Catching of the whale and seal

You recollect, my son, that some time since in a morning’s walk you pointed out to me an enormous arch over a field gate, which I told you was formed of the jaw-bones of the whale, and I then promised you an account of these enormous fishes. Among the numberless tribes of living animals that people the northern seas, the class of whales are by far the largest, and although living in the water, they are in many respects similar to quadrupeds; they not only bring forth their young alive, but suckle them as do the land animals; they have also a thick layer of fatty substance, called blubber, surrounding their whole body, beneath the skin, and it is by this covering, my son, that Providence enables them to defy the most dreadful extremities of cold even under the ice at the Poles. Although they are the “mightiest animals that swim the ocean stream” their bulk has been often exaggerated, they being rarely more than 60 feet long, which implies a weight of 70 tons, being nearly that of 300 fat oxen. The tail is the most active limb of this mighty animal; its power is tremendous; a single blow throws a large boat with its crew into the air. There are several varieties of the whale. The most dangerous one is the Razor Back, which is longer than the Common Black or Right Whale, and although smaller in circumference, is a more powerful animal, swimming at the rate of twelve miles an hour, and has been known to run off 480 fathoms of line with a harpoon attached to him in one minute. They are difficult to obtain, often obliging the sailors to cut the line in order to escape destruction; but as this species contains only ten or twelve tons of oil of an inferior quality, the whalers generally shun his encounter; sometimes however they mistake him in the water for the common one. The other species of whale eagerly sought after by man, is the Cachalot or Spermaceti; this animal is almost invariably found in large herds of from 150 to 200.

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There are six different species of seal sought after by man for their skins and fur, viz. the Common Seal, which frequents the sea-coasts throughout the world, the Hooded Seal, the Great Seal, the Harp Seal, the Fetid Seal, and the Ursine Seal. The five last species are found on the shores of Greenland. The Great Seal grows to the size of ten or twelve feet; he is generally found resting upon cakes of floating ice, and resembles the Common Seal in his habits as well as in his appearance, but is readily distinguished by its size and its large beard-like whiskers. They are very timid, hence the Greenlanders are seldom able to trap them. The Esquimaux make ropes of the skins of this species.

The Harp Seal is about eight feet long, and is remarkable for its various colors. When full grown it is of a greyish white color, having upon its back a black figure like two half moons, in the form as represented in the plate. It is quite common in the Greenland seas, where it frequents the deep bays, migrating to and leaving them twice a year, going in March and returning in May, and again in June to return in September. At the breeding season they have but one young cub, which they nurse upon floating cakes of ice, at a great distance from the land. They live in great herds, swimming and playing together, apparently under the direction of an old one as a leader. They are seldom found upon the fixed ice, but seem to prefer the floating or drifting masses. The Greenlanders take them frequently by surrounding and pursuing them with loud noise whenever they come to the surface to breathe. Its skin is used by the Esquimaux to cover their tents and boats.

The Fetid Seal is about four and a half feet long; the hair on this seal is rough like that of a pig; hence their skins are used by the Greenlanders for clothing, the rough side being generally turned inwards. This seal frequents the ice near the land, seldom leaving its favorite haunts which are near holes in the ice for the purpose of fishing; is solitary in its habits, pairs being rarely seen together; and is not very timid, as the Northern eagle will occasionally pounce upon it while asleep upon the surface. Their flesh is not esteemed as food even by the voracious Esquimaux.

The last species of this genus, is the Ursine Seal, which is a large animal, being five feet in circumference, and weighing from eight to nine hundred pounds. They are found on the islands which lie between America and Kamtschatka, where they arrive in the month of June and remain until September, and are then very fat. They lie upon the shores in vast herds, but are separated into families, one large male being surrounded by fifteen or twenty females, which they seem to guard with great care. They are very quarrelsome, particularly the old males, and sometimes a large flock amounting to upwards of 100 individuals have furious battles upon the shore. They inflict very severe wounds upon each other during their combats, and when they cease to fight, plunge into the sea in order to wash off the blood with which they may be stained. The males are quite fond of their offspring, but cruelly tyrannical to the females. When any one attempts to catch one of their cubs, the male opposes the aggressor, while the female tries to secure the cub by carrying it off in her mouth; but should she unfortunately drop it, the male attacks her and beats her dreadfully against the stones. Capt. Foster says that the cubs are quite fierce, and bark and bite at any one passing them. This seal is a very swift swimmer, moving at the rate of seven or eight miles an hour, and is able to remain under water a much longer time than the Common Seal.

