HUNTING OF SEALS. 41 



pable of making a large wound, crushing all parts along its 

 course, was very necessary to insure the immediate death of 

 the game, on which its capture mainly depended. A Hot- 

 tentot or a Squatter mortally wounding an animal, may track 

 it for hours until it fall. A seal struck, and out of sight for 

 a few seconds, and he is generally lost — his power of motion 

 must be instantaneously paralyzed, or we have slender chan- 

 ces of ever shaking him by the hand. The gun, charged 

 with one ball, which we find to be on the whole best for this 

 sport, has a barrel of nearly 3| feet long, and is one-eighth 

 of an inch in thickness at the muzzle and breech, carrying 

 18 balls to the pound. Great thickness of metal, as far as 

 can be compatible with rapidity of firing, the theoretical 

 gunner, as well as practical sportsman, will easily see the 

 advantage of in steadying the course of the ball, and per- 

 haps diminishing the necessity of very precise attention to 

 the quantity and kind of powder. The weight of such a 

 piece is of course inconvenient ; but as seals are not every 

 moment to be shot at, and as the sportsman is often ren- 

 dered fatigued and unsteady by crawling to within shot of 

 his object, it is almost always the practice to rest the gun 

 in taking aim. The percussion-lock is to be preferred — 

 the gun with it appears to fire more rapidly through, and 

 carry its charge forward with more celerity ; but as a pre- 

 ventive of the animal diving on the fire, it is not very effec- 

 tual — if it were, it would be peculiarly useful, for we have 

 far more frequent opportunities of firing at seals looking at 

 us than in any other direction, but this we now never prac- 

 tise ; the rapidity with which for the most part they throw 

 themselves out of the line of fire the moment the trigger is 

 pulled, baffles all success. It is strange that in no instance 

 have I ever certainly known one to be wounded when thus 

 springing to aside. One might think that so bulky an ani- 



