166 CANADIAN WILDS. 



pretty sick, and apart from snapping his im- 

 mense jaws, was lying perfectly still. The first 

 bullet from a distance of ten feet put an end 

 to him. When the tide came in again we towed 

 him into the river and cut him up and salted 

 the chunks in barrels to feed the dogs the next 

 winter. Prom the liver we rendered out three 

 gallons of oil as clear as water. This of itself 

 was of value to us the next winter in our lamps, 

 it gave a clear light and emitted no smoke. 

 Those were the days before coal oil came into 

 general use. Our only lights at the post were 

 home-made tallow candles, or a cotton rag from 

 a tin spout fed by seal-oil. This, combined with 

 the burning rag, gave off a heavy, dense, black 

 smoke, which was, if not injurious, very un- 

 pleasant to inhale during the long winter even- 

 ings. The shark-oil being so much superior, I 

 kept it for my own private lamps, and the teeth 

 ornamented the inantlepiece. 



