GREY SEAL. 177 



"My father has made several attempts to rear and 

 tame this Seal, but in vain. It appears scarcely 

 susceptible of domestication, and the development 

 of its skull seems to indicate as much ; for the size 

 of the brain of a specimen nearly eight feet long 

 did not exceed that of one of the Common Seals 

 ; Vitulina) of less than four. The head and general 

 form of Halichoerus are long in proportion to its ro- 

 tundity, comparatively with the other Seals. 



" It occurred to me several years since, that I 

 could kill Seals by going to the mouths of their 

 caves, and striking them with a harpoon as they 

 dived out. Acting on this, in August 1829, I went 

 to Howth properly equipped, and took a position at 

 the mouth of a cave, in which I could hear the in- 

 mates baying loudly like large dogs. On making 

 a noise from the boat, several Seals passed out with 

 great velocity, at the depth of about eight feet : one 

 I struck with an oar, and another with a harpoon, 

 but not effectually, as it gave way after a short 

 struggle. Learning from the failure, we made ready 

 for the next, which I could distinctly see at the bot- 

 tom of the water, attentively watching us, some- 

 times advancing and again retreating : it seemed 

 scared by the harpoons, which the friend who aided 

 me and I held so deep in the water as only to offer 

 it room to pass. After a considerable time so spent, 

 we raised our weapons a little, when it made a start 

 to escape, but in vain, as both our harpoons struck 

 it, mine penetrating even to its heart. It twisted 

 the shaft out of my hands, though between two and 



M 



