270 EUMETOPIAS STELLERI STELLER'S SEA LION. 



polize the females and continue with them till September. They 

 go with them into the water whenever they are disturbed, and 

 also watch over the young. When in the water they swim 

 about the young and keep them together until they have an 

 opportunity to land again. The females also keep near, rushing 

 hither and thither, appearing first on one side and then on the 

 other of the groups of young, constantly uttering a deep hoarse 

 growl at the intruder whenever they come to the surface. 

 When left undisturbed they all soon land again, preferring to 

 spend the greater portion of their tune at this season on the 

 shore. During the breeding season they visit the same parts 

 of the shore as the Fur Seals, but the Sea Lions, by their supe- 

 rior size and strength, crowd out the Seals, the latter passively 

 yielding their places without presuming to offer battle to their 

 formidable visitors. After having been disturbed the Sea Lions 

 continue for some time in a state of unrest, occasionally uttering 

 a low moaning sound, as though greatly distressed. Even after 

 the breeding season they keep close to the shore near the breed- 

 ing station until the severe weather of January. After this 

 time they are seen only in small groups till the shores are free 

 from snow and ice in the spring. 



"The capture of these animals is laborious and hazardous, 

 and must be managed by the most skilful and experienced of 

 the natives. They are so sensitive to danger and so keenly on 

 the alert that even the screaming of a startled bird will cause 

 the whole herd to take to the water. 



"The only place frequented by the Sea Lions that, by the 

 nature of the ground, is practicable for their capture, is ten or 

 twelve miles from the village where all the natives reside. 

 They keep so near the shore that the favorable time to get 

 between them and the water is when the tide is lowest ; and 

 they are so quick of scent that the wind must blow from them 

 toward the sea, so they may not smell the hunters as they at- 

 tempt to approach them. The chiefs select a party of fifteen or 

 twenty of the best men, who leave the village prepared for an 

 absence of a week or ten days, for the place selected for the 

 hunt. Near this they have a lodging-house, where they wait 

 for favoring conditions of wind and tide. Under cover of the 

 darkness of night, the chief takes the lead and the men follow, 

 keeping a little distance apart, creeping noiselessly along the 

 shore at the edge of the receding tide until they get between 

 the Sea Lions and the water. At a given signal the men start 



