THE WHALEBONE WHALES OF THE WESTERN NOETII ATLANTIC. 27 



Laudonniere, who was on the coast of Florida in 1564, in mentioning one of 

 the rivers remarks : 



[June 22, 1564]. " Before departing I named this river the River of the 

 Dolphins, because on my arrival I saw there a large number of dolphins playing 

 about in the mouth of it." l 



A remarkable story of the whale fishery of the Indians of Florida was told by 

 Joseph de Acosta in his History of the Indies, the first edition of which appeared 

 in 1590. This story was repeated again and again by later writers, and in spite of 

 its marvellous character it was long before it disappeared from the histories. 



In the quaint translation of Grirnston it is as follows : 



" But the combate which the Indians have with Whales is yet more admirable, 

 wherein appeares the power and greatnesse of the Creator to give so base a Nation, 

 as be the Indians, the industry and courage to incounter the most fierce and 

 deformed beast in the worlde, and not only to fight with him, but also to vanquish 

 him, and to triumph over him. Considering this, I have often remembred that 

 place of the Psalme, speaking of the Whale, Draco iste, quern formasti ad illuden- 

 dum eum. What greater mockerie can there be then to see an Indian leade a whale 

 as bigge as a mountaine vanquished with a corde. The maner the Indians of 

 Florida vse (as some expert men have tolde me) to take these whales (whereof 

 there is great store) is, they put themselves into a canoe, which is like a barke of a 

 tree, and in swimming approach neere the whales side ; then with great dexteritie 

 they leape to his necke, and there they ride as on horsebacke, expecting his time, 

 then hee thrustes a sharpe and strong stake, which hee carries with him, into the 

 whales nosthrill, for so they call the hole or vent by which they breathe ; presently 

 he beates it in with an other stake as forcibly as hee can ; in the meane space the 

 whale dooth furiously beate the sea, and raiseth mountaines of water, running into 

 the deepe with great violence, and presently riseth againe, not knowing what 

 to doe for paine ; the Indian still sittes firme, and to give him full payment for this 

 trouble, he beates another stake into the other vent or nosthrill so as he stoppeth 

 him quite, and takes away his breathing ; then hee betakes him to his canoe, which 

 he holdes tied with a corde to the whales side, and goes to land, having first tied 

 his corde to the whale, the which hee lettes runne with the whale, who leapes from 

 place to place whilest he finds water enough ; being troubled with paine, in the end 

 hee comes neere the land, and remains on ground by the hugenesse of his body, 

 vnable any more to moove ; then a great number of Indians come vnto the conquered 

 beast to gather his spoiles, they kill him, and cut his flesh in peeces, this do they drie 

 and beate into powder, vsing it for meate, it dooth last them long : wherein is 

 fulfilled that which is spoken in another Psalme of the whale, Dedisti eum escam 

 populis sEthiopum.' 1 ' 1 ' 



BERMUDA. 



In 1665 we have for the first time a short account of a whale fishery at 

 the Bermudas (published anonymously in the first volume of the Philosophical 



1 LAUDONNIERE, R., Hist, de Florida. Bibl. Elzevir, 1853, p. 68. 



1 ACOSTA, J., The Natural and Moral History of the Indies. Reprinted from the English 

 translated edition of Edward Grimston, 1604, pp. 148-150 (revised by Clements R. Markham). 

 Hakluyt Soc., London, 1880. 



