The naturalist's library

IPJEIE®BS.

Vkturalists Library.

NATVRA&IOT'S

Walrus or Sea Korse.

LONDON. CHATTO &WDJDUS

THE

NATURALIST'S LIBRARY.

EDITED BY

SIR WILLIAM JARDINE, BART.,

P.B.S.E., F.L.S., ETC., ETC.

VOL. XXV.

MAMMALIA.

AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA.
BY ROBERT HAMILTON, ESQ. M.D,,

F.B.8.E., M.W.S., ETC.

W. H. LIZARS, 3, ST. JAMES' SQUARE.

LONDON :
HENRY G. BOHN, YORK ST., COVENT GARDEN.

BIOLOGY

LIBRARY

G

CONTENTS.

PAGE

MEMOIR OF 3V1. FRANCOIS PERONT, . . 17

INTRODUCTION, ...... 37

GROUP I. THE AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA, . . 4,3

Comparative Anatomy, ..... 4«9

Habits and Disposition, . . . . . 71

Capture, ....... 81

Products, 88

Seal- Trade, 96

Classification observed, . . . . • 98
THE WALRUS, OR SEA- HORSE.

Trichechus. Plate 1 103

THE SEAL GROUP, OR PHOCID^E.

The Proper Seals, or Phocae, . . . . 125

GKNUS CALOCEPHALUS OF M. F. CUVIER, . . 127
The Common Seal of the Scottish Coast,

Ph. Vitulina. Plate II. . . . 128
The Common Seal of the French Coast,

Phoca vitulina. Plate III. . . . 139

CONTENTS.

The Marbled Seal, according to Cuvier,

Phoca discolor. Plate IV.
The Bearded, or Great Seal,

Phoca barbata. Plate V.
The Pied Seal,

Phoca bicolor. Plate VI.
The Harp, or Greenland Seal,

Ph. Grcenlandica. Plate VII.
The Ocean Seal,

Ph. Oceanica. Plate VII.* .
The Rough, or Bristled Seal,

Ph. Hispida. Plate VI 1 1.
The Hare- Like Seal,

Ph. Leporina. Plate IX.
GENUS HALICHOERUS.
The Grey Seal,

Halichcerus Griseus. Plate X.
GENUS STENORHYNCUS.
The Small- Nailed Seal,

Ph. Leptonyx. Plate XI.
The Leopard Seal,

Ph. Leopardina. Plate XII.
GENUS PELAGIUS.
The Monk Seal,

Ph. Monachus. Plate XIII. .
THE STEMMATOPUS, . ....
The Crested Seal,

Ph. Christata. Plate XIV. .
The Mitred, or Hooded Seal,

Phoca Mitrata. Plate XV. .
GENUS MACRORHINUS. ....
The Proboscis Seal, or Elephant Seal,

PA. Proboscidea. Plate XVI.

The Female. Plate XVII.
THE OTARIES, .....

CONTENTS.

SEA- LIONS. TPACE

GENUS PLATYRHINCCS, 230

Sea-Lion of Steller,

Phoca Jubata, 232

The Sea- Lion of Forster. Plate XVIII. . 237

The Sea-Lion of Pernetty. Plate XIX. . 244.

GENUS ARTOCEPHALUS.

The Pusilla, or Cape Otary,

Otaria Pusilla. Plate XX. . . . 250
The Ursine Seal. The Sea- Bear of Steller,

O. Ursina. Plate XXI. ... 253

The Ursine Seal, or Sea-Bear of Forster.

Plate XXII 261

Sea-Bear. From Specimen in the British Museum.

Plate XXI 1 1. 266

Lesson's Otary,

O. Molossina. Plate XXIII. . . 266

THE ASH-COLOURED AND WHITE-NECKED OTARIES, 269
The Common Fur-Seal of Commerce,

O. Falklandina. Plate XXV. . . 271

Doubtful Seals and Otaries,

Phoca Fasciata, &c 279

Alleged Sea-Ape, 280

GROUP 1 1. THE HERBIVOROUS CETACEA, . . 284
GENUS MANATUS. (The Mermaid.)
The Manatee of the West Indies,

Manatus Americanus. Plate XXVI. . 294
Manatus Senegalensis, .... 298
GENUS DUGUNGUS.
The Dugong,

Dugungus Indicus. Plate XXVII. . 300

GENUS STELLERUS.

Stellerus Borealis, , 307

GBOUP III. SEA MONSTERS.

THE GREAT SEA-SERPENT, . . . . 313

Scoliophis Atlanticus f

CONTENTS.

PARE

Sea- Serpent, as seen off the British Isles, . 313

, off the Coast of America, 317

Hans Egede's Account. Plate XXVIII. 322

Pontoppidon's. Plate XXIX. . 33

THE KRAKEN. Plate XXX 327

PORTRAIT OF PERON, .....
Vignette Title-page. — Walrus Hunt,

In all Thirty-three Plates in this Volume.

MEMOIR OF PEANCOIS PEEON.

MEMOIR

M. FRANCOIS PERON.

^%>

Memoir of M. Peron, Correspondent de T Institute
Membre de la Societe de Medicine, fyc. $c.

IN the following Memoir, we invite attention to a
l..rief sketch of the eventful life of the illustrious
Peron, whose course was alike short and brilliant.
In early life, disabled from further service in that
bloody field, misnamed the field of glory, for which
by nature he was peculiarly fitted, but where he
witnessed much that almost broke his heart, he be-
took himself to the study of Natural History, and,
after a period of ardent application, he spent se-
veral most busy years in the dreary regions of the
Antarctic Seas — there working as Naturalist had
never worked before. He then returned to Paris,
loaded with the spoils of his successful industry

a

')<3 MEMOIR OF

aLu skill, and when the first fruits were just begin
ning to give promise of a most glorious harvest, he
was himself cut down in early spring, as is feelingly
expressed in our interesting portrait, which, with
its motto, may prove a homfiy to every heart : — II
s'est desseche comme un arbre charge des plus
beaux fruits qui succombe a 1'exces de sa fecondite.

FRANCOIS PERON was born at Cerilly, in August
1775. From his earliest years his intelligence ex-
hibited itself by his extreme curiosity, and an insa-
tiable desire for information. Scarcely had he
learnt to spell, when his passion for reading became
feo strong, that, to gratify it, he had recourse to all
ffiose little arts to which children usually resort to
procure their play. The death of his father having
deprived him of all resources, his relatives wished
to engage him in some lucrative trade. Almost in
despair at the thoughts of being torn from his fa-
vourite delights, he prevailed on his mother to send
him to the College of Cerilly, where the Principal,
delighted with the tastes of his scholar, became
much attached to him, and spared no pains on his
Jmprovement. His elementary studies being fi-
nished, he advised him to become an ecclesiastic,
and the curate of the town consented to take him
under his roof, and superintend his professional
pursuits.

Up to this period, Peron, absorbed in his studies,
was quite ignorant of the extraordinary events
A-hich were then agitating the world. He .eard of

M. FRANCOIS PERON. 19

them with astonishment ; and, seduced by those
principles of false liberty which led to the Revolu-
tion, inflamed by what is misnamed patriotism, and
seduced by the examples of ancient history, lie
longed to embrace the profession of arms. He then
quitted his home, betook himself to Moulins, and
joined the battalion of L'Allier, towards the close
of the eventful year 1792. He was soon sent to
the army of the Rhine, and found himself at the
Siege of Landeau, where the garrison maintained
a most obstinate defence. After the siege was
raised, he rejoined the army in the field, fought in
the battle of Wissembourg against the Prussians,
and was again present when the French experienced
a defeat at Kaiserslautern. On this occasion Peron
was wounded and taken prisoner ; he was soon
conducted first to Wesel, and then to the Citadel of
Magdebourg. It was many years after the occur-
rence of these events, when, on the bosom of the
wide Atlantic, he entered in his private journal
the following reflection : — " Alas ! how many ex-
cesses and villanies have soiled the trophies of our
soldiers ! — how many a deep sigh have they wrung
from my heart ! I could not, indeed, restrain them ;
but I never joined in them : though I was young and
enthusiastic, yet the rights of misfortune were al-
ways sacred in my eyes."

During his captivity he gave himself up to study,
to which even when on service he was much ad-
dicted ; and now that he had no other employment,
he devoted himself, without distraction, to the read

20 MEMOIR OF

ing of history, and the careful perusal of voyages
and travels. Being liberated from prison, in ex-
change, in 1794, he was discharged from the army
on account of the loss of an eye, and returned
home in 1795, at the age of twenty.

After remaining several months in the bosom of
his family, wishing for some active and honourable
employment, he solicited the Minister of the Interior
that he might become an eleve of the Medical School
of Paris, where, for three years, he not only studied
Physic, but also devoted himself to Zoology and
Comparative Anatomy, and then took his degree
His previous study of Mathematics, of Languages,
of Philosophy, and, most of all, his own reflections,
had given him such a methodical turn, that he was
enabled to arrange and classify his knowledge with
wonderful rapidity, in every department of science,
and to an extent that astonished his associates.

But, whilst ambitious of distinction, and enamour-
ed with study, a still stronger passion now took
possession of his heart ; he loved with all his consti-
tutional enthusiasm; but his suit being rejected, on
account of his poverty, he was almost driven to
despair. His distress was extreme, and he took a
disgust even to his country, in which his cruel dis-
appointment was often forced on his notice, and
where he no longer expected either comfort or peace,
Not being eligible for the army, he looked round
for some other adventurous career, and the Govern-
ment Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere, con-
of two frigates, Le Geographe and Le Na

M FRANCOIS PERON. 21

turalist, being on the eve of departure, he solicited
an engagement in the service ; but the complement
of Savants being filled up, his offer was rejected.
Under these circumstances, he applied to M. de
Jussieu, one of the Commissioners for the appoint-
ment of Naturalists, imploring his good offices, and
at the same time explaining his views with an en-
thusiasm which manifested he was capable of exe-
cuting what he so boldly planned. Jussieu listened
with astonishment, and advised him to present a
written explanation of his plan. He then recounted
to his colleagues his conversation with M. Peron ;
and, in concert with Lacepede, detei mined not to
repel a young man in whom was conjoined such
extraordinary energy, with an extent of information
much above his years. Some days after, M. Peron
read to the Institute a Memoir on the importance of
adding to the other Savants of the Expedition a
person who was at once a Physician and a Natu-
ralist, and who would especially undertake to make
researches on Anthropology, or the natural history
of man. Every one was delighted with the sug-
gestion, and the Minister conferred on Peron the
appointment of Zoologist to the Expedition. The
short time that was now at his disposal he em-
ployed in obtaining from Messrs Lacepede, Cuvier,
and others, such hints as would be useful in his
researches. He determined to devote his energies
principally to Zoology, as that portion of Natural
History which presented the widest and most in-
viting field. He procured the necessary books and

22 MEMOIR OF

instruments ; bid adieu to his relations at Cerilly,
and, smothering that affection which had so over-
whelmingly affected him, he proceeded to Havre.
The Expedition sailed on the J9th October 1800;
he, with most of the Savants, being on board Le
Geographe.

Thougli several campaigns had familiarized M.
Peron with privation, yet, on board of ship, he found
himself more put about than he anticipated. Having
arrived after all the others were accommodated,
there was but a pitiful corner left for him ; however, in
the midst of agitation and bustle, he retained all his
composure and self-possession, and did not lose a
moment. The very day he went on board he com-
menced his meteorological observations, which he
constantly repeated every six hours, and which
were never interrupted during the whole course of
the voyage. Shortly after sailing, he made some
important experiments regarding the temperature of
the water of the ocean, which demonstrated it was
colder in proportion as the depth increased. On
reaching the Equator, the whole crew were greatly
astonished by an appearance which presented 'itself.
One night, when the heavens were very dark and
cloudy, a bright band, as of phosphorus, covered
the water at the horizon ; presently the ocean seemed
in a flame, and sparks of fire appeared to rise from
its surface. Our voyagers had often witnessed the
phosphorescence of the sea, but they had not seen
the aurora borealis, for which they took it ; but, on
advancing, they discovered that this extraordinary

M. FRANCOIS PERON. 23

light was produced by a countless multitude of small
animals which appeared like sparks of fire. Many
of them were brought on board, and M. Peron
found, on examination, that they successively as-
sumed all the colours of the rainbow, — at first
shining with great brilliancy, till their usual irrita-
bility being enfeebled, their colour faded, and en-
tirely disappeared.

The impression which this phenomenon made on
Peron, and the peculiarities presented by the or-
ganization of these zoophites, determined him to in-
vestigate this class of animals ; and, during the
whole of his voyage, he* and his friend Lesueur were
ever watching at the ship's side, that they might
collect all they could procure. No new object in
Natural History can be accurately comprehended
without the aid of figures, and hence the great
importance of designing, to a Naturalist. Peron
was no great artist himself, but his friend Lesueur, who
was, moreover, an excellent observer, drew, under
his direction, those gelatinous animals whose forms
and colours changed every moment after they were
taken from the water. The two friends laboured in
concert ; the one painted, the other described ; in
their work they had but one soul, and neither
wished to exalt himself at the expense of the other.
After a voyage of five months they reached the
Isle of France. Here they completed their stores
for the Antarctic Seas ; and some of the Naturalists,
not receiving the necessaries they expected, and
discontented with the treatment they experienced,

24 MEMOIR OF

remained in the colony, whilst Peron considered
himself bound by his engagement. Our limits do
not permit us to follow him through all the de-
tails of his adventures, but we shall stop a moment
at those spots which formed the principal scenes of
his labours.

Sailing from the Isle of France, they shaped their
course to the Western Shores of New Holland, and
anchored in a bay which, from the vessel which
first rode in it, they named Geography Bay.
They then skirted along the Western Coast, sur-
veying many harbours, and anchored for refresh-
ment at the Island of Timor.

It is chiefly to Peron's stay in this spot that we
are indebted for his labours on the Mollusca and
Zoophites. The sea is shallow, and the excessive
heat seems to multiply prodigiously these singular
animals, and to adorn them with the brightest co-
louring. Peron spent nearly the whole day on the
shore, plunging into the water in the midst of the
surf, always at the danger of his health, and some-
times of his life. With the shades of evening he
returned from his work, loaded with numerous
specimens, which he reviewed, and of which his
friend sketched the most remarkable objects.
Neither the misfortunes which had befallen the
other Naturalists, nor the dangers with which he
himself was threatened, had any power to relax
Peron's zeal. Nor did his industry, in collecting the
innumerable productions of nature, hinder him from
finding time for observations of a different kind.

M. FRANCOIS PERON. 25

He spent many days in penetrating into the inte-
rior of the island, and in examining the aborigines.
Though he did not understand their language, ne
possessed such a ready power in comprehending
their gestures, and the inarticulate language of na-
ture, that, to a great extent, he understood them ;
and he had the same success with the savages of
New Holland and Van Dieman's Land.

Struck with the fact that, during their stay at
Timor, his companions were almost all sick, whilst
the natives were not suffering, he set himself to in-
vestigate the cause of the difference, and discovered
it in the use which the inhabitants make of Betel,
or water-pepper.

On leaving Timor, they sailed direct for the
South Cape of Van Dieman's Land. After having
surveyed its Eastern portion, they entered the Bass
Straits, and then followed the South Coast of New
Holland. Here they suffered extremely ; and when
they reached Port Jackson, their condition, from
privation and disease, was such, that only four of
the crew could perform duty; so that, had they
been detained a few days longer at sea, they must
all have perished.

On reaching this friendly port, Peron again found
himself in the midst of civilized society, and re-
ceived many marks of kindness and consideration.
But instead of resting from his fatigues, he only
enlarged the limits of his labours. He prosecuted
his researches into the physical history of man, by
studying the civil and political constitution of this

26 MEMOIR OF

most wonderful colony, whose laws, at once sage
and severe, have converted highwaymen and rob-
bers into industrious labourers; and where depraved
women, without character, have abandoned their
vicious courses, and become the respected mothers
of thriving families.

After their departure from Port Jackson, whence
Le Naturalist was dispatched to France, another
voyage, no less hazardous than the former, was
undertaken. Le Geographe proceeded to examine
the islands at the western part of Bass Straits,
again to explore the coast of New Holland, skirting
along it as far as the Gulf of Carpentare. The
dangers increased on every hand on these unsur-
veyed coasts, and were most severely experienced
by the Naturalists, who lost no opportunity of
penetrating into the interior. Peron, especially,
displayed remarkable courage and activity. He
went in quest of the rude savages, without being
alarmed at their perfidy or ferocity ; he also col-
lected a great number of animals of all kinds ; he
seized every opportunity of examining into their
habits, to discover any that might be useful to
mariners on the desert land, or would be ca-
pable of domestication, or might be naturalized in
Europe, or, finally, might become objects of com-
merce, for their fur, oil, or other products. Of the
five Zoologists who had been appointed by govein-
ment, two having remained at the Isle of France,
and two having died at the commencement of the
second voj'age, Peron alone remained for the per-

M. FRANCOIS F'ERON. 27

formance of the duty, and he did it all. Engrossed
in the great designs in which he was embarked, he
regarded not the privations to which he was sub-
jected. Shortly after their departure from Timor,
the captain having refused the spirits which were
necessary for the preservation of the Mollusca that
were collected, he appropriated the whole of his
personal allowance to this purpose ; and, what was
still more remarkable, his enthusiasm spread to
many of his companions, who followed his example,
and made the same sacrifice.

It was, especially, in the midst of dangers that
Peron exhibited the energy of his character, his
powers being redoubled when he encountered difficul-
ties. During storms he used to work as a common
sailor, and all the while would be observing as
composedly as if he were ashore. No event diverted
his attention from whatever promised a useful re-
sult, and he was always quick in improving circum-
stances. Having gone ashore on King's Island with
M. Lesueur, and several other of his companions, a
sudden gale drove the ship to sea, and they saw
nothing of her for fifteen days. Peron did not for
an instant lose his equanimity ; he patiently prose-
cuted his researches without foreboding the evils
which might betide. During his stay on this island,
whose most magnificent vegetation presents nothing
for the nourishment of man, he, without shelter,
and in despite of the violence of the tempests,
collected more than 180 species of Mollusca and
Zoophites ; he, moreover, studied the nistory of

'/* MEMOIR OK

those gigantic seals, the Proboscidea, which assem-
ble in thousands on the coasts, and whose history
forms a striking feature of our volume ; and. he
examined the habits and mode of life of a small
colony of eleven miserable fishers, who, separated
from all the world, prepare in this place the oil
and skins of the Seals, which the English traders
come at distant intervals to procure. These poor
people live in huts, and feed upon the Emu or Cas-
sowary and Kangaroos, caught by dogs trained for
the purpose, and upon the Wombats they have do-
mesticated. They readily shared their meagre fare
with the strangers, and treated them with a hospi-
tality which is often more strikingly exhibited among
a simple and feeble race, than in the midst of civil-
ized society.

During their last sojourn at Timor, Peron com-
pleted the observations he had previously com-
menced there. He had frequent intercourse with
the natives, and now more mature^ studied their
manners, government, and character, because he
better understood their language, which is a dialect
of the Malay. With no other associate than his
friend Lesueur, he did not fear to chase the nume-
rous crocodiles which, to the inhabitants, are ob-
jects alike of terror and veneration. Without other
help they killed one of these animals, and prepared
the skeleton, which now adorns the gallery of the
Paris Museum.

Being prevented by contrary winds from touching
at New Guinea, they returned to the Isle of France,

M. FRANCOIS PERON. 29

where they remained five months. There Feron,
after examining his collections, devoted himself to
the study of its fish and Mollusca ; and, notwith-
standing the exertions of preceding Naturalists, ne
collected many new species. After this, they re-
mained a month at the Cape, where he improved
the time by making the first accurate examination
of the singular conformation of a tribe of the Hot-
tentots, known by the name of Bushmen, many of
whom happened at the time to be at the Cape.

Finally, after an absence of three years and a
half, he landed at L'Orient in April 1 804, and im-
mediately proceeded to Paris. He was there en-
gaged for several months in arranging the specimens,
and preparing the catalogue, after which they were
all deposited in the Museum. Peron then hastened
to Cerilly, to visit his mother and sisters. The
exhausted state of his health, arising from his long
continued fatigue, and still more from the nascent
germ of that disease, which was even now working
in his frame, made repose absolutely necessary; and,
happy in finding himself in the bosom of his family,
after having done good service, he thought little on
the recompence of his labours. He soon, however,
heard that some were endeavouring to persuade the
government that the grand objects of the expedition
had failed ; and this immediately brought him to
Paris to refute the calumnious imputation. He
visited the Minister of Marine, and, with him, found
M. de Fleurieu, and several other savants. Before
them all, in a modest and respectful tone, but at the

30 MEMOIR OP

same time with confident freedom, he demonstrated
what his companions had done for geography, mi-
neralogy, and botany ; he enumerated the objects
which had been procured, the drawings which had
been executed, and the observations and descrip-
tions which had been amassed, saying but little of
the dangers which had been endured, and the sacri-
fices which had been made in obtaining the collec-
tion. Questions were put to him, which he answered
promptly and satisfactorily; and the impression
made upon the minister was such, that, after request-
ing him to visit him at all times, he engaged his
services, to prepare for publication the nautical
portion of the voyage, and promised to speak to
the Minister of the Interior concerning the histori-
cal part. Accordingly, he had the same success
with this latter functionary, who entertained him in
the most flattering manner, and appointed him,
along with his friend Lesueur, to publish the ac-
count of the whole voyage, including a description
of those objects which were new in Natural His-
tory.

Thus was Peron, all at once, placed in the ranks
of celebrated men ; he was courted and surrounded
by admirers, and took pleasure in relating what he
had witnessed in his voyages ; and the interest with
which he was listened to often induced him to en-
ter into minute details.

In the meanwhile, the collection, now arranged
in the Museum, was to be examined, and a commis-
sion named by the Institute was appointed to report

M. FRANCOIS PERON. 31

to Government. This commission was composed
of Messrs Laplace, Bougainville, Fleurieu, Lace-
pede, and Cuvier; and their report, drawn up by
Baron Cuvier, bore that the collection contained
more than 100,000 specimens of animals, amongst
which were many new genera ; that the number tf
new species was more than 2500, and that Peron
and Lesueur alone, had made us acquainted with
more animals than the whole of the travelling Natu-
ralists of modern times ; and, finally, that the de-
scriptions of Peron, prepared upon a uniform plan,
embracing all the details of the external organiza-
tion, establishing their characters, in a positive
manner, exhibiting their habits, and. the economic
uses to which they might be applied, would survive
the revolutions of arrangements and systems.

Although Peron was now chiefly occupied with
his great work, the account of the voyage, yet he
deemed it expedient to detach from it a variety of
separate memoirs, which he read to the Institute ,
the Museum, and La Societe de la Medicine.
Among these was the memoir on the genus Pyro-
soma, that Zoophite so pre-eminently phosphores-
cent, of which we have already spoken ; another
was on the temperature of the sea ; another on the
petrified Zoophites which were found in the moun-
tains of Timor ; and others on the dysentery of
hot climates ; on the Betel ; on preserving the
health of seamen ; on the localities of Seals ; and
on the strength of savages when compared with
civilized men; lastly, he undertook a complete hi*

32 MEMOIR OP

tory of the Medusa, concerning which, he had made
many observations, and of which he collected a num
her of new species.

In due time, the first volume of his " Voyage aux
Terres Australes" appeared, after being long delayed
by the plates, and an opportunity was then afforded
of judging of Peron's merits. We find it distinguished
by the most scrupulous accuracy with regard to
facts, a merit of primary importance in works of
this kind. The descriptions of the soil and climate,
and the meteorology, present phenomena wrhich are
extremely curious ; and the comparison of our
author's views with those of previous voyagers, often
lead to general results. The sketches of the wan-
dering tribes of New Holland, and those inhabiting
Van Dieman's Land, make us acquainted with two
races of savages of shocking ferocity, and expose
the limit of the misery and degradation of the human
race. No voyager, with the exception of Mr
George Forster, (who, like Peron, is often quoted
in the following pages,) has been so successful in
seizing the physical and moral qualities which dis-
tinguish different tribes, and in marking the connec-
tion between their organization, manners, intelli-
gence, and numbers, and the resources which their
soil afforded them ; and if Forster's narrative is
superior, from the excellence of its style, our voy-
ager has the advantage of being free from every
systematic bias, and has withheld from his sketches
the colouring of romance.

Peron lived to finish onlv the first half of the

M. FRANCOIS PERON. 33

second volume, which is in no way inferior to the
first ; his sufferings not preventing him from pro-
ceeding to the last with undiminished care.

Our indefatigable author had also made some
progress in another work of more than ordinary
magnitude and importance. This was a compa-
rison of the different races of mankind. He had
collected observations on this point from every
traveller and physiologist, and had himself examined
the natives of the Cape, of Timor, and those of New
Holland and Van Dieman's Land ; his design being
to present a philosophical history of different nations,
considered in their physical and moral constitution.
He proposed, vainly as it proved, not to publish
this work, which had been the subject of his thoughts
since his first starting, till after he had made three
other voyages ; one to the northern parts of Europe
and Asia, a second into India, and the third to
America : to devote fifteen years to this task did
not appear to him too great a sacrifice ; the plan
was formed, the various inquiries were arranged,
and he unceasingly occupied himself in finding the
answer to the proposed problems. He had prepared
several memoirs on this subject, which he con-
signed to oblivion, because they were not free from
error. The fragment which contains the history of
the natives of Timor is the only one nearly finished,
the figures which were to accompany it, having been
designed on the spot.

His portfolios included also a description of the
quadrupeds, birds, and fishes he had met with, and

c

34 MEMOIR OF

especially of the invertebral animals, whose history
he had undertaken, and of which his friend had
made more than a thousand drawings. These ani-
mals still exist in spirit of wine; the drawings were
executed from the recent animals ; and M. Lesueur,
who assisted in collecting them, could supply much
information concerning their habits, and their mode
of life.

For a systematic analysis of the different memoirs
which Peron read to the Institute, and other learned
bodies, and an exhibition of the new facts and the
important results which these papers contain, we re-
fer the student to an eloge in the 7th vol. of Mem.
de la Soc. d' Emulation, wherein M. Alard has per
formed the task in a manner that admits of no im-
provement.

With regard to his moral character, Peron not
only gained the esteem and friendship of those with
whom he associated, but also acquired an extraor-
dinary ascendancy over them. He was also most
disinterested and generous. The minister conceiv-
ing that his small pension was altogether insufficient
for his requirements, wished to appoint him to some
lucrative and honourable post. " Sir," he replied,
" I have devoted my life to Science, and no bribe
would tempt me to spend my time in other pursuits.
If I had an office I should discharge its duties, but
I am not at liberty so to dispose of myself." When
he was entrusted with the preparation of the account
of the voyage, he betook himself to a small apart-
ment near the Museum, along with his friend Le-

M. FRANCOIS PERON. 35

sueur, and there lived almost penuriously, with the
sole object of increasing the comforts of his family.

Meanwhile, his pectoral complaint made fearful
progress, he suffered severely from it, and his cough
and fever never left him. He soon came to the
conviction it was incurable; and that it was useless
to take care of himself, or to cease from his arduous
labours. Being urged, however, to go to Nice, he
thought it his duty to comply, and the journey and
climate, for a time, checked his malady. Upon this
he immediately recommenced his labours with fresh
ardour. He went out to sea in an open boat, and
spent whole days on the water collecting mollusca
and fishes, prosecuting those inquiries to which he
was devoted ; and it was only that he might not
distress his inseparable friend, that he would ever
retreat from the rain and cold, to which he fre-
quently exposed himself. The letters he wrote
from Nice were absolutely enthusiastic ; he painted in
the liveliest colours the joys imparted by the study
of Nature, and was altogether inebriated with some
discoveries he had made. But, after all, he was con-
scious the tide of life was fast ebbing ; he rejoiced
he had obtained a few months respite, and he so
improved them, that the collection he there made
was extremely valuable

On his return to Paris, Peron's health became
worse than ever, and he had now no hopes whatever
of his restoration. He anticipated his approaching
end with surprising tranquillity, and retired to the
place of his nativity to finish his days. He bid a

36 MEMOIR OF M. FRANCOIS PERON.

last adieu to his friends at Paris, a duty most pain-
ful to himself, and to them. From an opinion en-
tertained of the sanatary virtue of a cow-house, his
bed was prepared in a building of that description,
which belonged to an old school-fellow and friend,
and where every comfort was supplied. When
he required nourishment, his sisters, or his un-
wearied friend, milked the cows, and gave him the
warm milk, which he took with pleasure. He was
now surrounded by those who were most dear to
him ; and disentangled from all thoughts of his re-
putation, he often said that his last days were the
happiest of his life. His friend read a great deal
to him, which afforded him gratification. Every
thing like irritability and impatience had now dis-
appeared, and his reflections for the future were
much engaged about those he left behind. In these
circumstances his strength rapidly declined, and he
breathed his last on the 14th December 1810,
another proof that Science has its martyrs, and that
its surest victims are often its most ardent and suc-
cessful votaries.

INTRODUCTION.

WE purpose, in our present volume, to introduce
to the notice of our readers those animals which
most Naturalists class under the name of AMPHIBIA,
and, more properly, as Amphibious Carnivora.
This interesting group consists of two families, the
Walrus or Sea-Horse, and those animals which
are popularly known under the name of Seals, in-
cluding a vast variety of creatures which differ greatly
from each other. All these animals are mainly aqua-
tic, but frequently also resort to land, where they re-
main for days, and even for weeks and months. To
the consideration of these Amphibia, we mean to add
that of the HERBIVOROUS CETACEA ; not because,
with some Zoologists, we judge this to be their
more natural position, but, we are free to confess,
solely for convenience sake; because, though, in a
former volume, we were solicitous to associate the
herbivorous with the ordinary Cete, or true Whales,
vet we found that the latter formed so extensive and
important a subject, that, in doing justice to them,

38 INTRODUCTION.

we could not overtake the other. These herbivo-
rous Cete differ, in many important particulars, from
the true Whales. They are not like them blowers,
with a spiracle upon the summit of the head, but
have regular nostrils like quadrupeds ; nor do they
frequent the deep ocean, but habitually resort to the
sea-shores, and the estuaries of rivers. In both
these particulars the herbivorous Cete associate more
closely with the Amphibia; but from them, again,
they differ in their structure, in that their extremi-
ties, more especially the posterior, almost wholly
disappear; whilst they are still present, though
much modified, in the Seals ; and also, because
they never leave the water, whilst, as we have al-
ready noted, the Amphibia often do. To these two
groups we propose to add a third. The term Cete,
we remark, though now confined in the manner above
referred to, was, by the ancients, used in a wider sense,
being made to include, along with the Whales, those
animals which they regarded as Sea-Monsters. We
have but very obscure intimation of what these
Monsters really were ; they were not true or com-
mon fish, but were reputed to be prodigious ani-
mals, whose form and nature were imperfectly un-
derstood; and which were peculiarly the objects of
vulgar wonder and superstitious dread. Now, it so
happens that, even at the present day, it is asserted
that such Monsters exist, whose characters all the
assiduity of Naturalists has not hitherto satisfac-
torily ascertained, and the consideration of these will
form the concluding portion of this volume. The

INTRODUCTION. 39

most remarkable of these creatures are the SEA-SER-
PENT and the KRAKEN ; and, as some allusion to these
animals would naturally be expected in the Natural-
ist's Library, so no occasion could be found so
eligible as the present. The Amphibia, then, and
the herbivorous Cete, the Sea-Serpent and Kraken,
will form, at least, a natural combination.

These creatures must prove a peculiarly interest-
ing subject to every inquiring mind. Most of our
readers are probably aware, that some of these ani-
mals constitute the ground-work of the many strange
stories which, from age to age, have been current
concerning Sirens, Mermen. Mermaids, &c. Very
decidedly, we say, that these were not, and are not,
altogether baseless figments, though much error
prevailed, and sober truth was obscured. Every
intelligent individual will be forward to inquire
which of these animals is the type of these far-famed
and ill-defined beings ; and, we may here state, in
a word, that we shall take an opportunity of an-
swering this question, and of showing that several
distinct kinds of animals have given rise to these
interesting narratives

The truth is, that much remains to be done in
elucidation of all the groups of which we propose to
treat ; and, certainly, not least of the Seals. Most
individuals must have heard of the fleets that are
fitted out to hunt these creatures within the Ant-
arctic, as well as the Arctic Zone. One species
extends to the length of twenty-five and thirty feet,
with a more than ordinary proportionate bulk, so

40 INTRODUCTION.

that it reaches to half the dimensions of the Great
Greenland Whale. In comparison of this extraor-
dinary size, all merely terrestrial animals sink into
insignificance, and hence we cannot wonder that
this animal has received the name of the Elephant
Seal. There are others which attain very huge
dimensions ; and most well educated persons must
have heard something of those objects of astonish-
ment, described by mariners under the various names
of Sea-Lions and Sea-Leopards, Sea-Bears and
Wolves, Sea- Horses, Cows, and Calves, Sea-Dogs,
Swine, Hares, and Apes, which, we shall show, are
nothing more than some of the names applied to the
animals we are about to describe, and which are
really not less interesting than their terrestrial name-
sakes.

" In the waters we may see all creatures.
Even all that on the earth are to be found,
As if the world were in deep waters drown'd."

It must not, however, be supposed, that it is from
approximating to the marvellous that our subject
derives its only, or even its chief claim to attention,
A moment's consideration evinces that the external
circumstances of most of these animals, and, conse-
quently, their habits, must be altogether peculiar.
The Amphibious Carnivora are formed on the same
general model as other quadrupeds, and yet the land
is to them a strange and unwonted element. Their
usual abode is in the sea ; and hence there must be
interesting modifications whereby their structure is

INTRODUCTION. 41

adapted to the water. This will lead to a short
elucidation of their Comparative Anatomy, emi-
nently exhibiting the workings of creative power.
We have also hinted that they are objects of com-
mercial and national importance. For them navies
float, and the bold seaman penetrates the polar seas,
and circumnavigates the globe. To him, therefore,
it is an object of deep importance, accurately to
Know, and speedily, and certainly, to meet and to
capture his prey. This leads to inquiries regarding
the resorts of these animals, their habits, their
energies, and powers, all of which are curious and
interesting. Hence, then, we shall be led to dwell
somewhat both on their dispositions and intellectual
endowments, whilst we must not overlook the
valuable products which lead to their capture, and
the whole varied details of the animating adventure.
And now we will, in a word, indicate to those
who may not have much acquaintance with the
subject, that it is one peculiarly beset with difficul-
ties, arising chiefly from the retired retreats and
habits of the group. We shall do this, however,
in other words than our own. " Les phoques,"
says M. F. Cuvier, in 1826, " sont generalement,
des animaux tres peu connues." And Desmarest,
" The various species of Phoca are as yet but little
known ; the descriptions of travellers, and of most
Naturalists, are not sufficiently minute to enable us
to distinguish them ; and it is probable that their
number is much more considerable than is at pre-
sent supposed." — (Mam. p. 238.) And, once more,

42 INTRODUCTION.

the respected author of The History of British
Quadrupeds, in 1 836-7, remarks — " There is not, I
believe, a single group among the whole of the Mam-
miferous class, which is at present so indistinctly
known, and of which the species are so much con-
founded, as the Seals."

How far we have succeeded in elucidating the
subject must be left to the judgment of others. To
a few facts, however, concerning our plates, we
shall take the liberty of adverting. Our volume
is, we believe, the vehicle of delineating, for the
first time, four of the most important species of the
group. These are the animal which we regard as the
Bearded Seal, (No. 5 ;) — the one which, on high
authority, we have been led to understand is the fe-
male Sea- Elephant, (No. 17 ;) — that one which we
have called the Sea- Lion of Pernetty, (No. 19 ;) and
the Fur-Seal of Commerce, (No. 25 ;) to which we
may add, that the Sea- Leopard (No. 12) has not, so
far as we know, appeared in any work on Natural
History. The drawings of these five are in fact ori-
ginal, four being taken from specimens in the Royal
Museum of the Edinburgh University, and for infor-
mation regarding which, we are proud to acknow-
ledge our obligations to the distinguished Professor
of Natural History; whilst the remaining one has
been derived from the splendid specimen which graces
the Liverpool Museum, and for further details con-
cerning which we must refer to the body of the
work. Besides these, there are ten other species,
taken from French, Russian, and American autho-

INTRODUCTION. 43

rities, which are now, for the first time, presented to
the British Public. These are " the true P. vitulina"
of the French Coast, (No. 3,) and the Marbled-
Seal, (No. 4,) of the distinguished Cuviers ; the
Rough-Seal, (No. 8,) one of those animals which
constitutes a considerable portion of the Northern
Seal fishery; the Hare-Seal of Northern Russia,
(No. 9 ;) the Small-nailed Seal of De Blainville,
(No. 11;) the Crested-Seal, (No. 14,) and the
Hooded- Seal, (No. 15,) over both of which there still
hangs considerable obscurity ; the Sea-Elephant of
Peron, (No. 16,) the chief object of the South Sea
fishing for Seal oil ; and the Cape, (No. 20,) and
Lesson's Otaries, (No. 24.) These exhibitions of
fifteen species, (may we call them ?) obtained from
sources and authorities of established celebrity,
together with those more familiarly known, and our
best efforts to associate with each whatever specific
information has been collected, will do something,
we trust, to increase the facilities of investigation,
as well as provoke the further endeavours of Na-
turalists, and others, to new triumphs over the many
difficulties which still envelope this interesting sub-
ject.

THE AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA.

AN Amphibious animal is said to be one which is
able to live in two elements, the elements implied
being air and water ; and there was a time when it
was generally supposed that there were such qua-
drupeds in existence. The reader will please to ob-
serve, that we are not here speaking of animals which
can reside on the land, and in and on the water ;
for such there unquestionably are ; on these we are
about to dwell, and in this old and familiar accepta-
tion of the term we mean to use it.* But the time

* For this we can quote nearly universal usage, in the present
and preceding ages, and some of the most authoritative names in
the science ; amongst others those of Baron Cuvier and Latreille.
It is true that Cuvier did not here follow the footsteps of Linnaeus,
who placed these Amphibia in his 2d and 3d order, Bruta and
Fera, and made the Amphibia his 3d class, including Tortoises,
Frogs, Serpents, and many true Fish, such as the Sturgeon,
Shark, Skate, &c., so making a great jumble. We may add,

46 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF

is not long gone by when it was supposed that these
Amphibia differed from all other animals, in that it
was to them a matter of indifference whether they
lived on land, and breathed the common air of
heaven, or resorted to the water, and there carried
on the process corresponding to that of respiration,
as do the fishes in the sea. It is generally known
that both in quadrupeds and fishes there is a kind
of double circulation of the blood, the greater, mov-
ing round the whole body, for the purpose of its
growth and regular nourishment, and the lesser, con-
fined to the lungs or the gills, having for its object
the purification of the blood, that it may be fitted
for its proper uses. It was very evident that, when
living in the water, these Amphibia could no more
use their lungs than man could do, and it was
equally well known that they had no gills, by which
they could live as fish do ; and the question there-
fore occurred, By what peculiar arrangement is it
that these animals live in water without gills and
without air ? Nor was it long before an explana-
tion of the phenomenon was offered. The two cir-
culations above alluded to do not communicate with
each other, generally, throughout their circuit ; but

that previous to Linnaeus' death, a single animal was discovered
which could live not only on land but also in water. This was
the Lizard Siren of Carolina, which is possessed of true lungs and
true branchiae, and can use them severally on land and in water.
Since that date a few other animals have been discovered similarly
constituted ; and this has led Naturalists to arrange them in a
separate class or subdivision.

THE AMPHIBIOUS CARN1VORA. 47

in the Amphibia it was held that a sluice-gate ex-
isted between the two, which was opened when they
were under water, so that no obstruction occurred
to the circulation. By this aperture, (which existed
in the heart, and was called the oval hole, foramen
ovale,) it was asserted that both circulations went
forward, and without any prejudice to life. It is
because this statement still maintains its ground in
some of our most popular works on natural history
that we have thought it right to notice it. Thus
the eloquent BufFon, — " The Seals and Walrus alone
can live equally in air and in water, and conse-
quently they alone merit the appellation of Am-
phibious." And no wonder the Count made this
statement, because he only quoted the memoirs of
the most learned societies of the day, — " As these
animals remain long in the water, and thus the
transmission of the blood cannot be performed with-
out respiration, they have the foramen ovale open,
and therefore do not require to respire."* In these
sentiments he in fact only re-echoed the opinions of
the Physiologists of his time.')'

The hypothesis was in fact based on erroneous
statements, which passed current for facts. It is
true these Amphibious animals live long in the wa-
ter, but still they must regularly come to the sur-
face, and they breathe precisely after the manner of

• Hist, de 1'Acad. des Sciences, torn. i. p. 84.

t Though this explanation is sufficieut apology for Buffon, yet
the same theory, founded on the same errors, should not have
appeared in Bingley's British Quadrupeds, 1829.

48 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OP

their namesakes the Common Dog or Lion. Not that
there is no distinction between their respirations,
but this difference refers to time only, and not at
all to method. Many of the Mammalia breathe
twenty times in a minute, and every one knows he
cannot long suspend this vital function ; whereas the
Seals, instead of breathing twenty times in a mi-
nute, will occasionally not breathe once in twenty
minutes. We should be happy could we at once
account for this difference. The Amphibia often
feed under water ; they dive for their prey, they
generally swim under the wave, and therefore the
attribute is essential to them. It is best, however, at
once to avow our ignorance, and to confess that
hitherto the fact has not been satisfactorily accounted
for. Some peculiarities in their circulation have in-
deed been noted, and go some way, perhaps, in the
elucidation of the point. Thus, we are told by Baron
Cuvier that they have a great reservoir for venous
blood in their liver ; and Mr Houston of Dublin has
recently succeeded in demonstrating other venous re-
servoirs in other neighbouring parts ; and so far
this is valuable as a fact, and may assist in the ex-
plication of the truth. But it would be a great
mistake to suppose that the establishing this anato-
mical fact, is the same as explaining how the function
of respiration can be suspended in the Amphibia so
much longer than in the other Mammalia. These
last are not quite destitute of venous reservoirs or
sinuses, and, moreover, what is desiderated is not only
an apparatus to contain the vitiated, and by many

THE AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 49

reputed hurtful and poisonous blood, but rather a re-
servoir of purified arterial blood, which would gra-
dually pour forth its contents as circumstances re-
quired. Such an apparatus has lately been pointed
out in Whales, and satisfactorily, we think, accounts
for their capabilities, but we believe that no corre-
sponding provision has hitherto been detected in
the Seals — though we would almost venture to pre-
dicate its existence.

But leaving this point, we proceed to remark, that
the bodies of the Amphibia are beautifully modified
for their requirements in the watery element. If
we glance at the general shape of any of the Seals,
it will appear that its trunk as much resembles that
of a fish as that of a common quadruped. This
change is effected chiefly by a modification of what
is called the pelvis, corresponding to the haunches
in man. In the herbivorous Cete the bony frame-
work of these parts disappears, whilst in the Am-
phibia it remains, but undergoes a great change.
It becomes comparatively very small, and very
much elongated, the bones of the opposite sides
approximating to each other, so that the pelvis
appears like an elongated and slender pyramid, ter-
minating the trunk very much like the hinder part
of a Whale.

The extremities undergo a still more striking
change. The fore-legs or arms, which are destitute
of collar-bones, are so hid beueath the skin of the

• See Nat. Lib. Vol. xvi. p. 49.

D

50 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF

body, that only the wrists and hands appear ; and
they are thus so short that they can scarcely be ad-
vanced forwards at all. But what they lose in ex-
tent they gain in power. They are peculiarly con-
structed for swimming, and serve also for seizing or
holding. The animal has the power of presenting
to the water either the edge or the flat part of the
paw ; and it can moreover either approximate its
fingers, which have an intervening membrane, and
so are webbed, or it can separate them, so as to di-
minish or augment the surface of this oar or paddle,
as it has been called. The hind-legs are still more
modified. From the knee downwards they are
placed not at right angles, but in a line parallel with
the body. The thigh-bone is very short, and is so
bent that its lower portion at the knee is anterior.
The legs have in this way very little power of mo-
tion, the foot alone enjoying it ; and that with great
facility and power, especially in bending and ex-
tending itself upon the leg, thus removing it from,
or approximating it to, the mesial line. One effect
of this arrangement is very apparent, viz. that the
posterior extremities, thus altered, are thereby much
assimilated to the broad horizontal tail of the Whale
tribe ; and that the Phocidae are thus, like them,
enabled to dart towards the surface of the ocean for
breath, and with a rapidity which otherwise they
never could have attained. In all the species,
the fingers can readily be distinguished through the
paw ; and in most the nails appear at the termi-
nation of the member. In one group, however,

THE AMPHIBIOUS CARN1VORA.

51

this is not the case, and the very singular structure
exhibited beneath presents itself.

Here, it will be perceived, the membrane extends
far beyond tBe nails ; and not as a continuous web,
but like so many streamers, or broad leathern straps,
which hang down in the water. We have not seen
any attempt to assign a use to these curious ap-
pendages, which, in the language of the Seal-fishers,
have given to the extremities the name of flippers.

With these several modifications we need scarcely
remark that the amphibia are admirably adapted
for swimming. Accordingly ,^Zorgdrager says, even
of the clumsy-looking Walrus or Sea-horse, " That
in descending the depths of the ocean, and swimming

52 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF

along its surface, it is followed in row-boats with
as much difficulty as the Whale itself." Again,
Steller says of the Ursine Seals, " They swim with
amazing swiftness and strength, even at the rate of
eight miles an hour, and when wounded in the
water will seize on the boat, carry it along with
great impetuosity, almost as if they were flying,
and will often sink it." And once more, our intel-
ligent countryman Scoresby, " When coming to
the surface to respire, the Seals often raise their
whole bodies out of the water ; their progress
is pretty rapid ; their action appears frisky, and
their general conduct is productive of amusement
to the spectator. The sailors, when they observe
such a shoal, call it a Seal's Wedding."*

But though the habitual element of these amphi-
bia is the water, yet their habit of resorting fre-
quently to land must not be overlooked. The
most urgent call for this is connected with the
bringing forth and suckling their young ; and, be-
sides, they frequently resort at other times to the
shore, and to ice-islands, and there delight to bask
in the sun, or repose from the agitated wave. With
limbs, or rather fins, such as we have described, it
will at once be seen that the land cannot, by any
means, be so natural or suitable a resort ; and this
should always be remembered, for they are some-
times judged as if they were wholly terrestrial.
The fact is, that though properly enough designated

• Arctic Regions.

