The Sun.
London, England, 1836-01-13 00:00:00

THE WHALE SHIPS:

(From the Newcastle Journal,)
THE GRENVILLE BAY WHALER.
This ship, recently embayed in the ice at Davis's-Straits,.---
has escaped from her perilous position, and happily arrived
in the Tyne, amidst great rejoicings, on Wednesday last.
We have been favoured with the following authentic and
interesting particnlars
" This vessel is one of the seven whalers which were be-
set in, the middle of Davis's Straits in the early part of Oc-
tober, in lat. 68. 56.; and from the accounts of the descrip-
tion of the ice, and its progressive movement southward,
brought by the vessels which have arrived, and were simi-
larly situated, her arrival and that of the Lady Jane have
been most anxiously looked for. The Grenville Bay has
three fish which will yield about 70 tuns of oil. Captain.
Taylor is in tolerable good health, considering the untoward
circumstances he has had to contend with, and his crew,
as might be expected, are rather feeble, and some laid. '
down with the scurvy. One poor fellow, in a very bad
state, was sent to the infirmary immtdiately on the vessel's
arrival. The Grenville Bay drifted upwards of 800 mires in
the ice, and early in December, from the prevalence of easterly
winds, and a strong in-draught to the West Land, was
carried, with the Lady Jane and Noifo/k in company into
Hudson's Straits—passing Resolution Island, down the
Bay of Ifegava, where they were apprehensive they
would have had to winter ; in fact, they bore up to en-
deavour to reach the settlement as a place of security,
and to obtain supplies. From the haziness of the wea-
ther they did not knew with certainty where they were ;
but fortunately, meetinc, with a strong current, they were
driven rapidly out of the Stmit, passing Button's Island, and
got clear of the ice in lat. 58. SO., about 30 miles from the
Labrador coast, on the 16th of December. She made her
passage across the Atlantic in 21 days. Captain Taylor saw
several fish in lat. 61.30:, but from the state of the ice, and
the feebleness of his crew, the attempt to capture them
proved unsuccessful. The Abram, of Hull, was last seen
on the 29th of November, when she bore to the north-east
in lat. 63. The temperature varied from 28 degrees above
Zero to 20 below. Captain Taylor unfortunately lost his
cook overboard on the passage home. The Lady Jane
was in sight the day before Captain Taylor got clear of the
ice, and was set by the• current to the westward, but there
was no doubt of her getting clear, and therefore she may be
looked for. The Norfolk, of Berwick, has arrived at that
port."
Previous to the escape of the Grenville Bay, Captain
Taylor forwarded to the owner of that vessel, resident in .
this port, the following letter, by.the Harmony, of Hull, the
arrival of which vessel we last week noticed
" Davis's Straits, Oct. 24th, 1835.
" Dear Sir-1 am sorry to have to write to you from this
place. The winter has set in very soon and cold, and we are
now frozen up in a floe drifting down the country. We wore
up for home on the 29th of September, from the' South Low
Land, where we left plenty of fish, but the bay ice making so
strong, we could 'not manage our ship; the Duncombe, Dor-
don, Alfred, Harmony, Abram, Lady Jane, and .Norfolk, in
company. We all ran north to lat. 70, but could find no pas-
sage; came south again 30 miles, and took the ice ; and if we
had had strong winds, the whole of the ships would have got
clear. At one time the Grenville Bay's bowsprit was over
the Thincombe's quarter-deck, and that ship we expect is clear
of the ice. The ,Harmony is within three miles of the water,
and we see it from the mast head, but cannot do anything with
our ships, except cutting through the floe, which we do not
like to do to endanger the ships, until we get further south
clear of the land. There has been no opening in the ice since
the 18th. On that day the Dordon got into the lanes of water
leading to the sea, but the bay ice making so fast, the master
could not manage his ship ; and on the 20th the ice closed and
wrecked the ship—fortunately they saved theirp.rovisions ; 12 of
their men came to us, and the rest are gone amolgst the other
ships. Our provisions are getting low, although we lave been on
short allowance since we came into the ice, but on Monday last
we reduced our own men to 21b. of bread per week, three
pieces of beef, or 301 b. to 48;men 'per day. We have eight
puncheons of beef, and four casks of bread, 28cwt., which is
the whole of our stock. The ships are drifting down the
Straits about eight miles per day, and by the end of the month
we shall be clear of Cape Walsingham. The Straits are
wider, and I hope the ice will open south of that cape. We
have three fish, 70 tuns of oil ; the best ship that I know of
has not SO tuns ; but if the wind had not set in, we should have
done some good. We only know of 20 sail in the West-water,
tbat is, the Swan, William Lee, Sisters, Cambrian, and
William Torr the two last we have not seen since we got
into the west sidef and seven that were seen off Cape Searl by
the Duncombe, ant? not any more then in the list. I send this
with the Harmony, v,ilich is close to the water, and may be out
of the ice before us.
" I remain, Sir, your obedient semant,
" THOMAS TAYLOR.

