In the year 1806, being at the University of Edinburgh, an advertisement was put on the College Gate, by Messrs. P. and C. Wood, merchants, Leith, intimating that a surgeon was wanted for the ship Resolution of Whitby, Yorkshire, engaged in the North Sea whale-fishery.

Impelled by curiosity, and by a still more powerful motive, to visit the snow-clad coast of Spitzbergen, I applied; and was, after due examination, admitted surgeon for the voyage.

Nothing particular occurred on my journey from this to Whitby, where I arrived on Sunday the 16th of March, and was, in every respect, comfortably accommodated at the house of the Captain.

As we did not sail for several days after my arrival, I spent a considerable part of my time in making such remarks on the town as were particularly interesting.

Whitby is a thriving sea-port in the North Riding of Yorkshire, situated on the mouth of the river Esk. It is chiefly celebrated for the manufacture of canvas, and for the extensive alum works in its neighbourhood. Its harbour is the best on this coast, and has a fine pier; but it has no river communication with the interior country. Behind the pier is a battery which mounts twelve eighteen-pounders. This town was formerly noted for its Abbey, of which some ruins still remaining testify its ancient magnificence.

Here are different houses of worship, viz. an elegant church of the established religion; and several meeting-houses belonging to Presbyterians, Quakers, Methodists, Roman Catholics, &c.

Whitby is 50 miles north-east of York, and 243 north of London; Lat. 54° 30´ North, Long. 1° 55´ West.

The word Whitby is a contraction of its original appellation White Bay, so called from the white surges made by the breaking of the waves along the shore, so that the whole bay assumes a white or frothy appearance to a person standing upon the opposite banks.

Contiguous to this place, in a town called Marton, was born that great circumnavigator Captain James Cook, whose barometer (that which he used in his voyage of discovery) we had on board the Resolution.

Between Whitby and Lyth, a small town distant about four miles, is a beautiful level strand, generally known by the name of Whitby Sands, upon which there used to be annual races; but now they are less frequent.

Adjacent to Lyth, is the seat of the Mulgrave family, one of whom, Constantine John Phipps, (afterwards Lord Mulgrave), in 1773, undertook a voyage, by his Majesty’s command, towards the North Pole, under the hopes of discovering a passage to the East Indies in a north-east direction: but in which he, like many others, did not succeed.

Among the sands on the shore are found stones resembling snakes without heads, the “Cornu ammonis” of naturalists. These stones are easily known by circular, or rather spiral windings marked on their outside. One of these being broken, its interior exhibits the appearance of a snake rolled up and ready to make a spring.

That these are petrified snakes, is really believed by the peasants on the coast, concerning which they tell the following whimsical story:

An old lady, say they, who lived in that neighbourhood some centuries back, having procured a charm, or spell, to banish some noxious reptiles with which that part of the country was then cruelly harassed, set to work, and, by her incantations, collected all the snakes within a considerable distance, and brought them to the banks of Whitby, whence she hurried them down so precipitately on the strand, that they all broke their necks, and of course, in their petrified state, are found without heads[1].

Not many years ago Whitby sent upwards of twenty vessels to Greenland; but afterwards that trade fell much to decay, until it was latterly revived by the persevering activity of Captain Scoresby, whose many successful whale-fishing voyages tended greatly to promote the opulence of this town, by encouraging others to embark in the same lucrative business.

The Resolution, in which I made this voyage, was a stout new ship, of about four hundred tons burden, fitted out as a letter of marque, carrying twelve six-pounders, besides stern-chasers, and well furnished with firelocks, pistols, swords, cutlasses, bayonets, &c. She was provided with nine fishing boats, and her crew consisted of between sixty and seventy men.

Greenland voyages are generally performed in the course of four or five months; but, lest vessels should be detained by the ice beyond that time, they have usually nine months provision on board.

Our ship was abundantly supplied with good beef, pork, bacon, flour, oat-meal, biscuit, peas, potatoes, cheese, butter, molasses, preserved fruit, fowls, eggs, dried fish, strong ale, small beer, English brandy, tea, coffee, sugar, tobacco, besides plenty of foreign spirits and wines for the use of the cabin. Neither was there any cost spared in laying in an ample supply of proper medicines and cordials for the sick.

Early on the morning of the 23d of March we set sail from Whitby, amidst the hearty cheers of a numerous concourse of spectators.

Being favoured with a fresh breeze which caused a heavy swell, a general sickness prevailed at our first setting out, from which the most experienced seamen were not exempted, and which affected me so severely, as to preclude all possibility of making any remarks previous to our landing in Shetland.

On the 25th at noon, we cast anchor in Bressay Sound, opposite Lerwick, the capital of the Shetland Isles.

This town is situated in Mainland, so called from its being the principal of these Isles. It is about half a mile long, and is irregularly built; but contains some good houses, and is inhabited by about one thousand eight hundred persons. It is the seat of the courts held by the Sheriff-depute, or Stewart-depute. Two packets, or traders, having good cabins, and tolerable accommodation for passengers, sail occasionally between this and Leith.

Lerwick derives its chief support from the courts of law, and from the vessels employed in the whale-fishery making this harbour their rendezvous.

Near the north end of the town stands Fort Charlotte, a small fortification mounting eighteen large guns, from eighteen to thirty pounders, besides several very large field pieces. It commands the north entry to Bressay Sound, and is garrisoned by a small detachment of invalids.

In the neighbourhood of this town there is a chalybeate spring, but it is not much esteemed for its medical virtues.

Bressay Sound lies between Lerwick and Bressay Island, and forms an extensive and commodious harbour, in which 1000 vessels well found may ride at all seasons in the greatest safety. Here the Dutch herring fleet used to rendezvous about the middle of June. This harbour has the particular advantage of two entries, one from the south, and another from the north.

On the outside of the north entry lies a sunk rock, called the Unicorn. On this rock was wrecked the Unicorn man-of-war sent out in pursuit of the Earl of Bothwell, who fled to Shetland; hence the rock has its name. The paltry village of Scallaway lies also on the Mainland, and has an excellent harbour. Near this is the ancient castle of Scallaway, built by one of the Earls of Orkney.

These are the only two towns, or villages, in the Shetland Isles.

