THE SEALS. 157 



cloned and tlie seals allowed to return to tlie water.^ Driving. 

 The natives understand how much fatigue can 

 be endured by the seals and the kind of weather 

 suitable for ^' driving,"^ therefore the number of 

 seals killed by overdriving or by smothering was 

 very inconsiderable at all times.^ J. C. Redpath, 

 who has since 1875 been one of the lessees' 

 agents on the islands, says: '^As the regulations 

 require the lessees to pay for every skin taken 

 from seals killed by the orders of their local 

 agents, and as the skin of an overheated seal is . 

 valueless, it is only reasonable to suppose that 

 they would be the last men living to encourage 

 or allow their employes to overdrive or in any 

 manner injure the seals.""^ Mr, Wardman says: 

 ''Seals are rarely killed by overdriving."^ Mr. 

 Buynitsky says he never saw a single seal killed 

 by overdriving,^ and Capt. Moulton states that 

 ''a very few seals die during a 'drive', amount- 

 ing to a very small fraction of one per cent of 

 those driven. And in nine cases out of ten of 

 those accidentally killed by smothering, the skins 



1 Samuel Falconer, Vol. II, p. 162; J. H. Moulton, Vol. II, p. 72; 

 D. F. Scribner, Vol. II, p. 90; Jolm Fratis, Vol. II, p. 107. 



2 W. C.Coulson,Vol.II,p.414. 



3 H. H. Mclntyre, Vol. II, p. 45. 

 * Vol. II, p. 150. 



6 Vol. II, p. 178. 

 fi Vol. II, p. 21. 



