The northern whale-fishery

by William Scoresby

One of the crew of the John, of Greenock, who was in a fast-boat in the fishery of 1818, unfortunately slipped his foot through a coil of line in the act of running out, which drew him forward to the boat’s stern, and separated his foot by the ancle. He was conveyed by the first boat to the ship, where the assistance of several surgeons being procured, the lower part of the leg was cut off. After this, the poor fellow, having received the most unremitting attention from captain Jackson, with the best sustenance and accommodation the ship could afford, was restored to health, and his wound nearly healed before the conclusion of the voyage. It is worthy of being remarked, that the captain and crew of the John subscribed upwards of £24 for his relief, which was increased by the owners of the ship and others, on arrival, to about £37. This sum was placed in the “Provident Bank,” at Greenock, from whence he was permitted to draw it, after the rate of 7s. per week.

A harpooner, belonging to the Henrietta, of Whitby, when engaged in lancing a whale, into which he had previously struck a harpoon, incautiously cast a little line under his feet that he had just hauled into the boat, after it had been drawn out by the fish. A painful stroke of his lance induced the whale to dart suddenly downward, his line began to run out from beneath his feet, and in an instant caught him by a turn round his body. He had but just time to call out, “Clear away the line!”—“Oh dear!” when he was almost cut asunder, dragged overboard, and drowned. The line was cut at the moment, but without avail. The fish descended a considerable depth and died, from whence it was drawn to the surface by the lines connected with it, and secured.

On the 3rd of June, 1811, a boat from the ship Resolution, commanded at the time by myself, put off in pursuit of a whale, and was rowed upon its back. At the moment that it was harpooned, it struck the side of the boat a violent blow with its tail, the shock of which threw the boat-steerer to some distance into the water. A repetition of the blow projected the harpooner and line-manager in a similar way, and completely drenched the part of the crew remaining in the boat with the sprays. One of the men regained the boat, but, as the fish immediately sank and drew the boat away from the place, his two companions in misfortune were soon left far beyond the reach of assistance. The harpooner, though a practised swimmer, felt himself so bruised and enervated by a blow he had received on the chest, that he was totally incapacitated from giving the least support to his fellow-sufferer. The ship being happily near, a boat, which had been lowered on the first alarm, arrived to their succour at the moment when the line-manager, who was unacquainted with the art of swimming, was on the point of sinking to rise no more. Both the line-manager and harpooner were preserved; and the fish, after a few hours’ close pursuit, was subdued.

While the same ship navigated an open lake of water in the 81° north lat., during a keen frost and strong north wind, on the 2nd of June, 1806, a whale appeared, and a boat put off in pursuit. On its second visit to the surface of the sea it was harpooned. A convulsive heave of the tail which succeeded the wound struck the boat at the stern, and, by its reaction, projected the boat-steerer overboard. As the line in a moment dragged the boat beyond his reach, the crew threw some of their oars towards him for his support, one of which he happily seized. The ships and boats being at a considerable distance, and the fast-boat being rapidly drawn away from him, the harpooner cut the line, with the view of rescuing him from his dangerous situation. But no sooner was this act performed than, to their extreme mortification, they discovered, in consequence of some oars being thrown towards their floating comrades, and others being broken or unshipped by the blow from the fish, one oar only remained, with which, owing to the force of the wind, they tried in vain to approach him. A considerable period elapsed before any boat from the ship could afford him assistance, though the men strained every nerve for the purpose. At length, when they reached him, he was found with his arms stretched over an oar, almost deprived of sensation. On his arrival at the ship he was in a deplorable condition. His clothes were frozen like mail, and his hair constituted a helmet of ice. He was immediately conveyed into the cabin, his clothes taken off, his limbs and body dried and well rubbed, and a cordial administered to him. A dry shirt and stockings were then put upon him, and he was laid in the captain’s bed. After a few hours’ sleep, he awoke, and appeared considerably relieved. He complained of a painful sensation of cold. He was therefore removed to his own berth, and one of his messmates ordered to lie on each side of him, whereby the diminished circulation of the blood was accelerated, and the animal heat restored. The shock on his constitution, however, was greater than was anticipated. He recovered in the course of a few days so as to be able to engage in his ordinary pursuits, but many months elapsed before his countenance exhibited its wonted appearance of health.

A remarkable instance of the power which the whale possesses in its tail was exhibited within my own observation, in the year 1807. On the 29th of May, a whale was harpooned by an officer belonging to the Resolution. It descended a considerable depth, and on its reappearance evidenced an uncommon degree of irritation. It made such a display of its fins and tail, that few of the crew were hardy enough to approach it. The captain, (my father,) observing their timidity, called a boat, and himself struck the second harpoon. Another boat immediately followed, and, unhappily, advanced too far. The tail was again reared into the air in a terrific attitude. The impending blow was evident. The harpooner, who was directly underneath, leaped overboard. At the next moment, the threatened stroke was impressed on the centre of the boat, which buried it in the water. Happily no one was injured. The harpooner, who leaped overboard, escaped certain death by the act, the tail having struck the very spot on which he stood. The effects of the blow were astonishing. The keel was broken, the gunwales and every plank, excepting two, were cut through, and it was evident the boat would have been completely divided had not the tail struck directly upon a coil of lines. The boat was rendered useless.

