NOTES ON THE SEAL AND WHALE FISHERY. 55 



as previously stated, practically lost the voyage through injuries 

 received in the ice ; the ' Nimrod ' narrowly escaped being 

 jammed ten miles off Gull Island, and was beset for fourteen 

 days, losing a large number of panned Seals. The ' Terra 

 Nova ' and the ' Walrus ' both returned with flags half-mast ; the 

 former lost a man from pneumonia, and the latter, in addition to 

 losing one of her crew by death, landed an insane man at Bird 

 Island Cove. These events were sad, but, in view of the risk 

 and hardship to which 3978 men were exposed, the casualties 

 must be considered slight. 



The sealing fleet of this season was increased to twenty by the 

 addition of the 'Erik'; 274,539 Seals were landed, valued at 

 £80,525, the average number for the whole fleet being 13,727. 

 Ten vessels secured more than this average, and ten less ; nine 

 had more than 15,000, and two less than that number, but over 

 10,000 ; the remainder were poorly fished, averaging only 5392. 

 The 'Vanguard' headed the list with 25,707. The Seals were 

 of excellent quality, even better than in the previous season, for 

 although 70,849 fewer in number, their net weight was only 

 501 cwt. less; but the market for produce is not encouraging. 



The Whale Fishery in the Greenland Seas has become quite 

 a thing of the past, and in Davis Straits, the season of 1902 

 has been remarkable, even in this inclement sea, for weather of 

 almost unexampled severity ; the success of some of the vessels, 

 too, was sadly marred by the disasters to others. Capt. Milne, 

 of the ' Eclipse,' learned from the Esquimaux that a small vessel 

 hailing from London, named the 'Perseverance,' left Cumberland 

 Gulf on the 22nd of October, 1901, but has not since been heard 

 of, and it is feared that she has been lost with all hands. The 

 ' Alert ' also, the last of the Peterhead vessels, a brig attached 

 to Nobles' Station, sent out to bring back produce from the 

 station at Cumberland Gulf, was wrecked there in September 

 last, but happily her crew was saved and brought home by the 

 ' Kate,' another small vessel in the same service, which had 

 wintered there. Against this it is satisfactory to be able to state 

 that the ' Forget-me-not,' a Yarmouth trawler, mentioned in my 

 last notes as missing, arrived safely at St. John's, Newfoundland, 

 on the 24th of September, having wintered in the pack-ice in 



