SEAL-HUNTING CASPIAN SEA. 515 



"The great meeting-place of the huntsmen is Koulali, the 

 largest of the Seal islands, having a length of thirty -five 

 <versts,' (about twenty miles,) and a breadth of three 'versts,' 

 (about one and two-thirds miles). The hunters, who winter 

 there every year, have built wooden houses, huts, and sheds on 

 this island. The fishing authorities at Astrachan send every 

 . year one of their officers to Koulali to superintend the chase 

 and the hunters, where he remains from October till the mid- 

 dle of May. On account of the bustle and noise, the seals 

 have deserted this island for a number of years, and selected 

 for their place of gathering the islands of Sviato'i and Pod- 

 gornoi. 



"In the spring and autumn the seals seek the shore to rest 

 in the sun, one herd arriving after the other. Scarcely has the 

 first settled when a second comes yelling and showing their 

 teeth to drive it away, followed soon by a third, to which it in 

 turn has to lose its place ; so that the last herd arriving always 

 drives the first farther back on the coast. The invasion ter- 

 minates by the arrival of some isolated stragglers. 



"Now is the time for the hunters to commence the chase. 

 They carefully observe in what place, and, approximate^ in 

 what numbers, the seals have gathered ; and then elect as their 

 chief the most experienced and skillful among them. Thej ap- 

 proach the rookery in boats, either at dusk or during the night, 

 always going against the wind, to conceal their approach. 



" After their arrival on shore, the hunters disembark noise- 

 lessly, form a line in order to cut off the retreat of the seals, 

 and thus, creeping, advance quite near to the herd, which is 

 sleeping and suspects no danger. On a signal from the chief, 

 the hunters all rise at once and pitilessly attack their unfortu- 

 nate victims, killing them by a single blow on the snout with 

 the club. The bodies are piled up by means of gaffs, and after 

 a few minutes form a rampart, depriving the survivors of every 

 chance of regaining the sea. The seals howl, groan, bite, and 

 defend themselves, but the hunters, eager for gain, go on kill- 

 ing them without mercy, and soon the whole herd is massacred. 

 It is no infrequent occurrence to see 15,000 dead seals cover the 

 battle-field of a single night. 



"After the killing, the dressing of the seals commences, usu- 

 ally about daybreak. The head is cut off, the belly is opened, 

 and the skin is taken off with the thick layer of fat adhering 

 to it. These skins are piled up on the boats, which take them . 



