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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1356 ***
+
+THE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT"
+
+ROUND THE WORLD AFTER SPERM WHALES
+
+Frank T. Bullen, F.R.G.S.
+
+First Mate
+
+
+
+
+     To
+
+     Miss Emily Hensley
+
+     In grateful remembrance of thirty years' constant friendship and
+     practical help this work is affectionately dedicated by her
+     humble pupil.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+In the following pages an attempt has been made--it is believed for the
+first time--to give an account of the cruise of a South Sea whaler from
+the seaman's standpoint. Two very useful books have been published--both
+of them over half a century ago--on the same subject; but, being written
+by the surgeons of whale-ships for scientific purposes, neither of them
+was interesting to the general reader. ["Narrative of a Whaling Voyage
+round the Globe," by F Debell Bennett, F.R.C.S. (2 vols). Bentley,
+London (1840). "The Sperm Whale Fishery," by Thomas Beale, M.R.C.S.
+London (1835).] They have both been long out of print; but their value
+to the student of natural history has been, and still is, very great,
+Dr. Beale's book, in particular, being still the authority on the sperm
+whale.
+
+This book does not pretend to compete with either of the above valuable
+works. Its aims is to present to the general reader a simple account of
+the methods employed, and the dangers met with, in a calling about
+which the great mass of the public knows absolutely nothing. Pending the
+advent of some great writer who shall see the wonderful possibilities
+for literature contained in the world-wide wanderings of the South Sea
+whale-fishers, the author has endeavoured to summarize his experiences
+so that they may be read without weariness, and, it is hoped, with
+profit.
+
+The manifold shortcomings of the work will not, it is trusted, be laid
+to the account of the subject, than which none more interesting could
+well be imagined, but to the limitations of the writer, whose long
+experience of sea life has done little to foster the literary faculty.
+
+One claim may be made with perfect confidence--that if the manner be
+not all that could be wished, the matter is entirely trustworthy, being
+compiled from actual observation and experience, and in no case at
+second-hand. An endeavour has also been made to exclude such matter
+as is easily obtainable elsewhere--matters of common knowledge and
+"padding" of any sort--the object not being simply the making of a book,
+but the record of little-known facts.
+
+Great care has been taken to use no names either of ships or persons,
+which could, by being identified, give annoyance or pain to any one, as
+in many cases strong language has been necessary for the expression of
+opinions.
+
+Finally, the author hopes that, although in no sense exclusively a
+book for boys, the coming generation may find this volume readable and
+interesting; and with that desire he offers it confidently, though in
+all humility, to that great impartial jury, the public.
+
+F.T.B. Dulwich, July, 1897.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+CHAPTER I--OUTWARD BOUND Adrift in New Bedford--I get a ship--A
+motley crowd--"Built by the mile, and cut off as you want 'em"--Mistah
+Jones--Greenies--Off to sea.
+
+CHAPTER II--PREPARING FOR ACTION Primitive steering-gear--Strange
+drill--Misery below--Short commons--Goliath rigs the
+"crow's-nest"--Useful information--Preparing for war--Strange weapons--A
+boat-load.
+
+CHAPTER III--FISHING BEGINS The cleanliness of a whale-ship--No
+skulking--Porpoise-fishing--Cannibals--Cooking operations--Boat-drill--A
+good look-out--"Black-fishing"--Roguery in all trades--Plenty of fresh
+beef--The nursery of American whalemen.
+
+CHAPTER IV--BAD WEATHER Nautical routine--The first gale--Comfort
+versus speed--A grand sea-boat--The Sargasso Sea--Natural history
+pursuits--Dolphin--Unconventional fishing--Rumours of a visit to the
+Cape Verdes--Babel below--No allowance, but not "full and plenty"--Queer
+washing--Method of sharing rations--The "slop-shop" opened--Our
+prospects.
+
+
+CHAPTER V--ACTUAL WARFARE. OUR FIRST WHALE Premonitions--Discussion
+on whaling from unknown premisses--I wake in a fright--Sperm whales
+at last--The war begins--Warning--We get fast--and get loose--In
+trouble--an uncomfortable situation--No Pity-Only one whale--Rigging the
+"cutting-stage"--Securing the whale alongside.
+
+
+CHAPTER VI--"DIRTY WORK FOR CLEAN MONEY" Goliath in trouble--Commence
+"cutting-in"--A heavy head--A tank of spermaceti--Decks running
+with oil--A "Patent" mincing-machine--Extensive cooking--Dangerous
+work--Three tuns of oil--A horrible mess--A thin-skinned monster--A fine
+mouth of teeth.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII--GETTING SOUTHWARD Captain Slocum's
+amenities--Expensive beer--St. Paul's Rocks--"Bonito"--"Showery"
+weather--Waterspouts--Calms--A friendly finback--A disquisition on
+whales by Mistah Jones--Flying-fishing.
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII--ABNER'S WHALE Abner in luck--A big "fish" at last--A feat
+of endurance--A fighting whale--The sperm whale's food--Ambergris--A
+good reception--Hard labour--Abner's reward--"Scrimshaw".
+
+
+CHAPTER IX--OUR FIRST CALLING-PLACE A forced march--Tristan
+d'Acunha--Visitors--Fresh provisions--A warm welcome--Goliath's
+turn--a feathered host--Good gear--A rough time--Creeping
+north--Uncertainty--"Rule of thumb"--navigation--The Mozambique Channel.
+
+
+CHAPTER X--A VISIT TO SOME STRANGE PLACES Tropical thunderstorms--A
+"record" day's fishing--Cetacean frivolities--Mistah Jones moralizes--A
+snug harbour--Wooding and watering--Catching a turtle--Catching a
+"Tartar"--A violent death--A crooked jaw--Aldabra Island--Primeval
+inhabitants--A strange steed--"Pirate" birds--Good eggs--Green
+cocoa-nuts--More turtle--A school of "kogia".
+
+
+CHAPTER XI--ROUND THE COCOS AND SEYCHELLES We encounter a "cyclone"--A
+tremendous gust--a foundering ship--To anchor for repairs--The
+Cocos--Repairing damages--Around the Seychelles--A "milk" sea--A
+derelict prahu--A ghastly freight--A stagnant sea.
+
+
+CHAPTER XII--WHICH TREATS OF THE KRAKEN "Eyes and no eyes" at sea--Of
+big mollusca--The origin of sea-serpent stories--Rediscovery of the
+"Kraken"--A conflict of monsters--"The insatiable nightmares of the
+sea"--Spermaceti running to waste--The East Indian maze.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII--OFF TO THE JAPAN GROUNDS A whale off Hong Kong--The
+skipper and his "'bomb-gun"--Injury to the captain--Unwelcome
+visitors--The heathen Chinee--We get safe off--"Death of Portagee
+Jim"--The Funeral--The Coast of Japan--Port Lloyd--Meeting of
+whale-ships.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV--LIBERTY DAY--AND AFTER Liberty day--I foregather with
+a "beach-comber"--A big fight--Goliath on the war-path--A
+court-martial--Wholesale flogging--a miserable crowd--Quite a fleet of
+whale-ships--I "raise" a sperm whale--Severe competition--An unfortunate
+stroke--The skipper distinguishes himself.
+
+
+CHAPTER XV--WHICH COMES UNCOMFORTABLY NEAR BEING THE LAST I come
+to grief--Emulating Jonah--Sharing a flurry--A long spell of
+sick-leave--The whale's "sixth sense"--Off to the Kuriles--Prepare for
+"bowhead" fishing--The Sea of Okhotsk--Abundant salmon--The "daintiness"
+of seamen.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI--"BOWHEAD" FISHING Difference between whales--Popular ideas
+exploded--The gentle mysticetus--Very tame work--Fond of tongue--Goliath
+confides in me--An awful affair--Captain Slocum's death--"Not Amurath an
+Amurath succeeds"--I am promoted.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII--VISIT TO HONOLULU Towards Honolulu--Missionaries and their
+critics--The happy Kanaka--Honolulu--A pleasant holiday.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII--ON THE "LINE" GROUNDS I get my opportunity--A
+new harpooner--Feats under the skipper's eye--Two whales on one
+line--Compliments Heavy towage--A grand haul.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX--EDGING SOUTHWARD Monotony--A school of blackfish--A boat
+ripped in half--A multitude of sharks--A curious backbone--Christmas
+Day--A novel Christmas dinner--A find of ambergris.
+
+
+CHAPTER XX--"HUMPBACKING" AT VAU VAU "Gamming" again--a
+Whitechapel rover--arrive at Vau Vau--Valuable friends--a Sunday
+ashore--"Hollingside"--The natives at church--Full-dress--Very
+"mishnally"--Idyllic cruising--Wonderful mother-love--A mighty feast.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI--PROGRESS OF THE "HUMPBACK" SEASON A fruitless chase--Placid
+times--a stirring adventure--a vast cave--Unforeseen company--A night
+of terror--We provide a feast for the sharks--the death of Abner--An
+impressive ceremony--an invitation to dinner--Kanaka cookery.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII--FAREWELL TO VAU VAU Ignorance of the habits of whales--A
+terrific encounter--VAE VICTIS--Rewarding our "flems"--We leave Van
+Vau--The Outward bounder--Sailors' "homes"--A night of horror--Sudden
+death--Futuna.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII--AT FUTUNA, RECRUITING A fleet of nondescripts--"Tui
+Tongoa" otherwise Sam--Eager recruits--Devout Catholics--A visit to
+Sunday Island--A Crusoe family--Their eviction--Maori cabbage--Fine
+fishing--Away for New Zealand--Sight the "Three Kings"--The Bay of
+Islands.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV--THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST Sleepy
+hollow--Wood and water--liberty day--A plea for the sailors'
+recreation--Our picnic--A a whiff of "May"--A delightful excursion--To
+the southward again--Wintry weather--Enter Foveaux Straits.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV--ON THE SOLANDER GROUNDS Firstfruits of the Solander--An
+easy catch--Delights of the Solander--Port William--The
+old CHANCE--"Paddy Gilroy"--Barbarians from the East
+End--Barracouta-Fishing--Wind-bound--An enormous school of
+cachalots--Misfortune--A bursting whale--Back on the Solander
+again--Cutting-in at Port William--Studying anatomy--Badly battered
+Yankees--Paddy in luck again.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI--PADDY'S LATEST EXPLOIT We try Preservation Inlet--An
+astounding feat of Paddy Gilroy's.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII--PORT PEGASUS Port Pegasus--Among old
+acquaintances--"Mutton birds"--Skilled auxiliaries--A gratifying
+catch--Leave port again--Back to the Solander--A grim escape--Our last
+whales--Into Port William again--Paddy's assistance--We part with our
+Kanakas--Sam's plans of conquest.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII--TO THE BLUFF, AND HOME And last--In high-toned
+company--Another picnic--Depart from the Bluff--Hey for the Horn!--Among
+the icebergs--"Scudding"--Favouring trades--A narrow escape from
+collision--Home at last.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+Without attempting the ambitious task of presenting a comprehensive
+sketch of the origin, rise, and fall of whale-fishing as a whole, it
+seems necessary to give a brief outline of that portion of the subject
+bearing upon the theme of the present book before plunging into the
+first chapter.
+
+This preliminary is the more needed for the reason alluded to in
+the Preface--the want of knowledge of the subject that is apparent
+everywhere. The Greenland whale fishery has been so popularized that
+most people know something about it; the sperm whale fishery still
+awaits its Scoresby and a like train of imitators and borrowers.
+
+Cachalots, or sperm whales, must have been captured on the coasts of
+Europe in a desultory way from a very early date, by the incidental
+allusions to the prime products spermaceti and ambergris which are found
+in so many ancient writers, Shakespeare's reference--"The sovereign'st
+thing on earth was parmaceti for an inward bruise"--will be familiar to
+most people, as well as Milton's mention of the delicacies at Satan's
+feast--"Grisamber steamed"--not to carry quotation any further.
+
+But in the year 1690 the brave and hardy fishermen of the north-east
+coasts of North America established that systematic pursuit of the
+cachalot which has thriven so wonderfully ever since, although it must
+be confessed that the last few years have witnessed a serious decline in
+this great branch of trade.
+
+For many years the American colonists completely engrossed this branch
+of the whale fishery, contentedly leaving to Great Britain and the
+continental nations the monopoly of the northern or Arctic fisheries,
+while they cruised the stormy, if milder, seas around their own shores.
+
+For the resultant products, their best customer was the mother country,
+and a lucrative commerce steadily grew up between the two countries. But
+when the march of events brought the unfortunate and wholly unnecessary
+War of Independence, this flourishing trade was the first to suffer, and
+many of the daring fishermen became our fiercest foes on board their own
+men-of-war.
+
+The total stoppage of the importation of sperm oil and spermaceti was
+naturally severely felt in England, for time had not permitted the
+invention of substitutes. In consequence of this, ten ships were
+equipped and sent out to the sperm whale fishery from England in 1776,
+most of them owned by one London firm, the Messrs. Enderby. The next
+year, in order to encourage the infant enterprise, a Government bounty,
+graduated from L500 to L1000 per ship, was granted. Under this
+fostering care the number of ships engaged in the sperm whale fishery
+progressively increased until 1791, when it attained its maximum.
+
+This method of whaling being quite new to our whalemen, it was
+necessary, at great cost, to hire American officers and harpooners
+to instruct them in the ways of dealing with these highly active
+and dangerous cetacea. Naturally, it was by-and-by found possible
+to dispense with the services of these auxiliaries; but it must be
+confessed that the business never seems to have found such favour, or to
+have been prosecuted with such smartness, among our whalemen as it has
+by the Americans.
+
+Something of an exotic the trade always was among us, although it did
+attain considerable proportions at one time. At first the fishing was
+confined to the Atlantic Ocean; nor for many years was it necessary to
+go farther afield, as abundance of whales could easily be found.
+
+As, however, the number of ships engaged increased, it was inevitable
+that the known grounds should become exhausted, and in 1788 Messrs.
+Enderby's ship, the EMILIA, first ventured round Cape Horn, as the
+pioneer of a greater trade than ever. The way once pointed out, other
+ships were not slow to follow, until, in 1819, the British whale-ship
+SYREN opened up the till then unexplored tract of ocean in the western
+part of the North Pacific, afterwards familiarly known as the "Coast
+of Japan." From these teeming waters alone, for many years an average
+annual catch of 40,000 barrels of oil was taken, which, at the average
+price of L8 per barrel, will give some idea of the value of the trade
+generally.
+
+The Australian colonists, early in their career, found the sperm whale
+fishery easy of access from all their coasts, and especially lucrative.
+At one time they bade fair to establish a whale fishery that should
+rival the splendid trade of the Americans; but, like the mother country,
+they permitted the fishery to decline, so that even bounties could not
+keep it alive.
+
+Meanwhile, the Americans added to their fleet continually, prospering
+amazingly. But suddenly the advent of the civil war let loose among
+those peaceable cruisers the devastating ALABAMA, whose course was
+marked in some parts of the world by the fires of blazing whale-ships. A
+great part, of the Geneva award was on this account, although it must be
+acknowledged that many pseudo-owners were enriched who never owned aught
+but brazen impudence and influential friends to push their fictitious
+claims. The real sufferers, seamen especially, in most cases never
+received any redress whatever.
+
+From this crushing blow the American sperm whale fishery has never fully
+recovered. When the writer was in the trade, some twenty-two years ago,
+it was credited with a fleet of between three and four hundred sail; now
+it may be doubted whether the numbers reach an eighth of that amount. A
+rigid conservatism of method hinders any revival of the industry, which
+is practically conducted to-day as it was fifty, or even a hundred
+years ago; and it is probable that another decade will witness the
+final extinction of what was once one of the most important maritime
+industries in the world.
+
+
+
+
+THE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I. OUTWARD BOUND
+
+At the age of eighteen, after a sea-experience of six years from the
+time when I dodged about London streets, a ragged Arab, with wits
+sharpened by the constant fight for food, I found myself roaming the
+streets of New Bedford, Massachusetts. How I came to be there, of all
+places in the world, does not concern this story at all, so I am not
+going to trouble my readers with it; enough to say that I WAS there, and
+mighty anxious to get away. Sailor Jack is always hankering for shore
+when he is at sea, but when he is "outward bound"--that is, when his
+money is all gone--he is like a cat in the rain there.
+
+So as MY money was all gone, I was hungry for a ship; and when a long,
+keen-looking man with a goat-like beard, and mouth stained with dry
+tobacco-juice, hailed me one afternoon at the street-corner, I answered
+very promptly, scenting a berth. "Lookin' fer a ship, stranger?" said
+he. "Yes; do you want a hand?" said I, anxiously. He made a funny little
+sound something like a pony's whinny, then answered, "Wall, I should
+surmise that I want between fifty and sixty hands, ef yew kin lay me
+onto 'em; but, kem along, every dreep's a drop, an' yew seem likely
+enough." With that he turned and led the way until we reached a building
+around which were gathered one of the most nondescript crowds I had ever
+seen. There certainly did not appear to be a sailor among them. Not
+so much by their rig, though that is not a great deal to go by, but
+by their actions and speech. One thing they all had in common, tobacco
+chewing but as nearly every male I met with in America did that, it was
+not much to be noticed. I had hardly done reckoning them up when two or
+three bustling men came out and shepherded us all energetically into a
+long, low room, where some form of agreement was read out to us. Sailors
+are naturally and usually careless about the nature of the "articles"
+they sign, their chief anxiety being to get to sea, and under somebody's
+charge. But had I been ever so anxious to know what I was going to sign
+this time, I could not, for the language might as well have been Chinese
+for all I understood of it. However, I signed and passed on, engaged to
+go I knew not where, in some ship I did not know even the name of, in
+which I was to receive I did not know how much, or how little, for my
+labour, nor how long I was going to be away. "What a young fool!" I hear
+somebody say. I quite agree, but there were a good many more in that
+ship, as in most ships that I have ever sailed in.
+
+From the time we signed the articles, we were never left to ourselves.
+Truculent-looking men accompanied us to our several boarding-houses,
+paid our debts for us, finally bringing us by boat to a ship lying out
+in the bay. As we passed under her stern, I read the name CACHALOT, of
+New Bedford; but as soon as we ranged alongside, I realized that I was
+booked for the sailor's horror--a cruise in a whaler. Badly as I wanted
+to get to sea, I had not bargained for this, and would have run some
+risks to get ashore again; but they took no chances, so we were all soon
+aboard. Before going forward, I took a comprehensive glance around, and
+saw that I was on board of a vessel belonging to a type which has almost
+disappeared off the face of the waters. A more perfect contrast to the
+trim-built English clipper-ships that I had been accustomed to I could
+hardly imagine. She was one of a class characterized by sailors as
+"built by the mile, and cut off in lengths as you want 'em," bow and
+stern almost alike, masts standing straight as broomsticks, and bowsprit
+soaring upwards at an angle of about forty-five degrees. She was as
+old-fashioned in her rig as in her hull; but I must not go into the
+technical differences between rigs, for fear of making myself tedious.
+Right in the centre of the deck, occupying a space of about ten feet by
+eight, was a square erection of brickwork, upon which my wondering gaze
+rested longest, for I had not the slightest idea what it could be. But
+I was rudely roused from my meditations by the harsh voice of one of the
+officers, who shouted, "Naow then, git below an' stow yer dunnage, 'n
+look lively up agin." I took the broad hint, and shouldering my traps,
+hurried forward to the fo'lk'sle, which was below deck. Tumbling down
+the steep ladder, I entered the gloomy den which was to be for so long
+my home, finding it fairly packed with my shipmates. A motley crowd
+they were. I had been used in English ships to considerable variety of
+nationality; but here were gathered, not only the representatives of
+five or six nations, but 'long-shoremen of all kinds, half of whom had
+hardly ever set eyes on a ship before! The whole space was undivided
+by partition, but I saw at once that black men and white had separated
+themselves, the blacks taking the port side and the whites the
+starboard. Finding a vacant bunk by the dim glimmer of the ancient
+teapot lamp that hung amidships, giving out as much smoke as light, I
+hurriedly shifted my coat for a "jumper" or blouse, put on an old cap,
+and climbed into the fresh air again. For a double reason, even MY
+seasoned head was feeling bad with the villainous reek of the place, and
+I did not want any of those hard-featured officers on deck to have
+any cause to complain of my "hanging back." On board ship, especially
+American ships, the first requisite for a sailor who wants to be treated
+properly is to "show willing," any suspicion of slackness being noted
+immediately, and the backward one marked accordingly. I had hardly
+reached the deck when I was confronted by a negro, the biggest I ever
+saw in, my life. He looked me up and down for a moment, then opening his
+ebony features in a wide smile, he said, "Great snakes! why, here's a
+sailor man for sure! Guess thet's so, ain't it, Johnny?" I said "yes"
+very curtly, for I hardly liked his patronizing air; but he snapped me
+up short with "yes, SIR, when yew speak to me, yew blank lime-juicer.
+I'se de fourf mate ob dis yar ship, en my name's Mistah Jones, 'n yew,
+jest freeze on to dat ar, ef yew want ter lib long'n die happy. See,
+sonny." I SAW, and answered promptly, "I beg your pardon, sir, I didn't
+know." "Ob cawse yew didn't know, dat's all right, little Britisher;
+naow jest skip aloft 'n loose dat fore-taupsle." "Aye, aye, sir," I
+answered cheerily, springing at once into the fore-rigging and up the
+ratlines like a monkey, but not too fast to hear him chuckle, "Dat's a
+smart kiddy, I bet." I had the big sail loose in double quick time, and
+sung out "All gone, the fore-taupsle," before any of the other sails
+were adrift. "Loose the to-gantsle and staysles" came up from below in a
+voice like thunder, and I bounded up higher to my task. On deck I could
+see a crowd at the windlass heaving up anchor. I said to myself, "They
+don't waste any time getting this packet away." Evidently they were not
+anxious to test any of the crew's swimming powers. They were wise, for
+had she remained at anchor that night I verily believe some of the poor
+wretches would have tried to escape.
+
+The anchor came aweigh, the sails were sheeted home, and I returned on
+deck to find the ship gathering way for the heads, fairly started on her
+long voyage.
+
+What a bear-garden the deck was, to be sure! The black portion of the
+crew--Portuguese natives from the Western and Canary Islands--were doing
+their work all right in a clumsy fashion; but the farmers, and bakers,
+and draymen were being driven about mercilessly amid a perfect hurricane
+of profanity and blows. And right here I must say that, accustomed as
+I had always been to bad language all my life, what I now heard was a
+revelation to me. I would not, if I could, attempt to give a sample
+of it, but it must be understood that it was incessant throughout
+the voyage. No order could be given without it, under the impression,
+apparently, that the more curses the more speed.
+
+Before nightfall we were fairly out to sea, and the ceremony of dividing
+the crew into watches was gone through. I found myself in the chief
+mate's or "port" watch (they called it "larboard," a term I had never
+heard used before, it having long been obsolete in merchant ships),
+though the huge negro fourth mate seemed none too well pleased that
+I was not under his command, his being the starboard watch under the
+second mate.
+
+As night fell, the condition of the "greenies," or non-sailor portion of
+the crew, was pitiable. Helpless from sea-sickness, not knowing where
+to go or what to do, bullied relentlessly by the ruthless petty
+officers--well, I never felt so sorry for a lot of men in my life. Glad
+enough I was to get below into the fo'lk'sle for supper, and a brief
+rest and respite from that cruelty on deck. A bit of salt junk and
+a piece of bread, i.e. biscuit, flinty as a pantile, with a pot of
+something sweetened with "longlick" (molasses), made an apology for a
+meal, and I turned in. In a very few minutes oblivion came, making me as
+happy as any man can be in this world.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II. PREPARING FOR ACTION
+
+The hideous noise always considered necessary in those ships when
+calling the watch, roused me effectively at midnight, "eight bells."
+I hurried on deck, fully aware that no leisurely ten minutes would be
+allowed here. "Lay aft the watch," saluted me as I emerged into the keen
+strong air, quickening my pace according to where the mate stood waiting
+to muster his men. As soon as he saw me, he said, "Can you steer?" in
+a mocking tone; but when I quietly answered, "Yes, sir," his look of
+astonishment was delightful to see. He choked it down, however, and
+merely telling me to take the wheel, turned forrard roaring frantically
+for his watch. I had no time to chuckle over what I knew was in store
+for him, getting those poor greenies collected from their several holes
+and corners, for on taking the wheel I found a machine under my hands
+such as I never even heard of before.
+
+The wheel was fixed upon the tiller in such a manner that the whole
+concern travelled backwards and forwards across the deck in the maddest
+kind of way. For the first quarter of an hour, in spite of the September
+chill, the sweat poured off me in streams. And the course--well, if was
+not steering, it was sculling; the old bumboat was wobbling all
+around like a drunken tailor with two left legs. I fairly shook with
+apprehension lest the mate should come and look in the compass. I had
+been accustomed to hard words if I did not steer within half a point
+each way; but here was a "gadget" that worked me to death, the result
+being a wake like a letter S. Gradually I got the hang of the thing,
+becoming easier in my mind on my own account. Even that was not an
+unmixed blessing, for I had now some leisure to listen to the goings-on
+around the deck.
+
+Such brutality I never witnessed before. On board of English ships
+(except men-of-war) there is practically no discipline, which is bad,
+but this sort of thing was maddening. I knew how desperately ill all
+those poor wretches were, how helpless and awkward they would be if
+quite hale and hearty; but there was absolutely no pity for them, the
+officers seemed to be incapable of any feelings of compassion whatever.
+My heart sank within me as I thought of what lay before me, although
+I did not fear that their treatment would also be mine, since I was
+at least able to do my duty, and willing to work hard to keep out of
+trouble. Then I began to wonder what sort of voyage I was in for, how
+long it would last, and what my earnings were likely to be, none of
+which things I had the faintest idea of.
+
+Fortunately, I was alone in the world. No one, as far as I knew, cared
+a straw what became of me; so that I was spared any worry on that head.
+And I had also a very definite and well-established trust in God, which
+I can now look back and see was as fully justified as I then believed
+it to be. So, as I could not shut my ears to the cruelties being carried
+on, nor banish thought by hard work, I looked up to the stately stars,
+thinking of things not to be talked about without being suspected of
+cant. So swiftly passed the time that when four bells struck: (two
+o'clock) I could hardly believe my ears.
+
+I was relieved by one of the Portuguese, and went forward to witness a
+curious scene. Seven stalwart men were being compelled to march up and
+down on that tumbling deck, men who had never before trodden anything
+less solid than the earth.
+
+The third mate, a waspish, spiteful little Yankee with a face like an
+angry cat, strolled about among them, a strand of rope-yarns in his
+hand, which he wielded constantly, regardless where he struck a man.
+They fell about, sometimes four or five at once, and his blows flew
+thick and fast, yet he never seemed to weary of his ill-doing. It made
+me quite sick, and I longed to be aft at the wheel again. Catching sight
+of me standing irresolute as to what I had better do, he ordered me on
+the "look-out," a tiny platform between the "knight heads," just where
+the bowsprit joins the ship. Gladly I obeyed him, and perched up there
+looking over the wide sea, the time passed quickly away until eight
+bells (four o'clock) terminated my watch. I must pass rapidly over the
+condition of things in the fo'lk'sle, where all the greenies that were
+allowed below, were groaning in misery from the stifling atmosphere
+which made their sickness so much worse, while even that dreadful
+place was preferable to what awaited them on deck. There was a
+rainbow-coloured halo round the flame of the lamp, showing how very bad
+the air was; but in spite of that I turned in and slept soundly till
+seven bells (7.20 a.m.) roused us to breakfast.
+
+American ships generally have an excellent name for the way they feed
+their crews, but the whalers are a notable exception to that good rule.
+The food was really worse than that on board any English ship I have
+ever sailed in, so scanty also in quantity that it kept all the foremast
+hands at starvation point. But grumbling was dangerous, so I gulped down
+the dirty mixture mis-named coffee, ate a few fragments of biscuit, and
+filled up (?) with a smoke, as many better men are doing this morning.
+As the bell struck I hurried on deck--not one moment too soon--for as
+I stepped out of the scuttle I saw the third mate coming forward with a
+glitter in his eye that boded no good to laggards.
+
+Before going any farther I must apologize for using so many capital I's,
+but up till the present I had been the only available white member of
+the crew forrard.
+
+The decks were scrubbed spotlessly clean, and everything was neat and
+tidy as on board a man-of-war, contrary to all usual notions of the
+condition of a whaler. The mate was in a state of high activity, so
+I soon found myself very busily engaged in getting up whale-lines,
+harpoons, and all the varied equipment for the pursuit of whales. The
+number of officers carried would have been a good crew for the ship, the
+complete afterguard comprising captain, four mates, four harpooners or
+boat-steerers, carpenter, cooper, steward and cook. All these worthies
+were on deck and working with might and main at the preparations, so
+that the incompetence of the crowd forrard was little hindrance. I was
+pounced upon by "Mistah" Jones, the fourth mate, whom I heard addressed
+familiarly as "Goliath" and "Anak" by his brother officers, and ordered
+to assist him in rigging the "crow's-nest" at the main royal-mast head.
+It was a simple affair. There were a pair of cross-trees fitted to the
+mast, upon which was secured a tiny platform about a foot wide on each
+side of the mast, while above this foothold a couple of padded hoops
+like a pair of giant spectacles were secured at a little higher than
+a man's waist. When all was fast one could creep up on the platform,
+through the hoop, and, resting his arms upon the latter, stand
+comfortably and gaze around, no matter how vigorously the old
+barky plunged and kicked beneath him. From that lofty eyrie I had
+a comprehensive view of the vessel. She was about 350 tons and full
+ship-rigged, that is to say, she carried square sails on all three
+masts. Her deck was flush fore and aft, the only obstructions being the
+brick-built "try-works" in the waist, the galley, and cabin skylight
+right aft by the taffrail. Her bulwarks were set thickly round with
+clumsy looking wooden cranes, from which depended five boats. Two more
+boats were secured bottom up upon a gallows aft, so she seemed to be
+well supplied in that direction. Mistah Jones, finding I did not presume
+upon his condescension, gradually unbent and furnished me with many
+interesting facts about the officers. Captain Slocum, he said, was "de
+debbil hisself, so jess yew keeps yer lamps trim' fer him, sonny, taint
+helthy ter rile him." The first officer, or the mate as he is always
+called PAR EXCELLENCE, was an older man than the captain, but a good
+seaman, a good whaleman, and a gentleman. Which combination I found to
+be a fact, although hard to believe possible at the time. The second
+mate was a Portuguese about forty years of age, with a face like one of
+Vandyke's cavaliers, but as I now learned, a perfect fiend when angered.
+He also was a first-class whaleman, but an indifferent seaman. The third
+mate was nothing much but bad temper--not much sailor, nor much whaler,
+generally in hot water with the skipper, who hated him because he was an
+"owner's man." "An de fourf mate," wound up the narrator, straightening
+his huge bulk, "am de bes' man in de ship, and de bigges'. Dey aint
+no whalemen in Noo Bedford caynt teach ME nuffin, en ef it comes ter
+man-handlin'; w'y I jes' pick 'em two't a time 'n crack 'em togerrer
+like so, see!" and he smote the palms of his great paws against each
+other, while I nodded complete assent.
+
+The weather being fine, with a steady N.E. wind blowing, so that the
+sails required no attention, work proceeded steadily all the morning.
+The oars were sorted, examined for flaws, and placed in the boats; the
+whale-line, manilla rope like yellow silk, 1 1/2 inch round, was brought
+on deck, stretched and coiled down with the greatest care into tubs,
+holding, some 200 fathoms, and others 100 fathoms each. New harpoons
+were fitted to poles of rough but heavy wood, without any attempt at
+neatness, but every attention to strength. The shape of these weapons
+was not, as is generally thought, that of an arrow, but rather like an
+arrow with one huge barb, the upper part of which curved out from the
+shaft. The whole of the barb turned on a stout pivot of steel, but was
+kept in line with the shaft by a tiny wooden peg which passed through
+barb and shaft, being then cut off smoothly on both sides. The point
+of the harpoon had at one side a wedge-shaped edge, ground to razor
+keenness, the other side was flat. The shaft, about thirty inches long,
+was of the best malleable iron, so soft that it would tie into a knot
+and straighten out again without fracture. Three harpoons, or "irons" as
+they were always called, were placed in each boat, fitted one above the
+other in the starboard bow, the first for use being always one unused
+before, Opposite to them in the boat were fitted three lances for the
+purpose of KILLING whales, the harpoons being only the means by which
+the boat was attached to a fish, and quite useless to inflict a fatal
+wound. These lances were slender spears of malleable iron about four
+feet long, with oval or heart-shaped points of fine steel about two
+inches broad, their edges kept keen as a surgeon's lancet. By means of
+a socket at the other end they were attached to neat handles, or
+"lance-poles," about as long again, the whole weapon being thus about
+eight feet in length, and furnished with a light line, or "lance-warp,"
+for the purpose of drawing it back again when it had been darted at a
+whale.
+
+Each boat was fitted with a centre-board, or sliding keel, which was
+drawn up, when not in use, into a case standing in the boat's middle,
+very much in the way. But the American whalemen regard these clumsy
+contrivances as indispensable, so there's an end on't. The other
+furniture of a boat comprised five oars of varying lengths from sixteen
+to nine feet, one great steering oar of nineteen feet, a mast and two
+sails of great area for so small a craft, spritsail shape; two tubs of
+whale-line containing together 1800 feet, a keg of drinking water, and
+another long narrow one with a few biscuits, a lantern, candles and
+matches therein; a bucket and "piggin" for baling, a small spade, a flag
+or "wheft," a shoulder bomb-gun and ammunition, two knives and two small
+axes. A rudder hung outside by the stern.
+
+With all this gear, although snugly stowed, a boat looked so loaded that
+I could not help wondering how six men would be able to work in her; but
+like most "deep-water" sailors, I knew very little about boating. I was
+going to learn.
+
+All this work and bustle of preparation was so rapidly carried on, and
+so interesting, that before supper-time everything was in readiness to
+commence operations, the time having gone so swiftly that I could hardly
+believe the bell when it sounded four times, six o'clock.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III. FISHING BEGINS
+
+During all the bustle of warlike preparation that had been going on,
+the greenhorns had not suffered from inattention on the part of those
+appointed to look after them. Happily for them, the wind blew steadily,
+and the weather, thanks to the balmy influence of the Gulf Stream, was
+quite mild and genial. The ship was undoubtedly lively, as all good
+sea-boats are, but her motions were by no means so detestable to a
+sea-sick man as those of a driving steamer. So, in spite of their
+treatment, perhaps because of it, some of the poor fellows were
+beginning to take hold of things "man-fashion," although of course sea
+legs they had none, their getting about being indeed a pilgrimage of
+pain. Some of them were beginning to try the dreadful "grub" (I cannot
+libel "food" by using it in such a connection), thereby showing that
+their interest in life, even such a life as was now before them, was
+returning. They had all been allotted places in the various boats,
+intermixed with the seasoned Portuguese in such a way that the officer
+and harpooner in charge would not be dependant upon them entirely in
+case of a sudden emergency. Every endeavour was undoubtedly made to
+instruct them in their duties, albeit the teachers were all too apt
+to beat their information in with anything that came to hand, and
+persuasion found no place in their methods.
+
+The reports I had always heard of the laziness prevailing on board
+whale-ships were now abundantly falsified. From dawn to dark work went
+on without cessation. Everything was rubbed and scrubbed and scoured
+until no speck or soil could be found; indeed, no gentleman's yacht or
+man-of-war is kept more spotlessly clean than was the CACHALOT.
+
+A regular and severe routine of labour was kept up; and, what was most
+galling to me, instead of a regular four hours' watch on and off, night
+and day, all hands were kept on deck the whole day long, doing quite
+unnecessary tasks, apparently with the object of preventing too much
+leisure and consequent brooding over their unhappy lot. One result of
+this continual drive and tear was that all these landsmen became rapidly
+imbued with the virtues of cleanliness, which was extended to the den in
+which we lived, or I verily believe sickness would have soon thinned us
+out.
+
+On the fourth day after leaving port we were all busy as usual except
+the four men in the "crow's-nests," when a sudden cry of "Porps! porps!"
+brought everything to a standstill. A large school of porpoises had just
+joined us, in their usual clownish fashion, rolling and tumbling around
+the bows as the old barky wallowed along, surrounded by a wide ellipse
+of snowy foam. All work was instantly suspended, and active preparations
+made for securing a few of these frolicsome fellows. A "block," or
+pulley, was hung out at the bowsprit end, a whale-line passed through
+it and "bent" (fastened) on to a harpoon. Another line with a running
+"bowline," or slip-noose, was also passed out to the bowsprit end, being
+held there by one man in readiness. Then one of the harpooners ran out
+along the backropes, which keep the jib-boom down, taking his stand
+beneath the bowsprit with the harpoon ready. Presently he raised his
+iron and followed the track of a rising porpoise with its point until
+the creature broke water. At the same instant the weapon left his grasp,
+apparently without any force behind it; but we on deck, holding the
+line, soon found that our excited hauling lifted a big vibrating body
+clean out of the smother beneath. "'Vast hauling!" shouted the mate,
+while as the porpoise hung dangling, the harpooner slipped the ready
+bowline over his body, gently closing its grip round the "small" by the
+broad tail. Then we hauled on the noose-line, slacking away the harpoon,
+and in a minute had our prize on deck. He was dragged away at once and
+the operation repeated. Again and again we hauled them in, until the
+fore part of the deck was alive with the kicking, writhing sea-pigs, at
+least twenty of them. I had seen an occasional porpoise caught at
+sea before, but never more than one at a time. Here, however, was a
+wholesale catch. At last one of the harpooned ones plunged so furiously
+while being hauled up that he literally tore himself off the iron,
+falling, streaming with blood, back into the sea.
+
+Away went all the school after him, tearing at him with their long
+well-toothed jaws, some of them leaping high in the air in their
+eagerness to get their due share of the cannibal feast. Our fishing was
+over for that time. Meanwhile one of the harpooners had brought out
+a number of knives, with which all hands were soon busy skinning the
+blubber from the bodies. Porpoises have no skin, that is hide, the
+blubber or coating of lard which encases them being covered by a black
+substance as thin as tissue paper. The porpoise hide of the boot maker
+is really leather, made from the skin of the BELUGA, or "white whale,"
+which is found only in the far north. The cover was removed from the
+"tryworks" amidships, revealing two gigantic pots set in a frame of
+brickwork side by side, capable of holding 200 gallons each. Such a
+cooking apparatus as might have graced a Brobdingnagian kitchen. Beneath
+the pots was the very simplest of furnaces, hardly as elaborate as the
+familiar copper-hole sacred to washing day. Square funnels of sheet-iron
+were loosely fitted to the flues, more as a protection against the oil
+boiling over into the fire than to carry away the smoke, of which from
+the peculiar nature of the fuel there was very little. At one side of
+the try-works was a large wooden vessel, or "hopper," to contain the raw
+blubber; at the other, a copper cistern or cooler of about 300 gallons
+capacity, into which the prepared oil was baled to cool off, preliminary
+to its being poured into the casks. Beneath the furnaces was a space as
+large as the whole area of the try-works, about a foot deep, which, when
+the fires were lighted, was filled with water to prevent the deck from
+burning.
+
+It may be imagined that the blubber from our twenty porpoises made but
+a poor show in one of the pots; nevertheless, we got a barrel of very
+excellent oil from them. The fires were fed with "scrap," or pieces
+of blubber from which the oil had been boiled, some of which had been
+reserved from the previous voyage. They burnt with a fierce and steady
+blaze, leaving but a trace of ash. I was then informed by one of the
+harpooners that no other fuel was ever used for boiling blubber at any
+time, there being always amply sufficient for the purpose.
+
+The most interesting part of the whole business, though, to us poor
+half-starved wretches, was the plentiful supply of fresh meat. Porpoise
+beef is, when decently cooked, fairly good eating to a landsman; judge,
+then, what it must have been to us. Of course the tit-bits, such as the
+liver, kidneys, brains, etc., could not possibly fall to our lot; but
+we did not complain, we were too thankful to get something eatable, and
+enough of it. Moreover, although few sailors in English ships know it,
+porpoise beef improves vastly by keeping, getting tenderer every day the
+longer it hangs, until at last it becomes as tasty a viand as one could
+wish to dine upon. It was a good job for us that this was the case,
+for while the porpoises lasted the "harness casks," or salt beef
+receptacles, were kept locked; so if any man had felt unable to eat
+porpoise--well, there was no compulsion, he could go hungry.
+
+We were now in the haunts of the Sperm Whale, or "Cachalot," a brilliant
+look-out being continually kept for any signs of their appearing. One
+officer and a foremast hand were continually on watch during the day
+in the main crow's-nest, one harpooner and a seaman in the fore one.
+A bounty of ten pounds of tobacco was offered to whoever should first
+report a whale, should it be secured, consequently there were no sleepy
+eyes up there. Of course none of those who were inexperienced stood much
+chance against the eagle-eyed Portuguese; but all tried their best,
+in the hope of perhaps winning some little favour from their hard
+taskmasters. Every evening at sunset it was "all hands shorten sail,"
+the constant drill rapidly teaching even these clumsy landsmen how to
+find their way aloft, and do something else besides hold on to anything
+like grim death when they got there.
+
+At last, one beautiful day, the boats were lowered and manned, and away
+went the greenies on their first practical lesson in the business of the
+voyage. As before noticed, there were two greenies in each boat, they
+being so arranged that whenever one of them "caught a crab," which of
+course was about every other stroke, his failure made little difference
+to the boat's progress. They learned very fast under the terrible
+imprecations and storm of blows from the iron-fisted and iron-hearted
+officers, so that before the day was out the skipper was satisfied of
+our ability to deal with a "fish" should he be lucky enough to "raise"
+one. I was, in virtue of my experience, placed at the after-oar in the
+mate's boat, where it was my duty to attend to the "main sheet" when the
+sail was set, where also I had the benefit of the lightest oar except
+the small one used by the harpooner in the bow.
+
+The very next day after our first exhaustive boat drill, a school of
+"Black Fish" was reported from aloft, with great glee the officers
+prepared for what they considered a rattling day's fun.
+
+The Black Fish (PHOCAENA SP.) is a small toothed whale, not at all
+unlike a miniature cachalot, except that its head is rounded at the
+front, while its jaw is not long and straight, but bowed. It is as
+frolicsome as the porpoise, gambolling about in schools of from twenty
+to fifty or more, as if really delighted to be alive. Its average size
+is from ten to twenty feet long, and seven or eight feet in girth,
+weight from one to three tons. Blubber about three inches thick, while
+the head is almost all oil, so that a good rich specimen will make
+between one and two barrels of oil of medium quality.
+
+The school we were now in sight of was of middling size and about
+average weight of individuals, and the officers esteemed it a fortunate
+circumstance that we should happen across them as a sort of preliminary
+to our tackling the monarchs of the deep.
+
+All the new harpoons were unshipped from the boats, and a couple of
+extra "second" irons, as those that have been used are called, were put
+into each boat for use if wanted. The sails were also left on board. We
+lowered and left the ship, pulling right towards the school, the noise
+they were making in their fun effectually preventing them from hearing
+our approach. It is etiquette to allow the mate's boat first place,
+unless his crew is so weak as to be unable to hold their own; but as the
+mate always has first pick of the men this seldom happens. So, as usual,
+we were first, and soon I heard the order given, "Stand up, Louey, and
+let 'em have it!" Sure enough, here we were right among them. Louis let
+drive, "fastening" a whopper about twenty feet long. The injured animal
+plunged madly forward, accompanied by his fellows, while Louis calmly
+bent another iron to a "short warp," or piece of whale-line, the loose
+end of which he made a bowline with around the main line which was fast
+to the "fish." Then he fastened another "fish," and the queer sight was
+seen of these two monsters each trying to flee in opposite directions,
+while the second one ranged about alarmingly as his "bridle" ran along
+the main line. Another one was secured in the same way, then the game
+was indeed great. The school had by this time taken the alarm and
+cleared out, but the other boats were all fast to fish, so that didn't
+matter. Now, at the rate our "game" were going it would evidently be
+a long while before they died, although, being so much smaller than a
+whale proper, a harpoon will often kill them at a stroke. Yet they were
+now so tangled or "snarled erp," as the mate said, that it was no easy
+matter to lance them without great danger of cutting the line. However,
+we hauled up as close to them as we dared, and the harpooner got a good
+blow in, which gave the biggest of the three "Jesse," as he said, though
+why "Jesse" was a stumper. Anyhow, it killed him promptly, while almost
+directly after another one saved further trouble by passing in his own
+checks. But he sank at the same time, drawing the first one down with
+him, so that we were in considerable danger of having to cut them adrift
+or be swamped. The "wheft" was waved thrice as an urgent signal to the
+ship to come to our assistance with all speed, but in the meantime our
+interest lay in the surviving Black Fish keeping alive. Should HE die,
+and, as was most probable, sink, we should certainly have to cut and
+lose the lot, tools included.
+
+We waited in grim silence while the ship came up, so slowly, apparently,
+that she hardly seemed to move, but really at a good pace of about four
+knots an hour, which for her was not at all bad. She got alongside of us
+at last, and we passed up the bight of our line, our fish all safe, very
+much pleased with ourselves, especially when we found that the other
+boats had only five between the three of them.
+
+The fish secured to the ship, all the boats were hoisted except one,
+which remained alongside to sling the bodies. During our absence the
+ship-keepers had been busy rigging one of the cutting falls, an immense
+fourfold tackle from the main lowermast-head, of four-inch rope through
+great double blocks, large as those used at dockyards for lifting ships'
+masts and boilers. Chain-slings were passed around the carcases, which
+gripped the animal at the "small," being prevented from slipping off by
+the broad spread of the tail. The end of the "fall," or tackle-rope,
+was then taken to the windlass, and we hove away cheerily, lifting the
+monsters right on deck. A mountainous pile they made. A short spell was
+allowed, when the whole eight were on board, for dinner; then all hands
+turned to again to "flench" the blubber, and prepare for trying-out.
+This was a heavy job, keeping all hands busy until it was quite
+dark, the latter part of the work being carried on by the light of
+a "cresset," the flames of which were fed with "scrap," which blazed
+brilliantly, throwing a big glare over all the ship. The last of the
+carcases was launched overboard by about eight o'clock that evening, but
+not before some vast junks of beef had been cut off and hung up in the
+rigging for our food supply.
+
+The try-works were started again, "trying-out" going on busily all
+night, watch and watch taking their turn at keeping the pots supplied
+with minced blubber. The work was heavy, while the energetic way in
+which it was carried on made us all glad to take what rest was allowed
+us, which was scanty enough, as usual.
+
+By nightfall the next day the ship had resumed her normal appearance,
+and we were a tun and a quarter of oil to the good. Black Fish oil is of
+medium quality, but I learned that, according to the rule of "roguery
+in all trades," it was the custom to mix quantities such as we had just
+obtained with better class whale-oil, and thus get a much higher price
+than it was really worth.
+
+Up till this time we had no sort of an idea as to where our first
+objective might be, but from scraps of conversation I had overheard
+among the harpooners, I gathered that we were making for the Cape
+Verde Islands or the Acores, in the vicinity of which a good number
+of moderate-sized sperm whales are often to be found. In fact, these
+islands have long been a nursery for whale-fishers, because the cachalot
+loves their steep-to shores, and the hardy natives, whenever and
+wherever they can muster a boat and a little gear, are always ready to
+sally forth and attack the unwary whale that ventures within their ken.
+Consequently more than half of the total crews of the American whaling
+fleet are composed of these islanders. Many of them have risen to the
+position of captain, and still more are officers and harpooners;
+but though undoubtedly brave and enterprising, they are cruel and
+treacherous, and in positions of authority over men of Teutonic or
+Anglo-Saxon origin, are apt to treat their subordinates with great
+cruelty.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV. BAD WEATHER
+
+Nautical routine in its essential details is much the same in all ships,
+whether naval, merchant, or whaling vessels. But while in the ordinary
+merchantman there are decidedly "no more cats than can catch mice,"
+hardly, indeed, sufficient for all the mousing that should be done, in
+men-of-war and whaleships the number of hands carried, being far more
+than are wanted for everyday work, must needs be kept at unnecessary
+duties in order that they may not grow lazy and discontented.
+
+For instance, in the CACHALOT we carried a crew of thirty-seven all
+told, of which twenty-four were men before the mast, or common seamen,
+our tonnage being under 400 tons. Many a splendid clipper-ship carrying
+an enormous spread of canvas on four masts, and not overloaded with 2500
+tons of cargo on board, carries twenty-eight or thirty all told, or even
+less than that. As far as we were concerned, the result of this was that
+our landsmen got so thoroughly drilled, that within a week of leaving
+port they hardly knew themselves for the clumsy clodhoppers they at
+first appeared to be.
+
+We had now been eight days out, and in our leisurely way were making
+fair progress across the Atlantic, having had nothing, so far, but
+steady breezes and fine weather. As it was late autumn the first week
+in October--I rather wondered at this, for even in my brief experience I
+had learned to dread a "fall" voyage across the "Western Ocean."
+
+Gradually the face of the sky changed, and the feel of the air, from
+balmy and genial, became raw and cheerless. The little wave tops broke
+short off and blew backwards, apparently against the wind, while the
+old vessel had an uneasy, unnatural motion, caused by a long, new swell
+rolling athwart the existing set of the sea. Then the wind became fitful
+and changeable, backing half round the compass, and veering forward
+again as much in an hour, until at last in one tremendous squall
+it settled in the N.W. for a business-like blow, Unlike the hurried
+merchantman who must needs "hang on" till the last minute, only
+shortening the sail when absolutely compelled to do so, and at the first
+sign of the gales relenting, piling it on again, we were all snug long
+before the storm burst upon us, and now rode comfortably under the
+tiniest of storm staysails.
+
+We were evidently in for a fair specimen of Western Ocean weather, but
+the clumsy-looking, old-fashioned CACHALOT made no more fuss over it
+than one of the long-winged sea-birds that floated around, intent only
+upon snapping up any stray scraps that might escape from us. Higher rose
+the wind, heavier rolled the sea, yet never a drop of water did we ship,
+nor did anything about the deck betoken what a heavy gale was blowing.
+During the worst of the weather, and just after the wind had shifted
+back into the N.E., making an uglier cross sea than ever get up,
+along comes an immense four-masted iron ship homeward bound. She was
+staggering under a veritable mountain of canvas, fairly burying her bows
+in the foam at every forward drive, and actually wetting the clews of
+the upper topsails in the smothering masses of spray, that every few
+minutes almost hid her hull from sight.
+
+It was a splendid picture; but--for the time--I felt glad I was not on
+board of her. In a very few minutes she was out of our ken, followed
+by the admiration of all. Then came, from the other direction, a huge
+steamship, taking no more notice of the gale than as if it were calm.
+Straight through the sea she rushed, dividing the mighty rollers to the
+heart, and often bestriding three seas at once, the centre one spreading
+its many tons of foaming water fore and aft, so that from every orifice
+spouted the seething brine. Compared with these greyhounds of the wave,
+we resembled nothing so much as some old lightship bobbing serenely
+around, as if part and parcel of the mid-Atlantic.
+
+Our greenies were getting so well seasoned by this time that even this
+rough weather did not knock any of them over, and from that time forward
+they had no more trouble from sea-sickness.
+
+The gale gradually blew itself out, leaving behind only a long and very
+heavy swell to denote the deep-reaching disturbance that the ocean had
+endured. And now we were within the range of the Sargasso Weed, that
+mysterious FUCUS that makes the ocean look. like some vast hayfield, and
+keeps the sea from rising, no matter how high the wind. It fell a dead
+calm, and the harpooners amused themselves by dredging up great masses
+of the weed, and turning out the many strange creatures abiding therein.
+What a world of wonderful life the weed is, to be sure! In it the
+flying fish spawn and the tiny cuttle-fish breed, both of them preparing
+bounteous provision for the larger denizens of the deep that have
+no other food. Myriads of tiny crabs and innumerable specimens of
+less-known shell-fish, small fish of species as yet unclassified in
+any work on natural history, with jelly-fish of every conceivable and
+inconceivable shape, form part of this great and populous country in the
+sea. At one haul there was brought on board a mass of flying-fish spawn,
+about ten pounds in weight, looking like nothing so much as a pile of
+ripe white currants, and clinging together in a very similar manner.
+
+Such masses of ova I had often seen cast up among the outlying rocks on
+the shores of the Caribbean Sea, when as a shipwrecked lad I wandered
+idly about unburying turtle eggs from their snug beds in the warm sand,
+and chasing the many-hued coral fish from one hiding-place to another.
+
+While loitering in these smooth waters, waiting for the laggard wind, up
+came a shoal of dolphin, ready as at all times to attach themselves for
+awhile to the ship. Nothing is more singular than the manner in
+which deep-sea fish will accompany a vessel that is not going too
+fast--sometimes for days at a time. Most convenient too, and providing
+hungry Jack with many a fresh mess he would otherwise have missed. Of
+all these friendly fish, none is better known than the "dolphin," as
+from long usage sailors persist in calling them, and will doubtless do
+so until the end of the chapter. For the true dolphin (DELPHINIDAE) is
+not a fish at all, but a mammal a warm-blooded creature that suckles
+its young, and in its most familiar form is known to most people as
+the porpoise. The sailor's "dolphin," on the other hand, is a veritable
+fish, with vertical tail fin instead of the horizontal one which
+distinguishes all the whale family, scales and gills.
+
+It is well known to literature, under its sea-name, for its marvellous
+brilliancy of colour, and there are few objects more dazzling than a
+dolphin leaping out of a calm sea into the sunshine. The beauty of
+a dying dolphin, however, though sanctioned by many generations of
+writers, is a delusion, all the glory of the fish departing as soon as
+he is withdrawn from his native element.
+
+But this habit of digression grows upon one, and I must do my best to
+check it, or I shall never get through my task.
+
+To resume then: when this school of dolphin (I can't for the life of me
+call them CORIPHAENA HIPPURIS) came alongside, a rush was made for the
+"granes"--a sort of five-pronged trident, if I may be allowed a baby
+bull. It was universally agreed among the fishermen that trying a hook
+and line was only waste of time and provocative of profanity! since
+every sailor knows that all the deep-water big fish require a living or
+apparently living bait. The fish, however, sheered off, and would not be
+tempted within reach of that deadly fork by any lure. Then did I cover
+myself with glory. For he who can fish cleverly and luckily may be sure
+of fairly good times in a whaler, although he may be no great things
+at any other work. I had a line of my own, and begging one of the small
+fish that had been hauled up in the Gulf weed, I got permission to go
+aft and fish over the taffrail. The little fish was carefully secured
+on the hook, the point of which just protruded near his tail. Then I
+lowered him into the calm blue waters beneath, and paid out line very
+gently, until my bait was a silvery spot about a hundred feet astern.
+Only a very short time, and my hopes rose as I saw one bright gleam
+after another glide past the keel, heading aft. Then came a gentle
+drawing at the line, which I suffered to slip slowly through my fingers
+until I judged it time to try whether I was right or wrong, A long hard
+pull, and my heart beat fast as I felt the thrill along the line that
+fishermen love. None of your high art here, but haul in hand over hand,
+the line being strong enough to land a 250 pound fish. Up he came, the
+beauty, all silver and scarlet and blue, five feet long if an inch, and
+weighing 35 pounds. Well, such a lot of astonished men I never saw. They
+could hardly believe their eyes. That such a daring innovation should
+be successful was hardly to be believed, even with the vigorous evidence
+before them. Even grim Captain Slocum came to look and turned upon me
+as I thought a less lowering brow than usual, while Mr. Count, the mate,
+fairly chuckled again at the thought of how the little Britisher had
+wiped the eyes of these veteran fishermen. The captive was cut open,
+and two recent flying-fish found in his maw, which were utilized for
+new bait, with the result that there was a cheerful noise of hissing and
+spluttering in the galley soon after, and a mess of fish for all hands.
+
+Shortly afterwards a fresh breeze sprang up, which proved to be the
+beginning of the N.E. trades, and fairly guaranteed us against any very
+bad weather for some time to come.
+
+Somehow or other it had leaked out that we were to cruise the Cape Verd
+Islands for a spell before working south, and the knowledge seemed to
+have quite an enlivening effect upon our Portuguese shipmates.
+
+Most of them belonged there, and although there was but the faintest
+prospect of their getting ashore upon any pretext whatever, the
+possibility of seeing their island homes again seemed to quite transform
+them. Hitherto they had been very moody and exclusive, never associating
+with us on the white side, or attempting to be at all familiar. A mutual
+atmosphere of suspicion, in fact, seemed to pervade our quarters, making
+things already uncomfortable enough, still more so. Now, however, they
+fraternized with us, and in a variety of uncouth ways made havoc of the
+English tongue, as they tried to impress us with the beauty, fertility
+and general incomparability of their beloved Cape Verds. Of the eleven
+white men besides myself in the forecastle, there were a middle-aged
+German baker, who had bolted from Buffalo; two Hungarians, who looked
+like noblemen disguised--in dirt; two slab-sided Yankees of about 22
+from farms in Vermont; a drayman from New York; a French Canadian
+from the neighbourhood of Quebec; two Italians from Genoa; and two
+nondescripts that I never found out the origin of. Imagine, then, the
+babel of sound, and think--but no, it is impossible to think, what sort
+of a jargon was compounded of all these varying elements of language.
+
+One fortunate thing, there was peace below. Indeed, the spirit seemed
+completely taken out of all of them, and by some devilish ingenuity
+the afterguard had been able to sow distrust between them all, while
+treating them like dogs, so that the miseries of their life were
+never openly discussed. My position among them gave me at times some
+uneasiness. Though I tried to be helpful to all, and was full of
+sympathy for their undeserved sufferings, I could not but feel that they
+would have been more than human had they not envied me my immunity from
+the kicks and blows they all shared so impartially. However, there was
+no help for it, so I went on as cheerily as I could.
+
+A peculiarity of all these vessels, as I afterwards learned, was that no
+stated allowance of anything was made. Even the water was not served out
+to us, but was kept in a great scuttle-butt by the cabin door, to which
+every one who needed a drink had to go, and from which none might be
+carried away. No water was allowed for washing except from the sea; and
+every one knows, or should know, that neither flesh nor clothes can be
+cleansed with that. But a cask with a perforated top was lashed by the
+bowsprit and kept filled with urine, which I was solemnly assured by
+Goliath was the finest dirt-extractor in the world for clothes. The
+officers did not avail themselves of its virtues though, but were
+content with lye, which was furnished in plenty by the ashes from the
+galley fire, where nothing but wood was used as fuel. Of course when
+rain fell we might have a good wash, if it was night and no other work
+was toward; but we were not allowed to store any for washing purposes.
+Another curious but absolutely necessary custom prevailed in consequence
+of the short commons under which we lived. When the portion of meat
+was brought down in its wooden kid, or tub, at dinner-time, it was duly
+divided as fairly as possible into as many parts as there were mouths.
+Then one man turned his back on the carver, who holding up each portion,
+called out, "Who's this for?" Whatever name was mentioned by the
+arbitrator, that man owning it received the piece, and had perforce to
+be satisfied therewith. Thus justice was done to all in the only way
+possible, and without any friction whatever.
+
+As some of us were without clothes except what we stood upright in, when
+we joined, the "slop chest" was opened, and every applicant received
+from the steward what Captain Slocum thought fit to let him have, being
+debited with the cost against such wages as he might afterwards earn.
+The clothes were certainly of fairly good quality, if the price was
+high, and exactly suited to our requirements. Soap, matches, and tobacco
+were likewise supplied on the same terms, but at higher prices than
+I had ever heard of before for these necessaries. After much careful
+inquiry I ascertained what, in the event of a successful voyage, we were
+likely to earn. Each of us were on the two hundredth "lay" or share
+at $200 per tun, which meant that for every two hundred barrels of oil
+taken on board, we were entitled to one, which we must sell to the ship
+at the rate of L40 per tun or L4 per barrel. Truly a magnificent outlook
+for young men bound to such a business for three or four years.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V. ACTUAL WARFARE. OUR FIRST WHALE
+
+Simultaneous ideas occurring to several people, or thought transference,
+whatever one likes to call the phenomenon is too frequent an occurrence
+in most of our experience to occasion much surprise. Yet on the occasion
+to which I am about to refer, the matter was so very marked that few of
+us who took part in the day's proceedings are ever likely to forget it.
+
+We were all gathered about the fo'lk'sle scuttle one evening, a few days
+after the gale referred to in the previous chapter, and the question of
+whale-fishing came up for discussion. Until that time, strange as it
+may seem, no word of this, the central idea of all our minds, had been
+mooted. Every man seemed to shun the subject, although we were in
+daily expectation of being called upon to take an active part in
+whale-fighting. Once the ice was broken, nearly all had something to say
+about it, and very nearly as many addle-headed opinions were ventilated
+as at a Colney Hatch debating society. For we none of us KNEW anything
+about it. I was appealed to continually to support this or that theory,
+but as far as whaling went I could only, like the rest of them, draw
+upon my imagination for details. How did a whale act, what were the
+first steps taken, what chance was there of being saved if your boat got
+smashed, and so on unto infinity. At last, getting very tired of this
+"Portugee Parliament" of all talkers and no listeners, I went aft to
+get a drink of water before turning in. The harpooners and other petty
+officers were grouped in the waist, earnestly discussing the pros and
+cons of attack upon whales. As I passed I heard the mate's harpooner
+say, "Feels like whale about. I bet a plug (of tobacco) we raise sperm
+whale to-morrow." Nobody took his bet, for it appeared that they were
+mostly of the same mind, and while I was drinking I heard the officers
+in dignified conclave talking over the same thing. It was Saturday
+evening, and while at home people were looking forward to a day's
+respite from work and care, I felt that the coming day, though never
+taken much notice of on board, was big with the probabilities of strife
+such as I at least had at present no idea of. So firmly was I possessed
+by the prevailing feeling.
+
+The night was very quiet. A gentle breeze was blowing, and the sky was
+of the usual "Trade" character, that is, a dome of dark blue fringed at
+the horizon with peaceful cumulus clouds, almost motionless. I turned
+in at four a.m. from the middle watch and, as usual, slept like a babe.
+Suddenly I started wide awake, a long mournful sound sending a thrill
+to my very heart. As I listened breathlessly other sounds of the same
+character but in different tones joined in, human voices monotonously
+intoning in long drawn-out expirations the single word "bl-o-o-o-o-w."
+Then came a hurricane of noise overhead, and adjurations in no gentle
+language to the sleepers to "tumble up lively there, no skulking, sperm
+whales." At last, then, fulfilling all the presentiments of yesterday,
+the long dreaded moment had arrived. Happily there was no time for
+hesitation, in less than two minutes we were all on deck, and hurrying
+to our respective boats. There was no flurry or confusion, and except
+that orders were given more quietly than usual, with a manifest air of
+suppressed excitement, there was nothing to show that we were not
+going for an ordinary course of boat drill. The skipper was in the main
+crow's-nest with his binoculars presently he shouted, "Naow then, Mr.
+Count, lower away soon's y'like. Small pod o'cows, an' one'r two bulls
+layin' off to west'ard of 'em." Down went the boats into the water
+quietly enough, we all scrambled in and shoved off. A stroke or two of
+the oars were given to get clear of the ship, and one another, then oars
+were shipped and up went the sails. As I took my allotted place at the
+main-sheet, and the beautiful craft started off like some big bird, Mr.
+Count leant forward, saying impressively to me, "Y'r a smart youngster,
+an' I've kinder took t'yer; but don't ye look ahead an' get gallied, 'r
+I'll knock ye stiff wi' th' tiller; y'hear me? N' don't ye dare to make
+thet sheet fast, 'r ye'll die so sudden y' won't know whar y'r hurted."
+I said as cheerfully as I could, "All right, sir," trying to look
+unconcerned, telling myself not to be a coward, and all sorts of things;
+but the cold truth is that I was scared almost to death because I
+didn't know what was coming. However, I did the best thing under the
+circumstances, obeyed orders and looked steadily astern, or up into the
+bronzed impassive face of my chief, who towered above me, scanning
+with eagle eyes the sea ahead. The other boats were coming flying along
+behind us, spreading wider apart as they came, while in the bows of each
+stood the harpooner with his right hand on his first iron, which
+lay ready, pointing over the bow in a raised fork of wood called the
+"crutch."
+
+All of a sudden, at a motion of the chief's hand, the peak of our
+mainsail was dropped, and the boat swung up into the wind, laying
+"hove to," almost stationary. The centre-board was lowered to stop her
+drifting to leeward, although I cannot say it made much difference that
+ever I saw. NOW what's the matter, I thought, when to my amazement the
+chief addressing me said, "Wonder why we've hauled up, don't ye?" "Yes,
+sir, I do," said I. "Wall," said he, "the fish hev sounded, an' 'ef we
+run over 'em, we've seen the last ov'em. So we wait awhile till they
+rise agin, 'n then we'll prob'ly git thar' 'r thareabonts before they
+sound agin." With this explanation I had to be content, although if
+it be no clearer to my readers than it then was to me, I shall have to
+explain myself more fully later on. Silently we lay, rocking lazily upon
+the gentle swell, no other word being spoken by any one. At last Louis,
+the harpooner, gently breathed "blo-o-o-w;" and there, sure enough,
+not half a mile away on the lee beam, was a little bushy cloud of steam
+apparently rising from the sea. At almost the same time as we kept away
+all the other boats did likewise, and just then, catching sight of the
+ship, the reason for this apparently concerted action was explained. At
+the main-mast head of the ship was a square blue flag, and the ensign
+at the peak was being dipped. These were signals well understood and
+promptly acted upon by those in charge of the boats, who were thus
+guided from a point of view at least one hundred feet above the sea.
+
+"Stand up, Louey," the mate murmured softly. I only just stopped myself
+in time from turning my head to see why the order was given. Suddenly
+there was a bump, at the same moment the mate yelled, "Give't to him,
+Louey, give't to him!" and to me, "Haul that main sheet, naow haul, why
+don't ye?" I hauled it flat aft, and the boat shot up into the wind,
+rubbing sides as she did so with what to my troubled sight seemed an
+enormous mass of black india-rubber floating. As we CRAWLED up into the
+wind, the whale went into convulsions befitting his size and energy.
+He raised a gigantic tail on high, threshing the water with deafening
+blows, rolling at the same time from side to side until the surrounding
+sea was white with froth. I felt in an agony lest we should be crushed
+under one of those fearful strokes, for Mr. Count appeared to be
+oblivious of possible danger, although we seemed to be now drifting back
+on to the writhing leviathan. In the agitated condition of the sea, it
+was a task of no ordinary difficulty to unship the tall mast, which was
+of course the first thing to be done. After a desperate struggle, and a
+narrow escape from falling overboard of one of the men, we got the lone
+"stick," with the sail bundled around it, down and "fleeted" aft, where
+it was secured by the simple means of sticking the "heel" under the
+after thwart, two-thirds of the mast extending out over the stern.
+Meanwhile, we had certainly been in a position of the greatest danger,
+our immunity from damage being unquestionably due to anything but
+precaution taken to avoid it.
+
+By the time the oars were handled, and the mate had exchanged places
+with the harpooner, our friend the enemy had "sounded," that is, he had
+gone below for a change of scene, marvelling no doubt what strange thing
+had befallen him. Agreeably to the accounts which I, like most boys, had
+read of the whale fishery, I looked for the rushing of the line round
+the logger-head (a stout wooden post built into the boat aft), to raise
+a cloud of smoke with occasional bursts of flame; so as it began to
+slowly surge round the post, I timidly asked the harpooner whether I
+should throw any water on it. "Wot for?" growled he, as he took a couple
+more turns with it. Not knowing "what for," and hardly liking to quote
+my authorities here, I said no more, but waited events. "Hold him up,
+Louey, bold him up, cain't ye?" shouted the mate, and to my horror, down
+went the nose of the boat almost under water, while at the mate's order
+everybody scrambled aft into the elevated stern sheets.
+
+The line sang quite a tune as it was grudgingly allowed to surge round
+the loggerhead, filling one with admiration at the strength shown by
+such a small rope. This sort of thing went on for about twenty minutes,
+in which time we quite emptied the large tub and began on the small one.
+As there was nothing whatever for us to do while this was going on, I
+had ample leisure for observing the little game that was being played
+about a quarter of a mile away. Mr. Cruce, the second mate, had got a
+whale and was doing his best to kill it; but he was severely handicapped
+by his crew, or rather had been, for two of them were now temporarily
+incapable of either good or harm. They had gone quite "batchy" with
+fright, requiring a not too gentle application of the tiller to their
+heads in order to keep them quiet. The remedy, if rough, was effectual,
+for "the subsequent proceedings interested them no more." Consequently
+his manoeuvres were not so well or rapidly executed as he, doubtless,
+could have wished, although his energy in lancing that whale was
+something to admire and remember. Hatless, his shirt tail out of the
+waist of his trousers streaming behind him like a banner, he lunged and
+thrust at the whale alongside of him, as if possessed of a destroying
+devil, while his half articulate yells of rage and blasphemy were
+audible even to us.
+
+Suddenly our boat fell backward from her "slantindicular" position
+with a jerk, and the mate immediately shouted, "Haul line, there! look
+lively, now, you--so on, etcetera, etcetera" (he seemed to invent new
+epithets on every occasion). The line came in hand over hand, and was
+coiled in a wide heap in the stern sheets, for silky as it was, it could
+not be expected in its wet state to lie very close. As it came flying
+in the mate kept a close gaze upon the water immediately beneath us,
+apparently for the first glimpse of our antagonist. When the whale broke
+water, however, he was some distance off, and apparently as quiet as a
+lamb. Now, had Mr. Count been a prudent or less ambitious man, our task
+would doubtless have been an easy one, or comparatively so; but, being
+a little over-grasping, he got us all into serious trouble. We were
+hauling up to our whale in order to lance it, and the mate was standing,
+lance in hand, only waiting to get near enough, when up comes a large
+whale right alongside of our boat, so close, indeed, that I might have
+poked my finger in his little eye, if I had chosen. The sight of that
+whale at liberty, and calmly taking stock of us like that, was too much
+for the mate. He lifted his lance and hurled it at the visitor, in
+whose broad flank it sank, like a knife into butter, right up to the
+pole-hitches. The recipient disappeared like a flash, but before one had
+time to think, there was an awful crash beneath us, and the mate shot
+up into the air like a bomb from a mortar. He came down in a sitting
+posture on the mast-thwart; but as he fell, the whole framework of the
+boat collapsed like a derelict umbrella. Louis quietly chopped the line
+and severed our connection with the other whale, while in accordance
+with our instructions we drew each man his oar across the boat and
+lashed it firmly down with a piece of line spliced to each thwart for
+the purpose. This simple operation took but a minute, but before it was
+completed we were all up to our necks in the sea. Still in the boat,
+it is true, and therefore not in such danger of drowning as if we were
+quite adrift; but, considering that the boat was reduced to a mere
+bundle of loose planks, I, at any rate, was none too comfortable.
+Now, had he known it, was the whale's golden opportunity; but he, poor
+wretch, had had quite enough of our company, and cleared off without any
+delay, wondering, no doubt, what fortunate accident had rid him of our
+very unpleasant attentions.
+
+I was assured that we were all as safe as if we were on board the
+ship, to which I answered nothing; but, like Jack's parrot, I did some
+powerful thinking. Every little wave that came along swept clean over
+our heads, sometimes coming so suddenly as to cut a breath in half. If
+the wind should increase--but no--I wouldn't face the possibility of
+such a disagreeable thing. I was cool enough now in a double sense, for
+although we were in the tropics, we soon got thoroughly chilled.
+
+By the position of the sun it must have been between ten a.m. and noon,
+and we, of the crew, had eaten nothing since the previous day at supper,
+when, as usual, the meal was very light. Therefore, I suppose we felt
+the chill sooner than the better-nourished mate and harpooner, who
+looked rather scornfully at our blue faces and chattering teeth.
+
+In spite of all assurances to the contrary, I have not the least doubt
+in my own mind that a very little longer would have relieved us of ALL
+our burdens finally. Because the heave of the sea had so loosened the
+shattered planks upon which we stood that they were on the verge of
+falling all asunder. Had they done so we must have drowned, for we
+were cramped and stiff with cold and our constrained position. However,
+unknown to us, a bright look-out upon our movements had been kept
+from the crow's-nest the whole time. We should have been relieved long
+before, but that the whale killed by the second mate was being secured,
+and another boat, the fourth mate's, being picked up, having a hole in
+her bilge you could put you head through. With all these hindrances,
+especially securing the whale, we were fortunate to be rescued as
+soon as we were, since it is well known that whales are of much higher
+commercial value than men.
+
+However, help came at last, and we were hauled alongside. Long exposure
+had weakened us to such an extent that it was necessary to hoist us on
+board, especially the mate, whose "sudden stop," when he returned to
+us after his little aerial excursion, had shaken his sturdy frame
+considerably, a state of body which the subsequent soaking had by
+no means improved. In my innocence I imagined that we should be
+commiserated for our misfortunes by Captain Slocum, and certainly be
+relieved from further duties until we were a little recovered from
+the rough treatment we had just undergone. But I never made a greater
+mistake. The skipper cursed us all (except the mate, whose sole fault
+the accident undoubtedly was) with a fluency and vigour that was, to put
+it mildly, discouraging. Moreover, we were informed that he "wouldn't
+have no adjective skulking;" we must "turn to" and do something after
+wasting the ship's time and property in such a blanked manner. There was
+a limit, however, to our obedience, so although we could not move at all
+for awhile, his threats were not proceeded with farther than theory.
+
+A couple of slings were passed around the boat, by means of which she
+was carefully hoisted on board, a mere dilapidated bundle of sticks and
+raffle of gear. She was at once removed aft out of the way, the business
+of cutting in the whale claiming precedence over everything else just
+then. The preliminary proceedings consisted of rigging the "cutting
+stage." This was composed of two stout planks a foot wide and ten feet
+long, the inner ends of which were suspended by strong ropes over the
+ship's side about four feet from the water, while the outer extremities
+were upheld by tackles from the main rigging, and a small crane abreast
+the try-works.
+
+These planks were about thirty feet apart, their two outer ends being
+connected by a massive plank which was securely bolted to them. A
+handrail about as high as a man's waist, supported by light iron
+stanchions, ran the full length of this plank on the side nearest the
+ship, the whole fabric forming an admirable standing-place from whence
+the officers might, standing in comparative comfort, cut and carve at
+the great mass below to their hearts' content.
+
+So far the prize had been simply held alongside by the whale-line, which
+at death had been "rove" through a hole cut in the solid gristle of the
+tail; but now it became necessary to secure the carcase to the ship in
+some more permanent fashion. Therefore, a massive chain like a small
+ship's cable was brought forward, and in a very ingenious way, by means
+of a tiny buoy and a hand-lead, passed round the body, one end brought
+through a ring in the other, and hauled upon until it fitted tight round
+the "small" or part of the whale next the broad spread of the tail. The
+free end of the fluke-chain was then passed in through a mooring-pipe
+forward, firmly secured to a massive bitt at the heel of the bowsprit
+(the fluke-chain-bitt), and all was ready.
+
+But the subsequent proceedings were sufficiently complicated to demand a
+fresh chapter.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI. "DIRTY WORK FOR CLEAN MONEY"
+
+If in the preceding chapter too much stress has been laid upon the
+smashing of our own boat and consequent sufferings, while little or no
+notice was taken of the kindred disaster to Mistah Jones' vessel, my
+excuse must be that the experience "filled me right up to the chin," as
+the mate concisely, if inelegantly, put it. Poor Goliath was indeed to
+be pitied, for his well-known luck and capacity as a whaleman seemed
+on this occasion to have quite deserted him. Not only had his boat been
+stove upon first getting on to the whale, but he hadn't even had a run
+for his money. It appeared that upon striking his whale, a small, lively
+cow, she had at once "settled," allowing the boat to run over her; but
+just as they were passing, she rose, gently enough, her pointed hump
+piercing the thin skin of half-inch cedar as if it had been cardboard.
+She settled again immediately, leaving a hole behind her a foot long
+by six inches wide, which effectually put a stop to all further fishing
+operations on the part of Goliath and his merry men for that day, at any
+rate. It was all so quiet, and so tame and so stupid, no wonder Mistah
+Jones felt savage. When Captain Slocum's fluent profanity flickered
+around him, including vehemently all he might be supposed to have any
+respect for, he did not even LOOK as if he would like to talk back; he
+only looked sick and tired of being himself.
+
+The third mate, again, was of a different category altogether. He had
+distinguished himself by missing every opportunity of getting near a
+whale while there was a "loose" one about, and then "saving" the crew of
+Goliath's boat, who were really in no danger whatever. His iniquity was
+too great to be dealt with by mere bad language. He crept about like a
+homeless dog--much, I am afraid, to my secret glee, for I couldn't help
+remembering his untiring cruelty to the green hands on first leaving
+port.
+
+In consequence of these little drawbacks we were not a very jovial crowd
+forrard or aft. Not that hilarity was ever particularly noticeable among
+us, but just now there was a very decided sense of wrong-doing over us
+all, and a general fear that each of us was about to pay the penalty due
+to some other delinquent. But fortunately there was work to be done.
+Oh, blessed work! how many awkward situations you have extricated people
+from! How many distracted brains have you soothed and restored, by
+your steady irresistible pressure of duty to be done and brooking of no
+delay!
+
+The first thing to be done was to cut the whale's head off. This
+operation, involving the greatest amount of labour in the whole of the
+cutting in, was taken in hand by the first and second mates, who, armed
+with twelve-feet spades, took their station upon the stage, leaned over
+the handrail to steady themselves, and plunged their weapons vigorously
+down through the massive neck of the animal--if neck it could be said to
+have--following a well-defined crease in the blubber. At the same time
+the other officers passed a heavy chain sling around the long, narrow
+lower jaw, hooking one of the big cutting tackles into it, the "fall" of
+which was then taken to the windlass and hove tight, turning the whale
+on her back. A deep cut was then made on both sides of the rising jaw,
+the windlass was kept going, and gradually the whole of the throat was
+raised high enough for a hole to be cut through its mass, into which the
+strap of the second cutting tackle was inserted and secured by passing
+a huge toggle of oak through its eye. The second tackle was then hove
+taut, and the jaw, with a large piece of blubber attached, was cut off
+from the body with a boarding-knife, a tool not unlike a cutlass blade
+set into a three-foot-long wooden handle.
+
+Upon being severed the whole piece swung easily inboard and was lowered
+on deck. The fast tackle was now hove upon while the third mate on
+the stage cut down diagonally into the blubber on the body, which the
+purchase ripped off in a broad strip or "blanket" about five feet
+wide and a foot thick. Meanwhile the other two officers carved away
+vigorously at the head, varying their labours by cutting a hole right
+through the snout. This when completed received a heavy chain for the
+purpose of securing the head. When the blubber had been about half
+stripped off the body, a halt was called in order that the work of
+cutting off the head might be finished, for it was a task of incredible
+difficulty. It was accomplished at last, and the mass floated astern
+by a stout rope, after which the windlass pawls clattered merrily, the
+"blankets" rose in quick succession, and were cut off and lowered into
+the square of the main batch or "blubber-room." A short time sufficed to
+strip off the whole of the body-blubber, and when at last the tail was
+reached, the backbone was cut through, the huge mass of flesh floating
+away to feed the innumerable scavengers of the sea. No sooner was the
+last of the blubber lowered into the hold than the hatches were put on
+and the head hauled up alongside. Both tackles were secured to it and
+all hands took to the windlass levers. This was a small cow whale of
+about thirty barrels, that is, yielding that amount of oil, so it was
+just possible to lift the entire head on board; but as it weighed as
+much as three full-grown elephants, it was indeed a heavy lift for even
+our united forces, trying our tackle to the utmost. The weather was very
+fine, and the ship rolled but little; even then, the strain upon the
+mast was terrific, and right glad was I when at last the immense cube of
+fat, flesh, and bone was eased inboard and gently lowered on deck.
+
+As soon as it was secured the work of dividing it began. From the snout
+a triangular mass was cut, which was more than half pure spermaceti.
+This substance was contained in spongy cells held together by layers
+of dense white fibre, exceedingly tough and elastic, and called by the
+whalers "white-horse." The whole mass, or "junk" as it is called, was
+hauled away to the ship's side and firmly lashed to the bulwarks for the
+time being, so that it might not "take charge" of the deck during the
+rest of the operations.
+
+The upper part of the head was now slit open lengthwise, disclosing an
+oblong cistern or "case" full of liquid spermaceti, clear as water. This
+was baled out with buckets into a tank, concreting as it cooled into a
+wax-like substance, bland and tasteless. There being now nothing more
+remaining about the skull of any value, the lashings were loosed, and
+the first leeward roll sent the great mass plunging overboard with a
+mighty splash. It sank like a stone, eagerly followed by a few small
+sharks that were hovering near.
+
+As may be imagined, much oil was running about the deck, for so
+saturated was every part of the creature with it that it really gushed
+like water during the cutting-up process. None of it was allowed to run
+to waste, though, for the scupper-holes which drain the deck were all
+carefully plugged, and as soon as the "junk" had been dissected all the
+oil was carefully "squeegeed" up and poured into the try-pots.
+
+Two men were now told off as "blubber-room men," whose duty it became
+to go below, and squeezing themselves in as best they could between
+the greasy masses of fat, cut it up into "horse-pieces" about eighteen
+inches long and six inches square. Doing this they became perfectly
+saturated with oil, as if they had taken a bath in a tank of it; for
+as the vessel rolled it was impossible to maintain a footing, and
+every fall was upon blubber running with oil. A machine of wonderful
+construction had been erected on deck in a kind of shallow trough about
+six feet long by four feet wide and a foot deep. At some remote period
+of time it had no doubt been looked upon as a triumph of ingenuity,
+a patent mincing machine. Its action was somewhat like that of a
+chaff-cutter, except that the knife was not attached to the wheel, and
+only rose and fell, since it was not required to cut right through the
+"horse-pieces" with which it was fed. It will be readily understood
+that in order to get the oil quickly out of the blubber, it needs to be
+sliced as thin as possible, but for convenience in handling the refuse
+(which is the only fuel used) it is not chopped up in small pieces, but
+every "horse-piece" is very deeply scored as it were, leaving a thin
+strip to hold the slices together. This then was the order of work. Two
+harpooners attended the try-pots, replenishing them with minced blubber
+from the hopper at the port side, and baling out the sufficiently
+boiled oil into the great cooling tank on the starboard. One officer
+superintended the mincing, another exercised a general supervision over
+all. There was no man at the wheel and no look-out, for the vessel was
+"hove-to" under two close-reefed topsails and fore-topmast-staysail,
+with the wheel lashed hard down. A look-out man was unnecessary, since
+we could not run anybody down, and if anybody ran us down, it would only
+be because all hands were asleep, for the glare of our try-works fire,
+to say nothing of the blazing cresset before mentioned, could have been
+seen for many miles. So we toiled watch and watch, six hours on and six
+off, the work never ceasing for an instant night or day. Though the
+work was hard and dirty, and the discomfort of being so continually wet
+through with oil great, there was only one thing dangerous about the
+whole business. That was the job of filling and shifting the huge casks
+of oil. Some of these were of enormous size, containing 350 gallons when
+full, and the work of moving them about the greasy deck of a rolling
+ship was attended with a terrible amount of risk. For only four men at
+most could get fair hold of a cask, and when she took it into her silly
+old hull to start rolling, just as we had got one half-way across
+the deck, with nothing to grip your feet, and the knowledge that one
+stumbling man would mean a sudden slide of the ton and a half weight,
+and a little heap of mangled corpses somewhere in the lee scuppers--well
+one always wanted to be very thankful when the lashings were safely
+passed.
+
+The whale being a small one, as before noted, the whole business was
+over within three days, and the decks scrubbed and re-scrubbed until
+they had quite regained their normal whiteness. The oil was poured by
+means of a funnel and long canvas hose into the casks stowed in the
+ground tier at the bottom of the ship, and the gear, all carefully
+cleaned and neatly "stopped up," stowed snugly away below again.
+
+This long and elaborate process is quite different from that followed
+on board the Arctic whaleships, whose voyages are of short duration,
+and who content themselves with merely cutting the blubber up small and
+bringing it home to have the oil expressed. But the awful putrid mass
+discharged from a Greenlander's hold is of very different quality and
+value, apart from the nature of the substance, to the clear and sweet
+oil, which after three years in cask is landed from a south-seaman as
+inoffensive in smell and flavour as the day it was shipped. No attempt
+is made to separate the oil and spermaceti beyond boiling the "head
+matter," as it is called, by itself first, and putting it into casks
+which are not filled up with the body oil. Spermaceti exists in all
+the oil, especially that from the dorsal hump; but it is left for
+the refiners ashore to extract and leave the oil quite free from any
+admixture of the wax-like substance, which causes it to become solid at
+temperatures considerably above the freezing-point.
+
+Uninteresting as the preceding description may be, it is impossible to
+understand anything of the economy of a south-sea whaler without giving
+it, and I have felt it the more necessary because of the scanty notice
+given to it in the only two works published on the subject, both of them
+highly technical, and written for scientific purposes by medical men.
+Therefore I hope to be forgiven if I have tried the patience of my
+readers by any prolixity.
+
+It will not, of course, have escaped the reader's notice that I have not
+hitherto attempted to give any details concerning the structure of the
+whale just dealt with. The omission is intentional. During this, our
+first attempt at real whaling, my mind was far too disturbed by the
+novelty and danger of the position in which I found myself for the first
+time, for me to pay any intelligent attention to the party of the second
+part.
+
+But I may safely promise that from the workman's point of view, the
+habits, manners, and build of the whales shall be faithfully described
+as I saw them during my long acquaintance with them, earnestly hoping
+that if my story be not as technical or scientific as that of Drs.
+Bennett and Beale, it may be found fully as accurate and reliable; and
+perhaps the reader, being like myself a mere layman, so to speak, may be
+better able to appreciate description free from scientific formula and
+nine-jointed words.
+
+Two things I did notice on this occasion which I will briefly allude to
+before closing this chapter. One was the peculiar skin of the whale. It
+was a bluish-black, and as thin as gold-beater's skin. So thin, indeed,
+and tender, that it was easily scraped off with the finger-nail.
+Immediately beneath it, upon the surface of the blubber, was a layer or
+coating of what for want of a better simile I must call fine short fur,
+although unlike fur it had no roots or apparently any hold upon the
+blubber. Neither was it attached to the skin which covered it; in fact,
+it seemed merely a sort of packing between the skin and the surface of
+the thick layer of solid fat which covered the whole area of the whale's
+body. The other matter which impressed me was the peculiarity of the
+teeth. For up till that time I had held, in common with most seamen, and
+landsmen, too, for that matter, the prevailing idea that a "whale" lived
+by "suction" (although I did not at all know what that meant), and that
+it was impossible for him to swallow a herring. Yet here was a mouth
+manifestly intended for greater things in the way of gastronomy than
+herrings; nor did it require more than the most casual glances to
+satisfy one of so obvious a fact. Then the teeth were heroic in size,
+protruding some four or five inches from the gum, and solidly set more
+than that into its firm and compact substance. They were certainly not
+intended for mastication, being, where thickest, three inches apart, and
+tapering to a short point, curving slightly backwards. In this specimen,
+a female, and therefore small as I have said, there were twenty of
+them on each side, the last three or four near the gullet being barely
+visible above the gum.
+
+Another most convincing reason why no mastication could have been
+possible was that there were no teeth visible in the upper jaw. Opposed
+to each of the teeth was a socket where a tooth should apparently have
+been, and this was conclusive evidence of the soft and yielding nature
+of the great creature's food. But there were signs that at some period
+of the development of the whale it had possessed a double row of teeth,
+because at the bottom of these upper sockets we found in a few cases
+what seemed to be an abortive tooth, not one that was growing, because
+they had no roots, but a survival of teeth that had once been perfect
+and useful, but from disuse, or lack of necessity for them, had
+gradually ceased to come to maturity. The interior of the mouth and
+throat was of a livid white, and the tongue was quite small for so large
+an animal. It was almost incapable of movement, being somewhat like a
+fowl's. Certainly it could not have been protruded even from the angle
+of the mouth, much less have extended along the parapet of that lower
+mandible, which reminded one of the beak of some mighty albatross or
+stork.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII. GETTING SOUTHWARD
+
+Whether our recent experience had altered the captain's plans or not
+I do not know, but much to the dismay of the Portuguese portion of the
+crew, we did but sight, dimly and afar off, the outline of the Cape
+Verde Islands before our course was altered, and we bore away for the
+southward like any other outward-bounder. That is, as far as our course
+went; but as to the speed, we still retained the leisurely tactics
+hitherto pursued, shortening sail every night, and, if the weather was
+very fine, setting it all again at daybreak.
+
+The morose and sullen temper of the captain had been, if anything, made
+worse by recent events, and we were worked as hard as if the success of
+the voyage depended upon our ceaseless toil of scrubbing, scraping,
+and polishing. Discipline was indeed maintained at a high pitch of
+perfection, no man daring to look awry, much less complain of any
+hardship, however great. Even this humble submissiveness did not satisfy
+our tyrant, and at last his cruelty took a more active shape. One of
+the long Yankee farmers from Vermont, Abner Cushing by name, with the
+ingenuity which seems inbred in his 'cute countrymen, must needs try
+his hand at making a villainous decoction which he called "beer," the
+principal ingredients in which were potatoes and molasses. Now potatoes
+formed no part of our dietary, so Abner set his wits to work to steal
+sufficient for his purpose, and succeeded so far that he obtained half
+a dozen. I have very little doubt that one of the Portuguese in the
+forecastle conveyed the information aft for some reason best known to
+himself, any more than we white men all had that in a similar manner
+all our sayings and doings, however trivial, became at once known to the
+officers. However, the fact that the theft was discovered soon became
+painfully evident, for we had a visit from the afterguard in force one
+afternoon, and Abner with his brewage was haled to the quarter-deck.
+There, in the presence of all hands, he was arraigned, found guilty of
+stealing the ship's stores, and sentence passed upon him. By means of
+two small pieces of fishing line he was suspended by his thumbs in the
+weather rigging, in such a manner that when the ship was upright his
+toes touched the deck, but when she rolled his whole weight hung from
+his thumbs. This of itself one would have thought sufficient torture for
+almost any offence, but in addition to it he received two dozen lashes
+with an improvised cat-o'-nine-tails, laid on by the brawny arm of
+one of the harpooners. We were all compelled to witness this, and our
+feelings may be imagined. When, after what seemed a terribly long
+time to me (Heaven knows what it must have been to him!), he fainted,
+although no chicken I nearly fainted too, from conflicting emotions of
+sympathy and impotent rage.
+
+He was then released in leisurely fashion, and we were permitted to take
+him forward and revive him. As soon as he was able to stand on his feet,
+he was called on deck again, and not allowed to go below till his watch
+was over. Meanwhile Captain Slocum improved the occasion by giving us a
+short harangue, the burden of which was that we had now seen a LITTLE of
+what any of us might expect if we played any "dog's tricks" on him. But
+you can get used to anything, I suppose: so after the first shock of the
+atrocity was over, things went on again pretty much as usual.
+
+For the first and only time in my experience, we sighted St. Paul's
+Rocks, a tiny group of jagged peaks protruding from the Atlantic nearly
+on the Equator. Stupendous mountains they must be, rising almost sheer
+for about four and a half miles from the ocean bed. Although they appear
+quite insignificant specks upon the vast expanse of water, one could not
+help thinking how sublime their appearance would be were they visible
+from the plateau whence they spring. Their chief interest to us at the
+time arose from the fact that, when within about three miles of them,
+we were suddenly surrounded by a vast school of bonito, These fish,
+so-named by the Spaniards from their handsome appearance, are a species
+of mackerel, a branch of the SCOMBRIDAE family, and attain a size
+of about two feet long and forty pounds weight, though their average
+dimensions are somewhat less than half that. They feed entirely upon
+flying-fish and the small leaping squid or cuttle-fish, but love to
+follow a ship, playing around her, if her pace be not too great, for
+days together. Their flesh resembles beef in appearance, and they are
+warm-blooded; but, from their habitat being mid-ocean, nothing is known
+with any certainty of their habits of breeding.
+
+The orthodox method of catching them on board ship is to cover a
+suitable hook with a piece of white rag a couple of inches long, and
+attach it to a stout line. The fisherman then takes his seat upon the
+jibboom end, having first, if he is prudent, secured a sack to the
+jibstay in such a manner that its mouth gapes wide. Then he unrolls his
+line, and as the ship forges ahead the line, blowing out, describes a
+curve, at the end of which the bait, dipping to--the water occasionally,
+roughly represents a flying-fish. Of course, the faster the ship is
+going, the better the chance of deceiving the fish, since they have less
+time to study the appearance of the bait. It is really an exaggerated
+and clumsy form of fly-fishing, and, as with that elegant pastime, much
+is due to the skill of the fisherman.
+
+As the bait leaps from crest to crest of the wavelets thrust aside by
+the advancing ship, a fish more adventurous or hungrier than the rest
+will leap at it, and in an instant there is a dead, dangling weight of
+from ten to forty pounds hanging at the end of your line thirty feet
+below. You haul frantically, for he may be poorly hooked, and you cannot
+play him. In a minute or two, if all goes well, he is plunged in the
+sack, and safe. But woe unto you if you have allowed the jeers of your
+shipmates to dissuade you from taking a sack out with you.
+
+The struggles of these fish are marvellous, and a man runs great risk of
+being shaken off the boom, unless his legs are firmly locked in between
+the guys. Such is the tremendous vibration that a twenty-pound bonito
+makes in a man's grip, that it can be felt in the cabin at the other and
+of the ship; and I have often come in triumphantly with one, having lost
+all feeling in my arms and a goodly portion of skin off my breast and
+side, where I have embraced the prize in a grim determination to hold
+him at all hazards, besides being literally drenched with his blood.
+
+Like all our fishing operations on board the CACHALOT, this day's
+fishing was conducted on scientific principles, and resulted in
+twenty-five fine fish being shipped, which were a welcome addition to
+our scanty allowance. Happily for us, they would not take the salt in
+that sultry latitude soon enough to preserve them; for, when they can be
+salted, they become like brine itself, and are quite unfit for food.
+Yet we should have been compelled to eat salt bonito, or go without meat
+altogether, if it had been possible to cure them.
+
+We were now fairly in the "horse latitudes," and, much to our relief,
+the rain came down in occasional deluges, permitting us to wash well
+and often. I suppose the rains of the tropics have been often enough
+described to need no meagre attempts of mine to convey an idea of them;
+yet I have often wished I could make home-keeping friends understand how
+far short what they often speak of as a "tropical shower" falls of the
+genuine article. The nearest I can get to it is the idea of an ocean
+suspended overhead, out, of which the bottom occasionally falls. Nothing
+is visible or audible but the glare and roar of falling water, and a
+ship's deck, despite the many outlets, is full enough to swim about in
+in a very few minutes. At such times the whole celestial machinery
+of rain-making may be seen in full working order. Five or six mighty
+waterspouts in various stages of development were often within easy
+distance of us; once, indeed, we watched the birth, growth, and death
+of one less than a mile away. First, a big, black cloud, even among that
+great assemblage of NIMBI, began to belly downward, until the centre
+of it tapered into a stem, and the whole mass looked like a vast,
+irregularly-moulded funnel. Lower and lower it reached, as if feeling
+for a soil in which to grow, until the sea beneath was agitated
+sympathetically, rising at last in a sort of pointed mound to meet the
+descending column. Our nearness enabled us to see that both descending
+and rising parts were whirling violently in obedience to some invisible
+force, and when they had joined each other, although the spiral motion
+did not appear to continue, the upward rush of the water through what
+was now a long elastic tube was very plainly to be seen. The cloud
+overhead grew blacker and bigger, until its gloom was terrible. The
+pipe, or stem, got thinner gradually, until it became a mere thread;
+nor, although watching closely, could we determine when the connection
+between sea and sky ceased--one could not call it severed. The point
+rising from the sea settled almost immediately amidst a small commotion,
+as of a whirlpool. The tail depending from the cloud slowly shortened,
+and the mighty reservoir lost the vast bulge which had hung so
+threateningly above. Just before the final disappearance of the last
+portion of the tube, a fragment of cloud appeared to break off. It fell
+near enough to show by its thundering roar what a body of water it must
+have been, although it looked like a saturated piece of dirty rag in its
+descent.
+
+For whole days and nights together we sometimes lay almost "as idle as
+a painted ship upon a painted ocean," when the deep blue dome above
+matched the deep blue plain below, and never a fleck of white appeared
+in sky or sea. This perfect stop to our progress troubled none, although
+it aggravates a merchant skipper terribly. As for the objects of our
+search, they had apparently all migrated other-whither, for never a sign
+of them did we see. Finbacks, a species of rorqual, were always pretty
+numerous, and as if they knew how useless they were to us, came and
+played around like exaggerated porpoises. One in particular kept us
+company for several days and nights. We knew him well, from a great
+triangular scar on his right side, near the dorsal fin. Sometimes he
+would remain motionless by the side of the ship, a few feet below the
+surface, as distinctly in our sight as a gold-fish in a parlour globe;
+or he would go under the keel, and gently chafe his broad back to and
+fro along it, making queer tremors run through the vessel, as if she
+were scraping over a reef. Whether from superstition or not I cannot
+tell, but I never saw any creature injured out of pure wantonness,
+except sharks, while I was on board the CACHALOT. Of course, injuries to
+men do not count. Had that finback attempted to play about a passenger
+ship in such a fashion, all the loungers on board would have been
+popping at him with their revolvers and rifles without ever a thought
+of compunction; yet here, in a vessel whose errand was whale-fishing,
+a whale enjoyed perfect immunity. It was very puzzling. At last my
+curiosity became too great to hear any longer, and I sought my friend
+Mistah Jones at what I considered a favourable opportunity. I found him
+very gracious and communicative, and I got such a lecture on the natural
+history of the cetacea as I have never forgotten--the outcome of a
+quarter-century's experience of them, and afterwards proved by me to be
+correct in every detail, which latter is a great deal more than can be
+said of any written natural history that ever I came across. But I will
+not go into that now. Leaning over the rail, with the great rorqual
+laying perfectly still a few feet below, I was told to mark how slender
+and elegant were his proportions. "Clipper-built," my Mentor termed him.
+He was full seventy feet long, but his greatest diameter would not reach
+ten feet. His snout was long and pointed, while both top and bottom of
+his head were nearly flat. When he came up to breathe, which he did out
+of the top of his head, he showed us that, instead of teeth, he had a
+narrow fringe of baleen (whalebone) all around his upper jaws, although
+"I kaint see whyfor, kase he lib on all sort er fish, s'long's dey
+ain't too big. I serpose w'en he kaint get nary fish he do de same ez
+de 'bowhead'--go er siftin eout dem little tings we calls whale-feed wiv
+dat ar' rangement he carry in his mouf." "But why don't we harpoon him?"
+I asked. Goliath turned on me a pitying look, as he replied, "Sonny,
+ef yew wuz ter go on stick iron inter dat ar fish, yew'd fink de hole
+bottom fell eout kerblunk. W'en I uz young 'n foolish, a finback range
+'longside me one day, off de Seychelles. I just done gone miss' a spam
+whale, and I was kiender mad,--muss ha' bin. Wall, I let him hab it blam
+'tween de ribs. If I lib ten tousan year, ain't gwine ter fergit dat ar.
+Wa'nt no time ter spit, tell ye; eberybody hang ober de side ob de boat.
+Wiz--poof!--de line all gone. Clar to glory, I neber see it go. Ef it
+hab ketch anywhar, nobody eber see US too. Fus, I t'ought I jump ober
+de side--neber face de skipper any mo'. But he uz er good ole man, en
+he only say, 'Don't be sech blame jackass any more.' En I don't." From
+which lucid narration I gathered that the finback had himself to thank
+for his immunity from pursuit. "'Sides," persisted Goliath, "wa' yew
+gwine do wiv' him? Ain't six inch uv blubber anywhere 'bout his long
+ugly carkiss; en dat, dirty lill' rag 'er whalebone he got in his mouf,
+'taint worf fifty cents. En mor'n dat, we pick up, a dead one when I
+uz in de ole RAINBOW--done choke hisself, I spec, en we cut him in. He
+stink fit ter pison de debbil, en, after all, we get eighteen bar'l ob
+dirty oil out ob him. Wa'nt worf de clean sparm scrap we use ter bile
+him. G' 'way!" Which emphatic adjuration, addressed not to me, but to
+the unconscious monster below, closed the lesson for the time.
+
+The calm still persisted, and, as usual, fish began to abound,
+especially flying-fish. At times, disturbed by some hungry bonito or
+dolphin, a shoal of them would rise--a great wave of silver--and skim
+through the air, rising and falling for perhaps a couple of hundred
+yards before they again took to the water; or a solitary one of larger
+size than usual would suddenly soar into the air, a heavy splash behind
+him showing by how few inches he had missed the jaws of his pursuer.
+Away he would go in a long, long curve, and, meeting the ship in his
+flight, would rise in the air, turn off at right angles to his former
+direction, and spin away again, the whir of his wing-fins distinctly
+visible as well as audible. At last he would incline to the water, but
+just as he was about to enter it there would be an eddy--the enemy
+was there waiting--and he would rise twenty, thirty feet, almost
+perpendicularly, and dart away fully a hundred yards on a fresh course
+before the drying of his wing membranes compelled him to drop. In the
+face of such a sight as this, which is of everyday occurrence in these
+latitudes, how trivial and misleading the statements made by the natural
+history books seem.
+
+They tell their readers that the EXOCETUS VOLITANS "does not fly; does
+not flutter its wings; can only take a prolonged leap," and so on. The
+misfortune attendant upon such books seems, to an unlearned sailor like
+myself, to be that, although posing as authorities, most of the authors
+are content to take their facts not simply at second-hand, but even unto
+twenty-second-hand. So the old fables get repeated, and brought up to
+date, and it is nobody's business to take the trouble to correct them.
+
+The weather continued calm and clear, and as the flying-fish were about
+in such immense numbers, I ventured to suggest to Goliath that we might
+have a try for some of them. I verily believe he thought I was mad. He
+stared at me for a minute, and then, with an indescribable intonation,
+said, "How de ol' Satan yew fink yew gwain ter get'm, hey? Ef yew spects
+ter fool dis chile wiv any dem lime-juice yarns, 'bout lanterns 'n boats
+at night-time, yew's 'way off." I guessed he meant the fable current
+among English sailors, that if you hoist a sail on a calm night in a
+boat where flying-fish abound, and hang a lantern in the middle of it,
+the fish will fly in shoals at the lantern, strike against the sail, and
+fall in heaps in the boat. It MAY be true, but I never spoke to anybody
+who has seen it done, nor is it the method practised in the only place
+in the world where flying-fishing is followed for a living. So I told
+Mr. Jones that if we had some circular nets of small mesh made and
+stretched on wooden hoops, I was sure we should be able to catch some.
+He caught at the idea, and mentioned it to the mate, who readily gave
+his permission to use a boat. A couple of "Guineamen" (a very large
+kind of flying-fish, having four wings) flew on board that night, as if
+purposely to provide us with the necessary bait.
+
+Next morning, about four bells, the sea being like a mirror, unruffled
+by a breath of wind, we lowered and paddled off from the ship about a
+mile. When far enough away, we commenced operations by squeezing in the
+water some pieces of fish that had been kept for the purpose until they
+were rather high-flavoured. The exuding oil from this fish spread a
+thin film for some distance around the boat, through which, as through a
+sheet of glass, we could see a long way down. Minute specks of the bait
+sank slowly through the limpid blue, but for at least an hour there
+was no sign of life. I was beginning to fear that I should be called
+to account for misleading all hands, when, to my unbounded delight,
+an immense shoal of flying-fish came swimming round the boat, eagerly
+picking up the savoury morsels. We grasped our nets, and, leaning over
+the gunwale, placed them silently in the water, pressing them downward
+and in towards the boat at the same time. Our success was great
+and immediate. We lifted the wanderers by scores, while I whispered
+imploringly, "Be careful not to scare them; don't make a sound." All
+hands entered into the spirit of the thing with great eagerness. As for
+Mistah Jones, his delight was almost more than he could bear. Suddenly
+one of the men, in lifting his net, slipped on the smooth bottom of the
+boat, jolting one of the oars. There was a gleam of light below as the
+school turned--they had all disappeared instanter. We had been so busy
+that we had not noticed the dimensions of our catch; but now, to our
+great joy, we found that we had at least eight hundred fish nearly as
+large as herrings. We at once returned to the ship, having been absent
+only two hours, during which we had caught sufficient to provide all
+hands with three good meals. Not one of the crew had ever seen or heard
+of such fishing before, so my pride and pleasure may be imagined. A
+little learning may be a dangerous thing at times, but it certainly
+is often handy to have about you. The habit of taking notice
+and remembering has often been the means of saving many lives in
+suddenly-met situations of emergency, at sea perhaps more than anywhere
+else, and nothing can be more useful to a sailor than the practice of
+keeping his weather-eye open.
+
+In Barbadoes there is established the only regular flying-fishery in the
+world, and in just the manner I have described, except that the boats
+are considerably larger, is the whole town supplied with delicious fish
+at so trifling a cost as to make it a staple food among all classes.
+
+But I find that I am letting this chapter run to an unconscionable
+length, and it does not appear as if we were getting at the southward
+very fast either. Truth to tell, our progress was mighty slow; but
+we gradually crept across the belt of calms, and a week after our
+never-to-be-forgotten haul of flying-fish we got the first of the
+south-east trades, and went away south at a good pace--for us. We made
+the Island of Trinidada with its strange conical-topped pillar, the
+Ninepin Rock, but did not make a call, as the skipper was beginning to
+get fidgety at not seeing any whales, and anxious to get down to where
+he felt reasonably certain of falling in with them. Life had been
+very monotonous of late, and much as we dreaded still the prospect of
+whale-fighting (by "we," of course, I mean the chaps forward), it began
+to lose much of its terror for us, so greatly did we long for a little
+change. Keeping, as we did, out of the ordinary track of ships, we
+hardly ever saw a sail. We had no recreations; fun was out of the
+question; and had it not been for a Bible, a copy of Shakespeare, and a
+couple of cheap copies of "David Copperfield" and "Bleak House," all of
+which were mine, we should have had no books.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII. ABNER'S WHALE
+
+In a previous chapter I have referred to the fact of a bounty being
+offered to whoever should first sight a useful whale, payable only in
+the event of the prize being secured by the ship. In consequence of our
+ill-success, and to stimulate the watchfulness of all, that bounty was
+now increased from ten pounds of tobacco to twenty, or fifteen dollars,
+whichever the winner chose to have. Most of us whites regarded this
+as quite out of the question for us, whose untrained vision was as the
+naked eye to a telescope when pitted against the eagle-like sight of the
+Portuguese. Nevertheless, we all did our little best, and I know, for
+one, that when I descended from my lofty perch, after a two hours'
+vigil, my eyes often ached and burned for an hour afterwards from the
+intensity of my gaze across the shining waste of waters.
+
+Judge, then, of the surprise of everybody, when one forenoon watch,
+three days after we had lost sight of Trinidada, a most extraordinary
+sound was heard from the fore crow's-nest. I was, at the time, up at the
+main, in company with Louis, the mate's harpooner, and we stared across
+to see whatever was the matter, The watchman was unfortunate Abner
+Cushing, whose trivial offence had been so severely punished a short
+time before, and he was gesticulating and howling like a madman. Up from
+below came the deep growl of the skipper, "Foremast head, there, what
+d'ye say?" "B-b-b-blow, s-s-sir," stammered Abner; "a big whale right in
+the way of the sun, sir." "See anythin', Louey?" roared the skipper to
+my companion, just as we had both "raised" the spout almost in the glare
+cast by the sun. "Yessir," answered Louis; "but I kaint make him eout
+yet, sir." "All right; keep yer eye on him, and lemme know sharp;" and
+away he went aft for his glasses.
+
+The course was slightly altered, so that we headed direct for the whale,
+and in less than a minute afterwards we saw distinctly the great black
+column of a sperm whale's head rise well above the sea, scattering a
+circuit of foam before it, and emitting a bushy, tufted burst of vapour
+into the clear air. "There she white-waters! Ah bl-o-o-o-o-o-w, blow,
+blow!" sang Louis; and then, in another tone, "Sperm whale, sir; big,
+'lone fish, headin' 'beout east-by-nothe." "All right. 'Way down
+from aloft," answered the skipper, who was already half-way up the
+main-rigging; and like squirrels we slipped out of our hoops and down
+the backstays, passing the skipper like a flash as he toiled upwards,
+bellowing orders as he went. Short as our journey down had been, when we
+arrived on deck we found all ready for a start. But as the whale was
+at least seven miles away, and we had a fair wind for him, there was no
+hurry to lower, so we all stood at attention by our respective boats,
+waiting for the signal. I found, to my surprise, that, although I was
+conscious of a much more rapid heart-beat than usual, I was not half so
+scared as I expected to be--that the excitement was rather pleasant
+than otherwise. There were a few traces of funk about some of the others
+still; but as for Abner, he was fairly transformed; I hardly knew the
+man. He was one of Goliath's boat's crew, and the big darkey was quite
+proud of him. His eyes sparkled, and he chuckled and smiled constantly,
+as one who is conscious of having done a grand stroke of business, not
+only for himself, but for all hands. "Lower away boats!" came pealing
+down from the skipper's lofty perch, succeeded instantly by the rattle
+of the patent blocks as the falls flew through them, while the four
+beautiful craft took the water with an almost simultaneous splash.
+The ship-keepers had trimmed the yards to the wind and hauled up the
+courses, so that simply putting the helm down deadened our way, and
+allowed the boats to run clear without danger of fouling one another. To
+shove off and hoist sail was the work of a few moments, and with a fine
+working breeze away we went. As before, our boat, being the chief's,
+had the post of honour; but there was now only one whale, and I rather
+wondered why we had all left the ship. According to expectations, down
+he went when we were within a couple of miles of him, but quietly and
+with great dignity, elevating his tail perpendicularly in the air, and
+sinking slowly from our view. Again I found Mr. Count talkative.
+
+"Thet whale 'll stay down fifty minutes, I guess," said he, "fer he's
+every gill ov a hundred en twenty bar'l; and don't yew fergit it." "Do
+the big whales give much more trouble than the little ones?" I asked,
+seeing him thus chatty. "Wall, it's jest ez it happens, boy--just ez
+it happens. I've seen a fifty-bar'l bull make the purtiest fight I ever
+hearn tell ov--a fight thet lasted twenty hours, stove three boats, 'n
+killed two men. Then, again, I've seen a hundred 'n fifty bar'l whale
+lay 'n take his grooel 'thout hardly wunkin 'n eyelid--never moved ten
+fathom from fust iron till fin eout. So yew may say, boy, that they're
+like peepul--got thair iudividooal pekyewlyarities, an' thars no
+countin' on 'em for sartin nary time." I was in great hopes of getting
+some useful information while his mood lasted; but it was over, and
+silence reigned. Nor did I dare to ask any more questions; he looked so
+stern and fierce. The scene was very striking. Overhead, a bright blue
+sky just fringed with fleecy little clouds; beneath, a deep blue sea
+with innumerable tiny wavelets dancing and glittering in the blaze of
+the sun; but all swayed in one direction by a great, solemn swell that
+slowly rolled from east to west, like the measured breathing of some
+world-supporting monster. Four little craft in a group, with twenty-four
+men in them, silently waiting for battle with one of the mightiest of
+God's creatures--one that was indeed a terrible foe to encounter were he
+but wise enough to make the best use of his opportunities. Against
+him we came with our puny weapons, of which I could not help reminding
+myself that "he laugheth at the shaking of a spear." But when the man's
+brain was thrown into the scale against the instinct of the brute, the
+contest looked less unequal than at first sight, for THERE is the secret
+of success. My musings were very suddenly interrupted. Whether we had
+overrun our distance, or the whale, who was not "making a passage," but
+feeding, had changed his course, I do not know; but, anyhow, he broke
+water close ahead, coming straight for our boat. His great black head,
+like the broad bow of a dumb barge, driving the waves before it, loomed
+high and menacing to me, for I was not forbidden to look ahead now.
+But coolly, as if coming alongside the ship, the mate bent to the
+big steer-oar, and swung the boat off at right angles to her course,
+bringing her back again with another broad sheer as the whale passed
+foaming. This manoeuvre brought us side by side with him before he
+had time to realize that we were there. Up till that instant he had
+evidently not seen us, and his surprise was correspondingly great. To
+see Louis raise his harpoon high above his head, and with a hoarse grunt
+of satisfaction plunge it into the black, shining mass beside him up to
+the hitches, was indeed a sight to be remembered. Quick as thought he
+snatched up a second harpoon, and as the whale rolled from us it flew
+from his hands, burying itself like the former one, but lower down the
+body. The great impetus we had when we reached the whale carried us a
+long way past him, out of all danger from his struggles. No hindrance
+was experienced from the line by which we were connected with the whale,
+for it was loosely coiled in a space for the purpose in the boat's bow
+to the extent of two hundred feet, and this was cast overboard by the
+harpooner as soon as the fish was fast. He made a fearful to-do over it,
+rolling completely over several times backward and forward, at the same
+time smiting the sea with his mighty tail, making an almost deafening
+noise and pother. But we were comfortable enough, while we unshipped the
+mast and made ready for action, being sufficiently far away from him
+to escape the full effect of his gambols. It was impossible to avoid
+reflecting, however, upon what WOULD happen if, in our unprepared and
+so far helpless state, he were, instead of simply tumbling about in an
+aimless, blind sort of fury, to rush at the boat and try to destroy it.
+Very few indeed would survive such an attack, unless the tactics were
+radically altered. No doubt they would be, for practices grow up in
+consequence of the circumstances with which they have to deal.
+
+After the usual time spent in furious attempts to free himself from our
+annoyance, he betook himself below, leaving us to await his return, and
+hasten it as much as possible by keeping a severe strain upon the line.
+Our efforts in this direction, however, did not seem to have any effect
+upon him at all. Flake after flake ran out of the tubs, until we were
+compelled to hand the end of our line to the second mate to splice his
+own on to. Still it slipped away, and at last it was handed to the third
+mate, whose two tubs met the same fate. It was now Mistah Jones' turn to
+"bend on," which he did with many chuckles as of a man who was the last
+resource of the unfortunate. But his face grew longer and longer as the
+never-resting line continued to disappear. Soon he signalled us that he
+was nearly out of line, and two or three minutes after he bent on his
+"drogue" (a square piece of plank with a rope tail spliced into its
+centre, and considered to hinder a whale's progress at least as much as
+four boats), and let go the end. We had each bent on our drogues in the
+same way, when we passed our ends to one another. So now our friend was
+getting along somewhere below with 7200 feet of 1 1/2-inch rope, and
+weight additional equal to the drag of sixteen 30-feet boats.
+
+Of course we knew that, unless he were dead and sinking, he could not
+possibly remain much longer beneath the surface. The exhibition of
+endurance we had just been favoured with was a very unusual one, I was
+told, it being a rare thing for a cachalot to take out two boats' lines
+before returning to the surface to spout.
+
+Therefore, we separated as widely as was thought necessary, in order
+to be near him on his arrival. It was, as might be imagined, some time
+before we saw the light of his countenance; but when we did, we had no
+difficulty in getting alongside of him again. My friend Goliath, much
+to my delight, got there first, and succeeded in picking up the bight of
+the line. But having done so, his chance of distinguishing himself was
+gone. Hampered by the immense quantity of sunken line which was attached
+to the whale, he could do nothing, and soon received orders to cut the
+bight of the line and pass the whale's end to us. He had hardly obeyed,
+with a very bad grace, when the whale started off to windward with us at
+a tremendous rate. The other boats, having no line, could do nothing to
+help, so away we went alone, with barely a hundred fathoms of line, in
+case he should take it into his head to sound again. The speed at which
+he went made it appear as if a gale of wind was blowing and we flew
+along the sea surface, leaping from crest to crest of the waves with
+an incessant succession of cracks like pistol-shots. The flying spray
+drenched us and prevented us from seeing him, but I fully realized
+that it was nothing to what we should have to put up with if the wind
+freshened much. One hand was kept bailing the water out which came so
+freely over the bows, but all the rest hauled with all their might upon
+the line, hoping to get a little closer to the flying monster. Inch
+by inch we gained on him, encouraged by the hoarse objurgations of the
+mate, whose excitement was intense. After what seemed a terribly long
+chase, we found his speed slackening, and we redoubled our efforts. Now
+we were close upon him; now, in obedience to the steersman, the boat
+sheered out a bit, and we were abreast of his labouring flukes; now the
+mate hurls his quivering lance with such hearty good-will that every
+inch of its slender shaft disappears within the huge body. "Layoff! Off
+with her, Louey!" screamed the mate; and she gave a wide sheer away from
+the whale, not a second too soon. Up flew that awful tail, descending
+with a crash upon the water not two feet from us. "Out oars! Pull, two!
+starn, three!" shouted the mate; and as we obeyed our foe turned to
+fight. Then might one see how courage and skill were such mighty factors
+in the apparently unequal contest. The whale's great length made it no
+easy job for him to turn, while our boat, with two oars a-side, and
+the great leverage at the stern supplied by the nineteen-foot steer-oar
+circled, backed, and darted ahead like a living thing animated by the
+mind of our commander. When the leviathan settled, we gave a wide berth
+to his probable place of ascent; when he rushed at us, we dodged him;
+when he paused, if only momentarily, in we flew, and got home a fearful
+thrust of the deadly lance.
+
+All fear was forgotten now--I panted, thirsted for his life. Once,
+indeed, in a sort of frenzy, when for an instant we lay side by side
+with him, I drew my sheath-knife, and plunged it repeatedly into the
+blubber, as if I were assisting is his destruction. Suddenly the mate
+gave a howl: "Starn all--starn all! oh, starn!" and the oars bent like
+canes as we obeyed. There was an upheaval of the sea just ahead; then
+slowly, majestically, the vast body of our foe rose into the air. Up,
+up it went, while my heart stood still, until the whole of that immense
+creature hung on high, apparently motionless, and then fell--a
+hundred tons of solid flesh--back into the sea. On either side of that
+mountainous mass the waters rose in shining towers of snowy foam, which
+fell in their turn, whirling and eddying around us as we tossed and fell
+like a chip in a whirlpool. Blinded by the flying spray, baling for very
+life to free the boat from the water with which she was nearly full,
+it was some minutes before I was able to decide whether we were still
+uninjured or not. Then I saw, at a little distance, the whale lying
+quietly. As I looked he spouted, and the vapour was red with his blood.
+"Starn all!" again cried our chief, and we retreated to a considerable
+distance. The old warrior's practised eye had detected the coming climax
+of our efforts, the dying agony or "furry" of the great mammal. Turning
+upon his side, he began to move in a circular direction, slowly at
+first, then faster and faster, until he was rushing round at tremendous
+speed, his great head raised quite out of water at times, clashing his
+enormous jaws. Torrents of blood poured from his spout-hole, accompanied
+by hoarse bellowings, as of some gigantic bull, but really caused by the
+labouring breath trying to pass through the clogged air passages. The
+utmost caution and rapidity of manipulation of the boat was necessary to
+avoid his maddened rush, but this gigantic energy was short-lived. In a
+few minutes he subsided slowly in death, his mighty body reclined on one
+side, the fin uppermost waving limply as he rolled to the swell, while
+the small waves broke gently over the carcass in a low, monotonous surf,
+intensifying the profound silence that had succeeded the tumult of
+our conflict with the late monarch of the deep. Hardly had the flurry
+ceased, when we hauled up alongside of our hard-won prize, in order to
+secure a line to him in a better manner than at present for hauling
+him to the ship. This was effected by cutting a hole through the tough,
+gristly substance of the flukes with the short "boat-spade," carried for
+the purpose. The end of the line, cut off from the faithful harpoon that
+had held it so long, was then passed through this hole and made fast.
+This done, it was "Smoke-oh!" The luxury of that rest and refreshment
+was something to be grateful for, coming, as it did, in such complete
+contrast to our recent violent exertions.
+
+The ship was some three or four miles off to leeward, so we reckoned she
+would take at least an hour and a half to work up to us. Meanwhile, our
+part of the performance being over, and well over, we thoroughly enjoyed
+ourselves, lazily rocking on the gentle swell by the side of a catch
+worth at least L800. During the conflict I had not noticed
+what now claimed attention--several great masses of white,
+semi-transparent-looking substance floating about, of huge size and
+irregular shape. But one of these curious lumps came floating by as we
+lay, tugged at by several fish, and I immediately asked the mate if he
+could tell me what it was and where it came from. He told me that, when
+dying, the cachalot always ejected the contents of his stomach, which
+were invariably composed of such masses as we saw before us; that he
+believed the stuff to be portions of big cuttle-fish, bitten off by the
+whale for the purpose of swallowing, but he wasn't sure. Anyhow, I could
+haul this piece alongside now, if I liked, and see. Secretly wondering
+at the indifference shown by this officer of forty years' whaling
+experience to such a wonderful fact as appeared to be here presented,
+I thanked him, and, sticking the boat-hook into the lump, drew it
+alongside. It was at once evident that it was a massive fragment of
+cuttle-fish--tentacle or arm--as thick as a stout man's body, and with
+six or seven sucking-discs or ACETABULA on it. These were about as large
+as a saucer, and on their inner edge were thickly set with hooks or
+claws all round the rim, sharp as needles, and almost the shape and size
+of a tiger's.
+
+To what manner of awful monster this portion of limb belonged, I could
+only faintly imagine; but of course I remembered, as any sailor would,
+that from my earliest sea-going I had been told that the cuttle-fish was
+the biggest in the sea, although I never even began to think it might be
+true until now. I asked the mate if he had ever seen such creatures as
+this piece belonged to alive and kicking. He answered, languidly, "Wall,
+I guess so; but I don't take any stock in fish, 'cept for provisions
+er ile--en that's a fact." It will be readily believed that I vividly
+recalled this conversation when, many years after, I read an account by
+the Prince of Monaco of HIS discovery of a gigantic squid, to which
+his naturalist gave the name of LEPIDOTEUTHIS GRIMALDII! Truly the
+indifference and apathy manifested by whalers generally to everything
+except commercial matters is wonderful--hardly to be credited. However,
+this was a mighty revelation to me. For the first time, it was possible
+to understand that, contrary to the usual notion of a whale's being
+unable to swallow a herring, here was a kind of whale that could
+swallow--well, a block four or five feet square apparently; who lived
+upon creatures as large as himself, if one might judge of their bulk by
+the sample to hand; but being unable, from only possessing teeth in one
+jaw, to masticate his food, was compelled to tear it in sizable pieces,
+bolt it whole, and leave his commissariat department to do the rest.
+
+While thus ruminating, the mate and Louis began a desultory conversation
+concerning what they termed "ambergrease." I had never even heard
+the word before, although I had a notion that Milton, in "Paradise
+Regained," describing the Satanic banquet, had spoken of something
+being "grisamber steamed." They could by no means agree as to what this
+mysterious substance was, how it was produced, or under what conditions.
+They knew that it was sometimes found floating near the dead body of a
+sperm whale--the mate, in fact, stated that he had taken it once from
+the rectum of a cachalot--and they were certain that it was of great
+value--from one to three guineas per ounce. When I got to know more of
+the natural history of the sperm whale, and had studied the literature
+of the subject, I was so longer surprised at their want of agreement,
+since the learned doctors who have written upon the subject do not seem
+to have come to definite conclusions either.
+
+By some it is supposed to be the product of a diseased condition of the
+creature; others consider that it is merely the excreta, which, normally
+fluid, has by some means become concreted. It is nearly always found
+with cuttle-fish beaks imbedded in its substance, showing that these
+indigestible portions of the sperm whale's food have in some manner
+become mixed with it during its formation in the bowel. Chemists have
+analyzed it with scanty results. Its great value is due to its property
+of intensifying the power of perfumes, although, strange to say, it
+has little or no odour of its own, a faint trace of musk being perhaps
+detectable in some cases. The Turks are said to use it for a truly
+Turkish purpose, which need not be explained here, while the Moors are
+credited with a taste for it in their cookery. About both these latter
+statements there is considerable doubt; I only give them for what they
+are worth, without, committing myself to any definite belief in them.
+
+The ship now neared us fast, and as soon as she rounded-to, we left
+the whale and pulled towards her, paying out line as we went. Arriving
+alongside, the line was handed on board, and in a short time the prize
+was hauled to the gangway. We met with a very different reception this
+time. The skipper's grim face actually looked almost pleasant as he
+contemplated the colossal proportions of the latest addition to our
+stock. He was indeed a fine catch, being at least seventy feet long,
+and in splendid condition. As soon as he was secured alongside in the
+orthodox fashion, all hands were sent to dinner, with an intimation to
+look sharp over it. Judging from our slight previous experience, there
+was some heavy labour before us, for this whale was nearly four times as
+large as the one caught off the Cape Verds. And it was so. Verily those
+officers toiled like Titans to get that tremendous head off even the
+skipper taking a hand. In spite of their efforts, it was dark before the
+heavy job was done. As we were in no danger of bad weather, the head
+was dropped astern by a hawser until morning, when it would be safer
+to dissect it. All that night we worked incessantly, ready to drop with
+fatigue, but not daring to suggest, the possibility of such a thing.
+Several of the officers and harpooners were allowed a few hours off,
+as their special duty of dealing with the head at daylight would be so
+arduous as to need all their energies. When day dawned we were allowed a
+short rest, while the work of cutting up the head was undertaken by the
+rested men. At seven bells (7.30) it was "turn to" all hands again. The
+"junk" was hooked on to both cutting tackles, and the windlass manned by
+everybody who could get hold. Slowly the enormous mass rose, canting the
+ship heavily as it came, while every stick and rope aloft complained of
+the great strain upon them. When at last it was safely shipped, and
+the tackles cast off, the size of this small portion of a full-grown
+cachalot's body could be realized, not before.
+
+It was hauled from the gangway by tackles, and securely lashed to the
+rail running round beneath the top of the bulwarks for that purpose--the
+"lash-rail"--where the top of it towered up as high as the third ratline
+of the main-rigging. Then there was another spell, while the "case" was
+separated from the skull. This was too large to get on board, so it was
+lifted half-way out of water by the tackles, one hooked on each side;
+then they were made fast, and a spar rigged across them at a good
+height above the top of the case. A small block was lashed to this spar,
+through which a line was rove. A long, narrow bucket was attached to
+one end of this rope; the other end on deck was attended by two men. One
+unfortunate beggar was perched aloft on the above-mentioned spar, where
+his position, like the main-yard of Marryatt's verbose carpenter was
+"precarious and not at all permanent." He was provided with a pole, with
+which he pushed the bucket down through a hole cut in the upper end
+of the "case," whence it was drawn out by the chaps on deck full of
+spermaceti. It was a weary, unsatisfactory process, wasting a great
+deal of the substance being baled out; but no other way was apparently
+possible. The grease blew about, drenching most of us engaged in an
+altogether unpleasant fashion, while, to mend matters, the old barky
+began to roll and tumble about in an aimless, drunken sort of way, the
+result of a new cross swell rolling up from the south-westward. As the
+stuff was gained, it was poured into large tanks in the blubber-room,
+the quantity being too great to be held by the try-pots at once.
+Twenty-five barrels of this clear, wax-like substance were baled from
+that case; and when at last it was lowered a little, and cut away from
+its supports, it was impossible to help thinking that much was still
+remaining within which we, with such rude means, were unable to save.
+Then came the task of cutting up the junk. Layer after layer, eight to
+ten inches thick, was sliced off, cut into suitable pieces, and passed
+into the tanks. So full was the matter of spermaceti that one could
+take a piece as large as one's head in the hands, and squeeze it like a
+sponge, expressing the spermaceti in showers, until nothing remained
+but a tiny ball of fibre. All this soft, pulpy mass was held together by
+walls of exceedingly tough, gristly integrument ("white horse"), which
+was as difficult to cut as gutta-percha, and, but for the peculiar
+texture, not at all unlike it.
+
+When we had finished separating the junk, there was nearly a foot of oil
+on deck in the waist, and uproarious was the laughter when some hapless
+individual, losing his balance, slid across the deck and sat down with a
+loud splash in the deepest part of the accumulation.
+
+The lower jaw of this whale measured exactly nineteen feet in length
+from the opening of the mouth, or, say the last of the teeth, to the
+point, and carried twenty-eight teeth on each side. For the time, it was
+hauled aft out of the way, and secured to the lash-rail. The subsequent
+proceedings were just the same as before described, only more so. For a
+whole week our labours continued, and when they were over we had stowed
+below a hundred and forty-six barrels of mingled oil and spermaceti, or
+fourteen and a half tuns.
+
+It was really a pleasant sight to see Abner receiving as if being
+invested with an order of merit, the twenty pounds of tobacco to which
+he was entitled. Poor fellow! he felt as if at last he were going to be
+thought a little of, and treated a little better. He brought his bounty
+forrard, and shared it out as far as it would go with the greatest
+delight and good nature possible. Whatever he might have been thought of
+aft, certainly, for the time, he was a very important personage forrard;
+even the Portuguese, who were inclined to be jealous of what they
+considered an infringement of their rights, were mollified by the
+generosity shown.
+
+After every sign of the operations had been cleared away, the jaw was
+brought out, and the teeth extracted with a small tackle. They were set
+solidly into a hard white gum, which had to be cut away all around them
+before they would come out. When cleaned of the gum, they were headed up
+in a small barrel of brine. The great jaw-pans were sawn off, and placed
+at the disposal of anybody who wanted pieces of bone for "scrimshaw," or
+carved work. This is a very favourite pastime on board whalers, though,
+in ships such as ours, the crew have little opportunity for doing
+anything, hardly any leisure during daylight being allowed. But our
+carpenter was a famous workman at "scrimshaw," and he started half a
+dozen walking-sticks forthwith. A favourite design is to carve the bone
+into the similitude of a rope, with "worming" of smaller line along its
+lays. A handle is carved out of a whale's tooth, and insets of baleen,
+silver, cocoa-tree, or ebony, give variety and finish. The tools used
+are of the roughest. Some old files, softened in the fire, and filed
+into grooves something like saw-teeth, are most used; but old knives,
+sail-needles, and chisels are pressed into service. The work turned
+out would, in many cases, take a very high place in an exhibition of
+turnery, though never a lathe was near it. Of course, a long time is
+taken over it, especially the polishing, which is done with oil and
+whiting, if it can be got--powdered pumice if it cannot. I once had
+an elaborate pastry-cutter carved out of six whale's teeth, which I
+purchased for a pound of tobacco from a seaman of the CORAL whaler,
+and afterwards sold in Dunedin, New Zealand, for L2 10s., the purchaser
+being decidedly of opinion that he had a bargain.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX. OUR FIRST CALLING-PLACE
+
+Perhaps it may hastily be assumed, from the large space already devoted
+to fishing operations of various kinds, that the subject will not bear
+much more dealing with, if my story is to avoid being monotonous. But I
+beg to assure you, dear reader, that while of course I have most to say
+in connection with the business of the voyage, nothing is farther from
+my plan than to neglect the very interesting portion of our cruise
+which relates to visiting strange, out-of-the-way corners of the world.
+If--which I earnestly deprecate--the description hitherto given of sperm
+whale-fishing and its adjuncts be found not so interesting as could be
+wished, I cry you mercy. I have been induced to give more space to
+it because it has been systematically avoided in the works upon
+whale-fishing before mentioned, which, as I have said, were not intended
+for popular reading. True, neither may my humble tome become popular
+either; but, if it does not, no one will be so disappointed as the
+author.
+
+We had made but little progress during the week of oil manufacture, very
+little attention being paid to the sails while that work was about; but,
+as the south-east trades blew steadily, we did not remain stationary
+altogether. So that the following week saw us on the south side of the
+tropic of Capricorn, the south-east trade done, and the dirty weather
+and variable squalls, which nearly always precede the "westerlies,"
+making our lives a burden to us. Here, however, we were better off than
+in an ordinary merchantman, where doldrums are enough to drive you
+mad. The one object being to get along, it is incessant "pully-hauly,"
+setting and taking in sail, in order, on the one hand, to lose no time,
+and, on the other, to lose no sails. Now, with us, whenever the weather
+was doubtful or squally-looking, we shortened sail, and kept it fast
+till better weather came along, being quite careless whether we made one
+mile a day or one hundred. But just because nobody took any notice of
+our progress as the days passed, we were occasionally startled to find
+how far we had really got. This was certainly the case with all of us
+forward, even to me who had some experience, so well used had I now
+become to the leisurely way of getting along. To the laziest of ships,
+however, there comes occasionally a time when the bustling, hurrying
+wind will take no denial, and you've got to "git up an' git," as the
+Yanks put it. Such a time succeeded our "batterfanging" about, after
+losing the trades. We got hold of a westerly wind that, commencing
+quietly, gently, steadily, taking two or three days before it gathered
+force and volume, strengthened at last into a stern, settled gale that
+would brook no denial, to face which would have been misery indeed. To
+vessels bound east it came as a boon and blessing, for it would be a
+crawler that could not reel off her two hundred and fifty miles a day
+before the push of such a breeze. Even the CACHALOT did her one hundred
+and fifty, pounding and bruising the ill-used sea in her path, and
+spreading before her broad bows a far-reaching area of snowy foam, while
+her wake was as wide as any two ordinary ships ought to make. Five or
+six times a day the flying East India or colonial-bound English ships,
+under every stitch of square sail, would appear as tiny specks on the
+horizon astern, come up with us, pass like a flash, and fade away ahead,
+going at least two knots to our one. I could not help feeling a bit
+home-sick and tired of my present surroundings, in spite of their
+interest, when I saw those beautiful ocean-flyers devouring the distance
+which lay before them, and reflected that in little more than one month
+most of them would be discharging in Melbourne, Sydney, Calcutta, or
+some other equally distant port, while we should probably be dodging
+about in our present latitude a little farther east.
+
+After a few days of our present furious rate of speed, I came on deck
+one morning, and instantly recognized an old acquaintance. Right ahead,
+looking nearer than I had ever seen it before, rose the towering mass of
+Tristan d'Acunha, while farther away, but still visible, lay Nightingale
+and Inaccessible Islands. Their aspect was familiar, for I had sighted
+them on nearly every voyage I had made round the Cape, but I had never
+seen them so near as this. There was a good deal of excitement among
+us, and no wonder. Such a break in the monotony of our lives as we were
+about to have was enough to turn our heads. Afterwards, we learned to
+view these matters in a more philosophic light; but now, being new and
+galled by the yoke, it was a different thing. Near as the island seemed,
+it was six hours before we got near enough to distinguish objects on
+shore. I have seen the top of Tristan peeping through a cloud nearly
+a hundred miles away, for its height is tremendous. St. Helena looks
+a towering, scowling mass when you approach it closely but Tristan
+d'Acunha is far more imposing, its savage-looking cliffs seeming to
+sternly forbid the venturesome voyager any nearer familiarity with their
+frowning fastnesses. Long before we came within working distance of the
+settlement, we were continually passing broad patches of kelp (FUCUS
+GIGANTEA), whose great leaves and cable-laid stems made quite reef-like
+breaks in the heaving waste of restless sea. Very different indeed were
+these patches of marine growth from the elegant wreaths of the Gulf-weed
+with which parts of the North Atlantic are so thickly covered. Their
+colour was deep brown, almost black is some cases, and the size of many
+of the leaves amazing, being four to five feet long, by a foot wide,
+with stalks as thick as one's arm. They have their origin around these
+storm-beaten rocks, which lie scattered thinly over the immense area of
+the Southern Ocean, whence they are torn, in masses like those we saw,
+by every gale, and sent wandering round the world.
+
+When we arrived within about three miles of the landing-place, we saw
+a boat coming off, so we immediately hove-to and awaited her arrival.
+There was no question of anchoring; indeed, there seldom is in these
+vessels, unless they are going to make a long stay, for they are past
+masters in the art of "standing off and on." The boat came alongside--a
+big, substantially-built craft of the whale-boat type, but twice the
+size--manned by ten sturdy-looking fellows, as unkempt and wild-looking
+as any pirates. They were evidently put to great straits for clothes,
+many curious makeshifts being noticeable in their rig, while it was so
+patched with every conceivable kind of material that it was impossible
+to say which was the original or "standing part." They brought with them
+potatoes, onions, a few stunted cabbages, some fowls, and a couple of
+good-sized pigs, at the sight of which good things our eyes glistened
+and our mouths watered. Alas! none of the cargo of that boat ever
+reached OUR hungry stomachs. We were not surprised, having anticipated
+that every bit of provision would be monopolized by our masters; but of
+course we had no means of altering such a state of things.
+
+The visitors had the same tale to tell that seems universal--bad trade,
+hard times, nothing doing. How very familiar it seemed, to be
+sure. Nevertheless, it could not be denied that their sole means of
+communication with the outer world, as well as market for their goods,
+the calling whale-ships, were getting fewer and fewer every year; so
+that their outlook was not, it must be confessed, particularly bright.
+But their wants are few, beyond such as they can themselves supply.
+Groceries and clothes, the latter especially, as the winters are very
+severe, are almost the only needs they require to be supplied with from
+without. They spoke of the "Cape" as if it were only across the way, the
+distance separating them from that wonderful place being over thirteen
+hundred miles in reality. Very occasionally a schooner from Capetown
+does visit them; but, as the seals are almost exterminated, there is
+less and less inducement to make the voyage.
+
+Like almost all the southern islets, this group has been in its time the
+scene of a wonderfully productive seal-fishery. It used to be customary
+for whaling and sealing vessels to land a portion of their crews, and
+leave them to accumulate a store of seal-skins and oil, while the
+ships cruised the surrounding seas for whales, which were exceedingly
+numerous, both "right" and sperm varieties. In those days there was no
+monotony of existence in these islands, ships were continually coming
+and going, and the islanders prospered exceedingly. When they increased
+beyond the capacity of the islands to entertain them, a portion migrated
+to the Cape, while many of the men took service in the whale-ships, for
+which they were eminently suited.
+
+They are, as might be expected, a hybrid lot, the women all mulattoes,
+but intensely English in their views and loyalty. Since the visit of
+H.M.S. GALATEA, in August, 1867, with the Duke of Edinburgh on board,
+this sentiment had been intensified, and the little collection of
+thatched cottages, nameless till then, was called Edinburgh, in honour
+of the illustrious voyager. They breed cattle, a few sheep, and pigs,
+although the sheep thrive but indifferently for some reason or another.
+Poultry they have in large numbers, so that, could they commend a
+market, they would do very well.
+
+The steep cliffs, rising from the sea for nearly a thousand feet, often
+keep their vicinity in absolute calm, although a heavy gale may be
+raging on the other side of the island, and it would be highly dangerous
+for any navigator not accustomed to such a neighbourhood to get too
+near them. The immense rollers setting inshore, and the absence of wind
+combined, would soon carry a vessel up against the beetling crags,
+and letting go an anchor would not be of the slightest use, since the
+bottom, being of massive boulders, affords no holding ground at all. All
+round the island the kelp grows thickly, so thickly indeed as to make a
+boat's progress through it difficult. This, however, is very useful in
+one way here, as we found. Wanting more supplies, which were to be had
+cheap, we lowered a couple of boats, and went ashore after them. On
+approaching the black, pebbly beach which formed the only landing-place,
+it appeared as if getting ashore would be a task of no ordinary danger
+and difficulty. The swell seemed to culminate as we neared the beach,
+lifting the boats at one moment high in air, and at the next lowering
+them into a green valley, from whence nothing could be seen but the
+surrounding watery summits. Suddenly we entered the belt of kelp,
+which extended for perhaps a quarter of a mile seaward, and, lo! a
+transformation indeed. Those loose, waving fronds of flexible weed,
+though swayed hither and thither by every ripple, were able to arrest
+the devastating rush of the gigantic swell, so that the task of landing,
+which had looked so terrible, was one of the easiest. Once in among the
+kelp, although we could hardly use the oars, the water was quite smooth
+and tranquil. The islanders collected on the beach, and guided us to the
+best spot for landing, the huge boulders, heaped in many places, being
+ugly impediments to a boat.
+
+We were as warmly welcomed as if we had been old friends, and hospitable
+attentions were showered upon us from every side. The people were
+noticeably well-behaved, and, although there was something Crusoe-like
+in their way of living, their manners and conversation were distinctly
+good. A rude plenty was evident, there being no lack of good food--fish,
+fowl, and vegetables. The grassy plateau on which the village stands is
+a sort of shelf jutting out from the mountain-side, the mountain being
+really the whole island. Steep roads were hewn out of the solid rock,
+leading, as we were told, to the cultivated terraces above. These
+reached an elevation of about a thousand feet. Above all towered the
+great, dominating peak, the summit lost in the clouds eight or nine
+thousand feet above. The rock-hewn roads and cultivated land certainly
+gave the settlement an old-established appearance, which was not
+surprising seeing that it has been inhabited for more than a hundred
+years. I shall always bear a grateful recollection of the place,
+because my host gave me what I had long been a stranger to--a good,
+old-fashioned English dinner of roast beef and baked potatoes. He
+apologized for having no plum-pudding to crown the feast. "But, you
+see," he said, "we kaint grow no corn hyar, and we'm clean run out
+ov flour; hev ter make out on taters 's best we kin." I sincerely
+sympathized with him on the lack of bread-stuff among them, and wondered
+no longer at the avidity with which they had munched our flinty biscuits
+on first coming aboard. His wife, a buxom, motherly woman of about
+fifty, of dark, olive complexion, but good features, was kindness
+itself; and their three youngest children, who were at home, could not,
+in spite of repeated warnings and threats, keep their eyes off me, as
+if I had been some strange animal dropped from the moon. I felt very
+unwilling to leave them so soon, but time was pressing, the stores we
+had come for were all ready to ship, and I had to tear myself away from
+these kindly entertainers. I declare, it seemed like parting with old
+friends; yet our acquaintance might have been measured by minutes, so
+brief it had been. The mate had purchased a fine bullock, which had been
+slaughtered and cut up for us with great celerity, four or five dozen
+fowls (alive), four or five sacks of potatoes, eggs, etc., so that we
+were heavily laden for the return journey to the ship. My friend had
+kindly given me a large piece of splendid cheese, for which I was
+unable to make him any return, being simply clad in a shirt and pair of
+trousers, neither of which necessary garments could be spared.
+
+With hearty cheers from the whole population, we shoved off and ploughed
+through the kelp seaweed again. When we got clear of it, we found the
+swell heavier than when we had come, and a rough journey back to the
+ship was the result. But, to such boatmen as we were, that was a trifle
+hardly worth mentioning, and after an hour's hard pull we got
+alongside again, and transhipped our precious cargo. The weather being
+threatening, we at once hauled off the land and out to sea, as night was
+falling and we did not wish to be in so dangerous a vicinity any longer
+than could be helped in stormy weather. Altogether, a most enjoyable
+day, and one that I have ever since had a pleasant recollection of.
+
+By daybreak next morning the islands were out of sight, for the wind had
+risen to a gale, which, although we carried little sail, drove us along
+before it some seven or eight knots an hour.
+
+Two days afterwards we caught another whale of medium size, making us
+fifty-four barrels of oil. As nothing out of the ordinary course marked
+the capture, it is unnecessary to do more than allude to it in passing,
+except to note that the honours were all with Goliath. He happened to be
+close to the whale when it rose, and immediately got fast. So dexterous
+and swift were his actions that before any of the other boats could
+"chip in" he had his fish "fin out," the whole affair from start to
+finish only occupying a couple of hours. We were now in the chosen
+haunts of the great albatross, Cape pigeons, and Cape hens, but never in
+my life had I imagined such a concourse of them as now gathered around
+us. When we lowered there might have been perhaps a couple of dozen
+birds in sight, but no sooner was the whale dead than from out of the
+great void around they began to drift towards us. Before we had got him
+fast alongside, the numbers of that feathered host were incalculable.
+They surrounded us until the sea surface was like a plain of snow,
+and their discordant cries were deafening. With the exception of one
+peculiar-looking bird, which has received from whalemen the inelegant
+name of "stinker," none of them attempted to alight upon the body of the
+dead monster. This bird, however, somewhat like a small albatross,
+but of dirty-grey colour, and with a peculiar excrescence on his beak,
+boldly took his precarious place upon the carcase, and at once began to
+dig into the blubber. He did not seem to make much impression, but he
+certainly tried hard.
+
+It was dark before we got our prize secured by the fluke-chain, so that
+we could not commence operations before morning. That night it blew
+hard, and we got an idea of the strain these vessels are sometimes
+subjected to. Sometimes the ship rolled one way and the whale another,
+being divided by a big sea, the wrench at the fluke-chain, as the two
+masses fell apart down different hollows, making the vessel quiver from
+truck to keelson as if she was being torn asunder. Then we would come
+together again with a crash and a shock that almost threw everybody
+out of their bunks. Many an earnest prayer did I breathe that the chain
+would prove staunch, for what sort of a job it would be to go after
+that whale during the night, should he break loose, I could only
+faintly imagine. But all our gear was of the very best; no thieving
+ship-chandler had any hand in supplying our outfit with shoddy rope and
+faulty chain, only made to sell, and ready at the first call made upon
+it to carry away and destroy half a dozen valuable lives. There was one
+coil of rope on board which the skipper had bought for cordage on the
+previous voyage from a homeward-bound English ship, and it was the butt
+of all the officers' scurrilous remarks about Britishers and their
+gear. It was never used but for rope-yarns, being cut up in lengths, and
+untwisted for the ignominious purpose of tying things up--"hardly good
+enough for that," was the verdict upon it.
+
+Tired as we all were, very little sleep came to us that night--we were
+barely seasoned yet to the exigencies of a whaler's life--but afterwards
+I believe nothing short of dismasting or running the ship ashore would
+wake us, once we got to sleep. In the morning we commenced operations
+in a howling gale of wind, which placed the lives of the officers on the
+"cutting in" stage in great danger. The wonderful seaworthy qualities
+of our old ship shone brilliantly now. When an ordinary modern-built
+sailing-ship would have been making such weather of it as not only to
+drown anybody about the deck, but making it impossible to keep your
+footing anywhere without holding on, we were enabled to cut in this
+whale. True, the work was terribly exhausting and decidedly dangerous,
+but it was not impossible, for it was done. By great care and constant
+attention, the whole work of cutting in and trying out was got through
+without a single accident; but had another whale turned up to continue
+the trying time, I am fully persuaded that some of us would have gone
+under from sheer fatigue. For there was no mercy shown. All that I have
+ever read of "putting the slaves through for all they were worth" on the
+plantations was fully realized here, and our worthy skipper must have
+been a lineal descendent of the doughty Simon Legree.
+
+The men were afraid to go on to the sick-list. Nothing short of total
+inability to continue would have prevented them from working, such was
+the terror with which that man had inspired us all. It may be said that
+we were a pack of cowards, who, without the courage to demand better
+treatment, deserved all we got. While admitting that such a conclusion
+is quite a natural one at which to arrive, I must deny its truth. There
+were men in that forecastle as good citizens and as brave fellows as you
+would wish to meet--men who in their own sphere would have commanded and
+obtained respect. But under the painful and abnormal circumstances in
+which they found themselves--beaten and driven like dogs while in the
+throes of sea-sickness, half starved and hopeless, their spirit had been
+so broken, and they were so kept down to that sad level by the display
+of force, aided by deadly weapons aft, that no other condition could
+be expected for them but that of broken-hearted slaves. My own case
+was many degrees better than that of the other whites, as I have before
+noted; but I was perfectly well aware that the slightest attempt on my
+part to show that I resented our common treatment would meet with the
+most brutal repression, and, in addition, I might look for a dreadful
+time of it for the rest of the voyage.
+
+The memory of that week of misery is so strong upon me even now that my
+hand trembles almost to preventing me from writing about it. Weak and
+feeble do the words seem as I look at them, making me wish for the fire
+and force of Carlyle or Macaulay to portray our unnecessary sufferings.
+
+Like all other earthly ills, however, they came to an end, at least
+for a time, and I was delighted to note that we were getting to the
+northward again. In making the outward passage round the Cape, it is
+necessary to go well south, in order to avoid the great westerly set of
+the Agulhas current, which for ever sweeps steadily round the southern
+extremity of the African continent at an average rate of three or four
+miles an hour. To homeward-bound ships this is a great boon. No matter
+what the weather may be--a stark calm or a gale of wind right on end in
+your teeth--that vast, silent river in the sea steadily bears you on at
+the same rate in the direction of home. It is perfectly true that with
+a gale blowing across the set of this great current, one of the very
+ugliest combinations of broken waves is raised; but who cares for that,
+when he knows that, as long as the ship holds together, some seventy or
+eighty miles per day nearer home must be placed to her credit? In like
+manner, it is of the deepest comfort to know that, storm or calm, fair
+or foul, the current of time, unhasting, unresting, bears us on to the
+goal that we shall surely reach--the haven of unbroken rest.
+
+Not the least of the minor troubles on board the CACHALOT was the
+uncertainty of our destination; we never knew where we were going.
+It may seem a small point, but it is really not so unimportant as a
+landsman might imagine. On an ordinary passage, certain well-known signs
+are as easily read by the seaman as if the ship's position were given
+out to him every day. Every alteration of the course signifies some
+point of the journey reached, some well-known track entered upon, and
+every landfall made becomes a new departure from whence to base one's
+calculations, which, rough as they are, rarely err more than a few days.
+
+Say, for instance, you are bound for Calcutta. The first of the
+north-east trades will give a fair idea of your latitude being about the
+edge of the tropics somewhere, or say from 20deg. to 25deg. N., whether
+you have sighted any of the islands or not. Then away you go before the
+wind down towards the Equator, the approach to which is notified by the
+loss of the trade and the dirty, changeable weather of the "doldrums."
+That weary bit of work over, along come the south-east trades, making
+you brace "sharp up," and sometimes driving you uncomfortably near the
+Brazilian coast. Presently more "doldrums," with a good deal more
+wind in them than in the "wariables" of the line latitude. The brave
+"westerly" will come along by-and-by and release you, and, with a
+staggering press of sail carried to the reliable gale, away you go for
+the long stretch of a hundred degrees or so eastward. You will very
+likely sight Tristan d'Acunha or Gough Island; but, if not, the course
+will keep you fairly well informed of your longitude, since most ships
+make more or less of a great circle track. Instead of steering due East
+for the whole distance, they make for some southerly latitude by running
+along the arc of a great circle, THEN run due east for a thousand miles
+or so before gradually working north again. These alterations in the
+courses tell the foremast hand nearly all he wants to know, slight as
+they are. You will most probably sight Amsterdam Island or St. Paul's in
+about 77deg. E.; but whether you do or not, the big change made in the
+course, to say nothing of the difference in the weather and temperature,
+say loudly that your long easterly run is over, and you are bound to
+the northward again. Soon the south-east trades will take you gently
+in hand, and waft you pleasurably upward to the line again, unless you
+should be so unfortunate as to meet one of the devastating meteors known
+as "cyclones" in its gyration across the Indian Ocean. After losing the
+trade, which signals your approach to the line once more, your guides
+fluctuate muchly with the time of year. But it may be broadly put
+that the change of the monsoon in the Bay of Bengal is beastliness
+unadulterated, and the south-west monsoon itself, though a fair wind for
+getting to your destination, is worse, if possible. Still, having got
+that far, you are able to judge pretty nearly when, in the ordinary
+course of events, you will arrive at Saugor, and get a tug for the rest
+of the journey.
+
+But on this strange voyage I was quite as much in the dark concerning
+our approximate position as any of the chaps who had never seen salt
+water before they viewed it from the bad eminence of the CACHALOT's
+deck. Of course, it was evident that we were bound eastward, but whether
+to the Indian seas or to the South Pacific, none knew but the skipper,
+and perhaps the mate. I say "perhaps" advisedly. In any well-regulated
+merchant ship there is an invariable routine of observations performed
+by both captain and chief officer, except in very big vessels, where the
+second mate is appointed navigating officer. The two men work out their
+reckoning independently of each other, and compare the result, so that
+an excellent check upon the accuracy of the positions found is
+thereby afforded. Here, however, there might not have been, as far as
+appearances went, a navigator in the ship except the captain, if it be
+not a misuse of terms to call him a navigator. If the test be ability
+to take a ship round the world, poking into every undescribed,
+out-of-the-way corner you can think of, and return home again without
+damage to the ship of any kind except by the unavoidable perils of
+the sea, then doubtless he WAS a navigator, and a ripe, good one. But
+anything cruder than the "rule-of-thumb" way in which he found his
+positions, or more out of date than his "hog-yoke," or quadrant, I have
+never seen. I suppose we carried a chronometer, though I never saw it or
+heard the cry of "stop," which usually accompanies a.m. or p.m. "sights"
+taken for longitude. He used sometimes to make a deliberate sort of
+haste below after taking a sight, when he may have been looking at a
+chronometer perhaps. What I do know about his procedure is, that he
+always used a very rough method of equal altitudes, which would make a
+mathematician stare and gasp; that his nautical almanac was a ten-cent
+one published by some speculative optician is New York; that he never
+worked up a "dead reckoning;" and that the extreme limit of time that
+he took to work out his observations was ten minutes. In fact, all
+our operations in seamanship or navigation were run on the same
+happy-go-lucky principle. If it was required to "tack" ship, there was
+no formal parade and preparation for the manoeuvre, not even as much as
+would be made in a Goole billy-boy. Without any previous intimation,
+the helm would be put down, and round she would come, the yards being
+trimmed by whoever happened to be nearest to the braces. The old tub
+seemed to like it that way, for she never missed stays or exhibited
+any of that unwillingness to do what she was required that is such a
+frequent characteristic of merchantmen. Even getting under way or coming
+to an anchor was unattended by any of the fuss and bother from which
+those important evolutions ordinarily appear inseparable.
+
+To my great relief we saw no more whales of the kind we were after
+during our passage round the Cape. The weather we were having was
+splendid for making a passage, but to be dodging about among those
+immense rollers, or towed athwart them by a wounded whale in so small
+a craft as one of our whale-boats, did not have any attractions for me.
+There was little doubt in any of our minds that, if whales were seen,
+off we must go while daylight lasted, let the weather be what it might.
+So when one morning I went to the wheel, to find the course N.N.E.
+instead of E. by N., it may be taken for granted that the change was
+a considerable relief to me. It was now manifest that we were bound up
+into the Indian Ocean, although of course I knew nothing of the position
+of the districts where whales were to be looked for. Gradually we crept
+northward, the weather improving every day as we left the "roaring
+forties" astern. While thus making northing we had several fine catches
+of porpoises, and saw many rorquals, but sperm whales appeared to have
+left the locality. However, the "old man" evidently knew what he was
+about, as we were not now cruising, but making a direct passage for some
+definite place.
+
+At last we sighted land, which, from the course which we had been
+steering, might have been somewhere on the east coast of Africa, but
+for the fact that it was right ahead, while we were pointing at the
+time about N.N.W. By-and-by I came to the conclusion that it must be
+the southern extremity of Madagascar, Cape St. Mary, and, by dint of the
+closest, attention to every word I heard uttered while at the wheel by
+the officers, found that my surmise was correct. We skirted this point
+pretty closely, heading to the westward, and, when well clear of it,
+bore up to the northward, again for the Mozambique Channel. Another
+surprise. The very idea of WHALING in the Mozambique Channel seemed
+too ridiculous to mention; yet here we were, guided by a commander
+who, whatever his faults, was certainly most keen in his attention to
+business, and the unlikeliest man imaginable to take the ship anywhere
+unless he anticipated a profitable return for his visit.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X. A VISIT TO SOME STRANGE PLACES
+
+We had now entered upon what promised to be the most interesting part of
+our voyage. As a commercial speculation, I have to admit that the voyage
+was to me a matter of absolute indifference. Never, from the first week
+of my being on board, had I cherished any illusions upon that score, for
+it was most forcibly impressed on my mind that, whatever might be the
+measure of success attending our operations, no one of the crew forward
+could hope to benefit by it. The share of profits was so small, and the
+time taken to earn it so long, such a number of clothes were worn out
+and destroyed by us, only to be replaced from the ship's slop-chest at
+high prices, that I had quite resigned myself to the prospect of leaving
+the vessel in debt, whenever that desirable event might happen. Since,
+therefore, I had never made it a practice to repine at the inevitable,
+and make myself unhappy by the contemplation of misfortunes I was
+powerless to prevent, I tried to interest myself as far as was possible
+in gathering information, although at that time I had no idea, beyond a
+general thirst for knowledge, that what I was now learning would ever
+be of any service to me. Yet I had been dull indeed not to have seen how
+unique were the opportunities I was now enjoying for observation of some
+of the least known and understood aspects of the ocean world and its
+wonderful inhabitants, to say nothing of visits to places unvisited,
+except by such free lances as we were, and about which so little is
+really known.
+
+The weather of the Mozambique Channel was fairly good, although subject
+to electric storms of the most terrible aspect, but perfectly harmless.
+On the second evening after rounding Cape St. Mary, we were proceeding,
+as usual, under very scanty sail, rather enjoying the mild, balmy
+air, scent-laden, from Madagascar. The moon was shining in tropical
+splendour, paling the lustre of the attendant stars, and making the
+glorious Milky Way but a faint shadow of its usual resplendent road.
+Gradually from the westward there arose a murky mass of cloud, fringed
+at its upper edges with curious tinted tufts of violet, orange, and
+crimson. These colours were not brilliant, but plainly visible against
+the deep blue sky. Slowly and solemnly the intruding gloom overspread
+the sweet splendour of the shining sky, creeping like a death-shadow
+over a dear face, and making the most talkative feel strangely quiet and
+ill at ease. As the pall of thick darkness blotted out the cool light,
+it seemed to descend until at last we were completely over-canopied by
+a dome of velvety black, seemingly low enough to touch the mast-heads.
+A belated sea-bird's shrill scream but emphasized the deep silence
+which lent itself befittingly to the solemnity of nature. Presently thin
+suggestions of light, variously tinted, began to thread the inky
+mass. These grew brighter and more vivid, until at last, in fantastic
+contortions, they appeared to rend the swart concave asunder, revealing
+through the jagged clefts a lurid waste of the most intensely glowing
+fire. The coming and going of these amazing brightnesses, combined with
+the Egyptian dark between, was completely blinding. So loaded was the
+still air with electricity that from every point aloft pale flames
+streamed upward, giving the ship the appearance of a huge candelabrum
+with innumerable branches. One of the hands, who had been ordered aloft
+on some errand of securing a loose end, presented a curious sight.
+He was bareheaded, and from his hair the all pervading fluid arose,
+lighting up his features, which were ghastly beyond description. When he
+lifted his hand, each separate finger became at once an additional point
+from which light streamed. There was no thunder, but a low hissing and a
+crackling which did not amount to noise, although distinctly audible to
+all. Sensations most unpleasant of pricking and general irritation were
+felt by every one, according to their degree of susceptibility.
+
+After about an hour of this state of things, a low moaning of thunder
+was heard, immediately followed by a few drops of rain large as dollars.
+The mutterings and grumblings increased until, with one peal that made
+the ship tremble as though she had just struck a rock at full speed,
+down came the rain. The windows of heaven were opened, and no man might
+stand against the steaming flood that descended by thousands of tons
+per minute. How long it continued, I cannot say; probably, in its utmost
+fierceness, not more than half an hour. Then it slowly abated, clearing
+away as it did so the accumulation of gloom overhead, until, before
+midnight had struck, all the heavenly host were shedding their beautiful
+brilliancy upon us again with apparently increased glory, while the
+freshness and invigorating feel of the air was inexpressibly delightful.
+
+We did not court danger by hugging too closely any of the ugly reefs and
+banks that abound in this notably difficult strait, but gave them all a
+respectfully wide berth. It was a feature of our navigation that, unless
+we had occasion to go near any island or reef for fishing or landing
+purposes, we always kept a safe margin of distance away, which probably
+accounts for our continued immunity from accident while in tortuous
+waters. Our anchors and cables were, however, always kept ready for use
+now, in case of an unsuspected current or sudden storm; but beyond that
+precaution, I could see little or no difference in the manner of our
+primitive navigation.
+
+We met with no "luck" for some time, and the faces of the harpooners
+grew daily longer, the great heat of those sultry waters trying all
+tempers sorely. But Captain Slocum knew his business, and his scowling,
+impassive face showed no signs of disappointment, or indeed any other
+emotion, as day by day we crept farther north. At last we sighted the
+stupendous peak of Comoro mountain, which towers to nearly nine thousand
+feet from the little island which gives its name to the Comoro group
+of four. On that same day a school of medium-sized sperm whales were
+sighted, which appeared to be almost of a different race to those with
+which we had hitherto had dealings. They were exceedingly fat and lazy,
+moving with the greatest deliberation, and, when we rushed in among
+them, appeared utterly bewildered and panic-stricken, knowing not which
+way to flee. Like a flock of frightened sheep they huddled together,
+aimlessly wallowing in each other's way, while we harpooned them with
+the greatest ease and impunity. Even the "old man" himself lowered
+the fifth boat, leaving the ship to the carpenter, cooper, cook, and
+steward, and coming on the scene as if determined to make a field-day of
+the occasion. He was no "slouch" at the business either. Not that there
+was much occasion or opportunity to exhibit any prowess. The record of
+the day's proceedings would be as tame as to read of a day's work in a
+slaughter-house. Suffice it to say, that we actually killed six whales,
+none of whom were less than fifty barrels, no boat ran out more than
+one hundred fathoms of line, neither was a bomb-lance used. Not the
+slightest casualty occurred to any of the boats, and the whole work of
+destruction was over in less than four hours.
+
+Then came the trouble. The fish were, of course somewhat widely
+separated when they died, and the task of collecting all those immense
+carcasses was one of no ordinary magnitude. Had it not been for the
+wonderfully skilful handling of the ship, the task would, I should
+think, have been impossible, but the way in which she was worked
+compelled the admiration of anybody who knew what handling a ship meant.
+Still, with all the ability manifested, it was five hours after the last
+whale died before we had gathered them all alongside, bringing us to
+four o'clock in the afternoon.
+
+A complete day under that fierce blaze of the tropical sun, without
+other refreshment than an occasional furtive drink of tepid water, had
+reduced us to a pitiable condition of weakness, so much so that the
+skipper judged it prudent, as soon as the fluke-chains were passed, to
+give us a couple of hours' rest. As soon as the sun had set we were all
+turned to again, three cressets were prepared, and by their blaze we
+toiled the whole night through. Truth compels me to state, though, that
+none of us foremast hands had nearly such heavy work as the officers on
+the stage. What they had to do demanded special knowledge and skill; but
+it was also terribly hard work, constant and unremitting, while we at
+the windlass had many a short spell between the lifting of the pieces.
+Even the skipper took a hand, for the first time, and right manfully did
+he do his share.
+
+By the first streak of dawn, three of the whales had been stripped of
+their blubber, and five heads were bobbing astern at the ends of as many
+hawsers. The sea all round presented a wonderful sight. There must have
+been thousands of sharks gathered to the feast, and their incessant
+incursions through the phosphorescent water wove a dazzling network of
+brilliant tracks which made the eyes ache to look upon. A short halt was
+called for breakfast, which was greatly needed, and, thanks to the cook,
+was a thoroughly good one. He--blessings on him!--had been busy fishing,
+as we drifted slowly, with savoury pieces of whale-beef for bait, and
+the result was a mess of fish which would have gladdened the heart of an
+epicure. Our hunger appeased, it was "turn to" again, for there was now
+no time to be lost. The fierce heat soon acts upon the carcass of a
+dead whale, generating an immense volume of gas within it, which, in a
+wonderfully short space of time, turns the flesh putrid and renders the
+blubber so rotten that it cannot be lifted, nor, if it could, would it
+be of any value. So it was no wonder that our haste was great, or that
+the august arbiter of our destinies himself condescended to take his
+place among the toilers. By nightfall the whole of our catch was on
+board, excepting such toll as the hungry hordes of sharks had levied
+upon it in transit. A goodly number of them had paid the penalty of
+their rapacity with their lives, for often one would wriggle his way
+right up on to the reeking carcass, and, seizing a huge fragment of
+blubber, strive with might and main to tear it away. Then the lethal
+spade would drop upon his soft crown, cleaving it to the jaws, and with
+one flap of his big tail he would loose his grip, roll over and over,
+and sink, surrounded by a writhing crowd of his fellows, by whom he was
+speedily reduced into digestible fragments.
+
+The condition of the CACHALOT's deck was now somewhat akin to chaos.
+From the cabin door to the tryworks there was hardly an inch of
+available space, and the oozing oil kept some of us continually baling
+it up, lest it should leak out through the interstices in the bulwarks.
+In order to avoid a breakdown, it became necessary to divide the crew
+into six-hour watches, as although the work was exceedingly urgent on
+account of the weather, there were evident signs that some of the crew
+were perilously near giving in. So we got rest none too soon, and the
+good effects of it were soon apparent. The work went on with much more
+celerity than one would have thought possible, and soon the lumbered-up
+decks began to resume their normal appearance.
+
+As if to exasperate the "old man" beyond measure on the third day of
+our operations a great school of sperm whales appeared, disporting all
+around the ship, apparently conscious of our helplessness to interfere
+with them. Notwithstanding our extraordinary haul, Captain Slocum went
+black with impotent rage, and, after glowering at the sportive monsters,
+beat a retreat below, unable to bear the sight any longer. During his
+absence we had a rare treat. The whole school surrounded the ship, and
+performed some of the strangest evolutions imaginable. As if instigated
+by one common impulse, they all elevated their massive heads above
+the surface of the sea, and remained for some time in that position,
+solemnly bobbing up and down amid the glittering wavelets like movable
+boulders of black rock. Then, all suddenly reversed themselves, and,
+elevating their broad flukes in the air, commenced to beat them slowly
+and rhythmically upon the water, like so many machines. Being almost a
+perfect calm, every movement of the great mammals could be plainly seen;
+some of them even passed so near to us that we could see how the lower
+jaw hung down, while the animal was swimming in a normal position.
+
+For over an hour they thus paraded around us, and then, as if startled
+by some hidden danger, suddenly headed off to the westward, and in a few
+minutes were out of our sight.
+
+We cruised in the vicinity of the Comoro Islands for two months, never
+quite out of sight of the mountain while the weather was clear. During
+the whole of that time we were never clear of oil on deck, one catch
+always succeeding another before there had been time to get cleared
+up. Eight hundred barrels of oil were added to our cargo, making the
+undisciplined hearts of all to whom whaling was a novel employment beat
+high with hopes of a speedy completion of the cargo, and consequent
+return. Poor innocents that we were! How could we know any better?
+According to Goliath, with whom I often had a friendly chat, this was
+quite out of the ordinary run to have such luck in the "Channel."
+
+"'Way back in de dark ages, w'en de whaleships war de pi'neers
+ob commerce, 'n day wan't no worryin', poofity-plukity steamboats
+a-poundin' along, 'nough ter galley ebery whale clean eout ob dere skin,
+dey war plenty whaleships fill up in twelve, fifteen, twenty monf' after
+leabin' home. 'N er man bed his pick er places, too--didn' hab ter go
+moseyin erroun' like some ol' hobo lookin' fer day's work, 'n prayin'
+de good Lord not ter let um fine it. No, sah; roun yer China Sea, coas'
+Japan, on de line, off shore, Vasquez, 'mong de islan's, ohmos' anywhar,
+you couldn' hardly git way from 'em. Neow, I clar ter glory I kaint
+imagine WAR dey all gone ter, dough we bin eout only six seven monf' 'n
+got over tousan bar'l below. But I bin two year on er voy'ge and
+doan hardly SEE a sparm while, much less catch one. But"--and here he
+whispered mysteriously--"dish yer ole man's de bery debbil's own chile,
+'n his farder lookin' after him well--dat's my 'pinion. Only yew keep
+yer head tight shut, an' nebber say er word, but keep er lookin', 'n
+sure's death you'll see." This conversation made a deep and lasting
+impression upon me, for I had not before heard even so much as a
+murmur from an officer against the tyranny of the skipper. Some of the
+harpooners were fluent enough, too.
+
+Yet I had often thought that his treatment of them, considering the
+strenuous nature of their toil, and the willingness with which they
+worked as long as they had an ounce of energy left, was worth at least a
+little kindness and courtesy on his part.
+
+What the period may have been during which whales were plentiful here,
+I do not know, but it was now May, and for the last few days we had not
+seen a solitary spout of any kind. Preparations, very slight it is
+true, were made for departure; but before we left those parts we made
+an interesting call for water at Mohilla, one of the Comoro group,
+which brought out, in unmistakable fashion, the wonderful fund of local
+knowledge possessed by these men. At the larger ports of Johanna and
+Mayotte there is a regular tariff of port charges, which are somewhat
+heavy, and no whaleman would be so reckless as to incur these unless
+driven thereto by the necessity of obtaining provisions; otherwise, the
+islands offer great inducements to whaling captains to call, since none
+but men hopelessly mad would venture to desert in such places. That
+qualification is the chief one for any port to possess in the eyes of a
+whaling captain.
+
+Our skipper, however, saw no necessity for entering any port. Running up
+under the lee of Mohilla, we followed the land along until we came to
+a tiny bight on the western side of the island, an insignificant inlet
+which no mariner in charge of a vessel like ours could be expected even
+to notice, unless he were surveying. The approaches to this tiny harbour
+(save the mark) were very forbidding. Ugly-looking rocks showed up here
+and there, the surf over them frequently blinding the whole entry.
+But we came along, in our usual leisurely fashion, under two topsails,
+spanker, and fore-topmast staysail, and took that ugly passage like a
+sailing barge entering the Medway. There was barely room to turn round
+when we got inside, but all sail had been taken off her except the
+spanker, so that her way was almost stopped by the time she was fairly
+within the harbour. Down went the anchor, and she was fast--anchored for
+the first time since leaving New Bedford seven months before. Here we
+were shut out entirely from the outer world, for I doubt greatly whether
+even a passing dhow could have seen us from seaward. We were not here
+for rest, however, but wood and water; so while one party was supplied
+with well-sharpened axes, and sent on shore to cut down such small trees
+as would serve our turn, another party was busily employed getting out
+a number of big casks for the serious business of watering. The cooper
+knocked off the second or quarter hoops from each of these casks, and
+drove them on again with two "beckets" or loops of rope firmly jammed
+under each of them in such a manner that the loops were in line
+with each other on each side of the bunghole. They were then lowered
+overboard, and a long rope rove through all the beckets. When this was
+done, the whole number of casks floated end to end, upright and secure.
+We towed them ashore to where, by the skipper's directions, at about
+fifty yards from high-water mark, a spring of beautiful water bubbled
+out of the side of a mass of rock, losing itself in a deep crevice
+below. Lovely ferns, rare orchids, and trailing plants of many kinds
+surrounded this fairy-like spot in the wildest profusion, making a
+tangle of greenery that we had considerable trouble to clear away.
+Having done so, we led a long canvas hose from the spot whence the water
+flowed down to the shore where the casks floated. The chief officer,
+with great ingenuity, rigged up an arrangement whereby the hose, which
+had a square month about a foot wide, was held up to the rock, saving us
+the labour of bailing and filling by hand. So we were able to rest and
+admire at our ease the wonderful variety of beautiful plants which grew
+here so lavishly, unseen by mortal eye from one year's end to another.
+I have somewhere read that the Creator has delight in the beautiful work
+of His will, wherever it may be; and that while our egotism wonders at
+the waste of beauty, as we call it, there is no waste at all, since the
+Infinite Intelligence can dwell with complacency upon the glories of His
+handiwork, perfectly fulfilling their appointed ends.
+
+All too soon the pleasant occupation came to an end. The long row of
+casks, filled to the brim and tightly bunged, were towed off by us to
+the ship, and ranged alongside. A tackle and pair of "can-hooks" was
+overhauled to the water and hooked to a cask. "Hoist away!" And as the
+cask rose, the beckets that had held it to the mother-rope were cut,
+setting it quite free to come on board, but leaving all the others still
+secure. In this way we took in several thousand gallons of water in a
+few hours, with a small expenditure of labour, free of cost; whereas,
+had we gone into Mayotte or Johanna, the water would have been bad, the
+price high, the labour great, with the chances of a bad visitation of
+fever in the bargain.
+
+The woodmen had a much more arduous task. The only wood they could find,
+without cutting down big trees, which would have involved far too much
+labour in cutting up, was a kind of iron-wood, which, besides being very
+heavy, was so hard as to take pieces clean out of their axe-edges,
+when a blow was struck directly across the grain. As none of them were
+experts, the condition of their tools soon made their work very hard.
+But that they had taken several axes in reserve, it is doubtful whether
+they would have been able to get sufficient fuel for our purpose.
+When they pitched the wood off the rocks into the harbour, it sank
+immediately, giving them a great deal of trouble to fish it up again.
+Neither could they raft it as intended, but were compelled to load it
+into the boats and make several journeys to and fro before all they had
+cut was shipped. Altogether, I was glad that the wooding had not fallen
+to my share. On board the ship fishing had been going on steadily most
+of the day by a few hands told off for the purpose. The result of their
+sport was splendid, over two hundred-weight of fine fish of various
+sorts, but all eatable, having been gathered in.
+
+We lay snugly anchored all night, keeping a bright look-out for any
+unwelcome visitors either from land or sea, for the natives are not to
+be trusted, neither do the Arab mongrels who cruise about those waters
+in their dhows bear any too good a reputation. We saw none, however,
+and at daylight we weighed and towed the ship out to sea with the boats,
+there being no wind. While busy at this uninteresting pastime, one of
+the boats slipped away, returning presently with a fine turtle, which
+they had surprised during his morning's nap. One of the amphibious
+Portuguese slipped over the boat's side as she neared the sleeping
+SPHARGA, and, diving deep, came up underneath him, seizing with crossed
+hands the two hind flippers, and, with a sudden, dexterous twist, turned
+the astonished creature over on his back. Thus rendered helpless, the
+turtle lay on the surface feebly waving his flippers, while his captor,
+gently treading water, held him in that position till the boat reached
+the pair and took them on board. It was a clever feat, neatly executed,
+as unlike the clumsy efforts I had before seen made with the same object
+as anything could possibly be.
+
+After an hour's tow, we had got a good offing, and a light air springing
+up, we returned on board, hoisted the boats, and made sail to the
+northward again.
+
+With the exception of the numerous native dhows that crept lazily about,
+we saw no vessels as we gradually drew out of the Mozambique Channel and
+stood away towards the Line. The part of the Indian Ocean in which we
+now found ourselves is much dreaded by merchantmen, who give it a wide
+berth on account of the numerous banks, islets, and dangerous currents
+with which it abounds. We, however, seemed quite at home here, pursuing
+the even tenor of our usual way without any special precautions being
+taken. A bright look-out, we always kept, of course--none of your drowsy
+lolling about such as is all too common on the "fo'lk'sle head" of many
+a fine ship, when, with lights half trimmed or not shown at all, she is
+ploughing along blindly at twelve knots or so an hour. No; while we were
+under way during daylight, four pairs of keen eyes kept incessant vigil
+a hundred feet above the deck, noting everything, even to a shoal
+of small fish, that crossed within the range of vision. At night we
+scarcely moved, but still a vigilant lookout was always kept both fore
+and aft, so that it would have been difficult for us to drift upon a
+reef unknowingly.
+
+Creeping steadily northward, we passed the Cosmoledo group of atolls
+without paying them a visit, which was strange, as, from their
+appearance, no better fishing-ground would be likely to come in our way.
+They are little known, except to the wandering fishermen from Reunion
+and Rodriguez, who roam about these islets and reefs, seeking anything
+that may be turned into coin, from wrecks to turtle, and in nowise
+particular as to rights of ownership. When between the Cosmoledos
+and Astove, the next island to the northward, we sighted a "solitary"
+cachalot one morning just as the day dawned. It was the first for some
+time--nearly three weeks--and being all well seasoned to the work now,
+we obeyed the call to arms with great alacrity. Our friend was making a
+passage, turning neither to the right hand nor the left as he went. His
+risings and number of spouts while up, as well as the time he remained
+below, were as regular as the progress of a clock, and could be counted
+upon with quite as much certainty.
+
+Bearing in mind, I suppose, the general character of the whales we had
+recently met with, only two boats were lowered to attack the new-comer,
+who, all unconscious of our coming, pursued his leisurely course
+unheeding.
+
+We got a good weather gage of him, and came flying on as usual getting
+two irons planted in fine style. But a surprise awaited us. As we
+sheered up into the wind away from him, Louis shouted, "Fightin' whale,
+sir; look out for de rush!" Look out, indeed? Small use in looking out
+when, hampered as we always were at first with the unshipping of the
+mast, we could do next to nothing to avoid him. Without any of the
+desperate flounderings generally indulged in on first feeling the iron,
+he turned upon us, and had it not been that he caught sight of the
+second mate's boat, which had just arrived, and turned his attentions
+to her, there would have been scant chance of any escape for us. Leaping
+half out of water, he made direct for our comrades with a vigour and
+ferocity marvellous to see, making it a no easy matter for them to avoid
+his tremendous rush. Our actions, at no time slow, were considerably
+hastened by this display of valour, so that before he could turn his
+attentions in our direction we were ready for him. Then ensued a really
+big fight, the first, in fact, of my experience, for none of the other
+whales had shown any serious determination to do us an injury, but had
+devoted all their energies to attempts at escape. So quick were the
+evolutions, and so savage the appearance of this fellow, that even
+our veteran mate looked anxious as to the possible result. Without
+attempting to "sound," the furious monster kept mostly below the
+surface; but whenever he rose, it was either to deliver a fearful blow
+with his tail, or, with jaws widespread, to try and bite one of our
+boats in half. Well was it for us that he was severely handicapped by
+a malformation of the lower jaw. At a short distance from the throat
+it turned off nearly at right angles to his body, the part that thus
+protruded sideways being deeply fringed with barnacles, and plated with
+big limpets.
+
+Had it not been for this impediment, I verily believe he would have
+beaten us altogether. As it was, he worked us nearly to death with his
+ugly rushes. Once he delivered a sidelong blow with his tail, which, as
+we spun round, shore off the two oars on that side as if they had been
+carrots. At last the second mate got fast to him, and then the character
+of the game changed again. Apparently unwearied by his previous
+exertions, he now started off to windward at top speed, with the
+two boats sheering broadly out upon either side of his foaming wake.
+Doubtless because he himself was much fatigued, the mate allowed him to
+run at his will, without for the time attempting to haul any closer to
+him, and very grateful the short rest was to us. But he had not gone
+a couple of miles before he turned a complete somersault in the water,
+coming up BEHIND us to rush off again in the opposite direction at
+undiminished speed. This move was a startler. For the moment it seemed
+as if both boats would be smashed like egg-shells against each other,
+or else that some of us would be impaled upon the long lances with which
+each boat's bow bristled. By what looked like a handbreadth, we cleared
+each other, and the race continued. Up till now we had not succeeded
+in getting home a single lance, the foe was becoming warier, while the
+strain was certainly telling upon our nerves. So Mr. Count got out his
+bomb-gun, shouting at the same time to Mr. Cruce to do the same. They
+both hated these weapons, nor ever used them if they could help it; but
+what was to be done?
+
+Our chief had hardly got his gun ready, before we came to almost a
+dead stop. All was silent for just a moment; then, with a roar like a
+cataract, up sprang the huge creature, head out, jaw wide open, coming
+direct for us. As coolly as if on the quarter-deck, the mate raised his
+gun, firing the bomb directly down the great livid cavern of a throat
+fronting him. Down went that mountainous head not six inches from us,
+but with a perfectly indescribable motion, a tremendous writhe, in fact;
+up flew the broad tail in air, and a blow which might have sufficed
+to stave in the side of the ship struck the second mate's boat fairly
+amidships. It was right before my eyes, not sixty feet away, and the
+sight will haunt me to my death. The tub oarsman was the poor German
+baker, about whom I have hitherto said nothing, except to note that he
+was one of the crew. That awful blow put an end summarily to all his
+earthly anxieties. As it shore obliquely through the centre of the boat,
+it drove his poor body right through her timbers--an undistinguishable
+bundle of what was an instant before a human being. The other members of
+the crew escaped the blow, and the harpooner managed to cut the line, so
+that for the present they were safe enough, clinging to the remains of
+their boat, unless the whale should choose to rush across them.
+
+Happily, his rushing was almost over. The bomb fired by Mr. Count, with
+such fatal result to poor Bamberger, must have exploded right in the
+whale's throat. Whether his previous titanic efforts had completely
+exhausted him, or whether the bomb had broken his massive backbone, I do
+not know, of course, but he went into no flurry, dying as peacefully as
+his course had been furious. For the first time in my life, I had been
+face to face with a violent death, and I was quite stunned with the
+awfulness of the experience. Mechanically, as it seemed to me, we
+obeyed such orders as were given, but every man's thoughts were with the
+shipmate so suddenly dashed from amongst us. We never saw sign of him
+again.
+
+While the ship was running down to us, another boat had gone to rescue
+the clinging crew of the shattered boat, for the whole drama had been
+witnessed from the ship, although they were not aware of the death of
+the poor German. When the sad news was told on board, there was a deep
+silence, all work being carried on so quietly that we seemed like a crew
+of dumb men. With a sentiment for which I should not have given our grim
+skipper credit, the stars and stripes were hoisted half-mast, telling
+the silent sky and moaning sea, sole witnesses besides ourselves, of the
+sudden departure from among us of our poor shipmate. We got the whale
+cut in as usual without any incident worth mentioning, except that the
+peculiar shape of the jaw made it an object of great curiosity to all
+of us who were new to the whale-fishing. Such malformations are not very
+rare. They are generally thought to occur when the animal is young, and
+its bones soft; but whether done in fighting with one another, or
+in some more mysterious way, nobody knows. Cases have been known, I
+believe, where the deformed whale does not appear to have suffered from
+lack of food in consequence of his disability; but in each of the three
+instances which have come under my own notice, such was certainly not
+the case. These whales were what is termed by the whalers "dry-skins;"
+that is, they were in poor condition, the blubber yielding less than
+half the usual quantity of oil. The absence of oil makes it very hard
+to cut up, and there is more work in one whale of this kind than in two
+whose blubber is rich and soft. Another thing which I have also noticed
+is, that these whales were much more difficult to tackle than others,
+for each of them gave us something special to remember them by. But I
+must not get ahead of my yarn.
+
+The end of the week brought us up to the Aldabra Islands, one of
+the puzzles of the world. For here, in these tiny pieces of earth,
+surrounded by thousands of miles of sea, the nearest land a group of
+islets like unto them, is found the gigantic tortoise, and in only one
+other place in the wide world, the Galapagos group of islands in the
+South Pacific. How, or by what strange freak of Dame Nature these
+curious reptiles, sole survivals of another age, should come to be
+found in this lonely spot, is a deep mystery, and one not likely to be
+unfolded now. At any rate, there they are, looking as if some of them
+might be coeval with Noah, so venerable and storm-beaten do they appear.
+
+We made the island early on a Sunday morning, and, with the usual
+celerity, worked the vessel into the fine harbour, called, from one
+of the exploring ships, Euphrates Bay or Harbour. The anchor down, and
+everything made snug below and aloft, we were actually allowed a run
+ashore free from restraint. I could hardly believe my ears. We had got
+so accustomed to our slavery that liberty was become a mere name; we
+hardly knew what to do with it when we got it. However, we soon got used
+(in a very limited sense) to being our own masters, and, each following
+the bent of his inclinations, set out for a ramble. My companion and I
+had not gone far, when we thought we saw one of the boulders, with which
+the island was liberally besprinkled, on the move. Running up to examine
+it with all the eagerness of children let out of school, we found it to
+be one of the inhabitants, a monstrous tortoise. I had some big turtle
+around the cays of the Gulf of Mexico, but this creature dwarfed them
+all. We had no means of actually measuring him, and had to keep clear
+of his formidable-looking jaws, but roughly, and within the mark, he was
+four feet long by two feet six inches wide. Of course he was much more
+dome-shaped than the turtle are, and consequently looked a great deal
+bigger than a turtle of the same measurement would, besides being much
+thicker through. As he was loth to stay with us, we made up our minds to
+go with him, for he was evidently making for some definite spot, by the
+tracks he was following, which showed plainly how many years that same
+road had been used. Well, I mounted on his back, keeping well astern,
+out of the reach of that serious-looking head, which having rather a
+long neck, looked as if it might be able to reach round and take a
+piece out of a fellow without any trouble. He was perfectly amicable,
+continuing his journey as if nothing had happened, and really getting
+over the ground at a good rate, considering the bulk and shape of him.
+Except for the novelty of the thing, this sort of ride had nothing to
+recommend it; so I soon tired of it, and let him waddle along in peace.
+By following the tracks aforesaid, we arrived at a fine stream of water
+sparkling out of a hillside, and running down a little ravine. The sides
+of this gully were worn quite smooth by the innumerable feet of the
+tortoises, about a dozen of which were now quietly crouching at the
+water's edge, filling themselves up with the cooling fluid. I did not
+see the patriarch upon whom a sailor once reported that he had read the
+legend carved, "The Ark, Captain Noah, Ararat for orders"; perhaps he
+had at last closed his peaceful career. But strange, and quaint as this
+exhibition of ancient reptiles was, we had other and better employment
+for the limited time at our disposal. There were innumerable curious
+things to see, and, unless we were to run the risk of going on board
+again and stopping there, dinner must be obtained. Eggs of various
+kinds were exceedingly plentiful; in many places the flats were almost
+impassable for sitting birds, mostly "boobies."
+
+But previous experience of boobies' eggs in other places had not
+disposed me to seek them where others were to be obtained, and as I had
+seen many of the well-known frigate or man-o'-war birds hovering
+about, we set out to the other side of the island in search of the
+breeding-place.
+
+These peculiar birds are, I think, misnamed. They should be called
+pirate or buccaneer birds, from their marauding habits. Seldom or never
+do they condescend to fish for themselves, preferring to hover high in
+the blue, their tails opening and closing like a pair of scissors
+as they hang poised above the sea. Presently booby--like some honest
+housewife who has been a-marketing--comes flapping noisily home, her maw
+laden with fish for the chicks. Down comes the black watcher from above
+with a swoop like an eagle. Booby puts all she knows into her flight,
+but vainly; escape is impossible, so with a despairing shriek she
+drops her load. Before it has touched the water the graceful thief has
+intercepted it, and soared slowly aloft again, to repeat the performance
+as occasion serves.
+
+When we arrived on the outer shore of the island, we found a large
+breeding-place of these birds, but totally different to the haunt of
+the boobies. The nests, if they might be so called, being at best a few
+twigs, were mostly in the hollows of the rocks, the number of eggs
+being two to a nest, on an average. The eggs were nearly as large as a
+turkey's. But I am reminded of the range of size among turkeys' eggs,
+so I must say they were considerably larger than a small turkey's egg.
+Their flavour was most delicate, as much so as the eggs of a moor-fed
+fowl. We saw no birds sitting, but here and there the gaunt skeleton
+forms of birds, who by reason of sickness or old age were unable to
+provide for themselves, and so sat waiting for death, appealed most
+mournfully to us. We went up to some of these poor creatures, and ended
+their long agony; but there were many of them that we were obliged to
+leave to Nature.
+
+We saw no animals larger than a rat, but there were a great many
+of those eerie-looking land-crabs, that seemed as if almost humanly
+intelligent as they scampered about over the sand or through the
+undergrowth, busy about goodness knows what. The beautiful cocoa-nut
+palm was plentiful, so much so that I wondered why there were no
+settlers to collect "copra," or dried cocoa-nut, for oil. My West Indian
+experience came in handy now, for I was able to climb a lofty tree in
+native fashion, and cut down a grand bunch of green nuts, which form one
+of the most refreshing and nutritious of foods, as well as a cool and
+delicious drink. We had no line with us, so we took off our belts,
+which, securely joined together, answered my purpose very well. With
+them I made a loop round the tree and myself; then as I climbed I pushed
+the loop up with me, so that whenever I wanted a rest, I had only to
+lean back in it, keeping my knees against the trunk, and I was almost as
+comfortable as if on the ground.
+
+After getting the nuts, we made a fire and roasted some of our eggs,
+which, with a biscuit or two, made a delightful meal. Then we fell
+asleep under a shady tree, upon some soft moss; nor did we wake again
+until nearly time to go on board. A most enjoyable swim terminated our
+day's outing, and we returned to the beach abreast of the ship very
+pleased with the excursion.
+
+We had no adventures, found no hidden treasure or ferocious animals, but
+none the less we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. While we sat waiting for
+the boat to come and fetch us off, we saw a couple of good-sized turtle
+come ashore quite close to us. We kept perfectly still until we were
+sure of being able to intercept them. As soon as they had got far enough
+away from their native element, we rushed upon them, and captured them
+both, so that when the boat arrived we were not empty-handed. We had
+also a "jumper," or blouse, full of eggs, and a couple of immense
+bunches of cocoa-nuts. When we got on board we felt quite happy, and,
+for the first time since leaving America, we had a little singing. Shall
+I be laughed at when I confess that our musical efforts were confined
+to Sankey's hymns? Maybe, but I do not care. Cheap and clap-trap as the
+music may be, it tasted "real good," as Abner said, and I am quite sure
+that that Sunday night was the best that any of us had spent for a very
+long time.
+
+A long, sound sleep was terminated at dawn, when we weighed and stood
+out through a narrow passage by East Island, which was quite covered
+with fine trees--of what kind I do not know, but they presented a
+beautiful sight. Myriads of birds hovered about, busy fishing from the
+countless schools that rippled the placid sea. Beneath us, at twenty
+fathoms, the wonderful architecture of the coral was plainly visible
+through the brilliantly-clear sea, while, wherever the tiny builders had
+raised their fairy domain near the surface, an occasional roller would
+crown it with a snowy garland of foam--a dazzling patch of white against
+the sapphire sea. Altogether, such a panorama was spread out at our
+feet, as we stood gazing from the lofty crow's-nest, as was worth a year
+or two of city life to witness. I could not help pitying my companion,
+one of the Portuguese harpooners, who stolidly munched his quid with no
+eyes for any of these glorious pictures, no thought of anything but a
+possible whale in sight.
+
+My silent rhapsodies were rudely interrupted by something far away on
+the horizon. Hardly daring to breathe, I strained my eyes, and--yes,
+it was--"Ah blow-w-w-w!" I bellowed at the top of my lung-power, never
+before had I had the opportunity of thus distinguishing myself, and I
+felt a bit sore about it.
+
+There was a little obliquity about the direction of the spout that made
+me hopeful, for the cachalot alone sends his spout diagonally upward,
+all the others spout vertically. It was but a school of kogia, or
+"short-headed" cachalots; but as we secured five of them, averaging
+seven barrels each, with scarcely any trouble, I felt quite pleased with
+myself. We had quite an exciting bit of sport with them, they were so
+lively; but as for danger--well, they only seemed like big "black fish"
+to us now, and we quite enjoyed the fun. They were, in all respects,
+miniature sperm whales, except that the head was much shorter and
+smaller in proportion to the body than their big relations.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI. ROUND THE COCOS AND SEYCHELLES
+
+Hitherto, with the exception of a couple of gales in the North and
+South Atlantic, we had been singularly fortunate in our weather. It does
+happen so sometimes.
+
+I remember once making a round voyage from Cardiff to Hong Kong and the
+Philippines, back to London, in ten months, and during the whole of that
+time we did not have a downright gale. The worst weather we encountered
+was between Beachy Head and Portland, going round from London to
+Cardiff.
+
+And I once spoke the barque LUTTERWORTH, a companion ship to us from
+Portland, Oregon to Falmouth, whose mate informed me that they carried
+their royals from port to port without ever furling them once, except
+to shift the suit of sails. But now a change was evidently imminent. Of
+course, we forward had no access to the barometer; not that we should
+have understood its indications if we had seen it, but we all knew that
+something was going to be radically wrong with the weather. For instead
+of the lovely blue of the sky we had been so long accustomed to by
+day and night, a nasty, greasy shade had come over the heavens,
+which, reflected in the sea, made that look dirty and stale also. That
+well-known appearance of the waves before a storm was also very marked,
+which consists of an undecided sort of break in their tops. Instead of
+running regularly, they seemed to hunch themselves up in little heaps,
+and throw off a tiny flutter of spray, which generally fell in the
+opposite direction to what little wind there was. The pigs and fowls
+felt the approaching change keenly, and manifested the greatest
+uneasiness, leaving their food and acting strangely. We were making
+scarcely any headway, so that the storm was longer making its appearance
+than it would have been had we been a swift clipper ship running down
+the Indian Ocean. For two days we were kept in suspense; but on the
+second night the gloom began to deepen, the wind to moan, and a very
+uncomfortable "jobble" of a sea got up. Extra "gaskets" were put upon
+the sails, and everything movable about the decks was made as secure as
+it could be. Only the two close-reefed topsails and two storm stay-sails
+were carried, so that we were in excellent trim for fighting the bad
+weather when it did come. The sky gradually darkened and assumed a livid
+green tint, the effect of which was most peculiar.
+
+The wind blew fitfully in short, gusts, veering continually back and
+forth over about a quarter of the compass. Although it was still light,
+it kept up an incessant mournful moan not to be accounted for in
+any way. Darker and darker grew the heavens, although no clouds were
+visible, only a general pall of darkness. Glimmering lightnings played
+continually about the eastern horizon, but not brilliant enough to show
+us the approaching storm-cloud. And so came the morning of the third
+day from the beginning of the change. But for the clock we should hardly
+have known that day had broken, so gloomy and dark was the sky. At last
+light came in the east, but such a light as no one would wish to see. It
+was a lurid glare, such as may be seen playing over a cupola of Bessemer
+steel when the speigeleisen is added, only on such an extensive scale
+that its brilliancy was dulled into horror. Then, beneath it we saw the
+mountainous clouds fringed with dull violet and with jagged sabres of
+lightning darting from their solid black bosoms. The wind began to rise
+steadily but rapidly, so that by eight a.m. it was blowing a furious
+gale from E.N.E. In direction it was still unsteady, the ship coming up
+and falling off to it several points. Now, great masses of torn,
+ragged cloud hurtled past us above, so low down as almost to touch the
+mastheads. Still the wind increased, still the sea rose, till at last
+the skipper judged it well to haul down the tiny triangle of storm
+stay-sail still set (the topsail and fore stay-sail had been furled long
+before), and let her drift under bare poles, except for three square
+feet of stout canvas in the weather mizen-rigging. The roar of the
+wind now dominated every sound, so that it might have been thundering
+furiously, but we should not have heard it. The ship still maintained
+her splendid character as a sea-boat, hardly shipping a drop of water;
+but she lay over at a most distressing angle, her deck sloping off fully
+thirty-five to forty degrees. Fortunately she did not roll to windward.
+It may have been raining in perfect torrents, but the tempest tore off
+the surface of the sea, and sent it in massive sheets continually flying
+over us, so that we could not possibly have distinguished between fresh
+water and salt.
+
+The chief anxiety was for the safety of the boats. Early on the second
+day of warning they had been hoisted to the topmost notch of the cranes,
+and secured as thoroughly as experience could suggest; but at every lee
+lurch we gave it seemed as if we must dip them under water, while the
+wind threatened to stave the weather ones in by its actual solid weight.
+It was now blowing a furious cyclone, the force of which has never been
+accurately gauged (even by the present elaborate instruments of various
+kinds in use). That force is, however, not to be imagined by any one who
+has not witnessed it, except that one notable instance is on record by
+which mathematicians may get an approximate estimate.
+
+Captain Toynbee, the late highly respected and admired Marine
+Superintendent of the British Meteorological Office, has told us how,
+during a cyclone which he rode out in the HOTSPUR at Sandheads, the
+mouth of the Hooghly, the three naked topgallant-masts of his ship,
+though of well-tested timber a foot in diameter, and supported by all
+the usual network of stays, and without the yards, were snapped off and
+carried away solely by the violence of the wind. It must, of course,
+have been an extreme gust, which did not last many seconds, for no cable
+that was ever forged would have held the ship against such a cataclysm
+as that. This gentleman's integrity is above suspicion, so that no
+exaggeration could be charged against him, and he had the additional
+testimony of his officers and men to this otherwise incredible fact.
+
+The terrible day wore on, without any lightening of the tempest, till
+noon, when the wind suddenly fell to a calm. Until that time, the sea,
+although heavy, was not vicious or irregular, and we had not shipped
+any heavy water at all. But when the force of the wind was suddenly
+withdrawn, such a sea arose as I have never seen before or since. Inky
+mountains of water raised their savage heads in wildest confusion,
+smashing one another in whirlpools of foam. It was like a picture of the
+primeval deep out of which arose the new-born world. Suddenly out of
+the whirling blackness overhead the moon appeared, nearly in the zenith,
+sending down through the apex of a dome of torn and madly gyrating cloud
+a flood of brilliant light. Illumined by that startling radiance, our
+staunch and seaworthy ship was tossed and twirled in the hideous vortex
+of mad sea until her motion was distracting. It was quite impossible to
+loose one's hold and attempt to do anything without running the imminent
+risk of being dashed to pieces. Our decks were full of water now, for
+it tumbled on board at all points; but as yet no serious weight of a sea
+had fallen upon us, nor had any damage been done. Such a miracle as that
+could not be expected to continue for long. Suddenly a warning shout
+rang out from somewhere--"Hold on all, for your lives!" Out of the
+hideous turmoil around arose, like some black, fantastic ruin, an awful
+heap of water. Higher and higher it towered, until it was level with our
+lower yards, then it broke and fell upon us. All was blank. Beneath that
+mass every thought, every feeling, fled but one--"How long shall I
+be able to hold my breath?" After what seemed a never-ending time, we
+emerged from the wave more dead than alive, but with the good ship still
+staunch underneath us, and Hope's lamp burning brightly. The moon
+had been momentarily obscured, but now shone out again, lighting up
+brilliantly our bravely-battling ship. But, alas for others!--men,
+like ourselves, whose hopes were gone. Quite near us was the battered
+remainder of what had been a splendid ship. Her masts were gone, not
+even the stumps being visible, and it seemed to our eager eyes as if she
+was settling down. It was even so, for as we looked, unmindful of our
+own danger, she quietly disappeared--swallowed up with her human freight
+in a moment, like a pebble dropped into a pond.
+
+While we looked with hardly beating hearts at the place where she had
+sunk, all was blotted out in thick darkness again. With a roar, as of
+a thousand thunders, the tempest came once more, but from the opposite
+direction now. As we were under no sail, we ran little risk of being
+caught aback; but, even had we, nothing could have been done, the vessel
+being utterly out of control, besides the impossibility of getting
+about. It so happened, however, that when the storm burst upon us again,
+we were stern on to it, and we drove steadily for a few moments until we
+had time to haul to the wind again. Great heavens! how it blew! Surely,
+I thought, this cannot last long--just as we sometimes say of the
+rain when it is extra heavy. It did last, however, for what seemed an
+interminable time, although any one could see that the sky was getting
+kindlier. Gradually, imperceptibly, it took off, the sky cleared, and
+the tumult ceased, until a new day broke in untellable beauty over a
+revivified world.
+
+Years afterwards I read, in one of the hand-books treating of hurricanes
+and cyclones, that "in the centre of these revolving storms the sea is
+so violent that few ships can pass through it and live." That is true
+talk. I have been there, and bear witness that but for the build and
+sea-kindliness of the CACHALOT, she could not have come out of that
+horrible cauldron again, but would have joined that nameless unfortunate
+whom we saw succumb, "never again heard of." As it was, we found two
+of the boats stove in, whether by breaking sea or crushing wind nobody
+knows. Most of the planking of the bulwarks was also gone, burst outward
+by the weight of the water on deck. Only the normal quantity of water
+was found in the well on sounding, and not even a rope-yarn was gone
+from aloft. Altogether, we came out of the ordeal triumphantly, where
+many a gallant vessel met her fate, and the behaviour of the grand old
+tub gave me a positive affection for her, such as I have never felt for
+a ship before or since.
+
+There was now a big heap of work for the carpenter, so the skipper
+decided to run in for the Cocos or Keeling islands, in order to lay
+quietly and refit. We had now only three boats sound, the one smashed
+when poor Bamberger died being still unfinished--of course, the repairs
+had practically amounted to rebuilding. Therefore we kept away for this
+strange assemblage of reefs and islets, arriving off them early the next
+day.
+
+They consist of a true "atoll," or basin, whose rim is of coral
+reefs, culminating occasionally in sandy islands or cays formed by the
+accumulated debris washed up from the reef below, and then clothed upon
+with all sorts of plants by the agency of birds and waves.
+
+These islands have lately been so fully described in many different
+journals, that I shall not burden the reader with any twice-told tales
+about them, but merely chronicle the fact that for a week we lay at
+anchor off one of the outlying cays, toiling continuously to get the
+vessel again in fighting trim.
+
+At last the overworked carpenter and his crew got through their heavy
+task, and the order was given to "man the windlass." Up came the anchor,
+and away we went again towards what used to be a noted haunt of the
+sperm whale, the Seychelle Archipelego. Before the French, whose flag
+flies over these islands, had with their usual short-sighted policy,
+clapped on prohibitive port charges, Mahe was a specially favoured place
+of call for the whalers. But when whale-ships find that it does not pay
+to visit a place, being under no compulsion as regards time, they soon
+find other harbours that serve their turn. We, of course, had no need to
+visit any port for some time to come, having made such good use of our
+opportunities at the Cocos.
+
+We found whales scarce and small, so, although we cruised in this
+vicinity for nearly two months, six small cow cachalots were all we were
+able to add to our stock, representing less then two hundred barrels
+of oil. This was hardly good enough for Captain Slocum. Therefore, we
+gradually drew away from this beautiful cluster of islands, and crept
+across the Indian Ocean towards the Straits of Malacca. On the way, we
+one night encountered that strange phenomenon, a "milk" sea. It was a
+lovely night, with scarcely any wind, the stars trying to make up for
+the absence of the moon by shining with intense brightness. The water
+had been more phosphorescent than usual, so that every little fish left
+a track of light behind him, greatly disproportionate to his size. As
+the night wore on, the sea grew brighter and brighter, until by midnight
+we appeared to be sailing on an ocean of lambent flames. Every little
+wave that broke against the ship's side sent up a shower of diamond-like
+spray, wonderfully beautiful to see, while a passing school of porpoises
+fairly set the sea blazing as they leaped and gambolled in its glowing
+waters. Looking up from sea to sky, the latter seemed quite black
+instead of blue, and the lustre of the stars was diminished till they
+only looked like points of polished steel, having quite lost for the
+time their radiant sparkle. In that shining flood the blackness of the
+ship stood out in startling contrast, and when we looked over the side
+our faces were strangely lit up by the brilliant glow.
+
+For several hours this beautiful appearance persisted, fading away
+at last as gradually as it came. No satisfactory explanation of this
+curious phenomenon has ever been given, nor does it appear to portend
+any change of weather. It cannot be called a rare occurrence, although
+I have only seen it thrice myself--once in the Bay of Cavite, in the
+Philippine Islands; once in the Pacific, near the Solomon Islands; and
+on this occasion of which I now write. But no one who had ever witnessed
+it could forget so wonderful a sight.
+
+One morning, a week after are had taken our departure from the
+Seychelles, the officer at the main crow's-nest reported a vessel of
+some sort about five miles to the windward. Something strange in her
+appearance made the skipper haul up to intercept her. As we drew nearer,
+we made her out to be a Malay "prahu;" but, by the look of her, she
+was deserted. The big three-cornered sail that had been set, hung in
+tattered festoons from the long, slender yard, which, without any gear
+to steady it, swung heavily to and fro as the vessel rolled to the long
+swell. We drew closer and closer, but no sign of life was visible on
+board, so the captain ordered a boat to go and investigate.
+
+In two minutes we were speeding away towards her, and, making a sweep
+round her stern, prepared to board her. But we were met by a stench
+so awful that Mr. Count would not proceed, and at once returned to the
+ship. The boat was quickly hoisted again, and the ship manoeuvred to
+pass close to windward of the derelict. Then, from our mast-head, a
+horrible sight became visible. Lying about the weather-beaten deck,
+in various postures, were thirteen corpses, all far advanced in decay,
+which horrible fact fully accounted for the intolerable stench that had
+driven us away. It is, perhaps, hardly necessary to say that we promptly
+hauled our wind, and placed a good distance between us and that awful
+load of death as soon as possible. Poor wretches! What terrible calamity
+had befallen them, we could not guess; whatever it was, it had been
+complete; nor would any sane man falling across them run the risk of
+closer examination into details than we had done. It was a great pity
+that we were not able to sink the prahu with her ghastly cargo, and so
+free the air from that poisonous foetor that was a deadly danger to any
+vessel getting under her lee.
+
+Next day, and for a whole week after, we had a stark calm such a calm as
+one realizes who reads sympathetically that magical piece of work, the
+"Ancient Mariner." What an amazing instance of the triumph of the human
+imagination! For Coleridge certainly never witnessed such a scene as he
+there describes with an accuracy of detail that is astounding. Very
+few sailors have noticed the sickening condition of the ocean when the
+life-giving breeze totally fails for any length of time, or, if they
+have, they have said but little about it. Of course, some parts of the
+sea show the evil effects of stagnation much sooner than others; but,
+generally speaking, want of wind at sea, if long continued, produces
+a condition of things dangerous to the health of any land near by.
+Whale-ships, penetrating as they do to parts carefully avoided by
+ordinary trading vessels, often afford their crews an opportunity of
+seeing things mostly hidden from the sight of man, when, actuated by
+some mysterious impulse, the uncanny denizens of the middle depths of
+the ocean rise to higher levels, and show their weird shapes to the sun.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII. WHICH TREATS OF THE KRAKEN
+
+It has often been a matter for considerable surprise to me, that while
+the urban population of Great Britain is periodically agitated over the
+great sea-serpent question, sailors, as a class, have very little to say
+on the subject. During a considerable sea experience in all classes of
+vessels, except men-of-war, and in most positions, I have heard a fairly
+comprehensive catalogue of subjects brought under dog-watch discussion;
+but the sea-serpent has never, within my recollection, been one of them.
+
+The reasons for this abstinence may vary a great deal, but chief among
+them is--sailors, as a class, "don't believe in no such a pusson." More
+than that, they do believe that the mythical sea-serpent is "boomed"
+at certain periods, in the lack of other subjects, which may not be
+far from the fact. But there is also another reason, involving a
+disagreeable, although strictly accurate, statement. Sailors are, again
+taken as a class, the least observant of men. They will talk by the
+hour of trivialities about which they know nothing; they will spin
+interminable "cuffers" of debaucheries ashore all over the world; pick
+to pieces the reputation of all the officers with whom they have ever
+sailed; but of the glories, marvels, and mysteries of the mighty deep
+you will hear not a word. I can never forget when on my first voyage to
+the West Indies, at the age of twelve, I was one night smitten with awe
+and wonder at the sight of a vast halo round the moon, some thirty or
+forty degrees in diameter. Turning to the man at the wheel, I asked him
+earnestly "what THAT was." He looked up with an uninterested eye for
+an instant in the direction of my finger, then listlessly informed me,
+"That's what they call a sarcle." For a long time I wondered what he
+could mean, but it gradually dawned upon me that it was his Norfolk
+pronunciation of the word "circle." The definition was a typical one, no
+worse than would be given by the great majority of seamen of most of the
+natural phenomena they witness daily. Very few seamen could distinguish
+between one whale and another of a different species, or give an
+intelligible account of the most ordinary and often-seen denizens of the
+sea. Whalers are especially to be blamed for their blindness. "Eyes and
+no Eyes; or the Art of Seeing" has evidently been little heard of among
+them. To this day I can conceive of no more delightful journey for a
+naturalist to take than a voyage in a southern whaler, especially if he
+were allowed to examine at his leisure such creatures as were caught.
+But on board the CACHALOT I could get no information at all upon the
+habits of the strange creatures we met with, except whales, and very
+little about them.
+
+I have before referred to the great molluscs upon which the sperm whale
+feeds, portions of which I so frequently saw ejected from the stomach of
+dying whales. Great as my curiosity naturally was to know more of these
+immense organisms, all my inquiries on the subject were fruitless. These
+veterans of the whale-fishery knew that the sperm whale lived on big
+cuttlefish; but they neither knew, nor cared to know, anything more
+about these marvellous molluscs. Yet, from the earliest dawn of history,
+observant men have been striving to learn something definite about the
+marine monsters of which all old legends of the sea have something to
+say.
+
+As I mentioned in the last chapter, we were gradually edging across the
+Indian Ocean towards Sumatra, but had been checked in our course by a
+calm lasting a whole week. A light breeze then sprang up, aided by which
+we crept around Achin Head, the northern point of the great island of
+Sumatra. Like some gigantic beacon, the enormous mass of the Golden
+Mountain dominated the peaceful scene. Pulo Way, or Water Island, looked
+very inviting, and I should have been glad to visit a place so well
+known to seamen by sight, but so little known by actual touching at.
+Our recent stay at the Cocos, however, had settled the question of our
+calling anywhere else for some time decidedly in the negative, unless we
+might be compelled by accident; moreover, even in these days of law
+and order, it is not wise to go poking about among the islands of the
+Malayan seas unless you are prepared to fight. Our mission being to
+fight whales, we were averse to running any risks, except in the lawful
+and necessary exercise of our calling.
+
+It would at first sight appear strange that, in view of the enormous
+traffic of steamships through the Malacca Straits, so easily "gallied"
+a creature as the cachalot should care to frequent its waters; indeed,
+I should certainly think that a great reduction in the numbers of whales
+found there must have taken place. But it must also be remembered, that
+in modern steam navigation certain well-defined courses are laid down,
+which vessels follow from point to point with hardly any deviation
+therefrom, and that consequently little disturbance of the sea by their
+panting propellers takes place, except upon these marine pathways; as,
+for instance, in the Red Sea, where the examination of thousands of
+log-books proved conclusively that, except upon straight lines drawn
+from point to point between Suez to Perim, the sea is practically unused
+to-day.
+
+The few Arab dhows and loitering surveying ships hardly count in this
+connection, of course. At any rate, we had not entered the straits, but
+were cruising between Car Nicobar and Junkseylon, when we "met up" with
+a full-grown cachalot, as ugly a customer as one could wish. From nine
+a.m. till dusk the battle raged--for I have often noticed that unless
+you kill your whale pretty soon, he gets so wary, as well as fierce,
+that you stand a gaudy chance of being worn down yourselves before you
+settle accounts with your adversary. This affair certainly looked at one
+time as if such would be the case with us; but along about five p.m.,
+to our great joy, we got him killed. The ejected food was in masses of
+enormous size, larger than any we had yet seen on the voyage, some of
+them being estimated to be of the size of our hatch-house, viz. 8 feet x
+6 feet x 6 feet. The whale having been secured alongside, all hands were
+sent below, as they were worn out with the day's work. The third mate
+being ill, I had been invested with the questionable honour of standing
+his watch, on account of my sea experience and growing favour with the
+chief. Very bitterly did I resent the privilege at the time, I remember,
+being so tired and sleepy that I knew not how to keep awake. I did
+not imagine that anything would happen to make me prize that night's
+experience for the rest of my life, or I should have taken matters with
+a far better grace.
+
+At about eleven p.m. I was leaning over the lee rail, grazing steadily
+at the bright surface of the sea, where the intense radiance of the
+tropical moon made a broad path like a pavement of burnished silver.
+Eyes that saw not, mind only confusedly conscious of my surroundings,
+were mine; but suddenly I started to my feet with an exclamation, and
+stared with all my might at the strangest sight I ever saw. There was
+a violent commotion in the sea right where the moon's rays were
+concentrated, so great that, remembering our position, I was at first
+inclined to alarm all hands; for I had often heard of volcanic islands
+suddenly lifting their heads from the depths below, or disappearing in
+a moment, and, with Sumatra's chain of active volcanoes so near, I felt
+doubtful indeed of what was now happening. Getting the night-glasses
+out of the cabin scuttle, where they were always hung in readiness,
+I focussed them on the troubled spot, perfectly satisfied by a short
+examination that neither volcano nor earthquake had anything to do with
+what was going on; yet so vast were the forces engaged that I might well
+have been excused for my first supposition. A very large sperm whale was
+locked in deadly conflict with a cuttle-fish or squid, almost as large
+as himself, whose interminable tentacles seemed to enlace the whole
+of his great body. The head of the whale especially seemed a perfect
+net-work of writhing arms--naturally I suppose, for it appeared as
+if the whale had the tail part of the mollusc in his jaws, and, in a
+business-like, methodical way, was sawing through it. By the side of the
+black columnar head of the whale appeared the head of the great squid,
+as awful an object as one could well imagine even in a fevered dream.
+Judging as carefully as possible, I estimated it to be at least as large
+as one of our pipes, which contained three hundred and fifty gallons;
+but it may have been, and probably was, a good deal larger. The eyes
+were very remarkable from their size and blackness, which, contrasted
+with the livid whiteness of the head, made their appearance all the more
+striking. They were, at least, a foot in diameter, and, seen under such
+conditions, looked decidedly eerie and hobgoblin-like. All around the
+combatants were numerous sharks, like jackals round a lion, ready to
+share the feast, and apparently assisting in the destruction of the huge
+cephalopod. So the titanic struggle went on, in perfect silence as
+far as we were concerned, because, even had there been any noise, our
+distance from the scene of conflict would not have permitted us to hear
+it.
+
+Thinking that such a sight ought not to be missed by the captain, I
+overcame my dread of him sufficiently to call him, and tell him of what
+was taking place. He met my remarks with such a furious burst of anger
+at my daring to disturb him for such a cause, that I fled precipitately
+on deck again, having the remainder of the vision to myself, for none
+of the others cared sufficiently for such things to lose five minutes'
+sleep in witnessing them. The conflict ceased, the sea resumed its
+placid calm, and nothing remained to tell of the fight but a strong
+odour of fish, as of a bank of seaweed left by the tide in the blazing
+sun. Eight bells struck, and I went below to a troubled sleep, wherein
+all the awful monsters that an over-excited brain could conjure up
+pursued me through the gloomy caves of ocean, or mocked my pigmy efforts
+to escape.
+
+The occasions upon which these gigantic cuttle-fish appear at the sea
+surface must, I think, be very rare. From their construction, they
+appear fitted only to grope among the rocks at the bottom of the ocean.
+Their mode of progression is backward, by the forcible ejection of a
+jet of water from an orifice in the neck, beside the rectum or cloaca.
+Consequently their normal position is head-downward, and with tentacles
+spread out like the ribs of an umbrella--eight of them at least; the
+two long ones, like the antennae of an insect, rove unceasingly around,
+seeking prey.
+
+The imagination can hardly picture a more terrible object than one
+of these huge monsters brooding in the ocean depths, the gloom of his
+surroundings increased by the inky fluid (sepia) which he secretes in
+copious quantities, every cup-shaped disc, of the hundreds with which
+the restless tentacles are furnished, ready at the slightest touch to
+grip whatever is near, not only by suction, but by the great claws
+set all round within its circle. And in the centre of this net-work of
+living traps is the chasm-like mouth, with its enormous parrot-beak,
+ready to rend piecemeal whatever is held by the tentaculae. The very
+thought of it makes one's flesh crawl. Well did Michelet term them "the
+insatiable nightmares of the sea."
+
+Yet, but for them, how would such great creatures as the sperm whale be
+fed? Unable, from their bulk, to capture small fish except by accident,
+and, by the absence of a sieve of baleen, precluded from subsisting upon
+the tiny crustacea, which support the MYSTICETAE, the cachalots seem
+to be confined for their diet to cuttle-fish, and, from their point of
+view, the bigger the latter are the better. How big they may become in
+the depths of the sea, no man knoweth; but it is unlikely that even the
+vast specimens seen are full-sized, since they have only come to the
+surface under abnormal conditions, like the one I have attempted to
+describe, who had evidently been dragged up by his relentless foe.
+
+Creatures like these, who inhabit deep waters, and do not need to come
+to the surface by the exigencies of their existence, necessarily present
+many obstacles to accurate investigation of their structure and habits;
+but, from the few specimens that have been obtained of late years,
+fairly comprehensive details have been compiled, and may be studied in
+various French and German works, of which the Natural History Museum at
+South Kensington possesses copies. These, through the courtesy of the
+authorities in charge, are easily accessible to students who wish to
+prosecute the study of this wonderful branch of the great mollusca
+family.
+
+When we commenced to cut in our whale next morning, the sea was fairly
+alive with fish of innumerable kinds, while a vast host of sea-birds, as
+usual, waited impatiently for the breaking-up of the huge carcass, which
+they knew would afford them no end of a feast. An untoward accident,
+which happened soon after the work was started, gave the waiting myriads
+immense satisfaction, although the unfortunate second mate, whose slip
+of the spade was responsible, came in for a hurricane of vituperation
+from the enraged skipper. It was in detaching the case from the
+head--always a work of difficulty, and requiring great precision of aim.
+Just as Mr. Cruce made a powerful thrust with his keen tool, the vessel
+rolled, and the blow, missing the score in which he was cutting, fell
+upon the case instead, piercing its side. For a few minutes the result
+was unnoticed amidst the wash of the ragged edges of the cut, but
+presently a long streak of white, wax-like pieces floating astern, and
+a tremendous commotion among the birds, told the story. The liquid
+spermaceti was leaking rapidly from the case, turning solid as it got
+into the cool water. Nothing could be done to stop the waste, which,
+as it was a large whale, was not less than twenty barrels, or about two
+tuns of pure spermaceti. An accident of this kind never failed to make
+our skipper almost unbearable in his temper for some days afterwards;
+and, to do him justice, he did not discriminate very carefully as to who
+felt his resentment besides its immediate cause.
+
+Therefore we had all a rough time of it while his angry fit lasted,
+which was a whole week, or until all was shipshape again. Meanwhile we
+were edging gradually through the Malacca Straits and around the big
+island of Borneo, never going very near the land on account of the great
+and numerous dangers attendant upon coasting in those localities to any
+but those continually engaged in such a business.
+
+Indeed, all navigation in those seas to sailing vessels is dangerous,
+and requires the greatest care. Often we were obliged at a minute's
+notice to let go the anchor, although out of sight of land, some rapid
+current being found carrying us swiftly towards a shoal or race,
+where we might come to grief. Yet there was no fuss or hurry, the same
+leisurely old system was continued, and worked as well as ever. But it
+was not apparent why we were threading the tortuous and difficult waters
+of the Indian Archipelago. No whales of any kind were seen for at least
+a month, although, from our leisurely mode of sailing, it was evident
+that they were looked for.
+
+An occasional native craft came alongside, desirous of bartering fish,
+which we did not want, being able to catch all we needed as readily
+almost as they were. Fruit and vegetables we could not get at such
+distances from land, for the small canoes that lie in wait for passing
+ships do not of course venture far from home.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII. OFF TO THE JAPAN GROUNDS
+
+Very tedious and trying was our passage northward, although every effort
+was made by the skipper to expedite it. Nothing of advantage to our
+cargo was seen for a long time, which, although apparently what was
+to be expected, did not improve Captain Slocum's temper. But, to the
+surprise of all, when we had arrived off the beautiful island of Hong
+Kong, to which we approached closely, we "raised" a grand sperm whale.
+
+Many fishing-junks were in sight, busily plying their trade, and at any
+other time we should have been much interested in the quaint and cunning
+devices by which the patient, wily Chinaman succeeds so admirably as
+a fisherman. Our own fishing, for the time being, absorbed all our
+attention--the more, perhaps, that we had for so long been unable to do
+anything in that line. After the usual preliminaries, we were successful
+in getting fast to the great creature, who immediately showed fight. So
+skilful and wary did he prove that Captain Slocum, growing impatient at
+our manoeuvring with no result, himself took the field, arriving on
+the scene with the air of one who comes to see and conquer without more
+delay. He brought with him a weapon which I have not hitherto mentioned,
+because none of the harpooners could be induced to use it, and
+consequently it had not been much in evidence. Theoretically, it was as
+ideal tool for such work, its chief drawback being its cumbrousness. It
+was known as "Pierce's darting gun," being a combination of bomb-gun and
+harpoon, capable of being darted at the whale like a plain harpoon. Its
+construction was simple; indeed, the patent was a very old one. A tube
+of brass, thickening towards the butt, at which was a square chamber
+firmly welded to a socket for receiving the pole, formed the gun itself.
+Within the chamber aforesaid a nipple protruded from the base of the
+tube, and in line with it. The trigger was simply a flat bit of steel,
+like a piece of clock spring, which was held down by the hooked end of a
+steel rod long enough to stick out beyond the muzzle of the gun three or
+four inches, and held in position by two flanges at the butt and muzzle
+of the barrel. On the opposite side of the tube were two more flanges,
+close together, into the holes of which was inserted the end of a
+specially made harpoon, having an eye twisted in its shank through which
+the whale line was spliced. The whole machine was fitted to a neat pole,
+and strongly secured to it by means of a "gun warp," or short piece of
+thin line, by which it could be hauled back into the boat after being
+darted at a whale. To prepare this weapon for use, the barrel was
+loaded with a charge of powder and a bomb similar to those used in the
+shoulder-guns, the point of which just protruded from the muzzle. An
+ordinary percussion cap was placed upon the nipple, and the trigger
+cocked by placing the trigger-rod in position. The harpoon, with the
+line attached, was firmly set into the socketed flanges prepared for it,
+and the whole arrangement was then ready to be darted at the whale in
+the usual way.
+
+Supposing the aim to be good and the force sufficient, the harpoon
+would penetrate the blubber until the end of the trigger-rod was driven
+backwards by striking the blubber, releasing the trigger and firing the
+gun. Thus the whale would be harpooned and bomb-lanced at the same time,
+and, supposing everything to work satisfactorily, very little more could
+be needed to finish him. But the weapon was so cumbersome and awkward,
+and the harpooners stood in such awe of it, that in the majority of
+cases the whale was either missed altogether or the harpoon got such
+slight hold that the gun did not go off, the result being generally
+disastrous.
+
+In the present case, however, the "Pierce" gun was in the hands of a man
+by no means nervous, and above criticism or blame in case of failure. So
+when he sailed in to the attack, and delivered his "swashing blow," the
+report of the gun was immediately heard, proving conclusively that a
+successful stroke had been made.
+
+It had an instantaneous and astonishing effect. The sorely wounded
+monster, with one tremendous expiration, rolled over and over swift as
+thought towards his aggressor, literally burying the boat beneath his
+vast bulk. Now, one would have thought surely, upon seeing this, that
+none of that boat's crew would ever have been seen again. Nevertheless,
+strange as it may appear, out of that seething lather of foam, all six
+heads emerged again in an instant, but on the OTHER side of the great
+creature. How any of them escaped instant violent death was, and from
+the nature of the case must, ever remain, an unravelled mystery, for
+the boat was crumbled into innumerable fragments, and the three hundred
+fathoms of line, in a perfect maze of entanglement, appeared to be
+wrapped about the writhing trunk of the whale. Happily, there were two
+boats disengaged, so that they were able very promptly to rescue the
+sufferers from their perilous position in the boiling vortex of foam by
+which they were surrounded. Meanwhile, the remaining boat had an easy
+task. The shot delivered by the captain had taken deadly effect, the
+bomb having entered the creature's side low down, directly abaft the
+pectoral fin. It must have exploded within the cavity of the bowels,
+from its position, causing such extensive injuries as to make even that
+vast animal's death but a matter of a few moments. Therefore, we did not
+run any unnecessary risks, but hauled off to a safe distance and quietly
+watched the death-throes. They were so brief, that in less than ten
+minutes from the time of the accident we were busy securing the line
+through the flukes of our prize.
+
+The vessel was an unusually long time working up to us, so slow, in
+fact, that Mr Count remarked, critically, "Shouldn't wonder if th' ole
+man ain't hurt; they're taking things so all-fired easy." By the time
+she had reached us, we had a good few visitors around us from the
+fishing fleet, who caused us no little anxiety, The Chinese have no
+prejudices; they would just as soon steal a whale as a herring, if the
+conveyance could be effected without, more trouble or risk to their own
+yellow skins. If it involved the killing of a few foreign devils--well,
+so much to the good. The ship, however, arrived before the fishermen had
+decided upon any active steps, and we got our catch alongside without
+any delay. The truth of Mr. Count's forecast was verified to the hilt,
+for we found that the captain was so badly bruised about the body that
+he was unable to move, while one of the hands, a Portuguese, was injured
+internally, and seemed very bad indeed. Had any one told us that morning
+that we should be sorry to see Captain Slocum with sore bones, we should
+have scoffed at the notion, and some of us would probably have said that
+we should like to have the opportunity of making him smart. But under
+the present circumstances, with some hundreds of perfectly ruthless
+wretches hovering around us, looking with longing eyes at the treasure
+we had alongside, we could not help remembering the courage and resource
+so often shown by the skipper, and wished with all our hearts that we
+could have the benefit of them now. As soon as dinner was over, we all
+"turned to" with a will to get the whale cut in. None of us required
+to be told that to lay all night with that whale alongside would be
+extremely unhealthy for us, great doubt existing as to whether any of
+us would see morning dawn again. There was, too, just a possibility
+that when the carcass, stripped of its blubber, was cut adrift, those
+ravenous crowds would fasten upon it, and let us go in peace.
+
+All hands, therefore, worked like Trojans. There was no need to drive
+us, nor was a single harsh word spoken. Nothing was heard but the almost
+incessant clatter of the windlass pawls, abrupt monosyllabic orders, and
+the occasional melancholy wail of a gannet overhead. No word had been
+spoken on the subject among us, yet somehow we all realized that we were
+working for a large stake no less than our lives. What! says somebody,
+within a few miles of Hong Kong? Oh yes; and even within Hong Kong
+harbour itself, if opportunity offers. Let any man go down the wharf at
+Hong Kong after sunset, and hail a sampan from the hundreds there that
+are waiting to be hired. Hardly will the summons have left his lips
+before a white policeman will be at his side, note-book in hand,
+inquiring his name and ship, and taking a note of the sampan's number,
+with the time of his leaving the wharf. Nothing perfunctory about the
+job either. Let but these precautions be omitted, and the chances that
+the passenger (if he have aught of value about him) will ever arrive at
+his destination are almost nil.
+
+So good was the progress made that by five p.m. we were busy at the
+head, while the last few turns of the windlass were being taken to
+complete the skinning of the body. With a long pent-up shout that last
+piece was severed and swung inboard, as the huge mass of reeking flesh
+floated slowly astern. As it drifted away we saw the patient watchers
+who had been waiting converging upon it from all quarters, and our hopes
+rose high. But there was no slackening of our efforts to get in the
+head. By the time it was dark we managed to get the junk on board, and
+by the most extraordinary efforts lifted the whole remainder of the
+head high enough to make sail and stand off to sea. The wind was off the
+land, the water smooth, and no swell on, so we took no damage from that
+tremendous weight surging by our side, though, had the worst come to the
+worst, we could have cut it adrift.
+
+When morning dawned we hove-to, the land being only dimly visible
+astern, and finished taking on board our "head matter" without further
+incident. The danger past, we were all well pleased that the captain was
+below, for the work proceeded quite pleasantly under the genial rule of
+the mate. Since leaving port we had not felt so comfortable, the work,
+with all its disagreeables, seeming as nothing now that we could do it
+without fear and trembling. Alas for poor Jemmy!--as we always persisted
+in calling him from inability to pronounce his proper name--his case
+was evidently hopeless. His fellows did their poor best to comfort his
+fast-fleeting hours, one after another murmuring to him the prayers of
+the Church, which, although they did not understand them, they evidently
+believed most firmly to have some marvellous power to open the gates
+of paradise and cleanse the sinner. Notwithstanding the grim fact
+that their worship was almost pure superstition, it was far more in
+accordance with the fitness of things for a dying man's surroundings
+than such scenes as I have witnessed in the forecastles of merchant
+ships when poor sailors lay a-dying. I remember well once, when I was
+second officer of a large passenger ship, going in the forecastle as
+she lay at anchor at St. Helena, to see a sick man. Half the crew were
+drunk, and the beastly kennel in which they lived was in a thick fog of
+tobacco-smoke and the stale stench of rum. Ribald songs, quarrelling,
+and blasphemy made a veritable pandemonium of the place. I passed
+quietly through it to the sick man's bunk, and found him--dead! He had
+passed away in the midst of that, but the horror of it did not seem to
+impress his bemused shipmates much.
+
+Here, at any rate, there was quiet and decorum, while all that could
+be done for the poor sufferer (not much, from ignorance of how he was
+injured) was done. He was released from his pain in the afternoon of the
+second day after the accident, the end coming suddenly and peacefully.
+The same evening, at sunset, the body, neatly sewn up in canvas, with a
+big lump of sandstone secured to the feet, was brought on deck, laid
+on a hatch at the gangway, and covered with the blue, star-spangled
+American Jack. Then all hands were mustered in the waist, the ship's
+bell was tolled, and the ensign run up halfway.
+
+The captain was still too ill to be moved, so the mate stepped forward
+with a rusty old Common Prayer-book in his hands, whereon my vagrant
+fancy immediately fastened in frantic endeavour to imagine how it came
+to be there. The silence of death was over all. True, the man was but
+a unit of no special note among us, but death had conferred upon him a
+brevet rank, in virtue of which be dominated every thought. It seemed
+strange to me that we who faced death so often and variously, until
+natural fear had become deadened by custom, should, now that one of
+our number lay a rapidly-corrupting husk before us, be so tremendously
+impressed by the simple, inevitable fact. I suppose it was because
+none of us were able to realize the immanence of Death until we saw
+his handiwork. Mr. Count opened the book, fumbling nervously among the
+unfamiliar leaves. Then he suddenly looked up, his weather-scarred face
+glowing a dull brick-red, and said, in a low voice, "This thing's too
+many fer me; kin any of ye do it? Ef not, I guess we'll hev ter take it
+as read." There was no response for a moment; then I stepped forward,
+reaching out my hand for the book. Its contents were familiar enough to
+me, for in happy pre-arab days I had been a chorister in the old Lock
+Chapel, Harrow Road, and had borne my part in the service so often that
+I think even now I could repeat the greater part of it MEMORITER. Mr.
+Count gave it me without a word, and, trembling like a leaf, I turned
+to the "Burial Service," and began the majestic sentences, "I am the
+Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord." I did not know my own voice
+as the wonderful words sounded clearly in the still air; but if ever a
+small body of soul-hardened men FELT the power of God, it was then. At
+the words, "We therefore commit his body to the deep," I paused, and,
+the mate making a sign, two of the harpooners tilted the hatch, from
+which the remains slid off into the unknown depths with a dull splash.
+Several of the dead man's compatriots covered their faces, and murmured
+prayers for the repose of his soul, while the tears trickled through
+their horny fingers. But matters soon resumed their normal course; the
+tension over, back came the strings of life into position again, to play
+the same old tunes and discords once more.
+
+The captured whale made an addition to our cargo of one hundred and ten
+barrels--a very fair haul indeed. The harpooners were disposed to regard
+this capture as auspicious upon opening the North Pacific, where, in
+spite of the time we had spent, and the fair luck we had experienced in
+the Indian Ocean, we expected to make the chief portion of our cargo.
+
+Our next cruising-ground is known to whalemen as the "Coast of Japan"
+ground, and has certainly proved in the past the most prolific fishery
+of sperm whales in the whole world. I am inclined now to believe
+that there are more and larger cachalots to be found in the Southern
+Hemisphere, between the parallels of 33deg. and 50deg. South; but there
+the drawback of heavy weather and mountainous seas severely handicaps
+the fishermen.
+
+It is somewhat of a misnomer to call the Coast of Japan ground by that
+name, since to be successful you should not sight Japan at all, but keep
+out of range of the cold current that sweeps right across the Pacific,
+skirting the Philippines, along the coasts of the Japanese islands
+as far as the Kuriles, and then returns to the eastward again to the
+southward of the Aleutian Archipelago. The greatest number of whales are
+always found in the vicinity of the Bonin and Volcano groups of islands,
+which lie in the eddy formed by the northward bend of the mighty current
+before mentioned. This wonderful ground was first cruised by a London
+whale-ship, the SYREN, in 1819, when the English branch of the sperm
+whale-fishery was in its prime, and London skippers were proud of the
+fact that one of their number, in the EMILIA, had thirty-one years
+before first ventured around Cape Horn in pursuit of the cachalot.
+
+After the advent of the SYREN, the Bonins became the favourite
+fishing-ground for both Americans and British, and for many years the
+catch of oil taken from these teeming waters averaged four thousand
+tuns annually. That the value of the fishery was maintained at so high a
+level for over a quarter of a century was doubtless due to the fact that
+there was a long, self-imposed close season, during which the whales
+were quite unmolested. Nothing in the migratory habits of this whale, so
+far as has ever been observed, would have prevented a profitable fishing
+all the year round; but custom, stronger even than profit, ordained that
+whale-ships should never stay too long upon one fishing-ground, but move
+on farther until the usual round had been made, unless the vessel were
+filled in the mean time.
+
+Of course, there are whales whose habits lead them at certain seasons,
+for breeding purposes, to frequent various groups of islands, but the
+cachalot seems to be quite impartial in his preferences; if he "uses"
+around certain waters, he is just as likely to be found there in July as
+January.
+
+The Bonins, too, form an ideal calling-place, from the whaling captain's
+point of view. Peel Island, the principal one of the cluster, has
+a perfect harbour in Port Lloyd, where a vessel can not only lie
+in comfort, sheltered from almost every wind that blows, but where
+provisions, wood, and water are plentiful. There is no inducement, or
+indeed room, for desertion, and the place is healthy. It is colonized
+by Japs from the kingdom so easily reached to the westward, and the busy
+little people, after their manner, make a short stay very agreeable.
+
+Once clear of the southern end of Formosa we had quite a rapid run to
+the Bonins, carrying a press of sail day and night, as the skipper was
+anxious to arrive there on account of his recent injuries. He was still
+very lame, and he feared that some damage might have been done to him
+of which he was ignorant. Besides, it was easy to see that he did not
+altogether like anybody else being in charge of his ship, no matter how
+good they were. Such was the expedition we made that we arrived at
+Port Lloyd twelve days after clearing up our last whale. Very beautiful
+indeed the islands, appeared, with their bold, steep sides clad in
+richest green, or, where no vegetation appeared, worn into a thousand
+fantastic shapes by the sea, or the mountain torrents carving away the
+lava of which they were all composed. For the whole of the islands were
+volcanic, and Port Lloyd itself is nothing more than the crater of a
+vast volcano, which in some tremendous convulsion of nature has sunk
+from its former high estate low enough to become a haven for ships.
+
+I have said that it was a perfect harbour, but there is no doubt that
+getting in or out requires plenty of nerve as well as seamanship. There
+was so little room, and the eddying flows of wind under the high
+land were so baffling, that at various times during our passage in it
+appeared as if nothing could prevent us from getting stuck upon some of
+the adjacent hungry-looking coral reefs. Nothing of the kind happened,
+however, and we came comfortably to an anchor near three other
+whale-ships which were already there. They were the DIEGO RAMIREZ, of
+Nantucket; the CORONEL, of Providence, Rhode Island; and the GRAMPUS,
+of New Bedford. These were the first whale-ships we had yet seen, and
+it may be imagined how anxious we felt to meet men with whom we could
+compare notes and exchange yarns. It might be, too, that we should get
+some news of that world which, as far as we were concerned, might as
+well have been at the other extremity of the solar system for the last
+year, so completely isolated had we been.
+
+The sails were hardly fast before a boat from each of the ships was
+alongside with their respective skippers on board. The extra exertion
+necessary to pilot the ship in had knocked the old man up, in his
+present weak state, and he had gone below for a short rest; so the three
+visitors dived down into the stuffy cabin, all anxious to interview
+the latest comer. Considerate always, Mr. Count allowed us to have the
+remainder of the day to ourselves, so we set about entertaining our
+company. It was no joke twelve of them coming upon us all at once, and
+babel ensued for a short time. They knew the system too well to expect
+refreshments, so we had not to apologize for having nothing to set
+before them. They had not come, however, for meat and drink, but for
+talk. And talk we did, sometimes altogether, sometimes rationally; but I
+doubt whether any of us had ever enjoyed talking so much before.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV. LIBERTY DAY--AND AFTER
+
+There is generally current among seamen a notion that all masters of
+ships are bound by law to give their crews twenty-four hours' liberty
+and a portion of their wages to spend every three months, if they are in
+port. I have never heard any authority quoted for this, and do not know
+what foundation there is for such a belief, although the practice is
+usually adhered to in English ships. But American whale-ships apparently
+know no law, except the will of their commanders, whose convenience is
+always the first consideration. Thus, we had now been afloat for well
+over a year, during which time, except for our foraging excursions at
+the Cocos and Aldabra, we had certainly known no liberty for a whole
+day.
+
+Our present port being one where it was impossible to desert without
+the certainty of prompt recapture, with subsequent suffering altogether
+disproportionate to the offence, we were told that one watch at a time
+would be allowed their liberty for a day. So we of the port watch made
+our simple preparations, received twenty-five cents each, and were
+turned adrift on the beach to enjoy ourselves. We had our liberty, but
+we didn't know what to do with it. There was a native town and a couple
+of low groggeries kept by Chinamen, where some of my shipmates promptly
+invested a portion of their wealth in some horrible liquor, the smell of
+which was enough to make an ordinary individual sick. There was no place
+apparently where one could get a meal, so that the prospect of our stay
+ashore lasting a day did not seem very great. I was fortunate enough,
+however, to foregather with a Scotchman who was a beach-comber,
+and consequently "knew the ropes." I dare say he was an unmitigated
+blackguard whenever he got the chance, but he was certainly on his best
+behaviour with me. He took me into the country a bit to see the sights,
+which were such as most of the Pacific islands afford. Wonderful indeed
+were the fantastic rocks, twisted into innumerable grotesque shapes,
+and, along the shores, hollowed out into caverns of all sizes, some
+large enough to shelter an army. He was quite familiar with the natives,
+understanding enough of their queer lingo to get along. By his friendly
+aid we got some food--yams, and fish cooked in native fashion, i.e. in
+heated holes in the ground, for which the friendly Kanakas would take no
+payment, although they looked murderous enough to be cannibals. It does
+not do to go by looks always.
+
+Well, after a long ramble, the Scotchman and I laid our weary bodies
+down in the shade of a big rock, and had a grand sleep, waking up again
+a little before sunset. We hastened down to the beach off the town,
+where all my watchmates were sitting in a row, like lost sheep, waiting
+to be taken on board again. They had had enough of liberty; indeed, such
+liberty as that was hardly worth having. It seems hardly credible, but
+we were actually glad to get on board again, it was so miserable ashore,
+The natives were most unsociable at the port, and we could not make
+ourselves understood, so there was not much fun to be had. Even those
+who were inclined to drink had too little for a spree, which I was
+not sorry for, since doubtless a very unpleasant reception would have
+awaited them had they come on board drunk.
+
+Next day the starboard watch went on liberty, while we who had received
+our share were told off to spend the day wooding and watering. In this
+most pleasant of occupations (when the weather is fine) I passed a much
+more satisfactory time than when wandering about with no objective, an
+empty pocket, and a hungry belly. No foremast hand has ever enjoyed his
+opportunities of making the acquaintance of his various visiting places
+more than I have; but the circumstances attendant upon one's leave must
+be a little favourable, or I would much rather stay aboard and fish.
+Our task was over for the day, a goodly store of wood and casks of water
+having been shipped. We were sitting down to supper, when, in answer to
+a hail from the beach, we were ordered to fetch the liberty men. When
+we got to them, there was a pretty how-d'ye-do. All of them were more or
+less drunk, some exceedingly quarrelsome. Now, Mistah Jones was steering
+our boat, looking as little like a man to take sauce from a drunken
+sailor as you could imagine. Most of the transformed crowd ya-hooing
+on the beach had felt the weight of his shoulder-of-mutton fist, yet so
+utterly had prudence forsaken them that, before we came near them, they
+were abusing him through all the varied gamut of filthy language they
+possessed. My democratic sentiments are deeply seated, but I do believe
+in authority, and respect for it being rigidly enforced, so this
+uncalled-for scene upset me, making me feel anxious that the gibbering
+fools might get a lesson. They got one.
+
+Goliath stood like a tower, his eyes alone betraying the fierce anger
+boiling within. When we touched the beach, his voice was mild end gentle
+as a child's, his movements calm and deliberate. As soon as we had
+beached the boat he stepped ashore, and in two strides was in the middle
+of the snarling group. Further parley ceased at once. Snatching the
+loudest of them by the breast of his shirt with his right hand, another
+one by the collar with his left, he flung himself backwards towards the
+boat, knocking the interveners right and left. But a protruding fragment
+of rock caught his heel, bringing him with his captives to the ground
+in a writhing mass. The rest, maddened beyond restraint of fear,
+flung themselves upon the prostrate man, the glimmer of more than one
+knife-blade appearing. Two of us from the boat--one with the tiller, the
+other brandishing a paddle--rushed to the rescue; but before we arrived
+the giant had heaved off his assailants, and, with no other weapons than
+his bare hands, was doing terrific execution among them. Not knowing,
+I suppose, whether we were friendly to him or not, he shouted to us to
+keep away, nor dare to interfere. There was no need. Disregarding such
+trifles as a few superficial cuts--not feeling them perhaps--he so
+unmercifully mauled that crowd that they howled again for mercy. The
+battle was brief and bloody. Before hostilities had lasted five minutes,
+six of the aggressors were stretched insensible; the rest, comprising
+as many more, were pleading for mercy, completely sober. Such prowess on
+the part of one man against twelve seems hardly credible; but it must be
+remembered that Goliath fought, with all the moral force of the ship's
+officers behind him, against a disorganized crowd without backbone, who
+would never have dared to face him but for the temporary mania induced
+by the stuff they had drunk. It was a conflict between a lion and a
+troop of jackals, whereof the issue was never in doubt as long as lethal
+weapons were wanting.
+
+Standing erect among the cowering creatures, the great negro looked
+every inch a mediaeval hero. In a stern voice he bade his subjugated
+enemies to get into the boat, assisting those to do so who were too
+badly hurt to rise. Then we shoved off for the ship--a sorrowful gang
+indeed.
+
+As I bent to my oar, I felt very sorry for what had happened. Here
+were half the crew guilty of an act of violence upon an officer, which,
+according to the severe code under which we lived, merited punishment as
+painful as could be inflicted, and lasting for the rest of the voyage.
+Whatever form that punishment might take, those of us who were innocent
+would be almost equal sufferers with the others, because discrimination
+in the treatment between watch and watch is always difficult, and in our
+case it was certain that it would not be attempted. Except as regarded
+physical violence, we might all expect to share alike. Undoubtedly
+things looked very unpleasant. My gloomy cogitations were abruptly
+terminated by the order to "unrow"--we were alongside. Somehow or other
+all hands managed to scramble on board, and assist in hoisting the boat
+up.
+
+As soon as she was secured we slunk away forward, but we had hardly got
+below before a tremendous summons from Goliath brought us all aft again
+at the double quick. Most of the fracas had been witnessed from the
+ship, so that but a minute or two was needed to explain how or why it
+begun. Directly that explanation had been supplied by Mistah Jones, the
+order was issued for the culprits to appear.
+
+I have before noticed how little love was lost between the skipper and
+his officers, Goliath having even once gone so far as to give me a
+very emphatic opinion of his about the "old man" of a most unflattering
+nature. And had such a state of things existed on board an English ship,
+the crew would simply have taken charge, for they would have seen the
+junior officers flouted, snubbed, and jeered at; and, of course, what
+they saw the captain do, they would not be slow to improve on. Many a
+promising young officer's career has been blighted in this way by the
+feminine spite of a foolish man unable to see that if the captain shows
+no respect to his officers, neither will the crew, nor obedience either.
+
+But in an American ship, so long as an officer remains an officer, he
+must be treated as such by every man, under pain of prompt punishment.
+Yankee skippers have far too much NOUS to allow their hands to grow
+saucy in consequence of division among the after-guard. So now a sort
+of court-martial was held upon the unfortunates who had dared to attack
+Goliath, at which that sable hero might have been the apple of Captain
+Slocum's eye, so solicitous was he of Mistah Jones' honour and the
+reparation to be made.
+
+This sort of thing was right in his line. Naturally cruel, he seemed to
+thoroughly enjoy himself in the prospect of making human beings twist
+and writhe in pain. Nor would he be baulked of a jot of his pleasure.
+
+Goliath approached him, and muttered a few words, meant, I felt sure, to
+appease him by letting him know how much they had suffered at his strong
+hands; but he turned upon the negro with a savage curse, bidding him be
+silent. Then every one of the culprits was stripped, and secured to the
+lash-rail by the wrists; scourges were made of cotton fish-line, knotted
+at intervals, and secured to a stout handle; the harpooners were told
+off as executioners, and the flogging began. Perhaps it was necessary
+for the maintenance of discipline--certainly it was trivial compared
+with the practice, till recently, in our own army and navy; but I am
+glad to say that, compelled to witness it, I felt quite sick--physically
+sick--trembling so in every limb that my legs would not support me. It
+was not fear, for I had nothing to fear had I been ever such a coward.
+Whatever it was, I am not sorry either to have felt it or to own it,
+even while I fully admit that for some forms of wickedness nothing but
+the lash seems adequate punishment.
+
+Some of the victims fainted, not being in the best condition at the
+outset for undergoing so severe a trial; but all were treated alike,
+buckets of salt water being flung over them. This drastic reviver,
+while adding to their pain, brought them all into a state of sufficient
+activity to get forward when they were released. Smarting and degraded,
+all their temporary bravado effectually banished, they were indeed
+pitiable objects, their deplorable state all the harder to bear from its
+contrast to our recent pleasure when we entertained the visiting crews.
+
+Having completed our quantum of wood, water, and fresh provisions for
+the officers, we got under way again for the fishing grounds. I did
+not see how we could hope for a successful season, knowing the utterly
+despondent state of the crew, which even affected the officers, who, not
+so callous or cruel as the skipper, seemed to be getting rather tired
+of the constant drive and kick, now the normal condition of affairs.
+But the skipper's vigilance was great. Whether he noted any sign of
+slackness or indifference on the part of his coadjutors or not, of
+course I cannot say, but he certainly seemed to put more vigour into his
+attentions than had been his wont, and so kept everybody up to the mark.
+
+Hitherto we had always had our fishing to ourselves; we were now to
+see something of the ways of other men employed in the same manner. For
+though the general idea or plan of campaign against the whales is the
+same in all American whalers, every ship has some individual peculiarity
+of tactics, which, needless to say, are always far superior to those of
+any other ship. When we commenced our cruise on this new ground,
+there were seven whalers in sight, all quite as keen on the chase as
+ourselves, so that I anticipated considerable sport of the liveliest
+kind should we "raise" whales with such a fleet close at hand.
+
+But for a whole week we saw nothing but a grampus or so, a few loitering
+finbacks, and an occasional lean humpback bull certainly not worth
+chasing. On the seventh afternoon, however, I was in the main
+crow's-nest with the chief, when I noticed a ship to windward of us
+alter her course, keeping away three or four points on an angle that
+would presently bring her across our bows a good way ahead. I was
+getting pretty well versed in the tricks of the trade now, so I kept
+mum, but strained my eyes in the direction for which the other ship was
+steering. The chief was looking astern at some finbacks, the look-out
+men forward were both staring to leeward, thus for a minute or so I
+had a small arc of the horizon to myself. The time was short, but it
+sufficed, and for the first time that voyage I had the privilege of
+"raising" a sperm whale. My voice quivered with excitement as I uttered
+the war-whoop, "Ah blo-o-o-o-w!" Round spun the mate on his heel,
+while the hands clustered like bees roused from their hive. "Where
+away--where?" gasped the mate. And I pointed to a spot about half a
+point on the lee bow, at the same time calling his attention to the
+fact that the stranger to windward was keeping away. In answer to the
+skipper's hurried queries from below, Mr. Count gave him the general
+outline of affairs, to which he replied by crowding every stitch of
+canvas on the vessel that was available.
+
+The spout I had seen was a good ten miles off, and, for the present,
+seemed to belong to a "lone" whale, as it was the only one visible.
+There was a good breeze blowing, as much, in fact, as we could carry all
+sail to, the old barky making a tremendous commotion as she blundered
+along under the unusual press of canvas. In the excitement of the race
+all our woes were forgotten; we only thought of the possibility of the
+ship getting there first. We drew gradually nearer to the stranger, who,
+like us, was carrying all the sail he had got, but, being able to go a
+point or two free, was outsailing us.
+
+It was anybody's race as yet, though, when we heard the skipper's hail,
+"'Way down from aloft!" as he came up to take our place, The whale had
+sounded, apparently heading to leeward, so that the weather-gage held by
+our rival was not much advantage to him now. We ran on for another two
+miles, then shortened sail, and stood by to lower away the moment he
+should re-appear, Meanwhile another ship was working up from to leeward,
+having evidently noted our movements, or else, like the albatross,
+"smelt whale," no great distance to windward of him. Waiting for that
+whale to rise was one of the most exciting experiences we had gone
+through as yet, with two other ships so near. Everybody's nerves seemed
+strung up to concert pitch, and it was quite a relief when from half
+a dozen throats at once burst the cry, "There she white-waters! Ah
+blo-o-o-o-w!" Not a mile away, dead to leeward of us, quietly beating
+the water with the flat of his flukes, as if there was no such thing in
+the watery world as a whale-ship. Splash! almost simultaneously went the
+four boats. Out we shot from the ship, all on our mettle; for was not
+the skipper's eye upon us from his lofty eyrie, as well as the crew of
+the other ship, now not more than a mile away! We seemed a terrible time
+getting the sails up, but the officers dared not risk our willingness to
+pull while they could be independent of us.
+
+By the time we were fairly off, the other ship's boats were coming like
+the wind, so that eight boats were now converging upon the unconscious
+monster. We fairly flew over the short, choppy sea, getting drenched
+with the flying spray, but looking out far more keenly at the other
+boats than at the whale. Up we came to him, Mr. Count's boat to the
+left, the other mate's boat to the right. Almost at the same moment the
+irons flew from the hands of the rival harpooners; but while ours was
+buried to the hitches in the whale's side, the other man's just ploughed
+up the skin on the animal's back, as it passed over him and pierced our
+boat close behind the harpooner's leg. Not seeing what had happened to
+his iron, or knowing that we were fast, the other harpooner promptly
+hurled his second iron, which struck solidly. It was a very pretty
+tangle, but our position was rather bad. The whale between us was
+tearing the bowels of the deep up in his rage and fear; we were
+struggling frantically to get our sail down; and at any moment that
+wretched iron through our upper strake might tear a plank out of us.
+Our chief, foaming at the mouth with rage and excitement, was screeching
+inarticulate blasphemy at the other mate, who, not knowing what was the
+matter, was yelling back all his copious vocabulary of abuse. I felt
+very glad the whale was between us, or there would surely have been
+murder done. At last, out drops the iron, leaving a jagged hole you
+could put your arm through. Wasn't Mr. Count mad? I really thought he
+would split with rage, for it was impossible for us to go on with that
+hole in our bilge. The second mate came alongside and took our line as
+the whale was just commencing to sound, thus setting us free. We made at
+once for the other ship's "fast" boat, and the compliments that had
+gone before were just casual conversation to what filled the air with
+dislocated language now. Presently both the champions cooled down a bit
+from want of breath, and we got our case stated. It was received with
+a yell of derision from the other side as a splendid effort of lying on
+our part; because the first ship fast claims the whale, and such a prize
+as this one we were quarrelling about was not to be tamely yielded.
+
+However, as reason asserted her sway over Mr. Count, he quieted down,
+knowing full well that the state of the line belonging to his rival
+would reveal the truth when the whale rose again. Therefore we returned
+to the ship, leaving our three boats busy waiting the whale's pleasure
+to rise again. When the skipper heard what had happened, he had his own
+boat manned, proceeding himself to the battle-field in expectation of
+complications presently. By the time he arrived upon the scene there
+were two more boats lying by, which had come up from the third ship,
+mentioned as working up from to leeward. "Pretty fine ground this's got
+ter be!" growled the old man. "Caint strike whale 'thout bein' crowded
+eout uv yer own propputty by a gang bunco steerers like this. Shall hev
+ter quit it, en keep a pawnshop."
+
+And still the whale kept going steadily down, down, down. Already he was
+on the second boat's lines, and taking them out faster than ever. Had
+we been alone, this persistence on his part, though annoying, would
+not have mattered much; but, with so many others in company, the
+possibilities of complication, should we need to slip our end, were
+numerous. The ship kept near, and Mr. Count, seeing how matters were
+going, had hastily patched his boat, returning at once with another tub
+of line. He was but just in time to bend on, when to our great delight
+we saw the end slip from our rival's boat. This in no wise terminated
+his lien on the whale, supposing he could prove that he struck first,
+but it got him out of the way for the time.
+
+Meanwhile we were running line faster than ever. There was an enormous
+length attached to the animal now--some twelve thousand feet--the
+weight of which was very great, to say nothing of the many "drogues" or
+"stopwaters" attached to it at intervals. Judge, then, of my surprise
+when a shout of "Blo-o-o-w!" called my attention to the whale
+himself just breaking water about half a mile away. It was an awkward
+predicament; for if we let go our end, the others would be on the whale
+immediately; if we held on, we should certainly be dragged below in a
+twinkling; and our disengaged boats could do nothing, for they had no
+line. But the difficulty soon settled itself. Out ran our end, leaving
+us bare of line as pleasure skiffs. The newcomer, who had been prowling
+near, keeping a close watch upon us, saw our boat jump up when released
+from the weight. Off he flew like an arrow to the labouring leviathan,
+now a "free fish," except for such claims as the two first-comers had
+upon it, which claims are legally assessed, where no dispute arises. In
+its disabled condition, dragging so enormous a weight of line, it was
+but a few minutes before the fresh boat was fast, while we looked on
+helplessly, boiling with impotent rage. All that we could now hope
+for was the salvage of some of our line, a mile and a half of which,
+inextricably mixed up with about the same length of our rival's, was
+towing astern of the fast-expiring cachalot.
+
+So great had been the strain upon that hardly-used animal that he did
+not go into his usual "flurry," but calmly expired without the faintest
+struggle. In the mean time two of our boats had been sent on board again
+to work the ship, while the skipper proceeded to try his luck in the
+recovery of his gear. On arriving at the dead whale, however, we found
+that he had rolled over and over beneath the water so many times that
+the line was fairly frapped round him, and the present possessors were
+in no mood to allow us the privilege of unrolling it.
+
+During the conversation we had drawn very near the carcass, so near, in
+fact, that one hand was holding the boat alongside the whale's "small"
+by a bight of the line. I suppose the skipper's eagle eye must have
+caught sight of the trailing part of the line streaming beneath, for
+suddenly he plunged overboard, reappearing almost immediately with the
+line in his hand. He scrambled into the boat with it, cutting it from
+the whale at once, and starting his boat's crew hauling in.
+
+Then there was a hubbub again. The captain of the NARRAGANSETT, our
+first rival, protested vigorously against our monopoly of the line; but
+in grim silence our skipper kept on, taking no notice of him, while we
+steadily hauled. Unless he of the NARRAGANSETT choose to fight for
+what he considered his rights, there was no help for him. And there was
+something in our old man's appearance eminently calculated to discourage
+aggression of any kind.
+
+At last, disgusted apparently with the hopeless turn affairs had taken,
+the NARRAGANSETT's boats drew off, and returned on board their ship.
+Two of our boats had by this time accumulated a mountainous coil of line
+each, with which we returned to our own vessel, leaving the skipper to
+visit the present holder of the whale, the skipper of the JOHN HAMPDEN.
+
+What arrangements they made, or how they settled the NARRAGANSETT's
+claim between them, I never knew, but I dare say there was a costly
+law-suit about it in New Bedford years after.
+
+This was not very encouraging for a start, nor did the next week see us
+do any better. Several times we saw other ships with whales alongside,
+but we got no show at all. Now, I had hoped a great deal from our cruise
+on these grounds, because I had heard whispers of a visit to the icy Sea
+of Okhotsk, and the prospect was to me a horrible one. I never did take
+any stock in Arctic work. But if we made a good season on the Japan
+grounds, we should not go north, but gradually work down the Pacific
+again, on the other side, cruising as we went.
+
+Day after day went by without any fresh capture or even sight of fish,
+until I began to believe that the stories I had heard of the wonderful
+fecundity of the Coast of Japan waters were fables without foundation,
+in fact. Had I known what sort of fishing our next bout would be, I
+should not have been so eager to sight whales again. If this be not a
+platitude of the worst kind, I don't know the meaning of the word; but,
+after all, platitudes have their uses, especially when you want to state
+a fact baldly.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV. WHICH COMES UNCOMFORTABLY NEAR BEING THE LAST
+
+All unversed as I am in the finer shades of literary craftsmanship,
+there is great uncertainty in my mind whether it is good or bad "art" to
+anticipate your next chapter by foreshadowing its contents; but whether
+good or bad art, the remembrance of my miseries on the eventful occasion
+I wish to describe was so strong upon me as I wrote the last few lines
+of the previous chapter that I just had to let those few words leak out.
+
+Through all the vicissitudes of this strange voyage I had hitherto felt
+pretty safe, and as the last thing a man anticipates (if his digestion
+is all right) is the possibility of coming to grief himself while fully
+prepared to see everybody else go under, so I had got to think that
+whoever got killed I was not to be--a very pleasing sentiment, and one
+that carries a man far, enabling him to face dangers with a light heart
+which otherwise would make a nerveless animal of him.
+
+In this optimistic mood, then, I gaily flung myself into my place in the
+mate's boat one morning, as we were departing in chase of a magnificent
+cachalot that had been raised just after breakfast. There were no other
+vessels in sight--much to our satisfaction--the wind was light, with a
+cloudless sky, and the whale was dead to leeward of us. We sped along
+at a good rate towards our prospective victim, who was, in his leisurely
+enjoyment of life, calmly lolling on the surface, occasionally lifting
+his enormous tail out of water and letting it fall flat upon the surface
+with a boom audible for miles.
+
+We were as usual, first boat; but, much to the mate's annoyance, when we
+were a short half-mile from the whale, our main-sheet parted. It became
+immediately necessary to roll the sail up, lest its flapping should
+alarm the watchful monster, and this delayed us sufficiently to allow
+the other boats to shoot ahead of us. Thus the second mate got fast some
+seconds before we arrived on the scene, seeing which we furled sail,
+unshipped the mast, and went in on him with the oars only. At first the
+proceedings were quite of the usual character, our chief wielding his
+lance in most brilliant fashion, while not being fast to the animal
+allowed us much greater freedom in our evolutions; but that fatal habit
+of the mate's--of allowing his boat to take care of herself so long as
+he was getting in some good home-thrusts--once more asserted itself.
+Although the whale was exceedingly vigorous, churning the sea into
+yeasty foam over an enormous area, there we wallowed close to him, right
+in the middle of the turmoil, actually courting disaster.
+
+He had just settled down for a moment, when, glancing over the gunwale,
+I saw his tail, like a vast shadow, sweeping away from us towards the
+second mate, who was laying off the other side of him. Before I had time
+to think, the mighty mass of gristle leapt into the sunshine, curved
+back from us like a huge bow. Then with a roar it came at us, released
+from its tension of Heaven knows how many tons. Full on the broadside
+it struck us, sending every soul but me flying out of the wreckage as if
+fired from catapults. I did not go because my foot was jammed somehow in
+the well of the boat, but the wrench nearly pulled my thigh-bone out of
+its socket. I had hardly released my foot, when, towering above me,
+came the colossal head of the great creature, as he ploughed through the
+bundle of debris that had just been a boat. There was an appalling roar
+of water in my ears, and darkness that might be felt all around. Yet,
+in the midst of it all, one thought predominated as clearly as if I had
+been turning it over in my mind in the quiet of my bunk aboard--"What
+if he should swallow me?" Nor to this day can I understand how I escaped
+the portals of his gullet, which of course gaped wide as a church door.
+But the agony of holding my breath soon overpowered every other feeling
+and thought, till just as something was going to snap inside my head I
+rose to the surface. I was surrounded by a welter of bloody froth, which
+made it impossible for me to see; but oh, the air was sweet!
+
+I struck out blindly, instinctively, although I could feel so strong an
+eddy that voluntary progress was out of the question. My hand touched
+and clung to a rope, which immediately towed me in some direction--I
+neither knew nor cared whither. Soon the motion ceased, and, with a
+seaman's instinct, I began to haul myself along by the rope I grasped,
+although no definite idea was in my mind as to where it was attached.
+Presently I came butt up against something solid, the feel of which
+gathered all my scattered wits into a compact knub of dread. It was the
+whale! "Any port in a storm," I murmured, beginning to haul away again
+on my friendly line. By dint of hard work I pulled myself right up the
+sloping, slippery bank of blubber, until I reached the iron, which,
+as luck would have it, was planted in that side of the carcass now
+uppermost. Carcass I said--well, certainly I had no idea of there being
+any life remaining within the vast mass beneath me, yet I had
+hardly time to take a couple of turns round myself with the rope (or
+whale-line, as I had proved it to be), when I felt the great animal
+quiver all over, and begin to forge ahead. I was now composed enough to
+remember that help could not be far away, and that my rescue, providing
+that I could keep above water, was but a question of a few minutes. But
+I was hardly prepared for the whale's next move. Being very near his
+end, the boat, or boats, had drawn off a bit, I supposed, for I could
+see nothing of them. Then I remembered the flurry. Almost at the same
+moment it began; and there was I, who with fearful admiration had so
+often watched the titanic convulsions of a dying cachalot, actually
+involved in them. The turns were off my body, but I was able to twist a
+couple of turns round my arms, which, in case of his sounding, I could
+readily let go.
+
+Then all was lost in roar and rush, as of the heart of some mighty
+cataract, during which I was sometimes above, sometimes beneath, the
+water, but always clinging with every ounce of energy still left, to the
+line. Now, one thought was uppermost--"What if he should breach?" I had
+seen them do so when in flurry, leaping full twenty feet in the air.
+Then I prayed.
+
+Quickly as all the preceding changes had passed came perfect peace.
+There I lay, still alive, but so weak that, although I could feel the
+turns slipping off my arms, and knew that I should slide off the slope
+of the whale's side into the sea if they did, I could make no effort
+to secure myself. Everything then passed away from me, just as if I had
+gone to sleep.
+
+I do not at all understand how I kept my position, nor how long, but
+I awoke to the blessed sound of voices, and saw the second mate's
+boat alongside, Very gently and tenderly they lifted me into the boat,
+although I could hardly help screaming with agony when they touched me,
+so bruised and broken up did I feel. My arms must have been nearly torn
+from their sockets, for the strands of the whale-line had cut deep
+into their flesh with the strain upon it, while my thigh was swollen
+enormously from the blow I received at the onset. Mr. Cruce was the most
+surprised man I think I ever saw. For full ten minutes he stared at me
+with wide-open eyes. When at last he spoke, it was with difficulty, as
+if wanting words to express his astonishment. At last he blurted out,
+"Whar you bin all de time, ennyhaow? 'Cawse ef you bin hangin' on to dat
+ar wale ev'sence you boat smash, w'y de debbil you hain't all ter bits,
+hey?" I smiled feebly, but was too weak to talk, and presently went off
+again into a dead faint.
+
+When I recovered, I was snug in my bunk aboard, but aching in every
+joint, and as sore as if I had been pounded with a club until I was
+bruised all over. During the day Mr. Count was kind enough to pay me a
+visit. With his usual luck, he had escaped without the slightest injury;
+neither was any other member of the boat's crew the worse for the
+ducking but myself. He told me that the whale was one of the largest
+he had ever seen, and as fat as butter. The boat was an entire loss, so
+completely smashed to pieces that nothing of her or her gear had been
+recovered. After spending about a quarter of an hour with me, he left me
+considerably cheered up, promising to look after me in the way of food,
+and also to send me some books. He told me that I need not worry
+myself about my inability to be at work, because the old man was not
+unfavourably disposed towards me, which piece of news gave me a great
+deal of comfort.
+
+When my poor, weary shipmates came below from their heavy toil of
+cutting in, they were almost inclined to be envious of my comfort--small
+blame to them--though I would gladly have taken my place among them
+again, could I have got rid of my hurts. But I was condemned to lie
+there for nearly three weeks before I was able to get about once more.
+In my sleep I would undergo the horrible anticipation of sliding down
+that awful, cavernous mouth over again, often waking with a shriek and
+drenched with sweat.
+
+While I lay there, three whales were caught, all small cows, and I was
+informed that the skipper was getting quite disgusted with the luck. At
+last I managed to get on deck, quite a different-looking man to when I
+went below, and feeling about ten years older. I found the same sullen
+quiet reigning that I had noticed several times before when we were
+unfortunate. I fancied that the skipper looked more morose and savage
+than ever, though of me, to my great relief, he took not the slightest
+notice.
+
+The third day after my return to duty we sighted whales again. We
+lowered three boats as promptly as usual; but when within about half a
+mile of the "pod" some slight noise in one of the boats gallied them,
+and away they went in the wind's eye, it blowing a stiffish breeze at
+the time, It was from the first evidently a hopeless task to chase them,
+but we persevered until recalled to the ship, dead beat with fatigue.
