CAEE OF THE SKINS AND OIL. 201 



Small carcass behind. Bundles are then made of from three to seven 

 " pelts," and each man drags a bundle towards the boat. This is some- 

 times miles distant, the ice is rough and broken, he must leap cracks, 

 trust himself to isolated cakes, and may often fall into the freezing water, 

 or lose his way in a sudden squall of snow. It is limb-cracking and life- 

 risking work, and to accomplish it successfully a man must school his 

 muscles to endurance, his nerves to peril, and his heart to bitter cruelty ; 

 but every pelt is worth a dollar! 



By night, after a "seal-meadow" has been attacked, the decks of the 

 vessel are hidden under a deep layer of fat, slippery pelts. After these 

 have lain long enough to get cool, they are stowed away in the hold in 

 pairs, each pair having the hair outward. The hold is divided by stout 

 partitions into compartments, or " pounds," in order to prevent the cargo 

 from moving about and so rubbing the fat into oil, which would speed- 

 ily fill every part of the hold and the cabins, spoiling all the provisions; 

 a vessel once had to be abandoned from this accident because it had not 

 been " pounded." The European ships, however, generally separate the 

 fat at once and stow it in casks. 



Sometimes, instead of bringing the pelts to the ship as fast as they 

 are obtained, the hunters pile them up, placing a flag on the heap so 

 that no other crew will take them, for there may be a score or two of 

 vessels all attacking the herd at once ; and this claim is respected. But 

 in very many cases a snow-storm hides these heaps, or they break away 

 from the floe, or the ice " jams " and crushes them, or the ship itself is 

 driven too far off to return, so that they are lost or wasted ; hence the 

 practice of thus piling up the pelts is ceasing. 



Perhaps I have given you the impression that it is only the young 

 seals that are taken on these expeditions, but that is not wholly correct. 

 Two voyages are ordinarily made, each lasting about two weeks. The 

 first voyage brings home few old seals, but on the second voyage the seal- 

 ers find the youngsters pretty well grown, and as well able to escape as 

 the old ones. They must therefore use guns somewhat, and otherwise 

 manage to secure adult or nearly full-grown seals, if they are to get any 

 at all. 



There are several methods of capturing these animals along the shore : 

 by driving companies of them into nets set among rocks, or spread un- 

 derneath the ice at their breathing-holes ; by surprising them asleep on 

 the shore and cutting off their retreat ; by shooting, harpooning, and so 

 on, all of which are exciting and picturesque. 



Besides the skins and the fat, parts of the flesh are preserved for food, 



