The San Francisco call. [volume], June 27, 1909, Page 2, Image 2

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
A Hunter of Rare and Unusual
Game
H. A. Crafts
CHASE LITTLEJOHN was tfae first
boy to be born in Redwood City,
which Is now a fine, flourishing
town and has the proud" distinc
tion of being the county seat of San
Mateo county. The town is situated,'
as nearly every one in these , * parts
know?, down the peninsula, some 25
miles south of San Francisco, and Mr.
Littlejohn still has his home there, al
though his birth dates away back in
IKoo, In the good old golden days.
His father was one of the pioneer
millwrights of tho toast and it was
he who set up the first sawmills in the
great forests of redwood that lie west
nt Hcdn-ood City, and whuh. gave the
town' its name.
A Redwood Pioneer
The elder Littlejohn"s home was in
San Francisco at the time', but the
town of Redwood City had ambitions,
*« many, a town has today, and was
anxious to secure recruits; so it held
out inducements xo the sturdy mill
wright and it was he who built ..the
third house to be erected in the .city
in embryo.. It was in that house that
Chase Littlejohn was. born apu 4 it was
in Redwood City that he grow to boy
hood.
There were few amusements in' the
little burg in those days and the boy
was Thrown upon his own resources.
But on one side were the oak, groves,
grassy glades and redwood forests and
on the other the bay of San Fran
cisco, with its miles of marsh lands,
stretching both to the north and the
south. '
So for a good healthy boy there was
ample opportunity for " good. '\u25a0 healthy
amusement, and young; Chase's prln 7
clpal amusement was to hunt birds
and bird*' egg* in the forests "£n<ifarf^
the marshes. ' Even while yet»a n\er|».
toddler he gathered: birds" eggs ,'ari#
strung the shells upon threads, until'
he had yards of them. " : Thus he '.;a'c|f"
quired a taste for ornithology* -whicli
stuck to him ever afterward /arid 'lan
today his ch^ef delight. * •?
And it wm this taste that led him!
to take Tqhg-. voyages and to embarlf
in many; a" n^lld. adventure. The' Saiv
Francisro*r- peninsula * became altoJ
gather' tx»o narrow for one of-, ,hin
tastes arid, ambitions, lie longed to
boat out into thfi open tmd>ee.mor«
of. tho great world. '
Accordingly, when but yot a lad of
IS."" he hired" out with, a San Francisco
fur concern , to go to Japan. to hunt sen
otter. V .He nailed upon a7O ton schooner
and in due course pf: time, was- in the
waters of the Kurile, island*, where the
sea otter; in those days abounded ins
large numbers. V«~ iv M
The Kurile inlands are. situated in the
northernmost ' part of . the Japanese]
archipelago, and formerly ,were ownedi
by Russia, but.afterward came Into the!
possession of. Japan. /•; . v,i
The fur of the seal otter has always
been of great value In a commercial!
way. and has ' (crown more { and more:
valuable with time. In the days when'
Chase Littlejohn hunted , tin- animal a
single skin was worth about' 1200; "to
day, the prfee runs from. $1,500 to $2,000,
so 'Tare, has -the seaotter become. .
- ' Tbe; f ur of t he full grown sea otter
•if'of a ; pure jet black, very fine "and '
glassy. In thf- early, days tho fur
founds ah almost exclusive .market Jt«;
where "it was] used, in trimming'
tlie uniforms of the "army f officers; The
\u25a0fur secured --.by the . California hunters
was "cured -and packed- invSan .Fran
cisco ; ajid .. .then;, < shi pped - to ';' London ,
whjeh^was the principal for the
cdnirhodity at that~time.v. ;*\u25a0'\u25a0_
The hunting; of 1 the sea .otter in \u25a0, the
Japanese, waters; was a*! perilous Under
taking-, ;and' schooner after schooner; has
been lost; and' never"; afterward heard
from. ; The; watersi; arc,, rough and
stormy, heavy^ gales -descend upon the
seas,' sweeping air.beforie'therh;- 1 /.
