Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 26.djvu/789

Rh the Norwegians, enticed by the lucrative pursuit, eagerly pressed forward into the dangerous frozen sea. Enterprising sailors were constantly opening new hunting-grounds to the fishers, some of which are still frequented by whale-hunters. Besides the East Greenland Sea, Baffin's Bay and Davis Strait were among the best-known hunting grounds, and were visited every year by fleets of Scottish and American whalers. In May, the ships leave their home ports and sail in the toilsome and dangerous route along the west coast of Greenland, toward the north, to reach the fishing-ground in the east and southeast of Lancaster Sound. The whales resort to this region in the latter half of July, while later, after the broad girdle of coast-ice on the west side of Davis Strait has broken up, they go farther south.

When the whales had become more rare here, in the fourth decade of the century, the brave William Penny, who afterward distinguished himself in the expeditions in search of Franklin, determined to seek for new and richer fields, and penetrated into the half-forgotten Cumberland Sound, whose waters were numerously populated by whales. As he was accustomed to have frequent dealings with the natives, friendly relations were soon established between the inhabitants of the sound and the whalers; and, although Penny desired to enjoy his new discovery all to himself, he was shortly followed by an enterprising American captain, and the rich fishing-ground he had found was no longer the secret of one man. As early as May and June, when the ice breaks up in the sound, many whales appear at the floe-edge, and were pursued by the natives in their skin-boats. But, as the entrance to the sound was closed at this season by the heavy and broad pack ice, it was not supposed that any advantage could be taken of this fact till a shrewd captain thought of wintering over two boats' crews, so that they could begin the chase early in the spring. These crews were not very strong in numbers, and they added to their force by enlisting Eskimos, who gave their services readily for a little pay. The experiment proved profitable, and was followed by several ships, till Cumberland Sound became lively in both summer and winter. Other factors preferred to send out their ships only once a year, leaving their men to live in houses which were prepared at home and set up on the fishing-grounds. The whales were pursued without mercy, and have accordingly diminished so rapidly that the region, which had for a short time witnessed the most lively activity, has been deserted by nearly all the ships. Only a few scattering graves now remind vis of the time when the stir of enterprise prevailed here.

Two stations are, however, still kept up. They continue to follow the custom, established in the beginning, of employing Eskimos and manning the whale-boats with them. It appears that the sound, at the time it was first visited by the whalers, was inhabited by about two thousand Eskimos, but they have diminished since then with really frightful rapidity, till now they hardly number three hundred