We now come, my son, to the Common Seal, which is found not only throughout the northern seas of both continents, but upon our own shores, and is the seal which furnishes the inhabitants of those cold and frigid climes with nearly all their necessaries and luxuries. What a striking display of the goodness of the all-wise Creator do we find in giving to the Esquimaux, who are denied the opportunity of deriving their subsistence from animals which depend upon the vegetable kingdom for nutriment, the abundance of seals, supplying to them the place of flocks and herds, without requiring from those fed and clothed by them any provision for their maintenance. The manner in which the seal feeds is very interesting: when fish are thrown into a tub where several of these animals may be together, they eagerly spring to a considerable distance in the air, raising half their bodies out of the water and stretching out their necks to the utmost. If the fish is caught by the tail, it is then turned head foremost and swallowed whole. They also feed under water and swallow with as much ease as in the air, but in a different manner, which is to open its mouth partially.

Seals are animals of passage; when on their travels or migrations, vast droves are seen moving along through the openings of the ice, swimming with their heads always out of the water. They are very timid, seldom sleeping above five minutes at a time. Three of the common seal were taken a few years since on our coast in a net; they fought desperately and were with great difficulty secured. After a few months, however, they became very tame, and one of them was taught to perform many tricks, placing himself in different attitudes at the command of his keeper. They all died during the winter.

There were two young seals kept in a museum at Paris, which showed no fear in the presence of men or other animals, never attempting to escape or withdraw themselves, unless to avoid being trodden on, and then merely removing to a short distance. One of them would occasionally threaten with its voice and strike with its paw, but would never bite unless extremely provoked. They were very voracious, yet showed no ill temper when their food was taken from them, and some young dogs, to which one of the seals was attached, would snatch the fish from his mouth just as he was about to swallow it, without the seal showing any sign of anger. When both the seals were suffered to eat together, they usually fought with their paws, and the strongest drove the other away.

One of these seals was at first very shy, and retreated when any one attempted to caress him, yet in a few days he became quite tame and confident of the kindness of those who approached him. When shut up with two little dogs that used to mount upon his back and playfully bark and bite at him, he soon entered into the spirit of their actions, and took pleasure in their frolics, striking them gently with his paw rather to encourage than repress them. When the dogs ran off he would follow them, though the ground was covered with stones and mud. During cold weather he would lie in close company with the dogs for the sake of their mutual warmth. The other seal evinced a strong degree of attachment to the keeper, recognizing him at a considerable distance, and using many expressive gestures and looks to solicit his attention and obtain food, the idea of which was no doubt associated with the presence of the keeper. These seals barked commonly in the evening, or on a change of weather, though with a much feebler voice than that of the dog; their anger was exhibited by a kind of hissing noise. A young seal, which was given by the master of a whaler to the officers of the Alexander, one of the ships on the former voyage, became so entirely domesticated and attached to the ship that it was frequently put into the sea and suffered to swim at perfect liberty, and when tired would return of itself to the boats and be taken in.

The common seal brings forth two young in autumn, and suckles them on shore until they are six or seven weeks old, when they are gradually accustomed by their parents to frequent the sea. At this period they are generally of a whitish or light fawn color, covered with soft or woolly hair, and when in distress or hurt have a sort of whining voice. Seals are mostly associated in families consisting of a few males and a large number of females and young ones. They are fond of landing on the sea-beach, ledges of rocks or ice-banks, for the purpose of basking in the sun, and in fine weather prefer being on the ice to remaining in the water; sometimes indeed they are very averse to take to the water when they have been out of it long enough to become perfectly dry.

