UC-NRLF
SB 273 72fl
' DAVID STARR JORDAN
LIBRARY
OF THK
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.
GIFT OF
OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
— THF —
I 11 l_j
STORY OF MATKA
Calr of tlic iflist Sslan&g
DAVID STARR JORDAN
President of I.eland Stanford Jr. University, and cf the California
Academy of Science; United Sta'es Commissioner in
Charge of Fur Seal Investigations.
SAN FRANCISCO
WHITAKER & RAY-WIGGIN CO.
1910
f
t-
inA
COPYRIGHT 1897
BY
DAVID STARR JORDAN.
COPYRIGHT 1909
BY
DAVID STARR JORDAN.
To MY ASSOCIATES
OF THE
BERING SEA COMMISSIONS FOR 1896
WITH PLEASANT MEMORIES OF THE
TWIN MlST-ISLANDS AND
THE ICY SEA,
D'ARCY WENTWORTH THOMPSON.
LEONHARD STEJNEGER.
FREDERIC AUGUSTUS LUCAS.
JAMES MELVILLE MACOUN.
GEORGE ARCHIBALD CLARK,
JEFFERSON FRANKLIN MOSER.
GERALD EDWIN H. BARRETT-HAMILTON,
CHARLES HASKINS TOWNSEND,
JOSEPH MURRAY,
ANDREW HALKETT.
AND TO OUR PREDECESSORS
HENRY WOOD ELLIOTT,
CLINTON HART MERRIAM,
BARTON WARREN EVERMANN
FREDERICK WILLIAM TRUE.
THOMAS CORWIN MENDENHALL.
199433
PREFACE.
In the illustration of this little book, I am indebted
to Assistant Secretary Charles S. Hamlin, of the United
States Treasury, and to Hon. John J. Brice, United
States Fish Commissioner, for the use of photographs
taken, for the various Bering Sea Commissions, by
Mr. Charles H. Townsend, Dr. Barton W. Evermann,
Dr. Leonhard Stejneger, and Mr. N. B. Miller. For
certain photographs taken by Mr. Harry Chichester, I
am indebted to the courtesy of Mr. Joseph Stanley-
Brown. The drawings showing the life of the beach-
masters were made by Miss Chloe Lesley (now Mrs.
Edwin Chapin Starks), then a student in Stanford Uni
versity. By the courtesy of Prof. D'Arcy W. Thompson
and Mr. James M. Macoun, I have used certain photo
graphs taken by the Commissioners of Great Britain and
of Canada. To the author of "The Beaches of Lukan-
non," I gratefully make any acknowledgement the reader
may deem proper.
DAVID STARR JORDAN
FOREWORD TO THE PRESENT EDITION.
The plates of the earlier editions of this work were des
troyed in the fire which followed the earthquake of 1906
In this edition a few additions are made, some plates omit
ted, and others added through the courtesy of Mr. Harry
Chichester and Mr. George A. Clark.
Palo Alto, California, D' S> J<
October 12, 1909.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Matka, Frontispiece
(Charles H. Townscnd, from Reef Rookery.)
"Atagh groaned and shook his head," ... 16
(Dr. Harry N. Chichcstcr.)
"Let us stay with Atagh," 20
(Dr. Harry N. Chichcstcr, Zoltoi Bluffs.)
"Polsi watched them from the rock," .... 25
"Polsi began to laugh," 30
"Old Amogada, with the long teeth," ... 35
(Miss L. Bcrnic Gallahcr.)
"His house was deep clown among the rocks," 40
(Dr. Harry N. Chichcstcr.}
"They shuffled off as fast as they could," . . 46
(C. H. Townscnd, Zoltoi Sands.)
"As though a great city had risen from the sea," 51
(C. H. Townscnd, Zoltoi Sands.)
"Holostaik awoke, sniffed and raised his head," 55
(Dr. Harry N. Chichcstcr, Zoltoi Bluffs.)
"Kotik taught Minda to swim," 60
(Dr. Harry N. Chichcstcr, Zoltoi Sands.)
"Little Lukutha grew faint and thin," ... 65
(D. IV. Thompson and A. Marrett.)
"Atagh was sleeping yet," 66
(Dr. Harry Chichcstcr.}
List of Illustrations.
PEN DRAWINGS
By Chloc Lesley Starks.
PAGE
"Calling across the surf day after day," ... 14
'The little chutchki birds sang loudly," ... 15
:The mightiest of all the beach-masters," . . 16
•'Then Atagh knew that they must fight," . . 17
"The black-zoned rock-fish," 18
"Like spectres in the great rollers," .... 19
"Bit him in the throat till Atagh roared again," 20
"Boys are so silly; they don't go into society," 21
"I knew Matka before Kotik was born," . . 22
Isogh, the hair seal, 23
"But he never looked back to see how she fell," 24
"When Atagh was fighting, Matka would lift
Kotik gently," 26
"Matka never seemed to look at Kotik either," 27
" T do not like you,' said Kotik," 28
"Don't you see what heavy responsibilities I
have," 31
(Zoltoi Bluffs, from a photograph by
PI any Chichester.)
"The yellow Atka-fish with the black zones," . 33
"The purple squid, which tastes like peaches
and cream," 34
(From a specimen thrown on deck of the "Bob-
rik" in a storm off Komandorski.)
List of Illustrations.
PAGE
"A long ribbon of kelp in his teeth," .... 36
"Tumbling them over the cliff till the right one
reached her," 37
"Kotik went over with a splash," 38
Eichkao, the blue fox, 39
"And then he learned the dolphin leap," . . 42
"Old Sivutch himself was disturbed, and roared
sleepily," 44
(Tolstoi Point, St. George — Young Male Sea-
lions — from a photograph by Harry Chichestcr.)
The pollock-fish, 45
"Orca, the Great Killer," 49
"Under the crest of a breaking wave," ... 54
"Old Epatka, the sea-parrot," G3
"Dead on the shining sands they call Zoltoi,
the golden," 64
"Gavarushka tried to take her eyes," .... 65
"The decks of the schooners, smeared with
their milk and their blood," 66
"To the islands of the Four Mountains they
have found their way," 67
"The dreary days have come," 67
St. Paul Island, Pribilof Group, Bering Sea,
Alaska, 71
(After Joseph Stanley-Brown.}
INTRODUCTION.
The present volume was written for grown
people, and was never intended for use in the
public schools. It is a valuable story for children,
however, and it is a matter of congratulation that,
in response to a strong demand, the book is now
issued at a price within the limit of public school
funds. The absence of a cheap edition has pre
vented its use as a supplemental reader, but now
that an edition for school use has been prepared,
the book should at once become one of our most
popular supplemental readers.
THE STORY OF MATKA is a charming and most
pathetic story of animal life, the pathos of the
story making a deep impression on the reader.
The simple yet forcible manner in which the life
on the Mist Islands is described, the short sen
tences used, and the careful choice of simple
Anglo-Saxon words easily place the story within
the comprehension of children. Unlike the aver
age " nature-study reader," which usually tells
what the child should find out for himself, and
tends to deaden his interest in the real world
about him, the present story tells what should be
Introduction
told, and quickens the child's interest in all that
lives by portraying the human element in animal
life and by arousing his indignation at the cruel
manner with which men treat " their kin who
cannot talk." Wholly aside from being a true
story of animal life, it is also a piece of good
literature, and, among the many books of its kind
which have been produced within recent years, it
is easily one of the best.
As a supplemental reader the book is partic
ularly adapted for use in the fourth or fifth grade.
It possesses a charm and a continuity which seize
the child's active interest and fix it on the story,
and running through it is a human element which
will make a strong appeal to every child. In
emphasizing this element the teacher has a splen
did opportunity to prepare the way for a more
humane treatment of all the lower animals. Be
cause of these qualities the book possesses many
advantages over the usual type of supplemental
reader, and should have an extensive use in the
public schools of America. We need more litera
ture of this kind in our schools.
ELLWOOD P. CUBBERLEY.
PERSONS.
ATAGH, a beach-master, homing on Tolstoi Mys.
MATKA, his wife.
KOTIK, their child.
UNGA, Atagh's brother.
POLSI (short for Polusikatch), Matka's brother.
HOLOSTIAK, Kotik's elder brother.
MINDA, Kotik's sister.
LAKUTHA, Kotik's sister.
ENNATHA, Matka's sister.
ANNAK, Ennatha's child.
IMNAK, a beach-master.
APOLLON BOWEDURFSKY, Chief of the Mist-Islands.
ISOGH, the hair seal.
AMOGADA, the walrus.
EICHKAO, the blue fox.
SIVUTCH, the gray sea-lion.
KAGUA, his wife.
CHIGNOTTO, the sea-otter.
BOBRIK, her son.
EPATKA, the sea-parrot.
CHUTCHKI, the least auk.
GAVARUSHKA, the burgomaster gull.
ORCA, the Great Killer.
Chorus of beach-masters, sea-lions, chutchki birds, vol
canoes, southeaster, and surf of the sea.
THE STORY OF MATKA.
Unsubstantial as a dream
Does my lone Mist-Island seem,
With its flower-bespangled moss.
Wet by wayward waves that toss
Flotsam from the farthest lands
Over Zoltoi's shining sands,
While the mist still broods above
Sleep-cap of the Pribilof '
This is a true story, for I knew Matka before
Kotik was born, when she was very beautiful.
