Chapter III: Part 3

The honour of the discovery of Spitzbergen has been long contested between the English and the Dutch. The former claim it from Sir Hugh Willoughby’s pretended view of it in 1553; but the land seen by him being in latitude 72°, could not be any part of Spitzbergen, which extends no farther south than 76° 30´. Some writers have supposed, that if what Sir Hugh saw was not a fog bank, it must have been either the island of Jan Mayen, or some part of Greenland; while others allege, that it was either Nova Zembla, or the island of Kolgow. The English historians have likewise honoured Stephen Burrows with the title of second discoverer of this country in 1556, though he never advanced farther in these seas than the latitude of 70° 42´. The priority of this discovery indubitably belongs to the Dutch, who, under the pilotage of William Barentz, in 1596, not only discovered, but landed on some of the northernmost islands (in lat. 80°) by them named Spitzbergen, or Sharp Mountains.

Barentz, as already observed, in the same voyage discovered Cherry Island, which was by him called Bear Island; but changed its appellation in 1603, when it was discovered by a ship belonging to Sir Francis Cherry of London.

The English began the whale fishery at Spitzbergen immediately after its discovery by Barentz. The nation soon became sensible of the advantages to be derived from this trade, and Parliament gave premiums to the different adventurers. They had a formidable rival to contend with in the Dutch, who long were successful competitors with the English in this traffic[23].

[23] The Dutch, in the space of forty-six years caught 32,900 whales, the oil and whalebone of which sold for about £15,800,000. Malte Brun, tom. v. 298.

In Spitzbergen as well as in Jan Mayen, sailors have been frequently left till winter, from the same motives, and have generally met with the same fate; some, however, have been more fortunate, and have braved all the rigours of this inhospitable climate. In 1630, eight Englishmen were left here by accident, and, overcoming all the difficulties they were exposed to, by their ingenuity, were next summer found in good health. In 1743, four Russians were left here, and were not relieved till 1749, when three of the number were found alive, who had exhausted, as Pennant observes, all the ingenious contrivances related of Robinson Crusoe.

It is now time to continue the account of the remainder of our voyage, together with the whale-fishing, the great object for which voyages are made to this country.

Having made fast to an Iceberg on the 13th, as before remarked, near the south-west promontory of Cross Bay, we continued in that situation during the 14th, making all the necessary preparations for the fishing, and on the 15th we sailed about ten leagues from the shore in a westerly direction, making about one point towards the south. It blew this day a brisk gale from the east, which was intolerably cold; the wind at that time passes over large fields of ice, and in that climate, is _comparatively_ as noxious as it is in Britain. During a fresh easterly breeze, I have found the cold in the cabin so intense, that, notwithstanding we had a good fire and warm clothing, I have been obliged to put on furred gloves to enable me to hold a book. We this day killed several seals, and might have got many more, but they are not of much use unless the vessel be fitted out for their fishing only. This day we made fast to a large iceberg, and the latitude, by observation, was nearly 79°.

16th, We were almost encompassed by ice, and remained in the same situation as before.

17th, Remarkably warm. The men were forced to strip in warping the ship, sallying, &c. In warping, the men move from side to side in the boats, to break the _bay ice_, and, in sallying, they run from the one side of the vessel to the other, according to the motion, and the command of the person who takes the lead; this facilitates the motion of the ship through the ice. The thermometer this day stood at 41° in the cabin _without fire_. Being exposed to the sun on deck, it got up to 66°, where it remained stationary. On being hung in the shade, it fell to the freezing point.

18th, Continued forcing our way slowly through bay ice; almost no wind. In sultry days, and, indeed, in all weathers, navigators are much harassed in those seas by the fogs; they, however, chiefly occur towards the latter end of summer. They are excessively dense, and at a distance are frequently mistaken for land. In winter, when the cold is intense, a vapour called _fog smoke_ frequently arises from the chinks of the ice, which is so acrid as to excoriate the face and hands of those who approach it. We this day observed a _fog bank_, a little to the north-east, which at first we mistook for Hackluyt’s Headland, from which, however, we were then at a considerable distance. The edges of these _fog banks_ are so well defined, that the most experienced sailors often fall into such mistakes.

20th, Latitude by observation 79° 50´. Sea clear of ice, with a smart easterly breeze. In this parallel of latitude we ran 12° to the west in eighteen hours. This will not appear surprising on considering that a degree of longitude in this parallel is little more than ten miles.

21st, Fell in with a dead fish. This whale had been killed for a considerable time, and was entirely covered with Mallemukkes, and other voracious birds. At a distance it resembled a floating mass of feathers, but on our approaching it, we were almost stunned by the quarrelling noise of these _Harpies_. We brought it alongside and stripped it of its remaining blubber.

22d, After having stripped off the blubber, we sailed north-east; the sea was clear of ice, and the weather serene. A distant view of the icebergs reflecting the rays of the sun, added an inexpressible beauty and grandeur to the scene. They had all the appearance of illuminated Gothic castles, and realized the magnificence of fairy scenes.

