re~~ireme~u f~rthe

SWILING: AN ETHNOGRAP HI CPORTRAITI OFTHE NEWFOUNDL ANDSEAL HUNT

<.

--.r.'-' by •

""

@,

Guy,orIvi d Wright"l. A •

.~

,.~

A Th es is,submittedin partial ful'f-illment

o'f

the

re~~ireme~u f~rthe

^degree

~~ f

Heee e r ofArts

"'''',

. . ^'

I

s~. John~a

Deps-;tment of.An t h r o p Olo g y'.

Memorial Unlv ~rB 1tyof'Ne wf o un dla n d .Ma r c h i983

Newfo,und land

',,,':...,. ,'t~,,'.':~ ,~,~ ,

. c->:

r.

Permiss ion^tha~^{'be e n'gran ted} .to the Na t i o " a l .Library 6f

.c enede to mlcrofilm th i s

th e s is -a nd to Le nd.or sell '.cop iesof the flll,ll~

. ," ' .'.

\ ' . A e',author

^(copyright

own~'r)

.~"'-;-- ' h a s reserved o t h e r

"p u bLkcatLo n. rights, and

neither: the thesis' no r extensive,ext r a cts from it I\aybepr1nted or otherwise, reproduced wi t hout_his/ her written per~iss'ion.

'.; 1

a~a~O~ii~i~~~l!~,~~tAn:~~~~:t:

du .Ca h a d a dev-mi'croft lmer

cet ee thbe et d$ pr@te r cu de've nd e e des exemplaires du film•.

L'auteu r (tltulaire du deait' d'auteur) se rs ee rve,les aut res drcLt.s.de pUbli cati onl n1 Ia th llls e n1 de lon~s extraits de -cJe1 1 e-c 1 one doivent>iH.re •imprimAs ou aut r ema n t reprOdul t s sanS,80n' autori~ationacrtee,

.\

ISBN

...

.-:-- - -

~.

!\

ABST RACT

Th isthesis describes the sodal and.cu.l t ural meali ingth e N~W'f oundlandlarge ve s se l.seal hunt has for the'men,Whopartic i p at e In' i t. La r ge vess el shav e.bee n taking harp andho o dse a l s off

. /

\

.

""?".

~ew f o un ~l andal!,- c e.1~~.3. AnhO~

tec:hnol,ogiesand.ec on omic! empha s e s havec:hange.d~

ov e r't'h'e:year s,the ac tu a l work of killing. skil}.Ding and

~arves ~ in~. ·th.~

^{-peLta and-meat-0 ; seals 00'·tbe-...}

ic e'remai ns

' 1 1it le' ~h8n ged

^{inne arl y't wo}

cen tur1 e 8 .~~---

^__

.

^{- . .} "..; -....~'~

The extre mel y_harsh co n ~itl 0n 8 ~n d Lnhe re nt; dange.r& "<c;

ha v e ma de th e8e~1 hunt;-4!'D import ant'r i te of

~~ ^{ren e walfor,me .n}\i'~'.O^{B're ableto}pa.rt fcl~

pate , Several.ma j ordl Baste r~B associatedwith

8e~U·ng_ha.il!.!.AmPlif~~dcUlturaL_At~al:hme.nt..B--1-o.J.h"'- ~_,2 s'ell1 huntwi th i !"Newfo u np l \ nd.

theaea~hunr: has beco me'. major iss u e in a

d1alOgu~ ~e-~w e,en 'tho~e

^who-

r~gar.li·

^{i t a'scruel an d}

,ecol o g ic al l y dan g erous . econo mi c a l ly unimport ant

and.cul t u.r a l lyindefensiblei,-Bnd thos e.who fe,elit ._ isa:hu~an e .

" " ? " ? "

Imp ~-~tan:t" " le~ittlllate

~d~at:Y. T~e ~unt

haa " ".und er a

""?'

^0'\

c.riticismfrolllen'v ir o n lll e_n ~ 8 lpreservationia t groupa in- ,t he,P,uttwo decade.s and~tappears theae lobbyists

11

..

;.;

~~~--~~--- be ended.

\

. .

^.

m~ybe,1Buc ce,e,sfulin.'s to pp i n g or sev erely restricti n g the annual.hunt•.Seal1n.~.ls,.import a ntto.th em~,

.

for cu l t u r al . Boclal snli. ult i ma te ly . pe r so n a l.rea sons whic hare extra totbe lIlore'c o n c r e t e economic:

.\' . '

1mp?r'~aq;ce 1tbolda.fo r th em . . •

;'

·~.o llowing, the'lni:ro~u c~i_~ ri\and

^{.s·bd.dhist ory}

of/~eai,lng 1~ New:foundl"'nd~ ~ ~he'~)dY

^{of'the thesis' _}

p'i~8

i '

ent~ the ethno'~~a;h1C

" ^detall-^of,^{,avoy a g,e,to}

t~e

-~u,n t ':"u8"~n 8parti=c'ip.. nt observer-t e c"'~l q U e 8. This -/dee:cription•gives'close datil1'of.the

se.ale:~·a:! ·

.1 n te r -",

ecet one:wi t h each ot h e r and reLetee, Ihrgel'Y,·throu g.h dialogue, tl'!e feeling.t he sealers~aveforand abo ut .the hunt. The

irnal

chapter deals wit h.ene se a l e rs "

m?tlvatlo~ s fo r p-::rsuln g'the hunt...An'epilog ue'

r~~--"-:-"'--'.fiju1l1••"."-'st~·8oliepoi8T6 Te """'Iiij ilT"C"Stlo ns-~""O"~;Tl"'t""••-'h"'u.~t•.- - - - -

. ?

~. I

NolIIa,jo ~_at.';'dy nf-,modern se.a1inghasbe e n un d ertaken by_an ethn Dgrapherwho haa partici pated

~ntbe,h u n t.. Recent'event'~are serio u sl y tlireaten ing sealing1n.'NewfOUndla.~di th1sthe~'i8"ms~,bevlew,ed' as 8alval,e~',

""?"?"..'

^It,.18 ~n^'.emp 1r'i c a l lY• . or1.n·t~dwork which'811118 toahowhow~necono mic activityma~'beembuelji Vith."c.ul.tural meaning.

u,

,.,.~-:. .",~:rr''..'',.'

· r:i~:· . "

"'.

"""':',1,' ;:

'.

~.:.~,

. .

^',

.I

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

Ma n>: peop,le ha vecon tr i b u ~e d to thh thes i s .inmyria dwa ys . and 1can not.p o ssi b l y thankthelll..

"\ ;a l l . ~ e re .

I'c an on lyhope theyun de r s ta nd theIr

efp' r t ll;ar e gre:at lyapp r ec ~ s t e d.·

• I' .... . .

My theet e advi a or . Dr.Raoul Andersen , was

,~ p~t~~n·t.

^{pi l o t through}

t~~

^..

d.if'H~UIt ~ssaBea

of res ea rc h lind,wrt- t i n g·.: 1thank hi lllf r I all~ w i n8his,ap p r e n.t,i c e to'c h a r t 'h isow\ our a e bu t'ke'e p tp g ' cLce e w.t~ h for nUlllel' OUa ha~ar ds^•

.

,~

D :.

R,obert Pa i ne'Or ig i n,a l i y in.spired me' to do re s e ar ch on t'he sea l hunt,on e rai n y ev e ing at Napo l i P i uS.; He fo llo we d'through ....ith,....ell timed proda.to ,fi n I s h.

Of themany friends who p'rovi dedgreat amou n tsof en c ou ra geme n t , Doroth yAnger,an d .Dr . JohnCharlesKenned y de s e r ve special not e .

Bothke pt.u n h ll.in g fai t h through the whoLe

'l ~n'g pro j e ct.

Wi ~hout

^{th e}

' co ~ra geou';

^{.eff o r t s,o ,f}

ce

riee n, O'Toole.,'who e'dite dand tY..pedtwo e.olDplate , ",

.1lIi.nU8 ~r~~~ s ~ nd.

^{has shlHeA:8 0.,lII,any}

o~~l-....

^...

burdens . I . sy never have; found the .-~rength^{.t o} finish it.

rv

~

, : .

.

\

Gener OU8funding ferthe re8e ~rc:hvas 'p rov i d ~dby the ID!Jtitut eof ~odal and'Ec:on o lD-ic

Re1Ie ar.::h of He.or'!.a!Universit y .

The'Sc hu o l ofGra d ua teSt ud i es ofHerno r ia l

Universit y pro yid e db~;s ar.ysupport for.the first twoyea~a.of Illy: Ma a te r 'of Ar ts pr.og r alD- me'•.

~:.

r:

.,' .

·..

",

,

^".

.;',~:.~-."

..

.,-?

'.:..'.' l,',r

.\

' .':-

....

^~.,'

CHAPTER.

TABLEOF CONUIlTS

. °LIST.OFliAPS

,12 12'

""

16 21

"

27

"

"

..

I.' ,OS

108 113 111 1Zl

"

"

"

62 II 74 78 '19 ,87

,

"

,'91

"

103 .vil1

_

^..:,

..

^{,.,. ., ,,'}

, l.- ,

I

I , :1 :

, I , , ' ,

" ,

,.1,

T

j

' ..:;' ','

HARBOURS IDE , UNDEIl.WAT• ,\. INITIATION, 0

STAGESOFEXPERI!NCE ,

