OLD WHALING DAYS. 27 



to the east wind when it blows from that quarter, which 

 sends a heavy swell in when there is no ice outside 

 to shelter it, hence the bad reputation of the place. 

 Our captain determined to go to Cumberland Sound. 

 The ice does not come into this Sound with northerly 

 winds, but drifts about forty miles from the mouth of it. 

 We anchored at Niatlik, and sent the boats away as usual. 

 Off this place is to be seen Black Lead Island, so called on 

 account of the quantity of that metal found upon it. I 

 have found pieces so fine that one would think it had come 

 out of the manufactory. 



The weather at this time of the year is very treacherous, 

 and more particularly about this place, on account of the 

 high mountains and deeps fiords. We had to keep a good 

 look out, and the plan generally adopted was to send the 

 boats away at daybreak, with instructions to return early in 

 the evening. One day the weather was lovely, and three 

 boats pulled to Black Lead Island, at the outer edge 

 of the reef. About three in the afternoon, we got fast to a 

 large fish with the gun harpoon. She proved a very 

 dangerous customer through being in shoal water. We 

 put another harpoon into her quickly, and the other boat 

 sent two or three lances into the vital parts. After a final 

 flourish, which is generally called the dying flurry, she 

 succumbed to us. 



The other boats, having seen our jacks flying in the 

 offing, came to our assistance. It is a long and tedious 

 process, but as night was approaching, everybody pulled 

 with a will. The captain had sighted us from the island, 

 and sent the seventh boat to our assistance. Lights were 

 also kept burning on the island to guide us in. About 

 two in the morning we got alongside, having had nine 

 miles to tow. We were all ready for a rest, and some of us 

 were very wet the whole time we had been employed in 

 killing the whale. After securing it to the ship, we had a 



