THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
377 
times fimply white ; and many of the bears here were of a 1778. 
brown, or footy colour. , May ~ 
Betides thefe animals, which were all feen at Nootka, 
there are fome others in this place which we did not find 
there ; luch as, the white bear; of whofe fkins the natives 
brought feveral pieces, and fome entire fkins of cubs; from 
which their fize could not be determined. We alfo found 
the wolverene, or quickhatch, which had very bright co¬ 
lours; a larger fort of ermine than the common one, which 
is the fame as at Nootka, varied with a brown colour, and 
with fcarcely any black on its tail. The natives alfo brought 
the fkin of the head of fome very large animal; but it 
could not be pofitively determined what it was; though, 
from the colour and fliagginefs of the hair, and its unlike- 
nefs to any land animal, we judged it might probably be 
that of the large male urfine feal, or fea-bear. But one of 
the moft beautiful fkins, and which feems peculiar to this 
place, as we never faw it before, is that of a fro all animal 
about ten inches long, of a brown or rufty colour on the 
back, with a great number of obfcure whitifli fpecks ; and 
the fides of a blueifh afh colour, alfo with a few of thefe 
fpecks. The tail is not above a third of the length of its 
body, and is covered with hair of a whitifh colour at the 
edges. It is no doubt the fame with thofe called fpotted 
field mice, by Mr. Staehlin % in his fhort account of the New 
Northern Archipelago. But whether they be really of the 
moufe kind, or a fquirrel, we could not tell, for want of per¬ 
fect fkins; though Mr. Anderfon was inclined to think that 
it is the fame animal defcribed under the name of the Cafan 
marmot, by Mr. Pennant. The number of fkins we found 
here, points out the great plenty of thefe feveral animals 
* In his Account of Kodjak, p. 32 and 34. 
3 C juft 
VOL. II. 
