WHALE HUNTING WITH GUN AND CAMERA 



lass constructed of a rounded cake of ice and a piece 

 of driftwood. Then the huge body could be hoisted 

 up, or, if the edge of the ice was too rough, cut in 

 while rolling over and over in the water. The meat, 

 blubber, "black skin/' and bone were equally divided 



The Amagansett whale covered with ice after the blubber had 

 been stripped off the carcass. 



and sent ashore on sleds, where they could be dressed 

 and prepared for the winter. 



The advent of the white man to engage in beach, 

 or floe, whaling was a momentous event for the na- 

 tives of northern Alaska and was the beginning of 

 the end of their age-old methods. The first attempts 

 made at Point Barrow in 1884 were without result, but 

 two years later, under the Pacific Steam Whaling Com- 

 pany, a successful footing was gained and the Eskimos 



252 



