HABITS. 261 



twenty-five pounds on an average when born, are of a dark, 

 chocolate-brown, with the eye as large as the adult, only being 

 a suffused, watery, gray-blue, where the sclerotic coat is well 

 and sharply defined in its maturity. They are about 2 feet 

 in length, some longer and some smaller. As all the pups seen 

 to-day were very young, some at this instant only born, they 

 were dull and apathetic, not seeming to notice us much. There 

 are, I should say, about one-sixth of the sea-lions in number on 

 this island, when compared with Saint Paul's. As these ani- 

 mals lie here under the cliffs, they cannot be approached and 

 driven ; but should they haul a few hundred rods up to the 

 south, then they can be easily captured. They have hauled 

 in this manner always until disturbed in 1868, and will undoubt- 

 edly do so again if not molested. 



" 'These sea-lions, when they took to the water, swam out to 

 a distance of fifty yards or so, and huddled all up together in 

 two or three packs or squads of about five hundred each, hold- 

 ing their heads and necks up high out of water, all roaring 

 in concert and incessantly, making such a deafening noise that 

 we could scarcely hear ourselves in conversation at a distance 

 from them of over a hundred yards. This roaring of sea-lions, 

 thus disturbed, can only be compared to the hoarse sound of a 

 tempest as it howls through the rigging of a ship, or the play- 

 ing of a living gale upon the bare branches, limbs, and trunks 

 of a forest grove.' They commenced to return as soon as we 

 left the ground. 



"The voice of the sea-lion is a deep, grand roar, and does not 

 have the flexibility of the CallorMnns, being confined to a low, 

 muttering growl or this bass roar. The pups are very playful, 

 but are almost always silent. When they do utter sound, it is 

 a sharp, short, querulous growling. 



" The natives have a very high appreciation of the sea-lion, 

 or see-vitchie, as they call it, and base this regard upon the supe- 

 rior quality of the flesh, fat, and hide, (for making covers for 

 their skin boats, MdarJdes and bidarrahs,) sinews, intestines, &c. 



"As I have before said, the sea-lion seldom hauls back far 

 from the water, generally very close to the surf-margin, and in 

 this position it becomes quite a difficult task for the natives to 

 approach and get in between it and the sea unobserved, for, 

 unless this silent approach is made, the beast will at once take 

 the alarm and bolt into the water. 



" By reference to my map of Saint Paul's [not here repro- 



