404 
THE SEAL. 
seems wonderful that the animals should be able to crawl up the steep and perpendicular sides 
of these holes, which are sometimes. three or four feet in depth, but they manage to perform 
this feat with entire ease. 
Taking advantage of these Seal-holes, the hunter shapes his course towards them, and 
according to the locality or the bent of his own genius, has recourse to one or other of the 
established methods by which Seals are killed. The easiest, but at the same time the tardiest 
and stupidest plan, is to build a kind of barricade of snow and ice at some distance from the 
Seal-holes, and to lie there concealed until the animal emerges from the sea, and makes its 
appearance upon the ice-field. As soon as it has travelled to some little distance from its 
spot of refuge, the hunter seizes the opportunity to inflict a fatal wound, and then uses his 
best endeavors to prevent his powerful prey from regaining its familiar element. 
Should the Seal ever reach the ice-hole, the entire labor of the day is lost, for the unsuc- 
cessful hunter is not only disappointed by the escape of his intended victim, but has also the 
mortification of seeing every Seal upon the ice-field scouring towards the ice-holes, and disap- 
pearing therein, no more to venture upon open ice that day. 
The second mode of Seal killing is much more sportsman-like, and needs not the long and 
wearisome watch behind the ice barrier. 
Leaving his sledge and dogs at a distance, but within convenient call, the cautious hunter 
takes his weapons, and proceeds silently and slowly towards the spot where he sees a Seal 
reposing itself upon the ice. As soon as he perceives the animal to betray signs of distrust, 
he drops prostrate upon the ice, and remains motionless until the Seal recovers from its alarm, 
and again composes itself to rest. From this moment, the man is obliged to cast away all 
human habits and movements, and while lying prostrate on the ice to imitate the actions of 
a Seal. 
Taking care to remain motionless whenever he sees the Seal looking in his direction, he 
creeps gradually towards his intended prey, in hopes of getting between the ice-ho]e and the 
Seal, in which case the death of the latter is almost inevitable. If, however, the relative 
position of man, Seal, and ice-hole be such that this manoeuvre becomes impossible, the hunter 
contrives to crawl up to the sleeping Seal, and with a single blow lays it lifeless upon 
the ice. 
The Crested Seal, or Hooded Seal, has been until quite lately misrepresented with respect 
to its peculiar nasal development. The latter is known to be a prolongation of the snout, 
much as in the Elephant Seal. Therefore, the figures given should not have the enlargement 
on the head, but it should be represented as protruding from the end of the nose. The adult 
males only have it. 
A fine example is in the American Museum of Natural History, in Central Park, measur- 
ing about twelve feet in length. The female is also there. 
The Common Seal is spread very widely over many portions of the globe, and is of very 
frequent occurrence upon our own coasts, where it is found in considerable numbers, much to 
the annoyance of the fishermen, who look upon it with intense hatred, on account of the 
havoc which it makes among the fish. 
It is rather a handsome animal, with its beautifully mottled skin and large intelligent 
eyes, and although not so large as other species which are also found upon our coasts, yields 
to none of them in point of beauty. The color of its fur is generally of a grayish-yellow, 
sprinkled with spots of brown, or brownish -black, which are larger and more conspicuous 
along the back than upon the sides. The under portions of the body are of a much lighter 
hue. The feet are short, and the claws of the hinder feet are larger than those of the anterior 
limbs. The total length of the adult Seal is seldom more than five feet, the head being about 
eight or nine inches long. 
This creature is wonderfully active both in water and on land, although its bodily powers 
are but awkwardly manifested when it is removed from the watery element in which it loves to 
roam. It is a persevering hunter of fish, chasing and securing them in a manner that greatly 
excites the wrath of the fishermen, who see their best captives taken away from them without 