The Dutch ship, Gort-Moolen, commanded by Cornelius Gerard Ouwekaas, with a cargo of seven fish, was anchored in Greenland, in the year 1660. The captain, perceiving a whale ahead of his ship, beckoned his attendants, and threw himself into a boat. He was the first to approach the whale, and succeeded in harpooning it before the arrival of the second boat, which was on the advance. Jacques Vienkes, who had the direction of it, joined his captain immediately afterwards, and prepared to make a second attack on the fish when it should remount to the surface. At the moment of its ascension, the boat of Vienkes happening unhappily to be perpendicularly above it, was so suddenly and forcibly lifted up by a stroke of the head of the whale, that it was dashed to pieces before the harpooner could discharge his weapon. Vienkes flew along with the pieces of the boat, and fell upon the back of the animal. This intrepid seaman, who still retained his weapon in his grasp, harpooned the whale on which he stood, and by means of the harpoon and the line, which he never abandoned, he steadied himself firmly upon the fish, notwithstanding his hazardous situation, and regardless of a considerable wound that he received in his leg, in his fall along with the fragments of the boat. All the efforts of the other boats to approach the whale and deliver the harpooner were futile. The captain, not seeing any other method of saving his companion, who was in some way entangled with the line, called to him to cut it with his knife, and betake himself to swimming. Vienkes, embarrassed and disconcerted as he was, tried in vain to follow this counsel. His knife was in the pocket of his drawers, and, being unable to support himself with one hand, he could not get it out. The whale meanwhile continued advancing along the surface of the water with great rapidity, but happily never attempted to dive. While his comrades despaired of his life, the harpoon by which he held at length disengaged itself from the body of the whale. Vienkes, being then liberated, did not fail to take advantage of this circumstance. He cast himself into the sea, and, by swimming, endeavoured to regain the boats which continued the pursuit of the whale. When his shipmates perceived him struggling with the waves, they redoubled their exertions. They reached him just as his strength was exhausted, and had the happiness of rescuing this adventurous harpooner from his perilous situation.

In one of my earliest voyages to the whale-fishery, I observed a circumstance which excited my highest astonishment. One of our harpooners had struck a whale; it dived, and all the assisting boats had collected round the fast-boat before it rose to the surface. The first boat which approached it advanced incautiously upon it. It rose with unexpected violence beneath the boat, and projected it and all its crew to the height of some yards in the air. It fell on its side, upset, and cast all the men into the water. One man received a severe blow in his fall, and appeared to be dangerously injured; but, soon after his arrival on board of the ship, he recovered from the effects of the accident. The rest of the boat’s crew escaped without any hurt.

Captain Lyons, of the Raith, of Leith, while prosecuting the whale-fishery on the Labrador coast, in the season of 1802, discovered a large whale at a short distance from the ship. Four boats were dispatched in pursuit, and two of them succeeded in approaching it so closely together, that two harpoons were struck at the same moment. The fish descended a few fathoms in the direction of another of the boats, which was on the advance, rose accidentally beneath it, struck it with its head, and threw the boat, men, and apparatus, about fifteen feet into the air. It was inverted by the stroke, and fell into the water with its keel upwards. All the people were picked up alive by the fourth boat, which was just at hand, excepting one man, who, having got entangled in the boat, fell beneath it, and was drowned. The fish was soon afterwards killed.

When a ship has on board an ample cargo, or when the fogs set in, and the whales totally disappear, so as to put a period to the fishery for that season, there remains no sufficient motive to induce further stay in the country; the course of each ship is therefore directed immediately homeward. On the arrival of a fishing-ship at the port from whence she sailed, the mustering-officer of the customs repairs on board, receives the manifest of the cargo, (which is a kind of schedule in writing, containing all particulars respecting it,) with a true copy thereof, examines into the identity and number of the crew, by the usual form of mustering, and places an officer or two on board, to take charge of the cargo on the part of the revenue. The duty of these officers is to take account of every cask or other article of which the cargo consists, as it is discharged from the ship, and one of them accompanies the same to its destination, carrying an account thereof in writing, and not quitting the lighter, wherein it is contained, until he is relieved by another officer, who is placed in the capacity of landing-waiter on the premises where the blubber is warehoused or boiled.

Within twenty-four hours after the ship arrives in port, the master is required, under the penalty of one hundred pounds, to attend at the custom-house to make his report; that is, to make affidavit of the built, burden, and cargo of the ship he commands; on which occasion he must deliver his manifest to the collector or other chief officer, (if it has not before been demanded of him,) under the penalty of two hundred pounds. At the same time, the log-book must be produced, and its contents, as required by law, verified on the oath of the master and mate, and affidavit also made by the same persons of their faithful dealings according to the requirements of the law during the voyage. After these things are accomplished, the mustering-officer’s certificate and schedule of the crew, the commissioners’ license, and the affidavits of master and mate are transmitted to the commissioners, who, being satisfied of the faithfulness of all the proceedings, are required to order payment of the bounty on demand.