23d, Killed a large whale. This animal, the largest with which men are as yet acquainted, is of that genus of fish termed cetaceous. Some classifiers of animals, because the cetaceous fish breathe by lungs, and not gills, and because they suckle their young, have, by a learned and laughable absurdity, ranked them among _quadrupeds_. It is needless, however, to say, that they want the distinguishing and decisive characteristics of quadrupeds; and hence, though they may correspond with them in some respects, they should assuredly be held to be of a different race.

The common whale, called by Linnæus _Balæna mysticetus_, has, it is affirmed, been sometimes found 160 feet long. In the seas of Spitzbergen and Greenland, however, whales now seldom reach 70 feet, being generally killed before they arrive at full growth. Head of a triangular shape, and nearly one-third of the size of the fish; under-lip much broader than the upper. Have no teeth, but merely laminæ in the upper jaw, similar to those found in the bill of a duck, but more closely set together, and of a black colour. Tongue, in ordinary sized whales, about 18 or 20 feet long; consists of a soft spongy fat, and frequently yields five or six barrels of oil. That article in commerce, commonly known by the name of _whalebone_, is found adhering to the upper jaw, in thin parallel laminæ, usually measuring from 3 to 10 or 12 feet in length; of these there are generally 200 on each side, which are fit for use. The breadth of the largest, at the thick end, where they are attached to the jaw, is about a foot. When the longest of these laminæ measures six feet, the whale is called a payable or size fish; for every one of which that is caught, the captain generally gets three guineas, the surgeon one, the carpenter one, &c. The whalebone is covered with long hair like that of a horse, which not only preserves the tongue from being hurt, but prevents their food from being returned when they eject the water from their mouths. The throat is not more than three or four inches wide; eyes and ears small. In the middle of the head are two orifices, commonly: called _blow holes_, through which they eject water to a great height. No dorsal fin; a large one under each eye. Body tapers gradually towards the tail, which is often above twenty feet broad, semilunar, and horizontal in respect to the body. Female larger than the male; her teats placed in the lower part of the belly.

The colour of the whale varies with its age; the back of some being black, of others black and white, and some are all white; under jaw and belly generally white, whatever may be their age. Some old whales have a broad white strip over their back down to the belly.

Their skin is smooth, lubricated, and about one inch thick. I had a book bound with some of the epidermis, or scarf-skin, which I brought home, but it did not altogether answer the purpose.

Their bodies, immediately under the skin, are covered with a layer of fat, called _blubber_, from 12 to 18 inches thick in large fish. This, in young whales, resembles hog’s lard; but in old ones it is of a reddish colour. A large whale will produce 12, 20, and sometimes 25 tuns of oil, which now sells at from £30 to £40 per tun.

Mr. Scoresby, jun. in a description of the _Balæna mysticetus_, published in the memoirs of the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh, gives the following table of the ordinary quantity of oil produced from whales of different sizes of bones:

Bone in feet. Oil in tuns.
1 1½
2 3
3 3½
4 4
5 4½
6 5½
7 7
8 9
9 11
10 13
11 16
12 20

“The blubber of a sucker,” Mr. Scoresby observes, “when very young, frequently contains little or no oil, but only a kind of milky fluid; in which case, when the animal is deprived of life, the body sinks to the bottom, as also does the blubber when separated from it; while the body and blubber of larger individuals always swim. Though the preceding statement be exceedingly near the truth, yet exceptions occur; for I have known a whale of 2½ feet bone produce 10 tuns of oil, and one of 12 feet bone estimated at only 9 tuns; but such instances are much rarer than to see one of 2½ feet bone produce 4 or five tuns of oil.”

The _Balæna mysticetus_, according to Marten and other North Sea voyagers, feeds chiefly upon a species of _vermes_, called _Clio limacina_, or Sea May Fly,[24] which are found in surprising numbers throughout the Arctic seas. According to Fabricius, the principal food of the whale consists of two different species of sea insects;[25] while Linnæus maintains that they live chiefly on the _Medusa capillata_, or sea blubber. This last substance, commonly called by Greenlandmen _whale’s meat_, resembles frog-spawn, and is frequently seen floating on the surface of the Northern seas.

[24] Phipps, p. 195.

[25] _Cancer pedatus et oculatus._ Faun. Groenl. p. 33.

Mr. Scoresby says, “that he has good reason to believe that the whale feeds chiefly, if not altogether, on the _squillæ_ or shrimp tribe; for, on examining the stomach of one of large size, nothing else was found in it; they were about half an inch long, semi-transparent, and of a pale red colour.--I also found a great quantity in the mouth of another, having been apparently vomited by it. When the whale feeds, it swims with considerable velocity under water, with its mouth wide open; the water enters by the fore part, but is poured out again at the sides, and the food is entangled and sifted as it were by the whalebone, which does not allow any thing to escape.”

