CHAPTER III.
ACCOUNT OF THE MODERN WHALE-FISHERY, AS CONDUCTED AT SPITZBERGEN.
We commence this chapter with a description of a well-adapted Greenland ship, and of the manner in which it should be strengthened to resist the concussions of the ice. A ship intended for the Greenland or Davis’s Strait trade, should be of three or four hundred tons’ admeasurement, very substantially built, doubled, and fortified; should have six or seven feet perpendicular space between decks; should be furnished with a description of sails which are easily worked; and should possess the property of fast sailing. The most appropriate dimensions of a ship intended for the northern whale-fisheries, seems to be that which is so large as to be capable of deriving the greatest advantage from the best opportunity, and no larger. A vessel of 250 tons requires nearly the same number of men, the same quantity of provisions and stores, and the same expense of outfit, as a ship of 350 tons’ burden; while the difference in the cargoes of the two vessels when filled, is inone voyage more than a compensation for the difference in the first expense. Besides, for want of similar room and convenience, the smaller ship has not always an equal chance of succeeding in the fishery with the larger. And, as ships of about 350 tons’ burden have been occasionally filled, vessels of 250 tons are too small for the fishery. Ships of 350 tons’ burden have, we observe, been occasionally filled, but we know of no instance in which a ship of 400 tons, of the usual capacious build, has been deficient in capacity for taking in as large a cargo as of late years there has been any opportunity of procuring. We therefore conclude, that an increase of dimensions above 400 tons is an actual disadvantage, and that a ship of intermediate size, between 300 and 400 tons, is best adapted for the fishery.
Greenland ships, in the early ages of the fishery, were very indifferent structures, and even of late shipping of inferior quality were generally deemed sufficient for the trade. At present, however, when a good fishery is rarely made without frequent exposure to the ice, and sometimes in very critical situations, the vessels require to be substantially built, for the purpose of resisting the occasional pressure of, and frequent blows from, the ice, to which the ships of persevering fishermen must always be more or less exposed. The requisites peculiar to a Greenland ship, the intention of which is to afford additional strength, consistof doubling, and sometimes trebling, and fortifying. The terms “doubling” and “trebling,” are expressive of the number of layers of planks, which are applied to the exterior of a frame of timbers; hence, a ship which has one additional series of planks, is said to be doubled, and such ships as are furnished with two, or part of two, additional layers of planks, are said to be trebled. Doubling generally consists of the application of two or two half inches oak plank, near the bow, diminishing towards the stern to perhaps half that thickness, and extending in one direction from the lower part of the main-wales, to within six feet perpendicular of the keel forward, and to within eight or nine feet abaft; and, in the other direction, that is, fore and aft-wise, from the stem to the stern-post. Doubling is used for producing an increase of strength, and at the same time for preserving the outside or main planks of the ship from being injured by the friction of passing ice. Trebling, which commonly consists of one and a half to two inches oak plank, is generally confined to the bows of the ship, and rarely extends farther aft than the fore-chains or chesstree. It is seldom applied but to second-rate ships. Its principal use is to increase the strength of the ship about the bows, but it also, serves to preserve that part of the doubling which it covers from being destroyed by the ice.
Fortifying is the operation of strengtheninga ship’s stern and bows by the application of timber and iron plates to the exterior, and a vast number of timbers and stanchions to the interior. Four straight substantial oak timbers, called ice-beams, about twelve inches square and twenty-five feet in length, are placed beneath the hold-beams, butting with their foremost extremity against a strong fore-hook, and extending nearly at right angles across three or four of the hold-beams, into each of which they are notched and secured, at the point of intersection, by strong iron bolts, with the addition of “cleats” on the aftermost-beams. The fore-part of the ice-beams, which butt against the hook, are placed at a small distance from each other, from whence they diverge in such a way that their other extremities divide the aftermost beams under which they pass into five equal parts. The next important part of the fortification is thepointers, which consist of four or more crooked timbers, fitting the curve of the ship’s bow on each side; these are placed below the hold-beams, against the inside of the ceiling, nearly parallel with the direction of the planks, some butting against the fore-hooks, and others passing between them. Across these pointers, four or five smaller timbers, called “riders,” disposed at regular distances, are placed at right angles, that is, in the same direction as the ribs of the ship. Now, from each of the points of intersection of the riders and pointers, consisting of eighteen or twenty oneach side of the ship, a stanchion, or shore, proceeds to the edge of one of the two ice-beams, placed on the same side, where it is secured in a rabbet. The ice-beams are supported and connected by several strong pieces of wood, placed between each two, in different parts, called “carlings,” whereby they are made to bear as one. It is evident that a blow received on the starboard-bow will be impressed on the adjoining pointers, and the impression communicated, through the medium of the lateral timbers, or shores, to the two ice-beams on the same side, thence by the carlings to the other ice-beams, and then, by the shores on the opposite side to the larboard-bow and annexed pointers. A blow cannot be received on any part of one bow, without being communicated by the fortification to every part of the opposite bow, while every part to and through which the impression is communicated must tend to support that place on which the blow is impressed.
To preserve the stem from being shattered or bruised by direct blows from the ice, it is strengthened by an extra piece called the false, or ice-stem. On the side of this are placed the ice-knees, which are angular chocks, or blocks of wood, filling the concavity formed by the stem and bow planks, and extending from about the eight feet mark to the loading mark. In the best style, the ice-knees are twelve to fifteen inches in thickness at the stem, diminishingto, perhaps, six or eight inches thick at the distance of about eight feet from the stem, from thence gradually becoming thinner, until they fall into and incorporate with the common doubling, below the fore-part of the fore-chains. This makes a neat bow, and in point of strength is much preferable to the angular chocks or knees, which usually extend about five or six feet from the stem, and then terminate somewhat abruptly upon the doubling. Ice-knees not only strengthen the front of the bows, and prevent the main planks from being bruised or shattered, as far as they extend, but likewise protect the stem from the twisting effect of a side blow. The stem and the small part of the ice-knees adjoining, are still farther defended by plates of half-inch iron, called ice-plates, which are nailed upon the face of the ice-stem, and partly on the ice-knees, to prevent them being cut by the ice.
For additional strength, as well as convenience, the hold-beams of a Greenland ship should be placed low, or at a greater distance from the deck-beams than is usual in other merchantmen, leaving a clear space of six or seven feet between decks. The strength thus derived is principally serviceable when the ship is squeezed between two sheets of ice; because the nearer the pressure acts on the extremities of the beams, the greater is the resistance they are calculated to offer. A large space between decks is found also, for many reasons, to be most convenient.
Hammocks, as receptacles for sailors’ beds, being incommodious, the crew are lodged in cabins or berths, erected in the half-deck; these consist of twelve to twenty in number, each of which is calculated to contain two or three persons. When a ship is on fishing-stations, the boats are required to be always ready for use; as such they are suspended from cranes, fixed on the sides of the ship, and are usually so contrived that a boat can be lowered down into the water, manned, and pushed off from the ship, in the short space of a minute of time. Prior to the year 1813, a ship having seven boats carried one at each waist, that is, between the main-mast and fore-mast, two at each quarter, one above the other and one across the stern. An improvement on this plan, adopted in 1813, is to have the boats fixed in a line of three lengths of boats on each side.
