200 LETTER VIII. 



as near as I could guefs, (it being partly buried in 

 the Sands) twenty-four foot round, in the thick- 

 eft place of its Belly 3 fo that I thought it odly 

 enough fhaped. The Perfon who cut it up, had 

 been one Sealbn in Greenland^ and called it a 

 Whelp, or Half- Whale. It had no fort of Scales; 

 its Skin being Coal-black as it cut along, as foft 

 as Human Flefli^ and not exceeding the fourth 

 part of an inch in thicknefs. It cut better than a 

 foot thick, in the middle, of Fat (that was full 

 as white as the Fat of Bacon) 3 and I took parti- 

 cular notice, that fair Train Oil followed the 

 Knife as it paffed along. The Pieces were the 

 fizc of my two Fifts, being put into Barrels in 

 order to melt down into Oil, and what would 

 not fo melt, was afterwards to be boiled. His 

 Eyes were very little bigger, than thofe of an 

 Ox ; his Head was long in proportion to his 

 Body; and his Mouth was about five yards wide 

 from fide to fide, meafuring round by his Nofe- 

 End, His Teeth were fine Whale Bone, very 

 thin and flat, and fet moft regularly, almoft clofe 

 together on the flat Side, 4k\t Edge Parts being 

 fixed, one outwards, the other inwards: They 

 might, at the extremity of each fide, be three 

 inches in fight, out of the Gums, but they grew 

 longer and longer, the nearer they approached 

 towards the Nofe-end, where perhaps, they even 

 c:xceeded a foot in length : Juft at the Point 



wher^ 



