548 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



persevere on the seal catching 

 stations until that time. There 

 are, however, some weighty ob- 

 jections to this method. Open 

 seasons occasionally occur, and 

 great progress may sometimes be 

 made in the fishery before that 

 time. Also, although the majority 

 of the ships do not commonly suc- 

 ceed in passing the barrier in 

 close seasons before a certain pe- 

 riod, yet some individuals, by 

 superior exertion, perseverance, 

 ability, or good fortmie, accom- 

 plish the end considerably before 

 the rest, and thereby gain a supe- 

 riority in the fishery, not to be 

 attained by later arrivals. A week 

 or fortnight's solitary fishing, 

 under these circumstances, has 

 frequently gained half a cargo, — 

 an advantage of the most inter- 

 esting importance, in a voyage of 

 so limited duration, and where 

 the success is supposed to depend 

 so considerably upon chance. 



That there is something resem- 

 bling what is called chance or luck 

 in the fishery, cannot be disputed ; 

 but that the fishery is altogether a 

 chain of casualties, is as false as 

 it is derogatory to the credit of 

 the persons employed in the en- 

 terprize. For a person with a die 

 to throw the highest point once 

 in six times, is what might be ex- 

 pected from chance ; but for him 

 to throw the highest point many 

 times in succession, would afford 

 a presumptive proof, that he em- 

 ployed some art in casting the die. 

 So it is with the fishery. The 

 most skilful, from adventitious 

 and unavoidable circumstances, 

 may occasionally fail, and the un- 

 skilful may be successful; but 

 mark the average of a number of 

 years, (that is where the means 



are equal,) and a tolerable esti- 

 mate may be formed of the ad- 

 venturer's fitness for his under- 

 taking. 



The change which takes place 

 in the ice amidst which the whale- 

 fisher pxirsues his object, is, to- 

 wards the close of the season, 

 indeed astonishing. For, not only 

 does it separate into its original 

 individual portions, — not only does 

 it retreat in a body from the 

 western coast of Spitzbergen, but 

 in general, that whole barrier of 

 ice, which encloses the fishing site 

 in the spring, Avhich costs the 

 fisher immense labour and anxiety 

 to penetrate, after retarding his ad- 

 vance towards the north, and pro- 

 gress in the fishery, for the space 

 of several weeks, — spontaneously 

 divides in the midst about the 

 month of June, and on the return 

 of the ships is not at all to be 

 seen ! Then is the sea rendered 

 freely navigable, from the very 

 haunts of the whales, to the ex- 

 panse of the northern and Atlantic 

 oceans. 



This quality of the ice is of the 

 first importance to the navigator. 

 It is this known property which 

 gives him confidence in his ad- 

 vance, and enables him to perse- 

 vere Avitliout restraint, calculating 

 on an easy return. A,s one-half 

 of the fishing season is often spent 

 in tlie ingress, were the regress 

 as arduous, the sailing would oc- 

 cupy the whole time : besides, the 

 return would be rendered doubly 

 hazardous by the prevalence of 

 the summer fogs, which are thick 

 in the extreme, and sometimes 

 continue for days together, Avith- 

 out any relaxation of density. 



Were the barrier of ice not 

 passable, the UaUAts of the whales 



pould 



