I 93] Allen, Mammals from Northeast Siberia. 121 



reached there the young ice had formed around the edges 

 until it was only 60 by 20 yards. The water was about 30 

 fathoms deep. At the time of my arrival, there were 150 

 carcasses, some with the skin, meat, head, flukes, and flippers 

 removed and others untouched, lying on the ice, while nearly 

 one half that number were tied up to the edge of the ice 

 in the water. Over 100 more were still alive in the water. 

 These rose to 'blow' every twelve to eighteen minutes and 

 then made from ten to fifteen blows, sometimes making two 

 in swimming the length of the hole, and then, turning back, 

 repeating the operation several times before again descending. 

 The inspiration and expiration required not more than one 

 or two seconds and sounded like an exaggeration of the noise 

 produced by a person rounding the lips and blowing. Over 

 one hundred Eskimos were there, and new parties were con- 

 tinually arriving and others departing as they got their 

 sledges filled. All of the new arrivals immediately tried their 

 skill at shooting, although there were many more killed than 

 would supply their wants. 



"The whales in rising came up with the forward part of the 

 body elevated, pushed the top of their head out of the water, 

 and 'blowed,' and then, with tail depressed, back elevated, 

 and head pointed downward, disappeared again, seldom show- 

 ing the fluke. This gave the appearance of a circular disc 

 revolving in the water with only about one fourth of its 

 diameter exposed. The head was seldom raised enough to 

 show any part of it below the eye. Some rose and swam for 

 some distance parallel with the surface of the water, but most 

 of them described sharp curves. Although all did not rise 

 at the same time, yet the majority rose together, and smaller 

 numbers came up between the main risings, so that there was 

 no period of more than six minutes when some were not vis- 

 ible. When the main rising occurred the hole was almost 

 filled and they were so thick that occasionally one would be 

 pushed high in the air with its tail up and body two thirds 

 out of the water and held that way for a second before dis- 

 appearing again. At no time were there less than five natives 

 shooting, and sometimes as many as twenty. Probably not 



