THE ORDER CETACEA. 75 



sailors of Captain Bille's company having had merely 

 time to leap on the ice. The united crews now adopted 

 various plans ; some keeping their stations, others set- 

 ting out in boats in different directions ; but all, in one 

 way or other, reached home. The same year the Con- 

 cord went down in an equally sudden manner ; but the 

 crew were happily taken up by a neighbouring ship. 



The whale-fishery is not more distinguished for exam- 

 ples of sudden peril and bereftment than for unexpected 

 deliverance from the most alarming situations.* 



The Davis's Straits' fishery has also been marked with 

 very frequent and fatal shipwrecks. In 1814, the 

 Royalist, Captain Edmonds, perished with all her crew ; 

 and in 1817 the London, Captain Matthews, shared the 

 same fate. The only account of either of these ships 

 ever received was from Captain Bennett, of the Vene- 

 rable of Hull, who, on the 15th April, saw the London 

 in a tremendous storm, lying to windward of an exten- 

 sive chain of icebergs, among which it is probable she 

 was dashed to pieces that very evening. Large con- 

 tributions were raised at Hull for the widows and 

 orphans of seamen who had suffered on these melan- 

 choly occasions. 



Among accidents on a smaller scale, one of the most 

 frequent is, that of the boats employed in pursuit of 

 the whale being overtaken by deep fogs or storms of 

 snow, which separate them from the ship, and never 

 allow them to regain it. A fatal instance of this nature 

 occurred to the Ipswich, Captain Gordon, four of whose 

 boats, after a whale had been caught, and even brought 

 to the ship's side, were employed on a piece of ice haul- 



* Several interesting anecdotes are inserted in Professor Jamieson's, 

 Leslie's, and Mr. Murray's works, lately published, to which the reader 

 is referred. 



