The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-03-10

wives but are kept Constantly on TIE
watch TO keep the nckae lady seals from
Eni1g away with a younger ana nafsa-
sonser seal An old fellow will now ard
then catch ore of his harern Just escaTsa1z
with sorss younger fover. when he VIII
pounce on the recreant pair ia furious
anger The younger seal usually gets oas
OF the way as fast as his nsrpers can
carry him. while the head Of the house
hold viii give his unwilling spouse few
good hard knocks just as parent might
punish waywarG child The female.
when she sees sI hope of escape flown.
cgddles up 10 her Old lord and master.
gently takes hold of his under lip with
her mouth and holds or until the old
fellow reIents, when she settles down
again IN the family as before The young
er seals take their places farther back on
the island and usually manage 10 steal
from ore 90 three or four wives. 4 con-
slant fight Is kept up all summer on the
rookeries. and many young seals play the
part OF the young Lachinvar" at the
risk of sound thrashing from the fierce
old seals. who are always ready 10 fight
In defense of family rights.
The slaughter of the seals.
when the time for killing arrives q
number OF natives Win long poles force
their way through the main body OF seals.
dividing them UP into punches OF several
hundred each A bunch OF seals Is then
detached from the main body and slowly
driven back on the island 4 stop is here
made and all the seals not fit for killing
embracing the ones too old and baby
seals as well as the females. are sep
arated from the rest and. being turned
loose, they use their clippers rapidly wob-
bling back 10 the rookery. The market
able seals which are left are then driven
near the sailing house and again divided
43F lets r.f D,
by striking on the head and crushing
their skulls. Thew are then denuded of
their skins. which are sent 20 the sailing
house, where they are saited down In
hogsheads something on the same plan
that cowhides are cared. After this they
are usually shipped to the London mar
ket, where they pass into the hands of
manufacturers. who complete the process
and when the skin next appears before
the public IL IS paraded the outside
garment of some society belle.
THE natives on the islands are very
stric. about allowing no noise of any
kind to occur TO brighten away the seals
when they first make their appearance in
the spring. All the dogs In the villages
are tied up and children are kept in the
houses and the islands are kept as silent
as a cemetery.
''0ne popularity of the male seal is that
from the time he lands in May until he
he eats nothing. When he arrives he Is
fat and saucy, but when he leaves In the
fall he is usually thin and not at all
frisky. Where seals spend the winter Is
mystery that has never been solved and
my opinion is that they live in the water
all winter, OF course at some point where
they can procure plenty of fish. They
travel very rapidly In the water and il Is
only guesswork as to where they spend
the winter months. The right age for
killing seals for fur Is from three TO FIVE
years
THE difference between this method of
sealing and that used by peiagic sealers
who kill seals In the water. Is that here
only marketable seals are killed and the
young and female are spared. This could
be kept up for centuries and the seals
would never he diminished in number.
The other method results in great loss, as
an average Of two seals out of five killed
get away and sink and are lost. Also
females are killed and In the season they
are with young. and this method carried
TO any great extent as Ii has been in the
past few years, may result in the seal
becoming extinct and this useful and
profitable Industry killed.
Capt. Tozier, speaking of his sojourn
on Puget sound stated that his cxpe-
rienee had been pleasant one. He con-
siders the business of the customs dis
trict In splendid condition and ably man
aged by Collector Saunders Capt. Toz-
work to endeayor TO state just what ac-