146 WHALE-FISHERY. 



* 



season, derived any compensation for the extraor- 

 dinary dangers to which they were exposed. In 

 the course of the month of April, on certain occa- 

 sions, considerable progress has been made in the 

 fishery, notwithstanding the frequency of storms. 

 At the first stage of the business, in open seasons, 

 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 farther 

 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 Cherry Island to 

 Point-look-out, in the early part of the season. 



In the year 1803, the fishery of April was con- 

 siderable in the latitude of 80°; in 1813, many 

 whales were seen in the same latitude; but the 

 weather being tempestuous in an almost unprece- 

 dented degree, but few were killed; and in the in- 

 termediate years, the fishery was never general in 

 this month, and but seldom begun at all before the 

 commencement of May. In 1814, the fishery com- 

 menced before the middle of April, and some ships 

 derived uncommon advantage from an early ar- 

 rival. In 1815, some ships were near Spitzbergen 

 in March, and fished in the first week of April 

 in the latitude of 80°, where a great number of 