Mainland is upwards of sixty miles long from north to south; and in some places upwards of twelve miles in breadth; it is so shaped, that no part of it lies above three miles from the sea; and consists of a great multitude of irregular promontories, and a vast number of peninsulÆ connected by narrow isthmuses, insomuch that it abounds with bays and harbours almost innumerable.

In the parish of North Mevan, a peninsula belonging to this Island, stands the cloud-capt mountain of Rona, the highest in Shetland. It is eight miles long, four broad, and three thousand nine hundred and forty-four geometrical feet above the level of the sea; serving for a land-mark to fishers and vessels coming from the Northern Ocean. From the top of this lofty eminence the eye commands an extensive and pleasing prospect, stretching fifty miles at least in every direction. The great number of small islands and peninsulas scattered beneath, and often a distant view of vessels, in summer, affords a most agreeable diversified scene.

On the summit of this mountain stands a house, called the watch-house, in which six or seven men can sit. It is constructed of four large stones, covered by two more for a roof, on the top of which is erected a pyramidal tower of small stones.

In the same parish stands a rock rising perpendicular on all sides to a vast height, which, at a few miles’ distance, looks like a ship under full sail. Near to this are two very high inaccessible pillars, on which the large species of cormorants breed. What is extraordinary, the rocks possessed by these birds one year is deserted the next, and returned to again after being a year unpossessed. This singular practice has been carried on time immemorial.

Here is a small isle, called Dorholm, perforated by a vast arch, seventy feet in height, under which boats fish, having light from an opening at the top.

Next to this is the holm and isle of Stenness, so much celebrated for the great number of kittiweaks which resort to it; the young of which being esteemed delicious food, are taken in great abundance.

To the north of Stenness is the Maiden Skerry, a rock so called from its having never been trodden on by man. The lofty rock called the Ocean Skerry, stands about two miles from this, and serves as a good landmark for ships wanting a harbour in their passage from the north.

Not far from this rock is the island of Papa, having a natural cave of three entrances, through which the tide ebbs and flows. It has several apartments, and is wide enough to admit a large boat with the oars at full length on each side. This gloomy cavern grows gradually wider towards the centre, which nature has ornamented with a beautiful arch. Beyond this, the boat is directed by a small gleam of light from an aperture in the top.

The island of Bressay lies to the east of Mainland, and is about four miles long, and two broad.

Adjoining to this Island, and on the south-east side of it, lies the small but fertile Island of Noss, the south headland of which is not less than four hundred and eighty feet in perpendicular height. Opposite to this, and distant ninety-six feet from the island, stands another perpendicular rock or holm, of the same height, quite level at the top, and producing excellent pasture for sheep.

To transport them there, however, might well have been thought impossible; but human ingenuity requires only the exhibition of difficulties in order to overcome them. An islander climbed up the rock, and having fastened some ropes to stakes he drove into the soil on the top, threw them across the intervening chasm to the headland, where they were in like manner fastened. A cradle or basket was then drawn along these ropes, and sheep are thus transported to, and from the holm; and the eggs or young of the sea-fowl, which there breed in vast numbers, fall an easy prey to the skill and industry of man.

The adventurous islander who first ascended the holm, and showed the possibility of joining it to the island, from an excess of bravery, met with an untimely end. Disdaining to pass over in the cradle, and trusting that the same expertness which had conducted him to the summit of the rock would enable him to descend to its base,—he fell, and was dashed to pieces.

“Quem si non tenuit, magnis tamen excidit ausis.”

It may be observed, that both men and horses are transported over the rapid rivers of South America in a similar manner. Vid. Ull. Voyage de l’Amerique, vol. i. p. 358.

As there is a considerable discrepancy in authors as to the height of this rock, and the breadth of the chasm; and not having myself an opportunity of examining it, I have followed the account given by the accurate Pennant in his Arctic Zoology.

The erection of a light-house on the Island of Noss would be of essential service to the interests of navigation. Many valuable ships, and, among others, a Russian frigate of 38 guns, have been lost on the east coast of the Shetland Isles.

To the north of Mainland lies Yell, an Island twenty miles long, and nearly twelve broad, with several good harbours, or voes, as they are called by the inhabitants.

Foula lies to the west of Mainland. It is about three miles long, and one and a half broad, and has only one harbour. This is called Ham, and is much resorted to by fishermen. Foula is thought by some to be that island which the ancients reckoned the ultimate limit of the habitable globe, and to which, therefore, they gave the appellation of “Ultima Thule.” This supposition is not founded solely on the mere analogy of the name, but also on the authority of Tacitus, who, speaking of the victories obtained by Agricola, and how far he penetrated northward, uses this expression: “Insulas quas Orcadas vocant invenit domuitque; dispecta est et Thule quadamtenus.” Tacit. Vit. Agric. §10. But though the high land of Foula may be easily seen, in a clear day, from the northern part of the Orkneys, still it is doubtful whether this be really the island so called; because had the Roman fleet passed to the north of the Orkneys, they must have seen Mainland, Yell, and Unst, lying to the north of Foula. It may be further observed, that the description of Thule, as given by Pomp. Mela, lib. 3, §6, and Pliny, lib. 2, §75, and lib. 4, §16, is not reconcileable with the supposition of its being identical with Foula. At Thule, says Pomponius, “Per Solstitium vero nullae (noctes sunt) quod tum jam manifestior non fulgorem modo sed sui quoque partem maximam ostentat.” This phenomenon, as Vossius has observed, can only belong to the 66th and 67th degree of latitude, and gives considerable countenance to the opinion of Thule being the same with Iceland.

The statement of Pliny, who is not celebrated for geographical accuracy, is alike irreconcileable with either hypothesis, and belongs only to the Pole itself.

These, (with the exception of Unst,) are all the islands belonging to Shetland that are worth notice, though they are nearly forty in number. About seventeen of these are inhabited; the rest being inconsiderable, are called Holms, and used only for pasture.

On our arrival in Bressay Sound, there were anchored twenty-six ships from London, Hull, and Whitby, each of which, in turn, gave us three cheers, which we as often returned. All these ships were waiting for men, it being the place where most of the ships bound to the Greenland fishery call at to make up their complement.

The Captain finding men very scarce, and wages high, did not engage any hands at Lerwick. We afterwards weighed anchor, and sailed out of the north entrance for Balti Sound, Island of Unst.

