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Show DRILL HOLES THROUGH ICE Seals' Necessity of Obtaining Air In Winter Calls for Tedious and Constant Labor. It is probable that not one person in a thousand knows how the seal of the far North gets air when the Arctic ocean is entirely covered with many feet of ice. The small, spotted seal, which Is a hair seal, and not a fur-bearer, is the hardy dweller of the northern waters. Under his tough, thick skin he has an inch or more of blubber. YVjhen the ice closes up the open water in the Arctic, the seal selects a spot and begins be-gins to drill a hole to the surface by pressing his warm nose against tho ice. Nobody knows how many hours it takes him to accomplish his task, but he manages it; and although he is obliged to work most of the time, because be-cause the surface of the hole is continually con-tinually freezing, he keeps it open all winter, and obtains air. Seals have been known to drill in this manner through 50 feet of solid ice. Whether or not they take turns in the slow drilling is not positively known. It is at these "seal holes" that the polar bear seeks food in the winter, and there the Eskimo waits, spear ia hand, for his weekly supply of meat |