+I was not sorry, for my recent adventure seemed to have made quite a
+coward of me, so much so that an unpleasant gnawing at the pit of my
+stomach as we neared them almost made me sick. I earnestly hoped that
+so inconvenient a feeling would speedily leave me, or I should be but a
+poor creature in a boat.
+
+In passing, I would like to refer to the wonderful way in which these
+whales realize at a great distance, if the slightest sound be made, the
+presence of danger. I do not use the word "hear" because so abnormally
+small are their organs of hearing, the external opening being quite
+difficult to find, that I do not believe they can hear at all well. But
+I firmly believe they possess another sense by means of which they are
+able to detect any unusual vibration of the waves of either air or sea
+at a far greater distance than it would be possible for them to hear,
+Whatever this power may be which they possess, all whalemen are well
+acquainted with their exercise of it, and always take most elaborate
+precautions to render their approach to a whale noiseless.
+
+Our extraordinary want of success at last so annoyed the skipper that
+he determined to quit the ground and go north. The near approach of
+the open season in those regions probably hastened his decision, but I
+learned from Goliath that he had always been known as a most fortunate
+man among the "bowheads," as the great MYSTICETAE of that part of
+the Arctic seas are called by the Americans. Not that there is any
+difference, as far as I have been able to ascertain, between them
+and the "right" whale of the Greenland seas, but from some caprice of
+nomenclature for which there is no accounting.
+
+So in leisurely fashion we worked north, keeping, of course, a bright
+look-out all the way for straggling cachalots, but not seeing any. From
+scraps of information that in some mysterious fashion leaked out, we
+learned that we were bound to the Okhotsk Sea, it being no part of
+the skipper's intentions to go prowling around Behrings Sea, where he
+believed the whales to be few and far between.
+
+It may be imagined that we of the crew were not at all pleased with
+this intelligence, our life being, we considered, sufficiently miserable
+without the addition of extreme cold, for we did not realize that in the
+Arctic regions during summer the cold is by no means unbearable, and our
+imagination pictured a horrible waste of perpetual ice and snow, in the
+midst of which we should be compelled to freeze while dodging whales
+through the crevices of the floes. But whether our pictures of the
+prospects that awaited us were caricatures or no made not the slightest
+difference. "Growl you may, but go you must" is an old sea-jingle of the
+truest ring; but, while our going was inevitable, growling was a luxury
+none of us dare indulge in.
+
+We had by no means a bad passage to the Kuriles, which form a natural
+barrier enclosing the immense area of the Okhotsk Sea from the
+vast stretch of the Pacific. Around this great chain of islands the
+navigation is exceedingly difficult, and dangerous as well, from the
+ever-varying currents as from the frequent fogs and sudden storms. But
+these impediments to swift and safe navigation are made light of by
+the whalemen, who, as I feel never weary of remarking, are the finest
+navigators in the world where speed is not the first consideration.
+
+The most peculiar features of these inhospitable shores to a seaman are
+the vast fields of seaweed surrounding them all, which certainly helps
+to keep the sea down during gales, but renders navigation most difficult
+on account of its concealment of hidden dangers. These islands are aptly
+named, the word "Kurile" being Kamschatkan for smoke; and whether it be
+regarded as given in consequence of the numerous volcanoes which pour
+their fumes into the air, or the all-prevailing fog fostered by the Kuro
+Siwo, or Japanese counterpart of the Gulf stream, the designation is
+equally appropriate.
+
+We entered the Okhotsk Sea by the Nadeshda Channel, so-named after
+Admiral Krusenstern's ship, which was the first civilized vessel that
+passed through its turbulent waters. It separates the islands Rashau and
+Mantaua by about twenty miles, yet so conflicting and violent are the
+currents which eddy and swirl in all parts of it, that without a
+steady, strong, fair wind it is most dangerous to a sailing vessel.
+Thenceforward the navigation was free from difficulty, or at least none
+that we could recognize as such, so we gave all our attention to the
+business which brought us there.
+
+Scarcely any change was needed in our equipment, except the substitution
+of longer harpoons for those we had been using, and the putting away
+of the bomb-guns. These changes were made because the blubber of the
+bowhead is so thick that ordinary harpoons will not penetrate beyond it
+to the muscle, which, unless they do, renders them liable to draw, upon
+a heavy strain. As for the bombs, Yankees hold the mysticetae in such
+supreme contempt that none of them would dream of wasting so expensive
+a weapon as a bomb upon them. I was given to understand by my constant
+crony, Mistah Jones, that there was no more trouble in killing a bowhead
+than in slaughtering a sheep; and that while it was quite true that
+accidents DID occur, they were entirely due to the carelessness or
+clumsiness of the whalemen, and not in any way traceable to a desire on
+the victim's part to do any one harm.
+
+The sea was little encumbered with ice, it being now late in June, so
+that our progress was not at all impeded by the few soft, brashy floes
+that we encountered, none of them hard enough to do a ship's hull any
+damage. In most places the sea was sufficiently shallow to permit of our
+anchoring. For this purpose we used a large kedge, with stout hawser for
+cable, never furling all the sails in case of a strong breeze suddenly
+springing up, which would cause us to drag. This anchoring was very
+comfortable. Besides allowing us to get much more rest than when on
+other cruising-grounds, we were able to catch enormous quantities
+of fish, mostly salmon, of which there were no less than fourteen
+varieties. So plentiful were these splendid fish that we got quite
+critical in our appreciation of them, very soon finding that one kind,
+known as the "nerker," was far better flavoured than any of the others.
+But as the daintiest food palls the quickest, it was not long before we
+got tired of salmon, and wished most heartily for beef.
+
+Much fun has been made of the discontent of sailors. With food which is
+considered a luxury ashore, and wonder expressed that if, as we assert,
+the ordinary dietary of the seaman be so bad, he should be so ready to
+rebel when fed with delicacies. But in justice to the sailor, it ought
+to be remembered that the daintiest food may be rendered disgusting by
+bad cookery, such as is the rule on board merchant ships. "God sends
+meat, but the devil sends cooks" is a proverb which originated on board
+ship, and no one who has ever served any time in a ship's forecastle
+would deny that it is abundantly justified. Besides which, even good
+food well cooked of one kind only, served many times in succession,
+becomes very trying, only the plainest foods, such as bread, rice,
+potatoes, etc., retaining their command of the appetite continually.
+
+I remember once, when upon the Coromandel coast in a big Greenock ship,
+we found fowls very cheap. At Bimliapatam the captain bought two or
+three hundred, which, as we had no coops, were turned loose on deck. We
+had also at the same time prowling about the decks three goats, twenty
+pigs, and two big dogs.
+
+Consequently the state of the ship was filthy, nor could all our efforts
+keep her clean. This farmyard condition of things was permitted to
+continue for about a week, when the officers got so tired of it, and
+the captain so annoyed at the frequent loss of fowls by their flying
+overboard, that the edict went forth to feed the foremast hands on
+poultry till further orders. Great was our delight at the news. Fowl for
+dinner represented to our imagination almost the apex of high living,
+only indulged in by such pampered children of fortune as the officers of
+ships or well-to-do people ashore.
+
+When dinner-time arrived, we boys made haste to the galley with watering
+mouths, joyfully anticipating that rare delight of the sailor--a good
+"feed." The cook uncovered his coppers, plunged his tormentors therein,
+and produced such a succession of ugly corpses of fowls as I had never
+seen before. To each man a whole one was allotted, and we bore the
+steaming hecatomb into the forecastle. The boisterous merriment became
+hushed at our approach, and faces grew lengthy when the unwholesome
+aspect of the "treat" was revealed. Each man secured his bird, and
+commenced operations. But oh, the disappointment, and the bad words!
+What little flesh there was upon the framework of those unhappy fowls
+was like leather itself, and utterly flavourless. It could not well
+have been otherwise. The feathers had been simply scalded off, the heads
+chopped off, and bodies split open to facilitate drawing (I am sure I
+wonder the cook took the trouble to do that much), and thus prepared
+they were cast into a cauldron of boiling salt water. There, with the
+water fiercely bubbling, they were kept for an hour and a half, then
+pitchforked out into the mess kid and set before us. We simply could not
+eat them; no one but a Noumean Kanaka could, for his teeth are equal to
+husking a cocoa-nut, or chopping off a piece of sugar-cane as thick as
+your wrist.
+
+After much heated discussion, it was unanimously resolved to protest at
+once against the substitution of such a fraud as this poultry for our
+legitimate rations of "salt horse." so, bearing the DISJECTA MEMBRA of
+our meal, the whole crowd marched aft, and requested an interview with
+the skipper. He came out of the cabin at once, saying, "Well, boys,
+what's the matter?" The spokesman, a bald-headed Yankee, who had been
+bo'sun's mate of an American man-of-war, stepped forward and said,
+offering his kid, "Jest have a look at that sir." The skipper looked,
+saying, inquiringly, "Well?" "D'yew think, sir," said Nat, "THET'S
+proper grub for men?" "Proper grub! Why, you old sinner, you don't mean
+to say you're goin' to growl about havin' chicken for dinner?" "Well,
+sir, it depends muchly upon the chicken. All I know is, that I've et
+some dam queer tack in my time, but sence I ben fishin' I never had no
+such bundles of sticks parcelled with leather served out to me. I HEV et
+boot--leastways gnawed it; when I was cast away in a open boat for three
+weeks--but it wa'n't bad boot, as boots go. Now, if yew say that these
+things is boots, en thet it's necessary we should eat'em, or starve,
+w'y, we'll think about it. But if yew call'em chickens,'n say you're
+doin' us a kindness by stoppin' our'lowance of meat wile we're wrastlin'
+with 'em, then we say we don't feel obliged to yew, 'n 'll thank yew
+kindly to keep such lugsuries for yerself, 'n give us wot we signed
+for." A murmur of assent confirmed this burst of eloquence, which we all
+considered a very fine effort indeed. A moment's silence ensued; then
+the skipper burst out, "I've often heard of such things, but hang me if
+I ever believed 'em till now! You ungrateful beggars! I'll see you get
+your whack, and no more, from this out. When you get any little extras
+aboard this ship agen, you'll be thankful for 'em; now I tell you." "All
+right, sir," said Nat; "so long as we don't hev to chaw any more of yer
+biled Bimly crows, I dessay we shall worry along as usual." And, as the
+Parliamentary reports say, the proceedings then terminated.
+
+Now, suppose the skipper had told the story to some of his shore
+friends, how very funny the sailors' conduct would have been made to
+appear.
+
+On another occasion long after, when I was mate of a barque loading
+mahogany in Tonala, Mexico, the skipper thought he would practise
+economy by buying a turtle instead of beef. A large turtle was obtained
+for twenty-five cents, and handed over to the cook to be dealt with,
+particular instructions being given him as to the apportionment of the
+meat.
+
+At eight bells there was a gathering of the men in front of the poop,
+and a summons for the captain. When he appeared, the usual stereotyped
+invitation to "have a look at THAT, if you please, sir," was uttered.
+The skipper was, I think, prepared for a protest, for he began to
+bluster immediately. "Look here!" he bawled, "I ain't goin' to 'ave any
+of your dam nonsense. You WANT somethin' to growl about, you do." "Well,
+Cap'n George," said one of the men, "you shorely don't think we k'n eat
+shells, do yer?" Just then I caught sight of the kid's contents, and
+could hardly restrain my indignation. For in a dirty heap, the sight
+of which might have pleased an Esquimaux, but was certainly enough
+to disgust any civilized man, lay the calipee, or under-shell of the
+turtle, hacked into irregular blocks. It had been simply boiled, and
+flung into the kid, an unclean, disgusting heap of shell, with pieces
+of dirty flesh attached in ragged lumps. But the skipper, red-faced and
+angry, answered, "W'y, yer so-and-so ijits, that's wot the Lord Mayor of
+London gives about a guinea a hounce for w'en 'e feeds lords n' dooks.
+Only the haristocracy at 'ome get a charnce to stick their teeth in
+such grub as that. An' 'ere are you lot a-growlin' at 'avin' it for a
+change!" "That's all right, cap'n," said the man; "bein' brort up ter
+such lugsuries, of corse you kin appreshyate it. So if yer keep it fer
+yer own eatin', an' giv us wot we signed for, we shall be werry much
+obliged." "Now, I ain't a-goin' to 'ave none o' YOUR cheek, so you'd
+better git forrard. You can betcher life you won't get no more fresh
+messes this voy'ge." So, with grumbling and ill-will on both sides, the
+conference came to an end. But I thought, and still think, that the
+mess set before those men, who had been working hard since six a.m., was
+unfit for the food of a good dog.
+
+Out of my own experience I might give many other instances of the kind,
+but I hope these will suffice to show that Jack's growling is often
+justified, when both sides of the story are heard.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI. "BOWHEAD" FISHING
+
+Day and night being now only distinguishable by the aid of the clock,
+a constant look-out aloft was kept all through the twenty-four hours,
+watch and watch, but whales were apparently very scarce. We did a good
+deal of "pelagic" sealing; that is, catching seals swimming. But the
+total number obtained was not great, for these creatures are only
+gregarious when at their rocky haunts during the breeding season, or
+among the ice just before that season begins. Our sealing, therefore,
+was only a way of passing the time in the absence of nobler game, to be
+abandoned at once with whales in sight.
+
+It was on the ninth or tenth morning after our arrival on the grounds
+that a bowhead was raised, And two boats sent after him. It was my
+first sight of the great MYSTICETUS, and I must confess to being much
+impressed by his gigantic bulk. From the difference in shape, he looked
+much larger than the largest sperm whale we had yet seen, although we
+had come across some of the very biggest specimens of cachalot.
+
+The contrast between the two animals is most marked, so much so, in
+fact, that one would hardly credit them with belonging to the same
+order. Popular ideas of the whale are almost invariably taken from the
+MYSTICETUS, so that the average individual generally defines a whale
+as a big fish which spouts water out of the top of his head, and cannot
+swallow a herring. Indeed, so lately as last year a popular M.P.,
+writing to one of the religious papers, allowed himself to say that
+"science will not hear of a whale with a gullet capable of admitting
+anything larger than a man's fist"--a piece of crass ignorance, which is
+also perpetrated in the appendix to a very widely-distributed edition of
+the Authorized Version of the Bible. This opinion, strangely enough, is
+almost universally held, although I trust that the admirable models now
+being shown in our splendid Natural History Museum at South Kensington
+will do much to remove it. Not so many people, perhaps, believe that a
+whale is a fish, instead of a mammal, but few indeed are the individuals
+who do not still think that a cetacean possesses a sort of natural
+fountain on the top of its head, whence, for some recondite reason, it
+ejects at regular intervals streams of water into the air.
+
+But a whale can no more force water through its spiracle or blow-hole
+than you or I through our nostrils. It inhales, when at the surface,
+atmospheric air, and exhales breath like ours, which, coming warm into a
+cooler medium, becomes visible, as does our breath on a frosty morning.
+
+Now, the MYSTICETUS carries his nostrils on the summit of his head, or
+crown, the orifice being closed by a beautifully arranged valve when the
+animal is beneath the water. Consequently, upon coming to the surface
+to breathe, he sends up a jet of visible breath into the air some ten
+or twelve feet. The cachalot, on the other hand, has the orifice at the
+point of his square snout, the internal channel running in a slightly
+diagonal direction downwards, and back through the skull to the lungs.
+So when he spouts, the breath is projected forward diagonally, and, from
+some peculiarity which I do not pretend to explain, expends itself in a
+short, bushy tuft of vapour, very distinct from the tall vertical spout
+of the bowhead or right whale.
+
+There was little or no wind when we sighted the individual I am now
+speaking of, so we did not attempt to set sail, but pulled straight
+for him "head and head." Strange as it may appear, the MYSTICETUS'
+best point of view is right behind, or "in his wake," as we say; it is
+therefore part of the code to approach him from right ahead, in which
+direction he cannot see at all. Some time before we reached him he
+became aware of our presence, showing by his uneasy actions that he had
+his doubts about his personal security. But before he had made up his
+mind what to do we were upon him, with our harpoons buried in his back.
+The difference in his behaviour to what we had so long been accustomed
+to was amazing. He did certainly give a lumbering splash or two with his
+immense flukes, but no one could possibly have been endangered by them.
+The water was so shallow that when he sounded it was but for a very few
+minutes; there was no escape for him that way. As soon as he returned
+to the surface he set off at his best gait, but that was so slow that
+we easily hauled up close alongside of him, holding the boats in that
+position without the slightest attempt to guard ourselves from reprisals
+on his part, while the officers searched his vitals with the lances as
+if they were probing a haystack.
+
+Really, the whole affair was so tame that it was impossible to get up
+any fighting enthusiasm over it; the poor, unwieldy creature died meekly
+and quietly as an overgrown seal. In less than an hour from the time of
+leaving the ship we were ready to bring our prize alongside.
+
+Upon coming up to the whale, sail was shortened, and as soon as the
+fluke-chain was passed we anchored. It was, I heard, our skipper's boast
+that he could "skin a bowhead in forty minutes;" and although we were
+certainly longer than that, the celerity with which what seemed a
+gigantic task was accomplished was marvellous. Of course, it was all
+plain-sailing, very unlike the complicated and herculean task inevitable
+at the commencement of cutting-in a sperm whale.
+
+Except for the head work, removing the blubber was effected in precisely
+the same way as in the case of the cachalot. There was a marked
+difference between the quantity of lard enveloping this whale and those
+we had hitherto dealt with. It was nearly double the thickness, besides
+being much richer in oil, which fairly dripped from it as we hoisted
+in the blanket-pieces. The upper jaw was removed for its long plates of
+whalebone or baleen--that valuable substance which alone makes it worth
+while nowadays to go after the MYSTICETUS, the price obtained for the
+oil being so low as to make it not worth while to fit out ships to go in
+search of it alone. "Trying-out" the blubber, with its accompaniments,
+is carried on precisely as with the sperm whale. The resultant oil, when
+recent, is of a clear white, unlike the golden-tinted fluid obtained
+from the cachalot. As it grows stale it developes a nauseous smell,
+which sperm does not, although the odour of the oil is otto of roses
+compared with the horrible mass of putridity landed from the tanks of a
+Greenland whaler at the termination of a cruise. For in those vessels,
+the fishing-time at their disposal being so brief, they do not wait to
+boil down the blubber, but, chopping it into small pieces, pass it below
+as it is into tanks, to be rendered down by the oil-mills ashore on the
+ship's return.
+
+This first bowhead yielded us eighteen tuns of oil and a ton of baleen,
+which made the catch about equal in value to that of a seven-tun
+cachalot. But the amount of labour and care necessary in order to
+thoroughly dry and cleanse the baleen was enormous; in fact, for months
+after we began the bowhead fishery there was almost always something
+being done with the wretched stuff--drying, scraping, etc.--which, as it
+was kept below, also necessitated hoisting it up on deck and getting it
+down again.
+
+After this beginning, it was again a considerable time before we sighted
+any more; but when we did, there were quite a number of them--enough
+to employ all the boats with one each. I was out of the fun this time,
+being almost incapable of moving by reason of several boils on my
+legs--the result, I suppose, of a long abstinence from fresh vegetables,
+or anything to supply their place.
+
+As it happened, however, I lost no excitement by remaining on board;
+for while all the boats were away a large bowhead rose near the ship,
+evidently being harassed in some way by enemies, which I could not at
+first see. He seemed quite unconscious of his proximity to the ship,
+though, and at last came so near that the whole performance was as
+visible as if it had been got up for my benefit. Three "killers" were
+attacking him at once, like wolves worrying a bull, except that his
+motions were far less lively than those of any bull would have been.
+
+The "killer," or ORCA GLADIATOR, is a true whale, but, like the
+cachalot, has teeth. He differs from that great cetacean, though, in a
+most important particular; i.e. by having a complete set in both upper
+and lower jaws, like any other carnivore. For a carnivore indeed is he,
+the very wolf of the ocean, and enjoying, by reason of his extraordinary
+agility as well as comparative worthlessness commercially, complete
+immunity from attack by man. By some authorities he is thought to be
+identical with the grampus, but whalers all consider the animals quite
+distinct. Not having had very long acquaintance with them both, I cannot
+speak emphatically upon this difference of opinion; so far as personal
+observation goes, I agree with the whalers in believing that there is
+much variation both of habits and shape between them.
+
+But to return to the fight. The first inkling I got of what was really
+going on was the leaping of a killer high into the air by the side of
+the whale, and descending upon the victim's broad, smooth back with a
+resounding crash. I saw that the killer was provided with a pair of
+huge fins--one on his back, the other on his belly--which at first sight
+looked as if they were also weapons of offence. A little observation
+convinced me that they were fins only. Again and again the aggressor
+leaped into the air, falling each time on the whale's back, as if to
+beat him into submission.
+
+The sea around foamed and boiled like a cauldron, so that it was only
+occasional glimpses I was able to catch of the two killers, until
+presently the worried whale lifted his head clear out of the surrounding
+smother, revealing the two furies hanging--one on either side--to his
+lips, as if endeavouring to drag his mouth open--which I afterwards saw
+was their principal object, as whenever during the tumult I caught sight
+of them, they were still in the same position. At last the tremendous
+and incessant blows, dealt by the most active member of the trio, seemed
+actually to have exhausted the immense vitality of the great bowhead,
+for he lay supine upon the surface. Then the three joined their forces,
+and succeeded in dragging open his cavernous mouth, into which they
+freely entered, devouring his tongue. This, then, had been their sole
+object, for as soon as they had finished their barbarous feast they
+departed, leaving him helpless and dying to fall an easy prey to our
+returning boats.
+
+Thus, although the four whales captured by the boats had been but small,
+the day's take, augmented by so great a find, was a large one, and it
+was a long time before we got clear of the work it entailed.
+
+From that time forward we saw no whales for six weeks, and, from the
+reports we received from two whalers we "gammed," it appeared that we
+might consider ourselves most fortunate in our catch, since they, who
+had been longer on the ground than ourselves, had only one whale apiece.
+
+In consequence of this information, Captain Slocum decided to go south
+again, and resume the sperm whaling in the North Pacific, near the
+line--at least so the rumour ran; but as we never heard anything
+definitely, we could not feel at all certain of our next destination.
+
+Ever since the fracas at the Bonins between Goliath and his watch,
+the relations between Captain Slocum and the big negro had been
+very strained. Even before the outbreak, as I have remarked upon one
+occasion, it was noticeable that little love was lost between them. Why
+this was so, without anything definite to guide one's reasoning, was
+difficult to understand, for a better seaman or a smarter whaleman than
+Mistah Jones did not live--of that every one was quite sure. Still,
+there was no gainsaying the fact that, churlish and morose as our
+skipper's normal temper always was, he was never so much so as in
+his behaviour towards his able fourth mate, who, being a man of fine,
+sensitive temper, chafed under his unmerited treatment so much as to
+lose flesh, becoming daily more silent, nervous, and depressed. Still,
+there had never been an open rupture, nor did it appear as if there
+would be, so great was the power Captain Slocum possessed over the will
+of everybody on board.
+
+One night, however, as we were nearing the Kuriles again, on our way
+south, leaving the Sea of Okhotsk, I was sitting on the fore side of the
+try-works alone, meditating upon what I would do when once I got
+clear of this miserable business. Futile and foolish, no doubt, my
+speculations were, but only in this way could I forget for a while my
+surroundings, since the inestimable comfort of reading was denied me.
+I had been sitting thus absorbed in thought for nearly an hour, when
+Goliath came and seated himself by my side. We had always been great
+friends, although, owing to the strict discipline maintained on board,
+it was not often we got a chance for a "wee bit crack," as the Scotch
+say. Besides, I was not in his watch, and even now he should rightly
+have been below. He sat for a minute or two silent; then, as if
+compelled to speak, he began in low, fierce whispers to tell me of his
+miserable state of mind. At last, after recapitulating many slights
+and insults he had received silently from the captain, of which I had
+previously known nothing, he became strangely calm. In tones quite
+unlike his usual voice, he said that he was not an American-born negro,
+but a pure African, who had been enslaved in his infancy, with his
+mother, somewhere in the "Hinterland" of Guinea. While still a child,
+his mother escaped with him into Liberia, a where he had remained till
+her death, She was, according to him, an Obeah woman of great power,
+venerated exceedingly by her own people for her prophetic abilities.
+Before her death, she had told him that he would die suddenly,
+violently, in a struggle with a white man in a far-off country, but that
+the white man would die too by his hand. She had also told him that he
+would be a great traveller and hunter upon the sea. As he went on, his
+speech became almost unintelligible, being mingled with fragments of a
+language I had never heard before; moreover, he spoke as a man who is
+only half awake. A strange terror got hold of me, for I began to think
+he was going mad, and perhaps about to run a-mok, as the Malays do when
+driven frantic by the infliction of real or fancied wrongs.
+
+But he gradually returned to his old self, to my great relief, and I
+ventured somewhat timidly to remind him of the esteem in which he was
+held by all hands; even the skipper, I ventured to say, respected him,
+although, from some detestable form of ill-humour, he had chosen to
+be so sneering and insulting towards him. He shook his head sadly, and
+said, "My dear boy, youse de only man aboard dis ship--wite man, dat
+is--dat don't hate an' despise me becawse ob my colour, wich I cain't
+he'p; an' de God you beliebe in bless you fer dat. As fer me, w'at I
+done tole you's true,'n befo' bery little w'ile you see it COME true.
+'N w'en DAT happens w'at's gwine ter happen, I'se real glad to tink it
+gwine ter be better fer you--gwine ter be better fer eberybody 'bord de
+CACH'LOT; but I doan keer nuffin 'bout anybody else. So long." He held
+out his great black hand, and shook mine heartily, while a big tear
+rolled down his face and fell on the deck. And with that he left me a
+prey to a very whirlpool of conflicting thoughts and fears.
+
+The night was a long and weary one--longer and drearier perhaps because
+of the absence of the darkness, which always made it harder to sleep.
+An incessant day soon becomes, to those accustomed to the relief of the
+night, a burden grievous to be borne; and although use can reconcile
+us to most things, and does make even the persistent light bearable,
+in times of mental distress or great physical weariness one feels
+irresistibly moved to cry earnestly, "Come, gentle night."
+
+When I came on deck at eight bells, it was a stark calm. The watch,
+under Mistah Jones' direction, were busy scrubbing decks with the usual
+thoroughness, while the captain, bare-footed, with trouser-legs and
+shirt-sleeves rolled up, his hands on his hips and a portentous frown on
+his brow, was closely looking on. As it was my spell at the crow's-nest,
+I made at once for the main-rigging, and had got halfway to the top,
+when some unusual sounds below arrested me.
+
+All hands were gathered in the waist, a not unusual thing at the
+changing of the watch. In the midst of them, as I looked down, two men
+came together in a fierce struggle. They were Goliath and the skipper.
+Captain Slocum's right hand went naturally to his hip pocket, where he
+always carried a revolver; but before he could draw it, the long, black
+arms of his adversary wrapped around him, making him helpless as a babe.
+Then, with a rush that sent every one flying out of his way, Goliath
+hurled himself at the bulwarks, which were low, the top of the rail
+about thirty-three inches from the deck. The two bodies struck the rail
+with a heavy thud, instantly toppling overboard. That broke the spell
+that bound everybody, so that there was an instantaneous rush to the
+side. Only a hardly noticeable ripple remained on the surface of the
+placid sea.
+
+But, from my lofty perch, the whole of the ghastly struggle had been
+visible to the least detail. The two men had struck the water locked in
+closest embrace, which relaxed not even when far below the surface. When
+the sea is perfectly smooth, objects are visible from aloft at several
+feet depth, though apparently diminished in size. The last thing I saw
+was Captain Slocum's white face, with its starting black eyes looking
+their last upon the huge, indefinite hull of the ship whose occupants he
+had ruled so long and rigidly.
+
+The whole tragedy occupied such a brief moment of time that it was
+almost impossible to realize that it was actual. Reason, however, soon
+regained her position among the officers, who ordered the closest watch
+to be kept from aloft, in case of the rising of either or both of the
+men. A couple of boats were swung, ready to drop on the instant. But,
+as if to crown the tragedy with completeness, a heavy squall, which
+had risen unnoticed, suddenly burst upon the ship with great fury, the
+lashing hail and rain utterly obscuring vision even for a few yards.
+So unexpected was the onset of this squall that, for the only time that
+voyage, we lost some canvas through not being able to get it in quick
+enough. The topgallant halyards were let go; but while the sails were
+being clewed up, the fierce wind following the rain caught them from
+their confining gear, rending them into a thousand shreds. For an hour
+the squall raged--a tempest in brief--then swept away to the south-east
+on its furious journey, leaving peace again. Needless perhaps to say,
+that after such a squall it was hopeless to look for our missing ones.
+The sudden storm had certainly driven us several miles away front the
+spot where they disappeared, and, although we carefully made what haste
+was possible back along the line we were supposed to have come, not
+a vestige of hope was in any one's mind that we should ever see them
+again.
+
+Nor did we. Whether that madness, which I had feared was coming upon
+Goliath during our previous night's conversation, suddenly overpowered
+him and impelled him to commit the horrible deed, what more had
+passed between him and the skipper to even faintly justify so awful a
+retaliation--these things were now matters of purest speculation. As if
+they had never been, the two men were blotted out--gone before God in
+full-blown heat of murder and revengeful fury.
+
+On the same evening Mr. Count mustered all hands on the quarter-deck,
+and addressed us thus: "Men, Captain Slocum is dead, and, as a
+consequence, I command the ship. Behave yourself like men, not presuming
+upon kindness or imagining that I am a weak, vacillating old man with
+whom you can do as you like, and you will find in me a skipper who will
+do his duty by you as far as lies in his power, nor expect more from you
+than you ought to render. If, however, you DO try any tricks, remember
+that I am an old hand, equal to most of the games that men get up to.
+I do want--if you will help me--to make this a comfortable as well as a
+successful ship. I hope with all my heart we shall succeed."
+
+In answer to this manly and affecting little speech, which confirmed
+my previous estimate of Captain Count's character, were he but free to
+follow the bent of his natural, kindly inclinations, and which I have
+endeavoured to translate out of his usual dialect, a hearty cheer
+was raised by all hands, the first ebullition of general good feeling
+manifested throughout the voyage. Hearts rose joyfully at the prospect
+of comfort to be gained by thoughtfulness on the part of the commander;
+nor from that time forward did any sign of weariness of the ship or
+voyage show itself among us, either on deck or below.
+
+The news soon spread among us that, in consequence of the various losses
+of boats and gear, the captain deemed it necessary to make for Honolulu,
+where fresh supplies could readily be obtained. We had heard many
+glowing accounts from visitors, when "gamming," of the delights of this
+well-known port of call for whalers, and under our new commander we had
+little doubt that we should be allowed considerable liberty during our
+stay. So we were quite impatient to get along fretting considerably at
+the persistent fogs which prevented our making much progress while in
+the vicinity of the Kuriles. But we saw no more bowheads, for which none
+of us forward were at all sorry. We had got very tired of the stink
+of their blubber, and the never-ending worry connected with the
+preservation of the baleen; besides, we had not yet accumulated any
+fund of enthusiasm about getting a full ship, except as a reason for
+shortening the voyage, and we quite understood that what black oil we
+had got would be landed at Hawaii, so that our visit to the Okhotsk Sea,
+with its resultant store of oil, had not really brought our return home
+any nearer, as we at first hoped it would.
+
+A great surprise was in store for me. I knew that Captain Count was
+favourably inclined towards me, for he had himself told me so, but
+nothing was further from my thoughts than promotion. However, one Sunday
+afternoon, when we were all peacefully enjoying the unusual rest (we
+had no Sundays in Captain Slocum's time), the captain sent for me. He
+informed me that, after mature consideration, he had chosen me to fill
+the vacancy made by the death of Mistah Jones. Mr. Cruce was now mate;
+the waspish little third had become second; Louis Silva, the captain's
+favourite harpooner was third; and I was to be fourth. Not feeling at
+all sure of how the other harpooners would take my stepping over their
+heads, I respectfully demurred to the compliment offered me, stating
+my reasons. But the captain said he had fully made up his mind,
+after consultation with the other officers, and that I need have no
+apprehension on the score of the harpooners' jealousy; that they
+had been spoken to on the subject, and they were all agreed that the
+captain's choice was the best, especially as none of them knew anything
+of navigation, or could write their own names.
+
+In consequence of there being none of the crew fit to take a harpooner's
+place, I was now really harpooner of the captain's boat, which he
+would continue to work, when necessary, until we were able to ship a
+harpooner, which he hoped to do at Hawaii.
+
+The news of my promotion was received in grim silence by the Portuguese
+forward, but the white men all seemed pleased. This was highly
+gratifying to me, for I had tried my best to be helpful to all, as far
+as my limited abilities would let me; nor do I think I had an enemy
+in the ship. Behold me, then, a full-blown "mister," with a definite
+substantial increase in my prospects of pay of nearly one-third,
+in addition to many other advantages, which, under the new captain,
+promised exceedingly well.
+
+More than half the voyage lay behind us, looking like the fast-settling
+bank of storm-clouds hovering above the tempest-tossed sea so lately
+passed, while ahead the bright horizon was full of promise of fine
+weather for the remainder of the journey.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII. VISIT TO HONOLULU
+
+Right glad were we all when, after much fumbling and box-hauling about,
+we once more felt the long, familiar roll of the Pacific swell, and saw
+the dim fastnesses of the smoky islands fading into the lowering gloom
+astern. Most deep-water sailors are familiar, by report if not by actual
+contact, with the beauties of the Pacific islands, and I had often
+longed to visit them to see for myself whether the half that had been
+told me was true. Of course, to a great number of seafaring men, the
+loveliness of those regions counts for nothing, their desirability
+being founded upon the frequent opportunities of unlimited indulgence in
+debauchery. To such men, a "missionary" island is a howling wilderness,
+and the missionaries themselves the subjects of the vilest abuse as well
+as the most boundless lying.
+
+No one who has travelled with his eyes open would assert that all
+missionaries were wise, prudent, or even godly men; while it is a great
+deal to be regretted that so much is made of hardships which in a
+large proportion of cases do not exist, the men who are supposed to be
+enduring them being immensely better off and more comfortable than they
+would ever have been at home. Undoubtedly the pioneers of missionary
+enterprise had, almost without exception, to face dangers and miseries
+past telling, but that is the portion of pioneers in general. In these
+days, however, the missionary's lot in Polynesia is not often a hard
+one, and in many cases it is infinitely to be preferred to a life among
+the very poor of our great cities.
+
+But when all has been said that can be said against the missionaries,
+the solid bastion of fact remains that, in consequence of their labours,
+the whole vile character of the populations of the Pacific has been
+changed, and where wickedness runs riot to-day, it is due largely to the
+hindrances placed in the way of the noble efforts of the missionaries
+by the unmitigated scoundrels who vilify them. The task of spreading
+Christianity would not, after all, be so difficult were it not for the
+efforts of those apostles of the devil to keep the islands as they would
+like them to be--places where lust runs riot day and night, murder may
+be done with impunity, slavery flourishes, and all evil may be indulged
+in free from law, order, or restraint.
+
+It speaks volumes for the inherent might of the Gospel that, in spite of
+the object-lessons continually provided for the natives by white men of
+the negation of all good, that it has stricken its roots so deeply into
+the soil of the Pacific islands. Just as the best proof of the reality
+of the Gospel here in England is that it survives the incessant assaults
+upon it from within by its professors, by those who are paid, and highly
+paid, to propagate it, by the side of whose deadly doings the efforts
+of so-called infidels are but as the battery of a summer breeze; so
+in Polynesia, were not the principles of Christianity vital with an
+immortal and divine life, missionary efforts might long ago have ceased
+in utter despair at the fruitlessness of the field.
+
+We were enjoying a most uneventful passage, free from any serious
+changes either of wind or weather which quiet time was utilised to
+the utmost in making many much-needed additions to the running-gear,
+repairing rigging, etc. Any work involving the use of new material had
+been put off from time to time during the previous part of the voyage
+till the ship aloft was really in a dangerous condition. This was
+due entirely to the peculiar parsimony of our late skipper, who could
+scarcely bring himself to broach a coil of rope, except for whaling
+purposes. The same false economy had prevailed with regard to paint
+and varnish, so that the vessel, while spotlessly clean, presented a
+worn-out weather-beaten appearance. Now, while the condition of life on
+board was totally different to what it had been, as regards comfort and
+peace, discipline and order were maintained at the same high level as
+always, though by a different method--in fact, I believe that a great
+deal more work was actually done, certainly much more that was useful
+and productive; for Captain Count hated, as much as any foremast hand
+among us, the constant, remorseless grind of iron-work polishing,
+paint-work scrubbing, and holystoning, all of which, though necessary
+in a certain degree, when kept up continually for the sole purpose
+of making work--a sort of elaborated tread-mill, in fact--becomes the
+refinement of cruelty to underfed, unpaid, and hopeless men.
+
+So, while the CACHALOT could have fearlessly challenged comparison with
+any ship afloat for cleanliness and neatness of appearance, the hands no
+longer felt that they were continually being "worked up" or "hazed" for
+the sole, diabolical satisfaction of keeping them "at it." Of course,
+the incidence of the work was divided, since so many of the crew
+were quite unable to do any sailorizing, as we term work in sails and
+rigging. Upon them, then, fell all the common labour, which can be done
+by any unskilled man or woman afloat or ashore.
+
+Of this work a sailor's duties are largely made up, but when good people
+ashore wonder "whatever sailors do with their time," it would be useful
+for them to remember that a ship is a huge and complicated machine,
+needing constant repairs, which can only be efficiently performed by
+skilled workmen. An "A.B." or able seaman's duties are legally supposed
+to be defined by the three expressions, "hand, reef, and steer." If
+he can do those three things, which mean furling or making fast sails,
+reefing them, and steering the ship, his wages cannot be reduced for
+incompetency. Yet these things are the A B C of seamanship only. A
+good SEAMAN is able to make all the various knots, splices, and other
+arrangements in hempen or wire rope, without which a ship cannot be
+rigged; he can make a sail, send up or down yards and masts, and do
+many other things, the sum total of which need several years of steady
+application to learn, although a good seaman is ever learning.
+
+Such seamen are fast becoming extinct. They are almost totally
+unnecessary in steamships, except when the engines break down in a gale
+of wind, and the crowd of navvies forming the crew stand looking at one
+another when called upon to set sail or do any other job aloft. THEN the
+want of seamen is rather severely felt. But even in sailing ships--the
+great, overgrown tanks of two thousand tons and upwards--mechanical
+genius has utilized iron to such an extent in their rigging that
+sailor-work has become very largely a matter of blacksmithing. I make no
+complaint of this, not believing that the "old was better;" but, since
+the strongest fabric of man's invention comes to grief sometimes in
+conflict with the irresistible sea, some provision should be made
+for having a sufficiency of seamen who could exercise their skill in
+refitting a dismasted ship, or temporarily replacing broken blacksmith
+work by old-fashioned rope and wood.
+
+But, as the sailing ship is doomed inevitably to disappear before steam,
+perhaps it does not matter much. The economic march of the world's
+progress will never be stayed by sentimental considerations, nor will
+all the romance and poetry in the world save the seaman from extinction,
+if his place can be more profitably filled by the engineer. From all
+appearances, it soon will be, for even now marine superintendents of
+big lines are sometimes engineers, and in their hands lie the duty of
+engaging the officers. It would really seem as if the ship of the near
+future would be governed by the chief engineer, under whose direction a
+pilot or sailing-master would do the necessary navigation, without power
+to interfere in any matter of the ship's economy. Changes as great have
+taken place in other professions; seafaring cannot hope to be the sole
+exception.
+
+So, edging comfortably along, we gradually neared the Sandwich Islands
+without having seen a single spout worth watching since the tragedy.
+At last the lofty summits of the island mountains hove in sight,
+and presently we came to an anchor in that paradise of whalers,
+missionaries, and amateur statesmen--Honolulu. As it is as well known
+to most reading people as our own ports--better perhaps--I shall not
+attempt to describe it, or pit myself against the able writers who have
+made it so familiar. Yet to me it was a new world. All things were
+so strange, so delightful, especially the lovable, lazy, fascinating
+Kanakas, who could be so limply happy over a dish of poi, or a green
+cocoa-nut, or even a lounge in the sun, that it seemed an outrage to
+expect them to work. In their sports they could be energetic enough. I
+do not know of any more delightful sight than to watch them bathing
+in the tremendous surf, simply intoxicated with the joy of living,
+as unconscious of danger as if swinging in a hammock while riding
+triumphantly upon the foaming summit of an incoming breaker twenty feet
+high, or plunging with a cataract over the dizzy edge of its cliff,
+swallowed up in the hissing vortex below, only to reappear with a scream
+of riotous laughter in the quiet eddy beyond.
+
+As far as I could judge, they were the happiest of people, literally
+taking no thought for the morrow, and content with the barest
+necessaries of life, so long as they were free and the sun shone
+brightly. We had many opportunities of cultivating their acquaintance,
+for the captain allowed us much liberty, quite one-half of the crew and
+officers being ashore most of the time. Of course, the majority spent
+all their spare time in the purlieus of the town, which, like all such
+places anywhere, were foul and filthy enough; but that was their own
+faults. I have often wondered much to see men, who on board ship were
+the pink of cleanliness and neatness, fastidious to a fault in all they
+did, come ashore and huddle in the most horrible of kennels, among the
+very dregs and greaves of the 'long-shore district. It certainly wants a
+great deal of explanation; but I suppose the most potent reason is, that
+sailors, as a class, never learn to enjoy themselves rationally. They
+are also morbidly suspicions of being taken in hand by anybody who
+would show them anything worth seeing, preferring to be led by the human
+sharks that infest all seaports into ways of strange nastiness, and so
+expensive withal that one night of such wallowing often costs them more
+than a month's sane recreation and good food would. All honour to the
+devoted men and women who labour in our seaports for the moral and
+material benefit of the sailor, passing their lives amidst sights and
+sounds shocking and sickening to the last degree, reviled, unthanked,
+unpaid. Few are the missionaries abroad whose lot is so hard as theirs.
+
+We spent ten happy days in Honolulu, marred only by one or two drunken
+rows among the chaps forward, which, however, resulted in their getting
+a severe dressing down in the forecastle, where good order was now kept.
+There had been no need for interference on the part of the officers,
+which I was glad to see, remembering what would have happened under such
+circumstances not long ago. Being short-handed, the captain engaged a
+number of friendly islanders for a limited period, on the understanding
+that they were to be discharged at their native place, Vau Vau. There
+were ten of them, fine stalwart fellows, able bodied and willing as
+possible. They were cleanly in their habits, and devout members of the
+Wesleyan body, so that their behaviour was quite a reproach to some of
+our half-civilized crew. Berths were found for them in the forecastle,
+and they took their places among us quite naturally, being fairly well
+used to a whale-ship.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII. ON THE "LINE" GROUNDS
+
+We weighed at last, one morning, with a beautiful breeze, and, bidding
+a long farewell to the lovely isles and their amiable inhabitants, stood
+at sea, bound for the "line" or equatorial grounds on our legitimate
+business of sperm whaling. It was now a long while since we had been in
+contact with a cachalot, the last one having been killed by us on the
+Coast of Japan some six months before. But we all looked forward to the
+coming campaign with considerable joy, for we were now a happy family,
+interested in the work, and, best of all, even if the time was still
+distant, we were, in a sense, homeward bound. At any rate, we all chose
+so to think, from the circumstance that we were now working to the
+southward, towards Cape Horn, the rounding of which dreaded point would
+mark the final stage of our globe-encircling voyage.
+
+We had, during our stay at Honolulu, obtained a couple of grand boats in
+addition to our stock, and were now in a position to man and lower five
+at once, if occasion should arise, still leaving sufficient crew on
+board to work the vessel. The captain had also engaged an elderly seaman
+of his acquaintance--out of pure philanthropy, as we all thought,
+since he was in a state of semi-starvation ashore--to act as a kind of
+sailing-master, so as to relieve the captain of ship duty at whaling
+time, allowing him still to head his boat. This was not altogether
+welcome news to me, for, much as I liked the old man and admired his
+pluck, I could not help dreading his utter recklessness when on a
+whale, which had so often led to a smash-up that might have been easily
+avoided. Moreover, I reasoned that if he had been foolhardy before, he
+was likely to be much more so now, having no superior to look black
+or use language when a disaster occurred. For now I was his harpooner,
+bound to take as many risks as he chose to incur, and anxious also
+to earn a reputation among the more seasoned whalemen for smartness
+sufficient to justify my promotion.
+
+The Kanakas shipped at Honolulu were distributed among the boats, two
+to each, being already trained whalemen, and a fine lot of fellows they
+were. My two--Samuela and Polly--were not very big men, but sturdy,
+nimble as cats, as much at home in the water as on deck, and simply
+bubbling over with fun and good-humour. From my earliest sea-going,
+I have always had a strong liking for natives of tropical countries,
+finding them affectionate and amenable to kindness. Why, I think, white
+men do not get on with darkies well, as a rule, is, that they seldom
+make an appeal to the MAN, in them. It is very degrading to find one's
+self looked down upon as a sort of animal without reason or feelings;
+and if you degrade a man, you deprive him of any incentive to make
+himself useful, except the brute one you may feel bound to apply
+yourself. My experience has been limited to Africans (of sorts),
+Kanakas, natives of Hindostan, Malagasy, and Chinese; but with all these
+I have found a little COMARADERIE answer excellently. True, they are
+lazy; but what inducement have they to work? The complicated needs
+of our civilized existence compel US to work, or be run over by the
+unresting machine; but I take leave to doubt whether any of us with a
+primitive environment would not be as lazy as any Kanaka that ever dozed
+under a banana tree through daylight hours. Why, then, make an exalted
+virtue of the necessity which drives us, and objurgate the poor black
+man because he prefers present ease to a doubtful prospective retirement
+on a competency? Australian blackfellows and Malays are said to be
+impervious to kind treatment by a great number of witnesses, the former
+appearing incapable of gratitude, and the latter unable to resist the
+frequent temptation to kill somebody. Not knowing anything personally of
+either of these races, I can say nothing for or against them.
+
+All the coloured individuals that I have had to do with have amply
+repaid any little kindness shown them with fidelity and affection, but
+especially has this been the case with Kanakas, The soft and melodious
+language spoken by them is easy to acquire, and is so pleasant to speak
+that it is well worth learning, to say nothing of the convenience to
+yourself, although the Kanaka speedily picks up the mutilated jargon
+which does duty for English on board ship.
+
+What I specially longed for now was a harpooner, or even two, so that
+I might have my boat to myself, the captain taking his own boat with
+a settled harpooner. Samuela, the biggest of my two Kanakas, very
+earnestly informed me that he was no end of a "number one" whale
+slaughterer; but I judged it best to see how things went before asking
+to have him promoted. My chance, and his, came very promptly; so nicely
+arranged, too, that I could not have wished for anything better. The
+skipper had got a fine, healthy boil on one knee-cap, and another on
+his wrist, so that he was, as you may say, HORS DE COMBAT. While he was
+impatiently waiting to get about once more, sperm whales were raised.
+Although nearly frantic with annoyance, he was compelled to leave the
+direction of things to Mr. Cruce, who was quite puffed up with the
+importance of his opportunity.
+
+Such a nice little school of cow-whales, a lovely breeze, clear sky,
+warm weather--I felt as gay as a lark at the prospect. As we were
+reaching to windward, with all boats ready for lowering, the skipper
+called me aft and said, "Naow, Mr. Bullen, I cain't lower, because of
+this condemned leg'n arm of mine; but how'r yew goin' ter manage 'thout
+a harpooneer?" I suggested that if he would allow me to try Samuela, who
+was suffering for a chance to distinguish himself, we would "come out on
+top." "All right," he said; "but let the other boats get fast first,
+'n doan be in too much of a hurry to tie yerself up till ya see what's
+doin'. If everythin's goin' bizness-fashion', 'n yew git a chance, sail
+right in; yew got ter begin some time. But ef thet Kanaka looks
+skeered goin' on, take the iron frum him ter onct." I promised, and the
+interview ended.
+
+When I told Samuela, of his chance, he was beside himself with joy. As
+to his being scared, the idea was manifestly absurd. He was as pleased
+with the prospect as it was possible for a man to be, and hardly able
+to contain himself for impatience to be off. I almost envied him his
+exuberant delight, for a sense of responsibility began to weigh upon me
+with somewhat depressing effect.
+
+We gained a good weather-gage, rounded to, and lowered four boats.
+Getting away in good style, we had barely got the sails up, when
+something gallied the school. We saw or heard nothing to account for it,
+but undoubtedly the "fish" were off at top speed dead to windward, so
+that our sails were of no use. We had them in with as little delay as
+possible, and lay to our oars for all we were worth, being fresh and
+strong, as well as anxious to get amongst them. But I fancy all our
+efforts would have availed us little had it not been for the experience
+of Mr. Cruce, whose eager eye detected the fact that the fish were
+running on a great curve, and shaped our course to cut them off along a
+chord of the arc.
+
+Two and a half hours of energetic work was required of us before we got
+on terms with the fleeing monsters; but at last, to our great joy,
+they broke water from sounding right among us. It was a considerable
+surprise, but we were all ready, and before they had spouted twice,
+three boats were fast, only myself keeping out, in accordance with my
+instructions. Samuela was almost distraught with rage and grief at the
+condition of things. I quite pitied him, although I was anything but
+pleased myself. However, when I ranged up alongside the mate's fish, to
+render what assistance was needed, he shouted to me, "We's all right;
+go'n git fas', if yew kin." That was enough, and away we flew after a
+retreating spout to leeward. Before we got there, though, there was an
+upheaval in the water just ahead, and up came a back like a keelless
+ship bottom up. Out came the head belonging to it, and a spout like
+an explosion burst forth, denoting the presence of an enormous
+bull-cachalot. Close by his side was a cow of about one-third his size,
+the favoured sultana of his harem, I suppose. Prudence whispered,
+"Go for the cow;" ambition hissed, "All or none--the bull, the bull."
+Fortunately emergencies of this kind leave one but a second or two to
+decide, as a rule; in this case, as it happened, I was spared even
+that mental conflict, for as we ran up between the two vast creatures,
+Samuela, never even looking at the cow, hurled his harpoon, with all
+the energy that he had been bursting with so long, at the mighty bull.
+I watched its flight--saw it enter the black mass and disappear to the
+shaft, and almost immediately came the second iron, within a foot of the
+first, burying itself in the same solid fashion.
+
+"Starn--starn all!" I shouted; and we backed slowly away, considerably
+hampered by the persistent attentions of the cow, who hung round
+us closely. The temptation to lance her was certainly great, but I
+remembered the fate that had overtaken the skipper on the first occasion
+we struck whales, and did not meddle with her ladyship. Our prey was not
+apparently disposed to kick up much fuss at first, so, anxious to settle
+matters, I changed ends with Samuela, and pulled in on the whale. A
+good, steady lance-thrust--the first I had ever delivered--was obtained,
+sending a thrill of triumph through my whole body. The recipient,
+thoroughly roused by this, started off at a great lick, accompanied,
+somewhat to my surprise, by the cow. Thenceforward for another hour,
+in spite of all our efforts, we could not get within striking distance,
+mainly because of the close attention of the cow, which stuck to her
+lord like a calf to its mother. I was getting so impatient of this
+hindrance, that it was all I could do to restrain myself from lancing
+the cow, though I felt convinced that, if I did, I should spoil a good
+job. Suddenly I caught sight of the ship right ahead. We were still
+flying along, so that in a short time we were comparatively close to
+her. My heart beat high and I burned to distinguish myself under the
+friendly and appreciative eye of the skipper.
+
+None of the other boats were in sight, from our level at least, so that
+I had a reasonable hope of being able to finish my game, with all the
+glory thereunto attaching, unshared by any other of my fellow-officers.
+As we ran quite closely past the ship, calling on the crew to haul up
+for all they were worth, we managed actually to squeeze past the cow,
+and I got in a really deadly blow. The point of the lance entered just
+between the fin and the eye, but higher up, missing the broad plate of
+the shoulder-blade, and sinking its whole four feet over the hitches
+right down into the animal's vitals. Then, for the first time, he threw
+up his flukes, thrashing them from side to side almost round to his
+head, and raising such a turmoil that we were half full of water in
+a moment. But Samuela was so quick at the steer-oar, so lithe and
+forceful, and withal appeared so to anticipate every move of mine, that
+there seemed hardly any danger.
+
+After a few moments of this tremendous exertion, our victim settled
+down, leaving the water deeply stained with his gushing blood. With him
+disappeared his constant companion, the faithful cow, who had never left
+his side a minute since we first got fast. Down, down they went, until
+my line began to look very low, and I was compelled to make signals to
+the ship for more. We had hardly elevated the oars, when down dropped
+the last boat with four men in her, arriving by my side in a few minutes
+with two fresh tubs of tow-line. We took them on board, and the boat
+returned again. By the time the slack came we had about four hundred and
+fifty fathoms out--a goodly heap to pile up loose in our stern-sheets. I
+felt sure, however, that we should have but little more trouble with our
+fish; in fact, I was half afraid that he would die before getting to
+the surface, in which case he might sink and be lost. We hauled steadily
+away, the line not coming in very easily, until I judged there was only
+about another hundred fathoms out. Our amazement may be imagined, when
+suddenly we were compelled to sleek away again, the sudden weight on the
+line suggesting that the fish was again sounding. If ever a young hand
+was perplexed, it was I. Never before had I heard of such unseemly
+behaviour, nor was my anxiety lessened when I saw, a short distance
+away, the huge body of my prize at the surface spouting blood. At the
+same time, I was paying out line at a good rate, as if I had a fast fish
+on which was sounding briskly.
+
+The skipper had been watching me very closely from his seat on the
+taffrail, and had kept the ship within easy distance. Now, suspecting
+something out of the common, he sent the boat again to my assistance,
+in charge of the cooper. When that worthy arrived, he said, "Th' ol' man
+reckens yew've got snarled erp'ith thet ar' loose keow, 'n y'r irons hev
+draw'd from th' other. I'm gwine ter wait on him,'n get him 'longside
+'soon's he's out'er his flurry. Ole man sez yew'd best wait on what's
+fast t' yer an' nev' mine th' other." Away he went, reaching my prize
+just as the last feeble spout exhaled, leaving the dregs of that great
+flood of life trickling lazily down from the widely expanded spiracle.
+To drive a harpoon into the carcass, and run the line on board, was the
+simplest of jobs, for, as the captain had foreseen, my irons were drawn
+clean. I had no leisure to take any notice of them now, though, for
+whatever was on my line was coming up hand-over-fist.
+
+With a bound it reached the surface--the identical cow so long attendant
+upon the dead whale. Having been so long below for such a small whale,
+she was quite exhausted, and before she had recovered we had got
+alongside of her and lanced her, so thoroughly that she died without
+a struggle. The ship was so close that we had her alongside in a
+wonderfully short time, and with scarcely any trouble.
+
+When I reached the deck, the skipper called me, and said several things
+that made me feel about six inches taller. He was, as may be thought,
+exceedingly pleased, saying that only once in his long career had he
+seen a similar case; for I forgot to mention that the line was entangled
+around the cow's down-hanging jaw, as if she had actually tried to bite
+in two the rope that held her consort, and only succeeded in sharing
+his fate. I would not like to say that whales do not try to thus sever a
+line, but, their teeth being several inches apart, conical, and fitting
+into sockets in the upper jaw instead of meeting the opposed surfaces
+of other teeth, the accomplishment of such a feat must, I think, be
+impossible.
+
+The ship being now as good as anchored by the vast mass of flesh hanging
+to her, there was a tremendous task awaiting us to get the other fish
+alongside. Of course they were all to windward; they nearly always are,
+unless the ship is persistently "turned to windward" while the fishing
+is going on. Whalers believe that they always work up into the wind
+while fast, and, when dead, it is certain that they drift at a pretty
+good rate right in the "wind's eye." This is accounted for by the play
+of the body, which naturally lies head to wind; and the wash of the
+flukes, which, acting somewhat like the "sculling" of an oar at the
+stern of a boat, propel the carcass in the direction it is pointing,
+Consequently we had a cruel amount of towing to do before we got the
+three cows alongside. Many a time we blessed ourselves that they were no
+bigger, for of all the clumsy things to tow with boats, a sperm whale
+is about the worst. Owing to the great square mass of the head, they can
+hardly be towed head-on at all, the practice being to cut off the tips
+of the flukes, and tow them tail first. But even then it is slavery. To
+dip your oar about three times in the same hole from whence you withdrew
+it, to tug at it with all your might, apparently making as much progress
+as though you were fast to a dock-wall, and to continue this fun for
+four or five hours at a stretch, is to wonder indeed whether you have
+not mistaken your vocation.
+
+However, "it's dogged as does it," so by dint of sheer sticking to the
+oar, we eventually succeeded in getting all our prizes alongside before
+eight bells that evening, securing them around us by hawsers to the
+cows, but giving the big bull the post of honour alongside on the best
+fluke-chain.
+
+We were a busy company for a fortnight thence, until the last of the oil
+was run below--two hundred and fifty barrels, or twenty-five tuns,
+of the valuable fluid having rewarded our exertions. During these
+operations we had drifted night and day, apparently without anybody
+taking the slightest account of the direction we were taking; when,
+therefore, on the day after clearing up the last traces of our fishing,
+the cry of "Land ho!" came ringing down from the crow's-nest, no one was
+surprised, although the part of the Pacific in which we were cruising
+has but few patches of TERRA FIRMA scattered about over its immense area
+when compared with the crowded archipelagoes lying farther south and
+east.
+
+We could not see the reported land from the deck for two hours after
+it was first seen from aloft, although the odd spectacle of a scattered
+group of cocoa-nut trees apparently growing out of the sea was for some
+time presented to us before the island itself came into view. It
+was Christmas Island, where the indefatigable Captain Cook landed on
+December 24, 1777, for the purpose of making accurate observations of an
+eclipse of the sun. He it was who gave to this lonely atoll the name it
+has ever since borne, with characteristic modesty giving his own great
+name to a tiny patch of coral which almost blocks the entrance to the
+central lagoon. Here we lay "off and on" for a couple of days, while
+foraging parties went ashore, returning at intervals with abundance
+of turtle and sea-fowls' eggs. But any detailed account of their
+proceedings must be ruthlessly curtailed, owing to the scanty limits of
+space remaining.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX. EDGING SOUTHWARD
+
+The line whaling grounds embrace an exceedingly extensive area, over the
+whole of which sperm whales may be found, generally of medium size. No
+means of estimating the probable plenty or scarcity of them in any given
+part of the grounds exist, so that falling in with them is purely a
+matter of coincidence. To me it seems a conclusive proof of the enormous
+numbers of sperm whales frequenting certain large breadths of ocean,
+that they should be so often fallen in with, remembering what a little
+spot is represented by a day's cruise, and that the signs which denote
+almost infallibly the vicinity of right whales are entirely absent in
+the case of the cachalot. In the narrow waters of the Greenland seas,
+with quite a small number of vessels seeking, it is hardly possible for
+a whale of any size to escape being seen; but in the open ocean a goodly
+fleet may cruise over a space of a hundred thousand square miles without
+meeting any of the whales that may yet be there in large numbers. So
+that when one hears talk of the extinction of the cachalot, it is well
+to bear in mind that such a thing would take a long series of years to
+effect, even were the whaling business waxing instead of waning, While,
+however, South Sea whaling is conducted on such old-world methods
+as still obtain; while steam, with all the power it gives of rapidly
+dealing with a catch, is not made use of, the art and mystery of the
+whale-fisher must continually decrease. No such valuable lubricant has
+ever been found as sperm oil; but the cost of its production, added to
+the precarious nature of the supply, so handicaps it in the competition
+with substitutes that it has been practically eliminated from the
+English markets, except in such greatly adulterated forms as to render
+it a lie to speak of the mixture as sperm oil at all.
+
+Except to a few whose minds to them are kingdoms, and others who
+can hardly be said to have any minds at all, the long monotony of
+unsuccessful seeking for whales is very wearying. The ceaseless motion
+of the vessel rocking at the centre of a circular space of blue, with a
+perfectly symmetrical dome of azure enclosing her above, unflecked by
+a single cloud, becomes at last almost unbearable from its changeless
+sameness of environment. Were it not for the trivial round and common
+task of everyday ship duty, some of the crew must become idiotic, or, in
+sheer rage at the want of interest in their lives, commit mutiny.
+
+Such a weary time was ours for full four weeks after sighting Christmas
+Island. The fine haul we had obtained just previous to that day seemed
+to have exhausted our luck for the time being, for never a spout did we
+see. And it was with no ordinary delight that we hailed the advent of
+an immense school of black-fish, the first we had run across for a long
+time. Determined to have a big catch, if possible, we lowered all five
+boats, as it was a beautifully calm day, and the ship might almost
+safely have been left to look after herself. After what we had recently
+been accustomed to, the game seemed trifling to get up much excitement
+over; but still, for a good day's sport, commend me to a few lively
+black-fish.
+
+In less than ten minutes we were in the thick of the crowd, with
+harpoons flying right and left. Such a scene of wild confusion and
+uproarious merriment ensued as I never saw before in my life. The
+skipper, true to his traditions, got fast to four, all running different
+ways at once, and making the calm sea boil again with their frantic
+gyrations. Each of the other boats got hold of three; but, the mate
+getting too near me, our fish got so inextricably tangled up that it was
+hopeless to try and distinguish between each other's prizes. However,
+when we got the lances to work among them, the hubbub calmed down
+greatly, and the big bodies one by one ceased their gambols, floating
+supine.
+
+So far, all had been gay; but the unlucky second mate must needs go and
+do a thing that spoiled a day's fun entirely. The line runs through a
+deep groove in the boat's stem, over a brass roller so fitted that
+when the line is running out it remains fixed, but when hauling in it
+revolves freely, assisting the work a great deal. The second mate had
+three fish fast, like the rest of us--the first one on the end of the
+main line, the other two on "short warps," or pieces of whale-line some
+eight or ten fathoms long fastened to harpoons, with the other ends
+running on the main line by means of bowlines round it. By some mistake
+or other he had allowed the two lines to be hauled together through the
+groove in his boat's stem, and before the error was noticed two fish
+spurted off in opposite directions, ripping the boat in two halves
+lengthways, like a Dutchman splitting a salt herring.
+
+Away went the fish with the whole of the line, nobody being able to get
+at it to cut; and, but for the presence of mind shown by the crew
+in striking out and away from the tangle, a most ghastly misfortune,
+involving the loss of several lives, must have occurred. As it was, the
+loss was considerable, almost outweighing the gain on the day's fishing,
+besides the inconvenience of having a boat useless on a whaling grounds.
+
+The accident was the fruit of gross carelessness, and should never have
+occurred; but then, strange to say, disasters to whale-boats are nearly
+always due to want of care, the percentage of unavoidable casualties
+being very small as compared with those like the one just related. When
+the highly dangerous nature of the work is remembered, this statement
+may seem somewhat overdrawn; but it has been so frequently corroborated
+by others, whose experience far outweighs my own, that I do not hesitate
+to make it with the fullest confidence in its truth.
+
+Happily no lives were lost on this occasion, for it would have indeed
+been grievous to have seen our shipmates sacrificed to the MANES of a
+mere black-fish, after successfully encountering so many mighty whales.
+The episode gave us a great deal of unnecessary work getting the two
+halves of the boat saved, in addition to securing our fish, so that by
+the time we got the twelve remaining carcasses hove on deck we were all
+quite fagged out. But under the new regime we were sure of a good rest,
+so that did not trouble us; it rather made the lounge on deck in the
+balmy evening air and the well-filled pipe of peace doubly sweet.
+
+Our next day's work completed the skinning of the haul we had made, the
+last of the carcasses going overboard with a thunderous splash at
+four in the afternoon. The assemblage of sharks round the ship on
+this occasion was incredible for its number and the great size of the
+creatures. Certainly no mariners see so many or such huge sharks as
+whalemen; but, in spite of all our previous experience, this day touched
+high-water mark. Many of these fish were of a size undreamed of by the
+ordinary seafarer, some of them full thirty feet in length, more like
+whales than sharks. Most of them were striped diagonally with bands
+of yellow, contrasting curiously with the dingy grey of their normal
+colour. From this marking is derived their popular name--"tiger sharks,"
+not, as might be supposed, from their ferocity. That attribute cannot
+properly be applied to the SQUALUS at all, which is one of the
+most timid fish afloat, and whose ill name, as far as regards
+blood-thirstiness, is quite undeserved. Rapacious the shark certainly
+is; but what sea-fish is not? He is not at all particular as to his
+diet; but what sea-fish is? With such a great bulk of body, such
+enormous vitality and vigour to support, he must needs be ever eating;
+and since he is not constructed on swift enough lines to enable him
+to prey upon living fish, like most of his neighbours, he is perforce
+compelled to play the humble but useful part of a sea-scavenger.
+
+He eats man, as he eats anything else eatable because in the water man
+is easily caught, and not from natural depravity or an acquired taste
+begetting a decided preference for human flesh. All natives of shores
+infested by sharks despise him and his alleged man-eating propensities,
+knowing that a very feeble splashing will suffice to frighten him away
+even if ever so hungry. Demerara River literally swarms with sharks, yet
+I have often seen a negro, clad only in a beaming smile, slip into its
+muddy waters, and, after a few sharp blows with his open hand upon the
+surface, calmly swim down to the bottom, clear a ship's anchor, or
+do whatever job was required, coming up again as leisurely as if in a
+swimming-bath. A similar disregard of the dangerous attributes awarded
+by popular consent to the shark may be witnessed everywhere among the
+people who know him best. The cruelties perpetrated upon sharks by
+seamen generally are the result of ignorance and superstition combined,
+the most infernal forces known to humanity. What would be said at home
+of such an act, if it could be witnessed among us, as the disembowelling
+of a tiger, say, and then letting him run in that horrible condition
+somewhere remote from the possibility of retaliating upon his torturers?
+Yet that is hardly comparable with a similar atrocity performed upon
+a shark, because he will live hours to the tiger's minutes in such a
+condition.
+
+I once caught a shark nine feet long, which we hauled on board and
+killed by cutting off its head and tail. It died very speedily--for a
+shark--all muscular motion ceasing in less than fifteen minutes. It was
+my intention to prepare that useless and unornamental article so dear to
+sailors--a walking-stick made of a shark's backbone. But when I came to
+cut out the vertebra, I noticed a large scar, extending from one side to
+the other, right across the centre of the back. Beneath it the backbone
+was thickened to treble its normal size, and perfectly rigid; in fact,
+it had become a mass of solid bone. At some time or other this shark had
+been harpooned so severely that, in wrenching himself free, he must
+have nearly torn his body in two halves, severing the spinal column
+completely. Yet such a wound as that had been healed by natural process,
+the bone knit together again with many times the strength it had
+before--minus, of course, its flexibility--and I can testify from the
+experience of securing him that he could not possibly have been more
+vigorous than he was.
+
+A favourite practice used to be--I trust it is so no longer--to catch a
+shark, and, after driving a sharpened stake down through his upper jaw
+and out underneath the lower one, so that its upper portion pointed
+diagonally forward, to let him go again. The consequence of this cruelty
+would be that the fish was unable to open his mouth, or go in any
+direction without immediately coming to the surface. How long he might
+linger in such torture, one can only guess; but unless his fellows,
+finding him thus helpless, came along and kindly devoured him, no doubt
+he would exist in extreme agony for a very long time.
+
+Two more small cows were all that rewarded our search during the next
+fortnight, and we began to feel serious doubts as to the success of our
+season upon the line grounds, after all. Still, on the whole, our voyage
+up to the present had not been what might fairly be called unsuccessful,
+for we were not yet two years away from New Bedford, while we had
+considerably more than two thousand barrels of oil on board--more, in
+fact, than two-thirds of a full cargo. But if a whale were caught every
+other day for six months, and then a month elapsed without any being
+seen, grumbling would be loud and frequent, all the previous success
+being forgotten in the present stagnation. Perhaps it is not so
+different in other professions nearer home?
+
+Christmas Day drew near, beloved of Englishmen all the world over,
+though thought little of by Americans. The two previous ones spent on
+board the CACHALOT have been passed over without mention, absolutely no
+notice being taken of the season by any one on board, to all appearance.
+In English ships some attempt is always made to give the day somewhat
+of a festive character, and to maintain the national tradition of
+good-cheer and goodwill in whatever part of the world you may happen to
+be. For some reason or other, perhaps because of the great increase in
+comfort; we had all experienced lately, I felt the approach of the great
+Christian anniversary very strongly; although, had I been in London, I
+should probably have spent it in lonely gloom, having no relatives or
+friends whom I might visit. But what of that? Christmas is Christmas;
+and, if we have no home, we think of the place where our home should be;
+and whether, as cynics sneer, Dickens invented the English Christmas or
+not, its observance has taken deep root among us. May its shadow never
+be less!
+
+On Christmas morning I mounted to the crow's-nest at daybreak, and stood
+looking with never-failing awe at the daily marvel of the sunrise.
+Often and often have I felt choking for words to express the tumult of
+thoughts aroused by this sublime spectacle. Hanging there in cloudland,
+the tiny microcosm at one's feet forgotten, the grandeur of the
+celestial outlook is overwhelming. Many and many a time I have bowed
+my head and wept in pure reverence at the majesty manifested around
+me while the glory of the dawn increased and brightened, till with one
+exultant bound the sun appeared.
+
+For some time I stood gazing straight ahead of me with eyes that
+saw not, filled with wonder and admiration. I must have been looking
+directly at the same spot for quite a quarter of an hour, when suddenly,
+as if I had but just opened my eyes, I saw the well-known bushy spout of
+a sperm whale. I raised the usual yell, which rang through the stillness
+discordantly, startling all hands out of their lethargy like bees out
+of a hive. After the usual preliminaries, we were all afloat with
+sails set, gliding slowly over the sleeping sea towards the unconscious
+objects of our attention. The captain did not lower this time, as there
+only appeared to be three fish, none of them seeming large. Though at
+any distance it is extremely difficult to assess the size of whales, the
+spout being very misleading. Sometimes a full-sized whale will show a
+small spout, while a twenty-barrel cow will exhale a volume of vapour
+extensive enough for two or three at once.
+
+Now although, according to etiquette, I kept my position in the rear
+of my superior officers, I had fully determined in my own mind, being
+puffed up with previous success, to play second fiddle to no one, if
+I could help it, this time. Samuela was decidedly of the same opinion;
+indeed, I believe he would have been delighted to tackle a whole school
+single-handed, while my crew were all willing and eager for the fight.
+We had a long, tedious journey before we came up with them, the wind
+being so light that even with the occasional assistance of the paddles
+our progress was wretchedly slow. When at last we did get into their
+water, and the mate's harpooner stood up to dart, his foot slipped,
+and down he came with a clatter enough to scare a cachalot twenty
+miles away. It gallied our friends effectually, sending them flying in
+different directions at the top of their speed. But being some distance
+astern of the other boats, one of the fish, in his headlong retreat,
+rose for a final blow some six or seven fathoms away, passing us in
+the opposite direction. His appearance was only momentary, yet in that
+moment Samuela hurled his harpoon into the air, where it described a
+beautiful parabola, coming down upon the disappearing monster's back
+just as the sea was closing over it. Oh, it was a splendid dart,
+worthy of the finest harpooner that ever lived! There was no time for
+congratulations, however, for we spun round as on a pivot, and away we
+went in the wake of that fellow at a great rate. I cast one look astern
+to see whether the others had struck, but could see nothing of them; we
+seemed to have sprung out of their ken in an instant.
+
+The speed of our friend was marvellous, but I comforted myself with the
+knowledge that these animals usually run in circles--sometimes, it
+is true, of enormous diameter, but seldom getting far away from their
+starting-point. But as the time went on, and we seemed to fly over the
+waves at undiminished speed, I began to think this whale might be the
+exception necessary to prove the rule, so I got out the compass and
+watched his course. Due east, not a degree to north or south of it,
+straight as a bee to its hive. The ship was now far out of sight astern,
+but I knew that keen eyes had been watching our movements from the
+masthead, and that every effort possible would be made to keep the run
+of us. The speed of our whale was not only great, but unflagging. He was
+more like a machine than an animal capable of tiring; and though we did
+our level best, at the faintest symptom of slackening, to get up closer
+and lance him, it was for some time impossible. After, at a rough
+estimate, running in a direct easterly course for over two hours, he
+suddenly sounded, without having given us the ghost of a chance to "land
+him one where he lived." Judging from his previous exertions, though,
+it was hardly possible he would be able to stay down long, or get
+very deep, as the strain upon these vast creatures at any depth is
+astonishingly exhausting. After a longer stay below than usual, when
+they have gone extra deep, they often arrive at the surface manifestly
+"done up" for a time. Then, if the whaleman be active and daring, a
+few well-directed strokes may be got in which will promptly settle the
+business out of hand.
+
+Now, when my whale sounded he was to all appearance as frightened a
+beast as one could wish--one who had run himself out endeavouring to
+get away from his enemies, and as a last resource had dived into the
+quietness below in the vain hope to get away. So I regarded him, making
+up my mind to wait on him with diligence upon his arrival, and not allow
+him to get breath before I had settled him. But when he did return,
+there was a mighty difference in him. He seemed as if he had been
+getting some tips on the subject from some school below where whales are
+trained to hunt men; for his first move was to come straight for me
+with a furious rush, carrying the war into the enemy's country with
+a vengeance. It must be remembered that I was but young, and a
+comparatively new hand at this sort of thing; so when I confess that I
+felt more than a little scared at this sudden change in the tactics of
+my opponent, I hope I shall be excused. Remembering, however, that all
+our lives depended on keeping cool, I told myself that even if I was
+frightened I must not go all to pieces, but compel myself to think and
+act calmly, since I was responsible for others. If the animal had
+not been in so blind a fury, I am afraid my task would have been much
+harder; but he was mad, and his savage rushes were, though disquieting,
+unsystematic and clumsy. It was essential, however, that he should not
+be allowed to persist too long in his evil courses; for a whale learns
+with amazing rapidity, developing such cunning in an hour or two that
+all a man's smartness may be unable to cope with his newly acquired
+experience. Happily, Samuela was perfectly unmoved. Like a machine, he
+obeyed every gesture, every look even, swinging the boat "off" or "on"
+the whale with such sweeping strokes of his mighty oar that she revolved
+as if on a pivot, and encouraging the other chaps with his cheerful
+cries and odd grimaces, so that the danger was hardly felt. During a
+momentary lull in the storm, I took the opportunity to load my bomb-gun,
+much as I disliked handling the thing, keeping my eye all the time
+on the water around where I expected to see mine enemy popping up
+murderously at any minute. Just as I had expected, when he rose, it was
+very close, and on his back, with his jaw in the first biting position,
+looking ugly as a vision of death. Finding us a little out of reach,
+he rolled right over towards us, presenting as he did so the great
+rotundity of his belly. We were not twenty feet away, and I snatched up
+the gun, levelled it, and fired the bomb point-blank into his bowels.
+Then all was blank. I do not even remember the next moment. A rush of
+roaring waters, a fighting with fearful, desperate energy for air and
+life, all in a hurried, flurried phantasmagoria about which there was
+nothing clear except the primitive desire for life, life, life! Nor do
+I know how long this struggle lasted, except that, in the nature of
+things, it could not have been very long.
+
+When I returned to a consciousness of external things, I was for some
+time perfectly still, looking at the sky, totally unable to realize what
+had happened or where I was. Presently the smiling, pleasant face of
+Samuela bent over me. Meeting my gratified look of recognition, he set up
+a perfect yell of delight. "So glad, so glad you blonga life! No go Davy
+Jonesy dis time, hay?" I put my hand out to help myself to a sitting
+posture, and touched blubber. That startled me so that I sprung up as if
+shot. Then I took in the situation at a glance. There were all my poor
+fellows with me, stranded upon the top of our late antagonist, but
+no sign of the boat to be seen. Bewildered at the state of affairs, I
+looked appealingly from one to the other for an explanation. I got it
+from Abner, who said, laconically, "When yew fired thet ole gun, I guess
+it mus' have bin loaded fer bear, fer ye jest tumbled clar head over
+heels backwards outen the boat. Et that very same moment I suspicion the
+bomb busted in his belly, fer he went clean rampageous loony. He rolled
+right over an' over to'rds us, n' befo' we c'd rightly see wat wuz
+comin', we cu'dnt see anythin' 'tall; we wuz all grabbin' at nothin',
+some'rs underneath the whale. When I come to the top, I lit eout fer the
+fust thing I c'd see to lay holt of, which wuz old squarhead himself,
+deader 'n pork. I guess thet ar bomb o' yourn kinder upset his
+commissary department. Anyway, I climed up onto him, 'n bime-by the rest
+ov us histed themselves alongside ov me. Sam Weller here; he cum last,
+towin' you 'long with him. I don'no whar he foun' ye, but ye was very
+near a goner, 'n's full o' pickle as ye c'd hold." I turned a grateful
+eye upon my dusky harpooner, who had saved my life, but was now
+apparently blissfully unconscious of having done anything meritorious.
+
+Behold us, then, a half-drowned row of scarecrows perched, like some new
+species of dilapidated birds, upon the side of our late foe. The sun
+was not so furiously hot as usual, for masses of rain-laden NIMBI were
+filling the sky, so that we were comparatively free from the awful
+roasting we might have expected: nor was our position as precarious for
+a while as would be thought. True, we had only one harpoon, with its
+still fast line, to hold on by; but the side of the whale was somehow
+hollowed, so that, in spite of the incessant movement imparted to the
+carcass by the swell, we sat fairly safe, with our feet in the said
+hollow. We discussed the situation in all its bearings, unable to
+extract more than the faintest gleam of hope from any aspect of the
+case. The only reasonable chance we had was, that the skipper had almost
+certainly taken our bearings, and would, we were sure, be anxiously
+seeking us on the course thus indicated. Meanwhile, we were ravenously
+hungry and thirsty. Samuela and Polly set to work with their
+sheath-knives, and soon excavated a space in the blubber to enable them
+to reach the meat. Then they cut off some good-sized junks, and divided
+it up. It was not half bad; and as we chewed on the tough black fibre,
+I could hardly help smiling as I thought how queer a Christmas dinner
+we were having. But eating soon heightened our thirst, and our real
+sufferings then began. We could eat very little once the want of drink
+made itself felt. Hardly two hours had elapsed, though, before one
+of the big-bellied clouds which bad been keeping the sun off us most
+considerately emptied out upon us a perfect torrent of rain. It filled
+the cavity in the whale's side in a twinkling; and though the water was
+greasy, stained with blood, and vilely flavoured, it was as welcome a
+drink as I have ever tasted. Thus fed, and with our thirst slaked, we
+were able to take a more hopeful view of things while the prospect of
+our being found seemed much more probable than it had done before the
+rain fell.
+
+Still, we had to endure our pillory for a long while yet. The sharks and
+birds began to worry us, especially the former, who in their eagerness
+to get a portion of the blubber, fought, writhed and tore at the carcass
+with tireless energy. Once, one of the smaller ones actually came
+sliding up right into our hollow; but Samuela and Polly promptly
+dispatched him with a cut throat, sending him back to encourage the
+others. The present relieved us of most of their attentions for a short
+time at least, as they eagerly divided the remains of their late comrade
+among them.
+
+To while away the time we spun yarns--without much point, I am afraid;
+and sung songs, albeit we did not feel much like singing--till after a
+while our poor attempts at gaiety fizzled out like a damp match, leaving
+us silent and depressed. The sun, which had been hidden for some time,
+now came out again, his slanting beams revealing to us ominously the
+flight of time and the near approach of night. Should darkness overtake
+us in our present position, we all felt that saving us would need
+the performance of a miracle; for in addition to the chances of the
+accumulated gases within the carcass bursting it asunder, the unceasing
+assault of the sharks made it highly doubtful whether they would not in
+a few hours more have devoured it piecemeal. Already they had scooped
+out some deep furrows in the solid blubber, making it easier to get hold
+and tear off more, and their numbers were increasing so fast that the
+surrounding sea was fairly alive with them. Lower and lower sank the
+sun, deeper and darker grew the gloom upon our faces, till suddenly
+Samuela leaped to his feet in our midst, and emitted a yell so
+ear-piercing as to nearly deafen us. He saw the ship! Before two minutes
+had passed we all saw her--God bless her!--coming down upon us like
+some angelic messenger. There were no fears among us that we should be
+overlooked. We knew full well how anxiously and keenly many pairs
+of eyes had been peering over the sea in search of us, and we felt
+perfectly sure they had sighted us long ago. On she came, gilded by the
+evening glow, till she seemed glorified, moving in a halo of celestial
+light, all her homeliness and clumsy build forgotten in what she then
+represented to us.
+
+Never before or since has a ship looked like that, to me, nor can I ever
+forget the thankfulness, the delight, the reverence, with which I once
+more saw her approaching. Straight down upon us she bore, rounding to
+within a cable's length, and dropping a boat simultaneously with her
+windward sweep. They had no whale--well for us they had not. In five
+minutes we were on board, while our late resting-place was being hauled
+alongside with great glee.
+
+The captain shook hands with me cordially, pooh-poohing the loss of
+the boat as an unavoidable incident of the trade, but expressing his
+heart-felt delight at getting us all back safe. The whale we had killed
+was ample compensation for the loss of several boats, though such was
+the vigour with which the sharks were going for him, that it was deemed
+advisable to cut in at once, working all night. We who had been rescued,
+however, were summarily ordered below by the skipper, and forbidden, on
+pain of his severe displeasure, to reappear until the following morning.
+This great privilege we gladly availed ourselves of, awaking at daylight
+quite well and fit, not a bit the worse for our queer experience of the
+previous day.
+
+The whale proved a great acquisition, for although not nearly so large
+as many we had caught, he was so amazingly rich in blubber that he
+actually yielded twelve and a half tuns of oil, in spite of the heavy
+toll taken of him by the hungry multitudes of sharks. In addition to the
+oil, we were fortunate enough to secure a lump of ambergris, dislodged
+perhaps by the explosion of my bomb in the animal's bowels. It was
+nearly black, wax-like to the touch, and weighed seven pounds and a
+half. At the current price, it would be worth about L200, so that, taken
+altogether, the whale very nearly approached in value the largest one we
+had yet caught. I had almost omitted to state that incorporated with the
+substance of the ambergris were several of the horny cuttle-fish beaks,
+which, incapable of being digested, had become in some manner part of
+this peculiar product.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX. "HUMPBACKING" AT VAU VAU
+
+Another three weeks' cruising brought us to the end of the season on the
+line, which had certainly not answered all our expectations, although
+we had perceptibly increased the old barky's draught during our stay.
+Whether from love of change or belief in the possibilities of a good
+haul, I can hardly say, but Captain Count decided to make the best of
+his way south, to the middle group of the "Friendly" Archipelago,
+known as Vau Vau, the other portions being called Hapai and Tongataboo
+respectively, for a season's "humpbacking." From all I could gather, we
+were likely to have a good time there, so I looked forward to the visit
+with a great deal of pleasurable anticipation.
+
+We were bound to make a call at Vau Vau, in any case, to discharge our
+Kanakas shipped at Honolulu, although I fervently hoped to be able to
+keep my brave harpooner Samuela. So when I heard of our destination,
+I sounded him cautiously as to his wishes in the matter, finding that,
+while he was both pleased with and proud of his position on board,
+he was longing greatly for his own orange grove and the embraces of a
+certain tender "fafine" that he averred was there awaiting him. With
+such excellent reasons for his leaving us, I could but forbear to
+persuade him, sympathizing with him too deeply to wish him away from
+such joys as he described to me.
+
+So we bade farewell to the line grounds, and commenced another stretch
+to the south, another milestone, as it were, on the long road home.
+Prosaic and uneventful to the last degree was our passage, the only
+incident worth recording being our "gamming" of the PASSAMAQUODDY,
+of Martha's Vineyard, South Sea whaler; eighteen months out, with one
+thousand barrels of sperm oil on board. We felt quite veterans alongside
+of her crew, and our yarns laid over theirs to such an extent that they
+were quite disgusted at their lack of experience. Some of them had known
+our late skipper, but none of them had a good word for him, the old
+maxim, "Speak nothing but good of the dead," being most flagrantly set
+at nought. One of her crew was a Whitechapelian, who had been roving
+about the world for a good many years.
+
+Amongst other experiences, he had, after "jumping the bounty" two
+or three times, found himself a sergeant in the Federal Army before
+Gettysburg. During that most bloody battle, he informed me that a "Reb"
+drew a bead on him at about a dozen yards' distance, and fired, He said
+he felt just as if somebody had punched him in the chest, and knocked
+him flat on his back on top of a sharp stone--no pain at all, nor any
+further recollection of what had happened, until he found himself at the
+base, in hospital. When the surgeons came to examine him for the bullet,
+they found that it had struck the broad brass plate of his cross-belt
+fairly in the middle, penetrating it and shattering his breast bone. But
+after torturing him vilely with the probe, they were about to give up
+the search in despair, when he told them he felt a pain in his back.
+Examining the spot indicated by him, they found a bullet just beneath
+the skin, which a touch with the knife allowed to tumble out. Further
+examination revealed the strange fact that the bullet, after striking
+his breast-bone, had glanced aside and travelled round his body just
+beneath the skin, without doing him any further harm. In proof of his
+story, he showed me the two scars and the perforated buckle-plate.
+
+At another time, being in charge of a picket of Germans, he and his
+command were captured by a party of Confederates, who haled him before
+their colonel, a southern gentleman of the old school. In the course of
+his interrogation by the southern officer, he was asked where he hailed
+from. He replied, "London, England." "Then," said the colonel, "how is
+it you find yourself fighting for these accursed Yankees?" The cockney
+faltered out some feeble excuse or another, which his captor cut short
+by saying, "I've a great respect for the English, and consequently I'll
+let you go this time. But if ever I catch you again, you're gone up.
+As for those d-----d Dutchmen, they'll be strung up inside of five
+minutes." And they were.
+
+So with yarn, song, and dance, the evening passed pleasantly away;
+while the two old hookers jogged amicably along side by side, like two
+market-horses whose drivers are having a friendly crack. Along about
+midnight we exchanged crews again, and parted with many expressions of
+good-will--we to the southward, she to the eastward, for some particular
+preserve believed in by her commander.
+
+In process of time we made the land of Vau Vau, a picturesque, densely
+wooded, and in many places precipitous, group of islands, the approach
+being singularly free from dangers in the shape of partly hidden reefs.
+Long and intricate were the passages we threaded, until we finally came
+to anchor in a lovely little bay perfectly sheltered from all winds. We
+moored, within a mile of a dazzling white beach, in twelve fathoms. A
+few native houses embowered in orange and cocoa-nut trees showed here
+and there, while the two horns of the bay were steep-to, and covered
+with verdure almost down to the water's edge. The anchor was hardly down
+before a perfect fleet of canoes flocked around us, all carrying the
+familiar balancing outrigger, without which those narrow dugouts cannot
+possibly keep upright. Their occupants swarmed on board, laughing and
+playing like so many children, and with all sorts of winning gestures
+and tones besought our friendship. "You my flem?" was the one question
+which all asked; but what its import might be we could not guess for
+some time. By-and-by it appeared that when once you had agreed to accept
+a native for your "flem," or friend, he from henceforward felt in duty
+bound to attend to all your wants which it lay within his power to
+supply. This important preliminary settled, fruit and provisions of
+various kinds appeared as if by magic. Huge baskets of luscious oranges,
+massive bunches of gold and green bananas, clusters of green cocoa-nuts,
+conch-shells full of chillies, fowls loudly protesting against their
+hard fate, gourds full of eggs, and a few vociferous swine--all came
+tumbling on board in richest profusion, and, strangest thing of all,
+not a copper was asked in return. I might have as truly said nothing
+was asked, since money must have been useless here. Many women came
+alongside, but none climbed on board. Surprised at this, I asked Samuela
+the reason, as soon as I could disengage him for a few moments from the
+caresses of his friends. He informed me that the ladies' reluctance to
+favour us with their society was owing to their being in native dress,
+which it is punishable to appear in among white men, the punishment
+consisting of a rather heavy fine. Even the men and boys, I noticed,
+before they ventured to climb on board, stayed a while to put on
+trousers, or what did duty for those useful articles of dress. At any
+rate, they were all clothed, not merely enwrapped with a fold or two of
+"tapa," the native bark-cloth, but made awkward and ugly by dilapidated
+shirts and pants.
+
+She was a busy ship for the rest of that day. The anchor down, sails
+furled and decks swept, the rest of the time was our own, and high jinks
+were the result. The islanders were amiability personified, merry as
+children, nor did I see or hear one quarrelsome individual among them.
+While we were greedily devouring the delicious fruit, which was piled on
+deck in mountainous quantities, they encouraged us, telling us that the
+trees ashore were breaking down under their loads, and what a pity it
+was that there were so few to eat such bountiful supplies.
+
+We were, it appeared, the first whale-ship that had anchored there that
+year, and, in that particular bay where we lay, no vessel had moored for
+over two years. An occasional schooner from Sydney called at the "town"
+about ten miles away, where the viceroy's house was, and at the present
+time of speaking one of Godeffroi's Hamburg ships was at anchor there,
+taking in an accumulation of copra from her agent's store. But the
+natives all spoke of her with a shrug--"No like Tashman. Tashman no
+good." Why, I could not ascertain.
+
+Our Kanakas had promised to remain with us till our departure for
+the south, so, hard as it seemed to them, they were not allowed to go
+ashore, in case they might not come back, and leave us short-handed.
+But as their relatives and friends could visit them whenever they felt
+inclined, the restriction did not hurt them much. The next day, being
+Sunday, all hands were allowed liberty to go ashore by turns (except the
+Kanakas), with strict injunctions to molest no one, but to behave as if
+in a big town guarded by policemen. As no money could be spent, none was
+given, and, best of all, it was impossible to procure any intoxicating
+liquor.
+
+Our party got ashore about 9.30, but not a soul was visible either on
+the beach or in the sun-lit paths which led through the forest inland.
+Here and there a house, with doors wide open, stood in its little
+cleared space, silent and deserted. It was like a country without
+inhabitants. Presently, however, a burst of melody arrested us, and
+borne upon the scented breeze came oh, so sweetly!--the well-remembered
+notes of "Hollingside." Hurriedly getting behind a tree, I let myself
+go, and had a perfectly lovely, soul-refreshing cry. Reads funny,
+doesn't it? Sign of weakness perhaps. But when childish memories come
+back upon one torrent-like in the swell of a hymn or the scent of the
+hawthorn, it seems to me that the flood-gates open without you having
+anything to do with it. When I was a little chap in the Lock Chapel
+choir, before the evil days came, that tune was my favourite; and when
+I heard it suddenly come welling up out of the depths of the forest,
+my heart just stood still for a moment, and then the tears came. Queer
+idea, perhaps, to some people; but I do not know when I enjoyed myself
+so much as I did just then, except when a boy of sixteen home from a
+voyage, and strolling along the Knightsbridge Road, I "happened" into
+the Albert Hall. I did not in the least know what was coming; the
+notices on the bills did not mean anything to me; but I paid my
+shilling, and went up into the gallery. I had hardly edged myself into
+a corner by the refreshment-stall, when a great breaker of sound
+caught me, hurled me out of time, thought, and sense in one intolerable
+ecstasy--"For unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is given"--again
+and again--billows and billows of glory. I gasped for breath, shook like
+one in an ague fit; the tears ran down in a continuous stream; while
+people stared amazed at me, thinking, I suppose, that I was another
+drunken sailor. Well, I was drunk, helplessly intoxicated, but not
+with drink, with something Divine, untellable, which, coming upon me
+unprepared, simply swept me away with it into a heaven of delight, to
+which only tears could testify.
+
+But I am in the bush, whimpering over the tones of "Hollingside." As
+soon as I had pulled myself together a bit, we went on again in the
+direction of the sound, Presently we came to a large clearing, in the
+middle of which stood a neat wooden, pandanus-thatched church. There
+were no doors or windows to it, just a roof supported upon posts, but a
+wide verandah ran all round, upon the edge of which we seated ourselves;
+for the place was full--full to suffocation, every soul within miles,
+I should think, being there. No white man was present, but the service,
+which was a sort of prayer-meeting, went with a swing and go that
+was wonderful to see. There was no perfunctory worship here; no one
+languidly enduring it because it was "the right sort of thing to show up
+at, you know;" but all were in earnest, terribly in earnest. When they
+sang, it behoved us to get away to a little distance, for the vigour of
+the voices, unless mellowed by distance, made the music decidedly harsh.
+Every one was dressed in European clothing--the women in neat calico
+gowns; but the men, nearly all of them, in woollen shirts, pilot-coats,
+and trousers to match, and sea-boots! Whew! it nearly stifled me to look
+at them. The temperature was about ninety degrees in the shade, with
+hardly a breath of air stirring, yet those poor people, from some
+mistaken notion of propriety, were sweating in torrents under that
+Arctic rig. However they could worship, I do not know! At last the
+meeting broke up. The men rushed out, tore off their coats, trousers,
+and shirts, and flung themselves panting upon the grass, mother-naked,
+except for a chaplet of cocoanut leaves, formed by threading them on a
+vine-tendril, and hanging round the waist.
+
+Squatting by the side of my "flem," whom I had recognized, I asked
+him why ever he outraged all reason by putting on such clothes in
+this boiling weather. He looked at me pityingly for a moment before he
+replied, "You go chapella Belitani? No put bes' close on top?" "Yes,"
+I said; "but in hot weather put on thin clothes; cold weather, put on
+thick ones." "S'pose no got more?" he said, meaning, I presumed, more
+than the one suit. "Well," I said, "more better stop 'way than look
+like big fool, boil all away, same like duff in pot. You savvy duff?" He
+smiled a wide comprehensive smile, but looked very solemn again,
+saying directly, "You no go chapella; you no mishnally. No mishnally
+[missionary=godly]; very bad. Me no close; no go chapella; vely bad.
+Evelly tangata, evelly fafine, got close all same papalang [every man
+and woman has clothes like a white man]; go chapella all day Sunday."
+That this was no figure of speech I proved fully that day, for I declare
+that the recess between any of the services never lasted more than an
+hour. Meanwhile the worshippers did not return to their homes, for in
+many cases they had journeyed twenty or thirty miles, but lay about
+in the verdure, refreshing themselves with fruit, principally the
+delightful green cocoa-nuts, which furnish meat and drink both--cool and
+refreshing in the extreme, as well as nourishing.
+
+We were all heartily welcome to whatever was going, but there was
+a general air of restraint, a fear of breaking the Sabbath, which
+prevented us from trespassing too much upon the hospitality of these
+devout children of the sun. So we contented ourselves with strolling
+through the beautiful glades and woods, lying down, whenever we felt
+weary, under the shade of some spreading orange tree loaded with golden
+fruit, and eating our fill, or rather eating until the smarting of our
+lips warned us to desist. Here was a land where, apparently, all people
+were honest, for we saw a great many houses whose owners were absent,
+not one of which was closed, although many had a goodly store of such
+things as a native might be supposed to covet. At last, not being able
+to rid ourselves of the feeling that we were doing something wrong, the
+solemn silence and Sundayfied air of the whole region seeming to forbid
+any levity even in the most innocent manner, we returned on board again,
+wonderfully impressed with what we had seen, but wondering what would
+have happened if some of the ruffianly crowds composing the crews of
+many ships had been let loose upon this fair island.
+
+In the evening we lowered a stage over the bows to the water's edge, and
+had a swimming-match, the water being perfectly delightful, after the
+great heat of the day, in its delicious freshness; and so to bunk, well
+pleased indeed with our first Sunday in Vau Vau.
+
+I have no doubt whatever that some of the gentry who swear at large
+about the evils of missionaries would have been loud in their disgust at
+the entire absence of drink and debauchery, and the prevalence of what
+they would doubtless characterize as adjective hypocrisy on the part of
+the natives; but no decent man could help rejoicing at the peace, the
+security, and friendliness manifested on every hand, nor help awarding
+unstinted praise to whoever had been the means of bringing about so
+desirable a state of things. I felt that their Sabbatarianism was
+carried to excess; that they would have been better, not worse, for a
+little less church, and a little more innocent fun; but ten thousand
+times better thus than such scenes of lust let loose and abandoned
+animalism as we witnessed at Honolulu. What pleased me mightily was
+the absence of the white man with his air of superiority and sleek
+overlordship. All the worship, all the management of affairs, was
+entirely in the hands of the natives themselves, and excellently well
+did they manage everything.
+
+I shall never forget once going ashore in a somewhat similar place, but
+very far distant, one Sunday morning, to visit the mission station. It
+was a Church mission, and a very handsome building the church was. By
+the side of it stood the parsonage, a beautiful bungalow, nestling in a
+perfect paradise of tropical flowers. The somewhat intricate service was
+conducted, and the sermon preached, entirely by natives--very creditably
+too. After service I strolled into the parsonage to see the reverend
+gentleman in charge, whom I found supporting his burden in a long chair,
+with a tall glass of brandy and soda within easy reach, a fine cigar
+between his lips, and a late volume of Ouida's in his hand. All very
+pleasant and harmless, no doubt, but hardly reconcilable with the ideal
+held up in missionary magazines. Yet I have no doubt whatever that this
+gentleman would have been heartily commended by the very men who can
+hardly find words harsh enough to express their opinion of missionaries
+of the stamp of Paton, Williams, Moffat, and Mackenzie.
+
+Well, it is highly probable--nay, almost certain, that I shall be
+accused of drawing an idyllic picture of native life from first
+impressions, which, if I had only had sufficient subsequent experience
+among the people, I should have entirely altered. All I can say is, that
+although I did not live among them ashore, we had a number of them on
+board; we lay in the island harbour five months, during which I was
+ashore nearly every day, and from habit I observed them very closely;
+yet I cannot conscientiously alter one syllable of what I have written
+concerning them. Bad men and women there were, of course, to be
+found--as where not?--but the badness, in whatever form, was not allowed
+to flaunt itself, and was so sternly discountenanced by public (entirely
+native) opinion, that it required a good deal of interested seeking to
+find.
+
+But after all this chatter about my amiable friends, I find myself
+in danger of forgetting the purpose of our visit. We lost no time in
+preparation, since whaling of whatever sort is conducted in these ships
+on precisely similar lines, but on Monday morning, at daybreak, after a
+hurried breakfast, lowered all boats and commenced the campaign. We were
+provided with boxes--one for each boat--containing a light luncheon, but
+no ordered meal, because it was not considered advisable to in any way
+hamper the boat's freedom to chase. Still, in consideration of its being
+promptly dumped overboard on attacking a whale, a goodly quantity of
+fruit was permitted in the boats.
+
+In the calm beauty of the pearly dawn, with a gentle hush over all
+nature, the lofty, tree-clad hills reflected with startling fidelity in
+the glassy, many-coloured waters, the only sound audible the occasional
+cra-a-ake of the advance-guard of a flight of fruit-bats (PECA) homeward
+from their nocturnal depredations, we shipped our oars and started,
+pulling to a certain position whence we could see over an immense area.
+Immediately upon rounding the horn of our sheltered bay, the fresh
+breeze of the south-east trades met us right on end with a vigour that
+made a ten-mile steady pull against it somewhat of a breather. Arriving
+at the station indicated by the chief, we set sail, and, separating as
+far as possible without losing sight of each other, settled down for
+the day's steady cruise. Anything more delightful than that excursion
+to those who love seashore scenery combined with boat-sailing would be
+difficult to name. Every variety of landscape, every shape of strait,
+bay, or estuary, reefs awash, reefs over which we could sail, ablaze
+with loveliness inexpressible; a steady, gentle, caressing breeze, and
+overhead one unvarying canopy of deepest blue. Sometimes, when skirting
+the base of some tremendous cliffs, great caution was necessary, for at
+one moment there would obtain a calm, death-like in its stillness; the
+next, down through a canyon cleaving the mountain to the water's edge
+would come rushing with a shrill howl, a blast fierce enough to almost
+lift us out of the water. Away we would scud with flying sheets dead
+before it, in a smother of spray, but would hardly get full way on her
+before it was gone, leaving us in the same hush as before, only a dark
+patch on the water far to leeward marking its swift rush. These little
+diversions gave us no uneasiness, for it was an unknown thing to make a
+sheet fast in one of our boats, so that a puff of wind never caught us
+unprepared.
+
+On that first day we seemed to explore such a variety of stretches
+of water that one would hardly have expected there could be any more
+discoveries to make in that direction. Nevertheless, each day's cruise
+subsequently revealed to us some new nook or other, some quiet haven or
+pretty passage between islands that, until closely approached, looked
+like one. When, at sunset, we returned to the ship, not having seen
+anything like a spout, I felt like one who had been in a dream, the
+day's cruise having surpassed all my previous experience. Yet it was but
+the precursor of many such. Oftentimes I think of those halcyon days,
+with a sigh of regret that they can never more be renewed to me; but I
+rejoice to think that nothing can rob me of the memory of them.
+
+Much to the discomfort of the skipper, it was four days before a
+solitary spout was seen, and then it was so nearly dark that before the
+fish could be reached it was impossible to distinguish her whereabouts.
+A careful bearing was taken of the spot, in the hope that she might be
+lingering in the vicinity next morning, and we hastened on board.
+
+Before it was fairly light we lowered, and paddled as swiftly as
+possible to the bay where we had last seen the spout overnight. When
+near the spot we rested on our paddles a while, all hands looking out
+with intense eagerness for the first sign of the whale's appearance.
+There was a strange feeling among us of unlawfulness and stealth, as
+of ambushed pirates waiting to attack some unwary merchantman, or
+highwaymen waylaying a fat alderman on a country road. We spoke
+in whispers, for the morning was so still that a voice raised but
+ordinarily would have reverberated among the rocks which almost overhung
+us, multiplied indefinitely. A turtle rose ghost-like to the surface
+at my side, lifting his queer head, and, surveying us with stony gaze,
+vanished as silently as he came.
+
+What a sigh! One looked at the other inquiringly, but the repetition of
+that long expiration satisfied us all that it was the placid breathing
+of the whale we sought somewhere close at hand, The light grew rapidly
+better, and we strained our eyes in every direction to discover the
+whereabouts of our friend, but, for some minutes without result. There
+was a ripple just audible, and away glided the mate's boat right for the
+near shore. Following him with our eyes, we almost immediately beheld a
+pale, shadowy column of white, shimmering against the dark mass of the
+cliff not a quarter of a mile away. Dipping our paddles with the utmost
+care, we made after the chief, almost holding our breath. His harpooner
+rose, darted once, twice, then gave a yell of triumph that ran
+re-echoing all around in a thousand eerie vibrations, startling the
+drowsy PECA in myriads from where they hung in inverted clusters on the
+trees above. But, for all the notice taken by the whale, she might never
+have been touched. Close nestled to her side was a youngling of not
+more, certainly, than five days old, which sent up its baby-spout
+every now and then about two feet into the air. One long, wing-like fin
+embraced its small body, holding it close to the massive breast of
+the tender mother, whose only care seemed to be to protect her young,
+utterly regardless of her own pain and danger. If sentiment were ever
+permitted to interfere with such operations as ours, it might well have
+done so now; for while the calf continually sought to escape from the
+enfolding fin, making all sorts of puny struggles in the attempt, the
+mother scarcely moved from her position, although streaming with blood
+from a score of wounds. Once, indeed, as a deep-searching thrust
+entered her very vitals, she raised her massy flukes high in air with
+an apparently involuntary movement of agony; but even in that dire
+throe she remembered the possible danger to her young one, and laid the
+tremendous weapon as softly down upon the water as if it were a feather
+fan.
+
+So in the most perfect quiet, with scarcely a writhe, nor any sign of
+flurry, she died, holding the calf to her side until her last
+vital spark had fled, and left it to a swift despatch with a single
+lance-thrust. No slaughter of a lamb ever looked more like murder. Nor,
+when the vast bulk and strength of the animal was considered, could a
+mightier example have been given of the force and quality of maternal
+love.
+
+The whole business was completed in half an hour from the first sight
+of her, and by the mate's hand alone, none of the other boats needing
+to use their gear. As soon as she was dead, a hole was bored through the
+lips, into which a tow-line was secured, the two long fins were lashed
+close into the sides of the animal by an encircling line, the tips of
+the flukes were cut off, and away we started for the ship. We had an
+eight-mile tow in the blazing sun, which we accomplished in a little
+over eight, hours, arriving at the vessel just before two p.m. News of
+our coming had preceded us, and the whole native population appeared to
+be afloat to make us welcome. The air rang again with their shouts of
+rejoicing, for our catch represented to them a gorgeous feast, such as
+they had not indulged in for many a day. The flesh of the humpbacked
+whale is not at all bad, being but little inferior to that of the
+porpoise; so that, as these people do not despise even the coarse rank
+flesh of the cachalot, their enthusiasm was natural. Their offers of
+help were rather embarrassing to us, as we could find little room for
+any of them in the boats, and the canoes only got in our way. Unable to
+assist us, they vented their superfluous energies on the whale in the
+most astounding aquatic antics imaginable--diving under it; climbing
+on to it; pushing and rolling each other headlong over its broad back;
+shrieking all the while with the frantic, uncontrollable laughter of
+happy children freed from all restraint. Men, women, and children all
+mixed in this wild, watery spree; and as to any of them getting drowned,
+the idea was utterly absurd.
+
+When we got it alongside, and prepared to cut in, all the chaps were
+able to have a rest, there were so many eager volunteers to man the
+windlass, not only willing but, under the able direction of their
+compatriots belonging to our crew, quite equal to the work of heaving
+in blubber. All their habitual indolence was cast aside. Toiling like
+Trojans, they made the old windlass rattle again as they spun the brakes
+up and down, every blanket-piece being hailed with a fresh volley of
+eldritch shrieks, enough to alarm a deaf and dumb asylum.
+
+With such ample aid, it was, as may be supposed a brief task to skin our
+prize, although the strange arrangement of the belly blubber caused
+us to lift some disappointing lengths. This whale has the blubber
+underneath the body lying in longitudinal corrugations, which, when
+hauled off the carcass at right angles to their direction, stretch
+out flat to four or five times their normal area. Thus, when the
+cutting-blocks had reached their highest limit, and the piece was
+severed from the body, the folds flew together again leaving dangling
+aloft but a miserable square of some four or five feet, instead of
+a fine "blanket" of blubber twenty by five. Along the edges of these
+RUGAE, as also upon the rim of the lower jaw, abundance of limpets and
+barnacles had attached themselves, some of the former large as a horse's
+hoof, and causing prodigious annoyance to the toiling carpenter, whose
+duty it was to keep the spades ground. It was no unusual thing for a
+spade to be handed in with two or three gaps in its edge half an inch
+deep, where they had accidentally come across one of those big pieces
+of flinty shell, undistinguishable from the grey substance of the belly
+blubber.
+
+But, in spite of these drawbacks, in less than ninety minutes the last
+cut was reached, the vertebra severed, and away went the great mass of
+meat, in tow of countless canoes, to an adjacent point, where, in eager
+anticipation, fires were already blazing for the coming cookery. An
+enormous number of natives had gathered from far and near, late arrivals
+continually dropping in from all points of the compass with breathless
+haste. No danger of going short need have troubled them, for, large as
+were their numbers, the supply was evidently fully equal to all demands.
+All night long the feast proceeded, and, even when morning dawned, busy
+figures were still discernible coming and going between the reduced
+carcass and the fires, as if determined to make an end of it before
+their operations ceased.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI. PROGRESS OF THE "HUMPBACK" SEASON
+
+It will probably be inferred from the foregoing paragraph that we were
+little troubled with visits from the natives next day; but it would be
+doing them an injustice if I omitted to state that our various "flems"
+put in an appearance as usual with their daily offerings of fruit,
+vegetables, etc. They all presented a somewhat jaded and haggard look,
+as of men who had dined not wisely but too well, nor did the odour of
+stale whale-meat that clung to them add to their attractions. Repentance
+for excesses or gluttony did not seem to trouble them, for they
+evidently considered it would have been a sin not to take with both
+hands the gifts the gods had so bountifully provided. Still, they did
+not stay long, feeling, no doubt, sore need of a prolonged rest after
+their late arduous exertions; so, after affectionate farewells, they
+left us again to our greasy task of trying-out.
+
+The cow proved exceedingly fat, making us, though by no means a large
+specimen, fully fifty barrels of oil. The whalebone (baleen) was so
+short as to be not worth the trouble of curing, so, with the exception
+of such pieces as were useful to the "scrimshoners" for ornamenting
+their nicknacks, it was not preserved. On the evening of the third
+day the work was so far finished that we were able to go ashore for
+clothes-washing, which necessary process was accompanied with a good
+deal of fun and hilarity. In the morning cruising was resumed again.
+
+For a couple of days we met with no success, although we had a very
+aggravating chase after some smart bulls we fell in with, to our mutual
+astonishment, just as we rounded a point of the outermost island. They
+were lazily sunning themselves close under the lee of the cliffs, which
+at that point were steep-to, having a depth of about twenty fathoms
+close alongside. A fresh breeze was blowing, so we came round the point
+at a great pace, being almost among them before they had time to escape.
+They went away gaily along the land, not attempting to get seaward,
+we straining every nerve to get alongside of them. Whether they were
+tantalizing us or not, I cannot say, but certainly it looked like it. In
+spite of their well-known speed, we were several times so close in their
+wake that the harpooners loosed the tacks of the jibs to get a clear
+shot; but as they did so the nimble monsters shot ahead a length or
+two, leaving us just out of reach. It was a fine chase while it lasted,
+though annoying; yet one could hardly help feeling amused at the way
+they wallowed along--just like a school of exaggerated porpoises. At
+last, after nearly two hours of the fun, they seemed to have had enough
+of it, and with one accord headed seaward at a greatly accelerated pace,
+as who should say, "Well, s' long, boys; company's very pleasant and
+all that, but we've got important business over at Fiji, and can't stay
+fooling around here any longer." In a quarter of an hour they were out
+of sight, leaving us disgusted and outclassed pursuers sneaking back
+again to shelter, feeling very small. Not that we could have had much
+hope of success under the circumstances, knowing the peculiar habits of
+the humpback and the almost impossibility of competing with him in the
+open sea; but they had lured us on to forget all these things in the
+ardour of the chase, and then exposed our folly.
+
+Then ensued a week or two of uneventful cruising, broken only by
+the capture of a couple of cows--one just after the fruitless chase
+mentioned above, and one several days later. These events, though
+interesting enough to us, were marked by no such deviation from the
+ordinary course as to make them worthy of special attention; nor do I
+think that the cold-blooded killing of a cow-whale, who dies patiently
+endeavouring to protect her young, is a subject that lends itself to
+eulogium.
+
+However, just when the delightful days were beginning to pall upon us,
+a real adventure befell us, which, had we been attending strictly to
+business, we should not have encountered. For a week previous we had
+been cruising constantly without ever seeing a spout, except those
+belonging to whales out at sea, whither we knew it was folly to
+follow them. We tried all sorts of games to while away the time, which
+certainly did hang heavy, the most popular of which was for the whole
+crew of the boat to strip, and, getting overboard, be towed along at the
+ends of short warps, while I sailed her. It was quite mythological--a
+sort of rude reproduction of Neptune and his attendant Tritons. At last,
+one afternoon as we were listlessly lolling (half asleep, except the
+look-out man) across the thwarts, we suddenly came upon a gorge between
+two cliffs that we must have passed before several times unnoticed. At
+a certain angle it opened, disclosing a wide sheet of water, extending a
+long distance ahead. I put the helm up, and we ran through the passage,
+finding it about a boat's length in width and several fathoms deep,
+though overhead the cliffs nearly came together in places. Within, the
+scene was very beautiful, but not more so than many similar ones we had
+previously witnessed. Still, as the place was new to us, our languor was
+temporarily dispelled, and we paddled along, taking in every feature of
+the shores with keen eyes that let nothing escape. After we had gone
+on in this placid manner for maybe an hour, we suddenly came to a
+stupendous cliff--that is, for those parts--rising almost sheer from the
+water for about a thousand feet. Of itself it would not have arrested
+our attention, but at its base was a semicircular opening, like the
+mouth of a small tunnel. This looked alluring, so I headed the boat for
+it, passing through a deep channel between two reefs which led straight
+to the opening. There was ample room for us to enter, as we had lowered
+the mast; but just as we were passing through, a heave of the unnoticed
+swell lifted us unpleasantly near the crown of this natural arch.
+Beneath us, at a great depth, the bottom could be dimly discerned, the
+water being of the richest blue conceivable, which the sun, striking
+down through, resolved into some most marvellous colour-schemes in the
+path of its rays. A delicious sense of coolness, after the fierce heat
+outside, saluted us as we entered a vast hall, whose roof rose to a
+minimum height of forty feet, but in places could not be seen at all.
+A sort of diffused light, weak, but sufficient to reveal the general
+contour of the place, existed, let in, I supposed, through some unseen
+crevices in the roof or walls. At first, of course, to our eyes fresh
+from the fierce glare outside, the place seemed wrapped in impenetrable
+gloom, and we dared not stir lest we should run into some hidden
+danger. Before many minutes, however, the gloom lightened as our pupils
+enlarged, so that, although the light was faint, we could find our way
+about with ease. We spoke in low tones, for the echoes were so numerous
+and resonant that even a whisper gave back from those massy walls in a
+series of recurring hisses, as if a colony of snakes had been disturbed.
+
+We paddled on into the interior of this vast cave, finding everywhere
+the walls rising sheer from the silent, dark waters, not a ledge or a
+crevice where one might gain foothold. Indeed, in some places there was
+a considerable overhang from above, as if a great dome whose top was
+invisible sprang from some level below the water. We pushed ahead until
+the tiny semicircle of light through which we had entered was only
+faintly visible; and then, finding there was nothing to be seen except
+what we were already witnessing, unless we cared to go on into the thick
+darkness, which extended apparently into the bowels of the mountain, we
+turned and started to go back. Do what we would, we could not venture to
+break the solemn hush that surrounded us as if we were shut within the
+dome of some vast cathedral in the twilight, So we paddled noiselessly
+along for the exit, till suddenly an awful, inexplicable roar set all
+our hearts thumping fit to break our bosoms. Really, the sensation was
+most painful, especially as we had not the faintest idea whence the
+noise came or what had produced it. Again it filled that immense cave
+with its thunderous reverberations; but this time all the sting
+was taken out of it, as we caught sight of its author. A goodly
+bull-humpback had found his way in after us, and the sound of his spout,
+exaggerated a thousand times in the confinement of that mighty cavern,
+had frightened us all so that we nearly lost our breath. So far, so
+good; but, unlike the old nigger, though we were "doin' blame well," we
+did not "let blame well alone." The next spout that intruder gave,
+he was right alongside of us. This was too much for the semi-savage
+instincts of my gallant harpooner, and before I had time to shout a
+caution he had plunged his weapon deep into old Blowhard's broad back.
+
+I should like to describe what followed, but, in the first place, I
+hardly know; and, in the next, even had I been cool and collected, my
+recollections would sound like the ravings of a fevered dream. For of
+all the hideous uproars conceivable, that was, I should think, about the
+worst. The big mammal seemed to have gone frantic with the pain of his
+wound, the surprise of the attack, and the hampering confinement in
+which he found himself. His tremendous struggles caused such a commotion
+that our position could only be compared to that of men shooting Niagara
+in a cylinder at night. How we kept afloat, I do not know. Some one
+had the gumption to cut the line, so that by the radiation of the
+disturbance we presently found ourselves close to the wall, and trying
+to hold the boat in to it with our finger-tips. Would he never be quiet?
+we thought, as the thrashing, banging, and splashing still went on with
+unfailing vigour. At last, in, I suppose, one supreme effort to escape,
+he leaped clear of the water like a salmon. There was a perceptible
+hush, during which we shrank together like unfledged chickens on a
+frosty night; then, in a never-to-be-forgotten crash that ought to
+have brought down the massy roof, that mountainous carcass fell. The
+consequent violent upheaval of the water should have smashed the boat
+against the rocky walls, but that final catastrophe was mercifully
+spared us. I suppose the rebound was sufficient to keep us a safe
+distance off.
+
+A perfect silence succeeded, during which we sat speechless, awaiting
+a resumption of the clamour. At last Abner broke the heavy silence by
+saying, "I doan' see the do'way any mo' at all, sir." He was right. The
+tide had risen, and that half-moon of light had disappeared, so that we
+were now prisoners for many hours, it not being at all probable that we
+should be able to find our way out during the night ebb. Well, we
+were not exactly children, to be afraid of the dark, although there is
+considerable difference between the velvety darkness of a dungeon and
+the clear, fresh night of the open air. Still, as long as that beggar of
+a whale would only keep quiet or leave the premises, we should be fairly
+comfortable. We waited and waited until an hour had passed, and then
+came to the conclusion that our friend was either dead or gone out, as
+he gave no sign of his presence.
+
+That being settled, we anchored the boat, and lit pipes, preparatory to
+passing as comfortable a night as might be under the circumstances, the
+only thing troubling me being the anxiety of the skipper on our behalf.
+Presently the blackness beneath was lit up by a wide band of phosphoric
+light, shed in the wake of no ordinary-sized fish, probably an immense
+shark. Another and another followed in rapid succession, until the
+depths beneath were all ablaze with brilliant foot-wide ribands of green
+glare, dazzling to the eye and bewildering to the brain. Occasionally,
+a gentle splash or ripple alongside, or a smart tap on the bottom of
+the boat, warned us how thick the concourse was that had gathered below.
+Until that weariness which no terror is proof against set in, sleep was
+impossible, nor could we keep our anxious gaze from that glowing inferno
+beneath, where one would have thought all the population of Tartarus
+were holding high revel. Mercifully, at last we sank into a fitful
+slumber, though fully aware of the great danger of our position. One
+upward rush of any of those ravening monsters, happening to strike the
+frail shell of our boat, and a few fleeting seconds would have sufficed
+for our obliteration as if we had never been.
+
+But the terrible night passed away, and once more we saw the tender,
+irridescent light stream into that abode of dread. As the day
+strengthened, we were able to see what was going on below, and a grim
+vision it presented. The water was literally alive with sharks of
+enormous size, tearing with never ceasing energy at the huge carcass of
+the whale lying on the bottom, who had met his fate in a singular but
+not unheard-of way. At that last titanic effort of his he had rushed
+downward with such terrific force that, striking his head on the bottom,
+he had broken his neck. I felt very grieved that we had lost the chance
+of securing him; but it was perfectly certain that before we could get
+help to raise him, all that would be left of his skeleton would be quite
+valueless to us. So with such patience as we could command we waited
+near the entrance until the receding ebb made it possible for us to
+emerge once more into the blessed light of day. I was horrified at the
+haggard, careworn appearance of my crew, who had all, excepting the two
+Kanakas, aged perceptibly during that night of torment. But we lost
+no time in getting back to the ship, where I fully expected a severe
+wigging for the scrape my luckless curiosity had led me into. The
+captain, however, was very kind, expressing his pleasure at seeing us
+all safe back again, although he warned me solemnly against similar
+investigations in future. A hearty meal and a good rest did wonders in
+removing the severe effects of our adventure, so that by next morning we
+were all fit and ready for the days work again.
+
+It certainly seemed as if I was in for a regular series of troubles.
+After cruising till nearly two p.m., we fell in with the mate's boat,
+and were sailing quietly along side by side, when we suddenly rounded a
+point and ran almost on top of a bull-humpback that was basking in the
+beautiful sunshine. The mate's harpooner, a wonderfully smart fellow,
+was not so startled as to lose his chance, getting an iron well home
+before the animal realized what had befallen him. We had a lovely fight,
+lasting over an hour, in which all the marvellous agility with which
+this whale is gifted was exerted to the full in order to make his
+escape. But with the bottom not twenty fathoms away, we were sure of
+him. With all his supple smartness, he had none of the dogged savagery
+of the cachalot about him, nor did we feel any occasion to beware of
+his rushes, rather courting them, so as to finish the game as quickly as
+possible.
+
+He was no sooner dead than we hurried to secure him, and had actually
+succeeded in passing the tow-line through his lips, when, in the
+trifling interval that passed while we were taking the line aft to begin
+towing, he started to sink. Of course it was, "let go all!" If you
+can only get the slightest way on a whale of this kind, you are almost
+certain to be able to keep him afloat, but once he begins to sink you
+cannot stop him. Down he went, till full twenty fathoms beneath us he
+lay comfortably on the reef, while we looked ruefully at one another.
+We had no gear with us fit to raise him, and we were ten miles from the
+ship; evening was at hand, so our prospects of doing anything that night
+were faint.
+
+However, the mate decided to start off for home at once, leaving us
+there, but promising to send back a boat as speedily as possible with
+provisions and gear for the morning. There was a stiff breeze blowing,
+and he was soon out of sight; but we were very uncomfortable. The boat,
+of course, rode like a duck, but we were fully exposed to the open sea;
+and the mighty swell of the Pacific, rolling in over those comparatively
+shallow grounds, sometimes looked dangerously like breaking. Still, it
+was better than the cave, and there was a good prospect of supper. Long
+before we expected her, back came the boat, bringing bountiful provision
+of yams, cold pork and fruit--a regular banquet to men who were fasting
+since daylight. A square meal, a comforting pipe, and the night's vigil,
+which had looked so formidable, no longer troubled us, although, to tell
+the truth, we were heartily glad when the dawn began to tint the east
+with pale emerald and gold. We set to work at once, getting the huge
+carcass to the surface without as much labour as I had anticipated. Of
+course all hands came to the rescue.
+
+But, alas for the fruit of our labours! Those hungry monsters had
+collected in thousands, and, to judge from what we were able to see of
+the body, they had reduced its value alarmingly. However, we commenced
+towing, and were getting along fairly well, when a long spur of reef to
+leeward of us, over which the sea was breaking frightfully, seemed to be
+stretching farther out to intercept us before we could get into smooth
+water. The fact soon faced us that we were in the remorseless grip of a
+current that set right over that reef, and against its steady stream all
+our efforts were the merest triviality. Still, we hung on, struggling
+desperately to keep what we had earned, until so close to the roaring,
+foaming line of broken water, that one wave breaking farther out than
+the rest very nearly swamped us all. One blow of an axe, one twirl of
+the steer-oars, and with all the force we could muster we were pulling
+away from the very jaws of death, leaving our whale to the hungry
+crowds, who would make short work of him. Downcast indeed, at our bad
+luck, we returned on board, disappointing the skipper very much with our
+report. Like the true gentleman he was, though, recognizing that we had
+done our best, he did not add to the trouble by cursing us all for a set
+of useless trash, as his predecessor would have done; on the contrary, a
+few minutes after the receipt of the bad news his face was as bright as
+ever, his laugh as hearty as if there was no such thing as a misfortune
+in the world.
+
+And now I must come to what has been on my mind so long--a tragedy that,
+in spite of all that had gone before, and of what came after, is the
+most indelible of all the memories which cling round me of that eventful
+time. Abner Cushing, the Vermonter had declared at different times that
+he should never see his native Green Mountain again. Since the change
+in our commander, however, he had been another man--always silent and
+reserved, but brighter, happier, and with a manner so improved as to
+make it hard to recognize him for the same awkward, ungainly slab of a
+fellow that had bungled everything he put his hand to. Taking stock of
+him quietly during our day-long leisurely cruises in the boat, I often
+wondered whether his mind still kept its gloomy forebodings, and brooded
+over his tragical life-history. I never dared to speak to him on the
+subject, for fear of arousing what I hoped was growing too faint for
+remembrance. But at times I saw him in the moonlit evenings sitting on
+the rail alone, steadfastly gazing down into the star-besprent waters
+beneath him, as if coveting their unruffled peace.
+
+Two-thirds of our stay in the islands had passed away, when, for a
+wonder, the captain took it into his head to go up to the chief village
+one morning. So he retained me on board, while the other three boats
+left for the day's cruise as usual. One of the mate's crew was sick, and
+to replace him he took Abner out of my boat. Away they went; and shortly
+after breakfast-time I lowered, received the captain on board, and
+we started for the capital. Upon our arrival there we interviewed the
+chief, a stout, pleasant-looking man of about fifty, who was evidently
+held in great respect by the natives, and had a chat with the white
+Wesleyan missionary in charge of the station. About two p.m., after
+the captain's business was over, we were returning under sail, when we
+suddenly caught sight of two of our boats heading in towards one of the
+islands. We helped her with the paddles to get up to them, seeing as we
+neared them the two long fins of a whale close ahead of one of them.
+As we gazed breathlessly at the exciting scene, we saw the boat rush in
+between the two flippers, the harpooner at the same time darting an iron
+straight down. There was a whirl in the waters, and quick as thought
+the vast flukes of the whale rose in the air, recurving with a sidelong
+sweep as of some gigantic scythe. The blow shore off the bow of the
+attacking boat as if it had been an egg-shell.
+
+At the same moment the mate stooped, picked up the tow-line from its
+turn round the logger-head, and threw it forward from him. He must have
+unconsciously given a twist to his hand, for the line fell in a kink
+round Abner's neck just as the whale went down with a rush. Struggling,
+clutching at the fatal noose, the hapless man went flying out through
+the incoming sea, and in one second was lost to sight for ever. Too
+late, the harpooner cut the line which attached the wreck to the
+retreating animal, leaving the boat free, but gunwale under. We
+instantly hauled alongside of the wreck and transferred her crew, all
+dazed and horror-stricken at the awful death of their late comrade.
+
+I saw the tears trickle down the rugged, mahogany-coloured face of the
+captain, and honoured him for it, but there was little time to waste in
+vain regrets. It was necessary to save the boat, if possible, as we were
+getting short of boat-repairing material; certainly we should not have
+been able to build a new one. So, drawing the two sound boats together,
+one on either side of the wreck, we placed the heavy steering oars
+across them from side to side. We then lifted the battered fore part
+upon the first oar, and with a big effort actually succeeded in lifting
+the whole of the boat out of water upon this primitive pontoon. Then,
+taking the jib, we "frapped" it round the opening where the bows had
+been, lashing it securely in that position. Several hands were told off
+to jump into her stern on the word, and all being ready we launched her
+again. The weight of the chaps in her stern-sheets cocked her bows
+right out of water, and in that position we towed her back to the ship,
+arriving safely before dusk.
+
+That evening we held a burial service, at which hundreds of natives
+attended with a solemnity of demeanour and expressions of sorrow that
+would not have been out of place at the most elaborate funeral in
+England or America. It was a memorable scene. The big cressets were
+lighted, shedding their wild glare over the dark sea, and outlining
+the spars against the moonless sky with startling effect. When we
+had finished the beautiful service, the natives, as if swayed by an
+irresistible impulse, broke into the splendid tune St. Ann's; and
+I afterwards learned that the words they sang were Dr. Watts'
+unsurpassable rendering of Moses' pean of praise, "O God, our help in
+ages past." No elaborate ceremonial in towering cathedral could begin to
+compare with the massive simplicity of poor Abner's funeral honours, the
+stately hills for many miles reiterating the sweet sounds, and carrying
+them to the furthest confines of the group.
+
+Next day was Sunday, and, in pursuance of a promise given some time
+before, I went ashore to my "flem's" to dinner, he being confined to the
+house with a hurt leg. It was not by any means a festive gathering, for
+he was more than commonly taciturn; his daughter Irene, a buxom lassie
+of fourteen, who waited on us, appeared to be dumb; and his wife was "in
+the straw." These trifling drawbacks, however, in nowise detracted from
+the hospitality offered. The dining-room was a large apartment furnished
+with leaves, the uprights of cocoa-nut tree, the walls and roof of
+pandanus leaf. Beneath the heaps of leaves, fresh and sweet-scented, was
+the earth. The inner apartment, or chamber of state, had a flooring of
+highly-polished planks, and contained, I presume, the household gods;
+but as it was in possession of my host's secluded spouse, I did not
+enter.
+
+A couch upon a pile of leaves was hastily arranged, upon which I was
+bidden to seat myself, while a freshly cut cocoa-nut of enormous size
+was handed to me, the soft top sliced off so that I might drink its
+deliciously cool contents. These nuts must grow elsewhere, but I have
+never before or since seen any so large. When green--that is, before
+the meat has hardened into indigestible matter--they contain from three
+pints to two quarts of liquid, at once nourishing, refreshing, and
+palatable. The natives appeared to drink nothing else, and I never saw a
+drop of fresh water ashore during our stay.
+
+Taking a huge knife from some hiding-place, Irene handed it to her
+father, who at once commenced to dig in the ground by his side, while
+I looked on wondering and amused. Presently he fished up a bundle of
+leaves bound with a vine-tendril, which he laid carefully aside. More
+digging brought to light a fine yam about three pounds in weight, which,
+after carefully wiping the knife on some leaves, he proceeded to peel.
+It was immediately evident that the yam was perfectly cooked, for it
+steamed as he removed the skin, revealing the inside as white as milk.
+Some large, round leaves were laid in front of me, and the yam placed
+upon them. Then mine host turned his attention to the bundle first
+unearthed, which concealed a chicken, so perfectly done that, although
+the bones drew out of the meat as if it had been jelly, it was full of
+juice and flavour; and except for a slight foreign twang, referrible,
+doubtless, to the leaves in which it had been enwrapped, I do not think
+it could have been possible to cook anything in a better way, or one
+more calculated to retain all the natural juices of the meat. The fowl
+was laid beside the yam, another nut broached; then, handing me the big
+knife, my "flem" bade me welcome, informing me that I saw my dinner.
+As nothing would induce him to join me, the idea being contrary to
+his notions of respect due to a guest, I was fain to fall to, and an
+excellent meal I made. For dessert, a basketful of such oranges freshly
+plucked as cannot be tasted under any other conditions, and crimson
+bananas, which upon being peeled, looked like curved truncheons of
+golden jelly, after tasting which I refused to touch anything else.
+
+A corn-cob cigarette closed the banquet, After expressing my thanks,
+I noticed that the pain of his leg was giving my friend considerable
+uneasiness, which he was stolidly enduring upon my account rather than
+appear discourteously anxious to get rid of me. So, with the excuse
+that I must needs be going, having another appointment, I left the good
+fellow and strolled around to the chapel, where I sat enjoying the sight
+of those simple-minded Kanakas at their devotions till it was time to
+return on board. Before closing this chapter, I would like, for the
+benefit of such of my readers who have not heard yet of Kanaka cookery,
+to say that it is simplicity itself. A hole is scooped in the earth, in
+which a fire is made (of wood), and kept burning until a fair-sized
+heap of glowing charcoal remains. Pebbles are then thrown in until the
+charcoal is covered. Whatever is to be cooked is enveloped in leaves,
+placed upon the pebbles, and more leaves heaped upon it. The earth is
+then thrown back into the cavity, and well stamped down. A long time is,
+of course, needed for the viands to get cooked through; but so subtle is
+the mode that overdoing anything is almost an impossibility. A couple of
+days may pass from the time of "putting down" the joint, yet when it
+is dug up it will be smoking hot, retaining all its juices, tender as
+jelly, but, withal, as full of flavour as it is possible for cooked meat
+to be. No matter how large the joint is, or how tough the meat, this
+gentle suasion will render it succulent and tasty; and no form of
+civilized cookery can in the least compare with it.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII. FAREWELL TO VAU VAU
+
+Taking it all round, our visit to the Friendly Islands had not been
+particularly fortunate up till the time of which I spoke at the
+conclusion of the last chapter. Two-thirds of the period during which
+the season was supposed to last had expired, but our catch had not
+amounted to more than two hundred and fifty barrels of oil. Whales had
+been undoubtedly scarce, for our ill-success on tackling bulls was
+not at all in consequence of our clumsiness, these agile animals being
+always a handful, but due to the lack of cows, which drove us to take
+whatever we could get, which, as has been noted, was sometimes a severe
+drubbing. Energy and watchfulness had been manifested in a marked degree
+by everybody, and when the news circulated that our stay was drawing to
+a close, there was, if anything, an increase of zeal in the hope that we
+might yet make a favourable season.
+
+But none of these valuable qualities exhibited by us could make up for
+the lack of "fish" which was lamentably evident. It was not easy to
+understand why, because these islands were noted as a breeding-place for
+the humpbacked whale. Yet for years they had not been fished, so that a
+plausible explanation of the paucity of their numbers as a consequence
+of much harassing could not be reasonably offered. Still, after
+centuries of whale-fishing, little is known of the real habits of
+whales, Where there is abundance of "feed," in the case of MYSTICETA it
+may be reasonably inferred that whales may be found in proportionately
+greater numbers. With regard to the wider-spread classes of the
+great marine mammalia, beyond the fact, ascertained from continued
+observation, that certain parts of the ocean are more favoured by them
+than others, there is absolutely no data to go upon as to why at times
+they seem to desert their usual haunts and scatter themselves far and
+wide.
+
+The case of the cachalot is still more difficult. All the BALAENAE seem
+to be compelled, by laws which we can only guess at, to frequent the
+vicinity of land possessing shallows at their breeding times, so that
+they may with more or less certainty be looked for in such places at
+the seasons which have been accurately fixed. They may be driven to seek
+other haunts, as was undoubtedly the case at Vau Vau in a great measure,
+by some causes unknown, but to land they must come at those times. The
+sperm whale, however, needs no shelter at such periods, or, at any rate,
+does not avail herself of any. They may often be seen in the vicinity of
+land where the water is deep close to, but seldom with calves. Schools
+of cows with recently born young gambolling about them are met with
+at immense distances from land, showing no disposition to seek shelter
+either. For my part, I firmly believe that the cachalot is so terrible a
+foe, that the great sharks who hover round a gravid cow of the BALAENAE,
+driving her in terror to some shallow spot where she may hope to protect
+her young, never dare to approach a sperm cow on kidnapping errands, or
+any other if they can help it, until their unerring guides inform them
+that life is extinct. When a sperm whale is in health, nothing that
+inhabits the sea has any chance with him; neither does he scruple to
+carry the war into the enemy's country, since all is fish that comes
+to his net, and a shark fifteen feet in length has been found in the
+stomach of a cachalot.
+
+The only exception he seems to make is in the case of man. Instances
+have several--nay, many times occurred where men have been slain by the
+jaws of a cachalot crushing the boat in which they were; but their death
+was of course incidental to the destruction of the boat. Never, as far
+as I have been able to ascertain, has a cachalot attacked a man swimming
+or clinging to a piece of wreckage, although such opportunities occur
+innumerably. I have in another place told the story of how I once saw a
+combat between a bull-cachalot and so powerful a combination of enemies
+that even one knowing the fighting qualities of the sperm whale would
+have hesitated to back him to win, but the yarn will bear repetition.
+
+Two "killers" and a sword-fish, all of the largest size. Description of
+these warriors is superfluous, since they are so well known to museums
+and natural histories; but unless one has witnessed the charge of
+a XIPHIAS, he cannot realize what a fearful foe it is. Still, as a
+practice, these creatures leave the cachalot respectfully alone, knowing
+instinctively that he is not their game. Upon this memorable occasion,
+however I guess the two ORCAS were starving, and they had organized
+a sort of forlorn hope with the XIPHIAS as an auxiliary who might be
+relied upon to ensure success if it could be done. Anyhow, the syndicate
+led off with their main force first; for while the two killers hung on
+the cachalot's flanks, diverting his attention, the sword-fish, a giant
+some sixteen feet long, launched himself at the most vulnerable part of
+the whale, for all the world like a Whitehead torpedo. The wary eye
+of the whale saw the long, dark mass coming, and, like a practised
+pugilist, coolly swerved, taking for the nonce no notice of those
+worrying wolves astern. The shock came; but instead of the sword
+penetrating three, or maybe four feet just where the neck (if a whale
+has any neck) encloses the huge heart, it met the mighty, impenetrable
+mass of the head, solid as a block of thirty tons of india-rubber.
+
+So the blow glanced, revealing a white streak running diagonally across
+the eye, while the great XIPHIAS rolled helplessly over the top of that
+black bastion. With a motion so rapid that the eye could scarcely follow
+it, the whale turned, settling withal, and, catching the momentarily
+motionless aggressor in the lethal sweep of those awful shears, crunched
+him in two halves, which writhing sections he swallowed SERIATIM. And
+the allied forces aft--what of them? Well, they had been rash--they
+fully realized that fact, and would have fled, but one certainly found
+that he had lingered on the scene too long. The thoroughly-roused
+leviathan, with a reversal of his huge bulk that made the sea boil like
+a pot, brandished his tail aloft and brought it down upon the doomed
+"killer," making him at once the "killed." He was crushed like a shrimp
+under one's heel.
+
+The survivor fled--never faster--for an avalanche of living, furious
+flesh was behind him, and coming with enormous leaps half out of the sea
+every time. Thus they disappeared, but I have no doubts as to the issue.
+Of one thing I am certain--that, if any of the trio survived, they never
+afterwards attempted to rush a cachalot.
+
+Strange to say, the sperm whale does not appear to be a fond mother. At
+the advent of danger she often deserts her offspring and in such cases
+it is hardly conceivable that she ever finds it again. It is true that
+she is not gifted with such long "arms" as the BALAENAE wherewith to
+cuddle her young one to her capacious bosom while making tracks from
+her enemies; nor is she much "on the fight," not being so liberally
+furnished with jaw as the fierce and much larger bull--for this is
+the only species of whale in which there exists a great disproportion
+between the sexes in point of size. Such difference as may obtain
+between the MYSTICETA is slightly in favour of the female. I never heard
+of a cow-cachalot yielding more than fifty barrels of oil; but I have
+both heard of, and seen, bulls carrying one hundred and fifty. One
+individual taken by us down south was seventy feet long, and furnished
+us with more than the latter amount; but I shall come to him by-and-by.
+Just one more point before leaving this (to me) fascinating subject for
+the present.
+
+To any one studying the peculiar configuration of a cachalot's mouth, it
+would appear a difficult problem how the calf could suck. Certainly it
+puzzled me more than a little. But, when on the "line" grounds we got
+among a number of cows one calm day, I saw a little fellow about fifteen
+feet long, apparently only a few days old, in the very act. The mother
+lay on one side, with the breast nearly at the waters edge; while the
+calf, lying parallel to its parent, with its head in the same direction,
+held the teat sideways in the angle of its jaw, with its snout
+protruding from the surface. Although we caught several cow-humpbacks
+with newly born calves, I never had an opportunity of seeing THEM suck.
+
+Gradually our pleasant days at Vau Vau drew to a close. So quiet and
+idyllic had the life been, so full of simple joys, that most of us, if
+not all, felt a pang at the thought of our imminent departure from
+the beautiful place. Profitable, in a pecuniary sense, the season had
+certainly failed to be, but that was the merest trifle compared with
+the real happiness and peace enjoyed during our stay. Even the terrible
+tragedy which had taken one of our fellows from us could not spoil the
+actual enjoyment of our visit, sad and touching as the event undoubtedly
+was. There was always, too, a sufficiently arduous routine of necessary
+duties to perform, preventing us from degenerating into mere lotus
+eaters in that delicious afternoon-land. Nor even to me, friendless
+nomad as I was, did the thought ever occur, "I will return no more."
+
+But these lovely days spent in softly gliding over the calm, azure
+depths, bathed in golden sunlight, gazing dreamily down at the
+indescribable beauties of the living reefs, feasting daintily on
+abundance of never-cloying fruit, amid scenes of delight hardly to be
+imagined by the cramped mind of the town dweller; islands, air, and sea
+all shimmering in an enchanted haze, and silence scarcely broken by
+the tender ripple of the gently-parted waters before the boat's steady
+keel--though these joys have all been lost to me, and I in "populous
+city pent" endure the fading years, I would not barter the memory of
+them for more than I can say, so sweet it is to me. And, then, our
+relations with the natives had been so perfectly amicable, so free from
+anything to regret. Perhaps this simple statement will raise a cynical
+smile upon the lips of those who know Tahati, the New Hebrides, and
+kindred spots with all their savage, bestial orgies of alternate
+unbridled lust and unnamable cruelty. Let it be so. For my part, I
+rejoice that I have no tale of weeks of drunkenness, of brutal rape,
+treacherous murder, and almost unthinkable torture to tell.
+
+For of such is the paradise of the beach-comber, and the hell of the
+clean man. Not that I have been able to escape it altogether. When I say
+that I once shipped, unwittingly, as sailing-master of a little white
+schooner in Noumea, bound to Apia, finding when too late that she was a
+"blackbirder"--"labour vessel," the wise it call--nothing more will be
+needed to convince the initiated that I have moved in the "nine circles"
+of Polynesia.
+
+Some time before the day fixed for our departure, we were busy storing
+the gifts so liberally showered upon us by our eager friends. Hundreds
+of bunches of bananas, many thousands of oranges, yams, taro, chillies,
+fowls, and pigs were accumulated, until the ship looked like a huge
+market-boat. But we could not persuade any of the natives to ship with
+us to replace those whoso contract was now expiring. Samuela and Polly
+were, after much difficulty, prevailed upon by me to go with us to
+New Zealand, much to my gratification; but still we were woefully
+short-handed, At last, seeing that there was no help for it, the skipper
+decided to run over to Futuna, or Horn Island, where he felt certain of
+obtaining recruits without any trouble. He did so most unwillingly, as
+may well be believed, for the newcomers would need much training, while
+our present Kanaka auxiliaries were the smartest men in the ship.
+
+The slop-chest was largely drawn upon, to the credit of the crew,
+who wished in some tangible way to show their appreciation of the
+unremitting kindness shown them by their dusky friends. Not a whisper
+had been uttered by any native as to desire of remuneration for what
+he had given. If they expected a return, they certainly exercised great
+control over themselves in keeping their wishes quiet. But when they
+received the clothing, all utterly unsuited to their requirements as it
+was, their beaming faces eloquently proclaimed the reality of their joy.
+Heavy woollen shirts, thick cloth trousers and jackets, knitted socks;
+but acceptable beyond all was a pilot-suit--warm enough for the Channel
+in winter. Happy above all power of expression was he who secured
+it. With an eared cloth cap and a pair of half boots, to complete
+his preposterous rig, no Bond Street exquisite could feel more calmly
+conscious of being a well-dressed man than he. From henceforth he would
+be the observed of all observers at chapel on Sunday, exciting
+worldly desires and aspirations among his cooler but coveting
+fellow-worshippers.
+
+The ladies fared very badly, until the skipper, with a twinkling eye,
+announced that he had "dug up" some rolls of "cloth" (calico), which
+he was prepared to supply us with at reasonable rates. Being of rather
+pretty pattern, it went off like hot pies, and as the "fathoms" of
+gaudy, flimsy material were distributed to the delighted fafines, their
+shrill cries of gratitude were almost deafening.
+
+Inexorable time brought round the morning of our departure. Willing
+hands lifted our anchor, and hoisted the sails, so that we had nothing
+to do but look on. A scarcely perceptible breeze, stealing softly over
+the tree-tops, filled our upper canvas, sparing us the labour of towing
+her out of the little bay where we had lain so long, and gradually
+wafted us away from its lovely shores, amid the fast-flowing tears of
+the great crowd. With multitudinous cries of "Ofa, al-ofa, papalang"
+ringing in our ears ("Good-bye; good-bye, white man"), we rounded the
+point, and, with increasing pace, bore away through the outlying islands
+for the open sea. There was a strong trade blowing, making the old
+barky caper like a dancing-master, which long unfamiliar motion almost
+disagreed with some of us, after our long quiet. Under its hastening
+influence we made such good time that before dinner Vau Vau had faded
+into nothingness, mingling like the clouds with the soft haze on the
+horizon, from henceforth only a memory.
+
+We were not a very cheerful crowd that night, most of us being busy with
+his own reflections. I must confess that I felt far greater sorrow at
+leaving Vau Vau than ever I did at leaving England; because by the time
+I was able to secure a berth, I have usually drunk pretty deep of the
+bitter cup of the "outward bounder," than whom there is no more forlorn,
+miserable creature on earth. No one but the much abused boarding-master
+will have anything to do with him, and that worthy is generally careful
+to let him know that he is but a hanger-on, a dependant on sufferance
+for a meal, and that his presence on shore is an outrage. As for the
+sailors' homes, I have hardly patience to speak of them. I know the
+sailor is usually a big baby that wants protecting against himself, and
+that once within the four walls of the institution he is safe; but right
+there commendation must end. Why are good folks ashore systematically
+misled into the belief that the sailor is an object of charity, and that
+it is necessary to subscribe continually and liberally to provide him
+with food and shelter when ashore? Most of the contributors would be
+surprised to know that the cost of board and lodging at the "home" is
+precisely the same as it is outside, and much higher than a landsman of
+the same grade can live for in better style. With the exception of the
+sleeping accommodation, most men prefer the boarding-house, where, if
+they preserve the same commercial status which is a SINE QUA NON at the
+"home," they are treated like gentlemen; but in what follows lies
+the essential difference, and the reason for this outburst of mine,
+smothered in silence for years. An "outward bounder"--that is, a man
+whose money is exhausted and who is living upon the credit; of his
+prospective advance of pay--is unknown at the "home." No matter what the
+condition of things is in the shipping world; though the man may have
+fought with energy to get his discharge accepted among the crowd at
+the "chain-locker;" though he be footsore and weary with "looking for a
+ship," when his money is done, out into the street he must go, if haply
+he may find a speculative boarding-master to receive him. This act,
+although most unlikely in appearance, is often performed; and though the
+boarding-master, of course, expects to recoup himself out of the man's
+advance note, it is none the less as merciful as the action of the
+"home" authorities is merciless. Of course a man may go to the "straw
+house," or, as it is grandiloquently termed, the "destitute seaman's
+asylum," where for a season he will be fed on the refuse from the
+"home," and sheltered from the weather. But the ungrateful rascals do
+not like the "straw house," and use very bad language about it.
+
+The galling thing about the whole affair is that the "sailors' home"
+figures in certain official publications as a charity, which must be
+partially supported by outside contributions. It may be a charitable
+institution, but it certainly is not so to the sailor, who pays fully
+for everything he receives. The charity is bestowed upon a far different
+class of people to merchant Jack. Let it be granted that a man is sober
+and provident, always getting a ship before his money is all gone, he
+will probably be well content at the home, although very few seamen like
+to be reminded ashore of their sea routine, as the manner of the home
+is. If the institution does not pay a handsome dividend, with its
+clothing shops and refreshment bars, as well as the boarding-house
+lousiness on such a large scale, only one inference can be fairly
+drawn--there must be something radically wrong with the management.
+
+After this burst of temper, perhaps I had better get back to the subject
+in hand. It was, I suppose, in the usual contrary nature of things that,
+while we were all in this nearly helpless condition, one evening just
+before sunset, along comes a sperm whale. Now, the commonest prudence
+would have suggested letting him severely alone, since we were not only
+short-handed, but several of our crew were completely crippled by large
+boils; but it would have been an unprecedented thing to do while there
+was any room left in the hold. Consequently we mustered the halt and the
+lame, and manned two boats--all we could do--leaving the almost useless
+cripples to handle the ship. Not to displace the rightful harpooner, I
+took an oar in one of them, headed by the captain.
+
+At first my hopes were high that we should not succeed in reaching the
+victim before dark, but I was grievously disappointed in this. Just as
+the whale was curving himself to sound, we got fairly close, and the
+harpooner made a "pitch-pole" dart; that is, he hurled his weapon into
+the air, where it described a fine curve, and fell point downward on
+the animal's back just as he was disappearing. He stopped his descent
+immediately, and turned savagely to see what had struck him so
+unexpectedly. At that moment the sun went down.
+
+After the first few minutes' "kick-up," he settled down for a steady
+run, but not before the mate got good and fast to him likewise. Away we
+went at a rare rate into the gathering gloom of the fast-coming night.
+Now, had it been about the time of full moon or thereabouts, we should
+doubtless have been able, by the flood of molten light she sends down in
+those latitudes, to give a good account of our enemy; but alas for us,
+it was not. The sky overhead was a deep blue-black, with steely sparkles
+of starlight scattered all over it, only serving to accentuate the
+darkness. After a short time our whale became totally invisible, except
+for the phosphoric glare of the water all around him as he steadily
+ploughed his way along. There was a good breeze blowing, which soon
+caused us all to be drenched with the spray, rendering the general
+effect of things cold as well as cheerless. Needless to say, we strove
+with all our might to get alongside of him, so that an end might be put
+to so unpleasant a state of affairs; but in our crippled condition it
+was not at all easy to do so.
+
+We persevered, however, and at last managed to get near enough for the
+skipper to hurl a lance into the brightness of which the whale formed
+the centre. It must have touched him, for he gave a bound forward and
+disappeared. We suddenly came to a standstill, but in a moment were
+whirled round as if on a pivot, and away we went in the opposite
+direction. He had turned a complete somersault in the water beneath us,
+giving us a "grue" as we reflected what would have happened had he then
+chosen to come bounding to the surface. This manoeuvre seemed to please
+him mightily, for he ran at top speed several minutes, and then repeated
+it. This time he was nearly successful in doing us some real harm, for
+it was now so dark that we could hardly see the other boat's form as
+she towed along parallel to us about three or four lengths away. The two
+boats swung round in a wide circle, rushing back at each other out of
+the surrounding darkness as if bent on mutual destruction. Only by the
+smartest manipulation was a collision avoided, which, as each boat's
+bows bristled with lances and harpoons, would have been a serious matter
+for some of us. However, the whale did not have it all his own way, for
+the skipper, having charged his bomb-gun, patiently laid for him, and
+fired. It was rather a long shot, but it reached him, as we afterwards
+ascertained, making an ugly wound in the small near his tail.
+
+Its effect upon him was startling and immediate. He rushed off at so
+furious a rate dead to windward that for a great while we had all our
+work cut out to keep her free by baling. The sea had risen a little, and
+as we leapt from one wave to another the spray flew over us in an almost
+continuous cloud. Clearly our situation was a parlous one. We could not
+get near him; we were becoming dangerously enfeebled, and he appeared to
+be gaining strength instead of losing it. Besides all this, none of us
+could have the least idea of how the ship now bore from us, our only
+comfort being that, by observation of the Cross, we were not making a
+direct course, but travelling on the circumference of an immense
+circle. Whatever damage we had done to him so far was evidently quite
+superficial, for, accustomed as we were to tremendous displays of vigour
+on the part of these creatures, this specimen fairly surprised us.
+
+The time could only be guessed at; but, judging from our feelings, it
+might have been two or three nights long. Still, to all things an end,
+so in the midst of our dogged endurance of all this misery we felt
+the pace give, and took heart of grace immediately. Calling up all our
+reserves, we hauled up on to him, regardless of pain or weariness.
+The skipper and mate lost no opportunities of lancing, once they
+were alongside, but worked like heroes, until a final plunging of
+the fast-dying leviathan warned us to retreat. Up he went out of the
+glittering foam into the upper darkness, while we held our breath at the
+unique sight of a whale breaching at night. But when he fell again the
+effect was marvellous. Green columns of water arose on either side
+of the descending mass as if from the bowels of the deep, while
+their ghostly glare lit up the encircling gloom with a strange, weird
+radiance, which reflected in our anxious faces, made us look like an
+expedition from the FLYING DUTCHMAN. A short spell of gradually quieting
+struggle succeeded as the great beast succumbed, until all was still
+again, except the strange, low surge made by the waves as they broke
+over the bank of flesh passively obstructing their free sweep.
+
+While the final touch was being given to our task--i.e. the hole-boring
+through the tail-fin--all hands lay around in various picturesque
+attitudes, enjoying a refreshing smoke, care forgetting. While thus
+pleasantly employed, sudden death, like a bolt from the blue, leapt into
+our midst in a terrible form. The skipper was labouring hard at his task
+of cutting the hole for the tow-line, when without warning the great fin
+swung back as if suddenly released from tremendous tension. Happily for
+us, the force of the blow was broken by its direction, as it struck the
+water before reaching the boat's side, but the upper lobe hurled the
+boat-spade from the captain's hands back into our midst, where it struck
+the tub oarsman, splitting his head in two halves. The horror of the
+tragedy, the enveloping darkness, the inexplicable revivifying of the
+monster, which we could not have doubted to be dead, all combined to
+stupefy and paralyze us for the time. Not a sound was heard in our boat,
+though the yells of inquiry from our companion craft arose in increasing
+volume. It was but a brief accession of energy, only lasting two or
+three minutes, when the whale collapsed finally. Having recovered from
+our surprise, we took no further chances with so dangerous an opponent,
+but bored him as full of holes as a colander.
+
+Mournful and miserable were the remaining hours of our vigil. We sat
+around poor Miguel's corpse with unutterable feelings, recalling all
+the tragical events of the voyage, until we reached the nadir of
+despondency. With the rosy light of morning came more cheerful feelings,
+heightened by the close proximity of the ship, from which it is probable
+we had never been more than ten miles distant during the whole night.
+She had sighted us with the first light, and made all sail down to us,
+all hands much relieved at our safety. We were so sorely exhausted that
+we could hardly climb on board; and how we hoisted the boats I hardly
+know. The whale was secured by the efforts of the cripples we had left
+on board, while we wayfarers, after a good meal, were allowed four
+hours' sound, sweet sleep.
+
+When we returned to our duties, the first thing that awaited us was
+the burial of the poor body. Very reverently were the last sad offices
+performed, the flag hoisted half-mast, the bell solemnly tolled. Then we
+gathered at the gangway while the eternal words of hope and consolation
+were falteringly read, and with a sudden plunge the long, straight
+parcel slid off the hatch into the vast tomb ever ready for the dead
+sailor.
+
+Our dead out of sight, work claimed all our attention and energy, wiping
+with its benificent influence all gloomy musings over the inevitable,
+and replacing them with the pressing needs of life. The whale was not
+a large one, but peculiar to look at. Like the specimen that fought so
+fiercely with us in the Indian Ocean, its jaw was twisted round in a
+sort of hook, the part that curved being so thickly covered with
+long barnacles as to give the monster a most eerie look. One of the
+Portuguese expressed his decided opinion that we had caught Davy Jones
+himself, and that, in consequence, we should have no more accidents.
+It was impossible not to sympathize with the conceit, for of all the
+queer-looking monstrosities ever seen, this latest acquisition of ours
+would have taken high honours. Such malformations of the lower mandible
+of the cachalot have often been met with, and variously explained; but
+the most plausible opinion seems to be that they have been acquired when
+the animal is very young and its bones not yet indurated, since it
+is impossible to believe that an adult could suffer such an accident
+without the broken jaw drooping instead of being turned on one side.
+
+The yield of oil was distressingly scanty, the whale being what is
+technically known as a "dry skin." The blubber was so hard and tough
+that we could hardly cut it up for boiling, and altogether it was one of
+the most disappointing affairs we had yet dealt with. This poorness of
+blubber was, to my mind, undoubtedly due to the difficulty the animal
+must have had in obtaining food with his disabling defect of jaw.
+Whatever it was, we were heartily glad to see the last of the beast,
+fervently hoping we should never meet with another like him.
+
+During the progress of these melancholy operations we had drifted a
+considerable distance out of our course, no attention being paid, as
+usual, to the direction of our drift until the greasy work was
+done. Once the mess was cleared away, we hauled up again for our
+objective--Futuna--which, as it was but a few hours' sail distant, we
+hoped to make the next day.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII. AT FUTUNA, RECRUITING
+
+Sure enough, in accordance with our expectations, break of day revealed
+the twin masses of Futuna ahead, some ten or fifteen miles away. With
+the fine, steady breeze blowing, by breakfast-time we were off the
+entrance to a pretty bight, where sail was shortened and the ship
+hove-to. Captain Count did not intend to anchor, for reasons of his
+own, he being assured that there was no need to do so. Nor was there.
+Although the distance from the beach was considerable, we could see
+numbers of canoes putting off, and soon they began to arrive. Now, some
+of the South Sea Islands are famous for the elegance and seaworthiness
+of their canoes; nearly all of them have a distinctly definite style
+of canoe-building; but here at Futuna was a bewildering collection of
+almost every type of canoe in the wide world. Dugouts, with outriggers
+on one side, on both sides, with none at all; canoes built like boats,
+like prams, like irregular egg-boxes, many looking like the first boyish
+attempt to knock something together that would float; and--not to
+unduly prolong the list by attempted classification of these unclassed
+craft--CORACLES. Yes; in that lonely Pacific island, among that motley
+crowd of floating nondescripts, were specimens of the ancient coracle
+of our own islands, constructed in exactly the same way; that is, of
+wicker-work, covered with some waterproof substance, whether skin or
+tarpaulin. But the ingenious Kanaka, not content with his coracles,
+had gone one better, and copied them in dugouts of solid timber. The
+resultant vessel was a sort of cross between a butcher's tray and a
+wash-basin--
+
+"A thing beyond Conception: such a wretched wherry, Perhaps ne'er
+ventured on a pond, Or crossed a ferry."
+
+The proud possessors of the coracles, both wicker and wood, must have
+been poor indeed, for they did not even own a paddle, propelling their
+basins through the water with their hands. It may be imagined what a
+pace they put on! At a little distance they were very puzzling, looking
+more like a water-beetle grown fat and lazy than aught else.
+
+And so, in everything floatable, the whole male population of that part
+of the coast came to visit us. We were speedily the centre of a great
+crowd of canoes, some of which were continually capsizing and spilling
+their occupants, who took no more notice of such incidents than one
+would of a sneeze. Underneath a canoe, or on top, made but little
+difference to these amphibious creatures. They brought nothing with
+them to trade; in fact, few of their vessels were capable of carrying
+anything that could not swim and take care of itself. As they came
+on board, each crossed himself more or less devoutly, revealing the
+teaching of a Roman Catholic mission; and as they called to one another,
+it was not hard to recognize, even in their native garb, such names as
+Erreneo (Irenaeus), Al'seo (Aloysius), and other favourite cognomens of
+saints.
+
+A laughing chattering good-tempered crowd they were--just like a bevy of
+children breaking up, and apparently destitute of the slightest sense
+of responsibility. They spoke a totally different dialect, or maybe
+language, to that of Vau Vau, for it was only an isolated word here and
+there that Samuela could make out. But presently, going forward through
+the crowd that thronged every part of the deck, I saw a man leaning
+nonchalantly against the rail by the fore-rigging, who struck me at
+once as being an American negro. The most casual observer would not
+have mistaken him for a Kanaka of those latitudes, though he might
+have passed as a Papuan. He was dressed in all the dignity of a woollen
+shirt, with a piece of fine "tapa" for a waistcloth, feet and legs bare.
+Around his neck was a necklace composed of a number of strings of blue
+and white beads plaited up neatly, and carrying as a pendant a George
+shilling. Going up to him, I looked at the coin, and said, "Belitani
+money?" "Oh yes," he said, "that's a shilling of old Georgey Fourf,"
+in perfectly good English, but with an accent which quite confirmed my
+first idea. I at once invited him aft to see the skipper, who was very
+anxious to find an interpreter among the noisy crowd, besides being
+somewhat uneasy at having so large a number on board.
+
+To the captain's interrogations he replied that he was "Tui
+Tongoa"--that is, King of Tonga, an island a little distance away--but
+that he was at present under a cloud, owing to the success of a usurper,
+whom he would reckon with by-and-by.
+
+In the mean time he would have no objection to engaging himself with
+us as a harpooner, and would get us as many men as we wanted, selecting
+from among the crowd on board, fellows that would, he knew, be useful to
+us.
+
+A bargain was soon struck, and Tui entered upon his self-imposed task.
+It was immediately evident that he had a bigger contract on hand than he
+had imagined. The natives, who had previously held somewhat aloof from
+him in a kind of deferential respect, no sooner got wind of the fact
+that we needed some of them than they were seized with a perfect frenzy
+of excitement. There were, I should think, at least a hundred and fifty
+of them on board at the time. Of this crowd, every member wanted to be
+selected, pushing his candidature with voice and gesture as vigorously
+as he knew how. The din was frightful. Tui, centre of the frantic mob,
+strove vainly to make himself heard, to reduce the chaos to some sort
+of order, but for a great while it was a hopeless attempt. At last,
+extricating himself from his importunate friends, he gained the
+captain's side. Panting, almost breathless, with sweat streaming off
+him, he gasped out, "Oh, cap'n, dese yer darn niggers all gone mad!
+Dribe 'em oberbord; clar 'em out, 'n I'll stan' by to grab some o' der
+likely ones as de res' scatter." "But what about the wages?" said the
+skipper. "I'm not goin' ter give 'em whatever they like to ask." "You
+leab it ter me, cap'n. I bet you'll be satisfy. Anyhow, dishyers no
+time fer tradin'; de blame niggers all off dere coco-nuts. Anybody fink
+you'se payin' off 'stead o' shippin', an' deyse all afraid dey won't get
+'nough."
+
+Unpleasant as the job was to all of us, it had to be done; so we armed
+ourselves with ropes'-ends, which we flourished threateningly, avoiding
+where possible any actual blows. Many sprang overboard at once, finding
+their way ashore or to their canoes as best they could. The majority,
+however, had to swim, for we now noticed that, either in haste or from
+carelessness, they had in most cases omitted to fasten their canoes
+securely when coming alongside, so that many of them were now far out
+to sea. The distance to shore being under three miles, that mattered
+little, as far as their personal safety was concerned.
+
+This summary treatment was eminently successful, quiet being rapidly
+restored, so that Tui was able to select a dozen men, who he declared
+were the best in the islands for our purpose. Although it seems somewhat
+premature to say so, the general conduct of the successful candidates
+was so good as to justify Tui fully in his eulogium. Perhaps his
+presence had something to do with it?
+
+We now had all that we came for, so that we were anxious to be off. But
+it was a job to get rid of the visitors still remaining on board.
+They stowed themselves away in all manner of corners, in some cases
+ludicrously inadequate as hiding-places, and it was not until we were
+nearly five miles from the land that the last of them plunged into
+the sea and struck out for home. It was very queer. Ignorant of our
+destination, of what would be required of them; leaving a land of ease
+and plenty for a certainty of short commons and hard work, without
+preparation or farewells, I do not think I ever heard of such a strange
+thing before. Had their home been famine or plague-stricken, they could
+not have evinced greater eagerness to leave it, or to face the great
+unknown.
+
+As we drew farther off the island the wind freshened, until we had a
+good, whole-sail breeze blustering behind us, the old ship making, with
+her usual generous fuss, a tremendous rate of seven knots an hour. Our
+course was shaped for the southward, towards the Bay of Islands, New
+Zealand. In that favourite haunt of the South-seaman we were to wood and
+water, find letters from home (those who had one), and prepare for the
+stormy south.
+
+Obviously the first thing to be done for our new shipmates was to clothe
+them. When they arrived on board, all, with the single exception of Tui,
+were furnished only with a "maro" of "tapa," scanty in its proportions,
+but still enough to wrap round their loins. But when they were accepted
+for the vacant positions on board, they cast off even the slight apology
+for clothing which they had worn, flinging the poor rags to their
+retreating and rejected compatriots. Thus they were strutting about, in
+native majesty unclad, which, of course, could not be endured among even
+so unconventional a crowd as we were. So they were mustered aft, and,
+to their extravagant delight, a complete rig-out was handed to each of
+them, accompanied by graphic instructions how to dress themselves. Very
+queer they looked when dressed, but queerer still not long afterwards,
+when some of them, galled by the unaccustomed restraint of the trousers,
+were seen prowling about with shirts tied round their waists by the
+sleeves, and pants twisted turban-wise about their heads. Tui was
+called, and requested to inform them that they must dress properly,
+after the fashion of the white man, for that any impromptu improvements
+upon our method of clothes-wearing could not be permitted. As they were
+gentle, tractable fellows, they readily obeyed, and, though they must
+have suffered considerably, there were no further grounds for complaint
+on the score of dress.
+
+It has been already noticed that they were Roman Catholics--all except
+Tui, who from his superior mental elevation looked down upon their
+beliefs with calm contempt, although really a greater heathen than any
+of them had ever been. It was quite pathetic to see how earnestly they
+endeavoured to maintain the form of worship to which they had been
+accustomed, though how they managed without their priest, I could not
+find out. Every evening they had prayers together, accompanied by many
+crossings and genuflexions, and wound up by the singing of a hymn in
+such queer Latin that it was almost unrecognizable. After much wondering
+I did manage to make out "O Salutaris Hostia!" and "Tantum Ergo," but
+not until their queer pronunciation of consonants had become familiar.
+Some of the hymns were in their own tongue, only one of which I call now
+remember. Phonetically, it ran thus--
+
+"Mah-lee-ah, Kollyeea leekee; Obselloh mo mallamah. Alofah, keea ma toh;
+Fah na oh, Mah lah ee ah"--
+
+which I understood to be a native rendering of "O Stella Maris!" It was
+sung to the well-known "Processional" in good time, and on that account,
+I suppose, fixed itself in my memory.
+
+Whenever any of them were ordered aloft, they never failed to cross
+themselves before taking to the rigging, as if impressed with a sense
+of their chance of not returning again in safety. To me was given the
+congenial task of teaching them the duties required, and I am bound to
+admit that they were willing, biddable, and cheerful learners. Another
+amiable trait in their characters was especially noticeable: they always
+held everything in common. No matter how small the portion received by
+any one, it was scrupulously shared with the others who lacked, and this
+subdivision was often carried to ludicrous lengths.
+
+As there was so reason to hurry south, we, took a short cruise on the
+Vasquez ground, more, I think, for the purpose of training our recruits
+than anything else. As far as the results to our profit were concerned,
+we might almost as well have gone straight on, for we only took one
+small cow-cachalot. But the time spent thus cruising was by no means
+wasted. Before we left finally for New Zealand, every one of those
+Kanakas was as much at home in the whale-boats as he would have been in
+a canoe. Of course they were greatly helped by their entire familiarity
+with the water, which took from them all that dread of being drowned
+which hampers the white "greenie" so sorely, besides which, the absolute
+confidence they had in our prowess amongst the whales freed them from
+any fear on that head.
+
+Tui proved himself to be a smart harpooner, and was chosen for the
+captain's boat. During our conversations, I was secretly amused to hear
+him allude to himself as Sam, thinking how little it accorded with his
+SOI-DISANT Kanaka origin. He often regaled me with accounts of his royal
+struggles to maintain his rule, all of which narrations I received with
+a goodly amount of reserve, though confirmed in some particulars by
+the Kanakas, when I became able to converse with them. But I was hardly
+prepared to find, as I did many years after, upon looking up some detail
+in Findlay's "South Pacific Directory," this worthy alluded to as "the
+celebrated Sam," in a brief account of Futuna. There he was said to be
+king of the twin isles; so I suppose he found means to oust his rival,
+and resume his sovereignty; though, how an American negro, as Sam
+undoubtedly was, ever managed to gain such a position, remains to me
+an unfathomable mystery. Certainly he did not reveal any such masterful
+attributes as one would have expected in him, while he served as
+harpooner on board the CACHALOT.
+
+Gradually we crept south, until one morning we sighted the towering
+mass of Sunday Island, the principal member of the small Kermadec
+group, which lies nearly on the prime meridian of one hundred and eighty
+degrees, and but a short distance north of the extremity of New Zealand.
+We had long ago finished the last of our fresh provisions, fish had
+been very scarce, so the captain seized the opportunity to give us a
+run ashore, and at the same time instructed us to do such foraging as we
+could. It was rumoured that there were many wild pigs to be found,
+and certainly abundance of goats; but if both these sources of supply
+failed, we could fall back on fish, of which we were almost sure to get
+a good haul.
+
+The island is a stupendous mass of rock, rising sheer from the waves, in
+some places to a height of fifteen hundred feet. These towering cliffs
+are clothed with verdure, large trees clinging to their precipitous
+sides in a marvellous way. Except at one small bight, known as Denham
+Bay, the place is inaccessible, not only from the steepness of its
+cliffs, but because, owing to its position, the gigantic swell of the
+South Pacific assails those immense bastions with a force and volume
+that would destroy instantly any vessel that unfortunately ventured
+too near. Denham Bay, however, is in some measure protected by reefs
+of scattered boulders, which break the greatest volume of the oncoming
+rollers. Within those protecting barriers, with certain winds, it is
+possible to effect a landing with caution; but even then no tyro in
+boat-handling should venture to do so, as the experiment would almost
+certainly be fatal to boat and crew.
+
+We hove-to off the little bay, the waters of which looked placid enough
+for a pleasure-party, lowered two boats well furnished with fishing gear
+and such other equipment as we thought would be needed, and pulled away
+for the landing-place. As we drew near the beach, we found that, in
+spite of the hindrance to the ocean swell afforded by the reefs, it
+broke upon the beach in rollers of immense size. In order to avoid any
+mishap, then, we turned the boats' heads to seaward, and gently backed
+towards the beach, until a larger breaker than usual came thundering in.
+As it rushed towards us, we pulled lustily to meet it, the lovely craft
+rising to its foaming crest like sea-birds. Then, as soon as we were on
+its outer slope, we reversed the stroke again, coming in on its mighty
+shoulders at racing speed. The instant our keels touched the beach we
+all leapt out, and exerting every ounce of strength we possessed, ran
+the boats up high and dry before the next roller had time to do
+more than hiss harmlessly around our feet. It was a task of uncommon
+difficulty, for the shore was wholly composed of loose lava and
+pumice-stone grit, into which we sank ankle-deep at every step, besides
+being exceedingly steep.
+
+We managed, however, to escape without any mishap, for the drenching
+was a boon to our burnt-up skins. Off we started along the level land,
+which, as far as I could judge, extended inland for perhaps a mile and
+a half by about two miles wide. From this flat shelf the cliffs
+rose perpendicularly, as they did from the sea. Up their sides were
+innumerable goat-tracks, upon some of which we could descry a few
+of those agile creatures climbing almost like flies. The plateau was
+thickly wooded, many of the trees having been fruit-bearing once, but
+now, much to our disappointment, barren from neglect.
+
+A ruined house, surrounded by other vestiges of what had once been a
+homestead, stood in the middle of this piece of land. Feeling curious to
+know what the history of this isolated settlement might be, I asked
+the mate if he knew anything of it. He told me that an American named
+Halstead, with his family, lived here for years, visited only by an
+occasional whaler, to whom they sold such produce as they might have and
+be able to spare at the time. What their previous history had been, or
+why they thus chose to cut themselves off from the world, he did not
+know; but they seemed contented enough with their tiny kingdom, nor had
+any wish to leave it. But it came to pass that one night they felt
+the sure and firm-set earth trembling convulsively beneath their feet.
+Rushing out of their house, they saw the heavens bespread with an awful
+pall of smoke, the under-side of which was glowing with the reflected
+fires of some vast furnace. Their terror was increased by a smart shower
+of falling ashes and the reverberations of subterranean thunders. At
+first they thought of flight in their boat, not reckoning the wide
+stretch of sea which rolled between them and the nearest land, but
+the height and frequency of the breakers then prevailing made that
+impossible.
+
+Their situation was pitiable in the extreme. During the years of peace
+and serenity they had spent here, no thought of the insecurity of their
+tenure had troubled them. Though they had but been dwellers on the
+threshold of the mountain, as it were, and any extension of their
+territory impossible by reason of the insurmountable barrier around
+them, they had led an untroubled life, all unknowing of the fearful
+forces beneath their feet. But now they found the foundations of the
+rocks beneath breaking up; that withering, incessant shower of ashes
+and scoriae destroyed all their crops; the mild and delicate air changed
+into a heavy, sulphurous miasma; while overhead the beneficent face of
+the bright-blue sky had become a horrible canopy of deadly black, about
+which played lurid coruscations of infernal fires.
+
+What they endured throughout those days and nights of woe, could never
+be told. They fled from the home they had reared with such abundance of
+loving labour, taking refuge in a cave; for not even the knowledge that
+the mountain itself seemed to be in the throes of dissolution could
+entirely destroy their trust in those apparently eternal fastnesses.
+Here their eldest son died, worried to death by incessant terror. At
+last a passing whaler, remembering them and seeing the condition of
+things, had the humanity and courage to stand in near enough to see
+their agonized signals of distress. All of them, except the son buried
+but a day or two before, were safely received and carried away, leaving
+the terrible mountain to its solitude.
+
+As I listened, I almost involuntarily cast my eyes upwards; nor was I at
+all surprised to see far overhead a solitary patch of smoky cloud, which
+I believe to have been a sure indication that the volcano was still
+liable to commence operations at any time.
+
+So far, we had not happened upon any pigs, or goats either, although we
+saw many indications of the latter odoriferous animal. There were few
+sea-birds to be seen, but in and out among the dense undergrowth ran
+many short-legged brown birds, something like a partridge--the same, I
+believe, as we afterwards became familiar with in Stewart's Island by
+the name of "Maori hens." They were so tame and inquisitive that we had
+no difficulty in securing a few by the simple process of knocking
+them over with sticks. From the main branch of a large tree hung a big
+honey-comb, out of which the honey was draining upon the earth. Around
+it buzzed a busy concourse of bees, who appeared to us so formidable
+that we decided to leave them to the enjoyment of their sweet store, in
+case we should invite an attack.
+
+So far, our rambling had revealed nothing of any service to us; but just
+then, struck by the appearance of a plant which was growing profusely
+in a glade we were passing over, I made bold to taste one of the leaves.
+What the botanical name of the vegetable is, I do not know; but, under
+the designation of "Maori cabbage," it is well known in New Zealand. It
+looks like a lettuce, running to seed; but it tastes exactly like young
+turnip-tops, and is a splendid anti-scorbutic. What its discovery
+meant to us, I can hardly convey to any one who does not know what an
+insatiable craving for potatoes and green vegetables possesses seamen
+when they have for long been deprived of these humble but necessary
+articles of food. Under the circumstances, no "find" could have given us
+greater pleasure--that is, in the food line--than this did.
+
+Taking it all round, however, the place as a foraging ground was not a
+success. We chased a goat of very large size, and beard voluminous as
+a Rabbi's, into a cave, which may have been the one the Halsteads took
+shelter in, for we saw no other. One of the Kanakas volunteered to go in
+after him with a line, and did so. The resultant encounter was the
+best bit of fun we had had for many a day. After a period of darksome
+scuffling within, the entangled pair emerged, fiercely wrestling, Billy
+being to all appearance much the fresher of the two. Fair play seemed to
+demand that we should let them fight it out; but, sad to say, the
+other Kanakas could not see things in that light, and Billy was
+soon despatched. Rather needless killing, too; for no one, except at
+starvation-point, could have eaten the poor remains of leathery flesh
+that still decorated that weather-beaten frame.
+
+But this sort of thing was tiring and unprofitable. The interest of
+the place soon fizzled out, when it was found there was so little worth
+taking away; so, as the day was getting on, it was decided to launch off
+and start fishing. In a few minutes we were afloat again, and anchored,
+in about four fathoms, in as favourable a spot for our sport as ever
+I saw. Fish swarmed about us of many sorts, but principally of the
+"kauwhai," a kind of mullet very plentiful about Auckland, and averaging
+five or six pounds. Much to my annoyance, we had not been able to get
+any bait, except a bit of raw salt-pork, which hardly any fish but the
+shark tribe will look at. Had I known or thought of it, a bit of goat
+would have been far more attractive.
+
+However, as there was no help for it, we baited up and started. "Nary
+nibble ermong 'em!" growled Sam, as we sat impatiently waiting for a
+bite. When we hauled up to see what was wrong, fish followed the hook up
+in hundreds, letting us know plainly as possible that they only wanted
+something tasty. It was outrageous, exasperating beyond measure! At last
+Samuela grew so tired of it that he seized his harpoon, and hurled it
+into the middle of a company of kauwhai that were calmly nosing around
+the bows. By the merest chance he managed to impale one of them upon the
+broad point. It was hardly in the boat before I had seized it, scaled
+it, and cut it into neat little blocks. All hands rebaited with it, and
+flung out again. The change was astounding. Up they came, two at a
+time, dozens and dozens of them kauwhai, cavalle, yellow-tail,
+schnapper--lovely fish of delicious flavour and goodly size. Then one of
+us got a fish which made him yell, "Shark! shark!" with all his might.
+He had a small line of American cotton, staunch as copper wire,
+but dreadfully cutting to the hands. When he took a turn round the
+logger-head, the friction of the running line cut right into the white
+oak, but the wonderful cord and hook still held their own. At last the
+monster yielded, coming in at first inch by inch, then more rapidly,
+till raised in triumph above the gunwhale--a yellow-tail six feet long.
+I have caught this splendid fish (ELAGATIS BIPINNULATIS) many times
+before and since then, but never did I see such a grand specimen as this
+one--no, not by thirty or forty pounds. Then I got a giant cavalle. His
+broad, shield-like body blazed hither and thither as I struggled to ship
+him, but it was long ere he gave in to superior strength and excellence
+of line and hook.
+
+Meanwhile, the others had been steadily increasing our cargo, until,
+feeling that we had quite as much fish as would suffice us, besides
+being really a good load, I suggested a move towards the ship. We were
+laying within about half a mile of the shore, where the extremity of the
+level land reached the cliffs. Up one of the well-worn tracks a fine,
+fat goat was slowly creeping, stopping every now and then to browse upon
+the short herbage that clung to the crevices of the rock. Without saying
+a word, Polly the Kanaka slipped over the side, and struck out with
+swift overhead strokes for the foot of the cliff. As soon as I saw what,
+he was after, I shouted loudly for him to return, but he either could
+not or would not hear me. The fellow's seal-like ability as a swimmer
+was, of course, well known to me, but I must confess I trembled for
+his life in such a weltering whirl of rock-torn sea as boiled among the
+crags at the base of that precipice. He, however, evidently knew what
+he was going to do, and, though taking risks which would have certainly
+been fatal to an ordinary swimmer, was quite unafraid of the result.
+
+We all watched him breathlessly as he apparently headed straight for
+the biggest outlying rock--a square, black boulder about the size of an
+ordinary railway car. He came up to it on the summit of a foaming
+wave; but just as I looked for him to be dashed to pieces against its
+adamantine sides, he threw his legs into the air and disappeared. A
+stealthy, satisfied smile glowed upon Samuela's rugged visage, and, as
+he caught my eye, he said jauntily, "Polly savee too much. Lookee him
+come on top one time!" I looked, and sure enough there was the daring
+villain crawling up among the kelp far out of reach of the hungry
+rollers. It was a marvellous exhibition of coolness and skill.
+
+Without waiting an instant, he began to stalk the goat, dodging amongst
+the bushes with feet that clung to the steep sides of the cliff as well
+as the animal's. Before he could reach her, she had winded him, and was
+off up the track. He followed, without further attempt to hide himself;
+but, despite his vigour and ability, would, I fancy, have stood a
+microscopic chance of catching her had she not been heavy with kid. As
+it was, he had all his work cut out for him. When he did catch her, she
+made so fierce it struggle for life and liberty that, in the endeavour
+to hold her, he missed his insecure foothold, and the pair came tumbling
+over and over down the cliff in a miniature avalanche of stones and
+dust. At the bottom they both lay quiet for a time; while I anxiously
+waited, fearing the rash fool was seriously injured; but in a minute or
+two he was on his feet again.
+
+Lashing the goat to his body, and ignoring her struggles, he crawled
+out as far among the rocks as he could; then, at the approach of a big
+breaker, he dived to meet it, coming up outside its threatening top like
+a life-buoy. I pulled in, as near as I could venture, to pick him
+up, and in a few minutes had him safely on board again, but suffering
+fearfully. In his roll down the cliff he had been without his trousers,
+which would have been some protection to him. Consequently, his thighs
+were deeply cut and torn in many places, while the brine entering so
+many wounds, though a grand styptic, must have tortured him unspeakably.
+At any rate, though he was a regular stoic to bear pain, he fainted
+while I was "dressing him down" in the most vigorous language I could
+command for his foolhardy trick. Then we all realized what he must
+be going through, and felt that he was getting all the punishment he
+deserved, and more. The goat, poor thing! seemed none the worse for her
+rough handling.
+
+The mate gave the signal to get back on board just as Polly revived, so
+there were no inconvenient questions asked, and we returned alongside in
+triumph, with such a cargo of fish as would have given us a good month's
+pay all round could we have landed them at Billingsgate. Although
+the mate had not succeeded as well as we, the catch of the two boats
+aggregated half a ton, not a fish among the lot less than five pounds
+weight, and one of a hundred and twenty--the yellow-tail aforesaid. As
+soon as we reached the ship, the boats were run up, sails filled, and
+away we lumbered again towards New Zealand.
+
+As the great mass of that solitary mountain faded away in the gathering
+shades of evening, it was impossible to help remembering the sufferings
+of that afflicted family, confined to those trembling, sulphurous,
+ash-bestrewn rocks, amid gloom by day, and unnatural glare by night, for
+all that weary while. And while I admit that there is to some people a
+charm in being alone with nature, it is altogether another thing when
+your solitude becomes compulsory, your paradise a prison from which you
+cannot break away. There are many such nooks scattered about the ocean,
+where men have hidden themselves away from the busy world, and been
+forgotten by it; but few of them, I fancy, offer such potentialities of
+terror as Sunday Island.
+
+We had hardly lost sight of the land, when Polly's capture gave birth
+to a kid. This event was the most interesting thing that had happened
+on board for a great while, and the funny little visitor would have
+run great risk of being completely spoiled had he lived. But, to our
+universal sorrow, the mother's milk failed--from want of green food, I
+suppose--and we were obliged to kill the poor little chap to save him
+from being starved to death. He made a savoury mess for some
+whose appetite for flesh-meat was stronger than any sentimental
+considerations.
+
+To an ordinary trader, the distance between the Kermadecs and the Bay of
+Islands, New Zealand, roughly represents a couple of days' sail; but to
+us, who were apparently incapable of hurry under any circumstances, it
+meant a good week's bludgeoning the protesting waves before the grim
+outliers of the Three Kings came into view. Even then, although the
+distance was a mere bagatelle, it was another two days before we arrived
+off that magnificent harbour where reposes the oldest township in New
+Zealand--Russell, where rest the mortal remains of the first really
+Pakeha Maori, but which, for some unaccountable reason, is still left
+undeveloped and neglected, visited only by the wandering whalers (in
+ever-decreasing numbers) and an occasional trim, business-like, and
+gentlemanly man-o'-war, that, like a Guardsman strolling the West End in
+mufti, stalks the sea with never an item of her smart rig deviating by a
+shade from its proper set or sheer.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV. THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST
+
+In a comparative new colony like New Zealand, where the marvellous
+growth of the young state can be traced within living memory, from
+the privations of the pioneer to the fully developed city with all
+the machinery of our latest luxurious civilization, it is exceedingly
+interesting to note how the principal towns have sprung up arbitrarily,
+and without any heed to the intentions of the ruling powers. The
+old-fashioned township of Kororarika, or Port Russell, is a case very
+much in point. As we sailed in between the many islets from which the
+magnificent bay takes its name, for all appearances to the contrary, we
+might have been the first, discoverers. Not a house, not a sail, not a
+boat, broke the loneliness and primeval look of the placid waters and
+the adjacent shores. Not until we drew near the anchorage, and saw
+upon opening up the little town the straight-standing masts of three
+whale-ships, did anything appear to dispel the intense air of solitude
+overhanging the whole. As we drew nearer, and rounded-to for mooring,
+I looked expectantly for some sign of enterprise on the part of the
+inhabitants--some tradesman's boat soliciting orders; some of the
+population on the beach (there was no sign of a pier), watching the
+visitor come to an anchor. Not a bit of it. The whole place seemed a
+maritime sleepy hollow, the dwellers in which had lost all interest in
+life, and had become far less energetic than the much-maligned Kanakas
+in their dreamy isles of summer.
+
+Yet this was once intended for the capital of New Zealand. When the
+large and splendidly-built city of Dunedin, Otago, was a barren bush,
+haunted only by the "morepork" and the apteryx, Russell was humming with
+vitality, her harbour busy with fleets of ships, principally whalers,
+who found it the most convenient calling-place in the southern temperate
+zone. Terrible scenes were enacted about its "blackguard beach," orgies
+of wild debauchery and bloodshed indulged in by the half-savage and
+utterly lawless crews of the whaleships. But it never attained to any
+real importance. As a port of call for whalers, it enjoyed a certain
+kind of prosperity; but when the South Sea fishery dwindled, Russell
+shrank in immediate sympathy. It never had any vitality of its own, no
+manufactures or products, unless the wretched coalmines adjacent, with
+their dirty output, which is scoffed at by the grimiest tug afloat,
+could be dignified by the name.
+
+Remembering, as I did, the beauty, the energy, and prosperity of the
+great New Zealand ports, some of them with not a tithe of the natural
+advantages of Russell, I felt amazed, almost indignant, at its
+dead-and-alive appearance.
+
+Our anchor was no sooner down than the captains of the JAMES ARNOLD,
+MATILDA SAYER, and CORAL lowered and came on board, eager to hear or to
+tell such news as was going. As we had now grown to expect, all work was
+over immediately the sails were fast and decks cleared up, so that we
+were free to entertain our visitors. And a high old time we had of it
+that afternoon! What with songs, dances, and yarns, the hours flew
+by with lightning speed. Our Kanakas, too, were overjoyed to find
+compatriots among the visitors, and settled down to a steady stream of
+talk which lasted, without intermission, the whole night through. It was
+a wonderful exhibition of tongue-wagging, though what it was all about
+puzzled me greatly.
+
+Life on board those three ships, though described in glowing terms by
+the visitors, was evidently not to be mentioned for comfort in the same
+breath as ours. But we found that our late captain's fame as a "hard
+citizen" was well known to all; so that it is only ordinary justice to
+suppose that such a life as he led us was exceptional for even a Yankee
+spouter. Our friends gave us a blood-curdling account of the Solander
+whaling ground, which we were about to visit, the JAMES ARNOLD and CORAL
+having spent a season there that cruise. I did not, however, pay much
+attention to their yarns, feeling sure that, even if they were fact,
+it would not help to brood over coming hardships, and inclined to give
+liberal discount to most of their statements. The incessant chatter,
+got wearisome at last, and I, for one, was not sorry when, at two in the
+morning, our visitors departed to their several ships, and left us to
+get what sleep still remained left to us.
+
+A pleasant expedition was planned for the next day. Our visit being
+principally for wooding and watering, both of which it was necessary
+for us to do ourselves, Captain Count showed his usual promptitude in
+commencing at once. Permission having been obtained and, I suppose,
+paid for, we set out with two boats and a plentiful supply of axes for a
+well-wooded promontory to prepare a store of wood. Wood chopping is not
+usually looked upon as a sailor's pastime; but we had had considerable
+experience during the voyage, as a result of which most of us could
+swing an axe in fine style. But the Kanakas beat us all hollow.
+Delighted to get ashore again, pleased with the fine axes as children
+with new toys, they laid about them in grand style, the young trees
+falling right and left in scores. Anybody would have judged that we were
+working piece-work, at so much a cord, the pile grew so fast. There
+was such a quantity collected that, instead of lightering it off in the
+boats, which is very rough and dirty usage for them, I constructed a
+sort of raft with four large spars arranged in the form of an oblong,
+placing an immense quantity of the smaller stuff in between. Upright
+sticks were rudely lashed here and there, to keep the pile from bobbing
+out underneath, and thus loaded we proceeded slowly to the ship with
+sufficient wood for our wants brought in one journey. It was immediately
+hoisted on board, sawn into convenient lengths, and stowed away, the
+whole operation being completed, of getting between eight and ten tons
+of firewood cut, ferried, and stowed, in less than eight hours.
+
+Next day was devoted to watering; but as I have elsewhere described that
+necessary if prosaic occupation, I will not repeat the story. Sufficient
+to say that the job was successfully "did" in the course of the day.
+
+All the work being accomplished for which we had come, it only remained
+to give the crew "liberty." So the port watch, in their best (?) rig,
+were mustered aft; each man received ten shillings, and away they went
+in glee for the first genuine day's liberty since leaving Honolulu. For
+although they had been much ashore in Vau Vau, that was not looked upon
+in the same light as a day's freedom in a town where liquor might
+be procured, and the questionable privilege of getting drunk taken
+advantage of. Envious eyes watched their progress from the other ships,
+but, much to my secret satisfaction, none of their crews were allowed
+ashore at the same time. There were quite sufficient possibilities of
+a row among our own crowd, without farther complications such as would
+almost certainly have occurred had the strangers been let loose at
+the same time. Unfortunately, to the ordinary sailor-man, the place
+presented no other forms of amusement besides drinking, and I was
+grieved to see almost the whole crowd, including the Kanakas, emerge
+from the grog-shop plentifully supplied with bottles, and, seating
+themselves on the beach, commence their carouse. The natives evinced the
+greatest eagerness to get drunk, swallowing down the horrible "square
+gin" as if it were water. They passed with the utmost rapidity through
+all the stages of drunkenness. Before they had been ashore an hour,
+most of them were lying like logs, in the full blaze of the sun, on the
+beach. Seeing this, the captain suggested the advisability of bringing
+them on board at once, as they were only exposed to robbery by the few
+prowling Maories that loafed about the beach--a curious contrast to the
+stately fellows met with in other parts of New Zealand.
+
+So we set to work, and brought them on board again, handing them over to
+their compatriots by way of warning against similar excesses, although,
+it must be confessed, that they were hardly to blame, with the example
+of their more civilized shipmates before their eyes. Sam was energetic
+in his condemnation of both the Kanakas for getting drunk, and the
+captain for giving them any money wherewith to do so. The remainder
+of the watch fortunately concluded their carouse without any serious
+disorder. A few bruises bestowed upon one another, more in clumsy
+horseplay than real fighting summed up the casualties among them. By ten
+o'clock that evening we had them all safely on board again, ready for
+sore heads and repentance in the morning.
+
+During the day I had evolved a scheme, which I had great hopes of
+carrying out when our watch should be let loose on the morrow. When
+morning came, and the liberty men received their money, I called them
+together and unfolded my plan. Briefly, I proposed a sort of picnic at a
+beautiful spot discovered during our wooding expedition. I was surprised
+and very pleased at the eager way in which all, with the sole exceptions
+of Tui and his fellow-harpooner, a Portuguese, fell in with my
+suggestions. Without any solicitation on my part, my Kanakas brought me
+their money, begging me to expend it for them, as they did not know how,
+and did not want to buy gin.
+
+Under such favourable auspices as these, we landed shortly after eight
+a.m., making a bee-line for the only provision shop the place boasted.
+Here we laid in a stock of such savouries as we had long been strangers
+to, both eatables and drinkables, although I vetoed fire-water
+altogether. Beer in bottle was substituted, at my suggestion, as being,
+if we must have drinks of that nature, much the least harmful to men
+in a hot country, besides, in the quantity that we were able to take,
+non-intoxicant. We also took tea, sugar, milk, and a kettle, Thus
+furnished, we struck for the country, merry as a group of schoolboys,
+making the quiet air ring again with song, shout, and laughter--all
+of which may seem puerile and trivial in the extreme; but having seen
+liberty men ashore in nearly every big port in the world, watched the
+helpless, dazed look with which they wander about, swinging hands, bent
+shoulders, and purposeless rolling gait, I have often fervently wished
+that some one would take a party of them for a ramble with a definite
+purpose, helping them to a little enjoyment, instead of them falling,
+from sheer lack of knowing what else to do, into some dirty, darksome
+gin-mill, to be besotted, befooled, and debased.
+
+I do earnestly wish that some of the good folk in London and Liverpool,
+who are wringing their hands for want of something to do among their
+fellow-men, would pay a visit to sailor-town for the purpose of getting
+up a personally-conducted party of sailors to see the sights worth
+seeing. It is a cheap form of pleasure, even if they paid all expenses,
+though that would not be likely. They would have an uphill job at first,
+for the sailor has been so long accustomed to being preyed upon by the
+class he knows, and neglected by everybody else except the few good
+people who want to preach to him, that he would probably, in a sheepish
+shame-faced sort of way, refuse to have any "truck" with you, as he
+calls it. If the "sailors' home" people were worth their salt, they
+would organize expeditions by carriage to such beautiful places as--in
+London, for instance--Hampton Court, Zoological Gardens, Crystal Palace,
+Epping Forest, and the like, with competent guides and good catering
+arrangements. But no; the sailor is allowed to step outside the door of
+the "home" into the grimy, dismal streets with nothing open to him
+but the dance-house and brothel on one side, and the mission hall or
+reading-room on the other. God forbid that I should even appear to sneer
+at missions to seamen; nothing is farther from my intention; but I do
+feel that sailors need a little healthy human interest to be taken in
+providing some pleasure for them, and that there are unorthodox ways of
+"missioning" which are well worth a trial.
+
+I once took a party (while I was an A.B.) from Wells-street Home to the
+South Kensington Museum. There were six of them--a Frenchman, a Dane,
+a Russian Finn, two Englishmen, and an Irishman. Though continually
+sailing from London for years, this was the first occasion they had ever
+been west of Aldgate. The only mistake I made was in going too deep
+at one step. The journey from Shadwell to South Kensington, under the
+guidance of one familiar, through the hardest personal experiences, with
+every corner of the vast network, was quite enough for one day. So that
+by the time we entered the Museum they were surfeited temporarily with
+sight-seeing, and not able to take in the wonders of the mighty place.
+Seeing this, I did not persist, but, after some rest and refreshment,
+led them across the road among the naval models. Ah! it was a rare treat
+to see them there. For if there is one thing more than another which
+interests a sailor, it is a well-made model of a ship. Sailors are
+model-makers almost by nature, turning out with the most meagre outfit
+of tools some wonderfully-finished replicas of the vessels is which they
+have sailed. And the collection of naval models at South Kensington is,
+I suppose, unsurpassed in the world for the number and finish of the
+miniature vessels there shown.
+
+Our day was a great success, never to be forgotten by those poor
+fellows, whose only recreation previously had been to stroll listlessly
+up and down the gloomy, stone-flagged hall of the great barracks until
+sheer weariness drove them out into the turbid current of the "Highway,"
+there to seek speedily some of the dirty haunts where the "runner" and
+the prostitute: awaited them.
+
+But I have wandered far from the Bay of Islands while thus chattering
+of the difficulties that beset the path of rational enjoyment for the
+sailor ashore. Returning to that happy day, I remember vividly how,
+just after we got clear of the town, we were turning down a lane
+between hedgerows wonderfully like one of our own country roads, when
+something--I could not tell what--gripped my heart and sent a lump into
+my throat. Tears sprang unbidden to my eyes, and I trembled from head
+to foot with emotion. Whatever could it be? Bewildered for the moment,
+I looked around, and saw a hedge laden with white hawthorn blossom, the
+sweet English "may." Every Londoner knows how strongly that beautiful
+scent appeals to him, even when wafted from draggled branches borne
+slumwards by tramping urchins who have been far afield despoiling the
+trees of their lovely blossoms, careless of the damage they have been
+doing. But to me, who had not seen a bit for years, the flood of feeling
+undammed by that odorous breath, was overwhelming. I could hardly
+tear myself away from the spot, and, when at last I did, found myself
+continually turning to try and catch another whiff of one of the most
+beautiful scents in the world.
+
+Presently we came to a cottage flooded from ground to roof-ridge with
+blossoms of scarlet geranium. There must have been thousands of them,
+all borne by one huge stem which was rooted by the door of the house. A
+little in front of it grew a fuchsia, twelve or fourteen feet high, with
+wide-spreading branches, likewise loaded with handsome blooms; while the
+ground beneath was carpeted with the flowers shaken from their places by
+the rude wind.
+
+So, through scenes of loveliness that appealed even to the dusky
+Kanakas, we trudged gaily along, arriving pretty well fagged at our
+destination--a great glade of tenderest green, surrounded by magnificent
+trees on three sides; the fourth opening on to a dazzling white beach
+sloping gently down to the sea. Looking seaward, amidst the dancing,
+sparkling wavelets, rose numerous tree-clothed islets, making a
+perfectly beautiful seascape. On either side of the stretch of beach
+fantastic masses of rock lay about, as if scattered by some tremendous
+explosion. Where the sea reached them, they were covered with untold
+myriads of oysters, ready to be eaten and of delicious flavour.
+
+What need to say more? With oyster-feeding, fishing, bathing,
+tree-climbing, tea-making, song-singing the hours fled with pitiless
+haste, so that, before we had half emptied the brimming cup of joys
+proffered us, the slanting rays of the setting sun warned us to return
+lest we should get "hushed" in the dark. We came on board rejoicing,
+laden with spoils of flowers and fish, with two-thirds of our money
+still in our pockets, and full of happy memories of one of the most
+delightful days in our whole lives.
+
+A long night's sound sleep was rudely broken into in the morning by the
+cry of "Man the windlass." Having got all we wanted, we were bound away
+to finish, if luck were with us, the lading of our good ship from the
+teeming waters of the Solander grounds. I know the skipper's hopes were
+high, for he never tired of telling how, when in command of a new ship,
+he once fished the whole of his cargo--six thousand barrels of sperm
+oil--from the neighbourhood to which we were now bound. He always
+admitted, though, that the weather he experienced was unprecedented.
+Still, nothing could shake his belief in the wonderful numbers of sperm
+whales to be found on the south coasts of New Zealand, which faith was
+well warranted, since he had there won from the waves, not only the
+value of his new ship, but a handsome profit in addition, all in one
+season.
+
+Hearing this kind of thing every day made me feel quite hungry to reach
+the battle-field; but, for reasons which doubtless were excellent,
+although I cannot pretend to explain them, we started north about, which
+not only added nearly one hundred miles to the distance we had to go,
+but involved us in a gale which effectually stopped our progress for
+a week. It was our first taste of the gentle zephyrs which waft their
+sweetness over New Zealand, after sweeping over the vast, bleak,
+iceberg-studded expanse of the Antarctic Ocean. Our poor Kanakas were
+terribly frightened, for the weather of their experience, except on the
+rare occasions when they are visited by the devastating hurricane, is
+always fine, steady, and warm. For the first time in their lives they
+saw hail, and their wonder was too great for words. But the cold was
+very trying, not only to them, but to us, who had been so long in the
+tropics that our blood was almost turned to water. The change was nearly
+as abrupt as that so often experienced by our seamen, who at the rate of
+sixteen knots an hour plunge from a temperature of eighty degrees to one
+of thirty degrees in about three days.
+
+We, with the ready adaptability of seamen, soon got accustomed to the
+bleak, bitter weather, but the Kanakas wilted like hothouse plants under
+its influence. They were well fed and well clothed, yet they seemed
+to shrivel up, looking thinner every day, several of them getting deep
+coughs strongly suggestive of a cemetery. It was no easy task to get
+them to work, or even move, never a one of them lumbering aloft but I
+expected him to come down by the run. This was by no means cheering,
+when it was remembered what kind of a campaign lay before us. Captain
+Count seemed to be quite easy in his mind, however, and as we had
+implicit confidence in his wisdom and judgment, we were somewhat
+reassured.
+
+The gale at last blew itself out, the wind veering to the northward
+again, with beautiful, spring-like weather, just cool enough to be
+pleasant, and, withal, favourable for getting to our destination. We
+soon made the land again about New Plymouth, jogging along near enough
+to the coast to admire the splendid rugged scenery of the Britain of
+the south. All hands were kept busily employed preparing for stormy
+weather--reeving new running-gear, bending the strongest suit of sails,
+and looking well to all the whaling gear.
+
+In this active exercise of real sailor-work, the time, though long for
+an ordinary passage, passed quickly and pleasantly away, so that when
+we hauled round the massive promontory guarding the western entrance
+to Foveaux Straits, we were almost surprised to find ourselves there so
+soon.
+
+This, then, was the famous and dreaded Solander whaling ground. Almost
+in the centre of the wide stretch of sea between Preservation Inlet,
+on the Middle Island, and the western end of the South, or Stewart's
+Island, rose a majestic mass of wave-beaten rock some two thousand
+feet high, like a grim sentinel guarding the Straits. The extent of the
+fishing grounds was not more than a hundred and fifty square miles, and
+it was rarely that the vessels cruised over the whole of it. The most
+likely area for finding whales was said to be well within sight of the
+Solander Rock itself, but keeping on the western side of it.
+
+It was a lovely day when we first entered upon our cruising ground, a
+gentle north-east wind blowing, the sky a deep, cloudless blue, so
+that the rugged outline of Stewart's Island was distinctly seen at its
+extreme distance from us. To the eastward the Straits narrowed rapidly,
+the passage at the other end being scarcely five miles wide between the
+well-known harbour of the Bluff, the port of Invercargill, and a long
+rocky island which almost blocked the strait. This passage, though
+cutting off a big corner, not only shortening the distance from the
+westward considerably, but oftentimes saving outward bounders a great
+deal of heavy weather off the Snares to the south of Stewart's Island,
+is rarely used by sailing-ships, except coasters; but steamers regularly
+avail themselves of it, being independent of its conflicting currents
+and baffling winds.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV. ON THE SOLANDER GROUNDS
+
+Our opening day was an auspicious one. We had not been within the
+cruising radius more than four hours before the long-silent; cry of
+"Blo-o-o-w!" resounded from the mainmast head. It was a lone whale,
+apparently of large size, though spouting almost as feebly as a calf.
+But that, I was told by the skipper, was nothing to go by down here.
+He believed right firmly that there were no small whales to be found in
+these waters at all. He averred that in all his experience he had never
+seen a cow-cachalot anywhere around Stewart's Island, although, as
+usual, he did no theorizing as to the reason why.
+
+Eagerly we took to the boats and made for our first fish, setting
+alongside of him in less than half an hour from our first glimpse of his
+bushy breath. As the irons sank into his blubber, he raised himself
+a little, and exposed a back like a big ship bottom up. Verily, the
+skipper's words were justified, for we had seen nothing bigger of the
+whale-kind that voyage. His manner puzzled us not a little. He had not
+a kick in him. Complacently, as though only anxious to oblige, he
+laid quietly while we cleared for action, nor did he show any signs
+of resentment or pain while he was being lanced with all the vigour
+we possessed. He just took all our assaults with perfect quietude and
+exemplary patience, so that we could hardly help regarding him with
+great suspicion, suspecting some deep scheme of deviltry hidden by
+this abnormally sheep-like demeanour. But nothing happened. In the same
+peaceful way he died, without the slightest struggle sufficient to raise
+even an eddy on the almost smooth sea.
+
+Leaving the mate by the carcass, we returned on board, the skipper
+hailing us immediately on our arrival to know what was the matter with
+him. We, of course, did not know, neither did the question trouble us.
+All we were concerned about was the magnanimous way in which he, so to
+speak, made us a present of himself, giving us no more trouble to secure
+his treasure than as if he had been a lifeless thing. We soon had him
+alongside, finding, upon ranging him by the ship, that he was over
+seventy feet long, with a breadth of bulk quite in proportion to such a
+vast length.
+
+Cutting-in commenced at once, for fine weather there was by no means to
+be wasted, being of rare occurrence and liable at the shortest notice to
+be succeeded by a howling gale. Our latest acquisition, however, was of
+such gigantic proportions that the decapitation alone bade fair to take
+us all night. A nasty cross swell began to get up, too--a combination of
+north-westerly and south-westerly which, meeting at an angle where the
+Straits began, raised a curious "jobble," making the vessel behave in
+a drunken, uncertain manner. Sailors do not mind a ship rolling or
+pitching, any more than a rider minds the motion of his horse; but when
+she does both at once, with no approach to regularity in her movements,
+it makes them feel angry with her. What, then, must our feelings
+have been under such trying conditions, with that mountain of matter
+alongside to which so much sheer hard labour had to be done, while the
+sky was getting greasy and the wind beginning to whine in that doleful
+key which is the certain prelude to a gale?
+
+Everybody worked like Chinamen on a contract, as if there was no such
+feeling as fatigue. Little was said, but we all realized that unless
+this job was got over before what was brooding burst upon us, we should
+certainly lose some portion of our hard-won whale. Still, our utmost
+possible was all we could do; and when at daylight the head was hauled
+alongside for cutting up, the imminent possibility of losing it, though
+grievous to think of, worried nobody, for all had done their best. The
+gale had commenced in business-like fashion, but the sea was horrible.
+It was almost impossible to keep one's footing on the stage. At times
+the whole mass of the head would be sucked down by the lee roll of
+the ship, and go right under her keel, the fluke-chain which held it
+grinding and straining as if it would tear the bows out of her. Then
+when she rolled back again the head would rebound to the surface right
+away from the ship, where we could not reach it to cut. Once or twice it
+bounced up beneath our feet, striking the stage and lifting it with its
+living load several inches, letting it fall again with a jerk that made
+us all cling for dear life to our precarious perch.
+
+In spite of these capers, we managed to get the junk off the head. It
+was a tremendous lift for us; I hardly think we had ever raised such a
+weight before. The skipper himself estimated it at fifteen tons, which
+was no small load for the tackles in fine weather, but with the ship
+tumbling about in her present fashion, it threatened to rip the mainmast
+out by the roots--not, of course, the dead-weight strain; but when it
+was nearly aboard, her sudden lee wallow sometimes floated the whole
+mass, which the next instant, on the return roll, would be torn out of
+water, with all the force of the ship suddenly rolling the other way.
+Every splinter, every rope-yarn of her groaned again under this savage
+treatment; but so splendid was her construction that she never made a
+drop of water more than just sufficient to sweeten the limbers.
+
+It was with great and genuine satisfaction that we saw it at last safely
+lowered on deck and secured. But when we turned our attention to the
+case, which, still attached to the skull, battered alongside, any chance
+of saving it was at once seen to be hopeless. Indeed, as the old man
+said, it was time for us to "up stick" and run for shelter. We had been
+too fully occupied to notice the gradual increase of the wind; but when
+we did, there was no gainsaying the fact that it was blowing a very
+stiff breeze (ANGLICE, a violent gale). Fortunately for us, it was from
+the westward, fair for the harbour of Port William, on the Stewart's
+Island side of the Straits, so that we were free from the apprehension
+of being blown out to sea or on a jagged lee shore.
+
+While we were thus thinking during a brief pause to take breath, the old
+packet herself solved our last difficulty in emphatic fashion. She
+gave a tremendous lee lurch, which would inevitably have destroyed the
+cutting stage if we had not hoisted it, driving right over the head,
+which actually rose to the surface to windward, having passed under her
+bottom. The weather roll immediately following was swift and sudden.
+From the nature of things, it was evident that something must give way
+this time. It did. For the first and only time in my experience,
+the fluke-chain was actually torn through the piece to which it was
+fast--two feet of solid gristle ripped asunder. Away went the head with
+its L150 to L200 worth of pure spermaceti, disappearing from view almost
+immediately.
+
+It had no sooner gone than more sail was set, the yards were squared,
+and the vessel kept away up the Straits for shelter. It was a big
+improvement, for she certainly had begun to make dirty weather of
+it, and no wonder. Now, however, running almost dead before the gale,
+getting into smoother water at every fathom, she was steady as a rock,
+allowing us to pursue our greasy avocation in comparative comfort. The
+gale was still increasing, although now blowing with great fury; but, to
+our satisfaction, it was dry and not too cold. Running before it,
+too, lessened our appreciation of its force; besides which, we were
+exceedingly busy clearing away the enormous mass of the junk, which,
+draining continually, kept the decks running with oil.
+
+We started to run up the Straits at about ten a.m. At two p.m. we
+suddenly looked up from our toil, our attention called by a sudden lull
+in the wind. We had rounded Saddle Point, a prominent headland, which
+shut off from us temporarily the violence of the gale. Two hours later
+we found ourselves hauling up into the pretty little harbour of Port
+William, where, without taking more than a couple of hands off the work,
+the vessel was rounded-to and anchored with quite as little fuss as
+bringing a boat alongside a ship. It was the perfection of seamanship.
+
+Once inside the bay, a vessel was sheltered from all winds, the land
+being high and the entrance intricate. The water was smooth as a
+mill-pond, though the leaden masses of cloud flying overhead and the
+muffled roar of the gale told eloquently of the unpleasant state affairs
+prevailing outside. Two whale-ships lay here--the TAMERLANE, of New
+Bedford, and the CHANCE, of Bluff Harbour. I am bound to confess that
+there was a great difference is appearance between the Yankee and the
+colonial--very much in favour of the former. She was neat, smart, and
+seaworthy, looking as if just launched; but the CHANCE looked like some
+poor old relic of a bygone day, whose owners, unable to sell her, and
+too poor to keep her in repair, were just letting her go while keeping
+up the insurance, praying fervently each day that she might come to
+grief, and bring them a little profit at last.
+
+But although it is much safer to trust appearances in ships than in
+men, any one who summed up the CHANCE from her generally outworn and
+poverty-stricken looks would have been, as I was, "way off." Old she
+was, with an indefinite antiquity, carelessly rigged, and vilely unkempt
+as to her gear, while outside she did not seem to have had a coat
+of paint for a generation. She looked what she really was--the sole
+survivor of the once great whaling industry of New Zealand. For although
+struggling bay whaling stations did exist in a few sheltered places far
+away from the general run of traffic, the trade itself might truthfully
+be said to be practically extinct. The old CHANCE alone, like some
+shadow of the past, haunted Foveaux Straits, and made a better income
+for her fortunate owners than any of the showy, swift coasting steamers
+that rushed contemptuously past her on their eager way.
+
+In many of the preceding pages I have, though possessing all an
+Englishman's pride in the prowess of mine own people, been compelled
+to bear witness to the wonderful smartness and courage shown by the
+American whalemen, to whom their perilous calling seems to have become
+a second nature. And on other occasions I have lamented that our own
+whalers, either at home or in the colonies, never seemed to take so
+kindly to the sperm whale fishery as the hardy "down Easters," who first
+taught them the business; carried it on with increasing success,
+in spite of their competition and the depredations of the ALABAMA;
+flourished long after the English fishery was dead; and even now
+muster a fleet of ships engaged in the same bold and hazardous calling.
+Therefore, it is the more pleasant to me to be able to chronicle some of
+the doings of Captain Gilroy, familiarly known as "Paddy," the master
+of the CHANCE, who was unsurpassed as a whale-fisher or a seaman by any
+Yankee that ever sailed from Martha's Vineyard.
+
+He was a queer little figure of a man--short, tubby, with scanty red
+hair, and a brogue thick as pea-soup. Eccentric in most things, he was
+especially so in his dress, which he seemed to select on the principle
+of finding the most unfitting things to wear. Rumour credited him with a
+numerous half-breed progeny--certainly he was greatly mixed up with the
+Maories, half his crew being made up of his dusky friends and relations
+by MARRIAGE. Overflowing with kindliness and good temper, his ship was
+a veritable ark of refuge for any unfortunate who needed help, which
+accounted for the numerous deserters from Yankee whalers who were to be
+found among his crew. Such whaling skippers as our late commander hated
+him with ferocious intensity; and but for his Maori and half-breed
+bodyguard, I have little doubt he would have long before been killed.
+Living as he had for many years on that storm-beaten coast, he had
+become, like his Maories, familiar with every rock and tree in fog or
+clear, by night or day; he knew them, one might almost say, as the seal
+knows them, and feared them as little. His men adored him. They believed
+him capable of anything in the way of whaling, and would as soon have
+thought of questioning the reality of daylight as the wisdom of his
+decisions.
+
+I went on board the evening of, our arrival, hearing some rumours of the
+doings of the old CHANCE and her crew, also with the idea that perhaps
+I might find some countrymen among his very mixed crowd. The first man I
+spoke to was Whitechapel to the backbone, plainly to be spotted as such
+as if it had been tattooed on his forehead. Making myself at home with
+him, I desired to know what brought him so far from the "big smoke," and
+on board a whaler of all places in the world. He told me he had been a
+Pickford's van-driver, but had emigrated to New Zealand, finding that
+he did not at all like himself in the new country. Trying to pick and
+choose instead of manfully choosing a pick and shovel for a beginning,
+he got hard up. During one of Captain Gilroy's visits to the Bluff,
+he came across my ex-drayman, looking hungry and woebegone. Invited on
+board to have a feed, he begged to be allowed to remain; nor, although
+his assistance was not needed, was he refused. "An nar," he said, his
+face glowing with conscious pride, "y'ort ter see me in a bloomin'
+bowt. I ain't a-goain' ter say as I kin fling wun o' them 'ere bloomin'
+'arpoones like ar bowt-steerers kin; but I kin do my bit o' grawft wiv
+enny on 'em--don'tchu make no bloomin' herror." The glorious incongruity
+of the thing tickled me immensely; but I laughed more heartily still
+when on going below I was hailed as "Wot cher, chummy; 'ow yer hoppin'
+up?" by another barbarian from the wilds of Spitalfields, who, from the
+secure shelter of his cats'-meat round in 'Oxton, had got adrift, and,
+after being severely buffeted by tempestuous ill-fortune, had finally
+found himself in the comfortable old CHANCE, a haven of rest in the
+midst of storms. There were sixteen white men on board the CHANCE,
+including the skipper, drawn as usual from various European and American
+sources, the rest of her large crew of over forty all told being made up
+of Maories and half-breeds. One common interest united them, making them
+the jolliest crowd I ever saw--their devotion to their commander. There
+was here to be found no jealousy of the Maories being officers and
+harpooners, no black looks or discontented murmuring; all hands seemed
+particularly well satisfied with their lot in all its bearings; so that,
+although the old tub was malodorous enough to turn even a pretty strong
+stomach, it was a pleasure to visit her cheerful crowd for the sake of
+their enlivening society.
+
+Of course, under our present circumstances, with the debris of our
+late enormous catch filling every available space and loudly demanding
+attention, we had little time to spare for ship visiting. Some boat or
+other from the two ships was continually alongside of us, though, for
+until the gale abated they could not get out to the grounds again, and
+time hung heavy on their hands. The TAMERLANE's captain avoided Paddy as
+if he were a leper--hated the sight of him, in fact, as did most of his
+CONFRERES; but our genial skipper, whose crew were every whit as well
+treated and contented as the CHANCE's, and who therefore needed not to
+dread losing them, met the little philanthropist on the most friendly
+terms.
+
+The first fine weather, which came four days after our arrival, both
+our harbour mates cleared out. Characteristically, the CHANCE was away
+first, before daylight had quite asserted itself, and while the bases of
+the cliffs and tops of the rocks were as yet hidden in dense wreaths of
+white haze. Paddy lolled on the taff-rail near the wheel, which was held
+by an immense half-breed, who leant back and carried on a desultory,
+familiar conversation with his skipper; the rest of the crew were
+scattered about the decks, apparently doing what they liked in any
+manner they chose. The anchor was being catted, sails going up, and
+yards being trimmed; but, to observers like us, no guiding spirit was
+noticeable. It seemed to work all right, and the old ark herself looked
+as if she was as intelligent as any of them; but the sight was not an
+agreeable one to men accustomed to discipline. The contrast when the
+TAMERLANE came along an hour or so after was emphatic. Every man at
+his post; every order carried out with the precision of clockwork;
+the captain pacing the quarter-deck as if she were a line-of-battle
+ship--here the airs put on were almost ludicrous in the other direction.
+Although she was only "a good jump" long, as we say, whenever an order
+was given, it was thundered out as if the men were a mile away each
+officer appearing to vie with the others as to who could bellow the
+loudest. That was carrying things to the opposite extreme, and almost
+equally objectionable to merchant seamen.
+
+We were thus left alone to finish our trying-out except for such company
+as was afforded by the only resident's little schooner, in which he went
+oyster-dredging. It was exceedingly comfortable in the small harbour,
+and the fishing something to remember all one's life. That part of New
+Zealand is famous for a fish something like a bream, but with a longer
+snout, and striped longitudinally with black and yellow. I am ignorant
+of any polysyllabic prefix for it, only knowing it by its trivial and
+local appellation of the "trumpeter," from the peculiar sound it makes
+when out of water. But no other fish out of the innumerable varieties
+which I have sampled in all parts of the world could compare with the
+trumpeter for flavour and delicacy. These qualities are well known to
+the inhabitants of the large towns, who willingly pay high prices for
+the scanty supply of these delicious fish which they are able to obtain.
+Of other succulent fish there was a great variety, from the majestic
+"grouper," running up to over a hundredweight, down to the familiar
+flounder. Very little fishing could be done at night. Just as day was
+dawning was the ideal time for this enticing sport. As soon as the first
+few streaks of delicate light enlivened the dull horizon, a stray nibble
+or two gladdened the patient fishermen; then as the light strengthened
+the fun became general, and in about an hour enough fish would be caught
+to provide all hands with for the day.
+
+One morning, when a stark calm left, the surface of the bay as smooth
+as a mirror, I was watching a few stealthily-gliding barracouta sneaking
+about over the plainly visible bottom, though at a depth of seven or
+eight fathoms. Ordinarily, these fish must be taken with a live bait;
+but, remembering my experience with the dolphin, I determined to try a
+carefully arranged strip of fish from one recently caught. In precisely
+the same way as the dolphin, these long, snaky rascals carefully tested
+the bait, lying still for sometimes as long as two minutes with the bait
+in their mouths, ready to drop it out on the first intimation that it
+was not a detached morsel. After these periods of waiting the artful
+creature would turn to go, and a sudden jerk of the line then reminded
+him that he was no longer a free agent, but mounting at headlong speed
+to a strange bourne whence he never returned to tell the tale. My catch
+that lovely morning scaled over a hundredweight in less than an hour,
+none of the fish being less than ten pounds in weight.
+
+The Maories have quite an original way of catching barracouta. They
+prepare a piece of "rimu" (red pine) about three inches long, by an
+inch broad, and a quarter of an inch thick. Through one end of this they
+drive an inch nail bent upwards, and filed to a sharp point. The other
+end is fastened to about a fathom of stout fishing-line, which is in
+turn secured to the end of a five-foot pole. Seated in a boat with sail
+set, they slip along until a school of barracouta is happened upon. Then
+the peak of the sail is dropped, so as to deaden the boat's way, while
+the fishermen ply their poles with a sidelong sweep that threshes the
+bit of shining red through the water, making it irresistibly attractive
+to a struggling horde of ravenous fish. One by one, as swiftly as the
+rod can be wielded, the lithe forms drop off the barbless hook into the
+boat, till the vigorous arm can no longer respond to the will of the
+fisherman, or the vessel will hold no more.
+
+Such were the goodly proportions of this first Solander whale of ours
+that, in spite of the serious loss of the case, we made thirteen and a
+half tuns of oil. When the fifteen huge casks containing it were stowed
+in their final positions, they made an imposing show, inspiring all of
+us with visions of soon being homeward bound. For the present we were,
+perforce, idle; for the wind had set in to blow steadily and strongly
+right up the Straits, preventing any attempts to get out while it
+lasted. The time did not hang heavy on our hands, for the surrounding
+country offered many attractions, which we were allowed to take full
+advantage of. Spearing eels and flounders at night by means of a cresset
+hung out over the boat's bow, as she was slowly sculled up the long,
+shallow creeks, was a favourite form of amusement. Mr. Cross, the
+resident, kindly allowed us to raid his garden, where the ripe fruit was
+rotting by the bushel for want of consumers. We needed no pressing;
+for fruit, since we left Vau Vau, of any kind had not come in our
+way; besides, these were "homey"--currants, gooseberries,
+strawberries--delightful to see, smell, and taste. So it came to pass
+that we had a high old time, unmarred by a single regrettable incident,
+until, after an enforced detention of twenty days, we were able to get
+to sea again.
+
+Halfway down the Straits we sighted the CHANCE, all hands ripping
+the blubber off a sizeable whale in the same "anyhow" fashion as they
+handled their ship. They were in high glee, giving us a rousing cheer as
+we passed them on our westward course. Arriving on the ground, we found
+a goodly company of fine ships, which I could not help thinking too many
+for so small an area. During our absence, the TAMERLANE had been joined
+by the ELIZA ADAMS, the MATILDA SAYER, the CORAL, and the RAINBOW; and
+it was evident that no whale venturing within the radius of the Solander
+in the daytime would stand much chance of escaping such a battery of
+eager eyes. Only three days elapsed after our arrival when whales
+were seen. For the first time, I realized how numerous those gigantic
+denizens of the sea really are. As far as the eye could reach, extending
+all round one-half of the horizon, the sea appeared to be alive with
+spouts--all sperm whales, all bulls of great size. The value of this
+incredible school must have been incalculable. Subsequent experience
+satisfied me that such a sight was by no means uncommon here; in fact,
+"lone whales" or small "pods" were quite the exception.
+
+Well, we all "waded in," getting, some two, some one whale apiece,
+according to the ability of the crews or the fortune of war. Only one
+fell to our lot in the CACHALOT, but it was just as well. We had hardly,
+got him fast by the fluke alongside when it began to pipe up from the
+north-east. In less than one watch the sea was fairly smoking with the
+fierceness of the wind. We were unable to get in anywhere, being, with a
+whale alongside, about as handy as a barge loaded with a haystack; while
+those unfortunate beggars that had two whales fast to them were utterly
+helpless as far as independent locomotion went, unless they could run
+dead before the wind. Every ship made all snug aloft, and hoisted the
+boats to the top notch of the cranes, fully anticipating a long, hard
+struggle with the elements before they got back to the cruising ground
+again. Cutting-in was out of the question in such weather; the only
+thing possible was to hope for a shift of wind before she got too far
+out, or a break in the weather. Neither of these events was probable, as
+all frequenters of South New Zealand know, bad weather having there an
+unhappy knack of being as persistent as fine weather is brief.
+
+Night drew on as our forlorn and heavily handicapped little fleet bore
+steadily seaward with their burdens, the angry, ever-increasing sea,
+battering at us vengefully, while the huge carcasses alongside tore and
+strained at their fastenings as if they would rend the ships asunder.
+Slowly our companions faded from sight as the murky sky shut down on us,
+until in lonely helplessness we drifted on our weary way out into the
+vast, inhospitable Southern Ocean. Throughout the dark and stormy night
+our brave old ship held on her unwilling way right gallantly, making no
+water, in spite of the fearful strain to which she was subjected, nor
+taking any heavy sea over all. Morning broke cheerlessly enough. No
+abatement in the gale or change in its direction; indeed, it looked like
+lasting a month. Only one ship was visible far to leeward of us, and
+she was hull down. Our whale was beginning to swell rapidly, already
+floating at least three feet above the surface instead of just awash,
+as when newly killed. The skipper eyed it gloomily, seeing the near
+prospect of its entire loss, but he said nothing. In fact, very little
+was said; but the stories we had heard in the Bay of Islands came
+back to us with significant force now that their justification was so
+apparent.
+
+Hour after hour went by without any change whatever, except in the
+whale, which, like some gradually filling balloon, rose higher and
+higher, till at nightfall its bulk was appalling. All through the night
+those on deck did little else but stare at its increasing size, which
+when morning dawned again, was so great that the animal's bilge rode
+level with the ship's rail, while in her lee rolls it towered above
+the deck like a mountain. The final scene with it was now a question
+of minutes only, so most of us, fascinated by the strange spectacle,
+watched and waited. Suddenly, with a roar like the bursting of a dam,
+the pent-up gases tore their furious way out of the distended carcass,
+hurling the entrails in one horrible entanglement widespread over
+the sea. It was well for us that it was to leeward and a strong gale
+howling; for even then the unutterable foetor wrought its poisonous way
+back through that fierce, pure blast, permeating every nook of the ship
+with its filthy vapour till the stoutest stomach there protested in
+unmistakable terms against such vile treatment. Knowing too well that
+the blubber was now worthless, the skipper gave orders to cut the
+corrupt mass adrift. This was speedily effected by a few strokes of
+a spade through the small. Away went eight hundred pounds' worth of
+oil--another sacrifice to the exigencies of the Solander, such as had
+gained for it so evil a reputation.
+
+Doubtless a similar experience had befallen all the other ships, so that
+the aggregate loss must have run into thousands of pounds, every penny
+of which might have been saved had steam been available.
+
+That gale lasted, with a few short lulls, for five days longer. When at
+last it took off, and was succeeded by fine weather, we were so far
+to the southward that we might have fetched the Aucklands in another
+twenty-four hours. But, to our great relief, a strong southerly breeze
+set in, before which, under every rag of canvas, we sped north again.
+
+Steady and reliable as ever, that good south wind carried us back to
+our old cruising ground ere it blew itself out, and we resumed our usual
+tactics as if nothing had happened, being none the worse as regards
+equipment for our adventures. Not so fortunate our companions, who at
+the same time as ourselves were thrust out into the vast Southern Ocean,
+helplessly burdened and exposed defenceless to all the ferocity of that
+devouring gale, Two of them were here prowling about, showing evident
+signs of their conflict in the battered state of their hulls. The
+glaring whiteness of new planking in many places along the bulwarks told
+an eloquent story of seas bursting on board carrying all before them,
+while empty cranes testified to the loss of a boat in both of them. As
+soon as we came near enough, "gamming" commenced, for all of us were
+anxious to know how each other had fared.
+
+As we anticipated, every whale was lost that had been caught that day.
+The disappointment was in nowise lessened by the knowledge that, with
+his usual good fortune Captain Gilroy had not only escaped all the bad
+weather, but while we were being threshed within an inch of our lives
+down in the bitter south, he was calmly trying-out his whale (which we
+had seen him with on our outward journey) in the sheltered haven of
+Port William. Many and deep were the curses bestowed upon him by the
+infuriated crews of those two ships, although he had certainly done
+them no harm. But the sight of other people's good fortune is gall and
+wormwood to a vast number of people, who seem to take it as a personal
+injury done to themselves.
+
+Only two days elapsed, however, before we again saw an immense school
+of sperm whales, and each ship succeeded in securing one. We made no
+attempt to get more this time, nor do I think either of the others did;
+at any rate, one each was the result of the day's work. They were, as
+usual, of huge size and apparently very fat. At the time we secured our
+fish alongside, a fresh north-westerly wind was blowing, the weather
+being clear and beautiful as heart could wish. But instead of commencing
+at once to cut-in, Captain Count gave orders to pile on all sail and
+keep her away up the Straits. He was evidently determined to take no
+more chances, but, whenever opportunity offered, to follow the example
+set by the wily old skipper of the CHANCE. The other ships both started
+to cut-in at once, tempted, doubtless, by the settled appearance of the
+weather, and also perhaps from their hardly concealed dislike of going
+into port. We bowled along at a fine rate, towing our prize, that
+plunged and rolled by our side in eccentric style, almost as if still
+alive. Along about midnight we reached Saddle Point, where there was
+some shelter from the sea which rolled up the wide open strait, and
+there we anchored.
+
+Leaving me and a couple of Kanakas on watch, the captain, and all hands
+besides, went below for a little sleep. My instructions were to call the
+captain if the weather got at all ugly-looking, so that we might run
+in to Port William at once, but he did not wish to do so if our present
+position proved sufficiently sheltered. He had not been below an hour
+before there was a change for the worse. That greasy, filmy haze was
+again drawn over the clear blue of the sky, and the light scud began to
+fly overhead at an alarmingly rapid rate. So at four bells I called him
+again. He came on deck at once, and after one look round ordered
+the hands up to man the windlass. By eight bells (four a.m.) we were
+rounding the frowning rocks at the entrance of Port William, and
+threading our way between the closely-set, kelp-hidden dangers as if it
+were broadest, dearest daylight. At 4.30 we let go the anchor again,
+and all hands, except the regular "anchor-watch," bolted below to their
+bunks again like so many rabbits.
+
+It was very comfortable, cutting-in a sperm whale in harbour, after
+the dire difficulty of performing the same operation in a seaway. And,
+although it may seem strange, this was the first occasion that voyage
+that I had had a really good opportunity of closely studying the whale's
+anatomy. Consequently the work was exceedingly interesting, and, in
+spite of the labour involved, I was almost sorry when the job was done.
+Under the present favourable circumstances we were ready to cut the
+carcass adrift shortly after midday, the head, of course, having
+been taken off first. Just after we started to cut-in a boat appeared
+alongside with six Maories and half-breeds on board. Their leader came
+up and civilly asked the skipper whether he intended doing anything with
+the carcass. Upon being promptly answered in the negative, he said that
+he and his companions proposed hooking on to the great mass when we cut
+it adrift, towing it ashore, and getting out of it what oil we had been
+unable to extract, which at sea is always lost to the ship. He also
+suggested that he would be prepared to take reasonable terms for such
+oil, which we should be able to mingle with ours to our advantage. An
+arrangement was speedily arrived at to give him L20 per tun for whatever
+oil he made. They parted on the best of terms with each other, and as
+soon as we cut the carcass loose the Maories made fast, to it, speedily
+beaching it in a convenient spot near where they had previously erected
+a most primitive try-works.
+
+That afternoon, after the head was inboard, the skipper thought he would
+go ashore and see how they were getting on. I was so fortunate as to
+be able to accompany him. When we arrived at the spot, we found them
+working as I have never seen men work, except perhaps the small riggers
+that at home take a job--three or four of them--to bend or unbend a
+big ship's sails for a lump sum to be paid when the work is done. They
+attacked the carcass furiously, as if they had a personal enmity against
+it, chopping through the massive bones and rending off huge lumps of
+the flesh with marvellous speed. They had already laid open the enormous
+cavity of the abdomen, and were stripping the interminable intestines
+of their rich coating of fat. In the maw there were, besides a large
+quantity of dismembered squid of great size, a number of fish, such as
+rock-cod, barracouta, schnapper, and the like, whose presence there was
+a revelation to me. How in the name of wonder so huge and unwieldy a
+creature as the cachalot could manage to catch those nimble members
+of the finny tribe, I could not for the life of me divine! Unless--and
+after much cogitation it was the only feasible explanation that I could
+see--as the cachalot swims about with his lower jaw hanging down in its
+normal position, and his huge gullet gaping like some submarine cavern,
+the fish unwittingly glide down it, to find egress impossible. This may
+or may not be the case; but I, at any rate, can find no more reasonable
+theory, for it is manifestly absurd to suppose the whale capable of
+CATCHING fish in the ordinary sense, indicating pursuit.
+
+Every part of the animal yielded oil. Even the bones, broken up into
+pieces capable of entering the pot, were boiled; and by the time we had
+finished our trying-out, the result of the Maories' labour was ready for
+us. Less than a week had sufficed to yield them a net sum of six guineas
+each, even at the very low rate for which they sold us the oil. Except
+that it was a little darker in colour, a defect that would disappear
+when mixed with our store, there was no difference between the products
+that could be readily detected. And at the price we paid for it, there
+was a clear profit of cent. per cent., even had we kept it separate and
+sold it for what it was. But I suppose it was worth the Maories' while
+thus to dispose of it and quickly realize their hard earnings.
+
+So far, our last excursion had been entirely satisfactory. We had not
+suffered any loss or endured any hardship; and if only such comfortable
+proceedings were more frequent, the Solander ground would not have any
+terrors for us at least. But one afternoon there crept in around the
+eastern horn of the harbour three forlorn and half-dismantled vessels,
+whose weather-worn crews looked wistfully at us engaged in clearing up
+decks and putting away gear upon the finishing of our trying-out. Poor
+fellows! they had seen rough times since that unforgettable evening when
+we parted from them at the other end of the island, and watched them
+slowly fade into the night. Two of them were so badly damaged that
+no further fishing was possible for them until they had undergone a
+thorough refit, such as they could not manage there. One was leaking
+badly, the tremendous strain put upon her hull in the vain attempt to
+hold on to the two whales she had during the gale having racked her
+almost all to pieces. The third one was still capable of taking the
+ground again, with sundry repairs such as could be effected by her crew.
+But the general feeling among all three crews was that there was more
+loss than gain to be expected here, in spite of the multitude of whales
+visiting the place.
+
+As if to fill up their cup, in came the old CHANCE again, this time with
+a whale on each side. Captain Gilroy was on the house aft, his chubby
+red face in a ruddy glow of delight, and his crew exuberant. When he
+passed the American ships, as he was bound to do very closely, the
+sight of their scowling faces seemed to afford him the most exquisite
+amusement, and he laughed loud and long. His crew, on the impulse of the
+moment, sprang to the rail and cheered with might and main. No one could
+gainsay that they had good reason, but I really feared for a time that
+we should have "ructions," As Paddy said, it was not wise or dignified
+for those officers to be so angry with him on account of his success,
+which he frankly owned was due almost entirely to the local knowledge he
+possessed, gained in many years' study of the immediate neighbourhood.
+He declared that, as far as the technical duties of whale-fishing went,
+all the Americans could beat him hollow; but they ought to realize that
+something else was needed here which no man could hope to have unless
+he were content to remain on the coast altogether. With which words of
+wisdom our skipper cordially agreed, bearing in mind his own exploits in
+the bygone time around those rugged shores.
+
+The strong breeze which brought Paddy and his whales home died down
+that night, enabling us to start for the grounds again--a concession
+gratefully received, for not the least of the hindrances felt there was
+the liability to be "wind-bound" for a long time, while fine weather was
+prevailing at the fishing grounds.
+
+We made a fine passage down the Straits with a leading wind, finding our
+two late companions still cruising, having managed to get their whales
+aboard without mishap, and being somewhat inclined to chaff our old
+man for running in. He gave a wink full of wisdom, as he replied, "I'm
+pretty ole whale myself naouw; but I guess I ain't too old to learn; 'n
+wut I learn I'm goin' ter use. See?" Of course the fine weather did not
+last long--it never does; and seeing the gloomy masses of violet-edged
+cumuli piling up on the southern horizon, we hugged the Solander Rock
+itself pretty close, nor ventured far to seaward. Our two consorts,
+on the contrary, kept well out and on the northern verge, as if they
+intended the next gale that blew to get north, IF they could. The old
+man's object in thus keeping in was solely in order that he might
+be able to run for shelter; but, much to his delight and certainly
+surprise, as we passed about a mile to the southward of the lonely,
+towering crags of the great rock, there came from aloft the welcome cry
+of "Sperm whale!"
+
+There was only one, and he was uncomfortably near the rock; but such a
+splendid chance was not to be missed, if our previous training was of
+any avail. There was some speculation as to what he could be doing so
+close inshore, contrary to the habit of this animal, who seems to be
+only comfortable when in deep waters; but except a suggestion that
+perhaps he had come in to scrape off an extra accumulation of barnacles,
+nobody could arrive at any definite conclusion. When we reached him, we
+found a frightful blind swell rolling, and it needed all our seamanship
+to handle the boats so that they should not be capsized. Fortunately,
+the huge rollers did not break, or we should hardly have got back
+safely, whale or no whale.
+
+Two irons were planted in him, of which he took not the slightest
+notice. We had taken in sail before closing in to him on account of the
+swell, so that we had only to go in and finish him at once, if he would
+let us. Accordingly, we went in with a will, but for all sign of life
+he showed he might as well have been stuffed. There he lay, lazily
+spouting, the blood pouring, or rather spirting, from his numerous
+wounds, allowing us to add to their number at our pleasure, and never
+moving his vast body, which was gently swayed by the rolling sea. Seeing
+him thus quiescent, the mate sent the other two boats back to the ship
+with the good news, which the captain received with a grave smile
+of content, proceeding at once to bring the ship as near as might be
+consistent with her safety. We were now thoroughly sheltered from sight
+of the other ships by the enormous mass of the island, so that they had
+no idea of our proceedings.
+
+Finding that it was not wise to take the ship in any closer, while we
+were yet some distance from our prize, a boat was sent to Mr. Cruce with
+the instructions that he was to run his line from the whale back to the
+ship, if the creature was dead. He (the mate) replied that the whale
+died as quietly as he had taken his wounds, and immediately started for
+the ship. When he had paid out all his line, another boat bent on, until
+we got the end on board. Then we merrily walked him up alongside, while
+sufficient sail was kept drawing to prevent her being set in any nearer.
+When he was fast, we crowded on all canvas to get away; for although the
+sea was deep close up to the cliff, that swell was a very ugly feature,
+and one which has been responsible for the loss of a great number
+of ships in such places all over the world. Notwithstanding all our
+efforts, we did get so near that every detail of the rock was clearly
+visible to the naked eye, and we had some anxious minutes while the old
+ship, rolling tremendously, crawled inch after inch along the awful side
+of that sea-encircled pyramid.
+
+At one point there was quite a cave, the floor of which would be some
+twenty feet above high-water mark, and its roof about the same distance
+higher. It appeared to penetrate some distance into the bowels of the
+mountain, and was wide and roomy. Sea-birds in great numbers hovered
+around its entrance, finding it, no doubt, an ideal nesting-place. It
+appeared quite inaccessible, for even with a perfect calm the swell
+dashed against the perpendicular face of the cliff beneath with a force
+that would have instantly destroyed any vessel unfortunate enough to get
+within its influence.
+
+Slowly, slowly we forged past the danger; but the moment we opened out
+the extremity of the island, a fresh breeze, like a saving hand, swept
+across the bows, filling the head-sails and swinging the old vessel
+away from the island in grand style. Another minute, and the other sails
+filled also. We were safe, all hands breathing freely once more.
+
+Now the wind hung far round to the eastward--far enough to frustrate
+any design we might have had of going up the Straits again. The old
+man, however, was too deeply impressed with the paramount necessity
+of shelter to lightly give up the idea of getting in somewhere; so he
+pointed her for Preservation Inlet, which was only some thirty miles
+under her lee. We crowded all sail upon her in the endeavour to get in
+before nightfall, this unusual proceeding bringing our two friends up
+from to leeward with a run to see what we were after. Burdened as
+we were, they sailed nearly two knots to our one, and consequently
+intercepted us some while before we neared our port. Great was their
+surprise to find we had a whale, and very anxious their queries as to
+where the rest of the school had gone. Reassured that they had lost
+nothing by not being nearer, it being a "lone" whale, off they went
+again.
+
+With all our efforts, evening was fast closing in when we entered the
+majestic portals of Preservation Inlet, and gazed with deepest interest
+upon its heavily wooded shores.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI. PADDY'S LATEST EXPLOIT
+
+New Zealand is pre-eminently a country of grand harbours; but I think
+those that are least used easily bear the palm for grandeur of scenery
+and facility of access. The wonderful harbour, or rather series of
+harbours, into which we were now entering for the first time, greatly
+resembled in appearance a Norwegian fjord, not only in the character of
+its scenery, but from the interesting, if disconcerting, fact that
+the cliffs were so steep-to that in some places no anchorage is found
+alongside the very land itself. There are, however, many places where
+the best possible anchorage can be obtained, so securely sheltered that
+a howling south-wester may be tearing the sea up by the roots outside,
+and you will know nothing of it within, except what may be surmised from
+the motion of the clouds overhead. It was an ideal place for a whaling
+station, being right on the Solander.
+
+We found it exceedingly convenient, and much nearer than Port William,
+but, from the prevailing winds, difficult of access in nine cases out of
+ten, especially when hampered with a whale. Upon cutting-in our
+latest catch, an easy explanation of his passive attitude was at once
+forthcoming. He had been attacked by some whale-ship, whose irons had
+drawn, leaving deep traces of their presence; but during the battle he
+had received SEVEN bombs, all of which had entered around his small,
+but had not exploded. Their general effect had been, I should think,
+to paralyze the great muscles of his flukes, rendering him unable to
+travel; yet this could not have taken place until some time after he
+had made good his escape from those aggressors. It was instructive, as
+demonstrating what amount of injury these colossi really can survive,
+and I have no doubt that, if he had been left alone, he would have
+recovered his normal energy, and been as well as ever. From our point of
+view, of course, what had happened was the best possible thing, for he
+came almost as a gift--the second capture we had made on these grounds
+of a like nature.
+
+At the close of our operations the welcome news was made public that
+four more fish like the present one would fill us bung-up, and that we
+should then, after a brief visit to the Bluff, start direct for home.
+This announcement, though expected for some time past, gave an amazing
+fillip to everybody's interest in the work. The strange spectacle was
+witnessed of all hands being anxious to quit a snug harbour for the sea,
+where stern, hard wrestling with the elements was the rule. The captain,
+well pleased with the eagerness manifested, had his boat manned for a
+trip to the entrance of the harbour, to see what the weather was like
+outside, since it was not possible to judge from where the ship lay. On
+his return, he reported the weather rough, but moderating, and announced
+his intention of weighing at daylight next morning. Satisfied that our
+days in the southern hemisphere were numbered, and all anxiety to point
+her head for home, this news was most pleasing, putting all of us in the
+best of humours, and provoking quite an entertainment of song and dance
+until nearly four bells.
+
+During the grey of dawn the anchor was weighed. There was no breath of
+wind from any quarter, so that it was necessary to lower boats and tow
+the old girl out to her field of duty. Before she was fairly clear of
+the harbour, though, there came a "snifter" from the hills that caught
+her unprepared, making her reel again, and giving us a desperate few
+minutes to scramble on board and hoist our boats up. As we drew out from
+the land, we found that a moderate gale was blowing, but the sky was
+clear, fathomless blue, the sun rose kindly, a heavenly dream of soft
+delicate colour preceding him; so that, in spite of the strong breeze,
+all looked promising for a good campaign. At first no sign could be seen
+of any of the other ships, though we looked long and eagerly for them.
+At last we saw them, four in all, nearly hull down to seaward, but
+evidently coming in under press of sail. So slow, however, was their
+approach that we had made one "leg" across the ground and halfway back
+before they were near enough for us to descry the reason of their want
+of speed. They had each got a whale alongside, and were carrying every
+rag of canvas they could spread, in order to get in with their prizes.
+
+Our old acquaintance, the CHANCE, was there, the three others being her
+former competitors, except those who were disabled, still lying in Port
+William. Slowly, painfully they laboured along, until well within the
+mouth of the Straits, when, without any warning, the wind which had been
+bringing them in suddenly flew round into the northward, putting them
+at once in a most perilous position. Too far within the Straits to "up
+helm" and run for it out to sea; not far enough to get anywhere that an
+anchor might hold; and there to leeward, within less than a dozen miles,
+loomed grim and gloomy one of the most terrific rock-bound coasts in the
+world. The shift of wind had placed the CHANCE farther to leeward than
+all the rest, a good mile and a half nearer the shore; and we could well
+imagine how anxiously her movements were being watched by the others,
+who, in spite of their jealousy of his good luck, knew well and
+appreciated fully Paddy's marvellous seamanship, as well as his
+unparalleled knowledge of the coast.
+
+Having no whale to hamper our movements, besides being well to windward
+of them all, we were perfectly comfortable as long as we kept to seaward
+of a certain line and the gale was not too fierce, so for the present
+all our attention was concentrated upon the labouring ships to leeward.
+The intervention of the land to windward kept the sea from rising to
+the awful height it attains under the pressure of a westerly, or a
+south-westerly gale, when, gathering momentum over an area extending
+right round the globe, it hurls itself upon those rugged shores. Still,
+it was bad enough. The fact of the gale striking across the regular set
+of the swell and current had the effect of making the sea irregular,
+short, and broken, which state of things is considered worse, as far as
+handling the ship goes, than a much heavier, longer, but more regular
+succession of waves.
+
+As the devoted craft drifted helplessly down upon that frowning barrier,
+our excitement grew intense. Their inability to do anything but drift
+was only too well known by experience to every one of us, nor would it
+be possible for them to escape at all if they persisted in holding on
+much longer. And it was easy to see why they did so. While Paddy held
+on so far to leeward of them, and consequently in so much more imminent
+danger than they were, it would be derogatory in the highest degree to
+their reputation for seamanship and courage were they to slip and run
+before he did. He, however, showed no sign of doing so, although
+they all neared, with an accelerated drift, that point from whence
+no seamanship could deliver them, and where death inevitable, cruel,
+awaited them without hope of escape. The part of the coast upon which
+they were apparently driving was about as dangerous and impracticable as
+any in the world. A gigantic barrier of black, naked rock, extending for
+several hundred yards, rose sheer from the sea beneath, like the side of
+an ironclad, up to a height of seven or eight hundred feet. No outlying
+spurs of submerged fragments broke the immeasurable landward rush of the
+majestic waves towards the frowning face of this world-fragment.
+Fresh from their source, with all the impetus accumulated in their
+thousand-mile journey, they came apparently irresistible. Against this
+perpendicular barrier they hurled themselves with a shock that vibrated
+far inland, and a roar that rose in a dominating diapason over the
+continuous thunder of the tempest-riven sea. High as was the summit
+of the cliff, the spray, hurled upwards by the tremendous impact, rose
+higher, so that the whole front of the great rock was veiled in filmy
+wreaths of foam, hiding its solidity from the seaward view. At either
+end of this vast, rampart nothing could be seen but a waste of breakers
+seething, hissing, like the foot of Niagara, and effectually concealing
+the CHEVAUX DE FRISE of rocks which produced such a vortex of tormented
+waters.
+
+Towards this dreadful spot, then, the four vessels were being
+resistlessly driven, every moment seeing their chances of escape
+lessening to vanishing-point. Suddenly, as if panic-stricken, the ship
+nearest to the CHANCE gave a great sweep round on to the other tack, a
+few fluttering gleams aloft showing that even in that storm they
+were daring to set some sail. What the manoeuvre meant we knew very
+well--they had cut adrift from their whale, terrified at last beyond
+endurance into the belief that Paddy was going to sacrifice himself and
+his crew in the attempt to lure them with him to inevitable destruction.
+The other two did not hesitate longer. The example once set, they
+immediately followed; but it was for some time doubtful in the
+extreme whether their resolve was not taken too late to save them from
+destruction. We watched them with breathless interest, unable for a long
+time to satisfy ourselves that they were out of danger. But at last
+we saw them shortening sail again--a sure sign that they considered
+themselves, while the wind held in the same quarter, safe from going
+ashore at any rate, although there was still before them the prospect of
+a long struggle with the unrelenting ferocity of the weather down south.
+
+Meanwhile, what of the daring Irishman and his old barrel of a ship?
+The fugitives once safe off the land, all our interest centred in the
+CHANCE. We watched her until she drew in so closely to the seething
+cauldron of breakers that it was only occasionally we could distinguish
+her outline; and the weather was becoming so thick and dirty, the
+light so bad, that we were reluctantly compelled to lose sight of
+her, although the skipper believed that he saw her in the midst of
+the turmoil of broken water at the western end of the mighty mass of
+perpendicular cliff before described. Happily for us, the wind veered to
+the westward, releasing us from the prospect of another enforced visit
+to the wild regions south of the island. It blew harder than ever; but
+being now a fair wind up the Straits, we fled before it, anchoring again
+in Port William before midnight. Here we were compelled to remain for
+a week; for after the gale blew itself out, the wind still hung in the
+same quarter, refusing to allow us to get back again to our cruising
+station.
+
+But on the second day of our enforced detention a ship poked her jibboom
+round the west end of the little bay. No words could describe our
+condition of spellbound astonishment when she rounded-to, cumbrously as
+befitting a ship towing a whale, and revealed to us the well-remembered
+outlines of the old CHANCE. It was like welcoming the first-fruits
+of the resurrection; for who among sailor men, having seen a vessel
+disappear from their sight, as we had, under such terrible conditions,
+would ever have expected to see her again? She was hardly anchored
+before our skipper was alongside, thirsting to satisfy his unbounded
+curiosity as to the unheard-of means whereby she had escaped such
+apparently inevitable destruction. I was fortunate enough to accompany
+him, and hear the story at first-hand.
+
+It appeared that none of the white men on board, except the redoubtable
+Paddy himself, had ever been placed in so seemingly hopeless and
+desperate a position before. Yet when they saw how calm and free from
+anxiety their commander was, how cool and business-like the attitude
+of all their dusky shipmates, their confidence in his ability and
+resourcefulness kept its usual high level. It must be admitted that the
+test such feelings were then subjected to was of the severest, for to
+their eyes no possible avenue of escape was open. Along that glaring
+line of raging, foaming water not a break occurred, not the faintest
+indication of an opening anywhere wherein even so experienced a pilot
+as Paddy might thrust a ship. The great black wall of rock loomed up
+by their side, grim and pitiless as doom--a very door of adamant closed
+against all hope. Nearer and nearer they drew, until the roar of the
+baffled Pacific was deafening, maddening, in its overwhelming volume of
+chaotic sound. All hands stood motionless, with eyes fixed in horrible
+fascination upon the indescribable vortex to which they were being
+irresistibly driven.
+
+At last, just as the fringes of the back-beaten billows hissed up to
+greet them, they felt her motion ease. Instinctively looking aft, they
+saw the skipper coolly wave his hand, signing to them to trim the yards.
+As they hauled on the weather braces, she plunged through the maelstrom
+of breakers, and before they had got the yards right round they were on
+the other side of that enormous barrier, the anchor was dropped, and all
+was still. The vessel rested, like a bird on her nest, in a deep, still
+tarn, shut in, to all appearance, on every side by huge rock barriers.
+Of the furious storm but a moment before howling and raging all around
+them, nothing remained but an all-pervading, thunderous hum, causing
+the deck to vibrate beneath them, and high overhead the jagged, leaden
+remnants of twisted, tortured cloud whirling past their tiny oblong of
+sky. Just a minute's suspension of all faculties but wonder, then, in
+one spontaneous, heartfelt note of genuine admiration, all hands burst
+into a cheer that even overtopped the mighty rumble of the baffled sea.
+
+Here they lay, perfectly secure, and cut in their whale as if in dock;
+then at the first opportunity they ran out, with fearful difficulty, a
+kedge with a whale-line attached, by which means they warped the vessel
+out of her hiding-place--a far more arduous operation than getting in
+had been. But even this did not exhaust the wonders of that occasion.
+They had hardly got way upon her, beginning to draw out from the land,
+when the eagle-eye of one of the Maories detected the carcass of a
+whale rolling among the breakers about half a mile to the westward.
+Immediately a boat was lowered, a double allowance of line put into
+her, and off they went to the valuable flotsam. Dangerous in the highest
+degree was the task of getting near enough to drive harpoons into the
+body; but it was successfully accomplished, the line run on board, and
+the prize hauled triumphantly alongside. This was the whale they had now
+brought in. We shrewdly suspected that it must have been one of those
+abandoned by the unfortunate vessels who had fled, but etiquette forbade
+us saying anything about it. Even had it been, another day would have
+seen it valueless to any one, for it was by no means otto of roses to
+sniff at now, while they had certainly salved it at the peril of their
+lives.
+
+When we returned on board and repeated the story, great was the
+amazement. Such a feat of seamanship was almost beyond belief; but we
+were shut up to believing, since in no other way could the vessel's
+miraculous escape be accounted for. The little, dumpy, red-faced figure,
+rigged like any scarecrow, that now stood on his cutting-stage, punching
+away vigorously at the fetid mass of blubber beneath him, bore no
+outward visible sign of a hero about him; but in our eyes he was
+transfigured--a being to be thought of reverently, as one who in all
+those dualities that go to the making of a man had proved himself of the
+seed royal, a king of men, all the more kingly because unconscious that
+his deeds were of so exalted an order.
+
+I am afraid that, to a landsman, my panegyric may smack strongly of
+gush, for no one but a seaman can rightly appraise such doings as these;
+but I may be permitted to say that, when I think of men whom I feel glad
+to have lived to know, foremost among them rises the queer little figure
+of Paddy Gilroy.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII. PORT PEGASUS
+
+The wind still holding steadily in the old quarter, our skipper got very
+restless. He recalled his former exploits, and, firing at the thought,
+decided then and there to have a trip round to Port Pegasus, in the hope
+that he might meet with some of his former good luck in the vicinity of
+that magnificent bay. With the greatest alacrity we obeyed his summons,
+handling the old barky as if she were a small boat, and the same
+morning, for the first time, ran out of the Straits to the eastward
+past Ruapuke Island. Beautiful weather prevailed, making our trip a
+delightful one, the wonderful scenery of that coast appealing to even
+the most callous or indifferent among us. We hugged the land closely,
+the skipper being familiar with all of it in a general way, so that none
+of its beauties were lost to us. The breeze holding good, by nightfall
+we had reached our destination, anchoring in the north arm near a
+tumbling cascade of glittering water that looked like a long feather
+laid on the dark-green slope of the steep hill from which it gushed.
+
+We had not been long at anchor before we had visitors--half-breed
+Maories, who, like the Finns and Canadians, are farmers, fishermen,
+sailors, and shipwrights, as necessity arises. They brought us
+potatoes--most welcome of all fruit to the sailor--cabbages, onions, and
+"mutton birds." This latter delicacy is a great staple of their flesh
+food, but is one of the strangest dishes imaginable. When it is being
+cooked in the usual way, i.e. by grilling, it smells exactly like a
+piece of roasting mutton; but it tastes, to my mind, like nothing else
+in the world so much as a kippered herring. There is a gastronomical
+paradox, if you like. Only the young birds are taken for eating. They
+are found, when unfledged, in holes of the rocks, and weigh sometimes
+treble as much as their parents. They are exceedingly fat; but this
+substance is nearly all removed from their bodies before they are
+hung up in the smoke-houses. They are split open like a haddock, and
+carefully smoked, after being steeped in brine. Baskets, something like
+exaggerated strawberry pottles of the old conical shape, are prepared,
+to hold each about a dozen birds. They are lined with leaves, then
+packed with the birds, the melted fat being run into all the interstices
+until the basket is full. The top is then neatly tied up with more
+leaves, and, thus preserved, the contents will keep in cool weather an
+indefinite length of time.
+
+Captain Count was soon recognized by some of his old friends, who were
+delighted to welcome him again. Their faces fell, however, when he told
+them that his stay was to be very brief, and that he only required four
+good-sized fish to fill up. Inquiry as to the prevalence of sperm whales
+in the vicinity elicited the news that they were as plentiful as they
+had ever been--if anything, more so, since the visits of the whalers had
+become fewer. There were a couple of "bay" whaling stations existing;
+but, of course, their success could not be expected to be great among
+the cachalots, who usually keep a respectful distance from harbours,
+while they had driven the right whales away almost entirely.
+
+No one could help being struck by the manly bearing, splendid physique,
+and simple manners of the inhabitants. If ever it falls to the lot of
+any one, as I hope it will, to establish a sperm whale fishery in these
+regions, there need be no lack of workers while such grand specimens
+of manhood abound there as we saw--all, moreover, fishermen and whalers
+from their earliest days.
+
+We did not go far afield, but hovered within ten or fifteen miles of the
+various entrances, so as not to be blown off the land in case of sudden
+bad weather. Even with that timid offing, we were only there two days,
+when an enormous school of sperm whales hove in sight. I dare not say
+how many I believe there were, and my estimate really might be biassed;
+but this I know, that in no given direction could one look to seaward
+and not see many spouts.
+
+We got among them and had a good time, being more hampered by the
+curiosity of the unattached fish than by the pugnacity of those under
+our immediate attention. So we killed three, and by preconcerted signal
+warned the watchers on the lofty points ashore of our success. As
+speedily as possible off came four boats from the shore stations, and
+hooked on to two of our fish, while we were busy with the third. The
+wind being off shore, what there was of it, no time was to be lost, in
+view of the well-known untrustworthiness of the weather; so we started
+to cut-in at once, while the shore people worked like giants to tow
+the other two in. Considering the weakness of their forces, they made
+marvellous progress; but seeing how terribly exhausting the toil was,
+one could not help wishing them one of the small London tugs, familiarly
+known as "jackals," which would have snaked those monsters along at
+three or four knots an hour.
+
+However, all went well; the usual gale did blow but not till we had
+got the last piece aboard and a good "slant" to run in, arriving at our
+previous moorings at midnight. In the morning the skipper went down in
+his boat to visit the stations, and see how they had fared. Old hand as
+he was, I think he was astonished to see what progress those fellows had
+made with the fish. They did not reach the stations till after midnight,
+but already they had the whales half flenched, and, by the way they were
+working, it looked as if they would be through with their task as soon
+as we were with ours. Their agreement with the skipper was to yield us
+half the oil they made, and, if agreeable to them, we would take their
+moiety at L40 per tun. Consequently they had something to work for, even
+though there were twenty of them to share the spoil. They were a
+merry party, eminently good tempered, and working as though one spirit
+animated them all. If there was a leader of the band, he did his office
+with great subtilty, for all seemed equal, nor did any appear to need
+directing what to do. Fired by their example, we all worked our hardest;
+but they beat us by half a day, mainly, I think, by dint of working
+nearly all the time with scarce any interval for sleep. True, they were
+bound to take advantage of low water when their huge prize was high and
+dry--to get at him easily all round. Their method was of the simplest.
+With gaff-hooks to haul back the pieces, and short-handled spades for
+cutting, they worked in pairs, taking off square slabs of blubber about
+a hundredweight each. As soon as a piece was cut off, the pair tackled
+on to it, dragging it up to the pots, where the cooks hastily sliced it
+for boiling, interspersing their labours with attention to the simmering
+cauldrons.
+
+Their efforts realized twenty-four tuns of clear oil and spermaceti,
+of which, according to bargain, we took twelve, the captain buying the
+other twelve for L480, as previously arranged. This latter portion,
+however, was his private venture, and not on ship's account, as he
+proposed selling it at the Bluff, when we should call there on our way
+home. So that we were still two whales short of our quantity. What a
+little space it did seem to fill up! Our patience was sorely tested,
+when, during a whole week following our last haul, we were unable to put
+to sea. In vain we tried all the old amusements of fishing, rambling,
+bathing, etc.; they had lost their "bite;" we wanted to get home. At
+last the longed-for shift of wind came and set us free. We had hardly
+got well clear of the heads before we saw a school of cachalots away on
+the horizon, some twelve miles off the land to the southward. We made
+all possible sail in chase, but found, to our dismay, that they were
+"making a passage," going at such a rate that unless the wind freshened
+we could hardly hope to come up with them. Fortunately, we had all day
+before us, having quitted our moorings soon after daylight; and unless
+some unforeseen occurrence prevented us from keeping up our rate of
+speed, the chances were that some time before dark they would ease
+up and allow us to approach them. They were heading to the westward,
+perhaps somewhat to the northward withal, to all appearance making
+for the Solander. Hour after hour crawled by, while we still seemed to
+preserve our relative distance, until we had skirted the southern shore
+of the island and entered the area, of our old fishing ground. Two
+vessels were cruising thereon, well to the northward, and we thought
+with glee of the excitement that would seize them did they but gain an
+inkling of our chase.
+
+To our great delight, what we had hoped, but hardly dared expect, came
+to pass. The school, as if with one impulse, hauled up on their course
+four points, which made them head direct for the western verge of the
+Solander ground, and--what was more important to us--made our coming up
+with them a matter of a short time. We made the customary signals with
+the upper sails to our friends to the northward, who recognized them
+immediately, and bore down towards us. Not only had the school shifted
+their course, but they had slackened speed; so that by four o'clock we
+were able to lower for them at less than a mile distance.
+
+It was an ideal whaling day--smooth water, a brisk breeze, a brilliant
+sun, and plenty of whales. I was, as became my position, in the rear
+when we went into action, and hardly hoped for an opportunity of doing
+much but dance attendance upon my seniors. But fortune favoured me.
+Before I had any idea whether the chief was fast or not, all other
+considerations were driven clean out of my head by the unexpected
+apparition of a colossal head, not a ship's length away, coming straight
+for us, throwing up a swell in front of him like an ironclad. There was
+barely time to sheer to one side, when the giant surged past us in a
+roar of foaming sea, the flying flakes of which went right over us.
+Samuela was "all there," though, and as the great beast passed he
+plunged a harpoon into him with such force and vigour that the very
+socket entered the blubber it needed all the strength I could muster,
+even with such an aid as the nineteen-feet steer-oar, to swing the boat
+right round in his wake, and prevent her being capsized by his headlong
+rush.
+
+For, contrary to the usual practice, he paused not an instant, but
+rather quickened his pace, as if spurred. Heavens, how he went! The
+mast and sail had to come down--and they did, but I hardly know how.
+The spray was blinding, coming in sheets over the bows, so that I could
+hardly see how to steer in the monster's wake. He headed straight for
+the ship, which lay-to almost motionless, filling me with apprehension
+lest he should in his blind flight dash that immense mass of solid
+matter into her broadside, and so put an inglorious end to all our
+hopes. What their feelings on board must have been, I can only imagine,
+when they saw the undeviating rush of the gigantic creature straight for
+them. On he went, until I held my breath for the crash, when at the
+last moment, and within a few feet of the ship's side, he dived, passing
+beneath the vessel. We let go line immediately, as may be supposed; but
+although we had been towing with quite fifty fathoms drift, our speed
+had been so great that we came up against the old ship with a crash
+that very nearly finished us. He did not run any further just then, but
+sounded for about two hundred and fifty fathoms, rising to the surface
+in quite another mood. No more running away from him. I cannot say I
+felt any of the fierce joy of battle at the prospect before me. I had a
+profound respect for the fighting qualities of the sperm whale, and, to
+tell the truth, would much rather have run twenty miles behind him than
+have him turn to bay in his present parlous humour. It was, perhaps,
+fortunate for me that there was a crowd of witnesses, the other ships
+being now quite near enough to see all that was going on, since the
+feeling that my doings were full in view of many experts and veterans
+gave me a determination that I would not disgrace either myself or my
+ship; besides, I felt that this would probably be our last whale this
+voyage, if I did not fail, and that was no small thing to look forward
+to.
+
+All these things, so tedious in the telling, flashed through my mind,
+while, with my eyes glued to the huge bulk of my antagonist or the
+hissing vortices above him when he settled, I manoeuvred my pretty craft
+with all the skill I could summon. For what seemed a period of about
+twenty minutes we dodged him as he made the ugliest rushes at us. I
+had not yet changed ends with Samuela, as customary, for I felt it
+imperative to keep the helm while this game was being played. My trusty
+Kanaka, however, had a lance ready, and I knew, if he only got the ghost
+of a chance, no man living would or could make better use of it.
+
+The whole affair was growing monotonous as well as extremely wearying.
+Perhaps I was a little off my guard; at any rate, my heart almost leaped
+into my mouth when just after an ugly rush past us, which I thought had
+carried him to a safe distance, he stopped dead, lifted his flukes, and
+brought them down edgeways with a vicious sweep that only just missed
+the boat's gunwale and shore off the two oars on that side as if they
+had been carrots. This serious disablement would certainly have led to
+disaster but for Samuela. Prompt and vigorous, he seized the opportune
+moment when the whale's side was presented just after the blow, sending
+his lance quivering home all its length into the most vital part of
+the leviathan's anatomy. Turning his happy face to me, he shouted
+exultingly, "How's dat fer high?"--a bit of slang he had picked up, and
+his use of which never failed to make me smile. "High" it was indeed--a
+master-stroke. It must have pierced the creature's heart, for he
+immediately began to spout blood in masses, and without another wound
+went into his flurry and died.
+
+Then came the reaction. I must have exerted myself beyond what I had
+any idea of, for to Samuela I was obliged to delegate the task of
+fluke-boring, while I rested a little. The ship was soon alongside,
+though, and the whale secured. There was more yet to be done before
+we could rest, in spite of our fatigue. The other boats had been so
+successful that they had got two big fish, and what we were to do with
+them was a problem not easily solvable. By dint of great exertion, we
+managed to get another whale alongside, but were fain to come to
+some arrangement with the ELIZA ADAMS, one of the ships that had been
+unsuccessful, to take over our other whale on an agreement to render
+us one-third of the product either in Port William or at home, if she
+should not find us is the former place.
+
+Behold us, then, in the gathering dusk with a whale on either side,
+every stitch of canvas we could show set and drawing, straining every
+nerve to get into the little port again, with the pleasant thought that
+we were bringing with us all that was needed to complete our well-earned
+cargo. Nobody wanted to go below; all hands felt that it was rest enough
+to hang over the rail on either side and watch the black masses as they
+surged through the gleaming sea. They represented so much to us. Very
+little was said, but all hearts were filled with a deep content, a sense
+of a long season of toil fitly crowned with complete success; nor was
+any depression felt at the long, long stretch of stormy ocean between
+us and our home port far away in the United States. That would doubtless
+come by-and-by, when within less than a thousand miles of New Bedford;
+but at present all sense of distance from home was lost in the
+overmastering thought that soon it would be our only business to get
+there as quickly as possible, without any avoidable loitering on the
+road.
+
+We made an amazing disturbance in the darkness of the sea with our
+double burthen, so much so that one of the coasting steamers changed
+her course a bit to range up by our side in curiosity. We were scarcely
+going two and a half knots, in spite of the row we made, and there
+was hardly room for wonder at the steamboat captain's hail, "Want any
+assistance?" "No, thank you," was promptly returned, although there was
+little doubt that all hands would have subscribed towards a tow into
+port, in case the treacherous weather should, after all, play us a dirty
+trick. But it looked as if our troubles were over. No hitch occurred
+in our steady progress, slow though it necessarily was, and as morning
+lifted the heavy veil from the face of the land, we arrived at our
+pretty little haven, and quietly came to an anchor. The CHANCE was in
+port wind-bound, looking, like ourselves, pretty low in the water. No
+sooner did Paddy hear the news of our arrival in such fine trim than
+he lowered his boat and hurried on board of us, his face beaming with
+delight. Long and loud were his congratulations, especially when he
+heard that we should now be full. Moreover, he offered--nor would he
+take any denial--to come with the whole of his crew and help us finish.
+
+For the next four days and nights, during which the wind prevented the
+CHANCE from leaving us, our old ship was a scene of wild revelry, that
+ceased not through the twenty-four hours--revelry entirely unassisted
+by strong waters, too, the natural ebullient gaiety of men who were
+free from anxiety on any account whatever, rejoicing over the glad
+consummation of more than two years toil, on the one hand; on the other,
+a splendid sympathy in joy manifested by the satisfied crew under the
+genial command of Captain Gilroy. With their cheerful help we made
+wonderful progress; and when at last the wind hauled into a favourable
+quarter, and they were compelled to leave us, the back of our work was
+broken, only the tedious task of boiling being left to finish.
