26 WHALE-FISHERY. 



the West Indies, to carry out men to Lima, by 

 order of the King of Spain ; but eventually made 

 their way to the coast of Spitzbcrgen. Thus, in the 

 course of the season, there appeared in the fishing 

 covmtry two Amsterdam shijis, furnished with 

 twelve Biscayans, as harpooners, boat-steerers, and oil 

 manufacturers, and two more from other ports of 

 Holland ; together with a pinnace, partly manned 

 with English, fitted from Amsterdam, for the 

 walrus-fishery ; one ship and a pinnace also ar- 

 rived from Dunkirk, one from Bourdeaux, one 

 from Bochelle, three from St Jean de I^uz, and 

 some Spanish ships from St Sebastian. These 

 vessels being successively discovered by the English 

 in their various retreats, were attacked in the way 

 they had reason to anticipate ; and after the greater 

 proportion of the blubber or oil, and whale-fins, 

 which they had procured, was taken from them, most 

 of them were driven out of the country. Even 

 four English ships, fitted out by private indivi- 

 duals, were likewise driven away, to which, in 

 common with the foreigners, the Russia Company's 

 people attached the name of interlopers. Some 

 French ships only were permitted to fish, in consi- 

 deration of their paying to the English a tribute 

 of eight whales ; and one ship belonging to the 

 same nation, which had been successful in the fish- 

 ery, was allowed to retain half of the blubber it 

 had taken, on condition of reducing the other half 



