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If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The northern whale-fishery - -Author: William Scoresby - -Release Date: December 9, 2022 [eBook #69504] - -Language: English - -Produced by: deaurider, Bob Taylor and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NORTHERN -WHALE-FISHERY *** - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - Italic text displayed as: _italic_ - - - - - THE - - NORTHERN WHALE-FISHERY. - - - - - THE - NORTHERN - WHALE-FISHERY. - - BY - CAPTAIN SCORESBY, F.R.S.E. - - LONDON: - THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY: - _Instituted 1799._ - - - - - PREFACE. - - -The following pages are an abridgment, with some modifications -and additions, of the second volume of captain (now the rev. Dr.) -Scoresby’s work on the Arctic Regions and Whale-fishery, Edinburgh, -1820; the substance of the former volume having already appeared -in this Monthly Series. The second chapter of the work, on the -comparative view of the whale-fisheries of different European -nations, has been entirely omitted, as less interesting, it is -supposed, to the general reader, than the other chapters. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - - PAGE - - CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE NORTHERN WHALE-FISHERIES 9 - - - CHAPTER II. - - SITUATION OF THE EARLY WHALE-FISHERY—THE - MANNER IN WHICH IT WAS CONDUCTED—AND THE - ALTERATIONS WHICH HAVE TAKEN PLACE 29 - - - CHAPTER III. - - ACCOUNT OF THE MODERN WHALE-FISHERY, AS CONDUCTED - AT SPITZBERGEN 40 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - ACCOUNT OF THE DAVIS’S STRAIT WHALE-FISHERY, - WITH STATEMENTS OF EXPENSES AND PROFITS OF - A FISHING-SHIP 149 - - - CHAPTER V. - - METHOD OF EXTRACTING OIL AND PREPARING WHALE-BONE, - WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THESE ARTICLES, - AND REMARKS ON THE USES TO WHICH THE SEVERAL - PRODUCTS OF THE WHALE-FISHERY ARE APPLIED 157 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - NARRATIVE OF PROCEEDINGS ON BOARD THE SHIP - ESK, DURING A WHALE-FISHING VOYAGE TO THE - COAST OF SPITZBERGEN, IN THE YEAR 1816; PARTICULARLY - RELATING TO THE PRESERVATION OF THE - SHIP UNDER CIRCUMSTANCES OF PECULIAR DANGER 175 - - - - - THE - - NORTHERN WHALE-FISHERY. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE NORTHERN WHALE FISHERIES. - - -In the early ages of the world, when beasts of prey began to multiply -and annoy the vocations of man, the personal dangers to which he must -have been occasionally exposed would oblige him to contrive some -means of defence. For this end, he would naturally be induced, both -to prepare weapons, and also to preconceive plans for resisting the -disturbers of his peace. His subsequent rencounters with beasts of -prey would, therefore, be more frequently successful, not only in -effectually repelling them when they should attack him, but also, in -some instances, in accomplishing their destruction. Hence, we can -readily and satisfactorily trace to the principles of necessity the -adroitness and courage evidenced by the unenlightened nations of -the world, in their successful attacks on the most formidable of the -brute creation; and hence we can conceive that necessity may impel -the indolent to activity, and the coward to actions which would not -disgrace the brave. For man to attempt to subdue an animal whose -powers and ferocity he regarded with superstitious dread, and the -motion of which he conceived would produce a vortex sufficient to -swallow up his boat, or any other vessel in which he might approach -it—an animal of at least six hundred times his own bulk, a stroke of -the tail of which might hurl his boat into the air, or dash it and -himself to pieces—an animal inhabiting at the same time an element in -which he himself could not subsist; for man to attempt to subdue such -an animal, under such circumstances, seems one of the most hazardous -enterprizes of which the intercourse with the irrational world could -possibly admit. And yet this animal is successfully attacked, and -seldom escapes when once he comes within reach of the darts of his -assailer. - -It seems to be the opinion of most writers on the subject of the -whale-fishery, that the Biscayans were the first who succeeded in -the capture of the whale. This opinion, though perhaps not correct, -deserves to be mentioned in the outset of an investigation into the -probable origin of this employment. A species of whale, probably -the _Balæna rostrata_, was a frequent visitor to the shores of -France and Spain. In pursuit of herrings and other small fishes, -these whales would produce a serious destruction among the nets of -the fishermen of Biscay and Gascony. Concern for the preservation of -their nets, which probably constituted the whole of their property, -would naturally suggest the necessity of driving these intruding -monsters from their coasts. With this view, arrows and spears, and -subsequently gunpowder, would be resorted to. Finding the whales -timid and inoffensive, the fishers would be induced to approach -some individual of the species, and even to dart their spears -into its body. Afterwards they might conceive the possibility of -entangling some of the species, by means of a cord attached to a -barbed arrow or spear. One of these animals being captured, and its -value ascertained, the prospect of emolument would be sufficient -to establish a fishery of the cetaceous tribe, and lead to all the -beneficial effects which have resulted in modern times. - -Those authorities, indeed, may be considered as unquestionable, which -inform us that the Basques and Biscayans, so early as the year 1575, -exposed themselves to the perils of a distant navigation, with a view -to measure their strength with the whales, in the midst of an element -constituting the natural habitation of these enormous animals; -that the English, in 1594, fitted an expedition for Cape Breton, -intended for the fishery of the whale and the walrus, (sea-horse,) -pursued the walrus-fishing in succeeding years in high northern -latitudes, and, in 1611, first attacked the whale near the shores of -Spitzbergen; and that the Hollanders, and subsequently other nations -of Europe, participated in the risk and advantages of these northern -expeditions. Some researches, however, on the origin of this fishery, -carried on in the northern seas, will be sufficient to rectify the -error of these conclusions, by proving that the whale-fishery by -Europeans may be traced as far back at least as the ninth century. - -The earliest authenticated account of a fishery for whales is -probably that contained in Ohthere’s voyage, by Alfred the Great. -This voyage was undertaken about 890, by Ohthere, a native of -Halgoland, in the diocese of Dronthein, a person of considerable -wealth in his own country, from motives of mere curiosity, at his -own risk, and under his personal superintendence. On this occasion, -Ohthere sailed to the northward, along the coast of Norway, round -the North Cape, to the entrance of the White Sea. Three days after -leaving Dronthein, or Halgoland, “he was come as far towards the -north as commonly the whale-hunters used to travel.” Here Ohthere -evidently alludes to the hunters of the walrus, or sea-horse; but -subsequently, he speaks pointedly as to a fishery for some species -of cetaceous animals having been at that period practised by the -Norwegians. He told the king, that with regard to the common kind of -whales, the place of most and best hunting for them was in his own -country, “whereof some be forty-eight ells of length and some fifty,” -of which sort, he affirmed, that he himself was one of the six who, -in the space of three (two) days, killed threescore. - -From this it would appear, that the whale-fishery was not only -prosecuted by the Norwegians so early as the ninth century, but -that Ohthere himself had personal knowledge of it. The voyage of -Ohthere is a document of much value in history, both in respect to -the matter of it, and the high character of the author by whom it -has been preserved. By a slight alteration in the reading of the -Saxon manuscript, as suggested by Turner, in his History of the -Anglo-Saxons, it is possible to suppose that the threescore animals -slain by Ohthere in two days were not whales but dolphins. This -supposition removes the improbability of the exploit recorded, and -does not contradict or explain away the fact of larger whales having -been likewise hunted and captured. - -A Danish work, which there is reason to believe is of a date much -earlier than that which we assign to the first fishery of the -Basques, declares that the Icelanders were in the habit of pursuing -the whales, which they killed on the shore, and that these islanders -subsisted on the flesh of some one of the species. And Langebek does -not hesitate to assert, that the fishery of the whale (_hovlfangst_, -by which he probably means a species of _delphinus_,) was practised -in the most northern countries of Europe in the ninth century. - -Under the date of 875, in a book entitled the “Translation and -Miracles of St. Vaast,” mention is made of the whale-fishery on the -French coast. In the “Life of St. Arnould, bishop of Soissons,” a -work of the eleventh century, particular mention is made of the -fishery by the harpoon, on the occasion of a miracle said to have -been performed by the saint. There are also different authorities -for supposing that a whale-fishery was carried on near the coast of -Normandy and Flanders, from the eleventh to the thirteenth century. - -The English, it is to be expected, did not remain long behind their -continental neighbours in this lucrative pursuit. It is difficult to -determine whether the whales referred to in the few early documents -which we possess, were such as were run on the English shore by -accident, or subdued by the English on the high sea. By Acts of -Parliament, A.D. 1315 and 1324, the wrecks of whales, cast by chance -upon the shore, or whales or great sturgeons _taken_ in the sea, were -to belong to the king. Henry IV. gave, in 1415, to the church of -Rochester, the tithe of the whales taken along the shores of that -bishopric. In the sixteenth century, the inhabitants of the shores -of the Bay of Biscay were the most distinguished whale-fishers. At -first, they confined their attacks to those animals, probably the -_Balæna rostrata_ of Linnæus, which used to present themselves in -the Bay of Biscay at a certain season every year. Gradually becoming -bolder, the Biscayans advanced towards the coasts of Iceland, -Greenland, and Newfoundland, in the pursuit. The Icelanders united -their energies with the Biscayans, and conducted the whale-fishery on -so extensive a scale, that, towards the end of the sixteenth century, -the number of vessels annually employed by the united nations -amounted to a fleet of fifty or sixty sail. - -The first attempt of the English to capture the whale, of which we -have any satisfactory account, was made in the year 1594. Different -ships were fitted out for Cape Breton at the entrance of the Gulf of -St. Lawrence, part of which were destined for the walrus-fishery, -and the remainder for the whale-fishery. The Grace, of Bristol, one -of these vessels, took on board 700 or 800 whale-fins, or laminæ of -whalebone, which they found in the Bay of St. George, where two large -Biscayan fishermen had been wrecked three years before. This is the -first notice I have met with of the importation of this article into -Great Britain. - -However doubtful it might have appeared at one time whether the -English or the Dutch first visited Spitzbergen, the claim of the -English to the discovery and first practice of the whale-fishery on -the coasts of these islands stands undisputed, the Dutch themselves -allowing that the English preceded them four years. The merchants of -Hull, who were ever remarkable for their assiduous and enterprizing -spirit, fitted out ships for the whale-fishery so early as the year -1598, which they continued regularly to prosecute on the coasts of -Iceland and near the North Cape for several years; and after the -re-discovery of Spitzbergen by Hudson, in 1607, they were the first -to push forward to its coasts. Captain Jonas Poole was, in the -year 1610, sent out on a voyage of discovery by the “Company for -the Discovery of unknown Countries,” the “Muscovy Company,” or the -“Russia Company,” as it was subsequently denominated. On his return, -the company fitted out two ships for the fishery; the Marie Margaret, -of 160 tons, under the direction of Thomas Edge, factor; and the -Elizabeth, of 60 tons, Jonas Poole, master. In this voyage, both -ships were lost, but the cargo was brought home in a Hull ship. - -Such a novel enterprize as the capture of whales, which was rendered -practical, and even easy, by the number in which they were found, -and the convenience of the situations in which they occurred—an -enterprize at the same time calculated to enrich the adventurers -far beyond any other branch of trade then practised—created a great -agitation, and drew towards it the attention of all the commercial -people of Europe. With that eagerness which men invariably display -in the advancement of their worldly interests, but which is seldom -directed with equal vigour to objects of higher and eternal -importance, the mercantile spirit was concentrated on this new -quarter, and vessels from various ports began to be fitted for the -fishery. In the next year, three foreign ships made their appearance -along with the two belonging to the Russia Company. The English, -jealous of the interference of the Dutch, would not allow them to -fish, and obliged them to return home. In the following year, the -English Russia Company obtained a royal charter, excluding all -others, both natives and foreigners, from the fishery, and they -equipped seven armed vessels for the purpose of maintaining their -prerogative. In the course of the season, the English attacked -the foreign vessels, and took from them the greater proportion -of the blubber, or oil, and whale-fins, which they had procured, -driving them, together with some English ships fitted out by -private individuals, out of the country. In 1614, a company was -established in Amsterdam, and a charter obtained for three years; -ships of war were sent out, and the Hollanders, in defiance of -the English, were able to fish without interruption. The English -got but half-laden, and the Dutch made but a poor fishing. After -various disagreements, and the arrival of the vessels of other -powers on the fishing-stations, which tended to divide the quarrel, -a conference for the purpose of adjusting their differences ensued -between the captains of the rival nations, and they agreed at length -to a division of those fine bays and commodious harbours with which -the whole coast of Spitzbergen abounded. The English obtained the -first choice, and a greater number of bays and harbours than any -of the rest. After the English, the Dutch, Danes, Hamburghers, and -Biscayans, and, finally, the Spaniards and French, took up their -positions. Thus we perceive the origin of the names of the different -places called English Bay, Hollanders’ Bay, Danes’ Bay, etc. - -These arrangements having been adopted, each nation prosecuted the -fishery in its own possession, or along the sea-coast, which was -free for all. It was understood, however, that the ships of any -nation might resort to any of the bays or harbours whatever, for -the convenience of awaiting a favourable wind, taking refuge from -a storm, or any other emergency. To prevent the prosecution of the -fishery in bays belonging to other nations, it was agreed that -whenever a boat was lowered in a strange harbour, or happened to row -into the same, the harpoon was always to be removed from its rest, so -as not to be in readiness for use. - -All the early adventurers on the whale-fishery were indebted to -the Biscayans for their superintendence and help. They were the -harpooners, and the coopers “skilful in setting up the staved cask.” -At this period, each ship carried two principals; the commander, -who was a native, was properly the navigator, as his chief charge -consisted in conducting the ship to and from Greenland; the other, -who was called by the Dutch, specksynder, or cutter of the fat, as -his name implies, was a Biscayan, and had the unlimited control of -the people in the fishery, and, indeed, every operation belonging to -it was entirely confided to him. When, however, the fishery became -better known, the commander assumed the general superintendence, and -the specksynder, or specksioneer, is now the principal harpooner, and -has the “ordering of the fat,” and the extracting or boiling of the -oil of the whale, but serves under the direction of the commander. - -The Dutch pursued the whale-fishery with more vigour than the -English, and with still better effect. It was no uncommon thing -for them to procure such vast quantities of oil that empty ships -were required to take home the superabundant produce. In 1622, the -charter of the Amsterdam Company was renewed for twelve years, and -the charter of the Zealand Society was extended about the same time, -whereby the latter were allowed to establish themselves in Jan Mayen -Island, and to erect boiling-houses and cooperages in common with -their associates. The privileges of these companies, occasioning the -exclusion of all other persons belonging to the United Provinces, -produced a considerable degree of discontent, when the fishery, -towards the expiration of these last charters, was in its most -flourishing state. The states-general of Friesland were induced to -grant a charter to a company formed in that province, which endowed -them with similar privileges to those of the other companies of -Holland. The Frieslanders, in the year 1634, perceived the advantage -of procuring the sanction of the Zealand and Amsterdam companies to -their right to participate in the fishery, and after negotiation, the -three companies, according to stipulated conditions, contracted a -triple union. The Dutch followed the whale-fishery with perseverance -and profit, and were successfully imitated by the Hamburghers and -other fishermen of the Elbe, but the English made only occasional -voyages. - -It became apparent to the adventurers in the whale-fishery, that -considerable advantages might be realized could Spitzbergen be -resorted to as a permanent residence, and they were desirous of -ascertaining the possibility of the human species subsisting -throughout the winter in this inhospitable climate. The English -merchants offered considerable rewards, and the Russia Company -procured the reprieve of some culprits who were convicted of capital -offences, to whom they promised pardon and a pecuniary remuneration -if they would remain a single year in Spitzbergen. The fear of -immediate death induced them to comply; but when they were carried -out and showed the desolate, frozen, and frightful country they -were to inhabit, they shrank back with horror, and solicited to be -returned home to suffer death in preference to encountering such -appalling dangers. With this request the captain who had them in -charge humanely complied, and on their return to England the company -interceded on their behalf, and procured pardon. - -Probably it was about the same time that nine men, who were by -accident separated from one of the London fishing-ships, were left -behind in Spitzbergen; all of them perished in the course of the -winter, and their bodies were found in the ensuing summer shockingly -mangled by beasts of prey. The same master who abandoned these poor -wretches to so miserable a fate was obliged, by the drifting of the -ice towards the shore, to leave eight of his crew, who were engaged -in hunting reindeer for provision for the passage home, in the year -1630. These men, like the former, were abandoned to their fate; for -on proceeding to the usual places of resort and rendezvous, they -perceived with horror that their own, together with all the other -fishing-ships, had departed. By means of the provisions procured by -hunting, the fritters of the whale left in boiling the blubber, -and the accidental supplies of bears, foxes, seals, and sea-horses, -together with the judicious application of the buildings which were -erected in Bell Sound, where they took up their abode, they were -enabled not only to support life, but even to maintain their health -little impaired, until the arrival of the fleet in the following -year. It is surely permitted us to hope, that amidst the retirement -and dreariness of these frozen regions, these hardy sailors found -opportunities for serious reflection and prayer to the God of -heaven, and that their minds, with eternity so near to them, were -sufficiently acquainted with the one way of salvation to yield -themselves to Him who is able to preserve his servants unto life -eternal. - -The preservation of these men revived in the Dutch the desire of -establishing colonies, and in consequence of certain encouragements -proclaimed throughout the fleet, seven men volunteered their -services, were landed at Amsterdam Island, furnished with the needful -articles of provisions, etc., and were left by the fleet on the -30th of August, 1633. About the same time, another party, likewise -consisting of seven volunteers, were landed on Jan Mayen Island, and -left by their comrades to endure the like painful service with the -former. On the return of the fleet in the succeeding year, this last -party were all found dead from the effects of the scurvy; but the -other, which was left in Spitzbergen, nine degrees further towards -the north, all survived. Other seven volunteers proposed to repeat -the experiment in Spitzbergen during the ensuing winter, and were -quitted by their comrades on the 11th of September, 1634. They all -fell victims to the scurvy. - -The Dutch, encouraged by the hope that the profitable nature of -the whale-fishery would continue unabated, incurred very great -expenses in making secure, ample, and permanent erections, which -they gradually extended in such a degree that at length they assumed -the form of a respectable village, to which, from the Dutch words -“smeer,” signifying fat, and “bergen,” to put up, they gave the name -of Smeerenberg. Their expectations of continued success were not, -however, justified, and the fishery began to decline so rapidly from -the year 1636-7, to the termination of the company’s charters, that -their losses are stated on some occasions to have exceeded their -former profits. On the expiration of the charters, in the year 1642, -their renewal was refused by the states-general, and the trade was -laid entirely open to all adventurers. It increased in consequence -almost tenfold; and on the dissolution of the monopoly, the shipping -in the whale-fishery commerce accumulated to between two and three -hundred sail. Prior to the time when the trade was laid open, the Jan -Mayen whale-fishery, like that of Spitzbergen, attained its maximum. -The prodigious destruction of whales occasioned their withdrawal, -and the island was at length abandoned as a whale-fishing station. - -The whale-fishery of the Dutch was somewhat suspended by the war -with England in 1653; but between the years 1660 and 1670, four or -five hundred sail of Dutch and Hamburgh ships were yearly visitants -to the coasts of Spitzbergen, while the English sometimes did not -send a single ship. The British government saw with regret such -a profitable and valuable speculation entirely laid aside. To -encourage, therefore, its renewal, an Act of Parliament was passed -in 1672, whereby the rigours of the Navigation Act were dispensed -with, and its essential properties so modified for the ten following -years that a vessel for the whale-fishery, being British-built, and -having a master and one-half of the crew British subjects, might -carry natives of Holland, or other expert fishers, to the amount of -the other half. In the year 1693 was formed the “Company of Merchants -of London, trading to Greenland,” to whom was granted an extension -of the indulgences allowed by this Act of Parliament. From various -losses, combined, probably, with unskilful management, this company -was so unfortunate that, before the conclusion of their term, their -capital of £82,000 was entirely expended. These circumstances tended -much to discourage the subjects of Great Britain from making any -vigorous attempt to renew the fishery. The direct importation of -Greenland produce into England being inconsiderable, its importation -from Holland or other foreign states was permitted; whalebone, -however, was required to be brought into the country in fins only, -and not cut, or in any way manufactured; nor could it be landed -before the duty chargeable thereon was secured or paid, under penalty -of the forfeiture of the goods and double their value. Immense sums -were annually paid to foreigners for whalebone at this period. - -It was not, it appears, until the whale-fishery was on the decline -at Spitzbergen, that the Davis’s Strait fishery was resorted to. The -Dutch sent their first ships in the year 1719. The shipping employed -in the Greenland and Davis’s Strait whale-fisheries, in 1721, by -foreign nations, amounted to three hundred and fifty-five sail. When, -by the lapse of some years, the unfavourable impression produced on -the minds of speculative persons by the immense losses suffered by -English adventurers in the whale-fishery had partly worn off, the -propriety of attempting this trade was suggested by Henry Elking, and -was proposed to the directors of the well-known South Sea Company. -The British legislature, by exempting the produce of the Greenland -Seas from existing duties on the condition of its being imported in -British ships, held out encouragements to the company similar to -those offered to former adventurers. The South Sea Company caused a -fleet of twelve new ships, about 306 tons’ burden each, to be built -in the river Thames, equipped each vessel with the necessary supplies -of cordage, casks, and fishing instruments, and engaged for their -use the duke of Bedford’s wet-dock at Deptford, where boiling-houses -and other conveniences were constructed. In the spring of 1725, the -fleet being all in readiness, put to sea, and returned safe with -twenty-five and a half whales. The proceeds of this voyage, though -scarcely sufficient to pay the expenses incurred by the fitments -and the hire of foreign harpooners, were yet superior to those of -any succeeding year during the period in which the company pursued -the trade. For eight successive years the company persevered in the -whale-fishery, with indifferent or bad success, and after the season -of 1732 were compelled to abandon it. In 1736, a London ship, which -visited the whale-fishery, procured a cargo of seven fish—a degree -of success which was fortunately different from that of most of the -antecedent English whalers. The English government offered a bounty -of twenty shillings per ton on the burden or tonnage of all British -whale-fishing ships of 200 tons or upwards; and this, in 1749, was -increased to forty shillings per ton. - -Gradually the British whale-fishery began to assume a respectable -and hopeful appearance. The combined fleets of England and Scotland, -in the year 1752, amounted to forty sail; in 1753, to forty-nine; -in 1754, to sixty-seven, in 1755, to eighty-two; and in the year -following, to eighty-three sail—which was the greatest number of -ships employed in the trade for the twenty years following; while the -least number amounted to forty sail during the same period. On the -establishment of the British whale-fishery, the legislature directed -its attention to the means for securing the perpetuity of the trade, -and the economical application of the bounty. These enactments were -not carried in the House of Commons without considerable debate. -In 1768, the king of Prussia, interesting himself in the Greenland -fishery, caused some ships to be equipped from Emden; and in 1784, -the king of France attempted the revival of the whale-fishery, by -equipping, at his own expense, six ships in the port of Dunkirk. In -1785, the king of Denmark, in imitation of the English, granted a -bounty of about thirty shillings sterling per ton, to all vessels in -the Greenland and Iceland fisheries, on the condition of the ships -being fitted out and their cargoes sold in a Danish port. - -The Act of the British Parliament of 1786, embodying several -additional regulations on the subject of the whale-fishery, and -rehearsing and revising former acts, has ever since been considered -the fundamental act on the subject of the Greenland and Davis’s -Strait whale-fishery. By accounts laid upon the table of the House of -Commons during this session, it appeared that the bounties granted -for the encouragement of the British whale-fisheries, carried on -in the Greenland Sea and Davis’s Strait, from the year 1733, when -bounties were first given, to the end of 1785, had amounted to -£1,064,272. 18_s._ 2_d._ for England, and £202,158. 16_s._ 11_d._ for -Scotland. By a subsequent act, the bounty was reduced to twenty-five -shillings per ton, from the 25th of December, 1792, to the 25th of -December, 1795; and from this period until the expiration of the -act in 1798, to twenty shillings per ton, at which latter rate it -has continued ever since. From a list, it appears, that in 1788, -255 British ships sailed for the whale-fishery, of which 129 were -of a burden under 300 tons; 97 of 300 to 350 tons; 16 of 350 to 400 -tons; 11 of 400 to 500 tons; 1 of 565 tons; and 1 of 987 tons. They -were fitted out from the ports of London, Hull, Liverpool, Whitby, -Newcastle, Yarmouth, Sunderland, Lynn, Leith, Ipswich, Dunbar, -Aberdeen, Bo’ness, Glasgow, Montrose, Dundee, Exeter, Whitehaven, -Stockton, Greenock, Scarborough, Grangemouth, and Queensferry. