The sun., 1901-04-28
AoUARrUMs WEST INDIAN SEAL.
A Really Remarkable Creature That Makes No
End Of Fun There.

The big West Indian seal at the Aquarium
remains a great attraction and. II that were
possible more people than ever now crowd
around his pool daily to witness his perform
ances And the seal himself 10 more active
and more intelligent than ever.
The seals pool Is 2s feet long and ~ Wide.
with a low. ornamental iron railing around
the top of the stone coping that mounts It's
walls At one end OF the pool. occupying
about n f1fth Of it's area, Ia a stone platform,
upon which the seal climbs tn rest and sleep.
In the water-nlled four-ffths Of the pool
the big seal--seven feet or therea bouts In
length and weighing about $40 pounds
swims about, and disports himself solennly
as 20 manner. but 10 the vast qualification OF
the onlookers
His great trick consists in spirtinR q great
mouthful Of water over some unsuspecting
visitor People stand around the pool one,
two. three rows deep. waiting TO see this done
And nowadays they don't have TO wait long
One way IN which he Is now iooling even
some OF those familiar with his old ways Is BY
squirting water when lying on his back and
In another than the expected direction. He
will eject out two or three great mouthfuls OF
water over the railing along one side Of the
pool. and somebody there, very likely,
to start with. and then he will get up
close To that side Of the pool and raise him
self up In tho water with his head above the
evel Of the stone coping and look over at
the water he has thrown out as though he
wanted 10 see how much he had thrown,
ecution he had done TIE, peop!e on the
other side Of the pool stand up close 20 1t
there and look on across the water Then
presently tho seal sinks back in the water
IA all pu.llC nv ~ IN
pointing now toward the opposite side Dip
ping his head In the water, then raising IL,
while, h, is still on his back, he throws big
mouthful square upon some of the bystanders
before anybody thinks Of drawing back
Than maybe he will right himself up, and
go RACING around the pool lifting his head
70 spit, but splitting never a drop And
then maybe he will go racing around like
that and throw water as fast as be can all
driving the people bgrk clenr OF the pool all
around. all this making a great commotion
IN the pGQl ,elt ana 2roducinS TTeat eHcltc
leaving the tiled floor all around the pool
When the seal ia busiest il takes two men
with buckets and mops 10 keep the noor
around tho pool drv enough So that visitors
can approach IL without vetting their feet
The wett.ng down that the seal can give
a visitor with thGt quantity OF water can
be imagined, but almost always people take
the wptting with the utmost good nature.
The Aquarium people try :" save the visitors
from this, hy warning signs placed Withinn
the railing of the pool andby verbal warnings
from the attendants, but many visitors de-
cline to be- saved
When the biz seal goes cayorling around
the pool throwing water a. fast aS he can in
the grand frOllc he doesn't take aim but
often al other timea be does appa arently take
deliberate ain al individuals " a general
thing no fires AT n man with light OvrrCOat
when h" gets chance. but not always
man who stood in light ovprCoat one day
last week cOnspiCuOuSlv and pcrsistcntly
near the pool the big seal ignored entirely
bu' he gave n good wettng 10 the man stand
ing next 10 him He i no respeCer Of per-
sons nor il he a respecter ~ age
man wearing spectaCles leaned over
the railing the other day and shook his hand
al this seal doing his with the most frieni lily
good nature, but the seal doesn't ike have
ANYBODY shake a hand ~ him. and his head
went up with mOuthful Of water in an in
and he stepped back and threw his head
M, inyoun'arily. but the seal was quicker
ard before the man could escape the seal had
hi him square in the face with "A stream OF
water powerful enough 10 push the spcCtaclcs
up ofI the mans nose onto his forehead. and,
knock his hat Of
Another man of mature years looking the
o her day over into the pool, got mouthful-
a small ono, fortunately square IN the face
Turning TO an attendant this man said lust n
little lit wrOu ght UP over II buy evidently
more pleased than panied by the incident
Look a that Square H. the mouth!
And then turning 10 he big fellow n the
pool he said 10 him with unfeigned Odmra-
ton
on. YOU KNOWN old cuss"
Tho fact is that the Aqunrum's West Indian
seal IL n remarkable animal There have
been other seals, specially trained, that could
do more tricks, no doubt, but " would be hard
20 ind one with more intelligence and ability