512 California Gray Whale. 
bled out of the boat and thought they were safe. But no, she pur- 
sued them on land as well, and never stopped till she had treed 
them all! 
The danger of the pursuit was much lessened, and the chances 
of capture of these dangerous animals was much increased by the 
introduction of the harpoon-gun and the bomb-lance. By them the 
attack could be made at a safer distance, and the exploded bomb 
produced instant death. 
The inshore habits of these whales made it possible for the na- 
tives to attack and capture them even with their rude implements 
but as I have met no account of this south of Washington Terri- 
tory, and rarely except in the vicinity of the Strait of Fuca, it is 
not improbable that much of the belligerent disposition of the brute 
may have left him by the time hé has pursued his migratory jour- 
ney so far, and especially may the temper of the female have been 
improved when the defence of her offspring was no longer de- 
manded. Their mode of capture was simple though ingenious, but 
could have only met with disaster in their southern breeding 
grounds, Their mode was to attack with a large number of canoes, 
each armed with several men and provided with a number of inflated 
bladders, or air-tight sacks made of skins; to each of these was at- 
tached a light strong cord, at the other end of which was an arrow 
When a whale was sighted, the swiftly-paddled fleet pursued and 
embraced every opportunity for hours to shoot their arrows into him, 
always throwing overboard the proper air sack. Soon these began 
to tell by impeding his course through the water and preventing 
him from diving to as great a depth as formerly and obstructing — 
his progress when fleeing from his pursuers. Thus in a longer oF 
shorter time he might be literally covered with arrows, and so ob- 
structed and loaded down, so to speak, with the air sacks, that he 
became quite helpless and finally succumbed to his swarming ene- 
mies, when by their united efforts he was towed to the shore and 
utilized in their way. This was only rendered possible by the pe 
culiar inshore habits of this species of the whale. : 
For many years this whale was hunted from large whaling ships, 
which were anchored at convenient places near those locations 
where observation had shown the animal was most likely to be 
found, and from the ships whale boats were sent out to hunt for the 
game, and when captured they were towed to the ship and apa 
in the ordinary way. But this was an expensive mode of maintain- 
