Among other Mammiferous animals belonging to the Polar regions, my space only permits me a brief allusion to the Seal and the Walrus. The Seal (_Phoca vitulina_) seems to the eye a compound of the fish and the quadruped; having the tail of the former, the head, spine, and body of the latter. Its physiognomy is remarkable for its peculiarly mild and intelligent expression. Its elongated, conical body tapers from the shoulders to the tail. Its feet are of singular construction. They are covered with a membrane, and so united to the body that they might be mistaken for fins, but for the sharp strong claws that terminate them. Seals swim with great rapidity, and can remain under water for a considerable period. The species are very numerous. The Greenland or Harp Seal (_Phoca Greenlandica_) measures about six feet in length. The Bearded Seal (_P. barbata_) is from seven to ten feet long. The largest known species is the Elephant Seal or Sea-Elephant (_Macrorhinus proboscideus_), whose girth at the largest part of the body is from fifteen to eighteen feet, and its length from twenty-five to thirty feet. It is a native of the Antarctic Seas. The Sea-Lion (_Platyrhynchus leoninus_), so called from its long full mane, inhabits both the northern and southern coasts of the Pacific. The Sea-Bear (_Arctocephalus ursinus_) derives its name from the fur and shape of the head. The Walrus or Morse (_Trichecus_) is a genus of the Phocidæ, or Seal family, distinguished by its widely different cranium and teeth. In the adult lower jaw are neither incisors nor canines, while the upper bristles with two enormous tusks, which are directed downwards, and are sometimes two feet long. It chiefly feeds upon molluscs and marine vegetables, and its flesh in its turn affords a dainty repast to the inhabitants of the Polar Deserts. CHAPTER III. THE INHABITANTS OF THE ARCTIC WILDERNESSES:--THE LAPLANDERS--SAMOIEDES--OSTIAKS--KAMTSCHATDALES--ESKIMOS, OR ESQUIMAUX.