192 FOLLOW THE WHALE 



is believed that bottle-nosed dolphins also formed the bulk of the 

 quarry hunted in the Bay of Fundy by the Passamaquoddy Indians. 

 However, records state that any kind of porpoise, dolphin, or other 

 small whale was taken in that area, and thus a constant supply of 

 meat, oil, and leather was harvested throughout the year. 



The other porpoise industry was of quite a different and much 

 more specialized nature. This was, and in fact still is, centered about 

 the St. Lawrence inlet, and has likewise been taken over by the 

 white man, though Indians may yet from time to time take part in 

 the modern enterprise, using motorboats and small harpoon guns. 

 The Eskimos also maintain a similar seasonal fishery in Alaska about 

 the Mackenzie delta. 



This small but highly remunerative industry is founded solely 

 upon the Beluga, or White Whale (Delphinapterus leucas), which is 

 known to the French Canadians as the marsouin blanc. The principal 

 value of the animal, which can grow to almost twenty feet in length, 

 is contained in its hide, which constitutes most of the "porpoise 

 hide" of commerce, and which still commands a high price. From it 

 also may be extracted oil of an exceptionally good grade which has 

 always been in demand. For this reason it was regularly hunted at 

 Spitsbergen — where it was known as the sewria in the early days — 

 and in Greenland by the Norse. Then, the Eskimos and, later still, 

 the Danes have hunted it in the latter area. In 1670 a small ship ar- 

 rived in Yarmouth, England, directly from Greenland with "about 

 24 tons of oil made from whitefish." 



Belugas were hunted in the St. Lawrence with harpoons thrown 

 from canoes, but in Greenland they were sometimes netted, as they 

 are very gregarious and travel about in large companies containing 

 individuals of all ages. The Eskimos have always been most eager in 

 their pursuit of this animal because they consider its blubber, both 

 when cooked after being dried and, more especially, when fresh and 

 eaten raw, to be the greatest delicacy. This they call muk-tuk, and 

 it is traditionally prepared by them in the form of long ribbons of 

 diamond-shaped pieces each about eight inches across. 



The beluga is one of the most remarkable of all whales in several 

 respects. Its only close relative is the narwhal, but it has no horn like 

 that animal, and, instead, only ten small teeth in the fore part of the 

 lower jaw. When young, it is very dark gray or black, but as it 



