

 1 62 OLD WHALING DAYS. 



and I gave her several lances. By this time the other 

 boats were with us, and she was quickly despatched and 

 taken in tow. In justice, this whale belonged to the 

 American, but judge our surprise next morning to see the 

 Alibi with it alongside, and the crew beginning to flense. 

 On passing the American, I asked the reason why the Alibi 

 had taken the whale, and he said they had claimed the half 

 for assisting. This was contrary to their contract. If there 

 was any right of claiming, we deserved it more than they, 

 as we had given the most assistance, but such a thing was 

 far from our thoughts. In this case it was might against 

 right, and was a most unjust action, shewing their selfishness, 

 as they took more than half. The boat belonging to the 

 Alibi merely lay alongside of the American's boat in case 

 they required more line. However, fortune favoured the 

 little American, as he rilled his vessel before the winter set 

 in without any more help. The other two, after wintering, 

 arrived home the following year with very little. 



One evening I paid a visit to Captain Buddington, and 

 during our conversation an Esquimaux lad came into the 

 cabin. Captain Buddington asked him to tell us about 

 Frobisher and all his proceedings in the Straits which are 

 named after him. It was very interesting to hear the lad 

 talk about things which happened nearly three hundred 

 years ago. Captain Buddington could speak the language 

 (if it can be called one), like a native. I could understand 

 most of it, and many things he told us corresponded with 

 what I had read in Luke Fox's voyages. We asked him 

 how he knew these things, and he said his father and 

 mother told him when he was a little boy, and in that way 

 traditions are handed down from generation to generation. 



Most of the natives who were here belonged to Nugumut. 

 Some were partly dressed in European clothes, and they 

 could drink rum and swear round oaths in English. Those 

 ships intending to stay the winter only carry a limited num- 