Balti Sound is in the middle of the east side of the island, into which it stretches nearly two miles. Before the entrance, is a large narrow island, called Balti, whence the Sound derives its name, and which shelters it from all winds, forming an excellent safe harbour or anchoring place. If a ship be leaky, there are several very commodious beaches on which she may be laid until thoroughly repaired. This harbour used to be the most frequented of any in Shetland, especially by ships going to Archangel and Greenland.

Unst, the remotest of the Shetland Isles, and most northern part of his Britannic Majesty’s dominions, is supposed to be about eight miles long and four broad.

A hill called Vallafield rises within a mile and a half of its northern extremity, and runs directly parallel to the western coast, to the very northern point. It is six hundred feet high. At right angles with this hill, stands Crossfield, nearly in the middle of the island. To the north lies Saxaforth, which is seven hundred feet high. It is the highest in the island, and may be seen upwards of forty miles off the coast. A hill, called Vordhill, runs parallel to the east coast.

Among these hills are tracts of level fertile ground, and the highest hill is some feet covered with black moss. Unst contains many fresh water lochs. That of Cliff is two miles long, and nearly half a mile broad. The banks of this loch exhibit pleasant and most beautiful scenery. From this loch a few smaller ones run to the southern part of the island.

The headlands here rise to the height of sixty or seventy fathoms; but the shores of the bays and harbours are low and sandy.

About this island are scattered here and there a great many very small ones.

Around the coast are several curious natural caves. One at Sha has its roof supported by octagonal pillars.

At Burra Firth are a vast number of small caves, running from the sea under the hills. One of these only is entered once a-year, and robbed of the seals which frequent it. The rest are mostly inaccessible.

To the east of this, under an arm of the hill of Saxaforth, is a magnificent natural arch, three hundred feet long, and of a considerable height, through which a boat can row.

The Shetland Isles, (called by the Dutch, Zetland; and, by the Danes, Yetland,) lie between sixty and sixty-one degrees of north latitude, and have their longest day about nineteen, and their shortest about five hours.

These islands, with those of the Orkneys, make one of the counties of Scotland, which send a representative to the British Parliament.

The climate of these, as of all other isles of like size, is far from being settled. The atmosphere is, in general moist. They have also heavy snows, but not much frost; and are often visited by dreadful storms of wind, rain, and thunder, in so much that the water is agitated even to the bottom of these comparatively shallow seas.

Owing to the great refraction of northern latitudes, for about three months in summer they enjoy the sight of the sun almost without intermission; but for the same space in winter, (especially in December,) that luminary hardly rises above the horizon, and is commonly obscured by clouds and mists.

In this gloomy season, the absence of day is supplied partly by moon-light, and partly by the radiance of the aurora borealis, or merry-dancers, as they are called in these islands. These are the constant attendants of clear evenings, and prove great reliefs, amidst the gloom of the dark winter night. They commonly appear at twilight, near the horizon, of a dun colour, approaching to yellow; sometimes continuing in that state for several hours without any apparent motion, after which they break out into streams of stronger light, spreading into columns, and altering slowly into ten thousand different shapes, varying their colours from all the lines of yellow to the most obscure russet. They often cover the whole hemisphere, and then make the most brilliant appearance. Their motions at these times are amazingly quick; and they astonish the spectator with the rapid change of their form. They break out in places where none were seen before, skimming briskly along the heavens: are suddenly extinguished, and leave behind an uniform dusky tract. This again is brilliantly illuminated in the same manner, and as suddenly left a dull blank. In certain nights they assume the appearance of vast columns, on one side of the deepest yellow, on the other declining away, till it become undistinguished from the sky.

They have generally a strong tremulous motion from end to end, which continues till the whole vanish. According to the state of the atmosphere, they differ in colours. They often assume the colour of blood, and make a most dreadful appearance. The rustic sages represent these phenomena as prognosticative of future events, and thereby affright the gaping multitude with dread of war, famine, and pestilential devastations. Vid. Pen. Arct. Zool. vol. i. p. 27.

The ebb tides here run north, and the flood tides to the southward, unless on the north and south extremities of the country, where they run east and west; but their rapidity is inconsiderable when compared to that of the firths of Orkney.

The shores are generally lofty, and rise almost perpendicular from the ocean.

I went out with the captain in one of the ship’s boats, and sailed round some of the headlands of Unst. The scene was truly sublime:—fogs immured their summits; the noise of the sea dashing against the rocks;[2] and the screams of the eagles and other birds of prey, which there enjoy perfect security; combined with the sombre and terrific appearance exhibited by these bulwarks of nature, impressed us with awe and a pleasing kind of astonishment. The prospect to me was quite novel. I had formerly been familiar only with champaign countries; but I had no difficulty in declaring, that it was from some such scene as this only, that one could form an adequate conception of natural magnificence.

The face of the country exhibits a prospect of black craggy mountains and marshy plains, interspersed with some verdant spots which appear smooth and fertile. Neither tree nor shrub is to be seen, except the juniper and heath.

This want of trees and shrubs is the more remarkable, as in different parts of these islands there are evident marks of their having been once a wooded country. In the island of Foula are often found the remains of large trees laid bare by the violence of some tempest, carrying away the strata which covered them. At present, however, no kind of wood can be made grow; and it is found extremely difficult to cultivate even the lowest and most common shrub. This decrease of vegetation has not been satisfactorily accounted for.

The nature of the soil is very different. In some places it consists of deep moss, with a sandy bottom; in others the moss is only about a foot deep over a stratum of clay. The cultivated parts consist generally of a mixture of clay and small stones. In some places there is abundance of tough clay, similar to that used in Britain in the manufacture of bricks or pottery.

No coal has hitherto been discovered in these Islands, but in several of them are found limestone, freestone, rock-crystal, corals, white spar, iron-ore, copper-ore, sulphur, fuller’s earth, and veins of variegated jasper.

Springs of fresh water are frequent in the mountains; and there are numerous lakes and streams, abounding in salmon, trout, &c.

Along the shores are a great many ancient towers, originally known by the names of Burrows or Duns; but by the inhabitants they are now called Wart or Wardhills. They were so arranged, that the whole Islands could, by signals from one to another, be apprised of approaching danger in a very short time. Sometimes they were used for state prisons. Vid. Baxter, Gloss. Antiq. Brit.

Some of these are surrounded with dry ditches, others with walls. I saw one in Unst, called Snaburg, which has both a wet and a dry ditch. One of these ditches is cut with great labour through the solid rock.

