The Pursuit of the Whale
"In brandishing his weapon, the harpooneer keeps his weight well forward on his feet, to insure steadiness. He swings the harpoon up over his head, turning his body towards the…
Location: Cape Flattery, Washington, United States of America
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From The Whaling Equipment of the Makah Indians by Mr. C. Peterson of Neah Bay and T.T. Waterman, 1920.
The Pursuit of the Whale
It is the Indian belief that a "run" of whales occurs during a certain season of the year, corresponding to the run of salmon, or halibut. The species called sixwa'ox or "sore faces" (see below)are the first to run, migrating northward. The whalers used to put off from shore at sunset, in a spell of whaling weather, so as to get on the whaling grounds at daybreak. They usually encountered whales travelling northward along the coast. The various kinds of whales they recognize are as follows:
California grey whale. Rachianectes glaucus, called by Swan che-che-wid. This is the kind most frequently taken.
Sperm whale, called by Swan kots-ke, meaning, according to my information. "having something upon the head". There are several species of these, including the cachalot (Rhyseter macrocephalus)and the saw-toothed whale (Ziphius carrostris), which my informant does not distinguish one from the other.
Right whale (Balaenoptera artifera?), called ite'y'p "old one" (Swan gives yakh'-yo-bad-di, not explained).
Humpback whale (Megaptera veisibilis), called sixwa'ox, or "sore faces". This variety is said to be similar to the right whale in proportions, and "runs" in the spring. The oil obtained from them is reddish.
Finback whale (Balaenoptera davidson_i or B. vilifera), called ka'owad, "sticking up in the middle".
Sulphur-bottom whale (Balaenoptera sulfurea), called kwaqwawe'axtLi, "noisy tail" (Swan gives kwa-kwau-yak-t'hle, not explained).
Killerwhale, or "blackfish" (Orca), called klasqo'kapex.
When on the ground where whales might be expected, the seal-skin floats, which after soaking to make them soft, have been packed into the canoe in a flattened condition, are gotten out and inflated. The harpooner, takes his stand in the bow with his sixteen foot weapon, its barbed head, to which is attached the sinew lanyard, in readiness at its tip. The lanyard is "caught" to the shaft in several places with cedar bark lashing, which breaks very easily.
He usually plants his right foot firmly at a point forward of the bow seat, and rests his left foot on a pair of short braces at the stem of the boat. This posture is called yetsa'wad. In this position, closely scanning the water ahead of him, he repeats a prayer. It is sometimes very hard to find whales, and to come up with them. At other times no trouble of any kind is experienced. It all depends, say the Indians, on the bathing a man has done.
The whale when seen by the Indian is usually following a school of small fish. Coming up for breath, he rolls forward under water and disappears from sight, a moment later appearing again and "blowing." His motion is regular, and deliberate. The canoe cuts across his course and "lays" for him.
When it seems possible to meet him in one dash, the steersman, gives to the crew the word "hatsLtsatL" (come on!"). This steersman is usually an elderly man, with a great deal of experience. The idea is to run up along side of the whale as he emerges, so that he is to the right of the canoe. Combined luck and skill are required to bring the canoe sharply alongside of the quarry, and there is usually not an instant to spare. When close to the whale the starboard man on the forward seat, spoken of as the kaqai'yuwaxs (from his position in the forward "space")has the right to give the word c+v', ("now throw!"). The hunter is more or less guided by the judgement of the men behind him, all of whom have their eyes on the quarry. Sometimes the canoe runs fairly upon the animal as he emerges, the harpooneer striking him from a distance of six feet.
In brandishing his weapon, the harpooneer keeps his weight well forward on his feet, to insure steadiness. He swings the harpoon up over his head, turning his body towards the right side, the palms of both hands, in which he grasps the shaft, turned outward. This does not seem to be the natural position for a lunge, until it is tried, experimentally. This posture as a matter of fact gives much greater power, control, and freedom of effort, and enables the hunter to strike downward with all his might, and yet recover his balance quickly.