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - SITUATION OF THE EARLY WHALE-FISHERY—THE MANNER IN WHICH IT WAS - CONDUCTED—AND THE ALTERATIONS WHICH HAVE TAKEN PLACE. - - -Immediately after the discovery of Spitzbergen by Hudson, in the year -1607, the walrus-fishers, who carried on an extensive and profitable -business at Cherie Island, finding the animals of their pursuit -become shy and less abundant, extended their voyage to the northward, -until they fell in with Spitzbergen, the newly discovered country, -about the time when the Russian Company equipped their first ships -for the Greenland whale-fishery. As the coast abounded with whales -and sea-horses, Cherie Island was deserted, and Spitzbergen became -the scene of future enterprize. At this time, the mysticetus was -found in immense numbers throughout the whole extent of the coast, -and in the different capacious bays with which it abounds. Never -having been disturbed, these animals were unconscious of danger; -they allowed themselves to be so closely approached that they fell -an easy prey to the courageous fishermen. It was not necessary that -the ships should cruise abroad, throughout the extended regions of -the Polar Seas, as they do at the present time, for the whales being -abundant in the bays, the ships were anchored in some convenient -situation, and generally remained at their moorings until their -cargoes were completed. Not only did the coast of Spitzbergen abound -with whales, but the shore of Jan Mayen Island, in proportion to its -extent, afforded them in like abundance. - -The method used for capturing whales, at this period, was usually -by means of the harpoon and lance, though the Dutch inform us that -the English made use of nets made with strong ropes for the purpose. -The harpoon, which was the instrument used in general practice for -effecting their entanglement, consisted, as at present, of a barbed -or arrow-shaped iron dart, two or three feet in length, to which was -attached a wooden handle, for convenience in striking or throwing -it into the whale. Fastened to the harpoon was a line or rope three -hundred fathoms in length; more than sufficient to reach the bottom -in the bays, where the depth of the water seldom exceeds eighty -or one hundred fathoms; so that on a fish descending after being -struck, the end of the line could always be detained in the boat. -The movements of this boat, of course, corresponded with those of -the whale; and so closely pointed out its position, that, on its -reappearance at the surface, the other assisting boats were usually -very near the place. It was then vigorously pursued, secured by a -sufficient number of harpoons, and lastly attacked repeatedly with -lances until it was killed. - -The lance in use was an iron spear with a wooden handle, altogether -ten or twelve feet in length. The capture of the fish, in which, -owing to the particular excellence of the situation, they seldom -failed, being accomplished, it was towed by the boats, rowing one -before another “like a team of horses,” to the ship’s stern, where -it lay untouched from one to two or three days. The fat being then -removed was carried to the shore, where ample conveniences being -erected, it was afterwards subjected to heat in a boiler, and the -greater part of the oil extracted. - -As the usual process of the early fishers for extracting the oil -may be interesting to some readers, I shall attempt to describe it, -following the accounts by captains Anderson and Gray, whose papers -are preserved among the manuscripts in the British Museum. - -The blubber being made fast to the shore, a “waterside man,” -standing in a pair of boots, mid-leg in the sea, flayed off the -fleshy parts, and cut the blubber into pieces, of about two hundred -weight each. Two men, with a barrow, then carried it, piece by -piece, to a stage or platform, erected by the side of the works, -where a man, denominated a “stage-cutter,” armed with a long knife, -sliced it into pieces, one and a half inches thick, and about a -foot long, and then pushed it into an adjoining receptacle, called -a “slicing cooler.” Immediately beyond this cooler, five or six -choppers were arranged in a line, with blocks of whales’ tails -before them; and adjoining these blocks was another vessel, called a -“chopping cooler,” of two or three tons’ capacity. These men, being -situated between the two coolers, took the sliced blubber from the -slicing cooler, and, after reducing it into little bits, scarcely -one-fourth of an inch thick, and an inch or two long, pushed it into -the chopping cooler. These operations were carried on as near as -convenient to the place where the copper was erected. - -The copper held only half a ton. It was furnished with a furnace, -and the requisite appendages. A man, designated “tub-filler,” with -a ladle of copper, was employed in filling a hogshead with chopped -blubber, dragging it to the copper, and emptying it in, until the -copper was full. A fire of wood was, in the first instance, applied, -but after a copper or two had been boiled, the finks or fritters -were always sufficient to boil the remainder without any other fuel. -When the blubber was sufficiently boiled, two men, called “copper -men,” with two long-handled copper ladles, took the oil and finks -out of the copper, and put it into a “fritter barrow,” which, being -furnished with a grating of wood in place of a bottom, drained the -oil from the fritters, from whence it ran into a wooden tank or -cooler, of about five tons’ capacity. Three coolers were usually -provided, and placed some feet asunder, a little below each other; -a quantity of water was put into each before the oil, and the oil, -whenever it came to a certain height in the first cooler, escaped -through a hole, by a spout, into the second, the same way into the -third, and from thence, by a plug-hole, into the casks or butts -in readiness for its reception. When the oil in these butts was -thoroughly cold, whatever it had contracted was filled up, and the -casks then rolled into the water, and, in rafts of twenty together, -were conveyed into the ship. - -The whalebone was separated from the gum, or substance in which it is -imbedded, rubbed clean, packed in bundles, of sixty laminæ or blades -each, and taken to the ship in the longboat. Thus prepared, the cargo -was conveyed home, either when a sufficiency was procured, or the -close of the season put an end to the fishing occupations. While some -of the people belonging to the whale-ships were engaged in boiling -the blubber, the rest of the crew, it is probable, were occasionally -employed in the capture of other whales. Besides the buildings made -use of in boiling the blubber, the whale-fishers had other buildings -on shore for lodging the blubber-men in, and for the use of the -coopers employed in preparing the casks. - -So long as the whales remained in the immediate vicinity of the -fishing establishments, the boats were sent out of the bay, the fish -captured at sea, towed into the harbour, stripped of the fat, and the -blubber boiled in the manner described; but as the whales increased -their distance, this plan of procedure became inconvenient, so that -the ships began to cruise about the sea, to kill the whales wherever -they found them, to take on board the blubber, and only occasionally -to enter a port. So far now from having occasion for empty ships -for carrying away the superabundant produce, it was a matter of -difficulty and uncertainty to procure a cargo at all; and, with the -most prosperous issue, there was not sufficient time for landing -the cargo and extracting the oil; the blubber was therefore merely -packed in casks and conveyed home, where the remaining operations of -extracting the oil, and cleaning and preparing the whalebone, were -completed. Hence, the various buildings, which had been erected at -a great expense, became perfectly useless; the coppers, and other -apparatus that were worth the removal, were taken away, and the -buildings of all the different nations, both at Spitzbergen and -at Jan Mayen Island, were either wantonly razed to the ground, or -suffered to fall into a state of decay. - -When the whales first approached the borders of the ice, the fishers -held the ice in such dread, that whenever an entangled fish ran -towards it, they immediately cut the line. Experience, through time, -inured them to it; occasionally they ventured among the loose ice, -and the capture of small whales at fields was at length attempted, -and succeeded. Some adventurous persons sailed to the east side of -Spitzbergen, where the current, it is believed, has a tendency to -turn the ice against the shore; yet here, finding the sea, on some -occasions, open, they attempted to prosecute the fishery, and, it -seems, with some success, a great whale-fishery having been made -near Stansforeland, in the year 1700. The retreat of the whales -from the bays to the sea-coast, thence to the banks at a distance -from land, thence to the borders of the ice, and finally to the -sheltered situations afforded by the ice, appears to have been fully -accomplished about the year 1700, or from that to 1720. The plan of -prosecuting the fishery now underwent a material change, especially -in reference to the construction of the ships, and the quality and -quantity of the fishing apparatus. - -When the fishery could be effected entirely in the bay, or even -along the sea-coast, any vessels which were sea-worthy, however old -or tender, were deemed sufficient to proceed to Spitzbergen, and -were generally found adequate to the purpose, especially as they -did not set out till the spring was far advanced, thereby avoiding -obstructions from the ice and from sudden and destructive storms. -When, however, the fishing had to be pursued in the open sea, new, -or at least very substantial ships, became requisite, and even these -it was found necessary to strengthen on the bows and stern, and on -the sides, by additional planks. A greater quantity of fishing-stores -also became needful. When fishing among the ice, the whales, after -having been struck, frequently penetrated to a great distance out -of the reach of their assailants, dragging the line away, until -at length they found it necessary to cut it to prevent further -loss. Hence, by the frequency of disasters among their ships, the -increased expense of their equipment, and the liability of losing -their fishing-materials, such an additional expense was occasioned as -required the practice of the most rigid economy to counterbalance it. -The destruction of the shipping by the ice, in the Dutch fleet alone, -was frequently near twenty sail in one year, and on some occasions -above that number. The Greenland men of the present day being mostly -ice-fishers, an account of the improved mode of fishing now practised -will be sufficient for the illustration of the method followed by the -Dutch and other nations at a more early period, particularly as the -way in which the whale is pursued and killed is pretty nearly the -same at this time as it was a hundred years ago. - -Davis’s Strait, or the sea lying between the west side of Old -Greenland and the east side of North America, and its most northern -islands, has generally, since the close of the seventeenth century, -been the scene of an advantageous whale-fishery. This fishery was -first attempted by the Dutch, in 1719; after which period it was -usually resorted to by about three-tenths of their whalers, while -seven-tenths proceeded to Spitzbergen. This fishery differs only -from that of Spitzbergen or Greenland, in the sea being, in many -districts, less incommoded with ice, and in the climate being -somewhat more mild. The alterations which have taken place in it are, -in some measure, similar to those which have occurred at Spitzbergen. -The fish which, half a century ago, appear to have resorted to all -parts of the western coast of Old Greenland, in a few years retired -to the northward, but they still remained about the coast. Of late, -however, they have deserted some of the bays which they formerly -frequented, and have been principally caught in icy situations in -a high latitude, or in the opening of Hudson’s Strait, or at the -borders of the western ice, near the coast of Labrador. - -Baffin’s Bay was suggested as an excellent fishing-station, by the -voyager whose name it bears, so early as the year 1616, when his -memorable navigation was performed. Baffin, in a letter addressed to -J. Wostenholm, esq., observes, that great numbers of whales occur -in the bay, and that they are easy to be struck; and, though ships -cannot reach the proper places until toward the middle of July, “yet -they may well tarry till the last of August, in which space much -business may be done, and good store of oil made.” To this situation, -where the whales have never been molested until recently, it appears -they still resort in the same manner, and in similar numbers, as -in the time of Baffin. In 1817, two or three of the Davis’s Strait -whalers proceeded through the strait into Baffin’s Bay, to a much -greater length than they were in the habit of adventuring, where, -in the months of July and August, they found the sea clear of ice, -and in some parts abounding with whales. A Leith ship, which, it -appears, advanced the furthest, made a successful fishery in lat. -76°-77°, after the season when it was usual for ships to depart. This -fact having become generally known, several other ships followed the -example, in the season of 1818, and persevered through the barrier -of ice lying in 74°-75° towards the north. After they had succeeded -in passing this barrier, they found, as in the preceding year, a -navigable sea, where several ships met with considerable success in -the fishery, at a very advanced period of the season. This discovery -is likely to prove of great importance to the fishery of Davis’s -Strait. Ships, which fail of success in the old stations, will still, -in the new fishery, have a reserve of the most promising character. -Hence, instead of this fishery being necessarily closed in July, the -period when the whales have usually made their final retreat from -the old fishing-stations, it will in future be extended to the end -of August at least; and it may ultimately appear that there will be -little danger of ships being permanently frozen up, unless previously -beset in the ice during any part of the month of September. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - ACCOUNT OF THE MODERN WHALE-FISHERY, AS CONDUCTED AT SPITZBERGEN. - - -We commence this chapter with a description of a well-adapted -Greenland ship, and of the manner in which it should be strengthened -to resist the concussions of the ice. A ship intended for the -Greenland or Davis’s Strait trade, should be of three or four -hundred tons’ admeasurement, very substantially built, doubled, and -fortified; should have six or seven feet perpendicular space between -decks; should be furnished with a description of sails which are -easily worked; and should possess the property of fast sailing. The -most appropriate dimensions of a ship intended for the northern -whale-fisheries, seems to be that which is so large as to be capable -of deriving the greatest advantage from the best opportunity, and no -larger. A vessel of 250 tons requires nearly the same number of men, -the same quantity of provisions and stores, and the same expense of -outfit, as a ship of 350 tons’ burden; while the difference in the -cargoes of the two vessels when filled, is in one voyage more than -a compensation for the difference in the first expense. Besides, for -want of similar room and convenience, the smaller ship has not always -an equal chance of succeeding in the fishery with the larger. And, -as ships of about 350 tons’ burden have been occasionally filled, -vessels of 250 tons are too small for the fishery. Ships of 350 tons’ -burden have, we observe, been occasionally filled, but we know of no -instance in which a ship of 400 tons, of the usual capacious build, -has been deficient in capacity for taking in as large a cargo as of -late years there has been any opportunity of procuring. We therefore -conclude, that an increase of dimensions above 400 tons is an actual -disadvantage, and that a ship of intermediate size, between 300 and -400 tons, is best adapted for the fishery. - -Greenland ships, in the early ages of the fishery, were very -indifferent structures, and even of late shipping of inferior quality -were generally deemed sufficient for the trade. At present, however, -when a good fishery is rarely made without frequent exposure to -the ice, and sometimes in very critical situations, the vessels -require to be substantially built, for the purpose of resisting the -occasional pressure of, and frequent blows from, the ice, to which -the ships of persevering fishermen must always be more or less -exposed. The requisites peculiar to a Greenland ship, the intention -of which is to afford additional strength, consist of doubling, -and sometimes trebling, and fortifying. The terms “doubling” and -“trebling,” are expressive of the number of layers of planks, which -are applied to the exterior of a frame of timbers; hence, a ship -which has one additional series of planks, is said to be doubled, -and such ships as are furnished with two, or part of two, additional -layers of planks, are said to be trebled. Doubling generally consists -of the application of two or two half inches oak plank, near the bow, -diminishing towards the stern to perhaps half that thickness, and -extending in one direction from the lower part of the main-wales, -to within six feet perpendicular of the keel forward, and to within -eight or nine feet abaft; and, in the other direction, that is, fore -and aft-wise, from the stem to the stern-post. Doubling is used -for producing an increase of strength, and at the same time for -preserving the outside or main planks of the ship from being injured -by the friction of passing ice. Trebling, which commonly consists of -one and a half to two inches oak plank, is generally confined to the -bows of the ship, and rarely extends farther aft than the fore-chains -or chesstree. It is seldom applied but to second-rate ships. Its -principal use is to increase the strength of the ship about the bows, -but it also, serves to preserve that part of the doubling which it -covers from being destroyed by the ice. - -Fortifying is the operation of strengthening a ship’s stern and -bows by the application of timber and iron plates to the exterior, -and a vast number of timbers and stanchions to the interior. Four -straight substantial oak timbers, called ice-beams, about twelve -inches square and twenty-five feet in length, are placed beneath the -hold-beams, butting with their foremost extremity against a strong -fore-hook, and extending nearly at right angles across three or four -of the hold-beams, into each of which they are notched and secured, -at the point of intersection, by strong iron bolts, with the addition -of “cleats” on the aftermost-beams. The fore-part of the ice-beams, -which butt against the hook, are placed at a small distance from -each other, from whence they diverge in such a way that their other -extremities divide the aftermost beams under which they pass into -five equal parts. The next important part of the fortification is the -_pointers_, which consist of four or more crooked timbers, fitting -the curve of the ship’s bow on each side; these are placed below the -hold-beams, against the inside of the ceiling, nearly parallel with -the direction of the planks, some butting against the fore-hooks, -and others passing between them. Across these pointers, four or five -smaller timbers, called “riders,” disposed at regular distances, are -placed at right angles, that is, in the same direction as the ribs of -the ship. Now, from each of the points of intersection of the riders -and pointers, consisting of eighteen or twenty on each side of the -ship, a stanchion, or shore, proceeds to the edge of one of the two -ice-beams, placed on the same side, where it is secured in a rabbet. -The ice-beams are supported and connected by several strong pieces of -wood, placed between each two, in different parts, called “carlings,” -whereby they are made to bear as one. It is evident that a blow -received on the starboard-bow will be impressed on the adjoining -pointers, and the impression communicated, through the medium of the -lateral timbers, or shores, to the two ice-beams on the same side, -thence by the carlings to the other ice-beams, and then, by the -shores on the opposite side to the larboard-bow and annexed pointers. -A blow cannot be received on any part of one bow, without being -communicated by the fortification to every part of the opposite bow, -while every part to and through which the impression is communicated -must tend to support that place on which the blow is impressed. - -To preserve the stem from being shattered or bruised by direct blows -from the ice, it is strengthened by an extra piece called the false, -or ice-stem. On the side of this are placed the ice-knees, which are -angular chocks, or blocks of wood, filling the concavity formed by -the stem and bow planks, and extending from about the eight feet mark -to the loading mark. In the best style, the ice-knees are twelve to -fifteen inches in thickness at the stem, diminishing to, perhaps, -six or eight inches thick at the distance of about eight feet from -the stem, from thence gradually becoming thinner, until they fall -into and incorporate with the common doubling, below the fore-part -of the fore-chains. This makes a neat bow, and in point of strength -is much preferable to the angular chocks or knees, which usually -extend about five or six feet from the stem, and then terminate -somewhat abruptly upon the doubling. Ice-knees not only strengthen -the front of the bows, and prevent the main planks from being bruised -or shattered, as far as they extend, but likewise protect the stem -from the twisting effect of a side blow. The stem and the small part -of the ice-knees adjoining, are still farther defended by plates of -half-inch iron, called ice-plates, which are nailed upon the face of -the ice-stem, and partly on the ice-knees, to prevent them being cut -by the ice. - -For additional strength, as well as convenience, the hold-beams of -a Greenland ship should be placed low, or at a greater distance -from the deck-beams than is usual in other merchantmen, leaving a -clear space of six or seven feet between decks. The strength thus -derived is principally serviceable when the ship is squeezed between -two sheets of ice; because the nearer the pressure acts on the -extremities of the beams, the greater is the resistance they are -calculated to offer. A large space between decks is found also, for -many reasons, to be most convenient. - -Hammocks, as receptacles for sailors’ beds, being incommodious, the -crew are lodged in cabins or berths, erected in the half-deck; these -consist of twelve to twenty in number, each of which is calculated -to contain two or three persons. When a ship is on fishing-stations, -the boats are required to be always ready for use; as such they -are suspended from cranes, fixed on the sides of the ship, and are -usually so contrived that a boat can be lowered down into the water, -manned, and pushed off from the ship, in the short space of a minute -of time. Prior to the year 1813, a ship having seven boats carried -one at each waist, that is, between the main-mast and fore-mast, two -at each quarter, one above the other and one across the stern. An -improvement on this plan, adopted in 1813, is to have the boats fixed -in a line of three lengths of boats on each side. - -The masts and sails of a Greenland vessel are not without their -peculiarities. As it is an object of importance that a fishing-ship -should be easily navigated, under common circumstances, by a boat’s -crew of six or seven men, it is usual to take down royal masts, and -even top-gallant masts, and sometimes to substitute a long light pole -in place of a mizen top-mast; also, to adopt such sails as require -the least management. Courses set in the usual way require a number -of men to work them when the ship is tacked; a course, therefore, -made to diminish as it descends, that is, narrowest at the foot -or lower part, and extended by a boom, or yard below as well as -above, and this boom fastened by a tackle fixed at its centre to -the deck, swings with the yards, with little or no alteration, and -is found particularly convenient. Fore-sails, on this principle, -have been in use about six or seven years. In 1816, I fitted a -main-sail or cross-jack, in the same way, the former of which we -found of admirable utility. Boom-courses are not only convenient in -tacking, but are likewise a valuable acquisition when sailing among -crowded dangerous ice. As the safety of the ship depends, next to the -skilfulness of the piloting officer, on a prompt management of the -yards and sails, boom-courses are strikingly useful on account of the -little attention they require when any alteration in the position -of the sails becomes necessary; and when the ship’s head-way is -required to be suddenly stopped in a situation where she cannot be -luffed into the wind, boom-courses swinging simultaneously with the -top-tails are backed without any annoyance from tacks or sheets, and -of course assist materially in effecting the intention. Such is the -advantage of this description of sails, that on one occasion, when -all the rest of my crew were engaged in the capture of a whale, with -the assistance of only two men, neither of them sailors, I repeatedly -tacked a ship of 350 tons’ burden under three courses, top-sails and -top-gallant sails, together with jib and mizen, in a strong breeze -of wind. Gaf-sails between the masts, in the place of stay-sails, -are likewise deservedly in much repute. To the mizen and try-sail, -or gaf main-sail, that have been long in use, I have added a gaf -fore-sail of similar form, besides which, my father has also adopted -gaf top-sails between each mast. These sails produce an admirable -effect when a ship is “on a wind,” which is the kind of sailing most -required among the ice. - -Having now described a Greenland ship, it is time to detail the -proceedings on board of her, from putting to sea to her arrival -on the coast of Spitzbergen. When all necessary conditions have -been fulfilled, and the ship cleared out at the custom-house, the -first opportunity is embraced for putting to sea. This is generally -accomplished in the course of the month of March, or at least before -the tenth of April. The crew of a whale-ship usually consists of -forty to fifty men, comprising several classes of officers, such as -harpooners, boat-steerers, line-managers, carpenters, coopers, etc., -together with fore-mast men, landmen, and apprentices. As a stimulus -to the crew in the fishery, every individual, from the master down -to the boys, besides his monthly pay, receives a gratuity for every -size fish caught during the voyage, or a certain sum for every tun -of oil which the cargo produces. Masters and harpooners, in place of -monthly wages, receive a small sum in advance before sailing, and if -they procure no cargo whatever, they receive nothing more for their -voyage; but in the event of a successful fishing, their advantages -are considerable. The master usually receives three guineas for each -size fish, and as much for striking a size whale or discovering a -dead one, together with ten shillings to twenty shillings per tun -on oil, and commonly a thirtieth, a twenty-fifth, or a twentieth of -the value of the cargo besides. He also has about £5 per month for -his attendance on the ship while he remains on shore. Each harpooner -has usually 6_s._ per tun on oil, together with half a guinea for -every size fish he may strike during the voyage. In addition to -which the chief-mate, who is generally also harpooner, has commonly -two guineas per month when at sea, and a guinea for each size fish. -The specksioneer, or chief-harpooner, has also half a guinea per -fish, and sometimes a trifle per tun of oil additional; and the -second-mate, and other officers who serve in a compound capacity, -have some additional monthly wages. Boat-steerers, line-managers, -and fore-mast-men, commonly receive about 1_s._ 6_d._ per tun each, -besides their monthly pay, and landmen either a trifle per tun on -oil, or a few shillings for each size fish. - -From the difference in the wages paid in different ports, it is not -easy to say what is the amount received by each class of officers -belonging to the whale-ships. In the general, however, it may be -understood that, on a ship with 200 tuns of oil, which is esteemed an -excellent cargo, the chief-mate receives about £95 for his voyage, -a harpooner about £70, and a common sailor, or foremast-man, about -£25. including advance money and monthly pay. As the master’s wages -depend as much on the value of the cargo as upon its quantity, it is -difficult to give an opinion as to the amount; generally speaking, -however, with a cargo of 200 tuns of oil, he will receive about £250 -or £300, when his pay is according to the lowest scale; and perhaps -£500 or £600, or upwards, when he is paid after the highest rate. - -In time of war, the _manning_ of the whale-ships at the ports where -they were respectively fitted out being sometimes impracticable, -and always a matter of difficulty, it was usual for the owners -and masters of such ships to avail themselves of the privileges -allowed by act of parliament of completing their crews in Shetland -and Orkney. These islands were, therefore, the frequent resort of -most of the fishermen; those bound for Spitzbergen commonly put -into Shetland, and those for Davis’s Strait into Orkney. But in the -present time of peace, also, several ships, in consequence of the -higher wages demanded by the English seamen, have availed themselves -of a late extension of the act for permitting a certain amount of -extra men to be taken on board in Shetland or Orkney, during the -continuance of the bounty system. - -In Shetland, it is usual for the fishermen to _trim_ their ships, -and complete their ballast, by filling most of their empty casks with -water, where it has not previously been done, to replenish their -fresh water, to lay in stocks of eggs, fish, fowls, sea-sand, etc., -to divest the ships of all elevated lumber and gaudy appendages to -the masts and rigging, by way of preparing them for enduring the -Polar storms with greater safety and convenience, and lastly, to fix -a “crow’s nest” or “hurricane house,” on the mast of each ship, and -prepare a passage to it as safe and convenient as possible. - -The “crow’s nest” is an apparatus placed on the main top-mast, or -top-gallant mast-head, as a kind of watch-tower for the use of the -master or officer of the watch in the fishing-seas, for sheltering -him from the wind, when engaged in piloting the ship through crowded -ice, or for obtaining a more extensive view of the sea around when -looking out for whales. When sailing among much drift-ice, as seen -from the deck, it seems at a small distance impervious, although -it may happen that scarcely any two pieces are connected; but from -the mast-head, the relative position of almost every piece may be -distinctly seen, and an opinion may be formed by the experienced -observer of the probable and actual movements of such pieces as -the ship is required to pass. This is an object of the greatest -importance, because the varied movements of the different pieces -occasion such an alteration in the channel pursued, that, were it not -for a constant, attentive, and judicious watch by the master or an -able officer, a ship would not pass through any crowded collection of -drift-ice without the imminent risk of being stove. - -In difficult situations, a master’s presence at the mast-head is -sometimes required for many hours in succession, when the temperature -of the air is from 10° to 20° below the freezing point, or more. -It is therefore necessary for the preservation of his health, as -well as for his comfort, that he should be sheltered from the -piercing gale. A piece of canvas tied round the head of the main -top-mast, and heel of the top-gallant mast, extending only from -the cap to the cross-trees, or at best, a canvas stretched round -the base of the top-gallant rigging, but open on the after-part, -was the most complete contrivance of a crow’s nest, until a few -years ago my father invented an apparatus, having the appearance of -a rostrum, which afforded an admirable defence against the wind. -This contrivance, from the comfortable shelter it affords to the -navigator, having come into very general use, it may not be improper -to describe it more particularly. - -The one most approved by the inventor is about four and a half feet -in length, and two and a half in diameter. The form is cylindrical, -open above and close below. It is composed of laths of wood, placed -in a perpendicular position, round the exterior edge of a strong -wooden hoop, forming the top, and round a plane of mahogany or -other wood which forms the bottom, and the whole circumference of -the cylinder is covered with canvas or leather. The entrance is -by a trap-hatch at the bottom. It is fixed on the very summit of -the main top-gallant mast, from whence the prospect on every side -is unimpeded. On the after-side is a seat, with a place beneath -for a flag. In other parts are receptacles for a speaking-trumpet, -telescope, and occasionally for a rifle-piece, with utensils for -loading. For the more effectual shelter of the observer, when in -an erect posture, a movable screen is applied to the top on the -windward side, which increases the height so much as effectually to -shield his head. When the ship is tacked, nothing more is necessary -for retaining the complete shelter than shifting the screen to the -opposite side, which is done in an instant. - -The Greenland ships usually leave Shetland towards the end of March, -or the beginning of April. From thence, if their view be to avail -themselves of the benefit of the seal-fishery, they steer to the -northward, on the meridian, or a little to the westward, and commonly -make the ice in the latitude of 70° to 72° north. But if the month -of April be much advanced before they leave Shetland, they generally -steer for the whaling-stations on a course to the east of north, with -the view of falling into that remarkable indentation of the Polar -ice, lying in 5° or 10° east longitude, which I have denominated -the “Whale-Fishers’ Bight.” It used to be the practice to remain on -sealing-stations until the beginning of May, and not to enter the ice -until about the middle of the month; but of late it has become usual -to push into the ice at a much earlier period, though the practice -is neither without its dangers nor disadvantages. If a barrier of -ice prevents the fisher from reaching the usual fishing-station, he -sometimes perseveres in search of whales on the southward margin of -the ice, but more generally endeavours to push through it into an -opening, which is usually formed on the west side of Spitzbergen, in -the month of May, where he seldom fails of meeting with the objects -of his search. It is a common remark, that the more difficulty there -is attending the passage through the ice, the better is the fishery -when that passage is accomplished. In close seasons, very few ships -pass the barrier before the middle or end of May. Those which first -succeed immediately proceed along the edge of the western ice to -the latitude of 78° or 79°, until they meet with whales. But in -open seasons, the most recommendable plan is to sail direct to the -latitude of 80°, when it can