“Here winter holds his unrejoicing court;
And through his airy hall the loud misrule
Of driving tempest is for ever heard;
Here the grim tyrant meditates his wrath,
Here arms his winds with all subduing frost;
Moulds his fierce hail, and treasures up his snows,
With which he now oppresses half the globe.”
Spitzbergen has no settled inhabitants. It is, however, resorted to by
parties of Russians, who, in turn, continue there throughout the year
for the purpose of hunting, which they practise in all weathers. These
hardy adventurers have erected huts adjacent to several of the harbours
and bays, and are well provided with fuel, from the immense quantities
of drifted wood that is every where to be found in the different
creeks. Archangel supplies them with dried fish, rye-meal, and an
abundant supply of whey, similar to, if not made in the same manner,
as the Shetland beverage. This last constitutes their chief drink, and
is likewise used in baking their bread. Their beds are principally
composed of skins of the animals which they kill, and of these they
also make garments, which they wear with the fur side next their
bodies. The walrusses and seals afford them a plentiful store of their
favourite delicacy, _train-oil_, and the bears, deers, and foxes, fall
frequent victims to the dexterity of these excellent marksmen. They
are at liberty to return to their native country towards the latter
end of September, if not relieved by a fresh party before that time.
Some of these Arctic hunters came on board our ship, and when set down
to meat, they preferred a mess of biscuit and whale oil to all the
dainties placed before them. Of this coarse repast they ate with a
sufficiently healthful appetite, and in their own language pronounced
it good. They had the complexion of Siberians, and were dressed in bear
and deer skins. They had an athletic and vigorous appearance, though
somewhat stiffened and cramped by the extreme cold to which they are
exposed. During the time they were on board, and particularly while at
meat, they behaved with a decorum and gentleness which could hardly be
expected from their grotesque appearance: and the neatness of their
fowling-pieces, boat-tackling, &c. manifested a taste and ingenuity of
which the inhabitants of a more refined country need not be ashamed.
The zoology is the only remaining subject of importance in the
description of this country to be here considered. After giving an
account of the bear, deer, and fox, I shall notice the seal and
walrus, and conclude with describing a few of the birds. Afterwards
I shall give a short history of its discovery; and then pursue the
account of our voyage.
The _Ursus maritimus_, or Polar bear, may with great propriety be
termed the sovereign of the land animals of Spitzbergen, or even of the
Arctic circle. Unlike the lion of Africa, his dominion is not confined
solely to the land; for, by means of the ice, he extends his ravages
far from any continent, and disputes the supremacy of the ocean with
the walrus himself, even in his own element. Here, says the poet just
quoted,
---- “The shapeless bear,
With dangling ice all horrid, stalks forlorn;
Slow pac’d, and sourer as the storms increase,
He makes his bed beneath the inclement drift,
And, with stern patience, scorning weak complaint,
Hardens his heart against assailing want.”
The Polar bear is the largest of the species, and has frequently been
found of an immense size. Barentz killed one thirteen feet in length,
and it is asserted they have been found of a much larger size, but not
on equally good authority. The one which Captain Phipps describes was
only seven feet one inch long, and the largest we got on board did not
exceed seven feet six inches; though we killed one apparently much
larger, but a gale coming on, we were obliged to bear away, and leave
it on the ice.
The hair of this species is very long, woolly, and of a yellowish white
colour. Its teeth lock into each other like those of a rat-trap, and
are so remarkably strong and sharp, that it has been known to shiver
lances made of steel. Its head is small, and a good deal elongated;
nose black, and without hair; ears short, erect, and rounded; neck
slender. Its limbs are of a vast thickness, and each foot is armed with
five exceedingly strong black claws. The carcass of the one mentioned
by Captain Phipps, though without the skin, head, and entrails, weighed
610 lbs. The flesh is white, and though of a coarse texture, is prized
by some as equally delicious with mutton, especially when boiled; for
when roasted it is of an oily taste. The liver, it would seem, is of
a poisonous nature, as some Dutch sailors who ate part of one were
taken so extremely ill, that, after recovering, the skin all over their
bodies fell off in scales.
The fat makes good train oil, and that which is procured from the
feet is sometimes used in medicine, and is commonly known by the name
of bear’s grease. In some upwards of a hundred pounds of fat has
been got; and Captain Fox is said to have killed one which yielded
forty-eight gallons of oil. Forster’s _Hist. Voy._ p. 363.
The skins are imported into Britain, chiefly for covering coach-boxes.
In Greenland the inhabitants use the flesh and fat as food; and of the
skins they make seats, boots, shoes, and gloves; the tendinous parts
they split into fibres for the purpose of sewing.[10]
[10] Fab. _Faun. Groenland._ edit. 1780, p. 24.
The food of the Polar bears consists chiefly of fish, of seals which
they seize when sleeping, and the carcasses of whales, walrusses,
&c. so often found floating in the northern seas. On land they prey
on the rein-deers, young birds, and eggs; and sometimes lay hold
of the Arctic fox, notwithstanding all his stratagems in order to
escape. Some naturalists have maintained that the Polar bear chiefly
delighted in human flesh; this, however, is expressly contradicted by
Fabricius, who, from his long residence in Greenland, must be allowed
to be unexceptionable authority. It will not prey on man, says he,
unless pressed by hunger, and it deserves to be mentioned, that the
Greenlanders feign themselves dead when they wish to avoid the pursuit.
It cannot, however, be denied, that, when attacked, or hungry, they
are extremely dangerous to man. Many well authenticated instances
are to be met with of the courage with which they have attacked the
crews of boats, or even of ships. The following is one of the many:
“A few years since, the crew of a boat belonging to a ship in the
whale fishery, shot at a bear at a short distance, and wounded it. The
animal immediately set up the most dreadful yells, and ran along the
ice towards the boat. Before it reached it, a second shot was fired,
and hit it. This served to increase its fury. It presently swam to the
boat; and in attempting to get on board, reached its fore foot upon the
gunwale; but one of the crew having a hatchet, cut it off. The animal
still however, continued to swim after them, till they arrived at the
ship, and several shots were fired at it, which also took effect; but
on reaching the ship it immediately ascended the deck; and the crew
having fled into the shrouds, it was pursuing them thither, when a shot
from one of them laid it dead upon the deck.” Vid. Bewick’s _Hist.
Quadrup._ 6th edit. p. 296.
The walrus is the most dangerous enemy the bear has to contend with,
and his immense tusks often give him a decided superiority. What the
bear, however, wants in strength, he supplies by cunning, as he takes
huge fragments of ice in his paws, and, dashing them against the head
of the walrus, attacks and kills him after he is stunned by these
blows. The one and the other often fall in this desperate fray.[11]
[11] Fabr. _loc. cit._
According to Fabricius, their time of parturition is in the winter, and
their number of young at a birth seldom exceeds two. At this period, if
on land, they make large dens in the snow; but they frequently bring
forth in some of those vast caverns, so often found in the huge masses
of _packed_ ice. Their attachment to their offspring is remarkably
great. When mortally wounded, they will take their little cubs under
their paws, embrace, and bemoan them with their latest breath.
Polar bears are equally at home by land and by sea, where they swim
with great strength and agility; they also dive, but cannot remain
long under water. As if impatient of rest, they are frequently seen
passing from one island of ice to another, and are often met with at a
great distance from land. They are frequently drifted into Iceland and
Norway, where, from the extreme hunger they suffer in their passage
thither, they make dreadful ravages among the cattle, but are soon
dispatched by the inhabitants, who rise in a body as soon as they learn
that one of them has approached their shores. The government of Iceland
encourages the destruction of these animals, by paying a premium of ten
dollars for every bear that is killed.