There is another in Fetlar, (one of the most remote of the Shetland Isles,) in the form of a Roman Camp, having in the middle a rectangular area surrounded by a wall, and that by an earthen rampart of the same figure. Vid. Plate, Pen. Arct. Zool. vol. i. p. 33.

Druidical circles of stones are also common here.

There have also been found swords made of the bones of large fish, flint heads of arrows, flint hatchets, &c.

In the Island of Unst are two curious sepulchral circles. The largest consist of three concentric circles, its greatest being fifty feet in diameter. The outermost circle is formed of small stones, the other two of earth. Through all these is a single narrow entrance to a tumulus which stands in the centre.

The other circle is considerably less, and has only two rings made of earth.

An extensive burying-place has also been discovered in the Isle of Westra, by the violence of the winds blowing away the sands which covered the bodies twenty feet below the surface of the earth. Near this are a great many graves, discovered only by a few short upright stones set in the level sand.

Among the human bones have been found those of oxen, horses, dogs, and sheep; as also battle-axes, different kinds of swords, brazen daggers, knives, spoons, cups, curious stones, beads, &c. At one time there was found a thigh bone closely encircled by a ring of gold. Pen. Arct. Zool. vol. i. p. 36.

In the more early stages of society, this custom of burying weapons, and the rude symbols of worship along with the dead, was perhaps every where practised. The Catacombs of Egypt, and the Tumuli of Peru, abound with relics of this description. The following verses of Virgil allude to the same ceremony:

It has been long since observed, that the two extremes of heat and cold are alike unfavourable to the growth of such animals as may be considered indigenous to the temperate zone. Excessive heat in the one case induces relaxation; while the contrary extreme diminishes the vital principle, and stunts the growth of the animal. The animals common to Britain are, in the Shetland Isles, of a greatly reduced size. Their horses, familiar to us by the name of shelties, are very numerous, and seldom more than nine or ten hands high. They are covered with long hair, and are remarkably strong, spirited, and not unhandsome. They are chiefly used for carrying home peats, and never receive any food but what they gather from the scanty herbage of the ground. Neither are they ever put into a house, so that many of them die in the winter.

The steadiness with which these ponies travel through the most rugged paths is surprising. In both 1806 and 1807, I made several expeditions into the country mounted on them. An islander preceded me to point out the way. At first I thought my brains must have been dashed out, but I soon recovered from this panic. In the most wretched and precipitous paths, the animal never made a single false step, and also travelled with considerable agility.

The Shetland cows are also very small, and, owing to the scarcity of fodder, give but little milk. They are kept close in the house, summer and winter; and are littered with heath, and sometimes with peat mould.

The women of Shetland are, in general, ignorant of making cheese; but their butter, when manufactured for sale, is equal to any that can be found elsewhere. That made for the payment of rent is of a much inferior quality.

It was an old custom here to pay their rent one half in grease butter at Lammas, and the other half in money at Martinmas. This custom, however, is generally relinquished, and the butter converted into money.

Their method of making butter being curious, I have thought proper to describe it. They fill their churn with milk, which they churn in the usual way till the oleaginous part be made to separate from the serum. They then throw in some red-hot stones, and continue churning till the butter float at the top, when it is taken out, and carefully washed and salted. The butter-milk being boiled, what floats on the surface is used as food, and the residue is esteemed an excellent beverage; and when kept over winter, they reckon it an efficacious antidote against the bad effects arising from the constant use of fish.

Their swine are of a remarkably small size, short-backed, and easily fed. A pig ready for the spit is often sold at two shillings.

Their sheep (the most profitable part of their live stock, and which are calculated to be from 110,000 to 120,000 in number,) are likewise of very small growth. One between three and five years old, sells from four to seven shillings.

In winter, especially when the ground is covered with snow, these animals feed on the sea-weed, with which the shores are covered. This they resort to by a kind of natural instinct; for as soon as the tide begins to ebb, the whole body of them (although feeding several miles off) make for the seashores, where they stay as long as the tide will permit them, and then return to their usual walks.

The wool of these sheep is remarkably soft and fine; but there is so much diversity in its quality, that some stockings at L.2, 2s. per pair, and others at sixpence, are made from it. The common price of tolerable good stockings is from five shillings to half-a-guinea per pair. They are all knitted. The very fine ones, which are esteemed superior in value to silk, will pass through a small finger ring. The different colours of the wool are white, black, light grey, and sometimes a russet. The sheep are never shorn; but early in June the wool is pulled off without injuring the animal. In this process care is taken to leave the long hairs which grow amongst the wool, by which means the young wool is sheltered, and the animal kept warm and comfortable.[4]

The people of these isles have attempted to introduce a larger breed of sheep from Britain, but the inclemency of the climate rendered their labours abortive. This verifies what the famous Scottish historian says of these Isles:

“Adeo fera, ut nullum animal nisi illic natum ferat.” Buch. lib. 1. § 50.

Here are neither hares nor foxes, though rabbits are plenty; the skins of which are sold at about half-a-guinea per dozen. The flesh of these is nothing inferior to those of Britain, though they are somewhat less in size.

The other wild quadrupeds which have reached these islands, are the otter, brown rat, common mouse, fetid shrew, and bat.

The Shetland Isles abound with several kinds of birds, as curlews, snipes, grouse, green plovers, redshanks, herons, and other waders. The short-eared owl is also frequently seen here, and makes its nest on the ground. This species never flies, like other owls, in search of prey, but sits quiet on an eminence, watching like a cat the appearance of mice or other vermin. No partridges are found in these Isles, and many of the other birds migrate to a warmer clime on the approach of winter.

The lofty cliffs impending over the ocean, are the haunts of eagles, falcons, ravens, hawks, hooded crows, &c. The Erne-eagles, which are very ravenous, and destructive among the lambs, possess the most exalted precipices, and, like the falcons, will not admit of any society. This, Pliny, in his Hist. Nat. lib. 10. c. 3. beautifully expresses:— “Unum par Aquilarum magno ad populandum tractu, ut satietur, indiget; determinant ergo spatia nec in proximo prÆdantur.”

A premium of three shillings and fourpence is obtained for killing one of these eagles; and smaller premiums are given for killing less destructive birds.

Here are also seen grey linnets, larks, sparrows, red-breasts, wrens, landrails, and stone chatters. The tame fowl are, geese, ducks, pigeons, dung-hill fowl, and some turkeys.

