CHAPTER XVHI 

 THE WOLF OF THE SEA 



ALTHOUGH the killer whale has no great com- 

 mercial value, it is often brought in at the 

 shore stations and figures so prominently in 

 all deep-sea life that to omit it from any book on 

 whaling w r ould be a grave error. 



The killer is the wolf of the sea and like the land 

 wolves hunts in packs of twenty or more individuals 

 which will attack and devour almost anything that 

 swims. Every whaleman has stories to tell of the 

 strength and ferocity of these sea terrors, but I think 

 that the incident witnessed by Captain Robert F. Scott 

 and published in the journal of his last ill-fated ex- 

 pedition is one of the most remarkable experiences of 

 which I have ever kno\vn. It is so interesting that I 

 have quoted it in full : 



Thursday, January. All hands were up at 5 this morning 

 and at work at 6. Words cannot express the splendid way 

 in which everyone works and gradually the work gets or- 

 ganized. I was a little late on the scene this morning, and 

 thereby witnessed a most extraordinary scene. 



Some 6 or 7 killer whales, old and young, were skirting 

 the fast floe edge ahead of the ship; they seemed excited 

 and dived rapidly, almost touching the floe. As we watched, 

 they suddenly appeared astern, raising their snouts out of 



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