Sept. 1S57. THE WHITE WHALE. 41 



bullets fired through them with very little apparent effect ; 

 but if these creatures can feel, the devices practised upon 

 them by the Esquimaux must be cruel indeed. 



It is only in certain localities that sharks are found, and 

 in these places they are often attracted to the nets by the 

 animals entangled in them. The dogs are not suffered to 

 eat either the skin or the head, the former in consequence 

 of its extreme roughness, and the latter because it causes 

 giddiness and makes them sick. 



The nets alluded to are set for the white whale or the 

 seal ; if for the former, they are attached to the shore and 

 extend off at right angles, so as to intercept them in their 

 autumnal southern migration, when they swim close along 

 the rocks to avoid their direst foe, the grampus, or " killer," 

 the Delphinus orca of naturalists. When the white whale is 

 stopped by the net it often appears at first to be unconscious 

 of the fact, and continues to swim against it, affording time 

 for the approach of the boat and deadly harpoon from 

 behind. If entangled in the net a very short time suffices 

 to drown them, as, like all the whale tribe, they are obliged 

 to come to the surface to breathe. 



The killer is also a cetacean of considerable size, 15 to 

 20 feet in length, but of very different habits ; it is very 

 swift, is armed with powerful teeth, and is gregarious. 

 When in sufficient numbers they even attack the whale, 

 impeding his progress by fastening on his fins and tail. In 

 summer they appear in the Greenland seas, and the seals 

 instantly seek refuge from them in the various creeks and 

 inner harbours ; and the Esquimaux hunter in his frail 

 kayak, when he sees the huge pointed dorsal fin swiftly 

 cleaving the surface of the sea, is scarcely less anxious to 

 shun such dangerous company. With such stories as these 

 Petersen beguiles the time ; I never tire of listening to 

 them, and now amuse myself in jotting scraps of them down. 



