THE SHETLAND SEAL-HUNTERS. 463 



crews. It is not uncommon, says Dr. Cowie, to see 

 young men walking over the shoulders of their less 

 favoured components of a crowd, in order to make their 

 way to the office where a Greenland skipper is " feeing " 

 his crew ! 



The sealing-fleet leaves Lerwick about the 10th of 

 March, for the sealing-ground in the neighbourhood of 

 the volcanic isle of Jan Mayen, which it reaches in a 

 week or ten days. Then commences the destruction of 

 the unfortunate phocse ; and the vessels, if successful, 

 return home to discharge their cargoes of blubber and 

 skins. But if their captures be few, they proceed to the 

 whale-fishing at North Greenland or up Melville Bay. 



A sealing-voyage generally occupies about six weeks. 

 Each man employed receives about 2, 10s. a month, and 

 2s. 6d. for each ton of blubber brought home. Thus, 

 should the vessel make, as is generally the case, a hun- 

 dred tons, the seaman will receive .16 for his six weeks' 

 work. 



After landing their cargoes at Dundee or Peterhead, 

 these ships generally sail for the whaling-ground at 

 Davis Strait, calling again at Shetland to complete their 

 crews. From this second voyage they usually return in 

 the month of October, though sometimes a whaler gets 

 frozen up, and is compelled to winter in the Arctic 

 regions, at the risk of terrible suffering and even loss of 

 life. 



Such are the principal methods of seal-hunting to which 

 man has had recourse. But the great fishery, as we have 

 said, is almost entirely in the hands of the British and 

 the Americans ; and during the season from three to four 



(502) 30 