ARRIVAL OF THE NORPOL/C, BERWICK WHALE SHIP.
It is with m(uFcrioimgrtahteificß,.etirotoon
are at enabled to
announce the arrival at this port of the: Berwick whale ship
Norfolk, Capt. Harrison, one of the voss'els beset in the ice
in Davis's Straits.
The NorfoM got clear of the ice on the J3th of Novem-
ber, and continued to drift southward, followed by the Gren-
ville Bay and Lady Jane (Newcastle vessels) ;vhich made
their escape throe days afterwards. On the 20th saw the
land, distant about 40 miles, it lat. 64. The AL).am was
seen last on the 28th, bearing to the north-eastward, lat.
about 68. The prevailing winds being easterly, they con-
tinued to drift southward, and set shoreward, and on the
Bth of December they were in the mouth of Hudson's Bay,
Resolution island bearing east 15 or 20 miles. They were
then carried by the current to Green Island, and proceeded
a considerable way in Ungava Bay ; but, very fortunately,
a current swept them along the land and round Button's
Island, and carried them entirely out of Hudson's Straits,
where they were apprehensive at one time they would have
to winter. There were frequent partial openings in the
park of ice, and the ships took advantage to proceed east-
ward, and heavy swells aided their escape ; but the vessels
received some heavy blows from the ice. This was in lat.
58. 50. and distant from the Labrador coast 30 miles. Se-
veral whales were seen in about lat. 61.30, and though the
attempt was made to take them, it was unsuccessful, owing
to the ice and heavy gales.
The Norfolk called at the Orkneys, to put on shore a
portion of the crew, She left there on Monday morning,
carried a fair wind for Peterhead, and turned front thence
with the wind southerly. On Friday. morning she reached
Berwick Bay, and anchored off the pier ; and with the af-
ternoon's tide she came into the Tweed, and is now sta-
tioned off Spittal.
The captain and crew of the Noyfo/k, we are glad to. say,
have endured their hardships as jolly British tars always
do, and are all well. Her success, however, has been very
moderate : she has only one fish ; and Captain Harrison
declares it was never in his power the whole year to look
for fisk, as the season was so severe with frost. Since they
left Davis's Straits the weather, we understand, has been
extremely fine.
Since the foregoing was written, we have been on board
the Norfolk, and can, from personal observation, give the
most favourable account of the whole crew. She came
into the Tweed towed by a steamer, amid the joyous accla-
mations of a large concourse of people assembled on the
pier, the ramparts, the Carr-rock, and every place that
could command a view of the interesting scene, and was
ck. Thongerasthuilpatisovnass
immediatelymoored o the
throne
ngi, Ire t
ha t iCs
taor
rr
s' r oandc
heaped upon the Captain and his hardy tars in abundance,
their return being regarded as a sort .of resurrection. They
all look tolerably well,--considering what they have en-
dured,ecidents." has some fears, it would
Abram. The ships he left in the
seem, of the fate of the
ice
ecllof moving a
a nno,,t, remarkably well—thin, but healthful. The captain
is fu
thinks, he
get out till spring ; and he is of
opinion that Captain .Ross's expedition will scarcely be
available.