FUR SEALS OR SEA BEARS. 239 



After being thus sold in the rough state the salted 

 skins are sent to the dressers by the purchasers, and there 

 and at the dyers they are changed by various processes 

 into the beautiful seal-skin exhibited by the furriers. 



First the strips of blubber and flesh still adhering 

 to the skin are removed with a blunt knife, then the ears 

 are cut off, and the skins are washed in warm alkali water ; 

 next they are stretched on hoops and dried in warm rooms 

 where currents of hot air pass over them ; after this they 

 are soaked in water so the hair is loosened without effect- 

 ing the underfur. Then the skins are warmed on the fur 

 side, and the top hairs removed with a blunt knife. The 

 skins, which now have nothing but the fur on them are 

 then rubbed to soften the leather, shaved, repaired, and 

 sent to the dyer's. 



At the dyer's, the skins are limed back to back, with 

 a thick layer of paper over the paddle holes to prevent 

 the dye from going through and damaging the skin by 

 being absorbed by the pelt. The ground color is then trod- 

 den in, and after this has thoroughly dried the necessary 

 coats of the top color are applied with a brush or by 

 dipping. When the dying process has been completed 

 the skins are scraped and shaved, and cleaned in a revolv- 

 ing drum containing saw dust; and finally are machined 

 to remove the fine water hairs. The entire process by 

 which the raw hide of the Sea Bear is converted into the 

 "sealskin" of commerce takes from three to four months, 

 and greatly increases the value of the skin. 



The sea migration of the males of the Pribilov Island 

 colonies is unknown. The females and the young of 

 both sexes pass out through the Bering 'Sea into the 

 North Pacific, where they are known as Victoria or North 

 West Coast Seals because some of them are speared on 

 the North West Coast of British Columbia by the natives, 

 who go out in canoes to take them. Most of the Victoria 

 Seals however are taken in deep water as before stated, 

 and the United States, in its war against pelagic sealing, 

 has declared the skins of the Victoria Seals to be con- 

 traband, and to prevent their introduction into the country 

 in manufactured garments or other articles has found it 

 necessary to adopt such stringent customs regulations that 

 it is often difficult for tourists, not familiar with the 