From the little window of the cabin in which I
write these words I can look across the salt
lagoon and the mossy hills of the Mist-Island,
blue with harebells and spring violets, to the
black Tolstoi Head where the great surf is break
ing. Men call these cliffs Tolstoi — the strong one
— because they are so dark and heavy. Here,
among the broken columns of black basalt, was
Matka's home, and here Kotik was born.
Then, too, was I not with Apollon, the chief
of the Mist-Islands, when we found Matka dead
14 The Story of Matka
on Zoltoi sands, with the cruel spearhead fast
in her velvet neck ? She had tried to come
ashore at Tolstoi, where Kotik watched her from
the rocks above, and little Lakutha waited on
the beach for her to come. But Matka was not
strong enough. The rocks were steep, the surf
ran high, and she had lost much blood. When
she tried to call back to Lakutha, the salt water
came into her wounded throat, and the tide rips
swept her away, over to Zoltoi, where the great
waves threw her body on the shining sands.
And little Lakutha waited for her on the flat
top of a broken column, close to the water's edge,
calling across the surf day after day. She is
waiting there yet, but she calls no longer, for she
fell asleep at last, and her little pinched body still
rests in the crevice between the columns of basalt.
But when Kotik. was born, all this
had not happened. There was bustling
life on Tolstoi in those
days, when the ice
floes all
melted in
the spring, and
the mist-lands above
The Great Man- Seal"
15
the rocks changed from white to green. The
little chutchki birds sang loudly as they built
their nests, and the whole shore was alive with
the beach-masters and their families, v,
returning to their homes from which the -> ,,
Storm King, who rules the twin Mist- \
Islands in the winter time. ^ •*
had driven them in the ^
fan. *:' *
And in the ^ ~~ J* '""
spring, as it *'"»••
chanced, Old Atagh -*.
had come back with the -"
rest. He had been far to
the south, to the Fairweather
grounds, where the black-
zoned rock-fish lives, and **" ^
he had chased it to its
haunts among the granite boulders.
He had come back strong and lusty,
the mightiest of all those they called
the beach-masters. When he blew
his breath in a great, musk-scented cloud before
his face, there were none who dared oppose
him. When he had climbed over the ice floes
The little chutchki
birds sang loudly."
16
The Story of Matka
to Tolstoi, he roared, because the Storm King
had left one of his snow banks there. And
when he had roared, he sat down on the snow
and groaned, because he felt that great responsi
bilities were falling upon him. Then he roared
again, for by the rock at the end of the snow
bank, the same flat column .^B& on which he
had stood all last sum- mer, was his
own brother, Unga. ^^^j» He knew
him by his thick, ^Ij^im brown hair,
his long mustaches, J||Sfe>MiJf and the scar
" The mightiest of all the beach-masters."
on his shoulder, which Atagh himself ha^ cut
when Unga was paying court to Matka.
"Go away, Unga, I want that place," said
Atagh; and he groaned, and shook his head,
and sent his breath in a great, white cloud across
the snow. But Unga roared, too, and blew his
breath as far as Atagh could. Then Atagh kneu,
"Atagh groaned and shook his head.
"Haul Oat of the Sear 17
that they must fight; so he held himself very
low in the snow and struck out with all his
might, making a _ great cut on
11 Then Atagh knew that they must fight."
Unga's arm just below the old scar, and the red
flesh showed again. And Unga stood up as high
as he could and cut the top of Atagh's head, so
that the scalp with its long, blonde hairs seemed
like a loose wig. Then Atagh rose as high as
Unga could, and seized him by the waist, and
with a mighty effort threw him from the snow.
Then they both groaaed very loud, and the
big tears flowed from their eyes and made wet
strips across their cheeks, for they were sorry
that they must fight each other. For they were
brothers, and for many a day they had been great
friends. Long days and nights had they slept
side by side on Zoltoi sands. But this was when
they were bachelors, before the great duties of
life had come to them.
18
The Story of Matka
But the battle did not last long. When
Atagh shook his blood-stained head, and roared
again, and blew out his breath in a white cloud,
Unga only opened his mouth very wide and
looked toward the ocean, pretending not to see
Atagh any more.
So they became good friends again, and Unga
shuffled back to the other side of the snow and
left Atagh by the rock he claimed as his own.
Then others came up and would have taken
their places with them on the snow, but they
could not. For Atagh would hold himself very
low as he sprang at them, and Unga would stand
very high, and before the intruders knew what.
" The black-zoned rock-fish "
The Silken-Haired Ones Come. 19
had happened, they would be tumbled heels over
head, down on the rocks of the beach. When
they were all driven away, Atagh sat on the
snow and roared again till the tears rolled down
his cheeks, as he wondered whether Matka would
never come.
One morning a long wave swept in from the
sea, and there was a great bustle on the beach,
a washing of faces and a shaking of rich furs,
" Like spectres in the great rollers."
and Atagh saw a dozen of the silken-haired ones
climbing up the hill from the beach toward the
snow where he and Unga were sitting.
But Atagh only groaned, and shook his head,
and looked out toward the ocean, as if he did
not see them. And the silken-haired ones saw
his bleeding neck, and they said, "What a brave
20
The Story of Matka
fellow, he is; let us stay with him and give hi in-
consolation." And they lounged on the snow all
about him in pretty attitudes, swaying back and
'forth their long, soft necks. Then they pulled
his white mustaches and bit him in
the throat, till Atagh j||jL groaned again and
shook his head, and ^MlB\ the tears flowed
Bit him in Ihe throat till Atagh roared.
down his cheek, which meant that they were
welcome. But none of them looked -at Unga.
The next day there was another great rustle
on the beach, for more of the silken-haired ones
had come. And one of these was Matka, and
Polsi, her brother, was with her. Polsi was talk
ing to Matka very briskly. He told, her about
the Mist-Islands, and Ungeskelligh, and his little
70
The Drecwn of the Bachelor. 21
brown mustaches, and how he could almost blow
a cloud, and how he would like to get married.
And all the while the tears rolled down his
cheeks. But Matka laughed.
she said; " boys are
tliey don't go into
can't know boys, and
never speak to me,
Atagh will blow a
and you will feel
" O you boy,"
always so silly;
society. One
you must never,
for if you do,
cloud at you,
no bigger than
Boys are so silly; they don't g'o into society
Eichkao, the little blue fox, for all your mus
taches. Now, climb up on the parade ground,
like a good little bachelor, and I will let you
look down sometimes to see Atagh, that you
may grow to be like him. Now, don't stand
in my way, for there is Atagh waiting." Then
Unga, who was all alone, groaned aloud, and
22
The Story of Matka
Polsi shuffled up the bank as fast as his legs
could carry him.
So Matka shook out her silken-brown hair, and
brushed her white throat, and climbed up the
rocks to the great columns of lava. And Unga
saw her as she came up, and stood in her way,
and would not let her pass, for he was great and
strong, and Matka was small and lissome. "Stay
with me," .said Unga; " I am all alone." Then
he groaned very loud, and raised his neck, and
shook his head three times, while the tears ran
from his eyes. " See Atagh," he said; "he has
enough already, and does not care for you at all."
"That is right," said Matka. "He is such
a dear, good, masterful fellow; no wonder every
body likes him. We shall all have such good
times together. Don't you remember how he
threw you and old
Imnak off the rocks
last year, and car
ried Ennathaand
all the rest of
them to his
own place,
i
' I knew Matka before Korik was born."
"What a Beach-Master He is!" 23
not help yourselves? How mad you were; but
you could only groan, and could never blow a
white cloud like Atagh. By the side of Atagh
the rest of you beach-masters are no better than
old white Isogh, who can't raise his head, and
can only wriggle off into the water when a beach-
, the hair seal.
master looks at him. There were forty of us that
year, and we all belonged to Atagh. Oh, what
a beach-master he is!"
But Unga seized her by the throat and would
not let her go. Then Atagh heard Matka calling,
and he groaned and shook his head. Then, after
he had groaned again, he rushed across the snow,
and before Unga knew what had happened, there
was another cut across his breast, through which
the red blood showed again. And Atagh seized
24
The Story of Matka
Matka by the shoulders, and, feet in the air, he
tossed her over his head so that she fell among
the others. But he never looked back to see how
she fell, and all the time he stood face to face with
Unga, shaking his head and blowing out his
breath in a great cloud. But Unga only looked
out over the sea as if nothing
had happened. So the two were
But he never looked back to see how she fell."
good friends again. There were now many more
of the silken-haired ones on the shore, and some
of them came to Atagh, and some of them to
Unga; but I need not tell their stories, for it is
always thus on the Mist-Islands.
So Atagh shuffled back to his place, and
groaned as he thought of the responsibilities
Where Kotik was Born. 25
of life. But Matka said briskly: "What a nice
rock you have chosen, dear; and so many of
them with you! How strong you are; how they
all must admire you! There were forty last year;
let us have fifty this year. But little brown Matka
is the best of all; is n't she, dear?" And she
snuggled up close to Atagh, and bit him a little
in the sides of his neck, and pulled his long mus
taches. And Atagh shook his head and pretended
to groan, and the tears ran from his eyes, but he
was pleased for all that, though he would never
let Matka know it.
And Polsi, Matka's brother, watched them
from the rock above the snow, and he shook his
head and blew his breath out a little, just as he
had seen Atagh do. But when Atagh saw him
and groaned once, Polsi fell off from the rock
and tumbled heels over head into the sea.
And right here, close to the sea, among the big
rocks under Tolstoi Head, where you look down
from the old fox-walk, Kotik was born. When
I first saw Kotik the snow bank had melted
away. The silken-haired ones were all come, and
the Storm King nad fled to his fastness in the
north. Matka slept on the flat blocks of lava.
