RPITZBERGEN AND GREENLAND. 89 



flee ; yet tliey followed us as long as Ave could see them, on 

 the l.'2tli day oiJidy. We take them only for their teeth : you 

 shall see almost a hundred of them before you find one that 

 hath good teeth, for some of them are but small, others have 

 but one, and others none at all. 



I saw one in the English Haven, lying on a sheet of ice ; 

 at first we took him to be a seale, but we found it was an old, 

 bald, and mangy sea-horse. We gave him some blows, which 

 he took, and dived under water. When they see them lye 

 upon the ice, or hear them roar, they row with their boats 

 to them, where they lye in great numbers ; but I believe one 

 of them keeps watch, for I have several times observed that 

 one of them did strike him that was next to him with his 

 tooth, and so it went on. When they awake they rise up 

 and stand upon their fore-foot, look terribly, and roar, and 

 strike with their long teeth into the ice for madness, and so 

 draw themselves along by the help thereof, when they run 

 apace, or climb upon the ice, as the scales do. Their greatest 

 strength lyeth in their head, and their skin is thickest about 

 the neck ; it is thicker than that of an elk, and it is also a 

 great deal firmer ; wherefore if they were dressed like an 

 elk's skin, they would serve instead of the best buflf coat. 

 "WTien great multitudes of them lye upon a sheet of ice, and 

 they do awake and fling themselves into the sea, you must 

 keep ofi" your boat at a distance from the ice, until the greater 

 part of them are got ofi"; for else they would jump into the 

 boat to you and overset it, whereof many instances have 

 been ; then the harponier runs after them on the ice, or he 

 darts his harpoon out of the boat at the sea-horse, who runs 

 on a little till he is tired, then the men draw- on the rope or 

 line again, and fetch him to the boat, where he begins to 

 resist to the utmost, biting and jumping out of the water, and 

 the harponier runs his launcc into him until he is killed. 

 AVhen they dart the harpoon at them, they always take the 

 opportunity to do it when he is precipitating himself from 