The masts and sails of a Greenland vessel are not without their peculiarities. As it is an object of importance that a fishing-ship should be easily navigated, under common circumstances, by a boat’s crew of six or seven men, it is usual to take down royal masts, and even top-gallant masts, and sometimes to substitute a long light pole in place of a mizen top-mast; also, to adopt such sails as require the least management. Courses set in the usual way require a number of men to work them when the ship is tacked; a course, therefore, made to diminish as it descends, that is, narrowest at the foot orlower part, and extended by a boom, or yard below as well as above, and this boom fastened by a tackle fixed at its centre to the deck, swings with the yards, with little or no alteration, and is found particularly convenient. Fore-sails, on this principle, have been in use about six or seven years. In 1816, I fitted a main-sail or cross-jack, in the same way, the former of which we found of admirable utility. Boom-courses are not only convenient in tacking, but are likewise a valuable acquisition when sailing among crowded dangerous ice. As the safety of the ship depends, next to the skilfulness of the piloting officer, on a prompt management of the yards and sails, boom-courses are strikingly useful on account of the little attention they require when any alteration in the position of the sails becomes necessary; and when the ship’s head-way is required to be suddenly stopped in a situation where she cannot be luffed into the wind, boom-courses swinging simultaneously with the top-tails are backed without any annoyance from tacks or sheets, and of course assist materially in effecting the intention. Such is the advantage of this description of sails, that on one occasion, when all the rest of my crew were engaged in the capture of a whale, with the assistance of only two men, neither of them sailors, I repeatedly tacked a ship of 350 tons’ burden under three courses, top-sails and top-gallant sails, together with jib and mizen, in a strong breeze of wind. Gaf-sailsbetween the masts, in the place of stay-sails, are likewise deservedly in much repute. To the mizen and try-sail, or gaf main-sail, that have been long in use, I have added a gaf fore-sail of similar form, besides which, my father has also adopted gaf top-sails between each mast. These sails produce an admirable effect when a ship is “on a wind,” which is the kind of sailing most required among the ice.
Having now described a Greenland ship, it is time to detail the proceedings on board of her, from putting to sea to her arrival on the coast of Spitzbergen. When all necessary conditions have been fulfilled, and the ship cleared out at the custom-house, the first opportunity is embraced for putting to sea. This is generally accomplished in the course of the month of March, or at least before the tenth of April. The crew of a whale-ship usually consists of forty to fifty men, comprising several classes of officers, such as harpooners, boat-steerers, line-managers, carpenters, coopers, etc., together with fore-mast men, landmen, and apprentices. As a stimulus to the crew in the fishery, every individual, from the master down to the boys, besides his monthly pay, receives a gratuity for every size fish caught during the voyage, or a certain sum for every tun of oil which the cargo produces. Masters and harpooners, in place of monthly wages, receive a small sum in advance before sailing, and if they procure no cargo whatever, they receive nothing more fortheir voyage; but in the event of a successful fishing, their advantages are considerable. The master usually receives three guineas for each size fish, and as much for striking a size whale or discovering a dead one, together with ten shillings to twenty shillings per tun on oil, and commonly a thirtieth, a twenty-fifth, or a twentieth of the value of the cargo besides. He also has about £5 per month for his attendance on the ship while he remains on shore. Each harpooner has usually 6s.per tun on oil, together with half a guinea for every size fish he may strike during the voyage. In addition to which the chief-mate, who is generally also harpooner, has commonly two guineas per month when at sea, and a guinea for each size fish. The specksioneer, or chief-harpooner, has also half a guinea per fish, and sometimes a trifle per tun of oil additional; and the second-mate, and other officers who serve in a compound capacity, have some additional monthly wages. Boat-steerers, line-managers, and fore-mast-men, commonly receive about 1s.6d.per tun each, besides their monthly pay, and landmen either a trifle per tun on oil, or a few shillings for each size fish.
From the difference in the wages paid in different ports, it is not easy to say what is the amount received by each class of officers belonging to the whale-ships. In the general, however, it may be understood that, on a ship with 200 tuns of oil, which is esteemed an excellentcargo, the chief-mate receives about £95 for his voyage, a harpooner about £70, and a common sailor, or foremast-man, about £25. including advance money and monthly pay. As the master’s wages depend as much on the value of the cargo as upon its quantity, it is difficult to give an opinion as to the amount; generally speaking, however, with a cargo of 200 tuns of oil, he will receive about £250 or £300, when his pay is according to the lowest scale; and perhaps £500 or £600, or upwards, when he is paid after the highest rate.
In time of war, themanningof the whale-ships at the ports where they were respectively fitted out being sometimes impracticable, and always a matter of difficulty, it was usual for the owners and masters of such ships to avail themselves of the privileges allowed by act of parliament of completing their crews in Shetland and Orkney. These islands were, therefore, the frequent resort of most of the fishermen; those bound for Spitzbergen commonly put into Shetland, and those for Davis’s Strait into Orkney. But in the present time of peace, also, several ships, in consequence of the higher wages demanded by the English seamen, have availed themselves of a late extension of the act for permitting a certain amount of extra men to be taken on board in Shetland or Orkney, during the continuance of the bounty system.
In Shetland, it is usual for the fishermen totrimtheir ships, and complete their ballast, by filling most of their empty casks with water, where it has not previously been done, to replenish their fresh water, to lay in stocks of eggs, fish, fowls, sea-sand, etc., to divest the ships of all elevated lumber and gaudy appendages to the masts and rigging, by way of preparing them for enduring the Polar storms with greater safety and convenience, and lastly, to fix a “crow’s nest” or “hurricane house,” on the mast of each ship, and prepare a passage to it as safe and convenient as possible.
The “crow’s nest” is an apparatus placed on the main top-mast, or top-gallant mast-head, as a kind of watch-tower for the use of the master or officer of the watch in the fishing-seas, for sheltering him from the wind, when engaged in piloting the ship through crowded ice, or for obtaining a more extensive view of the sea around when looking out for whales. When sailing among much drift-ice, as seen from the deck, it seems at a small distance impervious, although it may happen that scarcely any two pieces are connected; but from the mast-head, the relative position of almost every piece may be distinctly seen, and an opinion may be formed by the experienced observer of the probable and actual movements of such pieces as the ship is required to pass. This is an object of the greatest importance, because the varied movements of the different pieces occasion such an alteration in the channel pursued, that, were it not for aconstant, attentive, and judicious watch by the master or an able officer, a ship would not pass through any crowded collection of drift-ice without the imminent risk of being stove.
In difficult situations, a master’s presence at the mast-head is sometimes required for many hours in succession, when the temperature of the air is from 10° to 20° below the freezing point, or more. It is therefore necessary for the preservation of his health, as well as for his comfort, that he should be sheltered from the piercing gale. A piece of canvas tied round the head of the main top-mast, and heel of the top-gallant mast, extending only from the cap to the cross-trees, or at best, a canvas stretched round the base of the top-gallant rigging, but open on the after-part, was the most complete contrivance of a crow’s nest, until a few years ago my father invented an apparatus, having the appearance of a rostrum, which afforded an admirable defence against the wind. This contrivance, from the comfortable shelter it affords to the navigator, having come into very general use, it may not be improper to describe it more particularly.