When on their passage from one place to another they swim in very large flocks or shoals, and become visible to the mariner every few minutes, as they are obliged to come to the surface to breathe; this is generally done by the whole company nearly at the same time, when they spring up so as to raise their heads, necks, and even their whole bodies, out of the water. From the peculiar vivacity of their movements and general sportiveness of the company, such a shoal of these animals has obtained from the sailors the designation of a “seal’s wedding.”

The seal is peculiarly vigilant, and whenever a herd of them visit the shore some are always on the look out, and a seal when alone is observed very frequently to raise its head for the purpose of discovering the approach of enemies.

Seals are sometimes enticed to the surface by music, or the whistling of an individual who is prepared to shoot them, and this proves that they can hear far better when under water than we might be inclined to believe from a mere glance at their external ears. When they hear this sound they come to the surface, elongate their necks to the utmost extent, and expose them fully to the aim of the hunter. They are most effectually secured however by firing duck or other shot, which blinds them, so that they may be approached and despatched; when killed at once by a single bullet they most commonly sink. Another mode of killing the seal is to go to the caves on shore, into which herds of seals occasionally enter. When the sealers are properly placed they raise a simultaneous shout, at which the affrighted animals rush out in great confusion, and are despatched with wonderful quickness by a single blow on the nose, struck with a club. They are very tenacious of life when struck or wounded on any other part of the body.

Where the seals are very numerous the sealers stop not to flay those they have killed, but set off to another ice-field to kill more, merely leaving one man behind to take off the skins and fat. When the condition of the ice forbids the use of boats, the hunter is obliged to pursue the seals over it, jumping from piece to piece, until he succeeds in taking one, which he then stops to flay and flense, or to remove the skin and fat. This sometimes is horrible business, since many of the seals are merely stunned, and occasionally recover after they have been flayed and flensed. In this condition, too shockingly mangled for description, they have been seen to make battle, and even to swim off.

The Esquimaux hunt the seal in various modes, according to circumstances. When the breathing place (a hole made in the ice by the seal) is discovered, the hunter raises near it a small wall about four feet high, of slabs of snow, to shelter himself from the wind, and sits under the lee of his snow shelter, having deposited his spear, lines and other implements upon several little forked sticks set up in the snow, in order to avoid making the slightest noise in moving them when wanted. The most curious precaution, taken with a similar intention, is that of tying his own knees together with a thong to prevent any rustling of his dress, which would alarm the seal. In this situation the Esquimaux will frequently sit for many hours when the thermometer is below zero, attentively listening to ascertain whether the animal is working below.

When he thinks the hole is almost completed, he carefully raises his spear, to which the line is previously tied, and the moment the breathing of the seal is distinctly heard, the ice being then of course very thin, he strikes the spear into him with both hands, and cuts away the ice with his knife to repeat his blow. At other times, having enlarged the breathing place, he takes his position behind the shelter, and the animal, when he next comes to the hole, rises fearlessly out of the water, exposing his head and shoulders, and repeats this action with increased confidence. As he is not in haste to dive again, the hunter now starts up suddenly and drives his spear forcibly into him. Another method adopted consists in covering the breathing hole with light snow, and making an opening through the top of it with the spear handle about as large as the mouth of a bottle. The hunter then withdraws the spear and takes his place behind his snow-screen, listening vigilantly until he hears the seal breathing beneath the snow, when he silently rises and plunges his weapon through the snow-covering into the body of the seal. The moment the seal is struck, the hunter endeavors to catch the line behind one leg to act as a strong check; and as an additional security, a hitch is taken round the ring finger, which is sometimes either dreadfully lacerated or entirely torn off by the violent struggles of a large seal. The animal is then stabbed until dead; the hole being enlarged, it is drawn out on the ice, where it speedily freezes and is in condition to be drawn home.

I have told you, my son, that the seal furnishes the natives of those cold climates with nearly all the necessaries of life, and I will now give you a description of Capt. Lyon’s visit to one of their feasts.