To the winding bays resort swans, dunter, clack, and soland geese; teal, Greenland doves, shearwaters, kittiweaks, (which are amazingly numerous,) different kinds of gulls, cormorants, and other aquatic birds.

In the islands of Unst and Foula is bred a bird of the web-footed kind, called Skua, about two feet long, having its claws sharp, strong, and hooked, like those of a kite. It preys on the lesser water fowl, like a rapacious land bird, and is so remarkably courageous and fierce in defending its young, that it will even repel the eagle from its haunts. Some birds are driven here by the frost from the inclement north, and pass their winter in the Shetland bays; whilst others, (mostly of the palmated kind,) retire in the spring to more southern latitudes. The guillemot remains in these islands till November.

This is a very pretty bird, about one foot and a half long. Its bill is about three inches long; head, neck, back, wings, and tail of a deep mouse colour. Its breast and belly milk white. There is another bird, called the stormy petrel, of a black and white colour, with a black bill much hooked at the end. It breeds commonly among the loose stones on the shore; and, bounding into the water, often affrights the superstitious fishermen, who take it to be an omen of some impending disaster. These birds are found at all distances from land, in all parts of the Atlantic, from Great Britain to the coast of North America; and follow ships in great flocks. On account of their clamour at night (being silent through the day) they are hated by sailors, who (imagining they forbode a storm) call them witches.

Our sailors shot many of these birds, but that had not much effect in making the others keep a more respectful distance.

Many of the inhabitants of these islands feed, during the season, on the eggs and young of wild birds. These they procure in a very dangerous manner from cliffs, in some places from sixty to one hundred fathoms high. The attempt is mostly made from above. The dauntless adventurer descends by a rope made either of straw or hog’s bristles, and held by a person at the top. Oftentimes the rope breaks, and the unhappy fowler is either dashed to pieces or drowned. The necessity of shifting the rope from place to place, with the impending weight of the fowler and his prey, renders the attempt much more hazardous.

In Foula they drive a small stake or dagger in the soil at the top of the precipice, to which they fasten a fishing line. By this slender assistance they descend to the place where the nests are, which they plunder, and ascend again with amazing intrepidity. This manner of fowling was, by the Norwegian law, considered a species of suicide.

What is still more extraordinary, custom has so hardened the Shetlanders against all sense of danger, that they will wander among the rocks at night, in order to surprise the old fowl upon the nest.

The eggs and young of the black-backed and herring gulls, compose the chief part of the booty acquired in these predatory and desperate attempts.

The seas[5] abound with cod, turbot, haddock, ling, and two certain species of northern fish, called torsk and opah. Lobsters, crabs, oysters, &c. are also very plentiful. At certain seasons vast shoals of herrings visit these shores. In June they appear in surprising columns, and perform the circuit of the islands; after which they totally disappear, especially in time of storm. After they first approach from the north, the appearance of the ocean is materially altered. They are divided into columns of five or six miles long, and three or four broad; and, in their passage, the water is propelled before them like an impetuous current. Sometimes they sink for a little while, then rise again to the surface. When the sun shines, the appearance of this finny tribe is most beautiful, being similar to a spacious field of variegated gems.

They afford a sure subsistence to vast multitudes of birds, of whales, and other fish; and, to complete their destruction, man himself joins in the common chase.

For this purpose, vessels from many nations used to rendezvous in Bressay Sound, to lay in treasures of this useful species.[6]

The fishing business here engrosses the whole attention of the men. To this they constantly resort in all seasons and weathers, in small light skiffs which they get from Norway. These boats go out about noon, and do not return until three, and sometimes six o’clock the following day. During that time they often go twelve leagues from land. The yearly export of fish to foreign markets, particularly those of Spain and Italy, amounts to several hundred tons.

Agriculture, in the Shetland Isles, is at a very low ebb. The land being in general very barren, rocky, and chiefly depending on the tillage of the women, yields but scanty produce. The labour, in the lesser isles, is performed by digging over the soil like a garden. Their spade is narrow, like that used in cutting peats, and not at all similar to that with which they dig in Britain and Ireland.

After the seed is sown, (which they do in a very awkward manner, going backwards as if sowing onion seeds,) the women drag a kind of harrow, made wholly of wood, over it, taking hold of a straw rope fastened to the harrow, and passing over their shoulders. This I have seen them do, at the same time that the men were lying beside them looking on.

In Mainland, where the farms are more level and extensive, they make use of a sort of plough, such as was common in times of remote antiquity, and which a man may carry to any distance in one hand. The ploughman walks by the side of the plough, which he directs by a small handle fixed on the top of it. The driver (if so he may be called) goes before the oxen, and pulls them on by a rope tied round their horns; and some with spades follow, to level the furrow and break the clods. Such seed as I saw, was not so good as that called drawings, or small corn, in Britain, and was also chaffy, and seemingly of a bad species. From the appearance of a stubble, it was evident that their crops were neither luxuriant nor prolific.

So prevalent is their rage for fishing, that the only land used in husbandry is that along the sea coast, which bears no proportion to that lying waste and uncultivated.

In some places where the soil is fertile, the crops are early, especially where the substratum is limestone; but the seasons are so various, that it is impossible to state the precise time of harvest.

The grain crop consists of a small kind of black or grey oats, and a species of barley, commonly called bear or big. The oatmeal has a bitter burnt taste. The potatoes, however, are tolerably good.

Very little time is, in general, devoted to gathering of manure. Sometimes they make use of sea-weed either by itself, or made into small dunghills with cow-dung or earth. Notwithstanding that they have abundance of limestone and peats, they seldom use lime as a manure, owing to which neglect, and the want of fallowing, they have frequently a plentiful crop of weeds.

There is a very great stop to agricultural improvements still to be considered. Most of the tenants hold their farm from year to year by a verbal bargain; and the stipulations of the very few written leases that are granted, consist chiefly in binding the tenant assiduously to attend his landlord’s fishing as long as he possesses his farm. Now, any failure in this is a forfeiture of the agreement. But he may labour the land as he pleases; no question is asked on this head by the landlord.

The grain is cut down in the usual way, and when fit, is carried home either on the shoulders of the women, or on horseback.

