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peril : a continual sea rushes up the shore. Oppor- 
tunity is watched to put the canoe on the top of a 
surge undulating into the landing place. The canoe 
drives into the shelve on the breaking billow, and 
when aground an active and strong person leaps out 
and retains it, and not alone prevents it from reced- 
ing with the retiring wave, but drags it up, and keeps 
it from being filled with the succeeding surge. ‘There 
is no vegetation on this key. ‘The booby-birds re- 
pair there, but do not breed there. It is the con- 
sregating place of the seals alone. 
The natural difficulty attendant upon all access to 
Seal Key, sufficiently accounts for the meagre infor- 
mation about seals which prevails among the host of 
ego-gatherers who annually resort to these islands 
and shoals. Address in landing must be combined 
with hardihood and perseverance, for frequently be- 
fore a footing can be gained, the seals, the objects of 
attraction, have escaped to the waters, and continue 
to avoid the shore as long as intruders remain upon 
the island. A party who landed there on a visit 
made in 1846, surprized some five seals ashore.— 
They succeeded in immediately heading a bull (the 
epithet by which the male seal is distinguished)— 
both big and burly, and killed him. He proved to be 
an aged patriarch, with teeth nearly worn to the 
stumps, and a hide gashed and scared with sears, got 
in many a fierce fight, and about ten feet in length. 
In the scramble which the seal makes to regain 
the water, nothing is to be remarked, but the 
violence and impatience with which he jerks his body 
forward, but when he plunges from the shore into 
