INTRODUCTION. 
HE original design of the voyage, an account 
of which forms the subject of the following pages, 
was the prosecution of the Whale-fishery on the 
coasts of Greenland and Spitzbergen. Discovery 
was an object, therefore, that could only be pur¬ 
sued subserviently to this ; hut it fortunately pro¬ 
ved compatible with the leading design we had in 
view. The choice of the situation in which the 
fishery should he attempted, being left entirely 
to myself, I preferred the Coast of Greenland to 
that of Spitzbergen. This was not only the 
most promising station for success, but likewise 
the most agreeable to my wishes, as affording a 
hope of making researches on a coast that was al¬ 
most entirely unknown. The result was success¬ 
ful in both respects. An excellent cargo of 
whales for the season, the fishing being in the 
