Ax) 0 Canadian Record of Science. 
up the cliffs of the island against the seals.” The Amer- 
can sealers getting scent of the business, with customary 
energy, poured into these seas and joined in the scramble. 
The captains of American vessels being disinclined to 
respect the local customs regulations, gave a good deal of 
trouble, and were accused of disturbing the seal fisheries. 
They probably secured a share of the skios of which no 
record would appear in Colonial or British customs returns. 
In 1802 Captain Campbell, on an island off King’s Island, 
in Bass Strait, killed in ten weeks (from 10th March to 
27th May) 600 sea elephants and 4,300 seals. In the same 
year two French vessels came there seal hunting, but were 
warned off by Governor King. Van Diemen’s Land, now 
named Tasmania, was settled in 1803, and at a very early 
date escaped convicts and lawless, runaway sealers began 
to infest the islands of Bass Strait, ostensibly, and some- 
times actually, engaged in sealing. Regular shore gangs 
were formed which occupied the islands of the strait in sets 
of ten or twelve. They were tendered by small vessels, 
which brought provisions and carried away sea-elephant 
oil and seaiskins in abundance. . They employed Tasmanian 
native women to swim out to the rocks, imitate the motion 
of the seals, and thus take and slaughter them. Before 
long some of this class, as well as others of better repute, 
began to find their way to New Zealand. As early as 1792 
Messrs. Enderby sent a sealing party to Dusky Sound, by 
the Britannia, and procured 4.500 skins. Jorgen Jorgen- 
son, afterwards known in history fer his revolt in Iceland, 
was upon the coast of New Zealand in 1804. He went 
down in charge of a small vessel from Port Jackson. ‘‘ We 
killed,” he says, ‘“‘ several thousand of these harmless ani- 
mals, and it was quite astonishing with what eagerness the 
sailors entered into the pursuit, knocking down the animals 
with their clubs, stripping them of their skins and pegging 
them out to dry or salting them down in casks, with the 
greatest zeal and perseverance. At that time these skins 
were sold in London at a guinea each. We filled our small 
vessel and returned to Sydney.” 
