The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1897-04-21
HE SEA ELEPHAN
AN ALMOST EXTINCT ANIMAL IN
AMERICAN WATERS.

| ISLANDS or san DlegO Couhtyi N
fornia, animals which were suppose
, to have become extinct long ago an
to be found now only among the deser
islands of the antarctic circle. Ther'
was time in the memory of the IN
habitants of Santa Barbara, San Pedro
and San Diego, when sea-elephan
hunters made their headquarters a
these ports.
Il can remember the time, said al
old beach-comber at San Pedro to
New York Post correspondent, whel
this whole county teemed with game
when whales were thick in the channe
here when you could shoot deer and
elk this side of the Sierra Madres, anc
man could make a good living shoot
ing sea otter on the islands off shore
Then there was the sea elephant, every
one gone; but when | was youngster
seventy years ago, or so, sea elephants
were as thick on the islands off shore
here as seals are to-day. For several
years | was in the business, and had a
hand in the cleaning of them out. Sea
lions have outlived the hunting be-
cause they are not so good for trade;
the skins don't amount to much, and
the oil has no special value. But with
sea elephants it's different; there is
not a bit of the creatures but what you
can use-hide, teeth, claws, oil,
and flesh-and that's the reason why
they've been so completely wiped out.
THE sea elephant was just big
seal. Some I've seen in the South
Pacific would weigh nearly ton and
be twenty feet long but those up this
coast seem smaller. though big enough
to give you all the fight you wanted
Lying on the rocks or beach, you might
take them for big seal or sea lions, but
the minute they saw hunter and
sprang up, the tops of their moses
would swell, making regular trunks,
like those of elephants, only smaller,
through which they EoCld snort. Ug
lier-looking brutes you never saw.
They were worse in their looks than in
their actions. When they came at you
with rush, snarling and kissing, tos
sing their heads into the air and show
ing their teeth, it was enough to scare
the life out of a man.
There must have been thousands
of elephants around the islands hun
dred years ago, but they were simply
cleaned out, so that it's hard matter
to find the skeleton or even a bone OF
one to-day. During the last of our
hunting" continued the old sailor,
they got so shy and scarce that 1t
was days work to get at them There
was herding place on the west side
of San Clemente where there was al |
ways heavy sea, and we would land
there and craNi over among the sand |
hills and sneak up on then-no child's |
play. | remember one day had Sight |.
ed a herd and was stalking them,
when came right on big bull twenty
two feet long and as big as house
lying in gully. AS I rushed at him
he came at me, with mouth OPEN for .
all the world like a huge caterpillar, |
all over and making great
folds in his body. He seemed to under
stand what | was at and lodged his
head from side to side, so that | could
not hit him on the head, and chased
me all around the gully If had slip
ped, he would have caught me sure,
but as it was, one of the men with a
rifle came along and killed him. The
old males often were dangerous and
good things to keep away from"
The California sea elephant that the
Did seaman knew so well was one of the
most interesting of California animals,
and one Of the many that are, if not
entirely extinct, doomed to complete
extinction. They ranged at one time
Ill down the Pacific Coast as far as
Jedros Islands and must have been
seen in great numbers several hun
lred years ago. The largest sea ele- /
chants from Santa Catalina, observed {
ears ago, were twenty-five feet from
lead to tail. These were the bulls; /
he COWS being sometimes sixteen feet !
ong, but generally about ten feet. In 7
ppearance they were hideous brutes. a
-ellowish brown in color. The hair a
vas stiff like bristles, which grew in 5
ronounced punches over the eye. The |
ippers were large and powerful the !
ore one armed with short claws or g
alons with deep webs. The probes {
is was found only in the males, and t
VI hn pfyIA Cf I.o l. IL
orward about fifteen inches. Original II
7 large herds were found from Febru- +
ry to June. Coming in through the n
lrf, they would wriggle slowly up over O
ne sand dunes, resting occasionally,
g though progress was very difficult.
/ this way they would reach places
ravines and canons a half mile from
lie ocean. Like the sea lion, they Il
ere fond of high places and were Of CT
N seen on the rocks sixty feet above I
lie water. Il
The plan of attack was as given-to il
It between the herd and the water and n
lsh upon them. Sometimes sixty or tt
venty would be killed, many falling pr
heaps and smothering each other. -
hen the surf was heavy they were skin d.
ID on the beach and the blubber cut
to what are called horse pieces. Then III
rope was passed through them, the al
ID of which was carried out beyond th
e surf to the boat, and so the blubber is
as holsted aboard and tried out at tn
sure. The amount of oil taken from tn
ecimens varied. From one large bull, to
lied in 1852, 21O gallons OF oil were in
ken that was then very valuable for m
purposes. tn
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