“On the return of a party of successful seal-hunters,” he says, “blood, blubber, entrails, skins and flesh, was sociably intermixed in savoury heaps. Abundant smoking messes were in preparation, and even the dogs looked happy as they uninterruptedly licked the faces of the children, who were covered with blood and grease from the chin to the eyes. Universal merriment prevailed, and such men and children as could bear more food stood lounging round the women, who sat sucking their fingers and cooking as fast as possible. While the messes were preparing the children solaced themselves by eating such parts of the raw uncleaned entrails as their young teeth could tear, and those morsels which proved too tough were delivered over to their mothers, who soon reduced them to a proper size and consistency for their tender offspring.

“At the distribution of the contents of one of the pots I was complimented with a fine piece of half stewed seal’s flesh, from which the kind donor, a most unsavory looking old lady, with the most obliging politeness, had first licked the gravy and dirt, and bitten it all round in order to ascertain the most tender part on which I should make the first attack. My refusal of this delicacy did not offend, and we had much laughing on the subject, particularly when the old woman, with well feigned disgust and many wry faces, contrived to finish it herself. In my rambles on this day of plenty I found, beyond a doubt, that the women do not eat with the men, but waiting till they are first satisfied, then enjoy a feast by themselves. In the meantime, however, the females who superintend the cooking have the privilege of licking the gravy from the lumps of meat as they are taken out and before they are presented to their husbands. Both sexes eat in the same manner, although not in equal proportions; the females very seldom, and the men very frequently stuffing until they become quite stupified. A lump of meat being given to the nearest person, he first sucks it all round and then pushes as much as he can into his mouth, cutting it from the larger piece close to his lips, to the great danger of them and his nose. The meat then passes round until it is consumed, and the person before whom it stops is entitled to the first bite of the next morsel. In this manner a meal continues a long time, as each eats or rather bolts several pounds, and the pots are in consequence frequently replenished. In the intermediate time the convives suck their fingers or indulge in a few lumps of delicate raw blubber. The swallows of the Esquimaux are of such a marvellous capacity that a piece of flesh of the size of an orange very rarely receives half a dozen bites before it is bolted, and that without any apparent exertion. The rich soup of the meat is handed round at the close of the repast, and each takes a sup in turn until it is finished, when the pot is passed to the good woman of the house, who licks it carefully clean and then prepares to make a mess for herself. On all occasions the children are stuffed almost to suffocation. The meals being finished, every one scrapes the grease, &c. from his face into his mouth, and the fingers are then cleaned by sucking.”

The food of the Esquimaux is cooked by the aid of a lamp, which is supplied with seal oil, the wick being composed of moss. On this lamp are they also dependent for warmth in their huts, which are made of snow, as well as for their supply of water to drink, which, during a great part of the year is only to be obtained by melting snow. A scarcity of seals, therefore, is accompanied by a series of ills, the hut is deprived of light and warmth, and the sufferings of famine are increased by the torment of thirst, against which they have no other resource under such circumstances except to eat the snow, which affords but a partial relief. In judging of the filth and voracity of these poor creatures, we must ever bear in mind the circumstances which during so much of the time render water almost unattainable, except to quench their thirst, as well as the frequent and severe starvation to which they are subjected.

The Esquimaux apply the skins of seals to various purposes, amongst which the most important is the construction of their boats. The small boat to carry but one person is called kayak, and has been aptly compared in shape to a weaver’s shuttle, having the head and stern equally sharp. There is an opening or hole in which the rower sits, having a rim or projection to which a part of the dress may be fastened in such a manner as entirely to exclude the water. The weight of the whole does not exceed fifty or sixty pounds, so that the boat may be readily carried by the owner on his head, and from the peculiar form of the rim, without applying his hands.

The Esquimaux are very proud of their boats; they place a warm skin in the bottom to sit upon, and the position of the paddler is with the legs extended and the feet pointed forwards. Whenever any weight is to be raised, or the stowage of the boat to be changed, two kayaks lie together, and the paddles of each being laid across, a steady double boat is formed. When not paddling the occupant must preserve a very nice balance, and a tremulous motion is always to be observed in the boat. The Esquimaux in the vicinity of Winter Island have not the art of regaining the upright position when overturned by a dexterous use of the paddle. An inflated seal bladder is a constant appendage to the canoe equipage; the weapons are kept in their places on the upper surface of the boats by small lines of whalebone, tightly stretched across so as to receive the points or handles of the spears beneath them. The stem or stern of the boat is frequently stowed with flesh, birds or eggs; a seal, notwithstanding its roundness and liability to roll, is so carefully balanced on the boat as seldom to require being tied on. When going before the wind while a smart swell is running, the kayak requires the nicest management, as the slightest inattention would expose the broadside to the sea and be followed by immediate peril to this frail vessel. The extreme velocity with which the kayak is impelled, and the dexterity with which it is turned and guided, render it a very interesting object.

