ed whale came closer he paid
no attention to it.

Not until the creature came very near and charged him with a huge open
mouth armed with great teeth, did he become alarmed. What to do he did
not know; there was no chance to escape to the shore; he was unarmed,
with the exception of a spear which seemed altogether too insignificant
an instrument to defend himself with against such a huge monster; yet
in his dilemma it was the only chance he had. Grasping the spear with a
hand rendered firm by despair, he awaited the right moment, and just as
the animal was about to close its massive jaws to crush him and his
frail kyak (aiming down the throat, his fright lending strength to the
action) he cast the spear with great force. The aim had been good and
the throw a powerful one. The creature instantly dove remaining down
for quite a while, then floated to the surface, dead. Upon examining
the body, it was found to be as large as that of a whale, at the same
time resembling that animal in appearance, but in addition it had four
legs. The mystery had been solved and Ahvooyoolach[=a] at last knew the
fate of his three brothers.

THE WHALES OF ALASKA

There are two varieties of the whale much sought for on account of the
baleen they yield. The Right Whale of the Behring Sea, as well as of
other waters, and the Bow-head that makes its summer run along the
American coast as far as the Arctic Archipelago. In September it
strikes westward to Herald Island, and in October back to the Behring
Sea, where it is supposed to spend the winter months at the southern
edge of the ice. It is one of the large members of the whale family,
sometimes attaining a length of sixty feet or more and yielding
whalebone sometimes over twelve feet in length. The Bow-head is a
timid, peaceful animal, preferring to visit the small bays and secluded
nooks of the northern coast, where it can feed unmolested.

All along the coast of Arctic Alaska, there are lagoons of various
sizes; many of them have streams as feeders, while others have no
feeders but have openings into the ocean, which become temporarily
obliterated by sand when there is a heavy sea breaking on shore.

It was into the latter form of lagoon that, a very long time ago, a
school of Bow-heads had entered. The wind blowing on shore had
obliterated the entrance, so the whales were entrapped with apparently
no means of escape, yet they all crossed the beach and regained the
ocean, a feat they