Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-04-01

W lCSlnidlluils was ~ dliOM luG SONNIuOi anu
council if they saw fit, to exchange irst-cass
securities like state and city bonds, for one mill
lion in Providence, Hartford and Fisbkill bonds,
which the cities of Providence and Hartford are
willing TO transfer to Massachusetts ownership.
The finance committee wisely objected to any
Getting down the bars" in the law relating to
the manner in which state funds shall be in
vested.
seal Hunting in Newfoundland Waters.
The great event of the opening DAYS of the
spring, as the fishermen reckon the seasons was
the departure OF their sealing feet for the Gee
meadows" on the first of March, During the
preceding fortnight the greatest hustle and ac-
tivity prevailed in the streets and wharves of St.
JOhus. Stores are being hurried on board and
the repairs of the vessels are hastily completed.
Crowds of eager applicants surround the offices
of the merchants-powerful looking men, in
long boots and rough jackets, splashing tobacco
juice over the white snow, in all directions, as
they shoulder one another in their anxiety to
secure "berth for the ice" The great point is
to get berth on board steamer, as the chances
of success are greater there than in;a sailing
vessel. Indeed sailing vessels will ere long be
entirely discarded, as, in competition with steam
ers, they have a poor chance. All the finest
picked men now go in the steamers; the second
rate men have to content themselves with
the sailing vessels. Flesh and blood are
cheap" in Newfoundland, far more men offering
for the seal fishery than can possibly find
berthS. Hundreds are left ashore idle for by
the application of steam 10 this marine industry
the work can be done with half the number of
hands formerly employed. This is good for the
capitalists but bad for the men. Employers
have it all their own way; and the "toilers' are
glad 10 get berth on any terms. The steam
ers have vast advantages over sailing vessels, in
being able to bore their way through heavy
Il i,
and beat about in search of the "seal-patches,"
aud when seals are found can hold on to the ice
field where they are, while sailing vessels are
liable to be driven off by change of wind Al
though the cost of a steamer is considerable
from 10000 to f15, O00-it has been found of
late years that the investment of capital in
steamers is more profitable than in sailing
vessels. in the long run, things will find their
level. Fewer hands will be employed, but these
that are will be much better paid; and the
Others must find employment in some other
departments. Joint stock companies will enable
men of small means to obtain a share in the
profits Of the seal fishery. 1t is doubtful whether
the multiplication of steamers may not overwork
the fishery, and in the end lead to the extermn-
alton OF the seal. That day, however, Is distant
and may never come.
The steam sealing fleet this year numbers nine
teen steamers, the largest of them, the Wolf
being five hundred tons burthen and ninety
horse power. They will carry upwards of 1000
I
| so that 10000 hunters will soon be at work
| Strengthening seals. While the steam feet has
increased, the sailing vessels have diminished in
! numbers Most of the steamers have "com-
| pound engines" by which third is saved in
| fuel. AS rule the sealers get each an advance
| of three or four pounds to provide an outfit.
| That outfit Is not very complicated. Sealskin
| boots, reaching to the knee, having thick
| leather sole full of nails, to enable them to walk
| over the ice, protect the feet. Coarse canvass
| Iqpkpfs often cbOuiup iu1uefrv pf ho g.,
| or mother, i'll the number of patches which
| adorn them, are worn over thick wooden shirts
| and other inner clothing. Sealslin caps and
| tweed or moleSkn trousers complete the cos
| tune, which is the reverse of handsome or pic
| turesque. As rule, each man carries with him
| Il little salve, in case OF cut, some "frar's bal
| sam" for sprains, and a small vial containing
a solution of sulphate Of zinc, to counter:ct ice.
blin1ness. They furnish their own straw mat
treSs and coarse coveret; and ON board are
packed like herrings in a barrei. The proyis-
ions are supplied by the ship owners, and are
none of the daintlest. Cheap biscuit, often hard
as flint, butter, and coarse tea sweetened with
moasses, constitute their staple diet. On two
or three DAYS in the week, they get for dinner
pork api duff the latter being -four and
water boiled into a hard mass. Strong stom-
acbs and keen appetiteS enable them to digest
tins, The clippers" and heart of the young
seals form welcome addition to this hard fare.
