Show this driving of the fur seal inland is not uninteresting A number of aleuns aleuts having gotten between the animals on the shore most of them probably and the waters edge the latter awakening and finding their retreat to the surf cut off scramble further up on the land the aleuns aleuts probably pio bably a dozen in number form a sort of funnel shaped skirmish line and approach the animals that keep retiring before them to prevent their teeing overheated by exertion which might affect the skin if not immediately stripped from the slain seldom driven much faster than half a mile an hour and often allowed to rest As far as possible the selection is made from male animals about three or four years old when the fur is in the prime but as the maximum of strength and belligerency is not reached for a few years after this it is easy to see why the best animals for fur have not tho best places on the rookeries rook eries but are found skulking off by themselves so numerous are they and so easy to drive to the killing grounds that the aleuns aleuts have no trouble in securing the whole in a week or ten days over a months time there is an object irr hurrying the work as the skins are better earlier in tho season but if there be much warm weather during this time the driving is slower andall other work is correspondingly retarded the seals having cooled off for two or three hours they are killed in herds of about one hundred to one hundred and fifty strong by striking them on the head with peculiarly shaped clubs made particularly for this purpose if the day is warm they skin the animals rapidly killing but few at a time but if cold they can kill even a thousand or so before beginning work in taking the skins it takes about five minutes to skin a seal a work that is very severe although in cases ii has been done by very active men in a and a halt where our sealskin bacques come from by frederick in woman march 1888 |