On the 13th of the month, we set out from Tadoussac, arriving at Île Percée the next day, where we found a large number of vessels engaged in the fishery, dry and green.
On the 18th of the month, we departed from Île Percée, passing in latitude 42°, without sighting the Grand Bank, where the green fishery is carried on, as it is too narrow at this altitude.
When we were about half way across, we encountered a whale, which was asleep. The vessel, passing over him, awakening him betimes, made a great hole in him near the tail, without damaging our vessel; but he threw out an abundance of blood.
It has seemed to me not out of place to give here a brief description of the mode of catching whales, which many have not witnessed, and suppose that they are shot, owing to the false assertions about the matter made to them in their ignorance by impostors, and on account of which such ideas have often been obstinately maintained in my presence.
Those, then, most skilful in this fishery are the Basques, who, for the purpose of engaging in it, take their vessels to a place of security, and near where they think whales are plenty. Then they equip several shallops manned by competent men and provided with hawsers, small ropes made of the best hemp to be found, at least a hundred and fifty fathoms long. They are also provided with many halberds of the length of a short pike, whose iron is six inches broad; others are from a foot and a half to two feet long, and very sharp. Each shallop has a harpooner, the most agile and adroit man they have, whose pay is next highest to that of the masters, his position being the most dangerous one. This shallop being outside of the port, the men look in all quarters for a whale, tacking about in all directions. But, if they see nothing, they return to the shore, and ascend the highest point they can find, and from which they can get the most extensive view. Here they station a man on the look-out. They are aided in catching sight of a whale both by his size and the water he spouts through his blow-holes, which is more than a puncheon at a time, and two lances high. From the amount of this water, they estimate how much oil he will yield. From some they get as many as one hundred and twenty puncheons, from others less. Having caught sight of this monstrous fish, they hasten to embark in their shallops, and by rowing or sailing they advance until they are upon him.
Seeing him under water, the harpooner goes at once to the prow of the shallop with his harpoon, an iron two feet long and half a foot wide at the lower part, and attached to a stick as long as a small pike, in the middle of which is a hole to which the hawser is made fast. The harpooner, watching his time, throws his harpoon at the whale, which enters him well forward. As soon as he finds himself wounded, the whale goes down. And if by chance turning about, as he does sometimes, his tail strikes the shallop, it breaks it like glass. This is the only risk they run of being killed in harpooning. As soon as they have thrown the harpoon into him, they let the hawser run until the whale reaches the bottom. But sometimes he does not go straight to the bottom, when he drags the shallop eight or nine leagues or more, going as swiftly as a horse. Very often they are obliged to cut their hawser, for fear that the whale will take them underwater. But, when he goes straight to the bottom, he rests there awhile, and then returns quietly to the surface, the men taking aboard again the hawser as he rises. When he comes to the top, two or three shallops are stationed around with halberds, with which they give him several blows. Finding himself struck, the whale goes down again, leaving a trail of blood, and grows weak to such an extent that he has no longer any strength nor energy, and returning to the surface is finally killed. When dead, he does not go down again; fastening stout ropes to him, they drag him ashore to their head-quarters, the place where they pry out the fat of the whale, to obtain his oil. This is the way whales are taken, and not by cannon-shots, which many suppose, as I have stated above.
To resume the thread of my narrative: after wounding the whale, as mentioned, we captured a great many porpoises, which our mate harpooned to our pleasure and amusement. We also caught a great many fish having a large ear, with a hook and line, attaching to the hook a little fish resembling a herring, and letting it trail behind the vessel. The large ear, thinking it in fact a living fish, comes up to swallow it, thus finding himself at once caught by the hook, which is concealed in the body of the little fish. This fish is very good, and has certain tufts which are very handsome, and resemble those worn on plumes.
On the 22d of September, we arrived on soundings. Here we saw twenty vessels some four leagues to the west of us, which, as they appeared from our vessel, we judged to be Flemish.
On the 25th of the month, we sighted the Isle de Grenezé, [368] after experiencing a strong blow, which lasted until noon.
On the 27th of the month, we arrived at Honfleur.