692 
tioned as one of the soldiers, whom the 
latter opposes to his rival.* Several 
parts. of this fish, more especially the 
tongue, were sold in the markets of 
Bayonne, of Cibourre, and of Bearig ; 
iz was considered as a very delicate res 
past; whence I conclude, it was distri- 
bated fresh, and that whales were then 
taken at a little distance from the coasts 
of Bayonne, in the same manner as was 
practised in Normandy, 
In fine, I find that in 1815, Edward 
Hi. King of England, and Duke of Aqui- 
taine, entered into ‘an engagement with 
Yolande de Soler, lady of Belin, in 
which he expressly reserves to himself, 
a right to all such whales asshall happen 
te be stranded en the maritime coasts 
ot Bisquarosse, and of Sart.¢ Edward 
Hk. wishing to indemnify Pierre de. 
Puyanne for the expense he had been at, 
to equip the fleet at Bayonne, of which 
he was Admiral, conferred in 1888, all 
the customs appertaiping to him, at 
Bearig, viz. six pounds sterling for every 
whule, taken and brought to that port.f 
Ic will necessary follow, that the annual 
capture of these fish must have been con- 
siderable in order that the ‘seignorial 
dues should amount to a sum sufficient 
to pay forthe equipment of an armament, 
This circumstance alone is. calculated 
to convey, an itiea of the importance 
ef the fishery m the gulf of. Gascony, 
towards the middle of the fourteenth 
century. ,; . 
“ We have now arrived at that period, 
when the Basques acted a considerable 
part in this branch of maritime industry ;- 
and although the fishermen of the North 
had preceded them, yet the career of the 
former was attended with such decisive 
advantages, that they were then consi- 
dered as the best mariners in Europe. 
It cannot be denied, that the glory of 
first attacking the whale at a distance 
from the coast appertains wholly to them. - 
Accordingly, the inhabitants. of Cape. 
Berton, and of Plech or Viel-Boucaut, 
the Basques of Béarig, of Gattart, of St. 
Jean de Luz, Cibourre, aud other whale- 
fishers on the coast of Guyenne, who 
harpooned in the high seas, were all de- 
clared ta be exempt from dues of every 
description, hy the laws of Oleron. 
“« So far as it was customary to present 
to the church, out of pure devotion, the 
tongues of the whales, as being the best 
* II. 66 68. 
+ Rymer, Acta Pub. WTI. 514, 515; 
fy Rymer Act. Pub. V. 46. 
Retrospect of French Literatire—History. 
parts of those animals, such offering must 
be considered purely voluntary. It was 
therefore, in consequence of an usurpa- 
tion of right, that the Kings of England 
dérnanded those seignorial dues, of which 
T have just spoken ; for the Basques, to- 
wards the middle of the twelfth ceutury, 
i the days of Eleanor of Guyenne, did 
not pay any such, unless, perhaps, in re- 
spect to stranded fish. 
“It appears from all the manuseripts 
now extant, that the whales did not re- 
main in the gulf of Gascony, during the 
whole year; and that they only frequent- 
ed that bay betwéen the autumnal and 
vernal equitioxes. Accordinyly, it was 
merely a coasting fishery which the 
Basques at first carriéd on; but being 
encouraged by success, they advanced 
-boldly to the contest, atid navigating the 
intervening seas, thus anticipated part 
of the voyaye, which those imniense ani- 
mals must otherwise have undertaken. 
Thence, a number of authors have been 
led to assert, that néar a century before 
the expedition of Columbus, the Basques 
had already discovered .Néwfoundland, 
and Canada; the seas adjacent to which, 
abounded with whales, and other large 
fish. The number- taken yearly by 
them, was indeéd so great, that, accord- 
ing to Rondelet, the fishermen on the 
‘coast of Bayonne made use of the bones 
for the purpose of constructing fences iit 
their gardens. It has been already 
stated, that this commodity was com- 
monly sold in the markets, in the samé 
manner as beefand mutton; tm fact, it 
was eaten at the best tables ; and Charles 
Etiéane, im particular observes, thatin 
lent, the poor detived their priicipal 
nourishment from it. This must have 
continued during a very long period, as 
Rondelet cites the fact, in 1554. 
“ Accurding to some opinions, ré- 
specting thé first distant expeditions of 
the Basques, these occurred so early as 
1575; but if we are to give credit to 
others, it was not until 1617 that they 
took place. We ‘are told, that certain 
fishermen, assisted by the merchants of 
Bourdeaux, equipped several ships for 
the North sea, and sailed to Greenland, 
and even to Spitsbergen; but, that the 
Knglish and Dutch treated them with 
cruelty and imjustice, prohibiting them 
m particular trom landing to prepare 
their oi], These obstacles did not pre- 
vent the Basques however from fishing 
in the high seas, although they refrained . 
from touching on any part of the coast. 
At length Soccoa, Cibourre, and St. Jean 
3 de Luz, 
