176 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES 



and this fact is still recorded on tombstones in 

 Fohr: 



" Ich schiffte auf dem Meer 

 nach Gronland hin und her 

 die Fahrt ist abgethan, 

 ik bin in Kanaan, 

 wo Wellen, Eis und Wind 

 nicht mehr zu finden sind." 



A navigation school was established for young 

 whalers by Pastor Petri on Fohr as early as 1620- 

 78. In 1733 at least twenty-five per cent of the 

 Dutch crews were Frisians from the islands of Sylt, 

 Amrum, Rom, Hooge, and Nordmarsch. At the 

 h nght of the fishing's prosperity about three thousand 

 Frisians took part annually, of whom one thousand 

 five hundred were from Fohr and seven hundred 

 from Sylt. When signing on the whalers the names 

 of the Frisians were entered in the Dutch form, so 

 that when they subsequently engaged in Hamburg 

 whalers they were erroneously thought to be of 

 Dutch origin. 