~~~~o~O~It ,

^.:':':.:

~

^"

SHEATS-HAKIKG\• • CREW SOLIDARIT Y , LOCAt I NG'THEHERDS PROTE ST1I0 UlES INTO THEPATCH KA'SURWATCHES

HOINI NG . , . . .' llLU)lG , • •, • quALITY OF WORK 'MI DDAY, • , , ~

HAULIN GA!O AlD • RITESorSPRIKG

A tlAY(IN THEICE , I IMT ROD~~CTI ON

II RIS TOIlY.ANDrACItGROUND•

\ "

HARP SEALS• • •• • • HOODSEALS.•., , • • •

~~~L~A~~~~~N;llA" ,

^{. : : ,}

STEAMERS: 1863- 1943, stRaEs \. , •., •

CONDITI ONS •• ••

POSTWOILD WAil II .CONSERVATION.0' .

PROTEST ... .

.III

"

CHAPTER

\'

STRATEGY• • PALLINGIN". AftERNOON' TRANSITION FREEZING • NIGHT • •

l21 l22 130 134 136

140 ".+.

147

!

14'

•153(

.;~54

. 16 7

'. ~; rl

172

'73

17.

177 179 184 '8 S 194 .,19 8 203 20S 20' 22L

233 240 ECONOMIC RATIONA LE. • .

ENTREPRENEURIAL INTERESTS . •

·SOCI AL.ANDCULTURALATTACHMENTS CREW SOLIDARITYAND PRATERNlT-Y .ADVENTURE

TRADITION V ';fHE HOOpS •

HOOD SEALS SAFETY .:-, CATS . • VI RETURNING;·.

~EXT

_ YEAR?

FLIP PERS •. PROCESSING UNLOADING PAYDAY• • S·ECONDTRIP • CHANGE OF'HEAR, M~TIVATIONS • • •

\ \,t"

\ .

I

,

EPILOGUE • ~

" 'BIBLI

I

OGRAPHY.

PLATES ..

: ,

i I

"

..

^,'

.

^~

LI~ ~OF HAPS

1 HIG~tI ONI~UTEorBARP $!.AU .III

I SHIP'SROUTE• , •232

1', '

- - .. .. .

j '

/ I

/ ^{•.or :'"}

!:!

, CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

,\;."

.... ' . .... ".'.

;

,~,1" '-,'4 '

^'.:

!",, '''C:'':;''~'':' '''':: ''''' . '

'"

I' The ,e-thnographe:r strives to apprehend social

.

\ " ,

pben0!;gen8 .and organize them Lnt c,a comprehensible and meapingful frameyork: Bit'S.of's e e mi n g l y

:<

'r a n d ':)111 h'umaninteractio'n'becomepatterna of

" i,J;.·~e'h~viour ~whlCh

are described in

a~

intelligible

,', ji :., . .

!:;;\\fa s ~ i o nfor other.s.

;

(? h h thes~a attemp~s to describe.t h e experience

\:(, ,j"

L

^{,:,:0 £ i}h i r t Y men~8 they participate in the.~ n n u a l

.)

!l i::~'sea~,hun t

^atthe "Front"

off....-nor~hern ~ewfoundland

^.

•'

: l;~':'a?-d?s ou'~h.e rn Lab~ador

during ehe sp ring.oyf979.

\~}~'e ::t~es1s

,g i v e s a sense of ene'i mp o r t a n c e of th e

•r

" W~~~t'

^to,the

sea.l~r8 thro~g,b

^a,d e:t a i l e d ac c o u n t of

ti~e

^{e<'ents of a}

~eallng

·v o y a g e•

.'1" r ,. : . . ,

11L:;' ,.' t

',~ h eseal hunt has become a major Issue

'r: lli

^re.dialogue between those who regard i t

~s

• \'~- I i " " . ' , , .

f~.:.uWrec ea sa ry . cruel and ecologically dangerous;

.al~d

^those

fn

fl feel it is,a

~egltimate.

^{humane ""}

I, ' I .\)

~

} i!l

~~f~.,::~~nomi·ca l ~ :important industry: 'Th i s

~" ~' I aiii.loS\le,ismost often played out be eve e a large

I· ' · ",' . ' . .. " "

l'~;Yt :t, e,~~j.ronme~ ta,~

grob'psand

thei~

.:follo,ers. th'e'

\'I~~i~" " :~"o:~mer c1a l lIledl~.·

^and'the pol1t'lcians of Canada

,:';~~~};. . : , 4J ! .Ne~fo~n.d~and·.

All speak with varying

~lIlount~'

,.'~!.'"" '/ j "

l ' . '.:1

• "I ! ' - "

\)

t ,

! .~

'~';: --'.. ."~"'~-':'

of aut ho r ity I!-bout theeceeee re,cultu ra l and socia l>meaning'; h e hunt ha.s for th e seale rs• .Bu t

,

. '

^{. .-.}

the'sealers

^.

them s e lv e s

^.

are usu all y leftout

r

^\

".the dla cuaa io nf.:· Th:e 8im of this thesi 8

- ,

i8 to . . ',.

pres en t anexam i n at i on of the hu'ntbe a ed up ondat a gat her e d by par t ic ipa n"t c b ae r varLen at the Fr(j~ t,~ndfoll OW-li p dis cu s s i o n s.with ee e Le e e over 'a'pe'ri.od"'f.severa l years •

....My hypoJ;hesis is tha·t th'e seal hunt has

~.e~~i~eYOnd ^{th eob'viouseconomic} ra t ~ onb re^•. Al thoug h ['h e hunt is

'ec on~m i~l lY

ve r y imp o rtan,t to many of t~ e eea Lere , th e r e ar e soci a l'a n d cul tural:atta chme n ts that also make i ta per s o n al l y. mesningu l'experience.

My primarygoal , howe v er, is not to t~s\ a

, , . '

hy p o t h e s i s ina conventi,ona l sClen tific:lIla~ ner,

r

^believe, wi th Cliffor'dGentz, tna t

A~ t h ropo"oR Y

is "••• ec'e a.n exper ime n ta l 8cieh~e in l!Ie~ : c hof· lawb~tan in te rp retiveone in 8~src hof lIIe~n ing "

(1973: 5). 1wish' to id;.e ntif y and des c ribe thos e' ee pe cee of the seal hu n t V,hlch "luk€:it ameanin g fu l event fo r tho~ewho tak e pa rt .and•.

t s

^{.p r o vid e sn}

Inter pr e t '!'t i ?nba fle d on8nthroP olo~lica l.pr i~ c~p ~'!ill.

Recently economicanthro po J o gili t s ha ve

.',

I'~'.

.

:::>-:':...

>:..'..' "':.'

",,; , " ':

. .

~'-~'

turne.d away fr omthe purely rati o na l forf!la of

-4! ' .

·,f,. '\ns/endB..;Jrel a ti o;"s h i p s snd are

,~ egl

...nnlng

'.~ ~Ck:

^to," "

sOc1.a.~ lY

^a,nd

cUl~u!:.a:llY me~ningiul

.aspec'ts of'e c o n o mi c' e.eetvtey, an approach that

,bega~. >'~t.hrop,OlOgy .

^'Itch

Mal lnovaki~

^For'.

exa mpl e.HatirlceGo,de I1e r'(196.6 ) and other -st~uc ;u ral'Har xist~-je ev e argued:that manytrad i tio.!l-

. .

sl~arxiste.co~om~~t:lil,:bave pLa c ed to o much emphssis

~

^the

~'ur~l~l'eeo~~~li:: :proce~se8 .

disregarding ., th e.Im~~r,t,it~t:^':In,hu e ;''c e of.s.o c la l're'la tlo ns;_xer e

.. ^.,.

^{'" , .'}

te cen-t l y ,:Hars h all Sahl inahas"bee'n cr i t ical'of ... .

~ he ~dea t~at

^hum·an

c'ult~~es'

^{. :}

for~ulated

cue of'pr act ic a l activ i ty and , behi nd that , utl l1.tax:i s n , l nt e r ea t "·(1976:vii) . This'th e si s

;f? 11ow8 th e spiri t of th e s e sug ge s.t io ns. srgui ng that,

pe~P'Y :

s mot'i·ies

fo~

^par ti c ipating

~n ,

^{,a n}

ecence Lc sctivlfY'\c annotalw ays beexp1.aine~

. . <4. \ /

sole ly ~n.ecoromi c te r llls•. {:. '

1.fi r s t became ID'teres~edin'sesl ing'whenI ,.n ter:~dt.he

: Hae't er

oJ'Art 8 prOgr.a'~iIIeat.Hnorisl Univ; z,sl i f

.'

of',

~NeWf oundla~d in

' .' . Ja nul!T)'. 1978 . At' that,,t imethe'provl~e ialgovern'me n t W8S,mou nti n ga

~' .' ., ' " " ' -, ,.'/ " 1

~a m~ a1 gnto.c ~;- ~t~ r:,cr l t ic la~ s.whic h w~re~: 1n~,"~, 1II~.de.bY^large"1;~ t ~ ro.4t l 0 na l"sav e the'~ eala"^{prote s t}

,

·",...,.;

....

',^{/"; :}

. . ...

^,•.

organ !za t lo na .u c h.a. thec eeenpee c eFoun datlo nand th e Inter n atlon a l Fund for"n lal1 Welfar e (IF"W ). Th e arta co ••uoi~ ,.wa s 10 the ,fray . aa ve reth e chur che a,ac hoolland oth er·iolt ltut l onawithin'

" "pr.o vln c ; ~ and.t hi~^{counter pro t el t} v~auPPOrte d, by8 grea t .a n y pe ople at the grlaar oot lJlevel.

