76 VOYAGE INTO 



They do not avoid a storm as our mews do, but they take 

 good and bad together, as it happens ; ours bend themselves 

 like an ear of corn Avith the wind, which the mallemucks do 

 not. They do not much care for diving, but when they wash 

 themselves they sit upon the water, and put their wings 

 a-cross one over the other. They fly singly ; when they go 

 to fly up they wabble a great way before they can raise 

 themselves upon the wind, but the Lumbs and Parrets that 

 have but small wings do it more. When they ran upon the 

 deck of the ship, they could not fly up before they came to 

 a place where a step went down, or from some advantageous 

 rise. They flock in great numbers when we catch whales, 

 and light down upon the live whales, bite them in their 

 backs, and pick out great pieces of his fat, even when he is 

 yet alive ; and when we cut vip the dead whales, there came 

 so many of them about us, that we could not imagine from 

 whence they could all come, so that we w^ere forced to kill 

 them with sticks and with broad nets in frames, such as they 

 use in the Tenis Court, to be rid of them. They are so bold, 

 that they would not fly away although they saw us come 

 upon them ; but suffered themselves to be killed in great 

 numbers, which we hung upon the tackle of our ship. 



But after they began to be more shy of us, and would not 

 stay so long. They flock in so great numbers after the 

 whales, that many of them are discovered by them ; where- 

 fore I fancy that he flings up some fat when he blows the 

 Avater out, which the mallemucks cat. But a great many 

 more, Avhen the whale is wounded, follow^ the bloody track 

 left in the Avater, for then they are numberless. They also 

 often discover a dead Avhale, and so we get them sometimes 

 Avithout any great trouble. 



His name is given him because he is so silly or mad 

 (Avhich the Dutch call mall) to suffer himself to be so easily 

 killed, Avhereunto is put the Avord muckc, Avhich signifies a 

 gnatt, because they are as numerous as gnatts ; so that the 



