THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 231 



completely exhausted. It is seldom that either is 

 left dead 011 the held, and the wounds they inflict, 

 however deep, heal with inconceivable rapidity. The 

 object of these encounters is to obtain the lordship 

 of a herd of females, by which a male is always 

 accompanied, and over which he rules with undi- 

 vided empire." 



While on land, the motions of these animals are 

 slow and unwieldy, and apparently productive of 

 much fatigue. Their gait is described as singular : 

 as they crawl along, the vast body trembles like a 

 great bag of jelly, owing to the mass of blubber by 

 which the whole animal is invested, and which is 

 as thick as it is in a whale. After having proceeded 

 thus for fifteen or twenty yards, they halt to rest; 

 and if forced to go forward by repeated blows, their 

 appearance presently manifests the distress to which 

 they are subjected by the increased exertion. It is 

 remarkable that, in these circumstances, the pupil 

 of the eye, which ordinarily is bluish-green, becomes 

 blood-red. They do not, therefore, commonly wan- 

 der far from the sea, but generally choose low sandy 

 shores, or the mouths of rivers, for their haunts; 

 though they have been known to ascend hills of 

 twenty feet elevation, in search of some pools of 

 water. They appear to be incommoded by the 

 direct beams of the sun ; and, to shelter themselves 

 from its influence, they have the habit of scooping 

 up the wet sand with their forepaws, and throwing 

 it over their bodies, until they are entirely enveloped 

 by it. 



It is for the oil which is produced by this species 



