Chap. I. lying round N O R T H P O L E. 3 gp 
Whale of his Si^e, thence called the Trumpeter his 
Lips are brown, and twifted like a Rope, and the Whale- 
Bone hangs to his upper Lip ; in Colour he rcfembles a 
Tench ; and is fo nimble, as well as ftrong, that the 
Fiinermen dare not ftrike him with a Harpoon near 
the Ice, becaufe by a fudden Jerk he is able to pull them 
and the Boat under it. W hen thefeFifh come upon the Coaftj 
it is a Sign that the- Whales are gone. The Horfe-WhalCj 
which is alfo called the Morfe, the Whalerufh, or the Sea- 
Florfe, in Shape refembling the Seak but in Size is full 
as big as an Ox ^ the Head is thick,- round, and exceed- 
ing ftrong *, the Neck is covered with fhort Hair, and 
with a Skin near an Inch thick j upon the reft of the 
Body the Hair is longer, but the Skin thicker ; in their 
upper Jaw they have two long Teeth, from twelve to 
twenty-fix Inches, which are clofer, whiter, and keep their 
Colour 'better than any kind of Ivory. This Creature feeds 
upon Herbs and Fifh, and is very bold, making toward 
‘ the Boat as foon as he is attacked, and endeavouring to 
Overfet it, by leaping into it ; and when he cannot effedt 
this, he fometimes beats Holes through it with his 
Tufks, They are not eafily killed either with Shot or 
Blows, and therefore the Seamen ufually difpatch them 
with Launces. 
When Whales happen to be fcarce, the Oil and Teeth 
of this Creature make up the Voyage. The Dragon- 
Fifh has two Fins on his Back, and two Holes in his 
Neck, through which he fpouts the Water; his Body is 
long and thin, his Skin greyifh, and glitters like Silver. 
The Butfhopf, or Place-head is another Fifti of the 
Whale-kind, with a Spout-hole in his Neck, his Back 
brown, his Belly white ; in Length from fixteen to twenty 
Feet : And it is to be obferved that they fwim along by the 
Shore-fide. TheWhite-fifh is as large as the Butfhopf, and 
is very fat. When there is- Plenty of thefe Fifh, it is a 
Sign of a good Whale-Seafon. The Sea-Unicorn has no 
Fin upon his Back, but a Spout-hole in his Neck, their 
Bellies are white ; they are from fixteen to twenty Feet 
long, and are chiefly valued for their long and wreathed 
Horn, which proceeds from their Snout, and is exceed- 
ingly white and firm ; which Horn, when they are pur- 
fued, they fometimes thruft above Water. His JDaniJh 
Majefty’s Throne is compofed entirely of thefe .Horns, 
which were formerly efteemed as Specifics againft Poi- 
^ fon. All thefe Fifh fwim againft the Wind, and are ob- 
ferved to tumble againft Storms, which fome attribute 
to their having the Cramp in their Bellies. 
The Saw-Fifh, or Sword-Fifh, is of all Sizes from 
two to twenty Feet long : He is fhaped like a Man’s 
Arm *5 his Eyes Hand high out of his Head ; his Sword 
as fometimes fmooth and fometimes ribbed or indented 
like a Saw. This Creature is by Nature an Enemy to 
the Whale and Fin-Fifh, purfuing them with the greateft 
Eagernefs. A few of them will difpatch a great Whale, 
and then they eat no part but the Tongue. In calm 
Weather the Fifliermen are often Spectators of the Com- 
bat ; and when they perceive the Whale dying, they row 
tow''ards him, upon which the Sword-Fifti retreats and 
leaves his Prey in their Hands. The Hay is another E- 
nemy to the Whale, and of thefe there are feveral forts ; 
they are generally of a grey Colour, ^nd from one to three 
Fathom in Length. Of all Fifh the Hay is the moft vo- 
racious, for it bites great Pieces out of the Whale, as if 
they had been dug with Shovels, infomuch that fometimes 
Fifliermen take Whales that have half their Blubber torn 
away in this Manner. The Liver of this Fifh abounds 
in Oil, and is exceffively large. The Flefii of their 
Back, when dried fome Days in the Air, is accounted 
tolerable Provifion either boil’d or roafted, and the lefs 
the Fifh the better. They are caught by a large Flook, 
baited with Flefh, and fattened to a ftrong Iron Chain ; 
and in the Sea, if Men fall over-board by Accident, the 
Flays in their Turn devour them. 
21. There are, befides Spitzhergen 01: Greenland , fome 
other Iflands in thefe Seas that deferve our Notice, fuch 
as Cherry -IJlandy which lies direCHy South of Spitzhergen, 
in the Midft between it and the Continent of Europe. 