Their time of parturition is in April, and though they are said to bring forth two young ones at a time,[26] yet I never saw more than one along with such as we killed. Fabricius says, that, for the most part, they bring forth but one.[27] The female is frequently taken when endeavouring to save her young one, which is generally killed first by way of stratagem. She then strives to take it away under her fins; but, in the midst of these efforts, being overtaken by the boats, she falls a victim to her maternal affection.

[26] Br. Zool. Edit. 1769, vol. iii. p. 37.

[27] Faun. Groenl. loc. cit.

The female, during pregnancy, which is about nine or ten months, is very fat; and the cub, when excluded, is black, and about ten feet long. It continues at the breast for a year. To suckle her young, the mother throws herself upon one side on the surface of the water; she is frequently seen carrying it on her back, and when she has occasion to go to the bottom, takes it with her under one of her fins.

Whalebone was formerly an article of great value in commerce, and at one time sold for £600 per ton. It is not now, however, worth a twentieth part of that sum, and is not an object of any attention to the whale fishers. We may remark, that, by an old feudal law, the _tail_ of all whales belonged to the Queen,[28] as a perquisite to furnish her Majesty’s wardrobe with whalebone. A strong proof of the ignorance that had at that time prevailed respecting this animal.

[28] Blackstone, vol. i. p. 223. Edit. 1783.

The flesh of the whale is variously prepared by the Greenlanders, and is used either when newly catched, or when sub-putrid. The skin, tail, and fins, they eat raw; the blubber is used either as food, or in lamps; they dress the intestines like those of the seal. The tendons serve them as thread for nets. The bones serve as timber for roofing their houses, and other domestic purposes; and fishing-rods of the best quality are made from the whalebone.[29]

[29] Compare Fab. de Bal. Myst. with Arrian, Hist. Ind. § 29 and 30.

The common whale, notwithstanding its magnitude, swims with surprising agility, and generally against the wind. The flat position of its tail enables it to ascend suddenly to the surface of the water to breathe, which it is frequently obliged to do. Whales are very harmless and timid; but, when attacked, frequently strike the boats a dangerous blow with their tails, in which their greatest strength lies. About midsummer, when they begin to couple, they are very wild, and difficult to catch, unless harpooned during copulation,[30] or when found sleeping on the water.

[30] _Congreditur corpore erecto, capite supra aquam prominente._ Faun. Groenl. loc. cit.

Their fidelity to each other is said to be very great. Anderson tells us, that having struck one of two whales, a male and female, that were in company, the wounded fish made a long and terrible resistance; it struck down a boat with three men in it, with a single blow of the tail, by which all went to the bottom: The other fish attended its companion, and lent it every assistance, till, at last, the fish that was struck, sunk under the number of its wounds; while its faithful associate, disdaining to survive the loss, stretched itself upon the dead fish, and shared its fate.

The ancients were not unacquainted with the _Balæna mysticetus_, though they do not seem to have had any knowledge of its uses. Their acquaintance with the spermaceti whale, found in the Indian ocean, was somewhat more accurate. It is interesting to observe, in the account of Nearchus’s Voyage, as given by Arrian,[31] the terror of the sailors when they first perceived the blowing of these animals. As soon as this ancient navigator had successfully conducted his fleet past a single whale, he received an applause equal to what he could have expected had he vanquished an enemy’s fleet.

[31] _Hist. Ind._ § 29 _and_ 30.

Whenever a whale is seen from the ship, one or more boats are sent in pursuit; and if they get close to it, the harpooner strikes it with his harpoon; but should the boat not get near enough for this purpose, he heaves the harpoon at the whale with great skill. As soon as the animal finds itself wounded, it descends, dragging the line fastened to the harpoon after it with such velocity, that one of the crew is constantly obliged to pour water on the stem of the boat, to prevent its taking fire by the intense friction of the line. A hatchet is always at hand to cut the line, should it chance to get entangled. A large whale will sometimes run out the lines of two boats.[32] As soon as a whale is _struck_, they hoist a flag, or _jack_, in the boat, which being seen by the ship, the crew all run about the decks crying “_A fall, A fall_;” as much as to say, “_He’s fast, He’s fast._” Immediately all hands, except a few to take care of the ship, get into the boats with great expedition, and repair to the place where they expect the whale will rise to breathe. When it appears, they strike it again, and so on till there are sometimes three or four harpoons fast. When the whale becomes fatigued, and is severely wounded, it throws up water mixed with blood, and immediately the whole boats surround the groaning monster, and dispatch it with their spears. At this moment, the sea, to a considerable distance, looks as if tinged with vermilion. In dying, the noise occasioned by the whale’s lashing the water with its tail and fins, is heard to a very great distance.

[32] Fifteen hundred fathoms.

As soon as a whale is killed, it is towed by the boats to the ship, and being made fast by tackles placed at the nose and tail, is immediately stripped of its blubber. This process is by Greenland sailors termed _flinching_, and is very speedily performed. The harpooners and their assistants cut the blubber into long stripes, which are hoisted into the ship, cut into smaller pieces, and thrown into the hold, from whence they are again brought upon deck to be pared and barrelled up. In _flinching_, the whale is turned round by a tackle made fast to the fins.

