Newfoundland in 1897 - Rumbolt

THE GREAT SEAL-HUNT.
employed in the manufacture of the oil and its preparation
for market. All this industry is dependent on the
play of those great forces of Nature by which the circulation
of the waters of the ocean is maintained.
It should be noted that the seals captured here are not
fur seals of Alaska, whose soft coat makes glad the heart
of the city belle, but the oil seals. Their skins are used
for the manufacture of a coarse-grained but expensive
SCALPING THE SEALS.
leather employed in the making of trunks, boots, purses,
etc., and also in costly book-binding. The oil is used for
illumination, for lubricating machinery, and for making
the finest soaps, and like uses,
There are four species of seals in the waters around
Newfoundland and Labrador the bay seal, the harp, the
hood, and the square nipper. The bay seal is local in its
habits, does not migrate like the others, but frequents
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