249 



CHAP. XIII. 



WHALE FISHING IN THE ST. LAWRENCE. 



HE Bay of Seven 

 Islands abounds with 

 whales in the sum- 

 mer season, and at a 

 short distance from 

 it, on the 26th of 

 July, 1849, it was 

 my good fortune to 

 witness for the iirst 

 time the capture of the monster of the deep in the legitimate 

 manner. Two of my companions on that occasion had 

 frequently seen and often described to me, as the most 

 exciting of all sights, the Spanish bull-fight ; but if it is 

 fair to form an opinion from their conduct, exclamations, 

 and gestures at the period I speak of, I should say that 

 whale fishing must very closely approximate in the feelings 

 it produces to the very best of bull-fights. 



We had been for some weeks enjoying ourselves 

 upon the banks of the Mingan and Manitou Rivers, and 