26
The Story of Matka
and Kotik was already a sturdy fellow, for Matka
had watched him closely all these first days.
None of the other silken-haired ones dared snap
at him when Matka was looking; and when
Atagh was fighting, Matka would lift Kotik gently
by the neck and place him in a safe place behind
some rock. Kotik soon learned to toddle away
and hide under the rocks when Atagh was rushing
'•When Atagh was fighting, Matka would lift Kotik gently "
about, for to learn to- creep under a rock so as not
to be trodden under foot is the first rule of the
Mist-Islands; and the second rule is, to go away
and play with one's fellows when one is not
wanted at home. Kotik had learned to know
Matka's voice, and to come when she wanted
him. He could climb the sides of the slanting
rocks all by himself when there was not anything
for him to eat. Atagh never looked at him, for
One Sleeps Much at Tolstoi. 27
he would not have Matka think that he cared for
children.
Besides, as the summer went on, the responsi
bilities of life grew heavier on Atagh. He
slept a good deal, and when he was awake he
would shake his head and groan. And after
a while, Matka never seemed 'to look at Kotik,
either. But when he was out of sight, he was
always in her thoughts; she would open her sleepy
eyes, and without rising from her resting-place,
she would call, and call, until Kotik should answer.
Then she would go back to sleep again, and Kotik
slept by her side. For one sleeps much on the
Mist-Islands. The time moves slowly there, for
it is always afternoon, and those who stay there
sleep, and sleep, and wait.
Matka never seemed to look at Kotik.
28 The Story of Matka
One day I came to Tolstoi Head, and looking
down over the ledge, I saw them all fast asleep —
Atagh beside his rock with his nose in the air,
while Matka was lazily comfortable on her back
among the stones, her arms spread w'ide apart and
her white throat showing soft like velvet. Kotik
lay close by her with outstretched limbs, trying
to look as much like Matka as he could.
" O Matka," said I, " let me look at your
little boy1" Matka woke with a start, and
brushed her throat nervously
with her hands. "Yes,
A.
you may," said
she; " but I must
^-- go and wash
my face." But
Kotik said: "No,
kc youT' said Kotik." , . T
you cannot look at me. I
do not like you; go away and let me alone.
If you don't go, I will bite you, and I will tell
Atagh, my father, and he will groan at you
and bite you, too. Let me alone," said Kotik.
So Matka went off to wash her face in the sea.
But Atagh saw her going, and would not have it.
He groaned again over the. troubles of life, and
"Polsi began to laugh."
OF THE
I UNIVERSITY J
OF
=£dUFORN\i
The Troiibles of Life. 29
one could hear him a mile away. He leaned back
on the rock when he roared, and opened his
mouth wide, and the tears ran from his eyes.
Then he groaned again and shook his head four
times. But Matka would not have me see her
till she had washed her face, and she tried again
to run away. But Atagh said, " Matka, you shall
not go; I have said so, and I must have my way."
So he seized her by the neck and flung her over
his shoulder back into her place. " Look at me,"
he said; f'l never wash my face; I never eat; I
never drink; I never waste my time in frivolity.
1 have stayed right here at home all these two
months. I have worked hard, and you shall stay
with me." And Matka sat very still behind the
rock and looked at Atagh admiringly.
Then Atagh saw me, and he groaned and
shook his head again. "Go away," he said;
" don't you see how hard it is to manage a house
hold? When visitors come, they break up family
discipline." And Kotik sat on the rock and
roared, too, in his little, high-pitched voice, shak
ing his black head till I could see his white teeth.
"Don't you see how you trouble us," said he;
" it is all that we can do to manage Matka,
30 The Story of Matka
anyhow, even if you don't corne meddling with
our affairs."
Then Polsi, Matka's brother, who was sitting
alone, watching from the rock above like a sen
tinel, began to laugh. But Atagh snorted at him,
and he ran away as fast as his long, flat feet
could carry him, and while he ran he tumbled
over little Holostiak, and they both went flip-flap,
bumping their noses against the rocks till they
splashed into the sea.
But Matka meant to wash her face all the time,
though she pretended not to care any more, and
she sat quite still and craned her neck, looking at
me all the while with sleepy, curious eyes. " Do
go away," said Atagh; "don't you see what heavy
responsibilities I have?" Then he began to pant,
for he was stout and growing scant of breath, and
he groaned again when he thought of all the cares
life had brought him.
Then Kotik began to cry as loud as he could.
But no one took any notice of him. So he wiped
his eyes with his flat, brown hands and ran off to
play with the other black-haired little fellows,
each with a white spot under his ribs. They were
crawling up a flat rock and sliding back every
32 The Story of Matka
time they got half way up. And when one of
them would fall off from a rock and bump his
nose, then all the others would climb to the same
place and do the same thing. And Kotik saw
them, so he went up to climb, and slide, and
bump his nose with them. And he was climbing
and sliding still when I went away.
And Matka washed her face after all, for Atagh
went to sleep after he had groaned some more;
and Matka slipped softly by him and went down
to the sea. For she always had her own way at
the end. This is why Atagh groaned so much
and shook his head.
When I next came to Tolstoi, Atagh was lying
on tne rock fast asleep, sprawled out at full length,
his head hanging off from one side of the rock, his
long feet dropping down from the other. Matka
had been away for a week, but she had already
taught Atagh that she should always do as she
pleased. She had run down one day to wash her
face in the sea, and Atagh was so sleepy that he
could not hold her back. When Unga tried to
stop her, she struck him sharply on the chin, so
that he was willing to let her go. For he, too,
was very sleepy, and groaned to himself because
Pretending Not to Notice. 33
life on the Mist-Islands was so full of responsibili
ties. Then old Imnak saw Matka coming, and
he tried to seize her and hold her back. But
Matka was as deft as a cat, and slid behind him,
and plumped herself into the water just beside
her brother Polsi, and they both went off making
long, dolphin leaps. But Matka looked back once
to blow a kiss to old Atagh, who had just waked
up and who pretended not to notice it, while he
groaned and shook his head. And she called
to Kotik, who was climbing a great, slippery
rock, from which he could slide down plump
into a little pool of water. For it was time now
for Kotik to learn to swim.
Where Matka went, no one can tell, for it is •»
only the silken-haired ones that know the way to
the bank of sunken
mountains which is the
home of the yellow
Atka-fish with the
black zones, and of
" The yellow Atka-fish with the black zones
the purple squid which
tastes like peaches and cream, and the sleek-
skinned dream-fish, which is the nicest of all.
There are many who have sought for this bank,
34
The Story of Matka
as there are many who have tried to find the
foot of the rainbow; but only the silken-haired
ones know the way, and those who have thought
that they found it have never been able to go
back to the place again. For it lies far away,
toward the Islands of the Four Moun-
u The purple squid, which tastes like peaches and cream."
tains, in the edge of the Icy Sea; and the giant
kelp spreads over it like a curtain, and rises
and falls with the rolling surge. To go there,
you must first find the twin Smoke-Islands,
which steam and sputter day and night, because
they are hot and the water they are in is
cold. Then you leave them wrell to the wind
ward, and go on, and on, till you see Chignotto,
with the thick, gray fur, swimming on her back
in the kelp. Her little Bobrik she holds in her
arms, clasping him close to her breast when the
surf is high. And here the silken-haired ones
She Does What She Pleases. 35
go when they are hungry, and they have no
fear of Chignotto, for little Bobrik claims her
whole attention, and all are friends who live in
the Icy Sea.
And there, too, is the home of old Amogada,
with the long teeth, who shakes his great head,
and roars, and look very terrible. But Matka
had no fear of him, for she knew that he was
only scolding his wife, and whatever Amogada
says, she will do exactly as she pleases, for that
is the law of the Icy Sea.
When Matka had eaten her fill of Atka-fish,
dream-fish, and squid, she thought of hungry
Kotik, and of Atagh standing lonesome beside
his rock, with his nose in the air all these days.
But first, she must sleep a little, for a nap after
eating is always good for digestion, and she is
always well fed who dines at the Sign
'
Rising and falling with the waves."
36 The Story of Matka
of the Four Mountains. Besides, it is a rule of
the Mist-Islands that one should never go on
shore with fish in one's stomach. So Matka
lay quietly on the water for a day, rising and
falling with the waves, and when she awoke she
fanned herself softly in her own dainty fashion.
Atagh waited and slept, and when he was
awake he groaned and roared patiently. But
Kotik grew uneasy. He would slide on
the rocks, and paddle on
the water,
and sometimes
he arid
his little
friends would
play beach-
master.
He would seize a long ribbon of
kelp in his teeth and would shake "A long ribbon of keip in
his teeth."
his head very quickly, tearing it
to pieces, just as Atagh would tear the skin of
the young beach-masters when they came too
near Matka. And then he would pretend to
dive for fish, but he could only bring up a cast-
off shell or a piece of kelp. But whatever he
Matka Calls for Kotik.
31?
got he would shake with all his might so ihat
it could not get away. And he learned to
swallow the pebbles and shells, for one should
always have a little of something solid in his
stomach when he goes about on the land. Then
he would try to talk to Atagh, but his father
would only groan and act as if he did not see
Kotik.
One day Matka came ashore. She shook
out her hair, rubbed her eyes, and crept up
the bank to her Tolstoi home. She looked
neither to the left, nor to the right, pretended
not to notice Atagh, who was sleepier than ever,
and she called aloud, "Kotik, Kotik! " A dozen
little black -haired fellows crept up the rocks
when they heard her calling, but she thrust
them carelessly aside, tumbling
them over the cliff till the
right one reached her at last.