That these animals are possessed of considerable sagacity is evident
from the account we have given of their combats with the walrus, and
may be farther elucidated by the following fact:--The Captain wounded
one in the side, and immediately the animal, as if conscious of the
styptic nature of snow, covered the wound with it, and made off. We did
not perceive any blood in its tract.
The sight of the bear is rather defective, but its senses of smelling
and hearing are very acute, and compensate for any feebleness in the
other.
Some writers have affirmed that Polar bears lie in a state of torpor
through the long winter night, and appear only with the return of the
sun; but this is denied by Fabricius, who says, they are equally on the
hunt summer and winter.[12]
[12] _Tam brumali, quam aestivo tempore occurrit extra praedans._ Fab.
_loc. cit._
The _Cervus tarandus_, or rein-deer, comes next in order. This useful
and beautiful animal is found in every part of Spitzbergen. It has
long, slender, branched horns, bending forwards, and palmated at the
top, and broad palmated brow antlers.
Its body is thick, and rather square; tail short; legs not so long as
those of a stag; hoofs large, concave, and deeply cloven; hair very
thick, and under the neck long and pendent: before the first coat
is shed it is of a dark cinereous colour, but after that period it
changes to white, except a large space round each eye, which is always
black.[13] Some rein-deer are four feet six inches high; and a pair
of their horns has been found which were three feet nine inches long,
two feet six inches from tip to tip, and weighed nine pounds and three
quarters. The horns of the females are less than those of the male, and
not altogether of the same form. She has six teats, four of which only
give milk.
[13] _Hieme etiam barbam albam, ut hircus habet._ Fab. _de Cerv.
Tarand_.
The principal food of the rein-deer is the _lichen_ (or liverwort)
which it frequently raises from below great depths of snow by means of
its feet and antlers. The female goes about eight months with young,
and seldom brings forth more than one at a time. Her attachment to her
offspring is remarkably strong.
The rein-deer species do not bound, but run with an even pace, and with
considerable rapidity; in running, they make a clattering noise with
their hoofs. They swim very well, crossing in their way narrow arms of
the sea. Their senses of smelling and hearing are extremely acute; and
it has been observed, that they are more cautious when in flocks, than
when living in a solitary manner.
The camel is not more useful to the Arabians, than the rein-deer to
the Laplanders, and northern Asiatics; it, in fact, constitutes their
whole riches; and on this valuable animal they may be said entirely to
depend. An attention to rearing and preserving them, forms the sole
business of their lives, and to that alone their agricultural economy
is confined.
“The rein-deer forms their riches. These, their tents,
Their robes, their beds, and all their homely wealth,
Supply their wholesome fare, and cheerful cups:
Obsequious at their call, the docile tribe
Yield to the sled their necks, and whirl them swift
O’er hill and dale, heap’d into one expanse
Of marbled snow, as far as eye can sweep,
With a blue crust of ice unbounded glaz’d.”
The _Canis lagopus_, or Arctic fox, is found in all parts of
Spitzbergen. Its nose is sharp and black; eyes black, with yellow iris;
ears short, erect, round, and almost hidden in the fur; legs short,
with the toes furred like those of a hare; tail long and bushy. The
male is generally larger than the female; but neither reach the size
of the common British fox. In summer, its hair is of a greyish colour,
which in winter changes to white, when it also becomes longer, softer,
and a good deal thicker than it is in the former period.
The Arctic fox is monogamous, and brings forth twice a year, in the
months of March and June. It has several pups at a time.
This species feeds chiefly on young water fowl and eggs, and when very
hungry, will eat any kind of shell or other fish. In the northern
parts of Asia, and in Lapland, they prey on the _lemming_, or _Lapland
marmont_, (_Mus Alpinus_,) which are often seen there in surprising
numbers.
They generally burrow in the ground, but in Spitzbergen and Greenland,
where the intensity of the frost renders this impracticable, they lie
in caverns, and in the cliffs of rocks, two or three together. They
are so remarkably hardy, that the most rigorous severity of winter in
these regions, never stops their search of prey. They are excellent
swimmers, and are often seen passing from one island to another,
especially at the time when bird-nests are to be found. Some zoologists
have affirmed, that they are harmless, simple, and easily taken; but
Fabricius assures us that they possess all the wildness and cunning
of the _vulpes_, or fox of these kingdoms. Fabricius says, the Arctic
fox has three different kinds of voices[14]. Its smell is not so
fetid as that of the common fox. Its flesh is not only eaten by the
Greenlanders, but some voyagers have esteemed it as being good food.
Vid. _Phipps_, p. 184.
[14] _Vocem habet triplicem: esurientis ejulando: coire volenti
clamando, periclitantis murmurando._
Their skins are of little value in traffic, especially the white furred
ones, as the fur easily comes off.
It was formerly supposed that there were two species of Arctic foxes,
but this is denied by Fabricius on very satisfactory grounds.
These three quadrupeds constitute the entire of that great division of
animals which belong to Spitzbergen. In warmer climes, the species are
more numerous; but the individual animals do not there seem to possess
more vigour or animation than these are imbued with. The climate of
Spitzbergen being an extreme of cold, the animals of a more genial
country cannot exist there. These species are indigenous to the regions
of frost; cold is their element, and in it alone they thrive.
The amphibious animals come next in order; and as the accounts of them,
given by different voyagers and naturalists are extremely confused, I
have been more circumstantial than would otherwise have been necessary.
The _Phocæ_[15] are the most numerous class of animals which frequent
Spitzbergen, where they are found in vast numbers. Though the specific
characters of each particular tribe are distinctly marked, their
general resemblance is, upon the whole, so very striking, that the
following observations may be applied to them all indiscriminately. In
the scale of nature, the Phocæ hold an intermediate station between
amphibia and perfect fish; but nearer the latter than the former. The
organization of other amphibious animals, such as the beaver, castor,
otter, &c. fits them better for living on the land than the water. In
this genus the contrary takes place. The arms and legs of the Phocæ,
(if we may employ these terms,) are wholly enveloped in the flesh of
the animal, the hands and feet being alone protruded; these too are
webbed, and are instruments evidently more calculated for swimming than
moving on land.
[15] Under this general appellation, I include the seal, walrus or
morse, dugon, &c.
This unaptness of organization is strongly displayed in the painful
motion of the animal, which, from the shortness of its legs, has to
rest at every step on its belly, until it prepares for a new advance.
Its agility, considering these defects, is indeed astonishing, and is
certainly the effect of great exertion.
The eloquent and ingenious Buffon was of opinion that the Phocæ
approached to fish by a still more decisive criterion. “They are the
only animals,” says he, “which have the _foramen ovale_ open, and which
can therefore live without respiring, and to whom water is as proper
and suitable an element as air.” Theoretic views appear to have here
led this excellent writer into an error, as it is now well known that
the Phocæ cannot remain long in the water without coming to the surface
to breathe.
The _Phoca vitulina_, by the English termed _seal_, and by the French,
_phoque_, is the most common species of those animals in the north, and
is dispersed with some variety throughout the rest of the ocean. Its
head is large and flat; the teeth strong, and so sharp that I have seen
it bite in two the handspikes with which the men were attempting to
kill it; the tongue is forked; and it is well furnished with whiskers
around the mouth; has almost no external appearance of ears, but merely
an aperture to convey the sound to the _sensorium_; the eyes are small,
and have a haggard appearance; the neck thickens as it approaches
the shoulder, the thickest part of the animal; from whence the body
gradually tapers in a cylindrical form, to the extremity, where the
hind legs are placed, between which is a very short tail; the fore paws
consist of five fingers, joined together by a membrane, and furnished
with very strong cylindrical nails; the hind paws are formed in the
same way, except that the fingers are longer than in the fore paws, and
that the shortest of them are in the middle, and the longest on the
outside of the paw. The length of an ordinary full grown seal is about
seven or eight feet; and its thickness at the shoulder four or five.
