338 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [2] 



object rose from the water, which at first we took to be a small island 

 or rock, although we had passed the region of the innumerable rocky- 

 islands which line the northern and western coasts of Korway. When 

 we came nearer we found that it was a large whale, which had been 

 killed only a few hours before. We must confess that the enormous 

 dimensions of this animal exceeded all our expectations It measured 

 almost 60 feet in length, and was correspondingly thick; its head and- 

 tail were under water, and only the body proper, like an oval cut length* 

 wise, rose from the sea, whose waves were washing it. We rowed 

 entirely around the whale. It was in every sense of the word a monster; 

 for even the largest land animal known, the elephant, seemed a dwarf 

 when compared with it. Firmly anchored, it awaited its /ate. We now 

 rowed to the wharf which extends in front of the establishment. On 

 this wharf stood an old man, the master himself, Svend Foyn, as oui^i: 

 boatman told us reverently. We landed, but the ascent offered con- 

 I siderable difficulties. The steep stairs had no railing, and were covered 

 to the depth of several inches with mud, which, mixed with fat, had 

 become a compact and slippery mass. 



When we had accomplished the dangerous ascent, we were met b; 

 Svend Foyn himself. Truly he presented a most remarkable figure. H( 

 was a stout, short man, whose body, in spite of his age, showed strengt: 

 and flexibility. He was clad in wide flowing garments of a blue color^i 

 almost giving him the appearance of a l)all ; under the broad-brimmed 

 black hat there was a head covered with snow-white hair, but with a 

 pair of bright blue eyes revealing great intelligence. The one of our 

 number who was something of a polyglot addressed to him in Danish a 

 request to allow us to visit his establishment. We had first to undergo 

 a long examination. He wanted to know who we were, whence we came, 

 onr names, and where we were going. Only after we had told him that 

 the American among our number was a clergyman, that the other two 

 were Germans, one of them a geographer and the other a lawyer, did 

 he consent, but not until we had assured him that we had not been sent 

 by other whalers to study the secrets of his " manufacture." After we 

 had solemnly assured him that this was not our object, he nodded assent^ 

 and the audience with the king of whalers had come to an end. i 



We now took a survey from the bridge. The white hills. on our right t 

 and left weie actually whales which had been skinned. There were at t 

 least from six to eight of them, from the fresh whale, perhaps caught t 

 only yesterday, to those which had been lying here from eight to fourteen i 

 days, and which, having been continually exposed to the rays of the sun^ , 

 emitted a very strong odor. Some of them measured sixty feet in length 

 veritable monsters, which, half floating in the water and half draw 

 ashore, presented a horrible spectacle. Wherever there was any fai 

 they looked white, and where the flesh had been cut they aj)peared red,|, 

 in all imaginable shades and colors. The sight was one which require^ 

 strong nerves. About a dozen workmen were busy with these whalesi^ 