The Esquimaux use another boat made of seal-skin, which is larger and destined to carry luggage, or to transport their families. This is called umiak or oomiak, and is made nearly square at the head and stern. Its frame is made of whalebone or wood, and the bottom is flat. The seal-skins with which the frame is covered are deprived of the hair, and are at all times transparent, but especially so when wet. Each of the boats has five or six seats or thwarts, placed as in ours, and is moved by two very clumsy oars with flat blades, which are used by the women, and steered with a similar oar by another. They vary much in size, having the sides very flat and about three feet high. Sometimes they are so large as twenty-five feet in length by eight in breadth, and are capable of containing women, boys and small children, to the number of twenty-one persons.

As I have alluded to the Esquimaux, my son, it will perhaps be interesting to you to hear something further of their mode of life. I will therefore give you a description of one of their snow villages, with an account of a visit by a large party of them to the winter quarters of captains Parry and Lyon, which is taken from the Narrative of Discovery and Adventure in the Polar Seas and Regions.

“On the morning of the 1st February, a number of distant figures were seen moving over the ice, and, when they were viewed through glasses, the cry was raised, ‘Esquimaux! Esquimaux!’ As it was of great importance to deal courteously and discreetly with these strangers, the two commanders formed a party of six, who walked in files behind each other, that they might cause no alarm. The Esquimaux then formed themselves into a line of twenty-one, advanced slowly, and at length made a full stop. In this order they saluted the strangers by the usual movement of beating their breasts. They were substantially clothed in rich and dark deer-skins, and appeared a much more quiet and orderly race than their rude countrymen of the Savage Islands. On the English producing their precious commodities, knives, nails, and needles, an active traffic was set on foot; and the females, on seeing that much importance was attached to the skins which formed their clothing, began immediately to strip off those with which their fair persons were covered. The captains felt alarm for the consequences, under a temperature more than fifty degrees below the freezing point; but were soon consoled by discerning underneath another comfortable suit. They were now cordially invited to enter their habitations, to which they agreed most readily, only that there appeared no habitations to enter. However, they were led to a hole in the snow, and instructed to place themselves on their hands and knees, in which position, having crept through a long winding passage, they arrived at a little hall with a dome-shaped roof, whence doors opened into three apartments, each occupied by a separate family. These proved to be five distinct mansions, tenanted by sixty-four men, women, and children. The materials and structure of these abodes were still more singular than their position. Snow, the chief product of the northern tempests, became here a protection against its own cold. It was formed into curved slabs of about two feet long and half a foot thick, put together by a most judicious masonry, so as to present a species of dome-shaped structures, rising six or seven feet above the ground, and about fourteen or sixteen feet in diameter. The mode of inserting the key-slab, which bound the whole together, would, it is said, have been satisfactory to the eye of a regularly-bred artist. A plate of ice in the roof served as a window, and admitted the light as through ground glass; which, when it shone on the interior mansions, in their first state of pure and beautiful transparency, produced soft and glittering tints of green and blue. But, alas! ere long, accumulated dirt, smoke, and offal, converted these apartments into a scene of blackness and stench. This little village appeared at first like a cluster of hillocks amid the snow; but successive falls filled up the vacuities, and converted it almost into a smooth surface, so that even boys and dogs were seen walking and sporting over the roofs; though, as summer and thaw advanced, a leg sometimes penetrated, and appeared to the alarmed inmates below. Then, too, the ceiling begins to drip; and the tenants, after repeatedly endeavoring to patch it with fresh slabs, and catching, of course, some severe colds, are obliged to betake themselves to a more durable covering. In each room, suspended from the roof, burns a lamp, with a long wick formed of a peculiar species of moss, fed with the oil of the seal or the walrus, and serving at once for light, heat and cookery. The family sit round the apartment, on a bench formed of snow, strewed with slender twigs and covered with skins; but this part of the dwelling must be carefully kept a good deal below the freezing-point, since a higher temperature would speedily dissolve the walls of the frail tenement.

