THE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF SEALS—THE FISHERY ON THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC,
&c.
There are six different species of seal sought after by man for their
skins and fur, viz. the Common Seal, which frequents the sea-coasts
throughout the world, the Hooded Seal, the Great Seal, the Harp Seal,
the Fetid Seal, and the Ursine Seal. The five last species are found
on the shores of Greenland. The Great Seal grows to the size of ten or
twelve feet; he is generally found resting upon cakes of floating ice,
and resembles the Common Seal in his habits as well as in his appearance,
but is readily distinguished by its size and its large beard-like
whiskers. They are very timid, hence the Greenlanders are seldom able to
trap them. The Esquimaux make ropes of the skins of this species.
The Harp Seal is about eight feet long, and is remarkable for its various
colors. When full grown it is of a greyish white color, having upon its
back a black figure like two half moons, in the form as represented in
the plate. It is quite common in the Greenland seas, where it frequents
the deep bays, migrating to and leaving them twice a year, going in
March and returning in May, and again in June to return in September.
At the breeding season they have but one young cub, which they nurse
upon floating cakes of ice, at a great distance from the land. They live
in great herds, swimming and playing together, apparently under the
direction of an old one as a leader. They are seldom found upon the fixed
ice, but seem to prefer the floating or drifting masses. The Greenlanders
take them frequently by surrounding and pursuing them with loud noise
whenever they come to the surface to breathe. Its skin is used by the
Esquimaux to cover their tents and boats.
The Fetid Seal is about four and a half feet long; the hair on this
seal is rough like that of a pig; hence their skins are used by the
Greenlanders for clothing, the rough side being generally turned inwards.
This seal frequents the ice near the land, seldom leaving its favorite
haunts which are near holes in the ice for the purpose of fishing; is
solitary in its habits, pairs being rarely seen together; and is not
very timid, as the Northern eagle will occasionally pounce upon it while
asleep upon the surface. Their flesh is not esteemed as food even by the
voracious Esquimaux.
The last species of this genus, is the Ursine Seal, which is a large
animal, being five feet in circumference, and weighing from eight to nine
hundred pounds. They are found on the islands which lie between America
and Kamtschatka, where they arrive in the month of June and remain until
September, and are then very fat. They lie upon the shores in vast herds,
but are separated into families, one large male being surrounded by
fifteen or twenty females, which they seem to guard with great care. They
are very quarrelsome, particularly the old males, and sometimes a large
flock amounting to upwards of 100 individuals have furious battles upon
the shore. They inflict very severe wounds upon each other during their
combats, and when they cease to fight, plunge into the sea in order to
wash off the blood with which they may be stained. The males are quite
fond of their offspring, but cruelly tyrannical to the females. When any
one attempts to catch one of their cubs, the male opposes the aggressor,
while the female tries to secure the cub by carrying it off in her mouth;
but should she unfortunately drop it, the male attacks her and beats her
dreadfully against the stones. Capt. Foster says that the cubs are quite
fierce, and bark and bite at any one passing them. This seal is a very
swift swimmer, moving at the rate of seven or eight miles an hour, and is
able to remain under water a much longer time than the Common Seal.
We now come, my son, to the Common Seal, which is found not only
throughout the northern seas of both continents, but upon our own shores,
and is the seal which furnishes the inhabitants of those cold and frigid
climes with nearly all their necessaries and luxuries. What a striking
display of the goodness of the all-wise Creator do we find in giving
to the Esquimaux, who are denied the opportunity of deriving their
subsistence from animals which depend upon the vegetable kingdom for
nutriment, the abundance of seals, supplying to them the place of flocks
and herds, without requiring from those fed and clothed by them any
provision for their maintenance. The manner in which the seal feeds is
very interesting: when fish are thrown into a tub where several of these
animals may be together, they eagerly spring to a considerable distance
in the air, raising half their bodies out of the water and stretching out
their necks to the utmost. If the fish is caught by the tail, it is then
turned head foremost and swallowed whole. They also feed under water and
swallow with as much ease as in the air, but in a different manner, which
is to open its mouth partially.