The flesh Of the seal is not unlike veal in taste.
but stronger in flavor.
The young seals are born on the ice about
the middle Of February, and as they grow very
rapidly and contain purer oil than the old
ones, they are chiefly sought after by the hunt
ers. BY the middle of March they are fat and
in perfect condition The Arctic current setting
off Batfn's bay bears on its bosom hundreds of
square miles of floating ice, which are carried
past the Newfoundland shores. Somewhere
amid these floating ice-feds are the young
| seals, who remain on the ice during their baby
hood, for five or six weeks, before taking to the
water The aim of the hunters is 70 reach their
habitat during this period, Much depends on
skill, courage and perseverance, but much also
on the fsherman's "luck" On the whole the
adventure has very much the character Of lot
terry, though all powerful steam has greatly re-
duced the number Of failures There are four
species of seals in the Newfoundland seas-the
bay seal which lives on the coasts, and is never
found among the ice, but frequents the mouths
OF rivers aud the harbors. The harp seal is social
ed from broad, curved line of connected spots,
proceeding from each shoulder and meeting on
the back above the tail forming figure like
an ancient harp. The old male animal alone
has this figuring, and not till his second wear
The third variety is the hooded SEAL and is
much larger than the harp. The male, called
r the dog-hood, is distinguished from the female
by a singular hood or bag of soft flesh on his
nose When attacked or alarmed he initiates
this hood, so as TO cover his eyes, aud il is
strong enough to resist heavy shot. 1t is i'm
possible to kill one OF these creatures, even with
sealing gun, so long as his head or tail is
towards the seal hunter; so that the only way is
to aim at the side of the head, SO as to strike
the base of the skull. The fourth species is the
square hipper," which is the largestof all, but
rarely taken on the coast The "whitecoat' are
the young of the harps, and are the most desira
BILE for capture, their oil and skin being the
finest
In fine night the scenery amid the ice feldy
is often magnificent, as the vessel makes its was
through numberless islets of gitterng ice, with
their shining pinnaces and fantastic forms
realizing all youthful dreams of fairy land. Lit
tie do the seaers indulge in any sentimental
musings amid these beauties; they care oDlv for
the fat" The moment the welcome whimper-
ing OF the young seals is heard, resembling
much the cry of an infant in distress, the hunt
ers seize their "gatfs" and bound on the ice.
Then the bloody work begins, for not a moment
must be lost lest the wind should shift and carry
off their prey. The blows of the bats as the
hunters strike the young on the nose; "the
shiYering seals low means" with the eXultant
shouts Of the sealers, with tbloOd-staned
hands and arms they pursue their victims, re-
sound on all sides. Gouts of blood stain tbp
virgin snow; and the carcases denuded of skin
and fat, are flung on the ice, still papitatino
with warm life. So the work goes on
the eager hunters Shaving, "scalping''
and dragging their loads to the side
Of the vessel. What a scene of death amid
these soltudes, with the bright sun in the heav-
ems lighting up the glittering pnnacles and
lar-spreading fields OF ice. When evening an
proaches the poor mother seals are seen return.
ing to suckle their young. They come round
the field Of slaughter, popping their heads up in
the small lakes of water aud in the holes among
the ice, anXiOusly looking for their snow-white
darlings, and unwilling TO believe that the
bloody carcasses on the ice stripped of their
warm covering, are all that remains of their
tender offspring With a moan of distress they
plunge into the water, as il anxious to escape
from scene polluted by the ensanguined trail
Of the hunter Such is the romance and TRACE.
dy Of seal hunting in the waters Of Newfound-
land # is Suggestive of many another strug.
Gle In the life in (Which men must work and
women must weep" in order that our CONNER
cial industries and riyalries, according 10 our
present ideals of what they ought TO he, may be
sustained st John (N b. Telegraph.
A manifesto has recently appeared, signed by
seven priests, as the committee, wherein re-
formation Of the Catholic church in Spain is
asked for. No new sect is TO be raised up, but
there Is 10 be a ''e0nstitution Of free Christian
Catholic, and Apostolic church, or Spanish
CHURCH." Five chief points of reform are to be
carried out by national council /. Purity of
TIE Christian doctrine, us 1t is contained in the
New Testament with rpipptipt, oc tlog.