be accomplished at a very early period, -where large whales are generally at this season to be found. - -It is not yet ascertained what is the earliest period of the year in -which it is possible to fish for whales. The danger attending the -navigation amidst massive drift-ice, in the obscurity of night, is -the most formidable objection against attempting the fishery before -the middle of the month of April, when the sun, having entered the -northern tropic, begins to enlighten the Polar regions throughout the -twenty-four hours. Some ships have sailed to the northward of the -78th degree of latitude, before the close of the month of March; but -I am not acquainted with a single instance where the hardy fishers -have, at this season, derived any compensation for the extraordinary -dangers to which they were exposed. In the course of the month of -April, on certain occasions, considerable progress has been made in -the fishery, notwithstanding the frequency of storms. At the first -stage of the business, in open seas, the whales are usually found in -most abundance on the borders of the ice, near Hackluyt’s Headland, -in the latitude of 80°. A degree or two further south they are -sometimes seen, though not in much plenty; but in the 76th degree -they sometimes occur in such numbers, as to present a tolerable -prospect of success in assailing them. - -Some rare instances have occurred wherein they have been seen on the -edge of the ice, extending from Cherie Island to Point Look-out, in -the early part of the season. Grown fish are frequently found at the -edge, or a little within the edge, of the loose ice, in the 79th -degree of north latitude, in the month of May; and small whales, -of different ages, at fields, and sometimes in bays of the ice, in -the 80th degree. Usually the fish are most plentiful in June, and, -on some occasions, they are met with in every degree of latitude -from 75° to 80°. In this month, the large whales are found in every -variety of situation; sometimes in open water, at others in the loose -ice, or at the edges of fields and floes, near the main impervious -body of ice, extending towards the coast of West Greenland. The -smaller animals of the species are, at the same time, found further -to the south than in the spring, at floes, fields, or even among -loose ice, but most plentifully about fields or floes, at the border -of the main western ice, in the latitude of 78° or 78½°. In July, -the fishery generally terminates, sometimes at the beginning of the -month, at others, though more rarely, it continues throughout the -greater part of it. Few small fish are seen at this season. - -The parallel of 78° to 78½° is, on the whole, the most productive -fishing-station. The interval between this parallel and 80°, or any -other situation more remote, is called the “northward,” and any -situation in a lower latitude than 78° is called the “southward.” -Though the 79th degree affords whales in the greatest abundance, -yet the 76th degree affords them, perhaps, more generally. In this -latter situation a very large kind of the mysticetus is commonly -to be found, throughout the season, from April to July inclusive. -Their number, however, is not often great; and as the situation in -which they occur is unsheltered, and, consequently, exposed to heavy -swells, the southern fishery is not much frequented. The parallel -of 77° to 77½° is considered a “dead latitude” by the fishers, but -occasionally it affords whales also. - -From an attentive observation of facts, it would appear that -various tribes of the mysticetus inhabit different regions, and -pursue various routes on their removal from the places where first -seen. These tribes seem to be distinguished by a difference of age -or manners, and, in some instances, apparently by one of species -or subspecies. The systematical movements of the whales receive -illustration from many well-known facts. Sometimes a large tribe, -passing from one place to another, which, under such circumstances, -is denominated a “run of fish,” has been traced in its movements, in -a direct line from the south towards the north, along the seaward -edge of the western ice, through a space of two or three degrees -of latitude; then it has been ascertained to have entered the ice, -and penetrated to the northward beyond the reach of the fishers. In -certain years, it is curious to observe, that the whales commence a -simultaneous retreat throughout the whole fishing limits, and all -disappear within the space of a very few days. - -Having now mentioned, generally, the principal places resorted to by -the whales in the Spitzbergen seas, it will, possibly, be interesting -to such as are in any way concerned in the fishery, to notice more -distinctly their favourite haunts under particular circumstances. - -Experience proves that the whale has its favourite places of resort, -depending on a sufficiency of food, particular circumstances of -weather, and particular portions and qualities of the ice. Thus, -though many whales may have been seen in open water when the weather -was fine, after the occurrence of a storm perhaps not one is to be -seen; and, though fields are sometimes the resort of hundreds of -whales, yet, whenever the loose ice around separates entirely away, -the whales quit them also. Hence, fields seldom afford whales in much -abundance, excepting at the time when they first “break out,” and -become accessible; that is, immediately after a vacancy is made on -some side by the separation of adjoining fields, floes, or drift-ice. -Whales are rarely seen in abundance in the large open spaces of -water which sometimes occur amidst fields and floes, nor are they -commonly seen in a very open pack, unless it be in the immediate -neighbourhood of the main western ice. They seem to have a preference -for close packs and patches of ice, and for fields under certain -circumstances; for deep bays, or _bights_, and sometimes for clear -water situations; occasionally for detached streams of drift-ice, -and most generally for extensive sheets of bay-ice. Bay-ice is a -favourite retreat of the whales, so long as it continues sufficiently -tender to be conveniently broken for the purpose of respiration. In -such situations, whales may frequently be seen in amazing numbers, -elevating and breaking the ice with their crowns, the eminences on -their heads in which their blow-holes are situated. - -The most favourable opportunity for prosecuting the fishery commonly -occurs with north, north-west, or west winds. At such times, the -sea near the ice is almost always smooth, and the atmosphere, -though cloudy and dark, is generally free from fog or thick snow. -The fishers prefer a cloudy to a clear sky, because, in very bright -weather, the sea becomes illuminated, and the shadows of the -whale-boats are so deeply impressed in the water by the beams of the -sun, that the whales are very apt to take the alarm, and evade the -utmost care and skill of their pursuers. South-east or east winds, -though disagreeable, cause a violent agitation of the pieces of ice, -and so annoy the whales as to induce them to leave their retreat -and appear in the open sea. Although the fishery requires a cloudy -atmosphere, yet it must be free from fog or continued snow; smooth -water, with a breeze of wind, and navigably open, or perfectly solid -ice. - -The boats and principal instruments employed in the capture of -the whale next claim a description. Whale-boats are, of course, -peculiarly adapted for the occupation they are intended to be -employed in. A well-constructed Greenland boat possesses the -following properties:—It floats lightly and safely on the water, is -capable of being rowed with great speed, and readily turned round; -it is of such capacity, that it carries six or seven men, seven or -eight hundred weight of whale-line, and various other materials, -and yet retains the necessary properties of safety, buoyancy, -and speed, either in smooth water, or where it is exposed to a -considerable sea. Whale-boats, being very liable to receive damage, -both from whales and ice, are always carver-built—a structure which -is easily repaired. They are usually of the following dimensions. -Those called six-oared boats, adapted for carrying seven men, six of -whom, including the harpooner, are rowers, are generally twenty-six -to twenty-eight feet in length, and about five feet nine inches in -breadth. Six-men boats, that is, with five rowers and a steersman, -are usually twenty-five to twenty-six feet in length, and about -five feet three inches in breadth; and four-oared boats are usually -twenty-three to twenty-four feet in length, and about five feet, -three inches in breadth. The main breadth of the two first classes of -boats is at about three-sevenths of the length of the boat, reckoned -from the stern; but in the last class it is necessary to have the -main breadth within one-third of the length of the boat from the -stern. The object of this is to enable the smaller boat to support, -without being dragged under water, as great a strain on the lines -as those of a larger class; otherwise, if such a boat were sent out -by itself, its lines would be always liable to be lost before any -assistance could reach it. - -The five-oared or six-men boat is that which is in general use; -though each fishing-ship generally carries one or two of the largest -class. These boats are now commonly built of fir boards, one-half or -three-fourths of an inch thick, with timbers, keel, gunwales, stern, -and stern-post of oak. An improvement in the timbering of whale-boats -has lately been made, by sawing the timber out of very straight -grained oak, and bending them to the required form after being made -supple by the application of steam, or immersion in boiling water. -This improvement, which renders the timbers more elastic than when -they are sawn out of crooked oak, and at the same time makes the -boat stronger and lighter, was suggested by Thomas Brodrick, esq., -of Whitby, ship-builder. Though the principle has long been acted -upon in clincher-built boats, with ash timbers, the application to -carver-built whale-boats is, I believe, new. The bow and stern of -Greenland boats are both sharp, and in appearance very similar, -but the stern forms a more acute angle than the bow. The keel has -some depression in the middle from which the facility of turning is -acquired. - -The instruments of general use in the capture of the whale are the -harpoon and the lance. The harpoon is an instrument of iron, of about -three feet in length. It consists of three conjoined parts, called -the “socket,” “shank,” and “mouth,” the latter of which includes the -barbs or “withers.” This instrument, if we except a small addition -to the barbs and some enlargement of dimensions, maintains the same -form in which it was originally used in the fishery two centuries -ago. At that time, the mouth or barbed extremity was of a triangular -shape, united at the shank in the middle of one of the sides, and -this being scooped out on each side of the shank formed two simple -flat barbs. In the course of last century, an improvement was made by -adding another small barb, resembling the beard of a fishhook, within -each of the former withers in a reverse position. The two principal -withers in the present improved harpoon measure about eight inches in -length and six in breadth, the shank is eighteen inches to two feet -in length, and four-tenths of an inch in diameter, and the socket, -which is hollow, swells from the size of the shank to near two inches -diameter, and is about six inches in length. Now, when the harpoon -is forced by a blow into the fat of the whale, and the line is held -tight, the principal withers seize the strong ligamentous fibres of -the blubber, and prevent it from being withdrawn; and, in the event -of its being pulled out so far as to remain entangled by one wither -only, which is frequently the case, then the little reversed barb, -or “stop-wither,” as it is called, collecting a number of the same -reticulated sinewy fibres, which are very numerous near the skin, -prevents the harpoon from being shaken out by the ordinary motions of -the whale. The point and exterior edges of the barbs of the harpoon -are sharpened to a rough edge by means of a file. This part of the -harpoon is not formed of steel, as it is frequently represented, but -of common soft iron, so that when blunted it can be readily sharpened -by a file, or even by scraping it with a knife. - -The most important part in the construction of this instrument is the -shank. As this part is liable to be forcibly and suddenly extended, -twisted, and bent, it requires to be made of the softest and most -pliable iron. That kind which is of the most approved tenacity is -made of old horse-shoe nails or _stubs_, which are formed into small -rods, and two or three of these welded together, so that should a -flaw happen to occur in any one of the rods, the strength of the -whole might still be depended on. Some manufacturers inclose a -quantity of stub-iron in a cylinder of best foreign iron, and form -the shank of the harpoon out of a single rod. A test, sometimes used -for trying the sufficiency of a harpoon, is to wind its shank round a -bolt of inch-iron, in the form of a close spiral, then to unwind it -again, and put it into a straight form. It bears this without injury -in the cold state, it is considered as excellent. The breaking of a -harpoon is of no less importance than the value of a whale, which is -sometimes estimated at more than £1000 sterling. This consideration -has induced many ingenious persons to turn their attention towards -improving the construction and security of this instrument, but -though various alterations have been suggested, such as forming the -shank of wire, adding one or two lateral barbs, etc., etc., they have -all given place to the simplicity of the ancient harpoon. - -Next in importance to the harpoon is the lance, which is a spear -of iron of the length of six feet. It consists of a hollow socket, -six inches long, swelling from half an inch, the size of the shank, -to near two inches in diameter, into which is fitted a four feet -stock or handle of fir; a shank, five feet long and half an inch -in diameter; and a mouth of steel, which is made very thin, and -exceedingly sharp, seven or eight inches in length, and two or two -and a half in breadth. Besides these instruments, there is also the -harpoon gun. It was invented in the year 1731, and used by some -individuals with success. Being however difficult, and somewhat -dangerous in its application, it was laid aside for many years. -In 1771 or 1772, a new one was produced to the Society of Arts, -and received as an original invention. Between 1772 and 1792, the -Society expended large sums in premiums to whale-fishers and to -artisans for improvements in the gun and harpoon. Since 1792, they -have generally been in the habit of offering a premium of ten guineas -to the harpooner who should shoot the greatest number of whales -in one season, not being less than three. This premium, however, -though it has been frequently offered, has been seldom claimed. In -its present improved form, as made by Mr. Wallis, gunsmith, Hull, -the harpoon-gun consists of a kind of swivel, having a barrel -of wrought-iron 24 or 26 inches in length, of 3 inches exterior -diameter, and 1⅞ inches bore. It is furnished with two locks, which -act simultaneously, for the purpose of diminishing the liability of -the gun missing fire. The shank of the harpoon is double, terminating -in a cylindrical knob, fitting the bore of the gun. Between the two -parts of the shank is a wire ring, to which is attached the line. -Now, when the harpoon is introduced into the barrel of the gun, the -ring with the attached line remains on the outside near the mouth -of the harpoon, but the instant that it is fired, the ring flies -back against the cylindrical knob. The harpoon-gun has been rendered -capable of throwing a harpoon near forty yards with effect, yet, on -account of the difficulty in the management of it, it has not been -very generally adopted. - -In the course of the outward passage, the different utensils are -fitted for immediate use. One preparation is that which is known -by the name of “spanning harpoons.” A piece of rope, of the best -hemp, called a “fore-ganger,” about two and a quarter inches in -circumference, and eight or nine yards in length, is spliced closely -round the shank of the harpoon, the swelled socket of which prevents -the eye of the _splice_ from being drawn off. A stock, or handle, six -or seven feet in length, is then fitted into the socket, and fastened -in its place through the medium of the fore-ganger. The fastening of -the stock is sufficient only for retaining it firm in its situation -during the discharge of the weapon, but is liable to be disengaged -soon afterwards; on which the harpoon, relieved from the shake and -twist of this no longer necessary appendage, maintains its hold with -better effect. After the stock drops out, it is seldom lost, but -still hangs on the line by means of a loop of cord, fixed openly -round it, for the purpose of preventing the stock from floating -away. Every harpoon is stamped with the name of the ship to which it -belongs; and when prepared for use, a private mark, containing the -name of the ship and master, with the date of the year written upon -leather, is concealed beneath some rope-yarns, wound round the socket -of the instrument, and the same is sometimes introduced also into the -fore-ganger. These marks serve to identify the harpoons, when any -dispute happens to arise relative to the claims of different ships -to the same fish and have sometimes proved of essential service -in deciding cases which might otherwise have extended to vexatious -litigations. - -A harpoon thus prepared, with fore-ganger and stock, is said to be -“spanned in.” In this state, the point or mouth, being very clean -and sharp, is preserved in the same condition by a shield of oiled -paper or canvas; and the instrument, with its appendages, laid up in -a convenient place, ready for being attached to the whale-line in a -boat when wanted. - -The principal preparations for commencing the fishery are included -in the “fitting of the boats.” In this work all the people belonging -to the ship are employed. The boats are first cleared of all lumber, -and then the whale-lines, each consisting of 120 fathoms of rope, -about two and a quarter inches in circumference, are spliced to each -other, to the amount of about six to each boat, the united length of -which is about 720 fathoms, or 4,320 feet; and the whole carefully -and beautifully coiled in compartments in the boat prepared for the -purpose. A portion of five or six fathoms of the line first put into -the boat, called the “stray-line,” is left uncovered by that which -follows, and coiled by itself in a small compartment at the stern of -the boat: it is furnished with a loop or “eye,” for the facility of -connecting the lines of one boat with those of another. To the upper -end of the line is spliced the fore-ganger of a spanned harpoon, thus -connecting the harpoon with all the lines in the boat. - -Every boat completely fitted is furnished with two harpoons (one -spare,) six or eight lances, and five to seven oars, together with -the following instruments and apparatus:—A “jack,” or flag, fastened -to a pole, intended to be displayed as a signal, whenever a whale -is harpooned; a “tail-knife,” used for perforating the fins or tail -of a dead whale; a “mik,” or rest, made of wood, for supporting the -stock of the harpoon when ready for instant service; an “axe,” for -cutting the line when necessary; a “pigging,” or small bucket, for -bailing the boat or wetting the running lines; a “snatch-block;” -a “grapnel;” two “boat-hooks;” a “fid;” a wooden “mallet,” and -“snow-shovel;” also, a small broom and a “swab,” together with spare -tholes, grommets, etc. In addition to these, the two six-oared or -other swiftest boats are likewise furnished with an apparatus, -called a “winch,” for heaving the lines into the boat after the -fish is either killed or has made his escape; and in some ships -they also carry a harpoon-gun, and apparatus for loading. The whole -of the articles above enumerated are disposed in convenient places -throughout the boat. The axe is always placed within the reach of -the harpooner, who, in case of an accident, can cut the line in an -instant; the harpoon-gun is fixed by its swivel to the boat’s stern; -the lances are laid in the sides of the boat, upon the thwarts; the -hand-harpoon is placed upon the mik, or rest, with its stock, and on -the bow of the boat with its point, and the fore-ganger is clearly -coiled beneath it, so that the harpoon can be taken up and discharged -in a moment. An oar is used for steering, in preference to a rudder, -in consequence of its possessing many advantages: an oar does not -retard the velocity of the boat so much as a rudder; it is capable -of turning the boat when in a state of rest, and more readily than a -rudder when in motion; and it can be used for propelling the boat in -narrow places of the ice, where the rowers cannot ply their oars, by -the process of sculling, and in calms for approaching a whale without -noise, by the same operation. - -The crew of a whale-ship are separated into divisions, equal in -number to the number of the boats. Each division, consisting of a -harpooner, a boat-steerer, and a line-manager, together with three -or four rowers, constitutes a boat’s crew. The harpooner’s principal -office is, as his name implies, to strike the whale, also to guide -the line, or to kill an entangled whale with his lances. When in -pursuit he rows the bow-oar. He has the command of the boat. The -boat-steerer ranks next to the harpooner; he guides the course of -the boat, watches the motions of the whale pursued, intimates its -movements to the harpooner, and stimulates the crew to exertion by -encouraging exclamations. The line-manager rows the “after-oar” in -the boat, and, conjointly with the boat-steerer, attends to the lines -when in the act of running out or coiling in. The remainder of the -crew pull the oars. Besides these divisions of the seamen of a whaler -into boats’ crews, they are classed on the passages, and when no -whale-fishing is going on, as in other vessels, into watches. - -On fishing-stations, when the weather is such as to render the -fishery practicable, the boats are always ready for instant service, -suspended from davits, or cranes, by the sides of the ship, and -furnished with stores, as before enumerated; two boats at least, -the crews of which are always in readiness, can in general be -manned and lowered into the water within the space of one minute -of time. “Wherever there is a probability of seeing whales, when -the weather and situation are such as to present a possibility of -capturing them, the “crow’s nest” is generally occupied by the -master, or some one of the officers, who, commanding from thence -an extensive prospect of the surrounding sea, keeps an anxious watch -for the appearance of a whale. Assisted by a telescope, he views -the operations of any ship which may be in sight at a distance; and -occasionally sweeps the horizon with his glass, to extend the limited -sphere of vision in which he is able to discriminate a whale with the -naked eye to an area vastly greater. The moment that a fish is seen, -he gives notice to the “watch upon deck,” part of whom leap into a -boat, are lowered down, and push off towards the place. If the fish -be large, a second boat is immediately dispatched to the support of -the other. When the whale again appears, two boats row towards it -with their utmost speed, and though they may be disappointed in all -their attempts, they generally continue the pursuit until the fish -either takes the alarm and escapes, or they are recalled by a signal -to the ship. When two or more fishes appear at the same time in -different situations, the number of boats sent in pursuit is commonly -increased. When the whole of the boats are sent out, the ship is said -to have “a loose fall.” During fine weather, when there is great -probability of finding whales, a boat is generally kept in readiness, -manned and afloat, sometimes towed by a rope astern, or, if the ship -be still, at a little distance. There are several rules observed -in approaching a whale, as precautions, to prevent the animal from -taking the alarm. As the whale is dull of hearing, but quick of -sight, the boat-steerer always endeavours to get behind it, and, in -accomplishing this, he sometimes takes a circuitous route. In calm -weather, when guns are not used, the greatest caution is necessary -before a whale can be reached; smooth careful rowing is always -requisite, and sometimes sculling. - -When it is known that a whale seldom abides longer on the surface -of the water than two minutes, that it generally remains from five -to ten or fifteen minutes under water, that in this interval it -sometimes moves through the space of half a mile or more, and that -the fisher has very rarely any certain intimation of the place in -which it will reappear—the difficulty and address requisite to -approach sufficiently near, during its short stay on the surface, to -harpoon it, will be readily appreciated. It is, therefore, a primary -consideration with the harpooner always to place his boat as near -as possible to the spot where he expects the fish to rise; and he -considers himself successful in the attempt when the fish “comes up -within a start,” that is, within the distance of about two hundred -yards. A whale moving forward, at a small distance beneath the -surface of the sea, leaves a sure indication of its situation in what -is called “an eddy,” having somewhat the resemblance of “the wake,” -or track of a ship; and in fine calm weather, its change of position -is sometimes pointed out by the birds, many of which closely follow -it when at the surface, and hover over it when below, whose keener -vision can discern it when it is totally concealed from human eye. By -these indications many whales have been taken. - -The providence of God is manifested in the tameness and timidity of -many of the largest inhabitants of the earth and sea, whereby they -fall victims to the prowess of man, and are rendered subservient to -his convenience in life. And this was the design of the lower animals -in their creation, for God, when he made man, gave him “dominion over -the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the -cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that -creepeth upon the earth.” The holy psalmist, when considering the -power and goodness of God in the creation, exclaimed, “What is man, -that thou art mindful of him; and the son of man, that thou visitest -him?” And, in contemplation of the glory and honour put upon man by -the Almighty, in the power given him over created nature, he adds, -“Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou -hast put all things under his feet: ... the fowl of the air, and the -fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the -seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” -Hence, while we admire the cool and determined intrepidity of those -who successfully encounter the huge mysticetus, if we are led to -reflect on the source of the power by which the strength of men is -rendered effectual for the mighty undertaking, our reflections must -lead us to the great First Cause as the only source from whence such -power could be derived. If there be peril in the encounter between -man and God’s most powerful creatures, how much more dangerous must -be the struggle between man and the Lord his Maker; and how certain, -if it be prolonged, the terrible issue of such a contest! The power -of the mighty monster of the deep, or even of the most glorious -archangel, is as nothing in comparison with Him to whom power -belongeth, and who will overwhelm his adversaries with a fearful -and final perdition. Now, however, there is no fury in him, and he -is as condescending as he is powerful, entreating his rebellious -subjects to receive the peace of his reconciliation, and to draw near -to him with a penitent and contrite heart, through the merit and -intercession of his Son, in whom he assures us of a free and complete -forgiveness. - -Whenever a whale lies on the surface of the water, unconscious of -the approach of its enemies, the hardy fisher rows directly upon it; -and, an instant before the boat touches it, buries his harpoon in -its back; but if, while the boat is at a little distance, the whale -should indicate its intention of diving, by lifting its head above -its common level, and then plunging it under water, and raising its -body till it appears like a large segment of a sphere, the harpoon -is thrown from the hand, or fired from a gun, the former of which -methods, when skilfully practised, is efficient at the distance of -eight or ten yards, and the latter at the distance of thirty yards, -or upward. The wounded whale, in the surprise and agony of the -moment, makes a convulsive effort to escape. Then is the moment of -danger. The boat is subjected to the most violent blows from its -head or its fins, but particularly from its ponderous tail, which -sometimes sweeps the air with such tremendous fury, that both boat -and men are exposed to one common destruction. - -The head of the whale is avoided, because it cannot be penetrated -with the harpoon; but any part of the body between the head and the -tail will admit of the full length of the instrument, without danger -of obstruction. The moment that the wounded whale disappears, or -leaves the boat, a jack or flag, elevated on a staff, is displayed, -on sight of which those on watch in the ship give the alarm, by -stamping on the deck, accompanied by a simultaneous and continuous -shout of “a fall.” This word, derived from the Dutch language, is -expressive of the conduct of the sailors in jumping, dropping, -falling to man the boats on an occasion requiring extreme dispatch. -At this sound, the sleeping crew arouse, jump from their beds, rush -upon deck, with their clothes tied by a string in their hands, and -crowd into the boats. With a temperature of zero, should a “fall” -occur, the crew would appear on deck, shielded only by their drawers, -stockings, and shirts, or other habiliments in which they sleep. They -generally contrive to dress themselves in part, at least, as the -boats are lowered down, but sometimes they push off in the state in -which they rise from their beds, row away towards the “fast-boat,” -and have no opportunity of clothing themselves for a length of time -afterwards. The alarm of “a fall” has a singular effect on the -feelings of a sleeping person unaccustomed to the whale-fishing -business. It has often been mistaken as a cry of distress. A landsman -in a Hull ship, seeing the crew on an occasion of a fall rush upon -deck, with their clothes in their hands, and leap into the boats, -when there was no appearance of danger, thought the men were all mad; -but with another individual the effect was totally different. Alarmed -with the extraordinary noise, and still more so when he reached the -deck with the appearance of all the crew seated in the boats in their -shirts, he imagined the ship was sinking. He therefore endeavoured to -get into a boat himself; but every one of them being fully manned, -he was always repulsed. After several fruitless endeavours to gain -a place among his comrades, he cried out, with feelings of evident -distress, “What shall I do?