The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-04-03
CAPTURING SEA LIONS IN ALASKA

buried IN CAKE OF tallOW.
CAPTURING SEA LIONS IN ALASKA
Discretion bgt EOG M1eh 8Slun ess.
soribner's Monthly.
A singular method is annually em~
ploy ed by the natives of st. PauPs Island,
Alaska, for the capture of the sea lion.
Here Is an island which, instead of pre-
senting an almost unbTOken line of bold,
abrupt cliffs TO the sea, like its fellows in
the North Pacific, offers to the landing
seals a low, though gradually rising
ground. Taking advantage of this topo-
graphy, the natives of st. PauPs Island
secure every season hundreds of sea
lions, with but q 1.-THE of the labor and
exposure by which their capture is
attended at other places Eleven miles
northeast from the village on st. PauPs
Island is a point upon which large
number of sea lions annually repair for
the purpose of breeding, etc, but as this
animal is timid and sure to take water
when brought into the presence of man,
its capture requires much discretion and
eldness on the part of its captOrs, who
are chosen every SEASON from the village
people with especial reference to their
physical qualification for the work. The
"sea richie" as the natives name them,
can rot be approached successfully by
daylight; so the hunters, ten or twelve
in number, rendezvous in hut near by
until 3 favorable night comes on. when
the moon is partially ObscuTed by drift
| ing clouds and the wind blows in from
the rookery. Then they step down to
the beach at low water and proceed to
creep fat on all tours over the surf.heaten
sand and powders up to the doing herd,
| and between them and the water. In
| this way a small body of men creeping
along in Indian file may pass unnnticed
by the sea lion sentries which, doubtless,
in the uncertain light confound the
| forms of their human enemies with those
of seals.
When the creeping natives have al
reached the strip of beach which is left
bare by ebb~tide between the water and
the unsuspeeting animals, at q given
signal, the hunters leap at once to theil
feet, shout, yell and brandish their arms
while the astonished and terrified lioni
rear and founder in ali directions. IF
at the moment of surprise, the brutes are
sleeping with their heads pointed toward
the water, they charge straight on il
that way, directly over the men; but i
their be ads have been pointing landward
they follow that course Just as desper
ately, and nothing will turn them a
first, either one way or the other. Those
who charge the water are lost, of course
but the natives promptly follow up the
| land-leaders with rare combination o
horrible noises and demOniacal gesticula
tions until the first freDzied squirt anC
exertions of the terrified animals com.
pletely exhausts them, and then, pant
ing, gasping, prone upon the earth, they
are extended at the mercy of their Gun
ming captors, who gently urge then
along up to the hut in which they hav,
been keeping watch during several day
past, for the night in which to max,
this effort. Here the natives have wha
they call their pen or cage, in which
the iOn-like seals, as they are captured
from night to night, are collected anC
retained until sufficient numbers or
drove of three or four hundred has beer
secured. This cage is nothing more thai
a succession of small poles stuck at wild
intervals over a circle in the ground
these poles are decked with flutterinj
strips of white cotton cloth, and ligh
robes are loosely stretched from one 4
the other. Within this fimsy circle tn
sea-lions are securely imprisoned. an,
though necessarily watched by two o
three men, they scarcely make an effor
to escape, but their roaring is almos
deafening, while they constantly with
and twist over and one against anothe
like handful OF angle worms in saucer
A Chinese Romance in Rhyme.
Oakland CUai.) Times.
An American connected with one c
the eonsulates in China has TRANSLATES
= ~ u II.
Among them are some verses Whic
prove. alas, that the "humorist " j
abroad even in that fair land. The pro
t duction is entitled, d" Tanning the Grave
or the Wife Tested, !" and tells how,a wit
, whose husband vas sick unto deat
promised him she would not marry agai
until the mould on his grave shout
be dry. After his burial the conscieI
tious widow applied herself assiduOusl
to fastening the drying of the grave b
tanning it This accomplished, she ma
ried one Chuang, who, wishing to ties
her, feigned sickness, avoWed that he VS.
about to die, and besought her not t
take unto herself another husband.
& Oh, make your mind easy" she, sobbin
-" have said won't wed and won't;
| But ali what grave doubts your last word
Don say them again. dearest oon't
81 Tales of virtuOus women in old books u
read,
And nav boron with aTdor has gowed.
IN emulate them, have inward y said,
If / don't 90 the same II be bi0ved.
Chuang then dies contentedly, and al
ter he is eDcoffined makes his escape
DISCUSSES himself as g young man, an
|, makes love to Mrs. Chuang as togethe
they watch over the empty coffin
y The next day the funeral baked meat
, serve as the wedding dinner" The IN
: recognized Chuang shams illness agar
: and declares that nothing will cure hin
, but the brains of living man or {
one who has not been dead more tia
three days" "Old Chuang will do,
says his relict as she vanishes. Where
upon ChuaDg takes off his disguise an
, settles himself in the coffin again. HI
spouse soon appears with an ak and smash
I es the lid, upon which Chuang bound
/; up with a " hellol' To an invitation t
explain, Mrs. Cbusng remarks:
! ''I felt sure you must be living; to welcome yC
q o1ce more,
T Ny mourning robes tore on, and my WeddiI
7 garments wore"
! To which answers her lord:
Your tale is plausible, but 1 think you'd be
:. Don't fatigue yourself by telling lies; let IL
{ matter drop.
! To test your faithfulness to ma I've been meT
~ shamming dead
9 I'm the youth you just now marTied-m
4 widow rve just we'd"
E The Next Census.
j.; The New York Herald, in an elabotat
article on the next census, makes til
I & II. Ii