﻿CO 
  THE 
  ZOOLOGIST. 
  

  

  The 
  whaling 
  fleet 
  again 
  consisted 
  of 
  five 
  vessels, 
  the 
  ' 
  Vega 
  ' 
  

   taking 
  the 
  place 
  of 
  the 
  lost 
  ' 
  Nova 
  Zembla 
  ' 
  ; 
  to 
  these 
  must 
  be 
  

   added 
  the 
  ketch 
  ' 
  Alert 
  ' 
  of 
  ninety-seven 
  tons, 
  now 
  wintering 
  in 
  

   Pond's 
  Bay, 
  and 
  the 
  ' 
  Greda,' 
  a 
  chartered 
  Norwegian 
  schooner, 
  

   which 
  brought 
  some 
  produce 
  from 
  Cumberland 
  Gulf 
  station. 
  

   All 
  these, 
  with 
  the 
  exception 
  named 
  below, 
  hail 
  from 
  Davis 
  

   Strait. 
  The 
  Greenland 
  Seas 
  were 
  again 
  unvisited 
  by 
  the 
  British 
  

   whalers. 
  

  

  Once 
  more 
  the 
  pitiless 
  ice 
  of 
  the 
  Polar 
  Seas 
  has 
  claimed 
  its 
  

   victim 
  ; 
  in 
  the 
  season 
  of 
  1902 
  it 
  was 
  the 
  ' 
  Nova 
  Zembla,' 
  which 
  

   went 
  to 
  pieces 
  in 
  Dexterity 
  Fjord. 
  In 
  the 
  past 
  season 
  the 
  

   ' 
  Vega,' 
  on 
  her 
  first 
  whaling 
  voyage 
  from 
  Dundee, 
  was 
  crushed 
  

   in 
  the 
  dreaded 
  floe 
  of 
  Melville 
  Bay, 
  and 
  went 
  down 
  so 
  quickly 
  

   that 
  her 
  crew 
  had 
  barely 
  time 
  to 
  take 
  to 
  their 
  boats 
  and 
  escape. 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  vessel 
  to 
  arrive 
  home 
  was 
  the 
  ' 
  Active,' 
  which 
  reached 
  

   Dundee 
  on 
  the 
  20th 
  of 
  October 
  from 
  the 
  scene 
  of 
  her 
  operations 
  

   in 
  Hudson 
  Strait 
  and 
  the 
  neighbourhood 
  of 
  Southampton 
  Island, 
  

   where 
  her 
  owners 
  have 
  a 
  winter 
  station. 
  After 
  visiting 
  the 
  

   mines 
  and 
  taking 
  on 
  board 
  the 
  talc 
  there 
  awaiting 
  her, 
  she 
  pro- 
  

   ceeded 
  to 
  the 
  station 
  on 
  Southampton 
  Island, 
  which 
  was 
  reached 
  

   on 
  the 
  17th 
  of 
  July, 
  and 
  thence 
  to 
  ' 
  Kikerton 
  ' 
  (the 
  native 
  name 
  

   for 
  any 
  group 
  of 
  islands), 
  where 
  all 
  her 
  five 
  Whales 
  were 
  taken. 
  

   The 
  bone 
  of 
  two, 
  but 
  not 
  the 
  blubber, 
  was 
  obtained 
  by 
  barter 
  

   from 
  the 
  natives, 
  two 
  were 
  killed 
  by 
  the 
  ketch 
  ' 
  Ernest 
  William,' 
  

   and 
  one 
  was 
  captured 
  at 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  September 
  by 
  the 
  crew 
  

   of 
  the 
  ' 
  Active.' 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  Whales 
  was 
  small, 
  with 
  only 
  five 
  

   feet 
  of 
  bone, 
  another 
  of 
  six 
  feet, 
  and 
  the 
  remaining 
  three 
  yielded 
  

   bone 
  of 
  over 
  nine 
  feet, 
  one 
  being 
  a 
  fine 
  fish 
  of 
  10 
  ft. 
  3 
  in. 
  bone, 
  a 
  

   large 
  size 
  for 
  this 
  locality. 
  The 
  capture 
  of 
  this 
  last 
  Whale 
  was 
  

   rather 
  an 
  exciting 
  event. 
  When 
  harpooned 
  it 
  made 
  direct 
  for 
  

   the 
  loose 
  ice, 
  and 
  soon 
  ran 
  out 
  all 
  the 
  lines 
  ; 
  the 
  crew, 
  however, 
  

   cast 
  off 
  and 
  buoyed 
  the 
  line, 
  and, 
  rowing 
  round 
  to 
  the 
  other 
  

   side 
  of 
  the 
  floe, 
  again 
  picked 
  it 
  up. 
  Finally, 
  after 
  eight 
  hours' 
  

   exertion, 
  they 
  succeeded 
  in 
  securing 
  their 
  valuable 
  prey. 
  The 
  

   'Active's 
  ' 
  voyage 
  was 
  a 
  very 
  successful 
  one 
  ; 
  she 
  brought 
  home 
  

   the 
  produce 
  of 
  5 
  Black 
  and 
  34 
  White 
  Whales, 
  78 
  Walruses, 
  125 
  

   Seals, 
  and 
  46 
  Bears, 
  yielding 
  26 
  tuns 
  of 
  oil 
  and 
  41 
  cwt. 
  of 
  bone 
  ; 
  

   also 
  the 
  skins 
  of 
  10 
  Musk-Oxen 
  and 
  127 
  Foxes, 
  which 
  were 
  

   obtained 
  from 
  the 
  natives. 
  

  

  