220 



THE OPAL SEA 



Habits of 

 the turtle. 



The seals. 



hours he lies half-buried in the bottom mud, 

 or floats sleepily on the surface with a round 

 circle of back projecting above water, his head 

 and flippers hanging down listlessly. Then for 

 days he suns himself on the sandy beach of 

 some sea island and becomes quite a land lub- 

 ber. He is a famous swimmer making long 

 journeys with ease, he can go for weeks with- 

 out food of any sort; and he is sheathed in an 

 armour that none of his sea fellows can break, 

 and none, except possibly the sperm whale, at- 

 tempts to swallow unbroken. By his equip- 

 ment, his frugalit}^ and his singular vitality 

 he is famously fitted for endurance. And yet 

 perhaps not more so than another ocean waif — 

 the seal. 



The fur seal of the Alaska coast and north- 

 ward is the type though there are many species 

 of the tribe — sea lions, sea leopards, and sea 

 bears, with harp seals, ringed seals, saddle-back 

 seals, bearded seals, ribbon seals, hooded seals. 

 The ordinary fur seal is perhaps the best swim- 

 mer in the ocean. In strength and in swiftness 

 he seems quite unparalleled. He travels almost 

 as fast as a porpoise, and yet strange enough 

 when born he cannot swim at all. Mr. Bullen 

 has it that his mother takes him into the water 

 and teaches him his first strokes. If so he 



