The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-04-18


 land was the ivory tusk of a narwhal. recently presented to the American Mu- scum of Natural History. This is the record breaking specimen of the world, messing eight feet in length and six inches in circumference in it's thickest part. A realization of it's height is gained when it is placed alongside a six-foot man. the extreme point of the tusk overlapping his head two feet. Be- sides this large one, eight others, rang ing from four to six feet, are in the col lection.
 An extremely rare specimen of inter- est to naturalists is head, having two horns, one twisted in an unusual man. ner. The big tusk is spirally grooved. Its use is thought to have been for de- fence. breaking through the weak ice to obtain breathing holes, and also as a weapon to secure prey. These strong piercing tusks could easily penetrate the bottom of Q good sized vessel if she was fairly struck when the animal was moving at full speed. The range of the narwhal is from 76 degrees to 83 degrees north latitude, in Greenland, which takes in the extreme northern lands of the Western Hemisphere Whale Sound, Ingletield Gulf, Cape Sa- bine and Payer Harbor, and favorite haunts of this animal. They are of systematic habits, appearing at cer- tain times in schools, making excur-
 sions into the various bays and fjords in search of food. A hand of a hum
 dred or more form picturesque sight
 1eyt nn tnr n
 military-like procession, the long, slit tering horns all rising in unison as they come up to the surface to blow.
 Their advent is hailed with delight by
 the Esquinlaus, as they are said to be the forerunners of the early approach
 of the right whale, which, like the nar-
 whar, uses the same kind of food, con-
 sisting of mollusks, fish, etc. A skate
 over two feet long and one feet in
 breadth has been found inside a nar-
 whai. It is considered somewhat re-
 narkable that the creature managed to
 swallow fish whose breadth is nearly three times as great as the width of it's
 own mouth. It is most probable that
 the fish was pierced with the narwhal s
 horn and killed before it passed down l
 mai.
 The body of the narwha1 is dotted with black and white spots, the eyes small and the blow hole is on the top of the head. The narwhal is one of the favorite food animals of the Greenland Exquimau and is more actively pur- sued than any other. The big carcass is considered d rich prize by the native hunter. The nutritious skin forms the most delicious sort of chewing gum, for both the men and women and is re- gardted as, a choice luxury The body 1 is covered to a depth of three or four inches with layer of choice blubber, weighing half a ton, yielding a large amount of the best grade of oil, which means what dozen tons of coal would to the domestic housekeeper of civiliza- ton. Without heat to dry the natives instantly wet and heavy skin clothing and to keep the inevitable stone vessel simmering with narwhal, walrus and
 seal meat and oil to give light during the long Arctic night, lasting from Oc- ] tober to April, life would be almost inn possible in this region of absolute deso- l iatlo1i.
 In laying in his stores for his dasf 1 over the Greenland ice cap, Lieutenant Peary says this animal provided some of his best nourishing supplies. The l blubber was cut into small chucks ant
 packed into tin cans for use while making his sledge journeys. The skin l was divided into strips and given as food to the dogs. It appears hardly i credible to the sportsman of civiliza- l tion, yet it is all the more a tribute to | the bravery and skill of the Esquimau hunter that this leviathan of the Arc tic world, with a powerful body and tusks measuring twenty-five feet could
 be killed by his captor, seated in frail
 skin kayak, with only crude bone narpoon as the weapon, yet suchis the case. Modern firearms have not yet been adopted in this remote and inac- ilcessible region. White explorers shoot 1 narwhar and in many instances fail to secure their game, owing to the sink 1 ing of the body before it can be reach ed
 Lieutenant Peary states that the sur est method is the one adopted by the natives, who cautiously approach them in their kayaks while they are feeding or sporting in the water. During these playful exhibitions, as they rise to the
 surface they sometimes cross their l horns, as in fencing. On these occa- sions, the keen eyed and experienced
 hunter, watching for the moment when the narwhal reaches the surface to blow, hurls his harpoon with all his l strength into it's body. After the har- poon has been thrown it penetrates the animals flesh in a longitudinal man.
 ner Soon, however, owing to the
 weight pressure of the shaft, and also
 the increased movements of the wound l ed narWhal, the head of the shaft 2 I forced into a transverse position in the 1 flesh, and the head of the harpoon ali the same time becomes detached from 1 the shaft. The injured narwhal is then 1 held secure by a line until exhausted and finally killed by lance This lat ter weapon is employed to finish the 1 life of the weak and partly wounded creature, and has long wooden shaft An ivory tusk is inserted in this, hay- ing unbarbed and leaf shaped iron !