We saw a number of seals on the ice opposite the mouth of the
inlet, and Toolooah shot one which was an unusually big specimen. In
fact, the average of those we saw in this part of the country is much
larger than those at Hudson's Bay.
During the entire day and night small flocks of ducks were flying
swiftly past the tent, and so unaccustomed are they to meeting human
beings in that wilderness, that they would be almost directly on the
tent before they saw it, which only caused them to deviate a little to
the right or left, or put on a little more steam. Lieutenant Schwatka
seated himself on a rock alongside the tent, with his double-barrelled
breech-loading shot-gun in his hand, and in a short time stopped
three--two drakes and a duck. The drakes are exceedingly pretty,
especially about the head and neck. The head is of a pale olive-green
hue, a fashionable color in silks a few years ago, and known by the
extraordinary name of "Elephant's Breath." This gradually merges into a
very pale, warm gray, the line of demarcation between it and the very
dark brown, which constitutes the general color of the body, being very
abrupt. The bill is of a vermilion red, and surmounted by a bright
orange-colored crest, with a black border as positively marked as if of
black tape. At this season we usually see the drakes flying together,
and the ducks in separate bands, reminding one of the division of sexes
in a country meeting-house.
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