ft.ha s beend~ cum e.nted^bycy~thia ^{L....on In} ::BloidYD~.ck8 and ,'II ~!.L£!.~2':'L...!.!!.!-~!t2.~!.£._l!t Se'alliscounUL-U~!.!~'( 1.9 1 9 ), a reviaedve r eLen' of her Ha s t e r ofAr~8(Folklore ) thea ~s.

Duriogt.h is t illle·s'g r e st d.n I''In aoldabout thellIe n who de pe nd ed,upon 'the hunt for an i.po r t a nt

.

. .

pai.Ii:" ofthei.r' livell ho od ,:lu;d references vere ••de to eneee •• petta0'(the hunt thlt make i t laport ant for'the .eale rabeyond ~l.pleeee n ceteeee rv ee •

i. • ..

Canadia n., over n.eDtpa.ph.let de .1 8 n e ~ to explaio tile huntin'la y a e n' s te r llS Ita tel: "I t .houldbe r~al1.z~d atthe eu ea ee.... .that doll.raal).d ce n ta:do not tell a full atory. Seal l ng ra an

~ .. ,

enterpr ia e wh i c h·t eata/th e e eeere ofitap~"':tlcip. ntll.

·.I~

is'p ar't o f II cUl t'ur 'sl

herlta~e" (Hercer~

1911). " ..'...

Yet"n o one ,wh oha,d

be~n

^{to t'he11c e ha d'}

pro'~ld;d

^'.,

an\ In depth .t u d; of

tho~ e s~pect . ~ofttle lIl4~ern . ...

huntwhlc~lIlak e It hiportant to,I t a p&rticlpantll.

.'

-'::....Ji _....

~.

^.''/''<''.

'~.~:i.'

^{"."....: .......;;:••}

:·.;,~/:~·a. "_: .. . ; ~.; .. >".l~ - : ,~.:- ' :';' ,

J oB.

JUkl!8 , a nine teen th cen t u rygeolog is t and'-

("

~

tr a v e l l er wrot e a short ,ins igh tf ul·descr i p t ionof the eailing ve s s el hun t of'1840 (Ju\es,18 4 2: 25 0 - 322). Ac oep rebeaefvedes c ri pt i o; of'l i f e at th e 's ea l hu ntws s wr i t t e nby Geo rge AllanEn g l a n d

(19 24) abo u t th e 19 2 2 hu nt. Vi ki ngsof th e Ic e , re publ-la h e d8STh e Gr eateatHunt in th e Wor ld (19 6 9 )'

" . "

18 ~.vl~ ran t «ndet~ no g raph lcal ly.,rtc.h de8 ~~lpt lQn of daily,~lf~.ab o a~d a ".wo t de1lll'n l"o-st eamer, th e 5.5 . Terr a Nbva. ALe ee ric hde8cr l p t~on . Th e Woo denWa l ls at,the.l e e Flo es wa a pu b l ishedby W.H. Greene in1933. Qtherbooks, suc h08' CaBsie Brow n's Deathonth e Ice'(1972) and Far le yHowat '8.andDavid Bla ckw o od1B Wake of th e Grea t Seal e r a (1973 ) are excel len t re c ons tru cti o n s of thehist ori c al seal hunt , bu t th e y ccnc en tr eee prilllar i ly'o~Illajor ~ven ts ,.especis l lyth e disas trous sea,so nof

1~4.

^{Two Hsste,r of'Ar ta th es e s have}

be e nw'r i t t e n ab out the a e aLhu n t andsre ih"~h e Queet:tEl i , a be th II Libra r y at HBIllorl s1 Univ e rs i ty of New f.oun d l-~nd. Ch esl e y Sang er,. ~ge o g r aph e r, part i c i p a t edin two aeal htJnts. buthis thesis.

"Tec:hnol oai caland SpatialAdapt a t ion s inth e Newfoundland Sea l Fillh er r Dur in g the Ni nete e n th

Century " (1973)deals pr ima r i ly.with the\d emo g ra phi c ch a ng e s wrought bytb e changef~omssi l to stesm in the ae a Lf n g in d ust.r yof the Las.t c.entury,' JohnScot t ~sfolklorist, tried to gsin-'/r"berth o"n 8'seallngvee eeIbut fail e dtodo ac," Hiath e s is,

I • .

liT h e Functi ons of Folklore.in the Inter -Rel a tions hip of the NewfoundlandSeal Fishery and the Home Communities of theSealers" (197S), use scurr e n t

\ ' .

\ . , .

. '

~an dhi s t o ric a l r efe ee ee e e, from'sealers and~or" er .?,ea l e r s to explainho~parr;icip,st;ionin.the·lIe~l huntha s asig n if i c an teffect on th ewa y the men'

.

.. , /

;~. -- _'

^{who·take part in it areviewe din their home}

"/ '''~ ,

^'.communit.ies.

'....- : : : own_Att emp t to ge.t a berthon a'" ": "ship con.stituteda yesI' lo n g p r oc e e e of ho undfng~he ca p t ; 1n of On e of the vessels at every

p08 ~i ble

op -p o r ~uni tyand ignl?ring.hi s rebuffs. I wa s.g iven nue er cue'hints that mye,f f o r,t swo ul d likely be futilll and that'I WBS beinganu.nwante.~.,.nUi8~.nce. But in' :.

Ne wf ou n dl a ndon e'does,no t alwaysgive direct

,.' ,

negative rlilsponse lll

'i f

they.'a r ~o i d a b l e (Chiarslllon t e,

"s

tu nn.e d " to know.'~he^di

f

fe'r enc e',I n d.:kept up"Illy· ,.•. .~e8 t e r i n ~.. Thec a ptafn..~,perh 8.p 8 in a' ,rno_entof ...•.

'/ :

<, ,.'

.,,::'

.,

. . ~

weaknee e,fina11,yr~l ent ed.o n l y thenigh tbef or e the.h ~p awere due tosai l , Marctr,: '~ ,

1 :979,

I had toldhi m I would~ike'to~ork,a s 8eea l l i but did not.ex pec t remunerar.i·onaince mr purpo s evs s to gatherlIIateri alfor lilyJ:las't ero~Arts en e et e, I t was difficult for ee to.exp la i nex actly whs,t it; is an anthropologistdoes ,an.d

h e

was, like ; y.

waryof 'mywcc rv e e, He was finall ykinden o ugh to

. a.l:l:e~t ~~

^ai'a

stud.en~,a nd~ff.er

^r:h;,expe 't'i ence•

" . ' "

..

of •trip o'n a sea l i n g-,voya g e.

Bert hs on sealing ship aare valu e dposi t i o ns• .

. .

In 1979. on e hund r e d nine t y - ei gh t'ee a l· e ra e eevee

(

" .,.,'.,.. ,

8ea,le~.e eade q u ~.t e return'fcirhis.eY'or t .

~he ca p t a i na norl!lally'begin forming-~p thei r

8!~~iJi.g

^crews

8hor ~ l y

^{aftl e 'r the new year'.}

Thos~

who were,O:U.t the

'p~eviou~

^{yesr and}

hadbe ,~n

good vorklrs_{, ) \}glt ..the first_{> "} cha n c e an_{• •} a are -';;;;ifie-d·.

r .V

,by ulepho,pe. u,uallyafter they have s'enta letter_

\.

.

.\

. '

.

sevenships, wi.thanoth.er "ae ven t y,~r-sopsrtici p ~t:1n g as ships of f i ce rsso d,en g i n ee r s . Ha n y ecee men apply'for~etths^{'t han'c an pqsslblvbe} ac c ommo d ate d.

G

r e v s1ze is l imited both ,by'sva1 1 a ble spac e and ::he need.t.O: 'kee~\tb~cr~w:rel~tlVelY slIla11so,that

ared profits;o'f-thevoys g e willp'r ov 1 de each

M-'.•~. ,.-,", .... ,",.'

ask i ng to;be co ns id er ed aga i n'f~r abert~,.Ot he rs _wh ohav e~e e nou t prev i ou s yea rsm~ya~sobe ca lled,.

as are-e en whohav e vo rke don th e sn ip at vsr i ous ti mes du ri n g theyea r an d exp resaedade~ i r'e to 'goto th ehunt; The se men repee e ea ra poo l.of

sesler s and se a me n vaeee abil 1 t ie·jand.pere ona lit 1e a are kn ovn'by the ca p ta i n.

,T h o sewho are unkn ow n hav e.a con s i de rabl ymo~e

dif fi c ultt iJll:enn d need~to Ita n a.ou t ~ro m the mill .ofapp l ica t io ns, i.R lome~ay,. Most sell i ngcapt'a in a

van t-to't ak e so llle n e~peo ple each year 1n order toin l °i:i s t e ri~w m e n tothe hunt.and to:iner e :... e

.

^{,~ ,}

the pool of pot en t i al ex p eri e n c e d eeeier e. M08t of th ene '" men vi I I'need tohave e oeeki n d of

-,

re c ommen d a t i on r e oe 8per acn kno wn by~thec aptaLn inotder'~ o ^{ha v e.a cb}an c e at abert h. One ofth e

