NATURAL HISTORY of NORW At, 115 



tion is as follows: cc Amongft the rocks about Stockholm there is 

 fometimes feen a certain traft of land, which at other times dis- 

 appears, and is feen again in another place. Burseus has placed 

 this as an ifland in his map. The peafants, who call it Gu mars- 

 ore, fay that it is not always feen, and that it lies out in the open 

 fea, but I could never find it. One Sunday, when I was out 

 among the rocks, founding the coaft, it happened that, in one 

 place, I faw fomething like three points of land in the fea, which 

 furpris'd me a little, and I thought that I had inadvertently 

 palled them over before. Upon this, I called to a peafant to 

 enquire for Gummars-ore, but when he came we could fee nothing 

 of it ; on which, the peafant faid all was well, and that this prog- 

 nofticated a ftorm, or a great quantity of Fifh, 8cc." So far Grip- 

 penhielm. Now who is it that cannot difcover, at firffc fight, 

 that this vifible and invifible Gummars-ore, with its points and 

 prognoftications of Fifh, cannot poflibly be any thing elfe but 

 the Kraken, Krabben, or Soe-horven, improperly placed in a map 

 by Buraeus as an ifland. Probably the creature keeps himfelf al- 

 ways about that fpot, and often rifes up amongft the rocks and 

 cliffs. 



What the credulous Ol. Magnus, in Hift. Septentr. Lib. xx. 

 cap. 15 , writes, of the Whale being fo large, that his back is 

 looked upon as an ifland; and that people might land, light 

 fires, and do various kinds of work upon it, is a notorioufly fabu- 

 bulous and ridiculous romance. His words are : " Unde plerum-* 

 que elevato dorfo fuo fuper undas, a navigantibus nihil aliud credit 

 tur efTe, quam infula. Itaque nautae ad ilium appellunt 8c fuper 

 eum afcendunt, palos figunt, naves alligant, focos pro cibis co- 

 tjuendis accendunt. Donee tandem cetus, fentiens ignem, fefe in 

 profundum mergat, 8cc. Arenas aliquando dorfo fuo tollit, in 

 quibus J ingruente tempeftate, nautse terram fe invenilfe gaudentds, 

 anchoris demiffis, falfa firmitate quiefcunt, ac ignes accenfos bellua 

 fentiens, fubito commota fe in aquas mergit, hominefque cum na- 

 vibus, nifi anchors rumpantur, in profundum attrahit." We may 

 eafily fee what gave occafion for mixing the probable with the im- 

 probable, by recollecting what has been obferved above of the 

 Kraken, of which people have had fome imperfect idea for fe ve- 

 ra! ages back. Even Pliny, in his time, had heard fome obfeure ac-i twasnote ^ 

 count of fuch a Sea-animal as is here treated of. This may bejj^ un - 

 conchided from his words in Lib. ix. cap. iv. cc Maximum animal w^y- 

 in Indieo mari Priftris & Balsena eft, in Gallico oceano Phyfeter, 

 ingentis columns modo fe attollens, altiorque navium velis dilu- 

 viem quandam eru&ans. In Gaditano oceano ARBOR, in tantum 



vaftis 



