Telegram-herald., 1889-05-18
WHALING sr esQuimaux.



sssre Witnessed ,. sA2-aaa-D ~ Poiot
E<rrcw.
! ocafess that Gm . very PoSr snorts-
EsE, SAD George Ls&vitt 4 always fsst
ta.t there w~s sonetaing al@o1-lcal "a tais
sP.ortlag spart1, sGd i w4s nos enta took
c1~fEe II sae ss1sllEg stsl ~ al fe4nt S~r
roW 4na s@~ - kss lsliss1x - l@lA ( seeae
t22s - - lEi-lag - .5ZnIt th@t thsre "~S
Any tnng but sloodthlrsty sPir1
bacA u tnis g4-niug After seei2s tt~''
however, ! WgA,ngly cenfsSs tat thcfe -
oae kios II sEsor- tlAt : tralS possessed u
g2@eness--a SAD Of sport Were lie o~A-
ger Is not e. e. oae SIDE
As = pre- mlu4ry 10 - preparation
the natives, headed % their lnod-l'ine nens
marched IA solemn procession down 10 tue
beaeh, aad with lacsRtations, beating of
dflIus and 0ther ceremonies formally
Ushefed ia the sprng TINS done, there
Was no doubt ia tl-eir minds bat that VIA!
iBg would soon Dc al hand
~EyerV thing seemed 10 De unusually
favorable FOR whaling that spring. There
had been oct few gales during the winter,
30 the ioe was not massed together and
lamDled Up as much as usual From our
looAout wo could command q view Of the
sea Tor miles. ana none of the usuaI phe-
- went down 70 see Mung-gy the neKt
day after he made camp ana found him al
ready for whaling, while none OF the other
natives had yet more than begun work
About twenty feet from the hut ana on the
very edge OF the toe, ne had ouilt a chute
of ice for It's canoe. Day after day, from
sunrise 70 sunset be and his men stood
watch for whales. lie Was IA the head OF
the canoe constantly. ready for action, and
armed with u harpoop, which WAS attached
20 a pole twenty feet long. The men were
near by ready al an instants notice To
grasp the canoe b. the thwarts and throw
10, Mung KY and AL, AT the whale.
1t was a week or two before there was
\ general break pg up OF the north PACK.
But when dislntegration once began the ice
receded gradually, leaving u channel a mile
or SO wide along the edge of the grounded
shore ice on which We were cncamped.
With the open water came signs OF whales.
Occasionally FAINT blows were heard
Now and then we could see spouts. But
these forerunners were shy.
CLOSE behind these were larger whales,
that migrated more leisurely. From my
point on the lookout, with long lass in hand,
l saw them coming, and 1 signaled 1t 10 my
men. Mung-gy READ IL as quickly as they.
l watched them make all preparations for
action. Mung gy gave his orders fast, and
sandwiched IN frequent anxious glances
down the edge o. the foe.
"He seemed SO xplicit in his orders and
so deliberate IN his preparation that be-
came anxious for the sequel
"'B-l-o-w.'
"A whale appeared from behind point
OF ice. 'B-lo-wl blow! b-l-o-wp
many spoutings were seen and heard
"On they came, nearer and nearer, round
ing over lazily as they rose to spout and
breathe.
-Four times the head one spouted; then,
with q splash Of the water with hi. fukes,
he sounded.
"'How long will he be downi Where
will he riser These must have been Mung
gy's thoughts. Certainly they were mine,
and 1 was whaling with him in spirit, en-
tirely oblvious OF my own crews.
a. There was a commotion in the water
and huge. black object slowly rose out. II
was in front Of the chute, but too far away
from any possible reach.
"Where would the next one risel
"Within the shadow Of Mung-gy's erect
figure, which was cast upon the water, was
stir.
HE carefully poised his long harpoon and
shook the coil Of line in his hand
"The men, with firm grasp on the thwarts,
waited breathlessiy.
"Slowly the whale rose out as he sounded
10 go down.
"Mung-gy shouted, but the men antici-
pated him.
Like a fash he and the canoe were shot
of the CLASSY surface of the chute at the
whale.
"Such a splashing as there wasl
"Mung-gy darted low and fastened his
harpoon with the bunch Of pokes attached
to il into the whale.
"The men, shouting at the top OF their
voices, each took other harpoons and scat
tered up and down the edge Of the foe.
'The instant the whale appeared another
bunch Of pokes was made fast to him
He rounded TO 20 down, but the pokes
rolled him over on his side. AMI before he
could recover himself third bunch was
made fast But as he disappeared he swept
his fiukes about, smashed the canoe, and
spilled Munegy into the water.
"All the natives were insane with ex-
citement, and they ran wildly up and down
the edge OF the foe, jabbing sharp lance
into the whale at every opportunity. As
deeply with blood.
AT every rising OF the whale IL seemed
as If munggy was drowned. The canoe
thr.shed about merciiessly by tue
whales tail until only fragments were left
for hung ~ 10 cling 10.
AT last, completely exhausted and wor-
ried almost 10 death by frequent lancings,
the whale lay, buoyeG up on top Of the
water by the p0kcs, and with few more
thrusts he rolled overload
hung-g ~, now completely chilled through,
and nearly drowned, was rescued. Work
was soon begun on the whale, and by night,
with all the natives working together. he
was cut in and the blubber and meat
dragged ashore by The dogs, where 1t was
slowed away in caches, as the next win
ter's supply Of food
II had become so intensely interested in
this struggle that | had forgotten ny own
crew. and did not know that they, too. had
caught whale But II was "a tame affair
com pared 70 the other, for the men sailed n
a whalebost cut 10 the whale, put two
bombs into him and rolled him over dead
without a struggle"
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Anew occupation for woran il that Of
superintendent 0f weddings a yolng
woman ia her late twenties, who makes