EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING 89 



Amitie, seventy tons, bound for Nova Zembla " to 

 see if they could make a voyage by way of trade, or 

 by killing of Mohorses." Although whaling had 

 undoubtedly been prosecuted in northern waters 

 prior to this, the Mary Margaret was probably the 

 first vessel to take part in the " Greenland " whale 

 fishery. 



Their voyage was certainly not devoid of incident. 

 Before they reached latitude 65 north, the Mary 

 Margaret and Elisabeth separated owing to bad 

 weather. Poole reached Cherie Island on the I3th 

 May, and on the i4th spoke the Amitie, on the i6th 

 the Mary Margaret with whom he kept company 

 until they reached " Greenland." On the 29th 

 May they anchored in Crosse Road (see chart, p, 58) 

 where " we found almost all the sounds full of ice, 

 that the Biscainers could not strike one whale, 

 although they saw divers, which as they said were of 

 the beste kinde of whale." 



They cruised about, and on the I2th of June the 

 Biscayners killed a small whale which yielded twelve 

 tons of oil " being the first oyle that ever was made 

 in Greenland." On the 25th June the Mary 

 Margaret found a large number of sea-morses in Sir 

 Thomas Smyth's Bay. The crew landed, killed five 

 hundred, leaving a thousand more living on shore. 

 The next day most of the men went ashore to work 

 and make oil of the morses, leaving the master and 

 ten men on board. Some ice drifted into the bay 

 forcing the ship ashore, " where shee, by the master's 

 weake judgment was cast away, and all their bread 