Seals are animals of passage; when on their travels or migrations, vast
droves are seen moving along through the openings of the ice, swimming
with their heads always out of the water. They are very timid, seldom
sleeping above five minutes at a time. Three of the common seal were
taken a few years since on our coast in a net; they fought desperately
and were with great difficulty secured. After a few months, however, they
became very tame, and one of them was taught to perform many tricks,
placing himself in different attitudes at the command of his keeper. They
all died during the winter.
There were two young seals kept in a museum at Paris, which showed no
fear in the presence of men or other animals, never attempting to escape
or withdraw themselves, unless to avoid being trodden on, and then merely
removing to a short distance. One of them would occasionally threaten
with its voice and strike with its paw, but would never bite unless
extremely provoked. They were very voracious, yet showed no ill temper
when their food was taken from them, and some young dogs, to which one of
the seals was attached, would snatch the fish from his mouth just as he
was about to swallow it, without the seal showing any sign of anger. When
both the seals were suffered to eat together, they usually fought with
their paws, and the strongest drove the other away.
One of these seals was at first very shy, and retreated when any one
attempted to caress him, yet in a few days he became quite tame and
confident of the kindness of those who approached him. When shut up
with two little dogs that used to mount upon his back and playfully
bark and bite at him, he soon entered into the spirit of their actions,
and took pleasure in their frolics, striking them gently with his paw
rather to encourage than repress them. When the dogs ran off he would
follow them, though the ground was covered with stones and mud. During
cold weather he would lie in close company with the dogs for the sake of
their mutual warmth. The other seal evinced a strong degree of attachment
to the keeper, recognizing him at a considerable distance, and using
many expressive gestures and looks to solicit his attention and obtain
food, the idea of which was no doubt associated with the presence of the
keeper. These seals barked commonly in the evening, or on a change of
weather, though with a much feebler voice than that of the dog; their
anger was exhibited by a kind of hissing noise. A young seal, which was
given by the master of a whaler to the officers of the Alexander, one
of the ships on the former voyage, became so entirely domesticated and
attached to the ship that it was frequently put into the sea and suffered
to swim at perfect liberty, and when tired would return of itself to the
boats and be taken in.
The common seal brings forth two young in autumn, and suckles them on
shore until they are six or seven weeks old, when they are gradually
accustomed by their parents to frequent the sea. At this period they
are generally of a whitish or light fawn color, covered with soft or
woolly hair, and when in distress or hurt have a sort of whining voice.
Seals are mostly associated in families consisting of a few males and a
large number of females and young ones. They are fond of landing on the
sea-beach, ledges of rocks or ice-banks, for the purpose of basking in
the sun, and in fine weather prefer being on the ice to remaining in the
water; sometimes indeed they are very averse to take to the water when
they have been out of it long enough to become perfectly dry.
When on their passage from one place to another they swim in very large
flocks or shoals, and become visible to the mariner every few minutes,
as they are obliged to come to the surface to breathe; this is generally
done by the whole company nearly at the same time, when they spring up
so as to raise their heads, necks, and even their whole bodies, out of
the water. From the peculiar vivacity of their movements and general
sportiveness of the company, such a shoal of these animals has obtained
from the sailors the designation of a “seal’s wedding.”
The seal is peculiarly vigilant, and whenever a herd of them visit the
shore some are always on the look out, and a seal when alone is observed
very frequently to raise its head for the purpose of discovering the
approach of enemies.
Seals are sometimes enticed to the surface by music, or the whistling of
an individual who is prepared to shoot them, and this proves that they
can hear far better when under water than we might be inclined to believe
from a mere glance at their external ears. When they hear this sound
they come to the surface, elongate their necks to the utmost extent, and
expose them fully to the aim of the hunter. They are most effectually
secured however by firing duck or other shot, which blinds them, so that
they may be approached and despatched; when killed at once by a single
bullet they most commonly sink. Another mode of killing the seal is to go
to the caves on shore, into which herds of seals occasionally enter. When
the sealers are properly placed they raise a simultaneous shout, at which
the affrighted animals rush out in great confusion, and are despatched
with wonderful quickness by a single blow on the nose, struck with a
club. They are very tenacious of life when struck or wounded on any other
part of the body.