+
+Never, I am sure, did two ships' companies part with more hearty
+good-will than ours. As the ungainly old tub surged slowly out of the
+little harbour, her worn-out and generally used-up appearance would have
+given a Board of Trade Inspector the nightmare; the piratical looks of
+her crowd were enough to frighten a shipload of passengers into fits;
+but to us who had seen their performances in all weathers, and under all
+circumstances, accidental externals had no weight in biassing our high
+opinion of them all. Good-bye, old ship; farewell, jolly captain and
+sturdy crew; you will never be forgotten any more by us while
+life lasts, and in far other and more conventional scenes we shall
+regretfully remember the free-and-easy time we shared with you. So she
+slipped away round the point and out of our lives for ever.
+
+By dint of steady hard work we managed to get the last of our greasy
+work done in four days more, then faced with a will the job of stowing
+afresh the upper tiers of casks, in view of our long journey home. The
+oil bought by the skipper on private venture was left on deck, secured
+to the lash-rail, for discharging at the Bluff, while our stock of
+water-casks were carefully overhauled and recoopered prior to being
+stowed in their places below. Of course, we had plenty of room in the
+hold, since no ship would carry herself full of casks of oil; but I
+doubt whether, if we had borne a "Plimsoll's mark," it would not have
+been totally submerged, so deep did we lie. Wooding and watering came
+next--a different affair to our casual exercises in those directions
+before. Provision had to be made now for a possible four or five months'
+passage, during which we hoped to avoid any further calls, so that
+the accumulation of firewood alone was no small matter. We cleared the
+surrounding neighbourhood of potatoes at a good price, those useful
+tubers being all they could supply us with for sea-stock, much to their
+sorrow.
+
+Then came the most unpleasant part of the whole business--for me. It had
+been a part of the agreement made with the Kanakas that they were not to
+be taken home with us, but returned to their island upon the termination
+of the whaling. Now, the time had arrived when we were to part, and
+I must confess that I felt very sorry to leave them. They had proved
+docile, useful, and cheerful; while as for my harpooner and his mate
+Polly, no man could have wished for smarter, better, or more faithful
+helpers than they were. Strong as their desire was to return to their
+homes, they too felt keenly the parting with us; for although they
+had unavoidably suffered much from the inclemency of the weather--so
+different from anything they had ever previously experienced--they had
+been kindly treated, and had moved on precisely the same footing as the
+rest of the crew. They wept like little children when the time arrived
+for them to leave us, declaring that if ever we came to their island
+again they would use all their endeavours to compel us to remain,
+assuring us that we should want for nothing during the rest of our
+lives, if we would but take up our abode with them. The one exception
+to all this cordiality was Sam. His ideas were running in quite other
+channels. To regain his lost status as ruler of the island, with all
+the opportunities for indulging his animal propensities which such
+a position gave him, was the problem he had set himself, and to the
+realization of these wishes he had determinedly bent all his efforts.
+
+Thus he firmly declined the offer of a passage back in the ELIZA ADAMS,
+which our captain secured for all the Kanakas; preferring to be landed
+at the Bluff, with the goodly sum of money to which he was entitled,
+saying that he had important business to transact in Sydney before he
+returned. This business, he privately informed me, was the procuring of
+arms and ammunition wherewith to make war upon his rival. Of course we
+could not prevent him, although it did seem an abominable thing to let
+loose the spirit of slaughter among those light-hearted natives just
+to satisfy the ambition of an unscrupulous negro. But, as I have before
+noticed, from information received many years after I learned that he
+had been successful in his efforts, though at what cost to life I do not
+know.
+
+So our dusky friends left us, with a good word from every one, and went
+on board the ELIZA ADAMS, whose captain promised to land them at Futuna,
+within six months. How he carried out his promise, I do not know; but,
+for the poor fellows' sakes, I trust he kept his word.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII. TO THE BLUFF, AND HOME
+
+And now the cruise of the good old whaling barque CACHALOT, as far as
+whaling is concerned, comes to an end. For all practical purposes
+she becomes a humdrum merchantman in haste to reach her final port of
+discharge, and get rid of her cargo. No more will she loiter and pry
+around anything and everything, from an island to a balk of drift-wood,
+that comes in her way, knowing not the meaning of "waste of time." The
+"crow's-nests" are dismantled, taut topgallant-masts sent up, and royal
+yards crossed. As soon as we get to sea we shall turn-to and heave that
+ancient fabric of bricks and mortar--always a queer-looking erection to
+be cumbering a ship's deck--piecemeal over the side. It has long been
+shaky and weather-beaten; it will soon obstruct our movements no more.
+Our rigging has all been set up and tarred down; we have painted hull
+and spars, and scraped wherever the wood-work is kept bright. All gear
+belonging to whaling has been taken out of the boats, carefully cleaned,
+oiled, and stowed away for a "full due." Two of the boats have been
+taken inboard, and stowed bottom-up upon the gallows aft, as any
+other merchantman carries them. At last, our multifarious preparations
+completed, we ride ready for sea.
+
+It was quite in accordance with the fitness of things that, when all
+things were now ready for our departure, there should come a change of
+wind that threatened to hold us prisoners for some days longer. But our
+"old man" was hard to beat, and he reckoned that, if we could only get
+out of the "pond," he would work her across to the Bluff somehow or
+other. So we ran out a kedge with a couple of lines to it, and warped
+her out of the weather side of the harbour, finding, when at last we
+got her clear, that she would lay her course across the Straits to clear
+Ruapuke--nearly; but the current had to be reckoned with. Before we
+reached that obstructing island we were down at the eastern end of it,
+and obliged to anchor promptly to save ourselves from being swept down
+the coast many miles to leeward of our port.
+
+But the skipper was quite equal to the occasion. Ordering his boat,
+he sped away into Bluff harbour, only a matter of six or seven miles,
+returning soon with a tug, who for a pound or two placed us, without
+further trouble, alongside the wharf, amongst some magnificent clipper
+ships of Messrs. Henderson's and the New Zealand Shipping Co.'s, who
+seemed to turn up their splendid noses at the squat, dumpy, antiquated
+old serving-mallet that dared to mingle with so august a crowd. There
+had been a time, not so very far back, when I should have shared their
+apparent contempt for our homely old tub; but my voyage had taught me,
+among other things, that, as far as true comfort went at sea, not a
+"three-skysail-yarder" among them could compare with the CACHALOT. And
+I was extremely glad that my passage round the Horn was to be in my own
+ship, and not in a long, snaky tank that, in the language of the sailor,
+takes a header when she gets outside the harbour, and only comes up two
+or three times to blow before she gets home.
+
+Our only reason for visiting this place being to discharge Captain
+Count's oil, and procure a sea-stock of salt provisions and hard bread,
+these duties were taken in hand at once. The skipper sold his venture of
+oil to good advantage, being so pleased with his success that he gave us
+all a good feed on the strength of it.
+
+As soon as the stores were embarked and everything ready for sea,
+leave was given to all hands for twenty-four hours, upon the distinct
+understanding that the privilege was not to be abused, to the detriment
+of everybody, who, as might be supposed, were anxious to start for
+home. In order that there might be less temptation to go on the spree
+generally, a grand picnic was organized to a beautiful valley some
+distance from the town. Carriages were chartered, an enormous quantity
+of eatables and drinkables provided, and away we went, a regular
+wayzgoose or bean-feast party. It was such a huge success, that I have
+ever since wondered why such outings cannot become usual among sailors
+on liberty abroad, instead of the senseless, vicious waste of health,
+time, and hard-earned wages which is general. But I must not let myself
+loose upon this theme again, or we shall never get to sea.
+
+Liberty over without any trouble arising, and all hands comfortably on
+board again, the news ran round that we were to sail in the morning.
+So, after a good night's rest, we cast loose from the wharf, and, with
+a little assistance from the same useful tug that brought us in, got
+fairly out to sea. All sail was set to a strong, steady north-wester,
+and with yards canted the least bit in the world on the port tack, so
+that every stitch was drawing, we began our long easterly stretch to the
+Horn, homeward bound at last.
+
+Favoured by wind and weather, we made an average run of one hundred and
+eighty miles per day for many days, paying no attention to "great circle
+sailing," since in such a slow ship the net gain to be secured by going
+to a high latitude was very small, but dodging comfortably along on
+about the parallel of 48deg. S., until it became necessary to draw down
+towards "Cape Stiff," as that dreaded extremity of South America, Cape
+Horn, is familiarly called by seamen. As we did so, icebergs became
+numerous, at one time over seventy being in sight at once. Some of them
+were of immense size--one, indeed, that could hardly be fitly described
+as an iceberg, but more properly an ice-field, with many bergs rising
+out of it, being over sixty miles long, while some of its towering peaks
+were estimated at from five hundred to one thousand feet high. Happily,
+the weather kept clear; for icebergs and fog make a combination truly
+appalling to the sailor, especially if there be much wind blowing.
+
+Needless, perhaps, to say, our look-out was of the best, for all hands
+had a double interest in the safety of the ship. Perhaps it may be
+thought that any man would have so much regard for the safety of his
+life that he would not think of sleeping on his look-out; but I can
+assure my readers that, strange as it may seem, such is not the case, I
+have known men who could never be trusted not to go to sleep, no matter
+how great the danger. This is so well recognized in merchant ships that
+nearly every officer acts as if there was no look-out at all forward, in
+case his supposed watchman should be having a surreptitious doze.
+
+Stronger and stronger blew the brave west wind; dirtier, gloomier, and
+colder grew the weather, until, reduced to two topsails and a reefed
+foresail, we were scudding dead before the gale for all we were worth.
+This was a novel experience for us in the CACHALOT, and I was curious
+to see how she would behave. To my mind, the supreme test of a ship's
+sea-kindliness is the length of time she will scud before a gale without
+"pooping" a sea, or taking such heavy water on board over her sides
+as to do serious damage. Some ships are very dangerous to run at all.
+Endeavouring to make the best use of the gale which is blowing in the
+right direction, the captain "hangs on" to all the sail he can carry,
+until she ships a mighty mass of water over all, so that the decks
+are filled with wreckage, or, worse still, "poops" a sea. The latter
+experience is a terrible one, even to a trained seaman. You are running
+before the wind and waves, sometimes deep in the valley between two
+liquid mountains, sometimes high on the rolling ridge of one. You watch
+anxiously the speed of the sea, trying to decide whether it or you are
+going the faster, when suddenly there seems to be a hush, almost a
+lull, in the uproar. You look astern, and see a wall of water rising
+majestically higher and higher, at the same time drawing nearer and
+nearer. Instinctively you clutch at something firm, and hold your
+breath. Then that mighty green barrier leans forward, the ship's stern
+seems to settle at the same time, and, with a thundering noise as of
+an avalanche descending, it overwhelms you. Of course the ship's way is
+deadened; she seems like a living thing overburdened, yet struggling to
+be free; and well it is for all hands if the helmsman be able to keep
+his post and his wits about him. For if he be hurt, or have fled from
+the terrible wave, it is an even chance that she "broaches to;" that is
+to say, swings round broadside on to the next great wave that follows
+relentlessly its predecessor. Then, helpless and vulnerable, she will
+most probably be smashed up and founder. Many a good ship has gone with
+all hands to the bottom just as simply as that.
+
+In order to avoid such a catastrophe, the proper procedure is to
+"heave-to" before the sea has attained so dangerous a height; but even a
+landsman can understand how reluctant a shipmaster may be to lie like
+a log just drifting, while a more seaworthy ship is flying along at the
+rate of, perhaps, three hundred miles a day in the desired direction.
+Ships of the CACHALOT's bluff build are peculiarly liable to delays of
+this kind from their slowness, which, if allied to want of buoyancy,
+makes it necessary to heave-to in good time, if safety is at all cared
+for.
+
+To my great astonishment and delight, however, our grand old vessel
+nobly sustained her character, running on without shipping any heavy
+water, although sometimes hedged in on either side by gigantic waves
+that seemed to tower as high as her lowermast heads. Again and again
+we were caught up and passed by the splendid homeward-bound colonial
+packets, some of them carrying an appalling press of canvas, under
+which the long, snaky hulls, often overwhelmed by the foaming seas, were
+hardly visible, so insignificant did they appear by comparison with the
+snowy mountain of swelling sail above.
+
+So we fared eastward and ever southward, until in due time up rose the
+gloomy, storm-scarred crags of the Diego Ramirez rocks, grim outposts
+of the New World. To us, though, they bore no terrific aspect; for were
+they not the turning-point from which we could steer north, our head
+pointed for home? Immediately upon rounding them we hauled up four
+points, and, with daily improving weather climbed the southern slopes
+towards the line.
+
+Very humdrum and quiet the life appeared to all of us, and had it not
+been for the saving routine of work by day, and watch by night, kept up
+with all our old discipline, the tedium would have been insupportable
+after the incessant excitement of expectation to which we had so long
+been accustomed. Still, our passage was by no means a bad one for a slow
+ship, being favoured by more than ordinarily steadfast winds until we
+reached the zone of the south-east trades again, where the usual mild,
+settled wind and lovely weather awaited us. On and on, unhasting but
+unresting, we stolidly jogged, by great good fortune slipping across the
+"doldrums"--that hateful belt of calms about the line so much detested
+by all sailor-men--without losing the south-east wind.
+
+Not one day of calm delayed us, the north-east trades meeting us like a
+friend sent to extend a welcoming hand and lend us his assistance on our
+homeward way. They hung so far to the eastward, too--sometimes actually
+at east-by-north-that we were able to steer north on the starboard
+tack--a slice of luck not usually met with. This "slant" put all hands
+in the best of humours, and already the date of our arrival was settled
+by the more sanguine ones, as well as excellent plans made for spending
+the long voyage's earnings.
+
+For my part, having been, in spite of my youth, accustomed to so many
+cruel disappointments and slips between the cup and lip, I was afraid to
+dwell too hopefully upon the pleasures (?) of getting ashore. And after
+the incident which I have now to record occurred, I felt more nervous
+distrust than I had ever felt before at sea since first I began to
+experience the many vicissitudes of a sailor's life.
+
+We had reached the northern verge of the tropics in a very short time,
+owing to the favourable cant in the usual direction of the north-east
+trades before noted, and had been met with north-westerly winds and
+thick, dirty weather, which was somewhat unusual in so low a latitude.
+Our look-outs redoubled their vigilance, one being posted on each bow
+always at night, and relieved every hour, as we were so well manned. We
+were now on the port tack, of course, heading about north-east-by-north,
+and right in the track of outward-hound vessels from both the United
+Kingdom and the States. One morning, about three a.m.--that fateful
+time in the middle watch when more collisions occur than at any
+other--suddenly out of the darkness a huge ship seemed to leap right at
+us. She must have come up in a squall, of which there were many about,
+at the rate of some twelve knots an hour, having a fair wind, and every
+rag of sail set. Not a gleam of light was visible anywhere on board of
+her, and, to judge from all appearances, the only man awake on board was
+the helmsman.
+
+We, being "on the wind, close-hauled," were bound by the "rule of the
+road at sea" to keep our course when meeting a ship running free. The
+penalty for doing ANYTHING under such circumstances is a severe one.
+First of all, you do not KNOW that the other ship's crew are asleep or
+negligent, even though they carry no lights; for, by a truly infernal
+parsimony, many vessels actually do not carry oil enough to keep their
+lamps burning all the voyage, and must therefore economize in this
+unspeakably dangerous fashion. And it may be that just as you alter your
+course, daring no longer to hold on, and, as you have every reason to
+believe, be run down, the other man alters his. Then a few breathless
+moments ensue, an awful crash, and the two vessels tear each other to
+pieces, spilling the life that they contain over the hungry sea. Even if
+you escape, YOU are to blame for not keeping your course, unless it can
+be proved that you were not seen by the running ship.
+
+Well, we kept our course until, I verily believe, another plunge would
+have cut us sheer in two halves. At the last moment our helm was put
+hard down, bringing our vessel right up into the wind at the same
+moment as the helmsman on board the other vessel caught sight of us, and
+instinctively put his helm down too. The two vessels swung side by side
+amidst a thunderous roar of flapping canvas, crackling of fallen spars,
+and rending of wood as the shrouds tore away the bulwarks. All our
+davits were ripped from the starboard side, and most of our bulwarks
+too; but, strangely enough, we lost no spars nor any important gear.
+There seemed to be a good deal of damage done on board the stranger,
+where, in addition, all hands were at their wits' end. Well they might
+be, aroused from so criminal a sleep as theirs. Fortunately, the third
+mate had powerful bull's-eye lantern, which in his watch on deck he
+always kept lighted. Turning it on the stern of the delinquent vessel
+as she slowly forged clear of us, we easily read her name, which, for
+shame's sake as well as for prudential reasons, I withhold. She was a
+London ship, and a pretty fine time of it I had for the next day or
+two, listening to the jeers and sarcasms on the quality of British
+seamanship.
+
+Repairing damages kept us busy for a few days; but whatever of
+thankfulness we were capable of feeling was aroused by this hairbreadth
+escape from death through the wicked neglect of the most elementary duty
+of any man calling himself a seaman.
+
+Then a period of regular Western-ocean weather set in. It was early
+spring in the third year since our departure from this part of the
+world, and the north-easter blew with bitter severity, making even the
+seasoned old captain wince again; but, as he jovially said, "it smelt
+homey, n' HE warn't a-goin' ter growl at thet." Neither were any of
+us, although we could have done with less of a sharp edge to it all the
+same.
+
+Steadily we battled northward, until at last, with full hearts, we made
+Cape Navesink ("Ole Neversunk"), and on the next day took a tug and
+towed into New Bedford with every flag we could scare up flying, the
+centre of admiration--a full whale-ship safe back from her long, long
+fishing round the world.
+
+My pleasant talk is done. I wish from my heart it were better performed;
+but, having done my best, I must perforce be content. If in some small
+measure I have been able to make you, my friendly reader, acquainted
+with a little-known or appreciated side of life, and in any wise made
+that life a real matter to you, giving you a fresh interest in the
+toilers of the sea, my work has not been wholly in vain. And with that
+fond hope I give you the sailor's valedictory--
+
+SO LONG!
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Cruise of the Cachalot, by Frank T. Bullen
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1356 ***
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+  <head>
+    <title>
+      The Cruise of the 'Cachalot', by Frank T. Bullen
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
+
+    body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; }
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+    hr  { width: 50%; text-align: center;}
+    .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; }
+    blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    .mynote    {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;}
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+               margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%;
+               text-align: right;}
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+  </head>
+  <body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1356 ***</div>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h1>
+      THE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT"
+    </h1>
+    <h2>
+      ROUND THE WORLD AFTER SPERM WHALES
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      By Frank T. Bullen, F.R.G.S.
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      First Mate
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h4>
+      To<br /> <br /> Miss Emily Hensley<br /> <br /> In grateful remembrance of
+      thirty years' constant friendship and<br /> practical help this work is
+      affectionately dedicated by her<br /> humble pupil.
+    </h4>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      PREFACE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      In the following pages an attempt has been made&mdash;it is believed for
+      the first time&mdash;to give an account of the cruise of a South Sea
+      whaler from the seaman's standpoint. Two very useful books have been
+      published&mdash;both of them over half a century ago&mdash;on the same
+      subject; but, being written by the surgeons of whale-ships for scientific
+      purposes, neither of them was interesting to the general reader.
+      ["Narrative of a Whaling Voyage round the Globe," by F Debell Bennett,
+      F.R.C.S. (2 vols). Bentley, London (1840). "The Sperm Whale Fishery," by
+      Thomas Beale, M.R.C.S. London (1835).] They have both been long out of
+      print; but their value to the student of natural history has been, and
+      still is, very great, Dr. Beale's book, in particular, being still the
+      authority on the sperm whale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This book does not pretend to compete with either of the above valuable
+      works. Its aims is to present to the general reader a simple account of
+      the methods employed, and the dangers met with, in a calling about which
+      the great mass of the public knows absolutely nothing. Pending the advent
+      of some great writer who shall see the wonderful possibilities for
+      literature contained in the world-wide wanderings of the South Sea
+      whale-fishers, the author has endeavoured to summarize his experiences so
+      that they may be read without weariness, and, it is hoped, with profit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The manifold shortcomings of the work will not, it is trusted, be laid to
+      the account of the subject, than which none more interesting could well be
+      imagined, but to the limitations of the writer, whose long experience of
+      sea life has done little to foster the literary faculty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One claim may be made with perfect confidence&mdash;that if the manner be
+      not all that could be wished, the matter is entirely trustworthy, being
+      compiled from actual observation and experience, and in no case at
+      second-hand. An endeavour has also been made to exclude such matter as is
+      easily obtainable elsewhere&mdash;matters of common knowledge and
+      "padding" of any sort&mdash;the object not being simply the making of a
+      book, but the record of little-known facts.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Great care has been taken to use no names either of ships or persons,
+      which could, by being identified, give annoyance or pain to any one, as in
+      many cases strong language has been necessary for the expression of
+      opinions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Finally, the author hopes that, although in no sense exclusively a book
+      for boys, the coming generation may find this volume readable and
+      interesting; and with that desire he offers it confidently, though in all
+      humility, to that great impartial jury, the public.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      F.T.B. Dulwich, July, 1897.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <blockquote>
+      <p class="toc">
+        <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big>
+      </p>
+      <p>
+        <br /> <a href="#link2H_PREF"> PREFACE </a><br /> <a href="#link2H_TOC">
+        DETAILED CONTENTS </a><br /> <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION </a><br /><br />
+        <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> <b>THE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT"</b> </a><br /><br />
+        <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;OUTWARD BOUND <br /><br />
+        <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;PREPARING FOR
+        ACTION <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;FISHING
+        BEGINS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;BAD
+        WEATHER <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;ACTUAL
+        WARFARE. OUR FIRST WHALE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI.
+        </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;"DIRTY WORK FOR CLEAN MONEY" <br /><br /> <a
+        href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;GETTING SOUTHWARD
+        <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;ABNER'S
+        WHALE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;OUR
+        FIRST CALLING-PLACE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;A
+        VISIT TO SOME STRANGE PLACES <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER
+        XI. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;ROUND THE COCOS AND SEYCHELLES <br /><br /> <a
+        href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;WHICH TREATS OF THE
+        KRAKEN <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;OFF
+        TO THE JAPAN GROUNDS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER XIV.
+        </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;LIBERTY DAY&mdash;AND AFTER <br /><br /> <a
+        href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;WHICH COMES
+        UNCOMFORTABLY NEAR BEING THE LAST <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0016">
+        CHAPTER XVI. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;"BOWHEAD" FISHING <br /><br /> <a
+        href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER XVII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;VISIT TO HONOLULU
+        <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER XVIII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;ON
+        THE "LINE" GROUNDS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER XIX. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;EDGING
+        SOUTHWARD <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER XX. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;"HUMPBACKING"
+        AT VAU VAU <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER XXI. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;PROGRESS
+        OF THE "HUMPBACK" SEASON <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0022"> CHAPTER
+        XXII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;FAREWELL TO VAU VAU <br /><br /> <a
+        href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XXIII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;AT FUTUNA,
+        RECRUITING <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XXIV. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;THE
+        BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0025">
+        CHAPTER XXV. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;ON THE SOLANDER GROUNDS <br /><br /> <a
+        href="#link2HCH0026"> CHAPTER XXVI. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;PADDY'S LATEST
+        EXPLOIT <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0027"> CHAPTER XXVII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;PORT
+        PEGASUS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0028"> CHAPTER XXVIII. &nbsp;&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;TO
+        THE BLUFF, AND HOME <br /><br />
+      </p>
+    </blockquote>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_TOC" id="link2H_TOC">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      DETAILED CONTENTS
+    </h2>
+    <blockquote>
+      <p>
+        <br />CHAPTER I&mdash;OUTWARD BOUND Adrift in New Bedford&mdash;I get a
+        ship&mdash;A <br /> motley crowd&mdash;"Built by the mile, and cut off as
+        you want 'em"&mdash;Mistah <br /> Jones&mdash;Greenies&mdash;Off to sea.
+        <br /> <br />CHAPTER II&mdash;PREPARING FOR ACTION Primitive steering-gear&mdash;Strange
+        <br /> drill&mdash;Misery below&mdash;Short commons&mdash;Goliath rigs
+        the <br /> "crow's-nest"&mdash;Useful information&mdash;Preparing for war&mdash;Strange
+        weapons&mdash;A <br /> boat-load. <br /> <br />CHAPTER III&mdash;FISHING
+        BEGINS The cleanliness of a whale-ship&mdash;No <br /> skulking&mdash;Porpoise-fishing&mdash;Cannibals&mdash;Cooking
+        operations&mdash;Boat-drill&mdash;A <br /> good look-out&mdash;"Black-fishing"&mdash;Roguery
+        in all trades&mdash;Plenty of fresh <br /> beef&mdash;The nursery of
+        American whalemen. <br /> <br />CHAPTER IV&mdash;BAD WEATHER Nautical
+        routine&mdash;The first gale&mdash;Comfort <br /> versus speed&mdash;A
+        grand sea-boat&mdash;The Sargasso Sea&mdash;Natural history <br />
+        pursuits&mdash;Dolphin&mdash;Unconventional fishing&mdash;Rumours of a
+        visit to the <br /> Cape Verdes&mdash;Babel below&mdash;No allowance, but
+        not "full and plenty"&mdash;Queer <br /> washing&mdash;Method of sharing
+        rations&mdash;The "slop-shop" opened&mdash;Our <br /> prospects. <br />
+        <br />CHAPTER V&mdash;ACTUAL WARFARE. OUR FIRST WHALE Premonitions&mdash;Discussion
+        <br /> on whaling from unknown premisses&mdash;I wake in a fright&mdash;Sperm
+        whales <br /> at last&mdash;The war begins&mdash;Warning&mdash;We get
+        fast&mdash;and get loose&mdash;In <br /> trouble&mdash;an uncomfortable
+        situation&mdash;No Pity-Only one whale&mdash;Rigging the <br />
+        "cutting-stage"&mdash;Securing the whale alongside. <br /> <br />CHAPTER
+        VI&mdash;"DIRTY WORK FOR CLEAN MONEY" Goliath in trouble&mdash;Commence
+        <br /> "cutting-in"&mdash;A heavy head&mdash;A tank of spermaceti&mdash;Decks
+        running <br /> with oil&mdash;A "Patent" mincing-machine&mdash;Extensive
+        cooking&mdash;Dangerous <br /> work&mdash;Three tuns of oil&mdash;A
+        horrible mess&mdash;A thin-skinned monster&mdash;A fine <br /> mouth of
+        teeth. <br /> <br />CHAPTER VII&mdash;GETTING SOUTHWARD Captain Slocum's
+        <br /> amenities&mdash;Expensive beer&mdash;St. Paul's Rocks&mdash;"Bonito"&mdash;"Showery"
+        <br /> weather&mdash;Waterspouts&mdash;Calms&mdash;A friendly finback&mdash;A
+        disquisition on <br /> whales by Mistah Jones&mdash;Flying-fishing. <br />
+        <br />CHAPTER VIII&mdash;ABNER'S WHALE Abner in luck&mdash;A big "fish"
+        at last&mdash;A feat <br /> of endurance&mdash;A fighting whale&mdash;The
+        sperm whale's food&mdash;Ambergris&mdash;A <br /> good reception&mdash;Hard
+        labour&mdash;Abner's reward&mdash;"Scrimshaw". <br /> <br />CHAPTER IX&mdash;OUR
+        FIRST CALLING-PLACE A forced march&mdash;Tristan <br /> d'Acunha&mdash;Visitors&mdash;Fresh
+        provisions&mdash;A warm welcome&mdash;Goliath's <br /> turn&mdash;a
+        feathered host&mdash;Good gear&mdash;A rough time&mdash;Creeping <br />
+        north&mdash;Uncertainty&mdash;"Rule of thumb"&mdash;navigation&mdash;The
+        Mozambique Channel. <br /> <br />CHAPTER X&mdash;A VISIT TO SOME STRANGE
+        PLACES Tropical thunderstorms&mdash;A <br /> "record" day's fishing&mdash;Cetacean
+        frivolities&mdash;Mistah Jones moralizes&mdash;A <br /> snug harbour&mdash;Wooding
+        and watering&mdash;Catching a turtle&mdash;Catching a <br /> "Tartar"&mdash;A
+        violent death&mdash;A crooked jaw&mdash;Aldabra Island&mdash;Primeval
+        <br /> inhabitants&mdash;A strange steed&mdash;"Pirate" birds&mdash;Good
+        eggs&mdash;Green <br /> cocoa-nuts&mdash;More turtle&mdash;A school of
+        "kogia". <br /> <br />CHAPTER XI&mdash;ROUND THE COCOS AND SEYCHELLES We
+        encounter a "cyclone"&mdash;A <br /> tremendous gust&mdash;a foundering
+        ship&mdash;To anchor for repairs&mdash;The <br /> Cocos&mdash;Repairing
+        damages&mdash;Around the Seychelles&mdash;A "milk" sea&mdash;A <br />
+        derelict prahu&mdash;A ghastly freight&mdash;A stagnant sea. <br /> <br />CHAPTER
+        XII&mdash;WHICH TREATS OF THE KRAKEN "Eyes and no eyes" at sea&mdash;Of
+        <br /> big mollusca&mdash;The origin of sea-serpent stories&mdash;Rediscovery
+        of the <br /> "Kraken"&mdash;A conflict of monsters&mdash;"The insatiable
+        nightmares of the <br /> sea"&mdash;Spermaceti running to waste&mdash;The
+        East Indian maze. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XIII&mdash;OFF TO THE JAPAN GROUNDS
+        A whale off Hong Kong&mdash;The <br /> skipper and his "'bomb-gun"&mdash;Injury
+        to the captain&mdash;Unwelcome <br /> visitors&mdash;The heathen Chinee&mdash;We
+        get safe off&mdash;"Death of Portagee <br /> Jim"&mdash;The Funeral&mdash;The
+        Coast of Japan&mdash;Port Lloyd&mdash;Meeting of <br /> whale-ships.
+        <br /> <br />CHAPTER XIV&mdash;LIBERTY DAY&mdash;AND AFTER Liberty day&mdash;I
+        foregather with <br /> a "beach-comber"&mdash;A big fight&mdash;Goliath
+        on the war-path&mdash;A <br /> court-martial&mdash;Wholesale flogging&mdash;a
+        miserable crowd&mdash;Quite a fleet of <br /> whale-ships&mdash;I "raise"
+        a sperm whale&mdash;Severe competition&mdash;An unfortunate <br /> stroke&mdash;The
+        skipper distinguishes himself. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XV&mdash;WHICH COMES
+        UNCOMFORTABLY NEAR BEING THE LAST I come <br /> to grief&mdash;Emulating
+        Jonah&mdash;Sharing a flurry&mdash;A long spell of <br /> sick-leave&mdash;The
+        whale's "sixth sense"&mdash;Off to the Kuriles&mdash;Prepare for <br />
+        "bowhead" fishing&mdash;The Sea of Okhotsk&mdash;Abundant salmon&mdash;The
+        "daintiness" <br /> of seamen. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XVI&mdash;"BOWHEAD"
+        FISHING Difference between whales&mdash;Popular ideas <br /> exploded&mdash;The
+        gentle mysticetus&mdash;Very tame work&mdash;Fond of tongue&mdash;Goliath
+        <br /> confides in me&mdash;An awful affair&mdash;Captain Slocum's death&mdash;"Not
+        Amurath an <br /> Amurath succeeds"&mdash;I am promoted. <br /> <br />CHAPTER
+        XVII&mdash;VISIT TO HONOLULU Towards Honolulu&mdash;Missionaries and
+        their <br /> critics&mdash;The happy Kanaka&mdash;Honolulu&mdash;A
+        pleasant holiday. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XVIII&mdash;ON THE "LINE" GROUNDS I
+        get my opportunity&mdash;A <br /> new harpooner&mdash;Feats under the
+        skipper's eye&mdash;Two whales on one <br /> line&mdash;Compliments Heavy
+        towage&mdash;A grand haul. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XIX&mdash;EDGING SOUTHWARD
+        Monotony&mdash;A school of blackfish&mdash;A boat <br /> ripped in half&mdash;A
+        multitude of sharks&mdash;A curious backbone&mdash;Christmas <br /> Day&mdash;A
+        novel Christmas dinner&mdash;A find of ambergris. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XX&mdash;"HUMPBACKING"
+        AT VAU VAU "Gamming" again&mdash;a <br /> Whitechapel rover&mdash;arrive
+        at Vau Vau&mdash;Valuable friends&mdash;a Sunday <br /> ashore&mdash;"Hollingside"&mdash;The
+        natives at church&mdash;Full-dress&mdash;Very <br /> "mishnally"&mdash;Idyllic
+        cruising&mdash;Wonderful mother-love&mdash;A mighty feast. <br /> <br />CHAPTER
+        XXI&mdash;PROGRESS OF THE "HUMPBACK" SEASON A fruitless chase&mdash;Placid
+        <br /> times&mdash;a stirring adventure&mdash;a vast cave&mdash;Unforeseen
+        company&mdash;A night <br /> of terror&mdash;We provide a feast for the
+        sharks&mdash;the death of Abner&mdash;An <br /> impressive ceremony&mdash;an
+        invitation to dinner&mdash;Kanaka cookery. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XXII&mdash;FAREWELL
+        TO VAU VAU Ignorance of the habits of whales&mdash;A <br /> terrific
+        encounter&mdash;VAE VICTIS&mdash;Rewarding our "flems"&mdash;We leave
+        Van <br /> Vau&mdash;The Outward bounder&mdash;Sailors' "homes"&mdash;A
+        night of horror&mdash;Sudden <br /> death&mdash;Futuna. <br /> <br />CHAPTER
+        XXIII&mdash;AT FUTUNA, RECRUITING A fleet of nondescripts&mdash;"Tui
+        <br /> Tongoa" otherwise Sam&mdash;Eager recruits&mdash;Devout Catholics&mdash;A
+        visit to <br /> Sunday Island&mdash;A Crusoe family&mdash;Their eviction&mdash;Maori
+        cabbage&mdash;Fine <br /> fishing&mdash;Away for New Zealand&mdash;Sight
+        the "Three Kings"&mdash;The Bay of <br /> Islands. <br /> <br />CHAPTER
+        XXIV&mdash;THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST Sleepy <br /> hollow&mdash;Wood
+        and water&mdash;liberty day&mdash;A plea for the sailors' <br />
+        recreation&mdash;Our picnic&mdash;A a whiff of "May"&mdash;A delightful
+        excursion&mdash;To <br /> the southward again&mdash;Wintry weather&mdash;Enter
+        Foveaux Straits. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XXV&mdash;ON THE SOLANDER GROUNDS
+        Firstfruits of the Solander&mdash;An <br /> easy catch&mdash;Delights of
+        the Solander&mdash;Port William&mdash;The <br /> old CHANCE&mdash;"Paddy
+        Gilroy"&mdash;Barbarians from the East <br /> End&mdash;Barracouta-Fishing&mdash;Wind-bound&mdash;An
+        enormous school of <br /> cachalots&mdash;Misfortune&mdash;A bursting
+        whale&mdash;Back on the Solander <br /> again&mdash;Cutting-in at Port
+        William&mdash;Studying anatomy&mdash;Badly battered <br /> Yankees&mdash;Paddy
+        in luck again. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XXVI&mdash;PADDY'S LATEST EXPLOIT We
+        try Preservation Inlet&mdash;An <br /> astounding feat of Paddy Gilroy's.
+        <br /> <br />CHAPTER XXVII&mdash;PORT PEGASUS Port Pegasus&mdash;Among old
+        <br /> acquaintances&mdash;"Mutton birds"&mdash;Skilled auxiliaries&mdash;A
+        gratifying <br /> catch&mdash;Leave port again&mdash;Back to the Solander&mdash;A
+        grim escape&mdash;Our last <br /> whales&mdash;Into Port William again&mdash;Paddy's
+        assistance&mdash;We part with our <br /> Kanakas&mdash;Sam's plans of
+        conquest. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XXVIII&mdash;TO THE BLUFF, AND HOME And
+        last&mdash;In high-toned <br /> company&mdash;Another picnic&mdash;Depart
+        from the Bluff&mdash;Hey for the Horn!&mdash;Among <br /> the icebergs&mdash;"Scudding"&mdash;Favouring
+        trades&mdash;A narrow escape from <br /> collision&mdash;Home at last.
+        <br />
+      </p>
+    </blockquote>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      INTRODUCTION
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Without attempting the ambitious task of presenting a comprehensive sketch
+      of the origin, rise, and fall of whale-fishing as a whole, it seems
+      necessary to give a brief outline of that portion of the subject bearing
+      upon the theme of the present book before plunging into the first chapter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This preliminary is the more needed for the reason alluded to in the
+      Preface&mdash;the want of knowledge of the subject that is apparent
+      everywhere. The Greenland whale fishery has been so popularized that most
+      people know something about it; the sperm whale fishery still awaits its
+      Scoresby and a like train of imitators and borrowers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cachalots, or sperm whales, must have been captured on the coasts of
+      Europe in a desultory way from a very early date, by the incidental
+      allusions to the prime products spermaceti and ambergris which are found
+      in so many ancient writers, Shakespeare's reference&mdash;"The
+      sovereign'st thing on earth was parmaceti for an inward bruise"&mdash;will
+      be familiar to most people, as well as Milton's mention of the delicacies
+      at Satan's feast&mdash;"Grisamber steamed"&mdash;not to carry quotation
+      any further.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But in the year 1690 the brave and hardy fishermen of the north-east
+      coasts of North America established that systematic pursuit of the
+      cachalot which has thriven so wonderfully ever since, although it must be
+      confessed that the last few years have witnessed a serious decline in this
+      great branch of trade.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For many years the American colonists completely engrossed this branch of
+      the whale fishery, contentedly leaving to Great Britain and the
+      continental nations the monopoly of the northern or Arctic fisheries,
+      while they cruised the stormy, if milder, seas around their own shores.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For the resultant products, their best customer was the mother country,
+      and a lucrative commerce steadily grew up between the two countries. But
+      when the march of events brought the unfortunate and wholly unnecessary
+      War of Independence, this flourishing trade was the first to suffer, and
+      many of the daring fishermen became our fiercest foes on board their own
+      men-of-war.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The total stoppage of the importation of sperm oil and spermaceti was
+      naturally severely felt in England, for time had not permitted the
+      invention of substitutes. In consequence of this, ten ships were equipped
+      and sent out to the sperm whale fishery from England in 1776, most of them
+      owned by one London firm, the Messrs. Enderby. The next year, in order to
+      encourage the infant enterprise, a Government bounty, graduated from L500
+      to L1000 per ship, was granted. Under this fostering care the number of
+      ships engaged in the sperm whale fishery progressively increased until
+      1791, when it attained its maximum.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This method of whaling being quite new to our whalemen, it was necessary,
+      at great cost, to hire American officers and harpooners to instruct them
+      in the ways of dealing with these highly active and dangerous cetacea.
+      Naturally, it was by-and-by found possible to dispense with the services
+      of these auxiliaries; but it must be confessed that the business never
+      seems to have found such favour, or to have been prosecuted with such
+      smartness, among our whalemen as it has by the Americans.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Something of an exotic the trade always was among us, although it did
+      attain considerable proportions at one time. At first the fishing was
+      confined to the Atlantic Ocean; nor for many years was it necessary to go
+      farther afield, as abundance of whales could easily be found.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As, however, the number of ships engaged increased, it was inevitable that
+      the known grounds should become exhausted, and in 1788 Messrs. Enderby's
+      ship, the EMILIA, first ventured round Cape Horn, as the pioneer of a
+      greater trade than ever. The way once pointed out, other ships were not
+      slow to follow, until, in 1819, the British whale-ship SYREN opened up the
+      till then unexplored tract of ocean in the western part of the North
+      Pacific, afterwards familiarly known as the "Coast of Japan." From these
+      teeming waters alone, for many years an average annual catch of 40,000
+      barrels of oil was taken, which, at the average price of L8 per barrel,
+      will give some idea of the value of the trade generally.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Australian colonists, early in their career, found the sperm whale
+      fishery easy of access from all their coasts, and especially lucrative. At
+      one time they bade fair to establish a whale fishery that should rival the
+      splendid trade of the Americans; but, like the mother country, they
+      permitted the fishery to decline, so that even bounties could not keep it
+      alive.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile, the Americans added to their fleet continually, prospering
+      amazingly. But suddenly the advent of the civil war let loose among those
+      peaceable cruisers the devastating ALABAMA, whose course was marked in
+      some parts of the world by the fires of blazing whale-ships. A great part,
+      of the Geneva award was on this account, although it must be acknowledged
+      that many pseudo-owners were enriched who never owned aught but brazen
+      impudence and influential friends to push their fictitious claims. The
+      real sufferers, seamen especially, in most cases never received any
+      redress whatever.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      From this crushing blow the American sperm whale fishery has never fully
+      recovered. When the writer was in the trade, some twenty-two years ago, it
+      was credited with a fleet of between three and four hundred sail; now it
+      may be doubted whether the numbers reach an eighth of that amount. A rigid
+      conservatism of method hinders any revival of the industry, which is
+      practically conducted to-day as it was fifty, or even a hundred years ago;
+      and it is probable that another decade will witness the final extinction
+      of what was once one of the most important maritime industries in the
+      world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h1>
+      THE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT"
+    </h1>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER I. OUTWARD BOUND
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      At the age of eighteen, after a sea-experience of six years from the time
+      when I dodged about London streets, a ragged Arab, with wits sharpened by
+      the constant fight for food, I found myself roaming the streets of New
+      Bedford, Massachusetts. How I came to be there, of all places in the
+      world, does not concern this story at all, so I am not going to trouble my
+      readers with it; enough to say that I WAS there, and mighty anxious to get
+      away. Sailor Jack is always hankering for shore when he is at sea, but
+      when he is "outward bound"&mdash;that is, when his money is all gone&mdash;he
+      is like a cat in the rain there.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So as MY money was all gone, I was hungry for a ship; and when a long,
+      keen-looking man with a goat-like beard, and mouth stained with dry
+      tobacco-juice, hailed me one afternoon at the street-corner, I answered
+      very promptly, scenting a berth. "Lookin' fer a ship, stranger?" said he.
+      "Yes; do you want a hand?" said I, anxiously. He made a funny little sound
+      something like a pony's whinny, then answered, "Wall, I should surmise
+      that I want between fifty and sixty hands, ef yew kin lay me onto 'em;
+      but, kem along, every dreep's a drop, an' yew seem likely enough." With
+      that he turned and led the way until we reached a building around which
+      were gathered one of the most nondescript crowds I had ever seen. There
+      certainly did not appear to be a sailor among them. Not so much by their
+      rig, though that is not a great deal to go by, but by their actions and
+      speech. One thing they all had in common, tobacco chewing but as nearly
+      every male I met with in America did that, it was not much to be noticed.
+      I had hardly done reckoning them up when two or three bustling men came
+      out and shepherded us all energetically into a long, low room, where some
+      form of agreement was read out to us. Sailors are naturally and usually
+      careless about the nature of the "articles" they sign, their chief anxiety
+      being to get to sea, and under somebody's charge. But had I been ever so
+      anxious to know what I was going to sign this time, I could not, for the
+      language might as well have been Chinese for all I understood of it.
+      However, I signed and passed on, engaged to go I knew not where, in some
+      ship I did not know even the name of, in which I was to receive I did not
+      know how much, or how little, for my labour, nor how long I was going to
+      be away. "What a young fool!" I hear somebody say. I quite agree, but
+      there were a good many more in that ship, as in most ships that I have
+      ever sailed in.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      From the time we signed the articles, we were never left to ourselves.
+      Truculent-looking men accompanied us to our several boarding-houses, paid
+      our debts for us, finally bringing us by boat to a ship lying out in the
+      bay. As we passed under her stern, I read the name CACHALOT, of New
+      Bedford; but as soon as we ranged alongside, I realized that I was booked
+      for the sailor's horror&mdash;a cruise in a whaler. Badly as I wanted to
+      get to sea, I had not bargained for this, and would have run some risks to
+      get ashore again; but they took no chances, so we were all soon aboard.
+      Before going forward, I took a comprehensive glance around, and saw that I
+      was on board of a vessel belonging to a type which has almost disappeared
+      off the face of the waters. A more perfect contrast to the trim-built
+      English clipper-ships that I had been accustomed to I could hardly
+      imagine. She was one of a class characterized by sailors as "built by the
+      mile, and cut off in lengths as you want 'em," bow and stern almost alike,
+      masts standing straight as broomsticks, and bowsprit soaring upwards at an
+      angle of about forty-five degrees. She was as old-fashioned in her rig as
+      in her hull; but I must not go into the technical differences between
+      rigs, for fear of making myself tedious. Right in the centre of the deck,
+      occupying a space of about ten feet by eight, was a square erection of
+      brickwork, upon which my wondering gaze rested longest, for I had not the
+      slightest idea what it could be. But I was rudely roused from my
+      meditations by the harsh voice of one of the officers, who shouted, "Naow
+      then, git below an' stow yer dunnage, 'n look lively up agin." I took the
+      broad hint, and shouldering my traps, hurried forward to the fo'lk'sle,
+      which was below deck. Tumbling down the steep ladder, I entered the gloomy
+      den which was to be for so long my home, finding it fairly packed with my
+      shipmates. A motley crowd they were. I had been used in English ships to
+      considerable variety of nationality; but here were gathered, not only the
+      representatives of five or six nations, but 'long-shoremen of all kinds,
+      half of whom had hardly ever set eyes on a ship before! The whole space
+      was undivided by partition, but I saw at once that black men and white had
+      separated themselves, the blacks taking the port side and the whites the
+      starboard. Finding a vacant bunk by the dim glimmer of the ancient teapot
+      lamp that hung amidships, giving out as much smoke as light, I hurriedly
+      shifted my coat for a "jumper" or blouse, put on an old cap, and climbed
+      into the fresh air again. For a double reason, even MY seasoned head was
+      feeling bad with the villainous reek of the place, and I did not want any
+      of those hard-featured officers on deck to have any cause to complain of
+      my "hanging back." On board ship, especially American ships, the first
+      requisite for a sailor who wants to be treated properly is to "show
+      willing," any suspicion of slackness being noted immediately, and the
+      backward one marked accordingly. I had hardly reached the deck when I was
+      confronted by a negro, the biggest I ever saw in, my life. He looked me up
+      and down for a moment, then opening his ebony features in a wide smile, he
+      said, "Great snakes! why, here's a sailor man for sure! Guess thet's so,
+      ain't it, Johnny?" I said "yes" very curtly, for I hardly liked his
+      patronizing air; but he snapped me up short with "yes, SIR, when yew speak
+      to me, yew blank lime-juicer. I'se de fourf mate ob dis yar ship, en my
+      name's Mistah Jones, 'n yew, jest freeze on to dat ar, ef yew want ter lib
+      long'n die happy. See, sonny." I SAW, and answered promptly, "I beg your
+      pardon, sir, I didn't know." "Ob cawse yew didn't know, dat's all right,
+      little Britisher; naow jest skip aloft 'n loose dat fore-taupsle." "Aye,
+      aye, sir," I answered cheerily, springing at once into the fore-rigging
+      and up the ratlines like a monkey, but not too fast to hear him chuckle,
+      "Dat's a smart kiddy, I bet." I had the big sail loose in double quick
+      time, and sung out "All gone, the fore-taupsle," before any of the other
+      sails were adrift. "Loose the to-gantsle and staysles" came up from below
+      in a voice like thunder, and I bounded up higher to my task. On deck I
+      could see a crowd at the windlass heaving up anchor. I said to myself,
+      "They don't waste any time getting this packet away." Evidently they were
+      not anxious to test any of the crew's swimming powers. They were wise, for
+      had she remained at anchor that night I verily believe some of the poor
+      wretches would have tried to escape.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The anchor came aweigh, the sails were sheeted home, and I returned on
+      deck to find the ship gathering way for the heads, fairly started on her
+      long voyage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What a bear-garden the deck was, to be sure! The black portion of the crew&mdash;Portuguese
+      natives from the Western and Canary Islands&mdash;were doing their work
+      all right in a clumsy fashion; but the farmers, and bakers, and draymen
+      were being driven about mercilessly amid a perfect hurricane of profanity
+      and blows. And right here I must say that, accustomed as I had always been
+      to bad language all my life, what I now heard was a revelation to me. I
+      would not, if I could, attempt to give a sample of it, but it must be
+      understood that it was incessant throughout the voyage. No order could be
+      given without it, under the impression, apparently, that the more curses
+      the more speed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before nightfall we were fairly out to sea, and the ceremony of dividing
+      the crew into watches was gone through. I found myself in the chief mate's
+      or "port" watch (they called it "larboard," a term I had never heard used
+      before, it having long been obsolete in merchant ships), though the huge
+      negro fourth mate seemed none too well pleased that I was not under his
+      command, his being the starboard watch under the second mate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As night fell, the condition of the "greenies," or non-sailor portion of
+      the crew, was pitiable. Helpless from sea-sickness, not knowing where to
+      go or what to do, bullied relentlessly by the ruthless petty officers&mdash;well,
+      I never felt so sorry for a lot of men in my life. Glad enough I was to
+      get below into the fo'lk'sle for supper, and a brief rest and respite from
+      that cruelty on deck. A bit of salt junk and a piece of bread, i.e.
+      biscuit, flinty as a pantile, with a pot of something sweetened with
+      "longlick" (molasses), made an apology for a meal, and I turned in. In a
+      very few minutes oblivion came, making me as happy as any man can be in
+      this world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER II. PREPARING FOR ACTION
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The hideous noise always considered necessary in those ships when calling
+      the watch, roused me effectively at midnight, "eight bells." I hurried on
+      deck, fully aware that no leisurely ten minutes would be allowed here.
+      "Lay aft the watch," saluted me as I emerged into the keen strong air,
+      quickening my pace according to where the mate stood waiting to muster his
+      men. As soon as he saw me, he said, "Can you steer?" in a mocking tone;
+      but when I quietly answered, "Yes, sir," his look of astonishment was
+      delightful to see. He choked it down, however, and merely telling me to
+      take the wheel, turned forrard roaring frantically for his watch. I had no
+      time to chuckle over what I knew was in store for him, getting those poor
+      greenies collected from their several holes and corners, for on taking the
+      wheel I found a machine under my hands such as I never even heard of
+      before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wheel was fixed upon the tiller in such a manner that the whole
+      concern travelled backwards and forwards across the deck in the maddest
+      kind of way. For the first quarter of an hour, in spite of the September
+      chill, the sweat poured off me in streams. And the course&mdash;well, if
+      was not steering, it was sculling; the old bumboat was wobbling all around
+      like a drunken tailor with two left legs. I fairly shook with apprehension
+      lest the mate should come and look in the compass. I had been accustomed
+      to hard words if I did not steer within half a point each way; but here
+      was a "gadget" that worked me to death, the result being a wake like a
+      letter S. Gradually I got the hang of the thing, becoming easier in my
+      mind on my own account. Even that was not an unmixed blessing, for I had
+      now some leisure to listen to the goings-on around the deck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such brutality I never witnessed before. On board of English ships (except
+      men-of-war) there is practically no discipline, which is bad, but this
+      sort of thing was maddening. I knew how desperately ill all those poor
+      wretches were, how helpless and awkward they would be if quite hale and
+      hearty; but there was absolutely no pity for them, the officers seemed to
+      be incapable of any feelings of compassion whatever. My heart sank within
+      me as I thought of what lay before me, although I did not fear that their
+      treatment would also be mine, since I was at least able to do my duty, and
+      willing to work hard to keep out of trouble. Then I began to wonder what
+      sort of voyage I was in for, how long it would last, and what my earnings
+      were likely to be, none of which things I had the faintest idea of.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Fortunately, I was alone in the world. No one, as far as I knew, cared a
+      straw what became of me; so that I was spared any worry on that head. And
+      I had also a very definite and well-established trust in God, which I can
+      now look back and see was as fully justified as I then believed it to be.
+      So, as I could not shut my ears to the cruelties being carried on, nor
+      banish thought by hard work, I looked up to the stately stars, thinking of
+      things not to be talked about without being suspected of cant. So swiftly
+      passed the time that when four bells struck: (two o'clock) I could hardly
+      believe my ears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I was relieved by one of the Portuguese, and went forward to witness a
+      curious scene. Seven stalwart men were being compelled to march up and
+      down on that tumbling deck, men who had never before trodden anything less
+      solid than the earth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The third mate, a waspish, spiteful little Yankee with a face like an
+      angry cat, strolled about among them, a strand of rope-yarns in his hand,
+      which he wielded constantly, regardless where he struck a man. They fell
+      about, sometimes four or five at once, and his blows flew thick and fast,
+      yet he never seemed to weary of his ill-doing. It made me quite sick, and
+      I longed to be aft at the wheel again. Catching sight of me standing
+      irresolute as to what I had better do, he ordered me on the "look-out," a
+      tiny platform between the "knight heads," just where the bowsprit joins
+      the ship. Gladly I obeyed him, and perched up there looking over the wide
+      sea, the time passed quickly away until eight bells (four o'clock)
+      terminated my watch. I must pass rapidly over the condition of things in
+      the fo'lk'sle, where all the greenies that were allowed below, were
+      groaning in misery from the stifling atmosphere which made their sickness
+      so much worse, while even that dreadful place was preferable to what
+      awaited them on deck. There was a rainbow-coloured halo round the flame of
+      the lamp, showing how very bad the air was; but in spite of that I turned
+      in and slept soundly till seven bells (7.20 a.m.) roused us to breakfast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      American ships generally have an excellent name for the way they feed
+      their crews, but the whalers are a notable exception to that good rule.
+      The food was really worse than that on board any English ship I have ever
+      sailed in, so scanty also in quantity that it kept all the foremast hands
+      at starvation point. But grumbling was dangerous, so I gulped down the
+      dirty mixture mis-named coffee, ate a few fragments of biscuit, and filled
+      up (?) with a smoke, as many better men are doing this morning. As the
+      bell struck I hurried on deck&mdash;not one moment too soon&mdash;for as I
+      stepped out of the scuttle I saw the third mate coming forward with a
+      glitter in his eye that boded no good to laggards.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before going any farther I must apologize for using so many capital I's,
+      but up till the present I had been the only available white member of the
+      crew forrard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The decks were scrubbed spotlessly clean, and everything was neat and tidy
+      as on board a man-of-war, contrary to all usual notions of the condition
+      of a whaler. The mate was in a state of high activity, so I soon found
+      myself very busily engaged in getting up whale-lines, harpoons, and all
+      the varied equipment for the pursuit of whales. The number of officers
+      carried would have been a good crew for the ship, the complete afterguard
+      comprising captain, four mates, four harpooners or boat-steerers,
+      carpenter, cooper, steward and cook. All these worthies were on deck and
+      working with might and main at the preparations, so that the incompetence
+      of the crowd forrard was little hindrance. I was pounced upon by "Mistah"
+      Jones, the fourth mate, whom I heard addressed familiarly as "Goliath" and
+      "Anak" by his brother officers, and ordered to assist him in rigging the
+      "crow's-nest" at the main royal-mast head. It was a simple affair. There
+      were a pair of cross-trees fitted to the mast, upon which was secured a
+      tiny platform about a foot wide on each side of the mast, while above this
+      foothold a couple of padded hoops like a pair of giant spectacles were
+      secured at a little higher than a man's waist. When all was fast one could
+      creep up on the platform, through the hoop, and, resting his arms upon the
+      latter, stand comfortably and gaze around, no matter how vigorously the
+      old barky plunged and kicked beneath him. From that lofty eyrie I had a
+      comprehensive view of the vessel. She was about 350 tons and full
+      ship-rigged, that is to say, she carried square sails on all three masts.
+      Her deck was flush fore and aft, the only obstructions being the
+      brick-built "try-works" in the waist, the galley, and cabin skylight right
+      aft by the taffrail. Her bulwarks were set thickly round with clumsy
+      looking wooden cranes, from which depended five boats. Two more boats were
+      secured bottom up upon a gallows aft, so she seemed to be well supplied in
+      that direction. Mistah Jones, finding I did not presume upon his
+      condescension, gradually unbent and furnished me with many interesting
+      facts about the officers. Captain Slocum, he said, was "de debbil hisself,
+      so jess yew keeps yer lamps trim' fer him, sonny, taint helthy ter rile
+      him." The first officer, or the mate as he is always called PAR
+      EXCELLENCE, was an older man than the captain, but a good seaman, a good
+      whaleman, and a gentleman. Which combination I found to be a fact,
+      although hard to believe possible at the time. The second mate was a
+      Portuguese about forty years of age, with a face like one of Vandyke's
+      cavaliers, but as I now learned, a perfect fiend when angered. He also was
+      a first-class whaleman, but an indifferent seaman. The third mate was
+      nothing much but bad temper&mdash;not much sailor, nor much whaler,
+      generally in hot water with the skipper, who hated him because he was an
+      "owner's man." "An de fourf mate," wound up the narrator, straightening
+      his huge bulk, "am de bes' man in de ship, and de bigges'. Dey aint no
+      whalemen in Noo Bedford caynt teach ME nuffin, en ef it comes ter
+      man-handlin'; w'y I jes' pick 'em two't a time 'n crack 'em togerrer like
+      so, see!" and he smote the palms of his great paws against each other,
+      while I nodded complete assent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The weather being fine, with a steady N.E. wind blowing, so that the sails
+      required no attention, work proceeded steadily all the morning. The oars
+      were sorted, examined for flaws, and placed in the boats; the whale-line,
+      manilla rope like yellow silk, 1 1/2 inch round, was brought on deck,
+      stretched and coiled down with the greatest care into tubs, holding, some
+      200 fathoms, and others 100 fathoms each. New harpoons were fitted to
+      poles of rough but heavy wood, without any attempt at neatness, but every
+      attention to strength. The shape of these weapons was not, as is generally
+      thought, that of an arrow, but rather like an arrow with one huge barb,
+      the upper part of which curved out from the shaft. The whole of the barb
+      turned on a stout pivot of steel, but was kept in line with the shaft by a
+      tiny wooden peg which passed through barb and shaft, being then cut off
+      smoothly on both sides. The point of the harpoon had at one side a
+      wedge-shaped edge, ground to razor keenness, the other side was flat. The
+      shaft, about thirty inches long, was of the best malleable iron, so soft
+      that it would tie into a knot and straighten out again without fracture.
+      Three harpoons, or "irons" as they were always called, were placed in each
+      boat, fitted one above the other in the starboard bow, the first for use
+      being always one unused before, Opposite to them in the boat were fitted
+      three lances for the purpose of KILLING whales, the harpoons being only
+      the means by which the boat was attached to a fish, and quite useless to
+      inflict a fatal wound. These lances were slender spears of malleable iron
+      about four feet long, with oval or heart-shaped points of fine steel about
+      two inches broad, their edges kept keen as a surgeon's lancet. By means of
+      a socket at the other end they were attached to neat handles, or
+      "lance-poles," about as long again, the whole weapon being thus about
+      eight feet in length, and furnished with a light line, or "lance-warp,"
+      for the purpose of drawing it back again when it had been darted at a
+      whale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Each boat was fitted with a centre-board, or sliding keel, which was drawn
+      up, when not in use, into a case standing in the boat's middle, very much
+      in the way. But the American whalemen regard these clumsy contrivances as
+      indispensable, so there's an end on't. The other furniture of a boat
+      comprised five oars of varying lengths from sixteen to nine feet, one
+      great steering oar of nineteen feet, a mast and two sails of great area
+      for so small a craft, spritsail shape; two tubs of whale-line containing
+      together 1800 feet, a keg of drinking water, and another long narrow one
+      with a few biscuits, a lantern, candles and matches therein; a bucket and
+      "piggin" for baling, a small spade, a flag or "wheft," a shoulder bomb-gun
+      and ammunition, two knives and two small axes. A rudder hung outside by
+      the stern.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With all this gear, although snugly stowed, a boat looked so loaded that I
+      could not help wondering how six men would be able to work in her; but
+      like most "deep-water" sailors, I knew very little about boating. I was
+      going to learn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All this work and bustle of preparation was so rapidly carried on, and so
+      interesting, that before supper-time everything was in readiness to
+      commence operations, the time having gone so swiftly that I could hardly
+      believe the bell when it sounded four times, six o'clock.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER III. FISHING BEGINS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      During all the bustle of warlike preparation that had been going on, the
+      greenhorns had not suffered from inattention on the part of those
+      appointed to look after them. Happily for them, the wind blew steadily,
+      and the weather, thanks to the balmy influence of the Gulf Stream, was
+      quite mild and genial. The ship was undoubtedly lively, as all good
+      sea-boats are, but her motions were by no means so detestable to a
+      sea-sick man as those of a driving steamer. So, in spite of their
+      treatment, perhaps because of it, some of the poor fellows were beginning
+      to take hold of things "man-fashion," although of course sea legs they had
+      none, their getting about being indeed a pilgrimage of pain. Some of them
+      were beginning to try the dreadful "grub" (I cannot libel "food" by using
+      it in such a connection), thereby showing that their interest in life,
+      even such a life as was now before them, was returning. They had all been
+      allotted places in the various boats, intermixed with the seasoned
+      Portuguese in such a way that the officer and harpooner in charge would
+      not be dependant upon them entirely in case of a sudden emergency. Every
+      endeavour was undoubtedly made to instruct them in their duties, albeit
+      the teachers were all too apt to beat their information in with anything
+      that came to hand, and persuasion found no place in their methods.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The reports I had always heard of the laziness prevailing on board
+      whale-ships were now abundantly falsified. From dawn to dark work went on
+      without cessation. Everything was rubbed and scrubbed and scoured until no
+      speck or soil could be found; indeed, no gentleman's yacht or man-of-war
+      is kept more spotlessly clean than was the CACHALOT.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A regular and severe routine of labour was kept up; and, what was most
+      galling to me, instead of a regular four hours' watch on and off, night
+      and day, all hands were kept on deck the whole day long, doing quite
+      unnecessary tasks, apparently with the object of preventing too much
+      leisure and consequent brooding over their unhappy lot. One result of this
+      continual drive and tear was that all these landsmen became rapidly imbued
+      with the virtues of cleanliness, which was extended to the den in which we
+      lived, or I verily believe sickness would have soon thinned us out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On the fourth day after leaving port we were all busy as usual except the
+      four men in the "crow's-nests," when a sudden cry of "Porps! porps!"
+      brought everything to a standstill. A large school of porpoises had just
+      joined us, in their usual clownish fashion, rolling and tumbling around
+      the bows as the old barky wallowed along, surrounded by a wide ellipse of
+      snowy foam. All work was instantly suspended, and active preparations made
+      for securing a few of these frolicsome fellows. A "block," or pulley, was
+      hung out at the bowsprit end, a whale-line passed through it and "bent"
+      (fastened) on to a harpoon. Another line with a running "bowline," or
+      slip-noose, was also passed out to the bowsprit end, being held there by
+      one man in readiness. Then one of the harpooners ran out along the
+      backropes, which keep the jib-boom down, taking his stand beneath the
+      bowsprit with the harpoon ready. Presently he raised his iron and followed
+      the track of a rising porpoise with its point until the creature broke
+      water. At the same instant the weapon left his grasp, apparently without
+      any force behind it; but we on deck, holding the line, soon found that our
+      excited hauling lifted a big vibrating body clean out of the smother
+      beneath. "'Vast hauling!" shouted the mate, while as the porpoise hung
+      dangling, the harpooner slipped the ready bowline over his body, gently
+      closing its grip round the "small" by the broad tail. Then we hauled on
+      the noose-line, slacking away the harpoon, and in a minute had our prize
+      on deck. He was dragged away at once and the operation repeated. Again and
+      again we hauled them in, until the fore part of the deck was alive with
+      the kicking, writhing sea-pigs, at least twenty of them. I had seen an
+      occasional porpoise caught at sea before, but never more than one at a
+      time. Here, however, was a wholesale catch. At last one of the harpooned
+      ones plunged so furiously while being hauled up that he literally tore
+      himself off the iron, falling, streaming with blood, back into the sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Away went all the school after him, tearing at him with their long
+      well-toothed jaws, some of them leaping high in the air in their eagerness
+      to get their due share of the cannibal feast. Our fishing was over for
+      that time. Meanwhile one of the harpooners had brought out a number of
+      knives, with which all hands were soon busy skinning the blubber from the
+      bodies. Porpoises have no skin, that is hide, the blubber or coating of
+      lard which encases them being covered by a black substance as thin as
+      tissue paper. The porpoise hide of the boot maker is really leather, made
+      from the skin of the BELUGA, or "white whale," which is found only in the
+      far north. The cover was removed from the "tryworks" amidships, revealing
+      two gigantic pots set in a frame of brickwork side by side, capable of
+      holding 200 gallons each. Such a cooking apparatus as might have graced a
+      Brobdingnagian kitchen. Beneath the pots was the very simplest of
+      furnaces, hardly as elaborate as the familiar copper-hole sacred to
+      washing day. Square funnels of sheet-iron were loosely fitted to the
+      flues, more as a protection against the oil boiling over into the fire
+      than to carry away the smoke, of which from the peculiar nature of the
+      fuel there was very little. At one side of the try-works was a large
+      wooden vessel, or "hopper," to contain the raw blubber; at the other, a
+      copper cistern or cooler of about 300 gallons capacity, into which the
+      prepared oil was baled to cool off, preliminary to its being poured into
+      the casks. Beneath the furnaces was a space as large as the whole area of
+      the try-works, about a foot deep, which, when the fires were lighted, was
+      filled with water to prevent the deck from burning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It may be imagined that the blubber from our twenty porpoises made but a
+      poor show in one of the pots; nevertheless, we got a barrel of very
+      excellent oil from them. The fires were fed with "scrap," or pieces of
+      blubber from which the oil had been boiled, some of which had been
+      reserved from the previous voyage. They burnt with a fierce and steady
+      blaze, leaving but a trace of ash. I was then informed by one of the
+      harpooners that no other fuel was ever used for boiling blubber at any
+      time, there being always amply sufficient for the purpose.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The most interesting part of the whole business, though, to us poor
+      half-starved wretches, was the plentiful supply of fresh meat. Porpoise
+      beef is, when decently cooked, fairly good eating to a landsman; judge,
+      then, what it must have been to us. Of course the tit-bits, such as the
+      liver, kidneys, brains, etc., could not possibly fall to our lot; but we
+      did not complain, we were too thankful to get something eatable, and
+      enough of it. Moreover, although few sailors in English ships know it,
+      porpoise beef improves vastly by keeping, getting tenderer every day the
+      longer it hangs, until at last it becomes as tasty a viand as one could
+      wish to dine upon. It was a good job for us that this was the case, for
+      while the porpoises lasted the "harness casks," or salt beef receptacles,
+      were kept locked; so if any man had felt unable to eat porpoise&mdash;well,
+      there was no compulsion, he could go hungry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were now in the haunts of the Sperm Whale, or "Cachalot," a brilliant
+      look-out being continually kept for any signs of their appearing. One
+      officer and a foremast hand were continually on watch during the day in
+      the main crow's-nest, one harpooner and a seaman in the fore one. A bounty
+      of ten pounds of tobacco was offered to whoever should first report a
+      whale, should it be secured, consequently there were no sleepy eyes up
+      there. Of course none of those who were inexperienced stood much chance
+      against the eagle-eyed Portuguese; but all tried their best, in the hope
+      of perhaps winning some little favour from their hard taskmasters. Every
+      evening at sunset it was "all hands shorten sail," the constant drill
+      rapidly teaching even these clumsy landsmen how to find their way aloft,
+      and do something else besides hold on to anything like grim death when
+      they got there.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last, one beautiful day, the boats were lowered and manned, and away
+      went the greenies on their first practical lesson in the business of the
+      voyage. As before noticed, there were two greenies in each boat, they
+      being so arranged that whenever one of them "caught a crab," which of
+      course was about every other stroke, his failure made little difference to
+      the boat's progress. They learned very fast under the terrible
+      imprecations and storm of blows from the iron-fisted and iron-hearted
+      officers, so that before the day was out the skipper was satisfied of our
+      ability to deal with a "fish" should he be lucky enough to "raise" one. I
+      was, in virtue of my experience, placed at the after-oar in the mate's
+      boat, where it was my duty to attend to the "main sheet" when the sail was
+      set, where also I had the benefit of the lightest oar except the small one
+      used by the harpooner in the bow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The very next day after our first exhaustive boat drill, a school of
+      "Black Fish" was reported from aloft, with great glee the officers
+      prepared for what they considered a rattling day's fun.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Black Fish (PHOCAENA SP.) is a small toothed whale, not at all unlike
+      a miniature cachalot, except that its head is rounded at the front, while
+      its jaw is not long and straight, but bowed. It is as frolicsome as the
+      porpoise, gambolling about in schools of from twenty to fifty or more, as
+      if really delighted to be alive. Its average size is from ten to twenty
+      feet long, and seven or eight feet in girth, weight from one to three
+      tons. Blubber about three inches thick, while the head is almost all oil,
+      so that a good rich specimen will make between one and two barrels of oil
+      of medium quality.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The school we were now in sight of was of middling size and about average
+      weight of individuals, and the officers esteemed it a fortunate
+      circumstance that we should happen across them as a sort of preliminary to
+      our tackling the monarchs of the deep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All the new harpoons were unshipped from the boats, and a couple of extra
+      "second" irons, as those that have been used are called, were put into
+      each boat for use if wanted. The sails were also left on board. We lowered
+      and left the ship, pulling right towards the school, the noise they were
+      making in their fun effectually preventing them from hearing our approach.
+      It is etiquette to allow the mate's boat first place, unless his crew is
+      so weak as to be unable to hold their own; but as the mate always has
+      first pick of the men this seldom happens. So, as usual, we were first,
+      and soon I heard the order given, "Stand up, Louey, and let 'em have it!"
+      Sure enough, here we were right among them. Louis let drive, "fastening" a
+      whopper about twenty feet long. The injured animal plunged madly forward,
+      accompanied by his fellows, while Louis calmly bent another iron to a
+      "short warp," or piece of whale-line, the loose end of which he made a
+      bowline with around the main line which was fast to the "fish." Then he
+      fastened another "fish," and the queer sight was seen of these two
+      monsters each trying to flee in opposite directions, while the second one
+      ranged about alarmingly as his "bridle" ran along the main line. Another
+      one was secured in the same way, then the game was indeed great. The
+      school had by this time taken the alarm and cleared out, but the other
+      boats were all fast to fish, so that didn't matter. Now, at the rate our
+      "game" were going it would evidently be a long while before they died,
+      although, being so much smaller than a whale proper, a harpoon will often
+      kill them at a stroke. Yet they were now so tangled or "snarled erp," as
+      the mate said, that it was no easy matter to lance them without great
+      danger of cutting the line. However, we hauled up as close to them as we
+      dared, and the harpooner got a good blow in, which gave the biggest of the
+      three "Jesse," as he said, though why "Jesse" was a stumper. Anyhow, it
+      killed him promptly, while almost directly after another one saved further
+      trouble by passing in his own checks. But he sank at the same time,
+      drawing the first one down with him, so that we were in considerable
+      danger of having to cut them adrift or be swamped. The "wheft" was waved
+      thrice as an urgent signal to the ship to come to our assistance with all
+      speed, but in the meantime our interest lay in the surviving Black Fish
+      keeping alive. Should HE die, and, as was most probable, sink, we should
+      certainly have to cut and lose the lot, tools included.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We waited in grim silence while the ship came up, so slowly, apparently,
+      that she hardly seemed to move, but really at a good pace of about four
+      knots an hour, which for her was not at all bad. She got alongside of us
+      at last, and we passed up the bight of our line, our fish all safe, very
+      much pleased with ourselves, especially when we found that the other boats
+      had only five between the three of them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The fish secured to the ship, all the boats were hoisted except one, which
+      remained alongside to sling the bodies. During our absence the
+      ship-keepers had been busy rigging one of the cutting falls, an immense
+      fourfold tackle from the main lowermast-head, of four-inch rope through
+      great double blocks, large as those used at dockyards for lifting ships'
+      masts and boilers. Chain-slings were passed around the carcases, which
+      gripped the animal at the "small," being prevented from slipping off by
+      the broad spread of the tail. The end of the "fall," or tackle-rope, was
+      then taken to the windlass, and we hove away cheerily, lifting the
+      monsters right on deck. A mountainous pile they made. A short spell was
+      allowed, when the whole eight were on board, for dinner; then all hands
+      turned to again to "flench" the blubber, and prepare for trying-out. This
+      was a heavy job, keeping all hands busy until it was quite dark, the
+      latter part of the work being carried on by the light of a "cresset," the
+      flames of which were fed with "scrap," which blazed brilliantly, throwing
+      a big glare over all the ship. The last of the carcases was launched
+      overboard by about eight o'clock that evening, but not before some vast
+      junks of beef had been cut off and hung up in the rigging for our food
+      supply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The try-works were started again, "trying-out" going on busily all night,
+      watch and watch taking their turn at keeping the pots supplied with minced
+      blubber. The work was heavy, while the energetic way in which it was
+      carried on made us all glad to take what rest was allowed us, which was
+      scanty enough, as usual.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By nightfall the next day the ship had resumed her normal appearance, and
+      we were a tun and a quarter of oil to the good. Black Fish oil is of
+      medium quality, but I learned that, according to the rule of "roguery in
+      all trades," it was the custom to mix quantities such as we had just
+      obtained with better class whale-oil, and thus get a much higher price
+      than it was really worth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Up till this time we had no sort of an idea as to where our first
+      objective might be, but from scraps of conversation I had overheard among
+      the harpooners, I gathered that we were making for the Cape Verde Islands
+      or the Acores, in the vicinity of which a good number of moderate-sized
+      sperm whales are often to be found. In fact, these islands have long been
+      a nursery for whale-fishers, because the cachalot loves their steep-to
+      shores, and the hardy natives, whenever and wherever they can muster a
+      boat and a little gear, are always ready to sally forth and attack the
+      unwary whale that ventures within their ken. Consequently more than half
+      of the total crews of the American whaling fleet are composed of these
+      islanders. Many of them have risen to the position of captain, and still
+      more are officers and harpooners; but though undoubtedly brave and
+      enterprising, they are cruel and treacherous, and in positions of
+      authority over men of Teutonic or Anglo-Saxon origin, are apt to treat
+      their subordinates with great cruelty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER IV. BAD WEATHER
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Nautical routine in its essential details is much the same in all ships,
+      whether naval, merchant, or whaling vessels. But while in the ordinary
+      merchantman there are decidedly "no more cats than can catch mice,"
+      hardly, indeed, sufficient for all the mousing that should be done, in
+      men-of-war and whaleships the number of hands carried, being far more than
+      are wanted for everyday work, must needs be kept at unnecessary duties in
+      order that they may not grow lazy and discontented.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For instance, in the CACHALOT we carried a crew of thirty-seven all told,
+      of which twenty-four were men before the mast, or common seamen, our
+      tonnage being under 400 tons. Many a splendid clipper-ship carrying an
+      enormous spread of canvas on four masts, and not overloaded with 2500 tons
+      of cargo on board, carries twenty-eight or thirty all told, or even less
+      than that. As far as we were concerned, the result of this was that our
+      landsmen got so thoroughly drilled, that within a week of leaving port
+      they hardly knew themselves for the clumsy clodhoppers they at first
+      appeared to be.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had now been eight days out, and in our leisurely way were making fair
+      progress across the Atlantic, having had nothing, so far, but steady
+      breezes and fine weather. As it was late autumn the first week in October&mdash;I
+      rather wondered at this, for even in my brief experience I had learned to
+      dread a "fall" voyage across the "Western Ocean."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Gradually the face of the sky changed, and the feel of the air, from balmy
+      and genial, became raw and cheerless. The little wave tops broke short off
+      and blew backwards, apparently against the wind, while the old vessel had
+      an uneasy, unnatural motion, caused by a long, new swell rolling athwart
+      the existing set of the sea. Then the wind became fitful and changeable,
+      backing half round the compass, and veering forward again as much in an
+      hour, until at last in one tremendous squall it settled in the N.W. for a
+      business-like blow, Unlike the hurried merchantman who must needs "hang
+      on" till the last minute, only shortening the sail when absolutely
+      compelled to do so, and at the first sign of the gales relenting, piling
+      it on again, we were all snug long before the storm burst upon us, and now
+      rode comfortably under the tiniest of storm staysails.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were evidently in for a fair specimen of Western Ocean weather, but the
+      clumsy-looking, old-fashioned CACHALOT made no more fuss over it than one
+      of the long-winged sea-birds that floated around, intent only upon
+      snapping up any stray scraps that might escape from us. Higher rose the
+      wind, heavier rolled the sea, yet never a drop of water did we ship, nor
+      did anything about the deck betoken what a heavy gale was blowing. During
+      the worst of the weather, and just after the wind had shifted back into
+      the N.E., making an uglier cross sea than ever get up, along comes an
+      immense four-masted iron ship homeward bound. She was staggering under a
+      veritable mountain of canvas, fairly burying her bows in the foam at every
+      forward drive, and actually wetting the clews of the upper topsails in the
+      smothering masses of spray, that every few minutes almost hid her hull
+      from sight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a splendid picture; but&mdash;for the time&mdash;I felt glad I was
+      not on board of her. In a very few minutes she was out of our ken,
+      followed by the admiration of all. Then came, from the other direction, a
+      huge steamship, taking no more notice of the gale than as if it were calm.
+      Straight through the sea she rushed, dividing the mighty rollers to the
+      heart, and often bestriding three seas at once, the centre one spreading
+      its many tons of foaming water fore and aft, so that from every orifice
+      spouted the seething brine. Compared with these greyhounds of the wave, we
+      resembled nothing so much as some old lightship bobbing serenely around,
+      as if part and parcel of the mid-Atlantic.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our greenies were getting so well seasoned by this time that even this
+      rough weather did not knock any of them over, and from that time forward
+      they had no more trouble from sea-sickness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The gale gradually blew itself out, leaving behind only a long and very
+      heavy swell to denote the deep-reaching disturbance that the ocean had
+      endured. And now we were within the range of the Sargasso Weed, that
+      mysterious FUCUS that makes the ocean look. like some vast hayfield, and
+      keeps the sea from rising, no matter how high the wind. It fell a dead
+      calm, and the harpooners amused themselves by dredging up great masses of
+      the weed, and turning out the many strange creatures abiding therein. What
+      a world of wonderful life the weed is, to be sure! In it the flying fish
+      spawn and the tiny cuttle-fish breed, both of them preparing bounteous
+      provision for the larger denizens of the deep that have no other food.
+      Myriads of tiny crabs and innumerable specimens of less-known shell-fish,
+      small fish of species as yet unclassified in any work on natural history,
+      with jelly-fish of every conceivable and inconceivable shape, form part of
+      this great and populous country in the sea. At one haul there was brought
+      on board a mass of flying-fish spawn, about ten pounds in weight, looking
+      like nothing so much as a pile of ripe white currants, and clinging
+      together in a very similar manner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such masses of ova I had often seen cast up among the outlying rocks on
+      the shores of the Caribbean Sea, when as a shipwrecked lad I wandered idly
+      about unburying turtle eggs from their snug beds in the warm sand, and
+      chasing the many-hued coral fish from one hiding-place to another.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While loitering in these smooth waters, waiting for the laggard wind, up
+      came a shoal of dolphin, ready as at all times to attach themselves for
+      awhile to the ship. Nothing is more singular than the manner in which
+      deep-sea fish will accompany a vessel that is not going too fast&mdash;sometimes
+      for days at a time. Most convenient too, and providing hungry Jack with
+      many a fresh mess he would otherwise have missed. Of all these friendly
+      fish, none is better known than the "dolphin," as from long usage sailors
+      persist in calling them, and will doubtless do so until the end of the
+      chapter. For the true dolphin (DELPHINIDAE) is not a fish at all, but a
+      mammal a warm-blooded creature that suckles its young, and in its most
+      familiar form is known to most people as the porpoise. The sailor's
+      "dolphin," on the other hand, is a veritable fish, with vertical tail fin
+      instead of the horizontal one which distinguishes all the whale family,
+      scales and gills.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is well known to literature, under its sea-name, for its marvellous
+      brilliancy of colour, and there are few objects more dazzling than a
+      dolphin leaping out of a calm sea into the sunshine. The beauty of a dying
+      dolphin, however, though sanctioned by many generations of writers, is a
+      delusion, all the glory of the fish departing as soon as he is withdrawn
+      from his native element.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But this habit of digression grows upon one, and I must do my best to
+      check it, or I shall never get through my task.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To resume then: when this school of dolphin (I can't for the life of me
+      call them CORIPHAENA HIPPURIS) came alongside, a rush was made for the
+      "granes"&mdash;a sort of five-pronged trident, if I may be allowed a baby
+      bull. It was universally agreed among the fishermen that trying a hook and
+      line was only waste of time and provocative of profanity! since every
+      sailor knows that all the deep-water big fish require a living or
+      apparently living bait. The fish, however, sheered off, and would not be
+      tempted within reach of that deadly fork by any lure. Then did I cover
+      myself with glory. For he who can fish cleverly and luckily may be sure of
+      fairly good times in a whaler, although he may be no great things at any
+      other work. I had a line of my own, and begging one of the small fish that
+      had been hauled up in the Gulf weed, I got permission to go aft and fish
+      over the taffrail. The little fish was carefully secured on the hook, the
+      point of which just protruded near his tail. Then I lowered him into the
+      calm blue waters beneath, and paid out line very gently, until my bait was
+      a silvery spot about a hundred feet astern. Only a very short time, and my
+      hopes rose as I saw one bright gleam after another glide past the keel,
+      heading aft. Then came a gentle drawing at the line, which I suffered to
+      slip slowly through my fingers until I judged it time to try whether I was
+      right or wrong, A long hard pull, and my heart beat fast as I felt the
+      thrill along the line that fishermen love. None of your high art here, but
+      haul in hand over hand, the line being strong enough to land a 250 pound
+      fish. Up he came, the beauty, all silver and scarlet and blue, five feet
+      long if an inch, and weighing 35 pounds. Well, such a lot of astonished
+      men I never saw. They could hardly believe their eyes. That such a daring
+      innovation should be successful was hardly to be believed, even with the
+      vigorous evidence before them. Even grim Captain Slocum came to look and
+      turned upon me as I thought a less lowering brow than usual, while Mr.
+      Count, the mate, fairly chuckled again at the thought of how the little
+      Britisher had wiped the eyes of these veteran fishermen. The captive was
+      cut open, and two recent flying-fish found in his maw, which were utilized
+      for new bait, with the result that there was a cheerful noise of hissing
+      and spluttering in the galley soon after, and a mess of fish for all
+      hands.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Shortly afterwards a fresh breeze sprang up, which proved to be the
+      beginning of the N.E. trades, and fairly guaranteed us against any very
+      bad weather for some time to come.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Somehow or other it had leaked out that we were to cruise the Cape Verd
+      Islands for a spell before working south, and the knowledge seemed to have
+      quite an enlivening effect upon our Portuguese shipmates.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Most of them belonged there, and although there was but the faintest
+      prospect of their getting ashore upon any pretext whatever, the
+      possibility of seeing their island homes again seemed to quite transform
+      them. Hitherto they had been very moody and exclusive, never associating
+      with us on the white side, or attempting to be at all familiar. A mutual
+      atmosphere of suspicion, in fact, seemed to pervade our quarters, making
+      things already uncomfortable enough, still more so. Now, however, they
+      fraternized with us, and in a variety of uncouth ways made havoc of the
+      English tongue, as they tried to impress us with the beauty, fertility and
+      general incomparability of their beloved Cape Verds. Of the eleven white
+      men besides myself in the forecastle, there were a middle-aged German
+      baker, who had bolted from Buffalo; two Hungarians, who looked like
+      noblemen disguised&mdash;in dirt; two slab-sided Yankees of about 22 from
+      farms in Vermont; a drayman from New York; a French Canadian from the
+      neighbourhood of Quebec; two Italians from Genoa; and two nondescripts
+      that I never found out the origin of. Imagine, then, the babel of sound,
+      and think&mdash;but no, it is impossible to think, what sort of a jargon
+      was compounded of all these varying elements of language.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One fortunate thing, there was peace below. Indeed, the spirit seemed
+      completely taken out of all of them, and by some devilish ingenuity the
+      afterguard had been able to sow distrust between them all, while treating
+      them like dogs, so that the miseries of their life were never openly
+      discussed. My position among them gave me at times some uneasiness. Though
+      I tried to be helpful to all, and was full of sympathy for their
+      undeserved sufferings, I could not but feel that they would have been more
+      than human had they not envied me my immunity from the kicks and blows
+      they all shared so impartially. However, there was no help for it, so I
+      went on as cheerily as I could.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A peculiarity of all these vessels, as I afterwards learned, was that no
+      stated allowance of anything was made. Even the water was not served out
+      to us, but was kept in a great scuttle-butt by the cabin door, to which
+      every one who needed a drink had to go, and from which none might be
+      carried away. No water was allowed for washing except from the sea; and
+      every one knows, or should know, that neither flesh nor clothes can be
+      cleansed with that. But a cask with a perforated top was lashed by the
+      bowsprit and kept filled with urine, which I was solemnly assured by
+      Goliath was the finest dirt-extractor in the world for clothes. The
+      officers did not avail themselves of its virtues though, but were content
+      with lye, which was furnished in plenty by the ashes from the galley fire,
+      where nothing but wood was used as fuel. Of course when rain fell we might
+      have a good wash, if it was night and no other work was toward; but we
+      were not allowed to store any for washing purposes. Another curious but
+      absolutely necessary custom prevailed in consequence of the short commons
+      under which we lived. When the portion of meat was brought down in its
+      wooden kid, or tub, at dinner-time, it was duly divided as fairly as
+      possible into as many parts as there were mouths. Then one man turned his
+      back on the carver, who holding up each portion, called out, "Who's this
+      for?" Whatever name was mentioned by the arbitrator, that man owning it
+      received the piece, and had perforce to be satisfied therewith. Thus
+      justice was done to all in the only way possible, and without any friction
+      whatever.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As some of us were without clothes except what we stood upright in, when
+      we joined, the "slop chest" was opened, and every applicant received from
+      the steward what Captain Slocum thought fit to let him have, being debited
+      with the cost against such wages as he might afterwards earn. The clothes
+      were certainly of fairly good quality, if the price was high, and exactly
+      suited to our requirements. Soap, matches, and tobacco were likewise
+      supplied on the same terms, but at higher prices than I had ever heard of
+      before for these necessaries. After much careful inquiry I ascertained
+      what, in the event of a successful voyage, we were likely to earn. Each of
+      us were on the two hundredth "lay" or share at $200 per tun, which meant
+      that for every two hundred barrels of oil taken on board, we were entitled
+      to one, which we must sell to the ship at the rate of L40 per tun or L4
+      per barrel. Truly a magnificent outlook for young men bound to such a
+      business for three or four years.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER V. ACTUAL WARFARE. OUR FIRST WHALE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Simultaneous ideas occurring to several people, or thought transference,
+      whatever one likes to call the phenomenon is too frequent an occurrence in
+      most of our experience to occasion much surprise. Yet on the occasion to
+      which I am about to refer, the matter was so very marked that few of us
+      who took part in the day's proceedings are ever likely to forget it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were all gathered about the fo'lk'sle scuttle one evening, a few days
+      after the gale referred to in the previous chapter, and the question of
+      whale-fishing came up for discussion. Until that time, strange as it may
+      seem, no word of this, the central idea of all our minds, had been mooted.
+      Every man seemed to shun the subject, although we were in daily
+      expectation of being called upon to take an active part in whale-fighting.
+      Once the ice was broken, nearly all had something to say about it, and
+      very nearly as many addle-headed opinions were ventilated as at a Colney
+      Hatch debating society. For we none of us KNEW anything about it. I was
+      appealed to continually to support this or that theory, but as far as
+      whaling went I could only, like the rest of them, draw upon my imagination
+      for details. How did a whale act, what were the first steps taken, what
+      chance was there of being saved if your boat got smashed, and so on unto
+      infinity. At last, getting very tired of this "Portugee Parliament" of all
+      talkers and no listeners, I went aft to get a drink of water before
+      turning in. The harpooners and other petty officers were grouped in the
+      waist, earnestly discussing the pros and cons of attack upon whales. As I
+      passed I heard the mate's harpooner say, "Feels like whale about. I bet a
+      plug (of tobacco) we raise sperm whale to-morrow." Nobody took his bet,
+      for it appeared that they were mostly of the same mind, and while I was
+      drinking I heard the officers in dignified conclave talking over the same
+      thing. It was Saturday evening, and while at home people were looking
+      forward to a day's respite from work and care, I felt that the coming day,
+      though never taken much notice of on board, was big with the probabilities
+      of strife such as I at least had at present no idea of. So firmly was I
+      possessed by the prevailing feeling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The night was very quiet. A gentle breeze was blowing, and the sky was of
+      the usual "Trade" character, that is, a dome of dark blue fringed at the
+      horizon with peaceful cumulus clouds, almost motionless. I turned in at
+      four a.m. from the middle watch and, as usual, slept like a babe. Suddenly
+      I started wide awake, a long mournful sound sending a thrill to my very
+      heart. As I listened breathlessly other sounds of the same character but
+      in different tones joined in, human voices monotonously intoning in long
+      drawn-out expirations the single word "bl-o-o-o-o-w." Then came a
+      hurricane of noise overhead, and adjurations in no gentle language to the
+      sleepers to "tumble up lively there, no skulking, sperm whales." At last,
+      then, fulfilling all the presentiments of yesterday, the long dreaded
+      moment had arrived. Happily there was no time for hesitation, in less than
+      two minutes we were all on deck, and hurrying to our respective boats.
+      There was no flurry or confusion, and except that orders were given more
+      quietly than usual, with a manifest air of suppressed excitement, there
+      was nothing to show that we were not going for an ordinary course of boat
+      drill. The skipper was in the main crow's-nest with his binoculars
+      presently he shouted, "Naow then, Mr. Count, lower away soon's y'like.
+      Small pod o'cows, an' one'r two bulls layin' off to west'ard of 'em." Down
+      went the boats into the water quietly enough, we all scrambled in and
+      shoved off. A stroke or two of the oars were given to get clear of the
+      ship, and one another, then oars were shipped and up went the sails. As I
+      took my allotted place at the main-sheet, and the beautiful craft started
+      off like some big bird, Mr. Count leant forward, saying impressively to
+      me, "Y'r a smart youngster, an' I've kinder took t'yer; but don't ye look
+      ahead an' get gallied, 'r I'll knock ye stiff wi' th' tiller; y'hear me?
+      N' don't ye dare to make thet sheet fast, 'r ye'll die so sudden y' won't
+      know whar y'r hurted." I said as cheerfully as I could, "All right, sir,"
+      trying to look unconcerned, telling myself not to be a coward, and all
+      sorts of things; but the cold truth is that I was scared almost to death
+      because I didn't know what was coming. However, I did the best thing under
+      the circumstances, obeyed orders and looked steadily astern, or up into
+      the bronzed impassive face of my chief, who towered above me, scanning
+      with eagle eyes the sea ahead. The other boats were coming flying along
+      behind us, spreading wider apart as they came, while in the bows of each
+      stood the harpooner with his right hand on his first iron, which lay
+      ready, pointing over the bow in a raised fork of wood called the "crutch."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All of a sudden, at a motion of the chief's hand, the peak of our mainsail
+      was dropped, and the boat swung up into the wind, laying "hove to," almost
+      stationary. The centre-board was lowered to stop her drifting to leeward,
+      although I cannot say it made much difference that ever I saw. NOW what's
+      the matter, I thought, when to my amazement the chief addressing me said,
+      "Wonder why we've hauled up, don't ye?" "Yes, sir, I do," said I. "Wall,"
+      said he, "the fish hev sounded, an' 'ef we run over 'em, we've seen the
+      last ov'em. So we wait awhile till they rise agin, 'n then we'll prob'ly
+      git thar' 'r thareabonts before they sound agin." With this explanation I
+      had to be content, although if it be no clearer to my readers than it then
+      was to me, I shall have to explain myself more fully later on. Silently we
+      lay, rocking lazily upon the gentle swell, no other word being spoken by
+      any one. At last Louis, the harpooner, gently breathed "blo-o-o-w;" and
+      there, sure enough, not half a mile away on the lee beam, was a little
+      bushy cloud of steam apparently rising from the sea. At almost the same
+      time as we kept away all the other boats did likewise, and just then,
+      catching sight of the ship, the reason for this apparently concerted
+      action was explained. At the main-mast head of the ship was a square blue
+      flag, and the ensign at the peak was being dipped. These were signals well
+      understood and promptly acted upon by those in charge of the boats, who
+      were thus guided from a point of view at least one hundred feet above the
+      sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Stand up, Louey," the mate murmured softly. I only just stopped myself in
+      time from turning my head to see why the order was given. Suddenly there
+      was a bump, at the same moment the mate yelled, "Give't to him, Louey,
+      give't to him!" and to me, "Haul that main sheet, naow haul, why don't
+      ye?" I hauled it flat aft, and the boat shot up into the wind, rubbing
+      sides as she did so with what to my troubled sight seemed an enormous mass
+      of black india-rubber floating. As we CRAWLED up into the wind, the whale
+      went into convulsions befitting his size and energy. He raised a gigantic
+      tail on high, threshing the water with deafening blows, rolling at the
+      same time from side to side until the surrounding sea was white with
+      froth. I felt in an agony lest we should be crushed under one of those
+      fearful strokes, for Mr. Count appeared to be oblivious of possible
+      danger, although we seemed to be now drifting back on to the writhing
+      leviathan. In the agitated condition of the sea, it was a task of no
+      ordinary difficulty to unship the tall mast, which was of course the first
+      thing to be done. After a desperate struggle, and a narrow escape from
+      falling overboard of one of the men, we got the lone "stick," with the
+      sail bundled around it, down and "fleeted" aft, where it was secured by
+      the simple means of sticking the "heel" under the after thwart, two-thirds
+      of the mast extending out over the stern. Meanwhile, we had certainly been
+      in a position of the greatest danger, our immunity from damage being
+      unquestionably due to anything but precaution taken to avoid it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By the time the oars were handled, and the mate had exchanged places with
+      the harpooner, our friend the enemy had "sounded," that is, he had gone
+      below for a change of scene, marvelling no doubt what strange thing had
+      befallen him. Agreeably to the accounts which I, like most boys, had read
+      of the whale fishery, I looked for the rushing of the line round the
+      logger-head (a stout wooden post built into the boat aft), to raise a
+      cloud of smoke with occasional bursts of flame; so as it began to slowly
+      surge round the post, I timidly asked the harpooner whether I should throw
+      any water on it. "Wot for?" growled he, as he took a couple more turns
+      with it. Not knowing "what for," and hardly liking to quote my authorities
+      here, I said no more, but waited events. "Hold him up, Louey, bold him up,
+      cain't ye?" shouted the mate, and to my horror, down went the nose of the
+      boat almost under water, while at the mate's order everybody scrambled aft
+      into the elevated stern sheets.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The line sang quite a tune as it was grudgingly allowed to surge round the
+      loggerhead, filling one with admiration at the strength shown by such a
+      small rope. This sort of thing went on for about twenty minutes, in which
+      time we quite emptied the large tub and began on the small one. As there
+      was nothing whatever for us to do while this was going on, I had ample
+      leisure for observing the little game that was being played about a
+      quarter of a mile away. Mr. Cruce, the second mate, had got a whale and
+      was doing his best to kill it; but he was severely handicapped by his
+      crew, or rather had been, for two of them were now temporarily incapable
+      of either good or harm. They had gone quite "batchy" with fright,
+      requiring a not too gentle application of the tiller to their heads in
+      order to keep them quiet. The remedy, if rough, was effectual, for "the
+      subsequent proceedings interested them no more." Consequently his
+      manoeuvres were not so well or rapidly executed as he, doubtless, could
+      have wished, although his energy in lancing that whale was something to
+      admire and remember. Hatless, his shirt tail out of the waist of his
+      trousers streaming behind him like a banner, he lunged and thrust at the
+      whale alongside of him, as if possessed of a destroying devil, while his
+      half articulate yells of rage and blasphemy were audible even to us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly our boat fell backward from her "slantindicular" position with a
+      jerk, and the mate immediately shouted, "Haul line, there! look lively,
+      now, you&mdash;so on, etcetera, etcetera" (he seemed to invent new
+      epithets on every occasion). The line came in hand over hand, and was
+      coiled in a wide heap in the stern sheets, for silky as it was, it could
+      not be expected in its wet state to lie very close. As it came flying in
+      the mate kept a close gaze upon the water immediately beneath us,
+      apparently for the first glimpse of our antagonist. When the whale broke
+      water, however, he was some distance off, and apparently as quiet as a
+      lamb. Now, had Mr. Count been a prudent or less ambitious man, our task
+      would doubtless have been an easy one, or comparatively so; but, being a
+      little over-grasping, he got us all into serious trouble. We were hauling
+      up to our whale in order to lance it, and the mate was standing, lance in
+      hand, only waiting to get near enough, when up comes a large whale right
+      alongside of our boat, so close, indeed, that I might have poked my finger
+      in his little eye, if I had chosen. The sight of that whale at liberty,
+      and calmly taking stock of us like that, was too much for the mate. He
+      lifted his lance and hurled it at the visitor, in whose broad flank it
+      sank, like a knife into butter, right up to the pole-hitches. The
+      recipient disappeared like a flash, but before one had time to think,
+      there was an awful crash beneath us, and the mate shot up into the air
+      like a bomb from a mortar. He came down in a sitting posture on the
+      mast-thwart; but as he fell, the whole framework of the boat collapsed
+      like a derelict umbrella. Louis quietly chopped the line and severed our
+      connection with the other whale, while in accordance with our instructions
+      we drew each man his oar across the boat and lashed it firmly down with a
+      piece of line spliced to each thwart for the purpose. This simple
+      operation took but a minute, but before it was completed we were all up to
+      our necks in the sea. Still in the boat, it is true, and therefore not in
+      such danger of drowning as if we were quite adrift; but, considering that
+      the boat was reduced to a mere bundle of loose planks, I, at any rate, was
+      none too comfortable. Now, had he known it, was the whale's golden
+      opportunity; but he, poor wretch, had had quite enough of our company, and
+      cleared off without any delay, wondering, no doubt, what fortunate
+      accident had rid him of our very unpleasant attentions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I was assured that we were all as safe as if we were on board the ship, to
+      which I answered nothing; but, like Jack's parrot, I did some powerful
+      thinking. Every little wave that came along swept clean over our heads,
+      sometimes coming so suddenly as to cut a breath in half. If the wind
+      should increase&mdash;but no&mdash;I wouldn't face the possibility of such
+      a disagreeable thing. I was cool enough now in a double sense, for
+      although we were in the tropics, we soon got thoroughly chilled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By the position of the sun it must have been between ten a.m. and noon,
+      and we, of the crew, had eaten nothing since the previous day at supper,
+      when, as usual, the meal was very light. Therefore, I suppose we felt the
+      chill sooner than the better-nourished mate and harpooner, who looked
+      rather scornfully at our blue faces and chattering teeth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In spite of all assurances to the contrary, I have not the least doubt in
+      my own mind that a very little longer would have relieved us of ALL our
+      burdens finally. Because the heave of the sea had so loosened the
+      shattered planks upon which we stood that they were on the verge of
+      falling all asunder. Had they done so we must have drowned, for we were
+      cramped and stiff with cold and our constrained position. However, unknown
+      to us, a bright look-out upon our movements had been kept from the
+      crow's-nest the whole time. We should have been relieved long before, but
+      that the whale killed by the second mate was being secured, and another
+      boat, the fourth mate's, being picked up, having a hole in her bilge you
+      could put you head through. With all these hindrances, especially securing
+      the whale, we were fortunate to be rescued as soon as we were, since it is
+      well known that whales are of much higher commercial value than men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, help came at last, and we were hauled alongside. Long exposure
+      had weakened us to such an extent that it was necessary to hoist us on
+      board, especially the mate, whose "sudden stop," when he returned to us
+      after his little aerial excursion, had shaken his sturdy frame
+      considerably, a state of body which the subsequent soaking had by no means
+      improved. In my innocence I imagined that we should be commiserated for
+      our misfortunes by Captain Slocum, and certainly be relieved from further
+      duties until we were a little recovered from the rough treatment we had
+      just undergone. But I never made a greater mistake. The skipper cursed us
+      all (except the mate, whose sole fault the accident undoubtedly was) with
+      a fluency and vigour that was, to put it mildly, discouraging. Moreover,
+      we were informed that he "wouldn't have no adjective skulking;" we must
+      "turn to" and do something after wasting the ship's time and property in
+      such a blanked manner. There was a limit, however, to our obedience, so
+      although we could not move at all for awhile, his threats were not
+      proceeded with farther than theory.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A couple of slings were passed around the boat, by means of which she was
+      carefully hoisted on board, a mere dilapidated bundle of sticks and raffle
+      of gear. She was at once removed aft out of the way, the business of
+      cutting in the whale claiming precedence over everything else just then.
+      The preliminary proceedings consisted of rigging the "cutting stage." This
+      was composed of two stout planks a foot wide and ten feet long, the inner
+      ends of which were suspended by strong ropes over the ship's side about
+      four feet from the water, while the outer extremities were upheld by
+      tackles from the main rigging, and a small crane abreast the try-works.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These planks were about thirty feet apart, their two outer ends being
+      connected by a massive plank which was securely bolted to them. A handrail
+      about as high as a man's waist, supported by light iron stanchions, ran
+      the full length of this plank on the side nearest the ship, the whole
+      fabric forming an admirable standing-place from whence the officers might,
+      standing in comparative comfort, cut and carve at the great mass below to
+      their hearts' content.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So far the prize had been simply held alongside by the whale-line, which
+      at death had been "rove" through a hole cut in the solid gristle of the
+      tail; but now it became necessary to secure the carcase to the ship in
+      some more permanent fashion. Therefore, a massive chain like a small
+      ship's cable was brought forward, and in a very ingenious way, by means of
+      a tiny buoy and a hand-lead, passed round the body, one end brought
+      through a ring in the other, and hauled upon until it fitted tight round
+      the "small" or part of the whale next the broad spread of the tail. The
+      free end of the fluke-chain was then passed in through a mooring-pipe
+      forward, firmly secured to a massive bitt at the heel of the bowsprit (the
+      fluke-chain-bitt), and all was ready.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the subsequent proceedings were sufficiently complicated to demand a
+      fresh chapter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER VI. "DIRTY WORK FOR CLEAN MONEY"
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      If in the preceding chapter too much stress has been laid upon the
+      smashing of our own boat and consequent sufferings, while little or no
+      notice was taken of the kindred disaster to Mistah Jones' vessel, my
+      excuse must be that the experience "filled me right up to the chin," as
+      the mate concisely, if inelegantly, put it. Poor Goliath was indeed to be
+      pitied, for his well-known luck and capacity as a whaleman seemed on this
+      occasion to have quite deserted him. Not only had his boat been stove upon
+      first getting on to the whale, but he hadn't even had a run for his money.
+      It appeared that upon striking his whale, a small, lively cow, she had at
+      once "settled," allowing the boat to run over her; but just as they were
+      passing, she rose, gently enough, her pointed hump piercing the thin skin
+      of half-inch cedar as if it had been cardboard. She settled again
+      immediately, leaving a hole behind her a foot long by six inches wide,
+      which effectually put a stop to all further fishing operations on the part
+      of Goliath and his merry men for that day, at any rate. It was all so
+      quiet, and so tame and so stupid, no wonder Mistah Jones felt savage. When
+      Captain Slocum's fluent profanity flickered around him, including
+      vehemently all he might be supposed to have any respect for, he did not
+      even LOOK as if he would like to talk back; he only looked sick and tired
+      of being himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The third mate, again, was of a different category altogether. He had
+      distinguished himself by missing every opportunity of getting near a whale
+      while there was a "loose" one about, and then "saving" the crew of
+      Goliath's boat, who were really in no danger whatever. His iniquity was
+      too great to be dealt with by mere bad language. He crept about like a
+      homeless dog&mdash;much, I am afraid, to my secret glee, for I couldn't
+      help remembering his untiring cruelty to the green hands on first leaving
+      port.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In consequence of these little drawbacks we were not a very jovial crowd
+      forrard or aft. Not that hilarity was ever particularly noticeable among
+      us, but just now there was a very decided sense of wrong-doing over us
+      all, and a general fear that each of us was about to pay the penalty due
+      to some other delinquent. But fortunately there was work to be done. Oh,
+      blessed work! how many awkward situations you have extricated people from!
+      How many distracted brains have you soothed and restored, by your steady
+      irresistible pressure of duty to be done and brooking of no delay!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The first thing to be done was to cut the whale's head off. This
+      operation, involving the greatest amount of labour in the whole of the
+      cutting in, was taken in hand by the first and second mates, who, armed
+      with twelve-feet spades, took their station upon the stage, leaned over
+      the handrail to steady themselves, and plunged their weapons vigorously
+      down through the massive neck of the animal&mdash;if neck it could be said
+      to have&mdash;following a well-defined crease in the blubber. At the same
+      time the other officers passed a heavy chain sling around the long, narrow
+      lower jaw, hooking one of the big cutting tackles into it, the "fall" of
+      which was then taken to the windlass and hove tight, turning the whale on
+      her back. A deep cut was then made on both sides of the rising jaw, the
+      windlass was kept going, and gradually the whole of the throat was raised
+      high enough for a hole to be cut through its mass, into which the strap of
+      the second cutting tackle was inserted and secured by passing a huge
+      toggle of oak through its eye. The second tackle was then hove taut, and
+      the jaw, with a large piece of blubber attached, was cut off from the body
+      with a boarding-knife, a tool not unlike a cutlass blade set into a
+      three-foot-long wooden handle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Upon being severed the whole piece swung easily inboard and was lowered on
+      deck. The fast tackle was now hove upon while the third mate on the stage
+      cut down diagonally into the blubber on the body, which the purchase
+      ripped off in a broad strip or "blanket" about five feet wide and a foot
+      thick. Meanwhile the other two officers carved away vigorously at the
+      head, varying their labours by cutting a hole right through the snout.
+      This when completed received a heavy chain for the purpose of securing the
+      head. When the blubber had been about half stripped off the body, a halt
+      was called in order that the work of cutting off the head might be
+      finished, for it was a task of incredible difficulty. It was accomplished
+      at last, and the mass floated astern by a stout rope, after which the
+      windlass pawls clattered merrily, the "blankets" rose in quick succession,
+      and were cut off and lowered into the square of the main batch or
+      "blubber-room." A short time sufficed to strip off the whole of the
+      body-blubber, and when at last the tail was reached, the backbone was cut
+      through, the huge mass of flesh floating away to feed the innumerable
+      scavengers of the sea. No sooner was the last of the blubber lowered into
+      the hold than the hatches were put on and the head hauled up alongside.
+      Both tackles were secured to it and all hands took to the windlass levers.
+      This was a small cow whale of about thirty barrels, that is, yielding that
+      amount of oil, so it was just possible to lift the entire head on board;
+      but as it weighed as much as three full-grown elephants, it was indeed a
+      heavy lift for even our united forces, trying our tackle to the utmost.
+      The weather was very fine, and the ship rolled but little; even then, the
+      strain upon the mast was terrific, and right glad was I when at last the
+      immense cube of fat, flesh, and bone was eased inboard and gently lowered
+      on deck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As soon as it was secured the work of dividing it began. From the snout a
+      triangular mass was cut, which was more than half pure spermaceti. This
+      substance was contained in spongy cells held together by layers of dense
+      white fibre, exceedingly tough and elastic, and called by the whalers
+      "white-horse." The whole mass, or "junk" as it is called, was hauled away
+      to the ship's side and firmly lashed to the bulwarks for the time being,
+      so that it might not "take charge" of the deck during the rest of the
+      operations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The upper part of the head was now slit open lengthwise, disclosing an
+      oblong cistern or "case" full of liquid spermaceti, clear as water. This
+      was baled out with buckets into a tank, concreting as it cooled into a
+      wax-like substance, bland and tasteless. There being now nothing more
+      remaining about the skull of any value, the lashings were loosed, and the
+      first leeward roll sent the great mass plunging overboard with a mighty
+      splash. It sank like a stone, eagerly followed by a few small sharks that
+      were hovering near.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As may be imagined, much oil was running about the deck, for so saturated
+      was every part of the creature with it that it really gushed like water
+      during the cutting-up process. None of it was allowed to run to waste,
+      though, for the scupper-holes which drain the deck were all carefully
+      plugged, and as soon as the "junk" had been dissected all the oil was
+      carefully "squeegeed" up and poured into the try-pots.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two men were now told off as "blubber-room men," whose duty it became to
+      go below, and squeezing themselves in as best they could between the
+      greasy masses of fat, cut it up into "horse-pieces" about eighteen inches
+      long and six inches square. Doing this they became perfectly saturated
+      with oil, as if they had taken a bath in a tank of it; for as the vessel
+      rolled it was impossible to maintain a footing, and every fall was upon
+      blubber running with oil. A machine of wonderful construction had been
+      erected on deck in a kind of shallow trough about six feet long by four
+      feet wide and a foot deep. At some remote period of time it had no doubt
+      been looked upon as a triumph of ingenuity, a patent mincing machine. Its
+      action was somewhat like that of a chaff-cutter, except that the knife was
+      not attached to the wheel, and only rose and fell, since it was not
+      required to cut right through the "horse-pieces" with which it was fed. It
+      will be readily understood that in order to get the oil quickly out of the
+      blubber, it needs to be sliced as thin as possible, but for convenience in
+      handling the refuse (which is the only fuel used) it is not chopped up in
+      small pieces, but every "horse-piece" is very deeply scored as it were,
+      leaving a thin strip to hold the slices together. This then was the order
+      of work. Two harpooners attended the try-pots, replenishing them with
+      minced blubber from the hopper at the port side, and baling out the
+      sufficiently boiled oil into the great cooling tank on the starboard. One
+      officer superintended the mincing, another exercised a general supervision
+      over all. There was no man at the wheel and no look-out, for the vessel
+      was "hove-to" under two close-reefed topsails and fore-topmast-staysail,
+      with the wheel lashed hard down. A look-out man was unnecessary, since we
+      could not run anybody down, and if anybody ran us down, it would only be
+      because all hands were asleep, for the glare of our try-works fire, to say
+      nothing of the blazing cresset before mentioned, could have been seen for
+      many miles. So we toiled watch and watch, six hours on and six off, the
+      work never ceasing for an instant night or day. Though the work was hard
+      and dirty, and the discomfort of being so continually wet through with oil
+      great, there was only one thing dangerous about the whole business. That
+      was the job of filling and shifting the huge casks of oil. Some of these
+      were of enormous size, containing 350 gallons when full, and the work of
+      moving them about the greasy deck of a rolling ship was attended with a
+      terrible amount of risk. For only four men at most could get fair hold of
+      a cask, and when she took it into her silly old hull to start rolling,
+      just as we had got one half-way across the deck, with nothing to grip your
+      feet, and the knowledge that one stumbling man would mean a sudden slide
+      of the ton and a half weight, and a little heap of mangled corpses
+      somewhere in the lee scuppers&mdash;well one always wanted to be very
+      thankful when the lashings were safely passed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whale being a small one, as before noted, the whole business was over
+      within three days, and the decks scrubbed and re-scrubbed until they had
+      quite regained their normal whiteness. The oil was poured by means of a
+      funnel and long canvas hose into the casks stowed in the ground tier at
+      the bottom of the ship, and the gear, all carefully cleaned and neatly
+      "stopped up," stowed snugly away below again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This long and elaborate process is quite different from that followed on
+      board the Arctic whaleships, whose voyages are of short duration, and who
+      content themselves with merely cutting the blubber up small and bringing
+      it home to have the oil expressed. But the awful putrid mass discharged
+      from a Greenlander's hold is of very different quality and value, apart
+      from the nature of the substance, to the clear and sweet oil, which after
+      three years in cask is landed from a south-seaman as inoffensive in smell
+      and flavour as the day it was shipped. No attempt is made to separate the
+      oil and spermaceti beyond boiling the "head matter," as it is called, by
+      itself first, and putting it into casks which are not filled up with the
+      body oil. Spermaceti exists in all the oil, especially that from the
+      dorsal hump; but it is left for the refiners ashore to extract and leave
+      the oil quite free from any admixture of the wax-like substance, which
+      causes it to become solid at temperatures considerably above the
+      freezing-point.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Uninteresting as the preceding description may be, it is impossible to
+      understand anything of the economy of a south-sea whaler without giving
+      it, and I have felt it the more necessary because of the scanty notice
+      given to it in the only two works published on the subject, both of them
+      highly technical, and written for scientific purposes by medical men.
+      Therefore I hope to be forgiven if I have tried the patience of my readers
+      by any prolixity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It will not, of course, have escaped the reader's notice that I have not
+      hitherto attempted to give any details concerning the structure of the
+      whale just dealt with. The omission is intentional. During this, our first
+      attempt at real whaling, my mind was far too disturbed by the novelty and
+      danger of the position in which I found myself for the first time, for me
+      to pay any intelligent attention to the party of the second part.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But I may safely promise that from the workman's point of view, the
+      habits, manners, and build of the whales shall be faithfully described as
+      I saw them during my long acquaintance with them, earnestly hoping that if
+      my story be not as technical or scientific as that of Drs. Bennett and
+      Beale, it may be found fully as accurate and reliable; and perhaps the
+      reader, being like myself a mere layman, so to speak, may be better able
+      to appreciate description free from scientific formula and nine-jointed
+      words.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two things I did notice on this occasion which I will briefly allude to
+      before closing this chapter. One was the peculiar skin of the whale. It
+      was a bluish-black, and as thin as gold-beater's skin. So thin, indeed,
+      and tender, that it was easily scraped off with the finger-nail.
+      Immediately beneath it, upon the surface of the blubber, was a layer or
+      coating of what for want of a better simile I must call fine short fur,
+      although unlike fur it had no roots or apparently any hold upon the
+      blubber. Neither was it attached to the skin which covered it; in fact, it
+      seemed merely a sort of packing between the skin and the surface of the
+      thick layer of solid fat which covered the whole area of the whale's body.
+      The other matter which impressed me was the peculiarity of the teeth. For
+      up till that time I had held, in common with most seamen, and landsmen,
+      too, for that matter, the prevailing idea that a "whale" lived by
+      "suction" (although I did not at all know what that meant), and that it
+      was impossible for him to swallow a herring. Yet here was a mouth
+      manifestly intended for greater things in the way of gastronomy than
+      herrings; nor did it require more than the most casual glances to satisfy
+      one of so obvious a fact. Then the teeth were heroic in size, protruding
+      some four or five inches from the gum, and solidly set more than that into
+      its firm and compact substance. They were certainly not intended for
+      mastication, being, where thickest, three inches apart, and tapering to a
+      short point, curving slightly backwards. In this specimen, a female, and
+      therefore small as I have said, there were twenty of them on each side,
+      the last three or four near the gullet being barely visible above the gum.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Another most convincing reason why no mastication could have been possible
+      was that there were no teeth visible in the upper jaw. Opposed to each of
+      the teeth was a socket where a tooth should apparently have been, and this
+      was conclusive evidence of the soft and yielding nature of the great
+      creature's food. But there were signs that at some period of the
+      development of the whale it had possessed a double row of teeth, because
+      at the bottom of these upper sockets we found in a few cases what seemed
+      to be an abortive tooth, not one that was growing, because they had no
+      roots, but a survival of teeth that had once been perfect and useful, but
+      from disuse, or lack of necessity for them, had gradually ceased to come
+      to maturity. The interior of the mouth and throat was of a livid white,
+      and the tongue was quite small for so large an animal. It was almost
+      incapable of movement, being somewhat like a fowl's. Certainly it could
+      not have been protruded even from the angle of the mouth, much less have
+      extended along the parapet of that lower mandible, which reminded one of
+      the beak of some mighty albatross or stork.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER VII. GETTING SOUTHWARD
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Whether our recent experience had altered the captain's plans or not I do
+      not know, but much to the dismay of the Portuguese portion of the crew, we
+      did but sight, dimly and afar off, the outline of the Cape Verde Islands
+      before our course was altered, and we bore away for the southward like any
+      other outward-bounder. That is, as far as our course went; but as to the
+      speed, we still retained the leisurely tactics hitherto pursued,
+      shortening sail every night, and, if the weather was very fine, setting it
+      all again at daybreak.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The morose and sullen temper of the captain had been, if anything, made
+      worse by recent events, and we were worked as hard as if the success of
+      the voyage depended upon our ceaseless toil of scrubbing, scraping, and
+      polishing. Discipline was indeed maintained at a high pitch of perfection,
+      no man daring to look awry, much less complain of any hardship, however
+      great. Even this humble submissiveness did not satisfy our tyrant, and at
+      last his cruelty took a more active shape. One of the long Yankee farmers
+      from Vermont, Abner Cushing by name, with the ingenuity which seems inbred
+      in his 'cute countrymen, must needs try his hand at making a villainous
+      decoction which he called "beer," the principal ingredients in which were
+      potatoes and molasses. Now potatoes formed no part of our dietary, so
+      Abner set his wits to work to steal sufficient for his purpose, and
+      succeeded so far that he obtained half a dozen. I have very little doubt
+      that one of the Portuguese in the forecastle conveyed the information aft
+      for some reason best known to himself, any more than we white men all had
+      that in a similar manner all our sayings and doings, however trivial,
+      became at once known to the officers. However, the fact that the theft was
+      discovered soon became painfully evident, for we had a visit from the
+      afterguard in force one afternoon, and Abner with his brewage was haled to
+      the quarter-deck. There, in the presence of all hands, he was arraigned,
+      found guilty of stealing the ship's stores, and sentence passed upon him.
+      By means of two small pieces of fishing line he was suspended by his
+      thumbs in the weather rigging, in such a manner that when the ship was
+      upright his toes touched the deck, but when she rolled his whole weight
+      hung from his thumbs. This of itself one would have thought sufficient
+      torture for almost any offence, but in addition to it he received two
+      dozen lashes with an improvised cat-o'-nine-tails, laid on by the brawny
+      arm of one of the harpooners. We were all compelled to witness this, and
+      our feelings may be imagined. When, after what seemed a terribly long time
+      to me (Heaven knows what it must have been to him!), he fainted, although
+      no chicken I nearly fainted too, from conflicting emotions of sympathy and
+      impotent rage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was then released in leisurely fashion, and we were permitted to take
+      him forward and revive him. As soon as he was able to stand on his feet,
+      he was called on deck again, and not allowed to go below till his watch
+      was over. Meanwhile Captain Slocum improved the occasion by giving us a
+      short harangue, the burden of which was that we had now seen a LITTLE of
+      what any of us might expect if we played any "dog's tricks" on him. But
+      you can get used to anything, I suppose: so after the first shock of the
+      atrocity was over, things went on again pretty much as usual.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For the first and only time in my experience, we sighted St. Paul's Rocks,
+      a tiny group of jagged peaks protruding from the Atlantic nearly on the
+      Equator. Stupendous mountains they must be, rising almost sheer for about
+      four and a half miles from the ocean bed. Although they appear quite
+      insignificant specks upon the vast expanse of water, one could not help
+      thinking how sublime their appearance would be were they visible from the
+      plateau whence they spring. Their chief interest to us at the time arose
+      from the fact that, when within about three miles of them, we were
+      suddenly surrounded by a vast school of bonito, These fish, so-named by
+      the Spaniards from their handsome appearance, are a species of mackerel, a
+      branch of the SCOMBRIDAE family, and attain a size of about two feet long
+      and forty pounds weight, though their average dimensions are somewhat less
+      than half that. They feed entirely upon flying-fish and the small leaping
+      squid or cuttle-fish, but love to follow a ship, playing around her, if
+      her pace be not too great, for days together. Their flesh resembles beef
+      in appearance, and they are warm-blooded; but, from their habitat being
+      mid-ocean, nothing is known with any certainty of their habits of
+      breeding.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The orthodox method of catching them on board ship is to cover a suitable
+      hook with a piece of white rag a couple of inches long, and attach it to a
+      stout line. The fisherman then takes his seat upon the jibboom end, having
+      first, if he is prudent, secured a sack to the jibstay in such a manner
+      that its mouth gapes wide. Then he unrolls his line, and as the ship
+      forges ahead the line, blowing out, describes a curve, at the end of which
+      the bait, dipping to&mdash;the water occasionally, roughly represents a
+      flying-fish. Of course, the faster the ship is going, the better the
+      chance of deceiving the fish, since they have less time to study the
+      appearance of the bait. It is really an exaggerated and clumsy form of
+      fly-fishing, and, as with that elegant pastime, much is due to the skill
+      of the fisherman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the bait leaps from crest to crest of the wavelets thrust aside by the
+      advancing ship, a fish more adventurous or hungrier than the rest will
+      leap at it, and in an instant there is a dead, dangling weight of from ten
+      to forty pounds hanging at the end of your line thirty feet below. You
+      haul frantically, for he may be poorly hooked, and you cannot play him. In
+      a minute or two, if all goes well, he is plunged in the sack, and safe.
+      But woe unto you if you have allowed the jeers of your shipmates to
+      dissuade you from taking a sack out with you.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The struggles of these fish are marvellous, and a man runs great risk of
+      being shaken off the boom, unless his legs are firmly locked in between
+      the guys. Such is the tremendous vibration that a twenty-pound bonito
+      makes in a man's grip, that it can be felt in the cabin at the other and
+      of the ship; and I have often come in triumphantly with one, having lost
+      all feeling in my arms and a goodly portion of skin off my breast and
+      side, where I have embraced the prize in a grim determination to hold him
+      at all hazards, besides being literally drenched with his blood.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Like all our fishing operations on board the CACHALOT, this day's fishing
+      was conducted on scientific principles, and resulted in twenty-five fine
+      fish being shipped, which were a welcome addition to our scanty allowance.
+      Happily for us, they would not take the salt in that sultry latitude soon
+      enough to preserve them; for, when they can be salted, they become like
+      brine itself, and are quite unfit for food. Yet we should have been
+      compelled to eat salt bonito, or go without meat altogether, if it had
+      been possible to cure them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were now fairly in the "horse latitudes," and, much to our relief, the
+      rain came down in occasional deluges, permitting us to wash well and
+      often. I suppose the rains of the tropics have been often enough described
+      to need no meagre attempts of mine to convey an idea of them; yet I have
+      often wished I could make home-keeping friends understand how far short
+      what they often speak of as a "tropical shower" falls of the genuine
+      article. The nearest I can get to it is the idea of an ocean suspended
+      overhead, out, of which the bottom occasionally falls. Nothing is visible
+      or audible but the glare and roar of falling water, and a ship's deck,
+      despite the many outlets, is full enough to swim about in in a very few
+      minutes. At such times the whole celestial machinery of rain-making may be
+      seen in full working order. Five or six mighty waterspouts in various
+      stages of development were often within easy distance of us; once, indeed,
+      we watched the birth, growth, and death of one less than a mile away.
+      First, a big, black cloud, even among that great assemblage of NIMBI,
+      began to belly downward, until the centre of it tapered into a stem, and
+      the whole mass looked like a vast, irregularly-moulded funnel. Lower and
+      lower it reached, as if feeling for a soil in which to grow, until the sea
+      beneath was agitated sympathetically, rising at last in a sort of pointed
+      mound to meet the descending column. Our nearness enabled us to see that
+      both descending and rising parts were whirling violently in obedience to
+      some invisible force, and when they had joined each other, although the
+      spiral motion did not appear to continue, the upward rush of the water
+      through what was now a long elastic tube was very plainly to be seen. The
+      cloud overhead grew blacker and bigger, until its gloom was terrible. The
+      pipe, or stem, got thinner gradually, until it became a mere thread; nor,
+      although watching closely, could we determine when the connection between
+      sea and sky ceased&mdash;one could not call it severed. The point rising
+      from the sea settled almost immediately amidst a small commotion, as of a
+      whirlpool. The tail depending from the cloud slowly shortened, and the
+      mighty reservoir lost the vast bulge which had hung so threateningly
+      above. Just before the final disappearance of the last portion of the
+      tube, a fragment of cloud appeared to break off. It fell near enough to
+      show by its thundering roar what a body of water it must have been,
+      although it looked like a saturated piece of dirty rag in its descent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For whole days and nights together we sometimes lay almost "as idle as a
+      painted ship upon a painted ocean," when the deep blue dome above matched
+      the deep blue plain below, and never a fleck of white appeared in sky or
+      sea. This perfect stop to our progress troubled none, although it
+      aggravates a merchant skipper terribly. As for the objects of our search,
+      they had apparently all migrated other-whither, for never a sign of them
+      did we see. Finbacks, a species of rorqual, were always pretty numerous,
+      and as if they knew how useless they were to us, came and played around
+      like exaggerated porpoises. One in particular kept us company for several
+      days and nights. We knew him well, from a great triangular scar on his
+      right side, near the dorsal fin. Sometimes he would remain motionless by
+      the side of the ship, a few feet below the surface, as distinctly in our
+      sight as a gold-fish in a parlour globe; or he would go under the keel,
+      and gently chafe his broad back to and fro along it, making queer tremors
+      run through the vessel, as if she were scraping over a reef. Whether from
+      superstition or not I cannot tell, but I never saw any creature injured
+      out of pure wantonness, except sharks, while I was on board the CACHALOT.
+      Of course, injuries to men do not count. Had that finback attempted to
+      play about a passenger ship in such a fashion, all the loungers on board
+      would have been popping at him with their revolvers and rifles without
+      ever a thought of compunction; yet here, in a vessel whose errand was
+      whale-fishing, a whale enjoyed perfect immunity. It was very puzzling. At
+      last my curiosity became too great to hear any longer, and I sought my
+      friend Mistah Jones at what I considered a favourable opportunity. I found
+      him very gracious and communicative, and I got such a lecture on the
+      natural history of the cetacea as I have never forgotten&mdash;the outcome
+      of a quarter-century's experience of them, and afterwards proved by me to
+      be correct in every detail, which latter is a great deal more than can be
+      said of any written natural history that ever I came across. But I will
+      not go into that now. Leaning over the rail, with the great rorqual laying
+      perfectly still a few feet below, I was told to mark how slender and
+      elegant were his proportions. "Clipper-built," my Mentor termed him. He
+      was full seventy feet long, but his greatest diameter would not reach ten
+      feet. His snout was long and pointed, while both top and bottom of his
+      head were nearly flat. When he came up to breathe, which he did out of the
+      top of his head, he showed us that, instead of teeth, he had a narrow
+      fringe of baleen (whalebone) all around his upper jaws, although "I kaint
+      see whyfor, kase he lib on all sort er fish, s'long's dey ain't too big. I
+      serpose w'en he kaint get nary fish he do de same ez de 'bowhead'&mdash;go
+      er siftin eout dem little tings we calls whale-feed wiv dat ar' rangement
+      he carry in his mouf." "But why don't we harpoon him?" I asked. Goliath
+      turned on me a pitying look, as he replied, "Sonny, ef yew wuz ter go on
+      stick iron inter dat ar fish, yew'd fink de hole bottom fell eout
+      kerblunk. W'en I uz young 'n foolish, a finback range 'longside me one
+      day, off de Seychelles. I just done gone miss' a spam whale, and I was
+      kiender mad,&mdash;muss ha' bin. Wall, I let him hab it blam 'tween de
+      ribs. If I lib ten tousan year, ain't gwine ter fergit dat ar. Wa'nt no
+      time ter spit, tell ye; eberybody hang ober de side ob de boat. Wiz&mdash;poof!&mdash;de
+      line all gone. Clar to glory, I neber see it go. Ef it hab ketch anywhar,
+      nobody eber see US too. Fus, I t'ought I jump ober de side&mdash;neber
+      face de skipper any mo'. But he uz er good ole man, en he only say, 'Don't
+      be sech blame jackass any more.' En I don't." From which lucid narration I
+      gathered that the finback had himself to thank for his immunity from
+      pursuit. "'Sides," persisted Goliath, "wa' yew gwine do wiv' him? Ain't
+      six inch uv blubber anywhere 'bout his long ugly carkiss; en dat, dirty
+      lill' rag 'er whalebone he got in his mouf, 'taint worf fifty cents. En
+      mor'n dat, we pick up, a dead one when I uz in de ole RAINBOW&mdash;done
+      choke hisself, I spec, en we cut him in. He stink fit ter pison de debbil,
+      en, after all, we get eighteen bar'l ob dirty oil out ob him. Wa'nt worf
+      de clean sparm scrap we use ter bile him. G' 'way!" Which emphatic
+      adjuration, addressed not to me, but to the unconscious monster below,
+      closed the lesson for the time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The calm still persisted, and, as usual, fish began to abound, especially
+      flying-fish. At times, disturbed by some hungry bonito or dolphin, a shoal
+      of them would rise&mdash;a great wave of silver&mdash;and skim through the
+      air, rising and falling for perhaps a couple of hundred yards before they
+      again took to the water; or a solitary one of larger size than usual would
+      suddenly soar into the air, a heavy splash behind him showing by how few
+      inches he had missed the jaws of his pursuer. Away he would go in a long,
+      long curve, and, meeting the ship in his flight, would rise in the air,
+      turn off at right angles to his former direction, and spin away again, the
+      whir of his wing-fins distinctly visible as well as audible. At last he
+      would incline to the water, but just as he was about to enter it there
+      would be an eddy&mdash;the enemy was there waiting&mdash;and he would rise
+      twenty, thirty feet, almost perpendicularly, and dart away fully a hundred
+      yards on a fresh course before the drying of his wing membranes compelled
+      him to drop. In the face of such a sight as this, which is of everyday
+      occurrence in these latitudes, how trivial and misleading the statements
+      made by the natural history books seem.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They tell their readers that the EXOCETUS VOLITANS "does not fly; does not
+      flutter its wings; can only take a prolonged leap," and so on. The
+      misfortune attendant upon such books seems, to an unlearned sailor like
+      myself, to be that, although posing as authorities, most of the authors
+      are content to take their facts not simply at second-hand, but even unto
+      twenty-second-hand. So the old fables get repeated, and brought up to
+      date, and it is nobody's business to take the trouble to correct them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The weather continued calm and clear, and as the flying-fish were about in
+      such immense numbers, I ventured to suggest to Goliath that we might have
+      a try for some of them. I verily believe he thought I was mad. He stared
+      at me for a minute, and then, with an indescribable intonation, said, "How
+      de ol' Satan yew fink yew gwain ter get'm, hey? Ef yew spects ter fool dis
+      chile wiv any dem lime-juice yarns, 'bout lanterns 'n boats at night-time,
+      yew's 'way off." I guessed he meant the fable current among English
+      sailors, that if you hoist a sail on a calm night in a boat where
+      flying-fish abound, and hang a lantern in the middle of it, the fish will
+      fly in shoals at the lantern, strike against the sail, and fall in heaps
+      in the boat. It MAY be true, but I never spoke to anybody who has seen it
+      done, nor is it the method practised in the only place in the world where
+      flying-fishing is followed for a living. So I told Mr. Jones that if we
+      had some circular nets of small mesh made and stretched on wooden hoops, I
+      was sure we should be able to catch some. He caught at the idea, and
+      mentioned it to the mate, who readily gave his permission to use a boat. A
+      couple of "Guineamen" (a very large kind of flying-fish, having four
+      wings) flew on board that night, as if purposely to provide us with the
+      necessary bait.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next morning, about four bells, the sea being like a mirror, unruffled by
+      a breath of wind, we lowered and paddled off from the ship about a mile.
+      When far enough away, we commenced operations by squeezing in the water
+      some pieces of fish that had been kept for the purpose until they were
+      rather high-flavoured. The exuding oil from this fish spread a thin film
+      for some distance around the boat, through which, as through a sheet of
+      glass, we could see a long way down. Minute specks of the bait sank slowly
+      through the limpid blue, but for at least an hour there was no sign of
+      life. I was beginning to fear that I should be called to account for
+      misleading all hands, when, to my unbounded delight, an immense shoal of
+      flying-fish came swimming round the boat, eagerly picking up the savoury
+      morsels. We grasped our nets, and, leaning over the gunwale, placed them
+      silently in the water, pressing them downward and in towards the boat at
+      the same time. Our success was great and immediate. We lifted the
+      wanderers by scores, while I whispered imploringly, "Be careful not to
+      scare them; don't make a sound." All hands entered into the spirit of the
+      thing with great eagerness. As for Mistah Jones, his delight was almost
+      more than he could bear. Suddenly one of the men, in lifting his net,
+      slipped on the smooth bottom of the boat, jolting one of the oars. There
+      was a gleam of light below as the school turned&mdash;they had all
+      disappeared instanter. We had been so busy that we had not noticed the
+      dimensions of our catch; but now, to our great joy, we found that we had
+      at least eight hundred fish nearly as large as herrings. We at once
+      returned to the ship, having been absent only two hours, during which we
+      had caught sufficient to provide all hands with three good meals. Not one
+      of the crew had ever seen or heard of such fishing before, so my pride and
+      pleasure may be imagined. A little learning may be a dangerous thing at
+      times, but it certainly is often handy to have about you. The habit of
+      taking notice and remembering has often been the means of saving many
+      lives in suddenly-met situations of emergency, at sea perhaps more than
+      anywhere else, and nothing can be more useful to a sailor than the
+      practice of keeping his weather-eye open.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In Barbadoes there is established the only regular flying-fishery in the
+      world, and in just the manner I have described, except that the boats are
+      considerably larger, is the whole town supplied with delicious fish at so
+      trifling a cost as to make it a staple food among all classes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But I find that I am letting this chapter run to an unconscionable length,
+      and it does not appear as if we were getting at the southward very fast
+      either. Truth to tell, our progress was mighty slow; but we gradually
+      crept across the belt of calms, and a week after our never-to-be-forgotten
+      haul of flying-fish we got the first of the south-east trades, and went
+      away south at a good pace&mdash;for us. We made the Island of Trinidada
+      with its strange conical-topped pillar, the Ninepin Rock, but did not make
+      a call, as the skipper was beginning to get fidgety at not seeing any
+      whales, and anxious to get down to where he felt reasonably certain of
+      falling in with them. Life had been very monotonous of late, and much as
+      we dreaded still the prospect of whale-fighting (by "we," of course, I
+      mean the chaps forward), it began to lose much of its terror for us, so
+      greatly did we long for a little change. Keeping, as we did, out of the
+      ordinary track of ships, we hardly ever saw a sail. We had no recreations;
+      fun was out of the question; and had it not been for a Bible, a copy of
+      Shakespeare, and a couple of cheap copies of "David Copperfield" and
+      "Bleak House," all of which were mine, we should have had no books.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER VIII. ABNER'S WHALE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      In a previous chapter I have referred to the fact of a bounty being
+      offered to whoever should first sight a useful whale, payable only in the
+      event of the prize being secured by the ship. In consequence of our
+      ill-success, and to stimulate the watchfulness of all, that bounty was now
+      increased from ten pounds of tobacco to twenty, or fifteen dollars,
+      whichever the winner chose to have. Most of us whites regarded this as
+      quite out of the question for us, whose untrained vision was as the naked
+      eye to a telescope when pitted against the eagle-like sight of the
+      Portuguese. Nevertheless, we all did our little best, and I know, for one,
+      that when I descended from my lofty perch, after a two hours' vigil, my
+      eyes often ached and burned for an hour afterwards from the intensity of
+      my gaze across the shining waste of waters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Judge, then, of the surprise of everybody, when one forenoon watch, three
+      days after we had lost sight of Trinidada, a most extraordinary sound was
+      heard from the fore crow's-nest. I was, at the time, up at the main, in
+      company with Louis, the mate's harpooner, and we stared across to see
+      whatever was the matter, The watchman was unfortunate Abner Cushing, whose
+      trivial offence had been so severely punished a short time before, and he
+      was gesticulating and howling like a madman. Up from below came the deep
+      growl of the skipper, "Foremast head, there, what d'ye say?" "B-b-b-blow,
+      s-s-sir," stammered Abner; "a big whale right in the way of the sun, sir."
+      "See anythin', Louey?" roared the skipper to my companion, just as we had
+      both "raised" the spout almost in the glare cast by the sun. "Yessir,"
+      answered Louis; "but I kaint make him eout yet, sir." "All right; keep yer
+      eye on him, and lemme know sharp;" and away he went aft for his glasses.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The course was slightly altered, so that we headed direct for the whale,
+      and in less than a minute afterwards we saw distinctly the great black
+      column of a sperm whale's head rise well above the sea, scattering a
+      circuit of foam before it, and emitting a bushy, tufted burst of vapour
+      into the clear air. "There she white-waters! Ah bl-o-o-o-o-o-w, blow,
+      blow!" sang Louis; and then, in another tone, "Sperm whale, sir; big,
+      'lone fish, headin' 'beout east-by-nothe." "All right. 'Way down from
+      aloft," answered the skipper, who was already half-way up the
+      main-rigging; and like squirrels we slipped out of our hoops and down the
+      backstays, passing the skipper like a flash as he toiled upwards,
+      bellowing orders as he went. Short as our journey down had been, when we
+      arrived on deck we found all ready for a start. But as the whale was at
+      least seven miles away, and we had a fair wind for him, there was no hurry
+      to lower, so we all stood at attention by our respective boats, waiting
+      for the signal. I found, to my surprise, that, although I was conscious of
+      a much more rapid heart-beat than usual, I was not half so scared as I
+      expected to be&mdash;that the excitement was rather pleasant than
+      otherwise. There were a few traces of funk about some of the others still;
+      but as for Abner, he was fairly transformed; I hardly knew the man. He was
+      one of Goliath's boat's crew, and the big darkey was quite proud of him.
+      His eyes sparkled, and he chuckled and smiled constantly, as one who is
+      conscious of having done a grand stroke of business, not only for himself,
+      but for all hands. "Lower away boats!" came pealing down from the
+      skipper's lofty perch, succeeded instantly by the rattle of the patent
+      blocks as the falls flew through them, while the four beautiful craft took
+      the water with an almost simultaneous splash. The ship-keepers had trimmed
+      the yards to the wind and hauled up the courses, so that simply putting
+      the helm down deadened our way, and allowed the boats to run clear without
+      danger of fouling one another. To shove off and hoist sail was the work of
+      a few moments, and with a fine working breeze away we went. As before, our
+      boat, being the chief's, had the post of honour; but there was now only
+      one whale, and I rather wondered why we had all left the ship. According
+      to expectations, down he went when we were within a couple of miles of
+      him, but quietly and with great dignity, elevating his tail
+      perpendicularly in the air, and sinking slowly from our view. Again I
+      found Mr. Count talkative.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thet whale 'll stay down fifty minutes, I guess," said he, "fer he's
+      every gill ov a hundred en twenty bar'l; and don't yew fergit it." "Do the
+      big whales give much more trouble than the little ones?" I asked, seeing
+      him thus chatty. "Wall, it's jest ez it happens, boy&mdash;just ez it
+      happens. I've seen a fifty-bar'l bull make the purtiest fight I ever hearn
+      tell ov&mdash;a fight thet lasted twenty hours, stove three boats, 'n
+      killed two men. Then, again, I've seen a hundred 'n fifty bar'l whale lay
+      'n take his grooel 'thout hardly wunkin 'n eyelid&mdash;never moved ten
+      fathom from fust iron till fin eout. So yew may say, boy, that they're
+      like peepul&mdash;got thair iudividooal pekyewlyarities, an' thars no
+      countin' on 'em for sartin nary time." I was in great hopes of getting
+      some useful information while his mood lasted; but it was over, and
+      silence reigned. Nor did I dare to ask any more questions; he looked so
+      stern and fierce. The scene was very striking. Overhead, a bright blue sky
+      just fringed with fleecy little clouds; beneath, a deep blue sea with
+      innumerable tiny wavelets dancing and glittering in the blaze of the sun;
+      but all swayed in one direction by a great, solemn swell that slowly
+      rolled from east to west, like the measured breathing of some
+      world-supporting monster. Four little craft in a group, with twenty-four
+      men in them, silently waiting for battle with one of the mightiest of
+      God's creatures&mdash;one that was indeed a terrible foe to encounter were
+      he but wise enough to make the best use of his opportunities. Against him
+      we came with our puny weapons, of which I could not help reminding myself
+      that "he laugheth at the shaking of a spear." But when the man's brain was
+      thrown into the scale against the instinct of the brute, the contest
+      looked less unequal than at first sight, for THERE is the secret of
+      success. My musings were very suddenly interrupted. Whether we had overrun
+      our distance, or the whale, who was not "making a passage," but feeding,
+      had changed his course, I do not know; but, anyhow, he broke water close
+      ahead, coming straight for our boat. His great black head, like the broad
+      bow of a dumb barge, driving the waves before it, loomed high and menacing
+      to me, for I was not forbidden to look ahead now. But coolly, as if coming
+      alongside the ship, the mate bent to the big steer-oar, and swung the boat
+      off at right angles to her course, bringing her back again with another
+      broad sheer as the whale passed foaming. This manoeuvre brought us side by
+      side with him before he had time to realize that we were there. Up till
+      that instant he had evidently not seen us, and his surprise was
+      correspondingly great. To see Louis raise his harpoon high above his head,
+      and with a hoarse grunt of satisfaction plunge it into the black, shining
+      mass beside him up to the hitches, was indeed a sight to be remembered.
+      Quick as thought he snatched up a second harpoon, and as the whale rolled
+      from us it flew from his hands, burying itself like the former one, but
+      lower down the body. The great impetus we had when we reached the whale
+      carried us a long way past him, out of all danger from his struggles. No
+      hindrance was experienced from the line by which we were connected with
+      the whale, for it was loosely coiled in a space for the purpose in the
+      boat's bow to the extent of two hundred feet, and this was cast overboard
+      by the harpooner as soon as the fish was fast. He made a fearful to-do
+      over it, rolling completely over several times backward and forward, at
+      the same time smiting the sea with his mighty tail, making an almost
+      deafening noise and pother. But we were comfortable enough, while we
+      unshipped the mast and made ready for action, being sufficiently far away
+      from him to escape the full effect of his gambols. It was impossible to
+      avoid reflecting, however, upon what WOULD happen if, in our unprepared
+      and so far helpless state, he were, instead of simply tumbling about in an
+      aimless, blind sort of fury, to rush at the boat and try to destroy it.
+      Very few indeed would survive such an attack, unless the tactics were
+      radically altered. No doubt they would be, for practices grow up in
+      consequence of the circumstances with which they have to deal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After the usual time spent in furious attempts to free himself from our
+      annoyance, he betook himself below, leaving us to await his return, and
+      hasten it as much as possible by keeping a severe strain upon the line.
+      Our efforts in this direction, however, did not seem to have any effect
+      upon him at all. Flake after flake ran out of the tubs, until we were
+      compelled to hand the end of our line to the second mate to splice his own
+      on to. Still it slipped away, and at last it was handed to the third mate,
+      whose two tubs met the same fate. It was now Mistah Jones' turn to "bend
+      on," which he did with many chuckles as of a man who was the last resource
+      of the unfortunate. But his face grew longer and longer as the
+      never-resting line continued to disappear. Soon he signalled us that he
+      was nearly out of line, and two or three minutes after he bent on his
+      "drogue" (a square piece of plank with a rope tail spliced into its
+      centre, and considered to hinder a whale's progress at least as much as
+      four boats), and let go the end. We had each bent on our drogues in the
+      same way, when we passed our ends to one another. So now our friend was
+      getting along somewhere below with 7200 feet of 1 1/2-inch rope, and
+      weight additional equal to the drag of sixteen 30-feet boats.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Of course we knew that, unless he were dead and sinking, he could not
+      possibly remain much longer beneath the surface. The exhibition of
+      endurance we had just been favoured with was a very unusual one, I was
+      told, it being a rare thing for a cachalot to take out two boats' lines
+      before returning to the surface to spout.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Therefore, we separated as widely as was thought necessary, in order to be
+      near him on his arrival. It was, as might be imagined, some time before we
+      saw the light of his countenance; but when we did, we had no difficulty in
+      getting alongside of him again. My friend Goliath, much to my delight, got
+      there first, and succeeded in picking up the bight of the line. But having
+      done so, his chance of distinguishing himself was gone. Hampered by the
+      immense quantity of sunken line which was attached to the whale, he could
+      do nothing, and soon received orders to cut the bight of the line and pass
+      the whale's end to us. He had hardly obeyed, with a very bad grace, when
+      the whale started off to windward with us at a tremendous rate. The other
+      boats, having no line, could do nothing to help, so away we went alone,
+      with barely a hundred fathoms of line, in case he should take it into his
+      head to sound again. The speed at which he went made it appear as if a
+      gale of wind was blowing and we flew along the sea surface, leaping from
+      crest to crest of the waves with an incessant succession of cracks like
+      pistol-shots. The flying spray drenched us and prevented us from seeing
+      him, but I fully realized that it was nothing to what we should have to
+      put up with if the wind freshened much. One hand was kept bailing the
+      water out which came so freely over the bows, but all the rest hauled with
+      all their might upon the line, hoping to get a little closer to the flying
+      monster. Inch by inch we gained on him, encouraged by the hoarse
+      objurgations of the mate, whose excitement was intense. After what seemed
+      a terribly long chase, we found his speed slackening, and we redoubled our
+      efforts. Now we were close upon him; now, in obedience to the steersman,
+      the boat sheered out a bit, and we were abreast of his labouring flukes;
+      now the mate hurls his quivering lance with such hearty good-will that
+      every inch of its slender shaft disappears within the huge body. "Layoff!
+      Off with her, Louey!" screamed the mate; and she gave a wide sheer away
+      from the whale, not a second too soon. Up flew that awful tail, descending
+      with a crash upon the water not two feet from us. "Out oars! Pull, two!
+      starn, three!" shouted the mate; and as we obeyed our foe turned to fight.
+      Then might one see how courage and skill were such mighty factors in the
+      apparently unequal contest. The whale's great length made it no easy job
+      for him to turn, while our boat, with two oars a-side, and the great
+      leverage at the stern supplied by the nineteen-foot steer-oar circled,
+      backed, and darted ahead like a living thing animated by the mind of our
+      commander. When the leviathan settled, we gave a wide berth to his
+      probable place of ascent; when he rushed at us, we dodged him; when he
+      paused, if only momentarily, in we flew, and got home a fearful thrust of
+      the deadly lance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All fear was forgotten now&mdash;I panted, thirsted for his life. Once,
+      indeed, in a sort of frenzy, when for an instant we lay side by side with
+      him, I drew my sheath-knife, and plunged it repeatedly into the blubber,
+      as if I were assisting is his destruction. Suddenly the mate gave a howl:
+      "Starn all&mdash;starn all! oh, starn!" and the oars bent like canes as we
+      obeyed. There was an upheaval of the sea just ahead; then slowly,
+      majestically, the vast body of our foe rose into the air. Up, up it went,
+      while my heart stood still, until the whole of that immense creature hung
+      on high, apparently motionless, and then fell&mdash;a hundred tons of
+      solid flesh&mdash;back into the sea. On either side of that mountainous
+      mass the waters rose in shining towers of snowy foam, which fell in their
+      turn, whirling and eddying around us as we tossed and fell like a chip in
+      a whirlpool. Blinded by the flying spray, baling for very life to free the
+      boat from the water with which she was nearly full, it was some minutes
+      before I was able to decide whether we were still uninjured or not. Then I
+      saw, at a little distance, the whale lying quietly. As I looked he
+      spouted, and the vapour was red with his blood. "Starn all!" again cried
+      our chief, and we retreated to a considerable distance. The old warrior's
+      practised eye had detected the coming climax of our efforts, the dying
+      agony or "furry" of the great mammal. Turning upon his side, he began to
+      move in a circular direction, slowly at first, then faster and faster,
+      until he was rushing round at tremendous speed, his great head raised
+      quite out of water at times, clashing his enormous jaws. Torrents of blood
+      poured from his spout-hole, accompanied by hoarse bellowings, as of some
+      gigantic bull, but really caused by the labouring breath trying to pass
+      through the clogged air passages. The utmost caution and rapidity of
+      manipulation of the boat was necessary to avoid his maddened rush, but
+      this gigantic energy was short-lived. In a few minutes he subsided slowly
+      in death, his mighty body reclined on one side, the fin uppermost waving
+      limply as he rolled to the swell, while the small waves broke gently over
+      the carcass in a low, monotonous surf, intensifying the profound silence
+      that had succeeded the tumult of our conflict with the late monarch of the
+      deep. Hardly had the flurry ceased, when we hauled up alongside of our
+      hard-won prize, in order to secure a line to him in a better manner than
+      at present for hauling him to the ship. This was effected by cutting a
+      hole through the tough, gristly substance of the flukes with the short
+      "boat-spade," carried for the purpose. The end of the line, cut off from
+      the faithful harpoon that had held it so long, was then passed through
+      this hole and made fast. This done, it was "Smoke-oh!" The luxury of that
+      rest and refreshment was something to be grateful for, coming, as it did,
+      in such complete contrast to our recent violent exertions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The ship was some three or four miles off to leeward, so we reckoned she
+      would take at least an hour and a half to work up to us. Meanwhile, our
+      part of the performance being over, and well over, we thoroughly enjoyed
+      ourselves, lazily rocking on the gentle swell by the side of a catch worth
+      at least L800. During the conflict I had not noticed what now claimed
+      attention&mdash;several great masses of white, semi-transparent-looking
+      substance floating about, of huge size and irregular shape. But one of
+      these curious lumps came floating by as we lay, tugged at by several fish,
+      and I immediately asked the mate if he could tell me what it was and where
+      it came from. He told me that, when dying, the cachalot always ejected the
+      contents of his stomach, which were invariably composed of such masses as
+      we saw before us; that he believed the stuff to be portions of big
+      cuttle-fish, bitten off by the whale for the purpose of swallowing, but he
+      wasn't sure. Anyhow, I could haul this piece alongside now, if I liked,
+      and see. Secretly wondering at the indifference shown by this officer of
+      forty years' whaling experience to such a wonderful fact as appeared to be
+      here presented, I thanked him, and, sticking the boat-hook into the lump,
+      drew it alongside. It was at once evident that it was a massive fragment
+      of cuttle-fish&mdash;tentacle or arm&mdash;as thick as a stout man's body,
+      and with six or seven sucking-discs or ACETABULA on it. These were about
+      as large as a saucer, and on their inner edge were thickly set with hooks
+      or claws all round the rim, sharp as needles, and almost the shape and
+      size of a tiger's.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To what manner of awful monster this portion of limb belonged, I could
+      only faintly imagine; but of course I remembered, as any sailor would,
+      that from my earliest sea-going I had been told that the cuttle-fish was
+      the biggest in the sea, although I never even began to think it might be
+      true until now. I asked the mate if he had ever seen such creatures as
+      this piece belonged to alive and kicking. He answered, languidly, "Wall, I
+      guess so; but I don't take any stock in fish, 'cept for provisions er ile&mdash;en
+      that's a fact." It will be readily believed that I vividly recalled this
+      conversation when, many years after, I read an account by the Prince of
+      Monaco of HIS discovery of a gigantic squid, to which his naturalist gave
+      the name of LEPIDOTEUTHIS GRIMALDII! Truly the indifference and apathy
+      manifested by whalers generally to everything except commercial matters is
+      wonderful&mdash;hardly to be credited. However, this was a mighty
+      revelation to me. For the first time, it was possible to understand that,
+      contrary to the usual notion of a whale's being unable to swallow a
+      herring, here was a kind of whale that could swallow&mdash;well, a block
+      four or five feet square apparently; who lived upon creatures as large as
+      himself, if one might judge of their bulk by the sample to hand; but being
+      unable, from only possessing teeth in one jaw, to masticate his food, was
+      compelled to tear it in sizable pieces, bolt it whole, and leave his
+      commissariat department to do the rest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While thus ruminating, the mate and Louis began a desultory conversation
+      concerning what they termed "ambergrease." I had never even heard the word
+      before, although I had a notion that Milton, in "Paradise Regained,"
+      describing the Satanic banquet, had spoken of something being "grisamber
+      steamed." They could by no means agree as to what this mysterious
+      substance was, how it was produced, or under what conditions. They knew
+      that it was sometimes found floating near the dead body of a sperm whale&mdash;the
+      mate, in fact, stated that he had taken it once from the rectum of a
+      cachalot&mdash;and they were certain that it was of great value&mdash;from
+      one to three guineas per ounce. When I got to know more of the natural
+      history of the sperm whale, and had studied the literature of the subject,
+      I was so longer surprised at their want of agreement, since the learned
+      doctors who have written upon the subject do not seem to have come to
+      definite conclusions either.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By some it is supposed to be the product of a diseased condition of the
+      creature; others consider that it is merely the excreta, which, normally
+      fluid, has by some means become concreted. It is nearly always found with
+      cuttle-fish beaks imbedded in its substance, showing that these
+      indigestible portions of the sperm whale's food have in some manner become
+      mixed with it during its formation in the bowel. Chemists have analyzed it
+      with scanty results. Its great value is due to its property of
+      intensifying the power of perfumes, although, strange to say, it has
+      little or no odour of its own, a faint trace of musk being perhaps
+      detectable in some cases. The Turks are said to use it for a truly Turkish
+      purpose, which need not be explained here, while the Moors are credited
+      with a taste for it in their cookery. About both these latter statements
+      there is considerable doubt; I only give them for what they are worth,
+      without, committing myself to any definite belief in them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The ship now neared us fast, and as soon as she rounded-to, we left the
+      whale and pulled towards her, paying out line as we went. Arriving
+      alongside, the line was handed on board, and in a short time the prize was
+      hauled to the gangway. We met with a very different reception this time.
+      The skipper's grim face actually looked almost pleasant as he contemplated
+      the colossal proportions of the latest addition to our stock. He was
+      indeed a fine catch, being at least seventy feet long, and in splendid
+      condition. As soon as he was secured alongside in the orthodox fashion,
+      all hands were sent to dinner, with an intimation to look sharp over it.
+      Judging from our slight previous experience, there was some heavy labour
+      before us, for this whale was nearly four times as large as the one caught
+      off the Cape Verds. And it was so. Verily those officers toiled like
+      Titans to get that tremendous head off even the skipper taking a hand. In
+      spite of their efforts, it was dark before the heavy job was done. As we
+      were in no danger of bad weather, the head was dropped astern by a hawser
+      until morning, when it would be safer to dissect it. All that night we
+      worked incessantly, ready to drop with fatigue, but not daring to suggest,
+      the possibility of such a thing. Several of the officers and harpooners
+      were allowed a few hours off, as their special duty of dealing with the
+      head at daylight would be so arduous as to need all their energies. When
+      day dawned we were allowed a short rest, while the work of cutting up the
+      head was undertaken by the rested men. At seven bells (7.30) it was "turn
+      to" all hands again. The "junk" was hooked on to both cutting tackles, and
+      the windlass manned by everybody who could get hold. Slowly the enormous
+      mass rose, canting the ship heavily as it came, while every stick and rope
+      aloft complained of the great strain upon them. When at last it was safely
+      shipped, and the tackles cast off, the size of this small portion of a
+      full-grown cachalot's body could be realized, not before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was hauled from the gangway by tackles, and securely lashed to the rail
+      running round beneath the top of the bulwarks for that purpose&mdash;the
+      "lash-rail"&mdash;where the top of it towered up as high as the third
+      ratline of the main-rigging. Then there was another spell, while the
+      "case" was separated from the skull. This was too large to get on board,
+      so it was lifted half-way out of water by the tackles, one hooked on each
+      side; then they were made fast, and a spar rigged across them at a good
+      height above the top of the case. A small block was lashed to this spar,
+      through which a line was rove. A long, narrow bucket was attached to one
+      end of this rope; the other end on deck was attended by two men. One
+      unfortunate beggar was perched aloft on the above-mentioned spar, where
+      his position, like the main-yard of Marryatt's verbose carpenter was
+      "precarious and not at all permanent." He was provided with a pole, with
+      which he pushed the bucket down through a hole cut in the upper end of the
+      "case," whence it was drawn out by the chaps on deck full of spermaceti.
+      It was a weary, unsatisfactory process, wasting a great deal of the
+      substance being baled out; but no other way was apparently possible. The
+      grease blew about, drenching most of us engaged in an altogether
+      unpleasant fashion, while, to mend matters, the old barky began to roll
+      and tumble about in an aimless, drunken sort of way, the result of a new
+      cross swell rolling up from the south-westward. As the stuff was gained,
+      it was poured into large tanks in the blubber-room, the quantity being too
+      great to be held by the try-pots at once. Twenty-five barrels of this
+      clear, wax-like substance were baled from that case; and when at last it
+      was lowered a little, and cut away from its supports, it was impossible to
+      help thinking that much was still remaining within which we, with such
+      rude means, were unable to save. Then came the task of cutting up the
+      junk. Layer after layer, eight to ten inches thick, was sliced off, cut
+      into suitable pieces, and passed into the tanks. So full was the matter of
+      spermaceti that one could take a piece as large as one's head in the
+      hands, and squeeze it like a sponge, expressing the spermaceti in showers,
+      until nothing remained but a tiny ball of fibre. All this soft, pulpy mass
+      was held together by walls of exceedingly tough, gristly integrument
+      ("white horse"), which was as difficult to cut as gutta-percha, and, but
+      for the peculiar texture, not at all unlike it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we had finished separating the junk, there was nearly a foot of oil
+      on deck in the waist, and uproarious was the laughter when some hapless
+      individual, losing his balance, slid across the deck and sat down with a
+      loud splash in the deepest part of the accumulation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lower jaw of this whale measured exactly nineteen feet in length from
+      the opening of the mouth, or, say the last of the teeth, to the point, and
+      carried twenty-eight teeth on each side. For the time, it was hauled aft
+      out of the way, and secured to the lash-rail. The subsequent proceedings
+      were just the same as before described, only more so. For a whole week our
+      labours continued, and when they were over we had stowed below a hundred
+      and forty-six barrels of mingled oil and spermaceti, or fourteen and a
+      half tuns.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was really a pleasant sight to see Abner receiving as if being invested
+      with an order of merit, the twenty pounds of tobacco to which he was
+      entitled. Poor fellow! he felt as if at last he were going to be thought a
+      little of, and treated a little better. He brought his bounty forrard, and
+      shared it out as far as it would go with the greatest delight and good
+      nature possible. Whatever he might have been thought of aft, certainly,
+      for the time, he was a very important personage forrard; even the
+      Portuguese, who were inclined to be jealous of what they considered an
+      infringement of their rights, were mollified by the generosity shown.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After every sign of the operations had been cleared away, the jaw was
+      brought out, and the teeth extracted with a small tackle. They were set
+      solidly into a hard white gum, which had to be cut away all around them
+      before they would come out. When cleaned of the gum, they were headed up
+      in a small barrel of brine. The great jaw-pans were sawn off, and placed
+      at the disposal of anybody who wanted pieces of bone for "scrimshaw," or
+      carved work. This is a very favourite pastime on board whalers, though, in
+      ships such as ours, the crew have little opportunity for doing anything,
+      hardly any leisure during daylight being allowed. But our carpenter was a
+      famous workman at "scrimshaw," and he started half a dozen walking-sticks
+      forthwith. A favourite design is to carve the bone into the similitude of
+      a rope, with "worming" of smaller line along its lays. A handle is carved
+      out of a whale's tooth, and insets of baleen, silver, cocoa-tree, or
+      ebony, give variety and finish. The tools used are of the roughest. Some
+      old files, softened in the fire, and filed into grooves something like
+      saw-teeth, are most used; but old knives, sail-needles, and chisels are
+      pressed into service. The work turned out would, in many cases, take a
+      very high place in an exhibition of turnery, though never a lathe was near
+      it. Of course, a long time is taken over it, especially the polishing,
+      which is done with oil and whiting, if it can be got&mdash;powdered pumice
+      if it cannot. I once had an elaborate pastry-cutter carved out of six
+      whale's teeth, which I purchased for a pound of tobacco from a seaman of
+      the CORAL whaler, and afterwards sold in Dunedin, New Zealand, for L2
+      10s., the purchaser being decidedly of opinion that he had a bargain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER IX. OUR FIRST CALLING-PLACE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Perhaps it may hastily be assumed, from the large space already devoted to
+      fishing operations of various kinds, that the subject will not bear much
+      more dealing with, if my story is to avoid being monotonous. But I beg to
+      assure you, dear reader, that while of course I have most to say in
+      connection with the business of the voyage, nothing is farther from my
+      plan than to neglect the very interesting portion of our cruise which
+      relates to visiting strange, out-of-the-way corners of the world. If&mdash;which
+      I earnestly deprecate&mdash;the description hitherto given of sperm
+      whale-fishing and its adjuncts be found not so interesting as could be
+      wished, I cry you mercy. I have been induced to give more space to it
+      because it has been systematically avoided in the works upon whale-fishing
+      before mentioned, which, as I have said, were not intended for popular
+      reading. True, neither may my humble tome become popular either; but, if
+      it does not, no one will be so disappointed as the author.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had made but little progress during the week of oil manufacture, very
+      little attention being paid to the sails while that work was about; but,
+      as the south-east trades blew steadily, we did not remain stationary
+      altogether. So that the following week saw us on the south side of the
+      tropic of Capricorn, the south-east trade done, and the dirty weather and
+      variable squalls, which nearly always precede the "westerlies," making our
+      lives a burden to us. Here, however, we were better off than in an
+      ordinary merchantman, where doldrums are enough to drive you mad. The one
+      object being to get along, it is incessant "pully-hauly," setting and
+      taking in sail, in order, on the one hand, to lose no time, and, on the
+      other, to lose no sails. Now, with us, whenever the weather was doubtful
+      or squally-looking, we shortened sail, and kept it fast till better
+      weather came along, being quite careless whether we made one mile a day or
+      one hundred. But just because nobody took any notice of our progress as
+      the days passed, we were occasionally startled to find how far we had
+      really got. This was certainly the case with all of us forward, even to me
+      who had some experience, so well used had I now become to the leisurely
+      way of getting along. To the laziest of ships, however, there comes
+      occasionally a time when the bustling, hurrying wind will take no denial,
+      and you've got to "git up an' git," as the Yanks put it. Such a time
+      succeeded our "batterfanging" about, after losing the trades. We got hold
+      of a westerly wind that, commencing quietly, gently, steadily, taking two
+      or three days before it gathered force and volume, strengthened at last
+      into a stern, settled gale that would brook no denial, to face which would
+      have been misery indeed. To vessels bound east it came as a boon and
+      blessing, for it would be a crawler that could not reel off her two
+      hundred and fifty miles a day before the push of such a breeze. Even the
+      CACHALOT did her one hundred and fifty, pounding and bruising the ill-used
+      sea in her path, and spreading before her broad bows a far-reaching area
+      of snowy foam, while her wake was as wide as any two ordinary ships ought
+      to make. Five or six times a day the flying East India or colonial-bound
+      English ships, under every stitch of square sail, would appear as tiny
+      specks on the horizon astern, come up with us, pass like a flash, and fade
+      away ahead, going at least two knots to our one. I could not help feeling
+      a bit home-sick and tired of my present surroundings, in spite of their
+      interest, when I saw those beautiful ocean-flyers devouring the distance
+      which lay before them, and reflected that in little more than one month
+      most of them would be discharging in Melbourne, Sydney, Calcutta, or some
+      other equally distant port, while we should probably be dodging about in
+      our present latitude a little farther east.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a few days of our present furious rate of speed, I came on deck one
+      morning, and instantly recognized an old acquaintance. Right ahead,
+      looking nearer than I had ever seen it before, rose the towering mass of
+      Tristan d'Acunha, while farther away, but still visible, lay Nightingale
+      and Inaccessible Islands. Their aspect was familiar, for I had sighted
+      them on nearly every voyage I had made round the Cape, but I had never
+      seen them so near as this. There was a good deal of excitement among us,
+      and no wonder. Such a break in the monotony of our lives as we were about
+      to have was enough to turn our heads. Afterwards, we learned to view these
+      matters in a more philosophic light; but now, being new and galled by the
+      yoke, it was a different thing. Near as the island seemed, it was six
+      hours before we got near enough to distinguish objects on shore. I have
+      seen the top of Tristan peeping through a cloud nearly a hundred miles
+      away, for its height is tremendous. St. Helena looks a towering, scowling
+      mass when you approach it closely but Tristan d'Acunha is far more
+      imposing, its savage-looking cliffs seeming to sternly forbid the
+      venturesome voyager any nearer familiarity with their frowning fastnesses.
+      Long before we came within working distance of the settlement, we were
+      continually passing broad patches of kelp (FUCUS GIGANTEA), whose great
+      leaves and cable-laid stems made quite reef-like breaks in the heaving
+      waste of restless sea. Very different indeed were these patches of marine
+      growth from the elegant wreaths of the Gulf-weed with which parts of the
+      North Atlantic are so thickly covered. Their colour was deep brown, almost
+      black is some cases, and the size of many of the leaves amazing, being
+      four to five feet long, by a foot wide, with stalks as thick as one's arm.
+      They have their origin around these storm-beaten rocks, which lie
+      scattered thinly over the immense area of the Southern Ocean, whence they
+      are torn, in masses like those we saw, by every gale, and sent wandering
+      round the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we arrived within about three miles of the landing-place, we saw a
+      boat coming off, so we immediately hove-to and awaited her arrival. There
+      was no question of anchoring; indeed, there seldom is in these vessels,
+      unless they are going to make a long stay, for they are past masters in
+      the art of "standing off and on." The boat came alongside&mdash;a big,
+      substantially-built craft of the whale-boat type, but twice the size&mdash;manned
+      by ten sturdy-looking fellows, as unkempt and wild-looking as any pirates.
+      They were evidently put to great straits for clothes, many curious
+      makeshifts being noticeable in their rig, while it was so patched with
+      every conceivable kind of material that it was impossible to say which was
+      the original or "standing part." They brought with them potatoes, onions,
+      a few stunted cabbages, some fowls, and a couple of good-sized pigs, at
+      the sight of which good things our eyes glistened and our mouths watered.
+      Alas! none of the cargo of that boat ever reached OUR hungry stomachs. We
+      were not surprised, having anticipated that every bit of provision would
+      be monopolized by our masters; but of course we had no means of altering
+      such a state of things.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The visitors had the same tale to tell that seems universal&mdash;bad
+      trade, hard times, nothing doing. How very familiar it seemed, to be sure.
+      Nevertheless, it could not be denied that their sole means of
+      communication with the outer world, as well as market for their goods, the
+      calling whale-ships, were getting fewer and fewer every year; so that
+      their outlook was not, it must be confessed, particularly bright. But
+      their wants are few, beyond such as they can themselves supply. Groceries
+      and clothes, the latter especially, as the winters are very severe, are
+      almost the only needs they require to be supplied with from without. They
+      spoke of the "Cape" as if it were only across the way, the distance
+      separating them from that wonderful place being over thirteen hundred
+      miles in reality. Very occasionally a schooner from Capetown does visit
+      them; but, as the seals are almost exterminated, there is less and less
+      inducement to make the voyage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Like almost all the southern islets, this group has been in its time the
+      scene of a wonderfully productive seal-fishery. It used to be customary
+      for whaling and sealing vessels to land a portion of their crews, and
+      leave them to accumulate a store of seal-skins and oil, while the ships
+      cruised the surrounding seas for whales, which were exceedingly numerous,
+      both "right" and sperm varieties. In those days there was no monotony of
+      existence in these islands, ships were continually coming and going, and
+      the islanders prospered exceedingly. When they increased beyond the
+      capacity of the islands to entertain them, a portion migrated to the Cape,
+      while many of the men took service in the whale-ships, for which they were
+      eminently suited.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They are, as might be expected, a hybrid lot, the women all mulattoes, but
+      intensely English in their views and loyalty. Since the visit of H.M.S.
+      GALATEA, in August, 1867, with the Duke of Edinburgh on board, this
+      sentiment had been intensified, and the little collection of thatched
+      cottages, nameless till then, was called Edinburgh, in honour of the
+      illustrious voyager. They breed cattle, a few sheep, and pigs, although
+      the sheep thrive but indifferently for some reason or another. Poultry
+      they have in large numbers, so that, could they commend a market, they
+      would do very well.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The steep cliffs, rising from the sea for nearly a thousand feet, often
+      keep their vicinity in absolute calm, although a heavy gale may be raging
+      on the other side of the island, and it would be highly dangerous for any
+      navigator not accustomed to such a neighbourhood to get too near them. The
+      immense rollers setting inshore, and the absence of wind combined, would
+      soon carry a vessel up against the beetling crags, and letting go an
+      anchor would not be of the slightest use, since the bottom, being of
+      massive boulders, affords no holding ground at all. All round the island
+      the kelp grows thickly, so thickly indeed as to make a boat's progress
+      through it difficult. This, however, is very useful in one way here, as we
+      found. Wanting more supplies, which were to be had cheap, we lowered a
+      couple of boats, and went ashore after them. On approaching the black,
+      pebbly beach which formed the only landing-place, it appeared as if
+      getting ashore would be a task of no ordinary danger and difficulty. The
+      swell seemed to culminate as we neared the beach, lifting the boats at one
+      moment high in air, and at the next lowering them into a green valley,
+      from whence nothing could be seen but the surrounding watery summits.
+      Suddenly we entered the belt of kelp, which extended for perhaps a quarter
+      of a mile seaward, and, lo! a transformation indeed. Those loose, waving
+      fronds of flexible weed, though swayed hither and thither by every ripple,
+      were able to arrest the devastating rush of the gigantic swell, so that
+      the task of landing, which had looked so terrible, was one of the easiest.
+      Once in among the kelp, although we could hardly use the oars, the water
+      was quite smooth and tranquil. The islanders collected on the beach, and
+      guided us to the best spot for landing, the huge boulders, heaped in many
+      places, being ugly impediments to a boat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were as warmly welcomed as if we had been old friends, and hospitable
+      attentions were showered upon us from every side. The people were
+      noticeably well-behaved, and, although there was something Crusoe-like in
+      their way of living, their manners and conversation were distinctly good.
+      A rude plenty was evident, there being no lack of good food&mdash;fish,
+      fowl, and vegetables. The grassy plateau on which the village stands is a
+      sort of shelf jutting out from the mountain-side, the mountain being
+      really the whole island. Steep roads were hewn out of the solid rock,
+      leading, as we were told, to the cultivated terraces above. These reached
+      an elevation of about a thousand feet. Above all towered the great,
+      dominating peak, the summit lost in the clouds eight or nine thousand feet
+      above. The rock-hewn roads and cultivated land certainly gave the
+      settlement an old-established appearance, which was not surprising seeing
+      that it has been inhabited for more than a hundred years. I shall always
+      bear a grateful recollection of the place, because my host gave me what I
+      had long been a stranger to&mdash;a good, old-fashioned English dinner of
+      roast beef and baked potatoes. He apologized for having no plum-pudding to
+      crown the feast. "But, you see," he said, "we kaint grow no corn hyar, and
+      we'm clean run out ov flour; hev ter make out on taters 's best we kin." I
+      sincerely sympathized with him on the lack of bread-stuff among them, and
+      wondered no longer at the avidity with which they had munched our flinty
+      biscuits on first coming aboard. His wife, a buxom, motherly woman of
+      about fifty, of dark, olive complexion, but good features, was kindness
+      itself; and their three youngest children, who were at home, could not, in
+      spite of repeated warnings and threats, keep their eyes off me, as if I
+      had been some strange animal dropped from the moon. I felt very unwilling
+      to leave them so soon, but time was pressing, the stores we had come for
+      were all ready to ship, and I had to tear myself away from these kindly
+      entertainers. I declare, it seemed like parting with old friends; yet our
+      acquaintance might have been measured by minutes, so brief it had been.
+      The mate had purchased a fine bullock, which had been slaughtered and cut
+      up for us with great celerity, four or five dozen fowls (alive), four or
+      five sacks of potatoes, eggs, etc., so that we were heavily laden for the
+      return journey to the ship. My friend had kindly given me a large piece of
+      splendid cheese, for which I was unable to make him any return, being
+      simply clad in a shirt and pair of trousers, neither of which necessary
+      garments could be spared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With hearty cheers from the whole population, we shoved off and ploughed
+      through the kelp seaweed again. When we got clear of it, we found the
+      swell heavier than when we had come, and a rough journey back to the ship
+      was the result. But, to such boatmen as we were, that was a trifle hardly
+      worth mentioning, and after an hour's hard pull we got alongside again,
+      and transhipped our precious cargo. The weather being threatening, we at
+      once hauled off the land and out to sea, as night was falling and we did
+      not wish to be in so dangerous a vicinity any longer than could be helped
+      in stormy weather. Altogether, a most enjoyable day, and one that I have
+      ever since had a pleasant recollection of.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By daybreak next morning the islands were out of sight, for the wind had
+      risen to a gale, which, although we carried little sail, drove us along
+      before it some seven or eight knots an hour.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two days afterwards we caught another whale of medium size, making us
+      fifty-four barrels of oil. As nothing out of the ordinary course marked
+      the capture, it is unnecessary to do more than allude to it in passing,
+      except to note that the honours were all with Goliath. He happened to be
+      close to the whale when it rose, and immediately got fast. So dexterous
+      and swift were his actions that before any of the other boats could "chip
+      in" he had his fish "fin out," the whole affair from start to finish only
+      occupying a couple of hours. We were now in the chosen haunts of the great
+      albatross, Cape pigeons, and Cape hens, but never in my life had I
+      imagined such a concourse of them as now gathered around us. When we
+      lowered there might have been perhaps a couple of dozen birds in sight,
+      but no sooner was the whale dead than from out of the great void around
+      they began to drift towards us. Before we had got him fast alongside, the
+      numbers of that feathered host were incalculable. They surrounded us until
+      the sea surface was like a plain of snow, and their discordant cries were
+      deafening. With the exception of one peculiar-looking bird, which has
+      received from whalemen the inelegant name of "stinker," none of them
+      attempted to alight upon the body of the dead monster. This bird, however,
+      somewhat like a small albatross, but of dirty-grey colour, and with a
+      peculiar excrescence on his beak, boldly took his precarious place upon
+      the carcase, and at once began to dig into the blubber. He did not seem to
+      make much impression, but he certainly tried hard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was dark before we got our prize secured by the fluke-chain, so that we
+      could not commence operations before morning. That night it blew hard, and
+      we got an idea of the strain these vessels are sometimes subjected to.
+      Sometimes the ship rolled one way and the whale another, being divided by
+      a big sea, the wrench at the fluke-chain, as the two masses fell apart
+      down different hollows, making the vessel quiver from truck to keelson as
+      if she was being torn asunder. Then we would come together again with a
+      crash and a shock that almost threw everybody out of their bunks. Many an
+      earnest prayer did I breathe that the chain would prove staunch, for what
+      sort of a job it would be to go after that whale during the night, should
+      he break loose, I could only faintly imagine. But all our gear was of the
+      very best; no thieving ship-chandler had any hand in supplying our outfit
+      with shoddy rope and faulty chain, only made to sell, and ready at the
+      first call made upon it to carry away and destroy half a dozen valuable
+      lives. There was one coil of rope on board which the skipper had bought
+      for cordage on the previous voyage from a homeward-bound English ship, and
+      it was the butt of all the officers' scurrilous remarks about Britishers
+      and their gear. It was never used but for rope-yarns, being cut up in
+      lengths, and untwisted for the ignominious purpose of tying things up&mdash;"hardly
+      good enough for that," was the verdict upon it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tired as we all were, very little sleep came to us that night&mdash;we
+      were barely seasoned yet to the exigencies of a whaler's life&mdash;but
+      afterwards I believe nothing short of dismasting or running the ship
+      ashore would wake us, once we got to sleep. In the morning we commenced
+      operations in a howling gale of wind, which placed the lives of the
+      officers on the "cutting in" stage in great danger. The wonderful
+      seaworthy qualities of our old ship shone brilliantly now. When an
+      ordinary modern-built sailing-ship would have been making such weather of
+      it as not only to drown anybody about the deck, but making it impossible
+      to keep your footing anywhere without holding on, we were enabled to cut
+      in this whale. True, the work was terribly exhausting and decidedly
+      dangerous, but it was not impossible, for it was done. By great care and
+      constant attention, the whole work of cutting in and trying out was got
+      through without a single accident; but had another whale turned up to
+      continue the trying time, I am fully persuaded that some of us would have
+      gone under from sheer fatigue. For there was no mercy shown. All that I
+      have ever read of "putting the slaves through for all they were worth" on
+      the plantations was fully realized here, and our worthy skipper must have
+      been a lineal descendent of the doughty Simon Legree.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men were afraid to go on to the sick-list. Nothing short of total
+      inability to continue would have prevented them from working, such was the
+      terror with which that man had inspired us all. It may be said that we
+      were a pack of cowards, who, without the courage to demand better
+      treatment, deserved all we got. While admitting that such a conclusion is
+      quite a natural one at which to arrive, I must deny its truth. There were
+      men in that forecastle as good citizens and as brave fellows as you would
+      wish to meet&mdash;men who in their own sphere would have commanded and
+      obtained respect. But under the painful and abnormal circumstances in
+      which they found themselves&mdash;beaten and driven like dogs while in the
+      throes of sea-sickness, half starved and hopeless, their spirit had been
+      so broken, and they were so kept down to that sad level by the display of
+      force, aided by deadly weapons aft, that no other condition could be
+      expected for them but that of broken-hearted slaves. My own case was many
+      degrees better than that of the other whites, as I have before noted; but
+      I was perfectly well aware that the slightest attempt on my part to show
+      that I resented our common treatment would meet with the most brutal
+      repression, and, in addition, I might look for a dreadful time of it for
+      the rest of the voyage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The memory of that week of misery is so strong upon me even now that my
+      hand trembles almost to preventing me from writing about it. Weak and
+      feeble do the words seem as I look at them, making me wish for the fire
+      and force of Carlyle or Macaulay to portray our unnecessary sufferings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Like all other earthly ills, however, they came to an end, at least for a
+      time, and I was delighted to note that we were getting to the northward
+      again. In making the outward passage round the Cape, it is necessary to go
+      well south, in order to avoid the great westerly set of the Agulhas
+      current, which for ever sweeps steadily round the southern extremity of
+      the African continent at an average rate of three or four miles an hour.
+      To homeward-bound ships this is a great boon. No matter what the weather
+      may be&mdash;a stark calm or a gale of wind right on end in your teeth&mdash;that
+      vast, silent river in the sea steadily bears you on at the same rate in
+      the direction of home. It is perfectly true that with a gale blowing
+      across the set of this great current, one of the very ugliest combinations
+      of broken waves is raised; but who cares for that, when he knows that, as
+      long as the ship holds together, some seventy or eighty miles per day
+      nearer home must be placed to her credit? In like manner, it is of the
+      deepest comfort to know that, storm or calm, fair or foul, the current of
+      time, unhasting, unresting, bears us on to the goal that we shall surely
+      reach&mdash;the haven of unbroken rest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Not the least of the minor troubles on board the CACHALOT was the
+      uncertainty of our destination; we never knew where we were going. It may
+      seem a small point, but it is really not so unimportant as a landsman
+      might imagine. On an ordinary passage, certain well-known signs are as
+      easily read by the seaman as if the ship's position were given out to him
+      every day. Every alteration of the course signifies some point of the
+      journey reached, some well-known track entered upon, and every landfall
+      made becomes a new departure from whence to base one's calculations,
+      which, rough as they are, rarely err more than a few days.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Say, for instance, you are bound for Calcutta. The first of the north-east
+      trades will give a fair idea of your latitude being about the edge of the
+      tropics somewhere, or say from 20deg. to 25deg. N., whether you have
+      sighted any of the islands or not. Then away you go before the wind down
+      towards the Equator, the approach to which is notified by the loss of the
+      trade and the dirty, changeable weather of the "doldrums." That weary bit
+      of work over, along come the south-east trades, making you brace "sharp
+      up," and sometimes driving you uncomfortably near the Brazilian coast.
+      Presently more "doldrums," with a good deal more wind in them than in the
+      "wariables" of the line latitude. The brave "westerly" will come along
+      by-and-by and release you, and, with a staggering press of sail carried to
+      the reliable gale, away you go for the long stretch of a hundred degrees
+      or so eastward. You will very likely sight Tristan d'Acunha or Gough
+      Island; but, if not, the course will keep you fairly well informed of your
+      longitude, since most ships make more or less of a great circle track.
+      Instead of steering due East for the whole distance, they make for some
+      southerly latitude by running along the arc of a great circle, THEN run
+      due east for a thousand miles or so before gradually working north again.
+      These alterations in the courses tell the foremast hand nearly all he
+      wants to know, slight as they are. You will most probably sight Amsterdam
+      Island or St. Paul's in about 77deg. E.; but whether you do or not, the
+      big change made in the course, to say nothing of the difference in the
+      weather and temperature, say loudly that your long easterly run is over,
+      and you are bound to the northward again. Soon the south-east trades will
+      take you gently in hand, and waft you pleasurably upward to the line
+      again, unless you should be so unfortunate as to meet one of the
+      devastating meteors known as "cyclones" in its gyration across the Indian
+      Ocean. After losing the trade, which signals your approach to the line
+      once more, your guides fluctuate muchly with the time of year. But it may
+      be broadly put that the change of the monsoon in the Bay of Bengal is
+      beastliness unadulterated, and the south-west monsoon itself, though a
+      fair wind for getting to your destination, is worse, if possible. Still,
+      having got that far, you are able to judge pretty nearly when, in the
+      ordinary course of events, you will arrive at Saugor, and get a tug for
+      the rest of the journey.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But on this strange voyage I was quite as much in the dark concerning our
+      approximate position as any of the chaps who had never seen salt water
+      before they viewed it from the bad eminence of the CACHALOT's deck. Of
+      course, it was evident that we were bound eastward, but whether to the
+      Indian seas or to the South Pacific, none knew but the skipper, and
+      perhaps the mate. I say "perhaps" advisedly. In any well-regulated
+      merchant ship there is an invariable routine of observations performed by
+      both captain and chief officer, except in very big vessels, where the
+      second mate is appointed navigating officer. The two men work out their
+      reckoning independently of each other, and compare the result, so that an
+      excellent check upon the accuracy of the positions found is thereby
+      afforded. Here, however, there might not have been, as far as appearances
+      went, a navigator in the ship except the captain, if it be not a misuse of
+      terms to call him a navigator. If the test be ability to take a ship round
+      the world, poking into every undescribed, out-of-the-way corner you can
+      think of, and return home again without damage to the ship of any kind
+      except by the unavoidable perils of the sea, then doubtless he WAS a
+      navigator, and a ripe, good one. But anything cruder than the
+      "rule-of-thumb" way in which he found his positions, or more out of date
+      than his "hog-yoke," or quadrant, I have never seen. I suppose we carried
+      a chronometer, though I never saw it or heard the cry of "stop," which
+      usually accompanies a.m. or p.m. "sights" taken for longitude. He used
+      sometimes to make a deliberate sort of haste below after taking a sight,
+      when he may have been looking at a chronometer perhaps. What I do know
+      about his procedure is, that he always used a very rough method of equal
+      altitudes, which would make a mathematician stare and gasp; that his
+      nautical almanac was a ten-cent one published by some speculative optician
+      is New York; that he never worked up a "dead reckoning;" and that the
+      extreme limit of time that he took to work out his observations was ten
+      minutes. In fact, all our operations in seamanship or navigation were run
+      on the same happy-go-lucky principle. If it was required to "tack" ship,
+      there was no formal parade and preparation for the manoeuvre, not even as
+      much as would be made in a Goole billy-boy. Without any previous
+      intimation, the helm would be put down, and round she would come, the
+      yards being trimmed by whoever happened to be nearest to the braces. The
+      old tub seemed to like it that way, for she never missed stays or
+      exhibited any of that unwillingness to do what she was required that is
+      such a frequent characteristic of merchantmen. Even getting under way or
+      coming to an anchor was unattended by any of the fuss and bother from
+      which those important evolutions ordinarily appear inseparable.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To my great relief we saw no more whales of the kind we were after during
+      our passage round the Cape. The weather we were having was splendid for
+      making a passage, but to be dodging about among those immense rollers, or
+      towed athwart them by a wounded whale in so small a craft as one of our
+      whale-boats, did not have any attractions for me. There was little doubt
+      in any of our minds that, if whales were seen, off we must go while
+      daylight lasted, let the weather be what it might. So when one morning I
+      went to the wheel, to find the course N.N.E. instead of E. by N., it may
+      be taken for granted that the change was a considerable relief to me. It
+      was now manifest that we were bound up into the Indian Ocean, although of
+      course I knew nothing of the position of the districts where whales were
+      to be looked for. Gradually we crept northward, the weather improving
+      every day as we left the "roaring forties" astern. While thus making
+      northing we had several fine catches of porpoises, and saw many rorquals,
+      but sperm whales appeared to have left the locality. However, the "old
+      man" evidently knew what he was about, as we were not now cruising, but
+      making a direct passage for some definite place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last we sighted land, which, from the course which we had been
+      steering, might have been somewhere on the east coast of Africa, but for
+      the fact that it was right ahead, while we were pointing at the time about
+      N.N.W. By-and-by I came to the conclusion that it must be the southern
+      extremity of Madagascar, Cape St. Mary, and, by dint of the closest,
+      attention to every word I heard uttered while at the wheel by the
+      officers, found that my surmise was correct. We skirted this point pretty
+      closely, heading to the westward, and, when well clear of it, bore up to
+      the northward, again for the Mozambique Channel. Another surprise. The
+      very idea of WHALING in the Mozambique Channel seemed too ridiculous to
+      mention; yet here we were, guided by a commander who, whatever his faults,
+      was certainly most keen in his attention to business, and the unlikeliest
+      man imaginable to take the ship anywhere unless he anticipated a
+      profitable return for his visit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER X. A VISIT TO SOME STRANGE PLACES
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      We had now entered upon what promised to be the most interesting part of
+      our voyage. As a commercial speculation, I have to admit that the voyage
+      was to me a matter of absolute indifference. Never, from the first week of
+      my being on board, had I cherished any illusions upon that score, for it
+      was most forcibly impressed on my mind that, whatever might be the measure
+      of success attending our operations, no one of the crew forward could hope
+      to benefit by it. The share of profits was so small, and the time taken to
+      earn it so long, such a number of clothes were worn out and destroyed by
+      us, only to be replaced from the ship's slop-chest at high prices, that I
+      had quite resigned myself to the prospect of leaving the vessel in debt,
+      whenever that desirable event might happen. Since, therefore, I had never
+      made it a practice to repine at the inevitable, and make myself unhappy by
+      the contemplation of misfortunes I was powerless to prevent, I tried to
+      interest myself as far as was possible in gathering information, although
+      at that time I had no idea, beyond a general thirst for knowledge, that
+      what I was now learning would ever be of any service to me. Yet I had been
+      dull indeed not to have seen how unique were the opportunities I was now
+      enjoying for observation of some of the least known and understood aspects
+      of the ocean world and its wonderful inhabitants, to say nothing of visits
+      to places unvisited, except by such free lances as we were, and about
+      which so little is really known.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The weather of the Mozambique Channel was fairly good, although subject to
+      electric storms of the most terrible aspect, but perfectly harmless. On
+      the second evening after rounding Cape St. Mary, we were proceeding, as
+      usual, under very scanty sail, rather enjoying the mild, balmy air,
+      scent-laden, from Madagascar. The moon was shining in tropical splendour,
+      paling the lustre of the attendant stars, and making the glorious Milky
+      Way but a faint shadow of its usual resplendent road. Gradually from the
+      westward there arose a murky mass of cloud, fringed at its upper edges
+      with curious tinted tufts of violet, orange, and crimson. These colours
+      were not brilliant, but plainly visible against the deep blue sky. Slowly
+      and solemnly the intruding gloom overspread the sweet splendour of the
+      shining sky, creeping like a death-shadow over a dear face, and making the
+      most talkative feel strangely quiet and ill at ease. As the pall of thick
+      darkness blotted out the cool light, it seemed to descend until at last we
+      were completely over-canopied by a dome of velvety black, seemingly low
+      enough to touch the mast-heads. A belated sea-bird's shrill scream but
+      emphasized the deep silence which lent itself befittingly to the solemnity
+      of nature. Presently thin suggestions of light, variously tinted, began to
+      thread the inky mass. These grew brighter and more vivid, until at last,
+      in fantastic contortions, they appeared to rend the swart concave asunder,
+      revealing through the jagged clefts a lurid waste of the most intensely
+      glowing fire. The coming and going of these amazing brightnesses, combined
+      with the Egyptian dark between, was completely blinding. So loaded was the
+      still air with electricity that from every point aloft pale flames
+      streamed upward, giving the ship the appearance of a huge candelabrum with
+      innumerable branches. One of the hands, who had been ordered aloft on some
+      errand of securing a loose end, presented a curious sight. He was
+      bareheaded, and from his hair the all pervading fluid arose, lighting up
+      his features, which were ghastly beyond description. When he lifted his
+      hand, each separate finger became at once an additional point from which
+      light streamed. There was no thunder, but a low hissing and a crackling
+      which did not amount to noise, although distinctly audible to all.
+      Sensations most unpleasant of pricking and general irritation were felt by
+      every one, according to their degree of susceptibility.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After about an hour of this state of things, a low moaning of thunder was
+      heard, immediately followed by a few drops of rain large as dollars. The
+      mutterings and grumblings increased until, with one peal that made the
+      ship tremble as though she had just struck a rock at full speed, down came
+      the rain. The windows of heaven were opened, and no man might stand
+      against the steaming flood that descended by thousands of tons per minute.
+      How long it continued, I cannot say; probably, in its utmost fierceness,
+      not more than half an hour. Then it slowly abated, clearing away as it did
+      so the accumulation of gloom overhead, until, before midnight had struck,
+      all the heavenly host were shedding their beautiful brilliancy upon us
+      again with apparently increased glory, while the freshness and
+      invigorating feel of the air was inexpressibly delightful.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We did not court danger by hugging too closely any of the ugly reefs and
+      banks that abound in this notably difficult strait, but gave them all a
+      respectfully wide berth. It was a feature of our navigation that, unless
+      we had occasion to go near any island or reef for fishing or landing
+      purposes, we always kept a safe margin of distance away, which probably
+      accounts for our continued immunity from accident while in tortuous
+      waters. Our anchors and cables were, however, always kept ready for use
+      now, in case of an unsuspected current or sudden storm; but beyond that
+      precaution, I could see little or no difference in the manner of our
+      primitive navigation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We met with no "luck" for some time, and the faces of the harpooners grew
+      daily longer, the great heat of those sultry waters trying all tempers
+      sorely. But Captain Slocum knew his business, and his scowling, impassive
+      face showed no signs of disappointment, or indeed any other emotion, as
+      day by day we crept farther north. At last we sighted the stupendous peak
+      of Comoro mountain, which towers to nearly nine thousand feet from the
+      little island which gives its name to the Comoro group of four. On that
+      same day a school of medium-sized sperm whales were sighted, which
+      appeared to be almost of a different race to those with which we had
+      hitherto had dealings. They were exceedingly fat and lazy, moving with the
+      greatest deliberation, and, when we rushed in among them, appeared utterly
+      bewildered and panic-stricken, knowing not which way to flee. Like a flock
+      of frightened sheep they huddled together, aimlessly wallowing in each
+      other's way, while we harpooned them with the greatest ease and impunity.
+      Even the "old man" himself lowered the fifth boat, leaving the ship to the
+      carpenter, cooper, cook, and steward, and coming on the scene as if
+      determined to make a field-day of the occasion. He was no "slouch" at the
+      business either. Not that there was much occasion or opportunity to
+      exhibit any prowess. The record of the day's proceedings would be as tame
+      as to read of a day's work in a slaughter-house. Suffice it to say, that
+      we actually killed six whales, none of whom were less than fifty barrels,
+      no boat ran out more than one hundred fathoms of line, neither was a
+      bomb-lance used. Not the slightest casualty occurred to any of the boats,
+      and the whole work of destruction was over in less than four hours.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then came the trouble. The fish were, of course somewhat widely separated
+      when they died, and the task of collecting all those immense carcasses was
+      one of no ordinary magnitude. Had it not been for the wonderfully skilful
+      handling of the ship, the task would, I should think, have been
+      impossible, but the way in which she was worked compelled the admiration
+      of anybody who knew what handling a ship meant. Still, with all the
+      ability manifested, it was five hours after the last whale died before we
+      had gathered them all alongside, bringing us to four o'clock in the
+      afternoon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A complete day under that fierce blaze of the tropical sun, without other
+      refreshment than an occasional furtive drink of tepid water, had reduced
+      us to a pitiable condition of weakness, so much so that the skipper judged
+      it prudent, as soon as the fluke-chains were passed, to give us a couple
+      of hours' rest. As soon as the sun had set we were all turned to again,
+      three cressets were prepared, and by their blaze we toiled the whole night
+      through. Truth compels me to state, though, that none of us foremast hands
+      had nearly such heavy work as the officers on the stage. What they had to
+      do demanded special knowledge and skill; but it was also terribly hard
+      work, constant and unremitting, while we at the windlass had many a short
+      spell between the lifting of the pieces. Even the skipper took a hand, for
+      the first time, and right manfully did he do his share.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By the first streak of dawn, three of the whales had been stripped of
+      their blubber, and five heads were bobbing astern at the ends of as many
+      hawsers. The sea all round presented a wonderful sight. There must have
+      been thousands of sharks gathered to the feast, and their incessant
+      incursions through the phosphorescent water wove a dazzling network of
+      brilliant tracks which made the eyes ache to look upon. A short halt was
+      called for breakfast, which was greatly needed, and, thanks to the cook,
+      was a thoroughly good one. He&mdash;blessings on him!&mdash;had been busy
+      fishing, as we drifted slowly, with savoury pieces of whale-beef for bait,
+      and the result was a mess of fish which would have gladdened the heart of
+      an epicure. Our hunger appeased, it was "turn to" again, for there was now
+      no time to be lost. The fierce heat soon acts upon the carcass of a dead
+      whale, generating an immense volume of gas within it, which, in a
+      wonderfully short space of time, turns the flesh putrid and renders the
+      blubber so rotten that it cannot be lifted, nor, if it could, would it be
+      of any value. So it was no wonder that our haste was great, or that the
+      august arbiter of our destinies himself condescended to take his place
+      among the toilers. By nightfall the whole of our catch was on board,
+      excepting such toll as the hungry hordes of sharks had levied upon it in
+      transit. A goodly number of them had paid the penalty of their rapacity
+      with their lives, for often one would wriggle his way right up on to the
+      reeking carcass, and, seizing a huge fragment of blubber, strive with
+      might and main to tear it away. Then the lethal spade would drop upon his
+      soft crown, cleaving it to the jaws, and with one flap of his big tail he
+      would loose his grip, roll over and over, and sink, surrounded by a
+      writhing crowd of his fellows, by whom he was speedily reduced into
+      digestible fragments.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The condition of the CACHALOT's deck was now somewhat akin to chaos. From
+      the cabin door to the tryworks there was hardly an inch of available
+      space, and the oozing oil kept some of us continually baling it up, lest
+      it should leak out through the interstices in the bulwarks. In order to
+      avoid a breakdown, it became necessary to divide the crew into six-hour
+      watches, as although the work was exceedingly urgent on account of the
+      weather, there were evident signs that some of the crew were perilously
+      near giving in. So we got rest none too soon, and the good effects of it
+      were soon apparent. The work went on with much more celerity than one
+      would have thought possible, and soon the lumbered-up decks began to
+      resume their normal appearance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As if to exasperate the "old man" beyond measure on the third day of our
+      operations a great school of sperm whales appeared, disporting all around
+      the ship, apparently conscious of our helplessness to interfere with them.
+      Notwithstanding our extraordinary haul, Captain Slocum went black with
+      impotent rage, and, after glowering at the sportive monsters, beat a
+      retreat below, unable to bear the sight any longer. During his absence we
+      had a rare treat. The whole school surrounded the ship, and performed some
+      of the strangest evolutions imaginable. As if instigated by one common
+      impulse, they all elevated their massive heads above the surface of the
+      sea, and remained for some time in that position, solemnly bobbing up and
+      down amid the glittering wavelets like movable boulders of black rock.
+      Then, all suddenly reversed themselves, and, elevating their broad flukes
+      in the air, commenced to beat them slowly and rhythmically upon the water,
+      like so many machines. Being almost a perfect calm, every movement of the
+      great mammals could be plainly seen; some of them even passed so near to
+      us that we could see how the lower jaw hung down, while the animal was
+      swimming in a normal position.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For over an hour they thus paraded around us, and then, as if startled by
+      some hidden danger, suddenly headed off to the westward, and in a few
+      minutes were out of our sight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We cruised in the vicinity of the Comoro Islands for two months, never
+      quite out of sight of the mountain while the weather was clear. During the
+      whole of that time we were never clear of oil on deck, one catch always
+      succeeding another before there had been time to get cleared up. Eight
+      hundred barrels of oil were added to our cargo, making the undisciplined
+      hearts of all to whom whaling was a novel employment beat high with hopes
+      of a speedy completion of the cargo, and consequent return. Poor innocents
+      that we were! How could we know any better? According to Goliath, with
+      whom I often had a friendly chat, this was quite out of the ordinary run
+      to have such luck in the "Channel."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Way back in de dark ages, w'en de whaleships war de pi'neers ob
+      commerce, 'n day wan't no worryin', poofity-plukity steamboats a-poundin'
+      along, 'nough ter galley ebery whale clean eout ob dere skin, dey war
+      plenty whaleships fill up in twelve, fifteen, twenty monf' after leabin'
+      home. 'N er man bed his pick er places, too&mdash;didn' hab ter go moseyin
+      erroun' like some ol' hobo lookin' fer day's work, 'n prayin' de good Lord
+      not ter let um fine it. No, sah; roun yer China Sea, coas' Japan, on de
+      line, off shore, Vasquez, 'mong de islan's, ohmos' anywhar, you couldn'
+      hardly git way from 'em. Neow, I clar ter glory I kaint imagine WAR dey
+      all gone ter, dough we bin eout only six seven monf' 'n got over tousan
+      bar'l below. But I bin two year on er voy'ge and doan hardly SEE a sparm
+      while, much less catch one. But"&mdash;and here he whispered mysteriously&mdash;"dish
+      yer ole man's de bery debbil's own chile, 'n his farder lookin' after him
+      well&mdash;dat's my 'pinion. Only yew keep yer head tight shut, an' nebber
+      say er word, but keep er lookin', 'n sure's death you'll see." This
+      conversation made a deep and lasting impression upon me, for I had not
+      before heard even so much as a murmur from an officer against the tyranny
+      of the skipper. Some of the harpooners were fluent enough, too.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yet I had often thought that his treatment of them, considering the
+      strenuous nature of their toil, and the willingness with which they worked
+      as long as they had an ounce of energy left, was worth at least a little
+      kindness and courtesy on his part.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What the period may have been during which whales were plentiful here, I
+      do not know, but it was now May, and for the last few days we had not seen
+      a solitary spout of any kind. Preparations, very slight it is true, were
+      made for departure; but before we left those parts we made an interesting
+      call for water at Mohilla, one of the Comoro group, which brought out, in
+      unmistakable fashion, the wonderful fund of local knowledge possessed by
+      these men. At the larger ports of Johanna and Mayotte there is a regular
+      tariff of port charges, which are somewhat heavy, and no whaleman would be
+      so reckless as to incur these unless driven thereto by the necessity of
+      obtaining provisions; otherwise, the islands offer great inducements to
+      whaling captains to call, since none but men hopelessly mad would venture
+      to desert in such places. That qualification is the chief one for any port
+      to possess in the eyes of a whaling captain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our skipper, however, saw no necessity for entering any port. Running up
+      under the lee of Mohilla, we followed the land along until we came to a
+      tiny bight on the western side of the island, an insignificant inlet which
+      no mariner in charge of a vessel like ours could be expected even to
+      notice, unless he were surveying. The approaches to this tiny harbour
+      (save the mark) were very forbidding. Ugly-looking rocks showed up here
+      and there, the surf over them frequently blinding the whole entry. But we
+      came along, in our usual leisurely fashion, under two topsails, spanker,
+      and fore-topmast staysail, and took that ugly passage like a sailing barge
+      entering the Medway. There was barely room to turn round when we got
+      inside, but all sail had been taken off her except the spanker, so that
+      her way was almost stopped by the time she was fairly within the harbour.
+      Down went the anchor, and she was fast&mdash;anchored for the first time
+      since leaving New Bedford seven months before. Here we were shut out
+      entirely from the outer world, for I doubt greatly whether even a passing
+      dhow could have seen us from seaward. We were not here for rest, however,
+      but wood and water; so while one party was supplied with well-sharpened
+      axes, and sent on shore to cut down such small trees as would serve our
+      turn, another party was busily employed getting out a number of big casks
+      for the serious business of watering. The cooper knocked off the second or
+      quarter hoops from each of these casks, and drove them on again with two
+      "beckets" or loops of rope firmly jammed under each of them in such a
+      manner that the loops were in line with each other on each side of the
+      bunghole. They were then lowered overboard, and a long rope rove through
+      all the beckets. When this was done, the whole number of casks floated end
+      to end, upright and secure. We towed them ashore to where, by the
+      skipper's directions, at about fifty yards from high-water mark, a spring
+      of beautiful water bubbled out of the side of a mass of rock, losing
+      itself in a deep crevice below. Lovely ferns, rare orchids, and trailing
+      plants of many kinds surrounded this fairy-like spot in the wildest
+      profusion, making a tangle of greenery that we had considerable trouble to
+      clear away. Having done so, we led a long canvas hose from the spot whence
+      the water flowed down to the shore where the casks floated. The chief
+      officer, with great ingenuity, rigged up an arrangement whereby the hose,
+      which had a square month about a foot wide, was held up to the rock,
+      saving us the labour of bailing and filling by hand. So we were able to
+      rest and admire at our ease the wonderful variety of beautiful plants
+      which grew here so lavishly, unseen by mortal eye from one year's end to
+      another. I have somewhere read that the Creator has delight in the
+      beautiful work of His will, wherever it may be; and that while our egotism
+      wonders at the waste of beauty, as we call it, there is no waste at all,
+      since the Infinite Intelligence can dwell with complacency upon the
+      glories of His handiwork, perfectly fulfilling their appointed ends.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All too soon the pleasant occupation came to an end. The long row of
+      casks, filled to the brim and tightly bunged, were towed off by us to the
+      ship, and ranged alongside. A tackle and pair of "can-hooks" was
+      overhauled to the water and hooked to a cask. "Hoist away!" And as the
+      cask rose, the beckets that had held it to the mother-rope were cut,
+      setting it quite free to come on board, but leaving all the others still
+      secure. In this way we took in several thousand gallons of water in a few
+      hours, with a small expenditure of labour, free of cost; whereas, had we
+      gone into Mayotte or Johanna, the water would have been bad, the price
+      high, the labour great, with the chances of a bad visitation of fever in
+      the bargain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The woodmen had a much more arduous task. The only wood they could find,
+      without cutting down big trees, which would have involved far too much
+      labour in cutting up, was a kind of iron-wood, which, besides being very
+      heavy, was so hard as to take pieces clean out of their axe-edges, when a
+      blow was struck directly across the grain. As none of them were experts,
+      the condition of their tools soon made their work very hard. But that they
+      had taken several axes in reserve, it is doubtful whether they would have
+      been able to get sufficient fuel for our purpose. When they pitched the
+      wood off the rocks into the harbour, it sank immediately, giving them a
+      great deal of trouble to fish it up again. Neither could they raft it as
+      intended, but were compelled to load it into the boats and make several
+      journeys to and fro before all they had cut was shipped. Altogether, I was
+      glad that the wooding had not fallen to my share. On board the ship
+      fishing had been going on steadily most of the day by a few hands told off
+      for the purpose. The result of their sport was splendid, over two
+      hundred-weight of fine fish of various sorts, but all eatable, having been
+      gathered in.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We lay snugly anchored all night, keeping a bright look-out for any
+      unwelcome visitors either from land or sea, for the natives are not to be
+      trusted, neither do the Arab mongrels who cruise about those waters in
+      their dhows bear any too good a reputation. We saw none, however, and at
+      daylight we weighed and towed the ship out to sea with the boats, there
+      being no wind. While busy at this uninteresting pastime, one of the boats
+      slipped away, returning presently with a fine turtle, which they had
+      surprised during his morning's nap. One of the amphibious Portuguese
+      slipped over the boat's side as she neared the sleeping SPHARGA, and,
+      diving deep, came up underneath him, seizing with crossed hands the two
+      hind flippers, and, with a sudden, dexterous twist, turned the astonished
+      creature over on his back. Thus rendered helpless, the turtle lay on the
+      surface feebly waving his flippers, while his captor, gently treading
+      water, held him in that position till the boat reached the pair and took
+      them on board. It was a clever feat, neatly executed, as unlike the clumsy
+      efforts I had before seen made with the same object as anything could
+      possibly be.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After an hour's tow, we had got a good offing, and a light air springing
+      up, we returned on board, hoisted the boats, and made sail to the
+      northward again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With the exception of the numerous native dhows that crept lazily about,
+      we saw no vessels as we gradually drew out of the Mozambique Channel and
+      stood away towards the Line. The part of the Indian Ocean in which we now
+      found ourselves is much dreaded by merchantmen, who give it a wide berth
+      on account of the numerous banks, islets, and dangerous currents with
+      which it abounds. We, however, seemed quite at home here, pursuing the
+      even tenor of our usual way without any special precautions being taken. A
+      bright look-out, we always kept, of course&mdash;none of your drowsy
+      lolling about such as is all too common on the "fo'lk'sle head" of many a
+      fine ship, when, with lights half trimmed or not shown at all, she is
+      ploughing along blindly at twelve knots or so an hour. No; while we were
+      under way during daylight, four pairs of keen eyes kept incessant vigil a
+      hundred feet above the deck, noting everything, even to a shoal of small
+      fish, that crossed within the range of vision. At night we scarcely moved,
+      but still a vigilant lookout was always kept both fore and aft, so that it
+      would have been difficult for us to drift upon a reef unknowingly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Creeping steadily northward, we passed the Cosmoledo group of atolls
+      without paying them a visit, which was strange, as, from their appearance,
+      no better fishing-ground would be likely to come in our way. They are
+      little known, except to the wandering fishermen from Reunion and
+      Rodriguez, who roam about these islets and reefs, seeking anything that
+      may be turned into coin, from wrecks to turtle, and in nowise particular
+      as to rights of ownership. When between the Cosmoledos and Astove, the
+      next island to the northward, we sighted a "solitary" cachalot one morning
+      just as the day dawned. It was the first for some time&mdash;nearly three
+      weeks&mdash;and being all well seasoned to the work now, we obeyed the
+      call to arms with great alacrity. Our friend was making a passage, turning
+      neither to the right hand nor the left as he went. His risings and number
+      of spouts while up, as well as the time he remained below, were as regular
+      as the progress of a clock, and could be counted upon with quite as much
+      certainty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Bearing in mind, I suppose, the general character of the whales we had
+      recently met with, only two boats were lowered to attack the new-comer,
+      who, all unconscious of our coming, pursued his leisurely course
+      unheeding.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We got a good weather gage of him, and came flying on as usual getting two
+      irons planted in fine style. But a surprise awaited us. As we sheered up
+      into the wind away from him, Louis shouted, "Fightin' whale, sir; look out
+      for de rush!" Look out, indeed? Small use in looking out when, hampered as
+      we always were at first with the unshipping of the mast, we could do next
+      to nothing to avoid him. Without any of the desperate flounderings
+      generally indulged in on first feeling the iron, he turned upon us, and
+      had it not been that he caught sight of the second mate's boat, which had
+      just arrived, and turned his attentions to her, there would have been
+      scant chance of any escape for us. Leaping half out of water, he made
+      direct for our comrades with a vigour and ferocity marvellous to see,
+      making it a no easy matter for them to avoid his tremendous rush. Our
+      actions, at no time slow, were considerably hastened by this display of
+      valour, so that before he could turn his attentions in our direction we
+      were ready for him. Then ensued a really big fight, the first, in fact, of
+      my experience, for none of the other whales had shown any serious
+      determination to do us an injury, but had devoted all their energies to
+      attempts at escape. So quick were the evolutions, and so savage the
+      appearance of this fellow, that even our veteran mate looked anxious as to
+      the possible result. Without attempting to "sound," the furious monster
+      kept mostly below the surface; but whenever he rose, it was either to
+      deliver a fearful blow with his tail, or, with jaws widespread, to try and
+      bite one of our boats in half. Well was it for us that he was severely
+      handicapped by a malformation of the lower jaw. At a short distance from
+      the throat it turned off nearly at right angles to his body, the part that
+      thus protruded sideways being deeply fringed with barnacles, and plated
+      with big limpets.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Had it not been for this impediment, I verily believe he would have beaten
+      us altogether. As it was, he worked us nearly to death with his ugly
+      rushes. Once he delivered a sidelong blow with his tail, which, as we spun
+      round, shore off the two oars on that side as if they had been carrots. At
+      last the second mate got fast to him, and then the character of the game
+      changed again. Apparently unwearied by his previous exertions, he now
+      started off to windward at top speed, with the two boats sheering broadly
+      out upon either side of his foaming wake. Doubtless because he himself was
+      much fatigued, the mate allowed him to run at his will, without for the
+      time attempting to haul any closer to him, and very grateful the short
+      rest was to us. But he had not gone a couple of miles before he turned a
+      complete somersault in the water, coming up BEHIND us to rush off again in
+      the opposite direction at undiminished speed. This move was a startler.
+      For the moment it seemed as if both boats would be smashed like egg-shells
+      against each other, or else that some of us would be impaled upon the long
+      lances with which each boat's bow bristled. By what looked like a
+      handbreadth, we cleared each other, and the race continued. Up till now we
+      had not succeeded in getting home a single lance, the foe was becoming
+      warier, while the strain was certainly telling upon our nerves. So Mr.
+      Count got out his bomb-gun, shouting at the same time to Mr. Cruce to do
+      the same. They both hated these weapons, nor ever used them if they could
+      help it; but what was to be done?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our chief had hardly got his gun ready, before we came to almost a dead
+      stop. All was silent for just a moment; then, with a roar like a cataract,
+      up sprang the huge creature, head out, jaw wide open, coming direct for
+      us. As coolly as if on the quarter-deck, the mate raised his gun, firing
+      the bomb directly down the great livid cavern of a throat fronting him.
+      Down went that mountainous head not six inches from us, but with a
+      perfectly indescribable motion, a tremendous writhe, in fact; up flew the
+      broad tail in air, and a blow which might have sufficed to stave in the
+      side of the ship struck the second mate's boat fairly amidships. It was
+      right before my eyes, not sixty feet away, and the sight will haunt me to
+      my death. The tub oarsman was the poor German baker, about whom I have
+      hitherto said nothing, except to note that he was one of the crew. That
+      awful blow put an end summarily to all his earthly anxieties. As it shore
+      obliquely through the centre of the boat, it drove his poor body right
+      through her timbers&mdash;an undistinguishable bundle of what was an
+      instant before a human being. The other members of the crew escaped the
+      blow, and the harpooner managed to cut the line, so that for the present
+      they were safe enough, clinging to the remains of their boat, unless the
+      whale should choose to rush across them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Happily, his rushing was almost over. The bomb fired by Mr. Count, with
+      such fatal result to poor Bamberger, must have exploded right in the
+      whale's throat. Whether his previous titanic efforts had completely
+      exhausted him, or whether the bomb had broken his massive backbone, I do
+      not know, of course, but he went into no flurry, dying as peacefully as
+      his course had been furious. For the first time in my life, I had been
+      face to face with a violent death, and I was quite stunned with the
+      awfulness of the experience. Mechanically, as it seemed to me, we obeyed
+      such orders as were given, but every man's thoughts were with the shipmate
+      so suddenly dashed from amongst us. We never saw sign of him again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While the ship was running down to us, another boat had gone to rescue the
+      clinging crew of the shattered boat, for the whole drama had been
+      witnessed from the ship, although they were not aware of the death of the
+      poor German. When the sad news was told on board, there was a deep
+      silence, all work being carried on so quietly that we seemed like a crew
+      of dumb men. With a sentiment for which I should not have given our grim
+      skipper credit, the stars and stripes were hoisted half-mast, telling the
+      silent sky and moaning sea, sole witnesses besides ourselves, of the
+      sudden departure from among us of our poor shipmate. We got the whale cut
+      in as usual without any incident worth mentioning, except that the
+      peculiar shape of the jaw made it an object of great curiosity to all of
+      us who were new to the whale-fishing. Such malformations are not very
+      rare. They are generally thought to occur when the animal is young, and
+      its bones soft; but whether done in fighting with one another, or in some
+      more mysterious way, nobody knows. Cases have been known, I believe, where
+      the deformed whale does not appear to have suffered from lack of food in
+      consequence of his disability; but in each of the three instances which
+      have come under my own notice, such was certainly not the case. These
+      whales were what is termed by the whalers "dry-skins;" that is, they were
+      in poor condition, the blubber yielding less than half the usual quantity
+      of oil. The absence of oil makes it very hard to cut up, and there is more
+      work in one whale of this kind than in two whose blubber is rich and soft.
+      Another thing which I have also noticed is, that these whales were much
+      more difficult to tackle than others, for each of them gave us something
+      special to remember them by. But I must not get ahead of my yarn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The end of the week brought us up to the Aldabra Islands, one of the
+      puzzles of the world. For here, in these tiny pieces of earth, surrounded
+      by thousands of miles of sea, the nearest land a group of islets like unto
+      them, is found the gigantic tortoise, and in only one other place in the
+      wide world, the Galapagos group of islands in the South Pacific. How, or
+      by what strange freak of Dame Nature these curious reptiles, sole
+      survivals of another age, should come to be found in this lonely spot, is
+      a deep mystery, and one not likely to be unfolded now. At any rate, there
+      they are, looking as if some of them might be coeval with Noah, so
+      venerable and storm-beaten do they appear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We made the island early on a Sunday morning, and, with the usual
+      celerity, worked the vessel into the fine harbour, called, from one of the
+      exploring ships, Euphrates Bay or Harbour. The anchor down, and everything
+      made snug below and aloft, we were actually allowed a run ashore free from
+      restraint. I could hardly believe my ears. We had got so accustomed to our
+      slavery that liberty was become a mere name; we hardly knew what to do
+      with it when we got it. However, we soon got used (in a very limited
+      sense) to being our own masters, and, each following the bent of his
+      inclinations, set out for a ramble. My companion and I had not gone far,
+      when we thought we saw one of the boulders, with which the island was
+      liberally besprinkled, on the move. Running up to examine it with all the
+      eagerness of children let out of school, we found it to be one of the
+      inhabitants, a monstrous tortoise. I had some big turtle around the cays
+      of the Gulf of Mexico, but this creature dwarfed them all. We had no means
+      of actually measuring him, and had to keep clear of his formidable-looking
+      jaws, but roughly, and within the mark, he was four feet long by two feet
+      six inches wide. Of course he was much more dome-shaped than the turtle
+      are, and consequently looked a great deal bigger than a turtle of the same
+      measurement would, besides being much thicker through. As he was loth to
+      stay with us, we made up our minds to go with him, for he was evidently
+      making for some definite spot, by the tracks he was following, which
+      showed plainly how many years that same road had been used. Well, I
+      mounted on his back, keeping well astern, out of the reach of that
+      serious-looking head, which having rather a long neck, looked as if it
+      might be able to reach round and take a piece out of a fellow without any
+      trouble. He was perfectly amicable, continuing his journey as if nothing
+      had happened, and really getting over the ground at a good rate,
+      considering the bulk and shape of him. Except for the novelty of the
+      thing, this sort of ride had nothing to recommend it; so I soon tired of
+      it, and let him waddle along in peace. By following the tracks aforesaid,
+      we arrived at a fine stream of water sparkling out of a hillside, and
+      running down a little ravine. The sides of this gully were worn quite
+      smooth by the innumerable feet of the tortoises, about a dozen of which
+      were now quietly crouching at the water's edge, filling themselves up with
+      the cooling fluid. I did not see the patriarch upon whom a sailor once
+      reported that he had read the legend carved, "The Ark, Captain Noah,
+      Ararat for orders"; perhaps he had at last closed his peaceful career. But
+      strange, and quaint as this exhibition of ancient reptiles was, we had
+      other and better employment for the limited time at our disposal. There
+      were innumerable curious things to see, and, unless we were to run the
+      risk of going on board again and stopping there, dinner must be obtained.
+      Eggs of various kinds were exceedingly plentiful; in many places the flats
+      were almost impassable for sitting birds, mostly "boobies."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But previous experience of boobies' eggs in other places had not disposed
+      me to seek them where others were to be obtained, and as I had seen many
+      of the well-known frigate or man-o'-war birds hovering about, we set out
+      to the other side of the island in search of the breeding-place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These peculiar birds are, I think, misnamed. They should be called pirate
+      or buccaneer birds, from their marauding habits. Seldom or never do they
+      condescend to fish for themselves, preferring to hover high in the blue,
+      their tails opening and closing like a pair of scissors as they hang
+      poised above the sea. Presently booby&mdash;like some honest housewife who
+      has been a-marketing&mdash;comes flapping noisily home, her maw laden with
+      fish for the chicks. Down comes the black watcher from above with a swoop
+      like an eagle. Booby puts all she knows into her flight, but vainly;
+      escape is impossible, so with a despairing shriek she drops her load.
+      Before it has touched the water the graceful thief has intercepted it, and
+      soared slowly aloft again, to repeat the performance as occasion serves.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we arrived on the outer shore of the island, we found a large
+      breeding-place of these birds, but totally different to the haunt of the
+      boobies. The nests, if they might be so called, being at best a few twigs,
+      were mostly in the hollows of the rocks, the number of eggs being two to a
+      nest, on an average. The eggs were nearly as large as a turkey's. But I am
+      reminded of the range of size among turkeys' eggs, so I must say they were
+      considerably larger than a small turkey's egg. Their flavour was most
+      delicate, as much so as the eggs of a moor-fed fowl. We saw no birds
+      sitting, but here and there the gaunt skeleton forms of birds, who by
+      reason of sickness or old age were unable to provide for themselves, and
+      so sat waiting for death, appealed most mournfully to us. We went up to
+      some of these poor creatures, and ended their long agony; but there were
+      many of them that we were obliged to leave to Nature.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We saw no animals larger than a rat, but there were a great many of those
+      eerie-looking land-crabs, that seemed as if almost humanly intelligent as
+      they scampered about over the sand or through the undergrowth, busy about
+      goodness knows what. The beautiful cocoa-nut palm was plentiful, so much
+      so that I wondered why there were no settlers to collect "copra," or dried
+      cocoa-nut, for oil. My West Indian experience came in handy now, for I was
+      able to climb a lofty tree in native fashion, and cut down a grand bunch
+      of green nuts, which form one of the most refreshing and nutritious of
+      foods, as well as a cool and delicious drink. We had no line with us, so
+      we took off our belts, which, securely joined together, answered my
+      purpose very well. With them I made a loop round the tree and myself; then
+      as I climbed I pushed the loop up with me, so that whenever I wanted a
+      rest, I had only to lean back in it, keeping my knees against the trunk,
+      and I was almost as comfortable as if on the ground.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After getting the nuts, we made a fire and roasted some of our eggs,
+      which, with a biscuit or two, made a delightful meal. Then we fell asleep
+      under a shady tree, upon some soft moss; nor did we wake again until
+      nearly time to go on board. A most enjoyable swim terminated our day's
+      outing, and we returned to the beach abreast of the ship very pleased with
+      the excursion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had no adventures, found no hidden treasure or ferocious animals, but
+      none the less we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. While we sat waiting for
+      the boat to come and fetch us off, we saw a couple of good-sized turtle
+      come ashore quite close to us. We kept perfectly still until we were sure
+      of being able to intercept them. As soon as they had got far enough away
+      from their native element, we rushed upon them, and captured them both, so
+      that when the boat arrived we were not empty-handed. We had also a
+      "jumper," or blouse, full of eggs, and a couple of immense bunches of
+      cocoa-nuts. When we got on board we felt quite happy, and, for the first
+      time since leaving America, we had a little singing. Shall I be laughed at
+      when I confess that our musical efforts were confined to Sankey's hymns?
+      Maybe, but I do not care. Cheap and clap-trap as the music may be, it
+      tasted "real good," as Abner said, and I am quite sure that that Sunday
+      night was the best that any of us had spent for a very long time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A long, sound sleep was terminated at dawn, when we weighed and stood out
+      through a narrow passage by East Island, which was quite covered with fine
+      trees&mdash;of what kind I do not know, but they presented a beautiful
+      sight. Myriads of birds hovered about, busy fishing from the countless
+      schools that rippled the placid sea. Beneath us, at twenty fathoms, the
+      wonderful architecture of the coral was plainly visible through the
+      brilliantly-clear sea, while, wherever the tiny builders had raised their
+      fairy domain near the surface, an occasional roller would crown it with a
+      snowy garland of foam&mdash;a dazzling patch of white against the sapphire
+      sea. Altogether, such a panorama was spread out at our feet, as we stood
+      gazing from the lofty crow's-nest, as was worth a year or two of city life
+      to witness. I could not help pitying my companion, one of the Portuguese
+      harpooners, who stolidly munched his quid with no eyes for any of these
+      glorious pictures, no thought of anything but a possible whale in sight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      My silent rhapsodies were rudely interrupted by something far away on the
+      horizon. Hardly daring to breathe, I strained my eyes, and&mdash;yes, it
+      was&mdash;"Ah blow-w-w-w!" I bellowed at the top of my lung-power, never
+      before had I had the opportunity of thus distinguishing myself, and I felt
+      a bit sore about it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a little obliquity about the direction of the spout that made me
+      hopeful, for the cachalot alone sends his spout diagonally upward, all the
+      others spout vertically. It was but a school of kogia, or "short-headed"
+      cachalots; but as we secured five of them, averaging seven barrels each,
+      with scarcely any trouble, I felt quite pleased with myself. We had quite
+      an exciting bit of sport with them, they were so lively; but as for danger&mdash;well,
+      they only seemed like big "black fish" to us now, and we quite enjoyed the
+      fun. They were, in all respects, miniature sperm whales, except that the
+      head was much shorter and smaller in proportion to the body than their big
+      relations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XI. ROUND THE COCOS AND SEYCHELLES
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Hitherto, with the exception of a couple of gales in the North and South
+      Atlantic, we had been singularly fortunate in our weather. It does happen
+      so sometimes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I remember once making a round voyage from Cardiff to Hong Kong and the
+      Philippines, back to London, in ten months, and during the whole of that
+      time we did not have a downright gale. The worst weather we encountered
+      was between Beachy Head and Portland, going round from London to Cardiff.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And I once spoke the barque LUTTERWORTH, a companion ship to us from
+      Portland, Oregon to Falmouth, whose mate informed me that they carried
+      their royals from port to port without ever furling them once, except to
+      shift the suit of sails. But now a change was evidently imminent. Of
+      course, we forward had no access to the barometer; not that we should have
+      understood its indications if we had seen it, but we all knew that
+      something was going to be radically wrong with the weather. For instead of
+      the lovely blue of the sky we had been so long accustomed to by day and
+      night, a nasty, greasy shade had come over the heavens, which, reflected
+      in the sea, made that look dirty and stale also. That well-known
+      appearance of the waves before a storm was also very marked, which
+      consists of an undecided sort of break in their tops. Instead of running
+      regularly, they seemed to hunch themselves up in little heaps, and throw
+      off a tiny flutter of spray, which generally fell in the opposite
+      direction to what little wind there was. The pigs and fowls felt the
+      approaching change keenly, and manifested the greatest uneasiness, leaving
+      their food and acting strangely. We were making scarcely any headway, so
+      that the storm was longer making its appearance than it would have been
+      had we been a swift clipper ship running down the Indian Ocean. For two
+      days we were kept in suspense; but on the second night the gloom began to
+      deepen, the wind to moan, and a very uncomfortable "jobble" of a sea got
+      up. Extra "gaskets" were put upon the sails, and everything movable about
+      the decks was made as secure as it could be. Only the two close-reefed
+      topsails and two storm stay-sails were carried, so that we were in
+      excellent trim for fighting the bad weather when it did come. The sky
+      gradually darkened and assumed a livid green tint, the effect of which was
+      most peculiar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wind blew fitfully in short, gusts, veering continually back and forth
+      over about a quarter of the compass. Although it was still light, it kept
+      up an incessant mournful moan not to be accounted for in any way. Darker
+      and darker grew the heavens, although no clouds were visible, only a
+      general pall of darkness. Glimmering lightnings played continually about
+      the eastern horizon, but not brilliant enough to show us the approaching
+      storm-cloud. And so came the morning of the third day from the beginning
+      of the change. But for the clock we should hardly have known that day had
+      broken, so gloomy and dark was the sky. At last light came in the east,
+      but such a light as no one would wish to see. It was a lurid glare, such
+      as may be seen playing over a cupola of Bessemer steel when the
+      speigeleisen is added, only on such an extensive scale that its brilliancy
+      was dulled into horror. Then, beneath it we saw the mountainous clouds
+      fringed with dull violet and with jagged sabres of lightning darting from
+      their solid black bosoms. The wind began to rise steadily but rapidly, so
+      that by eight a.m. it was blowing a furious gale from E.N.E. In direction
+      it was still unsteady, the ship coming up and falling off to it several
+      points. Now, great masses of torn, ragged cloud hurtled past us above, so
+      low down as almost to touch the mastheads. Still the wind increased, still
+      the sea rose, till at last the skipper judged it well to haul down the
+      tiny triangle of storm stay-sail still set (the topsail and fore stay-sail
+      had been furled long before), and let her drift under bare poles, except
+      for three square feet of stout canvas in the weather mizen-rigging. The
+      roar of the wind now dominated every sound, so that it might have been
+      thundering furiously, but we should not have heard it. The ship still
+      maintained her splendid character as a sea-boat, hardly shipping a drop of
+      water; but she lay over at a most distressing angle, her deck sloping off
+      fully thirty-five to forty degrees. Fortunately she did not roll to
+      windward. It may have been raining in perfect torrents, but the tempest
+      tore off the surface of the sea, and sent it in massive sheets continually
+      flying over us, so that we could not possibly have distinguished between
+      fresh water and salt.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The chief anxiety was for the safety of the boats. Early on the second day
+      of warning they had been hoisted to the topmost notch of the cranes, and
+      secured as thoroughly as experience could suggest; but at every lee lurch
+      we gave it seemed as if we must dip them under water, while the wind
+      threatened to stave the weather ones in by its actual solid weight. It was
+      now blowing a furious cyclone, the force of which has never been
+      accurately gauged (even by the present elaborate instruments of various
+      kinds in use). That force is, however, not to be imagined by any one who
+      has not witnessed it, except that one notable instance is on record by
+      which mathematicians may get an approximate estimate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Captain Toynbee, the late highly respected and admired Marine
+      Superintendent of the British Meteorological Office, has told us how,
+      during a cyclone which he rode out in the HOTSPUR at Sandheads, the mouth
+      of the Hooghly, the three naked topgallant-masts of his ship, though of
+      well-tested timber a foot in diameter, and supported by all the usual
+      network of stays, and without the yards, were snapped off and carried away
+      solely by the violence of the wind. It must, of course, have been an
+      extreme gust, which did not last many seconds, for no cable that was ever
+      forged would have held the ship against such a cataclysm as that. This
+      gentleman's integrity is above suspicion, so that no exaggeration could be
+      charged against him, and he had the additional testimony of his officers
+      and men to this otherwise incredible fact.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The terrible day wore on, without any lightening of the tempest, till
+      noon, when the wind suddenly fell to a calm. Until that time, the sea,
+      although heavy, was not vicious or irregular, and we had not shipped any
+      heavy water at all. But when the force of the wind was suddenly withdrawn,
+      such a sea arose as I have never seen before or since. Inky mountains of
+      water raised their savage heads in wildest confusion, smashing one another
+      in whirlpools of foam. It was like a picture of the primeval deep out of
+      which arose the new-born world. Suddenly out of the whirling blackness
+      overhead the moon appeared, nearly in the zenith, sending down through the
+      apex of a dome of torn and madly gyrating cloud a flood of brilliant
+      light. Illumined by that startling radiance, our staunch and seaworthy
+      ship was tossed and twirled in the hideous vortex of mad sea until her
+      motion was distracting. It was quite impossible to loose one's hold and
+      attempt to do anything without running the imminent risk of being dashed
+      to pieces. Our decks were full of water now, for it tumbled on board at
+      all points; but as yet no serious weight of a sea had fallen upon us, nor
+      had any damage been done. Such a miracle as that could not be expected to
+      continue for long. Suddenly a warning shout rang out from somewhere&mdash;"Hold
+      on all, for your lives!" Out of the hideous turmoil around arose, like
+      some black, fantastic ruin, an awful heap of water. Higher and higher it
+      towered, until it was level with our lower yards, then it broke and fell
+      upon us. All was blank. Beneath that mass every thought, every feeling,
+      fled but one&mdash;"How long shall I be able to hold my breath?" After
+      what seemed a never-ending time, we emerged from the wave more dead than
+      alive, but with the good ship still staunch underneath us, and Hope's lamp
+      burning brightly. The moon had been momentarily obscured, but now shone
+      out again, lighting up brilliantly our bravely-battling ship. But, alas
+      for others!&mdash;men, like ourselves, whose hopes were gone. Quite near
+      us was the battered remainder of what had been a splendid ship. Her masts
+      were gone, not even the stumps being visible, and it seemed to our eager
+      eyes as if she was settling down. It was even so, for as we looked,
+      unmindful of our own danger, she quietly disappeared&mdash;swallowed up
+      with her human freight in a moment, like a pebble dropped into a pond.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While we looked with hardly beating hearts at the place where she had
+      sunk, all was blotted out in thick darkness again. With a roar, as of a
+      thousand thunders, the tempest came once more, but from the opposite
+      direction now. As we were under no sail, we ran little risk of being
+      caught aback; but, even had we, nothing could have been done, the vessel
+      being utterly out of control, besides the impossibility of getting about.
+      It so happened, however, that when the storm burst upon us again, we were
+      stern on to it, and we drove steadily for a few moments until we had time
+      to haul to the wind again. Great heavens! how it blew! Surely, I thought,
+      this cannot last long&mdash;just as we sometimes say of the rain when it
+      is extra heavy. It did last, however, for what seemed an interminable
+      time, although any one could see that the sky was getting kindlier.
+      Gradually, imperceptibly, it took off, the sky cleared, and the tumult
+      ceased, until a new day broke in untellable beauty over a revivified
+      world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Years afterwards I read, in one of the hand-books treating of hurricanes
+      and cyclones, that "in the centre of these revolving storms the sea is so
+      violent that few ships can pass through it and live." That is true talk. I
+      have been there, and bear witness that but for the build and
+      sea-kindliness of the CACHALOT, she could not have come out of that
+      horrible cauldron again, but would have joined that nameless unfortunate
+      whom we saw succumb, "never again heard of." As it was, we found two of
+      the boats stove in, whether by breaking sea or crushing wind nobody knows.
+      Most of the planking of the bulwarks was also gone, burst outward by the
+      weight of the water on deck. Only the normal quantity of water was found
+      in the well on sounding, and not even a rope-yarn was gone from aloft.
+      Altogether, we came out of the ordeal triumphantly, where many a gallant
+      vessel met her fate, and the behaviour of the grand old tub gave me a
+      positive affection for her, such as I have never felt for a ship before or
+      since.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was now a big heap of work for the carpenter, so the skipper decided
+      to run in for the Cocos or Keeling islands, in order to lay quietly and
+      refit. We had now only three boats sound, the one smashed when poor
+      Bamberger died being still unfinished&mdash;of course, the repairs had
+      practically amounted to rebuilding. Therefore we kept away for this
+      strange assemblage of reefs and islets, arriving off them early the next
+      day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They consist of a true "atoll," or basin, whose rim is of coral reefs,
+      culminating occasionally in sandy islands or cays formed by the
+      accumulated debris washed up from the reef below, and then clothed upon
+      with all sorts of plants by the agency of birds and waves.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These islands have lately been so fully described in many different
+      journals, that I shall not burden the reader with any twice-told tales
+      about them, but merely chronicle the fact that for a week we lay at anchor
+      off one of the outlying cays, toiling continuously to get the vessel again
+      in fighting trim.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last the overworked carpenter and his crew got through their heavy
+      task, and the order was given to "man the windlass." Up came the anchor,
+      and away we went again towards what used to be a noted haunt of the sperm
+      whale, the Seychelle Archipelego. Before the French, whose flag flies over
+      these islands, had with their usual short-sighted policy, clapped on
+      prohibitive port charges, Mahe was a specially favoured place of call for
+      the whalers. But when whale-ships find that it does not pay to visit a
+      place, being under no compulsion as regards time, they soon find other
+      harbours that serve their turn. We, of course, had no need to visit any
+      port for some time to come, having made such good use of our opportunities
+      at the Cocos.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We found whales scarce and small, so, although we cruised in this vicinity
+      for nearly two months, six small cow cachalots were all we were able to
+      add to our stock, representing less then two hundred barrels of oil. This
+      was hardly good enough for Captain Slocum. Therefore, we gradually drew
+      away from this beautiful cluster of islands, and crept across the Indian
+      Ocean towards the Straits of Malacca. On the way, we one night encountered
+      that strange phenomenon, a "milk" sea. It was a lovely night, with
+      scarcely any wind, the stars trying to make up for the absence of the moon
+      by shining with intense brightness. The water had been more phosphorescent
+      than usual, so that every little fish left a track of light behind him,
+      greatly disproportionate to his size. As the night wore on, the sea grew
+      brighter and brighter, until by midnight we appeared to be sailing on an
+      ocean of lambent flames. Every little wave that broke against the ship's
+      side sent up a shower of diamond-like spray, wonderfully beautiful to see,
+      while a passing school of porpoises fairly set the sea blazing as they
+      leaped and gambolled in its glowing waters. Looking up from sea to sky,
+      the latter seemed quite black instead of blue, and the lustre of the stars
+      was diminished till they only looked like points of polished steel, having
+      quite lost for the time their radiant sparkle. In that shining flood the
+      blackness of the ship stood out in startling contrast, and when we looked
+      over the side our faces were strangely lit up by the brilliant glow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For several hours this beautiful appearance persisted, fading away at last
+      as gradually as it came. No satisfactory explanation of this curious
+      phenomenon has ever been given, nor does it appear to portend any change
+      of weather. It cannot be called a rare occurrence, although I have only
+      seen it thrice myself&mdash;once in the Bay of Cavite, in the Philippine
+      Islands; once in the Pacific, near the Solomon Islands; and on this
+      occasion of which I now write. But no one who had ever witnessed it could
+      forget so wonderful a sight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One morning, a week after are had taken our departure from the Seychelles,
+      the officer at the main crow's-nest reported a vessel of some sort about
+      five miles to the windward. Something strange in her appearance made the
+      skipper haul up to intercept her. As we drew nearer, we made her out to be
+      a Malay "prahu;" but, by the look of her, she was deserted. The big
+      three-cornered sail that had been set, hung in tattered festoons from the
+      long, slender yard, which, without any gear to steady it, swung heavily to
+      and fro as the vessel rolled to the long swell. We drew closer and closer,
+      but no sign of life was visible on board, so the captain ordered a boat to
+      go and investigate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In two minutes we were speeding away towards her, and, making a sweep
+      round her stern, prepared to board her. But we were met by a stench so
+      awful that Mr. Count would not proceed, and at once returned to the ship.
+      The boat was quickly hoisted again, and the ship manoeuvred to pass close
+      to windward of the derelict. Then, from our mast-head, a horrible sight
+      became visible. Lying about the weather-beaten deck, in various postures,
+      were thirteen corpses, all far advanced in decay, which horrible fact
+      fully accounted for the intolerable stench that had driven us away. It is,
+      perhaps, hardly necessary to say that we promptly hauled our wind, and
+      placed a good distance between us and that awful load of death as soon as
+      possible. Poor wretches! What terrible calamity had befallen them, we
+      could not guess; whatever it was, it had been complete; nor would any sane
+      man falling across them run the risk of closer examination into details
+      than we had done. It was a great pity that we were not able to sink the
+      prahu with her ghastly cargo, and so free the air from that poisonous
+      foetor that was a deadly danger to any vessel getting under her lee.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next day, and for a whole week after, we had a stark calm such a calm as
+      one realizes who reads sympathetically that magical piece of work, the
+      "Ancient Mariner." What an amazing instance of the triumph of the human
+      imagination! For Coleridge certainly never witnessed such a scene as he
+      there describes with an accuracy of detail that is astounding. Very few
+      sailors have noticed the sickening condition of the ocean when the
+      life-giving breeze totally fails for any length of time, or, if they have,
+      they have said but little about it. Of course, some parts of the sea show
+      the evil effects of stagnation much sooner than others; but, generally
+      speaking, want of wind at sea, if long continued, produces a condition of
+      things dangerous to the health of any land near by. Whale-ships,
+      penetrating as they do to parts carefully avoided by ordinary trading
+      vessels, often afford their crews an opportunity of seeing things mostly
+      hidden from the sight of man, when, actuated by some mysterious impulse,
+      the uncanny denizens of the middle depths of the ocean rise to higher
+      levels, and show their weird shapes to the sun.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XII. WHICH TREATS OF THE KRAKEN
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      It has often been a matter for considerable surprise to me, that while the
+      urban population of Great Britain is periodically agitated over the great
+      sea-serpent question, sailors, as a class, have very little to say on the
+      subject. During a considerable sea experience in all classes of vessels,
+      except men-of-war, and in most positions, I have heard a fairly
+      comprehensive catalogue of subjects brought under dog-watch discussion;
+      but the sea-serpent has never, within my recollection, been one of them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The reasons for this abstinence may vary a great deal, but chief among
+      them is&mdash;sailors, as a class, "don't believe in no such a pusson."
+      More than that, they do believe that the mythical sea-serpent is "boomed"
+      at certain periods, in the lack of other subjects, which may not be far
+      from the fact. But there is also another reason, involving a disagreeable,
+      although strictly accurate, statement. Sailors are, again taken as a
+      class, the least observant of men. They will talk by the hour of
+      trivialities about which they know nothing; they will spin interminable
+      "cuffers" of debaucheries ashore all over the world; pick to pieces the
+      reputation of all the officers with whom they have ever sailed; but of the
+      glories, marvels, and mysteries of the mighty deep you will hear not a
+      word. I can never forget when on my first voyage to the West Indies, at
+      the age of twelve, I was one night smitten with awe and wonder at the
+      sight of a vast halo round the moon, some thirty or forty degrees in
+      diameter. Turning to the man at the wheel, I asked him earnestly "what
+      THAT was." He looked up with an uninterested eye for an instant in the
+      direction of my finger, then listlessly informed me, "That's what they
+      call a sarcle." For a long time I wondered what he could mean, but it
+      gradually dawned upon me that it was his Norfolk pronunciation of the word
+      "circle." The definition was a typical one, no worse than would be given
+      by the great majority of seamen of most of the natural phenomena they
+      witness daily. Very few seamen could distinguish between one whale and
+      another of a different species, or give an intelligible account of the
+      most ordinary and often-seen denizens of the sea. Whalers are especially
+      to be blamed for their blindness. "Eyes and no Eyes; or the Art of Seeing"
+      has evidently been little heard of among them. To this day I can conceive
+      of no more delightful journey for a naturalist to take than a voyage in a
+      southern whaler, especially if he were allowed to examine at his leisure
+      such creatures as were caught. But on board the CACHALOT I could get no
+      information at all upon the habits of the strange creatures we met with,
+      except whales, and very little about them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I have before referred to the great molluscs upon which the sperm whale
+      feeds, portions of which I so frequently saw ejected from the stomach of
+      dying whales. Great as my curiosity naturally was to know more of these
+      immense organisms, all my inquiries on the subject were fruitless. These
+      veterans of the whale-fishery knew that the sperm whale lived on big
+      cuttlefish; but they neither knew, nor cared to know, anything more about
+      these marvellous molluscs. Yet, from the earliest dawn of history,
+      observant men have been striving to learn something definite about the
+      marine monsters of which all old legends of the sea have something to say.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As I mentioned in the last chapter, we were gradually edging across the
+      Indian Ocean towards Sumatra, but had been checked in our course by a calm
+      lasting a whole week. A light breeze then sprang up, aided by which we
+      crept around Achin Head, the northern point of the great island of
+      Sumatra. Like some gigantic beacon, the enormous mass of the Golden
+      Mountain dominated the peaceful scene. Pulo Way, or Water Island, looked
+      very inviting, and I should have been glad to visit a place so well known
+      to seamen by sight, but so little known by actual touching at. Our recent
+      stay at the Cocos, however, had settled the question of our calling
+      anywhere else for some time decidedly in the negative, unless we might be
+      compelled by accident; moreover, even in these days of law and order, it
+      is not wise to go poking about among the islands of the Malayan seas
+      unless you are prepared to fight. Our mission being to fight whales, we
+      were averse to running any risks, except in the lawful and necessary
+      exercise of our calling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It would at first sight appear strange that, in view of the enormous
+      traffic of steamships through the Malacca Straits, so easily "gallied" a
+      creature as the cachalot should care to frequent its waters; indeed, I
+      should certainly think that a great reduction in the numbers of whales
+      found there must have taken place. But it must also be remembered, that in
+      modern steam navigation certain well-defined courses are laid down, which
+      vessels follow from point to point with hardly any deviation therefrom,
+      and that consequently little disturbance of the sea by their panting
+      propellers takes place, except upon these marine pathways; as, for
+      instance, in the Red Sea, where the examination of thousands of log-books
+      proved conclusively that, except upon straight lines drawn from point to
+      point between Suez to Perim, the sea is practically unused to-day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The few Arab dhows and loitering surveying ships hardly count in this
+      connection, of course. At any rate, we had not entered the straits, but
+      were cruising between Car Nicobar and Junkseylon, when we "met up" with a
+      full-grown cachalot, as ugly a customer as one could wish. From nine a.m.
+      till dusk the battle raged&mdash;for I have often noticed that unless you
+      kill your whale pretty soon, he gets so wary, as well as fierce, that you
+      stand a gaudy chance of being worn down yourselves before you settle
+      accounts with your adversary. This affair certainly looked at one time as
+      if such would be the case with us; but along about five p.m., to our great
+      joy, we got him killed. The ejected food was in masses of enormous size,
+      larger than any we had yet seen on the voyage, some of them being
+      estimated to be of the size of our hatch-house, viz. 8 feet x 6 feet x 6
+      feet. The whale having been secured alongside, all hands were sent below,
+      as they were worn out with the day's work. The third mate being ill, I had
+      been invested with the questionable honour of standing his watch, on
+      account of my sea experience and growing favour with the chief. Very
+      bitterly did I resent the privilege at the time, I remember, being so
+      tired and sleepy that I knew not how to keep awake. I did not imagine that
+      anything would happen to make me prize that night's experience for the
+      rest of my life, or I should have taken matters with a far better grace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At about eleven p.m. I was leaning over the lee rail, grazing steadily at
+      the bright surface of the sea, where the intense radiance of the tropical
+      moon made a broad path like a pavement of burnished silver. Eyes that saw
+      not, mind only confusedly conscious of my surroundings, were mine; but
+      suddenly I started to my feet with an exclamation, and stared with all my
+      might at the strangest sight I ever saw. There was a violent commotion in
+      the sea right where the moon's rays were concentrated, so great that,
+      remembering our position, I was at first inclined to alarm all hands; for
+      I had often heard of volcanic islands suddenly lifting their heads from
+      the depths below, or disappearing in a moment, and, with Sumatra's chain
+      of active volcanoes so near, I felt doubtful indeed of what was now
+      happening. Getting the night-glasses out of the cabin scuttle, where they
+      were always hung in readiness, I focussed them on the troubled spot,
+      perfectly satisfied by a short examination that neither volcano nor
+      earthquake had anything to do with what was going on; yet so vast were the
+      forces engaged that I might well have been excused for my first
+      supposition. A very large sperm whale was locked in deadly conflict with a
+      cuttle-fish or squid, almost as large as himself, whose interminable
+      tentacles seemed to enlace the whole of his great body. The head of the
+      whale especially seemed a perfect net-work of writhing arms&mdash;naturally
+      I suppose, for it appeared as if the whale had the tail part of the
+      mollusc in his jaws, and, in a business-like, methodical way, was sawing
+      through it. By the side of the black columnar head of the whale appeared
+      the head of the great squid, as awful an object as one could well imagine
+      even in a fevered dream. Judging as carefully as possible, I estimated it
+      to be at least as large as one of our pipes, which contained three hundred
+      and fifty gallons; but it may have been, and probably was, a good deal
+      larger. The eyes were very remarkable from their size and blackness,
+      which, contrasted with the livid whiteness of the head, made their
+      appearance all the more striking. They were, at least, a foot in diameter,
+      and, seen under such conditions, looked decidedly eerie and
+      hobgoblin-like. All around the combatants were numerous sharks, like
+      jackals round a lion, ready to share the feast, and apparently assisting
+      in the destruction of the huge cephalopod. So the titanic struggle went
+      on, in perfect silence as far as we were concerned, because, even had
+      there been any noise, our distance from the scene of conflict would not
+      have permitted us to hear it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thinking that such a sight ought not to be missed by the captain, I
+      overcame my dread of him sufficiently to call him, and tell him of what
+      was taking place. He met my remarks with such a furious burst of anger at
+      my daring to disturb him for such a cause, that I fled precipitately on
+      deck again, having the remainder of the vision to myself, for none of the
+      others cared sufficiently for such things to lose five minutes' sleep in
+      witnessing them. The conflict ceased, the sea resumed its placid calm, and
+      nothing remained to tell of the fight but a strong odour of fish, as of a
+      bank of seaweed left by the tide in the blazing sun. Eight bells struck,
+      and I went below to a troubled sleep, wherein all the awful monsters that
+      an over-excited brain could conjure up pursued me through the gloomy caves
+      of ocean, or mocked my pigmy efforts to escape.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The occasions upon which these gigantic cuttle-fish appear at the sea
+      surface must, I think, be very rare. From their construction, they appear
+      fitted only to grope among the rocks at the bottom of the ocean. Their
+      mode of progression is backward, by the forcible ejection of a jet of
+      water from an orifice in the neck, beside the rectum or cloaca.
+      Consequently their normal position is head-downward, and with tentacles
+      spread out like the ribs of an umbrella&mdash;eight of them at least; the
+      two long ones, like the antennae of an insect, rove unceasingly around,
+      seeking prey.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The imagination can hardly picture a more terrible object than one of
+      these huge monsters brooding in the ocean depths, the gloom of his
+      surroundings increased by the inky fluid (sepia) which he secretes in
+      copious quantities, every cup-shaped disc, of the hundreds with which the
+      restless tentacles are furnished, ready at the slightest touch to grip
+      whatever is near, not only by suction, but by the great claws set all
+      round within its circle. And in the centre of this net-work of living
+      traps is the chasm-like mouth, with its enormous parrot-beak, ready to
+      rend piecemeal whatever is held by the tentaculae. The very thought of it
+      makes one's flesh crawl. Well did Michelet term them "the insatiable
+      nightmares of the sea."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yet, but for them, how would such great creatures as the sperm whale be
+      fed? Unable, from their bulk, to capture small fish except by accident,
+      and, by the absence of a sieve of baleen, precluded from subsisting upon
+      the tiny crustacea, which support the MYSTICETAE, the cachalots seem to be
+      confined for their diet to cuttle-fish, and, from their point of view, the
+      bigger the latter are the better. How big they may become in the depths of
+      the sea, no man knoweth; but it is unlikely that even the vast specimens
+      seen are full-sized, since they have only come to the surface under
+      abnormal conditions, like the one I have attempted to describe, who had
+      evidently been dragged up by his relentless foe.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Creatures like these, who inhabit deep waters, and do not need to come to
+      the surface by the exigencies of their existence, necessarily present many
+      obstacles to accurate investigation of their structure and habits; but,
+      from the few specimens that have been obtained of late years, fairly
+      comprehensive details have been compiled, and may be studied in various
+      French and German works, of which the Natural History Museum at South
+      Kensington possesses copies. These, through the courtesy of the
+      authorities in charge, are easily accessible to students who wish to
+      prosecute the study of this wonderful branch of the great mollusca family.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we commenced to cut in our whale next morning, the sea was fairly
+      alive with fish of innumerable kinds, while a vast host of sea-birds, as
+      usual, waited impatiently for the breaking-up of the huge carcass, which
+      they knew would afford them no end of a feast. An untoward accident, which
+      happened soon after the work was started, gave the waiting myriads immense
+      satisfaction, although the unfortunate second mate, whose slip of the
+      spade was responsible, came in for a hurricane of vituperation from the
+      enraged skipper. It was in detaching the case from the head&mdash;always a
+      work of difficulty, and requiring great precision of aim. Just as Mr.
+      Cruce made a powerful thrust with his keen tool, the vessel rolled, and
+      the blow, missing the score in which he was cutting, fell upon the case
+      instead, piercing its side. For a few minutes the result was unnoticed
+      amidst the wash of the ragged edges of the cut, but presently a long
+      streak of white, wax-like pieces floating astern, and a tremendous
+      commotion among the birds, told the story. The liquid spermaceti was
+      leaking rapidly from the case, turning solid as it got into the cool
+      water. Nothing could be done to stop the waste, which, as it was a large
+      whale, was not less than twenty barrels, or about two tuns of pure
+      spermaceti. An accident of this kind never failed to make our skipper
+      almost unbearable in his temper for some days afterwards; and, to do him
+      justice, he did not discriminate very carefully as to who felt his
+      resentment besides its immediate cause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Therefore we had all a rough time of it while his angry fit lasted, which
+      was a whole week, or until all was shipshape again. Meanwhile we were
+      edging gradually through the Malacca Straits and around the big island of
+      Borneo, never going very near the land on account of the great and
+      numerous dangers attendant upon coasting in those localities to any but
+      those continually engaged in such a business.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Indeed, all navigation in those seas to sailing vessels is dangerous, and
+      requires the greatest care. Often we were obliged at a minute's notice to
+      let go the anchor, although out of sight of land, some rapid current being
+      found carrying us swiftly towards a shoal or race, where we might come to
+      grief. Yet there was no fuss or hurry, the same leisurely old system was
+      continued, and worked as well as ever. But it was not apparent why we were
+      threading the tortuous and difficult waters of the Indian Archipelago. No
+      whales of any kind were seen for at least a month, although, from our
+      leisurely mode of sailing, it was evident that they were looked for.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An occasional native craft came alongside, desirous of bartering fish,
+      which we did not want, being able to catch all we needed as readily almost
+      as they were. Fruit and vegetables we could not get at such distances from
+      land, for the small canoes that lie in wait for passing ships do not of
+      course venture far from home.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XIII. OFF TO THE JAPAN GROUNDS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Very tedious and trying was our passage northward, although every effort
+      was made by the skipper to expedite it. Nothing of advantage to our cargo
+      was seen for a long time, which, although apparently what was to be
+      expected, did not improve Captain Slocum's temper. But, to the surprise of
+      all, when we had arrived off the beautiful island of Hong Kong, to which
+      we approached closely, we "raised" a grand sperm whale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Many fishing-junks were in sight, busily plying their trade, and at any
+      other time we should have been much interested in the quaint and cunning
+      devices by which the patient, wily Chinaman succeeds so admirably as a
+      fisherman. Our own fishing, for the time being, absorbed all our attention&mdash;the
+      more, perhaps, that we had for so long been unable to do anything in that
+      line. After the usual preliminaries, we were successful in getting fast to
+      the great creature, who immediately showed fight. So skilful and wary did
+      he prove that Captain Slocum, growing impatient at our manoeuvring with no
+      result, himself took the field, arriving on the scene with the air of one
+      who comes to see and conquer without more delay. He brought with him a
+      weapon which I have not hitherto mentioned, because none of the harpooners
+      could be induced to use it, and consequently it had not been much in
+      evidence. Theoretically, it was as ideal tool for such work, its chief
+      drawback being its cumbrousness. It was known as "Pierce's darting gun,"
+      being a combination of bomb-gun and harpoon, capable of being darted at
+      the whale like a plain harpoon. Its construction was simple; indeed, the
+      patent was a very old one. A tube of brass, thickening towards the butt,
+      at which was a square chamber firmly welded to a socket for receiving the
+      pole, formed the gun itself. Within the chamber aforesaid a nipple
+      protruded from the base of the tube, and in line with it. The trigger was
+      simply a flat bit of steel, like a piece of clock spring, which was held
+      down by the hooked end of a steel rod long enough to stick out beyond the
+      muzzle of the gun three or four inches, and held in position by two
+      flanges at the butt and muzzle of the barrel. On the opposite side of the
+      tube were two more flanges, close together, into the holes of which was
+      inserted the end of a specially made harpoon, having an eye twisted in its
+      shank through which the whale line was spliced. The whole machine was
+      fitted to a neat pole, and strongly secured to it by means of a "gun
+      warp," or short piece of thin line, by which it could be hauled back into
+      the boat after being darted at a whale. To prepare this weapon for use,
+      the barrel was loaded with a charge of powder and a bomb similar to those
+      used in the shoulder-guns, the point of which just protruded from the
+      muzzle. An ordinary percussion cap was placed upon the nipple, and the
+      trigger cocked by placing the trigger-rod in position. The harpoon, with
+      the line attached, was firmly set into the socketed flanges prepared for
+      it, and the whole arrangement was then ready to be darted at the whale in
+      the usual way.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Supposing the aim to be good and the force sufficient, the harpoon would
+      penetrate the blubber until the end of the trigger-rod was driven
+      backwards by striking the blubber, releasing the trigger and firing the
+      gun. Thus the whale would be harpooned and bomb-lanced at the same time,
+      and, supposing everything to work satisfactorily, very little more could
+      be needed to finish him. But the weapon was so cumbersome and awkward, and
+      the harpooners stood in such awe of it, that in the majority of cases the
+      whale was either missed altogether or the harpoon got such slight hold
+      that the gun did not go off, the result being generally disastrous.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the present case, however, the "Pierce" gun was in the hands of a man
+      by no means nervous, and above criticism or blame in case of failure. So
+      when he sailed in to the attack, and delivered his "swashing blow," the
+      report of the gun was immediately heard, proving conclusively that a
+      successful stroke had been made.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It had an instantaneous and astonishing effect. The sorely wounded
+      monster, with one tremendous expiration, rolled over and over swift as
+      thought towards his aggressor, literally burying the boat beneath his vast
+      bulk. Now, one would have thought surely, upon seeing this, that none of
+      that boat's crew would ever have been seen again. Nevertheless, strange as
+      it may appear, out of that seething lather of foam, all six heads emerged
+      again in an instant, but on the OTHER side of the great creature. How any
+      of them escaped instant violent death was, and from the nature of the case
+      must, ever remain, an unravelled mystery, for the boat was crumbled into
+      innumerable fragments, and the three hundred fathoms of line, in a perfect
+      maze of entanglement, appeared to be wrapped about the writhing trunk of
+      the whale. Happily, there were two boats disengaged, so that they were
+      able very promptly to rescue the sufferers from their perilous position in
+      the boiling vortex of foam by which they were surrounded. Meanwhile, the
+      remaining boat had an easy task. The shot delivered by the captain had
+      taken deadly effect, the bomb having entered the creature's side low down,
+      directly abaft the pectoral fin. It must have exploded within the cavity
+      of the bowels, from its position, causing such extensive injuries as to
+      make even that vast animal's death but a matter of a few moments.
+      Therefore, we did not run any unnecessary risks, but hauled off to a safe
+      distance and quietly watched the death-throes. They were so brief, that in
+      less than ten minutes from the time of the accident we were busy securing
+      the line through the flukes of our prize.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The vessel was an unusually long time working up to us, so slow, in fact,
+      that Mr Count remarked, critically, "Shouldn't wonder if th' ole man ain't
+      hurt; they're taking things so all-fired easy." By the time she had
+      reached us, we had a good few visitors around us from the fishing fleet,
+      who caused us no little anxiety, The Chinese have no prejudices; they
+      would just as soon steal a whale as a herring, if the conveyance could be
+      effected without, more trouble or risk to their own yellow skins. If it
+      involved the killing of a few foreign devils&mdash;well, so much to the
+      good. The ship, however, arrived before the fishermen had decided upon any
+      active steps, and we got our catch alongside without any delay. The truth
+      of Mr. Count's forecast was verified to the hilt, for we found that the
+      captain was so badly bruised about the body that he was unable to move,
+      while one of the hands, a Portuguese, was injured internally, and seemed
+      very bad indeed. Had any one told us that morning that we should be sorry
+      to see Captain Slocum with sore bones, we should have scoffed at the
+      notion, and some of us would probably have said that we should like to
+      have the opportunity of making him smart. But under the present
+      circumstances, with some hundreds of perfectly ruthless wretches hovering
+      around us, looking with longing eyes at the treasure we had alongside, we
+      could not help remembering the courage and resource so often shown by the
+      skipper, and wished with all our hearts that we could have the benefit of
+      them now. As soon as dinner was over, we all "turned to" with a will to
+      get the whale cut in. None of us required to be told that to lay all night
+      with that whale alongside would be extremely unhealthy for us, great doubt
+      existing as to whether any of us would see morning dawn again. There was,
+      too, just a possibility that when the carcass, stripped of its blubber,
+      was cut adrift, those ravenous crowds would fasten upon it, and let us go
+      in peace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All hands, therefore, worked like Trojans. There was no need to drive us,
+      nor was a single harsh word spoken. Nothing was heard but the almost
+      incessant clatter of the windlass pawls, abrupt monosyllabic orders, and
+      the occasional melancholy wail of a gannet overhead. No word had been
+      spoken on the subject among us, yet somehow we all realized that we were
+      working for a large stake no less than our lives. What! says somebody,
+      within a few miles of Hong Kong? Oh yes; and even within Hong Kong harbour
+      itself, if opportunity offers. Let any man go down the wharf at Hong Kong
+      after sunset, and hail a sampan from the hundreds there that are waiting
+      to be hired. Hardly will the summons have left his lips before a white
+      policeman will be at his side, note-book in hand, inquiring his name and
+      ship, and taking a note of the sampan's number, with the time of his
+      leaving the wharf. Nothing perfunctory about the job either. Let but these
+      precautions be omitted, and the chances that the passenger (if he have
+      aught of value about him) will ever arrive at his destination are almost
+      nil.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So good was the progress made that by five p.m. we were busy at the head,
+      while the last few turns of the windlass were being taken to complete the
+      skinning of the body. With a long pent-up shout that last piece was
+      severed and swung inboard, as the huge mass of reeking flesh floated
+      slowly astern. As it drifted away we saw the patient watchers who had been
+      waiting converging upon it from all quarters, and our hopes rose high. But
+      there was no slackening of our efforts to get in the head. By the time it
+      was dark we managed to get the junk on board, and by the most
+      extraordinary efforts lifted the whole remainder of the head high enough
+      to make sail and stand off to sea. The wind was off the land, the water
+      smooth, and no swell on, so we took no damage from that tremendous weight
+      surging by our side, though, had the worst come to the worst, we could
+      have cut it adrift.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When morning dawned we hove-to, the land being only dimly visible astern,
+      and finished taking on board our "head matter" without further incident.
+      The danger past, we were all well pleased that the captain was below, for
+      the work proceeded quite pleasantly under the genial rule of the mate.
+      Since leaving port we had not felt so comfortable, the work, with all its
+      disagreeables, seeming as nothing now that we could do it without fear and
+      trembling. Alas for poor Jemmy!&mdash;as we always persisted in calling
+      him from inability to pronounce his proper name&mdash;his case was
+      evidently hopeless. His fellows did their poor best to comfort his
+      fast-fleeting hours, one after another murmuring to him the prayers of the
+      Church, which, although they did not understand them, they evidently
+      believed most firmly to have some marvellous power to open the gates of
+      paradise and cleanse the sinner. Notwithstanding the grim fact that their
+      worship was almost pure superstition, it was far more in accordance with
+      the fitness of things for a dying man's surroundings than such scenes as I
+      have witnessed in the forecastles of merchant ships when poor sailors lay
+      a-dying. I remember well once, when I was second officer of a large
+      passenger ship, going in the forecastle as she lay at anchor at St.
+      Helena, to see a sick man. Half the crew were drunk, and the beastly
+      kennel in which they lived was in a thick fog of tobacco-smoke and the
+      stale stench of rum. Ribald songs, quarrelling, and blasphemy made a
+      veritable pandemonium of the place. I passed quietly through it to the
+      sick man's bunk, and found him&mdash;dead! He had passed away in the midst
+      of that, but the horror of it did not seem to impress his bemused
+      shipmates much.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here, at any rate, there was quiet and decorum, while all that could be
+      done for the poor sufferer (not much, from ignorance of how he was
+      injured) was done. He was released from his pain in the afternoon of the
+      second day after the accident, the end coming suddenly and peacefully. The
+      same evening, at sunset, the body, neatly sewn up in canvas, with a big
+      lump of sandstone secured to the feet, was brought on deck, laid on a
+      hatch at the gangway, and covered with the blue, star-spangled American
+      Jack. Then all hands were mustered in the waist, the ship's bell was
+      tolled, and the ensign run up halfway.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captain was still too ill to be moved, so the mate stepped forward
+      with a rusty old Common Prayer-book in his hands, whereon my vagrant fancy
+      immediately fastened in frantic endeavour to imagine how it came to be
+      there. The silence of death was over all. True, the man was but a unit of
+      no special note among us, but death had conferred upon him a brevet rank,
+      in virtue of which be dominated every thought. It seemed strange to me
+      that we who faced death so often and variously, until natural fear had
+      become deadened by custom, should, now that one of our number lay a
+      rapidly-corrupting husk before us, be so tremendously impressed by the
+      simple, inevitable fact. I suppose it was because none of us were able to
+      realize the immanence of Death until we saw his handiwork. Mr. Count
+      opened the book, fumbling nervously among the unfamiliar leaves. Then he
+      suddenly looked up, his weather-scarred face glowing a dull brick-red, and
+      said, in a low voice, "This thing's too many fer me; kin any of ye do it?
+      Ef not, I guess we'll hev ter take it as read." There was no response for
+      a moment; then I stepped forward, reaching out my hand for the book. Its
+      contents were familiar enough to me, for in happy pre-arab days I had been
+      a chorister in the old Lock Chapel, Harrow Road, and had borne my part in
+      the service so often that I think even now I could repeat the greater part
+      of it MEMORITER. Mr. Count gave it me without a word, and, trembling like
+      a leaf, I turned to the "Burial Service," and began the majestic
+      sentences, "I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord." I did not
+      know my own voice as the wonderful words sounded clearly in the still air;
+      but if ever a small body of soul-hardened men FELT the power of God, it
+      was then. At the words, "We therefore commit his body to the deep," I
+      paused, and, the mate making a sign, two of the harpooners tilted the
+      hatch, from which the remains slid off into the unknown depths with a dull
+      splash. Several of the dead man's compatriots covered their faces, and
+      murmured prayers for the repose of his soul, while the tears trickled
+      through their horny fingers. But matters soon resumed their normal course;
+      the tension over, back came the strings of life into position again, to
+      play the same old tunes and discords once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captured whale made an addition to our cargo of one hundred and ten
+      barrels&mdash;a very fair haul indeed. The harpooners were disposed to
+      regard this capture as auspicious upon opening the North Pacific, where,
+      in spite of the time we had spent, and the fair luck we had experienced in
+      the Indian Ocean, we expected to make the chief portion of our cargo.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our next cruising-ground is known to whalemen as the "Coast of Japan"
+      ground, and has certainly proved in the past the most prolific fishery of
+      sperm whales in the whole world. I am inclined now to believe that there
+      are more and larger cachalots to be found in the Southern Hemisphere,
+      between the parallels of 33deg. and 50deg. South; but there the drawback
+      of heavy weather and mountainous seas severely handicaps the fishermen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is somewhat of a misnomer to call the Coast of Japan ground by that
+      name, since to be successful you should not sight Japan at all, but keep
+      out of range of the cold current that sweeps right across the Pacific,
+      skirting the Philippines, along the coasts of the Japanese islands as far
+      as the Kuriles, and then returns to the eastward again to the southward of
+      the Aleutian Archipelago. The greatest number of whales are always found
+      in the vicinity of the Bonin and Volcano groups of islands, which lie in
+      the eddy formed by the northward bend of the mighty current before
+      mentioned. This wonderful ground was first cruised by a London whale-ship,
+      the SYREN, in 1819, when the English branch of the sperm whale-fishery was
+      in its prime, and London skippers were proud of the fact that one of their
+      number, in the EMILIA, had thirty-one years before first ventured around
+      Cape Horn in pursuit of the cachalot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After the advent of the SYREN, the Bonins became the favourite
+      fishing-ground for both Americans and British, and for many years the
+      catch of oil taken from these teeming waters averaged four thousand tuns
+      annually. That the value of the fishery was maintained at so high a level
+      for over a quarter of a century was doubtless due to the fact that there
+      was a long, self-imposed close season, during which the whales were quite
+      unmolested. Nothing in the migratory habits of this whale, so far as has
+      ever been observed, would have prevented a profitable fishing all the year
+      round; but custom, stronger even than profit, ordained that whale-ships
+      should never stay too long upon one fishing-ground, but move on farther
+      until the usual round had been made, unless the vessel were filled in the
+      mean time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Of course, there are whales whose habits lead them at certain seasons, for
+      breeding purposes, to frequent various groups of islands, but the cachalot
+      seems to be quite impartial in his preferences; if he "uses" around
+      certain waters, he is just as likely to be found there in July as January.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Bonins, too, form an ideal calling-place, from the whaling captain's
+      point of view. Peel Island, the principal one of the cluster, has a
+      perfect harbour in Port Lloyd, where a vessel can not only lie in comfort,
+      sheltered from almost every wind that blows, but where provisions, wood,
+      and water are plentiful. There is no inducement, or indeed room, for
+      desertion, and the place is healthy. It is colonized by Japs from the
+      kingdom so easily reached to the westward, and the busy little people,
+      after their manner, make a short stay very agreeable.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once clear of the southern end of Formosa we had quite a rapid run to the
+      Bonins, carrying a press of sail day and night, as the skipper was anxious
+      to arrive there on account of his recent injuries. He was still very lame,
+      and he feared that some damage might have been done to him of which he was
+      ignorant. Besides, it was easy to see that he did not altogether like
+      anybody else being in charge of his ship, no matter how good they were.