It is covered with short coarse thick hair, which varies in its colour
with the different ages of the animal.
The flesh of the seal is of a reddish colour, and is, by the
Greenlanders, accounted excellent food. Our sailors esteemed the
entrails of a young one which they dressed, as equal to those of a hog.
A seal will yield about twelve or fourteen gallons of good oil; their
skins are very valuable, serving for covers to trunks, vests, &c. and
are now used to a very considerable extent in the manufacture of shoes.
The Greenlanders, who depend almost entirely for subsistence on this
animal, make their boots, and other articles of dress, as well as the
inside of their huts, of its skin.
The seal is a gregarious and polygamous animal. It is never met with at
a great distance from land, but frequents the bays and seas adjacent
to the shore. It feeds promiscuously on most sorts of small fish, but
chiefly on the spawn of the salmon.
Fabricius differs from both Buffon and Pennant in asserting, that
the seal brings forth but one at a time, while they maintain that it
brings forth two.[16] At the time of parturition, it comes on shore,
and suckles its young there for about six weeks before it takes them to
the water, where it instructs them in swimming. Though naturally timid,
the female defends her young with great boldness and spirit; on other
occasions they generally place their safety in flight; but I have
sometimes seen them throw back stones and pieces of ice on the sailors
who pursued them.
[16] Perhaps Pliny has hit the truth, “_Parit nunquam geminis
plures_.” _Nat. Hist._ lib. 9. § 13.
Seals delight to lie upon the ice, or on the shore, exposed to the
sun[17]; they there sleep very profoundly, and fall an easy prey to the
sailors, who dispatch them by a blow on the nose.
[17] _Sternunt se somno diversæ in littore Phocæ._ Georg. lib. 4.
Their voice has been not unaptly compared by Buffon to the barking of a
hoarse dog; when attacked, they make a more doleful kind of noise.
Pliny expressly states this animal to be of a docile and tractable
nature, and in this he is supported by the more enlarged experience of
modern times. The seal described by Dr. Parsons[18] was taught to come
out of his tub, and return to the water at the command of its keeper,
to stretch out its neck to kiss him, and to perform several other
motions.
[18] Pennant’s _Quadrupeds_, vol. ii. p. 272.
Seals have a very delicate sense of hearing, and are very much
delighted with music. The Captain’s son, who was a good performer on
the violin, never failed to have a numerous auditory, when we were
in the seas frequented by those animals; and I have seen them follow
the ship for miles when any person was playing on deck. This fact was
observed by the ancient poets[19], and is thus alluded to by Sir
Walter Scott, in one of his poems:
“Rude Heiskar’s seals, through surges dark,
Will long pursue the minstrel’s bark.”
[19] _Apol. Rhod._ lib. 1. _Val. Flac._ lib. 5: lin. 440. _Gaudebant
armine Phocæ._
These animals, in swimming, _constantly keep the head_, and often the
whole body, as far as the shoulder, above the surface of the water. The
first I saw was at a considerable distance, and might easily have been
mistaken for a man, though it was much liker a dog.
Buffon has already remarked, that this animal had given a foundation to
the poetic fiction of the Nereids in antiquity; and perhaps we may add,
to the no less fictitious mermaids of modern times.
The Arctic walrus, or _Trichechus rosmarus_ of Linnæus, the other great
variety of the Phocæ, frequents the bays and shores of Spitzbergen in
vast numbers, though they are not now found in such quantities as when
the Europeans first navigated these seas. The walrus is considerably
larger than the seal, being sometimes found eighteen feet long, and
twelve round, where thickest[20]. Their characteristic difference,
however, consists in the walrus having two very large tusks, or horns,
like the elephant’s, projecting from his upper jaw. These are sometimes
found of an extraordinary size, from two to three feet in length, and
weighing twenty pounds. The tusks of the Spitzbergen walrus seldom
attain this size, because there the animal is generally killed before
attaining its full growth. It is only on the northern coast of Asiatic
Russia, or where they are not molested by hunters, that such tusks are
found.
[20] The largest we caught was only thirteen feet long and seven round.
With the exception of the tusks, the form of the walrus does not
differ materially from that of the seal. Head round, with a short
nose; mouth small, with strong bristles; small red eyes; short neck;
colour variable; rest of the body similar to the seal; but its toes,
especially in the hind feet, are much stronger.
The walrus is monogamous but in other respects its habits are nearly
the same with those of the seal. It brings forth its young in the same
manner, preys on the same kinds of fish, and, like the seal, ascends
the ice, (more rarely the land,) to bask in the sun.
The walrus is a very valuable animal, yielding frequently half a tun of
oil, equally valuable with that of the whale. The tusks are said to be
more valuable than those of the elephant, as being more compact and
hard, and consequently taking a finer polish: the skin, which is nearly
an inch thick, is used to cover the masts or yards of ships, where
they cross each other, to prevent their being injured by the friction.
It was formerly cut into ropes; and Buffon mentions its being used at
Paris in the springs of carriages.
The walrus becomes very furious when attacked, and the whole herd join
to revenge any injury an individual may have received. If wounded
in the water, they will sometimes surround the boat, and attempt to
sink her, by striking their tusks against her sides and bottom. Their
combats with the bear, their most dangerous enemy among the lower
animals, have been already described.[21]
[21] This account is conformable to that given by the greatest number
of writers, but Fabricius seems to be of a different opinion as to
the ferocity of the walrus. “_Improviso vulneratus infeslat; venatore
autem præviso fugit._” Faun. Groenl. p. 5.
The water and air round Spitzbergen abound more with inhabitants than
the land; the fish are perhaps not more numerous than the birds, which
are there seen in thousands: of these I shall only describe a few of
the most curious species.
The _Procellaria glacialis_ or _Mallemukke_ of the Dutch, is found in
very great abundance in the seas of Spitzbergen, especially in the
whale-fishing season.--Bill yellow and strong; neck, tail, and under
part of the body, white; back, and coverts of the wings, ash; primaries
dusky; legs straw-colour.
The bird is carnivorous, and feeds on the blubber of cetaceous fish,
and on other dead carcasses floating in the sea. They are often seen
following whales, especially wounded ones, on whom they pounce at every
time of their rising to breathe, and tear the blubber from their back.
As soon as the carcass of a whale is sent adrift after the blubber is
taken off, it is covered over with these voracious birds, who then make
a loud worrying noise. When a fish is alongside the ship, they surround
it in vast numbers, and are so eager of their prey, that they suffer
themselves to be caught with the hand, and may be knocked down easily
by those on the whale, or in the boats.
Though extremely fetid, the Greenlanders account the flesh of the
Mallemukke good food, and eat it either raw or dressed. The fat they
burn in lamps.
When caught, the Mallemukke not only attacks with its bill, but spurts
the blubber out of its mouth and nostrils in the face of its captor.
Their flight is a kind of race along the surface of the water. They
build their nests on rugged precipices, and at other times seldom come
to land.
_Larus parasiticus_, or Artic Gull. Bill dusky, and much curved at the
end; crown black; back, wings, and tail, dusky; the rest white. The two
middle feathers of the tail are three or four inches longer than the
rest. The female is altogether brown. Length about fourteen inches.
The Artic gull lives almost solely on the fish taken by other birds; to
obtain which, it follows and harasses them till they either drop their
prey, or vomit with fear; it then devours the residue before it falls
into the sea.[22] The Artic gull is frequently taken sleeping on the
water.
[22] _Faun. Groenl._ p. 104.
_Anas mollissima_, or Eider Duck, is sometimes found on the coast of
Spitzbergen in vast numbers, especially in winter. Bill black, and
somewhat elevated; from the forehead, which is a glossy black, extends
a dark purple stripe beyond each eye: neck, body, and tail, a mixture
of black and white; legs green. The body of the female is mostly of an
iron colour, striped with black; tail of an ash hue.
