THE NORTHERN RORQUAL. 147 



" The liarpooner, after a successful day's sport, is a very 

 great personage, and is invariably decorated with the Esqui- 

 maux order of the blue ribbon, that is, he has a blue line 

 drawn down his face over the bridge of his nose." 



The whale not only serves for food to the hardy Green- 

 landers, but is also valuable in many other ways: some mem- 

 branes of the stomach are used for the upper articles of 

 clothing : the bones are converted into harpoons and spears 

 for striking the seals or darting at sea-birds, and are also 

 employed in the erection of their tents, and some tribes use 

 them in the formation of their boats. 



The preceding remarks have applied to the whale tribe 

 generally, but with a more direct allusion to the "Greenland" 

 or " right '' whale, as it is called, from its producing the 

 greatest amount of oil. This animal inhabits the seas of the 

 Northern parts of the world, and abounds chiefly in the Arc- 

 tic regions. The ** Southern," or " Cape " whale is a distinct 

 species, the head being smaller in proportion than its North- 

 ern relative, and its color a uniform black. It attains the 

 length of from fifty to sixty feet. 



The Northern Borqual, which exists in great numbers in 

 the Northern seas, is the largest of the whale tribe, the 

 mightiest giant among giants, attaining the vast length of 

 from one hundred to one hundred and ten feet, w^th a bodily 

 circumference of from thirty to forty feet. The amazing 

 speed and activity of this immense animal renders it a dan- 

 gerous object to attack; besides the small quantity of oil it 

 aifords does not repay the fisherman for his risk. This whale 

 has no teeth. When struck by a harpoon, it has been known 

 to run off two thousand eight hundred and eighty feet of 

 rope in a minute. An old Arctic navigator mentions an in- 

 stance of a "razor-back," as the great rorqual is called by 

 seamen, dragging a large boat with its crew amongst loose 

 ice, where they all perished. 



The Smaller Borqucd, measuring from fifteen to twenty- 



