SEALING IN THE GULF OF BOTHNIA. 533 



they come out upon the ice are successively shot, the hunters 

 meantime keeping up their cry in imitation of the Seals, and 

 continuing to strike their feet together as already described. 

 If the hunters have good luck they in this way secure in a 

 single day a large booty. 



Another very common way of securing these animals was to 

 watch for them at their breathing-holes, and as they came to the 

 surface for air to transfix them with the harpoon or " seal-iron". 

 The iron being fixed loosely to the shaft the latter is easily de- 

 tached when the Seal descends again under the ice. To the iron, 

 however, is fastened a line about six feet in length, which the 

 hunter quickly seizes, and allows the Seal to dance about be- 

 neath the ice, the barbed iron preventing its escape. When 

 the Seal becomes weak and must again obtain air, the line is 

 drawn slowly in as the Seal approaches the air-hole, and finally 

 the Seal is drawn out upon the ice, the hunter being in the 

 meantime aided by his companions. At other times the young 

 are used as a lure for the capture of the mothers. For this pur- 

 pose they employ an iron implement having three barbed hooks, 

 on one of which the young Seal is impaled alive. The mother 

 hearing its cries approaches it quickly, and immediately em- 

 braces it, in the hope to free it, but in so doing presses the other 

 barbed hooks into herself, and both mother and young are drawn 

 out of the water together. 



The last method of hunting Seals described by Cneiff, as adopt- 

 ed on these early expeditions, is the following : If they have 

 not already secured a sufiicient number of Seals, they seek for 

 them on their return from the south over the ice about the end 

 of spring, when they are then much more surely taken, because 

 they cannot so readily find an opening in the ice through which 

 to escape ; then, if attacked, they scramble about over the rough 

 ice in search of openings, during which they are destroyed in 

 such numbers that the sledges are soon loaded with them, and 

 even return the second and third times in case the ice-pack is 

 large and the Seals do not reach open water. It sometimes hap- 

 pens, on these perilous journeys, that a strong wind breaks up 

 the ice, and the hunter suddenly finds himself on a detached 

 piece of drifting ice, when those who are in the boat must turn 

 to rescue him. He is fortunate, indeed, if he can bring his slain 

 animals with him ; otherwise he must be satisfied to save his 

 life. 



Thus it is, says Oneift', on these dangerous voyages, during 



