown on ou map (plate 1). The stormy 

 weather forced us in here, where we anchored in perfect safety, 

 but at low tide found ourselves surrounded by jagged rocks. 

 Several good-sized streams empty into the head of the bay, and 

 the woods are in places fairly easy to traverse, .either by 

 following these streams or by crossing the scattered series of 

 more open parks. Many sea lions were observed in this bay, 

 the only place where they were met with in any numbers during 

 the summer. Exceedingly stormy weather prevailed during the 

 whole of our stay here, so birds were naturally hard to find. 

 Small mammals were also extremely scarce. 



On these islands a fair test of the comparative abundance of 

 the smaller mammals is the amount of meadow-mouse sign. 

 Many well-traveled Microtus runways usually mean plenty of 

 certain other species as well, while in the absence of these high- 

 ways it is but seldom that the traps are productive. 



We remained at Rocky Bay from May 30 to June 4, awaiting 

 a favorable opportunity to cross over to Forrester Island, a 

 small isolated island some fifteen miles to the westward. The 

 Indians use it as a station for hunting the sea otter, and it is 



