A WARNING FROM FRIENDLY GULLS. 



193 



shoot a seal which had been observed asleep on the iee. When he had 

 approached to within about a hundred yards of his would-be prey, Cap- 

 tain Markham saw a couple of these burgomasters soaring over the animal, 

 occasionally swooping down close to its head, as if imparting some con- 

 fidential communication. The Norwegian sailors on board at once drew 



Fl.uATINti ON AN ICE-PAN. 



attention to the circumstance, at the same time saying that the birds were 

 warning the seal of danger! The latter, however, took no notice, except 

 to lift its head and look for a moment in every direction but the right 

 one. As the boat approached nearer the birds alighted on the ice, and 

 walking up to the seal deliberately pecked it, as much as to say, " It's 

 quite time to be off,'' on which the seal again raised his head, sighted the 

 danger, and suddenly diving into his blow-hole, disappeared, sadly to the 

 discomfiture of the sportsman. Captain Markham relates the fact as it 

 occurred, though it was the only instance of the kind that came under his 

 notice; yet it is not difficult to believe when one remembers the behavior 

 of the rhinoceros-bird of Africa, and other small "sentinels," whose alert- 

 ness is a means of safety to larger and less wary animals. 



If you were to examine the weapons by which the Eskimos manage 



13 



