THE 
AMERICAN NATURALIST 
Vou. XXXII. October, 1898. No. 382. 
THE ANIMALS KNOWN TO THE ESKIMOS OF 
NORTHWESTERN ALASKA. 
JOHN MURDOCH. 
Wuen the United States government, in 1881, decided to 
occupy two of the stations proposed by the International Polar 
Conference, it was my good fortune to be attached to the 
party which was sent to Point Barrow in northwestern Alaska. 
During the two years which were spent at the station, we had 
ample opportunity to become familiar with the zoology of the 
immediate neighborhood, and as we were near two large 
Eskimo villages, we were also able to obtain much information 
as to their habits and way of living. It is of the relation 
between these Eskimos and the animals of their country that 
I propose to treat in this article. 
Before they came in contact with civilized people these 
Eskimos were entirely dependent on the animal kingdom for 
their food and clothing, and indeed for a large part of their 
weapons and implements ; and practically the whole of their 
existence was spent either in the chase itself, in making ready 
for the chase, or in preparing the products of the chase for use. 
These conditions were but little changed at the time of our 
visit. Except for the almost complete replacement of the bow 
by the repeating rifle, and a few other less important changes, 
