188 CARNIVORA. 



blow, well and fairly delivered, will lay any Seal out, 

 but this whacking is repeated three or four times before 

 the Seal's life is extinguished. 



" The killing-gang, under the supervision of their chief, 

 have, before going mto action, a common understandmg 

 what grades to kill, sparing the others, which are per- 

 mitted to escape and started off to the water as soon as 

 the marked ones are knocked down. The men then 

 drag the slain out from the heap in which the}' have 

 fallen, and spread the bodies over the ground, finishing 

 the work by thrusting a long, sharp knife into the vitals 

 of the animal, so that the bodies will not ' heat ' by 

 lying one upon the other ; and then another pod is 

 started out, killed in this way, if a cool day, and so on 

 until a thousand or two are laid out, or the drove is 

 finished from which they have taken these squads." 



" The flesh of the Fur Seal, when carefully cleaned 

 of fat, can be cooked and eaten by most people, who, 

 did they not know what it was, might consider it some 

 poor, tough, dry beef, rather dark in colour and over- 

 done. The pup, however, while on the land and milk- 

 fed, is tender and juicy, but insipid. 



" The skins are taken from the field to the salt-houses, 

 where they are laid out open, one upon another, ' hair 

 to feet,' like so many sheets of paper, with salt profusely 

 spread upon the fleshy sides, in ' kenches ' or bins ; then 

 after lying a week or two salted in this style, they are 

 ready for bundling and shipping, two skins to the 

 bundle, the fur outside and strongly corded, having an 

 average weight of about twelve to fifteen pounds when 

 consisting of two or three-year-old pelts. 



" The Government interest on these Islands represents 

 the commercial value of twenty or twenty-five millions 

 of dollars. The course which I have indicated in my 