•vTheri- there jare ~ hidden;' reefs, 1 strong
.tides' and currents,*- tlde^-rips. etc.; !that
are . a continual menace • \u25a0 to. the^sea,"
farer. But. although Chase Littlejohn
and his fellowotter hunters had many
,a narrow escape from shlpvyreck \ and-,-
they came safely through,
and were successful-, in nearly .all -of "
tbeir voyages. The^,- came home" laden
\u25a0with spoils and their product was al-*
;Wflj's disposeaof at a good'proflt. ' :
:v."-The full grown sea otter 'is usuallyv
;.-i.\ little more than four feet long, .but -
>ome skins : have been secured ttiat
measured 'Jti inches , from tip to tip.;.
'•Unlike the fur seal, the. >ca Otter lives
"the. greater ipart of its time off' shore. •
It..sVrtns.i}pon-its back, ami: will lie for .
"hours in that;ppsitlon, asleep upon the .
surface ot^he' water. '•'\u25a0 '\u25a0\u25a0'-.
"\u25a0\u25a0They 'unjn schools, an«l Alr.VLlttle
/john'-has seep Jas; many as 200 In a sin- •
f gle bunch. Their food consists prln
.cipally of 'crustaceans, or minut? shell-;
"fish, found in the waters of the orient^,.
Thisfopd, they 'dive for, and In diving
;the sea'.'btter turns quickly over from,.
Its accustomed recumbent position "on
' the surface of the water ana go.esdown
j back "uppermost.
','•: Unlike the . seal,-: again, ,it>has' front'
legs and- small paws.^Tjut no. hin'ri legg, ":
ihp members in the rear consisting- ot*
tall and two short flippers.* . The a nlmtil v
\e a vicious fighter when cornerrd. anil
uses [itn slia rp teeth . with good effect . ;
%; in hunting thesea v ot«M--.Uie hunters,
are formed into . squads, -three.\ b«sat»
toUhejaquad and four, mf:rito"thV boat.',
with two men at- th« oars, ope in the
bow as w a lookoutand one at the stern;
.to steer: the Jboat with;aipaddle.';. '•
i ,**The MiuTiterSiKtart out .pulling along. 1
"the isla rids from -half a mi Ic^lb^fl'. mile
from : the land,; a .'sharp- watc(r* being
all the time? kept ? 'among j the 'patches
of 'kelp and other :»ea .'drift ; for ! an;
otter paking'hts small head, above' the
I surface^ ; - V -' \u25a0 '\u0084\u25a0 \u25a0•\u25a0\u25a0'. ' :^v--'*'- '
\u25a0 ' The/boats of a squad, always; moy#
lin the "shape of -a r triangle or" wedge
''in'order'thaCthe^men may have an pp-
•'iportunity* to' shoot the otter "without
,being in* dangeV.of. hitting other'hunt.
/era of 'the. party:','- , . V ; ''')
'; An btter being -discovered by r the.
imen in/ the forward; boat.v a? ;paddl«;:
is • raised as{a signal of .discovejry.Vsnd';
the signal is answered by; the; raising:,?
of>a.p»Sdle; In e.Hch-of : the^'rear^ boats.;
' (Tlien all;rnov«. forward,- wßtchirißr>fpT;,a .
' <jlianc<^ to- get ' a shot. atHhe' ottef,^ "\u25a0
.At the- first, shot; the otter, dives 'iihto ,
thesea and" then? the three boats- draw,'
near.', .the place of "disappearance i|to ?
await the animal's rise. -;M tth ® fl rßt .
\u25a0 Reappearance" of '\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0 tKe otter } a n other , shot \
i s ta ken. ; and ! the \ animal dives '; again, '
and ; "again: .the ; hunters "await another
-rise." \u25a0;\u25a0.--;': : ": .\u25a0 {: :; ;\u25a0, -.\u25a0:^.\ [\u25a0.\u25a0\u25a0"\u25a0'\u25a0. i-A'r^:
About the :'- third 'dive ../.exhausts -the
\ otter, ; and sit .; rriust " Btay> aboye land ;
make ; the rbest' fight „ lt '^can/. Then: the \u25a0
hunters" get in"the;fatal?shot;'and when*
jrthe : animal" is^dead/Itiis^dragged-iinto^
.'one of ithe boats. v and the' hunt ;is;con- ,
-'-. tinued. r '\u25a0';'. '•\u25a0''_ \u25a0\u25a0'/'..\u25a0 [''\u25a0\u25a0'. -^ [>•'.\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0 •'.'-'\u25a0\u25a0• »'--\u25a0',• \u25a0\u25a0'\u25a0' -"• -
".;'.'•". ; Unlike • thY : dead ; fur : seal, , the' dead*
s«ch otter seldom sinks, the rur or tn«;.