The process of paring and barrelling up the blubber, is termed _making off_, and is performed at leisure times when the crew are not engaged in the pursuit of live whales. The blubber being brought upon deck, the fleshy parts are pared off, and it is then placed, piece by piece, on a block, having three iron spikes in the top to keep it steady; here it is skinned by a harpooner, and is then ready for _chopping_. This operation is performed by the boat-steerers, who cut the blubber into pieces of about one foot long, and three inches square at the ends. When it is _chopped_ they push it off the bench into the _speck trough_, placed by the side of the hatchway, having what is called a _lull bag_ attached to a hole in the bottom for the purpose of letting down the _chopped_ blubber to a tub in the hold. The blubber is afterwards put, piece by piece, into the bung-hole of the casks, which are all fixed for that purpose previous to the vessel’s leaving home.

The _Balæna mysticetus_, notwithstanding its immense size, is exposed to the multiplied assaults of various enemies inhabiting its own element. Of these, the most dangerous is said to be the _Physeter microps_, or Black-headed Spermaceti Whale. The voracity of this species is very great. Its ordinary food is the seal; but if it does not find a sufficient quantity of them for its prey, it attacks the common whale, and even the shark, and tears them to pieces. The Sea Unicorn, or _Monodon monoceros_, is another of the whale’s enemies; and it is said that they never meet without engaging in combat. Its immense tusk, or horn, generally gives it a superiority over the whale. Marten gives an account of a combat between the Saw-Fish, _Squalus pristis_, and the Iceland whale, to which he was an eye witness. It was extremely dangerous to approach the field of battle, and his observations were therefore made at a distance. The water was greatly agitated, and rose to an immense height, accompanied with a noise that stunned the ears of the hearers. A fog coming on prevented Marten from ascertaining the result of this direful combat; but he was informed by the sailors that the whale was generally vanquished; and that they kept aloof till such time as the saw-fish, eating the tongue, relinquished the carcass, which they made their prey.

A species of crab, vulgarly called the whale-louse, the _Oniscus ceti_ of Fabricius, if not the most dangerous, is perhaps the most troublesome of the whale’s enemies. We scarcely took any whales but had one or two of these vermin fastened to them. The _Oniscus ceti_ is about the size of a small crab, and is covered with remarkably hard scales. Head similar to that of the _Pediculus humanus_, with four horns, two of which serve as feelers; the other two are hard, curved, and serve as clinchers to fix the animal to the whale. Underneath its chest, the _Oniscus_ has two carvers, like scythes, with which it collects its food; and behind these are four feet, that serve it for oars. It has six other clinchers behind, which rivet it so closely to the whale, that it cannot be disengaged but by cutting out the entire piece to which it is joined. The _Oniscus_ is jointed in the back like the tail of a lobster, and the tail covers it like a shield when feeding. It fixes itself upon the tenderest part of the whale’s body, between the fins, on the sheath, or on the lips, and in this position tears pieces out of the whale like a rapacious vulture.

Dr. Colquhoun gives the following statement of the value of the whale-bone and whale-oil imported into Great Britain in the following years:

1805 £663,535
6 608,206
7 521,240
8 544,567
9 500,715
10 566,967

24th, Latitude at midnight, by observation, 81° 12´ 42´´. Longitude, as near as our incorrect instruments would permit ascertaining, 12° 42´ E. Sea pretty clear of ice, with a considerable swell.

25th and 26th, Continued cruising near the ice in search of whales, and were fortunate enough to capture three, two of which were size fish.

28th, Latitude, by observation, 81° 50´. Sea almost quite clear of ice, with a great swell; weather serene. Had our object been the making of discoveries, there was not _apparently_ any thing to have prevented us from going a good way farther to the north; at least we did not perceive any large fields of ice in that direction; though it is more than probable we should have very soon fallen in with them. We were a little farther north than Captain Phipps, who ran a great risk of being locked up entirely by the ice. He was, in fact, ice-bound from 31st July to 10th August, and during that time the packed ice rose as high as the main-yard. The want of ice in that place, where we then were, was perhaps owing to the effects of some late gale clearing it away. The great swell in the sea appeared to indicate this to have been the case.

In my second voyage to this country, in 1807, we could not penetrate higher than 78° 30´. A ridge of ice totally prevented our farther progress.

May 29th and 30th, Course nearly E. S. E. towards the Seven Islands. We had on the 30th a considerable quantity of bay ice, and made but little progress. Occasional showers of snow. Saw only one whale.

31st, Tacked to the W. S. W. Ice increasing. Saw several whales. Lay to for fishing. Got a very large whale, which measured sixty-four feet in length.

