Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1884-03-20
MINIS WAR ON THE BIRDS AND
BEASTS.
Extinction ofthc Arctic Sea Cow. the
Great Aux, and the Dodo.
New York sun.l

'uOrlnern representative OF this animal
called the Rhyuna. II was extremely
common, SEEMINGLY taking the place of
the cloven- -foote'l creatures among the
milk-giyers of the sea. In general
appearance the Arctic sea COW was a
stupendous spectacle, attaining when
full grown length OF 35 feet and a
weight Of several tons. The general
color was dark brown: the skin
thick ana 'eathery, covered with a
thick, bristling hair, that matted to-
gether, forming a protection from the
ice and cold. aud was compared in ap-
pearance TO the bark of tree The
head of the sea COW was small in pro-
portion to the animals size, and in
stead of possessing teeth, was pro.
vided with Two curious mastlcating g
plates-one in the gum and the other
in the lower jaw. The tail somewhat
resembled that of whale, having two
hukes. The fins or daddles were blunt
and without nails, having instead a
thick growth of bristling hair Such
was the general appearance of the ami
mais that when first discovered we're
pasturing in vast herds among the
seaweed Of the shore. They showed
no fear of the men, even allowing
themselves to be touched by them
but when one was injured it is said
that Ghey displayed much bravery in
its defence. Such was the state of
things In the year l742. At this time
avessel was wrecked in the Artic Sea,
the crew escaping and making their
way to Behring Island. For some
time they subsisted upon fish and birds,
but finally the game became scarce,
and on the first of June in the year
!, mentioned they began a warfare upon
the sea cow that has since been named
after Steller, one of the party. The
animals were killed with harpoons,
and each was 50 large that forty men
could scarcely drag it through the wa
ter.
The men were finally rescued from
Behring Island, but in 1854 vessel
commanded by Russian, Ivan Krassl
koff, arrived there, and destroyed large
numbers of the animals. In the sue
ceding year an explorer named ia
Z kooley, seeing that they were about to
become extermlnated, laid petition
before the authorities at Kamchatka
/ asking that the animals be protected
/ by law. He was not needed, however,
land in 1857 another expedition landed
lat the islands and Others in 1859 and
l763, until 1880, when the last living
sea COW was seen, by native of Vol
hynia. Thus In thirty EIGHT years
from the time these monstrous ami
mails were discovered they we're total.
ly exterminated, and to-day not a sin.
gle skin, and only a number of ske,e-
tons, remains in the possession of nat
uralists to tell the story of the destruc-
tion Of an entire race of large and pow.
erful beasts Much interesting in
formation concerning the Rhytina was
obtained during the recent Swedish ex-
pedItion to the north, and Prof. Nor
denskiold found numbers of deposits
Of their bones that are now utilized
by the natives for various purposes,
| the ribs being used for shoeing the
runners of their sledges. When alive,
J the fur or hide of the animal was made
by the natives into boats called bay
dars.
1t is supposed by some writer's that
the ex,ermination of the great nam
moth was fastened by early man who
sias of necessity a hunter, and that the
great elephant existed at the same
time with our ancestors Is shown by
the fact that in France their bones, to-
gether with those of man and many
animals now extinct, have been found.
AS late as 1884, Nuttall, the famous
authority on birds, wrote concerning
the great aux:
"As diver he Is unrlvalled, hav-
ing almost the velocity Of birds in the
air. They breed in the Farce Islands.
and in Iceland, Greenland and New
foundland, nestine among the cliffs,
and laying but enc egg each. They
are SO unprolilic that if this egg be .e-
stroyed, no other is laid during the
season The AUX is known some
times to breed on the Isle of st. Dllda
and in Papa Westra, according to MIR.
Bullock, for several years past no more
than single pair had made their ap-
pearance.
To-day not single individual Of
this species of AUX is alive, and the
skin in the Museum of Natural in Cen
tral park, that is valued at over one
thousand dollars, one at Vassar Col
lege, and several others, probably moi
over twelve in all, are the only speci-
mems known in the world. Sixty OF
one hundred years ago they were ex-
tremely common along the northern
coast, coming as far south as Nahant
but warfare was begun upon them also,
and though it hardly seems possible,
their determination is undoubtedly
complete, the last living bird having
been killed in 1874 on a group Of Is.
lands called FuDglasker, in the
southwest coast Of, Iceland. In the
last century these birds, which were
large, handsome and striking in ap-
pearance, we're very common at the