484 IVORY AND THE ELEPHANT 



Eskimos in the making of oil, and also for heating and for 

 food purposes; it is said to have a very agreeable taste. As 

 it has little consistency it needs to be cooked or broiled over 

 a very quick and intense fire to prevent disintegration. 



In recent years the first narwhal ivory (a few tusks) is 

 said to have been brought in 1854 by the English Expedition. 

 The Eskimos state that on each of his ten voyages Admiral 

 Peary obtained a fairly large quantity of this material. In 

 1908, Captain Bernier, the Canadian North Pole explorer, 

 took possession of these Arctic regions for Canada. He has 

 made seven trips to these waters, some of them prior to 1908 

 and others subsequent to that date; he usually requires a 

 year and a half for the journey there and back. AMiat nar- 

 whal ivory he has brought is stated to have been disposed of to 

 the Hudson's Bay Company. No narwhals are to be found 

 north of Siberia or Norway, their principal habitat being ap- 

 parently confined to the Canadian Islands of the Arctic Ocean. 



In France, for a long time, it was the custom in the pro- 

 vincial churches to place a narwhal tusk on either side of the 

 altar, running a gas pipe through the hollow part of the tusk, 

 so that the flame could issue from the upper aperture, the 

 whole giving the effect of a gigantic candle. 



The following is a list of exact measurements of a consign- 

 ment of narwhal tusks secured in the Arctic Circle, north 

 of the British possessions: 



DIMENSIONS OF 80 NARWHAL IVORY HORNS* 



CIRCUMFERENCE 



lENGTH 



LARGE END- 



-CENTRE 



LENGTH 



LARGE END— 



-CENTRE 



Feet 



Inches 



Inches 



Inches 



Feet 



Inches 



Inches 



Inche 



8 



5^ 



8| 



6i 



5 



8 







8 



3 



8 



6| 



5 



7 





. , 



7 



8^ 



n 



51 



5 



6^ 



7f 



61 



7 



n 



7 



51 



5 



■ 2 





. . 



7 



7 



8 



6 



5 



H 



51 



4i 



7 



4,i 



8 



5 



5 



6 



n 



6h 



7 



2 



81 



5h 



5 



7 







*Courtesy of Mr. Henry levers, Quebec, Canada. 



