Vol XCII 
SEPTEMBER, 1922 
No. 9 
HUNTING ALASKA SHEEP AND MOOSE 
FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM’S EXPEDITION WHILE 
SEARCHING FOR SPECIMENS OF THE GREAT GAME ANIMALS OF ALASKA 
By ROBERT H. ROCK WELL 
T he Alaskan summer was well 
advanced when I returned to 
Cordova after the bear hunt and 
the little town looked more invit- 
ing than it did in the early Spring. 
Wild flowers and cultivated gardens 
were now in bloom but snow still lin- 
gered on the hills above the town. The 
sun was w'arm and such delightful 
weather so far north was a surprise. 
The season for hunting moose and 
sheep was now closed, and as these ani- 
mals were shedding their coats it was 
necessary to wait until they assumed a 
new winter pelage which begins to look 
fresh and glossy by the latter part of 
August. In the interval between the 
bear hunt and my journey to the interior 
I visited Hinchenbrook Island, which 
lies about twenty miles off shore from 
Cordova. I camped 
here for some time 
and collected sea 
birds that were nest- 
ing by thousands on 
the little rocky islets 
that extended along 
the coast. The most 
common birds noted 
were the gull, the 
cormorant and the 
tufted puffin, or sea 
parrot. The latter 
nest in burrows at 
the extreme top of 
the cliffs, and feed 
principally on crabs 
which they break 
open with their 
heavy, hatchet - like 
bills. Piles of crab 
shells were scattered 
about the entrances 
to their nests. 
Bald eagles were 
much in evidence all 
along the shore and 
they could be seen in pairs at almost 
any hour of the day. These noble birds 
are not held in high regard by Alaskans, 
who shoot them at every opportunity, 
FTER a successful hunt for the 
big brozvn bear of the Alaska 
Peninsular, described in the Febru- 
ary and March numbers of Forest 
AND Stream, Mr. Rockzvell zvent 
into the White River country for 
sheep and moose. 
The excellent sport he obtained 
and the splendid trophies he brought 
back zvarrant the consideration of 
sportsmen zvho are looking for an 
unspoiled game region . — [Editors.] 
their excuse being that the eagles de- 
stroy much valuable fur, especially on 
the silver fox farms. I noted that all 
chicken pens adjacent to camps were 
covered with netting to guard against 
the eagles’ depredations. It is said that 
they also kill many young mountain 
sheep and mountain goats. The eagles 
and ravens hobnob together and share 
with one another the spoils of the chase. 
I noted an eagle and four ravens eating 
in harmony on a carcass of a bear I had 
killed on the Alaskan Peninsula. 
Wild geese were found breeding on 
Hinchenbrook Island. Their retreat was 
well inland from the coast on a lake 
bordered with dense timber and under- 
brush, the surface of the water almost 
completely covered with large, broad- 
leafed lily pads. The young goslings, 
which were then about half grown, were 
feeding on the leaves of the skunk cab- 
bage that grew in profusion along the 
shore. As a breeding place for geese 
the locality was most desirable, and as 
far as we were concerned they were safe, 
as all our efforts to catch them failed. 
While traveling along the ocean 
beach on the east 
side of the Island I 
had the good for- 
tune to find the body 
of a dead sea otter 
washed up on the 
shore. It had evi- 
dently been killed by 
a bullet as some of 
the cervical verte- 
brae were missing 
and the skull 
cracked. I saved a 
few strips of skin 
and the skeleton, 
but decay had ad- 
vanced too far to 
use the pelt as a 
museum specimen. 
Had I found this 
animal a few days 
earlier I should have 
had a skin worth 
easily a thousand 
dollars. The sea 
otter is now on the 
verge of extinction, 
and unless drastic measures are taken to 
enforce the present laws, it will be next 
on the list of wild creatures that we 
regret exist no more. 
Contents copyrigniea uy i?orest and Stream Pub. Co. 
Over the Russell Glacier to the sheep country 
