him; whilst the memory of his former enjoyments
aggravates his humiliating situation ;
and pain and sorrow are the only attendants
to conduct him to his last home!
30th.—This being a tolerably fine morning,
we started off early for Elephant Bay to procure
the skin of a pup, in order to convert it
into caps. We found, lying on the beach,
three bulls, with about a dozen cows, each
with her young one alongside of her. The
females seemed dreadfully scared on our approach,
as if they knew the nature of our
errand. The bulls made off immediately into
the sea; but the females only retreated to the
water’s edge, roaring out most boisterously.
The pups were nearly all black : they kept a
continued barking, very much resembling the
yelping of a dog. They are unable to take
to the water till they'are some weeks old, so
their dams had to leave them to our mercy,
and removed to some distance till we had
despatched one of them: though the extreme
distress manifested by its mother made me
repent having disturbed them. This creature,
which is generally so timid that she
plunges to the bottom of the ocean at sight
of the human race, and which, unless caught
when asleep, it is almost impossible to approach,
so much are they terrified at the appearance
of man; yet when their helpless
young are around them, their very nature seems
quite altered : maternal affection conquers their
fears, and they remain on the beach, as
though to protect them. I f they had been
provided with any means of defence, they
would not have suffered us to destroy their
pups with impunity; but their vast strength
and bulk is of no service to them on shore.
They lie a helpless mass ; and the only danger
to.be apprehended is getting between them
and the sea; for in their struggles to gain
that element they may pass over, and crush
you. Though their mouths and teeth are
most formidable in appearance, yet their extreme
unwieldiness prevents their committing
much damage with them, except on each
other. A man can always most easily get
out of their reach. The most disagreeable
occurrence of this day was, that, about ten
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