Appendix A. 



Hair-seals. 



SEALS SINK WHEN KILLED IN THE WATER. 



It is well known that seals in general sink 

 when killed in the water. To prevent the loss 

 of such seals various devices are employed. In 

 the Newfoundland and Labrador seal fisheries the 

 great majority of the seals killed are taken on the 

 ice, but some are shot in the water. In order 

 to secure the latter, each hunter is provided with 

 a reel of stout cord, to which is attached a lead 

 weight bearing several large hooks. When a seal 

 has l^een shot, the hunter holds the coil of loose 

 cord in one hand and swings the weight with 

 the other until it attains sufficient momentum, 

 when he lets it fly in the direction of the seal, 

 hoping to overreach the animal, in which case the 

 lead weight carries the hooks rapidly downward 

 on the far side of the seal. By means of a strong 

 pull on the cord, the hooks are made to take 

 hold of the seal and he is drawn in. 



In the North Pacific, the pelagic sealers are pur- seals. 

 ]:irovided with slender poles, each bearing an 

 iron hook at one end, with which they secure 

 many seals that have begun to sink. In order 



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