208 WlIALE-FISHEIir. 



Some ships have sailed to the iiortliward of th^ 

 seven ty-ei gilt degree of latitude, before the close of 

 the month of ^Marcli ; but I am not acquainted with 

 a single instance, where the hardy fishers have, at 

 this season, derived any compensation for the extra- 

 ordinary dangers to w^hich 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 Hackluyf s Headland, in 

 the latitude of 80". A degree or two farther south, 

 they are sometimes seen, though not in much plen- 

 ty : 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 consi- 

 derable in the latitude of 80" ; in 1813, many 

 whales were seen near the sam.c 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 



