250 A HISTORY OF 



whale having dived to a considerable depth, remains at the bottom 

 sometimes for near half an hour, with the harpoon in its body, and 

 then rises to take breath, expecting the danger over ; but the instant 

 it appears, they are all with their boats ready to receive it, and fling 

 their harpoons into its body ; the animal again dives and again rises, 

 while they repeat their blows. The ship follows in full sail, like aK 

 the rest, never losing sight of the boats, and ready to lend them assist- 

 ance ; the whole ocean seems died in blood. Thus they renew their 

 attack, till the whale begins to be quite enfeebled and spent, when 

 they plunge their long spears into various parts of its body, and the 

 enormous animal expires. When it is dead, to prevent it from sink- 

 ing, they tie it with a strong iron chain to the boat, and either cut i* 

 up in pieces, and carry it home in that manner, or extract the oil from 

 the blubber on shipboard. 



Such is the manner in which these fish were taken in the begin- 

 ning ; but succeeding arts have improved the method, and the har- 

 poon is now thrown by a machine being used which inflicts a deeper 

 wound, and strikes the animal with much greater certainty : there 

 are better methods for extracting the oil, and proper machines for cut- 

 ting the animal up, than were used in the early fisheries. But as an 

 account of this belongs to the History of Arts, and not of Nature, we 

 must be contented with observing, that several parts of this animal, 

 and all but the intestines and the bones, are turned to very good ac- 

 count ; not only the oil, but the greaves from which it is separated. 

 The barbs also were an article of great profit ; but have sunk in their 

 price since women no longer use them to swell out their petticoats 

 with whalebone. The flesh of this animal is also a dainty to some 

 nations, and even the French seamen are now and then found to dress 

 and use it as their ordinary diet at sea. It is said, by the English 

 and Dutch sailors, to be hard and ill-tasted ; but the French assert 

 the contrary ; and the savages of Greenland, as well as those near 

 the south pole, are fond of it to distraction. They eat the flesh and 

 drink the oil, which is a first-rate delicacy. The finding a dead whale 

 is an adventure considered among the fortunate circumstances of their 

 wretched lives. They make their abode beside it ; and seldom re- 

 move till they have left nothing but the bones. 



Jacobson, whom we quoted before in the History of Birds, where he 

 described his countrymen of the island of Feroe as living a part of the 

 year upon salted gulls, tells us also, that they are very fond of salted 

 whale's flesh. The fat of the head they season with bay salt, and then 

 hang it up to dry in the chimney. 'He thinks it tastes as well as fat 

 bacon ; and the lean, which they boil, is, in his opinion, not inferior 

 *o beef. I fancy poor Jacobson would make but an indifferent taster 

 *t. one ot* our city feasts ' 



