"WARD’S NATURAL SCIENCE BULLETIN. 
11 
Wild Cat and Cougars. Spring opens and ice 
clears in June, though boats starting to cross the 
lake from Big Island to Slave Fort frequently are 
obliged to put back for fear of being crushed by 
ice-fields or floes coming from the N. E. quarter 
before the wind. Thunder never heard more 
than three times in one year. Musk Ox yard in 
winter, and are hunted on snow-shoes; Indians 
eat all ages, but the adults are very strong tasting; 
the young delicious; adults 4 or 4^ feet high at 
shoulder, legs very short, themselves very pug- 
naceous, hair or wool immense length. 
Summing up, your project is simply a question 
of men and means. Men should be taken from 
the point whence the start was made, as it would 
be false economy to trust to obtaining men North 
except boats crews — these by arrangement with 
H. B. Co. 
MEN. 
First vou get your head or charge d’affairs 1 
Then 2 men to work at anything required 2 
Total number men 3 
This is a very light force, and barely able to do the 
work. 
WEIGHT OF MATERIAL. 
Food for 2 years at 3h> lbs. per man per day, lbs., .1,664 
y a at least would be fish, flesh or fowl, and as the 
region traversed must supply that, we deduct 2.553 
5,111 
Guns and ammunition 200 
Bedding and clothing, 100 lbs. per man 300 
Tobacco - - 100 
Medicine Chest, Instrument Cases, &c. 100 
Tents, camp equipage and boat covers, camp 
stove, &c 300 
Twine for nets and fishing tackle. 20 
Writing material and miscellaneous implements. 100 
10 gals. Alcohol and 20 gals. Rum and Brandy 250 
10 gals . V inegar -• 100 
A few presents for Indians, and some notions to 
pay for service if required, lbs 1000 
7,581 
Here is a total of 3 3-4 tons, and I doubt if it is 
sufficient. 
EXPENSES. 
7 cts. freight to Athabasca on 7,581 lbs $530.67 
2 men 2 years, $1.00 per day each man 1,460.00 
Should you buy the boats, they cost each, 
say $100 200.00 
The crews will cost $1.00 per diem each ; 15 in 
addition to your own, say 15 at $1.00 per 
day each, for 48 days, 720.00 
Cost of supplies, ammunition, &c 800.00 
Total expenses from Bow Medicine Hat river 
to Musk Ox ground and back $3,710.67 
I don’t see any room for paying expenses on 
this trip, if Musk Oxen were all, but I can’t under- 
stand why other specimens might not be taken as 
well, and I don’t know how you will figure to do 
anything with $4,000; certainly it could be done 
if all were honest and you could leave things lay- 
ing around loose, &c. Were I going in with a 
party I would figure full rations for two years, 
and then make them last thirty months if neces- 
sary; but though the time of going in is short, 
down stream, it takes much longer to come back. 
More anon. Yours truly, 
H. A. Kanouse. 
If you only want 10 Musk Oxen I would say can- 
didly, don’t send a party, it would be a waste of 
time and money. All with whom I talk, men 
who have been in there, say they would not 
think it safe to go without three years provisions. 
Our food right here costs us $1 per day, just 
what we eat, live as cheaply as we may. At 
Slave Lake flour is 50 cts. and $1 per lb; sugar 
$2.50 per lb. ; tea $5.00; tobacco $10.00, &c., and 
not always to be had at these figures. 
The above letter with its introductory remarks 
was intended for a previous number of the Bul- 
letin, many months ago. Since that time Pro- 
fessor has by incessant inquiry and correspond- 
ence succeeded in obtaining a fine skin and 
skeleton of adult male Musk Ox from the neigh- 
borhood of the mouth of the Mackensie river, in 
. latitude 68° north. The skin has been stuffed 
by Mr. Critchley, and the skeleton mounted by 
Mr. Bailley, and both specimens have gone to 
join so many other of our finest and rarest speci- 
mens in the museum of Comparative Zoology at 
Cambridge. We give at the head of our article 
a cut of the stuffed specimen after it left Mr. 
Critchley’s hands. 
STELLER’S SEA LION. 
(Eumetopias Stellen.) 
Previous to the publication of Allen’s “ Mono- 
graph of North American Pinnipeds,” 1874, our 
knowledge of these animals was in a most cha- 
otic state. 
Different authors had seen fit, for reasons 
oftimes not given the public, to divide this order 
into many and various families, the families into 
overlapping and inharmonious genera, and lastly, 
almost no two writers could agree as to the num- 
bers of species represented by any particular 
genus or family. 
I know of no good figures or life-histories of 
these animals that have appeared prior to 1874. 
Consequently the popular knowledge of any but 
the more common forms has been very slight. 
Having spent six weeks at Point Reyes, Cal., 
collecting Sea Lions, Seals, etc., and studying 
the habits of these animals, I now offer to the 
readers of “ The Bulletin ” the results of my 
observations on Eumetopias stelleri. 
