NOTES ON THE SEAL AND WHALE FISHERY; 1895. 45 



sealing, brought home only three White Whales and seven Walrus. 

 In Dexterity Bay, the mate of the ' Terra Nova,' when on shore 

 with a shooting party, discovered the remains of some twenty or 

 thirty Esquimaux. The skeletons were of various sizes, and the 

 bones much bleached, showing that they had been exposed a 

 considerable time. To all appearance the remains of the men 

 had been placed apart from those of the women and children; 

 beside the former were placed their fishing and hunting gear, 

 while near the children lay their toys and miniature weapons. 

 The sailors left this desolate burying-place as they found it. 



The ' Eclipse ' killed her two Whales off Coutts's Inlet, and 

 had not another chance ; the ' Nova Zembla ' also killed her 

 single Whale in the same month of July. In Elwin Bay, White 

 Whales were as usual plentiful, and it was there that the ' Balsena ' 

 and the ' Esquimaux ' made the captures before alluded to. The 

 'Alert' brought home from Cumberland Gulf, in addition to the 

 Seals already mentioned, the produce of three Black Whales, 

 consisting of 20 tons of oil and 30 cwt. of bone. 



The total produce of the Whale fishery was 17 Black Whales, 

 1436 White Whales, and 16 Walrus ; these yielded 349 tons of 

 oil (about 178 tons of which was White Whale oil), and 9j tons 

 of bone. The oil may be valued at £17 per ton, or £5933; 

 and the bone at £2000 per ton (£2500, I am informed, is 

 now being asked by holders), or a sum of £18,025. The total 

 produce being £23,958, against a total of £27,452 in the season 

 of 1894. 



In the * Board of Trade Journal ' for November last (vol. xix. 

 p. 586) are some particulars of a fishery for Whales in the Bay 

 of Islands, New Zealand, culled from a report published by the 

 Chief Inspector of Factories, at Wellington, New Zealand, in the 

 1 Journal of the Department of Labour.' This industry is carried 

 on at Whangamumu, a small harbour on the south side of Cape 

 Brett, where it was commenced in 1891. The Whales pass in 

 large numbers between the months of May and August going 

 north, and again between October and December returning south. 

 They pass close in shore, and are taken in nets made of strong 

 rope, iron rings taking the place of the knots in the usual netting ; 

 they are 50 fathoms long, divided into 10 fathom sections, with a 

 mesh of 6 feet. The Whales become entangled in the nets, and 

 are killed by lances in the usual way. The produce is oil and 



