ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 51 



I have seen of it. I liave not been able to verify it in either case by- 

 actual observation; yet such opportunity as I have had gives me 

 undoubted proof of the fact that the hearing of the fur seal is won- 

 derfully keen and surpassingly acute. If you make any noise, no 

 matter how slight, the alarm ^^'ill be given instantly by these insignifi- 

 cant-looking auditors, and the animal, awaking from profound sleep, 

 assumes with a single motion an erect posture, gives a stare of stuijid 

 astonishment, at the same time breaking out into incessant, sui-ly 

 roaring, growling, and "spitting." 



Voice of the fur seal. — This spitting, as I call it, is by no means 

 a fair or full expression of the most characteristic sound or action, so 

 far as I have observed, peculiar to the fur seals alone, the bulls in 

 particular. It is the usual prelude to all their combats, and it is their 

 signal of astonishment. It follows somewhat in this way : When the 

 two disputants are nearly within reaching or striking distance, they 

 make a number of feints or false passes, as fencing masters do, at one 

 another, with the mouth wide open, lifting the lips or snarling so as 

 to exhibit the glistening teeth, and with each pass of the head and 

 neck they expel the air so violently through the larj^nx as to make a 

 rapid choo-choo-choo sound, like steam puffs as they escape from the 

 smokestack of a locomotive when it starts a heavy train, especially 

 while the driving wheels slip on the rail. 



All of the bulls have the power and frequent inclination to utter four 

 distinct calls or notes. This is not the case with the sea lion,^ whose 

 voice is confined to a single bass roar, or that of the walrus, which is 

 limited to a dull grunt, or that of the hair seal,^ which is inaudible. 

 This volubility of the fur seal is decidedly characteristic and promi- 

 nent; he utters a hoarse, resonant roar, loud and long; he gives vent 

 to a low, entirely different, gurgling growl; he emits a chuckling, sibi- 

 lant, piping whistle, of which it is impossible to convej^ an adequate 

 idea, for it must be heard to be understood ; and this spitting or choo 

 sound just mentioned. The cows^ have but one note — a hollow, pro- 

 longed bla-a-ting call, addressed only to their pups; on all other occa- 

 sions they are usually silent. It is something strangely like the cry 

 of a calf or an old sheep. They also make a spitting sound or snort 

 when suddenly disturbed — a kind of cough, as it were. The pups 

 "blaat" also, with little or no variation, their sound being somewhat 

 weaker and hoarser than their mother's, after birth; they, too, comic- 

 ally spit or cough when aroused suddenly from a nap or driven into 

 a corner, opening their little mouths like young birds in a nest, when 

 at bay, backed up in some crevice or against some tussock. 



Indeed, so similar is the sound that I noticed that a number of sheep 



1 Eumetopias Stelleri. 



^ PJioca vitulina. 



3 Without explanation, I may be considered as making use of paradoxical lan- 

 guage by using these terms of descrii3tion ; for the inconsistency of talking of 

 •• pups," with " cows,'- and "bulls," and •' rool-zeries,'' on the breeding grounds of 

 the same can not fail to be noticed; but this nomenclatiire has been given and 

 used by tlie American and English whaling and sealing parties for many years, 

 and the characteristic features of the seals themselves so suit the naming that I 

 have felt satisfied to retain the style throughout as rendering my description more 

 intelligible, especially so to those who are engaged in the business, or may be here- 

 after. The Russians are more consistent, but not so "pat." They call the bull 

 " see-ca^tch," a term implying strength, vigor, etc. ; the cow, " matkah." or mother; 

 the pups, "kotickie," or little seals; the non breeding males under six and seven 

 years, "holluschickie," or bachelors. The name applied collectively to the far 

 seal by them is " morskie-kot," or sea cat. 



