30 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. 
honor conferred upon them by a cut across the nose ; but this custom is no longer 
observed. 
The Indian whaling -canoe is thirty -five feet in length. Eight men make the 
crew, each wielding a paddle five and a half feet long. The whaling- gear consists 
of harpoons, lines, lances, and seal -skin buoys, all of their own workmanship. The 
cutting material of both lance and spear was formerly the thick part of a mussel- 
shell, or of the "abelone ;" the line made from cedar withes, twisted into a three- 
strand rope. The buoys are fancifully painted, but those belonging to each boat 
have a distinguishing mark. The lance -pole, or harpoon - staff, made of the heavy 
wood of the yew-tree, is eighteen feet long, weighing as many pounds, and with 
the lance attached is truly a formidable weapon. 
Their whaling -grounds are limited, as the Indians rarely venture seaward far 
out of sight of the smoke from their cabins by day, or beyond view of their bon- 
fires at night. The number of canoes engaged in one of these expeditions is from 
two to five, the crews being taken from among the chosen men of the tribe, who, 
with silent stroke, can paddle the symmetrical canim close to the rippling water 
beside the animal ; the bowman then, with sure aim, thrusts the harpoon into it, 
and heaves the line and buoys clear of the canoe. The worried creature may dive 
deeply, but very little time elapses before the inflated seal -skins are visible again. 
The instant these are seen, a buoy is elevated on a pole from the nearest canoe, 
by way of signal ; then all dash, with shout and grunt, toward the object of pur- 
suit. Now the chase attains the highest pitch of excitement, for each boat being 
provided with implements alike, in order to entitle it to a full share of the prize 
its crew must lodge their harpoon in the animal, with buoys attached ; so that, 
after the first attack is made, the strife that ensues to be next to throw the spear 
creates a scene of brawl and agility peculiar to these savage adventurers. At length 
the victim, becoming weakened by loss of blood, yields to a system of torture 
characteristic of its eager pursuers, and eventually, spouting its last blood from a 
lacerated heart, it writhes in convulsions and expires. Then the whole fleet of 
canoes assists in towing it to the shore, where a division is made, and all the 
inhabitants of the village greedily feed upon the fat and flesh till their appetites 
are satisfied. After the feast, what oil may be extracted from the remains is put 
into skins or bladders, and is an article of traffic with neighboring tribes or the 
white traders who occasionally visit them. 
These "whales of passage," when arrived in the Arctic Ocean and Okhotsk 
Sea, are seen emerging between the scattered floes, and even forcing themselves 
through the field of ice, rising midway above the surface, and blowing in the same 
