Big Game at Sea 



land, and while in this region I saw more or less of the 

 famous unicorn, or narwhal. We were stopping at 

 a native village where there was a large shark fac- 

 tory ; the meat was known as spec, and, in reality, was 

 the money of the country, or a medium of exchange. 



' The sharks here were very large and were caught 

 in deep water. Being somewhat curious to see the 

 method of capture, I asked one of the men to take 

 me out, which, for a consideration, he agreed to do. 

 The boat, or canoe, we went in was a huge arrange- 

 ment made of skins and whalebone, and fitted with 

 bone spears of all kinds for the capture of big game. 

 It took three men to manage the boat, while a boy, 

 the son of the owner, steered. 



" The shark-fishing grounds were about five miles 

 off shore, and, as the wind was light, the men pulled. 

 We had gone nearly a mile, I think, when the boy at 

 the helm gave a loud grunt, the only sound that had 

 been made, and pointed up the coast. Following the 

 direction indicated, I saw what appeared to be the 

 heads of several men on the surface of the calm 

 water. The natives, lethargic enough at any time, 

 seemed to be excited, and immediately turned the boat 

 in that direction and began to pull with all their 

 energy, the boy helping along by bending his body, 

 as man-of-war's men often do in a race. 



" We soon came up to the place and saw the curious 

 heads projecting from the water ahead. One of the 

 men put his oar away and took up a harpoon, and 



312 



