556 FAMILY PHOCID^. 



It keeps long clear, has no smell, or impurity whatsoever at the 

 bottom of the cask. 



" In the infancy of the colony great numbers of the hides of 

 sea-wolves were made use of for muffs. This fashion has long 

 been laid aside, so that the general use they are now put to is 

 the covering of trunks and chests. When tanned, they have 

 almost the same grain with morocco leather ; they are not quite 

 so fine, but are less liable to crack, and keep longer quite fresh 

 and look as if new. Very good shoes and boots have been 

 made of them, which let in no water. They also cover seats 

 with them, and the wood wears out before the leather; they 

 tan these hides here with the bark of the oak, and in the dye 

 stuff with which they use black, is mixed a powder made from 

 a certain stone found on the banks of rivers. This is called 

 thunder- stone, or marcasite of the mines. 



"The sea wolves couple and bring forth their young on- rocks, 

 and sometimes on the ice ; their common litter is two, which 

 they often suckle in the water, but oftener on shore ; when 

 they would teach them to swim they carry them, say they, on 

 their backs, then throw them off in the water, afterwards tak- 

 ing them up again, and continue this sort of instruction till the 

 young ones are able to swim alone. If this is true, it is an odd 

 sort of fish, and which nature seems not to have instructed iu 

 what most sort of land animals do the moment they are brought 

 forth. The sea- wolf has very acute senses, which are his sole 

 means of defense : he is, however, often surprised in spite of all 

 his vigilance, as I have already taken notice ; but the most 

 common way of catching them is the following. 



"It is the custom of this animal to enter the creeks with the 

 tide ; when the fishermen have found out such creeks to which 

 great numbers of sea-wolves resort, they enclose them with 

 stakes and nets, leaving only a small opening for the sea- wolves 

 to enter ; as soon as it is high-water they shut this opening, 

 so that when the tide goes out the fishes remain a dry, and 

 are easily dispatched. They also follow them in canoes to the 

 places to which many of them resort, and fire upon them when 

 they raise their heads above water to breathe. If they happen 

 to be no more than wounded they are easily taken ; but if killed 

 outright, they immediately sink to the bottom like beavers ; 

 but they have large dogs bred to this exercise, which fetch 

 them from the bottom in even seven or eight fathoms of water. 

 Lastly, I have been told, that a sailor having one day surprised 