The one most approved by the inventor is about four and a half feet in length, and two and a half in diameter. The form is cylindrical, open above and close below. It is composed of laths of wood, placed in a perpendicular position, round the exterior edge of a strong wooden hoop, forming the top, and round a plane ofmahogany or other wood which forms the bottom, and the whole circumference of the cylinder is covered with canvas or leather. The entrance is by a trap-hatch at the bottom. It is fixed on the very summit of the main top-gallant mast, from whence the prospect on every side is unimpeded. On the after-side is a seat, with a place beneath for a flag. In other parts are receptacles for a speaking-trumpet, telescope, and occasionally for a rifle-piece, with utensils for loading. For the more effectual shelter of the observer, when in an erect posture, a movable screen is applied to the top on the windward side, which increases the height so much as effectually to shield his head. When the ship is tacked, nothing more is necessary for retaining the complete shelter than shifting the screen to the opposite side, which is done in an instant.
The Greenland ships usually leave Shetland towards the end of March, or the beginning of April. From thence, if their view be to avail themselves of the benefit of the seal-fishery, they steer to the northward, on the meridian, or a little to the westward, and commonly make the ice in the latitude of 70° to 72° north. But if the month of April be much advanced before they leave Shetland, they generally steer for the whaling-stations on a course to the east of north, with the view of falling into that remarkable indentation of the Polar ice, lying in 5° or 10° east longitude, which I have denominatedthe “Whale-Fishers’ Bight.” It used to be the practice to remain on sealing-stations until the beginning of May, and not to enter the ice until about the middle of the month; but of late it has become usual to push into the ice at a much earlier period, though the practice is neither without its dangers nor disadvantages. If a barrier of ice prevents the fisher from reaching the usual fishing-station, he sometimes perseveres in search of whales on the southward margin of the ice, but more generally endeavours to push through it into an opening, which is usually formed on the west side of Spitzbergen, in the month of May, where he seldom fails of meeting with the objects of his search. It is a common remark, that the more difficulty there is attending the passage through the ice, the better is the fishery when that passage is accomplished. In close seasons, very few ships pass the barrier before the middle or end of May. Those which first succeed immediately proceed along the edge of the western ice to the latitude of 78° or 79°, until they meet with whales. But in open seasons, the most recommendable plan is to sail direct to the latitude of 80°, when it can be accomplished at a very early period, where large whales are generally at this season to be found.
It is not yet ascertained what is the earliest period of the year in which it is possible to fish for whales. The danger attending the navigationamidst massive drift-ice, in the obscurity of night, is the most formidable objection against attempting the fishery before the middle of the month of April, when the sun, having entered the northern tropic, begins to enlighten the Polar regions throughout the twenty-four hours. Some ships have sailed to the northward of the 78th degree of latitude, before the close of the month of March; but I am not acquainted with a single instance where the hardy fishers have, at this season, derived any compensation for the extraordinary dangers to which they were exposed. In the course of the month of April, on certain occasions, considerable progress has been made in the fishery, notwithstanding the frequency of storms. At the first stage of the business, in open seas, the whales are usually found in most abundance on the borders of the ice, near Hackluyt’s Headland, in the latitude of 80°. A degree or two further south they are sometimes seen, though not in much plenty; but in the 76th degree they sometimes occur in such numbers, as to present a tolerable prospect of success in assailing them.
Some rare instances have occurred wherein they have been seen on the edge of the ice, extending from Cherie Island to Point Look-out, in the early part of the season. Grown fish are frequently found at the edge, or a little within the edge, of the loose ice, in the 79th degree of north latitude, in the month of May;and small whales, of different ages, at fields, and sometimes in bays of the ice, in the 80th degree. Usually the fish are most plentiful in June, and, on some occasions, they are met with in every degree of latitude from 75° to 80°. In this month, the large whales are found in every variety of situation; sometimes in open water, at others in the loose ice, or at the edges of fields and floes, near the main impervious body of ice, extending towards the coast of West Greenland. The smaller animals of the species are, at the same time, found further to the south than in the spring, at floes, fields, or even among loose ice, but most plentifully about fields or floes, at the border of the main western ice, in the latitude of 78° or 78½°. In July, the fishery generally terminates, sometimes at the beginning of the month, at others, though more rarely, it continues throughout the greater part of it. Few small fish are seen at this season.
The parallel of 78° to 78½° is, on the whole, the most productive fishing-station. The interval between this parallel and 80°, or any other situation more remote, is called the “northward,” and any situation in a lower latitude than 78° is called the “southward.” Though the 79th degree affords whales in the greatest abundance, yet the 76th degree affords them, perhaps, more generally. In this latter situation a very large kind of the mysticetus is commonly to be found, throughout the season,from April to July inclusive. Their number, however, is not often great; and as the situation in which they occur is unsheltered, and, consequently, exposed to heavy swells, the southern fishery is not much frequented. The parallel of 77° to 77½° is considered a “dead latitude” by the fishers, but occasionally it affords whales also.
From an attentive observation of facts, it would appear that various tribes of the mysticetus inhabit different regions, and pursue various routes on their removal from the places where first seen. These tribes seem to be distinguished by a difference of age or manners, and, in some instances, apparently by one of species or subspecies. The systematical movements of the whales receive illustration from many well-known facts. Sometimes a large tribe, passing from one place to another, which, under such circumstances, is denominated a “run of fish,” has been traced in its movements, in a direct line from the south towards the north, along the seaward edge of the western ice, through a space of two or three degrees of latitude; then it has been ascertained to have entered the ice, and penetrated to the northward beyond the reach of the fishers. In certain years, it is curious to observe, that the whales commence a simultaneous retreat throughout the whole fishing limits, and all disappear within the space of a very few days.
Having now mentioned, generally, the principalplaces resorted to by the whales in the Spitzbergen seas, it will, possibly, be interesting to such as are in any way concerned in the fishery, to notice more distinctly their favourite haunts under particular circumstances.
Experience proves that the whale has its favourite places of resort, depending on a sufficiency of food, particular circumstances of weather, and particular portions and qualities of the ice. Thus, though many whales may have been seen in open water when the weather was fine, after the occurrence of a storm perhaps not one is to be seen; and, though fields are sometimes the resort of hundreds of whales, yet, whenever the loose ice around separates entirely away, the whales quit them also. Hence, fields seldom afford whales in much abundance, excepting at the time when they first “break out,” and become accessible; that is, immediately after a vacancy is made on some side by the separation of adjoining fields, floes, or drift-ice. Whales are rarely seen in abundance in the large open spaces of water which sometimes occur amidst fields and floes, nor are they commonly seen in a very open pack, unless it be in the immediate neighbourhood of the main western ice. They seem to have a preference for close packs and patches of ice, and for fields under certain circumstances; for deep bays, orbights, and sometimes for clear water situations; occasionally for detached streams of drift-ice, and most generallyfor extensive sheets of bay-ice. Bay-ice is a favourite retreat of the whales, so long as it continues sufficiently tender to be conveniently broken for the purpose of respiration. In such situations, whales may frequently be seen in amazing numbers, elevating and breaking the ice with their crowns, the eminences on their heads in which their blow-holes are situated.