-'. ....

.

- ----:_ -

':,:,."

..

^{':, .,,}

'oj :•.,~.. ',,', ::- ,,.~•.:.,

t.women on the,'ah ip.w,:-r e fr o m,a'~ lIla llcomlll nlty

on th e No rth ern'Pen nin.i ul ,i. When friend who ha s pe,rSUlld ed him'to aak th e capt fo ra berth .

o~er~

^{may have}

~et

ondiffe ~ e:n t cccas ren e .an d impre Bsed,h,i m 88 ' be ing po t.entia 1!y good e eete es• For exampi • .more exper ie nc ed eee re ee JAi g b t have8so n who

. - , \ .;

vants togocue , anothermig ht ba v e abro the

."

... '..:t'; ,:,~,

(.; . . ^,

in their harbour,theprevious summer they went

I I

^-4-.•

~.oard

^{to meet the}ca p ta i n and aak h.lmforabe rth,

"He lilted them andre m e ~bered them ?he nextwinter•

•Two

~en

^{frail Fo go Islandkne.wthe}

~an

^{who sC,te d}

.,as.' f i r s t mate oo·tbe "shipsince...he used toliv e

in theircommunity. They had been sealingbefore .on different's h i p s,b.u t had not been to the ice

\ .

iD

.

se veral years .

,

They requestedtheeeee toas k th e'c a"p t a i oi f they~ou l dget berths .

'Some'ma y have a burningde.ire'or ne ed to

'go ~e s l i ng but do'no t havea co n tac t or a.nyot h e r means of makiog an impression.''"S he e J',dogged pe rliistence is't h eonl y wsy and:It'isno~ofte n"

successful. Billy. a young fishermanfrom St: Joh n"'s,.' was on eof'the r~r.epeople to ob t a i n aberthin thh way. ,L ike me. he"s l Qp l y houndedthe,capt sin on an'y occasionhe could,in a politeway, ~n d

~gnored'rebuffs unt'il thecaptain~"flnallyga v e in,·, ,p'e r hap s feeling that any ooewith,so,lIluch~.de81.r e

should be given a chance.'.

'Cha~ t ertwo brieflyre'v1ewa the.lIla in'po i n t's intb~ hiotnry of hwfonndland:oea 11. .. .'rho ,).ner portion of'the,cha,pter concentrateso,ll'the de".elopmllot'o f

re~~l~~ion.

^during'

' ;h~ ~08't

^{War a .}

.

',:...-

War II eraand th e begi nn in.gll of th ept'o~e.t--- 10

~.-.

,

.

^.(.

. .

movement: Prior to.th e war there had b een'v ery li t t l e re g u lati o n of the ee e I hu n t. partic:u la t'ly in_terma of resource llIanagemen.t. Th ede v e l o p me n t of t~eBere g ul at.i on a and th e aoclal p r e eaur e e th at: helped..bringtb e ll.abou t:havere c e i v e dI.c,ant at tention in much of

the 8 e~ 1 1ng

'l it e l-st u,reand havem~~e th emOde~n eeaI ~u.~t81 8n1ficant~y different in sever,al re s pe cts fromtheh111[o rlc:ol, hun t. ThereforeI have inc: l u d e d a revi ew of.

of the mal n.f~a ture8 of aeal hunt msnagelllen t:

s,!,d humaneBocie!yactivi ty during'~he p e et th-r e e decades. ,The chapter endswitha br i e f exslldlt'atioo'of'the pro tes t andco unt e r pr ot e st .

Ch a Rterth r ee be gl ns t.h e de8cr~Hio~of th e.seal hun t fromshipboa rd. Wri tt e n,innar r a t i v e fo r lll, it,deala pr imarilyVlt.hthe fo rm a t i o n of bonds-be twe en

.

crewme mbe r ss&.the ship pu s he d

.

no r t hin s u r c h of seals. Chapte r fo·u r d~CUtben t8 one day spent.at the white coat hu n t. Ituse s, inpart . Illy own experie nces in 'an atte mpt to ee crea ee s eee,;o f theeml c level exper ience a cOllllllon to any neophy te.8 e ~1~r. Chapte r five·

con't inues wit h ade s c ri p t i on of the hu nt for

.

,

-r•

','--'.~.''...

, .

11 hood ".a1o. Chapter e Lx has two themes, both of

<'

,which" are-c e ~ t r e daround the idea of returning:

the ship i-o~.eturning from the hunt.. and thelIlen di~CussreturnJ.ng for other hunts.

An

epl1ogue.

'e onclu ~'e s

valu,es

of

·.'la t .g e r 89ciety. the'thesl's.

Chapter Beven presents an analysJ.'1 of the

m~n"s m;t~vations.~or ~~coming ,a~

^{in the}

8P~i~il'of't~e^{yea,r."I t,}:n'c,~ud_e8,^a c:.roaa ;::ultural co.mpariaonwith

8~~ther ·gr~up .

of people,

th~

B88se,rinomads'Of So "!t h--Per'sia (I'ran).whose

: . , " ,

lif~atyle was.t h r ea t e n e d~y:the PF'eva1l1ng

I , , -" " .

': .; .\ .:. :

. .

I

l'

, .•.. . .

~ ~::

.CHAPTER 11..

H~YANDBACKGROUND

'!ill.§.!!!,~

I .

harp.e e e t e Th er e are th ~ee~ maj or^{her ds 0,£}

:r

_{whic h inHabit.arctic} and aub-a rct.ic·w';'t.era. These

, . i . . .

\her d s minglevery li t ,t l e and are._u 8u81',ly distin gui sh e d

.: I

,",b Y'.~.h el rbreealug.

1

ar e.III,: the.W~!t esea,\;near " ' Ha yen.Island;..e nd inthe

we~:.~ern- .NO~~~ Atlan t ~c

^...

of f.easternCanad a. ""Th e. veetern,her dbreeds in twoareas: th e c'ui'f

o~

^{St .}

~awrence ' wel t"of

^{the '}

Magda·len.1al an ds

~nd '

^{at.th e'"Fron t ''' . oJ!f sou thern}

Labt-ador. .The.Gul f stock<'wh elp a " •.or',bears it s YOURg ,.onn_~wlyt"or me dlee, whi le th ~ l~r~er northern Fron t stock wh e l p s on the "edg e of'ar ct i C:· pack ice

o ;. I" '

vh~c:h^isdr i fting south1~th e Lab ra do rcu r re"nt.

TheseCanadian·st ockemixand are conside red

.

,

psr t

crt

^the salle. herd.'"I~the sUlime r th~Yran g e

12 , --<>-

. .

ss fa r north8S Thul e. Greenla nd, Ellesm e r e isls n d , and

a'r~u.nd ~~ffin

^{Isla nd ,}

an~

^{'s o mefi n dlt heir 1oI'8 y}

.in to'Huds o n B'a y. As wint e t ap pro achea t.~ey m,1gra te80u ~hwa~ ^{(nto the-,wat e rs.off,}N'ewfo un dland ,

"

,

.

.

.

"

feedi n g heli vil yin'prepa ra t~on'fo r thewhe l p i n g '. ~d b'r' e e d in g 8"easoo;· In'la t e Feb r ua ry't'he'whel p i n g

pat c he,.beg.in'to

f~rll,

f1r llt in th e G::'rf an d

,

I ' ^.

^"~'

13

- ' -

8o me w h a ~lat e r at the Front .

March 10Is usual lye.on81d~r e d the "seals' bi r th da y" at.the Front..The pup aare bor n with a yei "l o wl sh foeta~ co~t^{wh i C;h}q~ic:: kl y^{t'ur ns} brigh ~white;. The"~:t't e coat8 " re m'ai n onthe •

'lC ~ 'f~r th~ e.e ~~ fo~r -we ~.ka . 8u,ckli~~

the'rich'

miiitof thelr~oth e r8-. Themo't he r ' 8 mi l k ha a ten times as-muc h'fat·an dove r·t h r ee time s as

r " ,

m~ch·pr'oteln'ss C~WI8m'Uk (Temp l~ ~a n . 1966: 131) snd on thi s richnut rIti o n they ga i n'wei ght've ry rap idl y. Fr o m, -a birth w~18 h~of abo u t eeve nkilo- grams"th e ywill.re"c:: h ne arl y thlr ty - ~wokilog rallls wi,thin two to thr e e wee ks: Two third s of the ir .weig ht Is blu b be r', akin and,h ai r. V.ery l it t le Iliu~ cle ^t:issue develop s and mo a t of thi s Is e on-.' cen e r et ed in the sho uld er s of the i r for e fl-ip pers .

