The Nome nugget., 1902-01-04

lished in the NUGGET on November 20 There have been so many inquiries made for copies that it is herewith re. published, and it will be worth re-read
 ing.l
 It is mooted question to this day what becomes of the bowhead whales during the wiater. Every fall, in . November, when the ice king once more reigns supreme in the Arctic, they pass out through Bering straits. gong to the south along the Siberian coast, where the natives waylay them, and-1ot infrequently manage to catch q few. Then all at once they disappear. In days gone by the intrepid Yankee whalers have hung on the winter through in Bering sea in hopes of |. catch. They were never even rewarded by the sight of one single whale. and nei h r have the Siberian coast natives, always on the alert and on the lookout, ever been known 10 have seen bow head whale in the months of Decembe CT, January or February.
 These whales are never found in the south. All at once. toward the end of March, when the warm current from sunny Japan again gains mastery over the cold waters of Bering sea and begins to move and break up the ice, they reappear. I have lain for weeks in the month of March off Cape Mar varin, in South Boring sea, enclosed by heavy ice, with open water holes and leads here and there, the men in the crows nest keeping sharp lookout in vain, when all at once. some sunny morning the ice would stir and whales could be seen to spout in every open water hole, near and far. Where did they come from so suddenly?
 am inclined to the belief that the bowhead whales hibernate: that they burrow themselves into the soft ooze at the ocean bottom in shallow places, or perhaps at the outlet of rivers and lagoons, where they get early notice of the return of spring, and lie there quietly in comatose condition till the warming water warns them that it is time to stir. This, of course, is as yet simply a supposition. but still we'll known facts make it entirely feasible. For instance. large hump-back whales have been observed down in southern seas to lie for weeks without ever stir ring, apparently in cOmat0se con- dition. floating among heavy sea weed from three to five fathoms under water.
 Then it would be a hard matter for the bowhee.ds to find sufficient food in the nearly currentless, chilled and ice-covered>waters during winter. They su sist, as is welt known, on sucn di ainut ve animal life, like small crus- taceans, sh impS, etc., commonly called whalefeed, which the strong current from the south carries up so liberallv. It takes enormous quantities of it to keep up the energies of their huge bodie, and to enable them to lay on that heavy coat of blubber. If they had to gather tt themselves, as I; commonly floats in the water, they would soon starve amid plenty. But nature helps them out, and, so to speak, sets the tables for them in certain places. Wherever strong currents meet and eddie, are created there their feed is whirled together for them, and so they cOme to have favnrite feeding grounds. where, extending wide their lips and baleen, they can scoop up tons of their food at time and grow big and fat.
 When the Yankee whaler first struck Berng straits he found whales there grown to enormous proportions. Wnales that wouid give 300 barrels of oi and had nearly 4,OJO pounds of whalebone in their heads were of con- mon occurrence. Today Q whale giv- ing 100 barrels of oil and 2,00O pounds of bone is considered big. The strong currents, the narrow straits, the heavy backwater and other conditions favor the, storing up of enormous quantities of whale feed there. Today the whales dare not finger there long. Those that had Arown to such an immense size on this rich pasture and would not or could not accustom themselves to poorer ones in the north and had he- come sluggish besides, s,aid right there and were killed of. The whalers founi other rich feeding grounds as they penetrAtel into the Arctic. The last one was at the mouth of the Mac kenzie river, where about eight years ago such phenomenal catches were made.
 The real summer home of the b,w- load Is and always has been amid the