SEALS AND SEAL-HUNTING. 115 



said, they sink when killed in the water quite as often 



as they float, if not oftener. Anyhow, Mr. A had 



the rare good fortune to encounter a splendid oppor- 

 tunity, and he made a splendid use of it. 



A good dog is a useful auxiliary to a seal-hunter; 

 but he requires a good deal of training to learn his 

 work. Very soon he acquires the art of stalking ; but 

 most dogs at first are apparently afraid to lay hold of 

 a dead seal floating in the water, and very commonly, 

 when sent off to fetch him ashore, simply attempt to 

 mount on him, and in consequence do harm rather 

 than good by helping to sink him. But generally — 

 not always, for some dogs we never could train to do 

 the right thing — we succeeded in teaching them to 

 retrieve. When we had brought a seal home, we 

 used to throw it over the jetty or out of a boat with 

 a stout cord attached, and encourage the dog to fetch 

 him. Great praise was bestowed when he learned to 

 lay hold of a flipper and tow the selkie shoreward ; in 

 this way, with a little patience and perseverance, the 

 dog soon came to learn what was required ; and many 

 a seal was secured by his help, which without it might 

 inevitably have been lost ; for a seal shot in the water 

 from the shore, which they often were, was very 

 generally on the opposite side of an island or long 

 promontory, where a landing had been effected; and 

 it took many minutes before the boat could be got 

 round; and by that time, but for the dog, the seal 

 might have sunk, and been lost. 



We tried many breeds of dogs — Newfoundland, 