THE AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA 53

quadrupeds, they cannot even stand on their hind-
legs ; and, when advancing, they often make no use
whatever of their fore-paws either ; conditions these
which would bring most quadrupeds to a dead halt.
Not so, however, with these animals. Thus Captain
Weddell remarks of the Fur-Seal : — " The agility of
this creature is much greater than from their ap-
pearance an observer would anticipate. I have seen
them, indeed, often escape from men running fast
in pursuit of them ;"* and Scoresby, " They cannot
be said to walk, yet they shuffle along, especially
over the ice, with surprising speed."f And once
more, " Even out of the water," says Steller, " espe-
cially the females, can run so rapidly that it requires
a swift person to get up with them. Cursu vix ac
ne vix quidem a celeri cursore superantur."J This,
oeyond doubt, far exceeds the powers of other quad-
rupeds;— without the use of legs to outstrip the speed
of man ; and thus we have here another of those
peculiarities on which it is interesting to dwell, and
to inquire in what way it is to be explained. We
feel happy that on this point we can gratify
our readers. Serpents, it is known, have a pro-
gressive motion, without feet, which is some-
times sufficiently rapid; but they move by bend-
ing their bodies from side to side, which Seals do
not ; and, therefore, these last do not advance like
them. On the contrary, they move forward by a

• Voyage towards the South Pole, &c., p. 140.

* Lib. sup. cit. Vol. i. p. 509.

J Nov. Acta Petro. t. li. p, 356.

54 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OP

rertieal, not a lateral motion of their spines, some-
what after the fashion of the caterpiller. Re-
ferring the curious reader to the valuable memoir
quoted below,* we shall now give in a few words
a popular account of this strange phenomenon.

The remarkable fact is, that during the progres-
sion of Seals on land, the hind-feet are never employ-
ed, and the fore-feet not necessarily. In explanation,
we observe, first, that there is a remarkable change
effected on the structure of the spine, or back-bone.
This is well known to be not a single bone, but a
strong column of many bones, amounting to twenty-
four in man, and to many more in the majority of
quadrupeds. In most, there is between each verte-
bra, as it is called, an inter vertebral cartilage, which
we may compare to a piece of Indian-rubber, placed
between the bones, to take off, as in man, the
effects of every severe shock, keeping the brain
on its summit free from all jar and agitation.
Now, the inter vertebral cartilages in the Seal are
quite peculiar, and very large, especially in the
regions of the neck and loins. Each of them is
composed of a number of fibrous coverings, form-
ing concentric rings, the more external of which are
broad and strong, whilst the internal are smaller and
more slender, the last, which lines the central cavity,
being so fine, that it seems to assume the character
of a serous membrane. The centre of this consider

• For an able paper on the Osteology and Myology of the Seal,
by M. Duvernov, see Mem. du Mm. d'Hist. Nat. ix. pp. 49,
165.

THE AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 55

able cavity corresponds with that of the body of the
vertebrae, and is filled with a reddish-looking jelly.
This curious structure, it will at once be seen, ad-
mits of far more extensive motion than is usual.
Again, the muscles of the spine undergo great and
corresponding modifications ; but on these we shall
not dwell longer than to remark that they are peculiar-
ly strong on all sides. When, then, the Seal wishes to
move forward, it bends underneath it the hinder part
of its spine, so making a kind of arch, and then fixing
this posterior portion, it suddenly straitens out the
whole bod}7 in front ; and in a repetition of this move-
ment consists the very peculiar kind of jerking leap
for which these amphibia are so famous. This is so
singular that it has been dwelt upon, and described
with sufficient accuracy, by several observers who
knew nothing of their comparative anatomy. To
give one example. — " Their mode of propelling
themselves," says Weddell, "is by drawing their
hinder flippers forwards, thereby shortening their
body, and then projecting themselves from the
tail."* When, again, they wish to ascend an ice-

* The account in the text is more satisfactory than the follow-
ing, whilst it is, at the same time, corroborated by it. *« The
Common Seal in the Zoological Gardens, when on the land,
scarcely uses its feet in walking, but only the abdominal muscles,
jerking itself forward by a series of convulsive motion*. It only
used its fore-feet to assist in balancing itself, and when it turned
on one side, it expanded its hinder feet, which are generally con-
tracted and held together, with the depressed forked tail between
theii base," J, E. Gray, Annals of Nat. Hist. ; Sept. 1838,
p. 78.

56 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OP

island or rock, the facility with which they ac-
complish their object is altogether astonishing.
They then make especial use of their fore-paws ;
and those which have claws implant them like
so many grappling-irons, and having thus secured
a fixed point, by means of the admirable struc-
ture we have been considering, they uplift their
monstrous carcases with the greatest rapidity and
ease.

Having thus noticed that the external struc-
ture of these Amphibia is admirably adapted for
their watery element, and yet made wonderfully
conformable to their requirements on land, we pro-
ceed to remark, that their vital functions also are
strikingly fitted for their peculiar exigencies. Their
respiration, as might readily be inferred, differ?
considerably from what is observed in most other
animals. Even the air passages undergo a change,
which ought not to be overlooked. We refer par-
ticularly to the nostrils, whose state, unlike that of
other quadrupeds, is that of being habitually closed,
instead of being uniformly open. This was first
noticed, we believe, in a Walrus domesticated in
England, of which, as will appear in our account of
that animal, it was said, " It can open and shut its
nostrils at pleasure." The Count Buffon, again,
pointed out the peculiarity in a tame Seal which he
examined — " In the intervals of breathing, the nos-
trils were accurately closed, and, on the act of in-
spiration being completed, they were shut as be-

THE AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 57

fore." M. F. Cuvier, at a later period, made a si-
milar observation, so that we apprehend we may
safely affirm that this peculiarity exists in the air-
passages as their ordinary condition. This state
of parts of course supplies ready means of judging
of the frequency of respiration, and here, too, there
appears to be a marked difference, even on land,
from what obtains among other animals. Thus
Buffon, in the instance already alluded to, remarks,
" The period between its several inspirations was
very long : the creature opened its nostrils to make
a strong expiration, which was immediately followed
by an inspiration, after which it closed them, often
allowing two minutes to intervene without taking
another breath." In connection with this peculi-
arity, M. F. Cuvier makes an additional and import-
ant remark — " Notwithstanding the slow and irre-
gular breathing of these animals, the regular supply
of air to the lungs is in no degree diminished, if we
may judge from the very free motion of the ribs, and
the great quantity of air expelled at each expiration.
In truth, the quantity of air taken in makes up for
the small number of the respirations ; for few of the
Mammalia have appeared to me to have so high a
natural temperature as the Seals."*

But, however great the peculiarity as exhibited on
land maybe, it is trifling when compared to its singu-
lar ity in water ; where it is not uncommon for these
animals to remain for a quarter of an hour at a time

* Mammiteres. Livraison, Sept. 1819 -, 2

58 COMPARATIVE ANAToMY OF

under the wave, (the usual period even for Whales ;)
and we are not prepared to state what the extreme
limit may be. Thus, Oantz states that when har-
pooned, they must come up in about a quarter
of an hour to take breath ;* arid Mr Edmonston in-
forms us that he once saw one of the Bearded
Seals entangled in a net, which struggled with
amazing force for more than twenty-five minutes,
without, once inspiring, and yet was brought to the
surface alive.f An observation of M= F. Cuvier's is
still more remarkable. He states, concerning those
which were preserved in the Menagerie at Paris>
that he has seen them, while asleep, keep their head
underwater consecutively, and consequently without
oreathing, for an hour at a time.f This is an ex-
traordinary phenomenon, even allowing that the
animal was in that somewhat lethargic condition,
to which we shall ere long allude.

We now proceed to remark, that under water the
Seals are often subjected to an enormous pres-
sure, which must be resisted at the respective aper-
tures of the body, by an appropriate mechanism.
So is it, as we have already seen, in the nostrils, and
a similar provision is made for the eye ; and in
more ways, perhaps, than one. Thus Albinus
remarks, that at the inner angle of the eye there exists
a third eyelid, which may easily be drawn over the
whole eye ; an apparatus, he adds, frequently
supplied to those animals in which the eyelids are

* See our account of the Greenland Seal.

t View of Zetland, vol. ii. 295.

% See our account of the Monk Seal.

THE AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 59

required as much for defence as for a covering.*
Forster makes a similar statement ; and to these
remarks we subjoin a curious observation of Crantz,
in relation to the Walrus. " As I was at first
searching for the eye, and could not find it, a Green-
land boy pressed the skin, and out sprung the eye;
so I found I could squeeze them in and out to the
depth of an inch, from whence I might conclude
that these creatures also had a shelter for their eyes,
in stormy weather, by drawing them into a safe re-
pository," Finally, it is the same with the orifices
of the ears : by means of a peculiar and somewhat
intricate structure, described by Rosenthal, and to
which we can here do nothing more than refer, it
will be found that these apertures too can be closed,
and thus made impervious to the greatest pressure
from the superincumbent fluid.f

One or two circumstances regarding the digestive
functions of the Amphibia, and more especially
their alleged long protracted fasts, are highly curi-
ous. We premise, however, that we are not at all
sure how far the opinion now generally promulgated,
that they are solely carnivorous, is correct. At all
events, it should be noticed that the testimony
of many observers is against this opinion. Thus
Crantz, " fish and marine vegetables are the food of
the Walrus ;v and Pernetty, " seals live upon fish,
sea-birds, and herbs ;" and Peron, " in the stomachs

• Academic® Annotationes, Lib. iii.

t For some interesting particulars concerning the comparatire
anatomy of the group, see an interesting paper of Lesson's in Diet.
Class, t. xiii 403,

60 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF

of those we killed we found squid (various kinds of
sepia) and many fungi." It would hence appear they
ire omnivorous. But to proceed, it is a fact that
many of them feed voraciously, and acquire an im-
mense covering of blubber, with which they come
loaded to shore. The period occupied by the pro-
cesses of parturition and lactation is rarely stated at
less than six weeks or two months, and is often said
to be twice as long. Now, one of the circum-
stances on which we would insist is this, that
many observers affirm that during the whole of
this period they live without taking any sort of
'nourishment. The words of the famous Alexander
Selkirk, as reported by Wood-Rogers, are these: —
" Towards the end of the month of June these
animals come on shore to bring forth their young,
and remain to the end of September without stirring
from the spot, and without taking any apparent
kind of nourishment."* Captain Weddell's statement
is still more striking : — " The males come ashore
about the end of August and beginning of Septem-
ber. As they live while on shore entirely without
food, they become very lean by the middle of De-
cember ;"f and Perori says, that during the period
in question no member of the family either eats, or
goes to sea.J This opinion might be further corro-
borated by the statements of Forster, and of other
respectable observers : but the proposition that

* See Kerr's Coll. of Voyages.

t Lib. supra cit. p. 153.

| Voy. aux Ter. Austr. t. ii. 40.

THE AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 61

whole genera of this group, not hybernating, but
all alive, and discharging the most important func-
tions of the animal economy, can live for three
consecutive months without food, is so startling,
that we find the greatest difficulty in receiving
it. Our scepticism, too, is the more excusable,
inasmuch as the evidence on the point is not
free from contradiction. Even the testimony of
Peron is liable to this charge ; for while, on
the one hand, he states, in the words already
quoted, " that during the period no member of
the family eats," yet he elsewhere mentions, "that
when on land, they suck in with delight the
fresh water of the ponds and marshes they frequent;
and that fungi were discovered in the stomachs of
those they killed."* Nor is this the only evidence
that may be adduced on this side of the question.
The account of these animals given in Anson's
voyage, though short, is explicit. " During the
time they continue on shore, they feed on the grass
and other plants which grow near the banks of the
fresh water streams."! And once more, Pernetty,
speaking of the Sea-bears, says — " They live on
herbs, fish, and other animals, when they can find
them near their lair.J This, we confess, appears
to us by much the most probable account of the
matter, and we cannot but suspect that the other,

* Lib. cit. t. ii. 44.

t Korr's Collection of Voyages, xi.

t Voyage aux Maloun. t. ii. 41.

62 COMPARATIVE ANATOMf OF

though supported by so many respectable names,
has been at first advanced on insufficient grounds,
and been propagated afterwards through inadver-
tency. These counter-statements should, at all
events, induce us to receive the startling propo-
sition with great hesitation and caution; and the
more so, as, even with the precarious supplies
just adverted to, it might be anticipated, that the
animals could not fail to become in the last degree
emaciated and feeble.

We have still to add a scarcely less singu-
lar circumstance, viz. that these animals are in
the habit of filling their stomachs with an im-
mense number of great hard stones, so that it is
a wonder how their coats are not torn to pieces by
them. Thus, in the words of Forster, — " The sto-
machs of some were filled with ten or twelve round
heavy stones, each the size of two fists/' The cir-
cumstances under which they indulge in this habit are
not well determined. Most frequently it has been
associated with their extraordinary fastings: but
these cannot be the only cause ; because sometimes
they have been found in animals which had long
been domesticated, and were taking their usual
quantity of food. This suggested the idea, that the
craving might be owing to their unnatural position
on land ; but this is met by the fact that sometimes
they have been found in the stomachs of those re-
cently captured. It was under these circumstances,
we believe, they were found in the stomach of the
Grey Seal, captured in the Severn, and now in the

THE AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 63

Museum at Bristol. Peron says of the Proboscis
Seal, " We usually found in the stomachs fungi,
stones, and gravel ;" and Dr Parsons — " In the sto-
mach of the Great Seal there were about four pounds
of flinty stones." We have not met with any satis-
factory explanation of this phenomenon ; and we
shall decline all speculations concerning it.

But we must bring these remarks on the physical
constitution of the Amphibia to a close, by a very
few hints concerning the nervous system, and more
especially the senses.

The prevailing statement in the works on Natural
History is, that the brain is much developed in this
group, and the cerebellum comparatively still more
so. Judging from an examination of crania, we
should say, that this organ appears to vary very
considerably in different species, and that while in
all it is rather large, in some it is remarkably so.
This perfectly corresponds with the degree of acute-
ness and intelligence which is nearly universally
allowed them. Weddell observes that in instinct
they are little inferior to the dog ; and subjoins a
remark which ought not to be forgotten, that their
sagacity in water much exceeds that which they
manifest on shore. With this fact in view, it is
curious to observe how some Naturalists, having pro-
cured a few Seals, and placed them in a most unna-
tural state of domestication, to which they submitted
with wonderful placidity, have, after minute obser-
vation, concluded that they were sparingly endowed

64 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF

with all the chief instruments and outlets of mind.
Thus the most elaborate, as it is the most celebrated,
examination of the senses we have seen, is recorded in
very much the following terms : — The sight in the
Seal is perhaps less imperfect than the other senses,
though they see best in a feeble light, and do not ap-
pear easily to distinguish forms. I draw this conclu-
sion, says the author, the more freely, because the
Seals, under observation, always came to examine
every mess put within their reach, however much in
appearance it diifered from that which alone they
would taste. The hearing is proportionally much less
perfect than the sight. Having no auricular appen-
dage, and passing a great portion of their time at the
bottom of the sea, where the orifice must be closed,
they must almost remain strangers to all sonorous
vibrations; and the very trifling exercise to which
these organs are subjected would alone suffice to
produce the deficiency which is observed. The
smell9 judging from the external organization, should
not be better than the senses already alluded to ;
the taste and touch are even worse; and to sum up
in a word, " Ce que j'ai dit des organs des sens, ne
doit laisser aucune doute sur leurs imperfection."*
But this is too much to be endured. Suppose the
circumstances reversed; — that some of these sub-
marine beings, whose imperfections are thus con-
temned, had captured our unhappy Naturalist,
and in some watery chamber of ocean sate in

* Ann. au Mus. t. xvii.

THE AMPHIBIOUS CARN1VORA. 65

gment on his five senses ; and were then to infer
that he was imperfectly constituted, because, in
his hapless plight, he saw indifferently, heard and
smelt worse, and so on ; should we approve their
inference, or admire their wisdom? The truth is,
the eye of the Amphibia is a perfect study, and
would well repay a lengthened description. It
is very large, and quite spherical ; the sclerotic or
outer membrane is very peculiar, inasmuch as it has
a soft and thin zone round its middle, thickly
covered with muscles, whilst both before and behind
it is thick and almost cartilaginous.* The precise
use of this structure has not yet been discovered,
though Blumenbach has thrown out the idea that
it may enable the Seal to see both in air and water
Rosenthal so far confirms this opinion by having
observed, that the mechanism is peculiar to those
animals which live in a dense medium, such as
water ; — that the remarkable thickness of the coat is
found in those animals in which the orbit is not
wholly osseous, and that some fishes have the
sclerotic nearly cartilaginous. With regard to the
ear, it ought not to be forgotten that fishes, with no
external ear or aperture, have in their native ele-
ment an acuteness of hearing which, according
to some respectable authorities, far exceeds our
own ; and Rosenthal states that the auditory nerve
of the Seal is very large. Respecting the sense of
touchy we shall here quote M. F. Cuvier, who

• See its Dissection in the Crested Seal, by Drs King and
Ludlow, in our account of that animal.

VOU VIII. B

66 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF

well remarks, " The whiskers are very sensible por»
tions of the sense of touch. Those hairs placed on
each side of the mouth, and at the corner of the eye,
communicate with nerves which are remarkable for
their size, and to which, as I have often convinced
myself, the slightest impression communicates an
immediate sensation." So is it, we believe, with
the other senses ; which we consider wonderfully
adapted to both elements. Thus Buffon remarks
of the Monk- Seal, on land, — " It had a very acute
hearing, since even at a distance it never failed to
obey or respond to its master's voice; and thus
Captain Scoresby, — " Seals appear to hear well under
the water; music, or particularly a person whist-
ling, draws them to the surface, and induces them
to stretch out their necks to the utmost extent, so
as to prove a snare by bringing them within the
reach of the shooter/' And Weddell, — " Their sense
of hearing is acute, and also their sense of smell''
It is on account of this last sense, that the Green-
landers always endeavour to approach them against
the wind. And were we to judge of their taste
by the keenness with which they relish their food,
few animals possess it in equal perfection. The
greatest gourmand's teeth do not water at the anti-
cipation of the richest feast, as do theirs in expec-
tancy of their common food. " A copious saliva,"
says M. F. Cuvier, " fills and flows from their mouth
during deglutition, and not less so the moment
the Seal perceives its prey."*

• Mammif. Sept. 1819, p. 5.

UNIVERS:

THE AMPHIBIOUS

In a group so extensive as these Amphibia, tfie~
only correct method of coming to a knowledge of
their habits and mental powers and dispositions, is
by minutely considering the propensities of each
distinct species ; and for details we must therefore
refer to the subsequent part of the volume. In the
few remarks which follow, all that we can attempt
is a very short and hasty sketch.

It is frequently stated in modern works, that it is
not established whether Seals frequent inland seas,
such as the Caspian, or fresh water lakes, such as
Lake Baikal ; which doubts are grounded chiefly
upon supposititious difficulties as to the mode of their
introduction into these detached and dreary waters
Peron especially, although we believe we must also
add Lesson, and after them Dr Prichard,* treat the
opinion as altogether apocryphal and absurd. We
cannot, however, but regard this as an error, the
result of false reasoning, and insufficient care.
Nothing can be more specific than Steller's state-
ment that they frequent the Caspian, and the fresh
water lakes, Baikal and Oron, which have no di-
rect communication with the sea ;f and nothing
more circumstantial, and apparently correct, than
Pallas' account, from personal observation, of these
animals, in both these seas. The insinuation, that
the creatures seen might be otters, is quite gratui-
tous, and cannot stand against the express testimony

* Prichard's Researches nto the Phys. Hist, of Man, 34 Ed.
i. 63, 65.

f De Bestiis Marinis, Nov. Com. Petro, t. ii. p. 290.

68 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF

of the most eminent Naturalist of his day. When
discoursing about the Caspian, Pallas states the par-
ticular situations in which he had seen them, and the
spots which were famous for the numbers which they
harboured. We shall quote a few words. " Seals
sometimes ascend the Jaik or Aural in winter.
Many have been killed both on the banks and inlets.
The Seal of the Caspian is much fatter in autumn
than those of the Baltic which I have seen. They ap-
pear more like a skin filled with oil than an animal, as
you can scarcely recognise their head and fore paws
for the fat. Their skin and blubber are taken to
Astrakan, which supplies the oil throughout the
Empire."* He is equally specific respecting the
Seals of Lake Baikal, as will appear in the se-
quel. These statements leave, we think, no room
for scepticism ; and they might be multiplied by
additional quotations from Anderson and others.f
Bearing upon a somewhat similar point, we add
the following fact : — " Lochaw, in the parish of
North Knapdale, abounds with plenty of salmon,
and the Seals come up from the ocean through a
very rapid river, in quest of this fish, arid retire to
the sea at the approach of winter ."f

Most of the Seals are pre-eminently gregarious.
Seldom are they seen except in flocks, amounting
sometimes to hundreds, and in some instances even
to many thousands.

• Voy. de Pal. t. i. pp. 674, 680-2.

t See Anderson's Iceland, t. ii. p. 169.

* &UtUt. Ace. vi. 260.

THE AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 69

It is also deserving of remark, that they are decid-
edly migratory in their habits, the great stimulus to
which appears to be the change of temperature. Very
many are, from choice, inhabitants of the margins of
the frozen seas towards both poles. But the line of
the margin varies much with the season of the
year. On the approach of the Polar winter they
emerge from its dark and dreary solitude towards
milder regions, and during the winter months select
a more moderate temperature, where they are
occupied with the all-important, work of parturition.
Their period of gestation is considered to be nine
or ten months, and their progeny never exceeds
one, or at most two, at a time. In the herbivorous
Cete the mammae are pectoral, whilst in the amphi-
bia they are ventral. Their number, in some
species of Seals, is said to be two, and in others
four; the teats lie concealed in the skin, so defending
them from the exposure arising from their crawling
when on land. Thus placed, the nipples are
seized by the young with more difficulty than is
usual ; and to assist them, it has been alleged that
the tongue has received that bifurcated termination,
which is seen in the margin, which is a curious
feature in many, if not all Seals, and is, we be-
lieve, more conspicuous in them than in any other
of the Mammalia.

70

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF

sb

The important work of lactation and procreation
accomplished, with the returning spring the Seals
again resort to their more distant and almost im-
penetrable icy haunts, where, in that deep solitude
which they love, and almost removed from human
ken, they spend their time in a way with which it
is not easy for us to become familiar. The regu
larity with which these migrations are accomplished
is often remarkable ; and is thus alluded to by an
ancient Poet : —

When they the approaching time perceive,
They flee the deep, and watery pastures leave :
On the dry ground, far from the swelling tide
Bring forth their young, and on the shores abide,
Till twice six times they see the Eastern gleams
Brighten the hills, and tremble on the streams.
The thirteenth morn, soon as the early dawn
Hangs out its crimson folds or spreads its lawn,
No more the fields and lofty coverts please,
Each hugs her own, and hastes to rolling seas.

The uniformity and power of this instinct are
strongly set forth in the following extract : — " In the

THE AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. ?i

beginning of June," says Crantz, " they come back,
young and all, like a flock of sheep. They seem to
observe a certain fixed time, and track, like the
birds of passage, and take a route that is free from
ice ; therefore the ships from Spitzbergen can
freely follow them. We can pretty well ascertain
the day at the end of May when they will be again
at Frederick Hope ; and in the beginning of June
at Good Hope, and so further north.*

Another interesting particular in regard to their
migrations is, that, like some other migratory
creatures, and more especially birds, they usu-
ally affect particular spots, where, having once
been located, they will always in preference re*
turn, and will scarcely leave, though beset with
many and great dangers. Thus in some desolate
recess of the ocean, if fifty islets be grouped to-
gether in nearly apparent uniformity and sterility,
it will often be found that the Seals habitually re-
sort and crowd upon some two or three favoured
ones, to the complete neglect of all the others. We
do not venture to say that they, in their wisdom,
have not some good reason for this, though hitherto it
is unascertained. Occasionally it has been observed
that in some of these resorts there is a stream of salu-
brious water, which, if not quite essential, is yet an
object of first-rate importance to them, and possibly
in every instance there is some equally satisfactory
reason for their choice.

• Greenland, p. 129.

72 COMPARATIVE AN \TOMY OF

These immense herds are usually composed of
one and the same species, though it sometimes
happens even various genera resort to the same
shore or island, and thus greatly increase the num-
bers of the assembled thousands. In this instance,
however, each species generally keeps itself detached
from the others ; and knowing well its own strength
or weakness, carefully avoids all circumstances
which would lead to hostile encounters, so that they
all live in proximity, without collision, if not in har-
mony and peace.

If we now proceed to examine the individual
groups, we shall soon perceive that there are marked
peculiarities presented by them respectively. This
fact can be adequately illustrated only by a parti-
cular survey of each, such as we hope to supply in
the body of the work ; and in this place we can
exhibit the fact only by a single statement respect-
ing the Walrus, and some of the families of the
larger Seals. The Walrus is monogamous, and,
though associating in immense groups, yet generally
is a peaceful and harmless creature, living in con-
cord each with his fellows, and interfering but little
with its congeners. When, however, they are at-
tacked by foes, and more especially by man, their
most cruel persecutor, then all the mutual kind-
ness of their disposition is called forth ; they readily
defend and support each other ; they fearlessly pro-
ceed to the rescue of their unfortunate associate,
and will contend for his deliverance, to their own
great detriment, and even to death. The Sea- Lion,

THE AMPHIBIOUS CARN1VORA. 73

again, ( Otaria jubata,) an animal of equal dimen-
sions and power, is a polygamist, and exhibits in
strong colours the penalty which naturally results
from this characteristic. At a particular season of
the year, every male, inflamed with lust, and jealous
almost at his shadow, lords it over his numerous ha-
rem with even more than Eastern despotism, and
thereby throws the whole community into a state of
the highest excitement and agitation. During this
period, which continues for months, many a jealous
Bashaw, as these animals have not inaptly been de-
signated, engages in fearful strife with a rival ; the
contest is often long and obstinate, as well as most
sanguinary and fatal. Nor does it end with these
doughty champions. Other males soon imagine
that their interests are involved, or their rights in-
vaded, and the strife spreads from family to family,
till at length the whole community is involved in
one general melee of passion and rage, of fierce cries
and groans, of blood and death ; and, after all,
short is the triumph of the conqueror, and deep and
poignant the chagrin and malice of the vanquished.
Originally, and therefore we are disposed to hold
that naturally, these Amphibia, far from having a
dread, have rather a reposing confidence in man.
When a young one by any accident is separated from
its parents, and comes in contact with man, instead
of shunning it courts nis company ; it will follow
him, and if the finger be held out, will suck it like
many domestic animals. Through the kindness of
Professor Trail, we can illustrate this trait in

74 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF

their mental constitution, by an interesting inci-
dent of which he was a witness, and which, with
several other anecdotes, we can, through his polite
attention, record in his own words. — " A little islet
in Orkney, called the Holm of Papa Westray^ had
long been a favourite haunt of numerous Seals,
which had become more than usually tame from the
care of the proprietor of the adjoining island to pre-
vent their being molested. On visiting that gen-
tleman in 1833, I found the Seals exhibited their
wonted confidence in those who approached their
protected haunt. Several of them swam along the
shore as a party of six or eight persons walked along
the beach, and did not in general keep farther from
us than thirty or forty yards : when we turned, so
did they, and when we re-entered our boat, they
followed it in the narrow channel that divides Holm
from the island of Papa. Seals are said to relish
music, and a Seal-hunter once informed me that the
sound of a flute will allure them to a boat : but in
the above Instance it was merely the consequence of
no gun being ever lifted against them in that islet,
which has won their confidence in man." Nor is
this characteristic less strikingly exemplified by an
observation made by Mr Dunbar, the present in-
cumbent of the parish of Applegarth, during his re-
sidence, at a former period, in one of the Hebrides.
In a letter to Mr Lizars, which appeared in the last
volume of the Naturalist's Library, we find the fol-
lowing statement : — " While my pupils and I were
bathing, which we often did, in the bosom of a

THE AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 75

beautiful bay in the island, named, from the circum-
stance of its being a favourite haunt of the animal,
Seal Bay, numbers of these creatures invariably made
their appearance, especially if the weather was calm
and sunny, and the sea smooth, crowding around us
at the distance of a few yards, and looking as if they
had some kind of notion that we were of the same
species, or at least genus, with themselves. The
gambols in the water of my playful companions,
and their noise and merriment, seemed, to our ima-
gination, to excite them, and to make them course
round us with greater rapidity and animation. At
the same time, the slightest attempt on our part to
act on the offensive, by throwing at them a stone or
shell, was the signal for their instantaneous disap-
pearance, each, as it vanished, leaving the surface
of the water beautifully figured with a wavy suc-
cession of concentric circles." Nor must it be sup-
posed that it is only the inhabitants of these isles that
are thus amiable ; the same character belongs to some
of their antipodes, as mentioned in the following state-
ment of the missionary Cottaneo.* " Near the island
of* Lobos, in the river Plata, Sea- Wolves appear
in vast multitudes ; they meet the ship, and will
even hang to the sides by their paws, and seem to
stare at and admire the crew ; they then drop of?,
and return to their haunts." And, once more,
Weddeil remarks, — " When we first visited Soutl

• First Letter of the Missionaries of Paraguay, apud Pennant,
Br, Quadrupeds.

76 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF

Shetland, the Seals had no apprehension in meeting
man."

In the previous paragraph allusion is casually
made to the notion that these animals are not in-
different to the charms of music ; whilst we believe
it may be safely affirmed that this assertion is more
frequently made than credited. The statement,
however, appears to be perfectly correct ; and the
following quotations, the former from the celebrated
Orkney Naturalist, Low, and the latter from Mr
Dunbar just quoted, are sufficient to banish all scep-
ticism on the point. " If people are passing in
boats, the Seals often come close up to them, and
stare at them, following for a long time together ;
if people are speaking loud they seem to wonder
what may be the matter. The church of Hoy is
situated near a small sandy bay, much frequented
by these creatures ; and I observed, when the bell
rang for Divine service, all the Seals within hearing
swam directly for shore, and kept looking about
them, as if surprised rather than frightened, and in
this manner continued to wonder as long as the bell
rang."* And again, Mr Lizars' correspondent, —
« The fondness of these animals for musical sounds
is a curious peculiarity in their nature, and has been
to me often a subject of interest and amusement.
During a residence of some years in one of the
Hebrides, I had many opportunities of witnessing
this peculiarity ; and, in fact, could call forth its

* Fauna Orcacensis.

AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 77

manifestation at pleasure. In walking along the
shore in the calm of a summer afternoon, a few
notes of my flute would bring half a score of them
within thirty or forty yards of me ; and there they
would swim about, with their heads above water,
like so many black dogs, evidently delighted with
the sounds. For half an hour, or, indeed, for any
length of time I chose, I could fix them to the spot ;
and when I moved along the water edge, they would
follow me with eagerness, like the Dolphins who, it
is said, attended Arion, as if anxious to prolong
the enjoyment. I have frequently witnessed the
same effect when out on a boat excursion. The
sound of the flute, or of a common fife, blown by
one of the boatmen, was no sqoner heard, than half
a dozen would start up within a few yards, wheeling
round us as long as the music played, and disap-
pearing, one after another, when it ceased."*

But, however much these Amphibia may natur-
ally feel disposed to repose confidence in man, yet,
if exposed to bad treatment, they soon acquire the
habit of suspecting and shunning him, and of coun-
teracting the danger resulting from his wiles. Their
thus learning caution from experience will be
frequently illustrated in the sequel; while in
other instances it would appear that their watch-
fulness, if not a natural instinct, is a precaution
which has become perfectly habitual to them.
Denis says, the Seals in landing always place a sen-
tinel ; and Scoresby states, they are extremely watch-

» Nat. Lib. vii. p. 204.

78 HABITS AND DISPOSITIONS OF THE

ful. " Where a number are collected on the same
piece of ice, one if not more is always looking
round ; and even a solitary Seal is scarcely ever
observed to allow a moment to pass without lifting
*ts head. He adds, where Seals rest on an exten-
sive sheet of ice, they always secure their retreat
either by lying near the edge, or by keeping a
hole in the ice always open before them. These
precautions are necessary to prevent them becoming
a prey to the Bear. The old animals are in ge-
neral shy ; so that, when thousands are seen within
the compass of a square furlong, on the approach of
a boat, the whole will perhaps make their escape.
The young ones are less guarded, and when met
with at the proper season, may sometimes be killed
by the dozen at a time, on a small flake of ice."*

But not only do these Amphibia quickly learn the
most watchful circumspection ; it is moreover true,
that, when surprised by man, and forced to engage
in actual combat, though never the aggressors, many
of them, for it is quite the reverse with others, show
the coolest and most determined courage. This is
amply illustrated in the following pages, and espe-
cially with regard to the Sea- Horse. To excite
attention merely to the point, we shall here in-
troduce a sketch from the great painter of Nature
of our time, who probably narrated only what had
actually come within his cognisance. " The Seal,
finding her retreat intercepted by the light-footed
soldier, confronted him manfully, and having
• Loc. cit. 511.

AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 79

sustained a heavy blow without injury, she knit-
ted her brows, as is the fashion of the animal
when incensed, and making use at once of her
fore-paws, and her unwieldy strength, wrenched the
weapon out of the assailant's hand, overturned
him on the sands, and scuttled away into the sea
without doing him any further injury. The cap-
tain, a good deal out of countenance at the issue
of his exploit, just rose in time to receive the
ironical congratulations of his uncle, upon a single
combat, worthy to be commemorated by Ossian
himself. — * Since,' said the Antiquary, * your mag-
nanimous opponent hath fled — from the foe that
was low.' In truth, she walloped away with all the
grace of triumph, and has carried my stick off also,
by way of spolia opima"

When the animal has been captured, and is forced
to remain on land, there is the greatest contrast pre-
sented to all this activity and sagacity. To such an
extent is this the case, that it suggests the idea
that sometimes they are almost in the drowsy
state of hybernating animals. Buffon remarks of
the Monachus which he examined, " It slept fre-
quently during the day, snoring so loud that
it was heard at a considerable distance. When
asleep it could be roused only with difficulty ;
and when drowsy, would not promptly attend to
his master." And to come to an authority, whose
loss Zoologists have lately been called to deplore,* —
" They have a great tendency to repose ; sleep

• M. Fr. Cuvier.

80 HABITS AND DISPOSITIONS OF THE

throughout the live-long night, and during the day
cannot be kept awake without unceasing persever-
ance."

It is frequently stated in general terms, that Seals
are easily tamed ; but this assertion must be taken
with limitation, since, though true of some, it is
equally untrue of others. The fact is, Seals differ
as much in disposition as in form ; and as with
dogs and other animals, whilst some species are
easily and almost naturally domesticated, others as
uniformly show themselves fierce, savage, and sus-
picious. Some of the more common species, how-
ever, are not only easily tamed, but become the at-
tached and almost the amusing companions of man.
Many instances of this will be found in the follow-
ing pages ; and frequently are they carried from
city to city, not only that their peculiar structure
may be seen, but that their intelligence and ac-
quirements may be exhibited. All who have
come into contact, or taken trouble with these
animals, are familiar with these facts, so that we
shall here subjoin but one or two statements con-
cerning it. Thus Pliny, — " Vituli marini accipiunt
disciplinam, voceque paritur et visu populum salu-
tant : inconditu fremitu nomine vocatu respondent."*
" I have lately," says M, F. Cuvier, " had occasion to
witness a Seal which displayed much intellectual
power. He did punctually wnat ne was ordered.
If desired to raise himself on his hind-legs, and to
take a staff in his hands, and act the sentinel, he did

• Hist. Nat. Lib. ix. Cap. 13.

AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 81

so : he likewise, at his keeper's bidding, would lie
down on his right side, or on his left, and would
tumble head over heels. He would give you either
of his paws when desired, and would extend his
sweet lips to favour you with a kiss. He com-
plied immediately with the wishes of his master, to
whom he appeared to be peculiarly attached."*
And once more, to quote the lively and intelligent
Dr Hibbert: — " The Phrenologists, from the form of
the cranium, have hazarded the opinion that the
Seal is possessed of uncommon intelligence. I am
confirmed in the same notion from a different kind
of observation. These animals, if taken young, are
easily domesticated, when they assume the habits
of a dog, showing attachment to particular indivi-
duals of the human race, repairing to the water in
quest of fish, and returning to the roof where they
have experienced kindness."

Before proceeding to make the few remarks which
our limits allow, on the valuable products derived
from these animals, we would say a word or two
upon their capture. They are exceedingly tenacious
of life, and many cruelties have been perpetrated
upon them, which most who have witnessed declare to
be too horrible for description, and over which we
willingly draw a veil. If life is to be sacrificed,
there is a right way of taking it as well as a wrong,
and we insist that the former should be followed,
and the latter avoided. Before, however, enter*

• MammifS.es I wrais. Mai. 1824.

82 CAPTURE OF THE

ing upon this topic, we take leave to remark, that
it is impossible to investigate as we have done
the natural history of these animals, without dis-
covering how much their capture has been made a
matter of mere amusement, and, as it is familiarly,
but emphatically, called, of sport. We venture
to denounce all such sports as both indefensible
and wrong. Animals have been given to pro-
vide for the necessities and comforts of man, but
not that he may gratify himself with their dying
agonies : and he is wholly inexcusable if even here he
breaks the golden rule of doing as he would be done
by. Sporting with the feelings, and pains, and lives
of these creatures, has a strong tendency to lead
to cruelty and wickedness ; and, therefore, this inhe-
rent tendency should be checked in the bud, and
invariably opposed. When we witness, says Peron,
a thoughtless sailor hastening for his amusement,
club in hand, into the midst of a great herd, and
surrounding himself with their dead bodies, we can-
not but sigh over this improvidence and cruelty,
which lays low so many peaceful, gentle, and un-
happy beings.

When still within their proper bounds,

And guiltless of offence, they range the air,

Or take their pastime in the spacious waste,

There they are privileged ; and he that hunts

Or harms them there is guilty of a wrong,

Disturbs th' economy of Nature's realm,

Who, when she formed, designed them an abode.

Distinguished much by reason, and still more

By our capacity of grace Divine,

From creatures that exist but for our sake.

AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. ^3

Which, having served us, perish, we are held
Accountable ; and God some future day
Will reckon with us roundly for the abuse
Of what He deems no mean or trivial trust.

Some instances will be recorded in the following
pages of the awkwardness and difficulty which was
often experienced in putting a speedy end to the
sufferings of these poor animals. We
shall here quote but one example : " We
had many battles/* says Byron, " with
these Amphibious creatures, the killing of
one of which was frequently an hour's work
for six men." It is of this same animal
that Weddell says, it is now to one man,
acquainted with the practice, the work of
three minutes ; but without stabbing it to
the heart, or fracturing its skull, the feat is
truly difficult. By the regular fishers a
lance of 12 or 15 feet is used for the
larger species, the blade of which is about
two feet long. With great address they
seize the moment when the animal raises
his left fore-paw to advance, and plunge
their weapon to the heart. And so Scores-
by, — " The capturing of a Seal is but the
work of a moment. A blow with a Seal-
club (a representation of which we here
supply) on the nose immediately stuns it,
and affords opportunity of arresting the
flight, and making prize of many at a

84 CAPTURE OF THE

time." The existence of this tender point was well
known to the ancients, and is thus expressed by
Oppian : —

Non hami penetrant phocas, saevique tridentes
In caput incutient, et circum tempora pulsant.
Nam subita percunt capitis per vulnera morte.

When Seals are observed to be making their
escape into the water, before a boat reaches
the ice, the sailors give a loud continued shout, on
wnich their victims are sometimes deluded by the
amazement of a sound so uncommon, and delay
their retreat until arrested by the fatal blows of their
enemies.

Such are the expedients had recourse to among
civilized nations ; and we shall now advert shortly
to the methods practised by the rude tribes in the
neighbourhood of the pole.

The Greenlanders have three ways of catching
Seals ; either individually, each in " his bubble of
a boat ;" or in company, by the Clapper-hunt ; or
in winter on the ice. As the first method is chiefly
practised against that one which is styled the Green-
land-Seal, we shall postpone its description till we
come to the account of that animal. The other
methods are practised indifferently against all kinds
of Seals. The Clapper-hunt, as it is called, is pro-
secuted by numbers in concert. As the natives are
ever on the watch, so soon as they discover a
hard, driven, usually by stormy weather, into some

AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 85

creek or inlet, they endeavour to cut off their re-
treat, and frighten them under water by shouting,
clapping, and throwing stones. As, however, they
must speedily come to the surface to respire, " they
persecute them again till they are tired, and at last
are obliged to stay so long above water, that they
are surrounded and killed by long and short lances.
During this hunt we have a fine opportunity of see-
ing the agility of the Greenlanders, or, if I may call
it so, their hussar manoeuvres. When the Seal
rises out of the water, they all fly upon him as if
they had wings, with a desperate noise ; the poor
creature is forced to dive again directly, and the
moment he does, they disperse again as fast as they
came, and every one gives heed to his post, to see
where it will start up again, which is an uncertain
thing, and commonly three-fourths of a mile from
the former spot. If the Seal has a good broad wa-
ter, three or four leagues each way, it can keep the
sportsmen in play a couple of hours before it is so
spent that they can surround and kill it. If in its
fright it retreats to land, it is welcomed with sticks
and stones by the women and children, and pre-
sently pursued by the men in the rear."*

Several methods are taken to kill Seals on the
ice* As they frequently themselves make apertures

* Crant2. Greenland.

CAPTURE OF THE

in the )r,e for breathing, the Greenlander seats him-
self on a stool, putting his feet on a board, to

keep them from the cold. " Now when the Seal
comes and puts its nose at the hole, he pierces it
instantly with his harpoon, then breaks the hole
larger, and draws it out, and kills it quite. Some-
times, again, if the Greenlander sees a Seal lying
near its hole upon the ice, he slides along on his
belly towards it, wags his head, and grunts like a
Seal, and the poor animal, thinking it is one of its
innocent companions, lets him come near enough to
pierce it with his long lance/' A third device will
be found, from Pallas's Travels, in our account of
the Hare of the Sea, or Leporine Seal; and the
only other method we shall particularize is that men-
tioned on the same authority, as practised in Lake
Baikal: — " AtZivoviawe met a number of individuals
going a Seal-hunting. This fishery is farmed out, and

AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 87

is pursued chiefly in April. The Seals congregate in
numbers in winter in the neighbourhood of rapid
rivers and hot springs, where the ice is broken, to
which spots they resort, and bask or sleep in the
sun. The hunters are quite familiar with these
places, and put themselves into slight sledges, on
which they hoist a white sail. The Seals, taking
this for a floating island of ice, are not alarmed,
and approach. They are thus surprised and shot,
and many are captured/'*

While man is thus the greatest, and, we fear,
of ten the cruelest, enemy of these Amphibia, it is not
to be forgotten that he is not the only one. On land
their chief foes, and especially of the Walrus, are
the Polar Bears ; and between these animals there are
often dreadful contests ; the Walrus being usually
victorious, at the same time carrying away many
fearful scars, the tokens of his triumph. In the ocean
many of the more formidable species of Whales are
ever making bloody and successful war against all
kinds of Seals. The following curious information is
given by Peron respecting the Great Sea- Elephant:
" The fishers state that they sometimes see these Seals
ascend from beneath the wave in the greatest appa-
rent alarm, many of them covered with wounds, and
dyeing the water with their blood. Their panic
concurs with their wounds in proving that they have
been hunted by some formidable foes. The fishers
unanimously agree that they know no animal which

• Voyag. de Pallas, t, iv. 136.

88 PRODUCTS OF THE

could make such formidable wounds, and therefore
presume that these monsters dwell far from the
coasts ; whilst they at the same time allow that they
have not otherwise been able to detect any trace
of them/' Nearer home, they have similar ene-
mies, and we are happy here to add a valuable
note from Dr Trail's manuscript : — '• In 1833, I in-
quired for my old acquaintances the Seals of the
Holm of Papa Westray, and was informed that,
about four years before, they had totally deserted the
island, and had only within the last few months be-
gun to reappear. The seeming cause of this migra-
tion was the attacks of some powerful ravenous inha-
bitant of the ocean. My friend informed me that in
1 828 or 1 829, he had found the bodies of more than a
dozen of Seals completely divided through the mid-
dle, as if by a bite, drifted on shore. It was almost
in every instance the portion next the tail that was
found, and the appearance of these fragments showed
that the body of the animal had been cleanly cut
through, as if by the single stroke of the monstrous
jaws of some species of shark." It has, moreover,
been observed that these creatures are subject to
very fatal epidemics. " About fifty years ago,
multitudes of their carcases were cast ashore in
every bay in the north of Scotland, Orkney, and
Shetland, and numbers were found at sea in a sickly
state."*

Without in the slightest degree depreciating the

• Fleming, Brit. An. p. J7.

AMPHIBIOUS CARN1VORA. 89

products of these animals, which have become re-
gular articles of commerce, and contribute to the
elegancies and refinement of polished society, it is
yet interesting to reflect that they are even still more
essential to those hardy tribes of our fellow-men
who spend their fleeting and chequered day within
the limits of the Arctic Zone. To them they are
indispensable, for the sea is their corn-field, and the
Seal-fishery their most copious harvest. " Seals," says
Crantz, "are more needful to them than sheep are to
us, though they supply us with food and raiment,
or than the cocoa-tree to the Indian, although it
presents him with meat and clothing, houses, and
ships ; so that in case of necessity they could live
upon them alone. The Seal's flesh supplies them
with palatable and substantial food ; the fat is sauce to
their other aliment, and furnishes them with oil for
light and fire, while at the same time it contributes to
their wealth in every form, seeing that they barter it
for all kinds of necessaries. They sew better with
the fibres of Seal's sinews than with thread or silk ;
of the tine internal membranes they make their
body raiment, and their windows ; of the skins they
make their buoys, so much used in fishing, and
many domestic utensils, and, of the coarser kinds,
their tents, and their boats of all sizes, in which
they voyage and seek provisions ; therefore," con-
tinues Crantz, " no man can pass for a right Green-
lander who cannot catch Seals. This is the ulti-
mate end they aspire at in all their device and
labour from their childhood up. It is the only art,

90 PRODUCTS OF THE

and in truth it is a difficult and dangerous one, to
which they are trained from their infancy, by which
they maintain themselves, make themselves agree-
able to others, and become beneficial members of
society." Concerning the Southern hemisphere, a
recent voyager tells us, that the inhabitants of Terra
del Fuego are very expert at cutting the blubber
from Seals, and not less so at stealing and eating
it.