+      Such was the expedition we made that we arrived at Port Lloyd twelve days
+      after clearing up our last whale. Very beautiful indeed the islands,
+      appeared, with their bold, steep sides clad in richest green, or, where no
+      vegetation appeared, worn into a thousand fantastic shapes by the sea, or
+      the mountain torrents carving away the lava of which they were all
+      composed. For the whole of the islands were volcanic, and Port Lloyd
+      itself is nothing more than the crater of a vast volcano, which in some
+      tremendous convulsion of nature has sunk from its former high estate low
+      enough to become a haven for ships.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I have said that it was a perfect harbour, but there is no doubt that
+      getting in or out requires plenty of nerve as well as seamanship. There
+      was so little room, and the eddying flows of wind under the high land were
+      so baffling, that at various times during our passage in it appeared as if
+      nothing could prevent us from getting stuck upon some of the adjacent
+      hungry-looking coral reefs. Nothing of the kind happened, however, and we
+      came comfortably to an anchor near three other whale-ships which were
+      already there. They were the DIEGO RAMIREZ, of Nantucket; the CORONEL, of
+      Providence, Rhode Island; and the GRAMPUS, of New Bedford. These were the
+      first whale-ships we had yet seen, and it may be imagined how anxious we
+      felt to meet men with whom we could compare notes and exchange yarns. It
+      might be, too, that we should get some news of that world which, as far as
+      we were concerned, might as well have been at the other extremity of the
+      solar system for the last year, so completely isolated had we been.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The sails were hardly fast before a boat from each of the ships was
+      alongside with their respective skippers on board. The extra exertion
+      necessary to pilot the ship in had knocked the old man up, in his present
+      weak state, and he had gone below for a short rest; so the three visitors
+      dived down into the stuffy cabin, all anxious to interview the latest
+      comer. Considerate always, Mr. Count allowed us to have the remainder of
+      the day to ourselves, so we set about entertaining our company. It was no
+      joke twelve of them coming upon us all at once, and babel ensued for a
+      short time. They knew the system too well to expect refreshments, so we
+      had not to apologize for having nothing to set before them. They had not
+      come, however, for meat and drink, but for talk. And talk we did,
+      sometimes altogether, sometimes rationally; but I doubt whether any of us
+      had ever enjoyed talking so much before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XIV. LIBERTY DAY&mdash;AND AFTER
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      There is generally current among seamen a notion that all masters of ships
+      are bound by law to give their crews twenty-four hours' liberty and a
+      portion of their wages to spend every three months, if they are in port. I
+      have never heard any authority quoted for this, and do not know what
+      foundation there is for such a belief, although the practice is usually
+      adhered to in English ships. But American whale-ships apparently know no
+      law, except the will of their commanders, whose convenience is always the
+      first consideration. Thus, we had now been afloat for well over a year,
+      during which time, except for our foraging excursions at the Cocos and
+      Aldabra, we had certainly known no liberty for a whole day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our present port being one where it was impossible to desert without the
+      certainty of prompt recapture, with subsequent suffering altogether
+      disproportionate to the offence, we were told that one watch at a time
+      would be allowed their liberty for a day. So we of the port watch made our
+      simple preparations, received twenty-five cents each, and were turned
+      adrift on the beach to enjoy ourselves. We had our liberty, but we didn't
+      know what to do with it. There was a native town and a couple of low
+      groggeries kept by Chinamen, where some of my shipmates promptly invested
+      a portion of their wealth in some horrible liquor, the smell of which was
+      enough to make an ordinary individual sick. There was no place apparently
+      where one could get a meal, so that the prospect of our stay ashore
+      lasting a day did not seem very great. I was fortunate enough, however, to
+      foregather with a Scotchman who was a beach-comber, and consequently "knew
+      the ropes." I dare say he was an unmitigated blackguard whenever he got
+      the chance, but he was certainly on his best behaviour with me. He took me
+      into the country a bit to see the sights, which were such as most of the
+      Pacific islands afford. Wonderful indeed were the fantastic rocks, twisted
+      into innumerable grotesque shapes, and, along the shores, hollowed out
+      into caverns of all sizes, some large enough to shelter an army. He was
+      quite familiar with the natives, understanding enough of their queer lingo
+      to get along. By his friendly aid we got some food&mdash;yams, and fish
+      cooked in native fashion, i.e. in heated holes in the ground, for which
+      the friendly Kanakas would take no payment, although they looked murderous
+      enough to be cannibals. It does not do to go by looks always.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Well, after a long ramble, the Scotchman and I laid our weary bodies down
+      in the shade of a big rock, and had a grand sleep, waking up again a
+      little before sunset. We hastened down to the beach off the town, where
+      all my watchmates were sitting in a row, like lost sheep, waiting to be
+      taken on board again. They had had enough of liberty; indeed, such liberty
+      as that was hardly worth having. It seems hardly credible, but we were
+      actually glad to get on board again, it was so miserable ashore, The
+      natives were most unsociable at the port, and we could not make ourselves
+      understood, so there was not much fun to be had. Even those who were
+      inclined to drink had too little for a spree, which I was not sorry for,
+      since doubtless a very unpleasant reception would have awaited them had
+      they come on board drunk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next day the starboard watch went on liberty, while we who had received
+      our share were told off to spend the day wooding and watering. In this
+      most pleasant of occupations (when the weather is fine) I passed a much
+      more satisfactory time than when wandering about with no objective, an
+      empty pocket, and a hungry belly. No foremast hand has ever enjoyed his
+      opportunities of making the acquaintance of his various visiting places
+      more than I have; but the circumstances attendant upon one's leave must be
+      a little favourable, or I would much rather stay aboard and fish. Our task
+      was over for the day, a goodly store of wood and casks of water having
+      been shipped. We were sitting down to supper, when, in answer to a hail
+      from the beach, we were ordered to fetch the liberty men. When we got to
+      them, there was a pretty how-d'ye-do. All of them were more or less drunk,
+      some exceedingly quarrelsome. Now, Mistah Jones was steering our boat,
+      looking as little like a man to take sauce from a drunken sailor as you
+      could imagine. Most of the transformed crowd ya-hooing on the beach had
+      felt the weight of his shoulder-of-mutton fist, yet so utterly had
+      prudence forsaken them that, before we came near them, they were abusing
+      him through all the varied gamut of filthy language they possessed. My
+      democratic sentiments are deeply seated, but I do believe in authority,
+      and respect for it being rigidly enforced, so this uncalled-for scene
+      upset me, making me feel anxious that the gibbering fools might get a
+      lesson. They got one.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Goliath stood like a tower, his eyes alone betraying the fierce anger
+      boiling within. When we touched the beach, his voice was mild end gentle
+      as a child's, his movements calm and deliberate. As soon as we had beached
+      the boat he stepped ashore, and in two strides was in the middle of the
+      snarling group. Further parley ceased at once. Snatching the loudest of
+      them by the breast of his shirt with his right hand, another one by the
+      collar with his left, he flung himself backwards towards the boat,
+      knocking the interveners right and left. But a protruding fragment of rock
+      caught his heel, bringing him with his captives to the ground in a
+      writhing mass. The rest, maddened beyond restraint of fear, flung
+      themselves upon the prostrate man, the glimmer of more than one
+      knife-blade appearing. Two of us from the boat&mdash;one with the tiller,
+      the other brandishing a paddle&mdash;rushed to the rescue; but before we
+      arrived the giant had heaved off his assailants, and, with no other
+      weapons than his bare hands, was doing terrific execution among them. Not
+      knowing, I suppose, whether we were friendly to him or not, he shouted to
+      us to keep away, nor dare to interfere. There was no need. Disregarding
+      such trifles as a few superficial cuts&mdash;not feeling them perhaps&mdash;he
+      so unmercifully mauled that crowd that they howled again for mercy. The
+      battle was brief and bloody. Before hostilities had lasted five minutes,
+      six of the aggressors were stretched insensible; the rest, comprising as
+      many more, were pleading for mercy, completely sober. Such prowess on the
+      part of one man against twelve seems hardly credible; but it must be
+      remembered that Goliath fought, with all the moral force of the ship's
+      officers behind him, against a disorganized crowd without backbone, who
+      would never have dared to face him but for the temporary mania induced by
+      the stuff they had drunk. It was a conflict between a lion and a troop of
+      jackals, whereof the issue was never in doubt as long as lethal weapons
+      were wanting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Standing erect among the cowering creatures, the great negro looked every
+      inch a mediaeval hero. In a stern voice he bade his subjugated enemies to
+      get into the boat, assisting those to do so who were too badly hurt to
+      rise. Then we shoved off for the ship&mdash;a sorrowful gang indeed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As I bent to my oar, I felt very sorry for what had happened. Here were
+      half the crew guilty of an act of violence upon an officer, which,
+      according to the severe code under which we lived, merited punishment as
+      painful as could be inflicted, and lasting for the rest of the voyage.
+      Whatever form that punishment might take, those of us who were innocent
+      would be almost equal sufferers with the others, because discrimination in
+      the treatment between watch and watch is always difficult, and in our case
+      it was certain that it would not be attempted. Except as regarded physical
+      violence, we might all expect to share alike. Undoubtedly things looked
+      very unpleasant. My gloomy cogitations were abruptly terminated by the
+      order to "unrow"&mdash;we were alongside. Somehow or other all hands
+      managed to scramble on board, and assist in hoisting the boat up.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As soon as she was secured we slunk away forward, but we had hardly got
+      below before a tremendous summons from Goliath brought us all aft again at
+      the double quick. Most of the fracas had been witnessed from the ship, so
+      that but a minute or two was needed to explain how or why it begun.
+      Directly that explanation had been supplied by Mistah Jones, the order was
+      issued for the culprits to appear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I have before noticed how little love was lost between the skipper and his
+      officers, Goliath having even once gone so far as to give me a very
+      emphatic opinion of his about the "old man" of a most unflattering nature.
+      And had such a state of things existed on board an English ship, the crew
+      would simply have taken charge, for they would have seen the junior
+      officers flouted, snubbed, and jeered at; and, of course, what they saw
+      the captain do, they would not be slow to improve on. Many a promising
+      young officer's career has been blighted in this way by the feminine spite
+      of a foolish man unable to see that if the captain shows no respect to his
+      officers, neither will the crew, nor obedience either.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But in an American ship, so long as an officer remains an officer, he must
+      be treated as such by every man, under pain of prompt punishment. Yankee
+      skippers have far too much NOUS to allow their hands to grow saucy in
+      consequence of division among the after-guard. So now a sort of
+      court-martial was held upon the unfortunates who had dared to attack
+      Goliath, at which that sable hero might have been the apple of Captain
+      Slocum's eye, so solicitous was he of Mistah Jones' honour and the
+      reparation to be made.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This sort of thing was right in his line. Naturally cruel, he seemed to
+      thoroughly enjoy himself in the prospect of making human beings twist and
+      writhe in pain. Nor would he be baulked of a jot of his pleasure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Goliath approached him, and muttered a few words, meant, I felt sure, to
+      appease him by letting him know how much they had suffered at his strong
+      hands; but he turned upon the negro with a savage curse, bidding him be
+      silent. Then every one of the culprits was stripped, and secured to the
+      lash-rail by the wrists; scourges were made of cotton fish-line, knotted
+      at intervals, and secured to a stout handle; the harpooners were told off
+      as executioners, and the flogging began. Perhaps it was necessary for the
+      maintenance of discipline&mdash;certainly it was trivial compared with the
+      practice, till recently, in our own army and navy; but I am glad to say
+      that, compelled to witness it, I felt quite sick&mdash;physically sick&mdash;trembling
+      so in every limb that my legs would not support me. It was not fear, for I
+      had nothing to fear had I been ever such a coward. Whatever it was, I am
+      not sorry either to have felt it or to own it, even while I fully admit
+      that for some forms of wickedness nothing but the lash seems adequate
+      punishment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some of the victims fainted, not being in the best condition at the outset
+      for undergoing so severe a trial; but all were treated alike, buckets of
+      salt water being flung over them. This drastic reviver, while adding to
+      their pain, brought them all into a state of sufficient activity to get
+      forward when they were released. Smarting and degraded, all their
+      temporary bravado effectually banished, they were indeed pitiable objects,
+      their deplorable state all the harder to bear from its contrast to our
+      recent pleasure when we entertained the visiting crews.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Having completed our quantum of wood, water, and fresh provisions for the
+      officers, we got under way again for the fishing grounds. I did not see
+      how we could hope for a successful season, knowing the utterly despondent
+      state of the crew, which even affected the officers, who, not so callous
+      or cruel as the skipper, seemed to be getting rather tired of the constant
+      drive and kick, now the normal condition of affairs. But the skipper's
+      vigilance was great. Whether he noted any sign of slackness or
+      indifference on the part of his coadjutors or not, of course I cannot say,
+      but he certainly seemed to put more vigour into his attentions than had
+      been his wont, and so kept everybody up to the mark.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hitherto we had always had our fishing to ourselves; we were now to see
+      something of the ways of other men employed in the same manner. For though
+      the general idea or plan of campaign against the whales is the same in all
+      American whalers, every ship has some individual peculiarity of tactics,
+      which, needless to say, are always far superior to those of any other
+      ship. When we commenced our cruise on this new ground, there were seven
+      whalers in sight, all quite as keen on the chase as ourselves, so that I
+      anticipated considerable sport of the liveliest kind should we "raise"
+      whales with such a fleet close at hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But for a whole week we saw nothing but a grampus or so, a few loitering
+      finbacks, and an occasional lean humpback bull certainly not worth
+      chasing. On the seventh afternoon, however, I was in the main crow's-nest
+      with the chief, when I noticed a ship to windward of us alter her course,
+      keeping away three or four points on an angle that would presently bring
+      her across our bows a good way ahead. I was getting pretty well versed in
+      the tricks of the trade now, so I kept mum, but strained my eyes in the
+      direction for which the other ship was steering. The chief was looking
+      astern at some finbacks, the look-out men forward were both staring to
+      leeward, thus for a minute or so I had a small arc of the horizon to
+      myself. The time was short, but it sufficed, and for the first time that
+      voyage I had the privilege of "raising" a sperm whale. My voice quivered
+      with excitement as I uttered the war-whoop, "Ah blo-o-o-o-w!" Round spun
+      the mate on his heel, while the hands clustered like bees roused from
+      their hive. "Where away&mdash;where?" gasped the mate. And I pointed to a
+      spot about half a point on the lee bow, at the same time calling his
+      attention to the fact that the stranger to windward was keeping away. In
+      answer to the skipper's hurried queries from below, Mr. Count gave him the
+      general outline of affairs, to which he replied by crowding every stitch
+      of canvas on the vessel that was available.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The spout I had seen was a good ten miles off, and, for the present,
+      seemed to belong to a "lone" whale, as it was the only one visible. There
+      was a good breeze blowing, as much, in fact, as we could carry all sail
+      to, the old barky making a tremendous commotion as she blundered along
+      under the unusual press of canvas. In the excitement of the race all our
+      woes were forgotten; we only thought of the possibility of the ship
+      getting there first. We drew gradually nearer to the stranger, who, like
+      us, was carrying all the sail he had got, but, being able to go a point or
+      two free, was outsailing us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was anybody's race as yet, though, when we heard the skipper's hail,
+      "'Way down from aloft!" as he came up to take our place, The whale had
+      sounded, apparently heading to leeward, so that the weather-gage held by
+      our rival was not much advantage to him now. We ran on for another two
+      miles, then shortened sail, and stood by to lower away the moment he
+      should re-appear, Meanwhile another ship was working up from to leeward,
+      having evidently noted our movements, or else, like the albatross, "smelt
+      whale," no great distance to windward of him. Waiting for that whale to
+      rise was one of the most exciting experiences we had gone through as yet,
+      with two other ships so near. Everybody's nerves seemed strung up to
+      concert pitch, and it was quite a relief when from half a dozen throats at
+      once burst the cry, "There she white-waters! Ah blo-o-o-o-w!" Not a mile
+      away, dead to leeward of us, quietly beating the water with the flat of
+      his flukes, as if there was no such thing in the watery world as a
+      whale-ship. Splash! almost simultaneously went the four boats. Out we shot
+      from the ship, all on our mettle; for was not the skipper's eye upon us
+      from his lofty eyrie, as well as the crew of the other ship, now not more
+      than a mile away! We seemed a terrible time getting the sails up, but the
+      officers dared not risk our willingness to pull while they could be
+      independent of us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By the time we were fairly off, the other ship's boats were coming like
+      the wind, so that eight boats were now converging upon the unconscious
+      monster. We fairly flew over the short, choppy sea, getting drenched with
+      the flying spray, but looking out far more keenly at the other boats than
+      at the whale. Up we came to him, Mr. Count's boat to the left, the other
+      mate's boat to the right. Almost at the same moment the irons flew from
+      the hands of the rival harpooners; but while ours was buried to the
+      hitches in the whale's side, the other man's just ploughed up the skin on
+      the animal's back, as it passed over him and pierced our boat close behind
+      the harpooner's leg. Not seeing what had happened to his iron, or knowing
+      that we were fast, the other harpooner promptly hurled his second iron,
+      which struck solidly. It was a very pretty tangle, but our position was
+      rather bad. The whale between us was tearing the bowels of the deep up in
+      his rage and fear; we were struggling frantically to get our sail down;
+      and at any moment that wretched iron through our upper strake might tear a
+      plank out of us. Our chief, foaming at the mouth with rage and excitement,
+      was screeching inarticulate blasphemy at the other mate, who, not knowing
+      what was the matter, was yelling back all his copious vocabulary of abuse.
+      I felt very glad the whale was between us, or there would surely have been
+      murder done. At last, out drops the iron, leaving a jagged hole you could
+      put your arm through. Wasn't Mr. Count mad? I really thought he would
+      split with rage, for it was impossible for us to go on with that hole in
+      our bilge. The second mate came alongside and took our line as the whale
+      was just commencing to sound, thus setting us free. We made at once for
+      the other ship's "fast" boat, and the compliments that had gone before
+      were just casual conversation to what filled the air with dislocated
+      language now. Presently both the champions cooled down a bit from want of
+      breath, and we got our case stated. It was received with a yell of
+      derision from the other side as a splendid effort of lying on our part;
+      because the first ship fast claims the whale, and such a prize as this one
+      we were quarrelling about was not to be tamely yielded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, as reason asserted her sway over Mr. Count, he quieted down,
+      knowing full well that the state of the line belonging to his rival would
+      reveal the truth when the whale rose again. Therefore we returned to the
+      ship, leaving our three boats busy waiting the whale's pleasure to rise
+      again. When the skipper heard what had happened, he had his own boat
+      manned, proceeding himself to the battle-field in expectation of
+      complications presently. By the time he arrived upon the scene there were
+      two more boats lying by, which had come up from the third ship, mentioned
+      as working up from to leeward. "Pretty fine ground this's got ter be!"
+      growled the old man. "Caint strike whale 'thout bein' crowded eout uv yer
+      own propputty by a gang bunco steerers like this. Shall hev ter quit it,
+      en keep a pawnshop."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And still the whale kept going steadily down, down, down. Already he was
+      on the second boat's lines, and taking them out faster than ever. Had we
+      been alone, this persistence on his part, though annoying, would not have
+      mattered much; but, with so many others in company, the possibilities of
+      complication, should we need to slip our end, were numerous. The ship kept
+      near, and Mr. Count, seeing how matters were going, had hastily patched
+      his boat, returning at once with another tub of line. He was but just in
+      time to bend on, when to our great delight we saw the end slip from our
+      rival's boat. This in no wise terminated his lien on the whale, supposing
+      he could prove that he struck first, but it got him out of the way for the
+      time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile we were running line faster than ever. There was an enormous
+      length attached to the animal now&mdash;some twelve thousand feet&mdash;the
+      weight of which was very great, to say nothing of the many "drogues" or
+      "stopwaters" attached to it at intervals. Judge, then, of my surprise when
+      a shout of "Blo-o-o-w!" called my attention to the whale himself just
+      breaking water about half a mile away. It was an awkward predicament; for
+      if we let go our end, the others would be on the whale immediately; if we
+      held on, we should certainly be dragged below in a twinkling; and our
+      disengaged boats could do nothing, for they had no line. But the
+      difficulty soon settled itself. Out ran our end, leaving us bare of line
+      as pleasure skiffs. The newcomer, who had been prowling near, keeping a
+      close watch upon us, saw our boat jump up when released from the weight.
+      Off he flew like an arrow to the labouring leviathan, now a "free fish,"
+      except for such claims as the two first-comers had upon it, which claims
+      are legally assessed, where no dispute arises. In its disabled condition,
+      dragging so enormous a weight of line, it was but a few minutes before the
+      fresh boat was fast, while we looked on helplessly, boiling with impotent
+      rage. All that we could now hope for was the salvage of some of our line,
+      a mile and a half of which, inextricably mixed up with about the same
+      length of our rival's, was towing astern of the fast-expiring cachalot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So great had been the strain upon that hardly-used animal that he did not
+      go into his usual "flurry," but calmly expired without the faintest
+      struggle. In the mean time two of our boats had been sent on board again
+      to work the ship, while the skipper proceeded to try his luck in the
+      recovery of his gear. On arriving at the dead whale, however, we found
+      that he had rolled over and over beneath the water so many times that the
+      line was fairly frapped round him, and the present possessors were in no
+      mood to allow us the privilege of unrolling it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the conversation we had drawn very near the carcass, so near, in
+      fact, that one hand was holding the boat alongside the whale's "small" by
+      a bight of the line. I suppose the skipper's eagle eye must have caught
+      sight of the trailing part of the line streaming beneath, for suddenly he
+      plunged overboard, reappearing almost immediately with the line in his
+      hand. He scrambled into the boat with it, cutting it from the whale at
+      once, and starting his boat's crew hauling in.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then there was a hubbub again. The captain of the NARRAGANSETT, our first
+      rival, protested vigorously against our monopoly of the line; but in grim
+      silence our skipper kept on, taking no notice of him, while we steadily
+      hauled. Unless he of the NARRAGANSETT choose to fight for what he
+      considered his rights, there was no help for him. And there was something
+      in our old man's appearance eminently calculated to discourage aggression
+      of any kind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last, disgusted apparently with the hopeless turn affairs had taken,
+      the NARRAGANSETT's boats drew off, and returned on board their ship. Two
+      of our boats had by this time accumulated a mountainous coil of line each,
+      with which we returned to our own vessel, leaving the skipper to visit the
+      present holder of the whale, the skipper of the JOHN HAMPDEN.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What arrangements they made, or how they settled the NARRAGANSETT's claim
+      between them, I never knew, but I dare say there was a costly law-suit
+      about it in New Bedford years after.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was not very encouraging for a start, nor did the next week see us do
+      any better. Several times we saw other ships with whales alongside, but we
+      got no show at all. Now, I had hoped a great deal from our cruise on these
+      grounds, because I had heard whispers of a visit to the icy Sea of
+      Okhotsk, and the prospect was to me a horrible one. I never did take any
+      stock in Arctic work. But if we made a good season on the Japan grounds,
+      we should not go north, but gradually work down the Pacific again, on the
+      other side, cruising as we went.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Day after day went by without any fresh capture or even sight of fish,
+      until I began to believe that the stories I had heard of the wonderful
+      fecundity of the Coast of Japan waters were fables without foundation, in
+      fact. Had I known what sort of fishing our next bout would be, I should
+      not have been so eager to sight whales again. If this be not a platitude
+      of the worst kind, I don't know the meaning of the word; but, after all,
+      platitudes have their uses, especially when you want to state a fact
+      baldly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XV. WHICH COMES UNCOMFORTABLY NEAR BEING THE LAST
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      All unversed as I am in the finer shades of literary craftsmanship, there
+      is great uncertainty in my mind whether it is good or bad "art" to
+      anticipate your next chapter by foreshadowing its contents; but whether
+      good or bad art, the remembrance of my miseries on the eventful occasion I
+      wish to describe was so strong upon me as I wrote the last few lines of
+      the previous chapter that I just had to let those few words leak out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Through all the vicissitudes of this strange voyage I had hitherto felt
+      pretty safe, and as the last thing a man anticipates (if his digestion is
+      all right) is the possibility of coming to grief himself while fully
+      prepared to see everybody else go under, so I had got to think that
+      whoever got killed I was not to be&mdash;a very pleasing sentiment, and
+      one that carries a man far, enabling him to face dangers with a light
+      heart which otherwise would make a nerveless animal of him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In this optimistic mood, then, I gaily flung myself into my place in the
+      mate's boat one morning, as we were departing in chase of a magnificent
+      cachalot that had been raised just after breakfast. There were no other
+      vessels in sight&mdash;much to our satisfaction&mdash;the wind was light,
+      with a cloudless sky, and the whale was dead to leeward of us. We sped
+      along at a good rate towards our prospective victim, who was, in his
+      leisurely enjoyment of life, calmly lolling on the surface, occasionally
+      lifting his enormous tail out of water and letting it fall flat upon the
+      surface with a boom audible for miles.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were as usual, first boat; but, much to the mate's annoyance, when we
+      were a short half-mile from the whale, our main-sheet parted. It became
+      immediately necessary to roll the sail up, lest its flapping should alarm
+      the watchful monster, and this delayed us sufficiently to allow the other
+      boats to shoot ahead of us. Thus the second mate got fast some seconds
+      before we arrived on the scene, seeing which we furled sail, unshipped the
+      mast, and went in on him with the oars only. At first the proceedings were
+      quite of the usual character, our chief wielding his lance in most
+      brilliant fashion, while not being fast to the animal allowed us much
+      greater freedom in our evolutions; but that fatal habit of the mate's&mdash;of
+      allowing his boat to take care of herself so long as he was getting in
+      some good home-thrusts&mdash;once more asserted itself. Although the whale
+      was exceedingly vigorous, churning the sea into yeasty foam over an
+      enormous area, there we wallowed close to him, right in the middle of the
+      turmoil, actually courting disaster.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He had just settled down for a moment, when, glancing over the gunwale, I
+      saw his tail, like a vast shadow, sweeping away from us towards the second
+      mate, who was laying off the other side of him. Before I had time to
+      think, the mighty mass of gristle leapt into the sunshine, curved back
+      from us like a huge bow. Then with a roar it came at us, released from its
+      tension of Heaven knows how many tons. Full on the broadside it struck us,
+      sending every soul but me flying out of the wreckage as if fired from
+      catapults. I did not go because my foot was jammed somehow in the well of
+      the boat, but the wrench nearly pulled my thigh-bone out of its socket. I
+      had hardly released my foot, when, towering above me, came the colossal
+      head of the great creature, as he ploughed through the bundle of debris
+      that had just been a boat. There was an appalling roar of water in my
+      ears, and darkness that might be felt all around. Yet, in the midst of it
+      all, one thought predominated as clearly as if I had been turning it over
+      in my mind in the quiet of my bunk aboard&mdash;"What if he should swallow
+      me?" Nor to this day can I understand how I escaped the portals of his
+      gullet, which of course gaped wide as a church door. But the agony of
+      holding my breath soon overpowered every other feeling and thought, till
+      just as something was going to snap inside my head I rose to the surface.
+      I was surrounded by a welter of bloody froth, which made it impossible for
+      me to see; but oh, the air was sweet!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I struck out blindly, instinctively, although I could feel so strong an
+      eddy that voluntary progress was out of the question. My hand touched and
+      clung to a rope, which immediately towed me in some direction&mdash;I
+      neither knew nor cared whither. Soon the motion ceased, and, with a
+      seaman's instinct, I began to haul myself along by the rope I grasped,
+      although no definite idea was in my mind as to where it was attached.
+      Presently I came butt up against something solid, the feel of which
+      gathered all my scattered wits into a compact knub of dread. It was the
+      whale! "Any port in a storm," I murmured, beginning to haul away again on
+      my friendly line. By dint of hard work I pulled myself right up the
+      sloping, slippery bank of blubber, until I reached the iron, which, as
+      luck would have it, was planted in that side of the carcass now uppermost.
+      Carcass I said&mdash;well, certainly I had no idea of there being any life
+      remaining within the vast mass beneath me, yet I had hardly time to take a
+      couple of turns round myself with the rope (or whale-line, as I had proved
+      it to be), when I felt the great animal quiver all over, and begin to
+      forge ahead. I was now composed enough to remember that help could not be
+      far away, and that my rescue, providing that I could keep above water, was
+      but a question of a few minutes. But I was hardly prepared for the whale's
+      next move. Being very near his end, the boat, or boats, had drawn off a
+      bit, I supposed, for I could see nothing of them. Then I remembered the
+      flurry. Almost at the same moment it began; and there was I, who with
+      fearful admiration had so often watched the titanic convulsions of a dying
+      cachalot, actually involved in them. The turns were off my body, but I was
+      able to twist a couple of turns round my arms, which, in case of his
+      sounding, I could readily let go.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then all was lost in roar and rush, as of the heart of some mighty
+      cataract, during which I was sometimes above, sometimes beneath, the
+      water, but always clinging with every ounce of energy still left, to the
+      line. Now, one thought was uppermost&mdash;"What if he should breach?" I
+      had seen them do so when in flurry, leaping full twenty feet in the air.
+      Then I prayed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Quickly as all the preceding changes had passed came perfect peace. There
+      I lay, still alive, but so weak that, although I could feel the turns
+      slipping off my arms, and knew that I should slide off the slope of the
+      whale's side into the sea if they did, I could make no effort to secure
+      myself. Everything then passed away from me, just as if I had gone to
+      sleep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I do not at all understand how I kept my position, nor how long, but I
+      awoke to the blessed sound of voices, and saw the second mate's boat
+      alongside, Very gently and tenderly they lifted me into the boat, although
+      I could hardly help screaming with agony when they touched me, so bruised
+      and broken up did I feel. My arms must have been nearly torn from their
+      sockets, for the strands of the whale-line had cut deep into their flesh
+      with the strain upon it, while my thigh was swollen enormously from the
+      blow I received at the onset. Mr. Cruce was the most surprised man I think
+      I ever saw. For full ten minutes he stared at me with wide-open eyes. When
+      at last he spoke, it was with difficulty, as if wanting words to express
+      his astonishment. At last he blurted out, "Whar you bin all de time,
+      ennyhaow? 'Cawse ef you bin hangin' on to dat ar wale ev'sence you boat
+      smash, w'y de debbil you hain't all ter bits, hey?" I smiled feebly, but
+      was too weak to talk, and presently went off again into a dead faint.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When I recovered, I was snug in my bunk aboard, but aching in every joint,
+      and as sore as if I had been pounded with a club until I was bruised all
+      over. During the day Mr. Count was kind enough to pay me a visit. With his
+      usual luck, he had escaped without the slightest injury; neither was any
+      other member of the boat's crew the worse for the ducking but myself. He
+      told me that the whale was one of the largest he had ever seen, and as fat
+      as butter. The boat was an entire loss, so completely smashed to pieces
+      that nothing of her or her gear had been recovered. After spending about a
+      quarter of an hour with me, he left me considerably cheered up, promising
+      to look after me in the way of food, and also to send me some books. He
+      told me that I need not worry myself about my inability to be at work,
+      because the old man was not unfavourably disposed towards me, which piece
+      of news gave me a great deal of comfort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When my poor, weary shipmates came below from their heavy toil of cutting
+      in, they were almost inclined to be envious of my comfort&mdash;small
+      blame to them&mdash;though I would gladly have taken my place among them
+      again, could I have got rid of my hurts. But I was condemned to lie there
+      for nearly three weeks before I was able to get about once more. In my
+      sleep I would undergo the horrible anticipation of sliding down that
+      awful, cavernous mouth over again, often waking with a shriek and drenched
+      with sweat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While I lay there, three whales were caught, all small cows, and I was
+      informed that the skipper was getting quite disgusted with the luck. At
+      last I managed to get on deck, quite a different-looking man to when I
+      went below, and feeling about ten years older. I found the same sullen
+      quiet reigning that I had noticed several times before when we were
+      unfortunate. I fancied that the skipper looked more morose and savage than
+      ever, though of me, to my great relief, he took not the slightest notice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The third day after my return to duty we sighted whales again. We lowered
+      three boats as promptly as usual; but when within about half a mile of the
+      "pod" some slight noise in one of the boats gallied them, and away they
+      went in the wind's eye, it blowing a stiffish breeze at the time, It was
+      from the first evidently a hopeless task to chase them, but we persevered
+      until recalled to the ship, dead beat with fatigue. I was not sorry, for
+      my recent adventure seemed to have made quite a coward of me, so much so
+      that an unpleasant gnawing at the pit of my stomach as we neared them
+      almost made me sick. I earnestly hoped that so inconvenient a feeling
+      would speedily leave me, or I should be but a poor creature in a boat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In passing, I would like to refer to the wonderful way in which these
+      whales realize at a great distance, if the slightest sound be made, the
+      presence of danger. I do not use the word "hear" because so abnormally
+      small are their organs of hearing, the external opening being quite
+      difficult to find, that I do not believe they can hear at all well. But I
+      firmly believe they possess another sense by means of which they are able
+      to detect any unusual vibration of the waves of either air or sea at a far
+      greater distance than it would be possible for them to hear, Whatever this
+      power may be which they possess, all whalemen are well acquainted with
+      their exercise of it, and always take most elaborate precautions to render
+      their approach to a whale noiseless.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our extraordinary want of success at last so annoyed the skipper that he
+      determined to quit the ground and go north. The near approach of the open
+      season in those regions probably hastened his decision, but I learned from
+      Goliath that he had always been known as a most fortunate man among the
+      "bowheads," as the great MYSTICETAE of that part of the Arctic seas are
+      called by the Americans. Not that there is any difference, as far as I
+      have been able to ascertain, between them and the "right" whale of the
+      Greenland seas, but from some caprice of nomenclature for which there is
+      no accounting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So in leisurely fashion we worked north, keeping, of course, a bright
+      look-out all the way for straggling cachalots, but not seeing any. From
+      scraps of information that in some mysterious fashion leaked out, we
+      learned that we were bound to the Okhotsk Sea, it being no part of the
+      skipper's intentions to go prowling around Behrings Sea, where he believed
+      the whales to be few and far between.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It may be imagined that we of the crew were not at all pleased with this
+      intelligence, our life being, we considered, sufficiently miserable
+      without the addition of extreme cold, for we did not realize that in the
+      Arctic regions during summer the cold is by no means unbearable, and our
+      imagination pictured a horrible waste of perpetual ice and snow, in the
+      midst of which we should be compelled to freeze while dodging whales
+      through the crevices of the floes. But whether our pictures of the
+      prospects that awaited us were caricatures or no made not the slightest
+      difference. "Growl you may, but go you must" is an old sea-jingle of the
+      truest ring; but, while our going was inevitable, growling was a luxury
+      none of us dare indulge in.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had by no means a bad passage to the Kuriles, which form a natural
+      barrier enclosing the immense area of the Okhotsk Sea from the vast
+      stretch of the Pacific. Around this great chain of islands the navigation
+      is exceedingly difficult, and dangerous as well, from the ever-varying
+      currents as from the frequent fogs and sudden storms. But these
+      impediments to swift and safe navigation are made light of by the
+      whalemen, who, as I feel never weary of remarking, are the finest
+      navigators in the world where speed is not the first consideration.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The most peculiar features of these inhospitable shores to a seaman are
+      the vast fields of seaweed surrounding them all, which certainly helps to
+      keep the sea down during gales, but renders navigation most difficult on
+      account of its concealment of hidden dangers. These islands are aptly
+      named, the word "Kurile" being Kamschatkan for smoke; and whether it be
+      regarded as given in consequence of the numerous volcanoes which pour
+      their fumes into the air, or the all-prevailing fog fostered by the Kuro
+      Siwo, or Japanese counterpart of the Gulf stream, the designation is
+      equally appropriate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We entered the Okhotsk Sea by the Nadeshda Channel, so-named after Admiral
+      Krusenstern's ship, which was the first civilized vessel that passed
+      through its turbulent waters. It separates the islands Rashau and Mantaua
+      by about twenty miles, yet so conflicting and violent are the currents
+      which eddy and swirl in all parts of it, that without a steady, strong,
+      fair wind it is most dangerous to a sailing vessel. Thenceforward the
+      navigation was free from difficulty, or at least none that we could
+      recognize as such, so we gave all our attention to the business which
+      brought us there.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Scarcely any change was needed in our equipment, except the substitution
+      of longer harpoons for those we had been using, and the putting away of
+      the bomb-guns. These changes were made because the blubber of the bowhead
+      is so thick that ordinary harpoons will not penetrate beyond it to the
+      muscle, which, unless they do, renders them liable to draw, upon a heavy
+      strain. As for the bombs, Yankees hold the mysticetae in such supreme
+      contempt that none of them would dream of wasting so expensive a weapon as
+      a bomb upon them. I was given to understand by my constant crony, Mistah
+      Jones, that there was no more trouble in killing a bowhead than in
+      slaughtering a sheep; and that while it was quite true that accidents DID
+      occur, they were entirely due to the carelessness or clumsiness of the
+      whalemen, and not in any way traceable to a desire on the victim's part to
+      do any one harm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The sea was little encumbered with ice, it being now late in June, so that
+      our progress was not at all impeded by the few soft, brashy floes that we
+      encountered, none of them hard enough to do a ship's hull any damage. In
+      most places the sea was sufficiently shallow to permit of our anchoring.
+      For this purpose we used a large kedge, with stout hawser for cable, never
+      furling all the sails in case of a strong breeze suddenly springing up,
+      which would cause us to drag. This anchoring was very comfortable. Besides
+      allowing us to get much more rest than when on other cruising-grounds, we
+      were able to catch enormous quantities of fish, mostly salmon, of which
+      there were no less than fourteen varieties. So plentiful were these
+      splendid fish that we got quite critical in our appreciation of them, very
+      soon finding that one kind, known as the "nerker," was far better
+      flavoured than any of the others. But as the daintiest food palls the
+      quickest, it was not long before we got tired of salmon, and wished most
+      heartily for beef.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Much fun has been made of the discontent of sailors. With food which is
+      considered a luxury ashore, and wonder expressed that if, as we assert,
+      the ordinary dietary of the seaman be so bad, he should be so ready to
+      rebel when fed with delicacies. But in justice to the sailor, it ought to
+      be remembered that the daintiest food may be rendered disgusting by bad
+      cookery, such as is the rule on board merchant ships. "God sends meat, but
+      the devil sends cooks" is a proverb which originated on board ship, and no
+      one who has ever served any time in a ship's forecastle would deny that it
+      is abundantly justified. Besides which, even good food well cooked of one
+      kind only, served many times in succession, becomes very trying, only the
+      plainest foods, such as bread, rice, potatoes, etc., retaining their
+      command of the appetite continually.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I remember once, when upon the Coromandel coast in a big Greenock ship, we
+      found fowls very cheap. At Bimliapatam the captain bought two or three
+      hundred, which, as we had no coops, were turned loose on deck. We had also
+      at the same time prowling about the decks three goats, twenty pigs, and
+      two big dogs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Consequently the state of the ship was filthy, nor could all our efforts
+      keep her clean. This farmyard condition of things was permitted to
+      continue for about a week, when the officers got so tired of it, and the
+      captain so annoyed at the frequent loss of fowls by their flying
+      overboard, that the edict went forth to feed the foremast hands on poultry
+      till further orders. Great was our delight at the news. Fowl for dinner
+      represented to our imagination almost the apex of high living, only
+      indulged in by such pampered children of fortune as the officers of ships
+      or well-to-do people ashore.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When dinner-time arrived, we boys made haste to the galley with watering
+      mouths, joyfully anticipating that rare delight of the sailor&mdash;a good
+      "feed." The cook uncovered his coppers, plunged his tormentors therein,
+      and produced such a succession of ugly corpses of fowls as I had never
+      seen before. To each man a whole one was allotted, and we bore the
+      steaming hecatomb into the forecastle. The boisterous merriment became
+      hushed at our approach, and faces grew lengthy when the unwholesome aspect
+      of the "treat" was revealed. Each man secured his bird, and commenced
+      operations. But oh, the disappointment, and the bad words! What little
+      flesh there was upon the framework of those unhappy fowls was like leather
+      itself, and utterly flavourless. It could not well have been otherwise.
+      The feathers had been simply scalded off, the heads chopped off, and
+      bodies split open to facilitate drawing (I am sure I wonder the cook took
+      the trouble to do that much), and thus prepared they were cast into a
+      cauldron of boiling salt water. There, with the water fiercely bubbling,
+      they were kept for an hour and a half, then pitchforked out into the mess
+      kid and set before us. We simply could not eat them; no one but a Noumean
+      Kanaka could, for his teeth are equal to husking a cocoa-nut, or chopping
+      off a piece of sugar-cane as thick as your wrist.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After much heated discussion, it was unanimously resolved to protest at
+      once against the substitution of such a fraud as this poultry for our
+      legitimate rations of "salt horse." so, bearing the DISJECTA MEMBRA of our
+      meal, the whole crowd marched aft, and requested an interview with the
+      skipper. He came out of the cabin at once, saying, "Well, boys, what's the
+      matter?" The spokesman, a bald-headed Yankee, who had been bo'sun's mate
+      of an American man-of-war, stepped forward and said, offering his kid,
+      "Jest have a look at that sir." The skipper looked, saying, inquiringly,
+      "Well?" "D'yew think, sir," said Nat, "THET'S proper grub for men?"
+      "Proper grub! Why, you old sinner, you don't mean to say you're goin' to
+      growl about havin' chicken for dinner?" "Well, sir, it depends muchly upon
+      the chicken. All I know is, that I've et some dam queer tack in my time,
+      but sence I ben fishin' I never had no such bundles of sticks parcelled
+      with leather served out to me. I HEV et boot&mdash;leastways gnawed it;
+      when I was cast away in a open boat for three weeks&mdash;but it wa'n't
+      bad boot, as boots go. Now, if yew say that these things is boots, en thet
+      it's necessary we should eat'em, or starve, w'y, we'll think about it. But
+      if yew call'em chickens,'n say you're doin' us a kindness by stoppin'
+      our'lowance of meat wile we're wrastlin' with 'em, then we say we don't
+      feel obliged to yew, 'n 'll thank yew kindly to keep such lugsuries for
+      yerself, 'n give us wot we signed for." A murmur of assent confirmed this
+      burst of eloquence, which we all considered a very fine effort indeed. A
+      moment's silence ensued; then the skipper burst out, "I've often heard of
+      such things, but hang me if I ever believed 'em till now! You ungrateful
+      beggars! I'll see you get your whack, and no more, from this out. When you
+      get any little extras aboard this ship agen, you'll be thankful for 'em;
+      now I tell you." "All right, sir," said Nat; "so long as we don't hev to
+      chaw any more of yer biled Bimly crows, I dessay we shall worry along as
+      usual." And, as the Parliamentary reports say, the proceedings then
+      terminated.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, suppose the skipper had told the story to some of his shore friends,
+      how very funny the sailors' conduct would have been made to appear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On another occasion long after, when I was mate of a barque loading
+      mahogany in Tonala, Mexico, the skipper thought he would practise economy
+      by buying a turtle instead of beef. A large turtle was obtained for
+      twenty-five cents, and handed over to the cook to be dealt with,
+      particular instructions being given him as to the apportionment of the
+      meat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At eight bells there was a gathering of the men in front of the poop, and
+      a summons for the captain. When he appeared, the usual stereotyped
+      invitation to "have a look at THAT, if you please, sir," was uttered. The
+      skipper was, I think, prepared for a protest, for he began to bluster
+      immediately. "Look here!" he bawled, "I ain't goin' to 'ave any of your
+      dam nonsense. You WANT somethin' to growl about, you do." "Well, Cap'n
+      George," said one of the men, "you shorely don't think we k'n eat shells,
+      do yer?" Just then I caught sight of the kid's contents, and could hardly
+      restrain my indignation. For in a dirty heap, the sight of which might
+      have pleased an Esquimaux, but was certainly enough to disgust any
+      civilized man, lay the calipee, or under-shell of the turtle, hacked into
+      irregular blocks. It had been simply boiled, and flung into the kid, an
+      unclean, disgusting heap of shell, with pieces of dirty flesh attached in
+      ragged lumps. But the skipper, red-faced and angry, answered, "W'y, yer
+      so-and-so ijits, that's wot the Lord Mayor of London gives about a guinea
+      a hounce for w'en 'e feeds lords n' dooks. Only the haristocracy at 'ome
+      get a charnce to stick their teeth in such grub as that. An' 'ere are you
+      lot a-growlin' at 'avin' it for a change!" "That's all right, cap'n," said
+      the man; "bein' brort up ter such lugsuries, of corse you kin appreshyate
+      it. So if yer keep it fer yer own eatin', an' giv us wot we signed for, we
+      shall be werry much obliged." "Now, I ain't a-goin' to 'ave none o' YOUR
+      cheek, so you'd better git forrard. You can betcher life you won't get no
+      more fresh messes this voy'ge." So, with grumbling and ill-will on both
+      sides, the conference came to an end. But I thought, and still think, that
+      the mess set before those men, who had been working hard since six a.m.,
+      was unfit for the food of a good dog.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Out of my own experience I might give many other instances of the kind,
+      but I hope these will suffice to show that Jack's growling is often
+      justified, when both sides of the story are heard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XVI. "BOWHEAD" FISHING
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Day and night being now only distinguishable by the aid of the clock, a
+      constant look-out aloft was kept all through the twenty-four hours, watch
+      and watch, but whales were apparently very scarce. We did a good deal of
+      "pelagic" sealing; that is, catching seals swimming. But the total number
+      obtained was not great, for these creatures are only gregarious when at
+      their rocky haunts during the breeding season, or among the ice just
+      before that season begins. Our sealing, therefore, was only a way of
+      passing the time in the absence of nobler game, to be abandoned at once
+      with whales in sight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was on the ninth or tenth morning after our arrival on the grounds that
+      a bowhead was raised, And two boats sent after him. It was my first sight
+      of the great MYSTICETUS, and I must confess to being much impressed by his
+      gigantic bulk. From the difference in shape, he looked much larger than
+      the largest sperm whale we had yet seen, although we had come across some
+      of the very biggest specimens of cachalot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The contrast between the two animals is most marked, so much so, in fact,
+      that one would hardly credit them with belonging to the same order.
+      Popular ideas of the whale are almost invariably taken from the
+      MYSTICETUS, so that the average individual generally defines a whale as a
+      big fish which spouts water out of the top of his head, and cannot swallow
+      a herring. Indeed, so lately as last year a popular M.P., writing to one
+      of the religious papers, allowed himself to say that "science will not
+      hear of a whale with a gullet capable of admitting anything larger than a
+      man's fist"&mdash;a piece of crass ignorance, which is also perpetrated in
+      the appendix to a very widely-distributed edition of the Authorized
+      Version of the Bible. This opinion, strangely enough, is almost
+      universally held, although I trust that the admirable models now being
+      shown in our splendid Natural History Museum at South Kensington will do
+      much to remove it. Not so many people, perhaps, believe that a whale is a
+      fish, instead of a mammal, but few indeed are the individuals who do not
+      still think that a cetacean possesses a sort of natural fountain on the
+      top of its head, whence, for some recondite reason, it ejects at regular
+      intervals streams of water into the air.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But a whale can no more force water through its spiracle or blow-hole than
+      you or I through our nostrils. It inhales, when at the surface,
+      atmospheric air, and exhales breath like ours, which, coming warm into a
+      cooler medium, becomes visible, as does our breath on a frosty morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, the MYSTICETUS carries his nostrils on the summit of his head, or
+      crown, the orifice being closed by a beautifully arranged valve when the
+      animal is beneath the water. Consequently, upon coming to the surface to
+      breathe, he sends up a jet of visible breath into the air some ten or
+      twelve feet. The cachalot, on the other hand, has the orifice at the point
+      of his square snout, the internal channel running in a slightly diagonal
+      direction downwards, and back through the skull to the lungs. So when he
+      spouts, the breath is projected forward diagonally, and, from some
+      peculiarity which I do not pretend to explain, expends itself in a short,
+      bushy tuft of vapour, very distinct from the tall vertical spout of the
+      bowhead or right whale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was little or no wind when we sighted the individual I am now
+      speaking of, so we did not attempt to set sail, but pulled straight for
+      him "head and head." Strange as it may appear, the MYSTICETUS' best point
+      of view is right behind, or "in his wake," as we say; it is therefore part
+      of the code to approach him from right ahead, in which direction he cannot
+      see at all. Some time before we reached him he became aware of our
+      presence, showing by his uneasy actions that he had his doubts about his
+      personal security. But before he had made up his mind what to do we were
+      upon him, with our harpoons buried in his back. The difference in his
+      behaviour to what we had so long been accustomed to was amazing. He did
+      certainly give a lumbering splash or two with his immense flukes, but no
+      one could possibly have been endangered by them. The water was so shallow
+      that when he sounded it was but for a very few minutes; there was no
+      escape for him that way. As soon as he returned to the surface he set off
+      at his best gait, but that was so slow that we easily hauled up close
+      alongside of him, holding the boats in that position without the slightest
+      attempt to guard ourselves from reprisals on his part, while the officers
+      searched his vitals with the lances as if they were probing a haystack.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Really, the whole affair was so tame that it was impossible to get up any
+      fighting enthusiasm over it; the poor, unwieldy creature died meekly and
+      quietly as an overgrown seal. In less than an hour from the time of
+      leaving the ship we were ready to bring our prize alongside.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Upon coming up to the whale, sail was shortened, and as soon as the
+      fluke-chain was passed we anchored. It was, I heard, our skipper's boast
+      that he could "skin a bowhead in forty minutes;" and although we were
+      certainly longer than that, the celerity with which what seemed a gigantic
+      task was accomplished was marvellous. Of course, it was all plain-sailing,
+      very unlike the complicated and herculean task inevitable at the
+      commencement of cutting-in a sperm whale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Except for the head work, removing the blubber was effected in precisely
+      the same way as in the case of the cachalot. There was a marked difference
+      between the quantity of lard enveloping this whale and those we had
+      hitherto dealt with. It was nearly double the thickness, besides being
+      much richer in oil, which fairly dripped from it as we hoisted in the
+      blanket-pieces. The upper jaw was removed for its long plates of whalebone
+      or baleen&mdash;that valuable substance which alone makes it worth while
+      nowadays to go after the MYSTICETUS, the price obtained for the oil being
+      so low as to make it not worth while to fit out ships to go in search of
+      it alone. "Trying-out" the blubber, with its accompaniments, is carried on
+      precisely as with the sperm whale. The resultant oil, when recent, is of a
+      clear white, unlike the golden-tinted fluid obtained from the cachalot. As
+      it grows stale it developes a nauseous smell, which sperm does not,
+      although the odour of the oil is otto of roses compared with the horrible
+      mass of putridity landed from the tanks of a Greenland whaler at the
+      termination of a cruise. For in those vessels, the fishing-time at their
+      disposal being so brief, they do not wait to boil down the blubber, but,
+      chopping it into small pieces, pass it below as it is into tanks, to be
+      rendered down by the oil-mills ashore on the ship's return.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This first bowhead yielded us eighteen tuns of oil and a ton of baleen,
+      which made the catch about equal in value to that of a seven-tun cachalot.
+      But the amount of labour and care necessary in order to thoroughly dry and
+      cleanse the baleen was enormous; in fact, for months after we began the
+      bowhead fishery there was almost always something being done with the
+      wretched stuff&mdash;drying, scraping, etc.&mdash;which, as it was kept
+      below, also necessitated hoisting it up on deck and getting it down again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After this beginning, it was again a considerable time before we sighted
+      any more; but when we did, there were quite a number of them&mdash;enough
+      to employ all the boats with one each. I was out of the fun this time,
+      being almost incapable of moving by reason of several boils on my legs&mdash;the
+      result, I suppose, of a long abstinence from fresh vegetables, or anything
+      to supply their place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As it happened, however, I lost no excitement by remaining on board; for
+      while all the boats were away a large bowhead rose near the ship,
+      evidently being harassed in some way by enemies, which I could not at
+      first see. He seemed quite unconscious of his proximity to the ship,
+      though, and at last came so near that the whole performance was as visible
+      as if it had been got up for my benefit. Three "killers" were attacking
+      him at once, like wolves worrying a bull, except that his motions were far
+      less lively than those of any bull would have been.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The "killer," or ORCA GLADIATOR, is a true whale, but, like the cachalot,
+      has teeth. He differs from that great cetacean, though, in a most
+      important particular; i.e. by having a complete set in both upper and
+      lower jaws, like any other carnivore. For a carnivore indeed is he, the
+      very wolf of the ocean, and enjoying, by reason of his extraordinary
+      agility as well as comparative worthlessness commercially, complete
+      immunity from attack by man. By some authorities he is thought to be
+      identical with the grampus, but whalers all consider the animals quite
+      distinct. Not having had very long acquaintance with them both, I cannot
+      speak emphatically upon this difference of opinion; so far as personal
+      observation goes, I agree with the whalers in believing that there is much
+      variation both of habits and shape between them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But to return to the fight. The first inkling I got of what was really
+      going on was the leaping of a killer high into the air by the side of the
+      whale, and descending upon the victim's broad, smooth back with a
+      resounding crash. I saw that the killer was provided with a pair of huge
+      fins&mdash;one on his back, the other on his belly&mdash;which at first
+      sight looked as if they were also weapons of offence. A little observation
+      convinced me that they were fins only. Again and again the aggressor
+      leaped into the air, falling each time on the whale's back, as if to beat
+      him into submission.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The sea around foamed and boiled like a cauldron, so that it was only
+      occasional glimpses I was able to catch of the two killers, until
+      presently the worried whale lifted his head clear out of the surrounding
+      smother, revealing the two furies hanging&mdash;one on either side&mdash;to
+      his lips, as if endeavouring to drag his mouth open&mdash;which I
+      afterwards saw was their principal object, as whenever during the tumult I
+      caught sight of them, they were still in the same position. At last the
+      tremendous and incessant blows, dealt by the most active member of the
+      trio, seemed actually to have exhausted the immense vitality of the great
+      bowhead, for he lay supine upon the surface. Then the three joined their
+      forces, and succeeded in dragging open his cavernous mouth, into which
+      they freely entered, devouring his tongue. This, then, had been their sole
+      object, for as soon as they had finished their barbarous feast they
+      departed, leaving him helpless and dying to fall an easy prey to our
+      returning boats.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus, although the four whales captured by the boats had been but small,
+      the day's take, augmented by so great a find, was a large one, and it was
+      a long time before we got clear of the work it entailed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      From that time forward we saw no whales for six weeks, and, from the
+      reports we received from two whalers we "gammed," it appeared that we
+      might consider ourselves most fortunate in our catch, since they, who had
+      been longer on the ground than ourselves, had only one whale apiece.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In consequence of this information, Captain Slocum decided to go south
+      again, and resume the sperm whaling in the North Pacific, near the line&mdash;at
+      least so the rumour ran; but as we never heard anything definitely, we
+      could not feel at all certain of our next destination.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ever since the fracas at the Bonins between Goliath and his watch, the
+      relations between Captain Slocum and the big negro had been very strained.
+      Even before the outbreak, as I have remarked upon one occasion, it was
+      noticeable that little love was lost between them. Why this was so,
+      without anything definite to guide one's reasoning, was difficult to
+      understand, for a better seaman or a smarter whaleman than Mistah Jones
+      did not live&mdash;of that every one was quite sure. Still, there was no
+      gainsaying the fact that, churlish and morose as our skipper's normal
+      temper always was, he was never so much so as in his behaviour towards his
+      able fourth mate, who, being a man of fine, sensitive temper, chafed under
+      his unmerited treatment so much as to lose flesh, becoming daily more
+      silent, nervous, and depressed. Still, there had never been an open
+      rupture, nor did it appear as if there would be, so great was the power
+      Captain Slocum possessed over the will of everybody on board.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One night, however, as we were nearing the Kuriles again, on our way
+      south, leaving the Sea of Okhotsk, I was sitting on the fore side of the
+      try-works alone, meditating upon what I would do when once I got clear of
+      this miserable business. Futile and foolish, no doubt, my speculations
+      were, but only in this way could I forget for a while my surroundings,
+      since the inestimable comfort of reading was denied me. I had been sitting
+      thus absorbed in thought for nearly an hour, when Goliath came and seated
+      himself by my side. We had always been great friends, although, owing to
+      the strict discipline maintained on board, it was not often we got a
+      chance for a "wee bit crack," as the Scotch say. Besides, I was not in his
+      watch, and even now he should rightly have been below. He sat for a minute
+      or two silent; then, as if compelled to speak, he began in low, fierce
+      whispers to tell me of his miserable state of mind. At last, after
+      recapitulating many slights and insults he had received silently from the
+      captain, of which I had previously known nothing, he became strangely
+      calm. In tones quite unlike his usual voice, he said that he was not an
+      American-born negro, but a pure African, who had been enslaved in his
+      infancy, with his mother, somewhere in the "Hinterland" of Guinea. While
+      still a child, his mother escaped with him into Liberia, a where he had
+      remained till her death, She was, according to him, an Obeah woman of
+      great power, venerated exceedingly by her own people for her prophetic
+      abilities. Before her death, she had told him that he would die suddenly,
+      violently, in a struggle with a white man in a far-off country, but that
+      the white man would die too by his hand. She had also told him that he
+      would be a great traveller and hunter upon the sea. As he went on, his
+      speech became almost unintelligible, being mingled with fragments of a
+      language I had never heard before; moreover, he spoke as a man who is only
+      half awake. A strange terror got hold of me, for I began to think he was
+      going mad, and perhaps about to run a-mok, as the Malays do when driven
+      frantic by the infliction of real or fancied wrongs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But he gradually returned to his old self, to my great relief, and I
+      ventured somewhat timidly to remind him of the esteem in which he was held
+      by all hands; even the skipper, I ventured to say, respected him,
+      although, from some detestable form of ill-humour, he had chosen to be so
+      sneering and insulting towards him. He shook his head sadly, and said, "My
+      dear boy, youse de only man aboard dis ship&mdash;wite man, dat is&mdash;dat
+      don't hate an' despise me becawse ob my colour, wich I cain't he'p; an' de
+      God you beliebe in bless you fer dat. As fer me, w'at I done tole you's
+      true,'n befo' bery little w'ile you see it COME true. 'N w'en DAT happens
+      w'at's gwine ter happen, I'se real glad to tink it gwine ter be better fer
+      you&mdash;gwine ter be better fer eberybody 'bord de CACH'LOT; but I doan
+      keer nuffin 'bout anybody else. So long." He held out his great black
+      hand, and shook mine heartily, while a big tear rolled down his face and
+      fell on the deck. And with that he left me a prey to a very whirlpool of
+      conflicting thoughts and fears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The night was a long and weary one&mdash;longer and drearier perhaps
+      because of the absence of the darkness, which always made it harder to
+      sleep. An incessant day soon becomes, to those accustomed to the relief of
+      the night, a burden grievous to be borne; and although use can reconcile
+      us to most things, and does make even the persistent light bearable, in
+      times of mental distress or great physical weariness one feels
+      irresistibly moved to cry earnestly, "Come, gentle night."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When I came on deck at eight bells, it was a stark calm. The watch, under
+      Mistah Jones' direction, were busy scrubbing decks with the usual
+      thoroughness, while the captain, bare-footed, with trouser-legs and
+      shirt-sleeves rolled up, his hands on his hips and a portentous frown on
+      his brow, was closely looking on. As it was my spell at the crow's-nest, I
+      made at once for the main-rigging, and had got halfway to the top, when
+      some unusual sounds below arrested me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All hands were gathered in the waist, a not unusual thing at the changing
+      of the watch. In the midst of them, as I looked down, two men came
+      together in a fierce struggle. They were Goliath and the skipper. Captain
+      Slocum's right hand went naturally to his hip pocket, where he always
+      carried a revolver; but before he could draw it, the long, black arms of
+      his adversary wrapped around him, making him helpless as a babe. Then,
+      with a rush that sent every one flying out of his way, Goliath hurled
+      himself at the bulwarks, which were low, the top of the rail about
+      thirty-three inches from the deck. The two bodies struck the rail with a
+      heavy thud, instantly toppling overboard. That broke the spell that bound
+      everybody, so that there was an instantaneous rush to the side. Only a
+      hardly noticeable ripple remained on the surface of the placid sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But, from my lofty perch, the whole of the ghastly struggle had been
+      visible to the least detail. The two men had struck the water locked in
+      closest embrace, which relaxed not even when far below the surface. When
+      the sea is perfectly smooth, objects are visible from aloft at several
+      feet depth, though apparently diminished in size. The last thing I saw was
+      Captain Slocum's white face, with its starting black eyes looking their
+      last upon the huge, indefinite hull of the ship whose occupants he had
+      ruled so long and rigidly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole tragedy occupied such a brief moment of time that it was almost
+      impossible to realize that it was actual. Reason, however, soon regained
+      her position among the officers, who ordered the closest watch to be kept
+      from aloft, in case of the rising of either or both of the men. A couple
+      of boats were swung, ready to drop on the instant. But, as if to crown the
+      tragedy with completeness, a heavy squall, which had risen unnoticed,
+      suddenly burst upon the ship with great fury, the lashing hail and rain
+      utterly obscuring vision even for a few yards. So unexpected was the onset
+      of this squall that, for the only time that voyage, we lost some canvas
+      through not being able to get it in quick enough. The topgallant halyards
+      were let go; but while the sails were being clewed up, the fierce wind
+      following the rain caught them from their confining gear, rending them
+      into a thousand shreds. For an hour the squall raged&mdash;a tempest in
+      brief&mdash;then swept away to the south-east on its furious journey,
+      leaving peace again. Needless perhaps to say, that after such a squall it
+      was hopeless to look for our missing ones. The sudden storm had certainly
+      driven us several miles away front the spot where they disappeared, and,
+      although we carefully made what haste was possible back along the line we
+      were supposed to have come, not a vestige of hope was in any one's mind
+      that we should ever see them again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Nor did we. Whether that madness, which I had feared was coming upon
+      Goliath during our previous night's conversation, suddenly overpowered him
+      and impelled him to commit the horrible deed, what more had passed between
+      him and the skipper to even faintly justify so awful a retaliation&mdash;these
+      things were now matters of purest speculation. As if they had never been,
+      the two men were blotted out&mdash;gone before God in full-blown heat of
+      murder and revengeful fury.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On the same evening Mr. Count mustered all hands on the quarter-deck, and
+      addressed us thus: "Men, Captain Slocum is dead, and, as a consequence, I
+      command the ship. Behave yourself like men, not presuming upon kindness or
+      imagining that I am a weak, vacillating old man with whom you can do as
+      you like, and you will find in me a skipper who will do his duty by you as
+      far as lies in his power, nor expect more from you than you ought to
+      render. If, however, you DO try any tricks, remember that I am an old
+      hand, equal to most of the games that men get up to. I do want&mdash;if
+      you will help me&mdash;to make this a comfortable as well as a successful
+      ship. I hope with all my heart we shall succeed."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In answer to this manly and affecting little speech, which confirmed my
+      previous estimate of Captain Count's character, were he but free to follow
+      the bent of his natural, kindly inclinations, and which I have endeavoured
+      to translate out of his usual dialect, a hearty cheer was raised by all
+      hands, the first ebullition of general good feeling manifested throughout
+      the voyage. Hearts rose joyfully at the prospect of comfort to be gained
+      by thoughtfulness on the part of the commander; nor from that time forward
+      did any sign of weariness of the ship or voyage show itself among us,
+      either on deck or below.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The news soon spread among us that, in consequence of the various losses
+      of boats and gear, the captain deemed it necessary to make for Honolulu,
+      where fresh supplies could readily be obtained. We had heard many glowing
+      accounts from visitors, when "gamming," of the delights of this well-known
+      port of call for whalers, and under our new commander we had little doubt
+      that we should be allowed considerable liberty during our stay. So we were
+      quite impatient to get along fretting considerably at the persistent fogs
+      which prevented our making much progress while in the vicinity of the
+      Kuriles. But we saw no more bowheads, for which none of us forward were at
+      all sorry. We had got very tired of the stink of their blubber, and the
+      never-ending worry connected with the preservation of the baleen; besides,
+      we had not yet accumulated any fund of enthusiasm about getting a full
+      ship, except as a reason for shortening the voyage, and we quite
+      understood that what black oil we had got would be landed at Hawaii, so
+      that our visit to the Okhotsk Sea, with its resultant store of oil, had
+      not really brought our return home any nearer, as we at first hoped it
+      would.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A great surprise was in store for me. I knew that Captain Count was
+      favourably inclined towards me, for he had himself told me so, but nothing
+      was further from my thoughts than promotion. However, one Sunday
+      afternoon, when we were all peacefully enjoying the unusual rest (we had
+      no Sundays in Captain Slocum's time), the captain sent for me. He informed
+      me that, after mature consideration, he had chosen me to fill the vacancy
+      made by the death of Mistah Jones. Mr. Cruce was now mate; the waspish
+      little third had become second; Louis Silva, the captain's favourite
+      harpooner was third; and I was to be fourth. Not feeling at all sure of
+      how the other harpooners would take my stepping over their heads, I
+      respectfully demurred to the compliment offered me, stating my reasons.
+      But the captain said he had fully made up his mind, after consultation
+      with the other officers, and that I need have no apprehension on the score
+      of the harpooners' jealousy; that they had been spoken to on the subject,
+      and they were all agreed that the captain's choice was the best,
+      especially as none of them knew anything of navigation, or could write
+      their own names.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In consequence of there being none of the crew fit to take a harpooner's
+      place, I was now really harpooner of the captain's boat, which he would
+      continue to work, when necessary, until we were able to ship a harpooner,
+      which he hoped to do at Hawaii.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The news of my promotion was received in grim silence by the Portuguese
+      forward, but the white men all seemed pleased. This was highly gratifying
+      to me, for I had tried my best to be helpful to all, as far as my limited
+      abilities would let me; nor do I think I had an enemy in the ship. Behold
+      me, then, a full-blown "mister," with a definite substantial increase in
+      my prospects of pay of nearly one-third, in addition to many other
+      advantages, which, under the new captain, promised exceedingly well.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      More than half the voyage lay behind us, looking like the fast-settling
+      bank of storm-clouds hovering above the tempest-tossed sea so lately
+      passed, while ahead the bright horizon was full of promise of fine weather
+      for the remainder of the journey.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XVII. VISIT TO HONOLULU
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Right glad were we all when, after much fumbling and box-hauling about, we
+      once more felt the long, familiar roll of the Pacific swell, and saw the
+      dim fastnesses of the smoky islands fading into the lowering gloom astern.
+      Most deep-water sailors are familiar, by report if not by actual contact,
+      with the beauties of the Pacific islands, and I had often longed to visit
+      them to see for myself whether the half that had been told me was true. Of
+      course, to a great number of seafaring men, the loveliness of those
+      regions counts for nothing, their desirability being founded upon the
+      frequent opportunities of unlimited indulgence in debauchery. To such men,
+      a "missionary" island is a howling wilderness, and the missionaries
+      themselves the subjects of the vilest abuse as well as the most boundless
+      lying.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No one who has travelled with his eyes open would assert that all
+      missionaries were wise, prudent, or even godly men; while it is a great
+      deal to be regretted that so much is made of hardships which in a large
+      proportion of cases do not exist, the men who are supposed to be enduring
+      them being immensely better off and more comfortable than they would ever
+      have been at home. Undoubtedly the pioneers of missionary enterprise had,
+      almost without exception, to face dangers and miseries past telling, but
+      that is the portion of pioneers in general. In these days, however, the
+      missionary's lot in Polynesia is not often a hard one, and in many cases
+      it is infinitely to be preferred to a life among the very poor of our
+      great cities.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But when all has been said that can be said against the missionaries, the
+      solid bastion of fact remains that, in consequence of their labours, the
+      whole vile character of the populations of the Pacific has been changed,
+      and where wickedness runs riot to-day, it is due largely to the hindrances
+      placed in the way of the noble efforts of the missionaries by the
+      unmitigated scoundrels who vilify them. The task of spreading Christianity
+      would not, after all, be so difficult were it not for the efforts of those
+      apostles of the devil to keep the islands as they would like them to be&mdash;places
+      where lust runs riot day and night, murder may be done with impunity,
+      slavery flourishes, and all evil may be indulged in free from law, order,
+      or restraint.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It speaks volumes for the inherent might of the Gospel that, in spite of
+      the object-lessons continually provided for the natives by white men of
+      the negation of all good, that it has stricken its roots so deeply into
+      the soil of the Pacific islands. Just as the best proof of the reality of
+      the Gospel here in England is that it survives the incessant assaults upon
+      it from within by its professors, by those who are paid, and highly paid,
+      to propagate it, by the side of whose deadly doings the efforts of
+      so-called infidels are but as the battery of a summer breeze; so in
+      Polynesia, were not the principles of Christianity vital with an immortal
+      and divine life, missionary efforts might long ago have ceased in utter
+      despair at the fruitlessness of the field.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were enjoying a most uneventful passage, free from any serious changes
+      either of wind or weather which quiet time was utilised to the utmost in
+      making many much-needed additions to the running-gear, repairing rigging,
+      etc. Any work involving the use of new material had been put off from time
+      to time during the previous part of the voyage till the ship aloft was
+      really in a dangerous condition. This was due entirely to the peculiar
+      parsimony of our late skipper, who could scarcely bring himself to broach
+      a coil of rope, except for whaling purposes. The same false economy had
+      prevailed with regard to paint and varnish, so that the vessel, while
+      spotlessly clean, presented a worn-out weather-beaten appearance. Now,
+      while the condition of life on board was totally different to what it had
+      been, as regards comfort and peace, discipline and order were maintained
+      at the same high level as always, though by a different method&mdash;in
+      fact, I believe that a great deal more work was actually done, certainly
+      much more that was useful and productive; for Captain Count hated, as much
+      as any foremast hand among us, the constant, remorseless grind of
+      iron-work polishing, paint-work scrubbing, and holystoning, all of which,
+      though necessary in a certain degree, when kept up continually for the
+      sole purpose of making work&mdash;a sort of elaborated tread-mill, in fact&mdash;becomes
+      the refinement of cruelty to underfed, unpaid, and hopeless men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So, while the CACHALOT could have fearlessly challenged comparison with
+      any ship afloat for cleanliness and neatness of appearance, the hands no
+      longer felt that they were continually being "worked up" or "hazed" for
+      the sole, diabolical satisfaction of keeping them "at it." Of course, the
+      incidence of the work was divided, since so many of the crew were quite
+      unable to do any sailorizing, as we term work in sails and rigging. Upon
+      them, then, fell all the common labour, which can be done by any unskilled
+      man or woman afloat or ashore.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Of this work a sailor's duties are largely made up, but when good people
+      ashore wonder "whatever sailors do with their time," it would be useful
+      for them to remember that a ship is a huge and complicated machine,
+      needing constant repairs, which can only be efficiently performed by
+      skilled workmen. An "A.B." or able seaman's duties are legally supposed to
+      be defined by the three expressions, "hand, reef, and steer." If he can do
+      those three things, which mean furling or making fast sails, reefing them,
+      and steering the ship, his wages cannot be reduced for incompetency. Yet
+      these things are the A B C of seamanship only. A good SEAMAN is able to
+      make all the various knots, splices, and other arrangements in hempen or
+      wire rope, without which a ship cannot be rigged; he can make a sail, send
+      up or down yards and masts, and do many other things, the sum total of
+      which need several years of steady application to learn, although a good
+      seaman is ever learning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such seamen are fast becoming extinct. They are almost totally unnecessary
+      in steamships, except when the engines break down in a gale of wind, and
+      the crowd of navvies forming the crew stand looking at one another when
+      called upon to set sail or do any other job aloft. THEN the want of seamen
+      is rather severely felt. But even in sailing ships&mdash;the great,
+      overgrown tanks of two thousand tons and upwards&mdash;mechanical genius
+      has utilized iron to such an extent in their rigging that sailor-work has
+      become very largely a matter of blacksmithing. I make no complaint of
+      this, not believing that the "old was better;" but, since the strongest
+      fabric of man's invention comes to grief sometimes in conflict with the
+      irresistible sea, some provision should be made for having a sufficiency
+      of seamen who could exercise their skill in refitting a dismasted ship, or
+      temporarily replacing broken blacksmith work by old-fashioned rope and
+      wood.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But, as the sailing ship is doomed inevitably to disappear before steam,
+      perhaps it does not matter much. The economic march of the world's
+      progress will never be stayed by sentimental considerations, nor will all
+      the romance and poetry in the world save the seaman from extinction, if
+      his place can be more profitably filled by the engineer. From all
+      appearances, it soon will be, for even now marine superintendents of big
+      lines are sometimes engineers, and in their hands lie the duty of engaging
+      the officers. It would really seem as if the ship of the near future would
+      be governed by the chief engineer, under whose direction a pilot or
+      sailing-master would do the necessary navigation, without power to
+      interfere in any matter of the ship's economy. Changes as great have taken
+      place in other professions; seafaring cannot hope to be the sole
+      exception.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So, edging comfortably along, we gradually neared the Sandwich Islands
+      without having seen a single spout worth watching since the tragedy. At
+      last the lofty summits of the island mountains hove in sight, and
+      presently we came to an anchor in that paradise of whalers, missionaries,
+      and amateur statesmen&mdash;Honolulu. As it is as well known to most
+      reading people as our own ports&mdash;better perhaps&mdash;I shall not
+      attempt to describe it, or pit myself against the able writers who have
+      made it so familiar. Yet to me it was a new world. All things were so
+      strange, so delightful, especially the lovable, lazy, fascinating Kanakas,
+      who could be so limply happy over a dish of poi, or a green cocoa-nut, or
+      even a lounge in the sun, that it seemed an outrage to expect them to
+      work. In their sports they could be energetic enough. I do not know of any
+      more delightful sight than to watch them bathing in the tremendous surf,
+      simply intoxicated with the joy of living, as unconscious of danger as if
+      swinging in a hammock while riding triumphantly upon the foaming summit of
+      an incoming breaker twenty feet high, or plunging with a cataract over the
+      dizzy edge of its cliff, swallowed up in the hissing vortex below, only to
+      reappear with a scream of riotous laughter in the quiet eddy beyond.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As far as I could judge, they were the happiest of people, literally
+      taking no thought for the morrow, and content with the barest necessaries
+      of life, so long as they were free and the sun shone brightly. We had many
+      opportunities of cultivating their acquaintance, for the captain allowed
+      us much liberty, quite one-half of the crew and officers being ashore most
+      of the time. Of course, the majority spent all their spare time in the
+      purlieus of the town, which, like all such places anywhere, were foul and
+      filthy enough; but that was their own faults. I have often wondered much
+      to see men, who on board ship were the pink of cleanliness and neatness,
+      fastidious to a fault in all they did, come ashore and huddle in the most
+      horrible of kennels, among the very dregs and greaves of the 'long-shore
+      district. It certainly wants a great deal of explanation; but I suppose
+      the most potent reason is, that sailors, as a class, never learn to enjoy
+      themselves rationally. They are also morbidly suspicions of being taken in
+      hand by anybody who would show them anything worth seeing, preferring to
+      be led by the human sharks that infest all seaports into ways of strange
+      nastiness, and so expensive withal that one night of such wallowing often
+      costs them more than a month's sane recreation and good food would. All
+      honour to the devoted men and women who labour in our seaports for the
+      moral and material benefit of the sailor, passing their lives amidst
+      sights and sounds shocking and sickening to the last degree, reviled,
+      unthanked, unpaid. Few are the missionaries abroad whose lot is so hard as
+      theirs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We spent ten happy days in Honolulu, marred only by one or two drunken
+      rows among the chaps forward, which, however, resulted in their getting a
+      severe dressing down in the forecastle, where good order was now kept.
+      There had been no need for interference on the part of the officers, which
+      I was glad to see, remembering what would have happened under such
+      circumstances not long ago. Being short-handed, the captain engaged a
+      number of friendly islanders for a limited period, on the understanding
+      that they were to be discharged at their native place, Vau Vau. There were
+      ten of them, fine stalwart fellows, able bodied and willing as possible.
+      They were cleanly in their habits, and devout members of the Wesleyan
+      body, so that their behaviour was quite a reproach to some of our
+      half-civilized crew. Berths were found for them in the forecastle, and
+      they took their places among us quite naturally, being fairly well used to
+      a whale-ship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XVIII. ON THE "LINE" GROUNDS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      We weighed at last, one morning, with a beautiful breeze, and, bidding a
+      long farewell to the lovely isles and their amiable inhabitants, stood at
+      sea, bound for the "line" or equatorial grounds on our legitimate business
+      of sperm whaling. It was now a long while since we had been in contact
+      with a cachalot, the last one having been killed by us on the Coast of
+      Japan some six months before. But we all looked forward to the coming
+      campaign with considerable joy, for we were now a happy family, interested
+      in the work, and, best of all, even if the time was still distant, we
+      were, in a sense, homeward bound. At any rate, we all chose so to think,
+      from the circumstance that we were now working to the southward, towards
+      Cape Horn, the rounding of which dreaded point would mark the final stage
+      of our globe-encircling voyage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had, during our stay at Honolulu, obtained a couple of grand boats in
+      addition to our stock, and were now in a position to man and lower five at
+      once, if occasion should arise, still leaving sufficient crew on board to
+      work the vessel. The captain had also engaged an elderly seaman of his
+      acquaintance&mdash;out of pure philanthropy, as we all thought, since he
+      was in a state of semi-starvation ashore&mdash;to act as a kind of
+      sailing-master, so as to relieve the captain of ship duty at whaling time,
+      allowing him still to head his boat. This was not altogether welcome news
+      to me, for, much as I liked the old man and admired his pluck, I could not
+      help dreading his utter recklessness when on a whale, which had so often
+      led to a smash-up that might have been easily avoided. Moreover, I
+      reasoned that if he had been foolhardy before, he was likely to be much
+      more so now, having no superior to look black or use language when a
+      disaster occurred. For now I was his harpooner, bound to take as many
+      risks as he chose to incur, and anxious also to earn a reputation among
+      the more seasoned whalemen for smartness sufficient to justify my
+      promotion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Kanakas shipped at Honolulu were distributed among the boats, two to
+      each, being already trained whalemen, and a fine lot of fellows they were.
+      My two&mdash;Samuela and Polly&mdash;were not very big men, but sturdy,
+      nimble as cats, as much at home in the water as on deck, and simply
+      bubbling over with fun and good-humour. From my earliest sea-going, I have
+      always had a strong liking for natives of tropical countries, finding them
+      affectionate and amenable to kindness. Why, I think, white men do not get
+      on with darkies well, as a rule, is, that they seldom make an appeal to
+      the MAN, in them. It is very degrading to find one's self looked down upon
+      as a sort of animal without reason or feelings; and if you degrade a man,
+      you deprive him of any incentive to make himself useful, except the brute
+      one you may feel bound to apply yourself. My experience has been limited
+      to Africans (of sorts), Kanakas, natives of Hindostan, Malagasy, and
+      Chinese; but with all these I have found a little COMARADERIE answer
+      excellently. True, they are lazy; but what inducement have they to work?
+      The complicated needs of our civilized existence compel US to work, or be
+      run over by the unresting machine; but I take leave to doubt whether any
+      of us with a primitive environment would not be as lazy as any Kanaka that
+      ever dozed under a banana tree through daylight hours. Why, then, make an
+      exalted virtue of the necessity which drives us, and objurgate the poor
+      black man because he prefers present ease to a doubtful prospective
+      retirement on a competency? Australian blackfellows and Malays are said to
+      be impervious to kind treatment by a great number of witnesses, the former
+      appearing incapable of gratitude, and the latter unable to resist the
+      frequent temptation to kill somebody. Not knowing anything personally of
+      either of these races, I can say nothing for or against them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All the coloured individuals that I have had to do with have amply repaid
+      any little kindness shown them with fidelity and affection, but especially
+      has this been the case with Kanakas, The soft and melodious language
+      spoken by them is easy to acquire, and is so pleasant to speak that it is
+      well worth learning, to say nothing of the convenience to yourself,
+      although the Kanaka speedily picks up the mutilated jargon which does duty
+      for English on board ship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What I specially longed for now was a harpooner, or even two, so that I
+      might have my boat to myself, the captain taking his own boat with a
+      settled harpooner. Samuela, the biggest of my two Kanakas, very earnestly
+      informed me that he was no end of a "number one" whale slaughterer; but I
+      judged it best to see how things went before asking to have him promoted.
+      My chance, and his, came very promptly; so nicely arranged, too, that I
+      could not have wished for anything better. The skipper had got a fine,
+      healthy boil on one knee-cap, and another on his wrist, so that he was, as
+      you may say, HORS DE COMBAT. While he was impatiently waiting to get about
+      once more, sperm whales were raised. Although nearly frantic with
+      annoyance, he was compelled to leave the direction of things to Mr. Cruce,
+      who was quite puffed up with the importance of his opportunity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such a nice little school of cow-whales, a lovely breeze, clear sky, warm
+      weather&mdash;I felt as gay as a lark at the prospect. As we were reaching
+      to windward, with all boats ready for lowering, the skipper called me aft
+      and said, "Naow, Mr. Bullen, I cain't lower, because of this condemned
+      leg'n arm of mine; but how'r yew goin' ter manage 'thout a harpooneer?" I
+      suggested that if he would allow me to try Samuela, who was suffering for
+      a chance to distinguish himself, we would "come out on top." "All right,"
+      he said; "but let the other boats get fast first, 'n doan be in too much
+      of a hurry to tie yerself up till ya see what's doin'. If everythin's
+      goin' bizness-fashion', 'n yew git a chance, sail right in; yew got ter
+      begin some time. But ef thet Kanaka looks skeered goin' on, take the iron
+      frum him ter onct." I promised, and the interview ended.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When I told Samuela, of his chance, he was beside himself with joy. As to
+      his being scared, the idea was manifestly absurd. He was as pleased with
+      the prospect as it was possible for a man to be, and hardly able to
+      contain himself for impatience to be off. I almost envied him his
+      exuberant delight, for a sense of responsibility began to weigh upon me
+      with somewhat depressing effect.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We gained a good weather-gage, rounded to, and lowered four boats. Getting
+      away in good style, we had barely got the sails up, when something gallied
+      the school. We saw or heard nothing to account for it, but undoubtedly the
+      "fish" were off at top speed dead to windward, so that our sails were of
+      no use. We had them in with as little delay as possible, and lay to our
+      oars for all we were worth, being fresh and strong, as well as anxious to
+      get amongst them. But I fancy all our efforts would have availed us little
+      had it not been for the experience of Mr. Cruce, whose eager eye detected
+      the fact that the fish were running on a great curve, and shaped our
+      course to cut them off along a chord of the arc.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two and a half hours of energetic work was required of us before we got on
+      terms with the fleeing monsters; but at last, to our great joy, they broke
+      water from sounding right among us. It was a considerable surprise, but we
+      were all ready, and before they had spouted twice, three boats were fast,
+      only myself keeping out, in accordance with my instructions. Samuela was
+      almost distraught with rage and grief at the condition of things. I quite
+      pitied him, although I was anything but pleased myself. However, when I
+      ranged up alongside the mate's fish, to render what assistance was needed,
+      he shouted to me, "We's all right; go'n git fas', if yew kin." That was
+      enough, and away we flew after a retreating spout to leeward. Before we
+      got there, though, there was an upheaval in the water just ahead, and up
+      came a back like a keelless ship bottom up. Out came the head belonging to
+      it, and a spout like an explosion burst forth, denoting the presence of an
+      enormous bull-cachalot. Close by his side was a cow of about one-third his
+      size, the favoured sultana of his harem, I suppose. Prudence whispered,
+      "Go for the cow;" ambition hissed, "All or none&mdash;the bull, the bull."
+      Fortunately emergencies of this kind leave one but a second or two to
+      decide, as a rule; in this case, as it happened, I was spared even that
+      mental conflict, for as we ran up between the two vast creatures, Samuela,
+      never even looking at the cow, hurled his harpoon, with all the energy
+      that he had been bursting with so long, at the mighty bull. I watched its
+      flight&mdash;saw it enter the black mass and disappear to the shaft, and
+      almost immediately came the second iron, within a foot of the first,
+      burying itself in the same solid fashion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Starn&mdash;starn all!" I shouted; and we backed slowly away,
+      considerably hampered by the persistent attentions of the cow, who hung
+      round us closely. The temptation to lance her was certainly great, but I
+      remembered the fate that had overtaken the skipper on the first occasion
+      we struck whales, and did not meddle with her ladyship. Our prey was not
+      apparently disposed to kick up much fuss at first, so, anxious to settle
+      matters, I changed ends with Samuela, and pulled in on the whale. A good,
+      steady lance-thrust&mdash;the first I had ever delivered&mdash;was
+      obtained, sending a thrill of triumph through my whole body. The
+      recipient, thoroughly roused by this, started off at a great lick,
+      accompanied, somewhat to my surprise, by the cow. Thenceforward for
+      another hour, in spite of all our efforts, we could not get within
+      striking distance, mainly because of the close attention of the cow, which
+      stuck to her lord like a calf to its mother. I was getting so impatient of
+      this hindrance, that it was all I could do to restrain myself from lancing
+      the cow, though I felt convinced that, if I did, I should spoil a good
+      job. Suddenly I caught sight of the ship right ahead. We were still flying
+      along, so that in a short time we were comparatively close to her. My
+      heart beat high and I burned to distinguish myself under the friendly and
+      appreciative eye of the skipper.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      None of the other boats were in sight, from our level at least, so that I
+      had a reasonable hope of being able to finish my game, with all the glory
+      thereunto attaching, unshared by any other of my fellow-officers. As we
+      ran quite closely past the ship, calling on the crew to haul up for all
+      they were worth, we managed actually to squeeze past the cow, and I got in
+      a really deadly blow. The point of the lance entered just between the fin
+      and the eye, but higher up, missing the broad plate of the shoulder-blade,
+      and sinking its whole four feet over the hitches right down into the
+      animal's vitals. Then, for the first time, he threw up his flukes,
+      thrashing them from side to side almost round to his head, and raising
+      such a turmoil that we were half full of water in a moment. But Samuela
+      was so quick at the steer-oar, so lithe and forceful, and withal appeared
+      so to anticipate every move of mine, that there seemed hardly any danger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a few moments of this tremendous exertion, our victim settled down,
+      leaving the water deeply stained with his gushing blood. With him
+      disappeared his constant companion, the faithful cow, who had never left
+      his side a minute since we first got fast. Down, down they went, until my
+      line began to look very low, and I was compelled to make signals to the
+      ship for more. We had hardly elevated the oars, when down dropped the last
+      boat with four men in her, arriving by my side in a few minutes with two
+      fresh tubs of tow-line. We took them on board, and the boat returned
+      again. By the time the slack came we had about four hundred and fifty
+      fathoms out&mdash;a goodly heap to pile up loose in our stern-sheets. I
+      felt sure, however, that we should have but little more trouble with our
+      fish; in fact, I was half afraid that he would die before getting to the
+      surface, in which case he might sink and be lost. We hauled steadily away,
+      the line not coming in very easily, until I judged there was only about
+      another hundred fathoms out. Our amazement may be imagined, when suddenly
+      we were compelled to sleek away again, the sudden weight on the line
+      suggesting that the fish was again sounding. If ever a young hand was
+      perplexed, it was I. Never before had I heard of such unseemly behaviour,
+      nor was my anxiety lessened when I saw, a short distance away, the huge
+      body of my prize at the surface spouting blood. At the same time, I was
+      paying out line at a good rate, as if I had a fast fish on which was
+      sounding briskly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The skipper had been watching me very closely from his seat on the
+      taffrail, and had kept the ship within easy distance. Now, suspecting
+      something out of the common, he sent the boat again to my assistance, in
+      charge of the cooper. When that worthy arrived, he said, "Th' ol' man
+      reckens yew've got snarled erp'ith thet ar' loose keow, 'n y'r irons hev
+      draw'd from th' other. I'm gwine ter wait on him,'n get him 'longside
+      'soon's he's out'er his flurry. Ole man sez yew'd best wait on what's fast
+      t' yer an' nev' mine th' other." Away he went, reaching my prize just as
+      the last feeble spout exhaled, leaving the dregs of that great flood of
+      life trickling lazily down from the widely expanded spiracle. To drive a
+      harpoon into the carcass, and run the line on board, was the simplest of
+      jobs, for, as the captain had foreseen, my irons were drawn clean. I had
+      no leisure to take any notice of them now, though, for whatever was on my
+      line was coming up hand-over-fist.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With a bound it reached the surface&mdash;the identical cow so long
+      attendant upon the dead whale. Having been so long below for such a small
+      whale, she was quite exhausted, and before she had recovered we had got
+      alongside of her and lanced her, so thoroughly that she died without a
+      struggle. The ship was so close that we had her alongside in a wonderfully
+      short time, and with scarcely any trouble.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When I reached the deck, the skipper called me, and said several things
+      that made me feel about six inches taller. He was, as may be thought,
+      exceedingly pleased, saying that only once in his long career had he seen
+      a similar case; for I forgot to mention that the line was entangled around
+      the cow's down-hanging jaw, as if she had actually tried to bite in two
+      the rope that held her consort, and only succeeded in sharing his fate. I
+      would not like to say that whales do not try to thus sever a line, but,
+      their teeth being several inches apart, conical, and fitting into sockets
+      in the upper jaw instead of meeting the opposed surfaces of other teeth,
+      the accomplishment of such a feat must, I think, be impossible.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The ship being now as good as anchored by the vast mass of flesh hanging
+      to her, there was a tremendous task awaiting us to get the other fish
+      alongside. Of course they were all to windward; they nearly always are,
+      unless the ship is persistently "turned to windward" while the fishing is
+      going on. Whalers believe that they always work up into the wind while
+      fast, and, when dead, it is certain that they drift at a pretty good rate
+      right in the "wind's eye." This is accounted for by the play of the body,
+      which naturally lies head to wind; and the wash of the flukes, which,
+      acting somewhat like the "sculling" of an oar at the stern of a boat,
+      propel the carcass in the direction it is pointing, Consequently we had a
+      cruel amount of towing to do before we got the three cows alongside. Many
+      a time we blessed ourselves that they were no bigger, for of all the
+      clumsy things to tow with boats, a sperm whale is about the worst. Owing
+      to the great square mass of the head, they can hardly be towed head-on at
+      all, the practice being to cut off the tips of the flukes, and tow them
+      tail first. But even then it is slavery. To dip your oar about three times
+      in the same hole from whence you withdrew it, to tug at it with all your
+      might, apparently making as much progress as though you were fast to a
+      dock-wall, and to continue this fun for four or five hours at a stretch,
+      is to wonder indeed whether you have not mistaken your vocation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, "it's dogged as does it," so by dint of sheer sticking to the
+      oar, we eventually succeeded in getting all our prizes alongside before
+      eight bells that evening, securing them around us by hawsers to the cows,
+      but giving the big bull the post of honour alongside on the best
+      fluke-chain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were a busy company for a fortnight thence, until the last of the oil
+      was run below&mdash;two hundred and fifty barrels, or twenty-five tuns, of
+      the valuable fluid having rewarded our exertions. During these operations
+      we had drifted night and day, apparently without anybody taking the
+      slightest account of the direction we were taking; when, therefore, on the
+      day after clearing up the last traces of our fishing, the cry of "Land
+      ho!" came ringing down from the crow's-nest, no one was surprised,
+      although the part of the Pacific in which we were cruising has but few
+      patches of TERRA FIRMA scattered about over its immense area when compared
+      with the crowded archipelagoes lying farther south and east.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We could not see the reported land from the deck for two hours after it
+      was first seen from aloft, although the odd spectacle of a scattered group
+      of cocoa-nut trees apparently growing out of the sea was for some time
+      presented to us before the island itself came into view. It was Christmas
+      Island, where the indefatigable Captain Cook landed on December 24, 1777,
+      for the purpose of making accurate observations of an eclipse of the sun.
+      He it was who gave to this lonely atoll the name it has ever since borne,
+      with characteristic modesty giving his own great name to a tiny patch of
+      coral which almost blocks the entrance to the central lagoon. Here we lay
+      "off and on" for a couple of days, while foraging parties went ashore,
+      returning at intervals with abundance of turtle and sea-fowls' eggs. But
+      any detailed account of their proceedings must be ruthlessly curtailed,
+      owing to the scanty limits of space remaining.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XIX. EDGING SOUTHWARD
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The line whaling grounds embrace an exceedingly extensive area, over the
+      whole of which sperm whales may be found, generally of medium size. No
+      means of estimating the probable plenty or scarcity of them in any given
+      part of the grounds exist, so that falling in with them is purely a matter
+      of coincidence. To me it seems a conclusive proof of the enormous numbers
+      of sperm whales frequenting certain large breadths of ocean, that they
+      should be so often fallen in with, remembering what a little spot is
+      represented by a day's cruise, and that the signs which denote almost
+      infallibly the vicinity of right whales are entirely absent in the case of
+      the cachalot. In the narrow waters of the Greenland seas, with quite a
+      small number of vessels seeking, it is hardly possible for a whale of any
+      size to escape being seen; but in the open ocean a goodly fleet may cruise
+      over a space of a hundred thousand square miles without meeting any of the
+      whales that may yet be there in large numbers. So that when one hears talk
+      of the extinction of the cachalot, it is well to bear in mind that such a
+      thing would take a long series of years to effect, even were the whaling
+      business waxing instead of waning, While, however, South Sea whaling is
+      conducted on such old-world methods as still obtain; while steam, with all
+      the power it gives of rapidly dealing with a catch, is not made use of,
+      the art and mystery of the whale-fisher must continually decrease. No such
+      valuable lubricant has ever been found as sperm oil; but the cost of its
+      production, added to the precarious nature of the supply, so handicaps it
+      in the competition with substitutes that it has been practically
+      eliminated from the English markets, except in such greatly adulterated
+      forms as to render it a lie to speak of the mixture as sperm oil at all.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Except to a few whose minds to them are kingdoms, and others who can
+      hardly be said to have any minds at all, the long monotony of unsuccessful
+      seeking for whales is very wearying. The ceaseless motion of the vessel
+      rocking at the centre of a circular space of blue, with a perfectly
+      symmetrical dome of azure enclosing her above, unflecked by a single
+      cloud, becomes at last almost unbearable from its changeless sameness of
+      environment. Were it not for the trivial round and common task of everyday
+      ship duty, some of the crew must become idiotic, or, in sheer rage at the
+      want of interest in their lives, commit mutiny.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such a weary time was ours for full four weeks after sighting Christmas
+      Island. The fine haul we had obtained just previous to that day seemed to
+      have exhausted our luck for the time being, for never a spout did we see.
+      And it was with no ordinary delight that we hailed the advent of an
+      immense school of black-fish, the first we had run across for a long time.
+      Determined to have a big catch, if possible, we lowered all five boats, as
+      it was a beautifully calm day, and the ship might almost safely have been
+      left to look after herself. After what we had recently been accustomed to,
+      the game seemed trifling to get up much excitement over; but still, for a
+      good day's sport, commend me to a few lively black-fish.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In less than ten minutes we were in the thick of the crowd, with harpoons
+      flying right and left. Such a scene of wild confusion and uproarious
+      merriment ensued as I never saw before in my life. The skipper, true to
+      his traditions, got fast to four, all running different ways at once, and
+      making the calm sea boil again with their frantic gyrations. Each of the
+      other boats got hold of three; but, the mate getting too near me, our fish
+      got so inextricably tangled up that it was hopeless to try and distinguish
+      between each other's prizes. However, when we got the lances to work among
+      them, the hubbub calmed down greatly, and the big bodies one by one ceased
+      their gambols, floating supine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So far, all had been gay; but the unlucky second mate must needs go and do
+      a thing that spoiled a day's fun entirely. The line runs through a deep
+      groove in the boat's stem, over a brass roller so fitted that when the
+      line is running out it remains fixed, but when hauling in it revolves
+      freely, assisting the work a great deal. The second mate had three fish
+      fast, like the rest of us&mdash;the first one on the end of the main line,
+      the other two on "short warps," or pieces of whale-line some eight or ten
+      fathoms long fastened to harpoons, with the other ends running on the main
+      line by means of bowlines round it. By some mistake or other he had
+      allowed the two lines to be hauled together through the groove in his
+      boat's stem, and before the error was noticed two fish spurted off in
+      opposite directions, ripping the boat in two halves lengthways, like a
+      Dutchman splitting a salt herring.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Away went the fish with the whole of the line, nobody being able to get at
+      it to cut; and, but for the presence of mind shown by the crew in striking
+      out and away from the tangle, a most ghastly misfortune, involving the
+      loss of several lives, must have occurred. As it was, the loss was
+      considerable, almost outweighing the gain on the day's fishing, besides
+      the inconvenience of having a boat useless on a whaling grounds.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The accident was the fruit of gross carelessness, and should never have
+      occurred; but then, strange to say, disasters to whale-boats are nearly
+      always due to want of care, the percentage of unavoidable casualties being
+      very small as compared with those like the one just related. When the
+      highly dangerous nature of the work is remembered, this statement may seem
+      somewhat overdrawn; but it has been so frequently corroborated by others,
+      whose experience far outweighs my own, that I do not hesitate to make it
+      with the fullest confidence in its truth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Happily no lives were lost on this occasion, for it would have indeed been
+      grievous to have seen our shipmates sacrificed to the MANES of a mere
+      black-fish, after successfully encountering so many mighty whales. The
+      episode gave us a great deal of unnecessary work getting the two halves of
+      the boat saved, in addition to securing our fish, so that by the time we
+      got the twelve remaining carcasses hove on deck we were all quite fagged
+      out. But under the new regime we were sure of a good rest, so that did not
+      trouble us; it rather made the lounge on deck in the balmy evening air and
+      the well-filled pipe of peace doubly sweet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our next day's work completed the skinning of the haul we had made, the
+      last of the carcasses going overboard with a thunderous splash at four in
+      the afternoon. The assemblage of sharks round the ship on this occasion
+      was incredible for its number and the great size of the creatures.
+      Certainly no mariners see so many or such huge sharks as whalemen; but, in
+      spite of all our previous experience, this day touched high-water mark.
+      Many of these fish were of a size undreamed of by the ordinary seafarer,
+      some of them full thirty feet in length, more like whales than sharks.
+      Most of them were striped diagonally with bands of yellow, contrasting
+      curiously with the dingy grey of their normal colour. From this marking is
+      derived their popular name&mdash;"tiger sharks," not, as might be
+      supposed, from their ferocity. That attribute cannot properly be applied
+      to the SQUALUS at all, which is one of the most timid fish afloat, and
+      whose ill name, as far as regards blood-thirstiness, is quite undeserved.
+      Rapacious the shark certainly is; but what sea-fish is not? He is not at
+      all particular as to his diet; but what sea-fish is? With such a great
+      bulk of body, such enormous vitality and vigour to support, he must needs
+      be ever eating; and since he is not constructed on swift enough lines to
+      enable him to prey upon living fish, like most of his neighbours, he is
+      perforce compelled to play the humble but useful part of a sea-scavenger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He eats man, as he eats anything else eatable because in the water man is
+      easily caught, and not from natural depravity or an acquired taste
+      begetting a decided preference for human flesh. All natives of shores
+      infested by sharks despise him and his alleged man-eating propensities,
+      knowing that a very feeble splashing will suffice to frighten him away
+      even if ever so hungry. Demerara River literally swarms with sharks, yet I
+      have often seen a negro, clad only in a beaming smile, slip into its muddy
+      waters, and, after a few sharp blows with his open hand upon the surface,
+      calmly swim down to the bottom, clear a ship's anchor, or do whatever job
+      was required, coming up again as leisurely as if in a swimming-bath. A
+      similar disregard of the dangerous attributes awarded by popular consent
+      to the shark may be witnessed everywhere among the people who know him
+      best. The cruelties perpetrated upon sharks by seamen generally are the
+      result of ignorance and superstition combined, the most infernal forces
+      known to humanity. What would be said at home of such an act, if it could
+      be witnessed among us, as the disembowelling of a tiger, say, and then
+      letting him run in that horrible condition somewhere remote from the
+      possibility of retaliating upon his torturers? Yet that is hardly
+      comparable with a similar atrocity performed upon a shark, because he will
+      live hours to the tiger's minutes in such a condition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I once caught a shark nine feet long, which we hauled on board and killed
+      by cutting off its head and tail. It died very speedily&mdash;for a shark&mdash;all
+      muscular motion ceasing in less than fifteen minutes. It was my intention
+      to prepare that useless and unornamental article so dear to sailors&mdash;a
+      walking-stick made of a shark's backbone. But when I came to cut out the
+      vertebra, I noticed a large scar, extending from one side to the other,
+      right across the centre of the back. Beneath it the backbone was thickened
+      to treble its normal size, and perfectly rigid; in fact, it had become a
+      mass of solid bone. At some time or other this shark had been harpooned so
+      severely that, in wrenching himself free, he must have nearly torn his
+      body in two halves, severing the spinal column completely. Yet such a
+      wound as that had been healed by natural process, the bone knit together
+      again with many times the strength it had before&mdash;minus, of course,
+      its flexibility&mdash;and I can testify from the experience of securing
+      him that he could not possibly have been more vigorous than he was.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A favourite practice used to be&mdash;I trust it is so no longer&mdash;to
+      catch a shark, and, after driving a sharpened stake down through his upper
+      jaw and out underneath the lower one, so that its upper portion pointed
+      diagonally forward, to let him go again. The consequence of this cruelty
+      would be that the fish was unable to open his mouth, or go in any
+      direction without immediately coming to the surface. How long he might
+      linger in such torture, one can only guess; but unless his fellows,
+      finding him thus helpless, came along and kindly devoured him, no doubt he
+      would exist in extreme agony for a very long time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two more small cows were all that rewarded our search during the next
+      fortnight, and we began to feel serious doubts as to the success of our
+      season upon the line grounds, after all. Still, on the whole, our voyage
+      up to the present had not been what might fairly be called unsuccessful,
+      for we were not yet two years away from New Bedford, while we had
+      considerably more than two thousand barrels of oil on board&mdash;more, in
+      fact, than two-thirds of a full cargo. But if a whale were caught every
+      other day for six months, and then a month elapsed without any being seen,
+      grumbling would be loud and frequent, all the previous success being
+      forgotten in the present stagnation. Perhaps it is not so different in
+      other professions nearer home?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Christmas Day drew near, beloved of Englishmen all the world over, though
+      thought little of by Americans. The two previous ones spent on board the
+      CACHALOT have been passed over without mention, absolutely no notice being
+      taken of the season by any one on board, to all appearance. In English
+      ships some attempt is always made to give the day somewhat of a festive
+      character, and to maintain the national tradition of good-cheer and
+      goodwill in whatever part of the world you may happen to be. For some
+      reason or other, perhaps because of the great increase in comfort; we had
+      all experienced lately, I felt the approach of the great Christian
+      anniversary very strongly; although, had I been in London, I should
+      probably have spent it in lonely gloom, having no relatives or friends
+      whom I might visit. But what of that? Christmas is Christmas; and, if we
+      have no home, we think of the place where our home should be; and whether,
+      as cynics sneer, Dickens invented the English Christmas or not, its
+      observance has taken deep root among us. May its shadow never be less!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On Christmas morning I mounted to the crow's-nest at daybreak, and stood
+      looking with never-failing awe at the daily marvel of the sunrise. Often
+      and often have I felt choking for words to express the tumult of thoughts
+      aroused by this sublime spectacle. Hanging there in cloudland, the tiny
+      microcosm at one's feet forgotten, the grandeur of the celestial outlook
+      is overwhelming. Many and many a time I have bowed my head and wept in
+      pure reverence at the majesty manifested around me while the glory of the
+      dawn increased and brightened, till with one exultant bound the sun
+      appeared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For some time I stood gazing straight ahead of me with eyes that saw not,
+      filled with wonder and admiration. I must have been looking directly at
+      the same spot for quite a quarter of an hour, when suddenly, as if I had
+      but just opened my eyes, I saw the well-known bushy spout of a sperm
+      whale. I raised the usual yell, which rang through the stillness
+      discordantly, startling all hands out of their lethargy like bees out of a
+      hive. After the usual preliminaries, we were all afloat with sails set,
+      gliding slowly over the sleeping sea towards the unconscious objects of
+      our attention. The captain did not lower this time, as there only appeared
+      to be three fish, none of them seeming large. Though at any distance it is
+      extremely difficult to assess the size of whales, the spout being very
+      misleading. Sometimes a full-sized whale will show a small spout, while a
+      twenty-barrel cow will exhale a volume of vapour extensive enough for two
+      or three at once.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now although, according to etiquette, I kept my position in the rear of my
+      superior officers, I had fully determined in my own mind, being puffed up
+      with previous success, to play second fiddle to no one, if I could help
+      it, this time. Samuela was decidedly of the same opinion; indeed, I
+      believe he would have been delighted to tackle a whole school
+      single-handed, while my crew were all willing and eager for the fight. We
+      had a long, tedious journey before we came up with them, the wind being so
+      light that even with the occasional assistance of the paddles our progress
+      was wretchedly slow. When at last we did get into their water, and the
+      mate's harpooner stood up to dart, his foot slipped, and down he came with
+      a clatter enough to scare a cachalot twenty miles away. It gallied our
+      friends effectually, sending them flying in different directions at the
+      top of their speed. But being some distance astern of the other boats, one
+      of the fish, in his headlong retreat, rose for a final blow some six or
+      seven fathoms away, passing us in the opposite direction. His appearance
+      was only momentary, yet in that moment Samuela hurled his harpoon into the
+      air, where it described a beautiful parabola, coming down upon the
+      disappearing monster's back just as the sea was closing over it. Oh, it
+      was a splendid dart, worthy of the finest harpooner that ever lived! There
+      was no time for congratulations, however, for we spun round as on a pivot,
+      and away we went in the wake of that fellow at a great rate. I cast one
+      look astern to see whether the others had struck, but could see nothing of
+      them; we seemed to have sprung out of their ken in an instant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The speed of our friend was marvellous, but I comforted myself with the
+      knowledge that these animals usually run in circles&mdash;sometimes, it is
+      true, of enormous diameter, but seldom getting far away from their
+      starting-point. But as the time went on, and we seemed to fly over the
+      waves at undiminished speed, I began to think this whale might be the
+      exception necessary to prove the rule, so I got out the compass and
+      watched his course. Due east, not a degree to north or south of it,
+      straight as a bee to its hive. The ship was now far out of sight astern,
+      but I knew that keen eyes had been watching our movements from the
+      masthead, and that every effort possible would be made to keep the run of
+      us. The speed of our whale was not only great, but unflagging. He was more
+      like a machine than an animal capable of tiring; and though we did our
+      level best, at the faintest symptom of slackening, to get up closer and
+      lance him, it was for some time impossible. After, at a rough estimate,
+      running in a direct easterly course for over two hours, he suddenly
+      sounded, without having given us the ghost of a chance to "land him one
+      where he lived." Judging from his previous exertions, though, it was
+      hardly possible he would be able to stay down long, or get very deep, as
+      the strain upon these vast creatures at any depth is astonishingly
+      exhausting. After a longer stay below than usual, when they have gone
+      extra deep, they often arrive at the surface manifestly "done up" for a
+      time. Then, if the whaleman be active and daring, a few well-directed
+      strokes may be got in which will promptly settle the business out of hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, when my whale sounded he was to all appearance as frightened a beast
+      as one could wish&mdash;one who had run himself out endeavouring to get
+      away from his enemies, and as a last resource had dived into the quietness
+      below in the vain hope to get away. So I regarded him, making up my mind
+      to wait on him with diligence upon his arrival, and not allow him to get
+      breath before I had settled him. But when he did return, there was a
+      mighty difference in him. He seemed as if he had been getting some tips on
+      the subject from some school below where whales are trained to hunt men;
+      for his first move was to come straight for me with a furious rush,
+      carrying the war into the enemy's country with a vengeance. It must be
+      remembered that I was but young, and a comparatively new hand at this sort
+      of thing; so when I confess that I felt more than a little scared at this
+      sudden change in the tactics of my opponent, I hope I shall be excused.
+      Remembering, however, that all our lives depended on keeping cool, I told
+      myself that even if I was frightened I must not go all to pieces, but
+      compel myself to think and act calmly, since I was responsible for others.
+      If the animal had not been in so blind a fury, I am afraid my task would
+      have been much harder; but he was mad, and his savage rushes were, though
+      disquieting, unsystematic and clumsy. It was essential, however, that he
+      should not be allowed to persist too long in his evil courses; for a whale
+      learns with amazing rapidity, developing such cunning in an hour or two
+      that all a man's smartness may be unable to cope with his newly acquired
+      experience. Happily, Samuela was perfectly unmoved. Like a machine, he
+      obeyed every gesture, every look even, swinging the boat "off" or "on" the
+      whale with such sweeping strokes of his mighty oar that she revolved as if
+      on a pivot, and encouraging the other chaps with his cheerful cries and
+      odd grimaces, so that the danger was hardly felt. During a momentary lull
+      in the storm, I took the opportunity to load my bomb-gun, much as I
+      disliked handling the thing, keeping my eye all the time on the water
+      around where I expected to see mine enemy popping up murderously at any
+      minute. Just as I had expected, when he rose, it was very close, and on
+      his back, with his jaw in the first biting position, looking ugly as a
+      vision of death. Finding us a little out of reach, he rolled right over
+      towards us, presenting as he did so the great rotundity of his belly. We
+      were not twenty feet away, and I snatched up the gun, levelled it, and
+      fired the bomb point-blank into his bowels. Then all was blank. I do not
+      even remember the next moment. A rush of roaring waters, a fighting with
+      fearful, desperate energy for air and life, all in a hurried, flurried
+      phantasmagoria about which there was nothing clear except the primitive
+      desire for life, life, life! Nor do I know how long this struggle lasted,
+      except that, in the nature of things, it could not have been very long.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When I returned to a consciousness of external things, I was for some time
+      perfectly still, looking at the sky, totally unable to realize what had
+      happened or where I was. Presently the smiling, pleasant face of Samuela
+      bent over me. Meeting my gratified look of recognition, he set up a
+      perfect yell of delight. "So glad, so glad you blonga life! No go Davy
+      Jonesy dis time, hay?" I put my hand out to help myself to a sitting
+      posture, and touched blubber. That startled me so that I sprung up as if
+      shot. Then I took in the situation at a glance. There were all my poor
+      fellows with me, stranded upon the top of our late antagonist, but no sign
+      of the boat to be seen. Bewildered at the state of affairs, I looked
+      appealingly from one to the other for an explanation. I got it from Abner,
+      who said, laconically, "When yew fired thet ole gun, I guess it mus' have
+      bin loaded fer bear, fer ye jest tumbled clar head over heels backwards
+      outen the boat. Et that very same moment I suspicion the bomb busted in
+      his belly, fer he went clean rampageous loony. He rolled right over an'
+      over to'rds us, n' befo' we c'd rightly see wat wuz comin', we cu'dnt see
+      anythin' 'tall; we wuz all grabbin' at nothin', some'rs underneath the
+      whale. When I come to the top, I lit eout fer the fust thing I c'd see to
+      lay holt of, which wuz old squarhead himself, deader 'n pork. I guess thet
+      ar bomb o' yourn kinder upset his commissary department. Anyway, I climed
+      up onto him, 'n bime-by the rest ov us histed themselves alongside ov me.
+      Sam Weller here; he cum last, towin' you 'long with him. I don'no whar he
+      foun' ye, but ye was very near a goner, 'n's full o' pickle as ye c'd
+      hold." I turned a grateful eye upon my dusky harpooner, who had saved my
+      life, but was now apparently blissfully unconscious of having done
+      anything meritorious.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Behold us, then, a half-drowned row of scarecrows perched, like some new
+      species of dilapidated birds, upon the side of our late foe. The sun was
+      not so furiously hot as usual, for masses of rain-laden NIMBI were filling
+      the sky, so that we were comparatively free from the awful roasting we
+      might have expected: nor was our position as precarious for a while as
+      would be thought. True, we had only one harpoon, with its still fast line,
+      to hold on by; but the side of the whale was somehow hollowed, so that, in
+      spite of the incessant movement imparted to the carcass by the swell, we
+      sat fairly safe, with our feet in the said hollow. We discussed the
+      situation in all its bearings, unable to extract more than the faintest
+      gleam of hope from any aspect of the case. The only reasonable chance we
+      had was, that the skipper had almost certainly taken our bearings, and
+      would, we were sure, be anxiously seeking us on the course thus indicated.
+      Meanwhile, we were ravenously hungry and thirsty. Samuela and Polly set to
+      work with their sheath-knives, and soon excavated a space in the blubber
+      to enable them to reach the meat. Then they cut off some good-sized junks,
+      and divided it up. It was not half bad; and as we chewed on the tough
+      black fibre, I could hardly help smiling as I thought how queer a
+      Christmas dinner we were having. But eating soon heightened our thirst,
+      and our real sufferings then began. We could eat very little once the want
+      of drink made itself felt. Hardly two hours had elapsed, though, before
+      one of the big-bellied clouds which bad been keeping the sun off us most
+      considerately emptied out upon us a perfect torrent of rain. It filled the
+      cavity in the whale's side in a twinkling; and though the water was
+      greasy, stained with blood, and vilely flavoured, it was as welcome a
+      drink as I have ever tasted. Thus fed, and with our thirst slaked, we were
+      able to take a more hopeful view of things while the prospect of our being
+      found seemed much more probable than it had done before the rain fell.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Still, we had to endure our pillory for a long while yet. The sharks and
+      birds began to worry us, especially the former, who in their eagerness to
+      get a portion of the blubber, fought, writhed and tore at the carcass with
+      tireless energy. Once, one of the smaller ones actually came sliding up
+      right into our hollow; but Samuela and Polly promptly dispatched him with
+      a cut throat, sending him back to encourage the others. The present
+      relieved us of most of their attentions for a short time at least, as they
+      eagerly divided the remains of their late comrade among them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To while away the time we spun yarns&mdash;without much point, I am
+      afraid; and sung songs, albeit we did not feel much like singing&mdash;till
+      after a while our poor attempts at gaiety fizzled out like a damp match,
+      leaving us silent and depressed. The sun, which had been hidden for some
+      time, now came out again, his slanting beams revealing to us ominously the
+      flight of time and the near approach of night. Should darkness overtake us
+      in our present position, we all felt that saving us would need the
+      performance of a miracle; for in addition to the chances of the
+      accumulated gases within the carcass bursting it asunder, the unceasing
+      assault of the sharks made it highly doubtful whether they would not in a
+      few hours more have devoured it piecemeal. Already they had scooped out
+      some deep furrows in the solid blubber, making it easier to get hold and
+      tear off more, and their numbers were increasing so fast that the
+      surrounding sea was fairly alive with them. Lower and lower sank the sun,
+      deeper and darker grew the gloom upon our faces, till suddenly Samuela
+      leaped to his feet in our midst, and emitted a yell so ear-piercing as to
+      nearly deafen us. He saw the ship! Before two minutes had passed we all
+      saw her&mdash;God bless her!&mdash;coming down upon us like some angelic
+      messenger. There were no fears among us that we should be overlooked. We
+      knew full well how anxiously and keenly many pairs of eyes had been
+      peering over the sea in search of us, and we felt perfectly sure they had
+      sighted us long ago. On she came, gilded by the evening glow, till she
+      seemed glorified, moving in a halo of celestial light, all her homeliness
+      and clumsy build forgotten in what she then represented to us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Never before or since has a ship looked like that, to me, nor can I ever
+      forget the thankfulness, the delight, the reverence, with which I once
+      more saw her approaching. Straight down upon us she bore, rounding to
+      within a cable's length, and dropping a boat simultaneously with her
+      windward sweep. They had no whale&mdash;well for us they had not. In five
+      minutes we were on board, while our late resting-place was being hauled
+      alongside with great glee.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captain shook hands with me cordially, pooh-poohing the loss of the
+      boat as an unavoidable incident of the trade, but expressing his
+      heart-felt delight at getting us all back safe. The whale we had killed
+      was ample compensation for the loss of several boats, though such was the
+      vigour with which the sharks were going for him, that it was deemed
+      advisable to cut in at once, working all night. We who had been rescued,
+      however, were summarily ordered below by the skipper, and forbidden, on
+      pain of his severe displeasure, to reappear until the following morning.
+      This great privilege we gladly availed ourselves of, awaking at daylight
+      quite well and fit, not a bit the worse for our queer experience of the
+      previous day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whale proved a great acquisition, for although not nearly so large as
+      many we had caught, he was so amazingly rich in blubber that he actually
+      yielded twelve and a half tuns of oil, in spite of the heavy toll taken of
+      him by the hungry multitudes of sharks. In addition to the oil, we were
+      fortunate enough to secure a lump of ambergris, dislodged perhaps by the
+      explosion of my bomb in the animal's bowels. It was nearly black, wax-like
+      to the touch, and weighed seven pounds and a half. At the current price,
+      it would be worth about L200, so that, taken altogether, the whale very
+      nearly approached in value the largest one we had yet caught. I had almost
+      omitted to state that incorporated with the substance of the ambergris
+      were several of the horny cuttle-fish beaks, which, incapable of being
+      digested, had become in some manner part of this peculiar product.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XX. "HUMPBACKING" AT VAU VAU
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Another three weeks' cruising brought us to the end of the season on the
+      line, which had certainly not answered all our expectations, although we
+      had perceptibly increased the old barky's draught during our stay. Whether
+      from love of change or belief in the possibilities of a good haul, I can
+      hardly say, but Captain Count decided to make the best of his way south,
+      to the middle group of the "Friendly" Archipelago, known as Vau Vau, the
+      other portions being called Hapai and Tongataboo respectively, for a
+      season's "humpbacking." From all I could gather, we were likely to have a
+      good time there, so I looked forward to the visit with a great deal of
+      pleasurable anticipation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were bound to make a call at Vau Vau, in any case, to discharge our
+      Kanakas shipped at Honolulu, although I fervently hoped to be able to keep
+      my brave harpooner Samuela. So when I heard of our destination, I sounded
+      him cautiously as to his wishes in the matter, finding that, while he was
+      both pleased with and proud of his position on board, he was longing
+      greatly for his own orange grove and the embraces of a certain tender
+      "fafine" that he averred was there awaiting him. With such excellent
+      reasons for his leaving us, I could but forbear to persuade him,
+      sympathizing with him too deeply to wish him away from such joys as he
+      described to me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So we bade farewell to the line grounds, and commenced another stretch to
+      the south, another milestone, as it were, on the long road home. Prosaic
+      and uneventful to the last degree was our passage, the only incident worth
+      recording being our "gamming" of the PASSAMAQUODDY, of Martha's Vineyard,
+      South Sea whaler; eighteen months out, with one thousand barrels of sperm
+      oil on board. We felt quite veterans alongside of her crew, and our yarns
+      laid over theirs to such an extent that they were quite disgusted at their
+      lack of experience. Some of them had known our late skipper, but none of
+      them had a good word for him, the old maxim, "Speak nothing but good of
+      the dead," being most flagrantly set at nought. One of her crew was a
+      Whitechapelian, who had been roving about the world for a good many years.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Amongst other experiences, he had, after "jumping the bounty" two or three
+      times, found himself a sergeant in the Federal Army before Gettysburg.
+      During that most bloody battle, he informed me that a "Reb" drew a bead on
+      him at about a dozen yards' distance, and fired, He said he felt just as
+      if somebody had punched him in the chest, and knocked him flat on his back
+      on top of a sharp stone&mdash;no pain at all, nor any further recollection
+      of what had happened, until he found himself at the base, in hospital.
+      When the surgeons came to examine him for the bullet, they found that it
+      had struck the broad brass plate of his cross-belt fairly in the middle,
+      penetrating it and shattering his breast bone. But after torturing him
+      vilely with the probe, they were about to give up the search in despair,
+      when he told them he felt a pain in his back. Examining the spot indicated
+      by him, they found a bullet just beneath the skin, which a touch with the
+      knife allowed to tumble out. Further examination revealed the strange fact
+      that the bullet, after striking his breast-bone, had glanced aside and
+      travelled round his body just beneath the skin, without doing him any
+      further harm. In proof of his story, he showed me the two scars and the
+      perforated buckle-plate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At another time, being in charge of a picket of Germans, he and his
+      command were captured by a party of Confederates, who haled him before
+      their colonel, a southern gentleman of the old school. In the course of
+      his interrogation by the southern officer, he was asked where he hailed
+      from. He replied, "London, England." "Then," said the colonel, "how is it
+      you find yourself fighting for these accursed Yankees?" The cockney
+      faltered out some feeble excuse or another, which his captor cut short by
+      saying, "I've a great respect for the English, and consequently I'll let
+      you go this time. But if ever I catch you again, you're gone up. As for
+      those d&mdash;&mdash;-d Dutchmen, they'll be strung up inside of five
+      minutes." And they were.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So with yarn, song, and dance, the evening passed pleasantly away; while
+      the two old hookers jogged amicably along side by side, like two
+      market-horses whose drivers are having a friendly crack. Along about
+      midnight we exchanged crews again, and parted with many expressions of
+      good-will&mdash;we to the southward, she to the eastward, for some
+      particular preserve believed in by her commander.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In process of time we made the land of Vau Vau, a picturesque, densely
+      wooded, and in many places precipitous, group of islands, the approach
+      being singularly free from dangers in the shape of partly hidden reefs.
+      Long and intricate were the passages we threaded, until we finally came to
+      anchor in a lovely little bay perfectly sheltered from all winds. We
+      moored, within a mile of a dazzling white beach, in twelve fathoms. A few
+      native houses embowered in orange and cocoa-nut trees showed here and
+      there, while the two horns of the bay were steep-to, and covered with
+      verdure almost down to the water's edge. The anchor was hardly down before
+      a perfect fleet of canoes flocked around us, all carrying the familiar
+      balancing outrigger, without which those narrow dugouts cannot possibly
+      keep upright. Their occupants swarmed on board, laughing and playing like
+      so many children, and with all sorts of winning gestures and tones
+      besought our friendship. "You my flem?" was the one question which all
+      asked; but what its import might be we could not guess for some time.
+      By-and-by it appeared that when once you had agreed to accept a native for
+      your "flem," or friend, he from henceforward felt in duty bound to attend
+      to all your wants which it lay within his power to supply. This important
+      preliminary settled, fruit and provisions of various kinds appeared as if
+      by magic. Huge baskets of luscious oranges, massive bunches of gold and
+      green bananas, clusters of green cocoa-nuts, conch-shells full of
+      chillies, fowls loudly protesting against their hard fate, gourds full of
+      eggs, and a few vociferous swine&mdash;all came tumbling on board in
+      richest profusion, and, strangest thing of all, not a copper was asked in
+      return. I might have as truly said nothing was asked, since money must
+      have been useless here. Many women came alongside, but none climbed on
+      board. Surprised at this, I asked Samuela the reason, as soon as I could
+      disengage him for a few moments from the caresses of his friends. He
+      informed me that the ladies' reluctance to favour us with their society
+      was owing to their being in native dress, which it is punishable to appear
+      in among white men, the punishment consisting of a rather heavy fine. Even
+      the men and boys, I noticed, before they ventured to climb on board,
+      stayed a while to put on trousers, or what did duty for those useful
+      articles of dress. At any rate, they were all clothed, not merely
+      enwrapped with a fold or two of "tapa," the native bark-cloth, but made
+      awkward and ugly by dilapidated shirts and pants.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She was a busy ship for the rest of that day. The anchor down, sails
+      furled and decks swept, the rest of the time was our own, and high jinks
+      were the result. The islanders were amiability personified, merry as
+      children, nor did I see or hear one quarrelsome individual among them.
+      While we were greedily devouring the delicious fruit, which was piled on
+      deck in mountainous quantities, they encouraged us, telling us that the
+      trees ashore were breaking down under their loads, and what a pity it was
+      that there were so few to eat such bountiful supplies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were, it appeared, the first whale-ship that had anchored there that
+      year, and, in that particular bay where we lay, no vessel had moored for
+      over two years. An occasional schooner from Sydney called at the "town"
+      about ten miles away, where the viceroy's house was, and at the present
+      time of speaking one of Godeffroi's Hamburg ships was at anchor there,
+      taking in an accumulation of copra from her agent's store. But the natives
+      all spoke of her with a shrug&mdash;"No like Tashman. Tashman no good."
+      Why, I could not ascertain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our Kanakas had promised to remain with us till our departure for the
+      south, so, hard as it seemed to them, they were not allowed to go ashore,
+      in case they might not come back, and leave us short-handed. But as their
+      relatives and friends could visit them whenever they felt inclined, the
+      restriction did not hurt them much. The next day, being Sunday, all hands
+      were allowed liberty to go ashore by turns (except the Kanakas), with
+      strict injunctions to molest no one, but to behave as if in a big town
+      guarded by policemen. As no money could be spent, none was given, and,
+      best of all, it was impossible to procure any intoxicating liquor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our party got ashore about 9.30, but not a soul was visible either on the
+      beach or in the sun-lit paths which led through the forest inland. Here
+      and there a house, with doors wide open, stood in its little cleared
+      space, silent and deserted. It was like a country without inhabitants.
+      Presently, however, a burst of melody arrested us, and borne upon the
+      scented breeze came oh, so sweetly!&mdash;the well-remembered notes of
+      "Hollingside." Hurriedly getting behind a tree, I let myself go, and had a
+      perfectly lovely, soul-refreshing cry. Reads funny, doesn't it? Sign of
+      weakness perhaps. But when childish memories come back upon one
+      torrent-like in the swell of a hymn or the scent of the hawthorn, it seems
+      to me that the flood-gates open without you having anything to do with it.
+      When I was a little chap in the Lock Chapel choir, before the evil days
+      came, that tune was my favourite; and when I heard it suddenly come
+      welling up out of the depths of the forest, my heart just stood still for
+      a moment, and then the tears came. Queer idea, perhaps, to some people;
+      but I do not know when I enjoyed myself so much as I did just then, except
+      when a boy of sixteen home from a voyage, and strolling along the
+      Knightsbridge Road, I "happened" into the Albert Hall. I did not in the
+      least know what was coming; the notices on the bills did not mean anything
+      to me; but I paid my shilling, and went up into the gallery. I had hardly
+      edged myself into a corner by the refreshment-stall, when a great breaker
+      of sound caught me, hurled me out of time, thought, and sense in one
+      intolerable ecstasy&mdash;"For unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is
+      given"&mdash;again and again&mdash;billows and billows of glory. I gasped
+      for breath, shook like one in an ague fit; the tears ran down in a
+      continuous stream; while people stared amazed at me, thinking, I suppose,
+      that I was another drunken sailor. Well, I was drunk, helplessly
+      intoxicated, but not with drink, with something Divine, untellable, which,
+      coming upon me unprepared, simply swept me away with it into a heaven of
+      delight, to which only tears could testify.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But I am in the bush, whimpering over the tones of "Hollingside." As soon
+      as I had pulled myself together a bit, we went on again in the direction
+      of the sound, Presently we came to a large clearing, in the middle of
+      which stood a neat wooden, pandanus-thatched church. There were no doors
+      or windows to it, just a roof supported upon posts, but a wide verandah
+      ran all round, upon the edge of which we seated ourselves; for the place
+      was full&mdash;full to suffocation, every soul within miles, I should
+      think, being there. No white man was present, but the service, which was a
+      sort of prayer-meeting, went with a swing and go that was wonderful to
+      see. There was no perfunctory worship here; no one languidly enduring it
+      because it was "the right sort of thing to show up at, you know;" but all
+      were in earnest, terribly in earnest. When they sang, it behoved us to get
+      away to a little distance, for the vigour of the voices, unless mellowed
+      by distance, made the music decidedly harsh. Every one was dressed in
+      European clothing&mdash;the women in neat calico gowns; but the men,
+      nearly all of them, in woollen shirts, pilot-coats, and trousers to match,
+      and sea-boots! Whew! it nearly stifled me to look at them. The temperature
+      was about ninety degrees in the shade, with hardly a breath of air
+      stirring, yet those poor people, from some mistaken notion of propriety,
+      were sweating in torrents under that Arctic rig. However they could
+      worship, I do not know! At last the meeting broke up. The men rushed out,
+      tore off their coats, trousers, and shirts, and flung themselves panting
+      upon the grass, mother-naked, except for a chaplet of cocoanut leaves,
+      formed by threading them on a vine-tendril, and hanging round the waist.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Squatting by the side of my "flem," whom I had recognized, I asked him why
+      ever he outraged all reason by putting on such clothes in this boiling
+      weather. He looked at me pityingly for a moment before he replied, "You go
+      chapella Belitani? No put bes' close on top?" "Yes," I said; "but in hot
+      weather put on thin clothes; cold weather, put on thick ones." "S'pose no
+      got more?" he said, meaning, I presumed, more than the one suit. "Well," I
+      said, "more better stop 'way than look like big fool, boil all away, same
+      like duff in pot. You savvy duff?" He smiled a wide comprehensive smile,
+      but looked very solemn again, saying directly, "You no go chapella; you no
+      mishnally. No mishnally [missionary=godly]; very bad. Me no close; no go
+      chapella; vely bad. Evelly tangata, evelly fafine, got close all same
+      papalang [every man and woman has clothes like a white man]; go chapella
+      all day Sunday." That this was no figure of speech I proved fully that
+      day, for I declare that the recess between any of the services never
+      lasted more than an hour. Meanwhile the worshippers did not return to
+      their homes, for in many cases they had journeyed twenty or thirty miles,
+      but lay about in the verdure, refreshing themselves with fruit,
+      principally the delightful green cocoa-nuts, which furnish meat and drink
+      both&mdash;cool and refreshing in the extreme, as well as nourishing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were all heartily welcome to whatever was going, but there was a
+      general air of restraint, a fear of breaking the Sabbath, which prevented
+      us from trespassing too much upon the hospitality of these devout children
+      of the sun. So we contented ourselves with strolling through the beautiful
+      glades and woods, lying down, whenever we felt weary, under the shade of
+      some spreading orange tree loaded with golden fruit, and eating our fill,
+      or rather eating until the smarting of our lips warned us to desist. Here
+      was a land where, apparently, all people were honest, for we saw a great
+      many houses whose owners were absent, not one of which was closed,
+      although many had a goodly store of such things as a native might be
+      supposed to covet. At last, not being able to rid ourselves of the feeling
+      that we were doing something wrong, the solemn silence and Sundayfied air
+      of the whole region seeming to forbid any levity even in the most innocent
+      manner, we returned on board again, wonderfully impressed with what we had
+      seen, but wondering what would have happened if some of the ruffianly
+      crowds composing the crews of many ships had been let loose upon this fair
+      island.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the evening we lowered a stage over the bows to the water's edge, and
+      had a swimming-match, the water being perfectly delightful, after the
+      great heat of the day, in its delicious freshness; and so to bunk, well
+      pleased indeed with our first Sunday in Vau Vau.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I have no doubt whatever that some of the gentry who swear at large about
+      the evils of missionaries would have been loud in their disgust at the
+      entire absence of drink and debauchery, and the prevalence of what they
+      would doubtless characterize as adjective hypocrisy on the part of the
+      natives; but no decent man could help rejoicing at the peace, the
+      security, and friendliness manifested on every hand, nor help awarding
+      unstinted praise to whoever had been the means of bringing about so
+      desirable a state of things. I felt that their Sabbatarianism was carried
+      to excess; that they would have been better, not worse, for a little less
+      church, and a little more innocent fun; but ten thousand times better thus
+      than such scenes of lust let loose and abandoned animalism as we witnessed
+      at Honolulu. What pleased me mightily was the absence of the white man
+      with his air of superiority and sleek overlordship. All the worship, all
+      the management of affairs, was entirely in the hands of the natives
+      themselves, and excellently well did they manage everything.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I shall never forget once going ashore in a somewhat similar place, but
+      very far distant, one Sunday morning, to visit the mission station. It was
+      a Church mission, and a very handsome building the church was. By the side
+      of it stood the parsonage, a beautiful bungalow, nestling in a perfect
+      paradise of tropical flowers. The somewhat intricate service was
+      conducted, and the sermon preached, entirely by natives&mdash;very
+      creditably too. After service I strolled into the parsonage to see the
+      reverend gentleman in charge, whom I found supporting his burden in a long
+      chair, with a tall glass of brandy and soda within easy reach, a fine
+      cigar between his lips, and a late volume of Ouida's in his hand. All very
+      pleasant and harmless, no doubt, but hardly reconcilable with the ideal
+      held up in missionary magazines. Yet I have no doubt whatever that this
+      gentleman would have been heartily commended by the very men who can
+      hardly find words harsh enough to express their opinion of missionaries of
+      the stamp of Paton, Williams, Moffat, and Mackenzie.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Well, it is highly probable&mdash;nay, almost certain, that I shall be
+      accused of drawing an idyllic picture of native life from first
+      impressions, which, if I had only had sufficient subsequent experience
+      among the people, I should have entirely altered. All I can say is, that
+      although I did not live among them ashore, we had a number of them on
+      board; we lay in the island harbour five months, during which I was ashore
+      nearly every day, and from habit I observed them very closely; yet I
+      cannot conscientiously alter one syllable of what I have written
+      concerning them. Bad men and women there were, of course, to be found&mdash;as
+      where not?&mdash;but the badness, in whatever form, was not allowed to
+      flaunt itself, and was so sternly discountenanced by public (entirely
+      native) opinion, that it required a good deal of interested seeking to
+      find.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But after all this chatter about my amiable friends, I find myself in
+      danger of forgetting the purpose of our visit. We lost no time in
+      preparation, since whaling of whatever sort is conducted in these ships on
+      precisely similar lines, but on Monday morning, at daybreak, after a
+      hurried breakfast, lowered all boats and commenced the campaign. We were
+      provided with boxes&mdash;one for each boat&mdash;containing a light
+      luncheon, but no ordered meal, because it was not considered advisable to
+      in any way hamper the boat's freedom to chase. Still, in consideration of
+      its being promptly dumped overboard on attacking a whale, a goodly
+      quantity of fruit was permitted in the boats.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the calm beauty of the pearly dawn, with a gentle hush over all nature,
+      the lofty, tree-clad hills reflected with startling fidelity in the
+      glassy, many-coloured waters, the only sound audible the occasional
+      cra-a-ake of the advance-guard of a flight of fruit-bats (PECA) homeward
+      from their nocturnal depredations, we shipped our oars and started,
+      pulling to a certain position whence we could see over an immense area.
+      Immediately upon rounding the horn of our sheltered bay, the fresh breeze
+      of the south-east trades met us right on end with a vigour that made a
+      ten-mile steady pull against it somewhat of a breather. Arriving at the
+      station indicated by the chief, we set sail, and, separating as far as
+      possible without losing sight of each other, settled down for the day's
+      steady cruise. Anything more delightful than that excursion to those who
+      love seashore scenery combined with boat-sailing would be difficult to
+      name. Every variety of landscape, every shape of strait, bay, or estuary,
+      reefs awash, reefs over which we could sail, ablaze with loveliness
+      inexpressible; a steady, gentle, caressing breeze, and overhead one
+      unvarying canopy of deepest blue. Sometimes, when skirting the base of
+      some tremendous cliffs, great caution was necessary, for at one moment
+      there would obtain a calm, death-like in its stillness; the next, down
+      through a canyon cleaving the mountain to the water's edge would come
+      rushing with a shrill howl, a blast fierce enough to almost lift us out of
+      the water. Away we would scud with flying sheets dead before it, in a
+      smother of spray, but would hardly get full way on her before it was gone,
+      leaving us in the same hush as before, only a dark patch on the water far
+      to leeward marking its swift rush. These little diversions gave us no uneasiness,
+      for it was an unknown thing to make a sheet fast in one of our boats, so
+      that a puff of wind never caught us unprepared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On that first day we seemed to explore such a variety of stretches of
+      water that one would hardly have expected there could be any more
+      discoveries to make in that direction. Nevertheless, each day's cruise
+      subsequently revealed to us some new nook or other, some quiet haven or
+      pretty passage between islands that, until closely approached, looked like
+      one. When, at sunset, we returned to the ship, not having seen anything
+      like a spout, I felt like one who had been in a dream, the day's cruise
+      having surpassed all my previous experience. Yet it was but the precursor
+      of many such. Oftentimes I think of those halcyon days, with a sigh of
+      regret that they can never more be renewed to me; but I rejoice to think
+      that nothing can rob me of the memory of them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Much to the discomfort of the skipper, it was four days before a solitary
+      spout was seen, and then it was so nearly dark that before the fish could
+      be reached it was impossible to distinguish her whereabouts. A careful
+      bearing was taken of the spot, in the hope that she might be lingering in
+      the vicinity next morning, and we hastened on board.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before it was fairly light we lowered, and paddled as swiftly as possible
+      to the bay where we had last seen the spout overnight. When near the spot
+      we rested on our paddles a while, all hands looking out with intense
+      eagerness for the first sign of the whale's appearance. There was a
+      strange feeling among us of unlawfulness and stealth, as of ambushed
+      pirates waiting to attack some unwary merchantman, or highwaymen waylaying
+      a fat alderman on a country road. We spoke in whispers, for the morning
+      was so still that a voice raised but ordinarily would have reverberated
+      among the rocks which almost overhung us, multiplied indefinitely. A
+      turtle rose ghost-like to the surface at my side, lifting his queer head,
+      and, surveying us with stony gaze, vanished as silently as he came.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What a sigh! One looked at the other inquiringly, but the repetition of
+      that long expiration satisfied us all that it was the placid breathing of
+      the whale we sought somewhere close at hand, The light grew rapidly
+      better, and we strained our eyes in every direction to discover the
+      whereabouts of our friend, but, for some minutes without result. There was
+      a ripple just audible, and away glided the mate's boat right for the near
+      shore. Following him with our eyes, we almost immediately beheld a pale,
+      shadowy column of white, shimmering against the dark mass of the cliff not
+      a quarter of a mile away. Dipping our paddles with the utmost care, we
+      made after the chief, almost holding our breath. His harpooner rose,
+      darted once, twice, then gave a yell of triumph that ran re-echoing all
+      around in a thousand eerie vibrations, startling the drowsy PECA in
+      myriads from where they hung in inverted clusters on the trees above. But,
+      for all the notice taken by the whale, she might never have been touched.
+      Close nestled to her side was a youngling of not more, certainly, than
+      five days old, which sent up its baby-spout every now and then about two
+      feet into the air. One long, wing-like fin embraced its small body,
+      holding it close to the massive breast of the tender mother, whose only
+      care seemed to be to protect her young, utterly regardless of her own pain
+      and danger. If sentiment were ever permitted to interfere with such
+      operations as ours, it might well have done so now; for while the calf
+      continually sought to escape from the enfolding fin, making all sorts of
+      puny struggles in the attempt, the mother scarcely moved from her
+      position, although streaming with blood from a score of wounds. Once,
+      indeed, as a deep-searching thrust entered her very vitals, she raised her
+      massy flukes high in air with an apparently involuntary movement of agony;
+      but even in that dire throe she remembered the possible danger to her
+      young one, and laid the tremendous weapon as softly down upon the water as
+      if it were a feather fan.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So in the most perfect quiet, with scarcely a writhe, nor any sign of
+      flurry, she died, holding the calf to her side until her last vital spark
+      had fled, and left it to a swift despatch with a single lance-thrust. No
+      slaughter of a lamb ever looked more like murder. Nor, when the vast bulk
+      and strength of the animal was considered, could a mightier example have
+      been given of the force and quality of maternal love.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole business was completed in half an hour from the first sight of
+      her, and by the mate's hand alone, none of the other boats needing to use
+      their gear. As soon as she was dead, a hole was bored through the lips,
+      into which a tow-line was secured, the two long fins were lashed close
+      into the sides of the animal by an encircling line, the tips of the flukes
+      were cut off, and away we started for the ship. We had an eight-mile tow
+      in the blazing sun, which we accomplished in a little over eight, hours,
+      arriving at the vessel just before two p.m. News of our coming had
+      preceded us, and the whole native population appeared to be afloat to make
+      us welcome. The air rang again with their shouts of rejoicing, for our
+      catch represented to them a gorgeous feast, such as they had not indulged
+      in for many a day. The flesh of the humpbacked whale is not at all bad,
+      being but little inferior to that of the porpoise; so that, as these
+      people do not despise even the coarse rank flesh of the cachalot, their
+      enthusiasm was natural. Their offers of help were rather embarrassing to
+      us, as we could find little room for any of them in the boats, and the
+      canoes only got in our way. Unable to assist us, they vented their
+      superfluous energies on the whale in the most astounding aquatic antics
+      imaginable&mdash;diving under it; climbing on to it; pushing and rolling
+      each other headlong over its broad back; shrieking all the while with the
+      frantic, uncontrollable laughter of happy children freed from all
+      restraint. Men, women, and children all mixed in this wild, watery spree;
+      and as to any of them getting drowned, the idea was utterly absurd.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we got it alongside, and prepared to cut in, all the chaps were able
+      to have a rest, there were so many eager volunteers to man the windlass,
+      not only willing but, under the able direction of their compatriots
+      belonging to our crew, quite equal to the work of heaving in blubber. All
+      their habitual indolence was cast aside. Toiling like Trojans, they made
+      the old windlass rattle again as they spun the brakes up and down, every
+      blanket-piece being hailed with a fresh volley of eldritch shrieks, enough
+      to alarm a deaf and dumb asylum.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With such ample aid, it was, as may be supposed a brief task to skin our
+      prize, although the strange arrangement of the belly blubber caused us to
+      lift some disappointing lengths. This whale has the blubber underneath the
+      body lying in longitudinal corrugations, which, when hauled off the
+      carcass at right angles to their direction, stretch out flat to four or
+      five times their normal area. Thus, when the cutting-blocks had reached
+      their highest limit, and the piece was severed from the body, the folds
+      flew together again leaving dangling aloft but a miserable square of some
+      four or five feet, instead of a fine "blanket" of blubber twenty by five.
+      Along the edges of these RUGAE, as also upon the rim of the lower jaw,
+      abundance of limpets and barnacles had attached themselves, some of the
+      former large as a horse's hoof, and causing prodigious annoyance to the
+      toiling carpenter, whose duty it was to keep the spades ground. It was no
+      unusual thing for a spade to be handed in with two or three gaps in its
+      edge half an inch deep, where they had accidentally come across one of
+      those big pieces of flinty shell, undistinguishable from the grey
+      substance of the belly blubber.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But, in spite of these drawbacks, in less than ninety minutes the last cut
+      was reached, the vertebra severed, and away went the great mass of meat,
+      in tow of countless canoes, to an adjacent point, where, in eager
+      anticipation, fires were already blazing for the coming cookery. An
+      enormous number of natives had gathered from far and near, late arrivals
+      continually dropping in from all points of the compass with breathless
+      haste. No danger of going short need have troubled them, for, large as
+      were their numbers, the supply was evidently fully equal to all demands.
+      All night long the feast proceeded, and, even when morning dawned, busy
+      figures were still discernible coming and going between the reduced
+      carcass and the fires, as if determined to make an end of it before their
+      operations ceased.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXI. PROGRESS OF THE "HUMPBACK" SEASON
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      It will probably be inferred from the foregoing paragraph that we were
+      little troubled with visits from the natives next day; but it would be
+      doing them an injustice if I omitted to state that our various "flems" put
+      in an appearance as usual with their daily offerings of fruit, vegetables,
+      etc. They all presented a somewhat jaded and haggard look, as of men who
+      had dined not wisely but too well, nor did the odour of stale whale-meat
+      that clung to them add to their attractions. Repentance for excesses or
+      gluttony did not seem to trouble them, for they evidently considered it
+      would have been a sin not to take with both hands the gifts the gods had
+      so bountifully provided. Still, they did not stay long, feeling, no doubt,
+      sore need of a prolonged rest after their late arduous exertions; so,
+      after affectionate farewells, they left us again to our greasy task of
+      trying-out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The cow proved exceedingly fat, making us, though by no means a large
+      specimen, fully fifty barrels of oil. The whalebone (baleen) was so short
+      as to be not worth the trouble of curing, so, with the exception of such
+      pieces as were useful to the "scrimshoners" for ornamenting their
+      nicknacks, it was not preserved. On the evening of the third day the work
+      was so far finished that we were able to go ashore for clothes-washing,
+      which necessary process was accompanied with a good deal of fun and
+      hilarity. In the morning cruising was resumed again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a couple of days we met with no success, although we had a very
+      aggravating chase after some smart bulls we fell in with, to our mutual
+      astonishment, just as we rounded a point of the outermost island. They
+      were lazily sunning themselves close under the lee of the cliffs, which at
+      that point were steep-to, having a depth of about twenty fathoms close
+      alongside. A fresh breeze was blowing, so we came round the point at a
+      great pace, being almost among them before they had time to escape. They
+      went away gaily along the land, not attempting to get seaward, we
+      straining every nerve to get alongside of them. Whether they were
+      tantalizing us or not, I cannot say, but certainly it looked like it. In
+      spite of their well-known speed, we were several times so close in their
+      wake that the harpooners loosed the tacks of the jibs to get a clear shot;
+      but as they did so the nimble monsters shot ahead a length or two, leaving
+      us just out of reach. It was a fine chase while it lasted, though
+      annoying; yet one could hardly help feeling amused at the way they
+      wallowed along&mdash;just like a school of exaggerated porpoises. At last,
+      after nearly two hours of the fun, they seemed to have had enough of it,
+      and with one accord headed seaward at a greatly accelerated pace, as who
+      should say, "Well, s' long, boys; company's very pleasant and all that,
+      but we've got important business over at Fiji, and can't stay fooling
+      around here any longer." In a quarter of an hour they were out of sight,
+      leaving us disgusted and outclassed pursuers sneaking back again to
+      shelter, feeling very small. Not that we could have had much hope of
+      success under the circumstances, knowing the peculiar habits of the
+      humpback and the almost impossibility of competing with him in the open
+      sea; but they had lured us on to forget all these things in the ardour of
+      the chase, and then exposed our folly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then ensued a week or two of uneventful cruising, broken only by the
+      capture of a couple of cows&mdash;one just after the fruitless chase
+      mentioned above, and one several days later. These events, though
+      interesting enough to us, were marked by no such deviation from the
+      ordinary course as to make them worthy of special attention; nor do I
+      think that the cold-blooded killing of a cow-whale, who dies patiently
+      endeavouring to protect her young, is a subject that lends itself to
+      eulogium.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, just when the delightful days were beginning to pall upon us, a
+      real adventure befell us, which, had we been attending strictly to
+      business, we should not have encountered. For a week previous we had been
+      cruising constantly without ever seeing a spout, except those belonging to
+      whales out at sea, whither we knew it was folly to follow them. We tried
+      all sorts of games to while away the time, which certainly did hang heavy,
+      the most popular of which was for the whole crew of the boat to strip,
+      and, getting overboard, be towed along at the ends of short warps, while I
+      sailed her. It was quite mythological&mdash;a sort of rude reproduction of
+      Neptune and his attendant Tritons. At last, one afternoon as we were
+      listlessly lolling (half asleep, except the look-out man) across the
+      thwarts, we suddenly came upon a gorge between two cliffs that we must
+      have passed before several times unnoticed. At a certain angle it opened,
+      disclosing a wide sheet of water, extending a long distance ahead. I put
+      the helm up, and we ran through the passage, finding it about a boat's
+      length in width and several fathoms deep, though overhead the cliffs
+      nearly came together in places. Within, the scene was very beautiful, but
+      not more so than many similar ones we had previously witnessed. Still, as
+      the place was new to us, our languor was temporarily dispelled, and we
+      paddled along, taking in every feature of the shores with keen eyes that
+      let nothing escape. After we had gone on in this placid manner for maybe
+      an hour, we suddenly came to a stupendous cliff&mdash;that is, for those
+      parts&mdash;rising almost sheer from the water for about a thousand feet.
+      Of itself it would not have arrested our attention, but at its base was a
+      semicircular opening, like the mouth of a small tunnel. This looked
+      alluring, so I headed the boat for it, passing through a deep channel
+      between two reefs which led straight to the opening. There was ample room
+      for us to enter, as we had lowered the mast; but just as we were passing
+      through, a heave of the unnoticed swell lifted us unpleasantly near the
+      crown of this natural arch. Beneath us, at a great depth, the bottom could
+      be dimly discerned, the water being of the richest blue conceivable, which
+      the sun, striking down through, resolved into some most marvellous
+      colour-schemes in the path of its rays. A delicious sense of coolness,
+      after the fierce heat outside, saluted us as we entered a vast hall, whose
+      roof rose to a minimum height of forty feet, but in places could not be
+      seen at all. A sort of diffused light, weak, but sufficient to reveal the
+      general contour of the place, existed, let in, I supposed, through some
+      unseen crevices in the roof or walls. At first, of course, to our eyes
+      fresh from the fierce glare outside, the place seemed wrapped in
+      impenetrable gloom, and we dared not stir lest we should run into some
+      hidden danger. Before many minutes, however, the gloom lightened as our
+      pupils enlarged, so that, although the light was faint, we could find our
+      way about with ease. We spoke in low tones, for the echoes were so
+      numerous and resonant that even a whisper gave back from those massy walls
+      in a series of recurring hisses, as if a colony of snakes had been
+      disturbed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We paddled on into the interior of this vast cave, finding everywhere the
+      walls rising sheer from the silent, dark waters, not a ledge or a crevice
+      where one might gain foothold. Indeed, in some places there was a
+      considerable overhang from above, as if a great dome whose top was
+      invisible sprang from some level below the water. We pushed ahead until
+      the tiny semicircle of light through which we had entered was only faintly
+      visible; and then, finding there was nothing to be seen except what we
+      were already witnessing, unless we cared to go on into the thick darkness,
+      which extended apparently into the bowels of the mountain, we turned and
+      started to go back. Do what we would, we could not venture to break the
+      solemn hush that surrounded us as if we were shut within the dome of some
+      vast cathedral in the twilight, So we paddled noiselessly along for the
+      exit, till suddenly an awful, inexplicable roar set all our hearts
+      thumping fit to break our bosoms. Really, the sensation was most painful,
+      especially as we had not the faintest idea whence the noise came or what
+      had produced it. Again it filled that immense cave with its thunderous
+      reverberations; but this time all the sting was taken out of it, as we
+      caught sight of its author. A goodly bull-humpback had found his way in
+      after us, and the sound of his spout, exaggerated a thousand times in the
+      confinement of that mighty cavern, had frightened us all so that we nearly
+      lost our breath. So far, so good; but, unlike the old nigger, though we
+      were "doin' blame well," we did not "let blame well alone." The next spout
+      that intruder gave, he was right alongside of us. This was too much for
+      the semi-savage instincts of my gallant harpooner, and before I had time
+      to shout a caution he had plunged his weapon deep into old Blowhard's
+      broad back.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I should like to describe what followed, but, in the first place, I hardly
+      know; and, in the next, even had I been cool and collected, my
+      recollections would sound like the ravings of a fevered dream. For of all
+      the hideous uproars conceivable, that was, I should think, about the
+      worst. The big mammal seemed to have gone frantic with the pain of his
+      wound, the surprise of the attack, and the hampering confinement in which
+      he found himself. His tremendous struggles caused such a commotion that
+      our position could only be compared to that of men shooting Niagara in a
+      cylinder at night. How we kept afloat, I do not know. Some one had the
+      gumption to cut the line, so that by the radiation of the disturbance we
+      presently found ourselves close to the wall, and trying to hold the boat
+      in to it with our finger-tips. Would he never be quiet? we thought, as the
+      thrashing, banging, and splashing still went on with unfailing vigour. At
+      last, in, I suppose, one supreme effort to escape, he leaped clear of the
+      water like a salmon. There was a perceptible hush, during which we shrank
+      together like unfledged chickens on a frosty night; then, in a
+      never-to-be-forgotten crash that ought to have brought down the massy
+      roof, that mountainous carcass fell. The consequent violent upheaval of
+      the water should have smashed the boat against the rocky walls, but that
+      final catastrophe was mercifully spared us. I suppose the rebound was
+      sufficient to keep us a safe distance off.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A perfect silence succeeded, during which we sat speechless, awaiting a
+      resumption of the clamour. At last Abner broke the heavy silence by
+      saying, "I doan' see the do'way any mo' at all, sir." He was right. The
+      tide had risen, and that half-moon of light had disappeared, so that we
+      were now prisoners for many hours, it not being at all probable that we
+      should be able to find our way out during the night ebb. Well, we were not
+      exactly children, to be afraid of the dark, although there is considerable
+      difference between the velvety darkness of a dungeon and the clear, fresh
+      night of the open air. Still, as long as that beggar of a whale would only
+      keep quiet or leave the premises, we should be fairly comfortable. We
+      waited and waited until an hour had passed, and then came to the
+      conclusion that our friend was either dead or gone out, as he gave no sign
+      of his presence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That being settled, we anchored the boat, and lit pipes, preparatory to
+      passing as comfortable a night as might be under the circumstances, the
+      only thing troubling me being the anxiety of the skipper on our behalf.
+      Presently the blackness beneath was lit up by a wide band of phosphoric
+      light, shed in the wake of no ordinary-sized fish, probably an immense
+      shark. Another and another followed in rapid succession, until the depths
+      beneath were all ablaze with brilliant foot-wide ribands of green glare,
+      dazzling to the eye and bewildering to the brain. Occasionally, a gentle
+      splash or ripple alongside, or a smart tap on the bottom of the boat,
+      warned us how thick the concourse was that had gathered below. Until that
+      weariness which no terror is proof against set in, sleep was impossible,
+      nor could we keep our anxious gaze from that glowing inferno beneath,
+      where one would have thought all the population of Tartarus were holding
+      high revel. Mercifully, at last we sank into a fitful slumber, though
+      fully aware of the great danger of our position. One upward rush of any of
+      those ravening monsters, happening to strike the frail shell of our boat,
+      and a few fleeting seconds would have sufficed for our obliteration as if
+      we had never been.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the terrible night passed away, and once more we saw the tender,
+      irridescent light stream into that abode of dread. As the day
+      strengthened, we were able to see what was going on below, and a grim
+      vision it presented. The water was literally alive with sharks of enormous
+      size, tearing with never ceasing energy at the huge carcass of the whale
+      lying on the bottom, who had met his fate in a singular but not unheard-of
+      way. At that last titanic effort of his he had rushed downward with such
+      terrific force that, striking his head on the bottom, he had broken his
+      neck. I felt very grieved that we had lost the chance of securing him; but
+      it was perfectly certain that before we could get help to raise him, all
+      that would be left of his skeleton would be quite valueless to us. So with
+      such patience as we could command we waited near the entrance until the
+      receding ebb made it possible for us to emerge once more into the blessed
+      light of day. I was horrified at the haggard, careworn appearance of my
+      crew, who had all, excepting the two Kanakas, aged perceptibly during that
+      night of torment. But we lost no time in getting back to the ship, where I
+      fully expected a severe wigging for the scrape my luckless curiosity had
+      led me into. The captain, however, was very kind, expressing his pleasure
+      at seeing us all safe back again, although he warned me solemnly against
+      similar investigations in future. A hearty meal and a good rest did
+      wonders in removing the severe effects of our adventure, so that by next
+      morning we were all fit and ready for the days work again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It certainly seemed as if I was in for a regular series of troubles. After
+      cruising till nearly two p.m., we fell in with the mate's boat, and were
+      sailing quietly along side by side, when we suddenly rounded a point and
+      ran almost on top of a bull-humpback that was basking in the beautiful
+      sunshine. The mate's harpooner, a wonderfully smart fellow, was not so
+      startled as to lose his chance, getting an iron well home before the
+      animal realized what had befallen him. We had a lovely fight, lasting over
+      an hour, in which all the marvellous agility with which this whale is
+      gifted was exerted to the full in order to make his escape. But with the
+      bottom not twenty fathoms away, we were sure of him. With all his supple
+      smartness, he had none of the dogged savagery of the cachalot about him,
+      nor did we feel any occasion to beware of his rushes, rather courting
+      them, so as to finish the game as quickly as possible.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was no sooner dead than we hurried to secure him, and had actually
+      succeeded in passing the tow-line through his lips, when, in the trifling
+      interval that passed while we were taking the line aft to begin towing, he
+      started to sink. Of course it was, "let go all!" If you can only get the
+      slightest way on a whale of this kind, you are almost certain to be able
+      to keep him afloat, but once he begins to sink you cannot stop him. Down
+      he went, till full twenty fathoms beneath us he lay comfortably on the
+      reef, while we looked ruefully at one another. We had no gear with us fit
+      to raise him, and we were ten miles from the ship; evening was at hand, so
+      our prospects of doing anything that night were faint.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, the mate decided to start off for home at once, leaving us there,
+      but promising to send back a boat as speedily as possible with provisions
+      and gear for the morning. There was a stiff breeze blowing, and he was
+      soon out of sight; but we were very uncomfortable. The boat, of course,
+      rode like a duck, but we were fully exposed to the open sea; and the
+      mighty swell of the Pacific, rolling in over those comparatively shallow
+      grounds, sometimes looked dangerously like breaking. Still, it was better
+      than the cave, and there was a good prospect of supper. Long before we
+      expected her, back came the boat, bringing bountiful provision of yams,
+      cold pork and fruit&mdash;a regular banquet to men who were fasting since
+      daylight. A square meal, a comforting pipe, and the night's vigil, which
+      had looked so formidable, no longer troubled us, although, to tell the
+      truth, we were heartily glad when the dawn began to tint the east with
+      pale emerald and gold. We set to work at once, getting the huge carcass to
+      the surface without as much labour as I had anticipated. Of course all
+      hands came to the rescue.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But, alas for the fruit of our labours! Those hungry monsters had
+      collected in thousands, and, to judge from what we were able to see of the
+      body, they had reduced its value alarmingly. However, we commenced towing,
+      and were getting along fairly well, when a long spur of reef to leeward of
+      us, over which the sea was breaking frightfully, seemed to be stretching
+      farther out to intercept us before we could get into smooth water. The
+      fact soon faced us that we were in the remorseless grip of a current that
+      set right over that reef, and against its steady stream all our efforts
+      were the merest triviality. Still, we hung on, struggling desperately to
+      keep what we had earned, until so close to the roaring, foaming line of
+      broken water, that one wave breaking farther out than the rest very nearly
+      swamped us all. One blow of an axe, one twirl of the steer-oars, and with
+      all the force we could muster we were pulling away from the very jaws of
+      death, leaving our whale to the hungry crowds, who would make short work
+      of him. Downcast indeed, at our bad luck, we returned on board,
+      disappointing the skipper very much with our report. Like the true
+      gentleman he was, though, recognizing that we had done our best, he did
+      not add to the trouble by cursing us all for a set of useless trash, as
+      his predecessor would have done; on the contrary, a few minutes after the
+      receipt of the bad news his face was as bright as ever, his laugh as
+      hearty as if there was no such thing as a misfortune in the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And now I must come to what has been on my mind so long&mdash;a tragedy
+      that, in spite of all that had gone before, and of what came after, is the
+      most indelible of all the memories which cling round me of that eventful
+      time. Abner Cushing, the Vermonter had declared at different times that he
+      should never see his native Green Mountain again. Since the change in our
+      commander, however, he had been another man&mdash;always silent and
+      reserved, but brighter, happier, and with a manner so improved as to make
+      it hard to recognize him for the same awkward, ungainly slab of a fellow
+      that had bungled everything he put his hand to. Taking stock of him
+      quietly during our day-long leisurely cruises in the boat, I often
+      wondered whether his mind still kept its gloomy forebodings, and brooded
+      over his tragical life-history. I never dared to speak to him on the
+      subject, for fear of arousing what I hoped was growing too faint for
+      remembrance. But at times I saw him in the moonlit evenings sitting on the
+      rail alone, steadfastly gazing down into the star-besprent waters beneath
+      him, as if coveting their unruffled peace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two-thirds of our stay in the islands had passed away, when, for a wonder,
+      the captain took it into his head to go up to the chief village one
+      morning. So he retained me on board, while the other three boats left for
+      the day's cruise as usual. One of the mate's crew was sick, and to replace
+      him he took Abner out of my boat. Away they went; and shortly after
+      breakfast-time I lowered, received the captain on board, and we started
+      for the capital. Upon our arrival there we interviewed the chief, a stout,
+      pleasant-looking man of about fifty, who was evidently held in great
+      respect by the natives, and had a chat with the white Wesleyan missionary
+      in charge of the station. About two p.m., after the captain's business was
+      over, we were returning under sail, when we suddenly caught sight of two
+      of our boats heading in towards one of the islands. We helped her with the
+      paddles to get up to them, seeing as we neared them the two long fins of a
+      whale close ahead of one of them. As we gazed breathlessly at the exciting
+      scene, we saw the boat rush in between the two flippers, the harpooner at
+      the same time darting an iron straight down. There was a whirl in the
+      waters, and quick as thought the vast flukes of the whale rose in the air,
+      recurving with a sidelong sweep as of some gigantic scythe. The blow shore
+      off the bow of the attacking boat as if it had been an egg-shell.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the same moment the mate stooped, picked up the tow-line from its turn
+      round the logger-head, and threw it forward from him. He must have
+      unconsciously given a twist to his hand, for the line fell in a kink round
+      Abner's neck just as the whale went down with a rush. Struggling,
+      clutching at the fatal noose, the hapless man went flying out through the
+      incoming sea, and in one second was lost to sight for ever. Too late, the
+      harpooner cut the line which attached the wreck to the retreating animal,
+      leaving the boat free, but gunwale under. We instantly hauled alongside of
+      the wreck and transferred her crew, all dazed and horror-stricken at the
+      awful death of their late comrade.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I saw the tears trickle down the rugged, mahogany-coloured face of the
+      captain, and honoured him for it, but there was little time to waste in
+      vain regrets. It was necessary to save the boat, if possible, as we were
+      getting short of boat-repairing material; certainly we should not have
+      been able to build a new one. So, drawing the two sound boats together,
+      one on either side of the wreck, we placed the heavy steering oars across
+      them from side to side. We then lifted the battered fore part upon the
+      first oar, and with a big effort actually succeeded in lifting the whole
+      of the boat out of water upon this primitive pontoon. Then, taking the
+      jib, we "frapped" it round the opening where the bows had been, lashing it
+      securely in that position. Several hands were told off to jump into her
+      stern on the word, and all being ready we launched her again. The weight
+      of the chaps in her stern-sheets cocked her bows right out of water, and
+      in that position we towed her back to the ship, arriving safely before
+      dusk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That evening we held a burial service, at which hundreds of natives
+      attended with a solemnity of demeanour and expressions of sorrow that
+      would not have been out of place at the most elaborate funeral in England
+      or America. It was a memorable scene. The big cressets were lighted,
+      shedding their wild glare over the dark sea, and outlining the spars
+      against the moonless sky with startling effect. When we had finished the
+      beautiful service, the natives, as if swayed by an irresistible impulse,
+      broke into the splendid tune St. Ann's; and I afterwards learned that the
+      words they sang were Dr. Watts' unsurpassable rendering of Moses' pean of
+      praise, "O God, our help in ages past." No elaborate ceremonial in
+      towering cathedral could begin to compare with the massive simplicity of
+      poor Abner's funeral honours, the stately hills for many miles reiterating
+      the sweet sounds, and carrying them to the furthest confines of the group.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next day was Sunday, and, in pursuance of a promise given some time
+      before, I went ashore to my "flem's" to dinner, he being confined to the
+      house with a hurt leg. It was not by any means a festive gathering, for he
+      was more than commonly taciturn; his daughter Irene, a buxom lassie of
+      fourteen, who waited on us, appeared to be dumb; and his wife was "in the
+      straw." These trifling drawbacks, however, in nowise detracted from the
+      hospitality offered. The dining-room was a large apartment furnished with
+      leaves, the uprights of cocoa-nut tree, the walls and roof of pandanus
+      leaf. Beneath the heaps of leaves, fresh and sweet-scented, was the earth.
+      The inner apartment, or chamber of state, had a flooring of
+      highly-polished planks, and contained, I presume, the household gods; but
+      as it was in possession of my host's secluded spouse, I did not enter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A couch upon a pile of leaves was hastily arranged, upon which I was
+      bidden to seat myself, while a freshly cut cocoa-nut of enormous size was
+      handed to me, the soft top sliced off so that I might drink its
+      deliciously cool contents. These nuts must grow elsewhere, but I have
+      never before or since seen any so large. When green&mdash;that is, before
+      the meat has hardened into indigestible matter&mdash;they contain from
+      three pints to two quarts of liquid, at once nourishing, refreshing, and
+      palatable. The natives appeared to drink nothing else, and I never saw a
+      drop of fresh water ashore during our stay.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Taking a huge knife from some hiding-place, Irene handed it to her father,
+      who at once commenced to dig in the ground by his side, while I looked on
+      wondering and amused. Presently he fished up a bundle of leaves bound with
+      a vine-tendril, which he laid carefully aside. More digging brought to
+      light a fine yam about three pounds in weight, which, after carefully
+      wiping the knife on some leaves, he proceeded to peel. It was immediately
+      evident that the yam was perfectly cooked, for it steamed as he removed
+      the skin, revealing the inside as white as milk. Some large, round leaves
+      were laid in front of me, and the yam placed upon them. Then mine host
+      turned his attention to the bundle first unearthed, which concealed a
+      chicken, so perfectly done that, although the bones drew out of the meat
+      as if it had been jelly, it was full of juice and flavour; and except for
+      a slight foreign twang, referrible, doubtless, to the leaves in which it
+      had been enwrapped, I do not think it could have been possible to cook
+      anything in a better way, or one more calculated to retain all the natural
+      juices of the meat. The fowl was laid beside the yam, another nut
+      broached; then, handing me the big knife, my "flem" bade me welcome,
+      informing me that I saw my dinner. As nothing would induce him to join me,
+      the idea being contrary to his notions of respect due to a guest, I was
+      fain to fall to, and an excellent meal I made. For dessert, a basketful of
+      such oranges freshly plucked as cannot be tasted under any other
+      conditions, and crimson bananas, which upon being peeled, looked like
+      curved truncheons of golden jelly, after tasting which I refused to touch
+      anything else.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A corn-cob cigarette closed the banquet, After expressing my thanks, I
+      noticed that the pain of his leg was giving my friend considerable
+      uneasiness, which he was stolidly enduring upon my account rather than
+      appear discourteously anxious to get rid of me. So, with the excuse that I
+      must needs be going, having another appointment, I left the good fellow
+      and strolled around to the chapel, where I sat enjoying the sight of those
+      simple-minded Kanakas at their devotions till it was time to return on
+      board. Before closing this chapter, I would like, for the benefit of such
+      of my readers who have not heard yet of Kanaka cookery, to say that it is
+      simplicity itself. A hole is scooped in the earth, in which a fire is made
+      (of wood), and kept burning until a fair-sized heap of glowing charcoal
+      remains. Pebbles are then thrown in until the charcoal is covered.
+      Whatever is to be cooked is enveloped in leaves, placed upon the pebbles,
+      and more leaves heaped upon it. The earth is then thrown back into the
+      cavity, and well stamped down. A long time is, of course, needed for the
+      viands to get cooked through; but so subtle is the mode that overdoing
+      anything is almost an impossibility. A couple of days may pass from the
+      time of "putting down" the joint, yet when it is dug up it will be smoking
+      hot, retaining all its juices, tender as jelly, but, withal, as full of
+      flavour as it is possible for cooked meat to be. No matter how large the
+      joint is, or how tough the meat, this gentle suasion will render it
+      succulent and tasty; and no form of civilized cookery can in the least
+      compare with it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXII. FAREWELL TO VAU VAU
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Taking it all round, our visit to the Friendly Islands had not been
+      particularly fortunate up till the time of which I spoke at the conclusion
+      of the last chapter. Two-thirds of the period during which the season was
+      supposed to last had expired, but our catch had not amounted to more than
+      two hundred and fifty barrels of oil. Whales had been undoubtedly scarce,
+      for our ill-success on tackling bulls was not at all in consequence of our
+      clumsiness, these agile animals being always a handful, but due to the
+      lack of cows, which drove us to take whatever we could get, which, as has
+      been noted, was sometimes a severe drubbing. Energy and watchfulness had
+      been manifested in a marked degree by everybody, and when the news
+      circulated that our stay was drawing to a close, there was, if anything,
+      an increase of zeal in the hope that we might yet make a favourable
+      season.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But none of these valuable qualities exhibited by us could make up for the
+      lack of "fish" which was lamentably evident. It was not easy to understand
+      why, because these islands were noted as a breeding-place for the
+      humpbacked whale. Yet for years they had not been fished, so that a
+      plausible explanation of the paucity of their numbers as a consequence of
+      much harassing could not be reasonably offered. Still, after centuries of
+      whale-fishing, little is known of the real habits of whales, Where there
+      is abundance of "feed," in the case of MYSTICETA it may be reasonably
+      inferred that whales may be found in proportionately greater numbers. With
+      regard to the wider-spread classes of the great marine mammalia, beyond
+      the fact, ascertained from continued observation, that certain parts of
+      the ocean are more favoured by them than others, there is absolutely no
+      data to go upon as to why at times they seem to desert their usual haunts
+      and scatter themselves far and wide.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The case of the cachalot is still more difficult. All the BALAENAE seem to
+      be compelled, by laws which we can only guess at, to frequent the vicinity
+      of land possessing shallows at their breeding times, so that they may with
+      more or less certainty be looked for in such places at the seasons which
+      have been accurately fixed. They may be driven to seek other haunts, as
+      was undoubtedly the case at Vau Vau in a great measure, by some causes
+      unknown, but to land they must come at those times. The sperm whale,
+      however, needs no shelter at such periods, or, at any rate, does not avail
+      herself of any. They may often be seen in the vicinity of land where the
+      water is deep close to, but seldom with calves. Schools of cows with
+      recently born young gambolling about them are met with at immense
+      distances from land, showing no disposition to seek shelter either. For my
+      part, I firmly believe that the cachalot is so terrible a foe, that the
+      great sharks who hover round a gravid cow of the BALAENAE, driving her in
+      terror to some shallow spot where she may hope to protect her young, never
+      dare to approach a sperm cow on kidnapping errands, or any other if they
+      can help it, until their unerring guides inform them that life is extinct.
+      When a sperm whale is in health, nothing that inhabits the sea has any
+      chance with him; neither does he scruple to carry the war into the enemy's
+      country, since all is fish that comes to his net, and a shark fifteen feet
+      in length has been found in the stomach of a cachalot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The only exception he seems to make is in the case of man. Instances have
+      several&mdash;nay, many times occurred where men have been slain by the
+      jaws of a cachalot crushing the boat in which they were; but their death
+      was of course incidental to the destruction of the boat. Never, as far as
+      I have been able to ascertain, has a cachalot attacked a man swimming or
+      clinging to a piece of wreckage, although such opportunities occur
+      innumerably. I have in another place told the story of how I once saw a
+      combat between a bull-cachalot and so powerful a combination of enemies
+      that even one knowing the fighting qualities of the sperm whale would have
+      hesitated to back him to win, but the yarn will bear repetition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two "killers" and a sword-fish, all of the largest size. Description of
+      these warriors is superfluous, since they are so well known to museums and
+      natural histories; but unless one has witnessed the charge of a XIPHIAS,
+      he cannot realize what a fearful foe it is. Still, as a practice, these
+      creatures leave the cachalot respectfully alone, knowing instinctively
+      that he is not their game. Upon this memorable occasion, however I guess
+      the two ORCAS were starving, and they had organized a sort of forlorn hope
+      with the XIPHIAS as an auxiliary who might be relied upon to ensure
+      success if it could be done. Anyhow, the syndicate led off with their main
+      force first; for while the two killers hung on the cachalot's flanks,
+      diverting his attention, the sword-fish, a giant some sixteen feet long,
+      launched himself at the most vulnerable part of the whale, for all the
+      world like a Whitehead torpedo. The wary eye of the whale saw the long,
+      dark mass coming, and, like a practised pugilist, coolly swerved, taking
+      for the nonce no notice of those worrying wolves astern. The shock came;
+      but instead of the sword penetrating three, or maybe four feet just where
+      the neck (if a whale has any neck) encloses the huge heart, it met the
+      mighty, impenetrable mass of the head, solid as a block of thirty tons of
+      india-rubber.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So the blow glanced, revealing a white streak running diagonally across
+      the eye, while the great XIPHIAS rolled helplessly over the top of that
+      black bastion. With a motion so rapid that the eye could scarcely follow
+      it, the whale turned, settling withal, and, catching the momentarily
+      motionless aggressor in the lethal sweep of those awful shears, crunched
+      him in two halves, which writhing sections he swallowed SERIATIM. And the
+      allied forces aft&mdash;what of them? Well, they had been rash&mdash;they
+      fully realized that fact, and would have fled, but one certainly found
+      that he had lingered on the scene too long. The thoroughly-roused
+      leviathan, with a reversal of his huge bulk that made the sea boil like a
+      pot, brandished his tail aloft and brought it down upon the doomed
+      "killer," making him at once the "killed." He was crushed like a shrimp
+      under one's heel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The survivor fled&mdash;never faster&mdash;for an avalanche of living,
+      furious flesh was behind him, and coming with enormous leaps half out of
+      the sea every time. Thus they disappeared, but I have no doubts as to the
+      issue. Of one thing I am certain&mdash;that, if any of the trio survived,
+      they never afterwards attempted to rush a cachalot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Strange to say, the sperm whale does not appear to be a fond mother. At
+      the advent of danger she often deserts her offspring and in such cases it
+      is hardly conceivable that she ever finds it again. It is true that she is
+      not gifted with such long "arms" as the BALAENAE wherewith to cuddle her
+      young one to her capacious bosom while making tracks from her enemies; nor
+      is she much "on the fight," not being so liberally furnished with jaw as
+      the fierce and much larger bull&mdash;for this is the only species of
+      whale in which there exists a great disproportion between the sexes in
+      point of size. Such difference as may obtain between the MYSTICETA is
+      slightly in favour of the female. I never heard of a cow-cachalot yielding
+      more than fifty barrels of oil; but I have both heard of, and seen, bulls
+      carrying one hundred and fifty. One individual taken by us down south was
+      seventy feet long, and furnished us with more than the latter amount; but
+      I shall come to him by-and-by. Just one more point before leaving this (to
+      me) fascinating subject for the present.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To any one studying the peculiar configuration of a cachalot's mouth, it
+      would appear a difficult problem how the calf could suck. Certainly it
+      puzzled me more than a little. But, when on the "line" grounds we got
+      among a number of cows one calm day, I saw a little fellow about fifteen
+      feet long, apparently only a few days old, in the very act. The mother lay
+      on one side, with the breast nearly at the waters edge; while the calf,
+      lying parallel to its parent, with its head in the same direction, held
+      the teat sideways in the angle of its jaw, with its snout protruding from
+      the surface. Although we caught several cow-humpbacks with newly born
+      calves, I never had an opportunity of seeing THEM suck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Gradually our pleasant days at Vau Vau drew to a close. So quiet and
+      idyllic had the life been, so full of simple joys, that most of us, if not
+      all, felt a pang at the thought of our imminent departure from the
+      beautiful place. Profitable, in a pecuniary sense, the season had
+      certainly failed to be, but that was the merest trifle compared with the
+      real happiness and peace enjoyed during our stay. Even the terrible
+      tragedy which had taken one of our fellows from us could not spoil the
+      actual enjoyment of our visit, sad and touching as the event undoubtedly
+      was. There was always, too, a sufficiently arduous routine of necessary
+      duties to perform, preventing us from degenerating into mere lotus eaters
+      in that delicious afternoon-land. Nor even to me, friendless nomad as I
+      was, did the thought ever occur, "I will return no more."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But these lovely days spent in softly gliding over the calm, azure depths,
+      bathed in golden sunlight, gazing dreamily down at the indescribable
+      beauties of the living reefs, feasting daintily on abundance of
+      never-cloying fruit, amid scenes of delight hardly to be imagined by the
+      cramped mind of the town dweller; islands, air, and sea all shimmering in
+      an enchanted haze, and silence scarcely broken by the tender ripple of the
+      gently-parted waters before the boat's steady keel&mdash;though these joys
+      have all been lost to me, and I in "populous city pent" endure the fading
+      years, I would not barter the memory of them for more than I can say, so
+      sweet it is to me. And, then, our relations with the natives had been so
+      perfectly amicable, so free from anything to regret. Perhaps this simple
+      statement will raise a cynical smile upon the lips of those who know
+      Tahati, the New Hebrides, and kindred spots with all their savage, bestial
+      orgies of alternate unbridled lust and unnamable cruelty. Let it be so.
+      For my part, I rejoice that I have no tale of weeks of drunkenness, of
+      brutal rape, treacherous murder, and almost unthinkable torture to tell.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For of such is the paradise of the beach-comber, and the hell of the clean
+      man. Not that I have been able to escape it altogether. When I say that I
+      once shipped, unwittingly, as sailing-master of a little white schooner in
+      Noumea, bound to Apia, finding when too late that she was a "blackbirder"&mdash;"labour
+      vessel," the wise it call&mdash;nothing more will be needed to convince
+      the initiated that I have moved in the "nine circles" of Polynesia.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some time before the day fixed for our departure, we were busy storing the
+      gifts so liberally showered upon us by our eager friends. Hundreds of
+      bunches of bananas, many thousands of oranges, yams, taro, chillies,
+      fowls, and pigs were accumulated, until the ship looked like a huge
+      market-boat. But we could not persuade any of the natives to ship with us
+      to replace those whoso contract was now expiring. Samuela and Polly were,
+      after much difficulty, prevailed upon by me to go with us to New Zealand,
+      much to my gratification; but still we were woefully short-handed, At
+      last, seeing that there was no help for it, the skipper decided to run
+      over to Futuna, or Horn Island, where he felt certain of obtaining
+      recruits without any trouble. He did so most unwillingly, as may well be
+      believed, for the newcomers would need much training, while our present
+      Kanaka auxiliaries were the smartest men in the ship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The slop-chest was largely drawn upon, to the credit of the crew, who
+      wished in some tangible way to show their appreciation of the unremitting
+      kindness shown them by their dusky friends. Not a whisper had been uttered
+      by any native as to desire of remuneration for what he had given. If they
+      expected a return, they certainly exercised great control over themselves
+      in keeping their wishes quiet. But when they received the clothing, all
+      utterly unsuited to their requirements as it was, their beaming faces
+      eloquently proclaimed the reality of their joy. Heavy woollen shirts,
+      thick cloth trousers and jackets, knitted socks; but acceptable beyond all
+      was a pilot-suit&mdash;warm enough for the Channel in winter. Happy above
+      all power of expression was he who secured it. With an eared cloth cap and
+      a pair of half boots, to complete his preposterous rig, no Bond Street
+      exquisite could feel more calmly conscious of being a well-dressed man
+      than he. From henceforth he would be the observed of all observers at
+      chapel on Sunday, exciting worldly desires and aspirations among his
+      cooler but coveting fellow-worshippers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The ladies fared very badly, until the skipper, with a twinkling eye,
+      announced that he had "dug up" some rolls of "cloth" (calico), which he
+      was prepared to supply us with at reasonable rates. Being of rather pretty
+      pattern, it went off like hot pies, and as the "fathoms" of gaudy, flimsy
+      material were distributed to the delighted fafines, their shrill cries of
+      gratitude were almost deafening.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Inexorable time brought round the morning of our departure. Willing hands
+      lifted our anchor, and hoisted the sails, so that we had nothing to do but
+      look on. A scarcely perceptible breeze, stealing softly over the
+      tree-tops, filled our upper canvas, sparing us the labour of towing her
+      out of the little bay where we had lain so long, and gradually wafted us
+      away from its lovely shores, amid the fast-flowing tears of the great
+      crowd. With multitudinous cries of "Ofa, al-ofa, papalang" ringing in our
+      ears ("Good-bye; good-bye, white man"), we rounded the point, and, with
+      increasing pace, bore away through the outlying islands for the open sea.
+      There was a strong trade blowing, making the old barky caper like a
+      dancing-master, which long unfamiliar motion almost disagreed with some of
+      us, after our long quiet. Under its hastening influence we made such good
+      time that before dinner Vau Vau had faded into nothingness, mingling like
+      the clouds with the soft haze on the horizon, from henceforth only a
+      memory.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were not a very cheerful crowd that night, most of us being busy with
+      his own reflections. I must confess that I felt far greater sorrow at
+      leaving Vau Vau than ever I did at leaving England; because by the time I
+      was able to secure a berth, I have usually drunk pretty deep of the bitter
+      cup of the "outward bounder," than whom there is no more forlorn,
+      miserable creature on earth. No one but the much abused boarding-master
+      will have anything to do with him, and that worthy is generally careful to
+      let him know that he is but a hanger-on, a dependant on sufferance for a
+      meal, and that his presence on shore is an outrage. As for the sailors'
+      homes, I have hardly patience to speak of them. I know the sailor is
+      usually a big baby that wants protecting against himself, and that once
+      within the four walls of the institution he is safe; but right there
+      commendation must end. Why are good folks ashore systematically misled
+      into the belief that the sailor is an object of charity, and that it is
+      necessary to subscribe continually and liberally to provide him with food
+      and shelter when ashore? Most of the contributors would be surprised to
+      know that the cost of board and lodging at the "home" is precisely the
+      same as it is outside, and much higher than a landsman of the same grade
+      can live for in better style. With the exception of the sleeping
+      accommodation, most men prefer the boarding-house, where, if they preserve
+      the same commercial status which is a SINE QUA NON at the "home," they are
+      treated like gentlemen; but in what follows lies the essential difference,
+      and the reason for this outburst of mine, smothered in silence for years.
+      An "outward bounder"&mdash;that is, a man whose money is exhausted and who
+      is living upon the credit; of his prospective advance of pay&mdash;is
+      unknown at the "home." No matter what the condition of things is in the
+      shipping world; though the man may have fought with energy to get his
+      discharge accepted among the crowd at the "chain-locker;" though he be
+      footsore and weary with "looking for a ship," when his money is done, out
+      into the street he must go, if haply he may find a speculative
+      boarding-master to receive him. This act, although most unlikely in
+      appearance, is often performed; and though the boarding-master, of course,
+      expects to recoup himself out of the man's advance note, it is none the
+      less as merciful as the action of the "home" authorities is merciless. Of
+      course a man may go to the "straw house," or, as it is grandiloquently
+      termed, the "destitute seaman's asylum," where for a season he will be fed
+      on the refuse from the "home," and sheltered from the weather. But the
+      ungrateful rascals do not like the "straw house," and use very bad
+      language about it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The galling thing about the whole affair is that the "sailors' home"
+      figures in certain official publications as a charity, which must be
+      partially supported by outside contributions. It may be a charitable
+      institution, but it certainly is not so to the sailor, who pays fully for
+      everything he receives. The charity is bestowed upon a far different class
+      of people to merchant Jack. Let it be granted that a man is sober and
+      provident, always getting a ship before his money is all gone, he will
+      probably be well content at the home, although very few seamen like to be
+      reminded ashore of their sea routine, as the manner of the home is. If the
+      institution does not pay a handsome dividend, with its clothing shops and
+      refreshment bars, as well as the boarding-house lousiness on such a large
+      scale, only one inference can be fairly drawn&mdash;there must be
+      something radically wrong with the management.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After this burst of temper, perhaps I had better get back to the subject
+      in hand. It was, I suppose, in the usual contrary nature of things that,
+      while we were all in this nearly helpless condition, one evening just
+      before sunset, along comes a sperm whale. Now, the commonest prudence
+      would have suggested letting him severely alone, since we were not only
+      short-handed, but several of our crew were completely crippled by large
+      boils; but it would have been an unprecedented thing to do while there was
+      any room left in the hold. Consequently we mustered the halt and the lame,
+      and manned two boats&mdash;all we could do&mdash;leaving the almost
+      useless cripples to handle the ship. Not to displace the rightful
+      harpooner, I took an oar in one of them, headed by the captain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At first my hopes were high that we should not succeed in reaching the
+      victim before dark, but I was grievously disappointed in this. Just as the
+      whale was curving himself to sound, we got fairly close, and the harpooner
+      made a "pitch-pole" dart; that is, he hurled his weapon into the air,
+      where it described a fine curve, and fell point downward on the animal's
+      back just as he was disappearing. He stopped his descent immediately, and
+      turned savagely to see what had struck him so unexpectedly. At that moment
+      the sun went down.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After the first few minutes' "kick-up," he settled down for a steady run,
+      but not before the mate got good and fast to him likewise. Away we went at
+      a rare rate into the gathering gloom of the fast-coming night. Now, had it
+      been about the time of full moon or thereabouts, we should doubtless have
+      been able, by the flood of molten light she sends down in those latitudes,
+      to give a good account of our enemy; but alas for us, it was not. The sky
+      overhead was a deep blue-black, with steely sparkles of starlight
+      scattered all over it, only serving to accentuate the darkness. After a
+      short time our whale became totally invisible, except for the phosphoric
+      glare of the water all around him as he steadily ploughed his way along.
+      There was a good breeze blowing, which soon caused us all to be drenched
+      with the spray, rendering the general effect of things cold as well as
+      cheerless. Needless to say, we strove with all our might to get alongside
+      of him, so that an end might be put to so unpleasant a state of affairs;
+      but in our crippled condition it was not at all easy to do so.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We persevered, however, and at last managed to get near enough for the
+      skipper to hurl a lance into the brightness of which the whale formed the
+      centre. It must have touched him, for he gave a bound forward and
+      disappeared. We suddenly came to a standstill, but in a moment were
+      whirled round as if on a pivot, and away we went in the opposite
+      direction. He had turned a complete somersault in the water beneath us,
+      giving us a "grue" as we reflected what would have happened had he then
+      chosen to come bounding to the surface. This manoeuvre seemed to please
+      him mightily, for he ran at top speed several minutes, and then repeated
+      it. This time he was nearly successful in doing us some real harm, for it
+      was now so dark that we could hardly see the other boat's form as she
+      towed along parallel to us about three or four lengths away. The two boats
+      swung round in a wide circle, rushing back at each other out of the
+      surrounding darkness as if bent on mutual destruction. Only by the
+      smartest manipulation was a collision avoided, which, as each boat's bows
+      bristled with lances and harpoons, would have been a serious matter for
+      some of us. However, the whale did not have it all his own way, for the
+      skipper, having charged his bomb-gun, patiently laid for him, and fired.
+      It was rather a long shot, but it reached him, as we afterwards
+      ascertained, making an ugly wound in the small near his tail.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Its effect upon him was startling and immediate. He rushed off at so
+      furious a rate dead to windward that for a great while we had all our work
+      cut out to keep her free by baling. The sea had risen a little, and as we
+      leapt from one wave to another the spray flew over us in an almost
+      continuous cloud. Clearly our situation was a parlous one. We could not
+      get near him; we were becoming dangerously enfeebled, and he appeared to
+      be gaining strength instead of losing it. Besides all this, none of us
+      could have the least idea of how the ship now bore from us, our only
+      comfort being that, by observation of the Cross, we were not making a
+      direct course, but travelling on the circumference of an immense circle.
+      Whatever damage we had done to him so far was evidently quite superficial,
+      for, accustomed as we were to tremendous displays of vigour on the part of
+      these creatures, this specimen fairly surprised us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The time could only be guessed at; but, judging from our feelings, it
+      might have been two or three nights long. Still, to all things an end, so
+      in the midst of our dogged endurance of all this misery we felt the pace
+      give, and took heart of grace immediately. Calling up all our reserves, we
+      hauled up on to him, regardless of pain or weariness. The skipper and mate
+      lost no opportunities of lancing, once they were alongside, but worked
+      like heroes, until a final plunging of the fast-dying leviathan warned us
+      to retreat. Up he went out of the glittering foam into the upper darkness,
+      while we held our breath at the unique sight of a whale breaching at
+      night. But when he fell again the effect was marvellous. Green columns of
+      water arose on either side of the descending mass as if from the bowels of
+      the deep, while their ghostly glare lit up the encircling gloom with a
+      strange, weird radiance, which reflected in our anxious faces, made us
+      look like an expedition from the FLYING DUTCHMAN. A short spell of
+      gradually quieting struggle succeeded as the great beast succumbed, until
+      all was still again, except the strange, low surge made by the waves as
+      they broke over the bank of flesh passively obstructing their free sweep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While the final touch was being given to our task&mdash;i.e. the
+      hole-boring through the tail-fin&mdash;all hands lay around in various
+      picturesque attitudes, enjoying a refreshing smoke, care forgetting. While
+      thus pleasantly employed, sudden death, like a bolt from the blue, leapt
+      into our midst in a terrible form. The skipper was labouring hard at his
+      task of cutting the hole for the tow-line, when without warning the great
+      fin swung back as if suddenly released from tremendous tension. Happily
+      for us, the force of the blow was broken by its direction, as it struck
+      the water before reaching the boat's side, but the upper lobe hurled the
+      boat-spade from the captain's hands back into our midst, where it struck
+      the tub oarsman, splitting his head in two halves. The horror of the
+      tragedy, the enveloping darkness, the inexplicable revivifying of the
+      monster, which we could not have doubted to be dead, all combined to
+      stupefy and paralyze us for the time. Not a sound was heard in our boat,
+      though the yells of inquiry from our companion craft arose in increasing
+      volume. It was but a brief accession of energy, only lasting two or three
+      minutes, when the whale collapsed finally. Having recovered from our
+      surprise, we took no further chances with so dangerous an opponent, but
+      bored him as full of holes as a colander.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mournful and miserable were the remaining hours of our vigil. We sat
+      around poor Miguel's corpse with unutterable feelings, recalling all the
+      tragical events of the voyage, until we reached the nadir of despondency.
+      With the rosy light of morning came more cheerful feelings, heightened by
+      the close proximity of the ship, from which it is probable we had never
+      been more than ten miles distant during the whole night. She had sighted
+      us with the first light, and made all sail down to us, all hands much
+      relieved at our safety. We were so sorely exhausted that we could hardly
+      climb on board; and how we hoisted the boats I hardly know. The whale was
+      secured by the efforts of the cripples we had left on board, while we
+      wayfarers, after a good meal, were allowed four hours' sound, sweet sleep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we returned to our duties, the first thing that awaited us was the
+      burial of the poor body. Very reverently were the last sad offices
+      performed, the flag hoisted half-mast, the bell solemnly tolled. Then we
+      gathered at the gangway while the eternal words of hope and consolation
+      were falteringly read, and with a sudden plunge the long, straight parcel
+      slid off the hatch into the vast tomb ever ready for the dead sailor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our dead out of sight, work claimed all our attention and energy, wiping
+      with its benificent influence all gloomy musings over the inevitable, and
+      replacing them with the pressing needs of life. The whale was not a large
+      one, but peculiar to look at. Like the specimen that fought so fiercely
+      with us in the Indian Ocean, its jaw was twisted round in a sort of hook,
+      the part that curved being so thickly covered with long barnacles as to
+      give the monster a most eerie look. One of the Portuguese expressed his
+      decided opinion that we had caught Davy Jones himself, and that, in
+      consequence, we should have no more accidents. It was impossible not to
+      sympathize with the conceit, for of all the queer-looking monstrosities
+      ever seen, this latest acquisition of ours would have taken high honours.
+      Such malformations of the lower mandible of the cachalot have often been
+      met with, and variously explained; but the most plausible opinion seems to
+      be that they have been acquired when the animal is very young and its
+      bones not yet indurated, since it is impossible to believe that an adult
+      could suffer such an accident without the broken jaw drooping instead of
+      being turned on one side.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The yield of oil was distressingly scanty, the whale being what is
+      technically known as a "dry skin." The blubber was so hard and tough that
+      we could hardly cut it up for boiling, and altogether it was one of the
+      most disappointing affairs we had yet dealt with. This poorness of blubber
+      was, to my mind, undoubtedly due to the difficulty the animal must have
+      had in obtaining food with his disabling defect of jaw. Whatever it was,
+      we were heartily glad to see the last of the beast, fervently hoping we
+      should never meet with another like him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the progress of these melancholy operations we had drifted a
+      considerable distance out of our course, no attention being paid, as
+      usual, to the direction of our drift until the greasy work was done. Once
+      the mess was cleared away, we hauled up again for our objective&mdash;Futuna&mdash;which,
+      as it was but a few hours' sail distant, we hoped to make the next day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXIII. AT FUTUNA, RECRUITING
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Sure enough, in accordance with our expectations, break of day revealed
+      the twin masses of Futuna ahead, some ten or fifteen miles away. With the
+      fine, steady breeze blowing, by breakfast-time we were off the entrance to
+      a pretty bight, where sail was shortened and the ship hove-to. Captain
+      Count did not intend to anchor, for reasons of his own, he being assured
+      that there was no need to do so. Nor was there. Although the distance from
+      the beach was considerable, we could see numbers of canoes putting off,
+      and soon they began to arrive. Now, some of the South Sea Islands are
+      famous for the elegance and seaworthiness of their canoes; nearly all of
+      them have a distinctly definite style of canoe-building; but here at
+      Futuna was a bewildering collection of almost every type of canoe in the
+      wide world. Dugouts, with outriggers on one side, on both sides, with none
+      at all; canoes built like boats, like prams, like irregular egg-boxes,
+      many looking like the first boyish attempt to knock something together
+      that would float; and&mdash;not to unduly prolong the list by attempted
+      classification of these unclassed craft&mdash;CORACLES. Yes; in that
+      lonely Pacific island, among that motley crowd of floating nondescripts,
+      were specimens of the ancient coracle of our own islands, constructed in
+      exactly the same way; that is, of wicker-work, covered with some
+      waterproof substance, whether skin or tarpaulin. But the ingenious Kanaka,
+      not content with his coracles, had gone one better, and copied them in
+      dugouts of solid timber. The resultant vessel was a sort of cross between
+      a butcher's tray and a wash-basin&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "A thing beyond Conception: such a wretched wherry, Perhaps ne'er ventured
+      on a pond, Or crossed a ferry."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The proud possessors of the coracles, both wicker and wood, must have been
+      poor indeed, for they did not even own a paddle, propelling their basins
+      through the water with their hands. It may be imagined what a pace they
+      put on! At a little distance they were very puzzling, looking more like a
+      water-beetle grown fat and lazy than aught else.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And so, in everything floatable, the whole male population of that part of
+      the coast came to visit us. We were speedily the centre of a great crowd
+      of canoes, some of which were continually capsizing and spilling their
+      occupants, who took no more notice of such incidents than one would of a
+      sneeze. Underneath a canoe, or on top, made but little difference to these
+      amphibious creatures. They brought nothing with them to trade; in fact,
+      few of their vessels were capable of carrying anything that could not swim
+      and take care of itself. As they came on board, each crossed himself more
+      or less devoutly, revealing the teaching of a Roman Catholic mission; and
+      as they called to one another, it was not hard to recognize, even in their
+      native garb, such names as Erreneo (Irenaeus), Al'seo (Aloysius), and
+      other favourite cognomens of saints.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A laughing chattering good-tempered crowd they were&mdash;just like a bevy
+      of children breaking up, and apparently destitute of the slightest sense
+      of responsibility. They spoke a totally different dialect, or maybe
+      language, to that of Vau Vau, for it was only an isolated word here and
+      there that Samuela could make out. But presently, going forward through
+      the crowd that thronged every part of the deck, I saw a man leaning
+      nonchalantly against the rail by the fore-rigging, who struck me at once
+      as being an American negro. The most casual observer would not have
+      mistaken him for a Kanaka of those latitudes, though he might have passed
+      as a Papuan. He was dressed in all the dignity of a woollen shirt, with a
+      piece of fine "tapa" for a waistcloth, feet and legs bare. Around his neck
+      was a necklace composed of a number of strings of blue and white beads
+      plaited up neatly, and carrying as a pendant a George shilling. Going up
+      to him, I looked at the coin, and said, "Belitani money?" "Oh yes," he
+      said, "that's a shilling of old Georgey Fourf," in perfectly good English,
+      but with an accent which quite confirmed my first idea. I at once invited
+      him aft to see the skipper, who was very anxious to find an interpreter
+      among the noisy crowd, besides being somewhat uneasy at having so large a
+      number on board.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To the captain's interrogations he replied that he was "Tui Tongoa"&mdash;that
+      is, King of Tonga, an island a little distance away&mdash;but that he was
+      at present under a cloud, owing to the success of a usurper, whom he would
+      reckon with by-and-by.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the mean time he would have no objection to engaging himself with us as
+      a harpooner, and would get us as many men as we wanted, selecting from
+      among the crowd on board, fellows that would, he knew, be useful to us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A bargain was soon struck, and Tui entered upon his self-imposed task. It
+      was immediately evident that he had a bigger contract on hand than he had
+      imagined. The natives, who had previously held somewhat aloof from him in
+      a kind of deferential respect, no sooner got wind of the fact that we
+      needed some of them than they were seized with a perfect frenzy of
+      excitement. There were, I should think, at least a hundred and fifty of
+      them on board at the time. Of this crowd, every member wanted to be
+      selected, pushing his candidature with voice and gesture as vigorously as
+      he knew how. The din was frightful. Tui, centre of the frantic mob, strove
+      vainly to make himself heard, to reduce the chaos to some sort of order,
+      but for a great while it was a hopeless attempt. At last, extricating
+      himself from his importunate friends, he gained the captain's side.
+      Panting, almost breathless, with sweat streaming off him, he gasped out,
+      "Oh, cap'n, dese yer darn niggers all gone mad! Dribe 'em oberbord; clar
+      'em out, 'n I'll stan' by to grab some o' der likely ones as de res'
+      scatter." "But what about the wages?" said the skipper. "I'm not goin' ter
+      give 'em whatever they like to ask." "You leab it ter me, cap'n. I bet
+      you'll be satisfy. Anyhow, dishyers no time fer tradin'; de blame niggers
+      all off dere coco-nuts. Anybody fink you'se payin' off 'stead o' shippin',
+      an' deyse all afraid dey won't get 'nough."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Unpleasant as the job was to all of us, it had to be done; so we armed
+      ourselves with ropes'-ends, which we flourished threateningly, avoiding
+      where possible any actual blows. Many sprang overboard at once, finding
+      their way ashore or to their canoes as best they could. The majority,
+      however, had to swim, for we now noticed that, either in haste or from
+      carelessness, they had in most cases omitted to fasten their canoes
+      securely when coming alongside, so that many of them were now far out to
+      sea. The distance to shore being under three miles, that mattered little,
+      as far as their personal safety was concerned.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This summary treatment was eminently successful, quiet being rapidly
+      restored, so that Tui was able to select a dozen men, who he declared were
+      the best in the islands for our purpose. Although it seems somewhat
+      premature to say so, the general conduct of the successful candidates was
+      so good as to justify Tui fully in his eulogium. Perhaps his presence had
+      something to do with it?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We now had all that we came for, so that we were anxious to be off. But it
+      was a job to get rid of the visitors still remaining on board. They stowed
+      themselves away in all manner of corners, in some cases ludicrously
+      inadequate as hiding-places, and it was not until we were nearly five
+      miles from the land that the last of them plunged into the sea and struck
+      out for home. It was very queer. Ignorant of our destination, of what
+      would be required of them; leaving a land of ease and plenty for a
+      certainty of short commons and hard work, without preparation or
+      farewells, I do not think I ever heard of such a strange thing before. Had
+      their home been famine or plague-stricken, they could not have evinced
+      greater eagerness to leave it, or to face the great unknown.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As we drew farther off the island the wind freshened, until we had a good,
+      whole-sail breeze blustering behind us, the old ship making, with her
+      usual generous fuss, a tremendous rate of seven knots an hour. Our course
+      was shaped for the southward, towards the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. In
+      that favourite haunt of the South-seaman we were to wood and water, find
+      letters from home (those who had one), and prepare for the stormy south.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Obviously the first thing to be done for our new shipmates was to clothe
+      them. When they arrived on board, all, with the single exception of Tui,
+      were furnished only with a "maro" of "tapa," scanty in its proportions,
+      but still enough to wrap round their loins. But when they were accepted
+      for the vacant positions on board, they cast off even the slight apology
+      for clothing which they had worn, flinging the poor rags to their
+      retreating and rejected compatriots. Thus they were strutting about, in
+      native majesty unclad, which, of course, could not be endured among even
+      so unconventional a crowd as we were. So they were mustered aft, and, to
+      their extravagant delight, a complete rig-out was handed to each of them,
+      accompanied by graphic instructions how to dress themselves. Very queer
+      they looked when dressed, but queerer still not long afterwards, when some
+      of them, galled by the unaccustomed restraint of the trousers, were seen
+      prowling about with shirts tied round their waists by the sleeves, and
+      pants twisted turban-wise about their heads. Tui was called, and requested
+      to inform them that they must dress properly, after the fashion of the
+      white man, for that any impromptu improvements upon our method of
+      clothes-wearing could not be permitted. As they were gentle, tractable
+      fellows, they readily obeyed, and, though they must have suffered
+      considerably, there were no further grounds for complaint on the score of
+      dress.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It has been already noticed that they were Roman Catholics&mdash;all
+      except Tui, who from his superior mental elevation looked down upon their
+      beliefs with calm contempt, although really a greater heathen than any of
+      them had ever been. It was quite pathetic to see how earnestly they
+      endeavoured to maintain the form of worship to which they had been
+      accustomed, though how they managed without their priest, I could not find
+      out. Every evening they had prayers together, accompanied by many
+      crossings and genuflexions, and wound up by the singing of a hymn in such
+      queer Latin that it was almost unrecognizable. After much wondering I did
+      manage to make out "O Salutaris Hostia!" and "Tantum Ergo," but not until
+      their queer pronunciation of consonants had become familiar. Some of the
+      hymns were in their own tongue, only one of which I call now remember.
+      Phonetically, it ran thus&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Mah-lee-ah, Kollyeea leekee; Obselloh mo mallamah. Alofah, keea ma toh;
+      Fah na oh, Mah lah ee ah"&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      which I understood to be a native rendering of "O Stella Maris!" It was
+      sung to the well-known "Processional" in good time, and on that account, I
+      suppose, fixed itself in my memory.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Whenever any of them were ordered aloft, they never failed to cross
+      themselves before taking to the rigging, as if impressed with a sense of
+      their chance of not returning again in safety. To me was given the
+      congenial task of teaching them the duties required, and I am bound to
+      admit that they were willing, biddable, and cheerful learners. Another
+      amiable trait in their characters was especially noticeable: they always
+      held everything in common. No matter how small the portion received by any
+      one, it was scrupulously shared with the others who lacked, and this
+      subdivision was often carried to ludicrous lengths.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As there was so reason to hurry south, we, took a short cruise on the
+      Vasquez ground, more, I think, for the purpose of training our recruits
+      than anything else. As far as the results to our profit were concerned, we
+      might almost as well have gone straight on, for we only took one small
+      cow-cachalot. But the time spent thus cruising was by no means wasted.
+      Before we left finally for New Zealand, every one of those Kanakas was as
+      much at home in the whale-boats as he would have been in a canoe. Of
+      course they were greatly helped by their entire familiarity with the
+      water, which took from them all that dread of being drowned which hampers
+      the white "greenie" so sorely, besides which, the absolute confidence they
+      had in our prowess amongst the whales freed them from any fear on that
+      head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tui proved himself to be a smart harpooner, and was chosen for the
+      captain's boat. During our conversations, I was secretly amused to hear
+      him allude to himself as Sam, thinking how little it accorded with his
+      SOI-DISANT Kanaka origin. He often regaled me with accounts of his royal
+      struggles to maintain his rule, all of which narrations I received with a
+      goodly amount of reserve, though confirmed in some particulars by the
+      Kanakas, when I became able to converse with them. But I was hardly
+      prepared to find, as I did many years after, upon looking up some detail
+      in Findlay's "South Pacific Directory," this worthy alluded to as "the
+      celebrated Sam," in a brief account of Futuna. There he was said to be
+      king of the twin isles; so I suppose he found means to oust his rival, and
+      resume his sovereignty; though, how an American negro, as Sam undoubtedly
+      was, ever managed to gain such a position, remains to me an unfathomable
+      mystery. Certainly he did not reveal any such masterful attributes as one
+      would have expected in him, while he served as harpooner on board the
+      CACHALOT.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Gradually we crept south, until one morning we sighted the towering mass
+      of Sunday Island, the principal member of the small Kermadec group, which
+      lies nearly on the prime meridian of one hundred and eighty degrees, and
+      but a short distance north of the extremity of New Zealand. We had long
+      ago finished the last of our fresh provisions, fish had been very scarce,
+      so the captain seized the opportunity to give us a run ashore, and at the
+      same time instructed us to do such foraging as we could. It was rumoured
+      that there were many wild pigs to be found, and certainly abundance of
+      goats; but if both these sources of supply failed, we could fall back on
+      fish, of which we were almost sure to get a good haul.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The island is a stupendous mass of rock, rising sheer from the waves, in
+      some places to a height of fifteen hundred feet. These towering cliffs are
+      clothed with verdure, large trees clinging to their precipitous sides in a
+      marvellous way. Except at one small bight, known as Denham Bay, the place
+      is inaccessible, not only from the steepness of its cliffs, but because,
+      owing to its position, the gigantic swell of the South Pacific assails
+      those immense bastions with a force and volume that would destroy
+      instantly any vessel that unfortunately ventured too near. Denham Bay,
+      however, is in some measure protected by reefs of scattered boulders,
+      which break the greatest volume of the oncoming rollers. Within those
+      protecting barriers, with certain winds, it is possible to effect a
+      landing with caution; but even then no tyro in boat-handling should
+      venture to do so, as the experiment would almost certainly be fatal to
+      boat and crew.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We hove-to off the little bay, the waters of which looked placid enough
+      for a pleasure-party, lowered two boats well furnished with fishing gear
+      and such other equipment as we thought would be needed, and pulled away
+      for the landing-place. As we drew near the beach, we found that, in spite
+      of the hindrance to the ocean swell afforded by the reefs, it broke upon
+      the beach in rollers of immense size. In order to avoid any mishap, then,
+      we turned the boats' heads to seaward, and gently backed towards the
+      beach, until a larger breaker than usual came thundering in. As it rushed
+      towards us, we pulled lustily to meet it, the lovely craft rising to its
+      foaming crest like sea-birds. Then, as soon as we were on its outer slope,
+      we reversed the stroke again, coming in on its mighty shoulders at racing
+      speed. The instant our keels touched the beach we all leapt out, and
+      exerting every ounce of strength we possessed, ran the boats up high and
+      dry before the next roller had time to do more than hiss harmlessly around
+      our feet. It was a task of uncommon difficulty, for the shore was wholly
+      composed of loose lava and pumice-stone grit, into which we sank
+      ankle-deep at every step, besides being exceedingly steep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We managed, however, to escape without any mishap, for the drenching was a
+      boon to our burnt-up skins. Off we started along the level land, which, as
+      far as I could judge, extended inland for perhaps a mile and a half by
+      about two miles wide. From this flat shelf the cliffs rose
+      perpendicularly, as they did from the sea. Up their sides were innumerable
+      goat-tracks, upon some of which we could descry a few of those agile
+      creatures climbing almost like flies. The plateau was thickly wooded, many
+      of the trees having been fruit-bearing once, but now, much to our
+      disappointment, barren from neglect.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A ruined house, surrounded by other vestiges of what had once been a
+      homestead, stood in the middle of this piece of land. Feeling curious to
+      know what the history of this isolated settlement might be, I asked the
+      mate if he knew anything of it. He told me that an American named
+      Halstead, with his family, lived here for years, visited only by an
+      occasional whaler, to whom they sold such produce as they might have and
+      be able to spare at the time. What their previous history had been, or why
+      they thus chose to cut themselves off from the world, he did not know; but
+      they seemed contented enough with their tiny kingdom, nor had any wish to
+      leave it. But it came to pass that one night they felt the sure and
+      firm-set earth trembling convulsively beneath their feet. Rushing out of
+      their house, they saw the heavens bespread with an awful pall of smoke,
+      the under-side of which was glowing with the reflected fires of some vast
+      furnace. Their terror was increased by a smart shower of falling ashes and
+      the reverberations of subterranean thunders. At first they thought of
+      flight in their boat, not reckoning the wide stretch of sea which rolled
+      between them and the nearest land, but the height and frequency of the
+      breakers then prevailing made that impossible.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Their situation was pitiable in the extreme. During the years of peace and
+      serenity they had spent here, no thought of the insecurity of their tenure
+      had troubled them. Though they had but been dwellers on the threshold of
+      the mountain, as it were, and any extension of their territory impossible
+      by reason of the insurmountable barrier around them, they had led an
+      untroubled life, all unknowing of the fearful forces beneath their feet.
+      But now they found the foundations of the rocks beneath breaking up; that
+      withering, incessant shower of ashes and scoriae destroyed all their
+      crops; the mild and delicate air changed into a heavy, sulphurous miasma;
+      while overhead the beneficent face of the bright-blue sky had become a
+      horrible canopy of deadly black, about which played lurid coruscations of
+      infernal fires.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What they endured throughout those days and nights of woe, could never be
+      told. They fled from the home they had reared with such abundance of
+      loving labour, taking refuge in a cave; for not even the knowledge that
+      the mountain itself seemed to be in the throes of dissolution could
+      entirely destroy their trust in those apparently eternal fastnesses. Here
+      their eldest son died, worried to death by incessant terror. At last a
+      passing whaler, remembering them and seeing the condition of things, had
+      the humanity and courage to stand in near enough to see their agonized
+      signals of distress. All of them, except the son buried but a day or two
+      before, were safely received and carried away, leaving the terrible
+      mountain to its solitude.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As I listened, I almost involuntarily cast my eyes upwards; nor was I at
+      all surprised to see far overhead a solitary patch of smoky cloud, which I
+      believe to have been a sure indication that the volcano was still liable
+      to commence operations at any time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So far, we had not happened upon any pigs, or goats either, although we
+      saw many indications of the latter odoriferous animal. There were few
+      sea-birds to be seen, but in and out among the dense undergrowth ran many
+      short-legged brown birds, something like a partridge&mdash;the same, I
+      believe, as we afterwards became familiar with in Stewart's Island by the
+      name of "Maori hens." They were so tame and inquisitive that we had no
+      difficulty in securing a few by the simple process of knocking them over
+      with sticks. From the main branch of a large tree hung a big honey-comb,
+      out of which the honey was draining upon the earth. Around it buzzed a
+      busy concourse of bees, who appeared to us so formidable that we decided
+      to leave them to the enjoyment of their sweet store, in case we should
+      invite an attack.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So far, our rambling had revealed nothing of any service to us; but just
+      then, struck by the appearance of a plant which was growing profusely in a
+      glade we were passing over, I made bold to taste one of the leaves. What
+      the botanical name of the vegetable is, I do not know; but, under the
+      designation of "Maori cabbage," it is well known in New Zealand. It looks
+      like a lettuce, running to seed; but it tastes exactly like young
+      turnip-tops, and is a splendid anti-scorbutic. What its discovery meant to
+      us, I can hardly convey to any one who does not know what an insatiable
+      craving for potatoes and green vegetables possesses seamen when they have
+      for long been deprived of these humble but necessary articles of food.
+      Under the circumstances, no "find" could have given us greater pleasure&mdash;that
+      is, in the food line&mdash;than this did.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Taking it all round, however, the place as a foraging ground was not a
+      success. We chased a goat of very large size, and beard voluminous as a
+      Rabbi's, into a cave, which may have been the one the Halsteads took
+      shelter in, for we saw no other. One of the Kanakas volunteered to go in
+      after him with a line, and did so. The resultant encounter was the best
+      bit of fun we had had for many a day. After a period of darksome scuffling
+      within, the entangled pair emerged, fiercely wrestling, Billy being to all
+      appearance much the fresher of the two. Fair play seemed to demand that we
+      should let them fight it out; but, sad to say, the other Kanakas could not
+      see things in that light, and Billy was soon despatched. Rather needless
+      killing, too; for no one, except at starvation-point, could have eaten the
+      poor remains of leathery flesh that still decorated that weather-beaten
+      frame.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But this sort of thing was tiring and unprofitable. The interest of the
+      place soon fizzled out, when it was found there was so little worth taking
+      away; so, as the day was getting on, it was decided to launch off and
+      start fishing. In a few minutes we were afloat again, and anchored, in
+      about four fathoms, in as favourable a spot for our sport as ever I saw.
+      Fish swarmed about us of many sorts, but principally of the "kauwhai," a
+      kind of mullet very plentiful about Auckland, and averaging five or six
+      pounds. Much to my annoyance, we had not been able to get any bait, except
+      a bit of raw salt-pork, which hardly any fish but the shark tribe will
+      look at. Had I known or thought of it, a bit of goat would have been far
+      more attractive.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, as there was no help for it, we baited up and started. "Nary
+      nibble ermong 'em!" growled Sam, as we sat impatiently waiting for a bite.
+      When we hauled up to see what was wrong, fish followed the hook up in
+      hundreds, letting us know plainly as possible that they only wanted
+      something tasty. It was outrageous, exasperating beyond measure! At last
+      Samuela grew so tired of it that he seized his harpoon, and hurled it into
+      the middle of a company of kauwhai that were calmly nosing around the
+      bows. By the merest chance he managed to impale one of them upon the broad
+      point. It was hardly in the boat before I had seized it, scaled it, and
+      cut it into neat little blocks. All hands rebaited with it, and flung out
+      again. The change was astounding. Up they came, two at a time, dozens and
+      dozens of them kauwhai, cavalle, yellow-tail, schnapper&mdash;lovely fish
+      of delicious flavour and goodly size. Then one of us got a fish which made
+      him yell, "Shark! shark!" with all his might. He had a small line of
+      American cotton, staunch as copper wire, but dreadfully cutting to the
+      hands. When he took a turn round the logger-head, the friction of the
+      running line cut right into the white oak, but the wonderful cord and hook
+      still held their own. At last the monster yielded, coming in at first inch
+      by inch, then more rapidly, till raised in triumph above the gunwhale&mdash;a
+      yellow-tail six feet long. I have caught this splendid fish (ELAGATIS
+      BIPINNULATIS) many times before and since then, but never did I see such a
+      grand specimen as this one&mdash;no, not by thirty or forty pounds. Then I
+      got a giant cavalle. His broad, shield-like body blazed hither and thither
+      as I struggled to ship him, but it was long ere he gave in to superior
+      strength and excellence of line and hook.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile, the others had been steadily increasing our cargo, until,
+      feeling that we had quite as much fish as would suffice us, besides being
+      really a good load, I suggested a move towards the ship. We were laying
+      within about half a mile of the shore, where the extremity of the level
+      land reached the cliffs. Up one of the well-worn tracks a fine, fat goat
+      was slowly creeping, stopping every now and then to browse upon the short
+      herbage that clung to the crevices of the rock. Without saying a word,
+      Polly the Kanaka slipped over the side, and struck out with swift overhead
+      strokes for the foot of the cliff. As soon as I saw what, he was after, I
+      shouted loudly for him to return, but he either could not or would not
+      hear me. The fellow's seal-like ability as a swimmer was, of course, well
+      known to me, but I must confess I trembled for his life in such a
+      weltering whirl of rock-torn sea as boiled among the crags at the base of
+      that precipice. He, however, evidently knew what he was going to do, and,
+      though taking risks which would have certainly been fatal to an ordinary
+      swimmer, was quite unafraid of the result.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We all watched him breathlessly as he apparently headed straight for the
+      biggest outlying rock&mdash;a square, black boulder about the size of an
+      ordinary railway car. He came up to it on the summit of a foaming wave;
+      but just as I looked for him to be dashed to pieces against its adamantine
+      sides, he threw his legs into the air and disappeared. A stealthy,
+      satisfied smile glowed upon Samuela's rugged visage, and, as he caught my
+      eye, he said jauntily, "Polly savee too much. Lookee him come on top one
+      time!" I looked, and sure enough there was the daring villain crawling up
+      among the kelp far out of reach of the hungry rollers. It was a marvellous
+      exhibition of coolness and skill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Without waiting an instant, he began to stalk the goat, dodging amongst
+      the bushes with feet that clung to the steep sides of the cliff as well as
+      the animal's. Before he could reach her, she had winded him, and was off
+      up the track. He followed, without further attempt to hide himself; but,
+      despite his vigour and ability, would, I fancy, have stood a microscopic
+      chance of catching her had she not been heavy with kid. As it was, he had
+      all his work cut out for him. When he did catch her, she made so fierce it
+      struggle for life and liberty that, in the endeavour to hold her, he
+      missed his insecure foothold, and the pair came tumbling over and over
+      down the cliff in a miniature avalanche of stones and dust. At the bottom
+      they both lay quiet for a time; while I anxiously waited, fearing the rash
+      fool was seriously injured; but in a minute or two he was on his feet
+      again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Lashing the goat to his body, and ignoring her struggles, he crawled out
+      as far among the rocks as he could; then, at the approach of a big
+      breaker, he dived to meet it, coming up outside its threatening top like a
+      life-buoy. I pulled in, as near as I could venture, to pick him up, and in
+      a few minutes had him safely on board again, but suffering fearfully. In
+      his roll down the cliff he had been without his trousers, which would have
+      been some protection to him. Consequently, his thighs were deeply cut and
+      torn in many places, while the brine entering so many wounds, though a
+      grand styptic, must have tortured him unspeakably. At any rate, though he
+      was a regular stoic to bear pain, he fainted while I was "dressing him
+      down" in the most vigorous language I could command for his foolhardy
+      trick. Then we all realized what he must be going through, and felt that
+      he was getting all the punishment he deserved, and more. The goat, poor
+      thing! seemed none the worse for her rough handling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The mate gave the signal to get back on board just as Polly revived, so
+      there were no inconvenient questions asked, and we returned alongside in
+      triumph, with such a cargo of fish as would have given us a good month's
+      pay all round could we have landed them at Billingsgate. Although the mate
+      had not succeeded as well as we, the catch of the two boats aggregated
+      half a ton, not a fish among the lot less than five pounds weight, and one
+      of a hundred and twenty&mdash;the yellow-tail aforesaid. As soon as we
+      reached the ship, the boats were run up, sails filled, and away we
+      lumbered again towards New Zealand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the great mass of that solitary mountain faded away in the gathering
+      shades of evening, it was impossible to help remembering the sufferings of
+      that afflicted family, confined to those trembling, sulphurous,
+      ash-bestrewn rocks, amid gloom by day, and unnatural glare by night, for
+      all that weary while. And while I admit that there is to some people a
+      charm in being alone with nature, it is altogether another thing when your
+      solitude becomes compulsory, your paradise a prison from which you cannot
+      break away. There are many such nooks scattered about the ocean, where men
+      have hidden themselves away from the busy world, and been forgotten by it;
+      but few of them, I fancy, offer such potentialities of terror as Sunday
+      Island.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had hardly lost sight of the land, when Polly's capture gave birth to a
+      kid. This event was the most interesting thing that had happened on board
+      for a great while, and the funny little visitor would have run great risk
+      of being completely spoiled had he lived. But, to our universal sorrow,
+      the mother's milk failed&mdash;from want of green food, I suppose&mdash;and
+      we were obliged to kill the poor little chap to save him from being
+      starved to death. He made a savoury mess for some whose appetite for
+      flesh-meat was stronger than any sentimental considerations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To an ordinary trader, the distance between the Kermadecs and the Bay of
+      Islands, New Zealand, roughly represents a couple of days' sail; but to
+      us, who were apparently incapable of hurry under any circumstances, it
+      meant a good week's bludgeoning the protesting waves before the grim
+      outliers of the Three Kings came into view. Even then, although the
+      distance was a mere bagatelle, it was another two days before we arrived
+      off that magnificent harbour where reposes the oldest township in New
+      Zealand&mdash;Russell, where rest the mortal remains of the first really
+      Pakeha Maori, but which, for some unaccountable reason, is still left
+      undeveloped and neglected, visited only by the wandering whalers (in
+      ever-decreasing numbers) and an occasional trim, business-like, and
+      gentlemanly man-o'-war, that, like a Guardsman strolling the West End in
+      mufti, stalks the sea with never an item of her smart rig deviating by a
+      shade from its proper set or sheer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXIV. THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      In a comparative new colony like New Zealand, where the marvellous growth
+      of the young state can be traced within living memory, from the privations
+      of the pioneer to the fully developed city with all the machinery of our
+      latest luxurious civilization, it is exceedingly interesting to note how
+      the principal towns have sprung up arbitrarily, and without any heed to
+      the intentions of the ruling powers. The old-fashioned township of
+      Kororarika, or Port Russell, is a case very much in point. As we sailed in
+      between the many islets from which the magnificent bay takes its name, for
+      all appearances to the contrary, we might have been the first,
+      discoverers. Not a house, not a sail, not a boat, broke the loneliness and
+      primeval look of the placid waters and the adjacent shores. Not until we
+      drew near the anchorage, and saw upon opening up the little town the
+      straight-standing masts of three whale-ships, did anything appear to
+      dispel the intense air of solitude overhanging the whole. As we drew
+      nearer, and rounded-to for mooring, I looked expectantly for some sign of
+      enterprise on the part of the inhabitants&mdash;some tradesman's boat
+      soliciting orders; some of the population on the beach (there was no sign
+      of a pier), watching the visitor come to an anchor. Not a bit of it. The
+      whole place seemed a maritime sleepy hollow, the dwellers in which had
+      lost all interest in life, and had become far less energetic than the
+      much-maligned Kanakas in their dreamy isles of summer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yet this was once intended for the capital of New Zealand. When the large
+      and splendidly-built city of Dunedin, Otago, was a barren bush, haunted
+      only by the "morepork" and the apteryx, Russell was humming with vitality,
+      her harbour busy with fleets of ships, principally whalers, who found it
+      the most convenient calling-place in the southern temperate zone. Terrible
+      scenes were enacted about its "blackguard beach," orgies of wild
+      debauchery and bloodshed indulged in by the half-savage and utterly
+      lawless crews of the whaleships. But it never attained to any real
+      importance. As a port of call for whalers, it enjoyed a certain kind of
+      prosperity; but when the South Sea fishery dwindled, Russell shrank in
+      immediate sympathy. It never had any vitality of its own, no manufactures
+      or products, unless the wretched coalmines adjacent, with their dirty
+      output, which is scoffed at by the grimiest tug afloat, could be dignified
+      by the name.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Remembering, as I did, the beauty, the energy, and prosperity of the great
+      New Zealand ports, some of them with not a tithe of the natural advantages
+      of Russell, I felt amazed, almost indignant, at its dead-and-alive
+      appearance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our anchor was no sooner down than the captains of the JAMES ARNOLD,
+      MATILDA SAYER, and CORAL lowered and came on board, eager to hear or to
+      tell such news as was going. As we had now grown to expect, all work was
+      over immediately the sails were fast and decks cleared up, so that we were
+      free to entertain our visitors. And a high old time we had of it that
+      afternoon! What with songs, dances, and yarns, the hours flew by with
+      lightning speed. Our Kanakas, too, were overjoyed to find compatriots
+      among the visitors, and settled down to a steady stream of talk which
+      lasted, without intermission, the whole night through. It was a wonderful
+      exhibition of tongue-wagging, though what it was all about puzzled me
+      greatly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Life on board those three ships, though described in glowing terms by the
+      visitors, was evidently not to be mentioned for comfort in the same breath
+      as ours. But we found that our late captain's fame as a "hard citizen" was
+      well known to all; so that it is only ordinary justice to suppose that
+      such a life as he led us was exceptional for even a Yankee spouter. Our
+      friends gave us a blood-curdling account of the Solander whaling ground,
+      which we were about to visit, the JAMES ARNOLD and CORAL having spent a
+      season there that cruise. I did not, however, pay much attention to their
+      yarns, feeling sure that, even if they were fact, it would not help to
+      brood over coming hardships, and inclined to give liberal discount to most
+      of their statements. The incessant chatter, got wearisome at last, and I,
+      for one, was not sorry when, at two in the morning, our visitors departed
+      to their several ships, and left us to get what sleep still remained left
+      to us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A pleasant expedition was planned for the next day. Our visit being
+      principally for wooding and watering, both of which it was necessary for
+      us to do ourselves, Captain Count showed his usual promptitude in
+      commencing at once. Permission having been obtained and, I suppose, paid
+      for, we set out with two boats and a plentiful supply of axes for a
+      well-wooded promontory to prepare a store of wood. Wood chopping is not
+      usually looked upon as a sailor's pastime; but we had had considerable
+      experience during the voyage, as a result of which most of us could swing
+      an axe in fine style. But the Kanakas beat us all hollow. Delighted to get
+      ashore again, pleased with the fine axes as children with new toys, they
+      laid about them in grand style, the young trees falling right and left in
+      scores. Anybody would have judged that we were working piece-work, at so
+      much a cord, the pile grew so fast. There was such a quantity collected
+      that, instead of lightering it off in the boats, which is very rough and
+      dirty usage for them, I constructed a sort of raft with four large spars
+      arranged in the form of an oblong, placing an immense quantity of the
+      smaller stuff in between. Upright sticks were rudely lashed here and
+      there, to keep the pile from bobbing out underneath, and thus loaded we
+      proceeded slowly to the ship with sufficient wood for our wants brought in
+      one journey. It was immediately hoisted on board, sawn into convenient
+      lengths, and stowed away, the whole operation being completed, of getting
+      between eight and ten tons of firewood cut, ferried, and stowed, in less
+      than eight hours.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next day was devoted to watering; but as I have elsewhere described that
+      necessary if prosaic occupation, I will not repeat the story. Sufficient
+      to say that the job was successfully "did" in the course of the day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All the work being accomplished for which we had come, it only remained to
+      give the crew "liberty." So the port watch, in their best (?) rig, were
+      mustered aft; each man received ten shillings, and away they went in glee
+      for the first genuine day's liberty since leaving Honolulu. For although
+      they had been much ashore in Vau Vau, that was not looked upon in the same
+      light as a day's freedom in a town where liquor might be procured, and the
+      questionable privilege of getting drunk taken advantage of. Envious eyes
+      watched their progress from the other ships, but, much to my secret
+      satisfaction, none of their crews were allowed ashore at the same time.
+      There were quite sufficient possibilities of a row among our own crowd,
+      without farther complications such as would almost certainly have occurred
+      had the strangers been let loose at the same time. Unfortunately, to the
+      ordinary sailor-man, the place presented no other forms of amusement
+      besides drinking, and I was grieved to see almost the whole crowd,
+      including the Kanakas, emerge from the grog-shop plentifully supplied with
+      bottles, and, seating themselves on the beach, commence their carouse. The
+      natives evinced the greatest eagerness to get drunk, swallowing down the
+      horrible "square gin" as if it were water. They passed with the utmost
+      rapidity through all the stages of drunkenness. Before they had been
+      ashore an hour, most of them were lying like logs, in the full blaze of
+      the sun, on the beach. Seeing this, the captain suggested the advisability
+      of bringing them on board at once, as they were only exposed to robbery by
+      the few prowling Maories that loafed about the beach&mdash;a curious
+      contrast to the stately fellows met with in other parts of New Zealand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So we set to work, and brought them on board again, handing them over to
+      their compatriots by way of warning against similar excesses, although, it
+      must be confessed, that they were hardly to blame, with the example of
+      their more civilized shipmates before their eyes. Sam was energetic in his
+      condemnation of both the Kanakas for getting drunk, and the captain for
+      giving them any money wherewith to do so. The remainder of the watch
+      fortunately concluded their carouse without any serious disorder. A few
+      bruises bestowed upon one another, more in clumsy horseplay than real
+      fighting summed up the casualties among them. By ten o'clock that evening
+      we had them all safely on board again, ready for sore heads and repentance
+      in the morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the day I had evolved a scheme, which I had great hopes of carrying
+      out when our watch should be let loose on the morrow. When morning came,
+      and the liberty men received their money, I called them together and
+      unfolded my plan. Briefly, I proposed a sort of picnic at a beautiful spot
+      discovered during our wooding expedition. I was surprised and very pleased
+      at the eager way in which all, with the sole exceptions of Tui and his
+      fellow-harpooner, a Portuguese, fell in with my suggestions. Without any
+      solicitation on my part, my Kanakas brought me their money, begging me to
+      expend it for them, as they did not know how, and did not want to buy gin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Under such favourable auspices as these, we landed shortly after eight
+      a.m., making a bee-line for the only provision shop the place boasted.
+      Here we laid in a stock of such savouries as we had long been strangers
+      to, both eatables and drinkables, although I vetoed fire-water altogether.
+      Beer in bottle was substituted, at my suggestion, as being, if we must
+      have drinks of that nature, much the least harmful to men in a hot
+      country, besides, in the quantity that we were able to take,
+      non-intoxicant. We also took tea, sugar, milk, and a kettle, Thus
+      furnished, we struck for the country, merry as a group of schoolboys,
+      making the quiet air ring again with song, shout, and laughter&mdash;all
+      of which may seem puerile and trivial in the extreme; but having seen
+      liberty men ashore in nearly every big port in the world, watched the
+      helpless, dazed look with which they wander about, swinging hands, bent
+      shoulders, and purposeless rolling gait, I have often fervently wished
+      that some one would take a party of them for a ramble with a definite
+      purpose, helping them to a little enjoyment, instead of them falling, from
+      sheer lack of knowing what else to do, into some dirty, darksome gin-mill,
+      to be besotted, befooled, and debased.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I do earnestly wish that some of the good folk in London and Liverpool,
+      who are wringing their hands for want of something to do among their
+      fellow-men, would pay a visit to sailor-town for the purpose of getting up
+      a personally-conducted party of sailors to see the sights worth seeing. It
+      is a cheap form of pleasure, even if they paid all expenses, though that
+      would not be likely. They would have an uphill job at first, for the
+      sailor has been so long accustomed to being preyed upon by the class he
+      knows, and neglected by everybody else except the few good people who want
+      to preach to him, that he would probably, in a sheepish shame-faced sort
+      of way, refuse to have any "truck" with you, as he calls it. If the
+      "sailors' home" people were worth their salt, they would organize
+      expeditions by carriage to such beautiful places as&mdash;in London, for
+      instance&mdash;Hampton Court, Zoological Gardens, Crystal Palace, Epping
+      Forest, and the like, with competent guides and good catering
+      arrangements. But no; the sailor is allowed to step outside the door of
+      the "home" into the grimy, dismal streets with nothing open to him but the
+      dance-house and brothel on one side, and the mission hall or reading-room
+      on the other. God forbid that I should even appear to sneer at missions to
+      seamen; nothing is farther from my intention; but I do feel that sailors
+      need a little healthy human interest to be taken in providing some
+      pleasure for them, and that there are unorthodox ways of "missioning"
+      which are well worth a trial.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I once took a party (while I was an A.B.) from Wells-street Home to the
+      South Kensington Museum. There were six of them&mdash;a Frenchman, a Dane,
+      a Russian Finn, two Englishmen, and an Irishman. Though continually
+      sailing from London for years, this was the first occasion they had ever
+      been west of Aldgate. The only mistake I made was in going too deep at one
+      step. The journey from Shadwell to South Kensington, under the guidance of
+      one familiar, through the hardest personal experiences, with every corner
+      of the vast network, was quite enough for one day. So that by the time we
+      entered the Museum they were surfeited temporarily with sight-seeing, and
+      not able to take in the wonders of the mighty place. Seeing this, I did
+      not persist, but, after some rest and refreshment, led them across the
+      road among the naval models. Ah! it was a rare treat to see them there.
+      For if there is one thing more than another which interests a sailor, it
+      is a well-made model of a ship. Sailors are model-makers almost by nature,
+      turning out with the most meagre outfit of tools some wonderfully-finished
+      replicas of the vessels is which they have sailed. And the collection of
+      naval models at South Kensington is, I suppose, unsurpassed in the world
+      for the number and finish of the miniature vessels there shown.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our day was a great success, never to be forgotten by those poor fellows,
+      whose only recreation previously had been to stroll listlessly up and down
+      the gloomy, stone-flagged hall of the great barracks until sheer weariness
+      drove them out into the turbid current of the "Highway," there to seek
+      speedily some of the dirty haunts where the "runner" and the prostitute:
+      awaited them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But I have wandered far from the Bay of Islands while thus chattering of
+      the difficulties that beset the path of rational enjoyment for the sailor
+      ashore. Returning to that happy day, I remember vividly how, just after we
+      got clear of the town, we were turning down a lane between hedgerows
+      wonderfully like one of our own country roads, when something&mdash;I
+      could not tell what&mdash;gripped my heart and sent a lump into my throat.
+      Tears sprang unbidden to my eyes, and I trembled from head to foot with
+      emotion. Whatever could it be? Bewildered for the moment, I looked around,
+      and saw a hedge laden with white hawthorn blossom, the sweet English
+      "may." Every Londoner knows how strongly that beautiful scent appeals to
+      him, even when wafted from draggled branches borne slumwards by tramping
+      urchins who have been far afield despoiling the trees of their lovely
+      blossoms, careless of the damage they have been doing. But to me, who had
+      not seen a bit for years, the flood of feeling undammed by that odorous
+      breath, was overwhelming. I could hardly tear myself away from the spot,
+      and, when at last I did, found myself continually turning to try and catch
+      another whiff of one of the most beautiful scents in the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently we came to a cottage flooded from ground to roof-ridge with
+      blossoms of scarlet geranium. There must have been thousands of them, all
+      borne by one huge stem which was rooted by the door of the house. A little
+      in front of it grew a fuchsia, twelve or fourteen feet high, with
+      wide-spreading branches, likewise loaded with handsome blooms; while the
+      ground beneath was carpeted with the flowers shaken from their places by
+      the rude wind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So, through scenes of loveliness that appealed even to the dusky Kanakas,
+      we trudged gaily along, arriving pretty well fagged at our destination&mdash;a
+      great glade of tenderest green, surrounded by magnificent trees on three
+      sides; the fourth opening on to a dazzling white beach sloping gently down
+      to the sea. Looking seaward, amidst the dancing, sparkling wavelets, rose
+      numerous tree-clothed islets, making a perfectly beautiful seascape. On
+      either side of the stretch of beach fantastic masses of rock lay about, as
+      if scattered by some tremendous explosion. Where the sea reached them,
+      they were covered with untold myriads of oysters, ready to be eaten and of
+      delicious flavour.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What need to say more? With oyster-feeding, fishing, bathing,
+      tree-climbing, tea-making, song-singing the hours fled with pitiless
+      haste, so that, before we had half emptied the brimming cup of joys
+      proffered us, the slanting rays of the setting sun warned us to return
+      lest we should get "hushed" in the dark. We came on board rejoicing, laden
+      with spoils of flowers and fish, with two-thirds of our money still in our
+      pockets, and full of happy memories of one of the most delightful days in
+      our whole lives.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A long night's sound sleep was rudely broken into in the morning by the
+      cry of "Man the windlass." Having got all we wanted, we were bound away to
+      finish, if luck were with us, the lading of our good ship from the teeming
+      waters of the Solander grounds. I know the skipper's hopes were high, for
+      he never tired of telling how, when in command of a new ship, he once
+      fished the whole of his cargo&mdash;six thousand barrels of sperm oil&mdash;from
+      the neighbourhood to which we were now bound. He always admitted, though,
+      that the weather he experienced was unprecedented. Still, nothing could
+      shake his belief in the wonderful numbers of sperm whales to be found on
+      the south coasts of New Zealand, which faith was well warranted, since he
+      had there won from the waves, not only the value of his new ship, but a
+      handsome profit in addition, all in one season.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hearing this kind of thing every day made me feel quite hungry to reach
+      the battle-field; but, for reasons which doubtless were excellent,
+      although I cannot pretend to explain them, we started north about, which
+      not only added nearly one hundred miles to the distance we had to go, but
+      involved us in a gale which effectually stopped our progress for a week.
+      It was our first taste of the gentle zephyrs which waft their sweetness
+      over New Zealand, after sweeping over the vast, bleak, iceberg-studded
+      expanse of the Antarctic Ocean. Our poor Kanakas were terribly frightened,
+      for the weather of their experience, except on the rare occasions when
+      they are visited by the devastating hurricane, is always fine, steady, and
+      warm. For the first time in their lives they saw hail, and their wonder
+      was too great for words. But the cold was very trying, not only to them,
+      but to us, who had been so long in the tropics that our blood was almost
+      turned to water. The change was nearly as abrupt as that so often
+      experienced by our seamen, who at the rate of sixteen knots an hour plunge
+      from a temperature of eighty degrees to one of thirty degrees in about
+      three days.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We, with the ready adaptability of seamen, soon got accustomed to the
+      bleak, bitter weather, but the Kanakas wilted like hothouse plants under
+      its influence. They were well fed and well clothed, yet they seemed to
+      shrivel up, looking thinner every day, several of them getting deep coughs
+      strongly suggestive of a cemetery. It was no easy task to get them to
+      work, or even move, never a one of them lumbering aloft but I expected him
+      to come down by the run. This was by no means cheering, when it was
+      remembered what kind of a campaign lay before us. Captain Count seemed to
+      be quite easy in his mind, however, and as we had implicit confidence in
+      his wisdom and judgment, we were somewhat reassured.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The gale at last blew itself out, the wind veering to the northward again,
+      with beautiful, spring-like weather, just cool enough to be pleasant, and,
+      withal, favourable for getting to our destination. We soon made the land
+      again about New Plymouth, jogging along near enough to the coast to admire
+      the splendid rugged scenery of the Britain of the south. All hands were
+      kept busily employed preparing for stormy weather&mdash;reeving new
+      running-gear, bending the strongest suit of sails, and looking well to all
+      the whaling gear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In this active exercise of real sailor-work, the time, though long for an
+      ordinary passage, passed quickly and pleasantly away, so that when we
+      hauled round the massive promontory guarding the western entrance to
+      Foveaux Straits, we were almost surprised to find ourselves there so soon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This, then, was the famous and dreaded Solander whaling ground. Almost in
+      the centre of the wide stretch of sea between Preservation Inlet, on the
+      Middle Island, and the western end of the South, or Stewart's Island, rose
+      a majestic mass of wave-beaten rock some two thousand feet high, like a
+      grim sentinel guarding the Straits. The extent of the fishing grounds was
+      not more than a hundred and fifty square miles, and it was rarely that the
+      vessels cruised over the whole of it. The most likely area for finding
+      whales was said to be well within sight of the Solander Rock itself, but
+      keeping on the western side of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a lovely day when we first entered upon our cruising ground, a
+      gentle north-east wind blowing, the sky a deep, cloudless blue, so that
+      the rugged outline of Stewart's Island was distinctly seen at its extreme
+      distance from us. To the eastward the Straits narrowed rapidly, the
+      passage at the other end being scarcely five miles wide between the
+      well-known harbour of the Bluff, the port of Invercargill, and a long
+      rocky island which almost blocked the strait. This passage, though cutting
+      off a big corner, not only shortening the distance from the westward
+      considerably, but oftentimes saving outward bounders a great deal of heavy
+      weather off the Snares to the south of Stewart's Island, is rarely used by
+      sailing-ships, except coasters; but steamers regularly avail themselves of
+      it, being independent of its conflicting currents and baffling winds.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXV. ON THE SOLANDER GROUNDS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Our opening day was an auspicious one. We had not been within the cruising
+      radius more than four hours before the long-silent; cry of "Blo-o-o-w!"
+      resounded from the mainmast head. It was a lone whale, apparently of large
+      size, though spouting almost as feebly as a calf. But that, I was told by
+      the skipper, was nothing to go by down here. He believed right firmly that
+      there were no small whales to be found in these waters at all. He averred
+      that in all his experience he had never seen a cow-cachalot anywhere
+      around Stewart's Island, although, as usual, he did no theorizing as to
+      the reason why.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Eagerly we took to the boats and made for our first fish, setting
+      alongside of him in less than half an hour from our first glimpse of his
+      bushy breath. As the irons sank into his blubber, he raised himself a
+      little, and exposed a back like a big ship bottom up. Verily, the
+      skipper's words were justified, for we had seen nothing bigger of the
+      whale-kind that voyage. His manner puzzled us not a little. He had not a
+      kick in him. Complacently, as though only anxious to oblige, he laid
+      quietly while we cleared for action, nor did he show any signs of
+      resentment or pain while he was being lanced with all the vigour we
+      possessed. He just took all our assaults with perfect quietude and
+      exemplary patience, so that we could hardly help regarding him with great
+      suspicion, suspecting some deep scheme of deviltry hidden by this
+      abnormally sheep-like demeanour. But nothing happened. In the same
+      peaceful way he died, without the slightest struggle sufficient to raise
+      even an eddy on the almost smooth sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Leaving the mate by the carcass, we returned on board, the skipper hailing
+      us immediately on our arrival to know what was the matter with him. We, of
+      course, did not know, neither did the question trouble us. All we were
+      concerned about was the magnanimous way in which he, so to speak, made us
+      a present of himself, giving us no more trouble to secure his treasure
+      than as if he had been a lifeless thing. We soon had him alongside,
+      finding, upon ranging him by the ship, that he was over seventy feet long,
+      with a breadth of bulk quite in proportion to such a vast length.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cutting-in commenced at once, for fine weather there was by no means to be
+      wasted, being of rare occurrence and liable at the shortest notice to be
+      succeeded by a howling gale. Our latest acquisition, however, was of such
+      gigantic proportions that the decapitation alone bade fair to take us all
+      night. A nasty cross swell began to get up, too&mdash;a combination of
+      north-westerly and south-westerly which, meeting at an angle where the
+      Straits began, raised a curious "jobble," making the vessel behave in a
+      drunken, uncertain manner. Sailors do not mind a ship rolling or pitching,
+      any more than a rider minds the motion of his horse; but when she does
+      both at once, with no approach to regularity in her movements, it makes
+      them feel angry with her. What, then, must our feelings have been under
+      such trying conditions, with that mountain of matter alongside to which so
+      much sheer hard labour had to be done, while the sky was getting greasy
+      and the wind beginning to whine in that doleful key which is the certain
+      prelude to a gale?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Everybody worked like Chinamen on a contract, as if there was no such
+      feeling as fatigue. Little was said, but we all realized that unless this
+      job was got over before what was brooding burst upon us, we should
+      certainly lose some portion of our hard-won whale. Still, our utmost
+      possible was all we could do; and when at daylight the head was hauled
+      alongside for cutting up, the imminent possibility of losing it, though
+      grievous to think of, worried nobody, for all had done their best. The
+      gale had commenced in business-like fashion, but the sea was horrible. It
+      was almost impossible to keep one's footing on the stage. At times the
+      whole mass of the head would be sucked down by the lee roll of the ship,
+      and go right under her keel, the fluke-chain which held it grinding and
+      straining as if it would tear the bows out of her. Then when she rolled
+      back again the head would rebound to the surface right away from the ship,
+      where we could not reach it to cut. Once or twice it bounced up beneath
+      our feet, striking the stage and lifting it with its living load several
+      inches, letting it fall again with a jerk that made us all cling for dear
+      life to our precarious perch.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In spite of these capers, we managed to get the junk off the head. It was
+      a tremendous lift for us; I hardly think we had ever raised such a weight
+      before. The skipper himself estimated it at fifteen tons, which was no
+      small load for the tackles in fine weather, but with the ship tumbling
+      about in her present fashion, it threatened to rip the mainmast out by the
+      roots&mdash;not, of course, the dead-weight strain; but when it was nearly
+      aboard, her sudden lee wallow sometimes floated the whole mass, which the
+      next instant, on the return roll, would be torn out of water, with all the
+      force of the ship suddenly rolling the other way. Every splinter, every
+      rope-yarn of her groaned again under this savage treatment; but so
+      splendid was her construction that she never made a drop of water more
+      than just sufficient to sweeten the limbers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was with great and genuine satisfaction that we saw it at last safely
+      lowered on deck and secured. But when we turned our attention to the case,
+      which, still attached to the skull, battered alongside, any chance of
+      saving it was at once seen to be hopeless. Indeed, as the old man said, it
+      was time for us to "up stick" and run for shelter. We had been too fully
+      occupied to notice the gradual increase of the wind; but when we did,
+      there was no gainsaying the fact that it was blowing a very stiff breeze
+      (ANGLICE, a violent gale). Fortunately for us, it was from the westward,
+      fair for the harbour of Port William, on the Stewart's Island side of the
+      Straits, so that we were free from the apprehension of being blown out to
+      sea or on a jagged lee shore.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While we were thus thinking during a brief pause to take breath, the old
+      packet herself solved our last difficulty in emphatic fashion. She gave a
+      tremendous lee lurch, which would inevitably have destroyed the cutting
+      stage if we had not hoisted it, driving right over the head, which
+      actually rose to the surface to windward, having passed under her bottom.
+      The weather roll immediately following was swift and sudden. From the
+      nature of things, it was evident that something must give way this time.
+      It did. For the first and only time in my experience, the fluke-chain was
+      actually torn through the piece to which it was fast&mdash;two feet of
+      solid gristle ripped asunder. Away went the head with its L150 to L200
+      worth of pure spermaceti, disappearing from view almost immediately.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It had no sooner gone than more sail was set, the yards were squared, and
+      the vessel kept away up the Straits for shelter. It was a big improvement,
+      for she certainly had begun to make dirty weather of it, and no wonder.
+      Now, however, running almost dead before the gale, getting into smoother
+      water at every fathom, she was steady as a rock, allowing us to pursue our
+      greasy avocation in comparative comfort. The gale was still increasing,
+      although now blowing with great fury; but, to our satisfaction, it was dry
+      and not too cold. Running before it, too, lessened our appreciation of its
+      force; besides which, we were exceedingly busy clearing away the enormous
+      mass of the junk, which, draining continually, kept the decks running with
+      oil.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We started to run up the Straits at about ten a.m. At two p.m. we suddenly
+      looked up from our toil, our attention called by a sudden lull in the
+      wind. We had rounded Saddle Point, a prominent headland, which shut off
+      from us temporarily the violence of the gale. Two hours later we found
+      ourselves hauling up into the pretty little harbour of Port William,
+      where, without taking more than a couple of hands off the work, the vessel
+      was rounded-to and anchored with quite as little fuss as bringing a boat
+      alongside a ship. It was the perfection of seamanship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once inside the bay, a vessel was sheltered from all winds, the land being
+      high and the entrance intricate. The water was smooth as a mill-pond,
+      though the leaden masses of cloud flying overhead and the muffled roar of
+      the gale told eloquently of the unpleasant state affairs prevailing
+      outside. Two whale-ships lay here&mdash;the TAMERLANE, of New Bedford, and
+      the CHANCE, of Bluff Harbour. I am bound to confess that there was a great
+      difference is appearance between the Yankee and the colonial&mdash;very
+      much in favour of the former. She was neat, smart, and seaworthy, looking
+      as if just launched; but the CHANCE looked like some poor old relic of a
+      bygone day, whose owners, unable to sell her, and too poor to keep her in
+      repair, were just letting her go while keeping up the insurance, praying
+      fervently each day that she might come to grief, and bring them a little
+      profit at last.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But although it is much safer to trust appearances in ships than in men,
+      any one who summed up the CHANCE from her generally outworn and
+      poverty-stricken looks would have been, as I was, "way off." Old she was,
+      with an indefinite antiquity, carelessly rigged, and vilely unkempt as to
+      her gear, while outside she did not seem to have had a coat of paint for a
+      generation. She looked what she really was&mdash;the sole survivor of the
+      once great whaling industry of New Zealand. For although struggling bay
+      whaling stations did exist in a few sheltered places far away from the
+      general run of traffic, the trade itself might truthfully be said to be
+      practically extinct. The old CHANCE alone, like some shadow of the past,
+      haunted Foveaux Straits, and made a better income for her fortunate owners
+      than any of the showy, swift coasting steamers that rushed contemptuously
+      past her on their eager way.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In many of the preceding pages I have, though possessing all an
+      Englishman's pride in the prowess of mine own people, been compelled to
+      bear witness to the wonderful smartness and courage shown by the American
+      whalemen, to whom their perilous calling seems to have become a second
+      nature. And on other occasions I have lamented that our own whalers,
+      either at home or in the colonies, never seemed to take so kindly to the
+      sperm whale fishery as the hardy "down Easters," who first taught them the
+      business; carried it on with increasing success, in spite of their
+      competition and the depredations of the ALABAMA; flourished long after the
+      English fishery was dead; and even now muster a fleet of ships engaged in
+      the same bold and hazardous calling. Therefore, it is the more pleasant to
+      me to be able to chronicle some of the doings of Captain Gilroy,
+      familiarly known as "Paddy," the master of the CHANCE, who was unsurpassed
+      as a whale-fisher or a seaman by any Yankee that ever sailed from Martha's
+      Vineyard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was a queer little figure of a man&mdash;short, tubby, with scanty red
+      hair, and a brogue thick as pea-soup. Eccentric in most things, he was
+      especially so in his dress, which he seemed to select on the principle of
+      finding the most unfitting things to wear. Rumour credited him with a
+      numerous half-breed progeny&mdash;certainly he was greatly mixed up with
+      the Maories, half his crew being made up of his dusky friends and
+      relations by MARRIAGE. Overflowing with kindliness and good temper, his
+      ship was a veritable ark of refuge for any unfortunate who needed help,
+      which accounted for the numerous deserters from Yankee whalers who were to
+      be found among his crew. Such whaling skippers as our late commander hated
+      him with ferocious intensity; and but for his Maori and half-breed
+      bodyguard, I have little doubt he would have long before been killed.
+      Living as he had for many years on that storm-beaten coast, he had become,
+      like his Maories, familiar with every rock and tree in fog or clear, by
+      night or day; he knew them, one might almost say, as the seal knows them,
+      and feared them as little. His men adored him. They believed him capable
+      of anything in the way of whaling, and would as soon have thought of
+      questioning the reality of daylight as the wisdom of his decisions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I went on board the evening of, our arrival, hearing some rumours of the
+      doings of the old CHANCE and her crew, also with the idea that perhaps I
+      might find some countrymen among his very mixed crowd. The first man I
+      spoke to was Whitechapel to the backbone, plainly to be spotted as such as
+      if it had been tattooed on his forehead. Making myself at home with him, I
+      desired to know what brought him so far from the "big smoke," and on board
+      a whaler of all places in the world. He told me he had been a Pickford's
+      van-driver, but had emigrated to New Zealand, finding that he did not at
+      all like himself in the new country. Trying to pick and choose instead of
+      manfully choosing a pick and shovel for a beginning, he got hard up.
+      During one of Captain Gilroy's visits to the Bluff, he came across my
+      ex-drayman, looking hungry and woebegone. Invited on board to have a feed,
+      he begged to be allowed to remain; nor, although his assistance was not
+      needed, was he refused. "An nar," he said, his face glowing with conscious
+      pride, "y'ort ter see me in a bloomin' bowt. I ain't a-goain' ter say as I
+      kin fling wun o' them 'ere bloomin' 'arpoones like ar bowt-steerers kin;
+      but I kin do my bit o' grawft wiv enny on 'em&mdash;don'tchu make no
+      bloomin' herror." The glorious incongruity of the thing tickled me
+      immensely; but I laughed more heartily still when on going below I was
+      hailed as "Wot cher, chummy; 'ow yer hoppin' up?" by another barbarian
+      from the wilds of Spitalfields, who, from the secure shelter of his
+      cats'-meat round in 'Oxton, had got adrift, and, after being severely
+      buffeted by tempestuous ill-fortune, had finally found himself in the
+      comfortable old CHANCE, a haven of rest in the midst of storms. There were
+      sixteen white men on board the CHANCE, including the skipper, drawn as
+      usual from various European and American sources, the rest of her large
+      crew of over forty all told being made up of Maories and half-breeds. One
+      common interest united them, making them the jolliest crowd I ever saw&mdash;their
+      devotion to their commander. There was here to be found no jealousy of the
+      Maories being officers and harpooners, no black looks or discontented
+      murmuring; all hands seemed particularly well satisfied with their lot in
+      all its bearings; so that, although the old tub was malodorous enough to
+      turn even a pretty strong stomach, it was a pleasure to visit her cheerful
+      crowd for the sake of their enlivening society.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Of course, under our present circumstances, with the debris of our late
+      enormous catch filling every available space and loudly demanding
+      attention, we had little time to spare for ship visiting. Some boat or
+      other from the two ships was continually alongside of us, though, for
+      until the gale abated they could not get out to the grounds again, and
+      time hung heavy on their hands. The TAMERLANE's captain avoided Paddy as
+      if he were a leper&mdash;hated the sight of him, in fact, as did most of
+      his CONFRERES; but our genial skipper, whose crew were every whit as well
+      treated and contented as the CHANCE's, and who therefore needed not to
+      dread losing them, met the little philanthropist on the most friendly
+      terms.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The first fine weather, which came four days after our arrival, both our
+      harbour mates cleared out. Characteristically, the CHANCE was away first,
+      before daylight had quite asserted itself, and while the bases of the
+      cliffs and tops of the rocks were as yet hidden in dense wreaths of white
+      haze. Paddy lolled on the taff-rail near the wheel, which was held by an
+      immense half-breed, who leant back and carried on a desultory, familiar
+      conversation with his skipper; the rest of the crew were scattered about
+      the decks, apparently doing what they liked in any manner they chose. The
+      anchor was being catted, sails going up, and yards being trimmed; but, to
+      observers like us, no guiding spirit was noticeable. It seemed to work all
+      right, and the old ark herself looked as if she was as intelligent as any
+      of them; but the sight was not an agreeable one to men accustomed to
+      discipline. The contrast when the TAMERLANE came along an hour or so after
+      was emphatic. Every man at his post; every order carried out with the
+      precision of clockwork; the captain pacing the quarter-deck as if she were
+      a line-of-battle ship&mdash;here the airs put on were almost ludicrous in
+      the other direction. Although she was only "a good jump" long, as we say,
+      whenever an order was given, it was thundered out as if the men were a
+      mile away each officer appearing to vie with the others as to who could
+      bellow the loudest. That was carrying things to the opposite extreme, and
+      almost equally objectionable to merchant seamen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were thus left alone to finish our trying-out except for such company
+      as was afforded by the only resident's little schooner, in which he went
+      oyster-dredging. It was exceedingly comfortable in the small harbour, and
+      the fishing something to remember all one's life. That part of New Zealand
+      is famous for a fish something like a bream, but with a longer snout, and
+      striped longitudinally with black and yellow. I am ignorant of any
+      polysyllabic prefix for it, only knowing it by its trivial and local
+      appellation of the "trumpeter," from the peculiar sound it makes when out
+      of water. But no other fish out of the innumerable varieties which I have
+      sampled in all parts of the world could compare with the trumpeter for
+      flavour and delicacy. These qualities are well known to the inhabitants of
+      the large towns, who willingly pay high prices for the scanty supply of
+      these delicious fish which they are able to obtain. Of other succulent
+      fish there was a great variety, from the majestic "grouper," running up to
+      over a hundredweight, down to the familiar flounder. Very little fishing
+      could be done at night. Just as day was dawning was the ideal time for
+      this enticing sport. As soon as the first few streaks of delicate light
+      enlivened the dull horizon, a stray nibble or two gladdened the patient
+      fishermen; then as the light strengthened the fun became general, and in
+      about an hour enough fish would be caught to provide all hands with for
+      the day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One morning, when a stark calm left, the surface of the bay as smooth as a
+      mirror, I was watching a few stealthily-gliding barracouta sneaking about
+      over the plainly visible bottom, though at a depth of seven or eight
+      fathoms. Ordinarily, these fish must be taken with a live bait; but,
+      remembering my experience with the dolphin, I determined to try a
+      carefully arranged strip of fish from one recently caught. In precisely
+      the same way as the dolphin, these long, snaky rascals carefully tested
+      the bait, lying still for sometimes as long as two minutes with the bait
+      in their mouths, ready to drop it out on the first intimation that it was
+      not a detached morsel. After these periods of waiting the artful creature
+      would turn to go, and a sudden jerk of the line then reminded him that he
+      was no longer a free agent, but mounting at headlong speed to a strange
+      bourne whence he never returned to tell the tale. My catch that lovely
+      morning scaled over a hundredweight in less than an hour, none of the fish
+      being less than ten pounds in weight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Maories have quite an original way of catching barracouta. They
+      prepare a piece of "rimu" (red pine) about three inches long, by an inch
+      broad, and a quarter of an inch thick. Through one end of this they drive
+      an inch nail bent upwards, and filed to a sharp point. The other end is
+      fastened to about a fathom of stout fishing-line, which is in turn secured
+      to the end of a five-foot pole. Seated in a boat with sail set, they slip
+      along until a school of barracouta is happened upon. Then the peak of the
+      sail is dropped, so as to deaden the boat's way, while the fishermen ply
+      their poles with a sidelong sweep that threshes the bit of shining red
+      through the water, making it irresistibly attractive to a struggling horde
+      of ravenous fish. One by one, as swiftly as the rod can be wielded, the
+      lithe forms drop off the barbless hook into the boat, till the vigorous
+      arm can no longer respond to the will of the fisherman, or the vessel will
+      hold no more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such were the goodly proportions of this first Solander whale of ours
+      that, in spite of the serious loss of the case, we made thirteen and a
+      half tuns of oil. When the fifteen huge casks containing it were stowed in
+      their final positions, they made an imposing show, inspiring all of us
+      with visions of soon being homeward bound. For the present we were,
+      perforce, idle; for the wind had set in to blow steadily and strongly
+      right up the Straits, preventing any attempts to get out while it lasted.
+      The time did not hang heavy on our hands, for the surrounding country
+      offered many attractions, which we were allowed to take full advantage of.
+      Spearing eels and flounders at night by means of a cresset hung out over
+      the boat's bow, as she was slowly sculled up the long, shallow creeks, was
+      a favourite form of amusement. Mr. Cross, the resident, kindly allowed us
+      to raid his garden, where the ripe fruit was rotting by the bushel for
+      want of consumers. We needed no pressing; for fruit, since we left Vau
+      Vau, of any kind had not come in our way; besides, these were "homey"&mdash;currants,
+      gooseberries, strawberries&mdash;delightful to see, smell, and taste. So
+      it came to pass that we had a high old time, unmarred by a single
+      regrettable incident, until, after an enforced detention of twenty days,
+      we were able to get to sea again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Halfway down the Straits we sighted the CHANCE, all hands ripping the
+      blubber off a sizeable whale in the same "anyhow" fashion as they handled
+      their ship. They were in high glee, giving us a rousing cheer as we passed
+      them on our westward course. Arriving on the ground, we found a goodly
+      company of fine ships, which I could not help thinking too many for so
+      small an area. During our absence, the TAMERLANE had been joined by the
+      ELIZA ADAMS, the MATILDA SAYER, the CORAL, and the RAINBOW; and it was
+      evident that no whale venturing within the radius of the Solander in the
+      daytime would stand much chance of escaping such a battery of eager eyes.
+      Only three days elapsed after our arrival when whales were seen. For the
+      first time, I realized how numerous those gigantic denizens of the sea
+      really are. As far as the eye could reach, extending all round one-half of
+      the horizon, the sea appeared to be alive with spouts&mdash;all sperm
+      whales, all bulls of great size. The value of this incredible school must
+      have been incalculable. Subsequent experience satisfied me that such a
+      sight was by no means uncommon here; in fact, "lone whales" or small
+      "pods" were quite the exception.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Well, we all "waded in," getting, some two, some one whale apiece,
+      according to the ability of the crews or the fortune of war. Only one fell
+      to our lot in the CACHALOT, but it was just as well. We had hardly, got
+      him fast by the fluke alongside when it began to pipe up from the
+      north-east. In less than one watch the sea was fairly smoking with the
+      fierceness of the wind. We were unable to get in anywhere, being, with a
+      whale alongside, about as handy as a barge loaded with a haystack; while
+      those unfortunate beggars that had two whales fast to them were utterly
+      helpless as far as independent locomotion went, unless they could run dead
+      before the wind. Every ship made all snug aloft, and hoisted the boats to
+      the top notch of the cranes, fully anticipating a long, hard struggle with
+      the elements before they got back to the cruising ground again. Cutting-in
+      was out of the question in such weather; the only thing possible was to
+      hope for a shift of wind before she got too far out, or a break in the
+      weather. Neither of these events was probable, as all frequenters of South
+      New Zealand know, bad weather having there an unhappy knack of being as
+      persistent as fine weather is brief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Night drew on as our forlorn and heavily handicapped little fleet bore
+      steadily seaward with their burdens, the angry, ever-increasing sea,
+      battering at us vengefully, while the huge carcasses alongside tore and
+      strained at their fastenings as if they would rend the ships asunder.
+      Slowly our companions faded from sight as the murky sky shut down on us,
+      until in lonely helplessness we drifted on our weary way out into the
+      vast, inhospitable Southern Ocean. Throughout the dark and stormy night
+      our brave old ship held on her unwilling way right gallantly, making no
+      water, in spite of the fearful strain to which she was subjected, nor
+      taking any heavy sea over all. Morning broke cheerlessly enough. No
+      abatement in the gale or change in its direction; indeed, it looked like
+      lasting a month. Only one ship was visible far to leeward of us, and she
+      was hull down. Our whale was beginning to swell rapidly, already floating
+      at least three feet above the surface instead of just awash, as when newly
+      killed. The skipper eyed it gloomily, seeing the near prospect of its
+      entire loss, but he said nothing. In fact, very little was said; but the
+      stories we had heard in the Bay of Islands came back to us with
+      significant force now that their justification was so apparent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hour after hour went by without any change whatever, except in the whale,
+      which, like some gradually filling balloon, rose higher and higher, till
+      at nightfall its bulk was appalling. All through the night those on deck
+      did little else but stare at its increasing size, which when morning
+      dawned again, was so great that the animal's bilge rode level with the
+      ship's rail, while in her lee rolls it towered above the deck like a
+      mountain. The final scene with it was now a question of minutes only, so
+      most of us, fascinated by the strange spectacle, watched and waited.
+      Suddenly, with a roar like the bursting of a dam, the pent-up gases tore
+      their furious way out of the distended carcass, hurling the entrails in
+      one horrible entanglement widespread over the sea. It was well for us that
+      it was to leeward and a strong gale howling; for even then the unutterable
+      foetor wrought its poisonous way back through that fierce, pure blast,
+      permeating every nook of the ship with its filthy vapour till the stoutest
+      stomach there protested in unmistakable terms against such vile treatment.
+      Knowing too well that the blubber was now worthless, the skipper gave
+      orders to cut the corrupt mass adrift. This was speedily effected by a few
+      strokes of a spade through the small. Away went eight hundred pounds'
+      worth of oil&mdash;another sacrifice to the exigencies of the Solander,
+      such as had gained for it so evil a reputation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Doubtless a similar experience had befallen all the other ships, so that
+      the aggregate loss must have run into thousands of pounds, every penny of
+      which might have been saved had steam been available.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That gale lasted, with a few short lulls, for five days longer. When at
+      last it took off, and was succeeded by fine weather, we were so far to the
+      southward that we might have fetched the Aucklands in another twenty-four
+      hours. But, to our great relief, a strong southerly breeze set in, before
+      which, under every rag of canvas, we sped north again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Steady and reliable as ever, that good south wind carried us back to our
+      old cruising ground ere it blew itself out, and we resumed our usual
+      tactics as if nothing had happened, being none the worse as regards
+      equipment for our adventures. Not so fortunate our companions, who at the
+      same time as ourselves were thrust out into the vast Southern Ocean,
+      helplessly burdened and exposed defenceless to all the ferocity of that
+      devouring gale, Two of them were here prowling about, showing evident
+      signs of their conflict in the battered state of their hulls. The glaring
+      whiteness of new planking in many places along the bulwarks told an
+      eloquent story of seas bursting on board carrying all before them, while
+      empty cranes testified to the loss of a boat in both of them. As soon as
+      we came near enough, "gamming" commenced, for all of us were anxious to
+      know how each other had fared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As we anticipated, every whale was lost that had been caught that day. The
+      disappointment was in nowise lessened by the knowledge that, with his
+      usual good fortune Captain Gilroy had not only escaped all the bad
+      weather, but while we were being threshed within an inch of our lives down
+      in the bitter south, he was calmly trying-out his whale (which we had seen
+      him with on our outward journey) in the sheltered haven of Port William.
