532 MODERN SEA FISHING 



aggravating to us, for, being a small ship, the swell used often 

 to be too heavy for us to lower away. They take line with 

 extreme rapidity at times ; indeed, two of the fish the writer 

 fastened took three lines in what appeared to be about three 

 minutes. The first, a fish of about twenty-three feet, eventu- 

 ally took out 5^ lines (1,280 yards), and was hauled up dead 

 in two hours and a half; the second, about twenty-six feet 

 long, took 6 \ lines (1,560 yards), and, receiving a second 

 harpoon, was lanced in about two hours and three-quarters. 



There is a story of a harpooneer fastening a fish alongside 

 the ship. Before a boat could be lowered to his assistance the 

 whole of his lines disappeared over the bow, and were never 

 seen again. Sometimes a ' Bottley,' as the whalers term them, 

 gives a good deal of trouble in course of capture. We once 

 saw a ship with all her boats from six in the morning until long 

 after noon killing one fish. 



Fog, which is very prevalent in North Greenland, is one 

 of the great dangers in this fishing, as the following anec- 

 dote will show. The boats of the Chieftain, a three-masted 

 schooner, fastened a very strong fish when the fog came down 

 thick, enveloping the four boats that were killing the fish. The 

 ship lost the boats, and, a sudden breeze springing up, the men 

 cut the lines and made for the ice, which was not far off. Three 

 of them were fortunately picked up by other vessels ; but the 

 fourth reached the ' pack,' and, remaining there until the 

 gale abated, made for Iceland along the cant of the ice, 

 reaching it in a pitiable state, one or two of the crew having 

 died of exposure, and others having to suffer amputation for 

 frostbites. It was a bitter cold gale, ropes and everything were 

 frozen. As well as we could make out this all happened within 

 ten miles from where we were at the time. 



We had a rather amusing episode on our voyage home to 

 Lerwick when about a hundred miles from Shetland. About 



