404 THE SEAL. 



seems wonderful that the animals should be able to crawl up the steep and perpendicular sides 

 of these holes, which are sometimes three or four feet in depth, but they manage to perform 

 this feat with entire ease. 



Taking advantage of these Seal-holes, the hunter shapes his course towards them, and 

 according to the locality or the bent of his own genius, has recourse to one or other of the 

 established methods by which Seals are killed. The easiest, but at the same time the tardiest 

 and stupidest plan, is to build a kind of barricade of snow and ice at some distance from the 

 Seal-holes, and to lie there concealed until the animal emerges from the sea, and makes its 

 appearance upon the ice-field. As soon as it has travelled to. some little distance from its 

 spot of refuge, the hunter seizes the opportunity to inflict a fatal wound, and then uses his 

 best endeavors to prevent his powerful prey from regaining its familiar element. 



Should the Seal ever reach the ice-hole, the entire labor of the day is lost, for the unsuc- 

 cessful hunter is not only disappointed by the escape of his intended victim, but has also the 

 mortification of seeing every Seal upon the ice-field scouring towards the ice-holes, and disap- 

 pearing therein, no more to venture upon open ice that day. 



The second mode of Seal killing is much more sportsman-like, and needs not the long and 

 wearisome watch behind the ice barrier. 



Leaving his sledge and dogs at a distance, but within convenient call, the cautious hunter 

 takes his weapons, and proceeds silently and slowly towards the spot where he sees a Seal 

 reposing itself upon the ice. As soon as he perceives the animal to betray signs of distrust, 

 he drops prostrate upon the ice, and remains motionless until the Seal recovers from its alarm, 

 and again composes itself to rest. From this moment, the man is obliged to cast away all 

 human habits and movements, and while lying prostrate on the ice to imitate the actions of 

 a Seal. 



Taking care to remain motionless whenever he sees the Seal looking in his direction, he 

 creeps gradually towards his intended prey, in hopes of getting between the ice-hole and the 

 Seal, in which case the death of the latter is almost inevitable. If, however, the relative 

 position of man, Seal, and ice-hole be such that this manoeuvre becomes impossible, the hunter 

 contrives to crawl up to the sleeping Seal, and with a single blow lays it lifeless upon 

 the ice. 



The Crested Seal, or Hooded Seal, has been until quite lately misrepresented with respect 

 to its peculiar nasal development. The latter is known to be a prolongation of the snout, 

 much as in the Elephant Seal. Therefore, the figures given should not have the enlargement 

 on the head, but it should be represented as protruding from the 'end of the nose. The adult 

 males only have it. 



A fine example is in the American Museum of Natural History, in Central Park, measur- 

 ing about twelve feet in length. The female is also there. 



THE COMMON SEAL is spread very widely over many portions of the globe, and is of very 

 frequent occurrence upon our own coasts, where it is found in considerable numbers, much to 

 the annoyance of the fishermen, who look upon it with intense hatred, on account of the 

 havoc which it makes among the fish. 



It is rather a handsome animal, with its beautifully mottled skin and large intelligent 

 eyes, and although not so large as other species which are also found upon our coasts, yields 

 to none of them in point of beauty. The color of its fur is generally of a grayish-yellow, 

 sprinkled with spots of brown, or brownish-black, which are larger and more conspicuous 

 along the back than upon the sides. The under portions of the body are of a much lighter 

 hue. The feet are short, and the claws of the hinder feet are larger than those of the anterior 

 limbs. The total length of the adult Seal is seldom more than five feet, the head being about 

 eight or nine inches long. 



This creature is wonderfully active both in water and on land, although its bodily powers 

 are but awkwardly manifested when it is removed from the watery element in which it loves to 

 roam. It is a persevering hunter of fish, chasing and securing them in a manner that greatly 

 excites the wrath of the fishermen, who see their best captives taken away from them without 



