726 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. (VoL. XXXII. 
fallen, the frozen seals were stood up by sticking their hind 
flippers in the snow to keep them from being covered up and 
lost if the snow began to drift, and they were left until it was 
convenient to send out the women for them with dog sledges. 
I once counted 30 seals, the property of one native, standing up 
together in a single stack. The night netting comes to an end 
when the winter gales close the leads permanently. After the 
sun comes back in the spring there are frequently to be found 
among the hummocks curious dome-shaped snow houses, about 
6 feet in diameter and 2 or 3 feet high, with a smooth round 
hole in the top and communicating with the water by a large 
passageway. They look curiously like the work of man, but 
they are really made by the female seals. In these they bear 
their pups in the early spring, but after the young have grown 
large enough to swim about by themselves, they apparently 
resort to the nearest house when they want to take breath. At 
all events, the Eskimos used to stretch a net across the opening 
of one of these houses, when they could find one, under the ice, 
and often caught a number of seals in succession at the same 
hole. 
In June and July, when the ice becomes rotten and worn into 
holes, the seals crawl out upon the ice to bask in the sun. At 
this season of the year they were excessively wary, but were 
occasionally stalked and shot. The harbor seal (Poca vitulina) 
was well known to the natives under the name of Kasigia. 
They said that it was occasionally taken in the stake nets in 
summer, but was more plentiful near the villages at Point 
Belcher. To our great surprise, among the seals taken in the 
night netting in 1881 was a single male of the curious and 
beautiful ribbon seal (Histriophoca fasciata), not previously 
known to occur north of Bering Strait. It was, however, well 
known to the natives, although said to be very rare. The great 
bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), whose skin is specially prized 
for making harpoon lines, boot soles, boat covers, etc., Was 
never very abundant, and occurred chiefly in the season of open 
water. Two, however, were taken at breathing holes in the 
rough ice on Jan. 8, 1883. At the time of our visit, the walrus, 
which is the species distinguished by Allen as the Pacific 