The most favourable opportunity for prosecuting the fishery commonly occurs with north, north-west, or west winds. At such times, the sea near the ice is almost always smooth, and the atmosphere, though cloudy and dark, is generally free from fog or thick snow. The fishers prefer a cloudy to a clear sky, because, in very bright weather, the sea becomes illuminated, and the shadows of the whale-boats are so deeply impressed in the water by the beams of the sun, that the whales are very apt to take the alarm, and evade the utmost care and skill of their pursuers. South-east or east winds, though disagreeable, cause a violent agitation of the pieces of ice, and so annoy the whales as to induce them to leave their retreat and appear in the open sea. Although the fishery requires a cloudy atmosphere, yet it must be free from fog or continued snow; smooth water, with a breeze of wind, and navigably open, or perfectly solid ice.
The boats and principal instruments employed in the capture of the whale next claim a description. Whale-boats are, of course,peculiarly adapted for the occupation they are intended to be employed in. A well-constructed Greenland boat possesses the following properties:—It floats lightly and safely on the water, is capable of being rowed with great speed, and readily turned round; it is of such capacity, that it carries six or seven men, seven or eight hundred weight of whale-line, and various other materials, and yet retains the necessary properties of safety, buoyancy, and speed, either in smooth water, or where it is exposed to a considerable sea. Whale-boats, being very liable to receive damage, both from whales and ice, are always carver-built—a structure which is easily repaired. They are usually of the following dimensions. Those called six-oared boats, adapted for carrying seven men, six of whom, including the harpooner, are rowers, are generally twenty-six to twenty-eight feet in length, and about five feet nine inches in breadth. Six-men boats, that is, with five rowers and a steersman, are usually twenty-five to twenty-six feet in length, and about five feet three inches in breadth; and four-oared boats are usually twenty-three to twenty-four feet in length, and about five feet, three inches in breadth. The main breadth of the two first classes of boats is at about three-sevenths of the length of the boat, reckoned from the stern; but in the last class it is necessary to have the main breadth within one-third of the length of the boat from the stern.The object of this is to enable the smaller boat to support, without being dragged under water, as great a strain on the lines as those of a larger class; otherwise, if such a boat were sent out by itself, its lines would be always liable to be lost before any assistance could reach it.
The five-oared or six-men boat is that which is in general use; though each fishing-ship generally carries one or two of the largest class. These boats are now commonly built of fir boards, one-half or three-fourths of an inch thick, with timbers, keel, gunwales, stern, and stern-post of oak. An improvement in the timbering of whale-boats has lately been made, by sawing the timber out of very straight grained oak, and bending them to the required form after being made supple by the application of steam, or immersion in boiling water. This improvement, which renders the timbers more elastic than when they are sawn out of crooked oak, and at the same time makes the boat stronger and lighter, was suggested by Thomas Brodrick, esq., of Whitby, ship-builder. Though the principle has long been acted upon in clincher-built boats, with ash timbers, the application to carver-built whale-boats is, I believe, new. The bow and stern of Greenland boats are both sharp, and in appearance very similar, but the stern forms a more acute angle than the bow. The keel has some depression in the middle from which the facility of turning is acquired.
The instruments of general use in the capture of the whale are the harpoon and the lance. The harpoon is an instrument of iron, of about three feet in length. It consists of three conjoined parts, called the “socket,” “shank,” and “mouth,” the latter of which includes the barbs or “withers.” This instrument, if we except a small addition to the barbs and some enlargement of dimensions, maintains the same form in which it was originally used in the fishery two centuries ago. At that time, the mouth or barbed extremity was of a triangular shape, united at the shank in the middle of one of the sides, and this being scooped out on each side of the shank formed two simple flat barbs. In the course of last century, an improvement was made by adding another small barb, resembling the beard of a fishhook, within each of the former withers in a reverse position. The two principal withers in the present improved harpoon measure about eight inches in length and six in breadth, the shank is eighteen inches to two feet in length, and four-tenths of an inch in diameter, and the socket, which is hollow, swells from the size of the shank to near two inches diameter, and is about six inches in length. Now, when the harpoon is forced by a blow into the fat of the whale, and the line is held tight, the principal withers seize the strong ligamentous fibres of the blubber, and prevent it from being withdrawn; and, in the event of its being pulled out so far as to remain entangledby one wither only, which is frequently the case, then the little reversed barb, or “stop-wither,” as it is called, collecting a number of the same reticulated sinewy fibres, which are very numerous near the skin, prevents the harpoon from being shaken out by the ordinary motions of the whale. The point and exterior edges of the barbs of the harpoon are sharpened to a rough edge by means of a file. This part of the harpoon is not formed of steel, as it is frequently represented, but of common soft iron, so that when blunted it can be readily sharpened by a file, or even by scraping it with a knife.
The most important part in the construction of this instrument is the shank. As this part is liable to be forcibly and suddenly extended, twisted, and bent, it requires to be made of the softest and most pliable iron. That kind which is of the most approved tenacity is made of old horse-shoe nails orstubs, which are formed into small rods, and two or three of these welded together, so that should a flaw happen to occur in any one of the rods, the strength of the whole might still be depended on. Some manufacturers inclose a quantity of stub-iron in a cylinder of best foreign iron, and form the shank of the harpoon out of a single rod. A test, sometimes used for trying the sufficiency of a harpoon, is to wind its shank round a bolt of inch-iron, in the form of a close spiral, then to unwind it again, and put it into a straightform. It bears this without injury in the cold state, it is considered as excellent. The breaking of a harpoon is of no less importance than the value of a whale, which is sometimes estimated at more than £1000 sterling. This consideration has induced many ingenious persons to turn their attention towards improving the construction and security of this instrument, but though various alterations have been suggested, such as forming the shank of wire, adding one or two lateral barbs, etc., etc., they have all given place to the simplicity of the ancient harpoon.
Next in importance to the harpoon is the lance, which is a spear of iron of the length of six feet. It consists of a hollow socket, six inches long, swelling from half an inch, the size of the shank, to near two inches in diameter, into which is fitted a four feet stock or handle of fir; a shank, five feet long and half an inch in diameter; and a mouth of steel, which is made very thin, and exceedingly sharp, seven or eight inches in length, and two or two and a half in breadth. Besides these instruments, there is also the harpoon gun. It was invented in the year 1731, and used by some individuals with success. Being however difficult, and somewhat dangerous in its application, it was laid aside for many years. In 1771 or 1772, a new one was produced to the Society of Arts, and received as an original invention. Between 1772 and 1792, the Societyexpended large sums in premiums to whale-fishers and to artisans for improvements in the gun and harpoon. Since 1792, they have generally been in the habit of offering a premium of ten guineas to the harpooner who should shoot the greatest number of whales in one season, not being less than three. This premium, however, though it has been frequently offered, has been seldom claimed. In its present improved form, as made by Mr. Wallis, gunsmith, Hull, the harpoon-gun consists of a kind of swivel, having a barrel of wrought-iron 24 or 26 inches in length, of 3 inches exterior diameter, and 1⅞ inches bore. It is furnished with two locks, which act simultaneously, for the purpose of diminishing the liability of the gun missing fire. The shank of the harpoon is double, terminating in a cylindrical knob, fitting the bore of the gun. Between the two parts of the shank is a wire ring, to which is attached the line. Now, when the harpoon is introduced into the barrel of the gun, the ring with the attached line remains on the outside near the mouth of the harpoon, but the instant that it is fired, the ring flies back against the cylindrical knob. The harpoon-gun has been rendered capable of throwing a harpoon near forty yards with effect, yet, on account of the difficulty in the management of it, it has not been very generally adopted.