So much for the opinions entertained by the in-
habitants of the Polar regions regarding the Seals
as an article of food. A corresponding estimate is
made of the herbivorous Cete all the world over.
Wherever they are found, whether in the West
Indies or the East, in Africa or America, they are
considered as probably superior to any other kind
of animal food. The prevalence and grounds of
this opinion will be stated in a subsequent part of
this volume,

No products of the Amphibia, however, are,
upon the whole, more valuable than the oil and
skins. The oil obtained both from the Walrus and
Seals is of a quality superior to that of the Common
Whale, and brings a higher price. It yields oil, says
Scoresby, speaking of the Sea-Horse, which, when
extracted before putrefaction has commenced, is beau-
tifully transparent in its appearance, free from smell,
and not unpleasant to the taste. Soon after Cap-
tain Cook's voyage, in the Resolution, in 1771,
he presented an official report concerning New
Georgia, in which he gave an account of the great

AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 91

number of Proboscis Seals and Fur Seals which
he had found on the shores of that island. This
induced several enterprising merchants to fit out
vessels to take them, the former for their oil, the
latter for their skins. Captain Weddell states that
ne had been credibly informed, that during a period
of about fifty years not less than 20>000 tons of oil
were procured annually from this spot alone for tlie
London market ; a quantity which, at a moderate
price, would yield about L.I, 000,000 a year.

The skins, as we have seen, are very much used
in their raw state as articles of apparel by the na-
tives of the Polar Zones. When tanned, they use
them extensively in making shoes ; and the Esqui-
maux have a process by which they render them
waterproof; so that, according to Scoresby, the
jackets and trousers made of them by these people
are in great request among the whale-fishers, for
preserving them from oil and wet. But the skins
are not only used in this raw and tanned state as
leather; on account of their silky and downy cover-
ing, they constitute still more important articles con-
nected with the fur trade. Thus considered, Seals'
skins are evidently of two kinds, which may be dis-
tinguished as teV-skins and/wr-skins. The former
are used for clothing and ornament by the Russians,
Chinese, and other nations, and the latter yield
a fur which, we believe, exceeds in value all others
which have been brought into the market. Many
Seals supply nothing but hair, whilst others, in dif-
ferent proportions, produce both the hair, and un-

92 PRODUCTS OF THE

derneath it a soft and downy fur. The majority,
we believe, are to be considered merely as hair-
skins, similar to the bear or sable; and of these
some are excellent of their kind, and are much
prized.

But the finest of the hair- Seal-skins yields in
value and importance to the other variety, the fur-
Seal-skin. This fact is thus alluded to in the last
edition of the Encyclopaedia Britanriica : — " From
about the year 1806 till 1823, an extensive trade
was carried on in the South Seas in procuring Seal-
skins, which in that part of the world are covered
with a fine fur. These were obtained in vast abun-
dance by the first traders, and yielded a very large
profit." The remark we have just made that hair
and fur are frequently both present, is as applicable
to the fur-Seals, as to the others. But the question
here occurs, which are the fur- Seals? and that in-
telligent mariner we have so often quoted, and who
was so largely engaged in this trade, declares that
Naturalists know nothing about it. Mr Weddell
invariably speaks of the fur-Seal as one species
(the Falklandica) distinct from all others. He re-
marks,— " The circumstance of its possessing a
valuable fur has not been noticed in any description
of the Seal with which I have met," (pp. 137, 142,)
We have probably, on this point, made a somewhat
more extended survey of the works of Naturalists
than this intrepid sailor could do, and our examina-
tion quite corroborates his. We have not discovered
that this, or any other species, has been distinguished

AMPHIBIOUS CARNIVORA. 93

for the peculiar excellency of its fur; and for more
ample details on this point we refer our readers to
our chapter upon the Otaria Falklandica, and also
to a more extended paper on the subject which will
be found elsewhere ;* simply remarking, that it is a
matter of considerable national importance. The
time was when cargoes of those skins yielded five
or six dollars apiece in China; and the present price
in the English market averages from 30 to 50 shil-
lingsf per skin. The number of skins brought off
from Georgia cannot be estimated at fewer than
1,200,000; the Island of Desolation has been equally
productive ; and in addition to the vast sums of
money which these creatures have yielded, it is cal-
culated that several thousand tons of shipping have
annually been employed in the traffic.J

But whilst we indulge the hope that we may have
done some little service by exciting attention to the
source of this fur, and publishing the first represen-
tation of the animal which yields it, that has, as
such, seen the light, yet we are far from being
satisfied that much does not still remain to be done.
It is a curious fact, that whilst the Americans were
for many years most successfully prosecuting this
trade, England was not profiting by it, and though
quantities of the fur-Seal-skin were brought home,
" the furriers in England had not the method of dress-

• See Annals of Natural History, No. for October 1838, Vol.
II. 81.

f Encyc'op. Brit. Last Edit. vol. x. p. 264.
I Weddell, 54.

94 PRODUCTS OF THE

ing them ; on which account they were of so little
value as to be almost neglected."* Now, the inquiry
here suggests itself, — If there was a time when our
artizans could not, and did not, dress this skin when
put into their hands, and when Naturalists knew
little or nothing specifically about the true fur- Seal,
may it not happen that there are other Seals whose
fur is really as valuable, and which might now be
turned to a similar profit? In our account of the
Falklandica, we have given a description of the
method by which the fur- Seal-skin is prepared,
apparently sufficiently simple ; and we have, more-
over, given the opinion of an eminent Natural-
ist, (an opinion in which we could not concur,)
that the Ursine Seal is the true source whence
this valuable product is derived. But be this as it
may, the following statements should not be over-
looked, viz. " That the Americans regard many Seals
as fur-Seals, which are unknown to Naturalists,
and quite distinct. Thus, according to them, the
fur-Seal of Patagonia has a bump behind its head;
that of California is of very large dimensions ; the
Upland Seal, or that which retreats far from shore,
is small, and exclusively inhabits the Macquarrie
Islands and Pennantipodes ; and, finally, that of the
South of New Zealand has other and distinct charac-
ters."f The truth then may be, that many Seals
produce, in high perfection, that article which is

* Weddell, 53.

t Lesson, in Diet. Cla«s. t. xixi.

AMPHIBIOUS CARN1VORA. 95

now so much desiderated, and would yield so rich a
return.

It may be considered superfluous to read a lec-
ture to the trader upon a matter so nearly touching
his own interest ; and yet at the same time there
is one point which forms so essential a part
of our subject, that we cannot withhold a word
or two. These valuable creatures have often
been found frequenting some sterile islands in
innumerable multitudes. By way of illustration,
we shall refer only to the Fur-Seal, as occurring
in South Shetland. On this barren spot their
numbers were such that it has been estimated that
it could have continued permanently to furnish a re-
turn of 100,000 furs a year ; which, to say nothing of
the public benefit, would have yielded annually,
from this spot alone, a very handsome sum to
the adventurers. But what do these men do?
In two short years, 1821-2, so great is the rush,
that they destroy 320,000. They killed all, and
spared none The moment an animal landed,
though big with young, it was destroyed. Those
on shore were likewise immediately despatched,
though the cubs were but a day old. These of
course all died, their number, at the lowest calcula-
tion, exceeding 100,000. No wonder, then, that at
the end of the second year the animals in this loca-
lity were nearly extinct. So is it, we add, in other
localities, and so with other Seals ; so with the Oil-
Seals, and so with the Whale itself, every addition
only making bad worse. And all this might easily

96 THE SEAL TRADE.

be prevented by a little less barbarous and revolting
cruelty, and a little more enlightened selfishness.
Fishermen are by law restrained as to the size of
the meshes of their net in taking many of our more
valuable fish ; and in the Island of Lobos, in the
River Plata, where, as we have seen, there are
quantities of Seals, their extermination is prevented
by the Governor of Monte Video, who farms out
the trade under the restriction that the hunters shall
not take them but at stated periods, ages, &c. We
could enlarge on this point, but our exhausted space
forbids.

The Seal-fishing in the Northern hemisphere has
never been prosecuted with any energy by the
British. The ships which are fitted out for the
Whale-fishery occasionally obtain from 2000 to 3000
Seals, and sometimes more, and vessels sent out for
the Seal-fishery alone, and which seldom amount to
more than one or two annually, have occasionally
procured a cargo of 4000 or 5000, yielding nearly
100 tons of oil.* From the Northern parts of
Europe, however, and more especially from the
Elbe and Weser, there are frequently upwards of
fifty sail despatched. In a good Sealing year the
number captured off the coasts of Newfoundland
has amounted to many hundreds of thousands.
The trade is one of much hazard, and leads to

* By a newspaper paragraph, (July 1838,) we perceive that
nine vessels were this season employed on the Greenland Seal-
fishing; they procured about twenty Whales, and nearly 40,000
Seals. Most of the vessels belonged to Scotland, and more
especially to Peterhead.

HE

UNI ,TY

THE SEAL TRADE.

perils. and adventures not less disastrous

ine than the Whale-fishery itself. But on these we

must not dwell.

With regard to the Seal-fishery of the South, the
English and Americans have exclusively divided it
between them, and with very great profits. It has
lately been stated that they together employ not
fewer than sixty vessels in the trade, of from 250
to 300 tons burden. These vessels are strongly
built, and have each six boats, like those of the
whalers, together with a small vessel of forty tons,
which is put in requisition when they reach the
scene of their operations. The crew consists of
about twenty-four hands ; their object frequently
being to select a certain fixed locality, from which
they make their various battues. Thus it is very
common for the ship to be moored in some secure
bay, and to be partially unrigged, whilst, at the
same time, the furnaces, &c. required for making
the oil, are placed on shore. The little cutter is
then rigged and manned with about half the crew,
who sail about the neighbouring islands, and send
a few hands on shore when they see Seals, or
where they wish to watch for them. This vessel
can hold about 200 Seals, rudely cut up, which will
yield about 100 barrels of oil: this is transported
to head-quarters and melted. The campaign fre-
quently lasts for three years, and in the midst of
unheard-of privations and dangers. Some of the
crew are sometimes left on distant barren spots,
and the others being driven oft' by storms, they are

G

98 CLASSIFICATION.

left to perish, or drag out for years a most p» eca-
rious and wretcned existence.

On the subject of classification we mean not to
enter into any extended statements. The Amphi-
bious is the third tribe, of the third family, Car-
nivora, of the third order Carnassiers of Baron
Cuvier ; and comprehends the \Valrus and the
Seals, a very natural group, which has been desig-
nated the Phocacious group, or the Phocacea
Originally all the Seals were included under one
genus ; but as their number, and ascertained dif-
ferences, increased, it was suggested by Buifon that
they should be divided into two groups ; it having
been observed that some of them had no external
ears, whilst others were possessed of these appen-
dages. Peron earned this suggestion into execu-
tion, and proposed the term Otary for the latter
division, in wrhich he has been followed by most
Naturalists, and amongst others by Baron Cuvier,
who remarks — " The Otaries of Peron differ in
several particulars from the Seals properly so called,
independently of the small conchae at their ears."
This distinction accordingly will be observed in the
following pages. M. F. Cuvier, after having very
carefully re-examined the group, and finding some
marked differences in the dental apparatus, proposed
a new arrangement, grounded mainly thereupon.
He demonstrated that the Seals may be divided
into many generic groups, characterized by organic
modifications, not less marked than those which
distinguish the most natural genera ; and added,

CLASSIFICATION. 99

that their common characters elevate them into the
rank of an order, according to the prevailing prin-
ciples of classification. " Far," says he, " from
forming only one natural genus, they constitute a
distinct order, which is composed of many genera,
which comprehend numerous species."* We esti-
mate highly the value of M. Cuvier's labours in this
department, and believe that he pushed his disco-
veries as far as it was possible at the time. We
think his arrangement will probably be adopted,
and, accordingly, after the example furnished by
the Regne Animal, we will indicate it as we pro-
ceed, without, however, abandoning the simpler
division of Peron. Having thus stated the simple
arrangement which we mean to follow, we may
now add, that Dumeril places these animals in his
last family but one of the Mammalia, immediately
before the Whales, and that Latreille, in his Fa-
milies Naturelles du Regne Animal, makes them his
fifth order, that of the Amphibia, the first family
of which is the Seals and Otaries. Of all our
modern Naturalists, however, we believe that Pro-
fessor Nilsson, of the University of Lund, is the
individual who has most assiduously devoted atten-
tion to this difficult department of Zoology. His
work is sp-iedily expected ; and it is confidently
anticipated that much of the doubt and confusion
which still envelope the subject will then be re-
moved. We regret that we have not been able te

• iMammiferes, 1824.

100 CLASSIFICATION.

avail ourselves of his valuable researches, as our
task would thus have been greatly facilitated, and
our treatise rendered more valuable and com-
plete. Along with this regret, however, we are
unwilling to forego the hope that our protracted
and independent, though feeble efforts, have thereby
been rendered additionally productive, and that we
have thus been enabled to contribute more to en-
hance the interest, and elucidate the difficulties, of
the subject.

THE SEA-HORSE.

1 91

THE WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE.

We commence our account of the group of the
Amphibia with that animal, which, though neither
the largest, nor perhaps the most remarkable, yet
cannot be regarded without wonder and astonish-
ment. Its cranium is quite unique; and as this
remarkable portion of the Osteology, including the
dental apparatus, has received great prominence in
the classification of its congeners, we prefix repre-
sentations originally published by Daubenton, and on
which little need be said. It represents the peculiar
shape of the head, the most remarkable part of the
animal. It will at once be observed, that the strange

102 THE SEA-HORSE.

shape of the upper jaw depends upon the sockets,
which receive the great tusks, and remind us of the
Elephant. It will also be noticed, that the lower
jaw shuts in between these tusks, and so rests upon
the upper one. The great sockets are placed be-
tween the nostrils and the orbit, the rim of which
is wanting for nearly one-third of its circumference.
The cranium itself is not large ; but its processes
are well marked, serving for the insertion of the
powerful muscles which move the head. The posi-
tion of the grinders, and their shape, are here also
seen, four on each side of each jaw, which, with the
two tusks, makes eighteen in all ; the grinders are
small. Cuvier adds, that between the tusks are
two incisors, shaped like molars, which the genera-
lity of writers have not yet recognised to be inci-
sors ; between these again are two small and pointed
ones in young individuals.*

* In the preceding volume of the Naturalist's Library, (Mam.
v. 7th,) our friend Mr MacGillivray having supplied, from the
cranium of a young Walrus, in the Museum of the Royal College
of Surgeons, the first published description of the normal denti-
tion of this animal, we subjoin it. In the skull of the young,
there are in the upper jaw three incisors on each side; the first
or inner extremely small, the second a little larger, and the third
or outer disproportionately large, being equal to the largest
grinders. The canine tooth is displaced, being thrust outwards
beyond the line of the other teeth ; there are then five grinders,
with single roots, the fifth very small. In the lower jaw there
are two very small incisors on each side, the canine is wanting,
and five grinders. In adults, the incisors are obliterated, except
the lateral pair of the upper jaw; the fifth grinder also disappears,
and sometimes the fourth.

UNIVERSI1

94UFORN

THE WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE.

Trichechus. — LINN.
PLATE I.

TYtc&ecAus, Linn. Trick. #osmarws,Gmel. Bqit** A/arinn*t Ray.

Morse of the Russians. Bete a la grande dent, of the French.
Walros, Egede, Crantz, Anderson. Walrus, Pennant, Scores-
by, &c. Sea-Horse of the Whale-fishers, and sometimes Sea-
Cow.

It has been well remarked, that the Walrus forms
a connecting link between the Mammalia of the
land and those of the water, corresponding in some
of its characters both with the Bullock and the
Whale, It is often seen of the size of a great Ox,
and sometimes exceeds the dimensions of the gi-
gantic Elephant. Its distinguishing characters are
accurately and beautifully represented in the ac-
companying plate, taken from a specimen in the
Edinburgh Royal Museum, as perfect a one per-
haps as is to be found in Europe. The head, well
proportioned to the body, is round and obtuse ; the

104 WALRUS, CT ?EA-HORSB.

eyes are small and brilliant; there are no external
ears, and the orifice is placed far back on the head ;
the nostrils are large, somewhat round, and placed
on the upper part of the snout. The most remark-
able feature, however, in its countenance is its great
muzzle, produced by the bony structure being ac-
commodated for the reception of the tusks ; these
project from eighteen inches to two feet, and di-
verge at their points. The lips are remarkably
thick, and are covered with great pellucid bristles
as big as a straw. The neck is short ; the body,
very bulky, is broadest round the chest, and dimi-
nishes towards the tail, which is very short. As a
defence against the extreme cold, these animals have
a hide that is from an inch to two inches thick,
covered with close hair; and they likewise pos-
sess, like the Whale tribe, a coating of oily fat,
with which their bodies are completely enveloped.
Thus incased, they descend to the depths of the
Arctic Seas, and repose upon their icy beds with-
out inconvenience. The colour, according to Fa-
bricius, varies with the age ; the young are black ;
they then become brown, and gradually more and
more pale, till in old age they become quite white.
Their limbs are short, and of an intermediate cha-
racter between fins and legs ; the inside of their
paws are defended by a rough horny kind of coat-
ing, a quarter of an inch thick, which is probably
produced by the hardening of the skin in conse-
quence of the coarse usage they receive in climbing
over the ice and rocks. The fore-paws, which are

WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE. 105

a kind of webbed hand, are two-sevenths of the
whole length of the animal from the snout ; they
are from two to three feet in length, and being ex-
pansive, they can be stretched to a considerable
width. The hind-feet extend straight backwards,
and together form a sort of tail fin ; they are not,
however, united, but are quite distinct from each
other ; their length approximates to that of the fore-
paws, and the termination of all the fingers and
toes is marked by a small nail.

The common dimensions of the Sea- Horse are
from twelve to fifteen feet in length, with a circum-
ference of eight or ten. Crantz states that it
reaches a magnitude of eighteen feet in length, and
nearly as much in circumference; and Baron Cuvier
states that it exceeds the bulk of the largest bulls,
and attains a length of twenty feet.* The length
of the tusks when cut out of the skull is commonly
from fifteen to twenty inches, though they are some-
times almost thirty; and their weight is from five
to ten pounds, though it is noted that they have
sometimes been found the double of this on the
shores of the Icy Sea. They are not only useful
to the animal in procuring its food, but also as a
weapon against its foes, of which the Bear on land,
and the Sword-fish at sea, are amongst the .most
nimble and fierce; they are also employed in enabling
the animal to raise its unwieldy bulk upon the ice,
when its access to the shore is prevented.

• Regne Animal, edit. 1829.

06 WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE,

Though we have been somewhat full in our de-
scription, yet we do not deem it superfluous to ap-
pend a few sentence; from the racy account of the
Missionary Crantz — « The head is oval, but the
mouth so small that I could not quite put my fist
into it. On both its lips, and on each side of the
nose, is a kind of fungous skin, a hand's breadth,
stuck with a plantation of monstrous bristles, that
are a good span long, and as thick as a straw ; they
are like a three stranded cord, pellucid, and give to
the animal a majestic though a grim aspect. The
nose is very little raised, and the eye is not larger
than an Ox's. I could perceive no eye-lid, and as
I was at first searching for the eye and temples, a
Greenland boy pressed the skin, and out sprang

WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE. 107

the eyes ; so that I found I could squeeze them in
arid out the depth of an inch ; from whence I might
conclude that this creature had also a shelter for its
eyes in stormy weather by drawing them into a safe
repository. I could scarce find the little apparatus
of the ears. Having no sharp incisors, it cannot
catch fish and chew them like the Seals ; and the
two long tusks or horns growing out of its face over
the nose, and bending down over its mouth, so as
almost to barricade it up, seem to be more an im-
pediment than a help to it. The right tusk was
about an inch longer than the left, and its whole
length was twenty-seven inches ; they stand about
three inches asunder in the head, and nine at the
extremities."

As we have no where noticed any differences
pointed out between the male and female, it is pro-
bable that they are not considerable. The latter
have four mammae, which are ventral ; and they
usually bring forth one, though sometimes two at a
birth. Dr Shaw in his Zoology has figured two spe-
cies of this animal, and inferred their existence prin-
cipally from the differences in the representations
given by Johnston and Captain Cook. Whilst we
do not venture to deny that there may be two va-
rieties, yet as nothing like sufficient proof has hither-
to been afforded, we shall prosecute the subject as
if there were but one.

In the very young, the tusks are not protruded, and
we regret that we cannot specify the period of their
appearing. Some Natuiausts have thrown out the

108 WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE.

idea that the old occasionally shed their teeth : of
this opinion we have seen no confirmation, although
it has been stated that many full grown animals have
rather short teeth, and some are seen with only one ;
which, however, is satisfactorily accounted for from
the many accidents to which they are exposed.
Previous to the development of the tusks, their phy-
siognomy is of course very different from what it
subsequently becomes ; and it is under these cir-
cumstances that, their countenances having a dis-
tant resemblance to the human, they have some-
times been mistaken for men, and have thus fre-
quently given origin to the story of the merman or
mermaid. This occurs the more readily, as these
animals, as well as the other Amphibia, and all the
aquatic Mammalia, are in the habit of rearing their
heads above the water, and attentively gazing around
upon ships, or any other passing object Accord-
ingly, we find Mr Scoresby expressly mentioning,
" I have myself seen a Sea- Horse in this position,
and under such circumstances that it required little
stretch of imagination to mistake it for a human
being. So like, indeed, was it, that the surgeon of
the ship actually reported to me his having seen a
man with his head just appearing above the surface
of the water." *

With the forms which we have now described,
and more especially after the details previously
given, it will readily be understood that the Sea-

* Lib. cit. i. 504.

WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE. 109

Horses are adapted in very different degrees for
land and water. The latter unquestionably is
their more common, as well as more natural, ele-
ment : for it all their organs are beautifully adapted ;
and, when in the liquid wave, all their members have
free scope, and work to the admiration of those who
behold them. Whether descending into the depths
of the sea, or swimming along its surface, their
members are perfectly suited for their exigencies,
and hence we find Zorgdrager stating, " That it is as
difficult to follow the Morse with boats in rowing,
as it is to follow the Whale itself;" implying, we
need scarcely add, a great velocity in their course:
and again, when quiet, so much are they at their
ease that they sleep profoundly upon the surface,
and, according to Schreber, are carried along as if
they were dead. Upon the land, on the other hand,
they are in a strained and far less favourable condi-
tion ; while at the same time it must be remem-
bered, that, this sojourn is absolutely requisite, as
it is on land that they form their lair, like other
quadrupeds, and carry on the process of lactation.
Their swimming paws, so admirably adapted for the
water, are but ill suited for the land ; and, though
they make use of them for necessary transport, the
operation is both awkward and irksome ; " their
gait," says Martens, " is a kind of jerking ; they can
make considerable springs, and can advance pretty
rapidly, with the help of their teeth. When they
continue on land, they appear, however, and really,
o a great degree, are necessarily, sluggish brutes.'*

110 WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE.

Another important consequence of their resort to
land is their being deprived, in a great degree, of
their ordinary food ; some have gone so far as to say
of all food ; and that not only during their more pro-
tracted confinements, but at all times when they
leave the sea, and come ashore, whether it be for
days or weeks. Thus Lord Shuldham, in his inter-
esting account of the Walrus, as observed in the
Gulf of St Lawrence, states, that they are in the ha-
bit of crawling up to the shore, in a convenient land-
ing place, and of remaining sometimes fourteen days
together without food, when the weather is fair ;
but on the first appearance of rain they retreat to
the water with great precipitation ;* and Buffon ob-
serves he eats none upon land, which obliges him
to return to the sea in quest of food. The reader
is already aware that this abstinence is trifling in
comparison of what is alleged concerning many of
the Seals ; to whom they have another point of re-
semblance, viz. that the Morse has been observed to
discharge from its stomach considerable quantities
of stones.

With regard to what constitutes the common
food of the Walrus Naturalists do not seem well
agreed. Some, as Schreber, affirm that they are
not at all carnivorous, whilst the more common
opinion — that of Fabricius and Crantz — is, that
they feed on shell-fish and the marine vegetables
which adhere to the bottom of the sea; and that

• Phil. Trans, vol. Ixv. 249.

WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE. Ill

one use of their tusks is to disengage their food
from the spots where it grows. Buffon, again, says
that they live on prey as the Seal does, and particular-
ly on herring and small fishes ; in other words, that
they are carnivorous, Mr Scoresby mentions that in
their stomachs he had met with shrimps, a kind of
craw fish, and the remains of young Seals; Mr
Fisher, again, states that he found "long branches
of sea-weed, fucus digitatus ;v* so that, from these
facts, as well as from some pointed observations of
Martens, we have little doubt they are omnivorous,
and make use both of animal and vegetable food.

Proceeding from their physical to their mental
constitution, we may observe that they are mono-
gamous, and thereby enjoy a peace and quiet in ordi-
nary life which presents a striking contrast to what
is seen in the case of very many of the Seals. They
also appear to be in a remarkable degree social.
We hear little or nothing of them in solitude, or in
single pairs, but united together in dozens, more fre-
quently in hundreds, and sometimes even in thousands.
This crowding together on land, of so many awk-
ward and noisy creatures, frequently gives rise to
singular enough spectacles. u The moment the first
gets ashore, so as to lie dry, it will not stir till ano-
-her comes and forces it forward, by beating it with
ts great teeth ; this one is served in the same man-
ier by the next, and so on in succession till the
whole are landed, tumbling over one another, and

* Apun Bell, Brit, Quadr.

112 * WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE.

forcing the foremost for the sake of quiet to remove
farther up."* Usually harmonious among them-
selves, they have no disposition to molest others.
Retirement is the object of their choice, and, far from
being the enemy, naturally they are not even afraid
of man. " The Walrus," says Scoresby, " is a fear-
less animal. It pays no regard to a boat except as
an object of curiosity. Being sometimes taken by
the harpoon when in water, if the attack fail, it
often affords an opportunity of repeating it." This
is mentioned as a proof of its stupidity : but if slow
to learn, its dear bought experience at icngth con-
vinces it of man's unrelenting persecution, and then
it watches against every sudden surprise with un-
remitting perseverance and the most cunning strata-
gem, so that, with all his art, man often cannot reach
it ; and if in favouring circumstances he does, then all
the latent energies of its character appear. Though
never the aggressor, it can ably act in defence ; and
behaves with cool courage and great bravery. It
can do much for its individual defence, and is willing
to lend an efficient help to its associates, and thus
combining, they become most formidable, and even
dangerous foes. Here, too, it is that their paren-
tal and filial feelings are called forth ; the mother,
with the most admirable self-devotion, sacrificing
itself for her young, and the young exhibiting an
affection for its parent, which no animal, nor man
himself, could exceed. A few details will serve to

• Pennant's Quad. ii. 267.

WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE. 113

illustrate these peculiarities in the character and
habits of the animal.

Their tendency to herd together is well displayed
in the account given by Lord Shuldham. " The
Walrus," he remarks, " is a native of the Magdalene
Islands, (Gulf of St Lawrence.) They resort
thither early in spring, and the place seems peculi-
arly adapted to their nature, abounding with shell-
fish (clams) of a very large size. Here for a time
they are suffered unmolested to come on shore, and
amuse themselves, till they acquire boldness ; for, at
their first landing, they are so exceedingly timid as
to make it impossible for any person to approach
them. In a few weeks they assemble in great mul-
titudes, which, previous to their being disturbed,
used to amount to 7000 or 8000." * The same fact,
along with others, is illustrated by Captain Cook,
who was one of the first circumnavigators who gave
any thing like a distinct account of this creature.
He encountered them in the North Pacific Ocean,
wliere his further progress was arrested by the im-
penetrable barrier of ice. " At one o'clock," we
read, " we got entangled with the edge of the ice, on
which lay an innumerable number of Sea-Horses.
They were lying in herds of many hundreds, hud-
dled one over the other like swine, and were roaring
and braying very loud, so that in the night, or in
foggy weather, they gave us notice of the vicinity
of the ice before we could see it. They were sel-

* Apud Pennant, in Arctic Regions, 149.

114 WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE.

dom in a hurry to get away, till after they had been
once fired at, when they would tumble over each
other into the sea, ir ,he utmost confusion. Vast num-
bers of them would follow, and come close up to the
boats, but the flash of a musket in the pan, or even
the bare pointing of one, would send them down in
an instant." Zorgdrager, in his account of the
whale-fishery, gives a similar testimony, mention-
ing that, before they were persecuted at Spitzber-
gen, they advanced far upon land, and were little
upon their guard, so that sometimes 300 or 400 of
them were killed at a time. They were soon
taught, however, a lesson of caution and prudence.
"Ere long," continues the interesting voyager, "they
withdrew to the most unfrequented places, into re*
tired plains and banks of sand, where vessels rarely
approach, and when followed there, instructed by
the persecution they had suffered, they are so much
upon their guard, that they keep always near the
water, to facilitate their retreat. This fact I ex-
perienced on a large sand-bank near Werland, where
I fell in with a troop of thirty or forty ; some were
on the very margin of the water, and the others at no
great distance. We stopped some hours without
landing, in the hopes that they would advance fur-
ther into the plain. But as this stratagem did
not succeed, we landed with two boats to the
right and left of them, but almost the whole of them
were in the water the moment we put our feet
on shore." Zorgdrager thus ascribes their in-
creased caution to dear bought experience ; and the

WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE. 115

lesson, it would appear, could be learned very tho-
roughly ; for Cook again remarks, " We never found
the whole herd asleep, some being always on the
watch. These, on the approach of the boat, would
rouse those next to them ; and the alarm being thus
gradually communicated, the whole herd would be
awake presently."

But, with all their watchfulness, we are not to
wonder that, when man makes the attack, and se-
lects his time and opportunity, his designs should
circumvent, and his arts entrap, his devoted vic-
tim. We have already seen that their first object
is always to escape ; but if foiled in this, they de-
fend themselves with boldness, and conduct them?
selves with a gallantry which ensures the re-
spect, at least, of their foes. " When I wounded
one," says Martens, " others speedily surrounded
the boat, and whilst some endeavoured to pierce it
with their tusks, others raised themselves out of the
water, and did every thing they could to board it."*
The testimony of the celebrated Captain, now Sir
Edward Parry, is very specific on this point. On
encountering these animals in Fox's Channel, he re-
marks, " we saw about 200 lying piled, as usual, over
each other on the loose drift ice. A boat's crew from
both the Fury and Hecla proceeded to the attack ;
but these gallant Amphibia, some with their cubs
mounted on their back, made a most desperate re-
sistance, and one of them tore the planks of a boat

* Voyage in Greenland.

116 vfA^uUis, uu SEA-HORSE.

in two or three places. Three only were killed."*
And thus Zorgdrager, — " When a blow is struck
witn a spear, it must instantly be retracted to pre-
vent the animal from seizing it, and with it wound-
ing the assailant, as sometimes happens. When se-
verely wounded itself, it becomes very furious,
striking from one side to another with its teeth, and
breaking the weapons with which it is attacked ;
and at last burning with rage, it places its head be-
tween its paws, and allows itself to tumble into the
sea/' The only other witness we shall adduce on
these points is Captain Phipps, afterwards Lord Mul-
grave, who encountered them during his attempted
voyage to the North Pole in 1773. When near an
island to the north of Spitzbergen, he remarks —
" Two officers engaged in an encounter with a W^al-
rus, from which they came off with little honour.
The animal, being alone, was wounded in the first
instance ; but, plunging into the deep, he obtained
a reinforcement of his fellows, who made a united
attack upon the boat, wresting an oar from one of
the men, and had nearly upset* her, when another
boat came to their assistance."!

Their mutual affection having now been rendered
sufficiently apparent, we shall add an anecdote or
two, bearing more especially on their parental re-
gards. " The female," says the illustrious Captain
Cook, " will defend the young one to the very last,

Ed. Cab. Lib. i. 299. t Lib. cit. i. p. 374.

WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE. 117

and at the expense of her own life, whether in the
water or on the ice. Nor will the young one quit
the dam, though she be dead ; so that, if you kill
one, you are sure of the other ." The following in-
cident is mentioned in Cook's third voyage, when
the Resolution and Discovery were returning from
Bhering's Straits. "In the afternoon we hoisted
out the boats, and sent them in pursuit of the Sea-
Horses that surrounded us. Our people were more
successful than they had been before, returning with
three large ones and a young one. The gentlemen
who went on this party were witnesses of several
remarkable instances of parental affection in these
animals. On the approach of our boats towards the
ice, they all took their cubs under their fins, and en-
deavoured to escape with them into the sea. Se-
veral whose young were killed and wounded, and
were left floating on the surface, rose again and
carried them down, sometimes just as our people
were going to take them into the boat ; and they
might be traced bearing them to a great distance
through the water, which was coloured with their
blood. We afterwards observed them bringing
them up at times above the surface, as if for air,
and again diving under it, with a dreadful bellowing.
The female, in particular, whose young had been
destroyed and taken into the boat, became so en-
raged that she attacked the cutter, and stuck her
tusks through the bottom of it."

Considering the intelligence and amiability that
are thus displayed by the Walrus, we are not greatly

1*8 WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE.

surprised to learn that it can be domesticated. The
instances of this sort we have met with are not nu-
merous, yet we cannot withhold our credence to the
statement which De Laet* quotes from Edward
Worst, who mentions that he saw one of these ani-
mals alive in England, which was three months old,
and which had been brought from Nova Zembla.
" Every day it was put into water for a short time,
but it always seemed happy to return to dry ground
It was about the size of a calf; and could open and
shut its nostrils at pleasure. It grunted like a wild
boar, and someiimes cried with a strong deep voice.
It was fed with wild oats or millet, which it rather
sucked in than masticated. It was not without
difficulty that it approached its master, but it at-
tempted to follow him, especially when it had the
prospect of receiving nourishment at his hand."

The Walrus has been known, though very rarely,
to visit the British shores. One individual landed
in the Island of Harris in the year 1817, and was
speedily shot ;f and another would appear to have
been killed in Orkney in 18254

The chase of the Walrus is of great antiquity :
accordingly, we find that Octher, the Norwegian,
about the year 890, gave an account of it to Alfred
the Great, " having," he says, " made a voyage be-
yond Norway for the more commoditie of fishing
Horse-whales, which have in their teeth bones of

• Description des Indes Occid. apud Buffon.

t See Edin. Phil. Journal, vol. ii. Paper by Mr MacGillivray.

J Nat. Lib. Mam. vol. vii.

WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE. 119

great price and excellencie, whereof he brought
some at his return to the king." The capture is
undertaken both by sea and land, the former for evi-
dent reasons being the more hazardous enterprise.
A Greenlander will never venture on the encounter
alone, nor without the assistance of three or four
expert comrades. They employ a harpoon, which,
however, from the toughness of the skin, is fixed
with difficulty, and hence it is not so easy an ope-
ration as the striking of a whale. When the instru-
ment holds, the animal is allowed to swim about till
it is wearied, they then try to secure it, and kill it
with lances. But even under these circumstances,
the process is not an easy one, the animal, as we
have stated, getting roused, and fighting a hard
battle. " It is necessary," says Zorgdrager, " to
make a selection. Accordingly, the fishers aim at
the eyes, which obliges the animal to turn his head,
and then the fatal blow is aimed at the breast." — " In
this crisis," says Scoresby, " the best defence against
these enraged animals is sea-sand, which being
thrown into their eyes, occasions partial blindness,
and obliges them to disperse. Then the captured
one becomes a more easy prey."

The following is Lord Shuldham's account of the
capture on land : — " When the herd had made some
little advance from the sea, the hunters, armed with
a sharp spear, under cover of night, and with the
assistance of good dogs trained for the purpose,
endeavour to disperse them. This attack, in the
Gulf of St Lawrence, is called < making a cut/ and

120 WALRUS, OR SEA-HORSE.

it is generally looked upon as a most dangerous ad-
venture, it being impossible to drive them as you
will, and difficult to avoid them ; but as, during the
darkness, they do not know their way to the sea,
many fall victims. The aim is made at the throat
and breast ; and in this way 1500 and 1600 have
been killed at a cut."

As before hinted, fire-arms have not been found
efficient in this encounter. The skin is so tough,
and the lard so thick, that even the ball of a rifle
scarcely ever penetrates with effect. When, how-
ever, the musket is charged with small shot, and
fired in their eyes, it proves more serviceable, as,
when thus blinded, the sailors can attack without
danger, and successfully use their sharp instruments.

In the present age, according to Mr Scoresby, the
Sea- Horses range the coasts of Spitzbergen almost
without molestation from the British. The Whale-
fishers rarely take half a dozen in a voyage. The
Russians are their principal enemies, who, by means
of the hunting parties sent out to winter on the
coast, capture a considerable number.

The products of the Morse, for which it is va-
lued, and made an object of casual or preconcerted
chase, are its flesh and skin, its oil and teeth, the
latter being by much the most valuable. Among
the inhabitants of the Arctic regions its flesh is
much valued and esteemed, and is greedily eaten
along with the lard, and even the skin. Among
our mariners, as food it is only regarded as a
make-shift. Thus Sir Edward Parrv— « The flesh

WALRUS, 3S. SEA-HORSE. 121

was found tolerably good, affording a variety amid
the ordinary sea-fare." And thus Captain Cook—
" Being in want of fresh provisions, and numbers
of Sea- Horses in sight, the boats were despatched
and procured some. Till now we had supposed
them Sea- Cows, (probably the Manatee, to be after-
wards noticed,) so that we were not a little disap-
pointed, especially some of the seamen, who, from
tne rarity of the thing, had been feasting their eyes
for some days past. Nor would they have been
disappointed now, nor known the difference, if we
had not had some on board who had been in Green-
land, who declared what animals these were, and
that no one ate of them. But, notwithstanding this,
we lived upon them as long as they lasted, and there
were few on board who did not prefer them to our
salt meat."

The skins are found very useful in a variety of
ways about shipping. In ancient times most of
the ropes in the vessels of northern countries appear
to have been made of this substance, and, when cut
into shreds, and plaited into cordage, it formed lines
which were used for the capture of the Whale ; they
also answer admirably for wheel-ropes, being stronger
and wearing much longer than hemp. Cables, too,
were wont to be manufactured from them, and the
Findlanders used to pay tribute to the king in this
form. They are also used in place of mats in de-
fending the yards and rigging against chafing by
friction. When tanned, the skin is converted into
soft porous leather, above an inch in thickness ;

122 WALRUS, OP SEA-HORSE.

but it is by no means so useful, nor so durable as
in its green or raw state. Zorgdrager states that,
when procured in Canada, it was cut into slices,
and exported to America for carriage traces, and
into England for glue. We believe it is admirably
adapted for harness, and the manufacture of car-
riages .

We have already had occasion to state that the oil
of the Morse is more valued than that of the Whale.
The quantity varies at different times of the year, ac-
cording to the condition of the animals. Scoresby
states that, at some seasons, the produce is said to
be considerable, but that he never met with any
which afforded above twenty or thirty gallons of oil.
Zorgdrager gives the average quantity at half a
ton.

The teeth are usually more valuable than the oil.
We have already stated their usual dimensions.
The celebrated Gmelin, in his account of his journey
in Siberia, mentions, that at Anadeirkai the teeth
were found in such numbers on the shore, that there
was no occasion for the inhabitants to slay the ani-
mals on their account. The relative value of the
ivory from them and from the Elephant is variously
stated by authors. Thus, whilst Lord Shuldham
asserts that the ivory of the Sea- Horse is an inferior
sort, which soon turns yellow, Anderson, and after
him Schreber, maintain that, in hardness and per-
manent whiteness, it surpasses that of the Elephant.
Zorgdrager also states that it is more precious, es-
pecially the internal part, and Denis, that no ivory

WALRUS, OB «KA-HORSE.

123

can be fairer. This latter, we believe, is the idea
now entertained by the most competent judges.
The Greenlanders, and other northern nations,
are in the habit of converting it into their most im-
portant hunting weapons, and into tools and instru-
ments for domestic uses. Among the Chinese it is
employed for those curious uses to which they so
wonderfully turn ivory ; and, in most civilized na-
tions, it is extensively used for the invaluable pur-
pose of giving teeth to the toothless.

THE SEAL GROUP, OR PHOCHXE.

" L'histoire des phoques est m£me aujourd' hui extremeaient
erabrouillee; un grand norabre d'especes sont encore % connoi-
tre." — LESSON.

I. — THE PROPER SEALS, OR PHOCJE.

IN proceeding to the Seal group, or Phocidae, as it
has been called — the Phocacese of French writers —
we shall consider first the Earless Seals, or Proper
PhoccB, the InauriculatcB of Peron. The time is not
very distant, as explained on p. 98, when the whole of
the Phocce were grouped as one genus ; but latterly,
M. F. Cuvier and the French Naturalists have di-
vided them into seven distinct genera, and Professor
Nilsson, by establishing another, has made the
number eight. Of these, six belong to the Proper
Phocce, and two to the Eared Seals, or Otaries.
From the total want of classification which so
long prevailed, it naturally happened that, in what-
ever country a Seal was seen, it was regarded
as the Common Seal, the Vitulina of Naturalists ;

SEAL GROUP, OR PHOCID.E. 125

and hence it is next to impossible to ascertain the
species to which all the earlier accounts refer ; and
the more so as some additional difficulties arise as
connected with the colour. This is a subject which
would require an extent of discussion into which
we cannot enter. The appearance, when dry and
out of the water, is often different from what it is
when wet and in it. Again, it seems established
that some species differ much each successive year,
till full age is attained ; and that in some, too, the.
male is very differently marked from the female ;
circumstances these, which have a tendency to in-
duce the splitting of one species into many. Fur-
ther, it has been stated, " that in many specimens of
the same species, of both sexes and all ages, no two
are precisely similar ;" in short, that some differ in
colour as much as our Pointers or Greyhounds ; and
this remark has been freely applied to many genera.
We would here, however observe, that this conclu-
sion should be drawn with caution, and it ought
not, on the contrary, to be forgotten, that there is
great uniformity in the colours of many kinds, both
whilst young, and in the adult state. Frequent
evidence will subsequently be afforded of this truth ;
and without dwelling longer upon the subject, we
will now refer only to the Vitulina of the Scottish
shores, to the Rough or Bristled, and finally to
the Fur Seal. The ascertaining of this uniformity
where it really exists, would contribute much to the
ready determination of species.

When Baron Cuvier, fifteen years ago, examined

126 SEAL GROUP, OR PHOCIDJ3.

the Paris Museum in relation to this group, he
found that there was distinct evidence of three spe-
cies or varieties having been confounded as the
Common Seal ; but neither he 'nor any other of the
French Naturalists succeeded, at that time, in de-
tecting very clear or satisfactory specific characters.

The peculiar characters of the Proper Phocae are,
that their feet are enveloped in the integuments, so
becoming swimming paws ; the anterior are very
short, and the posterior much in the same line with
the body ; they have no external ears ; the incisors
vary from six to four in the upper jaw, and from
four to two in the lower ; they are simply cutting ;
the molars have generally many small lobes or cut-
ting points ; the toes of the feet are webbed, and
terminated by sharp claws.

GENUS CALOCEPHALUS, OR FINE SHAPED
HEADED SEALS.

The name of this genus was selected on account of the great
size of the cranium, and the shortness of the snout. The brain
is scarcely inferior in size to that of the best organized monkeys,
and hence they are easily tamed. Their dental formulary is

The grinders are formed of a large point in the middle, with
a smaller one anteriorly, and two posteriorly ; the nostrils do not
extend beyond the mouth ; the mammae of the female are four »
it has sometimes been stated two.

COMMON SEAL.

Ph. Vitulina — LINN.

PLATE II.

SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. — Molars placed in an oblique
position along the jaw ; posterior margin of the palate
acutely and deeply notched ; palatal foramen on maxillary
bone.

Phoca vitulina, Cuv. Desm. 375. Calocephalus vitulinus, Fr.
Cuv. Less. Sea-Calf, and Sea-Dog of Sailors. Selkie and
Tang-fish of the North of Scotland. Raun of Western Isles.

FOR the detection of specific characters of this Seal,
at once simple and satisfactory, we are, after long
and vexatious doubt, indebted to the skill of Pro-
fessor Nilsson. These characters consist, 1st, in

128 COMM^* SEAL

the oblique position of the molar teeth, by which
the internal posterior margin of one is in contact
with the outer anterior margin of the next behind
it : this is regarded as an unerring character, which
exists in no other known species ; 2d, in the poste-
rior margin of the palate being deeply notched ; and,
3d, in the external process of the nasal bone being
elongated and rounded, whilst the inner is not much
more than half the length of the former, and with
its fellow makes a small triangle.*

As we have had the pleasure of verifying all
these indications in several animals which were
captured on the Scottish coasts, we shall enter
somewhat into details. It was through the kindness
of Dr and Mr F. Knox that we first had an oppor-
tunity of examining the carefully preserved speci-
mens of two Seals, mother and cub, caught in the
Frith of Forth : the bones of the cranium of the
latter of these are set up separately, and beautifully
illustrate the general shape of the teeth, and the
third specific character above enumerated ; the
adult cranium is preserved entire, and as clearly
exhibits the two other characters. Along with them
we received the skin, measuring five feet in length,
with markings equally distinct and peculiar. The
ground of the coat or robe is a dark tawny white
colour, and this is studded universally over the
body with small brownish black spots ; the paws
and feet have a very dark ground, but are still

• History of British Quadrupeds, by Thomas Bell, Esq. 262.

OF THE SCOTTISH COASTS. 129

spotted. The robe is entirely destitute of fur, and
is wholly composed of hair which is short, thick set,
strong, and hard to the touch. Much about the
same time we found in the rich collection of the
Edinburgh Royal Museum two other specimens, the
markings of whose skins precisely agreed with each
other, and with the one just mentioned. These
specimens were three feet long, and from their size,
and the appearance of their teeth, may with tolerable
certainty be concluded to be young. Finally, we
have had the pleasure of examining a specimen in
the valuable collection of the late Sir Patrick
Walker, by whose polite attentions we were much
obliged. This animal was captured on the West of
Scotland, in the island of Colonsa, at a time when
Sir P. was in the neighbourhood ; and he, with that
praiseworthy zeal for natural history for which he
was distinguished, with much care and ability super-
intended its preparation. The first and most pecu-
liar character of this species, viz. the position of
the teeth, is clearly elucidated in this specimen, and
the colouring of the robe perfectly agrees with those
already dwelt upon. Its length is five feet three
inches. To this we have to add, that Sir Patrick's
collection contained another with precisely similar
markings, which was also taken at Colonsa, measur-
ing about three feet, and probably young. Here
then are six Seals, four of which were certainly, and
the other two probably, captured on the Scottish
shores; they are true vitulinse; the shades of tint
and colouring, of great and small, are perfectly

130 COMMON SEAL

identical ; and hence we conclude that this is the
common appearance of the Seal of these coasts.

