From the ages of one to four years fur seals are extremely playful.
They are marvelous swimmers, and frolic about in pursuit of one
another, now diving deep, and then, one after the other, suddenly
leaping high above the surface in graceful curves, like porpoises.]
Many of the chroniclers dealing with explorations and life on the
frontier during the early period of the occupation of America gave
interesting details concerning the game animals. Allouez says that in
1680, between Lake Erie and Lake Michigan the prairies were filled
with an incredible number of bears, wapiti, white-tailed deer, and
turkeys, on which the wolves made fierce war. He adds that on a number
of occasions this game was so little wild that it was necessary to
fire shots to protect the party from it. Perrot states that during the
winter of 1670-1671, 2,400 moose were snared on the Great Manitoulin
Island, at the head of Lake Huron. Other travelers, even down to the
last century, give similar accounts of the abundance of game.
[Illustration:
© Keystone View Co.