CHARLES. "Newfoundland is famous for dogs; but I find the most numerous there are not like those we call Newfoundland dogs, which are large handsome animals, for they are comparatively rare. The most abundant are creatures with lank bodies, thin legs and tail, and a thin tapering snout. They are very intelligent though, and would beat the Chinese birds in catching fish; for Mr. Jukes, a gentleman who has been to Newfoundland, says of one of these dogs:—'He sat on a projecting rock beneath a fish-flake, or stage, where the fish are laid to dry, watching the water, which had a depth of six or eight feet, and the bottom of which was white with fish-bones. On throwing a piece of cod-fish into the water, three or four heavy, clumsy-looking fish, called in Newfoundland "sculpins," with great heads and mouths, and many spines about them, generally about a foot long, would swim in to catch it. These he would watch attentively, and the moment one turned his broadside to him, he darted down like a fish-hawk, and seldom came up without the fish in his mouth. As he caught them, he carried them regularly to a place a few yards off, where he laid them down; and his owner told us that in the summer he would sometimes make a pile of fifty or sixty a day, just at that place. He never attempted to eat them, but seemed to be fishing purely for his own amusement. I watched him for about two hours; and when the fish did not come, I observed he once or twice put his right foot in the water, and paddled it about. This foot was white, and my friend said he did it to "toll" or entice the fish.' Cunning dog was he not, George?"
GEORGE. "Yes; he would make his master's fortune if the fish he caught were worth selling."
EMMA. "To get into Baffin's Bay, we must go through Davis's Straits, so called from their discoverer, John Davis, who sailed through them in 1585; and following the coast on the north side, we shall pass South-east Bay and Coburg Bay. In 1818 Captain Ross completed the circumnavigation of this oblong bay. The middle of it seems everywhere occupied with impenetrable ice, between which and the land is the only passage for ships."
MRS. WILTON. "That portion of the bay you have just described washes the shores of Greenland and the Arctic Regions. Greenland is considered as a peninsula attached to America, wretchedly barren, for no trees grow there. But God, who made man of the dust, also promised to supply his wants, and most wonderfully is this exemplified with regard to Greenland. To provide the inhabitants with the means of warming and nourishing their bodies, God causes the sea to drive vast quantities of wood from distant shores, and with thankfulness the poor Greenlanders regularly gather these providential supplies from their own coasts. Some parts of Greenland are nothing more than huge masses of rocks, intermingled with immense blocks of ice, thus forming at once the image of chaos and winter."
GEORGE. "Is it not near Greenland the ships go to catch whales?"
MR. BARRAUD. "Yes; and, as you have mentioned the subject, we may as well stop and inquire into the particulars of this fishing."
GEORGE. "I remember reading that there are three sorts of whales—the finback, the right whale, and the sperm whale; but I should like to hear how they are caught."
MR. BARRAUD. "A man is stationed at the mast-head to look out, and as soon as he perceives a whale, he shouts, 'There she blows!' Immediately all hands are on the move to prepare the boats: this takes but a short time, and the chase commences. I will now give you an American account of such a chase.
"'The moment of intense excitement now arrived. We pulled as if for life or death. Not a word was spoken, and scarcely a sound was heard from our oars. One of the men sprang to his feet, and grasped a harpoon. A few more strokes of the oar, and we were hard upon the whale. The harpooner, with unerring aim, let fly his irons, and buried them to the sockets in his huge carcass. "Stern all!" thundered the mate. "Stern all!" echoed the crew, but it was too late. Our bows were high and dry on the whale's head! Infuriated with the pain produced by the harpoons, and, doubtless, much astonished to find his head so roughly used, he rolled half over, lashing the sea with his flukes (tail), and in his struggles dashing in two of the upper planks. "Boat stove! boat stove!" was the general cry. "Silence," thundered the mate as he sprang to the bow, and exchanged places with the harpooner; "all safe, my hearties! stern hard! stern! stern! before he gets his flukes to bear upon us." "Stern all!" shouted we, and in a moment more we were out of danger. The whale now "turned flukes," and dashed off to windward with the speed of a locomotive, towing us after him at a tremendous rate. We occasionally slacked line in order to give him plenty of play. A stiff breeze had sprung up, causing a rough, chopping sea; and we leaked badly in the bow-planks; but, notwithstanding the roughness of the sea, we went with incredible swiftness. "Hoorah!" burst from every lip. We exultingly took off our hats, and gave three hearty cheers; but while we were skimming along so gallantly, the whale suddenly turned, and pitched the boat on her beam-ends. Every one who could grasp a thwart hung on to it, and we were all fortunate enough to keep our seats. For as much as a ship's length the boat flew through the water on her gunwale, foaming and whizzing as she dashed onward. It was a matter of doubt as to which side would turn uppermost, until we slacked out the line, when she righted. To have a boat, with all her iron, lances, gear, and oars, piled on one's head in such a sea, was rather a startling prospect to the best swimmer. Meantime, the whale rose to the surface to spout. The change in his course enabled another boat to come up, and we lay on our oars, in order that Mr. D----, (the other mate) might lance him.—He struck him in a vital part the first dart, as was evident from the whale's furious dying struggles; but in order to make sure, we hauled up and lanced the back of his head. Foaming and breaching, he plunged from wave to wave, flinging high in the air torrents of blood and spray. The sea around was literally a sea of blood. At one moment his head was poised in the air; the next, he buried himself in the gory sea, carrying down, in his vast wake, a whirlpool of foam and slime. But this respite was short; he rose again, rushing furiously upon his enemies; but a slight prick of a lance drove him back with mingled fury and terror. Whichever way he turned, the barbed irons goaded him to desperation. Now and again intensity of agony would cause him to lash the waters with his huge flukes, till the very ocean appeared to heave and tremble at his power. Tossing, struggling, dashing over and over in his agony, he spouted up the last of his heart's blood. Half an hour before, he was free as the wave, sporting in all the pride of gigantic strength and unrivalled power. He now lay a lifeless mass; his head towards the sun, his tremendous body heaving to the swell, and his destroyers proudly cheering over their victory.'"
EMMA. "It seems very cruel to catch these poor creatures."