Whales,
Grampuses, And Other Fish Of Monstrous Size, Are In Such Vast Numbers On
The Coast Of Patagonia, That They
Were often offensive to us, coming so
close to us that it seemed impossible to avoid striking them on every
Scud of a sea, and almost stifling us with the stench of their breaths,
when they blew close to windward. Being ignorant of the Greenland
fishery, I cannot pretend to say whether that trade might not be carried
on here; but this I may venture to affirm, that the navigation here is
safer, and I am apt to believe it has a greater chance of being
successful.[256]
[Footnote 256: This southern whale-fishery is now carried on to a
considerable extent. - E.]
On the 19th September, about midnight, perceiving the water all at once
to be discoloured, we sounded, and had 25 fathoms, on which we stood out
from the land, but did not deepen our water in five leagues. This bank
must lie very near the entrance into the Straits of Magellan. On this
bank we saw great numbers of blubbers, appearing like the tops of
umbrellas, curiously streaked with all sorts of colours, being an
entirely different species from any I had ever seen before. We now
steered for the Straits of Le Maire, and met with very foggy weather
on approaching the coast of Terra del Fuego. The fog cleared up on the
23d September, when we had sight of stupendous mountains on that
southern land, entirely covered with snow.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 707 of 825
Words from 192100 to 192353
of 224764
