A Long Time Ago They Used Knives Tied On To End of Sticks as Spears As told by Sergius Moonin to Luba Anahonak
	When they went hunting, it was usually in the evening time. The men would get together and go look for seal. When they see them they throw the spear at them. Sometimes seal go up to the rocks, then, low water they go after clams. They used to dry them (seal), cut it up, and smoke it a little. My mom used to dry them. They dried seal like beef jerky, dried it and put it in tight baskets. Now shooting seal just lately, 40 to 50 years ago, they quit drying them. (They don’t dry them no more?) Uh-uh, I don’t see why- they dry well, I was going to make them one time. (How do you do it?) Just smoke it lightly like dry fish, then hang it. You can put the brine in it, but you don’t have to. I just cut, it hang it, smoke it, not too smoked though-you know the jerky, there not smoked lots like that. When they used to get seal long time ago they didn’t have to have license. The government didn’t step in it at all, there was no limit on catching seal or fish. There was lots of seal around here. One time I went up with my uncle Ephim. We went rowing on a skiff, just three of us. They caught nineteen seals. That’s how much the skiff would hold. Otherwise it could hold 20 or 30 seals. Now you have to have a license to hunt seal, you even have to have a license when you go fishing. When we caught those nineteen he gave them to people. A long time ago they used to call the whole village to get some seal but now they don’t. They eat it themselves without sharing. They went over to windy bay on Ben’s boat. They clubbed the seal. We were walking up behind them and the seal were drying on the rocks. Sometimes seal always come real close to the rocks. Now what else. Okay you told us that along time ago they used to club them and spear them. That was before that in the days they had to row the skiff. I was gonna try bear meat,(dry it like seal). I throw it away before I eat it. (no good?) No because a bear got me mad one time! So I don’t want anymore since that time. I don’t eat bear meat. She charged me before I got to English Bay, come right back to here, I scared. She was growling and standing there I thought she was going to charge at me! We walked backwards just watching her. I ran there to the village.
		Copyright 1981, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. All rights reserved Volume 1