After a cheerful and friendly visit, an invitation was given to the Esquimaux to repair to the ships, when fifty accepted it with alacrity. Partly walking, and partly dancing, they soon reached the vessels, where a striking congeniality of spirit was soon found to exist between them and the sailors; boisterous fun forming to each the chief source of enjoyment. A fiddle and drum being produced, the natives struck up a dance, or rather a succession of vehement leaps, accompanied with loud shouts and yells. Seeing the Kabloonas or Whites, as they called the strangers, engaged in the game of leap-frog, they attempted to join; but not duly understanding how to measure their movements, they made such over-leaps as sometimes to pitch on the crown of their heads: however they sprang up quite unconcerned. Their attention was specially attracted to the effects of a winch, by which one sailor forcibly drew towards him a party of ten or twelve of their number, though grinning and straining every nerve in resistance; but finding all in vain, they joined in the burst of good-humored laughter till tears streamed from their eyes. One intelligent old man followed captain Lyon to the cabin, and viewed with rational surprise various objects which were presented. The performance of a hand-organ and a musical snuff-box struck him with breathless admiration; and on seeing drawings of the Esquimaux in Hudson’s Strait, he soon understood them, and showed the difference between their dress and appearance and that of his own tribe. On seeing the sketch of a bear, he raised a loud cry, drew up his sleeves, and showed the scars of three deep wounds received in encounters with that terrible animal. The seamen sought to treat their visitors to such delicacies as their ship afforded, but were for some time at a loss to discover how their palate might be gratified. Grog, the seaman’s choicest luxury, only one old woman could be induced to taste. Sugar, sweetmeats, gingerbread, were accepted only out of complaisance, and eaten with manifest disgust; but train-oil, entrails of animals, and any thing consisting of pure fat or grease, were swallowed in immense quantities, and with symptoms of exquisite delight. This taste was first evinced by an old woman, who, having sold her oil-pot, took care previously to empty the contents into her stomach, and lick it clean with her tongue, regardless of her face becoming thus as black as soot. Capt. Lyon, being disposed to ingratiate himself with rather a handsome young damsel, presented her with a good moulded candle, six in the pound. She immediately began to eat off the tallow with every symptom of the greatest enjoyment, after which she thrust the wick into her mouth; but the captain, concerned for the consequences to this delicate virgin, insisted on pulling it out. In preference to strong liquors they drank water in the most enormous quantities, by gallons at a time, and two quarts at a draught; a supply of liquid which is perhaps necessary to dissolve their gross food, and which, being obtained only from snow artificially melted, is a scarce winter article.

The Esquimaux were attended by a large pack of wolves, which seemed to follow solely to pick up whatever might be found straggling or defenceless about their habitation. These animals continued through the whole winter ravening with hunger, and in eager watch for any victim which might come within their reach. For this purpose they took a station between the huts and the ships, ready to act against either as circumstances might dictate. They did not attack the sailors even when unarmed, though they were often seen hovering through the gloom in search of prey. Every stray dog was seized, and in a few minutes devoured. Two wolves broke into a snow-house close to the ship, and carried off each a dog larger than himself; but, being pursued, one of them was obliged to drop his booty. In the extremity of their hunger they hesitated not to tear and devour the cables and canvass found lying near the vessel. A deadly war was therefore waged against these fierce animals, of which thirteen were killed in the course of the season, and sent to be eaten by the Esquimaux,—a present which was received with much satisfaction.”

The number of seals destroyed in a single season by the regular sealers may well excite surprise; one ship has been known to obtain a cargo of four or five thousand skins and upwards of a hundred tons of oil. Whale ships have accidentally fallen in with and secured two or three thousand of these animals during the month of April. The sealing business is, however, very hazardous when conducted on the borders of the Spitzbergen ice. Many ships with all their crews are lost by the sudden and tremendous storms occurring in those seas, where the dangers are vastly multiplied by the driving of immense bodies of ice. In one storm that occurred in the year 1774 no less than five seal ships were destroyed in a few hours, and six hundred valuable seamen perished.

