The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-07-24

waves and sleep SO soundly that they
can be readily approached, Arriving at
the place where there is a prospect of
finding seal, the spearman abandons
the paddle which he has been vigorously
plying and takes his station in the bow,
where, as the canoe rises on each sue
ceeding swell, he watches for the black
head of the sleeping seal. The instant
one is spied, motion warns the boat
puller, who ceases his work, and the
canoe proceeds, propelled only by the
steersman under whose light and abso-
lutely silent strokes of the paddle they
glide slowly on the victim. The senses
of the seals are so acute that within any
reasonable distance the mere grating of
apaddle on the side of the canoe is suf-
f1cient to arouse them, when the hunt is
up, so far as they are concerned As
the canoe silently nears the victim, the
sportsman, throwing aside his blanket,
stands erect, naked and motionless in
the bow, posing high the heavy spear
At motion of his hand the way of the
canoe is stopped and he launches his
weapon, generally transfixing the seal
with one or both of the twin barbs. The
handle'loosens and floats to the surface
A steady pull on the line brings the
struggling animal alongside, when a
sharp blow with the heavy club winds
up his career. Occasionally there is
lively tussle, as the seal is armed with a
fine set of teeth and is far from being of
a cowardly.. disposition when cornered,
and instances are not uncommon where
in the hunters have been severely bit
ten. Usually three days is the limit of
their stay at sea, when they return to
the beach, skin their catch, and sell the
pelts to the nearest trader, who salts
them down to ship at the end of the sea-
son. H.a
In the last few years there has been a
change in the manner of conducting the
fishery, the traders finding that the work
of the Indians from the beach is too
precarious and unreliable, and large
number of schooners are now engaged
Indians are still employed in the actual
work of taking the seals and their
method of hunting remains unchanged,
except that, instead OF padding out to
sea from the beach, they are taken ON
board the schooners, with their canoes,
spears, food, etc, and, accompanied by
their wives, are taken off on a cruise to
the banks, where they remain for weeks
at n time, leaving the vessel in their
canoes early in the morning and return
ing with the results of their labors late
at night. The women remain on the
schooner preparing the food for the
hunters and SHINING the seals with
which they return. The Indians receive
no pay beyond a small bonus given
them by the schooner owners at the
commencement of the season, but are
paid fair sum for each pelt brought in,
ranging from two dollars and fifty cents
to ten dollars, according to size and
| condition. At these figures they make
good wages, and some of the more lucky
| or skllful ones sometimes net for the
season as high as nine hundred dollars
About six schooners from Puget Scum,
take part in the seal fishery off Cape
Flattery every year, as many more from
British Columbia, and two or three from
San Francisco. This year, for the first
Utilize, Wlite ulel nave Deen substituted
for Indians on some of the schooners
and shotguns substituted for spears, bat
| while they have been very successful the
change is looked on with disfavor by
the other traders, as it is claimed the
noise of the firearms makes the seals
more shy, and will eventually drive
them away from their present feeding
grounds. All the vessels employed have
| met with fair success this year, one
| vessel returning from her first cruise
with nine hundred pelts, and the season
| has hardly set in. Seals are reported
more plentiful and tanner than ever be-
fore. The profits of the business were
for few years very large, but an active
competition for the services of the In
dams has in the last three years cut
| seriously into the receipts by largely in
ereasing the amounts paid for the pelts,
but there is still a fair margin left the
traders for their trouble and expense
San Francisco Chronicle