«nimal evidently af,tihg as a buoy. It
is, therefore, .no difficult task to land .
the game. In- some; of. iUes»e hunts It",
was no nrn.onimon*" l: tlilng^' jn-.the . old
'lays for a schooner's creV, thus' divided
into squads to capture'*iis".niany as 55
otter. in one day. The number of skins-
Fccurt-d during a; single, voyage used;to
rangf from 300 ' to 500". \. "-;
But in these later, days of sJaccity,'
sea. otter hunting .is a very different',
proposition, ami it takes long and hard,
searches to find thertiJ"; v',/ -' -
. In^the early days San T'rancfsco lj^fd
tosend out as many -as ."S'.'otter; hunt- _
lng;.«chooners i»T» a single. »f>ason.' but •'
nearly, all v.-ere lost • flrs't'Viv jast," 1 ' by
b*)ing \ foundered in galf s . 'pv. swept
ashore on the ; rocks. "Never a" year
passod without the loss ofmvu or-.
.Uirco of theso craft. ; \u25a0'\u25a0.'• '- ' '\u25a0'\u25a0\u25a0'.\u25a0; '\u25a0\u25a0} : C \u25a0
- \u25a0:' In :sorne of Littlejohu's ."Vp,vages';:lie \
jni,ne4 in hunts for fur, senls -also; 'but,
Hie, lu'iDting was dbno^oni l a : different
plan ifrom that employed -in; sea;'otter ;
hunting. ,' Tbe/ncaliS.wvre huiiteil "far
out at- sea, antl 'the boats- wore* followed
by. the'st'.hooner. •\u25a0• Ou.t. them seals were 1 ,
.found "sleeping on 'Aha surface, i-'^and-';.
they were killed, iwltlr shotguns.-'. \u0084'
.'But after a while • the. .Inpanesn ~got
wisnV io tlift value of the..' sea otter
and put" a summary ?top ;to . th«.;.oxpf-'
dit ions' \u25a0 "They ?enl \u25a0 a'.revdnucwQuttcV. \u25a0
out and drove off all; the- fleet, ami that '
was the on<l ;of tlic sajTie.i'as,"' far- as .
foreign hunters wore biimrerncd. " .
He Goes to Alaska - / . v
v -!. In , 1 R7!) 'Littlejohn' joined in an .?, ex^'.
peditlon to Alaskaiv waf'ois,. a.nd'.Uiry"
;wefe'.' hunting otter, hoar -{-and wii.eaJ,^
trapping and trading ;-.witl»' th*'natlyei».;"
Tiiey ran into a bay ihat',wa«- virtually':
alive, .with .sea -' ottnr. ; ..very :;mui:li> to
their suvprU'e. - \u25a0Thcy;m«<le H'kooclkHl. :'
ing there fbro. : and % saillnt.^ Into' : vVif'i; t "
tpria,-:<!u^d thc»i : - hides :Htid'r.shipped ;
them to London- f fom • that ' pbtri t*" :j - • ,r(;
. : Tha t r xpedl tion .. gava |( Litt leJoliiK^ft I
hint 4 - that ; h«- might 'do '• sorne.Vhunti'ifg'.-"
on his own. account;. "so- in^i 580 iiiei're-.^
turned- to"; San Francisco" -arid oatfiuffdr
fori/hlmself.* -; : \u25a0\u25a0\u0084 > -.-. •;\u25a0..-\u25a0 -"'^tVi
v But he found "great difflculty,"jn^|Rp';;;
jjurinß.'transpprtationUnorth . forl"nior.e.-i
'than; one reason ; -r arid . the .'.PPihplpaJ i
"reason ;was r that' vthelfurv thelfur companies: d^d^
.not ~-w|sh . lo. encourage 1 independent^
hunting. : , At vlast.H however, , an =;op or- ;
itunlty ..; offered, and* Llttlejolin "accomr "{
:panled by ; his father,iwife arid a^friend,c
jnaved'r Stevens, seti-satr: for l-the. arc-*
»tic : Ittltudes •.'• arid;; finally ,; located : ion -,
! MarjovJa bay^Vnear ; the'sOjMth-'end ;'of \u25a0
the Alaskan peninsula, and . there* the -
< party remal ned *. for I three .years, = hun t-
ing, -fiehjng and /trading with, the'na-"
' tly«»." '•-:\u25a0'•'.• ' \u25a0\u0084\u25a0'.-:: :':-;-i :' • , : < ±0/- ' :'\ ':.\u25a0'.
