i 9 8 HUNTERS AND HUNTING IN THE ARCTIC 



wounded seal becomes convulsed, or falls into 

 the sea, they all dive in a second. 



My third seal shot, the Captain and old 

 Hermann stepped on to the ice, dealt each seal 

 a blow on the head with the boat-hook to make 

 death certain, skinned them, and removed the 

 grease, leaving only the carcasses, together with 

 the heads and fins. 



The skins we soaked in the sea to wash away 

 as much blood as possible, and afterwards flung 

 them into the boat. The men re-embarked, and 

 we made for another floe where the same thing 

 occurred. 



It takes from one to two minutes, according 

 to the skill of the man and the size of the animal, 

 to skin a seal. 



We continued going from floe to floe whilst 

 seals remained. It was massacre rather than 

 sport. At the same time, shooting was difficult 

 because a fresh breeze was blowing. We were 

 amid loose ice ; the boat bumped and rolled 

 constantly, while the surface swell caused 

 the floes the seals occupied to rise and fall 

 constantly. As a result, it befell more than 

 once that I only wounded a seal, which dived, 

 dyeing the water with its blood. Whenever 

 this occurred, flocks of petrels settled instantly 

 to drink the blood. These birds followed us 