+      Many and deep were the curses bestowed upon him by the infuriated crews of
+      those two ships, although he had certainly done them no harm. But the
+      sight of other people's good fortune is gall and wormwood to a vast number
+      of people, who seem to take it as a personal injury done to themselves.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Only two days elapsed, however, before we again saw an immense school of
+      sperm whales, and each ship succeeded in securing one. We made no attempt
+      to get more this time, nor do I think either of the others did; at any
+      rate, one each was the result of the day's work. They were, as usual, of
+      huge size and apparently very fat. At the time we secured our fish
+      alongside, a fresh north-westerly wind was blowing, the weather being
+      clear and beautiful as heart could wish. But instead of commencing at once
+      to cut-in, Captain Count gave orders to pile on all sail and keep her away
+      up the Straits. He was evidently determined to take no more chances, but,
+      whenever opportunity offered, to follow the example set by the wily old
+      skipper of the CHANCE. The other ships both started to cut-in at once,
+      tempted, doubtless, by the settled appearance of the weather, and also
+      perhaps from their hardly concealed dislike of going into port. We bowled
+      along at a fine rate, towing our prize, that plunged and rolled by our
+      side in eccentric style, almost as if still alive. Along about midnight we
+      reached Saddle Point, where there was some shelter from the sea which
+      rolled up the wide open strait, and there we anchored.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Leaving me and a couple of Kanakas on watch, the captain, and all hands
+      besides, went below for a little sleep. My instructions were to call the
+      captain if the weather got at all ugly-looking, so that we might run in to
+      Port William at once, but he did not wish to do so if our present position
+      proved sufficiently sheltered. He had not been below an hour before there
+      was a change for the worse. That greasy, filmy haze was again drawn over
+      the clear blue of the sky, and the light scud began to fly overhead at an
+      alarmingly rapid rate. So at four bells I called him again. He came on
+      deck at once, and after one look round ordered the hands up to man the
+      windlass. By eight bells (four a.m.) we were rounding the frowning rocks
+      at the entrance of Port William, and threading our way between the
+      closely-set, kelp-hidden dangers as if it were broadest, dearest daylight.
+      At 4.30 we let go the anchor again, and all hands, except the regular
+      "anchor-watch," bolted below to their bunks again like so many rabbits.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was very comfortable, cutting-in a sperm whale in harbour, after the
+      dire difficulty of performing the same operation in a seaway. And,
+      although it may seem strange, this was the first occasion that voyage that
+      I had had a really good opportunity of closely studying the whale's
+      anatomy. Consequently the work was exceedingly interesting, and, in spite
+      of the labour involved, I was almost sorry when the job was done. Under
+      the present favourable circumstances we were ready to cut the carcass
+      adrift shortly after midday, the head, of course, having been taken off
+      first. Just after we started to cut-in a boat appeared alongside with six
+      Maories and half-breeds on board. Their leader came up and civilly asked
+      the skipper whether he intended doing anything with the carcass. Upon
+      being promptly answered in the negative, he said that he and his
+      companions proposed hooking on to the great mass when we cut it adrift,
+      towing it ashore, and getting out of it what oil we had been unable to
+      extract, which at sea is always lost to the ship. He also suggested that
+      he would be prepared to take reasonable terms for such oil, which we
+      should be able to mingle with ours to our advantage. An arrangement was
+      speedily arrived at to give him L20 per tun for whatever oil he made. They
+      parted on the best of terms with each other, and as soon as we cut the
+      carcass loose the Maories made fast, to it, speedily beaching it in a
+      convenient spot near where they had previously erected a most primitive
+      try-works.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That afternoon, after the head was inboard, the skipper thought he would
+      go ashore and see how they were getting on. I was so fortunate as to be
+      able to accompany him. When we arrived at the spot, we found them working
+      as I have never seen men work, except perhaps the small riggers that at
+      home take a job&mdash;three or four of them&mdash;to bend or unbend a big
+      ship's sails for a lump sum to be paid when the work is done. They
+      attacked the carcass furiously, as if they had a personal enmity against
+      it, chopping through the massive bones and rending off huge lumps of the
+      flesh with marvellous speed. They had already laid open the enormous
+      cavity of the abdomen, and were stripping the interminable intestines of
+      their rich coating of fat. In the maw there were, besides a large quantity
+      of dismembered squid of great size, a number of fish, such as rock-cod,
+      barracouta, schnapper, and the like, whose presence there was a revelation
+      to me. How in the name of wonder so huge and unwieldy a creature as the
+      cachalot could manage to catch those nimble members of the finny tribe, I
+      could not for the life of me divine! Unless&mdash;and after much
+      cogitation it was the only feasible explanation that I could see&mdash;as
+      the cachalot swims about with his lower jaw hanging down in its normal
+      position, and his huge gullet gaping like some submarine cavern, the fish
+      unwittingly glide down it, to find egress impossible. This may or may not
+      be the case; but I, at any rate, can find no more reasonable theory, for
+      it is manifestly absurd to suppose the whale capable of CATCHING fish in
+      the ordinary sense, indicating pursuit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Every part of the animal yielded oil. Even the bones, broken up into
+      pieces capable of entering the pot, were boiled; and by the time we had
+      finished our trying-out, the result of the Maories' labour was ready for
+      us. Less than a week had sufficed to yield them a net sum of six guineas
+      each, even at the very low rate for which they sold us the oil. Except
+      that it was a little darker in colour, a defect that would disappear when
+      mixed with our store, there was no difference between the products that
+      could be readily detected. And at the price we paid for it, there was a
+      clear profit of cent. per cent., even had we kept it separate and sold it
+      for what it was. But I suppose it was worth the Maories' while thus to
+      dispose of it and quickly realize their hard earnings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So far, our last excursion had been entirely satisfactory. We had not
+      suffered any loss or endured any hardship; and if only such comfortable
+      proceedings were more frequent, the Solander ground would not have any
+      terrors for us at least. But one afternoon there crept in around the
+      eastern horn of the harbour three forlorn and half-dismantled vessels,
+      whose weather-worn crews looked wistfully at us engaged in clearing up
+      decks and putting away gear upon the finishing of our trying-out. Poor
+      fellows! they had seen rough times since that unforgettable evening when
+      we parted from them at the other end of the island, and watched them
+      slowly fade into the night. Two of them were so badly damaged that no
+      further fishing was possible for them until they had undergone a thorough
+      refit, such as they could not manage there. One was leaking badly, the
+      tremendous strain put upon her hull in the vain attempt to hold on to the
+      two whales she had during the gale having racked her almost all to pieces.
+      The third one was still capable of taking the ground again, with sundry
+      repairs such as could be effected by her crew. But the general feeling
+      among all three crews was that there was more loss than gain to be
+      expected here, in spite of the multitude of whales visiting the place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As if to fill up their cup, in came the old CHANCE again, this time with a
+      whale on each side. Captain Gilroy was on the house aft, his chubby red
+      face in a ruddy glow of delight, and his crew exuberant. When he passed
+      the American ships, as he was bound to do very closely, the sight of their
+      scowling faces seemed to afford him the most exquisite amusement, and he
+      laughed loud and long. His crew, on the impulse of the moment, sprang to
+      the rail and cheered with might and main. No one could gainsay that they
+      had good reason, but I really feared for a time that we should have
+      "ructions," As Paddy said, it was not wise or dignified for those officers
+      to be so angry with him on account of his success, which he frankly owned
+      was due almost entirely to the local knowledge he possessed, gained in
+      many years' study of the immediate neighbourhood. He declared that, as far
+      as the technical duties of whale-fishing went, all the Americans could
+      beat him hollow; but they ought to realize that something else was needed
+      here which no man could hope to have unless he were content to remain on
+      the coast altogether. With which words of wisdom our skipper cordially
+      agreed, bearing in mind his own exploits in the bygone time around those
+      rugged shores.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The strong breeze which brought Paddy and his whales home died down that
+      night, enabling us to start for the grounds again&mdash;a concession
+      gratefully received, for not the least of the hindrances felt there was
+      the liability to be "wind-bound" for a long time, while fine weather was
+      prevailing at the fishing grounds.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We made a fine passage down the Straits with a leading wind, finding our
+      two late companions still cruising, having managed to get their whales
+      aboard without mishap, and being somewhat inclined to chaff our old man
+      for running in. He gave a wink full of wisdom, as he replied, "I'm pretty
+      ole whale myself naouw; but I guess I ain't too old to learn; 'n wut I
+      learn I'm goin' ter use. See?" Of course the fine weather did not last
+      long&mdash;it never does; and seeing the gloomy masses of violet-edged
+      cumuli piling up on the southern horizon, we hugged the Solander Rock
+      itself pretty close, nor ventured far to seaward. Our two consorts, on the
+      contrary, kept well out and on the northern verge, as if they intended the
+      next gale that blew to get north, IF they could. The old man's object in
+      thus keeping in was solely in order that he might be able to run for
+      shelter; but, much to his delight and certainly surprise, as we passed
+      about a mile to the southward of the lonely, towering crags of the great
+      rock, there came from aloft the welcome cry of "Sperm whale!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was only one, and he was uncomfortably near the rock; but such a
+      splendid chance was not to be missed, if our previous training was of any
+      avail. There was some speculation as to what he could be doing so close
+      inshore, contrary to the habit of this animal, who seems to be only
+      comfortable when in deep waters; but except a suggestion that perhaps he
+      had come in to scrape off an extra accumulation of barnacles, nobody could
+      arrive at any definite conclusion. When we reached him, we found a
+      frightful blind swell rolling, and it needed all our seamanship to handle
+      the boats so that they should not be capsized. Fortunately, the huge
+      rollers did not break, or we should hardly have got back safely, whale or
+      no whale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two irons were planted in him, of which he took not the slightest notice.
+      We had taken in sail before closing in to him on account of the swell, so
+      that we had only to go in and finish him at once, if he would let us.
+      Accordingly, we went in with a will, but for all sign of life he showed he
+      might as well have been stuffed. There he lay, lazily spouting, the blood
+      pouring, or rather spirting, from his numerous wounds, allowing us to add
+      to their number at our pleasure, and never moving his vast body, which was
+      gently swayed by the rolling sea. Seeing him thus quiescent, the mate sent
+      the other two boats back to the ship with the good news, which the captain
+      received with a grave smile of content, proceeding at once to bring the
+      ship as near as might be consistent with her safety. We were now
+      thoroughly sheltered from sight of the other ships by the enormous mass of
+      the island, so that they had no idea of our proceedings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Finding that it was not wise to take the ship in any closer, while we were
+      yet some distance from our prize, a boat was sent to Mr. Cruce with the
+      instructions that he was to run his line from the whale back to the ship,
+      if the creature was dead. He (the mate) replied that the whale died as
+      quietly as he had taken his wounds, and immediately started for the ship.
+      When he had paid out all his line, another boat bent on, until we got the
+      end on board. Then we merrily walked him up alongside, while sufficient
+      sail was kept drawing to prevent her being set in any nearer. When he was
+      fast, we crowded on all canvas to get away; for although the sea was deep
+      close up to the cliff, that swell was a very ugly feature, and one which
+      has been responsible for the loss of a great number of ships in such
+      places all over the world. Notwithstanding all our efforts, we did get so
+      near that every detail of the rock was clearly visible to the naked eye,
+      and we had some anxious minutes while the old ship, rolling tremendously,
+      crawled inch after inch along the awful side of that sea-encircled
+      pyramid.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At one point there was quite a cave, the floor of which would be some
+      twenty feet above high-water mark, and its roof about the same distance
+      higher. It appeared to penetrate some distance into the bowels of the
+      mountain, and was wide and roomy. Sea-birds in great numbers hovered
+      around its entrance, finding it, no doubt, an ideal nesting-place. It
+      appeared quite inaccessible, for even with a perfect calm the swell dashed
+      against the perpendicular face of the cliff beneath with a force that
+      would have instantly destroyed any vessel unfortunate enough to get within
+      its influence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Slowly, slowly we forged past the danger; but the moment we opened out the
+      extremity of the island, a fresh breeze, like a saving hand, swept across
+      the bows, filling the head-sails and swinging the old vessel away from the
+      island in grand style. Another minute, and the other sails filled also. We
+      were safe, all hands breathing freely once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the wind hung far round to the eastward&mdash;far enough to frustrate
+      any design we might have had of going up the Straits again. The old man,
+      however, was too deeply impressed with the paramount necessity of shelter
+      to lightly give up the idea of getting in somewhere; so he pointed her for
+      Preservation Inlet, which was only some thirty miles under her lee. We
+      crowded all sail upon her in the endeavour to get in before nightfall,
+      this unusual proceeding bringing our two friends up from to leeward with a
+      run to see what we were after. Burdened as we were, they sailed nearly two
+      knots to our one, and consequently intercepted us some while before we
+      neared our port. Great was their surprise to find we had a whale, and very
+      anxious their queries as to where the rest of the school had gone.
+      Reassured that they had lost nothing by not being nearer, it being a
+      "lone" whale, off they went again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With all our efforts, evening was fast closing in when we entered the
+      majestic portals of Preservation Inlet, and gazed with deepest interest
+      upon its heavily wooded shores.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXVI. PADDY'S LATEST EXPLOIT
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      New Zealand is pre-eminently a country of grand harbours; but I think
+      those that are least used easily bear the palm for grandeur of scenery and
+      facility of access. The wonderful harbour, or rather series of harbours,
+      into which we were now entering for the first time, greatly resembled in
+      appearance a Norwegian fjord, not only in the character of its scenery,
+      but from the interesting, if disconcerting, fact that the cliffs were so
+      steep-to that in some places no anchorage is found alongside the very land
+      itself. There are, however, many places where the best possible anchorage
+      can be obtained, so securely sheltered that a howling south-wester may be
+      tearing the sea up by the roots outside, and you will know nothing of it
+      within, except what may be surmised from the motion of the clouds
+      overhead. It was an ideal place for a whaling station, being right on the
+      Solander.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We found it exceedingly convenient, and much nearer than Port William,
+      but, from the prevailing winds, difficult of access in nine cases out of
+      ten, especially when hampered with a whale. Upon cutting-in our latest
+      catch, an easy explanation of his passive attitude was at once
+      forthcoming. He had been attacked by some whale-ship, whose irons had
+      drawn, leaving deep traces of their presence; but during the battle he had
+      received SEVEN bombs, all of which had entered around his small, but had
+      not exploded. Their general effect had been, I should think, to paralyze
+      the great muscles of his flukes, rendering him unable to travel; yet this
+      could not have taken place until some time after he had made good his
+      escape from those aggressors. It was instructive, as demonstrating what
+      amount of injury these colossi really can survive, and I have no doubt
+      that, if he had been left alone, he would have recovered his normal
+      energy, and been as well as ever. From our point of view, of course, what
+      had happened was the best possible thing, for he came almost as a gift&mdash;the
+      second capture we had made on these grounds of a like nature.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the close of our operations the welcome news was made public that four
+      more fish like the present one would fill us bung-up, and that we should
+      then, after a brief visit to the Bluff, start direct for home. This
+      announcement, though expected for some time past, gave an amazing fillip
+      to everybody's interest in the work. The strange spectacle was witnessed
+      of all hands being anxious to quit a snug harbour for the sea, where
+      stern, hard wrestling with the elements was the rule. The captain, well
+      pleased with the eagerness manifested, had his boat manned for a trip to
+      the entrance of the harbour, to see what the weather was like outside,
+      since it was not possible to judge from where the ship lay. On his return,
+      he reported the weather rough, but moderating, and announced his intention
+      of weighing at daylight next morning. Satisfied that our days in the
+      southern hemisphere were numbered, and all anxiety to point her head for
+      home, this news was most pleasing, putting all of us in the best of
+      humours, and provoking quite an entertainment of song and dance until
+      nearly four bells.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the grey of dawn the anchor was weighed. There was no breath of
+      wind from any quarter, so that it was necessary to lower boats and tow the
+      old girl out to her field of duty. Before she was fairly clear of the
+      harbour, though, there came a "snifter" from the hills that caught her
+      unprepared, making her reel again, and giving us a desperate few minutes
+      to scramble on board and hoist our boats up. As we drew out from the land,
+      we found that a moderate gale was blowing, but the sky was clear,
+      fathomless blue, the sun rose kindly, a heavenly dream of soft delicate
+      colour preceding him; so that, in spite of the strong breeze, all looked
+      promising for a good campaign. At first no sign could be seen of any of
+      the other ships, though we looked long and eagerly for them. At last we
+      saw them, four in all, nearly hull down to seaward, but evidently coming
+      in under press of sail. So slow, however, was their approach that we had
+      made one "leg" across the ground and halfway back before they were near
+      enough for us to descry the reason of their want of speed. They had each
+      got a whale alongside, and were carrying every rag of canvas they could
+      spread, in order to get in with their prizes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our old acquaintance, the CHANCE, was there, the three others being her
+      former competitors, except those who were disabled, still lying in Port
+      William. Slowly, painfully they laboured along, until well within the
+      mouth of the Straits, when, without any warning, the wind which had been
+      bringing them in suddenly flew round into the northward, putting them at
+      once in a most perilous position. Too far within the Straits to "up helm"
+      and run for it out to sea; not far enough to get anywhere that an anchor
+      might hold; and there to leeward, within less than a dozen miles, loomed
+      grim and gloomy one of the most terrific rock-bound coasts in the world.
+      The shift of wind had placed the CHANCE farther to leeward than all the
+      rest, a good mile and a half nearer the shore; and we could well imagine
+      how anxiously her movements were being watched by the others, who, in
+      spite of their jealousy of his good luck, knew well and appreciated fully
+      Paddy's marvellous seamanship, as well as his unparalleled knowledge of
+      the coast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Having no whale to hamper our movements, besides being well to windward of
+      them all, we were perfectly comfortable as long as we kept to seaward of a
+      certain line and the gale was not too fierce, so for the present all our
+      attention was concentrated upon the labouring ships to leeward. The
+      intervention of the land to windward kept the sea from rising to the awful
+      height it attains under the pressure of a westerly, or a south-westerly
+      gale, when, gathering momentum over an area extending right round the
+      globe, it hurls itself upon those rugged shores. Still, it was bad enough.
+      The fact of the gale striking across the regular set of the swell and
+      current had the effect of making the sea irregular, short, and broken,
+      which state of things is considered worse, as far as handling the ship
+      goes, than a much heavier, longer, but more regular succession of waves.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the devoted craft drifted helplessly down upon that frowning barrier,
+      our excitement grew intense. Their inability to do anything but drift was
+      only too well known by experience to every one of us, nor would it be
+      possible for them to escape at all if they persisted in holding on much
+      longer. And it was easy to see why they did so. While Paddy held on so far
+      to leeward of them, and consequently in so much more imminent danger than
+      they were, it would be derogatory in the highest degree to their
+      reputation for seamanship and courage were they to slip and run before he
+      did. He, however, showed no sign of doing so, although they all neared,
+      with an accelerated drift, that point from whence no seamanship could
+      deliver them, and where death inevitable, cruel, awaited them without hope
+      of escape. The part of the coast upon which they were apparently driving
+      was about as dangerous and impracticable as any in the world. A gigantic
+      barrier of black, naked rock, extending for several hundred yards, rose
+      sheer from the sea beneath, like the side of an ironclad, up to a height
+      of seven or eight hundred feet. No outlying spurs of submerged fragments
+      broke the immeasurable landward rush of the majestic waves towards the
+      frowning face of this world-fragment. Fresh from their source, with all
+      the impetus accumulated in their thousand-mile journey, they came
+      apparently irresistible. Against this perpendicular barrier they hurled
+      themselves with a shock that vibrated far inland, and a roar that rose in
+      a dominating diapason over the continuous thunder of the tempest-riven
+      sea. High as was the summit of the cliff, the spray, hurled upwards by the
+      tremendous impact, rose higher, so that the whole front of the great rock
+      was veiled in filmy wreaths of foam, hiding its solidity from the seaward
+      view. At either end of this vast, rampart nothing could be seen but a
+      waste of breakers seething, hissing, like the foot of Niagara, and
+      effectually concealing the CHEVAUX DE FRISE of rocks which produced such a
+      vortex of tormented waters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Towards this dreadful spot, then, the four vessels were being resistlessly
+      driven, every moment seeing their chances of escape lessening to
+      vanishing-point. Suddenly, as if panic-stricken, the ship nearest to the
+      CHANCE gave a great sweep round on to the other tack, a few fluttering
+      gleams aloft showing that even in that storm they were daring to set some
+      sail. What the manoeuvre meant we knew very well&mdash;they had cut adrift
+      from their whale, terrified at last beyond endurance into the belief that
+      Paddy was going to sacrifice himself and his crew in the attempt to lure
+      them with him to inevitable destruction. The other two did not hesitate
+      longer. The example once set, they immediately followed; but it was for
+      some time doubtful in the extreme whether their resolve was not taken too
+      late to save them from destruction. We watched them with breathless
+      interest, unable for a long time to satisfy ourselves that they were out
+      of danger. But at last we saw them shortening sail again&mdash;a sure sign
+      that they considered themselves, while the wind held in the same quarter,
+      safe from going ashore at any rate, although there was still before them
+      the prospect of a long struggle with the unrelenting ferocity of the
+      weather down south.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile, what of the daring Irishman and his old barrel of a ship? The
+      fugitives once safe off the land, all our interest centred in the CHANCE.
+      We watched her until she drew in so closely to the seething cauldron of
+      breakers that it was only occasionally we could distinguish her outline;
+      and the weather was becoming so thick and dirty, the light so bad, that we
+      were reluctantly compelled to lose sight of her, although the skipper
+      believed that he saw her in the midst of the turmoil of broken water at
+      the western end of the mighty mass of perpendicular cliff before
+      described. Happily for us, the wind veered to the westward, releasing us
+      from the prospect of another enforced visit to the wild regions south of
+      the island. It blew harder than ever; but being now a fair wind up the
+      Straits, we fled before it, anchoring again in Port William before
+      midnight. Here we were compelled to remain for a week; for after the gale
+      blew itself out, the wind still hung in the same quarter, refusing to
+      allow us to get back again to our cruising station.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But on the second day of our enforced detention a ship poked her jibboom
+      round the west end of the little bay. No words could describe our
+      condition of spellbound astonishment when she rounded-to, cumbrously as
+      befitting a ship towing a whale, and revealed to us the well-remembered
+      outlines of the old CHANCE. It was like welcoming the first-fruits of the
+      resurrection; for who among sailor men, having seen a vessel disappear
+      from their sight, as we had, under such terrible conditions, would ever
+      have expected to see her again? She was hardly anchored before our skipper
+      was alongside, thirsting to satisfy his unbounded curiosity as to the
+      unheard-of means whereby she had escaped such apparently inevitable
+      destruction. I was fortunate enough to accompany him, and hear the story
+      at first-hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It appeared that none of the white men on board, except the redoubtable
+      Paddy himself, had ever been placed in so seemingly hopeless and desperate
+      a position before. Yet when they saw how calm and free from anxiety their
+      commander was, how cool and business-like the attitude of all their dusky
+      shipmates, their confidence in his ability and resourcefulness kept its
+      usual high level. It must be admitted that the test such feelings were
+      then subjected to was of the severest, for to their eyes no possible
+      avenue of escape was open. Along that glaring line of raging, foaming
+      water not a break occurred, not the faintest indication of an opening
+      anywhere wherein even so experienced a pilot as Paddy might thrust a ship.
+      The great black wall of rock loomed up by their side, grim and pitiless as
+      doom&mdash;a very door of adamant closed against all hope. Nearer and
+      nearer they drew, until the roar of the baffled Pacific was deafening,
+      maddening, in its overwhelming volume of chaotic sound. All hands stood
+      motionless, with eyes fixed in horrible fascination upon the indescribable
+      vortex to which they were being irresistibly driven.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last, just as the fringes of the back-beaten billows hissed up to greet
+      them, they felt her motion ease. Instinctively looking aft, they saw the
+      skipper coolly wave his hand, signing to them to trim the yards. As they
+      hauled on the weather braces, she plunged through the maelstrom of
+      breakers, and before they had got the yards right round they were on the
+      other side of that enormous barrier, the anchor was dropped, and all was
+      still. The vessel rested, like a bird on her nest, in a deep, still tarn,
+      shut in, to all appearance, on every side by huge rock barriers. Of the
+      furious storm but a moment before howling and raging all around them,
+      nothing remained but an all-pervading, thunderous hum, causing the deck to
+      vibrate beneath them, and high overhead the jagged, leaden remnants of
+      twisted, tortured cloud whirling past their tiny oblong of sky. Just a
+      minute's suspension of all faculties but wonder, then, in one spontaneous,
+      heartfelt note of genuine admiration, all hands burst into a cheer that
+      even overtopped the mighty rumble of the baffled sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here they lay, perfectly secure, and cut in their whale as if in dock;
+      then at the first opportunity they ran out, with fearful difficulty, a
+      kedge with a whale-line attached, by which means they warped the vessel
+      out of her hiding-place&mdash;a far more arduous operation than getting in
+      had been. But even this did not exhaust the wonders of that occasion. They
+      had hardly got way upon her, beginning to draw out from the land, when the
+      eagle-eye of one of the Maories detected the carcass of a whale rolling
+      among the breakers about half a mile to the westward. Immediately a boat
+      was lowered, a double allowance of line put into her, and off they went to
+      the valuable flotsam. Dangerous in the highest degree was the task of
+      getting near enough to drive harpoons into the body; but it was
+      successfully accomplished, the line run on board, and the prize hauled
+      triumphantly alongside. This was the whale they had now brought in. We
+      shrewdly suspected that it must have been one of those abandoned by the
+      unfortunate vessels who had fled, but etiquette forbade us saying anything
+      about it. Even had it been, another day would have seen it valueless to
+      any one, for it was by no means otto of roses to sniff at now, while they
+      had certainly salved it at the peril of their lives.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we returned on board and repeated the story, great was the amazement.
+      Such a feat of seamanship was almost beyond belief; but we were shut up to
+      believing, since in no other way could the vessel's miraculous escape be
+      accounted for. The little, dumpy, red-faced figure, rigged like any
+      scarecrow, that now stood on his cutting-stage, punching away vigorously
+      at the fetid mass of blubber beneath him, bore no outward visible sign of
+      a hero about him; but in our eyes he was transfigured&mdash;a being to be
+      thought of reverently, as one who in all those dualities that go to the
+      making of a man had proved himself of the seed royal, a king of men, all
+      the more kingly because unconscious that his deeds were of so exalted an
+      order.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I am afraid that, to a landsman, my panegyric may smack strongly of gush,
+      for no one but a seaman can rightly appraise such doings as these; but I
+      may be permitted to say that, when I think of men whom I feel glad to have
+      lived to know, foremost among them rises the queer little figure of Paddy
+      Gilroy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXVII. PORT PEGASUS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The wind still holding steadily in the old quarter, our skipper got very
+      restless. He recalled his former exploits, and, firing at the thought,
+      decided then and there to have a trip round to Port Pegasus, in the hope
+      that he might meet with some of his former good luck in the vicinity of
+      that magnificent bay. With the greatest alacrity we obeyed his summons,
+      handling the old barky as if she were a small boat, and the same morning,
+      for the first time, ran out of the Straits to the eastward past Ruapuke
+      Island. Beautiful weather prevailed, making our trip a delightful one, the
+      wonderful scenery of that coast appealing to even the most callous or
+      indifferent among us. We hugged the land closely, the skipper being
+      familiar with all of it in a general way, so that none of its beauties
+      were lost to us. The breeze holding good, by nightfall we had reached our
+      destination, anchoring in the north arm near a tumbling cascade of
+      glittering water that looked like a long feather laid on the dark-green
+      slope of the steep hill from which it gushed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had not been long at anchor before we had visitors&mdash;half-breed
+      Maories, who, like the Finns and Canadians, are farmers, fishermen,
+      sailors, and shipwrights, as necessity arises. They brought us potatoes&mdash;most
+      welcome of all fruit to the sailor&mdash;cabbages, onions, and "mutton
+      birds." This latter delicacy is a great staple of their flesh food, but is
+      one of the strangest dishes imaginable. When it is being cooked in the
+      usual way, i.e. by grilling, it smells exactly like a piece of roasting
+      mutton; but it tastes, to my mind, like nothing else in the world so much
+      as a kippered herring. There is a gastronomical paradox, if you like. Only
+      the young birds are taken for eating. They are found, when unfledged, in
+      holes of the rocks, and weigh sometimes treble as much as their parents.
+      They are exceedingly fat; but this substance is nearly all removed from
+      their bodies before they are hung up in the smoke-houses. They are split
+      open like a haddock, and carefully smoked, after being steeped in brine.
+      Baskets, something like exaggerated strawberry pottles of the old conical
+      shape, are prepared, to hold each about a dozen birds. They are lined with
+      leaves, then packed with the birds, the melted fat being run into all the
+      interstices until the basket is full. The top is then neatly tied up with
+      more leaves, and, thus preserved, the contents will keep in cool weather
+      an indefinite length of time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Captain Count was soon recognized by some of his old friends, who were
+      delighted to welcome him again. Their faces fell, however, when he told
+      them that his stay was to be very brief, and that he only required four
+      good-sized fish to fill up. Inquiry as to the prevalence of sperm whales
+      in the vicinity elicited the news that they were as plentiful as they had
+      ever been&mdash;if anything, more so, since the visits of the whalers had
+      become fewer. There were a couple of "bay" whaling stations existing; but,
+      of course, their success could not be expected to be great among the
+      cachalots, who usually keep a respectful distance from harbours, while
+      they had driven the right whales away almost entirely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No one could help being struck by the manly bearing, splendid physique,
+      and simple manners of the inhabitants. If ever it falls to the lot of any
+      one, as I hope it will, to establish a sperm whale fishery in these
+      regions, there need be no lack of workers while such grand specimens of
+      manhood abound there as we saw&mdash;all, moreover, fishermen and whalers
+      from their earliest days.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We did not go far afield, but hovered within ten or fifteen miles of the
+      various entrances, so as not to be blown off the land in case of sudden
+      bad weather. Even with that timid offing, we were only there two days,
+      when an enormous school of sperm whales hove in sight. I dare not say how
+      many I believe there were, and my estimate really might be biassed; but
+      this I know, that in no given direction could one look to seaward and not
+      see many spouts.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We got among them and had a good time, being more hampered by the
+      curiosity of the unattached fish than by the pugnacity of those under our
+      immediate attention. So we killed three, and by preconcerted signal warned
+      the watchers on the lofty points ashore of our success. As speedily as
+      possible off came four boats from the shore stations, and hooked on to two
+      of our fish, while we were busy with the third. The wind being off shore,
+      what there was of it, no time was to be lost, in view of the well-known
+      untrustworthiness of the weather; so we started to cut-in at once, while
+      the shore people worked like giants to tow the other two in. Considering
+      the weakness of their forces, they made marvellous progress; but seeing
+      how terribly exhausting the toil was, one could not help wishing them one
+      of the small London tugs, familiarly known as "jackals," which would have
+      snaked those monsters along at three or four knots an hour.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, all went well; the usual gale did blow but not till we had got
+      the last piece aboard and a good "slant" to run in, arriving at our
+      previous moorings at midnight. In the morning the skipper went down in his
+      boat to visit the stations, and see how they had fared. Old hand as he
+      was, I think he was astonished to see what progress those fellows had made
+      with the fish. They did not reach the stations till after midnight, but
+      already they had the whales half flenched, and, by the way they were
+      working, it looked as if they would be through with their task as soon as
+      we were with ours. Their agreement with the skipper was to yield us half
+      the oil they made, and, if agreeable to them, we would take their moiety
+      at L40 per tun. Consequently they had something to work for, even though
+      there were twenty of them to share the spoil. They were a merry party,
+      eminently good tempered, and working as though one spirit animated them
+      all. If there was a leader of the band, he did his office with great
+      subtilty, for all seemed equal, nor did any appear to need directing what
+      to do. Fired by their example, we all worked our hardest; but they beat us
+      by half a day, mainly, I think, by dint of working nearly all the time
+      with scarce any interval for sleep. True, they were bound to take
+      advantage of low water when their huge prize was high and dry&mdash;to get
+      at him easily all round. Their method was of the simplest. With gaff-hooks
+      to haul back the pieces, and short-handled spades for cutting, they worked
+      in pairs, taking off square slabs of blubber about a hundredweight each.
+      As soon as a piece was cut off, the pair tackled on to it, dragging it up
+      to the pots, where the cooks hastily sliced it for boiling, interspersing
+      their labours with attention to the simmering cauldrons.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Their efforts realized twenty-four tuns of clear oil and spermaceti, of
+      which, according to bargain, we took twelve, the captain buying the other
+      twelve for L480, as previously arranged. This latter portion, however, was
+      his private venture, and not on ship's account, as he proposed selling it
+      at the Bluff, when we should call there on our way home. So that we were
+      still two whales short of our quantity. What a little space it did seem to
+      fill up! Our patience was sorely tested, when, during a whole week
+      following our last haul, we were unable to put to sea. In vain we tried
+      all the old amusements of fishing, rambling, bathing, etc.; they had lost
+      their "bite;" we wanted to get home. At last the longed-for shift of wind
+      came and set us free. We had hardly got well clear of the heads before we
+      saw a school of cachalots away on the horizon, some twelve miles off the
+      land to the southward. We made all possible sail in chase, but found, to
+      our dismay, that they were "making a passage," going at such a rate that
+      unless the wind freshened we could hardly hope to come up with them.
+      Fortunately, we had all day before us, having quitted our moorings soon
+      after daylight; and unless some unforeseen occurrence prevented us from
+      keeping up our rate of speed, the chances were that some time before dark
+      they would ease up and allow us to approach them. They were heading to the
+      westward, perhaps somewhat to the northward withal, to all appearance
+      making for the Solander. Hour after hour crawled by, while we still seemed
+      to preserve our relative distance, until we had skirted the southern shore
+      of the island and entered the area, of our old fishing ground. Two vessels
+      were cruising thereon, well to the northward, and we thought with glee of
+      the excitement that would seize them did they but gain an inkling of our
+      chase.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To our great delight, what we had hoped, but hardly dared expect, came to
+      pass. The school, as if with one impulse, hauled up on their course four
+      points, which made them head direct for the western verge of the Solander
+      ground, and&mdash;what was more important to us&mdash;made our coming up
+      with them a matter of a short time. We made the customary signals with the
+      upper sails to our friends to the northward, who recognized them
+      immediately, and bore down towards us. Not only had the school shifted
+      their course, but they had slackened speed; so that by four o'clock we
+      were able to lower for them at less than a mile distance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was an ideal whaling day&mdash;smooth water, a brisk breeze, a
+      brilliant sun, and plenty of whales. I was, as became my position, in the
+      rear when we went into action, and hardly hoped for an opportunity of
+      doing much but dance attendance upon my seniors. But fortune favoured me.
+      Before I had any idea whether the chief was fast or not, all other
+      considerations were driven clean out of my head by the unexpected
+      apparition of a colossal head, not a ship's length away, coming straight
+      for us, throwing up a swell in front of him like an ironclad. There was
+      barely time to sheer to one side, when the giant surged past us in a roar
+      of foaming sea, the flying flakes of which went right over us. Samuela was
+      "all there," though, and as the great beast passed he plunged a harpoon
+      into him with such force and vigour that the very socket entered the
+      blubber it needed all the strength I could muster, even with such an aid
+      as the nineteen-feet steer-oar, to swing the boat right round in his wake,
+      and prevent her being capsized by his headlong rush.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For, contrary to the usual practice, he paused not an instant, but rather
+      quickened his pace, as if spurred. Heavens, how he went! The mast and sail
+      had to come down&mdash;and they did, but I hardly know how. The spray was
+      blinding, coming in sheets over the bows, so that I could hardly see how
+      to steer in the monster's wake. He headed straight for the ship, which
+      lay-to almost motionless, filling me with apprehension lest he should in
+      his blind flight dash that immense mass of solid matter into her
+      broadside, and so put an inglorious end to all our hopes. What their
+      feelings on board must have been, I can only imagine, when they saw the
+      undeviating rush of the gigantic creature straight for them. On he went,
+      until I held my breath for the crash, when at the last moment, and within
+      a few feet of the ship's side, he dived, passing beneath the vessel. We
+      let go line immediately, as may be supposed; but although we had been
+      towing with quite fifty fathoms drift, our speed had been so great that we
+      came up against the old ship with a crash that very nearly finished us. He
+      did not run any further just then, but sounded for about two hundred and
+      fifty fathoms, rising to the surface in quite another mood. No more
+      running away from him. I cannot say I felt any of the fierce joy of battle
+      at the prospect before me. I had a profound respect for the fighting
+      qualities of the sperm whale, and, to tell the truth, would much rather
+      have run twenty miles behind him than have him turn to bay in his present
+      parlous humour. It was, perhaps, fortunate for me that there was a crowd
+      of witnesses, the other ships being now quite near enough to see all that
+      was going on, since the feeling that my doings were full in view of many
+      experts and veterans gave me a determination that I would not disgrace
+      either myself or my ship; besides, I felt that this would probably be our
+      last whale this voyage, if I did not fail, and that was no small thing to
+      look forward to.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All these things, so tedious in the telling, flashed through my mind,
+      while, with my eyes glued to the huge bulk of my antagonist or the hissing
+      vortices above him when he settled, I manoeuvred my pretty craft with all
+      the skill I could summon. For what seemed a period of about twenty minutes
+      we dodged him as he made the ugliest rushes at us. I had not yet changed
+      ends with Samuela, as customary, for I felt it imperative to keep the helm
+      while this game was being played. My trusty Kanaka, however, had a lance
+      ready, and I knew, if he only got the ghost of a chance, no man living
+      would or could make better use of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole affair was growing monotonous as well as extremely wearying.
+      Perhaps I was a little off my guard; at any rate, my heart almost leaped
+      into my mouth when just after an ugly rush past us, which I thought had
+      carried him to a safe distance, he stopped dead, lifted his flukes, and
+      brought them down edgeways with a vicious sweep that only just missed the
+      boat's gunwale and shore off the two oars on that side as if they had been
+      carrots. This serious disablement would certainly have led to disaster but
+      for Samuela. Prompt and vigorous, he seized the opportune moment when the
+      whale's side was presented just after the blow, sending his lance
+      quivering home all its length into the most vital part of the leviathan's
+      anatomy. Turning his happy face to me, he shouted exultingly, "How's dat
+      fer high?"&mdash;a bit of slang he had picked up, and his use of which
+      never failed to make me smile. "High" it was indeed&mdash;a master-stroke.
+      It must have pierced the creature's heart, for he immediately began to
+      spout blood in masses, and without another wound went into his flurry and
+      died.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then came the reaction. I must have exerted myself beyond what I had any
+      idea of, for to Samuela I was obliged to delegate the task of
+      fluke-boring, while I rested a little. The ship was soon alongside,
+      though, and the whale secured. There was more yet to be done before we
+      could rest, in spite of our fatigue. The other boats had been so
+      successful that they had got two big fish, and what we were to do with
+      them was a problem not easily solvable. By dint of great exertion, we
+      managed to get another whale alongside, but were fain to come to some
+      arrangement with the ELIZA ADAMS, one of the ships that had been
+      unsuccessful, to take over our other whale on an agreement to render us
+      one-third of the product either in Port William or at home, if she should
+      not find us is the former place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Behold us, then, in the gathering dusk with a whale on either side, every
+      stitch of canvas we could show set and drawing, straining every nerve to
+      get into the little port again, with the pleasant thought that we were
+      bringing with us all that was needed to complete our well-earned cargo.
+      Nobody wanted to go below; all hands felt that it was rest enough to hang
+      over the rail on either side and watch the black masses as they surged
+      through the gleaming sea. They represented so much to us. Very little was
+      said, but all hearts were filled with a deep content, a sense of a long
+      season of toil fitly crowned with complete success; nor was any depression
+      felt at the long, long stretch of stormy ocean between us and our home
+      port far away in the United States. That would doubtless come by-and-by,
+      when within less than a thousand miles of New Bedford; but at present all
+      sense of distance from home was lost in the overmastering thought that
+      soon it would be our only business to get there as quickly as possible,
+      without any avoidable loitering on the road.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We made an amazing disturbance in the darkness of the sea with our double
+      burthen, so much so that one of the coasting steamers changed her course a
+      bit to range up by our side in curiosity. We were scarcely going two and a
+      half knots, in spite of the row we made, and there was hardly room for
+      wonder at the steamboat captain's hail, "Want any assistance?" "No, thank
+      you," was promptly returned, although there was little doubt that all
+      hands would have subscribed towards a tow into port, in case the
+      treacherous weather should, after all, play us a dirty trick. But it
+      looked as if our troubles were over. No hitch occurred in our steady
+      progress, slow though it necessarily was, and as morning lifted the heavy
+      veil from the face of the land, we arrived at our pretty little haven, and
+      quietly came to an anchor. The CHANCE was in port wind-bound, looking,
+      like ourselves, pretty low in the water. No sooner did Paddy hear the news
+      of our arrival in such fine trim than he lowered his boat and hurried on
+      board of us, his face beaming with delight. Long and loud were his
+      congratulations, especially when he heard that we should now be full.
+      Moreover, he offered&mdash;nor would he take any denial&mdash;to come with
+      the whole of his crew and help us finish.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For the next four days and nights, during which the wind prevented the
+      CHANCE from leaving us, our old ship was a scene of wild revelry, that
+      ceased not through the twenty-four hours&mdash;revelry entirely unassisted
+      by strong waters, too, the natural ebullient gaiety of men who were free
+      from anxiety on any account whatever, rejoicing over the glad consummation
+      of more than two years toil, on the one hand; on the other, a splendid
+      sympathy in joy manifested by the satisfied crew under the genial command
+      of Captain Gilroy. With their cheerful help we made wonderful progress;
+      and when at last the wind hauled into a favourable quarter, and they were
+      compelled to leave us, the back of our work was broken, only the tedious
+      task of boiling being left to finish.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Never, I am sure, did two ships' companies part with more hearty good-will
+      than ours. As the ungainly old tub surged slowly out of the little
+      harbour, her worn-out and generally used-up appearance would have given a
+      Board of Trade Inspector the nightmare; the piratical looks of her crowd
+      were enough to frighten a shipload of passengers into fits; but to us who
+      had seen their performances in all weathers, and under all circumstances,
+      accidental externals had no weight in biassing our high opinion of them
+      all. Good-bye, old ship; farewell, jolly captain and sturdy crew; you will
+      never be forgotten any more by us while life lasts, and in far other and
+      more conventional scenes we shall regretfully remember the free-and-easy
+      time we shared with you. So she slipped away round the point and out of
+      our lives for ever.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By dint of steady hard work we managed to get the last of our greasy work
+      done in four days more, then faced with a will the job of stowing afresh
+      the upper tiers of casks, in view of our long journey home. The oil bought
+      by the skipper on private venture was left on deck, secured to the
+      lash-rail, for discharging at the Bluff, while our stock of water-casks
+      were carefully overhauled and recoopered prior to being stowed in their
+      places below. Of course, we had plenty of room in the hold, since no ship
+      would carry herself full of casks of oil; but I doubt whether, if we had
+      borne a "Plimsoll's mark," it would not have been totally submerged, so
+      deep did we lie. Wooding and watering came next&mdash;a different affair
+      to our casual exercises in those directions before. Provision had to be
+      made now for a possible four or five months' passage, during which we
+      hoped to avoid any further calls, so that the accumulation of firewood
+      alone was no small matter. We cleared the surrounding neighbourhood of
+      potatoes at a good price, those useful tubers being all they could supply
+      us with for sea-stock, much to their sorrow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then came the most unpleasant part of the whole business&mdash;for me. It
+      had been a part of the agreement made with the Kanakas that they were not
+      to be taken home with us, but returned to their island upon the
+      termination of the whaling. Now, the time had arrived when we were to
+      part, and I must confess that I felt very sorry to leave them. They had
+      proved docile, useful, and cheerful; while as for my harpooner and his
+      mate Polly, no man could have wished for smarter, better, or more faithful
+      helpers than they were. Strong as their desire was to return to their
+      homes, they too felt keenly the parting with us; for although they had
+      unavoidably suffered much from the inclemency of the weather&mdash;so
+      different from anything they had ever previously experienced&mdash;they
+      had been kindly treated, and had moved on precisely the same footing as
+      the rest of the crew. They wept like little children when the time arrived
+      for them to leave us, declaring that if ever we came to their island again
+      they would use all their endeavours to compel us to remain, assuring us
+      that we should want for nothing during the rest of our lives, if we would
+      but take up our abode with them. The one exception to all this cordiality
+      was Sam. His ideas were running in quite other channels. To regain his
+      lost status as ruler of the island, with all the opportunities for
+      indulging his animal propensities which such a position gave him, was the
+      problem he had set himself, and to the realization of these wishes he had
+      determinedly bent all his efforts.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus he firmly declined the offer of a passage back in the ELIZA ADAMS,
+      which our captain secured for all the Kanakas; preferring to be landed at
+      the Bluff, with the goodly sum of money to which he was entitled, saying
+      that he had important business to transact in Sydney before he returned.
+      This business, he privately informed me, was the procuring of arms and
+      ammunition wherewith to make war upon his rival. Of course we could not
+      prevent him, although it did seem an abominable thing to let loose the
+      spirit of slaughter among those light-hearted natives just to satisfy the
+      ambition of an unscrupulous negro. But, as I have before noticed, from
+      information received many years after I learned that he had been
+      successful in his efforts, though at what cost to life I do not know.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So our dusky friends left us, with a good word from every one, and went on
+      board the ELIZA ADAMS, whose captain promised to land them at Futuna,
+      within six months. How he carried out his promise, I do not know; but, for
+      the poor fellows' sakes, I trust he kept his word.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXVIII. TO THE BLUFF, AND HOME
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      And now the cruise of the good old whaling barque CACHALOT, as far as
+      whaling is concerned, comes to an end. For all practical purposes she
+      becomes a humdrum merchantman in haste to reach her final port of
+      discharge, and get rid of her cargo. No more will she loiter and pry
+      around anything and everything, from an island to a balk of drift-wood,
+      that comes in her way, knowing not the meaning of "waste of time." The
+      "crow's-nests" are dismantled, taut topgallant-masts sent up, and royal
+      yards crossed. As soon as we get to sea we shall turn-to and heave that
+      ancient fabric of bricks and mortar&mdash;always a queer-looking erection
+      to be cumbering a ship's deck&mdash;piecemeal over the side. It has long
+      been shaky and weather-beaten; it will soon obstruct our movements no
+      more. Our rigging has all been set up and tarred down; we have painted
+      hull and spars, and scraped wherever the wood-work is kept bright. All
+      gear belonging to whaling has been taken out of the boats, carefully
+      cleaned, oiled, and stowed away for a "full due." Two of the boats have
+      been taken inboard, and stowed bottom-up upon the gallows aft, as any
+      other merchantman carries them. At last, our multifarious preparations
+      completed, we ride ready for sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was quite in accordance with the fitness of things that, when all
+      things were now ready for our departure, there should come a change of
+      wind that threatened to hold us prisoners for some days longer. But our
+      "old man" was hard to beat, and he reckoned that, if we could only get out
+      of the "pond," he would work her across to the Bluff somehow or other. So
+      we ran out a kedge with a couple of lines to it, and warped her out of the
+      weather side of the harbour, finding, when at last we got her clear, that
+      she would lay her course across the Straits to clear Ruapuke&mdash;nearly;
+      but the current had to be reckoned with. Before we reached that
+      obstructing island we were down at the eastern end of it, and obliged to
+      anchor promptly to save ourselves from being swept down the coast many
+      miles to leeward of our port.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the skipper was quite equal to the occasion. Ordering his boat, he
+      sped away into Bluff harbour, only a matter of six or seven miles,
+      returning soon with a tug, who for a pound or two placed us, without
+      further trouble, alongside the wharf, amongst some magnificent clipper
+      ships of Messrs. Henderson's and the New Zealand Shipping Co.'s, who
+      seemed to turn up their splendid noses at the squat, dumpy, antiquated old
+      serving-mallet that dared to mingle with so august a crowd. There had been
+      a time, not so very far back, when I should have shared their apparent
+      contempt for our homely old tub; but my voyage had taught me, among other
+      things, that, as far as true comfort went at sea, not a
+      "three-skysail-yarder" among them could compare with the CACHALOT. And I
+      was extremely glad that my passage round the Horn was to be in my own
+      ship, and not in a long, snaky tank that, in the language of the sailor,
+      takes a header when she gets outside the harbour, and only comes up two or
+      three times to blow before she gets home.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our only reason for visiting this place being to discharge Captain Count's
+      oil, and procure a sea-stock of salt provisions and hard bread, these
+      duties were taken in hand at once. The skipper sold his venture of oil to
+      good advantage, being so pleased with his success that he gave us all a
+      good feed on the strength of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As soon as the stores were embarked and everything ready for sea, leave
+      was given to all hands for twenty-four hours, upon the distinct
+      understanding that the privilege was not to be abused, to the detriment of
+      everybody, who, as might be supposed, were anxious to start for home. In
+      order that there might be less temptation to go on the spree generally, a
+      grand picnic was organized to a beautiful valley some distance from the
+      town. Carriages were chartered, an enormous quantity of eatables and
+      drinkables provided, and away we went, a regular wayzgoose or bean-feast
+      party. It was such a huge success, that I have ever since wondered why
+      such outings cannot become usual among sailors on liberty abroad, instead
+      of the senseless, vicious waste of health, time, and hard-earned wages
+      which is general. But I must not let myself loose upon this theme again,
+      or we shall never get to sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Liberty over without any trouble arising, and all hands comfortably on
+      board again, the news ran round that we were to sail in the morning. So,
+      after a good night's rest, we cast loose from the wharf, and, with a
+      little assistance from the same useful tug that brought us in, got fairly
+      out to sea. All sail was set to a strong, steady north-wester, and with
+      yards canted the least bit in the world on the port tack, so that every
+      stitch was drawing, we began our long easterly stretch to the Horn,
+      homeward bound at last.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Favoured by wind and weather, we made an average run of one hundred and
+      eighty miles per day for many days, paying no attention to "great circle
+      sailing," since in such a slow ship the net gain to be secured by going to
+      a high latitude was very small, but dodging comfortably along on about the
+      parallel of 48deg. S., until it became necessary to draw down towards
+      "Cape Stiff," as that dreaded extremity of South America, Cape Horn, is
+      familiarly called by seamen. As we did so, icebergs became numerous, at
+      one time over seventy being in sight at once. Some of them were of immense
+      size&mdash;one, indeed, that could hardly be fitly described as an
+      iceberg, but more properly an ice-field, with many bergs rising out of it,
+      being over sixty miles long, while some of its towering peaks were
+      estimated at from five hundred to one thousand feet high. Happily, the
+      weather kept clear; for icebergs and fog make a combination truly
+      appalling to the sailor, especially if there be much wind blowing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Needless, perhaps, to say, our look-out was of the best, for all hands had
+      a double interest in the safety of the ship. Perhaps it may be thought
+      that any man would have so much regard for the safety of his life that he
+      would not think of sleeping on his look-out; but I can assure my readers
+      that, strange as it may seem, such is not the case, I have known men who
+      could never be trusted not to go to sleep, no matter how great the danger.
+      This is so well recognized in merchant ships that nearly every officer
+      acts as if there was no look-out at all forward, in case his supposed
+      watchman should be having a surreptitious doze.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Stronger and stronger blew the brave west wind; dirtier, gloomier, and
+      colder grew the weather, until, reduced to two topsails and a reefed
+      foresail, we were scudding dead before the gale for all we were worth.
+      This was a novel experience for us in the CACHALOT, and I was curious to
+      see how she would behave. To my mind, the supreme test of a ship's
+      sea-kindliness is the length of time she will scud before a gale without
+      "pooping" a sea, or taking such heavy water on board over her sides as to
+      do serious damage. Some ships are very dangerous to run at all.
+      Endeavouring to make the best use of the gale which is blowing in the
+      right direction, the captain "hangs on" to all the sail he can carry,
+      until she ships a mighty mass of water over all, so that the decks are
+      filled with wreckage, or, worse still, "poops" a sea. The latter
+      experience is a terrible one, even to a trained seaman. You are running
+      before the wind and waves, sometimes deep in the valley between two liquid
+      mountains, sometimes high on the rolling ridge of one. You watch anxiously
+      the speed of the sea, trying to decide whether it or you are going the
+      faster, when suddenly there seems to be a hush, almost a lull, in the
+      uproar. You look astern, and see a wall of water rising majestically
+      higher and higher, at the same time drawing nearer and nearer.
+      Instinctively you clutch at something firm, and hold your breath. Then
+      that mighty green barrier leans forward, the ship's stern seems to settle
+      at the same time, and, with a thundering noise as of an avalanche
+      descending, it overwhelms you. Of course the ship's way is deadened; she
+      seems like a living thing overburdened, yet struggling to be free; and
+      well it is for all hands if the helmsman be able to keep his post and his
+      wits about him. For if he be hurt, or have fled from the terrible wave, it
+      is an even chance that she "broaches to;" that is to say, swings round
+      broadside on to the next great wave that follows relentlessly its
+      predecessor. Then, helpless and vulnerable, she will most probably be
+      smashed up and founder. Many a good ship has gone with all hands to the
+      bottom just as simply as that.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In order to avoid such a catastrophe, the proper procedure is to
+      "heave-to" before the sea has attained so dangerous a height; but even a
+      landsman can understand how reluctant a shipmaster may be to lie like a
+      log just drifting, while a more seaworthy ship is flying along at the rate
+      of, perhaps, three hundred miles a day in the desired direction. Ships of
+      the CACHALOT's bluff build are peculiarly liable to delays of this kind
+      from their slowness, which, if allied to want of buoyancy, makes it
+      necessary to heave-to in good time, if safety is at all cared for.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To my great astonishment and delight, however, our grand old vessel nobly
+      sustained her character, running on without shipping any heavy water,
+      although sometimes hedged in on either side by gigantic waves that seemed
+      to tower as high as her lowermast heads. Again and again we were caught up
+      and passed by the splendid homeward-bound colonial packets, some of them
+      carrying an appalling press of canvas, under which the long, snaky hulls,
+      often overwhelmed by the foaming seas, were hardly visible, so
+      insignificant did they appear by comparison with the snowy mountain of
+      swelling sail above.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So we fared eastward and ever southward, until in due time up rose the
+      gloomy, storm-scarred crags of the Diego Ramirez rocks, grim outposts of
+      the New World. To us, though, they bore no terrific aspect; for were they
+      not the turning-point from which we could steer north, our head pointed
+      for home? Immediately upon rounding them we hauled up four points, and,
+      with daily improving weather climbed the southern slopes towards the line.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Very humdrum and quiet the life appeared to all of us, and had it not been
+      for the saving routine of work by day, and watch by night, kept up with
+      all our old discipline, the tedium would have been insupportable after the
+      incessant excitement of expectation to which we had so long been
+      accustomed. Still, our passage was by no means a bad one for a slow ship,
+      being favoured by more than ordinarily steadfast winds until we reached
+      the zone of the south-east trades again, where the usual mild, settled
+      wind and lovely weather awaited us. On and on, unhasting but unresting, we
+      stolidly jogged, by great good fortune slipping across the "doldrums"&mdash;that
+      hateful belt of calms about the line so much detested by all sailor-men&mdash;without
+      losing the south-east wind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Not one day of calm delayed us, the north-east trades meeting us like a
+      friend sent to extend a welcoming hand and lend us his assistance on our
+      homeward way. They hung so far to the eastward, too&mdash;sometimes
+      actually at east-by-north-that we were able to steer north on the
+      starboard tack&mdash;a slice of luck not usually met with. This "slant"
+      put all hands in the best of humours, and already the date of our arrival
+      was settled by the more sanguine ones, as well as excellent plans made for
+      spending the long voyage's earnings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For my part, having been, in spite of my youth, accustomed to so many
+      cruel disappointments and slips between the cup and lip, I was afraid to
+      dwell too hopefully upon the pleasures (?) of getting ashore. And after
+      the incident which I have now to record occurred, I felt more nervous
+      distrust than I had ever felt before at sea since first I began to
+      experience the many vicissitudes of a sailor's life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had reached the northern verge of the tropics in a very short time,
+      owing to the favourable cant in the usual direction of the north-east
+      trades before noted, and had been met with north-westerly winds and thick,
+      dirty weather, which was somewhat unusual in so low a latitude. Our
+      look-outs redoubled their vigilance, one being posted on each bow always
+      at night, and relieved every hour, as we were so well manned. We were now
+      on the port tack, of course, heading about north-east-by-north, and right
+      in the track of outward-hound vessels from both the United Kingdom and the
+      States. One morning, about three a.m.&mdash;that fateful time in the
+      middle watch when more collisions occur than at any other&mdash;suddenly
+      out of the darkness a huge ship seemed to leap right at us. She must have
+      come up in a squall, of which there were many about, at the rate of some
+      twelve knots an hour, having a fair wind, and every rag of sail set. Not a
+      gleam of light was visible anywhere on board of her, and, to judge from
+      all appearances, the only man awake on board was the helmsman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We, being "on the wind, close-hauled," were bound by the "rule of the road
+      at sea" to keep our course when meeting a ship running free. The penalty
+      for doing ANYTHING under such circumstances is a severe one. First of all,
+      you do not KNOW that the other ship's crew are asleep or negligent, even
+      though they carry no lights; for, by a truly infernal parsimony, many
+      vessels actually do not carry oil enough to keep their lamps burning all
+      the voyage, and must therefore economize in this unspeakably dangerous
+      fashion. And it may be that just as you alter your course, daring no
+      longer to hold on, and, as you have every reason to believe, be run down,
+      the other man alters his. Then a few breathless moments ensue, an awful
+      crash, and the two vessels tear each other to pieces, spilling the life
+      that they contain over the hungry sea. Even if you escape, YOU are to
+      blame for not keeping your course, unless it can be proved that you were
+      not seen by the running ship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Well, we kept our course until, I verily believe, another plunge would
+      have cut us sheer in two halves. At the last moment our helm was put hard
+      down, bringing our vessel right up into the wind at the same moment as the
+      helmsman on board the other vessel caught sight of us, and instinctively
+      put his helm down too. The two vessels swung side by side amidst a
+      thunderous roar of flapping canvas, crackling of fallen spars, and rending
+      of wood as the shrouds tore away the bulwarks. All our davits were ripped
+      from the starboard side, and most of our bulwarks too; but, strangely
+      enough, we lost no spars nor any important gear. There seemed to be a good
+      deal of damage done on board the stranger, where, in addition, all hands
+      were at their wits' end. Well they might be, aroused from so criminal a
+      sleep as theirs. Fortunately, the third mate had powerful bull's-eye
+      lantern, which in his watch on deck he always kept lighted. Turning it on
+      the stern of the delinquent vessel as she slowly forged clear of us, we
+      easily read her name, which, for shame's sake as well as for prudential
+      reasons, I withhold. She was a London ship, and a pretty fine time of it I
+      had for the next day or two, listening to the jeers and sarcasms on the
+      quality of British seamanship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Repairing damages kept us busy for a few days; but whatever of
+      thankfulness we were capable of feeling was aroused by this hairbreadth
+      escape from death through the wicked neglect of the most elementary duty
+      of any man calling himself a seaman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then a period of regular Western-ocean weather set in. It was early spring
+      in the third year since our departure from this part of the world, and the
+      north-easter blew with bitter severity, making even the seasoned old
+      captain wince again; but, as he jovially said, "it smelt homey, n' HE
+      warn't a-goin' ter growl at thet." Neither were any of us, although we
+      could have done with less of a sharp edge to it all the same.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Steadily we battled northward, until at last, with full hearts, we made
+      Cape Navesink ("Ole Neversunk"), and on the next day took a tug and towed
+      into New Bedford with every flag we could scare up flying, the centre of
+      admiration&mdash;a full whale-ship safe back from her long, long fishing
+      round the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      My pleasant talk is done. I wish from my heart it were better performed;
+      but, having done my best, I must perforce be content. If in some small
+      measure I have been able to make you, my friendly reader, acquainted with
+      a little-known or appreciated side of life, and in any wise made that life
+      a real matter to you, giving you a fresh interest in the toilers of the
+      sea, my work has not been wholly in vain. And with that fond hope I give
+      you the sailor's valedictory&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      SO LONG! <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+  <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1356 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #1356 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1356)
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+
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+   PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+   "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" >
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <title>
+      The Cruise of the 'Cachalot', by Frank T. Bullen
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
+
+    body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; }
+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; }
+    hr  { width: 50%; text-align: center;}
+    .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; }
+    blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    .mynote    {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;}
+    .toc2      { margin-left: 20%;}
+    div.fig    { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; }
+    div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; }
+    .figleft   {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;}
+    .figright  {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;}
+    .pagenum   {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal;
+               margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%;
+               text-align: right;}
+    pre        { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;}
+
+</style>
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+  <body>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Cruise of the Cachalot, by Frank T. Bullen
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Cruise of the Cachalot
+       Round the World After Sperm Whales
+
+Author: Frank T. Bullen
+
+Release Date: August 15, 2008 [EBook #1356]
+Last Updated: January 25, 2013
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRUISE OF THE CACHALOT ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer, and David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h1>
+      THE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT"
+    </h1>
+    <h2>
+      ROUND THE WORLD AFTER SPERM WHALES
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      By Frank T. Bullen, F.R.G.S.
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      First Mate
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h4>
+      To<br /> <br /> Miss Emily Hensley<br /> <br /> In grateful remembrance of
+      thirty years' constant friendship and<br /> practical help this work is
+      affectionately dedicated by her<br /> humble pupil.
+    </h4>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      PREFACE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      In the following pages an attempt has been made&mdash;it is believed for
+      the first time&mdash;to give an account of the cruise of a South Sea
+      whaler from the seaman's standpoint. Two very useful books have been
+      published&mdash;both of them over half a century ago&mdash;on the same
+      subject; but, being written by the surgeons of whale-ships for scientific
+      purposes, neither of them was interesting to the general reader.
+      ["Narrative of a Whaling Voyage round the Globe," by F Debell Bennett,
+      F.R.C.S. (2 vols). Bentley, London (1840). "The Sperm Whale Fishery," by
+      Thomas Beale, M.R.C.S. London (1835).] They have both been long out of
+      print; but their value to the student of natural history has been, and
+      still is, very great, Dr. Beale's book, in particular, being still the
+      authority on the sperm whale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This book does not pretend to compete with either of the above valuable
+      works. Its aims is to present to the general reader a simple account of
+      the methods employed, and the dangers met with, in a calling about which
+      the great mass of the public knows absolutely nothing. Pending the advent
+      of some great writer who shall see the wonderful possibilities for
+      literature contained in the world-wide wanderings of the South Sea
+      whale-fishers, the author has endeavoured to summarize his experiences so
+      that they may be read without weariness, and, it is hoped, with profit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The manifold shortcomings of the work will not, it is trusted, be laid to
+      the account of the subject, than which none more interesting could well be
+      imagined, but to the limitations of the writer, whose long experience of
+      sea life has done little to foster the literary faculty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One claim may be made with perfect confidence&mdash;that if the manner be
+      not all that could be wished, the matter is entirely trustworthy, being
+      compiled from actual observation and experience, and in no case at
+      second-hand. An endeavour has also been made to exclude such matter as is
+      easily obtainable elsewhere&mdash;matters of common knowledge and
+      "padding" of any sort&mdash;the object not being simply the making of a
+      book, but the record of little-known facts.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Great care has been taken to use no names either of ships or persons,
+      which could, by being identified, give annoyance or pain to any one, as in
+      many cases strong language has been necessary for the expression of
+      opinions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Finally, the author hopes that, although in no sense exclusively a book
+      for boys, the coming generation may find this volume readable and
+      interesting; and with that desire he offers it confidently, though in all
+      humility, to that great impartial jury, the public.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      F.T.B. Dulwich, July, 1897.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <blockquote>
+      <p class="toc">
+        <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big>
+      </p>
+      <p>
+        <br /> <a href="#link2H_PREF"> PREFACE </a><br /> <a href="#link2H_TOC">
+        DETAILED CONTENTS </a><br /> <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION </a><br /><br />
+        <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> <b>THE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT"</b> </a><br /><br />
+        <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;OUTWARD BOUND <br /><br />
+        <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;PREPARING FOR
+        ACTION <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;FISHING
+        BEGINS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;BAD
+        WEATHER <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;ACTUAL
+        WARFARE. OUR FIRST WHALE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI.
+        </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;"DIRTY WORK FOR CLEAN MONEY" <br /><br /> <a
+        href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;GETTING SOUTHWARD
+        <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;ABNER'S
+        WHALE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;OUR
+        FIRST CALLING-PLACE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;A
+        VISIT TO SOME STRANGE PLACES <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER
+        XI. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;ROUND THE COCOS AND SEYCHELLES <br /><br /> <a
+        href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;WHICH TREATS OF THE
+        KRAKEN <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;OFF
+        TO THE JAPAN GROUNDS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER XIV.
+        </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;LIBERTY DAY&mdash;AND AFTER <br /><br /> <a
+        href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;WHICH COMES
+        UNCOMFORTABLY NEAR BEING THE LAST <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0016">
+        CHAPTER XVI. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;"BOWHEAD" FISHING <br /><br /> <a
+        href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER XVII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;VISIT TO HONOLULU
+        <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER XVIII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;ON
+        THE "LINE" GROUNDS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER XIX. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;EDGING
+        SOUTHWARD <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER XX. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;"HUMPBACKING"
+        AT VAU VAU <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER XXI. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;PROGRESS
+        OF THE "HUMPBACK" SEASON <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0022"> CHAPTER
+        XXII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;FAREWELL TO VAU VAU <br /><br /> <a
+        href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XXIII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;AT FUTUNA,
+        RECRUITING <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XXIV. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;THE
+        BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0025">
+        CHAPTER XXV. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;ON THE SOLANDER GROUNDS <br /><br /> <a
+        href="#link2HCH0026"> CHAPTER XXVI. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;PADDY'S LATEST
+        EXPLOIT <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0027"> CHAPTER XXVII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;PORT
+        PEGASUS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0028"> CHAPTER XXVIII. &nbsp;&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;TO
+        THE BLUFF, AND HOME <br /><br />
+      </p>
+    </blockquote>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_TOC" id="link2H_TOC">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      DETAILED CONTENTS
+    </h2>
+    <blockquote>
+      <p>
+        <br />CHAPTER I&mdash;OUTWARD BOUND Adrift in New Bedford&mdash;I get a
+        ship&mdash;A <br /> motley crowd&mdash;"Built by the mile, and cut off as
+        you want 'em"&mdash;Mistah <br /> Jones&mdash;Greenies&mdash;Off to sea.
+        <br /> <br />CHAPTER II&mdash;PREPARING FOR ACTION Primitive steering-gear&mdash;Strange
+        <br /> drill&mdash;Misery below&mdash;Short commons&mdash;Goliath rigs
+        the <br /> "crow's-nest"&mdash;Useful information&mdash;Preparing for war&mdash;Strange
+        weapons&mdash;A <br /> boat-load. <br /> <br />CHAPTER III&mdash;FISHING
+        BEGINS The cleanliness of a whale-ship&mdash;No <br /> skulking&mdash;Porpoise-fishing&mdash;Cannibals&mdash;Cooking
+        operations&mdash;Boat-drill&mdash;A <br /> good look-out&mdash;"Black-fishing"&mdash;Roguery
+        in all trades&mdash;Plenty of fresh <br /> beef&mdash;The nursery of
+        American whalemen. <br /> <br />CHAPTER IV&mdash;BAD WEATHER Nautical
+        routine&mdash;The first gale&mdash;Comfort <br /> versus speed&mdash;A
+        grand sea-boat&mdash;The Sargasso Sea&mdash;Natural history <br />
+        pursuits&mdash;Dolphin&mdash;Unconventional fishing&mdash;Rumours of a
+        visit to the <br /> Cape Verdes&mdash;Babel below&mdash;No allowance, but
+        not "full and plenty"&mdash;Queer <br /> washing&mdash;Method of sharing
+        rations&mdash;The "slop-shop" opened&mdash;Our <br /> prospects. <br />
+        <br />CHAPTER V&mdash;ACTUAL WARFARE. OUR FIRST WHALE Premonitions&mdash;Discussion
+        <br /> on whaling from unknown premisses&mdash;I wake in a fright&mdash;Sperm
+        whales <br /> at last&mdash;The war begins&mdash;Warning&mdash;We get
+        fast&mdash;and get loose&mdash;In <br /> trouble&mdash;an uncomfortable
+        situation&mdash;No Pity-Only one whale&mdash;Rigging the <br />
+        "cutting-stage"&mdash;Securing the whale alongside. <br /> <br />CHAPTER
+        VI&mdash;"DIRTY WORK FOR CLEAN MONEY" Goliath in trouble&mdash;Commence
+        <br /> "cutting-in"&mdash;A heavy head&mdash;A tank of spermaceti&mdash;Decks
+        running <br /> with oil&mdash;A "Patent" mincing-machine&mdash;Extensive
+        cooking&mdash;Dangerous <br /> work&mdash;Three tuns of oil&mdash;A
+        horrible mess&mdash;A thin-skinned monster&mdash;A fine <br /> mouth of
+        teeth. <br /> <br />CHAPTER VII&mdash;GETTING SOUTHWARD Captain Slocum's
+        <br /> amenities&mdash;Expensive beer&mdash;St. Paul's Rocks&mdash;"Bonito"&mdash;"Showery"
+        <br /> weather&mdash;Waterspouts&mdash;Calms&mdash;A friendly finback&mdash;A
+        disquisition on <br /> whales by Mistah Jones&mdash;Flying-fishing. <br />
+        <br />CHAPTER VIII&mdash;ABNER'S WHALE Abner in luck&mdash;A big "fish"
+        at last&mdash;A feat <br /> of endurance&mdash;A fighting whale&mdash;The
+        sperm whale's food&mdash;Ambergris&mdash;A <br /> good reception&mdash;Hard
+        labour&mdash;Abner's reward&mdash;"Scrimshaw". <br /> <br />CHAPTER IX&mdash;OUR
+        FIRST CALLING-PLACE A forced march&mdash;Tristan <br /> d'Acunha&mdash;Visitors&mdash;Fresh
+        provisions&mdash;A warm welcome&mdash;Goliath's <br /> turn&mdash;a
+        feathered host&mdash;Good gear&mdash;A rough time&mdash;Creeping <br />
+        north&mdash;Uncertainty&mdash;"Rule of thumb"&mdash;navigation&mdash;The
+        Mozambique Channel. <br /> <br />CHAPTER X&mdash;A VISIT TO SOME STRANGE
+        PLACES Tropical thunderstorms&mdash;A <br /> "record" day's fishing&mdash;Cetacean
+        frivolities&mdash;Mistah Jones moralizes&mdash;A <br /> snug harbour&mdash;Wooding
+        and watering&mdash;Catching a turtle&mdash;Catching a <br /> "Tartar"&mdash;A
+        violent death&mdash;A crooked jaw&mdash;Aldabra Island&mdash;Primeval
+        <br /> inhabitants&mdash;A strange steed&mdash;"Pirate" birds&mdash;Good
+        eggs&mdash;Green <br /> cocoa-nuts&mdash;More turtle&mdash;A school of
+        "kogia". <br /> <br />CHAPTER XI&mdash;ROUND THE COCOS AND SEYCHELLES We
+        encounter a "cyclone"&mdash;A <br /> tremendous gust&mdash;a foundering
+        ship&mdash;To anchor for repairs&mdash;The <br /> Cocos&mdash;Repairing
+        damages&mdash;Around the Seychelles&mdash;A "milk" sea&mdash;A <br />
+        derelict prahu&mdash;A ghastly freight&mdash;A stagnant sea. <br /> <br />CHAPTER
+        XII&mdash;WHICH TREATS OF THE KRAKEN "Eyes and no eyes" at sea&mdash;Of
+        <br /> big mollusca&mdash;The origin of sea-serpent stories&mdash;Rediscovery
+        of the <br /> "Kraken"&mdash;A conflict of monsters&mdash;"The insatiable
+        nightmares of the <br /> sea"&mdash;Spermaceti running to waste&mdash;The
+        East Indian maze. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XIII&mdash;OFF TO THE JAPAN GROUNDS
+        A whale off Hong Kong&mdash;The <br /> skipper and his "'bomb-gun"&mdash;Injury
+        to the captain&mdash;Unwelcome <br /> visitors&mdash;The heathen Chinee&mdash;We
+        get safe off&mdash;"Death of Portagee <br /> Jim"&mdash;The Funeral&mdash;The
+        Coast of Japan&mdash;Port Lloyd&mdash;Meeting of <br /> whale-ships.
+        <br /> <br />CHAPTER XIV&mdash;LIBERTY DAY&mdash;AND AFTER Liberty day&mdash;I
+        foregather with <br /> a "beach-comber"&mdash;A big fight&mdash;Goliath
+        on the war-path&mdash;A <br /> court-martial&mdash;Wholesale flogging&mdash;a
+        miserable crowd&mdash;Quite a fleet of <br /> whale-ships&mdash;I "raise"
+        a sperm whale&mdash;Severe competition&mdash;An unfortunate <br /> stroke&mdash;The
+        skipper distinguishes himself. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XV&mdash;WHICH COMES
+        UNCOMFORTABLY NEAR BEING THE LAST I come <br /> to grief&mdash;Emulating
+        Jonah&mdash;Sharing a flurry&mdash;A long spell of <br /> sick-leave&mdash;The
+        whale's "sixth sense"&mdash;Off to the Kuriles&mdash;Prepare for <br />
+        "bowhead" fishing&mdash;The Sea of Okhotsk&mdash;Abundant salmon&mdash;The
+        "daintiness" <br /> of seamen. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XVI&mdash;"BOWHEAD"
+        FISHING Difference between whales&mdash;Popular ideas <br /> exploded&mdash;The
+        gentle mysticetus&mdash;Very tame work&mdash;Fond of tongue&mdash;Goliath
+        <br /> confides in me&mdash;An awful affair&mdash;Captain Slocum's death&mdash;"Not
+        Amurath an <br /> Amurath succeeds"&mdash;I am promoted. <br /> <br />CHAPTER
+        XVII&mdash;VISIT TO HONOLULU Towards Honolulu&mdash;Missionaries and
+        their <br /> critics&mdash;The happy Kanaka&mdash;Honolulu&mdash;A
+        pleasant holiday. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XVIII&mdash;ON THE "LINE" GROUNDS I
+        get my opportunity&mdash;A <br /> new harpooner&mdash;Feats under the
+        skipper's eye&mdash;Two whales on one <br /> line&mdash;Compliments Heavy
+        towage&mdash;A grand haul. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XIX&mdash;EDGING SOUTHWARD
+        Monotony&mdash;A school of blackfish&mdash;A boat <br /> ripped in half&mdash;A
+        multitude of sharks&mdash;A curious backbone&mdash;Christmas <br /> Day&mdash;A
+        novel Christmas dinner&mdash;A find of ambergris. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XX&mdash;"HUMPBACKING"
+        AT VAU VAU "Gamming" again&mdash;a <br /> Whitechapel rover&mdash;arrive
+        at Vau Vau&mdash;Valuable friends&mdash;a Sunday <br /> ashore&mdash;"Hollingside"&mdash;The
+        natives at church&mdash;Full-dress&mdash;Very <br /> "mishnally"&mdash;Idyllic
+        cruising&mdash;Wonderful mother-love&mdash;A mighty feast. <br /> <br />CHAPTER
+        XXI&mdash;PROGRESS OF THE "HUMPBACK" SEASON A fruitless chase&mdash;Placid
+        <br /> times&mdash;a stirring adventure&mdash;a vast cave&mdash;Unforeseen
+        company&mdash;A night <br /> of terror&mdash;We provide a feast for the
+        sharks&mdash;the death of Abner&mdash;An <br /> impressive ceremony&mdash;an
+        invitation to dinner&mdash;Kanaka cookery. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XXII&mdash;FAREWELL
+        TO VAU VAU Ignorance of the habits of whales&mdash;A <br /> terrific
+        encounter&mdash;VAE VICTIS&mdash;Rewarding our "flems"&mdash;We leave
+        Van <br /> Vau&mdash;The Outward bounder&mdash;Sailors' "homes"&mdash;A
+        night of horror&mdash;Sudden <br /> death&mdash;Futuna. <br /> <br />CHAPTER
+        XXIII&mdash;AT FUTUNA, RECRUITING A fleet of nondescripts&mdash;"Tui
+        <br /> Tongoa" otherwise Sam&mdash;Eager recruits&mdash;Devout Catholics&mdash;A
+        visit to <br /> Sunday Island&mdash;A Crusoe family&mdash;Their eviction&mdash;Maori
+        cabbage&mdash;Fine <br /> fishing&mdash;Away for New Zealand&mdash;Sight
+        the "Three Kings"&mdash;The Bay of <br /> Islands. <br /> <br />CHAPTER
+        XXIV&mdash;THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST Sleepy <br /> hollow&mdash;Wood
+        and water&mdash;liberty day&mdash;A plea for the sailors' <br />
+        recreation&mdash;Our picnic&mdash;A a whiff of "May"&mdash;A delightful
+        excursion&mdash;To <br /> the southward again&mdash;Wintry weather&mdash;Enter
+        Foveaux Straits. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XXV&mdash;ON THE SOLANDER GROUNDS
+        Firstfruits of the Solander&mdash;An <br /> easy catch&mdash;Delights of
+        the Solander&mdash;Port William&mdash;The <br /> old CHANCE&mdash;"Paddy
+        Gilroy"&mdash;Barbarians from the East <br /> End&mdash;Barracouta-Fishing&mdash;Wind-bound&mdash;An
+        enormous school of <br /> cachalots&mdash;Misfortune&mdash;A bursting
+        whale&mdash;Back on the Solander <br /> again&mdash;Cutting-in at Port
+        William&mdash;Studying anatomy&mdash;Badly battered <br /> Yankees&mdash;Paddy
+        in luck again. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XXVI&mdash;PADDY'S LATEST EXPLOIT We
+        try Preservation Inlet&mdash;An <br /> astounding feat of Paddy Gilroy's.
+        <br /> <br />CHAPTER XXVII&mdash;PORT PEGASUS Port Pegasus&mdash;Among old
+        <br /> acquaintances&mdash;"Mutton birds"&mdash;Skilled auxiliaries&mdash;A
+        gratifying <br /> catch&mdash;Leave port again&mdash;Back to the Solander&mdash;A
+        grim escape&mdash;Our last <br /> whales&mdash;Into Port William again&mdash;Paddy's
+        assistance&mdash;We part with our <br /> Kanakas&mdash;Sam's plans of
+        conquest. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XXVIII&mdash;TO THE BLUFF, AND HOME And
+        last&mdash;In high-toned <br /> company&mdash;Another picnic&mdash;Depart
+        from the Bluff&mdash;Hey for the Horn!&mdash;Among <br /> the icebergs&mdash;"Scudding"&mdash;Favouring
+        trades&mdash;A narrow escape from <br /> collision&mdash;Home at last.
+        <br />
+      </p>
+    </blockquote>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      INTRODUCTION
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Without attempting the ambitious task of presenting a comprehensive sketch
+      of the origin, rise, and fall of whale-fishing as a whole, it seems
+      necessary to give a brief outline of that portion of the subject bearing
+      upon the theme of the present book before plunging into the first chapter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This preliminary is the more needed for the reason alluded to in the
+      Preface&mdash;the want of knowledge of the subject that is apparent
+      everywhere. The Greenland whale fishery has been so popularized that most
+      people know something about it; the sperm whale fishery still awaits its
+      Scoresby and a like train of imitators and borrowers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cachalots, or sperm whales, must have been captured on the coasts of
+      Europe in a desultory way from a very early date, by the incidental
+      allusions to the prime products spermaceti and ambergris which are found
+      in so many ancient writers, Shakespeare's reference&mdash;"The
+      sovereign'st thing on earth was parmaceti for an inward bruise"&mdash;will
+      be familiar to most people, as well as Milton's mention of the delicacies
+      at Satan's feast&mdash;"Grisamber steamed"&mdash;not to carry quotation
+      any further.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But in the year 1690 the brave and hardy fishermen of the north-east
+      coasts of North America established that systematic pursuit of the
+      cachalot which has thriven so wonderfully ever since, although it must be
+      confessed that the last few years have witnessed a serious decline in this
+      great branch of trade.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For many years the American colonists completely engrossed this branch of
+      the whale fishery, contentedly leaving to Great Britain and the
+      continental nations the monopoly of the northern or Arctic fisheries,
+      while they cruised the stormy, if milder, seas around their own shores.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For the resultant products, their best customer was the mother country,
+      and a lucrative commerce steadily grew up between the two countries. But
+      when the march of events brought the unfortunate and wholly unnecessary
+      War of Independence, this flourishing trade was the first to suffer, and
+      many of the daring fishermen became our fiercest foes on board their own
+      men-of-war.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The total stoppage of the importation of sperm oil and spermaceti was
+      naturally severely felt in England, for time had not permitted the
+      invention of substitutes. In consequence of this, ten ships were equipped
+      and sent out to the sperm whale fishery from England in 1776, most of them
+      owned by one London firm, the Messrs. Enderby. The next year, in order to
+      encourage the infant enterprise, a Government bounty, graduated from L500
+      to L1000 per ship, was granted. Under this fostering care the number of
+      ships engaged in the sperm whale fishery progressively increased until
+      1791, when it attained its maximum.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This method of whaling being quite new to our whalemen, it was necessary,
+      at great cost, to hire American officers and harpooners to instruct them
+      in the ways of dealing with these highly active and dangerous cetacea.
+      Naturally, it was by-and-by found possible to dispense with the services
+      of these auxiliaries; but it must be confessed that the business never
+      seems to have found such favour, or to have been prosecuted with such
+      smartness, among our whalemen as it has by the Americans.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Something of an exotic the trade always was among us, although it did
+      attain considerable proportions at one time. At first the fishing was
+      confined to the Atlantic Ocean; nor for many years was it necessary to go
+      farther afield, as abundance of whales could easily be found.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As, however, the number of ships engaged increased, it was inevitable that
+      the known grounds should become exhausted, and in 1788 Messrs. Enderby's
+      ship, the EMILIA, first ventured round Cape Horn, as the pioneer of a
+      greater trade than ever. The way once pointed out, other ships were not
+      slow to follow, until, in 1819, the British whale-ship SYREN opened up the
+      till then unexplored tract of ocean in the western part of the North
+      Pacific, afterwards familiarly known as the "Coast of Japan." From these
+      teeming waters alone, for many years an average annual catch of 40,000
+      barrels of oil was taken, which, at the average price of L8 per barrel,
+      will give some idea of the value of the trade generally.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Australian colonists, early in their career, found the sperm whale
+      fishery easy of access from all their coasts, and especially lucrative. At
+      one time they bade fair to establish a whale fishery that should rival the
+      splendid trade of the Americans; but, like the mother country, they
+      permitted the fishery to decline, so that even bounties could not keep it
+      alive.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile, the Americans added to their fleet continually, prospering
+      amazingly. But suddenly the advent of the civil war let loose among those
+      peaceable cruisers the devastating ALABAMA, whose course was marked in
+      some parts of the world by the fires of blazing whale-ships. A great part,
+      of the Geneva award was on this account, although it must be acknowledged
+      that many pseudo-owners were enriched who never owned aught but brazen
+      impudence and influential friends to push their fictitious claims. The
+      real sufferers, seamen especially, in most cases never received any
+      redress whatever.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      From this crushing blow the American sperm whale fishery has never fully
+      recovered. When the writer was in the trade, some twenty-two years ago, it
+      was credited with a fleet of between three and four hundred sail; now it
+      may be doubted whether the numbers reach an eighth of that amount. A rigid
+      conservatism of method hinders any revival of the industry, which is
+      practically conducted to-day as it was fifty, or even a hundred years ago;
+      and it is probable that another decade will witness the final extinction
+      of what was once one of the most important maritime industries in the
+      world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h1>
+      THE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT"
+    </h1>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER I. OUTWARD BOUND
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      At the age of eighteen, after a sea-experience of six years from the time
+      when I dodged about London streets, a ragged Arab, with wits sharpened by
+      the constant fight for food, I found myself roaming the streets of New
+      Bedford, Massachusetts. How I came to be there, of all places in the
+      world, does not concern this story at all, so I am not going to trouble my
+      readers with it; enough to say that I WAS there, and mighty anxious to get
+      away. Sailor Jack is always hankering for shore when he is at sea, but
+      when he is "outward bound"&mdash;that is, when his money is all gone&mdash;he
+      is like a cat in the rain there.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So as MY money was all gone, I was hungry for a ship; and when a long,
+      keen-looking man with a goat-like beard, and mouth stained with dry
+      tobacco-juice, hailed me one afternoon at the street-corner, I answered
+      very promptly, scenting a berth. "Lookin' fer a ship, stranger?" said he.
+      "Yes; do you want a hand?" said I, anxiously. He made a funny little sound
+      something like a pony's whinny, then answered, "Wall, I should surmise
+      that I want between fifty and sixty hands, ef yew kin lay me onto 'em;
+      but, kem along, every dreep's a drop, an' yew seem likely enough." With
+      that he turned and led the way until we reached a building around which
+      were gathered one of the most nondescript crowds I had ever seen. There
+      certainly did not appear to be a sailor among them. Not so much by their
+      rig, though that is not a great deal to go by, but by their actions and
+      speech. One thing they all had in common, tobacco chewing but as nearly
+      every male I met with in America did that, it was not much to be noticed.
+      I had hardly done reckoning them up when two or three bustling men came
+      out and shepherded us all energetically into a long, low room, where some
+      form of agreement was read out to us. Sailors are naturally and usually
+      careless about the nature of the "articles" they sign, their chief anxiety
+      being to get to sea, and under somebody's charge. But had I been ever so
+      anxious to know what I was going to sign this time, I could not, for the
+      language might as well have been Chinese for all I understood of it.
+      However, I signed and passed on, engaged to go I knew not where, in some
+      ship I did not know even the name of, in which I was to receive I did not
+      know how much, or how little, for my labour, nor how long I was going to
+      be away. "What a young fool!" I hear somebody say. I quite agree, but
+      there were a good many more in that ship, as in most ships that I have
+      ever sailed in.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      From the time we signed the articles, we were never left to ourselves.
+      Truculent-looking men accompanied us to our several boarding-houses, paid
+      our debts for us, finally bringing us by boat to a ship lying out in the
+      bay. As we passed under her stern, I read the name CACHALOT, of New
+      Bedford; but as soon as we ranged alongside, I realized that I was booked
+      for the sailor's horror&mdash;a cruise in a whaler. Badly as I wanted to
+      get to sea, I had not bargained for this, and would have run some risks to
+      get ashore again; but they took no chances, so we were all soon aboard.
+      Before going forward, I took a comprehensive glance around, and saw that I
+      was on board of a vessel belonging to a type which has almost disappeared
+      off the face of the waters. A more perfect contrast to the trim-built
+      English clipper-ships that I had been accustomed to I could hardly
+      imagine. She was one of a class characterized by sailors as "built by the
+      mile, and cut off in lengths as you want 'em," bow and stern almost alike,
+      masts standing straight as broomsticks, and bowsprit soaring upwards at an
+      angle of about forty-five degrees. She was as old-fashioned in her rig as
+      in her hull; but I must not go into the technical differences between
+      rigs, for fear of making myself tedious. Right in the centre of the deck,
+      occupying a space of about ten feet by eight, was a square erection of
+      brickwork, upon which my wondering gaze rested longest, for I had not the
+      slightest idea what it could be. But I was rudely roused from my
+      meditations by the harsh voice of one of the officers, who shouted, "Naow
+      then, git below an' stow yer dunnage, 'n look lively up agin." I took the
+      broad hint, and shouldering my traps, hurried forward to the fo'lk'sle,
+      which was below deck. Tumbling down the steep ladder, I entered the gloomy
+      den which was to be for so long my home, finding it fairly packed with my
+      shipmates. A motley crowd they were. I had been used in English ships to
+      considerable variety of nationality; but here were gathered, not only the
+      representatives of five or six nations, but 'long-shoremen of all kinds,
+      half of whom had hardly ever set eyes on a ship before! The whole space
+      was undivided by partition, but I saw at once that black men and white had
+      separated themselves, the blacks taking the port side and the whites the
+      starboard. Finding a vacant bunk by the dim glimmer of the ancient teapot
+      lamp that hung amidships, giving out as much smoke as light, I hurriedly
+      shifted my coat for a "jumper" or blouse, put on an old cap, and climbed
+      into the fresh air again. For a double reason, even MY seasoned head was
+      feeling bad with the villainous reek of the place, and I did not want any
+      of those hard-featured officers on deck to have any cause to complain of
+      my "hanging back." On board ship, especially American ships, the first
+      requisite for a sailor who wants to be treated properly is to "show
+      willing," any suspicion of slackness being noted immediately, and the
+      backward one marked accordingly. I had hardly reached the deck when I was
+      confronted by a negro, the biggest I ever saw in, my life. He looked me up
+      and down for a moment, then opening his ebony features in a wide smile, he
+      said, "Great snakes! why, here's a sailor man for sure! Guess thet's so,
+      ain't it, Johnny?" I said "yes" very curtly, for I hardly liked his
+      patronizing air; but he snapped me up short with "yes, SIR, when yew speak
+      to me, yew blank lime-juicer. I'se de fourf mate ob dis yar ship, en my
+      name's Mistah Jones, 'n yew, jest freeze on to dat ar, ef yew want ter lib
+      long'n die happy. See, sonny." I SAW, and answered promptly, "I beg your
+      pardon, sir, I didn't know." "Ob cawse yew didn't know, dat's all right,
+      little Britisher; naow jest skip aloft 'n loose dat fore-taupsle." "Aye,
+      aye, sir," I answered cheerily, springing at once into the fore-rigging
+      and up the ratlines like a monkey, but not too fast to hear him chuckle,
+      "Dat's a smart kiddy, I bet." I had the big sail loose in double quick
+      time, and sung out "All gone, the fore-taupsle," before any of the other
+      sails were adrift. "Loose the to-gantsle and staysles" came up from below
+      in a voice like thunder, and I bounded up higher to my task. On deck I
+      could see a crowd at the windlass heaving up anchor. I said to myself,
+      "They don't waste any time getting this packet away." Evidently they were
+      not anxious to test any of the crew's swimming powers. They were wise, for
+      had she remained at anchor that night I verily believe some of the poor
+      wretches would have tried to escape.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The anchor came aweigh, the sails were sheeted home, and I returned on
+      deck to find the ship gathering way for the heads, fairly started on her
+      long voyage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What a bear-garden the deck was, to be sure! The black portion of the crew&mdash;Portuguese
+      natives from the Western and Canary Islands&mdash;were doing their work
+      all right in a clumsy fashion; but the farmers, and bakers, and draymen
+      were being driven about mercilessly amid a perfect hurricane of profanity
+      and blows. And right here I must say that, accustomed as I had always been
+      to bad language all my life, what I now heard was a revelation to me. I
+      would not, if I could, attempt to give a sample of it, but it must be
+      understood that it was incessant throughout the voyage. No order could be
+      given without it, under the impression, apparently, that the more curses
+      the more speed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before nightfall we were fairly out to sea, and the ceremony of dividing
+      the crew into watches was gone through. I found myself in the chief mate's
+      or "port" watch (they called it "larboard," a term I had never heard used
+      before, it having long been obsolete in merchant ships), though the huge
+      negro fourth mate seemed none too well pleased that I was not under his
+      command, his being the starboard watch under the second mate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As night fell, the condition of the "greenies," or non-sailor portion of
+      the crew, was pitiable. Helpless from sea-sickness, not knowing where to
+      go or what to do, bullied relentlessly by the ruthless petty officers&mdash;well,
+      I never felt so sorry for a lot of men in my life. Glad enough I was to
+      get below into the fo'lk'sle for supper, and a brief rest and respite from
+      that cruelty on deck. A bit of salt junk and a piece of bread, i.e.
+      biscuit, flinty as a pantile, with a pot of something sweetened with
+      "longlick" (molasses), made an apology for a meal, and I turned in. In a
+      very few minutes oblivion came, making me as happy as any man can be in
+      this world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER II. PREPARING FOR ACTION
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The hideous noise always considered necessary in those ships when calling
+      the watch, roused me effectively at midnight, "eight bells." I hurried on
+      deck, fully aware that no leisurely ten minutes would be allowed here.
+      "Lay aft the watch," saluted me as I emerged into the keen strong air,
+      quickening my pace according to where the mate stood waiting to muster his
+      men. As soon as he saw me, he said, "Can you steer?" in a mocking tone;
+      but when I quietly answered, "Yes, sir," his look of astonishment was
+      delightful to see. He choked it down, however, and merely telling me to
+      take the wheel, turned forrard roaring frantically for his watch. I had no
+      time to chuckle over what I knew was in store for him, getting those poor
+      greenies collected from their several holes and corners, for on taking the
+      wheel I found a machine under my hands such as I never even heard of
+      before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wheel was fixed upon the tiller in such a manner that the whole
+      concern travelled backwards and forwards across the deck in the maddest
+      kind of way. For the first quarter of an hour, in spite of the September
+      chill, the sweat poured off me in streams. And the course&mdash;well, if
+      was not steering, it was sculling; the old bumboat was wobbling all around
+      like a drunken tailor with two left legs. I fairly shook with apprehension
+      lest the mate should come and look in the compass. I had been accustomed
+      to hard words if I did not steer within half a point each way; but here
+      was a "gadget" that worked me to death, the result being a wake like a
+      letter S. Gradually I got the hang of the thing, becoming easier in my
+      mind on my own account. Even that was not an unmixed blessing, for I had
+      now some leisure to listen to the goings-on around the deck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such brutality I never witnessed before. On board of English ships (except
+      men-of-war) there is practically no discipline, which is bad, but this
+      sort of thing was maddening. I knew how desperately ill all those poor
+      wretches were, how helpless and awkward they would be if quite hale and
+      hearty; but there was absolutely no pity for them, the officers seemed to
+      be incapable of any feelings of compassion whatever. My heart sank within
+      me as I thought of what lay before me, although I did not fear that their
+      treatment would also be mine, since I was at least able to do my duty, and
+      willing to work hard to keep out of trouble. Then I began to wonder what
+      sort of voyage I was in for, how long it would last, and what my earnings
+      were likely to be, none of which things I had the faintest idea of.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Fortunately, I was alone in the world. No one, as far as I knew, cared a
+      straw what became of me; so that I was spared any worry on that head. And
+      I had also a very definite and well-established trust in God, which I can
+      now look back and see was as fully justified as I then believed it to be.
+      So, as I could not shut my ears to the cruelties being carried on, nor
+      banish thought by hard work, I looked up to the stately stars, thinking of
+      things not to be talked about without being suspected of cant. So swiftly
+      passed the time that when four bells struck: (two o'clock) I could hardly
+      believe my ears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I was relieved by one of the Portuguese, and went forward to witness a
+      curious scene. Seven stalwart men were being compelled to march up and
+      down on that tumbling deck, men who had never before trodden anything less
+      solid than the earth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The third mate, a waspish, spiteful little Yankee with a face like an
+      angry cat, strolled about among them, a strand of rope-yarns in his hand,
+      which he wielded constantly, regardless where he struck a man. They fell
+      about, sometimes four or five at once, and his blows flew thick and fast,
+      yet he never seemed to weary of his ill-doing. It made me quite sick, and
+      I longed to be aft at the wheel again. Catching sight of me standing
+      irresolute as to what I had better do, he ordered me on the "look-out," a
+      tiny platform between the "knight heads," just where the bowsprit joins
+      the ship. Gladly I obeyed him, and perched up there looking over the wide
+      sea, the time passed quickly away until eight bells (four o'clock)
+      terminated my watch. I must pass rapidly over the condition of things in
+      the fo'lk'sle, where all the greenies that were allowed below, were
+      groaning in misery from the stifling atmosphere which made their sickness
+      so much worse, while even that dreadful place was preferable to what
+      awaited them on deck. There was a rainbow-coloured halo round the flame of
+      the lamp, showing how very bad the air was; but in spite of that I turned
+      in and slept soundly till seven bells (7.20 a.m.) roused us to breakfast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      American ships generally have an excellent name for the way they feed
+      their crews, but the whalers are a notable exception to that good rule.
+      The food was really worse than that on board any English ship I have ever
+      sailed in, so scanty also in quantity that it kept all the foremast hands
+      at starvation point. But grumbling was dangerous, so I gulped down the
+      dirty mixture mis-named coffee, ate a few fragments of biscuit, and filled
+      up (?) with a smoke, as many better men are doing this morning. As the
+      bell struck I hurried on deck&mdash;not one moment too soon&mdash;for as I
+      stepped out of the scuttle I saw the third mate coming forward with a
+      glitter in his eye that boded no good to laggards.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before going any farther I must apologize for using so many capital I's,
+      but up till the present I had been the only available white member of the
+      crew forrard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The decks were scrubbed spotlessly clean, and everything was neat and tidy
+      as on board a man-of-war, contrary to all usual notions of the condition
+      of a whaler. The mate was in a state of high activity, so I soon found
+      myself very busily engaged in getting up whale-lines, harpoons, and all
+      the varied equipment for the pursuit of whales. The number of officers
+      carried would have been a good crew for the ship, the complete afterguard
+      comprising captain, four mates, four harpooners or boat-steerers,
+      carpenter, cooper, steward and cook. All these worthies were on deck and
+      working with might and main at the preparations, so that the incompetence
+      of the crowd forrard was little hindrance. I was pounced upon by "Mistah"
+      Jones, the fourth mate, whom I heard addressed familiarly as "Goliath" and
+      "Anak" by his brother officers, and ordered to assist him in rigging the
+      "crow's-nest" at the main royal-mast head. It was a simple affair. There
+      were a pair of cross-trees fitted to the mast, upon which was secured a
+      tiny platform about a foot wide on each side of the mast, while above this
+      foothold a couple of padded hoops like a pair of giant spectacles were
+      secured at a little higher than a man's waist. When all was fast one could
+      creep up on the platform, through the hoop, and, resting his arms upon the
+      latter, stand comfortably and gaze around, no matter how vigorously the
+      old barky plunged and kicked beneath him. From that lofty eyrie I had a
+      comprehensive view of the vessel. She was about 350 tons and full
+      ship-rigged, that is to say, she carried square sails on all three masts.
+      Her deck was flush fore and aft, the only obstructions being the
+      brick-built "try-works" in the waist, the galley, and cabin skylight right
+      aft by the taffrail. Her bulwarks were set thickly round with clumsy
+      looking wooden cranes, from which depended five boats. Two more boats were
+      secured bottom up upon a gallows aft, so she seemed to be well supplied in
+      that direction. Mistah Jones, finding I did not presume upon his
+      condescension, gradually unbent and furnished me with many interesting
+      facts about the officers. Captain Slocum, he said, was "de debbil hisself,
+      so jess yew keeps yer lamps trim' fer him, sonny, taint helthy ter rile
+      him." The first officer, or the mate as he is always called PAR
+      EXCELLENCE, was an older man than the captain, but a good seaman, a good
+      whaleman, and a gentleman. Which combination I found to be a fact,
+      although hard to believe possible at the time. The second mate was a
+      Portuguese about forty years of age, with a face like one of Vandyke's
+      cavaliers, but as I now learned, a perfect fiend when angered. He also was
+      a first-class whaleman, but an indifferent seaman. The third mate was
+      nothing much but bad temper&mdash;not much sailor, nor much whaler,
+      generally in hot water with the skipper, who hated him because he was an
+      "owner's man." "An de fourf mate," wound up the narrator, straightening
+      his huge bulk, "am de bes' man in de ship, and de bigges'. Dey aint no
+      whalemen in Noo Bedford caynt teach ME nuffin, en ef it comes ter
+      man-handlin'; w'y I jes' pick 'em two't a time 'n crack 'em togerrer like
+      so, see!" and he smote the palms of his great paws against each other,
+      while I nodded complete assent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The weather being fine, with a steady N.E. wind blowing, so that the sails
+      required no attention, work proceeded steadily all the morning. The oars
+      were sorted, examined for flaws, and placed in the boats; the whale-line,
+      manilla rope like yellow silk, 1 1/2 inch round, was brought on deck,
+      stretched and coiled down with the greatest care into tubs, holding, some
+      200 fathoms, and others 100 fathoms each. New harpoons were fitted to
+      poles of rough but heavy wood, without any attempt at neatness, but every
+      attention to strength. The shape of these weapons was not, as is generally
+      thought, that of an arrow, but rather like an arrow with one huge barb,
+      the upper part of which curved out from the shaft. The whole of the barb
+      turned on a stout pivot of steel, but was kept in line with the shaft by a
+      tiny wooden peg which passed through barb and shaft, being then cut off
+      smoothly on both sides. The point of the harpoon had at one side a
+      wedge-shaped edge, ground to razor keenness, the other side was flat. The
+      shaft, about thirty inches long, was of the best malleable iron, so soft
+      that it would tie into a knot and straighten out again without fracture.
+      Three harpoons, or "irons" as they were always called, were placed in each
+      boat, fitted one above the other in the starboard bow, the first for use
+      being always one unused before, Opposite to them in the boat were fitted
+      three lances for the purpose of KILLING whales, the harpoons being only
+      the means by which the boat was attached to a fish, and quite useless to
+      inflict a fatal wound. These lances were slender spears of malleable iron
+      about four feet long, with oval or heart-shaped points of fine steel about
+      two inches broad, their edges kept keen as a surgeon's lancet. By means of
+      a socket at the other end they were attached to neat handles, or
+      "lance-poles," about as long again, the whole weapon being thus about
+      eight feet in length, and furnished with a light line, or "lance-warp,"
+      for the purpose of drawing it back again when it had been darted at a
+      whale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Each boat was fitted with a centre-board, or sliding keel, which was drawn
+      up, when not in use, into a case standing in the boat's middle, very much
+      in the way. But the American whalemen regard these clumsy contrivances as
+      indispensable, so there's an end on't. The other furniture of a boat
+      comprised five oars of varying lengths from sixteen to nine feet, one
+      great steering oar of nineteen feet, a mast and two sails of great area
+      for so small a craft, spritsail shape; two tubs of whale-line containing
+      together 1800 feet, a keg of drinking water, and another long narrow one
+      with a few biscuits, a lantern, candles and matches therein; a bucket and
+      "piggin" for baling, a small spade, a flag or "wheft," a shoulder bomb-gun
+      and ammunition, two knives and two small axes. A rudder hung outside by
+      the stern.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With all this gear, although snugly stowed, a boat looked so loaded that I
+      could not help wondering how six men would be able to work in her; but
+      like most "deep-water" sailors, I knew very little about boating. I was
+      going to learn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All this work and bustle of preparation was so rapidly carried on, and so
+      interesting, that before supper-time everything was in readiness to
+      commence operations, the time having gone so swiftly that I could hardly
+      believe the bell when it sounded four times, six o'clock.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER III. FISHING BEGINS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      During all the bustle of warlike preparation that had been going on, the
+      greenhorns had not suffered from inattention on the part of those
+      appointed to look after them. Happily for them, the wind blew steadily,
+      and the weather, thanks to the balmy influence of the Gulf Stream, was
+      quite mild and genial. The ship was undoubtedly lively, as all good
+      sea-boats are, but her motions were by no means so detestable to a
+      sea-sick man as those of a driving steamer. So, in spite of their
+      treatment, perhaps because of it, some of the poor fellows were beginning
+      to take hold of things "man-fashion," although of course sea legs they had
+      none, their getting about being indeed a pilgrimage of pain. Some of them
+      were beginning to try the dreadful "grub" (I cannot libel "food" by using
+      it in such a connection), thereby showing that their interest in life,
+      even such a life as was now before them, was returning. They had all been
+      allotted places in the various boats, intermixed with the seasoned
+      Portuguese in such a way that the officer and harpooner in charge would
+      not be dependant upon them entirely in case of a sudden emergency. Every
+      endeavour was undoubtedly made to instruct them in their duties, albeit
+      the teachers were all too apt to beat their information in with anything
+      that came to hand, and persuasion found no place in their methods.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The reports I had always heard of the laziness prevailing on board
+      whale-ships were now abundantly falsified. From dawn to dark work went on
+      without cessation. Everything was rubbed and scrubbed and scoured until no
+      speck or soil could be found; indeed, no gentleman's yacht or man-of-war
+      is kept more spotlessly clean than was the CACHALOT.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A regular and severe routine of labour was kept up; and, what was most
+      galling to me, instead of a regular four hours' watch on and off, night
+      and day, all hands were kept on deck the whole day long, doing quite
+      unnecessary tasks, apparently with the object of preventing too much
+      leisure and consequent brooding over their unhappy lot. One result of this
+      continual drive and tear was that all these landsmen became rapidly imbued
+      with the virtues of cleanliness, which was extended to the den in which we
+      lived, or I verily believe sickness would have soon thinned us out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On the fourth day after leaving port we were all busy as usual except the
+      four men in the "crow's-nests," when a sudden cry of "Porps! porps!"
+      brought everything to a standstill. A large school of porpoises had just
+      joined us, in their usual clownish fashion, rolling and tumbling around
+      the bows as the old barky wallowed along, surrounded by a wide ellipse of
+      snowy foam. All work was instantly suspended, and active preparations made
+      for securing a few of these frolicsome fellows. A "block," or pulley, was
+      hung out at the bowsprit end, a whale-line passed through it and "bent"
+      (fastened) on to a harpoon. Another line with a running "bowline," or
+      slip-noose, was also passed out to the bowsprit end, being held there by
+      one man in readiness. Then one of the harpooners ran out along the
+      backropes, which keep the jib-boom down, taking his stand beneath the
+      bowsprit with the harpoon ready. Presently he raised his iron and followed
+      the track of a rising porpoise with its point until the creature broke
+      water. At the same instant the weapon left his grasp, apparently without
+      any force behind it; but we on deck, holding the line, soon found that our
+      excited hauling lifted a big vibrating body clean out of the smother
+      beneath. "'Vast hauling!" shouted the mate, while as the porpoise hung
+      dangling, the harpooner slipped the ready bowline over his body, gently
+      closing its grip round the "small" by the broad tail. Then we hauled on
+      the noose-line, slacking away the harpoon, and in a minute had our prize
+      on deck. He was dragged away at once and the operation repeated. Again and
+      again we hauled them in, until the fore part of the deck was alive with
+      the kicking, writhing sea-pigs, at least twenty of them. I had seen an
+      occasional porpoise caught at sea before, but never more than one at a
+      time. Here, however, was a wholesale catch. At last one of the harpooned
+      ones plunged so furiously while being hauled up that he literally tore
+      himself off the iron, falling, streaming with blood, back into the sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Away went all the school after him, tearing at him with their long
+      well-toothed jaws, some of them leaping high in the air in their eagerness
+      to get their due share of the cannibal feast. Our fishing was over for
+      that time. Meanwhile one of the harpooners had brought out a number of
+      knives, with which all hands were soon busy skinning the blubber from the
+      bodies. Porpoises have no skin, that is hide, the blubber or coating of
+      lard which encases them being covered by a black substance as thin as
+      tissue paper. The porpoise hide of the boot maker is really leather, made
+      from the skin of the BELUGA, or "white whale," which is found only in the
+      far north. The cover was removed from the "tryworks" amidships, revealing
+      two gigantic pots set in a frame of brickwork side by side, capable of
+      holding 200 gallons each. Such a cooking apparatus as might have graced a
+      Brobdingnagian kitchen. Beneath the pots was the very simplest of
+      furnaces, hardly as elaborate as the familiar copper-hole sacred to
+      washing day. Square funnels of sheet-iron were loosely fitted to the
+      flues, more as a protection against the oil boiling over into the fire
+      than to carry away the smoke, of which from the peculiar nature of the
+      fuel there was very little. At one side of the try-works was a large
+      wooden vessel, or "hopper," to contain the raw blubber; at the other, a
+      copper cistern or cooler of about 300 gallons capacity, into which the
+      prepared oil was baled to cool off, preliminary to its being poured into
+      the casks. Beneath the furnaces was a space as large as the whole area of
+      the try-works, about a foot deep, which, when the fires were lighted, was
+      filled with water to prevent the deck from burning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It may be imagined that the blubber from our twenty porpoises made but a
+      poor show in one of the pots; nevertheless, we got a barrel of very
+      excellent oil from them. The fires were fed with "scrap," or pieces of
+      blubber from which the oil had been boiled, some of which had been
+      reserved from the previous voyage. They burnt with a fierce and steady
+      blaze, leaving but a trace of ash. I was then informed by one of the
+      harpooners that no other fuel was ever used for boiling blubber at any
+      time, there being always amply sufficient for the purpose.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The most interesting part of the whole business, though, to us poor
+      half-starved wretches, was the plentiful supply of fresh meat. Porpoise
+      beef is, when decently cooked, fairly good eating to a landsman; judge,
+      then, what it must have been to us. Of course the tit-bits, such as the
+      liver, kidneys, brains, etc., could not possibly fall to our lot; but we
+      did not complain, we were too thankful to get something eatable, and
+      enough of it. Moreover, although few sailors in English ships know it,
+      porpoise beef improves vastly by keeping, getting tenderer every day the
+      longer it hangs, until at last it becomes as tasty a viand as one could
+      wish to dine upon. It was a good job for us that this was the case, for
+      while the porpoises lasted the "harness casks," or salt beef receptacles,
+      were kept locked; so if any man had felt unable to eat porpoise&mdash;well,
+      there was no compulsion, he could go hungry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were now in the haunts of the Sperm Whale, or "Cachalot," a brilliant
+      look-out being continually kept for any signs of their appearing. One
+      officer and a foremast hand were continually on watch during the day in
+      the main crow's-nest, one harpooner and a seaman in the fore one. A bounty
+      of ten pounds of tobacco was offered to whoever should first report a
+      whale, should it be secured, consequently there were no sleepy eyes up
+      there. Of course none of those who were inexperienced stood much chance
+      against the eagle-eyed Portuguese; but all tried their best, in the hope
+      of perhaps winning some little favour from their hard taskmasters. Every
+      evening at sunset it was "all hands shorten sail," the constant drill
+      rapidly teaching even these clumsy landsmen how to find their way aloft,
+      and do something else besides hold on to anything like grim death when
+      they got there.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last, one beautiful day, the boats were lowered and manned, and away
+      went the greenies on their first practical lesson in the business of the
+      voyage. As before noticed, there were two greenies in each boat, they
+      being so arranged that whenever one of them "caught a crab," which of
+      course was about every other stroke, his failure made little difference to
+      the boat's progress. They learned very fast under the terrible
+      imprecations and storm of blows from the iron-fisted and iron-hearted
+      officers, so that before the day was out the skipper was satisfied of our
+      ability to deal with a "fish" should he be lucky enough to "raise" one. I
+      was, in virtue of my experience, placed at the after-oar in the mate's
+      boat, where it was my duty to attend to the "main sheet" when the sail was
+      set, where also I had the benefit of the lightest oar except the small one
+      used by the harpooner in the bow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The very next day after our first exhaustive boat drill, a school of
+      "Black Fish" was reported from aloft, with great glee the officers
+      prepared for what they considered a rattling day's fun.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Black Fish (PHOCAENA SP.) is a small toothed whale, not at all unlike
+      a miniature cachalot, except that its head is rounded at the front, while
+      its jaw is not long and straight, but bowed. It is as frolicsome as the
+      porpoise, gambolling about in schools of from twenty to fifty or more, as
+      if really delighted to be alive. Its average size is from ten to twenty
+      feet long, and seven or eight feet in girth, weight from one to three
+      tons. Blubber about three inches thick, while the head is almost all oil,
+      so that a good rich specimen will make between one and two barrels of oil
+      of medium quality.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The school we were now in sight of was of middling size and about average
+      weight of individuals, and the officers esteemed it a fortunate
+      circumstance that we should happen across them as a sort of preliminary to
+      our tackling the monarchs of the deep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All the new harpoons were unshipped from the boats, and a couple of extra
+      "second" irons, as those that have been used are called, were put into
+      each boat for use if wanted. The sails were also left on board. We lowered
+      and left the ship, pulling right towards the school, the noise they were
+      making in their fun effectually preventing them from hearing our approach.
+      It is etiquette to allow the mate's boat first place, unless his crew is
+      so weak as to be unable to hold their own; but as the mate always has
+      first pick of the men this seldom happens. So, as usual, we were first,
+      and soon I heard the order given, "Stand up, Louey, and let 'em have it!"
+      Sure enough, here we were right among them. Louis let drive, "fastening" a
+      whopper about twenty feet long. The injured animal plunged madly forward,
+      accompanied by his fellows, while Louis calmly bent another iron to a
+      "short warp," or piece of whale-line, the loose end of which he made a
+      bowline with around the main line which was fast to the "fish." Then he
+      fastened another "fish," and the queer sight was seen of these two
+      monsters each trying to flee in opposite directions, while the second one
+      ranged about alarmingly as his "bridle" ran along the main line. Another
+      one was secured in the same way, then the game was indeed great. The
+      school had by this time taken the alarm and cleared out, but the other
+      boats were all fast to fish, so that didn't matter. Now, at the rate our
+      "game" were going it would evidently be a long while before they died,
+      although, being so much smaller than a whale proper, a harpoon will often
+      kill them at a stroke. Yet they were now so tangled or "snarled erp," as
+      the mate said, that it was no easy matter to lance them without great
+      danger of cutting the line. However, we hauled up as close to them as we
+      dared, and the harpooner got a good blow in, which gave the biggest of the
+      three "Jesse," as he said, though why "Jesse" was a stumper. Anyhow, it
+      killed him promptly, while almost directly after another one saved further
+      trouble by passing in his own checks. But he sank at the same time,
+      drawing the first one down with him, so that we were in considerable
+      danger of having to cut them adrift or be swamped. The "wheft" was waved
+      thrice as an urgent signal to the ship to come to our assistance with all
+      speed, but in the meantime our interest lay in the surviving Black Fish
+      keeping alive. Should HE die, and, as was most probable, sink, we should
+      certainly have to cut and lose the lot, tools included.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We waited in grim silence while the ship came up, so slowly, apparently,
+      that she hardly seemed to move, but really at a good pace of about four
+      knots an hour, which for her was not at all bad. She got alongside of us
+      at last, and we passed up the bight of our line, our fish all safe, very
+      much pleased with ourselves, especially when we found that the other boats
+      had only five between the three of them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The fish secured to the ship, all the boats were hoisted except one, which
+      remained alongside to sling the bodies. During our absence the
+      ship-keepers had been busy rigging one of the cutting falls, an immense
+      fourfold tackle from the main lowermast-head, of four-inch rope through
+      great double blocks, large as those used at dockyards for lifting ships'
+      masts and boilers. Chain-slings were passed around the carcases, which
+      gripped the animal at the "small," being prevented from slipping off by
+      the broad spread of the tail. The end of the "fall," or tackle-rope, was
+      then taken to the windlass, and we hove away cheerily, lifting the
+      monsters right on deck. A mountainous pile they made. A short spell was
+      allowed, when the whole eight were on board, for dinner; then all hands
+      turned to again to "flench" the blubber, and prepare for trying-out. This
+      was a heavy job, keeping all hands busy until it was quite dark, the
+      latter part of the work being carried on by the light of a "cresset," the
+      flames of which were fed with "scrap," which blazed brilliantly, throwing
+      a big glare over all the ship. The last of the carcases was launched
+      overboard by about eight o'clock that evening, but not before some vast
+      junks of beef had been cut off and hung up in the rigging for our food
+      supply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The try-works were started again, "trying-out" going on busily all night,
+      watch and watch taking their turn at keeping the pots supplied with minced
+      blubber. The work was heavy, while the energetic way in which it was
+      carried on made us all glad to take what rest was allowed us, which was
+      scanty enough, as usual.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By nightfall the next day the ship had resumed her normal appearance, and
+      we were a tun and a quarter of oil to the good. Black Fish oil is of
+      medium quality, but I learned that, according to the rule of "roguery in
+      all trades," it was the custom to mix quantities such as we had just
+      obtained with better class whale-oil, and thus get a much higher price
+      than it was really worth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Up till this time we had no sort of an idea as to where our first
+      objective might be, but from scraps of conversation I had overheard among
+      the harpooners, I gathered that we were making for the Cape Verde Islands
+      or the Acores, in the vicinity of which a good number of moderate-sized
+      sperm whales are often to be found. In fact, these islands have long been
+      a nursery for whale-fishers, because the cachalot loves their steep-to
+      shores, and the hardy natives, whenever and wherever they can muster a
+      boat and a little gear, are always ready to sally forth and attack the
+      unwary whale that ventures within their ken. Consequently more than half
+      of the total crews of the American whaling fleet are composed of these
+      islanders. Many of them have risen to the position of captain, and still
+      more are officers and harpooners; but though undoubtedly brave and
+      enterprising, they are cruel and treacherous, and in positions of
+      authority over men of Teutonic or Anglo-Saxon origin, are apt to treat
+      their subordinates with great cruelty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER IV. BAD WEATHER
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Nautical routine in its essential details is much the same in all ships,
+      whether naval, merchant, or whaling vessels. But while in the ordinary
+      merchantman there are decidedly "no more cats than can catch mice,"
+      hardly, indeed, sufficient for all the mousing that should be done, in
+      men-of-war and whaleships the number of hands carried, being far more than
+      are wanted for everyday work, must needs be kept at unnecessary duties in
+      order that they may not grow lazy and discontented.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For instance, in the CACHALOT we carried a crew of thirty-seven all told,
+      of which twenty-four were men before the mast, or common seamen, our
+      tonnage being under 400 tons. Many a splendid clipper-ship carrying an
+      enormous spread of canvas on four masts, and not overloaded with 2500 tons
+      of cargo on board, carries twenty-eight or thirty all told, or even less
+      than that. As far as we were concerned, the result of this was that our
+      landsmen got so thoroughly drilled, that within a week of leaving port
+      they hardly knew themselves for the clumsy clodhoppers they at first
+      appeared to be.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had now been eight days out, and in our leisurely way were making fair
+      progress across the Atlantic, having had nothing, so far, but steady
+      breezes and fine weather. As it was late autumn the first week in October&mdash;I
+      rather wondered at this, for even in my brief experience I had learned to
+      dread a "fall" voyage across the "Western Ocean."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Gradually the face of the sky changed, and the feel of the air, from balmy
+      and genial, became raw and cheerless. The little wave tops broke short off
+      and blew backwards, apparently against the wind, while the old vessel had
+      an uneasy, unnatural motion, caused by a long, new swell rolling athwart
+      the existing set of the sea. Then the wind became fitful and changeable,
+      backing half round the compass, and veering forward again as much in an
+      hour, until at last in one tremendous squall it settled in the N.W. for a
+      business-like blow, Unlike the hurried merchantman who must needs "hang
+      on" till the last minute, only shortening the sail when absolutely
+      compelled to do so, and at the first sign of the gales relenting, piling
+      it on again, we were all snug long before the storm burst upon us, and now
+      rode comfortably under the tiniest of storm staysails.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were evidently in for a fair specimen of Western Ocean weather, but the
+      clumsy-looking, old-fashioned CACHALOT made no more fuss over it than one
+      of the long-winged sea-birds that floated around, intent only upon
+      snapping up any stray scraps that might escape from us. Higher rose the
+      wind, heavier rolled the sea, yet never a drop of water did we ship, nor
+      did anything about the deck betoken what a heavy gale was blowing. During
+      the worst of the weather, and just after the wind had shifted back into
+      the N.E., making an uglier cross sea than ever get up, along comes an
+      immense four-masted iron ship homeward bound. She was staggering under a
+      veritable mountain of canvas, fairly burying her bows in the foam at every
+      forward drive, and actually wetting the clews of the upper topsails in the
+      smothering masses of spray, that every few minutes almost hid her hull
+      from sight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a splendid picture; but&mdash;for the time&mdash;I felt glad I was
+      not on board of her. In a very few minutes she was out of our ken,
+      followed by the admiration of all. Then came, from the other direction, a
+      huge steamship, taking no more notice of the gale than as if it were calm.
+      Straight through the sea she rushed, dividing the mighty rollers to the
+      heart, and often bestriding three seas at once, the centre one spreading
+      its many tons of foaming water fore and aft, so that from every orifice
+      spouted the seething brine. Compared with these greyhounds of the wave, we
+      resembled nothing so much as some old lightship bobbing serenely around,
+      as if part and parcel of the mid-Atlantic.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our greenies were getting so well seasoned by this time that even this
+      rough weather did not knock any of them over, and from that time forward
+      they had no more trouble from sea-sickness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The gale gradually blew itself out, leaving behind only a long and very
+      heavy swell to denote the deep-reaching disturbance that the ocean had
+      endured. And now we were within the range of the Sargasso Weed, that
+      mysterious FUCUS that makes the ocean look. like some vast hayfield, and
+      keeps the sea from rising, no matter how high the wind. It fell a dead
+      calm, and the harpooners amused themselves by dredging up great masses of
+      the weed, and turning out the many strange creatures abiding therein. What
+      a world of wonderful life the weed is, to be sure! In it the flying fish
+      spawn and the tiny cuttle-fish breed, both of them preparing bounteous
+      provision for the larger denizens of the deep that have no other food.
+      Myriads of tiny crabs and innumerable specimens of less-known shell-fish,
+      small fish of species as yet unclassified in any work on natural history,
+      with jelly-fish of every conceivable and inconceivable shape, form part of
+      this great and populous country in the sea. At one haul there was brought
+      on board a mass of flying-fish spawn, about ten pounds in weight, looking
+      like nothing so much as a pile of ripe white currants, and clinging
+      together in a very similar manner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such masses of ova I had often seen cast up among the outlying rocks on
+      the shores of the Caribbean Sea, when as a shipwrecked lad I wandered idly
+      about unburying turtle eggs from their snug beds in the warm sand, and
+      chasing the many-hued coral fish from one hiding-place to another.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While loitering in these smooth waters, waiting for the laggard wind, up
+      came a shoal of dolphin, ready as at all times to attach themselves for
+      awhile to the ship. Nothing is more singular than the manner in which
+      deep-sea fish will accompany a vessel that is not going too fast&mdash;sometimes
+      for days at a time. Most convenient too, and providing hungry Jack with
+      many a fresh mess he would otherwise have missed. Of all these friendly
+      fish, none is better known than the "dolphin," as from long usage sailors
+      persist in calling them, and will doubtless do so until the end of the
+      chapter. For the true dolphin (DELPHINIDAE) is not a fish at all, but a
+      mammal a warm-blooded creature that suckles its young, and in its most
+      familiar form is known to most people as the porpoise. The sailor's
+      "dolphin," on the other hand, is a veritable fish, with vertical tail fin
+      instead of the horizontal one which distinguishes all the whale family,
+      scales and gills.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is well known to literature, under its sea-name, for its marvellous
+      brilliancy of colour, and there are few objects more dazzling than a
+      dolphin leaping out of a calm sea into the sunshine. The beauty of a dying
+      dolphin, however, though sanctioned by many generations of writers, is a
+      delusion, all the glory of the fish departing as soon as he is withdrawn
+      from his native element.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But this habit of digression grows upon one, and I must do my best to
+      check it, or I shall never get through my task.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To resume then: when this school of dolphin (I can't for the life of me
+      call them CORIPHAENA HIPPURIS) came alongside, a rush was made for the
+      "granes"&mdash;a sort of five-pronged trident, if I may be allowed a baby
+      bull. It was universally agreed among the fishermen that trying a hook and
+      line was only waste of time and provocative of profanity! since every
+      sailor knows that all the deep-water big fish require a living or
+      apparently living bait. The fish, however, sheered off, and would not be
+      tempted within reach of that deadly fork by any lure. Then did I cover
+      myself with glory. For he who can fish cleverly and luckily may be sure of
+      fairly good times in a whaler, although he may be no great things at any
+      other work. I had a line of my own, and begging one of the small fish that
+      had been hauled up in the Gulf weed, I got permission to go aft and fish
+      over the taffrail. The little fish was carefully secured on the hook, the
+      point of which just protruded near his tail. Then I lowered him into the
+      calm blue waters beneath, and paid out line very gently, until my bait was
+      a silvery spot about a hundred feet astern. Only a very short time, and my
+      hopes rose as I saw one bright gleam after another glide past the keel,
+      heading aft. Then came a gentle drawing at the line, which I suffered to
+      slip slowly through my fingers until I judged it time to try whether I was
+      right or wrong, A long hard pull, and my heart beat fast as I felt the
+      thrill along the line that fishermen love. None of your high art here, but
+      haul in hand over hand, the line being strong enough to land a 250 pound
+      fish. Up he came, the beauty, all silver and scarlet and blue, five feet
+      long if an inch, and weighing 35 pounds. Well, such a lot of astonished
+      men I never saw. They could hardly believe their eyes. That such a daring
+      innovation should be successful was hardly to be believed, even with the
+      vigorous evidence before them. Even grim Captain Slocum came to look and
+      turned upon me as I thought a less lowering brow than usual, while Mr.
+      Count, the mate, fairly chuckled again at the thought of how the little
+      Britisher had wiped the eyes of these veteran fishermen. The captive was
+      cut open, and two recent flying-fish found in his maw, which were utilized
+      for new bait, with the result that there was a cheerful noise of hissing
+      and spluttering in the galley soon after, and a mess of fish for all
+      hands.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Shortly afterwards a fresh breeze sprang up, which proved to be the
+      beginning of the N.E. trades, and fairly guaranteed us against any very
+      bad weather for some time to come.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Somehow or other it had leaked out that we were to cruise the Cape Verd
+      Islands for a spell before working south, and the knowledge seemed to have
+      quite an enlivening effect upon our Portuguese shipmates.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Most of them belonged there, and although there was but the faintest
+      prospect of their getting ashore upon any pretext whatever, the
+      possibility of seeing their island homes again seemed to quite transform
+      them. Hitherto they had been very moody and exclusive, never associating
+      with us on the white side, or attempting to be at all familiar. A mutual
+      atmosphere of suspicion, in fact, seemed to pervade our quarters, making
+      things already uncomfortable enough, still more so. Now, however, they
+      fraternized with us, and in a variety of uncouth ways made havoc of the
+      English tongue, as they tried to impress us with the beauty, fertility and
+      general incomparability of their beloved Cape Verds. Of the eleven white
+      men besides myself in the forecastle, there were a middle-aged German
+      baker, who had bolted from Buffalo; two Hungarians, who looked like
+      noblemen disguised&mdash;in dirt; two slab-sided Yankees of about 22 from
+      farms in Vermont; a drayman from New York; a French Canadian from the
+      neighbourhood of Quebec; two Italians from Genoa; and two nondescripts
+      that I never found out the origin of. Imagine, then, the babel of sound,
+      and think&mdash;but no, it is impossible to think, what sort of a jargon
+      was compounded of all these varying elements of language.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One fortunate thing, there was peace below. Indeed, the spirit seemed
+      completely taken out of all of them, and by some devilish ingenuity the
+      afterguard had been able to sow distrust between them all, while treating
+      them like dogs, so that the miseries of their life were never openly
+      discussed. My position among them gave me at times some uneasiness. Though
+      I tried to be helpful to all, and was full of sympathy for their
+      undeserved sufferings, I could not but feel that they would have been more
+      than human had they not envied me my immunity from the kicks and blows
+      they all shared so impartially. However, there was no help for it, so I
+      went on as cheerily as I could.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A peculiarity of all these vessels, as I afterwards learned, was that no
+      stated allowance of anything was made. Even the water was not served out
+      to us, but was kept in a great scuttle-butt by the cabin door, to which
+      every one who needed a drink had to go, and from which none might be
+      carried away. No water was allowed for washing except from the sea; and
+      every one knows, or should know, that neither flesh nor clothes can be
+      cleansed with that. But a cask with a perforated top was lashed by the
+      bowsprit and kept filled with urine, which I was solemnly assured by
+      Goliath was the finest dirt-extractor in the world for clothes. The
+      officers did not avail themselves of its virtues though, but were content
+      with lye, which was furnished in plenty by the ashes from the galley fire,
+      where nothing but wood was used as fuel. Of course when rain fell we might
+      have a good wash, if it was night and no other work was toward; but we
+      were not allowed to store any for washing purposes. Another curious but
+      absolutely necessary custom prevailed in consequence of the short commons
+      under which we lived. When the portion of meat was brought down in its
+      wooden kid, or tub, at dinner-time, it was duly divided as fairly as
+      possible into as many parts as there were mouths. Then one man turned his
+      back on the carver, who holding up each portion, called out, "Who's this
+      for?" Whatever name was mentioned by the arbitrator, that man owning it
+      received the piece, and had perforce to be satisfied therewith. Thus
+      justice was done to all in the only way possible, and without any friction
+      whatever.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As some of us were without clothes except what we stood upright in, when
+      we joined, the "slop chest" was opened, and every applicant received from
+      the steward what Captain Slocum thought fit to let him have, being debited
+      with the cost against such wages as he might afterwards earn. The clothes
+      were certainly of fairly good quality, if the price was high, and exactly
+      suited to our requirements. Soap, matches, and tobacco were likewise
+      supplied on the same terms, but at higher prices than I had ever heard of
+      before for these necessaries. After much careful inquiry I ascertained
+      what, in the event of a successful voyage, we were likely to earn. Each of
+      us were on the two hundredth "lay" or share at $200 per tun, which meant
+      that for every two hundred barrels of oil taken on board, we were entitled
+      to one, which we must sell to the ship at the rate of L40 per tun or L4
+      per barrel. Truly a magnificent outlook for young men bound to such a
+      business for three or four years.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER V. ACTUAL WARFARE. OUR FIRST WHALE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Simultaneous ideas occurring to several people, or thought transference,
+      whatever one likes to call the phenomenon is too frequent an occurrence in
+      most of our experience to occasion much surprise. Yet on the occasion to
+      which I am about to refer, the matter was so very marked that few of us
+      who took part in the day's proceedings are ever likely to forget it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were all gathered about the fo'lk'sle scuttle one evening, a few days
+      after the gale referred to in the previous chapter, and the question of
+      whale-fishing came up for discussion. Until that time, strange as it may
+      seem, no word of this, the central idea of all our minds, had been mooted.
+      Every man seemed to shun the subject, although we were in daily
+      expectation of being called upon to take an active part in whale-fighting.
+      Once the ice was broken, nearly all had something to say about it, and
+      very nearly as many addle-headed opinions were ventilated as at a Colney
+      Hatch debating society. For we none of us KNEW anything about it. I was
+      appealed to continually to support this or that theory, but as far as
+      whaling went I could only, like the rest of them, draw upon my imagination
+      for details. How did a whale act, what were the first steps taken, what
+      chance was there of being saved if your boat got smashed, and so on unto
+      infinity. At last, getting very tired of this "Portugee Parliament" of all
+      talkers and no listeners, I went aft to get a drink of water before
+      turning in. The harpooners and other petty officers were grouped in the
+      waist, earnestly discussing the pros and cons of attack upon whales. As I
+      passed I heard the mate's harpooner say, "Feels like whale about. I bet a
+      plug (of tobacco) we raise sperm whale to-morrow." Nobody took his bet,
+      for it appeared that they were mostly of the same mind, and while I was
+      drinking I heard the officers in dignified conclave talking over the same
+      thing. It was Saturday evening, and while at home people were looking
+      forward to a day's respite from work and care, I felt that the coming day,
+      though never taken much notice of on board, was big with the probabilities
+      of strife such as I at least had at present no idea of. So firmly was I
+      possessed by the prevailing feeling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The night was very quiet. A gentle breeze was blowing, and the sky was of
+      the usual "Trade" character, that is, a dome of dark blue fringed at the
+      horizon with peaceful cumulus clouds, almost motionless. I turned in at
+      four a.m. from the middle watch and, as usual, slept like a babe. Suddenly
+      I started wide awake, a long mournful sound sending a thrill to my very
+      heart. As I listened breathlessly other sounds of the same character but
+      in different tones joined in, human voices monotonously intoning in long
+      drawn-out expirations the single word "bl-o-o-o-o-w." Then came a
+      hurricane of noise overhead, and adjurations in no gentle language to the
+      sleepers to "tumble up lively there, no skulking, sperm whales." At last,
+      then, fulfilling all the presentiments of yesterday, the long dreaded
+      moment had arrived. Happily there was no time for hesitation, in less than
+      two minutes we were all on deck, and hurrying to our respective boats.
+      There was no flurry or confusion, and except that orders were given more
+      quietly than usual, with a manifest air of suppressed excitement, there
+      was nothing to show that we were not going for an ordinary course of boat
+      drill. The skipper was in the main crow's-nest with his binoculars
+      presently he shouted, "Naow then, Mr. Count, lower away soon's y'like.
+      Small pod o'cows, an' one'r two bulls layin' off to west'ard of 'em." Down
+      went the boats into the water quietly enough, we all scrambled in and
+      shoved off. A stroke or two of the oars were given to get clear of the
+      ship, and one another, then oars were shipped and up went the sails. As I
+      took my allotted place at the main-sheet, and the beautiful craft started
+      off like some big bird, Mr. Count leant forward, saying impressively to
+      me, "Y'r a smart youngster, an' I've kinder took t'yer; but don't ye look
+      ahead an' get gallied, 'r I'll knock ye stiff wi' th' tiller; y'hear me?
+      N' don't ye dare to make thet sheet fast, 'r ye'll die so sudden y' won't
+      know whar y'r hurted." I said as cheerfully as I could, "All right, sir,"
+      trying to look unconcerned, telling myself not to be a coward, and all
+      sorts of things; but the cold truth is that I was scared almost to death
+      because I didn't know what was coming. However, I did the best thing under
+      the circumstances, obeyed orders and looked steadily astern, or up into
+      the bronzed impassive face of my chief, who towered above me, scanning
+      with eagle eyes the sea ahead. The other boats were coming flying along
+      behind us, spreading wider apart as they came, while in the bows of each
+      stood the harpooner with his right hand on his first iron, which lay
+      ready, pointing over the bow in a raised fork of wood called the "crutch."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All of a sudden, at a motion of the chief's hand, the peak of our mainsail
+      was dropped, and the boat swung up into the wind, laying "hove to," almost
+      stationary. The centre-board was lowered to stop her drifting to leeward,
+      although I cannot say it made much difference that ever I saw. NOW what's
+      the matter, I thought, when to my amazement the chief addressing me said,
+      "Wonder why we've hauled up, don't ye?" "Yes, sir, I do," said I. "Wall,"
+      said he, "the fish hev sounded, an' 'ef we run over 'em, we've seen the
+      last ov'em. So we wait awhile till they rise agin, 'n then we'll prob'ly
+      git thar' 'r thareabonts before they sound agin." With this explanation I
+      had to be content, although if it be no clearer to my readers than it then
+      was to me, I shall have to explain myself more fully later on. Silently we
+      lay, rocking lazily upon the gentle swell, no other word being spoken by
+      any one. At last Louis, the harpooner, gently breathed "blo-o-o-w;" and
+      there, sure enough, not half a mile away on the lee beam, was a little
+      bushy cloud of steam apparently rising from the sea. At almost the same
+      time as we kept away all the other boats did likewise, and just then,
+      catching sight of the ship, the reason for this apparently concerted
+      action was explained. At the main-mast head of the ship was a square blue
+      flag, and the ensign at the peak was being dipped. These were signals well
+      understood and promptly acted upon by those in charge of the boats, who
+      were thus guided from a point of view at least one hundred feet above the
+      sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Stand up, Louey," the mate murmured softly. I only just stopped myself in
+      time from turning my head to see why the order was given. Suddenly there
+      was a bump, at the same moment the mate yelled, "Give't to him, Louey,
+      give't to him!" and to me, "Haul that main sheet, naow haul, why don't
+      ye?" I hauled it flat aft, and the boat shot up into the wind, rubbing
+      sides as she did so with what to my troubled sight seemed an enormous mass
+      of black india-rubber floating. As we CRAWLED up into the wind, the whale
+      went into convulsions befitting his size and energy. He raised a gigantic
+      tail on high, threshing the water with deafening blows, rolling at the
+      same time from side to side until the surrounding sea was white with
+      froth. I felt in an agony lest we should be crushed under one of those
+      fearful strokes, for Mr. Count appeared to be oblivious of possible
+      danger, although we seemed to be now drifting back on to the writhing
+      leviathan. In the agitated condition of the sea, it was a task of no
+      ordinary difficulty to unship the tall mast, which was of course the first
+      thing to be done. After a desperate struggle, and a narrow escape from
+      falling overboard of one of the men, we got the lone "stick," with the
+      sail bundled around it, down and "fleeted" aft, where it was secured by
+      the simple means of sticking the "heel" under the after thwart, two-thirds
+      of the mast extending out over the stern. Meanwhile, we had certainly been
+      in a position of the greatest danger, our immunity from damage being
+      unquestionably due to anything but precaution taken to avoid it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By the time the oars were handled, and the mate had exchanged places with
+      the harpooner, our friend the enemy had "sounded," that is, he had gone
+      below for a change of scene, marvelling no doubt what strange thing had
+      befallen him. Agreeably to the accounts which I, like most boys, had read
+      of the whale fishery, I looked for the rushing of the line round the
+      logger-head (a stout wooden post built into the boat aft), to raise a
+      cloud of smoke with occasional bursts of flame; so as it began to slowly
+      surge round the post, I timidly asked the harpooner whether I should throw
+      any water on it. "Wot for?" growled he, as he took a couple more turns
+      with it. Not knowing "what for," and hardly liking to quote my authorities
+      here, I said no more, but waited events. "Hold him up, Louey, bold him up,
+      cain't ye?" shouted the mate, and to my horror, down went the nose of the
+      boat almost under water, while at the mate's order everybody scrambled aft
+      into the elevated stern sheets.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The line sang quite a tune as it was grudgingly allowed to surge round the
+      loggerhead, filling one with admiration at the strength shown by such a
+      small rope. This sort of thing went on for about twenty minutes, in which
+      time we quite emptied the large tub and began on the small one. As there
+      was nothing whatever for us to do while this was going on, I had ample
+      leisure for observing the little game that was being played about a
+      quarter of a mile away. Mr. Cruce, the second mate, had got a whale and
+      was doing his best to kill it; but he was severely handicapped by his
+      crew, or rather had been, for two of them were now temporarily incapable
+      of either good or harm. They had gone quite "batchy" with fright,
+      requiring a not too gentle application of the tiller to their heads in
+      order to keep them quiet. The remedy, if rough, was effectual, for "the
+      subsequent proceedings interested them no more." Consequently his
+      manoeuvres were not so well or rapidly executed as he, doubtless, could
+      have wished, although his energy in lancing that whale was something to
+      admire and remember. Hatless, his shirt tail out of the waist of his
+      trousers streaming behind him like a banner, he lunged and thrust at the
+      whale alongside of him, as if possessed of a destroying devil, while his
+      half articulate yells of rage and blasphemy were audible even to us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly our boat fell backward from her "slantindicular" position with a
+      jerk, and the mate immediately shouted, "Haul line, there! look lively,
+      now, you&mdash;so on, etcetera, etcetera" (he seemed to invent new
+      epithets on every occasion). The line came in hand over hand, and was
+      coiled in a wide heap in the stern sheets, for silky as it was, it could
+      not be expected in its wet state to lie very close. As it came flying in
+      the mate kept a close gaze upon the water immediately beneath us,
+      apparently for the first glimpse of our antagonist. When the whale broke
+      water, however, he was some distance off, and apparently as quiet as a
+      lamb. Now, had Mr. Count been a prudent or less ambitious man, our task
+      would doubtless have been an easy one, or comparatively so; but, being a
+      little over-grasping, he got us all into serious trouble. We were hauling
+      up to our whale in order to lance it, and the mate was standing, lance in
+      hand, only waiting to get near enough, when up comes a large whale right
+      alongside of our boat, so close, indeed, that I might have poked my finger
+      in his little eye, if I had chosen. The sight of that whale at liberty,
+      and calmly taking stock of us like that, was too much for the mate. He
+      lifted his lance and hurled it at the visitor, in whose broad flank it
+      sank, like a knife into butter, right up to the pole-hitches. The
+      recipient disappeared like a flash, but before one had time to think,
+      there was an awful crash beneath us, and the mate shot up into the air
+      like a bomb from a mortar. He came down in a sitting posture on the
+      mast-thwart; but as he fell, the whole framework of the boat collapsed
+      like a derelict umbrella. Louis quietly chopped the line and severed our
+      connection with the other whale, while in accordance with our instructions
+      we drew each man his oar across the boat and lashed it firmly down with a
+      piece of line spliced to each thwart for the purpose. This simple
+      operation took but a minute, but before it was completed we were all up to
+      our necks in the sea. Still in the boat, it is true, and therefore not in
+      such danger of drowning as if we were quite adrift; but, considering that
+      the boat was reduced to a mere bundle of loose planks, I, at any rate, was
+      none too comfortable. Now, had he known it, was the whale's golden
+      opportunity; but he, poor wretch, had had quite enough of our company, and
+      cleared off without any delay, wondering, no doubt, what fortunate
+      accident had rid him of our very unpleasant attentions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I was assured that we were all as safe as if we were on board the ship, to
+      which I answered nothing; but, like Jack's parrot, I did some powerful
+      thinking. Every little wave that came along swept clean over our heads,
+      sometimes coming so suddenly as to cut a breath in half. If the wind
+      should increase&mdash;but no&mdash;I wouldn't face the possibility of such
+      a disagreeable thing. I was cool enough now in a double sense, for
+      although we were in the tropics, we soon got thoroughly chilled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By the position of the sun it must have been between ten a.m. and noon,
+      and we, of the crew, had eaten nothing since the previous day at supper,
+      when, as usual, the meal was very light. Therefore, I suppose we felt the
+      chill sooner than the better-nourished mate and harpooner, who looked
+      rather scornfully at our blue faces and chattering teeth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In spite of all assurances to the contrary, I have not the least doubt in
+      my own mind that a very little longer would have relieved us of ALL our
+      burdens finally. Because the heave of the sea had so loosened the
+      shattered planks upon which we stood that they were on the verge of
+      falling all asunder. Had they done so we must have drowned, for we were
+      cramped and stiff with cold and our constrained position. However, unknown
+      to us, a bright look-out upon our movements had been kept from the
+      crow's-nest the whole time. We should have been relieved long before, but
+      that the whale killed by the second mate was being secured, and another
+      boat, the fourth mate's, being picked up, having a hole in her bilge you
+      could put you head through. With all these hindrances, especially securing
+      the whale, we were fortunate to be rescued as soon as we were, since it is
+      well known that whales are of much higher commercial value than men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, help came at last, and we were hauled alongside. Long exposure
+      had weakened us to such an extent that it was necessary to hoist us on
+      board, especially the mate, whose "sudden stop," when he returned to us
+      after his little aerial excursion, had shaken his sturdy frame
+      considerably, a state of body which the subsequent soaking had by no means
+      improved. In my innocence I imagined that we should be commiserated for
+      our misfortunes by Captain Slocum, and certainly be relieved from further
+      duties until we were a little recovered from the rough treatment we had
+      just undergone. But I never made a greater mistake. The skipper cursed us
+      all (except the mate, whose sole fault the accident undoubtedly was) with
+      a fluency and vigour that was, to put it mildly, discouraging. Moreover,
+      we were informed that he "wouldn't have no adjective skulking;" we must
+      "turn to" and do something after wasting the ship's time and property in
+      such a blanked manner. There was a limit, however, to our obedience, so
+      although we could not move at all for awhile, his threats were not
+      proceeded with farther than theory.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A couple of slings were passed around the boat, by means of which she was
+      carefully hoisted on board, a mere dilapidated bundle of sticks and raffle
+      of gear. She was at once removed aft out of the way, the business of
+      cutting in the whale claiming precedence over everything else just then.
+      The preliminary proceedings consisted of rigging the "cutting stage." This
+      was composed of two stout planks a foot wide and ten feet long, the inner
+      ends of which were suspended by strong ropes over the ship's side about
+      four feet from the water, while the outer extremities were upheld by
+      tackles from the main rigging, and a small crane abreast the try-works.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These planks were about thirty feet apart, their two outer ends being
+      connected by a massive plank which was securely bolted to them. A handrail
+      about as high as a man's waist, supported by light iron stanchions, ran
+      the full length of this plank on the side nearest the ship, the whole
+      fabric forming an admirable standing-place from whence the officers might,
+      standing in comparative comfort, cut and carve at the great mass below to
+      their hearts' content.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So far the prize had been simply held alongside by the whale-line, which
+      at death had been "rove" through a hole cut in the solid gristle of the
+      tail; but now it became necessary to secure the carcase to the ship in
+      some more permanent fashion. Therefore, a massive chain like a small
+      ship's cable was brought forward, and in a very ingenious way, by means of
+      a tiny buoy and a hand-lead, passed round the body, one end brought
+      through a ring in the other, and hauled upon until it fitted tight round
+      the "small" or part of the whale next the broad spread of the tail. The
+      free end of the fluke-chain was then passed in through a mooring-pipe
+      forward, firmly secured to a massive bitt at the heel of the bowsprit (the
+      fluke-chain-bitt), and all was ready.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the subsequent proceedings were sufficiently complicated to demand a
+      fresh chapter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER VI. "DIRTY WORK FOR CLEAN MONEY"
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      If in the preceding chapter too much stress has been laid upon the
+      smashing of our own boat and consequent sufferings, while little or no
+      notice was taken of the kindred disaster to Mistah Jones' vessel, my
+      excuse must be that the experience "filled me right up to the chin," as
+      the mate concisely, if inelegantly, put it. Poor Goliath was indeed to be
+      pitied, for his well-known luck and capacity as a whaleman seemed on this
+      occasion to have quite deserted him. Not only had his boat been stove upon
+      first getting on to the whale, but he hadn't even had a run for his money.
+      It appeared that upon striking his whale, a small, lively cow, she had at
+      once "settled," allowing the boat to run over her; but just as they were
+      passing, she rose, gently enough, her pointed hump piercing the thin skin
+      of half-inch cedar as if it had been cardboard. She settled again
+      immediately, leaving a hole behind her a foot long by six inches wide,
+      which effectually put a stop to all further fishing operations on the part
+      of Goliath and his merry men for that day, at any rate. It was all so
+      quiet, and so tame and so stupid, no wonder Mistah Jones felt savage. When
+      Captain Slocum's fluent profanity flickered around him, including
+      vehemently all he might be supposed to have any respect for, he did not
+      even LOOK as if he would like to talk back; he only looked sick and tired
+      of being himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The third mate, again, was of a different category altogether. He had
+      distinguished himself by missing every opportunity of getting near a whale
+      while there was a "loose" one about, and then "saving" the crew of
+      Goliath's boat, who were really in no danger whatever. His iniquity was
+      too great to be dealt with by mere bad language. He crept about like a
+      homeless dog&mdash;much, I am afraid, to my secret glee, for I couldn't
+      help remembering his untiring cruelty to the green hands on first leaving
+      port.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In consequence of these little drawbacks we were not a very jovial crowd
+      forrard or aft. Not that hilarity was ever particularly noticeable among
+      us, but just now there was a very decided sense of wrong-doing over us
+      all, and a general fear that each of us was about to pay the penalty due
+      to some other delinquent. But fortunately there was work to be done. Oh,
+      blessed work! how many awkward situations you have extricated people from!
+      How many distracted brains have you soothed and restored, by your steady
+      irresistible pressure of duty to be done and brooking of no delay!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The first thing to be done was to cut the whale's head off. This
+      operation, involving the greatest amount of labour in the whole of the
+      cutting in, was taken in hand by the first and second mates, who, armed
+      with twelve-feet spades, took their station upon the stage, leaned over
+      the handrail to steady themselves, and plunged their weapons vigorously
+      down through the massive neck of the animal&mdash;if neck it could be said
+      to have&mdash;following a well-defined crease in the blubber. At the same
+      time the other officers passed a heavy chain sling around the long, narrow
+      lower jaw, hooking one of the big cutting tackles into it, the "fall" of
+      which was then taken to the windlass and hove tight, turning the whale on
+      her back. A deep cut was then made on both sides of the rising jaw, the
+      windlass was kept going, and gradually the whole of the throat was raised
+      high enough for a hole to be cut through its mass, into which the strap of
+      the second cutting tackle was inserted and secured by passing a huge
+      toggle of oak through its eye. The second tackle was then hove taut, and
+      the jaw, with a large piece of blubber attached, was cut off from the body
+      with a boarding-knife, a tool not unlike a cutlass blade set into a
+      three-foot-long wooden handle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Upon being severed the whole piece swung easily inboard and was lowered on
+      deck. The fast tackle was now hove upon while the third mate on the stage
+      cut down diagonally into the blubber on the body, which the purchase
+      ripped off in a broad strip or "blanket" about five feet wide and a foot
+      thick. Meanwhile the other two officers carved away vigorously at the
+      head, varying their labours by cutting a hole right through the snout.
+      This when completed received a heavy chain for the purpose of securing the
+      head. When the blubber had been about half stripped off the body, a halt
+      was called in order that the work of cutting off the head might be
+      finished, for it was a task of incredible difficulty. It was accomplished
+      at last, and the mass floated astern by a stout rope, after which the
+      windlass pawls clattered merrily, the "blankets" rose in quick succession,
+      and were cut off and lowered into the square of the main batch or
+      "blubber-room." A short time sufficed to strip off the whole of the
+      body-blubber, and when at last the tail was reached, the backbone was cut
+      through, the huge mass of flesh floating away to feed the innumerable
+      scavengers of the sea. No sooner was the last of the blubber lowered into
+      the hold than the hatches were put on and the head hauled up alongside.
+      Both tackles were secured to it and all hands took to the windlass levers.
+      This was a small cow whale of about thirty barrels, that is, yielding that
+      amount of oil, so it was just possible to lift the entire head on board;
+      but as it weighed as much as three full-grown elephants, it was indeed a
+      heavy lift for even our united forces, trying our tackle to the utmost.
+      The weather was very fine, and the ship rolled but little; even then, the
+      strain upon the mast was terrific, and right glad was I when at last the
+      immense cube of fat, flesh, and bone was eased inboard and gently lowered
+      on deck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As soon as it was secured the work of dividing it began. From the snout a
+      triangular mass was cut, which was more than half pure spermaceti. This
+      substance was contained in spongy cells held together by layers of dense
+      white fibre, exceedingly tough and elastic, and called by the whalers
+      "white-horse." The whole mass, or "junk" as it is called, was hauled away
+      to the ship's side and firmly lashed to the bulwarks for the time being,
+      so that it might not "take charge" of the deck during the rest of the
+      operations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The upper part of the head was now slit open lengthwise, disclosing an
+      oblong cistern or "case" full of liquid spermaceti, clear as water. This
+      was baled out with buckets into a tank, concreting as it cooled into a
+      wax-like substance, bland and tasteless. There being now nothing more
+      remaining about the skull of any value, the lashings were loosed, and the
+      first leeward roll sent the great mass plunging overboard with a mighty
+      splash. It sank like a stone, eagerly followed by a few small sharks that
+      were hovering near.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As may be imagined, much oil was running about the deck, for so saturated
+      was every part of the creature with it that it really gushed like water
+      during the cutting-up process. None of it was allowed to run to waste,
+      though, for the scupper-holes which drain the deck were all carefully
+      plugged, and as soon as the "junk" had been dissected all the oil was
+      carefully "squeegeed" up and poured into the try-pots.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two men were now told off as "blubber-room men," whose duty it became to
+      go below, and squeezing themselves in as best they could between the
+      greasy masses of fat, cut it up into "horse-pieces" about eighteen inches
+      long and six inches square. Doing this they became perfectly saturated
+      with oil, as if they had taken a bath in a tank of it; for as the vessel
+      rolled it was impossible to maintain a footing, and every fall was upon
+      blubber running with oil. A machine of wonderful construction had been
+      erected on deck in a kind of shallow trough about six feet long by four
+      feet wide and a foot deep. At some remote period of time it had no doubt
+      been looked upon as a triumph of ingenuity, a patent mincing machine. Its
+      action was somewhat like that of a chaff-cutter, except that the knife was
+      not attached to the wheel, and only rose and fell, since it was not
+      required to cut right through the "horse-pieces" with which it was fed. It
+      will be readily understood that in order to get the oil quickly out of the
+      blubber, it needs to be sliced as thin as possible, but for convenience in
+      handling the refuse (which is the only fuel used) it is not chopped up in
+      small pieces, but every "horse-piece" is very deeply scored as it were,
+      leaving a thin strip to hold the slices together. This then was the order
+      of work. Two harpooners attended the try-pots, replenishing them with
+      minced blubber from the hopper at the port side, and baling out the
+      sufficiently boiled oil into the great cooling tank on the starboard. One
+      officer superintended the mincing, another exercised a general supervision
+      over all. There was no man at the wheel and no look-out, for the vessel
+      was "hove-to" under two close-reefed topsails and fore-topmast-staysail,
+      with the wheel lashed hard down. A look-out man was unnecessary, since we
+      could not run anybody down, and if anybody ran us down, it would only be
+      because all hands were asleep, for the glare of our try-works fire, to say
+      nothing of the blazing cresset before mentioned, could have been seen for
+      many miles. So we toiled watch and watch, six hours on and six off, the
+      work never ceasing for an instant night or day. Though the work was hard
+      and dirty, and the discomfort of being so continually wet through with oil
+      great, there was only one thing dangerous about the whole business. That
+      was the job of filling and shifting the huge casks of oil. Some of these
+      were of enormous size, containing 350 gallons when full, and the work of
+      moving them about the greasy deck of a rolling ship was attended with a
+      terrible amount of risk. For only four men at most could get fair hold of
+      a cask, and when she took it into her silly old hull to start rolling,
+      just as we had got one half-way across the deck, with nothing to grip your
+      feet, and the knowledge that one stumbling man would mean a sudden slide
+      of the ton and a half weight, and a little heap of mangled corpses
+      somewhere in the lee scuppers&mdash;well one always wanted to be very
+      thankful when the lashings were safely passed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whale being a small one, as before noted, the whole business was over
+      within three days, and the decks scrubbed and re-scrubbed until they had
+      quite regained their normal whiteness. The oil was poured by means of a
+      funnel and long canvas hose into the casks stowed in the ground tier at
+      the bottom of the ship, and the gear, all carefully cleaned and neatly
+      "stopped up," stowed snugly away below again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This long and elaborate process is quite different from that followed on
+      board the Arctic whaleships, whose voyages are of short duration, and who
+      content themselves with merely cutting the blubber up small and bringing
+      it home to have the oil expressed. But the awful putrid mass discharged
+      from a Greenlander's hold is of very different quality and value, apart
+      from the nature of the substance, to the clear and sweet oil, which after
+      three years in cask is landed from a south-seaman as inoffensive in smell
+      and flavour as the day it was shipped. No attempt is made to separate the
+      oil and spermaceti beyond boiling the "head matter," as it is called, by
+      itself first, and putting it into casks which are not filled up with the
+      body oil. Spermaceti exists in all the oil, especially that from the
+      dorsal hump; but it is left for the refiners ashore to extract and leave
+      the oil quite free from any admixture of the wax-like substance, which
+      causes it to become solid at temperatures considerably above the
+      freezing-point.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Uninteresting as the preceding description may be, it is impossible to
+      understand anything of the economy of a south-sea whaler without giving
+      it, and I have felt it the more necessary because of the scanty notice
+      given to it in the only two works published on the subject, both of them
+      highly technical, and written for scientific purposes by medical men.
+      Therefore I hope to be forgiven if I have tried the patience of my readers
+      by any prolixity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It will not, of course, have escaped the reader's notice that I have not
+      hitherto attempted to give any details concerning the structure of the
+      whale just dealt with. The omission is intentional. During this, our first
+      attempt at real whaling, my mind was far too disturbed by the novelty and
+      danger of the position in which I found myself for the first time, for me
+      to pay any intelligent attention to the party of the second part.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But I may safely promise that from the workman's point of view, the
+      habits, manners, and build of the whales shall be faithfully described as
+      I saw them during my long acquaintance with them, earnestly hoping that if
+      my story be not as technical or scientific as that of Drs. Bennett and
+      Beale, it may be found fully as accurate and reliable; and perhaps the
+      reader, being like myself a mere layman, so to speak, may be better able
+      to appreciate description free from scientific formula and nine-jointed
+      words.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two things I did notice on this occasion which I will briefly allude to
+      before closing this chapter. One was the peculiar skin of the whale. It
+      was a bluish-black, and as thin as gold-beater's skin. So thin, indeed,
+      and tender, that it was easily scraped off with the finger-nail.
+      Immediately beneath it, upon the surface of the blubber, was a layer or
+      coating of what for want of a better simile I must call fine short fur,
+      although unlike fur it had no roots or apparently any hold upon the
+      blubber. Neither was it attached to the skin which covered it; in fact, it
+      seemed merely a sort of packing between the skin and the surface of the
+      thick layer of solid fat which covered the whole area of the whale's body.
+      The other matter which impressed me was the peculiarity of the teeth. For
+      up till that time I had held, in common with most seamen, and landsmen,
+      too, for that matter, the prevailing idea that a "whale" lived by
+      "suction" (although I did not at all know what that meant), and that it
+      was impossible for him to swallow a herring. Yet here was a mouth
+      manifestly intended for greater things in the way of gastronomy than
+      herrings; nor did it require more than the most casual glances to satisfy
+      one of so obvious a fact. Then the teeth were heroic in size, protruding
+      some four or five inches from the gum, and solidly set more than that into
+      its firm and compact substance. They were certainly not intended for
+      mastication, being, where thickest, three inches apart, and tapering to a
+      short point, curving slightly backwards. In this specimen, a female, and
+      therefore small as I have said, there were twenty of them on each side,
+      the last three or four near the gullet being barely visible above the gum.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Another most convincing reason why no mastication could have been possible
+      was that there were no teeth visible in the upper jaw. Opposed to each of
+      the teeth was a socket where a tooth should apparently have been, and this
+      was conclusive evidence of the soft and yielding nature of the great
+      creature's food. But there were signs that at some period of the
+      development of the whale it had possessed a double row of teeth, because
+      at the bottom of these upper sockets we found in a few cases what seemed
+      to be an abortive tooth, not one that was growing, because they had no
+      roots, but a survival of teeth that had once been perfect and useful, but
+      from disuse, or lack of necessity for them, had gradually ceased to come
+      to maturity. The interior of the mouth and throat was of a livid white,
+      and the tongue was quite small for so large an animal. It was almost
+      incapable of movement, being somewhat like a fowl's. Certainly it could
+      not have been protruded even from the angle of the mouth, much less have
+      extended along the parapet of that lower mandible, which reminded one of
+      the beak of some mighty albatross or stork.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER VII. GETTING SOUTHWARD
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Whether our recent experience had altered the captain's plans or not I do
+      not know, but much to the dismay of the Portuguese portion of the crew, we
+      did but sight, dimly and afar off, the outline of the Cape Verde Islands
+      before our course was altered, and we bore away for the southward like any
+      other outward-bounder. That is, as far as our course went; but as to the
+      speed, we still retained the leisurely tactics hitherto pursued,
+      shortening sail every night, and, if the weather was very fine, setting it
+      all again at daybreak.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The morose and sullen temper of the captain had been, if anything, made
+      worse by recent events, and we were worked as hard as if the success of
+      the voyage depended upon our ceaseless toil of scrubbing, scraping, and
+      polishing. Discipline was indeed maintained at a high pitch of perfection,
+      no man daring to look awry, much less complain of any hardship, however
+      great. Even this humble submissiveness did not satisfy our tyrant, and at
+      last his cruelty took a more active shape. One of the long Yankee farmers
+      from Vermont, Abner Cushing by name, with the ingenuity which seems inbred
+      in his 'cute countrymen, must needs try his hand at making a villainous
+      decoction which he called "beer," the principal ingredients in which were
+      potatoes and molasses. Now potatoes formed no part of our dietary, so
+      Abner set his wits to work to steal sufficient for his purpose, and
+      succeeded so far that he obtained half a dozen. I have very little doubt
+      that one of the Portuguese in the forecastle conveyed the information aft
+      for some reason best known to himself, any more than we white men all had
+      that in a similar manner all our sayings and doings, however trivial,
+      became at once known to the officers. However, the fact that the theft was
+      discovered soon became painfully evident, for we had a visit from the
+      afterguard in force one afternoon, and Abner with his brewage was haled to
+      the quarter-deck. There, in the presence of all hands, he was arraigned,
+      found guilty of stealing the ship's stores, and sentence passed upon him.
+      By means of two small pieces of fishing line he was suspended by his
+      thumbs in the weather rigging, in such a manner that when the ship was
+      upright his toes touched the deck, but when she rolled his whole weight
+      hung from his thumbs. This of itself one would have thought sufficient
+      torture for almost any offence, but in addition to it he received two
+      dozen lashes with an improvised cat-o'-nine-tails, laid on by the brawny
+      arm of one of the harpooners. We were all compelled to witness this, and
+      our feelings may be imagined. When, after what seemed a terribly long time
+      to me (Heaven knows what it must have been to him!), he fainted, although
+      no chicken I nearly fainted too, from conflicting emotions of sympathy and
+      impotent rage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was then released in leisurely fashion, and we were permitted to take
+      him forward and revive him. As soon as he was able to stand on his feet,
+      he was called on deck again, and not allowed to go below till his watch
+      was over. Meanwhile Captain Slocum improved the occasion by giving us a
+      short harangue, the burden of which was that we had now seen a LITTLE of
+      what any of us might expect if we played any "dog's tricks" on him. But
+      you can get used to anything, I suppose: so after the first shock of the
+      atrocity was over, things went on again pretty much as usual.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For the first and only time in my experience, we sighted St. Paul's Rocks,
+      a tiny group of jagged peaks protruding from the Atlantic nearly on the
+      Equator. Stupendous mountains they must be, rising almost sheer for about
+      four and a half miles from the ocean bed. Although they appear quite
+      insignificant specks upon the vast expanse of water, one could not help
+      thinking how sublime their appearance would be were they visible from the
+      plateau whence they spring. Their chief interest to us at the time arose
+      from the fact that, when within about three miles of them, we were
+      suddenly surrounded by a vast school of bonito, These fish, so-named by
+      the Spaniards from their handsome appearance, are a species of mackerel, a
+      branch of the SCOMBRIDAE family, and attain a size of about two feet long
+      and forty pounds weight, though their average dimensions are somewhat less
+      than half that. They feed entirely upon flying-fish and the small leaping
+      squid or cuttle-fish, but love to follow a ship, playing around her, if
+      her pace be not too great, for days together. Their flesh resembles beef
+      in appearance, and they are warm-blooded; but, from their habitat being
+      mid-ocean, nothing is known with any certainty of their habits of
+      breeding.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The orthodox method of catching them on board ship is to cover a suitable
+      hook with a piece of white rag a couple of inches long, and attach it to a
+      stout line. The fisherman then takes his seat upon the jibboom end, having
+      first, if he is prudent, secured a sack to the jibstay in such a manner
+      that its mouth gapes wide. Then he unrolls his line, and as the ship
+      forges ahead the line, blowing out, describes a curve, at the end of which
+      the bait, dipping to&mdash;the water occasionally, roughly represents a
+      flying-fish. Of course, the faster the ship is going, the better the
+      chance of deceiving the fish, since they have less time to study the
+      appearance of the bait. It is really an exaggerated and clumsy form of
+      fly-fishing, and, as with that elegant pastime, much is due to the skill
+      of the fisherman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the bait leaps from crest to crest of the wavelets thrust aside by the
+      advancing ship, a fish more adventurous or hungrier than the rest will
+      leap at it, and in an instant there is a dead, dangling weight of from ten
+      to forty pounds hanging at the end of your line thirty feet below. You
+      haul frantically, for he may be poorly hooked, and you cannot play him. In
+      a minute or two, if all goes well, he is plunged in the sack, and safe.
+      But woe unto you if you have allowed the jeers of your shipmates to
+      dissuade you from taking a sack out with you.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The struggles of these fish are marvellous, and a man runs great risk of
+      being shaken off the boom, unless his legs are firmly locked in between
+      the guys. Such is the tremendous vibration that a twenty-pound bonito
+      makes in a man's grip, that it can be felt in the cabin at the other and
+      of the ship; and I have often come in triumphantly with one, having lost
+      all feeling in my arms and a goodly portion of skin off my breast and
+      side, where I have embraced the prize in a grim determination to hold him
+      at all hazards, besides being literally drenched with his blood.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Like all our fishing operations on board the CACHALOT, this day's fishing
+      was conducted on scientific principles, and resulted in twenty-five fine
+      fish being shipped, which were a welcome addition to our scanty allowance.
+      Happily for us, they would not take the salt in that sultry latitude soon
+      enough to preserve them; for, when they can be salted, they become like
+      brine itself, and are quite unfit for food. Yet we should have been
+      compelled to eat salt bonito, or go without meat altogether, if it had
+      been possible to cure them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were now fairly in the "horse latitudes," and, much to our relief, the
+      rain came down in occasional deluges, permitting us to wash well and
+      often. I suppose the rains of the tropics have been often enough described
+      to need no meagre attempts of mine to convey an idea of them; yet I have
+      often wished I could make home-keeping friends understand how far short
+      what they often speak of as a "tropical shower" falls of the genuine
+      article. The nearest I can get to it is the idea of an ocean suspended
+      overhead, out, of which the bottom occasionally falls. Nothing is visible
+      or audible but the glare and roar of falling water, and a ship's deck,
+      despite the many outlets, is full enough to swim about in in a very few
+      minutes. At such times the whole celestial machinery of rain-making may be
+      seen in full working order. Five or six mighty waterspouts in various
+      stages of development were often within easy distance of us; once, indeed,
+      we watched the birth, growth, and death of one less than a mile away.
+      First, a big, black cloud, even among that great assemblage of NIMBI,
+      began to belly downward, until the centre of it tapered into a stem, and
+      the whole mass looked like a vast, irregularly-moulded funnel. Lower and
+      lower it reached, as if feeling for a soil in which to grow, until the sea
+      beneath was agitated sympathetically, rising at last in a sort of pointed
+      mound to meet the descending column. Our nearness enabled us to see that
+      both descending and rising parts were whirling violently in obedience to
+      some invisible force, and when they had joined each other, although the
+      spiral motion did not appear to continue, the upward rush of the water
+      through what was now a long elastic tube was very plainly to be seen. The
+      cloud overhead grew blacker and bigger, until its gloom was terrible. The
+      pipe, or stem, got thinner gradually, until it became a mere thread; nor,
+      although watching closely, could we determine when the connection between
+      sea and sky ceased&mdash;one could not call it severed. The point rising
+      from the sea settled almost immediately amidst a small commotion, as of a
+      whirlpool. The tail depending from the cloud slowly shortened, and the
+      mighty reservoir lost the vast bulge which had hung so threateningly
+      above. Just before the final disappearance of the last portion of the
+      tube, a fragment of cloud appeared to break off. It fell near enough to
+      show by its thundering roar what a body of water it must have been,
+      although it looked like a saturated piece of dirty rag in its descent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For whole days and nights together we sometimes lay almost "as idle as a
+      painted ship upon a painted ocean," when the deep blue dome above matched
+      the deep blue plain below, and never a fleck of white appeared in sky or
+      sea. This perfect stop to our progress troubled none, although it
+      aggravates a merchant skipper terribly. As for the objects of our search,
+      they had apparently all migrated other-whither, for never a sign of them
+      did we see. Finbacks, a species of rorqual, were always pretty numerous,
+      and as if they knew how useless they were to us, came and played around
+      like exaggerated porpoises. One in particular kept us company for several
+      days and nights. We knew him well, from a great triangular scar on his
+      right side, near the dorsal fin. Sometimes he would remain motionless by
+      the side of the ship, a few feet below the surface, as distinctly in our
+      sight as a gold-fish in a parlour globe; or he would go under the keel,
+      and gently chafe his broad back to and fro along it, making queer tremors
+      run through the vessel, as if she were scraping over a reef. Whether from
+      superstition or not I cannot tell, but I never saw any creature injured
+      out of pure wantonness, except sharks, while I was on board the CACHALOT.
+      Of course, injuries to men do not count. Had that finback attempted to
+      play about a passenger ship in such a fashion, all the loungers on board
+      would have been popping at him with their revolvers and rifles without
+      ever a thought of compunction; yet here, in a vessel whose errand was
+      whale-fishing, a whale enjoyed perfect immunity. It was very puzzling. At
+      last my curiosity became too great to hear any longer, and I sought my
+      friend Mistah Jones at what I considered a favourable opportunity. I found
+      him very gracious and communicative, and I got such a lecture on the
+      natural history of the cetacea as I have never forgotten&mdash;the outcome
+      of a quarter-century's experience of them, and afterwards proved by me to
+      be correct in every detail, which latter is a great deal more than can be
+      said of any written natural history that ever I came across. But I will
+      not go into that now. Leaning over the rail, with the great rorqual laying
+      perfectly still a few feet below, I was told to mark how slender and
+      elegant were his proportions. "Clipper-built," my Mentor termed him. He
+      was full seventy feet long, but his greatest diameter would not reach ten
+      feet. His snout was long and pointed, while both top and bottom of his
+      head were nearly flat. When he came up to breathe, which he did out of the
+      top of his head, he showed us that, instead of teeth, he had a narrow
+      fringe of baleen (whalebone) all around his upper jaws, although "I kaint
+      see whyfor, kase he lib on all sort er fish, s'long's dey ain't too big. I
+      serpose w'en he kaint get nary fish he do de same ez de 'bowhead'&mdash;go
+      er siftin eout dem little tings we calls whale-feed wiv dat ar' rangement
+      he carry in his mouf." "But why don't we harpoon him?" I asked. Goliath
+      turned on me a pitying look, as he replied, "Sonny, ef yew wuz ter go on
+      stick iron inter dat ar fish, yew'd fink de hole bottom fell eout
+      kerblunk. W'en I uz young 'n foolish, a finback range 'longside me one
+      day, off de Seychelles. I just done gone miss' a spam whale, and I was
+      kiender mad,&mdash;muss ha' bin. Wall, I let him hab it blam 'tween de
+      ribs. If I lib ten tousan year, ain't gwine ter fergit dat ar. Wa'nt no
+      time ter spit, tell ye; eberybody hang ober de side ob de boat. Wiz&mdash;poof!&mdash;de
+      line all gone. Clar to glory, I neber see it go. Ef it hab ketch anywhar,
+      nobody eber see US too. Fus, I t'ought I jump ober de side&mdash;neber
+      face de skipper any mo'. But he uz er good ole man, en he only say, 'Don't
+      be sech blame jackass any more.' En I don't." From which lucid narration I
+      gathered that the finback had himself to thank for his immunity from
+      pursuit. "'Sides," persisted Goliath, "wa' yew gwine do wiv' him? Ain't
+      six inch uv blubber anywhere 'bout his long ugly carkiss; en dat, dirty
+      lill' rag 'er whalebone he got in his mouf, 'taint worf fifty cents. En
+      mor'n dat, we pick up, a dead one when I uz in de ole RAINBOW&mdash;done
+      choke hisself, I spec, en we cut him in. He stink fit ter pison de debbil,
+      en, after all, we get eighteen bar'l ob dirty oil out ob him. Wa'nt worf
+      de clean sparm scrap we use ter bile him. G' 'way!" Which emphatic
+      adjuration, addressed not to me, but to the unconscious monster below,
+      closed the lesson for the time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The calm still persisted, and, as usual, fish began to abound, especially
+      flying-fish. At times, disturbed by some hungry bonito or dolphin, a shoal
+      of them would rise&mdash;a great wave of silver&mdash;and skim through the
+      air, rising and falling for perhaps a couple of hundred yards before they
+      again took to the water; or a solitary one of larger size than usual would
+      suddenly soar into the air, a heavy splash behind him showing by how few
+      inches he had missed the jaws of his pursuer. Away he would go in a long,
+      long curve, and, meeting the ship in his flight, would rise in the air,
+      turn off at right angles to his former direction, and spin away again, the
+      whir of his wing-fins distinctly visible as well as audible. At last he
+      would incline to the water, but just as he was about to enter it there
+      would be an eddy&mdash;the enemy was there waiting&mdash;and he would rise
+      twenty, thirty feet, almost perpendicularly, and dart away fully a hundred
+      yards on a fresh course before the drying of his wing membranes compelled
+      him to drop. In the face of such a sight as this, which is of everyday
+      occurrence in these latitudes, how trivial and misleading the statements
+      made by the natural history books seem.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They tell their readers that the EXOCETUS VOLITANS "does not fly; does not
+      flutter its wings; can only take a prolonged leap," and so on. The
+      misfortune attendant upon such books seems, to an unlearned sailor like
+      myself, to be that, although posing as authorities, most of the authors
+      are content to take their facts not simply at second-hand, but even unto
+      twenty-second-hand. So the old fables get repeated, and brought up to
+      date, and it is nobody's business to take the trouble to correct them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The weather continued calm and clear, and as the flying-fish were about in
+      such immense numbers, I ventured to suggest to Goliath that we might have
+      a try for some of them. I verily believe he thought I was mad. He stared
+      at me for a minute, and then, with an indescribable intonation, said, "How
+      de ol' Satan yew fink yew gwain ter get'm, hey? Ef yew spects ter fool dis
+      chile wiv any dem lime-juice yarns, 'bout lanterns 'n boats at night-time,
+      yew's 'way off." I guessed he meant the fable current among English
+      sailors, that if you hoist a sail on a calm night in a boat where
+      flying-fish abound, and hang a lantern in the middle of it, the fish will
+      fly in shoals at the lantern, strike against the sail, and fall in heaps
+      in the boat. It MAY be true, but I never spoke to anybody who has seen it
+      done, nor is it the method practised in the only place in the world where
+      flying-fishing is followed for a living. So I told Mr. Jones that if we
+      had some circular nets of small mesh made and stretched on wooden hoops, I
+      was sure we should be able to catch some. He caught at the idea, and
+      mentioned it to the mate, who readily gave his permission to use a boat. A
+      couple of "Guineamen" (a very large kind of flying-fish, having four
+      wings) flew on board that night, as if purposely to provide us with the
+      necessary bait.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next morning, about four bells, the sea being like a mirror, unruffled by
+      a breath of wind, we lowered and paddled off from the ship about a mile.
+      When far enough away, we commenced operations by squeezing in the water
+      some pieces of fish that had been kept for the purpose until they were
+      rather high-flavoured. The exuding oil from this fish spread a thin film
+      for some distance around the boat, through which, as through a sheet of
+      glass, we could see a long way down. Minute specks of the bait sank slowly
+      through the limpid blue, but for at least an hour there was no sign of
+      life. I was beginning to fear that I should be called to account for
+      misleading all hands, when, to my unbounded delight, an immense shoal of
+      flying-fish came swimming round the boat, eagerly picking up the savoury
+      morsels. We grasped our nets, and, leaning over the gunwale, placed them
+      silently in the water, pressing them downward and in towards the boat at
+      the same time. Our success was great and immediate. We lifted the
+      wanderers by scores, while I whispered imploringly, "Be careful not to
+      scare them; don't make a sound." All hands entered into the spirit of the
+      thing with great eagerness. As for Mistah Jones, his delight was almost
+      more than he could bear. Suddenly one of the men, in lifting his net,
+      slipped on the smooth bottom of the boat, jolting one of the oars. There
+      was a gleam of light below as the school turned&mdash;they had all
+      disappeared instanter. We had been so busy that we had not noticed the
+      dimensions of our catch; but now, to our great joy, we found that we had
+      at least eight hundred fish nearly as large as herrings. We at once
+      returned to the ship, having been absent only two hours, during which we
+      had caught sufficient to provide all hands with three good meals. Not one
+      of the crew had ever seen or heard of such fishing before, so my pride and
+      pleasure may be imagined. A little learning may be a dangerous thing at
+      times, but it certainly is often handy to have about you. The habit of
+      taking notice and remembering has often been the means of saving many
+      lives in suddenly-met situations of emergency, at sea perhaps more than
+      anywhere else, and nothing can be more useful to a sailor than the
+      practice of keeping his weather-eye open.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In Barbadoes there is established the only regular flying-fishery in the
+      world, and in just the manner I have described, except that the boats are
+      considerably larger, is the whole town supplied with delicious fish at so
+      trifling a cost as to make it a staple food among all classes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But I find that I am letting this chapter run to an unconscionable length,
+      and it does not appear as if we were getting at the southward very fast
+      either. Truth to tell, our progress was mighty slow; but we gradually
+      crept across the belt of calms, and a week after our never-to-be-forgotten
+      haul of flying-fish we got the first of the south-east trades, and went
+      away south at a good pace&mdash;for us. We made the Island of Trinidada
+      with its strange conical-topped pillar, the Ninepin Rock, but did not make
+      a call, as the skipper was beginning to get fidgety at not seeing any
+      whales, and anxious to get down to where he felt reasonably certain of
+      falling in with them. Life had been very monotonous of late, and much as
+      we dreaded still the prospect of whale-fighting (by "we," of course, I
+      mean the chaps forward), it began to lose much of its terror for us, so
+      greatly did we long for a little change. Keeping, as we did, out of the
+      ordinary track of ships, we hardly ever saw a sail. We had no recreations;
+      fun was out of the question; and had it not been for a Bible, a copy of
+      Shakespeare, and a couple of cheap copies of "David Copperfield" and
+      "Bleak House," all of which were mine, we should have had no books.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER VIII. ABNER'S WHALE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      In a previous chapter I have referred to the fact of a bounty being
+      offered to whoever should first sight a useful whale, payable only in the
+      event of the prize being secured by the ship. In consequence of our
+      ill-success, and to stimulate the watchfulness of all, that bounty was now
+      increased from ten pounds of tobacco to twenty, or fifteen dollars,
+      whichever the winner chose to have. Most of us whites regarded this as
+      quite out of the question for us, whose untrained vision was as the naked
+      eye to a telescope when pitted against the eagle-like sight of the
+      Portuguese. Nevertheless, we all did our little best, and I know, for one,
+      that when I descended from my lofty perch, after a two hours' vigil, my
+      eyes often ached and burned for an hour afterwards from the intensity of
+      my gaze across the shining waste of waters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Judge, then, of the surprise of everybody, when one forenoon watch, three
+      days after we had lost sight of Trinidada, a most extraordinary sound was
+      heard from the fore crow's-nest. I was, at the time, up at the main, in
+      company with Louis, the mate's harpooner, and we stared across to see
+      whatever was the matter, The watchman was unfortunate Abner Cushing, whose
+      trivial offence had been so severely punished a short time before, and he
+      was gesticulating and howling like a madman. Up from below came the deep
+      growl of the skipper, "Foremast head, there, what d'ye say?" "B-b-b-blow,
+      s-s-sir," stammered Abner; "a big whale right in the way of the sun, sir."
+      "See anythin', Louey?" roared the skipper to my companion, just as we had
+      both "raised" the spout almost in the glare cast by the sun. "Yessir,"
+      answered Louis; "but I kaint make him eout yet, sir." "All right; keep yer
+      eye on him, and lemme know sharp;" and away he went aft for his glasses.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The course was slightly altered, so that we headed direct for the whale,
+      and in less than a minute afterwards we saw distinctly the great black
+      column of a sperm whale's head rise well above the sea, scattering a
+      circuit of foam before it, and emitting a bushy, tufted burst of vapour
+      into the clear air. "There she white-waters! Ah bl-o-o-o-o-o-w, blow,
+      blow!" sang Louis; and then, in another tone, "Sperm whale, sir; big,
+      'lone fish, headin' 'beout east-by-nothe." "All right. 'Way down from
+      aloft," answered the skipper, who was already half-way up the
+      main-rigging; and like squirrels we slipped out of our hoops and down the
+      backstays, passing the skipper like a flash as he toiled upwards,
+      bellowing orders as he went. Short as our journey down had been, when we
+      arrived on deck we found all ready for a start. But as the whale was at
+      least seven miles away, and we had a fair wind for him, there was no hurry
+      to lower, so we all stood at attention by our respective boats, waiting
+      for the signal. I found, to my surprise, that, although I was conscious of
+      a much more rapid heart-beat than usual, I was not half so scared as I
+      expected to be&mdash;that the excitement was rather pleasant than
+      otherwise. There were a few traces of funk about some of the others still;
+      but as for Abner, he was fairly transformed; I hardly knew the man. He was
+      one of Goliath's boat's crew, and the big darkey was quite proud of him.
+      His eyes sparkled, and he chuckled and smiled constantly, as one who is
+      conscious of having done a grand stroke of business, not only for himself,
+      but for all hands. "Lower away boats!" came pealing down from the
+      skipper's lofty perch, succeeded instantly by the rattle of the patent
+      blocks as the falls flew through them, while the four beautiful craft took
+      the water with an almost simultaneous splash. The ship-keepers had trimmed
+      the yards to the wind and hauled up the courses, so that simply putting
+      the helm down deadened our way, and allowed the boats to run clear without
+      danger of fouling one another. To shove off and hoist sail was the work of
+      a few moments, and with a fine working breeze away we went. As before, our
+      boat, being the chief's, had the post of honour; but there was now only
+      one whale, and I rather wondered why we had all left the ship. According
+      to expectations, down he went when we were within a couple of miles of
+      him, but quietly and with great dignity, elevating his tail
+      perpendicularly in the air, and sinking slowly from our view. Again I
+      found Mr. Count talkative.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Thet whale 'll stay down fifty minutes, I guess," said he, "fer he's
+      every gill ov a hundred en twenty bar'l; and don't yew fergit it." "Do the
+      big whales give much more trouble than the little ones?" I asked, seeing
+      him thus chatty. "Wall, it's jest ez it happens, boy&mdash;just ez it
+      happens. I've seen a fifty-bar'l bull make the purtiest fight I ever hearn
+      tell ov&mdash;a fight thet lasted twenty hours, stove three boats, 'n
+      killed two men. Then, again, I've seen a hundred 'n fifty bar'l whale lay
+      'n take his grooel 'thout hardly wunkin 'n eyelid&mdash;never moved ten
+      fathom from fust iron till fin eout. So yew may say, boy, that they're
+      like peepul&mdash;got thair iudividooal pekyewlyarities, an' thars no
+      countin' on 'em for sartin nary time." I was in great hopes of getting
+      some useful information while his mood lasted; but it was over, and
+      silence reigned. Nor did I dare to ask any more questions; he looked so
+      stern and fierce. The scene was very striking. Overhead, a bright blue sky
+      just fringed with fleecy little clouds; beneath, a deep blue sea with
+      innumerable tiny wavelets dancing and glittering in the blaze of the sun;
+      but all swayed in one direction by a great, solemn swell that slowly
+      rolled from east to west, like the measured breathing of some
+      world-supporting monster. Four little craft in a group, with twenty-four
+      men in them, silently waiting for battle with one of the mightiest of
+      God's creatures&mdash;one that was indeed a terrible foe to encounter were
+      he but wise enough to make the best use of his opportunities. Against him
+      we came with our puny weapons, of which I could not help reminding myself
+      that "he laugheth at the shaking of a spear." But when the man's brain was
+      thrown into the scale against the instinct of the brute, the contest
+      looked less unequal than at first sight, for THERE is the secret of
+      success. My musings were very suddenly interrupted. Whether we had overrun
+      our distance, or the whale, who was not "making a passage," but feeding,
+      had changed his course, I do not know; but, anyhow, he broke water close
+      ahead, coming straight for our boat. His great black head, like the broad
+      bow of a dumb barge, driving the waves before it, loomed high and menacing
+      to me, for I was not forbidden to look ahead now. But coolly, as if coming
+      alongside the ship, the mate bent to the big steer-oar, and swung the boat
+      off at right angles to her course, bringing her back again with another
+      broad sheer as the whale passed foaming. This manoeuvre brought us side by
+      side with him before he had time to realize that we were there. Up till
+      that instant he had evidently not seen us, and his surprise was
+      correspondingly great. To see Louis raise his harpoon high above his head,
+      and with a hoarse grunt of satisfaction plunge it into the black, shining
+      mass beside him up to the hitches, was indeed a sight to be remembered.
+      Quick as thought he snatched up a second harpoon, and as the whale rolled
+      from us it flew from his hands, burying itself like the former one, but
+      lower down the body. The great impetus we had when we reached the whale
+      carried us a long way past him, out of all danger from his struggles. No
+      hindrance was experienced from the line by which we were connected with
+      the whale, for it was loosely coiled in a space for the purpose in the
+      boat's bow to the extent of two hundred feet, and this was cast overboard
+      by the harpooner as soon as the fish was fast. He made a fearful to-do
+      over it, rolling completely over several times backward and forward, at
+      the same time smiting the sea with his mighty tail, making an almost
+      deafening noise and pother. But we were comfortable enough, while we
+      unshipped the mast and made ready for action, being sufficiently far away
+      from him to escape the full effect of his gambols. It was impossible to
+      avoid reflecting, however, upon what WOULD happen if, in our unprepared
+      and so far helpless state, he were, instead of simply tumbling about in an
+      aimless, blind sort of fury, to rush at the boat and try to destroy it.
+      Very few indeed would survive such an attack, unless the tactics were
+      radically altered. No doubt they would be, for practices grow up in
+      consequence of the circumstances with which they have to deal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After the usual time spent in furious attempts to free himself from our
+      annoyance, he betook himself below, leaving us to await his return, and
+      hasten it as much as possible by keeping a severe strain upon the line.
+      Our efforts in this direction, however, did not seem to have any effect
+      upon him at all. Flake after flake ran out of the tubs, until we were
+      compelled to hand the end of our line to the second mate to splice his own
+      on to. Still it slipped away, and at last it was handed to the third mate,
+      whose two tubs met the same fate. It was now Mistah Jones' turn to "bend
+      on," which he did with many chuckles as of a man who was the last resource
+      of the unfortunate. But his face grew longer and longer as the
+      never-resting line continued to disappear. Soon he signalled us that he
+      was nearly out of line, and two or three minutes after he bent on his
+      "drogue" (a square piece of plank with a rope tail spliced into its
+      centre, and considered to hinder a whale's progress at least as much as
+      four boats), and let go the end. We had each bent on our drogues in the
+      same way, when we passed our ends to one another. So now our friend was
+      getting along somewhere below with 7200 feet of 1 1/2-inch rope, and
+      weight additional equal to the drag of sixteen 30-feet boats.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Of course we knew that, unless he were dead and sinking, he could not
+      possibly remain much longer beneath the surface. The exhibition of
+      endurance we had just been favoured with was a very unusual one, I was
+      told, it being a rare thing for a cachalot to take out two boats' lines
+      before returning to the surface to spout.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Therefore, we separated as widely as was thought necessary, in order to be
+      near him on his arrival. It was, as might be imagined, some time before we
+      saw the light of his countenance; but when we did, we had no difficulty in
+      getting alongside of him again. My friend Goliath, much to my delight, got
+      there first, and succeeded in picking up the bight of the line. But having
+      done so, his chance of distinguishing himself was gone. Hampered by the
+      immense quantity of sunken line which was attached to the whale, he could
+      do nothing, and soon received orders to cut the bight of the line and pass
+      the whale's end to us. He had hardly obeyed, with a very bad grace, when
+      the whale started off to windward with us at a tremendous rate. The other
+      boats, having no line, could do nothing to help, so away we went alone,
+      with barely a hundred fathoms of line, in case he should take it into his
+      head to sound again. The speed at which he went made it appear as if a
+      gale of wind was blowing and we flew along the sea surface, leaping from
+      crest to crest of the waves with an incessant succession of cracks like
+      pistol-shots. The flying spray drenched us and prevented us from seeing
+      him, but I fully realized that it was nothing to what we should have to
+      put up with if the wind freshened much. One hand was kept bailing the
+      water out which came so freely over the bows, but all the rest hauled with
+      all their might upon the line, hoping to get a little closer to the flying
+      monster. Inch by inch we gained on him, encouraged by the hoarse
+      objurgations of the mate, whose excitement was intense. After what seemed
+      a terribly long chase, we found his speed slackening, and we redoubled our
+      efforts. Now we were close upon him; now, in obedience to the steersman,
+      the boat sheered out a bit, and we were abreast of his labouring flukes;
+      now the mate hurls his quivering lance with such hearty good-will that
+      every inch of its slender shaft disappears within the huge body. "Layoff!
+      Off with her, Louey!" screamed the mate; and she gave a wide sheer away
+      from the whale, not a second too soon. Up flew that awful tail, descending
+      with a crash upon the water not two feet from us. "Out oars! Pull, two!
+      starn, three!" shouted the mate; and as we obeyed our foe turned to fight.
+      Then might one see how courage and skill were such mighty factors in the
+      apparently unequal contest. The whale's great length made it no easy job
+      for him to turn, while our boat, with two oars a-side, and the great
+      leverage at the stern supplied by the nineteen-foot steer-oar circled,
+      backed, and darted ahead like a living thing animated by the mind of our
+      commander. When the leviathan settled, we gave a wide berth to his
+      probable place of ascent; when he rushed at us, we dodged him; when he
+      paused, if only momentarily, in we flew, and got home a fearful thrust of
+      the deadly lance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All fear was forgotten now&mdash;I panted, thirsted for his life. Once,
+      indeed, in a sort of frenzy, when for an instant we lay side by side with
+      him, I drew my sheath-knife, and plunged it repeatedly into the blubber,
+      as if I were assisting is his destruction. Suddenly the mate gave a howl:
+      "Starn all&mdash;starn all! oh, starn!" and the oars bent like canes as we
+      obeyed. There was an upheaval of the sea just ahead; then slowly,
+      majestically, the vast body of our foe rose into the air. Up, up it went,
+      while my heart stood still, until the whole of that immense creature hung
+      on high, apparently motionless, and then fell&mdash;a hundred tons of
+      solid flesh&mdash;back into the sea. On either side of that mountainous
+      mass the waters rose in shining towers of snowy foam, which fell in their
+      turn, whirling and eddying around us as we tossed and fell like a chip in
+      a whirlpool. Blinded by the flying spray, baling for very life to free the
+      boat from the water with which she was nearly full, it was some minutes
+      before I was able to decide whether we were still uninjured or not. Then I
+      saw, at a little distance, the whale lying quietly. As I looked he
+      spouted, and the vapour was red with his blood. "Starn all!" again cried
+      our chief, and we retreated to a considerable distance. The old warrior's
+      practised eye had detected the coming climax of our efforts, the dying
+      agony or "furry" of the great mammal. Turning upon his side, he began to
+      move in a circular direction, slowly at first, then faster and faster,
+      until he was rushing round at tremendous speed, his great head raised
+      quite out of water at times, clashing his enormous jaws. Torrents of blood
+      poured from his spout-hole, accompanied by hoarse bellowings, as of some
+      gigantic bull, but really caused by the labouring breath trying to pass
+      through the clogged air passages. The utmost caution and rapidity of
+      manipulation of the boat was necessary to avoid his maddened rush, but
+      this gigantic energy was short-lived. In a few minutes he subsided slowly
+      in death, his mighty body reclined on one side, the fin uppermost waving
+      limply as he rolled to the swell, while the small waves broke gently over
+      the carcass in a low, monotonous surf, intensifying the profound silence
+      that had succeeded the tumult of our conflict with the late monarch of the
+      deep. Hardly had the flurry ceased, when we hauled up alongside of our
+      hard-won prize, in order to secure a line to him in a better manner than
+      at present for hauling him to the ship. This was effected by cutting a
+      hole through the tough, gristly substance of the flukes with the short
+      "boat-spade," carried for the purpose. The end of the line, cut off from
+      the faithful harpoon that had held it so long, was then passed through
+      this hole and made fast. This done, it was "Smoke-oh!" The luxury of that
+      rest and refreshment was something to be grateful for, coming, as it did,
+      in such complete contrast to our recent violent exertions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The ship was some three or four miles off to leeward, so we reckoned she
+      would take at least an hour and a half to work up to us. Meanwhile, our
+      part of the performance being over, and well over, we thoroughly enjoyed
+      ourselves, lazily rocking on the gentle swell by the side of a catch worth
+      at least L800. During the conflict I had not noticed what now claimed
+      attention&mdash;several great masses of white, semi-transparent-looking
+      substance floating about, of huge size and irregular shape. But one of
+      these curious lumps came floating by as we lay, tugged at by several fish,
+      and I immediately asked the mate if he could tell me what it was and where
+      it came from. He told me that, when dying, the cachalot always ejected the
+      contents of his stomach, which were invariably composed of such masses as
+      we saw before us; that he believed the stuff to be portions of big
+      cuttle-fish, bitten off by the whale for the purpose of swallowing, but he
+      wasn't sure. Anyhow, I could haul this piece alongside now, if I liked,
+      and see. Secretly wondering at the indifference shown by this officer of
+      forty years' whaling experience to such a wonderful fact as appeared to be
+      here presented, I thanked him, and, sticking the boat-hook into the lump,
+      drew it alongside. It was at once evident that it was a massive fragment
+      of cuttle-fish&mdash;tentacle or arm&mdash;as thick as a stout man's body,
+      and with six or seven sucking-discs or ACETABULA on it. These were about
+      as large as a saucer, and on their inner edge were thickly set with hooks
+      or claws all round the rim, sharp as needles, and almost the shape and
+      size of a tiger's.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To what manner of awful monster this portion of limb belonged, I could
+      only faintly imagine; but of course I remembered, as any sailor would,
+      that from my earliest sea-going I had been told that the cuttle-fish was
+      the biggest in the sea, although I never even began to think it might be
+      true until now. I asked the mate if he had ever seen such creatures as
+      this piece belonged to alive and kicking. He answered, languidly, "Wall, I
+      guess so; but I don't take any stock in fish, 'cept for provisions er ile&mdash;en
+      that's a fact." It will be readily believed that I vividly recalled this
+      conversation when, many years after, I read an account by the Prince of
+      Monaco of HIS discovery of a gigantic squid, to which his naturalist gave
+      the name of LEPIDOTEUTHIS GRIMALDII! Truly the indifference and apathy
+      manifested by whalers generally to everything except commercial matters is
+      wonderful&mdash;hardly to be credited. However, this was a mighty
+      revelation to me. For the first time, it was possible to understand that,
+      contrary to the usual notion of a whale's being unable to swallow a
+      herring, here was a kind of whale that could swallow&mdash;well, a block
+      four or five feet square apparently; who lived upon creatures as large as
+      himself, if one might judge of their bulk by the sample to hand; but being
+      unable, from only possessing teeth in one jaw, to masticate his food, was
+      compelled to tear it in sizable pieces, bolt it whole, and leave his
+      commissariat department to do the rest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While thus ruminating, the mate and Louis began a desultory conversation
+      concerning what they termed "ambergrease." I had never even heard the word
+      before, although I had a notion that Milton, in "Paradise Regained,"
+      describing the Satanic banquet, had spoken of something being "grisamber
+      steamed." They could by no means agree as to what this mysterious
+      substance was, how it was produced, or under what conditions. They knew
+      that it was sometimes found floating near the dead body of a sperm whale&mdash;the
+      mate, in fact, stated that he had taken it once from the rectum of a
+      cachalot&mdash;and they were certain that it was of great value&mdash;from
+      one to three guineas per ounce. When I got to know more of the natural
+      history of the sperm whale, and had studied the literature of the subject,
+      I was so longer surprised at their want of agreement, since the learned
+      doctors who have written upon the subject do not seem to have come to
+      definite conclusions either.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By some it is supposed to be the product of a diseased condition of the
+      creature; others consider that it is merely the excreta, which, normally
+      fluid, has by some means become concreted. It is nearly always found with
+      cuttle-fish beaks imbedded in its substance, showing that these
+      indigestible portions of the sperm whale's food have in some manner become
+      mixed with it during its formation in the bowel. Chemists have analyzed it
+      with scanty results. Its great value is due to its property of
+      intensifying the power of perfumes, although, strange to say, it has
+      little or no odour of its own, a faint trace of musk being perhaps
+      detectable in some cases. The Turks are said to use it for a truly Turkish
+      purpose, which need not be explained here, while the Moors are credited
+      with a taste for it in their cookery. About both these latter statements
+      there is considerable doubt; I only give them for what they are worth,
+      without, committing myself to any definite belief in them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The ship now neared us fast, and as soon as she rounded-to, we left the
+      whale and pulled towards her, paying out line as we went. Arriving
+      alongside, the line was handed on board, and in a short time the prize was
+      hauled to the gangway. We met with a very different reception this time.
+      The skipper's grim face actually looked almost pleasant as he contemplated
+      the colossal proportions of the latest addition to our stock. He was
+      indeed a fine catch, being at least seventy feet long, and in splendid
+      condition. As soon as he was secured alongside in the orthodox fashion,
+      all hands were sent to dinner, with an intimation to look sharp over it.
+      Judging from our slight previous experience, there was some heavy labour
+      before us, for this whale was nearly four times as large as the one caught
+      off the Cape Verds. And it was so. Verily those officers toiled like
+      Titans to get that tremendous head off even the skipper taking a hand. In
+      spite of their efforts, it was dark before the heavy job was done. As we
+      were in no danger of bad weather, the head was dropped astern by a hawser
+      until morning, when it would be safer to dissect it. All that night we
+      worked incessantly, ready to drop with fatigue, but not daring to suggest,
+      the possibility of such a thing. Several of the officers and harpooners
+      were allowed a few hours off, as their special duty of dealing with the
+      head at daylight would be so arduous as to need all their energies. When
+      day dawned we were allowed a short rest, while the work of cutting up the
+      head was undertaken by the rested men. At seven bells (7.30) it was "turn
+      to" all hands again. The "junk" was hooked on to both cutting tackles, and
+      the windlass manned by everybody who could get hold. Slowly the enormous
+      mass rose, canting the ship heavily as it came, while every stick and rope
+      aloft complained of the great strain upon them. When at last it was safely
+      shipped, and the tackles cast off, the size of this small portion of a
+      full-grown cachalot's body could be realized, not before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was hauled from the gangway by tackles, and securely lashed to the rail
+      running round beneath the top of the bulwarks for that purpose&mdash;the
+      "lash-rail"&mdash;where the top of it towered up as high as the third
+      ratline of the main-rigging. Then there was another spell, while the
+      "case" was separated from the skull. This was too large to get on board,
+      so it was lifted half-way out of water by the tackles, one hooked on each
+      side; then they were made fast, and a spar rigged across them at a good
+      height above the top of the case. A small block was lashed to this spar,
+      through which a line was rove. A long, narrow bucket was attached to one
+      end of this rope; the other end on deck was attended by two men. One
+      unfortunate beggar was perched aloft on the above-mentioned spar, where
+      his position, like the main-yard of Marryatt's verbose carpenter was
+      "precarious and not at all permanent." He was provided with a pole, with
+      which he pushed the bucket down through a hole cut in the upper end of the
+      "case," whence it was drawn out by the chaps on deck full of spermaceti.
+      It was a weary, unsatisfactory process, wasting a great deal of the
+      substance being baled out; but no other way was apparently possible. The
+      grease blew about, drenching most of us engaged in an altogether
+      unpleasant fashion, while, to mend matters, the old barky began to roll
+      and tumble about in an aimless, drunken sort of way, the result of a new
+      cross swell rolling up from the south-westward. As the stuff was gained,
+      it was poured into large tanks in the blubber-room, the quantity being too
+      great to be held by the try-pots at once. Twenty-five barrels of this
+      clear, wax-like substance were baled from that case; and when at last it
+      was lowered a little, and cut away from its supports, it was impossible to
+      help thinking that much was still remaining within which we, with such
+      rude means, were unable to save. Then came the task of cutting up the
+      junk. Layer after layer, eight to ten inches thick, was sliced off, cut
+      into suitable pieces, and passed into the tanks. So full was the matter of
+      spermaceti that one could take a piece as large as one's head in the
+      hands, and squeeze it like a sponge, expressing the spermaceti in showers,
+      until nothing remained but a tiny ball of fibre. All this soft, pulpy mass
+      was held together by walls of exceedingly tough, gristly integrument
+      ("white horse"), which was as difficult to cut as gutta-percha, and, but
+      for the peculiar texture, not at all unlike it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we had finished separating the junk, there was nearly a foot of oil
+      on deck in the waist, and uproarious was the laughter when some hapless
+      individual, losing his balance, slid across the deck and sat down with a
+      loud splash in the deepest part of the accumulation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lower jaw of this whale measured exactly nineteen feet in length from
+      the opening of the mouth, or, say the last of the teeth, to the point, and
+      carried twenty-eight teeth on each side. For the time, it was hauled aft
+      out of the way, and secured to the lash-rail. The subsequent proceedings
+      were just the same as before described, only more so. For a whole week our
+      labours continued, and when they were over we had stowed below a hundred
+      and forty-six barrels of mingled oil and spermaceti, or fourteen and a
+      half tuns.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was really a pleasant sight to see Abner receiving as if being invested
+      with an order of merit, the twenty pounds of tobacco to which he was
+      entitled. Poor fellow! he felt as if at last he were going to be thought a
+      little of, and treated a little better. He brought his bounty forrard, and
+      shared it out as far as it would go with the greatest delight and good
+      nature possible. Whatever he might have been thought of aft, certainly,
+      for the time, he was a very important personage forrard; even the
+      Portuguese, who were inclined to be jealous of what they considered an
+      infringement of their rights, were mollified by the generosity shown.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After every sign of the operations had been cleared away, the jaw was
+      brought out, and the teeth extracted with a small tackle. They were set
+      solidly into a hard white gum, which had to be cut away all around them
+      before they would come out. When cleaned of the gum, they were headed up
+      in a small barrel of brine. The great jaw-pans were sawn off, and placed
+      at the disposal of anybody who wanted pieces of bone for "scrimshaw," or
+      carved work. This is a very favourite pastime on board whalers, though, in
+      ships such as ours, the crew have little opportunity for doing anything,
+      hardly any leisure during daylight being allowed. But our carpenter was a
+      famous workman at "scrimshaw," and he started half a dozen walking-sticks
+      forthwith. A favourite design is to carve the bone into the similitude of
+      a rope, with "worming" of smaller line along its lays. A handle is carved
+      out of a whale's tooth, and insets of baleen, silver, cocoa-tree, or
+      ebony, give variety and finish. The tools used are of the roughest. Some
+      old files, softened in the fire, and filed into grooves something like
+      saw-teeth, are most used; but old knives, sail-needles, and chisels are
+      pressed into service. The work turned out would, in many cases, take a
+      very high place in an exhibition of turnery, though never a lathe was near
+      it. Of course, a long time is taken over it, especially the polishing,
+      which is done with oil and whiting, if it can be got&mdash;powdered pumice
+      if it cannot. I once had an elaborate pastry-cutter carved out of six
+      whale's teeth, which I purchased for a pound of tobacco from a seaman of
+      the CORAL whaler, and afterwards sold in Dunedin, New Zealand, for L2
+      10s., the purchaser being decidedly of opinion that he had a bargain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER IX. OUR FIRST CALLING-PLACE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Perhaps it may hastily be assumed, from the large space already devoted to
+      fishing operations of various kinds, that the subject will not bear much
+      more dealing with, if my story is to avoid being monotonous. But I beg to
+      assure you, dear reader, that while of course I have most to say in
+      connection with the business of the voyage, nothing is farther from my
+      plan than to neglect the very interesting portion of our cruise which
+      relates to visiting strange, out-of-the-way corners of the world. If&mdash;which
+      I earnestly deprecate&mdash;the description hitherto given of sperm
+      whale-fishing and its adjuncts be found not so interesting as could be
+      wished, I cry you mercy. I have been induced to give more space to it
+      because it has been systematically avoided in the works upon whale-fishing
+      before mentioned, which, as I have said, were not intended for popular
+      reading. True, neither may my humble tome become popular either; but, if
+      it does not, no one will be so disappointed as the author.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had made but little progress during the week of oil manufacture, very
+      little attention being paid to the sails while that work was about; but,
+      as the south-east trades blew steadily, we did not remain stationary
+      altogether. So that the following week saw us on the south side of the
+      tropic of Capricorn, the south-east trade done, and the dirty weather and
+      variable squalls, which nearly always precede the "westerlies," making our
+      lives a burden to us. Here, however, we were better off than in an
+      ordinary merchantman, where doldrums are enough to drive you mad. The one
+      object being to get along, it is incessant "pully-hauly," setting and
+      taking in sail, in order, on the one hand, to lose no time, and, on the
+      other, to lose no sails. Now, with us, whenever the weather was doubtful
+      or squally-looking, we shortened sail, and kept it fast till better
+      weather came along, being quite careless whether we made one mile a day or
+      one hundred. But just because nobody took any notice of our progress as
+      the days passed, we were occasionally startled to find how far we had
+      really got. This was certainly the case with all of us forward, even to me
+      who had some experience, so well used had I now become to the leisurely
+      way of getting along. To the laziest of ships, however, there comes
+      occasionally a time when the bustling, hurrying wind will take no denial,
+      and you've got to "git up an' git," as the Yanks put it. Such a time
+      succeeded our "batterfanging" about, after losing the trades. We got hold
+      of a westerly wind that, commencing quietly, gently, steadily, taking two
+      or three days before it gathered force and volume, strengthened at last
+      into a stern, settled gale that would brook no denial, to face which would
+      have been misery indeed. To vessels bound east it came as a boon and
+      blessing, for it would be a crawler that could not reel off her two
+      hundred and fifty miles a day before the push of such a breeze. Even the
+      CACHALOT did her one hundred and fifty, pounding and bruising the ill-used
+      sea in her path, and spreading before her broad bows a far-reaching area
+      of snowy foam, while her wake was as wide as any two ordinary ships ought
+      to make. Five or six times a day the flying East India or colonial-bound
+      English ships, under every stitch of square sail, would appear as tiny
+      specks on the horizon astern, come up with us, pass like a flash, and fade
+      away ahead, going at least two knots to our one. I could not help feeling
+      a bit home-sick and tired of my present surroundings, in spite of their
+      interest, when I saw those beautiful ocean-flyers devouring the distance
+      which lay before them, and reflected that in little more than one month
+      most of them would be discharging in Melbourne, Sydney, Calcutta, or some
+      other equally distant port, while we should probably be dodging about in
+      our present latitude a little farther east.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a few days of our present furious rate of speed, I came on deck one
+      morning, and instantly recognized an old acquaintance. Right ahead,
+      looking nearer than I had ever seen it before, rose the towering mass of
+      Tristan d'Acunha, while farther away, but still visible, lay Nightingale
+      and Inaccessible Islands. Their aspect was familiar, for I had sighted
+      them on nearly every voyage I had made round the Cape, but I had never
+      seen them so near as this. There was a good deal of excitement among us,
+      and no wonder. Such a break in the monotony of our lives as we were about
+      to have was enough to turn our heads. Afterwards, we learned to view these
+      matters in a more philosophic light; but now, being new and galled by the
+      yoke, it was a different thing. Near as the island seemed, it was six
+      hours before we got near enough to distinguish objects on shore. I have
+      seen the top of Tristan peeping through a cloud nearly a hundred miles
+      away, for its height is tremendous. St. Helena looks a towering, scowling
+      mass when you approach it closely but Tristan d'Acunha is far more
+      imposing, its savage-looking cliffs seeming to sternly forbid the
+      venturesome voyager any nearer familiarity with their frowning fastnesses.
+      Long before we came within working distance of the settlement, we were
+      continually passing broad patches of kelp (FUCUS GIGANTEA), whose great
+      leaves and cable-laid stems made quite reef-like breaks in the heaving
+      waste of restless sea. Very different indeed were these patches of marine
+      growth from the elegant wreaths of the Gulf-weed with which parts of the
+      North Atlantic are so thickly covered. Their colour was deep brown, almost
+      black is some cases, and the size of many of the leaves amazing, being
+      four to five feet long, by a foot wide, with stalks as thick as one's arm.
+      They have their origin around these storm-beaten rocks, which lie
+      scattered thinly over the immense area of the Southern Ocean, whence they
+      are torn, in masses like those we saw, by every gale, and sent wandering
+      round the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we arrived within about three miles of the landing-place, we saw a
+      boat coming off, so we immediately hove-to and awaited her arrival. There
+      was no question of anchoring; indeed, there seldom is in these vessels,
+      unless they are going to make a long stay, for they are past masters in
+      the art of "standing off and on." The boat came alongside&mdash;a big,
+      substantially-built craft of the whale-boat type, but twice the size&mdash;manned
+      by ten sturdy-looking fellows, as unkempt and wild-looking as any pirates.
+      They were evidently put to great straits for clothes, many curious
+      makeshifts being noticeable in their rig, while it was so patched with
+      every conceivable kind of material that it was impossible to say which was
+      the original or "standing part." They brought with them potatoes, onions,
+      a few stunted cabbages, some fowls, and a couple of good-sized pigs, at
+      the sight of which good things our eyes glistened and our mouths watered.
+      Alas! none of the cargo of that boat ever reached OUR hungry stomachs. We
+      were not surprised, having anticipated that every bit of provision would
+      be monopolized by our masters; but of course we had no means of altering
+      such a state of things.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The visitors had the same tale to tell that seems universal&mdash;bad
+      trade, hard times, nothing doing. How very familiar it seemed, to be sure.
+      Nevertheless, it could not be denied that their sole means of
+      communication with the outer world, as well as market for their goods, the
+      calling whale-ships, were getting fewer and fewer every year; so that
+      their outlook was not, it must be confessed, particularly bright. But
+      their wants are few, beyond such as they can themselves supply. Groceries
+      and clothes, the latter especially, as the winters are very severe, are
+      almost the only needs they require to be supplied with from without. They
+      spoke of the "Cape" as if it were only across the way, the distance
+      separating them from that wonderful place being over thirteen hundred
+      miles in reality. Very occasionally a schooner from Capetown does visit
+      them; but, as the seals are almost exterminated, there is less and less
+      inducement to make the voyage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Like almost all the southern islets, this group has been in its time the
+      scene of a wonderfully productive seal-fishery. It used to be customary
+      for whaling and sealing vessels to land a portion of their crews, and
+      leave them to accumulate a store of seal-skins and oil, while the ships
+      cruised the surrounding seas for whales, which were exceedingly numerous,
+      both "right" and sperm varieties. In those days there was no monotony of
+      existence in these islands, ships were continually coming and going, and
+      the islanders prospered exceedingly. When they increased beyond the
+      capacity of the islands to entertain them, a portion migrated to the Cape,
+      while many of the men took service in the whale-ships, for which they were
+      eminently suited.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They are, as might be expected, a hybrid lot, the women all mulattoes, but
+      intensely English in their views and loyalty. Since the visit of H.M.S.
+      GALATEA, in August, 1867, with the Duke of Edinburgh on board, this
+      sentiment had been intensified, and the little collection of thatched
+      cottages, nameless till then, was called Edinburgh, in honour of the
+      illustrious voyager. They breed cattle, a few sheep, and pigs, although
+      the sheep thrive but indifferently for some reason or another. Poultry
+      they have in large numbers, so that, could they commend a market, they
+      would do very well.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The steep cliffs, rising from the sea for nearly a thousand feet, often
+      keep their vicinity in absolute calm, although a heavy gale may be raging
+      on the other side of the island, and it would be highly dangerous for any
+      navigator not accustomed to such a neighbourhood to get too near them. The
+      immense rollers setting inshore, and the absence of wind combined, would
+      soon carry a vessel up against the beetling crags, and letting go an
+      anchor would not be of the slightest use, since the bottom, being of
+      massive boulders, affords no holding ground at all. All round the island
+      the kelp grows thickly, so thickly indeed as to make a boat's progress
+      through it difficult. This, however, is very useful in one way here, as we
+      found. Wanting more supplies, which were to be had cheap, we lowered a
+      couple of boats, and went ashore after them. On approaching the black,
+      pebbly beach which formed the only landing-place, it appeared as if
+      getting ashore would be a task of no ordinary danger and difficulty. The
+      swell seemed to culminate as we neared the beach, lifting the boats at one
+      moment high in air, and at the next lowering them into a green valley,
+      from whence nothing could be seen but the surrounding watery summits.
+      Suddenly we entered the belt of kelp, which extended for perhaps a quarter
+      of a mile seaward, and, lo! a transformation indeed. Those loose, waving
+      fronds of flexible weed, though swayed hither and thither by every ripple,
+      were able to arrest the devastating rush of the gigantic swell, so that
+      the task of landing, which had looked so terrible, was one of the easiest.
+      Once in among the kelp, although we could hardly use the oars, the water
+      was quite smooth and tranquil. The islanders collected on the beach, and
+      guided us to the best spot for landing, the huge boulders, heaped in many
+      places, being ugly impediments to a boat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were as warmly welcomed as if we had been old friends, and hospitable
+      attentions were showered upon us from every side. The people were
+      noticeably well-behaved, and, although there was something Crusoe-like in
+      their way of living, their manners and conversation were distinctly good.
+      A rude plenty was evident, there being no lack of good food&mdash;fish,
+      fowl, and vegetables. The grassy plateau on which the village stands is a
+      sort of shelf jutting out from the mountain-side, the mountain being
+      really the whole island. Steep roads were hewn out of the solid rock,
+      leading, as we were told, to the cultivated terraces above. These reached
+      an elevation of about a thousand feet. Above all towered the great,
+      dominating peak, the summit lost in the clouds eight or nine thousand feet
+      above. The rock-hewn roads and cultivated land certainly gave the
+      settlement an old-established appearance, which was not surprising seeing
+      that it has been inhabited for more than a hundred years. I shall always
+      bear a grateful recollection of the place, because my host gave me what I
+      had long been a stranger to&mdash;a good, old-fashioned English dinner of
+      roast beef and baked potatoes. He apologized for having no plum-pudding to
+      crown the feast. "But, you see," he said, "we kaint grow no corn hyar, and
+      we'm clean run out ov flour; hev ter make out on taters 's best we kin." I
+      sincerely sympathized with him on the lack of bread-stuff among them, and
+      wondered no longer at the avidity with which they had munched our flinty
+      biscuits on first coming aboard. His wife, a buxom, motherly woman of
+      about fifty, of dark, olive complexion, but good features, was kindness
+      itself; and their three youngest children, who were at home, could not, in
+      spite of repeated warnings and threats, keep their eyes off me, as if I
+      had been some strange animal dropped from the moon. I felt very unwilling
+      to leave them so soon, but time was pressing, the stores we had come for
+      were all ready to ship, and I had to tear myself away from these kindly
+      entertainers. I declare, it seemed like parting with old friends; yet our
+      acquaintance might have been measured by minutes, so brief it had been.
+      The mate had purchased a fine bullock, which had been slaughtered and cut
+      up for us with great celerity, four or five dozen fowls (alive), four or
+      five sacks of potatoes, eggs, etc., so that we were heavily laden for the
+      return journey to the ship. My friend had kindly given me a large piece of
+      splendid cheese, for which I was unable to make him any return, being
+      simply clad in a shirt and pair of trousers, neither of which necessary
+      garments could be spared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With hearty cheers from the whole population, we shoved off and ploughed
+      through the kelp seaweed again. When we got clear of it, we found the
+      swell heavier than when we had come, and a rough journey back to the ship
+      was the result. But, to such boatmen as we were, that was a trifle hardly
+      worth mentioning, and after an hour's hard pull we got alongside again,
+      and transhipped our precious cargo. The weather being threatening, we at
+      once hauled off the land and out to sea, as night was falling and we did
+      not wish to be in so dangerous a vicinity any longer than could be helped
+      in stormy weather. Altogether, a most enjoyable day, and one that I have
+      ever since had a pleasant recollection of.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By daybreak next morning the islands were out of sight, for the wind had
+      risen to a gale, which, although we carried little sail, drove us along
+      before it some seven or eight knots an hour.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two days afterwards we caught another whale of medium size, making us
+      fifty-four barrels of oil. As nothing out of the ordinary course marked
+      the capture, it is unnecessary to do more than allude to it in passing,
+      except to note that the honours were all with Goliath. He happened to be
+      close to the whale when it rose, and immediately got fast. So dexterous
+      and swift were his actions that before any of the other boats could "chip
+      in" he had his fish "fin out," the whole affair from start to finish only
+      occupying a couple of hours. We were now in the chosen haunts of the great
+      albatross, Cape pigeons, and Cape hens, but never in my life had I
+      imagined such a concourse of them as now gathered around us. When we
+      lowered there might have been perhaps a couple of dozen birds in sight,
+      but no sooner was the whale dead than from out of the great void around
+      they began to drift towards us. Before we had got him fast alongside, the
+      numbers of that feathered host were incalculable. They surrounded us until
+      the sea surface was like a plain of snow, and their discordant cries were
+      deafening. With the exception of one peculiar-looking bird, which has
+      received from whalemen the inelegant name of "stinker," none of them
+      attempted to alight upon the body of the dead monster. This bird, however,
+      somewhat like a small albatross, but of dirty-grey colour, and with a
+      peculiar excrescence on his beak, boldly took his precarious place upon
+      the carcase, and at once began to dig into the blubber. He did not seem to
+      make much impression, but he certainly tried hard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was dark before we got our prize secured by the fluke-chain, so that we
+      could not commence operations before morning. That night it blew hard, and
+      we got an idea of the strain these vessels are sometimes subjected to.
+      Sometimes the ship rolled one way and the whale another, being divided by
+      a big sea, the wrench at the fluke-chain, as the two masses fell apart
+      down different hollows, making the vessel quiver from truck to keelson as
+      if she was being torn asunder. Then we would come together again with a
+      crash and a shock that almost threw everybody out of their bunks. Many an
+      earnest prayer did I breathe that the chain would prove staunch, for what
+      sort of a job it would be to go after that whale during the night, should
+      he break loose, I could only faintly imagine. But all our gear was of the
+      very best; no thieving ship-chandler had any hand in supplying our outfit
+      with shoddy rope and faulty chain, only made to sell, and ready at the
+      first call made upon it to carry away and destroy half a dozen valuable
+      lives. There was one coil of rope on board which the skipper had bought
+      for cordage on the previous voyage from a homeward-bound English ship, and
+      it was the butt of all the officers' scurrilous remarks about Britishers
+      and their gear. It was never used but for rope-yarns, being cut up in
+      lengths, and untwisted for the ignominious purpose of tying things up&mdash;"hardly
+      good enough for that," was the verdict upon it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tired as we all were, very little sleep came to us that night&mdash;we
+      were barely seasoned yet to the exigencies of a whaler's life&mdash;but
+      afterwards I believe nothing short of dismasting or running the ship
+      ashore would wake us, once we got to sleep. In the morning we commenced
+      operations in a howling gale of wind, which placed the lives of the
+      officers on the "cutting in" stage in great danger. The wonderful
+      seaworthy qualities of our old ship shone brilliantly now. When an
+      ordinary modern-built sailing-ship would have been making such weather of
+      it as not only to drown anybody about the deck, but making it impossible
+      to keep your footing anywhere without holding on, we were enabled to cut
+      in this whale. True, the work was terribly exhausting and decidedly
+      dangerous, but it was not impossible, for it was done. By great care and
+      constant attention, the whole work of cutting in and trying out was got
+      through without a single accident; but had another whale turned up to
+      continue the trying time, I am fully persuaded that some of us would have
+      gone under from sheer fatigue. For there was no mercy shown. All that I
+      have ever read of "putting the slaves through for all they were worth" on
+      the plantations was fully realized here, and our worthy skipper must have
+      been a lineal descendent of the doughty Simon Legree.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men were afraid to go on to the sick-list. Nothing short of total
+      inability to continue would have prevented them from working, such was the
+      terror with which that man had inspired us all. It may be said that we
+      were a pack of cowards, who, without the courage to demand better
+      treatment, deserved all we got. While admitting that such a conclusion is
+      quite a natural one at which to arrive, I must deny its truth. There were
+      men in that forecastle as good citizens and as brave fellows as you would
+      wish to meet&mdash;men who in their own sphere would have commanded and
+      obtained respect. But under the painful and abnormal circumstances in
+      which they found themselves&mdash;beaten and driven like dogs while in the
+      throes of sea-sickness, half starved and hopeless, their spirit had been
+      so broken, and they were so kept down to that sad level by the display of
+      force, aided by deadly weapons aft, that no other condition could be
+      expected for them but that of broken-hearted slaves. My own case was many
+      degrees better than that of the other whites, as I have before noted; but
+      I was perfectly well aware that the slightest attempt on my part to show
+      that I resented our common treatment would meet with the most brutal
+      repression, and, in addition, I might look for a dreadful time of it for
+      the rest of the voyage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The memory of that week of misery is so strong upon me even now that my
+      hand trembles almost to preventing me from writing about it. Weak and
+      feeble do the words seem as I look at them, making me wish for the fire
+      and force of Carlyle or Macaulay to portray our unnecessary sufferings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Like all other earthly ills, however, they came to an end, at least for a
+      time, and I was delighted to note that we were getting to the northward
+      again. In making the outward passage round the Cape, it is necessary to go
+      well south, in order to avoid the great westerly set of the Agulhas
+      current, which for ever sweeps steadily round the southern extremity of
+      the African continent at an average rate of three or four miles an hour.
+      To homeward-bound ships this is a great boon. No matter what the weather
+      may be&mdash;a stark calm or a gale of wind right on end in your teeth&mdash;that
+      vast, silent river in the sea steadily bears you on at the same rate in
+      the direction of home. It is perfectly true that with a gale blowing
+      across the set of this great current, one of the very ugliest combinations
+      of broken waves is raised; but who cares for that, when he knows that, as
+      long as the ship holds together, some seventy or eighty miles per day
+      nearer home must be placed to her credit? In like manner, it is of the
+      deepest comfort to know that, storm or calm, fair or foul, the current of
+      time, unhasting, unresting, bears us on to the goal that we shall surely
+      reach&mdash;the haven of unbroken rest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Not the least of the minor troubles on board the CACHALOT was the
+      uncertainty of our destination; we never knew where we were going. It may
+      seem a small point, but it is really not so unimportant as a landsman
+      might imagine. On an ordinary passage, certain well-known signs are as
+      easily read by the seaman as if the ship's position were given out to him
+      every day. Every alteration of the course signifies some point of the
+      journey reached, some well-known track entered upon, and every landfall
+      made becomes a new departure from whence to base one's calculations,
+      which, rough as they are, rarely err more than a few days.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Say, for instance, you are bound for Calcutta. The first of the north-east
+      trades will give a fair idea of your latitude being about the edge of the
+      tropics somewhere, or say from 20deg. to 25deg. N., whether you have
+      sighted any of the islands or not. Then away you go before the wind down
+      towards the Equator, the approach to which is notified by the loss of the
+      trade and the dirty, changeable weather of the "doldrums." That weary bit
+      of work over, along come the south-east trades, making you brace "sharp
+      up," and sometimes driving you uncomfortably near the Brazilian coast.
+      Presently more "doldrums," with a good deal more wind in them than in the
+      "wariables" of the line latitude. The brave "westerly" will come along
+      by-and-by and release you, and, with a staggering press of sail carried to
+      the reliable gale, away you go for the long stretch of a hundred degrees
+      or so eastward. You will very likely sight Tristan d'Acunha or Gough
+      Island; but, if not, the course will keep you fairly well informed of your
+      longitude, since most ships make more or less of a great circle track.
+      Instead of steering due East for the whole distance, they make for some
+      southerly latitude by running along the arc of a great circle, THEN run
+      due east for a thousand miles or so before gradually working north again.
+      These alterations in the courses tell the foremast hand nearly all he
+      wants to know, slight as they are. You will most probably sight Amsterdam
+      Island or St. Paul's in about 77deg. E.; but whether you do or not, the
+      big change made in the course, to say nothing of the difference in the
+      weather and temperature, say loudly that your long easterly run is over,
+      and you are bound to the northward again. Soon the south-east trades will
+      take you gently in hand, and waft you pleasurably upward to the line
+      again, unless you should be so unfortunate as to meet one of the
+      devastating meteors known as "cyclones" in its gyration across the Indian
+      Ocean. After losing the trade, which signals your approach to the line
+      once more, your guides fluctuate muchly with the time of year. But it may
+      be broadly put that the change of the monsoon in the Bay of Bengal is
+      beastliness unadulterated, and the south-west monsoon itself, though a
+      fair wind for getting to your destination, is worse, if possible. Still,
+      having got that far, you are able to judge pretty nearly when, in the
+      ordinary course of events, you will arrive at Saugor, and get a tug for
+      the rest of the journey.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But on this strange voyage I was quite as much in the dark concerning our
+      approximate position as any of the chaps who had never seen salt water
+      before they viewed it from the bad eminence of the CACHALOT's deck. Of
+      course, it was evident that we were bound eastward, but whether to the
+      Indian seas or to the South Pacific, none knew but the skipper, and
+      perhaps the mate. I say "perhaps" advisedly. In any well-regulated
+      merchant ship there is an invariable routine of observations performed by
+      both captain and chief officer, except in very big vessels, where the
+      second mate is appointed navigating officer. The two men work out their
+      reckoning independently of each other, and compare the result, so that an
+      excellent check upon the accuracy of the positions found is thereby
+      afforded. Here, however, there might not have been, as far as appearances
+      went, a navigator in the ship except the captain, if it be not a misuse of
+      terms to call him a navigator. If the test be ability to take a ship round
+      the world, poking into every undescribed, out-of-the-way corner you can
+      think of, and return home again without damage to the ship of any kind
+      except by the unavoidable perils of the sea, then doubtless he WAS a
+      navigator, and a ripe, good one. But anything cruder than the
+      "rule-of-thumb" way in which he found his positions, or more out of date
+      than his "hog-yoke," or quadrant, I have never seen. I suppose we carried
+      a chronometer, though I never saw it or heard the cry of "stop," which
+      usually accompanies a.m. or p.m. "sights" taken for longitude. He used
+      sometimes to make a deliberate sort of haste below after taking a sight,
+      when he may have been looking at a chronometer perhaps. What I do know
+      about his procedure is, that he always used a very rough method of equal
+      altitudes, which would make a mathematician stare and gasp; that his
+      nautical almanac was a ten-cent one published by some speculative optician
+      is New York; that he never worked up a "dead reckoning;" and that the
+      extreme limit of time that he took to work out his observations was ten
+      minutes. In fact, all our operations in seamanship or navigation were run
+      on the same happy-go-lucky principle. If it was required to "tack" ship,
+      there was no formal parade and preparation for the manoeuvre, not even as
+      much as would be made in a Goole billy-boy. Without any previous
+      intimation, the helm would be put down, and round she would come, the
+      yards being trimmed by whoever happened to be nearest to the braces. The
+      old tub seemed to like it that way, for she never missed stays or
+      exhibited any of that unwillingness to do what she was required that is
+      such a frequent characteristic of merchantmen. Even getting under way or
+      coming to an anchor was unattended by any of the fuss and bother from
+      which those important evolutions ordinarily appear inseparable.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To my great relief we saw no more whales of the kind we were after during
+      our passage round the Cape. The weather we were having was splendid for
+      making a passage, but to be dodging about among those immense rollers, or
+      towed athwart them by a wounded whale in so small a craft as one of our
+      whale-boats, did not have any attractions for me. There was little doubt
+      in any of our minds that, if whales were seen, off we must go while
+      daylight lasted, let the weather be what it might. So when one morning I
+      went to the wheel, to find the course N.N.E. instead of E. by N., it may
+      be taken for granted that the change was a considerable relief to me. It
+      was now manifest that we were bound up into the Indian Ocean, although of
+      course I knew nothing of the position of the districts where whales were
+      to be looked for. Gradually we crept northward, the weather improving
+      every day as we left the "roaring forties" astern. While thus making
+      northing we had several fine catches of porpoises, and saw many rorquals,
+      but sperm whales appeared to have left the locality. However, the "old
+      man" evidently knew what he was about, as we were not now cruising, but
+      making a direct passage for some definite place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last we sighted land, which, from the course which we had been
+      steering, might have been somewhere on the east coast of Africa, but for
+      the fact that it was right ahead, while we were pointing at the time about
+      N.N.W. By-and-by I came to the conclusion that it must be the southern
+      extremity of Madagascar, Cape St. Mary, and, by dint of the closest,
+      attention to every word I heard uttered while at the wheel by the
+      officers, found that my surmise was correct. We skirted this point pretty
+      closely, heading to the westward, and, when well clear of it, bore up to
+      the northward, again for the Mozambique Channel. Another surprise. The
+      very idea of WHALING in the Mozambique Channel seemed too ridiculous to
+      mention; yet here we were, guided by a commander who, whatever his faults,
+      was certainly most keen in his attention to business, and the unlikeliest
+      man imaginable to take the ship anywhere unless he anticipated a
+      profitable return for his visit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER X. A VISIT TO SOME STRANGE PLACES
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      We had now entered upon what promised to be the most interesting part of
+      our voyage. As a commercial speculation, I have to admit that the voyage
+      was to me a matter of absolute indifference. Never, from the first week of
+      my being on board, had I cherished any illusions upon that score, for it
+      was most forcibly impressed on my mind that, whatever might be the measure
+      of success attending our operations, no one of the crew forward could hope
+      to benefit by it. The share of profits was so small, and the time taken to
+      earn it so long, such a number of clothes were worn out and destroyed by
+      us, only to be replaced from the ship's slop-chest at high prices, that I
+      had quite resigned myself to the prospect of leaving the vessel in debt,
+      whenever that desirable event might happen. Since, therefore, I had never
+      made it a practice to repine at the inevitable, and make myself unhappy by
+      the contemplation of misfortunes I was powerless to prevent, I tried to
+      interest myself as far as was possible in gathering information, although
+      at that time I had no idea, beyond a general thirst for knowledge, that
+      what I was now learning would ever be of any service to me. Yet I had been
+      dull indeed not to have seen how unique were the opportunities I was now
+      enjoying for observation of some of the least known and understood aspects
+      of the ocean world and its wonderful inhabitants, to say nothing of visits
+      to places unvisited, except by such free lances as we were, and about
+      which so little is really known.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The weather of the Mozambique Channel was fairly good, although subject to
+      electric storms of the most terrible aspect, but perfectly harmless. On
+      the second evening after rounding Cape St. Mary, we were proceeding, as
+      usual, under very scanty sail, rather enjoying the mild, balmy air,
+      scent-laden, from Madagascar. The moon was shining in tropical splendour,
+      paling the lustre of the attendant stars, and making the glorious Milky
+      Way but a faint shadow of its usual resplendent road. Gradually from the
+      westward there arose a murky mass of cloud, fringed at its upper edges
+      with curious tinted tufts of violet, orange, and crimson. These colours
+      were not brilliant, but plainly visible against the deep blue sky. Slowly
+      and solemnly the intruding gloom overspread the sweet splendour of the
+      shining sky, creeping like a death-shadow over a dear face, and making the
+      most talkative feel strangely quiet and ill at ease. As the pall of thick
+      darkness blotted out the cool light, it seemed to descend until at last we
+      were completely over-canopied by a dome of velvety black, seemingly low
+      enough to touch the mast-heads. A belated sea-bird's shrill scream but
+      emphasized the deep silence which lent itself befittingly to the solemnity
+      of nature. Presently thin suggestions of light, variously tinted, began to
+      thread the inky mass. These grew brighter and more vivid, until at last,
+      in fantastic contortions, they appeared to rend the swart concave asunder,
+      revealing through the jagged clefts a lurid waste of the most intensely
+      glowing fire. The coming and going of these amazing brightnesses, combined
+      with the Egyptian dark between, was completely blinding. So loaded was the
+      still air with electricity that from every point aloft pale flames
+      streamed upward, giving the ship the appearance of a huge candelabrum with
+      innumerable branches. One of the hands, who had been ordered aloft on some
+      errand of securing a loose end, presented a curious sight. He was
+      bareheaded, and from his hair the all pervading fluid arose, lighting up
+      his features, which were ghastly beyond description. When he lifted his
+      hand, each separate finger became at once an additional point from which
+      light streamed. There was no thunder, but a low hissing and a crackling
+      which did not amount to noise, although distinctly audible to all.
+      Sensations most unpleasant of pricking and general irritation were felt by
+      every one, according to their degree of susceptibility.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After about an hour of this state of things, a low moaning of thunder was
+      heard, immediately followed by a few drops of rain large as dollars. The
+      mutterings and grumblings increased until, with one peal that made the
+      ship tremble as though she had just struck a rock at full speed, down came
+      the rain. The windows of heaven were opened, and no man might stand
+      against the steaming flood that descended by thousands of tons per minute.
+      How long it continued, I cannot say; probably, in its utmost fierceness,
+      not more than half an hour. Then it slowly abated, clearing away as it did
+      so the accumulation of gloom overhead, until, before midnight had struck,
+      all the heavenly host were shedding their beautiful brilliancy upon us
+      again with apparently increased glory, while the freshness and
+      invigorating feel of the air was inexpressibly delightful.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We did not court danger by hugging too closely any of the ugly reefs and
+      banks that abound in this notably difficult strait, but gave them all a
+      respectfully wide berth. It was a feature of our navigation that, unless
+      we had occasion to go near any island or reef for fishing or landing
+      purposes, we always kept a safe margin of distance away, which probably
+      accounts for our continued immunity from accident while in tortuous
+      waters. Our anchors and cables were, however, always kept ready for use
+      now, in case of an unsuspected current or sudden storm; but beyond that
+      precaution, I could see little or no difference in the manner of our
+      primitive navigation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We met with no "luck" for some time, and the faces of the harpooners grew
+      daily longer, the great heat of those sultry waters trying all tempers
+      sorely. But Captain Slocum knew his business, and his scowling, impassive
+      face showed no signs of disappointment, or indeed any other emotion, as
+      day by day we crept farther north. At last we sighted the stupendous peak
+      of Comoro mountain, which towers to nearly nine thousand feet from the
+      little island which gives its name to the Comoro group of four. On that
+      same day a school of medium-sized sperm whales were sighted, which
+      appeared to be almost of a different race to those with which we had
+      hitherto had dealings. They were exceedingly fat and lazy, moving with the
+      greatest deliberation, and, when we rushed in among them, appeared utterly
+      bewildered and panic-stricken, knowing not which way to flee. Like a flock
+      of frightened sheep they huddled together, aimlessly wallowing in each
+      other's way, while we harpooned them with the greatest ease and impunity.
+      Even the "old man" himself lowered the fifth boat, leaving the ship to the
+      carpenter, cooper, cook, and steward, and coming on the scene as if
+      determined to make a field-day of the occasion. He was no "slouch" at the
+      business either. Not that there was much occasion or opportunity to
+      exhibit any prowess. The record of the day's proceedings would be as tame
+      as to read of a day's work in a slaughter-house. Suffice it to say, that
+      we actually killed six whales, none of whom were less than fifty barrels,
+      no boat ran out more than one hundred fathoms of line, neither was a
+      bomb-lance used. Not the slightest casualty occurred to any of the boats,
+      and the whole work of destruction was over in less than four hours.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then came the trouble. The fish were, of course somewhat widely separated
+      when they died, and the task of collecting all those immense carcasses was
+      one of no ordinary magnitude. Had it not been for the wonderfully skilful
+      handling of the ship, the task would, I should think, have been
+      impossible, but the way in which she was worked compelled the admiration
+      of anybody who knew what handling a ship meant. Still, with all the
+      ability manifested, it was five hours after the last whale died before we
+      had gathered them all alongside, bringing us to four o'clock in the
+      afternoon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A complete day under that fierce blaze of the tropical sun, without other
+      refreshment than an occasional furtive drink of tepid water, had reduced
+      us to a pitiable condition of weakness, so much so that the skipper judged
+      it prudent, as soon as the fluke-chains were passed, to give us a couple
+      of hours' rest. As soon as the sun had set we were all turned to again,
+      three cressets were prepared, and by their blaze we toiled the whole night
+      through. Truth compels me to state, though, that none of us foremast hands
+      had nearly such heavy work as the officers on the stage. What they had to
+      do demanded special knowledge and skill; but it was also terribly hard
+      work, constant and unremitting, while we at the windlass had many a short
+      spell between the lifting of the pieces. Even the skipper took a hand, for
+      the first time, and right manfully did he do his share.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By the first streak of dawn, three of the whales had been stripped of
+      their blubber, and five heads were bobbing astern at the ends of as many
+      hawsers. The sea all round presented a wonderful sight. There must have
+      been thousands of sharks gathered to the feast, and their incessant
+      incursions through the phosphorescent water wove a dazzling network of
+      brilliant tracks which made the eyes ache to look upon. A short halt was
+      called for breakfast, which was greatly needed, and, thanks to the cook,
+      was a thoroughly good one. He&mdash;blessings on him!&mdash;had been busy
+      fishing, as we drifted slowly, with savoury pieces of whale-beef for bait,
+      and the result was a mess of fish which would have gladdened the heart of
+      an epicure. Our hunger appeased, it was "turn to" again, for there was now
+      no time to be lost. The fierce heat soon acts upon the carcass of a dead
+      whale, generating an immense volume of gas within it, which, in a
+      wonderfully short space of time, turns the flesh putrid and renders the
+      blubber so rotten that it cannot be lifted, nor, if it could, would it be
+      of any value. So it was no wonder that our haste was great, or that the
+      august arbiter of our destinies himself condescended to take his place
+      among the toilers. By nightfall the whole of our catch was on board,
+      excepting such toll as the hungry hordes of sharks had levied upon it in
+      transit. A goodly number of them had paid the penalty of their rapacity
+      with their lives, for often one would wriggle his way right up on to the
+      reeking carcass, and, seizing a huge fragment of blubber, strive with
+      might and main to tear it away. Then the lethal spade would drop upon his
+      soft crown, cleaving it to the jaws, and with one flap of his big tail he
+      would loose his grip, roll over and over, and sink, surrounded by a
+      writhing crowd of his fellows, by whom he was speedily reduced into
+      digestible fragments.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The condition of the CACHALOT's deck was now somewhat akin to chaos. From
+      the cabin door to the tryworks there was hardly an inch of available
+      space, and the oozing oil kept some of us continually baling it up, lest
+      it should leak out through the interstices in the bulwarks. In order to
+      avoid a breakdown, it became necessary to divide the crew into six-hour
+      watches, as although the work was exceedingly urgent on account of the
+      weather, there were evident signs that some of the crew were perilously
+      near giving in. So we got rest none too soon, and the good effects of it
+      were soon apparent. The work went on with much more celerity than one
+      would have thought possible, and soon the lumbered-up decks began to
+      resume their normal appearance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As if to exasperate the "old man" beyond measure on the third day of our
+      operations a great school of sperm whales appeared, disporting all around
+      the ship, apparently conscious of our helplessness to interfere with them.
+      Notwithstanding our extraordinary haul, Captain Slocum went black with
+      impotent rage, and, after glowering at the sportive monsters, beat a
+      retreat below, unable to bear the sight any longer. During his absence we
+      had a rare treat. The whole school surrounded the ship, and performed some
+      of the strangest evolutions imaginable. As if instigated by one common
+      impulse, they all elevated their massive heads above the surface of the
+      sea, and remained for some time in that position, solemnly bobbing up and
+      down amid the glittering wavelets like movable boulders of black rock.
+      Then, all suddenly reversed themselves, and, elevating their broad flukes
+      in the air, commenced to beat them slowly and rhythmically upon the water,
+      like so many machines. Being almost a perfect calm, every movement of the
+      great mammals could be plainly seen; some of them even passed so near to
+      us that we could see how the lower jaw hung down, while the animal was
+      swimming in a normal position.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For over an hour they thus paraded around us, and then, as if startled by
+      some hidden danger, suddenly headed off to the westward, and in a few
+      minutes were out of our sight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We cruised in the vicinity of the Comoro Islands for two months, never
+      quite out of sight of the mountain while the weather was clear. During the
+      whole of that time we were never clear of oil on deck, one catch always
+      succeeding another before there had been time to get cleared up. Eight
+      hundred barrels of oil were added to our cargo, making the undisciplined
+      hearts of all to whom whaling was a novel employment beat high with hopes
+      of a speedy completion of the cargo, and consequent return. Poor innocents
+      that we were! How could we know any better? According to Goliath, with
+      whom I often had a friendly chat, this was quite out of the ordinary run
+      to have such luck in the "Channel."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "'Way back in de dark ages, w'en de whaleships war de pi'neers ob
+      commerce, 'n day wan't no worryin', poofity-plukity steamboats a-poundin'
+      along, 'nough ter galley ebery whale clean eout ob dere skin, dey war
+      plenty whaleships fill up in twelve, fifteen, twenty monf' after leabin'
+      home. 'N er man bed his pick er places, too&mdash;didn' hab ter go moseyin
+      erroun' like some ol' hobo lookin' fer day's work, 'n prayin' de good Lord
+      not ter let um fine it. No, sah; roun yer China Sea, coas' Japan, on de
+      line, off shore, Vasquez, 'mong de islan's, ohmos' anywhar, you couldn'
+      hardly git way from 'em. Neow, I clar ter glory I kaint imagine WAR dey
+      all gone ter, dough we bin eout only six seven monf' 'n got over tousan
+      bar'l below. But I bin two year on er voy'ge and doan hardly SEE a sparm
+      while, much less catch one. But"&mdash;and here he whispered mysteriously&mdash;"dish
+      yer ole man's de bery debbil's own chile, 'n his farder lookin' after him
+      well&mdash;dat's my 'pinion. Only yew keep yer head tight shut, an' nebber
+      say er word, but keep er lookin', 'n sure's death you'll see." This
+      conversation made a deep and lasting impression upon me, for I had not
+      before heard even so much as a murmur from an officer against the tyranny
+      of the skipper. Some of the harpooners were fluent enough, too.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yet I had often thought that his treatment of them, considering the
+      strenuous nature of their toil, and the willingness with which they worked
+      as long as they had an ounce of energy left, was worth at least a little
+      kindness and courtesy on his part.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What the period may have been during which whales were plentiful here, I
+      do not know, but it was now May, and for the last few days we had not seen
+      a solitary spout of any kind. Preparations, very slight it is true, were
+      made for departure; but before we left those parts we made an interesting
+      call for water at Mohilla, one of the Comoro group, which brought out, in
+      unmistakable fashion, the wonderful fund of local knowledge possessed by
+      these men. At the larger ports of Johanna and Mayotte there is a regular
+      tariff of port charges, which are somewhat heavy, and no whaleman would be
+      so reckless as to incur these unless driven thereto by the necessity of
+      obtaining provisions; otherwise, the islands offer great inducements to
+      whaling captains to call, since none but men hopelessly mad would venture
+      to desert in such places. That qualification is the chief one for any port
+      to possess in the eyes of a whaling captain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our skipper, however, saw no necessity for entering any port. Running up
+      under the lee of Mohilla, we followed the land along until we came to a
+      tiny bight on the western side of the island, an insignificant inlet which
+      no mariner in charge of a vessel like ours could be expected even to
+      notice, unless he were surveying. The approaches to this tiny harbour
+      (save the mark) were very forbidding. Ugly-looking rocks showed up here
+      and there, the surf over them frequently blinding the whole entry. But we
+      came along, in our usual leisurely fashion, under two topsails, spanker,
+      and fore-topmast staysail, and took that ugly passage like a sailing barge
+      entering the Medway. There was barely room to turn round when we got
+      inside, but all sail had been taken off her except the spanker, so that
+      her way was almost stopped by the time she was fairly within the harbour.
+      Down went the anchor, and she was fast&mdash;anchored for the first time
+      since leaving New Bedford seven months before. Here we were shut out
+      entirely from the outer world, for I doubt greatly whether even a passing
+      dhow could have seen us from seaward. We were not here for rest, however,
+      but wood and water; so while one party was supplied with well-sharpened
+      axes, and sent on shore to cut down such small trees as would serve our
+      turn, another party was busily employed getting out a number of big casks
+      for the serious business of watering. The cooper knocked off the second or
+      quarter hoops from each of these casks, and drove them on again with two
+      "beckets" or loops of rope firmly jammed under each of them in such a
+      manner that the loops were in line with each other on each side of the
+      bunghole. They were then lowered overboard, and a long rope rove through
+      all the beckets. When this was done, the whole number of casks floated end
+      to end, upright and secure. We towed them ashore to where, by the
+      skipper's directions, at about fifty yards from high-water mark, a spring
+      of beautiful water bubbled out of the side of a mass of rock, losing
+      itself in a deep crevice below. Lovely ferns, rare orchids, and trailing
+      plants of many kinds surrounded this fairy-like spot in the wildest
+      profusion, making a tangle of greenery that we had considerable trouble to
+      clear away. Having done so, we led a long canvas hose from the spot whence
+      the water flowed down to the shore where the casks floated. The chief
+      officer, with great ingenuity, rigged up an arrangement whereby the hose,
+      which had a square month about a foot wide, was held up to the rock,
+      saving us the labour of bailing and filling by hand. So we were able to
+      rest and admire at our ease the wonderful variety of beautiful plants
+      which grew here so lavishly, unseen by mortal eye from one year's end to
+      another. I have somewhere read that the Creator has delight in the
+      beautiful work of His will, wherever it may be; and that while our egotism
+      wonders at the waste of beauty, as we call it, there is no waste at all,
+      since the Infinite Intelligence can dwell with complacency upon the
+      glories of His handiwork, perfectly fulfilling their appointed ends.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All too soon the pleasant occupation came to an end. The long row of
+      casks, filled to the brim and tightly bunged, were towed off by us to the
+      ship, and ranged alongside. A tackle and pair of "can-hooks" was
+      overhauled to the water and hooked to a cask. "Hoist away!" And as the
+      cask rose, the beckets that had held it to the mother-rope were cut,
+      setting it quite free to come on board, but leaving all the others still
+      secure. In this way we took in several thousand gallons of water in a few
+      hours, with a small expenditure of labour, free of cost; whereas, had we
+      gone into Mayotte or Johanna, the water would have been bad, the price
+      high, the labour great, with the chances of a bad visitation of fever in
+      the bargain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The woodmen had a much more arduous task. The only wood they could find,
+      without cutting down big trees, which would have involved far too much
+      labour in cutting up, was a kind of iron-wood, which, besides being very
+      heavy, was so hard as to take pieces clean out of their axe-edges, when a
+      blow was struck directly across the grain. As none of them were experts,
+      the condition of their tools soon made their work very hard. But that they
+      had taken several axes in reserve, it is doubtful whether they would have
+      been able to get sufficient fuel for our purpose. When they pitched the
+      wood off the rocks into the harbour, it sank immediately, giving them a
+      great deal of trouble to fish it up again. Neither could they raft it as
+      intended, but were compelled to load it into the boats and make several
+      journeys to and fro before all they had cut was shipped. Altogether, I was
+      glad that the wooding had not fallen to my share. On board the ship
+      fishing had been going on steadily most of the day by a few hands told off
+      for the purpose. The result of their sport was splendid, over two
+      hundred-weight of fine fish of various sorts, but all eatable, having been
+      gathered in.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We lay snugly anchored all night, keeping a bright look-out for any
+      unwelcome visitors either from land or sea, for the natives are not to be
+      trusted, neither do the Arab mongrels who cruise about those waters in
+      their dhows bear any too good a reputation. We saw none, however, and at
+      daylight we weighed and towed the ship out to sea with the boats, there
+      being no wind. While busy at this uninteresting pastime, one of the boats
+      slipped away, returning presently with a fine turtle, which they had
+      surprised during his morning's nap. One of the amphibious Portuguese
+      slipped over the boat's side as she neared the sleeping SPHARGA, and,
+      diving deep, came up underneath him, seizing with crossed hands the two
+      hind flippers, and, with a sudden, dexterous twist, turned the astonished
+      creature over on his back. Thus rendered helpless, the turtle lay on the
+      surface feebly waving his flippers, while his captor, gently treading
+      water, held him in that position till the boat reached the pair and took
+      them on board. It was a clever feat, neatly executed, as unlike the clumsy
+      efforts I had before seen made with the same object as anything could
+      possibly be.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After an hour's tow, we had got a good offing, and a light air springing
+      up, we returned on board, hoisted the boats, and made sail to the
+      northward again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With the exception of the numerous native dhows that crept lazily about,
+      we saw no vessels as we gradually drew out of the Mozambique Channel and
+      stood away towards the Line. The part of the Indian Ocean in which we now
+      found ourselves is much dreaded by merchantmen, who give it a wide berth
+      on account of the numerous banks, islets, and dangerous currents with
+      which it abounds. We, however, seemed quite at home here, pursuing the
+      even tenor of our usual way without any special precautions being taken. A
+      bright look-out, we always kept, of course&mdash;none of your drowsy
+      lolling about such as is all too common on the "fo'lk'sle head" of many a
+      fine ship, when, with lights half trimmed or not shown at all, she is
+      ploughing along blindly at twelve knots or so an hour. No; while we were
+      under way during daylight, four pairs of keen eyes kept incessant vigil a
+      hundred feet above the deck, noting everything, even to a shoal of small
+      fish, that crossed within the range of vision. At night we scarcely moved,
+      but still a vigilant lookout was always kept both fore and aft, so that it
+      would have been difficult for us to drift upon a reef unknowingly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Creeping steadily northward, we passed the Cosmoledo group of atolls
+      without paying them a visit, which was strange, as, from their appearance,
+      no better fishing-ground would be likely to come in our way. They are
+      little known, except to the wandering fishermen from Reunion and
+      Rodriguez, who roam about these islets and reefs, seeking anything that
+      may be turned into coin, from wrecks to turtle, and in nowise particular
+      as to rights of ownership. When between the Cosmoledos and Astove, the
+      next island to the northward, we sighted a "solitary" cachalot one morning
+      just as the day dawned. It was the first for some time&mdash;nearly three
+      weeks&mdash;and being all well seasoned to the work now, we obeyed the
+      call to arms with great alacrity. Our friend was making a passage, turning
+      neither to the right hand nor the left as he went. His risings and number
+      of spouts while up, as well as the time he remained below, were as regular
+      as the progress of a clock, and could be counted upon with quite as much
+      certainty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Bearing in mind, I suppose, the general character of the whales we had
+      recently met with, only two boats were lowered to attack the new-comer,
+      who, all unconscious of our coming, pursued his leisurely course
+      unheeding.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We got a good weather gage of him, and came flying on as usual getting two
+      irons planted in fine style. But a surprise awaited us. As we sheered up
+      into the wind away from him, Louis shouted, "Fightin' whale, sir; look out
+      for de rush!" Look out, indeed? Small use in looking out when, hampered as
+      we always were at first with the unshipping of the mast, we could do next
+      to nothing to avoid him. Without any of the desperate flounderings
+      generally indulged in on first feeling the iron, he turned upon us, and
+      had it not been that he caught sight of the second mate's boat, which had
+      just arrived, and turned his attentions to her, there would have been
+      scant chance of any escape for us. Leaping half out of water, he made
+      direct for our comrades with a vigour and ferocity marvellous to see,
+      making it a no easy matter for them to avoid his tremendous rush. Our
+      actions, at no time slow, were considerably hastened by this display of
+      valour, so that before he could turn his attentions in our direction we
+      were ready for him. Then ensued a really big fight, the first, in fact, of
+      my experience, for none of the other whales had shown any serious
+      determination to do us an injury, but had devoted all their energies to
+      attempts at escape. So quick were the evolutions, and so savage the
+      appearance of this fellow, that even our veteran mate looked anxious as to
+      the possible result. Without attempting to "sound," the furious monster
+      kept mostly below the surface; but whenever he rose, it was either to
+      deliver a fearful blow with his tail, or, with jaws widespread, to try and
+      bite one of our boats in half. Well was it for us that he was severely
+      handicapped by a malformation of the lower jaw. At a short distance from
+      the throat it turned off nearly at right angles to his body, the part that
+      thus protruded sideways being deeply fringed with barnacles, and plated
+      with big limpets.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Had it not been for this impediment, I verily believe he would have beaten
+      us altogether. As it was, he worked us nearly to death with his ugly
+      rushes. Once he delivered a sidelong blow with his tail, which, as we spun
+      round, shore off the two oars on that side as if they had been carrots. At
+      last the second mate got fast to him, and then the character of the game
+      changed again. Apparently unwearied by his previous exertions, he now
+      started off to windward at top speed, with the two boats sheering broadly
+      out upon either side of his foaming wake. Doubtless because he himself was
+      much fatigued, the mate allowed him to run at his will, without for the
+      time attempting to haul any closer to him, and very grateful the short
+      rest was to us. But he had not gone a couple of miles before he turned a
+      complete somersault in the water, coming up BEHIND us to rush off again in
+      the opposite direction at undiminished speed. This move was a startler.
+      For the moment it seemed as if both boats would be smashed like egg-shells
+      against each other, or else that some of us would be impaled upon the long
+      lances with which each boat's bow bristled. By what looked like a
+      handbreadth, we cleared each other, and the race continued. Up till now we
+      had not succeeded in getting home a single lance, the foe was becoming
+      warier, while the strain was certainly telling upon our nerves. So Mr.
+      Count got out his bomb-gun, shouting at the same time to Mr. Cruce to do
+      the same. They both hated these weapons, nor ever used them if they could
+      help it; but what was to be done?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our chief had hardly got his gun ready, before we came to almost a dead
+      stop. All was silent for just a moment; then, with a roar like a cataract,
+      up sprang the huge creature, head out, jaw wide open, coming direct for
+      us. As coolly as if on the quarter-deck, the mate raised his gun, firing
+      the bomb directly down the great livid cavern of a throat fronting him.
+      Down went that mountainous head not six inches from us, but with a
+      perfectly indescribable motion, a tremendous writhe, in fact; up flew the
+      broad tail in air, and a blow which might have sufficed to stave in the
+      side of the ship struck the second mate's boat fairly amidships. It was
+      right before my eyes, not sixty feet away, and the sight will haunt me to
+      my death. The tub oarsman was the poor German baker, about whom I have
+      hitherto said nothing, except to note that he was one of the crew. That
+      awful blow put an end summarily to all his earthly anxieties. As it shore
+      obliquely through the centre of the boat, it drove his poor body right
+      through her timbers&mdash;an undistinguishable bundle of what was an
+      instant before a human being. The other members of the crew escaped the
+      blow, and the harpooner managed to cut the line, so that for the present
+      they were safe enough, clinging to the remains of their boat, unless the
+      whale should choose to rush across them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Happily, his rushing was almost over. The bomb fired by Mr. Count, with
+      such fatal result to poor Bamberger, must have exploded right in the
+      whale's throat. Whether his previous titanic efforts had completely
+      exhausted him, or whether the bomb had broken his massive backbone, I do
+      not know, of course, but he went into no flurry, dying as peacefully as
+      his course had been furious. For the first time in my life, I had been
+      face to face with a violent death, and I was quite stunned with the
+      awfulness of the experience. Mechanically, as it seemed to me, we obeyed
+      such orders as were given, but every man's thoughts were with the shipmate
+      so suddenly dashed from amongst us. We never saw sign of him again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While the ship was running down to us, another boat had gone to rescue the
+      clinging crew of the shattered boat, for the whole drama had been
+      witnessed from the ship, although they were not aware of the death of the
+      poor German. When the sad news was told on board, there was a deep
+      silence, all work being carried on so quietly that we seemed like a crew
+      of dumb men. With a sentiment for which I should not have given our grim
+      skipper credit, the stars and stripes were hoisted half-mast, telling the
+      silent sky and moaning sea, sole witnesses besides ourselves, of the
+      sudden departure from among us of our poor shipmate. We got the whale cut
+      in as usual without any incident worth mentioning, except that the
+      peculiar shape of the jaw made it an object of great curiosity to all of
+      us who were new to the whale-fishing. Such malformations are not very
+      rare. They are generally thought to occur when the animal is young, and
+      its bones soft; but whether done in fighting with one another, or in some
+      more mysterious way, nobody knows. Cases have been known, I believe, where
+      the deformed whale does not appear to have suffered from lack of food in
+      consequence of his disability; but in each of the three instances which
+      have come under my own notice, such was certainly not the case. These
+      whales were what is termed by the whalers "dry-skins;" that is, they were
+      in poor condition, the blubber yielding less than half the usual quantity
+      of oil. The absence of oil makes it very hard to cut up, and there is more
+      work in one whale of this kind than in two whose blubber is rich and soft.
+      Another thing which I have also noticed is, that these whales were much
+      more difficult to tackle than others, for each of them gave us something
+      special to remember them by. But I must not get ahead of my yarn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The end of the week brought us up to the Aldabra Islands, one of the
+      puzzles of the world. For here, in these tiny pieces of earth, surrounded
+      by thousands of miles of sea, the nearest land a group of islets like unto
+      them, is found the gigantic tortoise, and in only one other place in the
+      wide world, the Galapagos group of islands in the South Pacific. How, or
+      by what strange freak of Dame Nature these curious reptiles, sole
+      survivals of another age, should come to be found in this lonely spot, is
+      a deep mystery, and one not likely to be unfolded now. At any rate, there
+      they are, looking as if some of them might be coeval with Noah, so
+      venerable and storm-beaten do they appear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We made the island early on a Sunday morning, and, with the usual
+      celerity, worked the vessel into the fine harbour, called, from one of the
+      exploring ships, Euphrates Bay or Harbour. The anchor down, and everything
+      made snug below and aloft, we were actually allowed a run ashore free from
+      restraint. I could hardly believe my ears. We had got so accustomed to our
+      slavery that liberty was become a mere name; we hardly knew what to do
+      with it when we got it. However, we soon got used (in a very limited
+      sense) to being our own masters, and, each following the bent of his
+      inclinations, set out for a ramble. My companion and I had not gone far,
+      when we thought we saw one of the boulders, with which the island was
+      liberally besprinkled, on the move. Running up to examine it with all the
+      eagerness of children let out of school, we found it to be one of the
+      inhabitants, a monstrous tortoise. I had some big turtle around the cays
+      of the Gulf of Mexico, but this creature dwarfed them all. We had no means
+      of actually measuring him, and had to keep clear of his formidable-looking
+      jaws, but roughly, and within the mark, he was four feet long by two feet
+      six inches wide. Of course he was much more dome-shaped than the turtle
+      are, and consequently looked a great deal bigger than a turtle of the same
+      measurement would, besides being much thicker through. As he was loth to
+      stay with us, we made up our minds to go with him, for he was evidently
+      making for some definite spot, by the tracks he was following, which
+      showed plainly how many years that same road had been used. Well, I
+      mounted on his back, keeping well astern, out of the reach of that
+      serious-looking head, which having rather a long neck, looked as if it
+      might be able to reach round and take a piece out of a fellow without any
+      trouble. He was perfectly amicable, continuing his journey as if nothing
+      had happened, and really getting over the ground at a good rate,
+      considering the bulk and shape of him. Except for the novelty of the
+      thing, this sort of ride had nothing to recommend it; so I soon tired of
+      it, and let him waddle along in peace. By following the tracks aforesaid,
+      we arrived at a fine stream of water sparkling out of a hillside, and
+      running down a little ravine. The sides of this gully were worn quite
+      smooth by the innumerable feet of the tortoises, about a dozen of which
+      were now quietly crouching at the water's edge, filling themselves up with
+      the cooling fluid. I did not see the patriarch upon whom a sailor once
+      reported that he had read the legend carved, "The Ark, Captain Noah,
+      Ararat for orders"; perhaps he had at last closed his peaceful career. But
+      strange, and quaint as this exhibition of ancient reptiles was, we had
+      other and better employment for the limited time at our disposal. There
+      were innumerable curious things to see, and, unless we were to run the
+      risk of going on board again and stopping there, dinner must be obtained.
+      Eggs of various kinds were exceedingly plentiful; in many places the flats
+      were almost impassable for sitting birds, mostly "boobies."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But previous experience of boobies' eggs in other places had not disposed
+      me to seek them where others were to be obtained, and as I had seen many
+      of the well-known frigate or man-o'-war birds hovering about, we set out
+      to the other side of the island in search of the breeding-place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These peculiar birds are, I think, misnamed. They should be called pirate
+      or buccaneer birds, from their marauding habits. Seldom or never do they
+      condescend to fish for themselves, preferring to hover high in the blue,
+      their tails opening and closing like a pair of scissors as they hang
+      poised above the sea. Presently booby&mdash;like some honest housewife who
+      has been a-marketing&mdash;comes flapping noisily home, her maw laden with
+      fish for the chicks. Down comes the black watcher from above with a swoop
+      like an eagle. Booby puts all she knows into her flight, but vainly;
+      escape is impossible, so with a despairing shriek she drops her load.
+      Before it has touched the water the graceful thief has intercepted it, and
+      soared slowly aloft again, to repeat the performance as occasion serves.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we arrived on the outer shore of the island, we found a large
+      breeding-place of these birds, but totally different to the haunt of the
+      boobies. The nests, if they might be so called, being at best a few twigs,
+      were mostly in the hollows of the rocks, the number of eggs being two to a
+      nest, on an average. The eggs were nearly as large as a turkey's. But I am
+      reminded of the range of size among turkeys' eggs, so I must say they were
+      considerably larger than a small turkey's egg. Their flavour was most
+      delicate, as much so as the eggs of a moor-fed fowl. We saw no birds
+      sitting, but here and there the gaunt skeleton forms of birds, who by
+      reason of sickness or old age were unable to provide for themselves, and
+      so sat waiting for death, appealed most mournfully to us. We went up to
+      some of these poor creatures, and ended their long agony; but there were
+      many of them that we were obliged to leave to Nature.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We saw no animals larger than a rat, but there were a great many of those
+      eerie-looking land-crabs, that seemed as if almost humanly intelligent as
+      they scampered about over the sand or through the undergrowth, busy about
+      goodness knows what. The beautiful cocoa-nut palm was plentiful, so much
+      so that I wondered why there were no settlers to collect "copra," or dried
+      cocoa-nut, for oil. My West Indian experience came in handy now, for I was
+      able to climb a lofty tree in native fashion, and cut down a grand bunch
+      of green nuts, which form one of the most refreshing and nutritious of
+      foods, as well as a cool and delicious drink. We had no line with us, so
+      we took off our belts, which, securely joined together, answered my
+      purpose very well. With them I made a loop round the tree and myself; then
+      as I climbed I pushed the loop up with me, so that whenever I wanted a
+      rest, I had only to lean back in it, keeping my knees against the trunk,
+      and I was almost as comfortable as if on the ground.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After getting the nuts, we made a fire and roasted some of our eggs,
+      which, with a biscuit or two, made a delightful meal. Then we fell asleep
+      under a shady tree, upon some soft moss; nor did we wake again until
+      nearly time to go on board. A most enjoyable swim terminated our day's
+      outing, and we returned to the beach abreast of the ship very pleased with
+      the excursion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had no adventures, found no hidden treasure or ferocious animals, but
+      none the less we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. While we sat waiting for
+      the boat to come and fetch us off, we saw a couple of good-sized turtle
+      come ashore quite close to us. We kept perfectly still until we were sure
+      of being able to intercept them. As soon as they had got far enough away
+      from their native element, we rushed upon them, and captured them both, so
+      that when the boat arrived we were not empty-handed. We had also a
+      "jumper," or blouse, full of eggs, and a couple of immense bunches of
+      cocoa-nuts. When we got on board we felt quite happy, and, for the first
+      time since leaving America, we had a little singing. Shall I be laughed at
+      when I confess that our musical efforts were confined to Sankey's hymns?
