Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1896-10-23
KILLING HAIR SEALS.
AN OLo SEALER SAYS 1T is THE HARD
EST WORK HE KNOWS.


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 arc
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 a 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-
storatve, sleep. But the conditions of a
sealing cruise are such that this, in n great
measure, must he denied. Add the rigOrs
of constant exposure to the most extreme
cold, and you have partial summary of
sealer discOmforts.
In the latter part Of February the great
herd of about half million seals has come
south us far Us the latitude of the straits
OF Eclle Isle. The region between these
narrovs and Metre Dame hay is the seals
habitual breeding ground. 1t is among
the ice of riose waters that the steamship
Mariposa of Montreal is 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
ent animals swim about in pursuit of fish
and contentodly follow the ice wherever it
drifts The Young grow with surprising
rapiditv. At tic age of weeks they
! have attained about the size of n bulldog
| and replaced the white fur Of infancy with
! the darl, coat.
Seal ships from Newfoundland, Nova
| Scotia and the neirhborinE coasts sail
| carly in March BY that time the ice is we'll
| on in the process of breaking I'D, or
| spawning abroad, and navigation has
! become possible About the middle of
/ March the killing begins. As the ships ap-
! proach the scaling grounds the final prep
/ arati0ns 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 hy 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. 3"
He is provided with as fine telescope as
can be procured and skill in its use is one
| of his most important essentials
Another part of the PREPARATION is the
division of the ships crew, 200 or 300 in
number into four 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 per
lection of these details of organization that
brings ships work to the frictionless sys-
tenn that is lanCsman 5 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 circutous
route intended to throw others off the
track Meantime orders are issued forbid
ding any one to show his head above the
rail I he slightest carelessness will cause
the game to disappear into the water Per
haps the pan" of seals is sighted by a ri
val ship In that case all roundabout tao
tics are dropped and Il Eace ensues. The
four watches, armed with gaff tipped clubs
"stand by" for directions. 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
picking path for his command, which
hurries after him in single file. 1t is 4
rough chase Now climb over a washed
up ledge of broken ice again "A leap across
a black strip of water. Occasionally some
unfortunate wretch falls in and is flsheC
dripping out on the gaff of a companion
His clothes are frozen stiff in a few sec
onds, but he doesn It stop. The seals by thi.
time are thoroughly alarmed, and it is i'm
portant to reach them as quickly as posi-
BILE. A seal 5 vital point is his nose. 1t il
on that organ that the attack is made. On,
blow of the bat usually kills Some
times, however, an old animal offers hare
and dangerous fight. The men hurry
about their work of execution with energy
abated only after the last of the Twins
seals has escaped into the water.
The victims are then skinned and tn,
pelts heaped together in stacks, surmount
ed by the ensigns of their respective own