The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-04-09
SEA.LIONS.
[Char' es Nordhoff, in Harper's Monthly


The sea lions, which congregate by thou
sands upon the cliffs, and bark and howl
and shrek and roar in the caves and upon
the steep sunny slopes, are but little dis
turbed, and one can usually approach them
within twenty or thirty yards. 1t is an ex-
traOrdinarily interesting sight to see these
marine monsters, many of them bigger than
an OK, at play in the surf, and to watch the
superb skill with which they know how to
control their own motions when huge wave
seizes them, and seems likely to dash them
against the rocks. They love to lie in the
sun upon the bare warm rocks; and here
they sleep, crowded together, and lying up
on each other in inextricable confusion. The
bigger the animal the greater his ambition
appears to be to climb to the highest sum-
nit, and when huge. Shiny beast has with
infinite squirming attained solitary peak,
he does not tire of raising his sharp-point-
ed, maggot-like head, and cOmplacently
looking about him.
They are rough set of brutes-rank bull
lies should say, for have watched them
repeatedly, as big fellow shOuldered his
way among his fellows, reared his huge
front to intmidate some lesser seal which
had secured a favOrite spot, and first with
bowls, and if this did not suffice, with teeth
and main force, expelled the weaker from
Ills lOuSiucuU uc SCd-IIUIS, dU lcdSt
those which have left their mothers, appear
to have no rights which any one is bound to
respect. They got out of the way with an
AFFECT prOmptness which proves that they
live in terror of the stronger members of the
community but they do not give up their
places without harsh complaints and piteous
groans. Plastered against the rocks, and
with their 1.-the and apparently homeless
shapes conformed to the rude and sharp
angles, they are wonderful, but not a
graceful or pleasing sight. At a little dis
tance they look like huge maggots, and
their slow, ungainly motions upon the sand
do not lessen this resemblance.
Swimming in the ocean, at a distance
from the land, they are inconspicuous OBJ
jects, as nothing but the head shows above
water, aud that only at intervals. But when
the vast surf which breaks in mountain
waves against the weather side of the Far
allones with a force which would in a single
sweep dash to pieces the biggest Indiaman-
when such surf vehemently and with ap-
parently irresistible might, lifts it's tall
white head, and with a deadly roar lashes
the rocks half way to their summit-tnen
it is magnificent sight to see dozen OF
half a hundred sea-liOns at play in the very
midst and fiercest part of the boiling surge
so completely masters of the situation that
|
foot or two of the rocks, and at the last
and imminent moment, with an adroit
twist of their bodies, avoid the shock, and
diving, reappear beyond the breaker.
The real mesalliance is that OF souls
and even as more than one young man
! without home, or birth or fortune, is mar
BILE column which sustains temple OF
grand sentiments and grand ideas, so you
may find satisfied and Opulent man OF
the world, with polished boots and var
nished speech, who, if you look not at the
exterior, but the interior-that is to say, al
what is reserved for the wife-is nothing
but stupid joist, darkly haunted, violent
by impure and debauched passions the
sign post of a tavern.-Fictor Hugo.
| Lieutenant the Hon. H. Wood, Tenth Hus
sars, Aid de Camp to Sir Garnet Wolseley
has prested to the Queen the Royal State
umbrella belonging to the King of Ashantee
which was taken from the Kings palace at
Coomassie, and sent home for presentation
to her Majesty by General Sir Garnet Wolse-
ley, 6" as humble tribute of dutiful respect
and affection from her Majesty's military
and naval forces that took part in the war
The umbrella figures in all the wars this
year
A Connecticut deacon, in the Olden times,
was sorely troubled about the scientific
assertion that the sun was a stationary
body, and did not move around the earth
For" said he to his minister, didn't
Joshua command the sun to stand still n
every WE'LL" responded the dominic
Scripture where it says that Joshua ever
AoA h.. IN