Along with our notice of these specimens, we
may associate a reference to a plate of foreign
workmanship, which most closely resembles them.
We allude to a very accurate and apparently faith-
ful representation, by the celebrated Albinus, of a
Seal taken on the Dutch coast, the markings of
which correspond so exactly with those already men-
tioned, that we do not hesitate to regard it as the
same species. Albinus' description is tolerably
minute as it regards the internal structure, and to
it, therefore, we refer the anatomical reader;* such
extracts as suit our purpose, of further description,
we shall here epitomise and introduce.

" The Seal," says Albinus, " which was sent me
was taken in the neighbouring seas, and measured six
and a half feet from the mouth to the termination of
the posterior extremities. It had no external au-
ricles, and the foramina leading to the organ of
hearing were very small At the inner angle of the
eye was a third eye-lid, which could be easily drawn
over the whole eye, an apparatus which appears to be
frequently supplied to those animals in which the eye-
lids are used not only as a covering, but more especi-
ally as a defence from external danger. A few hairs
went to form something like eye-brows* The nostrils
were large, lunated, and easily opened. The upper

* Accademicae Annotationes, lib. iii.

OF THE SCOTTISH COASTS. 131

lip was much and roundly prominent, with whiskers
like those of the cat ; the hairs were not very nu-
merous, of a white colour, rather long, like bristles,
hard and horny, yet flexible. The teeth are de-
scribed as those of the genus, in respect of number,
and as very fit for seizing prey, and for self-defence.
The tongue was long, and round at the tip, but
somewhat sulcated at the upper part, so as to appear
double. The hair generally was short, slender, and
smooth, covering the whole of the body and the
extremities. The colour was verging to tawny,
(fulvum,) and the whole body was studded with a
number of dark spots, the tints being paler on the
belly and chest. The tail and posterior extremi-
ties were wholly brown, without any spots, except
at the origin of the fingers, where there were a
few tawny markings ; the same observations apply
to the fore-paws."

We have already dwelt sufficiently on those dif-
ficulties of our subject, which render the establish-
ment of species and genera a work of so much
uncertainty and toil. The same causes equally pre-
vent our arriving at any precise knowledge respecting
the distinctive peculiarities in the habits and disposi-
tions of these animals ; and therefore every authentic
fact on these points is a valuable addition to our scan-
ty stock of information. It is on this account that
we the more readily avail ourselves of some details
contained in a manuscript on the Seals of the West-
ern Isles of Scotland, which has kindly been put

132 COMMON SEAL

into our hands by Mr James Wilson, with free li-
berty to use it as we please.* From this we learn
that the species, known under the appellation
of JRawn, or Common Seal, is by much the most
frequent. " The Common Seal, we read, is still
to be seen in considerable numbers on the west-
ern coasts ; and they generally frequent sounds
and flats where fish is abundant, and where the water
is not exceedingly deep. They seem particularly
fond of flounders, which, on our coasts, appears to
be their principal food, probably from their being
a ground fish, and therefore easily caught. I have
seen a Seal," says Mr A.M'Neill, Mr Wilson's prin-
cipal informant, " frequently rise to the surface, and
dive again with a flounder in its mouth, being un-
able, from the breadth of the fish, to swallow it
and when engaged in this attempt so intent are
they on their prey, that they are frequently ap-
proached and shot." It is commonly believed that
they feed on fish of all sorts, not excepting Salmon,
and that they follow their prey up rivers for many
miles in pursuit.

The opinion in the Western Islands agrees with
that stated by Dr Fleming, that this variety pro-
duces its young about midsummer. According to
this last authority, the number is two at a birth,
though most hold there is only one.f They are

* This paper has since been published in the Magazine of
Zoology and Botany. See vol. i. p. 539.

t Two were, in the month of July of this year, found in a
on the Island of Cramond.

OF THE SCOTTISH COASTS. 133

usually brought forth in caves, and very shortly
after being whelped are taken to sea by the mother.
The Seals of the Western Isles frequently attain the
weight of sixteen stones, or 224 pounds, and swim
with great rapidity ; the author of the manuscript
states he has seen them swim half a mile in five
minutes.

" All Seals," adds Mr M'Neill, « are fond of going
to shore frequently, generally every tide. I have ob-
served that they always select the flattest and most
shelving rocks which have been covered with water
at full tide, and almost invariably those that are
separated from the main land. They generally go
ashore about half ebb, and lie together so close as
to appear almost touching, to the number sometimes
of one, two, or three dozen, with their heads invari-
ably turned towards the water, and seldom more
than a yard or two from it. Like many other ani-
mals, however, they place one of their number a
little farther up the rock, who seems constantly on
the watch, and is every now and then raising his
head to snuff the wind. In this position they fre-
quently go to sleep with their head, I may say,
hanging towards the water. They generally pre-
fer small rocks, and, as I have already said, those
that are covered with water, for two reasons, viz.
because they are smoother, flatter, and softer, being
covered with weed, and also because, being small,
they cannot easily be approached without observa-
tion* They generally remain on shore, unless dis-
turbed, for six hours, that is, till the returning tide

134 COMMON SEAL

floats them off the rock. When on shore they fre-
quently utter a grunting noise, not unlike pigs in a
stye, but they never do so unless they feel perfectly
secure."

There seems no doubt that the young of this
species, especially, are easily domesticated, and
display a great deal of sagacity. Thus Mr L. Ed-
monston mentions, " That one in particular became
so tame that he lay along the fire among the dogs,
bathed in the sea, and returned to the house ; but
having found his way to the byres, used to steal
there unobserved and suck the cows ; on this ac-
count he was discharged, and sent to his native ele-
ment."* The following particulars concerning a young
Seal of this species we owe to the polite and kind
attention of Professor Trail. " A young Seal was
brought to the house in which I resided when a
boy, and lived for some time chiefly in the kitchen.
It was about 2^ feet long. It sucked one's fingers
readily, and was fond of cow's milk, which it greedily
drank. When thrown into the sea it speedily re-
turned to the shore, and it seemed to be rather a
social animal. Its favourite position was the kitchen
hearth, the stone of which was elevated about four
inches above the floor, and it generally laid itself so
close to the embers of a peat fire, burning on the
hearth, that its fur was often singed. If carried to
any part of the kitchen, it speedily found its way
back to the hearth-stone, moving by means of its

• View of Zetland, ii. 293.

OF THE SCOTTISH COASTS. 135

fore feet, and moaning piteously. I am uncertain
whether this singular predilection for the fire* side, in
an animal whose natural element is the sea, was the
effect of illness, or arose from the pleasure which
these animals always seem to have in basking in
warm sunshine."

The Ph. vitulina, as will appear from what has
already been said, is generally understood to have
a wide distribution. At no distant period they
were regarded as not uncommon around the
British shores. As, however, they are extremely
shy, they almost invariably leave those districts
which are crowded with population, and retire to
spots where they are little disturbed. The Isle of
Wight, many years ago, was famous for the num-
ber of its Seals ; and the remark has more recently
been made, " That about the Land's-end, and in
Cornwall, they are perhaps more numerous than in
any other of the coasts of S. Britain, unless it be
in some parts of S. Wales. They are found more
rarely off Cumberland and Lancashire, also off
Northumberland, Durham, and Yorkshire, but in
general they are rarely observed off the counties
south of these."*

This Seal still frequents the estuary of the Tees,
and may be seen in small herds basking on the
sand-banks at low water: they emigrate to and
from this locality, and are much more abundant
in some years than others. These animals commit

• Bingley's British Quadrupeds, p. 57.

136 COMMON SEAL

immense havoc among the salmon ; and as in some
years there is great scarcity of these fish, and in
others great abundance, this circumstance has been
associated with the presence of the Seal.*

They are more common, we believe, both in
Scotland and Ireland than in England, more espe-
cially where the coast is bold and wild, and where
they are little disturbed in their retreats. We con-
clude from what has been already said that this
Seal is sometimes seen off the coasts of Holland
and the neighbouring countries, and it is said to
occur in large flocks on the coast of Greenland.
This statement, however, very much requires con-
firmation.

Seals, according to the testimony of older authors,
were in former times used extensively as food even in
these isles. Thus Sir R. Sibbald says that the peo-
ple in the island of Uist, Shetland, attack the Seals
and kill them; the skin they sell, but the bulks
they salt, and in the time of Lent eat them as
sweetly as venison ; and Low, in his Orkney, states
that in North Ronaldsha they were captured for the
purpose of eating, and were said to make good hams.
At present, however, they are sought after only on
account of their skins, and the oil which they yield.

These Seals are captured both on land and at sea,
and in a variety of ways. A few of the young ones
are slain in the caves where they are brought forth.
The old ones are shot when they can be reached on

• Bell's British Quadrupeds, p. 266.

OF THE SCOTTISH COASTS. 137

sand-banks and rocks. Sometimes they are de-
stroyed by recurved iron pikes secured in beams of
wood fixed on the banks which they frequent, near
low water mark ; the Seals, at the proper time of
the tide, are surprised, and driven rapidly into the
water, when they are interrupted by the pikes, and
despatched with clubs. According to Dean Monroe,
the Seals of Islay were slain by the help of trained
dogs, Martin, in his " Western Islands,"* makes
mention of a rock ofFN. Uist, where there is an an-
nual fishing in the month of October. A number of
boats resort to the island with people sufficient to
guard all the passages, and, on a signal given, the
general attack begins, and sometimes 300 young
and old are killed in the encounter. In Shetland, we
learn from Mr Edmonston, that they are sometimes
taken by setting a net, generally at night, a little
before full tide, around those rocks which are known
to be their favourite haunts, taking care that the
upper edge of the net be sunk to such a depth as
shall admit of the Seals swimming over it. The
Seals almost universally lay themselves on the rocks
when the wind is off shore, soon after the water be-
gins to fall. When they have been observed to
have done so and time has been allowed for the
tide to fall sufficiently to bring the edge of the
net to the surface, a sudden alarm is given, and
the Seals, in their hurry to escape, regardless of
every other consideration, become entangled in the

* P. 62.

138 COMMON SEAL.

net, and are taken.* The author of the manuscript
already quoted states, that " the Seal-fishing in the
sea commences in autumn, and is practised by
means of nets stretched across narrow sounds be-
twixt rocks where the Seals are in use to swim. In
these the Seals entangle themselves, and are taken
out either by boat, or, in those cases in which the
net is left dry, by persons on foot. It is, however,
the young ones only that are caught in this way,
and that only during a month or two in autumn.
In fact, the Seals display considerable ingenuity in
evading the net, sometimes creeping out at the bot-
tom, or jumping over it at the surface."

• View of Zetland, vol. ii. p. 292

139

COMMON SEAL OF THE FRENCH
COAST.

PLATE III.

Phoca vitulina, Linn. Phoque Commun of the French, L«
Veritable Veau Marine, F. ^uv

AFTER having thus dwelt at some length upon
what we regard as the true Vitulina of the British
shores, we shall next introduce to notice that variety
which Baron Cuvier has selected* as the type of the
genus, and which M. F. Cuvier denominates " Le ve-
ritable veau marine!9 This animal, if the true Ph. vi-
tulina, should of course have the same essential cha-
racters with the one we have just left ; and any ap-
parent differences should be only temporary and in-
significant, the consequences of youth, age, &c.
Having had no opportunity of examining the iden-
tical variety selected by Cuvier, we cannot decide
if the two in every essential character coincide.
From the examination of the plates, we should be
£d to suspect that they differ ; and this suspicion is

* Oss Foss. t. v. p. 200

]40 COMMON SEAL

confirmed by the authority of Cuvier himself, who
knowing that the Dutch variety, as described by
Albinus, (and which we have identified with the
Seal of the Scottish coasts,) had long been con-
founded with the Phoque Commun of the French
coast, was disposed to distinguish them ;* and in
this decision he is followed by his brother.j

The length of the Common Seal of the French
coast is stated, by nearly all the native Naturalists
with the exception of Baron Cuvier, to be about
three feet ; he, however, gives it as between four and
five. The ground of the robe is a pale yellowish-
grey, clouded and spotted in the upper part of the
"body with a dark grey, arising from the hair in these
parts being black. The circumference of the eyes
and muzzle, the lower portions of the body, and the
feet, are of a pale yellowish-grey, becoming almost
white underneath : the upper part of the muzzle
and tail are sometimes brown ; the nails are black
and strong.

The individual represented in the two figures on
the accompanying plate, taken from M F. Cuvier's
Mammiferes, was still young : it measured two feet
eight inches, from the end of the snout to the tip of
the tail ; and the length of this member was three
and a half inches. In the plate it is represented
both whilst wet and dry, that the differences in these
two states may be exhibited. When the animal
comes out of the water, all the upper part of the

• Loc. cit. p. 202. t Mamm. Mar. 1824.

ur *HE FttENCH COAST. 14.

body and head, together with its hind feet and tail,
are of a slatey grey colour. The grey upon these
parts is uniform, whilst that on the sides of the body
is composed of numerous small round spots, on a
ground somewhat paler and more yellow ; all the
under part of the body is of this latter colour.
Again, when the coat is dry, the grey is to be seen
only along the back, and even here it is very faint ;
and, with this exception, the body is wholly yellow-
ish. This difference of colour appears to depend
partly upon the effect of the water on the long silky
hairs, which are generally flat, and which, when
moist, become somewhat transparent, thus modify-
ing the colour of the parts underneath ; arid partly
upon the circumstance that, when out of the water,
each hair being opaque, curls up at its extremity, and
allows the yellow portion, which is situated deeper,
to be seen. The oily matter, which lubricates these
hairs, appears to issue from certain glandular organs
which abound round the eyes, and upon the shoul-
ders, flanks, and lower parts of the belly. This
matter is black, and offensive to the smell.

149.

THE MARBLED SEAL.

PLATE IV.

Phoca discolor. Calocephalus discolor, Fr. Cuv. C. Marbre,
Less.

WE next introduce another variety captured on the
French coast, which was originally identified, but
subsequently dissociated from the true P. vitulina.
Baron Cuvier states, that it does not appear to be a
variety proceeding from age and sex only, though
its cranium, he adds, does not sensibly vary from
the Common Seal.* Professor Nilsson, we under-
stand, regards it as a distinct species, and applies
to it the name annellata.

M. F. Cuvier remarks — " I was for a considerable
time in possession of the individual on which I
found this species. My specimen was young, and its
size appeared to correspond with that of the Com-
mon Seal." The colours, however, in which it was
clad were very different. All the ground-work of
its coat was of a very deep grey, varied with whit-

• Oss. Foss. v. 201.

MARBLED SEAL. 143

ish irregular lines, which formed, especially on the
back and flanks, a kind of marbling, which was
more marked when the animal was in the water than
when it was dry. According to the Baron, the
coat, wholly of a blackish-brown, is marked with
tortuous and irregular lines of whitish-grey, which
form islands or marble spots ; the under part is
paler, and its greyish lines are broader and yellower.
There are other individuals in which the wlrtish-
grey of the abdomen prevails more extensively,
mounting up the sides ; and others, again, in which the
markings on the back have a resemblance to the eye.
The specimen referred to was taken on the coast of
France, and was kept several weeks in the Royal
Menagerie. M. F. Cuvier observes — " Except in
some Monkeys, I have never known any wild animal
which was more easily tamed, or attached itself
more strongly. When it first came to the Jardin
des Plantes, it endeavoured to escape, when 1
wished to touch it ; but, in a very few days, all its
apprehensions vanished : it had discovered my in-
tentions, and rather desired my caresses than feared
them. It was in the same enclosure with two small
dogs, which amused themselves by frequently
mounting on its back, with barking, and even bit-
ing it ; and, although these sports, and the vivacity
of the attending movements, were little in harmony
with its own actions and habits, yet it appreciated
their motive, and seemed pleased with them. It
never offered any other retaliation than slight blows
with its paws, the object of which was to encourage

144 MARBLED SEAL.

rather than repress the liberties taken. If the pup-
pies escaped from the enclosure, the Seal endea-
voured to follow them, notwithstanding the difficul-
ty it experienced in creeping along the ground,
covered with stones and rubbish. When the
weather was cold, the three animals huddled closely
and kindly together, that they might contribute to
their mutual warmth."

The creature did not exhibit any alarm at the
presence of man or animals, and did not flee unless
when run upon in such a way as to threaten its
being trod upon, when it got out of the way to
avoid injury. Though very voracious, it did not
manifest any opposition or anger when robbed of
its food. 4< Often," says the learned Naturalist,
" have I tried him when pressed with hunger, and
he never opposed my will ; and I have seen the
dogs, to whom he was much attached, amuse them-
selves when he was feeding, by snatching the fish
from his mouth, without his exhibiting any rage.
Cn the other hand, when their mess was supplied
to the Seals, (for he had a companion,) as they were
lying in the same trough, a battle was the usual re-
sult, and blows with their paws followed, and as
usually happens, the more feeble and timid left the
livid to the stronger."*

* Mammif. Livr. 1319.

145

THE BEARDED, OR GREAT SEAL.

Phoca barbata.
PLATE V,

SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. — Muzzle large ; lips tumid.
Third toe of the fore-feet longer than the others ; fur
dark coloured ; teats four. Incisor teeth small and conical ,
the outer the larger ; canine teeth conical and slightly
curved ; grinders in a direct series , with small intervals
nearly uniformt having a large conical, and two small la-
teral points.9

Phoca barbata, Fab. Mul. Cuv. Desm. (No. 378.) Calocephalus
barbatus, F. Cuv. Urksuk of Crantz. Great Seal, Pen.
Le Grand Phoque, Buff. Haaf fish ? of North of Scotland.

As we are not aware that any authentic representa-

• This description of the teeth is derived from Mr MacGillivray
in Nat. Lib. vii. 213.

146 GSEAT SEAL.

tion of this species has hitherto been published,* wo
must say a word or two on our plate. The indivi-
dual from which the engraving is taken was brought
from the Arctic regions by the late Mr Latta, Sur-
geon, Leith, and was presented to the Edinburgh Mu-
seum by Bindon Blood, Esq. From the state of the
preparation we cannot judge so satisfactorily as we
could wish, but, at the same time, we regard it as a spe-
cimen of the P. barbata. It is nine feet one inch long
from the mouth to the tip of the tail ; the tail mea-
sures seven inches. The fore-paw, it will be seen,
is not shaped like those previously described, but
somewhat assumes the appearance of the human
hand, as will be more particularly stated in the se-
quel. The claws are very strong and black, carin-
ated above; the hide all over is of a uniform dark fawn
colour. Along with the Great Seal, we have asso-
ciated a small white one, a specimen of which is in
the Edinburgh Museum, scarcely three feet long,
which has been supposed to be the young of this
species. The white colour, it will be observed,
differs entirely from the yellow shade appearing in
those represented in Plate III., and is of a pure milk
white colour all over. These figures, it should be re*
marked, being taken from excellent specimens, which
are genuine and authentic, possess an intrinsic value,

• The Great Seal of Parson, Phil. Trans, vol. xlii. ; and of
Buffon, Suppl. t. vi. pi. 45, are now ascertained to belong to
the Grey Seal; which see.

GREAT SEAL. 147

even should some hesitation remain as to their cor-
rect classification.

This species, according to Fabricius, from whose
account we borrow, and whose statements are strik-
ingly substantiated by the specimen above referred to,
is often met with ten feet long, and the young of the
second year are six and a half feet in length. Its
head is long, and its forehead peculiarly prominent ;
the muzzle is very large, and the lips loose ; the hairs
of its whiskers are long, numerous, horny, flexible,
smooth, white, and curled at the point : the external
opening of the ear is larger than in most other spe-
cies, but without any auricle ; the eyes are large, and
the pupil round and black, the iris brown. The
fore-paw is more free than in the Common Seal ;
the shape also is peculiar, approximating somewhat
to that of the human hand, having the middle finger
the longest, and the thumb nearly as short as the
little finger. The body is long and robust, and the
back somewhat elevated ; the skin is thick. The
hide of the young is supplied with soft hairs, some-
what woolly underneath, which are deciduous, and
but thinly scattered over the adult. The colour
varies according to the age; the young have a
dusky colour, and are white underneath ; the old
acquire a deep dark colour. Crantz says that the
hair is black upon this the largest species of the
Greenland Seals, frequently exceeding nine feet.
Baron Cuvier says it is grey, sometimes brown
above, with a longitudinal streak of black forming

143 GREAT SEAL.

a cross on the chaufrin. The teeth have been al-
ready described.

The evidence of this species, (or one regarded as
such,) being not uncommon on the Scottish shores, is
tolerably conclusive. In several notices we have
met, the animal is stated to have reached the length
of twelve feet. One is recorded by Pennant in these
words — " A gentleman of my acquaintance shot one
twelve feet long on the coast of Sutherland, but
made no par ticular remarks upon it."* And Dr Hib-
bert writes — " Mr Low has stated in his manuscript
tour, that a Seal, which was taken in Shetland, was
not less than twelve feet in length."f Mr Edmon-
ston states the usual dimensions to be from seven
to ten feet ; and observes, the male is the largest,
and is called Bull-fish. The head is larger in pro-
portion to the body than in the Common Seal ; the
eyes are placed deep in the orbits, but are large and
penetrating. " In general habits," he continues,
" this Seal differs much from the common one.
They associate in pairs, and the male appears to be
attached to a single female. They frequent the
more exposed situations, and shelter themselves in
deep and almost inaccessible caverns. The young
are brought forth in the months of September, Oc-
tober, and November, and, when but a few days
old, are as large as the Common Seals at the age of
several months. They keep by themselves, and

• Act. Zool. ii. 159. t Shetland Isles, 412.

GREAT SEAL. 149

never seem to associate with the other species."*
A valuable addition has recently been made to our
knowledge of this Seal by Mr Selby, whose zeal for
our science needs no eulogium in these pages.
" This species," he remarks, " inhabits the Farn and
adjacent islands. It attains a very great size, se-
veral having been killed during the last summer
which weighed upwards of forty-five stones, or 630
pounds, and measured from ten to twelve feet in
length. This species calves in November, upon
several of the outer rocks, where the young are
suckled every tide for the space of fourteen or fif-
teen days, when the long woolly fur which first
clothed them is cast, and a new covering of close
short hair supersedes it ; they are then conducted
by the dam to the water, from which they only
emerge at intervals."! Dr Heysham has recorded
that this species has sometimes been driven by
tempests upon the coasts of Cumberland ;J and Mr
Maclean, minister of the parish of Small-Isles, He-
brides, mentions that the Great Seal is a distinct
species ; and, in proof, insists that it produces its
young at a different and later season of the year.§

These detached notices we thus associate under
the head of the Great Seal, or P. barbata ; not only
because they are so placed by their respective
authors, but also because, upon the whole, we are

* View of the Zetland Islands, ii. 294.
f Bell's Brit. Quadrupeds, vol. i 276.
t Bingley, p. 97.
$ Stalls. Account, vol. xvii.

150 GREAT SEAL.

disposed to maintain, in opposition to some lately
expressed opinions, that some of " the Great Seals
of authors" do probably belong to this species.
The opinions here alluded to are founded upon the
recent determination of the Genus Halichcerus ; in
other words, of the Grey Seal, which would appear
to be the prevailing variety in the Southern coast
of Ireland ; as it has been found also in the Se-
vern, and elsewhere. Some have hence inferred, (as
we think, hastily,) that all the Great Seals of our
coasts belong to this latter species. The data from
which we are induced to demur to this conclusion
we do not at present enter upon ; the truth appear-
ing to be, that no positive decision can now be
reached ; and that the subject requires farther eluci-
dation.

Another and very explicit account of some Great
Seal occurring among the Hebrides, together with
some interesting particulars concerning its habits,
we take from Mr Wilson's paper. " The Western
Islands are frequented by three different species of
Seal, well known to the natives, and all of which I
have repeatedly seen. The Common, or Rawn, as
it is called, is by much the most frequent. The
second is by much the largest of the three kinds,
and at least double the size of the Rawn; it is
known by the name of Tapvaist, and though it as-
sociates occasionally with the other kinds, yet it
differs in many respects in its habits. The third
species is of very diminutive size indeed, and is
known by the appellation of Bodach, or old man.

GREAT SEAL. 151

The average weight of the Tapvaist is somewhere
about thirty stones, or 420 pounds, (implying dimen-
sions, we conceive, as large as those given by Fa-
bricius.) It is, upon the whole, solitary in its habits,
and frequents the most distant and undisturbed
places. It is not so lively or watchful as the Com*
mon Seal, nor is it so easily alarmed. One of the
distinguishing traits of this species is the time of its
producing its young, viz. in the end of September,
or beginning of October, whilst the usual time of
the other is the beginning of June. The young,
whose colour we have already mentioned, remain
on the rocks for several weeks before they can
swim. Sportsmen, when they discover the young
in this condition, do not approach it, lest the old one,
which has a strong sense of smell, should be alarmed
by the scent of the footsteps, but they conceal
themselves at some point of the rock within gun-
shot, and wait the flow of the tide, when the old
one invariably returns to give the whelps suck.
These Seals are of late years become very rare on
the Western coasts."

As exhibiting the favourite haunts of this and
the other species, we shall borrow a few remarks
from the lively pen of Dr Hibbert. " To the North
of Papa-Stour high cliffs succeed, which are exten-
sively excavated by the waters of the ocean. The
most remarkable of these is Christie's Hole. It can
be explored by means of a boat, a labour that is
only to be accomplished in the calmest weather.

152 GREAT SEAL.

A large arch first presents itself, and after rowing
through dark vaults the light of the sun bursts in
from the lofty opening above. The boat then pur-
sues its gloomy course through another extensive
perforation, which at length expands into an im-
mense cavern, where the light of the sun is wholly
excluded. In the innermost recesses there is a
steep beach, which terminates in small dens, where
the larger Seals and haaffish (the barbata) consort,
and where the females produce their young and
suckle them. It is customary for two boats' crew,
of the island of Papa, to go to this place at certain
seasons of the year, armed with thick clubs, and
well provided with candles. They attack the Seals
with their weapons, stun them by a blow on the
head, and immediately put them to death. The
animals boldly step forward in defence of their
young; they face their destroyers, and with their
teeth often wrench the clubs out of their hands. But
the attempt is vain. The walli of the gloomy re-
cesses are stained with their blood, and numbers of
dead victims are carried off." (P. 551.)

Mr Edmonston informs us that these Bearded
Seals are sometimes taken by setting a net across
the entrance of the cave, into which they retire,
and then firing a piece to alarm them. " It is sur-
prising to see with what force they struggle under
water, when entangled in the net, and the length of
time they can remain without respiring. I once
witnessed the capture of one in this way. It strug-

GREAT SEAL. 153

gled more than twenty-five minutes without ever
performing a single respiration, and when brought
to the surface was still alive/'*

Fabricius states that this species frequents the
high seas round Greenland, especially delighting in
the floating fragments of ice ; that it resorts to land
principally in the spring time, and is then found
among the retired islets. Giesecke says it is seldom
met with on the coasts of West Greenland. In
these quarters it is regarded both timid and incau-
tious ; and the older ones are remarked to swim
but slowly. It is highly esteemed by the Green-
landers. Though it does not yield much oil, yet
its lard is deemed " most delicious." The flesh has
also been stated by Pennant to be as white as veal,
and hence it is regarded as the most delicate of
any.

We may here introduce the few observations contained in the
manuscript so often alluded to, concerning the third variety of
the Western Islands, in the hope that further attention will be
directed to the subject.

•* The Bodach, or old man, is by much the least of all the
Seals with which I am acquainted ; and, indeed, so small, that
for a long time I entertained the idea (contrary to the firm opi-
nion of the natives) that it was the young of the Common Seal.
This view, however, I consider to be erroneous, for they are not
even the size of a Seal three months old of the common kind.
Besides, they are frequently killed of this size with grey beards
and decayed teeth. 1 have frequently noticed that when on shore,
on the same rock with other Seals, they do not lie near them,
but a little way apart. They are but few in number, and I can-
not recollect of seeing any two of them together. They arc not,
however, at all so shy as the Common Seal, nor so solitary as the
Tapvaist."

• Loc. cit. 295.

154

f ||frLiBf

(f UNIVERSITY \
THE PIED SEAL.

PLATE VI.

Phoca bicOiOr, Cuv. Pied S«al of Pen. Shaw, Bingley, Fleming.

THOUGH there are no data by which to determine the
genus to which this Seal belongs, yet as associated
with British species, this is probably the best place
to introduce the scanty notice which we have of it.
A curious mistake was committed in relation to
this Seal. Pennant, who first described, and fur-
nished a good engraving of it, considered it as the
same as the White-bellied Seal of Buffon, and at-
tached this appellation as a synonym* The next
Seal he noticed in his treatise was the Monk Seal
of Herman, so making this last distinct from that
of Buffon, who, however, had described the identical
animal which was so accurately examined by Her-
man. Dr Shaw followed Mr Pennant in his errors,
which led Baron Cuvier to remark — " The Seal
(Ph. bicolor) which Pennant regarded as a variety
of the Ph. a venire blanc is very far from belong-
ing to that species."* No one can look at the two

• Oss Foss. v. 215.

PIED SEAL. 155

figures without perceiving there is a great difference
between them.

It is true, that, with regard to this creature, we de-
siderate all the interesting and accurate information
which we have regarding the Monk Seal. Though it
was seen by thousands, it was examined by none.
The respect, however, which we owe to the name
of the celebrated Pennant forbids us altogether to
disregard his indication of it. " I first," says he,
" saw this Seal at Chester ; it was taken near that
city in May 1766, On the first capture its skin
was naked, like that of the Porpoise, and only the
head, and a small spot beneath each leg, was hairy.
Before it died the hair began to grow on other parts.
The fore part of the head was black, whilst the
hind part of the head and the throat were white ;
beneath each fore-leg there was a spot of the same
colour ; the hind feet were a dull white colour ; the
rest of the animal was entirely black. It was pro-
bably a young one. Its nose was taper, and elon-
gated, and the feet exhibited the usual peculiarities
of its congeners."* Mr Jenyns, in the " Manual of
British Vertebrate Animals," remarks, that this
Seal is probably only a variety of the Common
Seal.t

• History of British Quadrupeds, vol. ii. Second Edition,
273.

t See Manual, &c. 1835, p. 16.

156

THE HARP, OR GREENLAND SEAL.

Ph. Groenlandica. — MUL.

PLATE VII.

SPECIFIC CHARACTERS — Molars arranged in a straight
line, with a small interval between them ; anterior tubercle
obsolete ; posterior margin of palate-bones almost directly
transverse.

Ph. Gromlandica, Mul. Fab. Desm. (No. 576,) Calocephalus
Grcenlandicus, F. Cuv. Less. Identified by Baron Cuvier
with the Ph. Oceanica of Lepechin. Attersoak of Crantz.
Semilunaris Boddrert ; Crescent Seal of Buff. Harp Seal and
Half- Moon Seal of Pen. Shaw, and Newfoundland Hunters.

BY glancing at the synonyms, it will be observed
that Muller, Fabricius, and Crantz, are the principal
authorities for this Seal. Crantz states that it is
nearly nine feet long, which, judging from the ac-
counts of the far more accurate Fabricius, is a great
exaggeration. He adds, it is almost wholly of a

( UNIVERSITY

v

GREENLAND SEAL. 157

light grey colour, with a black marking on its
back, like two half-moons. This marking accurately
corresponds with that represented in our plate,
which Major C. Hamilton Smith appears to have
taken from a specimen in the Museum of Prince
Maximilian of Neuveid.* Crantz designates it nei-
ther Grcenlandica nor Oceanica, but by the verna-
cular name Attersoak. Fabricius, after identifying
it with this Attersoak, tells us that his Grcenlandica is
six feet long; that its dental formulary is 27T6=38;
its colour is white on the forehead, with a great
moon-shaped marking of a black colour on the
sides. The muzzle is said to be very prominent ;
and the eyes, ears, tongu«, and feet, to be the same
as in the P. vitulina. Crantz' account of the successive
markings is not very specific, yet as bearing on the
difficulties of distinguishing species, we shall subjoin
it. He states that, when new born, the Grcenlan-
dica is quite white and woolly, f whereas other kinds
are smooth and coloured. In the first year it is
cream-coloured ; in the second grey ; in the third
painted with stripes ; in the fourth spotted ; and in
the fifth it wears its half-moons, as the sign of its
maturity. Baron Cuvier remarks that he possessed
skins both of the adult and young. He states that
the fur is drier, and adheres closer to the skin, and
is freer of wool at its base than other species ; each

• See Griffiths' Cuvier, t. ii. 506.

f L epoch in maintains this is a mistake, and applies only to the
young of the Hare Seal. Act. Acad. Scient. Russ. Petrop. An.
.777.

158 GREENLAND SEAL.

hair is flat and glistening. His account of the
marking coincides generally with the preceding ; he
says the bands and spots become more and more
dark with age.

Fabricius states that in Greenland this species
occurs in great numbers, in the deep bays and
mouths of rivers. Twice a year the herds leave the
coast ; first in March, returning in May ; and again
in June, reappearing in September. They bring
forth their young in spring, having one, or rarely
two, at a birth, which they suckle on fragments of
ice far from shore. They never ascend the fixed
ice, but live and sleep near the floating islands in
vast herds. Among these islands they are some-
times seen swimming in great numbers, having one
for their leader, who seems to act as sentinel for
Jie security of the whole. They devour all the
more common kinds of fish, having a preference for
the arctic salmon, and not refusing shell-fish. When
engaged in feeding, and one comes to the sur-
face to breathe, he raises his head only above
water, and without changing his place quickly dives
again. They seldom appear solitary upon the wave,
principally swimming and fishing underneath, occa-
sionally raising their heads when devouring larger
prey. They swim in a variety of ways ; sometimes
on their back, often on their sides, occasionally
whirling about as if to amuse themselves. They
frequently sleep on the surface of the water, and,
upon the whole, are regarded incautious, especially
upon the ice.

GREENLAND SEAL. 159

It is alleged that this species has a great dread
of the Sperm- Whales, which in numbers pursue
them to the shore. The remark probably applies
to most genera, both of Seals and of Whales ; and
of the Grampus it has been stated, that if he per-
ceives a Seal basking on floating ice, he will do his
best to upset it, or beat it off with his fins into the
water, where it becomes an easy prey. The Green -
landers frequently take advantage of these Whale
hunts, and when the Seals are hemmed in, join in
the pursuit, and come in for a large share of the
booty.

Crantz tells us that "this is a careless, stupid Seal,
and the only one which the Greenlanders, when
quite alone, will venture to attack. This he does
in his Kajak, which is shaped like a weaver's shuttle.
Thus equipped, away he goes with as high a con-
ceit of himself as any Mr Captain in his ship.
When he spies the Seal he tries to surprise it
unawares with the wind and sun in his back, that
he may not be heard or seen. He makes hastily,
but softly, towards it, till he reaches within four or
six fathoms. He then takes hold of the oar in his
left hand, and the harpoon with his right, and so
away he throws it at the Seal. The moment the
instrument is fixed, the Greenlander must throw the
attached buoy into the water on the same side that
the Seal dives, for that he does instantly like a dart.
The Seal often draws the buoy along with it under
water, and it so wearies itself, that it must come up
again, in about a quarter of an hour, to take breath.

160 GREENLAND SEAL.

The Greenlander now hastes to smite it with his
ong lance ; thus he keeps darting at it till it is quite
spent, when he kills it outright with his small lance ;
lastly, he blows it up like a bladder, that it may
swim the more easily after his Kajak. In this
exercise he is exposed to the most and greatest dan-
ger of his life. For if the line should entangle
itself, as it easily may in its sudden and violent
motion, or if it should catch hold of the Kajak, or
of an oar, or the hand, or even the neck, as it some-
times does in windy weather, or if the Seal should
turn suddenly to the other side of the boat, it cannot
be otherwise than that the Kajak must be overturned,
and drawn down under water. On such desperate
ccasions the poor Greenlander stands in need of
all his art to disentangle himself from the string,
and raise himself up from under water several times
successively. Nay, when he imagines himself to
be out of all danger, and comes too near the dying
Seal, it may still attack him ; and a female Seal that
has young, instead of flying the field, will sometimes
fly at its pursuer in the most vehement rage, and
do him a mischief, or bite a hole in his Kajak, that
he must sink."*

It would appear that this species is occasionally
a visitor on our British shores, probably borne
along in the fields of ice in which it delights. This
belief is grounded on the fact that two crania, be-
longing to Dr Riley, of individuals captured in the

• Crantz, Greenland, p. 154.

GREENLAfti* SEAL. 161

Severn, appear to belong to this species ; and also,
that the cranium figured by Sir E. Home in the
Phil. Trans. 1822, was taken from a Seal that was
shot among the Orkneys.*

The oil extracted from this Seal is said to be in
greater quantities than from any other of the North-
ern regions, and is likewise considered the best.
The skin is used to cover the boats, and when un-
dressed for tent coverings, and sometimes for body
clothes. On the west side of the White Sea the
skins of the young are manufactured into boats,
which are quite water-proof, and might, on this ac-
count, be advantageously introduced into this coun-
try. Cuvier states that the fur of this Seal is one
of the most important articles of trade among fur-
riers.

• See Bell's British Quadrupeds, vol. i. p. 270.

THE OCEAN SEAL.

Ph. Oceanica LEPECHIK.

PLATE VII.*

Ph. Oceanica, Lepechin (Act. Petrop. 1777, t. i.) Desm. No.
373, De Blainville, Calocephalus Oceanicus, Less.

NOTWITHSTANDING the very high authorities now
named, it is with much hesitation that we in-
troduce the Ocean Seal as a distinct species. Ba-
ron Cuvier identifies it with the one immedi-
ately preceding, viz. the Greenland ; but De
Blainville, Desmarest, and Lesson, distinguish the
two animals. Lepechin, the highest authority on
the point we possess, has a thorough conviction
that they differ ; and he grounds this opinion not
upon any variation in the dental apparatus, but
chiefly upon the different markings of the young.
He, at the same time, maintains that the one which
Crantz describes as the Greenland Seal is identical
with his. It is chiefly then from deference to these
distinguished Zoologists that we give the Oceanica
* distinct place in our enumeration ; and we pay

OCEAN SEAL. Ifa

this tribute the more willingly, as the description is
carefully drawn up by an eminent Naturalist.

This animal, according to Lepechin, exactly re-
sembles the Common Seal, and is distinguished from
it only by its greater size, and the colour of its
coat. The head is round, the mouth somewhat
prominent and obtuse ; the upper lip is tumid, thick,
and marked with a furrow in the middle; it is
longer than the under, which, in its turn, is some-
what more pointed, The number of teeth is as
follows : — In the upper jaw there are four incisors,
conically acute ; the middle ones the smaller, those
next the canines the stronger. The incisors in the
under jaw are only four, and not so sharp.* Next
to the incisors in both jaws is one canine, stronger
and sharper, five lines long, and curved inwards ;
then there are six molars on each side of both ja\vs,
three-pointed, the middle point being the longest
and strongest. The teeth are so disposed, that
when the animal shuts its mouth there is no inter-
space left, and the larger points of the upper teeth
correspond with the smaller ones of the under ones,
so that their prey, when caught, receive a deep
wound with a single stroke. The tongue is cleft at
the extremity, and furnished with rough papillse,
bent inwards. The eyes are large, and prominent ;
the iris is black, the pupil lucid ; a sort of wrinkled
skin, very firm and bare, supplies the place of eye-

• There is evidently some mistake in this enumeration, whether
typographical or otherwise we pretend not to decide. We give
it &» in the original.

164 OCEAN SEAL.

lids ; it has a membrana nictitans. The aperture
of the ear is ovate, surrounded with puckered skin,
so as to shut. The neck is robust, formed like a
truncated cone, though not very distinct. The
nails are black. The extreme toes on the hind feet
are the largest, the middle one is the shortest, so
that the foot is crescent-shaped. There are but
two mammae, and the dam has but one at a birth.

The colour of the head is an obscure chestnut,
somewhat inclining to black. The rest of the body
is a dull white, much the clearest on the belly* A
great marking occurs across the shoulders, of the
same colour with the head, which forks downwards
on either side, and neany meets again on the pos-
terior part of the abdomen ; it is somewhat in the
form of a half-moon, and is more or less surrounded
with irregular spots of the same colour : this pre-
cise colouring is always present. The young ones are,
during the first year, of a clear ash colour on the
back, lighter below, and are everywhere spotted
with a few black spots of a round and oblong
form. In the second year the ash colour becomes
somewhat whiter ; the spots become larger and
more distinct, and hence they are called spotted.
This colour the females preserve unchanged ; but
the males, as they advance in age, undergo a fur-
ther change as stated above, and are hence named
winged Seals.

These Seals love the colder parts of the sea ;
hence they only appear along the ice in the White
Sea; and having, about the end of April, given

OCEAN SEAL. 165

birth to their young, and reared them for some
time, they disappear with the ice, in the great frozen
ocean, leaving only the young ones, which remain
till the ice which adheres to the shore is thawed,
when they too' follow the others. The fishers report
that round Nova Zembla, where the ice abounds,
some are to b§ seen at all seasons of the year.

This Seal, according to our author, is hunted for
its skin and fat. The skins of the full grown are
used as covers to writing desks, whilst those of the
young are manufactured into hose, for they are very
tenacious, and when properly prepared, they keep
out wet better even than prepared calf-skin. The
fat is very useful to curriers.

166

THE ROUGH OR BRISTLED SEAL.

Ph. Hispidus. — SCHRIBER.
PLATE VIIL

SPECIFIC CHAEACTERS Molars somewhat more simple

than those of the vitulina; head more depressed ; posterior
margin of palate deeply notched.

Phoca Hispida, Schreb. Calocepbalus Hispidus, F. Cuv. Ph.
Faetida, Fab. Desuu No. 377, Neitsek Cr. Buff. Rough Seal,
Pen.

THIS Seal, which has been long catalogued in the
works of Systematists, seems to have been accurately
defined and known, though to a considerable extent
obscured by the confusion which involves the whole
subject. After Crantz, it was next described by
Fabricius with his usual accuracy and care, and his
account was soon put into an English dress by
Pennant, in his Arctic Zoology, under the name of

ROUGH OR BRISTLED SEAL. 167

Rough Seal. No representation of it, however,
has ever been published in this country, and little
has since been added to its history either by English
or French Naturalists, though Baron Cuvier men-
tions he was in possession of two crania of the spe-
cies which were sent from Copenhagen.

We cannot, therefore, do better than first present
the description of the author of the Fauna Green -
landica, He states tliat it is the smallest of all the
species which are found in the Northern regions,
scarcely ever exceeding four and a half feet in
length, and usually reaching only four feet, with a
perpendicular height of ten inches. The head is
short and round, the muzzle extending to about
one-third of the whole head. The whiskers are
white, with a few black hairs ; they are sharp, com-
pressed, and a good deal curved at their extremities;
the eyes are small, the pupil white, and the iris brown.
The body is almost elliptical and slender ; the back
somewhat gibbous ; the belly flat, especially near the
fore paws ; the hair is thick set, somewhat erect,
rather long, soft and fine, with curly wool at its root.
The colour is on the back brownish, intermixed
with white spots, and on the abdomen is white,
with a few brownish spots ; the young are almost
without spots, but have the back of a somewhat
livid colour, with the belly white. The old have
the most distinct markings, and in them the snout
is almost naked, with few or no hairs. The old
males have a most disgusting smell, which annoys
even the Greenlander.

168 ROUGH OB BRISTLED SEAL.

This account has all the semblance of accuracy ;
and so far as the markings of the skin are concerned,
entirely agrees with one now before us, and from
which the colouring of our plate is taken. Crantz
says, " the hair does not lie smooth, but is bristly,
and intermixed like pig's hair ;" and again, it is said
"to be bristled like the Polar bear." On making
some enquiries respecting Seals-skins at a respect-
able dealer,* he informed us that he was quite fa-
miliar with two or three kinds, brought from the
Northern fishery, and which were perfectly distinct
from each other, and of a marked and uniform ap-
pearance. Some of these he immediately showed
us, and was kind enough to supply for our use.
The skin, now before us, is precisely four and a
half feet long ; and, according to our intelligent
informant, those of this sort never exceed this
length, whilst their breadth is proportionably small.
Its markings, too, are invariably nearly the same,
and could not be better described than in the words
of Fabricius. The robe is composed of long coarse
hairs, some of which, when dry, have a tendency
to curve somewhat backwards, and of soft woolly
hair beneath. Most of the long hairs are white,
but in those parts where the skin has a brownish
tint, some of this last colour are intermixed, which
produces a grizzly appearance. The colour varies
much according to the light in which we regard the
robe : In some lights it has a silvery brightness,
and in others it is quite dull. Crantz says that

* Mr BoswelL Nicolson Street, Edinburgh.

ROUGH OR BRISTLED SEAL. 169

when the Greenlanders make garments of this skin,
they usually turn the hairy side inwards.

This species, according to Fabricius, scarcely
ever frequents the high seas, but delights in retired
bays, and in the neighbourhood of the ice of the
coasts, from which, especially when old, it very
unwillingly departs. Its food is all kinds of smaller
fish, such as haddock, but especially lobsters and
their congeners. The period of gestation is eight
months, and the young are brought forth in Feb-
ruary on the fixed ice, its proper haunt. Here it
has a hole, not so much for breathing as for fishing,
near which it remains usually solitary, rarely in
pairs. It is the most incautious of Seals, both in
the water and the ice ; whilst asleep on the wave,
it is sometimes pounced upon by the eagle and
borne to shore.

According to Giesecke,* many thousands of this
species are killed every year on the West coast of
Greenland, in lat. 72°. Though they emit a disagree-
able smell, yet he states they are notwithstanding
eaten with great avidity by the Northern Green-
landers.

Their most valuable product is their oil ; but
many thousands of their skins are also regularly
imported into these countries, where they are used
in the manufacture of trunks, and for other domes-
tic purposes.

* Article Greenland in Edin. Encyclop.

170

THE HARE-LIKE SEAL

Ph. Leporina.
PLATE IX.

Phoca Leporina, Lepechin, Cuv. Des. 374, Blainv. Pennant.
Shaw. P. Lepechini, Less. Hare of the Sea of the Rus-
sians.

THE only other species referred to this genus which,
with any satisfaction, we can adduce, is the Hare of
the Sea of the Russians. Lepechin's is the first
and almost the only account of this Seal hitherto
presented to the public,* the descriptions of nearly
all the Systematists consisting merely of copies from
him.

He states that its length is six and a half feet,
and its greatest circumference five feet. The head
is elongated ; the upper lip as if swollen, and thick
like a calf's ; the whiskers are strong and thick,
covering the whole front of the lip ; the eyes are
blue, and the pupils black ; the fore paws are short

' Acta. Acad. Scient. Imv. Petropol. anno 1778.