[Illustration: GREENLAND SEAL HUNTING.]
Where the seals are very numerous the sealers stop not to flay those
they have killed, but set off to another ice-field to kill more, merely
leaving one man behind to take off the skins and fat. When the condition
of the ice forbids the use of boats, the hunter is obliged to pursue the
seals over it, jumping from piece to piece, until he succeeds in taking
one, which he then stops to flay and flense, or to remove the skin and
fat. This sometimes is horrible business, since many of the seals are
merely stunned, and occasionally recover after they have been flayed and
flensed. In this condition, too shockingly mangled for description, they
have been seen to make battle, and even to swim off.
The Esquimaux hunt the seal in various modes, according to circumstances.
When the breathing place (a hole made in the ice by the seal) is
discovered, the hunter raises near it a small wall about four feet high,
of slabs of snow, to shelter himself from the wind, and sits under the
lee of his snow shelter, having deposited his spear, lines and other
implements upon several little forked sticks set up in the snow, in
order to avoid making the slightest noise in moving them when wanted.
The most curious precaution, taken with a similar intention, is that of
tying his own knees together with a thong to prevent any rustling of
his dress, which would alarm the seal. In this situation the Esquimaux
will frequently sit for many hours when the thermometer is below zero,
attentively listening to ascertain whether the animal is working below.
When he thinks the hole is almost completed, he carefully raises his
spear, to which the line is previously tied, and the moment the breathing
of the seal is distinctly heard, the ice being then of course very
thin, he strikes the spear into him with both hands, and cuts away the
ice with his knife to repeat his blow. At other times, having enlarged
the breathing place, he takes his position behind the shelter, and the
animal, when he next comes to the hole, rises fearlessly out of the
water, exposing his head and shoulders, and repeats this action with
increased confidence. As he is not in haste to dive again, the hunter
now starts up suddenly and drives his spear forcibly into him. Another
method adopted consists in covering the breathing hole with light snow,
and making an opening through the top of it with the spear handle about
as large as the mouth of a bottle. The hunter then withdraws the spear
and takes his place behind his snow-screen, listening vigilantly until
he hears the seal breathing beneath the snow, when he silently rises
and plunges his weapon through the snow-covering into the body of the
seal. The moment the seal is struck, the hunter endeavors to catch the
line behind one leg to act as a strong check; and as an additional
security, a hitch is taken round the ring finger, which is sometimes
either dreadfully lacerated or entirely torn off by the violent struggles
of a large seal. The animal is then stabbed until dead; the hole being
enlarged, it is drawn out on the ice, where it speedily freezes and is in
condition to be drawn home.
I have told you, my son, that the seal furnishes the natives of those
cold climates with nearly all the necessaries of life, and I will now
give you a description of Capt. Lyon’s visit to one of their feasts.
“On the return of a party of successful seal-hunters,” he says, “blood,
blubber, entrails, skins and flesh, was sociably intermixed in savoury
heaps. Abundant smoking messes were in preparation, and even the dogs
looked happy as they uninterruptedly licked the faces of the children,
who were covered with blood and grease from the chin to the eyes.
Universal merriment prevailed, and such men and children as could bear
more food stood lounging round the women, who sat sucking their fingers
and cooking as fast as possible. While the messes were preparing the
children solaced themselves by eating such parts of the raw uncleaned
entrails as their young teeth could tear, and those morsels which proved
too tough were delivered over to their mothers, who soon reduced them to
a proper size and consistency for their tender offspring.
