On April 14th the _Neko_ arrived, and I accompanied Mr. Hansen on a visit to her, when I discovered that her master, Captain Sinclair, was an old friend whom I had met in South Georgia eight years before. He readily consented to take Hussey to Rio de Janeiro, where he could transfer to a mail boat for home, and offered him the only accommodation available on board—the settee in his cabin. The _Neko_ is a floating factory. Each spring, as soon as the ice opens, she proceeds to Deception Island, and thence as her captain may think fit. She is accompanied by four steam whale-catchers, which, when they have killed a whale, bring it in and lay it alongside the parent ship. She herself is provided with boilers and vats and all the apparatus necessary for trying down the blubber into oil. The pursuit of whales has changed largely since the days of the old Dundee fleet, when the actual killing was carried out from boats by means of hand harpoons and lances. Now, instead of boats, small but fast steel steamers are used, which carry in their bows powerful guns from which the harpoon is fired. Attached to the harpoon is a strong rope coiled ready for running on a small sloping platform over the bows. A bomb is fitted to the end of the harpoon and forms the point. If the aim is good, this bursts inside the animal, causing instantaneous death. [Illustration: THE NORTHERN COAST OF DRYGALSKI FIORD _Photo: Wilkins_] [Illustration: CAPE SAUNDERS _Photo: Wilkins_] [Illustration: THE NEW TYPE OF WHALER A modern steam “catcher” entering harbour at South Georgia through newly freezing ice _Photo: Dr. Macklin_] [Illustration: THE BLACK-BROWED ALBATROSS OR MOLLYMAUK _Photo: Wilkins_] In the case of the stations located on South Georgia the process is much the same, but the shore factory replaces the parent ship and everything is on a larger scale. The newer method of hunting is a much more lethal one—for the whale; from the catchers’ point of view it is, of course, much safer and more comfortable. In the old days the chase of these huge animals was looked upon as a dangerous undertaking and might be regarded in the nature of a sport, for the whale had more than a sporting chance of getting away and the hunters stood a good chance of being drowned. Nowadays it has become a mere business. Nevertheless, the floating factories, in pushing south to good whaling grounds, take considerable risks of being crushed by the ice. Captain Sinclair is an old and very experienced hand at the work, and in addition to his whaling activities has added largely to the charting of the South Shetlands and the Palmer Archipelago. He has succeeded also in bringing home some unique live specimens of seals and penguins, which have been added to the collection in the Zoological Gardens in Edinburgh. On the 15th we went to Stromness Harbour, where we were welcomed by the manager, Mr. Sorlle.