Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-11-23
THE ALASKA SEALS.
Preparing the Skins for Market
Mystery in Natural History.


Mystery in Natural History.
Few of those wearing a sealskin sacque,
SAYS an Alaska letter, have any knowI-
edge of the process by which the skins
are prepared for use. Seen when first
taken from the animal they little resemble
the warm glossy skins worn upon our
streets, for until dyed and cured they are
Of l~ight-brown hue, coarse and full Of
sand. Before becoming valuable they are
shaved down on the flesh side until not
thicker thar paper, the long hairs are
pulled out and the fur dyed. The cost of
the article is due to the labor expended
on it. The raw skins are sold in London,
where the finishing is done, and then
shipped back to America, where they are
sold with a heavy duty added. The kill
ing season in Alaska begins about une u,
and the 100000 skins are usually ready
for shipment a month later. The work of
slaughtering the animals is done by
natives who live upon the st. Paul and
st. George islands, and the process is an
interesting one. When skins are wanted
the natives go to the rookeries, station
themselves along the shore between the
seals and the water, and at a given signal
spring to their feet and make as much
noise as possible. The frightened vic
tins, timid as deer, then stampede up the
beach and are driven like sheep a few
miles inland, until their captors attack
them with hickory clubs. Being knocked
| senseless, they are stabbed with long,
sharp knives and the skins are quickly
stripped from the bodies. The work is
divided among the men, some knocking
the seals down, others %stabbing them, and
still others taking of the skins. The
native Indians number about three hun
dred, and under the terms of the lease
are provided gratis by the company with
warm houses, sixty tons of coal, a doctor
and a schOolmaster, salmon and other
necessities and comforts. For their labor
the men are paid some $4,000 altogether
each season, a sum more than sufficient
to meet the limited needs of life in a
region Of almost perpetual fOgs and utter
isolation.
After the killing season is over the seals
begin to shed their hair and a few weeks
later disappear from the summer camp
ing-grOUnds for parts unknown. The
males leave first and the females and
young seals later, until by November
the islands are utterly deserted. Where
the fur seal spends his winter is a ques-
ton that has never yet been settled. The
fact that he goes away in November and
returns in May is all that can be learned
of him. some have supposed that the
animals betake themselves to undiscOv-
cred ISLANDS further south, where they
remain during the winter season, but still
none of the many seekers have been able
to find these places. The seal is not a
water animal in the u sense of the
word. He cannot remain long under
water, is not an expert swimmer, and yet
he leaves st. Paul Tor months and returns
there thin and scraWny. Where is the
time passed? If somebody could tell,
that person would have information worth
a fortune. They go away in sections and
are scattering in their return, yet they
select every year the old feeding and
breeding stations, n are found nowhere
except upon the TWO rocky islands of st.
George and st. Paul. Here is a simple
fact, yet one of inestimable value to
Alaska. Sail to the seal islands in July,
notice the countless numbers of animals
there, realize the price which the skins
command, the constant demands of the
market, and Alaska will appear IN a new
light; it will look to be worth the money
that il cost rs.