+      Maybe, but I do not care. Cheap and clap-trap as the music may be, it
+      tasted "real good," as Abner said, and I am quite sure that that Sunday
+      night was the best that any of us had spent for a very long time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A long, sound sleep was terminated at dawn, when we weighed and stood out
+      through a narrow passage by East Island, which was quite covered with fine
+      trees&mdash;of what kind I do not know, but they presented a beautiful
+      sight. Myriads of birds hovered about, busy fishing from the countless
+      schools that rippled the placid sea. Beneath us, at twenty fathoms, the
+      wonderful architecture of the coral was plainly visible through the
+      brilliantly-clear sea, while, wherever the tiny builders had raised their
+      fairy domain near the surface, an occasional roller would crown it with a
+      snowy garland of foam&mdash;a dazzling patch of white against the sapphire
+      sea. Altogether, such a panorama was spread out at our feet, as we stood
+      gazing from the lofty crow's-nest, as was worth a year or two of city life
+      to witness. I could not help pitying my companion, one of the Portuguese
+      harpooners, who stolidly munched his quid with no eyes for any of these
+      glorious pictures, no thought of anything but a possible whale in sight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      My silent rhapsodies were rudely interrupted by something far away on the
+      horizon. Hardly daring to breathe, I strained my eyes, and&mdash;yes, it
+      was&mdash;"Ah blow-w-w-w!" I bellowed at the top of my lung-power, never
+      before had I had the opportunity of thus distinguishing myself, and I felt
+      a bit sore about it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a little obliquity about the direction of the spout that made me
+      hopeful, for the cachalot alone sends his spout diagonally upward, all the
+      others spout vertically. It was but a school of kogia, or "short-headed"
+      cachalots; but as we secured five of them, averaging seven barrels each,
+      with scarcely any trouble, I felt quite pleased with myself. We had quite
+      an exciting bit of sport with them, they were so lively; but as for danger&mdash;well,
+      they only seemed like big "black fish" to us now, and we quite enjoyed the
+      fun. They were, in all respects, miniature sperm whales, except that the
+      head was much shorter and smaller in proportion to the body than their big
+      relations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XI. ROUND THE COCOS AND SEYCHELLES
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Hitherto, with the exception of a couple of gales in the North and South
+      Atlantic, we had been singularly fortunate in our weather. It does happen
+      so sometimes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I remember once making a round voyage from Cardiff to Hong Kong and the
+      Philippines, back to London, in ten months, and during the whole of that
+      time we did not have a downright gale. The worst weather we encountered
+      was between Beachy Head and Portland, going round from London to Cardiff.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And I once spoke the barque LUTTERWORTH, a companion ship to us from
+      Portland, Oregon to Falmouth, whose mate informed me that they carried
+      their royals from port to port without ever furling them once, except to
+      shift the suit of sails. But now a change was evidently imminent. Of
+      course, we forward had no access to the barometer; not that we should have
+      understood its indications if we had seen it, but we all knew that
+      something was going to be radically wrong with the weather. For instead of
+      the lovely blue of the sky we had been so long accustomed to by day and
+      night, a nasty, greasy shade had come over the heavens, which, reflected
+      in the sea, made that look dirty and stale also. That well-known
+      appearance of the waves before a storm was also very marked, which
+      consists of an undecided sort of break in their tops. Instead of running
+      regularly, they seemed to hunch themselves up in little heaps, and throw
+      off a tiny flutter of spray, which generally fell in the opposite
+      direction to what little wind there was. The pigs and fowls felt the
+      approaching change keenly, and manifested the greatest uneasiness, leaving
+      their food and acting strangely. We were making scarcely any headway, so
+      that the storm was longer making its appearance than it would have been
+      had we been a swift clipper ship running down the Indian Ocean. For two
+      days we were kept in suspense; but on the second night the gloom began to
+      deepen, the wind to moan, and a very uncomfortable "jobble" of a sea got
+      up. Extra "gaskets" were put upon the sails, and everything movable about
+      the decks was made as secure as it could be. Only the two close-reefed
+      topsails and two storm stay-sails were carried, so that we were in
+      excellent trim for fighting the bad weather when it did come. The sky
+      gradually darkened and assumed a livid green tint, the effect of which was
+      most peculiar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wind blew fitfully in short, gusts, veering continually back and forth
+      over about a quarter of the compass. Although it was still light, it kept
+      up an incessant mournful moan not to be accounted for in any way. Darker
+      and darker grew the heavens, although no clouds were visible, only a
+      general pall of darkness. Glimmering lightnings played continually about
+      the eastern horizon, but not brilliant enough to show us the approaching
+      storm-cloud. And so came the morning of the third day from the beginning
+      of the change. But for the clock we should hardly have known that day had
+      broken, so gloomy and dark was the sky. At last light came in the east,
+      but such a light as no one would wish to see. It was a lurid glare, such
+      as may be seen playing over a cupola of Bessemer steel when the
+      speigeleisen is added, only on such an extensive scale that its brilliancy
+      was dulled into horror. Then, beneath it we saw the mountainous clouds
+      fringed with dull violet and with jagged sabres of lightning darting from
+      their solid black bosoms. The wind began to rise steadily but rapidly, so
+      that by eight a.m. it was blowing a furious gale from E.N.E. In direction
+      it was still unsteady, the ship coming up and falling off to it several
+      points. Now, great masses of torn, ragged cloud hurtled past us above, so
+      low down as almost to touch the mastheads. Still the wind increased, still
+      the sea rose, till at last the skipper judged it well to haul down the
+      tiny triangle of storm stay-sail still set (the topsail and fore stay-sail
+      had been furled long before), and let her drift under bare poles, except
+      for three square feet of stout canvas in the weather mizen-rigging. The
+      roar of the wind now dominated every sound, so that it might have been
+      thundering furiously, but we should not have heard it. The ship still
+      maintained her splendid character as a sea-boat, hardly shipping a drop of
+      water; but she lay over at a most distressing angle, her deck sloping off
+      fully thirty-five to forty degrees. Fortunately she did not roll to
+      windward. It may have been raining in perfect torrents, but the tempest
+      tore off the surface of the sea, and sent it in massive sheets continually
+      flying over us, so that we could not possibly have distinguished between
+      fresh water and salt.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The chief anxiety was for the safety of the boats. Early on the second day
+      of warning they had been hoisted to the topmost notch of the cranes, and
+      secured as thoroughly as experience could suggest; but at every lee lurch
+      we gave it seemed as if we must dip them under water, while the wind
+      threatened to stave the weather ones in by its actual solid weight. It was
+      now blowing a furious cyclone, the force of which has never been
+      accurately gauged (even by the present elaborate instruments of various
+      kinds in use). That force is, however, not to be imagined by any one who
+      has not witnessed it, except that one notable instance is on record by
+      which mathematicians may get an approximate estimate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Captain Toynbee, the late highly respected and admired Marine
+      Superintendent of the British Meteorological Office, has told us how,
+      during a cyclone which he rode out in the HOTSPUR at Sandheads, the mouth
+      of the Hooghly, the three naked topgallant-masts of his ship, though of
+      well-tested timber a foot in diameter, and supported by all the usual
+      network of stays, and without the yards, were snapped off and carried away
+      solely by the violence of the wind. It must, of course, have been an
+      extreme gust, which did not last many seconds, for no cable that was ever
+      forged would have held the ship against such a cataclysm as that. This
+      gentleman's integrity is above suspicion, so that no exaggeration could be
+      charged against him, and he had the additional testimony of his officers
+      and men to this otherwise incredible fact.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The terrible day wore on, without any lightening of the tempest, till
+      noon, when the wind suddenly fell to a calm. Until that time, the sea,
+      although heavy, was not vicious or irregular, and we had not shipped any
+      heavy water at all. But when the force of the wind was suddenly withdrawn,
+      such a sea arose as I have never seen before or since. Inky mountains of
+      water raised their savage heads in wildest confusion, smashing one another
+      in whirlpools of foam. It was like a picture of the primeval deep out of
+      which arose the new-born world. Suddenly out of the whirling blackness
+      overhead the moon appeared, nearly in the zenith, sending down through the
+      apex of a dome of torn and madly gyrating cloud a flood of brilliant
+      light. Illumined by that startling radiance, our staunch and seaworthy
+      ship was tossed and twirled in the hideous vortex of mad sea until her
+      motion was distracting. It was quite impossible to loose one's hold and
+      attempt to do anything without running the imminent risk of being dashed
+      to pieces. Our decks were full of water now, for it tumbled on board at
+      all points; but as yet no serious weight of a sea had fallen upon us, nor
+      had any damage been done. Such a miracle as that could not be expected to
+      continue for long. Suddenly a warning shout rang out from somewhere&mdash;"Hold
+      on all, for your lives!" Out of the hideous turmoil around arose, like
+      some black, fantastic ruin, an awful heap of water. Higher and higher it
+      towered, until it was level with our lower yards, then it broke and fell
+      upon us. All was blank. Beneath that mass every thought, every feeling,
+      fled but one&mdash;"How long shall I be able to hold my breath?" After
+      what seemed a never-ending time, we emerged from the wave more dead than
+      alive, but with the good ship still staunch underneath us, and Hope's lamp
+      burning brightly. The moon had been momentarily obscured, but now shone
+      out again, lighting up brilliantly our bravely-battling ship. But, alas
+      for others!&mdash;men, like ourselves, whose hopes were gone. Quite near
+      us was the battered remainder of what had been a splendid ship. Her masts
+      were gone, not even the stumps being visible, and it seemed to our eager
+      eyes as if she was settling down. It was even so, for as we looked,
+      unmindful of our own danger, she quietly disappeared&mdash;swallowed up
+      with her human freight in a moment, like a pebble dropped into a pond.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While we looked with hardly beating hearts at the place where she had
+      sunk, all was blotted out in thick darkness again. With a roar, as of a
+      thousand thunders, the tempest came once more, but from the opposite
+      direction now. As we were under no sail, we ran little risk of being
+      caught aback; but, even had we, nothing could have been done, the vessel
+      being utterly out of control, besides the impossibility of getting about.
+      It so happened, however, that when the storm burst upon us again, we were
+      stern on to it, and we drove steadily for a few moments until we had time
+      to haul to the wind again. Great heavens! how it blew! Surely, I thought,
+      this cannot last long&mdash;just as we sometimes say of the rain when it
+      is extra heavy. It did last, however, for what seemed an interminable
+      time, although any one could see that the sky was getting kindlier.
+      Gradually, imperceptibly, it took off, the sky cleared, and the tumult
+      ceased, until a new day broke in untellable beauty over a revivified
+      world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Years afterwards I read, in one of the hand-books treating of hurricanes
+      and cyclones, that "in the centre of these revolving storms the sea is so
+      violent that few ships can pass through it and live." That is true talk. I
+      have been there, and bear witness that but for the build and
+      sea-kindliness of the CACHALOT, she could not have come out of that
+      horrible cauldron again, but would have joined that nameless unfortunate
+      whom we saw succumb, "never again heard of." As it was, we found two of
+      the boats stove in, whether by breaking sea or crushing wind nobody knows.
+      Most of the planking of the bulwarks was also gone, burst outward by the
+      weight of the water on deck. Only the normal quantity of water was found
+      in the well on sounding, and not even a rope-yarn was gone from aloft.
+      Altogether, we came out of the ordeal triumphantly, where many a gallant
+      vessel met her fate, and the behaviour of the grand old tub gave me a
+      positive affection for her, such as I have never felt for a ship before or
+      since.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was now a big heap of work for the carpenter, so the skipper decided
+      to run in for the Cocos or Keeling islands, in order to lay quietly and
+      refit. We had now only three boats sound, the one smashed when poor
+      Bamberger died being still unfinished&mdash;of course, the repairs had
+      practically amounted to rebuilding. Therefore we kept away for this
+      strange assemblage of reefs and islets, arriving off them early the next
+      day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They consist of a true "atoll," or basin, whose rim is of coral reefs,
+      culminating occasionally in sandy islands or cays formed by the
+      accumulated debris washed up from the reef below, and then clothed upon
+      with all sorts of plants by the agency of birds and waves.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These islands have lately been so fully described in many different
+      journals, that I shall not burden the reader with any twice-told tales
+      about them, but merely chronicle the fact that for a week we lay at anchor
+      off one of the outlying cays, toiling continuously to get the vessel again
+      in fighting trim.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last the overworked carpenter and his crew got through their heavy
+      task, and the order was given to "man the windlass." Up came the anchor,
+      and away we went again towards what used to be a noted haunt of the sperm
+      whale, the Seychelle Archipelego. Before the French, whose flag flies over
+      these islands, had with their usual short-sighted policy, clapped on
+      prohibitive port charges, Mahe was a specially favoured place of call for
+      the whalers. But when whale-ships find that it does not pay to visit a
+      place, being under no compulsion as regards time, they soon find other
+      harbours that serve their turn. We, of course, had no need to visit any
+      port for some time to come, having made such good use of our opportunities
+      at the Cocos.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We found whales scarce and small, so, although we cruised in this vicinity
+      for nearly two months, six small cow cachalots were all we were able to
+      add to our stock, representing less then two hundred barrels of oil. This
+      was hardly good enough for Captain Slocum. Therefore, we gradually drew
+      away from this beautiful cluster of islands, and crept across the Indian
+      Ocean towards the Straits of Malacca. On the way, we one night encountered
+      that strange phenomenon, a "milk" sea. It was a lovely night, with
+      scarcely any wind, the stars trying to make up for the absence of the moon
+      by shining with intense brightness. The water had been more phosphorescent
+      than usual, so that every little fish left a track of light behind him,
+      greatly disproportionate to his size. As the night wore on, the sea grew
+      brighter and brighter, until by midnight we appeared to be sailing on an
+      ocean of lambent flames. Every little wave that broke against the ship's
+      side sent up a shower of diamond-like spray, wonderfully beautiful to see,
+      while a passing school of porpoises fairly set the sea blazing as they
+      leaped and gambolled in its glowing waters. Looking up from sea to sky,
+      the latter seemed quite black instead of blue, and the lustre of the stars
+      was diminished till they only looked like points of polished steel, having
+      quite lost for the time their radiant sparkle. In that shining flood the
+      blackness of the ship stood out in startling contrast, and when we looked
+      over the side our faces were strangely lit up by the brilliant glow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For several hours this beautiful appearance persisted, fading away at last
+      as gradually as it came. No satisfactory explanation of this curious
+      phenomenon has ever been given, nor does it appear to portend any change
+      of weather. It cannot be called a rare occurrence, although I have only
+      seen it thrice myself&mdash;once in the Bay of Cavite, in the Philippine
+      Islands; once in the Pacific, near the Solomon Islands; and on this
+      occasion of which I now write. But no one who had ever witnessed it could
+      forget so wonderful a sight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One morning, a week after are had taken our departure from the Seychelles,
+      the officer at the main crow's-nest reported a vessel of some sort about
+      five miles to the windward. Something strange in her appearance made the
+      skipper haul up to intercept her. As we drew nearer, we made her out to be
+      a Malay "prahu;" but, by the look of her, she was deserted. The big
+      three-cornered sail that had been set, hung in tattered festoons from the
+      long, slender yard, which, without any gear to steady it, swung heavily to
+      and fro as the vessel rolled to the long swell. We drew closer and closer,
+      but no sign of life was visible on board, so the captain ordered a boat to
+      go and investigate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In two minutes we were speeding away towards her, and, making a sweep
+      round her stern, prepared to board her. But we were met by a stench so
+      awful that Mr. Count would not proceed, and at once returned to the ship.
+      The boat was quickly hoisted again, and the ship manoeuvred to pass close
+      to windward of the derelict. Then, from our mast-head, a horrible sight
+      became visible. Lying about the weather-beaten deck, in various postures,
+      were thirteen corpses, all far advanced in decay, which horrible fact
+      fully accounted for the intolerable stench that had driven us away. It is,
+      perhaps, hardly necessary to say that we promptly hauled our wind, and
+      placed a good distance between us and that awful load of death as soon as
+      possible. Poor wretches! What terrible calamity had befallen them, we
+      could not guess; whatever it was, it had been complete; nor would any sane
+      man falling across them run the risk of closer examination into details
+      than we had done. It was a great pity that we were not able to sink the
+      prahu with her ghastly cargo, and so free the air from that poisonous
+      foetor that was a deadly danger to any vessel getting under her lee.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next day, and for a whole week after, we had a stark calm such a calm as
+      one realizes who reads sympathetically that magical piece of work, the
+      "Ancient Mariner." What an amazing instance of the triumph of the human
+      imagination! For Coleridge certainly never witnessed such a scene as he
+      there describes with an accuracy of detail that is astounding. Very few
+      sailors have noticed the sickening condition of the ocean when the
+      life-giving breeze totally fails for any length of time, or, if they have,
+      they have said but little about it. Of course, some parts of the sea show
+      the evil effects of stagnation much sooner than others; but, generally
+      speaking, want of wind at sea, if long continued, produces a condition of
+      things dangerous to the health of any land near by. Whale-ships,
+      penetrating as they do to parts carefully avoided by ordinary trading
+      vessels, often afford their crews an opportunity of seeing things mostly
+      hidden from the sight of man, when, actuated by some mysterious impulse,
+      the uncanny denizens of the middle depths of the ocean rise to higher
+      levels, and show their weird shapes to the sun.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XII. WHICH TREATS OF THE KRAKEN
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      It has often been a matter for considerable surprise to me, that while the
+      urban population of Great Britain is periodically agitated over the great
+      sea-serpent question, sailors, as a class, have very little to say on the
+      subject. During a considerable sea experience in all classes of vessels,
+      except men-of-war, and in most positions, I have heard a fairly
+      comprehensive catalogue of subjects brought under dog-watch discussion;
+      but the sea-serpent has never, within my recollection, been one of them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The reasons for this abstinence may vary a great deal, but chief among
+      them is&mdash;sailors, as a class, "don't believe in no such a pusson."
+      More than that, they do believe that the mythical sea-serpent is "boomed"
+      at certain periods, in the lack of other subjects, which may not be far
+      from the fact. But there is also another reason, involving a disagreeable,
+      although strictly accurate, statement. Sailors are, again taken as a
+      class, the least observant of men. They will talk by the hour of
+      trivialities about which they know nothing; they will spin interminable
+      "cuffers" of debaucheries ashore all over the world; pick to pieces the
+      reputation of all the officers with whom they have ever sailed; but of the
+      glories, marvels, and mysteries of the mighty deep you will hear not a
+      word. I can never forget when on my first voyage to the West Indies, at
+      the age of twelve, I was one night smitten with awe and wonder at the
+      sight of a vast halo round the moon, some thirty or forty degrees in
+      diameter. Turning to the man at the wheel, I asked him earnestly "what
+      THAT was." He looked up with an uninterested eye for an instant in the
+      direction of my finger, then listlessly informed me, "That's what they
+      call a sarcle." For a long time I wondered what he could mean, but it
+      gradually dawned upon me that it was his Norfolk pronunciation of the word
+      "circle." The definition was a typical one, no worse than would be given
+      by the great majority of seamen of most of the natural phenomena they
+      witness daily. Very few seamen could distinguish between one whale and
+      another of a different species, or give an intelligible account of the
+      most ordinary and often-seen denizens of the sea. Whalers are especially
+      to be blamed for their blindness. "Eyes and no Eyes; or the Art of Seeing"
+      has evidently been little heard of among them. To this day I can conceive
+      of no more delightful journey for a naturalist to take than a voyage in a
+      southern whaler, especially if he were allowed to examine at his leisure
+      such creatures as were caught. But on board the CACHALOT I could get no
+      information at all upon the habits of the strange creatures we met with,
+      except whales, and very little about them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I have before referred to the great molluscs upon which the sperm whale
+      feeds, portions of which I so frequently saw ejected from the stomach of
+      dying whales. Great as my curiosity naturally was to know more of these
+      immense organisms, all my inquiries on the subject were fruitless. These
+      veterans of the whale-fishery knew that the sperm whale lived on big
+      cuttlefish; but they neither knew, nor cared to know, anything more about
+      these marvellous molluscs. Yet, from the earliest dawn of history,
+      observant men have been striving to learn something definite about the
+      marine monsters of which all old legends of the sea have something to say.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As I mentioned in the last chapter, we were gradually edging across the
+      Indian Ocean towards Sumatra, but had been checked in our course by a calm
+      lasting a whole week. A light breeze then sprang up, aided by which we
+      crept around Achin Head, the northern point of the great island of
+      Sumatra. Like some gigantic beacon, the enormous mass of the Golden
+      Mountain dominated the peaceful scene. Pulo Way, or Water Island, looked
+      very inviting, and I should have been glad to visit a place so well known
+      to seamen by sight, but so little known by actual touching at. Our recent
+      stay at the Cocos, however, had settled the question of our calling
+      anywhere else for some time decidedly in the negative, unless we might be
+      compelled by accident; moreover, even in these days of law and order, it
+      is not wise to go poking about among the islands of the Malayan seas
+      unless you are prepared to fight. Our mission being to fight whales, we
+      were averse to running any risks, except in the lawful and necessary
+      exercise of our calling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It would at first sight appear strange that, in view of the enormous
+      traffic of steamships through the Malacca Straits, so easily "gallied" a
+      creature as the cachalot should care to frequent its waters; indeed, I
+      should certainly think that a great reduction in the numbers of whales
+      found there must have taken place. But it must also be remembered, that in
+      modern steam navigation certain well-defined courses are laid down, which
+      vessels follow from point to point with hardly any deviation therefrom,
+      and that consequently little disturbance of the sea by their panting
+      propellers takes place, except upon these marine pathways; as, for
+      instance, in the Red Sea, where the examination of thousands of log-books
+      proved conclusively that, except upon straight lines drawn from point to
+      point between Suez to Perim, the sea is practically unused to-day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The few Arab dhows and loitering surveying ships hardly count in this
+      connection, of course. At any rate, we had not entered the straits, but
+      were cruising between Car Nicobar and Junkseylon, when we "met up" with a
+      full-grown cachalot, as ugly a customer as one could wish. From nine a.m.
+      till dusk the battle raged&mdash;for I have often noticed that unless you
+      kill your whale pretty soon, he gets so wary, as well as fierce, that you
+      stand a gaudy chance of being worn down yourselves before you settle
+      accounts with your adversary. This affair certainly looked at one time as
+      if such would be the case with us; but along about five p.m., to our great
+      joy, we got him killed. The ejected food was in masses of enormous size,
+      larger than any we had yet seen on the voyage, some of them being
+      estimated to be of the size of our hatch-house, viz. 8 feet x 6 feet x 6
+      feet. The whale having been secured alongside, all hands were sent below,
+      as they were worn out with the day's work. The third mate being ill, I had
+      been invested with the questionable honour of standing his watch, on
+      account of my sea experience and growing favour with the chief. Very
+      bitterly did I resent the privilege at the time, I remember, being so
+      tired and sleepy that I knew not how to keep awake. I did not imagine that
+      anything would happen to make me prize that night's experience for the
+      rest of my life, or I should have taken matters with a far better grace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At about eleven p.m. I was leaning over the lee rail, grazing steadily at
+      the bright surface of the sea, where the intense radiance of the tropical
+      moon made a broad path like a pavement of burnished silver. Eyes that saw
+      not, mind only confusedly conscious of my surroundings, were mine; but
+      suddenly I started to my feet with an exclamation, and stared with all my
+      might at the strangest sight I ever saw. There was a violent commotion in
+      the sea right where the moon's rays were concentrated, so great that,
+      remembering our position, I was at first inclined to alarm all hands; for
+      I had often heard of volcanic islands suddenly lifting their heads from
+      the depths below, or disappearing in a moment, and, with Sumatra's chain
+      of active volcanoes so near, I felt doubtful indeed of what was now
+      happening. Getting the night-glasses out of the cabin scuttle, where they
+      were always hung in readiness, I focussed them on the troubled spot,
+      perfectly satisfied by a short examination that neither volcano nor
+      earthquake had anything to do with what was going on; yet so vast were the
+      forces engaged that I might well have been excused for my first
+      supposition. A very large sperm whale was locked in deadly conflict with a
+      cuttle-fish or squid, almost as large as himself, whose interminable
+      tentacles seemed to enlace the whole of his great body. The head of the
+      whale especially seemed a perfect net-work of writhing arms&mdash;naturally
+      I suppose, for it appeared as if the whale had the tail part of the
+      mollusc in his jaws, and, in a business-like, methodical way, was sawing
+      through it. By the side of the black columnar head of the whale appeared
+      the head of the great squid, as awful an object as one could well imagine
+      even in a fevered dream. Judging as carefully as possible, I estimated it
+      to be at least as large as one of our pipes, which contained three hundred
+      and fifty gallons; but it may have been, and probably was, a good deal
+      larger. The eyes were very remarkable from their size and blackness,
+      which, contrasted with the livid whiteness of the head, made their
+      appearance all the more striking. They were, at least, a foot in diameter,
+      and, seen under such conditions, looked decidedly eerie and
+      hobgoblin-like. All around the combatants were numerous sharks, like
+      jackals round a lion, ready to share the feast, and apparently assisting
+      in the destruction of the huge cephalopod. So the titanic struggle went
+      on, in perfect silence as far as we were concerned, because, even had
+      there been any noise, our distance from the scene of conflict would not
+      have permitted us to hear it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thinking that such a sight ought not to be missed by the captain, I
+      overcame my dread of him sufficiently to call him, and tell him of what
+      was taking place. He met my remarks with such a furious burst of anger at
+      my daring to disturb him for such a cause, that I fled precipitately on
+      deck again, having the remainder of the vision to myself, for none of the
+      others cared sufficiently for such things to lose five minutes' sleep in
+      witnessing them. The conflict ceased, the sea resumed its placid calm, and
+      nothing remained to tell of the fight but a strong odour of fish, as of a
+      bank of seaweed left by the tide in the blazing sun. Eight bells struck,
+      and I went below to a troubled sleep, wherein all the awful monsters that
+      an over-excited brain could conjure up pursued me through the gloomy caves
+      of ocean, or mocked my pigmy efforts to escape.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The occasions upon which these gigantic cuttle-fish appear at the sea
+      surface must, I think, be very rare. From their construction, they appear
+      fitted only to grope among the rocks at the bottom of the ocean. Their
+      mode of progression is backward, by the forcible ejection of a jet of
+      water from an orifice in the neck, beside the rectum or cloaca.
+      Consequently their normal position is head-downward, and with tentacles
+      spread out like the ribs of an umbrella&mdash;eight of them at least; the
+      two long ones, like the antennae of an insect, rove unceasingly around,
+      seeking prey.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The imagination can hardly picture a more terrible object than one of
+      these huge monsters brooding in the ocean depths, the gloom of his
+      surroundings increased by the inky fluid (sepia) which he secretes in
+      copious quantities, every cup-shaped disc, of the hundreds with which the
+      restless tentacles are furnished, ready at the slightest touch to grip
+      whatever is near, not only by suction, but by the great claws set all
+      round within its circle. And in the centre of this net-work of living
+      traps is the chasm-like mouth, with its enormous parrot-beak, ready to
+      rend piecemeal whatever is held by the tentaculae. The very thought of it
+      makes one's flesh crawl. Well did Michelet term them "the insatiable
+      nightmares of the sea."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yet, but for them, how would such great creatures as the sperm whale be
+      fed? Unable, from their bulk, to capture small fish except by accident,
+      and, by the absence of a sieve of baleen, precluded from subsisting upon
+      the tiny crustacea, which support the MYSTICETAE, the cachalots seem to be
+      confined for their diet to cuttle-fish, and, from their point of view, the
+      bigger the latter are the better. How big they may become in the depths of
+      the sea, no man knoweth; but it is unlikely that even the vast specimens
+      seen are full-sized, since they have only come to the surface under
+      abnormal conditions, like the one I have attempted to describe, who had
+      evidently been dragged up by his relentless foe.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Creatures like these, who inhabit deep waters, and do not need to come to
+      the surface by the exigencies of their existence, necessarily present many
+      obstacles to accurate investigation of their structure and habits; but,
+      from the few specimens that have been obtained of late years, fairly
+      comprehensive details have been compiled, and may be studied in various
+      French and German works, of which the Natural History Museum at South
+      Kensington possesses copies. These, through the courtesy of the
+      authorities in charge, are easily accessible to students who wish to
+      prosecute the study of this wonderful branch of the great mollusca family.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we commenced to cut in our whale next morning, the sea was fairly
+      alive with fish of innumerable kinds, while a vast host of sea-birds, as
+      usual, waited impatiently for the breaking-up of the huge carcass, which
+      they knew would afford them no end of a feast. An untoward accident, which
+      happened soon after the work was started, gave the waiting myriads immense
+      satisfaction, although the unfortunate second mate, whose slip of the
+      spade was responsible, came in for a hurricane of vituperation from the
+      enraged skipper. It was in detaching the case from the head&mdash;always a
+      work of difficulty, and requiring great precision of aim. Just as Mr.
+      Cruce made a powerful thrust with his keen tool, the vessel rolled, and
+      the blow, missing the score in which he was cutting, fell upon the case
+      instead, piercing its side. For a few minutes the result was unnoticed
+      amidst the wash of the ragged edges of the cut, but presently a long
+      streak of white, wax-like pieces floating astern, and a tremendous
+      commotion among the birds, told the story. The liquid spermaceti was
+      leaking rapidly from the case, turning solid as it got into the cool
+      water. Nothing could be done to stop the waste, which, as it was a large
+      whale, was not less than twenty barrels, or about two tuns of pure
+      spermaceti. An accident of this kind never failed to make our skipper
+      almost unbearable in his temper for some days afterwards; and, to do him
+      justice, he did not discriminate very carefully as to who felt his
+      resentment besides its immediate cause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Therefore we had all a rough time of it while his angry fit lasted, which
+      was a whole week, or until all was shipshape again. Meanwhile we were
+      edging gradually through the Malacca Straits and around the big island of
+      Borneo, never going very near the land on account of the great and
+      numerous dangers attendant upon coasting in those localities to any but
+      those continually engaged in such a business.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Indeed, all navigation in those seas to sailing vessels is dangerous, and
+      requires the greatest care. Often we were obliged at a minute's notice to
+      let go the anchor, although out of sight of land, some rapid current being
+      found carrying us swiftly towards a shoal or race, where we might come to
+      grief. Yet there was no fuss or hurry, the same leisurely old system was
+      continued, and worked as well as ever. But it was not apparent why we were
+      threading the tortuous and difficult waters of the Indian Archipelago. No
+      whales of any kind were seen for at least a month, although, from our
+      leisurely mode of sailing, it was evident that they were looked for.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An occasional native craft came alongside, desirous of bartering fish,
+      which we did not want, being able to catch all we needed as readily almost
+      as they were. Fruit and vegetables we could not get at such distances from
+      land, for the small canoes that lie in wait for passing ships do not of
+      course venture far from home.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XIII. OFF TO THE JAPAN GROUNDS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Very tedious and trying was our passage northward, although every effort
+      was made by the skipper to expedite it. Nothing of advantage to our cargo
+      was seen for a long time, which, although apparently what was to be
+      expected, did not improve Captain Slocum's temper. But, to the surprise of
+      all, when we had arrived off the beautiful island of Hong Kong, to which
+      we approached closely, we "raised" a grand sperm whale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Many fishing-junks were in sight, busily plying their trade, and at any
+      other time we should have been much interested in the quaint and cunning
+      devices by which the patient, wily Chinaman succeeds so admirably as a
+      fisherman. Our own fishing, for the time being, absorbed all our attention&mdash;the
+      more, perhaps, that we had for so long been unable to do anything in that
+      line. After the usual preliminaries, we were successful in getting fast to
+      the great creature, who immediately showed fight. So skilful and wary did
+      he prove that Captain Slocum, growing impatient at our manoeuvring with no
+      result, himself took the field, arriving on the scene with the air of one
+      who comes to see and conquer without more delay. He brought with him a
+      weapon which I have not hitherto mentioned, because none of the harpooners
+      could be induced to use it, and consequently it had not been much in
+      evidence. Theoretically, it was as ideal tool for such work, its chief
+      drawback being its cumbrousness. It was known as "Pierce's darting gun,"
+      being a combination of bomb-gun and harpoon, capable of being darted at
+      the whale like a plain harpoon. Its construction was simple; indeed, the
+      patent was a very old one. A tube of brass, thickening towards the butt,
+      at which was a square chamber firmly welded to a socket for receiving the
+      pole, formed the gun itself. Within the chamber aforesaid a nipple
+      protruded from the base of the tube, and in line with it. The trigger was
+      simply a flat bit of steel, like a piece of clock spring, which was held
+      down by the hooked end of a steel rod long enough to stick out beyond the
+      muzzle of the gun three or four inches, and held in position by two
+      flanges at the butt and muzzle of the barrel. On the opposite side of the
+      tube were two more flanges, close together, into the holes of which was
+      inserted the end of a specially made harpoon, having an eye twisted in its
+      shank through which the whale line was spliced. The whole machine was
+      fitted to a neat pole, and strongly secured to it by means of a "gun
+      warp," or short piece of thin line, by which it could be hauled back into
+      the boat after being darted at a whale. To prepare this weapon for use,
+      the barrel was loaded with a charge of powder and a bomb similar to those
+      used in the shoulder-guns, the point of which just protruded from the
+      muzzle. An ordinary percussion cap was placed upon the nipple, and the
+      trigger cocked by placing the trigger-rod in position. The harpoon, with
+      the line attached, was firmly set into the socketed flanges prepared for
+      it, and the whole arrangement was then ready to be darted at the whale in
+      the usual way.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Supposing the aim to be good and the force sufficient, the harpoon would
+      penetrate the blubber until the end of the trigger-rod was driven
+      backwards by striking the blubber, releasing the trigger and firing the
+      gun. Thus the whale would be harpooned and bomb-lanced at the same time,
+      and, supposing everything to work satisfactorily, very little more could
+      be needed to finish him. But the weapon was so cumbersome and awkward, and
+      the harpooners stood in such awe of it, that in the majority of cases the
+      whale was either missed altogether or the harpoon got such slight hold
+      that the gun did not go off, the result being generally disastrous.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the present case, however, the "Pierce" gun was in the hands of a man
+      by no means nervous, and above criticism or blame in case of failure. So
+      when he sailed in to the attack, and delivered his "swashing blow," the
+      report of the gun was immediately heard, proving conclusively that a
+      successful stroke had been made.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It had an instantaneous and astonishing effect. The sorely wounded
+      monster, with one tremendous expiration, rolled over and over swift as
+      thought towards his aggressor, literally burying the boat beneath his vast
+      bulk. Now, one would have thought surely, upon seeing this, that none of
+      that boat's crew would ever have been seen again. Nevertheless, strange as
+      it may appear, out of that seething lather of foam, all six heads emerged
+      again in an instant, but on the OTHER side of the great creature. How any
+      of them escaped instant violent death was, and from the nature of the case
+      must, ever remain, an unravelled mystery, for the boat was crumbled into
+      innumerable fragments, and the three hundred fathoms of line, in a perfect
+      maze of entanglement, appeared to be wrapped about the writhing trunk of
+      the whale. Happily, there were two boats disengaged, so that they were
+      able very promptly to rescue the sufferers from their perilous position in
+      the boiling vortex of foam by which they were surrounded. Meanwhile, the
+      remaining boat had an easy task. The shot delivered by the captain had
+      taken deadly effect, the bomb having entered the creature's side low down,
+      directly abaft the pectoral fin. It must have exploded within the cavity
+      of the bowels, from its position, causing such extensive injuries as to
+      make even that vast animal's death but a matter of a few moments.
+      Therefore, we did not run any unnecessary risks, but hauled off to a safe
+      distance and quietly watched the death-throes. They were so brief, that in
+      less than ten minutes from the time of the accident we were busy securing
+      the line through the flukes of our prize.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The vessel was an unusually long time working up to us, so slow, in fact,
+      that Mr Count remarked, critically, "Shouldn't wonder if th' ole man ain't
+      hurt; they're taking things so all-fired easy." By the time she had
+      reached us, we had a good few visitors around us from the fishing fleet,
+      who caused us no little anxiety, The Chinese have no prejudices; they
+      would just as soon steal a whale as a herring, if the conveyance could be
+      effected without, more trouble or risk to their own yellow skins. If it
+      involved the killing of a few foreign devils&mdash;well, so much to the
+      good. The ship, however, arrived before the fishermen had decided upon any
+      active steps, and we got our catch alongside without any delay. The truth
+      of Mr. Count's forecast was verified to the hilt, for we found that the
+      captain was so badly bruised about the body that he was unable to move,
+      while one of the hands, a Portuguese, was injured internally, and seemed
+      very bad indeed. Had any one told us that morning that we should be sorry
+      to see Captain Slocum with sore bones, we should have scoffed at the
+      notion, and some of us would probably have said that we should like to
+      have the opportunity of making him smart. But under the present
+      circumstances, with some hundreds of perfectly ruthless wretches hovering
+      around us, looking with longing eyes at the treasure we had alongside, we
+      could not help remembering the courage and resource so often shown by the
+      skipper, and wished with all our hearts that we could have the benefit of
+      them now. As soon as dinner was over, we all "turned to" with a will to
+      get the whale cut in. None of us required to be told that to lay all night
+      with that whale alongside would be extremely unhealthy for us, great doubt
+      existing as to whether any of us would see morning dawn again. There was,
+      too, just a possibility that when the carcass, stripped of its blubber,
+      was cut adrift, those ravenous crowds would fasten upon it, and let us go
+      in peace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All hands, therefore, worked like Trojans. There was no need to drive us,
+      nor was a single harsh word spoken. Nothing was heard but the almost
+      incessant clatter of the windlass pawls, abrupt monosyllabic orders, and
+      the occasional melancholy wail of a gannet overhead. No word had been
+      spoken on the subject among us, yet somehow we all realized that we were
+      working for a large stake no less than our lives. What! says somebody,
+      within a few miles of Hong Kong? Oh yes; and even within Hong Kong harbour
+      itself, if opportunity offers. Let any man go down the wharf at Hong Kong
+      after sunset, and hail a sampan from the hundreds there that are waiting
+      to be hired. Hardly will the summons have left his lips before a white
+      policeman will be at his side, note-book in hand, inquiring his name and
+      ship, and taking a note of the sampan's number, with the time of his
+      leaving the wharf. Nothing perfunctory about the job either. Let but these
+      precautions be omitted, and the chances that the passenger (if he have
+      aught of value about him) will ever arrive at his destination are almost
+      nil.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So good was the progress made that by five p.m. we were busy at the head,
+      while the last few turns of the windlass were being taken to complete the
+      skinning of the body. With a long pent-up shout that last piece was
+      severed and swung inboard, as the huge mass of reeking flesh floated
+      slowly astern. As it drifted away we saw the patient watchers who had been
+      waiting converging upon it from all quarters, and our hopes rose high. But
+      there was no slackening of our efforts to get in the head. By the time it
+      was dark we managed to get the junk on board, and by the most
+      extraordinary efforts lifted the whole remainder of the head high enough
+      to make sail and stand off to sea. The wind was off the land, the water
+      smooth, and no swell on, so we took no damage from that tremendous weight
+      surging by our side, though, had the worst come to the worst, we could
+      have cut it adrift.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When morning dawned we hove-to, the land being only dimly visible astern,
+      and finished taking on board our "head matter" without further incident.
+      The danger past, we were all well pleased that the captain was below, for
+      the work proceeded quite pleasantly under the genial rule of the mate.
+      Since leaving port we had not felt so comfortable, the work, with all its
+      disagreeables, seeming as nothing now that we could do it without fear and
+      trembling. Alas for poor Jemmy!&mdash;as we always persisted in calling
+      him from inability to pronounce his proper name&mdash;his case was
+      evidently hopeless. His fellows did their poor best to comfort his
+      fast-fleeting hours, one after another murmuring to him the prayers of the
+      Church, which, although they did not understand them, they evidently
+      believed most firmly to have some marvellous power to open the gates of
+      paradise and cleanse the sinner. Notwithstanding the grim fact that their
+      worship was almost pure superstition, it was far more in accordance with
+      the fitness of things for a dying man's surroundings than such scenes as I
+      have witnessed in the forecastles of merchant ships when poor sailors lay
+      a-dying. I remember well once, when I was second officer of a large
+      passenger ship, going in the forecastle as she lay at anchor at St.
+      Helena, to see a sick man. Half the crew were drunk, and the beastly
+      kennel in which they lived was in a thick fog of tobacco-smoke and the
+      stale stench of rum. Ribald songs, quarrelling, and blasphemy made a
+      veritable pandemonium of the place. I passed quietly through it to the
+      sick man's bunk, and found him&mdash;dead! He had passed away in the midst
+      of that, but the horror of it did not seem to impress his bemused
+      shipmates much.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here, at any rate, there was quiet and decorum, while all that could be
+      done for the poor sufferer (not much, from ignorance of how he was
+      injured) was done. He was released from his pain in the afternoon of the
+      second day after the accident, the end coming suddenly and peacefully. The
+      same evening, at sunset, the body, neatly sewn up in canvas, with a big
+      lump of sandstone secured to the feet, was brought on deck, laid on a
+      hatch at the gangway, and covered with the blue, star-spangled American
+      Jack. Then all hands were mustered in the waist, the ship's bell was
+      tolled, and the ensign run up halfway.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captain was still too ill to be moved, so the mate stepped forward
+      with a rusty old Common Prayer-book in his hands, whereon my vagrant fancy
+      immediately fastened in frantic endeavour to imagine how it came to be
+      there. The silence of death was over all. True, the man was but a unit of
+      no special note among us, but death had conferred upon him a brevet rank,
+      in virtue of which be dominated every thought. It seemed strange to me
+      that we who faced death so often and variously, until natural fear had
+      become deadened by custom, should, now that one of our number lay a
+      rapidly-corrupting husk before us, be so tremendously impressed by the
+      simple, inevitable fact. I suppose it was because none of us were able to
+      realize the immanence of Death until we saw his handiwork. Mr. Count
+      opened the book, fumbling nervously among the unfamiliar leaves. Then he
+      suddenly looked up, his weather-scarred face glowing a dull brick-red, and
+      said, in a low voice, "This thing's too many fer me; kin any of ye do it?
+      Ef not, I guess we'll hev ter take it as read." There was no response for
+      a moment; then I stepped forward, reaching out my hand for the book. Its
+      contents were familiar enough to me, for in happy pre-arab days I had been
+      a chorister in the old Lock Chapel, Harrow Road, and had borne my part in
+      the service so often that I think even now I could repeat the greater part
+      of it MEMORITER. Mr. Count gave it me without a word, and, trembling like
+      a leaf, I turned to the "Burial Service," and began the majestic
+      sentences, "I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord." I did not
+      know my own voice as the wonderful words sounded clearly in the still air;
+      but if ever a small body of soul-hardened men FELT the power of God, it
+      was then. At the words, "We therefore commit his body to the deep," I
+      paused, and, the mate making a sign, two of the harpooners tilted the
+      hatch, from which the remains slid off into the unknown depths with a dull
+      splash. Several of the dead man's compatriots covered their faces, and
+      murmured prayers for the repose of his soul, while the tears trickled
+      through their horny fingers. But matters soon resumed their normal course;
+      the tension over, back came the strings of life into position again, to
+      play the same old tunes and discords once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captured whale made an addition to our cargo of one hundred and ten
+      barrels&mdash;a very fair haul indeed. The harpooners were disposed to
+      regard this capture as auspicious upon opening the North Pacific, where,
+      in spite of the time we had spent, and the fair luck we had experienced in
+      the Indian Ocean, we expected to make the chief portion of our cargo.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our next cruising-ground is known to whalemen as the "Coast of Japan"
+      ground, and has certainly proved in the past the most prolific fishery of
+      sperm whales in the whole world. I am inclined now to believe that there
+      are more and larger cachalots to be found in the Southern Hemisphere,
+      between the parallels of 33deg. and 50deg. South; but there the drawback
+      of heavy weather and mountainous seas severely handicaps the fishermen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is somewhat of a misnomer to call the Coast of Japan ground by that
+      name, since to be successful you should not sight Japan at all, but keep
+      out of range of the cold current that sweeps right across the Pacific,
+      skirting the Philippines, along the coasts of the Japanese islands as far
+      as the Kuriles, and then returns to the eastward again to the southward of
+      the Aleutian Archipelago. The greatest number of whales are always found
+      in the vicinity of the Bonin and Volcano groups of islands, which lie in
+      the eddy formed by the northward bend of the mighty current before
+      mentioned. This wonderful ground was first cruised by a London whale-ship,
+      the SYREN, in 1819, when the English branch of the sperm whale-fishery was
+      in its prime, and London skippers were proud of the fact that one of their
+      number, in the EMILIA, had thirty-one years before first ventured around
+      Cape Horn in pursuit of the cachalot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After the advent of the SYREN, the Bonins became the favourite
+      fishing-ground for both Americans and British, and for many years the
+      catch of oil taken from these teeming waters averaged four thousand tuns
+      annually. That the value of the fishery was maintained at so high a level
+      for over a quarter of a century was doubtless due to the fact that there
+      was a long, self-imposed close season, during which the whales were quite
+      unmolested. Nothing in the migratory habits of this whale, so far as has
+      ever been observed, would have prevented a profitable fishing all the year
+      round; but custom, stronger even than profit, ordained that whale-ships
+      should never stay too long upon one fishing-ground, but move on farther
+      until the usual round had been made, unless the vessel were filled in the
+      mean time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Of course, there are whales whose habits lead them at certain seasons, for
+      breeding purposes, to frequent various groups of islands, but the cachalot
+      seems to be quite impartial in his preferences; if he "uses" around
+      certain waters, he is just as likely to be found there in July as January.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Bonins, too, form an ideal calling-place, from the whaling captain's
+      point of view. Peel Island, the principal one of the cluster, has a
+      perfect harbour in Port Lloyd, where a vessel can not only lie in comfort,
+      sheltered from almost every wind that blows, but where provisions, wood,
+      and water are plentiful. There is no inducement, or indeed room, for
+      desertion, and the place is healthy. It is colonized by Japs from the
+      kingdom so easily reached to the westward, and the busy little people,
+      after their manner, make a short stay very agreeable.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once clear of the southern end of Formosa we had quite a rapid run to the
+      Bonins, carrying a press of sail day and night, as the skipper was anxious
+      to arrive there on account of his recent injuries. He was still very lame,
+      and he feared that some damage might have been done to him of which he was
+      ignorant. Besides, it was easy to see that he did not altogether like
+      anybody else being in charge of his ship, no matter how good they were.
+      Such was the expedition we made that we arrived at Port Lloyd twelve days
+      after clearing up our last whale. Very beautiful indeed the islands,
+      appeared, with their bold, steep sides clad in richest green, or, where no
+      vegetation appeared, worn into a thousand fantastic shapes by the sea, or
+      the mountain torrents carving away the lava of which they were all
+      composed. For the whole of the islands were volcanic, and Port Lloyd
+      itself is nothing more than the crater of a vast volcano, which in some
+      tremendous convulsion of nature has sunk from its former high estate low
+      enough to become a haven for ships.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I have said that it was a perfect harbour, but there is no doubt that
+      getting in or out requires plenty of nerve as well as seamanship. There
+      was so little room, and the eddying flows of wind under the high land were
+      so baffling, that at various times during our passage in it appeared as if
+      nothing could prevent us from getting stuck upon some of the adjacent
+      hungry-looking coral reefs. Nothing of the kind happened, however, and we
+      came comfortably to an anchor near three other whale-ships which were
+      already there. They were the DIEGO RAMIREZ, of Nantucket; the CORONEL, of
+      Providence, Rhode Island; and the GRAMPUS, of New Bedford. These were the
+      first whale-ships we had yet seen, and it may be imagined how anxious we
+      felt to meet men with whom we could compare notes and exchange yarns. It
+      might be, too, that we should get some news of that world which, as far as
+      we were concerned, might as well have been at the other extremity of the
+      solar system for the last year, so completely isolated had we been.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The sails were hardly fast before a boat from each of the ships was
+      alongside with their respective skippers on board. The extra exertion
+      necessary to pilot the ship in had knocked the old man up, in his present
+      weak state, and he had gone below for a short rest; so the three visitors
+      dived down into the stuffy cabin, all anxious to interview the latest
+      comer. Considerate always, Mr. Count allowed us to have the remainder of
+      the day to ourselves, so we set about entertaining our company. It was no
+      joke twelve of them coming upon us all at once, and babel ensued for a
+      short time. They knew the system too well to expect refreshments, so we
+      had not to apologize for having nothing to set before them. They had not
+      come, however, for meat and drink, but for talk. And talk we did,
+      sometimes altogether, sometimes rationally; but I doubt whether any of us
+      had ever enjoyed talking so much before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XIV. LIBERTY DAY&mdash;AND AFTER
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      There is generally current among seamen a notion that all masters of ships
+      are bound by law to give their crews twenty-four hours' liberty and a
+      portion of their wages to spend every three months, if they are in port. I
+      have never heard any authority quoted for this, and do not know what
+      foundation there is for such a belief, although the practice is usually
+      adhered to in English ships. But American whale-ships apparently know no
+      law, except the will of their commanders, whose convenience is always the
+      first consideration. Thus, we had now been afloat for well over a year,
+      during which time, except for our foraging excursions at the Cocos and
+      Aldabra, we had certainly known no liberty for a whole day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our present port being one where it was impossible to desert without the
+      certainty of prompt recapture, with subsequent suffering altogether
+      disproportionate to the offence, we were told that one watch at a time
+      would be allowed their liberty for a day. So we of the port watch made our
+      simple preparations, received twenty-five cents each, and were turned
+      adrift on the beach to enjoy ourselves. We had our liberty, but we didn't
+      know what to do with it. There was a native town and a couple of low
+      groggeries kept by Chinamen, where some of my shipmates promptly invested
+      a portion of their wealth in some horrible liquor, the smell of which was
+      enough to make an ordinary individual sick. There was no place apparently
+      where one could get a meal, so that the prospect of our stay ashore
+      lasting a day did not seem very great. I was fortunate enough, however, to
+      foregather with a Scotchman who was a beach-comber, and consequently "knew
+      the ropes." I dare say he was an unmitigated blackguard whenever he got
+      the chance, but he was certainly on his best behaviour with me. He took me
+      into the country a bit to see the sights, which were such as most of the
+      Pacific islands afford. Wonderful indeed were the fantastic rocks, twisted
+      into innumerable grotesque shapes, and, along the shores, hollowed out
+      into caverns of all sizes, some large enough to shelter an army. He was
+      quite familiar with the natives, understanding enough of their queer lingo
+      to get along. By his friendly aid we got some food&mdash;yams, and fish
+      cooked in native fashion, i.e. in heated holes in the ground, for which
+      the friendly Kanakas would take no payment, although they looked murderous
+      enough to be cannibals. It does not do to go by looks always.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Well, after a long ramble, the Scotchman and I laid our weary bodies down
+      in the shade of a big rock, and had a grand sleep, waking up again a
+      little before sunset. We hastened down to the beach off the town, where
+      all my watchmates were sitting in a row, like lost sheep, waiting to be
+      taken on board again. They had had enough of liberty; indeed, such liberty
+      as that was hardly worth having. It seems hardly credible, but we were
+      actually glad to get on board again, it was so miserable ashore, The
+      natives were most unsociable at the port, and we could not make ourselves
+      understood, so there was not much fun to be had. Even those who were
+      inclined to drink had too little for a spree, which I was not sorry for,
+      since doubtless a very unpleasant reception would have awaited them had
+      they come on board drunk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next day the starboard watch went on liberty, while we who had received
+      our share were told off to spend the day wooding and watering. In this
+      most pleasant of occupations (when the weather is fine) I passed a much
+      more satisfactory time than when wandering about with no objective, an
+      empty pocket, and a hungry belly. No foremast hand has ever enjoyed his
+      opportunities of making the acquaintance of his various visiting places
+      more than I have; but the circumstances attendant upon one's leave must be
+      a little favourable, or I would much rather stay aboard and fish. Our task
+      was over for the day, a goodly store of wood and casks of water having
+      been shipped. We were sitting down to supper, when, in answer to a hail
+      from the beach, we were ordered to fetch the liberty men. When we got to
+      them, there was a pretty how-d'ye-do. All of them were more or less drunk,
+      some exceedingly quarrelsome. Now, Mistah Jones was steering our boat,
+      looking as little like a man to take sauce from a drunken sailor as you
+      could imagine. Most of the transformed crowd ya-hooing on the beach had
+      felt the weight of his shoulder-of-mutton fist, yet so utterly had
+      prudence forsaken them that, before we came near them, they were abusing
+      him through all the varied gamut of filthy language they possessed. My
+      democratic sentiments are deeply seated, but I do believe in authority,
+      and respect for it being rigidly enforced, so this uncalled-for scene
+      upset me, making me feel anxious that the gibbering fools might get a
+      lesson. They got one.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Goliath stood like a tower, his eyes alone betraying the fierce anger
+      boiling within. When we touched the beach, his voice was mild end gentle
+      as a child's, his movements calm and deliberate. As soon as we had beached
+      the boat he stepped ashore, and in two strides was in the middle of the
+      snarling group. Further parley ceased at once. Snatching the loudest of
+      them by the breast of his shirt with his right hand, another one by the
+      collar with his left, he flung himself backwards towards the boat,
+      knocking the interveners right and left. But a protruding fragment of rock
+      caught his heel, bringing him with his captives to the ground in a
+      writhing mass. The rest, maddened beyond restraint of fear, flung
+      themselves upon the prostrate man, the glimmer of more than one
+      knife-blade appearing. Two of us from the boat&mdash;one with the tiller,
+      the other brandishing a paddle&mdash;rushed to the rescue; but before we
+      arrived the giant had heaved off his assailants, and, with no other
+      weapons than his bare hands, was doing terrific execution among them. Not
+      knowing, I suppose, whether we were friendly to him or not, he shouted to
+      us to keep away, nor dare to interfere. There was no need. Disregarding
+      such trifles as a few superficial cuts&mdash;not feeling them perhaps&mdash;he
+      so unmercifully mauled that crowd that they howled again for mercy. The
+      battle was brief and bloody. Before hostilities had lasted five minutes,
+      six of the aggressors were stretched insensible; the rest, comprising as
+      many more, were pleading for mercy, completely sober. Such prowess on the
+      part of one man against twelve seems hardly credible; but it must be
+      remembered that Goliath fought, with all the moral force of the ship's
+      officers behind him, against a disorganized crowd without backbone, who
+      would never have dared to face him but for the temporary mania induced by
+      the stuff they had drunk. It was a conflict between a lion and a troop of
+      jackals, whereof the issue was never in doubt as long as lethal weapons
+      were wanting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Standing erect among the cowering creatures, the great negro looked every
+      inch a mediaeval hero. In a stern voice he bade his subjugated enemies to
+      get into the boat, assisting those to do so who were too badly hurt to
+      rise. Then we shoved off for the ship&mdash;a sorrowful gang indeed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As I bent to my oar, I felt very sorry for what had happened. Here were
+      half the crew guilty of an act of violence upon an officer, which,
+      according to the severe code under which we lived, merited punishment as
+      painful as could be inflicted, and lasting for the rest of the voyage.
+      Whatever form that punishment might take, those of us who were innocent
+      would be almost equal sufferers with the others, because discrimination in
+      the treatment between watch and watch is always difficult, and in our case
+      it was certain that it would not be attempted. Except as regarded physical
+      violence, we might all expect to share alike. Undoubtedly things looked
+      very unpleasant. My gloomy cogitations were abruptly terminated by the
+      order to "unrow"&mdash;we were alongside. Somehow or other all hands
+      managed to scramble on board, and assist in hoisting the boat up.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As soon as she was secured we slunk away forward, but we had hardly got
+      below before a tremendous summons from Goliath brought us all aft again at
+      the double quick. Most of the fracas had been witnessed from the ship, so
+      that but a minute or two was needed to explain how or why it begun.
+      Directly that explanation had been supplied by Mistah Jones, the order was
+      issued for the culprits to appear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I have before noticed how little love was lost between the skipper and his
+      officers, Goliath having even once gone so far as to give me a very
+      emphatic opinion of his about the "old man" of a most unflattering nature.
+      And had such a state of things existed on board an English ship, the crew
+      would simply have taken charge, for they would have seen the junior
+      officers flouted, snubbed, and jeered at; and, of course, what they saw
+      the captain do, they would not be slow to improve on. Many a promising
+      young officer's career has been blighted in this way by the feminine spite
+      of a foolish man unable to see that if the captain shows no respect to his
+      officers, neither will the crew, nor obedience either.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But in an American ship, so long as an officer remains an officer, he must
+      be treated as such by every man, under pain of prompt punishment. Yankee
+      skippers have far too much NOUS to allow their hands to grow saucy in
+      consequence of division among the after-guard. So now a sort of
+      court-martial was held upon the unfortunates who had dared to attack
+      Goliath, at which that sable hero might have been the apple of Captain
+      Slocum's eye, so solicitous was he of Mistah Jones' honour and the
+      reparation to be made.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This sort of thing was right in his line. Naturally cruel, he seemed to
+      thoroughly enjoy himself in the prospect of making human beings twist and
+      writhe in pain. Nor would he be baulked of a jot of his pleasure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Goliath approached him, and muttered a few words, meant, I felt sure, to
+      appease him by letting him know how much they had suffered at his strong
+      hands; but he turned upon the negro with a savage curse, bidding him be
+      silent. Then every one of the culprits was stripped, and secured to the
+      lash-rail by the wrists; scourges were made of cotton fish-line, knotted
+      at intervals, and secured to a stout handle; the harpooners were told off
+      as executioners, and the flogging began. Perhaps it was necessary for the
+      maintenance of discipline&mdash;certainly it was trivial compared with the
+      practice, till recently, in our own army and navy; but I am glad to say
+      that, compelled to witness it, I felt quite sick&mdash;physically sick&mdash;trembling
+      so in every limb that my legs would not support me. It was not fear, for I
+      had nothing to fear had I been ever such a coward. Whatever it was, I am
+      not sorry either to have felt it or to own it, even while I fully admit
+      that for some forms of wickedness nothing but the lash seems adequate
+      punishment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some of the victims fainted, not being in the best condition at the outset
+      for undergoing so severe a trial; but all were treated alike, buckets of
+      salt water being flung over them. This drastic reviver, while adding to
+      their pain, brought them all into a state of sufficient activity to get
+      forward when they were released. Smarting and degraded, all their
+      temporary bravado effectually banished, they were indeed pitiable objects,
+      their deplorable state all the harder to bear from its contrast to our
+      recent pleasure when we entertained the visiting crews.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Having completed our quantum of wood, water, and fresh provisions for the
+      officers, we got under way again for the fishing grounds. I did not see
+      how we could hope for a successful season, knowing the utterly despondent
+      state of the crew, which even affected the officers, who, not so callous
+      or cruel as the skipper, seemed to be getting rather tired of the constant
+      drive and kick, now the normal condition of affairs. But the skipper's
+      vigilance was great. Whether he noted any sign of slackness or
+      indifference on the part of his coadjutors or not, of course I cannot say,
+      but he certainly seemed to put more vigour into his attentions than had
+      been his wont, and so kept everybody up to the mark.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hitherto we had always had our fishing to ourselves; we were now to see
+      something of the ways of other men employed in the same manner. For though
+      the general idea or plan of campaign against the whales is the same in all
+      American whalers, every ship has some individual peculiarity of tactics,
+      which, needless to say, are always far superior to those of any other
+      ship. When we commenced our cruise on this new ground, there were seven
+      whalers in sight, all quite as keen on the chase as ourselves, so that I
+      anticipated considerable sport of the liveliest kind should we "raise"
+      whales with such a fleet close at hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But for a whole week we saw nothing but a grampus or so, a few loitering
+      finbacks, and an occasional lean humpback bull certainly not worth
+      chasing. On the seventh afternoon, however, I was in the main crow's-nest
+      with the chief, when I noticed a ship to windward of us alter her course,
+      keeping away three or four points on an angle that would presently bring
+      her across our bows a good way ahead. I was getting pretty well versed in
+      the tricks of the trade now, so I kept mum, but strained my eyes in the
+      direction for which the other ship was steering. The chief was looking
+      astern at some finbacks, the look-out men forward were both staring to
+      leeward, thus for a minute or so I had a small arc of the horizon to
+      myself. The time was short, but it sufficed, and for the first time that
+      voyage I had the privilege of "raising" a sperm whale. My voice quivered
+      with excitement as I uttered the war-whoop, "Ah blo-o-o-o-w!" Round spun
+      the mate on his heel, while the hands clustered like bees roused from
+      their hive. "Where away&mdash;where?" gasped the mate. And I pointed to a
+      spot about half a point on the lee bow, at the same time calling his
+      attention to the fact that the stranger to windward was keeping away. In
+      answer to the skipper's hurried queries from below, Mr. Count gave him the
+      general outline of affairs, to which he replied by crowding every stitch
+      of canvas on the vessel that was available.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The spout I had seen was a good ten miles off, and, for the present,
+      seemed to belong to a "lone" whale, as it was the only one visible. There
+      was a good breeze blowing, as much, in fact, as we could carry all sail
+      to, the old barky making a tremendous commotion as she blundered along
+      under the unusual press of canvas. In the excitement of the race all our
+      woes were forgotten; we only thought of the possibility of the ship
+      getting there first. We drew gradually nearer to the stranger, who, like
+      us, was carrying all the sail he had got, but, being able to go a point or
+      two free, was outsailing us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was anybody's race as yet, though, when we heard the skipper's hail,
+      "'Way down from aloft!" as he came up to take our place, The whale had
+      sounded, apparently heading to leeward, so that the weather-gage held by
+      our rival was not much advantage to him now. We ran on for another two
+      miles, then shortened sail, and stood by to lower away the moment he
+      should re-appear, Meanwhile another ship was working up from to leeward,
+      having evidently noted our movements, or else, like the albatross, "smelt
+      whale," no great distance to windward of him. Waiting for that whale to
+      rise was one of the most exciting experiences we had gone through as yet,
+      with two other ships so near. Everybody's nerves seemed strung up to
+      concert pitch, and it was quite a relief when from half a dozen throats at
+      once burst the cry, "There she white-waters! Ah blo-o-o-o-w!" Not a mile
+      away, dead to leeward of us, quietly beating the water with the flat of
+      his flukes, as if there was no such thing in the watery world as a
+      whale-ship. Splash! almost simultaneously went the four boats. Out we shot
+      from the ship, all on our mettle; for was not the skipper's eye upon us
+      from his lofty eyrie, as well as the crew of the other ship, now not more
+      than a mile away! We seemed a terrible time getting the sails up, but the
+      officers dared not risk our willingness to pull while they could be
+      independent of us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By the time we were fairly off, the other ship's boats were coming like
+      the wind, so that eight boats were now converging upon the unconscious
+      monster. We fairly flew over the short, choppy sea, getting drenched with
+      the flying spray, but looking out far more keenly at the other boats than
+      at the whale. Up we came to him, Mr. Count's boat to the left, the other
+      mate's boat to the right. Almost at the same moment the irons flew from
+      the hands of the rival harpooners; but while ours was buried to the
+      hitches in the whale's side, the other man's just ploughed up the skin on
+      the animal's back, as it passed over him and pierced our boat close behind
+      the harpooner's leg. Not seeing what had happened to his iron, or knowing
+      that we were fast, the other harpooner promptly hurled his second iron,
+      which struck solidly. It was a very pretty tangle, but our position was
+      rather bad. The whale between us was tearing the bowels of the deep up in
+      his rage and fear; we were struggling frantically to get our sail down;
+      and at any moment that wretched iron through our upper strake might tear a
+      plank out of us. Our chief, foaming at the mouth with rage and excitement,
+      was screeching inarticulate blasphemy at the other mate, who, not knowing
+      what was the matter, was yelling back all his copious vocabulary of abuse.
+      I felt very glad the whale was between us, or there would surely have been
+      murder done. At last, out drops the iron, leaving a jagged hole you could
+      put your arm through. Wasn't Mr. Count mad? I really thought he would
+      split with rage, for it was impossible for us to go on with that hole in
+      our bilge. The second mate came alongside and took our line as the whale
+      was just commencing to sound, thus setting us free. We made at once for
+      the other ship's "fast" boat, and the compliments that had gone before
+      were just casual conversation to what filled the air with dislocated
+      language now. Presently both the champions cooled down a bit from want of
+      breath, and we got our case stated. It was received with a yell of
+      derision from the other side as a splendid effort of lying on our part;
+      because the first ship fast claims the whale, and such a prize as this one
+      we were quarrelling about was not to be tamely yielded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, as reason asserted her sway over Mr. Count, he quieted down,
+      knowing full well that the state of the line belonging to his rival would
+      reveal the truth when the whale rose again. Therefore we returned to the
+      ship, leaving our three boats busy waiting the whale's pleasure to rise
+      again. When the skipper heard what had happened, he had his own boat
+      manned, proceeding himself to the battle-field in expectation of
+      complications presently. By the time he arrived upon the scene there were
+      two more boats lying by, which had come up from the third ship, mentioned
+      as working up from to leeward. "Pretty fine ground this's got ter be!"
+      growled the old man. "Caint strike whale 'thout bein' crowded eout uv yer
+      own propputty by a gang bunco steerers like this. Shall hev ter quit it,
+      en keep a pawnshop."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And still the whale kept going steadily down, down, down. Already he was
+      on the second boat's lines, and taking them out faster than ever. Had we
+      been alone, this persistence on his part, though annoying, would not have
+      mattered much; but, with so many others in company, the possibilities of
+      complication, should we need to slip our end, were numerous. The ship kept
+      near, and Mr. Count, seeing how matters were going, had hastily patched
+      his boat, returning at once with another tub of line. He was but just in
+      time to bend on, when to our great delight we saw the end slip from our
+      rival's boat. This in no wise terminated his lien on the whale, supposing
+      he could prove that he struck first, but it got him out of the way for the
+      time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile we were running line faster than ever. There was an enormous
+      length attached to the animal now&mdash;some twelve thousand feet&mdash;the
+      weight of which was very great, to say nothing of the many "drogues" or
+      "stopwaters" attached to it at intervals. Judge, then, of my surprise when
+      a shout of "Blo-o-o-w!" called my attention to the whale himself just
+      breaking water about half a mile away. It was an awkward predicament; for
+      if we let go our end, the others would be on the whale immediately; if we
+      held on, we should certainly be dragged below in a twinkling; and our
+      disengaged boats could do nothing, for they had no line. But the
+      difficulty soon settled itself. Out ran our end, leaving us bare of line
+      as pleasure skiffs. The newcomer, who had been prowling near, keeping a
+      close watch upon us, saw our boat jump up when released from the weight.
+      Off he flew like an arrow to the labouring leviathan, now a "free fish,"
+      except for such claims as the two first-comers had upon it, which claims
+      are legally assessed, where no dispute arises. In its disabled condition,
+      dragging so enormous a weight of line, it was but a few minutes before the
+      fresh boat was fast, while we looked on helplessly, boiling with impotent
+      rage. All that we could now hope for was the salvage of some of our line,
+      a mile and a half of which, inextricably mixed up with about the same
+      length of our rival's, was towing astern of the fast-expiring cachalot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So great had been the strain upon that hardly-used animal that he did not
+      go into his usual "flurry," but calmly expired without the faintest
+      struggle. In the mean time two of our boats had been sent on board again
+      to work the ship, while the skipper proceeded to try his luck in the
+      recovery of his gear. On arriving at the dead whale, however, we found
+      that he had rolled over and over beneath the water so many times that the
+      line was fairly frapped round him, and the present possessors were in no
+      mood to allow us the privilege of unrolling it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the conversation we had drawn very near the carcass, so near, in
+      fact, that one hand was holding the boat alongside the whale's "small" by
+      a bight of the line. I suppose the skipper's eagle eye must have caught
+      sight of the trailing part of the line streaming beneath, for suddenly he
+      plunged overboard, reappearing almost immediately with the line in his
+      hand. He scrambled into the boat with it, cutting it from the whale at
+      once, and starting his boat's crew hauling in.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then there was a hubbub again. The captain of the NARRAGANSETT, our first
+      rival, protested vigorously against our monopoly of the line; but in grim
+      silence our skipper kept on, taking no notice of him, while we steadily
+      hauled. Unless he of the NARRAGANSETT choose to fight for what he
+      considered his rights, there was no help for him. And there was something
+      in our old man's appearance eminently calculated to discourage aggression
+      of any kind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last, disgusted apparently with the hopeless turn affairs had taken,
+      the NARRAGANSETT's boats drew off, and returned on board their ship. Two
+      of our boats had by this time accumulated a mountainous coil of line each,
+      with which we returned to our own vessel, leaving the skipper to visit the
+      present holder of the whale, the skipper of the JOHN HAMPDEN.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What arrangements they made, or how they settled the NARRAGANSETT's claim
+      between them, I never knew, but I dare say there was a costly law-suit
+      about it in New Bedford years after.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was not very encouraging for a start, nor did the next week see us do
+      any better. Several times we saw other ships with whales alongside, but we
+      got no show at all. Now, I had hoped a great deal from our cruise on these
+      grounds, because I had heard whispers of a visit to the icy Sea of
+      Okhotsk, and the prospect was to me a horrible one. I never did take any
+      stock in Arctic work. But if we made a good season on the Japan grounds,
+      we should not go north, but gradually work down the Pacific again, on the
+      other side, cruising as we went.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Day after day went by without any fresh capture or even sight of fish,
+      until I began to believe that the stories I had heard of the wonderful
+      fecundity of the Coast of Japan waters were fables without foundation, in
+      fact. Had I known what sort of fishing our next bout would be, I should
+      not have been so eager to sight whales again. If this be not a platitude
+      of the worst kind, I don't know the meaning of the word; but, after all,
+      platitudes have their uses, especially when you want to state a fact
+      baldly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XV. WHICH COMES UNCOMFORTABLY NEAR BEING THE LAST
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      All unversed as I am in the finer shades of literary craftsmanship, there
+      is great uncertainty in my mind whether it is good or bad "art" to
+      anticipate your next chapter by foreshadowing its contents; but whether
+      good or bad art, the remembrance of my miseries on the eventful occasion I
+      wish to describe was so strong upon me as I wrote the last few lines of
+      the previous chapter that I just had to let those few words leak out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Through all the vicissitudes of this strange voyage I had hitherto felt
+      pretty safe, and as the last thing a man anticipates (if his digestion is
+      all right) is the possibility of coming to grief himself while fully
+      prepared to see everybody else go under, so I had got to think that
+      whoever got killed I was not to be&mdash;a very pleasing sentiment, and
+      one that carries a man far, enabling him to face dangers with a light
+      heart which otherwise would make a nerveless animal of him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In this optimistic mood, then, I gaily flung myself into my place in the
+      mate's boat one morning, as we were departing in chase of a magnificent
+      cachalot that had been raised just after breakfast. There were no other
+      vessels in sight&mdash;much to our satisfaction&mdash;the wind was light,
+      with a cloudless sky, and the whale was dead to leeward of us. We sped
+      along at a good rate towards our prospective victim, who was, in his
+      leisurely enjoyment of life, calmly lolling on the surface, occasionally
+      lifting his enormous tail out of water and letting it fall flat upon the
+      surface with a boom audible for miles.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were as usual, first boat; but, much to the mate's annoyance, when we
+      were a short half-mile from the whale, our main-sheet parted. It became
+      immediately necessary to roll the sail up, lest its flapping should alarm
+      the watchful monster, and this delayed us sufficiently to allow the other
+      boats to shoot ahead of us. Thus the second mate got fast some seconds
+      before we arrived on the scene, seeing which we furled sail, unshipped the
+      mast, and went in on him with the oars only. At first the proceedings were
+      quite of the usual character, our chief wielding his lance in most
+      brilliant fashion, while not being fast to the animal allowed us much
+      greater freedom in our evolutions; but that fatal habit of the mate's&mdash;of
+      allowing his boat to take care of herself so long as he was getting in
+      some good home-thrusts&mdash;once more asserted itself. Although the whale
+      was exceedingly vigorous, churning the sea into yeasty foam over an
+      enormous area, there we wallowed close to him, right in the middle of the
+      turmoil, actually courting disaster.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He had just settled down for a moment, when, glancing over the gunwale, I
+      saw his tail, like a vast shadow, sweeping away from us towards the second
+      mate, who was laying off the other side of him. Before I had time to
+      think, the mighty mass of gristle leapt into the sunshine, curved back
+      from us like a huge bow. Then with a roar it came at us, released from its
+      tension of Heaven knows how many tons. Full on the broadside it struck us,
+      sending every soul but me flying out of the wreckage as if fired from
+      catapults. I did not go because my foot was jammed somehow in the well of
+      the boat, but the wrench nearly pulled my thigh-bone out of its socket. I
+      had hardly released my foot, when, towering above me, came the colossal
+      head of the great creature, as he ploughed through the bundle of debris
+      that had just been a boat. There was an appalling roar of water in my
+      ears, and darkness that might be felt all around. Yet, in the midst of it
+      all, one thought predominated as clearly as if I had been turning it over
+      in my mind in the quiet of my bunk aboard&mdash;"What if he should swallow
+      me?" Nor to this day can I understand how I escaped the portals of his
+      gullet, which of course gaped wide as a church door. But the agony of
+      holding my breath soon overpowered every other feeling and thought, till
+      just as something was going to snap inside my head I rose to the surface.
+      I was surrounded by a welter of bloody froth, which made it impossible for
+      me to see; but oh, the air was sweet!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I struck out blindly, instinctively, although I could feel so strong an
+      eddy that voluntary progress was out of the question. My hand touched and
+      clung to a rope, which immediately towed me in some direction&mdash;I
+      neither knew nor cared whither. Soon the motion ceased, and, with a
+      seaman's instinct, I began to haul myself along by the rope I grasped,
+      although no definite idea was in my mind as to where it was attached.
+      Presently I came butt up against something solid, the feel of which
+      gathered all my scattered wits into a compact knub of dread. It was the
+      whale! "Any port in a storm," I murmured, beginning to haul away again on
+      my friendly line. By dint of hard work I pulled myself right up the
+      sloping, slippery bank of blubber, until I reached the iron, which, as
+      luck would have it, was planted in that side of the carcass now uppermost.
+      Carcass I said&mdash;well, certainly I had no idea of there being any life
+      remaining within the vast mass beneath me, yet I had hardly time to take a
+      couple of turns round myself with the rope (or whale-line, as I had proved
+      it to be), when I felt the great animal quiver all over, and begin to
+      forge ahead. I was now composed enough to remember that help could not be
+      far away, and that my rescue, providing that I could keep above water, was
+      but a question of a few minutes. But I was hardly prepared for the whale's
+      next move. Being very near his end, the boat, or boats, had drawn off a
+      bit, I supposed, for I could see nothing of them. Then I remembered the
+      flurry. Almost at the same moment it began; and there was I, who with
+      fearful admiration had so often watched the titanic convulsions of a dying
+      cachalot, actually involved in them. The turns were off my body, but I was
+      able to twist a couple of turns round my arms, which, in case of his
+      sounding, I could readily let go.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then all was lost in roar and rush, as of the heart of some mighty
+      cataract, during which I was sometimes above, sometimes beneath, the
+      water, but always clinging with every ounce of energy still left, to the
+      line. Now, one thought was uppermost&mdash;"What if he should breach?" I
+      had seen them do so when in flurry, leaping full twenty feet in the air.
+      Then I prayed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Quickly as all the preceding changes had passed came perfect peace. There
+      I lay, still alive, but so weak that, although I could feel the turns
+      slipping off my arms, and knew that I should slide off the slope of the
+      whale's side into the sea if they did, I could make no effort to secure
+      myself. Everything then passed away from me, just as if I had gone to
+      sleep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I do not at all understand how I kept my position, nor how long, but I
+      awoke to the blessed sound of voices, and saw the second mate's boat
+      alongside, Very gently and tenderly they lifted me into the boat, although
+      I could hardly help screaming with agony when they touched me, so bruised
+      and broken up did I feel. My arms must have been nearly torn from their
+      sockets, for the strands of the whale-line had cut deep into their flesh
+      with the strain upon it, while my thigh was swollen enormously from the
+      blow I received at the onset. Mr. Cruce was the most surprised man I think
+      I ever saw. For full ten minutes he stared at me with wide-open eyes. When
+      at last he spoke, it was with difficulty, as if wanting words to express
+      his astonishment. At last he blurted out, "Whar you bin all de time,
+      ennyhaow? 'Cawse ef you bin hangin' on to dat ar wale ev'sence you boat
+      smash, w'y de debbil you hain't all ter bits, hey?" I smiled feebly, but
+      was too weak to talk, and presently went off again into a dead faint.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When I recovered, I was snug in my bunk aboard, but aching in every joint,
+      and as sore as if I had been pounded with a club until I was bruised all
+      over. During the day Mr. Count was kind enough to pay me a visit. With his
+      usual luck, he had escaped without the slightest injury; neither was any
+      other member of the boat's crew the worse for the ducking but myself. He
+      told me that the whale was one of the largest he had ever seen, and as fat
+      as butter. The boat was an entire loss, so completely smashed to pieces
+      that nothing of her or her gear had been recovered. After spending about a
+      quarter of an hour with me, he left me considerably cheered up, promising
+      to look after me in the way of food, and also to send me some books. He
+      told me that I need not worry myself about my inability to be at work,
+      because the old man was not unfavourably disposed towards me, which piece
+      of news gave me a great deal of comfort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When my poor, weary shipmates came below from their heavy toil of cutting
+      in, they were almost inclined to be envious of my comfort&mdash;small
+      blame to them&mdash;though I would gladly have taken my place among them
+      again, could I have got rid of my hurts. But I was condemned to lie there
+      for nearly three weeks before I was able to get about once more. In my
+      sleep I would undergo the horrible anticipation of sliding down that
+      awful, cavernous mouth over again, often waking with a shriek and drenched
+      with sweat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While I lay there, three whales were caught, all small cows, and I was
+      informed that the skipper was getting quite disgusted with the luck. At
+      last I managed to get on deck, quite a different-looking man to when I
+      went below, and feeling about ten years older. I found the same sullen
+      quiet reigning that I had noticed several times before when we were
+      unfortunate. I fancied that the skipper looked more morose and savage than
+      ever, though of me, to my great relief, he took not the slightest notice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The third day after my return to duty we sighted whales again. We lowered
+      three boats as promptly as usual; but when within about half a mile of the
+      "pod" some slight noise in one of the boats gallied them, and away they
+      went in the wind's eye, it blowing a stiffish breeze at the time, It was
+      from the first evidently a hopeless task to chase them, but we persevered
+      until recalled to the ship, dead beat with fatigue. I was not sorry, for
+      my recent adventure seemed to have made quite a coward of me, so much so
+      that an unpleasant gnawing at the pit of my stomach as we neared them
+      almost made me sick. I earnestly hoped that so inconvenient a feeling
+      would speedily leave me, or I should be but a poor creature in a boat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In passing, I would like to refer to the wonderful way in which these
+      whales realize at a great distance, if the slightest sound be made, the
+      presence of danger. I do not use the word "hear" because so abnormally
+      small are their organs of hearing, the external opening being quite
+      difficult to find, that I do not believe they can hear at all well. But I
+      firmly believe they possess another sense by means of which they are able
+      to detect any unusual vibration of the waves of either air or sea at a far
+      greater distance than it would be possible for them to hear, Whatever this
+      power may be which they possess, all whalemen are well acquainted with
+      their exercise of it, and always take most elaborate precautions to render
+      their approach to a whale noiseless.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our extraordinary want of success at last so annoyed the skipper that he
+      determined to quit the ground and go north. The near approach of the open
+      season in those regions probably hastened his decision, but I learned from
+      Goliath that he had always been known as a most fortunate man among the
+      "bowheads," as the great MYSTICETAE of that part of the Arctic seas are
+      called by the Americans. Not that there is any difference, as far as I
+      have been able to ascertain, between them and the "right" whale of the
+      Greenland seas, but from some caprice of nomenclature for which there is
+      no accounting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So in leisurely fashion we worked north, keeping, of course, a bright
+      look-out all the way for straggling cachalots, but not seeing any. From
+      scraps of information that in some mysterious fashion leaked out, we
+      learned that we were bound to the Okhotsk Sea, it being no part of the
+      skipper's intentions to go prowling around Behrings Sea, where he believed
+      the whales to be few and far between.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It may be imagined that we of the crew were not at all pleased with this
+      intelligence, our life being, we considered, sufficiently miserable
+      without the addition of extreme cold, for we did not realize that in the
+      Arctic regions during summer the cold is by no means unbearable, and our
+      imagination pictured a horrible waste of perpetual ice and snow, in the
+      midst of which we should be compelled to freeze while dodging whales
+      through the crevices of the floes. But whether our pictures of the
+      prospects that awaited us were caricatures or no made not the slightest
+      difference. "Growl you may, but go you must" is an old sea-jingle of the
+      truest ring; but, while our going was inevitable, growling was a luxury
+      none of us dare indulge in.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had by no means a bad passage to the Kuriles, which form a natural
+      barrier enclosing the immense area of the Okhotsk Sea from the vast
+      stretch of the Pacific. Around this great chain of islands the navigation
+      is exceedingly difficult, and dangerous as well, from the ever-varying
+      currents as from the frequent fogs and sudden storms. But these
+      impediments to swift and safe navigation are made light of by the
+      whalemen, who, as I feel never weary of remarking, are the finest
+      navigators in the world where speed is not the first consideration.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The most peculiar features of these inhospitable shores to a seaman are
+      the vast fields of seaweed surrounding them all, which certainly helps to
+      keep the sea down during gales, but renders navigation most difficult on
+      account of its concealment of hidden dangers. These islands are aptly
+      named, the word "Kurile" being Kamschatkan for smoke; and whether it be
+      regarded as given in consequence of the numerous volcanoes which pour
+      their fumes into the air, or the all-prevailing fog fostered by the Kuro
+      Siwo, or Japanese counterpart of the Gulf stream, the designation is
+      equally appropriate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We entered the Okhotsk Sea by the Nadeshda Channel, so-named after Admiral
+      Krusenstern's ship, which was the first civilized vessel that passed
+      through its turbulent waters. It separates the islands Rashau and Mantaua
+      by about twenty miles, yet so conflicting and violent are the currents
+      which eddy and swirl in all parts of it, that without a steady, strong,
+      fair wind it is most dangerous to a sailing vessel. Thenceforward the
+      navigation was free from difficulty, or at least none that we could
+      recognize as such, so we gave all our attention to the business which
+      brought us there.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Scarcely any change was needed in our equipment, except the substitution
+      of longer harpoons for those we had been using, and the putting away of
+      the bomb-guns. These changes were made because the blubber of the bowhead
+      is so thick that ordinary harpoons will not penetrate beyond it to the
+      muscle, which, unless they do, renders them liable to draw, upon a heavy
+      strain. As for the bombs, Yankees hold the mysticetae in such supreme
+      contempt that none of them would dream of wasting so expensive a weapon as
+      a bomb upon them. I was given to understand by my constant crony, Mistah
+      Jones, that there was no more trouble in killing a bowhead than in
+      slaughtering a sheep; and that while it was quite true that accidents DID
+      occur, they were entirely due to the carelessness or clumsiness of the
+      whalemen, and not in any way traceable to a desire on the victim's part to
+      do any one harm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The sea was little encumbered with ice, it being now late in June, so that
+      our progress was not at all impeded by the few soft, brashy floes that we
+      encountered, none of them hard enough to do a ship's hull any damage. In
+      most places the sea was sufficiently shallow to permit of our anchoring.
+      For this purpose we used a large kedge, with stout hawser for cable, never
+      furling all the sails in case of a strong breeze suddenly springing up,
+      which would cause us to drag. This anchoring was very comfortable. Besides
+      allowing us to get much more rest than when on other cruising-grounds, we
+      were able to catch enormous quantities of fish, mostly salmon, of which
+      there were no less than fourteen varieties. So plentiful were these
+      splendid fish that we got quite critical in our appreciation of them, very
+      soon finding that one kind, known as the "nerker," was far better
+      flavoured than any of the others. But as the daintiest food palls the
+      quickest, it was not long before we got tired of salmon, and wished most
+      heartily for beef.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Much fun has been made of the discontent of sailors. With food which is
+      considered a luxury ashore, and wonder expressed that if, as we assert,
+      the ordinary dietary of the seaman be so bad, he should be so ready to
+      rebel when fed with delicacies. But in justice to the sailor, it ought to
+      be remembered that the daintiest food may be rendered disgusting by bad
+      cookery, such as is the rule on board merchant ships. "God sends meat, but
+      the devil sends cooks" is a proverb which originated on board ship, and no
+      one who has ever served any time in a ship's forecastle would deny that it
+      is abundantly justified. Besides which, even good food well cooked of one
+      kind only, served many times in succession, becomes very trying, only the
+      plainest foods, such as bread, rice, potatoes, etc., retaining their
+      command of the appetite continually.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I remember once, when upon the Coromandel coast in a big Greenock ship, we
+      found fowls very cheap. At Bimliapatam the captain bought two or three
+      hundred, which, as we had no coops, were turned loose on deck. We had also
+      at the same time prowling about the decks three goats, twenty pigs, and
+      two big dogs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Consequently the state of the ship was filthy, nor could all our efforts
+      keep her clean. This farmyard condition of things was permitted to
+      continue for about a week, when the officers got so tired of it, and the
+      captain so annoyed at the frequent loss of fowls by their flying
+      overboard, that the edict went forth to feed the foremast hands on poultry
+      till further orders. Great was our delight at the news. Fowl for dinner
+      represented to our imagination almost the apex of high living, only
+      indulged in by such pampered children of fortune as the officers of ships
+      or well-to-do people ashore.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When dinner-time arrived, we boys made haste to the galley with watering
+      mouths, joyfully anticipating that rare delight of the sailor&mdash;a good
+      "feed." The cook uncovered his coppers, plunged his tormentors therein,
+      and produced such a succession of ugly corpses of fowls as I had never
+      seen before. To each man a whole one was allotted, and we bore the
+      steaming hecatomb into the forecastle. The boisterous merriment became
+      hushed at our approach, and faces grew lengthy when the unwholesome aspect
+      of the "treat" was revealed. Each man secured his bird, and commenced
+      operations. But oh, the disappointment, and the bad words! What little
+      flesh there was upon the framework of those unhappy fowls was like leather
+      itself, and utterly flavourless. It could not well have been otherwise.
+      The feathers had been simply scalded off, the heads chopped off, and
+      bodies split open to facilitate drawing (I am sure I wonder the cook took
+      the trouble to do that much), and thus prepared they were cast into a
+      cauldron of boiling salt water. There, with the water fiercely bubbling,
+      they were kept for an hour and a half, then pitchforked out into the mess
+      kid and set before us. We simply could not eat them; no one but a Noumean
+      Kanaka could, for his teeth are equal to husking a cocoa-nut, or chopping
+      off a piece of sugar-cane as thick as your wrist.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After much heated discussion, it was unanimously resolved to protest at
+      once against the substitution of such a fraud as this poultry for our
+      legitimate rations of "salt horse." so, bearing the DISJECTA MEMBRA of our
+      meal, the whole crowd marched aft, and requested an interview with the
+      skipper. He came out of the cabin at once, saying, "Well, boys, what's the
+      matter?" The spokesman, a bald-headed Yankee, who had been bo'sun's mate
+      of an American man-of-war, stepped forward and said, offering his kid,
+      "Jest have a look at that sir." The skipper looked, saying, inquiringly,
+      "Well?" "D'yew think, sir," said Nat, "THET'S proper grub for men?"
+      "Proper grub! Why, you old sinner, you don't mean to say you're goin' to
+      growl about havin' chicken for dinner?" "Well, sir, it depends muchly upon
+      the chicken. All I know is, that I've et some dam queer tack in my time,
+      but sence I ben fishin' I never had no such bundles of sticks parcelled
+      with leather served out to me. I HEV et boot&mdash;leastways gnawed it;
+      when I was cast away in a open boat for three weeks&mdash;but it wa'n't
+      bad boot, as boots go. Now, if yew say that these things is boots, en thet
+      it's necessary we should eat'em, or starve, w'y, we'll think about it. But
+      if yew call'em chickens,'n say you're doin' us a kindness by stoppin'
+      our'lowance of meat wile we're wrastlin' with 'em, then we say we don't
+      feel obliged to yew, 'n 'll thank yew kindly to keep such lugsuries for
+      yerself, 'n give us wot we signed for." A murmur of assent confirmed this
+      burst of eloquence, which we all considered a very fine effort indeed. A
+      moment's silence ensued; then the skipper burst out, "I've often heard of
+      such things, but hang me if I ever believed 'em till now! You ungrateful
+      beggars! I'll see you get your whack, and no more, from this out. When you
+      get any little extras aboard this ship agen, you'll be thankful for 'em;
+      now I tell you." "All right, sir," said Nat; "so long as we don't hev to
+      chaw any more of yer biled Bimly crows, I dessay we shall worry along as
+      usual." And, as the Parliamentary reports say, the proceedings then
+      terminated.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, suppose the skipper had told the story to some of his shore friends,
+      how very funny the sailors' conduct would have been made to appear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On another occasion long after, when I was mate of a barque loading
+      mahogany in Tonala, Mexico, the skipper thought he would practise economy
+      by buying a turtle instead of beef. A large turtle was obtained for
+      twenty-five cents, and handed over to the cook to be dealt with,
+      particular instructions being given him as to the apportionment of the
+      meat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At eight bells there was a gathering of the men in front of the poop, and
+      a summons for the captain. When he appeared, the usual stereotyped
+      invitation to "have a look at THAT, if you please, sir," was uttered. The
+      skipper was, I think, prepared for a protest, for he began to bluster
+      immediately. "Look here!" he bawled, "I ain't goin' to 'ave any of your
+      dam nonsense. You WANT somethin' to growl about, you do." "Well, Cap'n
+      George," said one of the men, "you shorely don't think we k'n eat shells,
+      do yer?" Just then I caught sight of the kid's contents, and could hardly
+      restrain my indignation. For in a dirty heap, the sight of which might
+      have pleased an Esquimaux, but was certainly enough to disgust any
+      civilized man, lay the calipee, or under-shell of the turtle, hacked into
+      irregular blocks. It had been simply boiled, and flung into the kid, an
+      unclean, disgusting heap of shell, with pieces of dirty flesh attached in
+      ragged lumps. But the skipper, red-faced and angry, answered, "W'y, yer
+      so-and-so ijits, that's wot the Lord Mayor of London gives about a guinea
+      a hounce for w'en 'e feeds lords n' dooks. Only the haristocracy at 'ome
+      get a charnce to stick their teeth in such grub as that. An' 'ere are you
+      lot a-growlin' at 'avin' it for a change!" "That's all right, cap'n," said
+      the man; "bein' brort up ter such lugsuries, of corse you kin appreshyate
+      it. So if yer keep it fer yer own eatin', an' giv us wot we signed for, we
+      shall be werry much obliged." "Now, I ain't a-goin' to 'ave none o' YOUR
+      cheek, so you'd better git forrard. You can betcher life you won't get no
+      more fresh messes this voy'ge." So, with grumbling and ill-will on both
+      sides, the conference came to an end. But I thought, and still think, that
+      the mess set before those men, who had been working hard since six a.m.,
+      was unfit for the food of a good dog.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Out of my own experience I might give many other instances of the kind,
+      but I hope these will suffice to show that Jack's growling is often
+      justified, when both sides of the story are heard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XVI. "BOWHEAD" FISHING
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Day and night being now only distinguishable by the aid of the clock, a
+      constant look-out aloft was kept all through the twenty-four hours, watch
+      and watch, but whales were apparently very scarce. We did a good deal of
+      "pelagic" sealing; that is, catching seals swimming. But the total number
+      obtained was not great, for these creatures are only gregarious when at
+      their rocky haunts during the breeding season, or among the ice just
+      before that season begins. Our sealing, therefore, was only a way of
+      passing the time in the absence of nobler game, to be abandoned at once
+      with whales in sight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was on the ninth or tenth morning after our arrival on the grounds that
+      a bowhead was raised, And two boats sent after him. It was my first sight
+      of the great MYSTICETUS, and I must confess to being much impressed by his
+      gigantic bulk. From the difference in shape, he looked much larger than
+      the largest sperm whale we had yet seen, although we had come across some
+      of the very biggest specimens of cachalot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The contrast between the two animals is most marked, so much so, in fact,
+      that one would hardly credit them with belonging to the same order.
+      Popular ideas of the whale are almost invariably taken from the
+      MYSTICETUS, so that the average individual generally defines a whale as a
+      big fish which spouts water out of the top of his head, and cannot swallow
+      a herring. Indeed, so lately as last year a popular M.P., writing to one
+      of the religious papers, allowed himself to say that "science will not
+      hear of a whale with a gullet capable of admitting anything larger than a
+      man's fist"&mdash;a piece of crass ignorance, which is also perpetrated in
+      the appendix to a very widely-distributed edition of the Authorized
+      Version of the Bible. This opinion, strangely enough, is almost
+      universally held, although I trust that the admirable models now being
+      shown in our splendid Natural History Museum at South Kensington will do
+      much to remove it. Not so many people, perhaps, believe that a whale is a
+      fish, instead of a mammal, but few indeed are the individuals who do not
+      still think that a cetacean possesses a sort of natural fountain on the
+      top of its head, whence, for some recondite reason, it ejects at regular
+      intervals streams of water into the air.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But a whale can no more force water through its spiracle or blow-hole than
+      you or I through our nostrils. It inhales, when at the surface,
+      atmospheric air, and exhales breath like ours, which, coming warm into a
+      cooler medium, becomes visible, as does our breath on a frosty morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, the MYSTICETUS carries his nostrils on the summit of his head, or
+      crown, the orifice being closed by a beautifully arranged valve when the
+      animal is beneath the water. Consequently, upon coming to the surface to
+      breathe, he sends up a jet of visible breath into the air some ten or
+      twelve feet. The cachalot, on the other hand, has the orifice at the point
+      of his square snout, the internal channel running in a slightly diagonal
+      direction downwards, and back through the skull to the lungs. So when he
+      spouts, the breath is projected forward diagonally, and, from some
+      peculiarity which I do not pretend to explain, expends itself in a short,
+      bushy tuft of vapour, very distinct from the tall vertical spout of the
+      bowhead or right whale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was little or no wind when we sighted the individual I am now
+      speaking of, so we did not attempt to set sail, but pulled straight for
+      him "head and head." Strange as it may appear, the MYSTICETUS' best point
+      of view is right behind, or "in his wake," as we say; it is therefore part
+      of the code to approach him from right ahead, in which direction he cannot
+      see at all. Some time before we reached him he became aware of our
+      presence, showing by his uneasy actions that he had his doubts about his
+      personal security. But before he had made up his mind what to do we were
+      upon him, with our harpoons buried in his back. The difference in his
+      behaviour to what we had so long been accustomed to was amazing. He did
+      certainly give a lumbering splash or two with his immense flukes, but no
+      one could possibly have been endangered by them. The water was so shallow
+      that when he sounded it was but for a very few minutes; there was no
+      escape for him that way. As soon as he returned to the surface he set off
+      at his best gait, but that was so slow that we easily hauled up close
+      alongside of him, holding the boats in that position without the slightest
+      attempt to guard ourselves from reprisals on his part, while the officers
+      searched his vitals with the lances as if they were probing a haystack.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Really, the whole affair was so tame that it was impossible to get up any
+      fighting enthusiasm over it; the poor, unwieldy creature died meekly and
+      quietly as an overgrown seal. In less than an hour from the time of
+      leaving the ship we were ready to bring our prize alongside.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Upon coming up to the whale, sail was shortened, and as soon as the
+      fluke-chain was passed we anchored. It was, I heard, our skipper's boast
+      that he could "skin a bowhead in forty minutes;" and although we were
+      certainly longer than that, the celerity with which what seemed a gigantic
+      task was accomplished was marvellous. Of course, it was all plain-sailing,
+      very unlike the complicated and herculean task inevitable at the
+      commencement of cutting-in a sperm whale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Except for the head work, removing the blubber was effected in precisely
+      the same way as in the case of the cachalot. There was a marked difference
+      between the quantity of lard enveloping this whale and those we had
+      hitherto dealt with. It was nearly double the thickness, besides being
+      much richer in oil, which fairly dripped from it as we hoisted in the
+      blanket-pieces. The upper jaw was removed for its long plates of whalebone
+      or baleen&mdash;that valuable substance which alone makes it worth while
+      nowadays to go after the MYSTICETUS, the price obtained for the oil being
+      so low as to make it not worth while to fit out ships to go in search of
+      it alone. "Trying-out" the blubber, with its accompaniments, is carried on
+      precisely as with the sperm whale. The resultant oil, when recent, is of a
+      clear white, unlike the golden-tinted fluid obtained from the cachalot. As
+      it grows stale it developes a nauseous smell, which sperm does not,
+      although the odour of the oil is otto of roses compared with the horrible
+      mass of putridity landed from the tanks of a Greenland whaler at the
+      termination of a cruise. For in those vessels, the fishing-time at their
+      disposal being so brief, they do not wait to boil down the blubber, but,
+      chopping it into small pieces, pass it below as it is into tanks, to be
+      rendered down by the oil-mills ashore on the ship's return.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This first bowhead yielded us eighteen tuns of oil and a ton of baleen,
+      which made the catch about equal in value to that of a seven-tun cachalot.
+      But the amount of labour and care necessary in order to thoroughly dry and
+      cleanse the baleen was enormous; in fact, for months after we began the
+      bowhead fishery there was almost always something being done with the
+      wretched stuff&mdash;drying, scraping, etc.&mdash;which, as it was kept
+      below, also necessitated hoisting it up on deck and getting it down again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After this beginning, it was again a considerable time before we sighted
+      any more; but when we did, there were quite a number of them&mdash;enough
+      to employ all the boats with one each. I was out of the fun this time,
+      being almost incapable of moving by reason of several boils on my legs&mdash;the
+      result, I suppose, of a long abstinence from fresh vegetables, or anything
+      to supply their place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As it happened, however, I lost no excitement by remaining on board; for
+      while all the boats were away a large bowhead rose near the ship,
+      evidently being harassed in some way by enemies, which I could not at
+      first see. He seemed quite unconscious of his proximity to the ship,
+      though, and at last came so near that the whole performance was as visible
+      as if it had been got up for my benefit. Three "killers" were attacking
+      him at once, like wolves worrying a bull, except that his motions were far
+      less lively than those of any bull would have been.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The "killer," or ORCA GLADIATOR, is a true whale, but, like the cachalot,
+      has teeth. He differs from that great cetacean, though, in a most
+      important particular; i.e. by having a complete set in both upper and
+      lower jaws, like any other carnivore. For a carnivore indeed is he, the
+      very wolf of the ocean, and enjoying, by reason of his extraordinary
+      agility as well as comparative worthlessness commercially, complete
+      immunity from attack by man. By some authorities he is thought to be
+      identical with the grampus, but whalers all consider the animals quite
+      distinct. Not having had very long acquaintance with them both, I cannot
+      speak emphatically upon this difference of opinion; so far as personal
+      observation goes, I agree with the whalers in believing that there is much
+      variation both of habits and shape between them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But to return to the fight. The first inkling I got of what was really
+      going on was the leaping of a killer high into the air by the side of the
+      whale, and descending upon the victim's broad, smooth back with a
+      resounding crash. I saw that the killer was provided with a pair of huge
+      fins&mdash;one on his back, the other on his belly&mdash;which at first
+      sight looked as if they were also weapons of offence. A little observation
+      convinced me that they were fins only. Again and again the aggressor
+      leaped into the air, falling each time on the whale's back, as if to beat
+      him into submission.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The sea around foamed and boiled like a cauldron, so that it was only
+      occasional glimpses I was able to catch of the two killers, until
+      presently the worried whale lifted his head clear out of the surrounding
+      smother, revealing the two furies hanging&mdash;one on either side&mdash;to
+      his lips, as if endeavouring to drag his mouth open&mdash;which I
+      afterwards saw was their principal object, as whenever during the tumult I
+      caught sight of them, they were still in the same position. At last the
+      tremendous and incessant blows, dealt by the most active member of the
+      trio, seemed actually to have exhausted the immense vitality of the great
+      bowhead, for he lay supine upon the surface. Then the three joined their
+      forces, and succeeded in dragging open his cavernous mouth, into which
+      they freely entered, devouring his tongue. This, then, had been their sole
+      object, for as soon as they had finished their barbarous feast they
+      departed, leaving him helpless and dying to fall an easy prey to our
+      returning boats.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus, although the four whales captured by the boats had been but small,
+      the day's take, augmented by so great a find, was a large one, and it was
+      a long time before we got clear of the work it entailed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      From that time forward we saw no whales for six weeks, and, from the
+      reports we received from two whalers we "gammed," it appeared that we
+      might consider ourselves most fortunate in our catch, since they, who had
+      been longer on the ground than ourselves, had only one whale apiece.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In consequence of this information, Captain Slocum decided to go south
+      again, and resume the sperm whaling in the North Pacific, near the line&mdash;at
+      least so the rumour ran; but as we never heard anything definitely, we
+      could not feel at all certain of our next destination.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ever since the fracas at the Bonins between Goliath and his watch, the
+      relations between Captain Slocum and the big negro had been very strained.
+      Even before the outbreak, as I have remarked upon one occasion, it was
+      noticeable that little love was lost between them. Why this was so,
+      without anything definite to guide one's reasoning, was difficult to
+      understand, for a better seaman or a smarter whaleman than Mistah Jones
+      did not live&mdash;of that every one was quite sure. Still, there was no
+      gainsaying the fact that, churlish and morose as our skipper's normal
+      temper always was, he was never so much so as in his behaviour towards his
+      able fourth mate, who, being a man of fine, sensitive temper, chafed under
+      his unmerited treatment so much as to lose flesh, becoming daily more
+      silent, nervous, and depressed. Still, there had never been an open
+      rupture, nor did it appear as if there would be, so great was the power
+      Captain Slocum possessed over the will of everybody on board.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One night, however, as we were nearing the Kuriles again, on our way
+      south, leaving the Sea of Okhotsk, I was sitting on the fore side of the
+      try-works alone, meditating upon what I would do when once I got clear of
+      this miserable business. Futile and foolish, no doubt, my speculations
+      were, but only in this way could I forget for a while my surroundings,
+      since the inestimable comfort of reading was denied me. I had been sitting
+      thus absorbed in thought for nearly an hour, when Goliath came and seated
+      himself by my side. We had always been great friends, although, owing to
+      the strict discipline maintained on board, it was not often we got a
+      chance for a "wee bit crack," as the Scotch say. Besides, I was not in his
+      watch, and even now he should rightly have been below. He sat for a minute
+      or two silent; then, as if compelled to speak, he began in low, fierce
+      whispers to tell me of his miserable state of mind. At last, after
+      recapitulating many slights and insults he had received silently from the
+      captain, of which I had previously known nothing, he became strangely
+      calm. In tones quite unlike his usual voice, he said that he was not an
+      American-born negro, but a pure African, who had been enslaved in his
+      infancy, with his mother, somewhere in the "Hinterland" of Guinea. While
+      still a child, his mother escaped with him into Liberia, a where he had
+      remained till her death, She was, according to him, an Obeah woman of
+      great power, venerated exceedingly by her own people for her prophetic
+      abilities. Before her death, she had told him that he would die suddenly,
+      violently, in a struggle with a white man in a far-off country, but that
+      the white man would die too by his hand. She had also told him that he
+      would be a great traveller and hunter upon the sea. As he went on, his
+      speech became almost unintelligible, being mingled with fragments of a
+      language I had never heard before; moreover, he spoke as a man who is only
+      half awake. A strange terror got hold of me, for I began to think he was
+      going mad, and perhaps about to run a-mok, as the Malays do when driven
+      frantic by the infliction of real or fancied wrongs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But he gradually returned to his old self, to my great relief, and I
+      ventured somewhat timidly to remind him of the esteem in which he was held
+      by all hands; even the skipper, I ventured to say, respected him,
+      although, from some detestable form of ill-humour, he had chosen to be so
+      sneering and insulting towards him. He shook his head sadly, and said, "My
+      dear boy, youse de only man aboard dis ship&mdash;wite man, dat is&mdash;dat
+      don't hate an' despise me becawse ob my colour, wich I cain't he'p; an' de
+      God you beliebe in bless you fer dat. As fer me, w'at I done tole you's
+      true,'n befo' bery little w'ile you see it COME true. 'N w'en DAT happens
+      w'at's gwine ter happen, I'se real glad to tink it gwine ter be better fer
+      you&mdash;gwine ter be better fer eberybody 'bord de CACH'LOT; but I doan
+      keer nuffin 'bout anybody else. So long." He held out his great black
+      hand, and shook mine heartily, while a big tear rolled down his face and
+      fell on the deck. And with that he left me a prey to a very whirlpool of
+      conflicting thoughts and fears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The night was a long and weary one&mdash;longer and drearier perhaps
+      because of the absence of the darkness, which always made it harder to
+      sleep. An incessant day soon becomes, to those accustomed to the relief of
+      the night, a burden grievous to be borne; and although use can reconcile
+      us to most things, and does make even the persistent light bearable, in
+      times of mental distress or great physical weariness one feels
+      irresistibly moved to cry earnestly, "Come, gentle night."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When I came on deck at eight bells, it was a stark calm. The watch, under
+      Mistah Jones' direction, were busy scrubbing decks with the usual
+      thoroughness, while the captain, bare-footed, with trouser-legs and
+      shirt-sleeves rolled up, his hands on his hips and a portentous frown on
+      his brow, was closely looking on. As it was my spell at the crow's-nest, I
+      made at once for the main-rigging, and had got halfway to the top, when
+      some unusual sounds below arrested me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All hands were gathered in the waist, a not unusual thing at the changing
+      of the watch. In the midst of them, as I looked down, two men came
+      together in a fierce struggle. They were Goliath and the skipper. Captain
+      Slocum's right hand went naturally to his hip pocket, where he always
+      carried a revolver; but before he could draw it, the long, black arms of
+      his adversary wrapped around him, making him helpless as a babe. Then,
+      with a rush that sent every one flying out of his way, Goliath hurled
+      himself at the bulwarks, which were low, the top of the rail about
+      thirty-three inches from the deck. The two bodies struck the rail with a
+      heavy thud, instantly toppling overboard. That broke the spell that bound
+      everybody, so that there was an instantaneous rush to the side. Only a
+      hardly noticeable ripple remained on the surface of the placid sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But, from my lofty perch, the whole of the ghastly struggle had been
+      visible to the least detail. The two men had struck the water locked in
+      closest embrace, which relaxed not even when far below the surface. When
+      the sea is perfectly smooth, objects are visible from aloft at several
+      feet depth, though apparently diminished in size. The last thing I saw was
+      Captain Slocum's white face, with its starting black eyes looking their
+      last upon the huge, indefinite hull of the ship whose occupants he had
+      ruled so long and rigidly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole tragedy occupied such a brief moment of time that it was almost
+      impossible to realize that it was actual. Reason, however, soon regained
+      her position among the officers, who ordered the closest watch to be kept
+      from aloft, in case of the rising of either or both of the men. A couple
+      of boats were swung, ready to drop on the instant. But, as if to crown the
+      tragedy with completeness, a heavy squall, which had risen unnoticed,
+      suddenly burst upon the ship with great fury, the lashing hail and rain
+      utterly obscuring vision even for a few yards. So unexpected was the onset
+      of this squall that, for the only time that voyage, we lost some canvas
+      through not being able to get it in quick enough. The topgallant halyards
+      were let go; but while the sails were being clewed up, the fierce wind
+      following the rain caught them from their confining gear, rending them
+      into a thousand shreds. For an hour the squall raged&mdash;a tempest in
+      brief&mdash;then swept away to the south-east on its furious journey,
+      leaving peace again. Needless perhaps to say, that after such a squall it
+      was hopeless to look for our missing ones. The sudden storm had certainly
+      driven us several miles away front the spot where they disappeared, and,
+      although we carefully made what haste was possible back along the line we
+      were supposed to have come, not a vestige of hope was in any one's mind
+      that we should ever see them again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Nor did we. Whether that madness, which I had feared was coming upon
+      Goliath during our previous night's conversation, suddenly overpowered him
+      and impelled him to commit the horrible deed, what more had passed between
+      him and the skipper to even faintly justify so awful a retaliation&mdash;these
+      things were now matters of purest speculation. As if they had never been,
+      the two men were blotted out&mdash;gone before God in full-blown heat of
+      murder and revengeful fury.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On the same evening Mr. Count mustered all hands on the quarter-deck, and
+      addressed us thus: "Men, Captain Slocum is dead, and, as a consequence, I
+      command the ship. Behave yourself like men, not presuming upon kindness or
+      imagining that I am a weak, vacillating old man with whom you can do as
+      you like, and you will find in me a skipper who will do his duty by you as
+      far as lies in his power, nor expect more from you than you ought to
+      render. If, however, you DO try any tricks, remember that I am an old
+      hand, equal to most of the games that men get up to. I do want&mdash;if
+      you will help me&mdash;to make this a comfortable as well as a successful
+      ship. I hope with all my heart we shall succeed."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In answer to this manly and affecting little speech, which confirmed my
+      previous estimate of Captain Count's character, were he but free to follow
+      the bent of his natural, kindly inclinations, and which I have endeavoured
+      to translate out of his usual dialect, a hearty cheer was raised by all
+      hands, the first ebullition of general good feeling manifested throughout
+      the voyage. Hearts rose joyfully at the prospect of comfort to be gained
+      by thoughtfulness on the part of the commander; nor from that time forward
+      did any sign of weariness of the ship or voyage show itself among us,
+      either on deck or below.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The news soon spread among us that, in consequence of the various losses
+      of boats and gear, the captain deemed it necessary to make for Honolulu,
+      where fresh supplies could readily be obtained. We had heard many glowing
+      accounts from visitors, when "gamming," of the delights of this well-known
+      port of call for whalers, and under our new commander we had little doubt
+      that we should be allowed considerable liberty during our stay. So we were
+      quite impatient to get along fretting considerably at the persistent fogs
+      which prevented our making much progress while in the vicinity of the
+      Kuriles. But we saw no more bowheads, for which none of us forward were at
+      all sorry. We had got very tired of the stink of their blubber, and the
+      never-ending worry connected with the preservation of the baleen; besides,
+      we had not yet accumulated any fund of enthusiasm about getting a full
+      ship, except as a reason for shortening the voyage, and we quite
+      understood that what black oil we had got would be landed at Hawaii, so
+      that our visit to the Okhotsk Sea, with its resultant store of oil, had
+      not really brought our return home any nearer, as we at first hoped it
+      would.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A great surprise was in store for me. I knew that Captain Count was
+      favourably inclined towards me, for he had himself told me so, but nothing
+      was further from my thoughts than promotion. However, one Sunday
+      afternoon, when we were all peacefully enjoying the unusual rest (we had
+      no Sundays in Captain Slocum's time), the captain sent for me. He informed
+      me that, after mature consideration, he had chosen me to fill the vacancy
+      made by the death of Mistah Jones. Mr. Cruce was now mate; the waspish
+      little third had become second; Louis Silva, the captain's favourite
+      harpooner was third; and I was to be fourth. Not feeling at all sure of
+      how the other harpooners would take my stepping over their heads, I
+      respectfully demurred to the compliment offered me, stating my reasons.
+      But the captain said he had fully made up his mind, after consultation
+      with the other officers, and that I need have no apprehension on the score
+      of the harpooners' jealousy; that they had been spoken to on the subject,
+      and they were all agreed that the captain's choice was the best,
+      especially as none of them knew anything of navigation, or could write
+      their own names.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In consequence of there being none of the crew fit to take a harpooner's
+      place, I was now really harpooner of the captain's boat, which he would
+      continue to work, when necessary, until we were able to ship a harpooner,
+      which he hoped to do at Hawaii.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The news of my promotion was received in grim silence by the Portuguese
+      forward, but the white men all seemed pleased. This was highly gratifying
+      to me, for I had tried my best to be helpful to all, as far as my limited
+      abilities would let me; nor do I think I had an enemy in the ship. Behold
+      me, then, a full-blown "mister," with a definite substantial increase in
+      my prospects of pay of nearly one-third, in addition to many other
+      advantages, which, under the new captain, promised exceedingly well.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      More than half the voyage lay behind us, looking like the fast-settling
+      bank of storm-clouds hovering above the tempest-tossed sea so lately
+      passed, while ahead the bright horizon was full of promise of fine weather
+      for the remainder of the journey.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XVII. VISIT TO HONOLULU
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Right glad were we all when, after much fumbling and box-hauling about, we
+      once more felt the long, familiar roll of the Pacific swell, and saw the
+      dim fastnesses of the smoky islands fading into the lowering gloom astern.
+      Most deep-water sailors are familiar, by report if not by actual contact,
+      with the beauties of the Pacific islands, and I had often longed to visit
+      them to see for myself whether the half that had been told me was true. Of
+      course, to a great number of seafaring men, the loveliness of those
+      regions counts for nothing, their desirability being founded upon the
+      frequent opportunities of unlimited indulgence in debauchery. To such men,
+      a "missionary" island is a howling wilderness, and the missionaries
+      themselves the subjects of the vilest abuse as well as the most boundless
+      lying.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No one who has travelled with his eyes open would assert that all
+      missionaries were wise, prudent, or even godly men; while it is a great
+      deal to be regretted that so much is made of hardships which in a large
+      proportion of cases do not exist, the men who are supposed to be enduring
+      them being immensely better off and more comfortable than they would ever
+      have been at home. Undoubtedly the pioneers of missionary enterprise had,
+      almost without exception, to face dangers and miseries past telling, but
+      that is the portion of pioneers in general. In these days, however, the
+      missionary's lot in Polynesia is not often a hard one, and in many cases
+      it is infinitely to be preferred to a life among the very poor of our
+      great cities.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But when all has been said that can be said against the missionaries, the
+      solid bastion of fact remains that, in consequence of their labours, the
+      whole vile character of the populations of the Pacific has been changed,
+      and where wickedness runs riot to-day, it is due largely to the hindrances
+      placed in the way of the noble efforts of the missionaries by the
+      unmitigated scoundrels who vilify them. The task of spreading Christianity
+      would not, after all, be so difficult were it not for the efforts of those
+      apostles of the devil to keep the islands as they would like them to be&mdash;places
+      where lust runs riot day and night, murder may be done with impunity,
+      slavery flourishes, and all evil may be indulged in free from law, order,
+      or restraint.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It speaks volumes for the inherent might of the Gospel that, in spite of
+      the object-lessons continually provided for the natives by white men of
+      the negation of all good, that it has stricken its roots so deeply into
+      the soil of the Pacific islands. Just as the best proof of the reality of
+      the Gospel here in England is that it survives the incessant assaults upon
+      it from within by its professors, by those who are paid, and highly paid,
+      to propagate it, by the side of whose deadly doings the efforts of
+      so-called infidels are but as the battery of a summer breeze; so in
+      Polynesia, were not the principles of Christianity vital with an immortal
+      and divine life, missionary efforts might long ago have ceased in utter
+      despair at the fruitlessness of the field.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were enjoying a most uneventful passage, free from any serious changes
+      either of wind or weather which quiet time was utilised to the utmost in
+      making many much-needed additions to the running-gear, repairing rigging,
+      etc. Any work involving the use of new material had been put off from time
+      to time during the previous part of the voyage till the ship aloft was
+      really in a dangerous condition. This was due entirely to the peculiar
+      parsimony of our late skipper, who could scarcely bring himself to broach
+      a coil of rope, except for whaling purposes. The same false economy had
+      prevailed with regard to paint and varnish, so that the vessel, while
+      spotlessly clean, presented a worn-out weather-beaten appearance. Now,
+      while the condition of life on board was totally different to what it had
+      been, as regards comfort and peace, discipline and order were maintained
+      at the same high level as always, though by a different method&mdash;in
+      fact, I believe that a great deal more work was actually done, certainly
+      much more that was useful and productive; for Captain Count hated, as much
+      as any foremast hand among us, the constant, remorseless grind of
+      iron-work polishing, paint-work scrubbing, and holystoning, all of which,
+      though necessary in a certain degree, when kept up continually for the
+      sole purpose of making work&mdash;a sort of elaborated tread-mill, in fact&mdash;becomes
+      the refinement of cruelty to underfed, unpaid, and hopeless men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So, while the CACHALOT could have fearlessly challenged comparison with
+      any ship afloat for cleanliness and neatness of appearance, the hands no
+      longer felt that they were continually being "worked up" or "hazed" for
+      the sole, diabolical satisfaction of keeping them "at it." Of course, the
+      incidence of the work was divided, since so many of the crew were quite
+      unable to do any sailorizing, as we term work in sails and rigging. Upon
+      them, then, fell all the common labour, which can be done by any unskilled
+      man or woman afloat or ashore.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Of this work a sailor's duties are largely made up, but when good people
+      ashore wonder "whatever sailors do with their time," it would be useful
+      for them to remember that a ship is a huge and complicated machine,
+      needing constant repairs, which can only be efficiently performed by
+      skilled workmen. An "A.B." or able seaman's duties are legally supposed to
+      be defined by the three expressions, "hand, reef, and steer." If he can do
+      those three things, which mean furling or making fast sails, reefing them,
+      and steering the ship, his wages cannot be reduced for incompetency. Yet
+      these things are the A B C of seamanship only. A good SEAMAN is able to
+      make all the various knots, splices, and other arrangements in hempen or
+      wire rope, without which a ship cannot be rigged; he can make a sail, send
+      up or down yards and masts, and do many other things, the sum total of
+      which need several years of steady application to learn, although a good
+      seaman is ever learning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such seamen are fast becoming extinct. They are almost totally unnecessary
+      in steamships, except when the engines break down in a gale of wind, and
+      the crowd of navvies forming the crew stand looking at one another when
+      called upon to set sail or do any other job aloft. THEN the want of seamen
+      is rather severely felt. But even in sailing ships&mdash;the great,
+      overgrown tanks of two thousand tons and upwards&mdash;mechanical genius
+      has utilized iron to such an extent in their rigging that sailor-work has
+      become very largely a matter of blacksmithing. I make no complaint of
+      this, not believing that the "old was better;" but, since the strongest
+      fabric of man's invention comes to grief sometimes in conflict with the
+      irresistible sea, some provision should be made for having a sufficiency
+      of seamen who could exercise their skill in refitting a dismasted ship, or
+      temporarily replacing broken blacksmith work by old-fashioned rope and
+      wood.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But, as the sailing ship is doomed inevitably to disappear before steam,
+      perhaps it does not matter much. The economic march of the world's
+      progress will never be stayed by sentimental considerations, nor will all
+      the romance and poetry in the world save the seaman from extinction, if
+      his place can be more profitably filled by the engineer. From all
+      appearances, it soon will be, for even now marine superintendents of big
+      lines are sometimes engineers, and in their hands lie the duty of engaging
+      the officers. It would really seem as if the ship of the near future would
+      be governed by the chief engineer, under whose direction a pilot or
+      sailing-master would do the necessary navigation, without power to
+      interfere in any matter of the ship's economy. Changes as great have taken
+      place in other professions; seafaring cannot hope to be the sole
+      exception.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So, edging comfortably along, we gradually neared the Sandwich Islands
+      without having seen a single spout worth watching since the tragedy. At
+      last the lofty summits of the island mountains hove in sight, and
+      presently we came to an anchor in that paradise of whalers, missionaries,
+      and amateur statesmen&mdash;Honolulu. As it is as well known to most
+      reading people as our own ports&mdash;better perhaps&mdash;I shall not
+      attempt to describe it, or pit myself against the able writers who have
+      made it so familiar. Yet to me it was a new world. All things were so
+      strange, so delightful, especially the lovable, lazy, fascinating Kanakas,
+      who could be so limply happy over a dish of poi, or a green cocoa-nut, or
+      even a lounge in the sun, that it seemed an outrage to expect them to
+      work. In their sports they could be energetic enough. I do not know of any
+      more delightful sight than to watch them bathing in the tremendous surf,
+      simply intoxicated with the joy of living, as unconscious of danger as if
+      swinging in a hammock while riding triumphantly upon the foaming summit of
+      an incoming breaker twenty feet high, or plunging with a cataract over the
+      dizzy edge of its cliff, swallowed up in the hissing vortex below, only to
+      reappear with a scream of riotous laughter in the quiet eddy beyond.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As far as I could judge, they were the happiest of people, literally
+      taking no thought for the morrow, and content with the barest necessaries
+      of life, so long as they were free and the sun shone brightly. We had many
+      opportunities of cultivating their acquaintance, for the captain allowed
+      us much liberty, quite one-half of the crew and officers being ashore most
+      of the time. Of course, the majority spent all their spare time in the
+      purlieus of the town, which, like all such places anywhere, were foul and
+      filthy enough; but that was their own faults. I have often wondered much
+      to see men, who on board ship were the pink of cleanliness and neatness,
+      fastidious to a fault in all they did, come ashore and huddle in the most
+      horrible of kennels, among the very dregs and greaves of the 'long-shore
+      district. It certainly wants a great deal of explanation; but I suppose
+      the most potent reason is, that sailors, as a class, never learn to enjoy
+      themselves rationally. They are also morbidly suspicions of being taken in
+      hand by anybody who would show them anything worth seeing, preferring to
+      be led by the human sharks that infest all seaports into ways of strange
+      nastiness, and so expensive withal that one night of such wallowing often
+      costs them more than a month's sane recreation and good food would. All
+      honour to the devoted men and women who labour in our seaports for the
+      moral and material benefit of the sailor, passing their lives amidst
+      sights and sounds shocking and sickening to the last degree, reviled,
+      unthanked, unpaid. Few are the missionaries abroad whose lot is so hard as
+      theirs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We spent ten happy days in Honolulu, marred only by one or two drunken
+      rows among the chaps forward, which, however, resulted in their getting a
+      severe dressing down in the forecastle, where good order was now kept.
+      There had been no need for interference on the part of the officers, which
+      I was glad to see, remembering what would have happened under such
+      circumstances not long ago. Being short-handed, the captain engaged a
+      number of friendly islanders for a limited period, on the understanding
+      that they were to be discharged at their native place, Vau Vau. There were
+      ten of them, fine stalwart fellows, able bodied and willing as possible.
+      They were cleanly in their habits, and devout members of the Wesleyan
+      body, so that their behaviour was quite a reproach to some of our
+      half-civilized crew. Berths were found for them in the forecastle, and
+      they took their places among us quite naturally, being fairly well used to
+      a whale-ship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XVIII. ON THE "LINE" GROUNDS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      We weighed at last, one morning, with a beautiful breeze, and, bidding a
+      long farewell to the lovely isles and their amiable inhabitants, stood at
+      sea, bound for the "line" or equatorial grounds on our legitimate business
+      of sperm whaling. It was now a long while since we had been in contact
+      with a cachalot, the last one having been killed by us on the Coast of
+      Japan some six months before. But we all looked forward to the coming
+      campaign with considerable joy, for we were now a happy family, interested
+      in the work, and, best of all, even if the time was still distant, we
+      were, in a sense, homeward bound. At any rate, we all chose so to think,
+      from the circumstance that we were now working to the southward, towards
+      Cape Horn, the rounding of which dreaded point would mark the final stage
+      of our globe-encircling voyage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had, during our stay at Honolulu, obtained a couple of grand boats in
+      addition to our stock, and were now in a position to man and lower five at
+      once, if occasion should arise, still leaving sufficient crew on board to
+      work the vessel. The captain had also engaged an elderly seaman of his
+      acquaintance&mdash;out of pure philanthropy, as we all thought, since he
+      was in a state of semi-starvation ashore&mdash;to act as a kind of
+      sailing-master, so as to relieve the captain of ship duty at whaling time,
+      allowing him still to head his boat. This was not altogether welcome news
+      to me, for, much as I liked the old man and admired his pluck, I could not
+      help dreading his utter recklessness when on a whale, which had so often
+      led to a smash-up that might have been easily avoided. Moreover, I
+      reasoned that if he had been foolhardy before, he was likely to be much
+      more so now, having no superior to look black or use language when a
+      disaster occurred. For now I was his harpooner, bound to take as many
+      risks as he chose to incur, and anxious also to earn a reputation among
+      the more seasoned whalemen for smartness sufficient to justify my
+      promotion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Kanakas shipped at Honolulu were distributed among the boats, two to
+      each, being already trained whalemen, and a fine lot of fellows they were.
+      My two&mdash;Samuela and Polly&mdash;were not very big men, but sturdy,
+      nimble as cats, as much at home in the water as on deck, and simply
+      bubbling over with fun and good-humour. From my earliest sea-going, I have
+      always had a strong liking for natives of tropical countries, finding them
+      affectionate and amenable to kindness. Why, I think, white men do not get
+      on with darkies well, as a rule, is, that they seldom make an appeal to
+      the MAN, in them. It is very degrading to find one's self looked down upon
+      as a sort of animal without reason or feelings; and if you degrade a man,
+      you deprive him of any incentive to make himself useful, except the brute
+      one you may feel bound to apply yourself. My experience has been limited
+      to Africans (of sorts), Kanakas, natives of Hindostan, Malagasy, and
+      Chinese; but with all these I have found a little COMARADERIE answer
+      excellently. True, they are lazy; but what inducement have they to work?
+      The complicated needs of our civilized existence compel US to work, or be
+      run over by the unresting machine; but I take leave to doubt whether any
+      of us with a primitive environment would not be as lazy as any Kanaka that
+      ever dozed under a banana tree through daylight hours. Why, then, make an
+      exalted virtue of the necessity which drives us, and objurgate the poor
+      black man because he prefers present ease to a doubtful prospective
+      retirement on a competency? Australian blackfellows and Malays are said to
+      be impervious to kind treatment by a great number of witnesses, the former
+      appearing incapable of gratitude, and the latter unable to resist the
+      frequent temptation to kill somebody. Not knowing anything personally of
+      either of these races, I can say nothing for or against them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All the coloured individuals that I have had to do with have amply repaid
+      any little kindness shown them with fidelity and affection, but especially
+      has this been the case with Kanakas, The soft and melodious language
+      spoken by them is easy to acquire, and is so pleasant to speak that it is
+      well worth learning, to say nothing of the convenience to yourself,
+      although the Kanaka speedily picks up the mutilated jargon which does duty
+      for English on board ship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What I specially longed for now was a harpooner, or even two, so that I
+      might have my boat to myself, the captain taking his own boat with a
+      settled harpooner. Samuela, the biggest of my two Kanakas, very earnestly
+      informed me that he was no end of a "number one" whale slaughterer; but I
+      judged it best to see how things went before asking to have him promoted.
+      My chance, and his, came very promptly; so nicely arranged, too, that I
+      could not have wished for anything better. The skipper had got a fine,
+      healthy boil on one knee-cap, and another on his wrist, so that he was, as
+      you may say, HORS DE COMBAT. While he was impatiently waiting to get about
+      once more, sperm whales were raised. Although nearly frantic with
+      annoyance, he was compelled to leave the direction of things to Mr. Cruce,
+      who was quite puffed up with the importance of his opportunity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such a nice little school of cow-whales, a lovely breeze, clear sky, warm
+      weather&mdash;I felt as gay as a lark at the prospect. As we were reaching
+      to windward, with all boats ready for lowering, the skipper called me aft
+      and said, "Naow, Mr. Bullen, I cain't lower, because of this condemned
+      leg'n arm of mine; but how'r yew goin' ter manage 'thout a harpooneer?" I
+      suggested that if he would allow me to try Samuela, who was suffering for
+      a chance to distinguish himself, we would "come out on top." "All right,"
+      he said; "but let the other boats get fast first, 'n doan be in too much
+      of a hurry to tie yerself up till ya see what's doin'. If everythin's
+      goin' bizness-fashion', 'n yew git a chance, sail right in; yew got ter
+      begin some time. But ef thet Kanaka looks skeered goin' on, take the iron
+      frum him ter onct." I promised, and the interview ended.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When I told Samuela, of his chance, he was beside himself with joy. As to
+      his being scared, the idea was manifestly absurd. He was as pleased with
+      the prospect as it was possible for a man to be, and hardly able to
+      contain himself for impatience to be off. I almost envied him his
+      exuberant delight, for a sense of responsibility began to weigh upon me
+      with somewhat depressing effect.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We gained a good weather-gage, rounded to, and lowered four boats. Getting
+      away in good style, we had barely got the sails up, when something gallied
+      the school. We saw or heard nothing to account for it, but undoubtedly the
+      "fish" were off at top speed dead to windward, so that our sails were of
+      no use. We had them in with as little delay as possible, and lay to our
+      oars for all we were worth, being fresh and strong, as well as anxious to
+      get amongst them. But I fancy all our efforts would have availed us little
+      had it not been for the experience of Mr. Cruce, whose eager eye detected
+      the fact that the fish were running on a great curve, and shaped our
+      course to cut them off along a chord of the arc.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two and a half hours of energetic work was required of us before we got on
+      terms with the fleeing monsters; but at last, to our great joy, they broke
+      water from sounding right among us. It was a considerable surprise, but we
+      were all ready, and before they had spouted twice, three boats were fast,
+      only myself keeping out, in accordance with my instructions. Samuela was
+      almost distraught with rage and grief at the condition of things. I quite
+      pitied him, although I was anything but pleased myself. However, when I
+      ranged up alongside the mate's fish, to render what assistance was needed,
+      he shouted to me, "We's all right; go'n git fas', if yew kin." That was
+      enough, and away we flew after a retreating spout to leeward. Before we
+      got there, though, there was an upheaval in the water just ahead, and up
+      came a back like a keelless ship bottom up. Out came the head belonging to
+      it, and a spout like an explosion burst forth, denoting the presence of an
+      enormous bull-cachalot. Close by his side was a cow of about one-third his
+      size, the favoured sultana of his harem, I suppose. Prudence whispered,
+      "Go for the cow;" ambition hissed, "All or none&mdash;the bull, the bull."
+      Fortunately emergencies of this kind leave one but a second or two to
+      decide, as a rule; in this case, as it happened, I was spared even that
+      mental conflict, for as we ran up between the two vast creatures, Samuela,
+      never even looking at the cow, hurled his harpoon, with all the energy
+      that he had been bursting with so long, at the mighty bull. I watched its
+      flight&mdash;saw it enter the black mass and disappear to the shaft, and
+      almost immediately came the second iron, within a foot of the first,
+      burying itself in the same solid fashion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Starn&mdash;starn all!" I shouted; and we backed slowly away,
+      considerably hampered by the persistent attentions of the cow, who hung
+      round us closely. The temptation to lance her was certainly great, but I
+      remembered the fate that had overtaken the skipper on the first occasion
+      we struck whales, and did not meddle with her ladyship. Our prey was not
+      apparently disposed to kick up much fuss at first, so, anxious to settle
+      matters, I changed ends with Samuela, and pulled in on the whale. A good,
+      steady lance-thrust&mdash;the first I had ever delivered&mdash;was
+      obtained, sending a thrill of triumph through my whole body. The
+      recipient, thoroughly roused by this, started off at a great lick,
+      accompanied, somewhat to my surprise, by the cow. Thenceforward for
+      another hour, in spite of all our efforts, we could not get within
+      striking distance, mainly because of the close attention of the cow, which
+      stuck to her lord like a calf to its mother. I was getting so impatient of
+      this hindrance, that it was all I could do to restrain myself from lancing
+      the cow, though I felt convinced that, if I did, I should spoil a good
+      job. Suddenly I caught sight of the ship right ahead. We were still flying
+      along, so that in a short time we were comparatively close to her. My
+      heart beat high and I burned to distinguish myself under the friendly and
+      appreciative eye of the skipper.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      None of the other boats were in sight, from our level at least, so that I
+      had a reasonable hope of being able to finish my game, with all the glory
+      thereunto attaching, unshared by any other of my fellow-officers. As we
+      ran quite closely past the ship, calling on the crew to haul up for all
+      they were worth, we managed actually to squeeze past the cow, and I got in
+      a really deadly blow. The point of the lance entered just between the fin
+      and the eye, but higher up, missing the broad plate of the shoulder-blade,
+      and sinking its whole four feet over the hitches right down into the
+      animal's vitals. Then, for the first time, he threw up his flukes,
+      thrashing them from side to side almost round to his head, and raising
+      such a turmoil that we were half full of water in a moment. But Samuela
+      was so quick at the steer-oar, so lithe and forceful, and withal appeared
+      so to anticipate every move of mine, that there seemed hardly any danger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a few moments of this tremendous exertion, our victim settled down,
+      leaving the water deeply stained with his gushing blood. With him
+      disappeared his constant companion, the faithful cow, who had never left
+      his side a minute since we first got fast. Down, down they went, until my
+      line began to look very low, and I was compelled to make signals to the
+      ship for more. We had hardly elevated the oars, when down dropped the last
+      boat with four men in her, arriving by my side in a few minutes with two
+      fresh tubs of tow-line. We took them on board, and the boat returned
+      again. By the time the slack came we had about four hundred and fifty
+      fathoms out&mdash;a goodly heap to pile up loose in our stern-sheets. I
+      felt sure, however, that we should have but little more trouble with our
+      fish; in fact, I was half afraid that he would die before getting to the
+      surface, in which case he might sink and be lost. We hauled steadily away,
+      the line not coming in very easily, until I judged there was only about
+      another hundred fathoms out. Our amazement may be imagined, when suddenly
+      we were compelled to sleek away again, the sudden weight on the line
+      suggesting that the fish was again sounding. If ever a young hand was
+      perplexed, it was I. Never before had I heard of such unseemly behaviour,
+      nor was my anxiety lessened when I saw, a short distance away, the huge
+      body of my prize at the surface spouting blood. At the same time, I was
+      paying out line at a good rate, as if I had a fast fish on which was
+      sounding briskly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The skipper had been watching me very closely from his seat on the
+      taffrail, and had kept the ship within easy distance. Now, suspecting
+      something out of the common, he sent the boat again to my assistance, in
+      charge of the cooper. When that worthy arrived, he said, "Th' ol' man
+      reckens yew've got snarled erp'ith thet ar' loose keow, 'n y'r irons hev
+      draw'd from th' other. I'm gwine ter wait on him,'n get him 'longside
+      'soon's he's out'er his flurry. Ole man sez yew'd best wait on what's fast
+      t' yer an' nev' mine th' other." Away he went, reaching my prize just as
+      the last feeble spout exhaled, leaving the dregs of that great flood of
+      life trickling lazily down from the widely expanded spiracle. To drive a
+      harpoon into the carcass, and run the line on board, was the simplest of
+      jobs, for, as the captain had foreseen, my irons were drawn clean. I had
+      no leisure to take any notice of them now, though, for whatever was on my
+      line was coming up hand-over-fist.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With a bound it reached the surface&mdash;the identical cow so long
+      attendant upon the dead whale. Having been so long below for such a small
+      whale, she was quite exhausted, and before she had recovered we had got
+      alongside of her and lanced her, so thoroughly that she died without a
+      struggle. The ship was so close that we had her alongside in a wonderfully
+      short time, and with scarcely any trouble.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When I reached the deck, the skipper called me, and said several things
+      that made me feel about six inches taller. He was, as may be thought,
+      exceedingly pleased, saying that only once in his long career had he seen
+      a similar case; for I forgot to mention that the line was entangled around
+      the cow's down-hanging jaw, as if she had actually tried to bite in two
+      the rope that held her consort, and only succeeded in sharing his fate. I
+      would not like to say that whales do not try to thus sever a line, but,
+      their teeth being several inches apart, conical, and fitting into sockets
+      in the upper jaw instead of meeting the opposed surfaces of other teeth,
+      the accomplishment of such a feat must, I think, be impossible.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The ship being now as good as anchored by the vast mass of flesh hanging
+      to her, there was a tremendous task awaiting us to get the other fish
+      alongside. Of course they were all to windward; they nearly always are,
+      unless the ship is persistently "turned to windward" while the fishing is
+      going on. Whalers believe that they always work up into the wind while
+      fast, and, when dead, it is certain that they drift at a pretty good rate
+      right in the "wind's eye." This is accounted for by the play of the body,
+      which naturally lies head to wind; and the wash of the flukes, which,
+      acting somewhat like the "sculling" of an oar at the stern of a boat,
+      propel the carcass in the direction it is pointing, Consequently we had a
+      cruel amount of towing to do before we got the three cows alongside. Many
+      a time we blessed ourselves that they were no bigger, for of all the
+      clumsy things to tow with boats, a sperm whale is about the worst. Owing
+      to the great square mass of the head, they can hardly be towed head-on at
+      all, the practice being to cut off the tips of the flukes, and tow them
+      tail first. But even then it is slavery. To dip your oar about three times
+      in the same hole from whence you withdrew it, to tug at it with all your
+      might, apparently making as much progress as though you were fast to a
+      dock-wall, and to continue this fun for four or five hours at a stretch,
+      is to wonder indeed whether you have not mistaken your vocation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, "it's dogged as does it," so by dint of sheer sticking to the
+      oar, we eventually succeeded in getting all our prizes alongside before
+      eight bells that evening, securing them around us by hawsers to the cows,
+      but giving the big bull the post of honour alongside on the best
+      fluke-chain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were a busy company for a fortnight thence, until the last of the oil
+      was run below&mdash;two hundred and fifty barrels, or twenty-five tuns, of
+      the valuable fluid having rewarded our exertions. During these operations
+      we had drifted night and day, apparently without anybody taking the
+      slightest account of the direction we were taking; when, therefore, on the
+      day after clearing up the last traces of our fishing, the cry of "Land
+      ho!" came ringing down from the crow's-nest, no one was surprised,
+      although the part of the Pacific in which we were cruising has but few
+      patches of TERRA FIRMA scattered about over its immense area when compared
+      with the crowded archipelagoes lying farther south and east.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We could not see the reported land from the deck for two hours after it
+      was first seen from aloft, although the odd spectacle of a scattered group
+      of cocoa-nut trees apparently growing out of the sea was for some time
+      presented to us before the island itself came into view. It was Christmas
+      Island, where the indefatigable Captain Cook landed on December 24, 1777,
+      for the purpose of making accurate observations of an eclipse of the sun.
+      He it was who gave to this lonely atoll the name it has ever since borne,
+      with characteristic modesty giving his own great name to a tiny patch of
+      coral which almost blocks the entrance to the central lagoon. Here we lay
+      "off and on" for a couple of days, while foraging parties went ashore,
+      returning at intervals with abundance of turtle and sea-fowls' eggs. But
+      any detailed account of their proceedings must be ruthlessly curtailed,
+      owing to the scanty limits of space remaining.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XIX. EDGING SOUTHWARD
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The line whaling grounds embrace an exceedingly extensive area, over the
+      whole of which sperm whales may be found, generally of medium size. No
+      means of estimating the probable plenty or scarcity of them in any given
+      part of the grounds exist, so that falling in with them is purely a matter
+      of coincidence. To me it seems a conclusive proof of the enormous numbers
+      of sperm whales frequenting certain large breadths of ocean, that they
+      should be so often fallen in with, remembering what a little spot is
+      represented by a day's cruise, and that the signs which denote almost
+      infallibly the vicinity of right whales are entirely absent in the case of
+      the cachalot. In the narrow waters of the Greenland seas, with quite a
+      small number of vessels seeking, it is hardly possible for a whale of any
+      size to escape being seen; but in the open ocean a goodly fleet may cruise
+      over a space of a hundred thousand square miles without meeting any of the
+      whales that may yet be there in large numbers. So that when one hears talk
+      of the extinction of the cachalot, it is well to bear in mind that such a
+      thing would take a long series of years to effect, even were the whaling
+      business waxing instead of waning, While, however, South Sea whaling is
+      conducted on such old-world methods as still obtain; while steam, with all
+      the power it gives of rapidly dealing with a catch, is not made use of,
+      the art and mystery of the whale-fisher must continually decrease. No such
+      valuable lubricant has ever been found as sperm oil; but the cost of its
+      production, added to the precarious nature of the supply, so handicaps it
+      in the competition with substitutes that it has been practically
+      eliminated from the English markets, except in such greatly adulterated
+      forms as to render it a lie to speak of the mixture as sperm oil at all.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Except to a few whose minds to them are kingdoms, and others who can
+      hardly be said to have any minds at all, the long monotony of unsuccessful
+      seeking for whales is very wearying. The ceaseless motion of the vessel
+      rocking at the centre of a circular space of blue, with a perfectly
+      symmetrical dome of azure enclosing her above, unflecked by a single
+      cloud, becomes at last almost unbearable from its changeless sameness of
+      environment. Were it not for the trivial round and common task of everyday
+      ship duty, some of the crew must become idiotic, or, in sheer rage at the
+      want of interest in their lives, commit mutiny.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such a weary time was ours for full four weeks after sighting Christmas
+      Island. The fine haul we had obtained just previous to that day seemed to
+      have exhausted our luck for the time being, for never a spout did we see.
+      And it was with no ordinary delight that we hailed the advent of an
+      immense school of black-fish, the first we had run across for a long time.
+      Determined to have a big catch, if possible, we lowered all five boats, as
+      it was a beautifully calm day, and the ship might almost safely have been
+      left to look after herself. After what we had recently been accustomed to,
+      the game seemed trifling to get up much excitement over; but still, for a
+      good day's sport, commend me to a few lively black-fish.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In less than ten minutes we were in the thick of the crowd, with harpoons
+      flying right and left. Such a scene of wild confusion and uproarious
+      merriment ensued as I never saw before in my life. The skipper, true to
+      his traditions, got fast to four, all running different ways at once, and
+      making the calm sea boil again with their frantic gyrations. Each of the
+      other boats got hold of three; but, the mate getting too near me, our fish
+      got so inextricably tangled up that it was hopeless to try and distinguish
+      between each other's prizes. However, when we got the lances to work among
+      them, the hubbub calmed down greatly, and the big bodies one by one ceased
+      their gambols, floating supine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So far, all had been gay; but the unlucky second mate must needs go and do
+      a thing that spoiled a day's fun entirely. The line runs through a deep
+      groove in the boat's stem, over a brass roller so fitted that when the
+      line is running out it remains fixed, but when hauling in it revolves
+      freely, assisting the work a great deal. The second mate had three fish
+      fast, like the rest of us&mdash;the first one on the end of the main line,
+      the other two on "short warps," or pieces of whale-line some eight or ten
+      fathoms long fastened to harpoons, with the other ends running on the main
+      line by means of bowlines round it. By some mistake or other he had
+      allowed the two lines to be hauled together through the groove in his
+      boat's stem, and before the error was noticed two fish spurted off in
+      opposite directions, ripping the boat in two halves lengthways, like a
+      Dutchman splitting a salt herring.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Away went the fish with the whole of the line, nobody being able to get at
+      it to cut; and, but for the presence of mind shown by the crew in striking
+      out and away from the tangle, a most ghastly misfortune, involving the
+      loss of several lives, must have occurred. As it was, the loss was
+      considerable, almost outweighing the gain on the day's fishing, besides
+      the inconvenience of having a boat useless on a whaling grounds.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The accident was the fruit of gross carelessness, and should never have
+      occurred; but then, strange to say, disasters to whale-boats are nearly
+      always due to want of care, the percentage of unavoidable casualties being
+      very small as compared with those like the one just related. When the
+      highly dangerous nature of the work is remembered, this statement may seem
+      somewhat overdrawn; but it has been so frequently corroborated by others,
+      whose experience far outweighs my own, that I do not hesitate to make it
+      with the fullest confidence in its truth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Happily no lives were lost on this occasion, for it would have indeed been
+      grievous to have seen our shipmates sacrificed to the MANES of a mere
+      black-fish, after successfully encountering so many mighty whales. The
+      episode gave us a great deal of unnecessary work getting the two halves of
+      the boat saved, in addition to securing our fish, so that by the time we
+      got the twelve remaining carcasses hove on deck we were all quite fagged
+      out. But under the new regime we were sure of a good rest, so that did not
+      trouble us; it rather made the lounge on deck in the balmy evening air and
+      the well-filled pipe of peace doubly sweet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our next day's work completed the skinning of the haul we had made, the
+      last of the carcasses going overboard with a thunderous splash at four in
+      the afternoon. The assemblage of sharks round the ship on this occasion
+      was incredible for its number and the great size of the creatures.
+      Certainly no mariners see so many or such huge sharks as whalemen; but, in
+      spite of all our previous experience, this day touched high-water mark.
+      Many of these fish were of a size undreamed of by the ordinary seafarer,
+      some of them full thirty feet in length, more like whales than sharks.
+      Most of them were striped diagonally with bands of yellow, contrasting
+      curiously with the dingy grey of their normal colour. From this marking is
+      derived their popular name&mdash;"tiger sharks," not, as might be
+      supposed, from their ferocity. That attribute cannot properly be applied
+      to the SQUALUS at all, which is one of the most timid fish afloat, and
+      whose ill name, as far as regards blood-thirstiness, is quite undeserved.
+      Rapacious the shark certainly is; but what sea-fish is not? He is not at
+      all particular as to his diet; but what sea-fish is? With such a great
+      bulk of body, such enormous vitality and vigour to support, he must needs
+      be ever eating; and since he is not constructed on swift enough lines to
+      enable him to prey upon living fish, like most of his neighbours, he is
+      perforce compelled to play the humble but useful part of a sea-scavenger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He eats man, as he eats anything else eatable because in the water man is
+      easily caught, and not from natural depravity or an acquired taste
+      begetting a decided preference for human flesh. All natives of shores
+      infested by sharks despise him and his alleged man-eating propensities,
+      knowing that a very feeble splashing will suffice to frighten him away
+      even if ever so hungry. Demerara River literally swarms with sharks, yet I
+      have often seen a negro, clad only in a beaming smile, slip into its muddy
+      waters, and, after a few sharp blows with his open hand upon the surface,
+      calmly swim down to the bottom, clear a ship's anchor, or do whatever job
+      was required, coming up again as leisurely as if in a swimming-bath. A
+      similar disregard of the dangerous attributes awarded by popular consent
+      to the shark may be witnessed everywhere among the people who know him
+      best. The cruelties perpetrated upon sharks by seamen generally are the
+      result of ignorance and superstition combined, the most infernal forces
+      known to humanity. What would be said at home of such an act, if it could
+      be witnessed among us, as the disembowelling of a tiger, say, and then
+      letting him run in that horrible condition somewhere remote from the
+      possibility of retaliating upon his torturers? Yet that is hardly
+      comparable with a similar atrocity performed upon a shark, because he will
+      live hours to the tiger's minutes in such a condition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I once caught a shark nine feet long, which we hauled on board and killed
+      by cutting off its head and tail. It died very speedily&mdash;for a shark&mdash;all
+      muscular motion ceasing in less than fifteen minutes. It was my intention
+      to prepare that useless and unornamental article so dear to sailors&mdash;a
+      walking-stick made of a shark's backbone. But when I came to cut out the
+      vertebra, I noticed a large scar, extending from one side to the other,
+      right across the centre of the back. Beneath it the backbone was thickened
+      to treble its normal size, and perfectly rigid; in fact, it had become a
+      mass of solid bone. At some time or other this shark had been harpooned so
+      severely that, in wrenching himself free, he must have nearly torn his
+      body in two halves, severing the spinal column completely. Yet such a
+      wound as that had been healed by natural process, the bone knit together
+      again with many times the strength it had before&mdash;minus, of course,
+      its flexibility&mdash;and I can testify from the experience of securing
+      him that he could not possibly have been more vigorous than he was.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A favourite practice used to be&mdash;I trust it is so no longer&mdash;to
+      catch a shark, and, after driving a sharpened stake down through his upper
+      jaw and out underneath the lower one, so that its upper portion pointed
+      diagonally forward, to let him go again. The consequence of this cruelty
+      would be that the fish was unable to open his mouth, or go in any
+      direction without immediately coming to the surface. How long he might
+      linger in such torture, one can only guess; but unless his fellows,
+      finding him thus helpless, came along and kindly devoured him, no doubt he
+      would exist in extreme agony for a very long time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two more small cows were all that rewarded our search during the next
+      fortnight, and we began to feel serious doubts as to the success of our
+      season upon the line grounds, after all. Still, on the whole, our voyage
+      up to the present had not been what might fairly be called unsuccessful,
+      for we were not yet two years away from New Bedford, while we had
+      considerably more than two thousand barrels of oil on board&mdash;more, in
+      fact, than two-thirds of a full cargo. But if a whale were caught every
+      other day for six months, and then a month elapsed without any being seen,
+      grumbling would be loud and frequent, all the previous success being
+      forgotten in the present stagnation. Perhaps it is not so different in
+      other professions nearer home?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Christmas Day drew near, beloved of Englishmen all the world over, though
+      thought little of by Americans. The two previous ones spent on board the
+      CACHALOT have been passed over without mention, absolutely no notice being
+      taken of the season by any one on board, to all appearance. In English
+      ships some attempt is always made to give the day somewhat of a festive
+      character, and to maintain the national tradition of good-cheer and
+      goodwill in whatever part of the world you may happen to be. For some
+      reason or other, perhaps because of the great increase in comfort; we had
+      all experienced lately, I felt the approach of the great Christian
+      anniversary very strongly; although, had I been in London, I should
+      probably have spent it in lonely gloom, having no relatives or friends
+      whom I might visit. But what of that? Christmas is Christmas; and, if we
+      have no home, we think of the place where our home should be; and whether,
+      as cynics sneer, Dickens invented the English Christmas or not, its
+      observance has taken deep root among us. May its shadow never be less!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On Christmas morning I mounted to the crow's-nest at daybreak, and stood
+      looking with never-failing awe at the daily marvel of the sunrise. Often
+      and often have I felt choking for words to express the tumult of thoughts
+      aroused by this sublime spectacle. Hanging there in cloudland, the tiny
+      microcosm at one's feet forgotten, the grandeur of the celestial outlook
+      is overwhelming. Many and many a time I have bowed my head and wept in
+      pure reverence at the majesty manifested around me while the glory of the
+      dawn increased and brightened, till with one exultant bound the sun
+      appeared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For some time I stood gazing straight ahead of me with eyes that saw not,
+      filled with wonder and admiration. I must have been looking directly at
+      the same spot for quite a quarter of an hour, when suddenly, as if I had
+      but just opened my eyes, I saw the well-known bushy spout of a sperm
+      whale. I raised the usual yell, which rang through the stillness
+      discordantly, startling all hands out of their lethargy like bees out of a
+      hive. After the usual preliminaries, we were all afloat with sails set,
+      gliding slowly over the sleeping sea towards the unconscious objects of
+      our attention. The captain did not lower this time, as there only appeared
+      to be three fish, none of them seeming large. Though at any distance it is
+      extremely difficult to assess the size of whales, the spout being very
+      misleading. Sometimes a full-sized whale will show a small spout, while a
+      twenty-barrel cow will exhale a volume of vapour extensive enough for two
+      or three at once.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now although, according to etiquette, I kept my position in the rear of my
+      superior officers, I had fully determined in my own mind, being puffed up
+      with previous success, to play second fiddle to no one, if I could help
+      it, this time. Samuela was decidedly of the same opinion; indeed, I
+      believe he would have been delighted to tackle a whole school
+      single-handed, while my crew were all willing and eager for the fight. We
+      had a long, tedious journey before we came up with them, the wind being so
+      light that even with the occasional assistance of the paddles our progress
+      was wretchedly slow. When at last we did get into their water, and the
+      mate's harpooner stood up to dart, his foot slipped, and down he came with
+      a clatter enough to scare a cachalot twenty miles away. It gallied our
+      friends effectually, sending them flying in different directions at the
+      top of their speed. But being some distance astern of the other boats, one
+      of the fish, in his headlong retreat, rose for a final blow some six or
+      seven fathoms away, passing us in the opposite direction. His appearance
+      was only momentary, yet in that moment Samuela hurled his harpoon into the
+      air, where it described a beautiful parabola, coming down upon the
+      disappearing monster's back just as the sea was closing over it. Oh, it
+      was a splendid dart, worthy of the finest harpooner that ever lived! There
+      was no time for congratulations, however, for we spun round as on a pivot,
+      and away we went in the wake of that fellow at a great rate. I cast one
+      look astern to see whether the others had struck, but could see nothing of
+      them; we seemed to have sprung out of their ken in an instant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The speed of our friend was marvellous, but I comforted myself with the
+      knowledge that these animals usually run in circles&mdash;sometimes, it is
+      true, of enormous diameter, but seldom getting far away from their
+      starting-point. But as the time went on, and we seemed to fly over the
+      waves at undiminished speed, I began to think this whale might be the
+      exception necessary to prove the rule, so I got out the compass and
+      watched his course. Due east, not a degree to north or south of it,
+      straight as a bee to its hive. The ship was now far out of sight astern,
+      but I knew that keen eyes had been watching our movements from the
+      masthead, and that every effort possible would be made to keep the run of
+      us. The speed of our whale was not only great, but unflagging. He was more
+      like a machine than an animal capable of tiring; and though we did our
+      level best, at the faintest symptom of slackening, to get up closer and
+      lance him, it was for some time impossible. After, at a rough estimate,
+      running in a direct easterly course for over two hours, he suddenly
+      sounded, without having given us the ghost of a chance to "land him one
+      where he lived." Judging from his previous exertions, though, it was
+      hardly possible he would be able to stay down long, or get very deep, as
+      the strain upon these vast creatures at any depth is astonishingly
+      exhausting. After a longer stay below than usual, when they have gone
+      extra deep, they often arrive at the surface manifestly "done up" for a
+      time. Then, if the whaleman be active and daring, a few well-directed
+      strokes may be got in which will promptly settle the business out of hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, when my whale sounded he was to all appearance as frightened a beast
+      as one could wish&mdash;one who had run himself out endeavouring to get
+      away from his enemies, and as a last resource had dived into the quietness
+      below in the vain hope to get away. So I regarded him, making up my mind
+      to wait on him with diligence upon his arrival, and not allow him to get
+      breath before I had settled him. But when he did return, there was a
+      mighty difference in him. He seemed as if he had been getting some tips on
+      the subject from some school below where whales are trained to hunt men;
+      for his first move was to come straight for me with a furious rush,
+      carrying the war into the enemy's country with a vengeance. It must be
+      remembered that I was but young, and a comparatively new hand at this sort
+      of thing; so when I confess that I felt more than a little scared at this
+      sudden change in the tactics of my opponent, I hope I shall be excused.
+      Remembering, however, that all our lives depended on keeping cool, I told
+      myself that even if I was frightened I must not go all to pieces, but
+      compel myself to think and act calmly, since I was responsible for others.
+      If the animal had not been in so blind a fury, I am afraid my task would
+      have been much harder; but he was mad, and his savage rushes were, though
+      disquieting, unsystematic and clumsy. It was essential, however, that he
+      should not be allowed to persist too long in his evil courses; for a whale
+      learns with amazing rapidity, developing such cunning in an hour or two
+      that all a man's smartness may be unable to cope with his newly acquired
+      experience. Happily, Samuela was perfectly unmoved. Like a machine, he
+      obeyed every gesture, every look even, swinging the boat "off" or "on" the
+      whale with such sweeping strokes of his mighty oar that she revolved as if
+      on a pivot, and encouraging the other chaps with his cheerful cries and
+      odd grimaces, so that the danger was hardly felt. During a momentary lull
+      in the storm, I took the opportunity to load my bomb-gun, much as I
+      disliked handling the thing, keeping my eye all the time on the water
+      around where I expected to see mine enemy popping up murderously at any
+      minute. Just as I had expected, when he rose, it was very close, and on
+      his back, with his jaw in the first biting position, looking ugly as a
+      vision of death. Finding us a little out of reach, he rolled right over
+      towards us, presenting as he did so the great rotundity of his belly. We
+      were not twenty feet away, and I snatched up the gun, levelled it, and
+      fired the bomb point-blank into his bowels. Then all was blank. I do not
+      even remember the next moment. A rush of roaring waters, a fighting with
+      fearful, desperate energy for air and life, all in a hurried, flurried
+      phantasmagoria about which there was nothing clear except the primitive
+      desire for life, life, life! Nor do I know how long this struggle lasted,
+      except that, in the nature of things, it could not have been very long.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When I returned to a consciousness of external things, I was for some time
+      perfectly still, looking at the sky, totally unable to realize what had
+      happened or where I was. Presently the smiling, pleasant face of Samuela
+      bent over me. Meeting my gratified look of recognition, he set up a
+      perfect yell of delight. "So glad, so glad you blonga life! No go Davy
+      Jonesy dis time, hay?" I put my hand out to help myself to a sitting
+      posture, and touched blubber. That startled me so that I sprung up as if
+      shot. Then I took in the situation at a glance. There were all my poor
+      fellows with me, stranded upon the top of our late antagonist, but no sign
+      of the boat to be seen. Bewildered at the state of affairs, I looked
+      appealingly from one to the other for an explanation. I got it from Abner,
+      who said, laconically, "When yew fired thet ole gun, I guess it mus' have
+      bin loaded fer bear, fer ye jest tumbled clar head over heels backwards
+      outen the boat. Et that very same moment I suspicion the bomb busted in
+      his belly, fer he went clean rampageous loony. He rolled right over an'
+      over to'rds us, n' befo' we c'd rightly see wat wuz comin', we cu'dnt see
+      anythin' 'tall; we wuz all grabbin' at nothin', some'rs underneath the
+      whale. When I come to the top, I lit eout fer the fust thing I c'd see to
+      lay holt of, which wuz old squarhead himself, deader 'n pork. I guess thet
+      ar bomb o' yourn kinder upset his commissary department. Anyway, I climed
+      up onto him, 'n bime-by the rest ov us histed themselves alongside ov me.
+      Sam Weller here; he cum last, towin' you 'long with him. I don'no whar he
+      foun' ye, but ye was very near a goner, 'n's full o' pickle as ye c'd
+      hold." I turned a grateful eye upon my dusky harpooner, who had saved my
+      life, but was now apparently blissfully unconscious of having done
+      anything meritorious.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Behold us, then, a half-drowned row of scarecrows perched, like some new
+      species of dilapidated birds, upon the side of our late foe. The sun was
+      not so furiously hot as usual, for masses of rain-laden NIMBI were filling
+      the sky, so that we were comparatively free from the awful roasting we
+      might have expected: nor was our position as precarious for a while as
+      would be thought. True, we had only one harpoon, with its still fast line,
+      to hold on by; but the side of the whale was somehow hollowed, so that, in
+      spite of the incessant movement imparted to the carcass by the swell, we
+      sat fairly safe, with our feet in the said hollow. We discussed the
+      situation in all its bearings, unable to extract more than the faintest
+      gleam of hope from any aspect of the case. The only reasonable chance we
+      had was, that the skipper had almost certainly taken our bearings, and
+      would, we were sure, be anxiously seeking us on the course thus indicated.
+      Meanwhile, we were ravenously hungry and thirsty. Samuela and Polly set to
+      work with their sheath-knives, and soon excavated a space in the blubber
+      to enable them to reach the meat. Then they cut off some good-sized junks,
+      and divided it up. It was not half bad; and as we chewed on the tough
+      black fibre, I could hardly help smiling as I thought how queer a
+      Christmas dinner we were having. But eating soon heightened our thirst,
+      and our real sufferings then began. We could eat very little once the want
+      of drink made itself felt. Hardly two hours had elapsed, though, before
+      one of the big-bellied clouds which bad been keeping the sun off us most
+      considerately emptied out upon us a perfect torrent of rain. It filled the
+      cavity in the whale's side in a twinkling; and though the water was
+      greasy, stained with blood, and vilely flavoured, it was as welcome a
+      drink as I have ever tasted. Thus fed, and with our thirst slaked, we were
+      able to take a more hopeful view of things while the prospect of our being
+      found seemed much more probable than it had done before the rain fell.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Still, we had to endure our pillory for a long while yet. The sharks and
+      birds began to worry us, especially the former, who in their eagerness to
+      get a portion of the blubber, fought, writhed and tore at the carcass with
+      tireless energy. Once, one of the smaller ones actually came sliding up
+      right into our hollow; but Samuela and Polly promptly dispatched him with
+      a cut throat, sending him back to encourage the others. The present
+      relieved us of most of their attentions for a short time at least, as they
+      eagerly divided the remains of their late comrade among them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To while away the time we spun yarns&mdash;without much point, I am
+      afraid; and sung songs, albeit we did not feel much like singing&mdash;till
+      after a while our poor attempts at gaiety fizzled out like a damp match,
+      leaving us silent and depressed. The sun, which had been hidden for some
+      time, now came out again, his slanting beams revealing to us ominously the
+      flight of time and the near approach of night. Should darkness overtake us
+      in our present position, we all felt that saving us would need the
+      performance of a miracle; for in addition to the chances of the
+      accumulated gases within the carcass bursting it asunder, the unceasing
+      assault of the sharks made it highly doubtful whether they would not in a
+      few hours more have devoured it piecemeal. Already they had scooped out
+      some deep furrows in the solid blubber, making it easier to get hold and
+      tear off more, and their numbers were increasing so fast that the
+      surrounding sea was fairly alive with them. Lower and lower sank the sun,
+      deeper and darker grew the gloom upon our faces, till suddenly Samuela
+      leaped to his feet in our midst, and emitted a yell so ear-piercing as to
+      nearly deafen us. He saw the ship! Before two minutes had passed we all
+      saw her&mdash;God bless her!&mdash;coming down upon us like some angelic
+      messenger. There were no fears among us that we should be overlooked. We
+      knew full well how anxiously and keenly many pairs of eyes had been
+      peering over the sea in search of us, and we felt perfectly sure they had
+      sighted us long ago. On she came, gilded by the evening glow, till she
+      seemed glorified, moving in a halo of celestial light, all her homeliness
+      and clumsy build forgotten in what she then represented to us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Never before or since has a ship looked like that, to me, nor can I ever
+      forget the thankfulness, the delight, the reverence, with which I once
+      more saw her approaching. Straight down upon us she bore, rounding to
+      within a cable's length, and dropping a boat simultaneously with her
+      windward sweep. They had no whale&mdash;well for us they had not. In five
+      minutes we were on board, while our late resting-place was being hauled
+      alongside with great glee.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captain shook hands with me cordially, pooh-poohing the loss of the
+      boat as an unavoidable incident of the trade, but expressing his
+      heart-felt delight at getting us all back safe. The whale we had killed
+      was ample compensation for the loss of several boats, though such was the
+      vigour with which the sharks were going for him, that it was deemed
+      advisable to cut in at once, working all night. We who had been rescued,
+      however, were summarily ordered below by the skipper, and forbidden, on
+      pain of his severe displeasure, to reappear until the following morning.
+      This great privilege we gladly availed ourselves of, awaking at daylight
+      quite well and fit, not a bit the worse for our queer experience of the
+      previous day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whale proved a great acquisition, for although not nearly so large as
+      many we had caught, he was so amazingly rich in blubber that he actually
+      yielded twelve and a half tuns of oil, in spite of the heavy toll taken of
+      him by the hungry multitudes of sharks. In addition to the oil, we were
+      fortunate enough to secure a lump of ambergris, dislodged perhaps by the
+      explosion of my bomb in the animal's bowels. It was nearly black, wax-like
+      to the touch, and weighed seven pounds and a half. At the current price,
+      it would be worth about L200, so that, taken altogether, the whale very
+      nearly approached in value the largest one we had yet caught. I had almost
+      omitted to state that incorporated with the substance of the ambergris
+      were several of the horny cuttle-fish beaks, which, incapable of being
+      digested, had become in some manner part of this peculiar product.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XX. "HUMPBACKING" AT VAU VAU
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Another three weeks' cruising brought us to the end of the season on the
+      line, which had certainly not answered all our expectations, although we
+      had perceptibly increased the old barky's draught during our stay. Whether
+      from love of change or belief in the possibilities of a good haul, I can
+      hardly say, but Captain Count decided to make the best of his way south,
+      to the middle group of the "Friendly" Archipelago, known as Vau Vau, the
+      other portions being called Hapai and Tongataboo respectively, for a
+      season's "humpbacking." From all I could gather, we were likely to have a
+      good time there, so I looked forward to the visit with a great deal of
+      pleasurable anticipation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were bound to make a call at Vau Vau, in any case, to discharge our
+      Kanakas shipped at Honolulu, although I fervently hoped to be able to keep
+      my brave harpooner Samuela. So when I heard of our destination, I sounded
+      him cautiously as to his wishes in the matter, finding that, while he was
+      both pleased with and proud of his position on board, he was longing
+      greatly for his own orange grove and the embraces of a certain tender
+      "fafine" that he averred was there awaiting him. With such excellent
+      reasons for his leaving us, I could but forbear to persuade him,
+      sympathizing with him too deeply to wish him away from such joys as he
+      described to me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So we bade farewell to the line grounds, and commenced another stretch to
+      the south, another milestone, as it were, on the long road home. Prosaic
+      and uneventful to the last degree was our passage, the only incident worth
+      recording being our "gamming" of the PASSAMAQUODDY, of Martha's Vineyard,
+      South Sea whaler; eighteen months out, with one thousand barrels of sperm
+      oil on board. We felt quite veterans alongside of her crew, and our yarns
+      laid over theirs to such an extent that they were quite disgusted at their
+      lack of experience. Some of them had known our late skipper, but none of
+      them had a good word for him, the old maxim, "Speak nothing but good of
+      the dead," being most flagrantly set at nought. One of her crew was a
+      Whitechapelian, who had been roving about the world for a good many years.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Amongst other experiences, he had, after "jumping the bounty" two or three
+      times, found himself a sergeant in the Federal Army before Gettysburg.
+      During that most bloody battle, he informed me that a "Reb" drew a bead on
+      him at about a dozen yards' distance, and fired, He said he felt just as
+      if somebody had punched him in the chest, and knocked him flat on his back
+      on top of a sharp stone&mdash;no pain at all, nor any further recollection
+      of what had happened, until he found himself at the base, in hospital.
+      When the surgeons came to examine him for the bullet, they found that it
+      had struck the broad brass plate of his cross-belt fairly in the middle,
+      penetrating it and shattering his breast bone. But after torturing him
+      vilely with the probe, they were about to give up the search in despair,
+      when he told them he felt a pain in his back. Examining the spot indicated
+      by him, they found a bullet just beneath the skin, which a touch with the
+      knife allowed to tumble out. Further examination revealed the strange fact
+      that the bullet, after striking his breast-bone, had glanced aside and
+      travelled round his body just beneath the skin, without doing him any
+      further harm. In proof of his story, he showed me the two scars and the
+      perforated buckle-plate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At another time, being in charge of a picket of Germans, he and his
+      command were captured by a party of Confederates, who haled him before
+      their colonel, a southern gentleman of the old school. In the course of
+      his interrogation by the southern officer, he was asked where he hailed
+      from. He replied, "London, England." "Then," said the colonel, "how is it
+      you find yourself fighting for these accursed Yankees?" The cockney
+      faltered out some feeble excuse or another, which his captor cut short by
+      saying, "I've a great respect for the English, and consequently I'll let
+      you go this time. But if ever I catch you again, you're gone up. As for
+      those d&mdash;&mdash;-d Dutchmen, they'll be strung up inside of five
+      minutes." And they were.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So with yarn, song, and dance, the evening passed pleasantly away; while
+      the two old hookers jogged amicably along side by side, like two
+      market-horses whose drivers are having a friendly crack. Along about
+      midnight we exchanged crews again, and parted with many expressions of
+      good-will&mdash;we to the southward, she to the eastward, for some
+      particular preserve believed in by her commander.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In process of time we made the land of Vau Vau, a picturesque, densely
+      wooded, and in many places precipitous, group of islands, the approach
+      being singularly free from dangers in the shape of partly hidden reefs.
+      Long and intricate were the passages we threaded, until we finally came to
+      anchor in a lovely little bay perfectly sheltered from all winds. We
+      moored, within a mile of a dazzling white beach, in twelve fathoms. A few
+      native houses embowered in orange and cocoa-nut trees showed here and
+      there, while the two horns of the bay were steep-to, and covered with
+      verdure almost down to the water's edge. The anchor was hardly down before
+      a perfect fleet of canoes flocked around us, all carrying the familiar
+      balancing outrigger, without which those narrow dugouts cannot possibly
+      keep upright. Their occupants swarmed on board, laughing and playing like
+      so many children, and with all sorts of winning gestures and tones
+      besought our friendship. "You my flem?" was the one question which all
+      asked; but what its import might be we could not guess for some time.
+      By-and-by it appeared that when once you had agreed to accept a native for
+      your "flem," or friend, he from henceforward felt in duty bound to attend
+      to all your wants which it lay within his power to supply. This important
+      preliminary settled, fruit and provisions of various kinds appeared as if
+      by magic. Huge baskets of luscious oranges, massive bunches of gold and
+      green bananas, clusters of green cocoa-nuts, conch-shells full of
+      chillies, fowls loudly protesting against their hard fate, gourds full of
+      eggs, and a few vociferous swine&mdash;all came tumbling on board in
+      richest profusion, and, strangest thing of all, not a copper was asked in
+      return. I might have as truly said nothing was asked, since money must
+      have been useless here. Many women came alongside, but none climbed on
+      board. Surprised at this, I asked Samuela the reason, as soon as I could
+      disengage him for a few moments from the caresses of his friends. He
+      informed me that the ladies' reluctance to favour us with their society
+      was owing to their being in native dress, which it is punishable to appear
+      in among white men, the punishment consisting of a rather heavy fine. Even
+      the men and boys, I noticed, before they ventured to climb on board,
+      stayed a while to put on trousers, or what did duty for those useful
+      articles of dress. At any rate, they were all clothed, not merely
+      enwrapped with a fold or two of "tapa," the native bark-cloth, but made
+      awkward and ugly by dilapidated shirts and pants.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She was a busy ship for the rest of that day. The anchor down, sails
+      furled and decks swept, the rest of the time was our own, and high jinks
+      were the result. The islanders were amiability personified, merry as
+      children, nor did I see or hear one quarrelsome individual among them.
+      While we were greedily devouring the delicious fruit, which was piled on
+      deck in mountainous quantities, they encouraged us, telling us that the
+      trees ashore were breaking down under their loads, and what a pity it was
+      that there were so few to eat such bountiful supplies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were, it appeared, the first whale-ship that had anchored there that
+      year, and, in that particular bay where we lay, no vessel had moored for
+      over two years. An occasional schooner from Sydney called at the "town"
+      about ten miles away, where the viceroy's house was, and at the present
+      time of speaking one of Godeffroi's Hamburg ships was at anchor there,
+      taking in an accumulation of copra from her agent's store. But the natives
+      all spoke of her with a shrug&mdash;"No like Tashman. Tashman no good."
+      Why, I could not ascertain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our Kanakas had promised to remain with us till our departure for the
+      south, so, hard as it seemed to them, they were not allowed to go ashore,
+      in case they might not come back, and leave us short-handed. But as their
+      relatives and friends could visit them whenever they felt inclined, the
+      restriction did not hurt them much. The next day, being Sunday, all hands
+      were allowed liberty to go ashore by turns (except the Kanakas), with
+      strict injunctions to molest no one, but to behave as if in a big town
+      guarded by policemen. As no money could be spent, none was given, and,
+      best of all, it was impossible to procure any intoxicating liquor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our party got ashore about 9.30, but not a soul was visible either on the
+      beach or in the sun-lit paths which led through the forest inland. Here
+      and there a house, with doors wide open, stood in its little cleared
+      space, silent and deserted. It was like a country without inhabitants.
+      Presently, however, a burst of melody arrested us, and borne upon the
+      scented breeze came oh, so sweetly!&mdash;the well-remembered notes of
+      "Hollingside." Hurriedly getting behind a tree, I let myself go, and had a
+      perfectly lovely, soul-refreshing cry. Reads funny, doesn't it? Sign of
+      weakness perhaps. But when childish memories come back upon one
+      torrent-like in the swell of a hymn or the scent of the hawthorn, it seems
+      to me that the flood-gates open without you having anything to do with it.
+      When I was a little chap in the Lock Chapel choir, before the evil days
+      came, that tune was my favourite; and when I heard it suddenly come
+      welling up out of the depths of the forest, my heart just stood still for
+      a moment, and then the tears came. Queer idea, perhaps, to some people;
+      but I do not know when I enjoyed myself so much as I did just then, except
+      when a boy of sixteen home from a voyage, and strolling along the
+      Knightsbridge Road, I "happened" into the Albert Hall. I did not in the
+      least know what was coming; the notices on the bills did not mean anything
+      to me; but I paid my shilling, and went up into the gallery. I had hardly
+      edged myself into a corner by the refreshment-stall, when a great breaker
+      of sound caught me, hurled me out of time, thought, and sense in one
+      intolerable ecstasy&mdash;"For unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is
+      given"&mdash;again and again&mdash;billows and billows of glory. I gasped
+      for breath, shook like one in an ague fit; the tears ran down in a
+      continuous stream; while people stared amazed at me, thinking, I suppose,
+      that I was another drunken sailor. Well, I was drunk, helplessly
+      intoxicated, but not with drink, with something Divine, untellable, which,
+      coming upon me unprepared, simply swept me away with it into a heaven of
+      delight, to which only tears could testify.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But I am in the bush, whimpering over the tones of "Hollingside." As soon
+      as I had pulled myself together a bit, we went on again in the direction
+      of the sound, Presently we came to a large clearing, in the middle of
+      which stood a neat wooden, pandanus-thatched church. There were no doors
+      or windows to it, just a roof supported upon posts, but a wide verandah
+      ran all round, upon the edge of which we seated ourselves; for the place
+      was full&mdash;full to suffocation, every soul within miles, I should
+      think, being there. No white man was present, but the service, which was a
+      sort of prayer-meeting, went with a swing and go that was wonderful to
+      see. There was no perfunctory worship here; no one languidly enduring it
+      because it was "the right sort of thing to show up at, you know;" but all
+      were in earnest, terribly in earnest. When they sang, it behoved us to get
+      away to a little distance, for the vigour of the voices, unless mellowed
+      by distance, made the music decidedly harsh. Every one was dressed in
+      European clothing&mdash;the women in neat calico gowns; but the men,
+      nearly all of them, in woollen shirts, pilot-coats, and trousers to match,
+      and sea-boots! Whew! it nearly stifled me to look at them. The temperature
+      was about ninety degrees in the shade, with hardly a breath of air
+      stirring, yet those poor people, from some mistaken notion of propriety,
+      were sweating in torrents under that Arctic rig. However they could
+      worship, I do not know! At last the meeting broke up. The men rushed out,
+      tore off their coats, trousers, and shirts, and flung themselves panting
+      upon the grass, mother-naked, except for a chaplet of cocoanut leaves,
+      formed by threading them on a vine-tendril, and hanging round the waist.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Squatting by the side of my "flem," whom I had recognized, I asked him why
+      ever he outraged all reason by putting on such clothes in this boiling
+      weather. He looked at me pityingly for a moment before he replied, "You go
+      chapella Belitani? No put bes' close on top?" "Yes," I said; "but in hot
+      weather put on thin clothes; cold weather, put on thick ones." "S'pose no
+      got more?" he said, meaning, I presumed, more than the one suit. "Well," I
+      said, "more better stop 'way than look like big fool, boil all away, same
+      like duff in pot. You savvy duff?" He smiled a wide comprehensive smile,
+      but looked very solemn again, saying directly, "You no go chapella; you no
+      mishnally. No mishnally [missionary=godly]; very bad. Me no close; no go
+      chapella; vely bad. Evelly tangata, evelly fafine, got close all same
+      papalang [every man and woman has clothes like a white man]; go chapella
+      all day Sunday." That this was no figure of speech I proved fully that
+      day, for I declare that the recess between any of the services never
+      lasted more than an hour. Meanwhile the worshippers did not return to
+      their homes, for in many cases they had journeyed twenty or thirty miles,
+      but lay about in the verdure, refreshing themselves with fruit,
+      principally the delightful green cocoa-nuts, which furnish meat and drink
+      both&mdash;cool and refreshing in the extreme, as well as nourishing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were all heartily welcome to whatever was going, but there was a
+      general air of restraint, a fear of breaking the Sabbath, which prevented
+      us from trespassing too much upon the hospitality of these devout children
+      of the sun. So we contented ourselves with strolling through the beautiful
+      glades and woods, lying down, whenever we felt weary, under the shade of
+      some spreading orange tree loaded with golden fruit, and eating our fill,
+      or rather eating until the smarting of our lips warned us to desist. Here
+      was a land where, apparently, all people were honest, for we saw a great
+      many houses whose owners were absent, not one of which was closed,
+      although many had a goodly store of such things as a native might be
+      supposed to covet. At last, not being able to rid ourselves of the feeling
+      that we were doing something wrong, the solemn silence and Sundayfied air
+      of the whole region seeming to forbid any levity even in the most innocent
+      manner, we returned on board again, wonderfully impressed with what we had
+      seen, but wondering what would have happened if some of the ruffianly
+      crowds composing the crews of many ships had been let loose upon this fair
+      island.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the evening we lowered a stage over the bows to the water's edge, and
+      had a swimming-match, the water being perfectly delightful, after the
+      great heat of the day, in its delicious freshness; and so to bunk, well
+      pleased indeed with our first Sunday in Vau Vau.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I have no doubt whatever that some of the gentry who swear at large about
+      the evils of missionaries would have been loud in their disgust at the
+      entire absence of drink and debauchery, and the prevalence of what they
+      would doubtless characterize as adjective hypocrisy on the part of the
+      natives; but no decent man could help rejoicing at the peace, the
+      security, and friendliness manifested on every hand, nor help awarding
+      unstinted praise to whoever had been the means of bringing about so
+      desirable a state of things. I felt that their Sabbatarianism was carried
+      to excess; that they would have been better, not worse, for a little less
+      church, and a little more innocent fun; but ten thousand times better thus
+      than such scenes of lust let loose and abandoned animalism as we witnessed
+      at Honolulu. What pleased me mightily was the absence of the white man
+      with his air of superiority and sleek overlordship. All the worship, all
+      the management of affairs, was entirely in the hands of the natives
+      themselves, and excellently well did they manage everything.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I shall never forget once going ashore in a somewhat similar place, but
+      very far distant, one Sunday morning, to visit the mission station. It was
+      a Church mission, and a very handsome building the church was. By the side
+      of it stood the parsonage, a beautiful bungalow, nestling in a perfect
+      paradise of tropical flowers. The somewhat intricate service was
+      conducted, and the sermon preached, entirely by natives&mdash;very
+      creditably too. After service I strolled into the parsonage to see the
+      reverend gentleman in charge, whom I found supporting his burden in a long
+      chair, with a tall glass of brandy and soda within easy reach, a fine
+      cigar between his lips, and a late volume of Ouida's in his hand. All very
+      pleasant and harmless, no doubt, but hardly reconcilable with the ideal
+      held up in missionary magazines. Yet I have no doubt whatever that this
+      gentleman would have been heartily commended by the very men who can
+      hardly find words harsh enough to express their opinion of missionaries of
+      the stamp of Paton, Williams, Moffat, and Mackenzie.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Well, it is highly probable&mdash;nay, almost certain, that I shall be
+      accused of drawing an idyllic picture of native life from first
+      impressions, which, if I had only had sufficient subsequent experience
+      among the people, I should have entirely altered. All I can say is, that
+      although I did not live among them ashore, we had a number of them on
+      board; we lay in the island harbour five months, during which I was ashore
+      nearly every day, and from habit I observed them very closely; yet I
+      cannot conscientiously alter one syllable of what I have written
+      concerning them. Bad men and women there were, of course, to be found&mdash;as
+      where not?&mdash;but the badness, in whatever form, was not allowed to
+      flaunt itself, and was so sternly discountenanced by public (entirely
+      native) opinion, that it required a good deal of interested seeking to
+      find.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But after all this chatter about my amiable friends, I find myself in
+      danger of forgetting the purpose of our visit. We lost no time in
+      preparation, since whaling of whatever sort is conducted in these ships on
+      precisely similar lines, but on Monday morning, at daybreak, after a
+      hurried breakfast, lowered all boats and commenced the campaign. We were
+      provided with boxes&mdash;one for each boat&mdash;containing a light
+      luncheon, but no ordered meal, because it was not considered advisable to
+      in any way hamper the boat's freedom to chase. Still, in consideration of
+      its being promptly dumped overboard on attacking a whale, a goodly
+      quantity of fruit was permitted in the boats.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the calm beauty of the pearly dawn, with a gentle hush over all nature,
+      the lofty, tree-clad hills reflected with startling fidelity in the
+      glassy, many-coloured waters, the only sound audible the occasional
+      cra-a-ake of the advance-guard of a flight of fruit-bats (PECA) homeward
+      from their nocturnal depredations, we shipped our oars and started,
+      pulling to a certain position whence we could see over an immense area.
+      Immediately upon rounding the horn of our sheltered bay, the fresh breeze
+      of the south-east trades met us right on end with a vigour that made a
+      ten-mile steady pull against it somewhat of a breather. Arriving at the
+      station indicated by the chief, we set sail, and, separating as far as
+      possible without losing sight of each other, settled down for the day's
+      steady cruise. Anything more delightful than that excursion to those who
+      love seashore scenery combined with boat-sailing would be difficult to
+      name. Every variety of landscape, every shape of strait, bay, or estuary,
+      reefs awash, reefs over which we could sail, ablaze with loveliness
+      inexpressible; a steady, gentle, caressing breeze, and overhead one
+      unvarying canopy of deepest blue. Sometimes, when skirting the base of
+      some tremendous cliffs, great caution was necessary, for at one moment
+      there would obtain a calm, death-like in its stillness; the next, down
+      through a canyon cleaving the mountain to the water's edge would come
+      rushing with a shrill howl, a blast fierce enough to almost lift us out of
+      the water. Away we would scud with flying sheets dead before it, in a
+      smother of spray, but would hardly get full way on her before it was gone,
+      leaving us in the same hush as before, only a dark patch on the water far
+      to leeward marking its swift rush. These little diversions gave us no uneasiness,
+      for it was an unknown thing to make a sheet fast in one of our boats, so
+      that a puff of wind never caught us unprepared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On that first day we seemed to explore such a variety of stretches of
+      water that one would hardly have expected there could be any more
+      discoveries to make in that direction. Nevertheless, each day's cruise
+      subsequently revealed to us some new nook or other, some quiet haven or
+      pretty passage between islands that, until closely approached, looked like
+      one. When, at sunset, we returned to the ship, not having seen anything
+      like a spout, I felt like one who had been in a dream, the day's cruise
+      having surpassed all my previous experience. Yet it was but the precursor
+      of many such. Oftentimes I think of those halcyon days, with a sigh of
+      regret that they can never more be renewed to me; but I rejoice to think
+      that nothing can rob me of the memory of them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Much to the discomfort of the skipper, it was four days before a solitary
+      spout was seen, and then it was so nearly dark that before the fish could
+      be reached it was impossible to distinguish her whereabouts. A careful
+      bearing was taken of the spot, in the hope that she might be lingering in
+      the vicinity next morning, and we hastened on board.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before it was fairly light we lowered, and paddled as swiftly as possible
+      to the bay where we had last seen the spout overnight. When near the spot
+      we rested on our paddles a while, all hands looking out with intense
+      eagerness for the first sign of the whale's appearance. There was a
+      strange feeling among us of unlawfulness and stealth, as of ambushed
+      pirates waiting to attack some unwary merchantman, or highwaymen waylaying
+      a fat alderman on a country road. We spoke in whispers, for the morning
+      was so still that a voice raised but ordinarily would have reverberated
+      among the rocks which almost overhung us, multiplied indefinitely. A
+      turtle rose ghost-like to the surface at my side, lifting his queer head,
+      and, surveying us with stony gaze, vanished as silently as he came.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What a sigh! One looked at the other inquiringly, but the repetition of
+      that long expiration satisfied us all that it was the placid breathing of
+      the whale we sought somewhere close at hand, The light grew rapidly
+      better, and we strained our eyes in every direction to discover the
+      whereabouts of our friend, but, for some minutes without result. There was
+      a ripple just audible, and away glided the mate's boat right for the near
+      shore. Following him with our eyes, we almost immediately beheld a pale,
+      shadowy column of white, shimmering against the dark mass of the cliff not
+      a quarter of a mile away. Dipping our paddles with the utmost care, we
+      made after the chief, almost holding our breath. His harpooner rose,
+      darted once, twice, then gave a yell of triumph that ran re-echoing all
+      around in a thousand eerie vibrations, startling the drowsy PECA in
+      myriads from where they hung in inverted clusters on the trees above. But,
+      for all the notice taken by the whale, she might never have been touched.
+      Close nestled to her side was a youngling of not more, certainly, than
+      five days old, which sent up its baby-spout every now and then about two
+      feet into the air. One long, wing-like fin embraced its small body,
+      holding it close to the massive breast of the tender mother, whose only
+      care seemed to be to protect her young, utterly regardless of her own pain
+      and danger. If sentiment were ever permitted to interfere with such
+      operations as ours, it might well have done so now; for while the calf
+      continually sought to escape from the enfolding fin, making all sorts of
+      puny struggles in the attempt, the mother scarcely moved from her
+      position, although streaming with blood from a score of wounds. Once,
+      indeed, as a deep-searching thrust entered her very vitals, she raised her
+      massy flukes high in air with an apparently involuntary movement of agony;
+      but even in that dire throe she remembered the possible danger to her
+      young one, and laid the tremendous weapon as softly down upon the water as
+      if it were a feather fan.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So in the most perfect quiet, with scarcely a writhe, nor any sign of
+      flurry, she died, holding the calf to her side until her last vital spark
+      had fled, and left it to a swift despatch with a single lance-thrust. No
+      slaughter of a lamb ever looked more like murder. Nor, when the vast bulk
+      and strength of the animal was considered, could a mightier example have
+      been given of the force and quality of maternal love.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole business was completed in half an hour from the first sight of
+      her, and by the mate's hand alone, none of the other boats needing to use
+      their gear. As soon as she was dead, a hole was bored through the lips,
+      into which a tow-line was secured, the two long fins were lashed close
+      into the sides of the animal by an encircling line, the tips of the flukes
+      were cut off, and away we started for the ship. We had an eight-mile tow
+      in the blazing sun, which we accomplished in a little over eight, hours,
+      arriving at the vessel just before two p.m. News of our coming had
+      preceded us, and the whole native population appeared to be afloat to make
+      us welcome. The air rang again with their shouts of rejoicing, for our
+      catch represented to them a gorgeous feast, such as they had not indulged
+      in for many a day. The flesh of the humpbacked whale is not at all bad,
+      being but little inferior to that of the porpoise; so that, as these
+      people do not despise even the coarse rank flesh of the cachalot, their
+      enthusiasm was natural. Their offers of help were rather embarrassing to
+      us, as we could find little room for any of them in the boats, and the
+      canoes only got in our way. Unable to assist us, they vented their
+      superfluous energies on the whale in the most astounding aquatic antics
+      imaginable&mdash;diving under it; climbing on to it; pushing and rolling
+      each other headlong over its broad back; shrieking all the while with the
+      frantic, uncontrollable laughter of happy children freed from all
+      restraint. Men, women, and children all mixed in this wild, watery spree;
+      and as to any of them getting drowned, the idea was utterly absurd.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we got it alongside, and prepared to cut in, all the chaps were able
+      to have a rest, there were so many eager volunteers to man the windlass,
+      not only willing but, under the able direction of their compatriots
+      belonging to our crew, quite equal to the work of heaving in blubber. All
+      their habitual indolence was cast aside. Toiling like Trojans, they made
+      the old windlass rattle again as they spun the brakes up and down, every
+      blanket-piece being hailed with a fresh volley of eldritch shrieks, enough
+      to alarm a deaf and dumb asylum.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With such ample aid, it was, as may be supposed a brief task to skin our
+      prize, although the strange arrangement of the belly blubber caused us to
+      lift some disappointing lengths. This whale has the blubber underneath the
+      body lying in longitudinal corrugations, which, when hauled off the
+      carcass at right angles to their direction, stretch out flat to four or
+      five times their normal area. Thus, when the cutting-blocks had reached
+      their highest limit, and the piece was severed from the body, the folds
+      flew together again leaving dangling aloft but a miserable square of some
+      four or five feet, instead of a fine "blanket" of blubber twenty by five.
+      Along the edges of these RUGAE, as also upon the rim of the lower jaw,
+      abundance of limpets and barnacles had attached themselves, some of the
+      former large as a horse's hoof, and causing prodigious annoyance to the
+      toiling carpenter, whose duty it was to keep the spades ground. It was no
+      unusual thing for a spade to be handed in with two or three gaps in its
+      edge half an inch deep, where they had accidentally come across one of
+      those big pieces of flinty shell, undistinguishable from the grey
+      substance of the belly blubber.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But, in spite of these drawbacks, in less than ninety minutes the last cut
+      was reached, the vertebra severed, and away went the great mass of meat,
+      in tow of countless canoes, to an adjacent point, where, in eager
+      anticipation, fires were already blazing for the coming cookery. An
+      enormous number of natives had gathered from far and near, late arrivals
+      continually dropping in from all points of the compass with breathless
+      haste. No danger of going short need have troubled them, for, large as
+      were their numbers, the supply was evidently fully equal to all demands.
+      All night long the feast proceeded, and, even when morning dawned, busy
+      figures were still discernible coming and going between the reduced
+      carcass and the fires, as if determined to make an end of it before their
+      operations ceased.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXI. PROGRESS OF THE "HUMPBACK" SEASON
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      It will probably be inferred from the foregoing paragraph that we were
+      little troubled with visits from the natives next day; but it would be
+      doing them an injustice if I omitted to state that our various "flems" put
+      in an appearance as usual with their daily offerings of fruit, vegetables,
+      etc. They all presented a somewhat jaded and haggard look, as of men who
+      had dined not wisely but too well, nor did the odour of stale whale-meat
+      that clung to them add to their attractions. Repentance for excesses or
+      gluttony did not seem to trouble them, for they evidently considered it
+      would have been a sin not to take with both hands the gifts the gods had
+      so bountifully provided. Still, they did not stay long, feeling, no doubt,
+      sore need of a prolonged rest after their late arduous exertions; so,
+      after affectionate farewells, they left us again to our greasy task of
+      trying-out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The cow proved exceedingly fat, making us, though by no means a large
+      specimen, fully fifty barrels of oil. The whalebone (baleen) was so short
+      as to be not worth the trouble of curing, so, with the exception of such
+      pieces as were useful to the "scrimshoners" for ornamenting their
+      nicknacks, it was not preserved. On the evening of the third day the work
+      was so far finished that we were able to go ashore for clothes-washing,
+      which necessary process was accompanied with a good deal of fun and
+      hilarity. In the morning cruising was resumed again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a couple of days we met with no success, although we had a very
+      aggravating chase after some smart bulls we fell in with, to our mutual
+      astonishment, just as we rounded a point of the outermost island. They
+      were lazily sunning themselves close under the lee of the cliffs, which at
+      that point were steep-to, having a depth of about twenty fathoms close
+      alongside. A fresh breeze was blowing, so we came round the point at a
+      great pace, being almost among them before they had time to escape. They
+      went away gaily along the land, not attempting to get seaward, we
+      straining every nerve to get alongside of them. Whether they were
+      tantalizing us or not, I cannot say, but certainly it looked like it. In
+      spite of their well-known speed, we were several times so close in their
+      wake that the harpooners loosed the tacks of the jibs to get a clear shot;
+      but as they did so the nimble monsters shot ahead a length or two, leaving
+      us just out of reach. It was a fine chase while it lasted, though
+      annoying; yet one could hardly help feeling amused at the way they
+      wallowed along&mdash;just like a school of exaggerated porpoises. At last,
+      after nearly two hours of the fun, they seemed to have had enough of it,
+      and with one accord headed seaward at a greatly accelerated pace, as who
+      should say, "Well, s' long, boys; company's very pleasant and all that,
+      but we've got important business over at Fiji, and can't stay fooling
+      around here any longer." In a quarter of an hour they were out of sight,
+      leaving us disgusted and outclassed pursuers sneaking back again to
+      shelter, feeling very small. Not that we could have had much hope of
+      success under the circumstances, knowing the peculiar habits of the
+      humpback and the almost impossibility of competing with him in the open
+      sea; but they had lured us on to forget all these things in the ardour of
+      the chase, and then exposed our folly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then ensued a week or two of uneventful cruising, broken only by the
+      capture of a couple of cows&mdash;one just after the fruitless chase
+      mentioned above, and one several days later. These events, though
+      interesting enough to us, were marked by no such deviation from the
+      ordinary course as to make them worthy of special attention; nor do I
+      think that the cold-blooded killing of a cow-whale, who dies patiently
+      endeavouring to protect her young, is a subject that lends itself to
+      eulogium.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, just when the delightful days were beginning to pall upon us, a
+      real adventure befell us, which, had we been attending strictly to
+      business, we should not have encountered. For a week previous we had been
+      cruising constantly without ever seeing a spout, except those belonging to
+      whales out at sea, whither we knew it was folly to follow them. We tried
+      all sorts of games to while away the time, which certainly did hang heavy,
+      the most popular of which was for the whole crew of the boat to strip,
+      and, getting overboard, be towed along at the ends of short warps, while I
+      sailed her. It was quite mythological&mdash;a sort of rude reproduction of
+      Neptune and his attendant Tritons. At last, one afternoon as we were
+      listlessly lolling (half asleep, except the look-out man) across the
+      thwarts, we suddenly came upon a gorge between two cliffs that we must
+      have passed before several times unnoticed. At a certain angle it opened,
+      disclosing a wide sheet of water, extending a long distance ahead. I put
+      the helm up, and we ran through the passage, finding it about a boat's
+      length in width and several fathoms deep, though overhead the cliffs
+      nearly came together in places. Within, the scene was very beautiful, but
+      not more so than many similar ones we had previously witnessed. Still, as
+      the place was new to us, our languor was temporarily dispelled, and we
+      paddled along, taking in every feature of the shores with keen eyes that
+      let nothing escape. After we had gone on in this placid manner for maybe
+      an hour, we suddenly came to a stupendous cliff&mdash;that is, for those
+      parts&mdash;rising almost sheer from the water for about a thousand feet.
+      Of itself it would not have arrested our attention, but at its base was a
+      semicircular opening, like the mouth of a small tunnel. This looked
+      alluring, so I headed the boat for it, passing through a deep channel
+      between two reefs which led straight to the opening. There was ample room
+      for us to enter, as we had lowered the mast; but just as we were passing
+      through, a heave of the unnoticed swell lifted us unpleasantly near the
+      crown of this natural arch. Beneath us, at a great depth, the bottom could
+      be dimly discerned, the water being of the richest blue conceivable, which
+      the sun, striking down through, resolved into some most marvellous
+      colour-schemes in the path of its rays. A delicious sense of coolness,
+      after the fierce heat outside, saluted us as we entered a vast hall, whose
+      roof rose to a minimum height of forty feet, but in places could not be
+      seen at all. A sort of diffused light, weak, but sufficient to reveal the
+      general contour of the place, existed, let in, I supposed, through some
+      unseen crevices in the roof or walls. At first, of course, to our eyes
+      fresh from the fierce glare outside, the place seemed wrapped in
+      impenetrable gloom, and we dared not stir lest we should run into some
+      hidden danger. Before many minutes, however, the gloom lightened as our
+      pupils enlarged, so that, although the light was faint, we could find our
+      way about with ease. We spoke in low tones, for the echoes were so
+      numerous and resonant that even a whisper gave back from those massy walls
+      in a series of recurring hisses, as if a colony of snakes had been
+      disturbed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We paddled on into the interior of this vast cave, finding everywhere the
+      walls rising sheer from the silent, dark waters, not a ledge or a crevice
+      where one might gain foothold. Indeed, in some places there was a
+      considerable overhang from above, as if a great dome whose top was
+      invisible sprang from some level below the water. We pushed ahead until
+      the tiny semicircle of light through which we had entered was only faintly
+      visible; and then, finding there was nothing to be seen except what we
+      were already witnessing, unless we cared to go on into the thick darkness,
+      which extended apparently into the bowels of the mountain, we turned and
+      started to go back. Do what we would, we could not venture to break the
+      solemn hush that surrounded us as if we were shut within the dome of some
+      vast cathedral in the twilight, So we paddled noiselessly along for the
+      exit, till suddenly an awful, inexplicable roar set all our hearts
+      thumping fit to break our bosoms. Really, the sensation was most painful,
+      especially as we had not the faintest idea whence the noise came or what
+      had produced it. Again it filled that immense cave with its thunderous
+      reverberations; but this time all the sting was taken out of it, as we
+      caught sight of its author. A goodly bull-humpback had found his way in
+      after us, and the sound of his spout, exaggerated a thousand times in the
+      confinement of that mighty cavern, had frightened us all so that we nearly
+      lost our breath. So far, so good; but, unlike the old nigger, though we
+      were "doin' blame well," we did not "let blame well alone." The next spout
+      that intruder gave, he was right alongside of us. This was too much for
+      the semi-savage instincts of my gallant harpooner, and before I had time
+      to shout a caution he had plunged his weapon deep into old Blowhard's
+      broad back.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I should like to describe what followed, but, in the first place, I hardly
+      know; and, in the next, even had I been cool and collected, my
+      recollections would sound like the ravings of a fevered dream. For of all
+      the hideous uproars conceivable, that was, I should think, about the
+      worst. The big mammal seemed to have gone frantic with the pain of his
+      wound, the surprise of the attack, and the hampering confinement in which
+      he found himself. His tremendous struggles caused such a commotion that
+      our position could only be compared to that of men shooting Niagara in a
+      cylinder at night. How we kept afloat, I do not know. Some one had the
+      gumption to cut the line, so that by the radiation of the disturbance we
+      presently found ourselves close to the wall, and trying to hold the boat
+      in to it with our finger-tips. Would he never be quiet? we thought, as the
+      thrashing, banging, and splashing still went on with unfailing vigour. At
+      last, in, I suppose, one supreme effort to escape, he leaped clear of the
+      water like a salmon. There was a perceptible hush, during which we shrank
+      together like unfledged chickens on a frosty night; then, in a
+      never-to-be-forgotten crash that ought to have brought down the massy
+      roof, that mountainous carcass fell. The consequent violent upheaval of
+      the water should have smashed the boat against the rocky walls, but that
+      final catastrophe was mercifully spared us. I suppose the rebound was
+      sufficient to keep us a safe distance off.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A perfect silence succeeded, during which we sat speechless, awaiting a
+      resumption of the clamour. At last Abner broke the heavy silence by
+      saying, "I doan' see the do'way any mo' at all, sir." He was right. The
+      tide had risen, and that half-moon of light had disappeared, so that we
+      were now prisoners for many hours, it not being at all probable that we
+      should be able to find our way out during the night ebb. Well, we were not
+      exactly children, to be afraid of the dark, although there is considerable
+      difference between the velvety darkness of a dungeon and the clear, fresh
+      night of the open air. Still, as long as that beggar of a whale would only
+      keep quiet or leave the premises, we should be fairly comfortable. We
+      waited and waited until an hour had passed, and then came to the
+      conclusion that our friend was either dead or gone out, as he gave no sign
+      of his presence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That being settled, we anchored the boat, and lit pipes, preparatory to
+      passing as comfortable a night as might be under the circumstances, the
+      only thing troubling me being the anxiety of the skipper on our behalf.
+      Presently the blackness beneath was lit up by a wide band of phosphoric
+      light, shed in the wake of no ordinary-sized fish, probably an immense
+      shark. Another and another followed in rapid succession, until the depths
+      beneath were all ablaze with brilliant foot-wide ribands of green glare,
+      dazzling to the eye and bewildering to the brain. Occasionally, a gentle
+      splash or ripple alongside, or a smart tap on the bottom of the boat,
+      warned us how thick the concourse was that had gathered below. Until that
+      weariness which no terror is proof against set in, sleep was impossible,
+      nor could we keep our anxious gaze from that glowing inferno beneath,
+      where one would have thought all the population of Tartarus were holding
+      high revel. Mercifully, at last we sank into a fitful slumber, though
+      fully aware of the great danger of our position. One upward rush of any of
+      those ravening monsters, happening to strike the frail shell of our boat,
+      and a few fleeting seconds would have sufficed for our obliteration as if
+      we had never been.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the terrible night passed away, and once more we saw the tender,
+      irridescent light stream into that abode of dread. As the day
+      strengthened, we were able to see what was going on below, and a grim
+      vision it presented. The water was literally alive with sharks of enormous
+      size, tearing with never ceasing energy at the huge carcass of the whale
+      lying on the bottom, who had met his fate in a singular but not unheard-of
+      way. At that last titanic effort of his he had rushed downward with such
+      terrific force that, striking his head on the bottom, he had broken his
+      neck. I felt very grieved that we had lost the chance of securing him; but
+      it was perfectly certain that before we could get help to raise him, all
+      that would be left of his skeleton would be quite valueless to us. So with
+      such patience as we could command we waited near the entrance until the
+      receding ebb made it possible for us to emerge once more into the blessed
+      light of day. I was horrified at the haggard, careworn appearance of my
+      crew, who had all, excepting the two Kanakas, aged perceptibly during that
+      night of torment. But we lost no time in getting back to the ship, where I
+      fully expected a severe wigging for the scrape my luckless curiosity had
+      led me into. The captain, however, was very kind, expressing his pleasure
+      at seeing us all safe back again, although he warned me solemnly against
+      similar investigations in future. A hearty meal and a good rest did
+      wonders in removing the severe effects of our adventure, so that by next
+      morning we were all fit and ready for the days work again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It certainly seemed as if I was in for a regular series of troubles. After
+      cruising till nearly two p.m., we fell in with the mate's boat, and were
+      sailing quietly along side by side, when we suddenly rounded a point and
+      ran almost on top of a bull-humpback that was basking in the beautiful
+      sunshine. The mate's harpooner, a wonderfully smart fellow, was not so
+      startled as to lose his chance, getting an iron well home before the
+      animal realized what had befallen him. We had a lovely fight, lasting over
+      an hour, in which all the marvellous agility with which this whale is
+      gifted was exerted to the full in order to make his escape. But with the
+      bottom not twenty fathoms away, we were sure of him. With all his supple
+      smartness, he had none of the dogged savagery of the cachalot about him,
+      nor did we feel any occasion to beware of his rushes, rather courting
+      them, so as to finish the game as quickly as possible.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was no sooner dead than we hurried to secure him, and had actually
+      succeeded in passing the tow-line through his lips, when, in the trifling
+      interval that passed while we were taking the line aft to begin towing, he
+      started to sink. Of course it was, "let go all!" If you can only get the
+      slightest way on a whale of this kind, you are almost certain to be able
+      to keep him afloat, but once he begins to sink you cannot stop him. Down
+      he went, till full twenty fathoms beneath us he lay comfortably on the
+      reef, while we looked ruefully at one another. We had no gear with us fit
+      to raise him, and we were ten miles from the ship; evening was at hand, so
+      our prospects of doing anything that night were faint.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, the mate decided to start off for home at once, leaving us there,
+      but promising to send back a boat as speedily as possible with provisions
+      and gear for the morning. There was a stiff breeze blowing, and he was
+      soon out of sight; but we were very uncomfortable. The boat, of course,
+      rode like a duck, but we were fully exposed to the open sea; and the
+      mighty swell of the Pacific, rolling in over those comparatively shallow
+      grounds, sometimes looked dangerously like breaking. Still, it was better
+      than the cave, and there was a good prospect of supper. Long before we
+      expected her, back came the boat, bringing bountiful provision of yams,
+      cold pork and fruit&mdash;a regular banquet to men who were fasting since
+      daylight. A square meal, a comforting pipe, and the night's vigil, which
+      had looked so formidable, no longer troubled us, although, to tell the
+      truth, we were heartily glad when the dawn began to tint the east with
+      pale emerald and gold. We set to work at once, getting the huge carcass to
+      the surface without as much labour as I had anticipated. Of course all
+      hands came to the rescue.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But, alas for the fruit of our labours! Those hungry monsters had
+      collected in thousands, and, to judge from what we were able to see of the
+      body, they had reduced its value alarmingly. However, we commenced towing,
+      and were getting along fairly well, when a long spur of reef to leeward of
+      us, over which the sea was breaking frightfully, seemed to be stretching
+      farther out to intercept us before we could get into smooth water. The
+      fact soon faced us that we were in the remorseless grip of a current that
+      set right over that reef, and against its steady stream all our efforts
+      were the merest triviality. Still, we hung on, struggling desperately to
+      keep what we had earned, until so close to the roaring, foaming line of
+      broken water, that one wave breaking farther out than the rest very nearly
+      swamped us all. One blow of an axe, one twirl of the steer-oars, and with
+      all the force we could muster we were pulling away from the very jaws of
+      death, leaving our whale to the hungry crowds, who would make short work
+      of him. Downcast indeed, at our bad luck, we returned on board,
+      disappointing the skipper very much with our report. Like the true
+      gentleman he was, though, recognizing that we had done our best, he did
+      not add to the trouble by cursing us all for a set of useless trash, as
+      his predecessor would have done; on the contrary, a few minutes after the
+      receipt of the bad news his face was as bright as ever, his laugh as
+      hearty as if there was no such thing as a misfortune in the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And now I must come to what has been on my mind so long&mdash;a tragedy
+      that, in spite of all that had gone before, and of what came after, is the
+      most indelible of all the memories which cling round me of that eventful
+      time. Abner Cushing, the Vermonter had declared at different times that he
+      should never see his native Green Mountain again. Since the change in our
+      commander, however, he had been another man&mdash;always silent and
+      reserved, but brighter, happier, and with a manner so improved as to make
+      it hard to recognize him for the same awkward, ungainly slab of a fellow
+      that had bungled everything he put his hand to. Taking stock of him
+      quietly during our day-long leisurely cruises in the boat, I often
+      wondered whether his mind still kept its gloomy forebodings, and brooded
+      over his tragical life-history. I never dared to speak to him on the
+      subject, for fear of arousing what I hoped was growing too faint for
+      remembrance. But at times I saw him in the moonlit evenings sitting on the
+      rail alone, steadfastly gazing down into the star-besprent waters beneath
+      him, as if coveting their unruffled peace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two-thirds of our stay in the islands had passed away, when, for a wonder,
+      the captain took it into his head to go up to the chief village one
+      morning. So he retained me on board, while the other three boats left for
+      the day's cruise as usual. One of the mate's crew was sick, and to replace
+      him he took Abner out of my boat. Away they went; and shortly after
+      breakfast-time I lowered, received the captain on board, and we started
+      for the capital. Upon our arrival there we interviewed the chief, a stout,
+      pleasant-looking man of about fifty, who was evidently held in great
+      respect by the natives, and had a chat with the white Wesleyan missionary
+      in charge of the station. About two p.m., after the captain's business was
+      over, we were returning under sail, when we suddenly caught sight of two
+      of our boats heading in towards one of the islands. We helped her with the
+      paddles to get up to them, seeing as we neared them the two long fins of a
+      whale close ahead of one of them. As we gazed breathlessly at the exciting
+      scene, we saw the boat rush in between the two flippers, the harpooner at
+      the same time darting an iron straight down. There was a whirl in the
+      waters, and quick as thought the vast flukes of the whale rose in the air,
+      recurving with a sidelong sweep as of some gigantic scythe. The blow shore
+      off the bow of the attacking boat as if it had been an egg-shell.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the same moment the mate stooped, picked up the tow-line from its turn
+      round the logger-head, and threw it forward from him. He must have
+      unconsciously given a twist to his hand, for the line fell in a kink round
+      Abner's neck just as the whale went down with a rush. Struggling,
+      clutching at the fatal noose, the hapless man went flying out through the
+      incoming sea, and in one second was lost to sight for ever. Too late, the
+      harpooner cut the line which attached the wreck to the retreating animal,
+      leaving the boat free, but gunwale under. We instantly hauled alongside of
+      the wreck and transferred her crew, all dazed and horror-stricken at the
+      awful death of their late comrade.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I saw the tears trickle down the rugged, mahogany-coloured face of the
+      captain, and honoured him for it, but there was little time to waste in
+      vain regrets. It was necessary to save the boat, if possible, as we were
+      getting short of boat-repairing material; certainly we should not have
+      been able to build a new one. So, drawing the two sound boats together,
+      one on either side of the wreck, we placed the heavy steering oars across
+      them from side to side. We then lifted the battered fore part upon the
+      first oar, and with a big effort actually succeeded in lifting the whole
+      of the boat out of water upon this primitive pontoon. Then, taking the
+      jib, we "frapped" it round the opening where the bows had been, lashing it
+      securely in that position. Several hands were told off to jump into her
+      stern on the word, and all being ready we launched her again. The weight
+      of the chaps in her stern-sheets cocked her bows right out of water, and
+      in that position we towed her back to the ship, arriving safely before
+      dusk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That evening we held a burial service, at which hundreds of natives
+      attended with a solemnity of demeanour and expressions of sorrow that
+      would not have been out of place at the most elaborate funeral in England
+      or America. It was a memorable scene. The big cressets were lighted,
+      shedding their wild glare over the dark sea, and outlining the spars
+      against the moonless sky with startling effect. When we had finished the
+      beautiful service, the natives, as if swayed by an irresistible impulse,
+      broke into the splendid tune St. Ann's; and I afterwards learned that the
+      words they sang were Dr. Watts' unsurpassable rendering of Moses' pean of
+      praise, "O God, our help in ages past." No elaborate ceremonial in
+      towering cathedral could begin to compare with the massive simplicity of
+      poor Abner's funeral honours, the stately hills for many miles reiterating
+      the sweet sounds, and carrying them to the furthest confines of the group.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next day was Sunday, and, in pursuance of a promise given some time
+      before, I went ashore to my "flem's" to dinner, he being confined to the
+      house with a hurt leg. It was not by any means a festive gathering, for he
+      was more than commonly taciturn; his daughter Irene, a buxom lassie of
+      fourteen, who waited on us, appeared to be dumb; and his wife was "in the
+      straw." These trifling drawbacks, however, in nowise detracted from the
+      hospitality offered. The dining-room was a large apartment furnished with
+      leaves, the uprights of cocoa-nut tree, the walls and roof of pandanus
+      leaf. Beneath the heaps of leaves, fresh and sweet-scented, was the earth.
+      The inner apartment, or chamber of state, had a flooring of
+      highly-polished planks, and contained, I presume, the household gods; but
+      as it was in possession of my host's secluded spouse, I did not enter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A couch upon a pile of leaves was hastily arranged, upon which I was
+      bidden to seat myself, while a freshly cut cocoa-nut of enormous size was
+      handed to me, the soft top sliced off so that I might drink its
+      deliciously cool contents. These nuts must grow elsewhere, but I have
+      never before or since seen any so large. When green&mdash;that is, before
+      the meat has hardened into indigestible matter&mdash;they contain from
+      three pints to two quarts of liquid, at once nourishing, refreshing, and
+      palatable. The natives appeared to drink nothing else, and I never saw a
+      drop of fresh water ashore during our stay.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Taking a huge knife from some hiding-place, Irene handed it to her father,
+      who at once commenced to dig in the ground by his side, while I looked on
+      wondering and amused. Presently he fished up a bundle of leaves bound with
+      a vine-tendril, which he laid carefully aside. More digging brought to
+      light a fine yam about three pounds in weight, which, after carefully
+      wiping the knife on some leaves, he proceeded to peel. It was immediately
+      evident that the yam was perfectly cooked, for it steamed as he removed
+      the skin, revealing the inside as white as milk. Some large, round leaves
+      were laid in front of me, and the yam placed upon them. Then mine host
+      turned his attention to the bundle first unearthed, which concealed a
+      chicken, so perfectly done that, although the bones drew out of the meat
+      as if it had been jelly, it was full of juice and flavour; and except for
+      a slight foreign twang, referrible, doubtless, to the leaves in which it
+      had been enwrapped, I do not think it could have been possible to cook
+      anything in a better way, or one more calculated to retain all the natural
+      juices of the meat. The fowl was laid beside the yam, another nut
+      broached; then, handing me the big knife, my "flem" bade me welcome,
+      informing me that I saw my dinner. As nothing would induce him to join me,
+      the idea being contrary to his notions of respect due to a guest, I was
+      fain to fall to, and an excellent meal I made. For dessert, a basketful of
+      such oranges freshly plucked as cannot be tasted under any other
+      conditions, and crimson bananas, which upon being peeled, looked like
+      curved truncheons of golden jelly, after tasting which I refused to touch
+      anything else.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A corn-cob cigarette closed the banquet, After expressing my thanks, I
+      noticed that the pain of his leg was giving my friend considerable
+      uneasiness, which he was stolidly enduring upon my account rather than
+      appear discourteously anxious to get rid of me. So, with the excuse that I
+      must needs be going, having another appointment, I left the good fellow
+      and strolled around to the chapel, where I sat enjoying the sight of those
+      simple-minded Kanakas at their devotions till it was time to return on
+      board. Before closing this chapter, I would like, for the benefit of such
+      of my readers who have not heard yet of Kanaka cookery, to say that it is
+      simplicity itself. A hole is scooped in the earth, in which a fire is made
+      (of wood), and kept burning until a fair-sized heap of glowing charcoal
+      remains. Pebbles are then thrown in until the charcoal is covered.
+      Whatever is to be cooked is enveloped in leaves, placed upon the pebbles,
+      and more leaves heaped upon it. The earth is then thrown back into the
+      cavity, and well stamped down. A long time is, of course, needed for the
+      viands to get cooked through; but so subtle is the mode that overdoing
+      anything is almost an impossibility. A couple of days may pass from the
+      time of "putting down" the joint, yet when it is dug up it will be smoking
+      hot, retaining all its juices, tender as jelly, but, withal, as full of
+      flavour as it is possible for cooked meat to be. No matter how large the
+      joint is, or how tough the meat, this gentle suasion will render it
+      succulent and tasty; and no form of civilized cookery can in the least
+      compare with it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXII. FAREWELL TO VAU VAU
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Taking it all round, our visit to the Friendly Islands had not been
+      particularly fortunate up till the time of which I spoke at the conclusion
+      of the last chapter. Two-thirds of the period during which the season was
+      supposed to last had expired, but our catch had not amounted to more than
+      two hundred and fifty barrels of oil. Whales had been undoubtedly scarce,
+      for our ill-success on tackling bulls was not at all in consequence of our
+      clumsiness, these agile animals being always a handful, but due to the
+      lack of cows, which drove us to take whatever we could get, which, as has
+      been noted, was sometimes a severe drubbing. Energy and watchfulness had
+      been manifested in a marked degree by everybody, and when the news
+      circulated that our stay was drawing to a close, there was, if anything,
+      an increase of zeal in the hope that we might yet make a favourable
+      season.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But none of these valuable qualities exhibited by us could make up for the
+      lack of "fish" which was lamentably evident. It was not easy to understand
+      why, because these islands were noted as a breeding-place for the
+      humpbacked whale. Yet for years they had not been fished, so that a
+      plausible explanation of the paucity of their numbers as a consequence of
+      much harassing could not be reasonably offered. Still, after centuries of
+      whale-fishing, little is known of the real habits of whales, Where there
+      is abundance of "feed," in the case of MYSTICETA it may be reasonably
+      inferred that whales may be found in proportionately greater numbers. With
+      regard to the wider-spread classes of the great marine mammalia, beyond
+      the fact, ascertained from continued observation, that certain parts of
+      the ocean are more favoured by them than others, there is absolutely no
+      data to go upon as to why at times they seem to desert their usual haunts
+      and scatter themselves far and wide.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The case of the cachalot is still more difficult. All the BALAENAE seem to
+      be compelled, by laws which we can only guess at, to frequent the vicinity
+      of land possessing shallows at their breeding times, so that they may with
+      more or less certainty be looked for in such places at the seasons which
+      have been accurately fixed. They may be driven to seek other haunts, as
+      was undoubtedly the case at Vau Vau in a great measure, by some causes
+      unknown, but to land they must come at those times. The sperm whale,
+      however, needs no shelter at such periods, or, at any rate, does not avail
+      herself of any. They may often be seen in the vicinity of land where the
+      water is deep close to, but seldom with calves. Schools of cows with
+      recently born young gambolling about them are met with at immense
+      distances from land, showing no disposition to seek shelter either. For my
+      part, I firmly believe that the cachalot is so terrible a foe, that the
+      great sharks who hover round a gravid cow of the BALAENAE, driving her in
+      terror to some shallow spot where she may hope to protect her young, never
+      dare to approach a sperm cow on kidnapping errands, or any other if they
+      can help it, until their unerring guides inform them that life is extinct.
+      When a sperm whale is in health, nothing that inhabits the sea has any
+      chance with him; neither does he scruple to carry the war into the enemy's
+      country, since all is fish that comes to his net, and a shark fifteen feet
+      in length has been found in the stomach of a cachalot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The only exception he seems to make is in the case of man. Instances have
+      several&mdash;nay, many times occurred where men have been slain by the
+      jaws of a cachalot crushing the boat in which they were; but their death
+      was of course incidental to the destruction of the boat. Never, as far as
+      I have been able to ascertain, has a cachalot attacked a man swimming or
+      clinging to a piece of wreckage, although such opportunities occur
+      innumerably. I have in another place told the story of how I once saw a
+      combat between a bull-cachalot and so powerful a combination of enemies
+      that even one knowing the fighting qualities of the sperm whale would have
+      hesitated to back him to win, but the yarn will bear repetition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two "killers" and a sword-fish, all of the largest size. Description of
+      these warriors is superfluous, since they are so well known to museums and
+      natural histories; but unless one has witnessed the charge of a XIPHIAS,
+      he cannot realize what a fearful foe it is. Still, as a practice, these
+      creatures leave the cachalot respectfully alone, knowing instinctively
+      that he is not their game. Upon this memorable occasion, however I guess
+      the two ORCAS were starving, and they had organized a sort of forlorn hope
+      with the XIPHIAS as an auxiliary who might be relied upon to ensure
+      success if it could be done. Anyhow, the syndicate led off with their main
+      force first; for while the two killers hung on the cachalot's flanks,
+      diverting his attention, the sword-fish, a giant some sixteen feet long,
+      launched himself at the most vulnerable part of the whale, for all the
+      world like a Whitehead torpedo. The wary eye of the whale saw the long,
+      dark mass coming, and, like a practised pugilist, coolly swerved, taking
+      for the nonce no notice of those worrying wolves astern. The shock came;
+      but instead of the sword penetrating three, or maybe four feet just where
+      the neck (if a whale has any neck) encloses the huge heart, it met the
+      mighty, impenetrable mass of the head, solid as a block of thirty tons of
+      india-rubber.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So the blow glanced, revealing a white streak running diagonally across
+      the eye, while the great XIPHIAS rolled helplessly over the top of that
+      black bastion. With a motion so rapid that the eye could scarcely follow
+      it, the whale turned, settling withal, and, catching the momentarily
+      motionless aggressor in the lethal sweep of those awful shears, crunched
+      him in two halves, which writhing sections he swallowed SERIATIM. And the
+      allied forces aft&mdash;what of them? Well, they had been rash&mdash;they
+      fully realized that fact, and would have fled, but one certainly found
+      that he had lingered on the scene too long. The thoroughly-roused
+      leviathan, with a reversal of his huge bulk that made the sea boil like a
+      pot, brandished his tail aloft and brought it down upon the doomed
+      "killer," making him at once the "killed." He was crushed like a shrimp
+      under one's heel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The survivor fled&mdash;never faster&mdash;for an avalanche of living,
+      furious flesh was behind him, and coming with enormous leaps half out of
+      the sea every time. Thus they disappeared, but I have no doubts as to the
+      issue. Of one thing I am certain&mdash;that, if any of the trio survived,
+      they never afterwards attempted to rush a cachalot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Strange to say, the sperm whale does not appear to be a fond mother. At
+      the advent of danger she often deserts her offspring and in such cases it
+      is hardly conceivable that she ever finds it again. It is true that she is
+      not gifted with such long "arms" as the BALAENAE wherewith to cuddle her
+      young one to her capacious bosom while making tracks from her enemies; nor
+      is she much "on the fight," not being so liberally furnished with jaw as
+      the fierce and much larger bull&mdash;for this is the only species of
+      whale in which there exists a great disproportion between the sexes in
+      point of size. Such difference as may obtain between the MYSTICETA is
+      slightly in favour of the female. I never heard of a cow-cachalot yielding
+      more than fifty barrels of oil; but I have both heard of, and seen, bulls
+      carrying one hundred and fifty. One individual taken by us down south was
+      seventy feet long, and furnished us with more than the latter amount; but
+      I shall come to him by-and-by. Just one more point before leaving this (to
+      me) fascinating subject for the present.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To any one studying the peculiar configuration of a cachalot's mouth, it
+      would appear a difficult problem how the calf could suck. Certainly it
+      puzzled me more than a little. But, when on the "line" grounds we got
+      among a number of cows one calm day, I saw a little fellow about fifteen
+      feet long, apparently only a few days old, in the very act. The mother lay
+      on one side, with the breast nearly at the waters edge; while the calf,
+      lying parallel to its parent, with its head in the same direction, held
+      the teat sideways in the angle of its jaw, with its snout protruding from
+      the surface. Although we caught several cow-humpbacks with newly born
+      calves, I never had an opportunity of seeing THEM suck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Gradually our pleasant days at Vau Vau drew to a close. So quiet and
+      idyllic had the life been, so full of simple joys, that most of us, if not
+      all, felt a pang at the thought of our imminent departure from the
+      beautiful place. Profitable, in a pecuniary sense, the season had
+      certainly failed to be, but that was the merest trifle compared with the
+      real happiness and peace enjoyed during our stay. Even the terrible
+      tragedy which had taken one of our fellows from us could not spoil the
+      actual enjoyment of our visit, sad and touching as the event undoubtedly
+      was. There was always, too, a sufficiently arduous routine of necessary
+      duties to perform, preventing us from degenerating into mere lotus eaters
+      in that delicious afternoon-land. Nor even to me, friendless nomad as I
+      was, did the thought ever occur, "I will return no more."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But these lovely days spent in softly gliding over the calm, azure depths,
+      bathed in golden sunlight, gazing dreamily down at the indescribable
+      beauties of the living reefs, feasting daintily on abundance of
+      never-cloying fruit, amid scenes of delight hardly to be imagined by the
+      cramped mind of the town dweller; islands, air, and sea all shimmering in
+      an enchanted haze, and silence scarcely broken by the tender ripple of the
+      gently-parted waters before the boat's steady keel&mdash;though these joys
+      have all been lost to me, and I in "populous city pent" endure the fading
+      years, I would not barter the memory of them for more than I can say, so
+      sweet it is to me. And, then, our relations with the natives had been so
+      perfectly amicable, so free from anything to regret. Perhaps this simple
+      statement will raise a cynical smile upon the lips of those who know
+      Tahati, the New Hebrides, and kindred spots with all their savage, bestial
+      orgies of alternate unbridled lust and unnamable cruelty. Let it be so.
+      For my part, I rejoice that I have no tale of weeks of drunkenness, of
+      brutal rape, treacherous murder, and almost unthinkable torture to tell.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For of such is the paradise of the beach-comber, and the hell of the clean
+      man. Not that I have been able to escape it altogether. When I say that I
+      once shipped, unwittingly, as sailing-master of a little white schooner in
+      Noumea, bound to Apia, finding when too late that she was a "blackbirder"&mdash;"labour
+      vessel," the wise it call&mdash;nothing more will be needed to convince
+      the initiated that I have moved in the "nine circles" of Polynesia.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some time before the day fixed for our departure, we were busy storing the
+      gifts so liberally showered upon us by our eager friends. Hundreds of
+      bunches of bananas, many thousands of oranges, yams, taro, chillies,
+      fowls, and pigs were accumulated, until the ship looked like a huge
+      market-boat. But we could not persuade any of the natives to ship with us
+      to replace those whoso contract was now expiring. Samuela and Polly were,
+      after much difficulty, prevailed upon by me to go with us to New Zealand,
+      much to my gratification; but still we were woefully short-handed, At
+      last, seeing that there was no help for it, the skipper decided to run
+      over to Futuna, or Horn Island, where he felt certain of obtaining
+      recruits without any trouble. He did so most unwillingly, as may well be
+      believed, for the newcomers would need much training, while our present
+      Kanaka auxiliaries were the smartest men in the ship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The slop-chest was largely drawn upon, to the credit of the crew, who
+      wished in some tangible way to show their appreciation of the unremitting
+      kindness shown them by their dusky friends. Not a whisper had been uttered
+      by any native as to desire of remuneration for what he had given. If they
+      expected a return, they certainly exercised great control over themselves
+      in keeping their wishes quiet. But when they received the clothing, all
+      utterly unsuited to their requirements as it was, their beaming faces
+      eloquently proclaimed the reality of their joy. Heavy woollen shirts,
+      thick cloth trousers and jackets, knitted socks; but acceptable beyond all
+      was a pilot-suit&mdash;warm enough for the Channel in winter. Happy above
+      all power of expression was he who secured it. With an eared cloth cap and
+      a pair of half boots, to complete his preposterous rig, no Bond Street
+      exquisite could feel more calmly conscious of being a well-dressed man
+      than he. From henceforth he would be the observed of all observers at
+      chapel on Sunday, exciting worldly desires and aspirations among his
+      cooler but coveting fellow-worshippers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The ladies fared very badly, until the skipper, with a twinkling eye,
+      announced that he had "dug up" some rolls of "cloth" (calico), which he
+      was prepared to supply us with at reasonable rates. Being of rather pretty
+      pattern, it went off like hot pies, and as the "fathoms" of gaudy, flimsy
+      material were distributed to the delighted fafines, their shrill cries of
+      gratitude were almost deafening.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Inexorable time brought round the morning of our departure. Willing hands
+      lifted our anchor, and hoisted the sails, so that we had nothing to do but
+      look on. A scarcely perceptible breeze, stealing softly over the
+      tree-tops, filled our upper canvas, sparing us the labour of towing her
+      out of the little bay where we had lain so long, and gradually wafted us
+      away from its lovely shores, amid the fast-flowing tears of the great
+      crowd. With multitudinous cries of "Ofa, al-ofa, papalang" ringing in our
+      ears ("Good-bye; good-bye, white man"), we rounded the point, and, with
+      increasing pace, bore away through the outlying islands for the open sea.
+      There was a strong trade blowing, making the old barky caper like a
+      dancing-master, which long unfamiliar motion almost disagreed with some of
+      us, after our long quiet. Under its hastening influence we made such good
+      time that before dinner Vau Vau had faded into nothingness, mingling like
+      the clouds with the soft haze on the horizon, from henceforth only a
+      memory.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were not a very cheerful crowd that night, most of us being busy with
+      his own reflections. I must confess that I felt far greater sorrow at
+      leaving Vau Vau than ever I did at leaving England; because by the time I
+      was able to secure a berth, I have usually drunk pretty deep of the bitter
+      cup of the "outward bounder," than whom there is no more forlorn,
+      miserable creature on earth. No one but the much abused boarding-master
+      will have anything to do with him, and that worthy is generally careful to
+      let him know that he is but a hanger-on, a dependant on sufferance for a
+      meal, and that his presence on shore is an outrage. As for the sailors'
+      homes, I have hardly patience to speak of them. I know the sailor is
+      usually a big baby that wants protecting against himself, and that once
+      within the four walls of the institution he is safe; but right there
+      commendation must end. Why are good folks ashore systematically misled
+      into the belief that the sailor is an object of charity, and that it is
+      necessary to subscribe continually and liberally to provide him with food
+      and shelter when ashore? Most of the contributors would be surprised to
+      know that the cost of board and lodging at the "home" is precisely the
+      same as it is outside, and much higher than a landsman of the same grade
+      can live for in better style. With the exception of the sleeping
+      accommodation, most men prefer the boarding-house, where, if they preserve
+      the same commercial status which is a SINE QUA NON at the "home," they are
+      treated like gentlemen; but in what follows lies the essential difference,
+      and the reason for this outburst of mine, smothered in silence for years.
+      An "outward bounder"&mdash;that is, a man whose money is exhausted and who
+      is living upon the credit; of his prospective advance of pay&mdash;is
+      unknown at the "home." No matter what the condition of things is in the
+      shipping world; though the man may have fought with energy to get his
+      discharge accepted among the crowd at the "chain-locker;" though he be
+      footsore and weary with "looking for a ship," when his money is done, out
+      into the street he must go, if haply he may find a speculative
+      boarding-master to receive him. This act, although most unlikely in
+      appearance, is often performed; and though the boarding-master, of course,
+      expects to recoup himself out of the man's advance note, it is none the
+      less as merciful as the action of the "home" authorities is merciless. Of
+      course a man may go to the "straw house," or, as it is grandiloquently
+      termed, the "destitute seaman's asylum," where for a season he will be fed
+      on the refuse from the "home," and sheltered from the weather. But the
+      ungrateful rascals do not like the "straw house," and use very bad
+      language about it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The galling thing about the whole affair is that the "sailors' home"
+      figures in certain official publications as a charity, which must be
+      partially supported by outside contributions. It may be a charitable
+      institution, but it certainly is not so to the sailor, who pays fully for
+      everything he receives. The charity is bestowed upon a far different class
+      of people to merchant Jack. Let it be granted that a man is sober and
+      provident, always getting a ship before his money is all gone, he will
+      probably be well content at the home, although very few seamen like to be
+      reminded ashore of their sea routine, as the manner of the home is. If the
+      institution does not pay a handsome dividend, with its clothing shops and
+      refreshment bars, as well as the boarding-house lousiness on such a large
+      scale, only one inference can be fairly drawn&mdash;there must be
+      something radically wrong with the management.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After this burst of temper, perhaps I had better get back to the subject
+      in hand. It was, I suppose, in the usual contrary nature of things that,
+      while we were all in this nearly helpless condition, one evening just
+      before sunset, along comes a sperm whale. Now, the commonest prudence
+      would have suggested letting him severely alone, since we were not only
+      short-handed, but several of our crew were completely crippled by large
+      boils; but it would have been an unprecedented thing to do while there was
+      any room left in the hold. Consequently we mustered the halt and the lame,
+      and manned two boats&mdash;all we could do&mdash;leaving the almost
+      useless cripples to handle the ship. Not to displace the rightful
+      harpooner, I took an oar in one of them, headed by the captain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At first my hopes were high that we should not succeed in reaching the
+      victim before dark, but I was grievously disappointed in this. Just as the
+      whale was curving himself to sound, we got fairly close, and the harpooner
+      made a "pitch-pole" dart; that is, he hurled his weapon into the air,
+      where it described a fine curve, and fell point downward on the animal's
+      back just as he was disappearing. He stopped his descent immediately, and
+      turned savagely to see what had struck him so unexpectedly. At that moment
+      the sun went down.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After the first few minutes' "kick-up," he settled down for a steady run,
+      but not before the mate got good and fast to him likewise. Away we went at
+      a rare rate into the gathering gloom of the fast-coming night. Now, had it
+      been about the time of full moon or thereabouts, we should doubtless have
+      been able, by the flood of molten light she sends down in those latitudes,
+      to give a good account of our enemy; but alas for us, it was not. The sky
+      overhead was a deep blue-black, with steely sparkles of starlight
+      scattered all over it, only serving to accentuate the darkness. After a
+      short time our whale became totally invisible, except for the phosphoric
+      glare of the water all around him as he steadily ploughed his way along.
+      There was a good breeze blowing, which soon caused us all to be drenched
+      with the spray, rendering the general effect of things cold as well as
+      cheerless. Needless to say, we strove with all our might to get alongside
+      of him, so that an end might be put to so unpleasant a state of affairs;
+      but in our crippled condition it was not at all easy to do so.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We persevered, however, and at last managed to get near enough for the
+      skipper to hurl a lance into the brightness of which the whale formed the
+      centre. It must have touched him, for he gave a bound forward and
+      disappeared. We suddenly came to a standstill, but in a moment were
+      whirled round as if on a pivot, and away we went in the opposite
+      direction. He had turned a complete somersault in the water beneath us,
+      giving us a "grue" as we reflected what would have happened had he then
+      chosen to come bounding to the surface. This manoeuvre seemed to please
+      him mightily, for he ran at top speed several minutes, and then repeated
+      it. This time he was nearly successful in doing us some real harm, for it
+      was now so dark that we could hardly see the other boat's form as she
+      towed along parallel to us about three or four lengths away. The two boats
+      swung round in a wide circle, rushing back at each other out of the
+      surrounding darkness as if bent on mutual destruction. Only by the
+      smartest manipulation was a collision avoided, which, as each boat's bows
+      bristled with lances and harpoons, would have been a serious matter for
+      some of us. However, the whale did not have it all his own way, for the
+      skipper, having charged his bomb-gun, patiently laid for him, and fired.
+      It was rather a long shot, but it reached him, as we afterwards
+      ascertained, making an ugly wound in the small near his tail.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Its effect upon him was startling and immediate. He rushed off at so
+      furious a rate dead to windward that for a great while we had all our work
+      cut out to keep her free by baling. The sea had risen a little, and as we
+      leapt from one wave to another the spray flew over us in an almost
+      continuous cloud. Clearly our situation was a parlous one. We could not
+      get near him; we were becoming dangerously enfeebled, and he appeared to
+      be gaining strength instead of losing it. Besides all this, none of us
+      could have the least idea of how the ship now bore from us, our only
+      comfort being that, by observation of the Cross, we were not making a
+      direct course, but travelling on the circumference of an immense circle.
+      Whatever damage we had done to him so far was evidently quite superficial,
+      for, accustomed as we were to tremendous displays of vigour on the part of
+      these creatures, this specimen fairly surprised us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The time could only be guessed at; but, judging from our feelings, it
+      might have been two or three nights long. Still, to all things an end, so
+      in the midst of our dogged endurance of all this misery we felt the pace
+      give, and took heart of grace immediately. Calling up all our reserves, we
+      hauled up on to him, regardless of pain or weariness. The skipper and mate
+      lost no opportunities of lancing, once they were alongside, but worked
+      like heroes, until a final plunging of the fast-dying leviathan warned us
+      to retreat. Up he went out of the glittering foam into the upper darkness,
+      while we held our breath at the unique sight of a whale breaching at
+      night. But when he fell again the effect was marvellous. Green columns of
+      water arose on either side of the descending mass as if from the bowels of
+      the deep, while their ghostly glare lit up the encircling gloom with a
+      strange, weird radiance, which reflected in our anxious faces, made us
+      look like an expedition from the FLYING DUTCHMAN. A short spell of
+      gradually quieting struggle succeeded as the great beast succumbed, until
+      all was still again, except the strange, low surge made by the waves as
+      they broke over the bank of flesh passively obstructing their free sweep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While the final touch was being given to our task&mdash;i.e. the
+      hole-boring through the tail-fin&mdash;all hands lay around in various
+      picturesque attitudes, enjoying a refreshing smoke, care forgetting. While
+      thus pleasantly employed, sudden death, like a bolt from the blue, leapt
+      into our midst in a terrible form. The skipper was labouring hard at his
+      task of cutting the hole for the tow-line, when without warning the great
+      fin swung back as if suddenly released from tremendous tension. Happily
+      for us, the force of the blow was broken by its direction, as it struck
+      the water before reaching the boat's side, but the upper lobe hurled the
+      boat-spade from the captain's hands back into our midst, where it struck
+      the tub oarsman, splitting his head in two halves. The horror of the
+      tragedy, the enveloping darkness, the inexplicable revivifying of the
+      monster, which we could not have doubted to be dead, all combined to
+      stupefy and paralyze us for the time. Not a sound was heard in our boat,
+      though the yells of inquiry from our companion craft arose in increasing
+      volume. It was but a brief accession of energy, only lasting two or three
+      minutes, when the whale collapsed finally. Having recovered from our
+      surprise, we took no further chances with so dangerous an opponent, but
+      bored him as full of holes as a colander.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mournful and miserable were the remaining hours of our vigil. We sat
+      around poor Miguel's corpse with unutterable feelings, recalling all the
+      tragical events of the voyage, until we reached the nadir of despondency.
+      With the rosy light of morning came more cheerful feelings, heightened by
+      the close proximity of the ship, from which it is probable we had never
+      been more than ten miles distant during the whole night. She had sighted
+      us with the first light, and made all sail down to us, all hands much
+      relieved at our safety. We were so sorely exhausted that we could hardly
+      climb on board; and how we hoisted the boats I hardly know. The whale was
+      secured by the efforts of the cripples we had left on board, while we
+      wayfarers, after a good meal, were allowed four hours' sound, sweet sleep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we returned to our duties, the first thing that awaited us was the
+      burial of the poor body. Very reverently were the last sad offices
+      performed, the flag hoisted half-mast, the bell solemnly tolled. Then we
+      gathered at the gangway while the eternal words of hope and consolation
+      were falteringly read, and with a sudden plunge the long, straight parcel
+      slid off the hatch into the vast tomb ever ready for the dead sailor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our dead out of sight, work claimed all our attention and energy, wiping
+      with its benificent influence all gloomy musings over the inevitable, and
+      replacing them with the pressing needs of life. The whale was not a large
+      one, but peculiar to look at. Like the specimen that fought so fiercely
+      with us in the Indian Ocean, its jaw was twisted round in a sort of hook,
+      the part that curved being so thickly covered with long barnacles as to
+      give the monster a most eerie look. One of the Portuguese expressed his
+      decided opinion that we had caught Davy Jones himself, and that, in
+      consequence, we should have no more accidents. It was impossible not to
+      sympathize with the conceit, for of all the queer-looking monstrosities
+      ever seen, this latest acquisition of ours would have taken high honours.
+      Such malformations of the lower mandible of the cachalot have often been
+      met with, and variously explained; but the most plausible opinion seems to
+      be that they have been acquired when the animal is very young and its
+      bones not yet indurated, since it is impossible to believe that an adult
+      could suffer such an accident without the broken jaw drooping instead of
+      being turned on one side.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The yield of oil was distressingly scanty, the whale being what is
+      technically known as a "dry skin." The blubber was so hard and tough that
+      we could hardly cut it up for boiling, and altogether it was one of the
+      most disappointing affairs we had yet dealt with. This poorness of blubber
+      was, to my mind, undoubtedly due to the difficulty the animal must have
+      had in obtaining food with his disabling defect of jaw. Whatever it was,
+      we were heartily glad to see the last of the beast, fervently hoping we
+      should never meet with another like him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the progress of these melancholy operations we had drifted a
+      considerable distance out of our course, no attention being paid, as
+      usual, to the direction of our drift until the greasy work was done. Once
+      the mess was cleared away, we hauled up again for our objective&mdash;Futuna&mdash;which,
+      as it was but a few hours' sail distant, we hoped to make the next day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXIII. AT FUTUNA, RECRUITING
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Sure enough, in accordance with our expectations, break of day revealed
+      the twin masses of Futuna ahead, some ten or fifteen miles away. With the
+      fine, steady breeze blowing, by breakfast-time we were off the entrance to
+      a pretty bight, where sail was shortened and the ship hove-to. Captain
+      Count did not intend to anchor, for reasons of his own, he being assured
+      that there was no need to do so. Nor was there. Although the distance from
+      the beach was considerable, we could see numbers of canoes putting off,
+      and soon they began to arrive. Now, some of the South Sea Islands are
+      famous for the elegance and seaworthiness of their canoes; nearly all of
+      them have a distinctly definite style of canoe-building; but here at
+      Futuna was a bewildering collection of almost every type of canoe in the
+      wide world. Dugouts, with outriggers on one side, on both sides, with none
+      at all; canoes built like boats, like prams, like irregular egg-boxes,
+      many looking like the first boyish attempt to knock something together
+      that would float; and&mdash;not to unduly prolong the list by attempted
+      classification of these unclassed craft&mdash;CORACLES. Yes; in that
+      lonely Pacific island, among that motley crowd of floating nondescripts,
+      were specimens of the ancient coracle of our own islands, constructed in
+      exactly the same way; that is, of wicker-work, covered with some
+      waterproof substance, whether skin or tarpaulin. But the ingenious Kanaka,
+      not content with his coracles, had gone one better, and copied them in
+      dugouts of solid timber. The resultant vessel was a sort of cross between
+      a butcher's tray and a wash-basin&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "A thing beyond Conception: such a wretched wherry, Perhaps ne'er ventured
+      on a pond, Or crossed a ferry."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The proud possessors of the coracles, both wicker and wood, must have been
+      poor indeed, for they did not even own a paddle, propelling their basins
+      through the water with their hands. It may be imagined what a pace they
+      put on! At a little distance they were very puzzling, looking more like a
+      water-beetle grown fat and lazy than aught else.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And so, in everything floatable, the whole male population of that part of
+      the coast came to visit us. We were speedily the centre of a great crowd
+      of canoes, some of which were continually capsizing and spilling their
+      occupants, who took no more notice of such incidents than one would of a
+      sneeze. Underneath a canoe, or on top, made but little difference to these
+      amphibious creatures. They brought nothing with them to trade; in fact,
+      few of their vessels were capable of carrying anything that could not swim
+      and take care of itself. As they came on board, each crossed himself more
+      or less devoutly, revealing the teaching of a Roman Catholic mission; and
+      as they called to one another, it was not hard to recognize, even in their
+      native garb, such names as Erreneo (Irenaeus), Al'seo (Aloysius), and
+      other favourite cognomens of saints.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A laughing chattering good-tempered crowd they were&mdash;just like a bevy
+      of children breaking up, and apparently destitute of the slightest sense
+      of responsibility. They spoke a totally different dialect, or maybe
+      language, to that of Vau Vau, for it was only an isolated word here and
+      there that Samuela could make out. But presently, going forward through
+      the crowd that thronged every part of the deck, I saw a man leaning
+      nonchalantly against the rail by the fore-rigging, who struck me at once
+      as being an American negro. The most casual observer would not have
+      mistaken him for a Kanaka of those latitudes, though he might have passed
+      as a Papuan. He was dressed in all the dignity of a woollen shirt, with a
+      piece of fine "tapa" for a waistcloth, feet and legs bare. Around his neck
+      was a necklace composed of a number of strings of blue and white beads
+      plaited up neatly, and carrying as a pendant a George shilling. Going up
+      to him, I looked at the coin, and said, "Belitani money?" "Oh yes," he
+      said, "that's a shilling of old Georgey Fourf," in perfectly good English,
+      but with an accent which quite confirmed my first idea. I at once invited
+      him aft to see the skipper, who was very anxious to find an interpreter
+      among the noisy crowd, besides being somewhat uneasy at having so large a
+      number on board.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To the captain's interrogations he replied that he was "Tui Tongoa"&mdash;that
+      is, King of Tonga, an island a little distance away&mdash;but that he was
+      at present under a cloud, owing to the success of a usurper, whom he would
+      reckon with by-and-by.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the mean time he would have no objection to engaging himself with us as
+      a harpooner, and would get us as many men as we wanted, selecting from
+      among the crowd on board, fellows that would, he knew, be useful to us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A bargain was soon struck, and Tui entered upon his self-imposed task. It
+      was immediately evident that he had a bigger contract on hand than he had
+      imagined. The natives, who had previously held somewhat aloof from him in
+      a kind of deferential respect, no sooner got wind of the fact that we
+      needed some of them than they were seized with a perfect frenzy of
+      excitement. There were, I should think, at least a hundred and fifty of
+      them on board at the time. Of this crowd, every member wanted to be
+      selected, pushing his candidature with voice and gesture as vigorously as
+      he knew how. The din was frightful. Tui, centre of the frantic mob, strove
+      vainly to make himself heard, to reduce the chaos to some sort of order,
+      but for a great while it was a hopeless attempt. At last, extricating
+      himself from his importunate friends, he gained the captain's side.
+      Panting, almost breathless, with sweat streaming off him, he gasped out,
+      "Oh, cap'n, dese yer darn niggers all gone mad! Dribe 'em oberbord; clar
+      'em out, 'n I'll stan' by to grab some o' der likely ones as de res'
+      scatter." "But what about the wages?" said the skipper. "I'm not goin' ter
+      give 'em whatever they like to ask." "You leab it ter me, cap'n. I bet
+      you'll be satisfy. Anyhow, dishyers no time fer tradin'; de blame niggers
+      all off dere coco-nuts. Anybody fink you'se payin' off 'stead o' shippin',
+      an' deyse all afraid dey won't get 'nough."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Unpleasant as the job was to all of us, it had to be done; so we armed
+      ourselves with ropes'-ends, which we flourished threateningly, avoiding
+      where possible any actual blows. Many sprang overboard at once, finding
+      their way ashore or to their canoes as best they could. The majority,
+      however, had to swim, for we now noticed that, either in haste or from
+      carelessness, they had in most cases omitted to fasten their canoes
+      securely when coming alongside, so that many of them were now far out to
+      sea. The distance to shore being under three miles, that mattered little,
+      as far as their personal safety was concerned.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This summary treatment was eminently successful, quiet being rapidly
+      restored, so that Tui was able to select a dozen men, who he declared were
+      the best in the islands for our purpose. Although it seems somewhat
+      premature to say so, the general conduct of the successful candidates was
+      so good as to justify Tui fully in his eulogium. Perhaps his presence had
+      something to do with it?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We now had all that we came for, so that we were anxious to be off. But it
+      was a job to get rid of the visitors still remaining on board. They stowed
+      themselves away in all manner of corners, in some cases ludicrously
+      inadequate as hiding-places, and it was not until we were nearly five
+      miles from the land that the last of them plunged into the sea and struck
+      out for home. It was very queer. Ignorant of our destination, of what
+      would be required of them; leaving a land of ease and plenty for a
+      certainty of short commons and hard work, without preparation or
+      farewells, I do not think I ever heard of such a strange thing before. Had
+      their home been famine or plague-stricken, they could not have evinced
+      greater eagerness to leave it, or to face the great unknown.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As we drew farther off the island the wind freshened, until we had a good,
+      whole-sail breeze blustering behind us, the old ship making, with her
+      usual generous fuss, a tremendous rate of seven knots an hour. Our course
+      was shaped for the southward, towards the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. In
+      that favourite haunt of the South-seaman we were to wood and water, find
+      letters from home (those who had one), and prepare for the stormy south.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Obviously the first thing to be done for our new shipmates was to clothe
+      them. When they arrived on board, all, with the single exception of Tui,
+      were furnished only with a "maro" of "tapa," scanty in its proportions,
+      but still enough to wrap round their loins. But when they were accepted
+      for the vacant positions on board, they cast off even the slight apology
+      for clothing which they had worn, flinging the poor rags to their
+      retreating and rejected compatriots. Thus they were strutting about, in
+      native majesty unclad, which, of course, could not be endured among even
+      so unconventional a crowd as we were. So they were mustered aft, and, to
+      their extravagant delight, a complete rig-out was handed to each of them,
+      accompanied by graphic instructions how to dress themselves. Very queer
+      they looked when dressed, but queerer still not long afterwards, when some
+      of them, galled by the unaccustomed restraint of the trousers, were seen
+      prowling about with shirts tied round their waists by the sleeves, and
+      pants twisted turban-wise about their heads. Tui was called, and requested
+      to inform them that they must dress properly, after the fashion of the
+      white man, for that any impromptu improvements upon our method of
+      clothes-wearing could not be permitted. As they were gentle, tractable
+      fellows, they readily obeyed, and, though they must have suffered
+      considerably, there were no further grounds for complaint on the score of
+      dress.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It has been already noticed that they were Roman Catholics&mdash;all
+      except Tui, who from his superior mental elevation looked down upon their
+      beliefs with calm contempt, although really a greater heathen than any of
+      them had ever been. It was quite pathetic to see how earnestly they
+      endeavoured to maintain the form of worship to which they had been
+      accustomed, though how they managed without their priest, I could not find
+      out. Every evening they had prayers together, accompanied by many
+      crossings and genuflexions, and wound up by the singing of a hymn in such
+      queer Latin that it was almost unrecognizable. After much wondering I did
+      manage to make out "O Salutaris Hostia!" and "Tantum Ergo," but not until
+      their queer pronunciation of consonants had become familiar. Some of the
+      hymns were in their own tongue, only one of which I call now remember.
+      Phonetically, it ran thus&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Mah-lee-ah, Kollyeea leekee; Obselloh mo mallamah. Alofah, keea ma toh;
+      Fah na oh, Mah lah ee ah"&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      which I understood to be a native rendering of "O Stella Maris!" It was
+      sung to the well-known "Processional" in good time, and on that account, I
+      suppose, fixed itself in my memory.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Whenever any of them were ordered aloft, they never failed to cross
+      themselves before taking to the rigging, as if impressed with a sense of
+      their chance of not returning again in safety. To me was given the
+      congenial task of teaching them the duties required, and I am bound to
+      admit that they were willing, biddable, and cheerful learners. Another
+      amiable trait in their characters was especially noticeable: they always
+      held everything in common. No matter how small the portion received by any
+      one, it was scrupulously shared with the others who lacked, and this
+      subdivision was often carried to ludicrous lengths.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As there was so reason to hurry south, we, took a short cruise on the
+      Vasquez ground, more, I think, for the purpose of training our recruits
+      than anything else. As far as the results to our profit were concerned, we
+      might almost as well have gone straight on, for we only took one small
+      cow-cachalot. But the time spent thus cruising was by no means wasted.
+      Before we left finally for New Zealand, every one of those Kanakas was as
+      much at home in the whale-boats as he would have been in a canoe. Of
+      course they were greatly helped by their entire familiarity with the
+      water, which took from them all that dread of being drowned which hampers
+      the white "greenie" so sorely, besides which, the absolute confidence they
+      had in our prowess amongst the whales freed them from any fear on that
+      head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tui proved himself to be a smart harpooner, and was chosen for the
+      captain's boat. During our conversations, I was secretly amused to hear
+      him allude to himself as Sam, thinking how little it accorded with his
+      SOI-DISANT Kanaka origin. He often regaled me with accounts of his royal
+      struggles to maintain his rule, all of which narrations I received with a
+      goodly amount of reserve, though confirmed in some particulars by the
+      Kanakas, when I became able to converse with them. But I was hardly
+      prepared to find, as I did many years after, upon looking up some detail
+      in Findlay's "South Pacific Directory," this worthy alluded to as "the
+      celebrated Sam," in a brief account of Futuna. There he was said to be
+      king of the twin isles; so I suppose he found means to oust his rival, and
+      resume his sovereignty; though, how an American negro, as Sam undoubtedly
+      was, ever managed to gain such a position, remains to me an unfathomable
+      mystery. Certainly he did not reveal any such masterful attributes as one
+      would have expected in him, while he served as harpooner on board the
+      CACHALOT.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Gradually we crept south, until one morning we sighted the towering mass
+      of Sunday Island, the principal member of the small Kermadec group, which
+      lies nearly on the prime meridian of one hundred and eighty degrees, and
+      but a short distance north of the extremity of New Zealand. We had long
+      ago finished the last of our fresh provisions, fish had been very scarce,
+      so the captain seized the opportunity to give us a run ashore, and at the
+      same time instructed us to do such foraging as we could. It was rumoured
+      that there were many wild pigs to be found, and certainly abundance of
+      goats; but if both these sources of supply failed, we could fall back on
+      fish, of which we were almost sure to get a good haul.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The island is a stupendous mass of rock, rising sheer from the waves, in
+      some places to a height of fifteen hundred feet. These towering cliffs are
+      clothed with verdure, large trees clinging to their precipitous sides in a
+      marvellous way. Except at one small bight, known as Denham Bay, the place
+      is inaccessible, not only from the steepness of its cliffs, but because,
+      owing to its position, the gigantic swell of the South Pacific assails
+      those immense bastions with a force and volume that would destroy
+      instantly any vessel that unfortunately ventured too near. Denham Bay,
+      however, is in some measure protected by reefs of scattered boulders,
+      which break the greatest volume of the oncoming rollers. Within those
+      protecting barriers, with certain winds, it is possible to effect a
+      landing with caution; but even then no tyro in boat-handling should
+      venture to do so, as the experiment would almost certainly be fatal to
+      boat and crew.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We hove-to off the little bay, the waters of which looked placid enough
+      for a pleasure-party, lowered two boats well furnished with fishing gear
+      and such other equipment as we thought would be needed, and pulled away
+      for the landing-place. As we drew near the beach, we found that, in spite
+      of the hindrance to the ocean swell afforded by the reefs, it broke upon
+      the beach in rollers of immense size. In order to avoid any mishap, then,
+      we turned the boats' heads to seaward, and gently backed towards the
+      beach, until a larger breaker than usual came thundering in. As it rushed
+      towards us, we pulled lustily to meet it, the lovely craft rising to its
+      foaming crest like sea-birds. Then, as soon as we were on its outer slope,
+      we reversed the stroke again, coming in on its mighty shoulders at racing
+      speed. The instant our keels touched the beach we all leapt out, and
+      exerting every ounce of strength we possessed, ran the boats up high and
+      dry before the next roller had time to do more than hiss harmlessly around
+      our feet. It was a task of uncommon difficulty, for the shore was wholly
+      composed of loose lava and pumice-stone grit, into which we sank
+      ankle-deep at every step, besides being exceedingly steep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We managed, however, to escape without any mishap, for the drenching was a
+      boon to our burnt-up skins. Off we started along the level land, which, as
+      far as I could judge, extended inland for perhaps a mile and a half by
+      about two miles wide. From this flat shelf the cliffs rose
+      perpendicularly, as they did from the sea. Up their sides were innumerable
+      goat-tracks, upon some of which we could descry a few of those agile
+      creatures climbing almost like flies. The plateau was thickly wooded, many
+      of the trees having been fruit-bearing once, but now, much to our
+      disappointment, barren from neglect.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A ruined house, surrounded by other vestiges of what had once been a
+      homestead, stood in the middle of this piece of land. Feeling curious to
+      know what the history of this isolated settlement might be, I asked the
+      mate if he knew anything of it. He told me that an American named
+      Halstead, with his family, lived here for years, visited only by an
+      occasional whaler, to whom they sold such produce as they might have and
+      be able to spare at the time. What their previous history had been, or why
+      they thus chose to cut themselves off from the world, he did not know; but
+      they seemed contented enough with their tiny kingdom, nor had any wish to
+      leave it. But it came to pass that one night they felt the sure and
+      firm-set earth trembling convulsively beneath their feet. Rushing out of
+      their house, they saw the heavens bespread with an awful pall of smoke,
+      the under-side of which was glowing with the reflected fires of some vast
+      furnace. Their terror was increased by a smart shower of falling ashes and
+      the reverberations of subterranean thunders. At first they thought of
+      flight in their boat, not reckoning the wide stretch of sea which rolled
+      between them and the nearest land, but the height and frequency of the
+      breakers then prevailing made that impossible.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Their situation was pitiable in the extreme. During the years of peace and
+      serenity they had spent here, no thought of the insecurity of their tenure
+      had troubled them. Though they had but been dwellers on the threshold of
+      the mountain, as it were, and any extension of their territory impossible
+      by reason of the insurmountable barrier around them, they had led an
+      untroubled life, all unknowing of the fearful forces beneath their feet.
+      But now they found the foundations of the rocks beneath breaking up; that
+      withering, incessant shower of ashes and scoriae destroyed all their
+      crops; the mild and delicate air changed into a heavy, sulphurous miasma;
+      while overhead the beneficent face of the bright-blue sky had become a
+      horrible canopy of deadly black, about which played lurid coruscations of
+      infernal fires.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What they endured throughout those days and nights of woe, could never be
+      told. They fled from the home they had reared with such abundance of
+      loving labour, taking refuge in a cave; for not even the knowledge that
+      the mountain itself seemed to be in the throes of dissolution could
+      entirely destroy their trust in those apparently eternal fastnesses. Here
+      their eldest son died, worried to death by incessant terror. At last a
+      passing whaler, remembering them and seeing the condition of things, had
+      the humanity and courage to stand in near enough to see their agonized
+      signals of distress. All of them, except the son buried but a day or two
+      before, were safely received and carried away, leaving the terrible
+      mountain to its solitude.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As I listened, I almost involuntarily cast my eyes upwards; nor was I at
+      all surprised to see far overhead a solitary patch of smoky cloud, which I
+      believe to have been a sure indication that the volcano was still liable
+      to commence operations at any time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So far, we had not happened upon any pigs, or goats either, although we
+      saw many indications of the latter odoriferous animal. There were few
+      sea-birds to be seen, but in and out among the dense undergrowth ran many
+      short-legged brown birds, something like a partridge&mdash;the same, I
+      believe, as we afterwards became familiar with in Stewart's Island by the
+      name of "Maori hens." They were so tame and inquisitive that we had no
+      difficulty in securing a few by the simple process of knocking them over
+      with sticks. From the main branch of a large tree hung a big honey-comb,
+      out of which the honey was draining upon the earth. Around it buzzed a
+      busy concourse of bees, who appeared to us so formidable that we decided
+      to leave them to the enjoyment of their sweet store, in case we should
+      invite an attack.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So far, our rambling had revealed nothing of any service to us; but just
+      then, struck by the appearance of a plant which was growing profusely in a
+      glade we were passing over, I made bold to taste one of the leaves. What
+      the botanical name of the vegetable is, I do not know; but, under the
+      designation of "Maori cabbage," it is well known in New Zealand. It looks
+      like a lettuce, running to seed; but it tastes exactly like young
+      turnip-tops, and is a splendid anti-scorbutic. What its discovery meant to
+      us, I can hardly convey to any one who does not know what an insatiable
+      craving for potatoes and green vegetables possesses seamen when they have
+      for long been deprived of these humble but necessary articles of food.
+      Under the circumstances, no "find" could have given us greater pleasure&mdash;that
+      is, in the food line&mdash;than this did.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Taking it all round, however, the place as a foraging ground was not a
+      success. We chased a goat of very large size, and beard voluminous as a
+      Rabbi's, into a cave, which may have been the one the Halsteads took
+      shelter in, for we saw no other. One of the Kanakas volunteered to go in
+      after him with a line, and did so. The resultant encounter was the best
+      bit of fun we had had for many a day. After a period of darksome scuffling
+      within, the entangled pair emerged, fiercely wrestling, Billy being to all
+      appearance much the fresher of the two. Fair play seemed to demand that we
+      should let them fight it out; but, sad to say, the other Kanakas could not
+      see things in that light, and Billy was soon despatched. Rather needless
+      killing, too; for no one, except at starvation-point, could have eaten the
+      poor remains of leathery flesh that still decorated that weather-beaten
+      frame.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But this sort of thing was tiring and unprofitable. The interest of the
+      place soon fizzled out, when it was found there was so little worth taking
+      away; so, as the day was getting on, it was decided to launch off and
+      start fishing. In a few minutes we were afloat again, and anchored, in
+      about four fathoms, in as favourable a spot for our sport as ever I saw.
+      Fish swarmed about us of many sorts, but principally of the "kauwhai," a
+      kind of mullet very plentiful about Auckland, and averaging five or six
+      pounds. Much to my annoyance, we had not been able to get any bait, except
+      a bit of raw salt-pork, which hardly any fish but the shark tribe will
+      look at. Had I known or thought of it, a bit of goat would have been far
+      more attractive.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, as there was no help for it, we baited up and started. "Nary
+      nibble ermong 'em!" growled Sam, as we sat impatiently waiting for a bite.
+      When we hauled up to see what was wrong, fish followed the hook up in
+      hundreds, letting us know plainly as possible that they only wanted
+      something tasty. It was outrageous, exasperating beyond measure! At last
+      Samuela grew so tired of it that he seized his harpoon, and hurled it into
+      the middle of a company of kauwhai that were calmly nosing around the
+      bows. By the merest chance he managed to impale one of them upon the broad
+      point. It was hardly in the boat before I had seized it, scaled it, and
+      cut it into neat little blocks. All hands rebaited with it, and flung out
+      again. The change was astounding. Up they came, two at a time, dozens and
+      dozens of them kauwhai, cavalle, yellow-tail, schnapper&mdash;lovely fish
+      of delicious flavour and goodly size. Then one of us got a fish which made
+      him yell, "Shark! shark!" with all his might. He had a small line of
+      American cotton, staunch as copper wire, but dreadfully cutting to the
+      hands. When he took a turn round the logger-head, the friction of the
+      running line cut right into the white oak, but the wonderful cord and hook
+      still held their own. At last the monster yielded, coming in at first inch
+      by inch, then more rapidly, till raised in triumph above the gunwhale&mdash;a
+      yellow-tail six feet long. I have caught this splendid fish (ELAGATIS
+      BIPINNULATIS) many times before and since then, but never did I see such a
+      grand specimen as this one&mdash;no, not by thirty or forty pounds. Then I
+      got a giant cavalle. His broad, shield-like body blazed hither and thither
+      as I struggled to ship him, but it was long ere he gave in to superior
+      strength and excellence of line and hook.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile, the others had been steadily increasing our cargo, until,
+      feeling that we had quite as much fish as would suffice us, besides being
+      really a good load, I suggested a move towards the ship. We were laying
+      within about half a mile of the shore, where the extremity of the level
+      land reached the cliffs. Up one of the well-worn tracks a fine, fat goat
+      was slowly creeping, stopping every now and then to browse upon the short
+      herbage that clung to the crevices of the rock. Without saying a word,
+      Polly the Kanaka slipped over the side, and struck out with swift overhead
+      strokes for the foot of the cliff. As soon as I saw what, he was after, I
+      shouted loudly for him to return, but he either could not or would not
+      hear me. The fellow's seal-like ability as a swimmer was, of course, well
+      known to me, but I must confess I trembled for his life in such a
+      weltering whirl of rock-torn sea as boiled among the crags at the base of
+      that precipice. He, however, evidently knew what he was going to do, and,
+      though taking risks which would have certainly been fatal to an ordinary
+      swimmer, was quite unafraid of the result.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We all watched him breathlessly as he apparently headed straight for the
+      biggest outlying rock&mdash;a square, black boulder about the size of an
+      ordinary railway car. He came up to it on the summit of a foaming wave;
+      but just as I looked for him to be dashed to pieces against its adamantine
+      sides, he threw his legs into the air and disappeared. A stealthy,
+      satisfied smile glowed upon Samuela's rugged visage, and, as he caught my
+      eye, he said jauntily, "Polly savee too much. Lookee him come on top one
+      time!" I looked, and sure enough there was the daring villain crawling up
+      among the kelp far out of reach of the hungry rollers. It was a marvellous
+      exhibition of coolness and skill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Without waiting an instant, he began to stalk the goat, dodging amongst
+      the bushes with feet that clung to the steep sides of the cliff as well as
+      the animal's. Before he could reach her, she had winded him, and was off
+      up the track. He followed, without further attempt to hide himself; but,
+      despite his vigour and ability, would, I fancy, have stood a microscopic
+      chance of catching her had she not been heavy with kid. As it was, he had
+      all his work cut out for him. When he did catch her, she made so fierce it
+      struggle for life and liberty that, in the endeavour to hold her, he
+      missed his insecure foothold, and the pair came tumbling over and over
+      down the cliff in a miniature avalanche of stones and dust. At the bottom
+      they both lay quiet for a time; while I anxiously waited, fearing the rash
+      fool was seriously injured; but in a minute or two he was on his feet
+      again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Lashing the goat to his body, and ignoring her struggles, he crawled out
+      as far among the rocks as he could; then, at the approach of a big
+      breaker, he dived to meet it, coming up outside its threatening top like a
+      life-buoy. I pulled in, as near as I could venture, to pick him up, and in
+      a few minutes had him safely on board again, but suffering fearfully. In
+      his roll down the cliff he had been without his trousers, which would have
+      been some protection to him. Consequently, his thighs were deeply cut and
+      torn in many places, while the brine entering so many wounds, though a
+      grand styptic, must have tortured him unspeakably. At any rate, though he
+      was a regular stoic to bear pain, he fainted while I was "dressing him
+      down" in the most vigorous language I could command for his foolhardy
+      trick. Then we all realized what he must be going through, and felt that
+      he was getting all the punishment he deserved, and more. The goat, poor
+      thing! seemed none the worse for her rough handling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The mate gave the signal to get back on board just as Polly revived, so
+      there were no inconvenient questions asked, and we returned alongside in
+      triumph, with such a cargo of fish as would have given us a good month's
+      pay all round could we have landed them at Billingsgate. Although the mate
+      had not succeeded as well as we, the catch of the two boats aggregated
+      half a ton, not a fish among the lot less than five pounds weight, and one
+      of a hundred and twenty&mdash;the yellow-tail aforesaid. As soon as we
+      reached the ship, the boats were run up, sails filled, and away we
+      lumbered again towards New Zealand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the great mass of that solitary mountain faded away in the gathering
+      shades of evening, it was impossible to help remembering the sufferings of
+      that afflicted family, confined to those trembling, sulphurous,
+      ash-bestrewn rocks, amid gloom by day, and unnatural glare by night, for
+      all that weary while. And while I admit that there is to some people a
+      charm in being alone with nature, it is altogether another thing when your
+      solitude becomes compulsory, your paradise a prison from which you cannot
+      break away. There are many such nooks scattered about the ocean, where men
+      have hidden themselves away from the busy world, and been forgotten by it;
+      but few of them, I fancy, offer such potentialities of terror as Sunday
+      Island.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had hardly lost sight of the land, when Polly's capture gave birth to a
+      kid. This event was the most interesting thing that had happened on board
+      for a great while, and the funny little visitor would have run great risk
+      of being completely spoiled had he lived. But, to our universal sorrow,
+      the mother's milk failed&mdash;from want of green food, I suppose&mdash;and
+      we were obliged to kill the poor little chap to save him from being
+      starved to death. He made a savoury mess for some whose appetite for
+      flesh-meat was stronger than any sentimental considerations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To an ordinary trader, the distance between the Kermadecs and the Bay of
+      Islands, New Zealand, roughly represents a couple of days' sail; but to
+      us, who were apparently incapable of hurry under any circumstances, it
+      meant a good week's bludgeoning the protesting waves before the grim
+      outliers of the Three Kings came into view. Even then, although the
+      distance was a mere bagatelle, it was another two days before we arrived
+      off that magnificent harbour where reposes the oldest township in New
+      Zealand&mdash;Russell, where rest the mortal remains of the first really
+      Pakeha Maori, but which, for some unaccountable reason, is still left
+      undeveloped and neglected, visited only by the wandering whalers (in
+      ever-decreasing numbers) and an occasional trim, business-like, and
+      gentlemanly man-o'-war, that, like a Guardsman strolling the West End in
+      mufti, stalks the sea with never an item of her smart rig deviating by a
+      shade from its proper set or sheer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXIV. THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      In a comparative new colony like New Zealand, where the marvellous growth
+      of the young state can be traced within living memory, from the privations
+      of the pioneer to the fully developed city with all the machinery of our
+      latest luxurious civilization, it is exceedingly interesting to note how
+      the principal towns have sprung up arbitrarily, and without any heed to
+      the intentions of the ruling powers. The old-fashioned township of
+      Kororarika, or Port Russell, is a case very much in point. As we sailed in
+      between the many islets from which the magnificent bay takes its name, for
+      all appearances to the contrary, we might have been the first,
+      discoverers. Not a house, not a sail, not a boat, broke the loneliness and
+      primeval look of the placid waters and the adjacent shores. Not until we
+      drew near the anchorage, and saw upon opening up the little town the
+      straight-standing masts of three whale-ships, did anything appear to
+      dispel the intense air of solitude overhanging the whole. As we drew
+      nearer, and rounded-to for mooring, I looked expectantly for some sign of
+      enterprise on the part of the inhabitants&mdash;some tradesman's boat
+      soliciting orders; some of the population on the beach (there was no sign
+      of a pier), watching the visitor come to an anchor. Not a bit of it. The
+      whole place seemed a maritime sleepy hollow, the dwellers in which had
+      lost all interest in life, and had become far less energetic than the
+      much-maligned Kanakas in their dreamy isles of summer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yet this was once intended for the capital of New Zealand. When the large
+      and splendidly-built city of Dunedin, Otago, was a barren bush, haunted
+      only by the "morepork" and the apteryx, Russell was humming with vitality,
+      her harbour busy with fleets of ships, principally whalers, who found it
+      the most convenient calling-place in the southern temperate zone. Terrible
+      scenes were enacted about its "blackguard beach," orgies of wild
+      debauchery and bloodshed indulged in by the half-savage and utterly
+      lawless crews of the whaleships. But it never attained to any real
+      importance. As a port of call for whalers, it enjoyed a certain kind of
+      prosperity; but when the South Sea fishery dwindled, Russell shrank in
+      immediate sympathy. It never had any vitality of its own, no manufactures
+      or products, unless the wretched coalmines adjacent, with their dirty
+      output, which is scoffed at by the grimiest tug afloat, could be dignified
+      by the name.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Remembering, as I did, the beauty, the energy, and prosperity of the great
+      New Zealand ports, some of them with not a tithe of the natural advantages
+      of Russell, I felt amazed, almost indignant, at its dead-and-alive
+      appearance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our anchor was no sooner down than the captains of the JAMES ARNOLD,
+      MATILDA SAYER, and CORAL lowered and came on board, eager to hear or to
+      tell such news as was going. As we had now grown to expect, all work was
+      over immediately the sails were fast and decks cleared up, so that we were
+      free to entertain our visitors. And a high old time we had of it that
+      afternoon! What with songs, dances, and yarns, the hours flew by with
+      lightning speed. Our Kanakas, too, were overjoyed to find compatriots
+      among the visitors, and settled down to a steady stream of talk which
+      lasted, without intermission, the whole night through. It was a wonderful
+      exhibition of tongue-wagging, though what it was all about puzzled me
+      greatly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Life on board those three ships, though described in glowing terms by the
+      visitors, was evidently not to be mentioned for comfort in the same breath
+      as ours. But we found that our late captain's fame as a "hard citizen" was
+      well known to all; so that it is only ordinary justice to suppose that
+      such a life as he led us was exceptional for even a Yankee spouter. Our
+      friends gave us a blood-curdling account of the Solander whaling ground,
+      which we were about to visit, the JAMES ARNOLD and CORAL having spent a
+      season there that cruise. I did not, however, pay much attention to their
+      yarns, feeling sure that, even if they were fact, it would not help to
+      brood over coming hardships, and inclined to give liberal discount to most
+      of their statements. The incessant chatter, got wearisome at last, and I,
+      for one, was not sorry when, at two in the morning, our visitors departed
+      to their several ships, and left us to get what sleep still remained left
+      to us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A pleasant expedition was planned for the next day. Our visit being
+      principally for wooding and watering, both of which it was necessary for
+      us to do ourselves, Captain Count showed his usual promptitude in
+      commencing at once. Permission having been obtained and, I suppose, paid
+      for, we set out with two boats and a plentiful supply of axes for a
+      well-wooded promontory to prepare a store of wood. Wood chopping is not
+      usually looked upon as a sailor's pastime; but we had had considerable
+      experience during the voyage, as a result of which most of us could swing
+      an axe in fine style. But the Kanakas beat us all hollow. Delighted to get
+      ashore again, pleased with the fine axes as children with new toys, they
+      laid about them in grand style, the young trees falling right and left in
+      scores. Anybody would have judged that we were working piece-work, at so
+      much a cord, the pile grew so fast. There was such a quantity collected
+      that, instead of lightering it off in the boats, which is very rough and
+      dirty usage for them, I constructed a sort of raft with four large spars
+      arranged in the form of an oblong, placing an immense quantity of the
+      smaller stuff in between. Upright sticks were rudely lashed here and
+      there, to keep the pile from bobbing out underneath, and thus loaded we
+      proceeded slowly to the ship with sufficient wood for our wants brought in
+      one journey. It was immediately hoisted on board, sawn into convenient
+      lengths, and stowed away, the whole operation being completed, of getting
+      between eight and ten tons of firewood cut, ferried, and stowed, in less
+      than eight hours.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next day was devoted to watering; but as I have elsewhere described that
+      necessary if prosaic occupation, I will not repeat the story. Sufficient
+      to say that the job was successfully "did" in the course of the day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All the work being accomplished for which we had come, it only remained to
+      give the crew "liberty." So the port watch, in their best (?) rig, were
+      mustered aft; each man received ten shillings, and away they went in glee
+      for the first genuine day's liberty since leaving Honolulu. For although
+      they had been much ashore in Vau Vau, that was not looked upon in the same
+      light as a day's freedom in a town where liquor might be procured, and the
+      questionable privilege of getting drunk taken advantage of. Envious eyes
+      watched their progress from the other ships, but, much to my secret
+      satisfaction, none of their crews were allowed ashore at the same time.