This species is about twice the size of the common domesticated duck,
and its body is covered over with a thick coat of valuable down.
_Colymbus glacialis_, or Great Northern Diver.
Head and neck black; throat and hind part of the neck marked with a
semilunar spot of white, and with white streaks, varied with white
spots; upper part of the body and wings black, varied with white spots;
tail duskish; legs black. Some of them are found three feet five inches
long, and weigh sixteen lbs.
It makes its nest in the most remote parts of the North, in the islets
of fresh water lakes. Each pair possesses a lake. Its sight is keen,
flies well, and, darting obliquely, drops safely into its nest. When
pursued, it saves itself by diving; but when it has young ones, it does
not make its escape, but strives to beat off its enemy with its bill.
_Emberiza nivalis_, or Snow Bunting, is found in vast numbers at
Spitzbergen, and as it is graminivorous, its frequenting a country
so ill provided with vegetables, has justly been regarded as a very
surprising phenomenon. It is not a large bird, and its colour varies
with the season of the year.
As it does not seem necessary to notice the few insects which belong
to Spitzbergen, some short account of its discovery is all that now
remains for us to treat of regarding it.
The progress of discovery towards the North has been extremely slow.
The ancients possessed no accurate knowledge of the countries north
of the Rhine, though they made voyages a considerable way beyond that
barrier. The accounts of the Hyperborei, as given by Pomponius Mela
and Pliny, two geographical writers of great reputation, are perfectly
fabulous, and afford an incontrovertible proof of the total ignorance
they were in respecting the country they pretended to describe. During
the long period of the decline and fall of the Roman empire, the
desire of discovering foreign countries, like other liberal pursuits,
had totally subsided. In the fifteenth century, however, men awakened
from their lethargy, and the voyages of _Columbus_ and _Vasco de Gama_
constitute one of the most important epochs in the history of the human
race. The spirit of adventure was aroused, and voyagers boldly ventured
into hitherto unexplored seas. The English and Dutch navigators of
the sixteenth century, envying the glory and wealth acquired by the
Portuguese in their voyages to India by the Cape of Good Hope, were
seized with the same spirit of adventure, and were fired with the hopes
of opening a new route to those regions, by sailing round the north
of Europe and Asia. Though these expectations were disappointed, yet
to this stimulus the great discoveries made in the North are to be
principally ascribed.
The honour of the discovery of Spitzbergen has been long contested
between the English and the Dutch. The former claim it from Sir Hugh
Willoughby’s pretended view of it in 1553; but the land seen by him
being in latitude 72°, could not be any part of Spitzbergen, which
extends no farther south than 76° 30´. Some writers have supposed, that
if what Sir Hugh saw was not a fog bank, it must have been either the
island of Jan Mayen, or some part of Greenland; while others allege,
that it was either Nova Zembla, or the island of Kolgow. The English
historians have likewise honoured Stephen Burrows with the title of
second discoverer of this country in 1556, though he never advanced
farther in these seas than the latitude of 70° 42´. The priority
of this discovery indubitably belongs to the Dutch, who, under the
pilotage of William Barentz, in 1596, not only discovered, but landed
on some of the northernmost islands (in lat. 80°) by them named
Spitzbergen, or Sharp Mountains.
Barentz, as already observed, in the same voyage discovered Cherry
Island, which was by him called Bear Island; but changed its
appellation in 1603, when it was discovered by a ship belonging to Sir
Francis Cherry of London.
The English began the whale fishery at Spitzbergen immediately after
its discovery by Barentz. The nation soon became sensible of the
advantages to be derived from this trade, and Parliament gave premiums
to the different adventurers. They had a formidable rival to contend
with in the Dutch, who long were successful competitors with the
English in this traffic[23].
[23] The Dutch, in the space of forty-six years caught 32,900 whales,
the oil and whalebone of which sold for about £15,800,000. Malte Brun,
tom. v. 298.
In Spitzbergen as well as in Jan Mayen, sailors have been frequently
left till winter, from the same motives, and have generally met with
the same fate; some, however, have been more fortunate, and have braved
all the rigours of this inhospitable climate. In 1630, eight Englishmen
were left here by accident, and, overcoming all the difficulties
they were exposed to, by their ingenuity, were next summer found in
good health. In 1743, four Russians were left here, and were not
relieved till 1749, when three of the number were found alive, who had
exhausted, as Pennant observes, all the ingenious contrivances related
of Robinson Crusoe.
It is now time to continue the account of the remainder of our voyage,
together with the whale-fishing, the great object for which voyages are
made to this country.
Having made fast to an Iceberg on the 13th, as before remarked, near
the south-west promontory of Cross Bay, we continued in that situation
during the 14th, making all the necessary preparations for the
fishing, and on the 15th we sailed about ten leagues from the shore
in a westerly direction, making about one point towards the south. It
blew this day a brisk gale from the east, which was intolerably cold;
the wind at that time passes over large fields of ice, and in that
climate, is _comparatively_ as noxious as it is in Britain. During a
fresh easterly breeze, I have found the cold in the cabin so intense,
that, notwithstanding we had a good fire and warm clothing, I have
been obliged to put on furred gloves to enable me to hold a book. We
this day killed several seals, and might have got many more, but they
are not of much use unless the vessel be fitted out for their fishing
only. This day we made fast to a large iceberg, and the latitude, by
observation, was nearly 79°.
16th, We were almost encompassed by ice, and remained in the same
situation as before.
17th, Remarkably warm. The men were forced to strip in warping the
ship, sallying, &c. In warping, the men move from side to side in the
boats, to break the _bay ice_, and, in sallying, they run from the
one side of the vessel to the other, according to the motion, and the
command of the person who takes the lead; this facilitates the motion
of the ship through the ice. The thermometer this day stood at 41° in
the cabin _without fire_. Being exposed to the sun on deck, it got up
to 66°, where it remained stationary. On being hung in the shade, it
fell to the freezing point.
18th, Continued forcing our way slowly through bay ice; almost no
wind. In sultry days, and, indeed, in all weathers, navigators are
much harassed in those seas by the fogs; they, however, chiefly occur
towards the latter end of summer. They are excessively dense, and at
a distance are frequently mistaken for land. In winter, when the cold
is intense, a vapour called _fog smoke_ frequently arises from the
chinks of the ice, which is so acrid as to excoriate the face and hands
of those who approach it. We this day observed a _fog bank_, a little
to the north-east, which at first we mistook for Hackluyt’s Headland,
from which, however, we were then at a considerable distance. The edges
of these _fog banks_ are so well defined, that the most experienced
sailors often fall into such mistakes.
20th, Latitude by observation 79° 50´. Sea clear of ice, with a smart
easterly breeze. In this parallel of latitude we ran 12° to the west in
eighteen hours. This will not appear surprising on considering that a
degree of longitude in this parallel is little more than ten miles.
21st, Fell in with a dead fish. This whale had been killed for a
considerable time, and was entirely covered with Mallemukkes, and
other voracious birds. At a distance it resembled a floating mass of
feathers, but on our approaching it, we were almost stunned by the
quarrelling noise of these _Harpies_. We brought it alongside and
stripped it of its remaining blubber.
22d, After having stripped off the blubber, we sailed north-east; the
sea was clear of ice, and the weather serene. A distant view of the
icebergs reflecting the rays of the sun, added an inexpressible beauty
and grandeur to the scene. They had all the appearance of illuminated
Gothic castles, and realized the magnificence of fairy scenes.
23d, Killed a large whale. This animal, the largest with which men
are as yet acquainted, is of that genus of fish termed cetaceous.
