THE BOWHEAD, OR GREAT POLAR WHALE. 



61 



opinion that this is a different species. There is little doubt, however, of this 

 being a young whale of the same species, as its blubber is close and fine, produc- 

 ing but little oil in proportion to size of body, as is the case with all calves or 

 young whales of every description.* 



BOWHEAD WHALING. 



In the Arctic and about Behring Sea, the whaling is "done from the ship," 

 as it is termed: i. e., the vessels cruise, and the look-outs are kept aloft as usual, 

 and when whales are seen, the boats are lowered and the pursuit is carried on in 

 sight from the ships, unless obscured by fog. In the Okhotsk, much of the whal- 

 ing is about the bays, particularly Tchantar Bay, and contiguous waters. The nat- 

 ure of the pursuit is such, in these localities, that the •modus operandi is quite differ- 

 ent. Vessels bound to Tchantar Bay endeavor to approach the land off Aian, if the 



along the top of the back two to three feet, and 

 in some iudivicluals rises in the highest place 

 about six inches. The sketch on page 56 will 

 perhaps better represent the difference in shape, 

 than a written description. Captain Roys says 

 he has repeatedly taken them in the Arctic, as 

 well as in the Okhotsk. They have been fre- 

 quently taken in the North-east Gulf (Okhotsk 

 Sea). Our personal observation was only on a 

 dead one (in Tchantar Bay, 18G2), and on that 

 individual the jDrotuberance was so slight, that 

 it would not have been noticed unless our par- 

 ticular attention had been called to it. Captain 

 Kandoljih, of the American whale -ship South 

 Boston ( 18G2 ), informed us at the time that 

 nearly all the whales he had taken that season 

 in the North-east Gulf were "Bunchbacks," and 

 yielded a very large amount of bone in propor- 

 tion to yield of oil. Captain Eoys also men- 

 tioned that one season he took numbers of them, 

 and to distinguish them from others they were 

 then called "Bunchbacks." Several whaling- 

 masters who have taken them observed that the 

 spiracles are usually situated higher than upon 

 those not having the bunch or hump on the 

 " small." 



* Captain Eoys is of the opinion that the 



Bowheads breed but slowly. Moreover, his ob- 

 servations of many years in northern whaling, 

 goes to show that the young of this species 

 suck but a short time compared with other ceta- 

 ceous animals. This opinion seems quite con- 

 clusive when we compare the immense head and 

 baleen of even the smallest individuals with 

 those of other species, as though nature had 

 provided them with immensely capacious mouths 

 to gather insect food, instead of drawing suste- 

 nance from the dam. As to the linear propor- 

 tions of the young of the Bowhead, in com- 

 parison with the dam, there is a diversity of 

 opinion among those whalers who may be relied 

 upon as men of excellent judgment, but a large 

 majority maintain that the calf is not over one- 

 fourth the length of the cow, and usually the 

 proportions would be nearer one -fifth. From 

 our own observations on the young of other 

 whales, we have arrived at the conclusion that 

 there is considerable diversity of size in the 

 young of all whales when first born ; and their 

 rapid growth, until weaned, may doubtless be 

 ascribed to the constant attention of the mother, 

 in affordihg her offspring a bountiful supply of 

 nutritious milk from her capacious and prolific 

 udder. 