This latter is a very essential point. Old Anderson, of Neah Bay, nicknamed de'eyk ("strong"), once, in trying to regain his balance after striking a whale, stepped on a coil of the harpoon-line and got his foot entangled in it. The next moment he was twitched off his feet and pulled overboard, a bight of line around his ankle. A stricken whale when he "sounds," is sometimes gone for fifteen minutes, and when Anderson's friends saw him go down with the whale they thought he would certainly be drowned. He managed to get a grip on the line, however, and disengaged his foot, and came up blowing. He lived to harpoon many a whale after this adventure.
The best time to strike the whale is just as his head becomes submerged, as he "turns over" preparatory to going down. If struck while his tail is in the air, he is likely to knock the canoe into bits. Quite commonly a whale when struck flirts water over the boat until it is completely hidden from spectators, and filled half full. One switch of the tail, if it "lands", has been known to knock the bow off a canoe, and split it open from stem to stern. The inflated buoys in case of such a catastrophe are very convenient to hang to, until something can be done with the boat. Cases have been known, in which whale hunters caught in such an evil case, threw a line over the boat so as to draw the pieces together, then put some floats under the gunwales to buoy the boat up, and finally caulked the seam with a piece of shirt, and paddled home, after bailing out.
The moment the whale is struck, the man behind the harpooner throws over a float, instantly. In the interval of a second or two, he bends this float to the harpoon line. Meanwhile the other members of the crew back water with all their might, to get clear of their huge quarry. As he "sounds" and takes out the line, additional floats are bent on, new lines being added as the quarry goes into the depths. As many as thirteen floats may be attached to one line. The sections of line last added are lighter, since there is less strain upon them.
Last of all a small buoy is added to serve as a "marker," attached by a very light cord. This buoy remains near the surface, and when the whale starts upward from his long submergence, it bobs quickly to the surface, long before the whale himself appears. The canoe races forward to that point, ready to plant another harpoon.
Meanwhile, signals are made to any other canoe in the vicinity, that the quarry has been struck. One of the crew stands up and calls "hya’o" and sticks up a blanket on a pole. The successful hunter promises the other crew some certain definite part of the animal, for example, the tongue, for their help in killing the game. Every harpoon that is struck into the whale carries a buoy, and as the number of these buoys increases the drag on the animal's progress is soon very serious.
A wounded whale who has been struck a number of times, often cannot get more than six feet below the surface, hampered as he is by these buoyant floats. However, the huge animal if often extraordinarily tenacious of life, and what turns out to be a weary fight for the tired canoemen, continues for hours. An old Indian, bvts'e'kxa, nicknamed Santa Ana, once volunteered to ride a badly wounded whale. He clung fast to the lines, and dispatched the cetacean with a butcher-knife, by means of repeated hacking. When the whale "sounded" he clung fast and "went under" with him, stabbing him meanwhile as best he could. The Makah used to practice diving and holding the breath so as to be prepared for emergencies...
After the whale is dead, a certain member of the crew, the "diver," goes down as described by Curtis, and fastens a small line to the creature's lower jaw. This is then passed through the whale's upper lip, and made fast to the tow line. Pulling on this line jams the whale's lower jaw against the upper one and in this way his mouth is kept closed. They say that when the mouth is closed the body does not become water-logged and is towed more easily.
When the whale is newly killed some difficulty is experienced in keeping him afloat. The animal drowns, of course; that is, the lungs fill with water; and he tends to sink outright. He often disappears below the surface, being sustained only by the floats. Upwards of twenty such floats are required for that purpose. These are attached separately to harpoon heads, and stuck into the head of the carcass. If the floats are too few in number, the whale is correspondingly deeper in the water.
Waterman, T.T. The Whaling Equipment of the Makah Indians. University of Washington, 1920.
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