She gave him one kiss
of recognition; but
she would not even
look at him
after that,
for she
" Tumbling them over the cliff till the right one reached her."
38 The Story of Matka
did not want Kotik to know that she cared
for him. So she made him wait until she
had dressed herself, and was ready to give
him his dinfter, before she would turn her eyes
toward him again. For it is not good form
to show either love or anger on the Mist-
Islands.
When Matka was ready, she crowded Atagh
out of the way, and lay down on the smoothest
rock on Tolstoi, first pushing off all the little
ones who had gathered there to play, and had
gone to sleep before the game was finished. She
thrust them rudely down the bank, while their
mothers sleepily complained to Atagh. But
Atagh knew that Matka was always right. So
he groaned and shook his head, while she went
to sleep on the rocks, with Kotik by her side.
And when Kotik had taken all that she had
brought for him from the Sign of the Four
44 Kotik went over with a splash."
The Voice of the Beach Master. 39
Mountains, he lay down on his back under a
rock, where no beach-master could step on him,
and slept for a whole day, his flat, brown hands
crossed on his breast, and his flappy little feet
moving like a fan. And Atagh thought how
pretty Matka was, and what a noble little fellow
Kotik was coming to be. Then he
leaned back, and shook his head
three times, and groaned very
Eichkao, the blue fox.
loud. But that did not wake up Matka nor
Kotik, for their sleep was all the sounder the
more loudly he roared. "His voice is like the
surf of the sea/' Matka said, "and it does one
good to hear it." Then Atagh laid his bushy
head on the rock and stretched out his limbs
just as far as they would reach. Soon he, too,
was fast asleep.
40 The Story of Matka.
One day little Holostiak was playing with
Kotik by the water's edge, and for mischief he
pushed the little fellow down the bank into the
sea. Kotik went over with a splash. He was
very much scared. He held up his head as high
as he could, and then, before he knew it, his
nose went under. Then he came tip snorting
and gasping, and if he had not paddled for dear
life with both his flappy, brown hands, he would
have gone to the bottom. Then he would have
drowned, and the waves would have washed him
up on the beach for Eichkao, the blue fox, to
carry home to his children, as he had carried
off little Annak the day before.
This little blue fox bore the name of Eichkao,
and he was a thief. He had built his house down
deep among the rocks under the moss on the Mist
Island, and his fox children used to stay down among
the rocks. There they would gurgle, gurgle, gurgle,
whenever they heard anybody walking over their
heads. Eichkao and his fox wife used to run all
around over the rocks to find something for them to
eat, and whenever he saw anybody coming he would
go "clin-n-g," "cling-g-g," and his voice was high and
sharp, just like the voice of a buzz saw.
The Little Blue Fox. 41
One day he walked out on the rocks over the
water and began to talk to the black sea-parrot,
whose name is Epatka, and who sits erect on a lazily-
built nest with one egg in it, and wears a great big
bill made of red sealing wax. He has a long, white
quill pen stuck over each ear, and over his face is a
white mask, so that nobody can know what kind of
a face he has, and all you can see behind the mask
is a pair of little, foolish, twinkling, white, glass eyes.
What the two said to each other I don't know, but
they did not talk very long; for in a few minutes,
when I came back to his house among the rocks,
Eichkao was out of sight, and there lay out on the
bank a bill made of red sealing wax, a white mask,
and two little white quill pens. There were a few
bones and claws and some feathers, but they did not
£eem to belong to anything in particular, and the lit
tle foxes in the rocks went "gurgle," "gurgle,"
"gurgle."
One day I lay down on the moss out by the old
fox walk on the Mist Island, and Eichkao saw me
there, and thought I was the young brother of Amo-
gada, the walrus. I might be good to eat and would
feed all the little foxes for a month. So he ran
around me in a circle, and then he ran around again,
then again and again, always making the circle
42 Jhe Story of Matka.
smaller, till finally the circle was so small that I
could reach him with my hand. As he went around
and around, all the time he looked at me with his
cold, gray, selfish eye, and not one of all the beasts
has an eye so cruel-cold as his. When he thought
that he was near enough he gave a snap with his
jaws and tried to bite out a morsel to take home to
the little foxes, but all I offered him was a piece of
rubber boot. And when I turned around to look
at him he was running away as fast as he could, call
ing "clin-n-g," "clin-n-g," "clin-n-g" like a scared buzz
saw all the time as he went out of sight. And I
think that he is running yet, and the little foxes still
go "gurgle," "gurgle," "gurgle," underneath the rocks.
One day Holostiak came in from the wet rocks
and showed Kotik how to swim.
He showed him that the way to keep his
head up was to hold it low, so that only his
nose was in the air, and to throw the water
back with his hands. And then he learned the
dolphin leap, when one swims partly under
'And then he learned the dolphin leap."
Learning the Dolphin Leap. 43
water and partly in the air, and breathes only
when he is jumping. When Kotik could do this,
he was very happy. And as he splashed about,
the water washed away all his black hairs, leav
ing him all over a soft, silvery gray — "just like
Atagh," he said in his little boyish pride. But
Matka laughed, for she knew better. She knew
that Kotik must shed his hair many times be
fore it would be a full velvet brown, whitened
by silvery bristles. Besides, Atagh had mus
taches a foot long, and great teeth to bite with,
instead of the* little pin points around Kotik's
mouth.
And when Kotik could swim very well, and
could go all alone from Tolstoi to Zoltoi, Matka
was very proud of him.
One day he swam around to the island where
Sivutch, the gray sea-lion, lives, and he found the
brown sea-lion babies asleep on the rocks off the
shore. So he climbed up there with them, and
began to play with them, just as he played with
his fellows at Tolstoi. But the others said: "Go
away, little boy. We can't play. We are big
and all that, but we don't know anything. Let
us alone." And they opened their mouths as wide
44
The Story of Matka
as they could, and cried, and cried, whenever
Kotik looked at them. And Kagua, the great,
foolish, white-skinned mother, plunged into the
water, and put out her head, and called piti
fully in a deep, anxious voice, so that huge old
Sivutch himself was disturbed, and raised the
great mountain of flesh he called his
head, and roared sleepily. And
his voice was like the deep, full
"Old Sivutch himself was disturbed, and roared sleepily."
bass note of a mighty organ. You might go
around the world before you would hear the
like again. But Sivutch meant nothing when
he roared, for he was not even awake.
Then Kotik saw that he was not wanted by
the Sivutch family, so he swam away home and
found old Atagh groaning and shaking his head.
He said: "I have stood here on this rock all
A tag ft Goes off to Dine. 45
summer and have not eaten once, nor washed
my face. You and Matka do not need me any
more. I am going away. Good-by. Take care
of yourselves. I will come back after dinner."
So, without any more ceremony, Atagh shuffled
down to the beach, not once looking back at
Matka. Unga followed him, and old Imnak
came, too, and they went off together in high
spirits, rollicking away like the jolly old boys
they were. For they were all great friends
always when they were off duty. And they
swam away together with great, dolphin leaps to
the Storm King's gate, where the pollock-fish
could always be found in plenty. For Atagh
was easily suited when he had enough to eat,
and . he had no taste for the creamy squid and
the clear-skinned dream-fishes which the silken-
haired ones delight in.
The pollock-fish.
*6 The Story of Matka
Then Polsi, who had sat alone on the rock
above for a whole month, waiting for Atagh to
leave, shuffled down to his place, and pulled his
mustaches, and fanned himself unconcernedly,
as he tried to look very strong and brave. He
shook his head, and groaned, and blew out his
breath in a little cloud. But whenever he heard
any one coming, he trembled all over, and more
than once he was scared out of his wits. Then
he left the silken-haired ones and threw himself
into the sea because he thought he heard Atagh
growl.
But Polsi had good reason to be afraid, for
one day Atagh came back all unexpectedly. He
gave one great growl as he landed on the beach,
and Unga, who was with him, roared and blew
out his breath just as he had done when they
came for the first time. And when Polsi and
the rest of them heard it, they put their heads
low and shuffled off just as fast as they could.
Then Atagh and Unga, who were very fat, and
strong, and wide-awake, came back to their
places rollicking and roaring, and they called
the silken-haired ones around them, and every
thing went on just as before. When Matka saw
- -
' OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
When Bachelors are Happy. 47
Atagh, she was very glad, but she pretended
not to notice him. She was busy looking for
Kotik, and did not stay very long in one place,
and went from Atagh to Unga, and anywhere
she pleased, just as Kotik did. And everybody
began to do that, so that Atagh could not keep
trace of his family. But he was rather glad to
be free, and he went off one day to sleep on
Tolstoi sands and get well ready for the Long
Swim. Then Polsi, who had been watching all
the time, came down and took his place. When
the beach-masters are away comes the hap
piest time of all the year for those who are
bachelors.
When Matka saw Polsi, she laughed. " So
here the boys are coming to Tolstoi again. It
is time for us to take the Long Swim, Kotik.
See, the Mist-Islands are white and not green;
the sun does not look at us any more, and
soon the spray will all grow hard and slippery,
and we cannot climb upon the rocks."
So Matka and Kotik swam off with dolphin
leaps, and when they were well out at sea,
they looked back and saw Polsi all alone on
Atagh's rock. All of the silken-haired ones
48 The Story of Matka
had left him, and all their silvery-gray children
with them. There was no more life and bustle
on the cold, bleak Tolstoi cliffs. For Atagh
and Unga had already gone again. This time
they went to the Fairweather grounds, where
they would stay all winter, to come back early
in the spring. For they dared not go too far,
because they knew, that if they were not back
early, someone else would take their places, and
they might never get back into society again.
