252 CKUISE OF THE NEPTUNE 



sailing from there for Scotland must have struck an iceberg, as 

 no tidings have since been had of her. This, or being crushed 

 in the ice or being wrecked by striking sunken rocks upon these 

 uncharted coasts, is the usual fate of the whaling vessels, and 

 some such loss, entailing excessive hardships and often death 

 upon the crews, is almost an annual occurrence in these Arctic 

 waters, so that a high rate of remuneration is necessary to com- 

 pensate for the risks. 



Since 1898 the Scotch steamer Active has made annual voy- 

 ages to Hudson bay, and has established two stations, one on 

 the north side of Hudson strajt and the other first at Southamp- 

 ton island, but later removed to Repulse bay. Walrus hunting 

 was the first object of this undertaking, with whaling as a 

 secondary consideration. Success appears to have crowned this 

 enterprise, as in addition to a few whales, a goodly number of 

 walrus are taken annually, and the profits of these are enhanced 

 by the furs obtained from the natives, and by mica from a mine 

 worked on the north shore of Hudson strait. 



Whaling in Hudson bay appears to have reached its height 

 about 1870, after which the disappearance of the whales from 

 the more accessible waters led to a diminution of the catch, and 

 many of the American whaling vessels were transferred to the 

 Arctic whaling waters reached from the Pacific, which were 

 also discovered and made known by the British ships in search 

 of the ill-fated Franklin. At present only one of the American 

 whalers is in Hudson bay, and none of them have visited Cum- 

 berland gulf for some years past ; the only connection with the 

 industry now on that coast is the small and unprofitable station 

 at Cape Haven, on Cyrus Field bay, owned by a firm in 

 Boston. 



The movements of the whales appear to depend largely upon 

 the ice of these northern waters, and that in turn is modified by 

 the currents and configuration of the seas, so that a short geo- 