“At the distribution of the contents of one of the pots I was
complimented with a fine piece of half stewed seal’s flesh, from which
the kind donor, a most unsavory looking old lady, with the most obliging
politeness, had first licked the gravy and dirt, and bitten it all round
in order to ascertain the most tender part on which I should make the
first attack. My refusal of this delicacy did not offend, and we had
much laughing on the subject, particularly when the old woman, with well
feigned disgust and many wry faces, contrived to finish it herself. In
my rambles on this day of plenty I found, beyond a doubt, that the women
do not eat with the men, but waiting till they are first satisfied, then
enjoy a feast by themselves. In the meantime, however, the females who
superintend the cooking have the privilege of licking the gravy from
the lumps of meat as they are taken out and before they are presented
to their husbands. Both sexes eat in the same manner, although not in
equal proportions; the females very seldom, and the men very frequently
stuffing until they become quite stupified. A lump of meat being given
to the nearest person, he first sucks it all round and then pushes as
much as he can into his mouth, cutting it from the larger piece close
to his lips, to the great danger of them and his nose. The meat then
passes round until it is consumed, and the person before whom it stops
is entitled to the first bite of the next morsel. In this manner a meal
continues a long time, as each eats or rather bolts several pounds, and
the pots are in consequence frequently replenished. In the intermediate
time the convives suck their fingers or indulge in a few lumps of
delicate raw blubber. The swallows of the Esquimaux are of such a
marvellous capacity that a piece of flesh of the size of an orange very
rarely receives half a dozen bites before it is bolted, and that without
any apparent exertion. The rich soup of the meat is handed round at the
close of the repast, and each takes a sup in turn until it is finished,
when the pot is passed to the good woman of the house, who licks it
carefully clean and then prepares to make a mess for herself. On all
occasions the children are stuffed almost to suffocation. The meals being
finished, every one scrapes the grease, &c. from his face into his mouth,
and the fingers are then cleaned by sucking.”
The food of the Esquimaux is cooked by the aid of a lamp, which is
supplied with seal oil, the wick being composed of moss. On this lamp are
they also dependent for warmth in their huts, which are made of snow,
as well as for their supply of water to drink, which, during a great
part of the year is only to be obtained by melting snow. A scarcity of
seals, therefore, is accompanied by a series of ills, the hut is deprived
of light and warmth, and the sufferings of famine are increased by the
torment of thirst, against which they have no other resource under such
circumstances except to eat the snow, which affords but a partial relief.
In judging of the filth and voracity of these poor creatures, we must
ever bear in mind the circumstances which during so much of the time
render water almost unattainable, except to quench their thirst, as well
as the frequent and severe starvation to which they are subjected.
The Esquimaux apply the skins of seals to various purposes, amongst which
the most important is the construction of their boats. The small boat to
carry but one person is called _kayak_, and has been aptly compared in
shape to a weaver’s shuttle, having the head and stern equally sharp.
There is an opening or hole in which the rower sits, having a rim or
projection to which a part of the dress may be fastened in such a manner
as entirely to exclude the water. The weight of the whole does not
exceed fifty or sixty pounds, so that the boat may be readily carried by
the owner on his head, and from the peculiar form of the rim, without
applying his hands.
The Esquimaux are very proud of their boats; they place a warm skin
in the bottom to sit upon, and the position of the paddler is with the
legs extended and the feet pointed forwards. Whenever any weight is to
be raised, or the stowage of the boat to be changed, two kayaks lie
together, and the paddles of each being laid across, a steady double
boat is formed. When not paddling the occupant must preserve a very
nice balance, and a tremulous motion is always to be observed in the
boat. The Esquimaux in the vicinity of Winter Island have not the art
of regaining the upright position when overturned by a dexterous use
of the paddle. An inflated seal bladder is a constant appendage to the
canoe equipage; the weapons are kept in their places on the upper surface
of the boats by small lines of whalebone, tightly stretched across so
as to receive the points or handles of the spears beneath them. The
stem or stern of the boat is frequently stowed with flesh, birds or
eggs; a seal, notwithstanding its roundness and liability to roll, is
so carefully balanced on the boat as seldom to require being tied on.
When going before the wind while a smart swell is running, the kayak
requires the nicest management, as the slightest inattention would expose
the broadside to the sea and be followed by immediate peril to this
frail vessel. The extreme velocity with which the kayak is impelled,
and the dexterity with which it is turned and guided, render it a very
interesting object.
The Esquimaux use another boat made of seal-skin, which is larger and
destined to carry luggage, or to transport their families. This is called
_umiak_ or _oomiak_, and is made nearly square at the head and stern.
