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APPENDIX. 
from the increased difficulty of taking whales. Formerly, 
in the early and flourishing state of the fishery, the fish 
were found in bays, and open water, numerous, unwary, 
very accessible, and easily taken by the methods first prac- 
tised, and still in use. But the increased numbers of ships 
fitted out in this branch of commerce, have not only di- 
minished the quantity of fish, but greatly added to the 
annoyance of those yet remaining ; the perpetual alarm to 
which the whales are now exposed, has caused them to 
abandon their former favourite haunts, for places of greater 
security. Whales are naturally timid, and they have from 
repeated attacks, also become more shy, (many from inef- 
fectual wounds by harpoons which have not held,) so 
that the fish are now but rarely to be approached close 
enough to be struck by the harpoon from the hand. 
The hand harpoon is thus constructed : 
It consists of three conjoined parts, denominated the 
socket, shank, and mouth ; the latter including the pointed 
arms, termed the withers, which are six inches distant 
from each other. This implement can, of course, be used 
only at a very short distance from the fish ; and the un- 
aided power of the arm, however close to the object, is 
always insufficient to pierce the prey to a vital part ; but, 
if the harpoon be thrown at a fish, the impetus is then 
often inadequate to penetrate even to those parts, which 
afford sufficient hold to the harpoon to resist the powerful 
efforts of the fish to extricate itself ; in this case, the re- 
traction of the harpoon is almost of certain occurrence. 
It will be observed, that the arms or withers of this har- 