But Polsi stayed on Tolstoi till everyone
else was gone, and was very happy, because
he was now as good as Atagh. And little
Holostiak, who was Kotik's older brother, crept
down to Unga's place, and the Storm King
brought the snow back again, and the two
stood alone upon it, and felt very proud and
manly.
All at once Polsi said- "I feel very hungry.
Why, I have n't eaten a thing for a month.
Let us go and get some pollock-fish." "Just
what I was thinking of," says Holostiak; " they
can all see now that we are real beach-masters,
now the thing for us to do is to have a good
dinner." So they went down to the sea, and
Taking the Long Swim. 49
washed their faces, and then swam right away
to the Storm King's gate, where the pollock
lives, and is soft and tender. When they had
eaten all they could, and had a long sleep on
the waves, they swam across to the Fairweather
grounds, where they found Atagh and Unga.
But they were afraid of them no more, and
they went on farther, and farther, a thousand
miles to the south. They dodged the Great
Killer, Orca, who would have stained the sea
with their blood. For he hates the sons of the
beach-masters, and destroys them whenever he
can; and often he lies in wait for them as they
pass through the Storm King's gate.
They passed Kotik and Matka, and all the
rest of the silken-haired ones, till they came to
the Gray-Islands in the Blue . Seas. At the
•Orca, the Great Kilter."
50 The Story of Matka
Gray-Islands the mist was all gone; the sun
shine was hot, and they could see the moon
overhead at night. Then they knew that it was
time to go back. So they swam around all
the islands, not forgetting the last one with
the tall, ragged, brown cliffs, and the caves
where the brown sea-wolves yelp day and night,
in their silly, puppy fashion. Then they went
straight back to the north, taking always the
coldest current, going through the gates of the
Storm King, and past the black cape, called
Cheerful,- and by the line of the great floes
they found their way to the Icy Seas, to the
Mist-Islands. And on the flat columns of Tol
stoi Head, Polsi and Holostiak climbed first
of all, and they found the snow- bank there
just as it was the year before.
When Unga and Atagh came back again and
saw them, they blew out their breath in great
white clouds. Holostiak ran away with all his
might, but Polsi was not frightened at all. For
he could roar and blow a cloud, and his teeth
were long and sharp. So Atagh had the hardest
fight of his life before he could drive away
Matka's brother. When the struggle was over,
OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
Good Friends after Battle. 51
and each one .had a bloody shoulder, they were
all good friends again, and pretended not to see
each other. But there were three of them on
the snow bank instead of two, and Polsi was
in the middle, and could groan and shake his
head just as well as Atagh could. When the
silken-haired ones came back, it was very hard
for them to choose, for, though Polsi's mustaches
were not quite so long, his hair was very black,
and he shook his head proudly, and could blow
out his musky breath in grqat white clouds across
the snow. And on Tolstoi again it was as though
a great city had risen from the sea.
Matka and Kotik, too, had gone far out in.ta
the broad, blue sea, careless of storm or sunshine,
so long as they moved on, day by day, in their
southward course. They found many fishes on
their way — white-fish and rose-fish, but the
yellow Atka-fish of the Icy Sea tasted better
than any. "Now," says Matka at last, "let
us go back home." And they swam back
strongly and swiftly, for Kotik was almost as
large as his mother now, and his feet and
hands were bigger. Every day, as they came
nearer and nearer to the Mist-Islands, they grew
52 The Story of Matka
more and more merry. One morning, they saw
a great cone-shaped mountain with smoke coming
out of the top. " That is Shishaldin," said Matka;
"there the Storm King has his kitchen; from
that you will know your way home. Now you
see the thick mists rushing through the snow
mountains. That is Akutan and the gate of the
Storm King, through which you go to the Icy
Sea. Then you come to the great Moss-Island,
where the white volcano steams and puffs.
There the mountain is cleft in twain, and a white
cascade leaps from the midst of it straight out
into the sea. Now the gray mists draw their
curtain before the scorching sun. Where you
see the water falling, it is the Cape called
Cheerful, and you know you are almost home.
Two days more, and we will see the Mist-
Islands, and old Atagh waiting for me at
Tolstoi."
" Waiting for you, Matka," said Kotik; "can
not I go to Tolstoi, too?" "No, you foolish
boy," says Matka, "you must not come to
Tolstbi. Atagh would be very angry, and all
the silken-haired ones would bite you. You
must go off with Holostiak, and Kamnin, and
The Duties of Bachelors. 5 3
all the rest of them, to the sands of Ungeskelligh.
There you may swim in the water every day,
and you may sleep on the sands when it is
warm, and on the grass when it is wet. And
you may swim to Lukanin when the surf is high,
and to Zoltoi when the wind is in the east;
and you may swim and eat, and play and sleep,
as you will. But you must never come to me.
And when you swim past Tolstoi, you may call
to me, but I shall never answer; and Atagh will
groan and shake his head because you are such
a foolish boy. And when the chief, Apollon,
comes to drive you up, you must go right along
and make no fuss, for it is the way on the
Mist-Islands."
And Kotik was sad, for he wanted to stay
with Matka. He loved the black rocks of Tol
stoi, and he didn't want to be driven up. But
then a great wave swept over the reef, and the
silken-haired ones came up rustling and bustling
to Tolstoi, and climbed over the rocks to where
Atagh, and Polsi, and Unga were waiting, each
with his nose in the air, and pretending not
to see them. "Good-by," said Matka, and
Atagh roared so loudly that Kotik was terribly
54 The Story of Matka
frightened, and swam away so hastily that he did
not stop till he reached the long, curving stretch
of sands beyond Tolstoi they called Ungeskelligh,
which means the place for bachelors.
Here he found Holostiak, and his mustaches
were growing, and he could already blow a
little cloud. And there were many more of
Under the crest of a breaking wave.
the bachelors, little and big, and they had a
joyous time together. Sometimes they would
pretend to fight, to groan, and to blow out
their breath. But this was only play, for they
never hurt each other. Then they would bound
down the sands into the sea, and swim around
to Zoltoi and back again with long, dolphin
leaps. And they liked above all to creep
under the crest of a breaking wave, so that they
The Drive from Tolstoi 55
could look out on either side as it fell over
them. And when he went around Tolstoi Head,
Kotik would call out to Matka, and Atagh
would shake his head at him and groan. But
Matka was busy with little Minda, and she
never answered back.
One night they were all asleep on the Unge-
skelligh sands when they heard some one moving
about in the mist. Holostiak awoke, sniffed,
and raised his head. " That is Apollon," he
said. " There is going to be a drive." Then
he ran down to the sea and plunged in, and
never stopped till he came to Tolstoi, so fright
ened was he. Here he climbed up the rocks
and rushed right in among the silken-haired
ones, scarcely knowing what he was doing.
"The drive, the drive," he screamed. " What
do you want here?" growled Polsi; and he and
Unga seized Holostiak by the shoulders and
threw him off from the rocks into the sea in half
the time it takes to tell it. And Matka looked up
sleepily and said: " Dear, dear, how foolish these
boys are! I thought Holostiak had been killed in
a drive by this time. I hope Kotik will never
be so silly. I am glad that Minda is not a boy."
56 The Story of Matka
So the drive went on, and the bachelors were
all awakened from their sleep, and men stood
between them and the water, so that they had to
climb up the sands and over the hill. It was
hard work to go up hill in the sands, and they
stepped on each other's feet, and tumbled about in
confusion. But it was good fun for Kotik. Every
minute something new would happen. Some of
them would stop and shake their heads, snorting
and groaning. Then Kotik would laugh at them
and pretend to bite them in the throat or ribs.
When they came up from the sand over the
rocks, they went along much more easily. And
it was pleasant on the wet grass where the yellow
poppies grow, and the great, blue violets. But
Kotik did not care for these; he liked the cool
dew, and it was such a joke to be driven along
in a crowd. But when they came to go down
hill, they would slip, and step on each other's
feet, and roll heels over head in funny con
fusion. When they came to a little pond, they
all plunged into it and made a great splashing.
The drive came to its end at the old killing
ground, Asascardano, beside the salt lagoon,
where the purple monk's-hood waves its poisoned
Why the Rye- Grass is Tall. 57
flowers, and the rye-grass is tall, because the
bones lie thick about its roots. There were
many others there from Lukanin and Zoltoi,
and they all lay down in the grass, panting and
pretending to bite each other.
Then Kotik saw a little " pod " of thirty,
that the chief had driven up apart from the
rest, and the men closed in about them in a
moment, and only the biggest and smallest ones
were left; for all those who were three years
old, and whose skins had no scars, lay dead on
the grass. It is not pleasant to tell the story of
Asascardano, If killing must be done, one does
not like to hear about it. So, if my lady wishes
to know where her rich fur cloak comes from,
she must ask some one else.
Kotik did not mind it much till his "pod"
from Tolstoi was driven up. But when he saw
the blows falling on his companions' heads, he
was furious with wrath, and the big tears ran
all over his face. He rushed at Apollon and
struck at him with all his might, just as he
had seen Atagh strike at old Unga. But the
chief kept him off with his club, and Kotik
could not reach him anywhere.
58 The Story of Matka
When the killing was over, and those who
were left were creeping disconsolately through
the grass on their way down to the salt
lagoon, Kotik would not go. He groaned,
and shook his head, and showed all his white
teeth. " He 's a fine fellow; hear him growl,"
said the chief. "When he grows up, then look
out."