Its frame is made of whalebone or wood, and the bottom is flat. The
seal-skins with which the frame is covered are deprived of the hair, and
are at all times transparent, but especially so when wet. Each of the
boats has five or six seats or thwarts, placed as in ours, and is moved
by two very clumsy oars with flat blades, which are used by the women,
and steered with a similar oar by another. They vary much in size, having
the sides very flat and about three feet high. Sometimes they are so
large as twenty-five feet in length by eight in breadth, and are capable
of containing women, boys and small children, to the number of twenty-one
persons.
As I have alluded to the Esquimaux, my son, it will perhaps be
interesting to you to hear something further of their mode of life. I
will therefore give you a description of one of their snow villages, with
an account of a visit by a large party of them to the winter quarters of
captains Parry and Lyon, which is taken from the Narrative of Discovery
and Adventure in the Polar Seas and Regions.
“On the morning of the 1st February, a number of distant figures were
seen moving over the ice, and, when they were viewed through glasses, the
cry was raised, ‘Esquimaux! Esquimaux!’ As it was of great importance
to deal courteously and discreetly with these strangers, the two
commanders formed a party of six, who walked in files behind each other,
that they might cause no alarm. The Esquimaux then formed themselves
into a line of twenty-one, advanced slowly, and at length made a full
stop. In this order they saluted the strangers by the usual movement of
beating their breasts. They were substantially clothed in rich and dark
deer-skins, and appeared a much more quiet and orderly race than their
rude countrymen of the Savage Islands. On the English producing their
precious commodities, knives, nails, and needles, an active traffic was
set on foot; and the females, on seeing that much importance was attached
to the skins which formed their clothing, began immediately to strip
off those with which their fair persons were covered. The captains felt
alarm for the consequences, under a temperature more than fifty degrees
below the freezing point; but were soon consoled by discerning underneath
another comfortable suit. They were now cordially invited to enter
their habitations, to which they agreed most readily, only that there
appeared no habitations to enter. However, they were led to a hole in
the snow, and instructed to place themselves on their hands and knees,
in which position, having crept through a long winding passage, they
arrived at a little hall with a dome-shaped roof, whence doors opened
into three apartments, each occupied by a separate family. These proved
to be five distinct mansions, tenanted by sixty-four men, women, and
children. The materials and structure of these abodes were still more
singular than their position. Snow, the chief product of the northern
tempests, became here a protection against its own cold. It was formed
into curved slabs of about two feet long and half a foot thick, put
together by a most judicious masonry, so as to present a species of
dome-shaped structures, rising six or seven feet above the ground, and
about fourteen or sixteen feet in diameter. The mode of inserting the
key-slab, which bound the whole together, would, it is said, have been
satisfactory to the eye of a regularly-bred artist. A plate of ice in the
roof served as a window, and admitted the light as through ground glass;
which, when it shone on the interior mansions, in their first state of
pure and beautiful transparency, produced soft and glittering tints
of green and blue. But, alas! ere long, accumulated dirt, smoke, and
offal, converted these apartments into a scene of blackness and stench.
This little village appeared at first like a cluster of hillocks amid
the snow; but successive falls filled up the vacuities, and converted
it almost into a smooth surface, so that even boys and dogs were seen
walking and sporting over the roofs; though, as summer and thaw advanced,
a leg sometimes penetrated, and appeared to the alarmed inmates below.
Then, too, the ceiling begins to drip; and the tenants, after repeatedly
endeavoring to patch it with fresh slabs, and catching, of course,
some severe colds, are obliged to betake themselves to a more durable
covering. In each room, suspended from the roof, burns a lamp, with a
long wick formed of a peculiar species of moss, fed with the oil of the
seal or the walrus, and serving at once for light, heat and cookery. The
family sit round the apartment, on a bench formed of snow, strewed with
slender twigs and covered with skins; but this part of the dwelling must
be carefully kept a good deal below the freezing-point, since a higher
temperature would speedily dissolve the walls of the frail tenement.
After a cheerful and friendly visit, an invitation was given to the
Esquimaux to repair to the ships, when fifty accepted it with alacrity.
