MAMMALS. 65

they

have

succeeded in perinanently frightening others, which, instead of seeking the upperwaters of the soundfor afewweeks'quiet feeding, strike out

and

areseenno more.

Instead of allowing these animals togo

up

the sound,

and

find their favoritefeeding grounds, they areattacked

and

chased assoon asthey

show

themselves at the

mouth

of the sound. In fact, theyhave been so persistently persecuted that

now

veryfewjjass

up

aboveNiantilicor the Kikkerton Islands.

The

fall whaling begins late in September

and

continues till the ice

makes

across the sound.

The

whaling at this season is attendedwith great danger

and

hardshiijs to the crews,

and

it is while prosecuting this fall"fishing"thatthe foundationto

many

a stubborncase of scurvy

islaid.

The

springwhalingbegins generallyin

March

or April,

and

continues along thefloeedge untilJuly,

when

theicehasleftthe sound.

The Eskimo

fromthe southern part of the sound

and

along the coast from

Xugumeute

to Hudson's Straits reportwhales as found in those localities allwinter; it is then quite probable that they reproduceon thesecoasts during thelatterpart of winter.

According to

Eskimo

tradition, these animals were once very abund- antin the

Cumberland

waters,

and

their remains

now

bleachingon the rocky shoresfaithfully testifyto this fact.

Of

late years, whalers frequenting

Cumberland Sound

have been in the habit of emi^loying natives to catch whales, supplying

them

with boats

and

allnecessary equipments. Itisneedlesstosay thattheyare

more

successfulthanthe whitesin this hunt.

With

their

own

j^rimitive gear, the

Eskimo

seldom attacked a large whale; but yearlings were frequently caught. I

was

i^reseuted with a harpoon-head

by

thecaptainofaPeterheadwhaler, that

had

been taken outofaverylargewhale caught neartheKikkerton Islands;it

was

^im-

bedded

in themuscles,sothat the Avhale

must

have been struck whileit

was

quite smallin order that theharpoonshouldhavepierced through the blubber.

The weapon

^is,moreover, of a pattern whichthe

Eskimo

I

showed

it tosay they never

saw

before; but I

must

confess I cansee but averyslightdifference in it from those in use atthej>resentday.

The

"blackskin," called

''muktuk"

bj'^ thenatives, isconsidered as a greatdelicacy;

when

they

have

not eaten of this foodfor

some

time,

and

then get anoiiportunity toindulgeto theirheart's content,theyeat

tilltheycanhardly move.

Bull.Kat. Mus. No. 15 5

66

2. Physalis antiquorum,Gray.

Razor-back ofwlialers.

Icannotpositively assert that the razor-back frequents the

Cumber-

laud watersto

any

greatextent; in fact, I

somewhat

doubtif itdoes, one reason being possibly the ^scarcity of fish. I

have

seen it north of Hudson's Straits

and

about

Cape

Mercy,as wellas ontheGreenland coast iu Disko Bay.

3. Megaptera longimaiiaGray.

Hump-backof whalers.

Icouldnotascertainthatthiswhale is

common

in

Cumberland

at

any

season. It frequents the southern waters,butis littletroubled

by

the whalers.

The Eskimo

donot

seem

to have a veryclearidea ofit.

4. Orca gladiator, (Bonn.)Snud.

"Killer" of whalers.

The

kiUerisavery

common

whalein the

Cumberland

waters.

They

arrive withthewhite whales,

which

they follow

up

thefjords.

Many

thrillingstoriesaretold

by

the

Eskimo

aswell as

whalemen

ofdesperate fights between this animal

and

other whales.

The Eskimo

arerather afraidof it, especially the solitary kyacker. I

have known

the white whales to

come

in closeproximity to the ship

and

lie alonghersides,

when

they

were

pursued

by

these voracious sea-wolves.

5. Phocaena communis, Brooks.

The

porpoise is

by no means

^rare, especially in thesouthernwaters during spring

and

autumn. I neither

saw

nor heard of

them

in the vicinityof Annanactook.

6. Belugacatodon, (Linn6) Gray.

Whitefish,orWhitewhale,of whalers. "Killeluak,"CumberlandEskimo.

The

whitewhales beginto

work up

thesoundas soon as theicebegins to loosen.

They become

very abundant,especially intheGreat

Kiugwah

Fjord. InJuly

many

hundredsrepairtothe sand-beaches of thisfjord,

and some

whalers

have

attempted to catch

them

in nets, but with^indif- ferent success.

They

are sometimes driven

up

into shallowv/ater at flood tide,

and by

the receding of thewater

many

arelefthigh

and

dry.

Itisa question of interest

what

they gointo this fjord after. Itisnot to

have

theiryoung, as theyare already withthemothers; nordoes it

seem

to beafter food, aslittleornothing is foundin theirstomachsat thistime.

One

thing Inoticed,

when

theygo

up

thefjordthey have a ragged appearance

and

dirty color, aud, according to

some

whalemen,

MAMMALS. 67

arecovered with parasites; but after tlieyliave been rolling

and

rub- bing themselves on the sand-beaches for a few days theylook

much

smoother

and

their colorisa

creamy

white.

The Eskimo

say themales

and

females keep separate, but I do not think thereis

much

truth in thisstatement.

Some

thinktheygoonthese shoalstoavoid the attacks of the killers, which playsad havoc

among them

outside, but do not follow

them

into shallowwater; butifthiswere thereason,they

would

take refugein

any

small

bay

orinlet,

and

not choosethisparticular fjord year after year. I found no external parasites, but the internal ear cavity

was

nearlyfilledwith worm-like animals nearly

two

incheslong.

They

were firmlyattached

by

one end,

and

stood erect,having some-

what

the appearance of very coarse hairs.

While

migratinginto the sound they always keepjust at thefloe edge,

and

iftheiceis broken do not

seem

to like getting

among

it. Inthe winter of 187G-77, acouple got belated

and

froze

up

inthe

Kingwah

tiderifts.

They

were harpooned

by

the

Eskimo

in January.

A

considerable

number

ofthesewhales are caught

by

the

Eskimo

fromtheirkyacks.

7.

Monodon

monoceros,Linn6.

Narwhalofwhalemen. " Killeluaksuak,"Eskimo.

By

no

means

abundant,butof regular occurrence in spring

and

au- tumn. These whales give the

Eskimo much

trouble to capture,

on

accountof theiragility.

The

hornisoften used for the handleof the harpoon,

and

forvarious otherpurposes

where wood

is scarce.