262 WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS chap. 



to the head. Up ran Donald, and flinging down his gun, seized 

 one of the immense fins or flippers of the beast, which he could 

 scarcely span with both hands. The seal was bleeding like a 

 pig at the throat, and quite stunned at the same time, but 

 though it did not struggle, it showed a kind of inclination to 

 move towards the water, which obliged Donald to stick his heels 

 into the ground, and to lean back,holding on with all his strength 

 to prevent the escape of the enormous beast. " 'Deed, Sir," 

 said Donald, " if you believe me, he was as big as any Hieland 

 stirk in the parish." Well, there the two remained for above 

 an hour — motionless, but always straining against each other, 

 Donald's object being to keep the seal in the same place till 

 the tide had receded to some distance, and then to despatch 

 him how he best could. Many a wistful glance he cast at his 

 gun, which he had so rashly flung down without reloading ; the 

 said gun being, as he said, " but a bit trifling single-barrelled 

 thing, lent him by a shoemaker lad, who whiles took a shot 

 along the shore" — in other words, who poached more hares 

 than he made shoes. 



After they had remained in this uncomfortable position for a 

 long time, till Donald's hands had become perfectly cramped 

 and stiff, the seal suddenly seemed to recover himself, and turning 

 round to see what was holding him, looked the man full in the 

 face, with a bewildered air of astonishment ; then seeing what 

 kind of enemy he had to deal with, he gave a tremendous shake, 

 casting Donald off like a " bit rag," as he expressed it, and 

 leaving him prostrate in the pool of blood that had come out 

 of the bullet -hole, moved slowly into the water, and quietly 

 went down to the bottom. Donald, in utter disgust and 

 wretchedness at losing his prize, walked straight home, and 

 went to bed to sleep off his disappointment. The next morning, 

 however, on considering over the matter, he came to the con- 

 clusion that the seal must be dead, and would probably, as the 

 tide ebbed, be grounded on one of the adjacent sand-banks; 

 so he returned to the bay at low-water, and the first thing he 

 saw was his seal lying dead on a sand-bank, and looking like 

 a coble keel uppermost. And a perfect argosy did it turn out, 

 producing more pints of oil and a larger skin than ever seal 

 produced before or since. 



I have seen these animals caught by placing a strong net, 