During the _flinching_ of the whales, there were generally a considerable number of sharks in the vicinity of the vessel. They were principally of that variety termed _Squalus pristis_, or Saw-Fish. At this time, one more voracious than the rest, approached close to the side of the whale’s carcass, and seized a large piece of blubber, which was ready to be hoisted on board. Before he could make his escape, however, he was struck by a harpoon, and his flight being thus obstructed, he was attacked with spears: a tackle was immediately fastened to his jaws, and being hoisted on deck, his belly was ripped open, and the blubber recovered. The carpenter, too, stripped a considerable quantity of skin from his tail. Notwithstanding this rude treatment, he was no sooner let down than he swam away with great agility.

The _Squalus pristis_, or Saw-Fish is often found upwards of fifteen feet long; with sword-shaped bony snout, nearly one-third the length of the fish, and denticulated on both sides: mouth placed beneath the anterior part of the head; jaws furnished with several rows of teeth; habit rather slender; body convex above, and somewhat flattened beneath; skin rough; colour greyish brown above, paler beneath.

June 1st, Continued in the same situation, being almost icebound. Sent out the boats after a whale, which made its escape below the ice after being struck; the lines of course were lost. The harpoons are marked with the names of the ship and captain, and if a whale that has been killed by one ship be found by another, she is obliged to deliver up a certain portion of the blubber to the former.

From June 1st to June 7th, the weather was, upon the whole pretty good, though the squalls were very frequent, accompanied by dense showers of snow. The rigging, by this time, had assumed a very strange appearance, at least what would be deemed as such by a more southern sailor. The ropes were frequently increased to double their usual size by the incrustations of ice, which had to be beat off by handspikes to allow them to pass through the blocks. The decks were every now and then besprinkled with saw-dust and sand, to counteract the slippiness arising from the combined effects of frost and grease. The cabin-floor, too, was covered with saw-dust, and the crew kept some of it in their pockets to clean their hands. In this space of time we catched five fish of different magnitudes.

During the time we were in those high latitudes, our compasses, five in number, varied widely from each other; but this is known to happen to all compasses, according as they are placed in different parts of the ship. That which was kept in the cabin varied the least. This may perhaps tend to confirm the opinion of some navigators, who have maintained that the polarity of the needle is injured by intense cold. The notion of the variation decreasing as the distance from the Pole diminishes, does not appear to have any foundation. According to Captain Phipps,

In Lat. 78° 22´ N. Long. 9° 8´ E. Mean var. was 14° 55´
79 50 10 2 20 3
80 30 15 4 11 56

On referring to the Appendix, it will be seen that the variation, as observed in the Sybyll, in lat. 78° 11´, long. 6° 55´ E. amounted to 19° 6´. And by the same excellent observations, combined with those of Captain Flinders, it is proved that the variation depends more on the _ship’s course_ than on any thing else. It is much to be regretted that Captain Phipps did not mention the course his ship was under when he made his observations on the variation. As they stand at present, they want the most essential element.

8th, Latitude, by observation, 79° 42´. Sea nearly clear of ice. Course W. S. W. ½ S. At seven P. M. we discovered Hackluyt’s Headland, bearing E. N. E. distant four or five leagues. The weather was hazy, and we had but an indistinct view of this black precipitous promontory. Saw several whales, but got none.

June 9th, Intense frost. Observed the freezing of salt water. Shot two seals, one of which only we brought on board.

16th, Stood in nearer the shore to the south of Hackluyt’s Headland. Several of the sea-unicorns were here observed at no great distance from the ship. I noticed two which passed close under our stern, that had double horns of a considerable size. The unicorns make a great noise in blowing, and, when at a distance, are often mistaken for whales. We fired several shots at them, and mortally wounded a small one, which we brought on board. It measured 9½ feet in length, and its horn was four feet one inch.

The _Monodon monoceros_, _Narwhal_, or Unicorn Fish, has been found twenty-two feet long, and twelve round. Head nearly one-fourth the length of the body, round, small, and terminates in an obtuse rounded snout. Mouth small; no teeth, but a large wreathed tusk or horn. Sometimes two[33], and often ten feet long, proceeds from its upper jaw, diverging to one side, and tapering gradually towards the tip. Eyes and ears very small; one respiratory orifice in the back part of the head; back broad, convex, and tapering towards the tail, which is horizontally placed, and is divided into two obtuse oval lobes. Body of an ovoidal shape; no dorsal fins, but a high ridge or projection extends from the blow-hole to the origin of the tail, and gradually diminishes in height as it approaches the tail; two pectoral fins; colour generally cinereous, dappled with numerous multiform black spots; belly a shining white, and soft as velvet to the touch.

[33] There is at the Stadthouse at Amsterdam, the skull of a Narwhal, with two horns. There is likewise a skull to be seen in Hamburgh, having two horns, each above seven feet long, and eight inches round.

Naturalists differ greatly as to the food of the unicorn. Perhaps it differs with the parts of the ocean it inhabits. Small fishes, _Mollusca_ and _Actinea_, are their more general food.

The Narwhal swims with great swiftness, and, like the other cetacea, cannot remain long under the water without respiring. When frightened, or attacked, they huddle together in such numbers that they force their long horns into the body of each other, and thereby become an easy prey to their pursuers.