+      There were quite sufficient possibilities of a row among our own crowd,
+      without farther complications such as would almost certainly have occurred
+      had the strangers been let loose at the same time. Unfortunately, to the
+      ordinary sailor-man, the place presented no other forms of amusement
+      besides drinking, and I was grieved to see almost the whole crowd,
+      including the Kanakas, emerge from the grog-shop plentifully supplied with
+      bottles, and, seating themselves on the beach, commence their carouse. The
+      natives evinced the greatest eagerness to get drunk, swallowing down the
+      horrible "square gin" as if it were water. They passed with the utmost
+      rapidity through all the stages of drunkenness. Before they had been
+      ashore an hour, most of them were lying like logs, in the full blaze of
+      the sun, on the beach. Seeing this, the captain suggested the advisability
+      of bringing them on board at once, as they were only exposed to robbery by
+      the few prowling Maories that loafed about the beach&mdash;a curious
+      contrast to the stately fellows met with in other parts of New Zealand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So we set to work, and brought them on board again, handing them over to
+      their compatriots by way of warning against similar excesses, although, it
+      must be confessed, that they were hardly to blame, with the example of
+      their more civilized shipmates before their eyes. Sam was energetic in his
+      condemnation of both the Kanakas for getting drunk, and the captain for
+      giving them any money wherewith to do so. The remainder of the watch
+      fortunately concluded their carouse without any serious disorder. A few
+      bruises bestowed upon one another, more in clumsy horseplay than real
+      fighting summed up the casualties among them. By ten o'clock that evening
+      we had them all safely on board again, ready for sore heads and repentance
+      in the morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the day I had evolved a scheme, which I had great hopes of carrying
+      out when our watch should be let loose on the morrow. When morning came,
+      and the liberty men received their money, I called them together and
+      unfolded my plan. Briefly, I proposed a sort of picnic at a beautiful spot
+      discovered during our wooding expedition. I was surprised and very pleased
+      at the eager way in which all, with the sole exceptions of Tui and his
+      fellow-harpooner, a Portuguese, fell in with my suggestions. Without any
+      solicitation on my part, my Kanakas brought me their money, begging me to
+      expend it for them, as they did not know how, and did not want to buy gin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Under such favourable auspices as these, we landed shortly after eight
+      a.m., making a bee-line for the only provision shop the place boasted.
+      Here we laid in a stock of such savouries as we had long been strangers
+      to, both eatables and drinkables, although I vetoed fire-water altogether.
+      Beer in bottle was substituted, at my suggestion, as being, if we must
+      have drinks of that nature, much the least harmful to men in a hot
+      country, besides, in the quantity that we were able to take,
+      non-intoxicant. We also took tea, sugar, milk, and a kettle, Thus
+      furnished, we struck for the country, merry as a group of schoolboys,
+      making the quiet air ring again with song, shout, and laughter&mdash;all
+      of which may seem puerile and trivial in the extreme; but having seen
+      liberty men ashore in nearly every big port in the world, watched the
+      helpless, dazed look with which they wander about, swinging hands, bent
+      shoulders, and purposeless rolling gait, I have often fervently wished
+      that some one would take a party of them for a ramble with a definite
+      purpose, helping them to a little enjoyment, instead of them falling, from
+      sheer lack of knowing what else to do, into some dirty, darksome gin-mill,
+      to be besotted, befooled, and debased.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I do earnestly wish that some of the good folk in London and Liverpool,
+      who are wringing their hands for want of something to do among their
+      fellow-men, would pay a visit to sailor-town for the purpose of getting up
+      a personally-conducted party of sailors to see the sights worth seeing. It
+      is a cheap form of pleasure, even if they paid all expenses, though that
+      would not be likely. They would have an uphill job at first, for the
+      sailor has been so long accustomed to being preyed upon by the class he
+      knows, and neglected by everybody else except the few good people who want
+      to preach to him, that he would probably, in a sheepish shame-faced sort
+      of way, refuse to have any "truck" with you, as he calls it. If the
+      "sailors' home" people were worth their salt, they would organize
+      expeditions by carriage to such beautiful places as&mdash;in London, for
+      instance&mdash;Hampton Court, Zoological Gardens, Crystal Palace, Epping
+      Forest, and the like, with competent guides and good catering
+      arrangements. But no; the sailor is allowed to step outside the door of
+      the "home" into the grimy, dismal streets with nothing open to him but the
+      dance-house and brothel on one side, and the mission hall or reading-room
+      on the other. God forbid that I should even appear to sneer at missions to
+      seamen; nothing is farther from my intention; but I do feel that sailors
+      need a little healthy human interest to be taken in providing some
+      pleasure for them, and that there are unorthodox ways of "missioning"
+      which are well worth a trial.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I once took a party (while I was an A.B.) from Wells-street Home to the
+      South Kensington Museum. There were six of them&mdash;a Frenchman, a Dane,
+      a Russian Finn, two Englishmen, and an Irishman. Though continually
+      sailing from London for years, this was the first occasion they had ever
+      been west of Aldgate. The only mistake I made was in going too deep at one
+      step. The journey from Shadwell to South Kensington, under the guidance of
+      one familiar, through the hardest personal experiences, with every corner
+      of the vast network, was quite enough for one day. So that by the time we
+      entered the Museum they were surfeited temporarily with sight-seeing, and
+      not able to take in the wonders of the mighty place. Seeing this, I did
+      not persist, but, after some rest and refreshment, led them across the
+      road among the naval models. Ah! it was a rare treat to see them there.
+      For if there is one thing more than another which interests a sailor, it
+      is a well-made model of a ship. Sailors are model-makers almost by nature,
+      turning out with the most meagre outfit of tools some wonderfully-finished
+      replicas of the vessels is which they have sailed. And the collection of
+      naval models at South Kensington is, I suppose, unsurpassed in the world
+      for the number and finish of the miniature vessels there shown.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our day was a great success, never to be forgotten by those poor fellows,
+      whose only recreation previously had been to stroll listlessly up and down
+      the gloomy, stone-flagged hall of the great barracks until sheer weariness
+      drove them out into the turbid current of the "Highway," there to seek
+      speedily some of the dirty haunts where the "runner" and the prostitute:
+      awaited them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But I have wandered far from the Bay of Islands while thus chattering of
+      the difficulties that beset the path of rational enjoyment for the sailor
+      ashore. Returning to that happy day, I remember vividly how, just after we
+      got clear of the town, we were turning down a lane between hedgerows
+      wonderfully like one of our own country roads, when something&mdash;I
+      could not tell what&mdash;gripped my heart and sent a lump into my throat.
+      Tears sprang unbidden to my eyes, and I trembled from head to foot with
+      emotion. Whatever could it be? Bewildered for the moment, I looked around,
+      and saw a hedge laden with white hawthorn blossom, the sweet English
+      "may." Every Londoner knows how strongly that beautiful scent appeals to
+      him, even when wafted from draggled branches borne slumwards by tramping
+      urchins who have been far afield despoiling the trees of their lovely
+      blossoms, careless of the damage they have been doing. But to me, who had
+      not seen a bit for years, the flood of feeling undammed by that odorous
+      breath, was overwhelming. I could hardly tear myself away from the spot,
+      and, when at last I did, found myself continually turning to try and catch
+      another whiff of one of the most beautiful scents in the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently we came to a cottage flooded from ground to roof-ridge with
+      blossoms of scarlet geranium. There must have been thousands of them, all
+      borne by one huge stem which was rooted by the door of the house. A little
+      in front of it grew a fuchsia, twelve or fourteen feet high, with
+      wide-spreading branches, likewise loaded with handsome blooms; while the
+      ground beneath was carpeted with the flowers shaken from their places by
+      the rude wind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So, through scenes of loveliness that appealed even to the dusky Kanakas,
+      we trudged gaily along, arriving pretty well fagged at our destination&mdash;a
+      great glade of tenderest green, surrounded by magnificent trees on three
+      sides; the fourth opening on to a dazzling white beach sloping gently down
+      to the sea. Looking seaward, amidst the dancing, sparkling wavelets, rose
+      numerous tree-clothed islets, making a perfectly beautiful seascape. On
+      either side of the stretch of beach fantastic masses of rock lay about, as
+      if scattered by some tremendous explosion. Where the sea reached them,
+      they were covered with untold myriads of oysters, ready to be eaten and of
+      delicious flavour.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What need to say more? With oyster-feeding, fishing, bathing,
+      tree-climbing, tea-making, song-singing the hours fled with pitiless
+      haste, so that, before we had half emptied the brimming cup of joys
+      proffered us, the slanting rays of the setting sun warned us to return
+      lest we should get "hushed" in the dark. We came on board rejoicing, laden
+      with spoils of flowers and fish, with two-thirds of our money still in our
+      pockets, and full of happy memories of one of the most delightful days in
+      our whole lives.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A long night's sound sleep was rudely broken into in the morning by the
+      cry of "Man the windlass." Having got all we wanted, we were bound away to
+      finish, if luck were with us, the lading of our good ship from the teeming
+      waters of the Solander grounds. I know the skipper's hopes were high, for
+      he never tired of telling how, when in command of a new ship, he once
+      fished the whole of his cargo&mdash;six thousand barrels of sperm oil&mdash;from
+      the neighbourhood to which we were now bound. He always admitted, though,
+      that the weather he experienced was unprecedented. Still, nothing could
+      shake his belief in the wonderful numbers of sperm whales to be found on
+      the south coasts of New Zealand, which faith was well warranted, since he
+      had there won from the waves, not only the value of his new ship, but a
+      handsome profit in addition, all in one season.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hearing this kind of thing every day made me feel quite hungry to reach
+      the battle-field; but, for reasons which doubtless were excellent,
+      although I cannot pretend to explain them, we started north about, which
+      not only added nearly one hundred miles to the distance we had to go, but
+      involved us in a gale which effectually stopped our progress for a week.
+      It was our first taste of the gentle zephyrs which waft their sweetness
+      over New Zealand, after sweeping over the vast, bleak, iceberg-studded
+      expanse of the Antarctic Ocean. Our poor Kanakas were terribly frightened,
+      for the weather of their experience, except on the rare occasions when
+      they are visited by the devastating hurricane, is always fine, steady, and
+      warm. For the first time in their lives they saw hail, and their wonder
+      was too great for words. But the cold was very trying, not only to them,
+      but to us, who had been so long in the tropics that our blood was almost
+      turned to water. The change was nearly as abrupt as that so often
+      experienced by our seamen, who at the rate of sixteen knots an hour plunge
+      from a temperature of eighty degrees to one of thirty degrees in about
+      three days.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We, with the ready adaptability of seamen, soon got accustomed to the
+      bleak, bitter weather, but the Kanakas wilted like hothouse plants under
+      its influence. They were well fed and well clothed, yet they seemed to
+      shrivel up, looking thinner every day, several of them getting deep coughs
+      strongly suggestive of a cemetery. It was no easy task to get them to
+      work, or even move, never a one of them lumbering aloft but I expected him
+      to come down by the run. This was by no means cheering, when it was
+      remembered what kind of a campaign lay before us. Captain Count seemed to
+      be quite easy in his mind, however, and as we had implicit confidence in
+      his wisdom and judgment, we were somewhat reassured.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The gale at last blew itself out, the wind veering to the northward again,
+      with beautiful, spring-like weather, just cool enough to be pleasant, and,
+      withal, favourable for getting to our destination. We soon made the land
+      again about New Plymouth, jogging along near enough to the coast to admire
+      the splendid rugged scenery of the Britain of the south. All hands were
+      kept busily employed preparing for stormy weather&mdash;reeving new
+      running-gear, bending the strongest suit of sails, and looking well to all
+      the whaling gear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In this active exercise of real sailor-work, the time, though long for an
+      ordinary passage, passed quickly and pleasantly away, so that when we
+      hauled round the massive promontory guarding the western entrance to
+      Foveaux Straits, we were almost surprised to find ourselves there so soon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This, then, was the famous and dreaded Solander whaling ground. Almost in
+      the centre of the wide stretch of sea between Preservation Inlet, on the
+      Middle Island, and the western end of the South, or Stewart's Island, rose
+      a majestic mass of wave-beaten rock some two thousand feet high, like a
+      grim sentinel guarding the Straits. The extent of the fishing grounds was
+      not more than a hundred and fifty square miles, and it was rarely that the
+      vessels cruised over the whole of it. The most likely area for finding
+      whales was said to be well within sight of the Solander Rock itself, but
+      keeping on the western side of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a lovely day when we first entered upon our cruising ground, a
+      gentle north-east wind blowing, the sky a deep, cloudless blue, so that
+      the rugged outline of Stewart's Island was distinctly seen at its extreme
+      distance from us. To the eastward the Straits narrowed rapidly, the
+      passage at the other end being scarcely five miles wide between the
+      well-known harbour of the Bluff, the port of Invercargill, and a long
+      rocky island which almost blocked the strait. This passage, though cutting
+      off a big corner, not only shortening the distance from the westward
+      considerably, but oftentimes saving outward bounders a great deal of heavy
+      weather off the Snares to the south of Stewart's Island, is rarely used by
+      sailing-ships, except coasters; but steamers regularly avail themselves of
+      it, being independent of its conflicting currents and baffling winds.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXV. ON THE SOLANDER GROUNDS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Our opening day was an auspicious one. We had not been within the cruising
+      radius more than four hours before the long-silent; cry of "Blo-o-o-w!"
+      resounded from the mainmast head. It was a lone whale, apparently of large
+      size, though spouting almost as feebly as a calf. But that, I was told by
+      the skipper, was nothing to go by down here. He believed right firmly that
+      there were no small whales to be found in these waters at all. He averred
+      that in all his experience he had never seen a cow-cachalot anywhere
+      around Stewart's Island, although, as usual, he did no theorizing as to
+      the reason why.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Eagerly we took to the boats and made for our first fish, setting
+      alongside of him in less than half an hour from our first glimpse of his
+      bushy breath. As the irons sank into his blubber, he raised himself a
+      little, and exposed a back like a big ship bottom up. Verily, the
+      skipper's words were justified, for we had seen nothing bigger of the
+      whale-kind that voyage. His manner puzzled us not a little. He had not a
+      kick in him. Complacently, as though only anxious to oblige, he laid
+      quietly while we cleared for action, nor did he show any signs of
+      resentment or pain while he was being lanced with all the vigour we
+      possessed. He just took all our assaults with perfect quietude and
+      exemplary patience, so that we could hardly help regarding him with great
+      suspicion, suspecting some deep scheme of deviltry hidden by this
+      abnormally sheep-like demeanour. But nothing happened. In the same
+      peaceful way he died, without the slightest struggle sufficient to raise
+      even an eddy on the almost smooth sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Leaving the mate by the carcass, we returned on board, the skipper hailing
+      us immediately on our arrival to know what was the matter with him. We, of
+      course, did not know, neither did the question trouble us. All we were
+      concerned about was the magnanimous way in which he, so to speak, made us
+      a present of himself, giving us no more trouble to secure his treasure
+      than as if he had been a lifeless thing. We soon had him alongside,
+      finding, upon ranging him by the ship, that he was over seventy feet long,
+      with a breadth of bulk quite in proportion to such a vast length.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cutting-in commenced at once, for fine weather there was by no means to be
+      wasted, being of rare occurrence and liable at the shortest notice to be
+      succeeded by a howling gale. Our latest acquisition, however, was of such
+      gigantic proportions that the decapitation alone bade fair to take us all
+      night. A nasty cross swell began to get up, too&mdash;a combination of
+      north-westerly and south-westerly which, meeting at an angle where the
+      Straits began, raised a curious "jobble," making the vessel behave in a
+      drunken, uncertain manner. Sailors do not mind a ship rolling or pitching,
+      any more than a rider minds the motion of his horse; but when she does
+      both at once, with no approach to regularity in her movements, it makes
+      them feel angry with her. What, then, must our feelings have been under
+      such trying conditions, with that mountain of matter alongside to which so
+      much sheer hard labour had to be done, while the sky was getting greasy
+      and the wind beginning to whine in that doleful key which is the certain
+      prelude to a gale?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Everybody worked like Chinamen on a contract, as if there was no such
+      feeling as fatigue. Little was said, but we all realized that unless this
+      job was got over before what was brooding burst upon us, we should
+      certainly lose some portion of our hard-won whale. Still, our utmost
+      possible was all we could do; and when at daylight the head was hauled
+      alongside for cutting up, the imminent possibility of losing it, though
+      grievous to think of, worried nobody, for all had done their best. The
+      gale had commenced in business-like fashion, but the sea was horrible. It
+      was almost impossible to keep one's footing on the stage. At times the
+      whole mass of the head would be sucked down by the lee roll of the ship,
+      and go right under her keel, the fluke-chain which held it grinding and
+      straining as if it would tear the bows out of her. Then when she rolled
+      back again the head would rebound to the surface right away from the ship,
+      where we could not reach it to cut. Once or twice it bounced up beneath
+      our feet, striking the stage and lifting it with its living load several
+      inches, letting it fall again with a jerk that made us all cling for dear
+      life to our precarious perch.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In spite of these capers, we managed to get the junk off the head. It was
+      a tremendous lift for us; I hardly think we had ever raised such a weight
+      before. The skipper himself estimated it at fifteen tons, which was no
+      small load for the tackles in fine weather, but with the ship tumbling
+      about in her present fashion, it threatened to rip the mainmast out by the
+      roots&mdash;not, of course, the dead-weight strain; but when it was nearly
+      aboard, her sudden lee wallow sometimes floated the whole mass, which the
+      next instant, on the return roll, would be torn out of water, with all the
+      force of the ship suddenly rolling the other way. Every splinter, every
+      rope-yarn of her groaned again under this savage treatment; but so
+      splendid was her construction that she never made a drop of water more
+      than just sufficient to sweeten the limbers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was with great and genuine satisfaction that we saw it at last safely
+      lowered on deck and secured. But when we turned our attention to the case,
+      which, still attached to the skull, battered alongside, any chance of
+      saving it was at once seen to be hopeless. Indeed, as the old man said, it
+      was time for us to "up stick" and run for shelter. We had been too fully
+      occupied to notice the gradual increase of the wind; but when we did,
+      there was no gainsaying the fact that it was blowing a very stiff breeze
+      (ANGLICE, a violent gale). Fortunately for us, it was from the westward,
+      fair for the harbour of Port William, on the Stewart's Island side of the
+      Straits, so that we were free from the apprehension of being blown out to
+      sea or on a jagged lee shore.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While we were thus thinking during a brief pause to take breath, the old
+      packet herself solved our last difficulty in emphatic fashion. She gave a
+      tremendous lee lurch, which would inevitably have destroyed the cutting
+      stage if we had not hoisted it, driving right over the head, which
+      actually rose to the surface to windward, having passed under her bottom.
+      The weather roll immediately following was swift and sudden. From the
+      nature of things, it was evident that something must give way this time.
+      It did. For the first and only time in my experience, the fluke-chain was
+      actually torn through the piece to which it was fast&mdash;two feet of
+      solid gristle ripped asunder. Away went the head with its L150 to L200
+      worth of pure spermaceti, disappearing from view almost immediately.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It had no sooner gone than more sail was set, the yards were squared, and
+      the vessel kept away up the Straits for shelter. It was a big improvement,
+      for she certainly had begun to make dirty weather of it, and no wonder.
+      Now, however, running almost dead before the gale, getting into smoother
+      water at every fathom, she was steady as a rock, allowing us to pursue our
+      greasy avocation in comparative comfort. The gale was still increasing,
+      although now blowing with great fury; but, to our satisfaction, it was dry
+      and not too cold. Running before it, too, lessened our appreciation of its
+      force; besides which, we were exceedingly busy clearing away the enormous
+      mass of the junk, which, draining continually, kept the decks running with
+      oil.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We started to run up the Straits at about ten a.m. At two p.m. we suddenly
+      looked up from our toil, our attention called by a sudden lull in the
+      wind. We had rounded Saddle Point, a prominent headland, which shut off
+      from us temporarily the violence of the gale. Two hours later we found
+      ourselves hauling up into the pretty little harbour of Port William,
+      where, without taking more than a couple of hands off the work, the vessel
+      was rounded-to and anchored with quite as little fuss as bringing a boat
+      alongside a ship. It was the perfection of seamanship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once inside the bay, a vessel was sheltered from all winds, the land being
+      high and the entrance intricate. The water was smooth as a mill-pond,
+      though the leaden masses of cloud flying overhead and the muffled roar of
+      the gale told eloquently of the unpleasant state affairs prevailing
+      outside. Two whale-ships lay here&mdash;the TAMERLANE, of New Bedford, and
+      the CHANCE, of Bluff Harbour. I am bound to confess that there was a great
+      difference is appearance between the Yankee and the colonial&mdash;very
+      much in favour of the former. She was neat, smart, and seaworthy, looking
+      as if just launched; but the CHANCE looked like some poor old relic of a
+      bygone day, whose owners, unable to sell her, and too poor to keep her in
+      repair, were just letting her go while keeping up the insurance, praying
+      fervently each day that she might come to grief, and bring them a little
+      profit at last.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But although it is much safer to trust appearances in ships than in men,
+      any one who summed up the CHANCE from her generally outworn and
+      poverty-stricken looks would have been, as I was, "way off." Old she was,
+      with an indefinite antiquity, carelessly rigged, and vilely unkempt as to
+      her gear, while outside she did not seem to have had a coat of paint for a
+      generation. She looked what she really was&mdash;the sole survivor of the
+      once great whaling industry of New Zealand. For although struggling bay
+      whaling stations did exist in a few sheltered places far away from the
+      general run of traffic, the trade itself might truthfully be said to be
+      practically extinct. The old CHANCE alone, like some shadow of the past,
+      haunted Foveaux Straits, and made a better income for her fortunate owners
+      than any of the showy, swift coasting steamers that rushed contemptuously
+      past her on their eager way.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In many of the preceding pages I have, though possessing all an
+      Englishman's pride in the prowess of mine own people, been compelled to
+      bear witness to the wonderful smartness and courage shown by the American
+      whalemen, to whom their perilous calling seems to have become a second
+      nature. And on other occasions I have lamented that our own whalers,
+      either at home or in the colonies, never seemed to take so kindly to the
+      sperm whale fishery as the hardy "down Easters," who first taught them the
+      business; carried it on with increasing success, in spite of their
+      competition and the depredations of the ALABAMA; flourished long after the
+      English fishery was dead; and even now muster a fleet of ships engaged in
+      the same bold and hazardous calling. Therefore, it is the more pleasant to
+      me to be able to chronicle some of the doings of Captain Gilroy,
+      familiarly known as "Paddy," the master of the CHANCE, who was unsurpassed
+      as a whale-fisher or a seaman by any Yankee that ever sailed from Martha's
+      Vineyard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was a queer little figure of a man&mdash;short, tubby, with scanty red
+      hair, and a brogue thick as pea-soup. Eccentric in most things, he was
+      especially so in his dress, which he seemed to select on the principle of
+      finding the most unfitting things to wear. Rumour credited him with a
+      numerous half-breed progeny&mdash;certainly he was greatly mixed up with
+      the Maories, half his crew being made up of his dusky friends and
+      relations by MARRIAGE. Overflowing with kindliness and good temper, his
+      ship was a veritable ark of refuge for any unfortunate who needed help,
+      which accounted for the numerous deserters from Yankee whalers who were to
+      be found among his crew. Such whaling skippers as our late commander hated
+      him with ferocious intensity; and but for his Maori and half-breed
+      bodyguard, I have little doubt he would have long before been killed.
+      Living as he had for many years on that storm-beaten coast, he had become,
+      like his Maories, familiar with every rock and tree in fog or clear, by
+      night or day; he knew them, one might almost say, as the seal knows them,
+      and feared them as little. His men adored him. They believed him capable
+      of anything in the way of whaling, and would as soon have thought of
+      questioning the reality of daylight as the wisdom of his decisions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I went on board the evening of, our arrival, hearing some rumours of the
+      doings of the old CHANCE and her crew, also with the idea that perhaps I
+      might find some countrymen among his very mixed crowd. The first man I
+      spoke to was Whitechapel to the backbone, plainly to be spotted as such as
+      if it had been tattooed on his forehead. Making myself at home with him, I
+      desired to know what brought him so far from the "big smoke," and on board
+      a whaler of all places in the world. He told me he had been a Pickford's
+      van-driver, but had emigrated to New Zealand, finding that he did not at
+      all like himself in the new country. Trying to pick and choose instead of
+      manfully choosing a pick and shovel for a beginning, he got hard up.
+      During one of Captain Gilroy's visits to the Bluff, he came across my
+      ex-drayman, looking hungry and woebegone. Invited on board to have a feed,
+      he begged to be allowed to remain; nor, although his assistance was not
+      needed, was he refused. "An nar," he said, his face glowing with conscious
+      pride, "y'ort ter see me in a bloomin' bowt. I ain't a-goain' ter say as I
+      kin fling wun o' them 'ere bloomin' 'arpoones like ar bowt-steerers kin;
+      but I kin do my bit o' grawft wiv enny on 'em&mdash;don'tchu make no
+      bloomin' herror." The glorious incongruity of the thing tickled me
+      immensely; but I laughed more heartily still when on going below I was
+      hailed as "Wot cher, chummy; 'ow yer hoppin' up?" by another barbarian
+      from the wilds of Spitalfields, who, from the secure shelter of his
+      cats'-meat round in 'Oxton, had got adrift, and, after being severely
+      buffeted by tempestuous ill-fortune, had finally found himself in the
+      comfortable old CHANCE, a haven of rest in the midst of storms. There were
+      sixteen white men on board the CHANCE, including the skipper, drawn as
+      usual from various European and American sources, the rest of her large
+      crew of over forty all told being made up of Maories and half-breeds. One
+      common interest united them, making them the jolliest crowd I ever saw&mdash;their
+      devotion to their commander. There was here to be found no jealousy of the
+      Maories being officers and harpooners, no black looks or discontented
+      murmuring; all hands seemed particularly well satisfied with their lot in
+      all its bearings; so that, although the old tub was malodorous enough to
+      turn even a pretty strong stomach, it was a pleasure to visit her cheerful
+      crowd for the sake of their enlivening society.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Of course, under our present circumstances, with the debris of our late
+      enormous catch filling every available space and loudly demanding
+      attention, we had little time to spare for ship visiting. Some boat or
+      other from the two ships was continually alongside of us, though, for
+      until the gale abated they could not get out to the grounds again, and
+      time hung heavy on their hands. The TAMERLANE's captain avoided Paddy as
+      if he were a leper&mdash;hated the sight of him, in fact, as did most of
+      his CONFRERES; but our genial skipper, whose crew were every whit as well
+      treated and contented as the CHANCE's, and who therefore needed not to
+      dread losing them, met the little philanthropist on the most friendly
+      terms.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The first fine weather, which came four days after our arrival, both our
+      harbour mates cleared out. Characteristically, the CHANCE was away first,
+      before daylight had quite asserted itself, and while the bases of the
+      cliffs and tops of the rocks were as yet hidden in dense wreaths of white
+      haze. Paddy lolled on the taff-rail near the wheel, which was held by an
+      immense half-breed, who leant back and carried on a desultory, familiar
+      conversation with his skipper; the rest of the crew were scattered about
+      the decks, apparently doing what they liked in any manner they chose. The
+      anchor was being catted, sails going up, and yards being trimmed; but, to
+      observers like us, no guiding spirit was noticeable. It seemed to work all
+      right, and the old ark herself looked as if she was as intelligent as any
+      of them; but the sight was not an agreeable one to men accustomed to
+      discipline. The contrast when the TAMERLANE came along an hour or so after
+      was emphatic. Every man at his post; every order carried out with the
+      precision of clockwork; the captain pacing the quarter-deck as if she were
+      a line-of-battle ship&mdash;here the airs put on were almost ludicrous in
+      the other direction. Although she was only "a good jump" long, as we say,
+      whenever an order was given, it was thundered out as if the men were a
+      mile away each officer appearing to vie with the others as to who could
+      bellow the loudest. That was carrying things to the opposite extreme, and
+      almost equally objectionable to merchant seamen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were thus left alone to finish our trying-out except for such company
+      as was afforded by the only resident's little schooner, in which he went
+      oyster-dredging. It was exceedingly comfortable in the small harbour, and
+      the fishing something to remember all one's life. That part of New Zealand
+      is famous for a fish something like a bream, but with a longer snout, and
+      striped longitudinally with black and yellow. I am ignorant of any
+      polysyllabic prefix for it, only knowing it by its trivial and local
+      appellation of the "trumpeter," from the peculiar sound it makes when out
+      of water. But no other fish out of the innumerable varieties which I have
+      sampled in all parts of the world could compare with the trumpeter for
+      flavour and delicacy. These qualities are well known to the inhabitants of
+      the large towns, who willingly pay high prices for the scanty supply of
+      these delicious fish which they are able to obtain. Of other succulent
+      fish there was a great variety, from the majestic "grouper," running up to
+      over a hundredweight, down to the familiar flounder. Very little fishing
+      could be done at night. Just as day was dawning was the ideal time for
+      this enticing sport. As soon as the first few streaks of delicate light
+      enlivened the dull horizon, a stray nibble or two gladdened the patient
+      fishermen; then as the light strengthened the fun became general, and in
+      about an hour enough fish would be caught to provide all hands with for
+      the day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One morning, when a stark calm left, the surface of the bay as smooth as a
+      mirror, I was watching a few stealthily-gliding barracouta sneaking about
+      over the plainly visible bottom, though at a depth of seven or eight
+      fathoms. Ordinarily, these fish must be taken with a live bait; but,
+      remembering my experience with the dolphin, I determined to try a
+      carefully arranged strip of fish from one recently caught. In precisely
+      the same way as the dolphin, these long, snaky rascals carefully tested
+      the bait, lying still for sometimes as long as two minutes with the bait
+      in their mouths, ready to drop it out on the first intimation that it was
+      not a detached morsel. After these periods of waiting the artful creature
+      would turn to go, and a sudden jerk of the line then reminded him that he
+      was no longer a free agent, but mounting at headlong speed to a strange
+      bourne whence he never returned to tell the tale. My catch that lovely
+      morning scaled over a hundredweight in less than an hour, none of the fish
+      being less than ten pounds in weight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Maories have quite an original way of catching barracouta. They
+      prepare a piece of "rimu" (red pine) about three inches long, by an inch
+      broad, and a quarter of an inch thick. Through one end of this they drive
+      an inch nail bent upwards, and filed to a sharp point. The other end is
+      fastened to about a fathom of stout fishing-line, which is in turn secured
+      to the end of a five-foot pole. Seated in a boat with sail set, they slip
+      along until a school of barracouta is happened upon. Then the peak of the
+      sail is dropped, so as to deaden the boat's way, while the fishermen ply
+      their poles with a sidelong sweep that threshes the bit of shining red
+      through the water, making it irresistibly attractive to a struggling horde
+      of ravenous fish. One by one, as swiftly as the rod can be wielded, the
+      lithe forms drop off the barbless hook into the boat, till the vigorous
+      arm can no longer respond to the will of the fisherman, or the vessel will
+      hold no more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such were the goodly proportions of this first Solander whale of ours
+      that, in spite of the serious loss of the case, we made thirteen and a
+      half tuns of oil. When the fifteen huge casks containing it were stowed in
+      their final positions, they made an imposing show, inspiring all of us
+      with visions of soon being homeward bound. For the present we were,
+      perforce, idle; for the wind had set in to blow steadily and strongly
+      right up the Straits, preventing any attempts to get out while it lasted.
+      The time did not hang heavy on our hands, for the surrounding country
+      offered many attractions, which we were allowed to take full advantage of.
+      Spearing eels and flounders at night by means of a cresset hung out over
+      the boat's bow, as she was slowly sculled up the long, shallow creeks, was
+      a favourite form of amusement. Mr. Cross, the resident, kindly allowed us
+      to raid his garden, where the ripe fruit was rotting by the bushel for
+      want of consumers. We needed no pressing; for fruit, since we left Vau
+      Vau, of any kind had not come in our way; besides, these were "homey"&mdash;currants,
+      gooseberries, strawberries&mdash;delightful to see, smell, and taste. So
+      it came to pass that we had a high old time, unmarred by a single
+      regrettable incident, until, after an enforced detention of twenty days,
+      we were able to get to sea again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Halfway down the Straits we sighted the CHANCE, all hands ripping the
+      blubber off a sizeable whale in the same "anyhow" fashion as they handled
+      their ship. They were in high glee, giving us a rousing cheer as we passed
+      them on our westward course. Arriving on the ground, we found a goodly
+      company of fine ships, which I could not help thinking too many for so
+      small an area. During our absence, the TAMERLANE had been joined by the
+      ELIZA ADAMS, the MATILDA SAYER, the CORAL, and the RAINBOW; and it was
+      evident that no whale venturing within the radius of the Solander in the
+      daytime would stand much chance of escaping such a battery of eager eyes.
+      Only three days elapsed after our arrival when whales were seen. For the
+      first time, I realized how numerous those gigantic denizens of the sea
+      really are. As far as the eye could reach, extending all round one-half of
+      the horizon, the sea appeared to be alive with spouts&mdash;all sperm
+      whales, all bulls of great size. The value of this incredible school must
+      have been incalculable. Subsequent experience satisfied me that such a
+      sight was by no means uncommon here; in fact, "lone whales" or small
+      "pods" were quite the exception.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Well, we all "waded in," getting, some two, some one whale apiece,
+      according to the ability of the crews or the fortune of war. Only one fell
+      to our lot in the CACHALOT, but it was just as well. We had hardly, got
+      him fast by the fluke alongside when it began to pipe up from the
+      north-east. In less than one watch the sea was fairly smoking with the
+      fierceness of the wind. We were unable to get in anywhere, being, with a
+      whale alongside, about as handy as a barge loaded with a haystack; while
+      those unfortunate beggars that had two whales fast to them were utterly
+      helpless as far as independent locomotion went, unless they could run dead
+      before the wind. Every ship made all snug aloft, and hoisted the boats to
+      the top notch of the cranes, fully anticipating a long, hard struggle with
+      the elements before they got back to the cruising ground again. Cutting-in
+      was out of the question in such weather; the only thing possible was to
+      hope for a shift of wind before she got too far out, or a break in the
+      weather. Neither of these events was probable, as all frequenters of South
+      New Zealand know, bad weather having there an unhappy knack of being as
+      persistent as fine weather is brief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Night drew on as our forlorn and heavily handicapped little fleet bore
+      steadily seaward with their burdens, the angry, ever-increasing sea,
+      battering at us vengefully, while the huge carcasses alongside tore and
+      strained at their fastenings as if they would rend the ships asunder.
+      Slowly our companions faded from sight as the murky sky shut down on us,
+      until in lonely helplessness we drifted on our weary way out into the
+      vast, inhospitable Southern Ocean. Throughout the dark and stormy night
+      our brave old ship held on her unwilling way right gallantly, making no
+      water, in spite of the fearful strain to which she was subjected, nor
+      taking any heavy sea over all. Morning broke cheerlessly enough. No
+      abatement in the gale or change in its direction; indeed, it looked like
+      lasting a month. Only one ship was visible far to leeward of us, and she
+      was hull down. Our whale was beginning to swell rapidly, already floating
+      at least three feet above the surface instead of just awash, as when newly
+      killed. The skipper eyed it gloomily, seeing the near prospect of its
+      entire loss, but he said nothing. In fact, very little was said; but the
+      stories we had heard in the Bay of Islands came back to us with
+      significant force now that their justification was so apparent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hour after hour went by without any change whatever, except in the whale,
+      which, like some gradually filling balloon, rose higher and higher, till
+      at nightfall its bulk was appalling. All through the night those on deck
+      did little else but stare at its increasing size, which when morning
+      dawned again, was so great that the animal's bilge rode level with the
+      ship's rail, while in her lee rolls it towered above the deck like a
+      mountain. The final scene with it was now a question of minutes only, so
+      most of us, fascinated by the strange spectacle, watched and waited.
+      Suddenly, with a roar like the bursting of a dam, the pent-up gases tore
+      their furious way out of the distended carcass, hurling the entrails in
+      one horrible entanglement widespread over the sea. It was well for us that
+      it was to leeward and a strong gale howling; for even then the unutterable
+      foetor wrought its poisonous way back through that fierce, pure blast,
+      permeating every nook of the ship with its filthy vapour till the stoutest
+      stomach there protested in unmistakable terms against such vile treatment.
+      Knowing too well that the blubber was now worthless, the skipper gave
+      orders to cut the corrupt mass adrift. This was speedily effected by a few
+      strokes of a spade through the small. Away went eight hundred pounds'
+      worth of oil&mdash;another sacrifice to the exigencies of the Solander,
+      such as had gained for it so evil a reputation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Doubtless a similar experience had befallen all the other ships, so that
+      the aggregate loss must have run into thousands of pounds, every penny of
+      which might have been saved had steam been available.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That gale lasted, with a few short lulls, for five days longer. When at
+      last it took off, and was succeeded by fine weather, we were so far to the
+      southward that we might have fetched the Aucklands in another twenty-four
+      hours. But, to our great relief, a strong southerly breeze set in, before
+      which, under every rag of canvas, we sped north again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Steady and reliable as ever, that good south wind carried us back to our
+      old cruising ground ere it blew itself out, and we resumed our usual
+      tactics as if nothing had happened, being none the worse as regards
+      equipment for our adventures. Not so fortunate our companions, who at the
+      same time as ourselves were thrust out into the vast Southern Ocean,
+      helplessly burdened and exposed defenceless to all the ferocity of that
+      devouring gale, Two of them were here prowling about, showing evident
+      signs of their conflict in the battered state of their hulls. The glaring
+      whiteness of new planking in many places along the bulwarks told an
+      eloquent story of seas bursting on board carrying all before them, while
+      empty cranes testified to the loss of a boat in both of them. As soon as
+      we came near enough, "gamming" commenced, for all of us were anxious to
+      know how each other had fared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As we anticipated, every whale was lost that had been caught that day. The
+      disappointment was in nowise lessened by the knowledge that, with his
+      usual good fortune Captain Gilroy had not only escaped all the bad
+      weather, but while we were being threshed within an inch of our lives down
+      in the bitter south, he was calmly trying-out his whale (which we had seen
+      him with on our outward journey) in the sheltered haven of Port William.
+      Many and deep were the curses bestowed upon him by the infuriated crews of
+      those two ships, although he had certainly done them no harm. But the
+      sight of other people's good fortune is gall and wormwood to a vast number
+      of people, who seem to take it as a personal injury done to themselves.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Only two days elapsed, however, before we again saw an immense school of
+      sperm whales, and each ship succeeded in securing one. We made no attempt
+      to get more this time, nor do I think either of the others did; at any
+      rate, one each was the result of the day's work. They were, as usual, of
+      huge size and apparently very fat. At the time we secured our fish
+      alongside, a fresh north-westerly wind was blowing, the weather being
+      clear and beautiful as heart could wish. But instead of commencing at once
+      to cut-in, Captain Count gave orders to pile on all sail and keep her away
+      up the Straits. He was evidently determined to take no more chances, but,
+      whenever opportunity offered, to follow the example set by the wily old
+      skipper of the CHANCE. The other ships both started to cut-in at once,
+      tempted, doubtless, by the settled appearance of the weather, and also
+      perhaps from their hardly concealed dislike of going into port. We bowled
+      along at a fine rate, towing our prize, that plunged and rolled by our
+      side in eccentric style, almost as if still alive. Along about midnight we
+      reached Saddle Point, where there was some shelter from the sea which
+      rolled up the wide open strait, and there we anchored.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Leaving me and a couple of Kanakas on watch, the captain, and all hands
+      besides, went below for a little sleep. My instructions were to call the
+      captain if the weather got at all ugly-looking, so that we might run in to
+      Port William at once, but he did not wish to do so if our present position
+      proved sufficiently sheltered. He had not been below an hour before there
+      was a change for the worse. That greasy, filmy haze was again drawn over
+      the clear blue of the sky, and the light scud began to fly overhead at an
+      alarmingly rapid rate. So at four bells I called him again. He came on
+      deck at once, and after one look round ordered the hands up to man the
+      windlass. By eight bells (four a.m.) we were rounding the frowning rocks
+      at the entrance of Port William, and threading our way between the
+      closely-set, kelp-hidden dangers as if it were broadest, dearest daylight.
+      At 4.30 we let go the anchor again, and all hands, except the regular
+      "anchor-watch," bolted below to their bunks again like so many rabbits.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was very comfortable, cutting-in a sperm whale in harbour, after the
+      dire difficulty of performing the same operation in a seaway. And,
+      although it may seem strange, this was the first occasion that voyage that
+      I had had a really good opportunity of closely studying the whale's
+      anatomy. Consequently the work was exceedingly interesting, and, in spite
+      of the labour involved, I was almost sorry when the job was done. Under
+      the present favourable circumstances we were ready to cut the carcass
+      adrift shortly after midday, the head, of course, having been taken off
+      first. Just after we started to cut-in a boat appeared alongside with six
+      Maories and half-breeds on board. Their leader came up and civilly asked
+      the skipper whether he intended doing anything with the carcass. Upon
+      being promptly answered in the negative, he said that he and his
+      companions proposed hooking on to the great mass when we cut it adrift,
+      towing it ashore, and getting out of it what oil we had been unable to
+      extract, which at sea is always lost to the ship. He also suggested that
+      he would be prepared to take reasonable terms for such oil, which we
+      should be able to mingle with ours to our advantage. An arrangement was
+      speedily arrived at to give him L20 per tun for whatever oil he made. They
+      parted on the best of terms with each other, and as soon as we cut the
+      carcass loose the Maories made fast, to it, speedily beaching it in a
+      convenient spot near where they had previously erected a most primitive
+      try-works.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That afternoon, after the head was inboard, the skipper thought he would
+      go ashore and see how they were getting on. I was so fortunate as to be
+      able to accompany him. When we arrived at the spot, we found them working
+      as I have never seen men work, except perhaps the small riggers that at
+      home take a job&mdash;three or four of them&mdash;to bend or unbend a big
+      ship's sails for a lump sum to be paid when the work is done. They
+      attacked the carcass furiously, as if they had a personal enmity against
+      it, chopping through the massive bones and rending off huge lumps of the
+      flesh with marvellous speed. They had already laid open the enormous
+      cavity of the abdomen, and were stripping the interminable intestines of
+      their rich coating of fat. In the maw there were, besides a large quantity
+      of dismembered squid of great size, a number of fish, such as rock-cod,
+      barracouta, schnapper, and the like, whose presence there was a revelation
+      to me. How in the name of wonder so huge and unwieldy a creature as the
+      cachalot could manage to catch those nimble members of the finny tribe, I
+      could not for the life of me divine! Unless&mdash;and after much
+      cogitation it was the only feasible explanation that I could see&mdash;as
+      the cachalot swims about with his lower jaw hanging down in its normal
+      position, and his huge gullet gaping like some submarine cavern, the fish
+      unwittingly glide down it, to find egress impossible. This may or may not
+      be the case; but I, at any rate, can find no more reasonable theory, for
+      it is manifestly absurd to suppose the whale capable of CATCHING fish in
+      the ordinary sense, indicating pursuit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Every part of the animal yielded oil. Even the bones, broken up into
+      pieces capable of entering the pot, were boiled; and by the time we had
+      finished our trying-out, the result of the Maories' labour was ready for
+      us. Less than a week had sufficed to yield them a net sum of six guineas
+      each, even at the very low rate for which they sold us the oil. Except
+      that it was a little darker in colour, a defect that would disappear when
+      mixed with our store, there was no difference between the products that
+      could be readily detected. And at the price we paid for it, there was a
+      clear profit of cent. per cent., even had we kept it separate and sold it
+      for what it was. But I suppose it was worth the Maories' while thus to
+      dispose of it and quickly realize their hard earnings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So far, our last excursion had been entirely satisfactory. We had not
+      suffered any loss or endured any hardship; and if only such comfortable
+      proceedings were more frequent, the Solander ground would not have any
+      terrors for us at least. But one afternoon there crept in around the
+      eastern horn of the harbour three forlorn and half-dismantled vessels,
+      whose weather-worn crews looked wistfully at us engaged in clearing up
+      decks and putting away gear upon the finishing of our trying-out. Poor
+      fellows! they had seen rough times since that unforgettable evening when
+      we parted from them at the other end of the island, and watched them
+      slowly fade into the night. Two of them were so badly damaged that no
+      further fishing was possible for them until they had undergone a thorough
+      refit, such as they could not manage there. One was leaking badly, the
+      tremendous strain put upon her hull in the vain attempt to hold on to the
+      two whales she had during the gale having racked her almost all to pieces.
+      The third one was still capable of taking the ground again, with sundry
+      repairs such as could be effected by her crew. But the general feeling
+      among all three crews was that there was more loss than gain to be
+      expected here, in spite of the multitude of whales visiting the place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As if to fill up their cup, in came the old CHANCE again, this time with a
+      whale on each side. Captain Gilroy was on the house aft, his chubby red
+      face in a ruddy glow of delight, and his crew exuberant. When he passed
+      the American ships, as he was bound to do very closely, the sight of their
+      scowling faces seemed to afford him the most exquisite amusement, and he
+      laughed loud and long. His crew, on the impulse of the moment, sprang to
+      the rail and cheered with might and main. No one could gainsay that they
+      had good reason, but I really feared for a time that we should have
+      "ructions," As Paddy said, it was not wise or dignified for those officers
+      to be so angry with him on account of his success, which he frankly owned
+      was due almost entirely to the local knowledge he possessed, gained in
+      many years' study of the immediate neighbourhood. He declared that, as far
+      as the technical duties of whale-fishing went, all the Americans could
+      beat him hollow; but they ought to realize that something else was needed
+      here which no man could hope to have unless he were content to remain on
+      the coast altogether. With which words of wisdom our skipper cordially
+      agreed, bearing in mind his own exploits in the bygone time around those
+      rugged shores.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The strong breeze which brought Paddy and his whales home died down that
+      night, enabling us to start for the grounds again&mdash;a concession
+      gratefully received, for not the least of the hindrances felt there was
+      the liability to be "wind-bound" for a long time, while fine weather was
+      prevailing at the fishing grounds.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We made a fine passage down the Straits with a leading wind, finding our
+      two late companions still cruising, having managed to get their whales
+      aboard without mishap, and being somewhat inclined to chaff our old man
+      for running in. He gave a wink full of wisdom, as he replied, "I'm pretty
+      ole whale myself naouw; but I guess I ain't too old to learn; 'n wut I
+      learn I'm goin' ter use. See?" Of course the fine weather did not last
+      long&mdash;it never does; and seeing the gloomy masses of violet-edged
+      cumuli piling up on the southern horizon, we hugged the Solander Rock
+      itself pretty close, nor ventured far to seaward. Our two consorts, on the
+      contrary, kept well out and on the northern verge, as if they intended the
+      next gale that blew to get north, IF they could. The old man's object in
+      thus keeping in was solely in order that he might be able to run for
+      shelter; but, much to his delight and certainly surprise, as we passed
+      about a mile to the southward of the lonely, towering crags of the great
+      rock, there came from aloft the welcome cry of "Sperm whale!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was only one, and he was uncomfortably near the rock; but such a
+      splendid chance was not to be missed, if our previous training was of any
+      avail. There was some speculation as to what he could be doing so close
+      inshore, contrary to the habit of this animal, who seems to be only
+      comfortable when in deep waters; but except a suggestion that perhaps he
+      had come in to scrape off an extra accumulation of barnacles, nobody could
+      arrive at any definite conclusion. When we reached him, we found a
+      frightful blind swell rolling, and it needed all our seamanship to handle
+      the boats so that they should not be capsized. Fortunately, the huge
+      rollers did not break, or we should hardly have got back safely, whale or
+      no whale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two irons were planted in him, of which he took not the slightest notice.
+      We had taken in sail before closing in to him on account of the swell, so
+      that we had only to go in and finish him at once, if he would let us.
+      Accordingly, we went in with a will, but for all sign of life he showed he
+      might as well have been stuffed. There he lay, lazily spouting, the blood
+      pouring, or rather spirting, from his numerous wounds, allowing us to add
+      to their number at our pleasure, and never moving his vast body, which was
+      gently swayed by the rolling sea. Seeing him thus quiescent, the mate sent
+      the other two boats back to the ship with the good news, which the captain
+      received with a grave smile of content, proceeding at once to bring the
+      ship as near as might be consistent with her safety. We were now
+      thoroughly sheltered from sight of the other ships by the enormous mass of
+      the island, so that they had no idea of our proceedings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Finding that it was not wise to take the ship in any closer, while we were
+      yet some distance from our prize, a boat was sent to Mr. Cruce with the
+      instructions that he was to run his line from the whale back to the ship,
+      if the creature was dead. He (the mate) replied that the whale died as
+      quietly as he had taken his wounds, and immediately started for the ship.
+      When he had paid out all his line, another boat bent on, until we got the
+      end on board. Then we merrily walked him up alongside, while sufficient
+      sail was kept drawing to prevent her being set in any nearer. When he was
+      fast, we crowded on all canvas to get away; for although the sea was deep
+      close up to the cliff, that swell was a very ugly feature, and one which
+      has been responsible for the loss of a great number of ships in such
+      places all over the world. Notwithstanding all our efforts, we did get so
+      near that every detail of the rock was clearly visible to the naked eye,
+      and we had some anxious minutes while the old ship, rolling tremendously,
+      crawled inch after inch along the awful side of that sea-encircled
+      pyramid.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At one point there was quite a cave, the floor of which would be some
+      twenty feet above high-water mark, and its roof about the same distance
+      higher. It appeared to penetrate some distance into the bowels of the
+      mountain, and was wide and roomy. Sea-birds in great numbers hovered
+      around its entrance, finding it, no doubt, an ideal nesting-place. It
+      appeared quite inaccessible, for even with a perfect calm the swell dashed
+      against the perpendicular face of the cliff beneath with a force that
+      would have instantly destroyed any vessel unfortunate enough to get within
+      its influence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Slowly, slowly we forged past the danger; but the moment we opened out the
+      extremity of the island, a fresh breeze, like a saving hand, swept across
+      the bows, filling the head-sails and swinging the old vessel away from the
+      island in grand style. Another minute, and the other sails filled also. We
+      were safe, all hands breathing freely once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the wind hung far round to the eastward&mdash;far enough to frustrate
+      any design we might have had of going up the Straits again. The old man,
+      however, was too deeply impressed with the paramount necessity of shelter
+      to lightly give up the idea of getting in somewhere; so he pointed her for
+      Preservation Inlet, which was only some thirty miles under her lee. We
+      crowded all sail upon her in the endeavour to get in before nightfall,
+      this unusual proceeding bringing our two friends up from to leeward with a
+      run to see what we were after. Burdened as we were, they sailed nearly two
+      knots to our one, and consequently intercepted us some while before we
+      neared our port. Great was their surprise to find we had a whale, and very
+      anxious their queries as to where the rest of the school had gone.
+      Reassured that they had lost nothing by not being nearer, it being a
+      "lone" whale, off they went again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With all our efforts, evening was fast closing in when we entered the
+      majestic portals of Preservation Inlet, and gazed with deepest interest
+      upon its heavily wooded shores.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXVI. PADDY'S LATEST EXPLOIT
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      New Zealand is pre-eminently a country of grand harbours; but I think
+      those that are least used easily bear the palm for grandeur of scenery and
+      facility of access. The wonderful harbour, or rather series of harbours,
+      into which we were now entering for the first time, greatly resembled in
+      appearance a Norwegian fjord, not only in the character of its scenery,
+      but from the interesting, if disconcerting, fact that the cliffs were so
+      steep-to that in some places no anchorage is found alongside the very land
+      itself. There are, however, many places where the best possible anchorage
+      can be obtained, so securely sheltered that a howling south-wester may be
+      tearing the sea up by the roots outside, and you will know nothing of it
+      within, except what may be surmised from the motion of the clouds
+      overhead. It was an ideal place for a whaling station, being right on the
+      Solander.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We found it exceedingly convenient, and much nearer than Port William,
+      but, from the prevailing winds, difficult of access in nine cases out of
+      ten, especially when hampered with a whale. Upon cutting-in our latest
+      catch, an easy explanation of his passive attitude was at once
+      forthcoming. He had been attacked by some whale-ship, whose irons had
+      drawn, leaving deep traces of their presence; but during the battle he had
+      received SEVEN bombs, all of which had entered around his small, but had
+      not exploded. Their general effect had been, I should think, to paralyze
+      the great muscles of his flukes, rendering him unable to travel; yet this
+      could not have taken place until some time after he had made good his
+      escape from those aggressors. It was instructive, as demonstrating what
+      amount of injury these colossi really can survive, and I have no doubt
+      that, if he had been left alone, he would have recovered his normal
+      energy, and been as well as ever. From our point of view, of course, what
+      had happened was the best possible thing, for he came almost as a gift&mdash;the
+      second capture we had made on these grounds of a like nature.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the close of our operations the welcome news was made public that four
+      more fish like the present one would fill us bung-up, and that we should
+      then, after a brief visit to the Bluff, start direct for home. This
+      announcement, though expected for some time past, gave an amazing fillip
+      to everybody's interest in the work. The strange spectacle was witnessed
+      of all hands being anxious to quit a snug harbour for the sea, where
+      stern, hard wrestling with the elements was the rule. The captain, well
+      pleased with the eagerness manifested, had his boat manned for a trip to
+      the entrance of the harbour, to see what the weather was like outside,
+      since it was not possible to judge from where the ship lay. On his return,
+      he reported the weather rough, but moderating, and announced his intention
+      of weighing at daylight next morning. Satisfied that our days in the
+      southern hemisphere were numbered, and all anxiety to point her head for
+      home, this news was most pleasing, putting all of us in the best of
+      humours, and provoking quite an entertainment of song and dance until
+      nearly four bells.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the grey of dawn the anchor was weighed. There was no breath of
+      wind from any quarter, so that it was necessary to lower boats and tow the
+      old girl out to her field of duty. Before she was fairly clear of the
+      harbour, though, there came a "snifter" from the hills that caught her
+      unprepared, making her reel again, and giving us a desperate few minutes
+      to scramble on board and hoist our boats up. As we drew out from the land,
+      we found that a moderate gale was blowing, but the sky was clear,
+      fathomless blue, the sun rose kindly, a heavenly dream of soft delicate
+      colour preceding him; so that, in spite of the strong breeze, all looked
+      promising for a good campaign. At first no sign could be seen of any of
+      the other ships, though we looked long and eagerly for them. At last we
+      saw them, four in all, nearly hull down to seaward, but evidently coming
+      in under press of sail. So slow, however, was their approach that we had
+      made one "leg" across the ground and halfway back before they were near
+      enough for us to descry the reason of their want of speed. They had each
+      got a whale alongside, and were carrying every rag of canvas they could
+      spread, in order to get in with their prizes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our old acquaintance, the CHANCE, was there, the three others being her
+      former competitors, except those who were disabled, still lying in Port
+      William. Slowly, painfully they laboured along, until well within the
+      mouth of the Straits, when, without any warning, the wind which had been
+      bringing them in suddenly flew round into the northward, putting them at
+      once in a most perilous position. Too far within the Straits to "up helm"
+      and run for it out to sea; not far enough to get anywhere that an anchor
+      might hold; and there to leeward, within less than a dozen miles, loomed
+      grim and gloomy one of the most terrific rock-bound coasts in the world.
+      The shift of wind had placed the CHANCE farther to leeward than all the
+      rest, a good mile and a half nearer the shore; and we could well imagine
+      how anxiously her movements were being watched by the others, who, in
+      spite of their jealousy of his good luck, knew well and appreciated fully
+      Paddy's marvellous seamanship, as well as his unparalleled knowledge of
+      the coast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Having no whale to hamper our movements, besides being well to windward of
+      them all, we were perfectly comfortable as long as we kept to seaward of a
+      certain line and the gale was not too fierce, so for the present all our
+      attention was concentrated upon the labouring ships to leeward. The
+      intervention of the land to windward kept the sea from rising to the awful
+      height it attains under the pressure of a westerly, or a south-westerly
+      gale, when, gathering momentum over an area extending right round the
+      globe, it hurls itself upon those rugged shores. Still, it was bad enough.
+      The fact of the gale striking across the regular set of the swell and
+      current had the effect of making the sea irregular, short, and broken,
+      which state of things is considered worse, as far as handling the ship
+      goes, than a much heavier, longer, but more regular succession of waves.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the devoted craft drifted helplessly down upon that frowning barrier,
+      our excitement grew intense. Their inability to do anything but drift was
+      only too well known by experience to every one of us, nor would it be
+      possible for them to escape at all if they persisted in holding on much
+      longer. And it was easy to see why they did so. While Paddy held on so far
+      to leeward of them, and consequently in so much more imminent danger than
+      they were, it would be derogatory in the highest degree to their
+      reputation for seamanship and courage were they to slip and run before he
+      did. He, however, showed no sign of doing so, although they all neared,
+      with an accelerated drift, that point from whence no seamanship could
+      deliver them, and where death inevitable, cruel, awaited them without hope
+      of escape. The part of the coast upon which they were apparently driving
+      was about as dangerous and impracticable as any in the world. A gigantic
+      barrier of black, naked rock, extending for several hundred yards, rose
+      sheer from the sea beneath, like the side of an ironclad, up to a height
+      of seven or eight hundred feet. No outlying spurs of submerged fragments
+      broke the immeasurable landward rush of the majestic waves towards the
+      frowning face of this world-fragment. Fresh from their source, with all
+      the impetus accumulated in their thousand-mile journey, they came
+      apparently irresistible. Against this perpendicular barrier they hurled
+      themselves with a shock that vibrated far inland, and a roar that rose in
+      a dominating diapason over the continuous thunder of the tempest-riven
+      sea. High as was the summit of the cliff, the spray, hurled upwards by the
+      tremendous impact, rose higher, so that the whole front of the great rock
+      was veiled in filmy wreaths of foam, hiding its solidity from the seaward
+      view. At either end of this vast, rampart nothing could be seen but a
+      waste of breakers seething, hissing, like the foot of Niagara, and
+      effectually concealing the CHEVAUX DE FRISE of rocks which produced such a
+      vortex of tormented waters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Towards this dreadful spot, then, the four vessels were being resistlessly
+      driven, every moment seeing their chances of escape lessening to
+      vanishing-point. Suddenly, as if panic-stricken, the ship nearest to the
+      CHANCE gave a great sweep round on to the other tack, a few fluttering
+      gleams aloft showing that even in that storm they were daring to set some
+      sail. What the manoeuvre meant we knew very well&mdash;they had cut adrift
+      from their whale, terrified at last beyond endurance into the belief that
+      Paddy was going to sacrifice himself and his crew in the attempt to lure
+      them with him to inevitable destruction. The other two did not hesitate
+      longer. The example once set, they immediately followed; but it was for
+      some time doubtful in the extreme whether their resolve was not taken too
+      late to save them from destruction. We watched them with breathless
+      interest, unable for a long time to satisfy ourselves that they were out
+      of danger. But at last we saw them shortening sail again&mdash;a sure sign
+      that they considered themselves, while the wind held in the same quarter,
+      safe from going ashore at any rate, although there was still before them
+      the prospect of a long struggle with the unrelenting ferocity of the
+      weather down south.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile, what of the daring Irishman and his old barrel of a ship? The
+      fugitives once safe off the land, all our interest centred in the CHANCE.
+      We watched her until she drew in so closely to the seething cauldron of
+      breakers that it was only occasionally we could distinguish her outline;
+      and the weather was becoming so thick and dirty, the light so bad, that we
+      were reluctantly compelled to lose sight of her, although the skipper
+      believed that he saw her in the midst of the turmoil of broken water at
+      the western end of the mighty mass of perpendicular cliff before
+      described. Happily for us, the wind veered to the westward, releasing us
+      from the prospect of another enforced visit to the wild regions south of
+      the island. It blew harder than ever; but being now a fair wind up the
+      Straits, we fled before it, anchoring again in Port William before
+      midnight. Here we were compelled to remain for a week; for after the gale
+      blew itself out, the wind still hung in the same quarter, refusing to
+      allow us to get back again to our cruising station.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But on the second day of our enforced detention a ship poked her jibboom
+      round the west end of the little bay. No words could describe our
+      condition of spellbound astonishment when she rounded-to, cumbrously as
+      befitting a ship towing a whale, and revealed to us the well-remembered
+      outlines of the old CHANCE. It was like welcoming the first-fruits of the
+      resurrection; for who among sailor men, having seen a vessel disappear
+      from their sight, as we had, under such terrible conditions, would ever
+      have expected to see her again? She was hardly anchored before our skipper
+      was alongside, thirsting to satisfy his unbounded curiosity as to the
+      unheard-of means whereby she had escaped such apparently inevitable
+      destruction. I was fortunate enough to accompany him, and hear the story
+      at first-hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It appeared that none of the white men on board, except the redoubtable
+      Paddy himself, had ever been placed in so seemingly hopeless and desperate
+      a position before. Yet when they saw how calm and free from anxiety their
+      commander was, how cool and business-like the attitude of all their dusky
+      shipmates, their confidence in his ability and resourcefulness kept its
+      usual high level. It must be admitted that the test such feelings were
+      then subjected to was of the severest, for to their eyes no possible
+      avenue of escape was open. Along that glaring line of raging, foaming
+      water not a break occurred, not the faintest indication of an opening
+      anywhere wherein even so experienced a pilot as Paddy might thrust a ship.
+      The great black wall of rock loomed up by their side, grim and pitiless as
+      doom&mdash;a very door of adamant closed against all hope. Nearer and
+      nearer they drew, until the roar of the baffled Pacific was deafening,
+      maddening, in its overwhelming volume of chaotic sound. All hands stood
+      motionless, with eyes fixed in horrible fascination upon the indescribable
+      vortex to which they were being irresistibly driven.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last, just as the fringes of the back-beaten billows hissed up to greet
+      them, they felt her motion ease. Instinctively looking aft, they saw the
+      skipper coolly wave his hand, signing to them to trim the yards. As they
+      hauled on the weather braces, she plunged through the maelstrom of
+      breakers, and before they had got the yards right round they were on the
+      other side of that enormous barrier, the anchor was dropped, and all was
+      still. The vessel rested, like a bird on her nest, in a deep, still tarn,
+      shut in, to all appearance, on every side by huge rock barriers. Of the
+      furious storm but a moment before howling and raging all around them,
+      nothing remained but an all-pervading, thunderous hum, causing the deck to
+      vibrate beneath them, and high overhead the jagged, leaden remnants of
+      twisted, tortured cloud whirling past their tiny oblong of sky. Just a
+      minute's suspension of all faculties but wonder, then, in one spontaneous,
+      heartfelt note of genuine admiration, all hands burst into a cheer that
+      even overtopped the mighty rumble of the baffled sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here they lay, perfectly secure, and cut in their whale as if in dock;
+      then at the first opportunity they ran out, with fearful difficulty, a
+      kedge with a whale-line attached, by which means they warped the vessel
+      out of her hiding-place&mdash;a far more arduous operation than getting in
+      had been. But even this did not exhaust the wonders of that occasion. They
+      had hardly got way upon her, beginning to draw out from the land, when the
+      eagle-eye of one of the Maories detected the carcass of a whale rolling
+      among the breakers about half a mile to the westward. Immediately a boat
+      was lowered, a double allowance of line put into her, and off they went to
+      the valuable flotsam. Dangerous in the highest degree was the task of
+      getting near enough to drive harpoons into the body; but it was
+      successfully accomplished, the line run on board, and the prize hauled
+      triumphantly alongside. This was the whale they had now brought in. We
+      shrewdly suspected that it must have been one of those abandoned by the
+      unfortunate vessels who had fled, but etiquette forbade us saying anything
+      about it. Even had it been, another day would have seen it valueless to
+      any one, for it was by no means otto of roses to sniff at now, while they
+      had certainly salved it at the peril of their lives.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When we returned on board and repeated the story, great was the amazement.
+      Such a feat of seamanship was almost beyond belief; but we were shut up to
+      believing, since in no other way could the vessel's miraculous escape be
+      accounted for. The little, dumpy, red-faced figure, rigged like any
+      scarecrow, that now stood on his cutting-stage, punching away vigorously
+      at the fetid mass of blubber beneath him, bore no outward visible sign of
+      a hero about him; but in our eyes he was transfigured&mdash;a being to be
+      thought of reverently, as one who in all those dualities that go to the
+      making of a man had proved himself of the seed royal, a king of men, all
+      the more kingly because unconscious that his deeds were of so exalted an
+      order.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I am afraid that, to a landsman, my panegyric may smack strongly of gush,
+      for no one but a seaman can rightly appraise such doings as these; but I
+      may be permitted to say that, when I think of men whom I feel glad to have
+      lived to know, foremost among them rises the queer little figure of Paddy
+      Gilroy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXVII. PORT PEGASUS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The wind still holding steadily in the old quarter, our skipper got very
+      restless. He recalled his former exploits, and, firing at the thought,
+      decided then and there to have a trip round to Port Pegasus, in the hope
+      that he might meet with some of his former good luck in the vicinity of
+      that magnificent bay. With the greatest alacrity we obeyed his summons,
+      handling the old barky as if she were a small boat, and the same morning,
+      for the first time, ran out of the Straits to the eastward past Ruapuke
+      Island. Beautiful weather prevailed, making our trip a delightful one, the
+      wonderful scenery of that coast appealing to even the most callous or
+      indifferent among us. We hugged the land closely, the skipper being
+      familiar with all of it in a general way, so that none of its beauties
+      were lost to us. The breeze holding good, by nightfall we had reached our
+      destination, anchoring in the north arm near a tumbling cascade of
+      glittering water that looked like a long feather laid on the dark-green
+      slope of the steep hill from which it gushed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had not been long at anchor before we had visitors&mdash;half-breed
+      Maories, who, like the Finns and Canadians, are farmers, fishermen,
+      sailors, and shipwrights, as necessity arises. They brought us potatoes&mdash;most
+      welcome of all fruit to the sailor&mdash;cabbages, onions, and "mutton
+      birds." This latter delicacy is a great staple of their flesh food, but is
+      one of the strangest dishes imaginable. When it is being cooked in the
+      usual way, i.e. by grilling, it smells exactly like a piece of roasting
+      mutton; but it tastes, to my mind, like nothing else in the world so much
+      as a kippered herring. There is a gastronomical paradox, if you like. Only
+      the young birds are taken for eating. They are found, when unfledged, in
+      holes of the rocks, and weigh sometimes treble as much as their parents.
+      They are exceedingly fat; but this substance is nearly all removed from
+      their bodies before they are hung up in the smoke-houses. They are split
+      open like a haddock, and carefully smoked, after being steeped in brine.
+      Baskets, something like exaggerated strawberry pottles of the old conical
+      shape, are prepared, to hold each about a dozen birds. They are lined with
+      leaves, then packed with the birds, the melted fat being run into all the
+      interstices until the basket is full. The top is then neatly tied up with
+      more leaves, and, thus preserved, the contents will keep in cool weather
+      an indefinite length of time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Captain Count was soon recognized by some of his old friends, who were
+      delighted to welcome him again. Their faces fell, however, when he told
+      them that his stay was to be very brief, and that he only required four
+      good-sized fish to fill up. Inquiry as to the prevalence of sperm whales
+      in the vicinity elicited the news that they were as plentiful as they had
+      ever been&mdash;if anything, more so, since the visits of the whalers had
+      become fewer. There were a couple of "bay" whaling stations existing; but,
+      of course, their success could not be expected to be great among the
+      cachalots, who usually keep a respectful distance from harbours, while
+      they had driven the right whales away almost entirely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No one could help being struck by the manly bearing, splendid physique,
+      and simple manners of the inhabitants. If ever it falls to the lot of any
+      one, as I hope it will, to establish a sperm whale fishery in these
+      regions, there need be no lack of workers while such grand specimens of
+      manhood abound there as we saw&mdash;all, moreover, fishermen and whalers
+      from their earliest days.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We did not go far afield, but hovered within ten or fifteen miles of the
+      various entrances, so as not to be blown off the land in case of sudden
+      bad weather. Even with that timid offing, we were only there two days,
+      when an enormous school of sperm whales hove in sight. I dare not say how
+      many I believe there were, and my estimate really might be biassed; but
+      this I know, that in no given direction could one look to seaward and not
+      see many spouts.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We got among them and had a good time, being more hampered by the
+      curiosity of the unattached fish than by the pugnacity of those under our
+      immediate attention. So we killed three, and by preconcerted signal warned
+      the watchers on the lofty points ashore of our success. As speedily as
+      possible off came four boats from the shore stations, and hooked on to two
+      of our fish, while we were busy with the third. The wind being off shore,
+      what there was of it, no time was to be lost, in view of the well-known
+      untrustworthiness of the weather; so we started to cut-in at once, while
+      the shore people worked like giants to tow the other two in. Considering
+      the weakness of their forces, they made marvellous progress; but seeing
+      how terribly exhausting the toil was, one could not help wishing them one
+      of the small London tugs, familiarly known as "jackals," which would have
+      snaked those monsters along at three or four knots an hour.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      However, all went well; the usual gale did blow but not till we had got
+      the last piece aboard and a good "slant" to run in, arriving at our
+      previous moorings at midnight. In the morning the skipper went down in his
+      boat to visit the stations, and see how they had fared. Old hand as he
+      was, I think he was astonished to see what progress those fellows had made
+      with the fish. They did not reach the stations till after midnight, but
+      already they had the whales half flenched, and, by the way they were
+      working, it looked as if they would be through with their task as soon as
+      we were with ours. Their agreement with the skipper was to yield us half
+      the oil they made, and, if agreeable to them, we would take their moiety
+      at L40 per tun. Consequently they had something to work for, even though
+      there were twenty of them to share the spoil. They were a merry party,
+      eminently good tempered, and working as though one spirit animated them
+      all. If there was a leader of the band, he did his office with great
+      subtilty, for all seemed equal, nor did any appear to need directing what
+      to do. Fired by their example, we all worked our hardest; but they beat us
+      by half a day, mainly, I think, by dint of working nearly all the time
+      with scarce any interval for sleep. True, they were bound to take
+      advantage of low water when their huge prize was high and dry&mdash;to get
+      at him easily all round. Their method was of the simplest. With gaff-hooks
+      to haul back the pieces, and short-handled spades for cutting, they worked
+      in pairs, taking off square slabs of blubber about a hundredweight each.
+      As soon as a piece was cut off, the pair tackled on to it, dragging it up
+      to the pots, where the cooks hastily sliced it for boiling, interspersing
+      their labours with attention to the simmering cauldrons.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Their efforts realized twenty-four tuns of clear oil and spermaceti, of
+      which, according to bargain, we took twelve, the captain buying the other
+      twelve for L480, as previously arranged. This latter portion, however, was
+      his private venture, and not on ship's account, as he proposed selling it
+      at the Bluff, when we should call there on our way home. So that we were
+      still two whales short of our quantity. What a little space it did seem to
+      fill up! Our patience was sorely tested, when, during a whole week
+      following our last haul, we were unable to put to sea. In vain we tried
+      all the old amusements of fishing, rambling, bathing, etc.; they had lost
+      their "bite;" we wanted to get home. At last the longed-for shift of wind
+      came and set us free. We had hardly got well clear of the heads before we
+      saw a school of cachalots away on the horizon, some twelve miles off the
+      land to the southward. We made all possible sail in chase, but found, to
+      our dismay, that they were "making a passage," going at such a rate that
+      unless the wind freshened we could hardly hope to come up with them.
+      Fortunately, we had all day before us, having quitted our moorings soon
+      after daylight; and unless some unforeseen occurrence prevented us from
+      keeping up our rate of speed, the chances were that some time before dark
+      they would ease up and allow us to approach them. They were heading to the
+      westward, perhaps somewhat to the northward withal, to all appearance
+      making for the Solander. Hour after hour crawled by, while we still seemed
+      to preserve our relative distance, until we had skirted the southern shore
+      of the island and entered the area, of our old fishing ground. Two vessels
+      were cruising thereon, well to the northward, and we thought with glee of
+      the excitement that would seize them did they but gain an inkling of our
+      chase.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To our great delight, what we had hoped, but hardly dared expect, came to
+      pass. The school, as if with one impulse, hauled up on their course four
+      points, which made them head direct for the western verge of the Solander
+      ground, and&mdash;what was more important to us&mdash;made our coming up
+      with them a matter of a short time. We made the customary signals with the
+      upper sails to our friends to the northward, who recognized them
+      immediately, and bore down towards us. Not only had the school shifted
+      their course, but they had slackened speed; so that by four o'clock we
+      were able to lower for them at less than a mile distance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was an ideal whaling day&mdash;smooth water, a brisk breeze, a
+      brilliant sun, and plenty of whales. I was, as became my position, in the
+      rear when we went into action, and hardly hoped for an opportunity of
+      doing much but dance attendance upon my seniors. But fortune favoured me.
+      Before I had any idea whether the chief was fast or not, all other
+      considerations were driven clean out of my head by the unexpected
+      apparition of a colossal head, not a ship's length away, coming straight
+      for us, throwing up a swell in front of him like an ironclad. There was
+      barely time to sheer to one side, when the giant surged past us in a roar
+      of foaming sea, the flying flakes of which went right over us. Samuela was
+      "all there," though, and as the great beast passed he plunged a harpoon
+      into him with such force and vigour that the very socket entered the
+      blubber it needed all the strength I could muster, even with such an aid
+      as the nineteen-feet steer-oar, to swing the boat right round in his wake,
+      and prevent her being capsized by his headlong rush.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For, contrary to the usual practice, he paused not an instant, but rather
+      quickened his pace, as if spurred. Heavens, how he went! The mast and sail
+      had to come down&mdash;and they did, but I hardly know how. The spray was
+      blinding, coming in sheets over the bows, so that I could hardly see how
+      to steer in the monster's wake. He headed straight for the ship, which
+      lay-to almost motionless, filling me with apprehension lest he should in
+      his blind flight dash that immense mass of solid matter into her
+      broadside, and so put an inglorious end to all our hopes. What their
+      feelings on board must have been, I can only imagine, when they saw the
+      undeviating rush of the gigantic creature straight for them. On he went,
+      until I held my breath for the crash, when at the last moment, and within
+      a few feet of the ship's side, he dived, passing beneath the vessel. We
+      let go line immediately, as may be supposed; but although we had been
+      towing with quite fifty fathoms drift, our speed had been so great that we
+      came up against the old ship with a crash that very nearly finished us. He
+      did not run any further just then, but sounded for about two hundred and
+      fifty fathoms, rising to the surface in quite another mood. No more
+      running away from him. I cannot say I felt any of the fierce joy of battle
+      at the prospect before me. I had a profound respect for the fighting
+      qualities of the sperm whale, and, to tell the truth, would much rather
+      have run twenty miles behind him than have him turn to bay in his present
+      parlous humour. It was, perhaps, fortunate for me that there was a crowd
+      of witnesses, the other ships being now quite near enough to see all that
+      was going on, since the feeling that my doings were full in view of many
+      experts and veterans gave me a determination that I would not disgrace
+      either myself or my ship; besides, I felt that this would probably be our
+      last whale this voyage, if I did not fail, and that was no small thing to
+      look forward to.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All these things, so tedious in the telling, flashed through my mind,
+      while, with my eyes glued to the huge bulk of my antagonist or the hissing
+      vortices above him when he settled, I manoeuvred my pretty craft with all
+      the skill I could summon. For what seemed a period of about twenty minutes
+      we dodged him as he made the ugliest rushes at us. I had not yet changed
+      ends with Samuela, as customary, for I felt it imperative to keep the helm
+      while this game was being played. My trusty Kanaka, however, had a lance
+      ready, and I knew, if he only got the ghost of a chance, no man living
+      would or could make better use of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole affair was growing monotonous as well as extremely wearying.
+      Perhaps I was a little off my guard; at any rate, my heart almost leaped
+      into my mouth when just after an ugly rush past us, which I thought had
+      carried him to a safe distance, he stopped dead, lifted his flukes, and
+      brought them down edgeways with a vicious sweep that only just missed the
+      boat's gunwale and shore off the two oars on that side as if they had been
+      carrots. This serious disablement would certainly have led to disaster but
+      for Samuela. Prompt and vigorous, he seized the opportune moment when the
+      whale's side was presented just after the blow, sending his lance
+      quivering home all its length into the most vital part of the leviathan's
+      anatomy. Turning his happy face to me, he shouted exultingly, "How's dat
+      fer high?"&mdash;a bit of slang he had picked up, and his use of which
+      never failed to make me smile. "High" it was indeed&mdash;a master-stroke.
+      It must have pierced the creature's heart, for he immediately began to
+      spout blood in masses, and without another wound went into his flurry and
+      died.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then came the reaction. I must have exerted myself beyond what I had any
+      idea of, for to Samuela I was obliged to delegate the task of
+      fluke-boring, while I rested a little. The ship was soon alongside,
+      though, and the whale secured. There was more yet to be done before we
+      could rest, in spite of our fatigue. The other boats had been so
+      successful that they had got two big fish, and what we were to do with
+      them was a problem not easily solvable. By dint of great exertion, we
+      managed to get another whale alongside, but were fain to come to some
+      arrangement with the ELIZA ADAMS, one of the ships that had been
+      unsuccessful, to take over our other whale on an agreement to render us
+      one-third of the product either in Port William or at home, if she should
+      not find us is the former place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Behold us, then, in the gathering dusk with a whale on either side, every
+      stitch of canvas we could show set and drawing, straining every nerve to
+      get into the little port again, with the pleasant thought that we were
+      bringing with us all that was needed to complete our well-earned cargo.
+      Nobody wanted to go below; all hands felt that it was rest enough to hang
+      over the rail on either side and watch the black masses as they surged
+      through the gleaming sea. They represented so much to us. Very little was
+      said, but all hearts were filled with a deep content, a sense of a long
+      season of toil fitly crowned with complete success; nor was any depression
+      felt at the long, long stretch of stormy ocean between us and our home
+      port far away in the United States. That would doubtless come by-and-by,
+      when within less than a thousand miles of New Bedford; but at present all
+      sense of distance from home was lost in the overmastering thought that
+      soon it would be our only business to get there as quickly as possible,
+      without any avoidable loitering on the road.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We made an amazing disturbance in the darkness of the sea with our double
+      burthen, so much so that one of the coasting steamers changed her course a
+      bit to range up by our side in curiosity. We were scarcely going two and a
+      half knots, in spite of the row we made, and there was hardly room for
+      wonder at the steamboat captain's hail, "Want any assistance?" "No, thank
+      you," was promptly returned, although there was little doubt that all
+      hands would have subscribed towards a tow into port, in case the
+      treacherous weather should, after all, play us a dirty trick. But it
+      looked as if our troubles were over. No hitch occurred in our steady
+      progress, slow though it necessarily was, and as morning lifted the heavy
+      veil from the face of the land, we arrived at our pretty little haven, and
+      quietly came to an anchor. The CHANCE was in port wind-bound, looking,
+      like ourselves, pretty low in the water. No sooner did Paddy hear the news
+      of our arrival in such fine trim than he lowered his boat and hurried on
+      board of us, his face beaming with delight. Long and loud were his
+      congratulations, especially when he heard that we should now be full.
+      Moreover, he offered&mdash;nor would he take any denial&mdash;to come with
+      the whole of his crew and help us finish.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For the next four days and nights, during which the wind prevented the
+      CHANCE from leaving us, our old ship was a scene of wild revelry, that
+      ceased not through the twenty-four hours&mdash;revelry entirely unassisted
+      by strong waters, too, the natural ebullient gaiety of men who were free
+      from anxiety on any account whatever, rejoicing over the glad consummation
+      of more than two years toil, on the one hand; on the other, a splendid
+      sympathy in joy manifested by the satisfied crew under the genial command
+      of Captain Gilroy. With their cheerful help we made wonderful progress;
+      and when at last the wind hauled into a favourable quarter, and they were
+      compelled to leave us, the back of our work was broken, only the tedious
+      task of boiling being left to finish.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Never, I am sure, did two ships' companies part with more hearty good-will
+      than ours. As the ungainly old tub surged slowly out of the little
+      harbour, her worn-out and generally used-up appearance would have given a
+      Board of Trade Inspector the nightmare; the piratical looks of her crowd
+      were enough to frighten a shipload of passengers into fits; but to us who
+      had seen their performances in all weathers, and under all circumstances,
+      accidental externals had no weight in biassing our high opinion of them
+      all. Good-bye, old ship; farewell, jolly captain and sturdy crew; you will
+      never be forgotten any more by us while life lasts, and in far other and
+      more conventional scenes we shall regretfully remember the free-and-easy
+      time we shared with you. So she slipped away round the point and out of
+      our lives for ever.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By dint of steady hard work we managed to get the last of our greasy work
+      done in four days more, then faced with a will the job of stowing afresh
+      the upper tiers of casks, in view of our long journey home. The oil bought
+      by the skipper on private venture was left on deck, secured to the
+      lash-rail, for discharging at the Bluff, while our stock of water-casks
+      were carefully overhauled and recoopered prior to being stowed in their
+      places below. Of course, we had plenty of room in the hold, since no ship
+      would carry herself full of casks of oil; but I doubt whether, if we had
+      borne a "Plimsoll's mark," it would not have been totally submerged, so
+      deep did we lie. Wooding and watering came next&mdash;a different affair
+      to our casual exercises in those directions before. Provision had to be
+      made now for a possible four or five months' passage, during which we
+      hoped to avoid any further calls, so that the accumulation of firewood
+      alone was no small matter. We cleared the surrounding neighbourhood of
+      potatoes at a good price, those useful tubers being all they could supply
+      us with for sea-stock, much to their sorrow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then came the most unpleasant part of the whole business&mdash;for me. It
+      had been a part of the agreement made with the Kanakas that they were not
+      to be taken home with us, but returned to their island upon the
+      termination of the whaling. Now, the time had arrived when we were to
+      part, and I must confess that I felt very sorry to leave them. They had
+      proved docile, useful, and cheerful; while as for my harpooner and his
+      mate Polly, no man could have wished for smarter, better, or more faithful
+      helpers than they were. Strong as their desire was to return to their
+      homes, they too felt keenly the parting with us; for although they had
+      unavoidably suffered much from the inclemency of the weather&mdash;so
+      different from anything they had ever previously experienced&mdash;they
+      had been kindly treated, and had moved on precisely the same footing as
+      the rest of the crew. They wept like little children when the time arrived
+      for them to leave us, declaring that if ever we came to their island again
+      they would use all their endeavours to compel us to remain, assuring us
+      that we should want for nothing during the rest of our lives, if we would
+      but take up our abode with them. The one exception to all this cordiality
+      was Sam. His ideas were running in quite other channels. To regain his
+      lost status as ruler of the island, with all the opportunities for
+      indulging his animal propensities which such a position gave him, was the
+      problem he had set himself, and to the realization of these wishes he had
+      determinedly bent all his efforts.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus he firmly declined the offer of a passage back in the ELIZA ADAMS,
+      which our captain secured for all the Kanakas; preferring to be landed at
+      the Bluff, with the goodly sum of money to which he was entitled, saying
+      that he had important business to transact in Sydney before he returned.
+      This business, he privately informed me, was the procuring of arms and
+      ammunition wherewith to make war upon his rival. Of course we could not
+      prevent him, although it did seem an abominable thing to let loose the
+      spirit of slaughter among those light-hearted natives just to satisfy the
+      ambition of an unscrupulous negro. But, as I have before noticed, from
+      information received many years after I learned that he had been
+      successful in his efforts, though at what cost to life I do not know.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So our dusky friends left us, with a good word from every one, and went on
+      board the ELIZA ADAMS, whose captain promised to land them at Futuna,
+      within six months. How he carried out his promise, I do not know; but, for
+      the poor fellows' sakes, I trust he kept his word.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER XXVIII. TO THE BLUFF, AND HOME
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      And now the cruise of the good old whaling barque CACHALOT, as far as
+      whaling is concerned, comes to an end. For all practical purposes she
+      becomes a humdrum merchantman in haste to reach her final port of
+      discharge, and get rid of her cargo. No more will she loiter and pry
+      around anything and everything, from an island to a balk of drift-wood,
+      that comes in her way, knowing not the meaning of "waste of time." The
+      "crow's-nests" are dismantled, taut topgallant-masts sent up, and royal
+      yards crossed. As soon as we get to sea we shall turn-to and heave that
+      ancient fabric of bricks and mortar&mdash;always a queer-looking erection
+      to be cumbering a ship's deck&mdash;piecemeal over the side. It has long
+      been shaky and weather-beaten; it will soon obstruct our movements no
+      more. Our rigging has all been set up and tarred down; we have painted
+      hull and spars, and scraped wherever the wood-work is kept bright. All
+      gear belonging to whaling has been taken out of the boats, carefully
+      cleaned, oiled, and stowed away for a "full due." Two of the boats have
+      been taken inboard, and stowed bottom-up upon the gallows aft, as any
+      other merchantman carries them. At last, our multifarious preparations
+      completed, we ride ready for sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was quite in accordance with the fitness of things that, when all
+      things were now ready for our departure, there should come a change of
+      wind that threatened to hold us prisoners for some days longer. But our
+      "old man" was hard to beat, and he reckoned that, if we could only get out
+      of the "pond," he would work her across to the Bluff somehow or other. So
+      we ran out a kedge with a couple of lines to it, and warped her out of the
+      weather side of the harbour, finding, when at last we got her clear, that
+      she would lay her course across the Straits to clear Ruapuke&mdash;nearly;
+      but the current had to be reckoned with. Before we reached that
+      obstructing island we were down at the eastern end of it, and obliged to
+      anchor promptly to save ourselves from being swept down the coast many
+      miles to leeward of our port.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the skipper was quite equal to the occasion. Ordering his boat, he
+      sped away into Bluff harbour, only a matter of six or seven miles,
+      returning soon with a tug, who for a pound or two placed us, without
+      further trouble, alongside the wharf, amongst some magnificent clipper
+      ships of Messrs. Henderson's and the New Zealand Shipping Co.'s, who
+      seemed to turn up their splendid noses at the squat, dumpy, antiquated old
+      serving-mallet that dared to mingle with so august a crowd. There had been
+      a time, not so very far back, when I should have shared their apparent
+      contempt for our homely old tub; but my voyage had taught me, among other
+      things, that, as far as true comfort went at sea, not a
+      "three-skysail-yarder" among them could compare with the CACHALOT. And I
+      was extremely glad that my passage round the Horn was to be in my own
+      ship, and not in a long, snaky tank that, in the language of the sailor,
+      takes a header when she gets outside the harbour, and only comes up two or
+      three times to blow before she gets home.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our only reason for visiting this place being to discharge Captain Count's
+      oil, and procure a sea-stock of salt provisions and hard bread, these
+      duties were taken in hand at once. The skipper sold his venture of oil to
+      good advantage, being so pleased with his success that he gave us all a
+      good feed on the strength of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As soon as the stores were embarked and everything ready for sea, leave
+      was given to all hands for twenty-four hours, upon the distinct
+      understanding that the privilege was not to be abused, to the detriment of
+      everybody, who, as might be supposed, were anxious to start for home. In
+      order that there might be less temptation to go on the spree generally, a
+      grand picnic was organized to a beautiful valley some distance from the
+      town. Carriages were chartered, an enormous quantity of eatables and
+      drinkables provided, and away we went, a regular wayzgoose or bean-feast
+      party. It was such a huge success, that I have ever since wondered why
+      such outings cannot become usual among sailors on liberty abroad, instead
+      of the senseless, vicious waste of health, time, and hard-earned wages
+      which is general. But I must not let myself loose upon this theme again,
+      or we shall never get to sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Liberty over without any trouble arising, and all hands comfortably on
+      board again, the news ran round that we were to sail in the morning. So,
+      after a good night's rest, we cast loose from the wharf, and, with a
+      little assistance from the same useful tug that brought us in, got fairly
+      out to sea. All sail was set to a strong, steady north-wester, and with
+      yards canted the least bit in the world on the port tack, so that every
+      stitch was drawing, we began our long easterly stretch to the Horn,
+      homeward bound at last.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Favoured by wind and weather, we made an average run of one hundred and
+      eighty miles per day for many days, paying no attention to "great circle
+      sailing," since in such a slow ship the net gain to be secured by going to
+      a high latitude was very small, but dodging comfortably along on about the
+      parallel of 48deg. S., until it became necessary to draw down towards
+      "Cape Stiff," as that dreaded extremity of South America, Cape Horn, is
+      familiarly called by seamen. As we did so, icebergs became numerous, at
+      one time over seventy being in sight at once. Some of them were of immense
+      size&mdash;one, indeed, that could hardly be fitly described as an
+      iceberg, but more properly an ice-field, with many bergs rising out of it,
+      being over sixty miles long, while some of its towering peaks were
+      estimated at from five hundred to one thousand feet high. Happily, the
+      weather kept clear; for icebergs and fog make a combination truly
+      appalling to the sailor, especially if there be much wind blowing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Needless, perhaps, to say, our look-out was of the best, for all hands had
+      a double interest in the safety of the ship. Perhaps it may be thought
+      that any man would have so much regard for the safety of his life that he
+      would not think of sleeping on his look-out; but I can assure my readers
+      that, strange as it may seem, such is not the case, I have known men who
+      could never be trusted not to go to sleep, no matter how great the danger.
+      This is so well recognized in merchant ships that nearly every officer
+      acts as if there was no look-out at all forward, in case his supposed
+      watchman should be having a surreptitious doze.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Stronger and stronger blew the brave west wind; dirtier, gloomier, and
+      colder grew the weather, until, reduced to two topsails and a reefed
+      foresail, we were scudding dead before the gale for all we were worth.
+      This was a novel experience for us in the CACHALOT, and I was curious to
+      see how she would behave. To my mind, the supreme test of a ship's
+      sea-kindliness is the length of time she will scud before a gale without
+      "pooping" a sea, or taking such heavy water on board over her sides as to
+      do serious damage. Some ships are very dangerous to run at all.
+      Endeavouring to make the best use of the gale which is blowing in the
+      right direction, the captain "hangs on" to all the sail he can carry,
+      until she ships a mighty mass of water over all, so that the decks are
+      filled with wreckage, or, worse still, "poops" a sea. The latter
+      experience is a terrible one, even to a trained seaman. You are running
+      before the wind and waves, sometimes deep in the valley between two liquid
+      mountains, sometimes high on the rolling ridge of one. You watch anxiously
+      the speed of the sea, trying to decide whether it or you are going the
+      faster, when suddenly there seems to be a hush, almost a lull, in the
+      uproar. You look astern, and see a wall of water rising majestically
+      higher and higher, at the same time drawing nearer and nearer.
+      Instinctively you clutch at something firm, and hold your breath. Then
+      that mighty green barrier leans forward, the ship's stern seems to settle
+      at the same time, and, with a thundering noise as of an avalanche
+      descending, it overwhelms you. Of course the ship's way is deadened; she
+      seems like a living thing overburdened, yet struggling to be free; and
+      well it is for all hands if the helmsman be able to keep his post and his
+      wits about him. For if he be hurt, or have fled from the terrible wave, it
+      is an even chance that she "broaches to;" that is to say, swings round
+      broadside on to the next great wave that follows relentlessly its
+      predecessor. Then, helpless and vulnerable, she will most probably be
+      smashed up and founder. Many a good ship has gone with all hands to the
+      bottom just as simply as that.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In order to avoid such a catastrophe, the proper procedure is to
+      "heave-to" before the sea has attained so dangerous a height; but even a
+      landsman can understand how reluctant a shipmaster may be to lie like a
+      log just drifting, while a more seaworthy ship is flying along at the rate
+      of, perhaps, three hundred miles a day in the desired direction. Ships of
+      the CACHALOT's bluff build are peculiarly liable to delays of this kind
+      from their slowness, which, if allied to want of buoyancy, makes it
+      necessary to heave-to in good time, if safety is at all cared for.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To my great astonishment and delight, however, our grand old vessel nobly
+      sustained her character, running on without shipping any heavy water,
+      although sometimes hedged in on either side by gigantic waves that seemed
+      to tower as high as her lowermast heads. Again and again we were caught up
+      and passed by the splendid homeward-bound colonial packets, some of them
+      carrying an appalling press of canvas, under which the long, snaky hulls,
+      often overwhelmed by the foaming seas, were hardly visible, so
+      insignificant did they appear by comparison with the snowy mountain of
+      swelling sail above.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So we fared eastward and ever southward, until in due time up rose the
+      gloomy, storm-scarred crags of the Diego Ramirez rocks, grim outposts of
+      the New World. To us, though, they bore no terrific aspect; for were they
+      not the turning-point from which we could steer north, our head pointed
+      for home? Immediately upon rounding them we hauled up four points, and,
+      with daily improving weather climbed the southern slopes towards the line.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Very humdrum and quiet the life appeared to all of us, and had it not been
+      for the saving routine of work by day, and watch by night, kept up with
+      all our old discipline, the tedium would have been insupportable after the
+      incessant excitement of expectation to which we had so long been
+      accustomed. Still, our passage was by no means a bad one for a slow ship,
+      being favoured by more than ordinarily steadfast winds until we reached
+      the zone of the south-east trades again, where the usual mild, settled
+      wind and lovely weather awaited us. On and on, unhasting but unresting, we
+      stolidly jogged, by great good fortune slipping across the "doldrums"&mdash;that
+      hateful belt of calms about the line so much detested by all sailor-men&mdash;without
+      losing the south-east wind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Not one day of calm delayed us, the north-east trades meeting us like a
+      friend sent to extend a welcoming hand and lend us his assistance on our
+      homeward way. They hung so far to the eastward, too&mdash;sometimes
+      actually at east-by-north-that we were able to steer north on the
+      starboard tack&mdash;a slice of luck not usually met with. This "slant"
+      put all hands in the best of humours, and already the date of our arrival
+      was settled by the more sanguine ones, as well as excellent plans made for
+      spending the long voyage's earnings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For my part, having been, in spite of my youth, accustomed to so many
+      cruel disappointments and slips between the cup and lip, I was afraid to
+      dwell too hopefully upon the pleasures (?) of getting ashore. And after
+      the incident which I have now to record occurred, I felt more nervous
+      distrust than I had ever felt before at sea since first I began to
+      experience the many vicissitudes of a sailor's life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We had reached the northern verge of the tropics in a very short time,
+      owing to the favourable cant in the usual direction of the north-east
+      trades before noted, and had been met with north-westerly winds and thick,
+      dirty weather, which was somewhat unusual in so low a latitude. Our
+      look-outs redoubled their vigilance, one being posted on each bow always
+      at night, and relieved every hour, as we were so well manned. We were now
+      on the port tack, of course, heading about north-east-by-north, and right
+      in the track of outward-hound vessels from both the United Kingdom and the
+      States. One morning, about three a.m.&mdash;that fateful time in the
+      middle watch when more collisions occur than at any other&mdash;suddenly
+      out of the darkness a huge ship seemed to leap right at us. She must have
+      come up in a squall, of which there were many about, at the rate of some
+      twelve knots an hour, having a fair wind, and every rag of sail set. Not a
+      gleam of light was visible anywhere on board of her, and, to judge from
+      all appearances, the only man awake on board was the helmsman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We, being "on the wind, close-hauled," were bound by the "rule of the road
+      at sea" to keep our course when meeting a ship running free. The penalty
+      for doing ANYTHING under such circumstances is a severe one. First of all,
+      you do not KNOW that the other ship's crew are asleep or negligent, even
+      though they carry no lights; for, by a truly infernal parsimony, many
+      vessels actually do not carry oil enough to keep their lamps burning all
+      the voyage, and must therefore economize in this unspeakably dangerous
+      fashion. And it may be that just as you alter your course, daring no
+      longer to hold on, and, as you have every reason to believe, be run down,
+      the other man alters his. Then a few breathless moments ensue, an awful
+      crash, and the two vessels tear each other to pieces, spilling the life
+      that they contain over the hungry sea. Even if you escape, YOU are to
+      blame for not keeping your course, unless it can be proved that you were
+      not seen by the running ship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Well, we kept our course until, I verily believe, another plunge would
+      have cut us sheer in two halves. At the last moment our helm was put hard
+      down, bringing our vessel right up into the wind at the same moment as the
+      helmsman on board the other vessel caught sight of us, and instinctively
+      put his helm down too. The two vessels swung side by side amidst a
+      thunderous roar of flapping canvas, crackling of fallen spars, and rending
+      of wood as the shrouds tore away the bulwarks. All our davits were ripped
+      from the starboard side, and most of our bulwarks too; but, strangely
+      enough, we lost no spars nor any important gear. There seemed to be a good
+      deal of damage done on board the stranger, where, in addition, all hands
+      were at their wits' end. Well they might be, aroused from so criminal a
+      sleep as theirs. Fortunately, the third mate had powerful bull's-eye
+      lantern, which in his watch on deck he always kept lighted. Turning it on
+      the stern of the delinquent vessel as she slowly forged clear of us, we
+      easily read her name, which, for shame's sake as well as for prudential
+      reasons, I withhold. She was a London ship, and a pretty fine time of it I
+      had for the next day or two, listening to the jeers and sarcasms on the
+      quality of British seamanship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Repairing damages kept us busy for a few days; but whatever of
+      thankfulness we were capable of feeling was aroused by this hairbreadth
+      escape from death through the wicked neglect of the most elementary duty
+      of any man calling himself a seaman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then a period of regular Western-ocean weather set in. It was early spring
+      in the third year since our departure from this part of the world, and the
+      north-easter blew with bitter severity, making even the seasoned old
+      captain wince again; but, as he jovially said, "it smelt homey, n' HE
+      warn't a-goin' ter growl at thet." Neither were any of us, although we
+      could have done with less of a sharp edge to it all the same.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Steadily we battled northward, until at last, with full hearts, we made
+      Cape Navesink ("Ole Neversunk"), and on the next day took a tug and towed
+      into New Bedford with every flag we could scare up flying, the centre of
+      admiration&mdash;a full whale-ship safe back from her long, long fishing
+      round the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      My pleasant talk is done. I wish from my heart it were better performed;
+      but, having done my best, I must perforce be content. If in some small
+      measure I have been able to make you, my friendly reader, acquainted with
+      a little-known or appreciated side of life, and in any wise made that life
+      a real matter to you, giving you a fresh interest in the toilers of the
+      sea, my work has not been wholly in vain. And with that fond hope I give
+      you the sailor's valedictory&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      SO LONG! <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+
+
+
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Cruise of the Cachalot, by Frank T. Bullen
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Cruise of the Cachalot
+       Round the World After Sperm Whales
+
+Author: Frank T. Bullen
+
+Posting Date: August 15, 2008 [EBook #1356]
+Release Date: June, 1998
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRUISE OF THE CACHALOT ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer
+
+
+
+
+
+THE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT"
+
+ROUND THE WORLD AFTER SPERM WHALES
+
+Frank T. Bullen, F.R.G.S.
+
+First Mate
+
+
+
+
+     To
+
+     Miss Emily Hensley
+
+     In grateful remembrance of thirty years' constant friendship and
+     practical help this work is affectionately dedicated by her
+     humble pupil.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+In the following pages an attempt has been made--it is believed for the
+first time--to give an account of the cruise of a South Sea whaler from
+the seaman's standpoint. Two very useful books have been published--both
+of them over half a century ago--on the same subject; but, being written
+by the surgeons of whale-ships for scientific purposes, neither of them
+was interesting to the general reader. ["Narrative of a Whaling Voyage
+round the Globe," by F Debell Bennett, F.R.C.S. (2 vols). Bentley,
+London (1840). "The Sperm Whale Fishery," by Thomas Beale, M.R.C.S.
+London (1835).] They have both been long out of print; but their value
+to the student of natural history has been, and still is, very great,
+Dr. Beale's book, in particular, being still the authority on the sperm
+whale.
+
+This book does not pretend to compete with either of the above valuable
+works. Its aims is to present to the general reader a simple account of
+the methods employed, and the dangers met with, in a calling about
+which the great mass of the public knows absolutely nothing. Pending the
+advent of some great writer who shall see the wonderful possibilities
+for literature contained in the world-wide wanderings of the South Sea
+whale-fishers, the author has endeavoured to summarize his experiences
+so that they may be read without weariness, and, it is hoped, with
+profit.
+
+The manifold shortcomings of the work will not, it is trusted, be laid
+to the account of the subject, than which none more interesting could
+well be imagined, but to the limitations of the writer, whose long
+experience of sea life has done little to foster the literary faculty.
+
+One claim may be made with perfect confidence--that if the manner be
+not all that could be wished, the matter is entirely trustworthy, being
+compiled from actual observation and experience, and in no case at
+second-hand. An endeavour has also been made to exclude such matter
+as is easily obtainable elsewhere--matters of common knowledge and
+"padding" of any sort--the object not being simply the making of a book,
+but the record of little-known facts.
+
+Great care has been taken to use no names either of ships or persons,
+which could, by being identified, give annoyance or pain to any one, as
+in many cases strong language has been necessary for the expression of
+opinions.
+
+Finally, the author hopes that, although in no sense exclusively a
+book for boys, the coming generation may find this volume readable and
+interesting; and with that desire he offers it confidently, though in
+all humility, to that great impartial jury, the public.
+
+F.T.B. Dulwich, July, 1897.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+CHAPTER I--OUTWARD BOUND Adrift in New Bedford--I get a ship--A
+motley crowd--"Built by the mile, and cut off as you want 'em"--Mistah
+Jones--Greenies--Off to sea.
+
+CHAPTER II--PREPARING FOR ACTION Primitive steering-gear--Strange
+drill--Misery below--Short commons--Goliath rigs the
+"crow's-nest"--Useful information--Preparing for war--Strange weapons--A
+boat-load.
+
+CHAPTER III--FISHING BEGINS The cleanliness of a whale-ship--No
+skulking--Porpoise-fishing--Cannibals--Cooking operations--Boat-drill--A
+good look-out--"Black-fishing"--Roguery in all trades--Plenty of fresh
+beef--The nursery of American whalemen.
+
+CHAPTER IV--BAD WEATHER Nautical routine--The first gale--Comfort
+versus speed--A grand sea-boat--The Sargasso Sea--Natural history
+pursuits--Dolphin--Unconventional fishing--Rumours of a visit to the
+Cape Verdes--Babel below--No allowance, but not "full and plenty"--Queer
+washing--Method of sharing rations--The "slop-shop" opened--Our
+prospects.
+
+
+CHAPTER V--ACTUAL WARFARE. OUR FIRST WHALE Premonitions--Discussion
+on whaling from unknown premisses--I wake in a fright--Sperm whales
+at last--The war begins--Warning--We get fast--and get loose--In
+trouble--an uncomfortable situation--No Pity-Only one whale--Rigging the
+"cutting-stage"--Securing the whale alongside.
+
+
+CHAPTER VI--"DIRTY WORK FOR CLEAN MONEY" Goliath in trouble--Commence
+"cutting-in"--A heavy head--A tank of spermaceti--Decks running
+with oil--A "Patent" mincing-machine--Extensive cooking--Dangerous
+work--Three tuns of oil--A horrible mess--A thin-skinned monster--A fine
+mouth of teeth.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII--GETTING SOUTHWARD Captain Slocum's
+amenities--Expensive beer--St. Paul's Rocks--"Bonito"--"Showery"
+weather--Waterspouts--Calms--A friendly finback--A disquisition on
+whales by Mistah Jones--Flying-fishing.
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII--ABNER'S WHALE Abner in luck--A big "fish" at last--A feat
+of endurance--A fighting whale--The sperm whale's food--Ambergris--A
+good reception--Hard labour--Abner's reward--"Scrimshaw".
+
+
+CHAPTER IX--OUR FIRST CALLING-PLACE A forced march--Tristan
+d'Acunha--Visitors--Fresh provisions--A warm welcome--Goliath's
+turn--a feathered host--Good gear--A rough time--Creeping
+north--Uncertainty--"Rule of thumb"--navigation--The Mozambique Channel.
+
+
+CHAPTER X--A VISIT TO SOME STRANGE PLACES Tropical thunderstorms--A
+"record" day's fishing--Cetacean frivolities--Mistah Jones moralizes--A
+snug harbour--Wooding and watering--Catching a turtle--Catching a
+"Tartar"--A violent death--A crooked jaw--Aldabra Island--Primeval
+inhabitants--A strange steed--"Pirate" birds--Good eggs--Green
+cocoa-nuts--More turtle--A school of "kogia".
+
+
+CHAPTER XI--ROUND THE COCOS AND SEYCHELLES We encounter a "cyclone"--A
+tremendous gust--a foundering ship--To anchor for repairs--The
+Cocos--Repairing damages--Around the Seychelles--A "milk" sea--A
+derelict prahu--A ghastly freight--A stagnant sea.
+
+
+CHAPTER XII--WHICH TREATS OF THE KRAKEN "Eyes and no eyes" at sea--Of
+big mollusca--The origin of sea-serpent stories--Rediscovery of the
+"Kraken"--A conflict of monsters--"The insatiable nightmares of the
+sea"--Spermaceti running to waste--The East Indian maze.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII--OFF TO THE JAPAN GROUNDS A whale off Hong Kong--The
+skipper and his "'bomb-gun"--Injury to the captain--Unwelcome
+visitors--The heathen Chinee--We get safe off--"Death of Portagee
+Jim"--The Funeral--The Coast of Japan--Port Lloyd--Meeting of
+whale-ships.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV--LIBERTY DAY--AND AFTER Liberty day--I foregather with
+a "beach-comber"--A big fight--Goliath on the war-path--A
+court-martial--Wholesale flogging--a miserable crowd--Quite a fleet of
+whale-ships--I "raise" a sperm whale--Severe competition--An unfortunate
+stroke--The skipper distinguishes himself.
+
+
+CHAPTER XV--WHICH COMES UNCOMFORTABLY NEAR BEING THE LAST I come
+to grief--Emulating Jonah--Sharing a flurry--A long spell of
+sick-leave--The whale's "sixth sense"--Off to the Kuriles--Prepare for
+"bowhead" fishing--The Sea of Okhotsk--Abundant salmon--The "daintiness"
+of seamen.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI--"BOWHEAD" FISHING Difference between whales--Popular ideas
+exploded--The gentle mysticetus--Very tame work--Fond of tongue--Goliath
+confides in me--An awful affair--Captain Slocum's death--"Not Amurath an
+Amurath succeeds"--I am promoted.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII--VISIT TO HONOLULU Towards Honolulu--Missionaries and their
+critics--The happy Kanaka--Honolulu--A pleasant holiday.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII--ON THE "LINE" GROUNDS I get my opportunity--A
+new harpooner--Feats under the skipper's eye--Two whales on one
+line--Compliments Heavy towage--A grand haul.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX--EDGING SOUTHWARD Monotony--A school of blackfish--A boat
+ripped in half--A multitude of sharks--A curious backbone--Christmas
+Day--A novel Christmas dinner--A find of ambergris.
+
+
+CHAPTER XX--"HUMPBACKING" AT VAU VAU "Gamming" again--a
+Whitechapel rover--arrive at Vau Vau--Valuable friends--a Sunday
+ashore--"Hollingside"--The natives at church--Full-dress--Very
+"mishnally"--Idyllic cruising--Wonderful mother-love--A mighty feast.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI--PROGRESS OF THE "HUMPBACK" SEASON A fruitless chase--Placid
+times--a stirring adventure--a vast cave--Unforeseen company--A night
+of terror--We provide a feast for the sharks--the death of Abner--An
+impressive ceremony--an invitation to dinner--Kanaka cookery.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII--FAREWELL TO VAU VAU Ignorance of the habits of whales--A
+terrific encounter--VAE VICTIS--Rewarding our "flems"--We leave Van
+Vau--The Outward bounder--Sailors' "homes"--A night of horror--Sudden
+death--Futuna.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII--AT FUTUNA, RECRUITING A fleet of nondescripts--"Tui
+Tongoa" otherwise Sam--Eager recruits--Devout Catholics--A visit to
+Sunday Island--A Crusoe family--Their eviction--Maori cabbage--Fine
+fishing--Away for New Zealand--Sight the "Three Kings"--The Bay of
+Islands.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV--THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST Sleepy
+hollow--Wood and water--liberty day--A plea for the sailors'
+recreation--Our picnic--A a whiff of "May"--A delightful excursion--To
+the southward again--Wintry weather--Enter Foveaux Straits.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV--ON THE SOLANDER GROUNDS Firstfruits of the Solander--An
+easy catch--Delights of the Solander--Port William--The
+old CHANCE--"Paddy Gilroy"--Barbarians from the East
+End--Barracouta-Fishing--Wind-bound--An enormous school of
+cachalots--Misfortune--A bursting whale--Back on the Solander
+again--Cutting-in at Port William--Studying anatomy--Badly battered
+Yankees--Paddy in luck again.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI--PADDY'S LATEST EXPLOIT We try Preservation Inlet--An
+astounding feat of Paddy Gilroy's.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII--PORT PEGASUS Port Pegasus--Among old
+acquaintances--"Mutton birds"--Skilled auxiliaries--A gratifying
+catch--Leave port again--Back to the Solander--A grim escape--Our last
+whales--Into Port William again--Paddy's assistance--We part with our
+Kanakas--Sam's plans of conquest.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII--TO THE BLUFF, AND HOME And last--In high-toned
+company--Another picnic--Depart from the Bluff--Hey for the Horn!--Among
+the icebergs--"Scudding"--Favouring trades--A narrow escape from
+collision--Home at last.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+Without attempting the ambitious task of presenting a comprehensive
+sketch of the origin, rise, and fall of whale-fishing as a whole, it
+seems necessary to give a brief outline of that portion of the subject
+bearing upon the theme of the present book before plunging into the
+first chapter.
+
+This preliminary is the more needed for the reason alluded to in
+the Preface--the want of knowledge of the subject that is apparent
+everywhere. The Greenland whale fishery has been so popularized that
+most people know something about it; the sperm whale fishery still
+awaits its Scoresby and a like train of imitators and borrowers.
+
+Cachalots, or sperm whales, must have been captured on the coasts of
+Europe in a desultory way from a very early date, by the incidental
+allusions to the prime products spermaceti and ambergris which are found
+in so many ancient writers, Shakespeare's reference--"The sovereign'st
+thing on earth was parmaceti for an inward bruise"--will be familiar to
+most people, as well as Milton's mention of the delicacies at Satan's
+feast--"Grisamber steamed"--not to carry quotation any further.
+
+But in the year 1690 the brave and hardy fishermen of the north-east
+coasts of North America established that systematic pursuit of the
+cachalot which has thriven so wonderfully ever since, although it must
+be confessed that the last few years have witnessed a serious decline in
+this great branch of trade.
+
+For many years the American colonists completely engrossed this branch
+of the whale fishery, contentedly leaving to Great Britain and the
+continental nations the monopoly of the northern or Arctic fisheries,
+while they cruised the stormy, if milder, seas around their own shores.
+
+For the resultant products, their best customer was the mother country,
+and a lucrative commerce steadily grew up between the two countries. But
+when the march of events brought the unfortunate and wholly unnecessary
+War of Independence, this flourishing trade was the first to suffer, and
+many of the daring fishermen became our fiercest foes on board their own
+men-of-war.
+
+The total stoppage of the importation of sperm oil and spermaceti was
+naturally severely felt in England, for time had not permitted the
+invention of substitutes. In consequence of this, ten ships were
+equipped and sent out to the sperm whale fishery from England in 1776,
+most of them owned by one London firm, the Messrs. Enderby. The next
+year, in order to encourage the infant enterprise, a Government bounty,
+graduated from L500 to L1000 per ship, was granted. Under this
+fostering care the number of ships engaged in the sperm whale fishery
+progressively increased until 1791, when it attained its maximum.
+
+This method of whaling being quite new to our whalemen, it was
+necessary, at great cost, to hire American officers and harpooners
+to instruct them in the ways of dealing with these highly active
+and dangerous cetacea. Naturally, it was by-and-by found possible
+to dispense with the services of these auxiliaries; but it must be
+confessed that the business never seems to have found such favour, or to
+have been prosecuted with such smartness, among our whalemen as it has
+by the Americans.
+
+Something of an exotic the trade always was among us, although it did
+attain considerable proportions at one time. At first the fishing was
+confined to the Atlantic Ocean; nor for many years was it necessary to
+go farther afield, as abundance of whales could easily be found.
+
+As, however, the number of ships engaged increased, it was inevitable
+that the known grounds should become exhausted, and in 1788 Messrs.
+Enderby's ship, the EMILIA, first ventured round Cape Horn, as the
+pioneer of a greater trade than ever. The way once pointed out, other
+ships were not slow to follow, until, in 1819, the British whale-ship
+SYREN opened up the till then unexplored tract of ocean in the western
+part of the North Pacific, afterwards familiarly known as the "Coast
+of Japan." From these teeming waters alone, for many years an average
+annual catch of 40,000 barrels of oil was taken, which, at the average
+price of L8 per barrel, will give some idea of the value of the trade
+generally.
+
+The Australian colonists, early in their career, found the sperm whale
+fishery easy of access from all their coasts, and especially lucrative.
+At one time they bade fair to establish a whale fishery that should
+rival the splendid trade of the Americans; but, like the mother country,
+they permitted the fishery to decline, so that even bounties could not
+keep it alive.
+
+Meanwhile, the Americans added to their fleet continually, prospering
+amazingly. But suddenly the advent of the civil war let loose among
+those peaceable cruisers the devastating ALABAMA, whose course was
+marked in some parts of the world by the fires of blazing whale-ships. A
+great part, of the Geneva award was on this account, although it must be
+acknowledged that many pseudo-owners were enriched who never owned aught
+but brazen impudence and influential friends to push their fictitious
+claims. The real sufferers, seamen especially, in most cases never
+received any redress whatever.
+
+From this crushing blow the American sperm whale fishery has never fully
+recovered. When the writer was in the trade, some twenty-two years ago,
+it was credited with a fleet of between three and four hundred sail; now
+it may be doubted whether the numbers reach an eighth of that amount. A
+rigid conservatism of method hinders any revival of the industry, which
+is practically conducted to-day as it was fifty, or even a hundred
+years ago; and it is probable that another decade will witness the
+final extinction of what was once one of the most important maritime
+industries in the world.
+
+
+
+
+THE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I. OUTWARD BOUND
+
+At the age of eighteen, after a sea-experience of six years from the
+time when I dodged about London streets, a ragged Arab, with wits
+sharpened by the constant fight for food, I found myself roaming the
+streets of New Bedford, Massachusetts. How I came to be there, of all
+places in the world, does not concern this story at all, so I am not
+going to trouble my readers with it; enough to say that I WAS there, and
+mighty anxious to get away. Sailor Jack is always hankering for shore
+when he is at sea, but when he is "outward bound"--that is, when his
+money is all gone--he is like a cat in the rain there.
+
+So as MY money was all gone, I was hungry for a ship; and when a long,
+keen-looking man with a goat-like beard, and mouth stained with dry
+tobacco-juice, hailed me one afternoon at the street-corner, I answered
+very promptly, scenting a berth. "Lookin' fer a ship, stranger?" said
+he. "Yes; do you want a hand?" said I, anxiously. He made a funny little
+sound something like a pony's whinny, then answered, "Wall, I should
+surmise that I want between fifty and sixty hands, ef yew kin lay me
+onto 'em; but, kem along, every dreep's a drop, an' yew seem likely
+enough." With that he turned and led the way until we reached a building
+around which were gathered one of the most nondescript crowds I had ever
+seen. There certainly did not appear to be a sailor among them. Not
+so much by their rig, though that is not a great deal to go by, but
+by their actions and speech. One thing they all had in common, tobacco
+chewing but as nearly every male I met with in America did that, it was
+not much to be noticed. I had hardly done reckoning them up when two or
+three bustling men came out and shepherded us all energetically into a
+long, low room, where some form of agreement was read out to us. Sailors
+are naturally and usually careless about the nature of the "articles"
+they sign, their chief anxiety being to get to sea, and under somebody's
+charge. But had I been ever so anxious to know what I was going to sign
+this time, I could not, for the language might as well have been Chinese
+for all I understood of it. However, I signed and passed on, engaged to
+go I knew not where, in some ship I did not know even the name of, in
+which I was to receive I did not know how much, or how little, for my
+labour, nor how long I was going to be away. "What a young fool!" I hear
+somebody say. I quite agree, but there were a good many more in that
+ship, as in most ships that I have ever sailed in.
+
+From the time we signed the articles, we were never left to ourselves.
+Truculent-looking men accompanied us to our several boarding-houses,
+paid our debts for us, finally bringing us by boat to a ship lying out
+in the bay. As we passed under her stern, I read the name CACHALOT, of
+New Bedford; but as soon as we ranged alongside, I realized that I was
+booked for the sailor's horror--a cruise in a whaler. Badly as I wanted
+to get to sea, I had not bargained for this, and would have run some
+risks to get ashore again; but they took no chances, so we were all soon
+aboard. Before going forward, I took a comprehensive glance around, and
+saw that I was on board of a vessel belonging to a type which has almost
+disappeared off the face of the waters. A more perfect contrast to the
+trim-built English clipper-ships that I had been accustomed to I could
+hardly imagine. She was one of a class characterized by sailors as
+"built by the mile, and cut off in lengths as you want 'em," bow and
+stern almost alike, masts standing straight as broomsticks, and bowsprit
+soaring upwards at an angle of about forty-five degrees. She was as
+old-fashioned in her rig as in her hull; but I must not go into the
+technical differences between rigs, for fear of making myself tedious.
+Right in the centre of the deck, occupying a space of about ten feet by
+eight, was a square erection of brickwork, upon which my wondering gaze
+rested longest, for I had not the slightest idea what it could be. But
+I was rudely roused from my meditations by the harsh voice of one of the
+officers, who shouted, "Naow then, git below an' stow yer dunnage, 'n
+look lively up agin." I took the broad hint, and shouldering my traps,
+hurried forward to the fo'lk'sle, which was below deck. Tumbling down
+the steep ladder, I entered the gloomy den which was to be for so long
+my home, finding it fairly packed with my shipmates. A motley crowd
+they were. I had been used in English ships to considerable variety of
+nationality; but here were gathered, not only the representatives of
+five or six nations, but 'long-shoremen of all kinds, half of whom had
+hardly ever set eyes on a ship before! The whole space was undivided
+by partition, but I saw at once that black men and white had separated
+themselves, the blacks taking the port side and the whites the
+starboard. Finding a vacant bunk by the dim glimmer of the ancient
+teapot lamp that hung amidships, giving out as much smoke as light, I
+hurriedly shifted my coat for a "jumper" or blouse, put on an old cap,
+and climbed into the fresh air again. For a double reason, even MY
+seasoned head was feeling bad with the villainous reek of the place, and
+I did not want any of those hard-featured officers on deck to have
+any cause to complain of my "hanging back." On board ship, especially
+American ships, the first requisite for a sailor who wants to be treated
+properly is to "show willing," any suspicion of slackness being noted
+immediately, and the backward one marked accordingly. I had hardly
+reached the deck when I was confronted by a negro, the biggest I ever
+saw in, my life. He looked me up and down for a moment, then opening his
+ebony features in a wide smile, he said, "Great snakes! why, here's a
+sailor man for sure! Guess thet's so, ain't it, Johnny?" I said "yes"
+very curtly, for I hardly liked his patronizing air; but he snapped me
+up short with "yes, SIR, when yew speak to me, yew blank lime-juicer.
+I'se de fourf mate ob dis yar ship, en my name's Mistah Jones, 'n yew,
+jest freeze on to dat ar, ef yew want ter lib long'n die happy. See,
+sonny." I SAW, and answered promptly, "I beg your pardon, sir, I didn't
+know." "Ob cawse yew didn't know, dat's all right, little Britisher;
+naow jest skip aloft 'n loose dat fore-taupsle." "Aye, aye, sir," I
+answered cheerily, springing at once into the fore-rigging and up the
+ratlines like a monkey, but not too fast to hear him chuckle, "Dat's a
+smart kiddy, I bet." I had the big sail loose in double quick time, and
+sung out "All gone, the fore-taupsle," before any of the other sails
+were adrift. "Loose the to-gantsle and staysles" came up from below in a
+voice like thunder, and I bounded up higher to my task. On deck I could
+see a crowd at the windlass heaving up anchor. I said to myself, "They
+don't waste any time getting this packet away." Evidently they were not
+anxious to test any of the crew's swimming powers. They were wise, for
+had she remained at anchor that night I verily believe some of the poor
+wretches would have tried to escape.
+
+The anchor came aweigh, the sails were sheeted home, and I returned on
+deck to find the ship gathering way for the heads, fairly started on her
+long voyage.
+
+What a bear-garden the deck was, to be sure! The black portion of the
+crew--Portuguese natives from the Western and Canary Islands--were doing
+their work all right in a clumsy fashion; but the farmers, and bakers,
+and draymen were being driven about mercilessly amid a perfect hurricane
+of profanity and blows. And right here I must say that, accustomed as
+I had always been to bad language all my life, what I now heard was a
+revelation to me. I would not, if I could, attempt to give a sample
+of it, but it must be understood that it was incessant throughout
+the voyage. No order could be given without it, under the impression,
+apparently, that the more curses the more speed.
+
+Before nightfall we were fairly out to sea, and the ceremony of dividing
+the crew into watches was gone through. I found myself in the chief
+mate's or "port" watch (they called it "larboard," a term I had never
+heard used before, it having long been obsolete in merchant ships),
+though the huge negro fourth mate seemed none too well pleased that
+I was not under his command, his being the starboard watch under the
+second mate.
+
+As night fell, the condition of the "greenies," or non-sailor portion of
+the crew, was pitiable. Helpless from sea-sickness, not knowing where
+to go or what to do, bullied relentlessly by the ruthless petty
+officers--well, I never felt so sorry for a lot of men in my life. Glad
+enough I was to get below into the fo'lk'sle for supper, and a brief
+rest and respite from that cruelty on deck. A bit of salt junk and
+a piece of bread, i.e. biscuit, flinty as a pantile, with a pot of
+something sweetened with "longlick" (molasses), made an apology for a
+meal, and I turned in. In a very few minutes oblivion came, making me as
+happy as any man can be in this world.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II. PREPARING FOR ACTION
+
+The hideous noise always considered necessary in those ships when
+calling the watch, roused me effectively at midnight, "eight bells."
+I hurried on deck, fully aware that no leisurely ten minutes would be
+allowed here. "Lay aft the watch," saluted me as I emerged into the keen
+strong air, quickening my pace according to where the mate stood waiting
+to muster his men. As soon as he saw me, he said, "Can you steer?" in
+a mocking tone; but when I quietly answered, "Yes, sir," his look of
+astonishment was delightful to see. He choked it down, however, and
+merely telling me to take the wheel, turned forrard roaring frantically
+for his watch. I had no time to chuckle over what I knew was in store
+for him, getting those poor greenies collected from their several holes
+and corners, for on taking the wheel I found a machine under my hands
+such as I never even heard of before.
+
+The wheel was fixed upon the tiller in such a manner that the whole
+concern travelled backwards and forwards across the deck in the maddest
+kind of way. For the first quarter of an hour, in spite of the September
+chill, the sweat poured off me in streams. And the course--well, if was
+not steering, it was sculling; the old bumboat was wobbling all
+around like a drunken tailor with two left legs. I fairly shook with
+apprehension lest the mate should come and look in the compass. I had
+been accustomed to hard words if I did not steer within half a point
+each way; but here was a "gadget" that worked me to death, the result
+being a wake like a letter S. Gradually I got the hang of the thing,
+becoming easier in my mind on my own account. Even that was not an
+unmixed blessing, for I had now some leisure to listen to the goings-on
+around the deck.
+
+Such brutality I never witnessed before. On board of English ships
+(except men-of-war) there is practically no discipline, which is bad,
+but this sort of thing was maddening. I knew how desperately ill all
+those poor wretches were, how helpless and awkward they would be if
+quite hale and hearty; but there was absolutely no pity for them, the
+officers seemed to be incapable of any feelings of compassion whatever.
+My heart sank within me as I thought of what lay before me, although
+I did not fear that their treatment would also be mine, since I was
+at least able to do my duty, and willing to work hard to keep out of
+trouble. Then I began to wonder what sort of voyage I was in for, how
+long it would last, and what my earnings were likely to be, none of
+which things I had the faintest idea of.
+
+Fortunately, I was alone in the world. No one, as far as I knew, cared
+a straw what became of me; so that I was spared any worry on that head.
+And I had also a very definite and well-established trust in God, which
+I can now look back and see was as fully justified as I then believed
+it to be. So, as I could not shut my ears to the cruelties being carried
+on, nor banish thought by hard work, I looked up to the stately stars,
+thinking of things not to be talked about without being suspected of
+cant. So swiftly passed the time that when four bells struck: (two
+o'clock) I could hardly believe my ears.
+
+I was relieved by one of the Portuguese, and went forward to witness a
+curious scene. Seven stalwart men were being compelled to march up and
+down on that tumbling deck, men who had never before trodden anything
+less solid than the earth.
+
+The third mate, a waspish, spiteful little Yankee with a face like an
+angry cat, strolled about among them, a strand of rope-yarns in his
+hand, which he wielded constantly, regardless where he struck a man.
+They fell about, sometimes four or five at once, and his blows flew
+thick and fast, yet he never seemed to weary of his ill-doing. It made
+me quite sick, and I longed to be aft at the wheel again. Catching sight
+of me standing irresolute as to what I had better do, he ordered me on
+the "look-out," a tiny platform between the "knight heads," just where
+the bowsprit joins the ship. Gladly I obeyed him, and perched up there
+looking over the wide sea, the time passed quickly away until eight
+bells (four o'clock) terminated my watch. I must pass rapidly over the
+condition of things in the fo'lk'sle, where all the greenies that were
+allowed below, were groaning in misery from the stifling atmosphere
+which made their sickness so much worse, while even that dreadful
+place was preferable to what awaited them on deck. There was a
+rainbow-coloured halo round the flame of the lamp, showing how very bad
+the air was; but in spite of that I turned in and slept soundly till
+seven bells (7.20 a.m.) roused us to breakfast.
+
+American ships generally have an excellent name for the way they feed
+their crews, but the whalers are a notable exception to that good rule.
+The food was really worse than that on board any English ship I have
+ever sailed in, so scanty also in quantity that it kept all the foremast
+hands at starvation point. But grumbling was dangerous, so I gulped down
+the dirty mixture mis-named coffee, ate a few fragments of biscuit, and
+filled up (?) with a smoke, as many better men are doing this morning.
+As the bell struck I hurried on deck--not one moment too soon--for as
+I stepped out of the scuttle I saw the third mate coming forward with a
+glitter in his eye that boded no good to laggards.
+
+Before going any farther I must apologize for using so many capital I's,
+but up till the present I had been the only available white member of
+the crew forrard.
+
+The decks were scrubbed spotlessly clean, and everything was neat and
+tidy as on board a man-of-war, contrary to all usual notions of the
+condition of a whaler. The mate was in a state of high activity, so
+I soon found myself very busily engaged in getting up whale-lines,
+harpoons, and all the varied equipment for the pursuit of whales. The
+number of officers carried would have been a good crew for the ship, the
+complete afterguard comprising captain, four mates, four harpooners or
+boat-steerers, carpenter, cooper, steward and cook. All these worthies
+were on deck and working with might and main at the preparations, so
+that the incompetence of the crowd forrard was little hindrance. I was
+pounced upon by "Mistah" Jones, the fourth mate, whom I heard addressed
+familiarly as "Goliath" and "Anak" by his brother officers, and ordered
+to assist him in rigging the "crow's-nest" at the main royal-mast head.
+It was a simple affair. There were a pair of cross-trees fitted to the
+mast, upon which was secured a tiny platform about a foot wide on each
+side of the mast, while above this foothold a couple of padded hoops
+like a pair of giant spectacles were secured at a little higher than
+a man's waist. When all was fast one could creep up on the platform,
+through the hoop, and, resting his arms upon the latter, stand
+comfortably and gaze around, no matter how vigorously the old
+barky plunged and kicked beneath him. From that lofty eyrie I had
+a comprehensive view of the vessel. She was about 350 tons and full
+ship-rigged, that is to say, she carried square sails on all three
+masts. Her deck was flush fore and aft, the only obstructions being the
+brick-built "try-works" in the waist, the galley, and cabin skylight
+right aft by the taffrail. Her bulwarks were set thickly round with
+clumsy looking wooden cranes, from which depended five boats. Two more
+boats were secured bottom up upon a gallows aft, so she seemed to be
+well supplied in that direction. Mistah Jones, finding I did not presume
+upon his condescension, gradually unbent and furnished me with many
+interesting facts about the officers. Captain Slocum, he said, was "de
+debbil hisself, so jess yew keeps yer lamps trim' fer him, sonny, taint
+helthy ter rile him." The first officer, or the mate as he is always
+called PAR EXCELLENCE, was an older man than the captain, but a good
+seaman, a good whaleman, and a gentleman. Which combination I found to
+be a fact, although hard to believe possible at the time. The second
+mate was a Portuguese about forty years of age, with a face like one of
+Vandyke's cavaliers, but as I now learned, a perfect fiend when angered.
+He also was a first-class whaleman, but an indifferent seaman. The third
+mate was nothing much but bad temper--not much sailor, nor much whaler,
+generally in hot water with the skipper, who hated him because he was an
+"owner's man." "An de fourf mate," wound up the narrator, straightening
+his huge bulk, "am de bes' man in de ship, and de bigges'. Dey aint
+no whalemen in Noo Bedford caynt teach ME nuffin, en ef it comes ter
+man-handlin'; w'y I jes' pick 'em two't a time 'n crack 'em togerrer
+like so, see!" and he smote the palms of his great paws against each
+other, while I nodded complete assent.
+
+The weather being fine, with a steady N.E. wind blowing, so that the
+sails required no attention, work proceeded steadily all the morning.
+The oars were sorted, examined for flaws, and placed in the boats; the
+whale-line, manilla rope like yellow silk, 1 1/2 inch round, was brought
+on deck, stretched and coiled down with the greatest care into tubs,
+holding, some 200 fathoms, and others 100 fathoms each. New harpoons
+were fitted to poles of rough but heavy wood, without any attempt at
+neatness, but every attention to strength. The shape of these weapons
+was not, as is generally thought, that of an arrow, but rather like an
+arrow with one huge barb, the upper part of which curved out from the
+shaft. The whole of the barb turned on a stout pivot of steel, but was
+kept in line with the shaft by a tiny wooden peg which passed through
+barb and shaft, being then cut off smoothly on both sides. The point
+of the harpoon had at one side a wedge-shaped edge, ground to razor
+keenness, the other side was flat. The shaft, about thirty inches long,
+was of the best malleable iron, so soft that it would tie into a knot
+and straighten out again without fracture. Three harpoons, or "irons" as
+they were always called, were placed in each boat, fitted one above the
+other in the starboard bow, the first for use being always one unused
+before, Opposite to them in the boat were fitted three lances for the
+purpose of KILLING whales, the harpoons being only the means by which
+the boat was attached to a fish, and quite useless to inflict a fatal
+wound. These lances were slender spears of malleable iron about four
+feet long, with oval or heart-shaped points of fine steel about two
+inches broad, their edges kept keen as a surgeon's lancet. By means of
+a socket at the other end they were attached to neat handles, or
+"lance-poles," about as long again, the whole weapon being thus about
+eight feet in length, and furnished with a light line, or "lance-warp,"
+for the purpose of drawing it back again when it had been darted at a
+whale.
+
+Each boat was fitted with a centre-board, or sliding keel, which was
+drawn up, when not in use, into a case standing in the boat's middle,
+very much in the way. But the American whalemen regard these clumsy
+contrivances as indispensable, so there's an end on't. The other
+furniture of a boat comprised five oars of varying lengths from sixteen
+to nine feet, one great steering oar of nineteen feet, a mast and two
+sails of great area for so small a craft, spritsail shape; two tubs of
+whale-line containing together 1800 feet, a keg of drinking water, and
+another long narrow one with a few biscuits, a lantern, candles and
+matches therein; a bucket and "piggin" for baling, a small spade, a flag
+or "wheft," a shoulder bomb-gun and ammunition, two knives and two small
+axes. A rudder hung outside by the stern.
+
+With all this gear, although snugly stowed, a boat looked so loaded that
+I could not help wondering how six men would be able to work in her; but
+like most "deep-water" sailors, I knew very little about boating. I was
+going to learn.
+
+All this work and bustle of preparation was so rapidly carried on, and
+so interesting, that before supper-time everything was in readiness to
+commence operations, the time having gone so swiftly that I could hardly
+believe the bell when it sounded four times, six o'clock.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III. FISHING BEGINS
+
+During all the bustle of warlike preparation that had been going on,
+the greenhorns had not suffered from inattention on the part of those
+appointed to look after them. Happily for them, the wind blew steadily,
+and the weather, thanks to the balmy influence of the Gulf Stream, was
+quite mild and genial. The ship was undoubtedly lively, as all good
+sea-boats are, but her motions were by no means so detestable to a
+sea-sick man as those of a driving steamer. So, in spite of their
+treatment, perhaps because of it, some of the poor fellows were
+beginning to take hold of things "man-fashion," although of course sea
+legs they had none, their getting about being indeed a pilgrimage of
+pain. Some of them were beginning to try the dreadful "grub" (I cannot
+libel "food" by using it in such a connection), thereby showing that
+their interest in life, even such a life as was now before them, was
+returning. They had all been allotted places in the various boats,
+intermixed with the seasoned Portuguese in such a way that the officer
+and harpooner in charge would not be dependant upon them entirely in
+case of a sudden emergency. Every endeavour was undoubtedly made to
+instruct them in their duties, albeit the teachers were all too apt
+to beat their information in with anything that came to hand, and
+persuasion found no place in their methods.
+
+The reports I had always heard of the laziness prevailing on board
+whale-ships were now abundantly falsified. From dawn to dark work went
+on without cessation. Everything was rubbed and scrubbed and scoured
+until no speck or soil could be found; indeed, no gentleman's yacht or
+man-of-war is kept more spotlessly clean than was the CACHALOT.
+
+A regular and severe routine of labour was kept up; and, what was most
+galling to me, instead of a regular four hours' watch on and off, night
+and day, all hands were kept on deck the whole day long, doing quite
+unnecessary tasks, apparently with the object of preventing too much
+leisure and consequent brooding over their unhappy lot. One result of
+this continual drive and tear was that all these landsmen became rapidly
+imbued with the virtues of cleanliness, which was extended to the den in
+which we lived, or I verily believe sickness would have soon thinned us
+out.
+
+On the fourth day after leaving port we were all busy as usual except
+the four men in the "crow's-nests," when a sudden cry of "Porps! porps!"
+brought everything to a standstill. A large school of porpoises had just
+joined us, in their usual clownish fashion, rolling and tumbling around
+the bows as the old barky wallowed along, surrounded by a wide ellipse
+of snowy foam. All work was instantly suspended, and active preparations
+made for securing a few of these frolicsome fellows. A "block," or
+pulley, was hung out at the bowsprit end, a whale-line passed through
+it and "bent" (fastened) on to a harpoon. Another line with a running
+"bowline," or slip-noose, was also passed out to the bowsprit end, being
+held there by one man in readiness. Then one of the harpooners ran out
+along the backropes, which keep the jib-boom down, taking his stand
+beneath the bowsprit with the harpoon ready. Presently he raised his
+iron and followed the track of a rising porpoise with its point until
+the creature broke water. At the same instant the weapon left his grasp,
+apparently without any force behind it; but we on deck, holding the
+line, soon found that our excited hauling lifted a big vibrating body
+clean out of the smother beneath. "'Vast hauling!" shouted the mate,
+while as the porpoise hung dangling, the harpooner slipped the ready
+bowline over his body, gently closing its grip round the "small" by the
+broad tail. Then we hauled on the noose-line, slacking away the harpoon,
+and in a minute had our prize on deck. He was dragged away at once and
+the operation repeated. Again and again we hauled them in, until the
+fore part of the deck was alive with the kicking, writhing sea-pigs, at
+least twenty of them. I had seen an occasional porpoise caught at
+sea before, but never more than one at a time. Here, however, was a
+wholesale catch. At last one of the harpooned ones plunged so furiously
+while being hauled up that he literally tore himself off the iron,
+falling, streaming with blood, back into the sea.
+
+Away went all the school after him, tearing at him with their long
+well-toothed jaws, some of them leaping high in the air in their
+eagerness to get their due share of the cannibal feast. Our fishing was
+over for that time. Meanwhile one of the harpooners had brought out
+a number of knives, with which all hands were soon busy skinning the
+blubber from the bodies. Porpoises have no skin, that is hide, the
+blubber or coating of lard which encases them being covered by a black
+substance as thin as tissue paper. The porpoise hide of the boot maker
+is really leather, made from the skin of the BELUGA, or "white whale,"
+which is found only in the far north. The cover was removed from the
+"tryworks" amidships, revealing two gigantic pots set in a frame of
+brickwork side by side, capable of holding 200 gallons each. Such a
+cooking apparatus as might have graced a Brobdingnagian kitchen. Beneath
+the pots was the very simplest of furnaces, hardly as elaborate as the
+familiar copper-hole sacred to washing day. Square funnels of sheet-iron
+were loosely fitted to the flues, more as a protection against the oil
+boiling over into the fire than to carry away the smoke, of which from
+the peculiar nature of the fuel there was very little. At one side of
+the try-works was a large wooden vessel, or "hopper," to contain the raw
+blubber; at the other, a copper cistern or cooler of about 300 gallons
+capacity, into which the prepared oil was baled to cool off, preliminary
+to its being poured into the casks. Beneath the furnaces was a space as
+large as the whole area of the try-works, about a foot deep, which, when
+the fires were lighted, was filled with water to prevent the deck from
+burning.
+
+It may be imagined that the blubber from our twenty porpoises made but
+a poor show in one of the pots; nevertheless, we got a barrel of very
+excellent oil from them. The fires were fed with "scrap," or pieces
+of blubber from which the oil had been boiled, some of which had been
+reserved from the previous voyage. They burnt with a fierce and steady
+blaze, leaving but a trace of ash. I was then informed by one of the
+harpooners that no other fuel was ever used for boiling blubber at any
+time, there being always amply sufficient for the purpose.
+
+The most interesting part of the whole business, though, to us poor
+half-starved wretches, was the plentiful supply of fresh meat. Porpoise
+beef is, when decently cooked, fairly good eating to a landsman; judge,
+then, what it must have been to us. Of course the tit-bits, such as the
+liver, kidneys, brains, etc., could not possibly fall to our lot; but
+we did not complain, we were too thankful to get something eatable, and
+enough of it. Moreover, although few sailors in English ships know it,
+porpoise beef improves vastly by keeping, getting tenderer every day the
+longer it hangs, until at last it becomes as tasty a viand as one could
+wish to dine upon. It was a good job for us that this was the case,
+for while the porpoises lasted the "harness casks," or salt beef
+receptacles, were kept locked; so if any man had felt unable to eat
+porpoise--well, there was no compulsion, he could go hungry.
+
+We were now in the haunts of the Sperm Whale, or "Cachalot," a brilliant
+look-out being continually kept for any signs of their appearing. One
+officer and a foremast hand were continually on watch during the day
+in the main crow's-nest, one harpooner and a seaman in the fore one.
+A bounty of ten pounds of tobacco was offered to whoever should first
+report a whale, should it be secured, consequently there were no sleepy
+eyes up there. Of course none of those who were inexperienced stood much
+chance against the eagle-eyed Portuguese; but all tried their best,
+in the hope of perhaps winning some little favour from their hard
+taskmasters. Every evening at sunset it was "all hands shorten sail,"
+the constant drill rapidly teaching even these clumsy landsmen how to
+find their way aloft, and do something else besides hold on to anything
+like grim death when they got there.
+
+At last, one beautiful day, the boats were lowered and manned, and away
+went the greenies on their first practical lesson in the business of the
+voyage. As before noticed, there were two greenies in each boat, they
+being so arranged that whenever one of them "caught a crab," which of
+course was about every other stroke, his failure made little difference
+to the boat's progress. They learned very fast under the terrible
+imprecations and storm of blows from the iron-fisted and iron-hearted
+officers, so that before the day was out the skipper was satisfied of
+our ability to deal with a "fish" should he be lucky enough to "raise"
+one. I was, in virtue of my experience, placed at the after-oar in the
+mate's boat, where it was my duty to attend to the "main sheet" when the
+sail was set, where also I had the benefit of the lightest oar except
+the small one used by the harpooner in the bow.
+
+The very next day after our first exhaustive boat drill, a school of
+"Black Fish" was reported from aloft, with great glee the officers
+prepared for what they considered a rattling day's fun.
+
+The Black Fish (PHOCAENA SP.) is a small toothed whale, not at all
+unlike a miniature cachalot, except that its head is rounded at the
+front, while its jaw is not long and straight, but bowed. It is as
+frolicsome as the porpoise, gambolling about in schools of from twenty
+to fifty or more, as if really delighted to be alive. Its average size
+is from ten to twenty feet long, and seven or eight feet in girth,
+weight from one to three tons. Blubber about three inches thick, while
+the head is almost all oil, so that a good rich specimen will make
+between one and two barrels of oil of medium quality.
+
+The school we were now in sight of was of middling size and about
+average weight of individuals, and the officers esteemed it a fortunate
+circumstance that we should happen across them as a sort of preliminary
+to our tackling the monarchs of the deep.
+
+All the new harpoons were unshipped from the boats, and a couple of
+extra "second" irons, as those that have been used are called, were put
+into each boat for use if wanted. The sails were also left on board. We
+lowered and left the ship, pulling right towards the school, the noise
+they were making in their fun effectually preventing them from hearing
+our approach. It is etiquette to allow the mate's boat first place,
+unless his crew is so weak as to be unable to hold their own; but as the
+mate always has first pick of the men this seldom happens. So, as usual,
+we were first, and soon I heard the order given, "Stand up, Louey, and
+let 'em have it!" Sure enough, here we were right among them. Louis let
+drive, "fastening" a whopper about twenty feet long. The injured animal
+plunged madly forward, accompanied by his fellows, while Louis calmly
+bent another iron to a "short warp," or piece of whale-line, the loose
+end of which he made a bowline with around the main line which was fast
+to the "fish." Then he fastened another "fish," and the queer sight was
+seen of these two monsters each trying to flee in opposite directions,
+while the second one ranged about alarmingly as his "bridle" ran along
+the main line. Another one was secured in the same way, then the game
+was indeed great. The school had by this time taken the alarm and
+cleared out, but the other boats were all fast to fish, so that didn't
+matter. Now, at the rate our "game" were going it would evidently be
+a long while before they died, although, being so much smaller than a
+whale proper, a harpoon will often kill them at a stroke. Yet they were
+now so tangled or "snarled erp," as the mate said, that it was no easy
+matter to lance them without great danger of cutting the line. However,
+we hauled up as close to them as we dared, and the harpooner got a good
+blow in, which gave the biggest of the three "Jesse," as he said, though
+why "Jesse" was a stumper. Anyhow, it killed him promptly, while almost
+directly after another one saved further trouble by passing in his own
+checks. But he sank at the same time, drawing the first one down with
+him, so that we were in considerable danger of having to cut them adrift
+or be swamped. The "wheft" was waved thrice as an urgent signal to the
+ship to come to our assistance with all speed, but in the meantime our
+interest lay in the surviving Black Fish keeping alive. Should HE die,
+and, as was most probable, sink, we should certainly have to cut and
+lose the lot, tools included.
+
+We waited in grim silence while the ship came up, so slowly, apparently,
+that she hardly seemed to move, but really at a good pace of about four
+knots an hour, which for her was not at all bad. She got alongside of us
+at last, and we passed up the bight of our line, our fish all safe, very
+much pleased with ourselves, especially when we found that the other
+boats had only five between the three of them.
+
+The fish secured to the ship, all the boats were hoisted except one,
+which remained alongside to sling the bodies. During our absence the
+ship-keepers had been busy rigging one of the cutting falls, an immense
+fourfold tackle from the main lowermast-head, of four-inch rope through
+great double blocks, large as those used at dockyards for lifting ships'
+masts and boilers. Chain-slings were passed around the carcases, which
+gripped the animal at the "small," being prevented from slipping off by
+the broad spread of the tail. The end of the "fall," or tackle-rope,
+was then taken to the windlass, and we hove away cheerily, lifting the
+monsters right on deck. A mountainous pile they made. A short spell was
+allowed, when the whole eight were on board, for dinner; then all hands
+turned to again to "flench" the blubber, and prepare for trying-out.
+This was a heavy job, keeping all hands busy until it was quite
+dark, the latter part of the work being carried on by the light of
+a "cresset," the flames of which were fed with "scrap," which blazed
+brilliantly, throwing a big glare over all the ship. The last of the
+carcases was launched overboard by about eight o'clock that evening, but
+not before some vast junks of beef had been cut off and hung up in the
+rigging for our food supply.
+
+The try-works were started again, "trying-out" going on busily all
+night, watch and watch taking their turn at keeping the pots supplied
+with minced blubber. The work was heavy, while the energetic way in
+which it was carried on made us all glad to take what rest was allowed
+us, which was scanty enough, as usual.
+
+By nightfall the next day the ship had resumed her normal appearance,
+and we were a tun and a quarter of oil to the good. Black Fish oil is of
+medium quality, but I learned that, according to the rule of "roguery
+in all trades," it was the custom to mix quantities such as we had just
+obtained with better class whale-oil, and thus get a much higher price
+than it was really worth.
+
+Up till this time we had no sort of an idea as to where our first
+objective might be, but from scraps of conversation I had overheard
+among the harpooners, I gathered that we were making for the Cape
+Verde Islands or the Acores, in the vicinity of which a good number
+of moderate-sized sperm whales are often to be found. In fact, these
+islands have long been a nursery for whale-fishers, because the cachalot
+loves their steep-to shores, and the hardy natives, whenever and
+wherever they can muster a boat and a little gear, are always ready to
+sally forth and attack the unwary whale that ventures within their ken.
+Consequently more than half of the total crews of the American whaling
+fleet are composed of these islanders. Many of them have risen to the
+position of captain, and still more are officers and harpooners;
+but though undoubtedly brave and enterprising, they are cruel and
+treacherous, and in positions of authority over men of Teutonic or
+Anglo-Saxon origin, are apt to treat their subordinates with great
+cruelty.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV. BAD WEATHER
+
+Nautical routine in its essential details is much the same in all ships,
+whether naval, merchant, or whaling vessels. But while in the ordinary
+merchantman there are decidedly "no more cats than can catch mice,"
+hardly, indeed, sufficient for all the mousing that should be done, in
+men-of-war and whaleships the number of hands carried, being far more
+than are wanted for everyday work, must needs be kept at unnecessary
+duties in order that they may not grow lazy and discontented.
+
+For instance, in the CACHALOT we carried a crew of thirty-seven all
+told, of which twenty-four were men before the mast, or common seamen,
+our tonnage being under 400 tons. Many a splendid clipper-ship carrying
+an enormous spread of canvas on four masts, and not overloaded with 2500
+tons of cargo on board, carries twenty-eight or thirty all told, or even
+less than that. As far as we were concerned, the result of this was that
+our landsmen got so thoroughly drilled, that within a week of leaving
+port they hardly knew themselves for the clumsy clodhoppers they at
+first appeared to be.
+
+We had now been eight days out, and in our leisurely way were making
+fair progress across the Atlantic, having had nothing, so far, but
+steady breezes and fine weather. As it was late autumn the first week
+in October--I rather wondered at this, for even in my brief experience I
+had learned to dread a "fall" voyage across the "Western Ocean."
+
+Gradually the face of the sky changed, and the feel of the air, from
+balmy and genial, became raw and cheerless. The little wave tops broke
+short off and blew backwards, apparently against the wind, while the
+old vessel had an uneasy, unnatural motion, caused by a long, new swell
+rolling athwart the existing set of the sea. Then the wind became fitful
+and changeable, backing half round the compass, and veering forward
+again as much in an hour, until at last in one tremendous squall
+it settled in the N.W. for a business-like blow, Unlike the hurried
+merchantman who must needs "hang on" till the last minute, only
+shortening the sail when absolutely compelled to do so, and at the first
+sign of the gales relenting, piling it on again, we were all snug long
+before the storm burst upon us, and now rode comfortably under the
+tiniest of storm staysails.
+
+We were evidently in for a fair specimen of Western Ocean weather, but
+the clumsy-looking, old-fashioned CACHALOT made no more fuss over it
+than one of the long-winged sea-birds that floated around, intent only
+upon snapping up any stray scraps that might escape from us. Higher rose
+the wind, heavier rolled the sea, yet never a drop of water did we ship,
+nor did anything about the deck betoken what a heavy gale was blowing.
+During the worst of the weather, and just after the wind had shifted
+back into the N.E., making an uglier cross sea than ever get up,
+along comes an immense four-masted iron ship homeward bound. She was
+staggering under a veritable mountain of canvas, fairly burying her bows
+in the foam at every forward drive, and actually wetting the clews of
+the upper topsails in the smothering masses of spray, that every few
+minutes almost hid her hull from sight.
+
+It was a splendid picture; but--for the time--I felt glad I was not on
+board of her. In a very few minutes she was out of our ken, followed
+by the admiration of all. Then came, from the other direction, a huge
+steamship, taking no more notice of the gale than as if it were calm.
+Straight through the sea she rushed, dividing the mighty rollers to the
+heart, and often bestriding three seas at once, the centre one spreading
+its many tons of foaming water fore and aft, so that from every orifice
+spouted the seething brine. Compared with these greyhounds of the wave,
+we resembled nothing so much as some old lightship bobbing serenely
+around, as if part and parcel of the mid-Atlantic.
+
+Our greenies were getting so well seasoned by this time that even this
+rough weather did not knock any of them over, and from that time forward
+they had no more trouble from sea-sickness.
+
+The gale gradually blew itself out, leaving behind only a long and very
+heavy swell to denote the deep-reaching disturbance that the ocean had
+endured. And now we were within the range of the Sargasso Weed, that
+mysterious FUCUS that makes the ocean look. like some vast hayfield, and
+keeps the sea from rising, no matter how high the wind. It fell a dead
+calm, and the harpooners amused themselves by dredging up great masses
+of the weed, and turning out the many strange creatures abiding therein.
+What a world of wonderful life the weed is, to be sure! In it the
+flying fish spawn and the tiny cuttle-fish breed, both of them preparing
+bounteous provision for the larger denizens of the deep that have
+no other food. Myriads of tiny crabs and innumerable specimens of
+less-known shell-fish, small fish of species as yet unclassified in
+any work on natural history, with jelly-fish of every conceivable and
+inconceivable shape, form part of this great and populous country in the
+sea. At one haul there was brought on board a mass of flying-fish spawn,
+about ten pounds in weight, looking like nothing so much as a pile of
+ripe white currants, and clinging together in a very similar manner.
+
+Such masses of ova I had often seen cast up among the outlying rocks on
+the shores of the Caribbean Sea, when as a shipwrecked lad I wandered
+idly about unburying turtle eggs from their snug beds in the warm sand,
+and chasing the many-hued coral fish from one hiding-place to another.
+
+While loitering in these smooth waters, waiting for the laggard wind, up
+came a shoal of dolphin, ready as at all times to attach themselves for
+awhile to the ship. Nothing is more singular than the manner in
+which deep-sea fish will accompany a vessel that is not going too
+fast--sometimes for days at a time. Most convenient too, and providing
+hungry Jack with many a fresh mess he would otherwise have missed. Of
+all these friendly fish, none is better known than the "dolphin," as
+from long usage sailors persist in calling them, and will doubtless do
+so until the end of the chapter. For the true dolphin (DELPHINIDAE) is
+not a fish at all, but a mammal a warm-blooded creature that suckles
+its young, and in its most familiar form is known to most people as
+the porpoise. The sailor's "dolphin," on the other hand, is a veritable
+fish, with vertical tail fin instead of the horizontal one which
+distinguishes all the whale family, scales and gills.
+
+It is well known to literature, under its sea-name, for its marvellous
+brilliancy of colour, and there are few objects more dazzling than a
+dolphin leaping out of a calm sea into the sunshine. The beauty of
+a dying dolphin, however, though sanctioned by many generations of
+writers, is a delusion, all the glory of the fish departing as soon as
+he is withdrawn from his native element.
+
+But this habit of digression grows upon one, and I must do my best to
+check it, or I shall never get through my task.
+
+To resume then: when this school of dolphin (I can't for the life of me
+call them CORIPHAENA HIPPURIS) came alongside, a rush was made for the
+"granes"--a sort of five-pronged trident, if I may be allowed a baby
+bull. It was universally agreed among the fishermen that trying a hook
+and line was only waste of time and provocative of profanity! since
+every sailor knows that all the deep-water big fish require a living or
+apparently living bait. The fish, however, sheered off, and would not be
+tempted within reach of that deadly fork by any lure. Then did I cover
+myself with glory. For he who can fish cleverly and luckily may be sure
+of fairly good times in a whaler, although he may be no great things
+at any other work. I had a line of my own, and begging one of the small
+fish that had been hauled up in the Gulf weed, I got permission to go
+aft and fish over the taffrail. The little fish was carefully secured
+on the hook, the point of which just protruded near his tail. Then I
+lowered him into the calm blue waters beneath, and paid out line very
+gently, until my bait was a silvery spot about a hundred feet astern.
+Only a very short time, and my hopes rose as I saw one bright gleam
+after another glide past the keel, heading aft. Then came a gentle
+drawing at the line, which I suffered to slip slowly through my fingers
+until I judged it time to try whether I was right or wrong, A long hard
+pull, and my heart beat fast as I felt the thrill along the line that
+fishermen love. None of your high art here, but haul in hand over hand,
+the line being strong enough to land a 250 pound fish. Up he came, the
+beauty, all silver and scarlet and blue, five feet long if an inch, and
+weighing 35 pounds. Well, such a lot of astonished men I never saw. They
+could hardly believe their eyes. That such a daring innovation should
+be successful was hardly to be believed, even with the vigorous evidence
+before them. Even grim Captain Slocum came to look and turned upon me
+as I thought a less lowering brow than usual, while Mr. Count, the mate,
+fairly chuckled again at the thought of how the little Britisher had
+wiped the eyes of these veteran fishermen. The captive was cut open,
+and two recent flying-fish found in his maw, which were utilized for
+new bait, with the result that there was a cheerful noise of hissing and
+spluttering in the galley soon after, and a mess of fish for all hands.
+
+Shortly afterwards a fresh breeze sprang up, which proved to be the
+beginning of the N.E. trades, and fairly guaranteed us against any very
+bad weather for some time to come.
+
+Somehow or other it had leaked out that we were to cruise the Cape Verd
+Islands for a spell before working south, and the knowledge seemed to
+have quite an enlivening effect upon our Portuguese shipmates.
+
+Most of them belonged there, and although there was but the faintest
+prospect of their getting ashore upon any pretext whatever, the
+possibility of seeing their island homes again seemed to quite transform
+them. Hitherto they had been very moody and exclusive, never associating
+with us on the white side, or attempting to be at all familiar. A mutual
+atmosphere of suspicion, in fact, seemed to pervade our quarters, making
+things already uncomfortable enough, still more so. Now, however, they
+fraternized with us, and in a variety of uncouth ways made havoc of the
+English tongue, as they tried to impress us with the beauty, fertility
+and general incomparability of their beloved Cape Verds. Of the eleven
+white men besides myself in the forecastle, there were a middle-aged
+German baker, who had bolted from Buffalo; two Hungarians, who looked
+like noblemen disguised--in dirt; two slab-sided Yankees of about 22
+from farms in Vermont; a drayman from New York; a French Canadian
+from the neighbourhood of Quebec; two Italians from Genoa; and two
+nondescripts that I never found out the origin of. Imagine, then, the
+babel of sound, and think--but no, it is impossible to think, what sort
+of a jargon was compounded of all these varying elements of language.
+
+One fortunate thing, there was peace below. Indeed, the spirit seemed
+completely taken out of all of them, and by some devilish ingenuity
+the afterguard had been able to sow distrust between them all, while
+treating them like dogs, so that the miseries of their life were
+never openly discussed. My position among them gave me at times some
+uneasiness. Though I tried to be helpful to all, and was full of
+sympathy for their undeserved sufferings, I could not but feel that they
+would have been more than human had they not envied me my immunity from
+the kicks and blows they all shared so impartially. However, there was
+no help for it, so I went on as cheerily as I could.
+
+A peculiarity of all these vessels, as I afterwards learned, was that no
+stated allowance of anything was made. Even the water was not served out
+to us, but was kept in a great scuttle-butt by the cabin door, to which
+every one who needed a drink had to go, and from which none might be
+carried away. No water was allowed for washing except from the sea; and
+every one knows, or should know, that neither flesh nor clothes can be
+cleansed with that. But a cask with a perforated top was lashed by the
+bowsprit and kept filled with urine, which I was solemnly assured by
+Goliath was the finest dirt-extractor in the world for clothes. The
+officers did not avail themselves of its virtues though, but were
+content with lye, which was furnished in plenty by the ashes from the
+galley fire, where nothing but wood was used as fuel. Of course when
+rain fell we might have a good wash, if it was night and no other work
+was toward; but we were not allowed to store any for washing purposes.
+Another curious but absolutely necessary custom prevailed in consequence
+of the short commons under which we lived. When the portion of meat
+was brought down in its wooden kid, or tub, at dinner-time, it was duly
+divided as fairly as possible into as many parts as there were mouths.
+Then one man turned his back on the carver, who holding up each portion,
+called out, "Who's this for?" Whatever name was mentioned by the
+arbitrator, that man owning it received the piece, and had perforce to
+be satisfied therewith. Thus justice was done to all in the only way
+possible, and without any friction whatever.
+
+As some of us were without clothes except what we stood upright in, when
+we joined, the "slop chest" was opened, and every applicant received
+from the steward what Captain Slocum thought fit to let him have, being
+debited with the cost against such wages as he might afterwards earn.
+The clothes were certainly of fairly good quality, if the price was
+high, and exactly suited to our requirements. Soap, matches, and tobacco
+were likewise supplied on the same terms, but at higher prices than
+I had ever heard of before for these necessaries. After much careful
+inquiry I ascertained what, in the event of a successful voyage, we were
+likely to earn. Each of us were on the two hundredth "lay" or share
+at $200 per tun, which meant that for every two hundred barrels of oil
+taken on board, we were entitled to one, which we must sell to the ship
+at the rate of L40 per tun or L4 per barrel. Truly a magnificent outlook
+for young men bound to such a business for three or four years.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V. ACTUAL WARFARE. OUR FIRST WHALE
+
+Simultaneous ideas occurring to several people, or thought transference,
+whatever one likes to call the phenomenon is too frequent an occurrence
+in most of our experience to occasion much surprise. Yet on the occasion
+to which I am about to refer, the matter was so very marked that few of
+us who took part in the day's proceedings are ever likely to forget it.
+
+We were all gathered about the fo'lk'sle scuttle one evening, a few days
+after the gale referred to in the previous chapter, and the question of
+whale-fishing came up for discussion. Until that time, strange as it
+may seem, no word of this, the central idea of all our minds, had been
+mooted. Every man seemed to shun the subject, although we were in
+daily expectation of being called upon to take an active part in
+whale-fighting. Once the ice was broken, nearly all had something to say
+about it, and very nearly as many addle-headed opinions were ventilated
+as at a Colney Hatch debating society. For we none of us KNEW anything
+about it. I was appealed to continually to support this or that theory,
+but as far as whaling went I could only, like the rest of them, draw
+upon my imagination for details. How did a whale act, what were the
+first steps taken, what chance was there of being saved if your boat got
+smashed, and so on unto infinity. At last, getting very tired of this
+"Portugee Parliament" of all talkers and no listeners, I went aft to
+get a drink of water before turning in. The harpooners and other petty
+officers were grouped in the waist, earnestly discussing the pros and
+cons of attack upon whales. As I passed I heard the mate's harpooner
+say, "Feels like whale about. I bet a plug (of tobacco) we raise sperm
+whale to-morrow." Nobody took his bet, for it appeared that they were
+mostly of the same mind, and while I was drinking I heard the officers
+in dignified conclave talking over the same thing. It was Saturday
+evening, and while at home people were looking forward to a day's
+respite from work and care, I felt that the coming day, though never
+taken much notice of on board, was big with the probabilities of strife
+such as I at least had at present no idea of. So firmly was I possessed
+by the prevailing feeling.
+
+The night was very quiet. A gentle breeze was blowing, and the sky was
+of the usual "Trade" character, that is, a dome of dark blue fringed at
+the horizon with peaceful cumulus clouds, almost motionless. I turned
+in at four a.m. from the middle watch and, as usual, slept like a babe.
+Suddenly I started wide awake, a long mournful sound sending a thrill
+to my very heart. As I listened breathlessly other sounds of the same
+character but in different tones joined in, human voices monotonously
+intoning in long drawn-out expirations the single word "bl-o-o-o-o-w."
+Then came a hurricane of noise overhead, and adjurations in no gentle
+language to the sleepers to "tumble up lively there, no skulking, sperm
+whales." At last, then, fulfilling all the presentiments of yesterday,
+the long dreaded moment had arrived. Happily there was no time for
+hesitation, in less than two minutes we were all on deck, and hurrying
+to our respective boats. There was no flurry or confusion, and except
+that orders were given more quietly than usual, with a manifest air of
+suppressed excitement, there was nothing to show that we were not
+going for an ordinary course of boat drill. The skipper was in the main
+crow's-nest with his binoculars presently he shouted, "Naow then, Mr.
+Count, lower away soon's y'like. Small pod o'cows, an' one'r two bulls
+layin' off to west'ard of 'em." Down went the boats into the water
+quietly enough, we all scrambled in and shoved off. A stroke or two of
+the oars were given to get clear of the ship, and one another, then oars
+were shipped and up went the sails. As I took my allotted place at the
+main-sheet, and the beautiful craft started off like some big bird, Mr.
+Count leant forward, saying impressively to me, "Y'r a smart youngster,
+an' I've kinder took t'yer; but don't ye look ahead an' get gallied, 'r
+I'll knock ye stiff wi' th' tiller; y'hear me? N' don't ye dare to make
+thet sheet fast, 'r ye'll die so sudden y' won't know whar y'r hurted."
+I said as cheerfully as I could, "All right, sir," trying to look
+unconcerned, telling myself not to be a coward, and all sorts of things;
+but the cold truth is that I was scared almost to death because I
+didn't know what was coming. However, I did the best thing under the
+circumstances, obeyed orders and looked steadily astern, or up into the
+bronzed impassive face of my chief, who towered above me, scanning
+with eagle eyes the sea ahead. The other boats were coming flying along
+behind us, spreading wider apart as they came, while in the bows of each
+stood the harpooner with his right hand on his first iron, which
+lay ready, pointing over the bow in a raised fork of wood called the
+"crutch."
+
+All of a sudden, at a motion of the chief's hand, the peak of our
+mainsail was dropped, and the boat swung up into the wind, laying
+"hove to," almost stationary. The centre-board was lowered to stop her
+drifting to leeward, although I cannot say it made much difference that
+ever I saw. NOW what's the matter, I thought, when to my amazement the
+chief addressing me said, "Wonder why we've hauled up, don't ye?" "Yes,
+sir, I do," said I. "Wall," said he, "the fish hev sounded, an' 'ef we
+run over 'em, we've seen the last ov'em. So we wait awhile till they
+rise agin, 'n then we'll prob'ly git thar' 'r thareabonts before they
+sound agin." With this explanation I had to be content, although if
+it be no clearer to my readers than it then was to me, I shall have to
+explain myself more fully later on. Silently we lay, rocking lazily upon
+the gentle swell, no other word being spoken by any one. At last Louis,
+the harpooner, gently breathed "blo-o-o-w;" and there, sure enough,
+not half a mile away on the lee beam, was a little bushy cloud of steam
+apparently rising from the sea. At almost the same time as we kept away
+all the other boats did likewise, and just then, catching sight of the
+ship, the reason for this apparently concerted action was explained. At
+the main-mast head of the ship was a square blue flag, and the ensign
+at the peak was being dipped. These were signals well understood and
+promptly acted upon by those in charge of the boats, who were thus
+guided from a point of view at least one hundred feet above the sea.
+
+"Stand up, Louey," the mate murmured softly. I only just stopped myself
+in time from turning my head to see why the order was given. Suddenly
+there was a bump, at the same moment the mate yelled, "Give't to him,
+Louey, give't to him!" and to me, "Haul that main sheet, naow haul, why
+don't ye?" I hauled it flat aft, and the boat shot up into the wind,
+rubbing sides as she did so with what to my troubled sight seemed an
+enormous mass of black india-rubber floating. As we CRAWLED up into the
+wind, the whale went into convulsions befitting his size and energy.
+He raised a gigantic tail on high, threshing the water with deafening
+blows, rolling at the same time from side to side until the surrounding
+sea was white with froth. I felt in an agony lest we should be crushed
+under one of those fearful strokes, for Mr. Count appeared to be
+oblivious of possible danger, although we seemed to be now drifting back
+on to the writhing leviathan. In the agitated condition of the sea, it
+was a task of no ordinary difficulty to unship the tall mast, which was
+of course the first thing to be done. After a desperate struggle, and a
+narrow escape from falling overboard of one of the men, we got the lone
+"stick," with the sail bundled around it, down and "fleeted" aft, where
+it was secured by the simple means of sticking the "heel" under the
+after thwart, two-thirds of the mast extending out over the stern.
+Meanwhile, we had certainly been in a position of the greatest danger,
+our immunity from damage being unquestionably due to anything but
+precaution taken to avoid it.
+
+By the time the oars were handled, and the mate had exchanged places
+with the harpooner, our friend the enemy had "sounded," that is, he had
+gone below for a change of scene, marvelling no doubt what strange thing
+had befallen him. Agreeably to the accounts which I, like most boys, had
+read of the whale fishery, I looked for the rushing of the line round
+the logger-head (a stout wooden post built into the boat aft), to raise
+a cloud of smoke with occasional bursts of flame; so as it began to
+slowly surge round the post, I timidly asked the harpooner whether I
+should throw any water on it. "Wot for?" growled he, as he took a couple
+more turns with it. Not knowing "what for," and hardly liking to quote
+my authorities here, I said no more, but waited events. "Hold him up,
+Louey, bold him up, cain't ye?" shouted the mate, and to my horror, down
+went the nose of the boat almost under water, while at the mate's order
+everybody scrambled aft into the elevated stern sheets.
+
+The line sang quite a tune as it was grudgingly allowed to surge round
+the loggerhead, filling one with admiration at the strength shown by
+such a small rope. This sort of thing went on for about twenty minutes,
+in which time we quite emptied the large tub and began on the small one.
+As there was nothing whatever for us to do while this was going on, I
+had ample leisure for observing the little game that was being played
+about a quarter of a mile away. Mr. Cruce, the second mate, had got a
+whale and was doing his best to kill it; but he was severely handicapped
+by his crew, or rather had been, for two of them were now temporarily
+incapable of either good or harm. They had gone quite "batchy" with
+fright, requiring a not too gentle application of the tiller to their
+heads in order to keep them quiet. The remedy, if rough, was effectual,
+for "the subsequent proceedings interested them no more." Consequently
+his manoeuvres were not so well or rapidly executed as he, doubtless,
+could have wished, although his energy in lancing that whale was
+something to admire and remember. Hatless, his shirt tail out of the
+waist of his trousers streaming behind him like a banner, he lunged and
+thrust at the whale alongside of him, as if possessed of a destroying
+devil, while his half articulate yells of rage and blasphemy were
+audible even to us.
+
+Suddenly our boat fell backward from her "slantindicular" position
+with a jerk, and the mate immediately shouted, "Haul line, there! look
+lively, now, you--so on, etcetera, etcetera" (he seemed to invent new
+epithets on every occasion). The line came in hand over hand, and was
+coiled in a wide heap in the stern sheets, for silky as it was, it could
+not be expected in its wet state to lie very close. As it came flying
+in the mate kept a close gaze upon the water immediately beneath us,
+apparently for the first glimpse of our antagonist. When the whale broke
+water, however, he was some distance off, and apparently as quiet as a
+lamb. Now, had Mr. Count been a prudent or less ambitious man, our task
+would doubtless have been an easy one, or comparatively so; but, being
+a little over-grasping, he got us all into serious trouble. We were
+hauling up to our whale in order to lance it, and the mate was standing,
+lance in hand, only waiting to get near enough, when up comes a large
+whale right alongside of our boat, so close, indeed, that I might have
+poked my finger in his little eye, if I had chosen. The sight of that
+whale at liberty, and calmly taking stock of us like that, was too much
+for the mate. He lifted his lance and hurled it at the visitor, in
+whose broad flank it sank, like a knife into butter, right up to the
+pole-hitches. The recipient disappeared like a flash, but before one had
+time to think, there was an awful crash beneath us, and the mate shot
+up into the air like a bomb from a mortar. He came down in a sitting
+posture on the mast-thwart; but as he fell, the whole framework of the
+boat collapsed like a derelict umbrella. Louis quietly chopped the line
+and severed our connection with the other whale, while in accordance
+with our instructions we drew each man his oar across the boat and
+lashed it firmly down with a piece of line spliced to each thwart for
+the purpose. This simple operation took but a minute, but before it was
+completed we were all up to our necks in the sea. Still in the boat,
+it is true, and therefore not in such danger of drowning as if we were
+quite adrift; but, considering that the boat was reduced to a mere
+bundle of loose planks, I, at any rate, was none too comfortable.
+Now, had he known it, was the whale's golden opportunity; but he, poor
+wretch, had had quite enough of our company, and cleared off without any
+delay, wondering, no doubt, what fortunate accident had rid him of our
+very unpleasant attentions.
+
+I was assured that we were all as safe as if we were on board the
+ship, to which I answered nothing; but, like Jack's parrot, I did some
+powerful thinking. Every little wave that came along swept clean over
+our heads, sometimes coming so suddenly as to cut a breath in half. If
+the wind should increase--but no--I wouldn't face the possibility of
+such a disagreeable thing. I was cool enough now in a double sense, for
+although we were in the tropics, we soon got thoroughly chilled.
+
+By the position of the sun it must have been between ten a.m. and noon,
+and we, of the crew, had eaten nothing since the previous day at supper,
+when, as usual, the meal was very light. Therefore, I suppose we felt
+the chill sooner than the better-nourished mate and harpooner, who
+looked rather scornfully at our blue faces and chattering teeth.
+
+In spite of all assurances to the contrary, I have not the least doubt
+in my own mind that a very little longer would have relieved us of ALL
+our burdens finally. Because the heave of the sea had so loosened the
+shattered planks upon which we stood that they were on the verge of
+falling all asunder. Had they done so we must have drowned, for we
+were cramped and stiff with cold and our constrained position. However,
+unknown to us, a bright look-out upon our movements had been kept
+from the crow's-nest the whole time. We should have been relieved long
+before, but that the whale killed by the second mate was being secured,
+and another boat, the fourth mate's, being picked up, having a hole in
+her bilge you could put you head through. With all these hindrances,
+especially securing the whale, we were fortunate to be rescued as
+soon as we were, since it is well known that whales are of much higher
+commercial value than men.
+
+However, help came at last, and we were hauled alongside. Long exposure
+had weakened us to such an extent that it was necessary to hoist us on
+board, especially the mate, whose "sudden stop," when he returned to
+us after his little aerial excursion, had shaken his sturdy frame
+considerably, a state of body which the subsequent soaking had by
+no means improved. In my innocence I imagined that we should be
+commiserated for our misfortunes by Captain Slocum, and certainly be
+relieved from further duties until we were a little recovered from
+the rough treatment we had just undergone. But I never made a greater
+mistake. The skipper cursed us all (except the mate, whose sole fault
+the accident undoubtedly was) with a fluency and vigour that was, to put
+it mildly, discouraging. Moreover, we were informed that he "wouldn't
+have no adjective skulking;" we must "turn to" and do something after
+wasting the ship's time and property in such a blanked manner. There was
+a limit, however, to our obedience, so although we could not move at all
+for awhile, his threats were not proceeded with farther than theory.
+
+A couple of slings were passed around the boat, by means of which she
+was carefully hoisted on board, a mere dilapidated bundle of sticks and
+raffle of gear. She was at once removed aft out of the way, the business
+of cutting in the whale claiming precedence over everything else just
+then. The preliminary proceedings consisted of rigging the "cutting
+stage." This was composed of two stout planks a foot wide and ten feet
+long, the inner ends of which were suspended by strong ropes over the
+ship's side about four feet from the water, while the outer extremities
+were upheld by tackles from the main rigging, and a small crane abreast
+the try-works.
+
+These planks were about thirty feet apart, their two outer ends being
+connected by a massive plank which was securely bolted to them. A
+handrail about as high as a man's waist, supported by light iron
+stanchions, ran the full length of this plank on the side nearest the
+ship, the whole fabric forming an admirable standing-place from whence
+the officers might, standing in comparative comfort, cut and carve at
+the great mass below to their hearts' content.
+
+So far the prize had been simply held alongside by the whale-line, which
+at death had been "rove" through a hole cut in the solid gristle of the
+tail; but now it became necessary to secure the carcase to the ship in
+some more permanent fashion. Therefore, a massive chain like a small
+ship's cable was brought forward, and in a very ingenious way, by means
+of a tiny buoy and a hand-lead, passed round the body, one end brought
+through a ring in the other, and hauled upon until it fitted tight round
+the "small" or part of the whale next the broad spread of the tail. The
+free end of the fluke-chain was then passed in through a mooring-pipe
+forward, firmly secured to a massive bitt at the heel of the bowsprit
+(the fluke-chain-bitt), and all was ready.
+
+But the subsequent proceedings were sufficiently complicated to demand a
+fresh chapter.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI. "DIRTY WORK FOR CLEAN MONEY"
+
+If in the preceding chapter too much stress has been laid upon the
+smashing of our own boat and consequent sufferings, while little or no
+notice was taken of the kindred disaster to Mistah Jones' vessel, my
+excuse must be that the experience "filled me right up to the chin," as
+the mate concisely, if inelegantly, put it. Poor Goliath was indeed to
+be pitied, for his well-known luck and capacity as a whaleman seemed
+on this occasion to have quite deserted him. Not only had his boat been
+stove upon first getting on to the whale, but he hadn't even had a run
+for his money. It appeared that upon striking his whale, a small, lively
+cow, she had at once "settled," allowing the boat to run over her; but
+just as they were passing, she rose, gently enough, her pointed hump
+piercing the thin skin of half-inch cedar as if it had been cardboard.
+She settled again immediately, leaving a hole behind her a foot long
+by six inches wide, which effectually put a stop to all further fishing
+operations on the part of Goliath and his merry men for that day, at any
+rate. It was all so quiet, and so tame and so stupid, no wonder Mistah
+Jones felt savage. When Captain Slocum's fluent profanity flickered
+around him, including vehemently all he might be supposed to have any
+respect for, he did not even LOOK as if he would like to talk back; he
+only looked sick and tired of being himself.
+
+The third mate, again, was of a different category altogether. He had
+distinguished himself by missing every opportunity of getting near a
+whale while there was a "loose" one about, and then "saving" the crew of
+Goliath's boat, who were really in no danger whatever. His iniquity was
+too great to be dealt with by mere bad language. He crept about like a
+homeless dog--much, I am afraid, to my secret glee, for I couldn't help
+remembering his untiring cruelty to the green hands on first leaving
+port.
+
+In consequence of these little drawbacks we were not a very jovial crowd
+forrard or aft. Not that hilarity was ever particularly noticeable among
+us, but just now there was a very decided sense of wrong-doing over us
+all, and a general fear that each of us was about to pay the penalty due
+to some other delinquent. But fortunately there was work to be done.
+Oh, blessed work! how many awkward situations you have extricated people
+from! How many distracted brains have you soothed and restored, by
+your steady irresistible pressure of duty to be done and brooking of no
+delay!
+
+The first thing to be done was to cut the whale's head off. This
+operation, involving the greatest amount of labour in the whole of the
+cutting in, was taken in hand by the first and second mates, who, armed
+with twelve-feet spades, took their station upon the stage, leaned over
+the handrail to steady themselves, and plunged their weapons vigorously
+down through the massive neck of the animal--if neck it could be said to
+have--following a well-defined crease in the blubber. At the same time
+the other officers passed a heavy chain sling around the long, narrow
+lower jaw, hooking one of the big cutting tackles into it, the "fall" of
+which was then taken to the windlass and hove tight, turning the whale
+on her back. A deep cut was then made on both sides of the rising jaw,
+the windlass was kept going, and gradually the whole of the throat was
+raised high enough for a hole to be cut through its mass, into which the
+strap of the second cutting tackle was inserted and secured by passing
+a huge toggle of oak through its eye. The second tackle was then hove
+taut, and the jaw, with a large piece of blubber attached, was cut off
+from the body with a boarding-knife, a tool not unlike a cutlass blade
+set into a three-foot-long wooden handle.
+
+Upon being severed the whole piece swung easily inboard and was lowered
+on deck. The fast tackle was now hove upon while the third mate on
+the stage cut down diagonally into the blubber on the body, which the
+purchase ripped off in a broad strip or "blanket" about five feet
+wide and a foot thick. Meanwhile the other two officers carved away
+vigorously at the head, varying their labours by cutting a hole right
+through the snout. This when completed received a heavy chain for the
+purpose of securing the head. When the blubber had been about half
+stripped off the body, a halt was called in order that the work of
+cutting off the head might be finished, for it was a task of incredible
+difficulty. It was accomplished at last, and the mass floated astern
+by a stout rope, after which the windlass pawls clattered merrily, the
+"blankets" rose in quick succession, and were cut off and lowered into
+the square of the main batch or "blubber-room." A short time sufficed to
+strip off the whole of the body-blubber, and when at last the tail was
+reached, the backbone was cut through, the huge mass of flesh floating
+away to feed the innumerable scavengers of the sea. No sooner was the
+last of the blubber lowered into the hold than the hatches were put on
+and the head hauled up alongside. Both tackles were secured to it and
+all hands took to the windlass levers. This was a small cow whale of
+about thirty barrels, that is, yielding that amount of oil, so it was
+just possible to lift the entire head on board; but as it weighed as
+much as three full-grown elephants, it was indeed a heavy lift for even
+our united forces, trying our tackle to the utmost. The weather was very
+fine, and the ship rolled but little; even then, the strain upon the
+mast was terrific, and right glad was I when at last the immense cube of
+fat, flesh, and bone was eased inboard and gently lowered on deck.
+
+As soon as it was secured the work of dividing it began. From the snout
+a triangular mass was cut, which was more than half pure spermaceti.
+This substance was contained in spongy cells held together by layers
+of dense white fibre, exceedingly tough and elastic, and called by the
+whalers "white-horse." The whole mass, or "junk" as it is called, was
+hauled away to the ship's side and firmly lashed to the bulwarks for the
+time being, so that it might not "take charge" of the deck during the
+rest of the operations.
+
+The upper part of the head was now slit open lengthwise, disclosing an
+oblong cistern or "case" full of liquid spermaceti, clear as water. This
+was baled out with buckets into a tank, concreting as it cooled into a
+wax-like substance, bland and tasteless. There being now nothing more
+remaining about the skull of any value, the lashings were loosed, and
+the first leeward roll sent the great mass plunging overboard with a
+mighty splash. It sank like a stone, eagerly followed by a few small
+sharks that were hovering near.
+
+As may be imagined, much oil was running about the deck, for so
+saturated was every part of the creature with it that it really gushed
+like water during the cutting-up process. None of it was allowed to run
+to waste, though, for the scupper-holes which drain the deck were all
+carefully plugged, and as soon as the "junk" had been dissected all the
+oil was carefully "squeegeed" up and poured into the try-pots.
+
+Two men were now told off as "blubber-room men," whose duty it became
+to go below, and squeezing themselves in as best they could between
+the greasy masses of fat, cut it up into "horse-pieces" about eighteen
+inches long and six inches square. Doing this they became perfectly
+saturated with oil, as if they had taken a bath in a tank of it; for
+as the vessel rolled it was impossible to maintain a footing, and
+every fall was upon blubber running with oil. A machine of wonderful
+construction had been erected on deck in a kind of shallow trough about
+six feet long by four feet wide and a foot deep. At some remote period
+of time it had no doubt been looked upon as a triumph of ingenuity,
+a patent mincing machine. Its action was somewhat like that of a
+chaff-cutter, except that the knife was not attached to the wheel, and
+only rose and fell, since it was not required to cut right through the
+"horse-pieces" with which it was fed. It will be readily understood
+that in order to get the oil quickly out of the blubber, it needs to be
+sliced as thin as possible, but for convenience in handling the refuse
+(which is the only fuel used) it is not chopped up in small pieces, but
+every "horse-piece" is very deeply scored as it were, leaving a thin
+strip to hold the slices together. This then was the order of work. Two
+harpooners attended the try-pots, replenishing them with minced blubber
+from the hopper at the port side, and baling out the sufficiently
+boiled oil into the great cooling tank on the starboard. One officer
+superintended the mincing, another exercised a general supervision over
+all. There was no man at the wheel and no look-out, for the vessel was
+"hove-to" under two close-reefed topsails and fore-topmast-staysail,
+with the wheel lashed hard down. A look-out man was unnecessary, since
+we could not run anybody down, and if anybody ran us down, it would only
+be because all hands were asleep, for the glare of our try-works fire,
+to say nothing of the blazing cresset before mentioned, could have been
+seen for many miles. So we toiled watch and watch, six hours on and six
+off, the work never ceasing for an instant night or day. Though the
+work was hard and dirty, and the discomfort of being so continually wet
+through with oil great, there was only one thing dangerous about the
+whole business. That was the job of filling and shifting the huge casks
+of oil. Some of these were of enormous size, containing 350 gallons when
+full, and the work of moving them about the greasy deck of a rolling
+ship was attended with a terrible amount of risk. For only four men at
+most could get fair hold of a cask, and when she took it into her silly
+old hull to start rolling, just as we had got one half-way across
+the deck, with nothing to grip your feet, and the knowledge that one
+stumbling man would mean a sudden slide of the ton and a half weight,
+and a little heap of mangled corpses somewhere in the lee scuppers--well
+one always wanted to be very thankful when the lashings were safely
+passed.
+
+The whale being a small one, as before noted, the whole business was
+over within three days, and the decks scrubbed and re-scrubbed until
+they had quite regained their normal whiteness. The oil was poured by
+means of a funnel and long canvas hose into the casks stowed in the
+ground tier at the bottom of the ship, and the gear, all carefully
+cleaned and neatly "stopped up," stowed snugly away below again.
+
+This long and elaborate process is quite different from that followed
+on board the Arctic whaleships, whose voyages are of short duration,
+and who content themselves with merely cutting the blubber up small and
+bringing it home to have the oil expressed. But the awful putrid mass
+discharged from a Greenlander's hold is of very different quality and
+value, apart from the nature of the substance, to the clear and sweet
+oil, which after three years in cask is landed from a south-seaman as
+inoffensive in smell and flavour as the day it was shipped. No attempt
+is made to separate the oil and spermaceti beyond boiling the "head
+matter," as it is called, by itself first, and putting it into casks
+which are not filled up with the body oil. Spermaceti exists in all
+the oil, especially that from the dorsal hump; but it is left for
+the refiners ashore to extract and leave the oil quite free from any
+admixture of the wax-like substance, which causes it to become solid at
+temperatures considerably above the freezing-point.
+
+Uninteresting as the preceding description may be, it is impossible to
+understand anything of the economy of a south-sea whaler without giving
+it, and I have felt it the more necessary because of the scanty notice
+given to it in the only two works published on the subject, both of them
+highly technical, and written for scientific purposes by medical men.
+Therefore I hope to be forgiven if I have tried the patience of my
+readers by any prolixity.
+
+It will not, of course, have escaped the reader's notice that I have not
+hitherto attempted to give any details concerning the structure of the
+whale just dealt with. The omission is intentional. During this, our
+first attempt at real whaling, my mind was far too disturbed by the
+novelty and danger of the position in which I found myself for the first
+time, for me to pay any intelligent attention to the party of the second
+part.
+
+But I may safely promise that from the workman's point of view, the
+habits, manners, and build of the whales shall be faithfully described
+as I saw them during my long acquaintance with them, earnestly hoping
+that if my story be not as technical or scientific as that of Drs.
+Bennett and Beale, it may be found fully as accurate and reliable; and
+perhaps the reader, being like myself a mere layman, so to speak, may be
+better able to appreciate description free from scientific formula and
+nine-jointed words.
+
+Two things I did notice on this occasion which I will briefly allude to
+before closing this chapter. One was the peculiar skin of the whale. It
+was a bluish-black, and as thin as gold-beater's skin. So thin, indeed,
+and tender, that it was easily scraped off with the finger-nail.
+Immediately beneath it, upon the surface of the blubber, was a layer or
+coating of what for want of a better simile I must call fine short fur,
+although unlike fur it had no roots or apparently any hold upon the
+blubber. Neither was it attached to the skin which covered it; in fact,
+it seemed merely a sort of packing between the skin and the surface of
+the thick layer of solid fat which covered the whole area of the whale's
+body. The other matter which impressed me was the peculiarity of the
+teeth. For up till that time I had held, in common with most seamen, and
+landsmen, too, for that matter, the prevailing idea that a "whale" lived
+by "suction" (although I did not at all know what that meant), and that
+it was impossible for him to swallow a herring. Yet here was a mouth
+manifestly intended for greater things in the way of gastronomy than
+herrings; nor did it require more than the most casual glances to
+satisfy one of so obvious a fact. Then the teeth were heroic in size,
+protruding some four or five inches from the gum, and solidly set more
+than that into its firm and compact substance. They were certainly not
+intended for mastication, being, where thickest, three inches apart, and
+tapering to a short point, curving slightly backwards. In this specimen,
+a female, and therefore small as I have said, there were twenty of
+them on each side, the last three or four near the gullet being barely
+visible above the gum.
+
+Another most convincing reason why no mastication could have been
+possible was that there were no teeth visible in the upper jaw. Opposed
+to each of the teeth was a socket where a tooth should apparently have
+been, and this was conclusive evidence of the soft and yielding nature
+of the great creature's food. But there were signs that at some period
+of the development of the whale it had possessed a double row of teeth,
+because at the bottom of these upper sockets we found in a few cases
+what seemed to be an abortive tooth, not one that was growing, because
+they had no roots, but a survival of teeth that had once been perfect
+and useful, but from disuse, or lack of necessity for them, had
+gradually ceased to come to maturity. The interior of the mouth and
+throat was of a livid white, and the tongue was quite small for so large
+an animal. It was almost incapable of movement, being somewhat like a
+fowl's. Certainly it could not have been protruded even from the angle
+of the mouth, much less have extended along the parapet of that lower
+mandible, which reminded one of the beak of some mighty albatross or
+stork.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII. GETTING SOUTHWARD
+
+Whether our recent experience had altered the captain's plans or not
+I do not know, but much to the dismay of the Portuguese portion of the
+crew, we did but sight, dimly and afar off, the outline of the Cape
+Verde Islands before our course was altered, and we bore away for the
+southward like any other outward-bounder. That is, as far as our course
+went; but as to the speed, we still retained the leisurely tactics
+hitherto pursued, shortening sail every night, and, if the weather was
+very fine, setting it all again at daybreak.
+
+The morose and sullen temper of the captain had been, if anything, made
+worse by recent events, and we were worked as hard as if the success of
+the voyage depended upon our ceaseless toil of scrubbing, scraping,
+and polishing. Discipline was indeed maintained at a high pitch of
+perfection, no man daring to look awry, much less complain of any
+hardship, however great. Even this humble submissiveness did not satisfy
+our tyrant, and at last his cruelty took a more active shape. One of
+the long Yankee farmers from Vermont, Abner Cushing by name, with the
+ingenuity which seems inbred in his 'cute countrymen, must needs try
+his hand at making a villainous decoction which he called "beer," the
+principal ingredients in which were potatoes and molasses. Now potatoes
+formed no part of our dietary, so Abner set his wits to work to steal
+sufficient for his purpose, and succeeded so far that he obtained half
+a dozen. I have very little doubt that one of the Portuguese in the
+forecastle conveyed the information aft for some reason best known to
+himself, any more than we white men all had that in a similar manner
+all our sayings and doings, however trivial, became at once known to the
+officers. However, the fact that the theft was discovered soon became
+painfully evident, for we had a visit from the afterguard in force one
+afternoon, and Abner with his brewage was haled to the quarter-deck.
+There, in the presence of all hands, he was arraigned, found guilty of
+stealing the ship's stores, and sentence passed upon him. By means of
+two small pieces of fishing line he was suspended by his thumbs in the
+weather rigging, in such a manner that when the ship was upright his
+toes touched the deck, but when she rolled his whole weight hung from
+his thumbs. This of itself one would have thought sufficient torture for
+almost any offence, but in addition to it he received two dozen lashes
+with an improvised cat-o'-nine-tails, laid on by the brawny arm of
+one of the harpooners. We were all compelled to witness this, and our
+feelings may be imagined. When, after what seemed a terribly long
+time to me (Heaven knows what it must have been to him!), he fainted,
+although no chicken I nearly fainted too, from conflicting emotions of
+sympathy and impotent rage.
+
+He was then released in leisurely fashion, and we were permitted to take
+him forward and revive him. As soon as he was able to stand on his feet,
+he was called on deck again, and not allowed to go below till his watch
+was over. Meanwhile Captain Slocum improved the occasion by giving us a
+short harangue, the burden of which was that we had now seen a LITTLE of
+what any of us might expect if we played any "dog's tricks" on him. But
+you can get used to anything, I suppose: so after the first shock of the
+atrocity was over, things went on again pretty much as usual.
+
+For the first and only time in my experience, we sighted St. Paul's
+Rocks, a tiny group of jagged peaks protruding from the Atlantic nearly
+on the Equator. Stupendous mountains they must be, rising almost sheer
+for about four and a half miles from the ocean bed. Although they appear
+quite insignificant specks upon the vast expanse of water, one could not
+help thinking how sublime their appearance would be were they visible
+from the plateau whence they spring. Their chief interest to us at the
+time arose from the fact that, when within about three miles of them,
+we were suddenly surrounded by a vast school of bonito, These fish,
+so-named by the Spaniards from their handsome appearance, are a species
+of mackerel, a branch of the SCOMBRIDAE family, and attain a size
+of about two feet long and forty pounds weight, though their average
+dimensions are somewhat less than half that. They feed entirely upon
+flying-fish and the small leaping squid or cuttle-fish, but love to
+follow a ship, playing around her, if her pace be not too great, for
+days together. Their flesh resembles beef in appearance, and they are
+warm-blooded; but, from their habitat being mid-ocean, nothing is known
+with any certainty of their habits of breeding.
+
+The orthodox method of catching them on board ship is to cover a
+suitable hook with a piece of white rag a couple of inches long, and
+attach it to a stout line. The fisherman then takes his seat upon the
+jibboom end, having first, if he is prudent, secured a sack to the
+jibstay in such a manner that its mouth gapes wide. Then he unrolls his
+line, and as the ship forges ahead the line, blowing out, describes a
+curve, at the end of which the bait, dipping to--the water occasionally,
+roughly represents a flying-fish. Of course, the faster the ship is
+going, the better the chance of deceiving the fish, since they have less
+time to study the appearance of the bait. It is really an exaggerated
+and clumsy form of fly-fishing, and, as with that elegant pastime, much
+is due to the skill of the fisherman.
+
+As the bait leaps from crest to crest of the wavelets thrust aside by
+the advancing ship, a fish more adventurous or hungrier than the rest
+will leap at it, and in an instant there is a dead, dangling weight of
+from ten to forty pounds hanging at the end of your line thirty feet
+below. You haul frantically, for he may be poorly hooked, and you cannot
+play him. In a minute or two, if all goes well, he is plunged in the
+sack, and safe. But woe unto you if you have allowed the jeers of your
+shipmates to dissuade you from taking a sack out with you.
+
+The struggles of these fish are marvellous, and a man runs great risk of
+being shaken off the boom, unless his legs are firmly locked in between
+the guys. Such is the tremendous vibration that a twenty-pound bonito
+makes in a man's grip, that it can be felt in the cabin at the other and
+of the ship; and I have often come in triumphantly with one, having lost
+all feeling in my arms and a goodly portion of skin off my breast and
+side, where I have embraced the prize in a grim determination to hold
+him at all hazards, besides being literally drenched with his blood.
+
+Like all our fishing operations on board the CACHALOT, this day's
+fishing was conducted on scientific principles, and resulted in
+twenty-five fine fish being shipped, which were a welcome addition to
+our scanty allowance. Happily for us, they would not take the salt in
+that sultry latitude soon enough to preserve them; for, when they can be
+salted, they become like brine itself, and are quite unfit for food.
+Yet we should have been compelled to eat salt bonito, or go without meat
+altogether, if it had been possible to cure them.
+
+We were now fairly in the "horse latitudes," and, much to our relief,
+the rain came down in occasional deluges, permitting us to wash well
+and often. I suppose the rains of the tropics have been often enough
+described to need no meagre attempts of mine to convey an idea of them;
+yet I have often wished I could make home-keeping friends understand how
+far short what they often speak of as a "tropical shower" falls of the
+genuine article. The nearest I can get to it is the idea of an ocean
+suspended overhead, out, of which the bottom occasionally falls. Nothing
+is visible or audible but the glare and roar of falling water, and a
+ship's deck, despite the many outlets, is full enough to swim about in
+in a very few minutes. At such times the whole celestial machinery
+of rain-making may be seen in full working order. Five or six mighty
+waterspouts in various stages of development were often within easy
+distance of us; once, indeed, we watched the birth, growth, and death
+of one less than a mile away. First, a big, black cloud, even among that
+great assemblage of NIMBI, began to belly downward, until the centre
+of it tapered into a stem, and the whole mass looked like a vast,
+irregularly-moulded funnel. Lower and lower it reached, as if feeling
+for a soil in which to grow, until the sea beneath was agitated
+sympathetically, rising at last in a sort of pointed mound to meet the
+descending column. Our nearness enabled us to see that both descending
+and rising parts were whirling violently in obedience to some invisible
+force, and when they had joined each other, although the spiral motion
+did not appear to continue, the upward rush of the water through what
+was now a long elastic tube was very plainly to be seen. The cloud
+overhead grew blacker and bigger, until its gloom was terrible. The
+pipe, or stem, got thinner gradually, until it became a mere thread;
+nor, although watching closely, could we determine when the connection
+between sea and sky ceased--one could not call it severed. The point
+rising from the sea settled almost immediately amidst a small commotion,
+as of a whirlpool. The tail depending from the cloud slowly shortened,
+and the mighty reservoir lost the vast bulge which had hung so
+threateningly above. Just before the final disappearance of the last
+portion of the tube, a fragment of cloud appeared to break off. It fell
+near enough to show by its thundering roar what a body of water it must
+have been, although it looked like a saturated piece of dirty rag in its
+descent.
+
+For whole days and nights together we sometimes lay almost "as idle as
+a painted ship upon a painted ocean," when the deep blue dome above
+matched the deep blue plain below, and never a fleck of white appeared
+in sky or sea. This perfect stop to our progress troubled none, although
+it aggravates a merchant skipper terribly. As for the objects of our
+search, they had apparently all migrated other-whither, for never a sign
+of them did we see. Finbacks, a species of rorqual, were always pretty
+numerous, and as if they knew how useless they were to us, came and
+played around like exaggerated porpoises. One in particular kept us
+company for several days and nights. We knew him well, from a great
+triangular scar on his right side, near the dorsal fin. Sometimes he
+would remain motionless by the side of the ship, a few feet below the
+surface, as distinctly in our sight as a gold-fish in a parlour globe;
+or he would go under the keel, and gently chafe his broad back to and
+fro along it, making queer tremors run through the vessel, as if she
+were scraping over a reef. Whether from superstition or not I cannot
+tell, but I never saw any creature injured out of pure wantonness,
+except sharks, while I was on board the CACHALOT. Of course, injuries to
+men do not count. Had that finback attempted to play about a passenger
+ship in such a fashion, all the loungers on board would have been
+popping at him with their revolvers and rifles without ever a thought
+of compunction; yet here, in a vessel whose errand was whale-fishing,
+a whale enjoyed perfect immunity. It was very puzzling. At last my
+curiosity became too great to hear any longer, and I sought my friend
+Mistah Jones at what I considered a favourable opportunity. I found him
+very gracious and communicative, and I got such a lecture on the natural
+history of the cetacea as I have never forgotten--the outcome of a
+quarter-century's experience of them, and afterwards proved by me to be
+correct in every detail, which latter is a great deal more than can be
+said of any written natural history that ever I came across. But I will
+not go into that now. Leaning over the rail, with the great rorqual
+laying perfectly still a few feet below, I was told to mark how slender
+and elegant were his proportions. "Clipper-built," my Mentor termed him.
+He was full seventy feet long, but his greatest diameter would not reach
+ten feet. His snout was long and pointed, while both top and bottom of
+his head were nearly flat. When he came up to breathe, which he did out
+of the top of his head, he showed us that, instead of teeth, he had a
+narrow fringe of baleen (whalebone) all around his upper jaws, although
+"I kaint see whyfor, kase he lib on all sort er fish, s'long's dey
+ain't too big. I serpose w'en he kaint get nary fish he do de same ez
+de 'bowhead'--go er siftin eout dem little tings we calls whale-feed wiv
+dat ar' rangement he carry in his mouf." "But why don't we harpoon him?"
+I asked. Goliath turned on me a pitying look, as he replied, "Sonny,
+ef yew wuz ter go on stick iron inter dat ar fish, yew'd fink de hole
+bottom fell eout kerblunk. W'en I uz young 'n foolish, a finback range
+'longside me one day, off de Seychelles. I just done gone miss' a spam
+whale, and I was kiender mad,--muss ha' bin. Wall, I let him hab it blam
+'tween de ribs. If I lib ten tousan year, ain't gwine ter fergit dat ar.
+Wa'nt no time ter spit, tell ye; eberybody hang ober de side ob de boat.
+Wiz--poof!--de line all gone. Clar to glory, I neber see it go. Ef it
+hab ketch anywhar, nobody eber see US too. Fus, I t'ought I jump ober
+de side--neber face de skipper any mo'. But he uz er good ole man, en
+he only say, 'Don't be sech blame jackass any more.' En I don't." From
+which lucid narration I gathered that the finback had himself to thank
+for his immunity from pursuit. "'Sides," persisted Goliath, "wa' yew
+gwine do wiv' him? Ain't six inch uv blubber anywhere 'bout his long
+ugly carkiss; en dat, dirty lill' rag 'er whalebone he got in his mouf,
+'taint worf fifty cents. En mor'n dat, we pick up, a dead one when I
+uz in de ole RAINBOW--done choke hisself, I spec, en we cut him in. He
+stink fit ter pison de debbil, en, after all, we get eighteen bar'l ob
+dirty oil out ob him. Wa'nt worf de clean sparm scrap we use ter bile
+him. G' 'way!" Which emphatic adjuration, addressed not to me, but to
+the unconscious monster below, closed the lesson for the time.
+
+The calm still persisted, and, as usual, fish began to abound,
+especially flying-fish. At times, disturbed by some hungry bonito or
+dolphin, a shoal of them would rise--a great wave of silver--and skim
+through the air, rising and falling for perhaps a couple of hundred
+yards before they again took to the water; or a solitary one of larger
+size than usual would suddenly soar into the air, a heavy splash behind
+him showing by how few inches he had missed the jaws of his pursuer.
+Away he would go in a long, long curve, and, meeting the ship in his
+flight, would rise in the air, turn off at right angles to his former
+direction, and spin away again, the whir of his wing-fins distinctly
+visible as well as audible. At last he would incline to the water, but
+just as he was about to enter it there would be an eddy--the enemy
+was there waiting--and he would rise twenty, thirty feet, almost
+perpendicularly, and dart away fully a hundred yards on a fresh course
+before the drying of his wing membranes compelled him to drop. In the
+face of such a sight as this, which is of everyday occurrence in these
+latitudes, how trivial and misleading the statements made by the natural
+history books seem.
+
+They tell their readers that the EXOCETUS VOLITANS "does not fly; does
+not flutter its wings; can only take a prolonged leap," and so on. The
+misfortune attendant upon such books seems, to an unlearned sailor like
+myself, to be that, although posing as authorities, most of the authors
+are content to take their facts not simply at second-hand, but even unto
+twenty-second-hand. So the old fables get repeated, and brought up to
+date, and it is nobody's business to take the trouble to correct them.
+
+The weather continued calm and clear, and as the flying-fish were about
+in such immense numbers, I ventured to suggest to Goliath that we might
+have a try for some of them. I verily believe he thought I was mad. He
+stared at me for a minute, and then, with an indescribable intonation,
+said, "How de ol' Satan yew fink yew gwain ter get'm, hey? Ef yew spects
+ter fool dis chile wiv any dem lime-juice yarns, 'bout lanterns 'n boats
+at night-time, yew's 'way off." I guessed he meant the fable current
+among English sailors, that if you hoist a sail on a calm night in a
+boat where flying-fish abound, and hang a lantern in the middle of it,
+the fish will fly in shoals at the lantern, strike against the sail, and
+fall in heaps in the boat. It MAY be true, but I never spoke to anybody
+who has seen it done, nor is it the method practised in the only place
+in the world where flying-fishing is followed for a living. So I told
+Mr. Jones that if we had some circular nets of small mesh made and
+stretched on wooden hoops, I was sure we should be able to catch some.
+He caught at the idea, and mentioned it to the mate, who readily gave
+his permission to use a boat. A couple of "Guineamen" (a very large
+kind of flying-fish, having four wings) flew on board that night, as if
+purposely to provide us with the necessary bait.
+
+Next morning, about four bells, the sea being like a mirror, unruffled
+by a breath of wind, we lowered and paddled off from the ship about a
+mile. When far enough away, we commenced operations by squeezing in the
+water some pieces of fish that had been kept for the purpose until they
+were rather high-flavoured. The exuding oil from this fish spread a
+thin film for some distance around the boat, through which, as through a
+sheet of glass, we could see a long way down. Minute specks of the bait
+sank slowly through the limpid blue, but for at least an hour there
+was no sign of life. I was beginning to fear that I should be called
+to account for misleading all hands, when, to my unbounded delight,
+an immense shoal of flying-fish came swimming round the boat, eagerly
+picking up the savoury morsels. We grasped our nets, and, leaning over
+the gunwale, placed them silently in the water, pressing them downward
+and in towards the boat at the same time. Our success was great
+and immediate. We lifted the wanderers by scores, while I whispered
+imploringly, "Be careful not to scare them; don't make a sound." All
+hands entered into the spirit of the thing with great eagerness. As for
+Mistah Jones, his delight was almost more than he could bear. Suddenly
+one of the men, in lifting his net, slipped on the smooth bottom of the
+boat, jolting one of the oars. There was a gleam of light below as the
+school turned--they had all disappeared instanter. We had been so busy
+that we had not noticed the dimensions of our catch; but now, to our
+great joy, we found that we had at least eight hundred fish nearly as
+large as herrings. We at once returned to the ship, having been absent
+only two hours, during which we had caught sufficient to provide all
+hands with three good meals. Not one of the crew had ever seen or heard
+of such fishing before, so my pride and pleasure may be imagined. A
+little learning may be a dangerous thing at times, but it certainly
+is often handy to have about you. The habit of taking notice
+and remembering has often been the means of saving many lives in
+suddenly-met situations of emergency, at sea perhaps more than anywhere
+else, and nothing can be more useful to a sailor than the practice of
+keeping his weather-eye open.
+
+In Barbadoes there is established the only regular flying-fishery in the
+world, and in just the manner I have described, except that the boats
+are considerably larger, is the whole town supplied with delicious fish
+at so trifling a cost as to make it a staple food among all classes.
+
+But I find that I am letting this chapter run to an unconscionable
+length, and it does not appear as if we were getting at the southward
+very fast either. Truth to tell, our progress was mighty slow; but
+we gradually crept across the belt of calms, and a week after our
+never-to-be-forgotten haul of flying-fish we got the first of the
+south-east trades, and went away south at a good pace--for us. We made
+the Island of Trinidada with its strange conical-topped pillar, the
+Ninepin Rock, but did not make a call, as the skipper was beginning to
+get fidgety at not seeing any whales, and anxious to get down to where
+he felt reasonably certain of falling in with them. Life had been
+very monotonous of late, and much as we dreaded still the prospect of
+whale-fighting (by "we," of course, I mean the chaps forward), it began
+to lose much of its terror for us, so greatly did we long for a little
+change. Keeping, as we did, out of the ordinary track of ships, we
+hardly ever saw a sail. We had no recreations; fun was out of the
+question; and had it not been for a Bible, a copy of Shakespeare, and a
+couple of cheap copies of "David Copperfield" and "Bleak House," all of
+which were mine, we should have had no books.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII. ABNER'S WHALE
+
+In a previous chapter I have referred to the fact of a bounty being
+offered to whoever should first sight a useful whale, payable only in
+the event of the prize being secured by the ship. In consequence of our
+ill-success, and to stimulate the watchfulness of all, that bounty was
+now increased from ten pounds of tobacco to twenty, or fifteen dollars,
+whichever the winner chose to have. Most of us whites regarded this
+as quite out of the question for us, whose untrained vision was as the
+naked eye to a telescope when pitted against the eagle-like sight of the
+Portuguese. Nevertheless, we all did our little best, and I know, for
+one, that when I descended from my lofty perch, after a two hours'
+vigil, my eyes often ached and burned for an hour afterwards from the
+intensity of my gaze across the shining waste of waters.
+
+Judge, then, of the surprise of everybody, when one forenoon watch,
+three days after we had lost sight of Trinidada, a most extraordinary
+sound was heard from the fore crow's-nest. I was, at the time, up at the
+main, in company with Louis, the mate's harpooner, and we stared across
+to see whatever was the matter, The watchman was unfortunate Abner
+Cushing, whose trivial offence had been so severely punished a short
+time before, and he was gesticulating and howling like a madman. Up from
+below came the deep growl of the skipper, "Foremast head, there, what
+d'ye say?" "B-b-b-blow, s-s-sir," stammered Abner; "a big whale right in
+the way of the sun, sir." "See anythin', Louey?" roared the skipper to
+my companion, just as we had both "raised" the spout almost in the glare
+cast by the sun. "Yessir," answered Louis; "but I kaint make him eout
+yet, sir." "All right; keep yer eye on him, and lemme know sharp;" and
+away he went aft for his glasses.
+
+The course was slightly altered, so that we headed direct for the whale,
+and in less than a minute afterwards we saw distinctly the great black
+column of a sperm whale's head rise well above the sea, scattering a
+circuit of foam before it, and emitting a bushy, tufted burst of vapour
+into the clear air. "There she white-waters! Ah bl-o-o-o-o-o-w, blow,
+blow!" sang Louis; and then, in another tone, "Sperm whale, sir; big,
+'lone fish, headin' 'beout east-by-nothe." "All right. 'Way down
+from aloft," answered the skipper, who was already half-way up the
+main-rigging; and like squirrels we slipped out of our hoops and down
+the backstays, passing the skipper like a flash as he toiled upwards,
+bellowing orders as he went. Short as our journey down had been, when we
+arrived on deck we found all ready for a start. But as the whale was
+at least seven miles away, and we had a fair wind for him, there was no
+hurry to lower, so we all stood at attention by our respective boats,
+waiting for the signal. I found, to my surprise, that, although I was
+conscious of a much more rapid heart-beat than usual, I was not half so
+scared as I expected to be--that the excitement was rather pleasant
+than otherwise. There were a few traces of funk about some of the others
+still; but as for Abner, he was fairly transformed; I hardly knew the
+man. He was one of Goliath's boat's crew, and the big darkey was quite
+proud of him. His eyes sparkled, and he chuckled and smiled constantly,
+as one who is conscious of having done a grand stroke of business, not
+only for himself, but for all hands. "Lower away boats!" came pealing
+down from the skipper's lofty perch, succeeded instantly by the rattle
+of the patent blocks as the falls flew through them, while the four
+beautiful craft took the water with an almost simultaneous splash.
+The ship-keepers had trimmed the yards to the wind and hauled up the
+courses, so that simply putting the helm down deadened our way, and
+allowed the boats to run clear without danger of fouling one another. To
+shove off and hoist sail was the work of a few moments, and with a fine
+working breeze away we went. As before, our boat, being the chief's,
+had the post of honour; but there was now only one whale, and I rather
+wondered why we had all left the ship. According to expectations, down
+he went when we were within a couple of miles of him, but quietly and
+with great dignity, elevating his tail perpendicularly in the air, and
+sinking slowly from our view. Again I found Mr. Count talkative.
+
+"Thet whale 'll stay down fifty minutes, I guess," said he, "fer he's
+every gill ov a hundred en twenty bar'l; and don't yew fergit it." "Do
+the big whales give much more trouble than the little ones?" I asked,
+seeing him thus chatty. "Wall, it's jest ez it happens, boy--just ez
+it happens. I've seen a fifty-bar'l bull make the purtiest fight I ever
+hearn tell ov--a fight thet lasted twenty hours, stove three boats, 'n
+killed two men. Then, again, I've seen a hundred 'n fifty bar'l whale
+lay 'n take his grooel 'thout hardly wunkin 'n eyelid--never moved ten
+fathom from fust iron till fin eout. So yew may say, boy, that they're
+like peepul--got thair iudividooal pekyewlyarities, an' thars no
+countin' on 'em for sartin nary time." I was in great hopes of getting
+some useful information while his mood lasted; but it was over, and
+silence reigned. Nor did I dare to ask any more questions; he looked so
+stern and fierce. The scene was very striking. Overhead, a bright blue
+sky just fringed with fleecy little clouds; beneath, a deep blue sea
+with innumerable tiny wavelets dancing and glittering in the blaze of
+the sun; but all swayed in one direction by a great, solemn swell that
+slowly rolled from east to west, like the measured breathing of some
+world-supporting monster. Four little craft in a group, with twenty-four
+men in them, silently waiting for battle with one of the mightiest of
+God's creatures--one that was indeed a terrible foe to encounter were he
+but wise enough to make the best use of his opportunities. Against
+him we came with our puny weapons, of which I could not help reminding
+myself that "he laugheth at the shaking of a spear." But when the man's
+brain was thrown into the scale against the instinct of the brute, the
+contest looked less unequal than at first sight, for THERE is the secret
+of success. My musings were very suddenly interrupted. Whether we had
+overrun our distance, or the whale, who was not "making a passage," but
+feeding, had changed his course, I do not know; but, anyhow, he broke
+water close ahead, coming straight for our boat. His great black head,
+like the broad bow of a dumb barge, driving the waves before it, loomed
+high and menacing to me, for I was not forbidden to look ahead now.
+But coolly, as if coming alongside the ship, the mate bent to the
+big steer-oar, and swung the boat off at right angles to her course,
+bringing her back again with another broad sheer as the whale passed
+foaming. This manoeuvre brought us side by side with him before he
+had time to realize that we were there. Up till that instant he had
+evidently not seen us, and his surprise was correspondingly great. To
+see Louis raise his harpoon high above his head, and with a hoarse grunt
+of satisfaction plunge it into the black, shining mass beside him up to
+the hitches, was indeed a sight to be remembered. Quick as thought he
+snatched up a second harpoon, and as the whale rolled from us it flew
+from his hands, burying itself like the former one, but lower down the
+body. The great impetus we had when we reached the whale carried us a
+long way past him, out of all danger from his struggles. No hindrance
+was experienced from the line by which we were connected with the whale,
+for it was loosely coiled in a space for the purpose in the boat's bow
+to the extent of two hundred feet, and this was cast overboard by the
+harpooner as soon as the fish was fast. He made a fearful to-do over it,
+rolling completely over several times backward and forward, at the same
+time smiting the sea with his mighty tail, making an almost deafening
+noise and pother. But we were comfortable enough, while we unshipped the
+mast and made ready for action, being sufficiently far away from him
+to escape the full effect of his gambols. It was impossible to avoid
+reflecting, however, upon what WOULD happen if, in our unprepared and
+so far helpless state, he were, instead of simply tumbling about in an
+aimless, blind sort of fury, to rush at the boat and try to destroy it.
+Very few indeed would survive such an attack, unless the tactics were
+radically altered. No doubt they would be, for practices grow up in
+consequence of the circumstances with which they have to deal.
+
+After the usual time spent in furious attempts to free himself from our
+annoyance, he betook himself below, leaving us to await his return, and
+hasten it as much as possible by keeping a severe strain upon the line.
+Our efforts in this direction, however, did not seem to have any effect
+upon him at all. Flake after flake ran out of the tubs, until we were
+compelled to hand the end of our line to the second mate to splice his
+own on to. Still it slipped away, and at last it was handed to the third
+mate, whose two tubs met the same fate. It was now Mistah Jones' turn to
+"bend on," which he did with many chuckles as of a man who was the last
+resource of the unfortunate. But his face grew longer and longer as the
+never-resting line continued to disappear. Soon he signalled us that he
+was nearly out of line, and two or three minutes after he bent on his
+"drogue" (a square piece of plank with a rope tail spliced into its
+centre, and considered to hinder a whale's progress at least as much as
+four boats), and let go the end. We had each bent on our drogues in the
+same way, when we passed our ends to one another. So now our friend was
+getting along somewhere below with 7200 feet of 1 1/2-inch rope, and
+weight additional equal to the drag of sixteen 30-feet boats.
+
+Of course we knew that, unless he were dead and sinking, he could not
+possibly remain much longer beneath the surface. The exhibition of
+endurance we had just been favoured with was a very unusual one, I was
+told, it being a rare thing for a cachalot to take out two boats' lines
+before returning to the surface to spout.
+
+Therefore, we separated as widely as was thought necessary, in order
+to be near him on his arrival. It was, as might be imagined, some time
+before we saw the light of his countenance; but when we did, we had no
+difficulty in getting alongside of him again. My friend Goliath, much
+to my delight, got there first, and succeeded in picking up the bight of
+the line. But having done so, his chance of distinguishing himself was
+gone. Hampered by the immense quantity of sunken line which was attached
+to the whale, he could do nothing, and soon received orders to cut the
+bight of the line and pass the whale's end to us. He had hardly obeyed,
+with a very bad grace, when the whale started off to windward with us at
+a tremendous rate. The other boats, having no line, could do nothing to
+help, so away we went alone, with barely a hundred fathoms of line, in
+case he should take it into his head to sound again. The speed at which
+he went made it appear as if a gale of wind was blowing and we flew
+along the sea surface, leaping from crest to crest of the waves with
+an incessant succession of cracks like pistol-shots. The flying spray
+drenched us and prevented us from seeing him, but I fully realized
+that it was nothing to what we should have to put up with if the wind
+freshened much. One hand was kept bailing the water out which came so
+freely over the bows, but all the rest hauled with all their might upon
+the line, hoping to get a little closer to the flying monster. Inch
+by inch we gained on him, encouraged by the hoarse objurgations of the
+mate, whose excitement was intense. After what seemed a terribly long
+chase, we found his speed slackening, and we redoubled our efforts. Now
+we were close upon him; now, in obedience to the steersman, the boat
+sheered out a bit, and we were abreast of his labouring flukes; now the
+mate hurls his quivering lance with such hearty good-will that every
+inch of its slender shaft disappears within the huge body. "Layoff! Off
+with her, Louey!" screamed the mate; and she gave a wide sheer away from
+the whale, not a second too soon. Up flew that awful tail, descending
+with a crash upon the water not two feet from us. "Out oars! Pull, two!
+starn, three!" shouted the mate; and as we obeyed our foe turned to
+fight. Then might one see how courage and skill were such mighty factors
+in the apparently unequal contest. The whale's great length made it no
+easy job for him to turn, while our boat, with two oars a-side, and
+the great leverage at the stern supplied by the nineteen-foot steer-oar
+circled, backed, and darted ahead like a living thing animated by the
+mind of our commander. When the leviathan settled, we gave a wide berth
+to his probable place of ascent; when he rushed at us, we dodged him;
+when he paused, if only momentarily, in we flew, and got home a fearful
+thrust of the deadly lance.
+
+All fear was forgotten now--I panted, thirsted for his life. Once,
+indeed, in a sort of frenzy, when for an instant we lay side by side
+with him, I drew my sheath-knife, and plunged it repeatedly into the
+blubber, as if I were assisting is his destruction. Suddenly the mate
+gave a howl: "Starn all--starn all! oh, starn!" and the oars bent like
+canes as we obeyed. There was an upheaval of the sea just ahead; then
+slowly, majestically, the vast body of our foe rose into the air. Up,
+up it went, while my heart stood still, until the whole of that immense
+creature hung on high, apparently motionless, and then fell--a
+hundred tons of solid flesh--back into the sea. On either side of that
+mountainous mass the waters rose in shining towers of snowy foam, which
+fell in their turn, whirling and eddying around us as we tossed and fell
+like a chip in a whirlpool. Blinded by the flying spray, baling for very
+life to free the boat from the water with which she was nearly full,
+it was some minutes before I was able to decide whether we were still
+uninjured or not. Then I saw, at a little distance, the whale lying
+quietly. As I looked he spouted, and the vapour was red with his blood.
+"Starn all!" again cried our chief, and we retreated to a considerable
+distance. The old warrior's practised eye had detected the coming climax
+of our efforts, the dying agony or "furry" of the great mammal. Turning
+upon his side, he began to move in a circular direction, slowly at
+first, then faster and faster, until he was rushing round at tremendous
+speed, his great head raised quite out of water at times, clashing his
+enormous jaws. Torrents of blood poured from his spout-hole, accompanied
+by hoarse bellowings, as of some gigantic bull, but really caused by the
+labouring breath trying to pass through the clogged air passages. The
+utmost caution and rapidity of manipulation of the boat was necessary to
+avoid his maddened rush, but this gigantic energy was short-lived. In a
+few minutes he subsided slowly in death, his mighty body reclined on one
+side, the fin uppermost waving limply as he rolled to the swell, while
+the small waves broke gently over the carcass in a low, monotonous surf,
+intensifying the profound silence that had succeeded the tumult of
+our conflict with the late monarch of the deep. Hardly had the flurry
+ceased, when we hauled up alongside of our hard-won prize, in order to
+secure a line to him in a better manner than at present for hauling
+him to the ship. This was effected by cutting a hole through the tough,
+gristly substance of the flukes with the short "boat-spade," carried for
+the purpose. The end of the line, cut off from the faithful harpoon that
+had held it so long, was then passed through this hole and made fast.
+This done, it was "Smoke-oh!" The luxury of that rest and refreshment
+was something to be grateful for, coming, as it did, in such complete
+contrast to our recent violent exertions.
+
+The ship was some three or four miles off to leeward, so we reckoned she
+would take at least an hour and a half to work up to us. Meanwhile, our
+part of the performance being over, and well over, we thoroughly enjoyed
+ourselves, lazily rocking on the gentle swell by the side of a catch
+worth at least L800. During the conflict I had not noticed
+what now claimed attention--several great masses of white,
+semi-transparent-looking substance floating about, of huge size and
+irregular shape. But one of these curious lumps came floating by as we
+lay, tugged at by several fish, and I immediately asked the mate if he
+could tell me what it was and where it came from. He told me that, when
+dying, the cachalot always ejected the contents of his stomach, which
+were invariably composed of such masses as we saw before us; that he
+believed the stuff to be portions of big cuttle-fish, bitten off by the
+whale for the purpose of swallowing, but he wasn't sure. Anyhow, I could
+haul this piece alongside now, if I liked, and see. Secretly wondering
+at the indifference shown by this officer of forty years' whaling
+experience to such a wonderful fact as appeared to be here presented,
+I thanked him, and, sticking the boat-hook into the lump, drew it
+alongside. It was at once evident that it was a massive fragment of
+cuttle-fish--tentacle or arm--as thick as a stout man's body, and with
+six or seven sucking-discs or ACETABULA on it. These were about as large
+as a saucer, and on their inner edge were thickly set with hooks or
+claws all round the rim, sharp as needles, and almost the shape and size
+of a tiger's.
+
+To what manner of awful monster this portion of limb belonged, I could
+only faintly imagine; but of course I remembered, as any sailor would,
+that from my earliest sea-going I had been told that the cuttle-fish was
+the biggest in the sea, although I never even began to think it might be
+true until now. I asked the mate if he had ever seen such creatures as
+this piece belonged to alive and kicking. He answered, languidly, "Wall,
+I guess so; but I don't take any stock in fish, 'cept for provisions
+er ile--en that's a fact." It will be readily believed that I vividly
+recalled this conversation when, many years after, I read an account by
+the Prince of Monaco of HIS discovery of a gigantic squid, to which
+his naturalist gave the name of LEPIDOTEUTHIS GRIMALDII! Truly the
+indifference and apathy manifested by whalers generally to everything
+except commercial matters is wonderful--hardly to be credited. However,
+this was a mighty revelation to me. For the first time, it was possible
+to understand that, contrary to the usual notion of a whale's being
+unable to swallow a herring, here was a kind of whale that could
+swallow--well, a block four or five feet square apparently; who lived
+upon creatures as large as himself, if one might judge of their bulk by
+the sample to hand; but being unable, from only possessing teeth in one
+jaw, to masticate his food, was compelled to tear it in sizable pieces,
+bolt it whole, and leave his commissariat department to do the rest.
+
+While thus ruminating, the mate and Louis began a desultory conversation
+concerning what they termed "ambergrease." I had never even heard
+the word before, although I had a notion that Milton, in "Paradise
+Regained," describing the Satanic banquet, had spoken of something
+being "grisamber steamed." They could by no means agree as to what this
+mysterious substance was, how it was produced, or under what conditions.
+They knew that it was sometimes found floating near the dead body of a
+sperm whale--the mate, in fact, stated that he had taken it once from
+the rectum of a cachalot--and they were certain that it was of great
+value--from one to three guineas per ounce. When I got to know more of
+the natural history of the sperm whale, and had studied the literature
+of the subject, I was so longer surprised at their want of agreement,
+since the learned doctors who have written upon the subject do not seem
+to have come to definite conclusions either.
+
+By some it is supposed to be the product of a diseased condition of the
+creature; others consider that it is merely the excreta, which, normally
+fluid, has by some means become concreted. It is nearly always found
+with cuttle-fish beaks imbedded in its substance, showing that these
+indigestible portions of the sperm whale's food have in some manner
+become mixed with it during its formation in the bowel. Chemists have
+analyzed it with scanty results. Its great value is due to its property
+of intensifying the power of perfumes, although, strange to say, it
+has little or no odour of its own, a faint trace of musk being perhaps
+detectable in some cases. The Turks are said to use it for a truly
+Turkish purpose, which need not be explained here, while the Moors are
+credited with a taste for it in their cookery. About both these latter
+statements there is considerable doubt; I only give them for what they
+are worth, without, committing myself to any definite belief in them.
+
+The ship now neared us fast, and as soon as she rounded-to, we left
+the whale and pulled towards her, paying out line as we went. Arriving
+alongside, the line was handed on board, and in a short time the prize
+was hauled to the gangway. We met with a very different reception this
+time. The skipper's grim face actually looked almost pleasant as he
+contemplated the colossal proportions of the latest addition to our
+stock. He was indeed a fine catch, being at least seventy feet long,
+and in splendid condition. As soon as he was secured alongside in the
+orthodox fashion, all hands were sent to dinner, with an intimation to
+look sharp over it. Judging from our slight previous experience, there
+was some heavy labour before us, for this whale was nearly four times as
+large as the one caught off the Cape Verds. And it was so. Verily those
+officers toiled like Titans to get that tremendous head off even the
+skipper taking a hand. In spite of their efforts, it was dark before the
+heavy job was done. As we were in no danger of bad weather, the head
+was dropped astern by a hawser until morning, when it would be safer
+to dissect it. All that night we worked incessantly, ready to drop with
+fatigue, but not daring to suggest, the possibility of such a thing.
+Several of the officers and harpooners were allowed a few hours off,
+as their special duty of dealing with the head at daylight would be so
+arduous as to need all their energies. When day dawned we were allowed a
+short rest, while the work of cutting up the head was undertaken by the
+rested men. At seven bells (7.30) it was "turn to" all hands again. The
+"junk" was hooked on to both cutting tackles, and the windlass manned by
+everybody who could get hold. Slowly the enormous mass rose, canting the
+ship heavily as it came, while every stick and rope aloft complained of
+the great strain upon them. When at last it was safely shipped, and
+the tackles cast off, the size of this small portion of a full-grown
+cachalot's body could be realized, not before.
+
+It was hauled from the gangway by tackles, and securely lashed to the
+rail running round beneath the top of the bulwarks for that purpose--the
+"lash-rail"--where the top of it towered up as high as the third ratline
+of the main-rigging. Then there was another spell, while the "case" was
+separated from the skull. This was too large to get on board, so it was
+lifted half-way out of water by the tackles, one hooked on each side;
+then they were made fast, and a spar rigged across them at a good
+height above the top of the case. A small block was lashed to this spar,
+through which a line was rove. A long, narrow bucket was attached to
+one end of this rope; the other end on deck was attended by two men. One
+unfortunate beggar was perched aloft on the above-mentioned spar, where
+his position, like the main-yard of Marryatt's verbose carpenter was
+"precarious and not at all permanent." He was provided with a pole, with
+which he pushed the bucket down through a hole cut in the upper end
+of the "case," whence it was drawn out by the chaps on deck full of
+spermaceti. It was a weary, unsatisfactory process, wasting a great
+deal of the substance being baled out; but no other way was apparently
+possible. The grease blew about, drenching most of us engaged in an
+altogether unpleasant fashion, while, to mend matters, the old barky
+began to roll and tumble about in an aimless, drunken sort of way, the
+result of a new cross swell rolling up from the south-westward. As the
+stuff was gained, it was poured into large tanks in the blubber-room,
+the quantity being too great to be held by the try-pots at once.
+Twenty-five barrels of this clear, wax-like substance were baled from
+that case; and when at last it was lowered a little, and cut away from
+its supports, it was impossible to help thinking that much was still
+remaining within which we, with such rude means, were unable to save.
+Then came the task of cutting up the junk. Layer after layer, eight to
+ten inches thick, was sliced off, cut into suitable pieces, and passed
+into the tanks. So full was the matter of spermaceti that one could
+take a piece as large as one's head in the hands, and squeeze it like a
+sponge, expressing the spermaceti in showers, until nothing remained
+but a tiny ball of fibre. All this soft, pulpy mass was held together by
+walls of exceedingly tough, gristly integrument ("white horse"), which
+was as difficult to cut as gutta-percha, and, but for the peculiar
+texture, not at all unlike it.
+
+When we had finished separating the junk, there was nearly a foot of oil
+on deck in the waist, and uproarious was the laughter when some hapless
+individual, losing his balance, slid across the deck and sat down with a
+loud splash in the deepest part of the accumulation.
+
+The lower jaw of this whale measured exactly nineteen feet in length
+from the opening of the mouth, or, say the last of the teeth, to the
+point, and carried twenty-eight teeth on each side. For the time, it was
+hauled aft out of the way, and secured to the lash-rail. The subsequent
+proceedings were just the same as before described, only more so. For a
+whole week our labours continued, and when they were over we had stowed
+below a hundred and forty-six barrels of mingled oil and spermaceti, or
+fourteen and a half tuns.
+
+It was really a pleasant sight to see Abner receiving as if being
+invested with an order of merit, the twenty pounds of tobacco to which
+he was entitled. Poor fellow! he felt as if at last he were going to be
+thought a little of, and treated a little better. He brought his bounty
+forrard, and shared it out as far as it would go with the greatest
+delight and good nature possible. Whatever he might have been thought of
+aft, certainly, for the time, he was a very important personage forrard;
+even the Portuguese, who were inclined to be jealous of what they
+considered an infringement of their rights, were mollified by the
+generosity shown.
+
+After every sign of the operations had been cleared away, the jaw was
+brought out, and the teeth extracted with a small tackle. They were set
+solidly into a hard white gum, which had to be cut away all around them
+before they would come out. When cleaned of the gum, they were headed up
+in a small barrel of brine. The great jaw-pans were sawn off, and placed
+at the disposal of anybody who wanted pieces of bone for "scrimshaw," or
+carved work. This is a very favourite pastime on board whalers, though,
+in ships such as ours, the crew have little opportunity for doing
+anything, hardly any leisure during daylight being allowed. But our
+carpenter was a famous workman at "scrimshaw," and he started half a
+dozen walking-sticks forthwith. A favourite design is to carve the bone
+into the similitude of a rope, with "worming" of smaller line along its
+lays. A handle is carved out of a whale's tooth, and insets of baleen,
+silver, cocoa-tree, or ebony, give variety and finish. The tools used
+are of the roughest. Some old files, softened in the fire, and filed
+into grooves something like saw-teeth, are most used; but old knives,
+sail-needles, and chisels are pressed into service. The work turned
+out would, in many cases, take a very high place in an exhibition of
+turnery, though never a lathe was near it. Of course, a long time is
+taken over it, especially the polishing, which is done with oil and
+whiting, if it can be got--powdered pumice if it cannot. I once had
+an elaborate pastry-cutter carved out of six whale's teeth, which I
+purchased for a pound of tobacco from a seaman of the CORAL whaler,
+and afterwards sold in Dunedin, New Zealand, for L2 10s., the purchaser
+being decidedly of opinion that he had a bargain.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX. OUR FIRST CALLING-PLACE
+
+Perhaps it may hastily be assumed, from the large space already devoted
+to fishing operations of various kinds, that the subject will not bear
+much more dealing with, if my story is to avoid being monotonous. But I
+beg to assure you, dear reader, that while of course I have most to say
+in connection with the business of the voyage, nothing is farther from
+my plan than to neglect the very interesting portion of our cruise
+which relates to visiting strange, out-of-the-way corners of the world.
+If--which I earnestly deprecate--the description hitherto given of sperm
+whale-fishing and its adjuncts be found not so interesting as could be
+wished, I cry you mercy. I have been induced to give more space to
+it because it has been systematically avoided in the works upon
+whale-fishing before mentioned, which, as I have said, were not intended
+for popular reading. True, neither may my humble tome become popular
+either; but, if it does not, no one will be so disappointed as the
+author.
+
+We had made but little progress during the week of oil manufacture, very
+little attention being paid to the sails while that work was about; but,
+as the south-east trades blew steadily, we did not remain stationary
+altogether. So that the following week saw us on the south side of the
+tropic of Capricorn, the south-east trade done, and the dirty weather
+and variable squalls, which nearly always precede the "westerlies,"
+making our lives a burden to us. Here, however, we were better off than
+in an ordinary merchantman, where doldrums are enough to drive you
+mad. The one object being to get along, it is incessant "pully-hauly,"
+setting and taking in sail, in order, on the one hand, to lose no time,
+and, on the other, to lose no sails. Now, with us, whenever the weather
+was doubtful or squally-looking, we shortened sail, and kept it fast
+till better weather came along, being quite careless whether we made one
+mile a day or one hundred. But just because nobody took any notice of
+our progress as the days passed, we were occasionally startled to find
+how far we had really got. This was certainly the case with all of us
+forward, even to me who had some experience, so well used had I now
+become to the leisurely way of getting along. To the laziest of ships,
+however, there comes occasionally a time when the bustling, hurrying
+wind will take no denial, and you've got to "git up an' git," as the
+Yanks put it. Such a time succeeded our "batterfanging" about, after
+losing the trades. We got hold of a westerly wind that, commencing
+quietly, gently, steadily, taking two or three days before it gathered
+force and volume, strengthened at last into a stern, settled gale that
+would brook no denial, to face which would have been misery indeed. To
+vessels bound east it came as a boon and blessing, for it would be a
+crawler that could not reel off her two hundred and fifty miles a day
+before the push of such a breeze. Even the CACHALOT did her one hundred
+and fifty, pounding and bruising the ill-used sea in her path, and
+spreading before her broad bows a far-reaching area of snowy foam, while
+her wake was as wide as any two ordinary ships ought to make. Five or
+six times a day the flying East India or colonial-bound English ships,
+under every stitch of square sail, would appear as tiny specks on the
+horizon astern, come up with us, pass like a flash, and fade away ahead,
+going at least two knots to our one. I could not help feeling a bit
+home-sick and tired of my present surroundings, in spite of their
+interest, when I saw those beautiful ocean-flyers devouring the distance
+which lay before them, and reflected that in little more than one month
+most of them would be discharging in Melbourne, Sydney, Calcutta, or
+some other equally distant port, while we should probably be dodging
+about in our present latitude a little farther east.
+
+After a few days of our present furious rate of speed, I came on deck
+one morning, and instantly recognized an old acquaintance. Right ahead,
+looking nearer than I had ever seen it before, rose the towering mass of
+Tristan d'Acunha, while farther away, but still visible, lay Nightingale
+and Inaccessible Islands. Their aspect was familiar, for I had sighted
+them on nearly every voyage I had made round the Cape, but I had never
+seen them so near as this. There was a good deal of excitement among
+us, and no wonder. Such a break in the monotony of our lives as we were
+about to have was enough to turn our heads. Afterwards, we learned to
+view these matters in a more philosophic light; but now, being new and
+galled by the yoke, it was a different thing. Near as the island seemed,
+it was six hours before we got near enough to distinguish objects on
+shore. I have seen the top of Tristan peeping through a cloud nearly
+a hundred miles away, for its height is tremendous. St. Helena looks
+a towering, scowling mass when you approach it closely but Tristan
+d'Acunha is far more imposing, its savage-looking cliffs seeming to
+sternly forbid the venturesome voyager any nearer familiarity with their
+frowning fastnesses. Long before we came within working distance of the
+settlement, we were continually passing broad patches of kelp (FUCUS
+GIGANTEA), whose great leaves and cable-laid stems made quite reef-like
+breaks in the heaving waste of restless sea. Very different indeed were
+these patches of marine growth from the elegant wreaths of the Gulf-weed
+with which parts of the North Atlantic are so thickly covered. Their
+colour was deep brown, almost black is some cases, and the size of many
+of the leaves amazing, being four to five feet long, by a foot wide,
+with stalks as thick as one's arm. They have their origin around these
+storm-beaten rocks, which lie scattered thinly over the immense area of
+the Southern Ocean, whence they are torn, in masses like those we saw,
+by every gale, and sent wandering round the world.
+
+When we arrived within about three miles of the landing-place, we saw
+a boat coming off, so we immediately hove-to and awaited her arrival.
+There was no question of anchoring; indeed, there seldom is in these
+vessels, unless they are going to make a long stay, for they are past
+masters in the art of "standing off and on." The boat came alongside--a
+big, substantially-built craft of the whale-boat type, but twice the
+size--manned by ten sturdy-looking fellows, as unkempt and wild-looking
+as any pirates. They were evidently put to great straits for clothes,
+many curious makeshifts being noticeable in their rig, while it was so
+patched with every conceivable kind of material that it was impossible
+to say which was the original or "standing part." They brought with them
+potatoes, onions, a few stunted cabbages, some fowls, and a couple of
+good-sized pigs, at the sight of which good things our eyes glistened
+and our mouths watered. Alas! none of the cargo of that boat ever
+reached OUR hungry stomachs. We were not surprised, having anticipated
+that every bit of provision would be monopolized by our masters; but of
+course we had no means of altering such a state of things.
+
+The visitors had the same tale to tell that seems universal--bad trade,
+hard times, nothing doing. How very familiar it seemed, to be
+sure. Nevertheless, it could not be denied that their sole means of
+communication with the outer world, as well as market for their goods,
+the calling whale-ships, were getting fewer and fewer every year; so
+that their outlook was not, it must be confessed, particularly bright.
+But their wants are few, beyond such as they can themselves supply.
+Groceries and clothes, the latter especially, as the winters are very
+severe, are almost the only needs they require to be supplied with from
+without. They spoke of the "Cape" as if it were only across the way, the
+distance separating them from that wonderful place being over thirteen
+hundred miles in reality. Very occasionally a schooner from Capetown
+does visit them; but, as the seals are almost exterminated, there is
+less and less inducement to make the voyage.
+
+Like almost all the southern islets, this group has been in its time the
+scene of a wonderfully productive seal-fishery. It used to be customary
+for whaling and sealing vessels to land a portion of their crews, and
+leave them to accumulate a store of seal-skins and oil, while the
+ships cruised the surrounding seas for whales, which were exceedingly
+numerous, both "right" and sperm varieties. In those days there was no
+monotony of existence in these islands, ships were continually coming
+and going, and the islanders prospered exceedingly. When they increased
+beyond the capacity of the islands to entertain them, a portion migrated
+to the Cape, while many of the men took service in the whale-ships, for
+which they were eminently suited.
+
+They are, as might be expected, a hybrid lot, the women all mulattoes,
+but intensely English in their views and loyalty. Since the visit of
+H.M.S. GALATEA, in August, 1867, with the Duke of Edinburgh on board,
+this sentiment had been intensified, and the little collection of
+thatched cottages, nameless till then, was called Edinburgh, in honour
+of the illustrious voyager. They breed cattle, a few sheep, and pigs,
+although the sheep thrive but indifferently for some reason or another.
+Poultry they have in large numbers, so that, could they commend a
+market, they would do very well.
+
+The steep cliffs, rising from the sea for nearly a thousand feet, often
+keep their vicinity in absolute calm, although a heavy gale may be
+raging on the other side of the island, and it would be highly dangerous
+for any navigator not accustomed to such a neighbourhood to get too
+near them. The immense rollers setting inshore, and the absence of wind
+combined, would soon carry a vessel up against the beetling crags,
+and letting go an anchor would not be of the slightest use, since the
+bottom, being of massive boulders, affords no holding ground at all. All
+round the island the kelp grows thickly, so thickly indeed as to make a
+boat's progress through it difficult. This, however, is very useful in
+one way here, as we found. Wanting more supplies, which were to be had
+cheap, we lowered a couple of boats, and went ashore after them. On
+approaching the black, pebbly beach which formed the only landing-place,
+it appeared as if getting ashore would be a task of no ordinary danger
+and difficulty. The swell seemed to culminate as we neared the beach,
+lifting the boats at one moment high in air, and at the next lowering
+them into a green valley, from whence nothing could be seen but the
+surrounding watery summits. Suddenly we entered the belt of kelp,
+which extended for perhaps a quarter of a mile seaward, and, lo! a
+transformation indeed. Those loose, waving fronds of flexible weed,
+though swayed hither and thither by every ripple, were able to arrest
+the devastating rush of the gigantic swell, so that the task of landing,
+which had looked so terrible, was one of the easiest. Once in among the
+kelp, although we could hardly use the oars, the water was quite smooth
+and tranquil. The islanders collected on the beach, and guided us to the
+best spot for landing, the huge boulders, heaped in many places, being
+ugly impediments to a boat.
+
+We were as warmly welcomed as if we had been old friends, and hospitable
+attentions were showered upon us from every side. The people were
+noticeably well-behaved, and, although there was something Crusoe-like
+in their way of living, their manners and conversation were distinctly
+good. A rude plenty was evident, there being no lack of good food--fish,
+fowl, and vegetables. The grassy plateau on which the village stands is
+a sort of shelf jutting out from the mountain-side, the mountain being
+really the whole island. Steep roads were hewn out of the solid rock,
+leading, as we were told, to the cultivated terraces above. These
+reached an elevation of about a thousand feet. Above all towered the
+great, dominating peak, the summit lost in the clouds eight or nine
+thousand feet above. The rock-hewn roads and cultivated land certainly
+gave the settlement an old-established appearance, which was not
+surprising seeing that it has been inhabited for more than a hundred
+years. I shall always bear a grateful recollection of the place,
+because my host gave me what I had long been a stranger to--a good,
+old-fashioned English dinner of roast beef and baked potatoes. He
+apologized for having no plum-pudding to crown the feast. "But, you
+see," he said, "we kaint grow no corn hyar, and we'm clean run out
+ov flour; hev ter make out on taters 's best we kin." I sincerely
+sympathized with him on the lack of bread-stuff among them, and wondered
+no longer at the avidity with which they had munched our flinty biscuits
+on first coming aboard. His wife, a buxom, motherly woman of about
+fifty, of dark, olive complexion, but good features, was kindness
+itself; and their three youngest children, who were at home, could not,
+in spite of repeated warnings and threats, keep their eyes off me, as
+if I had been some strange animal dropped from the moon. I felt very
+unwilling to leave them so soon, but time was pressing, the stores we
+had come for were all ready to ship, and I had to tear myself away from
+these kindly entertainers. I declare, it seemed like parting with old
+friends; yet our acquaintance might have been measured by minutes, so
+brief it had been. The mate had purchased a fine bullock, which had been
+slaughtered and cut up for us with great celerity, four or five dozen
+fowls (alive), four or five sacks of potatoes, eggs, etc., so that we
+were heavily laden for the return journey to the ship. My friend had
+kindly given me a large piece of splendid cheese, for which I was
+unable to make him any return, being simply clad in a shirt and pair of
+trousers, neither of which necessary garments could be spared.
+
+With hearty cheers from the whole population, we shoved off and ploughed
+through the kelp seaweed again. When we got clear of it, we found the
+swell heavier than when we had come, and a rough journey back to the
+ship was the result. But, to such boatmen as we were, that was a trifle
+hardly worth mentioning, and after an hour's hard pull we got
+alongside again, and transhipped our precious cargo. The weather being
+threatening, we at once hauled off the land and out to sea, as night was
+falling and we did not wish to be in so dangerous a vicinity any longer
+than could be helped in stormy weather. Altogether, a most enjoyable
+day, and one that I have ever since had a pleasant recollection of.
+
+By daybreak next morning the islands were out of sight, for the wind had
+risen to a gale, which, although we carried little sail, drove us along
+before it some seven or eight knots an hour.
+
+Two days afterwards we caught another whale of medium size, making us
+fifty-four barrels of oil. As nothing out of the ordinary course marked
+the capture, it is unnecessary to do more than allude to it in passing,
+except to note that the honours were all with Goliath. He happened to be
+close to the whale when it rose, and immediately got fast. So dexterous
+and swift were his actions that before any of the other boats could
+"chip in" he had his fish "fin out," the whole affair from start to
+finish only occupying a couple of hours. We were now in the chosen
+haunts of the great albatross, Cape pigeons, and Cape hens, but never in
+my life had I imagined such a concourse of them as now gathered around
+us. When we lowered there might have been perhaps a couple of dozen
+birds in sight, but no sooner was the whale dead than from out of the
+great void around they began to drift towards us. Before we had got him
+fast alongside, the numbers of that feathered host were incalculable.
+They surrounded us until the sea surface was like a plain of snow,
+and their discordant cries were deafening. With the exception of one
+peculiar-looking bird, which has received from whalemen the inelegant
+name of "stinker," none of them attempted to alight upon the body of the
+dead monster. This bird, however, somewhat like a small albatross,
+but of dirty-grey colour, and with a peculiar excrescence on his beak,
+boldly took his precarious place upon the carcase, and at once began to
+dig into the blubber. He did not seem to make much impression, but he
+certainly tried hard.
+
+It was dark before we got our prize secured by the fluke-chain, so that
+we could not commence operations before morning. That night it blew
+hard, and we got an idea of the strain these vessels are sometimes
+subjected to. Sometimes the ship rolled one way and the whale another,
+being divided by a big sea, the wrench at the fluke-chain, as the two
+masses fell apart down different hollows, making the vessel quiver from
+truck to keelson as if she was being torn asunder. Then we would come
+together again with a crash and a shock that almost threw everybody
+out of their bunks. Many an earnest prayer did I breathe that the chain
+would prove staunch, for what sort of a job it would be to go after
+that whale during the night, should he break loose, I could only
+faintly imagine. But all our gear was of the very best; no thieving
+ship-chandler had any hand in supplying our outfit with shoddy rope and
+faulty chain, only made to sell, and ready at the first call made upon
+it to carry away and destroy half a dozen valuable lives. There was one
+coil of rope on board which the skipper had bought for cordage on the
+previous voyage from a homeward-bound English ship, and it was the butt
+of all the officers' scurrilous remarks about Britishers and their
+gear. It was never used but for rope-yarns, being cut up in lengths, and
+untwisted for the ignominious purpose of tying things up--"hardly good
+enough for that," was the verdict upon it.
+
+Tired as we all were, very little sleep came to us that night--we were
+barely seasoned yet to the exigencies of a whaler's life--but afterwards
+I believe nothing short of dismasting or running the ship ashore would
+wake us, once we got to sleep. In the morning we commenced operations
+in a howling gale of wind, which placed the lives of the officers on the
+"cutting in" stage in great danger. The wonderful seaworthy qualities
+of our old ship shone brilliantly now. When an ordinary modern-built
+sailing-ship would have been making such weather of it as not only to
+drown anybody about the deck, but making it impossible to keep your
+footing anywhere without holding on, we were enabled to cut in this
+whale. True, the work was terribly exhausting and decidedly dangerous,
+but it was not impossible, for it was done. By great care and constant
+attention, the whole work of cutting in and trying out was got through
+without a single accident; but had another whale turned up to continue
+the trying time, I am fully persuaded that some of us would have gone
+under from sheer fatigue. For there was no mercy shown. All that I have
+ever read of "putting the slaves through for all they were worth" on the
+plantations was fully realized here, and our worthy skipper must have
+been a lineal descendent of the doughty Simon Legree.
+
+The men were afraid to go on to the sick-list. Nothing short of total
+inability to continue would have prevented them from working, such was
+the terror with which that man had inspired us all. It may be said that
+we were a pack of cowards, who, without the courage to demand better
+treatment, deserved all we got. While admitting that such a conclusion
+is quite a natural one at which to arrive, I must deny its truth. There
+were men in that forecastle as good citizens and as brave fellows as you
+would wish to meet--men who in their own sphere would have commanded and
+obtained respect. But under the painful and abnormal circumstances in
+which they found themselves--beaten and driven like dogs while in the
+throes of sea-sickness, half starved and hopeless, their spirit had been
+so broken, and they were so kept down to that sad level by the display
+of force, aided by deadly weapons aft, that no other condition could
+be expected for them but that of broken-hearted slaves. My own case
+was many degrees better than that of the other whites, as I have before
+noted; but I was perfectly well aware that the slightest attempt on my
+part to show that I resented our common treatment would meet with the
+most brutal repression, and, in addition, I might look for a dreadful
+time of it for the rest of the voyage.
+
+The memory of that week of misery is so strong upon me even now that my
+hand trembles almost to preventing me from writing about it. Weak and
+feeble do the words seem as I look at them, making me wish for the fire
+and force of Carlyle or Macaulay to portray our unnecessary sufferings.
+
+Like all other earthly ills, however, they came to an end, at least
+for a time, and I was delighted to note that we were getting to the
+northward again. In making the outward passage round the Cape, it is
+necessary to go well south, in order to avoid the great westerly set of
+the Agulhas current, which for ever sweeps steadily round the southern
+extremity of the African continent at an average rate of three or four
+miles an hour. To homeward-bound ships this is a great boon. No matter
+what the weather may be--a stark calm or a gale of wind right on end in
+your teeth--that vast, silent river in the sea steadily bears you on at
+the same rate in the direction of home. It is perfectly true that with
+a gale blowing across the set of this great current, one of the very
+ugliest combinations of broken waves is raised; but who cares for that,
+when he knows that, as long as the ship holds together, some seventy or
+eighty miles per day nearer home must be placed to her credit? In like
+manner, it is of the deepest comfort to know that, storm or calm, fair
+or foul, the current of time, unhasting, unresting, bears us on to the
+goal that we shall surely reach--the haven of unbroken rest.
+
+Not the least of the minor troubles on board the CACHALOT was the
+uncertainty of our destination; we never knew where we were going.
+It may seem a small point, but it is really not so unimportant as a
+landsman might imagine. On an ordinary passage, certain well-known signs
+are as easily read by the seaman as if the ship's position were given
+out to him every day. Every alteration of the course signifies some
+point of the journey reached, some well-known track entered upon, and
+every landfall made becomes a new departure from whence to base one's
+calculations, which, rough as they are, rarely err more than a few days.
+
+Say, for instance, you are bound for Calcutta. The first of the
+north-east trades will give a fair idea of your latitude being about the
+edge of the tropics somewhere, or say from 20deg. to 25deg. N., whether
+you have sighted any of the islands or not. Then away you go before the
+wind down towards the Equator, the approach to which is notified by the
+loss of the trade and the dirty, changeable weather of the "doldrums."
+That weary bit of work over, along come the south-east trades, making
+you brace "sharp up," and sometimes driving you uncomfortably near the
+Brazilian coast. Presently more "doldrums," with a good deal more
+wind in them than in the "wariables" of the line latitude. The brave
+"westerly" will come along by-and-by and release you, and, with a
+staggering press of sail carried to the reliable gale, away you go for
+the long stretch of a hundred degrees or so eastward. You will very
+likely sight Tristan d'Acunha or Gough Island; but, if not, the course
+will keep you fairly well informed of your longitude, since most ships
+make more or less of a great circle track. Instead of steering due East
+for the whole distance, they make for some southerly latitude by running
+along the arc of a great circle, THEN run due east for a thousand miles
+or so before gradually working north again. These alterations in the
+courses tell the foremast hand nearly all he wants to know, slight as
+they are. You will most probably sight Amsterdam Island or St. Paul's in
+about 77deg. E.; but whether you do or not, the big change made in the
+course, to say nothing of the difference in the weather and temperature,
+say loudly that your long easterly run is over, and you are bound to
+the northward again. Soon the south-east trades will take you gently
+in hand, and waft you pleasurably upward to the line again, unless you
+should be so unfortunate as to meet one of the devastating meteors known
+as "cyclones" in its gyration across the Indian Ocean. After losing the
+trade, which signals your approach to the line once more, your guides
+fluctuate muchly with the time of year. But it may be broadly put
+that the change of the monsoon in the Bay of Bengal is beastliness
+unadulterated, and the south-west monsoon itself, though a fair wind for
+getting to your destination, is worse, if possible. Still, having got
+that far, you are able to judge pretty nearly when, in the ordinary
+course of events, you will arrive at Saugor, and get a tug for the rest
+of the journey.
+
+But on this strange voyage I was quite as much in the dark concerning
+our approximate position as any of the chaps who had never seen salt
+water before they viewed it from the bad eminence of the CACHALOT's
+deck. Of course, it was evident that we were bound eastward, but whether
+to the Indian seas or to the South Pacific, none knew but the skipper,
+and perhaps the mate. I say "perhaps" advisedly. In any well-regulated
+merchant ship there is an invariable routine of observations performed
+by both captain and chief officer, except in very big vessels, where the
+second mate is appointed navigating officer. The two men work out their
+reckoning independently of each other, and compare the result, so that
+an excellent check upon the accuracy of the positions found is
+thereby afforded. Here, however, there might not have been, as far as
+appearances went, a navigator in the ship except the captain, if it be
+not a misuse of terms to call him a navigator. If the test be ability
+to take a ship round the world, poking into every undescribed,
+out-of-the-way corner you can think of, and return home again without
+damage to the ship of any kind except by the unavoidable perils of
+the sea, then doubtless he WAS a navigator, and a ripe, good one. But
+anything cruder than the "rule-of-thumb" way in which he found his
+positions, or more out of date than his "hog-yoke," or quadrant, I have
+never seen. I suppose we carried a chronometer, though I never saw it or
+heard the cry of "stop," which usually accompanies a.m. or p.m. "sights"
+taken for longitude. He used sometimes to make a deliberate sort of
+haste below after taking a sight, when he may have been looking at a
+chronometer perhaps. What I do know about his procedure is, that he
+always used a very rough method of equal altitudes, which would make a
+mathematician stare and gasp; that his nautical almanac was a ten-cent
+one published by some speculative optician is New York; that he never
+worked up a "dead reckoning;" and that the extreme limit of time that
+he took to work out his observations was ten minutes. In fact, all
+our operations in seamanship or navigation were run on the same
+happy-go-lucky principle. If it was required to "tack" ship, there was
+no formal parade and preparation for the manoeuvre, not even as much as
+would be made in a Goole billy-boy. Without any previous intimation,
+the helm would be put down, and round she would come, the yards being
+trimmed by whoever happened to be nearest to the braces. The old tub
+seemed to like it that way, for she never missed stays or exhibited
+any of that unwillingness to do what she was required that is such a
+frequent characteristic of merchantmen. Even getting under way or coming
+to an anchor was unattended by any of the fuss and bother from which
+those important evolutions ordinarily appear inseparable.
+
+To my great relief we saw no more whales of the kind we were after
+during our passage round the Cape. The weather we were having was
+splendid for making a passage, but to be dodging about among those
+immense rollers, or towed athwart them by a wounded whale in so small
+a craft as one of our whale-boats, did not have any attractions for me.
+There was little doubt in any of our minds that, if whales were seen,
+off we must go while daylight lasted, let the weather be what it might.
+So when one morning I went to the wheel, to find the course N.N.E.
+instead of E. by N., it may be taken for granted that the change was
+a considerable relief to me. It was now manifest that we were bound up
+into the Indian Ocean, although of course I knew nothing of the position
+of the districts where whales were to be looked for. Gradually we crept
+northward, the weather improving every day as we left the "roaring
+forties" astern. While thus making northing we had several fine catches
+of porpoises, and saw many rorquals, but sperm whales appeared to have
+left the locality. However, the "old man" evidently knew what he was
+about, as we were not now cruising, but making a direct passage for some
+definite place.
+
+At last we sighted land, which, from the course which we had been
+steering, might have been somewhere on the east coast of Africa, but
+for the fact that it was right ahead, while we were pointing at the
+time about N.N.W. By-and-by I came to the conclusion that it must be
+the southern extremity of Madagascar, Cape St. Mary, and, by dint of the
+closest, attention to every word I heard uttered while at the wheel by
+the officers, found that my surmise was correct. We skirted this point
+pretty closely, heading to the westward, and, when well clear of it,
+bore up to the northward, again for the Mozambique Channel. Another
+surprise. The very idea of WHALING in the Mozambique Channel seemed
+too ridiculous to mention; yet here we were, guided by a commander
+who, whatever his faults, was certainly most keen in his attention to
+business, and the unlikeliest man imaginable to take the ship anywhere
+unless he anticipated a profitable return for his visit.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X. A VISIT TO SOME STRANGE PLACES
+
+We had now entered upon what promised to be the most interesting part of
+our voyage. As a commercial speculation, I have to admit that the voyage
+was to me a matter of absolute indifference. Never, from the first week
+of my being on board, had I cherished any illusions upon that score, for
+it was most forcibly impressed on my mind that, whatever might be the
+measure of success attending our operations, no one of the crew forward
+could hope to benefit by it. The share of profits was so small, and the
+time taken to earn it so long, such a number of clothes were worn out
+and destroyed by us, only to be replaced from the ship's slop-chest at
+high prices, that I had quite resigned myself to the prospect of leaving
+the vessel in debt, whenever that desirable event might happen. Since,
+therefore, I had never made it a practice to repine at the inevitable,
+and make myself unhappy by the contemplation of misfortunes I was
+powerless to prevent, I tried to interest myself as far as was possible
+in gathering information, although at that time I had no idea, beyond a
+general thirst for knowledge, that what I was now learning would ever
+be of any service to me. Yet I had been dull indeed not to have seen how
+unique were the opportunities I was now enjoying for observation of some
+of the least known and understood aspects of the ocean world and its
+wonderful inhabitants, to say nothing of visits to places unvisited,
+except by such free lances as we were, and about which so little is
+really known.
+
+The weather of the Mozambique Channel was fairly good, although subject
+to electric storms of the most terrible aspect, but perfectly harmless.
+On the second evening after rounding Cape St. Mary, we were proceeding,
+as usual, under very scanty sail, rather enjoying the mild, balmy
+air, scent-laden, from Madagascar. The moon was shining in tropical
+splendour, paling the lustre of the attendant stars, and making the
+glorious Milky Way but a faint shadow of its usual resplendent road.
+Gradually from the westward there arose a murky mass of cloud, fringed
+at its upper edges with curious tinted tufts of violet, orange, and
+crimson. These colours were not brilliant, but plainly visible against
+the deep blue sky. Slowly and solemnly the intruding gloom overspread
+the sweet splendour of the shining sky, creeping like a death-shadow
+over a dear face, and making the most talkative feel strangely quiet and
+ill at ease. As the pall of thick darkness blotted out the cool light,
+it seemed to descend until at last we were completely over-canopied by
+a dome of velvety black, seemingly low enough to touch the mast-heads.
+A belated sea-bird's shrill scream but emphasized the deep silence
+which lent itself befittingly to the solemnity of nature. Presently thin
+suggestions of light, variously tinted, began to thread the inky
+mass. These grew brighter and more vivid, until at last, in fantastic
+contortions, they appeared to rend the swart concave asunder, revealing
+through the jagged clefts a lurid waste of the most intensely glowing
+fire. The coming and going of these amazing brightnesses, combined with
+the Egyptian dark between, was completely blinding. So loaded was the
+still air with electricity that from every point aloft pale flames
+streamed upward, giving the ship the appearance of a huge candelabrum
+with innumerable branches. One of the hands, who had been ordered aloft
+on some errand of securing a loose end, presented a curious sight.
+He was bareheaded, and from his hair the all pervading fluid arose,
+lighting up his features, which were ghastly beyond description. When he
+lifted his hand, each separate finger became at once an additional point
+from which light streamed. There was no thunder, but a low hissing and a
+crackling which did not amount to noise, although distinctly audible to
+all. Sensations most unpleasant of pricking and general irritation were
+felt by every one, according to their degree of susceptibility.
+
+After about an hour of this state of things, a low moaning of thunder
+was heard, immediately followed by a few drops of rain large as dollars.
+The mutterings and grumblings increased until, with one peal that made
+the ship tremble as though she had just struck a rock at full speed,
+down came the rain. The windows of heaven were opened, and no man might
+stand against the steaming flood that descended by thousands of tons
+per minute. How long it continued, I cannot say; probably, in its utmost
+fierceness, not more than half an hour. Then it slowly abated, clearing
+away as it did so the accumulation of gloom overhead, until, before
+midnight had struck, all the heavenly host were shedding their beautiful
+brilliancy upon us again with apparently increased glory, while the
+freshness and invigorating feel of the air was inexpressibly delightful.
+
+We did not court danger by hugging too closely any of the ugly reefs and
+banks that abound in this notably difficult strait, but gave them all a
+respectfully wide berth. It was a feature of our navigation that, unless
+we had occasion to go near any island or reef for fishing or landing
+purposes, we always kept a safe margin of distance away, which probably
+accounts for our continued immunity from accident while in tortuous
+waters. Our anchors and cables were, however, always kept ready for use
+now, in case of an unsuspected current or sudden storm; but beyond that
+precaution, I could see little or no difference in the manner of our
+primitive navigation.
+
+We met with no "luck" for some time, and the faces of the harpooners
+grew daily longer, the great heat of those sultry waters trying all
+tempers sorely. But Captain Slocum knew his business, and his scowling,
+impassive face showed no signs of disappointment, or indeed any other
+emotion, as day by day we crept farther north. At last we sighted the
+stupendous peak of Comoro mountain, which towers to nearly nine thousand
+feet from the little island which gives its name to the Comoro group
+of four. On that same day a school of medium-sized sperm whales were
+sighted, which appeared to be almost of a different race to those with
+which we had hitherto had dealings. They were exceedingly fat and lazy,
+moving with the greatest deliberation, and, when we rushed in among
+them, appeared utterly bewildered and panic-stricken, knowing not which
+way to flee. Like a flock of frightened sheep they huddled together,
+aimlessly wallowing in each other's way, while we harpooned them with
+the greatest ease and impunity. Even the "old man" himself lowered
+the fifth boat, leaving the ship to the carpenter, cooper, cook, and
+steward, and coming on the scene as if determined to make a field-day of
+the occasion. He was no "slouch" at the business either. Not that there
+was much occasion or opportunity to exhibit any prowess. The record of
+the day's proceedings would be as tame as to read of a day's work in a
+slaughter-house. Suffice it to say, that we actually killed six whales,
+none of whom were less than fifty barrels, no boat ran out more than
+one hundred fathoms of line, neither was a bomb-lance used. Not the
+slightest casualty occurred to any of the boats, and the whole work of
+destruction was over in less than four hours.
+
+Then came the trouble. The fish were, of course somewhat widely
+separated when they died, and the task of collecting all those immense
+carcasses was one of no ordinary magnitude. Had it not been for the
+wonderfully skilful handling of the ship, the task would, I should
+think, have been impossible, but the way in which she was worked
+compelled the admiration of anybody who knew what handling a ship meant.
+Still, with all the ability manifested, it was five hours after the last
+whale died before we had gathered them all alongside, bringing us to
+four o'clock in the afternoon.
