April.] 



FUR-SEALS. 



75 



remarkably acute ; and for sagacity they are not a whit inferior to the 

 dog. This latter quality, however, is more strikingly exhibited in their 

 natural element than on land. 



As a proof of their docility, I may mention, that I have taken two 

 young pups, of two or three weeks old, taught them to feed, and kept 

 them with me, as pets, for two or three months ; in which time they 

 became so tame that they would eat out of my hand, — expressing for 

 me a great degree of fondness and affection, and soliciting my caresses 

 in the bleating voice of a young lamb. I should have probably had 

 them to this day, but some of the crew, whose enmity I had incurred 

 by a proper adherence to nautical discipline, found occasion to destroy 

 them both. 



The fur-seal may be known from the hair-seal by its being of a 

 much smaller size ; their noses are also smaller, and much more 

 pointed. In swimming, likewise, they have a sort of jumping motion, 

 not much unlike that of the porpoise ; frequently springing six or eight 

 feet clear of the water, which is a feat the hair-seal never performs, 

 except when excessively frightened, and even then they seldom succeed 

 in throwing their bodies clear of the water. 



When these animals are for the first time visited by man, they evince 

 no more apprehension of danger from their new guests than did the 

 natives of San Salvador when first visited by the Spaniards ; and the 

 confidence of the poor seals is requited in the same manner that theirs 

 was, — by robbery and murder ! In fact, they will lie still while their 

 companions are slaughtered and skinned. But they soon become ac- 

 quainted with the barbarous character of their invaders, withdraw their 

 ill-placed confidence, and avoid the fatal intimacy. They now acquire 

 habits of distrust and caution, and devise ways and means for counter- 

 acting human stratagem and treachery. They select more solitary 

 retreats, on the tops of rocks, beneath high projecting cliffs, from 

 which they can precipitate themselves into the water the moment they 

 perceive the approach of their arch enemy. 



While encamped in their rookeries, three or four sentinels are always 

 posted to keep a look-out while the others sleep ; and the moment a 

 boat makes its appearance, though it be a mile from the shore, these 

 faithful watchmen promptly give the alarm, when in an instant the 

 whole rookery is in motion. Every one makes for the surf with all 

 possible expedition ; so that by the time the boat reaches the shore, 

 they will nearly all be in the water, with the exception of a few females 

 that have pups or young ones to take care of. These will remain to 

 defend and protect their charge until the last moment ; when, if hard 

 pushed, they will seize their pups by the back of the neck with their 

 teeth, and dive into the surf, where they are obliged to hold the heads 

 of the pups above water to prevent their suffocation. 



The males, many of them, will also stand their ground, and fight 

 very hard for the young seals ; often till they perish in the noble cause. 

 In different voyages to these seas, I have had more than fifty seamen 

 very severely bitten in some of these contests ; yet it seldom happens 

 *hat a man gets bitten who is not afraid of them : but the moment they 

 perceive the slightest symptom of fear or cowardice in their enemy, 