“One of the most affecting shipwrecks which ever occurred in the northern seas was that of the Jean, of Peterhead, in 1826. Of this we can give a full account from an interesting narrative by Mr. Cumming, the surgeon, an eye-witness and sharer of the calamity. This vessel sailed on the 15th March, having on board only twenty-eight men, but received at Lerwick a complement of twenty-three natives of Shetland; owing to which arrangement, as well as by contrary winds, she was detained till the 28th. From the evening of that day to the 1st April, the ship encountered very stormy weather, which she successfully withstood, and was then steered into those western tracts of the Greenland sea which are the most favorable for the capture of the seal. In one day the seamen killed 1138 seals, and the entire number caught in five days exceeded 3070. This scene, however, could not be contemplated without some painful impressions. The seals attacked were only the young, as they lay fearlessly reposing on the ice, before they had yet attempted to plunge into the watery element. One blow of the club stunned them completely. The view of hundreds of creatures bearing some resemblance to the human form, writhing in the agonies of death, and the deck streaming with their gore, was at once distressing and disgusting to a spectator of any feeling. However, this evil soon gave way to others of a more serious nature.

On the morning of the 18th April the sailors had begun their fishery as usual; but a breeze sprung up, and obliged them by eleven o’clock to suspend operations. The gale continually freshened, and was the more unpleasant from their being surrounded with loose ice, which a dense and heavy fog made it impossible to distinguish at any distance. The mariners took in all sail, but did not apprehend danger till six in the evening, when the wind, which had been continually increasing, began to blow with tenfold fury. All that the narrator had ever heard, of the united sounds of thunder, tempest, and waves, seemed faint when compared with the stunning roar of this hurricane. At eight the ship was borne upon a stream of ice, from which she received several severe concussions; the consequence of which was that at ten the water began to enter, and at twelve no exertion in pumping could prevent her from being gradually filled.

At one in the morning she became completely waterlogged. She then fell over on her beam-ends, when the crew, giving themselves up for lost, clung to the nearest object for immediate safety. By judiciously cutting away the main and fore masts, they happily enabled the ship to right herself, when being drifted into a stream of ice, she was no longer in danger of immediate sinking. The whole hull, however, was inundated and indeed immersed in water, except a portion of the quarter-deck, upon which the whole crew were now assembled. Here they threw up an awning of sails to shelter themselves from the cold, which had become so intense as to threaten the extinction of life. Those endowed with spirit and sense kept up the vital power by brisk movement; but the natives of Shetland, who are accused on such occasions of sinking into a selfish despondency, piled themselves together in a heap, with the view of deriving warmth from each other’s bodies. Those in the interior of the mass obtained thus a considerable temperature, though accompanied with severe pressure; and blows were given, and even knives drawn to gain and to preserve this advantageous position. On the 19th, one Shetlander died of cold, another on the 20th, and a third on the 21st,—events felt by the others as peculiarly gloomy, chiefly, it is owned, as forming a presage of their own impending fate.

On the 22d the sun began to appear amid showers of snow; and the 23d was ushered in by fine weather and a clear sky. The opinions of the crew were now divided as to what course they should steer in search of deliverance. Two plans were suggested. They could either stretch northward into the fishing stations, where they might expect, sooner or later, to meet some of their countrymen, by whom they would be received on board; or they might sail southward towards Iceland, and throw themselves on the hospitality of its inhabitants. The former plan was in several respects the more promising, especially as a vessel had been in sight when the storm arose. But its uncertainties were also very great. They might traverse for weeks those vast icy seas, amid cold always increasing, and with imminent danger of being swallowed up by the waves. Iceland was distant, but it was a definite point; and upon this course they at last wisely determined. Several days were spent in fitting out their two remaining boats, all the others having been swept away—and in fishing up from the interior of the vessel every article which could be turned to account. During this operation, the weather continuing fine, they could not forbear admiring the scene by which they were surrounded. The sea was formed as it were into a beautiful little frith, by the ice rising around in the most varied and fantastic forms, sometimes even assuming the appearance of cities adorned with towers and forests of columns. Continual efforts were necessary, meantime, to keep the wreck on the icy field; for had it slipped over into the sea, of which there appeared a strong probability, it would have gone down at once. By the 26th the boats were completely ready, having on board a small stock of provisions, and a single change of linen. At half past one in the morning of the 27th, the mariners took leave, with some sorrow, of the vessel, which ‘seemed a home even in ruins,’ leaving the deck strewed with clothes, books, and provisions, to be swallowed up by the ocean as soon as the icy floor on which it rested should melt away.

