74 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES 



Norwegian coast at Vardohuus, in addition to an 

 important fishery at Newfoundland, of which nearly 

 all trace has been lost. 



Anthony Parkhurst, a merchant of Bristol, writing 

 to Hakluyt on the i3th November, 1578, says: 



"He had made four voyages to Newfoundland, 

 and had searched the harbours, creeks and lands 

 more than any other Englishman. That there 

 were generally more than one hundred sail of 

 Spaniards taking cod, and from twenty to thirty 

 killing whales; fifty sail of Portuguese; one 

 hundred and fifty sail of French and Bretons, mostly 

 very small; but of English only fifty sail." 



Sir Richard Whitbourne, who first visited New- 

 foundland in 1583, says: 



" We were bound to the Grand Bay (which lieth 

 on the north side of that land) purporting there to 

 trade then with the savage people (for whom we 

 carried sundry commodities), and to kill whales and 

 to make trayne oil as the Biscaines do there yearly 

 in great abundance. But then our intended voyage 

 was overthrown by the indiscretion of our captaine 

 and faintheartednesse of some gentlemen of our 

 company, whereupon we set saile from thence and 

 bare with Trinity Harbour in Newfoundland, where 

 we killed great store of fish, deere, beares, beavers, 

 scales, otters, and such like, with abundance of sea- 

 fowle, and so returning to England we arrived safe 

 at Southampton." 



There are frequent references to the abundance 

 of whales off the Newfoundland coast at this time. 



