| Show WITH THE WHALERS thirteen american whalers of the ban francisco fleet operating in beau fort sea to the north of alaska are frozen fast in the ice floes there writes P mcgrath to the dally news from newfoundland this fact Is occasioning no little comment among those who know what this sim pie statement means for when in the past whaling vessels have been engirt there and held for the winter grew some tragedies have resulted once a herd of reindeer had to be driven from alaska to the whaling rendezvous by american government officials the animals being then slaughtered to keep the crews alive another time a number of crews win ashore with the natives and the contact with dirt and squalor gener abed a plague from which white men and brown men alike perished whole sale traced es equally appalling be fell the atlantic whaling which usually wintered in hudson bay and which almost invariably met some such misfortune until now that inland sea Is almost deserted scarcely a whalan lessel Is fourd there today where once were mighty fleets the american whalers resorting to hud son bay have been reduced to a hand tul and the british whalers have abandoned it to the greenland seas again there arc however three or four whaling stations along the shore of hudson bay in these a number of natives are employed tor the purpose ot killing whales there are one or two white men at each factory act ing as overseers to the natives who are employed to kill whales when whales are to be found the eski mos are admirably suited to this work they have become as expert as the average white man and handle the white mans weapons und manage hia boats as skillfully fully as he does himself these stations are cheaply run only the smallest pay has to be given to the natives A single whale a year mal es the station a paying venture A supply ship visits the station once each summer receiving the products and landing food and other lecessi ties scotch whalers now elsh chiefly off the greenland coast their et torts this year promise to be more successful than tor many seasons past the eclipse has been reported home aard bound with seven elsh yielding five and one halt tons of bone the morning is reported with three the balena with four the windward with two the diana with two and the tia with one the principal article of commerce obtained from these arctic whalers Is the famous whalebone the flexible substance in their lower jawn which serves them tor teeth and this Is at present worth about 12 a ton or 6 a pound it can hus be easily seen what a splendid esula has been achieved by the eclipse tor her season s fishing |
