2544 The Zoologist — April, 1871. 



without seeiug or hearing seals, until the 11th, when in the 

 morning two men came on board "from a vessel at no great 

 distance, but which we could not see for the fog. It was singular, 

 in such apparent solitude and desolation, to see two human beings 

 making their appearance. After a chat with their friends on board 

 the Topaz, and a glass of grog, they went off again into the fog to 

 return to their vessel." In the evening the watch on deck " heard 

 the cry of a young seal." * * * * 



"March 12lh. Again foggy with a S.E. wind. As we stood on 

 deck this morning before breakfast, we heard a cry down to 

 leeward, like the cry of a gull, which some of the men said 

 it was. It became, however, so loud and continued, that both 

 Stuwitz aud I doubted its being the cry of any bird, and one of 

 the men took a gaff and went to look. We watched hira for some 

 distance with our glasses, as he proceeded slowly tlirough the fog, 

 till he suddenly began to run, and then struck at something, and 

 presently returned dragging a young seal alive over the ice, and 

 brought it on deck. It was of a dirty white colour, with short 

 close fur, large dark expressive eyes, and it paddled and walloped 

 about the deck fierce and bawling.* A Newfoundland dog called 

 Nestor, belonging to the captain, approached it, but it snapped at 

 Lis nose and bit him, though its teeth were but just beginning to 

 appear. After taking it down to the captain, to demand the usual 

 quart of rum for the first man who caught a seal, one of the men 

 knocked it on the head and skinned it. Stuwitz then cut off its 

 *fippers,'t or paws, and its head, and alter breakfast we took it 

 into the 'after-hatch,' or steerage, where he drew and dissected it. 

 In the middle of the day we heard from some of the men, who had 

 been out on the ice, that a vessel a few miles ahead of us had 

 already 2500 seals on board, so we pushed on through the ice, and 

 shortly came into a lake of water. On the borders of this many 

 young seals were lying, and two or three punts were hoisted out to 

 despatch and collect them. I shot one through the head that was 

 scufl3iug off a pan of ice, but the crew begged me to desist, as they 

 said the balls might glance from the ice and injure some of the men 

 who were about. Having picked up the few which were imme- 

 diately about us, we hoisted in our punts again, as there were 



* This was a young harp seal (P. gnvnlaiidicus). — H. B. 



+ Should, perhaps, be spelled " dippers," but is always pronounced "fippers."— 

 H.E. 



