148 SEALS AND SEAL SHOOTING 



killed with her young near here (Godbout) was 

 very savage, and attacked the hunters immedia- 

 tely. I never saw a female with her young on the 

 ice, so I cannot speak very positively on this sub- 

 ject. Of the fair number of females which I 

 have shot in the water about one hundred and 

 twenty only three or four made any serious show 

 of fight. The length of an adult male is eight 

 to nine feet, judging from some I killed, but my 

 brother Edmond, who was a professional seal 

 hunter, claims to have killed one that was eleven 

 feet four inches long. Although not very fat it 

 yielded five hundred and twenty pounds of oil. 

 The two largest I ever killed weighed about one 

 thousand pounds, judging from the amount of 

 their oil, but my brother's must have reached near- 

 ly twelve hundred pounds. The average adult fe- 

 male, when in good condition, yields 30 to 40 gal- 

 lons of oil, and weighs around eight hundred 

 pounds. These seals are in primest condition 

 about December, when they begin to seek pieces of 

 ice near the entrances of our large rivers, such as 

 the Bersimis, Outardes, and Manicouagan, and 

 let themselves drift on it for days without feed- 

 ing. Nothing smaller than S.S.G. shot is used 

 here, and twenty yards is a good range. They 

 are never shot at in the nose or facing the shooter, 

 except if the head is high enough out of water to 

 expose the throat. A side shot or one in the back 

 of the head is the surest. On calm or warm days 



