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Updated: June 13, 2025
Early in March Arnaluk, skirmishing along the shore, saw a bear disappearing in the distance. The animal was making its direction seaward, and this indicated to the astute native that its quick senses had detected the presence of seal. "Ootah! Ootah!" he called. "Attalaq! Attalaq!" The two tribesmen responded. With harpoons and lances they followed the trail of the bear.
The fishing implements were laid along the hammock nettings. The second lieutenant loaded the blunder busses, which could throw harpoons to the distance of a mile, and long duck-guns, with explosive bullets, which inflicted mortal wounds even to the most terrible animals. Ned Land contented himself with sharpening his harpoon a terrible weapon in his hands.
Of course this incident led to stories concerning whales. Captain Patterson told about the destruction of the ship Essex by a sperm whale thirty or more years ago. The Colonel described the whale fishery as practiced by the Kamchadales and Aleutians. These natives have harpoons with short lines to which they attach bladders or skin bags filled with air.
When he had gone the men grinned at each other and looked pleased and each man was thinking that the mate was not so bad, after all, even if he did make them do work that didn't need to be done, just to kept them busy. But they didn't say anything. Then the mate came out, and he had two harpoons in his hand. "There!" he said. "Two's enough. You'd only get in each other's way if there were more.
The mate and Nub stood with their harpoons in their hands ready for instant use; the importance of catching some creature made them vigilant; the strong flavour of the blubber assured them that it would not keep much longer. They had got a short distance, when Alice exclaimed, "See, see! what is that curious fish?"
"I do believe it's New Zealand Tom," cried Bill Blunt, referring to an old bull whale that had become famous among the men who frequented these seas for its immense size and fierceness, and for the great trouble it had given them, smashing some of their boats, and carrying away many of their harpoons.
This description enables us to picture a sturdy little creature, capable of biting lustily with its mandibles, exploring the country with its big eyes and moving about with six strong harpoons as a support.
I occupied my usual place in the captain's boat, next the bow oar, just beside Tom Lokins, who was ready with his harpoons in the bow. Young Borders pulled the oar directly in front of me. The captain himself steered, and, as our crew was a picked one, we soon left the other two boats behind us.
"We may get hold of one of these fellows if they come near us," said the mate. "Our time may be better spent in preparing the harpoons. Lay in your oar, Nub, and we will set to work." They all eagerly sat down, and in a short time two harpoons were fitted with lines, while spears were also got ready for use.
In every expedient, indeed, for taking fish, they are exceedingly ingenious; they make harpoons of cane, and point them with hard wood, which, in their hands, strike fish more effectually than those which are headed with iron can do in ours, setting aside the advantage of ours being fastened to a line, so that the fish is secured if the hook takes place, though it does not mortally wound him.
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