Jenks's Portland gazette. [volume] (Portland [Me.]) 1799-1802, 1800-12-01

19, and well worth the attention Of the reader.
HE Greenlandmen hh from lat. "a to lat
a So; the Davis's STATESMEN from lat. 68
to 70; and from the eaRern land, off TO the
weltward, as the fifth run. They catch in
Greenland all tizes, from to I355 feet bone /;
or from butts to So or 90 of blubber but
in Davis's Straits, the general fize is nine feet
and upwards. A fin So butts, when brought
home will boil at leaf about 40 tons of oil.
They leldom XII any fih leis than Is, or more
than 70 or 90 feet long. The ffhery from
Hull enciealed from the year 1886 to 1877 no
leis than / 3 fail. Ships which have not ton
and half bore, Ray in the country until the
10th Of Au2uR, Gnce BY at Of Parliament,
they are moi entitled TO The bouutv, if before
that time, they ihould T4l with lsfs quantity
Ct bone and consequently too fn4ll portion
of oil The fhP John f HUI, arrived on The
9th Of SePtembe., after being nine weeks II the
ice ihe had failed one bear expeGng 70 winter
there: had they wintered there, the Grew had
Plobably Per,lhed with hungr Another fhp
once returned 70 late as Ottober; this limia.
ton, now extends only 10 10 weeks offence
from their owu port after which they are al
lowed TO return though Glen. Thele a7s arc
altered according 10 circumstances each five
years. In the 9Th century, all the ihips Rores
ct Greenlardman could be compriied in
quarter OF theet a lit is often printed HI
laleS of flores they would not occupy whole
iheet. So comm rec increales AS all thefe
thiP5 are fitted ont with the beR Of every thing,
and fol- fix months P'ovitions, carrying many
from 30 10 So hands each.it Il obvious that very
large capitals NUT be employed in hi, trade,
as vel as its being a rf-ful nuriery for leamcn
corfequently its luPp-rt and increafe are ob
jett' Of graf tying attention TO every well wiiher
70 thcle kingdoms.
The natural htltory ar the whale Is collected
from The BET accounts, as vel as the mode Of
taking that flr0riing, uftful, and curious NOR
0er, is Lere lubJoined
The taking Of Whales in the Greenland
Teas, among the pisces If ice which have been
iocreaing for age, / ore of the greateR curl.
oft.es in nature. When the hps fill arrive
al the ice, they avoid Us much a, pofible lying
among the lmali Iieoes.both becaule few whale
are 10 be found there, and kewtle, beclure III
IS veiy dangerous, as they are liable Il Be-
thrown agaiuR The Gdes Of the flip BIZ the i've Il
Of the let, which th7le fma pieces 10 MT en-
tiieIy take Of, They the fore work Up as far
to the NorthWa-d as pof.ble, expecting IN met
with feA 10 they te N a piece Of lie If i'm
nenle magnitude, an to VII Oh 20 end can be
Perceive1.) About theft fields h: fea N I'm D \
as 81 lts ana th- vAit ta5t. Of ice whi-h rea-h
further Jha1 th- eye can perceive prefcnt The
iieI Of Z level country entirely covered Wi,h
lnow.
" In The openings betwi1t thefe f Ids the
whales play, and when the lhiP has got up, and
is made fat to the d-ld by mean Of large
hook, which they call An ice anchor, the bouts
are Immediately fent ont 70 different ditances
to wait for whales. Half The n p's company
are fent out in this manner for ur hours at 4
time, which is called 6r1aA qU4tcb after which
they are relieved By Others. AS foon As a whale
is feen tQ fpout, the boat which happens to be
nearef make towards it and the harpooner en-
deavours to ltrike him with barbed dart call
ed the bnboo7 (another Dutch word) to the
handle of which line of leveral fathoms in
length is faQtned, and lies coiled up in the bot
tom of the boat IF he fucceeds, an oar is
placed upright il the middle Of the boat as the
ignal for the ref To come to their alfifance.
When this is perceived, the people in the ihip
are alarmed by the cry Of 1aA taK By Perfon
Rationed On deck for that Purpole upon which
they Immediately haltcn out in boats to the
place where the whale was truck.
" When The monitor perceives himfelf woun
ded, he Immediately dives, fometimes going
Pc pendcular!Y down, iometimes running off
at a fide. AT frlt, he ters off with immenfe
velocity, but loon wearie5, and again obliged to
come up to the furface to blow or fpout off wa
ter, which he cannot live without. At the fec
ond time Of his coming up, he Gays much long
er than at drR and is again wounded with bar
poems and launces this they continue doing
till he begins to fpout mp blood mixed with wa,
ter, which is a Ggn of his death and foon af
ter this h1 turns himfs!f On his back and ex-
pires."
Porpoiles are not unfrequently taken and
brought on fhore in various parts Of England
,rhnie urhn b I'VE rsen a nornniCa nnaned trace