106 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES 



The actual fishing was again very successful this 

 year in spite of the presence of numerous foreigners 

 and interlopers. Edge himself met with a Dutch 

 ship of two hundred tons, from which he learnt that 

 there were ten Dutch ships on the coast with two 

 men-of-war. Edge warned him not to fish and 

 told him to inform the others, that if he met with him 

 or any Dutch ships hereafter he would take from 

 them what they had got. Hearing later that the 

 Dutchmen had killed a few whales in Horn Sound, 

 Edge ordered his Vice-Admiral to proceed thither, 

 " put the F lemmings from thence and take what 

 they had gotten." This the Vice-Admiral proceeded 

 to do, much to Edge's subsequent dissatisfaction, 

 since the goods taken from the Dutch ships were 

 not worth twenty pounds. 



A small English ship of sixty tons with a crew of 

 twenty men under William Heley was more 

 fortunate. Detailed for the purpose of discovery 

 they discovered Witches Island (in 79 north) and 

 also " tooke a ship of Flushing, 1 called the Noah's 

 Arke (Master John Versile) in Horn Sound, having 

 out of him two hundred hogsheads of blubber and 

 two whales and a half to cut up, a great copper, and 

 divers other provisions, and sent him away ballasted 

 with stones." Two other Dutchmen and two Danes 

 escaped before Heley appeared on the scene. This 

 year the Company's ships captured one hundred and 

 fifty whales, yielding over one thousand eight 



1 The Noordsche Companie was this year (1617) enlarged by 

 the addition of Zealand partners. 