In the course of the outward passage, the different utensils are fitted for immediate use.One preparation is that which is known by the name of “spanning harpoons.” A piece of rope, of the best hemp, called a “fore-ganger,” about two and a quarter inches in circumference, and eight or nine yards in length, is spliced closely round the shank of the harpoon, the swelled socket of which prevents the eye of thesplicefrom being drawn off. A stock, or handle, six or seven feet in length, is then fitted into the socket, and fastened in its place through the medium of the fore-ganger. The fastening of the stock is sufficient only for retaining it firm in its situation during the discharge of the weapon, but is liable to be disengaged soon afterwards; on which the harpoon, relieved from the shake and twist of this no longer necessary appendage, maintains its hold with better effect. After the stock drops out, it is seldom lost, but still hangs on the line by means of a loop of cord, fixed openly round it, for the purpose of preventing the stock from floating away. Every harpoon is stamped with the name of the ship to which it belongs; and when prepared for use, a private mark, containing the name of the ship and master, with the date of the year written upon leather, is concealed beneath some rope-yarns, wound round the socket of the instrument, and the same is sometimes introduced also into the fore-ganger. These marks serve to identify the harpoons, when any dispute happens to arise relative to the claims of different ships to the same fish and have sometimesproved of essential service in deciding cases which might otherwise have extended to vexatious litigations.
A harpoon thus prepared, with fore-ganger and stock, is said to be “spanned in.” In this state, the point or mouth, being very clean and sharp, is preserved in the same condition by a shield of oiled paper or canvas; and the instrument, with its appendages, laid up in a convenient place, ready for being attached to the whale-line in a boat when wanted.
The principal preparations for commencing the fishery are included in the “fitting of the boats.” In this work all the people belonging to the ship are employed. The boats are first cleared of all lumber, and then the whale-lines, each consisting of 120 fathoms of rope, about two and a quarter inches in circumference, are spliced to each other, to the amount of about six to each boat, the united length of which is about 720 fathoms, or 4,320 feet; and the whole carefully and beautifully coiled in compartments in the boat prepared for the purpose. A portion of five or six fathoms of the line first put into the boat, called the “stray-line,” is left uncovered by that which follows, and coiled by itself in a small compartment at the stern of the boat: it is furnished with a loop or “eye,” for the facility of connecting the lines of one boat with those of another. To the upper end of the line is spliced the fore-ganger of a spanned harpoon, thus connecting the harpoon with all the lines in the boat.
Every boat completely fitted is furnished with two harpoons (one spare,) six or eight lances, and five to seven oars, together with the following instruments and apparatus:—A “jack,” or flag, fastened to a pole, intended to be displayed as a signal, whenever a whale is harpooned; a “tail-knife,” used for perforating the fins or tail of a dead whale; a “mik,” or rest, made of wood, for supporting the stock of the harpoon when ready for instant service; an “axe,” for cutting the line when necessary; a “pigging,” or small bucket, for bailing the boat or wetting the running lines; a “snatch-block;” a “grapnel;” two “boat-hooks;” a “fid;” a wooden “mallet,” and “snow-shovel;” also, a small broom and a “swab,” together with spare tholes, grommets, etc. In addition to these, the two six-oared or other swiftest boats are likewise furnished with an apparatus, called a “winch,” for heaving the lines into the boat after the fish is either killed or has made his escape; and in some ships they also carry a harpoon-gun, and apparatus for loading. The whole of the articles above enumerated are disposed in convenient places throughout the boat. The axe is always placed within the reach of the harpooner, who, in case of an accident, can cut the line in an instant; the harpoon-gun is fixed by its swivel to the boat’s stern; the lances are laid in the sides of the boat, upon the thwarts; the hand-harpoon is placed upon the mik, or rest, with its stock, and on the bow of the boatwith its point, and the fore-ganger is clearly coiled beneath it, so that the harpoon can be taken up and discharged in a moment. An oar is used for steering, in preference to a rudder, in consequence of its possessing many advantages: an oar does not retard the velocity of the boat so much as a rudder; it is capable of turning the boat when in a state of rest, and more readily than a rudder when in motion; and it can be used for propelling the boat in narrow places of the ice, where the rowers cannot ply their oars, by the process of sculling, and in calms for approaching a whale without noise, by the same operation.
The crew of a whale-ship are separated into divisions, equal in number to the number of the boats. Each division, consisting of a harpooner, a boat-steerer, and a line-manager, together with three or four rowers, constitutes a boat’s crew. The harpooner’s principal office is, as his name implies, to strike the whale, also to guide the line, or to kill an entangled whale with his lances. When in pursuit he rows the bow-oar. He has the command of the boat. The boat-steerer ranks next to the harpooner; he guides the course of the boat, watches the motions of the whale pursued, intimates its movements to the harpooner, and stimulates the crew to exertion by encouraging exclamations. The line-manager rows the “after-oar” in the boat, and, conjointly with the boat-steerer, attends to the lines when in the act of runningout or coiling in. The remainder of the crew pull the oars. Besides these divisions of the seamen of a whaler into boats’ crews, they are classed on the passages, and when no whale-fishing is going on, as in other vessels, into watches.
On fishing-stations, when the weather is such as to render the fishery practicable, the boats are always ready for instant service, suspended from davits, or cranes, by the sides of the ship, and furnished with stores, as before enumerated; two boats at least, the crews of which are always in readiness, can in general be manned and lowered into the water within the space of one minute of time. “Wherever there is a probability of seeing whales, when the weather and situation are such as to present a possibility of capturing them, the “crow’s nest” is generally occupied by the master, or some one of the officers, who, commanding from thence an extensive prospect of the surrounding sea, keeps an anxious watch for the appearance of a whale. Assisted by a telescope, he views the operations of any ship which may be in sight at a distance; and occasionally sweeps the horizon with his glass, to extend the limited sphere of vision in which he is able to discriminate a whale with the naked eye to an area vastly greater. The moment that a fish is seen, he gives notice to the “watch upon deck,” part of whom leap into a boat, are lowered down, and push off towards the place. If the fish be large, a secondboat is immediately dispatched to the support of the other. When the whale again appears, two boats row towards it with their utmost speed, and though they may be disappointed in all their attempts, they generally continue the pursuit until the fish either takes the alarm and escapes, or they are recalled by a signal to the ship. When two or more fishes appear at the same time in different situations, the number of boats sent in pursuit is commonly increased. When the whole of the boats are sent out, the ship is said to have “a loose fall.” During fine weather, when there is great probability of finding whales, a boat is generally kept in readiness, manned and afloat, sometimes towed by a rope astern, or, if the ship be still, at a little distance. There are several rules observed in approaching a whale, as precautions, to prevent the animal from taking the alarm. As the whale is dull of hearing, but quick of sight, the boat-steerer always endeavours to get behind it, and, in accomplishing this, he sometimes takes a circuitous route. In calm weather, when guns are not used, the greatest caution is necessary before a whale can be reached; smooth careful rowing is always requisite, and sometimes sculling.
