108 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES 



Thomas Smyth's Bay, the 24th June, 1618, throws 

 some light on the proceedings. After relating the 

 killing of thirteen whales, which yielded but little oil 

 on account of the difficulty of working in the ice, 

 Salmon goes on : " Here is five sayle of Flemmings 

 which have fourteen and sixteene pieces of Ordnance 

 in a ship ; and they doe man out eighteene shallops 

 so that with theirs and ours there is thirtie shallops 

 in the bay, too many for us to make a voyage ; 

 there is at least fifteene hundred tunnes of shipping 

 of the Flemmings ; we have reasonable good quarter 

 with them, for we are merry aboord of them, and 

 they of us, they have good store of Sacks, and are 

 very kinde to us," yet a little further he says " the 

 Company must take another course the next yeere 

 if they mean to make any benefit of this country, 

 they must send better ships that must beat these 

 knaves out of this country." 



The Dutch had, however, evidently intended to 

 continue at the whale fishing, since every ship had 

 Count Maurice's Commission. 



Master Sherwin, writing in Bell Sound (29th June, 

 1618), is also annoyed by the Dutch, " let them all 

 go hang themselves, and although you be not strong 

 enough to meddle with them, yet the worst words 

 are too good for them, the time may come you may 

 fce revenged on them againe." Two of the Dutch 

 ships came along, but Sherwin handled them 

 carefully " for fear of after-claps " ; had it been later 

 in the year " we would have handled them better." 

 " Now they be gone for Home Sound, I would that 



