Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-07-18
SEAL BUTCHERY.
A strong Effort 20 ExtermInate the Fur
Seal.

A Strong Effort 90 Exterminate the Fur |
Seal.
There seems TO be an unfortunate |
tendency in the Arglo-Saxon or Anglo
American races TO crush and extermi-
nate whatever wild tribes of animals,
human or other, they may come in close
contact with. 1t is sadly evident that
in a couple of generations from the
present the Americon bison or buffalo
will be as much a thing Of tradition as
is the anerochs.' The perfect reckless
ness and sayageRess of our pioneer
population with this noble animal, so
useful to man in many respects, are
fast DISCRIMINATING him. Thousands
are killed merely for their hides, or to
furnish trial of the hunters skill with
the rifle. The cows aud young calves
are sacrificed ruthlessly; and year by
year those immense herds of wild cattle
which used to feed nations, are dimin-
ished or frightened away, until soon
not a specimen will survive. The same
fate is awaiting the red deer of the
Eastern States. 1t is well known that
in former years hundreds of deer have
been killed in the Adirondack forests,
New York State, merely for their hides;
and now does and fawns are constantly
shot long before they are in season.
From New England they have been
pretty much exterminated. Our small
er game was diminishing in the same
manner, and but for the excellent SUI
pervision of the Sportsmen's Clubs,
the partridge and woodcock, grouse
and quail, would soon have become as
scarce in the West and here as they are
now in the sea-board New England
States.
Among all the stories of wasteful
butchery of brute animals we confess
that we have never read anything equal
to recent account by Captain Gray,
Of the steam ship Eclipse, of the killing
of seals by British seamen. This Off
Ger states that in one instance within
his knowledge five ships attacked
pack of seals, and in four days killed
10000.
"Add 20 per cent. for seals mortally
wounded and lost, gives an aggregate
of IL, 900 old ones add $4,000 young
which died of starvation, gives "a, 600.
But this is not all the men spread on
the ice, so that the old ones that were
left alive could not get on to suckle
their young. The consequence was
that the whole of the young brood was
destroyed and had these seals been
left alone for eight or ten days, am
quite within the mark when say that,
instead of only taking 800 tons of oil
out of them, 800 could as easily have
been got, and that without touching an
old one. In one day, by the men o.
the five ships, upward of 1000 ole
r seals were taken, the young ones il
thousands yelling for their mothers
following the skins as the men dragged
r them to the ships, and sucking the
The maternal love for it's offspring was
, made use of to save the men trouble, al
, seal killed when giving suck was more
easily secured, and often seals desper
ately wounded were seen administering
nourishment to their young ones. Thu
plight of the young ones which haC
lost their mothers was pitiful in the ex
: IRENE they were seen budding to
gether for heat, and trying to suckl
o one another, till they at length sue
: cumbed."
n There seems reason, also, to believ
:. that the seals are fayed alive and hav
q their ivers taken out, and then are lef
y in the water, still living, in agony
Some humane captains, however, put
>, bullet through the animals brains t
III terminate their sufferings. There is n
y doubt that in Alaska similar butcher
o and wastefulness were going on wit
g the fur seals, but we believe the nev
'r laws, and the care of our Government
5. are preventing this. 1t is not very dill
x ficult for man to exterminate a usefu
r. animal from a given locality. We hav
r fairly driven the salmon from our Ne
q England rivers, where it was once S
d abundant. The mantee" has disar
" peared; the Atlantic right whale, whic
70 :, was once captured freely near the Brl
~ ish coast, is seldom seen now; th
. Northern right whale is more and MOI
VI driven toward the open sea at th
le poles, and is more difficult to TAX
Or The walrus is becoming more scarce
II NJ y Times.