436 MR. T. p. A. RING ON THE 



of dams were hauling up, but on the 14th of September the 

 riddle was solved — ^our friend of last year, the Sultan, made 

 his appearance. 



This special ball, and also one in Seelhorst Harbour, near 

 Gazelle Basin, on the east coast, had been the objects of much 

 harassing by our people, both being fine brown specimens about 

 20 feet long, and both possessing a mutilated proboscis, which 

 distinguished them from their confreres. No sooner did the 

 Sultan of Swain's Haulover, as he had been named, perceive his 

 tormentors of the previous season than he made for us in eager 

 strides, and a scene followed similar to others that had taken 

 place, and pi'obably remembered by the bull, as no provocation 

 whatsoever had been ofi'ered by us, the remembrance of last year's 

 harryings rankling in his memory no doubt. 



Hurling his ponderous body along, the dark brown, eager bull, 

 without uttering a single snort, evidently had the intention to 

 run the object of his attack over and crush it, and great was 

 therefore his surprise when it disappeared, the man in front 

 having quickly slipped aside. The discomfiture of the beast was 

 apparent as it came to a sudden stop, the inflated proboscis 

 dropping, and a loud snort being emitted. Raising himself on 

 his fore-flippers the bull lifted his head with the snout pointed sky- 

 wards, and, looking over his back and turning his head slowly from 

 one side to the other, a searching glance was directed backwards 

 and sideways. The astonishment of the bull was great when he 

 saw his enemy standing behind him, so to speak, and on getting 

 a smart blow from a stick on his hind-flippers his surprise and 

 disappointment gave place to a most sudden outburst of fuiy. 



With bulging, blood-red eyes, and inflated proboscis trembling, 

 a succession of stentorian snorts and gurgling roars came from 

 the vibrating snout and open mouth of the bull ; and on getting 

 a second stinging cut he flopped down and curved his back, whilst 

 at the same time the hind-flippers were thrown up, opened out, 

 and swung to one side, imparting a momentum to the body which, 

 oivoting on the fore-flippers, was turned with a grand sweep in 

 almost a semicircle until he was again facing his adversary. He 

 was undecided what to do it seemed ; but a blow on the head 

 roused him to action, and with a magnificent motion he rose from 

 the ground, towering up to a height of 10 feet, and looking most 

 imposing as he thundered forth his fury, which was genuine 

 enough, and with which his whole body was shaking. 



It is in this magnificent posture that the battling bulls pose, 

 for some seconds, when challenging each other to combat ; and 

 bheynext hurl themselves at one another with all the momentum 

 they can possibly impart, clashing together with a curiously soft 

 thud, and with such force that one expects the oil to squirt out 

 of the pores of the skin. Seizing hold of each other with their 

 fore-flippers, the antagonists sway about, attempting to gouge 

 out an ej^e, or seize the proboscis, both being careful to contract 

 this appendage, and turn it upwards out of reach. "When trying 



