US.S1NE SEAL. 
the flesh of the Females is said to resemble 
Lamb ; and the young, when roasted, to be as 
good as sucking Pig. 
These animals, from the accounts of Steller, 
and others, who have had opportunities to ob- 
serve them in their native regions, appear to 
live in families : each Male having from eight 
to fifty Females, whom he guards with the jea- 
lousy of an Eastern monarch. Though tbey 
lie bv thousands on the shores, each family 
keeps itself separate from the rest ; and some- 
times, including the young, amounts to consi- 
derably more than a hundred. During the 
three summer months, they lead a most indo- 
lent life : they arrive at the islands vastly fat ; 
but, while they remain there, are scarcely ever 
in motion. They confine themselves tor whole 
weeks to one spot ; sleep the greatest part of 
the time ; eat nothing ; and, except the em- 
ployment which the Females have in suckling 
their young, are totally inailive. 
The old Males, when deprived of their Fe- 
males, live apart, and are prodigiously splenetic 
and (quarrelsome. They g,row monstrously f^xt ; 
have 