—will none of you take me in?” - -The first effort of a “fast-fish,” or whale that has been struck, -is to escape from the boat by sinking under water. After this, it -pursues its course directly downward, or reappears at a little -distance, and swims with great celerity near the surface of the water -towards any neighbouring ice among which it may obtain an imaginary -shelter; or it returns instantly to the surface, and gives evidence -of its agony by the most convulsive throes, in which its fins and -tail are alternately displayed in the air and dashed into the water -with tremendous violence. The former behaviour, however, that is, to -dive towards the bottom of the sea, is so frequent in comparison -of any other, that it may be considered as the general conduct of -a “fast-fish.” A whale, struck near the edge of any large sheet of -ice, and passing underneath it, will sometimes run the whole of the -line out of one boat in the space of eight or ten minutes of time. To -retard, therefore, as much as possible, the flight of the whale, and -to secure the lines, it is usual for the harpooner to cast one, two, -or more turns of the line round a kind of post, called a _bollard_, -which is fixed within ten or twelve inches of the stern of the boat -for the purpose. Such is the friction of the line, when running round -the bollard, that it frequently envelopes the harpooner in smoke; and -if the wood were not repeatedly wetted, would probably set fire to -the boat. - -During the capture of one whale, a groove is sometimes cut in the -bollard, near an inch in depth, and were it not for a plate of -brass, iron, or a block of lignum vitæ, which covers the top of -the stern, where the line passes over, it is apprehended that the -action of the line on the material of the boat would cut it down to -the water’s edge in the course of one season of successful fishing. -The approaching distress of a boat for want of line is indicated -by the elevation of an oar in the way of a mast, to which is added -a second, a third, or even a fourth, in proportion to the nature -of the exigence. The utmost care and attention are requisite on -the part of every person in the boat when the lines are running -out, fatal consequences having been sometimes produced by the most -trifling neglect. On my first voyage to the whale-fishery, such an -accident occurred. A thousand fathoms of line were already out, and -the fast-boat was forcibly pressed against the side of a piece of -ice. The harpooner, in his anxiety to retard the flight of the whale, -applied too many turns of the line round the bollard, which, getting -entangled, drew the boat beneath the ice. Another boat providentially -was at hand, into which the crew, including myself, who happened to -be present, had just time to escape. The whale, with near two miles -length of line, was, in consequence of the accident, lost. - -When fish have been struck by myself, I have, on different occasions, -estimated their rate of descent. For the first 300 fathoms, the -average velocity was usually after the rate of eight to ten miles per -hour. In one instance, the third line of 120 fathoms was run out in -sixty-one seconds, that is, at the rate of 8·16 miles, or 7·18 nautical -miles, per hour. The average stay under water of a wounded whale, -which steadily descends after being struck, according to the most -usual conduct of the animal, is about thirty minutes. The longest -stay I ever observed was fifty-six minutes; but in shallow water I -have been informed it has sometimes been known to remain an hour and -a half at the bottom after being struck, and yet has returned to -the surface alive. The greater the velocity, the more considerable -the distance to which it descends, and the longer the time it -remains under water, so much greater in proportion is the extent of -exhaustion, and the consequent facility of accomplishing its capture. -Immediately that it reappears, the assisting boats make for the -place with their utmost speed, and as they reach it, each harpooner -plunges his harpoon into its back, to the amount of three, four, -or more, according to the size of the whale and the nature of the -situation. Most frequently, however, it descends for a few minutes -after receiving the second harpoon, and obliges the other boats to -await its return to the surface before any attack can be made. It -is afterwards actively plied with lances, which are thrust into its -body, aiming at its vitals. At length, when exhausted by numerous -wounds and the loss of blood, which flows from the huge animal in -copious streams, it indicates the approach of its dissolution by -discharging from its “blow-holes” a mixture of blood along with the -air and mucus which it usually expires, and finally jets of blood. -The sea to a great extent around is dyed with its blood, and the -ice-boats and men are sometimes drenched with the same. Its track is -likewise marked by a broad pellicle of oil, which exudes from his -wounds, and appears on the surface of the sea. Its final capture is -sometimes preceded by a convulsive and energetic struggle, in which -its tail, reared, whirled, and violently jerked in the air, resounds -to the distance of miles. In dying, it turns on its back, or on its -side, which joyful circumstance is announced by the capturers with -the striking of their flags, accompanied with three lively huzzas. - -The remarkable exhaustion observed on the first appearance of a -wounded whale at the surface, after a descent of 700 or 800 fathoms -perpendicular, does not depend on the nature of the wound it has -received, for a hundred superficial wounds received from harpoons -could not have the effect of a single lance penetrating the vitals, -but is the effect of the almost incredible pressure to which the -animal must have been exposed. The surface of the body of a large -whale may be considered as comprising an area of 1,540 square feet. -This, under the common weight of the atmosphere alone, must sustain -a pressure of 3,104,640 lbs., or 1,386 tons. But at the depth of 800 -fathoms, where there is a column of water equal in weight to about -154 atmospheres, the pressure on the animal must be equal to 211,200 -tons. This is a degree of pressure of which we can have but an -imperfect conception. It may assist our comprehension, however, to be -informed, that it exceeds in weight sixty of the largest ships of the -British navy, when manned, provisioned, and fitted for a six months’ -cruise. - -By the motions of the fast-boat, the movements of the whale are -estimated. Every fast-boat carries a flag, and the ship to which -such boats belong also wears a flag, until the whale is either killed -or makes its escape. These signals serve to indicate to surrounding -ships the exclusive title of the fast-ship to the entangled whale, -and to prevent their interference, excepting in the way of assistance -in the capture. - -With respect to the length of time requisite for capturing a whale, -it may be remarked that this greatly depends on the activity of -the harpooners, the favourableness of situation and weather, and -on the peculiar conduct of the whale attacked. I have myself -witnessed the capture of a large whale in twenty-eight minutes, and -have also been engaged with another fish, which was lost, after it -had been entangled about sixteen hours. Under the most favourable -circumstances, the average length of time occupied in the capture -of a whale may be stated as not exceeding an hour, and the general -average, including all sizes of fish and all circumstances of -capture, may probably be two or three hours. The mode described -in the preceding pages of conducting the fishery for whales under -favourable circumstances, may be considered as the general plan -pursued by the fishers of all ports of Britain, as well as of those -of other nations who resort to Spitzbergen. - -The ease with which some whales are subdued, and the slightness of -the entanglement by which they are taken, are truly surprising; -but, with others, it is equally astonishing, that neither line nor -harpoon, nor any number of each, is sufficiently strong to effect -their capture. Whales have even been taken in consequence of the -entanglement of a line, without any harpoon at all; though, when -such a case has occurred, it has evidently been the result of -accident. A harpooner belonging to the Prince of Brazils, of Hull, -had struck a small fish. It descended, and remained for some time -quiet, and at length appeared to be drowned. The strain on the line -being then considerable, it was taken to the ship’s capstern, with -a view of heaving the fish up. The force requisite for performing -this operation was extremely various; sometimes the line came in -with ease, at others, a quantity was withdrawn with great force and -rapidity. As such, it appeared evident that the fish was yet alive. -The heaving, however, was persisted in, and after the greater part -of the lines had been drawn on board, a dead fish appeared at the -surface, secured by several turns of the line round its body. It was -disentangled with difficulty, and was confidently believed to be the -whale that had been struck. But when the line was cleared from the -fish, it proved to be merely the “bight,” for the end still hung -perpendicularly downward. What was then the surprise to find that -it was still pulled away with considerable force! The capstern was -again resorted to, and shortly afterwards they hove up, also dead, -the fish originally struck, with the harpoon still fast. Hence, it -appeared that the fish first drawn up had got accidentally entangled -with the line, and, in its struggles to escape, had still further -involved itself, by winding the line repeatedly round its body. The -fish first entangled, as was suspected, had long been dead, but it -was this interloper that occasioned the jerks and other singular -effects observed on the line. - -The method already described is that which is adopted for the capture -of whales under the most favourable circumstances, and is subject to -many alterations when the situation or circumstances are peculiar. -Hence arise various modes of capturing the whale, which furnish -abundant opportunities for the exercise of ingenuity and skill, and -are attended by their peculiar dangers. To an enumeration of these -various methods, according to local circumstances, we now proceed to -direct the reader’s attention. - -1. _Pack-fishing._—The borders of close packs of drift-ice are -frequently a favourite resort of large whales. To attack them in -such a situation subjects the fisher to great risks in his lines and -boats, as well as uncertainty in effecting their capture. When a -considerable swell prevails on the borders of the ice, the whales, -on being struck, will sometimes recede from the pack, and become -the prize of their assailers; but most generally they flee to it -for shelter, and frequently make their escape. To guard against the -loss of lines as much as possible, it is usual either to strike two -harpoons from different boats at the same moment, or to bridle the -lines of a second boat upon those of the boat from which the fish is -struck. This operation consists in fixing other lines to those of the -fast-boat, at some distance from the harpoon, so that there is only -one harpoon and one line immediately attached to the fish, but the -double strength of a line from the place of their junction to the -boats. Hence, should the fish flee directly into the ice, and proceed -to an inaccessible distance, the two boats bearing an equal strain on -each of their lines can at pleasure draw the harpoon, or break the -single part of the line immediately connected with it, and in either -case secure themselves against any considerable loss. - -When a pack, from its closeness, prevents boats from penetrating, -the men travel over the ice, leaping from piece to piece, in pursuit -of the entangled whale. In this pursuit they carry lances with them, -and sometimes harpoons, with which, whenever they can approach the -fish, they attack it; and if they succeed in killing it, they drag it -towards the exterior margin of the ice, by means of the line fastened -to the harpoon with which it was originally struck. In such cases, -it is generally an object of importance to sink it beneath the ice; -for effecting which purpose, each lobe of the tail is divided from -the body, excepting a small portion of the edge, from which it hangs -pendulous in the water. If it still floats, bags of sand, kedges, -or small cannon, are suspended by a block on the bight of the line, -wherewith the buoyancy of the dead whale is usually overcome. It then -sinks, and is easily hauled out by the line into the open sea. - -To particularize all the variety of pack-fishing, arising from wind -and weather, size of the fish, state and peculiarities of the ice, -etc., would require more space than the interest of the subject to -general readers would justify. I shall therefore only remark, that -pack-fishing is, on the whole, the most troublesome and dangerous -of all others; that instances have occurred of fish having been -entangled during forty or fifty hours, and escaped after all; and -that other instances are remembered, of ships having lost the greater -part of their stock of lines, several of their boats, and sometimes, -though happily less commonly, some individuals of their crews. - -2. _Field-fishing._—The fishery for whales, when conducted at the -margin of those wonderful sheets of solid ice, called fields, is, -when the weather is fine, and the refuge for ships secure, the most -agreeable, and sometimes the most productive of all situations which -the fishery of Greenland presents. A fish struck at the margin of a -large field of ice generally descends obliquely beneath it, takes -four or eight lines from the fast-boat, and then returns exhausted -to the edge. It is then attacked in the usual way with harpoons -and lances, and is easily killed. There is one evident advantage -in field-fishing, which is this: when the fast-boat lies at the -edge of a firm unbroken field, and the line proceeds in an angle -beneath the ice, the fish must necessarily arise somewhere in a -semicircle described from the fast-boat as a centre, with a sweep -not exceeding the length of the lines out; but most generally it -appears in a line extending along the margin of the ice, so that -the boats, when dispersed along the edge of the field, are as -effectual and as ready for promoting the capture as twice the number -of boats or more when fishing in open situations; because, in open -situations, the whale may arise anywhere within a circle, instead of -a semicircle, described by the length of the lines withdrawn from -the fast-boat, whence it frequently happens that all the attendant -boats are disposed in a wrong direction, and the fish recovers its -breath, breaks loose, and escapes before any of them can secure it -with a second harpoon. Hence, when a ship fishes at a field with an -ordinary crew and six or seven boats, two of the largest fish may -be struck at the same time with every prospect of success; while -the same force attempting the capture of two at once in an open -situation, will not unfrequently occasion the loss of both. There -have, indeed, been many instances of a ship’s crew, with seven -boats, striking at a field six fish at the same time, and succeeding -in killing the whole; generally speaking, six boats at a field are -capable of performing the same execution as near twice that number -in open situations. Besides, fields sometimes afford an opportunity -of fishing, when in any other situation there can be little or no -probability of success, or, indeed, when to fish elsewhere is utterly -impracticable. Thus, calms, storms, and fogs, are great annoyances in -the fishery in general, and frequently prevent it altogether, but at -fields the fishery goes on under any of these disadvantages. As there -are several important advantages attending the fishery at fields, -so likewise there are some serious disadvantages, chiefly relating -to the safety of the ships engaged in the occupation. The motions -of fields are rapid, various, and unaccountable, and the power with -which they approach each other, and squeeze every resisting object, -immense; hence occasionally vast mischief is produced, which it is -not always in the power of the most skilful and attentive master to -foresee or prevent. - -Such are the principal advantages and disadvantages of fields of ice -to the whale-fishery. The advantages, however, as above enumerated, -though they extend to large floes, do not extend to small floes, -or to such fields, how large soever they may be, as contain cracks -or holes, or are filled up with thin ice in the interior. Large -and firm fields are the most convenient, and likewise the most -advantageous for the fishery; the most convenient, because the -whales, unable to breathe beneath a close extensive field of ice, -are obliged to make their appearance again above water among the -boats on the look out; and they are the most advantageous, because -not only the most fish commonly resort to them, but a greater number -can be killed with less force, and in a shorter space of time, than -in any other situation. Thin fields, or fields full of holes, being -by no means advantageous to fish by, are usually avoided, because a -“fast fish” retreating under such a field, can respire through the -holes in the centre as conveniently as on the exterior; and a large -fish usually proceeds from one hole to another, and if determined -to advance, cannot possibly be stopped. In this case, all that can -be done is, to break the line or draw the harpoon out. But when the -fish can be observed blowing in any of the holes in a field, the men -travel over the ice, and attack it with lances, pricking it over the -nose to endeavour to turn it back. This scheme, however, does not -always answer the expectations of the fishers, as frequently the fear -of his enemies acts so powerfully on the whale that he pushes forward -towards the interior to his dying moment. When killed, the same -means are used as in pack-fishing to sink it, but they do not always -succeed; for the harpoon is frequently drawn out, or the line broken -in the effort. If, therefore, no attempt to sink the fish avails, -there is scarcely any other practicable method of making a prize of -it, (unless when the ice happens to be so thin that it can be broken -with a boat, or a channel readily cut in it with an ice-saw,) than -cutting the blubber away, and dragging it piece by piece across the -ice to the vessel, which requires immense labour, and is attended -with vast loss of time. Hence we have a sufficient reason for -avoiding such situations, whenever fish can be found elsewhere. - -As connected with this subject, I cannot pass over a circumstance -which occurred within my own observation, and which excited my -highest admiration. On the 8th July, 1813, the ship Esk lay by the -edge of a thin sheet of ice, in which were several thin parts and -some holes. Here a fish being heard blowing, a harpoon, having a -line connected with it, was conveyed across the ice by a boat on -guard, and the harpooner succeeded in striking the whale, at the -distance of 350 yards from the verge. It dragged out ten lines, -(2,400 yards,) and was supposed to be seen blowing in different holes -in the ice. After some time, it happened to make its appearance on -the exterior, when a harpoon was struck at the moment it was on the -point of proceeding again beneath. About a hundred yards from the -edge, it broke the ice where it was a foot in thickness with its -crown, and respired through the opening. It then determinately -pushed forward, breaking the ice as it advanced, in spite of the -lances continually directed against it. It reached at length a kind -of basin in the field, where it floated on the surface of the water -without any encumbrance from ice. Its back being fairly exposed, the -harpoon struck from the boat was observed to be so slightly entangled -that it was ready to drop out. Some of the officers lamented this -circumstance, and expressed a wish that the harpoon were better fast, -observing at the same time that if it should slip out, the fish would -either be lost, or they would be under the necessity of flensing it -where it lay, and of dragging the pieces of blubber over the ice to -the ship, a kind and degree of labour every one was anxious to avoid. -No sooner was the wish expressed, and its importance made known, than -one of the sailors, a smart and enterprising fellow, stepped forward -and volunteered his services to strike it better in. Not at all -intimidated by the surprise which was manifested in every countenance -by such a bold proposal, he pulled out his pocket-knife, leapt -upon the back of the living whale, and immediately cut the harpoon -out. Stimulated by this courageous example, two of his companions -proceeded to his assistance. While one of them hauled upon the line, -and held it in his hands, the other set his shoulder against the -extremity of the harpoon, and, though it was without a stock, he -contrived to strike it again into the fish more effectually than it -was at first. The fish was in motion before this was finished. After -they got off its back, it advanced a considerable distance, breaking -the ice all the way, and survived this uncommon treatment ten or -fifteen minutes. This admirable act was an essential benefit. The -fish sunk spontaneously after being killed, on which it was hauled -out to the edge of the ice by the line, and secured without further -trouble. It proved a stout whale, and a very acceptable prize. - -When a ship approaches a considerable field of ice, and finds -whales, it is usual to moor to the leeward side of it, from which -the adjoining ice generally first separates. Boats are then placed -on watch on each side of the ship, and stationed at intervals of -one hundred or one hundred and fifty yards along the edge of the -ice. Hence, if a fish arises anywhere between the extreme boats, -it seldom escapes unhurt. It is not uncommon for a great number of -ships to moor to the same sheet of ice. When the whale-fishery of -the Hollanders was in a flourishing state, above one hundred sail of -ships might sometimes be seen moored to the same field of ice, each -having two or more boats on watch. The field would in consequence, be -so nearly surrounded with boats, that it was almost impossible for -a fish to rise near the verge of the ice without being within the -limits of a start of some of them. - -3. _Fishing in crowded ice or in open packs._—In navigable open -drift-ice, or amongst small detached streams and patches, either -of which serve in a degree to break the force of the sea, and to -prevent any considerable swell from arising, we have a situation -which is considered as one of the best possible for conducting the -fishery in; consequently, it comes under the same denomination as -those favourable situations in which I have first attempted to -describe the proceedings of the fishers in killing the whale. But -the situation I now mean to refer to is when the ice is crowded -and nearly close, so close, indeed, that it scarcely affords room -for boats to pass through it, and by no means sufficient space for -a ship to be navigated among it. This kind of situation occurs -in somewhat open packs, or in large patches of crowded ice, and -affords a fair probability of capturing a whale, though it is seldom -accomplished without a considerable deal of trouble. When the ice -is very crowded, and the ship cannot sail into it with propriety, -it is usual, especially with foreigners, to seek out for a mooring -to some mass of ice, if such can be found, extending two or three -fathoms or more under water. A piece of ice of this kind is capable -not only of holding the ship “head to wind,” but also to windward -of the smaller ice. The boats then set out in chase of any fish -which may be seen, and when one happens to be struck, they proceed -in the capture in a similar manner as when under more favourable -circumstances, excepting so far as the obstruction which the quality -and arrangement of the ice may offer to the regular system of -proceeding. Among crowded ice, for instance, the precise direction -pursued by the fish is not easily ascertained, nor can the fish -itself be readily discovered on its first arrival at the surface -after being struck, on account of the elevation of the intervening -masses of ice, and the great quantity of line it frequently takes -from the fast-boat. Success in such a situation depends on the boats -being spread widely abroad, and on a judicious arrangement of each -boat; on a keen look out on the part of the harpooners in the boats, -and on their occasionally taking the benefit of a hummock of ice, -from the elevation of which the fish may sometimes be seen blowing -in the interstices of the ice; on pushing or rowing the boats with -the greatest imaginable celerity towards the place where the fish may -have been seen; and lastly, on the exercise of the highest degree of -activity and dispatch in every proceeding. - -If these be neglected, the fish will generally have taken breath, -recovered its strength, and removed to some other quarter, before -the arrival of the boats; and it is often remarked, that if there be -one part of the ice more crowded or more difficult of access than -another, it commonly retreats thither for refuge. In such cases, the -sailors find much difficulty in getting to it with their boats, -having to separate many pieces of ice before they can pass through -between them. But when it is not practicable to move the pieces, and -when they cannot travel over them, they must either drag the boats -across the intermediate ice, or perform an extensive circuit before -they can reach the opposite side of the close ice, into which the -whale has retreated. - -A second harpoon in this case, as indeed in all others, is a material -point. They proceed to lance whenever the second harpoon is struck, -and strike more harpoons as the auxiliary boats progressively arrive -at the place. When the fish is killed, it is often at a distance from -the ship, and so circumstanced that the ship cannot get near it. -In such cases, the fish must be towed by the boats to the ship; an -operation which, among crowded ice, is most troublesome and laborious. - -4. _Bay-ice fishing._—Bay-ice constitutes a situation which, though -not particularly dangerous, is yet, on the whole, one of the most -troublesome in which whales are killed. In sheets of bay-ice, the -whales find a very effectual shelter; for so long as the ice will -not carry a man, they cannot be approached with a boat without -producing such a noise as must certainly warn them of the intended -assault; and if a whale, by some favourable accident, were struck, -the difficulties of completing the capture are always numerous, and -sometimes prove insurmountable. The whale having free locomotion -beneath the ice, the fishers pursue it under great disadvantage. -The fishers cannot push their boats toward it but with extreme -difficulty, while the whale, invariably warned by the noise of their -approach, possesses every facility for avoiding its enemies. - -In the year 1813, I adopted a new plan of fishing in bay-ice, which -was attended with the most successful result. The ship under my -command, the Esk, of Whitby, was frozen into a sheet of bay-ice, -included in a triangular space, formed by several massive fields and -floes. Here a number of small whales were seen sporting around us in -every little hole or space in the bay-ice, and occasionally they were -observed to break through it for the purpose of breathing. In various -little openings free of ice near the ship, few of which were twenty -yards in diameter, we placed boats, each equipped with a harpoon and -lines, and directed by two or three men. They had orders to place -themselves in such a situation that if a fish appeared in the same -opening they could scarcely fail of striking it. Previous to this, I -supplied myself with a pair of ice-shoes, consisting of two pieces of -thin deal, six feet in length, and seven inches in breadth. They were -made very thin at both ends, and in the centre of each was a hollow -place, exactly adapted for the reception of the sole of my boot, with -a loop of leather for confining the toes. I was thus enabled to -retain the ice-shoes pretty firmly to my feet when required, or, when -I wished it, to disengage them in a moment. Where the ice was smooth, -it was easy to move in a straight line, but in turning I found a -considerable difficulty, and required some practice before I could -effect it without falling. I advanced with tolerable speed, where -the ice was level on the surface, by sliding the shoes alternately -forward, but when I met with rough hilly places I experienced great -inconvenience. When, however, the rough places happened to consist of -strong ice, which generally was the case, I stept out of my ice-shoes -until I reached a weaker part. Equipped with this apparatus, I -travelled safely over ice which had not been frozen above twenty-four -hours, and which was incapable of supporting the weight of the -smallest boy in the ship. - -Whenever a fish was struck, I gave orders to the harpooner, in -running the line, to use every means of drowning it; the trouble of -hauling it up, under the circumstances in which the ship was placed, -being a matter of no consideration. This was attempted by holding -a steady tight strain on the line, without slacking it or jerking -it unnecessarily, and by forbearing to haul the line when the fish -stopped. By this measure, one fish, the stoutest of the three which -we got, was drowned. When others were struck, and the attempt to -drown them failed, I provided myself with a harpoon, and observing -the direction of the line, travelled towards the place where I -expected the fish to rise. A small boat was launched, more leisurely, -in the same direction for my support; and whenever the ice in my -track was capable of supporting a man, assistance was afforded me -in dragging the line. When the wounded fish appeared, I struck my -harpoon through the ice, and then, with some occasional assistance, -proceeded to lance it, until it was killed. At different times, the -fish rose beneath my feet, and broke the ice on which I stood; on -one occasion, where the ice was happily more than usually strong, -I was obliged to leave my ice shoes, and skip off. In this way we -captured three fish, and took their produce on board, while several -ships near us made not the least progress in the fishery. After they -were killed, we had much trouble in getting them to the ship, but -as we could not employ ourselves to advantage in any other way, we -were well satisfied with the issue. This part of the business I could -not effect alone, and all hands, who were occasionally employed in -it, broke through the ice. Some individuals broke in two or three -times, but no serious accident ensued. As a precaution, we extended -a rope from man to man, which was held in the hands of each in their -progress across the ice, and which served for drawing those out of -the water who happened to break through. Sometimes ten or a dozen of -them would break in at once, but so far was such an occurrence from -exciting distress, that each of their companions indulged a laugh at -their expense, notwithstanding they probably shared the same fate a -minute or two afterwards. - -5. _Fishing in storms._—Excepting in situations sheltered from the -ice, it would be alike useless and presumptuous to attempt to kill -whales during a storm. Instances, however, occur, wherein fish that -were struck during fine weather, or in winds which do not prevent -the boats from plying about, remain entangled, but unsubdued, after -the commencement of a storm. Sometimes the capture is completed, at -others the fishers are under the necessity of cutting the lines, and -allowing the whale to escape. Sometimes, when they have succeeded -in killing it, and in securing it during the gale with a hawser to -the ship, they are enabled to make a prize of it on the return of -moderate weather; at others, after having it to appearance secured by -means of a sufficient rope, the dangerous proximity of an ice-pack -constrains them to cut it adrift and abandon it for the preservation -of their vessel. After thus being abandoned, it becomes the prize of -the first who gets possession of it, though it be in the face of the -original capturers. A storm commencing while the boats are engaged -with an entangled fish, sometimes occasions serious disasters. -Generally, however, though they suffer the loss of the fish, and -perhaps some of their boats and materials, yet the men escape with -their lives. - -6. _Fishing in foggy weather._—The fishery in storms can never be -voluntary; but in foggy weather, though occasionally attended with -hazard, the fishery is not altogether impracticable. The fogs which -occur in the icy regions in June and July are generally dense and -lasting: they are so thick, that objects cannot be distinguished at -the distance of 100 or 150 yards, and frequently continue for several -days without attenuation. To fish with safety and success, during -a thick fog, is, therefore, a matter of difficulty, and of still -greater uncertainty. When it happens that a fish conducts itself -favourably, that is, descends almost perpendicularly, and, on its -return to the surface, remains nearly stationary, or moves round in a -small circle, the capture is usually accomplished without hazard or -particular difficulty; but when, on the contrary, it proceeds with -any considerable velocity in a horizontal direction, or obliquely -downwards, it soon drags the boats out of sight of the ship, and -shortly so confounds the fishers in the intensity of the mist, that -they lose all traces of the situation of their vessel. If the fish, -in its flight, draws them beyond the reach of the sound of a bell, -or a horn, their personal safety becomes endangered; and if they are -removed beyond the sound of cannon, their situation becomes extremely -hazardous, especially