172 WESTERN SERIES OF READERS. 



The hair-seal seldom touches land, though it 

 may often be seen near to the shore, swimming 

 freely, and occasionally throwing its round head 

 out of water and looking around with its big, 

 kindly eyes. Most of these seals are rather small, 

 perhaps three feet long. Their skins are covered 

 with short, coarse hair, and are of no use as fur, 

 though they are often tanned with the hair on 

 and used for covering trunks and making knap- 

 sacks. These seals have no external ears. 



The sea-bears, or true fur-seals, differ much 

 from sea-lions and hair-seals. Beneath an outer 

 coat of coarse hair they have an under coat of the 

 softest and finest fur that you can imagine. When 

 the skins are prepared for market, all of the coarse 

 hairs are pulled out, and the soft fur is dyed a 

 rich dark brown. 



Iii the summer-time the sea-bears of the north 

 come in from the ocean and gather on the shores 

 of a few small islands off the coast of Alaska. 



How they can find their way through hundreds 

 of miles of waves and fogs to their old home is 

 something that we do not understand. They 

 surely must have powers that man does not pos- 

 sess. 



Here they gather into families; each household 

 consisting of a big, surly male, who comes first, 



