FISHERY. 
came into the very bays, and were accord- 
ingly killed almost close to the shore, so 
that the blubber being cut off was imme- 
diately boiled into oil on the spot. The. 
ships, in those times, took in nothing but 
the pure oil and the fins, and all the busi- 
ness was executed in the country, by which 
means, a ship could bring home the product 
of many more whales than she can accord- 
ing to the present method of conducting 
this trade. The fishery also was then so 
plentiful, that they were obliged sometimes 
to send other ships to fetch off the oil they 
had made, the quantity being more than 
the fishing ships could bring away. But 
time and change of circumstances have 
shifted the situation of this trade. The 
ships coming in such numbers from Holland, 
Denmark, Hamburgh, and other northern 
countries, all intruders upon the English, 
who were the first discoverers of Greenland, 
disturbed the whales, and gradually, as 
other fish often do, forsaking the place, 
were not to be killed so near the shore as 
before ; but are now found, and have been 
so ever since, in the openings and spaces 
among the ice, where they have deep water, 
and where they go sometimes a great many 
leagues from the shore. 
The whale fishery begins in May, and 
continues all June and July; but whether 
the ships have good or bad success they 
must come away and get clear of the ice by 
the end of August ; so that in the month of 
September, at farthest, they may be expect- 
ed home ; but a ship that meets with a for- 
tunate and early fishery in May', may 
return in June or July. 
The manner of taking whales at present 
is as follows : , as soon as the fishermen hear 
the whale blow, they cry out fall ! fall ! and 
every ship gets out its long-boat, in each of 
which there are six or seven men; they 
row till they come pretty near the whale, 
then the harpooner strikes it with the har- 
poon. This requires great dexterity, for 
through the bone of his head there is no 
striking, but near his spout there is a soft 
piece of flesh, into which the iron sinks 
with ease. As soon as he is struck they 
take care to give him rope enough, other- 
wise when he goes down, as he frequently 
does, he would inevitably sink the boat : 
this rope he draws with such violence, that, 
if it were not well watered, it would by its 
friction against the sides of the boat be 
soon set on fire. The line fastened to the 
harpoon is six or seven fathoms long, and is 
called the fore-runner : it is made of the 
finest and softest hemp that it may slip the 
easier : to this they join a heap of lines of 
90 or X00 fathoms each, and when there 
are not enough in one long boat they bor- 
row from another. The man at the helm 
observes which way the rope goes, and 
steers the boat accordingly, that it may run 
exactly out before ; for the whale runs 
away with the line with so much rapidity that 
he would overset the boat if it were not 
kept straight. When the whale is stnick, the 
other long boats row before and observe 
which way the line stands, and sometimes 
pull it ; if they feel it stiff it is a sign the 
whale still pulls in strength, but if it hangs 
loose and the boat lies equally high before 
and behind upon the water they pull it in 
gently, but take care to coil it so that the 
whale may have it again easily if he reco- 
vers strength: they take care, however, 
not to give him too much line, because he 
sometimes entangles it about a rock and 
pulls out the harpoon. The fat whales do 
not sink as soon as dead, but the lean ones 
do, and come up some days afterwards. As 
long as they see whales they lose no time 
in cutting up what they have taken, but 
keep fishing for others : when they see no 
more, or have taken enough, they begin 
with taking off the fat and whiskers in the 
following manner : the whale being lashed 
along side, they lay it on one side and put 
two ropes, one at the head and the other in 
the place of the tail, which, together with 
the fins, is struck oft' as soon as he is taken, 
to keep those extremities above water. On 
the off side of the whale are two boats to 
receive the pieces of fat, utensils, and men, 
that might otherwise fall into the water on 
that side. These precautions being taken, 
three or four men, with irons at their feet to 
prevent slipping, get on the whale, and be- 
gin to cut out pieces of about three feet 
thick and eight long, which are hauled up 
at the capstan or windlass. When the fat 
is all got off they cut off the whiskers of the 
upper jaw with an axe. Before they cut 
they are all lashed to keep them firm, 
which also facilitates the cutting, and pre- 
vents them from falling into the sea ; when 
on board, five or six of them are bundled 
together and properly stowed, and after all 
is got off tiie carcase is turned adrift and 
devoured by the bears, who are very fond 
of it. In proportion as the large pieces of 
fat are cut off, the rest of the crew are em- 
ployed in slicing them smaller, and picking 
out all the lean. When this is prepared 
they stow it under the deck, where it lies 
