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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 1889)
WKST SlltiKK. i;. A WHALE HUNT IN THE ARCTIC. I OUI I.OXSDAI.K, who pMnt noine time wandering I in the frozen region of (he north, had hiu jh- fiilinr nml exciting experience. One of tlnii was his vinit to the wooden nml canvn town of the HuHkiemiuix, which lie tvm-hol in a canoe with n young man of the triho who had Itocn in tin cr vice of the HikIhoh'r Hay Co. londale relate the incident of hi reception ami treatment in a rather mnttcrHif-fact hut interesting way. nnyn : " V no winner hove in Night than I saw with the glae nil the Ilumkie come Hm'king down to the Ih iu Ii. Four men put out in kinck to meet u an an advance guard. Three of them were armed with Km and arrow and kniven, and the fourth carried a fan. AWit -Hm yard liehind them came fully .'!NI other. We could we that there wa a great commotion among them. A we advanced no did the kiack, hut when we were :HK) yard from them they Hiiddenly popped paddling and would not come any nearer. I called ami hailed, hut all to no purine. I aw they were ditrutful, o I told our llunkie to hail them. ' A oon a ho poke (hey recngnied hi voice, and I hallm-d: ' To-go-chi-nack' (thenearcM approach I can get (o HHlling the chief name), when they readily came up to u, followed hy the other. Wp were now alaiut 100 yard from the ahore, and to take time I lowered the rail and made the men pull. Our lluakie now told them who and what I wa, and made them a long perh, and ent them oil to toll the nth or, which they inatantly did, apparently in gnat glee We went alowly on urHe, to give them a good chance of having a talk with their pal. Then- were aUit 175 men and W women and children now waiting for u to land. We no aooner touched jhc kadi than I jum-d out and nhook hand, having taken care pre viotiKly, however, to load my revolver and put it in my oeket. I nhook hand with all the men and the chief. The chief wa named Tawah-tMi k and hi mh Kagley. The former wa a well huilt hig man. with an active gait, diaUlical countenance and tW.y eye lid, which left oidy tiny hole through whi.l. to. hlack, ill-tf iiimwI rye Hrrcd. lUit he w a very civ il and aid he wa glad to n.e. The i.,.i.i..-. were o iMiil.lew.me that I waked him tocondn.t me the K'Uhoun, when he dHrarod, returning hi minute array.il in hi mho of Male and .-. ,.t,.. .m. 1 l.y hi three wive, in aimilar array. II- tie"" I"1 I" way, and Kagley, Hilly ami I f.dUl '"' l"y ataved only few Momenta in ! '"d '-Und-T. the atmopherv did not aeeiu to m( him " After waiting a few ininut. a'-"" : ' . ...... .i ... ...i eighty native, arrived, all in th-.r " U-ad. Kagley and our friend. whm I " " w-ere the oounwlor, and more res tod than tho chief, (hen came in in very mart clothe. When th riin wa full the chief made a to which all liwtoncd with marked attention, lie told then) (o I learned through our interpreter, himnolf a lluakle, taken from hi triho when a Uy ly the lludaon 'a Hay Company) that the chief tld them to welcome u, that we'were the lirt white men who had ever vixttcd them, lie had heard that white men went brave, ' Hut if they are o hrave,' continued he, ' how I it that they have not come to ti hefore ! Still,' aid he, 1 1 llilnk they mut I hrave, and wo will try them.' They then howcd u how a man wa killed hy them, Four men eied the victim. Two hell him hy hi hotildcrt, another placed hi hand again! hi Wk, (he fourth pulled hi head Wk, while another man would draw u knife aeroa hi throat and all wn over. The lluokie then tried to intimidate me hy mailing at me with their knive. and then putting their lunula over my heart to fool it U at. " While in the midxt of thl lnteretlii (H rfrtu ance we heard a man calling ' lliHi-roo-e etam,' - or that wa what it eeincd like to me which immedi ately threw every lly Into roiifinlon. r'vcrylody mailed out, aiul the chief called upon me to follow The interpreter told me we were going tnawlial limit. The cry ldl came at interval, and I found out after ward that it came from aeiitiiiel who had Im n placed lo watch for the coining of the white whale. Th In dian wait until they come into the aliallow,anl then attack them. The chief put hi two young wlvra and mv lf iittt an ninea.lt a large, ll l..ltninr. In. at made of whale kln-and we rowed in the dirtflloii of the cry. The women am not allowed to pnl their M into a kia. k, lvau of an Indian iii'rlilloii whiihy that the art of hunting havri tlm man ,ooan' the kia. k If udi a thing h..tild mpH-t. " We all round.il the Cono r In allelic, and there, moving up toward the halhw, were ten white n liaha The Indiana In tloir kia.k r tended In kirmlhlng order, at the uie tune kr. plug up rolling oind mill th.ir mouth, and plahing the wal.r. The wlml were gradually driven Into ah"l tr, and then I-g n 'he attack Kirt one man In Ida Hack ,,M rich f.rwar.l and dri In hi harpoon, ami then another would folh-w ami rVh harp.i.(H h a Mad .I t Mlr.l with air atU' led to the end. it will f!'l ! if it ho.ild fall out of the whale. The line and t-rder ! kept hy the Indian wia n.mething wonderful. They i n. vir g"t in r. h otlor' way, and no two men would , v. r make ruh f-T the aani" whU. Kadi man car r.. lul on" hr.n. and when tl.ew were all n-l,.'i.i-d they atU' ked lU inaniinal with Im ir a ! When llo y Were all killed lh7 1 lidded .riMdlr I i .r.- Ihuii anything rU"