Some classifiers of animals, because the cetaceous fish breathe by
lungs, and not gills, and because they suckle their young, have, by a
learned and laughable absurdity, ranked them among _quadrupeds_. It
is needless, however, to say, that they want the distinguishing and
decisive characteristics of quadrupeds; and hence, though they may
correspond with them in some respects, they should assuredly be held to
be of a different race.
The common whale, called by Linnæus _Balæna mysticetus_, has, it
is affirmed, been sometimes found 160 feet long. In the seas of
Spitzbergen and Greenland, however, whales now seldom reach 70 feet,
being generally killed before they arrive at full growth. Head of
a triangular shape, and nearly one-third of the size of the fish;
under-lip much broader than the upper. Have no teeth, but merely laminæ
in the upper jaw, similar to those found in the bill of a duck, but
more closely set together, and of a black colour. Tongue, in ordinary
sized whales, about 18 or 20 feet long; consists of a soft spongy fat,
and frequently yields five or six barrels of oil. That article in
commerce, commonly known by the name of _whalebone_, is found adhering
to the upper jaw, in thin parallel laminæ, usually measuring from
3 to 10 or 12 feet in length; of these there are generally 200 on
each side, which are fit for use. The breadth of the largest, at the
thick end, where they are attached to the jaw, is about a foot. When
the longest of these laminæ measures six feet, the whale is called
a payable or size fish; for every one of which that is caught, the
captain generally gets three guineas, the surgeon one, the carpenter
one, &c. The whalebone is covered with long hair like that of a horse,
which not only preserves the tongue from being hurt, but prevents their
food from being returned when they eject the water from their mouths.
The throat is not more than three or four inches wide; eyes and ears
small. In the middle of the head are two orifices, commonly: called
_blow holes_, through which they eject water to a great height. No
dorsal fin; a large one under each eye. Body tapers gradually towards
the tail, which is often above twenty feet broad, semilunar, and
horizontal in respect to the body. Female larger than the male; her
teats placed in the lower part of the belly.
The colour of the whale varies with its age; the back of some being
black, of others black and white, and some are all white; under jaw and
belly generally white, whatever may be their age. Some old whales have
a broad white strip over their back down to the belly.
Their skin is smooth, lubricated, and about one inch thick. I had a
book bound with some of the epidermis, or scarf-skin, which I brought
home, but it did not altogether answer the purpose.
Their bodies, immediately under the skin, are covered with a layer
of fat, called _blubber_, from 12 to 18 inches thick in large fish.
This, in young whales, resembles hog’s lard; but in old ones it is of
a reddish colour. A large whale will produce 12, 20, and sometimes 25
tuns of oil, which now sells at from £30 to £40 per tun.
Mr. Scoresby, jun. in a description of the _Balæna mysticetus_,
published in the memoirs of the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh, gives
the following table of the ordinary quantity of oil produced from
whales of different sizes of bones:
Bone in feet. Oil in tuns.
1 1½
2 3
3 3½
4 4
5 4½
6 5½
7 7
8 9
9 11
10 13
11 16
12 20
“The blubber of a sucker,” Mr. Scoresby observes, “when very young,
frequently contains little or no oil, but only a kind of milky fluid;
in which case, when the animal is deprived of life, the body sinks to
the bottom, as also does the blubber when separated from it; while
the body and blubber of larger individuals always swim. Though the
preceding statement be exceedingly near the truth, yet exceptions
occur; for I have known a whale of 2½ feet bone produce 10 tuns
of oil, and one of 12 feet bone estimated at only 9 tuns; but such
instances are much rarer than to see one of 2½ feet bone produce 4
or five tuns of oil.”
The _Balæna mysticetus_, according to Marten and other North Sea
voyagers, feeds chiefly upon a species of _vermes_, called _Clio
limacina_, or Sea May Fly,[24] which are found in surprising numbers
throughout the Arctic seas. According to Fabricius, the principal food
of the whale consists of two different species of sea insects;[25]
while Linnæus maintains that they live chiefly on the _Medusa
capillata_, or sea blubber. This last substance, commonly called by
Greenlandmen _whale’s meat_, resembles frog-spawn, and is frequently
seen floating on the surface of the Northern seas.
[24] Phipps, p. 195.
[25] _Cancer pedatus et oculatus._ Faun. Groenl. p. 33.
Mr. Scoresby says, “that he has good reason to believe that the whale
feeds chiefly, if not altogether, on the _squillæ_ or shrimp tribe;
for, on examining the stomach of one of large size, nothing else was
found in it; they were about half an inch long, semi-transparent, and
of a pale red colour.--I also found a great quantity in the mouth of
another, having been apparently vomited by it. When the whale feeds,
it swims with considerable velocity under water, with its mouth wide
open; the water enters by the fore part, but is poured out again at
the sides, and the food is entangled and sifted as it were by the
whalebone, which does not allow any thing to escape.”
Their time of parturition is in April, and though they are said to
bring forth two young ones at a time,[26] yet I never saw more than
one along with such as we killed. Fabricius says, that, for the most
part, they bring forth but one.[27] The female is frequently taken when
endeavouring to save her young one, which is generally killed first by
way of stratagem. She then strives to take it away under her fins; but,
in the midst of these efforts, being overtaken by the boats, she falls
a victim to her maternal affection.
[26] Br. Zool. Edit. 1769, vol. iii. p. 37.
[27] Faun. Groenl. loc. cit.
The female, during pregnancy, which is about nine or ten months, is
very fat; and the cub, when excluded, is black, and about ten feet
long. It continues at the breast for a year. To suckle her young, the
mother throws herself upon one side on the surface of the water; she is
frequently seen carrying it on her back, and when she has occasion to
go to the bottom, takes it with her under one of her fins.
Whalebone was formerly an article of great value in commerce, and
at one time sold for £600 per ton. It is not now, however, worth a
twentieth part of that sum, and is not an object of any attention to
the whale fishers. We may remark, that, by an old feudal law, the
_tail_ of all whales belonged to the Queen,[28] as a perquisite to
furnish her Majesty’s wardrobe with whalebone. A strong proof of the
ignorance that had at that time prevailed respecting this animal.
[28] Blackstone, vol. i. p. 223. Edit. 1783.
The flesh of the whale is variously prepared by the Greenlanders, and
is used either when newly catched, or when sub-putrid. The skin, tail,
and fins, they eat raw; the blubber is used either as food, or in
lamps; they dress the intestines like those of the seal. The tendons
serve them as thread for nets. The bones serve as timber for roofing
their houses, and other domestic purposes; and fishing-rods of the best
quality are made from the whalebone.[29]
[29] Compare Fab. de Bal. Myst. with Arrian, Hist. Ind. § 29 and 30.
The common whale, notwithstanding its magnitude, swims with surprising
agility, and generally against the wind. The flat position of its tail
enables it to ascend suddenly to the surface of the water to breathe,
which it is frequently obliged to do. Whales are very harmless and
timid; but, when attacked, frequently strike the boats a dangerous
blow with their tails, in which their greatest strength lies. About
midsummer, when they begin to couple, they are very wild, and difficult
to catch, unless harpooned during copulation,[30] or when found
sleeping on the water.
[30] _Congreditur corpore erecto, capite supra aquam prominente._
Faun. Groenl. loc. cit.
Their fidelity to each other is said to be very great. Anderson tells
us, that having struck one of two whales, a male and female, that were
in company, the wounded fish made a long and terrible resistance; it
struck down a boat with three men in it, with a single blow of the
tail, by which all went to the bottom: The other fish attended its
companion, and lent it every assistance, till, at last, the fish that
was struck, sunk under the number of its wounds; while its faithful
associate, disdaining to survive the loss, stretched itself upon the
dead fish, and shared its fate.
