SEAL HUNTING. 317 



fellows, and remained stationary, watching our motions 

 with dubious eyes. When within fifty yards, the 

 men ceased pulling, and permitted the boat to forge 

 ahead with her own way. Pulling the tiller lines so 

 as to alter the* course, I got a clean shot, and turned 

 the ungainly, awkward brute over ; but his struggles 

 carried him down the incline till he fell in the water, 

 when he sunk immediately. After much difficulty we 

 managed to get him out, and on examination found 

 the ball had pierced the skull a little above the right 

 eye. His weight must have been- upwards of three 

 hundred pounds, and the quantity of grease that came 

 from the carcass as we divested him of his pelt was 

 surprising. The hide of these animals makes most 

 excellent shoes when properly tanned; and I have 

 been told that nothing in the shape of leather is so 

 capable of turning water. One shot was sufficient to 

 expel the seals from their haunt, so we returned shore- 

 ward. However, just as we were about to land, a 

 youngster popped up his head, which I let drive at, but 

 without precision. 



The flies to-day continued very annoying, and the 

 irritation caused by their bites itched so severely that 

 it affected the majority of our tempers ; the only respite 

 that could be obtained was when out on the water, 

 where the draught of air had full scope. Oh, that 

 some one, versed in the likings and dislikes of these 

 insidious foes, would find a method that would protect 

 the angler from these pests when he is enjoying a trip 

 that has no other drawbacks ! To describe my suffer- 

 ings would be impossible ; suffice it to say that my 

 actions were sufficient to cause a physician to imagine 

 me fit for incarceration in a lunatic asylum. Even 



