ZOOLOGY. — SBAL-FISHEIIY. 51S 



have to pursue them over the ice, leaping from 

 piece to piece, until they make a capture ; every 

 man then Henses his own, and drags the skin and 

 blubber to his boat or ship. 



Ships fitted out principally for the whale-fishery, 

 haveaccidentally obtained, inthemonth of April,from 

 2000 to 3000 seals, and sometimes more ; and ves- 

 sels sent out for the seal-fishery only, have occasion- 

 ally procured a cargo of 4000 or 5000, yielding near 

 100 tons of oil. Not above one or two vessels, at a 

 time, have been fitted out of Britain, entirely for the 

 seal-fishery, for many years ; but from the ports of 

 the Elbe and the Weser, a number of sealers are 

 annually despatclied. 



From the exposed nature of the situation where 

 seals arc killed, and from the liability to heavy and 

 sudden storms at the season when they are usually 

 taken, the seal-fishery, conducted on the borders of 

 the Spitzbergen ice, becomes a veiy hazardous em- 

 ployment. 



This observation may be illustrated, by the men-< 

 tion of a disaster that occurred in the year 1774, as 

 related to me by Richard Mood, a respectable old 

 Lerwick pilot, who was himself eye-witness of the 

 fact. 



Fifty-foiu* ships, chiefly Hamburghers, were that 

 , year fitted out for the seal-fishery alone, from fo- 

 reign ports. Most of these, with several English 

 ships, had, in the spring of the year, met together 

 VOL. I. K k 



