Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-01-22
SEAL FISHERIES.
Their Location I'm the North Atlantic
~-H Ow the Animals Are KILLED.
The London Standard.


The London Standard.
The seal fishery as at present pur
sued in the north Atlantic is practi-
cally confined to the ice foes in the
vicinity of Jan Maven island, and
those not far from the shores of New
foundland and Labrador. The Els
kimo and other Arctic tribes KILL
large numbers along the shores of
Greenland, the Arctic archipelago,
Labrador, and Siberia The New
foundland sealers are numerous,
though, as rule, their vessels are of
a smaller tonnage than those employ
ed in the Jan Mayhem hunt. Yet,
being nearer port than the latter, the
former by making several trips 10
season, are able to laud greater aggre-
gate cargoes. The Dundee mentor
the trade, is all but concentrated in
that port leave home in the month
of March, and by the aid of steam or
fair winds reach the southern extern
sion of the ice-felds IN eight or ten
days. Every eye is now on the alert
The captain passes half the day in the
crows nest" on the main royal mast
head, and as every man on board is a
direct sharer IN the cargo, and di-
rect loser by the i'll success of the ad-
venture, there is little chance of a
litter of seals escaping the keen
scrutiny which is every moment di-
rected to the ice fields along the
margin of which the vessel is running.
The business is, nevertheless, not
without danger. The SEAL it is true,
is a small animal, and timid one
compared with the great whaleDone
whale. But in April the long summer
day of the Arctic regions has not yet
begun, and during the dark nights
the vessel runs constant risks from
the ice, from the storms which at this
season are frequent, and the other
mishaps to which q cruiser in the
seventieth parallel of north latitude is
constantly liable. Even when the
seals are sighted they may be so far
in on the endless ice field that the
crew must regard them as forbidden
fruit, and spend the fleeing day in
vainly searching for lead" through
which they might penetrate to the
living fortune beyond. IF, however,
the herd is within a snort di .tance of
the ice edge, then the slaughter begins
at once. The old ones are shot, or,
should they cling by their helpless
young, unable to take to the water for
some days yet, or are too far from it
to escape their enemies, are clubbed.
The mewing white coats as the
pups are called from the color of their
first pelt, are either kicked on the
muzzle or dispatched with a blow of
the heavy iron spiked mallet Mean
time, while one party are killing, an
other are rapidly haying them, or
dragging the hides and blubber to the
margin of the flee, where the boats are
waiting TO convey the cargo to the
ship cruising a little way off, or, 1t
may be, anchored to the edge of the
field on which this carnage is proceed
ing Then, in few hours, the ice is
scarlet with blood and carcasses, aud,
this flock destroyed, the vessel gets
under steam in search Of another,
The Indianapolis Journal, speaking
of the fine new Court House there,
says Every little while new beau
ties develop ia our grand 81 900, 600
Court House. It now transpires that
this magnificent public building, de-
signed and erected for the use of the
capital county in the state for the
next 100 or 200 years, has not vault
in it.