When it is known that a whale seldom abides longer on the surface of the water than two minutes, that it generally remains from five to ten or fifteen minutes under water, that in this interval it sometimes moves through thespace of half a mile or more, and that the fisher has very rarely any certain intimation of the place in which it will reappear—the difficulty and address requisite to approach sufficiently near, during its short stay on the surface, to harpoon it, will be readily appreciated. It is, therefore, a primary consideration with the harpooner always to place his boat as near as possible to the spot where he expects the fish to rise; and he considers himself successful in the attempt when the fish “comes up within a start,” that is, within the distance of about two hundred yards. A whale moving forward, at a small distance beneath the surface of the sea, leaves a sure indication of its situation in what is called “an eddy,” having somewhat the resemblance of “the wake,” or track of a ship; and in fine calm weather, its change of position is sometimes pointed out by the birds, many of which closely follow it when at the surface, and hover over it when below, whose keener vision can discern it when it is totally concealed from human eye. By these indications many whales have been taken.
The providence of God is manifested in the tameness and timidity of many of the largest inhabitants of the earth and sea, whereby they fall victims to the prowess of man, and are rendered subservient to his convenience in life. And this was the design of the lower animals in their creation, for God, when he made man, gave him “dominion over the fish ofthe sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” The holy psalmist, when considering the power and goodness of God in the creation, exclaimed, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him; and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” And, in contemplation of the glory and honour put upon man by the Almighty, in the power given him over created nature, he adds, “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: ... the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” Hence, while we admire the cool and determined intrepidity of those who successfully encounter the huge mysticetus, if we are led to reflect on the source of the power by which the strength of men is rendered effectual for the mighty undertaking, our reflections must lead us to the great First Cause as the only source from whence such power could be derived. If there be peril in the encounter between man and God’s most powerful creatures, how much more dangerous must be the struggle between man and the Lord his Maker; and how certain, if it be prolonged, the terrible issue of such a contest! The power of the mighty monster of the deep, or even of the most glorious archangel, is as nothing in comparisonwith Him to whom power belongeth, and who will overwhelm his adversaries with a fearful and final perdition. Now, however, there is no fury in him, and he is as condescending as he is powerful, entreating his rebellious subjects to receive the peace of his reconciliation, and to draw near to him with a penitent and contrite heart, through the merit and intercession of his Son, in whom he assures us of a free and complete forgiveness.
Whenever a whale lies on the surface of the water, unconscious of the approach of its enemies, the hardy fisher rows directly upon it; and, an instant before the boat touches it, buries his harpoon in its back; but if, while the boat is at a little distance, the whale should indicate its intention of diving, by lifting its head above its common level, and then plunging it under water, and raising its body till it appears like a large segment of a sphere, the harpoon is thrown from the hand, or fired from a gun, the former of which methods, when skilfully practised, is efficient at the distance of eight or ten yards, and the latter at the distance of thirty yards, or upward. The wounded whale, in the surprise and agony of the moment, makes a convulsive effort to escape. Then is the moment of danger. The boat is subjected to the most violent blows from its head or its fins, but particularly from its ponderous tail, which sometimes sweeps the air with such tremendous fury, that both boatand men are exposed to one common destruction.
The head of the whale is avoided, because it cannot be penetrated with the harpoon; but any part of the body between the head and the tail will admit of the full length of the instrument, without danger of obstruction. The moment that the wounded whale disappears, or leaves the boat, a jack or flag, elevated on a staff, is displayed, on sight of which those on watch in the ship give the alarm, by stamping on the deck, accompanied by a simultaneous and continuous shout of “a fall.” This word, derived from the Dutch language, is expressive of the conduct of the sailors in jumping, dropping, falling to man the boats on an occasion requiring extreme dispatch. At this sound, the sleeping crew arouse, jump from their beds, rush upon deck, with their clothes tied by a string in their hands, and crowd into the boats. With a temperature of zero, should a “fall” occur, the crew would appear on deck, shielded only by their drawers, stockings, and shirts, or other habiliments in which they sleep. They generally contrive to dress themselves in part, at least, as the boats are lowered down, but sometimes they push off in the state in which they rise from their beds, row away towards the “fast-boat,” and have no opportunity of clothing themselves for a length of time afterwards. The alarm of “a fall” has a singular effect on the feelings of a sleeping person unaccustomed tothe whale-fishing business. It has often been mistaken as a cry of distress. A landsman in a Hull ship, seeing the crew on an occasion of a fall rush upon deck, with their clothes in their hands, and leap into the boats, when there was no appearance of danger, thought the men were all mad; but with another individual the effect was totally different. Alarmed with the extraordinary noise, and still more so when he reached the deck with the appearance of all the crew seated in the boats in their shirts, he imagined the ship was sinking. He therefore endeavoured to get into a boat himself; but every one of them being fully manned, he was always repulsed. After several fruitless endeavours to gain a place among his comrades, he cried out, with feelings of evident distress, “What shall I do?—will none of you take me in?”
The first effort of a “fast-fish,” or whale that has been struck, is to escape from the boat by sinking under water. After this, it pursues its course directly downward, or reappears at a little distance, and swims with great celerity near the surface of the water towards any neighbouring ice among which it may obtain an imaginary shelter; or it returns instantly to the surface, and gives evidence of its agony by the most convulsive throes, in which its fins and tail are alternately displayed in the air and dashed into the water with tremendous violence. The former behaviour, however, that is, to divetowards the bottom of the sea, is so frequent in comparison of any other, that it may be considered as the general conduct of a “fast-fish.” A whale, struck near the edge of any large sheet of ice, and passing underneath it, will sometimes run the whole of the line out of one boat in the space of eight or ten minutes of time. To retard, therefore, as much as possible, the flight of the whale, and to secure the lines, it is usual for the harpooner to cast one, two, or more turns of the line round a kind of post, called abollard, which is fixed within ten or twelve inches of the stern of the boat for the purpose. Such is the friction of the line, when running round the bollard, that it frequently envelopes the harpooner in smoke; and if the wood were not repeatedly wetted, would probably set fire to the boat.
During the capture of one whale, a groove is sometimes cut in the bollard, near an inch in depth, and were it not for a plate of brass, iron, or a block of lignum vitæ, which covers the top of the stern, where the line passes over, it is apprehended that the action of the line on the material of the boat would cut it down to the water’s edge in the course of one season of successful fishing. The approaching distress of a boat for want of line is indicated by the elevation of an oar in the way of a mast, to which is added a second, a third, or even a fourth, in proportion to the nature of the exigence. The utmost care and attention are requisite on thepart of every person in the boat when the lines are running out, fatal consequences having been sometimes produced by the most trifling neglect. On my first voyage to the whale-fishery, such an accident occurred. A thousand fathoms of line were already out, and the fast-boat was forcibly pressed against the side of a piece of ice. The harpooner, in his anxiety to retard the flight of the whale, applied too many turns of the line round the bollard, which, getting entangled, drew the boat beneath the ice. Another boat providentially was at hand, into which the crew, including myself, who happened to be present, had just time to escape. The whale, with near two miles length of line, was, in consequence of the accident, lost.
