AFTER THE SEAL 



elsewhere ; as they come together, one will make a feint 

 with teeth or nails, dodge, and roll behind the enemy, 

 hoping to take him from the rear. After a good deal of 

 such fencing, one will fix the other by the " scruff" of the 

 neck, driving his teeth through skin and blubber, and 

 gripping so that only immense force can dislodge him ; 

 and when the teeth are wrenched away, they carry off a 

 good deal of skin and fat with them. 



When the females come ashore the fighting will have 

 to begin all over again, for each bull means to possess as 

 large a harem as possible. He goes down to the water- 

 edge, courteously conducts the lady of his choice up the 

 beach to his home, and leaves her there while he goes in 

 search of more wives. While he is gone another bull will 

 come, take the bewildered cow by the neck, and drag her 

 gently to his own home ; this, of course, means a sub- 

 sequent fight. Meanwhile, the females at the water-line 

 have become bones of contention, and each bull's strength 

 and ingenuity must be exerted to the full before he can 

 carry off and keep his various wives. The size of the 

 harems depends on the fighting powers of the husbands ; 

 one will have five females, another thirty-five. Sometimes 

 one cave will contain nearly a hundred families of ten, and 

 in such caves the young are brought forth and suckled. 



The sealers choose night time for a descent on one of 

 these colonies, for by day the bulls are too wary ; even at 

 night they make some attempt at posting sentries, in 

 imitation of the walruses. Putting off from their ship in 

 small boats, the fishermen, each carrying a stout pole shod 

 with iron, and an unlighted torch, creep silently to the 



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