94 WHALING AND BEAR-HUNTING 



if it were drawn with a lead pencil on ivory in perfect imita- 

 tion of hair ; from a few yards you think it is hair, for its 

 formation so resembles the lie of hair on other mammals. I 

 have never heard of this having been observed by naturalists. 

 I am sure a Darwin might make endless deductions from it, 

 coupled with the belief of the old neolithic Indians of New- 

 foundland that the caribou had gradually changed into 

 whales. The colour of the caribou is quite like the colour of 

 these Seihvale. But we must keep off speculations on the 

 origin of species, and these marks in particular, and the 

 whale's pedigree, opinions, and domestic life. It is such 

 a large subject, though fascinating. Many authentic and 

 startlingly new facts have been gathered since this modern 

 whaling began. For example, a whale was killed last year 

 "wid six leetle children in it." This will rather astonish 

 naturalists it horrified a Shetland lady in whose hearing a 

 polite Norseman made the relation but that there were six 

 embryos is a fact I vouch for. I hope some naturalist of 

 means will some day charter a vessel and suitable observers 

 to make a few years' study of the subject round the world. 

 H.S.H. the Prince of Monaco has set the example, particu- 

 larly in regard to the study of the sperm whale. 



It was grey all day, grey sky reflected in lavender-grey 

 water, the surface hardly indicated till an endless shoal of 

 dolphins came out from the shadow of a cloud in the east. 

 They were pretty enough to watch, but we had little time 

 for two finners led us miles here and there over the ocean, 

 but eluded us ever ; we had little chance of circumventing 

 them by reason of our two whales in tow. We gave them 

 up and went after spouts like cannon shots against the dark 

 rain-cloud to the east ; and this time cleared ourselves of our 

 bag ; slipped the heavy chains, fastened a buoy with a tall 

 flag to the two bodies and left them in charge of the Molly 

 Mawks or Fulmar Petrels. But the family of finners we 

 pursued were very wide awake, and though we pursued them 

 for weary hours we never got quite within shot, though dozens 

 of times we whispered to ourselves "A certain shot ! " So with 

 more trouble we took our two whales in tow again, and left 

 the gulls lamenting, for already they had begun to pick away 