if no other ships happen to be in the immediate -vicinity. Meanwhile, whatever may be their imaginary or real danger, -the mind of their commander must be kept in the most anxious suspense -until they are found; and whether they may be in safety or near -perishing with fatigue, hunger, and cold, so long as he is uncertain -of their fate, his anxiety must be the same. - -Before entering on the subsequent operations of the whalers, -connected with a successful fishery, I shall give a few examples -of remarkable strength, activity, or other peculiarity, in the -behaviour of whales after they have been struck, being a few of the -curious circumstances connected with the fishery which I have myself -observed, or have received from unquestionable authority. On the -25th June, 1812, one of the harpooners belonging to the Resolution, -of Whitby, under my command, struck a whale by the edge of a small -floe of ice; assistance being promptly afforded, a second boat’s -lines were attached to those of the fast-boat in a few minutes after -the harpoon was discharged; the remainder of the boats proceeded to -some distance in the direction which the fish seemed to have taken. -In about a quarter of an hour, the fast-boat, to my surprise, again -made a signal for lines. As the ship was then within five minutes’ -sail, we instantly steered towards the boat, with the view of -affording assistance by means of a spare boat we still retained on -board. Before we reached the place, however, we observed four oars -displayed in signal order, which, by their number, indicated a most -urgent necessity for assistance. Two or three men were at the same -time seen seated close by the stern, which was considerably elevated, -for the purpose of keeping it down, while the bow of the boat, by -the force of the line, was drawn down to the level of the sea, and -the harpooner, by the friction of the line round the bollard, was -enveloped in smoky obscurity. At length, when the ship was scarcely -one hundred yards distant, we perceived preparations for quitting -the boat. The sailors’ pea jackets were cast upon the adjoining ice; -the oars were thrown down; the crew leaped overboard; the bow of -the boat was buried in the water; the stern rose perpendicularly, -and then majestically disappeared. The harpooner having caused the -end of the line to be fastened to the iron ring at the boat’s stern -was the means of its loss; and a _tongue_ of the ice, on which was -a depth of several feet of water, kept the boat, by the pressure of -the line against it, at such a considerable distance as prevented -the crew from leaping upon the floe. Some of them were, therefore, -put to the necessity of swimming for their preservation, but all of -them succeeded in scrambling upon the ice, and were taken on board -the ship in a few minutes. It may be here observed, that it is an -uncommon circumstance for a fish to require more than two boats’ -lines in such a situation; none of our harpooners, therefore, had -any scruple in leaving the fast-boat, never suspecting, after it had -received the assistance of one boat with six lines, or upward, that -it would need any more. - -Several ships being about us, there was a possibility that some -person might attack and make a prize of the whale, when it had so far -escaped us that we no longer retained any hold of it; as such, we set -all sail the ship could safely sustain, and worked through several -narrow and intricate channels in the ice in the direction I observed -the fish had retreated. After a little time, it was descried by the -people in the boats at a considerable distance to the eastward; a -general chase immediately commenced, and within the space of an hour -three harpoons were struck. We now imagined that the fish was secure, -but our expectations were premature. The whale resolutely pushed -beneath a large floe that had been recently broken to pieces by the -swell, and soon drew all the lines out of the second fast-boat, the -officer of which, not being able to get any assistance, tied the -end of his line to a hummock of ice and broke it. Soon afterwards, -the other two boats, still _fast_, were dragged against the broken -floe, when one of the harpoons drew out. The lines of only one -boat, therefore remained fast to the fish, and this, with six or -eight lines out, was dragged forward into the shattered floe with -astonishing force; pieces of ice, each of which were sufficiently -large to have answered the purpose of a mooring for the ship, were -wheeled about by the strength of the whale; and such was the tension -and elasticity of the line that, whenever it slipped clear of any -mass of ice, after turning it round into the space between any two -adjoining pieces, the boat and its crew flew forward through the -crack with the velocity of an arrow, and never failed to launch -several feet upon the first mass of ice that it encountered. - -While we scoured the sea around the broken floe of the ship, and -while the ice was attempted in vain by the boats, the whale continued -to press forward in an easterly direction towards the sea. At length, -when fourteen lines, about 1,680 fathoms, were drawn from the fourth -fast-boat, a slight entanglement of the line broke it at the stern. -The fish again made its escape, taking along with it a boat and -twenty-eight lines. The united length of the lines was 6,720 yards, -or upwards of three English miles and three-quarters; value with -the boat above £150 sterling. The obstruction of the sunken boat to -the progress of the fish must have been immense, and that of the -lines likewise considerable, the weight of the lines alone being -thirty-five hundred weight. So long as the fourth fast-boat, through -the medium of its lines, retained its hold of the fish, we searched -the adjoining sea with the ship in vain, but in a short time after -the line was divided we got sight of the object of pursuit at the -distance of near two miles to the eastward of the ice and boats, in -the open sea. One boat only with lines, and two empty boats, were -reserved by the ship. Having, however, happily fine weather and a -breeze of wind, we immediately gave chase under all sails, though it -must be confessed with the insignificant force by us, the distance -of the fish, and the rapidity of its flight considered, we had but -very small hopes of success. At length, after pursuing it five or -six miles, being at least nine miles from the place where it was -struck, we came up with it, and it seemed inclined to rest after its -extraordinary exertion. The two dismantled or empty boats having -been furnished with two lines each, (a very inadequate supply,) -they, together with the one in good state of equipment, now made an -attack upon the whale. One of the harpooners made a blunder; the -fish saw the boat, took the alarm, and again fled. I now supposed it -would be seen no more; nevertheless, we chased nearly a mile in the -direction I imagined it had taken, and placed the boats to the best -of my judgment in the most advantageous situations. In this instance -we were extremely successful. The fish rose near one of the boats, -and was immediately harpooned. In a few minutes, two more harpoons -entered its back, and lances were plied against it with vigour and -success. Exhausted by its amazing exertions to escape, it yielded -itself at length to its fate, received the piercing wounds of the -lances without resistance, and finally died without a struggle. After -all, it may seem surprising that it was not a particularly large -individual, the largest lamina of whalebone only measuring nine feet -six inches, while those affording twelve feet bone are not uncommon. -The quantity of line withdrawn from the different boats engaged in -the capture was singularly great. It amounted altogether to 10,440 -yards, or nearly six English miles. Of these, thirteen new lines were -lost, together with the sunken boat, the harpoon connecting them -with the fish having dropped out before the whale was killed. Thus -terminated with success an attack upon a whale, which exhibited the -most uncommon determination to escape from its pursuers, seconded by -the most amazing strength, of any individual whose capture I ever -witnessed. - -When engaged in the pursuit of a large whale, it is a necessary -precaution for two boats at all times to proceed in company, that -the one may be able to assist the other on any emergency. With -this principle in view, two boats from the Esk were sent out in -chase of some large whales, on the 13th of June, 1814. No ice was -within sight, the boats had proceeded some time together, when they -separated in pursuit of two whales, not far distant from each other, -when, by a singular coincidence, the harpooners each struck his fish -at the same moment. They were a mile from the ship. Urgent signals -for assistance were immediately displayed by each boat, and, in -a few minutes, one of the harpooners was under the necessity of -slipping the end of his line. Happily, the other fish did not descend -so deep, and the lines in the boat proved adequate to the occasion. -One of the fish being then supposed to be lost, five of the boats, -out of seven, attended on the fish which yet remained entangled, and -speedily killed it. A short time afterwards, the other fish supposed -to be irrecoverably lost, was descried at a little distance from the -place where it was struck; three boats proceeded against it; it was -immediately struck, and in twenty minutes also killed. Thus were -successfully captured two whales, both of which had been despaired -of. They produced us near forty tuns of oil, value at that time -£1,400. The lines attached to the fish last killed were recovered in -a remarkable manner. The harpooners were busily engaged in attempting -to secure them, when the harpoon, by which alone they were prevented -from sinking, slipped out; but as it descended in the water, it -luckily hooked the line belonging to another boat, by which both -harpoon and lines were preserved. - -It is very generally believed by the whalers, that fish have -occasionally been struck, which, by sudden extension or heave of the -body, have instantly disengaged themselves from the harpoon. This -usually happens when the whale is struck “with a slack back,” as -that position of the fish is denominated, in which the back being -depressed the flesh is relaxed. A harpoon then struck occasions -an uncommon wound. Hence, if the fish suddenly extends itself and -elevates its back, the wound appears of twice the size of the -harpoon, and consequently the weapon is capable of being thrown -out by the jerk of the body. Under such circumstances as these, a -large whale was struck by a harpooner belonging to the ship Howe, -of Shields. The fish extending and lifting its back with uncommon -violence, the harpoon was disengaged and projected high into the air, -when, at the same moment, the fish rolled over upon its back, and -received the point of the falling weapon in its belly, whereby it was -captured and caught. This circumstance, romantic as it may appear, -is so well authenticated by the person who struck the fish, together -with others who were in the boat at the same time, and were witnesses -of the fact, that I have no scruple in introducing it here. - -On the 28th of May, 1817, the Royal Bounty, of Leith, captain -Drysdale, fell in with a great number of whales, in the lat. 77° 25′ -north, and long. 5° or 6° east. Neither ice nor land was in sight, -nor was there supposed to be either the one or the other within fifty -or sixty miles. A brisk breeze of wind prevailed, and the weather -was clear. The boats were, therefore, manned and sent in pursuit. -After a chase of about five hours, the harpooner, commanding a boat, -who, with another in company, had rowed out of sight of the ship, -struck one of the whales. This was about four A.M., of the 29th. The -captain, supposing from the long absence of the two most distant -boats that a fish had been struck, directed the course of the ship -towards the place where he had last seen them, and about eight A.M. -he got sight of a boat which displayed the signal for being _fast_. -Some time afterwards, he observed the other boat approach the fish, a -second harpoon struck, and the usual signal displayed. As, however, -the fish dragged the two boats away with considerable speed, it was -midday before any assistance could reach them. Two more harpoons were -then struck, but such was the vigour of the whale that, although it -constantly dragged through the water four to six boats, together -with a length of 1,600 fathoms of line which it had drawn out of the -different boats, yet it pursued its flight nearly as fast as a boat -could row and such was the terror that it manifested on the approach -of its enemies, that, whenever a boat passed beyond its tail, it -invariably dived. All their endeavours to lance it were, therefore, -in vain. - -The crews of the loose boats being unable to keep pace with the -fish, caught hold of and moored themselves to the fast-boats; and -for some hours afterwards, all hands were constrained to sit in -idle impatience, waiting for some relaxation in the speed of the -whale. Its most general course had hitherto been to windward, -but a favourable change taking place, enabled the ship, which had -previously been at a great distance, to join the boats at eight P.M. -They succeeded in tacking one of the lines to the ship which was -fast to the fish, with a view of retarding its flight. They then -furled the top-gallant sails, and lowered the top sails; but after -supporting the ship a few minutes head to wind, the wither of the -harpoon upset or twisted aside, and the instrument was disengaged -from its grasp. The whale immediately set off to windward with -increased speed, and it required an interval of three hours before -the ship could again approach it. Another line was then taken on -board, which immediately broke. A fifth harpoon had previously been -struck, to replace the one which had been pulled out, but the line -attached to it was soon afterwards cut. They then instituted various -schemes for arresting the speed of the fish, which occupied their -close attention nearly two hours. But its velocity was yet such that -the master, who had himself proceeded to the attack, was unable to -approach sufficiently near to strike a harpoon. After a long chase, -however, he succeeded in getting hold of one of the lines which the -fish dragged after it, and in fastening another line to it. The -fish then happily turned towards the ship, which was a considerable -distance to leeward. - -At four P.M. of the 30th, thirty-six hours after the fish had been -struck, the ship again joined the boats, when, by a successful -manœuvre, they secured two of the fast lines on board. The wind -blowing a moderately brisk breeze, the top-gallant sails were taken -in, the courses hauled up, and the top sails clewed down, but, -notwithstanding the resistance a ship thus situated must necessarily -offer, she was towed by the fish directly to windward with the -velocity of at least one-half to two knots during an hour and a half; -and then, though the whale must have been greatly exhausted, it beat -the water with its fins and tail in so tremendous a way, that the sea -around was in a continual foam, and the most hardy of the sailors -scarcely dared to approach it. At length, about eight P.M., after -forty hours of almost incessant, and for the most part fruitless -exertion, this formidable and astonishing animal was killed. The -capture and the flensing occupied forty-eight hours. The fish was -eleven feet four inches in bone, (the length of the longest lamina of -whalebone,) and its produce filled forty-seven butts, or twenty-three -and a half tun casks, with blubber. - -I proceed now to enumerate the proceedings of the fishers after a -whale is killed. Some preliminary measures are requisite before a -whale can be flensed. The first operation performed on a dead whale -is to lash it with a rope, passed several times through two holes -pierced through the tail to the bow of the boat. The more difficult -operation of freeing the whale from the entanglement of the line is -then attempted. As the whale, when dead, always lies on its back or -on its side, the lines and harpoons are generally far under water. -When they are seen passing obliquely downwards, they are hooked -with a grapnel, pulled to the surface, and cut. But, when they hang -perpendicular, or when they cannot be seen, they are discovered by -a process called “sweeping a fish.” This is performed by taking -a part of a whale-line in two different boats, ten or fifteen -fathoms asunder, and while one boat lies at rest, supporting the -end of a line, the other is rowed round the fish, and the bight or -intermediate part of the line allowed to sink below the fish as it -proceeds, until each of the parts held in the two boats are again -brought together. Hence, when one part of the line has made a circuit -of the fish, it must evidently inclose every other line or appendage -affixed to it. Thus inclosed, they are pulled up to the surface of -the water, and each of them cut at the splice of the fore-ganger, -leaving the harpoon sticking in the fish, with its fore-ganger -attached, and allowing the end of the line to sink, and be hauled on -board of the boat from whence it was withdrawn at the convenience of -the crew. While this is in progress, the men of other boats, having -first lashed the tail to a boat, are employed in lashing the fins -together across the belly of the whale. - -On one occasion I was myself engaged in the capture of a fish, upon -which, when to appearance dead, I leaped, cut holes in the fins, -and was in the act of “reeving” a rope through them to lash them -together, when the fish sank beneath my feet. As soon as I observed -that the water had risen above my knees, I made a spring towards a -boat, at the distance of three or four yards from me, and caught -hold of the gunwale. Scarcely was I helped on board, before the fish -began to move forward, turn from its back upon its belly, reared its -tail aloft, and began to shake it with such prodigious violence, as -to resound through the air to the distance of two or three miles. In -the meanwhile all the sailors very properly kept aloof, and beheld -its extraordinary power with the greatest astonishment. After two or -three minutes of this violent exercise, it ceased, rolled upon its -side, and died. - -A fish being properly secured, is then “taken in tow;” that is, all -the boats form themselves in a line, by ropes always carried for the -purpose, and unite their efforts in rowing towards the ship. Towing -a fish is usually considered a cheerful though laborious operation, -and is generally performed with great expressions of joy. A large -whale, by means of six boats, can be towed at a rate of nearly a -mile per hour. The fish having reached the ship, is taken to the -larboard side, arranged and secured for flensing. For the performance -of this operation, a variety of knives and other instruments are -requisite. Towards the stern of the ship the head of the fish is -directed, and the tail, which is first cut off, rests abreast of the -fore-chains; the smallest or posterior part of the whale’s body, -where the tail is united, is called the rump, and the extremity or -anterior part of the head, the nose or nose-end. The rump, then, -supported by a tackle, is drawn forward by means of a stout rope, -called the rump-rope; and the head is drawn in an opposite direction, -by means of the “nose-tackle.” Hence the body of the fish is forcibly -extended. The right-side fin, being next the ship, is lashed upwards -towards the gunwale. A band of blubber, two or three feet in width, -encircling the fish’s body, and lying between the fins and the head, -being the fat of the neck, or what corresponds in other animals with -the neck, is called the kent, because by means of it the fish is -turned over, or kented. Now, to the commencement of this imaginary -band of fat, or kent, is fixed the lower extremity of a combination -of powerful blocks, called the kent-purchase. Its upper extremity -is fixed round the head of the main-mast, and its fall or rope is -applied to the windlass, drawn tight, and the upper surface of the -fish raised several inches above the water. The enormous weight of -a whale prevents the possibility of raising it more than one-fourth -or one-fifth part out of the water, except indeed when it has been -some days dead, in which case it swells, in consequence of air -generated by putrefaction, until one-third of its bulk appears above -the surface. The fish then lying belly upward, extended, and well -secured, is ready for commencing the operation of flensing. In this -state a suspension of labour is generally allowed, in which the crew -refresh themselves and prepare for the ensuing duties. - -An unhappy circumstance once occurred in an interval of this kind. -At that period of the fishery, (forty or fifty years ago,) when a -single stout whale was sufficient to remunerate the owners of a -ship for the expenses of the voyage, great joy was exhibited on -the capture of a whale by the fishers. They not only had a dram of -spirits, but were sometimes provided with some favourite “mess,” -on which to regale themselves before they commenced the arduous -task of flensing. At such a period, the crew of an English vessel -had captured their first whale. It was taken to the ship, placed -on the lee-side, and though the wind blew a strong breeze, it was -fastened only by a small rope attached to the fin. In this state -of supposed security, all hands retired to regale themselves, the -captain himself not excepted. The ship being at a distance from any -ice, and the fish believed to be secure, they made no great haste in -their enjoyment. At length, the specksioneer, having spent sufficient -time in indulgence and equipment, with an air of importance and -self-confidence, proceeded on deck, and naturally turned to look on -the whale. To his astonishment it was not there. In some alarm, he -looked astern, ahead, on the other side, but his search was useless; -the ship drifting fast had pressed forcibly upon the whale, the rope -broke, the fish sank, and was lost. The mortification of this event -may be conceived, but the termination of their vexation will not -easily be imagined, when it is known that no other opportunity of -procuring a whale occurred during the voyage. The ship returned home -clean. The blessings of Divine Providence, of a temporal and also -of a spiritual kind, are bestowed and continued in union with the -activity and watchfulness of those who receive them, and it is a law -of the earthly, and also of the heavenly treasure, that “whosoever -hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall -be taken even that which he seemeth to have.” - -After the whale is properly secured, and the men are sufficiently -refreshed, the harpooners, having their feet armed with “spurs,” -to prevent them from slipping, descend upon the fish. Two boats, -each of which is under the guidance of one or two boys, attend upon -them, and serve to hold all their knives and other apparatus. Thus -provided, the harpooners, directed by the specksioneer, divide the -fat into oblong pieces, or “slips,” by means of “blubber-spades” -and “blubber-knives;” then affixing a “speck-tackle” to each slip, -progressively flay it off as it is drawn upward. The speck-tackles, -which are two or three in number, are rendered effective by -capsterns, winches, or other mechanical powers. Each of them consists -of a simple combination of two single blocks, one of which is -securely fixed in a strong rope, extended between the main-top and -the fore-top, called a guy, and the other is attached by a strap -to the blubber of the whale. The flensers commence with the belly -and under-jaw, being the only part then above water. The blubber, -in pieces of half a ton to a ton each, is received upon deck by the -boat-steerers and line-managers, the former with “strand-knives” -divide it into portable, cubical, or oblong pieces, containing near -a solid foot of fat, while the latter, furnished with “pick-haaks,” -pass it between decks, down a hole in the main-hatches. It is then -received by two men styled kings, who pack it in a receptacle -provided for it in the hold, or other suitable place, called the -flense-gut, where it remains until further convenience. - -All the fat being taken away from the belly, and the right fin -removed, the fish is then turned on its side, by means of the kent, -which, by the power of the windlass, readily performs this office. -The upper surface of fat is again removed, together with the left -fin, and after a second kenting one of the “lips” is taken away, -by which the whale-bone of one side of the head, now lying nearly -horizontal, is exposed. The fish being a little further turned, -the whalebone of the left side is dislodged by the use of the “bone -hand-spikes,” “bone-knives,” and “bone-spades.” Four instruments, -which, when combined, constitute what is called the bone-geer, are -used, with the assistance of two speck-tackles, for taking up the -whalebone in one mass. On its arrival on deck, it is split with -“bone-wedges” and “junks,” containing from five to ten blades each, -and stowed away. A further kenting brings the fish’s back upward, -and the next exposes the second side of bone. As the fish is turned -or kented round, every part of the blubber becomes progressively -uppermost and is removed. At length, when the whole of the blubber, -whalebone, and jawbones have been taken on board, the kent, which now -appears a slip of perhaps thirty feet in length, is also separated, -together with the rump-rope and nose-tackle, on which the carcase -being at liberty, generally sinks in the water and disappears. When -it floats, however, it becomes food for bears, sharks, and various -kinds of birds, all of which attack it with the most voracious -earnestness. It is known by the name of the kreng. - -When sharks are present, they generally take the liberty of helping -themselves very bountifully during the progress of the flensing, but -they often pay for their temerity with their lives. Fulmars pay close -attendance in immense numbers. They seize the fragments occasionally -disengaged by the knife while they are swimming in the water, but -most of the other gulls who attend on the occasion take their share -on the wing. The burgomaster is decidedly the master of the feast. -Hence, every other bird is obliged to relinquish the most delicious -morsel when the burgomaster descends to claim it. Bears seldom -approach so near the ship as to become partakers of the banquet. -When dispatch is seconded by ability, the operation of flensing -can be accomplished on a fish affording from twenty to thirty tons -of blubber in the space of three or four hours, and, probably, the -average time with British fishers but little exceeds four hours. - -Some years ago, I was witness of a circumstance in which a harpooner -was exposed to the most imminent risk of his life, at the conclusion -of a flensing process, by a very curious accident. This harpooner -stood on one of the jaw-bones of a fish with a boat by his side. In -this situation, while he was in the act of cutting the kreng adrift, -a boy inadvertently struck the point of the boat-hook, with which -he usually held the boat, through the ring of the harpooner’s spur, -and in the same act seized the jawbone of the fish with the hook of -the same instrument. Before this was discovered, the kreng was set -at liberty, and began instantly to sink. The harpooner then threw -himself towards the boat, but being firmly entangled by the foot, -he fell into the water. Providentially he caught the gunwale of the -boat with his hands, but, overpowered by the force of the sinking -kreng, he was on the point of relinquishing his grasp when some of -his companions got hold of his hands, while others threw a rope round -his body. The carcase of the fish was suspended entirely by the -poor fellow’s body, which was, consequently, so dreadfully extended -that there was some danger of his being drawn asunder. But such was -his terror of being taken under water, and not, indeed, without -cause, for he could never have risen again, that, notwithstanding -the excruciating pain he suffered, he constantly cried out to his -companions to “haul away the rope.” He remained in that dreadful -state until means were adopted for hooking the kreng with the -grapnel, and bringing it back to the surface of the water. Had he not -caught hold of the boat as he was sinking and met with such prompt -assistance, he must infallibly have perished. - -Next to the process of flensing is that of making-off. When the -flens-gut is filled with blubber, or when, no fish being seen, a -favourable opportunity of leisure is presented, the operation of -making-off is generally commenced. This consists of freeing the fat -from all extraneous substances, especially the muscular parts and -the skin, then cutting it into small pieces, and putting it into -cask through the bung-holes. In the first instance, the ship must be -moored to a convenient piece of ice, or placed in an open situation, -and the sails so reduced as to require no further attention in the -event of bad weather occurring. The hold of the ship must be cleared -of its superstructure of casks, until the “ground tier,” or lowest -stratum of casks is exposed, and the ballast-water must be “started,” -or pumped out of all the casks that are removed upon deck, as well -as out of those on the ground tier, which are first prepared for -the reception of the blubber. In “breaking out the hold,” it is not -necessary to lay open more of the ground tier at a time than three or -four casks extend in length. - -While the line-managers, together with the “skee-man,” (the officer -who has the direction of operations in the hold,) the cooper, and -perhaps a few others, are employed in breaking out the hold, the rest -of the crew on the deck arrange all the variety of apparatus used -for the preparation of the blubber before it is put into the casks. -Of this apparatus, the most considerable part is the “speck-trough,” -with its appendages. It consists of a kind of oblong box or chest, -about twelve feet in length, one and three quarters feet in breadth, -and one and a half feet in depth. The speck-trough is fixed upon the -deck, as nearly as possible over the place where the casks are to -be filled in the hold. A square hole made in its bottom is placed -either over the nearest hatchway to the scene of operations, or -upon a corresponding hole cut in the deck. The speck-trough is then -secured, and its lid turned backwards into an horizontal position. -The surface of the lid, forming a level table, is then covered with -blocks of whale’s-tail from end to end. This substance makes an -excellent chopping-block, and preserves the chopping-knives from -injury when used for dividing the blubber upon it. Into the square -hole in the bottom of the speck-trough is fitted an iron frame, to -which is suspended a canvas tube, or “hose,” denominated a “lull.” -The lull is open at both ends. Its diameter is about a foot, and its -length sufficient to reach from the deck to the bottom of the hold. -To the middle, or towards the upper part of the lull, is attached -a “pair of nippers,” consisting of two sticks fastened together by -a kind of hinge at one end, and capable of being pressed together -at the other. The nippers being passed across the body of the lull, -and their detached extremities brought together, they embrace it so -closely that nothing can pass downward while they remain in this -position; but when, on the other hand, the nippers are extended, the -lull forms a free channel of communication between the speck-trough -and the hold. - -Everything being in readiness, the blubber, as it is now thrown -out of the flens-gut by the kings, undergoes the following several -operations. It is received upon deck by the “krengers,” whose office -is to remove all the muscular parts, together with such spongy or -fibrous fat as is known by experience to produce very little oil. -When these substances, which go under the general denomination -of kreng, are included among the blubber in the casks, they pass -through a kind of fermentation, and generate such a quantity of -gas as sometimes to burst the containing vessels, and occasion the -loss of their contents. From the krengers the blubber passes to the -harpooners. Each of these officers, provided with a blubber-knife, -or a strand-knife, places himself by the side of the “closh,” fixed -in the deck. An attendant, by means of a pair of “hand-hooks,” or a -“pick-haak,” then mounts a piece of blubber upon the spikes of the -closh, and the harpooner slices off the skin. From the skinners, -the blubber passes into an open space, called