They /carried with "them ' a : portable "
hoiiieandthis ;waa|set up?ln as?avorVf
able, 'location,^ and" theri^ it - was ? '(sodded *
-up".;' or.'lln: other- words,: it"; was, walled^
•up the, outside with sods* dujflUp^lri!;
Uh^rfneighborhood^to "ai? thlckneßS'^bf \u25a0_
itQur*. feet, /and lthenf the'roof was : heaV'.^
llyjthatched Mwlth^cbarse^,"«rild^grraßs
. that ; grows ' round , v «>out "; Jn .Kreatpro-
: fusion.""' 1 . ,"\u25a0/;;;'- .- \u25a0'i^r'ij. •/ \u25a0 ;V> v \u25a0'-"'.] ''\u25a0r'
': -I This ; made* the £ building \ completely^
impervious -to -cold r r arid? 7L wlndv and no
"d fort - from | those ] so v rccs I ex"-"!;
perlenced -at *^kny vtjme during their
stas. * In fact, . the entire party was |
well, happy -and Contented for the
whole period. S.. They took along a good
supply of provisions, • and besides, this
they had "bountiful supplies of ..fish.
jEfame and t)erri£S \u25a0.tljßt: abound on; all
side??.*: They, af^o; planted a patch "of
vegetables whfbt)4n season added much
to thefr supply of eatables." >f t
The.principarjHfTlctilty In truck farm-:-
ing in that.'Vfgionv; however, was the
undue familiarity shown by the bears,
Avhich. insisted. upoA paying frequent
nocturnal visits to the Llttlejohn". doml-,
ciW>and sampling, various things, both
eatable; and uneatable, Including the
boats ; that; lay.- moored 'on. the -beach,-,
tnorp, than one mouthful having been,
taken frpni objects not lcsis digestible.
'At the end of thnj three years llr. y
Littlejohn and his party returned home,
'.where • thoy \u25a0 remained .-', two ..years, and
then .T. T concluded "to- make another "voy
age to the nbrt.hlaml.-' .\u25a0'\u25a0;,' This time Lit-:
tlejolm ;fltUU',6ut lvls own steam launch
and so ; voyagod \forth, free and -inde
pc'nden|'.'Tf' The party, was made up as
before and "thei" settled 'ugaln. upon the ,
okr site-on -Jlarjovla bay. >
1 Again, the. 'wild- life was tak'iv up.
;hut'rio\y:Llttlejohn had more opportun- |
v lty^and.^Hsur«,-'to'y>ursue his ornithol
ogical? researches. \u25a0 lie had nev^r r t*easod .
Ill: all theA yftars Tie had. been traversing
tjie broad .l^a^ifii I'to1 'to 'secure specimens
\u25a0 of /rare blrds'/^nd^their eggs. '_ "TCve.n
: wUJlfi^ ; crossing the- r ,wlde- and - watery
; wastes ;h«.Vlbst^iio\bpportunlty ;tb<.j'ap-.
tur« a;'blrd,'ra.ml - i ji this- way.; secured
Kuch^de^p'sea^'fowls-as: the stormy, p"e* (
; 1 1 •>!, i. a lffa trp' sy.'^babbV, ' ; man of war.'
; hawk,' boatVwiijrjbritroplc '.bird, etc. -• '
t". *The albatroßfljiie was wont to catch
followed the ship.
rSome cru'mbs'.of }fQOd "would be "; tljrown.
foverbbard aDa>th«n;l the • birds would;
'flock about them Hrr great numbers, and
.some- one ;of>thfi>. number could be^ quite.
i ic«>!ily;ho6ked.''; : «*H'- ""'"Vy'.
•'-/ The ipetrers^could^ only be caught at
/ night r ;wheh^'th:*ey/c would", come flying •
deckV when.they cbuld»be caught
'^ln~'ijtistS* .^y^y:'/.. p;f ':\u25a0{;.' ; .\u25a0-•••.>.\u25a0\u25a0,.•\u25a0.:\u25a0..;\u25a0 "r
: : ;_rt . was -a. jpra'ctl«-f<bf ' the -".sea o^ter
" hunters to , stop i at Vtlie iMldway- islands."
