The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1890-10-18
"OLD DOG I'OOD.'
NEWFOUNDLAND SEALERS OFF
FOR TIE ICE.
How the "White.coats" are Captured
on the Observation-Disclosures
Young Seals by the Thousand.

its proceeds have amounted annually tC
more than 81, 900, 900, a sum well worth
while to little colony of only $50, OOC
people.
The Atlantic seal is very diffcren,
cresture from the noble and intelligent
animal over which the United States
and Great Britain are now so earnestly
contendinr. Our seal, the Pribilof seal,
is priced for his soft and heavy fur.
But ''old dog hood" and his cousin,
the harp" are not fur-seal at all.
Their coat, except during the first six
months of their lives, is composed of
stiff, rough hair. 1t possesses no COM
mercial value whatever. The skin is
useful, and more useful still is the thick
layer of fat beneath the skin. Shoes.
harness, leathern bags, purses and port
manteaus are produced from the hides,
and one of the most valuable COM
mercial oils Is extracted from the fat.
The great effort of the hunters is to
capture the very young seal, those that
have been born only few weeks before.
During the winter the seal live on the
Grand Banks, where they enjoy al
abundant food supply. Early in Janu-
airy they start north to meet the Arctic
ice, which in vast ''pans," or islands,
is being borne southwark by the swift
Labrador currents. They do not land
at all They select the stanchest and
largest islands, and there give birth to
their young.
St. Johns bustles with activity in
the week before the hunt begins. The
streets are crowded with men from the
"outpOrts," looking for "a berth for
the ice." They carry roll of bedding.
a long heavy stick, which they call
their "gaff," and long, sharp knife.
They are as warmly clad as their tinan-
cial position permits. A single suit of
clothes is all they require, as it stays on
their backs without change until they
return. This and the butchery they
engage in do not contribute to their
lovely appearance as they disembark
The windward side of them is much
the plcasanter to occupy. The hunt is
continued on shares. 1t is pure specu-
lation. If it is successful the men
come off with snug little fortunes to
their credit. But if they do not happen
to hit the breeding grounds land there
are some failures every year., the expert
ence is 10Th painful and Improbable.
1t only takes two or three days to
reach the floating ice. And then the
question is, where to find the seal.
Their position the year before is nc
criterion to 60 by. They are wherever
the ice is best and safest, and the ice
moves in obedience to the laws of cur
rent, wind and storm. 1t may be to-
morrow a hundred miles from where it
is to-day. The sealers take great
chances: therefore, if they fail to enter
upon their work of slaughter as soon
as they catch sight of their victims.
This is I. consideration of SO much i'm
portancc that the men are apt to inquire
before they ship concerning the religious
convictions of their sailing-masters.
They do not like to 90 on under the au-
thority of captain who objects to work.
ing on Sunday. The Newfoundlandei
are an exceedingly religious people, and
the question, how far they are entitled
to follow up a sealing opportunity on the
Sabbath day, has held a conspicuous
place in the theological discussions of the
Islands clergy.
CONSERVATION seizes the seal as soon as
they catch sight OF their human foes
This is apt to be a considerable while
before the men catch sight of the seal:
In fact, the chorus of fear which is borne
by the wind into the hunters ears, is one
OF the first signs that they are approach
ing "seal patch" Soon, however, the
black spots On the ice appear in the dis
lance, and the ship is thrown at once
INTO the widest confusion. Craftily,
like a cat charming bird, she moves
through the ice field. creeping along
until 1t is plain that the men can safely
reach their prey. Then She lays to, and
az once a swarm of hunters. two or three
hundred of them, spring upon the ice,
and, with gait and knife, they rush at
the "white-cOats" The shouts of the
men-the low but never ceasing grinding
OF the ice, like distant thunder rumbling
IN the sky--the Infatuated roars of the
mother seal-and the terrified, pitiful
cries of their cubs. for all the world like
the sobbing of child in distress. pro-
auce confusion of sounds that is dread
ful to hear.
1t is the young seal, the cub, that was
oorn only from three to six weeks be-
lore, that the hunters are after. The
SKIN Is then in its finest condition. The
coat is white and almost fur-like; and
inc heavy lining of fat directly under
.ae skin, by winch the carcass is pro-
ected against the cold, contains its
greatest percentage of oil. A single |
olow with the gail on the white coats"
Iose is enough to stun and often to kill |
Mm; That delivered, the hunter whips |
vut his knife and in another second the /
sam and fat nrc stripped away and the
RVor Creatures carcass is left Steaminc.