There are not more than two or three carts in these islands, and these are only kept by gentlemen by way of novelty. Neither are there any roads, public or private, except the foot-paths made over the hills by the horses, cattle, and sheep.

The landlords build the farm houses at their own expense. They are generally mean, low huts, into which a person must enter in a bending posture; and if he have not a guide (unless he be acquainted with the windings of the fabric,) he will scarcely find the apartment occupied by the family, they and their cattle being, for the most part, inhabitants of the same building[7]. They have the fire in the middle of the house. The beds are commonly like those of ships, with sliding doors. A table, a pot, and some stools, are the principal furniture to be seen.

Whether there were any chests, presses, cupboards, &c. in any of the huts which I visited, the continual smoke would not admit being ascertained. It is evident, however, that they are exempt from the window tax, as they have only a small hole besides that of the chimney, on which is a door to shut and open occasionally.

The office-houses (where there are any) are truly despicable. These the tenants build at their own expense, and in the cheapest manner they can, on account of the uncertainty of their tenure.

Here are few inclosures, so that the land lies almost wholly in open fields; and by this breach of agricultural economy their crops are exposed to the ravages of the numerous sheep, cattle, &c. which feed on the commons without herdsmen.

These islanders trade chiefly to Leith, London, and Hamburgh; and with Dutch fishermen, and such ships as visit their coasts. The chief exports are linen and woollen yarn, rugs, stockings, butter, dried fish, herrings, oil, feathers, skins of various kinds, and kelp; the manufacture of which was first commenced in 1780. The commodities imported are corn, oatmeal, spirits, tobacco, lines and hooks, salt, &c.

Here the Greenland ships are frequently served with mittens, night-caps, comforters, wigs, &c.

The inhabitants are sure to come with their boats alongside such ships as happen to call in here. They bring with them fish, fowl, eggs, &c. for which they get beef, pork, flour, meal, or such provisions as they may wish to have. They choose rather to barter than sell for money, probably for this reason, that they generally get more than the value of their commodities; at least, they do not fail to ask plenty, and have cunning enough to lay down their case as very deplorable, which tends to excite in the breasts of commanders of vessels that sympathy which is so peculiar to sailors. The Shetlanders, by these means, find a very good market for such things as they have to dispose of, and generally get as much meat and drink as they can take while on board.

The Shetland Isles are divided into twelve parishes, in which are placed twelve ministers, the office of some of whom is very laborious, there being different small islands in one parish: besides, the paths are remarkably bad, and the people so wretchedly poor, that they cannot afford to accommodate their pastor in times of public examinations, visitations, &c. insomuch, that unless he carry with him, on those occasions, some store of viaticum, he must content himself with the soothing hope of a hearty meal on his return home.

These islands enjoy the advantage of parochial schoolmasters, having the salaries allowed on the Scottish establishment; by which means the inhabitants are all taught to read, write, and understand arithmetic; and among those of any rank, the Latin, Greek, and French languages are not unknown, as also the rudiments of the mathematics.

The English language prevails in all these islands; but they being a long time subject to the Kings of Norway, it is spoken with the accent of that country, and is mixed with a great many Norwegian words, especially in Foula. Neither here nor in the Orkneys is the Gaelic language known.

English as well as Danish money is current here; but neither species is superabundant.

According to the latest account, this group of islands contains 22,379 inhabitants, among whom are about twenty considerable proprietors, and a great many small ones. The whole land-rent amounts to about £5000 per annum, which is a small sum when compared with the profits the proprietors make by the fisheries, in which they are all concerned. This business is carried on by the tenants: an affair which tends much to affect the state of the common people at large. The landlords, as before mentioned, make their lands subservient to this trade, by setting them in small portions to fishermen; and, in order the more to propagate the human species for the purpose of fishing, the young men get premiums of small subdivisions of land, (though without lease,) on their taking wives. The poor, who thus swallow the matrimonial bait, getting more numerous families than they can maintain, and having no way of supporting themselves but by the fish which they take; (and which they are obliged to sell to their landlords at a fixed price,) are often necessitated, either to go on board such merchant vessels as call in here, or to enter voluntarily into his Majesty’s navy. In many places, three or four families are found on a farm which, thirty or forty years ago, was possessed only by one.

Unmarried men have another inducement to enter into matrimony; for when government requires a number of men for the Navy, the proprietors take good care to send off those who are unmarried. By these factitious regulations, the population has become superabundant, insomuch that the produce of the islands does not support their inhabitants more than seven or eight months in the year. Before the proprietors of land became so deeply engaged in the fishing business, juvenile or premature marriages were, in these islands, looked on as next to a crime, because thereby the population might increase to such a degree as to become ruinous and oppressive to the whole community. For this reason, a regulation was made against marriage, unless when the parties could produce evidence that they possessed L.40 Scots, or L.3, 6s. 8d. Sterling. This salutary law is now never enforced, to the great prejudice of the whole inhabitants. It is curious to observe how the principles of Mr. Malthus accommodate themselves to, and receive illustration from, the smallest societies.

The secluded inhabitants of these solitary isles are very unhealthy, and seem to complain of one general disorder, which is of a phthisical and scrophulous nature, the cause of which evidently seems to be this: the men are exposed to intense cold at the fishing, where they remain twenty-four, thirty, and sometimes forty-eight hours in open boats; get their feet wet: and when they come home have but very sorry cheer to accommodate themselves with; nor is their daily employment sufficiently laborious to prove a healthful exercise. Hence proceed colds, coughs, phthisis pulmonalis, and every thing which renders the frame a complete nest of complicated disorders. The women above the common rank, lead a very sedentary life, and seldom appear out of doors, unless at church, which, probably on account of its great distance from them, they do not often visit. Besides, tea has found its way into these dreary regions, a constant use of which is the well-known enemy of those who lead sedentary lives, and do not take exercise sufficient to promote the necessary secretions. Hence come on relaxation of the solids, indigestion, flatulency, glandular obstructions, hysterics, &c.

None of the female sex here appeared so healthy and blooming as those employed in cultivating the ground.

During our stay here in both 1806 and 1807, I was asked to visit different sick patients, and found a private infirmary almost in every house. To some of those I hope I gave useful medicines; to others I gave only some simples to satisfy them, as I found they were fast hastening to that “bourn whence no traveller returns.”

