508 WILD ANIMALS. 



tbe native directs his blow," observes Mr. Elliott, " determines the 

 death of the seal ; if struck directly and violently a single stroke 

 is enough. The seals' heads are stricken so hard sometimes, that 

 those crystalline lenses to their eyes fly out from the orbital 

 sockets like hail-stones, or little pebbles, and frequently struck 

 me sharply in the face, or elsewhere, while I stood near by, 

 watching the killing gang at work." 



The " Alaska Commercial Company " have the sole right of 

 killing the seals on these islands, and they are only permitted to 

 take lOOjOOO male skins annually during the months of June and 

 July. After this date the animals begin shedding their hair, and 

 the skins are worthless. The Act of Congress, passed in 1870, 

 leasing these islands for twenty years to this company for a 

 rental of $50,000, with a tax of $2 on each skin, regulated the 

 time at which the killing was to take place, the number and sex 

 that were to be killed, and these stipulations are strictly enforced. 



Mne-tenths of the skins obtained by this company are shipped 

 to London, to be dressed and prepared for the market, and from 

 thence find their way all over the civilized world where furs are 

 worn and prized. 



The age of the animal has a great deal to do with the value of 

 the skin. A well-grown seal in his third year yields the very 

 best grade of pelt ; but the skin of a five-year-old is very poor, 

 while that of a seven-year-old is worthless, and never taken. 



The price of a seal-skin garment has a considerable range, 

 as most people know, extending from a few pounds to over a 

 hundred ; but the reason of these wide variations is not so well 

 known. It depends, of course, to some extent upon the quality 

 of the fur originally, but far more to the amount of skilled labour 

 which has been expended on it. The dyeing is one of the most 

 important operations, and requires considerable patience and such 

 great skill, that the number of men in the world qualified to do 

 the highest class of work is quite limited. If it is conscientiously 

 done, the colour will not rub off, or when subjected to a little 

 moisture, soil the collar or cuffs of the wearer, neither will the 

 skin become faded or ragged-looking, like the cheap articles which 

 have been defectively treated. A great deal depends also on the 



