ALASKA. 133 



it to swallow stones wbicli weigh two and three pounds. I can 

 ascribe no otber cause for this habit among these animals than 

 that given, as thej'^ are of the highest tj'pe of the caruivora, 

 eating fish as a regular means of subsistence; varying the mo- 

 notony of this diet with occasional juicy fronds of sea-weed, or 

 kelp, and perhaps a crab, or such, once iu a while, provided it 

 is small and tender, or soft-shelled. 



Between the 12th and 14th of June the first of the cow-seals 

 come up from the sea, and the bulls signalize it by a universal, 

 spasmodic, desperate fighting among themselves. 



The strong contrast between the males and fenniles in size 

 and shape is heightened by the air of exceeding peace and 

 amiability which the latter class exhibit. 



The cows are from 4 to 4^ feet in length from head to tail, 

 and much more shapelj^ in their proportions than the bulls, the 

 neck and shoulders being not near so fat and heavy in propor- 

 tion to the posteriors. 



When they come up, wet and dripping, they are of a dull, 

 dirty-gray color, darker on the back and upper parts, but in ii 

 few hours the transformation made by drying is wonderful ; 

 you would hardly believe they could be the same animals, for 

 they now fairly glisten with a rich steel and maltese-gray luster 

 on the back of the head, neck, and spine, which blends into an 

 almost pure white on the chest and abdomen. But this beauti- 

 ful coloring in turn is altered by exi)osure to the weather, for 

 iu two or three days it will gradually change to a dull, rufous 

 ocher below, and a cinereous-brown and gra3'-iuixed above ; this 

 color they retain throughout the breeding-season up to the time 

 of shedding the coat in August. 



The head and eye of the female are really attractive; the ex- 

 pression is exceedingly gentle and intelligent; the large, lus- 

 trous eyes, in the small, well-formed head, apparently gleam 

 with benignity and satisfaction when she is perched up on some 

 convenient rock and has an opportunity to quietly fan herself. 

 The cows appear to be driven on to the rookeries bj' an accu- 

 rate instinctive appreciation of the time in which their period 

 of gestation ends ; for in all cases marked by myself, the pups 

 are born soon after landing, some in a few hours after, but 

 most usually a day or two elapses before delivery. 



They are noticed and received by the bulls on the water-line 

 stations with much attention; they are alternately coaxed and 

 urged up on to the rocks, and are immediately under the most 



