12S 



THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 



r<^HAr. 



by its long and Taluable horn projecting in the longitudinal 

 direction of the body from the upper jaw, now occurs so seldom on 

 the coast of ^ovaya Zemlya that it has never been seen there ' 

 by the Norwegian walrus-hunters. It is more common at Hope 

 Island, and Witsen states (p. 903) that large herds of narwhals 

 have been seen between Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya. 



The white whale or beluga, of equal size with the narwhal, 

 on the other hand, occurs in large shoals on the coasts of 

 Spitzbergen and Z!sovaya Zemlya, especially near the mouths of 

 fresh-water streams. These animals were formerly captured, but 

 n)t with any great success, by means of a peculiar sort of 

 harpoon, called by the hunters '• skottel." 2s ow they are caught 

 with nets of extraordinary size and strength, which are laid out 

 from the shore at places which the white whales are wont tK3 

 frequent. In this way there were taken in the year 1S71, when 

 the fishing appears to have been most productive, by vessels 

 belonging to Tromsoe alone. 2,167 white whales. Their value 

 was estimated at fifty-four SL-andinavian cro"«Tis each (about 3/.). 



THi: WHITE TTHALE. (flrfj 



After a drawing by A. V\\ 



15, Pallas.) 



The fishing, though tempting, is yet very uncertain ; it sometimes 

 falls out extraordinarily abundant as in the spring of ISSO, when 

 a skipper immediately on arriving at !Magdalena Bay caught 300 

 of these animals at a cast of the net. Of the whales thus 

 killed not only the blubber and hide are taken away, but also, 

 when possible, the carcases, which, when cheap freight can be 

 had, are utilised at the guano manufactories in the north of 

 ]S^oTway. After having lain a whole year on the beach at 

 Spitzbergen they may be taken on board a vessel without any 

 great inconvenience, a proof that putrefaction proceeds ^ith 

 extreme slowness in the Polar regions. 



With its bhnding milk-white hide, on which it is seldom 

 possible to discover a spot, wrinkle, or scratch, the full-grown 

 white whale is an animal of extraordinary beauty. The young 

 whales are not white, but very Hght greyish brown. The white 

 whale is taken in nets not only by the Norwegians at Spitzbergen, 

 but also by the Russians and Samoyeds at Chabarova. In 

 former times they appear to have been also caught at the mouth 

 of the Yenisej, to judge by the large number of vertebrae that 



