52 DINNER STOLEN BY SHARKS. Chap. III. 



yesterday, althougli 90 miles distant ; I have 

 calculated its height to be 6000 feet. A raven 

 was shot to-day. 



2^th. — Our salt meat is usually soaked for 

 some days before being used ; for this purpose 

 it is put into a net, and lowered through a hole 

 in the ice ; this morning the net had been torn, 

 and only a fragment of it remained ! We sup- 

 -pose our twenty-two pounds of salt meat had 

 been devoured by a shark ; it would be curious 

 to know how such fare agrees with him, as a 

 full meal of salted provision will kill an Esqui- 

 maux dog, which thrives on almost anything. 

 I used to remonstrate upon the skins of sea- 

 birds being given to our dogs, but was told the 

 feathers were good for them ! Here all sea- 

 birds are skinned before being cooked, otherwise 

 our ducks, divers, and looms would be uneatably 

 fishy. A well-baited shark-hook has been sub- 

 stituted for the net of salt meat ; I much wish 

 to capture one of the monsters, as wonderful 

 stories are told us of their doings in Greenland : 

 whether they are the white shark or the bask- 

 ing shark of natural history I cannot find out. 

 It is only of late years that the shark fishery 

 has been carried on to any extent in Greenland ; 

 they are captured for the sake of their livers, 

 which yield a considerable quantity of oil. It 



