1869] " Rone- More." 219 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



" RONE-MORE." 

 [AUG. 1869.] 



HE had been up at dawn to secure the best boatman, en- 

 joyed a dip in the sea, and breakfasted at sunrise. Starting 

 at 6, on a beautiful calm morning, he at once saw a seal 

 basking on a sunny rock, and after some careful stalking, 

 got within 100 yards, shot at and hit him ; but the animal 

 was only wounded, and made its escape. After that " a 

 Grey Seal playing in a bay" was seen, beyond range. 

 This creature soon took alarm, and dived at sight of the 

 boat ; and though after some patient manoeuvring he got 

 near enough to take two shots, as it momentarily showed 

 its head above water, its wariness was too great ; and by 

 this time the noise had put the seals of the adjacent coves 

 so much on their guard that little more sport was to be 

 hoped for. 



" Only in the very furthest creek did we see any more 

 seals. Three were then seen on rocks close to each 

 other two grey, one black. I took a loo-yards shot at a 

 grey fellow on a rock : bullet struck rock 4 inches too low. 

 Next stalked up to and pegged away at a swimming black 

 head, 50 yards : when, to my great delight, I heard the 

 thud, saw the body float a struggle, and then he sank, 

 spouting blood ; the whole water was crimsoned." 



The creek in which he thus bagged his first seal was 

 the same (Kilbrickan) at whose head he had been storm- 

 bound on the night of July 3ist. So here, putting in at 

 the well-known haven, he awaited the ebb of the tide to 

 secure his prey. It measured 5 feet 8 inches, and was 

 " fat and plump, and a most beautiful skin, supposed to 

 be ' rising 3,' i.e. two years old." Next day it was sent by 

 sea to Galway, and in the evening its slayer, housed in 



