Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1875-10-07
MMiseellansous. g
Life in Arctic Waters.
sAarks, Seals, Whales and Sea Unic orns
From Land and waicr

bohksi seals, W AAles ana Sea U Unlcorns.
From l. aud and waterl
The Esquimaux are in the habit Of
catching sharks both with nets, balted
with salt meat, aud with hook and
line. They are hunted Tor the sake of the
oil which Is expressed from their Iivers,
and ior substance very much like spcr-
maectl, which Is obtained under press
ure from their tlcsh.-Sir Leopold
NJ Chntock SAYS the Esqulmaux assert
that the shar, Is insensiblc to pain. aud
that Peterson, who was his Interpreter
ia the voyage oi the Fox" re aled now
he plunged long knife into the head oil
one which was feeding on white whale
emtaugied in his net, but ths, the brute
continued Its repast standing.
As SIR Leopold remarks, il must be re-
mcmOereu that tue brain oi shark Is
extremely small compared with the size
oi its huge head, aud lie says that he him
self has seen bullet, fired through them
with very little apparent effect, but that
il these creatures can feel, the devices
practised upon them BY tAc EsquiIaauX
must DC cruel indeed. The dog, OF the
hunters are not allowed to cat either the
skin or the head, the former being very
rough, and the later producing giddI-
ness aud sickness.
As we have mentioned above, The
cciaceans are hardly hsh, ior IN many
respects they may be classed with land
animals, since they produce their y young
aifse and uourlsh II Dy giving IL suck !;
their skin /, smooth, aud IN some case,
covered with hair, not scaly like that OF
ii-h; their blood TOO is warm, and their
flesh tastes something like beet. Being
also provided With heart, vcntricIcs,
and lungs, they cannot Is iish eau
through their Sllls, separate the air from
the waite, and therefore must come To
Tie surface 10 breathe. Stall they eau
/ inhalc sufficient air to last a long time
under water, and herein they dliier from
land animals. They are, TOO, provided
| with fins, aud tails, and though the sc
are not exactly similar 10 those ot iish,
| still they are used in somewhat the same
manner. But they differ from both fish
and beast in having layer ot lat called
| bluOber, varying III thickness up to ten
| inches, which more frequently exudcs
| from them " hen wounded III water than
| blood does This blubber, under press
| ure, Yields its own bulk Of oil, and is
used u the latter state, by the Esqul-
| inaux 10 light their huts and cook their
food. Frozen bits OF blubber in thin
| slices are esteemed great de,icacy a
inong these people, though 1t takes some
time before an English palate becomes
/ used 10 il.
The largest OF these cetaccans is the
,sha.c. Il which species the sperinaceii
" hale is the biggest. Ii is ionnd, indeed,
! oil the coasts oil North America. but j.,
| mole common in the Antarctic than in
| the Arctic regions. The great Green
J land whale is the one most sought Tor by
the whal.:rs OF Bafiius bay, for besides
being coinmoner, ii Yields much great
er amount OF oil, though that OF u sperm
aceti whale, as its name Implies, Is mixed
with the substance called sperlnaceti,
anu is therefore the most valuable.
Besides this, ambcrgris is also obtained
from the sperinaceti whale. The razor
hack whale is also much larger than the
| great Greenland whale, and Is very
powerful monster, SO much SO that the
Arctic hunters, as rule, fight shy OF
it.-Therc are various other kinds OF
whale of u smaller description, among
| which We may mention the broad -nosed
whale, the beaked whale. and the tinner,
which arc sometimes found OFT Norway
and Shetland, but as they 60 not yield
much oil, they aie not thought worth
killing. The white whale is So shy an
animal that il can seldom be killed with
either a rifle ball or harpoon, and is
therefore generally captured by means
OF u net. AT that part OF Bafiin's Bay
however, where the Clcy River runs in
and greatly discolors the water, turning
il to thick, muddy color, great sue
cess is said TO attend the white-wh hale
fiShia. in the autumn when these ami
mails migrate southwards, having been
north evidently to breed, as they return
accompanied by numbers of young
"cakes." AS whales live on sea. blub-
Der, they are generally found in the
green water. In winter they go south,
but where is unknown.
Norwhales, or sea-unicorns, SO called
from the horn which projects from the
upper jaw, are seen in great numbers in
Baffn's Bay during certain seasons, es-
pechlly just before they begin to travel
norhwards in March. Their flesh i:
coniideied a great luxury by the Es
quinaux, as is also the skin, which act:
as VI nti-scorbutic.-The object of the
hori is disputed point, for while it.
pOiit is too blunt for offence, il is wei
polished for about four inches, and the
rest usually covered with slime and sea.
weed, 50 that it is conjectured that il
mus be employed either to root up
. food from the bottom of the sea, or else
to drive OFT small fish from the cleft,
| and fissnres of floating ice, where the,
. take refuge when pursued by their enc
: my the nOrwhale. As the mode o
catthing the whale has been SO Otter
described, we do not propose now EN-
taring upon 1t, especially as we woul'
. rather touch upon the manner of captur
ny the walruses aud seals, which ar
the two chief objects OF pursuit to tn
, natives Of Greenland durin. the wint e
months. Like the cetaceans, these ami
' msls, though able to take in sufficien
g quantity of air to last them for u c,nsid
2 cradle time, still they have to come u
q occasionally to breathe, and it is thi
! circumstance of which the hunter take