T9S THE WHALE. 



louse is likewise no insignificant tormentor, for it con- 

 trives to bury itself under the animal's skin, and every 

 effort to dislodge it from its voluptuous habitation 

 never yet was known to succeed. 



But of all the enemies which the whale has to encoun- 

 ter, man is the one it has most reason to dread, for he 

 destroys more in one twelvemonth than the combina- 

 tion of its foes could do in an age. The great resort 

 of these enormous animals used formerly to be upon 

 Spitzbergen shores, where it might have been thought 

 the vigour of the climate would have deterred man- 

 kind from attempting to invade. European ships, how- 

 ever, soon after the improvement of navigation, ven- 

 tured to encounter the dangers of those seas ; and, 

 though the Biscayneers were the first who traded to 

 the coasts of Greenland, the Dutch and the English 

 soon contrived to destroy their trade. 



The art of taking whales, like that of most others, 

 owes great improvement to experience and time : but, 

 as the Biscayneers' method is the least complicated, it 

 is best suited to this design. The ships, proper for this 

 kind of commerce, are allowed to be those of about 

 two hundred and fifty ton, which are generally stored 

 with six months provisions, and manned with about 

 fifty men and boys. When arrived at the spot where 

 the whales are expected, a sailor is always stationed 

 at the mast-head, and, as soon as he discovers one of 

 these enormous animals, the rest of the crew hoist out 

 their boats, and row to the place which he directs. 

 The harpooner stands at the prow of the boat, with 

 the harpoon ready for striking in his hand, to which is 

 fastened a cord of several hundred fathoms, which 

 runs over a swivel at the edge of the boat : as soon as 

 he arrives within reach of the animal, he darts the 

 harpoon into its sides, which is pointed with steel, like. 