HARE-LIKE SEAL. 171

and feeble, ending abruptly ; the membrane of the
hind feet is not lunated, but straight. Its colour
is a uniform dull white, with a tinge of yellow, and
it is never spotted ; the hairs are erect, and inter-
woven, and soft like those of the hare, especially
when the Seal is young. The skin is very thick ;
and the dental formulary marks it as belonging to
this genus. This species frequents the White Sea,
during the summer months, and ascends and de-
scends the mouths of its rivers with the tide, in quest
of prey. It is also found on the coasts of Ice-
land, and within the Polar circle at Spitzbergen and
Kamskatka. It is appropriated to the same uses as
its congeners.

Pallas makes the following remarks on this Seal.
" There are many kinds of Seals in the frozen
ocean, and this species, known among the Samo-
yedes as the Hare of the Sea, differs wholly from
the common kind. The young Hares of the Sea,
whose skins I "have procured, are white as snow,
and shining like silver. Their hair is longer than
that of other Seals, so that if the head and feet
were removed, the skin might be mistaken for that
of a young sea-Bear. It is in spring that the
Samoyedes usually hunt these Seals, on their leav-
ing the water, near the mouths of the Lina and
other rivers, through those holes in the ice which
the Seals keep open for the purpose of respiration.
They place a number of planks nailed together in
the'neighbourhood of these holes, and fix a rope to
them. They then conceal themselves behind the

172 HARE-LIKE SEAL.

neighbouring masses ot ice, and as soon as the Seals
have left the deep, and lie down to bask on the ice,
they pull the planks over the hole, by means of the
rope, and so prevent their return. They then des-
patch their victims.*

A young Seal, taken on the West coast of Nor-
mandy, and brought to Paris, was suspected by Ba-
ron Cuvier to be a whelp of this species, and M. F.
Cuvier has arranged it as such. Though we have
great doubt of the accuracy of these conjectures, we
here supply the interesting remarks of the latter
gentleman. Its length was two feet nine inches.
It was of a yellowish-grey colour. " I had," says M.
F. Cuvier, "this animal under my care for a consider-
able time, and it was easily tamed. When it was
teased it puffed like a cat, and when much irritated it
barked feebly. It never attempted to bite in self-de-
fence, but scratched with its nails. It never ate ex-
cept when under water ; its nourishment was the fish
of the ocean, and we could never get-it to take those
of fresh water.f He was peculiarly attached to the
old woman who had care of him. He soon came
to recognise her at the greatest distance it was
possible for him to espy her; he kept his eye upon
her so long as she was in sight, and ran to her as
soon as she approached his enclosure. It may be
suspected that hunger augmented his apparent affec-
tion : and it was probably the cravings of that appe-
tite, and the attention he paid to every thing affecting

• See Voy. de Pallas, t. iv. 4to, 123.
t Diet. d'Hist. Nat. D. 545.

HARE-LIKE SEAL. 173

it, which led him to observe the place where his
nourishment was kept, though sixty paces distant,
and used for many other purposes. If he was free
when his food was being brought to him, he ran and
urgently solicited it by the motions of his head, and
still more by the expression of his countenance."

174

GENUS HALICHCERUS.

GENERIC CHARACTERS — Muzzle very deep, obliquely
truncated ; head very fiat ; molars of the upper jaw simple,
those of the lower with an obsolete tubercle before and be-
hind the principal one.

THE GREY SEAL.

Halichoerus Griseus. — NILSSON.

PLATE X.

SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. —Molars differ from those of
the Vitulina in the absence, at least in most of them, of any
small tubercle ; the posterior margin of the palate is di-
rectly transverse ; the palatal foramina on the palatal
bones.

Halichoerus Griseus, Nils. Phoca Halichoerus, Thieneman. Ph.
Gryphus, Fab. Grey Seal, Bell.

BEFORE leaving (he shores of the northern hemi-

/ggtSE UBRA^

/*T^ Of THE

•'If UNIVERSITY ))

GREY SEAL. 175

sphere, we shall introduce this Genus Halichoerus,
which has lately been established by Professor Nilsson.
His work being still unpublished, we have not learnt
his arrangement or division of the Genus ; and our
information has principally been obtained from Mr
Bell's recent work, which is more especially confined
to British species. Mr Ball of Dublin has supplied
the principal information regarding this Seal, and
we shall enrich our pages with several of his inter-
esting observations. " When I was quite a child,"
remarks Mr Ball, " I took much pleasure in watch-
ing Seals, from the coasts of Cork and Waterford,
and early became impressed with an idea that I
could distinguish at least four species. Some years
ago, on stating my opinions to some Zoological
friends, I was induced to set about collecting speci-
mens and information from various parts of the
coast. For a considerable time I procured only one
species ; and, finding this labelled in our museums
as Phoca Vitulina, I took it for granted it was so,
until I procured a cranium of a very different spe-
cies from Sligo, which, upon examination, I found
to be the true Ph. Vitulina. I then sought to as-
certain to what species the former specimens be-
longed, and searched in vain. Failing to obtain in-
formation, I was induced to bring the matter before
the British Association; when Professor Nilsson
recognised the craniam I produced as those of the
Seal described by him as the Halichcerus Griseus.
" My observations on the habits of the animal do
not altogether accord with those of the learned Pro-

176 GREY SEAL.

fessor, who stated that it was solitary in the Bal-
tic, whilst here I have seen it often in small parties,
and learned from fishermen that they have noticed
as many as thirteen congregated on a rock.

" Colour, in the present instance, appears to be a
character of little value ; for, in the many specimens
I have seen, I do not remember that any two were
precisely alike. The very young females seem to
be generally of a dull yellowish white, with rather
V>ng hair, which falls off in about a month or six
weeks, and gives place to a shorter and more shin-
ing coat, variously blotched with grey : this is
brighter at first, and gradually grows more dull,
and the blotching more indistinct on the uppe*
parts, as the animal advances in age ; whilst in the
breast and lower parts, the blotchings in some spe-
cimens show almost as distinctly as the spots of a
leopard. From a peculiarity in the hair of the
adult, it being considerably recurved, and as if its
upper surface were scraped flat with a knife, the
animal, when dry, and with its head turned towards
the spectator, appears of a uniform silvery grey,
whilst viewed in the opposite direction, it appears
altogether of a sooty brown colour ; the spots or
blotches being only visible on a side view. The
only male specimen I possess died young : it has
long yellowish hair, slightly tinged with brownish-
black on the back ; it is black on the muzzle, chin,
and cheeks, extending round the eyes, but not to
the upper part of the nose ; and the palms of the
fore- paws are black.

GREY SEAL. 177

"My father has made several attempts to rear and
tame this Seal, but in vain. It appears scarcely
susceptible of domestication, and the development
of its skull seems to indicate as much ; for the size
of the brain of a specimen nearly eight feet long
did not exceed that of one of the Common Seals
; Vitulina) of less than four. The head and general
form of Halichoerus are long in proportion to its ro-«
tundity, comparatively with the other Seals.

" It occurred to me several years since, that I
could kill Seals by going to the mouths of their
caves, and striking them with a harpoon as they
dived out. Acting on this, in August 1829, I went
to Howth properly equipped, and took a position at
the mouth of a cave, in which I could hear the in-
mates baying loudly like large dogs. On making
a noise from the boat, several Seals passed out with
great velocity, at the depth of about eight feet : one
I struck with an oar, and another with a harpoon,
but not effectually, as it gave way after a short
struggle. Learning from the failure, we made ready
for the next, which I could distinctly see at the bot-
tom of the water, attentively watching us, some-
times advancing and again retreating : it seemed
scared by the harpoons, which the friend who aided
me and I held so deep in the water as only to offer
it room to pass. After a considerable time so spent,
we raised our weapons a little, when it made a start
to escape, but in vain, as both our harpoons struck
it, mine penetrating even to its heart. It twisted
the shaft out of my hands, though between two and

M

8 GREY SEAL.

three inches in diameter ; it then pulled out our boat
to sea, and, when compelled to come to the surface,
we fired four shots into it before it ceased violent
exertions. The quantity of blood was enormous,
spreading to a great extent on the surface of the
water. I estimate the weight of the animal, though
in poor condition, to nave been upwards of 500
•pounds: its skeleton now measures seven feet two
inches ; it was a very aged female, judging from the
state of its teeth ; yet it appeared to be suckling
youhg, as there was milk in the mammae."

After this interesting account, Mr Bell well re*
marks — " It is impossible not to be forcibly struck
with the contrast between the cerebral development
of this genus and that of the former, and the rela-
tion between the difference of structure, and their
susceptibility of domestication. It is exactly ana-
logous to the distinction between the crania of Ba-
boons, and those of the higher groups of quadru-
manous animals.5'*

It seems now to be ascertained that the large spe-
cimen which has so long existed in the British Mu-
seum under the name of the Phoca Barbatay be-
longs to the species now under consideration, and
not to the genus we have just left. That animal
was exhibited and died in London in 1742, but its
place of capture is not reported. We have seen
that the Grey is the prevailing Seal on the southern
shores of Ireland. One individual has likewise

* Bell's Brit. Q'»*«l*upeds, vol. i. p. 278

GREY SEAL. 179

been taken in the Severn, and now belongs to the
Bristol Institution ; it supplied the subject of Mr
Bell's wood-cut, whence our plate is taken. The
London specimen, described by Dr Parsons, was
seven and a half feet long, and was regarded as quite
young. On the abdomen there appeared to be four
mammae, whilst other species are stated to have only
two. The heart was long and flabby, with a
large foramen ovale. The most singular point noted,
however, is, " That, in the lower stomach, there
were about four pound weight of flinty pebbles, all
of which were sharp and angular, as if the animal
chose them for cutting the food."*

Mr MacGillivray informs us that he has seen two
specimens of this Seal from Orkney, examined one
in Harris, and has reason to believe that it is not
uncommon in the Outer Hebrides. Mr Edmonston
also gives notice of its occurrence in Shetland.f

The usual habitats assigned for this species by
continental writers are the northern shores of
Europe, and the coasts of Pomerania.

• Phil. Trans, vol. xlii. p. 383.

•f For some additional and valuable information, see Mi Mac-
Gillivray's interesting account in Nat. Lib. Mam. vol. vii. p. 214.

180
GENUS STENORHYNCUS F. Cuv.

Stenorhyncus, u e. Narrow-muzzled Seal.

We now proceed to the second Genus proposed by M. F.
Cuvier, denominated Stenorhyncus, Narrow-muzzled Seal. " The
head of this Seal," he remarks, "is all snout, when compared
with the former genus ; the teeth, too, are quite peculiar. There
are four incisors in the upper jaw in place of six; and the molars,
though the same in number, are quite different in shape."

Baron Cuvier has very happily expressed it in these words : —
" There are four very pointed incisors in each jaw; the two mid-
dle ones above are smaller, and are inserted farther back in the
mouth than the others ; the molars are deeply divided into three
long points, which are conical, and somewhat hooked."

THE SMALL-NAILED SEAL.

Ph. Leptonyx — DE BLAINVILLE.
PLATE XL

SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. — Dental formulary, that of the
genus ; shape singular; nails very small.

Phoca Leptonyx, De Blainv. Desm. No. 379. Stenorhyncus
Leptonyx. F. Cuv. Less. Small-nailed Seal.

** vas about the year 1820 that M. de Blainville, on

SMALL-NAILED SEAL. 181

visiting London, found, in the Museum of th-»
Royal College of Surgeons, among other crania of
Seals, one without a label, which differed from any
he had previously examined, and which, therefore,
he could not satisfactorily refer to any known spe-
cies. When thus perplexed, he met with another
cranium at Havre, or rather it was a stuffed Seal,
retaining the skull, and forming a part of the Col-
lection of M. Hauville of that town, in which the
same peculiarities existed. M. Hauville's prepara-
tion was a very beautiful one, between seven and
eight feet long ; the body was elongated, the form
of the head, eyes, and nostrils, was not unlike that
of the Monk Seal, to be afterwards described ; the
mystachial bristles were short, simple, and smooth ;
no external ears were to be found, not even an orifice ;
the anterior paws were falciform, the toes decreasing
in size from the first to the last, the nails very small,
that on the thumb not being terminal ; the external
toes of the hind flippers were the largest ; and all
of them had nails, which, however, were extremely
small, hence its name Leptonyx ; the tail was short.
This specimen was believed to have been brought
from the Southern Ocean.*

In the year 1822, the late Sir E. Home published
an accurate engraving and account of the cranium
which had attracted M. de B.'s attention, thus con-
firming the accuracy of his report, and supplying
the additional information, that the Seal from which

* Journ. de Physique, t. xci. p. 297.

I 82 SMALL-NAILED SEAL.

the cranium had been taken was caught by a whaler
at New Georgia.*

Finally, M. Hauville presented his specimen to
the Museum of the Jar din des Plants at Paris, where
it fell under the examination of Baron Cuvier. He
minutely states that it was seven feet long, and the
head ten inches : all the upper parts of the body are
dark grey, somewhat tinged with yellow ; the yellow
colour gradually predominates on the sides, owing
to the presence of a great number of small yellow
spots ; whilst the flanks, the under part of the body,
the feet, and a portion immediately over the eyes,
are of a pale greyish-yellow colour. This speci-
men, which has supplied our plate,f was brought
from the Falkland Isles.

We are not aware that a single fact respecting
the Natural History of this species has been sup-
plied ; and, accordingly, we proceed to the only
other known species of this genus, viz.—

• Phil. Trans. 1822.

t Diet, des Scien. Nat pi 44.

183

THE LEOPARD SEAL.

Ph. Leopardina.— JAMESON.
PLATE XII.

Phoca Leopardina, Professor Jameson. Leopard Seal of Wed-
dell. Otaria? and Stenorhyncus Weddellii, Less.

WE feel happy that we can present to the student
of Zoology a correct delineation of this very pecu-
liar and curious-looking Seal, taken from an excel-
lent specimen in the Edinburgh Royal Museum,
presented by Captain Weddell, who captured it in
the Southern Ocean. We believe it is the only spe-
cimen in Britain, or in Europe, and, with the excep-
tion of the representation given in Captain Wed-
dell's " Voyage towards the South Pole," is the only
published one ; so that it is so far new in the Re-
pository of Natural history.

The very scanty information supplied by Captain
Weddell, embraced in the few lines following, we
shall now lay before the reader. " Having seen
some Sea-Leopards on shore, (on the South Ork-

184 LEOPARD SEAL.

neys,) I sent the second mate to take them, who
soon returned with six he had captured." This
creature resembles the quadruped of the same name
in being spotted ; one is deposited in the Edinburgh
Museum ; and Professor Jameson has kindly com-
municated to us a description of the animaL He
considers it a new species of Phoca, and gives it the
following distinguishing characters : — " Leopardine
Seal. — The neck long and tapering, tne head small ;
the body pale greyish above, yellowish below, and
back spotted with pale white. This species to be
referred to the division Stenorhynque of F. Cuvier ;
the teeth, however, do not quite agree with those of
the Ph. Leptonyx, nor with those of Sir E. Home,
figured in pi. 29 of Phil. Trans. 1822." Mr W.
again says — " In the evening the boat returned,
having coasted these islands for fifty miles. They
had found some Sea-Leopards, the skins of which
they brought on board." About a week afterwards
he writes — " In the evening the boats returned with
two Seals, and ten Leopard skins ;" and once more,
when off the Shetlands, " Some Sea- Leopards have
been seen."* Beyond these sentences there is not
in the volume before us another word about this
Seal, of which, however, he talks as familiarly as. of
one of our domestic animals. The scantiness of the
details, we have no doubt, arose from his conviction
that Naturalists were quite familiar with this ani-
mal, when in truth it was to them wholly unknown.

• Voy. p. 22, 24, 134.

LEOPARD SEAL. 185

We are therefore induced to give a somewhat ex-
tended description. As seen in our plate, the head
is proportionally very small, and produced ; the
neck also is small, long, and tapering ; the body is
largest about the middle, and gradually tapers off
again towards the tail ; the fore-paw is small, and
devoid of all projecting membrane ; the first finger,
(or thumb,) as in most of the true Phoca, is by much
the longest ; the others diminish gradually, and all are
furnished with sharp black claws, slightly curved and
grooved, carinated on the under side ; the posterior
extremity has neither nails nor projecting membrane.
The hair is rather soft, and thin set ; it covers the
whole of both extremities, below as well as above,
a character not found on many of the Otaries ; the
colours, which we take from Weddell, are a pale
greyish above, yellowish beneath, and the back
spotted with pale white. There is no trace of ex-
ternal ear ; the e}re is in the perpendicular over the
angle of the mouth, distant three inches. The den-
tal formulary is 1^=32 ; the incisors are conical in
their form, and somewhat curved inwards ; those in
the upper jaw are by much the longest, and the
two middle ones are placed further within the
mouth than the other two, and are also much
smaller ; the canines are conical, they are very much
developed at the base, and slightly grooved : the body
of the molars is composed of three parts, the cen-
tral conical part by much the longest and largest,
with a small tubercle on each side. We shall add
some measurements.

186 LEOPARD SEAL.

Feet. In. Li.
Total length (over the back) from tip of snout

totipoftail 9 10 0

Length of tail 0 2 5

From snout to anterior edge of the base of fore-
paw 350

From base of posterior margin of fore-paw to the

tip of the tail 640

From base of one fore-paw to base of the other

across the back 310

Circumference at upper part of the nee k 1 11 0

round the bodj, broadest part 640

above -the tail 230

Length of fore-paw, round anterior margin 110

posterior margin 980

Greatest breadth of fore-paw 0 4 10

Greatest length of posterior extremity 156

Greatest breadth, toes being extended 140

Breadth at base of the foot 0 4 6

Distance between inner angles of the eyes 036

angle of the mouth, and tip of

lower jaw 040

The only habitats mentioned by Captain Weddell
are the South Orkneys and Shetland, and of its ha-
bits, &c., he says nothing.

The learned and able author of the Manuel de
Mammologie has designated the Sea-Leopard an
Otary, without assigning any reason for doing so,
but probably misled by an analogy connected with
the position of the fore-paws. We need scarcely add,
this is a mistake. The acute author of the article
Phoque, in the Diet. Classique, again, makes this
same Seal synonymous with the Long-necked Seal
of Parsons — the Longicollis of Grew, subsequently
alluded to by Pennant, Shaw, Desmarest, Cuvier,
&c. By turning to our account of the Fur Seal,

LEOPARD SEAL. 187

that excellent Naturalist, to whom we are anxious
to confess ourselves indebted for much instruction,
may find that this is also a mistake, which we
have been able to detect, chiefly through the in-
formation afforded by our intelligent countryman,
Mr Weddell.

188

GENUS PELAG1US.

We now proceed to the Genus Pelagius of M. F. Cuvter
which he states differs from his former genera more than they
differ from each other. The head, instead of having the short
snout of the former, or the slender snout of the latter, has one
which is broad as well as elongated at its extremity, with an
arched chaufrin. The teeth are the same in number with those
of the Leptonyx, but tneir form is different. The upper incisors
are indented transversely at their edge, so that the lower inci
sors, which are simple, fill up these indentations when the jaws
are shut. The molars are thick and conical, and have only very
minute rudimentary points, in front and behind. — There is but
one ascertained species, which is

THE MONK SEAL.

Ph. Monachus — HERMANN.
PLATE XIII.

Phoca Monachus, Hermann,* Gmel. Desm. No. 372. Pelagius
Monachus, F. Cuv. White-bellied Seal, Buff. Cuv.

BARON CUVIER remarks that, after the Common Seal,

• Mem. d'Hist. Nat. de Berlin, t. iv.

MONK SEAL. 189

this is perhaps the species best known. It fre-
quents the southern shores of Europe, and has fre-
quently been examined by those who are compe-
tent to the task. Considering its habitat, and the
old descriptions which remain, it is probably the
species which was most familiar to the ancients. A
property which was ascribed to its skin may be
regarded as a striking exhibition of the extent of
superstition, and of conscious guilt and timidity.
By the undaunted Romans the skins of these Seals
were considered as an efficacious preservative against
lightning; and hence tents were constructed of
them, under which they sheltered themselves dur-
ing thunder storms. It is also mentioned by Sue-
tonius, that such was the Emperor Augustus* dread
of lightning, that, while at his usual place of resi-
dence, he resorted to a vaulted retreat under ground,
on the approach of thunder ; and when on a journey,
he never travelled without carrying along with him
one of these skins.*

For the description of this species we turn to the
lively pen of Buffon, and the minute details of M. F.
Cuvier. The former has given a particular description
of a male, and the other of a female, which were at
different times exhibited to the public. Both were
taken in the Adriatic, and they agreed exactly in
their general appearance ; as did a third, captured in
the same Sea, which was examined by Baron Cuvier
in the Museum of Turin.

* Sec Memoir on Thunder by M. Arago. Edin. New Phil.
Journ. vol. xxvi.

190 MONK SEAL.

The White-bellied Seal, says Buffon, we saw
alive in the month of December 1778. Its aspect
is mild, and its disposition not fierce ; its eyes are
quick and indicate intelligence, or, at all events, they
express the sentiments of affection and attachment
to its master, whom it obeys with the utmost readi-
ness, At his order we have seen it lay down its
head, turn in various directions, roll round and
round, raise the fore-part of its body quite erect in
its trough, and shake hands with him. It responded
to his voice and signs by a hoarse sound, which
seemed to proceed from the lower part of the throat,
and which might be compared to the hoarse bellow-
ing of a young bull ; it appeared the animal produced
this sound both in inspiration and expiration, but it
was clearer during the former, and rougher during
the latter. Previous to being tamed, it bit its master
furiously when interfered with, but when subdued,
it became quite mild, so that it might be handled
with all freedom. You might thrust the hand into its
mouth, and rest your head on that of the Seal. When
its master called, it answered, however distant he
might be ; it looked round for him when it did not
see him, and on discovering him after an absence
of a few minutes, never failed to testify joy by a
loud murmur. Some of its accents were sweet and
expressive, and seemed the language of pleasure and
delight.

But, though its natural disposition was mild, yet,
from causes probably connected with its confinement,

MONK SEAL 191

it was liable to occasional fits of irritation and vio-
lence. At these times it was dangerous, and even
ferocious, for then it knew no one, nor regarded its
master's authority, so that he could not approach it
till after several hours return of calm composure.
On one occasion it seized him by the leg, and it was
with much difficulty it was forced to let go its hold,
by forcing an instrument into its mouth : at another
time it attacked a great dog, extensively lacerated
its h^ad with its teeth, and displayed the blindest
rage against every object that came in its way.
These paroxysms becoming worse and worse, it at
length pined away, and died in August 1779.

The period between its several inspirations was
very long, and in the interval the nostrils were ac-
curately closed, during which time they appeared
like two longitudinal slits on the end of the snout.
The creature opened them to make a strong expira-
tion, which was immediately followed by an inspi-
ration, after which it closed them as before; and
often allowed two minutes to intervene without tak-
ing another breath. The breathing was accompanied
with a loud snuffling noise. This animal, like its
congeners, slept frequently during the day ; its
snoring was heard at a considerable distance, and
it could not be raised without difficulty from its
slumbers. When drowsy, it did not promptly at-
tend to its master, and it was only by putting food
under its very nose that it could be excited to its
accustomed energy and vivacity. It then raised its

1Q2 MONK SEAL.

head and the upper part of its body, supporting it-
self on its fore-paws to the height of the hand which
held the fish ; for it was scarcely satisfied with any
other aliment, having a preference for carp, and still
more for eels ; these, though raw, were seasoned to
its taste by rolling them in salt. It required about
thirty pounds of these live fish every day ; it greedi-
ly swallowed the eels entire, and even the carp which
were first offered it, but, after devouring two or
three entire, it subjected them to some preparation,
by crushing their heads with its teeth, then partially
gutting them, and concluded by gulping them head
foremost

The keepers of this animal stated it could live for
days, and even for more than a month, without en-
tering the water, provided it were washed every
evening with clean water, and had plenty of salt
water to drink, for, when it drank fresh water, and
especially if it were not quite pure, it was always
sure to be injured by it.

This individual was seven and a half feet long ;
its skin was covered with a short smooth shining
hair of a brown colour, mixed with grey principally
upon the neck and head, where it was spotted ; the
fur was thicker on the back and side than on the
belly, where there was a large white marking, which
mounted up upon the flanks. The nostrils were
neither inclined, nor were they placed as in ter-
restrial quadrupeds, but extended vertically on the
extremity of the snout ; they were three or four
inches long, and when open, about two inches wide ;

MONK SEAL. 193

they were then of an oval shape, contracted at their
extremities. The eyes were large, full, of a brown
colour, and like those of an ox. When the creature
is long out of the water, the eye becomes bloodshot,
especially at the angles. The mouth, too, is large,
and surrounded with strong whiskers, almost like
fish bones. Instead of the external ear there was
only a small opening which was almost concealed
in the skin, and, though it was scarcely longer than
a line, the animal had, nevertheless, very acute hear-
ing.

This Seal was taken on the coast of Dalmatia,
about 200 miles from Venice, and lived in a state
of domestication nearly two years.*

To this detailed description of Buffon we shall
subjoin from the interesting memoir of M. F. Cu-
vier such particulars as throw additional light on
the animal's organization or habits.f " The Seals,"
he remarks, " are animals, so very remarkable for
their intelligence and organization, that we should
assiduously collect every fact that can elucidate their
history. These considerations have determined me
to give a description of a female which was taken
in 1811, and which is at present (1813) exhibiting
to the public, and has not yet, I believe, been de-
scribed. For two years it has been kept in a trough,
which scarcely exceeds its own dimensions, being
only one foot longer, and two feet broader, than it-
self. It every day receives several pounds of fresh

• Hist. Naturel. Supplem., t. vi. p. 310.
t Annal. du Museum, t. xx. p 387.

194 MONK. SEAL.

water fish, and usually spends nine or ten consecu-
tive hours in water ten inches deep. At the close
of the day the water is removed, that the animal
may be dry during the night, and, in spite of this
artificial mode of life, it enjoys excellent health.

" It would be a mistake to suppose that Seals are
deficient in intelligence ; on the contrary, it is cer-
tain that they have more than most quadrupeds,
more even than dogs originally. They (some of
them) are tamed without difficulty ; they recognise
those who feed them, and become attached to them ;
they also understand and obey them, and finally
forget their former independence, and, by a second
nature, enjoy their society with men.

" The length of this animal is between seven and
eight feet, and the general form is very like that of
the Common Seal. Its colour in the water is black
on the head, back, tail, and upper part of the feet,
whilst the chest, sides, and belly, and the under por-
tion of the neck, tail, paws, and sides of the head,
are of a yellowish light-grey. When it is dry, the
black portions are not so deeply coloured, and the
white parts are more yellow. The skin is every-
where of a slatey colour. The tail is three inches
long, and without movement ; the eyes are large,
and the cornea is very flat in comparison of other
quadrupeds ; two hairs, similar to those of the lip,
are seen above each eye ; the pupil exactly resem-
bles that of the domestic cat ; the nostrils are natu-
rally closed, and open only at the will of the animal ;
the ear has no trace of an external auricle ; the ori-

MONK SEAL. 195

fice of the auditory canal is situated nearly opposite
the tympanum.

" This Seal devours its food without chewing it,
and, after having removed the viscera, it always
takes it into its mouth in sucn a Direction that the
fins and scales offer no obstacle to its easy passage.
It sleeps throughout the live-long night, and cannot
be kept awake during the day without the most un-
ceasing perseverance. During sleep it is often ob-
served covered with the water at the bottom of its
trough, where of course it cannot breathe, and there
it continues for an hour at a time.'*

We have nothing to add to these minute state-
ments, except the remark of Baron Cuvier, that the
average length of this species, when fully grown
is between ten and twelve feet. We have already
remarked, that it has long been known to frequent
the Adriatic Gulf, and, of course, the shores of
Greece. M. de la Marmora mentions that it is also
found on the coasts of Sardinia.*

• Voyage en Sardaigne, p. 173.

196

THE STEiMMATOPUS, OR CROWNED GENUS
OF F. CUVIER,

The Stemmatopus, or Crowned-brow of M. F. Cuvier, receives
its name from certain soft appendages which are connected with
the forehead and other parts about the cranium. Speaking of
the Mitrata, M. Cuvier states, it is remarkable for the ex-
treme development of the cranial cavity ; and the Baron ob-
serves, " The head of this Seal, when compared with the com-
mon one, is somewhat longer, and much broader, especially in
the cranial portion ; the orbital space is longer and flatter, and
the muzzle much shorter. There are only four incisors in the
upper jaw, the middle ones beirg very small, and only two small
ones in the lower ; there are five molars on each side of each jaw :
they are somewhat compressed, striated, and have their cutting
portions marked by three lobes, and many small indentations."*
The formulary is 1^=30.

. F(>«9. p. 111.

137

THE CRESTED SEAL.

Ph. Cristata GMELIK.

PLATE XIV.

Ph. Cristata, Gmel Desm. 371. Stem. Cristatus, F. Cuv, Leo-
nina, Fab. Neitersoak, Crantz. Clapmutz of Egede, and the
Northern Seal-fishers. The Crested Seal of Anson and Ellis.*

IT is not without considerable hesitation we place
the Crested Seal in the same genus with the Mitra-
ta. M. F. Cuvier and Lesson associate it with the
next genus, (Macrorhinus ;) but solely because they
identify it with the Elephant Seal, an animal from
which it greatly differs. By others, again, it has
been identified with the Mitrata ; whilst much op-
posing evidence recently procured shows the inac-
curacy of this conclusion. The details within our
reach, especially regarding the dental apparatus, are
still too few to enable us to come to a definite classi-

* The name Hooded Seal, given by Pennant and Shaw, as
well as the popular French name a Capuchon, we regard as pe-
culiarly unfortunate, as confounding this species with the next.

198 CRESTED SEAL.

fication ; but such as have been obtained will be
supplied.

For our plate of the Cristata we are indebted
to a Transatlantic Naturalist, who commends the
draughtsman for " the very faithful delineation he
has given." The plate elucidates an account of the
animal, read by Dr Dekay to the New York Ly-
ceum of Natural History. Though we have been
enabled to present our readers with an accurate re-
presentation of this Seal, yet we have failed in pro-
curing the accompanying account. It was pub-
lished in the " Annals" of the New York Lyceum,
which appeared monthly, and we have been able to
procure the 4th number only, containing the plate,
but not the 3d, wherein nearly the whole description
is contained. We have to add that, for the expressive
colouring of our plate, we are indebted to Mr Bos-
well, already honourably named on page 168. In
favouring us with a fine specimen of the skin, he in-
formed us that, next to the Rough Seal, this, which
is very uniform in its markings, is the most fre-
quently met with in the trade : it so entirely agrees
with the following descriptions, that we do not
hesitate to supply it as the skin of the Crested
Seal.

The following is the description of this Seal, as
given by the distinguished Fabricius. Though he ap-
plies to it the name of Leonina, which is unfortunate
in many ways, yet he immediately adds, " Phoca ca-
pite antice cristato," with a crest on its forehead. He
says it attains tfce length of eight feet. The indivi-

CRESTED SEAL. 199

dual he had under his examination was only seven
and a half feet long ; its teeth corresponded with the
account given above, with this addition, that in one
specimen he had seen six molars in the lower jaw.
He adds, a tuberculous body like an inflated bladder,
keel-shaped in the middle, covered the anterior part
of the head, and so preserved the forehead. This
protuberance was confined to the males ; the females
and young having it quite rudimentary, fonir'ng a
slight projection on the part. Moreover, in addi-
tion to the true nostrils, the n ale had spurious tu-
berculous ones, sometimes single, and sometimes
double, according to their age. The mystach'.al bris-
tles were long, whitish, curled, compressed at their
base, and obtuse at the points. The eye was large and
black, with a brown iris ; there was no external auri-
cle, and the orifice was very small. The body of this
species is long and robust, covered with long some-
what erect hair, very woolly and thick underneath.
The fore-paw is somewhat in the form of a human
foot, the thumb corresponding to the great toe, and the
others gradually getting shorter. The colour varies
according to the age, being darkest in the aged : the
head, tail, and feet, are black, so are the other parts,
but spotted with grey spots, deepest, however, on the
back ; the younger are fairer ; during the first year
they are white, the upper part of the back being
slate grey; the second year they are snow while,
with a straight line of a brown colour on their
back.

To this account of the accurate Fabricius, we

200 CRESTED SEAL.

subjoin some interesting particulars which are ap-
pended by Drs Ludlow and King to Dr Dekay's me-
moir. Their account of the sac-like crest is as
follows : — " About two inches from the extremity of
the upper jaw, on the superior surface, arises a car-
tilaginous crest, rapidly increasing in height, as it
passes backwards, being about seven inches in
height at its posterior or vertical edge, which is se-
parated into two planes by an intervening depression
of an inch in depth. Its superior edge is slightly
convex, and the whole structure is clearly an elonga-
tion of the septum of the nose, the true nostrils
opening on each side of it by an oblong fissure.
This crest runs into the hood or sac-like appendage
of the head. This hood is strongly muscular, with
an aggregation of circular fibres round its external
orifices, which are two, situated at the lower ante-
rior part of the head. These probably served the
purpose of sphincters, so as perfectly to close the
sac. The length of the upper jaw beyond this
crest is chiefly attributable to the intermaxillary
bones, which are long and broad."

The following is their interesting account of the
eye: — " The eye is very peculiar, perfectly spherical,
with the nerve entering directly in the axis of the
ball. The sclerotic or external covering is divided
at its middle entirely round ; its two edges being
connected by an elastic membrane thickly covered
by muscles. The posterior half is subdivided into
four longitudinal segments, extending from its edge
to within a quarter of an inch of the entrance of

CRESTED SEAL. 201

the optive nerve. This structure, by elongating
the axis of vision, may enable the animal more
clearly to discern distant objects, and also, by
the reverse, to draw the eye deep within the socket
during repose, especially as there are no moveable
eye-lids, but only the roembrana nictitans ; the lens
is spherical ; the iris is broad, and evidently mus-
cular."

For the reason already assigned, we can sup-
ply little information from Dr Dekay himself.
Respecting the teeth, he remarks on one occasion,
" that they almost exactly correspond with those of
the Mitred Seal ;" and he says again, " the jaw teeth
are more closely approximated, the furrows in them
are deeper, and the last two are doubly furrowed."
— " The dilatable sac," he remarks, " which comes
over its head, and which, when swollen up, appears
like bladders, is covered with short brown hair.
The opinion of the fishermen regarding this appen-
dage is, that it is a sort of reservoir for air, which
the animal uses when under water. Its great bulk,
however, when distended, would prevent the animal
from descending freely, or moving with facility be-
neath the surface of the water. The connection of
the nostrils with the hood, the configuration of this
part, and its internal structure, indicate its import-
ance as subsidiary to the sense of smell. The
weak arms of offence and defence allotted to this
animal render it necessary that this faculty should
be exercised in the greatest possible degree. The
hair of its hide is soft and long, and woolly under-

202 CRESTED SEAL.

neath, dark in the old, and grey in the young, co-
vered with irregular brown spots."

Of the habitat of the Cristata, it is stated by Fa-
bricius that it is found only on the southern parts of
Greenland, and that it delights in the high seas ;
visiting the land chiefly in April, May, and June.
According to Crantz, they are found mostly on great
ice islands, where they sleep in an unguarded man-
ner. They are found in great numbers in Davis*
Straits, where they regularly make two voyages a
year, and remain from the month of September to
the month of March. They then depart to bring
forth their young, and return with them in the
month of June, when they are very lean and ex-
nausted. They set off a second time in July, and
proceed to the n%rth, where they probably find plen-
ty of nourishment, as they return in excellent con-
dition in September- They also frequent the north-
ern shores of America.*

Regarding its habits and dispositions, Fabricius
says, " It is polygamous, and has its young usually
on the ice. It bites hard, and barks and whines
like a dog : it grows fierce on being wounded ; but
will weep on being surprised by the hunter, shed-
ding tears abundantly. They fight furiously among
themselves, inflicting deep wounds with their claws
and teeth."

Sir Charles Giesecke remarks that this animal
grows to the length of ten or twelve feet ; which

• In the history of voyages, according to Desmarest.

CRESTED SEAL. 203

statement is repeated by Mr Scoresby ; who adds,
" It often returns the attacks of its assailants, and,
being defended by its hood from the stunning effect
of a blow upon the nose, sometimes inflicts severe
wounds on the person by whom he is attacked ;"*
a characteristic this which we have heard feelingly
descanted upon by some who have been engaged in
its capture in the Greenland seas,

In an economic point of view, we believe that
this is one of the species which is most extensively
made an object of pursuit, both in the Greenland
seas and in Davis' Straits; and that, together with
the Rough Seal, it is brought in by much the great-
est numbers to this country. The natives of the
regions it habitually frequents greatly esteem it.
The skins of the young are converted into the
most elegant dresses for the women, and are there-
fore highly valued ; their great boats are covered
with the skins of the aged, as also their houses ; the
teeth are used to head their hunting spears, and the
stomachs are converted into fishing buoys.

We conclude this account of the Cristata in the
words of M. de Blainville : — " We cannot readily
conceive how any one could confound the project-
ing vesicular tubercle of which Fabricius speaks, with
that modification of skin into which an animal can
bury its head as in a monk's hood, and which we
should naturally suppose would be found on the
back of the head."

• Arctic Regions, vol. i. p. 511.

204

THE MITRED OR HOODED SEAL.

Phoca Mitrata — CAMPER.

PLATE XV.
Phoca Mitrata, Camp. De Blainville. The Capuchin Seal, Cuv.

THE designation of Mitred Seal appears to have
been first applied by Camper, and a cranium with
this label was found in his museum, in 1811, by
Baron Cuvier. This specimen was supposed to
nave been procured in the Northern Ocean. Soon
after making this observation, Cuvier received from
Mr Milbert of New York a young animal of this
genus, from which a skeleton was prepared, and
which was found perfectly to correspond with
Camper's specimen. The locality of its capture was
not indicated. It has probably been from these ma-
terials that the plate in the PI. de Diet, des Scien.
Nat., of which ours is a copy, has been prepared,
though this is not expressly stated. The learned
author of the work here referred to has certainly
been unfortunate in making this animal identical
with the Crested Seal.

This specimen was only three and a half feet

MITRED SEAL. 205

long when it reached France, and, on removing it
from the liquor in which it had been transported, it
appeared whitish, except on the back and legs, where
it was of a slate brown hue, with a whitish reflec-
tion produced by the points of the hairs, their base
being brown, as well as the wool which covers their
roots. After it was dry, its native oil gave it a de-
cided yellow tinge. Its nails are large and whit-
ish at the ends ; its whiskers fine, short, and sim-
ple. The osteology of the cranium is very different
from that of the Common Seal, as may be seen by
comparing the wood-cuts on pages 128 and 196.
Cuvier adds, " Upon the cranium and neck of this
animal there is a very singular structure, which
may explain what has been said concerning a kind
of hood which it erects and swells up at pleasure.
This structure is composed of numerous vessels,
forming a tolerably thick net-work, which may
contain a great quantity of blood, and which causes
the region of the neck, and all over the shoulders,
to appear more swollen than in most Seals. This
structure is more minutely referred to by De Blain-
ville in these words — ' Mr Milbert sent to the Jar-
din des Plantes the skin of a Seal to which the head
was attached, and which presented a singular pecu-
liarity. Close to the occiput and the attachment
of the neck, the skin was separated from the adja-
cent flesh by a considerable mass of vessels, or, in
other words, by a sort of erectile tissue ; an appear-
ance which leads us to think that the skin in this
region was susceptible of reflection, and, conse-

206 MITRED SEAL.

quently, of covering the head more or less, as far
perhaps at the eyes, as is said of the Capuchin
Seal.'"*

The dimensions, the habits, and even the locality
of this singular species, seem to be nearly unknown ;
the only gleanings we have detected being the fol-
lowing . — " One species," says Crantz, " has a thick
folded skin upon its forehead, which it can dra /
down over its eyes, like a cap, to defend them against
the storms, waves, stones, and sand ; it has a short,
thick, black wool under its white hair, which gives
it a beautiful grey colour.!>f Again, " In that sub-
genus," says Mr Swainson, " named Mirounga by Mr
Grey, J one species has the powrer of bringing forward
a fold of skin, placed on the forehead in such a way
as to cover the eyes when the animal is threatened."§
And, once more, in the words of Lesson, " The Fur
Seal of Patagonia has a bump behind its head."U

* Journal de Physique, t. xci. p. 289.

t Hist, of Greenland, vol. i. 125.

I Are not sub-genera sometimes made too precipitately ?
Miouroung is a name given by the aborigines of N. Holland to
the Proboscis Seal ; and, accordingly, it is made a synonym of
that animal by Desmarest, arid, we believe, Peron. «' The fold
of the skin on the forehead, so as to cover the eyes," however
applicable to the Mitrata* can never, with any propriety, be ap-
plied to the Miouroung of Desmarest ; and why interfere with his
nomenclature ?

§ Classif. of Quadr. p. 118.

I Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat. t. xi. p. 33.

207

GENUS MACRORH1NUS.

THE cranium of the Genus Macrorhinus differs very much from
that of other Seals, as do also the teeth, whose formulary is

The incisors are hooked like the canine, but are much smaller ;
the canine are very strong tusks, and the molars have simple
fangs, and present this singular appearance that their crowns are
smaller than their roots ; they appear like a nipple on the round
base which supports them.

M. de Blainville has given an interesting account of this cra-
nium, from which we make a few extracts. " It is a foot and
a half long, and the largest we have examined. The sagitto-
occipital crest is raised into a sort of pyramid like that of the
Rhinoceros. But that in which it differs from all others is its
exhibiting a structure capable of sustaining a prolongation from
the nostrils. In truth, the forehead is extremely prominent,
somewhat like that of the Elephant, and probably for an analo-
gous purpose. The nasal bones are very short, and those of the
muzzle are longer than in any other kind of Seal, since they form
from their anterior extremity to the border of the orbit more than
two-fifths of the total length of the head ; and this muzzle is
nearly formed entirely of the maxillaries : the space between
these bones is entirely hollow, which leaves an enormous nasal
opening.*

* Lib. iupra cit.

208

THE PROBOSCIS SEAL, OR
ELEPHANT SEAL.

Ph. Proboscidea PERON.

PLATE XVI THE MALE.

Phoca Proboscidea, Peron, Des. 368. Ph. Elcphantina, Molina,
Elephant Seal of the English. Phoque a trompeof the French.
Macroi hinus Proboscidius, F. Cuv. Miouroung of native Aus-
tralians.*

THIS animal has received its specific name from
the able Naturalist of the Voyage aux Terres Aus-
trebles^ on account of the very peculiar appearance
of its short trunk. It is not, however, from this
point of resemblance alone that it has acquired the
name of Sea-Elephant, but also because it is by
much the largest of its kind, in this respect more
than doubling the dimensions of its terrestrial
namesake, reaching the enormous length of twenty-
five and thirty feet, maintaining withal a proportionate
thickness. From being an object of great commer-
ce ial importance it has attracted much attention, and

• This i- also the Sea- Lion of Anson, and the Sea- Wolf of
Pfrnetty

ELEPHANT SEAL. 209

we rejoice it has received a minute examination
from at least one Naturalist. Accordingly, we
shall take our description chiefly from the interest-
ing account of Peron.

The Proboscis Seal must undoubtedly stand at
the head of all the Phocidae, as the largest and
most remarkable of those hitherto known. It has
the enormous dimensions of twenty, twenty-five,
and even thirty feet in length, with a circumference
of from fifteen to eighteen feet. Its colour is some-
times greyish, sometimes bluish-grey, and more
rarely blackish-brown. The absence of every thing
like external ears; great whiskers composed of
strong coarse hairs, very long, and twisted some-
what like a screw, witn other similar hairs over
each eye, supplying the place of eye-brows ; eyes
which are extremely large and prominent ; strong
and powerful swimming paws, having at their mar-
gin five small black nails ; a very short tail, which
is almost hid between two flat horizontal fins ; these
form the distinguishing traits of this strange ani-
mal. But the singular prolongation of the nostrils
still remains to be mentioned. When the animal
is in a state of repose, its nostrils, shrunk and pen-
dant, serve only to make the face appear larger ;
but whenever he rouses himself, when he respires
violently, when about to attack, or wishing to de-
fend himself, the proboscis becomes elongated in
the form of a tube to the length of about a foot ;
and then not only is the countenance changed, as

o

210 ELEPHANT SEAL,

may be seen in the drawings, but the character of
the voice is modified in a not less striking manner.
The females are destitute of this organization, and
have the upper lip even somewhat cleft. In both
sexes the hair is exceedingly coarse and close, and
hence cannot be compared in value with the finer
skins of many other Seals.

THE FEMALE.

PLATE XVII.

THE following particulars have kindly been com-
municated to us by Dr Trail : — " The Great Seal
at Liverpool was brought from New South Shet-
land about ten years ago. They abound on the
coasts. The sailors find the male usually sur-
rounded with several females; and they avoid wound-
ing him, as the females seldom abandon the male,
though they see the butchery of their own sex, but
will leave the shore with the flight of the male.

^r

ELEPHANT SEAL. 211

The males are pugnacious with each other for
their females. The one in the Liverpool Museum
Is not reckoned above the usual size of a full grown
female."

To the account of the external appearance by
Peron, we are happy we can add the following valu-
able description, by our intelligent publisher, of
the same female of this species, preserved in the
Liverpool Museum, and which was put up under
the able direction of Dr Trail : — " I have taken/'
says Mr Lizars, " a sketch of this Great Seal, and
a wonderful monster it is; — compared with any
ordinary Seal three or four feet long, it appears
exactly like an Elephant when compared to a
sheep. The animal is laid out at full stretch, and
measures from the point of the nose to the end of the
hind flippers fifteen and a half feet ; but when the
bones were in situ it must have been longer, I should
say fully sixteen and a half feet. Its greatest circum-
ference, taken behind the fore -paws, is ten feet three
inches; but this also must be far short of what it was
in the living state, so that I should say it must have
amounted to twelve feet. If you measure across
between the tips of the paws, it appears the animal
is nearly as broad as it is long, as in the human
frame. The whole surface, excepting the nose, is
entirely covered with very short hair, dark olive
brown above, and shading away to a yellowish bay
colour below upon the belly ; upon the under part
of the cheeks and chin the colour approaches to a

212 ELEPHANT SEAL.

full dark-brown, and is rather longer than else-
where. The hair lies in patches, in all directions,
which gives a spotted appearance to the whole
body, making it somewhat like watered silk, but the
colour of the individual hairs is the same olive
brown and yellowish bay.

