[75] Then it was the custom to cut up the dead body of a celebrated native whale-hunter into small pieces, each of which was kept by the survivors to rub over their spear-heads, being carefully dried and preserved for that purpose. Again, in ancient times, the pursuit of the whale was the prelude to many secret and superstitious observances by the hunters. These primitive whalers preserved the bodies of distinguished hunters in caves, and before going out on a whale-chase would carry those remains into the water of streams so as to drink of that which flowed over them. The tainted draught conveyed the spirit and luck of the departed! [76] The natives always called this settlement “Illoolook,” or “curved beach.” [77] _Empetrum nigrum._ The natives call it “shecksa.” It is their chief supply of fuel. [78] But on two other occasions the author has had clear and unfogged glimpses of this singular mountain, which he made careful studies of; they are presented to the reader in this connection. [79] _Empetrum nigrum._ The fruit is a small black berry very much like that borne upon those hedges of an English privet, which grows in our garden here at home. [80] The only fur-bearing animal found in every section of Alaska is the red fox (_Vulpes fulvus_). From Point Barrow to the southern boundary, and from the British line to the Island of Attoo, this brute is omnipresent. It varies greatly in size and quality of fur, from the handsome specimens of Nooshagak down to the diminutive yellow-tinged creatures that ramble furtively over the Aleutian Islands. [81] “The distance in statute miles between San Francisco and a point due south of Attoo, measured on the parallel of San Francisco, is 2,943.1 miles. The distance east from Attoo of a point due north of San Francisco, measured on the parallel of Attoo, is 2,214.5 miles. The amount of westing made in sailing from San Francisco to Attoo, on a great circle, is very nearly 2,582.5 miles.”—(Henry Gannett, Geographer U. S. Geological Survey: letter to author.) [82] _Pleurogrammus monopterygius._ [83] _Scomber scombrus._ [84] These specimens were procured at the urgent request of the author, who induced a trader to make the attempt, September 22, 1874. They were presented by the Alaska Commercial Company of San Francisco to the Smithsonian Institution. CHAPTER IX. WONDERFUL SEAL ISLANDS.