KIMO 



Whih- rlicv an* very |i;niiinlar in nil suix'rstitious observauces re- 

 •inliii<'- the whales. tlifV an- Irss can'tul alxmt certain things, such as 



l.m.l talkin,!:- and linn.n .uuiis 



Is and fowl when tb(\v are wait- 

 llv hull Ihcii- chances witli the timid animals. 

 The\ are l<'^s .■neri;vli<-than one W(.ul(l suppose in pursuit of the whale, 

 ■ic-ordiu" ic> <'aiit. Ilerendeeii. whospeiit several dayseach season with 

 'tlie\vhalel)oat>! insl.'ail of cruisini^- aliout the lead in searcli of wliales 

 Ihev are ratln-r inclined lo lie in wait for t'aeni at the ed.'^e of the floe, 



When tin' leads are \ cry narrow the whales are sometinn's shot witli 

 tin- hoinhiiun from the ed.ue of tlie ice. Success in this appears to be 

 viriiblc ~ln issi; only one small whale was secured, and in 1883 one 

 full "rown one. though several were struck and lost each season. The 

 veteran whaliim master. ('a|it. L. <'. Oweii, informs me that one season 

 tlie boat- of ihcsc I wo villa.iies captured ten. The season of issr, was 

 very successful. The natives of the two villages are report<'d to ha\e 

 taken iwciitx ci^lil whales. ('a]it. K. K. Smith, howexer. iiiforurs me 



When acluallv eniia-ed in whaling the iimialik exorcises a very fair 

 <lei:ice of disci|iline. but at other times he seems hardly able to keep 

 his men from stiaugling off to go home or to visit their .seal nets, etc., 



Nowhere cl.s.'ainon- tlie Kskiino does the whale fishery appear to be 

 conducted in such ivgular iminner with tbrnially organized crews as 

 iilion this northwest coast. From all accounts the animal is only cas- 

 ually pursued elsi'where with fleets of kaiaks or umiaks manned by 



Tin- beluga or white whale is only casually pursued, and as fur as 1 

 .■ouhl learn is always shot with the rille. It is m.t abundant. 



/.'„„■/.— During the wint.-r months a few i.tarmigan are occasi(mally 

 .shot, but the natives pay no s|,ecial attention to birds until the sjuing 

 migrations. The Hrst dimks apj.ear a little later than the whales, about 

 the end of April or the first week of May, and from that time till the 

 middle of June scarcely a day ])asses when they are in)t more or less 

 plenty. The king ducks (Smnateria spectabilis) are the first to appear, 

 while the I'acitic ciders (S. \ nigra) arrive .somewhat later, and are 

 more abunilant towards rhi- end of the migrations. At this season all 

 women and children, and many iimmi. go armed with the bolas, and 

 everylM.dy is always on the lookout Ibr Hocks of ducks. On four or five 

 fa\orable days each season, at intersals of a week or ten days, there 

 are great flights of eiders counng u]> in huge flocks of two or three hun- 

 dred, stretched out in long diagonal lines. These flocks follow one 

 another in ra|)id succession and keej) the line of the coast, apparently 

 striking straight across I'eanl I'.ay from the Seahorse Islands to a point 



.-.l,-, Otv.iiiaM.l p iiij; r,:,,it,, nivi,,n,,r iiiviiihiuil, Vol. I, p. 121; Parry, 2a. Voy., p. 

 Ill Cluri-, Noillnvi'sl l';issu»-. ii. v: (CiiiK- li^ithurst). 