" The head is large for a Seal, and well marked,
much like our Sea-Lion in the College Museum,
(No. 19,) but without the beard and mane. The
nose is not in the smallest degree prehensile, not
more so than that of a Labrador dog, to which the
head also has some resemblance, I mean the smooth
skinned Newfoundland dog, which is not very
common. There are four fingers and a sort of
thumb on the fore flippers, with perfect nails upon

each ; the hind toes have not even the rudiments of
nails, but are beautifully constructed, like the web
of a duck's foot, and formed to expand, so increas-
ing the power of natation. Its tail is very short,
not more than six inches long. The orifice of the ear

ELEPHANT SEAL.

213

is well defined, although very small, not sufficient
to allow the little finger to enter, and the hairs are so
arranged as to turn inwards. The teeth are arranged,
and shaped as below. Between the canines, in

the upper jaw, are four incisors, conical, and of
very different sizes ; there are also four grinders,
(probably five is the normal number,) of the form,
size, and at the relative distances, here represented.

The grinders of the lower jaw are precisely similar,
five on each side; and there are only two very
small incisors between the canines. The points of
the canines are much worn. You will probably be
of opinion that from the construction of the mouth
the animal must swallow its victims without masti-
cation, and that with a single bite with such canines
it will dispatch the life at once."

214 ELEPHANT SEAL.

Frequenting only the Southern hemisphere,
this Seal has a peculiar delight in its most desert
islands ; and what is strange, for some of these
in preference, and to the exclusion of others.
Thus, in a particular group, consisting it may be of
several dozens, it will be seen only on two or
three. It is not found on the vast continent of
New Holland, nor in Van Diemen's Land, except
as driven on shore by tempests. It has been found
in numerous herds in Kerquelen's Land, upon S.
Georgia, the States Islands, where it is regularly
fished, also upon Juan Fernandez, South Shetland,
and the Falkland Islands, where, however, there are
but few. The only explanation of these prefer
ences which we can suggest is, that they may
perhaps depend on the presence of those fresh
water lakes, or rather swamps, in which they de-
light to wallow. As the result of all the observa-
tions hitherto made, it may be remarked, that
these powerful animals are confined between the
35° and 55° of S. latitude, and that they exist both
in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans.

The Elephant Seal is not, however, a fixed tenant
of its favourite haunts ; for, avoiding the extremes
of heat and cold, in the commencement of winter
it leaves the South, and approaches more tem-
perate regions, and with the summer heats it again
retires towards the pole* A month after this voyage
the females begin to bring forth their young; when
they are usually all assembled near the shore, and
are surrounded by the males, who do not allow them

ELEPHANT SEAL. 215

to return to sea. Nor do they revisit that element
till the period of lactation is over ; and it has been
stated that, if at any time the mothers appear to be
separating themselves from their young, the males
pursue, and by biting, force them to remain at their
post. According to Peron, they have only one ay
a birth, very rarely two, whilst Anson states they
have generally two. The young at birth are be-
tween four and five feet long, and weigh seventy
pounds, and even then the male is larger than the
female. In suckling it the mother reclines upon
her side. The period of lactation continues seven
or eight weeks, during which period no member of
the family either eats or goes to sea. The growth
of the young one is very rapid : in the first eight
days it doubles its dimensions, and increases to
more than twice its original weight. This rapid
development is of course at the expense of the
mother, and as she does not make up her loss with
any kind of food, she manifestly wastes away from
day to day, and has sometimes been observed to
sink under it, though it is difficult to determine
whether this fatal result arises only from the great
drain, or from some fatal disorder. The first teeth
appear at the end of a fortnight, and in four months
they are all present. The growth of this species
is so rapid, that at the end of the third year the
young animals have attained the length of from
eighteen to twenty-five feet, which is the ordinary
limit of their growth, and after this they increase
principally in fatness.

216 ELEPHANT SEAL.

When the young are six or seven weeks old they
are conducted to the sea, the shores being aban-
doned for a time. The whole troop moves in con-
cert : at this time they all swim sufficiently gently,
and though they often disappear under water, yet
are they forced at short intervals to rise to the
surface for the purpose of respiration. When the
young wander away from the herd, they are imme-
diately pursued by some of the older ones, who, by
biting and otherwise, oblige them to return to the
group.

After remaining three weeks or more at sea, to
familiarize the young with this element, and to re-
cruit their exhausted strength, the Sea Elephants
return a second time to the coasts, for the all im-
portant object of reproduction. It has been already
stated, that at the age of three years these animals
have acquired all their growth ; and it is then also
that the remarkable proboscis of the male is deve-
loped. Previous to this event he consorted with
the females ; and this appendage may therefore be
regarded as an index of virility.

During the season of their amours, the harmony
of the community disappears, and is unknown dur-
ing this time of inebriation. Animated by a com-
mon passion, the males give themselves up to bloody
contest ; they fight with the greatest fury, but al-
ways in single combat ; and, as Steller remarks of a
congener, if two assail one, the others haste to the
help of the oppressed individual, indignant at the
foul play. Their mode of battle is very singular.

ELEPHANT SEAL. 217

The two rival giant knights waddle heavily along ;
they meet, and join snout to snout ; they then raise
the anterior portion of their body as far as their
fore-paws, and open their immense mouths ; their
eyes are inflamed with rage, and they dash against
each other with the greatest momentum in their
power ; now they tumble one over the other, teeth
crash with teeth, and jaws with jaws ; they wound
each other deeply, sometimes knocking out each
other's eyes, and more frequently their tusks ; the
blood flows abundantly; but these raging foes,
without ever seeming to observe it, prosecute the
combat till their strength is completely exhausted.
It is seldom that either is left dead on the field, and
the wounds they inflict, however deep, heal with
inconceivable rapidity. During these violent com-
bats, the females, with apparent indifference, wait
the issue for the lord who is to rule over them.
He, on the moment of his victory, proud of his
success, hastes into the midst of the timid group,
and reigns with undisputed empire. The period of
gestation appears to be nine or ten months.

In the meanwhile, as the sun approaches the ant-
arctic circle, and the heat proves too much for
them, the young having been brought forth dur-
ing the smiles of spring, and having now become
familiar with their natural element, the whole
tribe sets off for the South, there to remain till the
threatenings of frost induce them to return to
more genial skies. It may be added, however, that

218 ELEPHANT SEAL.

a few, probably retained by weakness, <*!•*•««.« »»-
main in the milder climate.

Most of the Seals, as we have seen, prefer rocfcs
and ice-islands for their supramarine habitation;
but the proboscidise, on the contrary, confine them-
selves to the sandy flats of the shore ; they seek
also for the neighbourhood of fresh water, in which,
though it be not altogether essential to them,
they delight to plunge, and appear to drink with
pleasure. They sleep alike when extended on the
sand, and when floating upon the surface of the
waves. When assembled in great troops on land,
and reposing, one or more of their number is con-
stantly on the watch : When danger threatens,
they immediately give the alarm, and then all has-
ten to the beach, to precipitate themselves into the
protecting wave. Nothing is more singular than
their gait. It is a kind of crawling, in which their
body appears to tremble, like an enormous bladder
full of jelly, so very thick is the coat of lard which
covers them. And not only is their gait slow, and
apparently painful, but every fifteen or twenty paces
they are forced to halt, partly from fatigue, over-
whelmed with their own weight. If, during their
flight, any one gets before them, they instantly stop;
and if, by repeated blows, they are forced to move,
they appear to suffer mucn. It is remarkable, that
in these circumstances their pupil, which usually
is of a bluish-green colour, becomes of a deep
blood-red hue. Notwithstanding all this difficulty

ELEPHANT SEAL. 219

tf progression, the Sea- Elephants, in King's Island,
ucceeded in ascending the low downs, of some
fifteen or twenty feet elevation, where small ponds
of water existed.

The cry of the female and the young male re-
sembles the lowing of an ox; but, in the adult
males, the proboscis gives such an inflexion to their
voice, that it is something like that kind of noise
which may be produced by gurgling. This hoarse
and singular cry is heard at a great distance, and
is wild and frightful ; and in these dreary regions
during the stormy nights which sometimes occur,
on being suddenly roused from slumber by the
confused bellowings of these colossal animals, con-
gregated near your brvouac, you can scarcely resist
being seized with a momentary panic.

We have already noticed that these animals avoid
great heat ; and, unlike most of the race, they ap-
pear to be greatly incommoded by the direct rays
of the sun. Hence, when lying during the day on the
beach, they are noticed to take particular delight in
covering themselves with great quantities of sand,
moistened by the sea water, which they throw over
them with their paws till they are entirely enveloped
in it. It is under these circumstances especially, that,
with Forster, we might mistake them for so many
enormous rocks.

Sea-Elephants are of an extremely mild and do-
cile disposition, so that one may pace about among
them without fear. They never think of attacking
man, unless they are f revoked by the rudest vio-

220 ELEPHANT SEAL.

lence. And it is not only on shore they present
this gentle character ; for the fishers affirm, that
when Seals of smaller species come and swim amidst
them, they never offer them the least injury. Men
may, even without risk, bathe in the midst of
a herd of them, and the fishers were in the habit of
doing so. They are also capable of forming a real
attachment, and of very considerable education. On
one occasion, an English sailor selected a young
one as a pet, and treated it kindly for a few months.
At the end of this period he had so completely
tamed it, that it came at his call, allowed him to
mount upon its back, and put his hands into its
mouth. In a word, this gentle creature did all that
was in its power for its protector, and bore every
thing from him without offence. It must have been
on facts such as these that Penrose expected cre-
dence for the statement, " that his crew rode on
these animals as they would do on horses, and
when they did not swim sufficiently rapidly, forced
them to quicken their progress by the spur."

Though nothing is definitely known as to the
natural term of life of these Seals, yet some, who
are familiar with them, have estimated it at twenty-
five or thirty years. It has been remarked, that
when about to die, feeling themselves indisposed, they
leave the ocean, and advance further in shore than
usual, where they lie down among brushwood, and
wait death, as if they wished to resign life in the
situation they first received it. Sometimes they
meet with fatal accidents. Surprised by tempest^

ELEPHANT SEAL. 221

they are precipitated against the rocks, and, in spite
of every effort, are dashed to pieces. They encounter
also other dangers in the depths of the ocean. The
fishers state that they sometimes unexpectedly see
them ascend from beneath the wave in the greatest
apparent alarm, many of them being covered with
wounds, and dyeing the water with their blood.
Their panic concurs with their wounds, in proving
they have been hunted by some formidable foes.
But what are these ? The fishers unanimously agree
that they know no animal that could make such
large and deep wounds ; they therefore presume
that these contests must be carried on with some un-
known monsters dwelling far from the coasts ; whilst
they at the same time allow they have never other-
wise been able to detect any trace of them. They
add, that it is doubtless to preserve their young
from these attacks that the Sea- Elephants prevent
them, with such assiduity, from diving too deeply,
or wandering too far from the flock, as formerly
noticed.

But the most formidable of all their enemies is
encountered upon land, and this enemy is man.
We have already stated, that they are sometimes
forced ashore in New Holland and Van Diemen's
Land. The moment that the native savages per-
ceive one they surround it, while it in vain attempts
to regain the sea. Its retreat thus cut off, armed
with long pieces of wood burning at one end, the
savages attack the unfortunate brute. As soon as
he opens his mouth, showing the only weapons with

222 ELEPHANT SEAL.

which he is armed, they all at once force many of
these flaming torches down his throat. The un-
fortunate Elephant gives utterance to the most me-
lancholy bellowings, his whole frame is agitated
with violence, and he dies 0f suffocation and agony.
Joyful shoutings ascend on every side, and the
cruel conquerors set themselves down to devour
their prey. Each tears away what he can ; lit
gorges himself and sleeps ; he awakes, and eats, and
sleeps again. The feast may have united tribes
which were inimical, and for the time their hatred
is extinguished ; but their revels over, their ani-
mosities revive, and murderous combats usually
terminate their disgusting orgies.

But these savages are not their most formidable
foes : their voracity they can generally avoid ;
but they find no escape from mercantile cupidity,
which appears to have vowed complete extinction
to the race. The fishers use in destroying them
a lance twelve or fifteen feet long, with a sharp
iron point of about two feet. With great address,
they seize the moment when the animal raises
his left fore-paw to advance, and plunging the
weapon to the heart, he immediately falls down
drenched in blood. The females rarely offer the
least opposition, their defensive weapons being
feebler still than those of the male. When at-
tacked, they seek to flee ; if prevented they become
violently agitated, their countenance assumes th«
expression of despair, and they weep piteously. " f
have myself/' says Peron, " seen a young female shed

ELEPHANT SEAL. 223

tears abundantly, whilst one of our wicked and
cruel sailors amused himself at the sight, knocking
out her teeth with an oar, whenever she opened her
mouth. The poor animal might have softened a
heart of stone ; its mouth streaming with blood, and
its eyes with tears." To this quiet submission there
are a few rare exceptions, as when a mother is inter-
ested about her offspring. Thus, it is recorded in
Anson's Voyage, " One day a sailor being carelessly,
and, we add, cruelly, employed in skinning a young
Sea- Elephant in its mother's presence, she came
upon him unperceived, and getting his head into
her mouth, scored his skull in notches in many
places, and thereby wounded him so desperately,
that, though all possible care was taken of him, yet
he died in a few days."*

It is not on account of its flesh that this animal
is so earnestly pursued : this is not only black, oily,
and indigestible, but it is also impossible almost to
separate it from the lard. The tongues alone supply
really good aliment ; and they are salted with care,
and esteemed in the market. The heart is some-
times eaten, but it is hard and indigestible ; and
with regard to the liver, which is esteemed in some
Seals, it would appear, after repeated trials, to be
hurtful. The skin of the Seal is considered valu-
able, though not esteemed for its fur, its thickness
and strength recommend it much, and hence it is
extensively employed for carriages and horse har-

• Book ii. chap. 1.

224 ELEPHANT SEAL.

ness. It is the oil, however, which is chiefly prized
by the fishers, and this is the immediate object of
their enterprising expeditions ; nor need we wonder
when we think either on the quantity, the quality,
or the facility with which it is prepared. In fact,
the Sea- Elephant does not yield to most of the cete
in the thickness of its blubber, which is often more
than a foot, and supplies a prodigious quantity,
amounting to 1400 or 1500 pounds in the largest
individuals. Its preparation is very similar to that
of the whale oil, except that it is always carried on
upon land. All agree that its quality is most excel-
lent. It is limpid, inodorous, and never becomes
rancid ; in cooking, it imparts no disagreeable sa-
vour ; and in burning, it produces no smoke nor
smell, and is slow of combustion. In England, it is
used for the softening of wool and the manufacture
of cloth ; and it is also much used in China.

This fishing has been prosecuted in many quar-
ters : King's and New- Year's Island were in full ac-
tivity at the commencement of this century ; a third
station existed at Kerquelen's Land, a fourth in the
Sandwich Islands, whilst others were forming in the
States' Islands and elsewhere. Thus, this gigantic
species was attacked in many points at once ; its
numbers have been thinned with the greatest possible
rapidity, and its entire extinction was and is to be
dreaded.

This interesting sketch of the Zoologist of Le
Geographic is so carefully and successfully drawn,
that we have been studious not to interrupt the

ELEPHANT SEAL. 225

narrative. Our limits forbid our offering any reflec-
tions ; nor can we do more than barely refer to some
interesting notices respecting this Seal which may
be found in Anson's Voyages. Pernetty's observa-
tions are so curious that we cannot wholly omit them.
" When you penetrate," he observes, " the thickets of
brushwood to which they retire, and in which they
form their lairs, you find them almost always asleep
upon the dry leaves. At first I had no adequate
conception of their prodigious size. When at the
distance of about a thousand yards they looked like
little mountains, and it was only on coming close
that I formed a correct idea of them. After minutely
examining one, M. de St Simon led me to the bank
of a brook overgrown with reeds and rushes. On
entering, he immediately shot one about the size of
a stout calf. Sounds instantly assailed us on all
sides, like the grunting of hogs, the bellowing of
bulls, the roaring of lions, and the deepest notes of
a great organ. We were so astounded that we
hesitated to proceed; but being satisfied that all
the cries issued from these same animals, and that
they might be approached without risk, provided
you did not go too near, we penetrated among the
reeds. About thirty appeared, lying about, some-
times two or three in the same trough. M. St
Simon shot eleven of them. Those which were not
wounded remained quietly in their lairs, without
exhibiting either fear or fury. The smallest we
killed were between fifteen and sixteen feet in

p

226 ELEPHANT SEAL.

length. On another occasion, when some of these
animals were approached, two of our young people
amused themselves by throwing large pebbles into
their gaping mouths, which they swallowed as we
would have done strawberries. They move with
great difficulty, though their head and neck have
ready play. It would not be safe to go close to
their lair, as they might cut a man in two at a
single bite. Their eyes are the most beautiful in
the world, and their aspect is not at all ferocious.
The colour of some of them is white, others are
dun-coloured, but most are of the same hues as
the beaver ; a few were like the light hind."*

We shall close our account of these gigantic
amphibia by a few sentences from Weddell. The
inactivity and extreme lethargy of those Seals when
on shore is astonishingly contrasted with their saga-
city and agility when at sea. They have been
known to keep a boat from landing, by intercepting
it in the water, when the crew had no fire-arms ;
and frequently when one is pricked with a lance, it
will attack the boat with the greatest ferocity. It
is curious to remark that the Sea- Elephant, when
lying on the shore, and threatened with death, will
often make no effort to escape into the water, but
will lie and shed tears, merely raising its head and
looking at its assailant. In close contest every

• More ample details will be found in Voy. aui Malloun, t. ii.
p. 40.

ELEPHANT SEAL. 227

effort would be of little avail for its destruc-
tion, unwieldy though it be, were it to rush for-
ward and exert the power of its jaws : for this in-
deed is so enormous, that, in the agony of death,
stones are ground by them to powder*

228

THE OTARIES.

WE now proceed to the second great division of the
Phocidia, the Diaries ; and in addition to what has
been said on p. 98, we may now add, that their fore-
paws, as if intended exclusively for swimming, are ge-
nerally placed farther back in the body than in the
true Phoca, giving them the appearance of pos-
sessing a longer neck ; the fingers also are more
hid in the skin, and they have no nails ; the hind
feet have the membrane or web prolonged beyond
the nails into five long straps or ribbons, (see p. 55,)
and the under surface of all the extremities are de-
void of hair, like the sole of the foot, and are deeply
marked with rugae.

We turn first to the animals which have received
the popular name of SEA-LION, a name which has
been applied by voyagers to Seals of large dimen-
sions for a variety of fanciful and absurd reasons.
Thus Funnell, in his narrative of that voyage which
goes under the name of Dampier's, applies the ap-

SEA-LIONS. 229

pellation to a great Seal he encountered, because " he
roared like a lion ;w and others have conferred it
upon other animals, because they had teeth like
lion's teeth, and so forth. Steller, who, in 1742, first
gave a detailed account of some of these larger Seals,
described one under the name of Dampier's Sea-
Lion ; but in looking to Funnell's account, it is evi-
dent that no one could thereby distinguish the
species ; and from other considerations, it is almost
certain it had reference to the Proboscis Seal just
described, (p. 208,) which, as we have seen, was call-
ed Sea-Lion by Anson, and Sea- Wolf by Pernetty
But this is the least of our present confusion. Per-
netty gives an account of a Sea- Lion which he en-
countered at the Falkland Islands ; and Forster, in
his account of Cook's Voyage, supplies another of
a somewhat similar animal which they met with at
Staten's Land. From the general resemblance
merely, Pernetty regarded the great lion of the
Falkland Islands as identical with Steller's ; at the
same time remarking that there were several species
of Sea- Lion ;* and Forster was disposed to identify
the species he saw both with Steller's and Pernetty's ;
whilst Peron and other naturalists, who have paid
great attention to these amphibia, strongly contend
that there are three or more different kinds. Ana-
logy would certainly lead us to conclude that the
Seals of such different regions are themselves liffer-
ent, and without entering further into discussion upon

• Loc. c. p. 38.

230 SEA-LIONS.

this point at present, we merely state that we think it
best to follow the example of Peron, and of the
Diet. Classique, and to treat of these species seve-
rally. We shall resort, as much as possible, to the
original sources of information, and shall thus, in a
great degree, put our readers in a condition to form
their own judgment.

GENUS PLATYRHINCUS.

We have now arrived at the sixth genus of M. F.
Cuvier, concerning the osteology of which he con-
fesses that nothing satisfactory is known. He had
before him a cranium, which, by the bye, he does
not indicate, which was different from all the others,
and which was labelled as a Sea- Lion's ; and with-
out attempting to refer it to any one species, he
establishes upon it the present genus. This, of
course, was only groping in the dark, though it was
at the same time making progress, so far as unequi-
vocally to indicate another kind of Seal. Since that
time, other not less extraordinary crania have been
discovered, and of some of these we shall avail our-
selves, at the same time begging attention to the

SEA-LIONS. 231

fact, that these several specimens have not been sa-
tisfactorily referred to any distinct species, or, it
may be, genera.

In connection with the Sea-Lion of Steller, we
venture to prefix a copy which De Blainville took
of a cranium in the London College of Surgeons,
and which was labelled, *' Sea-Lion from the Island
of Tinian — from Commodore Byron." This island,
one of the Ladrones, in lat. 15° N., borders on the
N. Pacific Ocean, though still at a great distance
from Behring's Island and the Kuriles, which were
the summer residence of Steller's Lion ; from which,
however, they went southwards on the approach of
winter.

The following is an abridgment of Blainville's account of the
cranium, which wanted the lower jaw. It is more than a foot
long, and apparently belonged to an adult animal ; its crests are
remarkably strong, indicating the attachment of powerful muscles ;
the forehead and ehaufrin are almost horizontal ; the opening for
the nostrils is also horizontal, and of middling size ; the muzzle
is about one-third of the length of the whole head; the orbit
also is forward, so that the molars are carried far back. The
teeth are (»• >• •• ;) six incisors in a straight line, the external
much the largest, and like small canines ; the canines are of great
size ; and then, without any interval, six molars, almost equal in
length, and augmenting in thickness from the extreme ones to the
third ; they appear to have been all nearly pointed and conical.
M. F. Cuvier indicates Steller's Lion as the type of this genus,
and the above description agrees \vi*h Steller's very minute ao-
count of the teeth.

'232

SEA-LION OF STELLER.

Phoca Jubata. — GMELIN.

Otaria Stelleri, Less. Phoca Jubata, Gmel. Desm. Plat. Leo-
ninus, F. Cuv. Dampiero Leo Marinus, Steller. Sea- Lion
of Steller.

ACCORDING to Steller,* the length of the full-grown
Sea- Lion of the North is about fifteen feet, and its
weight about sixteen hundred weight. The males
have stiffand crisp curled hair about the neck, of which
the females and young are destitute. The females
are shorter and more slender than the males. The hide
is very thick, and covered with coarse strong hair of
a reddish colour like that of many cows, which gets
paler in the aged, and is of a deeper hue in the
young ; in the females it has a bright ochre tint, and

• Nov. Comment. Acad. Sclent. Petropol. t. ii ad annum
1749.

SEA-LION ^V STELLER. 233

is sometimes of a cbesnut colour in the young. The
head is large ; the nose stretched out, and somewhat
turned upwards; the eyes are very large, having the
inner angle stained, as it were, with cinnabar from the
size of the caruncle ; the bright pupil sparkles of a
green colour, and the rest of the eye is white like
ivory; the eye-brows are bushy; the external ears
conical, upright, large, and distinct. That which
especially, in addition to the colour and size of the
animal, entitles it to the name of Sea- Lion, is its
mane of erect and undulating hair, which augments
its apparent size, and greatly increases its beauty of
form, like that which is seen in the king of beasts. In
the upper jaw there are six incisors ; four of these
have double or twin summits, or are bifurcated; then
succeeds one, canine-shaped on each side, more than
an inch long, very sharp, and curved inwards ; then
there are the true canines, twice as long as the last, and
very sharp ; then six molars, shaped like canines,
with a small heal before and behind ; they are almost
two-thirds of an inch long. The formulary is
Lli|-_:3g> The shape is exhibited on p. 236.

This Sea- Lion inhabits the eastern shores of
Kamskatka and the Kurile Islands, and as far as
Matsmai, where Captain Spunberg observed a cer-
tain island of the most picturesque form, bordered
with rocks resembling buildings, and swarming with
these creatures, to which he gave the name of the
Palace of Sea-Lions. They abound in Behring's
Island in the autumn, whither they resort for the
bringing forth of their young. Steller also saw

234 SEA-LION OF STELLER.

them in abundance on the coasts of America in July
They are not so migratory as some other species,
but still have their summer and winter quarters.
They live chiefly on rocky shores, and desert rocks
of the ocean, on which tfyey climb, and their roaring
is said to be useful in the foggy weather of those
regions, by warning navigators to avoid destruction,
Though the males have a terrible aspect, yet they
take flight on the first appearance of man ; and if
surprised in their sleep, they are panic-struck, sigh-
ing deeply, and in their attempt to escape, get quite
confused, tumble down, and tremble so much, that
they are scarcely able to move their limbs. If, how-
ever, reduced to extremity, they grow desperate, turn
on their enemy with great fury and noise, and put
even the most valiant * / flight. On this account the
Kamskatkans never i tack them in the open sea,
nor without many precautions on land. They usually
watch their opportunity to find one asleep, when the
most courageous amongst them strikes their har-
poon into the creature, and takes to his heels as fast
as he can ; his comrades then fasten the line at-
tached to the harpoon to a strong stake, and its
flight thus arrested, they shoot at it with arrows,
and dart their lances, until being nearly overcome,
they venture in and despatch it with their clubs.
They often also employ poisoned arrows with effect.
It is at the same time true that many of the natives
of those regions, from the great size and power of
these animals, attach a kind of glory to the destruc-
tion of a Sea- Lion, and that some of them will hunt

SEA- LION OF STELLER. 235

it, at great peril to themselves, for many successive
days, by sea and land, without any other compass
than the stary heaven.

Though these animals are naturally savage and
brutal, yet in the long-run they become familiar
with man. Thus Steller tells us that he lived for
six days in a hovel in the very midst of them, and
they soon became intimate. They observed what
he was doing with great calmness, laid themselves
down close beside him, and would suffer him to seize
their cubs. He had thus an excellent opportunity of
studying their habits, and once saw one which had
been robbed of its mate fight with the whole herd for
three days, and escape at last with more than a hun-
dred wounds. They allowed the whelps of other Seals
to sport near them without offering them the least in-
jury. The old showed but little affection for their
young ones, and sometimes, through mere careless-
ness, would tread them to death ; they also suffered
them to be killed before their eyes without any concern
or resentment. The cubs, too, on land are not sportive
like those of some other species, but are almost al-
ways asleep. They are taken to sea when some-
what advanced: when wearied they mount on their
mother's back, whence the male often pushes them
to accustom them to the exercise. The males treat
the females with great respect, and often caress
them. They are polygamous, but usually satisfy
themselves with from two to four females a piece.
The older ones bellow like bulls, the younger bleat
like sheep.

236 SEA-LION OF STELLER.

Their food is fish, the lesser Seals, Sea-Ottars,
and other marine animals. During the heat of sum-
mer the old males almost entirely abstain from food ;
they indulge in indolence and sleep, and become
excessively emaciated. '

237

THE SEA-LION OF FORSTER.

PLATE XVIII.

Leo Marinus, Buff. Otaria Leo Marinus, Forsterii, Lesson. O.
Jubata, Des. The Sea- Lion of Forster.

MR FORSTER is the principal, if not the only, origi-
nal authority among naturalists, for this great Lion
Seal of the southern hemisphere. He met it when
accompanying Captain Cook in his second voyage,
and gave an interesting description of it in his nar-
rative of that expedition.* Mr Forster, or rather per-
haps his father, transmitted about the same time tc
Count Buffon a detailed account of this animal
together with drawings taken from nature, both of
which were used in the supplement of his Histoire
Naturelle, where, however, this document is unfor-
tunately mixed up with Steller's account just given.
We here therefore reject what has been copied from
Steller, and give only what appears to have been
drawn from Forster's communication.

» Voyage, &e., by G. Forster, 4to, Lond. 1777, *>1. ii. 512

23S SEA-LION OF FORSTER.

After describing the coat and mane very much as
Steller had done, Buffon proceeds — " It has no fur or
short woolly hair under the longer hair, as is found
in the Sea-Bears. The weight of the full-grown
male is about sixteen cwt., and its length between
ten and twelve feet ; the females are much more
slender and shorter, usually about seven or eight
feet long. They are every where equally thick, and
look like great cylinders more t suitable for rolling
than for walking. Moreover, this rounded body
scarcely seems to be properly trimmed, because,
oeing covered with an immense quantity of fat, it
immediately assumes all the inequalities of the soil
and rocks over which it moves or rests while taking
repose. The head appears too small in proportion
to the body ; the muzzle is not unlike that of a large
mastiff, being somewhat elevated and truncated at
Us extremity ; the upper lip overhangs the lower,
and both are supplied with long coarse black
whiskers, which become white with age. The
ears are conical, about six or seven lines long, the
cartilage is firm and stiff, and yet they are some-
what curled at the margin ; they are covered with
nair externally, and are smooth and destitute of it
nternally. The eyes are large and prominent, so
are the caruncles, which have a bright red colour,
so that the eyes appear inflamed ; there is a nictitat-
ing membrane which covers all the eye at the will
of the animal. The tongue is somewhat forked at
the extremity." The teeth are made so exactly to
correspond with Steller's description, that though

SEA-LION OF FORSTER. 239

no reference is made to it, no one can doubt it is a
mere copy.

The Sea- Lion has not so much fore-paws as tins
proceeding from the sides of the chest ; they are
smooth, of a black colour, without any appearance
of fingers, with a mere trace of nails ; they have the
shape of roundish tubercles, and are of a horny con-
sistency ; they are situated at about one-third from
the extremity of the paw, the whole form of which is
that of an elongated triangle truncated at its point ;
it is quite devoid of hair, and deeply striped on its
under surface. The posterior extremities are not
very unlike the anterior ; they have the same black
skin underneath, and clearly include five very long
and flat toes, which are terminated by thin com-
pressed membranes which extend beyond their ex-
tremities ; the small nails, which are placed at the
end of the proper fingers, are of no more important
use than to enable the animal to scratch itself.

The illustrious Cook himself states, that the largest
of these animals he met with were not more than
twelve or fourteen feet in length, and perhaps eight
or ten in circumference: the female is not half so
long, and is covered with short hair of an ash colour.
He adds — " It is not at all dangerous to go among
them, for they either fled or lay still. The only
danger was in going between them and the sea ; for
if they t*ok fright at any thing, they would come
down in such numbers, that if you could not get out
of their way, you would be run over. When we
came suddenly upon them, or waked them out of

240 SEA-LION OF FORSTER.

their sleep, (for they are sluggish, sleepy animals,)
they would raise up their heads, snort and snarl,
and look fierce, as if they meant to devour us ; but
as we advanced upon them they always ran away,
so that they are downright bullies."*

Forster remarks, that the " rocks along the shore,
in New- Year's Harbour, were covered with multi-
tudes of these Seals, which, from their manes, well
deserved the name of Sea-Lions. We put into a
little cove under the shelter of some rocks, and fired
at some of these fierce animals, most of which im-
mediately threw themselves into the sea. Some of
the most unwieldy, however, kept their ground, and
were killed by our bullets. The noise which all
the animals of this kind made was various, and
sometimes stunned our ears. The old males snort
and roar like mad bulls or lions ; the females bleat
exactly like calves, and the young cubs like lambs.
They live together in numerous herds. The oldest
and fattest males lie apart, each having chosen a
large rock to which none of the rest dare approach
without engaging in furious combat. We have
often seen them seize each other with a degree of
rage which is not to be described ; and many of
them had deep gashes on their backs, which they
nad received in the wars. The younger active
Sea- Lions, with all the females and the cubs, lie
together. They commonly waited the approach of
our people ; but so soon as some of the herd were

• In Kerr's Voyages, vol. xv. p. )6.

SEA-LION OF FORSTER. 241

killed, the rest took flight with great precipitation,
some females taking off a cub in their mouths, whilst
many were so terrified that they left them behind.
When left to themselves, they were often seen
caressing each other in the most tender manner,
and their snouts often met together as if they were
kissing. They come on shore on these uninhabited
spots to breed, and do not feed during their stay on
land, which sometimes lasts several weeks ; they
then grow lean, and swallow a considerable quan-
tity of stones to keep their stomach distended.
We were surprised to find the stomachs of many
of them entirely empty, and those of others filled
with ten or twelve round heavy stones, each the
size of two fists."

Each of the great herds of these amphibia is
composed of an adult male, and a number of
females and their young. The number of females
would appear to vary. Cook, in his own account,
says — " The male is surrounded by from twenty to
tnirty females, and he is very attentive to keep them
all to himself, beating off every male who attempts
to come into his flock. Others, again, had a less
number, some no more than one or two ; and here
and there we have seen one lying growling in a re-
tired place alone, and suffering neither males nor
females to approach him. We judged that these
were old and superannuated."* Forster reckons the
number of females at ten or twelve, and from fifteen

• Cook's Second Voyage, P. iii. B. ii. Ch iv.

Q

242 SEA-LION OF FORSTER.

to twenty young ones of both sexes. They swim
about all together at sea, and also remain united
when they repose on land. According to Forster,
the sight or voice of man makes them flee, and
throw themselves into* the water; for, although they
are large and strong, they are also timid ; and when
a man attacks »them even with a good stick they
rarely defend themselves, but retreat precipitately.
They never commence an attack, or act on the
offensive, so that a person may be in the midst of
them without any apprehension.

The females never fight with each other, nor
with the males, and seem to live in entire depend-
ence upon the chief of the family ; but when two
grown males, or rather two heads of families, en-
gage, all the females attend in their train, to witness
the contest ; and if the chief of another troop in-
terfere with the combatants, either on one side or
the other, his example is immediately followed by
many other chiefs, and then the combat becomes
almost general, and terminates only in a vast effu-
sion of blood, and often even in the death of many
of the males, whose females are instantly joined to
the family of the victor. It has been remarked,
that the very aged males do not interfere in these
struggles; they seem aware of their weakness, and
keep at a distance, remaining quiet in their favourite
retreat. The lionesses endeavour to make their es-
cape from the thick of the fight. Their maternal
affection does not appear to be so strong as in
some of their congeners, although Forster stated

SEA-LION OF FORSTER. 243

in his private memoir to Buffon, that he had some-
times seen them defend their young at the expense
of their lives.*

We in this place introduce a representation of a
cranium, which must be regarded as interesting by
the student, which, according to Baron Cuvier,
probably belonged to the Sea- Lion, and we will
venture to add to the Sea-Lion which is next to
occupy our attention.

It came to Paris from the Museum of M. Faujas. " The
cranial front," says Cuvier, "is short when compared with the
muzzle, as is the whole head when compared with its height. Th«
zygoinatic arch is short and high, as is likewise the lower jaw|
with an acute posterior angle, and the whole ought to give a rnor«
than usual rounded external form."f

* Buffon's Hist. Nat. Suppl. t. vi. p. SS5
t Oss. Foss. v. 222.

241

THE SEA-LION OF PERNETTY.

PLATE XIX.

O:aria Pernetti, Less. Platyr. Leoninus. F. Cuv. O Jubata, Des.
380. O. Leonina, Peron, Sea-Liot of Pernetty.

WE now come to the Sea- Lion of Pernetty, and if
any credit is to be attached to the drawings of For-
ster, as published by Buffon, we think there can be
little doubt that Forster's Lion is a different animal
from the present. Even before we had examined the
valuable specimen, from which our representation is
taken, we were disposed to regard Pernetty's Lion as
distinct from the other. We draw this inference from
Pernetty 's own description and plate. This de-
scription will be immediately given ; and we shall
here only note that he expressly says — " II y a
plusieurs sortes des Lions marine,"* and this after
setting apart the Sea-Elephant, and the Sea-Bear,
which comes next under review. With regard to
• Lib. s. cit. ii. 28.

SEA-LION OF PERNETTY. 245

his figure, we always thought that it argued more
inattention and error than we usually find in the
learned Benedict, to suppose that he would repre-
sent Forster's Lion by the figure he has supplied. It
is true his figure has been subjected to much dis-
paraging criticism, and yet it would seem to be the
best likeness of the animal which has hitherto been
produced. We may likewise refer, as of some im-
portance, to the short notice of Lieutenant Clayton,
who says that the Sea-Lion is one of four amphibious
animals which occurs at the Falkland Islands, and
" that both the lion and lioness are bull-faced, with
long shaggy hair."* We have only to look to For-
ster's figure to be convinced that it has no title to
this character.

It is, therefore, with considerable confidence that
we present the above drawing as a correct repre-
sentation of the animal described by Pernetty, which
was brought from the antarctic regions some years
ago, and transmitted to the Royal Museum of Edin-
burgh by the Honourable the Admiralty Board. We
believe this is the first time (with the exception of
Pernetty's labours just alluded to) that this Sea-
Lion has been depicted or described, and therefore
we shall here supply the external characters as far
is they can be obtained from our specimen, which
is truly a valuable one, and in excellent condition.

The head is very large and round, and truncated
anteriorly ; the neck also is very large, and not
well defined ; the body too is robust, tapering to-

* Phil. Trans, vol. Ixvi. p. 102.

246 SEA-LION OF PERNETTY.

wards the tail ; the neck is covered all round with
a distinct mane of coarse bristly hairs, between
three and four inches long, of a brownish-black and
greyish-white colour. The coat generally is of the
same colour; not, however, so coarse, and very
short and loose, lying close to the skin; on the un-
der portion of the body it is of a deep brown colour.
The face very much resembles that of the common
Lion, the snout being even shorter ; the nostrils are
very large ; the muzzle is short and full, covered
with short, soft, brownish-black hair ; the ears are
quite distinct, though not long, and covered with
hair. The fore-paws are nearly as far back as the
middle of the body ; they are falciform, and very
strong ; they have no appearance of nails, but have
a long projecting membrane beyond the phalanges ;
the posterior extremities are long and broad, with
four claws attached ; the outer toe has none ; the
three next toes have the longest, the remaining nail
is almost concealed ; they are conical ; beyond the
claws are five strong projecting membranes. The
skin of the outer half of the inferior part of the
fore -paw, and nearly the whole of the inferior part
of the hind-foot, is quite naked, and is deeply striped.
The teeth are g-|"T> The incisors are conical, though,
being much worn, we cannot speak decidedly ; the
two external are large, and resemble canines ; the
proper canines are large, more than an inch and a
half long ; the molars appear conical and truncated.
We add some of the principal measurements of
our specimen.

SEA-LION OF PERNETTY. 24?

Feet. In.
Length, along the back, from tip of snout to tip of

tail 7 10 0

ofthetail 0 3 3

. from tip of snout to anterior edge of fore-paw... 3 4 I

from posterior edge of base of paw to root of tail 380

. -from ear to ear over the forehead 1 2 4

. of fore-paws, from base to extremity. 1 9 0

of projecting membranes 0 8 0

- .— of hind- foot, from base to extremity 1 8 0

of projecting membrane, (much shrunk,) 0 6 0

of concha of the ear 0 0 8

Circumference of the neok, smallest part 4 5 6

body before the fore-paws 6 0 0

at. the root of the tail 2 6 6

Distance of ear from angle of the mouth 0 7 0

from tip of nose to the eye 0 3 6

of external angle of the eye to the ear 0 3 10

of one external angle of the eye to the other.... 0 6 0

The following is the account of Pernetty, as
taken from the animals he met with in the Falk-
land Islands : — "The name of the Sea-Lion ap-
plies best to that species, the head, neck, and
shoulders, of which are covered with hair as
long, at least, as that of the she-goat. This cir-
cumstance gives the animal a resemblance to the
Lion of the forest. These Sea- Lions are about
twenty-five feet long, and nineteen or twenty in
circumference, where they are largest. The teeth
of the maned Lions are much larger and more solid
than those of other Seals. I have now in my pos-
session the tooth of a true Sea- Lion, the diameter
of which is at least three inches, and its length (in-
cluding the root) seven, and it is not one of the

248 SEA-LION OF PER NETTY.

largest. We have counted twenty-two such as this
in the mouth of one of these lions, and five or six
more had fallen out. They did not project from
the bone much above an inch and a half, and were
solid throughout their length. Their solidity is
Almost equal to that of flint, and they are of a daz-
zling whiteness. Many of our sailors took them for
white flints, when they found them on the shore,
and it was with difficulty I could persuade them
they were mistaken.

" These Sea- Lions are not more savage, nor more
objects of apprehension, than the other species.
They are equally heavy and clumsy in their gait,
and more frequently endeavour to fly, than to run
at those who attack them. They live upon fish,
sea-birds, which they catch by surprising them, and
herbs. They bring forth their young among the
rushes, which grow on the sea-shore, to which they
retire for the night, and continue to suckle them till
they are strong enough to go out to sea. At sun-
set they are seen to congregate together, and to
land in troops on the shore, and then the cubs call
for their dams by cries so like those of lambs, and
calves, and kids, that any one might be easily de-
ceived, if he were not aware of their true nature.

" It was stated that their flesh was very good, but
, npver tasted it ; but I can affirm that their oil is
most excellent : it is obtained both by the assistance
of heat, and without it, coming away spontaneously
when exposed to the sun and air, when it is excel-
lent for culinary purposes."

SEA-LION OF PERNETTY. 249

We shall close these accounts of the Sea-Lions by
a short extract from Captain Weddell. " Near the
middle of the island of Santa Cruz, on the east
coast of Patagonia, is an island which is called Sea-
Lion Island, from the number of these animals re-
siding upon it. This amphibious creature is most
properly denominated, from its similarity to the
quadruped of that name. Its face is not unlike that
of the lion, but, in particular, a long mane, and a
bold and fierce front, which it presents when standing
on its fore flippers, bear a near resemblance to that
animal. A full grown Sea- Lion measures eleven feet
from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail,
and eight feet in circumference ; the difference from
the Ursine Seal being only in the particulars I have
mentioned. They may indeed, be considered as
belonging to a class of monsters of the Seal kind.
They meet their assailants with great ferocity, but
their capture is easily accomplished."

250

GENUS ARCTOCEPHALUS.

We have now reached the only remaining genus of F. Cuvier
the Arctocephalus, the cranium of the type of which we now
present. The head is arched, and the muzzle retracted, the four
central incis'ors are deeply bifurcated, and the lower are notched
both behind and before ; the molars have only one root, not so
large as the crown, which last consists of a centre tubercle, with
a much smaller one at its base, both behind and before.

THE PUSILLA, OR CAPE OTARY.

Otaria Pusilla. — DESMAREST.
PLATE XX.

Otana Pusilla, Desm. Cuv. Ph. Pusilla, Lin. Petit Phoque,
Buff. Loup Marin of Pagis. Cape Otary.

THE above cranium, typical of the genus, was
taken from the Cape Otary, and therefore we give
it the precedence.

The mutations to which this little Seal has been
subjected have been unusually great and numerous;

Jtritf

CAPE OTARY* 251

it was first the Seal of the Mediterranean and the
ancients, then a native of the East indies, and now,
we trust finally, has its habitat assigned at the Cape
of Good Hope.

This species, according to Pagis, attains the
length of four feet, and two and a half in circum-
ference, although the common size is two and a half
or three feet long, with a foot and a half in circum-
ference. The head is round, and somewhat de-
pressed, with a very short snout, and its physiog-
nomy is agreeable. It has six incisors, the four
middle ones of the upper jaw are large and forked,
each having two lobes, the one before and the other
behind ; the outer incisor is sharp and pointed.*
The whiskers are long, simple, and black ; the ears
are straight, and one inch and a half long; the neck
is full, as is the chest ; the inner finger of the fore
flipper is the longest ; the nails are almost imper-
ceptible, hid under the hair, and so small as scarcely
to merit the appellation ; the hind flippers have three
very distinct nails belonging to the middle toes,
whilst those of the external ones are scarcely visi-
ble ; they have also a projecting and divided mem-
brane, and the under portion of the feet is naked
and hard. Its coat is soft and glossy, of a brown-
ish colour, tending to iron-grey ; the head is deeper
coloured ; the under part, more especially the breast,
is much lighter ; the feet are black.

In their disposition these animals are very timid

• Daubeuton, Buff. xiii. 414.

252 CAPE OTARY.

and sociable. When disturbed they only think of
saving themselves in the sea, and never bite except
one put himself in their way : often, however, they
will pass between one's legs in their hurry, without
offering the slightest injury. They easily familiarize
themsf;lves with man. " I preserved," says Mr Pagis,*
"two of them for eight days. The first day I put
sea- water into their tub, one foot and a half deep,
b^t as they seemed anxious to avoid it, I tried fresh
water, which was not more agreeable; I therefore
left them dry afterwards. On coming out of the
water they shook their coats like dogs ; they sneezed,
too, like them, and scratched and cleaned themselves
with their snout, and lay down close together as
they do. When the sun shone I left them on the
ship's deck, and they never seemed to wish to re-
treat except when they saw the sea. Not only did
they scratch themselves and each other, but they
liked the men to do it, and followed them with
great familiarity, and smelt them as do dogs. They
had a great affection for each other, and when
separated immediately endeavoured to meet : if we
took up the one, the other certainly followed. When
fish, or bread soaked in water, was offered them,
they smelt it, but would not take it. They, there-
fore, did not thrive in their confinement, and were
thrown into the sea, where they seemed to be more
at home."

We now proceed to the SEA BEARS.

• Apud Buffon, loc. cit.

253

THE URSINE SEAL, OR SEA-BEAR Of
STELLER.

Otaria Ursina — DESMAREST,
PLATE XXI.

Otaria Ursina, Cuv. Des. 381. Arctocephalus Ursinus, F.
Cuv. Ph. Ursina, Gm. Otaria Stelleri, Less.*

THIS Ursine Seal of Steller has been considered as
identical with the Ursine Seal of the Southern
Hemisphere, by nearly all Naturalists, and among
others by Buffon, who collected all the materials he
could procure of both, and applied them to one.
All analogy would lead us to question the propriety
of this, and we have little doubt that careful examin-
ation will lead to an opposite conclusion. The
following opinion of Peron's is striking — " We are
convinced that under the name of Sea-Bear there
really exist more than twenty Seals, which differ

* In Gray's Spi. Zool. there is a cranium of what he calls
Arctocephalus Lobatuts, and which he says differs considerably
from its congeners, the Phoca Ursina, in Zool. Journ. iv. 496.

254 SEA-BEAR OF STELLER.

from each other in all their minute characteristic
points.* We shall first introduce the very elaborate
description of Steller, supplying an abridgment of
his enlarged account in nearly a literal transla-
tion.

