54: WHITE WHALES, Chap. HI. 



The nets alluded to are set for tlie white 

 whale or the seal ; if for the former, they are 

 attached to the shore and extend off at right 

 angles so as to intercept them in their autumnal 

 southern migration, when they swim close along 

 the rocks to avoid their direst foe, the grampus, 

 or killer, of sailors, the Delphinus orca of natu- 

 ralists. When the white whale is stopped by 

 the net it often appears at first to be unconscious 

 of the fact, and continues to swim against it, 

 affording time for the approach of the boat and 

 deadly harpoon from behind. If entangled in 

 the net a very short time suffices to drown 

 them, as, like all the whale tribe, they are 

 obliged to come to the surface to breathe. 



The killer is also a cetacean of considerable 

 size, 15 to 20 feet in length, but of very dif- 

 ferent habits ; it is very swift, is armed with 

 powerful teeth, and is gregarious. When in 

 sufficient numbers they even attack the whale, 

 impeding his progress by fastening on his 

 fins and tail. In summer they appear in the 

 Greenland seas, and the seals instantly seek 

 refuge from them in the various creeks and 

 inner harbours ; and the Esquimaux hunter in 

 his frail kayak, when he sees the huge pointed 

 dorsal fin swiftly cleaving the surface of the 