The two boats, having received forty-seven men on board, lay very deep in the water; so that when a smart breeze arose, the men were obliged to throw away their spare clothing and every thing else which could be wanted, and soon saw their little wardrobe floating on the face of the sea. The seamen were frequently obliged to drag their boats over large fields of ice, and again to launch them. However, a favorable wind in ten hours enabled them to make forty-one miles, when they came to the utmost verge of the icy stream, and entered upon the open ocean. Their fears were not yet removed; for if a heavy gale had arisen, their slender barks must soon have been overwhelmed. There blew in fact a stiff breeze, which threw in a good deal of water, and caused severe cold; however, at seven in the evening, they saw, with inexpressible pleasure, the lofty and snow-capped mountains of Iceland. But these were still fifty miles off, and much might intervene; so that the night, which soon closed in, passed with a mixture of joy and fear. Fortunately the morning was favorable; and about four they saw a black speck on the surface of the ocean. It proved to be an island, naked, rocky, and seemingly uninhabited. On turning a promontory, however, what was their joy to see a boat pushing out to meet them! and they were received by the natives with every mark of kindness and compassion. The seamen were distributed among the half-subterraneous abodes, and received a portion of the frugal and scanty fare on which the inhabitants subsisted. After recruiting their strength, they set sail for the coast of Iceland, and after a tedious voyage, reached Akureyri, the capital of this quarter of the island. They were here also received with the most humane hospitality, and remained three months before they could obtain a passage home; during which delay unfortunately they lost nine of their number, chiefly from mortification and other morbid affections occasioned by extreme cold. In the middle of July, they procured a passage in a Danish vessel, which brought them and their boats near to the coast of Shetland. Having landed at Lerwick, they were conveyed by his Majesty’s ship Investigator to Peterhead, where they arrived on the 5th August.”

The Harp Seal, my son, of which you have a drawing upon the cover, is quite common in the Greenland seas, and shows much of the frisky or frolicksome disposition of the Common Seal. It is often seen gamboling and whirling over as if in play with its comrades. They live in great herds or companies, appearing to be under the direction of a leader, who watches over the safety of the whole. The Esquimaux and Greenlanders often drive them on shore, when they come up to the surface in shallow water to breathe. The skin of this species they use to cover their tents and boats.

Seal oil when properly prepared is pure and fine, and may be employed for all purposes to which whale oil is adapted. The skins of these animals are extensively consumed in various manufactures, especially in trunk making, saddlery, &c.

And now, my son, do you not think that the station in which a kind Providence has allotted to you, there are not many, very many reasons not only for contentment, but gratitude to your heavenly Father for the inestimable blessings conferred upon you. How necessitous are the poor Esquimaux! Their climate forbids their attempting the gratification of any desires beyond the commonest animal wants. In the short summers they hunt the reindeer; and during their long cold winters, the seal. But the most affecting circumstance to the Christian is their present condition in the scale of humanity, their deprivation of the means of knowledge, above all the knowledge of the Bible.

As you gain more knowledge of the different beings and things which God has made, you will gain also more and more proofs of his existence and of his amazing power, wisdom and goodness. Let that goodness sink deep into your soul, and form a part of your daily thoughts and feelings. How much kindness God has shown and is still showing you; how many sources of comfort and of enjoyment he gives you; how it grieves him to see you think or feel or act wrong; how he loves to see you be good and to do good, that you may go, after death, to be with him forever,—continually to improve in knowledge, in holiness, and in happiness!