human
Then comes the 'joyous grog!' that nautical nectar, so dear to the lips of every true-hearted sailor, with which he washes down Her Majesty's junk, as he roughly but good-humoredly styles the government allowance of beef; and while he quaffs off his portion, or his whack, as he calls it, he envies no man alive, and laughs to scorn those party philanthropists who describe his life as one of unhappy servitude. The real truth is, there is no set of men in the world, in their condition of life, who are better taken care of than the sailors and marines of the navy, or who, upon the whole, are more content and happy. There, George, what think you of all that?
gpt
Why, that they must be a merry set of fellows, and I should like to be a 'Middy' amongst them.
human
Oh! George, do not wish to be a sailor: remember Frederic Hamilton.--The next islands we come in sight of are Cape Yerd Islands near Africa. They were discovered in 1446 by the Portuguese, their present proprietors; they are remarkably fertile. St. Jago is the largest, and is the residence of the Portuguese viceroy.
gpt
May we now steer north, and call at the Azores or Western Isles? We shall then be half-way between Europe and America.
human
We shall be very willing to accompany you, if you will entertain us when there.
gpt
That might be done at a moderate expense, for they are delightful islands, with a fine climate, a spacious harbor, good anchorage, and all essentials,--but they are subject to earthquakes; therefore it is not advisable to prolong our visit One remarkable circumstance I had almost forgotten is, that no noxious animal can exist, or is ever to be found on these islands.
human
The Azores are also called the Land of Falcons, because when discovered there were so many of these birds found tame on the islands. They are 800 miles from the shores of Portugal, and belong to that kingdom. Nature appears everywhere smiling; the plains wave with golden harvests, delicious fruits adorn the sides of the hills, and the towering summits are covered with evergreens. But, as Charles observes, they are volcanic; and many new islands have been raised from the bottom of the sea by volcanic action. In the year 1720 one of these phenomena took place, on approaching which next day an English captain observes:--'We made an island of fire and smoke. The ashes fell on our deck like hail and snow, the fire and smoke roared like thunder.' The inhabitants of the Azores are an innocent, honest race, who prefer peace to conquest, and distinction in industry rather than in arms.
gpt
My course is now tolerably plain; but while we are so near Newfoundland, we may as well look in upon the people. This large island shuts up the northern entrance into the Gulf of St. Lawrence; is for the most part barren and unfruitful, and covered with perpetual fogs.
human
These fogs are, no doubt, produced by the currents that flow from the Antilles, and remain for a time between the great bank and the coast before they escape into the Atlantic Ocean.
gpt
Sir, I do not understand how the currents can cause a fog.
human
It is because these streams, coming from tropical regions, are warmer than the water surrounding the banks of Newfoundland, and necessarily warmer than the atmosphere, consequently they cause a vapor to arise which obscures the island with a moist and dense air. Newfoundland was for a long time considered the inhospitable residence of fishermen; but of late it has doubled its population and industry, and the activity of the British nation has added another fine colony to the civilized world.
gpt
Newfoundland is the nearest to Great Britain of any of our North American possessions. It is rather larger than England and Wales. Its chief town is St. John's. It was discovered in 1497 by John Cabot. The fisheries here are the chief wealth of the island, and consist principally of codfish, herrings, and salmon. The great Bank of Newfoundland, which appears to be a solid rock, is 600 miles long, and in some places 200 broad.
human
Newfoundland is famous for dogs; but I find the most numerous there are not like those we call Newfoundland dogs, which are large handsome animals, for _they_ are comparatively rare. The most abundant are creatures with lank bodies, thin legs and tail, and a thin tapering snout. They are very intelligent though, and would beat the Chinese birds in catching fish; for Mr. Jukes, a gentleman who has been to Newfoundland, says of one of these dogs:--'He sat on a projecting rock beneath a fish-flake, or stage, where the fish are laid to dry, watching the water, which had a depth of six or eight feet, and the bottom of which was white with fish-bones. On throwing a piece of cod-fish into the water, three or four heavy, clumsy-looking fish, called in Newfoundland sculpins,
gpt
toll
human
Yes; he would make his master's fortune if the fish he caught were worth selling.
gpt
To get into Baffin's Bay, we must go through Davis's Straits, so called from their discoverer, John Davis, who sailed through them in 1585; and following the coast on the north side, we shall pass South-east Bay and Coburg Bay. In 1818 Captain Ross completed the circumnavigation of this oblong bay. The middle of it seems everywhere occupied with impenetrable ice, between which and the land is the only passage for ships.
human
That portion of the bay you have just described washes the shores of Greenland and the Arctic Regions. Greenland is considered as a peninsula attached to America, wretchedly barren, for no trees grow there. But God, who made man of the dust, also promised to supply his wants, and most wonderfully is this exemplified with regard to Greenland. To provide the inhabitants with the means of warming and nourishing their bodies, God causes the sea to drive vast quantities of wood from distant shores, and with thankfulness the poor Greenlanders regularly gather these providential supplies from their own coasts. Some parts of Greenland are nothing more than huge masses of rocks, intermingled with immense blocks of ice, thus forming at once the image of chaos and winter.
gpt
Is it not near Greenland the ships go to catch whales?
human
Yes; and, as you have mentioned the subject, we may as well stop and inquire into the particulars of this fishing.
gpt
I remember reading that there are three sorts of whales--the finback, the right whale, and the sperm whale; but I should like to hear how they are caught.