28 MARINE 3IAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. 



Still another strategic plan has been practiced with successful results, called 

 "whaling along the breakers." ]\Icntion has been already made of the habit which 

 these whales have of playing about the breakers at the mouths of the lagoons. 

 This, the watchful eye of the whaler was quick to see, could be turned to his 

 advantage. 



After years of pursuit by waylaying them around the beds of kelp, the wary 

 animals learned to shun these fatal regions, making a wide deviation in their course 

 to enjoy their sports among the rollers at the lagoons' mouths, as they passed 

 them either way. But the civilized whaler anchors his boats as near the roaring 

 surf as safety will permit, and the unwary "Mussel -digger" that comes in reach 

 of the deadly harpoon, or bomb -lance, is sure to pay the penalty with its life. If 

 it come within darting distance, it is harpooned ; and, as the stricken animal makes 

 for the open sea, it is soon in deep water, where the pursuer makes his capture 

 with comparative ease; or if passing within range of the bomb -gun, one of the 

 explosive missiles is planted in its side, which so paralyzes the whale that the 

 fresh boat's- crew, Avho have been resting at anchor, taking to their oars, soon 

 overtake and dispatch it. 



The casualties from coast and kelp whaling are nothing to be compared with 

 the accidents that have been experienced by those engaged in taking the females 

 in the lagoons. Hardly a day passes but there is upsetting or staving of boats, 

 the crews receiving bruises, cuts, and, in many instances, having limbs broken ; 

 and repeated accidents have happened in which men have been instantly killed, or 

 received mortal injury. The reasons of the increased dangers are these : the quick 

 and deviating movements of the animal, its unusual sagacity, and the fact of the 

 sandy bottom being continually stirred by the strong currents, making it difficult to 

 see an object at any considerable depth. When a whale is "struck" at sea, there 

 is generally but little difficulty in keeping clear. When first irritated by the har- 

 poon, it attempts to escape by "running," or descending to the depths below, taking 

 out more or less line, the direction of which, and the movements of the boat, 

 indicate the animal's whereabouts. But in a lagoon, the object of pursuit is in 

 narrow passages, where frequently there is a swift tide, and the turbid water pre- 

 vents the whaler from seeing far beneath the boat. Should the chase be made 

 Avith the current, the fugitive sometimes stops suddenly, and the speed of the boat, 

 together with the influence of the running water, shoots it upon the worried animal 

 when it is dashing its flukes in every direction. The whales that are chased have 

 with them their young cubs, and the mother, in her efforts to avoid the pursuit of 

 herself and offspring, may momentarily lose sight of her little one. Instantly she 



