N ATÜ&AL H FST'Ô RY df N OR W A Y.
cbntdéhim; Môt: btfttts'quam: prçf cérpôre; "in
Mattimas efctttbéfoiiày rtèqrië'ëas ütf fmmiflis; penduks', fed qttalek
vrrgihibiïs- glbBoffe,: pleH&Ta&is’ candidiffimi. Frachia i& t r lo ^
fed' lkta ad' nktandum’ ripfa; riullis' fattien ipfa' cübitis; ulhisj ma-
niBüS dirtietdHqüe diftinâfc fn adMiniftris* febsifi procreandee
mëmbÿik hÿ ptilk' aB4 humanis di$«rébo; Poft Mec'
in' pifcfelti' caudâ1 définit1.” ’
j p S f k » T . ; v , ■
Uport thefe autfibritieS I may lày, that if the ëxrffence- of the“
Eùibpèan Méi'-rrïëtt1 Be called iff qjieffinn, it muff proceed etr-
tirelÿ' frt>iü the feSùfôas" ft*ories'iifoiaffy'fi&fd* with thé tïütft *.
Kreré, iûl the dibeefe** cf Bfergeff*, as well as in the manor of
Fiordland*, fëvëral huttdfffds of perferis1 of Credit arîd reputa-
tiferf,- #hoj affirM’, #iWi the* ftmffgeff' alforanées,;. that they hare:
fceil this' kind1 of creature’ feiffetimes' at a diflaffCe"-, and at other
titties' quite cfbfe to* their1 iDOats*' flatting upright, gnd formecf
like a hitman creature’ doWtt fb the mfidcfte ; the reft they could
nbt feé. I hare fpibkeri With many of thefe people, all eye-wit-
rieflfes to the eXiffeficé ofthhè&atüt^^ ând I hate-taken all pop-
fi&Ie prëcaufii^s^Ôi-éXâittiïiln^ f^efn-^fftiâiy étt.|hhfùhje<9 :. The
ittfult was-, that I found thêta* all a'gleb hi. eV'efÿ p'aürtfcmâr’hf'their*
accounts, tthich attfivets to a dhfcriptibn lately publlfhed by jab-
lonsfey affff Kîréftefj fo fdf' as *thejr cSufi judge“ by the light of
them only, at a" fliialf dlfiattcëV But of thofe who had1 feen, them*
out of the water, arid1 hand led'tfierifj I fiÜe ffbt Beerr able tô^find?
morë thàft.oritt perfèn’ of Crédit Wfto'Could jhtfïêîi.1 it f& truth" Ms ï
may1 fàfoly give credit to this petferty namely, the reverend Mr.
Fêter Angel,' Who % ftilf Ridttg', àffdmihiftér' of thb paiifh of
VâUdyElvèns Éîîeîd^ bâ'Sûridrûôer; f fhalf relate tW&stt ;he allured
me of kft year, Men t Watfon my vlfifation-jisurney. He fays,
that în thé year f||ÉÉ| he (Befflg then ubôutyz6v'yëars old) along
with feiëràï OtHér ïhfetbitdiïtè' of AiftahoUgin: lYordïârfd1, law1
what y Called a Met-maU, lyMg déaâl on a ’point’of land, near the
fea, which had been caft alhore by the waves, along with lèverai
Séa-câlféSy arid dfher dead FHh. The length of this creature;
Was much greater than what has been mentioned of any before,,
namely, above three fathoms; * " It was of à dark grey colour all
cWer : in the lower part it Wâà like' a Fifh, and had a tail like that
ôf a Forpeffe. The face refembled that of a man, with a mouth,
fotehead, eyes, $tc. Thé nofe was Hat, and, as it were, prelfed
* *n Evarh. Hâppelius’s Mijndus Mirabilis arq-to-be rèàdtoàïjy ftorie'S, mixed with
fables, concerning ffife-Mer-rnan, Tom; ui.Xib‘.‘i. cipTfSi
down
’ H a T Ü R A t H I S T O R-Y of" JV 0 S B 0 i 9 1
down ttvth#foee,i in wh^Hthe noftnls have ever been* very-vifible.
The Breaft'îwas nét Iw&èàém t ie head ; ^the arms feem’d te hang
tthtfte fide, ^ to wbUlMi^' weife joihed* by' a thim Ém o f ttfem-
bfonei THe Hands we4h[ id appearance, llkêPbe paws of a Sea-calf.
IThê‘Baok of ft^^fçrSature was very fat, and PMgreat part of it was
cut e#, w b i^ f liver, yielded a làrgétj|#aiîtity Of train-oib
That thfe ereature^' which-is reckoned amenlg- the Whale-kind*, is
a'Pilfi o0pfpy, and Btvé's upanith^’imaller’ -'fert, maty be1 concluded
from-what Mr. Lu-feDebes rlfàteîîf^in hi# Deferiptién of Faroe.
tdls us, that sthev' hawe, there fëbâ â Mter-mai'd' with d FiHt,
which fhe held in her hand*. The woMs‘ 'êdë, in Ip. 17 1, as follows ;
M . ^ e r e wâîio'^èfi sin F6|f$| at Faroe, Weftwia-rch of Qnalboe^
Eide-, By2mariyhctf 'fhl?ihhabil:â‘h't^, as*alfo by others front different-
parts-of Sttdferoej a Mer-maid, clofe’ to the Ihbrei She flood thefe1
two-houn and a half, arid wps- up to th e gavel in water.- She*
had long Baits on her head,' which flung down W A e forface of
riie water hli round about her: She held a'Fiüÿ, with the hëad
downwards, in her right-hand*. I was told alfc, that in the feme’
year the-filhermen in Wefterman-havenj on Stromoe, bad;, at their
fîfliery nortfi^df^Fartfe^feert a Mer-maid;? X
T ormodus^Torfæus réktes*, 'that lèvera! Mef-men,‘ alokg with
other inonfters, were feen. at one* time an the eoali o f Iceland^ in
his H-ift. i|fory. T. iv. E. viii. p*. 4 1 ^ and* therë^ refers to Mi* Ac*
count o f ; Greenland1. I am ferry that I have nOtthe work at hand,*
for tfiKÜÊ that would bë CuMoUé to* know more o f this matter ; buti
in the place juff quoted'hefpeaks thus: “ Sirenespropter auftra-
îia Ifliand-îæ j)rqmontt>nai Sudfries appellata, plaraque alia monftra
& in his iflud, quod'HafftramBb -appeHatur- (de quo wider!
poteft Gronl’andia noftra cap. xiîi.) nantis, qui in Iflandiam ventd
ietfoaâi* font, obfervatumv”'J-:'
That thefe creatures, being- Fifh o f prey, fenetimes quSrrel
with the Sea-calf, is confirmed by a relation fent me, with lèverai
others, by the rev. Mr. Hans Strom, at Borgen. It runs to this
eflèâ : u It happened at Nerpe in N umedalen, that there was
found a Mer-man and a Sea-calf on a rock, both dead, and all over
bloody; from which it is conje&ured that they had killed one
another.”
’ The rev. Mr. Randulf, reâor o f the place, gave himfelf feme
trouble, by, endeavouring to preferve the Mer-man, but to no
purpofe ; for before he of. Ms people could' get near it, the peafents
had cut them both to pieces, for the lake of the fat. Whether
amongft thefe Mer-men, or; as we may rather call them, Sea-apes,
there be any fpecifick difference in lhape or fixe (as I have obferved
before