l!)(j DIVISION I. VEKTEBKAL ANIMALS. — CLASS I. MAMMALIA. 



explain tlii.> plicuomenon ? Arc all the c\onts of their seal-life woven 

 tu^ethrr in the iiiv.-^terious wcIj of nieniorv, anil do their earliest affections 

 sur\i\e to awaken, with renewed strength, as the hour of death overtakes 

 them':' A\'ho can say what processes of tjionyht are revolving in the seuso- 

 rinnis of these creatures, as, worn out hy disease or age, they shuffle along 

 tlirounh this solemn pilgrimage, to y'wld up their lives on the spot where 

 the\- iirst saw the liglit and knew a mother's care'/ 



_\ot less wonderful and mysterious is the eapacit}' with which they are 

 endowed to express the emotions of grief and sorrow, by weeping after the 

 manner of human beings. iStellcr, in his very interesting description of 

 the Ursine Seal, or Sea Bear, mentions this peculiarity : " The males show 

 great affection for their young, but are sometimes tyrannical towards their 

 i'emales. They are fierce in protecting their offspring, and should any one 

 attemiit to take their cub, they stand on the dci'ensive, and the mother carries 

 it (.If in her mouth. Should she happen to drop it, the male instantly quits 

 the enemy, falls t)n her in a furious rage, and, notwithstanding her piteous 

 moans and pleading cries, beats her against the stones, luitil she is ap[)arently 

 dead. As soon as she recovers, she crawls to his feet in the most suppliant 

 mamier, and bathes them with her tears, whilst he keeps stalking about, 

 altogether like a human tyrant, in the most insolent manner; but if the 

 young one is carried off and lost, his hardihood gives way : willi convul- 

 sive sobs he casts himself upon the ground, and floods of tears roll down 

 his cheeks, Ijearing witness to the dcjith and sincerity of his sorrow. 



The products of the seal — the oil and skins — liave long been important 

 articles of commerce. On Captain Cook's return, in the liesolution, A. D. 

 1771, he presented an official report, concerning New Georgia, wherein he 

 gave an account of the I'roboscis and Fur Seals, which he had found in 

 great numbers on tlie t-hores of that island. This report gave a new impulse 

 to seal fishing, and much capital was invested in fitting out vessels to prose- 

 cute the l)usiness. Caiitain "Weddell states that, during a period of fifty 

 years, not less than twenty thousand tons of oil were [irocured annually from 

 Xew (ieorgia alone, for the London market, — a ([uantity which, at a moder- 

 ate ]irice, would yield about five million dollars a year. 



Cajitain Scoresbv, to whom we are indebted for much information on this 

 subject, states that the Esquimaux have a process by which they render the 

 skins water-proof, and the jackets and trousers made of them i)y these peo- 

 ple are in great request among tlie wlude-fishcrs, for preserving them from 

 oil and wet. But the skins are not only used in this raw and tanned state as 

 leather ; they constitute still more important articles of trade, on account of 

 their downy and silky covering. The different species, however, arc not 

 all clothed alike, some producing hair-skins, and some fur-skins. The 



