126 University of Ctdifornia Pioblioations in Zoology [Vol. 24 



INTRODUCTION 



In years past the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology has conducted 

 several expeditions to the coast of southeastern Alaska, covering in 

 all a large part of that district, and one to Vancouver Island, British 

 Columbia, nearby and of somewhat similar character.^ As one result 

 of this field work the Museum has obtained a representative collection 

 of the birds and mammals of this strongly characterized northwestern 

 coast region of North America. Of the closely adjacent interior of 

 British Columbia, however, the Museum contained no specimens 

 whatever. 



In a general way it has been understood that the faunas of the 

 coast and of. the interior are markedly different, that the boundary 

 between the two is sharply defined, and that this boundary lies very 

 near to the coast. It is obvious that collections could be made over a 

 relatively limited area and still include a strip of country extending 

 from the one region to the other. Such an expedition would supply 

 series of specimens of species new to the Museum collections or but 

 scantily represented therein, and would also provide valuable data 

 regarding distribution, especially with respect to the behavior of animal 

 forms at the margins of their habitats. 



The valley of the Stikine River seemed to satisfy all requirements. 

 It crosses the boundary between the two f aunal areas, and, piercing the 

 formidable barrier of mountains that intervenes, affords a feasible 

 route from one region to the other. Furthermore, we already had 

 extensive series of birds and mS,mmals from the country about the 

 mouth of the river, to supplement whatever collections might be made 

 farther up stream. Dr. J. A. Allen (1903) had published a report 

 upon a collection of mammals from the upper Stikine region, made 

 by A. J. Stone and M. P. Anderson, but this collection had been 

 gathered to the eastward of the debatable strip that we especially 

 desired to explore. 



The expedition thus outlined was made possible through the gen- 

 erous provision by Miss Annie M. Alexander, founder of the Museum 

 of Vertebrate Zoology, of a sufficient sum to defray the cost, this in 



1 Previous field work on the northwest coast has been prosecuted as follows : 

 in 1906 on the Kenai Peninsula; in 1907 in the Sitkan district; in 1908 in the 

 Prince William Sound region; in 1909 in the Sitkan district; and in 1910 on 

 Vancouver Island. 



