254 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
One of these “savages,” well known to your readers as a 
contributor to this Journal, was recently decorated by Her 
Majesty with the Albert medal for distinguished bravery in 
saving life in the Greenland Seas. 
In the main Lady Blake’s account of the modus operandi 
of the St. John’s sealing is unquestionably correct, and on her 
article being read over to an old Newfoundland sealer there was 
very little to which he took exception; but although admitting 
that such practices as Lady Blake describes as general, were 
certainly possible, he maintains that they were very exceptional. 
Those who attended the International Fisheries Exhibition 
of 18838 will remember the series of models and drawings of the 
departure of the sealers from St. John’s, their meeting with the 
Seals, killing, flenching (or “skulping” as it is called by the 
sealers), and the hauling the skins to the ship: these were stated, 
by those conversant with all the operations, to convey an excel- 
lent idea of what really takes place when the vessel has got 
among the Seals; and how, under these circumstances, such 
scenes as are depicted by Prof. Jukes could occur, it is impossible 
to imagine, for it is as certain that no captain would encumber 
the decks of his vessel with three hundred dead and dying Seals 
as that the men would never incur the labour of dragging them 
to the ship: Prof. Jukes describes what he saw, and therefore 
it must have happened, but it is difficult to account for. 
The first thing after killing all the Seals within his reach, 
which the hunter does, is to divest them of their skins and 
blubber ; this is easily effected whilst the carcase is warm, but 
should it become frozen it is a matter of some difficulty: these 
skins, with the blubber attached, are dragged, perhaps many 
miles over the ice, to the vessel, and it may readily be imagined 
the men do not burden themselves with an ounce more than is 
absolutely necessary. Lady Blake refers to this mode of bringing 
in the tows” at p. 520. It is certain therefore that the state 
of things described by Prof. Jukes does not apply to the present 
day; and let us trust that in this respect, if in no other, more 
humanity is displayed by the sealers. 
At p. 514 Lady Blake says that not more than six or seven 
steamers leave St. John’s, and that the largest steamers belong 
to Dundee. As a matter of fact, there were nineteen British 
steamers at the St. John’s sealing last season; four owned from 
