THE CRESTED SEAL. 403 



been mentioned, the nostrils are not placed at the extremity of the muzzle, but upon each side 

 of it, and are consequently protected by the overhanging head. 



It has often happened that when the Seal-hunters have been engaged in the pursuit of 

 their prey, they have laid several of these animals to all appearance senseless on the ground, 

 awaiting the stroke of the knife that shall complete the victory. The animals, however, are 

 but slightly stunned, and recovering from their temporary swoon, return to the conflict with 

 such unexpected energy that their assailants are forced to have recourse to summary measures 

 when engaged in the chase of these creatures. 



The onset of an enraged Crested Seal is much to be dreaded, for the creature is marvel- 

 lously fierce when its anger is roused, and its strength is very considerable. The teeth, too, 

 are formidably powerful, and can inflict very dangerous wounds. In fighting, they can use 

 their claws as well as their teeth. The males are always pugnacious animals, and during the 

 season when they choose their mates are in the habit of fighting desperately among each other 

 for the possession of some attractive female, and in these combats inflict severe lacerations. 

 During these conflicts the two combatants express their mutual rage by emitting a torrent of 

 loud, passionate, yelling screams, which are audible at a considerable distance. 



It is a polygamous animal, one male ruling over a small herd of wives. 



The fur of this animal is of some value, and great numbers of these skins are annually 

 imported into Europe, where they are used for various purposes. To the Greenlander this 

 Seal is of incalculable value, as he makes use of almost every portion of its body as well as of 

 its skin. Of the fur he makes his thick, cold-resisting costume, and with the skin he covers 

 those wonderful little boats in which he braves the fury of the ocean in search of his aquatic 

 quarry. Of the stomach he makes air buoys, which he fastens to his lances, and which indi- 

 cate the position of any Seal or other animal that he may strike, and also serve to tire the 

 wounded prey, and enable the hunter to repeat his blow. Even the teeth are pressed into his 

 service, and are used as convenient heads for his spears. 



In the preparation of the Seal skin for civilized nations it is needful to remove the long 

 coarse hairs, and to leave only the soft woolly fur adherent to the skin. The process is very 

 simple, consisting in heating the skin, and then scraping it while hot with a wooden knife. 



The color of this creature's fur is, when adult, a dark blue-black upon the back, fading to 

 a yellowish-white on the imder portions of the body. A number of large gray patches are 

 irregularly scattered over the body, and in the centre of each patch there is a dark spot. The 

 head, the tail, and the feet, are black. In the young animal the colors are not of the same cast, 

 being during the first year of a slate-gray upon the back and silvery-white below, darkening in 

 the second year to a brownish-gray along the spine. 



It is a moderately large animal, being from ten to twelve feet in length when adult, and 

 stout in proportion. 



The Crested Seal is found spread over the coasts of Southern Greenland, and is in the 

 habit of reposing much upon ice islands, caring comparatively little for ordinary land. It 

 also frequents the shores of Northern America. From September to March it is found in 

 Da vis's Straits, but leaves that locality for the purpose of producing and rearing its young, 

 and returns again in June, together with its offspring, in a very bare and poor condition. About 

 July it takes another excursion, and employs its time in recovering the health and strength 

 which it had lost during the period of its former absence, so that in September it is very fat, 

 and altogether in excellent condition. 



By the native Greenlanders it is termed " Neitsersoak." 



The natives of the localities which are inhabited by this animal are in the habit of 

 employing two methods for their capture, the one being only a question of patience between 

 the man and the Seal, and the other a fair measurement of human reason against sealish 

 sagacity ; the former generally, but not always, proving the superior. The two modes are as 

 follows : 



The Seals are in the habit of making, or preserving in some way, certain round holes in the 

 ice, which communicate with the water, and which serve them as doors through which they 

 can enter or leave the water without being forced to crawl to the edge of the ice-field. It 



