62 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. 
ice will permit, which is generally sufficiently broken and scattered by the 20th of 
June ; then, working along between the ice and the Siberian coast, to the south- 
ward, as far as practicable with the ships, they dispatch boats to follow along the 
shore and if possible to reach the head of Tchantar Bay, where whales in former 
years were to be found in very large numbers. These expeditions were always 
attended with excessive labor, and much exposure as well as risk to the crews. 
Frequent instances have been known of boats leaving the ships off Aian, then 
threading their way along the coast, between the masses of ice, or between the ice 
and shore, as the ebb or flood tides would permit, until they reached the head of 
Tchantar Bay. On reaching their destination, and finding whales plenty they 
immediately commenced whaling, and by the time the ships arrived, in several 
instances, whales enough had been taken to yield a thousand barrels of oil. 
The elapsed time from leaving the ship till again joining the vessel in the bay 
would vary from one to three weeks. Meanwhile, the crews lived in or around 
their boats, being afloat when making the passage or engaged in whaling ; and 
when driven to the shore by the ice or by stormy weather, or resorting thither to 
cook their food, or sleep, the boats were hauled up and turned partially over for 
shelter, and tents were pitched with the sails. Fallen trees or drift-wood furnished 
abundance of fuel, and by a rousing fire all slept soundly when an opportunity 
offered ; but the more abundant the whales, the less the chance of sleep for the 
whalemen in those high latitudes, where daylight lasts nearly through the twenty- 
four hours during summer. 
TCHANTAR BAY WHALING. 
Arrived on the ground, with the boats, all surplus provisions and outfits are 
quickly landed, and the chase begins. Frequent spouts in the air tell that the 
animals are all around. One of the number breaks the smooth surface of the 
water, between the land and ice, and is at once pursued ; but perhaps, before the 
boat can reach within darting or shooting distance, the animal goes down. Then 
comes an impatient waiting for it to rise again. As the Bowhead is irregular in 
its course, when next seen it may be in another direction. Quickly the boat is 
headed for it, and before approaching near enough the whale goes down again. In 
this way the chase is frequently prolonged, sometimes abandoned, and other whales 
pursued ; or, it may be that, when nearly within reach, the animal glides under a 
floe and thus evades its pursuers ; or, if harpooned, it may run for the ice, and 
before being killed reaches it, and escapes with harpoons, lines, etc. If the pursuit 
proves successful, the captured whale is towed to the beach at high tide, and a 