Af t e r wean'in g , thepups lI)oult their white coat,t~u..rni ng bri efl y"eo "r a~gge~y-j ac k ~ t8 "lind. the nt'a k e to the wa te r as "beate rs " with a soft ly spott ed grey coat . Sinel the .iee:has been dr if t i ng aouth~heymust newbeat:t heir wQYnorth , ag ai n st the current,fe edi ng al?~ e .

Oncethe younghav.e le_ft . the f~male 8ma't~

'

...

,:/.^'-

. .

~ ..'

·7 ^{· · · · ~· ·' _} .. · · ·

..

I .

-

."'''~ '' '".'.;\

.

14 with the ma,leawho have been awlmmingne ar b y . Actual implantati on 1s delayed by eleven ro twelve weeks wh:lcoh';-allow8~._~ n g tooccur while th e 8ea~8 are all Co n g ~ e 8 at~d~t.h t!whel P1R,8patch.

Harp-seals norma~lyI.i ve about th i r t yyears,,, They reachaeX"Usl maturityin r cur to five ye~'r8 (Templem·sn. 1966: 133) .

!!Q.Q.!!

~~!&

Hood seals live"to,be'about twenty-five years. they',breedand vb eLp in famil y un i ts an~.'l i ke.the

'h a r 'fl, produceO[Le pupplr ma tu r e femal e. They

whelp on heavier packice than theharpan d'a r e much

. ,\

more widely scatte red. The major c c n'c entr atLc n

•of ho od seals whelp 'on,thepack ice off Jan Ha,yen'

Leend, bu ts m a l l er numbers^{o f} w h e l p i n ghc cde'are found off uortheaaternNelifound land and 1n the Da_v~.s·Stra1t ^{<.Pinhorn. 1976: 51). The}p_~oult th e i r foetalcoat in the lIomb and are bot l ' , l t h a bluiahgrey hair. These"b Lueb ae k e" are a~le ee illim veryshortly af.t.~~bir th. They re ma i n on the ice eve to three weeks, suckling. and it is during this period that they.arl! hunted.

~~ll

!!1lli

^{T 1NG}

The first peop letolive inwhat call ."l

--

,•• :,... :.~,•.'j '.... ."..::::,0·.",-" .

~.-."

- ' ^{' :- '}

• 15

the p e evtnee of Newfoundl.and and~abradoraimose certainly killed harp and other 8P~C es of e eeie.

People of the Maritille Archaic Tradi iort iIii"h'abited the

CQai~~.l

regi<!.n'of

SOU~j.:ern

^Labr dar snd the

we~,t"

cout of the

.~ 8 ia~d

^{of Newfoun't! and frolll}

)

,p r ob a b lr 9.aOQ.'yearsbef~represent 3,000years,-sgo

.

(Tuck. 1976: 12~14)^. . 'ih l dbQ~h barb~d\arpoon ^{tips·and sn}

tosgled"hes-p e en.Ei-p des l.gned

ee.

data spear

~sh~ft". twi~t ~n8~de,~be.

^wound

and h o d a line(T-uck,l916:23), Th I

sutcee.ding'peoples who haveha d and w~elptng herds of harp sealsmu a

"a dva n t a ge of this'p i e n t l f ul resource

t·, '

ntil about

,

These people n~enious h from the na sea mammsl

~eand sll to the mi g r a t i n g have. tsken

They used l;llethods~Jl.lc-hwere the sameIn eeace e,albjit different 11\.d es i gn.as those in use today.·

Europ~-an interest :1.0t~e harp a a I herds began ah~rclyaftp.r,disc';,very <if the rich e rrn e rU9u:;,ce's

of.'theNor,r:h W~stAtl,ane le, Basque e~men.~untedI

;w~al,~ a

^{aod probably}

l!I~a18

^0lf

~orthe ii"'~W'fOU~dl~h,d

~and .

aouther"n

' La~rador ..

ⁱⁿ the l a t'esl teeJth and

rnee

che8eve~tee"Ii'~'h 'cent"uries(Tuck penonal

:·!::c:o~.unieat-l0·D.)-;·

^{.)·\;e·nc haa ndEnglish ettle rs were} 't'~~~n8's,eal.-in'eOmml!.rc1al'n u mb e rs :1 ncirth~rn

'.: .

'_'~""'~,:'.".OJ;'~

/

Primaril ydu'ri ngthe- NEtwf~und la~dat lea.3t.asea~ly8S thebeg l 1l,l11ng of the e1.g hte e n t h cen t ury.

;...;1

...

•.:...

, '

lIlonth of Decemb e r the seals IoIt;1 ut d be ca u g h t: in nets str u ng fro m hUd lsn d a 1:'0of fs bore ro ck s or islands (Head , 19 76 : 223 ). This wlnt'e;r ioah or e sealing tool plac e"ms:1f tlynor"thof Bonav is ta~ay

,\.

to d a y

.>.

an d expa nded-in a nort hwa rddirec t io n throug n out theeight e e nth. cent:uryBo·t ha tby the 17.7 0,' "

.- - -s Qu t h e r n_{sr ea.}

,

Th ~ B e peopl~"Labrad o r becamewe.re"t h epr l D^" 'IIrl1 ymos t-pr ehundutcLrtc Lv eg seal i ng adulthar paea l s",much S'8 landlllll'en8ea'~er8do on the no rt hea st"COIiAt: ofNe wf ou n dla nd e ne in

souther n Labrador•.

In the lat eelg h ~eent.~ cen turymen fr ailthe e o e e h por t ion'!3fth e nort h e ast C088t, frc,"Ill' se• John'8 ,

~o-t'll

^the So uth er n Sho re,and from Conc ept iona

1

Tr i nit y Bays'beg an Bealin g'fr om' Bmallbcer a, earc hing for th e80 uthwa r ~ dr i f t i n g whelp ing pa t c h e s.

'" _I

1M.ill!:.!J!Q~~~

In 1793tva Bul l sai l i ng8c: hooner ~ ofabo ut fO'r ty~f i vetons:e ach le tt St.John' sin sear ch of

~helJl i ng seals (Wil Bon ,18 6 6

.

: 287 ) ••This^' wu the be 8.1nn ~n8 of the large ve e ee INe:w f o upd l andIleal

17 hunt , By.18518eal pr o du c ts would a~c~o tfor ap'proxlmst el y-t h i r ty percent of thetotal val ue -.i of Newfo"undl a nd' a ex pc r ee (Rya n ....i911: 237)",

This dev e l opm eotcoi ncl,~a dwi t han increasi ng in te re i t In theLabrad or e cd'f is h e ry . The8h~pa' used for theLabrado r fish er yin Bummerwer e ,r e f i t t e d for the spring8e~ 1^{'h u n t.af te r't h e wint er} lay

up .

,,It:W88 the,p r e l u de to the seas on's'eco ,!~ml';

.activity.

/

l

\

A's yllb i o t i c relati onB hlp,,'develop ~d be~w_e e n

. .

.

tbe L-abradorcod fis h e r y.an d the sealhunt; The \' .

~a~rad.T . fiaher~

^{.a.an expene Lvean;.• al;}

.~,gi.aji;

via b l e olleratio,n,~ut it".ma de'ee,o n o mie se nse"for '. thos eve~.8elOV~e [8 Involv ed'l~'8:ea·11n.~(~yan..

197-8) .

Theap ex of

t~e : ~ea Ung :~ctt~try' occ~rre~

about the"1II1 d d le of the nineteenth cen t u r·y . In 1831 a'reco r d 'of 610 .742a'ealpelts w'ere bro ug h t

;

.

^- "

aahort _nd-L.8 5 7 "••• the p~akof' Newfoundl a nd' s, partlcl pa.tloo'was~.reachedwh4J1-w,.70 s~lp,san d' i3.600

.me ~'

wer'; 'lnv'o l ved " (Ryan."1971: 19).' This heavyex p l o ~ t a t l~ n,resulted,1 n a decLfne·In the. Au.berof'..eeala·takenafter t'h~initial bo om snd

. . .

,a rough plateau of"solllewhat'm'or e' t h S D 400.000 peltslande,d'''nnuali~'vas'rea c he d'fit the 1840'a.

t:

.,

.:

18 Ihis pro ~a yy repre s ent e d a.lIlax,icnulIIsus ta ina b le yield.far thst time (Rysn, 19 ~ 1: 226). Alth 6u g h cons rlle ra ble flucts t ions occurr ed , this plateau lasted un t i l the18 6 0' a_wh en t,h e int.rp du cti on of sre aseee cons id er ab ly al te red the en t l,reindustry.

Sesl ingons sailing ve s s elus ua l l yme a n t l ivi n g in crowded cond it iona,'and,'workingver y , har d,'n o,t on~y^{at'se al in gbu t eLe c at} llal i l ng,

,

W~lCh

, ^{ofte n i/n ctu ded}

~ry~ng

^'a n d"'p ul

,

11n^' g

t~e

^{, llh l p}

thr~u'8h^{ice(Julies',18112':} 2·~'1). ^{Th e''c rewof} between

fift~een ...

^and

~ifty-

^men'^-las,'

