u8 HUNTING THE SEA OTTER. 



of which there might be four, were evidently attacking 

 their victim from beneath, for the whale, a small one, 

 seemed quite unable to dive far, being continually driven 

 to the surface of the water. But no sooner did this happen 

 than sometimes one, sometimes two, of the assailants 

 would spring high into the air, descending upon the whale 

 with the object of striking it with their powerful tails, with 

 a loud thud that might be heard afar; while the sea around 

 the active group was churned into foam. This encounter 

 we now looked upon for the first time, though the unmis- 

 takable sounds of such strife were not unfrequently heard. 

 When we arrived upon the scene, we found the whale to be 

 a white one (Balaena albicans], the only one we met with 

 during our stay on the coast. A large white albatross, 

 which was already perched upon its back in anticipation of 

 a feed, flew off lazily as we approached. The whale 

 (whether dead or only stunned we were unable to tell) 

 appeared to be about twenty feet long, without a dorsal fin, 

 skin a pure, shining white. There were no wounds to be 

 seen, nor any sign of blood, although the " killers " are 

 credited with rending their prey in pieces with their 

 powerful teeth ; so we drew back a little, and Snow sent a 

 bullet into it, when it sank gradually out of sight without 

 showing the least sign of life. 



The beluga, as it is called in Russian, is circumpolar, and 

 it is common in the Arctic Ocean, frequenting the bays on 

 the west coast of Spitzbergen during the summer months 

 in great numbers. It is also found on the north coasts of 

 North America, and on the north and north-east coasts of 

 Siberia in plenty. Many are taken by the natives in the 

 estuaries of the large rivers by placing large, strong nets 

 across the tideways, and then spearing or harpooning 

 them. 



The "killer" (Delphinus orca] stands isolated in the 

 order of cetaceans, forming a peculiar group or family 

 among the toothed whales, and, though doubts were 

 expressed by both Scoresby and Bennett as to their 