It was fo called in ^1603, in honour of Sir Francis Cherry, 
by a Ship’s -Crew which he had fitted out. There were 
To,l. n. Numb, XCVI. 
for many Years after many profitable Voyages made tQ 
this Place, which lies in the Latitude of 74 Degrees and 
5 Minutes ; and where, in one Seafon, they made twenty- 
two Tons of Oil out of the Flefh, and got three Hogf- 
heads of Morfe’s Teeth. In the Year 1610, the Ruffian 
Company took Pofteffion of it, and that Year they killed 
a thoufand Morfes, and made near fifty Tons of Oil : 
They likewife difcovered three Lead and Coal Mines 
upon this and the fmall Iflands near it, and found the 
Country fo hot towards the End of the Month of June, 
that the Pitch ran down the Side of their Ship, This 
Hand alfo abounds with feveral forts of wild Fowl and 
Seals j and there are likewife in it a vaft Number of 
Bears. It does not appear that for the laft hundred Years 
any Ships have vifited this Coaft. 
On the South-Eaft of Spitzhergen lies the great Country 
of Nova Zemhla, which has been difcovered from 58 to 
68 Degrees of Latitude. It is very uncertain whether it 
be an Hand, or joined to the Continent ; for that which 
is called the Streights of Weygatz, and is fuppofed to di- 
vide this Country from Ruffia, is but afrefli Water Bay^ 
In the Mufeovite Tongue, Nova Zemhla fignifies New 
Land. It is a moft wretched Country, and yet not aF 
together deftitute of Inhabitants. This Land was firft dif- 
covered by the Englijls, and afterwards frequented by the 
Dutch'-, and their famous Pilot, William Barenz, perifti- 
ed in a Voyage made hither in 1596. Some Maps lately 
publifhed in Ruffia, fay, that this Country is joined to 
that of the Sammoieds by the Pater-nojier Mountains 
and there are fome Maps that join it with Spitzhergen or 
Greenland on. dcieNo'cth.. However, all this is very uncertain 
at leaft, and I think very improbable. The Dutch, who 
winter’d therein, alfert, that this Country produces neither 
Leaves nor Grafs ; but Mr. Hudfon, who vifited it in 
the Summer, fays, The high Land was very green and 
pleafant, on which he faw large Herds of Deer grazing. 
Farther Difeoveries are expebled from the Induftry of 
the Ruffians, who have already made great Progrefs in, 
their Searches on this Side. 
John Mayens IJland, as the Dutch call it, lies to the 
SoutHweft; of Spitzhergen -, it lies from South-weft to 
North-eaft ; the Extremity of it is in the Latitude of 71 
Degrees 23 Minutes. There were formerly abundance of 
Whales'in the Sea which wafti the Shore of this Hand, 
but their being removed farther northward, is the Reafon 
that this Hand is in a Manner forfaken : There is a 
Mountain towards the northern Part of it, which extends 
quite a-crofs the Hand : It is of a prodigious Height, 
and abfolutely perpendicular, being difcernable thirty Miles 
off, at Sea ; Beerenhergen, i. e. Bear-mountain, from 
the prodigious Numbers of thofe Creatures that have 
been feen upon it ; there are feveral good Bays, the 
Names of which I need not fet down, becaufe, they 
are no longer vifited. This Coaft, though it is allowed 
that the Land is habitable, and abounds with Stone, 
Fifh, and in all Kind of Deer, is forfaken. The greateft In- 
conveniences attending the Navigation thereabout, is the 
vaft Quantities of Ice which float on all Sides, but efpe- 
cially towards the Eaft, where, in the Spring, it is abfo- 
lutely inacceffable. 
The many Hardfliips and Difficulties to which People 
are expofed in Voyages to thefe- Places, and the many 
Loffes and Misfortunes that happened to fuch as were 
employed in the Fifheries upon thefe Coafts, brought 
them into Difcredit with us, and by Degrees occafioned 
their being totally defer ted, notwithftanding the great 
Pains that had been taken to promote thefe Difeoveries 
originally ; ■ yet it is very certain, that the Confufions which 
happened here, in the Time of the Civil War, contri- 
buted not a little to check Endeavours of this fort ; and 
one may very fafely affirm, that thofe unhappy Times 
were very prejudicial to our Navigation, by Confining 
Mens Thoughts and Endeavours to Things of immediate 
Profit which are foon worn out, and diverting them from 
Difeoveries which, how hard and difficult foever, in the 
Beginning, commonly turn in the End to the greateft Ac- 
count. Thus we were brought by Degrees to abandon 
thefe Northern Expeditions, as dangerous, ufelefs, and 
unprofitable, though we had feveral Advantages over other 
5 G . ' • Nations \ 
