MY RETURN FROM SCHOOL 35 



but was still on the dry rocks. There was no 

 sea weed, otherwise it would have got the better of 

 me. I tackled it immediately. It was very 

 furious, raising on its four flippers, and making 

 vicious lunges at me by extending its long neck. 

 Its hod was inflated, giving it a fierce appear- 

 ance, and it turned to face me whenever I tried 

 to get near it. Now and then I would get in a 

 whack on its head with the sharp edge of the 

 axe, until I finally stunned it, and then it was 

 quick work to finish it. I very much regret that 

 I did not know enough then to have kept measure- 

 ments of this specimen. It was certainly twelve 

 feet long, and though not very fat, the blubber 

 alone weighed six hundred pounds, equal to 

 forty-five gallons of rendered oil. From what I 

 have learned about seals since, this would repre- 

 sent a total weight of about fourteen hundred 

 pounds. It had been slightly wounded by large 

 shot, and later on attacked by "Greenland 

 sharks," as the flippers bore marks of their teeth. 

 It had then probably sought to escape them by 

 getting on shore, where it had remained since 

 high water that night. On cutting its stomach 

 open I found some remnants of fish, principally 

 small halibut or large flounders, and a bucketful 

 of stones, all about the size of ordinary potatoes. 

 These he had swallowed after being ashore, as 

 they were similar to those in the vicinity. 



