THE HARBOR SEAL 



bar, the gulls on anotlier, while the restless 

 terns a,ll took flight. Soon the waves began 

 breaking among the seals, and a few of the 

 outlying ones were floated away and their 

 black heads studded the water, while the air 

 was filled with departing gulls. A little later 

 nothing but a mass of swaying flipper-tails 

 and bobbing heads could be seen, and as the 

 waves receded only eleven seals were left 

 securely on the sand, while in the gull group 

 one old solemn black-backed and fifteen or 

 twenty herring gulls survived the onslaught. 

 Again the waves rolled in from all sides, and 

 continued their battering without pause ; only 

 one seal and one great black-backed gull re- 

 mained; soon they too were gone and nothing 

 but angry breakers were to be seen rushing 

 in all directions, as if anxious to find out and 

 pursue any creature that dared to oppose 

 them. 



It is easy to appreciate the motives of seals 

 that are reclining in delightful ease on a bar 

 under the rays of the summer's sun, but it 

 is rather surprising to find them assuming 

 similar positions in a heavy rain-storm, and 

 still more perplexing when one discovers 

 these same animals on the bar on a December 



173 



