276 THE EASTERN SLEDGE JOURNEY 



The name crab-eater may possibly evoke ideas of 

 some ferocious creature; in that case it is misleading. 

 The animal that bears it is, without question, the most 

 amicable of the three species. It is of about the same size 

 as our native seal, brisk and active in its movements, and 

 is constantly exercising itself in high jumps from the 

 water on to the ice-foot. Even on the ice it can work 

 its way along so fast that it is all a man can do to keep 

 up. Its skin is extraordinarily beautiful — grey, wdth a 

 sheen of silver and small dark spots. 



One is often asked whether seal's flesh does not taste 

 of train oil. It seems to be a common assumption that 

 it does so. This, however, is a mistake; the oil and the 

 taste of it are only present in the layer of blubber, an 

 inch thick, which covers the seal's body like a protective 

 armour. The flesh itself contains no fat; on the other 

 hand, it is extremely rich in blood and its taste in con- 

 sequence reminds one of black-puddings. The flesh of 

 the Weddell seal is very dark in colour; in the frying- 

 pan it turns quite black. The flesh of the crab-eater 

 is of about the same colour as beef, and to us, at any 

 rate, its taste was equally good. We therefore always 

 tried to get crab-eater when providing food for our- 

 selves. 



We found the penguins as amusing as the seals were 

 useful. So much has been written recently about these 

 remarkable creatures, and they Iiave been photographed 

 and cinematographed so many times, that everyone is 