;u~rte-red

ⁱⁿ

th efor e c a stl e (forwS:rd of't he tlIainhat c h ) itl a ',s p a c e intended_f or.a much slllallercrew. Regu lar 'me als we r e not slwayslle ~~ e dand water lias rati on ed ,

bu t menvee e ab l~ aupp Le taent; their diet with -f' res h sea l'me s t when lIi n the fat".'. •

The aaili,ng ve s s e l'o"' lt~ rs we r ~ usua l ly rura l --,merch ant,s"often-the"p)~c'il-£reh~~ rch&!, n t a; wh oha d

eno ugh'ca p i tal to own one or two schoo ne rs or square',ri~g e,d sh i ps'. They sup p li ed allnece e sary :,; gea rin returnfor one ha l f.the p rod ucror the

vo y a ge. The crew:.o&hare d the rems i n,der equall y -,' amo n g eheeee av ee, - rhe own e r. i f he ~icfll~ot ~ap t a l n

th e vess e l himself. would pa y a cap ta i n a fixed

».

de d u ct e dfro mthe merc h a l\t ' 8 deb it le d g e r if the fi8herlll,anl sel!er o~d for th eprev.1ouaaea8'on'~

outf i t'tinOs;.01'-prcfLte..c~uld.So directly to wa r d ou t f i t t i ng for th e aUllllller fi8h·~ry. Clifford Head.

(1976': 226) bel i e ve s tjJ.at: ehe ea.l:lynine t een th"

\' ,

-

eee c urvwages of ~S-.00'to'!:.2S.00 each\seale r lIlig ht',ex p e ct to r ec etv e £or-hi,Seff~r tawou ld have: cons id e rab l y

offs~ t

^{hiB supply costs}

rf~r

^the

fia h er y.alth o~ g hChesle y Sange r (19 7 ): 185 -1 ~ 6 )

•aug g e sts indiv i d u..l earn ingsdWi,ndl ed tbrougho u t

~, 19

~

rat e,pe r eeer, The ee n, who w..ere usu a ll y clie n ts' of:the aer cbe nt,wou"ld be paid th e il' n8lf ehe r ein ca s h or gcc d a, Prof it s made sealingcould be

l ...\.

~

^...•....

\ ^{. .}

u,o,."

\' . ,

,

^.

-",

,t he centu r y .

To coverany,expeneea the merchantlIligbt.tecur by pr o vi ding boa rd for'hiscr e w th e ae e Le r e we r e· req"u i red to;pa y a.fe e fo r th eir be r t hs. In add,i"t:ion

- .

e q

^the berth ec ne y, cbete eeteeeha d to buy th'e 1r own "crop" : knif e, hau~l n g'.r o p e , gaf.f, 8harpe~lng st eel,and gunaif ne c essar y anda180 to su pply firewo o dfor fuel'01'1 the voyage .

The pf' U n t,i al.~,or ^{pro'iitin che s.slU n g}vess~l enterprisemust ha ve beenco~;id e ra b le sinc e tbe risk.to 11fesn d pr~.p,er tywas,encracue , Twe n,ty- f ive

'. ::,~'^{";,'":'\.,_"l.,.• ,,:'.,}', "'. ',','

20 boats werelost in 1804 (He ad ,.197 6: 22 6)at the .ve-rybeginnin gofan indu stry",b.tch must be

un r iv a led in th e ha r dshi p s it cau e e d toIts parti - cipa n ts. Duri ng th i sper i od.the Ne wfoun d land ~

,- .

fis heryIot8 8 re g a r d e d.as.8"n~r8ery"fo r yo ung Brit ish8eBlIlen'pr~88ed.i nto naval serv ic e. A report",ri t t e'n to Governo r Waldegrave fro mHarb our'

.

^. \"

.

Grace in.\79 5 glvc;s,-e nlitd~ca t1on of th e r1g ou r s tfiehunt-dellla nde dof'lllen:

T~e e-ceounf0'£ th e de c k'e d",e-al e i .:and open lio a .t a empl o y ed in'the aeal f~Bh.e ry,. I conC;leve"'wl 1 1 at fr act.You r Exce l lenc y ' s at t.en tio n, wh e n you c:o na l de'r not.an I,' th e grea t.adv antag e,of-the ir~alfishe ry, and the adventu ro us un~'er t8k ln$-IntHei r bost aof about th ir ty or f,or ty tons bu r the n,manned wi t h-fromeig ht e e te n he n ds,wh o enccunte rtehe s e o re e in th e mon th s of Har:c hspi! Apri l.. thi r tyor fo rt y .

~::::e:o ;:0:n~8~:~t:~i"::a;e~\~O~~nCe d

seaBon th a n thecod'fi s h er y dce s in ,BeVe? •• ~Pedley. 18 63: 194). 'J;hro~ghou t thentn eeee nt n ce n t u r yth e',tol l of men'll li v e Bth e seal hun t demandedconti n ued grow w1t.h shock i,ng.

~BgUl arl.ty .\

Levi C. Chafe, vh e chronic ledcomprehens ive s.tati Bt icBon the .hiB t o r ica l BBal f1B~ery. giV~ th e follo,wi n g

accoun~

^{fo r} the year"18 45: '. ,

~.. ',

- Ba r,que Ringwo od• .HenryNormanlOBi

,. ~

21 with all hands.

- Brig",Peerless. Cap,toJo h n Nagle

. and ~Omen loat•

.; Brig E.liza Margaret. Capt. and 15men lost. One man, Frank Wiseman, went from Jib atay to top gallant yard hand over ha'n4 and.e eve e his life.

- Brig.!:!!..!ybelonging to Ridley had the misfortune to lose all her crew, who were out. in boats with the exception of six'me n .

(Chafe, 1923: 3.7) STEAMERS: 1863 - 1943

In 1862 two78teaIDpowered Scottish a.hips 8topp~din Newfoundland to. kill s,ealli ,o n their V:8Y int,o the Davis Straits to hunt whales.',Lo c a l

. 1"

entrepreneursqul~klyaaw the potential,.a dva n t a g$!

in the new steam technology and in 1863 two steam powered vessels c;le~r&4for the hunt. The 5.S" Bloodhound. owned by Baine.?Johnson and Jmpany:,'a n li the

~ ~

^owned

b~

Wal tel' Grieve

\' ^,

^\

. . . _~ -

and Comp,any, retur~,e~.later in therPring~ith on1y a~erYDlOde8t catch'of4.340 p~.~~..!'et"een them (Chafe,

.

1923: 48): Nonetheless,^". the idea of^{" .} eteam power,ed vessels took hold. The new ships' 'v e r e more efficient than 8al1.: They'could r8m

through"iee and hall. eue h.ae.e ee e.msnoeuvr;bl1ity, thus minimizing the c.hances'o f returning empty -

>" ""

.c-'"""

/

i

I

/J ⁱ

. I

i

· ·\ i

L i

J I

,,""·';!.~C"';"".~.., m..,: '''';'::'·:';:' ':'·'.I·'''' ''r~'··:··.t··· .'·.7'",~,:,,:vr.:F'.J:·'73'~~~.~1'!~i~',rt.'.r .

l .

22 becauee the shipeeould not ge t near th e ae a La,

.

_By

.

_{~863 t}h e salling^' ship s ha dlon g skc a pe~ked in terllls of the maxim um nueb e r of ae s l e avai lab letoth e ir technology. Al thou gh rou gh ly th e sallienueb e r of lIlen andshipa werehunting ,

~t.che s wer e sl owl yde clin ing. ind i c ati n g that thehsrpseal_h e rd s'we rebe in gde plet e d, The stea mers had power to get intopl,~ c e sthe sa il i ng s,hipacould not reach due-to ad v e r ae icecClndi t i ons,·

. ... . ,' :" 4

endw~ul d havebe en expe c t ed- to-kil l.mo,reeeals But they did'noe-, Th'etot al nu mbe r ~flea l kill s

'c ontiou e dto declin eslowl ythr ou gh the lat te r

pa rto'f the ni n e t e ent h'cen tu ryandthe steamer s too k alar g er propo r t ionof the sva i lab l eca tc h,' con t r ibu ting toth e dwind l i ng of sto ck s,

Because th e a t.e aee r e ....ere th e.mostsuc c e s sf ul ship e'and init i'811 y offered,bet t er wor k i ng cond i··

tiona, the 'be a t seale rsopte d for them kno w'i ng thatthe y'gave th e beet pote n t i a l ret urnfor thei'r 18bo u r . T.hus,dElprlv ed of th e be st se ale r s. faced

,I

- with'depl et ingstocksandunable to affo rd.

bot ~

,

.

thei~ltial ca p i ta l outlay'an d IllS ntai nence co s t s,

