(elie) 
NEWFOUNDLAND SEALING, 1907. 
By Tuomas Souruwewu, F.Z.S. 
Owine to the lamented death of my valued correspondent, 
the late Sir Robert Thorburn, I had contemplated discontinuing 
these Newfoundland Notes, but such readers as have followed me 
hitherto may perhaps like to be furnished with the statistics for 
the season of 1907. I therefore send a summary of the results, 
for which I am mainly indebted to Mr. L. G. Chafe’s Annual 
Circular. 
The fleet of twenty-four vessels sailed as usual on Monday, 
March 11th, encountering terrible weather from the commence- 
ment. The ‘ Leopard,’ which left St. John’s on March 6th for 
Channel, which was to have been her port of departure, during a 
desperate snowstorm next day ran on the rocks near Renews, 
and became a total wreck; happily her crew, after much suffer- 
ing, effected a landing in safety. Later on the ‘Greenland’ with 
a broken shaft was driven seaward in a blizzard, leaking badly, 
and had to be abandoned one hundred and twenty-five miles 
H.S.E. of Bonavista, her crew being rescued by the other 
steamers. Thus the severity of the weather and the heaviness 
of the ice-pack combined to render the season, with the exception 
of 1905, the worst since 1898. 
Deducting the two wrecked steamers, the remaining twenty- 
two vessels secured 245,051 pelts, being 96,785 less than in the 
previous year, the money value of which showed a decrease of 
£30,467. The first vessel to return was the ‘Grand Lake,’ on 
March 27th, with 10,739 Seals. The ‘ Neptune’ headed the list 
with 30,985 Seals, only five vessels having above 15,000; seven 
others had above 10,000, and ten others below that number ; the 
average of the twenty-two vessels was 11,139, ten vessels being 
above that number and twelve below it. Thus there were very 
few which made a paying voyage. Of the 245,051 Seals killed, 
222,713 were young and 4490 old Harps, 14,869 Bedlamers, 
2913 young and 66 old Hooded Seals. The market price for 
young pelts was 4°20 dols. and for old ones 3 dols. per cwt. 