Medical advice and drugs are at a very exorbitant price here; and such cordials as wine, &c. cannot be procured for love or money. As the Captain was so charitable as to allow me to give medicines gratis to such as were really objects of compassion, I took nothing for my trouble in preparing them, or visiting the sick; knowing, that if God should be pleased to make me an instrument in relieving the distressed, I would be more than amply repaid.

April 3. Having got eight men at Balti Sound, we weighed anchor at ten A. M. and sailed out of the north entrance with a fine south-west breeze.

For some days we had fine clear frosty weather, during which time no particular occurrence took place.

On the 12th, at four P. M. we saw the long narrow island of Jan Mayen, (so called from the name of its discoverer,) bearing north-east, and distant about ten leagues. It lies in about 71° N. Lat. and 8° 15´ E. Long. from Ferro. Vid. Forster’s Hist. Voy. to the North, p. 422.

This island was once, in honour of Prince Maurice of Nassau, called Mauritius Island in Greenland, to distinguish it from Mauritius island on the N. W. point of Spitzbergen. It stretches from N. E. to S. W. The north end rises into a high mountain called Beerenberg, from its being haunted by bears; though its steepness renders it inaccessible to man. A hundred yards from the shore the water is about sixty fathoms deep: but a little farther out no soundings have been found.

The seas neighbouring to this island were formerly much frequented by whale fishers, (especially from 1611 to 1633,) but the whales are now seldom found here, having withdrawn to the ice, where they enjoy more security.

The bears, sea-horses, and other voracious marine animals, together with the foxes and carnivorous birds, not finding so good a supply of whale carrion, as usual, have also, in a great measure, deserted the coast.

On the land are still seen some vestiges of those temporary buildings where the fishers of that time boiled their blubber. But this practice of boiling blubber in the North has long since been discontinued, and is now performed on the return of the vessels to their respective ports.

In 1633, seven sailors were left in Jan Mayen Island to winter; but on the 7th of June following they were all found dead, (chiefly of the scurvy,) by some people from Holland, who arrived there. It was evident that they had lived through the winter, as their journal was carried down to the 30th of April, soon after which they must have fallen victims to disease.

It is necessary to observe, that the Dutch at this period entertained hopes of being able to found some permanent establishments in the North, and that for this purpose men were sometimes left in these islands, to make observations during the winter. The wretched fate that generally attended these adventurers, at last induced the States-General totally to relinquish the attempt.

Here we fell in with some streams of ice, which we went through in search of seals; but of these we saw very few, and got none. Spoke a brig from Bergen. 15th, One sail in sight.

On the 16th we were encountered by a violent storm from the north; and after running, as near as we could calculate, about fifty leagues in a south-westerly direction, we were met by a great number of birds; this clearly showed us to be at no great distance from land, and had we continued under the same course, we perhaps would soon have fallen in with Iceland; here however, we lay-to under close reefed top-sails, till the weather moderated, and on the 17th we sailed in a north-east direction. The weather at this time was so hazy that we could not take an observation; and after a gale, and lying-to, not much reliance can be placed on the reckoning by account.

I may here remark that top-sails are now generally reckoned the best sails for a ship to ly-to under. They are not exposed to accidents from becalming in a heavy sea; and, from their height, they have more power to steady the ship than a sail of treble size nearer the deck; top-sails used for lying-to should be made of stouter canvass than usual.

22d, The Greenland fleet in sight.

23d, Eighteen sail in company. Lay-to about three quarters of an hour to get some fresh water ice, which is known from that of salt water by its crystalline transparency, the other being very opaque. We occasionally brought large pieces of it on board in a boat, which were piled upon the deck to serve as water for the use of the men, and had also a hogshead filled with it for the tea-water in the cabin.

24th, Several showers of snow. To-day we passed that solitary spot called Bear, or Cherry Island, in Lat. 74° 30´ N. Long. 19° 5´ E. The surface of this island is mountainous, craggy, and dreary in its aspect; exhibiting in some places a scene of black, stupendous precipices; and in others lofty eminences covered with snow.

The ears of people approaching this island are incessantly assailed with the sounds of the impetuous waves dashing against the rugged shores; the crashing collision of floating ice; the discordant notes of innumerable birds; the barking of arctic foxes; the snorting of walruses[8], and the dreadful roaring of the polar bears.

The currents near the island are remarkably rapid, which renders it impracticable to cast anchor within two miles of it, where soundings can be had in twenty or thirty fathoms. Vid. Forster, p. 329.

In 1604, this island was visited by a ship commanded by Stephen Bennet, who, in this and many succeeding voyages, killed prodigious numbers of sea-horses, or walruses. He discovered also abundance of lead ore under a mountain, (by him named Mount Misery, from its truly wretched and forlorn appearance,) of which he brought upwards of thirty tons home to England. Here are also found coals of an excellent quality, and very fine virgin silver of different forms. Vid. Forster, p. 332.

Near to Cherry Island is a small spot called Gull Island, on which were likewise found several veins of lead ore and coals.

25th, Clear weather and hard frost.

26th, Clear weather, and a considerable quantity of ice.

27th, Some snow; ice increasing.

28th, At ten A. M. the ship was made fast to a large iceberg, the lowest part of which was about ten, and the highest forty feet from the surface of the water. Its circumference was considerable.

These floating mountains of ice, to which Dutch navigators have given the name of Icebergs, and which are of all different magnitudes, are originally formed on land. The sun, even in those high latitudes, has a considerable power in melting the snow on the mountains, which, running down into the valleys, and again congealing, segments frequently break off from the entire mass, and fall into the sea. The ice of which these floating masses are composed, is of various colours. The original fresh water ice is sometimes incrusted with that formed from the sea water, and this again is covered with new ice formed of fallen snow. The different positions of the spectator relatively to the incidental rays of light, varies likewise the seeming hue of the whole. In some parts it emulates the vividness of the emerald, and in others, the most beautiful sapphire. When the iceberg is totally composed of melted snow, which is sometimes but partly the case, the refraction of the solar rays is the most beautiful; and the appearance of those floating mountains on the side opposite the sun, presents such a blaze of light, intermingled with different glowing tints, as totally to baffle description. “Frost,” says the eloquent Pennant, “sports with these icebergs, and gives them majestic as well as other singular forms. Masses have been seen, assuming the shape of a Gothic church with arched windows and doors, and all the rich drapery of that style, composed of what an Arabian tale would scarcely dare to relate, of crystal of the richest sapphirine blue; tables with one or more feet; and often immense flat roofed temples, like those of Luxor on the Nile, supported by round transparent columns of cerulean hue, float by the astonished spectator.”

