Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1934-05-16
Prepared by National Geographic Society.
Washington. ID. C.-WNu Rervica.

Aty " tAC ft1SVfS VI lAC kalIOuc
Newfoundland sealing fleet are re-
turning from the northern seal
hunting grounds.
Sailing dates for sealing vessels
r fixed by law and not by wealth
er. No killing is permitted before
March IA nor after May l.
AT eight o'clock In the morning,
March 7, st. Johns Is black with
men. On that day the sealing fleet
weighs anchors and sails for the an
nual hair-seaI 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 go with these
men and ships as they move out of
the harbor. Whistles scream God
speed, bells ring out, fire
s~alutes. bunting flies on ship and
shore, boys and e 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. 1t is the worst time Of
the year-rough weather. The men
bid good-by to their families and
start out, many ON s%nowshoes,
walking to trunk-line railway sta
lions.
st. Johns begins to fill up with
them the first days of March. They
wear canvas jumpers over home
made g~uernseys (sweaters), mole
skins or homespun trousers. one to
four red or white flannel shirts, and
home-knit, heavy drawers. Some
wear sealskln caps and some elsi-
nors or whalers. which are leather,
wool-lined caps with ear fiaps.s
Their mittens 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 to go after the seals. A man
smuggling seals has to be light-fo0t-
ed, running and jumping over the
Ice like a deer. A big fellow with
broad shoulders has to be followed
around with q life belt he will be
falling into the water all the time.
They want men light and nimble.
raw-boned fellows. small. Some
times, to get light, the men take off
everything except their underwear
and boots, In order to follow fast
after the seals, which can 90 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 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 w~herefores, the why's, and the
shares. Then the sealers put down
their names or make their crosses
IL they can't write.
Each sealer then receives q ticket
with his number and name on 1t,
and also a "crop." A crop is an adj
vance OF a small sum of money.
Some men send the money home;
others don't use 1t; and others buy
tea, sugar. belt, sheath and knife.
skin boots, oilskins, or tobacco.
If they think they are getting
something for nothing, some of the
sealers will buy anything-anything
from a needle to an anchor.
The ship clears Channel Head
and hauls up for Cape Ray. The
ice Is about ten miles offshore and
the Top (big seal hoves down from
the northwest. The ship. with en-
gines wide open, takes them green
over the fo~recastle, clean over the
bridge. In about twenty minutes
she is n 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 theyY
The seals on Pribiloff islands In
Boring 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. 1t hauIs out on the land.
1t pups OF 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 paddock. During the
season of Lent the ~sealers eat the
hair seals just as they would fish.
Capt. Robert A. (Bob) Bartlett,
q veteran ~sealer, once said. when