Partly walking, and partly dancing, they soon reached the vessels, where
a striking congeniality of spirit was soon found to exist between them
and the sailors; boisterous fun forming to each the chief source of
enjoyment. A fiddle and drum being produced, the natives struck up a
dance, or rather a succession of vehement leaps, accompanied with loud
shouts and yells. Seeing the Kabloonas or Whites, as they called the
strangers, engaged in the game of leap-frog, they attempted to join; but
not duly understanding how to measure their movements, they made such
over-leaps as sometimes to pitch on the crown of their heads: however
they sprang up quite unconcerned. Their attention was specially attracted
to the effects of a winch, by which one sailor forcibly drew towards him
a party of ten or twelve of their number, though grinning and straining
every nerve in resistance; but finding all in vain, they joined in the
burst of good-humored laughter till tears streamed from their eyes. One
intelligent old man followed captain Lyon to the cabin, and viewed with
rational surprise various objects which were presented. The performance
of a hand-organ and a musical snuff-box struck him with breathless
admiration; and on seeing drawings of the Esquimaux in Hudson’s Strait,
he soon understood them, and showed the difference between their dress
and appearance and that of his own tribe. On seeing the sketch of a bear,
he raised a loud cry, drew up his sleeves, and showed the scars of three
deep wounds received in encounters with that terrible animal. The seamen
sought to treat their visitors to such delicacies as their ship afforded,
but were for some time at a loss to discover how their palate might be
gratified. Grog, the seaman’s choicest luxury, only one old woman could
be induced to taste. Sugar, sweetmeats, gingerbread, were accepted only
out of complaisance, and eaten with manifest disgust; but train-oil,
entrails of animals, and any thing consisting of pure fat or grease, were
swallowed in immense quantities, and with symptoms of exquisite delight.
This taste was first evinced by an old woman, who, having sold her
oil-pot, took care previously to empty the contents into her stomach,
and lick it clean with her tongue, regardless of her face becoming thus
as black as soot. Capt. Lyon, being disposed to ingratiate himself
with rather a handsome young damsel, presented her with a good moulded
candle, six in the pound. She immediately began to eat off the tallow
with every symptom of the greatest enjoyment, after which she thrust the
wick into her mouth; but the captain, concerned for the consequences to
this delicate virgin, insisted on pulling it out. In preference to strong
liquors they drank water in the most enormous quantities, by gallons at
a time, and two quarts at a draught; a supply of liquid which is perhaps
necessary to dissolve their gross food, and which, being obtained only
from snow artificially melted, is a scarce winter article.
The Esquimaux were attended by a large pack of wolves, which seemed
to follow solely to pick up whatever might be found straggling or
defenceless about their habitation. These animals continued through the
whole winter ravening with hunger, and in eager watch for any victim
which might come within their reach. For this purpose they took a
station between the huts and the ships, ready to act against either as
circumstances might dictate. They did not attack the sailors even when
unarmed, though they were often seen hovering through the gloom in search
of prey. Every stray dog was seized, and in a few minutes devoured. Two
wolves broke into a snow-house close to the ship, and carried off each
a dog larger than himself; but, being pursued, one of them was obliged
to drop his booty. In the extremity of their hunger they hesitated not
to tear and devour the cables and canvass found lying near the vessel.
A deadly war was therefore waged against these fierce animals, of which
thirteen were killed in the course of the season, and sent to be eaten by
the Esquimaux,—a present which was received with much satisfaction.”
The number of seals destroyed in a single season by the regular sealers
may well excite surprise; one ship has been known to obtain a cargo of
four or five thousand skins and upwards of a hundred tons of oil. Whale
ships have accidentally fallen in with and secured two or three thousand
of these animals during the month of April. The sealing business is,
however, very hazardous when conducted on the borders of the Spitzbergen
ice. Many ships with all their crews are lost by the sudden and
tremendous storms occurring in those seas, where the dangers are vastly
multiplied by the driving of immense bodies of ice. In one storm that
occurred in the year 1774 no less than five seal ships were destroyed in
a few hours, and six hundred valuable seamen perished.
