OUDER V. THE CAKXIVOr.A. IDl 



"When tlie number of boats is grciitcr, the intervals are retluccd. Every 

 man now looks u[ion tlie sea with ccmcentratoil attention. Nothing escapes 

 the penetrating eye of tiie Aleut : in the smallest black spot appearing but 

 for one moment over the surface of the waters his experienced glance at 

 once recognizes a sea otter. The hitldnr which first sees the animal rows 

 rapidly towards the place where the creature dived ; and now the Aleut, hold- 

 ing his oar straight up) in the air, remains motionless on tlie spot. Imme- 

 diately tlie whole squadron is in motion, and the long, straight line changes 

 into a wide circle, the centre of which is occupied by the haidar with the 

 raised oar. The otter, not being able to remain long under water, renp|)cars, 

 and tlie nearest Aleut innnediateiy greets him with an arrow. This first 

 attack is seldom mortal ; very often the missile does not even reach its over- 

 distant mark, and the sea otter instantly disappears. Again tlie oar rises 

 from the next buidar; again the circle forms, but this time narrower than at 

 first ; the fatigued otter is obliged to come oftener to the surface ; arrows fly 

 from all sides; and finally the animal, killed by a mortal shot, or exhausted 

 by repeated wounds, falls to the share of the archer who has hit it nearest to 

 the head. If several otters appear at tlie same time, the boats form as many 

 rings, provided their numlier be sutfieicntly great. All these movements are 

 executed with astonishing celerity and precision, and amidst the deepest 

 silence, which is only interrupted from time to time by the hissing sound of 

 the fivin<r arrows. 



Family 2. The Piiocid.e. — Seals. Of all the groups of animals that 

 inhabit the ocean, in whole or in jiart, the seals ofier the greatest variety, 

 and, at the same time, the most remarkable unity of character. From the 

 small animals that sport in tropical seas, wc observe a gradual increase in 

 size as we approach the poles, either north or south, where the members of 

 the family assume gigantic proportions, surpassing in bulk the largest of the 

 tcrresti'ial mammalia. Tlie numerous jiliysical ditt'crences exhibited by 

 various members of the family have caused their classification in several 

 genera, and these again are divided into a great number of species. \s'c. 

 shall adopt the arrangement, and give the results of the researches, of the 

 latest naturalists, although, from the confusion that prevails in the works of 

 the most reliable authors who have written on the subject, we infer that much 

 is 3^et to be learned in regard to the natural history of the Phocidiu. Proba- 

 bly in some instances several species are enumerated, which are, in fact, the 

 same animal seen under diflercnt circumstances l)y travellers, and recorded 

 by them as distinct. 



But while the members of this family differ so materially in size and othei- 

 physical characters, they all appear to possess the same moral and mental 

 characteristics. An extraordinaiy sagacity, and a capacity for domestic and 



