THE WHITE WORLD 



moss-lined rock cairns in which human bodies were once 

 partially cremated. Few bones were to be seen and the 

 place had evidently not been used lately. 



After dinner, Dall, Baker, Noyes and I went to see the 

 steam whaler, " Mary and Helen." Captain Owens was 

 full of information about whales and it did one good to 

 hear him talk. He repeated an amusing expression of 

 Captain Jerningham: " Prepared to die, but not quite 

 ready." The captain says that when a whale is struck all 

 the whales for miles round will know it, and put out. 

 One of Owens's men, named Green, killed seventeen of 

 the whales taken on this voyage; he is one of the best 

 whalemen in the business. " The Lolita " went ashore on 

 St. Lawrence Island. A party of the crew came over in a 

 whaleboat. As soon as the Indian Point men heard of it 

 they started for the wreck. The remainder of the " Lol- 

 ita " crew are still on St. Lawrence Island. Captain 

 Owens and Mr. Reynolds wore kid jackets which they 

 bought in the straits of Magellan from a German — and 

 capital things thev are for wind and cold. 



The largest oil casks we saw hold fourteen barrels. 

 Captain Owens told us he had seen a polar bear killing 

 large walrus by biting through their skulls, swimming 

 carefully under cover of ice cakes, keeping to leeward of 

 the walrus until close enough for a spring, stopping occa- 

 sionally to raise himself carefully and peep, to see whether 

 the game continued unsuspecting. 



Wednesday, September 15 



Mr. Baker and Captain Herendeen walked through the 

 divide to Moore Lake, and found the greatest elevation 

 reached 800 feet. The hills on either side of the divide, 

 they estimate at near 2000 feet. They saw no birds, nor 

 any living thing except ravens. They brought back a few 

 old ethnologica picked up in a deserted village at the lake, 

 a few lichens, and a spider. 



Thursday, September 16 



Captain Owens called shortly before lunch and spent 

 part of the afternoon. He brought some of his journals 



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