174 WHALE-FISHERY. 



The movements of this Iwat, of course, corresponded 

 with those of the wliale ; and so closely pointed out 

 its position, that, on its re-appearance at the sur- 

 face, the other assisting hoats were usually very 

 near the place. It was then vigorously pursued, — 

 secured by a sufficient number of harpoons, — and 

 lastly attacked repeatedly with lances until it was 

 killed. The lance in use was an iron spear, with a 

 wooden handle, altogether 10 to 12 feet in length. 

 The capture of the fish, in which, owing to the par- 

 ticular excellence of the situation, they seldom fail- 

 ed, being accomplished, it was towed by the boats, 

 rowing one before another, " like a team of horses," 

 to the ship's stern, where it lay untouched, from 

 one * to two or three days f. The fat being then 

 removed, was carried to the shore; where ample 

 conveniences being erected, it was afterwards sub- 

 jected to heat in a boiler, and the greater part of 

 the oil extracted. 



As the process in use by the early fishers for ex- 

 tracting the oil, may be interesting to some readers, 

 I shall attempt to describe it, following the accounts 

 by Captains Anderson and Gray, whose papers on 

 Greenland and the whale-fishery, embracing this 

 subject, are preserved among the manuscripts in 

 the British Museum :}:. 



* Mr Gray's Account of the Whale-fishery, MS. Brit. Mus. 

 t Captain Anderson's Account of Greenland, Idem. 

 1^ There is no date to the papers of Messrs Anderson and 

 Gray ; but, as Anderson was the person, (according to hh 



