which even Hercules might have deigned to wield.

With this weapon he crawled on hands and knees slowly out to the floe,
and soon discovered that the seals were much larger than he had at first
supposed, and were probably a male and a female. Being ignorant of the
nature of seals, and only acquainted with the fact that the tender nose
of the animal is its most vulnerable part, he crept like a cat after a
mouse towards the smaller seal, which he judged to be the female, until
near enough to make a rush and cut off its retreat to the sea. He then
closed with it, brought his great club down upon its snout, and laid it
dead upon the ice. Turning quickly round, he observed, to his surprise,
that the male seal instead of making for the water, as he had expected,
was making towards himself in floundering and violent bounds!

It may be necessary here to state that there are several kinds of seals
in the northern seas, and that the "hood seal"--or, as hunters call it
the "dog-hood"--is among the largest and fiercest of them all. The male
of this species is distinguished from the female by a singular hood, or
fleshy bag, on his nose, which he has the power to inflate with air, so
that it covers his eyes and face--thus forming a powerful protection to
his sensitive nose, for, besides being elastic, the hood is uncommonly
tough. It is said that this guard will even resist shot and that the
only sure way of killing the dog-hood seal is to hit him on the neck at
the base of the skull.

Besides possessing this safeguard, or natural buffer, the dog-hood is
full of courage, which becomes absolute ferocity when he is defending
the female. This is now so well known that hunters always try to kill
the male first, if possible, when the female becomes an easy victim.

Swinton saw at a single glance that he had to deal with a gigantic and
furious foe, for the creature had inflated its hood and dilated its
nostrils into two huge bladders, as with glaring eyes it bounced rather
than rushed at him in terrific rage. Feeling that his arrows would be
useless, the man flung them and the bow down, resolving to depend
entirely on his mighty club. Being possessed of a good share of brute
courage, and feeling confident in his great physical strength, Swinton
did not await the attack, but ran to meet his foe, swung his ponderous
weapon on high, and brought it down with tremendous force on the seal's
head, but the hood received it and caused it