Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1896-12-10
CRUISING FOR SEAL.
Exciting Work Which Only the
Hardy Can Endure.
j he Seals AmbuShed and Then
Clubbed to Death.

SN"-o ms Coiuc Soutu AS lar "a the Iatl-
sude OF the Straits of Belle Isle. The
region between these narrows and
Notre Dame Bay is the seals habl,ual
breeding ground The seals produce
their young upon the ice foes, or
"pans, wathin q few miles Of the
shore. The parent animals swim
about IN pursuit of fish, and contented-
~ follow the Ice wherever it drifts.
Iue young grow with surprising rapl-
dlty. At the age Of three weeks they
have attained about the size of "a bail
log, and replaced the white fur OF in
fancy with the dark coat
Sal ships from Newfoundland. Nova
Scotia and the neighboring coasts sail
early IN March. BY that time the lee
Is well on III the process Of breaking
up, or "spawnlng abroad" ana navl-
ghtlon has become possible. About the
middle Of March the K llling begins. As
the ships approach the scaling 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
dark Of every day, is kept up 10y or
man alone. His Importance is rece
nized in his rank which is 2
to that Of the captain. From e
shape Of his station of obseryation'
the masthead, this individual is know.
as "the barrel man." He is provided
with as fine telescope as can be pro-
cured, 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 mas
ter Of watch, and is organized into
! beats ofcws and 0rhyf s>aa,.. .:,--,orrss
for the performance of the various
duties aboad ship.
When at length seals are sighted the
word is passed down from the mast
head as quietly as possible. Old seals
may be disturbed by q shout at dis
tance Of miles; further reason for eau
ton exists If the observer is within
hearing of other ships. In the latter
case the first ship edges around tow
ard the seals by circuitous route, in
tended to throw others off the. track.
Meantime orders are issued forbidding
anyone 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
al roundabout tactics are dropped,
armed with gaf tipped clubs stand
b." for directions. At the instant the
ship gets among ice too c:oael y packed
for her TO proceed further all hand
are overheard.
Away tnegiun, each master Of watch
picking path for his command, which
hurries after hlm Ia single file. 1t j:
rough chase; now Climb over {
washedup ledge Of broken ice; acair
a leap across a black strip Of water
Occaslona!lv some unfortunate fellow
falls in, and is fshcd dripping ont or
the gaff Of companion. II 3 cloths
are frozen stiff IN a few seconds, bu
be doesn't stop. The seas by thu
time are thoroughly alarmed, and i
is important TO reach |hem as qniekl,
as possi bic. 4 seals vital point IS hi
nose. One blow Of the bat" usual
kills; sometimes, however, an Old All
nal offers hard and dangerous fgh,
The men hurry about their WORK G
execution with energy, abated OH
/ after the last Of the living seals La
: escaped into the water.
Tie victims are then skinned an
: the pelts heaped together in stack
( surnoun,ed By the eus,gus of their r
specuve own-.,hipa Taese stacks. I
the wsrs are aaotne. o; the oolec:
des!cna.ei bv the usssal term pan.
A .pan" Of pe.'s. Ike ''pea :
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