The Portland daily press., 1896-10-17
KILLING HAIR SEALS.
An Old Sealer Says 1t Is the Hardest
Work He Knows.

WOrk lie Knows.
Labor Of the Most DifaouIt Character.
Poor Accommodation on Ships For Rest
and Reouperation.
Captain Asply, sinewy and good look
ing young Newfoundlander, has followed
the sea during much the greater part Of
his life, and the incidents he describes are
full of genuine interest
Captain Asply declares sealing to be the
hardest work he ever heard Of, and any
one knowing will testify that the seaman's
standard of hardness of work Is not that
Of man Of fashion. No man dares at
tempt sealing cruise until his endurance
has been demonstrated beyond any ques-
ton. Work Is not the only consideration.
A strong man need not dread labor SO long
as he is allowed time for the necessary re-
storative, sleep. But the conditions of
sealing cruise are such that this, in great
measure, must be denied. Add the rigors
of constant exposure to the most extreme
cold, and you have a partial summary Of .
5ealer's discomforts.
In the latter part of February the great
herd of about half million seals has come
south as far as the latitude of the straits
of Belle Isle. The region between 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 IL supposed to have
met her recent fate. The seals produce
their young upon the ice foes, or "pans,"
within few miles of the shore. The par
emit animals swim about in pursuit Of fish
and oontentedly follow the ice wherever 1t
drifts. The young grow with surprising
rapidity. At the age Of weeks they
have attained about the size of a bulldog
and replaced 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 well
on in the process of breaking up, or
Spawning abroad" and navigation has
become possible. About the middle Of
March the killing begins. AS the ships ap-
proach the sealing grounds the final prep
arations are completed The long watch
is begun, which is not relaxed until the
active cruise is over. This watch, lasting
from dawn till dark Of every day. is kept
up by one man alone. His Importance is
recognized In his rank, which is next to
that of the captain. From the shape of his
station Of observation at the masthead this
individual is known as "the barrel man.
He is provided with as fine telescope as
can be procured and skill In it's use is one
of his most important essentials.
Another part Of the preparation is the
division Of the ships crew. 200 OF 300 in
number, into four watches. Each is put
under command Of 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 per-
lection of these details of organization that
brings ships work to the frictionless sys-
tenn that is landsman's constant surprise.
When at length seals are sighted, the
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 exists 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 intended to throw others off the
| track. Meantime orders are issued forbid
ding any one to show his head above the
rail. The slightest carelessness will cause
haps the s'pan" Of seals is sighted by ri
val ship In that case all roundabout tao
| tics are dropped and race ensues. The
four watches, armed with gaff tipped clubs,
"stand by'' for direcuiona At the instant
| the ship gets among ice too closely packed
| for her to proceed farther all hands are
| overheard.
| Away they run, each master of watch
/ TicEjno T,afl, bfc command xybict,
hurries after him In single file. It is a
rough chase. Now climb over washed
| up ledge Of broken Ice, again leap across
black strip Of water Occasionally some
unfortunate wretch falls in and is Ashed
dripping out on the gaf of companion.
His clothes are frozen stiff In few SEQ
onds, but he duesn't stop. The seals by this
time are thoroughly alarmed, and it is Inn
portant TO reach them as quickly as posi-
| bic. A SEALS vital point lie his nose 1t is
on that organ that the attack is made. One
blow Of the "bat'' usually kills. Some
times, however, an old animal offers hard
and dangerous Aght The men hurry
about their work Of execution 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, surmount.
ed by the enslgns Of their respective own.
erships. These stacks by the way, are
another Of the objects designated by the
useful term "pan." A s'pan" Of pelts,
Like "pan" of seals, Is the supporting
flat cake of Ice. We have the same usage
in 'span Of bacon" 1t is seldom that 9
pan marked by a flag Is molested. Feel
ing on the subject is prohibitively STRONG
After stacking up the pelts az Described
all hands hurry back to the ship to con
tinue the search. After hours Of rushing
about over a slippery footing, handling
and skinning the heavy bodies Of thu
game, and perhaps a scutfle with a rival'I
crew, it is only natural to think Of rest
But at this point the hardship only begins