The Coolidge examiner., 1934-05-18

~ land, IS a beehive OF actlv-
ity; for the vessels Of the famous
Newfoundland sealing fleet are re-
turning from the northern seal
hunting grounds.
Sailing dates for sealing vessels
are fixed by law and not by wealth
or. No killing is permitted before
March II nor after May /.
AZ eight O'Clock In the morning.
March Z. 81. Johns is black with
men on that day the sealing fleet
weighs anchors and sails for the an
nual halr.seal hunt, the second
most valuable fishery Of Newfound-
land. ST. Johnsmen line water
street and crowd the piers where
the ships lie.
The heartfelt wishes OF st. Johns
and the whole island 20 with these
men and ships as they move out OF
the harbor. Whistles scream God
speed, bells ring out, cannons fire
salutes, bunting flies on ship and
shore. boys and men race along the
Battery road. cheering the ships to
the Narrows and beyond.
The sealing hands come from
various parts OF the island, some OF
them starting for st. Johns late In
February. n is the worst time of
the year-rough weather. The men
bid good-by TO their families and
start out. many on snowshoes.
walking to trunk-llne railway sta
tions.
ST. Johns begins 10 till up with
them the first days of March. They
wear canvas jumpers over home
made guernseys (sweaters), mole
skins or homespun trousers, one to
four red or white flannel shirts. and
home-knlt. heavy drawers. Some
wear sealskIn caps and some elsl-
nors or whalers. which are leather.
wool-lined caps with ear flaps.
Their mlttens are also homemade.
Husky Men Are Needed.
Captains like to sign up men who
frequent the open bays fishing and
hunting birds and who are seasoned
in the woods A man who has been
dragging a sled and Juggling wood
all winter Is In fine fettle for the
job ahead OF him. He's got good
wind 10 20 after the seals. A man
snogglng seals has TO be llght-foot-
ed, running and jumping over the
Ice Ike deer. A big fellow with
broad shoulders has to be followed
around with life belt: he viii be
falling into the water all the time.
They want men light and nimble,
raw-boned fellows. small. Some
times. 10 get light. the men take on
everything except their underwear
and boots. in order TO follow fast
after the seals. which can 20 as fast
or faster than a good man running.
The day Is appointed for the sign
ing OF the men. "The John Doe
will sign her crew at nine o'clock" ("
says a placard on the office of the
ship owners. Men fill up the room
and the clerk reads the whereases,
the wherefores. the why's, and the
shares Then the sealers put down
their names or make their crosses
II they can't write.
Each sealer then receives a ticket
with his number and name on IL.
and also q "crop." A crop is an ad-
vance OF small sum OF money.
Some men send the money home !;
others don't use IL; and others buy
tea. sugar. belt. sheath and knife,
skin boots, oilskins. or tobacco.
II they think they are getting
something for nothing. some of the
sealers will buy anything-anything
from needle TO an anchor.
The ship clears Channel Head
and hauls up for Cape Ray. The
Ice Is about ten miles offshore and
the lop (big sea- hoves down from
the northwest. The ship. with en-
gines wide open, takes them green
over the forecastle. clean over the
bridge. In about twenty minutes
she is one solid block of Ice.
Not Fur Seals.
At last the lookout reports seals
ahead.
Where do these seals come from?
What kind Of seals are they?
The seals on Pribiloff islands in
Bering sea are different from the
harps and hoods that are hunted
Off Newfoundland. The pribilof is
a fur seal (near relative of the sea
lion) and its skin is used for max
ing beautiful coats, worn by fair
ladies to give them an air of dis
tinction. II hauls out on the land.
1t pups or Whelps on the land, while
the harp and the hood haul out on
the ice to give birth TO their pup
pies. Newfoundland fishermen call
1t seal fishery" because the Allan
tic seals live as much in the water
as cod and haddock. During the
season of Lent the sealers eat the
hair seals just as they would fish.
Capt. Robert A. (Bob) Bartlett,
a veteran sealer, once said, when