This species of Sea Lion has been much con- 
founded with Zalophus californianus — California 
Sea Lion; hut I experienced no difficulty in dis- 
tinguishing the species at a considerable distance. 
At the time of my observations (June — July), 
Eumetopias was of a much lighter color than 
Zalophus, whether this is the case throughout 
the year or not I am unable to say. Eumetopias 
is considerably the larger, has a broader muzzle 
and a decidedly different voice — a leoine roar — 
whereas Zalophus barks with a honk-honk honk, 
never to be mistaken. 
Allen gives the Farallone Islands, 87° 41' N. 
as the Southern limit of Eumetopias, while 
Elliott (“The Seal Islands of Alaska,” Elliot, 
1881), gives Santa Barbara and Gaudaloupe 
Islands, 84° N., as the Southern limit. This lat- 
ler limit I believe to be the correct one, basing 
my opinion on the word of several Seal hunters 
and upon commercial skins coming from Santa 
Barbara that 1 have examined. I was also told 
of a Sea Lion killed at Point New Years with a 
bone arrow point (such as are used by the Alutes), 
imbedded in its flesh. 
Unfortunately, the Sea Lions at Point Reyes 
had established no regular rookery there this 
year, so I was unable to study them during the 
“pupping” season. I am told by several sealers 
that the Sea Lions bring forth their young from 
the 25th of May to the 5th of June, observing 
great regularity in this respect. The young are 
born upon the rocks, unless for some reason the 
females should be frightened off into the water, 
when they give birth in the water — the young 
usually drowning, not from an inability to swim, 
but because it does not know enough to hold its 
head above water when trying to breathe. 
The bull Seal usually shows no affection for 
the young; in fact, it is no unusual thing for a 
male to pick up a pup that happens to be in its 
way and throw it into the water or against the 
rocks. The females also, not uncommonly seize 
strange pups in their immediate vicinity and 
hurl them out of the way. From this destruction 
by bulls and strange cows, as well as by being 
trampled on, a large number of young Seal are 
annually killed in nearly all rookeries. 
The rookeries are established on the Islands, 
off shore, as Farallones, Santa Barbara and San 
Miguel, and on the jagged, storm-beaten rocks 
that line the coast. These localities best meet 
their requirements of frequent and easy access to 
deep water and safety from the pursuit of man. 
So inaccessible are some of these rocks that 
sealers sometimes have to wait several days for 
weather sufficiently calm to attack them, though 
within rifle shot all of the time. 
It is wonderful what steep rocks these mon- 
strous creatures will climb — rocks at an angle of 
60° are ascended with so little difficulty that one 
is almost inclined to echo the words of my 
assistant and say that “they must have suckers 
on their flukes.” The under surface of their 
feet, at the wrists and heels, are composed of 
thick callosites, finely and deeply divided by 
intersecting oblique lines, so that the the foot 
applies itself to the granular roughness of the 
granite and conglomerate and secures a very 
sure hold; and though clinging to or climb- 
ing up almost perpendicular ascents, the break- 
ers dash over them with little effect, and very 
rarely does one see a Sea Lion washed off from 
such a rock. They delight in the roar and 
dash of the breakers, are powerful swimmers 
and wonderful climbers; so, delighting in 
these thing, they establish their rookeries on 
the windward sides of the islands and islets that 
dot the Pacific coast line. 
The size of the male Sea Lion is very great. 
As given by Allen it is from 11 to 18 feet in 
length, and 8 to 10 feet in girth. Capt. Scam- 
mon gives the length (from tip of nose to end of 
hind flipper), of a full grown male taken at the 
Farallones, as 12 feet. Measurements of my two 
largest skins, tip of nose to end of flippers, are 
respectively 15 feet and 15 feet, 3 inches. 
Breadth across chest (exclusive of shoulders), of 
medium sized male, in the flesh, 2 feet, 10 inches; 
female, very old, from tip of nose to end of tail, 
in flesh, 9 feet, 5 inches. Length of hand of 
medium sized male, 2 feet, 5 inches; length of 
foot of same specimen, 2 feet, 2 inches; 2 feet, 
10 inches circumference of head, around crown 
and below chops, of a small male. Length of 
longest whiskers noted, 22 inches; maximum 
diameter, inch. 
The weight of an adult male has been variously 
estimated from 1,000 to 2,000 pounds. I have 
asked many sealers what they thought the weight 
to be, and none have put it less than 1500 pounds, 
several as high as 2500. I believe that a large male 
would tip the bearnat 2000 pounds. A Sea Lion 
will sink in the water and even then weigh up- 
wards of 200 pounds. Afresh skin, freed of all 
fatty matter and containing no bones, must 
weigh at least 300 pounds; therefore I believe 
2000 pounds to be a safe estimate of the weight 
of a large male. 