the bank, prepared -as a depository in front of the speck-trough, and it is then laid -upon the chopping-blocks as wanted. It now falls under the hands of -the boat-steerers, who, armed with chopping-knives, are arranged -in a line by the side of the chopping-blocks with the speck-trough -before them. Thus prepared, they divide the blubber, as it is -placed on their blocks, into oblong pieces, not exceeding four -inches in diameter, and push it into the speck-trough intended for -its reception. And finally, the blubber falls under the direction -of the line-managers, stationed in the hold, who receive it into -tubs through the lull, and pass it with their hands into the casks, -through their bung-holes. When a cask is nearly filled, the packing -is completed by the use of a “pricker,” one piece after another being -thrust in by this instrument until it can contain no more. It is then -securely bunged up. - -When the ground-tier casks, as far as they have been exposed are -filled, the second-tier of casks is stowed upon it, and likewise -filled with blubber, together with the third-tier casks when -necessary. When fish can be had in sufficiency, the hold is filled -and likewise the space between decks. When a ship is deficient in -casks, vacancies adapted for the reception of the cargo are filled -with blubber in bulk. The operation of making off was in the early -ages of the fishery performed on shore, and even so late as the -middle of the last century, it was customary for ships to proceed -into a harbour, and remain while this process was going on. - -In the Greenland whale-fishery, the importance of a code of laws -was at a very early period apparent. A fish struck by the people -of two different ships became an object of dispute, the first -striker claiming the whole, and the second demanding a share for his -assistance. Stores saved from wrecked vessels, and especially the -cargoes of wrecks, being objects of much moment, were also liable to -occasion disputes in a still higher degree. Hence, about the year -1677, the Dutch issued a code of regulations, founded on equitable -principles, for the prevention of quarrels and litigation among the -fishers. As these were found to be insufficient, the States-General -of Holland and West Friesland, in the year 1696, approved and -confirmed the general regulations with respect to the saving of the -crews and stores of vessels wrecked in the ice, the right to whales -under peculiar circumstances, and other matters connected with the -fishery. They consisted of twelve articles, and every captain, -specksioneer, and officer concerned in the fishery, was obliged to -subscribe them. After being duly announced, these articles were -enforced by commissioners, chosen from among the principal Greenland -owners of Holland, for conducting and carrying into effect this and -other matters connected with the prosperity and regulation of the -fishery. - -Among the British whale-fishers, it does not appear that any -particular laws were ever expressly laid down for the adjusting -of differences; yet custom has established certain principles as -constituting the rule of right, the legality of which is sufficiently -acknowledged by their being universally respected. The fundamental -articles are two. First, that a fast fish, or a fish in any way in -possession, whether alive or dead, is the sole and unquestionable -property of the persons so maintaining the connection or possession; -and secondly, that a loose fish, alive or dead, is fair game. The -first of these regulations can need no modification, but the second -can only be recommended for its simplicity and tendency to prevent -litigation, since circumstances may, and do, sometimes occur, in -which its application is liable to some objection. In this, as in -other departments of human conduct, it is impossible by any strict -regulations to prevent all kinds of injustice. The highest code of -human morals enjoins on men what they shall be, as well as what they -shall do, and provides for them the one golden precept, “Whatsoever -ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” Conduct, -which it is impossible to punish by appeal to any human tribunal, is -often most fearfully in violation of this law, and must await the -decisions of that day, when God shall try every man’s work of what -sort it is. - -The following circumstance, which occurred a good many years ago, -has a tendency to illustrate the existing Greenland laws, and to -set them in a prominent light. During a storm of wind and snow, -several ships were beating to windward, under easy sail, along the -edge of a pack. When the storm abated and the weather cleared, the -ships steered towards the ice. Two of the fleet approached it about -a mile asunder, abreast of each other, when the crews of each ship -accidentally got sight of a dead fish at a little distance, within -some loose ice. Each ship now made sail to endeavour to reach the -fish before the other, which fish, being loose, would be the prize -of the first that should get possession of it. Neither ship could -outsail the other, but each continued to press forward toward the -prize. The little advantage one of them had in distance, the other -compensated with velocity. On each bow of the two ships was stationed -a principal officer, armed with a harpoon, in readiness to discharge. -But it so happened that the ships came in contact with each other, -when within a few yards of the fish, and in consequence of the shock -with which their bows met, they rebounded to a considerable distance. -The officers at the same moment discharged their harpoons, but all -of them fell short of the fish. A hardy fellow, who was second-mate -of the leeward ship, immediately leaped overboard, and with great -dexterity swam to the whale, seized it by the fin, and proclaimed it -his prize. It was, however, so swollen, that he was unable to climb -upon it, but was obliged to remain shivering in the water until -assistance should be sent. His captain, elated with his good luck, -forgot, or at least neglected, his brave second-mate, and before -he thought of sending a boat to release him from his disagreeable -situation, prepared to moor his ship to an adjoining piece of ice. -Meanwhile, the other ship tacked, and the master himself stepped -into a boat, pushed off, and rowed deliberately towards the dead -fish. Observing the trembling seaman still in the water, holding by -the fin, he addressed him with, “Well, my lad, you’ve got a fine -fish here,” to which, after a natural reply in the affirmative, -he added, “But don’t you find it very cold?” “Yes,” replied the -shivering sailor, “I’m almost starved; I wish you would allow me to -come into your boat until ours arrive.” This favour needed no second -solicitation; the boat approached the man, and he was assisted into -it. The fish being again loose and out of possession, the captain -instantly struck his harpoon into it, hoisted his flag, and claimed -his prize. Mortified and displeased as the other master felt at this -trick, for so it certainly was, he had nevertheless no redress, -but was obliged to permit the fish to be taken on board of his -competitor’s ship, and to content himself with abusing the mate for -his want of discretion, and with condemning himself for not having -more compassion on the poor fellow’s feelings, which would have -prevented the disagreeable misadventure. - -Success in the whale-fishery has been very generally supposed to -depend, not upon the exercise of talent and industry on the part -of the masters and crews of the fishing-ships, but solely upon -the freaks of fortune. That the fishery, however, is altogether a -chain of casualties, is as false as it is derogatory to the credit -of the persons employed in the enterprise. The most skilful, from -adventitious and unavoidable circumstances, may occasionally fail, -and the unskilful may be successful; but if we mark the average of -a number of years, that is, where the means are equal, a tolerable -estimate may be formed of the adventurer’s ability, and his fitness -for the undertaking in which he is engaged. - -The great variety of success, which is observed to result from the -exertions of the different Greenland commanders, when the average -of several voyages is taken, confirmed the above position, and the -circumstance of some masters, in whatever ship they may sail, almost -always succeeding, whilst others, however favourably circumstanced, -seldom or ever procure a whole cargo, warrants this conclusion, -that, most generally, successful fishery depends on the experience, -determined perseverance, and personal talent of the master of the -vessel, supported by a necessary degree of skill among the people -composing his crew. There are occasions, however, especially in those -seasons when the Greenland Seas are open, or in some measure free -from ice, in which personal talent becomes of comparative little -avail. This was strikingly the case in the year 1817, and in some -degree in 1818. In the former season, the ice lay at a distance so -remote from Spitzbergen, that a space of about two thousand square -miles of the surface of the sea, which is usually covered with ice, -was wholly void of it. Whatever decisions the judicious fisher was -led by experience to form and act upon proved fallacious, and tended -only to embarrass him in all his proceedings. The only indication -which could be of the least service to the fisher to assist him in -the choice of a situation, was the colour of the sea. In places where -the water was transparent, and blue, or greenish blue, it was in -vain to look for whales, but in a certain stream of cloudy water, of -a deep olive-green colour, all the whales which were seen throughout -the season, or at least nine-tenths of them, occurred, and the chief -part of those which were caught were found in the same stream of -water. This kind of sea-water is the favourite resort of whales -during the fishing season, evidently because it abounds with various -descriptions of _actiniæ_, _sepiæ_, _medusæ_, and _cancri_, which -constitute the chief, if not the sole nourishment of the whale. - -Success in the fishery is more certain in close than in open -seasons, and has some dependence on the suitable equipment of -the ships employed in the trade, on a sufficient apparatus, and -frequently in no inconsiderable degree on that valuable property -of the ship called fast-sailing. When any opening occurs in the -ice of a tempting appearance, it frequently happens that a number -of ships enter it together. The fastest sailers lead the way, and -often procure a whale or two or more before the heavy sailing ships -can perform a navigation, and by the time the latter accomplish it, -the run of fish is frequently over. Not a little depends in the -fishery on the confidence the sailors have in the skill of their -captain, and the efficiency of the personal talents and exertions -of their officers. If the officers are generally unsuccessful, they -are apt to lose confidence in them, and proceed, even when good -opportunities occur, without spirit to the attack. The greater -their spirits and confidence are, the greater is the probability of -their success. Hence, the crew of a ship which has met with success -can generally fish better, and more advantageously under the same -circumstances, than the people of a clean ship. For the regulation of -the ship’s movements, for the choice of a situation, for direction in -difficulties, for a stimulus when discouraged, for encouragement when -weary, and for a variety of other important matters, the master alone -must be looked to, on whom, indeed, almost every considerable effort -of judgment or forethought devolves. - -I now subjoin a few instances of the dangers which accompany the -whale-fishery, most of which presented themselves within the sphere -of my own observation. Those employed in the occupation of killing -whales are, when actually engaged, exposed to danger from three -sources, namely, from the ice, from the climate, and from the -whales themselves. Of these, the casualties on the ice are the most -uncommon, and the least fatal; those from the climate the most fatal, -but not the most frequent; and the whale itself is the source of a -great proportion of the accidents which occur. - -The following instance illustrates the danger from overhanging masses -of ice falling on the boats. The crew of one of the Hull whalers, -having killed a fish by the side of an iceberg in Davis’s Strait, -the fins were lashed together, and the tail secured to a boat in the -usual way, but by the efforts only of one boat’s crew, all the other -boats belonging to the same ship being engaged in the capture of two -more whales, neither of which were yet subdued. This circumstance -occasioned some altercation among the crew of the boat, as to the -propriety of their remaining by the dead whale, or of quitting it, -and proceeding in an empty boat which was at hand to the assistance -of their companions. The latter measure was carried, but as it was -deemed expedient that one man should remain in the boat, to which -none of them would consent, they were under the necessity of either -remaining in idleness by the fish, or leaving the fish and the boat -by themselves. But every one being anxious to participate in the more -active exercises of the fishery, they at length agreed unanimously -to quit the boat connected with the dead fish, and to proceed to the -aid of their comrades. The arrangements were just accomplished in -time, for they had not rowed many fathoms from the place before a -tremendous crash of the berg ensued, an immense mass of ice fell upon -the boat they had just quitted, and neither it nor the fish was ever -seen afterwards. - -Another danger arises from ice when boats are inclosed and beset, -and their crews prevented from joining their ships. On June 17th, -1813, several Greenland fishing-ships penetrated the ice into an -enticing opening, in which a number of whales were sporting in -fancied security. The John, of Greenock, Neptune, of Aberdeen, Earl -Percy, of Kirkcaldy, were immediately, to appearance, successful. -The crew of the John in a short time killed several fish; the people -of the Neptune killed one, and struck a second; and the crew of the -Earl Percy struck one also. Things were in this state when I arrived -in the same situation with the Esk. My harpooners, happily as it -proved, did not succeed in any measure. The sea was as smooth as the -surface of a pond, but the ice I observed was in a strange state of -disturbance. Some floes, and some large pieces, moved with a velocity -of three to four miles per hour, while other similar masses were -at rest. The John, which, on her first arrival in this situation, -had navigated an open lake some leagues in circumference, was in -the space of a few hours closely beset. The captain of the Neptune, -alarmed by the danger to which his men and boats were exposed, left -his ship to the care of his second-mate, with eleven or twelve -men, and proceeded himself in a boat, making the fifth, to their -assistance. In a few minutes, these five boats, together with two -belonging to the Earl Percy, were closely fixed in the ice. The ships -were forced to a distance; the ice in the course of the following -morning spread to the width of seven or eight miles, and shortly -afterwards the people in the boats and those in the corresponding -ships lost sight of each other. - -My father, who at this time commanded the John, had anticipated -the consequences of the ice closing, and found refuge in a cove in -an adjoining field filled with bay-ice, into which he thrust his -ship, and obtained shelter for himself and his comrades who were -thus beset. After three days, the ice slackened, and the Neptune -boats, together with those belonging to the Earl Percy, left the -John, although neither the sea nor their ships were visible. In this -adventure they proved successful. When they had rowed many hours to -the south-eastward, they discovered a ship, on their approach to -which they were invited on board, and received some refreshment. -After this, having received information of the relative situation -of their ships, they put off, and soon after had the happiness of -regaining their respective vessels. This circumstance, which was the -occasion of so much anxiety, danger, and loss of time to the crews of -the Neptune and Earl Percy, proved the contrary to the people of the -John, as they added to her cargo seventeen whales, within the space -of five days, and on the sixth, the ice having again slackened, they -made their escape into a place of safety. - -The climate of the Polar regions becomes a source of danger to the -whale-fishers when boats are separated from the ship to which they -belong, in foggy weather when they are overtaken by a storm and -prevented from joining their ship, and when the people in the boats -are long exposed to inclement winds. - -On the commencement of a heavy gale of wind, May 11th, 1813, fourteen -men put off in a boat from the Volunteer, of Whitby, with the view -of setting an anchor in a large piece of ice, to which it was their -intention to moor the ship. The ship approached; on a signal being -made the sails were clewed up, and a rope fixed to the anchor, but -the ice shivering with the violence of the strain, when the ship fell -astern the anchor flew out, and the ship went adrift. The sails being -again set, the ship was reached to the eastward, (wind at north,) the -distance of about two miles, but in attempting to wear and return, -the ship, instead of performing the evolution, scudded a considerable -distance to leeward, and was then reached out to sea, thus leaving -fourteen of her crew to a fate most dreadful, the fulfilment of -which seemed inevitable. The temperature of the air was 15° or 16° -of Fahrenheit, when these poor men were left upon a detached piece -of ice, without food, without shelter from the inclement storm, and -deprived of every means of refuge, except in a single boat, which, -on account of the number of men, and violence of the storm, was -incapable of conveying them to their ship. Death stared them in the -face whichever way they turned, and a division in opinion ensued. - -Some were wishful to remain by the ice, but the ice could afford them -no shelter from the piercing wind, and would probably be soon broken -to pieces by the increasing swell; others were anxious to attempt -to join their ship, while she was yet in sight, but the force of -the wind, the violence of the sea, and the smallness of the boat in -comparison of the number of men to be conveyed, were objections which -would have appeared utterly insurmountable to any persons but men in -a state of despair. Judging that by remaining on the ice death was -but retarded for a few hours, as the extreme cold must eventually -benumb their faculties, and invite a sleep which would overcome the -remains of animation, they determined on making the attempt to row -to their ship. Poor creatures! what must have been their sensations -at this moment, when the spark of hope yet remaining was so feeble -that a premature death even to themselves seemed inevitable. They -made the daring experiment, when a few minutes’ trial convinced them -that the attempt was utterly impracticable. They then, with longing -eyes, turned their efforts towards recovering the ice they had left, -but their utmost exertions were unavailing. Every one now viewed his -situation as desperate, and anticipated as certain the fatal event -that was to put a period to his life. How great must have been their -delight, and how overpowering their sensations, when, at this most -critical juncture, a ship appeared in sight! She was advancing -directly towards them; their voices were extended, and their flag -displayed. But although it was impossible they should be heard, it -was not impossible they should be seen. Their flag was descried by -the people on board the ship, their courses were so directed as to -form the speediest union, and in a few minutes they found themselves -on the deck of the Lively, of Whitby, under circumstances of safety. -They received from their townsmen the warmest congratulations, and -while each individual was forward in contributing his assistance -towards the restoration of their benumbed bodies, each of the rescued -appeared sensible that their narrow escape from death was highly -providential. - -The forbearance of God is wonderful. Perhaps these very men a few -hours before were impiously invoking their own destruction, or -venting imprecations upon their fellow-beings. True it is, the -goodness of the Almighty extendeth over all his works, and that -while “he delighteth in mercy” he is “slow to anger.” It is no -exaggeration to affirm, that every guilty soul of man unpardoned and -uncleansed through the blood of the Mediator, is exposed to a peril -equally portentous with that which threatened these fishermen. God -has, however, provided an ark of mercy, floating on the billows of -life’s tempestuous, dangerous ocean, within which every soul may -find perfect and permanent peace. That ark is even now present, and -entrance to it may be instantly secured. To delay is to increase the -peril, perhaps beyond the possibility of future relief. “Behold, now -is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Reader, -enter into this ark of mercy by faith in the Lord Jesus! - -One of the most calamitous events which in modern times has occurred -in the fishery, was that which happened to the crew of the Ipswich, -captain Gordon, about fifteen years ago. A whale was struck and -killed by the Ipswich’s people early in the spring of the year, a -season in which the weather is most uncertain. A storm commenced, -accompanied with snow, before the capture was completed, but -nevertheless the fish was taken to the ship, and having shelter from -the ice it was flensed. Meanwhile, four boats’ crews were employed -on a piece of ice, in hauling in the lines of the fast-boats, etc., -during the performance of which duties the ship drifted out of sight -of them. Every effort was then made by the captain for discovering -these unhappy men, who, being above twenty in number, constituted -nearly half of his crew. But the weather continuing thick and stormy, -and the frost most intense, it is probable that they all perished -before the conclusion of the gale; at least none of them were saved, -nor can I learn that any of their bodies were ever found. - -The remarkable property of oil in smoothing the surface of the sea -when considerably agitated, and of preventing breakers in the main -ocean, was sometimes resorted to by the ancient whale-fishers for -their preservation, when overtaken by storms at sea. It was not -unusual, I believe, a century ago, for every whale-boat to carry -along with it a keg of oil for this very purpose; which oil, being -slowly poured overboard in a storm, afforded a sort of defence to -the boat as it drifted to leeward. The height of the waves, it is -true, is not affected by the action of the oil, but as it intercepts -the attraction which dry air possesses for water, it prevents the -immediate action of the wind, quells the ruffled surface of the -waves, and in a great degree prevents the tendency to breakers, which -constitutes the principal danger in a storm. - -The most extensive source of danger to the whale-fisher, when -actively engaged in his occupation, arises from the object of his -pursuit. The fisher is liable to receive contusions from oars -forcibly struck by the fish, or from direct blows from its fins or -tail; he is liable to accidents from getting entangled by the lines, -or from the boat being drawn under water by the fish through the -medium of the lines; and he is in danger of being thrown overboard -by the heeling or jerking of the boat, or more particularly from the -boat being stove, upset, sunk, or projected into the air, by the -force of a blow from the whale. - -One of the crew of the John, of Greenock, who was in a fast-boat in -the fishery of 1818, unfortunately slipped his foot through a coil of -line in the act of running out, which drew him forward to the boat’s -stern, and separated his foot by the ancle. He was conveyed by the -first boat to the ship, where the assistance of several surgeons -being procured, the lower part of the leg was cut off. After this, -the poor fellow, having received the most unremitting attention from -captain Jackson, with the best sustenance and accommodation the ship -could afford, was restored to health, and his wound nearly healed -before the conclusion of the voyage. It is worthy of being remarked, -that the captain and crew of the John subscribed upwards of £24 for -his relief, which was increased by the owners of the ship and others, -on arrival, to about £37. This sum was placed in the “Provident -Bank,” at Greenock, from whence he was permitted to draw it, after -the rate of 7_s._ per week. - -A harpooner, belonging to the Henrietta, of Whitby, when engaged -in lancing a whale, into which he had previously struck a harpoon, -incautiously cast a little line under his feet that he had just -hauled into the boat, after it had been drawn out by the fish. A -painful stroke of his lance induced the whale to dart suddenly -downward, his line began to run out from beneath his feet, and in an -instant caught him by a turn round his body. He had but just time -to call out, “Clear away the line!”—“Oh dear!” when he was almost -cut asunder, dragged overboard, and drowned. The line was cut at -the moment, but without avail. The fish descended a considerable -depth and died, from whence it was drawn to the surface by the lines -connected with it, and secured. - -On the 3rd of June, 1811, a boat from the ship Resolution, commanded -at the time by myself, put off in pursuit of a whale, and was rowed -upon its back. At the moment that it was harpooned, it struck the -side of the boat a violent blow with its tail, the shock of which -threw the boat-steerer to some distance into the water. A repetition -of the blow projected the harpooner and line-manager in a similar -way, and completely drenched the part of the crew remaining in the -boat with the sprays. One of the men regained the boat, but, as the -fish immediately sank and drew the boat away from the place, his -two companions in misfortune were soon left far beyond the reach of -assistance. The harpooner, though a practised swimmer, felt himself -so bruised and enervated by a blow he had received on the chest, that -he was totally incapacitated from giving the least support to his -fellow-sufferer. The ship being happily near, a boat, which had been -lowered on the first alarm, arrived to their succour at the moment -when the line-manager, who was unacquainted with the art of swimming, -was on the point of sinking to rise no more. Both the line-manager -and harpooner were preserved; and the fish, after a few hours’ close -pursuit, was subdued. - -While the same ship navigated an open lake of water in the 81° north -lat., during a keen frost and strong north wind, on the 2nd of June, -1806, a whale appeared, and a boat put off in pursuit. On its second -visit to the surface of the sea it was harpooned. A convulsive heave -of the tail which succeeded the wound struck the boat at the stern, -and, by its reaction, projected the boat-steerer overboard. As the -line in a moment dragged the boat beyond his reach, the crew threw -some of their oars towards him for his support, one of which he -happily seized. The ships and boats being at a considerable distance, -and the fast-boat being rapidly drawn away from him, the harpooner -cut the line, with the view of rescuing him from his dangerous -situation. But no sooner was this act performed than, to their -extreme mortification, they discovered, in consequence of some oars -being thrown towards their floating comrades, and others being broken -or unshipped by the blow from the fish, one oar only remained, with -which, owing to the force of the wind, they tried in vain to approach -him. A considerable period elapsed before any boat from the ship -could afford him assistance, though the men strained every nerve for -the purpose. At length, when they reached him, he was found with his -arms stretched over an oar, almost deprived of sensation. On his -arrival at the ship he was in a deplorable condition. His clothes -were frozen like mail, and his hair constituted a helmet of ice. He -was immediately conveyed into the cabin, his clothes taken off, his -limbs and body dried and well rubbed, and a cordial administered to -him. A dry shirt and stockings were then put upon him, and he was -laid in the captain’s bed. After a few hours’ sleep, he awoke, and -appeared considerably relieved. He complained of a painful sensation -of cold. He was therefore removed to his own berth, and one of his -messmates ordered to lie on each side of him, whereby the diminished -circulation of the blood was accelerated, and the animal heat -restored. The shock on his constitution, however, was greater than -was anticipated. He recovered in the course of a few days so as to -be able to engage in his ordinary pursuits, but many months elapsed -before his countenance exhibited its wonted appearance of health. - -A remarkable instance of the power which the whale possesses in its -tail was exhibited within my own observation, in the year 1807. -On the 29th of May, a whale was harpooned by an officer belonging -to the Resolution. It descended a considerable depth, and on its -reappearance evidenced an uncommon degree of irritation. It made -such a display of its fins and tail, that few of the crew were hardy -enough to approach it. The captain, (my father,) observing their -timidity, called a boat, and himself struck the second harpoon. -Another boat immediately followed, and, unhappily, advanced too -far. The tail was again reared into the air in a terrific attitude. -The impending blow was evident. The harpooner, who was directly -underneath, leaped overboard. At the next moment, the threatened -stroke was impressed on the centre of the boat, which buried it in -the water. Happily no one was injured. The harpooner, who leaped -overboard, escaped certain death by the act, the tail having struck -the very spot on which he stood. The effects of the blow were -astonishing. The keel was broken, the gunwales and every plank, -excepting two, were cut through, and it was evident the boat would -have been completely divided had not the tail struck directly upon a -coil of lines. The boat was rendered useless. - -The Dutch ship, Gort-Moolen, commanded by Cornelius Gerard Ouwekaas, -with a cargo of seven fish, was anchored in Greenland, in the year -1660. The captain, perceiving a whale ahead of his ship, beckoned -his attendants, and threw himself into a boat. He was the first to -approach the whale, and succeeded in harpooning it before the arrival -of the second boat, which was on the advance. Jacques Vienkes, who -had the direction of it, joined his captain immediately afterwards, -and prepared to make a second attack on the fish when it should -remount to the surface. At the moment of its ascension, the boat of -Vienkes happening unhappily to be perpendicularly above it, was so -suddenly and forcibly lifted up by a stroke of the head of the whale, -that it was dashed to pieces before the harpooner could discharge -his weapon. Vienkes flew along with the pieces of the boat, and fell -upon the back of the animal. This intrepid seaman, who still retained -his weapon in his grasp, harpooned the whale on which he stood, and -by means of the harpoon and the line, which he never abandoned, he -steadied himself firmly upon the fish, notwithstanding his hazardous -situation, and regardless of a considerable wound that he received -in his leg, in his fall along with the fragments of the boat. All -the efforts of the other boats to approach the whale and deliver -the harpooner were futile. The captain, not seeing any other method -of saving his companion, who was in some way entangled with the -line, called to him to cut it with his knife, and betake himself to -swimming. Vienkes, embarrassed and disconcerted as he was, tried -in vain to follow this counsel. His knife was in the pocket of his -drawers, and, being unable to support himself with one hand, he could -not get it out. The whale meanwhile continued advancing along the -surface of the water with great rapidity, but happily never attempted -to dive. While his comrades despaired of his life, the harpoon by -which he held at length disengaged itself from the body of the -whale. Vienkes, being then liberated, did not fail to take advantage -of this circumstance. He cast himself into the sea, and, by swimming, -endeavoured to regain the boats which continued the pursuit of the -whale. When his shipmates perceived him struggling with the waves, -they redoubled their exertions. They reached him just as his strength -was exhausted, and had the happiness of rescuing this adventurous -harpooner from his perilous situation. - -In one of my earliest voyages to the whale-fishery, I observed a -circumstance which excited my highest astonishment. One of our -harpooners had struck a whale; it dived, and all the assisting boats -had collected round the fast-boat before it rose to the surface. The -first boat which approached it advanced incautiously upon it. It rose -with unexpected violence beneath the boat, and projected it and all -its crew to the height of some yards in the air. It fell on its side, -upset, and cast all the men into the water. One man received a severe -blow in his fall, and appeared to be dangerously injured; but, soon -after his arrival on board of the ship, he recovered from the effects -of the accident. The rest of the boat’s crew escaped without any hurt. - -Captain Lyons, of the Raith, of Leith, while prosecuting the -whale-fishery on the Labrador coast, in the season of 1802, -discovered a large whale at a short distance from the ship. Four -boats were dispatched in pursuit, and two of them succeeded in -approaching it so closely together, that two harpoons were struck at -the same moment. The fish descended a few fathoms in the direction -of another of the boats, which was on the advance, rose accidentally -beneath it, struck it with its head, and threw the boat, men, and -apparatus, about fifteen feet into the air. It was inverted by the -stroke, and fell into the water with its keel upwards. All the -people were picked up alive by the fourth boat, which was just at -hand, excepting one man, who, having got entangled in the boat, fell -beneath it, and was drowned. The fish was soon afterwards killed. - -When a ship has on board an ample cargo, or when the fogs set in, and -the whales totally disappear, so as to put a period to the fishery -for that season, there remains no sufficient motive to induce further -stay in the country; the course of each ship is therefore directed -immediately homeward. On the arrival of a fishing-ship at the port -from whence she sailed, the mustering-officer of the customs repairs -on board, receives the manifest of the cargo, (which is a kind of -schedule in writing, containing all particulars respecting it,) with -a true copy thereof, examines into the identity and number of the -crew, by the usual form of mustering, and places an officer or two -on board, to take charge of the cargo on the part of the revenue. -The duty of these officers is to take account of every cask or -other article of which the cargo consists, as it is discharged from -the ship, and one of them accompanies the same to its destination, -carrying an account thereof in writing, and not quitting the lighter, -wherein it is contained, until he is relieved by another officer, who -is placed in the capacity of landing-waiter on the premises where the -blubber is warehoused or boiled. - -Within twenty-four hours after the ship arrives in port, the master -is required, under the penalty of one hundred pounds, to attend at -the custom-house to make his report; that is, to make affidavit -of the built, burden, and cargo of the ship he commands; on which -occasion he must deliver his manifest to the collector or other -chief officer, (if it has not before been demanded of him,) under -the penalty of two hundred pounds. At the same time, the log-book -must be produced, and its contents, as required by law, verified on -the oath of the master and mate, and affidavit also made by the same -persons of their faithful dealings according to the requirements -of the law during the voyage. After these things are accomplished, -the mustering-officer’s certificate and schedule of the crew, the -commissioners’ license, and the affidavits of master and mate are -transmitted to the commissioners, who, being satisfied of the -faithfulness of all the proceedings, are required to order payment of -the bounty on demand. - -Previous to the cargo being admitted to entry, free from the duties -imposed on the produce of foreign fishery, the owner, importer, or -consignee of the cargo, together with the master or commander of the -vessel, must severally make oath, each to the best of his knowledge -and belief, that the said cargo was the produce of fish, etc., -actually caught by the crew of a British-built vessel, wholly owned -by her Majesty’s subjects, usually residing in Great Britain, etc., -registered and navigated according to law. The importer or consignee -of any goods imported into Britain is required, within twenty -days after the master should have made his report, under certain -penalties, to make a due entry with the collector or other chief -officer of the customs, at the port where the ship shall arrive, -of all the goods by him imported therein, and pay the full duties -thereon. