THE ZOOLOGIST 



No. 776.— February, 1906. 



NOTES ON THE AECTIO WHALING VOYAGE OF 1905. 

 By Thomas Southwell. 



Eight vessels left Dundee in the past season for the Arctic 

 fishery, against five in 1904, the ' Scotia ' and the ' Morning ' 

 having been added to the fleet, and the ketch ' Snowdrop ' of 64 

 tons made a speculative voyage, killing one Whale, two Walruses, 

 and seventeen Bears, yielding 15 tuns of oil and 18 cwt. of bone. 

 Six of these went to Davis Strait, one to Hudson Strait, and one 

 to Greenland, subsequently proceeding to the Strait, of which 

 more hereafter. The ' Queen Bess ' took out stores to the mines 

 in Hudson Strait, and returned with mica and furs collected 

 there, but did not fish ; and the ' Alert ' is wintering at Pond's Bay. 



The ' Eclipse ' was the most fortunate vessel, and the first to 

 return to port. On the outward voyage she was favoured with 

 fine weather, and on July 6th captured two Whales ; on the 8fch 

 a third was secured off Dexterity Bay. A fortnight later two 

 others were killed, and on July 24th two more, making seven in 

 all. On July 25th she put into the fishing station at Pond's 

 Bay, but no Whales had been killed there. The return voyage 

 was commenced on Oct. 14th, and was attended with exception- 

 ally wild weather, but she arrived safely at Dundee on Nov. 6th, 

 after a successful voyage. 



The ' Balsena ' arrived on Nov. 8th with four Whales. The 

 chief event of the voyage was the meeting with a school of 

 Whales whilst so closely beset with ice that they could not lower 

 their boats, but, one of the Whales coming close to the vessel, 

 it was fastened to by a harpoon fired from the deck, and secured 

 without the crew leaving the ship — a most unusual circumstance. 



Zool. 4th ser. vol. X., February, 1906. • e 



