1898] THE MIGRATION OF THE EIGHT WHALE 413 



Dr Brown's " Notes on the Cetacea of Greenland," as reprinted in 

 the " Arctic Manual" (p. 76). "I was told," says Dr Brown, " by 

 the late Captain Graville of the s.s. ' Diana,' a proverbially experi- 

 enced and truthful man, that a whale was struck near the entrance 

 of Scoresby's Sound, on the east coast of Greenland, by the father of 

 the late Dr Scoresby (with whom Mr Graville was a fellow-appren- 

 tice) ; but, being lost, it was killed next day near the entrance of 

 Omenak Fjord, on the east coast, with the harpoons freshly imbedded 

 in its body. This was adduced in proof of the existence of an inlet 

 in former times (as, indeed, represented on old maps) across Green- 

 land between these two points. Unless the whole story was founded 

 on a misconception (an event even less likely from the searching in- 

 vestigation which took place at the time), we can scarcely believe 

 that the whale could have reached the west coast by any other 

 means ; for, even allowing the greatest credible speed, it comes 

 scarcely within the limits of possibility that it could liave doubled 

 Cape Farewell and reached 70" N. latitude within the interval 

 mentioned." Here I must leave these wonderful but apparently 

 well- accredited stories, simply remarking that with our increased 

 knowledge of the geography of Greenland, and of the habits of the 

 Eight Whale, they seem even more wonderful than ever. 



When considering the migration of the Eight Whale in the 

 Greenland Seas, I briefly stated the difficulties, if not the impos- 

 sibility, of their passing from the Pacific to the Atlantic, or the 

 reverse, along the northern shores of Europe and Asia. It may be 

 well to say a word in passing with regard to the probability of such 

 an interchange along the coast of North America. The ' Bowheads ' 

 (by which name the Nortliern Eight Whale is known to the Ameri- 

 cans) wintering in the North Pacific are seen by the natives of 

 Alaska, as stated by Captain Macguire, of H.M.S. ' Plover,' to make 

 their appearance off Cape Hope in April and May, when the ice 

 breaks up into fields, and most of them have disappeared before the 

 ships are able to follow them. They then pass through Bering 

 Strait, a portion going westward, but to no great distance (see ante 

 pp. 404-5) ; but the bulk bears to the east, where they are pursued by 

 the natives of Alaska, and followed, as soon as the ice permits, by the 

 American whalers, who, since the year 1848, when they first passed 

 the Strait, have established a lucrative fishery in the neighbourhood 

 of Point Barrow. Probably, owing to the difficulty of passing this 

 icy promontory, they do not follow the whales much further east, 

 but the Esquimaux pursue them as far as Cape Bathurst, their 

 season commencing on the 7th of May, and continuing till the 

 month of June, at which time the whales disappear, to return on 

 their way to their winter quarters in August and September ; in 

 July and early August they are seldom seen. On the 19 th of Sep- 