But the chief went away and left him. They
drove up another pod a little way off, and
Kotik was left in the grass all alone with his
wrath. When he found that he could not get
at the chief, Kotik shuffled off to the lagoon
and swam back as straight as he could to Un-
geskelligh sands. And he forgot to call to
Matka as he went around Tolstoi Head, for his
little heart was full of anger.
I should like, if I could, to tell how Kotik
resolved that there should be no more drives,
and how he led all the silken-haired ones and
all the beach-masters in a great revolt, and
swam away to the twin Storm-Islands in the
thicker mist, where the green foam curls about
the hollowed-out cliffs of Zapalata, and the
black reefs close the way to all intruders. But
The Twin Storm-Islands. 59
this is a true story, and I can tell only the truth.
He did nothing- of the kind. When he came to
Ungeskelligh, Kotik found the strand so quiet
and the sand so cool, the surf-beat so soothing
and the mist so pleasant, that he lay down and
went to sleep.
For it is the way of the Mist-Islands, that
when one is unhappy, he sleeps well, and when
he awakes all is forgotten. Kotik awoke, full
of the joy of the great sands and the sea,
and his anger had all faded away. Ten days
later, when Apollon came around again, Kotik
followed in the drive, doing just what was
expected of him from start to finish. And so
did Holostiak, for he had less fear of the drive
than of Atagh's terrible groan and Polsi's sharp
teeth.
"For there have always been drives," every one
said, "and drives there will always be." And it is
well for them that it is so, else the whole Mist-Islands
would be covered with struggling beach-masters, and
the silken-haired ones would have no peace of mind
or body and their little ones would all be trampled
under foot.
60 The Story of Matka.
But Kotik did not forget Matka, and one day
he went over to Tolstoi Head and climbed right
up among the silken-haired ones, taking always
good care to be on the other side of the rocks
from Atagh. And Matka looked at him sleepily
and said, "You foolish boy." But she did not
drive him away. Atagh looked over at him
and growled. But he knew it was only Kotik.
Besides, Atagh was very sleepy. So he lay
down and pretended not to see him.
After a while Matka said, "Now, be a good
boy; go away, and when the Great Ice comes
down from the north we will swim off
together."
So Kotik went down to the shore. Unga
and Polsi growled at him all the way down,
but no one did more than growl.
On the shore he found little Minda,
and he spent the whole afternoon teaching
her to swim. Then he went around to
Lttkanin, for he liked to lie on the
level rocks that face the long curve
of the beach. The soft sand made his short legs
tired, so when he wished to rest he climbed up
on the rocks. But to the rocks of Tolstoi he
Playing Beach-Master. 61
would not go again, for he would not be likely
to find Atagh another time in such gentle mood.
Holostiak and Kotik were good friends, and
went about together a good deal, climbing the
rocks or swimming about the Mist-Islands in
dolphin leaps, looking like spectres in the great
rollers.
But one day Holostiak stepped on Kotik's
foot. He did it on purpose, just to see the
little fellow sprawl on the sand. Then Kotik
growled and blew out his breath, and Holostiak
groaned and held his head low, striking Kotik
a quick blow on the shoulder. Then Kotik
raised his head, looking the other way, and pre
tended not to notice it. So they were good
friends again, and Kotik was very proud of
the scar, for it showed that he was big enough
to fight, even if Apollon had turned him off
four times from the drive.
When Unga and Atagh left Tolstoi again
and went off to sleep on the rocks, Holostiak
and Kotik climbed to the place where they
had been, and pretended to groan over the
responsibilities of life, to blow out their breath,
and to push about the silken-haired ones, just
62 The Story of Matka
as they had seen the beach-masters do. But
the silken-haired ones only laughed at them,
and said to their children, " It is time for us to
be gone, for the boys are playing beach-master."
But Matka waited to the last for Kotik, just
as she had promised.
Then came another year, and Kotik had to
go away again to Ungeskelligh with the others.
But Apollon turned him back from every drive,
because he was still too small. Holostiak
would not stay on the sands any longer with
Kotik. He climbed up over the rocks at Tol
stoi, and sat there all summer long, looking
dow*n at Atagh and Polsi, just as Polsi had
done the years before.
The next year Kotik was a splendid fellow,
with skin as soft as Matka's, and his mustaches
were plainly to be seen. He went into the
drive again, and he thought himself the best
of them, for he was now three years old. But
Apollon turned him back just the same, because
he had a scar on his shoulder, and would only
make a second-grade skin at the best, for all
he was so brave. And Kotik felt ashamed of his
scar and himself. Then, whenever the time came
Watching from the Old Fox- Walk. 63
for the drive, and he heard the chief coming
he plunged right into the sea. So, when the
others were driven, he was always out of reach,
on the sands, or the cliffs, or the waves, so that
he never went to Asascardano any more.
And the fourth year, and the fifth, he left
the sands and watched all
summer long on the rocks over
looking Tolstoi. Sometimes
he stood on the cliffs, above
his mother, like a sentinel,
nose in the air. By his side,
day and night, was old
Epatka, the sea-parrot, who
sits on one egg and never
speaks, and who has no
friends among the other
birds. His bill is made of
red sealing wax, and he
covers his face with a white
mask, so that no one knows what he is really
like. He is a fantastic creature, and his tem
per is as bad as his looks, and he has many
quarrels with the little blue fox, for the bones
of his fathers lie bleaching by Eichkao's den.
Old Epatka, the sea-parrot."
64 The Story of Matka
But Kotik liked him, and Epatka did not fear
Kotik, and they spent many days together on
the rocks beside the old fox-walk.
Kotik's face was always turned toward Matka
and Atagh. Sometimes he would climb up frorr
below and stretch himself, like a great lizard,
along the boulders over which the surf was
breaking. But when Atagh would roar and blow
out his breath, he would run away as fast as he
could, plumping into the water with a great
splash, and looking back at Matka by the sea.
And then at last came the sad summer, when
the ships of the Pirate Kings found their way into
the Icy Sea. It was then that we picked up
Matka, with a spearhead in her throat, dead on
the shining sands they call Zoltoi, the golden.
And Lakutha, her little one, who had been so
lltutx I'" " ,u.
" Dead on the shinine sands they call Zoltoi, the golden
ps
OF THE
"
OF
'
Dead on ike Shining Sands. 65
plump and joyous, grew faint and thin, until she
died at last. Atagh was sore at heart, though
he pretended not to notice it. But he groaned
and shook his head with all his might when
the blue thief, Eichkao, tried to steal away her
little body, and great white Gavarushka tried
to take away her eyes as playthings
for his children.
And
he slept
a great deal on
the rocks, letting the ^~J
Silken -haired Ones COme « Gavarushka tried to take her eyes.'
and go as they would, not
caring where they were, or who might seize
them. He went away from Tolstoi very early
in the fall, long before the ground was white,
and Kotik, who had been watching all the time
from the rocks above, crept down and took
his place.
Atagh swam out slowly around Tolstoi Head
and across to the Great Reef. Then he turned
to the north, to the soft resting place on Zoltoi
66
The Story of Matka
Sands, where he had often slept in the after
noons when he was a bachelor. Then he crept
slowly out of the water, his broad feet sinking
deep in the shining sands. Then he shook
himself, .and looked backward toward Tolstoi,
and groaned again over all the cares of life,
and the tears made wet strips across his
cheeks. Then he shuffled back over Zoltoi
sands to the Great Dunes, where the sands lie
in smooth banks between tufts of tall rye-grass.
Here Atagh lay down and went to sleep.
And when Kotik came back in the spring
and climbed over the broken ice-floes to take
his place at Tolstoi, Atagh was sleeping yet.
And now the dreary days have come to the
twin Mist-Islands. The ships of the Pirate
Kings swarm in
islands of the
have found the
Smoke-Island
because it
the Icy Sea. To the
Four Mountains they
way. The great
v has ceased to roar,
\\
cannot keep
^_-s£? V^
44 The decks of the schooners, smeared with their milk and their blood."
The Silken- Haired that Never Come.
them back. The blood of the silken-haired ones,
thousand by thousand, stains the waves as they
rise and fall. The decks of the schooners are
.smeared with their milk and their blood, while
their little ones are left on the rocks
fai. '
To the islands of the Four Mountains they have found their way."
to wail and starve. The cries of the little ones
go up day and night from all the deserted homes,
from Tolstoi and Zoltoi, from Lukanin and
Vostochni, and from the sister island on Staraya
Artil. Meanwhile, Kotik and Unga, Polsi and
Holostiak, stand in their places, roaring and
groaning, waiting for the
silken-haired ones that
never come.
Their call comes
to me across the
The dreary days have come.
68 The Story of Matka
green waves as I write. I turn my eyes away
from Tolstoi Head and put aside my pen. It
is growing very chill. The mist is rising from
the Salt Lagoon, and there is no brightness on
the Zoltoi sands.
Written on Sr. Paul,
The Prihilof Islands, Bering Sea,
July 28, 1896.
^m I
s
fc
$
tt)
a
'S
35
a.
3
O
M
O
OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
CALENDAR OF THE MIST-ISLANDS.
(Dates approximate and variable.)
Matka turns back from the Farallones, January 1.
Holostiak turns back from Cape Flattery, February 1,
Atagh leaves the Fairweather grounds, March 20.
Atagh passes Cape Cheerful, April 20.
Atagh reaches Tolstoi, May 1.
The beach-masters follow, May 15.
Arrival of Polsi, May 10.
