The Arctic regions and the northern whale-fishery

by William Scoresby

When it retires from the surface, it first lifts its head, then plunging it under water, elevates its back, like the segment of a sphere, deliberately rounds it away towards the extremity, throws its tail out of the water, and then disappears. Whales usually remain at the surface to breathe about two minutes, during which time they “blow” eight or nine times, and then descend for an interval usually of five or ten minutes, but sometimes, when feeding, fifteen or twenty. They commonly descend to only a trifling depth; but, when struck, they have been known, by the quantity of line taken out of the boat, to descend to the depth of an English mile, and, with such velocity, as to break their jaw-bones by the blow struck against the bottom. Occasionally, they may be found sleeping in calm weather among ice, and some persons are of opinion that, when undisturbed, they can remain under the surface for many hours at a time.

The food of the whale consists of various species of actiniæ, clioncs, sepiæ, medusæ, cancri, and helices, judging from the fact that some of these genera are always to be seen wherever any tribe of whales is found stationary. I have only discovered in the stomachs of dead animals squillæ or shrimps. When the whale feeds, it swims swiftly through the sea, with its jaws extended; its food is entangled by the whalebone, which, from its compact arrangement and thick internal covering of hair, does not allow a particle to escape.

The whale has one young at a birth. At this time the young one is said to be at least ten feet long, and continues under the protection of the mother for probably a year, until, by the growth of the whalebone, it is able to maintain itself. It probably reaches the magnitude called size, that is, with a six feet length of whalebone, in twelve years, and attains its full growth at the age of twenty or twenty-five. Whales live to a great age. The maternal affection of the whale is very interesting. The cub, being insensible to danger, is easily harpooned, and is sometimes struck as a snare to secure the mother. In this case she joins it at the surface whenever it has occasion to rise for respiration, encourages it to swim off, assists its flight by taking it under her fin, and seldom deserts it while life remains. In June, 1811, one of my harpooners struck a sucker, with the hope of its leading to the capture of the mother. Presently she arose close by “the fast-boat,” and seizing the young one, dragged about a hundred fathoms of line out of the boat with remarkable force and velocity. Again she rose to the surface, darted furiously to and fro, frequently stopped short, or suddenly changed her direction, and gave every possible intimation of extreme agony. For a length of time she continued thus to act, though closely pursued by the boats; and, inspired with courage and resolution by her concern for her offspring, seemed regardless of the danger which surrounded her. At length, one of the boats approached so near that a harpoon was hove at her. It hit, but did not attach itself. A second harpoon was struck, this also failed to penetrate, but a third was more effectual, and held. Still she did not attempt to escape, but allowed other boats to approach, so that, in a few minutes, three more harpoons were fastened, and, in the course of an hour afterwards she was killed.

There is something deeply interesting in the manner in which the great Maker of all things, in giving laws to the animal kingdom, has thus presented so many illustrations of the parental relation. It is as if he would not leave his intelligent creatures destitute of memorials of their relation to himself; so that, while in the field and on the flood, they behold the signs of parental affection and filial dependence, they may be led to ponder the solemn question of their tender and faithful Parent in heaven—“If, then, I be a Father, where is mine honour?”

The mysticetus occurs most abundantly in the frozen seas of Greenland and Davis’s Strait, in the bays of Baffin and Hudson, in the sea to the northward of Behring’s Strait, and along some part of the northern shores of Asia, and probably America. It is never met with in the German Ocean, and rarely within two hundred leagues of the British coast; but along the coasts of Africa and South America it is met with periodically, in considerable numbers. In these regions, it is attacked and captured by the southern British and American whalers, as well as by some of the people inhabiting the coasts to which it resorts. Whether this whale is precisely of the same kind as that of Spitzbergen and Greenland is uncertain, though it is evidently a mysticetus. One striking difference, possibly the effect of situation and climate, is, that the mysticetus in southern regions is often covered with barnacles, while those of the Arctic Seas are free from these shell-fish.

Besides the formidable inroads made upon the whale by man, it is subject to annoyance from sharks, and it is also said from the narwal, sword-fish, and thrasher. The opinion as to the narwal I am persuaded is incorrect; the sword-fish and thrasher (if such an animal there be) may be enemies of the whale, and the shark certainly is hostile to the extent of his ability, which, in comparison to that of the whale, can hardly be very formidable.

