96 I'XI'KIMTION TO J'OINT 11AKKOW, ALASKA. 



They select a ])lace where the ice. is level and not too thick for about a hundred yards from 

 the edge of the crack and then proceed with their ice-picks to cut three holes parallel to the. crack. 

 The middle hole is large enough to admit the passage of a seal, and the other two are smaller 

 and serve to allow the stretching lines of the net to pass through. They arc about five yards, the 

 length of the net, apart. The stretching lines are let down through these holes, and grappled 

 and drawn up through the center hole with a long slender hooked pole. They are then attached 

 to the upper corners of the net, which is thus drawn down through the middle hole and hangs like 

 a curtain underneath the ice. The end-lines are loosely fastened to lumps of ice, and the hunter 

 sitting down near the net begins to rattle on the ice with the butt of his pick; scratch with a little 

 tool made of seals' claws mounted on a wooden handle, whistle softly, or make some continuous 

 gentle noise which excites the cariosity of the seals, who are swimming round in the open water. 



These come swimming in under the ice in the direction of the sound and of course come in 

 contact with the net, which, hanging loosely, soon completely entangles them. The running out of 

 the end-lines warns the hunter that there is a seal iu the net, and when he thinks it is sufficiently 

 entangled, he hauls it up through the middle hole by means of a line attached to the middle of the 

 net. The seal is frequently drowned by the time it is hauled up, but sometimes has to be killed 

 by bending the head back sharply so as to break the neck. 



After disentangling his catch, the hunter sets his net again and waits for another seal. I have 

 known a single hunter to catch as many as thirty seals in the course of one night. The dead seals 

 of course freeze stiff very rapidly, and if there is snow enough on the surface of the ice, they are 

 stacked up, by sticking them up on their tails in the snow to prevent their being snowed over, 

 until they can be brought in by the dog-sleds. 



When there is no suitable water for netting on a large scale, the natives are constantly on the 

 watch for small cracks and breathing-holes, where the seals come regularly. Two or three men will 

 surround such a place M'ith four or five nets, so that every seal that comes to the hole is sure to be 

 caught. These nets are kept permanently set and are visited every day or two. 



Later in the season when the sun has returned, and the hunters find regularly established 

 breathing-holes in the ice-field, the nets are stretched flat across the holes by cutting four holes 

 round the aiHu, and stretching the corners of the net out to these. Each hunter will have several 

 nets set in this way and will visit them every day or two. 



When the " leads" of water open off shore in April, seals are always quite abundant there 

 and the whaling itmuiks usually catch 'a good many. They continue abundant all through the 

 whaling season. Towards the end of June and through the month of July, when the ice, especially 

 the level ice inshore, is growing rotten and wearing into holes, they begin to come up through these 

 holes to sleep on the ice. They sleep however with extreme caution, waking up and raising their 

 heads to see if all is safe every four or tive minutes. Thejfcire so exceedingly shy at this season 

 of the year that none of us ever succeeded in getting within decent rifle shot of one of them. 



There is considerable variation in the color of this species. Individuals were seen which were 

 almost white, being quite unspotted on the belly, and there was a complete gradation from these 

 to specimens like one noted on January 7, 1883, of which the following is a description : 



Ground color, Wad; belly no lighter than the back. Marked all over with ring-like, sometimes 

 8-shaped spots, white, numerous on the back, large and scattered on the belly, small and thickly 

 crowded on the upper breast and throat. Flippers and claws very black. 



10. ERIGNATHUS BARBATUS (Pabricius) Gill. 



BEARDKD SEAL (U'<jru.) 



This species is far less common than the preceding (P. f<cti<la), but is by no means rare, occur- 

 ring even during the winter when the ice is broken. 



They are also occasionally killed at the " leads" of open water during the, spring whaling, but 

 are most abundant during the summer and autumn when the loose ice is running with the current, 

 swimming around among the broken floes, and occasionally crawling out upon a cake to sleep. 

 Tlii-y almost invariably sink when shot at this season. Karly in the season they are frequently 