Arrival of Holostiak, July 1.
Arrival of Matka, June 15,
Arrival of silken-haired ones, June 10 to July 20.
Height of responsibilities of life, July 10 to July 20.
Birth of Kotik, June 20
Birth of majority of young, July 5.
Trampling of young in battle, June 20 to July 29.
The drives, July 1 to July 25.
Minda returns (yearling), August 1.
Kotik learns to swim, August 1.
Atagh grows hungry, sleepy, and gentle, August 5.
Atagh goes away to feed, August 10.
Polsi takes his place, August 10.
Atagh returns fat and lively, September 15.
The pirate ships enter the Icy Sea, August 1.
Lakutha starves to death on the rocks, August 15.
The Storm King drives the pirates from the Icy Sea.
September 15.
Kotik is weaned, November 10.
The long swim begins, November 15.
APPENDIX TO THE STORY OF MATKA
BY GEORGE ARCHIBALD CLARK.
Secretary to Bering Sea Fur Seal Commission. 1896 and 1897,
also of 1909.
THE MIST ISLANDS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS.
St. Paul Island, the scene of the Story of Matka,
is one of a group of five rocky islands lying in
the southeastern portion of Bering Sea, in Lat. 57 N.
and Long. 170 W. This island and its companion,
St. George, each about a township in area, are the only
important ones in the group. The islands were first
discovered by the Russian navigator Gerassim Pribil-
of in 1786 and bear his name today. In summer they
are all but constantly enveloped in fog occasioned by
the meeting of the warm Japan current with the icy
breath from the Arctic. Hence they are appropriately
called the "Mist-Islands." They are volcanic in origin,
treeless and without possibilities of cultivation. Yet
their plains are covered with wild flowers and
their valleys with luxuriant grasses. In winter the skies
are clear and the weather cold. Snow falls and late in
the winter the drift ice from the Arctic packs in
for a time about them. There are no harbors or safe
anchorage against the storms of winter and the islands
are therefore absolutely cut off from one another and
from the rest of the world during the greater part of
the year.
(69)
70 Appendix.
Cape Newenham on the mainland of Alaska is the
nearest land to the eastward, three hundred miles away.
To the south, two hundred and fifty miles distant, is
Unalaska Island, in the Aleutian archipelago. This
island contains the rugged old mountain Makushin. It
contains also the harbor of Unalaska, once familiar as
a way station for vessels bound for St. Michaels and
the Yukon. The twin passes of Akutan and Unalga
separate Unalaska Island from Akutan Island, on
which is the volcano (p. 52) of the same name. The
next island to the eastward is the "Moss Island,"
Unimak, on which is the beautiful snow-clad cone of
Shishaldin, rising nearly 'ten thousand feet in height.
This is "where the Storm King has his kitchen."
There are probably branch kitchens at Akutan and
Makushin, for all three volcanos "steam and puff."
Near Unalaska Island, and between it and the Pribil-
of Islands are the "Twin Smoke Islands," Old and New
Bogoslof. The first of these rose a red hot mountain
peak from the sea in 1795. Beside it for a long
time stood a single shaft of stone known as Sail Rock.
This disappeared in 1883 and a second burning moun
tain rose from the sea to the accompaniment of sub
terranean thunders and earthquake shocks. This sec
ond island has now too ceased to "sputter day and
night," though it is still warm. A third Bogoslof is
land appeared hot and steaming about the time of the
California earthquake of 1906. These islands are ap
parently in line with the great California geologic
fault. In 1909 this third island has disappeared, and
in its place there is a lake of boiling water arising in
the icy sea.
Appendix. 71
The "Twin Storm Islands" lie at the other side
of Bering Sea, near the coast of Kamchatka. These
are the islands of Bering and Medni, the Komandorski,
or islands of the Commander, so named in honor of
their discoverer, Virus Bering. While returning from
his momentous voyage of 1741, in which he found the
mainland of the American continent in the vicinity of
Mt. St. Elias, his vessel was wrecked on the island
which bears his name, and there Bering and most of his
company died. The survivors escaped the following
spring, taking with them knowledge of the great
herds of fur-bearing animals which made their homes
on the new islands. These islands are intimately con
nected in history with the Pribilof Islands because it
was the search for new island homes and new herds
of "sea bears" or fur seals that led forty-five years
later to Pribilof's discovery.
THE FUR SEALS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS,
The fur seals of the Southern hemisphere are widely
scattered among the islands of the South Seas. Those
of the north are confined to the islands of the North
Pacific Ocean, and chiefly to the Pribilof and Comman
der groups, with certain islands in the Kuril chain to
the north of Japan. We are indebted to Georg Wil-
helm Steller, a German naturalist connected with
Bering's expedition of 1741, for our first knowledge
of the fur seals of Bering Sea.
The hair seal, Isogh, and Sivutch, the sea lion, share
with the fur seal the shores of St. Paul and all three
live in neighborly relations. The hair seal (p. 23) is
72 Appendix.
the true seal. The fur seals are more properly what
their discoverer called them, "sea bears." The sea lion
(p. 44) of the Pribilofs is the same animal that makes
its home on Ano Nuevo Island and the Farallones and
has made the Seal Rocks of San Francisco famous.
He was one of the "four beasts of the sea" which
Steller studied on the Commander Islands in 1741.
The sea otter (p. 35) Chignotto or Bobrik, a timid
creature whose fur is now of exceeding great value,
once lived in the kelp beds about the Pribilof Islands,
particularly Otter Island, which has its name from
this fact. The Russians called it "Bobrik." But Bo
brik has abandoned these shores as well as most other
haunts accessible to man, and his race is well nigh
extinct.
Amogada, (p. 35) the Pacific Walrus, was once well
known to the shores of St. Paul, and great areas on
Morjovi beach are still covered with his bones. Until
within very recent years a herd of three hundred or
more of these beasts made Walrus Island, just off the
shore of St. Paul, a summer resting place; but the
sportsman's rifle has driven them back to their fast
nesses in the Arctic, although herds of 10 to 50 of
them are occasionally seen on the ice floes which collect
in Norton Sound before Nome in June. The picture
of Amogada is taken from a mounted specimen, in
the National Museum at Washington, captured on
Walrus Island.
Eichkao, (p. 40) the blue fox, is and always has been
an interesting inhabitant of the Pribilof Islands. Steller
found him on the Commander Islands also, and Ber-
1
"**
I
Appendix. 73
ing's men had difficulty in keeping their dead and dying
comrades from his teeth. His "fox walks" today on
St. Paul radiate in all directions, from his dens in the
castle-like rock piles, to the cliffs where Epatka, the
sea parrot (p. 63) and his associates the guillemots and
chutchkis, (p. 15) have their nests. His long silken
fur is scarcely less valuable than that of the fur seal
itself.
There were no native people on the Pribilof Islands
when found. This is a characteristic of islands occu
pied by the fur seals as breeding homes. The Russians,
however, early in the present century brought over
Aleuts from Attu and Unalaska Islands to work the fur
seal industry and the descendants of these now look up
on the islands as their home. They live very comforta
bly in two villages, the one on St. Paul numbering about
two hundred souls, that on St. George, about half as
many. Each village has its "company" store, its church
of the Greek-Russian faith and its English school. A-
gents of the Government and agents of the Company
leasing the fur seal industry, care for the welfare of the
Aleuts, for the seals and the various interests involved.
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE FUR SEALS.
The animals spend only the summer on the islands.
The adult males land early in May (pp. 17 and 49) and
are followed in June and July by the females. Each
"beachmaster" (p. 16), in accordance with the polyg
amous habits of the animals gets about him as many fe
males as be can control. These family groups are called
"harems" (p. 20). A group of harems, defined usually
74 Appendix.
by the configuration of the coast, is known as a "rook
ery" (p. 51). There are about fifteen of these rookeries
covering about eight miles of shore line. The young
are born in June and July. By the first of August the
rigid discipline of the harem system relaxes. The
beachmasters, which have fasted since their arrival, go
away to feed and during the rest of the summer the
mothers come and go between the fishing banks far out
in Bering Sea and their young on shore. The young
learn to swim (P. 60) at the age of six weeks and after
wards spend most of their time in the water. In No
vember, when the severe storms of winter begin,
mothers and young leave the islands. The latter are
soon left to their own resources and the former make
a rapid and direct journey down through the Pacific
Ocean to the latitude of Southern California, where
they are found in and about Santa Barbara Channel
early in December. The females journey slowly back
along the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washing
ton — gradually picking up the other classes of animals
which do not go so far south, — past Vancouver Island,
across the Gulf of Alaska, by Kadiak and the Shuma-
gins and through the Aleutian passes to their island
homes in Bering Sea, where they arrive in June. The
adult males spend the winter in the Gulf of Alaska, on
the Fairweather grounds, and return earlier to the
islands.
THE SEAL FUR INDUSTRY.
Owing to the polygamous habits of the fur seals the
greater part of the males born are superfluous. The
Appendix. 75
principle of killing therefore, as worked out by the
Russians and followed by our Government in its man
agement of the fur industry, is to confine the kill
ing to the young males of three years of age. These
younger males herd by themselves (p. 54) at a distance
from the breeding grounds. The Aleuts surround them
while asleep at night and drive them up (p. 55) in great
droves to "Asascardano" (p. 57), to be killed and
skinned. The pelts, cured in salt, are shipped to San
Francisco and thence to London to be dressed and dyed.
From London they are distributed to furriers the
world over to be made into garments.
