62 THE COMMON SEAL. 



When the first crowd is past, the men are gene- 

 rally able to kill and secure most of the young 

 ones which straggle behind, and which a very slight 

 blow on the nose immediately destroys*. The ani- 

 mals, in their escaping from the hunters, throw 

 backward stones and dirt, with their hind-feet; 

 and as this is often done with great force, the com- 

 mon people believe it to be a mode of defence, 

 which they adopt expressly for the purpose of 

 covering their retreat. 



When Seals, in pursuit of shoals of fish, happen 

 at high water to enter creeks, over stakes or strong 

 nets previously placed across the mouth, the 

 hunters, at the ebb 'of the tide, are often able to 

 kill them in considerable numbers. 



Off the west side of North Uist, one of the western 

 islands of Scotland, there is a rock called Cousmil. 

 This is about a quarter of a mile in circumference, 

 and is famous for an annual Seal fishery, about the 

 end of October. The farmers of the island man 

 their boats with a sufficient number of people for 

 the business, and always embark with a contrary 

 wind, to prevent their being driven out to sea, and 

 likewise to prevent their being discovered by the 

 acute scent of the Seals. When the crews are landed 

 upon the island, they surround the passes, and then 

 a signal for the general attack is given from the 



* Pennant's British Zoology, i. p. 142. 



boat. 



