ll
of vermin and resembled the bark of an old oak. The full grown
animal was from twenty-eight to thirty-five English feet in length
and weighed about sixty-seven cwt. The head was small in proportion
to the large thick body, the neck short, the body diminishing
rapidly behind. The short fore-leg terminated abruptly without
fingers or nails, but was overgrown with a number of short thickly
placed brush-hairs, the hind-leg was replaced by a tail-fin
resembling a whale's. The animal wanted teeth, but was instead
provided with two masticating plates, one in the gum the other in
the under jaw. The udders of the female, which abounded in milk,
were placed between the fore-limbs. The flesh and milk resembled
those of horned cattle, indeed in Steller's opinion surpassed them.
The sea-cows were almost constantly employed in pasturing on the
sea-weed which grew luxuriantly on the coast, moving the head and
neck while so doing much in the same way as an ox. While they
pastured they showed great voracity, and did not allow themselves to
be disturbed in the least by the presence of man. One might even
touch them without them being frightened or disturbed. They
entertained great attachment to each other, and when one was
harpooned the others made incredible attempts to rescue it.

When Steller came to Behring Island, the sea-cows pastured along the
shore, collected like cattle into herds. The shipwrecked men, for
want of suitable implements, did not hunt them at first. It was only
after a thoughtless love of slaughter had driven all other animals
suitable for food far from their winter quarters, that they began to
devise means to catch the sea-cow also. They endeavoured to harpoon
the animal with a strong iron hook made for the purpose, and then
drag it to land. The first attempt was made on the 1st June/21st May
1742, but it was unsuccessful. It was not until after many renewed
attempts that they at last succeeded in killing and catching a
number of animals, and dragging them at high water so near land that
they were dry at ebb. They were so heavy that forty men were
required to do this, we may conclude from these particulars that the
number of sea-cows killed during the first wintering on Behring
Island was not very large. For the first one was killed only six
weeks before the shipwrecked men left the island, and the hunting
thus fell at a time when they could leave the building of the vessel
to occupy themselves in that way onl