Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-09-08

crawls back to the sea bony shadow,
abject and spirit!ess, for he has not
drawn one torpid breath during his
whole fast. But the next season he
comes back fat, vigorous and ambitious
for fight
Between the 18th and the 1ith of
June the females begin to come up from
the sea, and the males have a period of
desperate and universal fighting, the
flercest fights they ever have. The
male secs the female on the water and
coaxes and urges her up the rocks and
jealously watches her; but when he sees
another and is wooing her, seal No. 2
will steal his wife and carry her off, as a
cat does kitten; and while Nos. and
2 are fighting, No. ; will steal her,
and sometimes shu has several changes
before she is left in peace. The males
on the water-line have fifteen to twenty
females, while further back they do not
have more than five to twelve. Nothing
will make the malo desert his wives,
and after they are settled down they
cease fighting, but never sleep more than
five minutes at time. He will not
attack man, but he will not run from
one.
The females are from four to four and
half feet in length, and much more
shapely than the males. Their 1.-the,
elastic forms never alter, for they do not
fast, but 60 out to the sea every day or
two. When they come up from the wa
ter they are of u dull, dirty-gray color,
dark on the back; but on drying they
fairly glisten with a rich steel and
maltese gray luster on the back of the
head, the neck and along the spine,
which blends into an almost snow white
over the chest and abdomen. The head
and eyes are exceedingly beautiful, the
expression attractive, gentle and INTEL
ligent. The large lustrous blue-black
eyes are soft and humid, while the small
and well-formed head is poised most
gracefully on her neck. She is the very
picture of benignity and satisfaction,
when, perched on a rock, with her
head thrown back on her gcntly-swell-
ing shoulders, she fans herself quietly.
The females are very fond of being
together, and never fight, but are ex-
ceedingly amiable, and rarely utter a
cry of pain, even when the males, in
fighting over them, fairly tear the skin
on their backs; and they sleep great
deal.
They do not come up to meet their
uncouth lords; but in few hours, or a
day, after coming each gives birth to
one jet black seal, with tiny white
patch back of each forearm, and weigh
IN fhroA fn,,r Mounds ko l.
one keeps on the limits, the male will
be jealous, vigilant, fearless protector !;
but if he wander off the limits, though
in full sight, the male would not make
any movement if Mr.. Elliott took him
up and carried him off. In a day or
two the mother takes a sea-bath and
gets food, and, coming back, will give a
long, hollow call or bla-at like a sheep.
The young ones answer with a bla at.
Each mother can tell her own young's
voice, though ten thousand are bla-ating
at time, and will strike out to it, and
permit no one else to feed it.
In the early part of August this clock
like work is all broken up. Most of the
males 90 off to tho water. Younger
ones, and those who have been kept off,
come to land. By the middle of August
the females are off in the water, only
coming ashore to look after the young,
who do not swim before they are a
month or six weeks old, and then are
very awkward; but they soon revel in
the water. By the middle of October
they have changed to Il uniform dense
light-gray over-hair, which entirely
covers the under fur, so that until after
the second year the sex is not recogniza-
BILE. The eyes then are clear, dark,
liquid, beautiful and intelligent, to which
no other animals can be compared.
The seals leave the island in inde-
pendent squads, each looking out for it.
self; but they all turn toward the south,
and disappear toward the horizon, and
spread out over the North Pacific as far
south as Al deg.-4S deg. They feed
solely on fish, and when young are eat
en- by the killer whale and shark, and
are the shyest and wariest of fish, though
when on the island they are very tame,
and will gambol around q boat in the
water.
The theoretical value of these seals is
not less than $40, 200, 900 or $l2, 900, 900.
In 1874, in ten rookeries ON St. Paul
were 3,030,000 seals, on St. George
163, 420-3, 1913, APO. Of non-breeders
there are probably 100000. These
only have a commercial value, for no
others are killed, and only 100, 900 year.
ly of these. Their value is $1,000. 900
$4,000, 900, which pays the United States
Is per cent. annually.
Before they are old enough and strong
enough to fight for possession, the seals
keep aloof from the breeding grounds,
and are called bachelors. These arc
the only ones killed. They are docile
as sheep, and the fur is best when they
are but three or four years old. Three
or four men can drive as many thous-
and about half mile an hour. They
often rest and fan themselves. If heat
ed, the fur comes out. They are knocked
on the head, then drawn out, stabbed
and skinned. The skinning is very
severe labor, but averages four min
utes. Some will skin one in minute
and half. They are then sailed and
put in bin.. This used to take nearly
three months, and the last skins would
be nearly worthless; but the natives,
by improved health and skill and ambi-
ton, can now salt 100000 in forty days,
SO they are all perfect. They are nine-
tenths of them sent to London, because
labor is cheaper there than here. The
fur is concealed under a coat of stiff
over-hair, dull, gray-brown and griz-
zled. The skin must be warmed Just
enough to loosen the hair, so it can be
combed out, and not enough to loosen
the fur-a very nice operation. Many
prime skins have lost value by being
badly cured.-Mrs. Lucy E. Sanford,
in N. y Observer.
Something new in the way of rail-
road accidents turns up every day. On
a New England road not long ago, just
as freight train was passing an ex-
press, the door of box car was burst
Gppn hv tho shiftinO Of Some fraipht