Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1888-04-19
HUNTING THE SEAL.
Great Caution Necessary to Insure Sat-
isfactory Bag.


isfactory Bag.
Seals once having taken to place
will never desert it unless frequently
alarmed. Here they periodically re-
turn to breed, and thence the old ones
never wander far. Three expeditions,
of two nights on each occasion at
most, are made yearly, and as only
one attack is possible each time, great
caution and experience are necessary
to insure good bag
The oars have to be muffled, and the
island approached according to the
wind; for seals are not the sleepy
creatures one associates with the two
hundred, but post videttes in COM
handing positions, and on the slight
est alarm there is rush and a splash
and goodbye toy our prospects for that
night. Having disembarked in silence,
the men, armed with heavy clubs
somewhat resembling, though longer,
than a policeman's staff, are posted at
intervals of two or three yards ON the
glacis by which the seals invariably
come and go. When all is ready every
one begins to shout, and then comes a
rush like thousand sheep, and
thwack, thwack, right and left, as
hard as you like, and the more the
better, followed by asplash, and every
one makes for the boats and shoves off.
For the old bulls, often six and seven
feet long, are very dangerous, and will
often follow boat, gnawing at the
gunwales. For purposes of commerce
the old ones are absolutely worthless,
and attention is only paid to the small
est and youngest. We started at one
a. NJ, the writer continues, for the
seal island. A glorious moon made
every object as clear as day, and in
about half an hour we found ourselves
alongside about as difficult landing
place as can well be conceived. I'M
agine, then, a rather steep glacis, as
slippery as a slide and extending, with
out one friendly foothold, for about
twenty yards.
But our nimble companions lost no
time in the ascent. and in less time
than it takes to write it we found our
selves seized by sturdy arms and in po-
sition at the top of the glacis. Hoo,
hoo!" interminglcd with shouts such
as none but Afrikander lungs could
possibly emit, then rent the air, and
then roar such as can only describe
as that of a hundred oxen, followed by
a scampering of what seemed thou
sand feet, and literal avalanche of
seals came tumbling past us and
dashed furiously into the water.
Personally, was too excited to do
justice to my club; l struck about, re-
CARELESS of all instructions, indscrim-
inately at old and young that came
within reach, and was delighted to
find when the counting began that !
was the proud exterminator of four.
The experts had, of course, done bet
ter and our nights W ork for thirty
two clubs was represented by three
hundred and sixteen seals. To make
for the boats and shove off was the
work of an instant; and, having laid
to for a short time in case of attack,
we again landed, collected our vic
Tins and returned to the guano island.
The nights work, however, was by
no means over, and after a hearty sup
per, the skinning process began, ant
continued well into the afternoon
The preliminary preparing (or bray
ing, as it is called) of the skins il
somewhat peculiar, and as the ful
(known as sealskin) is an under
growth, all the bristles have to be re
moved-i. e., pulled backward from
inside. In the very young animals
these bristles have not appeared; henc,
the value of the seal the younger he is
and the absolute worthlessness of tn,
old bulls. On the following night the
seals were &c be left in peace, but ul
Thursday we repeated the attack
with much the same experience ant
and an addition of two hundred anC
seven to our bag, making a grand tota
! of five hundred and twenty-three.- =
, Cor. London Field