When fish have been struck by myself, I have, on different occasions, estimated their rate of descent. For the first 300 fathoms, the average velocity was usually after the rate of eight to ten miles per hour. In one instance, the third line of 120 fathoms was run out in sixty-one seconds, that is, at the rate of 8·16 miles, or 7·18 nautical miles, per hour. The average stay under water of a wounded whale, which steadily descends after being struck, according to the most usual conduct of the animal, is about thirty minutes. The longest stay I ever observed was fifty-six minutes; but in shallow water I have been informed it has sometimes been known to remain an hour and a half at the bottom after being struck, and yet has returned to the surfacealive. The greater the velocity, the more considerable the distance to which it descends, and the longer the time it remains under water, so much greater in proportion is the extent of exhaustion, and the consequent facility of accomplishing its capture. Immediately that it reappears, the assisting boats make for the place with their utmost speed, and as they reach it, each harpooner plunges his harpoon into its back, to the amount of three, four, or more, according to the size of the whale and the nature of the situation. Most frequently, however, it descends for a few minutes after receiving the second harpoon, and obliges the other boats to await its return to the surface before any attack can be made. It is afterwards actively plied with lances, which are thrust into its body, aiming at its vitals. At length, when exhausted by numerous wounds and the loss of blood, which flows from the huge animal in copious streams, it indicates the approach of its dissolution by discharging from its “blow-holes” a mixture of blood along with the air and mucus which it usually expires, and finally jets of blood. The sea to a great extent around is dyed with its blood, and the ice-boats and men are sometimes drenched with the same. Its track is likewise marked by a broad pellicle of oil, which exudes from his wounds, and appears on the surface of the sea. Its final capture is sometimes preceded by a convulsive and energetic struggle,in which its tail, reared, whirled, and violently jerked in the air, resounds to the distance of miles. In dying, it turns on its back, or on its side, which joyful circumstance is announced by the capturers with the striking of their flags, accompanied with three lively huzzas.
The remarkable exhaustion observed on the first appearance of a wounded whale at the surface, after a descent of 700 or 800 fathoms perpendicular, does not depend on the nature of the wound it has received, for a hundred superficial wounds received from harpoons could not have the effect of a single lance penetrating the vitals, but is the effect of the almost incredible pressure to which the animal must have been exposed. The surface of the body of a large whale may be considered as comprising an area of 1,540 square feet. This, under the common weight of the atmosphere alone, must sustain a pressure of 3,104,640 lbs., or 1,386 tons. But at the depth of 800 fathoms, where there is a column of water equal in weight to about 154 atmospheres, the pressure on the animal must be equal to 211,200 tons. This is a degree of pressure of which we can have but an imperfect conception. It may assist our comprehension, however, to be informed, that it exceeds in weight sixty of the largest ships of the British navy, when manned, provisioned, and fitted for a six months’ cruise.
By the motions of the fast-boat, the movements of the whale are estimated. Every fast-boatcarries a flag, and the ship to which such boats belong also wears a flag, until the whale is either killed or makes its escape. These signals serve to indicate to surrounding ships the exclusive title of the fast-ship to the entangled whale, and to prevent their interference, excepting in the way of assistance in the capture.
With respect to the length of time requisite for capturing a whale, it may be remarked that this greatly depends on the activity of the harpooners, the favourableness of situation and weather, and on the peculiar conduct of the whale attacked. I have myself witnessed the capture of a large whale in twenty-eight minutes, and have also been engaged with another fish, which was lost, after it had been entangled about sixteen hours. Under the most favourable circumstances, the average length of time occupied in the capture of a whale may be stated as not exceeding an hour, and the general average, including all sizes of fish and all circumstances of capture, may probably be two or three hours. The mode described in the preceding pages of conducting the fishery for whales under favourable circumstances, may be considered as the general plan pursued by the fishers of all ports of Britain, as well as of those of other nations who resort to Spitzbergen.
The ease with which some whales are subdued, and the slightness of the entanglement bywhich they are taken, are truly surprising; but, with others, it is equally astonishing, that neither line nor harpoon, nor any number of each, is sufficiently strong to effect their capture. Whales have even been taken in consequence of the entanglement of a line, without any harpoon at all; though, when such a case has occurred, it has evidently been the result of accident. A harpooner belonging to the Prince of Brazils, of Hull, had struck a small fish. It descended, and remained for some time quiet, and at length appeared to be drowned. The strain on the line being then considerable, it was taken to the ship’s capstern, with a view of heaving the fish up. The force requisite for performing this operation was extremely various; sometimes the line came in with ease, at others, a quantity was withdrawn with great force and rapidity. As such, it appeared evident that the fish was yet alive. The heaving, however, was persisted in, and after the greater part of the lines had been drawn on board, a dead fish appeared at the surface, secured by several turns of the line round its body. It was disentangled with difficulty, and was confidently believed to be the whale that had been struck. But when the line was cleared from the fish, it proved to be merely the “bight,” for the end still hung perpendicularly downward. What was then the surprise to find that it was still pulled away with considerable force! The capstern was again resorted to, andshortly afterwards they hove up, also dead, the fish originally struck, with the harpoon still fast. Hence, it appeared that the fish first drawn up had got accidentally entangled with the line, and, in its struggles to escape, had still further involved itself, by winding the line repeatedly round its body. The fish first entangled, as was suspected, had long been dead, but it was this interloper that occasioned the jerks and other singular effects observed on the line.
The method already described is that which is adopted for the capture of whales under the most favourable circumstances, and is subject to many alterations when the situation or circumstances are peculiar. Hence arise various modes of capturing the whale, which furnish abundant opportunities for the exercise of ingenuity and skill, and are attended by their peculiar dangers. To an enumeration of these various methods, according to local circumstances, we now proceed to direct the reader’s attention.
1.Pack-fishing.—The borders of close packs of drift-ice are frequently a favourite resort of large whales. To attack them in such a situation subjects the fisher to great risks in his lines and boats, as well as uncertainty in effecting their capture. When a considerable swell prevails on the borders of the ice, the whales, on being struck, will sometimes recede from the pack, and become the prize of their assailers;but most generally they flee to it for shelter, and frequently make their escape. To guard against the loss of lines as much as possible, it is usual either to strike two harpoons from different boats at the same moment, or to bridle the lines of a second boat upon those of the boat from which the fish is struck. This operation consists in fixing other lines to those of the fast-boat, at some distance from the harpoon, so that there is only one harpoon and one line immediately attached to the fish, but the double strength of a line from the place of their junction to the boats. Hence, should the fish flee directly into the ice, and proceed to an inaccessible distance, the two boats bearing an equal strain on each of their lines can at pleasure draw the harpoon, or break the single part of the line immediately connected with it, and in either case secure themselves against any considerable loss.
When a pack, from its closeness, prevents boats from penetrating, the men travel over the ice, leaping from piece to piece, in pursuit of the entangled whale. In this pursuit they carry lances with them, and sometimes harpoons, with which, whenever they can approach the fish, they attack it; and if they succeed in killing it, they drag it towards the exterior margin of the ice, by means of the line fastened to the harpoon with which it was originally struck. In such cases, it is generally an object of importance to sink it beneath the ice; foreffecting which purpose, each lobe of the tail is divided from the body, excepting a small portion of the edge, from which it hangs pendulous in the water. If it still floats, bags of sand, kedges, or small cannon, are suspended by a block on the bight of the line, wherewith the buoyancy of the dead whale is usually overcome. It then sinks, and is easily hauled out by the line into the open sea.
To particularize all the variety of pack-fishing, arising from wind and weather, size of the fish, state and peculiarities of the ice, etc., would require more space than the interest of the subject to general readers would justify. I shall therefore only remark, that pack-fishing is, on the whole, the most troublesome and dangerous of all others; that instances have occurred of fish having been entangled during forty or fifty hours, and escaped after all; and that other instances are remembered, of ships having lost the greater part of their stock of lines, several of their boats, and sometimes, though happily less commonly, some individuals of their crews.
