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Show 192 ON THE FUR-SEAL ISLANDS. [Feb. 2, very little known and it was believed that more than one of the specimens collected by Mr. Barrett-Hamilton belonged to species new to science. The Commander Islands were reached on the 19th of July, early on which day Mr. Barrett-Hamilton was left at Nikola by the ' Spartan.' He passed six weeks on the islands, part of the time being spent on the smaller Copper Island, which was about 40 miles from Bering Island. Much valuable information was collected during this stay, not only wdth regard to the Seals, but also with regard to the natives of the islands, the birds, and the general fauna and flora. O n the 25th of August, Professor Thompson and Dr. Jordan, who had been sent out to the Pribiloff Islands by the U.S. Government, arrived in H.M.S. ' Satellite,' and after a short inspection of the Glinka Bookery on Copper Island, the whole party left for Unalaska, where they arrived on the 29th. On. the 31st the party proceeded in H.M.S. 'Pheasant' to St. Paul Island, the largest of the Pribiloff Group, arriving at the village on the 1st of September. Professor D'Arcy Thompson, Dr. Jordan, and Mr. Lucas (U.S. Commissioners) left the Pribiloff islands on the 8th of September for Seattle, via Sitka, but M r. Barrett-Hamilton remained behind to continue his observations on tbe Fur-Seal and to assist in the count of dead pups, together with Mr. Macoun (Canadian) and Colonel Murray and Mr. Clarke (Americans). He remained on the islands in all for about six weeks, part of which time was spent on the smaller island of St. George. Finally, he left the islands for good on the 22nd of October, and returned to England by Unalaska, Port Townsend, Victoria, the Canadian Pacific Railway from Vancouver to Ottawa and Montreal, N e w York, Washington, and Queenstown. Mr. Barrett-Hamilton stated that it had been his good luck to have had what for one season's work he thought must be an unique experience among the Fur-Seals, having spent six weeks on both the groups of islands, and having actually lived on each of the Seal Islands except Bobben Reef, and having passed over on foot nearly every square yard of the Rookeries on all the four Seal Islands in the North Pacific. There was only one part of the season that he had missed, and that was the earliest part of it. There was, of course, little chance of finding new species among the higher animals of the North Pacific, but, besides the small collection of fishes already alluded to, and which he believed contained examples of some new species, collections had been made of some of the smaller mammals met with, and the British and other Museums had been enriched by additional specimens of the Northern Fur-Seal, as well as by a set of skulls of different ages and sexes of Steller's Sea-Lion (Otaria stellerl). This magnificent northern species was, until now, very poorly represented in the National collection, and a young male brought home by Mr. Barrett- Hamilton was being set up for the Gallery now under re-arrangement by Mr. Lydekker. |
