The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-11-12
THE SEAL KILLING BUSINESS.


great herd of about 100000 seals hL7
come south as far as the latitude of me
Straits of Belle Isle. The region be.
tween these narrows and Notre Dame
bay is the seals habitual breeding
ground. 1t is among the ice of these
waters that the steamship Mariposa, OF
Montreal, is supposed to have met hec
recent fate. The seals produce their
young upon the ice foes, or pans,
within a few miles of the shore. The
parent animals swim about in pursuit
of fish. and contentediy follow the ice
wherever 1t drifts The young grow with
surprising rapidity. At the age of three
weeks they have attained the size of IL
bulldog, and replace the white fur of
infancy with the dark coat.
Seal ships from Newfoundland,
Nova Scotia and the neighboring coasts
sail early in March. BY that time the
ice is we'll on in the process of breaking
up, or Spawning abroad, and naviga-
ton has become possible. About the
middle of March the killing begins. Az
/ the ships approach the sealing grounds
the final preparations are completed.
/ The long watch is begun, which is not
relaxed until the active cruise is over
This watch, lasting from dawn till
ok of every day, is kept up by one
man alone. His Importance is recoS-
nized in his rank, which is next to that
of captain. From the shape of his sta
ton of observation at the masthead
this individual is known as the bar
/ rel man" He is provided with as fine
telescope as can be procured, and skill
/ i'll it's use is one of his most important
/ essentials.
Another part of the preparation is
the division of the ships crew, 200 or
500 in number, into watches Each is
| put under command of a master OF
watch, and is organized into boats
crews and other small divisions for the
performance of the various duties
aboard ship. 1t is the perfection os
these details of organization that
brings ships work to the frictiOnless
system that is a landsman's constant
surprise.
When at last seals are sighted tho
word is passed down from the masthead
as quietly as possible. Old seals may be
disturbed by shout at distance OF
miles; further reason for caution eX-
lists if the observer is within hearing
of other ships. In the latter case the
first ship edges around toward the
seals by a circuitOus route, intending
to throw others off the track. Mean
while orders are issued forbdding any
one to show his head above the rail.
The slightest carelessness will cause
the game to disappear into the water.
Perhaps the pan" of seals is sighted
! by rival ship In that case all round
about tactics are dropped, and race
ensues. The four watches, armed with
caff- clipped clubs, stand by" for di-
rections. At the instant the ship get4
among ice too closely packed for her
to proceed further, all hands are over
board.
AWAY they LIN each master of watch
picking patch for his command, which
hurries after him in single file. 1t is
q rough chase; now climb over a
washed-up ledge of broken ice; again
a leap across broken strip of water.
Occasionally some unfortunate wretch
falls in. and is fishe-l dripping out on
the gaff Of a companion. His clothes
are frozen stiff in a few seconds, but lie
doesn't stop. The seals by this time
are thoroughly alarmed, and it is ini-
portant to reach them as quickly as
possible. y seals vital point is his nose.
One blow of the bat" usually kills;
sometimes, however, an old animal of
fers a hard and dangerous fight. The
men hurry about their work of eXecu-
ton with energy, abated only after
the last of the living seals has escaped
into the water.
The victims are then skinned and the
pelts heaped together in stacks, sur
mounted by the ensgns of their re-
spective OWnerships. These stacks, by
the way, are another Of the objects
designated by the useful term pan. ,
a pan" OF pelts like pan" of seals is
the supporting flat cake of ice. We have
the same usage in pan of bacon" 1t is
seldom that a pan marked by a flag Is
mOlested; feeling on the subject is pro-
EibitiveIy strong.
At dark the ship returns over her
days course to collect the pans of
pelts. A storm may have arisen. 1t
only becomes the more Urgent that the
prize be brought aboard without de-
lay. Through the rolling, crunching ice
the men pick their way in boats, with
the water freezing Immediately on
whaSver it touches. At last all the
pans have been visited and all the
grease-laden skins laboriously stored
away.
At such days end one is justified in
looking forward to a comfortable bed.
Put to the sealer this is denied. The
hunks, limited in number, are allotted
to the men who have been with the ship
on previous cruises. The remainder of
the men are allowed the liberty of tie
ship, which offers two Alternatives
berth in one of the boats on deck or Il
less frigid bed burrowed among the
coal in the hold. Considerations of tenn
perature make the latter choice the
more popular. Even the rest that a
coal bunker affords is always liable to
interruption TO the call on deck to help
the ship through the ice.