| The latitude of Hammerfest Town, ascertained by a good Sextant and False-Horizon, taken on shore, was found | 70° 38′ 34″ N. |
| Longitude, by Arnold’s chronometer, No. 1981, taken on shore, by the same means | 24 28 0 E. |
| Variation by same means | 11 4 0 W. |
| Range of thermometer on board | from 70° to 75° |
| Range of thermometer on shore | 75° 80° |
High water on full and change, at three hours; rise and fall 8 feet. I found it is very much influenced by the wind, and when it blows strongly from the N. W. it rises considerably higher.
“The town of Hammerfest is situated on the island of Qualoon, 25 Danish miles in extent, and is one of the departments of West Finmark, which contains 25,000 souls. This province is divided into parishes, each having its priest, and over the whole is a bishop, to enforce the duties of the Lutheran religion. There are 200 regular soldiers scattered in different quarters of the province, commanded by a captain, who governs the whole country. About thirty houses compose the town of Hammerfest, with about 200 inhabitants; with one church, one hospital, a customhouse, and some public and private stores. The customhouse has regular established officers appointed from Copenhagen. The captain of the port is under the same appointment, and wears the uniform of the Danish navy.
“The principal trade of this place is in furs and fish, which are all sent into Russia. The extent of the imports and exports I was not able accurately to learn, but suppose them, in time of peace, to be something considerable. I was told by the captain of the port, that in 1808, 200 sail had been seen here at one time. The Russian merchants have their agents scattered all over West as well as East Finmark. They make their purchases from the Finmarkers, with flour, brandy, sail-cloth, fishing-lines, coarse cloth, and other articles of that kind, for enabling them to carry on the fishing and hunting business. I was informed that 3000 boats were yearly employed by the Finmarkers in fishing; for as soon as the hunting season is over, they devote their whole attention to the fisheries. Four or five men are attached to each boat.
“Cod and herrings abound on this coast, and are the finest I ever saw, being of a much firmer and better texture than those caught on the banks of Newfoundland.
“As the Finmarker dries his fish in the sun, without salt, it must be but a very poor employment: but, as all his wants are easily supplied, with this kind of commerce he is satisfied, and thinks money of little consideration. Perhaps, after all, they are more happy than the lower orders of more enlightened nations.
“Perhaps a fishing establishment at Hammerfest might be attended with considerable advantage. The deepness of the water would render a departure from the mode of fishing observed on the banks of Newfoundland indispensable. The hook and line are here of little consequence. The Finmarkers all fish with nets, and we adopted the same method with considerable success. No place is better adapted than this for curing with salt. From its situation, embosomed by hills, the thermometer in the summer, as our observations show, often reaches a very high degree of temperature. With proper management, a cod might then have been prepared for the market in three days, while at Newfoundland, in the best weather, it requires five.
“At Newfoundland, they have only from twelve to fourteen hours sun; at Hammerfest, nearly four months. The advantages, therefore, as to climate, on the side of Hammerfest, are most obvious. Perhaps, too, an establishment in the North might, in time of war, be of some importance, as it would the better enable us to prevent our enemies enjoying any share of so lucrative a trade as the whale fishing.
“The cold is by no means so intense in winter as might be expected. The inner harbour, though seldom agitated by winds, was never seen frozen over; and the moonlight is sufficiently strong to render labour practicable. Nature has been very provident with respect to fuel, the whole country abounding with good turf. The severity of the climate diminishes the vital principle in the human race; the men soon get old, and the women are past child-bearing at thirty-five.