“One of the most affecting shipwrecks which ever occurred in the northern
seas was that of the Jean, of Peterhead, in 1826. Of this we can give a
full account from an interesting narrative by Mr. Cumming, the surgeon,
an eye-witness and sharer of the calamity. This vessel sailed on the
15th March, having on board only twenty-eight men, but received at
Lerwick a complement of twenty-three natives of Shetland; owing to
which arrangement, as well as by contrary winds, she was detained till
the 28th. From the evening of that day to the 1st April, the ship
encountered very stormy weather, which she successfully withstood, and
was then steered into those western tracts of the Greenland sea which are
the most favorable for the capture of the seal. In one day the seamen
killed 1138 seals, and the entire number caught in five days exceeded
3070. This scene, however, could not be contemplated without some
painful impressions. The seals attacked were only the young, as they lay
fearlessly reposing on the ice, before they had yet attempted to plunge
into the watery element. One blow of the club stunned them completely.
The view of hundreds of creatures bearing some resemblance to the human
form, writhing in the agonies of death, and the deck streaming with their
gore, was at once distressing and disgusting to a spectator of any
feeling. However, this evil soon gave way to others of a more serious
nature.
On the morning of the 18th April the sailors had begun their fishery as
usual; but a breeze sprung up, and obliged them by eleven o’clock to
suspend operations. The gale continually freshened, and was the more
unpleasant from their being surrounded with loose ice, which a dense and
heavy fog made it impossible to distinguish at any distance. The mariners
took in all sail, but did not apprehend danger till six in the evening,
when the wind, which had been continually increasing, began to blow
with tenfold fury. All that the narrator had ever heard, of the united
sounds of thunder, tempest, and waves, seemed faint when compared with
the stunning roar of this hurricane. At eight the ship was borne upon
a stream of ice, from which she received several severe concussions;
the consequence of which was that at ten the water began to enter, and
at twelve no exertion in pumping could prevent her from being gradually
filled.
At one in the morning she became completely waterlogged. She then fell
over on her beam-ends, when the crew, giving themselves up for lost,
clung to the nearest object for immediate safety. By judiciously cutting
away the main and fore masts, they happily enabled the ship to right
herself, when being drifted into a stream of ice, she was no longer in
danger of immediate sinking. The whole hull, however, was inundated and
indeed immersed in water, except a portion of the quarter-deck, upon
which the whole crew were now assembled. Here they threw up an awning of
sails to shelter themselves from the cold, which had become so intense as
to threaten the extinction of life. Those endowed with spirit and sense
kept up the vital power by brisk movement; but the natives of Shetland,
who are accused on such occasions of sinking into a selfish despondency,
piled themselves together in a heap, with the view of deriving warmth
from each other’s bodies. Those in the interior of the mass obtained thus
a considerable temperature, though accompanied with severe pressure;
and blows were given, and even knives drawn to gain and to preserve
this advantageous position. On the 19th, one Shetlander died of cold,
another on the 20th, and a third on the 21st,—events felt by the others
as peculiarly gloomy, chiefly, it is owned, as forming a presage of their
own impending fate.
On the 22d the sun began to appear amid showers of snow; and the 23d was
ushered in by fine weather and a clear sky. The opinions of the crew were
now divided as to what course they should steer in search of deliverance.
Two plans were suggested. They could either stretch northward into the
fishing stations, where they might expect, sooner or later, to meet
some of their countrymen, by whom they would be received on board; or
they might sail southward towards Iceland, and throw themselves on the
hospitality of its inhabitants. The former plan was in several respects
the more promising, especially as a vessel had been in sight when the
storm arose. But its uncertainties were also very great. They might
traverse for weeks those vast icy seas, amid cold always increasing,
and with imminent danger of being swallowed up by the waves. Iceland
was distant, but it was a definite point; and upon this course they at
last wisely determined. Several days were spent in fitting out their two
remaining boats, all the others having been swept away—and in fishing up
from the interior of the vessel every article which could be turned to
account. During this operation, the weather continuing fine, they could
not forbear admiring the scene by which they were surrounded. The sea
was formed as it were into a beautiful little frith, by the ice rising
around in the most varied and fantastic forms, sometimes even assuming
the appearance of cities adorned with towers and forests of columns.