2.Field-fishing.—The fishery for whales, when conducted at the margin of those wonderful sheets of solid ice, called fields, is, when the weather is fine, and the refuge for ships secure, the most agreeable, and sometimes the most productive of all situations which the fishery of Greenland presents. A fish struck at the margin of a large field of ice generallydescends obliquely beneath it, takes four or eight lines from the fast-boat, and then returns exhausted to the edge. It is then attacked in the usual way with harpoons and lances, and is easily killed. There is one evident advantage in field-fishing, which is this: when the fast-boat lies at the edge of a firm unbroken field, and the line proceeds in an angle beneath the ice, the fish must necessarily arise somewhere in a semicircle described from the fast-boat as a centre, with a sweep not exceeding the length of the lines out; but most generally it appears in a line extending along the margin of the ice, so that the boats, when dispersed along the edge of the field, are as effectual and as ready for promoting the capture as twice the number of boats or more when fishing in open situations; because, in open situations, the whale may arise anywhere within a circle, instead of a semicircle, described by the length of the lines withdrawn from the fast-boat, whence it frequently happens that all the attendant boats are disposed in a wrong direction, and the fish recovers its breath, breaks loose, and escapes before any of them can secure it with a second harpoon. Hence, when a ship fishes at a field with an ordinary crew and six or seven boats, two of the largest fish may be struck at the same time with every prospect of success; while the same force attempting the capture of two at once in an open situation, will not unfrequently occasion the loss of both. There have,indeed, been many instances of a ship’s crew, with seven boats, striking at a field six fish at the same time, and succeeding in killing the whole; generally speaking, six boats at a field are capable of performing the same execution as near twice that number in open situations. Besides, fields sometimes afford an opportunity of fishing, when in any other situation there can be little or no probability of success, or, indeed, when to fish elsewhere is utterly impracticable. Thus, calms, storms, and fogs, are great annoyances in the fishery in general, and frequently prevent it altogether, but at fields the fishery goes on under any of these disadvantages. As there are several important advantages attending the fishery at fields, so likewise there are some serious disadvantages, chiefly relating to the safety of the ships engaged in the occupation. The motions of fields are rapid, various, and unaccountable, and the power with which they approach each other, and squeeze every resisting object, immense; hence occasionally vast mischief is produced, which it is not always in the power of the most skilful and attentive master to foresee or prevent.
Such are the principal advantages and disadvantages of fields of ice to the whale-fishery. The advantages, however, as above enumerated, though they extend to large floes, do not extend to small floes, or to such fields, how large soever they may be, as contain cracks or holes, or are filled up with thin ice in the interior.Large and firm fields are the most convenient, and likewise the most advantageous for the fishery; the most convenient, because the whales, unable to breathe beneath a close extensive field of ice, are obliged to make their appearance again above water among the boats on the look out; and they are the most advantageous, because not only the most fish commonly resort to them, but a greater number can be killed with less force, and in a shorter space of time, than in any other situation. Thin fields, or fields full of holes, being by no means advantageous to fish by, are usually avoided, because a “fast fish” retreating under such a field, can respire through the holes in the centre as conveniently as on the exterior; and a large fish usually proceeds from one hole to another, and if determined to advance, cannot possibly be stopped. In this case, all that can be done is, to break the line or draw the harpoon out. But when the fish can be observed blowing in any of the holes in a field, the men travel over the ice, and attack it with lances, pricking it over the nose to endeavour to turn it back. This scheme, however, does not always answer the expectations of the fishers, as frequently the fear of his enemies acts so powerfully on the whale that he pushes forward towards the interior to his dying moment. When killed, the same means are used as in pack-fishing to sink it, but they do not always succeed; for the harpoon isfrequently drawn out, or the line broken in the effort. If, therefore, no attempt to sink the fish avails, there is scarcely any other practicable method of making a prize of it, (unless when the ice happens to be so thin that it can be broken with a boat, or a channel readily cut in it with an ice-saw,) than cutting the blubber away, and dragging it piece by piece across the ice to the vessel, which requires immense labour, and is attended with vast loss of time. Hence we have a sufficient reason for avoiding such situations, whenever fish can be found elsewhere.
As connected with this subject, I cannot pass over a circumstance which occurred within my own observation, and which excited my highest admiration. On the 8th July, 1813, the ship Esk lay by the edge of a thin sheet of ice, in which were several thin parts and some holes. Here a fish being heard blowing, a harpoon, having a line connected with it, was conveyed across the ice by a boat on guard, and the harpooner succeeded in striking the whale, at the distance of 350 yards from the verge. It dragged out ten lines, (2,400 yards,) and was supposed to be seen blowing in different holes in the ice. After some time, it happened to make its appearance on the exterior, when a harpoon was struck at the moment it was on the point of proceeding again beneath. About a hundred yards from the edge, it broke the ice where it was a foot in thickness with its crown, and respiredthrough the opening. It then determinately pushed forward, breaking the ice as it advanced, in spite of the lances continually directed against it. It reached at length a kind of basin in the field, where it floated on the surface of the water without any encumbrance from ice. Its back being fairly exposed, the harpoon struck from the boat was observed to be so slightly entangled that it was ready to drop out. Some of the officers lamented this circumstance, and expressed a wish that the harpoon were better fast, observing at the same time that if it should slip out, the fish would either be lost, or they would be under the necessity of flensing it where it lay, and of dragging the pieces of blubber over the ice to the ship, a kind and degree of labour every one was anxious to avoid. No sooner was the wish expressed, and its importance made known, than one of the sailors, a smart and enterprising fellow, stepped forward and volunteered his services to strike it better in. Not at all intimidated by the surprise which was manifested in every countenance by such a bold proposal, he pulled out his pocket-knife, leapt upon the back of the living whale, and immediately cut the harpoon out. Stimulated by this courageous example, two of his companions proceeded to his assistance. While one of them hauled upon the line, and held it in his hands, the other set his shoulder against the extremity of the harpoon, and, though it was without a stock, he contrivedto strike it again into the fish more effectually than it was at first. The fish was in motion before this was finished. After they got off its back, it advanced a considerable distance, breaking the ice all the way, and survived this uncommon treatment ten or fifteen minutes. This admirable act was an essential benefit. The fish sunk spontaneously after being killed, on which it was hauled out to the edge of the ice by the line, and secured without further trouble. It proved a stout whale, and a very acceptable prize.
When a ship approaches a considerable field of ice, and finds whales, it is usual to moor to the leeward side of it, from which the adjoining ice generally first separates. Boats are then placed on watch on each side of the ship, and stationed at intervals of one hundred or one hundred and fifty yards along the edge of the ice. Hence, if a fish arises anywhere between the extreme boats, it seldom escapes unhurt. It is not uncommon for a great number of ships to moor to the same sheet of ice. When the whale-fishery of the Hollanders was in a flourishing state, above one hundred sail of ships might sometimes be seen moored to the same field of ice, each having two or more boats on watch. The field would in consequence, be so nearly surrounded with boats, that it was almost impossible for a fish to rise near the verge of the ice without being within the limits of a start of some of them.