FUR SEALS AND OTHER LIFE, PRIBILOF ISLANDS, 1914- 89 



SKINNING. 



The seals after being killed are laid in rows far enough apart to allow each skinner 

 to work on his subject without impeding the movements of his neighbor. An incision 

 is first made from vent to throat; continuous with this cut, incisions are made around 

 the head in front of the ears, and around the base of the hind flippers ; a cut is also made 

 around each fore flipper close to the body. Beginning at the middle of the ventral cut 

 the native then rapidly separates the skin from the body, holding the skin slightly 

 stretched and cutting through the subcutaneous layer of blubber with rapid, sweeping 

 strokes. Each fore flipper is worked out of the circular cut at its base, and the remainder 

 of the skin, after being separated from the body, falls free of head and limbs. The 

 result is an ovate pelt with two circular holes where the fore flippers were removed. 



The skin of the head from the ears forward, known as the mask, has customarily 

 been left on the carcass and allowed to waste. It is probable that these masks include 

 enough good fur to give them a substantial value. They are easily removed and pre- 

 served and have sometimes been taken as perquisites by the natives, who have sold them 

 for small sums to the natives of Unalaska and to chance visitors to the Pribilofs. The 

 value of these masks should be investigated and if it be found profitable, as seems 

 likely, they should be regularly taken and marketed. 



A layer of fat from one-fourth to one-half an inch in thickness is left on the skin. 

 This is allowed to remain and helps to keep the skin in the moist flexible condition desir- 

 able for its proper dressing. The process of skinning requires much skill and care. A 

 chance cut greatly reduces the value of the skin; too much blubber may result in 

 imperfect curing and consequent loss ; while a dearth of blubber may allow the skin to 

 become dry, which interferes with the process of dressing. Some of the more expert of 

 the natives are able to skin a seal in two minutes, but the average time is longer. To 

 retain the desired degree of skill it is, of course, necessary that the work be kept up. It 

 is evident that the suspension of killing during the past few years has already resulted 

 in considerable loss of skill, even among the experienced men, while the younger men 

 have had practically no opportunity to acquire efficiency. 



CURING OF SKINS. 



The method of curing the skins has been detailed so often that only a brief descrip- 

 • tion is necessary. After being allowed to cool on the ground so that the animal heat is 

 lost, the skins are taken to the salt house where they are numbered and weighed indi- 

 vidually, and recorded. The process of weighing consumes a great deal of time and 

 should be discontinued, as under Government management it serves no useful purpose. 

 A simple system of flesh measurements, as explained beyond, should be substituted. The 

 skins are then laid flat, fur side down, and having been carefully spread to guard against 

 the persistence of folds or wrinkles, are covered with salt. Successive layers of skins, 

 each well salted, are placed in the bins or "kenches" until the entire catch of the day is 

 cared for. In this state they are allowed to remain a week or ten days, when they are 

 shaken clea r of salt and are examined critically to make sure that all parts of the skin have 

 been cured. They are then repacked in a compact pile, called the " book," the process be- 

 ing similar to that of the original salting, but less salt being used. Here they remain 

 until such time as they are to be shiooed, when they are tied into bundles, each containing 