The Russian government managed its fur seal indus
try through a corporation to which exclusive privileges
were granted. When the fur seal islands, together with
the territory of Alaska, came in 1867 into the control of
the United States by treaty with Russia, our Govern
ment at once leased the industry to a commercial com
pany, reserving to itself a royalty or tax on each skin
taken. For twenty years one hundred thousand skins
were taken annually and the tax, together with import
duties on dressed skins brought back for consumption
in the L^nited States, yielded a revenue to our Govern
ment of about thirteen and one-half millions of dollars.
The cost of the entire territory of Alaska was only
seven million two hundred thousand dollars.
About the year 1886 the fur seal herd was found to
be decreasing. In 1890 it was little more than one-half
its normal size and the quota of skins fell to twenty
thousand. Since that time the herd has steadily declin
ed. There was in 1880 doubtless two millions and a
76 Appendix.
half of animals of all classes. In 1896 there were about
400,000 animals. By 1909, this number has diminished
to 160,000.
PELAGIC SEALING
The decline of the herd was due to the development
of a rival sealing industry at sea (pp. 66 and 67). This
had been carried on from the earliest times by the In
dians of Cape Flattery and Vancouver Island. These
Indians went out in their open canoes a day's journey
and hunted with the spear stragglers from the herd as
it passed northward on the spring migration. White
man's ingenuity soon found a way to increase this ir
regular supply of sealskins. Schooners (p. 66) were
employed to carry the Indians and their canoes out to
the main body of the herd, to move with them day by
day and to provide a refuge for them at night and in
times of storm. The plan was marvelously successful.
From two or three vessels in 1879 the fleet of the
"Pirate Kings" grew to a maximum of 122 in 1892,
each vessel carrying from five to twenty canoes and
hunting crews. The field of its operations gradually
extended over the whole migration route of the anim
als. The catch of skins rose from a few thousand a
year to a maximum of one hundred and forty thousand.
The effect of land killing had been to keep the males
at a low point. The killing at sea, necessarily indiscrim
inate, fell most heavily upon the females. The investi
gations of the Commission of 1896 proved that fully
three-fourths of the animals taken at sea were of
this class. With the mother seal, killed in the spring off
Appendix. 77
the Northwest Coast her unborn offspring died ; in Ber
ing Sea her death involved that of her dependent off
spring on the rookeries by starvation. By actual count
in the autumn of 1896 at least sixteen thousand youn°-
J &
seals were found to have suffered the fate of little
"Lakutha" (p. 64). It was to emphasize these facts
that the story of Matka was written.
Since 1897 pelagic sealing has become more destruc
tive even than it was in Matka's day. Then, it was
chiefly a Canadian industry carried on many miles out
at sea; but in 1903 the Japanese took up the hunting
of the fur seals, using shotguns, and coming close to
the rookery shores. Not being bound by the agreement
between the United States and Great Britain, by which
there was established a closed season of three months
and a protected zone of sixty miles radius about the
islands, the Japanese hunters, from their closer vantage
ground on the three-mile limit, harrass the mother seals
throughout the entire summer. Between the seasons of
1896 and 1909, the pelagic fleets of Canada and Japan
have taken an aggregate of 285,000 animals, two-thirds
being females.
THE FUR SEAL QUESTION.
The effect of pelagic sealing was foreseen from the
first though not fully understood. While it was confined
to the open waters of the Pacific Ocean no action seem
ed possible. But when the pelagic fleet entered Bering
Sea, in 1886, and attacked the herd on its summer
feeding grounds, the United States sent revenue cut
ters to warn the schooners out of Bering Sea and to
78 Appendix.
seize and confiscate those persisting in taking seals.
This action was based upon the right claimed by Russia
in 1821 to seize and confiscate vessels caught killing
seals in the waters of Bering Sea. Among the vessels
seized by United States officers in 1887 (p. 66) were
Canadian vessels. A diplomatic discussion with Great
Britain followed which finally resulted in a Treaty of
Arbitration, agreed upon in February, 1892, by which
the question of jurisdiction is Bering Sea, claimed by
the United States in the interests of her fur seal herd,
was left to a court of arbitration for decision.
This Arbitration Tribunal met in Paris in the spring
of 1893, reaching its decision in August of that year.
The decision was adverse to the contention of the Uni
ted States and, in accordance with the stipulations of
the treaty covering this event, the Tribunal formulated
a set of regulations governing pelagic sealing by which
the two governments might jointly accomplish "the
protection and preservation" of the fur seal herd when
on the high seas.
These regulations followed the analogy of our com
mon game laws. A close season in May, June, and July
was established during which the mother seal might
bring forth her young unmolested. This was supple
mented by a protected zone of sixty miles radius about
the islands in which she might feed in safety when
pelagic sealing was resumed in August and September.
These regulations failed utterly of their purpose be
cause the mother seals feed not within the protected
area but far beyond it Hence they were slaughtered
without mercy in August and September and their
Appendix. 79
helpless young died of starvation on the rookeries. The
result was most disastrous and the season of 1894, the
first under the regulations, saw the largest catch in the
history of pelagic sealing and was consequently the
most destructive to the herd.
The failure of the regulations was at once apparent
and our Government made efforts to secure their imme
diate reconsideration. To this Great Britain, standing
for the interest of the pelagic sealers, would not con
sent, at least till the expiration of the five-year trial
period. In preparation for such reconsideration the
two nations agreed in 1896 to submit the whole ques
tion of seal life to a new investigation. The investiga
tions for the United States were under the direction of
President Jordan of Stanford University, with associ
ates from the scientific bureaus at Washington. Pro
fessor Thompson of Dundee, Scotland, with a number
of associates, represented Great Britain.
At the close of the investigations in November, 1897,
the two commissions, known as the Conference of Fur
Seal Experts, came together in Washington and after
•a discussion of the results of their labors reached a sub
stantial agreement as to the facts in the case. These
facts had prior to this time been, for the most part, in
dispute. By the joint agreement pelagic sealing was
designated as the cause of the decline of the herd, and
it was further shown that pelagic sealing in any form
was incompatible with the protection and preservation
of the herd.
Upon the basis of this agreement the fur seal ques
tion passed into the hands of the Joint High Commis-
80 Appendix.
sion which was called together at Quebec in Septem
ber, 1898, to consider and act upon a number of ques
tions, among them the fur seal question, at issue be
tween the United States and Canada. This Commis
sion failed to end pelagic sealing, and the tragedy of
the "Mist Islands" has been re-enacted each summer
since. Since 1903 the Japanese fleet has re-enforced
the Canadian fleet. In the thirteen years that have
elapsed, two hundred thousand mother seals have been
slaughtered and their young left to starve on the rook
eries of St. Paul and St. George. And the end is not
yet. To provide a game law that will protect the
mother seal on the high seas requires international
action, and the mills of the diplomats, like those of
the gods, grind slowly.
Stanford University,
October 12, 1909.
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THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW AND RIP VAN WINKLE.
By J. W. Graham.
Superintendent of Schools of Kings County, California.
In this little book the author has embodied the best plans of
the most successful teachers of English, just as they were used
in the schoolroom. The technical part of grammar is entirely
omitted and the study of real English kept constantly before the
pupil.
Number Two.
LADY OF THE LAKE, EVANGELINE, MERCHANT OF
VENICE, SNOWBOUND AND VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL.
By J. W. Graham.
Assisted by a Committee of Seven Practical Teachers of English.
A complete plan of work is given for each poem treated, to
gether with a list of questions carefully selected and calculated
to lead the pupil step by step to a clear understanding of each
subject. Bound in leatherette. Price, 25c net.
Number Three.
EVANGELINE.
With Notes and Suggestions for Study.
By Arthur L. Hamilton.
This edition of "Evangeline" is issued specially for teachers
whose time is limited and who cannot, for that reason, prepare
suggestions for pupil's study in English work. It is a repro
duction of Mr. Hamilton's class work on the poem, and is given
out because it represents a successful handling of the subject
of English. Bound in leatherette. Price, 25c net.
Number Four.
SIR WALTER SCOTT IN THE SCHOOLS.
By Frank J. Browne.
A Study of "Ivanhoe" and "The Lady of the Lake."
This book is the actual material used by the author in teach
ing the above named English masterpieces to High School
classes.
Emphasis is given to all sides of English study. Primary
attention is directed to the masterpiece as a work of literary
art. This is made a basis for history, analysis, style, paragraph
ing, diction, grammar, derivation, definition, and original com
position.
Bound in leatherette. Price, 25c net.
POEMS FOR MEMORIZING.
(Graded.)
By Alice Rose Power.
These selections have been tried in the different grades and
approved by practical teachers. The literary and ethical value
of the poems makes it the most valuable list published for
school use. As a desk book for teachers, a library book for
pupils and parents, and as a reader for all classes, it furnishes
the best material obtainable.
Paper, Parts I and II, each, lOc. Paper, 35c net.
Boards, 60c net. Price: Cloth, $1.00 net.
THE GOVERNMENT OF WYOMING.
By Grace Raymond Hebard.
A very pithy summary of the History, Constitution and Ad
ministration of affairs in the State of Wyoming. The text is
most carefully prepared and systematized. This, together with
the various questions and outlines, renders it a most valuable
book for either the class room or the general reader.
Price, $1.00 net.
RETURN TO the circulation desk of any
University of California Library
or to the
NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY
Bldg. 400, Richmond Field Station
University of California
Richmond, CA 94804-4698
ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS
2-month loans may be renewed by calling
(510)642-6753
1-year loans may be recharged by bringing books
to NRLF
Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days
prior to due date
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