ALASKA INDUSTRIES. V 



can not be true, because overdriving means overheating, and an over" 

 heated fur seal is one from which the fur lias fallen and left the skin 

 valueless, and that means a loss to natives, lessees, and Government 

 alike. As there is no one to benefit by overdriving, it is never indulged 

 in; and during an experience of six years on the islands I never saw a 

 skin injured by overheating or overdriving. 



As most of the drives are made in the night, the seals are allowed to 

 lie in the damp grass around the killing grounds for several hours before 

 killing takes place; and it is customary to allow them to rest for a few 

 hours, no matter when they are driven, because it is besfc for the skin 

 and for the flesh that the animal be killed while it is cool and quiet 

 rather than while it may be warm and excited. 



There are four different and well-defined killing grounds on St. Paul 

 Island, from some one of which the most distant hauling ground or 

 rookery is not to exceed 2^ miles. 



On St. George there are'two killing grounds, from someone of which 

 the most distant rookery or hauling ground is not to exceed 3 miles, 

 and during the past fifteen years there has not been a longer drive made 

 on either island than 3 miles, interested parties to the contrary not- 

 withstanding. 



Generally the killing is done just after breakfast, and the whole pop- 

 ulation turns out and takes part in the work. 



The men and boys are divided into grades or classes : Clubbers, stick- 

 ers, flipperers, and skinners; the women and girls following the skinners 

 and taking care of the blubber and meat. 



Two men at opposite sides of the herd will, by advancing till they 

 meet, cut out twenty or thirty seals from the main body and drive them 

 up to the killing ground, where six experienced men stand armed with 

 clubs of ash or hickory about 5^ feet long and about 3 inches thick at 

 the heavier end, which end is generally bound in sheet iron to prevent 

 its destruction by the continuous biting of the seals. 



The clubbers are under the immediate orders of the lessee's local 

 agent who is a man of large experience in seal work, one who can tell 

 at a glance how much the skin of any particular seal will weigh, and 

 he points out the seals to be clubbed. 



A smart blow on the head knocks the seal down and stuns him, and 

 if the blow has been properly dealt he never recovers; but quite often 

 it requires two to three blows from a bungler to finish him. The 

 clubbed seals are dragged into line and counted, and then "stuck" 

 and "flippered," or, in other words, they are stabbed to the heart and 

 allowed to bleed freely ; and then a knife is drawn around the head 

 and flippers, severing the skin and leaving it ready for the skinner, 

 who strips it off in short order and^ spreads it evenly on the damp 

 grass, flesh side down, to cool. 



These several operations are repeated till the desired number are 

 killed, when the remaining seals are allowed to go into the water and 

 return to the hauling grounds. 



After the skin has been removed, the women take the carcass and, 

 after stripping off the blubber or fat, cut off' the choice meat in strips 

 to dry; and, when dried, they pack it into the dried stomach of the sea 

 lion, where it is kept air tight and preserved for an indefinite period. 



The remainder of the seal is boiled and eaten as wanted. 



When all the seals killed are skinned, the skins are taken by wagon 

 to the salt house, where they are assorted and carefully inspected by the 

 lessee's agent, who throws out as rejected all skins that do not come 

 up to a certain standard. There are three classes of rejected skins, 

 namely : cut, small, and stagy. 