This animal, though seemingly harmless, is, as already mentioned, a dangerous enemy of the common whale; and has been known to dart its horn into the side of a ship[34]. The vessel must have sunk had not the horn been broken off by the violence of the stroke.

[34] Forst. Voy. p. 353.

The oil produced by the _Monodon monoceros_, though scanty, is, in point of quality, superior to any other cetaceous oil.

The horn of the Narwhal was long the object of a kind of superstitious respect. It was said to be efficacious in the cure of several distempers; and was prized as being of the very highest value. The Margraves of Bareuth possessed one which cost them 600,000 rix dollars; and the kings of Denmark have a most magnificent throne formed of these horns, which is esteemed more valuable than if composed of gold. Captain Scoresby (of the Resolution,) has a very fine bed made of the same materials. It is reckoned a great curiosity, and is extremely handsome. The horn is of a finer texture, and takes a better polish than that of the elephant.

11th, Got two fish. Several sail of Greenlandmen in company.

12th, Strong easterly breeze. Ran a considerable way to the westward.

13th and 14th, Gale increased, and we ran a considerable way farther to the westward. Cold very intense.

June 15th, Latitude, by observation, 78° 13´. Made fast to a large iceberg.

16th, Got a size fish. While we were made fast to this iceberg, some of the crew had put a piece of blubber to the fire, and, allured by the smell, a very large bear came and put his nose over the gunwale. One of the harpooners shot him; but a squall coming on, we did not bring the carcass on board.

From the 16th to the 21st, we caught four whales, of various sizes. The weather was now getting hazy, as it generally does at this season of the year, and the whales were become more difficult to catch.

22d, Spoke the Catharina Elizabeth, of Hanover, Captain Schultz, after being a considerable time separated from the rest of the Greenland ships. From her we learned that a French frigate, and some smaller vessels, were in the North. This intelligence determined us not to lessen our distance from Spitzbergen, but to shape our course to England by the Feroe Isles. This determination, however, had nearly sent us to a French port, for the Guerriere was taken of the Feroe Isles on the 19th July, two days after we passed them.

From the 22d to the 29th, the day on which we set sail for England, we took six whales, making in all twenty-four, of which fourteen were size fish.

On the 26th, an accident happened which was like to have deprived us of one of our boatsteerers; but, fortunately, was not finally attended by any evil consequence. He was thrown out of the boat by the stroke of a whale’s tail, but kept himself on the top of the water by his oar. The crew were in such disorder, that before they got him into the boat, he was almost senseless with cold, and still worse before they could row him to the ship. He was brought down to the cabin, stripped, and laid on a blanket before the fire. His hair was like so many icicles, and the body exhibited a very cadaverous appearance. No pulsation was to be found in any part, and I held a mirror before his mouth without producing the least evidence of respiration. I immediately ordered the soles of his feet to be rubbed with strong brine; his temples were chaffed with strong volatile spirits, and the same were applied to his nose. Hot flannels, moistened with camphorated spirits of wine, were applied to the spine, and over the breast, and renewed every quarter of an hour. Stimulating powders were put to his nose, but without any apparent effect; he never showed the least symptoms of animation; nor could the body be brought to any degree of warmth, notwithstanding being rubbed with hot coarse cloths. As the last resource, I ordered one of the men to blow into the patient’s mouth, as strongly as he could, holding his nostrils at the same time lest any of the air should escape. When I found, by the rising of the chest, that the lungs were properly inflated, I ordered him to quit blowing, and with my hand pressed down the chest and belly, so as to expel the air. This imitation of natural respiration was pursued for a short time, till, putting my hand on his left breast, I found his heart give some feeble beats: soon after, the pulse at the wrist was found to beat. In a short time he opened his eyes, and looked round in wild amaze; then shut them again. As soon as he was able to swallow, I gave him a gentle cordial, which was repeated every five minutes, till he was a great deal recovered. The Captain was so kind as to order him to be put into his own bed, with two of the men, one on each side, to bring him the sooner to a natural heat. Plenty of clothes being put over them, he soon fell into a profound sleep and gentle perspiration, and so remained for two or three hours, when he awoke quite well and refreshed, but had rather a wild look. On giving him a glass of brandy, he arose and went to his own berth as before. All the time I was on board, the poor fellow expressed the greatest gratitude to me, and thankfulness to God, for thus being providentially rescued from the grasp of death. It is almost needless to remark, that in this inclement region, swimming is of little or no use to any person who may chance to fall overboard, as his muscular motion is almost instantaneously obstructed by the intensity of the cold.

Colds and coughs are the disorders most prevalent among sailors in this country. Sometimes the scurvy breaks out amongst them, but I never saw any symptoms of it. Fractures, dislocations, sprains, bruises, cuts, and frost-biting, give the surgeons a good deal of trouble. A certain complaint, either contracted in England, or the Orkney or Shetland Isles, is very common.

The Resolution did not lose a single man in either of the voyages I made to this country. By the blessing of Providence, they were again all safely restored to their native land.

