54 NATTJEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC AKIMALS. 



were copied, however, by Buffon, Schreber, Pennant, and other early writers, and are the only 

 representations of this species known to me that were made prior to about the j^ear 1839, except 

 Choris's plate of a group of these animals entitled " Ours marins dans I'ile de St. Paul,"' published 

 in 1822. This represents three old males, surrounded by their barems, and indicates very faithfully 

 the mode of grouping and the variety of attitudes assumed by these animals when assembled 

 on the rookeries. Hamilton, in 1839, gave a figure of the "Sea Bear of Steller (Otaria ursina)" 

 which he tells us is "from the engraving of the distinguished Naturalist of the Eurick,"^ the original 

 of which I have not seen. This represents a male and female, the latter reclining on its side, with 

 a 2>up resting on its right flipper. 



The first figure of the skull is that published by Gray in 1859,' — a view in profile of the skull 

 of an adult male. A wood-cut of the same was given in 1866,^ and a fine lithographic plate in 

 1874,^ representing the skull in profile, from above and from below." 



In 1870 I gave figures of two adult male skulls (two views of each), of an adult female skull 

 (three views), of a very young skull (three views), and of the scapula, dentition, etc. These, so far 

 as known to me, are the only figures of the skull or other details of structure thus far published. 



In 1874 Captain Scammon gave figures of the animal,' a zincograph of an old male," from a 

 sketch bj' Mr. Elliott, a wood-cut of the head of a female seen from below (drawn by Elliott),^ 

 two outline figures representing the female as seen from below and in profile, and two others in 

 outline illustrating "attitudes of the Fur Seals." Mr. Elliott, in his first Eeport on the Seal 

 Islands, in a series of over two dozen large photographic plates (from India ink sketches from 

 nature), has given an exhaustive presentation of the phases of fur seal life so faithfully studied 

 by him at Saint Paul's Island. Among these may be mentioned especially those entitled "The East 

 Landing and Black Buttes — The beach covered with young Fur Seals"; "The North Shore of Saint 

 Paul's Island" (giving an extensive view of the rookeries) ; "Lukannon Beach" (Fur Seals playing 

 in the surf, and rookeries in the distance); "Old male Fur Seal, or 'Seecatch'" (as he appears at 

 the end of the season after three months of fasting); "Fur-seal Harem" (showing the relative size 

 of males, females, and young, various attitudes, positions, etc.); "Pur-seal Males, waiting for their 

 'Harems'" (the females beginning to arrive); "Fur-seal 'Eookery'" (breeding-grounds at Polavina 

 Point) ; " Fur-seal Harem" (Eeef Eookery, foreground showing relative size of males and females) ; 

 "P'ur-seal Pups at Sleep and Play"; "Hauling Grounds" (several views at different points); 

 "Capturing Fur Seals"; "Driving Fur Seals"; "Killing Fur Seals — Sealing gang at work," etc. 



The only other pictorial conta?ibutions to the history of the Fur Seal of noteworthy importance 

 prior to the publication by the Census of Mr. Elliott's latest work, is Mr. Clark's colored plate, on 

 which are represented a nearly full-grown male, a female, and a pup, prepared from skins sent to 

 the British Museum by the Alaska Commercial Company. In these the attitudes are excellent and 

 the coloring fair. 



For detailed discussions of this species, its capture and its commercial uses, the reader is 

 referred to Elliott's "Monograph" and to the chapters on The Habits of the Fur Seal, and 

 The Fur Seal Fishery, in subsequent pages of this work. 



'Choris, L. : Voyage pittoresque autour du Monde, Paris, 1822. lies AliSoutiennes, pi. xv. 



2 Hamilton, E. : Marine Amphiblse, p. 266, pi. xxi. 



'Gray, J. E., in Proceedings of the Zoological Society of Loudon, 1859, pi. Ixviii. 



•" Gray, J. E. : Catalogue of the Seals and Whales in the British Museum, p. 45, fig. IG. 



^Gray, J. E. : Hand-List of Seals, pi. xix. 



"I infer this to ho the same specimen in each case, not only from the resemhlanco the figures be.ar to each other, 

 hnt from Dr. Gray, so far as I can discover, referring to only the single skull from Bering's Strait, received in 1859. 



'Scammon, C. U. : The Marine Mammals of the Northwest Coast, &c., pi. xxi, two figures. 



sEluott, Henry W. -. Eeport on the Pribylov Group, or Fur Seal Islands, of Alaska, unpaged, and plates noi 

 numbered. 



9 Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1878, 271, pi. xx. 