The ancients were not unacquainted with the _Balæna mysticetus_,
though they do not seem to have had any knowledge of its uses. Their
acquaintance with the spermaceti whale, found in the Indian ocean, was
somewhat more accurate. It is interesting to observe, in the account of
Nearchus’s Voyage, as given by Arrian,[31] the terror of the sailors
when they first perceived the blowing of these animals. As soon as this
ancient navigator had successfully conducted his fleet past a single
whale, he received an applause equal to what he could have expected had
he vanquished an enemy’s fleet.
[31] _Hist. Ind._ § 29 _and_ 30.
Whenever a whale is seen from the ship, one or more boats are sent in
pursuit; and if they get close to it, the harpooner strikes it with
his harpoon; but should the boat not get near enough for this purpose,
he heaves the harpoon at the whale with great skill. As soon as the
animal finds itself wounded, it descends, dragging the line fastened
to the harpoon after it with such velocity, that one of the crew is
constantly obliged to pour water on the stem of the boat, to prevent
its taking fire by the intense friction of the line. A hatchet is
always at hand to cut the line, should it chance to get entangled.
A large whale will sometimes run out the lines of two boats.[32] As
soon as a whale is _struck_, they hoist a flag, or _jack_, in the
boat, which being seen by the ship, the crew all run about the decks
crying “_A fall, A fall_;” as much as to say, “_He’s fast, He’s fast._”
Immediately all hands, except a few to take care of the ship, get into
the boats with great expedition, and repair to the place where they
expect the whale will rise to breathe. When it appears, they strike it
again, and so on till there are sometimes three or four harpoons fast.
When the whale becomes fatigued, and is severely wounded, it throws up
water mixed with blood, and immediately the whole boats surround the
groaning monster, and dispatch it with their spears. At this moment,
the sea, to a considerable distance, looks as if tinged with vermilion.
In dying, the noise occasioned by the whale’s lashing the water with
its tail and fins, is heard to a very great distance.
[32] Fifteen hundred fathoms.
As soon as a whale is killed, it is towed by the boats to the ship, and
being made fast by tackles placed at the nose and tail, is immediately
stripped of its blubber. This process is by Greenland sailors termed
_flinching_, and is very speedily performed. The harpooners and their
assistants cut the blubber into long stripes, which are hoisted into
the ship, cut into smaller pieces, and thrown into the hold, from
whence they are again brought upon deck to be pared and barrelled up.
In _flinching_, the whale is turned round by a tackle made fast to the
fins.
The process of paring and barrelling up the blubber, is termed _making
off_, and is performed at leisure times when the crew are not engaged
in the pursuit of live whales. The blubber being brought upon deck,
the fleshy parts are pared off, and it is then placed, piece by piece,
on a block, having three iron spikes in the top to keep it steady;
here it is skinned by a harpooner, and is then ready for _chopping_.
This operation is performed by the boat-steerers, who cut the blubber
into pieces of about one foot long, and three inches square at the
ends. When it is _chopped_ they push it off the bench into the _speck
trough_, placed by the side of the hatchway, having what is called a
_lull bag_ attached to a hole in the bottom for the purpose of letting
down the _chopped_ blubber to a tub in the hold. The blubber is
afterwards put, piece by piece, into the bung-hole of the casks, which
are all fixed for that purpose previous to the vessel’s leaving home.
The _Balæna mysticetus_, notwithstanding its immense size, is exposed
to the multiplied assaults of various enemies inhabiting its own
element. Of these, the most dangerous is said to be the _Physeter
microps_, or Black-headed Spermaceti Whale. The voracity of this
species is very great. Its ordinary food is the seal; but if it does
not find a sufficient quantity of them for its prey, it attacks the
common whale, and even the shark, and tears them to pieces. The Sea
Unicorn, or _Monodon monoceros_, is another of the whale’s enemies; and
it is said that they never meet without engaging in combat. Its immense
tusk, or horn, generally gives it a superiority over the whale. Marten
gives an account of a combat between the Saw-Fish, _Squalus pristis_,
and the Iceland whale, to which he was an eye witness. It was extremely
dangerous to approach the field of battle, and his observations were
therefore made at a distance. The water was greatly agitated, and rose
to an immense height, accompanied with a noise that stunned the ears
of the hearers. A fog coming on prevented Marten from ascertaining the
result of this direful combat; but he was informed by the sailors that
the whale was generally vanquished; and that they kept aloof till such
time as the saw-fish, eating the tongue, relinquished the carcass,
which they made their prey.
A species of crab, vulgarly called the whale-louse, the _Oniscus
ceti_ of Fabricius, if not the most dangerous, is perhaps the most
troublesome of the whale’s enemies. We scarcely took any whales but
had one or two of these vermin fastened to them. The _Oniscus ceti_ is
about the size of a small crab, and is covered with remarkably hard
scales. Head similar to that of the _Pediculus humanus_, with four
horns, two of which serve as feelers; the other two are hard, curved,
and serve as clinchers to fix the animal to the whale. Underneath its
chest, the _Oniscus_ has two carvers, like scythes, with which it
collects its food; and behind these are four feet, that serve it for
oars. It has six other clinchers behind, which rivet it so closely to
the whale, that it cannot be disengaged but by cutting out the entire
piece to which it is joined. The _Oniscus_ is jointed in the back
like the tail of a lobster, and the tail covers it like a shield when
feeding. It fixes itself upon the tenderest part of the whale’s body,
between the fins, on the sheath, or on the lips, and in this position
tears pieces out of the whale like a rapacious vulture.
Dr. Colquhoun gives the following statement of the value of the
whale-bone and whale-oil imported into Great Britain in the following
years:
1805 £663,535
6 608,206
7 521,240
8 544,567
9 500,715
10 566,967
24th, Latitude at midnight, by observation, 81° 12´ 42´´. Longitude, as
near as our incorrect instruments would permit ascertaining, 12° 42´ E.
Sea pretty clear of ice, with a considerable swell.
25th and 26th, Continued cruising near the ice in search of whales, and
were fortunate enough to capture three, two of which were size fish.
28th, Latitude, by observation, 81° 50´. Sea almost quite clear of ice,
with a great swell; weather serene. Had our object been the making of
discoveries, there was not _apparently_ any thing to have prevented
us from going a good way farther to the north; at least we did not
perceive any large fields of ice in that direction; though it is more
than probable we should have very soon fallen in with them. We were a
little farther north than Captain Phipps, who ran a great risk of being
locked up entirely by the ice. He was, in fact, ice-bound from 31st
July to 10th August, and during that time the packed ice rose as high
as the main-yard. The want of ice in that place, where we then were,
was perhaps owing to the effects of some late gale clearing it away.
The great swell in the sea appeared to indicate this to have been the
case.
In my second voyage to this country, in 1807, we could not penetrate
higher than 78° 30´. A ridge of ice totally prevented our farther
progress.
May 29th and 30th, Course nearly E. S. E. towards the Seven Islands. We
had on the 30th a considerable quantity of bay ice, and made but little
progress. Occasional showers of snow. Saw only one whale.
31st, Tacked to the W. S. W. Ice increasing. Saw several whales. Lay to
for fishing. Got a very large whale, which measured sixty-four feet in
length.
During the _flinching_ of the whales, there were generally a
considerable number of sharks in the vicinity of the vessel. They were
principally of that variety termed _Squalus pristis_, or Saw-Fish.
At this time, one more voracious than the rest, approached close to
the side of the whale’s carcass, and seized a large piece of blubber,
which was ready to be hoisted on board. Before he could make his
escape, however, he was struck by a harpoon, and his flight being thus
obstructed, he was attacked with spears: a tackle was immediately
fastened to his jaws, and being hoisted on deck, his belly was ripped
open, and the blubber recovered. The carpenter, too, stripped a
considerable quantity of skin from his tail. Notwithstanding this rude
treatment, he was no sooner let down than he swam away with great
agility.
