The Nome daily nugget., 1935-01-19

Washington. D. C.-WNU Service. H URING the late spring each
 year, St. Johns, Newfound- O land, Is a beehive of actiy- 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 CT. No killing is permitted before March IA nor after May 1.
 At eight o'clock in the morning, March z, St. Johns is black with men. On that day the sealing fleet weighs anchors and sails for the an- nual hair-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 go 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. It 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-line railway sta tions.
 St. Johns begins to fill 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-knit, heavy drawers. Some wear sealskin caps and some elsi- nors or whalers, which are leather, wool-lined caps with ear flaps. 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 snoggingE seals has to be light-foot- ed, running and jumping over the ice like a deer. A big fellow with broad shoulders has to be followed around with 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 go as fast or faster than a good man running. The day Is appointed for the sign lHS Ul lHe neH. ue JOnH Doe will sign her crew at nine o'clock" says 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 if they can't write.
 Each sealer then receives a ticket with his number and name on 1t, and also "crop." A crop is an ad- 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 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- zines 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 from2
 What kind of seals are they2
 The seals on Pribiloff islands in Boring sea are different from the harps and hoods that are hunted off Newfoundland. The pribilof is . fur seal (near relative of the sea lion) and its skin Is used for mak- ing beautiful coats, worn by fair ladies to give them an air of dis tinction. It hauls out on the land. It 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 Atlan- 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, . veteran sealer, once said, "When