248 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTEBN COAST. 



officers and crew— all being paid a certain share, or "lay," which corresponds to 

 the position or individual services rendered by each member. A "whaling com- 

 pany," as it is termed, consists of one captain, one mate, a cooper, two boat- 

 steerers, and eleven men; from these, two whale-boats are provided with crews 

 of six men each, leaving four hands on shore, who take their turn at the lookout 

 station, to watch for whales, and attend to boiling out the blubber when a whale 

 is caught. The stock of the company consists of boats, whaling implements, and 

 whaling-gear, which is divided into sixteen equal shares, and the "lay" of each 

 member is the same. The captain and mate, however, are paid a bonus of two or 

 three hundred dollars for the term of engagement, which is one year, and they 

 are also exempt from all expenses of the company. 



The whaling year begins on the first of April, this being about the time that 

 the California Gray Whales have all passed toward the Arctic Ocean, and the 

 Humpback Whales begin their northern passage. The cruising limits of the local 

 whalers extend from near the shore -line to ten miles at sea. At dawn of day, 

 the boats may be seen, careening under a press of sail, or propelled over the 

 undulating ground -swell by the long, measured strokes of oars, until they reach 

 the usual whaling-ground, where the day is passed plying to and fro, unless the 

 objects of ■ pursuit are met with. Each boat is furnished with Greener's 

 harpoon -gun, mounted at the bow, besides the bomb -gun in general use, which 

 imparts to them more of a military appearance than the usual aspect of a whaling- 

 craft. Generally, whales are first seen from the boats ; but occasionally they are 

 discovered hy the man on watch at the station, who signals to the boats by means 

 of a flag elevated upon a pole, with which he runs toward the quarter where the 

 whales are seen; or a series of signals are made from a tall flag -staff. 



The cetaceous animals frec|uenting the coast, having been so long and con- 

 stantly pursued, are exceedingly wild and difficult to approach ; and were it not 

 for the utility of Greener's gun, the coast fishery would be abandoned, it being 

 now next to impossible to "strike" with the hand-harpoon. At the present time, 

 if the whale can be approached within thirty yards, it is considered to be in reach 

 of the gun- harpoon. When the gunner fires, if he hits his game, the next effort 

 made is to haul up near enough to shoot a bomb -lance into a vital part, which, 

 if it explodes, completes the capture ; but, if the first bomb fails, the second or 

 third one does the fatal work. The prize is then towed to the station ; and if it 

 be night, it is secured to one of the buoys placed for the purpose, a little way 

 from the surf, where it remains until daylight, or until such time as it is wanted, to 

 be stripped of its blubber. The whales generally taken by the shore parties are 