(_bpth • outward ';« "an d^ in ward Abound,', and ,
.^oii s-these J islands i'arelif ound great bird
• ? colbnies. and. 'myriy./ of /the' migratory
species.;: r^nd;|n«iarlyj'air of the birds
tont a the^Mrdwa*yfllsUnldß;wery>r'eniark-
tame.'} BoVthatJa*; person --might 'go
% right « up; to • them "and take \ them ; from
Uheir:neßts.\j\i ;:^ '7 \u25a0 . \u25a0',\u25a0:,:;;:: x~,;/:x ~,;/ :
1/Here'\wer©> found -tw"o species l off the
Uerri.~ the plover,' ciirlew.-etc, and of the
Teggsv of ;• these' species Li ttlejqhni gath
ered ;^a *t great*? number;; preserved"; them,
s arid S now;:lias .• them^in^hlsVcollectibn - at
"his ."homieJin^RedwoodlCity.' .;.' \u25a0'%\% \\ \ ' >
r.Vlt^was^duriri*gihis7yl3its;tOitheiAlas-,
kaii sliores'thathe^indulspd himself in
;l)ird-'jhunt|Hg- and^birtl ,f=tu<ly";to thn top
The San Francisco Sunday Call
Df his bent. He had ample time and
thus was enabled to get the full joy of
the pastime. Whole days were spent
boating along the shore or wandering
Inland in pursuit of. the feathered tribe.
Fie gathered eggs by the thousand and
many of these^ were utilized as food.
Sea gulls' eggs' were gathered by the
barrel and salted down. .
There were small islands just off
shore that .were virtually laden with
birds and their eggs. To those islands
Littlejohn used to repair for a harvest
of eggs. He would seek nests contain
ing just three eggs each, because he
would know that these egg* were
fresh. . Of the three he would appro
priate two and mark the remaining
one, which was left as a nest egg.
'in a few days he would make an
other visit and take home the fresh
eggs/ and could keep the process up
almost indefinitely^, as the, birds seemed
n«ver to tire of faying eggs for him.
In that northern cltrae Littlejohn
found a great variety of birds, both of
land and sea, and of their lives and
habits he made a thorough study.
Among the more interesting .of the
species was the ancient murrelet. a
bird about the size of an ordinary"
quail. This bird breeds In great num
bers and its nests are found all over
the islands lying off th« Alaskan coast.
But it taken an expert to find the
nests, as it is one of the peculiarities
of the bird to hide its nest. More often
It will burrow in the thick matting of
wild grasses that i« found covering :
much of the land, and under this mat
ting conceal ; Jt« eggs. It will even
burrow, <Jown into the ground in ordsr
to- find a hiding place.
The female, of this species lays juat
two^eggft to «. setting and upon these
eggs the male and female take turns
In setting, each taking a turn of. 24
houn». As soon as one bird is relieved
by its mate it flies out to sea in quest
of food, and this food consists princi
pally of ' crustacean, growth s, At dark
the undent miirrelet, flies homeward
»n«l thon the air round about the" nest
ln« plncps fairly.'swarms with them. '\u25a0 .
In ISO 4 Littlejohn. went t to Alaska
In the interest of the Bmithsonlaij In-r
stitutlon at.:^Washington to secure
specimens of birjis-Snd their eggs. He
whs \ov\- sucressfulcand "secured some
400 -birds,* a|i<Vv.?.soo,.rggs, many of
which havr h/hri installed in the cele
bintccl Institution at the national cap
it* I. .<. :vi'V," \u25a0\u25a0\u25a0-.'\u25a0 , ; ;
. -It whs durlrig : 4his trip that 'Little
jolut' secured -"a srpecimen of- tho bird
known as 'Peale'a falcon, a vety rare
bijd.indeed,-"as' the finder claims that
, this 1s the only captured specimen In
the world. - lie secured a female and
three eggs, but it was-only after great
effort. ,
The bird Is. very wild and fierce,
building its nest in secret and almost
'inaccessible places in the steep cliffs
of :the seashore, sometimes .hundreds
-of .feet above the water's edge.
one of. his previous 'visits Mr.
