gradually subsid

the thought of 1 food, or the st

more deadly foe

seen to approach

investigations, th

minutes they ar

their temporary 1 A boat is lowere

after a time the ra

that the seal-hun

the fog is too he

result; but the

taking with us a

the ship, which

lifts for a mome

the firing party.

in dangerous prox

the sport is not

ment now, and

the great head of

the boat. We fil

chance; but the

renders the sho

anything but re

with the seals,

The doings of the seals to-day ver a pale to

That there are days when the linksmar will
In well to the dog has not escaped the deration of

the mildest sportsman, and it is a question with ex

perienced grouse shooters whether the links occasions are not frightened by some soaring how the lile rant above, into sullen disregard to the

of the sportsman, or the condition of the
phen these particular days renders the

ally so wary, dull and indifferent to their pa
Whatever may be the cause, we noticed that the
cept farther in on the ice, and were evidently
to take to the water when disturbed. Could it have

that same enemy, of whose presence we were
scives, was lurking there to attack them if they

tuned in! This we had no means of explaining
ses with our guns, firing as we did from the
deck or from the ice itself, when we vid

sit of some great seal whose position justifi
approaching in this wise, was the grater than on an
previous occasion. The ice today we op
And no diffealty in suling towards the diseas

But

zontally above, and support it on four feet, while others again, as the sloths, suspend the body and head downwards, moving more slowly amongst the branches of trees, with a series of successive clutches of their hooked claws; then there are the various modes by which the feet and hands are approximated to the ground they move upon. Either the foot is placed flat, as in the bear's way of walking, or the knuckles, the rims of the soles, or the tips of the claws are used as the fulcra ; the tail again is the means of support to some monkeys and the opossum. By means of the tail in these creatures, the body either hangs suspended or is swung forward in the progress of the animal. of all the odd movements, and as Dr. Murie says, "the most sadly ridiculous one, is the shuffling, wriggling, belly progressive gait of many of the seal tribe on terra firma." The walrus has been seen to waddle on all fours, and the eared seal has a somewhat similar power of locomotion, but the west iceseals differ little except in size from the ordinary seal of our coasts (unless when the coat is dry, when it is of a lighter colour), except in those cases which are far from infrequent, when there is no coat of fur whatever, and the great animals have almost lost all pretensions to form and outline owing to their inordinate fat. Then, indeed, there is no

SEALS OUT OF WATER.

149

mistaking them for any other; all trace in such specimens of the dark patch across the loins by which the species is recognised as the harp seal, or saddle-back seal, is lost. The distinguished anatomist we have quoted had a capital opportunity of observing the motions of the Greenland seal in confinement, and he has ably pointed out the difference of the gait of the saddle-back when compared with others. He states that this seal very often uses its fore-limbs, placing them on the ground in a semigrasping manner, and by an alternate use of them drags its body along. The hind legs, meantime, are either trailed behind slightly apart, or with opposed plantar surfaces slightly raised and shut stiffly behind. On uneven ground, or in attempting to climb, a peculiar lateral wriggling movement is made, and at such times, besides alternate palmar action, the body and the hind legs describe a sinuous semispiral or wave-track. And he goes on to state that it was not until he had well thought over this pawcreeping movement of the northern seal that he fully appreciated an incident related by Mr. Charles Davidson, which that gentleman had been witness to in one of his Arctic voyages.

"At more than a mile distance from their ship a solitary seal was noticed lying dozing near an " escape

hole on the ice. An Esquimaux thereupon, in his seal-skin garment and hood, formed quite like the head of the animal he was in pursuit of, and with lance and rope coil, slowly crawled towards the creature. For a while it apparently took little notice of him, but at last showed indications of being on the alert. The man by this time was still far off, but the moment he observed the seal watching him, he advanced perfectly sealfashion, and whilst it steadily gazed, evidently mistaking him for one of its own species, as he at times imitated to very life every phocine movement, he approached within a very short distance. Then suddenly starting up he sent his lance whirling into the creature's vitals ere it could scramble in safety to the blow-hole."