THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES 253 



ating the gamy taste. The strips of meat are then 

 passed through a salmon cutter of ordinary type, 

 which cuts up pieces of the right size, for one pound 

 flat cans. The cans are then put through the 

 exhaust box for thirty minutes, sealed and cooked 

 in the retort for an hour and twenty minutes, after 

 which they are ready for labelling and shipping. 



The fishery for the California Grey Whale by 

 the Makahs or Cape Flattery Indians has been well 

 described by Swan. 1 Since their methods are 

 distinct from those of Europeans, and have been 

 independently evolved, a short description is 

 appended. 



The harpoon consists of a barbed head, attached 

 direct to the rope or lanyard. The rope, which is 

 five fathoms long, is made of twisted whale's sinews, 

 and is about an inch and a half in circumference, 

 covered with twine wound around it very tightly. 

 This rope is exceedingly strong and very pliable. 



The harpoon head is a flat piece of iron or copper, 

 usually a saw blade or a piece of sheet copper with 

 a couple of barbs of elk's or deer's horn secured to 

 it, and the whole covered with a coating of spruce 

 gum. 



The staff is made of yew in two pieces, joined in 

 the middle by a neat scarf, firmly secured by a piece 

 of bark tied tightly round it. The length is 

 eighteen feet, thickest in the centre at the join, and 

 tapering at both ends. To be used the staff is 



1 James G. Swan, " The Indians of Cape Flattery, at the 

 Entrance to the Strait of Fuca, Washing-ton Territory," Wash- 

 ing-ton, 1869, No. 220, Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge. 



