Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-11-14

w 1AOA1A2NN lO1Ns Ds Sss o<A
SEA HORSES AND SEA COWS.
| Strange Mammals Of Marine Habits Threat. /
ened With Extinction.
| THE wALRUs CALLED TIE CAMEL OF THE EsKNo /
| WHAT WILL PEOPLE IN TIE ARCTIC DO WITH |
| OUT rr-usKs TO WHICH IT Is PUr-rHE MANA |
/ TEE COMO LIKEWISE HOW TIE INDIANS |
| CATCH IT. |
Written for The Evening Star. |
"RITERS OF A CENTURY OR MORE
w age were accustomed frequently 70
speak Of the sea horse" and 'sea cow" By
the first name they referred to the wairus
which il one Of the most interesting Of animals,
simply for the reason that 1t is among the most
useful There ia q serious prospect that before
many years have passed the species will be al
together exterminated and this will be ex-
tremely unfortunate, inasmuch as the people
who live in arctic regions depend upon 1t to q
great extent for their own survival. The walrus
has been called the camel of the Eskimo. To
that race this creature is as important and
even essential as the ship Of the desert is to the
} Arab, or the cocoa palm, to quote vegetable
simile, to the South Sea Islanders.
VARIED USES.
| It's hesh IL Of use for food, its oil for warm
ing and Illuminating purposes and its tough
skin, stretched over wooden frames, for making
canoes But these are only few Of the uses
, to which the walrus is put Its intestines sup
ply an admirable water proof clothing, the soles
, of the fippers are made into footgear and the
sinews are employed in the manufacture Of
. nets wherewith to capture birds. The ivory Of
the tusks is Of excellent quality it is Of endless
utility for domestic purposes and is always Of
rvfc q hart with fvoda fnv
all the products Of civilization which may be
required by these savages of the north.
: So indispensable is this beast that walrua
: famlnes are recorded in pathetic legends by
: all the savage settlements Of the Arctic. Whole
: colonies of Eskimo have persisted from time to
' time through an unusual scarcity of walrus at
= the season when they were to be expected. At
7 present their whiskers an important article
I Of commerce. being used by the Chinese AZ picks
= for opium pipes.
q IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS.
We're it not for the flesh of the walrus the
= Eskimo of North America from Boring strait to
: Labrador could not we'll survive. There are
: several months in every year when the climate
: | III that latitude renders il impossible for the
= hardest natives tc go out ana procure food
To provide for this period of what would other
wise be distress these people devote their atten-
! ton for many weeks each year to the hunting
= | of walrus. Usually for months together, in the
Is absence OF other food, they are obliged to de-
- pend upon walrus meat for sustenance. In
- fact, ii is their only diet for extended terms,
~ and during the long nights of the arctic winter
: they must rely upon the products Of tue animal
for lights and fuel
IN DANGER OF BECOMING EXTINCT.
In view of these facts there should be a con-
d temporary human interest in the prospect
which undoubtedly exists that the walrus will
be rendered altogether extinct before many
years have gone by. Should such be the case
EsE m he nf hci n1Os m
is portant winter support. Unfortunately mar
ot has earned the credit of being by far the mos
- destructive animal that lived. With his
~ natural weapons be is wei-nigh helpless agains
rs the most harmless of beasts but his intelligence
ID has enabled him to select means of certain de
j. struction for all rivals. Where animal a
.g once bulky, useful and slow 10 think is con
% cerned its continued existence is worth yer,
u" small purchase III this age.
HABITS OF THE wALRUs
~ A full-grown walrus weighs ms much as 3, 00
Sc pounds with girth of fourteen feet. Its skin
I'd alone will tip the scales at 400 pounds. Tn
r animal is of a gregarious habit, gathering il
IL companies on shore or upon large masses o
a floating ice. 1t is rarely found far out at sea
r. the herd usually budding together on or nea
Is land and basking in the sun. In May or jun
they seek the shore for the purpose OF giving
he birth to their young. 1t is believed that NAL
ry warus has but single wife, ami that tn
Sc female gives birth to but one youni
nd are born. The great tusks are used to assis
be the beast in moving about MS well asfor diggin
SO up shellfsh and roots of marine plants. upo
i'll which the creatures subsist They are inofen
all sive except when attacked, but when their off
he spring are threatened they become very derce
b. THE SEA COW.
Sc The "sea COW" above referred to Is frs
known to have been remarked by Christophe
Columbus Undoubtedly it was plentiful ono
re- upon a time all along the coast of the Gulf G
ID. Mexico and up the shore OF the Atlantic as ia
rs, as the Carolinas. The name by which the beas
SO has since come to be known is ''manatee." II
he bones are found to this day in great number
70 along the coast from Nerth Carolina southwark
ill The manatee is a huge water mammal. SO nj
his usual in size and shape that it might We
ed have excited the wonder OF early explorers VIII
he visited the new world. Doubtless it Is som,
ay what ancient. inasmuch as fossil species al
,ot found in the phosphate beds of South Carolin;
a Specimens have been caught measuring te
in feet in length and weighing 1900 pound
They are gentle beasts and herbiverous
we habit, living wholly on aquatic vegetatio,
rill Observation has proved that they are Yer
o.. affectionate to their young, lamenting thel
IN grievously when parted from them.
ac- They can be kept very well in captivity an
II there is reason to believe that the species ma
it's be preserved in geological Enclosures il
he definitely If they can be bred SATISFACTORY
mo under such conditions it would be very desir
NE ble inasmuch as they are not likely to survi,
WIN otherwise for many centuries, owing to ii
its constant warfare that is made upon them
he confinement they have been found to fec
readily upon garden vegetables, such as ca
Tx bage, celery tops, spinach, baked a
ere pies. &c. Strangely enough, they @
err under the water, although they cam
ct breathe SO. There was manatee in the Lo
Tas don Geological Garden which devoured II
ved pounds OF lettuce daily. The diet was expe
err sve, but it would not taste anything else aft
.ev having tried the lettuce, although previous
md it had exhibited disposition to be conre
on | with water crosses.
led HOW MANATEEs ARE CAPTURED.
was Manatees are commonly caught with mel
NC which are stretched across rivers near the
The | mouths, where the beasts are expected to pas
iad The latter get entangled in the meshes an
20 being unable to rise to the surface for breat
w are partly suffocated. To the nets floats a
attached and the fishermen follow the fioa
gathering in the prey in due time. Tn
a OF caught the animals ARE placed in 'crawis' oil
INTO fed until it is time to kin them. Their carcass
ugh afford profitable booty, a single skelet
.n,I properly cleaned being worth 800. The skin
slaAA taken off whole. can be sold Tor n ii