INDIAN HUNTERS. 351 



I have always hunted with a spear and never Wilson Parker, p. 392. 

 with a gun, and have never been in Bering' Sea. 



Seals were caught by them [the Indians] with spears and but few 

 were lost; but since the shot-gun has come into 

 use a great many are destroyed and lost. Charles Peterson, p. 246. 



United States Revenue-Steamer Corwin, 



Sitka, Alaska, May 4, 1892. 

 Capt. C. L. Hooper, TJ. S. E. M., 



Commanding: 



Sir: I herewith respectfully offer the following notes relative to pe- 

 lagic sealing derived from observation and per- j. h. Quinan,Vol.I,p. 

 soual experience. 504. 



In obedience to your orders I accompanied two Neah Bay Indians, 

 Chad and Wilton by name, May 1 and 2, off Sitka Sound, to hunt seal. 

 The canoe we used is of the Neah Bay type, hollowed out of while 

 cedar, 24 feet long, 3£ feet beam, and 20 inches deep, braced by thwarts 

 secured to the sides by cedar twigs, the stern rising abruptly 10 inches 

 and stem projected forward and rising gradually to 2 feet above the 

 gunwale, the latter terminating in a figurehead, which, with the long- 

 prow, resembles some fanciful animal, not unlike a giraffe. In this 

 head is cut a notch, on which the spear rests when ready for use. A 

 rifle, shotgun, spear and line, mast and sail, two paddles, a pair of 

 oars, gaff pole, short club, a prismatic shaped wooden bailer, and a box 

 of ammunition and bread completed the outfit. After leaving the ship, 

 the Indians, one sitting in the stem with his paddle, and the other in 

 the bow with his oars pulled to windward, this being invariably the 

 rule, as it is in this direction the seal must be approached. We had 

 pulled several miles without seeing anything, when suddenly the steers- 

 man gave the canoe a shake and pointed in silence to a seal 75 yards 

 distant, lying on its back in the water, apparently asleep. Its flippers 

 were raised in the air and moving listlessly from side to side, as if 

 fanning itself. The bowman took in his oars and substituted the pad- 

 dle, and the canoe glided noiselessly toward the unconscious seal. 

 When within 40 yards of it the after paddle alone was used, and the 

 bowman stood ready with the shotgun. It was soon seen that the 

 seal's head was under water. The Indians told me afterward that it 

 was only drowsing and looking for fish. Whether this be a tact or not 

 I do not know. In this position a seal is said to be " finning." 



During all this time not a word was spoken, and so noiselessly did 

 the canoe glide that we got within 10 yards of it and the hunter fired, 

 pouring a charge of buckshot into its breast. The seal, to my great 

 astonishment, was not killed, but gave us one surprised look and in- 

 stantly dived out of sight. It rose again 50 yards off, gave us another, 

 look and a second time disappeared. Then followed a chase to wind- 

 ward, the Indians dexterously applying their paddles in that direction. 

 Three times it disappeared and reappeared before it was finally shot 

 and captured. Even then it was necessary to use the club to kill it. 

 One hook with the gaff, a sudden pull, and the unfortunate seal was in 

 the canoe. 



The oars and paddles were again used and we continued on our way. 

 The next seals we sighted were three in number, asleep on their sides 

 and backs on a bunch of kelp, their favorite resting place. Their fore 

 and hind flippers were visible, the former closed on their breasts; their 



