02 MABINE 3IAMMALS OF THE N0RTH-WE8TEBN COAST. 



ice will permit, which is generally sufficiently broken and scattered by the 20th of 

 June ; then, working along between the ice and the Siberian coast, to the south- 

 ward, as far as practicable with the ships, they dispatch boats to follow along the 

 shore and if possible to reach the head of Tchantar Bay, where whales in former 

 years were to be found in very large numbers. These expeditions were always 

 attended with excessive labor, and much exposure as well as risk to the crews. 

 Frecjuent instances have been known of boats leaving the ships oiF Aian, then 

 threading their way along the coast, between the masses of ice, or between the ice 

 and shore, as the ebb or flood tides would permit, until they reached the head of 

 Tchantar Bay. On reaching their destination, and finding whales plenty they 

 immediately commenced whaling, and by the time the ships arrived, in several 

 instances, whales enough had been taken to yield a thousand barrels of oil. 

 The elapsed time from leaving the ship till again joining the vessel in the bay 

 would vary from one to three weeks. Meanwhile, the crews lived in or around 

 their boats, being afloat when making the passage or engaged in whaling ; and 

 when driven to the shore by the ice or by stormy weather, or resorting thither to 

 cook their food, or sleep, the boats were hauled up and turned j)ai'tially over for 

 shelter, and tents were pitched with the sails. Fallen trees or drift-wood furnished 

 abundance of fuel, and by a rousing fire all slept soundly when an opportunity 

 offered ; but the more abundant the whales, the less the chance of sleep for the 

 whalemen in those high latitudes, where daylight lasts nearly through the twenty- 

 four hours during summer. 



TCHANTAR BAY "WHALING. 



Arrived on the ground, with the boats, all surplus provisions and outfits are 

 quickly landed, and the chase begins. Frequent spouts in the air tell that the 

 animals are all around. One of the number breaks the smooth surface of the 

 water, between the land and ice, and is at once pursued ; but perhaps, before the 

 boat can reach within darting or shooting distance, the animal goes down. Then 

 comes an impatient waiting for it to rise again. As the Bowhead is irregular in 

 its course, when next seen it may be in another direction. Quickly the boat is 

 headed for it, and before approaching near enough the whale goes down again. In 

 this way the chase is frequently prolonged, sometimes abandoned, and other whales 

 pursued ; or, it may be that, when nearly within reach, the animal glides under a 

 floe and thus evades its pursuers; or, if harpooned, it may run for the ice, and 

 before being killed reaches it, and escapes with harpoons, lines, etc. If the pursuit 

 proves successful, the captured whale is towed to the beach at high tide, and a 



