18 THE WHALEBONE WHALES OF THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC. 
a barrel at a time, and to the height of two lances; and from this water which it 
spouts up, they judge how much oil it will probably yield. There are some from 
which as much as 120 (st vingts) barrels may be obtained, from others less, 
“On seeing this huge fish, they embark promptly in their boats and by force of 
oars or wind, go as close as they may. Seeing the whale between two waves, at 
the same instant the harpooner is at the front of the boat with a harpoon, which is 
an iron 2 feet long and one half broad at the wings, hafted on a staff the length 
of a half-pike, at the middle of which there is a groove where the line is attached ; 
and as soon as the harpooner sees his chance, he throws his harpoon at the whale, 
the same entering well forward. As soon as it (the whale) feels itself wounded, it 
goes to the bottom. And if by chance on returning a number of times, it assaults 
the boat or the men with its tail, it shatters them like a glass. 
“This is all the risk they run of being killed in harpooning it. But as soon as 
they have cast the harpoon, they let their line run out, till the whale is at the 
bottom ; and sometimes as it does not go down directly, it tows the boat more than 
eight or nine leagues, and goes as fast as a horse, and the men are very often com- 
pelled to cut their line, fearig that the whale may drag them under the water. 
But when it goes directly to the bottom it remains there a little time & then 
returns quietly to the surface; and as fast as it rises, they take in their line little 
by little, and then when it is on top they place two or three boats around it with 
their lances, with which they give it many thrusts; and feeling itself struck the 
whale descends directly below the surface, losing blood & becoming enfeebled in 
such a manner that it has no more strength nor vitality, and coming again to the 
surface, they succeed in killing it. When it is dead, it does not go down to the 
bottom again; and then they fasten to it good ropes and tow it ashore, in the place 
where they have their try works (degrat), which is the place where they boil the 
blubber of the whale in order to extract the oil. 
“Such is the manner in which they fish and not by shooting with guns, as 
many think, as I have said above.” ! 
This is repeated from Les Voyages du Sieur de Champlain, Paris, 1613, p. 226 
(Laverdiere, GEuvres de Champlain, 2d ed., 8, 1870, p. 874), where it occurs in 
connection with the voyage from Tadoussac to France in 1610; but in the latter 
place it is introduced thus: 
“On the 13 of the said month we departed from Tadoussac, and arrived at 
the Isle Pereée the next day, where we found a number of vessels engaged in the 
fishery for dry and fresh fish. 
“On the 18™ of the said month we departed from Isle Pereée and passed along 
the 42° parallel of latitude without having any knowledge of the great bank where 
the fishery for fresh fish is carried on, for the said place is too narrow on this 
parallel. 
“Being half across, we ran into a whale which was asleep and the vessel pass- 
ing above it made a very large opening in it near the tail, which caused it immedi- 
ately to wake (without our vessel being damaged) and shed a great amount of 
blood. 
“Tt seems to me not inappropriate to give here a brief description of the whale 
fishery,” ete. 
* LAVERDIERE, (Euvres de Champlain, 2d ed., 5, 1870, pp. 835-837. This is Chapter XII in 
Les Voyages de la Nouvelle France Occidentale, dicte Canada, faits par le Sr. de Champlain. Paris, 
1632. 