This nearly amphibious animal, of the size of a
very large Bear, resembles no animal so much as
that we have just named ; there is an exception,
in that the feet and hinder parts of the body sud-
denly diminish in their dimensions, become weak
and slender, and terminate in a conical shape ; so
much so, that the circumference of the body, which is
five feet at the shoulder, is reduced to twenty inches
near the tail. The extreme length is seven and a
half feet. The head especially resembles that of the
Common Bear, but on account of the thickness of
the skin and fat, it appears larger and rounder.
The mouth is very small and prominent, as in the
Bear ; the forehead rises suddenly towards the
eyes ; the nostrils are composed of black skin, and
are not covered with hair ; they are oval and open ;
the lips are externally tumid, and internally of a rosy
hue ; the whiskers are long, but not numerous ; the
teeth are like those of the Sea- Lion, (p. 236,) with
this important difference, that they are only a quarter
of the size ; the apex of the tongue is bifurcated ;
the eyes are very prominent and full, nearly as large
as those of the ox, the iris is black, the pupil bright
green ; there are eye-lids and eye-brows, with a

• Ann. des Mus. d'Hist. Nat, t, xv. 293.

SEA-BEAR OF STELLER. 255

membrana nictitans, by which it can protect the
eye ; the external ears are one inch and eight lines
long, conical and erect, covered with short hair ;
they open by an oblong slit, which is shut in the
water.

This creature has four feet on which it can walk
and stand somewhat like land animals* The limbs
are formed of precisely the same bones, but so
buried in the skin, and webbed, that the fingers
of the fore-paw coalesce into one mass, as do
those of the hind foot, and thus the whole become
fins in swimming. The fore-legs are two feet
long and eight inches broad ; they are not hid as
in the Seal, but are seen entire as in quadrupeds ;
they are covered with hair, except the under
part of the paw ; on the upper part are seen very
slender and minute rudimentary nails, which nature
seems to have added, that they might not be want-
ing, rather than they might be of use ; the posterior
edge is festooned in five very small curves, corre-
sponding to the five toes. By help of the web, the
animal can easily raise the upper part of its body
above the water, and so appear to stand erect in
it. When on shore, with the hind feet folded
under, it plants its paws in front, and sits as dogs
often do, so that the toes then perform the office of
heels.

The hind flippers are twenty-two inches long and
six broad, and arc of little use in walking ; they ad-
here so closely to the body that each, indeed, can be

256 SEA-BEAR OF STELLER.

moved separately, but cannot assume the position
as in standing, so that when the animal attempts to
move forward on land, it draws its hind feet and
the whole of its body behind it like an inert mass-
The parts corresponding to the thigh and leg are
concealed in the body, but those forming the ankle
and foot are free and exposed, and covered with
hair ; where the bones end, the flipper is divided,
and its extremity appears like five straps, the ex-
tremities of which are round, The nails on the
great and little toes are so small that they can be of
no use ; those on the other toes are much larger, and
of the same length and breadth.

The skin is very thick, and the hair is like that of
the Seal, but four times longer, standing erect, and
very thick. Close to the skin there is a very soft
wool, which is of a brownish-red colour. The
longer hair in the old males is two inches long round
the neck, erect and stiff, and thus, when the animal
becomes dry, it appears considerably larger than
when in the water : their hairs are black, and in the
aged become tipped with white ; the females are
ash-coloured, and many are partly ash-coloured and
partly brown. The skins of the young are much
prized for clothing ; and Steller says, " When I was
in Behring's Island, I pi pared a garment for my-
self of a young one with my own hands, and will
ever retain a grateful recollection of it. The brain
was much larger, comparatively speaking, than that
of the Otter, and the primae viae was fifteen times

SEA-BEAR OF STELLER. 257

the length of the whole body, and the stomach was
uniformly found empty."

These animals are found in amazing numbers in
the islands off the North- West point of America,
and so crowd the shore, that they oblige the traveller
to quit it, and scale the neighbouring rocks. They
do not land much on the Asiatic coast. They are as
regularly migratory as birds of passage. They first
appear off Kamskatka and the Kuriles in early
spring, and are then very fat, and the females all
pregnant. They continue on shore for two months,
during which the young are produced. Except
their employment in suckling their young, they pass
their time in total inactivity, the males sink into the
most Drofound indolence and into deep sleep ; nor
are they ever roused except by some great provoca-
tion. They live in families ; every male being sur-
rounded by a seraglio of from eight to fifty females,
which he guards with the jealousy of an Eastern
monarch. Each family keeps separate from the
others, notwithstanding they lie in thousands along
the shore, every family, including the young,
amounting to about 100 or 120i even at sea the
distinctness of the families may be perceived.

The males show great affection for their young,
and are sometimes tyrannical towards their females.
They are fierce in protecting their offspring, and
should any one attempt to take their cub, they stand
on the defensive, and the mother carries it off in
hr»r mouth. Should she happen to drop it, the male

258 SEA-BEAR OF STELLEft.

instantly quits the enemy, falls on her, and beats
her against the stones, till he leaves her for dead.
As soon as she recovers she crawls to his feet in the
most suppliant manner, and bedews them with her
tears, whilst he keeps stalking about in the most
insolent manner ; but if the cub is carried off, he
melts likewise, sheds tears, and shows every mark of
deep sorrow.

Those animals which are destitute of females, and
from age are deserted by them, withdraw from the
society, and grow excessively splenetic, peevish, and
quarrelsome ; they are also very furious ; and so
attached to their selected stations, as to prefer death
to the loss of them. They are enormously fat, and
emit a most nauseous and rank swell. If one per-
ceives another approach its seat, he is instantly
roused from his indolence, snaps at the encroacher,
and gives battle. During the fight they insensibly
encroach on the stations of others ; this creates new
offence, so that at length the civil discord spreads
along the whole shore, attended with hideous growls,
their note of war. Sometimes they will attack any
one that passes near them ; when they see a person
approaching, some of them immediately throw them-
selves upon him, and the others prepare for contest ;
they furiously bite the stones that are thrown at
them, and run upon him who throws them, and
even if you knock out their teeth and their eyes,
they will not flee. In fact, none of them dare aban-
don his post, because the others would in that case

SBA-BEAR OF STELLER. 259

attack him ; and if he commences to fly, the others
suddenly surround him and severely punish him.
" I doubt not," adds Steller, "that many of us would
have been killed by them, could they have used their
feet on land as well as in the water. It is danger-
ous to engage in contest with them in the open
plain, and next to impossible to escape from them.
Their awkwardness and difficulty in ascending emi-
nences constitutes the principal safety of the as-
sailants. Sometimes I have been beset by them for
six hours together ; and have been obliged at last
to ascend a precipice, to get rid of the infuriated
creatures, at the imminent peril of my life."

They are very tenacious of life, and will live a
fortnight after receiving wounds which would nave
immediately destroyed any other animal.

Besides their notes of war they have several
others. When they are amusing themselves on
shore, they low like a cow, and after victory chirp
like a cricket ; and upon receiving a wound, com-
plain like a whelp.

This Ursine Seal is an object of terror to com-
mon Seals and Sea- Otters, whilst it stands in awe
of the Sea- Lions, and leaves to them their favourite
haunts on shore. The older animals are in no fear
of mankind, unless suddenly surprised, when they
hurry off by thousands into the sea, swim about,
and stare at the novelty of their disturbers.

They swim with amazing swiftness, at the rate of
eight miles an hour, and often on their back ; they

260

SEA-BEAR OF STELLER.

dive well, and continue long under water. If struck
with a harpoon in that element, they drag the boat,
carrying it along with great impetuosity almost as if
flying, and will sometimes sink it. Even out of the
water, the females especially can run so rapidly, that
it requires a swift person to get up to them.

THE URSINE SEAL, OR SEA-BEAR Of
FORSTER.

PLATE XXII.

Otaria Ursina, Cuv. Des. 381, O. Forsterii, Less. Ours Marine,
Buff.

WE are satisfied that the well-instructed Naturalist
will be the last to object to our thus separating the
Ursine Seal of the southern from that of the north-
ern hemisphere. Not that we shall attempt to esta-
blish the distinction on scientific principles. Even
this could easily be done, in appearance, by copying
from systematic works, but we prefer withholding
statements which are probably erroneous, and will
at once adduce from the original authorities such
real information as our space admits.

In " Dampier's Voyage," we find it stated that
" these animals exist in thousands in the island of
Juan Fernandez. They are the size of an ordinary
calf, and their head is shaped like a dog's ; their hair
is of different colours, as black, brownish-grey, and
spotted, appearing very smooth and agreeable when
they first come out of the water. They have so fine and
short a fur, that I have seen nothing like it. There

262 SEA-BEAR OF FORSTER.

are always round the island thousands in the bays,
and going to and returning from the sea. When a
mile or two from shore, you observe that the island,
and all round it, is covered with them, some play-
ing on the wave, and others basking on shore.
When they come from sea they bleat for their
young like sheep, and mss by an infinity of others
till they come to their own cub. The young re-
semble small dogs, and greatly prefer the land,
but when chased thence, they make for the sea as
fast as the old ones, and swim very fast and lightly,
though on land they are sluggish, and will not leave
their own lair till they are well beaten."

Tne illustrious Cook's notice of them is very
short. He tells us that " the Sea-Bears are not so
large by far as the Sea- Lions, but they are rather
larger than the Common Seal ; they have none of
the long hair which distinguishes the Lion, theirs
being all of equal length, and finer than that of the
Lion, somewhat like an Otter's, and the general
colour is iron-grey."

The naturalist and companion of the great cir-
cumnavigator, in his second voyage, supplies a much
more particular account. The locality in which he
observed it was that noticed by Cook, viz. New-
Year's Island in Staten Land. " We soon," says
Forster, " perceived that another kind of Seal oc-
cupied this part of the island. These were no other
than the Sea-Bear, which we had already seen at
Dusky Bay, but they were here infinitely more nu-
merous, and grown to a much lar«er size, equal to

SEA-BEAR OF FORSTER. 263

that assigned them by Steller. They are, however,
far inferior to the Sea- Lions, the males being never
above eight or nine feet long, and thick in propor-
tion. Their hair is dark brown, sprinkled with
grey, and much longer on the whole body than that
of the Sea- Lion, but it does not form a mane. The
general outline of the body, and the shape of the
fins, are exactly the same. They were, more fierce
towards us, and their females commonly died in de-
fence of their young. We observed that these Sea-
Bears and the Lions, though sometimes encamped
on the same beach, always kept wide asunder, and
had no communication with each other. A strong
stench is common to them, and to all other Seals, a
circumstance well known to the ancients, as well as
their inactivity and drowsiness, and hence Homer —

Web-footed Seals forsake the stormy swell,
And sleep in herds, exhaling nauseous smell.

" Dr Sparman and myself were near being attack-
ed by one of the oldest Sea- Bears on a cliff where
several hundreds were assembled, and where all
seemed to wait the issue of the fight. The doctor
had discharged his musket at a bird, and was going
to pick it up, when this old Bear growled and
snarled, and seemed ready to oppose him. As soon
as I was near enough I shot the surly creature dead ;
and at that instant the whole herd, seeing their
champion fallen, hurried to the sea ; and many of
them hobbled along with such precipitation, as to
leap down between forty and fifty perpendicular feet

264 SEA-BEAR OF FORSTER.

upon the pointed rocks on shore, without receiving
uny hurt, which may be attributed to their fat
easily giving way, and their hide being remarkably
tough."* Afterwards, when speaking of them at
New Georgia, he observes, " They were all of the
kind called Sea-Bears, and not a single Lion with a
mane was to be seen among them. They were more
fierce than any we had seen at New- Year's Isles,
and did not care to run out of our way. The young
cubs barked at us, and ran at our heels when we
passed, trying to bite our legs."f

The following notice of what Wood Rogers de-
signated Sea-Bears at the Gallapagos Islands bears
on their dispositions :— " A very large one made at
me three several times, and if I had not happened
to have had a pike-staff headed with iron, he might
have killed me. I was on the level sand when he
came open-mouthed at me from the water, as fierce
and quick as an angry dog let loose. All the three
times he made at me I struck the pike into his
breast, which at last forced him to retire into the
water, snarling with an ugly noise, and showing his
long teeth."J

These extracts will probably suffice to exhibit the
general appearance and habits of this animal. It
manifestly appears to be considerably smaller than
the Sea- Lion, and at the same time is not so timid,
but much more fierce. It would appear to be rather

Loc. cit. vol. ii. 516-22. f Ib. 529

In Kerr's Voyages, TO), x. 374.

SEA-BEAR I'.R FORSTER. 265

widely diffused, for supposing that all these accounts
refer to the same species, we have seen it noticed in
Dusky Bay, New Zealand, in New Georgia, Stat-
ten Land, Juan Fernandez, and the Gallapagos.

It will have been observed that several of these
authorities, particularly Dampier and Cook, speak of
the fineness of the fur of this Seal. It is probably these
statements which have led the able author of the ar-
ticle Phoque, in the Diet. Classique d'Hist. Naturelle,
to state that this Seal is the Fur- Seal of commerce
His words are — " L'Otarii de Forster est le Phoque
a fourrures des pecheurs europeens." But this we
suspect is a mistake. No one will doubt that
Captain Weddell was familiar with the Fur- Seal.
He was also familiar with the Ursine- Seal, both as
encountered in its haunts, and as described by Na-
turalists ;* and yet, when speaking of the Ursine-
Seal, (so denominated by him,) he never once hints
that its fur has any peculiar value, but the contrary.
This important subject, however, will again come
under our consideration.

cit.

265

SKA-BEAR.

FROM SPECIMEN I1N THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
PLATE XXIII.

THOSE who remember the remark of the eminent
Peron, that there are at least twenty Seals which
go under the name of Sea- Bear, will not be aston-
ished that we willingly adorn our volume by a de-
lineation of a specimen now in the British Museum,
From the engraving of the distinguished Naturalist
of the Rurick we have taken our representation of
the Sea-Bear of the Northern Regions; from the
plates of Buffon we have derived a representative
of those of the Southern Hemisphere, supplied by
Forster, the companion of Captain Cook ; and
though there are strong reasons for believing that
these two animals are really different, yet it must
be confessed a marked similarity exists in the deli-
neations ; whilst the preparation in the British Museum
differs considerably from both. Our attention was
directed to this specimen by the kind civilities of
Mr T £. Gray, the well known officer of the National

SEA-BEAR. 267

Establishment; and Mr Fussel's spirited delineation
speaks for itself.

Of the habitat and habits of this Otary we believe
nothing is known ; and severe criticism might de-
mand, What is the use of such isolated and imperfect
hints ? The acknowledged fact, however, that even
the most advanced Naturalist in this department is
but groping in the dirk, supplies too satisfactory an
answer to all such interrogatories*

258

BIT'S

LESSON'S OTARY-

O. Molossina. — LESSON.
PLATE XXIV.

O. Molossina, Less. (Zool. de la Coq. 140.) Platyrhyncus
Molosinus, Less.

LESSON and Garnot are our first authorities for this
species, which was captured in the Southern Ocean.
Lesson supposes it may be the same with one of the
small species alluded to by Pernetty, and with that
one named O. Guerin, and shortly described by
Q,uoy and Gaimard, as having been seen in the
Falkland Islands.

Lesson describes its forms as marked and regu-
lar ; the head is small and round, with a face like
that of the mastiff; the nose is not prominent, and
has a groove on it ; the upper lip overhangs the
lower, and both are edged with short hair; the
whiskers are long, fawn-coloured, and cover the
face ; the iris is green, the eye-lashes red ; the ears
very small, pointed, and curled upon themselves ;
the fore flippers are like fins, terminated by a thick

WESSON S OTARY. 269

membrane, festooned on its edge, black and quite
smooth ; the fingers may be distinguished, and four
rudimentary nails appear. The hind flippers closely
approximate, are flat, and terminated by phalanges
of equal length. The three middle are supplied
with strong black nails an inch long ; those on the
external toes are quite small ; the web is large, and
forms five projecting portions,which are supplied with
tendons proceeding from the las* phalynx ; they have
no hair upon them, and are quite black. The ex-
ternal surface of the flippers, like the other parts of
the body, are covered with short close hair, whilst
the arm-pits and groins, and lower side of the feet,
are quite naked. The length of the hair does not
exceed a quarter of an inch, and the colour is a
brownish-red, satin like, when the animal is alive.
This Otary has thirty-six teeth, the upper incisors,
flattened transversely, are separated into two lobes
by a deep groove.

The animal so described was killed in the Falk-
land Isles. In November but few were seen, but
towards the end of December they become very
numerous. Lesson also noticed it on the coast of
Chili in considerable numbers.

THE ASH-COLOURED AND WHITE-
NECKED OTARIES.

IN addition to the above species, thus recently al-
«ded to by Lesson, two others must still be men-

270 OTAR1ES.

tioned which are similarly circumstanced. Both
were shortly noticed by Peron in his " Voyage ; "
but no detailed account, we believe, has hitherto
been published. The one is this Ash-coloured
Otary (O. Cinerea) referred to in che second vo-
lume of his Voyages, page 77, and by Desmarest in
his Mammologie, No. 384. Lesson, in the Diet*
Classique, states, that we may probably refer to this
Otary a beautiful specimen which was sent to the
Paris Museum by Quoy and Gaimard, and which
was procured on the South- West coast of New Hol-
land. We have taken some trouble, which, how-
ever, has proved fruitless, to obtain a drawing of
this animal. The other is the WThite -necked Otary,
(O. Albicollis,) shortly alluded to by Peron in the
same volume of his Work, and by Desmarest, No. 385,
and by Lesson. This one, so far as we know, has not
been depicted. But necessitated, by want Of space,
to take no further notice of these ascertained, though
scarcely described species, we must bring our list
to a close by supplying a very succinct account of
one which yields in value to none, and whose his-
tory, we trust, we can somewhat elucidate. We
allude to

; UNIVERSITY

THE COMMON FUR-SEAL OF COMMERCE.

PLATE XXV.

O. Falklandica, Desm. No. 387. Less. Diet. Class. Ph.
Falklandica, Pen. p. 275, Shaw. Fur- Seal of Commerce.

SUQH of our readers as may be interested in this
truly valuable Seal, in a commercial and economic
point of view, we beg will turn to the observations
which will be found in the introductory portion of
this volume ; * and such as desiderate more scien-
tific details, we take the liberty of referring to a
paper entitled " Observations on the Fur- Seal,"
which will be found in the Second Volume of
the Annals of Natural History. In this paper,
an attempt is made to prove that the Falklan-
dica, introduced to the notice of Naturalists some
sixty years ago by the illustrious Pennant, in
his description of a specimen which had recently
been presented to the Museum of the Royal Society,
and also that the Long-Necked Seal, (the Lon-

* See p. 92

272 FUR-SEAL O* COMMERCE.

gicollis,) forming another specimen in the same
collection, which was first noticed by Dr Grew
in 1694, and afterwards by Pennant, as distinct
from his Falklandica, and by Daubenton, were
both of them genuine specimens of the Fur-Seal
of Commerce. But though enough, we believe,
has there been said to show that there was always
sufficient evidence to prove the truth of this pro-
position, with which Naturalists, therefore, might
have been perfectly familiar, yet it is a curious
circumstance that this important fact was never
laid hold of, and the descriptions themselves were
laid aside as unintelligible, and the animals ranked
among the most obscure and apocryphal of the list.
Baron Cuvier, in 1823, respecting both of them
exclaimed,* " due faire de cette phoque — due faire
de cette otarie?" and Lesson, in 1828, declares that
they were so little known that they could not be
referred to any distinct species.f

But in addition to its literary and antiquarian
character, this question has a much deeper interest
in a commercial and scientific point of view, and
we therefore are happy that we have it in our
power to present to the Repository of Science the
first representation, so far as we know, ever offered
of this invaluable animal, and to associate a detailed
and accurate description, with the facts already col-
lected respecting its habits and disposition.

This interesting account of its habits is taken

• Oss. Foss. t. v. p. 1, p. 2 1 if.

t Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat. t. xiii. in loo.

FUR-SEAL OF COMMERCE. 273

from the valuable work of Mr Weddell,* who, along
with several other good offices performed for this
department of science, conveyed to this country,
and deposited in the hands of the eminent Keeper
of the Museum of the University of Edinburgh,
two specimens of the stuffed skins of this animal.
They are now in the Museum in excellent order,
and we have used them to supply our Plate. In
this state they are, of course, insufficient satisfac-
torily to establish all the scientific characters, but so
far as they serve, we will now present a faithful and
detailed description. The specimens are very
nearly alike in every respect, and appear to have
been carefully and accurately prepared.

Judging from these specimens, this Seal, on the
whole, is long and slender,! having much the shape
of a double cone, largest at the middle, and tapering
at the extremities. The head is broad, and rather
flat ; the external ear is black, narrow, pointed, and
projecting backwards. The fore-paws are precisely
in the middle of the body, their shape is pyramidal,
and in addition to the paw properly so called, there
is a long projecting membrane running from the tip
along the posterior margin to the base : they have
no vestige of nails. The hind flippers are rhom-
boidal in their shape, and consist of the usual fleshy
portion, and a membranous one, which at its termi-
nation is divided into five straps ; there are nails on

• Voyage towards the South Pole. London, 1825.

t In noting the characters, we have enjoyed the valuable as-

tance of our friend Mr William Jameson.

S

274 FUR SEAL OF COMMERCE.

all the toes but the great one, those of the three
middle being much the largest, and quite straight ;
there is a curious slashing at the junction of the
common skin and the membrane, the skin covered
with hair descending to the nail, whilst the mem-
brane runs up between the toes more than an inch.
The coat or robe is composed of hair and^wr; the
former is very soft, smooth, and compact, of a
brownish-black colour towards the root, and a grey-
jsh white towards the tip; it extends considerably
beyond the fur, and gives the general colouring to
the hide ; the fur itself is of a uniform brownish-
white colour above, and of a somewhat deep-brown
beneath, and is quite wanting upon the extremities.
The colour of. the body is of a uniform lightish-
grey above, passing gradually underneath into a
reddish- white colour, which is deepest in the abdo-
minal region. The upper part of the extremities is
covered above with a very short brownish-black
hair, which, near the body, passes into the colour of
the back. The under portion of both extremities,
to the extent of two-thirds of the anterior, and
nearly the whole of the posterior, are naked, being
quite destitute of both hair and fur. The whiskers
are brownish-black, five rows being present ; the
hairs are simple and tapering : In one of the spe-
cimens there is a dark marking under the eyes.
We shall now subjoin the principal measurements
of the Edinburgh specimens, which were probably
young, or females.

FUR-SEAL OF COMMERCE. 275

Feet.

Length from the snout to tip of the tail 3

of the tail, 0

ear, : 0

• from snout to ant* edge of ba«e of paw 1 £$

posterior edge of paw to root of tail,...l £i

• of fore- paw from base to tip, 0 11

— its membranous portion, 0 4

— posterior extremity from base to tip,... 0 7
. its membranous portion, 0

Greatest breadth of fore-paw at base, 4 4

- its point, 0 li

Breadth across the back from one pa w to another, 1 0

Distance from tip of snout to the ear, 0 5£

The angle of the mouth in the perpendicular of the eye.

To this description we shall now add that account
of its habits, &c. which has been supplied, with his
usual point and ability, by Captain Weddell. " No-
thing," he remarks, " regarding the Fur-Seal is more
astonishing than the disproportion in the size of the
male and female. A large grown male, from the
tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail, is six
feet nine inches, while the female is not more than
three and a half feet. This class of the males, how-
ever, is not the most numerous, but, being physically
the most powerful, they keep in their possession
all the females, to the exclusion of the younger
branches ; hence, at the time of parturition, the males
attending the females may be computed as one to
twenty, which shows this to be, perhaps, the most
polygamous of large animals.

" They are in their nature completely gregarious ;
but they flock together, and assemble on the coast at
different periods, and in distinct classes. The males
of the largest size go on shore about the middle

276 FUR-SEAL OF COMMERCE.

of November to wait the arrival of the females, who
of necessity must soon follow, for the purpose of
bringing forth their young. These, in the early
part of December, begin to land ; and they are no
sooner out of the water, than they are taken posses-
sion of by the males, who have many serious battles
with each other in procuring their respective sera-
glios ; and by a peculiar instinct they carefully
protect the females under their charge, during the
whole period of gestation. By the end of Decem-
ber all the female Seals have accomplished the pur-
pose of their landing. The time of gestation may
be considered nearly twelve months ; and they sel-
dom have more than one at a time, which they
suckle and rear apparently with great affection.
By the middle of February the young are able to
take the water, and after being taught to swim by
the mother, they abandon them on the shore, where
they remain till their coats of fur and hair are com-
pleted. During the latter end of February, what
are called the Dog-Seals go on shore; these are
the young Seals of the two preceding years, and such
males as, from their want of age and strength, are
not allowed to attend the pregnant females. These
young Seals come on shore for the purpose of re-
newing their annual coats, which being done, by
the end of April they take the water, and scarcely
*ny are seen on shore again till the end of June,
when some young males come up, and go off alter-
nately. They continue to do this for six or seven
weeks, and the shores are then again abandoned till

FUR-SEAL OF COMMERCE. 277

the end of August, when a herd of small young
Seals, of both sexes, come on shore for about five
or six weeks, and then retire to the water. The
large male Seals take up their places on shore, as
has been before described, which completes the in-
tercourse all classes have with the shore during the
whole year. The young are at first black; in a
few weeks they become grey ; and soon after ob-
tain their coat of hair and fur.

" When these South Shetland Seals were first visited,
they had no apprehension of danger from meeting
men ; in fact, they would lie still while their neigh-
bours were killed and skinned ; but, latterly, they
had acquired habits for counteracting danger, by
placing themselves on rocks, from which they could,
in a moment, precipitate themselves into the water.
The agility of this creature is almost greater than,
from its appearance, an observer would anticipate.
I have seen them, indeed, often escape from men
running fast in pursuit to kill them. The absurd
Btory, that Seals in general defend themselves by
throwing stones at their pursuers with their tails,
may be explained in this way; — that when an ani-
mal is chased on a stony beach, their mode of pro-
pelling themselves is by drawing their hinder flippers
forward, thereby shortening the body, and projecting
themselves by the tail, which, when relieved from the
effort by the fore flippers, throws up a quantity of
stones to the distance of some yards. Their sense
of smell and hearing is acute, and in instinct they
are little inferior to the dog, that is, I judge their

278 FUR-SEAL OF COMMERCE.

sagacity in the water much exceeds that which they
exhibit on shore ; for though they are fitted to re-
main a, certain time on land, their native element is
the water."

The fur skin of this valuable animal is prepared
for the market in a manner different from what is
employed in the preparation of most others. The
long hair, which conceals the fur, is first removed,
and this is done by heating the skin, and then card-
ing it with a large wooden knife prepared for the
purpose. The fur then appears in all its perfection,
and sells in China for about two or three dollars, and
in England (where, indeed, they are now scarcely
to be found) at about three times that price. Not
many years ago they were used as linings and
borders of cloaks and mantles, and for fur-caps,
&c. &c.

279

DOUBTFUL SEALS AND OTARIES.

Ribbon- Seal. Phoca Fasciata, Shaw.

IN addition to the Seals which are well ascertained,
Naturalists have been in the habit of giving a
list of those which have been indicated by some
respectable authority, but so slightly as still to re-
main doubtful. We now follow this example, com-
mencing with the Ribbon-Seal of Pennant. This
is characterized by a very short fine, glossy, bristly
hair, of a uniform colour, almost black, marked
along the sides, and towards the head and tail, with
a stripe of a pale yellow colour, exactly resembling
a ribbon laid on by art. The very curious form is
represented above, from a drawing communicated
by the celebrated Pallas to Mr Pennant. Of the
animal generally nothing is known, though it ap-
peared to be large. It was transmitted from one
of the remotest Kurile Islands.

280 ALLEGED SEA-APE.

The following list, which might be much ex-
tended, is taken chiefly from the recent French
Naturalists.

Seals. Otaries.

Phoca Coxii. O. Porcina.

Lupina. — Coronata.

Punctata. — Delalandii.

— Hauvilii.

We close this list of doubtful Seals by alluding
to the still more doubtful

ALLEGED SEA-APE.

IT may increase the interest felt regarding the al-
leged existence of an animal under this name to intro-
duce it in association with the peculiar views sup-
ported by Mr Swainson. " In the circle of the Ferae
the natatorial type is represented by the Seals, and
the corresponding type of the Quadrumana is at pre-
sent most assuredly wanting. Whatever its precise
construction may, or might have been, a resem-
blance to the Monkeys must be considered an es-
sential character of any marine animal, which is to
connect and complete the circular series of types in
the Quadrumana. That some such creature has
really been created we have not, says Mr S., a sha-
dow of a doubt ;* and in confirmation of this belief,

• Classificat of Quad. Lard. Cyc. p. 97.

ALLEGED SEA-APE.

261

a Simla Marina^ which he states was found in the
Red Sea. Aldrovandi* copies this, and supplies a
representation not more rude than apocryphal. A
second, still more singular, he gives from Gesner.

It was only after the foregoing pages had gone
to press that the following account of the distribu-
tion of the olfactory nerve attracted our notice ; and
it bears so directly on the somewhat obscure sub-
ject of the development of the nervous system, and
more especially of the senses, of the Seal group, and
so completely confirms the sentiments we ventured
to express on the point, p. 69, that we deem it ex-
pedient, even here, to introduce the accompanying
wood-cut and explanation, derived, we believe, from

* De PUcibus, ? 405.

232 ALLEGED SEA APE.

the following quotation from Steller is adduced :—
Mr Steller saw on the coast of America a very
singular animal, which he calls a Sea- Ape. It was
five feet long ; the head was like a dog's ; the ears
were sharp and erect, and the eyes large ; there was
on both lips a sort of beard. The form of its body
was thick and round, being thickest near the head
and tapering to the tail, which was bifurcated, and
the upper lobe was the longest; the body was
covered with thick hair, grey on the back, and red
on the belly. Steller could discover neither paw nor
foot. It was full of frolic, and played a thousand
monkey tricks ; sometimes swimming on one side,
sometimes on the other, of the ship, looking at it with
great amazement. It would come so near the ship,
that it might be touched with a pole ; but if any one
stirred, it would immediately retire. It often raised
one-third of its body out of the water, and stood
erect for a considerable time ; it then suddenly darted
under the ship, and appeared in the same attitude on
the other side ; and it would repeat this manoeuvre
thirty times together. It would frequently bring up
a sea plant, not unlike a bottle gourd, which it
would toss about and catch again in its mouth,
playing numberless fantastic tricks with it."* This
is not the place to trace the history of this alleged
animal, which was more familiarly, we do not say
more accurately, known in the days of Steller than
at the present time. ^Elian gires a description of

• Pennant's Quad. TO!, ii. p. 301.

ALLEGED SEA-APE. 283

the Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of Sir B.
Harwood: — "In carnivorous quadrupeds the struc-
ture of the bones in the nasal cavity is more intri-
cate than in the herbivorous, and is calculated to
afford a far more extensive surface for the distribu-
tion of the nerve. In the Seal this conformation is
most fully developed, and the bony plates are here
not turbinated, but ramified as shown in the wood-
cut. Eight or more principal branches arise from
the main trunk, and each of these is afterwards
divided and subdivided to an extreme degree of
minuteness, so as to form in all many hundred
plates. The olfactory membrane, with all its nerves,
is closely applied to every plate in this vast assem-
blage, as well as to the main trunk, and to the in-
ternal surface of the surrounding cavity, so that
its extent cannot be less than 1 20 square inches in
each nostril. An organ of such exquisite sensibi-
lity requires an extraordinary provision for securing
it against injury, and Nature has supplied a me-
chanism for the purpose, enabling the animal to
close at pleasure the orifice of the nostril."*

• Roget, Brid?ewater Treatise, vol. ii. p. 402.

GROUP II.

THE HERBIVOROUS CETACEA.

Of the fablecl nymphs, 'tis foolishly declared

They chase the warrior shark, the cumbrous whale.

And guard the mermaid in her briny vale.

OUR declining space prevents us from saying
more on the classification of this small and in-
teresting group than what has already appeared in
the Introduction. Though individuals belonging
to it exist in large herds in many quarters of the
globe, yet, till within a few years, not one had
been seen in the civilized world, nor had .any cor-
rect description or delineation been supplied. And
yet the most intense interest was experienced re-
garding the family, not only by the man of
science, but by the public at large. There can
be no doubt that in many instances they formed the
type of those ideal objects of ancient poetry, the
tritons, half men and half fish, who had power,
forsooth, . to calm the stormy surge, and proba-
bly, too, of the syrens, those sea nymphs whose

MERMEN AND MERMAIDS. 285

melody charmed the entranced voyager to his
destruction ! The fancies of the northern nations
were not less imaginative. " Beneath the depths
of the ocean, an atmosphere exists adapted to the
respiring organs of certain beings resembling, in
form, the human race, who are possessed of sur-
passing beauty, of limited supernatural powers, and
liable to the incidents of death. They dwell in a
wide territory of the globe far below the region of
fishes, over which the sea, like the cloudy canopy
of our sky, loftily rolls, and there they possess ha-
bitations constructed of the pearly and coralline
productions of the ocean. Having lungs not adapted
to a watery medium, but to the nature of atmo-
spheric air, it would be impossible for them to pass
through the volume of waters that intervenes be-
tween the submarine and the supramarine world, if
it were not for their extraordinary power of enter-
ing the skin of some animal capable of existing in
the sea. One shape they put on is that of an ani-
mal human above the waist, yet terminating below
in the tail of a fish ; and thus possessing an amphi-
bious nature, they are enabled not only to exist in
the ocean, but to land on the shores, where they
frequently lighten themselves of their sea dress, re-
sume their proper shape, and with much curiosity
examine the nature of this upper world."*

But we must endeavour to give our readers a
nearer view of these wondrous creatures. Not

• Hibbert's Shetland Islands, 4to, p. 566.

286 HERBIVOROUS CETACEA.

many years ago the Wernerian Natural History
Society (and to its praise we tell it) publicly offered
a prize of considerable pecuniary value to the indi-
vidual who would first present them with one of
these far-famed animals ; and by many this offer
was regarded as a proof of weakness and credulity.
Not long afterwards, however, the following state-
ments appeared in one of the periodicals of the day,
for the general truth of which, from personal know-
ledge of some of the parties, we can vouch. " A
short while ago it was reported that a fishing boat,
off the island of Yell, one of the Shetland group,
had captured a mermaid by its getting entangled in
the lines ! ! The statement is, that the animal was
about three feet long, the upper part of the body
resembling the human, with protuberant mammas
like a woman ; the face, forehead, and neck, were
short, and resembling those of a monkey ; the arms,
which were small, were kept folded across the
breast ; the fingers were distinct, not webbed ; a
few stiff long bristles were on the top of the head,
extending down to the shoulders, and them it could
erect and depress at pleasure, something like a crest.
The inferior part of the body was like a fish. The
skin was smooth, and of a grey colour. It offered
no resistance, nor attempted to bite, but uttered a
low plaintive sound. The crew, six in number,
took it within their boat, but superstition getting
the better of curiosity, they carefully disentangled
it from the lines, and a hook which had accidentally
fastened in its body, and returned it to its native

MERMEN AND MERMAIDS. 287

element. It instantly dived, descending in a per-
pendicular direction."

After writing the above, (we are informed,) the
narrator had an interview with the skipper of the
boat and one of the crew, from whom he learned
the following additional particulars. They had the
animal for three hours within the boat ; the body
was without scales or hair ; was of a silvery grey
colour above, and white below, like the human skin ;
no gills were observed; nor fins on the back or
belly. The tail was like that of the dog-fish ; the
mammae were about as large as those of a woman ;
the mouth and lips were veiy distinct, and resem-
bled the human.

This communication was from Mr Edmondston, a
well known and intelligent observer, to the distin-
guished Professor of Natural History in the Edin-
burgh University, and Mr E. adds a few reflections,
which are so pertinent, that we shall avail ourselves
of them. " That a very peculiar animal has been
taken, no one can doubt. It was seen and handled
by six men, on one occasion, and for some time,
not one of whom dreams of a doubt of its being a
Mermaid. If it were supposed that their fears mag-
nified its supposed resemblance to the human form,
it must at all events be admitted that there was some
ground for exciting these fears. But no such fears
were likely to be entertained ; for the Mermaid is
not an object of terror to the fisherman ; it is ra-
ther a welcome guest, and danger is apprehended
only from its experiencing bad treatment. The

288 HERBIVOROUS CETACEA.

usual resources of scepticism, that the Seals and
other Sea-Animals, appearing under certain circum-
stances, operating upon an excited imagination, and
so producing ocular illusion, cannot avail here. It
is quite impossible that, under the circumstances,
six Shetland fishermen could commit such a mis-
take."*

Having thus supplied a narrative of a personal
interview with a Mermaid, we shall next do as
much for the Merman, u About a mile from the
coast of Denmark, near Landscrone, three sailors,
observing something like a dead body floating in
the water, rowed towards it. When they came
within seven or eight fathoms, it still appeared as
at first, for it had not stirred ; but at that instant
it sunk, and came up almost immediately in the
same place. Upon this, out of fear, they lay still,
and then let the boat float, that they might the bet-
ter examine the monster, which, by the help of the
current, came nearer and nearer to them. He turned
his face and stared at them, which gave them a good
opportunity of examining him narrowly ; he stood
in the same place for seven or eight minutes, and
was seen above the water breast- high : At last they
grew apprehensive of some danger, and began to
retire ; upon which the monster blew up his cheeks,
and made a kind of roaring noise, and then dived
from their view." In regard to his form, they de-
clare in thei affidavits, which were regularly taken

• Edinburgh Magazine, vol. xiii.

MERMEN AVD wreKMAIUS. 289

and recorded, that " he appeared like an old man,
strong-limbed, with broad shoulders, but his arms
they could not see. His head was small in propor-
tion to his body, and had short curled black hair,
which did not reach below his ears ; his eyes lay
deep in his head, and he had a meagre face, with a
black beard : about the body and downwards this
Merman was quite pointed like a fish."*

As illustrating the habits, and still more as bear-
ing on the voice, a noted power of these strange
creatures, thus distinguished by the great dramatist
with not less fancy than fable —

I heard a Mermaid on a dolphin's bacK —
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath,
That the rude sea grew civil at her song —

We shall transcribe the account of two incidents
which were observed in the Southern Hemisphere.
" A very singular circumstance happened," says
Captain Colnett, " off the coast of Chili, in lat. 24 S.,
which, as it spread some alarm among my people,
and awakened their superstitious apprehensions, I
shall mention. About eight o'clock in the evening
an animal rose alongside the ship, and uttered such
shrieks and tones of lamentation, so much like
those produced by the female human voice when ex-
pressing the deepest distress, as to occasion no
small degree of alarm among those who first heard
i* These cries continued for upwards of three

* Pontopildon's Nat. Hist, of Norway, p. 154.

290 HERBIVOROUS CETACEA.

hours, and seemed to increase as the ship sailed
from it. I never heard any noise whatever that
approached so near those sounds which proceed
from the organs of utterance in the human species."
Captain C. subsequently mentions that one man
was so panic-struck, that had he been much longer
in landing he would certainly have died.* And
finally, to bring these narratives to a close — " A
boat's crew," says Captain Weddell, " were employ-
ed in Hall's Island, when one of the crew, left to take
care of some produce, saw an animal whose voice
was even musical. The sailor had lain down, and
about ten o'clock he heard a noise resembling hu-
man cries ; and as day-light in these latitudes never
disappears at this season, he rose and looked round ;
but, on seeing no person, returned to bed ; presently
he heard the noise again ; rose a second time, but
still saw nothing. Conceiving, however, the possi-
bility of a boat being upset, and that some of the
crew might be clinging to some detached rocks, he
walked along the beach a few steps, and heard the
noise more distinctly, but in a musical strain. Upon
searching round he saw an object lying on a rock
a dozen yards from the shore, at which he was some-
what frightened. The face and shoulders appeared
cf human form, and of a reddish colour ; over the
shoulders hung long green hair ; the tail resembled
that of the Seal, but the extremities of the arms he
couid not see distinctly, 'ine creature continued

Voyag . to tne South Atlantic London, 1793.

MERMEN AND MERMAIDS. 291

to make a musical noise while he gazed about two
minutes, and on perceiving him it disappeared in
an instant. Immediately when the man saw his
officer, he told this wild tale, and to add to the
weight of his testimony, (being a Romanist,) he
made a cross on the sand which he kissed, so mak-
ing oath to the truth of his statement. When I
saw him, he told the story in so clear and positive
a manner, making oath to its truth, that I concluded
he must really have seen the animal he described,
or that it must have been the effects of a disturbed
imagination."*

We adduce these few as examples of the many
statements which from time to time have been made.
At the moment, the fact is a matter of nine days'
wonder ; it is then speedily obscured in the mists
of forgetfulness ; those who would be thought more
knowing than their neighbours treat the whole
affair with scepticism and derision, and mankind
generally are left in the uncertainty and ignorance
in which they were before. We believe there was
as much general intelligence concerning this class
of animals two or three hundred years ago as there
is at the present day ; or, to put it in more appro-
priate words, that there is as much prevailing
ignorance now as there has been at any former
period. Among the preceding incidents, that de-
rived from Shetland occurred in 1823, and since
that time we are not aware that any additional facts

* Voyage towards the South Pole, p. 143»

292 HERBIVOROUS CETACEA.

have been supplied for general information. We
have no doubt that though there was much truth in
the narratives, there was also much error ; and we
must now, so far as we can, supply our readers with
such information as will enable them to correct
these errors, and to read aright all such histories.

It is here, however, only right to add, that these
marvellous stories of Mermaids are not to be asso-
ciated only with the herbivorous cete now to be in-
troduced to notice. Large allowance must be made
for the workings of an excited imagination, in situa-
<inns of solitude and apprehension, on the unex-
pected appearance of an extraordinary and unknown
object. In many instances, even the animals whose
histories we have been reviewing, viz. the Walrus
and the Seals, have unquestionably been the origi-
nals which supplied, to wide and credulous circles,
the subject-matter of their astonishment and wonder.
It will be in the recollection of the reader that we
have previously quoted Mr Scoresby's words — " I
have myself seen a Sea-Horse under such circum-
stances, that it required little stretch of imagination
to mistake it for a human being, and the surgeon
actually reported to me that he had seen a man
with his head above the water." Many of these
narratives have had their origin in the Northern
nations, where the herbivorous cete are certainly
rare; and this fact quite harmonizes with the
more enlightened belief in these regions, that it
is generally some species of Seal, very frequently
the Barbata or Haaf-Seal, which, from its more

MERMEN AND MERMAIDS. 293

solitary habits, has given rise to these legends.
And, once more, we have little doubt that the
young, especially, of certain species of Whales, from
their striking fashion of raising their heads perpen-
dicularly above the wave, and so taking a deliberate
survey of surrounding objects, may occasionally
have led to the same result. Thus, then, in the or-
dinary cete, and in the Walrus and Seals, as well
as in our herbivorous cete, are we to recognize the
original types of nearly all these wondrous tales.

The small group, forming the herbivorous cete, is
now divided into three genera, and about twice as
many species: it consists of the Manatee of the West
Indies, the Dugong of Eastern Seas, and the Stel-
leruSj an inhabitant of the polar regions. As to
their general character, we may note that their head
is scarcely distinguished from the body by any
neck ; they have no blow-holes on the summit of
the head, but nostrils on their snout ; the shape of
their body is pisciform ; they have no dorsal fin ;
their tail is horizontal like that of the other cete,
and they have not even the rudiments of the pos-
terior extremity; their pectorals are quite swim-
ming paws ; their mammae are pectoral ; their skin
is nearly destitute of hair, and their teeth are not
those of carnivorous but of herbivorous animals.

We now proceed to the genera and species.

294

GENUS MANATUS, Cuv. Trichechus, Lin.

The Manatus derives its principal generic character from its
swimming paws ; these, different from what appears in its con-
geners, have four flat nails attached to the edge of the fin. The
tail, too, is characteristic, being oval-shaped and long, extending
to about one-fourth of the body.

THE MANATEE OF THE WEST INDIES.

PLATE XXVI.

Manatus Americanus, Cuv. Desm. Less.

WE are happy that, from the attention of the Duke
of Manchester in transmitting a specimen of this
animal to the Royal Society, we can present our
readers with a faithful likeness taken from the Phi-
losophical Transactions for 1821. This individual
was a young one, which had not attained above a
quarter of its full dimensions.

It will be observed that the form of the body is
elongated. When fully grown, the animal attains,
and often surpasses, the length of twenty feet, and
weighs not less than three or four tons ; twelve or
fifteen feet are, however, its more common dimen-
sions. The head is conical, without any mark of
depression at its junction with the b0dy ; the muzzle
is large and fleshy, and at its upper part is semi-
circular, where two small semi-lunar nostrils open.
The upper lip is full and cleft in the middle. Two
tufts of stiff bristles, of considerable size, are situated

THE MANATEE. 295

at its sides ; the lower lip is shorter, and more
straight than the upper, and both are lined internally
with short, hard, very thick hairs. The mouth is
not large ; the eyes are small. The only appear-
ance of ears are two small fissures, which penetrate
the skin, The swimming paws are much more free
in their motions than those of the ordinary cete ;
the fingers are felt through the skin, and they pos-
sess considerable power and motion. The thumb
has no nail ; the fingers have, though that of the
little finger is particularly small. The surface of
the body is of a greyish colour ; the skin is coarse-
grained, and very thick and strong, like a bull's
hide ; a few scattered and slender hairs appear upon
it, most numerous at the angle of the mouth, and
under the paws. The mammae, which are usually
but little developed, enlarge during the period of
lactation, and the milk is agreeable to the taste.
The number of the vertebrae and the ribs is vari-
ously stated by Sir E. Home and Baron Cuvier.
Both agree that the ribs are quite peculiar in their
form.

The manners and dispositions of this animal are
stated to be inoffensive, mild, and amiable. Buffon
observes, that they are both intelligent and sociable,
naturally not afraid of man, but free in approaching
him, and following him with confidence. But they
have especially a kindly feeling for their fellows. They
usually associate in troops, and crowd together with
the young in the centre, as if to protect them from
harm, and when any danger besets them, each is

296 THE MANATEE.

willing to bear its share in mutual defence or at-
tack. When one has been struck with a harpoon,
it has been noticed that the others tear the weapon
from the flesh ; and usually if the cubs be taken,
the mother is careless of her own preservation,
while if the mother be taken, the young follow her
to the shore, where they themselves are captured.

