RELATING TO PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 67 



where tliey are to begin operations. At the word from the chief the 

 blows fall in quick succession, a single blow upon the head of each seal 

 designated being always sufficient to completely stun him, and usually 

 to fiacture his skull. Those remaining are carefully looked over by the 

 assistant superintendent, such of the doubtful ones killed as he may 

 direct, and the remaining ones driven to one side and allowed to return 

 to the water at will; or, after a few hours, if any remain about the field, 

 H boy is sent to head them toward the sea. The clubber's sharp hooks 

 are now stuck into the noses or flippers of the fallen seals and they are 

 dragged apart and laid singly, as closely together as convenient for the 

 skinners. This is very necessary, because, if left in a heap as they are 

 slain, the heat at points of contact quickly loosens the fur and spoils 

 the skin. The drivers now "run" to bring up the next "pod," the 

 stabber thrusts his knife to the heart of the stunned animals and the 

 flip])erers follow as soon as the seals are dead, to cut the skin around 

 the head just in front of the ears, around the posterior extremity be- 

 tween the body and hind flippers, around the two fore flippers and 

 down the median line of the belly. I^ext he is taken in hand by the 

 skinner, who quickly flays him witli dexterous strokes of his long, keen- 

 edged knife, leaving a considerable layer of blubber upon the skin to 

 prevent its hardening and drying in the salting process. When it is 

 desired to save the blubber as well as the skin, both are removed from 

 the carcass together and flayed apart with skillful strokes of the knife. 



The seal killing is done in a very orderly, systematic manner, and the 

 attendant waste is surprisingly small when done with skilled labor. 

 Rarely an undesirable seal is hit by a clubber, and occasionally the sun 

 will shine out unexpectedly and so heat the skins before they can be 

 removed, as to loosen the fur and cause it topull out, but the entire loss 

 under judicious management amounts to only a few score of skins in a 

 hundred thousand. An experienced force of 22 men can easily slaughter 

 and properly cure the skins of an average of 1,500 seals per day through 

 the season. 



When the skin has been removed from the carcass it is thrown, flesh 

 side down,' upon the damp ground, and as soon thereafter as convenient 

 hauled to the salt house, where each one is examined and counted, in 

 the presence of the native chief, by the Treasury agent and the assist- 

 ant superintendent, in order to determine when the number allowed by 

 law has been taken and to form the basis for payment to the natives 

 for their work. 



Salting. 



In the early days of the scaling industry it wns always customary 

 to dry the skins fur market by stretching them u])on 

 the ground by means of wooden pins driven through '°^' 

 their edges or by the use of stakes and twine. But this process made 

 the skin difficult to unhair in dressing, and, moreover, in the very damp 

 climate of Alaska it was often impossible to dry the skins thoroughly 

 enough to prevent their decaying en route to market. Large numbers 

 of skins were lost, I am informed, in this way, even after artificial heat 

 was resorted to for drying them, and it was found most profitable to 

 salt them and ship them in salt to market. 



The salting is done in rows of bins called " kenclses." Each skin is 

 thrown to the man in the keneh, who quicklv spreads . „ ,. „ 

 It, flesh side up, and a third shovels salt enough upon 

 it to completely cover its surface. The next skin is spread in the same 

 way above the first, and so on with alternate layers of skins and salt 



