Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1891-12-26
- : - 7--
KILLING SEALS.
Methods of Taking the Seal skin Sack from
the Original Owner

/ shS VI OHher,
An officer aboard the United States
steamer Ihetis, in letter to the Atlanta
| Constitution, tells how the legitimate
slaughter of Alaska seal is conducted. he
Yrites;
We visited the rookeries and slaughter.
ing grounds on St Paul Island. will
endeayor to tell you how this hoIesals
| slaughJeris gone through with. Very early
IN the morning (about 3 o'clock there is a
party OF drivers sent to the rocker rs. APP
/ preaching the seals from the lseward SO
they cannot be detected by the seals from
| scent or noise, Seais are very timid ii
they can scent an enemy and not see him.
They are very bold, however, if they see
one approaching. When frightened they
/ scra nble into the water as fast as their
clumsy gait will permit. These men visit
the rookeries day and night so that the
| seals soon become acquainted with them,
and make no attempt to harm them The
! drivers collect as many as they think will
/ be needed and commence the drive TO the
/ slaughter grounds, controlling the herd
with as much ease as a herd Of sheep.
| When near the grounds they are coralled
in a roundup and held there until
needed.
When all the men, women and children
come out to the grounds from the village,
| the killing commences, and the large herd
/ Is divided into several smaller herds of
about forty in each, and only one of the
| smaller herds is driven into the grounds at
time. The boss slaugh,erer walks
around this small bunch, huddled close to-
gether, and selects the victims, they being
males about 3 years old, as the EUR is most
valuable at this age, being freer of hair
| than at any other age. He says that in
| the nineteen years that lie has been killing
1 he has never mistaken and killed female
/ but three times, and the two sexes are very
similar As soon as he selects one he taps
| him on the head light blow with u long
| stick that has a large knob upon the end
/ of it. This stuns them and they are fin
/ lshed by the assistants, who crush the
skulls. When as many are chosen OF this
small head as are wanted, the balance Of
I them are driven beyond to a lake that
| leads out to the rookeries and there liber.
ated
Generally there is large bull with each
! herd liberated, and he Immediately takes
| charge of them and Chases them back where
they came from as scientifically as a shep.
| herd dog would handle a flock of sheep.
| Another small herd is driven up and treat
ed the sane way, and so on until all the
herd is picked over, unless the requisite
number Is obtained before. Just as fast
as the they are killed one body of men
drags them out so they can be handled an
other body comes after that and sticks them
in the heart to bleed freely, while yet an
other rips the hide down the center of the
| belly, from the mouth to the fur line at the
tail cuts off the hippers and tail, and the
next body finishes the process of skinning.
| There is still another body that takes the
carcasses and cuts of that part which is
edible, viz. the liver and strip of steak
from the shoulders. The meat is very dark
| cOlored but palatable and forms almost ey-
clusively the meat food for the natives.
| There are great numbers of sea birds
attracted by the carnage, and they come
! in hocks 10 the slaughter grounds. The
smell of the blood makes them rayenous
and it is necessary for some Of the men to
hight them off with clubs to protect the
workmen,
The little boys are busy dragging the
! fine seal skin cloaks over the ground to a
| pile to be loaded in carts ard hauled to
| the packing house, where they are thor
oughly sailed and rolled UP two together
| These bundles are slowed In large watts to
await the company's steamers, Dora and
st. Paul, which are kept constantly ply
! ing between the islands and San Francis
co.
The women have haversaeks made of
warus hide, which are fitted with arm
| holes by means Of which they are strapped
to their backs. These are used TO pack
the meat for eating purposes from the
Strengthening grounds to Cncir various cot
| tuges in the village. You see, there are
no drones among these people, and they
work cheerfully enoogh, too, sometimes,
singing or laughing and talking.
The day we were there it was very disa-
! greeable, raining and sleeting with drlv-
ing wind that chilled one to the very
/ bones. These natives were 30 clad, how
ever, that they did not mind the weather
! They wore a garment that covered them
| from head TO foot and was all one piece
/ Ii locked to me to be made of about such
substance as this yellow wax paper the
| grocers use to cover parcels of butter, and
| had the appearance of being tluted or cor
rugated in small circles around the body.
! II looked so curious that ! venJured to ask
what il was of one Of the white men SUI
perintending, and be said that they made
these garments of the entrais of walrus
caught around the islands They rip them
and dry them in the sun, aud, though
they are as thin as tissue paper, they are
perfectly waterproof. These strips about
fwo-thirds of an inch in width are sewed
together with thread Of the same material.
/ The legs are attached to a pair Of mecca
sin boots made of walrus hide, which Is
also waterproof. The arms terminate IN
gloves of the garment material, and a
hood is attached. The garment IS opened
in front, from the waist up to the chin.
They get into this, button up, and, after
having been in the rain all day, turn in at
night az dry as a powder horn. One OF
the oddities Of this suit is the needle used
to Jew it with. Every one has noticed the
peculiar whiskers that an ordinary tom
cat bas; well, the seal has the same, from
the size Of Tom 8 to some more than q loot
loong. and as stiff and keen as steel The
natives use the small ones for needles fol-
clothing and the large ones for sewing
their immense walrus hide canoes, some
o. them capacitated to carry one and q