536 FAMILY PHOCID^E. 



of these joined those already on the ice, and dragging either 

 the whole seals or their 'pelts' to the edge of the water, collected 

 them in the punts, and when one of these was full brought 

 them on board. The cook of the vessel, and my man Simon, 

 with the captain and myself, managed the vessel, circumnavi- 

 gating the lake and picking up the boats as they put off one 

 after another from the edge of the ice. In this way, when it 

 became too dark to do any more, we found we had got three 

 hundred seals on board, and the deck was one great shambles. 

 When piled in a heap together the young seals looked like so 

 many lambs, and when occasionally, from out of the bloody and 

 dirty mass of carcasses, one poor wretch still alive would lift up 

 its face and begin to flounder about, I could stand it no longer; 

 and arming myself with a hand-spike, I proceeded to knock on 

 the head and put out of their misery all in whom I saw signs 

 of life. After dark we left the lake and got jammed in a field 

 of ice, with the wind blowing strong from the north-west. The 

 watch was employed in skinning those seals which were brought 

 on board whole, and throwing away the carcass. In skinning, 

 a cut is made through the fat to the flesh, a thickness generally 

 of about three inches, along the whole length of the belly from, 

 the throat to the tail. The legs, or 'Uppers,' and also the head, 

 are then drawn out from the inside and the skin is laid out 

 flat and entire, with the layer of fat or blubber firmly adhering 

 to it, and the skin in this state is called the 'pelt,' and some 

 times the ' sculp.' It is generally about three feet long and two 

 and a half wide, and weighs from thirty to fifty pounds. The 

 carcass when turned out of its warm covering is light and slim, 

 and, except such parts as are preserved for eating, is thrown 

 away." 



The next day, continues Mr. Jukes, as soon as it was light, 

 "all hands were overboard on the ice, and the whole of the day 

 was employed in slaughtering young seals in all directions and 

 hauling their pelts to the vessel. The day [March 13] was clear 

 and cold, with a strong north-west wind blowing, and occasion- 

 ally the vessel made good way through the ice, the men follow- 

 ing her and clearing off the seals on each side as we went along. 

 The young seals lie dispersed here and there on the ice, bask- 

 ing in the sun, and often sheltered by the rough blocks and 

 piles of ice, covered with snow. Six or eight may sometimes 

 be seen within a space of twenty yards square. The men, armed 

 with a gaff' and a hauling rope slung over their shoulders, dis- 



