216 THE OCEAN. 



the eye, which ordinarily is bluish-green, becomes 

 blood-red. They do not, therefore, commonly wander 

 far from the sea, but generally choose low sandy 

 shores, or the mouths of rivers, for their haunts ; 

 though they have been known to ascend hills of 

 twenty feet elevation, in search of some pools of 

 water. They appear to be incommoded by the 

 direct beams of the sun ; and, to shelter themselves 

 from its influence, they have the habit of scooping 

 up the wet sand with their forepaws, and throwing 

 it over their bodies, until they are entirely enveloped 

 by it. 



It is for the oil which is produced by this species 

 of Seal that many vessels are sent to the islands of 

 the Pacific, and to the icy regions of the Antarctic 

 Ocean. Its skin, though serviceable as leather for 

 harness, &c., yields no fur, being clothed only v/ith 

 coarse hair. The oil, however, is of very superior 

 quality ; it is clear and limpid, without any smell, 

 and never becomes rancid ; it burns slowly, and 

 without smoke or disagreeable odour. The hunters 

 destroy the animals with long lances : watching the 

 instant when the Seal raises the left forepaw to ad- 

 vance, they plunge the lance into its heart, when it 

 immediately dies. The fat is then peeled from the 

 carcase, and cut up and packed in casks in a similar 

 manner to that of the Whale. 



The soft yellow fur, with a changeable gloss, wliich 

 a few years ago was so much made into caps, is 

 another product of a South Sea voyage. It is the 

 covering of more than one species of Seal, belonging 

 to a tribe called Otaries, because their heads are 