The _Squalus pristis_, or Saw-Fish is often found upwards of fifteen
feet long; with sword-shaped bony snout, nearly one-third the length
of the fish, and denticulated on both sides: mouth placed beneath
the anterior part of the head; jaws furnished with several rows of
teeth; habit rather slender; body convex above, and somewhat flattened
beneath; skin rough; colour greyish brown above, paler beneath.
June 1st, Continued in the same situation, being almost icebound. Sent
out the boats after a whale, which made its escape below the ice after
being struck; the lines of course were lost. The harpoons are marked
with the names of the ship and captain, and if a whale that has been
killed by one ship be found by another, she is obliged to deliver up a
certain portion of the blubber to the former.
From June 1st to June 7th, the weather was, upon the whole pretty
good, though the squalls were very frequent, accompanied by dense
showers of snow. The rigging, by this time, had assumed a very strange
appearance, at least what would be deemed as such by a more southern
sailor. The ropes were frequently increased to double their usual size
by the incrustations of ice, which had to be beat off by handspikes to
allow them to pass through the blocks. The decks were every now and
then besprinkled with saw-dust and sand, to counteract the slippiness
arising from the combined effects of frost and grease. The cabin-floor,
too, was covered with saw-dust, and the crew kept some of it in their
pockets to clean their hands. In this space of time we catched five
fish of different magnitudes.
During the time we were in those high latitudes, our compasses, five
in number, varied widely from each other; but this is known to happen
to all compasses, according as they are placed in different parts of
the ship. That which was kept in the cabin varied the least. This
may perhaps tend to confirm the opinion of some navigators, who have
maintained that the polarity of the needle is injured by intense cold.
The notion of the variation decreasing as the distance from the Pole
diminishes, does not appear to have any foundation. According to
Captain Phipps,
In Lat. 78° 22´ N. Long. 9° 8´ E. Mean var. was 14° 55´
79 50 10 2 20 3
80 30 15 4 11 56
On referring to the Appendix, it will be seen that the variation, as
observed in the Sybyll, in lat. 78° 11´, long. 6° 55´ E. amounted to
19° 6´. And by the same excellent observations, combined with those of
Captain Flinders, it is proved that the variation depends more on the
_ship’s course_ than on any thing else. It is much to be regretted that
Captain Phipps did not mention the course his ship was under when he
made his observations on the variation. As they stand at present, they
want the most essential element.
8th, Latitude, by observation, 79° 42´. Sea nearly clear of ice. Course
W. S. W. ½ S. At seven P. M. we discovered Hackluyt’s Headland,
bearing E. N. E. distant four or five leagues. The weather was hazy,
and we had but an indistinct view of this black precipitous promontory.
Saw several whales, but got none.
June 9th, Intense frost. Observed the freezing of salt water. Shot two
seals, one of which only we brought on board.
16th, Stood in nearer the shore to the south of Hackluyt’s Headland.
Several of the sea-unicorns were here observed at no great distance
from the ship. I noticed two which passed close under our stern, that
had double horns of a considerable size. The unicorns make a great
noise in blowing, and, when at a distance, are often mistaken for
whales. We fired several shots at them, and mortally wounded a small
one, which we brought on board. It measured 9½ feet in length, and
its horn was four feet one inch.
The _Monodon monoceros_, _Narwhal_, or Unicorn Fish, has been found
twenty-two feet long, and twelve round. Head nearly one-fourth the
length of the body, round, small, and terminates in an obtuse rounded
snout. Mouth small; no teeth, but a large wreathed tusk or horn.
Sometimes two[33], and often ten feet long, proceeds from its upper
jaw, diverging to one side, and tapering gradually towards the tip.
Eyes and ears very small; one respiratory orifice in the back part of
the head; back broad, convex, and tapering towards the tail, which is
horizontally placed, and is divided into two obtuse oval lobes. Body
of an ovoidal shape; no dorsal fins, but a high ridge or projection
extends from the blow-hole to the origin of the tail, and gradually
diminishes in height as it approaches the tail; two pectoral fins;
colour generally cinereous, dappled with numerous multiform black
spots; belly a shining white, and soft as velvet to the touch.
[33] There is at the Stadthouse at Amsterdam, the skull of a Narwhal,
with two horns. There is likewise a skull to be seen in Hamburgh,
having two horns, each above seven feet long, and eight inches round.
Naturalists differ greatly as to the food of the unicorn. Perhaps
it differs with the parts of the ocean it inhabits. Small fishes,
_Mollusca_ and _Actinea_, are their more general food.
The Narwhal swims with great swiftness, and, like the other cetacea,
cannot remain long under the water without respiring. When frightened,
or attacked, they huddle together in such numbers that they force their
long horns into the body of each other, and thereby become an easy prey
to their pursuers.
This animal, though seemingly harmless, is, as already mentioned, a
dangerous enemy of the common whale; and has been known to dart its
horn into the side of a ship[34]. The vessel must have sunk had not the
horn been broken off by the violence of the stroke.
[34] Forst. Voy. p. 353.
The oil produced by the _Monodon monoceros_, though scanty, is, in
point of quality, superior to any other cetaceous oil.
The horn of the Narwhal was long the object of a kind of superstitious
respect. It was said to be efficacious in the cure of several
distempers; and was prized as being of the very highest value. The
Margraves of Bareuth possessed one which cost them 600,000 rix dollars;
and the kings of Denmark have a most magnificent throne formed of
these horns, which is esteemed more valuable than if composed of gold.
Captain Scoresby (of the Resolution,) has a very fine bed made of the
same materials. It is reckoned a great curiosity, and is extremely
handsome. The horn is of a finer texture, and takes a better polish
than that of the elephant.
11th, Got two fish. Several sail of Greenlandmen in company.
12th, Strong easterly breeze. Ran a considerable way to the westward.
13th and 14th, Gale increased, and we ran a considerable way farther to
the westward. Cold very intense.
June 15th, Latitude, by observation, 78° 13´. Made fast to a large
iceberg.
16th, Got a size fish. While we were made fast to this iceberg, some of
the crew had put a piece of blubber to the fire, and, allured by the
smell, a very large bear came and put his nose over the gunwale. One of
the harpooners shot him; but a squall coming on, we did not bring the
carcass on board.
From the 16th to the 21st, we caught four whales, of various sizes. The
weather was now getting hazy, as it generally does at this season of
the year, and the whales were become more difficult to catch.
22d, Spoke the Catharina Elizabeth, of Hanover, Captain Schultz, after
being a considerable time separated from the rest of the Greenland
ships. From her we learned that a French frigate, and some smaller
vessels, were in the North. This intelligence determined us not to
lessen our distance from Spitzbergen, but to shape our course to
England by the Feroe Isles. This determination, however, had nearly
sent us to a French port, for the Guerriere was taken of the Feroe
Isles on the 19th July, two days after we passed them.
From the 22d to the 29th, the day on which we set sail for England, we
took six whales, making in all twenty-four, of which fourteen were
size fish.