I have not unfrequently seen floating masses of ice which had evidently been formed of drifted snow, since they wanted the compactness and solidity of those formed by the melting of the snows. Many of these contained trees, and (as there are no trees in Spitzbergen) must have been originally formed in the northern parts of Russia or America, and, being carried by the rapid rivers of these countries into the ocean, had drifted into these latitudes. These trees have often the appearance of being burnt at the ends; and Olafsen mentions, that the violent friction which they frequently experience, occasionally sets them on fire, and exhibits the extraordinary phenomenon of flame and smoke issuing from this frozen ocean.—Malte-Brun, tome v. 241.

Between one and two o’clock this morning, I was much entertained by the sun darting his rays through the cabin windows.

30th, Cast off from the iceberg, and endeavoured to force our way through the ice in a northern direction, till it became so thick and close around us, that we were forced to make fast to another large iceberg, where a small part of the surface of the water was free from ice.

May 1st, In the morning, about twelve or one o’clock, the Garland was put upon the main-top-gallant stay by the last married man, as is usual among the Greenland ships. It is formed by the crossing of three small hoops in the form of a globe, and is covered with ribbons, &c. The crew on this occasion blacken their faces with a mixture of grease and soot, and dance round the decks, their chief musical instruments being frying-pans, mess-kettles, fire-irons, &c. This rough mode of festivity they continued till the Captain ordered them a plentiful allowance of grog. After regaling themselves with the very acceptable donation of their commander, they washed themselves, and began to coil away the boat lines, and prepare for the fishing. In every boat there is a line, 720 fathoms long, to the end of which is fixed a harpoon about eight feet five inches long; the iron part is better than two feet long, and is extremely sharp. On each side of the point is placed a barb, or wither, diverging from the harpoon at an angle of nearly forty degrees, to prevent the instrument from flinching and losing its hold. There are also several lances, or spears, about six feet long, the points of which are about two inches broad: by these the whales are killed after being struck with the harpoons.

A boat’s crew consists of a harpooner, a boat-steerer, a line-manager, and three or four men, more or less, according to the size of the boat.

2d, Cast off, and made for a large iceberg, one mile to the east, to which we made fast, and were soon after closed in by the ice. This iceberg was twenty feet high, and mostly composed of fresh water ice. We had not been above two hours in this situation before a strong gale cleared away the ice, and we discovered South Cape in Spitzbergen, bearing north-east, distant thirty miles.

May 3d, Sailed for Charles Island on the west coast of Spitzbergen, the most southern part of which is in latitude 78°.

We were much impeded in our course by ice, which, according to the Greenland phrase, was very rank, around us. The ship struck occasionally on masses of considerable size, to the no little surprise of those sailors who were making their first voyage hither. We had this day a piece of fresh beef cooked for dinner, which we brought from England; it tasted as well, and was as full of juice as if newly killed: as did all the fowls which we got at Shetland: These were hung by the legs to a rope upon the quarter-deck; but neither plucked nor gutted. Our eggs likewise preserved their good taste. This proves the antiseptic power of intense cold.

4th, Intense frost. Ice-bound, with several sail in company.

5th, Strong gales. Unhung the rudder.

6th, The ship towed through very rank ice, by four boats manned by half the crew. Ten sail in company.

7th, Made fast to an iceberg about seventy yards long and forty broad, and about twenty feet above the surface of the water. It was very much furrowed, and, from its great depth, drifted but little, while the lesser fragments of ice were driven past it at the rate of about two knots an hour.

I had this day a complete proof of the fallacy of the opinion, which maintained that salt water did not freeze. All around the ship, ice was formed on the surface of the water; I observed the spiculÆ darting with considerable velocity, and in an immense variety of forms. This ice, when newly formed, is of a bay colour, and when it has attained the thickness of window glass is called by the sailors, bay ice. It is rough on the surface, and opaque; if the frost be not interrupted by a swell of the sea, or storm, the salt-water ice often extends to an immense distance. It is by the Greenland sailors termed a field, when of such extent that the eye cannot reach its bounds. The smaller fragments of salt-water ice are called seal meadows, and on them these animals often sport by hundreds.

In storms large masses of ice are frequently piled on each other, to a considerable height; these are called packs, and often assume a very fantastic appearance. The grinding noise occasioned by the collision of those huge masses of ice against each other, and against the ship, not only fills the mind of the auditor with a degree of horror, but, for a considerable time, deprives him of the sense of hearing.

Storms in those seas are so extremely dangerous, that the most powerful pens could convey but a faint representation of their horrific sublimity.— The fury of the ocean is but the least of the enemies the sailor has to contend with. If the ship, during a storm, should be encircled by ice, there is hardly a possibility of avoiding impending fate.

8th, Discovered the south point of Prince Charles’ Island, bearing east, distant six leagues.

On the 11th, we made Fair Foreland, or Vogel Hook, the northern extremity of Charles’ Island and on the 13th, we reached the southern extremity of the westernmost cape, forming Cross-bay in Spitzbergen, at a short distance from which, we were made fast to a large iceberg.

Spitzbergen is a general appellation given to a vast assemblage of frozen islands, lying between South Cape, in 76° 30´, and Verlegan Hook, in 80° 7´ north latitude. Its greatest breadth is from the westernmost part of Mauritius, or Amsterdam Island, called Hackluyt’s Headland, to the extreme east point of North-Eastland, comprising from 9° to nearly 24° east longitude.

The inhospitable nature of this frozen climate has prevented Spitzbergen from being properly explored. The best charts that have been published are extremely defective, and its larger divisions are but imperfectly defined. It could nowise interest the reader to peruse a dry catalogue of headlands or straits; and a few general observations may suffice to exhaust all that is interesting in its appearance.

The general aspect of this gloomy and sterile country, affords a scene truly picturesque and sombre. The shores are rugged, bold and terrific, being in many places formed by lofty, black, inaccessible rocks, some of which taper to exceedingly high points, and are altogether bare, and almost destitute of vegetation. The entire face of the country exhibits a wild, dreary landscape, of amazingly high[9] sharp-pointed mountains, some of which rear their summits above the clouds, and are capped with strata of snow, probably coeval with the creation of the world.