122 A summer's cruise TO NORTHERN LABRADOR. 



continuously pleasant days on this coast ? — the hatches 

 are battened down, the food is handed to them through 

 a hole in the cabin, and then they are left to take care 

 of themselves as best they can until the storm clears off, 

 when the hatches are removed, and the forlorn passen- 

 gers can take a breath of fresh air. 



The captain does not take an active part in the fish- 

 ing, but makes his profits by charging for freight on the 

 fish. If the season is a good one and his vessel is soon 

 filled, he goes back to Newfoundland and charters more 

 vessels to carry back all the fish which have been caught. 

 The season lasts from the end of June until about the 

 20th of October. 



The season for the seal fishery during the past spring 

 was from March 25th until June 4th. The Gulf, of 

 course, was filled with ice, no water being in sight from 

 shore. A successful ''catch" of seals is "better than 

 9000." Each vessel carries fourteen boats, which are 

 piled up on deck ; four men man a boat ; each man is 

 provided with a gaff or boat-hook and a piece of ratline 

 three and one-half fathoms long. On coming up to 

 where the seals are lying, the crew land on the ice. The 

 sealer runs up to a seal lying near its hole, which maybe 

 only a rod or so from the vessel or boat, clubs it — and 

 it is easily stunned and killed with one or two blows — 

 sculps it, then peals off the skin and blubber, leaving 

 the carcass on the ice-floe. Each man can tie up five 

 sealskins, and drag them to the vessel, and sally out 

 again, rushing ahead and racing with the other crews of 

 " bloodhounds." The scene is one of excitement and 

 peril, the ice constantly endangering the vessel, which is 

 liable to be " nipped " and to founder, leaving the ship- 