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - ACCOUNT OF THE DAVIS’S STRAIT WHALE-FISHERY, WITH STATEMENTS OF - EXPENSES AND PROFITS OF A FISHING-SHIP. - - -Ships intended for Davis’s Strait commonly put to sea a little -earlier than the Greenland ships. Some years ago, they were in the -habit of sailing in the latter part of February, but at present they -seldom leave their ports before the beginning or middle of March. -On their passage outward, the Davis’s Strait fishers usually touch -at Orkney or Shetland, for the purpose of procuring men, and such -trifling stores as are furnished at a cheap rate in these islands, -together with a view of trimming and preparing their vessels for -accomplishing the passage across the Atlantic. In consequence of -the frequent storms and high seas which prevail in the spring of -the year, the passage across the Atlantic is often attended with -difficulty. The whalers are constantly liable to meet with icebergs, -after passing the meridian of Cape Farewell, up to their arrival at -the face of the ice connected with the shore of Labrador. In the -night, or in thick weather, they are particularly hazardous, and -especially in storms. In moderate winds, indeed, such an intimation -of their proximity is to be obtained, either from their natural -effulgence in some states of the atmosphere, or from their intense -blackness in others, that they can be generally avoided. But in -storms, when the ship ceases to be under command, they become one of -the most appalling dangers which can be presented to the navigator. - -Two most fatal shipwrecks occurred in the Davis’s Strait fleets; the -Royalist, captain Edmonds, and the London, captain Matthews, were -lost, with all hands; the former among icebergs, in 1814, and the -latter, as it is supposed, in a similar way, in 1817. Captain Bennet, -of the Venerable, was in company with the Royalist immediately -before she was wrecked. They fell in with drift-ice at eight A.M., -April the 14th, when a heavy gale of wind commenced, and continued -twelve hours, after which the wind abated, but suddenly veering to -the north-west, a tremendous storm arose, which, accompanied with -sleet and snow, continued without intermission during twenty hours. -Before dark of the 15th, (nautical day,) captain Bennet saw several -icebergs, at which time he believed the Royalist was lying to -windward of an extensive chain of these islands of ice, among which -she was wrecked in the course of the same night. The crew probably -perished immediately, as the sea was uncommonly high. In the case -both of the Royalist and the London subscriptions were generously -opened at Hull, by the owners of the whalers, for the relief of the -bereaved relatives of the crew. - -The fishery on the coast of Labrador commences occasionally in the -month of March. On this station, which is inhabited by a large -description of whales, some fishers have persevered altogether, and -have sometimes procured great cargoes. It is, however, a dangerous -fishery. The nights being long and dark on their first arrival, they -are obliged to use lanterns in their boats, when fish happen to be -struck, or to remain unsubdued at close of day, for the purpose -of keeping the ships and boats together; on which occasions the -stormy weather that frequently occurs at this season exposes them to -continued danger. Those who prosecute the northern fishery, after -making the ice at the “south-west,” as the neighbourhood of the -Labrador coast is usually denominated, proceed almost immediately -up Davis’s Strait towards Baffin’s Bay. If in the month of April -or beginning of May they commence this navigation, and sail along -the edge of the western ice to the northward, they often find it -joining the ice connected with the west coast of Greenland, in the -latitude 66½° or 67°, and meet with a considerable barrier of it -in 68°, immediately beyond which, a few leagues from land, is a -good fishing-station. As the ice opens to the northward, the whales -retreat in that direction, and the fishers follow as promptly as -possible. The whalers often reach Disko early in May, but it is -generally the latter end of this month, or the beginning of June, -before they can pass the second barrier of ice, lying about Hare -Island, in the 71st degree of latitude, and enter the northern inlets -frequented by the whales. The three inlets called the South-east -Bay, Jacob’s Bight, and the North-east Bay, were most productive -fishing-stations some years ago, but of late they have afforded but -few whales. From hence, if no fish are found, the whalers proceed -to the western part of the strait, towards Cumberland Island, or -persevere along the east side of Davis’s Strait towards Baffin’s -Bay, to the eastern parts of which the fish appear to retreat as the -season advances, and as the ice clears away from the northern and -eastern shores. - -In Baffin’s Bay, and in the inlets of West Greenland, the fishery -is conducted under the most favourable circumstances. The water -being shallow in many situations, the boats require only a small -quantity of line, and the weather being warm, the sailors perform -their operations, if not with pleasure, at least with comfort to -themselves. But at the south-west, each operation of the fishery is -performed under rather unpleasant and even dangerous circumstances. -Darkness of night, exposure to storms, and frequency of swells, -are all unfavourable to the fishers. The flensing of a whale at -the south-west is usually more troublesome and more hazardous than -elsewhere, owing to the prevalent swell, which rarely altogether -subsides. - -Davis’s Strait fishers, within the present century, after making a -successful fishery at a distance from land, have been in the habit of -resorting to the bays, there mooring in safety, until the troublesome -process of making-off was accomplished. On the passage homewards, -the ships usually steer down the middle of the strait, and proceed -sufficiently far south for avoiding the “Cape-ice,” before they haul -up to the eastward. From thence, the prevalence of westerly winds in -the summer season generally affords them an easy passage across the -Atlantic. The legislative regulations on the importation of Davis’s -Strait produce are the same as on cargoes obtained in the Greenland -fishery. - -Among the Dutch fishers, we find that, during a period of a hundred -and seven years, included between 1669 and 1778, each ship in a -fleet of a hundred and thirty-two sail, which proceeded annually to -Greenland, afforded to the owners, on an average, a profit of 3,126 -florins; and that, in a period of sixty years, ending with 1778, a -fleet of fifty-three ships, which sailed annually to Davis’s Strait, -realized to the owners a profit of 3,469 florins per voyage; thus -exceeding the produce of the Greenland fishery by 343 florins on each -ship, per voyage, after ample allowance is made for the greater -length of the voyage to Davis’s Strait, together with the additional -wear and tear. Among the British fishers, the advantage seems also to -have been on the side of Davis’s Strait, particularly of late years. -But if we deduct the value of skins taken by the Greenland fishers, -but not estimated in their cargoes, say £20 to £30 per ship, and the -additional expenses of a Davis’s Strait voyage, occasioned by the -greater wear and tear, and the provisions and wages for a voyage, -longer by one or two months than that to Greenland, we shall reduce -the balance in favour of the Davis’s Strait fishers to a very small -sum. - -During the four years, ending with 1817, the amount of the cargoes -of the British Greenland whale-fishing ships, (consisting of three -hundred and seventy-six sail, repeated voyages included,) was -3,508 whales, which produced 33,070 tuns of oil, and 1,682 tons of -whalebone. At the same time, 210 ships employed in the Davis’s Strait -fishery procured 1,522 whales, yielding 21,438 tuns of oil, and 1,015 -tons of whale-fins. It seems worthy of remark, that the whales caught -near Spitzbergen afforded a larger proportion of whalebone, compared -with the quantity of oil, than the fish of Davis’s Strait; the -Greenland fish yielding a ton of fins for every 19½ tuns of oil, and -the Davis’s Strait fish a ton of fins for every 21 tuns of oil. It -is remarkable that this should have been the case, when we consider -that small fish afford less whalebone than large fish in proportion -to their produce in oil, and yet the Greenland fish, which, on -the average of four years, were much smaller than those caught in -Davis’s Strait, have produced the largest proportion of whalebone. -The whales taken at the Greenland fishery in four years only average -9½ tuns of oil each, but those caught at Davis’s Strait average 14 -tuns. It would, therefore, appear that the large whales caught near -Spitzbergen are much stouter than those taken in Davis’s Strait, and -afford such a large proportion of fins as more than compensates for -the deficiency in the small whales. - -The fluctuating value of shipping renders it difficult to give a -fair estimate of the expenses of a whale-ship. The Resolution, -of Whitby, burden 219 tons, when new, in the year 1803, cost but -£7,791, including all expenses of stores and outfit, premiums of -insurance, and advanced money of seamen; while the Esk, of 354 tons -of measurement, launched and fitted out at the same port in 1813, -cost about £14,000. The ship Resolution was sold in eight shares, -and the sums subscribed by the owners and deposited in the hands of -the managing owners was £8,000. The balance in favour of the owners -of the Resolution for fifteen voyages appeared to be £19,473. 10_s._ -2_d._, besides the value of the ship, and the value of the outfit -for the sixteenth voyage. If we reckon these at £6,520, the profit -derived from £8,000, originally advanced, in addition to the interest -of the capital embarked, will amount to £26,000, notwithstanding the -last three voyages were but indifferent, of which sum £25,200 has -actually been divided. It is, however, necessary to mention, that the -Resolution, in her first ten voyages, procured six hundred or seven -hundred tuns of oil above the average of the fishery during that -period, if not more. - -The usual expenses of a Greenland voyage, including outfit, when no -cargo is obtained, may be stated at £2,200, exclusive of interest -of capital and wear and tear. For every ten tuns of oil procured, -there will be an additional expense of £80 or £90 for discharging -and boiling the cargo, for oil money and fish money, and for other -extraordinaries connected with a successful fishing. Thus the expense -of a ship, with a cargo of two hundred tuns of oil, will be at least -£4,000. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - METHOD OF EXTRACTING OIL AND PREPARING WHALE-BONE, WITH A - DESCRIPTION OF THESE ARTICLES, AND REMARKS ON THE USES TO WHICH THE - SEVERAL PRODUCTS OF THE WHALE-FISHERY ARE APPLIED. - - -On the margin of the river, wet dock, canal, or other sheet of water, -communicating with that wherein the whale-fishing ship discharges her -cargo, are usually provided the necessary premises for reducing the -blubber into oil, consisting commonly of the following articles. - -1. A copper vessel or boiler, three to six, or even ten or more tuns’ -capacity, of a circular form in the horizontal view, and elliptical -in the perpendicular section, is fixed at the elevation of six to -ten feet above the ground, provided with an appropriate furnace, and -covered with a tiled or slated shed. - -2. On the same, or on a little lower level than that of the -copper, is fixed a square or oblong back or cooler, built of wood -generally, capable of containing from ten to twenty tuns of oil, or -upwards. Adjoining to this is another back, sometimes a third, and -occasionally a fourth or fifth, each placed a little lower than the -one preceding it, so that the lowest shall stand with its base about -two or three feet above the level of the ground. In some very modern -_works_, the coolers are all fixed at the same elevation. Each of the -backs is provided with one or more stop-cocks on the most accessible -side, for convenience in drawing the oil off into casks. - -3. Altogether above the level of the copper, and immediately -adjoining it, on the side directed towards the river or canal, -an oblong wooden cistern, called the “starting-back,” is usually -erected, for containing blubber, which ought to be a vessel of equal, -or nearly equal, capacity to that of the copper. It is generally -provided with a crane, which, with a winch, or other similar engine -attached, is so contrived as to take casks either from the quay, or -from a lighter by the side of the quay, and convey them at once to -the top of the starting-back. Over this vessel is extended a kind of -railing or “gauntree,” on which the casks rest without being injured, -and are easily movable. - -4. The starting-back being elevated two or three yards above the -level of the ground, occasionally admits of a “fenk-back,” or -depository, for the refuse of the blubber, immediately beneath it; -which fenk-back is sometimes provided with a _clough_ on the side -next the water, for “starting” the fenks into a barge or lighter -placed below. - -5. The premises likewise comprise a _shed_ for the cooper, and -sometimes a cooper’s, or master-boiler’s, dwelling-house; the -inhabitant of which takes the charge of all the blubber, oil, -whalebone, and other articles deposited around him. - -6. Warehouses for containing the oil after it is drawn off into casks -are also used, not only for preserving it in safe custody, but for -defending the casks from the rays of the sun, otherwise they are apt -to pine and become leaky, and, - -7. Sometimes “steeping-backs” and apparatus for preparing whalebone -are comprised within the same inclosure. - -The blubber, which was originally in the state of fat, is found, -on arrival in a warm climate, to be in a great measure resolved -into oil. The casks, containing the blubber, are conveyed, by -the mechanical apparatus above mentioned, to the top of the -starting-back, into which their contents are emptied or _started_ -through the bungholes. When the copper is properly cleansed, the -contents of the starting-back, on lifting a clough at the extremity, -or turning a stop-cock, fall directly into the copper, one edge of -which is usually placed beneath. The copper is filled within two or -three inches of the top, a little space being requisite to admit -of the expansion of the oil when heated; and then a brisk fire is -applied to the furnace, and continued until the oil begins to boil. -This effect usually takes place in less than two hours. Many of -the fritters or fenks float on the surface of the oil before it -is heated, but after it is “boiled off,” the whole, or nearly so, -subside to the bottom. From the time the copper begins to warm until -it is boiled off, or ceases to boil, its contents must be incessantly -stirred by means of a pole, armed with a kind of broad, blunt chisel, -to prevent the fenks from adhering to the bottom or sides of the -vessel. When once the contents of the copper boil, the fire in the -furnace is immediately reduced, and shortly afterwards altogether -withdrawn. Some persons allow the copper to boil an hour, others -during two or three hours. The former practice is supposed to produce -finer and paler oil, the latter a greater quantity. The same copper -is usually boiled twice in every twenty-four hours, Sundays excepted. -After the oil has stood to cool and subside, the “bailing” process -commences. One of the backs or coolers having been prepared for the -reception of the oil, by putting into it a quantity of water, for -the double purpose of preventing the heat of the oil from warping -or rending the back, and for receiving any impurities which it may -happen to hold in suspension, a wooden spout, with a large square -box-like head, which head is filled with brushwood or broom, that -it may act as a filter, is then placed along from “the copper-head” -to the cooler, so as to form a communication between the two. The -oil in the copper being now separated from the fenks, water, and -other impurities, all of which have subsided to the bottom, is in a -great measure run off through the pipe communicating with the cooler, -and the remainder is carefully lifted in copper or tin ladles, and -poured upon the broom in the spout, from whence it runs into the same -cooler, or any other cooler, at the pleasure of the “boilers.” - -Besides oil and fenks, the blubber of the whale likewise affords a -considerable quantity of watery liquor, produced probably from the -putrescence of the blood, on the surface of which some of the fenks, -and all the greasy animal matter, called foot-je, or footing, float, -and upon the top of these the oil. Great care therefore is requisite, -on approaching these impure substances, to take the oil off by -means of shallow tinned iron or copper ladles, called “skimmers,” -without disturbing the refuse and mixing it with the oil. There must -always, however, be a small quantity towards the conclusion, which -is a mixture of oil and footing; such is put into a cask or other -suitable vessel by itself, and when the greasy part has thoroughly -subsided, the most pure part is skimmed off and becomes fine oil, and -the impure is allowed to accumulate by itself, in another vessel, -where in the end it affords “brown-oil.” From a ton, or 252 gallons -by measure of blubber, there generally arises from fifty to sixty -gallons of refuse, whereof the greater part is a watery fluid. -The constant presence of this fluid, which boils at a much lower -temperature than the oil, prevents the oil itself from boiling, -which is probably an advantage, since, in the event of the oil being -boiled, some of the finest and most inflammable parts would fly off -in the form of vapour, whereas the principal part of the steam, -which now escapes, is produced from the water. Some persons make a -practice of adding a quantity of water, amounting perhaps to half a -tun, to the contents of each copper, with the view of weakening or -attenuating the viscid impurities contained in the blubber, and thus -obtaining a finer oil; others consider the quantity of watery fluid -already in the blubber, as sufficient for producing every needful -effect. - -Each day, immediately after the copper is emptied, and while it is -yet hot, the men employed in the manufacture of the oil, having their -feet defended by strong leathern or wooden shoes, descend into it, -and scour it out with sand and water, until they restore the natural -surface of the copper wherever it is discoloured. This serves to -preserve the oil from becoming high-coloured, which will always be -the case when proper cleanliness is not observed. - -When prepared and cooled, the oil is in a marketable state, and -requires only to be transferred from the coolers into casks, for -the convenience of conveyance to any part of the country. Each of -the coolers, it has been observed, is furnished with a stop-cock, -beneath which there is a platform adapted for receiving the casks. -At the conclusion of the process of boiling each vessel’s cargo -manufactured on the premises, the backs are completely emptied of -their contents. To effect this water is poured in, until the lower -part of the stratum of oil rises within a few lines of the level of -the stop-cock, and permits the greatest part of the oil to escape. -The quantity left amounts, perhaps, to half an inch or an inch in -depth; to recover this oil without water requires a little address. A -deal board, in length a little exceeding the breadth of the cooler, -is introduced at one end, diagonally, and placed, edge-ways, in -its contents. The ends of the board being covered with flannel, -when pressed forcibly against the two opposite sides of the cooler, -prevent the oil from circulating past. The board is then advanced -slowly forward towards the part of the back where the stop-cock -is placed, and, in its progress, all the oil is collected by the -board, while the water has a free circulation beneath it. When the -oil accumulates to the depth of the board, its further motion is -suspended until the oil thus collected is drawn off. Another similar -board is afterwards introduced, at the furthest extremity of the -cooler, and passed forward in the same manner, whereby the little -oil which escapes the first is collected. The remnant is taken up -by skimmers. The smell of oil during its extraction is undoubtedly -disagreeable; but, perhaps, not more so than the vapour arising from -any other animal substance, submitted to the action of heat when in -a putrid state. It is an erroneous opinion that a whale-ship must -always give out the same unpleasant smell. The fact is, that the fat -of the whale, in its fresh state, has no offensive flavour whatever, -and never becomes disagreeable until it is brought into a warm -climate, and becomes putrid. - -Whale-oil, prepared by the method just described, is of a pale -honey-yellow colour; but sometimes, when the blubber from which it -is procured happens to be of the red kind, the oil appears of a -reddish-brown colour. When first extracted, it is commonly thick, -but after standing some time a mucilaginous substance subsides, and -it becomes tolerably limpid and transparent. Its smell is somewhat -offensive, especially when it is long kept. It consists of oil, -properly so called, a small portion of spermaceti, and a little -gelatine. At the temperature of 40° the latter substances become -partially concrete, and make the oil obscure; and at the temperature -of 32° render it thick with flaky crystals. It is sold by the tun, -of 252 gallons, wine measure. Its specific gravity is 0·9214. The -tun weighs 17 cwt. 1 qr. 1 lb. 12 oz. 14 dr. The value of whale-oil, -like that of every other similar article, is subject to continual -variations. In the year 1744, oil sold in England for £10. 1_s._ per -tun; in 1754, for £29; in 1801, for £50; in 1807, for £21; and in -1813, when the price was the highest ever obtained, for £55 or £60 -per tun. - -The application of gas, produced by the distillation of coal, for -lighting the public streets and buildings, manufactories, shops, -etc., which formerly were lighted with oil, it was apprehended -would be ruinous to the whale-fishery trade, and certainly had a -very threatening appearance; but hitherto, owing to the amount -of whale-oil lately imported having been less than the ordinary -quantity, this expected effect of the employment of gas-lights has -not been felt. - -When blubber is boiled in Greenland, the oil produced from it is -much brighter, paler, more limpid, and more inflammable than that -extracted in Britain. It is also totally free from any unpleasant -flavour, and burns without smell. Hence it is evident, that whatever -is disagreeable in the effluvia of whale-oil arises from an admixture -of putrescent substances. These consist of blood and animal fibre. -This latter is the reticulated and cellular fibres of the blubber, -wherein the oil is confined, which produces the fenks when boiled. -When putrefaction commences, a small portion of the blood contained -in the blubber is probably combined with the oil, and the animal -fibre, in considerable quantity, is dissolved in it. These substances -not only occasion the unpleasant smell common to whale-oil, but, -by being deposited on the wick of lamps, in burning, produce upon -it a kind of cinder, which, if not occasionally removed, causes a -great diminution in the quantity of light. A sample of oil, which -I extracted in Greenland, about ten years ago, is still fine, and -totally free from rancidity. It has certainly acquired a smell, -but is not more unpleasant than that of old Florence oil. Hence, -were whale-oil extracted in Greenland before the putrefying process -commences, or were any method devised of freeing it from the -impurities which combine with it in consequence of this process, it -would become not only more valuable for common purposes, but would be -applicable to almost every use to which spermaceti oil is adapted. In -fact, it would become a similar kind of article. - -In performing some experiments on oil in Greenland, during the -fishing season of 1818, I adopted a process for refining oil -extracted from blubber before the putrefying process commenced, by -which I procured a remarkably fine oil. It was nearly colourless, -beautifully transparent, and very limpid. This oil retains its -transparency, even at a very low temperature. It is more inflammable -than spermaceti oil, and so pure, that it will burn longer, without -forming a crust on the wick of the lamp, than any other oil with -which it has been compared. - -Besides the oil produced from blubber by boiling, the whalers -distinguish such as oozes from the jawbones of the fish by the name -of jawbone oil; and inferior oils, which are discoloured, by the -denominations of brown oil and black oil, or bilge oil. Brown oil is -produced in the way described in the process of boiling; black or -bilge oil is that which leaks out of the casks in the course of the -voyage, or runs out of any blubber which may happen to be in bulk, -and accumulates in the bottom of the ship. This oil is always very -dark coloured, viscous, and possessed of little transparency. - -Whalebone, or whalefins, as the substance is sometimes, though -incorrectly, named, is found in the mouth of the common Greenland -whale, to which it serves as a substitute for teeth. It forms an -apparatus most admirably adapted as a filter for separating the -minute animals on which the whale feeds from the sea-water in which -they exist. The Lawgiver of all the creatures, whether rational or -irrational, has fitted them with organization appropriate for the -purposes for which they live, and has provided them with all that is -needful, according to their rank, for the happiness of their lives. -The care which is bestowed upon the animals who do not recognise Him -is in unison with that more tender kindness which he has manifested -to such as have a mind to meditate on his perfections, and a heart -wherewith to love him and adore. - -The whalebone is a substance of a horny appearance and consistence, -extremely flexible and elastic, generally of a bluish black colour, -but not unfrequently striped longitudinally white, and exhibiting -a beautiful play of colour on the surface. Internally, it is of a -fibrous texture, resembling hair, and the external surface consists -of a smooth enamel, capable of receiving a good polish. When taken -from the whale, the whalebone consists of laminæ, connected by what -is called the gum in a parallel series, and ranged along each side -of the mouth of the animal. The laminæ are about three hundred in -number, in each side of the head. The length of the longest blade, -which occurs near the middle of the series, is the criterion fixed -on by the fishers for designating the size of the fish. Its greatest -length is about fifteen feet. The two sides or series of the -whalebone are connected at the upper part of the head or crown-bone -of the fish, within a few inches of each other, from whence they -hang downwards, diverging so far as to inclose the tongue between -their extremities; the position of the blades with regard to each -other resembles a frame of saws in a saw-mill; and, taken altogether, -they exhibit in some measure the form and position of the roof of -a house. The smaller extremity and interior edge of each blade of -whalebone, or the edge annexed to the tongue, are covered with a long -fringe of hair, consisting of a similar kind of substance to that -which constitutes the interior of the bone. Whale-bone is generally -brought from Greenland in the same state as when taken from the fish, -after being divided into pieces, comprising ten or twelve laminæ in -each. Of late years, the price has usually been fluctuating between -£50 and £150 per ton. It becomes more valuable as it increases in -length and thickness. - -In cleansing and preparing