30th, Latitude 76° 37´; Longitude, as near as we could calculate, 1° West. Steered due south. The men were employed in cleaning the ship, drying the lines, &c.

From July 1st to July 5th, course southerly. Weather fine, but hazy. Ice diminishing, and the sun getting gradually nearer the horizon. Saw several whales; they were now become extremely furious, and made considerably more noise in blowing.

Voyagers are, in these high latitudes, often surprised and delighted by the appearance of mock suns and moons, but I was not so fortunate as to perceive any. The frozen particles floating in the atmosphere are supposed to be the cause of these phenomena.

From the 5th to the 7th, wind at N. E. Course S. S. W. Lat. 71° 10´. Greenland ships, from their clumsy make, when heavily loaded, sail with but very little expedition.

July 8th, Strong breeze from E. N. E. Course S. S. W. ½ W. Ice totally gone. Sun almost coincident with the horizon.

From the 8th to the 17th, excellent weather. Course generally S. S. E. ½ E. On the 17th, we fell in with the westernmost of the Feroe Isles. Our dead reckoning was considerably to the east.

The Feroe Isles lie 70 leagues N. W. from Unst, in Shetland, and extend to 62° 30.´

Seventeen of these islands are habitable. They are rugged, mountainous, and rocky; the intervening currents deep and rapid; the sea around them turbulent, and at times so much agitated by whirlwinds, that vast quantities of water are forced up into the air, and the fishes contained therein frequently deposited on the tops of the highest mountains. These are equally resistless on land, tearing up trees, stones, and animals, and carrying them to very distant places. Whirlpools, too, are numerous in these seas, and extremely dangerous; that near the island of Suderoe is the most noted. It is occasioned by a crater, sixty-one fathoms deep in the centre, and from fifty to fifty-five on the sides. The water forms four fierce circumgyrations. The point they begin at is on the side of a large bason, where commences a range of rocks running spirally, and terminating at the verge of the crater. This range is extremely rugged, and covered with water from the depth of twelve to eight fathoms only. It forms four equidistant wreaths, with a channel from thirty-five to twenty fathoms in depth between each. On the outside, beyond that depth, the sea suddenly sinks to eighty and ninety. On the south border of the bason, is a lofty rock, called _Sumboe Munk_, noted for the number of birds which frequent it. On one side, the water is only three or four fathoms deep, on the other, fifteen. The danger at most times, especially in storms, is very great. Ships are irresistibly drawn in: the rudder loses its power, and the waves beat as high as the masts, so that an escape is almost miraculous; yet at the reflux, and in very still weather, the inhabitants will venture in boats for the sake of fishing. _Arct. Zool._ 2d edit. vol. i. p. 56.

On arriving at these southerly latitudes, the appearance of the moon and stars was, to use the language of Captain Phipps, almost as extraordinary a phenomena as the sun at midnight, when we first got within the Arctic circle.

On the 20th, lay becalmed off Fair Isle, a barren spot, about three miles long, situated midway between the Shetland and Orkney Isles, and inhabited by about 170 persons. The shores are high and rugged; greatest depth of the water near it twenty-six fathoms. The tide here runs with great velocity, and forms at the east end a considerable eddy. Some ships belonging to the famous Spanish Armada were lost on this isle.

When lying off Fair Isle, we sent the men we had got from Shetland ashore in the row-boats.

22d, Passed North Ronaldshaw light in the Orkneys. The wind being but little, and at S.E. we were drifted by the tide down the Murray Firth, or _Tuum Æstuarium_ of the Romans, as far as Spey Bay. Tacked and stood in for Kinnaird’s Head, the _Taizalum Promontorium_, which, with the north-eastern extremity of Caithness, forms this capacious bay.

July 23d, Off Fraserburgh, to which we sent letters by a fishing boat. Tacked and stood in for Peterhead, the most eastern part of Scotland, and famous for its medicinal waters; it is situated about thirty miles north of Aberdeen.

25th, Fell in with a cutter off Saint Abb’s Head, which we at first took for a French privateer: to our satisfaction, however, she proved to be the Try-All of London, a privateer of 14 guns, and 70 or 80 men.

26th, Came in sight of Whitby. It blowing very hard, we could not anchor in the roads. Sailed farther to the south; then tacked and hoisted a flag for a pilot. In the evening a pilot came off in his cobble; but it blew so remarkably hard, that he could not get any person to come along with him but an intrepid _lame tailor_. They came on board, but being heavy laden, and the tides low, we could not get into Whitby. We therefore determined to run for Hull; but, calling at Scarborough, we got a brig to come to Whitby roads in order to lighten us.

July 27th, Fourteen of our men being afraid of the press, took two boats, and ran into Robbin Hood’s Bay. Anchored this evening in Whitby Roads.

28th and 29th, The brig lightened us about 100 tons, and the evening of the latter day we got withinside the bridge, and were mustered by the custom-house officers, as is usual on those occasions.

31st, Paid off.

