ii6 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 



lietriever, St. Bernard, Eough water-dog, and Collie ; 

 but after all, the best seal retriever of the lot was a 

 Collie. When he comprehended what was wanted 

 and how to do it, he did it neatly and thoroughly. 

 I well remember the first seal I shot. I had landed 

 on the weather-side of a small island. A cautious 

 reconnoitering discovered a good-sized seal " lying up " 

 on a detached rock. Then I commenced the stalking, 

 closely followed by my dog. But ere I could approach 

 within range, one of those seal-sentinels and provoking 

 tormentors of the seal-hunter, a herring gull, set up 

 his wild warning scream. The seal perfectly under- 

 stood what it meant, at once took the alarm, plunged 

 into the water, and disappeared. I sprang to my feet, 

 rushed down along a little promontory, and then 

 crouched behind a big boulder, in hopes that selkie 

 would show his head above water, and give me a 

 chance at him. And he did. Eaising his head and 

 neck, he took a good look shoreward ; but seeing 

 nothing to account for the gull's persistent screaming, 

 he turned round, and raised his head preparatory to a 

 dive. I had him well and steadily covered ; now was 

 my chance. I pulled the trigger ; no splash followed, 

 which would have meant a miss ; but the lioom — that 

 is, the smoothing of the water by the flow of the oil — 

 told that my bullet had taken effect. " Fetch him, old 

 dog! fetch him!" I cried. In an instant he plunged into 

 the sea and swam to the seal, which I could see was 

 floating. Neatly he dipped his head under water, 

 seized a hind flipper, turned it over his neck, and 



