The greatest story ever told

I had SUCH a fabulous weekend full of crazy stories, polar bear hunting, whale festivals, and bbq's. this is my last week in Barrow as I fly to Anchorage late Saturday to meet my mom to explore the southwestern portion of Alaska for another week before returning to Houston. As much as I miss everyone, I am a little sad my time in Barrow is about to end as I feel like I have made some truly unique friends here and seen and done things that you can only do in Barrow.
(I'm saving my best polar bear story for another blog so stay tuned people)

Here is a great story I heard from one of the natives while I was stalking polar bears on a 4 wheeler. Before I tell it, I must give you a little background. This guy's two cousins and uncle are part of a whaling group that have not captured a whale yet. The rule regulated by the International Whaling Commission says that Arctic slope is allowed 22 shots at a whale. That does not mean 22 whales are killed and captured, but basically they are allowed to throw 22 times. Right now, the Arctic is at 19 so they have 3 throws left in the spring whaling season. When each crew sees a whale from their ice camp, they quickly jump into their boats to pursue it. When they get close to the whale, they shoot a harpoon with dynamite on the end into the whale. The crew then stops to bless the whale and thank the whale for turning itself over. After that, the crew brings the whale onto the ice and they divide the WHOLE thing to every member of the village. Well, that is ideally what is supposed to happen.
Here is a story I heard from one of the natives about his family.....pretty sure he was trying to flirt with me but his opening line was that he was 42 years old, lived with his mother, and his full time job was "staying off the dope." Also, I am pretty strict about my 8 tooth minimum for any guy, but that is not the story.
His family has not had any throws at a whale yet. They saw a whale from their ice camp and took off rowing in their boat. Their boat is covered in bearded seal skin and takes their wives over 100 hours to make. They harpoon the whale and the dynamite goes off. All three men stop to bless the whale and thank the whale for providing food and nourishment for their crew, families, and friends. They truly believe that a crew will only catch a whale if the spirit and energy is right. While they are praying, the whale jerks under the water and takes off pulling their boat quickly under water.......yes, their is a whale in the arctic ocean dragging a seal skin boat with it! The men try to get out of the boat but the force of the whale submerged them completely under water. They struggled to get their heads above water, but their muscles began shutting down due to the extremely cold temperatures of the water. These men were in the water for 6 minutes (10 minutes in this water at that temperature is death) before they are rescued by another whaling crew with a similar boat. All the men lived, but one suffered severe muscular damage and is unable to walk. Needless the say, the whale won. It is one of the greatest stories I have ever heard and, if I could tell you in person, you would understand how exciting really is.
My favorite part of the story is that these men are still out in their ice camp waiting to make another throw at a whale because they realize how important this whale is for the survival of the entire village during the winter.....talk about taking one for the team.