* * * * *

In concluding the account of this voyage, it would be unpardonable in me to neglect mentioning the kindness and attention with which I was always treated by Captain Scoresby, and his son the mate. Captain Scoresby is well known to the world at large, for his vigorous, enterprizing character, as well as for consummate skill in nautical matters. As Captain of the ship, his conduct was most exemplary. He was attentive to all the duties of religion, and preserved a proper decorum, and strict discipline, without harshness, among the crew.

APPENDIX.

No. I.

The following extract from Dr. Edmonston’s work on the Shetland Isles, gives a curious account of the popular superstitions still prevalent among their inhabitants. “On no subject are they more superstitious than in what relates to fishing. Some of the more skilful prophets can foretell, from the knots in the bottom-boards of a boat, whether it will be lucky to fish or not; and whether it will be overset under sail, or be otherwise cast away; and boats have been rejected and torn up in consequence of such a prophecy. When they go to the fishing, they carefully avoid meeting any person, unless it be one who has long enjoyed the reputation of being lucky; nor, when the boat has floated, is it deemed safe to turn it but with the sun. If a man tread on the tongs in the morning, or be asked where he is going, he need not go to the fishing that day. When at sea, the fishermen employ a nomenclature peculiar to the occasion, and scarcely a single thing then retains its usual name. Most of their names are of Norwegian origin; for the Norwaymen were reported to have been successful fishers. Certain names must not be mentioned while they are setting their lines, especially the minister and the cat; and many others equally unmeaning.

“Witchcraft is still believed by the peasantry to exist in Zetland; and some old women live by pretending to be witches, for no one ventures to refuse what they ask. About six years ago, a man entered a prosecution in the sheriff-court at Lerwick against a woman for witchcraft. He stated, that she uniformly assumed the form of a raven, and in that character killed his cattle, and prevented the milk of his cows from yielding butter. The late Mr. Scott, then sheriff-substitute, permitted the case to come into court, and was at great pains to explain the folly, and even criminality of such proceedings.

“Nearly allied to witchcraft is a firm belief in the efficacy of alms. When a person is anxious for the accomplishment of any particular event, or considers himself in danger, he vows alms to some person, generally an old woman who enjoys the reputation of being provided for in that manner; and, if his wishes are realized, he scrupulously performs his vow. There are the ruins of an old church in the parish of Weesdale, called _Our Lady’s Church_, which is supposed to possess a still greater influence in this respect than any living being. Many are the boats which are said to have arrived safe at land in consequence of a promise to this effect, where death, without such an intervention, appeared inevitable. Several coins have been found at different times concealed in the walls of this Loretto of Zetland.

“A belief in the existence of _Brownie_, the tutelar saint of husbandry, is beginning to be exploded; but the fairies or _trows_ have still a “local habitation and a name.” They occupy small stony hillocks or _knowes_, and whenever they make an excursion abroad, are seen mounted on bulrushes riding in the air. If a person should happen to meet them, without having a Bible in his pocket, he is directed to draw a circle round him, on the ground, and in God’s name forbid their nearer approach, after which they commonly disappear. They are said to be very mischievous, not only shooting cattle with their arrows, but even carrying human beings with them to the hills. Child-bed women are sometimes taken to nurse a prince, and although the appearance of the body remain at home, yet the immaterial part is removed. Such persons are observed to be very pale and absent; and it is generally some old woman who enjoys the faculty of bringing soul and body together.” Vol. ii. p. 73.

No. II.

In order to make this little work as complete as possible, I have annexed the following accounts of the Dutch, English, and American whale-fisheries. The two former I have compiled from authentic documents, and the latter is extracted from the late valuable work of Mr. Pitkin on the Commerce of the United States.

_Dutch Whale Fishery._--Towards the latter end of the sixteenth century, the whale-fishing on the coast of Spitzbergen became considerable. It was entirely in the hands of the English till the year 1578. This fishery was first carried on by a company, which sent thither annually a few ships, to the exclusion of the rest of their countrymen, and who also endeavoured to exclude foreigners. In the year 1613, the company’s ships amounted to seven sail, who, on their arrival at Spitzbergen, found there fifteen Dutch, French, and Flemish ships, besides English interlopers. Next year, the Dutch sent eighteen sail, of which four were men of war. In 1615, the king of Denmark sent a squadron of three men-of-war to assert his exclusive right, but with such indifferent success, that his majesty thought fit to give up the point. In 1617, our company were more lucky than in any other year, and actually made one thousand nine hundred tun of oil. The Dutch made, for many years after, very indifferent voyages; and, as their great statesman, M. De Witt, well observes, had certainly been forced to relinquish the trade, _had it not been laid open by the dissolution of their Greenland Company_, to which he attributes their having in his time, beat the English, and almost all other nations, out of that trade, which they then carried on to a prodigious extent.

The following is a list of the ships sent from Holland to the Greenland and Davis’ Straits whale-fishery, from the year 1661 to 1788, both inclusive, with an account of the number of whales catched each year:

_A List of Greenland and Davis’ Straits Ships, from Holland, since the year 1661, with the number of Fish caught each year._