YESSO. 1 5 



ones in cages until they are a year old, then at a great 

 feast they eat them. 



Eeturning from my walk, I exchanged an old pair of 

 trousers for a cub about as large as a big spaniel. The 

 little beast was brought down to the beach by an Aino 

 woman, who, tying it to a post, squatted beside it and 

 began to weep most profusely. Inquiring the reason 

 for such grief, I was told she had brought it up from a 

 very small thing, when its mother was caught and killed 

 in the spring, and that she had suckled it as one of her 

 own children until it was able to manage for itself. 

 This mode of rearing the cub when quite young I after- 

 wards found was quite a common occurrence. It took 

 four of my blue-jackets to secure and carry the cub to 

 the boat, which was not done without many scratches 

 and bites. Tor two days I kept her tied up, then allowed 

 her to go loose, with a short piece of rope round her neck. 

 For a week or so she took every opportunity of slipping 

 overboard and swimming for the shore. Afterwards she 

 never attempted to do so, but became perfectly happy 

 and playful. On hot summer days she regularly enjoyed 

 a swim round the ship, and would then remain in the 

 screw well, stretched on the bango frame, during the 

 heat of the day. In a year's time she was so large and 

 powerful that I feared mischief might happen, and I 

 therefore gave her a dose of strychnine. 



