Page:The Zoologist, 3rd series, vol 2 (1878).djvu/344

320 Kittiwakes, who settled in its wake, and whenever the animal disturbed the water in its ascent or descent these birds flocked to the spot, and were busily employed in feeding. Doubtless the agitation of the water brought the fish to the surface.

On the 5th July we were off Rifkol Island, in the district of Egedesminde, the high land of the island of Disco coming in view. During the last century this portion of Davis Strait afforded a lucrative fishing-ground for the true whale, Balæna mysticetus. The mysticetus is now a comparatively scarce visitor to those shores, the and fishery has declined so greatly that only from the settlement of Holstenberg do the Greenlanders now-a-days continue the pursuit, and during a long period it has averaged but one "fish" each season. The ice-quarter-masters on board our vessels being experienced whalers from the Scotch ports, and having "fished" for many years in the Greenland Sea, Davis Strait, Baffin Sea, and to the west of Lancaster Sound, gave me much interesting information in regard to the natural history of the true whale. Like most of the Cetacea, as far as has been observed, these animals couple in an upright position. One of our ice-quartermasters assured me that he once observed a pair of true whales in this position with their tails only above water. Captain Markham informed me that when in pursuit of Narwhals in Lancaster Sound a pair were observed in an upright position. On striking the female, which was secured, the harpoon passed into the male, which finally made good his escape, though severely wounded.

Early in the morning of the 6th July we made the south-west of Disco Island under sail. Then we steamed along its southern shore, passing under the lofty mural cliffs of Uvfak ; its basalt beds appeared very horizontal, and the general appearance of the cliffs greatly reminded me of the Faeroe Islands. Hundreds of icebergs, chiefly discharged from Jakobshavn ice-fiord, were scattered over the surface of Disco Bay. It was a scene of great beauty : an unclouded sky, a perfectly smooth sea, with the strange surroundings of the enormous icebergs. Animal life was not wanting, hundreds of Iceland Gulls and Fulmars perched on the bergs, flocks of Common and King Eiders flew past us every few minutes, whilst Black Guillemots, the "dovekie" of Arctic navigators, paddled away from the approaching ship.