the whalebone, the first operation, if -not already done, consists of depriving it of the gum. It is then -put into a cistern containing water, till the dirt upon its surface -becomes soft. When this effect is sufficiently produced, it is taken -out piece by piece, laid on a plank placed on the ground, where the -operator stands, and scrubbed or scoured with sand and water, by -means of a broom or piece of cloth. It is then passed to another -person, who, on a plank or bench, elevated to a convenient height, -scrapes the root-end, where the gum was attached, until he produces -a smooth surface; he, or another workman, then applies a knife or a -pair of shears to the edge, and completely detaches all the fringe -of hair connected with it. Another person, who is generally the -superintendent of the concern, afterwards receives it, washes it in a -vessel of clean water, and removes with a bit of wood the impurities -out of the cavity of the root. Thus cleansed, it is exposed to -the air and sun, until thoroughly dry, when it is removed into a -warehouse or other place of safety and shelter. - -Before it is offered for sale, it is usually scrubbed with brushes -and hair-cloth, by which the surface receives a polish, and all -dirt or dust adhering to it removed; and, finally, it is packed in -portable bundles, consisting of about one hundred weight each. The -size-bone, or such pieces as measure six feet or upwards in length, -are kept separate from the under size, the latter being usually sold -at half the price of the former. Each blade being terminated with a -quantity of hair, there is sometimes a difficulty in deciding whether -some blades of whalebone are size or not. Owing to the diminished -value of under-sized bones, and more particularly in consequence of -the captain and some of the officers engaged in a fishing-ship having -a premium on every size fish, it becomes a matter of some importance -in a doubtful case to decide this point. From a decision which, I -understand, has been made in a court of law, it is now a generally -received rule, that so much of the substance terminating each blade -as gives rise to two or more hairs is whalebone; though in fact the -hair itself is actually the same substance as that of which the -whalebone is composed. - -The oil produced from the blubber of the whale, in its most common -state of preparation, is used for a variety of purposes. It is used -in the lighting of the streets of towns, and the interior of places -of worship, houses, shops, manufactories, etc.; it is extensively -employed in the manufacture of soft soap, as well as in the -preparing of leather and coarse woollen cloths; it is applicable in -the manufacture of coarse varnishes and paints, in which, when duly -prepared, it affords a strength of body more capable of resisting -the weather than paint mixed in the usual way with vegetable oil; it -is also extensively used for reducing friction in various kinds of -machinery; combined with tar, it is much employed in ship-work, and -in the manufacture of cordage, and either simple, or in a state of -combination, it is applied to many other useful purposes. - -One of the most extensive applications of whale-oil, that for -illumination, has suffered a considerable diminution, in consequence -of the appropriation of gas from coal to the same purpose. This -discovery, brilliant as it is acknowledged to be, which in its -first application bore such a threatening aspect against the usual -consumption of oil, may be the means of bringing the oil of the -whale into more extensive use than it has at any former period -been. Whale-oil, in the most inferior qualities, is found to afford -a gas which, in point of brilliancy, freeness of smell, and ease -of manufacture, is greatly superior to that produced from coal. In -places where coal is not very cheap, gas, it seems, can be produced -from oil at about the same expense as coal-gas; consequently, the -numerous advantages of the former will render it highly preferable. -Whale-oil, when free from the incombustible and contaminating -animal matters which are usually dissolved in it in consequence of -putrefaction, is, then, applicable to a variety of purposes, in which -the common oil cannot conveniently be employed. Even in its unrefined -state, whale-oil frequently obtains an unmerited bad character for -burning, when the fault lies in those who have the charge of the -lamps in which it is consumed. Want of proper cleanliness, the use -of wicks of too great diameter, and sometimes in a damp state, are -common errors inimical to the obtaining of a good light. - -The fenks, or ultimate refuse of the blubber of the whale, form an -excellent manure, especially in soils deficient in animal matter. -Fenks might be used, it is probable, in the manufacture of Prussian -blue, and also for the production of ammonia. Footing, which is -the finer detached fragments of the fenks, not wholly deprived -of oil, may be used as a cheap material in the formation of gas. -Whale’s tail can be converted into glue, and is extensively used in -the manufacture of this article, especially in Holland. It forms, -as I have already mentioned, chopping-blocks for the fishers. The -jawbones, with the skull or crown-bone of the whale, are the largest -found in nature. They are sometimes met with of the length of -twenty-five feet. Jawbones are used as the ribs of sheds, and in the -construction of arches and posts of gateways. - -Whalebone, when softened in hot water, or simply by heating it -before a fire, has the property of retaining any shape which may then -be given to it, provided it be secured in the required form until -it becomes cold. This property, together with its great elasticity -and flexibility, renders it capable of being applied to many useful -purposes. The first way in which it seems to have been employed was -in the stays of ladies. Its application to this purpose was at one -period, when the quantity imported was small, so general that it -attained, in the wholesale way, the price of £700 per ton. Of late -years, however, it has fallen somewhat into disrepute, some ladies -preferring to support themselves with plates of steel. There has -been for many years an extensive consumption of this article in the -manufacture of umbrellas and parasols. The white enamel (found in -some specimens of whalebone) has been fabricated into ladies’ hats, -and a variety of ornamental forms of head-dresses; and the black -enamel is employed, in the same way as cane, in the construction -of the seats or backs of chairs, gigs, sofas, etc. The hair on -the edge of the whalebone answers every purpose of bullock’s hair -in stuffings for chairs, sofas, settees, carriages, mattresses, -cushions, etc. An attempt has been made to build whale-boats of -this material, but the great alteration which takes place in its -dimensions, in different states of the atmosphere, on account of its -ready absorption of moisture, renders it inapplicable. It has been -used with a much better effect, in the construction of portmanteaus, -travelling-trunks, hygrometers, the ram-rods of fowling-pieces, -fishing-rods, the shafts, springs, and wheels of carriages, and -various other articles. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - NARRATIVE OF PROCEEDINGS ON BOARD THE SHIP ESK, DURING A - WHALE-FISHING VOYAGE TO THE COAST OF SPITZBERGEN, IN THE YEAR - 1816; PARTICULARLY RELATING TO THE PRESERVATION OF THE SHIP UNDER - CIRCUMSTANCES OF PECULIAR DANGER. - - -The ship Esk sailed from Whitby on the 29th of March, 1816. We -entered the frigid confines of the Icy Sea, and killed our first -whale on the 25th of April. On the 30th of April, we forced into -the ice with a favourable wind, and after passing through a large -body of it, entered an extensive sea, such as usually lies on the -western coast of Spitzbergen at this season of the year, early on -the morning of the following day. The wind then blowing hard south -south-east, we kept our reach to the eastward until three o’clock in -the afternoon, when we unexpectedly met with a quantity of ice, which -interrupted our course. We then _wared_ by the way of avoiding it, -but soon found, though the weather was thick with snow, that we were -completely embayed in a situation that was truly terrific. - -In the course of fourteen voyages, in which I had before visited this -inhospitable country, I passed through many dangers wherein my own -life, together with those of my companions, had been threatened; but -the present case, where our lives seemed to be at stake for a length -of time, exceeding twelve hours, far surpassed in awfulness, as well -as actual hazard, anything that I had before witnessed. Dangers which -occur unexpectedly and terminate suddenly, though of the most awful -description, appear like a dream when they are past; but horrors -which have a long continuance, though they in some measure decrease -in their effect on the mind by a lengthened contemplation of them, -yet they leave an impression on the memory which time itself cannot -altogether efface. Such was the effect of the present scene. Whilst -the wind howled through the rigging with tempestuous roar, the sea -was so mountainous that the mast-heads of some accompanying ships, -within the distance of a quarter of a mile, were intercepted and -rendered invisible by the swells, and our ship frequently rolled the -lee-boats into the water, that were suspended with their keels above -the roughtree-rail! - -At the same time, we were rapidly approaching a body of ice, the -masses of which, as hard as rocks, might be seen at one instant -covered with foam, the next concealed from the sight by the waves, -and instantly afterwards reared to a prodigious height above the -surface of the sea. It is needless to relate the means by which -we attempted to keep the ship clear of the threatened danger, -because those means were without avail. At eleven P.M. we were close -to the ice, when perceiving through the mist an opening a short -distance within, we directed the drift of the ship towards it. As we -approached the ice, the sails were filled, so that the first blow -was received obliquely on the bow, when the velocity of the ship was -moderate. In this place the pieces of ice were happily of smaller -dimensions; at least, all the larger masses we were able to avoid, -so that, after receiving a number of shocks, we escaped without any -particular accident into the opening or slack part of the ice above -noticed. This opening, as far as we could see, promised a safe and -permanent release. - -But in this we were grievously disappointed: for, when we attempted -to ware the ship, which soon became necessary, she refused to turn -round, notwithstanding every effort, in a space which, in ordinary -circumstances, would have been far more than sufficient for the -evolution. In consequence of this accident, which arose partly from -the bad _trim_ of the ship, and partly from the great violence of -the wind, she fell to leeward into a close body of ice, to which we -could see no termination. The Mars, of Whitby, and another vessel, -which closely followed us as we penetrated the exterior of the ice, -being in better trim than the Esk, performed the evolution with -ease, and were in a few minutes out of sight. In this dreadful -situation, we lay beating against the opposing ice, with terrible -force, daring eight successive hours, all which time I was rocked -at the top-gallant mast-head, directing the management of the -sails, to avoid the largest masses of ice, any one of which would -have perforated the side of the ship. By the blessing of God, we -succeeded wonderfully; and at eight A.M., the 2nd of May, gained a -small opening, where we contrived to navigate the ship until the -wind subsided, and we had the opportunity of forcing into a more -commodious place. On examining the ship, we found our only apparent -damage to consist in the destruction of most of our rudder works, a -few slight bruises on the sides, and a cut on the lower part of the -stern of the ship. - -From this time, to the 20th of May, the fishery was generally -interrupted by the formation of new ice, insomuch that during this -interval we killed but one whale, while few of our neighbours -succeeded so well. During the succeeding week, we became so fixed -that we never moved except occasionally a few yards. The next twelve -days were spent in most arduous labour in forcing the ship through -the ice. At length, on the 12th of June, we happily escaped, though -our companions were, for a short time, all left behind. On the 27th -of June, we had secured thirteen fish, and our quantity of oil was -about 125 tuns. This was a larger cargo than any ship had procured -that we had yet met with, excepting only one. On the 28th, the John, -of Greenock, commanded by my brother-in-law, Mr. Jackson, joined us. - -After proceeding to the westward, the greater part of the 28th, we -arrived at the borders of a compact body of field-ice, consisting of -immense sheets of prodigious thickness. As I considered the situation -not favourable for fishing, the ship was allowed to drift to the -eastward all night. In the morning of the 29th, I found, however, -that she was very little removed from the place where she lay when -I went to bed. I perceived that the floes, between which there had -been extensive spaces, were now in the act of closing; and attempted, -by lowering four boats, to tow the ship through an opening at a -short distance from us. At the moment when we were about to enter -it, it closed. In attempting to get the ship into the safety of an -indentation, which appeared calculated to afford a secure retreat, a -small piece of ice came athwart her bow, stopped her progress, and -she was in a minute afterwards subjected to a considerable squeeze. -From none, however, of the pieces of ice around us did we apprehend -any danger, particularly as the motion of the ice soon abated. There -was a danger, however, on the larboard quarter, of which we were -totally unconscious. The piece of ice that touched the ship in that -part, though of itself scarcely six yards square, and more than one -yard above the water, concealed beneath the surface of the sea, -at the depth of ten or twelve feet, a hard pointed projection of -ice, which pressed against the keel, lifted the rudder, and caused -a damage that had nearly occasioned the loss of the ship. About an -hour and a half after the accident, the carpenter, having sounded -the pump, discovered to our great concern and amazement a depth of -eight and a half feet water in the hold. This was most alarming; -with despair pictured in every face, the crew set on the pumps; a -signal of distress was at the same time hoisted, and a dozen boats -approached us from the surrounding ships. In the space of four hours, -the water had lowered to nearly four feet, but one of the pumps -becoming useless, and bailing being less effectual than at first, the -water once more resumed its superiority and gained upon us. - -Something, therefore, was now to be done, to stop, if possible, the -influx of the water. As the pumping and bailing could not possibly -be continued by our own ship’s company, it was necessary to make use -of some means to attempt a speedy remedy whilst our assistants were -numerous. As there was a probability that a bunch of rope-yarns, -straw, or oakum, might enter some of the larger leaks, and retard -the influx of water, if applied near the place through the medium -of a fothering-sail, (that is, a sail drawn by means of ropes at -the four corners, beneath the damaged or leaky part,) we in the -meantime prepared a lower studding-sail, by sewing bunches of -these materials, which, together with sheets of old thin canvas, -whalebone-hair, and a quantity of ashes, fitted it well for the -purpose. Thus prepared, it was hauled beneath the damaged place, but -not the least effect was yet produced. We set about unrigging the -ship, and discharging the cargo and stores, upon a flat place of the -floe, against which we had moored, with the intention of turning the -ship keel upward. My own sailors were completely worn out, and most -of our auxiliaries wearied and discouraged; some of them evinced, by -their improper conduct, their wish that the ship should be abandoned. -Before putting our plan in execution, we placed twenty empty casks -in the hold, to act against a quantity of iron ballast which was in -the ship, caulked the dark lights, removed all the dry goods and -provisions that would injure with the wet, secured all the hatches, -skuttles, companion, etc., then, erecting two tents on the ice, -one for sheltering myself, and the other for the crew, we ceased -pumping, and permitted the ship to fill. At this crisis, men of whom -I had conceived the highest opinion for firmness and bravery greatly -disappointed my expectations. Among the whole crew, indeed, scarcely -a dozen spirited fellows were to be seen. - -As no ship could with propriety venture near us, to assist in turning -the Esk over, on account of the hazardous position of the ice around -her, we had no other means of attempting this singular evolution -than by attaching purchases to the ice from the ship. Everything -being prepared, while the water flowed into the ship, I sent our -exhausted crew to seek a little rest. For my own part, necessity -impelled me to endeavour to obtain some repose. I had already been -fifty hours without rest, which unusual exertion, together with the -anxiety of mind I endured, caused my legs to swell and become so -extremely painful, that I could scarcely walk. Spreading, therefore, -a mattress upon a few boards, laid on the snow within one of the -tents, notwithstanding the coldness of the situation, and the -excessive dampness that prevailed from the constant fog, I enjoyed a -comfortable repose of four hours, and arose considerably refreshed. - -Immediately afterwards, about three P.M., on the 1st of July, I -proceeded with all hands to the ship, which, to our surprise, we -found had only sunk a little below the sixteenth mark externally, -while the water but barely covered a part of “’tween decks within.” -Perceiving that it was not likely to sink much further, on account of -the buoyancy of the empty casks, and the materials of which the ship -was composed, we applied all our purchases, but with the strength of -150 men we could not heel her more than five or six stakes. When thus -careened, with the weight of two anchors suspended from the mast, -acting with the effect of powerful levers on the ship, I accompanied -about 120 men on board. All these being arranged on the high side -of the deck, ran suddenly to the lower side, when the ship fell so -suddenly on one side that we were apprehensive she was about to -upset, but after turning a little way the motion ceased. The tackles -on the ice being then hauled tight, the heeling position of the ship -was preserved, until we mounted the higher part of the deck, and -ran to the lower as before. At length, after a few repetitions of -this manœuvre, no impression whatever was produced, and the plan of -upsetting the ship appeared quite impracticable. - -The situation of the ship being now desperate, there could be no -impropriety in attempting to remove the keel and garboard strake, -which prevented the application of the fothering, for, whatever might -be the result, it could scarcely be for the worse. These incumbrances -being removed, the sail for fothering was immediately applied to -the place, and a vast quantity of fothering materials thrown into -its cavity, when it was fairly underneath. Over this sail we spread -a fore-sail, and braced the whole as tight to the ship as the -keel-bolts, which yet remained in their horizontal position, would -admit. The effect was as happy as we could possibly have anticipated. -Some time before all these preparations were completed, our people, -assisted by the John’s crew, who, after a short rest, had returned to -us, put the three pumps and bailing tubs in motion, and applied their -energies with such effect that in eleven hours the pumps sucked! In -this time, a depth of thirteen feet water was pumped out of the -hold, besides the leakage. The John’s crew on this occasion exerted -themselves with a spirit and zeal which were truly praiseworthy. -As the assistance of carpenters was particularly needed, we fired -a gun, and repeated our signal of distress, which brought very -opportunely two boats, with six men each, from the Prescot, and the -same number from our tried friend, Mr. Allen, of the North Britain. -As we likewise procured the carpenters of these ships, together with -those of the John, they commenced operations by cutting through the -ceiling, between two frames of timbers directly across the hold, -at the distance of about twenty-six feet from the stern-post; a -situation which, we were assured, was on the fore part of the leak, -or between the leak and the body of the ship. The timbers in this -place were unhappily found so closely connected that we had to cut -away part of one of the floors, that we might come at the outside -plank, and caulk the crevices between it and the timbers; which -operation, on account of the great depth of timber, and the vast -flow of water that issued at the ceiling, was extremely difficult, -tedious, and disagreeable. - -Meanwhile that we had good assistance, I allowed our crew four hours’ -rest, half of them at a time, for which purpose some of their beds -were removed from the ice to the ship. Here, for the first time -during four days, they enjoyed their repose; for on account of the -cold and damp that prevailed when they rested on the ice, several of -them, I believe, never slept. Some of the John’s people returning to -us, swayed up the top-mast, and rigged most of the yards, while our -men were employed stowing the main-hold, which, by the floating of -the casks, was thrown into a singular state of disorder. Some of the -casks were found without heads, and all the blubber lost, and many -were found bilged, or otherwise damaged. - -After the carpenters had completely cleared the roomstead—that is, -the space between any two ribs or frames of timbers in a ship—they -drove oakum into it, along with an improved woollen sheathing -substance; and occasionally, where the spaces were very large, pieces -of fat pork. The spaces or crevices between the planks of the ceiling -and the timber being then filled, all the above substances were -firmly driven down by means of pine wedges, and the spaces between -each of the wedges caulked. This would have been very complete, had -not the increased flow of the water overcome the pumps, and covered -the ceiling where the carpenters were at work. They were therefore -obliged to wedge up the place with great expedition; and being at -the same time greatly fatigued, the latter part of the operation was -accomplished with much less perfection than I could have wished. - -Hitherto calm weather, with thick fog, having constantly prevailed, -was the occasion of several ships remaining by us and affording -assistance, which would otherwise have left us. But the weather -having now become clear, and a prospect of prosecuting the fishery -being presented, every ship deserted us, except the John, and she -was preparing to leave us likewise. In the state of extreme jeopardy -in which we were still placed, the love of life, on the part of the -crew, determined them to attempt to quit the ship, and take refuge in -the John as soon as she should attempt to leave us. I was confident, -through the information I had received, that unless the assistance of -the John were secured, the Esk, after all the labour bestowed on her, -and the progress which had been made towards her preservation, must -yet be abandoned as a wreck. At length, I yielded to the request of -my whole crew, and made a proposal to captain Jackson, who agreed on -certain conditions, involving the surrender of a large proportion of -our cargo, to stay by us and assist us until our arrival at some port -of Shetland. The original of this contract was voluntarily signed by -every individual of both ships’ companies. A subsequent agreement of -a more explicit kind, on the part of masters and owners of the Esk -and the John, was drawn out and signed by myself and Mr. Jackson. - -These agreements being fully understood and signed, the John hauled -alongside of the ice, which had now opened near the Esk for the first -time since the accident, and took on board the whole of our loose -blubber, estimated at seventy-eight butts and fifty-eight butts, -in twenty-five casks, together with half our whalebone, as agreed. -Everything now went on favourably, and whilst our crew and assistants -were in full and vigorous employment, I retired to seek that repose -which my wearied frame stood greatly in need of. On the 5th July, -assisted by all hands from the John, the stowing of the hold and -the rigging of the ship were completed, and, under a moderate -breeze of wind, we left the floe, but what was our astonishment and -mortification to find that the ship could not be guided! The rudder -had become perfectly useless, so that with the most appropriate -disposition of the sails possible, and the requisite position of the -helm, the ship could not be turned round, or diverted in the least -from the course in which the impetus of the wind on the sails was -the most naturally balanced. This was an alarming disappointment. -However, as the ship was in such constant danger of being crushed -in the situation where she lay, the John, with the greatest -difficulty imaginable, towed us three or four miles to the eastward, -into a place of comparative safety. Here we rectified our rudder, -and arranged for the trimming of the ship more by the stern, to -compensate in some degree for the loss of the after-keel. When these -matters were completed, on account of strong wind and thick weather, -we could not, without imminent danger, attempt to penetrate the -compact body of ice which at this time barred our escape to the sea, -and I took the advantage of the opportunity to procure a long rest. -The attention of the carpenters in caulking the ceiling of the ship, -together with the advantage derived from the fothering sails, had now -produced an effect so considerable, that on Sunday, the 7th of July, -the original leakage was found to be reduced nearly four-fifths. -During an hour, in which we were engaged in Divine service, the pumps -were allowed to “stand;” two and a half feet of water, which in this -interval flowed into the hold, was pumped out in twenty minutes. - -After various alarms and careful attention to the leakage, together -with the unremitting diligence of the crew in the use of the pumps, -we descried land on the 23rd of July, and approached within three -or four miles of the coast of Shetland. In the evening, the John -having fulfilled the articles of agreement as far as was required, -we sent the twelve men belonging to her crew on board, and after -receiving from them a supply of fresh water, they left us with three -cheers, and the usual display of colours. We were now left to sail by -ourselves; our progress was in consequence rather slow. At daylight -of the 27th, we were rejoiced with a sight of our port. Knowing -the flow of water to be sufficient for the ship, and there being a -probability of reaching the harbour before the tide was too much -fallen, we pressed towards it with every sail we could set, and -having received a pilot as we approached the pier, we immediately -entered the harbour, and grounded at half-past five A.M. in a place -of safety. - -Thus, through the peculiar favour of God, by whose influence our -perseverance was stimulated, and by whose blessing our contrivances -were rendered effectual, happily terminated a voyage at once -hazardous, disastrous, and interesting. Men whose lives have -been exposed to dangers so fearful and imminent, may reasonably -be expected to be influenced by a vivid sense of the nearness of -eternity, and to feel the powers of the world to come. It is the -prerogative of the Christian religion, whilst it prepares men for -death, to take away undue apprehensions of it; to furnish consolation -of unspeakable value, when it is present; and to light up the distant -and unknown future, with the peace and happiness of the hope of -eternal life. To the rude and courageous mariner, as well as to the -inhabitants of refined and luxurious homes, God’s message is one -and the same. It is suitable, and worthy of acceptation, on sea and -on land, in sickness and in health, when we expect instant removal -from our present temporary dwelling-place, or look forward to the -activities and cares of a protracted life. To every one of us the -Almighty is saying, Repent, believe, and live—promising a free and -complete pardon through the death of his Son, and engaging, to those -who welcome and obey his message, that they shall live under the -smile of His countenance and the protection of his power. - -Intelligence relative to the distressed state of the ship, and the -helplessness of her situation, reached Whitby the day before us, and, -in consequence of exaggerations respecting the loss of the crew, -involved every interested person in deep distress. Throughout the -town, and in a great measure throughout the neighbourhood, the event -was considered as a general calamity. Some of the underwriters on the -Esk, I was informed, had offered sixty per cent. for the reassurance -of the sums for which they were liable, but such was the nature -of the risk, as ascertained from the information of some ships’ -crews, by whom we had been assisted, that no one would undertake -the assurance, even at this extraordinary premium. The hearty -congratulations I received on landing, from every acquaintance, were -almost overwhelming, and these, with the enhanced endearments of my -affectionate and enraptured wife, amply repaid for all the toils and -anxieties of mind that I had endured. - -On the tide ebbing out, the Esk was left dry, on which, for the first -time since the accident, the whole of the water was drawn out of the -hold by the pumps. The next tide, the ship was removed above the -bridge to a place of perfect safety, where the pumps being neglected, -the water in the course of two tides rose nearly as high within as -without. After the cargo was discharged, the ship was put into dock, -and it was found that, excepting the loss of twenty-two feet of -keel, and the removal of a piece of the starboard garboard strake, -nine feet in length, with a portion of dead-wood brought home upon -deck, no other damage of consequence had been produced by the ice. -The whole expense of repairs did not, I believe, exceed £200. Though -the sacrifice of nearly one-half of our cargo was a considerable -disappointment to the owners, who had been apprized of our success in -fishery, yet, when compared with the salvage, which might have been -demanded had no contract been entered into for the assistance of the -John, the sacrifice appeared to have been a material benefit, having -been productive of the saving of perhaps £2,000. The approbation -of my conduct by the owners, Messrs. Fishburn and Brodrick, was -testified by their presenting to me a gratuity of £50; and the sense -entertained by the Whitby underwriters, of the preservation of the -ship, was pleasingly manifested by a present of a handsome piece of -plate. - -I may add, in conclusion, that the whole of my crew, excepting one -individual, returned from this adventurous and trying voyage in -safety, and in general in a good state of health. Several of the -men, indeed, were affected more or less by the excessive fatigue, -and by the painful exposure to cold and damp, while resting on the -ice; but all of them were, in a great measure, restored before our -arrival at home, excepting one man; he, poor fellow, being of a weak -constitution, suffered severely from the inclement exposure, and died -soon after he arrived in port. - - -THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY: INSTITUTED 1799. - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - pg 26 Changed period after: this, in 1749 to: comma - pg 27 Changed equipped from Embden to: Emden - pg 47 Changed misspelling of "sails becomes neccessary" to: necessary - pg 64 Removed repeated word it from: It it bears this - pg 74 Added period to the end of: moment of danger - pg 75 Changed comma to period at: requiring extreme dispatch - pg 78 Changed rate of 816 to: 8·16 and 718 to: 7·18 - pg 80 Added period to: 3,104,640 lbs - pg 115 Changed to provent them to: prevent - pg 165 Added period to: not been felt - pg 185 Changed swayed up the topmast to: top-mast - Various hyphenated and non-hyphenated words left as written - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NORTHERN -WHALE-FISHERY *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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