CHAPTER VIII 



MODERN FIN-WHALING AND THE GREAT WHALES 



Before introducing my readers to the business and excitement 

 of modern whale-hunting, it is necessary to give a slight 

 review or history of Newfoundland's advance in this respect, 

 and to see how the industry gradually developed since the first 

 discovery of the island by Cabot in 1497.^ 



Soon after this important discovery great tales of the 

 Newfoundland seas and their riches excited the Devon and 

 Somerset men to cross the Atlantic in their crazy fishing boats 

 to filch the treasures of the deep in the shape of walrus, seal, 

 and cod from the waters of the west. Owing to the rapacity 

 of those in power these early mariners kept their catch secret 

 for a long time, carrying their salt cod to Spain and Portugal, 

 just as they do to-day, and reaping a rich reward. Judge 

 Prowse, than whom there is no better authority on the island's 

 history, tells us that " the proofs that the trade was both 

 extensive and lucrative are abundant. In 1527, the little 

 Devonshire fishing ships were unable to carry home their 

 large catch, so ' sack ships ' (large merchant vessels) were 

 employed to carry the salt cod to Spain and Portugal, In 

 1 54 1 an Act of Henry VIII. classes the Newfoundland trade 

 among such well-known enterprises as the Irish, Shetland, and 

 Iceland fisheries. Soon after 1497, the great trade between 

 Bristol and Iceland declined, and the price of fish fell. We have 

 further transactions in ' barrelled fish ' from Newfoundland. 



' Our information on this point is derived from Italian and Spanish letters written 



soon after his arrival in 1497. 



160 



