270 CRUISE OF THE NEPTUNE 
This is the routine, and it is only varied by the capture of a 
whale. As will be seen from the above description, the boats 
cruise nearly all the time in the in-shore waters, and the greater 
number of whales are taken within the three-mile limit, and not 
on the high seas as is the rule in Baffin bay. If the whale is 
killed within reasonable distance of the ship, it is either towed 
alongside by the boats, or the ship comes for it, and an endea- 
vour is made to get the body into a safe harbour in order to save 
the blubber. A number of whales are killed in inconvenient 
places, and only the bone is then taken, all the blubber going to 
waste. When the blubber is taken, it is immediately cut up and 
' tried out ' into oil on board the ship, a large boiler being 
carried for that purpose. The hold of the schooner is filled with 
large casks, made in different sizes to fit the shape of the hold. 
On the outward voyage these are partly filled with the provi- 
sions; returning, they carry the oil and furs collected on the 
voyage. 
During the long winter a part of the natives remain at the 
ship, and are employed hunting seals, walrus, and deer to help 
feed the women and children and the crew of the ship. The 
remainder are sent away after musk-ox, and remain away 
several months, having to go a long distance before reaching 
the country where those animals are found. A successful party 
will return with at least twenty musk-ox skins, and these add 
to the profits of the voyage. Stranger Eskimos also visit the 
ship to trade, and in this manner a considerable number of 
musk-ox, fox, wolf, bear and wolverine skins are added. 
Unlike the Scotch Whalers, where the captain remains on 
board ship to direct the movements of the boats from the barrel, 
the American captain goes in charge of one of the boats. This 
works well in open water, but when the whale is among loose 
ice very little can be seen from the boats. 
The Americans make use of a hand harpoon, and as it is very 
heavy and has a gun attached to it, the boat must approach 
