Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-18
NOW UNDER OBSERVATION
Arrive in Good Condition at the Blu
reau of Fisheries.
EXPERIMENT BY GOVERNMENT
Trial May Be Made Later in Prop
agation Of the Fur-Bearing
Species.

Two little creatures with about seventy
five dollars worth Of coat and muF FUR
on each of their backs: with abnormally
lon. fippers. which they use alike fins.
fingers and feet, and with big, innocent,
trusting eyes. have arrived at the bureau
of fisheries in Ak? feet water-tight box.
Under the direction OF Bob the
bureaus crab-fish-turte preccptor. and
Ro's'n Judson Thurbur of the Alaska
revenue cutter service they were unloa ded
in temporary tank of salt water. The
bo's'n Immediately went to a hotel and
to bed to gain much-needed rest after
vigil of five days and nights on a railway
train from San Diego.
i Caught EN- in Alaska.
'Them's the fur seal pups you've heard
so much about lately" explained Bob
while standing guard over the temporary
tank ''Mr Thurbur caught 'em up in
Ala ska, split their tongues, SOS they could
eat. and fed 'em on milk.
"IIe calls 'em. Bsmark and Mamie"
continued Bob" 1.-THE first from patriot
ism. I reckon. and the other for private
reasons-I reckon. l used to be a sailor
myself once on the Chesapeake, I know.
They're great pups. they are. Six
months old and as playful as Kittens
i Bob stopped talking for mo-
nlent to shove Bismark back into the
water from the prohibited territory of
a wide plank too near box OF hsh
sggs Bismark protested protested with "a; loud ,ha
plank again. was showed back a second
time and then quietly rolled over on
his back and began scratching the side
of his head with a f1Ipper-
"Amiable. amt he?" remarked Bob
Them pups and nell get along swim
mingly."
After Long Journey.
The young seals with their captor and
friend Thurbur arrived shortly after
midnight Sunday from San Diego. the
| winter station Of the revenue cutter
Bear They had been taken from their
rookeries on the Pribilof Islands. Alaska.
and, after sailing around in the north
ern seas for month or more were
! unloaded in the southern California
port, at the instance of the bureau of
fisheries officials. and shipped to this
| city.
The problem Of saving their lives was
solved by Thurbur shortly after ne
| caught them. They were too young to
! eat solid food and in attempting to feed
| them milk he noticed an inability to swal-
| low due to the adhesion of the tongue to
the lower part Of the mouth. Thurbur per-
the tongue loose and the young seals be-
| gan to eat and thrive. The so far sue
| cessful rearing of the little animals marks
in way an epoch in the care and
propagation of seals and was deemed of
| sufficient importance to have the pair
shipped to Washington for governmental
adoption and observation.
Thurbur started from San Diego with
his pets-for such they literally They
regard him as their nearest and dearest
| fritz nd q
January II. The seals were placed in the
water-tight box and about dozen small
barrels of salt water We're carried along
to supply them from time to time with
their natural element. The trip was a
tedious one for Thurbur. He found it
at times almost impossible to leave the
pups to themselves. They stood the trip
remarkably WE'LL however, and dived and
lodged about their little pool here as
though they had been accustomed to 1t
all their lives.
Placed on Regular Diet.
They'll be fed in about twenty -four
hours" said an official. I'VE want u
begin them on a regular diet, and it's
better to let them thoroughly recover
; from their journey before filing their
stomachs.
Bismark and Mamie are destined to
occupy the pool In the middle OF the
|
, tied for the past year by the Labrador
hair seals. Later they will be trans
ferred to the Zoo seal and sea lion
tank.
city for about ten days or two weeks.
at least. until the animals become
thoroughly accustomed to their new
surroundings and masters
Bo's'en Thurbur is to remain in the
ly last night of his work as ''reve
nue. cutter hand" in Boring sea. and
his labors with the little seals Ac-
cording to his officers he Is one of the
valued men, in the service. and has
a continuous record of fifteen years
He was one of the rescue party. which
went to Point Barrow. above the Ber-
ing straits. in the winter Of 1893 and
brought back to civilization 165 wreck
ed and almost starved whalers.
Accident Discloses Defect.
Il discovered the secret of the baby
seals not being able to feed themselves
by accident" said Thurbur. Il had
Mamie by one flipper with one hand and
was trying to pour milk down her throat
with the other. / stuck my hand under
her tongue and something broke. looked
a little closer and saw it was a thin piece
of skin which held the tongue down to
the bottom of the mouth. Dr. Fox of the
ship and l then examined Bismark and
we found he had the same thing The
doctor cut 1t, and. say. they just took to
swallowing fish like cats.
Thurbur confidentially Informed the re-
porter that his recent trip from San
| Diego was the first time he had ever
travelled on a railroad.
And it's the last he remarked with
firmness, after / get back to the ship.
The first night l went to bed was dOz-
ing, / guess-the durn thing got to swing
ing and bouncing just like she was hit
by a big wind. When those things come
our way up in the Boring we get called
out in a hurry.
Didn't Like the Curves.
Thurbur just anticipated the orders and
the people in that car didn't settle down