SAND DUNES AND SALT MARSHES 



■with a silvery herring between his teeth, at 

 once dive, to reappear w^ithout any external 

 sign of his prey. In Labrador I have seen 

 them dash through the water at the mouth of 

 a river after the trout I w^as seeking to be- 

 guile, without once seeing any fish in their 

 jaws. Their fishing effectually put an end to 

 mine, but I was well repaid by the interesting 

 scene. To many of us the aesthetic value of 

 seal life along our coast well makes up for 

 the loss in fish, a sentiment which the com- 

 mercial fisherman I am afraid would not ap- 

 preciate. 



It always seems to be the custom among 

 the seals, whether from disinclination to 

 move, or from a love of sport,— and I suspect 

 the latter is the true explanation,— to remain 

 as long as they possibly can on the sand-bars 

 while the tide rises. With extended heads 

 and tails, they receive the buffeting of the 

 waves and resist being swept away into the 

 water, as if, indeed, they were fearful of being 

 drowned or of even wetting their heads. 

 Some of the seals, in their endeavors to hold 

 their places against the waves of the rising 

 tide, give up the attempt to keep their heads 

 above water, but elevate their flipper-tail eom- 



170 



