BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 181 



ax almost in contact with the cord; he pauses, still flattering himself 

 that she will relax, but the moment grows critical, unavoidable danger 

 approaches. Sometimes men more intent on gain than on the preserva- 

 tion of their lives will run great risks, and it is wonderful how far these 

 people have carried their daring courage at this awful moment ! But 

 it is vain to hope ; their lives must be saved, the cord is cut, the boat 

 rises again. If after thus getting loose she reappears, they will attack 

 and wound her a second time. She soon dies, and when dead she is 

 towed alongside of their vessel, where she is fastened. 



The next operation is to cut with axes and spades every part of her 

 body which yields oil ; the kettles are set a boiling; they fill their barrels 

 as fast as it is made ; but this operation is much slower than that of 

 cutting up; they fill the hold of their ship with those fragments, lest a 

 storm should arise and oblige them to abandon their prize. 



It is astonishing what a quantity of oil some of these fish will yield, 

 and what profit it affords to those who are fortunate enough to overtake 

 them. The river Saint Lawrence whale, which is the only one I am 

 well acquainted with, is 75 feet long, 1G deep, 12 in the length of its 

 'Done — which commonly weighs 3,000 pounds — 20 in the breadth of the 

 tails, and produces 180 barrels of oil. I once saw 16 barrels boiled out 

 of the tongue only. 



Af f er having once vanquished this leviathan, there are two enemies 

 to be dreaded besides the wind, the first of which is the shark. That 

 fierce, voracious fish, to which nature has given such dreadful offensive 

 weapons, often comes alongside, and in spite of the people's endeavors 

 will share with them in their prey, at night particularly. They are very 

 mischievous, but the second enemy is much more terrible and irresistible ; 

 it is the killer, sometimes called the thrasher, a species of whales about 

 30 feet long. They are possessed of such a degree of agility and fierce- 

 ness as often to attack the largest spermaceti whales, and not seldom 

 to rob the fishermen of their prey ; nor is there any means of defense 

 against so potent an adversary. 



When all their barrels are full, for everything is done at sea, or when 

 their limited time is expired and their stores almost expended, they re- 

 turn home freighted with their valuable cargo, unless they have put it 

 on board a vessel for the European market. Such are, as briefly as I 

 can relate them, the different branches of the ceconomy practiced by 

 these bold navigators, and the method with which they go such a dis- 

 tance from their island to catch this huge game. 



The following are the names and principal characteristics of the vari- 

 ous species of whales known to these people: 



The river Saint Lawrence whale, just described; the disko, or Green- 

 land, ditto; the right whale, or seven-feet bone, common on the coasts 

 of this country, about GO feet long; the spermaceti whale, found all over 

 the world, and of all sizes — the largest are 60 feet and yield about 100 

 barrels of oil; the hump-backs, on the coast of Newfoundland, from 40 



