The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1888-04-06
SEALS AND seAlskiNs.


where the Most vzluzbls Fur-Bearine
Species Are Found
While great many people are inter-
ested i'm sealskins. most of them have
rather vague idea az to the animal
from which they are stripped
Every spring. when it Is announced
that the Juan Maven hunters have
brought 10000. so. 600. SO. 900 or 50. O00
to Dundee, or that those who rendez-
vous at St Johns or Earbor Grace
have landed 200. coo or more, the prints
which especially concern themselves
with ladies' dress are filed
with jubilation over the ap-
proaching cheapness OF the fur to pos
sess which seems to constitute the acme
OF female ambition, In reality these
captures off Newfoundland or in the
Arctic sea have no effect whatever on
seals. of no value except for their hides.
out of which leather IL made, or for
their blubber. No fur seals. in the
sealskin-jacket sense of the term. are
found in the North At
lantic- They are almost entirely con-
fined to the North and South Pacific
From the South Shetlands and the
Georgian Islands. the seals. once 50
abundant. have almost vanished; and
neither St Pauls nor the Grozetsx
nor Marion Isle. the Elephant Isle and
Amsterdam. nor even the Tristan da
Cunha yield any thing like the number
they once did The early adventures
who first fell among the ..Rookeries'
in these localities seem to have had
such glorious time that their less for
tunate successors can not help envying
them. even at the distance of century.
though sealskins were not so valuable
in those fsr-away days In 1900. when
the fur-seal business was at its height
at the Georgian Islands. liz. 900 seals
were taken. of which 81, 900 were Sc
cured bv = single ship Between the
years 1920 and 1921 over 500, 600 seals
were taken at the South Shetland
Islands alone, though. in addition to
the number of old ones killed
for their fur. not fewer than
one hundred thousand newly born
young died in consequence of the de
struction of their mothers So indis-
eriminate was the slaughter that when
ever seal reached the beach. no mat
ter what age, il was Immediately
elubbed The result of this butchery
was soon apparent In 1s2z the enor-
nous herds in the South ShetIands had
been exterminated. and in 1880 scaling
in the South Sea was pronounced a los
ing business. the old resorts of the an
imais having been abandoned OF
cleared out" SO that hunters had Ia
go further afield or be content with
profits much smaller or much more
precarious At this day fur seals oi
different species are picked up all
through the Antarctic and SUDAN
tarctie regions. IS well as along the
coast of Japan and Siberia, as far -
Kamschatka. the Euiriries and Behr-
ing Strait From California, north
ward three species are found
few are seen ON the shores of Cali
fornia. Oregon and Washington Terri
tory. and the Indians of Vancouver Is
land and British Columbia find mod
crate profit in those which they kill II.
is. however. not until the PTybiloy-oF
Seal Islands. of the shores of Alaska,
are reached fb~t 1.-The fur seal attains its
maximum These islets are leased by
the United States Government to
commercial company. who are bound
By their contract, made IN pursuance
of an act of Congress. not to kill more
than Is. 600 yesr on St Paul's Island.
or more than 25. 600 on St Georges Is
land. though the Secretary of the
Treasury has power to alter the ratio
for each island If he pleases. or &C
extend the period for killing them from
June to the 18th of August. and
then after an interval during Septem-
Der and October. The killing OF fe-
male seals and seals less than one year
old and. among other regulations to
the same effect. the use of firearms OF
other means tending to drive the seals
away from the islands are expressly
forbidden No dogs are permitted on
the islands, and no vessels other than
those employed by the company are
permitted to touch there or land any
persons or merchandise. except in case
of shipwreck or vessels in distress.
The method of capture is to drive the
seals into heads or pods, where fhey
are leisurely dispatched by the blows
| of club on the head.-London Stand