Show Light Is Cardinal Ordinal Virtue of the Newfoundland Seal Hunters Fleet Brings Back Miladys Milady's Shoes and Soap in inthe inthe inthe the Raw Milady dressed in the height I of fashion rarely thinks of the thc swept storm-swept Arctic seas where sturdy ships have ha been crushed burned and blown up in the race to fill staunch hulls of the New New- Newfoundland Newfoundland Newfoundland sealing scaling fleet with seal sealskins sealskins sealskins skins and fat from which her fine shoes handbag and costly toilet soap may be made says saysa a bulletin from the Washington D D. D C. C headquarters of the Nation Nation- National al Geographic society With the lengthening days of March thousands of mother seals come up through bobbing holes' holes and bear their young youn on the shift shirt shifting shirting shifting ing ice fields north of Newfound Newfound- land Innumerable little furry white puppies lie among the ice pinnacles gaining weight at the phenomenal rate of two or three pounds a day Daddy seal goes off with his cronies to boast about his young young- ster Mother seal stays home and does the work Hour after hour she sha scours the adjacent icy seas for fish She does docs not feed fish to her young but gobbles great quantities herself so that she may provide abundant abundant- rich milk for her offspring When a baby seal is about two weeks old and resembles a afat afat afat fat roll of butter it may notice its mother sniffing the air suspicious suspicious- ly Not far away a huge black hulk drifts close through shattered ice pans A clamor of strange noises fills the air and odd two- two legged creatures run out over the fields of ice The baby seal is too much interested int to be disturbed but as several of the intruders draw near its startled mother makes off with other grown Quickly they slip into the ocean through convenient breathing b rea r e a t h i n g holes The baby seal and its play play- playmates playmates playmates mates wriggle toward the strang strang- strangers ers Early in March a small fleet of scarred ice-breaking ice ships sail out of the bottleneck of St. St Johns John's harbor bound for seal-peppered seal ice i e fields off Labrador Steamers smash their way through grinding ice guided by members of the crew in lookout barrels high on the masts Their cries of Seals ahead give the signal for fren fren- frenzied frenzied frenzied I preparations among the mill mill- milling milling milling ing crews beneath At the call Over the sides nimble raw-boned raw men jump out outon outon outon on spinning pans armed with dog dog- dogwood dogwood dogwood wood bats having iron hooks and spikes razor sharp knives and light drag Acres of moon- moon eyed white pincushions await the fishermen curious and unafraid The sealer scaler attacks his quarry with his bat expertly husks off the the skins and adherent adherent adherent ent fat leaving the carcasses steaming on the ice Three or four are strung on a rope by which the scalar seal r hauls them to one of the colored mark mark- marker er flags where several men pile their catches Later the ship breaks through the elds to these piles The scalps are arc hoist hoist- hoisted hoisted hoisted ed aboard and dumped into fat- fat soaked holds Back in port the layers fat are cut off the pelts and rendered into a fine odorless colorless ess oil Rough skins are transformed into fine leather The oil is a constituent constituent constituent of some soaps and also is used as a lubricant as an illuminating illuminating illuminating oil as an adulterant of cod liver oil and in treating leather Seal skins are cut and sewn into boots pocketbooks and novelty leather goods |