452 



ON THE ICE-FLOES. 



Harbour Grace alone, in 1862, went out twenty vessels 

 which never returned ; and the sufferings undergone by 

 their unfortunate crews were very sad. In 1872, the 

 Huntsman, sailing from Bay Roberts, was dashed by the 

 running ice against a rock on the Labrador coast, and 

 broken up into fragments. Forty-six of her crew perished ; 

 some being drowned, some crushed to death by falling 

 spars, and some cut to pieces by the ice. 



SEAL-HUNTERS ADRIFT. 



Then, again, while the seal-hunters are tracking their 

 prey on the ice-field, it not infrequently opens up, and 

 the floe on which they are collected is carried far aVay 

 from the sealing-ship. Or some of the men, while in 

 search of prey, or engaged in hauling their " turn " to the 

 vessel, fall into the water, and perish miserably. Every 

 sealer carries with him a seal-gaff; that is, a pole about 

 nine feet long, with an iron hook at one end, and a 

 sharp-pointed head of iron. With this he hooks into and 

 drags the seals along the rugged ice ; or he uses it as a 



