NATURALHISTORYof#0i?/F^r. 115 



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

 fometimes feen a certain tra& of land, which at other times dif- 

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

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

 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 fome thing 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 (tornr, or a great quantity of Fifh, &c." So far Grip- 

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

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

 prognoftications of Fifh, cannot poffibly 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. 

 cip. 25, 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 credi- 

 tur effe, quam infula. Itaque naut£ ad ilium appellunt 8c fuper 

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

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

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

 quibuSj ingruente tempeftate, nautae terram fe invenifle gaudentes, 

 anchoris demiffis, falfa firmitate quiefcunt, ac ignes accenfos bellua 

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

 vibus 3 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 feve- 

 ralages back. Even Pliny, in his time, had heard fome obfeure ac- It was m en - 

 count of fuch a Sea-animal as is here treated of. This may be f ire1 ^ un * 

 concluded from his words in Lib. ix. cap. iv. " Maximum animal Pi^y.. 

 in Indico 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 