It is certain that the flesh of the whale is now eaten by savage nations, and it is also well authenticated that, in the twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, it was used as food by the Icelanders, the Netherlander, the French, the Spaniards, and, probably, by the English. Besides forming a choice eatable, the inferior products of the whale are applied to other purposes by the Indians and Esquimaux of Arctic countries, and, with some nations, are essential to their comfort. Some membranes of the abdomen are used for an upper article of clothing, and the peritoneum in particular, being thin and transparent, is used instead of glass in the windows of their huts; the bones are converted into harpoons and spears for striking the seal, or darting at the sea-birds, and are also employed in the erection of their tents, and, with some tribes, in the formation of their boats; the sinews are divided into filaments, and used as thread, with which they join the seams of their boats and tent-cloths, and sew, with great taste and nicety, the different articles of dress they manufacture; and the whalebone and other superior products, so valuable in European markets, have also their uses among them.

The largest animal of the whale tribe is not the mysticetus, but the Balæna physalis of Linnæus, Balænoptera gibbar of La Cepède, and razor-back of the whalers. This is, probably, the most powerful and bulky of created beings. In comparison with the mysticetus, it has a form less cylindrical, a body longer and more slender, whalebone shorter, produce in blubber and oil less, colour bluer, fins more numerous, breathing more violent, speed greater, and actions quicker, more restless and more bold. Its length is about one hundred feet, and its greatest circumference thirty or thirty-five. Its colour is a pale bluish black, or dark bluish grey, in which it resembles the sucking mysticetus. Besides the two pectoral fins, it has a small horny protuberance, or rayless and immovable fin on the extremity of the back. Its greatest velocity in swimming is about twelve miles an hour. It is by no means a timid animal, yet it does not appear revengeful or mischievous. When closely pursued by boats, it manifests little fear, and does not attempt to outstrip them in the race, but merely endeavours to avoid them by diving or changing its direction. If harpooned, or wounded, it then exerts all its energies, and escapes with its utmost velocity, but shows little disposition to retaliate on its enemies, or to repel their attacks by engaging in a combat. Unlike the mysticetus, it very rarely, when descending into the water, throws its tail into the air. Its great speed and activity render it a difficult and dangerous object of attack, and the small quantity of inferior oil it affords makes it unworthy the general attention of the fishers. When struck, it not uncommonly drags the fast-boat with such speed through the water, that it is liable to be carried immediately beyond the reach of assistance, and soon out of sight of both boats and ship. Hence the striker is under the necessity of cutting the line, and sacrificing his employer’s property for securing the safety of himself and his companions. In the year 1818, I ordered a general chase of them, providing against the danger of having my crew separated from the ship by appointing a rendezvous on the shore not far distant, and preparing against the loss of much line by dividing it at two hundred fathoms from the harpoon, and affixing a buoy to the end of it. Thus arranged, one of these whales was shot, and another struck. The former dived with such impetuosity that the line was broken by the resistance of the buoy, as soon as it was thrown into the water, and the latter was liberated within a minute by the division of the line, occasioned, it was supposed, by its friction against the dorsal fin. Both of them escaped. Another physalis was struck by one of my inexperienced harpooners, who mistook it for a mysticetus. It dived obliquely with such velocity that four hundred and eighty fathoms of line were withdrawn from the boat in about a minute of time. This whale was also lost by the breaking of the line.

The physalis occurs in great numbers in the Arctic Seas, especially along the edge of the ice, between Cherie Island and Nova Zembla, and also near Jan Mayen. Persons trading to Archangel have often mistaken it for the common whale. It is seldom seen among much ice, and seems to be avoided by the mysticetus; hence the fishers view it with painful concern. It inhabits most generally in the Spitzbergen quarter the parallels of 70° to 76°; but in the months of June, July, and August, when the sea is usually open, it advances along the land to the northward as high as 80° of latitude. In open seasons it is seen near the headland at an earlier period. A whale, probably of this kind, one hundred and one feet in length, was stranded on the banks of the Humber, about the middle of September, 1750.

Another species of whale frequenting the coasts of Scotland, Ireland, Norway, etc., is the Balænoptera rorqual of La Cepède, Balæna musculus of Linnæus, or the broad-nosed whale.