THE GREENLAND HALIBUT-FISHERY. 99 



or sea-gut thongs from a hundred to a hundred and 

 twenty fathoms in length ; the largest are four feet 

 and a half to six feet in length, about half as broad, 

 and a full span thick ; they weigh from a hundred to two 

 hundred pounds and upwards." The Norwegian halibuts 

 are said to be so large that a single one, when salted, can- 

 not be contained in a barrel. They have a smooth skin, 

 white below, and speckled with dark gray on the back ; 

 the eyes are larger than those of the ox, and furnished 

 with a kind of eyelid ; the mouth is not ]arge, but has a 

 double row of sharp teeth, bent inwards. In the gullet 

 are two pointed gills, besides those in the mouth. Close 

 to the head two small pectoral fins are inserted ; and two 

 longitudinal fins descend from head to tail. The pecu- 

 liarity of this genus is, that one side appears to represent 

 the back, and the opposite side the abdomen. Both the 

 eyes are always situated on one side of the head ; some 

 species having them on the right, others on the left side. 

 They swim laterally, with that side in which the eyes are 

 seated uppermost. Their principal food is crabs, and on 

 that account they generally reside in deep water. Their 

 Hesh is coarse and lean, but white and well-tasted, and 

 has a large quantity of delicate fat, especially under the 

 fins. " Of this fat," says Crantz, " the inhabitants of the 

 north make raf which is cured by smoke ; and they cut 

 the lean flesh into long slices, which they dry in the air, 

 and eat raw; and this they call rebel. The remainder is 

 salted, and laid up for winter. The Greenlanders, how- 

 ever, cut the whole into small slips, and dry them in the 

 sun." 