Continual efforts were necessary, meantime, to keep the wreck on the icy
field; for had it slipped over into the sea, of which there appeared
a strong probability, it would have gone down at once. By the 26th the
boats were completely ready, having on board a small stock of provisions,
and a single change of linen. At half past one in the morning of the
27th, the mariners took leave, with some sorrow, of the vessel, which
‘seemed a home even in ruins,’ leaving the deck strewed with clothes,
books, and provisions, to be swallowed up by the ocean as soon as the icy
floor on which it rested should melt away.
The two boats, having received forty-seven men on board, lay very deep
in the water; so that when a smart breeze arose, the men were obliged
to throw away their spare clothing and every thing else which could be
wanted, and soon saw their little wardrobe floating on the face of the
sea. The seamen were frequently obliged to drag their boats over large
fields of ice, and again to launch them. However, a favorable wind in ten
hours enabled them to make forty-one miles, when they came to the utmost
verge of the icy stream, and entered upon the open ocean. Their fears
were not yet removed; for if a heavy gale had arisen, their slender barks
must soon have been overwhelmed. There blew in fact a stiff breeze, which
threw in a good deal of water, and caused severe cold; however, at seven
in the evening, they saw, with inexpressible pleasure, the lofty and
snow-capped mountains of Iceland. But these were still fifty miles off,
and much might intervene; so that the night, which soon closed in, passed
with a mixture of joy and fear. Fortunately the morning was favorable;
and about four they saw a black speck on the surface of the ocean. It
proved to be an island, naked, rocky, and seemingly uninhabited. On
turning a promontory, however, what was their joy to see a boat pushing
out to meet them! and they were received by the natives with every
mark of kindness and compassion. The seamen were distributed among the
half-subterraneous abodes, and received a portion of the frugal and
scanty fare on which the inhabitants subsisted. After recruiting their
strength, they set sail for the coast of Iceland, and after a tedious
voyage, reached Akureyri, the capital of this quarter of the island. They
were here also received with the most humane hospitality, and remained
three months before they could obtain a passage home; during which delay
unfortunately they lost nine of their number, chiefly from mortification
and other morbid affections occasioned by extreme cold. In the middle of
July, they procured a passage in a Danish vessel, which brought them and
their boats near to the coast of Shetland. Having landed at Lerwick, they
were conveyed by his Majesty’s ship Investigator to Peterhead, where they
arrived on the 5th August.”
The Harp Seal, my son, of which you have a drawing upon the cover, is
quite common in the Greenland seas, and shows much of the frisky or
frolicksome disposition of the Common Seal. It is often seen gamboling
and whirling over as if in play with its comrades. They live in great
herds or companies, appearing to be under the direction of a leader, who
watches over the safety of the whole. The Esquimaux and Greenlanders
often drive them on shore, when they come up to the surface in shallow
water to breathe. The skin of this species they use to cover their tents
and boats.
Seal oil when properly prepared is pure and fine, and may be employed for
all purposes to which whale oil is adapted. The skins of these animals
are extensively consumed in various manufactures, especially in trunk
making, saddlery, &c.
And now, my son, do you not think that the station in which a kind
Providence has allotted to you, there are not many, very many reasons
not only for contentment, but gratitude to your heavenly Father for the
inestimable blessings conferred upon you. How necessitous are the poor
Esquimaux! Their climate forbids their attempting the gratification of
any desires beyond the commonest animal wants. In the short summers they
hunt the reindeer; and during their long cold winters, the seal. But the
most affecting circumstance to the Christian is their present condition
in the scale of humanity, their deprivation of the means of knowledge,
above all the knowledge of the Bible.
“Weep, weep for the people that dwell
Where the light of the truth never shone,
Where anthems of praise never swell,
And the love of the Lamb is unknown.”
As you gain more knowledge of the different beings and things which God
has made, you will gain also more and more proofs of his existence and
of his amazing power, wisdom and goodness. Let that goodness sink deep
into your soul, and form a part of your daily thoughts and feelings. How
much kindness God has shown and is still showing you; how many sources
of comfort and of enjoyment he gives you; how it grieves him to see you
think or feel or act wrong; how he loves to see you be good and to do
good, that you may go, after death, to be with him forever,—_continually
to improve in knowledge, in holiness, and in happiness_!
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