A SEALSKIN JACKET AT HOME 115 



" Trouble," said Dr. Roy. "Trouble between nations, 

 unwise, angry words in the newspapers, and the killing 

 out of Seals ! " 



"If Seals may not be chased with dogs or shot at, 

 how are they caught ? " asked Olive. 



" They are driven up to the killing grounds, as pigs 

 or cattle are driven to the slaughter house ! " said 

 Olaf, " and in this way it is done. 



" The bachelor Seals, who are chiefly those under five 

 or six years old, live by themselves, and lie near the 

 water and sleep soundly, but in the homes or rookeries 

 there is noise and tumult all night. These bachelors 

 sleep on the beach, one close to the other, like rows of 

 tiles upon a roof top. Down go the drivers, native 

 Islanders, and take their stand between the water and 

 the Seals, who, being awakened and seeing the men be- 

 tween them and the water, start landward, thinking to 

 escape, and so are driven up to the killing places near 

 the villages, where the Seal families will not be dis- 

 turbed by them." 



" Isn't it very slow walking ? " asked Dodo. 



" Yes, very ; for though a Seal can run a few yards, 

 he can walk safely only half a mile an hour, and the 

 drivers must be careful not to hurry the Seals, or the 

 heat makes their fur drop off and spoils the pelt." 



" If a Seal is driven too fast he gasps and has to stop 

 and fan himself, for Seals have no sweat glands to cool 

 off the blood, and can only perspire by panting, like 

 dogs," said Dr. Roy. 



" Care must be taken not to kill very young Seals 

 also. A Seal's skin is best when it is three or four years 

 old, after that it grows uneven and ragged. The pelt 



