1!18 DIVISION I. VEKTEBKAL ANIMALS. — CLASS I. MAMMALIA. 



mals. The Greenland winter, it would appear, i-s too severe for these 

 luckless wanderers, and when it sets in, they aeconipany the field iec, and 

 remain on it until it is scattered and dissolved. Old and yoinio; Ijeing then 

 deserted in the ocean, nature p(.>iuts out to them the course to tlieir f'a\orite 

 icy haunts, and thither their herds hurry over the deep to pass an Arctic 

 summer. Winter returns, and with it commences again their annual pil- 

 grimage from latitude to latitude. 



r.ut whilst the products of the seals are sought Ijy civilized nations, 

 chieliy as articles of luxury, to the rude peoples of the north they are 

 olijects of supreme necessity, their all in all. The seal is their sole soiutc 

 of subsistence. Crantz says, " The seals are more needful to them than 

 sheep are to us, though they supply us with food and raiment, or than the 

 cocoa-tree to the Indian, although it presents him with meat and clothing, 

 houses and ships, so tiiat, in case of necessity, they could live up<in them 

 ahjuc. The seal's flesh supplies the denizens of those icy regions with pala- 

 tahle and substantial food ; the fit is sauce to their other aliment, and fur- 

 nishes them oil for light and lire, while at tiie same time it contributes to 

 their wealth in every form, as tiiey barter it for all kinds of necessaries. 

 The\- sew better with the fibres of seals' sinews tlian with thread or silk ; 

 of tlie tine internal membranes they make their body rainu-nt and their 

 windows ; of the skins they nud^e their buoys, so much used in fishing, and 

 many domestic utensils ; and of tiie coarser kinds, their tents and boats of 

 all sizes, in which they voyage and seek ])rovisions : therefore no man can 

 pass for a right tireenlander who cannot catcii seals. This is the ultimate 

 end they aspire to in all their devi<'e and l.ibor, IVom their childhood up. It 

 is the oidy art — and, in truth, it is .-i diflieult and dangerous one — to 

 which thev are trained from tiieir infancy, by which they maintain them- 

 selves, make themselves agreeable to others, and become beneficial members 

 of scx'ietv." 



It is an unaratel'ul and disagreeable task to descril^e the various means 

 ■which men eniplov to destrov tliese inoifensive and interesting creatures. 

 A\ lien we consider tlieir wonderful sauacity, their confiding and affectionate 

 nature, tlieir amazing sensibility, and the moral and mental characters — 

 aJmo.st human — which distinguish lliem, we can scarcely be prevented from 

 regarding the killing of one a quasi murder. 



There are various methods of captiiiing and destroying the seals, but 

 among civilized nations the following one is the mo.^t commonly adopted. 

 A lance, twehe or fifteen feet in lenglh, the blade of which is about two 

 feet Ion", is used for the larger species. A\'ith great address the seal- 

 catchers seize the moment when the animal raises his left fore paw to 

 ad\aiice, and plunge their weapon to the heart. Scoresby tells us that the 