Littlejohn had discovered the where
abouts of ono of these nests,, but could
fnot exactly locate it. This time he re
solved to 'locate it if such a thing
.were possible.^. -
Me knew; that the nest was some
, where in". the face, of a steep cliff near.
-the" camping \u0084 place; so. -arising one
morning before daybreak he * rowed to
the; place and hid behind ; a rock, gun
in hand. "Then he waited for the day_
to] dawn" and when ,it was fairly light
he : stood up in his boat arid gave a
series of .loud, halloas. \; .
In ; the, meanUme^he scanned the face
of "the.cliff <; carefully." and soon saw
: one of the" birdsYemerge : from a nook
quite \u25a0 high" ""v above/; the' wajter and
jmake .-a *> savaged swoop ." down -toward
' him. ";But ' he > quickly -raised his shot
\u25a0 gun:and:kiiled;the fowl before It could
" attack f him.'- \u25a0
»Tho-«l«»«ri_ bird foil" into th« sca^and
the hunter rowing to the spot easily
secured his prey. It was a female, and
this Is the bird that constitutes ths
rarest of specimens in Littlejohn's col
lection.
ThY next thin* was to secure th»
egg:* from th« falcon's nest. Happily. '
by great watchfulness. Littlejohn
had marked with bin c.v« the spot
whence the bjrd had •merged from
the cliff and was able to point it out
to. his two comrades, ona of whom was
» youns and agil» fellow, who vol
unteered to allow himself to b<* low
ered from the top of the eminence ia
quest of the eggs.
Frora- a y neighboring camp a *tout
rope was secured and the threw hunt
ers repaired to th» top of th« ellff
and the young man was lash«d to th»
rope and lowered ovm the brink of tha
precipice.
It was agreed that a shout from
the youn; man should be the signal to
the men above to stop lowering. So
the two men lowered away until they
heard shouting 1 below them. But the
shouting did not cease; on the contrary
it was more strenuous than before,
and • it appeared to carry with tt & note
of distress.
- Leaving Littlejohn to hold th« rop«.
his companion ran hastily around a
point whence he could get a view
of the young egg hunter, and ther*
he saw the young roan suspended In
midair and- spinning around at the
rope's end like a top.
He had been causht by a current
of wind and thus set spinning and
his shouting had been for the men
above not to stop lowering, hut to
lower all the faster in order to v«ltei*«
the situation.
The lowering vu resumed and the
young man finally gave the signal f>
stop. It was then discovered that the
point selected for lowering was about
20 feet too far to one side: so the
young. man had to be lowered all the
way down, taken off In a boat and
then- a second attempt was made, and
this was successful, the nest bein*
reached and three eggs secured. j
The hazardous nature of this und«rv*
taking may be realized when It I*
stated that the face of the ellff was
broken so that the first 150 feet was
slightly Inclined, the neTt I*o feet
shelving and the remaining 180 agata
on an Incline.
Bagged Many Bears
'Bear hunting was one of the f*vor»
ite pastimes of Littlejohn and hl»
party in their Alaskan expedition*.
Both brown and grlaaly bears were
found to be plenttful, and It wn easy
tp hunt them, for the reason thaC
the was bare of timber and
the air very clear, so that an animal
became visible at a long distance.
, One day little John went out hear
hunting accompanied by a couple of
natives. They came upon a big brown
she bear and a cub. The cub was shot
first, and then the old bear. Infuriated
at the death of her young, made a
rush for the party, and was about to
sweep down upon the two Alaskans
when a shot from^LlttleJohn's rifle put
,an end to her.
•" Two' years ago Littlejohn was a
member ot Miss Annie Alexander's ex
pedition to southeastern Alaska In
quest of specimens for the. museum re
cently established by Miss Alexander
in Berkeley. The party consisted of
.seven members, and'the expedition was
very, successful, seven new species of
bir^ds and" mammals having been ob
tained, including a new kind of. beaver.
At present Littlejohn Is at home la
Redwood.: City resting from his ardu
ous : labors in the ' northern wilds. -L^n
the meantime he continues his h£-*l
researches ; and is adding to his col
lection all the time. He does not claim
to have the largest collection on the
coast, ' but that he has the most varied
and-representatlve ho ' claim-* without
• fear of successful contradiction.