"forst e a mer s. the slllslierlIe r c h s [8 an 4 their

aa l l i n g ves se ll ....er e forced 0 of .. the nade .

.'...;-'~...

J

2J .\ By 1882, ~ut o~ a total catch of 178,8 12 seals,

.

,

137,864 were k.il l e d frOlll twenty eeeaee re which werepwn e d'by only eight.mere;hants (Ryan, 197 2: 227).

theindust.~ybecamece n t r a l i ze d i~s e• John's where the moat.p~08perousfa mi l y interestswerelo cat ed.

The ke:!'to8~cces afulco mpe t i t i o n in the sc e ee sealing.f..ltd ~ s t ryvastoha ve

,s.

hea~thY.an~di v ers- ified' financ~",lbasethat couldwlt~stand\t lle st-.raln,of disntrous SeaSOD'S . SlIla l ,Le r. lIlerc han t s

who-:er~ 8ue;c{t~,fUl1 ; a~le

^to

cOII.;~te ·'

^.,

th~\

broadiY ba8e~

'; a 1 l inS'enterprise

~o o n ' lO U~'d

themaeive ~'d r ive noU,l ofla'r 's e ve9se:l.aea ling by, the.haridfU.I.of " "po~erfUI·mercan.tilefa~f:1ies ,\ who had the resour ce,s to sb s o r b occ asional 108s es'-.

B'nd

direc~

^:he

~Ug~ ~ rof1ts ~o~ C~'tcbes ~~ io

other. ree e volatile interests . By the turnof the

cen:tu~y

^{four fsmily}

co~pani~a ~ad

^by

~'ar

^the

.

.

11I08 e·i. mp r e ssi v e,r !!c ord's,fo r'eeaaretent parti~i- pation in sealing: Bowring Brothers Limite d ,

. .~ ".

BaineJohns~.n ",s~ d'Comp a n y,Job Brothers.andCompany.

andA. J . Harve yandCo mp a l!-y (Chafe, 192). The enorm?ua profits these companies were able to extract

from~he"'Oi~'

^of seals and toil of

'~en ' were div~rt'ed'

tneo oth~r^{-concerns:andthey·'builthuge'and}

J

· ',1,.·. ·. ...:

-,

..^;_.~

...

^-

..

, , -

24 la fl;tin g eepLr e e , Each of th efou r are eaaily re co g n iz abl e tod a yto anyo ne l ivin gin' Newt'oundla nd asamo ng th e most pro min ent lo c alretailin g , La eu r e nc e and sh ip p ingcc rap anLee,

Concen t ra t i o nof the e eeLd ngindu st r y in St.John" s dut-"1ng the

latte~.

^{part of the,}

ninet e en~h

cent u r y meant thatmany of.t,hoemen fr o m ncetheen are~a»,suc h as .aoe e v.r ee eBay..and ehe St ra i g h e Sh or e : wer e at.fi r st excl u de d:frOlll the st e a me r.s since., the re wa s

~o effic1e~t

^{me an sof}

.tr~.vel..

^toeue

capit a l ~i ty in,.winter :' Hen' from these'a r e asw~re

' .

.

the most expe r ience d ae aLeeshowe v er, e nd·t hey kept up t.heir sk i lls while work i n g in the declini n g aa ilen t e rp r ise. By 1876the~t,eamind u s tr y statte d taki ng adva.n.t a g e of theseexpe rien c ed

I

^{sea le r s}

~ y

^aliow i n g some

o~

^{··theolde r ve e eeLeto\}

le a ve forthe seal hu ntfro m·n or t. her ncOllllllunt t iela suc has

Creenspon~.

^{Aft erco}mple ti o nof the \ rs il wa y to Gambo·in 189 1, menfr o m the norther n

•cOllllllUnl t i ea were

ag~in

'a b l e to dominatethe se al \ indu'str y (Sa ng e r, 1977)•

•

,

,Th e". s t

.

e,a mve sse l ownet ahad 8 prefer ence fo r northern captainsa"n4. thue IIillln built.up co n s i de ra b le'r epu t a t ions 8s¥ c e

IlITster ~~. ~he

... ;..-.,.

· c·

^{. ,' .}

^,

^';

^{, ' i}

-:,""~".' --

....

-:~:.

.

^"f,'

25

.r

most fatllQUllc ep eefee,al t h o u g h of t en de ~p otl c~

~erehlg ~r~~e ga rd e dmen with chari smati c perao n -

..-:-

al-rtie'~~

.Nearl y al l camefro lll the sa me are a on

the.nor t h e r nshor e ofBona viata Ba ywhich tend ed

y

inte ns ify-'k l n~ red. ae.nt b .e n t a l and pat ern a l i s t i c l ink s betwe en theman d th eireee, The'le~l hunt, becaus e.of '.I.l:a histo ry~~,ha r d s h ipan d dl~ a &t er.

lends It,8 '11£.,t o i'olllant1 c int e r p r ec:...a t io'n; Par t ':-- of this.r o ma n ei d.,s m'c a~'b eatt,ribut ed to the tou g h ,

. .

. ^.

co lou r f u l sea l i ng ca p ta in s whQb ecee.e loc al heroes (Scott, 197 5)•

J

In much of t.he l it eratur e about ~e a l 1 n g it appears"t h e me nthq ught an"opp o r t u ni ty to sea l under ~neof the gre at~~ Ptl!-ln 8 was a8much an ho~ur ~8aneco n om i c eca e re ee , Geo r ge En g l a n d re'c orded a situation in ·whj...chs group of llIen had bE-en,forgotte non the ice by Ab ramKean,-'~nd1sputed.­

ly the most succes s ful seali ng captain eve r. It waaaf t e r dark befor elean

r~mt!:mbered

^{he had}

' ~en

lefto~t.an d decided

,

to~tar t looking for'them,!

...

After being picked up, theeeer e e wa t c h, wh.en.he me t the captain sald.'~••• 'wetmshl rate's l r '••• He' seeped a.lmosta'pologf!tic forha v i n g,nearly lo~t hi • .6ife through theold man'. forgettinghim•

/

.

;

" ,

.(. .."j'.~,.•",•~.-.:...;..'.<'"

,'.:·"-'~. : l

. ...

-'

26 togo after hilD.by day l 1,g h t " (Eng l a n d, 1969: 160) •

• Th e lD.e ? were dependanton theSt . Joh~'s lD.e rcl1·ant s.forthe OPPo1;"tu nit y to wor k underone 'of/ h e se.aeee e

pe r~o ns l it ies.

^{This. lin d the.n e e d}

to , g et;ca sh in"t o a ca sh-st arve'dlD.argi n al ec o no my, playe d int oth e handsofecno p e Lt etLe family lIlerc h a n t s who we r e neve r shortof"me n to crowd

theiroften-less th an eeavc r e hy ·ah i p s. B~cause

good ee n wereal way s.~vBllsb l e.·and in fa·ct c o mpet.ed.

.fi r

_,,~ he~r

^{bert·hs•.the ; couidmani'pu}la t e aeal pr ice s and fail topr ov ide;ade q ua te working eend- it i,on s in th eknowl e dg e 'th'eywoul dhsve a surp l u'8 of labour.

Ther e ver e sever al strt kes among the eeat e re ;'

uS~allY

^involving

dema~ds

^{f:r limitingor ab}o lis h i n g - '

.

^{( ~}

..

^'

be r t h money: The fir st re c ord ed strikeoccurred 'i n 1842w'h'e ~the seal e r s su c c e~ ded inha v in g

th e i r ber t hm~ney reduc ed from. !:3.00 to'b2 . 0 0. In 184 3thi s was lowered fur th e r and the,co s tof the

. 1 -

"c rop " or se al in g ge ar ~sal~o ~educed (Mur phy ; 191.6 ). The'last strike too kplace in 1-902 when thr ee ~housa~d^men,~os t l Y ^fro'lIltheBonav~.B~ Y area. demand ed bett e r pri c ea fo r their one third-

".

~.

.

'

27 share of the,voyage . The \lo r l d marke t p rfc e for eeal011 was $6.50 per qui~tal~but the lPe r ~ a nt lJ we re only paying'$ 3.2 5

per

qui nta-l lo c all y . The

.~

.

,

lIIe D delilaoded'th e yreceive abares based 011a priceof

$5.00 per qu in tll l fe-r'f at; that the-"coalin'g"

~harge ~f $3.0,0 perhe ad beabo1i8hed~ ~nd that

. 1

the thirt y - thr,eepercentm8;Tku~on th ele,rap be abo 118h~d'. Their:.a t rik e la l t e d three"<1&:Y8 • .The 8e8'%"8were forced

·~o ~o IDP'romi8e 8 1nc'~'

