Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1879-09-17
ALASKA SEAL FISHING.


IN our RUSSIAN possessions, ana study
ing the rearing Of seals, writes to the
Pittsburgh Critic as follows:
ALASKA, July 26, 1879.
In my last letter | commenced to
give you On account of the various va
rieties of seals TO be found in this ter.
ritory. To give you o full his
tory of these would require more
time and patience than possess. The
numbers Of fur seals which annually
visit the islands are fabulous, and those
who have not seen them can hardly
form an idea of the numbers. II has
been estimated that as many as 3,000,-
900 breeding seals and their young
came upon the rarlous rookeries last
year, and this aggregate is entirely
exclusive of the great numbers Of the
non.breeding seals, which are never
permitted TO como upon the same
ground with the females by the males
in charge, This class OF seals, TO
which the killing is confined, como up
to the land and sea.beach between the
rookeres, going to and from the sea
at irregular intervals during the sea.
son. IL has no systematic, definite
method, like the breeding class, Of I'll.
ing up TO certain bounds and keeping
so for weeks at time, and is, there
fore, beyond reach for ground upon
which TO found calculation, and | can
only give an estimate based upon my
close observation with special refer
ence TO this subject, and this is my con.
clusion: The non breeding seals, con.
sisting of oil the males under six or
seven years, seem nearly equal in num-
Der TO the breeding seals, and | put
them down at 100000, as fair esti.
mate, and make the sum of the seal
lite on the Bybiler Islands at about
5000, 900.
The seals after leaving these islands
in the autumn and early winter, do
not again visit land until the time Of
return, next April, May or June, to
tho grounds here, or those of the Rus.
sian Copper" and "Bering' Islands.
They spread themselves out over the
vast North Pacific, following schools
OF fish, or irequenling shoals and banks
where an abundance Of fishy food is
found. They can sleep with the great
est comfort and soundness on the sur
face of the water, and in this state are
often surprised by the natives OF the
Northwest coast, all the way up and
down from the Columbia river to Behr.
ing Sea- My attention has frequently
] been called by the natives to seals that
they were slsinning, in which bucksbot
were imbedded and encysted just un-
der the hide in tho blubber From
one animal fifteen shots were taken,
and the holes which they made were
entirely healed over so as not to leave
q scar. These bullets were undoubt
edly received from the natives Of the
Northwest coast, anywhere between
the Straits of Faco and the Aletian Is
lands, used by them in attempting the
capture Of those animals some season
or seasons previously. That these an
imaIs are preyed upon extensively by
whales, sharks and other foes un-
known is at once evident; for were
they not held in check by some such
cause, they would quickly multiply to
so great an extent that Behring Sea
could not contain them, and the pres
ent animal killing of one hundred
thousand out of a yearly surplus OF
over million males does not, in any
appreciable degree, diminish the seal
Iliie, or interfere in the slightest with
its regular pcrpetuation on the breed
ing grounds every year We may
properly look upon this number OF
four or five millions oil fur seals as the
maximum limit Of increase assigned by
natural laws.
1t is plain that two.thhds of all the
males that are born (and they are
equal in number to the females born)
arc never permitted by the remaining
third, strongest, by natural selection,
to land upon tho same ground with
the females, which always herd to-
gether en- mdsse. Therefore, this great
band Of batchelor seals, or "hoIlas-
chickie," is compelled, when it visits
land, to live apart entirely, miles away
frequently from the breeding grounds.
The manner in which the natives
capture and drive the "holaschickie'
up from the hauling grounds TO the
slaughtering fields near the villages
and elsewhere, cannot be improved
upon, and is most satisfactory.
In the early part Of the season large
bodies OF the young bachelor seals do
hot haul up on land very lar from the
water, few rods at the most, and the
men are obliged TO approach slyly and
run quickly between the doing seals
and the surf. before they take the
alarm and bolt into the sea, and in
this way dozen Alets, running down
the long sand beach OF English Bay,
will turn back from tho water thou
sands of seals. AS the sleeping seals
are first startled they arise, and seeing
men between them and the water, I'M
mediately turn, lopo and scramble rap
idly back over the land the natives
then lesurly walk on the fianks and
In the rear Of the drove thus secured,
I;,l;nr Lii sronnds ,''s -
A drove Of seals in cool, moist
weather NAV with safety be driven at
the rate OF half a mile an hour and
when driven thus to tho killing
grounds require but little urging ;
thew are permi,ted to frequently halt
and cool of as heating them Injuries
their fur They never show fight any
moro than flock OF sheep would do,
unless a few old seals are mixed in,
which usually get so weary that they