CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF ALASKA. 199 



for a distance of over a hundred miles. The Russian-speaking population refer to this Whale as 

 the Beluga, a word which is properly referable to a huge species of Sturgeon, and by some strange 

 misconception the name has been transplanted among the Alaskan people, and will forever remain. 

 The Aleuts give the name Ha tlialcli to the White Whale, while the mainland Innuit refer to it by 

 the name K% li lug wulc for the more northern villages, and variously-spelled words, such as Stwulc 

 and Stwalc for the middle and lower villages, respectively. 



I have never seen this creature west of the Abaska Peninsula. In the vicinity of the mouth 

 of the Kuskokvim River and northward to the Arctic circle the abundance of these Whales is at 

 times almost incredible ; yet, where this year they may be plentiful they may be entirely absent 

 the next season. It is a creature of very erratic habits and disposition. 



This Whale is 'highly prized by the mainland Innuit for its flesh, oil 'and skin. They capture 

 it in the early spring as it appears, among the last of the broken ice-fields, along the shore. The 

 capture of one of these individuals is a source of great praise and profit to the slayer; and, for 

 his portion receives the head and skin, while the remainder goes to the various people of the com- 

 munity. Not a few are taken in the seal-nets set in the late fall at Saint Michael's. 



The natives in the vicinity of Cape Rumiantzof are more fortunate than those either north of 

 the Yukon River or south of the Kuskokvim River, for here the country is so low that the spring- 

 tides overflow great areas of the low-grounds and communicate with the shallow lagoons and lakes 

 of that depressed area, lying near the sea between the mouths of those rivers. The inhabitants 

 procure great numbers of these Whales as they repair to those lakes and evidently forget to go 

 out with the tide, and thus fall an easy prey to the spear of the watchful native. 



The Innuit of the southern side of the mouth of the Kuskokvim River are noted hunters of 

 these Whales; and, the more readily to approach them they paint their kaiuks with a whiteish clay, 

 found in that vicinity, in order to represent a piece of floating ice, and thus be less liable to frighten 

 the usually wary Beluga. 



In the months of June and July the young, of nearly blackish-blue color, may be seen clinging 

 to the back of the mother as she slowly comes to the surface to breathe. 



The skin of the Beluga is converted into covers for skin boats and into boot-soles; but is not 

 so highly valued as the skins of the larger species of seals, for the reason that it is not so imper- 

 vious to water. The blubber is cut into long, narrow strips and placed within the stomach of either 

 a Seal or of a White Whale itself. It is highly prized as an article of food, and is worth about fifty 

 per cent, more than the same quantity of seal-oil. The flesh is very dark and full of blood, which 

 remains in the distended veins through lack of proper means of bleeding. The intestines and 

 larger food-receptacles are highly valued for making sky-light covers of the former and bags for 

 containing oil or flesh from the latter. 



I have eaten the fins and tails of these Whales and found, after they had lain in a strong brine 

 for several hours, that the taste was not disagreeable when fresh. 



Not having seen one of the White Whales south of Aliaska, I am not positive to what portion of 

 the sea they go when the northern portions are covered with ice. It is certain that they do not 

 occur about the western Aleutian Islands. 



The food of the White Whale consists of the smaller species of marine fish, the smaller salmon 

 being consumed in great quantities. I am not aware that it has any other enemy than man. 



This species does not obtain the creamy- white skin until it is five years old. The newly-born 

 young are about thirty to forty inches in length, but rapidly increase in size until they attain a 

 length of six to eight feet, and then slowly grow to a maximum length of sixteen feet. 



Genus Monodon. 



Monodon monoceros Linne\ Narwhal. 

 The only information concerning the occurrence of the Narwhal on the Alaskan shore are the 

 assertions (more properly traditions) of a large creature with a spear sticking from its head ; they 

 do not now occur in the vicinity of the coasts inhabited by the Malemut, who gave the information 

 to me. They even had no name that I thought was reliable for this creature. 