^{,th e y'cou l d}

, .

",:..

^" ,

.. . .

^{' .;....}

' , . '

.'., .

not affor,~ .accolDoda~io D,in:St..'J,Ch.D" Sa~d,\b(c:a u~.. . tb.e rail wa,Y_refuse.d t~_givethe afree tr a o 8 p ~ r t '. hc ee, The

.

,me n finally^{' .} 8lCcep ted^. a pr iceof $3.50^. pe r qU111:t81.for,fat-".redu~i:i~nof th.e e r ep money' an daboli t ~o n ofthe coaling cha 'rge.- Go~e.rnor Boyleaa k e d'the Prime·Min i ate r .Sir Rober t Bond

of the Btr '1 ~ e . Bond re,fUBe!! on ~h~groundB th a t su c han in q u'irymi gh t n••·~re aul t in a dl at urb ll.Rce.

o~

^the

~egUla~l,~na ~et"e,en

llIer<:hs_lnt s an d,J i.s h erllle n

~R regard to th e'cod- -f. hhe ry " (s~r R~be~ t.~on.d to Gove rn o r Boyl e. Go~erno r's Lo c al - Cor re spo nde nce . H":f Ch 21. 1902)..

CONDIT iON ~

Wor k i ng cond i t ~on8 on the...a reeuere""er e at

I .

!

I

I

:.c: ..

<.

··i .(;···",·· ·,.' '_''':'' ';'' J. ' .: .' ~·.·I. ·.

\ ...

. .'1.,_.,;, .

28

..

first better than those on t'heS411;t.ngahLp e,

. . .

E?tc e p t fO,rcarryingcoa l'toat.oke th e b.urners"

•tlfe sealers were freed fromwor king the sh i p. Sin ce the-ate81llllH: s handled better inth e iee.tb..

lIlen didnot hav e tou8~th e l l' ownececLe po ve r 80 much to pul l the ship thr o u'g ht1g ~ tice; Water·a t il l'hali to be",r ati o n e d , b u t the steamers were able to bold more. bothfor the eng ines'and -...~ for drinking, '~ f not. for w1l8h108. No matte r

Whlch~'account of th e seal hun t one reads; frolll whateve r perl0d.(th~ge n e ra l picture of fIlth snd overcrowdi n g remains the same. Sanger quete s from Dr. David Lindsa y,.8 8~rgeo.n who visit.ed a se a l i n g ship in:1 8 8 4:

I lo o k e d int o the • tween - d e e.k s snd saw

v ~fh:~:~b.~:n;e:~~Yi~:ec:~:~~ .::r:a~~lll :~~~

^{l : ::d'}

.;~~ri1g~~~.Yl:::~ ~~;~i:,:en

seal oi lwe·re ussd. and th ereek comming from thema1 nhatch woul d almost have \Suggestedfir e (Lindll8y•.l9lJ:"7).

Near the tu r n of the cen t ury.up to t~ r e.e hundred fi fey men were being crowded into th e .hold ~ofs~iRa.aa s.mallas fo ur h.u-ndred fif t y .In 189 8.. gov:ern,.~nt enac ted le g is l,a t i o nto

lim i t the numberof men 8 shipco~ldca;ry

-:

" "...", . . ",.f >. •,' ~.,•~"I·,..

29 the .8eal hunt.:

It shal l be unlawful for an ystee aer ..•

to have on board a greater number of men as cr ew th a D three.men for ever ys ev en tOQS of••;auch·ste ame r-.

(no more tlJan 270 men in any case) •• , (Ao Act Res pec ting the Prose£.~iQ o.-2!.

the Seal Fishery. 1898: 61 Vic. Cap. 4: sece t.ee 5),

•.To get to St.,.John's tos~gn sbo~rds sea~in8

ShiP .~he

^men fro m aea evae e e..

B~y

^{wou1 d'.wa}lk thir t y

to " :" / o m e,tres,~nt~G~mb O ~t a t io nf,!om rheir

~ho me s. carryingthei r.gear oila s'llIa11wooden

"slide". Tb,~ ^{tri p often to o k tv a days or,more .} 'On c e at the stat ion they recei:eda're.duc·e·dseaman'a

,f a r e for th e.tr i p to St. John's. Whenthey a e rav e d

inth e ci ty they wo·ul·d the·o collect wood ~havings or someot he r stuffing·f~t'he home made'·lIIsttre.sses

, .

"

" .

th'e y ~rou8htwi th th e m", Th e mattresse s were placed 00bo~t,lt. nail e d.into th e ship"shold, a fe w "bogey"

stoveswe readdedfor heat and cooking: Th e '", acc OIRoda t l ons"e ere auc h.["h at as the ship be'gan"ee

and the .t,on to p of t,h e pelts and fat.

The'o wne rs. loa t he to incu're ext r a ex p e n s e s,

we're.u nwi l l ing..to'-provide adequ a te fo o d orper s .on n el

On e'h o t,msa1 wss providedo~/,,~ter n.te.

avai'labl e•.

'0

days- -T uesday , Thursday, Fridaya~.d Sunday . These eee Le u~ua l1y consis ted of sal tfiahor aod "duffs" ofsteSllledfrou t (Sange r, 19 7 3: 18I)",- ,Ie'

. .

^~

Swee t duff-Tilteamed""l o ur with 40B bit of moI 888(,8- - w~'8"serv e dSunday s. Othe r thanthis frugal fare"

• ' . k. •

a sealer'sdiet consis tedof .hard bread (tack). b~tterand tea.and 8eal,heartsand livers when

\

.

It was not until 19,16 thatlegiaiation fo r ced

.. .

... , "

\

owners to a up p Ly minimum prov,1a iona:

The followi ng regulations shal l apply to all e e eee eee proe e c:u t l n g the seal

fish er y: .

(!t""-- }Inaddition to the food usually

!

, . :? :~;~db r::~ ~~:~l t~:na:~:e~o~~~ . I

to eac:h .JIIember of ene.ljrew·three

ti me s each week-; .

(2) Beef. pork, potatoes and'pud d i n g sh all be supplied for dinne r th r e e

tlm e s e achweek; • •

(3) For breakfas t stewedbe ans and fish brews8'shal l be'8upp lied_ar ter natelyi (4) Soup shal l be supp lied on Sat ur da ys,

in whichonions, pot e ec e e, and turnips i1h:l l.be ing red i eD ta;

(5) Fre sh b eef sha l l 'be supplied to each member of the crew onc e eachweek

~F ~~~o::~nc:~;~:a~::~e~ao::~ :~~ ~~ab le

the owne r has DOco nt ro l , c~nne d

•

.'.:,

...

^{~.. .;~'}

. . . ....

bee~shall be su bi: i :1t u t e d tber efor•.

_ .!

3l

. .

\i l

(Of the Prosecution·of the Seal Fishery.

Chapter 162.'Consolid atedStatut es of

~evfoundla!!!.Volume Ill, 1916>.Section 3)

~Dea"th,a n d diaaster have sl w,a yB been an integral

._-,.,.. . .

' . ..

part of ,t h.e sealJ.tunt. Durin_~"~l'eaa i li n ger a

~08~.h ~thedisaa~eres·ee lf..to ha v einv,olftd entir e

, (

For,ali.t~ei~troubl'ein ge tt i n g.to

's

e.'John's ,a nd'.ebe.h a ra'h.

c.ond~i~ion~uni~-~;~bich ,

^{the y}

·l .bo~red

at the

"'e ~l hu~t

^{•.,t·he men}

~er~, ~ot

guars!lt eed a ,.'.. .

...

^{, . . '. ' ..'.' , " ,'}

^.

wsge: They'~ e r,e.,pai d a SMall,pe re eneag e 0.1.the' yess'ed'-s't: u c ti;·which for'an'ex~ ep tionaiIY good

. ' '

. .

,

. ... .

^{' . ..'}

. ..

^{' .'}

YO YB.~~'COUI~,.b~e.,$10 0.,0 0 or.lII!>re-~n ~,a~a~l 8~o.unt,. But i t vaa more likel y the ywould arrive hOlle wi t h -.

~etwe('ln

^{'$20.'0 0:and}

~40: . ;'0

^for

anavera~e

^tr'ip

(ChB.fe.

~23: · 62~8 5 ) .,

..ships being lost, of t e n with all handa,becaus e

\

.. ..

^{" "}

.

.~, ~,

".~ ~ ~y could not stand up to the,rigo,ura the ice

and~Harcli"'"'J'tormademandedof,them, The riskswere

\ ;>. " .,I .'

enorBlOUSbut probably.veIl understood by al l,those inv,olve'd. 'pu r the r mo t e ,

th~. c r~w.a·

^{.were small}

e~ough

that the lIien would be,~1~8 ~'a~1e nat e dfrOGtheir ca p t . h . ,·

~ho

^would'be'we llknown by'hiame n and

. .

^"

:" ,

.... ; .' : ,'

. .

unlikely-ceact autocratical,ly,in"asitu~ti~n that