Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1920-11-11
THE STORY OF THE SEAL.

py, ah, supremacy happy, is she who
can saunter down the most fashionable
and populous avenue of any village,
town or city gorgeously arrayed in
coat that a short time previously en-
closed the body of a half-fsh, half
animal creature in the frigid waters
off the coast Of Alaska.
One would suppose this innate de-
sire for handsome and warm cover
ing would be confined to such mem
bers of the feminine population as
lived in snowy and blizzard climates
of the northern half of the country.
Far from it!
Gently inquire Of fair lass swelter-
ing on the sandy banks of the Rio
Grande what she most desires for
Christmas present.
"Senor, nothing do so much crave
as sealskin coat" will be the smiling
reply.
Make the same inquiry of the bellies
of Yuma, Arizona; Key West, Florida,
or bonneville, Georgia, and the re-
plies will be substantially the same
A sealskin coat has an appeal for all
womankind that no psychologist has
yet been able satisfactorily to fathom.
Partially to satisfy this feminine
hankering for furry adornment the
United States Government kills off
from thirty to forty thousand of its
herd of little more than half a mil
lion seals each year
The various processes through which
the seal passes from the time its skull
is crushed by blow from club, on the
far-otf PribiOf Islands, until the beau
tful fur is displayed in show windows.
exceeds more than 100 in number, and
are exceedingly interesting both to the
ladies who eventually wear the skins
and to the gentlemen who ultimately
pay for them.
The animals whose pelts are desired
are separated from the main herd and
driven to the killing fields where they
are killed by sharp blow on tine head
with rather long club. This is the
most humane method which can be
used and is identical to that in use for
killing catt!el. This killing is done by
picked men who understand thoroughly
Just how the blow should be struck.
Next come the men called "stick-
erS," who stick a knife through the
belly into the heart; next, the split
tiers" cut the pelt from head to tail
through the slit made by the sticker.
Men called clippers" then remove the
fippers and the actual taking of Of the
pelt is then done by men called "skin-
ners," who leave as much blubber as
possible adhering to the skin. The
work is divided as described so that
each operation can be done BY men
trained for it,
After removal the skins are laid fiat
so that the animal heat will be lost as
soon as possible. The skins are salt
ed, taken 10 the salt-house, where they
are placed in piles called "kenches,'
with salt between each skin. After the
skins have become thoroughly cured in
the kenches they are re-salted and each
skin rolled up tightly and tied. The
skins are then packed as tightly as
possible in barrel and spaces between
skins filled with salt to exclude all
air.
Numerous inspections are made as
the work progresses, so that the skins
are removed, cured, and packed in the
best possible condition
Ships of any considerable size can
not land at the islands on account Of
; the rough, rugged coast and must
anchor at some distance from shore.
Skins are taken to the ships in boats
made of wooden framework, covered
with the skins of the sea lion, which
is not a fur-bearing animal The
skins move by government boat to
Seattle and from there by train to St.
Louis, where they are placed in cold
storage at a moderate temperature.
st. Louis, by the way, is now the
greatest fur market in the world.
Skins must be kept in a wet sailed
state, as they contain a great deal of
oil, which would burn the skin through
oxidation, if it were allowed to dry
out. In the wet sailed state this oxida-
ton does not take place, and the skin
reaches the hands of the dresser in its
raw condition.
The blubbcr is removed from the
pelt with dull knives, and after the
surplus oil is removed from both pelt
and fur the seal is unhaired. The un-
halring consists of extracting the
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