On the 26th, an accident happened which was like to have deprived us of
one of our boatsteerers; but, fortunately, was not finally attended by
any evil consequence. He was thrown out of the boat by the stroke of a
whale’s tail, but kept himself on the top of the water by his oar. The
crew were in such disorder, that before they got him into the boat,
he was almost senseless with cold, and still worse before they could
row him to the ship. He was brought down to the cabin, stripped, and
laid on a blanket before the fire. His hair was like so many icicles,
and the body exhibited a very cadaverous appearance. No pulsation was
to be found in any part, and I held a mirror before his mouth without
producing the least evidence of respiration. I immediately ordered the
soles of his feet to be rubbed with strong brine; his temples were
chaffed with strong volatile spirits, and the same were applied to his
nose. Hot flannels, moistened with camphorated spirits of wine, were
applied to the spine, and over the breast, and renewed every quarter
of an hour. Stimulating powders were put to his nose, but without any
apparent effect; he never showed the least symptoms of animation; nor
could the body be brought to any degree of warmth, notwithstanding
being rubbed with hot coarse cloths. As the last resource, I ordered
one of the men to blow into the patient’s mouth, as strongly as he
could, holding his nostrils at the same time lest any of the air should
escape. When I found, by the rising of the chest, that the lungs
were properly inflated, I ordered him to quit blowing, and with my
hand pressed down the chest and belly, so as to expel the air. This
imitation of natural respiration was pursued for a short time, till,
putting my hand on his left breast, I found his heart give some feeble
beats: soon after, the pulse at the wrist was found to beat. In a short
time he opened his eyes, and looked round in wild amaze; then shut them
again. As soon as he was able to swallow, I gave him a gentle cordial,
which was repeated every five minutes, till he was a great deal
recovered. The Captain was so kind as to order him to be put into his
own bed, with two of the men, one on each side, to bring him the sooner
to a natural heat. Plenty of clothes being put over them, he soon fell
into a profound sleep and gentle perspiration, and so remained for two
or three hours, when he awoke quite well and refreshed, but had rather
a wild look. On giving him a glass of brandy, he arose and went to
his own berth as before. All the time I was on board, the poor fellow
expressed the greatest gratitude to me, and thankfulness to God, for
thus being providentially rescued from the grasp of death. It is almost
needless to remark, that in this inclement region, swimming is of
little or no use to any person who may chance to fall overboard, as his
muscular motion is almost instantaneously obstructed by the intensity
of the cold.
Colds and coughs are the disorders most prevalent among sailors in this
country. Sometimes the scurvy breaks out amongst them, but I never saw
any symptoms of it. Fractures, dislocations, sprains, bruises, cuts,
and frost-biting, give the surgeons a good deal of trouble. A certain
complaint, either contracted in England, or the Orkney or Shetland
Isles, is very common.
The Resolution did not lose a single man in either of the voyages I
made to this country. By the blessing of Providence, they were again
all safely restored to their native land.
30th, Latitude 76° 37´; Longitude, as near as we could calculate, 1°
West. Steered due south. The men were employed in cleaning the ship,
drying the lines, &c.
From July 1st to July 5th, course southerly. Weather fine, but hazy.
Ice diminishing, and the sun getting gradually nearer the horizon.
Saw several whales; they were now become extremely furious, and made
considerably more noise in blowing.
Voyagers are, in these high latitudes, often surprised and delighted by
the appearance of mock suns and moons, but I was not so fortunate as
to perceive any. The frozen particles floating in the atmosphere are
supposed to be the cause of these phenomena.
From the 5th to the 7th, wind at N. E. Course S. S. W. Lat. 71° 10´.
Greenland ships, from their clumsy make, when heavily loaded, sail with
but very little expedition.
July 8th, Strong breeze from E. N. E. Course S. S. W. ½ W. Ice
totally gone. Sun almost coincident with the horizon.
From the 8th to the 17th, excellent weather. Course generally S. S. E.
½ E. On the 17th, we fell in with the westernmost of the Feroe Isles.
Our dead reckoning was considerably to the east.
The Feroe Isles lie 70 leagues N. W. from Unst, in Shetland, and extend
to 62° 30.´
Seventeen of these islands are habitable. They are rugged, mountainous,
and rocky; the intervening currents deep and rapid; the sea around
them turbulent, and at times so much agitated by whirlwinds, that
vast quantities of water are forced up into the air, and the fishes
contained therein frequently deposited on the tops of the highest
mountains. These are equally resistless on land, tearing up trees,
stones, and animals, and carrying them to very distant places.
Whirlpools, too, are numerous in these seas, and extremely dangerous;
that near the island of Suderoe is the most noted. It is occasioned
by a crater, sixty-one fathoms deep in the centre, and from fifty to
fifty-five on the sides. The water forms four fierce circumgyrations.
The point they begin at is on the side of a large bason, where
commences a range of rocks running spirally, and terminating at the
verge of the crater. This range is extremely rugged, and covered
with water from the depth of twelve to eight fathoms only. It forms
four equidistant wreaths, with a channel from thirty-five to twenty
fathoms in depth between each. On the outside, beyond that depth, the
sea suddenly sinks to eighty and ninety. On the south border of the
bason, is a lofty rock, called _Sumboe Munk_, noted for the number
of birds which frequent it. On one side, the water is only three or
four fathoms deep, on the other, fifteen. The danger at most times,
especially in storms, is very great. Ships are irresistibly drawn in:
the rudder loses its power, and the waves beat as high as the masts,
so that an escape is almost miraculous; yet at the reflux, and in very
still weather, the inhabitants will venture in boats for the sake of
fishing. _Arct. Zool._ 2d edit. vol. i. p. 56.
On arriving at these southerly latitudes, the appearance of the moon
and stars was, to use the language of Captain Phipps, almost as
extraordinary a phenomena as the sun at midnight, when we first got
within the Arctic circle.
On the 20th, lay becalmed off Fair Isle, a barren spot, about three
miles long, situated midway between the Shetland and Orkney Isles,
and inhabited by about 170 persons. The shores are high and rugged;
greatest depth of the water near it twenty-six fathoms. The tide here
runs with great velocity, and forms at the east end a considerable
eddy. Some ships belonging to the famous Spanish Armada were lost on
this isle.
When lying off Fair Isle, we sent the men we had got from Shetland
ashore in the row-boats.
22d, Passed North Ronaldshaw light in the Orkneys. The wind being but
little, and at S.E. we were drifted by the tide down the Murray Firth,
or _Tuum Æstuarium_ of the Romans, as far as Spey Bay. Tacked and stood
in for Kinnaird’s Head, the _Taizalum Promontorium_, which, with the
north-eastern extremity of Caithness, forms this capacious bay.
July 23d, Off Fraserburgh, to which we sent letters by a fishing boat.
Tacked and stood in for Peterhead, the most eastern part of Scotland,
and famous for its medicinal waters; it is situated about thirty miles
north of Aberdeen.
25th, Fell in with a cutter off Saint Abb’s Head, which we at first
took for a French privateer: to our satisfaction, however, she proved
to be the Try-All of London, a privateer of 14 guns, and 70 or 80 men.
26th, Came in sight of Whitby. It blowing very hard, we could not
anchor in the roads. Sailed farther to the south; then tacked and
hoisted a flag for a pilot. In the evening a pilot came off in his
cobble; but it blew so remarkably hard, that he could not get any
person to come along with him but an intrepid _lame tailor_. They came
on board, but being heavy laden, and the tides low, we could not get
into Whitby. We therefore determined to run for Hull; but, calling at
Scarborough, we got a brig to come to Whitby roads in order to lighten
us.
July 27th, Fourteen of our men being afraid of the press, took two
boats, and ran into Robbin Hood’s Bay. Anchored this evening in Whitby
Roads.
28th and 29th, The brig lightened us about 100 tons, and the evening of
the latter day we got withinside the bridge, and were mustered by the
custom-house officers, as is usual on those occasions.
31st, Paid off.
* * * * *
In concluding the account of this voyage, it would be unpardonable
in me to neglect mentioning the kindness and attention with which I
was always treated by Captain Scoresby, and his son the mate. Captain
Scoresby is well known to the world at large, for his vigorous,
enterprizing character, as well as for consummate skill in nautical
matters. As Captain of the ship, his conduct was most exemplary. He
was attentive to all the duties of religion, and preserved a proper
decorum, and strict discipline, without harshness, among the crew.