Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-02-07
a Sea-Cow---A Rare Specimen.

a rare and valuable specimen was
brought down from Behring'S island by
the Alaska Fur company S steamer ST.
Paul, which arrived on Sunday last
from the north This was no less than
the skeleton of an Arctic sea-cOw found
on Behring'S island by DR.. Leonard Ste
ineger, member of scientific societies
both in this country and Europe, who
was sent to the island in the interests
of science by the Smithsonian institute.
The doctor was hampered in his re-
searches by the jealousy of the Russian
officials, who are acting in the interests
of the Russian Imperial academy,
which is also eagerly searching for
specimen of the sca-cow, but in spite
of their interference he succeeded in
carrying away q skeleton, which is of
the greatest scientific interest. This
peculiar animal which is now sup
posed to be extinct. once made its home
on the island. Whether it has ever
lived anywhere else is question. The
fossil beds of Europe contain bones of
sea-cOws, but none which could have
belonged to animals like this. In the
Indian ocean there are also Sea-cOWs,
but they are rare, and they are not like
the Behring'S island extinct species. The
sea-cows of the Indian ocean have
teeth, but those at Behring's island had
none; only two rough bone plates in the
mouth with which to grind up the sea-
weed on which they lived, when, rest
ing their arms on the shallow sea bot
tom, they browsed in droves or focks
along the shore. Whalers killed the
sea-cows, natives used their bones to
make runners for their dOg-drawn
sleighs; now with the fathers of natural
history it is announced that this is an
interesting example of how easily
species may become extinct, and with
the satire Of time it is told that the ma
tivcs who sledged over snow and ice on
these bones, are now prodding up the
shore for miles, guided by a curious
and unfailino instinct which detects
stone or shell from bone of a sea-
cow, and rival scientific institutions are
urging them on with the hope of q re-
ward in modern gold. The only ac-
count given of them by an observer is
that OF the scientist Steller, who was
with one of Boring second expeditions,
which was wrecked on this island and
wintered there in 1741. The specimen
brought here on the st. Paul is perfect,
with the exception of the end of the
tail and the wrist bones. In addition
there is collection of seventeen sea-
cows skulls, all in good state of pres
eryatiOn. The animals, when alive,
must have been from twenty-eight to
thirty feet long, with a head about two
feet log. Its arms, of which there
were two on the seal-like portion of the
body, had no hands. They were simp-
ly blunt ends, which were carried on
the back when the COW swan and let
down to support it as it fed. The
mouth was small and unarmed with
teeth; the eyes were small; the ears,
merely small oritices in the head, with
out any sign of external ear; the tail
and fins were like those of a whale
DR.. Stejneger said that he was
forced to use considerable diplomacy in
dealing with the natives, for, had he at
once told them that he would pay more
than the Russians would, there would
at once have been an order prohibiting
the natives from selling any of the
bones, as there has since been. All
that he could do was to say that he
would give as much as the Russian of
ficials, and, making himself passably
we'll understood, the natives worked
for him. They did not go to work to
hunt for bones exclusively, but as they
walked along the beach they took their
sticks and felt for skeletons No other
government has ever sent anyone up
there expressly for such hunt, but the
Russians are much interested and pos
sess several skeletons
He also established signal station
on Behring'S island. DR.. Stejneger,
who is young man, not, apparently,
over 80 years of age, congratulates
himself upon the satisfactory results of
his expedition, and stated that the
skeleton which he brought with him
was worth almost its weight in gold
San Francisco Alta California.