ON SEALS AND SEALERS 17 1 



trap, with the difference that the wall which is on 

 the side the seals enter from is lowered to the bottom. 

 A watch is kept from the shore, and as soon as the 

 seals enter the room a rope attached to this wall is 

 wound up on a capstan on the land, and the seals 

 are thus imprisoned. They are now given time to 

 entangle themselves in the net, and so get drowned, 

 or the boat rows off and the hunter shoots the seal 

 before taking it out of the water ; for the seals 

 would bite badly if given the chance. The net is 

 thirty to forty fathoms deep, and is set in about 

 six to ten fathoms of water. 



The last variety of hair seal is known as the 

 "bay seal." It frequents the shores, bays, and 

 mouths of fresh-water rivers, up which it breeds, 

 all the summer, and is caught either in mesh nets, or 

 shot from a boat as it puts up its head to breathe. 

 This feat is rendered more easy by the natural 

 curiosity of the seal. As soon as it spies the boat 

 it raises its head and shoulders out of water to get 

 a good view of the stranger. If you now remain 

 quite still, and especially if you can imitate the 

 " Hough, hough " of the animal, it will dive down 

 and in a minute come up nearer the boat. I have 

 been almost ashamed to shoot as it opened its large, 

 human eyes, so full of inquisitiveness. " Bang ! " 

 If you are a good shot, your seal will be dead, a bul- 

 let through his brain, and you must at once row 

 and pick him up while his few kicks keep him 

 afloat. I remember seeing one sink after being shot, 