The Manatus is not found in deep waters. It
frequents the shallow bays among the West Indian
Islands, and the sheltered creeks in the South Ame-
rican continent, particularly Guiana and the Brazils.
It was, in former times, especially at the mouths of
those vast rivers, the Oronoco and the Amazons,
that these cete delighted, and lived in innumerable
shoals. They also ascended many hundreds of miles,
frequented their tributaries, and peopled the fresh
water lakes connected with them ; and in these
places were sometimes observed to be frolicsome,
and to leap, as do the ordinary Whales, to great
heights out of the water. The historian Binet re-
marked, that in his time there were certain places
within ten or twelve leagues of Cayenne where they
so abounded, that a large boatful could be procured
in a day ; and that they sold in the market for about
threepence per pound. But the high estimation in
which their flesh was generally held, and the avidity
with which they were pursued, led ere long to a vast
thinning of their numbers, till finally they have been
almost exterminated in those countries which aia
thickly peopled.

The mode in which thev were captured at Si

THE MANATEE. 297

Domingo, according to Oviedo, was as follows : —
" They were approached in a small boat, and struck
with a large harpoon, to which a long and strong
cord was attached. As soon as struck they makp
great efforts to escape, carrying the harpoon and
cord along with them ; to the extremity of the lat-
ter a cork, or piece of light wood, is affixed, which
serves as a buoy, and indicates the movements of
the wounded individual. Their victim being thus
seized, his assailants return to shore, bringing them
along with the end of the rope, and when the ani-
mal becomes exhausted, they begin to draw it on
shore and despatch it." This perfectly agrees with
the account we read in " The familiar Description of
the Mosquito Kingdom," — " They yield the sporter
no small diversion; for after having a dart or har-
poon struck into their side, with a long line and
buoy fastened to it, they hold some time in play,
and will not leave the shoals, by which means they
receive many lances and arrows from the Indians
before they will be taken ; many times they upset
the boat in struggling."*

From this same work we extract the author's tes-
timony regarding their excellency as an article of
food : — " Their best fish is the Manatee. Most tra-
vellers in these parts that I have seen call it the
best fish, if not flesh, in the world. They are some-
times found straggling in the lagunes in this coun-
try, but are not suffered to increase, through the

• Collection of Voyages, &c. fol. vol. vi. 312.

298 THE MANATEE.

greediness of the Indian, who spares no pains when
he has the prospect of getting any. The most are
very white and of a pleasant taste, and many ships'
companies have often experienced the virtues of it
in the recovery of their healths," Modern authors
generally corroborate these statements. They uni-
formly affirm that the flesh is excellent, tasting more
like beef than fish. Gumilla states that the flesh of
those of the Oronoco, when roasted, has the flavour
of pork and the taste of veal, and when salted makes
excellent sea store.

The carcase of an animal belonging to this genus
is said to have come ashore at Newhaven, in the
Frith of Forth, in the autumn of 1785. It had,
however, been long dead, and was so much destroy-
ed, that Mr Stewart, who examined it, could not de-
termine the species. Duhamel also mentions that a
female Manatus, with its cub, was thrown ashore
near Dieppe, where it was regarded an extraordi-
nary occurrence.

M. SENEGALENSIS, Adanson, Cuv. Desm

THE celebrated Naturalist Adanson was the first to
notice this animal, which M. F. Cuvier, from an
examination of its cranium, has separated from the
former. It frequents the rivers and shores of West-
ern Africa, arid especially of Senegal. Adanson, we

THE MANATEE. 299

believe, minutely studied its history, but did not
publish the result of his labours. Mr Pennant, along
with his short description, gives a plate of a young
one which he found in the Leverian Museum, and
which had been captured in the Senegal. This spe-
cimen was six and a half feet long, though they
grow, he adds, to the length of fourteen and fifteen
feet. They are also very fat, and the fat. adheres
to the skin in the form of blubber.*

Dr Harlan has published an account of what he
considers another Manatus, under the name of La-
tirostriS) and which appears to inhabit the great
rivers of the Floridas.f Most Naturalists suppose
that other living species still remain to be described;
and Baron Cuvier has discovered several fossil bonea
of the genus.

We now proceed to the

• Hist, of Quadrupeds, vol. ii. p. 296.
t Philad. Jour, of Nat. Scien., rot u..

300

GENUS DUGUNGUS, Camper, Lacepede, Lesson, Halieore,
Illiger, Desm. Fr. Cuv. Mermaid, Sea-Cow.

This genus differs most conspicuously from the last, in that it
has no vestige of nails, and ai its tail not being rounded, but
forked, like that of Whales.

THE DUGONG.

PLATE XXVII.

Dugungus Indicus, Less. Halieore Dugong, F. Cuv. Halieore
Indicus, Desm. No. 751. The Dugong.

IN the year 1820, Sir E. Home stated in the Royal
Society, that no specimen had ever been seen of
full size by any who was conversant with compara-
tive anatomy. About this period, however, owing
chiefly to the exertions of our illustrious country-
men, Sir T. KarHes, several specimens were procured,
and some of these, with accurate accounts, were trans-

THE DUGONG. 301

rr' "ed both to this country and to France.* Our
p -ce, which is of a young animal, we owe to his
exertions, and we are happy to enrich our pages
with some extracts from his clear and simple his-
tory. In its general form the Dugong resembles the
common cete. The skin is smooth and thick, bluish
above and white beneath, with a few remote and
scattered hairs ; the mammae are situated on the
chest under the fins. The head is small in propor-
tion, and of a peculiar form. The upper lip is very
large, thick, and obliquely truncated, forming a
short, thick, and nearly vertical kind of snout, some-
thing like the trunk of the Elephant cut short across.
The surface of the truncated portion is covered with
soft papillae, and furnished with a few bristles ; the
lips are covered with a horny substance, which as-
sists in tearing the sea weeds for food. Two short
tusks project forward from the extremity of the
upper jaw, and are nearly covered by the upper
lip, which is very moveable and tumid at the mar-
gin. The lower lip is much smaller, and resembles
a round or oblong chin. To assist the animal in
browsing upon the submarine vegetables which form
its food, the anterior part of the jaw is bent down-
wards at an angle, in such a way as to bring the
mouth into nearly a vertical position. There are no
canine teeth. The molars are twelve in number,
six in each jaw, placed far back on the horizontal

* Such of our readers as have the opportunity, may see two of
these animals, both young, in the Museum of the Edinburgh Uni-
versity.

302 THE DUGONG.

portion. The nostrils are situated on the summit
of the upper jaw, where it makes its curvature
downwards ; they penetrate obliquely in such a
manner, that the upper semilunar edge, pressing
upon the lower surface1, forms a perfect valve, which
may be shut at the will of the animal. The eyes
are small, and supplied with a third eye-lid. The
aperture of the ear is so minute, that it can only
with difficulty be perceived. The paws offer no
appearance of nails, but are somewhat verrucose or
warty on their anterior margin ; they are thick and
fleshy, and neither from their form or size capable
of supporting or assisting the animal out of the wa-
ter ; the tail is broad and crescent-shaped.

The skin is three quarters of an inch thick, and
yields no oil. The skull is remarkable for the pe-
culiar manner in which the anterior part of the
upper jaw is bent downwards, almost at a right
angle, so as to form a kind of beak. The lower jaw
is truncated in such a way, as to correspond and be-
come parallel with the elongated portion of the
upper jaw. The vertebres are fifty-two in number,
seven to the neck, eighteen to the back, and twenty-
seven to the tail; ribs eighteen pair. The greatest
peculiarity of this animal is, that the ventricles of
the heart are widely detached from each other, being
connected at their base only. Another singular
circumstance is, that the inside of their cheeks is
studded with strong projecting bristles.

The food of the Dugong appears to consist ex-
clusively of the fuci and aigae, which it finds at the

THE DUGONG. 303

bottom of the inlets of the sea. It browses on these
vegetables in the same manner as a cow in a mea-
dow. Its flesh resembles young beef, and is very
delicate and palatable. Sir T. Raffles's words are
— " It afforded much satisfaction on the table, as
the flesh proved to be most excellent beef."

According to the natives of Sumatra, the Dugong
is never found on land, or in fresh water, but gene-
rally in the shallows of the sea, when the water is
only two or three fathoms deep. " During our short
possession of Singapore," says Sir Thomas, (for six
months,) " four of these animals were taken ; but
the greatest number is said to be caught during the
opposite, or Northern Monsoon, where the sea is
calmest, near the mouth of the Johore River. They
are usually taken by spearing, (at which the natives
are peculiarly dexterous,) during the night, when
the animals give warning of their approach by the
snuffling noise they make at the surface of the
water. The first object is to secure and elevate the
tail, when the animal becomes perfectly powerless, and
at their disposaL They are seldom caught in Sin-
gapore above eight or nine feet in length ; but how
much larger they grow is not ascertained, as, when
they exceed this size, their superior strength enables
them to make their escape when attacked."

The Ikan Dugong is considered by the Malays
as a royal fish, and the king is entitled to all that
are taken. The flesh is highly prized, and consi-
dered by them as superior to that of the buffalo or
cow. The affection of the mother for its voung is

304 THE DUGONG.

strongly marked ; and the Malays make frequent
allusion to this animal as an example of maternal
affection. When they succeed in taking a young
one, they feel themselves certain of the mother, who
follows it, and allows herself to be speared and
taken almost without resistance. The young have
a short sharp cry, which they frequently repeat, and
it is said that they shed tears. These tears are
carefully preserved by the common people as a
charm, the possession of which is supposed to se-
cure the affections of those to whom they are at-
tached, in the same manner as they attract the
mother to her young ; " an idea," remarks Sir
Thomas, " at least poetic, and certainly more natu-
ral than the fable of the siren's song."*

There seems little doubt that there are many
species of this curious animal inhabiting the East-
ern Seas. Ed. Ruppel has given a description
of the Dugong of the Red Sea. He considers
it different from that of the Indian Seas, and has
named it Halicore tabernaculus, in consequence of
his historical researches having led him to the con-
clusion, that it was with the skin of this species that
the Jews were ordered to veil their Tabernacle
The Arabians esteem it for its flesh, teeth, and skin
Ruppel observed it swimming among the coral banks
on the coast of Abyssinia, near the Dalac Isles.
The fishermen call it Dauila. They harpooned a
female ten feet long, which our traveller dissected

• See Phil. Trans, for 1821

THE DUGONG. 305

and described. He was informed by the Arabs
that these Dugongs live in pairs or small families —
that their voices are very feeble — that they feed on
algae — and that, in the months of February and
March, bloody combats take place among the males.
The females produce in November and December.
The former sex attains the length of eighteen feet,
the latter never equals these dimensions.*

The respectable voyager, Lequat, describes the Du-
gong as occurring in great numbers in the Isle of
France in 1 720. He states they were twenty feet long,
arid were captured with the greatest facility. They
feed in troops like sheep, in three or four fathoms
water, and did not attempt to escape when ap-
proached, so that a selection could be made, and
they were shot at the end of the musket ; or some-
times two or three of the party seized hold of one
and forced it on shore. Three or four hundred were
occasionally encountered together ; and they were
so little shy, that they allowed themselves to be
handled at pleasure, and thus were the fattest
selected. The natives here avoided, as we have
noticed the Malays also do, a contest with the larger
animals, on account of the great trouble which they
occasioned, and also because they were not such
good eating as the smaller ones.

It is the popular belief of the Malays, that two spe-
cies frequent their coast ; and M. F. Cuvier states, that
there are considerable differences between the Malay

* See Encyc. Brit. art. Mammalia.

0

306 THE DUGONG.

varieties and one which had been procured from
the Philipines. It would appear that the aniraal is
also known on the coast of New Holland, and there
it is supposed, according to Quoy and Gaimard, to
differ from those of the Indian Archipelago. It is
occasionally also found in the Pacific.

We now proceed to

307

THE STELLERUS.

GENUS STELLERUS.— CUVIER.

Having a single and peculiar kind of tooth in each jaw ; paws
without any appearance of nails ; skin remarkably thick and hard.

Stellerus Borealis, Desm. Less. Manatus Steller, Pen, Maskaia,
or Sea- Cow of the Russians.

THERE is, perhaps, less known of this animal than
of any of its congeners : scarcely any thing has
been added to our information since the publication
of Steller's account,* so that some have been led to
entertain doubts of its existence. Such scepticism,
however, is quite unwarrantable, after the patient
labours of the celebrated naturalist of the Rurick.
Something like a corroboration of Steller's account
may, we think, be found in " Cook's Voyages." The
celebrated navigator, whea dwelling upon one of
the Fox Islands, at no great distance from Behring's
Straits, after mentioning the Seals and Walrus
there encountered, adds — " We sometimes saw an
animal with a head like a Seal's, which blew after

• See Nov. Comment. Acad. Petrop. t. ii. p. 294.

308 THE STELLERUS.

the manner of Whales. It was larger than a Seal :
its colour was white, with some dark spots."* In all
probability this was one of the herbivorous cete ;
and were this the case, it could scarcely be any
other than the Stellerus.

The head of this species is small, oblong, and
obtuse, and hangs down ; the mouth, too, is small,
and the lips appear double, that is to say, there are
external and internal lips. When approximated,
the void space between them is filled with a thick
mass of strong bristles, which are white, and an
inch and a half long, and as thick as pigeon's quills.
These are to this creature what the whalebone is to
the largest whales. But the masticating apparatus
is still more singular, and quite peculiar. It does
not consist of teeth, of which this animal has none,
but of two large white horny substances which adhere,
the one to the palate, and the other to the lower jaw.
Even the insertion of these substances is peculiar ;
not being into the bones, but into the superincum-
bent soft parts. They are not bony but horny;
composed of fibres agglutinated to each other
like the horn of the rhinoceros.f The nostrils
are at the end of the snout, and are lined with
strong hair. There is no external ear, and the
aperture is small. The eyes are small and deep
set; the iris black, the ball livid; the tongue is
pointed and small ; the paws are about two feet

• Cook's Voyages, vol. ii p. 517, 4to edit.

t See Brandt, Mem. of Petersburg!* Acad. 6*h scries, vol. ii.

THE STELLERUS. 309

long, destitute of nails, but terminating in sort of
hoof, lined with bristles. The skin is dark, rug-
ged, and knotty, like the bark of an old oak. In
fact, according to Cuvier, the scarf skin is a kind
of bark, composed of fibres or tubes closely packed,
perpendicular to the skin. The fibres are implanted
into the true skin by small bulbs, so that when this
epidermis is pulled off, the skin is remarkably rough
and almost shaggy ; it has no hairs upon it, as may
easily be supposed, for the fibres are nothing more
than hairs soldered together, forming a kind of cui-
rass. In a word, the animal is completely clad in
a substance similar to tht hoof of cattle, or of the
Elephant. This hide is an inch thick, and so hard
as scarcely to be cut with an axe ; and when cut,
it appears in the inside like ebony. This skin is
of singular use to the animal ; during winter in pro-
tecting it against the ice, among which it often
feeds, or the sharp-pointed rocks, against which it
is often dashed by the furious storm ; and during
summer in guarding it against the rays of the never
setting and scorching sun. This integument is so
essential to its preservation, that Steller believes
that many are killed by its accidental erosion. The
tail is also black, ending in a stiff fin, composed of
laminae like whalebone, and fringed with fibres
nearly nine inches long ; it is crescent-shaped. It
has two pectoral mammae. The milk is thick and
sweet, not unlike that of the ewe. The superior
part of the body is very thick, gradually becoming
slender at the tail ; the abdomen is large and tumid

310 THE STELLERUS.

This animal grows to the length of twenty-eight
feet. The following are the proportions of one
somewhat less, measured by Steller. Length from
nose to end of the tail, twenty-four and a half feet ;
from nose to setting on of the swimming paws, four
feet four inches ; circumference of head above the
nostrils, two feet seven inches ; at the neck, nearly
seven feet ; at shoulders, twelve ; abdomen, twenty ;
width of tail, six and a half feet. The weight of a
large one is 8000 pounds. The vertebrae are given,
6, 19, 35.=in all to 60. The heart of this animal,
as minutely described by Steller, is precisely the
same in shape and construction as that of the
Dugong already dwelt upon*

These animals were principally seen on the shores
of Behring's Straits. They are also sometimes seen
off Kamtschatka, and in the Bay of Awatscha.

They frequent the shallow parts of the shore, and
the estuaries of the rivers, where they appear in
great troops. The older surround the younger ap-
parently in the way of protection. They are so
tame as to suffer themselves to be handled; if
roughly treated they remove towards the sea, but
soon forget the injury and return. Sometimes they
appear in families near one another, each of which
consists of a male and female, one half grown, and
a cub; the families often unite and form vast
droves. They are most harmless and innocent in
their manners, and most strongly attached to one
another. When one is hooked, the whole herd will
attempt its rescue ; some will strive to overset the

THE STELLERUS. 311

boat, by going beneath it ; others will fling them-
selves on the rope in order to break it, and others
will endeavour to force the instrument from its
hold. Their conjugal affection is most striking:
a male, after using all its endeavours to relieve its
mate which had been struck, following it to the
water's edge, whence no blows could force it to de-
part. As long as she continued in the water he
attended ; and even for three days after her death,
he was observed to remain in expectation of her
return.

They are most voracious creatures, and feed with
their head under water, quite inattentive to the
boats, or any thing that passes around them ; mov-
ing and swimming gently after one another, some-
times with a great portion of their back out of the
water. Every now and then they elevate their
nose to take breath, and make a noise like the
snorting of horses.

They were taken at Behring's Island by a great
hook fastened to a long rope, which was taken into
a boat, and rowed amidst the herd. When the
animal was struck, the loose end of the rope was
conveyed to land, where it was seized by about
thirty people, who with great difficulty drew it on
shore. The poor creature made the strongest resist-
ance, assisted by its faithful companions, and cling-
ing to the rocks with the greatest pertinacity. In
summer they are very fat, in winter quite lean.

The skin is used by the natives to cover their
boats. The fat, which covers the whole body like

312 THE STELLERUS.

a thick blubber, was esteemed as good as " May
butter" The flesh of the old, when well boiled,
resembled beef; and that of the young, veal. The
crew preserved several casks of it, which was found
of excellent service in their escape from their hor-
rible confinement.

It is very generally supposed that there are other
species of this genus besides the above, but con-
cerning these nothing satisfactory has been deter-
mined.

313
GROUP III.

" In man multa latent." — OPPIAN.

WE come now, in conclusion, to offer a few le-
marks on those two strange and extraordinary am-
mals to which we shortly adverted in the Introduc-
tion. And, first, of

THE GREAT SEA-SERPENT.

Scoliophis Atlanticus ? Linn. Soc. of Boston.

From Wern. Trans, vol. i.

THAT much fable and exaggeration have been
mixed up with the history of the Great Sea- Ser-
pent, cannot be doubted ; still, however, the in-
quiry recurs, what portion of truth is involved
amidst this error ?

We turn, first, to an account of an animal which
apparently belonged to this class, which was
stranded in the Island of Stronsa, one of the Ork-
neys, in the year 1808, and which was first seen

314 GREAT SEA-SERPENT.

entire, and measured by respectable individuals,
and afterwards, when dead and broken in pieces by
the violence of the waves, was again examined by
many; portions of it being secured, such as the
skull, and upper bones of the swimming paws, by
Mr Laing, a neighbouring proprietor; and other
portions, such as the vertebrae, &c., by being de-
posited and beautifully preserved in the Royal
Museum of the University of Edinburgh, and in
the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. An
able paper on these latter fragments, and on the
wreck of the animal, was read by the late Dr Bar-
clay to the Wernerian Society, and will be found
in vol. i. of its Transactions, to which we refer.
We can allow space only for a very short abridg-
ment of these documents, which, be it remembered,
furnish an account of the animal principally after
it had been mutilated ; and hence we cannot wonder
if the original accounts are both imperfect and
contradictory. It measured fifty-six feet in
length, and twelve in circumference. The head
was small, not being a foot in length, from the
snout to the first vertebre ; the neck was slender, ex-
tending to the length of fifteen feet. All the ac-
counts agree in assigning it blow-holes, though they
differ as to their precise situation. On the shoulders
something like a bristly mane commenced, which
extended to near the extremity of the tail. It had
three pairs of fins or paws connected with the body ;
the anterior were the largest, measuring more than
four feet in length, and their extremities were some

GREAT SEA-SERPENT. 315

what like toes, partially webbed. Probably the
sketch is particularly defective respecting these. Dr
Fleming, in his notice of this animal, suggests that
these members were probably the remains of pec-
toral, ventral, and caudal fins.* The skin was
smooth, without scales, and of a greyish colour;
and the flesh appeared like coarse ill-coloured beef.
The eye was of the size of the Seal's ; the throat
was too narrow to admit the hand. Though con-
veying probably a very imperfect representation of
the animal, we have supplied above a wood-cut of
the sketch which was taken at the time, and which,
from the many affidavits proffered by most respect-
able individuals, as well as from other circum-
stances narrated, leaves no manner of doubt as to
the existence of some such animal.

We shall next allude to the unvarnished account
recently given, of a great animal which excited con-
siderable astonishment and alarm among the Western
Isles of Scotland. The following extract i s taken fro in
a letter of Mr Maclean, the parish minister of Eigg,
dated 1809, to Dr Neill, the learned and worthy secre-
tary of the Wernerian Society : — " I saw the animal
of which you enquire in June 1 808, on the coast of
Coll. Rowing along that coast, I observed, at about
the distance of half a mile, an object to windward,
which gradually excited astonishment. At first
view it appeared like a small rock ; but, knowing
hat there was no rock in that situation, I fixed my

• Brit. An. p, 173.

316 GREAT SEA-SERPENT.

eyes closely upon it. Then I saw it elevated con-
siderably above the level of the sea, and, after a
slow movement, distinctly perceived one of its eyes.
Alarmed at the unusual appearance and magnitude
of the animal, I steered so as to be at no great dis-
tance from the shore. When nearly in a line be-
tween it and the shore the monster, directing its
head which still continued above water towards us,
plunged violently under water. Certain that he was
in chase of us, we plied hard to get ashore. Just
as we leapt out on a rock, and had taken a station
as high as we conveniently could, we saw it coming
rapidly under water towards the stern of our boat.
When within a few yards of it, finding the water
shallow, it raised its monstrous head above water,
and, by a winding course, got, with apparent diffi-
culty, clear of the creek where our boat lay, and
where the monster seemed in danger of being em-
bayed. It continued to move oif with its head above
water, and with the wind for about half a mile, be-
fore we lost sight of it. Its head was somewhat
broad, and of form somewhat oval ; its neck some-
what smaller ; its shoulders, if I can so term them,
considerably broader, and thence it tapered towards
the tail, which last it kept pretty low in the water,
so that a view of it could not be taken so distinctly
as I wished. It had no fins that I could perceive,
and seemed to me to move progressively by undu-
lation up and down. Its length I believed to be
between seventy and eighty feet. When nearest to
me it did not raise its head wholly above water, so

GREAT SEA-SERPENT. 317

that the neck being under water, I could perceive
no shining filaments thereon, if it had any. Its
progressive motion under water I took to be very
rapid. About the time I saw it, it was seen near
the Isle of Canna. The crews of thirteen fishing
boats, I am told, were so much terrified at its ap-
pearance, that they, in a body, fled from it to the
nearest creek for safety. On the passage from
Rum to Canna, the crew of one boat saw it coming
towards them, with the wind, and its head high
above water. One of the crew pronounced the
head as large as a little boat, and its eye as large as
a plate. The men were much terrified, but the
monster offered them no molestation."* Dr Hibbert
mentions that the Great Sea-Serpent has occasion-
ally been recognized in the Shetland Seas ; and
specifies one which was seen off the Isle Stonness,
Vaeley Island, and Dunvossness.f

We now turn to several instances of the appear-
ance of the Sea- Serpent which have been witnessed
off the coast of America ; and we do so by referring
first to the Report published by a Committee ap-
pointed by the Linnean Society of New- England,
to collect all the evidence they could obtain on the
subject. In the month of August 1817, it was
generally reported that a very singular animal of
prodigious size had been frequently seen in the
Harbour of Gloucester, Cape Ann, about thirty
miles from Boston. In general appearance it re-

• See Trans, of the Wernemn Soc. vol. i. 442.
t Shetland Islands, p. 565

318 GREAT SEA-SERPENT.

sembled a Serpent, and was said to move with as-
tonishing rapidity. It was visible only in calm and
bright weather, and floated on the surface of the
water, like a number of buoys following each other
in a line.

In the report to which we have referred, the
affidavits of a great many individuals of unblemished
character are collected, which leaves no room t<
apprehend any thing like deceit. They do no-
agree in every minute particular, but in regard t<
its great length and Snake-like form, they are har-
monious. The first person who makes deposition
saw it for nearly half an hour, at the distance of
250 yards. At that distance he could not take in
the two extremities with his glass. The second
witness depones, that he observed a strange marine
animal, which he believed to be a Serpent : it con-
tinued in sight for an hour and a half, and moved
through the water with great rapidity, at the rate
of a mile in two, or, at most, three minutes. On
another occasion he saw it lying perfectly still, ex-
tended on the water, and displaying about fifty feet
of its body. The third witness judged it to be be-
tween eighty and ninety feet in length, with the
heatl formed somewhat like the Rattle- Snake, but
nearly as large as that of the horse. At one time
it showed about fifty distinct portions of its body.
The fourth witness saw it open its mouth, which
appeared like that of a Serpent. Another shot his
gun loaded with ball at it, at the distance of thirty
feet ; when he found the monster immediately

GREAT SEA-SERPENT. 319

turned round, as if intending to approach him, and
passed very near the boat. The tenth deposition
we shall give somewhat more fully. " On the 20th
of June 1815, my boy informed me of an unusual
appearance on the surface of the sea in the Cove.
When I viewed it through the glass, I was in a
moment satisfied that it was some aquatic animal,
with the form, motions, and appearance of which I
was not previously acquainted. It was about a
quarter of a mile from the shore, and was moving
with great rapidity to the southward ; it appeared
almost thirty feet in length. Presently it turned
about, and then displayed a greater length, I sup-
pose at least 100 feet. It then came towards me
very rapidly, and lay entirely still on the surface
of the water. His appearance then was like a string
of buoys. I saw thirty or forty of these protube-
rances, or hunches, which were about the size of a
barrel. The head appeared six or eight feet long,
and tapered off to the size of a horse's head. He
then appeared about 120 feet long; the body ap-
peared of a uniform size ; the colour deep brown.
I could not discover any eye, mane, gills, or breath-
ing holes ; I did not see any fins or lips." We add,
that there are many other depositions equally point-
ed as to the occurrence of this extraordinary crea-
ture, and several letters respecting it; one from
the Honourable Lonson Nash, one of the committee
of the Linnean Society, and himself an eye-witness,
and another addressed by a clergyman to Judge
Davis, the president of the society. General Hum-

320 GREAT SEA-SERPENT.

phreys, by whom the affidavits were taken, trans-
mitted a copy of them, and a detail of the whole
circumstances, to the late Sir Joseph Banks, in
whose library the documents are still preserved.

An animal of similar appearance was again seen
in August 1819> off Nahant, Boston, which re-
mained in the neighbourhood for some weeks.
When first seen, it was stationary for four hours
near the shore, and two hundred persons assembled
to view it. Thirteen folds were counted, and the
head, which was Serpent-shaped, was elevated
two feet above the surface. Its eye was re-
markably brilliant and glistening. The water was
smooth, and the weather calm and serene. When
it disappeared, its motion was undulatory, making
curves perpendicular to the surface of the water,
and giving the appearance of a long moving string
of corks. The last notice we have seen of this
American animal bears date July 1833. The Bos-
ton and New-York papers of that date state, that
the Sea- Serpent had again appeared off Nahant.
" It was first seen on Saturday afternoon, passing be-
tween Egg Rock and the Promontory, winding his
way into Lynn Harbour, and again on Sunday
morning, heading for South Shores. He was seen
by forty or fifty ladies and gentlemen, who insist
that they could not have been deceived."

In connection with the animal thus seen in Ame-
rica, we must not omit the authentic account of a
previously undescribed species of Serpent, which
has a striking resemblance in some of its features

GREAT SEA-SERPENT. 321

to the apocryphal animal on which we are now
dwelling. The Boston Society of Natural His-
tory has the merit of having first brought this Ser-
pent under the notice of Zoologists, and the commit-
tee who described it unhesitatingly regarded it as a
specimen of one of the young of the Great Sea-Ser-
pent. It was seen and killed in September 1817,
near Sandy Bay, between a salt lake and the sea, at
no great distance from the shore, and was speedily
brought to Boston for the examination of the So-
ciety. It was a yard long all but half an inch. The
contour of the back exhibited its most singular fea-
ture, for here was found a waving line, produced by
a series of permanent risings, which commenced
near the head, and extended, almost without inter-
ruption, to the tail, their total number being forty.
The body could be bent with the greatest facility in
the vertical direction, especially at the undulations,
but not without great difficulty latterly. The Society
applied to this animal the nameofScoliophisAtlanti-
cus, of which, at the conclusion of this chapter, we sub-
join a representation. M. de Blainville, in analyzing
the various documents which have been published
concerning this Serpent, remarks — " That a new
species of Serpent has been discovered in America,
which is really very singular, especially as it regards
its vertebral column, ribs, and mode of progression,
appears certain ; but that this small Serpent is pre-
cisely of the same species as the great marine ani-
mal which has appeared off the coast, and whose

x

322 GREAT SEA-SERPENT.

existence we can scarcely deny, is very doubt-
ful."*

But long before the Great Sea- Serpent was ever
suspected of being a visitor of the British Isles, or
of the New World, it was regarded as a well known
member of the Fauna of Scandinavia. In this con-
nection, we will not omit the unquestionably exag-
gerated statements of the honest missionary, Hans
Egede, concerning what he tells us he himself wit-
nessed off the coast of Greenland in the year 1734.
After speaking of the Mermaid, &c., he adds —
" None of these sea monsters have been seen by us,
nor by any of our time that I could hear, save that
most dreadful monster which showed itself on the
surface of the water off our colony, in 64° north
latitude. This monster was of so huge a size, that,
coming out of the water, its head reached as high
as the main mast ; its body was as bulky as the
ship, and three or four times as long. It had a long
pointed snout, and spouted like a whale fish ; it had
great broad paws ; the body seemed covered with
shell work, and the skin was very rugged and un-
even* The under part of its body was shaped like
an enormous huge Serpent ; and when it dived again
under water, it plunged backwards into the sea, and
so raised its tail aloft, which seemed a whole ship's
length distant from the bulkiest part of its body."f
in the new History of Greenland, our author again
upeaks of this animal, and informs us that Mr Bing,

* Journal de Physique, t. Ixxivu p. 297.
t Nat. Hist of Greenland, p. 86.

GREAT SEA-SERPENT. 323

another of the missionaries, took a drawing of it.
This we have copied on our plate. — (See Plate
XXVIII.)

Finally, we subjoin the accounts, older and more
recent, given of this animal in what may be called its
native retreats. We shall begin with a short abridg-
ment of the information supplied in Pontoppidon'g
Natural History of Norway : — " Our coast," says the
learned bishop, " is the only place in Europe visited
by this terrible creature. This makes many persons
who are enemies to credulity entertain doubts about
it. I have questioned its existence myself, till that
suspicion was removed by full and sufficient evi-
dence from creditable and experienced fishermen
and sailors, of which there are hundreds who can
testify they have annually seen them. All these
persons agree very well in the general description.
In all my inquiries, I have scarcely spoken to any
intelligent person who was not able to give strong
assurances of the existence of this fish ; and some
of our traders think it a very strange question when
they are seriously asked whether there be such a
creature ; they think it as ridiculous, as if the ques-
tion were put to them whether there be such fish 0s
Cod or Eel." After this, a long letter is supplied
from Captain L. de Ferry, who was in his boat,
with a crew of eight men, when they saw a Sea-
Serpent, which he fired at and wounded. His de-
scription very much agrees with that already given
and every particular is authenticated by the affida-
vits of two of his crew. We are also informed that

324 GREAT SEA-SERPENT.

Governor Berestrap states, that be saw a similar
animal a few years before, and drew a sketch of it.
Mr Hans Strom, a clergyman, also caused a sketch
to be made of one which came under his inspection,
and other eye-witnesses are named. The bishop
concludes, " I might mention, to the same purpose,
many more persons of equal credit and reputation."
But we must bring these statements of Pontoppidon
to a close with one other short quotation. " Though
it is difficult to ascertain its exact dimensions, yet
all who have seen it are unanimous in affirming that
it appears to be about 600 feet long ; that it lies in
the water in many folds, and there appears like so
many hogsheads floating in a line, at a considerable
distance from each other."* — (Plate XXIX. is a
copy of Pontoppidon's representation.)

Again, Sir Ac de Capell Brooke makes allusion
to this animal in his " Travels in Norway." He
states that he did not witness it himself, but that the
fishermen of Sejerstad stated it was seen in 1818 in
the Folden fiord. In July 1819, it made its ap-
pearance off Otersun in Norway, and Captain Schil-
derup stated to Sir Arthur that it was seen daily dur-
ing the whole month, and continued while the warm
weather lasted, as if dozing in the sun-beams. When
Captain S. first saw it, he was in a boat at the dis-
tance of about 200 yards, and supposes its length
to have been about 600 feet. The Bishop of Nord-
land had seen two of them about eight miles from

* Loc. cit. ii 195.

GREAT SEA.-SERPENT. 325

Drontheim; he was not far from them, and consi-
dered the largest to be about 100 feet. Again, in
1822, one of these creatures, reported to be as
bulky as a large ox, and about a fourth of an Eng-
lish mile in length, made its appearance off the
island of Soroe, near Tinmask, and was seen by many
of the islanders.

The most recent account of this monster we have
noticed, appeared in the public newspapers of Dron-
theim, in the autumn of 1837> and we confess we
cannot regard it as a sheer fabrication : — " The Adis
of this city contains an account from Tozen of the
end of August, which it says was communicated to
the editor by a very enlightened and principled
man, so that it merits attention, as tending to re-
move the doubt respecting the existence of the Sea-
Serpent. The account says, that since the begin-
ning of the dog-days, the Serpent has been seen at
various parts of the coast of that district. One of
them seems to have remained constantly during this
summer near Storfosen, at the Kergvang Islands.
Several fishermen have been so dreadfully alarmed
at the sudden appearance of the Serpent so near
their boats, that they did not know in what direc-
tion to escape. The Serpent did not attack, but
followed the boat for some distance, and the men in
their haste so over-exerted themselves, that two
were confined to their beds. Very credible persons
affirm that the length of the Sea- Serpent may be
taken at 600 or 800 ells, or perhaps more, for when
these people were near its head, they could not

326

GREAT SEA-SERPENT

discern its tail. Its greatest thickness is close to
the head. These observations were made very
clearly within these few days, amongst others, by a
credible, sensible man, who, with his two sons, was
on our island where they landed, and where the
Serpent, after following their boat, swam slowly by."
With these extracts, and without farther comment,
we close our account of the Great Sea- Serpent, only
remarking, that till favouring circumstances bring the
animal under the examination of Naturalists, the
satisfaction, which is desiderated respecting it, is
scarcely to be expected.

THE KRAKEN — PONTOPPIDON.

Kraken, Kraxen, Krabben, and Horvcn, Ancker-Trold,
Wormius, Pontoppidon. — Scandinavian Writers.

WE now proceed to make a few remarks upon the
other sea monster to which we alluded in the Intro-
duction of this volume, viz. the Kraken, which, of
all other reputed animals, is perhaps the most in-
volved in mystery and obscurity. Though regarded
by Olaus, Wormius, and other early writers, as a
species of Whale, there seems to be no good ground
for this opinion. The statements of the Ancients
concerning this animal are so exaggerated, that we
will not try the patience of our readers by copying
them, but as an example merely we quote that of
Pliny ;— " Jn Gaditano oceana arbor est, in tantum
vastis dispensa ramis, ut ex ea causa fritum nun-
quam intrasse credatur."* The belief in this mon-
ster is, however, universal among the sailors and
fishermen of the Norwegian coast, and it has been
alluded to by all the Scandinavian writers from the

* Lib. ii. cap. 4.

328 THE XRAKEN.

earliest period down to the present day. We may
best, perhaps, give a general idea of this famous
animal, by abridging the account supplied by the
learned Pontoppidon, who remarks it is incon test-
ably the largest sea monster in the world : — " Our
fishermen usually affirm," says he, " that when they
row out several miles to sea, particularly in hot
summer days, they are informed, by various cir-
cumstances, that the Kraken is at the bottom of the
sea. Sometimes twenty boats get together over
him ; and when, from well known indications, they
perceive it is rising, they get away as fast as they
can. When they find themselves out of danger,
they lie upon their oars, and in a few minutes they
see the monster come to the surface. He there
shows himself sufficiently, though only a small part
of his body appears. Its back, which appears to
be a mile and a half in circumference, looks at first
like a number of small islands, surrounded with
something which floats like sea- weeds; here and
there a larger rising is observed like sandy banks ;
at last several bright points or horns appear, which
grow thicker the higher they rise, and sometimes
they stand up as high, and as large, as the masts of
middle-sized vessels. It seems these are the crea-
ture's arms, and it is said that if they were to laj
hold of the largest man-of-war, they would pull it
down to the bottom. After the monster has been
a short time on the surface of the water, he begins
slowly to sink again ; and then the danger is as
great as before, because the motion of the sinking

THE KRAKEN. 3^9

causes such a swell, and such an eddy and whirl-
pool, that he carries every thing down with it."*

It is a favourite notion of Pontoppidon, that
from the appearance of the Kraken originate those
traditions of floating islands being so frequently
observed in the North Sea. Thus Debes, in his
Feroa Reserata, alludes to certain islands which
suddenly appeared, and as suddenly vanished.
Similar accounts may be found in Harpelius and
Torfaaus. These islands are looked upon by the
common people as the habitation of evil spirits, but
are more probably occasioned by the appearance of
this great sea animal. " We ought not," says Pon-
toppidon, " to charge the evil spirit without a cause.
I think the making and unmaking of these floating
islands is nothing else but the Kraken, which some
sea-faring people call Soe-trolden, i. e. sea mischief.
What confirms me in this opinion is the following
occurrence, quoted by the worthy Swedish physician,
Urban Hierne, from Baron Grippenheim. * Among
the rocks about Stockholm there is sometimes seen
a certain tract of land, which at other times dis-
appears; and is again seen in another place. Buraeus
has placed this as an island in his map. The pea-
sants say it is not always seen, and that it lies in
the open sea, but I could not find it. On Sunday I
saw something like three points of land in the sea,
which surprised me. Upon this I went to enquire
of a peasant, but on our return we could see nothing

* Pontoppidon's Nat. Hist, of Norway, vot, ii. p. 211.

330 THE KRAKEN.

of it. Now, says the Bishop, who is it that cannot
discover that this visible and invisible island is no-
thing else than the Kraken improperly placed in
the map by Buraeus ? Probably the creature keeps
himself always about that spot, and often rises about
the rocks and cliffs/"

At first view this account can scarcely be re-
garded in any other light than that of mere fable,
and yet probably without much difficulty this extra-
ordinary Kraken may be identified with certain species
of Sepia, or Cuttle-fish, which have been described in
the Annals of Science. Mr Pennant, in his description
of the Eight Armed Cuttle-fish, mentions — " That in
the Indian Seas this species has been found of such a
size as to measure twelve feet in breadth across the
central part, while each arm was fifty -four feet in
length, thus making it extend from point to point
about 120 feet. He further states that the natives
of the Indian Isles, when sailing in their canoes,
always take care to be provided with hatchets, in or-
der immediately to cutoff the arms of such of these
animals as happen to fling them over the sides of
the canoe, lest they should pull it under water and
sink it." The opinion of Dr Shaw is equally de-
cided regarding the occurrence of this animal. —
" The existence of some enormously large species
of the Cuttle-fish tribe in the Indian Northern Seas
can hardly be doubted ; and though some accounts
may have been much exaggerated, yet there is suf-
ficient cause for believing that such species may
very far surpass all that are generally observed

THE KRAKEN. 33l

about the coasts of European Seas. A modern
Naturalist chooses to distinguish this tremendous
species by the title of the Colossal Cuttle-fish, and
seems amply disposed to believe all that has been
related of its ravages. A Northern navigator, of
the name of Dens, is said, some years ago, to have
lost three of his men in the African Seas by a
monster of this kind, which unexpectedly made
its appearance while these men were employed,
during a calm, in raking the sides of the vessel.
The Colossal-fish seized three men in its arms, and
drew them under water, in spite of every effort to
preserve them : the thickness of one of the arms,
which was cut off in the contest, was that of a
mizzen-mast, and the suckers of the size of pot-
lids."*

But the most zealous author who treats of this ani-
mal is undoubtedly Denys Montfort. In his work
on the Natural History of the Mollusca there are
many instances mentioned of its occurrence in va-
rious parts of the world, the particulars of which he
was so fortunate as to procure from those who were
eye-witnesses of what he relates. He gives in de-
tail the circumstances above alluded to by Dr Shaw
from the account as supplied by Dens himself; and,
among other instances, he mentions that at St Malo,
in the chapel of St Thomas, there is an ex voto, or
picture deposited there by the crew of a vessel, in
remembrance of their wonderful preservation during

* Shaw's Lectures, vol. ii. p. 137.

332 THE KRAKEN.

a similar attack off the coast of Angola. — (See Plate
XXX.) An enormous Cuttle-fish suddenly threw its
arms across the vessel, and was on the point of drag-
ging it to the bottom, when the continued efforts of
the crew succeeded in cutting off the tentacula with
swords and hatchets. During the period of their great-
est danger, they invoked the aid of St Thomas, and
being successful in freeing themselves from their
dreadful opponent, on their return home they went
in procession to the chapel, and offered up their
thanksgivings. They also procured a painter to
represent, as accurately as possible, their encounter,
and the danger which at the moment threatened
the termination of their existence.

Nor have later times failed in supplying additional
testimonies as to the existence of this animal, quite
as decided, but unfortunately not more satisfactory.
The last of these notices we have seen bears date
1 834, and is couched in the following terms :* —
Upon the 22d of June, in lat. 46° 57', long. 58°
39', Captain Neill, of the ship Robertson of Green-
ock, then upon a voyage from Monlrose to Green-
ock, saw the head and snout of a great sea monster,
of which a sketch was drawn at the time. It was
first observed at about a quarter past nine A.M. on
the weather-bow, about four points, and it then ap-
peared like a large vessel lying on her beam-ends.
The Robertson was hauled up so as to near it : and
running at the rate of eight knots an hour, she at

* Mag. of Zool. and Bot. vol. i. 414.

THE KRAKEN. 333

twelve noon got abreast of it, distant about a mile
to leeward. On observation at this time it was
discovered to be the head and snout of a great fis»h
swimming to windward ; and though an attempt
was made to get closer, it could not be accomplished,
because the fish, without much apparent exertion,
kept swimming as fast as the vessel sailed. Im-
mediately above the water its eye was seen like a
large deep hole. That part of the head which wa^
above the water measured about twelve feet, and its
breadth or width twenty-five feet. The snout or
trunk was about fifty feet long, and the sea occa-
sionally rippled over one part, leaving other parts
quite dry and uncovered. The colour of the parts
seen was green, with a light and dark shade ; and
the skin was ribbed, as ^presented in the sketch at
the close of this article.

Somewhat more than fifty years ago, much won-
der was excited throughout Scotland, and more
especially on its Eastern coasts, by the alleged ap-
pearance of the Kraken at no great distance from
the shore. Connected with this, a notice will be
found in the second volume of the Transactions of
the Royal Society of Edinburgh, in form of a letter
read to that learned body from the late John R.
L'Amy, Esq., one of the justices of the peace for
the county of Forfar, and Mr John Guild, one of
the magistrates of Dundee, including an affidavit
made before them by the master and mate of a Nor-
wegian ship. According to these respectable indi-
viduals, the supposed Kraken was seen on Sunday,

334 THE KRAKEN,

August 5, 1786, off the coast of Scotland, about
fifteen leagues to the eastward, in lat. 56° 16'. In
appearance it resembled three low islands, or sand-
banks, of a greyish colour, within less than a mile's
distance from the ship; and it appeared to- extend
about three miles from one extremity to the other*
It remained in sight about fifty minutes, and upon
the springing up of a breeze it gradually sunk under
the water. The illusion or exaggeration in this
instance must here be very great, and would almost
lead us to agree with the remark made in the So-
ciety's Transactions, that Ifce account is perfectly
consistent with the idea of this being nothing more
than a fog^bank, of which the appearance is fami-
liar to mariners.*

A similar incident is mentioned by Dr Hibbert
as having occurred in Shetland. " A few years
since," he states, " an affidavit was taken by a justice
of the peace in Shetland relative to this monster,
which was seen at a distance from the shore off the
Island of Burra. It appeared, according to the de-
claration of these witnesses, like the hull of a large
ship, but, on approaching it nearer, they saw it was
infinitely larger, and resembled the back of a
monster/' It is also said that part of the remains
of a dead Kraken were found about seventy years
ago, driven to the mouth of a large cave in the
Island of Meikle Roe. We learn, likewise, from
Pontoppidon, that Mr Friis, minister of Bodeon in

* Edin. Phil. Traiu. vol. ii. 16.

THE KRAKEN. 336

Nordland, records that one of these creatures was
stranded among the rocks in the year 1680: the
carcass was a long time in decaying ; it filled up a
great part of the Narrow Channel, and made it al-
most impassible on account of its intolerable stench.
We must now terminate our account of this ex-
traordinary animal, and shall do so in the words of
a distinguished Naturalist, who, with great ability,
,has illustrated the subject, and whose able paper
we recommend to the attention of our readers.*
" The different authorities we have quoted are, we
trust, sufficient to establish the existence of an enor-
mous inhabitant of the deep, (the Cuttle-fish,) pos-
sessed of characters which, in a remarkable degree,
distinguish it from every other creature with
which we are familiar ; and the agreement which
may be observed in its descriptions, when corn-
pared with those of the celebrated Kraken, is suffi-
ciently obvious to warrant the inference which
we are now prepared to draw — That the great
Norwegian animal thus named is to be considered
not as a wild and groundless chimera, but as either
identical with, or nearly allied to, this colossal cuttle
fish. It must be confessed that many of the ac-
counts to which we have referred, if considered
singly, are much too vague and indefinite to form
the foundation of any opinion ; but it is the general
import and tendency of the whole combined which
should be considered. In this view, it would be

* Black wood's Mag vol ii. and iii.

336

THE KRAKEN.

contrary to an enlightened philosophy to reject,
spurious, the history of an animal, the existence
which is rendered so probable, by evidence deduc
from the prevailing belief of different tribes of mi
kind, whose opinions, it is evident, could not ha
been influenced or affected by the tradition of ea
other, but must have resulted from the occasioi
appearances of the monster itself in different qu
ters of the globe *

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