278 EXTRACTS FROM VARIOUS PUBLICATIONS. 



mother for thirty-six hours seem in no haste to seek nourishment on her 

 return. 



About the middle of July the great body of the last year's pups 

 arrive and occupy the slopes with the younger class of males, while the 

 young females join the older ones on the breeding rookeries. The fe- 

 males go into the water to feed when the pups are some six weeks old, 

 leaving them on the uplands; nor do the young seek tbe water until 

 they are several months old, and even then seldom from choice, but are 

 forced to learn to swim by the old males. About the last of October 

 the seals begin to leave the island, the young and females going first, 

 and the old males following them. By the first of December all have 

 departed. In November the young seals stop to rest for a few days on 

 the Alentian Islands, where several hundred are annually killed by the 

 natives. 



MANNER OF KILLING. 



While the young seals are resting on the slopes above the rookeries, 

 as I have already described, a party of hunters, armed with clubs of 

 hard wood, approach them and creep quietly between the rookeries and 

 the shore, and at a given signal start forward at once and drive the 

 animals inland in a body. When at a sufficient distance from the water, 

 a halt is made, and as many of the undesirable seals selected out and 

 sent back as possible. Only those of the ages of two and three years 

 are considered prime skins. The remainder of the flock is then driven to 

 the slaughter ground, which is sometimes several miles distant. It is 

 necessary to drive them inland some distance in order that the smell of 

 blood may not alarm the rookeries, and it is also a matter of convenience 

 to have the seal carry his own skin to a point near the salt houses; but 

 the driving must be conducted with the greatest care, as when the ani- 

 mal is overheated, the fur loosens and the skin is rendered worthless. 

 On arriving at the killing ground, a few boys are stationed to prevent 

 them from straggling, and they are left to rest and cool, after which a 

 small number are separated from the flock, surrounded, and driven 

 closely together, where they are confined by treading on each other's 

 flippers. In this position the desirable animals are quickly killed by a 

 light blow on the nose from the hunter's club, and all others are allowed 

 to enter the water at the nearest point, whence they return to the spot 

 from which they were driven ; this is repeated until the whole flock has 

 been disposed of. In the skinning, every man is expected to contribute 

 his share of labor, as all receive a portion of the proceeds ol the sale 

 of the skins. As the seals are not considered as being wholly at rest 

 for the season until the females arrive, great care is required in selecting 

 the proper place from which to drive, early in the season, and this is 

 exercised by the chief, or one of his subordinate officers, who has the 

 whole direction of this part of the business. 



In the month of May, only such small numbers as are required for 

 eating are driven; in June they become more numerous, and are then 

 driven for their skins, although the percentage of prime skins in any 

 flock is very small. About the middle of July the females go from the 

 rookeries into the water, and there is a season of general unrest among 

 all classes of seals, during which, for a period of about ten or fifteen 

 days none are killed. 



About this time the yearling seals arrive, and these, together with a 

 portion of the females, mix with the young males, greatly increasing 

 the difficulty in distinguishing the proper animal for killing, and it is 

 necessary for the chief, or his deputy in charge, to designate each seal 



