200 A YEAR WITH A WHALER 



dollar and perfectly white. When he arrived in 

 this Arctic Ocean whale pasture the water 

 seemed snowy with the millions of jellyfish. 

 With open jaws, the whales swam this way and 

 that, making zigzag swaths a hundred yards long 

 through the gelatinous masses, their great heads 

 and backs well out of water, their fins now and 

 then flapping ponderously. When they had en- 

 tangled a sufficient quantity of the jellyfish in 

 the long hair hanging from the inner edges 

 of their teeth they closed their mouths with re- 

 verberating snaps that sent the water splashing 

 out on either side. 



Before the whales were aware of danger, the 

 boats rushed in among them. Each boatheader 

 singled out a whale, and five boats were quickly 

 fast — two from the Reindeer, two from the 

 Helen Marr, and Mr. Winchester's boat. Wild 

 turmoil and confusion instantly ensued among 

 the great animals. They went plunging belo^ 

 in alarm and the boats that made no strike at 

 the first onslaught had no chance thereafter. The 

 whales did not stop to investigate the causes of 

 the sudden interruption of their banquet. The 