+
+A complete day under that fierce blaze of the tropical sun, without
+other refreshment than an occasional furtive drink of tepid water, had
+reduced us to a pitiable condition of weakness, so much so that the
+skipper judged it prudent, as soon as the fluke-chains were passed, to
+give us a couple of hours' rest. As soon as the sun had set we were all
+turned to again, three cressets were prepared, and by their blaze we
+toiled the whole night through. Truth compels me to state, though, that
+none of us foremast hands had nearly such heavy work as the officers on
+the stage. What they had to do demanded special knowledge and skill; but
+it was also terribly hard work, constant and unremitting, while we at
+the windlass had many a short spell between the lifting of the pieces.
+Even the skipper took a hand, for the first time, and right manfully did
+he do his share.
+
+By the first streak of dawn, three of the whales had been stripped of
+their blubber, and five heads were bobbing astern at the ends of as many
+hawsers. The sea all round presented a wonderful sight. There must have
+been thousands of sharks gathered to the feast, and their incessant
+incursions through the phosphorescent water wove a dazzling network of
+brilliant tracks which made the eyes ache to look upon. A short halt was
+called for breakfast, which was greatly needed, and, thanks to the cook,
+was a thoroughly good one. He--blessings on him!--had been busy fishing,
+as we drifted slowly, with savoury pieces of whale-beef for bait, and
+the result was a mess of fish which would have gladdened the heart of an
+epicure. Our hunger appeased, it was "turn to" again, for there was now
+no time to be lost. The fierce heat soon acts upon the carcass of a
+dead whale, generating an immense volume of gas within it, which, in a
+wonderfully short space of time, turns the flesh putrid and renders the
+blubber so rotten that it cannot be lifted, nor, if it could, would it
+be of any value. So it was no wonder that our haste was great, or that
+the august arbiter of our destinies himself condescended to take his
+place among the toilers. By nightfall the whole of our catch was on
+board, excepting such toll as the hungry hordes of sharks had levied
+upon it in transit. A goodly number of them had paid the penalty of
+their rapacity with their lives, for often one would wriggle his way
+right up on to the reeking carcass, and, seizing a huge fragment of
+blubber, strive with might and main to tear it away. Then the lethal
+spade would drop upon his soft crown, cleaving it to the jaws, and with
+one flap of his big tail he would loose his grip, roll over and over,
+and sink, surrounded by a writhing crowd of his fellows, by whom he was
+speedily reduced into digestible fragments.
+
+The condition of the CACHALOT's deck was now somewhat akin to chaos.
+From the cabin door to the tryworks there was hardly an inch of
+available space, and the oozing oil kept some of us continually baling
+it up, lest it should leak out through the interstices in the bulwarks.
+In order to avoid a breakdown, it became necessary to divide the crew
+into six-hour watches, as although the work was exceedingly urgent on
+account of the weather, there were evident signs that some of the crew
+were perilously near giving in. So we got rest none too soon, and the
+good effects of it were soon apparent. The work went on with much more
+celerity than one would have thought possible, and soon the lumbered-up
+decks began to resume their normal appearance.
+
+As if to exasperate the "old man" beyond measure on the third day of
+our operations a great school of sperm whales appeared, disporting all
+around the ship, apparently conscious of our helplessness to interfere
+with them. Notwithstanding our extraordinary haul, Captain Slocum went
+black with impotent rage, and, after glowering at the sportive monsters,
+beat a retreat below, unable to bear the sight any longer. During his
+absence we had a rare treat. The whole school surrounded the ship, and
+performed some of the strangest evolutions imaginable. As if instigated
+by one common impulse, they all elevated their massive heads above
+the surface of the sea, and remained for some time in that position,
+solemnly bobbing up and down amid the glittering wavelets like movable
+boulders of black rock. Then, all suddenly reversed themselves, and,
+elevating their broad flukes in the air, commenced to beat them slowly
+and rhythmically upon the water, like so many machines. Being almost a
+perfect calm, every movement of the great mammals could be plainly seen;
+some of them even passed so near to us that we could see how the lower
+jaw hung down, while the animal was swimming in a normal position.
+
+For over an hour they thus paraded around us, and then, as if startled
+by some hidden danger, suddenly headed off to the westward, and in a few
+minutes were out of our sight.
+
+We cruised in the vicinity of the Comoro Islands for two months, never
+quite out of sight of the mountain while the weather was clear. During
+the whole of that time we were never clear of oil on deck, one catch
+always succeeding another before there had been time to get cleared
+up. Eight hundred barrels of oil were added to our cargo, making the
+undisciplined hearts of all to whom whaling was a novel employment beat
+high with hopes of a speedy completion of the cargo, and consequent
+return. Poor innocents that we were! How could we know any better?
+According to Goliath, with whom I often had a friendly chat, this was
+quite out of the ordinary run to have such luck in the "Channel."
+
+"'Way back in de dark ages, w'en de whaleships war de pi'neers
+ob commerce, 'n day wan't no worryin', poofity-plukity steamboats
+a-poundin' along, 'nough ter galley ebery whale clean eout ob dere skin,
+dey war plenty whaleships fill up in twelve, fifteen, twenty monf' after
+leabin' home. 'N er man bed his pick er places, too--didn' hab ter go
+moseyin erroun' like some ol' hobo lookin' fer day's work, 'n prayin'
+de good Lord not ter let um fine it. No, sah; roun yer China Sea, coas'
+Japan, on de line, off shore, Vasquez, 'mong de islan's, ohmos' anywhar,
+you couldn' hardly git way from 'em. Neow, I clar ter glory I kaint
+imagine WAR dey all gone ter, dough we bin eout only six seven monf' 'n
+got over tousan bar'l below. But I bin two year on er voy'ge and
+doan hardly SEE a sparm while, much less catch one. But"--and here he
+whispered mysteriously--"dish yer ole man's de bery debbil's own chile,
+'n his farder lookin' after him well--dat's my 'pinion. Only yew keep
+yer head tight shut, an' nebber say er word, but keep er lookin', 'n
+sure's death you'll see." This conversation made a deep and lasting
+impression upon me, for I had not before heard even so much as a
+murmur from an officer against the tyranny of the skipper. Some of the
+harpooners were fluent enough, too.
+
+Yet I had often thought that his treatment of them, considering the
+strenuous nature of their toil, and the willingness with which they
+worked as long as they had an ounce of energy left, was worth at least a
+little kindness and courtesy on his part.
+
+What the period may have been during which whales were plentiful here,
+I do not know, but it was now May, and for the last few days we had not
+seen a solitary spout of any kind. Preparations, very slight it is
+true, were made for departure; but before we left those parts we made
+an interesting call for water at Mohilla, one of the Comoro group,
+which brought out, in unmistakable fashion, the wonderful fund of local
+knowledge possessed by these men. At the larger ports of Johanna and
+Mayotte there is a regular tariff of port charges, which are somewhat
+heavy, and no whaleman would be so reckless as to incur these unless
+driven thereto by the necessity of obtaining provisions; otherwise, the
+islands offer great inducements to whaling captains to call, since none
+but men hopelessly mad would venture to desert in such places. That
+qualification is the chief one for any port to possess in the eyes of a
+whaling captain.
+
+Our skipper, however, saw no necessity for entering any port. Running up
+under the lee of Mohilla, we followed the land along until we came to
+a tiny bight on the western side of the island, an insignificant inlet
+which no mariner in charge of a vessel like ours could be expected even
+to notice, unless he were surveying. The approaches to this tiny harbour
+(save the mark) were very forbidding. Ugly-looking rocks showed up here
+and there, the surf over them frequently blinding the whole entry.
+But we came along, in our usual leisurely fashion, under two topsails,
+spanker, and fore-topmast staysail, and took that ugly passage like a
+sailing barge entering the Medway. There was barely room to turn round
+when we got inside, but all sail had been taken off her except the
+spanker, so that her way was almost stopped by the time she was fairly
+within the harbour. Down went the anchor, and she was fast--anchored for
+the first time since leaving New Bedford seven months before. Here we
+were shut out entirely from the outer world, for I doubt greatly whether
+even a passing dhow could have seen us from seaward. We were not here
+for rest, however, but wood and water; so while one party was supplied
+with well-sharpened axes, and sent on shore to cut down such small trees
+as would serve our turn, another party was busily employed getting out
+a number of big casks for the serious business of watering. The cooper
+knocked off the second or quarter hoops from each of these casks, and
+drove them on again with two "beckets" or loops of rope firmly jammed
+under each of them in such a manner that the loops were in line
+with each other on each side of the bunghole. They were then lowered
+overboard, and a long rope rove through all the beckets. When this was
+done, the whole number of casks floated end to end, upright and secure.
+We towed them ashore to where, by the skipper's directions, at about
+fifty yards from high-water mark, a spring of beautiful water bubbled
+out of the side of a mass of rock, losing itself in a deep crevice
+below. Lovely ferns, rare orchids, and trailing plants of many kinds
+surrounded this fairy-like spot in the wildest profusion, making a
+tangle of greenery that we had considerable trouble to clear away.
+Having done so, we led a long canvas hose from the spot whence the water
+flowed down to the shore where the casks floated. The chief officer,
+with great ingenuity, rigged up an arrangement whereby the hose, which
+had a square month about a foot wide, was held up to the rock, saving us
+the labour of bailing and filling by hand. So we were able to rest and
+admire at our ease the wonderful variety of beautiful plants which grew
+here so lavishly, unseen by mortal eye from one year's end to another.
+I have somewhere read that the Creator has delight in the beautiful work
+of His will, wherever it may be; and that while our egotism wonders at
+the waste of beauty, as we call it, there is no waste at all, since the
+Infinite Intelligence can dwell with complacency upon the glories of His
+handiwork, perfectly fulfilling their appointed ends.
+
+All too soon the pleasant occupation came to an end. The long row of
+casks, filled to the brim and tightly bunged, were towed off by us to
+the ship, and ranged alongside. A tackle and pair of "can-hooks" was
+overhauled to the water and hooked to a cask. "Hoist away!" And as the
+cask rose, the beckets that had held it to the mother-rope were cut,
+setting it quite free to come on board, but leaving all the others still
+secure. In this way we took in several thousand gallons of water in a
+few hours, with a small expenditure of labour, free of cost; whereas,
+had we gone into Mayotte or Johanna, the water would have been bad, the
+price high, the labour great, with the chances of a bad visitation of
+fever in the bargain.
+
+The woodmen had a much more arduous task. The only wood they could find,
+without cutting down big trees, which would have involved far too much
+labour in cutting up, was a kind of iron-wood, which, besides being very
+heavy, was so hard as to take pieces clean out of their axe-edges,
+when a blow was struck directly across the grain. As none of them were
+experts, the condition of their tools soon made their work very hard.
+But that they had taken several axes in reserve, it is doubtful whether
+they would have been able to get sufficient fuel for our purpose.
+When they pitched the wood off the rocks into the harbour, it sank
+immediately, giving them a great deal of trouble to fish it up again.
+Neither could they raft it as intended, but were compelled to load it
+into the boats and make several journeys to and fro before all they had
+cut was shipped. Altogether, I was glad that the wooding had not fallen
+to my share. On board the ship fishing had been going on steadily most
+of the day by a few hands told off for the purpose. The result of their
+sport was splendid, over two hundred-weight of fine fish of various
+sorts, but all eatable, having been gathered in.
+
+We lay snugly anchored all night, keeping a bright look-out for any
+unwelcome visitors either from land or sea, for the natives are not to
+be trusted, neither do the Arab mongrels who cruise about those waters
+in their dhows bear any too good a reputation. We saw none, however,
+and at daylight we weighed and towed the ship out to sea with the boats,
+there being no wind. While busy at this uninteresting pastime, one of
+the boats slipped away, returning presently with a fine turtle, which
+they had surprised during his morning's nap. One of the amphibious
+Portuguese slipped over the boat's side as she neared the sleeping
+SPHARGA, and, diving deep, came up underneath him, seizing with crossed
+hands the two hind flippers, and, with a sudden, dexterous twist, turned
+the astonished creature over on his back. Thus rendered helpless, the
+turtle lay on the surface feebly waving his flippers, while his captor,
+gently treading water, held him in that position till the boat reached
+the pair and took them on board. It was a clever feat, neatly executed,
+as unlike the clumsy efforts I had before seen made with the same object
+as anything could possibly be.
+
+After an hour's tow, we had got a good offing, and a light air springing
+up, we returned on board, hoisted the boats, and made sail to the
+northward again.
+
+With the exception of the numerous native dhows that crept lazily about,
+we saw no vessels as we gradually drew out of the Mozambique Channel and
+stood away towards the Line. The part of the Indian Ocean in which we
+now found ourselves is much dreaded by merchantmen, who give it a wide
+berth on account of the numerous banks, islets, and dangerous currents
+with which it abounds. We, however, seemed quite at home here, pursuing
+the even tenor of our usual way without any special precautions being
+taken. A bright look-out, we always kept, of course--none of your drowsy
+lolling about such as is all too common on the "fo'lk'sle head" of many
+a fine ship, when, with lights half trimmed or not shown at all, she is
+ploughing along blindly at twelve knots or so an hour. No; while we were
+under way during daylight, four pairs of keen eyes kept incessant vigil
+a hundred feet above the deck, noting everything, even to a shoal
+of small fish, that crossed within the range of vision. At night we
+scarcely moved, but still a vigilant lookout was always kept both fore
+and aft, so that it would have been difficult for us to drift upon a
+reef unknowingly.
+
+Creeping steadily northward, we passed the Cosmoledo group of atolls
+without paying them a visit, which was strange, as, from their
+appearance, no better fishing-ground would be likely to come in our way.
+They are little known, except to the wandering fishermen from Reunion
+and Rodriguez, who roam about these islets and reefs, seeking anything
+that may be turned into coin, from wrecks to turtle, and in nowise
+particular as to rights of ownership. When between the Cosmoledos
+and Astove, the next island to the northward, we sighted a "solitary"
+cachalot one morning just as the day dawned. It was the first for some
+time--nearly three weeks--and being all well seasoned to the work now,
+we obeyed the call to arms with great alacrity. Our friend was making a
+passage, turning neither to the right hand nor the left as he went. His
+risings and number of spouts while up, as well as the time he remained
+below, were as regular as the progress of a clock, and could be counted
+upon with quite as much certainty.
+
+Bearing in mind, I suppose, the general character of the whales we had
+recently met with, only two boats were lowered to attack the new-comer,
+who, all unconscious of our coming, pursued his leisurely course
+unheeding.
+
+We got a good weather gage of him, and came flying on as usual getting
+two irons planted in fine style. But a surprise awaited us. As we
+sheered up into the wind away from him, Louis shouted, "Fightin' whale,
+sir; look out for de rush!" Look out, indeed? Small use in looking out
+when, hampered as we always were at first with the unshipping of the
+mast, we could do next to nothing to avoid him. Without any of the
+desperate flounderings generally indulged in on first feeling the iron,
+he turned upon us, and had it not been that he caught sight of the
+second mate's boat, which had just arrived, and turned his attentions
+to her, there would have been scant chance of any escape for us. Leaping
+half out of water, he made direct for our comrades with a vigour and
+ferocity marvellous to see, making it a no easy matter for them to avoid
+his tremendous rush. Our actions, at no time slow, were considerably
+hastened by this display of valour, so that before he could turn his
+attentions in our direction we were ready for him. Then ensued a really
+big fight, the first, in fact, of my experience, for none of the other
+whales had shown any serious determination to do us an injury, but had
+devoted all their energies to attempts at escape. So quick were the
+evolutions, and so savage the appearance of this fellow, that even
+our veteran mate looked anxious as to the possible result. Without
+attempting to "sound," the furious monster kept mostly below the
+surface; but whenever he rose, it was either to deliver a fearful blow
+with his tail, or, with jaws widespread, to try and bite one of our
+boats in half. Well was it for us that he was severely handicapped by
+a malformation of the lower jaw. At a short distance from the throat
+it turned off nearly at right angles to his body, the part that thus
+protruded sideways being deeply fringed with barnacles, and plated with
+big limpets.
+
+Had it not been for this impediment, I verily believe he would have
+beaten us altogether. As it was, he worked us nearly to death with his
+ugly rushes. Once he delivered a sidelong blow with his tail, which, as
+we spun round, shore off the two oars on that side as if they had been
+carrots. At last the second mate got fast to him, and then the character
+of the game changed again. Apparently unwearied by his previous
+exertions, he now started off to windward at top speed, with the
+two boats sheering broadly out upon either side of his foaming wake.
+Doubtless because he himself was much fatigued, the mate allowed him to
+run at his will, without for the time attempting to haul any closer to
+him, and very grateful the short rest was to us. But he had not gone
+a couple of miles before he turned a complete somersault in the water,
+coming up BEHIND us to rush off again in the opposite direction at
+undiminished speed. This move was a startler. For the moment it seemed
+as if both boats would be smashed like egg-shells against each other,
+or else that some of us would be impaled upon the long lances with which
+each boat's bow bristled. By what looked like a handbreadth, we cleared
+each other, and the race continued. Up till now we had not succeeded
+in getting home a single lance, the foe was becoming warier, while the
+strain was certainly telling upon our nerves. So Mr. Count got out his
+bomb-gun, shouting at the same time to Mr. Cruce to do the same. They
+both hated these weapons, nor ever used them if they could help it; but
+what was to be done?
+
+Our chief had hardly got his gun ready, before we came to almost a
+dead stop. All was silent for just a moment; then, with a roar like a
+cataract, up sprang the huge creature, head out, jaw wide open, coming
+direct for us. As coolly as if on the quarter-deck, the mate raised his
+gun, firing the bomb directly down the great livid cavern of a throat
+fronting him. Down went that mountainous head not six inches from us,
+but with a perfectly indescribable motion, a tremendous writhe, in fact;
+up flew the broad tail in air, and a blow which might have sufficed
+to stave in the side of the ship struck the second mate's boat fairly
+amidships. It was right before my eyes, not sixty feet away, and the
+sight will haunt me to my death. The tub oarsman was the poor German
+baker, about whom I have hitherto said nothing, except to note that he
+was one of the crew. That awful blow put an end summarily to all his
+earthly anxieties. As it shore obliquely through the centre of the boat,
+it drove his poor body right through her timbers--an undistinguishable
+bundle of what was an instant before a human being. The other members of
+the crew escaped the blow, and the harpooner managed to cut the line, so
+that for the present they were safe enough, clinging to the remains of
+their boat, unless the whale should choose to rush across them.
+
+Happily, his rushing was almost over. The bomb fired by Mr. Count, with
+such fatal result to poor Bamberger, must have exploded right in the
+whale's throat. Whether his previous titanic efforts had completely
+exhausted him, or whether the bomb had broken his massive backbone, I do
+not know, of course, but he went into no flurry, dying as peacefully as
+his course had been furious. For the first time in my life, I had been
+face to face with a violent death, and I was quite stunned with the
+awfulness of the experience. Mechanically, as it seemed to me, we
+obeyed such orders as were given, but every man's thoughts were with the
+shipmate so suddenly dashed from amongst us. We never saw sign of him
+again.
+
+While the ship was running down to us, another boat had gone to rescue
+the clinging crew of the shattered boat, for the whole drama had been
+witnessed from the ship, although they were not aware of the death of
+the poor German. When the sad news was told on board, there was a deep
+silence, all work being carried on so quietly that we seemed like a crew
+of dumb men. With a sentiment for which I should not have given our grim
+skipper credit, the stars and stripes were hoisted half-mast, telling
+the silent sky and moaning sea, sole witnesses besides ourselves, of the
+sudden departure from among us of our poor shipmate. We got the whale
+cut in as usual without any incident worth mentioning, except that the
+peculiar shape of the jaw made it an object of great curiosity to all
+of us who were new to the whale-fishing. Such malformations are not very
+rare. They are generally thought to occur when the animal is young, and
+its bones soft; but whether done in fighting with one another, or
+in some more mysterious way, nobody knows. Cases have been known, I
+believe, where the deformed whale does not appear to have suffered from
+lack of food in consequence of his disability; but in each of the three
+instances which have come under my own notice, such was certainly not
+the case. These whales were what is termed by the whalers "dry-skins;"
+that is, they were in poor condition, the blubber yielding less than
+half the usual quantity of oil. The absence of oil makes it very hard
+to cut up, and there is more work in one whale of this kind than in two
+whose blubber is rich and soft. Another thing which I have also noticed
+is, that these whales were much more difficult to tackle than others,
+for each of them gave us something special to remember them by. But I
+must not get ahead of my yarn.
+
+The end of the week brought us up to the Aldabra Islands, one of
+the puzzles of the world. For here, in these tiny pieces of earth,
+surrounded by thousands of miles of sea, the nearest land a group of
+islets like unto them, is found the gigantic tortoise, and in only one
+other place in the wide world, the Galapagos group of islands in the
+South Pacific. How, or by what strange freak of Dame Nature these
+curious reptiles, sole survivals of another age, should come to be
+found in this lonely spot, is a deep mystery, and one not likely to be
+unfolded now. At any rate, there they are, looking as if some of them
+might be coeval with Noah, so venerable and storm-beaten do they appear.
+
+We made the island early on a Sunday morning, and, with the usual
+celerity, worked the vessel into the fine harbour, called, from one
+of the exploring ships, Euphrates Bay or Harbour. The anchor down, and
+everything made snug below and aloft, we were actually allowed a run
+ashore free from restraint. I could hardly believe my ears. We had got
+so accustomed to our slavery that liberty was become a mere name; we
+hardly knew what to do with it when we got it. However, we soon got used
+(in a very limited sense) to being our own masters, and, each following
+the bent of his inclinations, set out for a ramble. My companion and I
+had not gone far, when we thought we saw one of the boulders, with which
+the island was liberally besprinkled, on the move. Running up to examine
+it with all the eagerness of children let out of school, we found it to
+be one of the inhabitants, a monstrous tortoise. I had some big turtle
+around the cays of the Gulf of Mexico, but this creature dwarfed them
+all. We had no means of actually measuring him, and had to keep clear
+of his formidable-looking jaws, but roughly, and within the mark, he was
+four feet long by two feet six inches wide. Of course he was much more
+dome-shaped than the turtle are, and consequently looked a great deal
+bigger than a turtle of the same measurement would, besides being much
+thicker through. As he was loth to stay with us, we made up our minds to
+go with him, for he was evidently making for some definite spot, by the
+tracks he was following, which showed plainly how many years that same
+road had been used. Well, I mounted on his back, keeping well astern,
+out of the reach of that serious-looking head, which having rather a
+long neck, looked as if it might be able to reach round and take a
+piece out of a fellow without any trouble. He was perfectly amicable,
+continuing his journey as if nothing had happened, and really getting
+over the ground at a good rate, considering the bulk and shape of him.
+Except for the novelty of the thing, this sort of ride had nothing to
+recommend it; so I soon tired of it, and let him waddle along in peace.
+By following the tracks aforesaid, we arrived at a fine stream of water
+sparkling out of a hillside, and running down a little ravine. The sides
+of this gully were worn quite smooth by the innumerable feet of the
+tortoises, about a dozen of which were now quietly crouching at the
+water's edge, filling themselves up with the cooling fluid. I did not
+see the patriarch upon whom a sailor once reported that he had read the
+legend carved, "The Ark, Captain Noah, Ararat for orders"; perhaps he
+had at last closed his peaceful career. But strange, and quaint as this
+exhibition of ancient reptiles was, we had other and better employment
+for the limited time at our disposal. There were innumerable curious
+things to see, and, unless we were to run the risk of going on board
+again and stopping there, dinner must be obtained. Eggs of various
+kinds were exceedingly plentiful; in many places the flats were almost
+impassable for sitting birds, mostly "boobies."
+
+But previous experience of boobies' eggs in other places had not
+disposed me to seek them where others were to be obtained, and as I had
+seen many of the well-known frigate or man-o'-war birds hovering
+about, we set out to the other side of the island in search of the
+breeding-place.
+
+These peculiar birds are, I think, misnamed. They should be called
+pirate or buccaneer birds, from their marauding habits. Seldom or never
+do they condescend to fish for themselves, preferring to hover high in
+the blue, their tails opening and closing like a pair of scissors
+as they hang poised above the sea. Presently booby--like some honest
+housewife who has been a-marketing--comes flapping noisily home, her maw
+laden with fish for the chicks. Down comes the black watcher from above
+with a swoop like an eagle. Booby puts all she knows into her flight,
+but vainly; escape is impossible, so with a despairing shriek she
+drops her load. Before it has touched the water the graceful thief has
+intercepted it, and soared slowly aloft again, to repeat the performance
+as occasion serves.
+
+When we arrived on the outer shore of the island, we found a large
+breeding-place of these birds, but totally different to the haunt of
+the boobies. The nests, if they might be so called, being at best a few
+twigs, were mostly in the hollows of the rocks, the number of eggs
+being two to a nest, on an average. The eggs were nearly as large as a
+turkey's. But I am reminded of the range of size among turkeys' eggs,
+so I must say they were considerably larger than a small turkey's egg.
+Their flavour was most delicate, as much so as the eggs of a moor-fed
+fowl. We saw no birds sitting, but here and there the gaunt skeleton
+forms of birds, who by reason of sickness or old age were unable to
+provide for themselves, and so sat waiting for death, appealed most
+mournfully to us. We went up to some of these poor creatures, and ended
+their long agony; but there were many of them that we were obliged to
+leave to Nature.
+
+We saw no animals larger than a rat, but there were a great many
+of those eerie-looking land-crabs, that seemed as if almost humanly
+intelligent as they scampered about over the sand or through the
+undergrowth, busy about goodness knows what. The beautiful cocoa-nut
+palm was plentiful, so much so that I wondered why there were no
+settlers to collect "copra," or dried cocoa-nut, for oil. My West Indian
+experience came in handy now, for I was able to climb a lofty tree in
+native fashion, and cut down a grand bunch of green nuts, which form one
+of the most refreshing and nutritious of foods, as well as a cool and
+delicious drink. We had no line with us, so we took off our belts,
+which, securely joined together, answered my purpose very well. With
+them I made a loop round the tree and myself; then as I climbed I pushed
+the loop up with me, so that whenever I wanted a rest, I had only to
+lean back in it, keeping my knees against the trunk, and I was almost as
+comfortable as if on the ground.
+
+After getting the nuts, we made a fire and roasted some of our eggs,
+which, with a biscuit or two, made a delightful meal. Then we fell
+asleep under a shady tree, upon some soft moss; nor did we wake again
+until nearly time to go on board. A most enjoyable swim terminated our
+day's outing, and we returned to the beach abreast of the ship very
+pleased with the excursion.
+
+We had no adventures, found no hidden treasure or ferocious animals, but
+none the less we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. While we sat waiting for
+the boat to come and fetch us off, we saw a couple of good-sized turtle
+come ashore quite close to us. We kept perfectly still until we were
+sure of being able to intercept them. As soon as they had got far enough
+away from their native element, we rushed upon them, and captured them
+both, so that when the boat arrived we were not empty-handed. We had
+also a "jumper," or blouse, full of eggs, and a couple of immense
+bunches of cocoa-nuts. When we got on board we felt quite happy, and,
+for the first time since leaving America, we had a little singing. Shall
+I be laughed at when I confess that our musical efforts were confined
+to Sankey's hymns? Maybe, but I do not care. Cheap and clap-trap as the
+music may be, it tasted "real good," as Abner said, and I am quite sure
+that that Sunday night was the best that any of us had spent for a very
+long time.
+
+A long, sound sleep was terminated at dawn, when we weighed and stood
+out through a narrow passage by East Island, which was quite covered
+with fine trees--of what kind I do not know, but they presented a
+beautiful sight. Myriads of birds hovered about, busy fishing from the
+countless schools that rippled the placid sea. Beneath us, at twenty
+fathoms, the wonderful architecture of the coral was plainly visible
+through the brilliantly-clear sea, while, wherever the tiny builders had
+raised their fairy domain near the surface, an occasional roller would
+crown it with a snowy garland of foam--a dazzling patch of white against
+the sapphire sea. Altogether, such a panorama was spread out at our
+feet, as we stood gazing from the lofty crow's-nest, as was worth a year
+or two of city life to witness. I could not help pitying my companion,
+one of the Portuguese harpooners, who stolidly munched his quid with no
+eyes for any of these glorious pictures, no thought of anything but a
+possible whale in sight.
+
+My silent rhapsodies were rudely interrupted by something far away on
+the horizon. Hardly daring to breathe, I strained my eyes, and--yes,
+it was--"Ah blow-w-w-w!" I bellowed at the top of my lung-power, never
+before had I had the opportunity of thus distinguishing myself, and I
+felt a bit sore about it.
+
+There was a little obliquity about the direction of the spout that made
+me hopeful, for the cachalot alone sends his spout diagonally upward,
+all the others spout vertically. It was but a school of kogia, or
+"short-headed" cachalots; but as we secured five of them, averaging
+seven barrels each, with scarcely any trouble, I felt quite pleased with
+myself. We had quite an exciting bit of sport with them, they were so
+lively; but as for danger--well, they only seemed like big "black fish"
+to us now, and we quite enjoyed the fun. They were, in all respects,
+miniature sperm whales, except that the head was much shorter and
+smaller in proportion to the body than their big relations.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI. ROUND THE COCOS AND SEYCHELLES
+
+Hitherto, with the exception of a couple of gales in the North and
+South Atlantic, we had been singularly fortunate in our weather. It does
+happen so sometimes.
+
+I remember once making a round voyage from Cardiff to Hong Kong and the
+Philippines, back to London, in ten months, and during the whole of that
+time we did not have a downright gale. The worst weather we encountered
+was between Beachy Head and Portland, going round from London to
+Cardiff.
+
+And I once spoke the barque LUTTERWORTH, a companion ship to us from
+Portland, Oregon to Falmouth, whose mate informed me that they carried
+their royals from port to port without ever furling them once, except
+to shift the suit of sails. But now a change was evidently imminent. Of
+course, we forward had no access to the barometer; not that we should
+have understood its indications if we had seen it, but we all knew that
+something was going to be radically wrong with the weather. For instead
+of the lovely blue of the sky we had been so long accustomed to by
+day and night, a nasty, greasy shade had come over the heavens,
+which, reflected in the sea, made that look dirty and stale also. That
+well-known appearance of the waves before a storm was also very marked,
+which consists of an undecided sort of break in their tops. Instead of
+running regularly, they seemed to hunch themselves up in little heaps,
+and throw off a tiny flutter of spray, which generally fell in the
+opposite direction to what little wind there was. The pigs and fowls
+felt the approaching change keenly, and manifested the greatest
+uneasiness, leaving their food and acting strangely. We were making
+scarcely any headway, so that the storm was longer making its appearance
+than it would have been had we been a swift clipper ship running down
+the Indian Ocean. For two days we were kept in suspense; but on the
+second night the gloom began to deepen, the wind to moan, and a very
+uncomfortable "jobble" of a sea got up. Extra "gaskets" were put upon
+the sails, and everything movable about the decks was made as secure as
+it could be. Only the two close-reefed topsails and two storm stay-sails
+were carried, so that we were in excellent trim for fighting the bad
+weather when it did come. The sky gradually darkened and assumed a livid
+green tint, the effect of which was most peculiar.
+
+The wind blew fitfully in short, gusts, veering continually back and
+forth over about a quarter of the compass. Although it was still light,
+it kept up an incessant mournful moan not to be accounted for in
+any way. Darker and darker grew the heavens, although no clouds were
+visible, only a general pall of darkness. Glimmering lightnings played
+continually about the eastern horizon, but not brilliant enough to show
+us the approaching storm-cloud. And so came the morning of the third
+day from the beginning of the change. But for the clock we should hardly
+have known that day had broken, so gloomy and dark was the sky. At last
+light came in the east, but such a light as no one would wish to see. It
+was a lurid glare, such as may be seen playing over a cupola of Bessemer
+steel when the speigeleisen is added, only on such an extensive scale
+that its brilliancy was dulled into horror. Then, beneath it we saw the
+mountainous clouds fringed with dull violet and with jagged sabres of
+lightning darting from their solid black bosoms. The wind began to rise
+steadily but rapidly, so that by eight a.m. it was blowing a furious
+gale from E.N.E. In direction it was still unsteady, the ship coming up
+and falling off to it several points. Now, great masses of torn,
+ragged cloud hurtled past us above, so low down as almost to touch the
+mastheads. Still the wind increased, still the sea rose, till at last
+the skipper judged it well to haul down the tiny triangle of storm
+stay-sail still set (the topsail and fore stay-sail had been furled long
+before), and let her drift under bare poles, except for three square
+feet of stout canvas in the weather mizen-rigging. The roar of the
+wind now dominated every sound, so that it might have been thundering
+furiously, but we should not have heard it. The ship still maintained
+her splendid character as a sea-boat, hardly shipping a drop of water;
+but she lay over at a most distressing angle, her deck sloping off fully
+thirty-five to forty degrees. Fortunately she did not roll to windward.
+It may have been raining in perfect torrents, but the tempest tore off
+the surface of the sea, and sent it in massive sheets continually flying
+over us, so that we could not possibly have distinguished between fresh
+water and salt.
+
+The chief anxiety was for the safety of the boats. Early on the second
+day of warning they had been hoisted to the topmost notch of the cranes,
+and secured as thoroughly as experience could suggest; but at every lee
+lurch we gave it seemed as if we must dip them under water, while the
+wind threatened to stave the weather ones in by its actual solid weight.
+It was now blowing a furious cyclone, the force of which has never been
+accurately gauged (even by the present elaborate instruments of various
+kinds in use). That force is, however, not to be imagined by any one who
+has not witnessed it, except that one notable instance is on record by
+which mathematicians may get an approximate estimate.
+
+Captain Toynbee, the late highly respected and admired Marine
+Superintendent of the British Meteorological Office, has told us how,
+during a cyclone which he rode out in the HOTSPUR at Sandheads, the
+mouth of the Hooghly, the three naked topgallant-masts of his ship,
+though of well-tested timber a foot in diameter, and supported by all
+the usual network of stays, and without the yards, were snapped off and
+carried away solely by the violence of the wind. It must, of course,
+have been an extreme gust, which did not last many seconds, for no cable
+that was ever forged would have held the ship against such a cataclysm
+as that. This gentleman's integrity is above suspicion, so that no
+exaggeration could be charged against him, and he had the additional
+testimony of his officers and men to this otherwise incredible fact.
+
+The terrible day wore on, without any lightening of the tempest, till
+noon, when the wind suddenly fell to a calm. Until that time, the sea,
+although heavy, was not vicious or irregular, and we had not shipped
+any heavy water at all. But when the force of the wind was suddenly
+withdrawn, such a sea arose as I have never seen before or since. Inky
+mountains of water raised their savage heads in wildest confusion,
+smashing one another in whirlpools of foam. It was like a picture of the
+primeval deep out of which arose the new-born world. Suddenly out of
+the whirling blackness overhead the moon appeared, nearly in the zenith,
+sending down through the apex of a dome of torn and madly gyrating cloud
+a flood of brilliant light. Illumined by that startling radiance, our
+staunch and seaworthy ship was tossed and twirled in the hideous vortex
+of mad sea until her motion was distracting. It was quite impossible to
+loose one's hold and attempt to do anything without running the imminent
+risk of being dashed to pieces. Our decks were full of water now, for
+it tumbled on board at all points; but as yet no serious weight of a sea
+had fallen upon us, nor had any damage been done. Such a miracle as that
+could not be expected to continue for long. Suddenly a warning shout
+rang out from somewhere--"Hold on all, for your lives!" Out of the
+hideous turmoil around arose, like some black, fantastic ruin, an awful
+heap of water. Higher and higher it towered, until it was level with our
+lower yards, then it broke and fell upon us. All was blank. Beneath that
+mass every thought, every feeling, fled but one--"How long shall I
+be able to hold my breath?" After what seemed a never-ending time, we
+emerged from the wave more dead than alive, but with the good ship still
+staunch underneath us, and Hope's lamp burning brightly. The moon
+had been momentarily obscured, but now shone out again, lighting up
+brilliantly our bravely-battling ship. But, alas for others!--men,
+like ourselves, whose hopes were gone. Quite near us was the battered
+remainder of what had been a splendid ship. Her masts were gone, not
+even the stumps being visible, and it seemed to our eager eyes as if she
+was settling down. It was even so, for as we looked, unmindful of our
+own danger, she quietly disappeared--swallowed up with her human freight
+in a moment, like a pebble dropped into a pond.
+
+While we looked with hardly beating hearts at the place where she had
+sunk, all was blotted out in thick darkness again. With a roar, as of
+a thousand thunders, the tempest came once more, but from the opposite
+direction now. As we were under no sail, we ran little risk of being
+caught aback; but, even had we, nothing could have been done, the vessel
+being utterly out of control, besides the impossibility of getting
+about. It so happened, however, that when the storm burst upon us again,
+we were stern on to it, and we drove steadily for a few moments until we
+had time to haul to the wind again. Great heavens! how it blew! Surely,
+I thought, this cannot last long--just as we sometimes say of the
+rain when it is extra heavy. It did last, however, for what seemed an
+interminable time, although any one could see that the sky was getting
+kindlier. Gradually, imperceptibly, it took off, the sky cleared, and
+the tumult ceased, until a new day broke in untellable beauty over a
+revivified world.
+
+Years afterwards I read, in one of the hand-books treating of hurricanes
+and cyclones, that "in the centre of these revolving storms the sea is
+so violent that few ships can pass through it and live." That is true
+talk. I have been there, and bear witness that but for the build and
+sea-kindliness of the CACHALOT, she could not have come out of that
+horrible cauldron again, but would have joined that nameless unfortunate
+whom we saw succumb, "never again heard of." As it was, we found two
+of the boats stove in, whether by breaking sea or crushing wind nobody
+knows. Most of the planking of the bulwarks was also gone, burst outward
+by the weight of the water on deck. Only the normal quantity of water
+was found in the well on sounding, and not even a rope-yarn was gone
+from aloft. Altogether, we came out of the ordeal triumphantly, where
+many a gallant vessel met her fate, and the behaviour of the grand old
+tub gave me a positive affection for her, such as I have never felt for
+a ship before or since.
+
+There was now a big heap of work for the carpenter, so the skipper
+decided to run in for the Cocos or Keeling islands, in order to lay
+quietly and refit. We had now only three boats sound, the one smashed
+when poor Bamberger died being still unfinished--of course, the repairs
+had practically amounted to rebuilding. Therefore we kept away for this
+strange assemblage of reefs and islets, arriving off them early the next
+day.
+
+They consist of a true "atoll," or basin, whose rim is of coral
+reefs, culminating occasionally in sandy islands or cays formed by the
+accumulated debris washed up from the reef below, and then clothed upon
+with all sorts of plants by the agency of birds and waves.
+
+These islands have lately been so fully described in many different
+journals, that I shall not burden the reader with any twice-told tales
+about them, but merely chronicle the fact that for a week we lay at
+anchor off one of the outlying cays, toiling continuously to get the
+vessel again in fighting trim.
+
+At last the overworked carpenter and his crew got through their heavy
+task, and the order was given to "man the windlass." Up came the anchor,
+and away we went again towards what used to be a noted haunt of the
+sperm whale, the Seychelle Archipelego. Before the French, whose flag
+flies over these islands, had with their usual short-sighted policy,
+clapped on prohibitive port charges, Mahe was a specially favoured place
+of call for the whalers. But when whale-ships find that it does not pay
+to visit a place, being under no compulsion as regards time, they soon
+find other harbours that serve their turn. We, of course, had no need to
+visit any port for some time to come, having made such good use of our
+opportunities at the Cocos.
+
+We found whales scarce and small, so, although we cruised in this
+vicinity for nearly two months, six small cow cachalots were all we were
+able to add to our stock, representing less then two hundred barrels
+of oil. This was hardly good enough for Captain Slocum. Therefore, we
+gradually drew away from this beautiful cluster of islands, and crept
+across the Indian Ocean towards the Straits of Malacca. On the way, we
+one night encountered that strange phenomenon, a "milk" sea. It was a
+lovely night, with scarcely any wind, the stars trying to make up for
+the absence of the moon by shining with intense brightness. The water
+had been more phosphorescent than usual, so that every little fish left
+a track of light behind him, greatly disproportionate to his size. As
+the night wore on, the sea grew brighter and brighter, until by midnight
+we appeared to be sailing on an ocean of lambent flames. Every little
+wave that broke against the ship's side sent up a shower of diamond-like
+spray, wonderfully beautiful to see, while a passing school of porpoises
+fairly set the sea blazing as they leaped and gambolled in its glowing
+waters. Looking up from sea to sky, the latter seemed quite black
+instead of blue, and the lustre of the stars was diminished till they
+only looked like points of polished steel, having quite lost for the
+time their radiant sparkle. In that shining flood the blackness of the
+ship stood out in startling contrast, and when we looked over the side
+our faces were strangely lit up by the brilliant glow.
+
+For several hours this beautiful appearance persisted, fading away
+at last as gradually as it came. No satisfactory explanation of this
+curious phenomenon has ever been given, nor does it appear to portend
+any change of weather. It cannot be called a rare occurrence, although
+I have only seen it thrice myself--once in the Bay of Cavite, in the
+Philippine Islands; once in the Pacific, near the Solomon Islands; and
+on this occasion of which I now write. But no one who had ever witnessed
+it could forget so wonderful a sight.
+
+One morning, a week after are had taken our departure from the
+Seychelles, the officer at the main crow's-nest reported a vessel of
+some sort about five miles to the windward. Something strange in her
+appearance made the skipper haul up to intercept her. As we drew nearer,
+we made her out to be a Malay "prahu;" but, by the look of her, she
+was deserted. The big three-cornered sail that had been set, hung in
+tattered festoons from the long, slender yard, which, without any gear
+to steady it, swung heavily to and fro as the vessel rolled to the long
+swell. We drew closer and closer, but no sign of life was visible on
+board, so the captain ordered a boat to go and investigate.
+
+In two minutes we were speeding away towards her, and, making a sweep
+round her stern, prepared to board her. But we were met by a stench
+so awful that Mr. Count would not proceed, and at once returned to the
+ship. The boat was quickly hoisted again, and the ship manoeuvred to
+pass close to windward of the derelict. Then, from our mast-head, a
+horrible sight became visible. Lying about the weather-beaten deck,
+in various postures, were thirteen corpses, all far advanced in decay,
+which horrible fact fully accounted for the intolerable stench that had
+driven us away. It is, perhaps, hardly necessary to say that we promptly
+hauled our wind, and placed a good distance between us and that awful
+load of death as soon as possible. Poor wretches! What terrible calamity
+had befallen them, we could not guess; whatever it was, it had been
+complete; nor would any sane man falling across them run the risk of
+closer examination into details than we had done. It was a great pity
+that we were not able to sink the prahu with her ghastly cargo, and so
+free the air from that poisonous foetor that was a deadly danger to any
+vessel getting under her lee.
+
+Next day, and for a whole week after, we had a stark calm such a calm as
+one realizes who reads sympathetically that magical piece of work, the
+"Ancient Mariner." What an amazing instance of the triumph of the human
+imagination! For Coleridge certainly never witnessed such a scene as he
+there describes with an accuracy of detail that is astounding. Very
+few sailors have noticed the sickening condition of the ocean when the
+life-giving breeze totally fails for any length of time, or, if they
+have, they have said but little about it. Of course, some parts of the
+sea show the evil effects of stagnation much sooner than others; but,
+generally speaking, want of wind at sea, if long continued, produces
+a condition of things dangerous to the health of any land near by.
+Whale-ships, penetrating as they do to parts carefully avoided by
+ordinary trading vessels, often afford their crews an opportunity of
+seeing things mostly hidden from the sight of man, when, actuated by
+some mysterious impulse, the uncanny denizens of the middle depths of
+the ocean rise to higher levels, and show their weird shapes to the sun.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII. WHICH TREATS OF THE KRAKEN
+
+It has often been a matter for considerable surprise to me, that while
+the urban population of Great Britain is periodically agitated over the
+great sea-serpent question, sailors, as a class, have very little to say
+on the subject. During a considerable sea experience in all classes of
+vessels, except men-of-war, and in most positions, I have heard a fairly
+comprehensive catalogue of subjects brought under dog-watch discussion;
+but the sea-serpent has never, within my recollection, been one of them.
+
+The reasons for this abstinence may vary a great deal, but chief among
+them is--sailors, as a class, "don't believe in no such a pusson." More
+than that, they do believe that the mythical sea-serpent is "boomed"
+at certain periods, in the lack of other subjects, which may not be
+far from the fact. But there is also another reason, involving a
+disagreeable, although strictly accurate, statement. Sailors are, again
+taken as a class, the least observant of men. They will talk by the
+hour of trivialities about which they know nothing; they will spin
+interminable "cuffers" of debaucheries ashore all over the world; pick
+to pieces the reputation of all the officers with whom they have ever
+sailed; but of the glories, marvels, and mysteries of the mighty deep
+you will hear not a word. I can never forget when on my first voyage to
+the West Indies, at the age of twelve, I was one night smitten with awe
+and wonder at the sight of a vast halo round the moon, some thirty or
+forty degrees in diameter. Turning to the man at the wheel, I asked him
+earnestly "what THAT was." He looked up with an uninterested eye for
+an instant in the direction of my finger, then listlessly informed me,
+"That's what they call a sarcle." For a long time I wondered what he
+could mean, but it gradually dawned upon me that it was his Norfolk
+pronunciation of the word "circle." The definition was a typical one, no
+worse than would be given by the great majority of seamen of most of the
+natural phenomena they witness daily. Very few seamen could distinguish
+between one whale and another of a different species, or give an
+intelligible account of the most ordinary and often-seen denizens of the
+sea. Whalers are especially to be blamed for their blindness. "Eyes and
+no Eyes; or the Art of Seeing" has evidently been little heard of among
+them. To this day I can conceive of no more delightful journey for a
+naturalist to take than a voyage in a southern whaler, especially if he
+were allowed to examine at his leisure such creatures as were caught.
+But on board the CACHALOT I could get no information at all upon the
+habits of the strange creatures we met with, except whales, and very
+little about them.
+
+I have before referred to the great molluscs upon which the sperm whale
+feeds, portions of which I so frequently saw ejected from the stomach of
+dying whales. Great as my curiosity naturally was to know more of these
+immense organisms, all my inquiries on the subject were fruitless. These
+veterans of the whale-fishery knew that the sperm whale lived on big
+cuttlefish; but they neither knew, nor cared to know, anything more
+about these marvellous molluscs. Yet, from the earliest dawn of history,
+observant men have been striving to learn something definite about the
+marine monsters of which all old legends of the sea have something to
+say.
+
+As I mentioned in the last chapter, we were gradually edging across the
+Indian Ocean towards Sumatra, but had been checked in our course by a
+calm lasting a whole week. A light breeze then sprang up, aided by which
+we crept around Achin Head, the northern point of the great island of
+Sumatra. Like some gigantic beacon, the enormous mass of the Golden
+Mountain dominated the peaceful scene. Pulo Way, or Water Island, looked
+very inviting, and I should have been glad to visit a place so well
+known to seamen by sight, but so little known by actual touching at.
+Our recent stay at the Cocos, however, had settled the question of our
+calling anywhere else for some time decidedly in the negative, unless we
+might be compelled by accident; moreover, even in these days of law
+and order, it is not wise to go poking about among the islands of the
+Malayan seas unless you are prepared to fight. Our mission being to
+fight whales, we were averse to running any risks, except in the lawful
+and necessary exercise of our calling.
+
+It would at first sight appear strange that, in view of the enormous
+traffic of steamships through the Malacca Straits, so easily "gallied"
+a creature as the cachalot should care to frequent its waters; indeed,
+I should certainly think that a great reduction in the numbers of whales
+found there must have taken place. But it must also be remembered, that
+in modern steam navigation certain well-defined courses are laid down,
+which vessels follow from point to point with hardly any deviation
+therefrom, and that consequently little disturbance of the sea by their
+panting propellers takes place, except upon these marine pathways; as,
+for instance, in the Red Sea, where the examination of thousands of
+log-books proved conclusively that, except upon straight lines drawn
+from point to point between Suez to Perim, the sea is practically unused
+to-day.
+
+The few Arab dhows and loitering surveying ships hardly count in this
+connection, of course. At any rate, we had not entered the straits, but
+were cruising between Car Nicobar and Junkseylon, when we "met up" with
+a full-grown cachalot, as ugly a customer as one could wish. From nine
+a.m. till dusk the battle raged--for I have often noticed that unless
+you kill your whale pretty soon, he gets so wary, as well as fierce,
+that you stand a gaudy chance of being worn down yourselves before you
+settle accounts with your adversary. This affair certainly looked at one
+time as if such would be the case with us; but along about five p.m.,
+to our great joy, we got him killed. The ejected food was in masses of
+enormous size, larger than any we had yet seen on the voyage, some of
+them being estimated to be of the size of our hatch-house, viz. 8 feet x
+6 feet x 6 feet. The whale having been secured alongside, all hands were
+sent below, as they were worn out with the day's work. The third mate
+being ill, I had been invested with the questionable honour of standing
+his watch, on account of my sea experience and growing favour with the
+chief. Very bitterly did I resent the privilege at the time, I remember,
+being so tired and sleepy that I knew not how to keep awake. I did
+not imagine that anything would happen to make me prize that night's
+experience for the rest of my life, or I should have taken matters with
+a far better grace.
+
+At about eleven p.m. I was leaning over the lee rail, grazing steadily
+at the bright surface of the sea, where the intense radiance of the
+tropical moon made a broad path like a pavement of burnished silver.
+Eyes that saw not, mind only confusedly conscious of my surroundings,
+were mine; but suddenly I started to my feet with an exclamation, and
+stared with all my might at the strangest sight I ever saw. There was
+a violent commotion in the sea right where the moon's rays were
+concentrated, so great that, remembering our position, I was at first
+inclined to alarm all hands; for I had often heard of volcanic islands
+suddenly lifting their heads from the depths below, or disappearing in
+a moment, and, with Sumatra's chain of active volcanoes so near, I felt
+doubtful indeed of what was now happening. Getting the night-glasses
+out of the cabin scuttle, where they were always hung in readiness,
+I focussed them on the troubled spot, perfectly satisfied by a short
+examination that neither volcano nor earthquake had anything to do with
+what was going on; yet so vast were the forces engaged that I might well
+have been excused for my first supposition. A very large sperm whale was
+locked in deadly conflict with a cuttle-fish or squid, almost as large
+as himself, whose interminable tentacles seemed to enlace the whole
+of his great body. The head of the whale especially seemed a perfect
+net-work of writhing arms--naturally I suppose, for it appeared as
+if the whale had the tail part of the mollusc in his jaws, and, in a
+business-like, methodical way, was sawing through it. By the side of the
+black columnar head of the whale appeared the head of the great squid,
+as awful an object as one could well imagine even in a fevered dream.
+Judging as carefully as possible, I estimated it to be at least as large
+as one of our pipes, which contained three hundred and fifty gallons;
+but it may have been, and probably was, a good deal larger. The eyes
+were very remarkable from their size and blackness, which, contrasted
+with the livid whiteness of the head, made their appearance all the more
+striking. They were, at least, a foot in diameter, and, seen under such
+conditions, looked decidedly eerie and hobgoblin-like. All around the
+combatants were numerous sharks, like jackals round a lion, ready to
+share the feast, and apparently assisting in the destruction of the huge
+cephalopod. So the titanic struggle went on, in perfect silence as
+far as we were concerned, because, even had there been any noise, our
+distance from the scene of conflict would not have permitted us to hear
+it.
+
+Thinking that such a sight ought not to be missed by the captain, I
+overcame my dread of him sufficiently to call him, and tell him of what
+was taking place. He met my remarks with such a furious burst of anger
+at my daring to disturb him for such a cause, that I fled precipitately
+on deck again, having the remainder of the vision to myself, for none
+of the others cared sufficiently for such things to lose five minutes'
+sleep in witnessing them. The conflict ceased, the sea resumed its
+placid calm, and nothing remained to tell of the fight but a strong
+odour of fish, as of a bank of seaweed left by the tide in the blazing
+sun. Eight bells struck, and I went below to a troubled sleep, wherein
+all the awful monsters that an over-excited brain could conjure up
+pursued me through the gloomy caves of ocean, or mocked my pigmy efforts
+to escape.
+
+The occasions upon which these gigantic cuttle-fish appear at the sea
+surface must, I think, be very rare. From their construction, they
+appear fitted only to grope among the rocks at the bottom of the ocean.
+Their mode of progression is backward, by the forcible ejection of a
+jet of water from an orifice in the neck, beside the rectum or cloaca.
+Consequently their normal position is head-downward, and with tentacles
+spread out like the ribs of an umbrella--eight of them at least; the
+two long ones, like the antennae of an insect, rove unceasingly around,
+seeking prey.
+
+The imagination can hardly picture a more terrible object than one
+of these huge monsters brooding in the ocean depths, the gloom of his
+surroundings increased by the inky fluid (sepia) which he secretes in
+copious quantities, every cup-shaped disc, of the hundreds with which
+the restless tentacles are furnished, ready at the slightest touch to
+grip whatever is near, not only by suction, but by the great claws
+set all round within its circle. And in the centre of this net-work of
+living traps is the chasm-like mouth, with its enormous parrot-beak,
+ready to rend piecemeal whatever is held by the tentaculae. The very
+thought of it makes one's flesh crawl. Well did Michelet term them "the
+insatiable nightmares of the sea."
+
+Yet, but for them, how would such great creatures as the sperm whale be
+fed? Unable, from their bulk, to capture small fish except by accident,
+and, by the absence of a sieve of baleen, precluded from subsisting upon
+the tiny crustacea, which support the MYSTICETAE, the cachalots seem
+to be confined for their diet to cuttle-fish, and, from their point of
+view, the bigger the latter are the better. How big they may become in
+the depths of the sea, no man knoweth; but it is unlikely that even the
+vast specimens seen are full-sized, since they have only come to the
+surface under abnormal conditions, like the one I have attempted to
+describe, who had evidently been dragged up by his relentless foe.
+
+Creatures like these, who inhabit deep waters, and do not need to come
+to the surface by the exigencies of their existence, necessarily present
+many obstacles to accurate investigation of their structure and habits;
+but, from the few specimens that have been obtained of late years,
+fairly comprehensive details have been compiled, and may be studied in
+various French and German works, of which the Natural History Museum at
+South Kensington possesses copies. These, through the courtesy of the
+authorities in charge, are easily accessible to students who wish to
+prosecute the study of this wonderful branch of the great mollusca
+family.
+
+When we commenced to cut in our whale next morning, the sea was fairly
+alive with fish of innumerable kinds, while a vast host of sea-birds, as
+usual, waited impatiently for the breaking-up of the huge carcass, which
+they knew would afford them no end of a feast. An untoward accident,
+which happened soon after the work was started, gave the waiting myriads
+immense satisfaction, although the unfortunate second mate, whose slip
+of the spade was responsible, came in for a hurricane of vituperation
+from the enraged skipper. It was in detaching the case from the
+head--always a work of difficulty, and requiring great precision of aim.
+Just as Mr. Cruce made a powerful thrust with his keen tool, the vessel
+rolled, and the blow, missing the score in which he was cutting, fell
+upon the case instead, piercing its side. For a few minutes the result
+was unnoticed amidst the wash of the ragged edges of the cut, but
+presently a long streak of white, wax-like pieces floating astern, and
+a tremendous commotion among the birds, told the story. The liquid
+spermaceti was leaking rapidly from the case, turning solid as it got
+into the cool water. Nothing could be done to stop the waste, which,
+as it was a large whale, was not less than twenty barrels, or about two
+tuns of pure spermaceti. An accident of this kind never failed to make
+our skipper almost unbearable in his temper for some days afterwards;
+and, to do him justice, he did not discriminate very carefully as to who
+felt his resentment besides its immediate cause.
+
+Therefore we had all a rough time of it while his angry fit lasted,
+which was a whole week, or until all was shipshape again. Meanwhile we
+were edging gradually through the Malacca Straits and around the big
+island of Borneo, never going very near the land on account of the great
+and numerous dangers attendant upon coasting in those localities to any
+but those continually engaged in such a business.
+
+Indeed, all navigation in those seas to sailing vessels is dangerous,
+and requires the greatest care. Often we were obliged at a minute's
+notice to let go the anchor, although out of sight of land, some rapid
+current being found carrying us swiftly towards a shoal or race,
+where we might come to grief. Yet there was no fuss or hurry, the same
+leisurely old system was continued, and worked as well as ever. But it
+was not apparent why we were threading the tortuous and difficult waters
+of the Indian Archipelago. No whales of any kind were seen for at least
+a month, although, from our leisurely mode of sailing, it was evident
+that they were looked for.
+
+An occasional native craft came alongside, desirous of bartering fish,
+which we did not want, being able to catch all we needed as readily
+almost as they were. Fruit and vegetables we could not get at such
+distances from land, for the small canoes that lie in wait for passing
+ships do not of course venture far from home.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII. OFF TO THE JAPAN GROUNDS
+
+Very tedious and trying was our passage northward, although every effort
+was made by the skipper to expedite it. Nothing of advantage to our
+cargo was seen for a long time, which, although apparently what was
+to be expected, did not improve Captain Slocum's temper. But, to the
+surprise of all, when we had arrived off the beautiful island of Hong
+Kong, to which we approached closely, we "raised" a grand sperm whale.
+
+Many fishing-junks were in sight, busily plying their trade, and at any
+other time we should have been much interested in the quaint and cunning
+devices by which the patient, wily Chinaman succeeds so admirably as
+a fisherman. Our own fishing, for the time being, absorbed all our
+attention--the more, perhaps, that we had for so long been unable to do
+anything in that line. After the usual preliminaries, we were successful
+in getting fast to the great creature, who immediately showed fight. So
+skilful and wary did he prove that Captain Slocum, growing impatient at
+our manoeuvring with no result, himself took the field, arriving on
+the scene with the air of one who comes to see and conquer without more
+delay. He brought with him a weapon which I have not hitherto mentioned,
+because none of the harpooners could be induced to use it, and
+consequently it had not been much in evidence. Theoretically, it was as
+ideal tool for such work, its chief drawback being its cumbrousness. It
+was known as "Pierce's darting gun," being a combination of bomb-gun and
+harpoon, capable of being darted at the whale like a plain harpoon. Its
+construction was simple; indeed, the patent was a very old one. A tube
+of brass, thickening towards the butt, at which was a square chamber
+firmly welded to a socket for receiving the pole, formed the gun itself.
+Within the chamber aforesaid a nipple protruded from the base of the
+tube, and in line with it. The trigger was simply a flat bit of steel,
+like a piece of clock spring, which was held down by the hooked end of a
+steel rod long enough to stick out beyond the muzzle of the gun three or
+four inches, and held in position by two flanges at the butt and muzzle
+of the barrel. On the opposite side of the tube were two more flanges,
+close together, into the holes of which was inserted the end of a
+specially made harpoon, having an eye twisted in its shank through which
+the whale line was spliced. The whole machine was fitted to a neat pole,
+and strongly secured to it by means of a "gun warp," or short piece of
+thin line, by which it could be hauled back into the boat after being
+darted at a whale. To prepare this weapon for use, the barrel was
+loaded with a charge of powder and a bomb similar to those used in the
+shoulder-guns, the point of which just protruded from the muzzle. An
+ordinary percussion cap was placed upon the nipple, and the trigger
+cocked by placing the trigger-rod in position. The harpoon, with the
+line attached, was firmly set into the socketed flanges prepared for it,
+and the whole arrangement was then ready to be darted at the whale in
+the usual way.
+
+Supposing the aim to be good and the force sufficient, the harpoon
+would penetrate the blubber until the end of the trigger-rod was driven
+backwards by striking the blubber, releasing the trigger and firing the
+gun. Thus the whale would be harpooned and bomb-lanced at the same time,
+and, supposing everything to work satisfactorily, very little more could
+be needed to finish him. But the weapon was so cumbersome and awkward,
+and the harpooners stood in such awe of it, that in the majority of
+cases the whale was either missed altogether or the harpoon got such
+slight hold that the gun did not go off, the result being generally
+disastrous.
+
+In the present case, however, the "Pierce" gun was in the hands of a man
+by no means nervous, and above criticism or blame in case of failure. So
+when he sailed in to the attack, and delivered his "swashing blow," the
+report of the gun was immediately heard, proving conclusively that a
+successful stroke had been made.
+
+It had an instantaneous and astonishing effect. The sorely wounded
+monster, with one tremendous expiration, rolled over and over swift as
+thought towards his aggressor, literally burying the boat beneath his
+vast bulk. Now, one would have thought surely, upon seeing this, that
+none of that boat's crew would ever have been seen again. Nevertheless,
+strange as it may appear, out of that seething lather of foam, all six
+heads emerged again in an instant, but on the OTHER side of the great
+creature. How any of them escaped instant violent death was, and from
+the nature of the case must, ever remain, an unravelled mystery, for
+the boat was crumbled into innumerable fragments, and the three hundred
+fathoms of line, in a perfect maze of entanglement, appeared to be
+wrapped about the writhing trunk of the whale. Happily, there were two
+boats disengaged, so that they were able very promptly to rescue the
+sufferers from their perilous position in the boiling vortex of foam by
+which they were surrounded. Meanwhile, the remaining boat had an easy
+task. The shot delivered by the captain had taken deadly effect, the
+bomb having entered the creature's side low down, directly abaft the
+pectoral fin. It must have exploded within the cavity of the bowels,
+from its position, causing such extensive injuries as to make even that
+vast animal's death but a matter of a few moments. Therefore, we did not
+run any unnecessary risks, but hauled off to a safe distance and quietly
+watched the death-throes. They were so brief, that in less than ten
+minutes from the time of the accident we were busy securing the line
+through the flukes of our prize.
+
+The vessel was an unusually long time working up to us, so slow, in
+fact, that Mr Count remarked, critically, "Shouldn't wonder if th' ole
+man ain't hurt; they're taking things so all-fired easy." By the time
+she had reached us, we had a good few visitors around us from the
+fishing fleet, who caused us no little anxiety, The Chinese have no
+prejudices; they would just as soon steal a whale as a herring, if the
+conveyance could be effected without, more trouble or risk to their own
+yellow skins. If it involved the killing of a few foreign devils--well,
+so much to the good. The ship, however, arrived before the fishermen had
+decided upon any active steps, and we got our catch alongside without
+any delay. The truth of Mr. Count's forecast was verified to the hilt,
+for we found that the captain was so badly bruised about the body that
+he was unable to move, while one of the hands, a Portuguese, was injured
+internally, and seemed very bad indeed. Had any one told us that morning
+that we should be sorry to see Captain Slocum with sore bones, we should
+have scoffed at the notion, and some of us would probably have said that
+we should like to have the opportunity of making him smart. But under
+the present circumstances, with some hundreds of perfectly ruthless
+wretches hovering around us, looking with longing eyes at the treasure
+we had alongside, we could not help remembering the courage and resource
+so often shown by the skipper, and wished with all our hearts that we
+could have the benefit of them now. As soon as dinner was over, we all
+"turned to" with a will to get the whale cut in. None of us required
+to be told that to lay all night with that whale alongside would be
+extremely unhealthy for us, great doubt existing as to whether any of
+us would see morning dawn again. There was, too, just a possibility
+that when the carcass, stripped of its blubber, was cut adrift, those
+ravenous crowds would fasten upon it, and let us go in peace.
+
+All hands, therefore, worked like Trojans. There was no need to drive
+us, nor was a single harsh word spoken. Nothing was heard but the almost
+incessant clatter of the windlass pawls, abrupt monosyllabic orders, and
+the occasional melancholy wail of a gannet overhead. No word had been
+spoken on the subject among us, yet somehow we all realized that we were
+working for a large stake no less than our lives. What! says somebody,
+within a few miles of Hong Kong? Oh yes; and even within Hong Kong
+harbour itself, if opportunity offers. Let any man go down the wharf at
+Hong Kong after sunset, and hail a sampan from the hundreds there that
+are waiting to be hired. Hardly will the summons have left his lips
+before a white policeman will be at his side, note-book in hand,
+inquiring his name and ship, and taking a note of the sampan's number,
+with the time of his leaving the wharf. Nothing perfunctory about the
+job either. Let but these precautions be omitted, and the chances that
+the passenger (if he have aught of value about him) will ever arrive at
+his destination are almost nil.
+
+So good was the progress made that by five p.m. we were busy at the
+head, while the last few turns of the windlass were being taken to
+complete the skinning of the body. With a long pent-up shout that last
+piece was severed and swung inboard, as the huge mass of reeking flesh
+floated slowly astern. As it drifted away we saw the patient watchers
+who had been waiting converging upon it from all quarters, and our hopes
+rose high. But there was no slackening of our efforts to get in the
+head. By the time it was dark we managed to get the junk on board, and
+by the most extraordinary efforts lifted the whole remainder of the
+head high enough to make sail and stand off to sea. The wind was off the
+land, the water smooth, and no swell on, so we took no damage from that
+tremendous weight surging by our side, though, had the worst come to the
+worst, we could have cut it adrift.
+
+When morning dawned we hove-to, the land being only dimly visible
+astern, and finished taking on board our "head matter" without further
+incident. The danger past, we were all well pleased that the captain was
+below, for the work proceeded quite pleasantly under the genial rule of
+the mate. Since leaving port we had not felt so comfortable, the work,
+with all its disagreeables, seeming as nothing now that we could do it
+without fear and trembling. Alas for poor Jemmy!--as we always persisted
+in calling him from inability to pronounce his proper name--his case
+was evidently hopeless. His fellows did their poor best to comfort his
+fast-fleeting hours, one after another murmuring to him the prayers of
+the Church, which, although they did not understand them, they evidently
+believed most firmly to have some marvellous power to open the gates
+of paradise and cleanse the sinner. Notwithstanding the grim fact
+that their worship was almost pure superstition, it was far more in
+accordance with the fitness of things for a dying man's surroundings
+than such scenes as I have witnessed in the forecastles of merchant
+ships when poor sailors lay a-dying. I remember well once, when I was
+second officer of a large passenger ship, going in the forecastle as
+she lay at anchor at St. Helena, to see a sick man. Half the crew were
+drunk, and the beastly kennel in which they lived was in a thick fog of
+tobacco-smoke and the stale stench of rum. Ribald songs, quarrelling,
+and blasphemy made a veritable pandemonium of the place. I passed
+quietly through it to the sick man's bunk, and found him--dead! He had
+passed away in the midst of that, but the horror of it did not seem to
+impress his bemused shipmates much.
+
+Here, at any rate, there was quiet and decorum, while all that could
+be done for the poor sufferer (not much, from ignorance of how he was
+injured) was done. He was released from his pain in the afternoon of the
+second day after the accident, the end coming suddenly and peacefully.
+The same evening, at sunset, the body, neatly sewn up in canvas, with a
+big lump of sandstone secured to the feet, was brought on deck, laid
+on a hatch at the gangway, and covered with the blue, star-spangled
+American Jack. Then all hands were mustered in the waist, the ship's
+bell was tolled, and the ensign run up halfway.
+
+The captain was still too ill to be moved, so the mate stepped forward
+with a rusty old Common Prayer-book in his hands, whereon my vagrant
+fancy immediately fastened in frantic endeavour to imagine how it came
+to be there. The silence of death was over all. True, the man was but
+a unit of no special note among us, but death had conferred upon him a
+brevet rank, in virtue of which be dominated every thought. It seemed
+strange to me that we who faced death so often and variously, until
+natural fear had become deadened by custom, should, now that one of
+our number lay a rapidly-corrupting husk before us, be so tremendously
+impressed by the simple, inevitable fact. I suppose it was because
+none of us were able to realize the immanence of Death until we saw
+his handiwork. Mr. Count opened the book, fumbling nervously among the
+unfamiliar leaves. Then he suddenly looked up, his weather-scarred face
+glowing a dull brick-red, and said, in a low voice, "This thing's too
+many fer me; kin any of ye do it? Ef not, I guess we'll hev ter take it
+as read." There was no response for a moment; then I stepped forward,
+reaching out my hand for the book. Its contents were familiar enough to
+me, for in happy pre-arab days I had been a chorister in the old Lock
+Chapel, Harrow Road, and had borne my part in the service so often that
+I think even now I could repeat the greater part of it MEMORITER. Mr.
+Count gave it me without a word, and, trembling like a leaf, I turned
+to the "Burial Service," and began the majestic sentences, "I am the
+Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord." I did not know my own voice
+as the wonderful words sounded clearly in the still air; but if ever a
+small body of soul-hardened men FELT the power of God, it was then. At
+the words, "We therefore commit his body to the deep," I paused, and,
+the mate making a sign, two of the harpooners tilted the hatch, from
+which the remains slid off into the unknown depths with a dull splash.
+Several of the dead man's compatriots covered their faces, and murmured
+prayers for the repose of his soul, while the tears trickled through
+their horny fingers. But matters soon resumed their normal course; the
+tension over, back came the strings of life into position again, to play
+the same old tunes and discords once more.
+
+The captured whale made an addition to our cargo of one hundred and ten
+barrels--a very fair haul indeed. The harpooners were disposed to regard
+this capture as auspicious upon opening the North Pacific, where, in
+spite of the time we had spent, and the fair luck we had experienced in
+the Indian Ocean, we expected to make the chief portion of our cargo.
+
+Our next cruising-ground is known to whalemen as the "Coast of Japan"
+ground, and has certainly proved in the past the most prolific fishery
+of sperm whales in the whole world. I am inclined now to believe
+that there are more and larger cachalots to be found in the Southern
+Hemisphere, between the parallels of 33deg. and 50deg. South; but there
+the drawback of heavy weather and mountainous seas severely handicaps
+the fishermen.
+
+It is somewhat of a misnomer to call the Coast of Japan ground by that
+name, since to be successful you should not sight Japan at all, but keep
+out of range of the cold current that sweeps right across the Pacific,
+skirting the Philippines, along the coasts of the Japanese islands
+as far as the Kuriles, and then returns to the eastward again to the
+southward of the Aleutian Archipelago. The greatest number of whales are
+always found in the vicinity of the Bonin and Volcano groups of islands,
+which lie in the eddy formed by the northward bend of the mighty current
+before mentioned. This wonderful ground was first cruised by a London
+whale-ship, the SYREN, in 1819, when the English branch of the sperm
+whale-fishery was in its prime, and London skippers were proud of the
+fact that one of their number, in the EMILIA, had thirty-one years
+before first ventured around Cape Horn in pursuit of the cachalot.
+
+After the advent of the SYREN, the Bonins became the favourite
+fishing-ground for both Americans and British, and for many years the
+catch of oil taken from these teeming waters averaged four thousand
+tuns annually. That the value of the fishery was maintained at so high a
+level for over a quarter of a century was doubtless due to the fact that
+there was a long, self-imposed close season, during which the whales
+were quite unmolested. Nothing in the migratory habits of this whale, so
+far as has ever been observed, would have prevented a profitable fishing
+all the year round; but custom, stronger even than profit, ordained that
+whale-ships should never stay too long upon one fishing-ground, but move
+on farther until the usual round had been made, unless the vessel were
+filled in the mean time.
+
+Of course, there are whales whose habits lead them at certain seasons,
+for breeding purposes, to frequent various groups of islands, but the
+cachalot seems to be quite impartial in his preferences; if he "uses"
+around certain waters, he is just as likely to be found there in July as
+January.
+
+The Bonins, too, form an ideal calling-place, from the whaling captain's
+point of view. Peel Island, the principal one of the cluster, has
+a perfect harbour in Port Lloyd, where a vessel can not only lie
+in comfort, sheltered from almost every wind that blows, but where
+provisions, wood, and water are plentiful. There is no inducement, or
+indeed room, for desertion, and the place is healthy. It is colonized
+by Japs from the kingdom so easily reached to the westward, and the busy
+little people, after their manner, make a short stay very agreeable.
+
+Once clear of the southern end of Formosa we had quite a rapid run to
+the Bonins, carrying a press of sail day and night, as the skipper was
+anxious to arrive there on account of his recent injuries. He was still
+very lame, and he feared that some damage might have been done to him
+of which he was ignorant. Besides, it was easy to see that he did not
+altogether like anybody else being in charge of his ship, no matter how
+good they were. Such was the expedition we made that we arrived at
+Port Lloyd twelve days after clearing up our last whale. Very beautiful
+indeed the islands, appeared, with their bold, steep sides clad in
+richest green, or, where no vegetation appeared, worn into a thousand
+fantastic shapes by the sea, or the mountain torrents carving away the
+lava of which they were all composed. For the whole of the islands were
+volcanic, and Port Lloyd itself is nothing more than the crater of a
+vast volcano, which in some tremendous convulsion of nature has sunk
+from its former high estate low enough to become a haven for ships.
+
+I have said that it was a perfect harbour, but there is no doubt that
+getting in or out requires plenty of nerve as well as seamanship. There
+was so little room, and the eddying flows of wind under the high
+land were so baffling, that at various times during our passage in it
+appeared as if nothing could prevent us from getting stuck upon some of
+the adjacent hungry-looking coral reefs. Nothing of the kind happened,
+however, and we came comfortably to an anchor near three other
+whale-ships which were already there. They were the DIEGO RAMIREZ, of
+Nantucket; the CORONEL, of Providence, Rhode Island; and the GRAMPUS,
+of New Bedford. These were the first whale-ships we had yet seen, and
+it may be imagined how anxious we felt to meet men with whom we could
+compare notes and exchange yarns. It might be, too, that we should get
+some news of that world which, as far as we were concerned, might as
+well have been at the other extremity of the solar system for the last
+year, so completely isolated had we been.
+
+The sails were hardly fast before a boat from each of the ships was
+alongside with their respective skippers on board. The extra exertion
+necessary to pilot the ship in had knocked the old man up, in his
+present weak state, and he had gone below for a short rest; so the three
+visitors dived down into the stuffy cabin, all anxious to interview
+the latest comer. Considerate always, Mr. Count allowed us to have the
+remainder of the day to ourselves, so we set about entertaining our
+company. It was no joke twelve of them coming upon us all at once, and
+babel ensued for a short time. They knew the system too well to expect
+refreshments, so we had not to apologize for having nothing to set
+before them. They had not come, however, for meat and drink, but for
+talk. And talk we did, sometimes altogether, sometimes rationally; but I
+doubt whether any of us had ever enjoyed talking so much before.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV. LIBERTY DAY--AND AFTER
+
+There is generally current among seamen a notion that all masters of
+ships are bound by law to give their crews twenty-four hours' liberty
+and a portion of their wages to spend every three months, if they are in
+port. I have never heard any authority quoted for this, and do not know
+what foundation there is for such a belief, although the practice is
+usually adhered to in English ships. But American whale-ships apparently
+know no law, except the will of their commanders, whose convenience is
+always the first consideration. Thus, we had now been afloat for well
+over a year, during which time, except for our foraging excursions at
+the Cocos and Aldabra, we had certainly known no liberty for a whole
+day.
+
+Our present port being one where it was impossible to desert without
+the certainty of prompt recapture, with subsequent suffering altogether
+disproportionate to the offence, we were told that one watch at a time
+would be allowed their liberty for a day. So we of the port watch made
+our simple preparations, received twenty-five cents each, and were
+turned adrift on the beach to enjoy ourselves. We had our liberty, but
+we didn't know what to do with it. There was a native town and a couple
+of low groggeries kept by Chinamen, where some of my shipmates promptly
+invested a portion of their wealth in some horrible liquor, the smell of
+which was enough to make an ordinary individual sick. There was no place
+apparently where one could get a meal, so that the prospect of our stay
+ashore lasting a day did not seem very great. I was fortunate enough,
+however, to foregather with a Scotchman who was a beach-comber,
+and consequently "knew the ropes." I dare say he was an unmitigated
+blackguard whenever he got the chance, but he was certainly on his best
+behaviour with me. He took me into the country a bit to see the sights,
+which were such as most of the Pacific islands afford. Wonderful indeed
+were the fantastic rocks, twisted into innumerable grotesque shapes,
+and, along the shores, hollowed out into caverns of all sizes, some
+large enough to shelter an army. He was quite familiar with the natives,
+understanding enough of their queer lingo to get along. By his friendly
+aid we got some food--yams, and fish cooked in native fashion, i.e. in
+heated holes in the ground, for which the friendly Kanakas would take no
+payment, although they looked murderous enough to be cannibals. It does
+not do to go by looks always.
+
+Well, after a long ramble, the Scotchman and I laid our weary bodies
+down in the shade of a big rock, and had a grand sleep, waking up again
+a little before sunset. We hastened down to the beach off the town,
+where all my watchmates were sitting in a row, like lost sheep, waiting
+to be taken on board again. They had had enough of liberty; indeed, such
+liberty as that was hardly worth having. It seems hardly credible, but
+we were actually glad to get on board again, it was so miserable ashore,
+The natives were most unsociable at the port, and we could not make
+ourselves understood, so there was not much fun to be had. Even those
+who were inclined to drink had too little for a spree, which I was
+not sorry for, since doubtless a very unpleasant reception would have
+awaited them had they come on board drunk.
+
+Next day the starboard watch went on liberty, while we who had received
+our share were told off to spend the day wooding and watering. In this
+most pleasant of occupations (when the weather is fine) I passed a much
+more satisfactory time than when wandering about with no objective, an
+empty pocket, and a hungry belly. No foremast hand has ever enjoyed his
+opportunities of making the acquaintance of his various visiting places
+more than I have; but the circumstances attendant upon one's leave must
+be a little favourable, or I would much rather stay aboard and fish.
+Our task was over for the day, a goodly store of wood and casks of water
+having been shipped. We were sitting down to supper, when, in answer to
+a hail from the beach, we were ordered to fetch the liberty men. When
+we got to them, there was a pretty how-d'ye-do. All of them were more or
+less drunk, some exceedingly quarrelsome. Now, Mistah Jones was steering
+our boat, looking as little like a man to take sauce from a drunken
+sailor as you could imagine. Most of the transformed crowd ya-hooing
+on the beach had felt the weight of his shoulder-of-mutton fist, yet so
+utterly had prudence forsaken them that, before we came near them, they
+were abusing him through all the varied gamut of filthy language they
+possessed. My democratic sentiments are deeply seated, but I do believe
+in authority, and respect for it being rigidly enforced, so this
+uncalled-for scene upset me, making me feel anxious that the gibbering
+fools might get a lesson. They got one.
+
+Goliath stood like a tower, his eyes alone betraying the fierce anger
+boiling within. When we touched the beach, his voice was mild end gentle
+as a child's, his movements calm and deliberate. As soon as we had
+beached the boat he stepped ashore, and in two strides was in the middle
+of the snarling group. Further parley ceased at once. Snatching the
+loudest of them by the breast of his shirt with his right hand, another
+one by the collar with his left, he flung himself backwards towards the
+boat, knocking the interveners right and left. But a protruding fragment
+of rock caught his heel, bringing him with his captives to the ground
+in a writhing mass. The rest, maddened beyond restraint of fear,
+flung themselves upon the prostrate man, the glimmer of more than one
+knife-blade appearing. Two of us from the boat--one with the tiller, the
+other brandishing a paddle--rushed to the rescue; but before we arrived
+the giant had heaved off his assailants, and, with no other weapons than
+his bare hands, was doing terrific execution among them. Not knowing,
+I suppose, whether we were friendly to him or not, he shouted to us to
+keep away, nor dare to interfere. There was no need. Disregarding such
+trifles as a few superficial cuts--not feeling them perhaps--he so
+unmercifully mauled that crowd that they howled again for mercy. The
+battle was brief and bloody. Before hostilities had lasted five minutes,
+six of the aggressors were stretched insensible; the rest, comprising
+as many more, were pleading for mercy, completely sober. Such prowess on
+the part of one man against twelve seems hardly credible; but it must be
+remembered that Goliath fought, with all the moral force of the ship's
+officers behind him, against a disorganized crowd without backbone, who
+would never have dared to face him but for the temporary mania induced
+by the stuff they had drunk. It was a conflict between a lion and a
+troop of jackals, whereof the issue was never in doubt as long as lethal
+weapons were wanting.
+
+Standing erect among the cowering creatures, the great negro looked
+every inch a mediaeval hero. In a stern voice he bade his subjugated
+enemies to get into the boat, assisting those to do so who were too
+badly hurt to rise. Then we shoved off for the ship--a sorrowful gang
+indeed.
+
+As I bent to my oar, I felt very sorry for what had happened. Here
+were half the crew guilty of an act of violence upon an officer, which,
+according to the severe code under which we lived, merited punishment as
+painful as could be inflicted, and lasting for the rest of the voyage.
+Whatever form that punishment might take, those of us who were innocent
+would be almost equal sufferers with the others, because discrimination
+in the treatment between watch and watch is always difficult, and in our
+case it was certain that it would not be attempted. Except as regarded
+physical violence, we might all expect to share alike. Undoubtedly
+things looked very unpleasant. My gloomy cogitations were abruptly
+terminated by the order to "unrow"--we were alongside. Somehow or other
+all hands managed to scramble on board, and assist in hoisting the boat
+up.
+
+As soon as she was secured we slunk away forward, but we had hardly got
+below before a tremendous summons from Goliath brought us all aft again
+at the double quick. Most of the fracas had been witnessed from the
+ship, so that but a minute or two was needed to explain how or why it
+begun. Directly that explanation had been supplied by Mistah Jones, the
+order was issued for the culprits to appear.
+
+I have before noticed how little love was lost between the skipper and
+his officers, Goliath having even once gone so far as to give me a
+very emphatic opinion of his about the "old man" of a most unflattering
+nature. And had such a state of things existed on board an English ship,
+the crew would simply have taken charge, for they would have seen the
+junior officers flouted, snubbed, and jeered at; and, of course, what
+they saw the captain do, they would not be slow to improve on. Many a
+promising young officer's career has been blighted in this way by the
+feminine spite of a foolish man unable to see that if the captain shows
+no respect to his officers, neither will the crew, nor obedience either.
+
+But in an American ship, so long as an officer remains an officer, he
+must be treated as such by every man, under pain of prompt punishment.
+Yankee skippers have far too much NOUS to allow their hands to grow
+saucy in consequence of division among the after-guard. So now a sort
+of court-martial was held upon the unfortunates who had dared to attack
+Goliath, at which that sable hero might have been the apple of Captain
+Slocum's eye, so solicitous was he of Mistah Jones' honour and the
+reparation to be made.
+
+This sort of thing was right in his line. Naturally cruel, he seemed to
+thoroughly enjoy himself in the prospect of making human beings twist
+and writhe in pain. Nor would he be baulked of a jot of his pleasure.
+
+Goliath approached him, and muttered a few words, meant, I felt sure, to
+appease him by letting him know how much they had suffered at his strong
+hands; but he turned upon the negro with a savage curse, bidding him be
+silent. Then every one of the culprits was stripped, and secured to the
+lash-rail by the wrists; scourges were made of cotton fish-line, knotted
+at intervals, and secured to a stout handle; the harpooners were told
+off as executioners, and the flogging began. Perhaps it was necessary
+for the maintenance of discipline--certainly it was trivial compared
+with the practice, till recently, in our own army and navy; but I am
+glad to say that, compelled to witness it, I felt quite sick--physically
+sick--trembling so in every limb that my legs would not support me. It
+was not fear, for I had nothing to fear had I been ever such a coward.
+Whatever it was, I am not sorry either to have felt it or to own it,
+even while I fully admit that for some forms of wickedness nothing but
+the lash seems adequate punishment.
+
+Some of the victims fainted, not being in the best condition at the
+outset for undergoing so severe a trial; but all were treated alike,
+buckets of salt water being flung over them. This drastic reviver,
+while adding to their pain, brought them all into a state of sufficient
+activity to get forward when they were released. Smarting and degraded,
+all their temporary bravado effectually banished, they were indeed
+pitiable objects, their deplorable state all the harder to bear from its
+contrast to our recent pleasure when we entertained the visiting crews.
+
+Having completed our quantum of wood, water, and fresh provisions for
+the officers, we got under way again for the fishing grounds. I did
+not see how we could hope for a successful season, knowing the utterly
+despondent state of the crew, which even affected the officers, who, not
+so callous or cruel as the skipper, seemed to be getting rather tired
+of the constant drive and kick, now the normal condition of affairs.
+But the skipper's vigilance was great. Whether he noted any sign of
+slackness or indifference on the part of his coadjutors or not, of
+course I cannot say, but he certainly seemed to put more vigour into his
+attentions than had been his wont, and so kept everybody up to the mark.
+
+Hitherto we had always had our fishing to ourselves; we were now to
+see something of the ways of other men employed in the same manner. For
+though the general idea or plan of campaign against the whales is the
+same in all American whalers, every ship has some individual peculiarity
+of tactics, which, needless to say, are always far superior to those of
+any other ship. When we commenced our cruise on this new ground,
+there were seven whalers in sight, all quite as keen on the chase as
+ourselves, so that I anticipated considerable sport of the liveliest
+kind should we "raise" whales with such a fleet close at hand.
+
+But for a whole week we saw nothing but a grampus or so, a few loitering
+finbacks, and an occasional lean humpback bull certainly not worth
+chasing. On the seventh afternoon, however, I was in the main
+crow's-nest with the chief, when I noticed a ship to windward of us
+alter her course, keeping away three or four points on an angle that
+would presently bring her across our bows a good way ahead. I was
+getting pretty well versed in the tricks of the trade now, so I kept
+mum, but strained my eyes in the direction for which the other ship was
+steering. The chief was looking astern at some finbacks, the look-out
+men forward were both staring to leeward, thus for a minute or so I
+had a small arc of the horizon to myself. The time was short, but it
+sufficed, and for the first time that voyage I had the privilege of
+"raising" a sperm whale. My voice quivered with excitement as I uttered
+the war-whoop, "Ah blo-o-o-o-w!" Round spun the mate on his heel,
+while the hands clustered like bees roused from their hive. "Where
+away--where?" gasped the mate. And I pointed to a spot about half a
+point on the lee bow, at the same time calling his attention to the
+fact that the stranger to windward was keeping away. In answer to the
+skipper's hurried queries from below, Mr. Count gave him the general
+outline of affairs, to which he replied by crowding every stitch of
+canvas on the vessel that was available.
+
+The spout I had seen was a good ten miles off, and, for the present,
+seemed to belong to a "lone" whale, as it was the only one visible.
+There was a good breeze blowing, as much, in fact, as we could carry all
+sail to, the old barky making a tremendous commotion as she blundered
+along under the unusual press of canvas. In the excitement of the race
+all our woes were forgotten; we only thought of the possibility of the
+ship getting there first. We drew gradually nearer to the stranger, who,
+like us, was carrying all the sail he had got, but, being able to go a
+point or two free, was outsailing us.
+
+It was anybody's race as yet, though, when we heard the skipper's hail,
+"'Way down from aloft!" as he came up to take our place, The whale had
+sounded, apparently heading to leeward, so that the weather-gage held by
+our rival was not much advantage to him now. We ran on for another two
+miles, then shortened sail, and stood by to lower away the moment he
+should re-appear, Meanwhile another ship was working up from to leeward,
+having evidently noted our movements, or else, like the albatross,
+"smelt whale," no great distance to windward of him. Waiting for that
+whale to rise was one of the most exciting experiences we had gone
+through as yet, with two other ships so near. Everybody's nerves seemed
+strung up to concert pitch, and it was quite a relief when from half
+a dozen throats at once burst the cry, "There she white-waters! Ah
+blo-o-o-o-w!" Not a mile away, dead to leeward of us, quietly beating
+the water with the flat of his flukes, as if there was no such thing in
+the watery world as a whale-ship. Splash! almost simultaneously went the
+four boats. Out we shot from the ship, all on our mettle; for was not
+the skipper's eye upon us from his lofty eyrie, as well as the crew of
+the other ship, now not more than a mile away! We seemed a terrible time
+getting the sails up, but the officers dared not risk our willingness to
+pull while they could be independent of us.
+
+By the time we were fairly off, the other ship's boats were coming like
+the wind, so that eight boats were now converging upon the unconscious
+monster. We fairly flew over the short, choppy sea, getting drenched
+with the flying spray, but looking out far more keenly at the other
+boats than at the whale. Up we came to him, Mr. Count's boat to the
+left, the other mate's boat to the right. Almost at the same moment the
+irons flew from the hands of the rival harpooners; but while ours was
+buried to the hitches in the whale's side, the other man's just ploughed
+up the skin on the animal's back, as it passed over him and pierced our
+boat close behind the harpooner's leg. Not seeing what had happened to
+his iron, or knowing that we were fast, the other harpooner promptly
+hurled his second iron, which struck solidly. It was a very pretty
+tangle, but our position was rather bad. The whale between us was
+tearing the bowels of the deep up in his rage and fear; we were
+struggling frantically to get our sail down; and at any moment that
+wretched iron through our upper strake might tear a plank out of us.
+Our chief, foaming at the mouth with rage and excitement, was screeching
+inarticulate blasphemy at the other mate, who, not knowing what was the
+matter, was yelling back all his copious vocabulary of abuse. I felt
+very glad the whale was between us, or there would surely have been
+murder done. At last, out drops the iron, leaving a jagged hole you
+could put your arm through. Wasn't Mr. Count mad? I really thought he
+would split with rage, for it was impossible for us to go on with that
+hole in our bilge. The second mate came alongside and took our line as
+the whale was just commencing to sound, thus setting us free. We made at
+once for the other ship's "fast" boat, and the compliments that had
+gone before were just casual conversation to what filled the air with
+dislocated language now. Presently both the champions cooled down a bit
+from want of breath, and we got our case stated. It was received with
+a yell of derision from the other side as a splendid effort of lying on
+our part; because the first ship fast claims the whale, and such a prize
+as this one we were quarrelling about was not to be tamely yielded.
+
+However, as reason asserted her sway over Mr. Count, he quieted down,
+knowing full well that the state of the line belonging to his rival
+would reveal the truth when the whale rose again. Therefore we returned
+to the ship, leaving our three boats busy waiting the whale's pleasure
+to rise again. When the skipper heard what had happened, he had his own
+boat manned, proceeding himself to the battle-field in expectation of
+complications presently. By the time he arrived upon the scene there
+were two more boats lying by, which had come up from the third ship,
+mentioned as working up from to leeward. "Pretty fine ground this's got
+ter be!" growled the old man. "Caint strike whale 'thout bein' crowded
+eout uv yer own propputty by a gang bunco steerers like this. Shall hev
+ter quit it, en keep a pawnshop."
+
+And still the whale kept going steadily down, down, down. Already he was
+on the second boat's lines, and taking them out faster than ever. Had
+we been alone, this persistence on his part, though annoying, would
+not have mattered much; but, with so many others in company, the
+possibilities of complication, should we need to slip our end, were
+numerous. The ship kept near, and Mr. Count, seeing how matters were
+going, had hastily patched his boat, returning at once with another tub
+of line. He was but just in time to bend on, when to our great delight
+we saw the end slip from our rival's boat. This in no wise terminated
+his lien on the whale, supposing he could prove that he struck first,
+but it got him out of the way for the time.
+
+Meanwhile we were running line faster than ever. There was an enormous
+length attached to the animal now--some twelve thousand feet--the
+weight of which was very great, to say nothing of the many "drogues" or
+"stopwaters" attached to it at intervals. Judge, then, of my surprise
+when a shout of "Blo-o-o-w!" called my attention to the whale
+himself just breaking water about half a mile away. It was an awkward
+predicament; for if we let go our end, the others would be on the whale
+immediately; if we held on, we should certainly be dragged below in a
+twinkling; and our disengaged boats could do nothing, for they had no
+line. But the difficulty soon settled itself. Out ran our end, leaving
+us bare of line as pleasure skiffs. The newcomer, who had been prowling
+near, keeping a close watch upon us, saw our boat jump up when released
+from the weight. Off he flew like an arrow to the labouring leviathan,
+now a "free fish," except for such claims as the two first-comers had
+upon it, which claims are legally assessed, where no dispute arises. In
+its disabled condition, dragging so enormous a weight of line, it was
+but a few minutes before the fresh boat was fast, while we looked on
+helplessly, boiling with impotent rage. All that we could now hope
+for was the salvage of some of our line, a mile and a half of which,
+inextricably mixed up with about the same length of our rival's, was
+towing astern of the fast-expiring cachalot.
+
+So great had been the strain upon that hardly-used animal that he did
+not go into his usual "flurry," but calmly expired without the faintest
+struggle. In the mean time two of our boats had been sent on board again
+to work the ship, while the skipper proceeded to try his luck in the
+recovery of his gear. On arriving at the dead whale, however, we found
+that he had rolled over and over beneath the water so many times that
+the line was fairly frapped round him, and the present possessors were
+in no mood to allow us the privilege of unrolling it.
+
+During the conversation we had drawn very near the carcass, so near, in
+fact, that one hand was holding the boat alongside the whale's "small"
+by a bight of the line. I suppose the skipper's eagle eye must have
+caught sight of the trailing part of the line streaming beneath, for
+suddenly he plunged overboard, reappearing almost immediately with the
+line in his hand. He scrambled into the boat with it, cutting it from
+the whale at once, and starting his boat's crew hauling in.
+
+Then there was a hubbub again. The captain of the NARRAGANSETT, our
+first rival, protested vigorously against our monopoly of the line; but
+in grim silence our skipper kept on, taking no notice of him, while we
+steadily hauled. Unless he of the NARRAGANSETT choose to fight for
+what he considered his rights, there was no help for him. And there was
+something in our old man's appearance eminently calculated to discourage
+aggression of any kind.
+
+At last, disgusted apparently with the hopeless turn affairs had taken,
+the NARRAGANSETT's boats drew off, and returned on board their ship.
+Two of our boats had by this time accumulated a mountainous coil of line
+each, with which we returned to our own vessel, leaving the skipper to
+visit the present holder of the whale, the skipper of the JOHN HAMPDEN.
+
+What arrangements they made, or how they settled the NARRAGANSETT's
+claim between them, I never knew, but I dare say there was a costly
+law-suit about it in New Bedford years after.
+
+This was not very encouraging for a start, nor did the next week see us
+do any better. Several times we saw other ships with whales alongside,
+but we got no show at all. Now, I had hoped a great deal from our cruise
+on these grounds, because I had heard whispers of a visit to the icy Sea
+of Okhotsk, and the prospect was to me a horrible one. I never did take
+any stock in Arctic work. But if we made a good season on the Japan
+grounds, we should not go north, but gradually work down the Pacific
+again, on the other side, cruising as we went.
+
+Day after day went by without any fresh capture or even sight of fish,
+until I began to believe that the stories I had heard of the wonderful
+fecundity of the Coast of Japan waters were fables without foundation,
+in fact. Had I known what sort of fishing our next bout would be, I
+should not have been so eager to sight whales again. If this be not a
+platitude of the worst kind, I don't know the meaning of the word; but,
+after all, platitudes have their uses, especially when you want to state
+a fact baldly.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV. WHICH COMES UNCOMFORTABLY NEAR BEING THE LAST
+
+All unversed as I am in the finer shades of literary craftsmanship,
+there is great uncertainty in my mind whether it is good or bad "art" to
+anticipate your next chapter by foreshadowing its contents; but whether
+good or bad art, the remembrance of my miseries on the eventful occasion
+I wish to describe was so strong upon me as I wrote the last few lines
+of the previous chapter that I just had to let those few words leak out.
+
+Through all the vicissitudes of this strange voyage I had hitherto felt
+pretty safe, and as the last thing a man anticipates (if his digestion
+is all right) is the possibility of coming to grief himself while fully
+prepared to see everybody else go under, so I had got to think that
+whoever got killed I was not to be--a very pleasing sentiment, and one
+that carries a man far, enabling him to face dangers with a light heart
+which otherwise would make a nerveless animal of him.
+
+In this optimistic mood, then, I gaily flung myself into my place in the
+mate's boat one morning, as we were departing in chase of a magnificent
+cachalot that had been raised just after breakfast. There were no other
+vessels in sight--much to our satisfaction--the wind was light, with a
+cloudless sky, and the whale was dead to leeward of us. We sped along
+at a good rate towards our prospective victim, who was, in his leisurely
+enjoyment of life, calmly lolling on the surface, occasionally lifting
+his enormous tail out of water and letting it fall flat upon the surface
+with a boom audible for miles.
+
+We were as usual, first boat; but, much to the mate's annoyance, when we
+were a short half-mile from the whale, our main-sheet parted. It became
+immediately necessary to roll the sail up, lest its flapping should
+alarm the watchful monster, and this delayed us sufficiently to allow
+the other boats to shoot ahead of us. Thus the second mate got fast some
+seconds before we arrived on the scene, seeing which we furled sail,
+unshipped the mast, and went in on him with the oars only. At first the
+proceedings were quite of the usual character, our chief wielding his
+lance in most brilliant fashion, while not being fast to the animal
+allowed us much greater freedom in our evolutions; but that fatal habit
+of the mate's--of allowing his boat to take care of herself so long as
+he was getting in some good home-thrusts--once more asserted itself.
+Although the whale was exceedingly vigorous, churning the sea into
+yeasty foam over an enormous area, there we wallowed close to him, right
+in the middle of the turmoil, actually courting disaster.
+
+He had just settled down for a moment, when, glancing over the gunwale,
+I saw his tail, like a vast shadow, sweeping away from us towards the
+second mate, who was laying off the other side of him. Before I had time
+to think, the mighty mass of gristle leapt into the sunshine, curved
+back from us like a huge bow. Then with a roar it came at us, released
+from its tension of Heaven knows how many tons. Full on the broadside
+it struck us, sending every soul but me flying out of the wreckage as if
+fired from catapults. I did not go because my foot was jammed somehow in
+the well of the boat, but the wrench nearly pulled my thigh-bone out of
+its socket. I had hardly released my foot, when, towering above me,
+came the colossal head of the great creature, as he ploughed through the
+bundle of debris that had just been a boat. There was an appalling roar
+of water in my ears, and darkness that might be felt all around. Yet,
+in the midst of it all, one thought predominated as clearly as if I had
+been turning it over in my mind in the quiet of my bunk aboard--"What
+if he should swallow me?" Nor to this day can I understand how I escaped
+the portals of his gullet, which of course gaped wide as a church door.
+But the agony of holding my breath soon overpowered every other feeling
+and thought, till just as something was going to snap inside my head I
+rose to the surface. I was surrounded by a welter of bloody froth, which
+made it impossible for me to see; but oh, the air was sweet!
+
+I struck out blindly, instinctively, although I could feel so strong an
+eddy that voluntary progress was out of the question. My hand touched
+and clung to a rope, which immediately towed me in some direction--I
+neither knew nor cared whither. Soon the motion ceased, and, with a
+seaman's instinct, I began to haul myself along by the rope I grasped,
+although no definite idea was in my mind as to where it was attached.
+Presently I came butt up against something solid, the feel of which
+gathered all my scattered wits into a compact knub of dread. It was the
+whale! "Any port in a storm," I murmured, beginning to haul away again
+on my friendly line. By dint of hard work I pulled myself right up the
+sloping, slippery bank of blubber, until I reached the iron, which,
+as luck would have it, was planted in that side of the carcass now
+uppermost. Carcass I said--well, certainly I had no idea of there being
+any life remaining within the vast mass beneath me, yet I had
+hardly time to take a couple of turns round myself with the rope (or
+whale-line, as I had proved it to be), when I felt the great animal
+quiver all over, and begin to forge ahead. I was now composed enough to
+remember that help could not be far away, and that my rescue, providing
+that I could keep above water, was but a question of a few minutes. But
+I was hardly prepared for the whale's next move. Being very near his
+end, the boat, or boats, had drawn off a bit, I supposed, for I could
+see nothing of them. Then I remembered the flurry. Almost at the same
+moment it began; and there was I, who with fearful admiration had so
+often watched the titanic convulsions of a dying cachalot, actually
+involved in them. The turns were off my body, but I was able to twist a
+couple of turns round my arms, which, in case of his sounding, I could
+readily let go.
+
+Then all was lost in roar and rush, as of the heart of some mighty
+cataract, during which I was sometimes above, sometimes beneath, the
+water, but always clinging with every ounce of energy still left, to the
+line. Now, one thought was uppermost--"What if he should breach?" I had
+seen them do so when in flurry, leaping full twenty feet in the air.
+Then I prayed.
+
+Quickly as all the preceding changes had passed came perfect peace.
+There I lay, still alive, but so weak that, although I could feel the
+turns slipping off my arms, and knew that I should slide off the slope
+of the whale's side into the sea if they did, I could make no effort
+to secure myself. Everything then passed away from me, just as if I had
+gone to sleep.
+
+I do not at all understand how I kept my position, nor how long, but
+I awoke to the blessed sound of voices, and saw the second mate's
+boat alongside, Very gently and tenderly they lifted me into the boat,
+although I could hardly help screaming with agony when they touched me,
+so bruised and broken up did I feel. My arms must have been nearly torn
+from their sockets, for the strands of the whale-line had cut deep
+into their flesh with the strain upon it, while my thigh was swollen
+enormously from the blow I received at the onset. Mr. Cruce was the most
+surprised man I think I ever saw. For full ten minutes he stared at me
+with wide-open eyes. When at last he spoke, it was with difficulty, as
+if wanting words to express his astonishment. At last he blurted out,
+"Whar you bin all de time, ennyhaow? 'Cawse ef you bin hangin' on to dat
+ar wale ev'sence you boat smash, w'y de debbil you hain't all ter bits,
+hey?" I smiled feebly, but was too weak to talk, and presently went off
+again into a dead faint.
+
+When I recovered, I was snug in my bunk aboard, but aching in every
+joint, and as sore as if I had been pounded with a club until I was
+bruised all over. During the day Mr. Count was kind enough to pay me a
+visit. With his usual luck, he had escaped without the slightest injury;
+neither was any other member of the boat's crew the worse for the
+ducking but myself. He told me that the whale was one of the largest
+he had ever seen, and as fat as butter. The boat was an entire loss, so
+completely smashed to pieces that nothing of her or her gear had been
+recovered. After spending about a quarter of an hour with me, he left me
+considerably cheered up, promising to look after me in the way of food,
+and also to send me some books. He told me that I need not worry
+myself about my inability to be at work, because the old man was not
+unfavourably disposed towards me, which piece of news gave me a great
+deal of comfort.
+
+When my poor, weary shipmates came below from their heavy toil of
+cutting in, they were almost inclined to be envious of my comfort--small
+blame to them--though I would gladly have taken my place among them
+again, could I have got rid of my hurts. But I was condemned to lie
+there for nearly three weeks before I was able to get about once more.
+In my sleep I would undergo the horrible anticipation of sliding down
+that awful, cavernous mouth over again, often waking with a shriek and
+drenched with sweat.
+
+While I lay there, three whales were caught, all small cows, and I was
+informed that the skipper was getting quite disgusted with the luck. At
+last I managed to get on deck, quite a different-looking man to when I
+went below, and feeling about ten years older. I found the same sullen
+quiet reigning that I had noticed several times before when we were
+unfortunate. I fancied that the skipper looked more morose and savage
+than ever, though of me, to my great relief, he took not the slightest
+notice.
+
+The third day after my return to duty we sighted whales again. We
+lowered three boats as promptly as usual; but when within about half a
+mile of the "pod" some slight noise in one of the boats gallied them,
+and away they went in the wind's eye, it blowing a stiffish breeze at
+the time, It was from the first evidently a hopeless task to chase them,
+but we persevered until recalled to the ship, dead beat with fatigue.
+I was not sorry, for my recent adventure seemed to have made quite a
+coward of me, so much so that an unpleasant gnawing at the pit of my
+stomach as we neared them almost made me sick. I earnestly hoped that
+so inconvenient a feeling would speedily leave me, or I should be but a
+poor creature in a boat.
+
+In passing, I would like to refer to the wonderful way in which these
+whales realize at a great distance, if the slightest sound be made, the
+presence of danger. I do not use the word "hear" because so abnormally
+small are their organs of hearing, the external opening being quite
+difficult to find, that I do not believe they can hear at all well. But
+I firmly believe they possess another sense by means of which they are
+able to detect any unusual vibration of the waves of either air or sea
+at a far greater distance than it would be possible for them to hear,
+Whatever this power may be which they possess, all whalemen are well
+acquainted with their exercise of it, and always take most elaborate
+precautions to render their approach to a whale noiseless.
+
+Our extraordinary want of success at last so annoyed the skipper that
+he determined to quit the ground and go north. The near approach of
+the open season in those regions probably hastened his decision, but I
+learned from Goliath that he had always been known as a most fortunate
+man among the "bowheads," as the great MYSTICETAE of that part of
+the Arctic seas are called by the Americans. Not that there is any
+difference, as far as I have been able to ascertain, between them
+and the "right" whale of the Greenland seas, but from some caprice of
+nomenclature for which there is no accounting.
+
+So in leisurely fashion we worked north, keeping, of course, a bright
+look-out all the way for straggling cachalots, but not seeing any. From
+scraps of information that in some mysterious fashion leaked out, we
+learned that we were bound to the Okhotsk Sea, it being no part of
+the skipper's intentions to go prowling around Behrings Sea, where he
+believed the whales to be few and far between.
+
+It may be imagined that we of the crew were not at all pleased with
+this intelligence, our life being, we considered, sufficiently miserable
+without the addition of extreme cold, for we did not realize that in the
+Arctic regions during summer the cold is by no means unbearable, and our
+imagination pictured a horrible waste of perpetual ice and snow, in the
+midst of which we should be compelled to freeze while dodging whales
+through the crevices of the floes. But whether our pictures of the
+prospects that awaited us were caricatures or no made not the slightest
+difference. "Growl you may, but go you must" is an old sea-jingle of the
+truest ring; but, while our going was inevitable, growling was a luxury
+none of us dare indulge in.
+
+We had by no means a bad passage to the Kuriles, which form a natural
+barrier enclosing the immense area of the Okhotsk Sea from the
+vast stretch of the Pacific. Around this great chain of islands the
+navigation is exceedingly difficult, and dangerous as well, from the
+ever-varying currents as from the frequent fogs and sudden storms. But
+these impediments to swift and safe navigation are made light of by
+the whalemen, who, as I feel never weary of remarking, are the finest
+navigators in the world where speed is not the first consideration.
+
+The most peculiar features of these inhospitable shores to a seaman are
+the vast fields of seaweed surrounding them all, which certainly helps
+to keep the sea down during gales, but renders navigation most difficult
+on account of its concealment of hidden dangers. These islands are aptly
+named, the word "Kurile" being Kamschatkan for smoke; and whether it be
+regarded as given in consequence of the numerous volcanoes which pour
+their fumes into the air, or the all-prevailing fog fostered by the Kuro
+Siwo, or Japanese counterpart of the Gulf stream, the designation is
+equally appropriate.
+
+We entered the Okhotsk Sea by the Nadeshda Channel, so-named after
+Admiral Krusenstern's ship, which was the first civilized vessel that
+passed through its turbulent waters. It separates the islands Rashau and
+Mantaua by about twenty miles, yet so conflicting and violent are the
+currents which eddy and swirl in all parts of it, that without a
+steady, strong, fair wind it is most dangerous to a sailing vessel.
+Thenceforward the navigation was free from difficulty, or at least none
+that we could recognize as such, so we gave all our attention to the
+business which brought us there.
+
+Scarcely any change was needed in our equipment, except the substitution
+of longer harpoons for those we had been using, and the putting away
+of the bomb-guns. These changes were made because the blubber of the
+bowhead is so thick that ordinary harpoons will not penetrate beyond it
+to the muscle, which, unless they do, renders them liable to draw, upon
+a heavy strain. As for the bombs, Yankees hold the mysticetae in such
+supreme contempt that none of them would dream of wasting so expensive
+a weapon as a bomb upon them. I was given to understand by my constant
+crony, Mistah Jones, that there was no more trouble in killing a bowhead
+than in slaughtering a sheep; and that while it was quite true that
+accidents DID occur, they were entirely due to the carelessness or
+clumsiness of the whalemen, and not in any way traceable to a desire on
+the victim's part to do any one harm.
+
+The sea was little encumbered with ice, it being now late in June, so
+that our progress was not at all impeded by the few soft, brashy floes
+that we encountered, none of them hard enough to do a ship's hull any
+damage. In most places the sea was sufficiently shallow to permit of our
+anchoring. For this purpose we used a large kedge, with stout hawser for
+cable, never furling all the sails in case of a strong breeze suddenly
+springing up, which would cause us to drag. This anchoring was very
+comfortable. Besides allowing us to get much more rest than when on
+other cruising-grounds, we were able to catch enormous quantities
+of fish, mostly salmon, of which there were no less than fourteen
+varieties. So plentiful were these splendid fish that we got quite
+critical in our appreciation of them, very soon finding that one kind,
+known as the "nerker," was far better flavoured than any of the others.
+But as the daintiest food palls the quickest, it was not long before we
+got tired of salmon, and wished most heartily for beef.
+
+Much fun has been made of the discontent of sailors. With food which is
+considered a luxury ashore, and wonder expressed that if, as we assert,
+the ordinary dietary of the seaman be so bad, he should be so ready to
+rebel when fed with delicacies. But in justice to the sailor, it ought
+to be remembered that the daintiest food may be rendered disgusting by
+bad cookery, such as is the rule on board merchant ships. "God sends
+meat, but the devil sends cooks" is a proverb which originated on board
+ship, and no one who has ever served any time in a ship's forecastle
+would deny that it is abundantly justified. Besides which, even good
+food well cooked of one kind only, served many times in succession,
+becomes very trying, only the plainest foods, such as bread, rice,
+potatoes, etc., retaining their command of the appetite continually.
+
+I remember once, when upon the Coromandel coast in a big Greenock ship,
+we found fowls very cheap. At Bimliapatam the captain bought two or
+three hundred, which, as we had no coops, were turned loose on deck. We
+had also at the same time prowling about the decks three goats, twenty
+pigs, and two big dogs.
+
+Consequently the state of the ship was filthy, nor could all our efforts
+keep her clean. This farmyard condition of things was permitted to
+continue for about a week, when the officers got so tired of it, and
+the captain so annoyed at the frequent loss of fowls by their flying
+overboard, that the edict went forth to feed the foremast hands on
+poultry till further orders. Great was our delight at the news. Fowl for
+dinner represented to our imagination almost the apex of high living,
+only indulged in by such pampered children of fortune as the officers of
+ships or well-to-do people ashore.
+
+When dinner-time arrived, we boys made haste to the galley with watering
+mouths, joyfully anticipating that rare delight of the sailor--a good
+"feed." The cook uncovered his coppers, plunged his tormentors therein,
+and produced such a succession of ugly corpses of fowls as I had never
+seen before. To each man a whole one was allotted, and we bore the
+steaming hecatomb into the forecastle. The boisterous merriment became
+hushed at our approach, and faces grew lengthy when the unwholesome
+aspect of the "treat" was revealed. Each man secured his bird, and
+commenced operations. But oh, the disappointment, and the bad words!
+What little flesh there was upon the framework of those unhappy fowls
+was like leather itself, and utterly flavourless. It could not well
+have been otherwise. The feathers had been simply scalded off, the heads
+chopped off, and bodies split open to facilitate drawing (I am sure I
+wonder the cook took the trouble to do that much), and thus prepared
+they were cast into a cauldron of boiling salt water. There, with the
+water fiercely bubbling, they were kept for an hour and a half, then
+pitchforked out into the mess kid and set before us. We simply could not
+eat them; no one but a Noumean Kanaka could, for his teeth are equal to
+husking a cocoa-nut, or chopping off a piece of sugar-cane as thick as
+your wrist.
+
+After much heated discussion, it was unanimously resolved to protest at
+once against the substitution of such a fraud as this poultry for our
+legitimate rations of "salt horse." so, bearing the DISJECTA MEMBRA of
+our meal, the whole crowd marched aft, and requested an interview with
+the skipper. He came out of the cabin at once, saying, "Well, boys,
+what's the matter?" The spokesman, a bald-headed Yankee, who had been
+bo'sun's mate of an American man-of-war, stepped forward and said,
+offering his kid, "Jest have a look at that sir." The skipper looked,
+saying, inquiringly, "Well?" "D'yew think, sir," said Nat, "THET'S
+proper grub for men?" "Proper grub! Why, you old sinner, you don't mean
+to say you're goin' to growl about havin' chicken for dinner?" "Well,
+sir, it depends muchly upon the chicken. All I know is, that I've et
+some dam queer tack in my time, but sence I ben fishin' I never had no
+such bundles of sticks parcelled with leather served out to me. I HEV et
+boot--leastways gnawed it; when I was cast away in a open boat for three
+weeks--but it wa'n't bad boot, as boots go. Now, if yew say that these
+things is boots, en thet it's necessary we should eat'em, or starve,
+w'y, we'll think about it. But if yew call'em chickens,'n say you're
+doin' us a kindness by stoppin' our'lowance of meat wile we're wrastlin'
+with 'em, then we say we don't feel obliged to yew, 'n 'll thank yew
+kindly to keep such lugsuries for yerself, 'n give us wot we signed
+for." A murmur of assent confirmed this burst of eloquence, which we all
+considered a very fine effort indeed. A moment's silence ensued; then
+the skipper burst out, "I've often heard of such things, but hang me if
+I ever believed 'em till now! You ungrateful beggars! I'll see you get
+your whack, and no more, from this out. When you get any little extras
+aboard this ship agen, you'll be thankful for 'em; now I tell you." "All
+right, sir," said Nat; "so long as we don't hev to chaw any more of yer
+biled Bimly crows, I dessay we shall worry along as usual." And, as the
+Parliamentary reports say, the proceedings then terminated.
+
+Now, suppose the skipper had told the story to some of his shore
+friends, how very funny the sailors' conduct would have been made to
+appear.
+
+On another occasion long after, when I was mate of a barque loading
+mahogany in Tonala, Mexico, the skipper thought he would practise
+economy by buying a turtle instead of beef. A large turtle was obtained
+for twenty-five cents, and handed over to the cook to be dealt with,
+particular instructions being given him as to the apportionment of the
+meat.
+
+At eight bells there was a gathering of the men in front of the poop,
+and a summons for the captain. When he appeared, the usual stereotyped
+invitation to "have a look at THAT, if you please, sir," was uttered.
+The skipper was, I think, prepared for a protest, for he began to
+bluster immediately. "Look here!" he bawled, "I ain't goin' to 'ave any
+of your dam nonsense. You WANT somethin' to growl about, you do." "Well,
+Cap'n George," said one of the men, "you shorely don't think we k'n eat
+shells, do yer?" Just then I caught sight of the kid's contents, and
+could hardly restrain my indignation. For in a dirty heap, the sight
+of which might have pleased an Esquimaux, but was certainly enough
+to disgust any civilized man, lay the calipee, or under-shell of the
+turtle, hacked into irregular blocks. It had been simply boiled, and
+flung into the kid, an unclean, disgusting heap of shell, with pieces
+of dirty flesh attached in ragged lumps. But the skipper, red-faced and
+angry, answered, "W'y, yer so-and-so ijits, that's wot the Lord Mayor of
+London gives about a guinea a hounce for w'en 'e feeds lords n' dooks.
+Only the haristocracy at 'ome get a charnce to stick their teeth in
+such grub as that. An' 'ere are you lot a-growlin' at 'avin' it for a
+change!" "That's all right, cap'n," said the man; "bein' brort up ter
+such lugsuries, of corse you kin appreshyate it. So if yer keep it fer
+yer own eatin', an' giv us wot we signed for, we shall be werry much
+obliged." "Now, I ain't a-goin' to 'ave none o' YOUR cheek, so you'd
+better git forrard. You can betcher life you won't get no more fresh
+messes this voy'ge." So, with grumbling and ill-will on both sides, the
+conference came to an end. But I thought, and still think, that the
+mess set before those men, who had been working hard since six a.m., was
+unfit for the food of a good dog.
+
+Out of my own experience I might give many other instances of the kind,
+but I hope these will suffice to show that Jack's growling is often
+justified, when both sides of the story are heard.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI. "BOWHEAD" FISHING
+
+Day and night being now only distinguishable by the aid of the clock,
+a constant look-out aloft was kept all through the twenty-four hours,
+watch and watch, but whales were apparently very scarce. We did a good
+deal of "pelagic" sealing; that is, catching seals swimming. But the
+total number obtained was not great, for these creatures are only
+gregarious when at their rocky haunts during the breeding season, or
+among the ice just before that season begins. Our sealing, therefore,
+was only a way of passing the time in the absence of nobler game, to be
+abandoned at once with whales in sight.
+
+It was on the ninth or tenth morning after our arrival on the grounds
+that a bowhead was raised, And two boats sent after him. It was my
+first sight of the great MYSTICETUS, and I must confess to being much
+impressed by his gigantic bulk. From the difference in shape, he looked
+much larger than the largest sperm whale we had yet seen, although we
+had come across some of the very biggest specimens of cachalot.
+
+The contrast between the two animals is most marked, so much so, in
+fact, that one would hardly credit them with belonging to the same
+order. Popular ideas of the whale are almost invariably taken from the
+MYSTICETUS, so that the average individual generally defines a whale
+as a big fish which spouts water out of the top of his head, and cannot
+swallow a herring. Indeed, so lately as last year a popular M.P.,
+writing to one of the religious papers, allowed himself to say that
+"science will not hear of a whale with a gullet capable of admitting
+anything larger than a man's fist"--a piece of crass ignorance, which is
+also perpetrated in the appendix to a very widely-distributed edition of
+the Authorized Version of the Bible. This opinion, strangely enough, is
+almost universally held, although I trust that the admirable models now
+being shown in our splendid Natural History Museum at South Kensington
+will do much to remove it. Not so many people, perhaps, believe that a
+whale is a fish, instead of a mammal, but few indeed are the individuals
+who do not still think that a cetacean possesses a sort of natural
+fountain on the top of its head, whence, for some recondite reason, it
+ejects at regular intervals streams of water into the air.
+
+But a whale can no more force water through its spiracle or blow-hole
+than you or I through our nostrils. It inhales, when at the surface,
+atmospheric air, and exhales breath like ours, which, coming warm into a
+cooler medium, becomes visible, as does our breath on a frosty morning.
+
+Now, the MYSTICETUS carries his nostrils on the summit of his head, or
+crown, the orifice being closed by a beautifully arranged valve when the
+animal is beneath the water. Consequently, upon coming to the surface
+to breathe, he sends up a jet of visible breath into the air some ten
+or twelve feet. The cachalot, on the other hand, has the orifice at the
+point of his square snout, the internal channel running in a slightly
+diagonal direction downwards, and back through the skull to the lungs.
+So when he spouts, the breath is projected forward diagonally, and, from
+some peculiarity which I do not pretend to explain, expends itself in a
+short, bushy tuft of vapour, very distinct from the tall vertical spout
+of the bowhead or right whale.
+
+There was little or no wind when we sighted the individual I am now
+speaking of, so we did not attempt to set sail, but pulled straight
+for him "head and head." Strange as it may appear, the MYSTICETUS'
+best point of view is right behind, or "in his wake," as we say; it is
+therefore part of the code to approach him from right ahead, in which
+direction he cannot see at all. Some time before we reached him he
+became aware of our presence, showing by his uneasy actions that he had
+his doubts about his personal security. But before he had made up his
+mind what to do we were upon him, with our harpoons buried in his back.
+The difference in his behaviour to what we had so long been accustomed
+to was amazing. He did certainly give a lumbering splash or two with his
+immense flukes, but no one could possibly have been endangered by them.
+The water was so shallow that when he sounded it was but for a very few
+minutes; there was no escape for him that way. As soon as he returned
+to the surface he set off at his best gait, but that was so slow that
+we easily hauled up close alongside of him, holding the boats in that
+position without the slightest attempt to guard ourselves from reprisals
+on his part, while the officers searched his vitals with the lances as
+if they were probing a haystack.
+
+Really, the whole affair was so tame that it was impossible to get up
+any fighting enthusiasm over it; the poor, unwieldy creature died meekly
+and quietly as an overgrown seal. In less than an hour from the time of
+leaving the ship we were ready to bring our prize alongside.
+
+Upon coming up to the whale, sail was shortened, and as soon as the
+fluke-chain was passed we anchored. It was, I heard, our skipper's boast
+that he could "skin a bowhead in forty minutes;" and although we were
+certainly longer than that, the celerity with which what seemed a
+gigantic task was accomplished was marvellous. Of course, it was all
+plain-sailing, very unlike the complicated and herculean task inevitable
+at the commencement of cutting-in a sperm whale.
+
+Except for the head work, removing the blubber was effected in precisely
+the same way as in the case of the cachalot. There was a marked
+difference between the quantity of lard enveloping this whale and those
+we had hitherto dealt with. It was nearly double the thickness, besides
+being much richer in oil, which fairly dripped from it as we hoisted
+in the blanket-pieces. The upper jaw was removed for its long plates of
+whalebone or baleen--that valuable substance which alone makes it worth
+while nowadays to go after the MYSTICETUS, the price obtained for the
+oil being so low as to make it not worth while to fit out ships to go in
+search of it alone. "Trying-out" the blubber, with its accompaniments,
+is carried on precisely as with the sperm whale. The resultant oil, when
+recent, is of a clear white, unlike the golden-tinted fluid obtained
+from the cachalot. As it grows stale it developes a nauseous smell,
+which sperm does not, although the odour of the oil is otto of roses
+compared with the horrible mass of putridity landed from the tanks of a
+Greenland whaler at the termination of a cruise. For in those vessels,
+the fishing-time at their disposal being so brief, they do not wait to
+boil down the blubber, but, chopping it into small pieces, pass it below
+as it is into tanks, to be rendered down by the oil-mills ashore on the
+ship's return.
+
+This first bowhead yielded us eighteen tuns of oil and a ton of baleen,
+which made the catch about equal in value to that of a seven-tun
+cachalot. But the amount of labour and care necessary in order to
+thoroughly dry and cleanse the baleen was enormous; in fact, for months
+after we began the bowhead fishery there was almost always something
+being done with the wretched stuff--drying, scraping, etc.--which, as it
+was kept below, also necessitated hoisting it up on deck and getting it
+down again.
+
+After this beginning, it was again a considerable time before we sighted
+any more; but when we did, there were quite a number of them--enough
+to employ all the boats with one each. I was out of the fun this time,
+being almost incapable of moving by reason of several boils on my
+legs--the result, I suppose, of a long abstinence from fresh vegetables,
+or anything to supply their place.
+
+As it happened, however, I lost no excitement by remaining on board;
+for while all the boats were away a large bowhead rose near the ship,
+evidently being harassed in some way by enemies, which I could not at
+first see. He seemed quite unconscious of his proximity to the ship,
+though, and at last came so near that the whole performance was as
+visible as if it had been got up for my benefit. Three "killers" were
+attacking him at once, like wolves worrying a bull, except that his
+motions were far less lively than those of any bull would have been.
+
+The "killer," or ORCA GLADIATOR, is a true whale, but, like the
+cachalot, has teeth. He differs from that great cetacean, though, in a
+most important particular; i.e. by having a complete set in both upper
+and lower jaws, like any other carnivore. For a carnivore indeed is he,
+the very wolf of the ocean, and enjoying, by reason of his extraordinary
+agility as well as comparative worthlessness commercially, complete
+immunity from attack by man. By some authorities he is thought to be
+identical with the grampus, but whalers all consider the animals quite
+distinct. Not having had very long acquaintance with them both, I cannot
+speak emphatically upon this difference of opinion; so far as personal
+observation goes, I agree with the whalers in believing that there is
+much variation both of habits and shape between them.
+
+But to return to the fight. The first inkling I got of what was really
+going on was the leaping of a killer high into the air by the side of
+the whale, and descending upon the victim's broad, smooth back with a
+resounding crash. I saw that the killer was provided with a pair of
+huge fins--one on his back, the other on his belly--which at first sight
+looked as if they were also weapons of offence. A little observation
+convinced me that they were fins only. Again and again the aggressor
+leaped into the air, falling each time on the whale's back, as if to
+beat him into submission.
+
+The sea around foamed and boiled like a cauldron, so that it was only
+occasional glimpses I was able to catch of the two killers, until
+presently the worried whale lifted his head clear out of the surrounding
+smother, revealing the two furies hanging--one on either side--to his
+lips, as if endeavouring to drag his mouth open--which I afterwards saw
+was their principal object, as whenever during the tumult I caught sight
+of them, they were still in the same position. At last the tremendous
+and incessant blows, dealt by the most active member of the trio, seemed
+actually to have exhausted the immense vitality of the great bowhead,
+for he lay supine upon the surface. Then the three joined their forces,
+and succeeded in dragging open his cavernous mouth, into which they
+freely entered, devouring his tongue. This, then, had been their sole
+object, for as soon as they had finished their barbarous feast they
+departed, leaving him helpless and dying to fall an easy prey to our
+returning boats.
+
+Thus, although the four whales captured by the boats had been but small,
+the day's take, augmented by so great a find, was a large one, and it
+was a long time before we got clear of the work it entailed.
+
+From that time forward we saw no whales for six weeks, and, from the
+reports we received from two whalers we "gammed," it appeared that we
+might consider ourselves most fortunate in our catch, since they, who
+had been longer on the ground than ourselves, had only one whale apiece.
+
+In consequence of this information, Captain Slocum decided to go south
+again, and resume the sperm whaling in the North Pacific, near the
+line--at least so the rumour ran; but as we never heard anything
+definitely, we could not feel at all certain of our next destination.
+
+Ever since the fracas at the Bonins between Goliath and his watch,
+the relations between Captain Slocum and the big negro had been
+very strained. Even before the outbreak, as I have remarked upon one
+occasion, it was noticeable that little love was lost between them. Why
+this was so, without anything definite to guide one's reasoning, was
+difficult to understand, for a better seaman or a smarter whaleman than
+Mistah Jones did not live--of that every one was quite sure. Still,
+there was no gainsaying the fact that, churlish and morose as our
+skipper's normal temper always was, he was never so much so as in
+his behaviour towards his able fourth mate, who, being a man of fine,
+sensitive temper, chafed under his unmerited treatment so much as to
+lose flesh, becoming daily more silent, nervous, and depressed. Still,
+there had never been an open rupture, nor did it appear as if there
+would be, so great was the power Captain Slocum possessed over the will
+of everybody on board.
+
+One night, however, as we were nearing the Kuriles again, on our way
+south, leaving the Sea of Okhotsk, I was sitting on the fore side of the
+try-works alone, meditating upon what I would do when once I got
+clear of this miserable business. Futile and foolish, no doubt, my
+speculations were, but only in this way could I forget for a while my
+surroundings, since the inestimable comfort of reading was denied me.
+I had been sitting thus absorbed in thought for nearly an hour, when
+Goliath came and seated himself by my side. We had always been great
+friends, although, owing to the strict discipline maintained on board,
+it was not often we got a chance for a "wee bit crack," as the Scotch
+say. Besides, I was not in his watch, and even now he should rightly
+have been below. He sat for a minute or two silent; then, as if
+compelled to speak, he began in low, fierce whispers to tell me of his
+miserable state of mind. At last, after recapitulating many slights
+and insults he had received silently from the captain, of which I had
+previously known nothing, he became strangely calm. In tones quite
+unlike his usual voice, he said that he was not an American-born negro,
+but a pure African, who had been enslaved in his infancy, with his
+mother, somewhere in the "Hinterland" of Guinea. While still a child,
+his mother escaped with him into Liberia, a where he had remained till
+her death, She was, according to him, an Obeah woman of great power,
+venerated exceedingly by her own people for her prophetic abilities.
+Before her death, she had told him that he would die suddenly,
+violently, in a struggle with a white man in a far-off country, but that
+the white man would die too by his hand. She had also told him that he
+would be a great traveller and hunter upon the sea. As he went on, his
+speech became almost unintelligible, being mingled with fragments of a
+language I had never heard before; moreover, he spoke as a man who is
+only half awake. A strange terror got hold of me, for I began to think
+he was going mad, and perhaps about to run a-mok, as the Malays do when
+driven frantic by the infliction of real or fancied wrongs.
+
+But he gradually returned to his old self, to my great relief, and I
+ventured somewhat timidly to remind him of the esteem in which he was
+held by all hands; even the skipper, I ventured to say, respected him,
+although, from some detestable form of ill-humour, he had chosen to
+be so sneering and insulting towards him. He shook his head sadly, and
+said, "My dear boy, youse de only man aboard dis ship--wite man, dat
+is--dat don't hate an' despise me becawse ob my colour, wich I cain't
+he'p; an' de God you beliebe in bless you fer dat. As fer me, w'at I
+done tole you's true,'n befo' bery little w'ile you see it COME true.
+'N w'en DAT happens w'at's gwine ter happen, I'se real glad to tink it
+gwine ter be better fer you--gwine ter be better fer eberybody 'bord de
+CACH'LOT; but I doan keer nuffin 'bout anybody else. So long." He held
+out his great black hand, and shook mine heartily, while a big tear
+rolled down his face and fell on the deck. And with that he left me a
+prey to a very whirlpool of conflicting thoughts and fears.
+
+The night was a long and weary one--longer and drearier perhaps because
+of the absence of the darkness, which always made it harder to sleep.
+An incessant day soon becomes, to those accustomed to the relief of the
+night, a burden grievous to be borne; and although use can reconcile
+us to most things, and does make even the persistent light bearable,
+in times of mental distress or great physical weariness one feels
+irresistibly moved to cry earnestly, "Come, gentle night."
+
+When I came on deck at eight bells, it was a stark calm. The watch,
+under Mistah Jones' direction, were busy scrubbing decks with the usual
+thoroughness, while the captain, bare-footed, with trouser-legs and
+shirt-sleeves rolled up, his hands on his hips and a portentous frown on
+his brow, was closely looking on. As it was my spell at the crow's-nest,
+I made at once for the main-rigging, and had got halfway to the top,
+when some unusual sounds below arrested me.
+
+All hands were gathered in the waist, a not unusual thing at the
+changing of the watch. In the midst of them, as I looked down, two men
+came together in a fierce struggle. They were Goliath and the skipper.
+Captain Slocum's right hand went naturally to his hip pocket, where he
+always carried a revolver; but before he could draw it, the long, black
+arms of his adversary wrapped around him, making him helpless as a babe.
+Then, with a rush that sent every one flying out of his way, Goliath
+hurled himself at the bulwarks, which were low, the top of the rail
+about thirty-three inches from the deck. The two bodies struck the rail
+with a heavy thud, instantly toppling overboard. That broke the spell
+that bound everybody, so that there was an instantaneous rush to the
+side. Only a hardly noticeable ripple remained on the surface of the
+placid sea.
+
+But, from my lofty perch, the whole of the ghastly struggle had been
+visible to the least detail. The two men had struck the water locked in
+closest embrace, which relaxed not even when far below the surface. When
+the sea is perfectly smooth, objects are visible from aloft at several
+feet depth, though apparently diminished in size. The last thing I saw
+was Captain Slocum's white face, with its starting black eyes looking
+their last upon the huge, indefinite hull of the ship whose occupants he
+had ruled so long and rigidly.
+
+The whole tragedy occupied such a brief moment of time that it was
+almost impossible to realize that it was actual. Reason, however, soon
+regained her position among the officers, who ordered the closest watch
+to be kept from aloft, in case of the rising of either or both of the
+men. A couple of boats were swung, ready to drop on the instant. But,
+as if to crown the tragedy with completeness, a heavy squall, which
+had risen unnoticed, suddenly burst upon the ship with great fury, the
+lashing hail and rain utterly obscuring vision even for a few yards.
+So unexpected was the onset of this squall that, for the only time that
+voyage, we lost some canvas through not being able to get it in quick
+enough. The topgallant halyards were let go; but while the sails were
+being clewed up, the fierce wind following the rain caught them from
+their confining gear, rending them into a thousand shreds. For an hour
+the squall raged--a tempest in brief--then swept away to the south-east
+on its furious journey, leaving peace again. Needless perhaps to say,
+that after such a squall it was hopeless to look for our missing ones.
+The sudden storm had certainly driven us several miles away front the
+spot where they disappeared, and, although we carefully made what haste
+was possible back along the line we were supposed to have come, not
+a vestige of hope was in any one's mind that we should ever see them
+again.
+
+Nor did we. Whether that madness, which I had feared was coming upon
+Goliath during our previous night's conversation, suddenly overpowered
+him and impelled him to commit the horrible deed, what more had
+passed between him and the skipper to even faintly justify so awful a
+retaliation--these things were now matters of purest speculation. As if
+they had never been, the two men were blotted out--gone before God in
+full-blown heat of murder and revengeful fury.
+
+On the same evening Mr. Count mustered all hands on the quarter-deck,
+and addressed us thus: "Men, Captain Slocum is dead, and, as a
+consequence, I command the ship. Behave yourself like men, not presuming
+upon kindness or imagining that I am a weak, vacillating old man with
+whom you can do as you like, and you will find in me a skipper who will
+do his duty by you as far as lies in his power, nor expect more from you
+than you ought to render. If, however, you DO try any tricks, remember
+that I am an old hand, equal to most of the games that men get up to.
+I do want--if you will help me--to make this a comfortable as well as a
+successful ship. I hope with all my heart we shall succeed."
+
+In answer to this manly and affecting little speech, which confirmed
+my previous estimate of Captain Count's character, were he but free to
+follow the bent of his natural, kindly inclinations, and which I have
+endeavoured to translate out of his usual dialect, a hearty cheer
+was raised by all hands, the first ebullition of general good feeling
+manifested throughout the voyage. Hearts rose joyfully at the prospect
+of comfort to be gained by thoughtfulness on the part of the commander;
+nor from that time forward did any sign of weariness of the ship or
+voyage show itself among us, either on deck or below.
+
+The news soon spread among us that, in consequence of the various losses
+of boats and gear, the captain deemed it necessary to make for Honolulu,
+where fresh supplies could readily be obtained. We had heard many
+glowing accounts from visitors, when "gamming," of the delights of this
+well-known port of call for whalers, and under our new commander we had
+little doubt that we should be allowed considerable liberty during our
+stay. So we were quite impatient to get along fretting considerably at
+the persistent fogs which prevented our making much progress while in
+the vicinity of the Kuriles. But we saw no more bowheads, for which none
+of us forward were at all sorry. We had got very tired of the stink
+of their blubber, and the never-ending worry connected with the
+preservation of the baleen; besides, we had not yet accumulated any
+fund of enthusiasm about getting a full ship, except as a reason for
+shortening the voyage, and we quite understood that what black oil we
+had got would be landed at Hawaii, so that our visit to the Okhotsk Sea,
+with its resultant store of oil, had not really brought our return home
+any nearer, as we at first hoped it would.
+
+A great surprise was in store for me. I knew that Captain Count was
+favourably inclined towards me, for he had himself told me so, but
+nothing was further from my thoughts than promotion. However, one Sunday
+afternoon, when we were all peacefully enjoying the unusual rest (we
+had no Sundays in Captain Slocum's time), the captain sent for me. He
+informed me that, after mature consideration, he had chosen me to fill
+the vacancy made by the death of Mistah Jones. Mr. Cruce was now mate;
+the waspish little third had become second; Louis Silva, the captain's
+favourite harpooner was third; and I was to be fourth. Not feeling at
+all sure of how the other harpooners would take my stepping over their
+heads, I respectfully demurred to the compliment offered me, stating
+my reasons. But the captain said he had fully made up his mind,
+after consultation with the other officers, and that I need have no
+apprehension on the score of the harpooners' jealousy; that they
+had been spoken to on the subject, and they were all agreed that the
+captain's choice was the best, especially as none of them knew anything
+of navigation, or could write their own names.
+
+In consequence of there being none of the crew fit to take a harpooner's
+place, I was now really harpooner of the captain's boat, which he
+would continue to work, when necessary, until we were able to ship a
+harpooner, which he hoped to do at Hawaii.
+
+The news of my promotion was received in grim silence by the Portuguese
+forward, but the white men all seemed pleased. This was highly
+gratifying to me, for I had tried my best to be helpful to all, as far
+as my limited abilities would let me; nor do I think I had an enemy
+in the ship. Behold me, then, a full-blown "mister," with a definite
+substantial increase in my prospects of pay of nearly one-third,
+in addition to many other advantages, which, under the new captain,
+promised exceedingly well.
+
+More than half the voyage lay behind us, looking like the fast-settling
+bank of storm-clouds hovering above the tempest-tossed sea so lately
+passed, while ahead the bright horizon was full of promise of fine
+weather for the remainder of the journey.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII. VISIT TO HONOLULU
+
+Right glad were we all when, after much fumbling and box-hauling about,
+we once more felt the long, familiar roll of the Pacific swell, and saw
+the dim fastnesses of the smoky islands fading into the lowering gloom
+astern. Most deep-water sailors are familiar, by report if not by actual
+contact, with the beauties of the Pacific islands, and I had often
+longed to visit them to see for myself whether the half that had been
+told me was true. Of course, to a great number of seafaring men, the
+loveliness of those regions counts for nothing, their desirability
+being founded upon the frequent opportunities of unlimited indulgence in
+debauchery. To such men, a "missionary" island is a howling wilderness,
+and the missionaries themselves the subjects of the vilest abuse as well
+as the most boundless lying.
+
+No one who has travelled with his eyes open would assert that all
+missionaries were wise, prudent, or even godly men; while it is a great
+deal to be regretted that so much is made of hardships which in a
+large proportion of cases do not exist, the men who are supposed to be
+enduring them being immensely better off and more comfortable than they
+would ever have been at home. Undoubtedly the pioneers of missionary
+enterprise had, almost without exception, to face dangers and miseries
+past telling, but that is the portion of pioneers in general. In these
+days, however, the missionary's lot in Polynesia is not often a hard
+one, and in many cases it is infinitely to be preferred to a life among
+the very poor of our great cities.
+
+But when all has been said that can be said against the missionaries,
+the solid bastion of fact remains that, in consequence of their labours,
+the whole vile character of the populations of the Pacific has been
+changed, and where wickedness runs riot to-day, it is due largely to the
+hindrances placed in the way of the noble efforts of the missionaries
+by the unmitigated scoundrels who vilify them. The task of spreading
+Christianity would not, after all, be so difficult were it not for the
+efforts of those apostles of the devil to keep the islands as they would
+like them to be--places where lust runs riot day and night, murder may
+be done with impunity, slavery flourishes, and all evil may be indulged
+in free from law, order, or restraint.
+
+It speaks volumes for the inherent might of the Gospel that, in spite of
+the object-lessons continually provided for the natives by white men of
+the negation of all good, that it has stricken its roots so deeply into
+the soil of the Pacific islands. Just as the best proof of the reality
+of the Gospel here in England is that it survives the incessant assaults
+upon it from within by its professors, by those who are paid, and highly
+paid, to propagate it, by the side of whose deadly doings the efforts
+of so-called infidels are but as the battery of a summer breeze; so
+in Polynesia, were not the principles of Christianity vital with an
+immortal and divine life, missionary efforts might long ago have ceased
+in utter despair at the fruitlessness of the field.
+
+We were enjoying a most uneventful passage, free from any serious
+changes either of wind or weather which quiet time was utilised to
+the utmost in making many much-needed additions to the running-gear,
+repairing rigging, etc. Any work involving the use of new material had
+been put off from time to time during the previous part of the voyage
+till the ship aloft was really in a dangerous condition. This was
+due entirely to the peculiar parsimony of our late skipper, who could
+scarcely bring himself to broach a coil of rope, except for whaling
+purposes. The same false economy had prevailed with regard to paint
+and varnish, so that the vessel, while spotlessly clean, presented a
+worn-out weather-beaten appearance. Now, while the condition of life on
+board was totally different to what it had been, as regards comfort and
+peace, discipline and order were maintained at the same high level as
+always, though by a different method--in fact, I believe that a great
+deal more work was actually done, certainly much more that was useful
+and productive; for Captain Count hated, as much as any foremast hand
+among us, the constant, remorseless grind of iron-work polishing,
+paint-work scrubbing, and holystoning, all of which, though necessary
+in a certain degree, when kept up continually for the sole purpose
+of making work--a sort of elaborated tread-mill, in fact--becomes the
+refinement of cruelty to underfed, unpaid, and hopeless men.
+
+So, while the CACHALOT could have fearlessly challenged comparison with
+any ship afloat for cleanliness and neatness of appearance, the hands no
+longer felt that they were continually being "worked up" or "hazed" for
+the sole, diabolical satisfaction of keeping them "at it." Of course,
+the incidence of the work was divided, since so many of the crew
+were quite unable to do any sailorizing, as we term work in sails and
+rigging. Upon them, then, fell all the common labour, which can be done
+by any unskilled man or woman afloat or ashore.
+
+Of this work a sailor's duties are largely made up, but when good people
+ashore wonder "whatever sailors do with their time," it would be useful
+for them to remember that a ship is a huge and complicated machine,
+needing constant repairs, which can only be efficiently performed by
+skilled workmen. An "A.B." or able seaman's duties are legally supposed
+to be defined by the three expressions, "hand, reef, and steer." If
+he can do those three things, which mean furling or making fast sails,
+reefing them, and steering the ship, his wages cannot be reduced for
+incompetency. Yet these things are the A B C of seamanship only. A
+good SEAMAN is able to make all the various knots, splices, and other
+arrangements in hempen or wire rope, without which a ship cannot be
+rigged; he can make a sail, send up or down yards and masts, and do
+many other things, the sum total of which need several years of steady
+application to learn, although a good seaman is ever learning.
+
+Such seamen are fast becoming extinct. They are almost totally
+unnecessary in steamships, except when the engines break down in a gale
+of wind, and the crowd of navvies forming the crew stand looking at one
+another when called upon to set sail or do any other job aloft. THEN the
+want of seamen is rather severely felt. But even in sailing ships--the
+great, overgrown tanks of two thousand tons and upwards--mechanical
+genius has utilized iron to such an extent in their rigging that
+sailor-work has become very largely a matter of blacksmithing. I make no
+complaint of this, not believing that the "old was better;" but, since
+the strongest fabric of man's invention comes to grief sometimes in
+conflict with the irresistible sea, some provision should be made
+for having a sufficiency of seamen who could exercise their skill in
+refitting a dismasted ship, or temporarily replacing broken blacksmith
+work by old-fashioned rope and wood.
+
+But, as the sailing ship is doomed inevitably to disappear before steam,
+perhaps it does not matter much. The economic march of the world's
+progress will never be stayed by sentimental considerations, nor will
+all the romance and poetry in the world save the seaman from extinction,
+if his place can be more profitably filled by the engineer. From all
+appearances, it soon will be, for even now marine superintendents of
+big lines are sometimes engineers, and in their hands lie the duty of
+engaging the officers. It would really seem as if the ship of the near
+future would be governed by the chief engineer, under whose direction a
+pilot or sailing-master would do the necessary navigation, without power
+to interfere in any matter of the ship's economy. Changes as great have
+taken place in other professions; seafaring cannot hope to be the sole
+exception.
+
+So, edging comfortably along, we gradually neared the Sandwich Islands
+without having seen a single spout worth watching since the tragedy.
+At last the lofty summits of the island mountains hove in sight,
+and presently we came to an anchor in that paradise of whalers,
+missionaries, and amateur statesmen--Honolulu. As it is as well known
+to most reading people as our own ports--better perhaps--I shall not
+attempt to describe it, or pit myself against the able writers who have
+made it so familiar. Yet to me it was a new world. All things were
+so strange, so delightful, especially the lovable, lazy, fascinating
+Kanakas, who could be so limply happy over a dish of poi, or a green
+cocoa-nut, or even a lounge in the sun, that it seemed an outrage to
+expect them to work. In their sports they could be energetic enough. I
+do not know of any more delightful sight than to watch them bathing
+in the tremendous surf, simply intoxicated with the joy of living,
+as unconscious of danger as if swinging in a hammock while riding
+triumphantly upon the foaming summit of an incoming breaker twenty feet
+high, or plunging with a cataract over the dizzy edge of its cliff,
+swallowed up in the hissing vortex below, only to reappear with a scream
+of riotous laughter in the quiet eddy beyond.
+
+As far as I could judge, they were the happiest of people, literally
+taking no thought for the morrow, and content with the barest
+necessaries of life, so long as they were free and the sun shone
+brightly. We had many opportunities of cultivating their acquaintance,
+for the captain allowed us much liberty, quite one-half of the crew and
+officers being ashore most of the time. Of course, the majority spent
+all their spare time in the purlieus of the town, which, like all such
+places anywhere, were foul and filthy enough; but that was their own
+faults. I have often wondered much to see men, who on board ship were
+the pink of cleanliness and neatness, fastidious to a fault in all they
+did, come ashore and huddle in the most horrible of kennels, among the
+very dregs and greaves of the 'long-shore district. It certainly wants a
+great deal of explanation; but I suppose the most potent reason is, that
+sailors, as a class, never learn to enjoy themselves rationally. They
+are also morbidly suspicions of being taken in hand by anybody who
+would show them anything worth seeing, preferring to be led by the human
+sharks that infest all seaports into ways of strange nastiness, and so
+expensive withal that one night of such wallowing often costs them more
+than a month's sane recreation and good food would. All honour to the
+devoted men and women who labour in our seaports for the moral and
+material benefit of the sailor, passing their lives amidst sights and
+sounds shocking and sickening to the last degree, reviled, unthanked,
+unpaid. Few are the missionaries abroad whose lot is so hard as theirs.
+
+We spent ten happy days in Honolulu, marred only by one or two drunken
+rows among the chaps forward, which, however, resulted in their getting
+a severe dressing down in the forecastle, where good order was now kept.
+There had been no need for interference on the part of the officers,
+which I was glad to see, remembering what would have happened under such
+circumstances not long ago. Being short-handed, the captain engaged a
+number of friendly islanders for a limited period, on the understanding
+that they were to be discharged at their native place, Vau Vau. There
+were ten of them, fine stalwart fellows, able bodied and willing as
+possible. They were cleanly in their habits, and devout members of the
+Wesleyan body, so that their behaviour was quite a reproach to some of
+our half-civilized crew. Berths were found for them in the forecastle,
+and they took their places among us quite naturally, being fairly well
+used to a whale-ship.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII. ON THE "LINE" GROUNDS
+
+We weighed at last, one morning, with a beautiful breeze, and, bidding
+a long farewell to the lovely isles and their amiable inhabitants, stood
+at sea, bound for the "line" or equatorial grounds on our legitimate
+business of sperm whaling. It was now a long while since we had been in
+contact with a cachalot, the last one having been killed by us on the
+Coast of Japan some six months before. But we all looked forward to the
+coming campaign with considerable joy, for we were now a happy family,
+interested in the work, and, best of all, even if the time was still
+distant, we were, in a sense, homeward bound. At any rate, we all chose
+so to think, from the circumstance that we were now working to the
+southward, towards Cape Horn, the rounding of which dreaded point would
+mark the final stage of our globe-encircling voyage.
+
+We had, during our stay at Honolulu, obtained a couple of grand boats in
+addition to our stock, and were now in a position to man and lower five
+at once, if occasion should arise, still leaving sufficient crew on
+board to work the vessel. The captain had also engaged an elderly seaman
+of his acquaintance--out of pure philanthropy, as we all thought,
+since he was in a state of semi-starvation ashore--to act as a kind of
+sailing-master, so as to relieve the captain of ship duty at whaling
+time, allowing him still to head his boat. This was not altogether
+welcome news to me, for, much as I liked the old man and admired his
+pluck, I could not help dreading his utter recklessness when on a
+whale, which had so often led to a smash-up that might have been easily
+avoided. Moreover, I reasoned that if he had been foolhardy before, he
+was likely to be much more so now, having no superior to look black
+or use language when a disaster occurred. For now I was his harpooner,
+bound to take as many risks as he chose to incur, and anxious also
+to earn a reputation among the more seasoned whalemen for smartness
+sufficient to justify my promotion.
+
+The Kanakas shipped at Honolulu were distributed among the boats, two
+to each, being already trained whalemen, and a fine lot of fellows they
+were. My two--Samuela and Polly--were not very big men, but sturdy,
+nimble as cats, as much at home in the water as on deck, and simply
+bubbling over with fun and good-humour. From my earliest sea-going,
+I have always had a strong liking for natives of tropical countries,
+finding them affectionate and amenable to kindness. Why, I think, white
+men do not get on with darkies well, as a rule, is, that they seldom
+make an appeal to the MAN, in them. It is very degrading to find one's
+self looked down upon as a sort of animal without reason or feelings;
+and if you degrade a man, you deprive him of any incentive to make
+himself useful, except the brute one you may feel bound to apply
+yourself. My experience has been limited to Africans (of sorts),
+Kanakas, natives of Hindostan, Malagasy, and Chinese; but with all these
+I have found a little COMARADERIE answer excellently. True, they are
+lazy; but what inducement have they to work? The complicated needs
+of our civilized existence compel US to work, or be run over by the
+unresting machine; but I take leave to doubt whether any of us with a
+primitive environment would not be as lazy as any Kanaka that ever dozed
+under a banana tree through daylight hours. Why, then, make an exalted
+virtue of the necessity which drives us, and objurgate the poor black
+man because he prefers present ease to a doubtful prospective retirement
+on a competency? Australian blackfellows and Malays are said to be
+impervious to kind treatment by a great number of witnesses, the former
+appearing incapable of gratitude, and the latter unable to resist the
+frequent temptation to kill somebody. Not knowing anything personally of
+either of these races, I can say nothing for or against them.
+
+All the coloured individuals that I have had to do with have amply
+repaid any little kindness shown them with fidelity and affection, but
+especially has this been the case with Kanakas, The soft and melodious
+language spoken by them is easy to acquire, and is so pleasant to speak
+that it is well worth learning, to say nothing of the convenience to
+yourself, although the Kanaka speedily picks up the mutilated jargon
+which does duty for English on board ship.
+
+What I specially longed for now was a harpooner, or even two, so that
+I might have my boat to myself, the captain taking his own boat with
+a settled harpooner. Samuela, the biggest of my two Kanakas, very
+earnestly informed me that he was no end of a "number one" whale
+slaughterer; but I judged it best to see how things went before asking
+to have him promoted. My chance, and his, came very promptly; so nicely
+arranged, too, that I could not have wished for anything better. The
+skipper had got a fine, healthy boil on one knee-cap, and another on
+his wrist, so that he was, as you may say, HORS DE COMBAT. While he was
+impatiently waiting to get about once more, sperm whales were raised.
+Although nearly frantic with annoyance, he was compelled to leave the
+direction of things to Mr. Cruce, who was quite puffed up with the
+importance of his opportunity.
+
+Such a nice little school of cow-whales, a lovely breeze, clear sky,
+warm weather--I felt as gay as a lark at the prospect. As we were
+reaching to windward, with all boats ready for lowering, the skipper
+called me aft and said, "Naow, Mr. Bullen, I cain't lower, because of
+this condemned leg'n arm of mine; but how'r yew goin' ter manage 'thout
+a harpooneer?" I suggested that if he would allow me to try Samuela, who
+was suffering for a chance to distinguish himself, we would "come out on
+top." "All right," he said; "but let the other boats get fast first,
+'n doan be in too much of a hurry to tie yerself up till ya see what's
+doin'. If everythin's goin' bizness-fashion', 'n yew git a chance, sail
+right in; yew got ter begin some time. But ef thet Kanaka looks
+skeered goin' on, take the iron frum him ter onct." I promised, and the
+interview ended.
+
+When I told Samuela, of his chance, he was beside himself with joy. As
+to his being scared, the idea was manifestly absurd. He was as pleased
+with the prospect as it was possible for a man to be, and hardly able
+to contain himself for impatience to be off. I almost envied him his
+exuberant delight, for a sense of responsibility began to weigh upon me
+with somewhat depressing effect.
+
+We gained a good weather-gage, rounded to, and lowered four boats.
+Getting away in good style, we had barely got the sails up, when
+something gallied the school. We saw or heard nothing to account for it,
+but undoubtedly the "fish" were off at top speed dead to windward, so
+that our sails were of no use. We had them in with as little delay as
+possible, and lay to our oars for all we were worth, being fresh and
+strong, as well as anxious to get amongst them. But I fancy all our
+efforts would have availed us little had it not been for the experience
+of Mr. Cruce, whose eager eye detected the fact that the fish were
+running on a great curve, and shaped our course to cut them off along a
+chord of the arc.
+
+Two and a half hours of energetic work was required of us before we got
+on terms with the fleeing monsters; but at last, to our great joy,
+they broke water from sounding right among us. It was a considerable
+surprise, but we were all ready, and before they had spouted twice,
+three boats were fast, only myself keeping out, in accordance with my
+instructions. Samuela was almost distraught with rage and grief at the
+condition of things. I quite pitied him, although I was anything but
+pleased myself. However, when I ranged up alongside the mate's fish, to
+render what assistance was needed, he shouted to me, "We's all right;
+go'n git fas', if yew kin." That was enough, and away we flew after a
+retreating spout to leeward. Before we got there, though, there was an
+upheaval in the water just ahead, and up came a back like a keelless
+ship bottom up. Out came the head belonging to it, and a spout like
+an explosion burst forth, denoting the presence of an enormous
+bull-cachalot. Close by his side was a cow of about one-third his size,
+the favoured sultana of his harem, I suppose. Prudence whispered,
+"Go for the cow;" ambition hissed, "All or none--the bull, the bull."
+Fortunately emergencies of this kind leave one but a second or two to
+decide, as a rule; in this case, as it happened, I was spared even
+that mental conflict, for as we ran up between the two vast creatures,
+Samuela, never even looking at the cow, hurled his harpoon, with all
+the energy that he had been bursting with so long, at the mighty bull.
+I watched its flight--saw it enter the black mass and disappear to the
+shaft, and almost immediately came the second iron, within a foot of the
+first, burying itself in the same solid fashion.
+
+"Starn--starn all!" I shouted; and we backed slowly away, considerably
+hampered by the persistent attentions of the cow, who hung round
+us closely. The temptation to lance her was certainly great, but I
+remembered the fate that had overtaken the skipper on the first occasion
+we struck whales, and did not meddle with her ladyship. Our prey was not
+apparently disposed to kick up much fuss at first, so, anxious to settle
+matters, I changed ends with Samuela, and pulled in on the whale. A
+good, steady lance-thrust--the first I had ever delivered--was obtained,
+sending a thrill of triumph through my whole body. The recipient,
+thoroughly roused by this, started off at a great lick, accompanied,
+somewhat to my surprise, by the cow. Thenceforward for another hour,
+in spite of all our efforts, we could not get within striking distance,
+mainly because of the close attention of the cow, which stuck to her
+lord like a calf to its mother. I was getting so impatient of this
+hindrance, that it was all I could do to restrain myself from lancing
+the cow, though I felt convinced that, if I did, I should spoil a good
+job. Suddenly I caught sight of the ship right ahead. We were still
+flying along, so that in a short time we were comparatively close to
+her. My heart beat high and I burned to distinguish myself under the
+friendly and appreciative eye of the skipper.
+
+None of the other boats were in sight, from our level at least, so that
+I had a reasonable hope of being able to finish my game, with all the
+glory thereunto attaching, unshared by any other of my fellow-officers.
+As we ran quite closely past the ship, calling on the crew to haul up
+for all they were worth, we managed actually to squeeze past the cow,
+and I got in a really deadly blow. The point of the lance entered just
+between the fin and the eye, but higher up, missing the broad plate of
+the shoulder-blade, and sinking its whole four feet over the hitches
+right down into the animal's vitals. Then, for the first time, he threw
+up his flukes, thrashing them from side to side almost round to his
+head, and raising such a turmoil that we were half full of water in
+a moment. But Samuela was so quick at the steer-oar, so lithe and
+forceful, and withal appeared so to anticipate every move of mine, that
+there seemed hardly any danger.
+
+After a few moments of this tremendous exertion, our victim settled
+down, leaving the water deeply stained with his gushing blood. With him
+disappeared his constant companion, the faithful cow, who had never left
+his side a minute since we first got fast. Down, down they went, until
+my line began to look very low, and I was compelled to make signals to
+the ship for more. We had hardly elevated the oars, when down dropped
+the last boat with four men in her, arriving by my side in a few minutes
+with two fresh tubs of tow-line. We took them on board, and the boat
+returned again. By the time the slack came we had about four hundred and
+fifty fathoms out--a goodly heap to pile up loose in our stern-sheets. I
+felt sure, however, that we should have but little more trouble with our
+fish; in fact, I was half afraid that he would die before getting to
+the surface, in which case he might sink and be lost. We hauled steadily
+away, the line not coming in very easily, until I judged there was only
+about another hundred fathoms out. Our amazement may be imagined, when
+suddenly we were compelled to sleek away again, the sudden weight on the
+line suggesting that the fish was again sounding. If ever a young hand
+was perplexed, it was I. Never before had I heard of such unseemly
+behaviour, nor was my anxiety lessened when I saw, a short distance
+away, the huge body of my prize at the surface spouting blood. At the
+same time, I was paying out line at a good rate, as if I had a fast fish
+on which was sounding briskly.
+
+The skipper had been watching me very closely from his seat on the
+taffrail, and had kept the ship within easy distance. Now, suspecting
+something out of the common, he sent the boat again to my assistance,
+in charge of the cooper. When that worthy arrived, he said, "Th' ol' man
+reckens yew've got snarled erp'ith thet ar' loose keow, 'n y'r irons hev
+draw'd from th' other. I'm gwine ter wait on him,'n get him 'longside
+'soon's he's out'er his flurry. Ole man sez yew'd best wait on what's
+fast t' yer an' nev' mine th' other." Away he went, reaching my prize
+just as the last feeble spout exhaled, leaving the dregs of that great
+flood of life trickling lazily down from the widely expanded spiracle.
+To drive a harpoon into the carcass, and run the line on board, was the
+simplest of jobs, for, as the captain had foreseen, my irons were drawn
+clean. I had no leisure to take any notice of them now, though, for
+whatever was on my line was coming up hand-over-fist.
+
+With a bound it reached the surface--the identical cow so long attendant
+upon the dead whale. Having been so long below for such a small whale,
+she was quite exhausted, and before she had recovered we had got
+alongside of her and lanced her, so thoroughly that she died without
+a struggle. The ship was so close that we had her alongside in a
+wonderfully short time, and with scarcely any trouble.
+
+When I reached the deck, the skipper called me, and said several things
+that made me feel about six inches taller. He was, as may be thought,
+exceedingly pleased, saying that only once in his long career had he
+seen a similar case; for I forgot to mention that the line was entangled
+around the cow's down-hanging jaw, as if she had actually tried to bite
+in two the rope that held her consort, and only succeeded in sharing
+his fate. I would not like to say that whales do not try to thus sever a
+line, but, their teeth being several inches apart, conical, and fitting
+into sockets in the upper jaw instead of meeting the opposed surfaces
+of other teeth, the accomplishment of such a feat must, I think, be
+impossible.
+
+The ship being now as good as anchored by the vast mass of flesh hanging
+to her, there was a tremendous task awaiting us to get the other fish
+alongside. Of course they were all to windward; they nearly always are,
+unless the ship is persistently "turned to windward" while the fishing
+is going on. Whalers believe that they always work up into the wind
+while fast, and, when dead, it is certain that they drift at a pretty
+good rate right in the "wind's eye." This is accounted for by the play
+of the body, which naturally lies head to wind; and the wash of the
+flukes, which, acting somewhat like the "sculling" of an oar at the
+stern of a boat, propel the carcass in the direction it is pointing,
+Consequently we had a cruel amount of towing to do before we got the
+three cows alongside. Many a time we blessed ourselves that they were no
+bigger, for of all the clumsy things to tow with boats, a sperm whale
+is about the worst. Owing to the great square mass of the head, they can
+hardly be towed head-on at all, the practice being to cut off the tips
+of the flukes, and tow them tail first. But even then it is slavery. To
+dip your oar about three times in the same hole from whence you withdrew
+it, to tug at it with all your might, apparently making as much progress
+as though you were fast to a dock-wall, and to continue this fun for
+four or five hours at a stretch, is to wonder indeed whether you have
+not mistaken your vocation.
+
+However, "it's dogged as does it," so by dint of sheer sticking to the
+oar, we eventually succeeded in getting all our prizes alongside before
+eight bells that evening, securing them around us by hawsers to the
+cows, but giving the big bull the post of honour alongside on the best
+fluke-chain.
+
+We were a busy company for a fortnight thence, until the last of the oil
+was run below--two hundred and fifty barrels, or twenty-five tuns,
+of the valuable fluid having rewarded our exertions. During these
+operations we had drifted night and day, apparently without anybody
+taking the slightest account of the direction we were taking; when,
+therefore, on the day after clearing up the last traces of our fishing,
+the cry of "Land ho!" came ringing down from the crow's-nest, no one was
+surprised, although the part of the Pacific in which we were cruising
+has but few patches of TERRA FIRMA scattered about over its immense area
+when compared with the crowded archipelagoes lying farther south and
+east.
+
+We could not see the reported land from the deck for two hours after
+it was first seen from aloft, although the odd spectacle of a scattered
+group of cocoa-nut trees apparently growing out of the sea was for some
+time presented to us before the island itself came into view. It
+was Christmas Island, where the indefatigable Captain Cook landed on
+December 24, 1777, for the purpose of making accurate observations of an
+eclipse of the sun. He it was who gave to this lonely atoll the name it
+has ever since borne, with characteristic modesty giving his own great
+name to a tiny patch of coral which almost blocks the entrance to the
+central lagoon. Here we lay "off and on" for a couple of days, while
+foraging parties went ashore, returning at intervals with abundance
+of turtle and sea-fowls' eggs. But any detailed account of their
+proceedings must be ruthlessly curtailed, owing to the scanty limits of
+space remaining.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX. EDGING SOUTHWARD
+
+The line whaling grounds embrace an exceedingly extensive area, over the
+whole of which sperm whales may be found, generally of medium size. No
+means of estimating the probable plenty or scarcity of them in any given
+part of the grounds exist, so that falling in with them is purely a
+matter of coincidence. To me it seems a conclusive proof of the enormous
+numbers of sperm whales frequenting certain large breadths of ocean,
+that they should be so often fallen in with, remembering what a little
+spot is represented by a day's cruise, and that the signs which denote
+almost infallibly the vicinity of right whales are entirely absent in
+the case of the cachalot. In the narrow waters of the Greenland seas,
+with quite a small number of vessels seeking, it is hardly possible for
+a whale of any size to escape being seen; but in the open ocean a goodly
+fleet may cruise over a space of a hundred thousand square miles without
+meeting any of the whales that may yet be there in large numbers. So
+that when one hears talk of the extinction of the cachalot, it is well
+to bear in mind that such a thing would take a long series of years to
+effect, even were the whaling business waxing instead of waning, While,
+however, South Sea whaling is conducted on such old-world methods
+as still obtain; while steam, with all the power it gives of rapidly
+dealing with a catch, is not made use of, the art and mystery of the
+whale-fisher must continually decrease. No such valuable lubricant has
+ever been found as sperm oil; but the cost of its production, added to
+the precarious nature of the supply, so handicaps it in the competition
+with substitutes that it has been practically eliminated from the
+English markets, except in such greatly adulterated forms as to render
+it a lie to speak of the mixture as sperm oil at all.
+
+Except to a few whose minds to them are kingdoms, and others who
+can hardly be said to have any minds at all, the long monotony of
+unsuccessful seeking for whales is very wearying. The ceaseless motion
+of the vessel rocking at the centre of a circular space of blue, with a
+perfectly symmetrical dome of azure enclosing her above, unflecked by
+a single cloud, becomes at last almost unbearable from its changeless
+sameness of environment. Were it not for the trivial round and common
+task of everyday ship duty, some of the crew must become idiotic, or, in
+sheer rage at the want of interest in their lives, commit mutiny.
+
+Such a weary time was ours for full four weeks after sighting Christmas
+Island. The fine haul we had obtained just previous to that day seemed
+to have exhausted our luck for the time being, for never a spout did we
+see. And it was with no ordinary delight that we hailed the advent of
+an immense school of black-fish, the first we had run across for a long
+time. Determined to have a big catch, if possible, we lowered all five
+boats, as it was a beautifully calm day, and the ship might almost
+safely have been left to look after herself. After what we had recently
+been accustomed to, the game seemed trifling to get up much excitement
+over; but still, for a good day's sport, commend me to a few lively
+black-fish.
+
+In less than ten minutes we were in the thick of the crowd, with
+harpoons flying right and left. Such a scene of wild confusion and
+uproarious merriment ensued as I never saw before in my life. The
+skipper, true to his traditions, got fast to four, all running different
+ways at once, and making the calm sea boil again with their frantic
+gyrations. Each of the other boats got hold of three; but, the mate
+getting too near me, our fish got so inextricably tangled up that it was
+hopeless to try and distinguish between each other's prizes. However,
+when we got the lances to work among them, the hubbub calmed down
+greatly, and the big bodies one by one ceased their gambols, floating
+supine.
+
+So far, all had been gay; but the unlucky second mate must needs go and
+do a thing that spoiled a day's fun entirely. The line runs through a
+deep groove in the boat's stem, over a brass roller so fitted that
+when the line is running out it remains fixed, but when hauling in it
+revolves freely, assisting the work a great deal. The second mate had
+three fish fast, like the rest of us--the first one on the end of the
+main line, the other two on "short warps," or pieces of whale-line some
+eight or ten fathoms long fastened to harpoons, with the other ends
+running on the main line by means of bowlines round it. By some mistake
+or other he had allowed the two lines to be hauled together through the
+groove in his boat's stem, and before the error was noticed two fish
+spurted off in opposite directions, ripping the boat in two halves
+lengthways, like a Dutchman splitting a salt herring.
+
+Away went the fish with the whole of the line, nobody being able to get
+at it to cut; and, but for the presence of mind shown by the crew
+in striking out and away from the tangle, a most ghastly misfortune,
+involving the loss of several lives, must have occurred. As it was, the
+loss was considerable, almost outweighing the gain on the day's fishing,
+besides the inconvenience of having a boat useless on a whaling grounds.
+
+The accident was the fruit of gross carelessness, and should never have
+occurred; but then, strange to say, disasters to whale-boats are nearly
+always due to want of care, the percentage of unavoidable casualties
+being very small as compared with those like the one just related. When
+the highly dangerous nature of the work is remembered, this statement
+may seem somewhat overdrawn; but it has been so frequently corroborated
+by others, whose experience far outweighs my own, that I do not hesitate
+to make it with the fullest confidence in its truth.
+
+Happily no lives were lost on this occasion, for it would have indeed
+been grievous to have seen our shipmates sacrificed to the MANES of a
+mere black-fish, after successfully encountering so many mighty whales.
+The episode gave us a great deal of unnecessary work getting the two
+halves of the boat saved, in addition to securing our fish, so that by
+the time we got the twelve remaining carcasses hove on deck we were all
+quite fagged out. But under the new regime we were sure of a good rest,
+so that did not trouble us; it rather made the lounge on deck in the
+balmy evening air and the well-filled pipe of peace doubly sweet.
+
+Our next day's work completed the skinning of the haul we had made, the
+last of the carcasses going overboard with a thunderous splash at
+four in the afternoon. The assemblage of sharks round the ship on
+this occasion was incredible for its number and the great size of the
+creatures. Certainly no mariners see so many or such huge sharks as
+whalemen; but, in spite of all our previous experience, this day touched
+high-water mark. Many of these fish were of a size undreamed of by the
+ordinary seafarer, some of them full thirty feet in length, more like
+whales than sharks. Most of them were striped diagonally with bands
+of yellow, contrasting curiously with the dingy grey of their normal
+colour. From this marking is derived their popular name--"tiger sharks,"
+not, as might be supposed, from their ferocity. That attribute cannot
+properly be applied to the SQUALUS at all, which is one of the
+most timid fish afloat, and whose ill name, as far as regards
+blood-thirstiness, is quite undeserved. Rapacious the shark certainly
+is; but what sea-fish is not? He is not at all particular as to his
+diet; but what sea-fish is? With such a great bulk of body, such
+enormous vitality and vigour to support, he must needs be ever eating;
+and since he is not constructed on swift enough lines to enable him
+to prey upon living fish, like most of his neighbours, he is perforce
+compelled to play the humble but useful part of a sea-scavenger.
+
+He eats man, as he eats anything else eatable because in the water man
+is easily caught, and not from natural depravity or an acquired taste
+begetting a decided preference for human flesh. All natives of shores
+infested by sharks despise him and his alleged man-eating propensities,
+knowing that a very feeble splashing will suffice to frighten him away
+even if ever so hungry. Demerara River literally swarms with sharks, yet
+I have often seen a negro, clad only in a beaming smile, slip into its
+muddy waters, and, after a few sharp blows with his open hand upon the
+surface, calmly swim down to the bottom, clear a ship's anchor, or
+do whatever job was required, coming up again as leisurely as if in a
+swimming-bath. A similar disregard of the dangerous attributes awarded
+by popular consent to the shark may be witnessed everywhere among the
+people who know him best. The cruelties perpetrated upon sharks by
+seamen generally are the result of ignorance and superstition combined,
+the most infernal forces known to humanity. What would be said at home
+of such an act, if it could be witnessed among us, as the disembowelling
+of a tiger, say, and then letting him run in that horrible condition
+somewhere remote from the possibility of retaliating upon his torturers?
+Yet that is hardly comparable with a similar atrocity performed upon
+a shark, because he will live hours to the tiger's minutes in such a
+condition.
+
+I once caught a shark nine feet long, which we hauled on board and
+killed by cutting off its head and tail. It died very speedily--for a
+shark--all muscular motion ceasing in less than fifteen minutes. It was
+my intention to prepare that useless and unornamental article so dear to
+sailors--a walking-stick made of a shark's backbone. But when I came to
+cut out the vertebra, I noticed a large scar, extending from one side to
+the other, right across the centre of the back. Beneath it the backbone
+was thickened to treble its normal size, and perfectly rigid; in fact,
+it had become a mass of solid bone. At some time or other this shark had
+been harpooned so severely that, in wrenching himself free, he must
+have nearly torn his body in two halves, severing the spinal column
+completely. Yet such a wound as that had been healed by natural process,
+the bone knit together again with many times the strength it had
+before--minus, of course, its flexibility--and I can testify from the
+experience of securing him that he could not possibly have been more
+vigorous than he was.
+
+A favourite practice used to be--I trust it is so no longer--to catch a
+shark, and, after driving a sharpened stake down through his upper jaw
+and out underneath the lower one, so that its upper portion pointed
+diagonally forward, to let him go again. The consequence of this cruelty
+would be that the fish was unable to open his mouth, or go in any
+direction without immediately coming to the surface. How long he might
+linger in such torture, one can only guess; but unless his fellows,
+finding him thus helpless, came along and kindly devoured him, no doubt
+he would exist in extreme agony for a very long time.
+
+Two more small cows were all that rewarded our search during the next
+fortnight, and we began to feel serious doubts as to the success of our
+season upon the line grounds, after all. Still, on the whole, our voyage
+up to the present had not been what might fairly be called unsuccessful,
+for we were not yet two years away from New Bedford, while we had
+considerably more than two thousand barrels of oil on board--more, in
+fact, than two-thirds of a full cargo. But if a whale were caught every
+other day for six months, and then a month elapsed without any being
+seen, grumbling would be loud and frequent, all the previous success
+being forgotten in the present stagnation. Perhaps it is not so
+different in other professions nearer home?
+
+Christmas Day drew near, beloved of Englishmen all the world over,
+though thought little of by Americans. The two previous ones spent on
+board the CACHALOT have been passed over without mention, absolutely no
+notice being taken of the season by any one on board, to all appearance.
+In English ships some attempt is always made to give the day somewhat
+of a festive character, and to maintain the national tradition of
+good-cheer and goodwill in whatever part of the world you may happen to
+be. For some reason or other, perhaps because of the great increase in
+comfort; we had all experienced lately, I felt the approach of the great
+Christian anniversary very strongly; although, had I been in London, I
+should probably have spent it in lonely gloom, having no relatives or
+friends whom I might visit. But what of that? Christmas is Christmas;
+and, if we have no home, we think of the place where our home should be;
+and whether, as cynics sneer, Dickens invented the English Christmas or
+not, its observance has taken deep root among us. May its shadow never
+be less!
+
+On Christmas morning I mounted to the crow's-nest at daybreak, and stood
+looking with never-failing awe at the daily marvel of the sunrise.
+Often and often have I felt choking for words to express the tumult of
+thoughts aroused by this sublime spectacle. Hanging there in cloudland,
+the tiny microcosm at one's feet forgotten, the grandeur of the
+celestial outlook is overwhelming. Many and many a time I have bowed
+my head and wept in pure reverence at the majesty manifested around
+me while the glory of the dawn increased and brightened, till with one
+exultant bound the sun appeared.
+
+For some time I stood gazing straight ahead of me with eyes that
+saw not, filled with wonder and admiration. I must have been looking
+directly at the same spot for quite a quarter of an hour, when suddenly,
+as if I had but just opened my eyes, I saw the well-known bushy spout of
+a sperm whale. I raised the usual yell, which rang through the stillness
+discordantly, startling all hands out of their lethargy like bees out
+of a hive. After the usual preliminaries, we were all afloat with
+sails set, gliding slowly over the sleeping sea towards the unconscious
+objects of our attention. The captain did not lower this time, as there
+only appeared to be three fish, none of them seeming large. Though at
+any distance it is extremely difficult to assess the size of whales, the
+spout being very misleading. Sometimes a full-sized whale will show a
+small spout, while a twenty-barrel cow will exhale a volume of vapour
+extensive enough for two or three at once.
+
+Now although, according to etiquette, I kept my position in the rear
+of my superior officers, I had fully determined in my own mind, being
+puffed up with previous success, to play second fiddle to no one, if
+I could help it, this time. Samuela was decidedly of the same opinion;
+indeed, I believe he would have been delighted to tackle a whole school
+single-handed, while my crew were all willing and eager for the fight.
+We had a long, tedious journey before we came up with them, the wind
+being so light that even with the occasional assistance of the paddles
+our progress was wretchedly slow. When at last we did get into their
+water, and the mate's harpooner stood up to dart, his foot slipped,
+and down he came with a clatter enough to scare a cachalot twenty
+miles away. It gallied our friends effectually, sending them flying in
+different directions at the top of their speed. But being some distance
+astern of the other boats, one of the fish, in his headlong retreat,
+rose for a final blow some six or seven fathoms away, passing us in
+the opposite direction. His appearance was only momentary, yet in that
+moment Samuela hurled his harpoon into the air, where it described a
+beautiful parabola, coming down upon the disappearing monster's back
+just as the sea was closing over it. Oh, it was a splendid dart,
+worthy of the finest harpooner that ever lived! There was no time for
+congratulations, however, for we spun round as on a pivot, and away we
+went in the wake of that fellow at a great rate. I cast one look astern
+to see whether the others had struck, but could see nothing of them; we
+seemed to have sprung out of their ken in an instant.
+
+The speed of our friend was marvellous, but I comforted myself with the
+knowledge that these animals usually run in circles--sometimes, it
+is true, of enormous diameter, but seldom getting far away from their
+starting-point. But as the time went on, and we seemed to fly over the
+waves at undiminished speed, I began to think this whale might be the
+exception necessary to prove the rule, so I got out the compass and
+watched his course. Due east, not a degree to north or south of it,
+straight as a bee to its hive. The ship was now far out of sight astern,
+but I knew that keen eyes had been watching our movements from the
+masthead, and that every effort possible would be made to keep the run
+of us. The speed of our whale was not only great, but unflagging. He was
+more like a machine than an animal capable of tiring; and though we did
+our level best, at the faintest symptom of slackening, to get up closer
+and lance him, it was for some time impossible. After, at a rough
+estimate, running in a direct easterly course for over two hours, he
+suddenly sounded, without having given us the ghost of a chance to "land
+him one where he lived." Judging from his previous exertions, though,
+it was hardly possible he would be able to stay down long, or get
+very deep, as the strain upon these vast creatures at any depth is
+astonishingly exhausting. After a longer stay below than usual, when
+they have gone extra deep, they often arrive at the surface manifestly
+"done up" for a time. Then, if the whaleman be active and daring, a
+few well-directed strokes may be got in which will promptly settle the
+business out of hand.
+
+Now, when my whale sounded he was to all appearance as frightened a
+beast as one could wish--one who had run himself out endeavouring to
+get away from his enemies, and as a last resource had dived into the
+quietness below in the vain hope to get away. So I regarded him, making
+up my mind to wait on him with diligence upon his arrival, and not allow
+him to get breath before I had settled him. But when he did return,
+there was a mighty difference in him. He seemed as if he had been
+getting some tips on the subject from some school below where whales are
+trained to hunt men; for his first move was to come straight for me
+with a furious rush, carrying the war into the enemy's country with
+a vengeance. It must be remembered that I was but young, and a
+comparatively new hand at this sort of thing; so when I confess that I
+felt more than a little scared at this sudden change in the tactics of
+my opponent, I hope I shall be excused. Remembering, however, that all
+our lives depended on keeping cool, I told myself that even if I was
+frightened I must not go all to pieces, but compel myself to think and
+act calmly, since I was responsible for others. If the animal had
+not been in so blind a fury, I am afraid my task would have been much
+harder; but he was mad, and his savage rushes were, though disquieting,
+unsystematic and clumsy. It was essential, however, that he should not
+be allowed to persist too long in his evil courses; for a whale learns
+with amazing rapidity, developing such cunning in an hour or two that
+all a man's smartness may be unable to cope with his newly acquired
+experience. Happily, Samuela was perfectly unmoved. Like a machine, he
+obeyed every gesture, every look even, swinging the boat "off" or "on"
+the whale with such sweeping strokes of his mighty oar that she revolved
+as if on a pivot, and encouraging the other chaps with his cheerful
+cries and odd grimaces, so that the danger was hardly felt. During a
+momentary lull in the storm, I took the opportunity to load my bomb-gun,
+much as I disliked handling the thing, keeping my eye all the time
+on the water around where I expected to see mine enemy popping up
+murderously at any minute. Just as I had expected, when he rose, it was
+very close, and on his back, with his jaw in the first biting position,
+looking ugly as a vision of death. Finding us a little out of reach,
+he rolled right over towards us, presenting as he did so the great
+rotundity of his belly. We were not twenty feet away, and I snatched up
+the gun, levelled it, and fired the bomb point-blank into his bowels.
+Then all was blank. I do not even remember the next moment. A rush of
+roaring waters, a fighting with fearful, desperate energy for air and
+life, all in a hurried, flurried phantasmagoria about which there was
+nothing clear except the primitive desire for life, life, life! Nor do
+I know how long this struggle lasted, except that, in the nature of
+things, it could not have been very long.
+
+When I returned to a consciousness of external things, I was for some
+time perfectly still, looking at the sky, totally unable to realize what
+had happened or where I was. Presently the smiling, pleasant face of
+Samuela bent over me. Meeting my gratified look of recognition, he set up
+a perfect yell of delight. "So glad, so glad you blonga life! No go Davy
+Jonesy dis time, hay?" I put my hand out to help myself to a sitting
+posture, and touched blubber. That startled me so that I sprung up as if
+shot. Then I took in the situation at a glance. There were all my poor
+fellows with me, stranded upon the top of our late antagonist, but
+no sign of the boat to be seen. Bewildered at the state of affairs, I
+looked appealingly from one to the other for an explanation. I got it
+from Abner, who said, laconically, "When yew fired thet ole gun, I guess
+it mus' have bin loaded fer bear, fer ye jest tumbled clar head over
+heels backwards outen the boat. Et that very same moment I suspicion the
+bomb busted in his belly, fer he went clean rampageous loony. He rolled
+right over an' over to'rds us, n' befo' we c'd rightly see wat wuz
+comin', we cu'dnt see anythin' 'tall; we wuz all grabbin' at nothin',
+some'rs underneath the whale. When I come to the top, I lit eout fer the
+fust thing I c'd see to lay holt of, which wuz old squarhead himself,
+deader 'n pork. I guess thet ar bomb o' yourn kinder upset his
+commissary department. Anyway, I climed up onto him, 'n bime-by the rest
+ov us histed themselves alongside ov me. Sam Weller here; he cum last,
+towin' you 'long with him. I don'no whar he foun' ye, but ye was very
+near a goner, 'n's full o' pickle as ye c'd hold." I turned a grateful
+eye upon my dusky harpooner, who had saved my life, but was now
+apparently blissfully unconscious of having done anything meritorious.
+
+Behold us, then, a half-drowned row of scarecrows perched, like some new
+species of dilapidated birds, upon the side of our late foe. The sun
+was not so furiously hot as usual, for masses of rain-laden NIMBI were
+filling the sky, so that we were comparatively free from the awful
+roasting we might have expected: nor was our position as precarious for
+a while as would be thought. True, we had only one harpoon, with its
+still fast line, to hold on by; but the side of the whale was somehow
+hollowed, so that, in spite of the incessant movement imparted to the
+carcass by the swell, we sat fairly safe, with our feet in the said
+hollow. We discussed the situation in all its bearings, unable to
+extract more than the faintest gleam of hope from any aspect of the
+case. The only reasonable chance we had was, that the skipper had almost
+certainly taken our bearings, and would, we were sure, be anxiously
+seeking us on the course thus indicated. Meanwhile, we were ravenously
+hungry and thirsty. Samuela and Polly set to work with their
+sheath-knives, and soon excavated a space in the blubber to enable them
+to reach the meat. Then they cut off some good-sized junks, and divided
+it up. It was not half bad; and as we chewed on the tough black fibre,
+I could hardly help smiling as I thought how queer a Christmas dinner
+we were having. But eating soon heightened our thirst, and our real
+sufferings then began. We could eat very little once the want of drink
+made itself felt. Hardly two hours had elapsed, though, before one
+of the big-bellied clouds which bad been keeping the sun off us most
+considerately emptied out upon us a perfect torrent of rain. It filled
+the cavity in the whale's side in a twinkling; and though the water was
+greasy, stained with blood, and vilely flavoured, it was as welcome a
+drink as I have ever tasted. Thus fed, and with our thirst slaked, we
+were able to take a more hopeful view of things while the prospect of
+our being found seemed much more probable than it had done before the
+rain fell.
+
+Still, we had to endure our pillory for a long while yet. The sharks and
+birds began to worry us, especially the former, who in their eagerness
+to get a portion of the blubber, fought, writhed and tore at the carcass
+with tireless energy. Once, one of the smaller ones actually came
+sliding up right into our hollow; but Samuela and Polly promptly
+dispatched him with a cut throat, sending him back to encourage the
+others. The present relieved us of most of their attentions for a short
+time at least, as they eagerly divided the remains of their late comrade
+among them.
+
+To while away the time we spun yarns--without much point, I am afraid;
+and sung songs, albeit we did not feel much like singing--till after a
+while our poor attempts at gaiety fizzled out like a damp match, leaving
+us silent and depressed. The sun, which had been hidden for some time,
+now came out again, his slanting beams revealing to us ominously the
+flight of time and the near approach of night. Should darkness overtake
+us in our present position, we all felt that saving us would need
+the performance of a miracle; for in addition to the chances of the
+accumulated gases within the carcass bursting it asunder, the unceasing
+assault of the sharks made it highly doubtful whether they would not in
+a few hours more have devoured it piecemeal. Already they had scooped
+out some deep furrows in the solid blubber, making it easier to get hold
+and tear off more, and their numbers were increasing so fast that the
+surrounding sea was fairly alive with them. Lower and lower sank the
+sun, deeper and darker grew the gloom upon our faces, till suddenly
+Samuela leaped to his feet in our midst, and emitted a yell so
+ear-piercing as to nearly deafen us. He saw the ship! Before two minutes
+had passed we all saw her--God bless her!--coming down upon us like
+some angelic messenger. There were no fears among us that we should be
+overlooked. We knew full well how anxiously and keenly many pairs
+of eyes had been peering over the sea in search of us, and we felt
+perfectly sure they had sighted us long ago. On she came, gilded by the
+evening glow, till she seemed glorified, moving in a halo of celestial
+light, all her homeliness and clumsy build forgotten in what she then
+represented to us.
+
+Never before or since has a ship looked like that, to me, nor can I ever
+forget the thankfulness, the delight, the reverence, with which I once
+more saw her approaching. Straight down upon us she bore, rounding to
+within a cable's length, and dropping a boat simultaneously with her
+windward sweep. They had no whale--well for us they had not. In five
+minutes we were on board, while our late resting-place was being hauled
+alongside with great glee.
+
+The captain shook hands with me cordially, pooh-poohing the loss of
+the boat as an unavoidable incident of the trade, but expressing his
+heart-felt delight at getting us all back safe. The whale we had killed
+was ample compensation for the loss of several boats, though such was
+the vigour with which the sharks were going for him, that it was deemed
+advisable to cut in at once, working all night. We who had been rescued,
+however, were summarily ordered below by the skipper, and forbidden, on
+pain of his severe displeasure, to reappear until the following morning.
+This great privilege we gladly availed ourselves of, awaking at daylight
+quite well and fit, not a bit the worse for our queer experience of the
+previous day.
+
+The whale proved a great acquisition, for although not nearly so large
+as many we had caught, he was so amazingly rich in blubber that he
+actually yielded twelve and a half tuns of oil, in spite of the heavy
+toll taken of him by the hungry multitudes of sharks. In addition to the
+oil, we were fortunate enough to secure a lump of ambergris, dislodged
+perhaps by the explosion of my bomb in the animal's bowels. It was
+nearly black, wax-like to the touch, and weighed seven pounds and a
+half. At the current price, it would be worth about L200, so that, taken
+altogether, the whale very nearly approached in value the largest one we
+had yet caught. I had almost omitted to state that incorporated with the
+substance of the ambergris were several of the horny cuttle-fish beaks,
+which, incapable of being digested, had become in some manner part of
+this peculiar product.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX. "HUMPBACKING" AT VAU VAU
+
+Another three weeks' cruising brought us to the end of the season on the
+line, which had certainly not answered all our expectations, although
+we had perceptibly increased the old barky's draught during our stay.
+Whether from love of change or belief in the possibilities of a good
+haul, I can hardly say, but Captain Count decided to make the best of
+his way south, to the middle group of the "Friendly" Archipelago,
+known as Vau Vau, the other portions being called Hapai and Tongataboo
+respectively, for a season's "humpbacking." From all I could gather, we
+were likely to have a good time there, so I looked forward to the visit
+with a great deal of pleasurable anticipation.
+
+We were bound to make a call at Vau Vau, in any case, to discharge our
+Kanakas shipped at Honolulu, although I fervently hoped to be able to
+keep my brave harpooner Samuela. So when I heard of our destination,
+I sounded him cautiously as to his wishes in the matter, finding that,
+while he was both pleased with and proud of his position on board,
+he was longing greatly for his own orange grove and the embraces of a
+certain tender "fafine" that he averred was there awaiting him. With
+such excellent reasons for his leaving us, I could but forbear to
+persuade him, sympathizing with him too deeply to wish him away from
+such joys as he described to me.
+
+So we bade farewell to the line grounds, and commenced another stretch
+to the south, another milestone, as it were, on the long road home.
+Prosaic and uneventful to the last degree was our passage, the only
+incident worth recording being our "gamming" of the PASSAMAQUODDY,
+of Martha's Vineyard, South Sea whaler; eighteen months out, with one
+thousand barrels of sperm oil on board. We felt quite veterans alongside
+of her crew, and our yarns laid over theirs to such an extent that they
+were quite disgusted at their lack of experience. Some of them had known
+our late skipper, but none of them had a good word for him, the old
+maxim, "Speak nothing but good of the dead," being most flagrantly set
+at nought. One of her crew was a Whitechapelian, who had been roving
+about the world for a good many years.
+
+Amongst other experiences, he had, after "jumping the bounty" two
+or three times, found himself a sergeant in the Federal Army before
+Gettysburg. During that most bloody battle, he informed me that a "Reb"
+drew a bead on him at about a dozen yards' distance, and fired, He said
+he felt just as if somebody had punched him in the chest, and knocked
+him flat on his back on top of a sharp stone--no pain at all, nor any
+further recollection of what had happened, until he found himself at the
+base, in hospital. When the surgeons came to examine him for the bullet,
+they found that it had struck the broad brass plate of his cross-belt
+fairly in the middle, penetrating it and shattering his breast bone. But
+after torturing him vilely with the probe, they were about to give up
+the search in despair, when he told them he felt a pain in his back.
+Examining the spot indicated by him, they found a bullet just beneath
+the skin, which a touch with the knife allowed to tumble out. Further
+examination revealed the strange fact that the bullet, after striking
+his breast-bone, had glanced aside and travelled round his body just
+beneath the skin, without doing him any further harm. In proof of his
+story, he showed me the two scars and the perforated buckle-plate.
+
+At another time, being in charge of a picket of Germans, he and his
+command were captured by a party of Confederates, who haled him before
+their colonel, a southern gentleman of the old school. In the course of
+his interrogation by the southern officer, he was asked where he hailed
+from. He replied, "London, England." "Then," said the colonel, "how is
+it you find yourself fighting for these accursed Yankees?" The cockney
+faltered out some feeble excuse or another, which his captor cut short
+by saying, "I've a great respect for the English, and consequently I'll
+let you go this time. But if ever I catch you again, you're gone up.
+As for those d-----d Dutchmen, they'll be strung up inside of five
+minutes." And they were.
+
+So with yarn, song, and dance, the evening passed pleasantly away;
+while the two old hookers jogged amicably along side by side, like two
+market-horses whose drivers are having a friendly crack. Along about
+midnight we exchanged crews again, and parted with many expressions of
+good-will--we to the southward, she to the eastward, for some particular
+preserve believed in by her commander.
+
+In process of time we made the land of Vau Vau, a picturesque, densely
+wooded, and in many places precipitous, group of islands, the approach
+being singularly free from dangers in the shape of partly hidden reefs.
+Long and intricate were the passages we threaded, until we finally came
+to anchor in a lovely little bay perfectly sheltered from all winds. We
+moored, within a mile of a dazzling white beach, in twelve fathoms. A
+few native houses embowered in orange and cocoa-nut trees showed here
+and there, while the two horns of the bay were steep-to, and covered
+with verdure almost down to the water's edge. The anchor was hardly down
+before a perfect fleet of canoes flocked around us, all carrying the
+familiar balancing outrigger, without which those narrow dugouts cannot
+possibly keep upright. Their occupants swarmed on board, laughing and
+playing like so many children, and with all sorts of winning gestures
+and tones besought our friendship. "You my flem?" was the one question
+which all asked; but what its import might be we could not guess for
+some time. By-and-by it appeared that when once you had agreed to accept
+a native for your "flem," or friend, he from henceforward felt in duty
+bound to attend to all your wants which it lay within his power to
+supply. This important preliminary settled, fruit and provisions of
+various kinds appeared as if by magic. Huge baskets of luscious oranges,
+massive bunches of gold and green bananas, clusters of green cocoa-nuts,
+conch-shells full of chillies, fowls loudly protesting against their
+hard fate, gourds full of eggs, and a few vociferous swine--all came
+tumbling on board in richest profusion, and, strangest thing of all,
+not a copper was asked in return. I might have as truly said nothing
+was asked, since money must have been useless here. Many women came
+alongside, but none climbed on board. Surprised at this, I asked Samuela
+the reason, as soon as I could disengage him for a few moments from the
+caresses of his friends. He informed me that the ladies' reluctance to
+favour us with their society was owing to their being in native dress,
+which it is punishable to appear in among white men, the punishment
+consisting of a rather heavy fine. Even the men and boys, I noticed,
+before they ventured to climb on board, stayed a while to put on
+trousers, or what did duty for those useful articles of dress. At any
+rate, they were all clothed, not merely enwrapped with a fold or two of
+"tapa," the native bark-cloth, but made awkward and ugly by dilapidated
+shirts and pants.
+
+She was a busy ship for the rest of that day. The anchor down, sails
+furled and decks swept, the rest of the time was our own, and high jinks
+were the result. The islanders were amiability personified, merry as
+children, nor did I see or hear one quarrelsome individual among them.
+While we were greedily devouring the delicious fruit, which was piled on
+deck in mountainous quantities, they encouraged us, telling us that the
+trees ashore were breaking down under their loads, and what a pity it
+was that there were so few to eat such bountiful supplies.
+
+We were, it appeared, the first whale-ship that had anchored there that
+year, and, in that particular bay where we lay, no vessel had moored for
+over two years. An occasional schooner from Sydney called at the "town"
+about ten miles away, where the viceroy's house was, and at the present
+time of speaking one of Godeffroi's Hamburg ships was at anchor there,
+taking in an accumulation of copra from her agent's store. But the
+natives all spoke of her with a shrug--"No like Tashman. Tashman no
+good." Why, I could not ascertain.
+
+Our Kanakas had promised to remain with us till our departure for
+the south, so, hard as it seemed to them, they were not allowed to go
+ashore, in case they might not come back, and leave us short-handed.
+But as their relatives and friends could visit them whenever they felt
+inclined, the restriction did not hurt them much. The next day, being
+Sunday, all hands were allowed liberty to go ashore by turns (except the
+Kanakas), with strict injunctions to molest no one, but to behave as if
+in a big town guarded by policemen. As no money could be spent, none was
+given, and, best of all, it was impossible to procure any intoxicating
+liquor.
+
+Our party got ashore about 9.30, but not a soul was visible either on
+the beach or in the sun-lit paths which led through the forest inland.
+Here and there a house, with doors wide open, stood in its little
+cleared space, silent and deserted. It was like a country without
+inhabitants. Presently, however, a burst of melody arrested us, and
+borne upon the scented breeze came oh, so sweetly!--the well-remembered
+notes of "Hollingside." Hurriedly getting behind a tree, I let myself
+go, and had a perfectly lovely, soul-refreshing cry. Reads funny,
+doesn't it? Sign of weakness perhaps. But when childish memories come
+back upon one torrent-like in the swell of a hymn or the scent of the
+hawthorn, it seems to me that the flood-gates open without you having
+anything to do with it. When I was a little chap in the Lock Chapel
+choir, before the evil days came, that tune was my favourite; and when
+I heard it suddenly come welling up out of the depths of the forest,
+my heart just stood still for a moment, and then the tears came. Queer
+idea, perhaps, to some people; but I do not know when I enjoyed myself
+so much as I did just then, except when a boy of sixteen home from a
+voyage, and strolling along the Knightsbridge Road, I "happened" into
+the Albert Hall. I did not in the least know what was coming; the
+notices on the bills did not mean anything to me; but I paid my
+shilling, and went up into the gallery. I had hardly edged myself into
+a corner by the refreshment-stall, when a great breaker of sound
+caught me, hurled me out of time, thought, and sense in one intolerable
+ecstasy--"For unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is given"--again
+and again--billows and billows of glory. I gasped for breath, shook like
+one in an ague fit; the tears ran down in a continuous stream; while
+people stared amazed at me, thinking, I suppose, that I was another
+drunken sailor. Well, I was drunk, helplessly intoxicated, but not
+with drink, with something Divine, untellable, which, coming upon me
+unprepared, simply swept me away with it into a heaven of delight, to
+which only tears could testify.
+
+But I am in the bush, whimpering over the tones of "Hollingside." As
+soon as I had pulled myself together a bit, we went on again in the
+direction of the sound, Presently we came to a large clearing, in the
+middle of which stood a neat wooden, pandanus-thatched church. There
+were no doors or windows to it, just a roof supported upon posts, but a
+wide verandah ran all round, upon the edge of which we seated ourselves;
+for the place was full--full to suffocation, every soul within miles,
+I should think, being there. No white man was present, but the service,
+which was a sort of prayer-meeting, went with a swing and go that
+was wonderful to see. There was no perfunctory worship here; no one
+languidly enduring it because it was "the right sort of thing to show up
+at, you know;" but all were in earnest, terribly in earnest. When they
+sang, it behoved us to get away to a little distance, for the vigour of
+the voices, unless mellowed by distance, made the music decidedly harsh.
+Every one was dressed in European clothing--the women in neat calico
+gowns; but the men, nearly all of them, in woollen shirts, pilot-coats,
+and trousers to match, and sea-boots! Whew! it nearly stifled me to look
+at them. The temperature was about ninety degrees in the shade, with
+hardly a breath of air stirring, yet those poor people, from some
+mistaken notion of propriety, were sweating in torrents under that
+Arctic rig. However they could worship, I do not know! At last the
+meeting broke up. The men rushed out, tore off their coats, trousers,
+and shirts, and flung themselves panting upon the grass, mother-naked,
+except for a chaplet of cocoanut leaves, formed by threading them on a
+vine-tendril, and hanging round the waist.
+
+Squatting by the side of my "flem," whom I had recognized, I asked
+him why ever he outraged all reason by putting on such clothes in
+this boiling weather. He looked at me pityingly for a moment before he
+replied, "You go chapella Belitani? No put bes' close on top?" "Yes,"
+I said; "but in hot weather put on thin clothes; cold weather, put on
+thick ones." "S'pose no got more?" he said, meaning, I presumed, more
+than the one suit. "Well," I said, "more better stop 'way than look
+like big fool, boil all away, same like duff in pot. You savvy duff?" He
+smiled a wide comprehensive smile, but looked very solemn again,
+saying directly, "You no go chapella; you no mishnally. No mishnally
+[missionary=godly]; very bad. Me no close; no go chapella; vely bad.
+Evelly tangata, evelly fafine, got close all same papalang [every man
+and woman has clothes like a white man]; go chapella all day Sunday."
+That this was no figure of speech I proved fully that day, for I declare
+that the recess between any of the services never lasted more than an
+hour. Meanwhile the worshippers did not return to their homes, for in
+many cases they had journeyed twenty or thirty miles, but lay about
+in the verdure, refreshing themselves with fruit, principally the
+delightful green cocoa-nuts, which furnish meat and drink both--cool and
+refreshing in the extreme, as well as nourishing.
+
+We were all heartily welcome to whatever was going, but there was
+a general air of restraint, a fear of breaking the Sabbath, which
+prevented us from trespassing too much upon the hospitality of these
+devout children of the sun. So we contented ourselves with strolling
+through the beautiful glades and woods, lying down, whenever we felt
+weary, under the shade of some spreading orange tree loaded with golden
+fruit, and eating our fill, or rather eating until the smarting of our
+lips warned us to desist. Here was a land where, apparently, all people
+were honest, for we saw a great many houses whose owners were absent,
+not one of which was closed, although many had a goodly store of such
+things as a native might be supposed to covet. At last, not being able
+to rid ourselves of the feeling that we were doing something wrong, the
+solemn silence and Sundayfied air of the whole region seeming to forbid
+any levity even in the most innocent manner, we returned on board again,
+wonderfully impressed with what we had seen, but wondering what would
+have happened if some of the ruffianly crowds composing the crews of
+many ships had been let loose upon this fair island.
+
+In the evening we lowered a stage over the bows to the water's edge, and
+had a swimming-match, the water being perfectly delightful, after the
+great heat of the day, in its delicious freshness; and so to bunk, well
+pleased indeed with our first Sunday in Vau Vau.
+
+I have no doubt whatever that some of the gentry who swear at large
+about the evils of missionaries would have been loud in their disgust at
+the entire absence of drink and debauchery, and the prevalence of what
+they would doubtless characterize as adjective hypocrisy on the part of
+the natives; but no decent man could help rejoicing at the peace, the
+security, and friendliness manifested on every hand, nor help awarding
+unstinted praise to whoever had been the means of bringing about so
+desirable a state of things. I felt that their Sabbatarianism was
+carried to excess; that they would have been better, not worse, for a
+little less church, and a little more innocent fun; but ten thousand
+times better thus than such scenes of lust let loose and abandoned
+animalism as we witnessed at Honolulu. What pleased me mightily was
+the absence of the white man with his air of superiority and sleek
+overlordship. All the worship, all the management of affairs, was
+entirely in the hands of the natives themselves, and excellently well
+did they manage everything.
+
+I shall never forget once going ashore in a somewhat similar place, but
+very far distant, one Sunday morning, to visit the mission station. It
+was a Church mission, and a very handsome building the church was. By
+the side of it stood the parsonage, a beautiful bungalow, nestling in a
+perfect paradise of tropical flowers. The somewhat intricate service was
+conducted, and the sermon preached, entirely by natives--very creditably
+too. After service I strolled into the parsonage to see the reverend
+gentleman in charge, whom I found supporting his burden in a long chair,
+with a tall glass of brandy and soda within easy reach, a fine cigar
+between his lips, and a late volume of Ouida's in his hand. All very
+pleasant and harmless, no doubt, but hardly reconcilable with the ideal
+held up in missionary magazines. Yet I have no doubt whatever that this
+gentleman would have been heartily commended by the very men who can
+hardly find words harsh enough to express their opinion of missionaries
+of the stamp of Paton, Williams, Moffat, and Mackenzie.
+
+Well, it is highly probable--nay, almost certain, that I shall be
+accused of drawing an idyllic picture of native life from first
+impressions, which, if I had only had sufficient subsequent experience
+among the people, I should have entirely altered. All I can say is, that
+although I did not live among them ashore, we had a number of them on
+board; we lay in the island harbour five months, during which I was
+ashore nearly every day, and from habit I observed them very closely;
+yet I cannot conscientiously alter one syllable of what I have written
+concerning them. Bad men and women there were, of course, to be
+found--as where not?--but the badness, in whatever form, was not allowed
+to flaunt itself, and was so sternly discountenanced by public (entirely
+native) opinion, that it required a good deal of interested seeking to
+find.
+
+But after all this chatter about my amiable friends, I find myself
+in danger of forgetting the purpose of our visit. We lost no time in
+preparation, since whaling of whatever sort is conducted in these ships
+on precisely similar lines, but on Monday morning, at daybreak, after a
+hurried breakfast, lowered all boats and commenced the campaign. We were
+provided with boxes--one for each boat--containing a light luncheon, but
+no ordered meal, because it was not considered advisable to in any way
+hamper the boat's freedom to chase. Still, in consideration of its being
+promptly dumped overboard on attacking a whale, a goodly quantity of
+fruit was permitted in the boats.
+
+In the calm beauty of the pearly dawn, with a gentle hush over all
+nature, the lofty, tree-clad hills reflected with startling fidelity in
+the glassy, many-coloured waters, the only sound audible the occasional
+cra-a-ake of the advance-guard of a flight of fruit-bats (PECA) homeward
+from their nocturnal depredations, we shipped our oars and started,
+pulling to a certain position whence we could see over an immense area.
+Immediately upon rounding the horn of our sheltered bay, the fresh
+breeze of the south-east trades met us right on end with a vigour that
+made a ten-mile steady pull against it somewhat of a breather. Arriving
+at the station indicated by the chief, we set sail, and, separating as
+far as possible without losing sight of each other, settled down for
+the day's steady cruise. Anything more delightful than that excursion
+to those who love seashore scenery combined with boat-sailing would be
+difficult to name. Every variety of landscape, every shape of strait,
+bay, or estuary, reefs awash, reefs over which we could sail, ablaze
+with loveliness inexpressible; a steady, gentle, caressing breeze, and
+overhead one unvarying canopy of deepest blue. Sometimes, when skirting
+the base of some tremendous cliffs, great caution was necessary, for at
+one moment there would obtain a calm, death-like in its stillness; the
+next, down through a canyon cleaving the mountain to the water's edge
+would come rushing with a shrill howl, a blast fierce enough to almost
+lift us out of the water. Away we would scud with flying sheets dead
+before it, in a smother of spray, but would hardly get full way on her
+before it was gone, leaving us in the same hush as before, only a dark
+patch on the water far to leeward marking its swift rush. These little
+diversions gave us no uneasiness, for it was an unknown thing to make a
+sheet fast in one of our boats, so that a puff of wind never caught us
+unprepared.
+
+On that first day we seemed to explore such a variety of stretches
+of water that one would hardly have expected there could be any more
+discoveries to make in that direction. Nevertheless, each day's cruise
+subsequently revealed to us some new nook or other, some quiet haven or
+pretty passage between islands that, until closely approached, looked
+like one. When, at sunset, we returned to the ship, not having seen
+anything like a spout, I felt like one who had been in a dream, the
+day's cruise having surpassed all my previous experience. Yet it was but
+the precursor of many such. Oftentimes I think of those halcyon days,
+with a sigh of regret that they can never more be renewed to me; but I
+rejoice to think that nothing can rob me of the memory of them.
+
+Much to the discomfort of the skipper, it was four days before a
+solitary spout was seen, and then it was so nearly dark that before the
+fish could be reached it was impossible to distinguish her whereabouts.
+A careful bearing was taken of the spot, in the hope that she might be
+lingering in the vicinity next morning, and we hastened on board.
+
+Before it was fairly light we lowered, and paddled as swiftly as
+possible to the bay where we had last seen the spout overnight. When
+near the spot we rested on our paddles a while, all hands looking out
+with intense eagerness for the first sign of the whale's appearance.
+There was a strange feeling among us of unlawfulness and stealth, as
+of ambushed pirates waiting to attack some unwary merchantman, or
+highwaymen waylaying a fat alderman on a country road. We spoke
+in whispers, for the morning was so still that a voice raised but
+ordinarily would have reverberated among the rocks which almost overhung
+us, multiplied indefinitely. A turtle rose ghost-like to the surface
+at my side, lifting his queer head, and, surveying us with stony gaze,
+vanished as silently as he came.
+
+What a sigh! One looked at the other inquiringly, but the repetition of
+that long expiration satisfied us all that it was the placid breathing
+of the whale we sought somewhere close at hand, The light grew rapidly
+better, and we strained our eyes in every direction to discover the
+whereabouts of our friend, but, for some minutes without result. There
+was a ripple just audible, and away glided the mate's boat right for the
+near shore. Following him with our eyes, we almost immediately beheld a
+pale, shadowy column of white, shimmering against the dark mass of the
+cliff not a quarter of a mile away. Dipping our paddles with the utmost
+care, we made after the chief, almost holding our breath. His harpooner
+rose, darted once, twice, then gave a yell of triumph that ran
+re-echoing all around in a thousand eerie vibrations, startling the
+drowsy PECA in myriads from where they hung in inverted clusters on the
+trees above. But, for all the notice taken by the whale, she might never
+have been touched. Close nestled to her side was a youngling of not
+more, certainly, than five days old, which sent up its baby-spout
+every now and then about two feet into the air. One long, wing-like fin
+embraced its small body, holding it close to the massive breast of
+the tender mother, whose only care seemed to be to protect her young,
+utterly regardless of her own pain and danger. If sentiment were ever
+permitted to interfere with such operations as ours, it might well have
+done so now; for while the calf continually sought to escape from the
+enfolding fin, making all sorts of puny struggles in the attempt, the
+mother scarcely moved from her position, although streaming with blood
+from a score of wounds. Once, indeed, as a deep-searching thrust
+entered her very vitals, she raised her massy flukes high in air with
+an apparently involuntary movement of agony; but even in that dire
+throe she remembered the possible danger to her young one, and laid the
+tremendous weapon as softly down upon the water as if it were a feather
+fan.
+
+So in the most perfect quiet, with scarcely a writhe, nor any sign of
+flurry, she died, holding the calf to her side until her last
+vital spark had fled, and left it to a swift despatch with a single
+lance-thrust. No slaughter of a lamb ever looked more like murder. Nor,
+when the vast bulk and strength of the animal was considered, could a
+mightier example have been given of the force and quality of maternal
+love.
+
+The whole business was completed in half an hour from the first sight
+of her, and by the mate's hand alone, none of the other boats needing
+to use their gear. As soon as she was dead, a hole was bored through the
+lips, into which a tow-line was secured, the two long fins were lashed
+close into the sides of the animal by an encircling line, the tips of
+the flukes were cut off, and away we started for the ship. We had an
+eight-mile tow in the blazing sun, which we accomplished in a little
+over eight, hours, arriving at the vessel just before two p.m. News of
+our coming had preceded us, and the whole native population appeared to
+be afloat to make us welcome. The air rang again with their shouts of
+rejoicing, for our catch represented to them a gorgeous feast, such as
+they had not indulged in for many a day. The flesh of the humpbacked
+whale is not at all bad, being but little inferior to that of the
+porpoise; so that, as these people do not despise even the coarse rank
+flesh of the cachalot, their enthusiasm was natural. Their offers of
+help were rather embarrassing to us, as we could find little room for
+any of them in the boats, and the canoes only got in our way. Unable to
+assist us, they vented their superfluous energies on the whale in the
+most astounding aquatic antics imaginable--diving under it; climbing
+on to it; pushing and rolling each other headlong over its broad back;
+shrieking all the while with the frantic, uncontrollable laughter of
+happy children freed from all restraint. Men, women, and children all
+mixed in this wild, watery spree; and as to any of them getting drowned,
+the idea was utterly absurd.
+
+When we got it alongside, and prepared to cut in, all the chaps were
+able to have a rest, there were so many eager volunteers to man the
+windlass, not only willing but, under the able direction of their
+compatriots belonging to our crew, quite equal to the work of heaving
+in blubber. All their habitual indolence was cast aside. Toiling like
+Trojans, they made the old windlass rattle again as they spun the brakes
+up and down, every blanket-piece being hailed with a fresh volley of
+eldritch shrieks, enough to alarm a deaf and dumb asylum.
+
+With such ample aid, it was, as may be supposed a brief task to skin our
+prize, although the strange arrangement of the belly blubber caused
+us to lift some disappointing lengths. This whale has the blubber
+underneath the body lying in longitudinal corrugations, which, when
+hauled off the carcass at right angles to their direction, stretch
+out flat to four or five times their normal area. Thus, when the
+cutting-blocks had reached their highest limit, and the piece was
+severed from the body, the folds flew together again leaving dangling
+aloft but a miserable square of some four or five feet, instead of
+a fine "blanket" of blubber twenty by five. Along the edges of these
+RUGAE, as also upon the rim of the lower jaw, abundance of limpets and
+barnacles had attached themselves, some of the former large as a horse's
+hoof, and causing prodigious annoyance to the toiling carpenter, whose
+duty it was to keep the spades ground. It was no unusual thing for a
+spade to be handed in with two or three gaps in its edge half an inch
+deep, where they had accidentally come across one of those big pieces
+of flinty shell, undistinguishable from the grey substance of the belly
+blubber.
+
+But, in spite of these drawbacks, in less than ninety minutes the last
+cut was reached, the vertebra severed, and away went the great mass of
+meat, in tow of countless canoes, to an adjacent point, where, in eager
+anticipation, fires were already blazing for the coming cookery. An
+enormous number of natives had gathered from far and near, late arrivals
+continually dropping in from all points of the compass with breathless
+haste. No danger of going short need have troubled them, for, large as
+were their numbers, the supply was evidently fully equal to all demands.
+All night long the feast proceeded, and, even when morning dawned, busy
+figures were still discernible coming and going between the reduced
+carcass and the fires, as if determined to make an end of it before
+their operations ceased.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI. PROGRESS OF THE "HUMPBACK" SEASON
+
+It will probably be inferred from the foregoing paragraph that we were
+little troubled with visits from the natives next day; but it would be
+doing them an injustice if I omitted to state that our various "flems"
+put in an appearance as usual with their daily offerings of fruit,
+vegetables, etc. They all presented a somewhat jaded and haggard look,
+as of men who had dined not wisely but too well, nor did the odour of
+stale whale-meat that clung to them add to their attractions. Repentance
+for excesses or gluttony did not seem to trouble them, for they
+evidently considered it would have been a sin not to take with both
+hands the gifts the gods had so bountifully provided. Still, they did
+not stay long, feeling, no doubt, sore need of a prolonged rest after
+their late arduous exertions; so, after affectionate farewells, they
+left us again to our greasy task of trying-out.
+
+The cow proved exceedingly fat, making us, though by no means a large
+specimen, fully fifty barrels of oil. The whalebone (baleen) was so
+short as to be not worth the trouble of curing, so, with the exception
+of such pieces as were useful to the "scrimshoners" for ornamenting
+their nicknacks, it was not preserved. On the evening of the third
+day the work was so far finished that we were able to go ashore for
+clothes-washing, which necessary process was accompanied with a good
+deal of fun and hilarity. In the morning cruising was resumed again.
+
+For a couple of days we met with no success, although we had a very
+aggravating chase after some smart bulls we fell in with, to our mutual
+astonishment, just as we rounded a point of the outermost island. They
+were lazily sunning themselves close under the lee of the cliffs, which
+at that point were steep-to, having a depth of about twenty fathoms
+close alongside. A fresh breeze was blowing, so we came round the point
+at a great pace, being almost among them before they had time to escape.
+They went away gaily along the land, not attempting to get seaward,
+we straining every nerve to get alongside of them. Whether they were
+tantalizing us or not, I cannot say, but certainly it looked like it. In
+spite of their well-known speed, we were several times so close in their
+wake that the harpooners loosed the tacks of the jibs to get a clear
+shot; but as they did so the nimble monsters shot ahead a length or
+two, leaving us just out of reach. It was a fine chase while it lasted,
+though annoying; yet one could hardly help feeling amused at the way
+they wallowed along--just like a school of exaggerated porpoises. At
+last, after nearly two hours of the fun, they seemed to have had enough
+of it, and with one accord headed seaward at a greatly accelerated pace,
+as who should say, "Well, s' long, boys; company's very pleasant and
+all that, but we've got important business over at Fiji, and can't stay
+fooling around here any longer." In a quarter of an hour they were out
+of sight, leaving us disgusted and outclassed pursuers sneaking back
+again to shelter, feeling very small. Not that we could have had much
+hope of success under the circumstances, knowing the peculiar habits of
+the humpback and the almost impossibility of competing with him in the
+open sea; but they had lured us on to forget all these things in the
+ardour of the chase, and then exposed our folly.
+
+Then ensued a week or two of uneventful cruising, broken only by
+the capture of a couple of cows--one just after the fruitless chase
+mentioned above, and one several days later. These events, though
+interesting enough to us, were marked by no such deviation from the
+ordinary course as to make them worthy of special attention; nor do I
+think that the cold-blooded killing of a cow-whale, who dies patiently
+endeavouring to protect her young, is a subject that lends itself to
+eulogium.
+
+However, just when the delightful days were beginning to pall upon us,
+a real adventure befell us, which, had we been attending strictly to
+business, we should not have encountered. For a week previous we had
+been cruising constantly without ever seeing a spout, except those
+belonging to whales out at sea, whither we knew it was folly to
+follow them. We tried all sorts of games to while away the time, which
+certainly did hang heavy, the most popular of which was for the whole
+crew of the boat to strip, and, getting overboard, be towed along at the
+ends of short warps, while I sailed her. It was quite mythological--a
+sort of rude reproduction of Neptune and his attendant Tritons. At last,
+one afternoon as we were listlessly lolling (half asleep, except the
+look-out man) across the thwarts, we suddenly came upon a gorge between
+two cliffs that we must have passed before several times unnoticed. At
+a certain angle it opened, disclosing a wide sheet of water, extending a
+long distance ahead. I put the helm up, and we ran through the passage,
+finding it about a boat's length in width and several fathoms deep,
+though overhead the cliffs nearly came together in places. Within, the
+scene was very beautiful, but not more so than many similar ones we had
+previously witnessed. Still, as the place was new to us, our languor was
+temporarily dispelled, and we paddled along, taking in every feature of
+the shores with keen eyes that let nothing escape. After we had gone
+on in this placid manner for maybe an hour, we suddenly came to a
+stupendous cliff--that is, for those parts--rising almost sheer from the
+water for about a thousand feet. Of itself it would not have arrested
+our attention, but at its base was a semicircular opening, like the
+mouth of a small tunnel. This looked alluring, so I headed the boat for
+it, passing through a deep channel between two reefs which led straight
+to the opening. There was ample room for us to enter, as we had lowered
+the mast; but just as we were passing through, a heave of the unnoticed
+swell lifted us unpleasantly near the crown of this natural arch.
+Beneath us, at a great depth, the bottom could be dimly discerned, the
+water being of the richest blue conceivable, which the sun, striking
+down through, resolved into some most marvellous colour-schemes in the
+path of its rays. A delicious sense of coolness, after the fierce heat
+outside, saluted us as we entered a vast hall, whose roof rose to a
+minimum height of forty feet, but in places could not be seen at all.
+A sort of diffused light, weak, but sufficient to reveal the general
+contour of the place, existed, let in, I supposed, through some unseen
+crevices in the roof or walls. At first, of course, to our eyes fresh
+from the fierce glare outside, the place seemed wrapped in impenetrable
+gloom, and we dared not stir lest we should run into some hidden
+danger. Before many minutes, however, the gloom lightened as our pupils
+enlarged, so that, although the light was faint, we could find our way
+about with ease. We spoke in low tones, for the echoes were so numerous
+and resonant that even a whisper gave back from those massy walls in a
+series of recurring hisses, as if a colony of snakes had been disturbed.
+
+We paddled on into the interior of this vast cave, finding everywhere
+the walls rising sheer from the silent, dark waters, not a ledge or a
+crevice where one might gain foothold. Indeed, in some places there was
+a considerable overhang from above, as if a great dome whose top was
+invisible sprang from some level below the water. We pushed ahead until
+the tiny semicircle of light through which we had entered was only
+faintly visible; and then, finding there was nothing to be seen except
+what we were already witnessing, unless we cared to go on into the thick
+darkness, which extended apparently into the bowels of the mountain, we
+turned and started to go back. Do what we would, we could not venture to
+break the solemn hush that surrounded us as if we were shut within the
+dome of some vast cathedral in the twilight, So we paddled noiselessly
+along for the exit, till suddenly an awful, inexplicable roar set all
+our hearts thumping fit to break our bosoms. Really, the sensation was
+most painful, especially as we had not the faintest idea whence the
+noise came or what had produced it. Again it filled that immense cave
+with its thunderous reverberations; but this time all the sting
+was taken out of it, as we caught sight of its author. A goodly
+bull-humpback had found his way in after us, and the sound of his spout,
+exaggerated a thousand times in the confinement of that mighty cavern,
+had frightened us all so that we nearly lost our breath. So far, so
+good; but, unlike the old nigger, though we were "doin' blame well," we
+did not "let blame well alone." The next spout that intruder gave,
+he was right alongside of us. This was too much for the semi-savage
+instincts of my gallant harpooner, and before I had time to shout a
+caution he had plunged his weapon deep into old Blowhard's broad back.
+
+I should like to describe what followed, but, in the first place, I
+hardly know; and, in the next, even had I been cool and collected, my
+recollections would sound like the ravings of a fevered dream. For of
+all the hideous uproars conceivable, that was, I should think, about the
+worst. The big mammal seemed to have gone frantic with the pain of his
+wound, the surprise of the attack, and the hampering confinement in
+which he found himself. His tremendous struggles caused such a commotion
+that our position could only be compared to that of men shooting Niagara
+in a cylinder at night. How we kept afloat, I do not know. Some one
+had the gumption to cut the line, so that by the radiation of the
+disturbance we presently found ourselves close to the wall, and trying
+to hold the boat in to it with our finger-tips. Would he never be quiet?
+we thought, as the thrashing, banging, and splashing still went on with
+unfailing vigour. At last, in, I suppose, one supreme effort to escape,
+he leaped clear of the water like a salmon. There was a perceptible
+hush, during which we shrank together like unfledged chickens on a
+frosty night; then, in a never-to-be-forgotten crash that ought to
+have brought down the massy roof, that mountainous carcass fell. The
+consequent violent upheaval of the water should have smashed the boat
+against the rocky walls, but that final catastrophe was mercifully
+spared us. I suppose the rebound was sufficient to keep us a safe
+distance off.
+
+A perfect silence succeeded, during which we sat speechless, awaiting
+a resumption of the clamour. At last Abner broke the heavy silence by
+saying, "I doan' see the do'way any mo' at all, sir." He was right. The
+tide had risen, and that half-moon of light had disappeared, so that we
+were now prisoners for many hours, it not being at all probable that we
+should be able to find our way out during the night ebb. Well, we
+were not exactly children, to be afraid of the dark, although there is
+considerable difference between the velvety darkness of a dungeon and
+the clear, fresh night of the open air. Still, as long as that beggar of
+a whale would only keep quiet or leave the premises, we should be fairly
+comfortable. We waited and waited until an hour had passed, and then
+came to the conclusion that our friend was either dead or gone out, as
+he gave no sign of his presence.
+
+That being settled, we anchored the boat, and lit pipes, preparatory to
+passing as comfortable a night as might be under the circumstances, the
+only thing troubling me being the anxiety of the skipper on our behalf.
+Presently the blackness beneath was lit up by a wide band of phosphoric
+light, shed in the wake of no ordinary-sized fish, probably an immense
+shark. Another and another followed in rapid succession, until the
+depths beneath were all ablaze with brilliant foot-wide ribands of green
+glare, dazzling to the eye and bewildering to the brain. Occasionally,
+a gentle splash or ripple alongside, or a smart tap on the bottom of
+the boat, warned us how thick the concourse was that had gathered below.
+Until that weariness which no terror is proof against set in, sleep was
+impossible, nor could we keep our anxious gaze from that glowing inferno
+beneath, where one would have thought all the population of Tartarus
+were holding high revel. Mercifully, at last we sank into a fitful
+slumber, though fully aware of the great danger of our position. One
+upward rush of any of those ravening monsters, happening to strike the
+frail shell of our boat, and a few fleeting seconds would have sufficed
+for our obliteration as if we had never been.
+
+But the terrible night passed away, and once more we saw the tender,
+irridescent light stream into that abode of dread. As the day
+strengthened, we were able to see what was going on below, and a grim
+vision it presented. The water was literally alive with sharks of
+enormous size, tearing with never ceasing energy at the huge carcass of
+the whale lying on the bottom, who had met his fate in a singular but
+not unheard-of way. At that last titanic effort of his he had rushed
+downward with such terrific force that, striking his head on the bottom,
+he had broken his neck. I felt very grieved that we had lost the chance
+of securing him; but it was perfectly certain that before we could get
+help to raise him, all that would be left of his skeleton would be quite
+valueless to us. So with such patience as we could command we waited
+near the entrance until the receding ebb made it possible for us to
+emerge once more into the blessed light of day. I was horrified at the
+haggard, careworn appearance of my crew, who had all, excepting the two
+Kanakas, aged perceptibly during that night of torment. But we lost
+no time in getting back to the ship, where I fully expected a severe
+wigging for the scrape my luckless curiosity had led me into. The
+captain, however, was very kind, expressing his pleasure at seeing us
+all safe back again, although he warned me solemnly against similar
+investigations in future. A hearty meal and a good rest did wonders in
+removing the severe effects of our adventure, so that by next morning we
+were all fit and ready for the days work again.
+
+It certainly seemed as if I was in for a regular series of troubles.
+After cruising till nearly two p.m., we fell in with the mate's boat,
+and were sailing quietly along side by side, when we suddenly rounded a
+point and ran almost on top of a bull-humpback that was basking in the
+beautiful sunshine. The mate's harpooner, a wonderfully smart fellow,
+was not so startled as to lose his chance, getting an iron well home
+before the animal realized what had befallen him. We had a lovely fight,
+lasting over an hour, in which all the marvellous agility with which
+this whale is gifted was exerted to the full in order to make his
+escape. But with the bottom not twenty fathoms away, we were sure of
+him. With all his supple smartness, he had none of the dogged savagery
+of the cachalot about him, nor did we feel any occasion to beware of
+his rushes, rather courting them, so as to finish the game as quickly as
+possible.
+
+He was no sooner dead than we hurried to secure him, and had actually
+succeeded in passing the tow-line through his lips, when, in the
+trifling interval that passed while we were taking the line aft to begin
+towing, he started to sink. Of course it was, "let go all!" If you
+can only get the slightest way on a whale of this kind, you are almost
+certain to be able to keep him afloat, but once he begins to sink you
+cannot stop him. Down he went, till full twenty fathoms beneath us he
+lay comfortably on the reef, while we looked ruefully at one another.
+We had no gear with us fit to raise him, and we were ten miles from the
+ship; evening was at hand, so our prospects of doing anything that night
+were faint.
+
+However, the mate decided to start off for home at once, leaving us
+there, but promising to send back a boat as speedily as possible with
+provisions and gear for the morning. There was a stiff breeze blowing,
+and he was soon out of sight; but we were very uncomfortable. The boat,
+of course, rode like a duck, but we were fully exposed to the open sea;
+and the mighty swell of the Pacific, rolling in over those comparatively
+shallow grounds, sometimes looked dangerously like breaking. Still, it
+was better than the cave, and there was a good prospect of supper. Long
+before we expected her, back came the boat, bringing bountiful provision
+of yams, cold pork and fruit--a regular banquet to men who were fasting
+since daylight. A square meal, a comforting pipe, and the night's vigil,
+which had looked so formidable, no longer troubled us, although, to tell
+the truth, we were heartily glad when the dawn began to tint the east
+with pale emerald and gold. We set to work at once, getting the huge
+carcass to the surface without as much labour as I had anticipated. Of
+course all hands came to the rescue.
+
+But, alas for the fruit of our labours! Those hungry monsters had
+collected in thousands, and, to judge from what we were able to see of
+the body, they had reduced its value alarmingly. However, we commenced
+towing, and were getting along fairly well, when a long spur of reef to
+leeward of us, over which the sea was breaking frightfully, seemed to be
+stretching farther out to intercept us before we could get into smooth
+water. The fact soon faced us that we were in the remorseless grip of a
+current that set right over that reef, and against its steady stream all
+our efforts were the merest triviality. Still, we hung on, struggling
+desperately to keep what we had earned, until so close to the roaring,
+foaming line of broken water, that one wave breaking farther out than
+the rest very nearly swamped us all. One blow of an axe, one twirl of
+the steer-oars, and with all the force we could muster we were pulling
+away from the very jaws of death, leaving our whale to the hungry
+crowds, who would make short work of him. Downcast indeed, at our bad
+luck, we returned on board, disappointing the skipper very much with our
+report. Like the true gentleman he was, though, recognizing that we had
+done our best, he did not add to the trouble by cursing us all for a set
+of useless trash, as his predecessor would have done; on the contrary, a
+few minutes after the receipt of the bad news his face was as bright as
+ever, his laugh as hearty as if there was no such thing as a misfortune
+in the world.
+
+And now I must come to what has been on my mind so long--a tragedy that,
+in spite of all that had gone before, and of what came after, is the
+most indelible of all the memories which cling round me of that eventful
+time. Abner Cushing, the Vermonter had declared at different times that
+he should never see his native Green Mountain again. Since the change
+in our commander, however, he had been another man--always silent and
+reserved, but brighter, happier, and with a manner so improved as to
+make it hard to recognize him for the same awkward, ungainly slab of a
+fellow that had bungled everything he put his hand to. Taking stock of
+him quietly during our day-long leisurely cruises in the boat, I often
+wondered whether his mind still kept its gloomy forebodings, and brooded
+over his tragical life-history. I never dared to speak to him on the
+subject, for fear of arousing what I hoped was growing too faint for
+remembrance. But at times I saw him in the moonlit evenings sitting on
+the rail alone, steadfastly gazing down into the star-besprent waters
+beneath him, as if coveting their unruffled peace.
+
+Two-thirds of our stay in the islands had passed away, when, for a
+wonder, the captain took it into his head to go up to the chief village
+one morning. So he retained me on board, while the other three boats
+left for the day's cruise as usual. One of the mate's crew was sick, and
+to replace him he took Abner out of my boat. Away they went; and shortly
+after breakfast-time I lowered, received the captain on board, and
+we started for the capital. Upon our arrival there we interviewed the
+chief, a stout, pleasant-looking man of about fifty, who was evidently
+held in great respect by the natives, and had a chat with the white
+Wesleyan missionary in charge of the station. About two p.m., after
+the captain's business was over, we were returning under sail, when we
+suddenly caught sight of two of our boats heading in towards one of the
+islands. We helped her with the paddles to get up to them, seeing as we
+neared them the two long fins of a whale close ahead of one of them.
+As we gazed breathlessly at the exciting scene, we saw the boat rush in
+between the two flippers, the harpooner at the same time darting an iron
+straight down. There was a whirl in the waters, and quick as thought
+the vast flukes of the whale rose in the air, recurving with a sidelong
+sweep as of some gigantic scythe. The blow shore off the bow of the
+attacking boat as if it had been an egg-shell.
+
+At the same moment the mate stooped, picked up the tow-line from its
+turn round the logger-head, and threw it forward from him. He must have
+unconsciously given a twist to his hand, for the line fell in a kink
+round Abner's neck just as the whale went down with a rush. Struggling,
+clutching at the fatal noose, the hapless man went flying out through
+the incoming sea, and in one second was lost to sight for ever. Too
+late, the harpooner cut the line which attached the wreck to the
+retreating animal, leaving the boat free, but gunwale under. We
+instantly hauled alongside of the wreck and transferred her crew, all
+dazed and horror-stricken at the awful death of their late comrade.
+
+I saw the tears trickle down the rugged, mahogany-coloured face of the
+captain, and honoured him for it, but there was little time to waste in
+vain regrets. It was necessary to save the boat, if possible, as we were
+getting short of boat-repairing material; certainly we should not have
+been able to build a new one. So, drawing the two sound boats together,
+one on either side of the wreck, we placed the heavy steering oars
+across them from side to side. We then lifted the battered fore part
+upon the first oar, and with a big effort actually succeeded in lifting
+the whole of the boat out of water upon this primitive pontoon. Then,
+taking the jib, we "frapped" it round the opening where the bows had
+been, lashing it securely in that position. Several hands were told off
+to jump into her stern on the word, and all being ready we launched her
+again. The weight of the chaps in her stern-sheets cocked her bows
+right out of water, and in that position we towed her back to the ship,
+arriving safely before dusk.
+
+That evening we held a burial service, at which hundreds of natives
+attended with a solemnity of demeanour and expressions of sorrow that
+would not have been out of place at the most elaborate funeral in
+England or America. It was a memorable scene. The big cressets were
+lighted, shedding their wild glare over the dark sea, and outlining
+the spars against the moonless sky with startling effect. When we
+had finished the beautiful service, the natives, as if swayed by an
+irresistible impulse, broke into the splendid tune St. Ann's; and
+I afterwards learned that the words they sang were Dr. Watts'
+unsurpassable rendering of Moses' pean of praise, "O God, our help in
+ages past." No elaborate ceremonial in towering cathedral could begin to
+compare with the massive simplicity of poor Abner's funeral honours, the
+stately hills for many miles reiterating the sweet sounds, and carrying
+them to the furthest confines of the group.
+
+Next day was Sunday, and, in pursuance of a promise given some time
+before, I went ashore to my "flem's" to dinner, he being confined to the
+house with a hurt leg. It was not by any means a festive gathering, for
+he was more than commonly taciturn; his daughter Irene, a buxom lassie
+of fourteen, who waited on us, appeared to be dumb; and his wife was "in
+the straw." These trifling drawbacks, however, in nowise detracted from
+the hospitality offered. The dining-room was a large apartment furnished
+with leaves, the uprights of cocoa-nut tree, the walls and roof of
+pandanus leaf. Beneath the heaps of leaves, fresh and sweet-scented, was
+the earth. The inner apartment, or chamber of state, had a flooring of
+highly-polished planks, and contained, I presume, the household gods;
+but as it was in possession of my host's secluded spouse, I did not
+enter.
+
+A couch upon a pile of leaves was hastily arranged, upon which I was
+bidden to seat myself, while a freshly cut cocoa-nut of enormous size
+was handed to me, the soft top sliced off so that I might drink its
+deliciously cool contents. These nuts must grow elsewhere, but I have
+never before or since seen any so large. When green--that is, before
+the meat has hardened into indigestible matter--they contain from three
+pints to two quarts of liquid, at once nourishing, refreshing, and
+palatable. The natives appeared to drink nothing else, and I never saw a
+drop of fresh water ashore during our stay.
+
+Taking a huge knife from some hiding-place, Irene handed it to her
+father, who at once commenced to dig in the ground by his side, while
+I looked on wondering and amused. Presently he fished up a bundle of
+leaves bound with a vine-tendril, which he laid carefully aside. More
+digging brought to light a fine yam about three pounds in weight, which,
+after carefully wiping the knife on some leaves, he proceeded to peel.
+It was immediately evident that the yam was perfectly cooked, for it
+steamed as he removed the skin, revealing the inside as white as milk.
+Some large, round leaves were laid in front of me, and the yam placed
+upon them. Then mine host turned his attention to the bundle first
+unearthed, which concealed a chicken, so perfectly done that, although
+the bones drew out of the meat as if it had been jelly, it was full of
+juice and flavour; and except for a slight foreign twang, referrible,
+doubtless, to the leaves in which it had been enwrapped, I do not think
+it could have been possible to cook anything in a better way, or one
+more calculated to retain all the natural juices of the meat. The fowl
+was laid beside the yam, another nut broached; then, handing me the big
+knife, my "flem" bade me welcome, informing me that I saw my dinner.
+As nothing would induce him to join me, the idea being contrary to
+his notions of respect due to a guest, I was fain to fall to, and an
+excellent meal I made. For dessert, a basketful of such oranges freshly
+plucked as cannot be tasted under any other conditions, and crimson
+bananas, which upon being peeled, looked like curved truncheons of
+golden jelly, after tasting which I refused to touch anything else.
+
+A corn-cob cigarette closed the banquet, After expressing my thanks,
+I noticed that the pain of his leg was giving my friend considerable
+uneasiness, which he was stolidly enduring upon my account rather than
+appear discourteously anxious to get rid of me. So, with the excuse
+that I must needs be going, having another appointment, I left the good
+fellow and strolled around to the chapel, where I sat enjoying the sight
+of those simple-minded Kanakas at their devotions till it was time to
+return on board. Before closing this chapter, I would like, for the
+benefit of such of my readers who have not heard yet of Kanaka cookery,
+to say that it is simplicity itself. A hole is scooped in the earth, in
+which a fire is made (of wood), and kept burning until a fair-sized
+heap of glowing charcoal remains. Pebbles are then thrown in until the
+charcoal is covered. Whatever is to be cooked is enveloped in leaves,
+placed upon the pebbles, and more leaves heaped upon it. The earth is
+then thrown back into the cavity, and well stamped down. A long time is,
+of course, needed for the viands to get cooked through; but so subtle is
+the mode that overdoing anything is almost an impossibility. A couple of
+days may pass from the time of "putting down" the joint, yet when it
+is dug up it will be smoking hot, retaining all its juices, tender as
+jelly, but, withal, as full of flavour as it is possible for cooked meat
+to be. No matter how large the joint is, or how tough the meat, this
+gentle suasion will render it succulent and tasty; and no form of
+civilized cookery can in the least compare with it.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII. FAREWELL TO VAU VAU
+
+Taking it all round, our visit to the Friendly Islands had not been
+particularly fortunate up till the time of which I spoke at the
+conclusion of the last chapter. Two-thirds of the period during which
+the season was supposed to last had expired, but our catch had not
+amounted to more than two hundred and fifty barrels of oil. Whales had
+been undoubtedly scarce, for our ill-success on tackling bulls was
+not at all in consequence of our clumsiness, these agile animals being
+always a handful, but due to the lack of cows, which drove us to take
+whatever we could get, which, as has been noted, was sometimes a severe
+drubbing. Energy and watchfulness had been manifested in a marked degree
+by everybody, and when the news circulated that our stay was drawing to
+a close, there was, if anything, an increase of zeal in the hope that we
+might yet make a favourable season.
+
+But none of these valuable qualities exhibited by us could make up for
+the lack of "fish" which was lamentably evident. It was not easy to
+understand why, because these islands were noted as a breeding-place for
+the humpbacked whale. Yet for years they had not been fished, so that a
+plausible explanation of the paucity of their numbers as a consequence
+of much harassing could not be reasonably offered. Still, after
+centuries of whale-fishing, little is known of the real habits of
+whales, Where there is abundance of "feed," in the case of MYSTICETA it
+may be reasonably inferred that whales may be found in proportionately
+greater numbers. With regard to the wider-spread classes of the
+great marine mammalia, beyond the fact, ascertained from continued
+observation, that certain parts of the ocean are more favoured by them
+than others, there is absolutely no data to go upon as to why at times
+they seem to desert their usual haunts and scatter themselves far and
+wide.
+
+The case of the cachalot is still more difficult. All the BALAENAE seem
+to be compelled, by laws which we can only guess at, to frequent the
+vicinity of land possessing shallows at their breeding times, so that
+they may with more or less certainty be looked for in such places at
+the seasons which have been accurately fixed. They may be driven to seek
+other haunts, as was undoubtedly the case at Vau Vau in a great measure,
+by some causes unknown, but to land they must come at those times. The
+sperm whale, however, needs no shelter at such periods, or, at any rate,
+does not avail herself of any. They may often be seen in the vicinity of
+land where the water is deep close to, but seldom with calves. Schools
+of cows with recently born young gambolling about them are met with
+at immense distances from land, showing no disposition to seek shelter
+either. For my part, I firmly believe that the cachalot is so terrible a
+foe, that the great sharks who hover round a gravid cow of the BALAENAE,
+driving her in terror to some shallow spot where she may hope to protect
+her young, never dare to approach a sperm cow on kidnapping errands, or
+any other if they can help it, until their unerring guides inform them
+that life is extinct. When a sperm whale is in health, nothing that
+inhabits the sea has any chance with him; neither does he scruple to
+carry the war into the enemy's country, since all is fish that comes
+to his net, and a shark fifteen feet in length has been found in the
+stomach of a cachalot.
+
+The only exception he seems to make is in the case of man. Instances
+have several--nay, many times occurred where men have been slain by the
+jaws of a cachalot crushing the boat in which they were; but their death
+was of course incidental to the destruction of the boat. Never, as far
+as I have been able to ascertain, has a cachalot attacked a man swimming
+or clinging to a piece of wreckage, although such opportunities occur
+innumerably. I have in another place told the story of how I once saw a
+combat between a bull-cachalot and so powerful a combination of enemies
+that even one knowing the fighting qualities of the sperm whale would
+have hesitated to back him to win, but the yarn will bear repetition.
+
+Two "killers" and a sword-fish, all of the largest size. Description of
+these warriors is superfluous, since they are so well known to museums
+and natural histories; but unless one has witnessed the charge of
+a XIPHIAS, he cannot realize what a fearful foe it is. Still, as a
+practice, these creatures leave the cachalot respectfully alone, knowing
+instinctively that he is not their game. Upon this memorable occasion,
+however I guess the two ORCAS were starving, and they had organized
+a sort of forlorn hope with the XIPHIAS as an auxiliary who might be
+relied upon to ensure success if it could be done. Anyhow, the syndicate
+led off with their main force first; for while the two killers hung on
+the cachalot's flanks, diverting his attention, the sword-fish, a giant
+some sixteen feet long, launched himself at the most vulnerable part of
+the whale, for all the world like a Whitehead torpedo. The wary eye
+of the whale saw the long, dark mass coming, and, like a practised
+pugilist, coolly swerved, taking for the nonce no notice of those
+worrying wolves astern. The shock came; but instead of the sword
+penetrating three, or maybe four feet just where the neck (if a whale
+has any neck) encloses the huge heart, it met the mighty, impenetrable
+mass of the head, solid as a block of thirty tons of india-rubber.
+
+So the blow glanced, revealing a white streak running diagonally across
+the eye, while the great XIPHIAS rolled helplessly over the top of that
+black bastion. With a motion so rapid that the eye could scarcely follow
+it, the whale turned, settling withal, and, catching the momentarily
+motionless aggressor in the lethal sweep of those awful shears, crunched
+him in two halves, which writhing sections he swallowed SERIATIM. And
+the allied forces aft--what of them? Well, they had been rash--they
+fully realized that fact, and would have fled, but one certainly found
+that he had lingered on the scene too long. The thoroughly-roused
+leviathan, with a reversal of his huge bulk that made the sea boil like
+a pot, brandished his tail aloft and brought it down upon the doomed
+"killer," making him at once the "killed." He was crushed like a shrimp
+under one's heel.
+
+The survivor fled--never faster--for an avalanche of living, furious
+flesh was behind him, and coming with enormous leaps half out of the sea
+every time. Thus they disappeared, but I have no doubts as to the issue.
+Of one thing I am certain--that, if any of the trio survived, they never
+afterwards attempted to rush a cachalot.
+
+Strange to say, the sperm whale does not appear to be a fond mother. At
+the advent of danger she often deserts her offspring and in such cases
+it is hardly conceivable that she ever finds it again. It is true that
+she is not gifted with such long "arms" as the BALAENAE wherewith to
+cuddle her young one to her capacious bosom while making tracks from
+her enemies; nor is she much "on the fight," not being so liberally
+furnished with jaw as the fierce and much larger bull--for this is
+the only species of whale in which there exists a great disproportion
+between the sexes in point of size. Such difference as may obtain
+between the MYSTICETA is slightly in favour of the female. I never heard
+of a cow-cachalot yielding more than fifty barrels of oil; but I have
+both heard of, and seen, bulls carrying one hundred and fifty. One
+individual taken by us down south was seventy feet long, and furnished
+us with more than the latter amount; but I shall come to him by-and-by.
+Just one more point before leaving this (to me) fascinating subject for
+the present.
+
+To any one studying the peculiar configuration of a cachalot's mouth, it
+would appear a difficult problem how the calf could suck. Certainly it
+puzzled me more than a little. But, when on the "line" grounds we got
+among a number of cows one calm day, I saw a little fellow about fifteen
+feet long, apparently only a few days old, in the very act. The mother
+lay on one side, with the breast nearly at the waters edge; while the
+calf, lying parallel to its parent, with its head in the same direction,
+held the teat sideways in the angle of its jaw, with its snout
+protruding from the surface. Although we caught several cow-humpbacks
+with newly born calves, I never had an opportunity of seeing THEM suck.
+
+Gradually our pleasant days at Vau Vau drew to a close. So quiet and
+idyllic had the life been, so full of simple joys, that most of us, if
+not all, felt a pang at the thought of our imminent departure from
+the beautiful place. Profitable, in a pecuniary sense, the season had
+certainly failed to be, but that was the merest trifle compared with
+the real happiness and peace enjoyed during our stay. Even the terrible
+tragedy which had taken one of our fellows from us could not spoil the
+actual enjoyment of our visit, sad and touching as the event undoubtedly
+was. There was always, too, a sufficiently arduous routine of necessary
+duties to perform, preventing us from degenerating into mere lotus
+eaters in that delicious afternoon-land. Nor even to me, friendless
+nomad as I was, did the thought ever occur, "I will return no more."
+
+But these lovely days spent in softly gliding over the calm, azure
+depths, bathed in golden sunlight, gazing dreamily down at the
+indescribable beauties of the living reefs, feasting daintily on
+abundance of never-cloying fruit, amid scenes of delight hardly to be
+imagined by the cramped mind of the town dweller; islands, air, and sea
+all shimmering in an enchanted haze, and silence scarcely broken by
+the tender ripple of the gently-parted waters before the boat's steady
+keel--though these joys have all been lost to me, and I in "populous
+city pent" endure the fading years, I would not barter the memory of
+them for more than I can say, so sweet it is to me. And, then, our
+relations with the natives had been so perfectly amicable, so free from
+anything to regret. Perhaps this simple statement will raise a cynical
+smile upon the lips of those who know Tahati, the New Hebrides, and
+kindred spots with all their savage, bestial orgies of alternate
+unbridled lust and unnamable cruelty. Let it be so. For my part, I
+rejoice that I have no tale of weeks of drunkenness, of brutal rape,
+treacherous murder, and almost unthinkable torture to tell.
+
+For of such is the paradise of the beach-comber, and the hell of the
+clean man. Not that I have been able to escape it altogether. When I say
+that I once shipped, unwittingly, as sailing-master of a little white
+schooner in Noumea, bound to Apia, finding when too late that she was a
+"blackbirder"--"labour vessel," the wise it call--nothing more will be
+needed to convince the initiated that I have moved in the "nine circles"
+of Polynesia.
+
+Some time before the day fixed for our departure, we were busy storing
+the gifts so liberally showered upon us by our eager friends. Hundreds
+of bunches of bananas, many thousands of oranges, yams, taro, chillies,
+fowls, and pigs were accumulated, until the ship looked like a huge
+market-boat. But we could not persuade any of the natives to ship with
+us to replace those whoso contract was now expiring. Samuela and Polly
+were, after much difficulty, prevailed upon by me to go with us to
+New Zealand, much to my gratification; but still we were woefully
+short-handed, At last, seeing that there was no help for it, the skipper
+decided to run over to Futuna, or Horn Island, where he felt certain of
+obtaining recruits without any trouble. He did so most unwillingly, as
+may well be believed, for the newcomers would need much training, while
+our present Kanaka auxiliaries were the smartest men in the ship.
+
+The slop-chest was largely drawn upon, to the credit of the crew,
+who wished in some tangible way to show their appreciation of the
+unremitting kindness shown them by their dusky friends. Not a whisper
+had been uttered by any native as to desire of remuneration for what
+he had given. If they expected a return, they certainly exercised great
+control over themselves in keeping their wishes quiet. But when they
+received the clothing, all utterly unsuited to their requirements as it
+was, their beaming faces eloquently proclaimed the reality of their joy.
+Heavy woollen shirts, thick cloth trousers and jackets, knitted socks;
+but acceptable beyond all was a pilot-suit--warm enough for the Channel
+in winter. Happy above all power of expression was he who secured
+it. With an eared cloth cap and a pair of half boots, to complete
+his preposterous rig, no Bond Street exquisite could feel more calmly
+conscious of being a well-dressed man than he. From henceforth he would
+be the observed of all observers at chapel on Sunday, exciting
+worldly desires and aspirations among his cooler but coveting
+fellow-worshippers.
+
+The ladies fared very badly, until the skipper, with a twinkling eye,
+announced that he had "dug up" some rolls of "cloth" (calico), which
+he was prepared to supply us with at reasonable rates. Being of rather
+pretty pattern, it went off like hot pies, and as the "fathoms" of
+gaudy, flimsy material were distributed to the delighted fafines, their
+shrill cries of gratitude were almost deafening.
+
+Inexorable time brought round the morning of our departure. Willing
+hands lifted our anchor, and hoisted the sails, so that we had nothing
+to do but look on. A scarcely perceptible breeze, stealing softly over
+the tree-tops, filled our upper canvas, sparing us the labour of towing
+her out of the little bay where we had lain so long, and gradually
+wafted us away from its lovely shores, amid the fast-flowing tears of
+the great crowd. With multitudinous cries of "Ofa, al-ofa, papalang"
+ringing in our ears ("Good-bye; good-bye, white man"), we rounded the
+point, and, with increasing pace, bore away through the outlying islands
+for the open sea. There was a strong trade blowing, making the old
+barky caper like a dancing-master, which long unfamiliar motion almost
+disagreed with some of us, after our long quiet. Under its hastening
+influence we made such good time that before dinner Vau Vau had faded
+into nothingness, mingling like the clouds with the soft haze on the
+horizon, from henceforth only a memory.
+
+We were not a very cheerful crowd that night, most of us being busy with
+his own reflections. I must confess that I felt far greater sorrow at
+leaving Vau Vau than ever I did at leaving England; because by the time
+I was able to secure a berth, I have usually drunk pretty deep of the
+bitter cup of the "outward bounder," than whom there is no more forlorn,
+miserable creature on earth. No one but the much abused boarding-master
+will have anything to do with him, and that worthy is generally careful
+to let him know that he is but a hanger-on, a dependant on sufferance
+for a meal, and that his presence on shore is an outrage. As for the
+sailors' homes, I have hardly patience to speak of them. I know the
+sailor is usually a big baby that wants protecting against himself, and
+that once within the four walls of the institution he is safe; but right
+there commendation must end. Why are good folks ashore systematically
+misled into the belief that the sailor is an object of charity, and that
+it is necessary to subscribe continually and liberally to provide him
+with food and shelter when ashore? Most of the contributors would be
+surprised to know that the cost of board and lodging at the "home" is
+precisely the same as it is outside, and much higher than a landsman of
+the same grade can live for in better style. With the exception of the
+sleeping accommodation, most men prefer the boarding-house, where, if
+they preserve the same commercial status which is a SINE QUA NON at the
+"home," they are treated like gentlemen; but in what follows lies
+the essential difference, and the reason for this outburst of mine,
+smothered in silence for years. An "outward bounder"--that is, a man
+whose money is exhausted and who is living upon the credit; of his
+prospective advance of pay--is unknown at the "home." No matter what the
+condition of things is in the shipping world; though the man may have
+fought with energy to get his discharge accepted among the crowd at
+the "chain-locker;" though he be footsore and weary with "looking for a
+ship," when his money is done, out into the street he must go, if haply
+he may find a speculative boarding-master to receive him. This act,
+although most unlikely in appearance, is often performed; and though the
+boarding-master, of course, expects to recoup himself out of the man's
+advance note, it is none the less as merciful as the action of the
+"home" authorities is merciless. Of course a man may go to the "straw
+house," or, as it is grandiloquently termed, the "destitute seaman's
+asylum," where for a season he will be fed on the refuse from the
+"home," and sheltered from the weather. But the ungrateful rascals do
+not like the "straw house," and use very bad language about it.
+
+The galling thing about the whole affair is that the "sailors' home"
+figures in certain official publications as a charity, which must be
+partially supported by outside contributions. It may be a charitable
+institution, but it certainly is not so to the sailor, who pays fully
+for everything he receives. The charity is bestowed upon a far different
+class of people to merchant Jack. Let it be granted that a man is sober
+and provident, always getting a ship before his money is all gone, he
+will probably be well content at the home, although very few seamen like
+to be reminded ashore of their sea routine, as the manner of the home
+is. If the institution does not pay a handsome dividend, with its
+clothing shops and refreshment bars, as well as the boarding-house
+lousiness on such a large scale, only one inference can be fairly
+drawn--there must be something radically wrong with the management.
+
+After this burst of temper, perhaps I had better get back to the subject
+in hand. It was, I suppose, in the usual contrary nature of things that,
+while we were all in this nearly helpless condition, one evening just
+before sunset, along comes a sperm whale. Now, the commonest prudence
+would have suggested letting him severely alone, since we were not only
+short-handed, but several of our crew were completely crippled by large
+boils; but it would have been an unprecedented thing to do while there
+was any room left in the hold. Consequently we mustered the halt and the
+lame, and manned two boats--all we could do--leaving the almost useless
+cripples to handle the ship. Not to displace the rightful harpooner, I
+took an oar in one of them, headed by the captain.
+
+At first my hopes were high that we should not succeed in reaching the
+victim before dark, but I was grievously disappointed in this. Just as
+the whale was curving himself to sound, we got fairly close, and the
+harpooner made a "pitch-pole" dart; that is, he hurled his weapon into
+the air, where it described a fine curve, and fell point downward on
+the animal's back just as he was disappearing. He stopped his descent
+immediately, and turned savagely to see what had struck him so
+unexpectedly. At that moment the sun went down.
+
+After the first few minutes' "kick-up," he settled down for a steady
+run, but not before the mate got good and fast to him likewise. Away we
+went at a rare rate into the gathering gloom of the fast-coming night.
+Now, had it been about the time of full moon or thereabouts, we should
+doubtless have been able, by the flood of molten light she sends down in
+those latitudes, to give a good account of our enemy; but alas for us,
+it was not. The sky overhead was a deep blue-black, with steely sparkles
+of starlight scattered all over it, only serving to accentuate the
+darkness. After a short time our whale became totally invisible, except
+for the phosphoric glare of the water all around him as he steadily
+ploughed his way along. There was a good breeze blowing, which soon
+caused us all to be drenched with the spray, rendering the general
+effect of things cold as well as cheerless. Needless to say, we strove
+with all our might to get alongside of him, so that an end might be put
+to so unpleasant a state of affairs; but in our crippled condition it
+was not at all easy to do so.
+
+We persevered, however, and at last managed to get near enough for the
+skipper to hurl a lance into the brightness of which the whale formed
+the centre. It must have touched him, for he gave a bound forward and
+disappeared. We suddenly came to a standstill, but in a moment were
+whirled round as if on a pivot, and away we went in the opposite
+direction. He had turned a complete somersault in the water beneath us,
+giving us a "grue" as we reflected what would have happened had he then
+chosen to come bounding to the surface. This manoeuvre seemed to please
+him mightily, for he ran at top speed several minutes, and then repeated
+it. This time he was nearly successful in doing us some real harm, for
+it was now so dark that we could hardly see the other boat's form as
+she towed along parallel to us about three or four lengths away. The two
+boats swung round in a wide circle, rushing back at each other out of
+the surrounding darkness as if bent on mutual destruction. Only by the
+smartest manipulation was a collision avoided, which, as each boat's
+bows bristled with lances and harpoons, would have been a serious matter
+for some of us. However, the whale did not have it all his own way, for
+the skipper, having charged his bomb-gun, patiently laid for him, and
+fired. It was rather a long shot, but it reached him, as we afterwards
+ascertained, making an ugly wound in the small near his tail.
+
+Its effect upon him was startling and immediate. He rushed off at so
+furious a rate dead to windward that for a great while we had all our
+work cut out to keep her free by baling. The sea had risen a little, and
+as we leapt from one wave to another the spray flew over us in an almost
+continuous cloud. Clearly our situation was a parlous one. We could not
+get near him; we were becoming dangerously enfeebled, and he appeared to
+be gaining strength instead of losing it. Besides all this, none of us
+could have the least idea of how the ship now bore from us, our only
+comfort being that, by observation of the Cross, we were not making a
+direct course, but travelling on the circumference of an immense
+circle. Whatever damage we had done to him so far was evidently quite
+superficial, for, accustomed as we were to tremendous displays of vigour
+on the part of these creatures, this specimen fairly surprised us.
+
+The time could only be guessed at; but, judging from our feelings, it
+might have been two or three nights long. Still, to all things an end,
+so in the midst of our dogged endurance of all this misery we felt
+the pace give, and took heart of grace immediately. Calling up all our
+reserves, we hauled up on to him, regardless of pain or weariness.
+The skipper and mate lost no opportunities of lancing, once they
+were alongside, but worked like heroes, until a final plunging of
+the fast-dying leviathan warned us to retreat. Up he went out of the
+glittering foam into the upper darkness, while we held our breath at the
+unique sight of a whale breaching at night. But when he fell again the
+effect was marvellous. Green columns of water arose on either side
+of the descending mass as if from the bowels of the deep, while
+their ghostly glare lit up the encircling gloom with a strange, weird
+radiance, which reflected in our anxious faces, made us look like an
+expedition from the FLYING DUTCHMAN. A short spell of gradually quieting
+struggle succeeded as the great beast succumbed, until all was still
+again, except the strange, low surge made by the waves as they broke
+over the bank of flesh passively obstructing their free sweep.
+
+While the final touch was being given to our task--i.e. the hole-boring
+through the tail-fin--all hands lay around in various picturesque
+attitudes, enjoying a refreshing smoke, care forgetting. While thus
+pleasantly employed, sudden death, like a bolt from the blue, leapt into
+our midst in a terrible form. The skipper was labouring hard at his task
+of cutting the hole for the tow-line, when without warning the great fin
+swung back as if suddenly released from tremendous tension. Happily for
+us, the force of the blow was broken by its direction, as it struck the
+water before reaching the boat's side, but the upper lobe hurled the
+boat-spade from the captain's hands back into our midst, where it struck
+the tub oarsman, splitting his head in two halves. The horror of the
+tragedy, the enveloping darkness, the inexplicable revivifying of the
+monster, which we could not have doubted to be dead, all combined to
+stupefy and paralyze us for the time. Not a sound was heard in our boat,
+though the yells of inquiry from our companion craft arose in increasing
+volume. It was but a brief accession of energy, only lasting two or
+three minutes, when the whale collapsed finally. Having recovered from
+our surprise, we took no further chances with so dangerous an opponent,
+but bored him as full of holes as a colander.
+
+Mournful and miserable were the remaining hours of our vigil. We sat
+around poor Miguel's corpse with unutterable feelings, recalling all
+the tragical events of the voyage, until we reached the nadir of
+despondency. With the rosy light of morning came more cheerful feelings,
+heightened by the close proximity of the ship, from which it is probable
+we had never been more than ten miles distant during the whole night.
+She had sighted us with the first light, and made all sail down to us,
+all hands much relieved at our safety. We were so sorely exhausted that
+we could hardly climb on board; and how we hoisted the boats I hardly
+know. The whale was secured by the efforts of the cripples we had left
+on board, while we wayfarers, after a good meal, were allowed four
+hours' sound, sweet sleep.
+
+When we returned to our duties, the first thing that awaited us was
+the burial of the poor body. Very reverently were the last sad offices
+performed, the flag hoisted half-mast, the bell solemnly tolled. Then we
+gathered at the gangway while the eternal words of hope and consolation
+were falteringly read, and with a sudden plunge the long, straight
+parcel slid off the hatch into the vast tomb ever ready for the dead
+sailor.
+
+Our dead out of sight, work claimed all our attention and energy, wiping
+with its benificent influence all gloomy musings over the inevitable,
+and replacing them with the pressing needs of life. The whale was not
+a large one, but peculiar to look at. Like the specimen that fought so
+fiercely with us in the Indian Ocean, its jaw was twisted round in a
+sort of hook, the part that curved being so thickly covered with
+long barnacles as to give the monster a most eerie look. One of the
+Portuguese expressed his decided opinion that we had caught Davy Jones
+himself, and that, in consequence, we should have no more accidents.
+It was impossible not to sympathize with the conceit, for of all the
+queer-looking monstrosities ever seen, this latest acquisition of ours
+would have taken high honours. Such malformations of the lower mandible
+of the cachalot have often been met with, and variously explained; but
+the most plausible opinion seems to be that they have been acquired when
+the animal is very young and its bones not yet indurated, since it
+is impossible to believe that an adult could suffer such an accident
+without the broken jaw drooping instead of being turned on one side.
+
+The yield of oil was distressingly scanty, the whale being what is
+technically known as a "dry skin." The blubber was so hard and tough
+that we could hardly cut it up for boiling, and altogether it was one of
+the most disappointing affairs we had yet dealt with. This poorness of
+blubber was, to my mind, undoubtedly due to the difficulty the animal
+must have had in obtaining food with his disabling defect of jaw.
+Whatever it was, we were heartily glad to see the last of the beast,
+fervently hoping we should never meet with another like him.
+
+During the progress of these melancholy operations we had drifted a
+considerable distance out of our course, no attention being paid, as
+usual, to the direction of our drift until the greasy work was
+done. Once the mess was cleared away, we hauled up again for our
+objective--Futuna--which, as it was but a few hours' sail distant, we
+hoped to make the next day.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII. AT FUTUNA, RECRUITING
+
+Sure enough, in accordance with our expectations, break of day revealed
+the twin masses of Futuna ahead, some ten or fifteen miles away. With
+the fine, steady breeze blowing, by breakfast-time we were off the
+entrance to a pretty bight, where sail was shortened and the ship
+hove-to. Captain Count did not intend to anchor, for reasons of his
+own, he being assured that there was no need to do so. Nor was there.
+Although the distance from the beach was considerable, we could see
+numbers of canoes putting off, and soon they began to arrive. Now, some
+of the South Sea Islands are famous for the elegance and seaworthiness
+of their canoes; nearly all of them have a distinctly definite style
+of canoe-building; but here at Futuna was a bewildering collection of
+almost every type of canoe in the wide world. Dugouts, with outriggers
+on one side, on both sides, with none at all; canoes built like boats,
+like prams, like irregular egg-boxes, many looking like the first boyish
+attempt to knock something together that would float; and--not to
+unduly prolong the list by attempted classification of these unclassed
+craft--CORACLES. Yes; in that lonely Pacific island, among that motley
+crowd of floating nondescripts, were specimens of the ancient coracle
+of our own islands, constructed in exactly the same way; that is, of
+wicker-work, covered with some waterproof substance, whether skin or
+tarpaulin. But the ingenious Kanaka, not content with his coracles,
+had gone one better, and copied them in dugouts of solid timber. The
+resultant vessel was a sort of cross between a butcher's tray and a
+wash-basin--
+
+"A thing beyond Conception: such a wretched wherry, Perhaps ne'er
+ventured on a pond, Or crossed a ferry."
+
+The proud possessors of the coracles, both wicker and wood, must have
+been poor indeed, for they did not even own a paddle, propelling their
+basins through the water with their hands. It may be imagined what a
+pace they put on! At a little distance they were very puzzling, looking
+more like a water-beetle grown fat and lazy than aught else.
+
+And so, in everything floatable, the whole male population of that part
+of the coast came to visit us. We were speedily the centre of a great
+crowd of canoes, some of which were continually capsizing and spilling
+their occupants, who took no more notice of such incidents than one
+would of a sneeze. Underneath a canoe, or on top, made but little
+difference to these amphibious creatures. They brought nothing with
+them to trade; in fact, few of their vessels were capable of carrying
+anything that could not swim and take care of itself. As they came
+on board, each crossed himself more or less devoutly, revealing the
+teaching of a Roman Catholic mission; and as they called to one another,
+it was not hard to recognize, even in their native garb, such names as
+Erreneo (Irenaeus), Al'seo (Aloysius), and other favourite cognomens of
+saints.
+
+A laughing chattering good-tempered crowd they were--just like a bevy of
+children breaking up, and apparently destitute of the slightest sense
+of responsibility. They spoke a totally different dialect, or maybe
+language, to that of Vau Vau, for it was only an isolated word here and
+there that Samuela could make out. But presently, going forward through
+the crowd that thronged every part of the deck, I saw a man leaning
+nonchalantly against the rail by the fore-rigging, who struck me at
+once as being an American negro. The most casual observer would not
+have mistaken him for a Kanaka of those latitudes, though he might
+have passed as a Papuan. He was dressed in all the dignity of a woollen
+shirt, with a piece of fine "tapa" for a waistcloth, feet and legs bare.
+Around his neck was a necklace composed of a number of strings of blue
+and white beads plaited up neatly, and carrying as a pendant a George
+shilling. Going up to him, I looked at the coin, and said, "Belitani
+money?" "Oh yes," he said, "that's a shilling of old Georgey Fourf,"
+in perfectly good English, but with an accent which quite confirmed my
+first idea. I at once invited him aft to see the skipper, who was very
+anxious to find an interpreter among the noisy crowd, besides being
+somewhat uneasy at having so large a number on board.
+
+To the captain's interrogations he replied that he was "Tui
+Tongoa"--that is, King of Tonga, an island a little distance away--but
+that he was at present under a cloud, owing to the success of a usurper,
+whom he would reckon with by-and-by.
+
+In the mean time he would have no objection to engaging himself with
+us as a harpooner, and would get us as many men as we wanted, selecting
+from among the crowd on board, fellows that would, he knew, be useful to
+us.
+
+A bargain was soon struck, and Tui entered upon his self-imposed task.
+It was immediately evident that he had a bigger contract on hand than he
+had imagined. The natives, who had previously held somewhat aloof from
+him in a kind of deferential respect, no sooner got wind of the fact
+that we needed some of them than they were seized with a perfect frenzy
+of excitement. There were, I should think, at least a hundred and fifty
+of them on board at the time. Of this crowd, every member wanted to be
+selected, pushing his candidature with voice and gesture as vigorously
+as he knew how. The din was frightful. Tui, centre of the frantic mob,
+strove vainly to make himself heard, to reduce the chaos to some sort
+of order, but for a great while it was a hopeless attempt. At last,
+extricating himself from his importunate friends, he gained the
+captain's side. Panting, almost breathless, with sweat streaming off
+him, he gasped out, "Oh, cap'n, dese yer darn niggers all gone mad!
+Dribe 'em oberbord; clar 'em out, 'n I'll stan' by to grab some o' der
+likely ones as de res' scatter." "But what about the wages?" said the
+skipper. "I'm not goin' ter give 'em whatever they like to ask." "You
+leab it ter me, cap'n. I bet you'll be satisfy. Anyhow, dishyers no
+time fer tradin'; de blame niggers all off dere coco-nuts. Anybody fink
+you'se payin' off 'stead o' shippin', an' deyse all afraid dey won't get
+'nough."
+
+Unpleasant as the job was to all of us, it had to be done; so we armed
+ourselves with ropes'-ends, which we flourished threateningly, avoiding
+where possible any actual blows. Many sprang overboard at once, finding
+their way ashore or to their canoes as best they could. The majority,
+however, had to swim, for we now noticed that, either in haste or from
+carelessness, they had in most cases omitted to fasten their canoes
+securely when coming alongside, so that many of them were now far out
+to sea. The distance to shore being under three miles, that mattered
+little, as far as their personal safety was concerned.
+
+This summary treatment was eminently successful, quiet being rapidly
+restored, so that Tui was able to select a dozen men, who he declared
+were the best in the islands for our purpose. Although it seems somewhat
+premature to say so, the general conduct of the successful candidates
+was so good as to justify Tui fully in his eulogium. Perhaps his
+presence had something to do with it?
+
+We now had all that we came for, so that we were anxious to be off. But
+it was a job to get rid of the visitors still remaining on board.
+They stowed themselves away in all manner of corners, in some cases
+ludicrously inadequate as hiding-places, and it was not until we were
+nearly five miles from the land that the last of them plunged into
+the sea and struck out for home. It was very queer. Ignorant of our
+destination, of what would be required of them; leaving a land of ease
+and plenty for a certainty of short commons and hard work, without
+preparation or farewells, I do not think I ever heard of such a strange
+thing before. Had their home been famine or plague-stricken, they could
+not have evinced greater eagerness to leave it, or to face the great
+unknown.
+
+As we drew farther off the island the wind freshened, until we had a
+good, whole-sail breeze blustering behind us, the old ship making, with
+her usual generous fuss, a tremendous rate of seven knots an hour. Our
+course was shaped for the southward, towards the Bay of Islands, New
+Zealand. In that favourite haunt of the South-seaman we were to wood and
+water, find letters from home (those who had one), and prepare for the
+stormy south.
+
+Obviously the first thing to be done for our new shipmates was to clothe
+them. When they arrived on board, all, with the single exception of Tui,
+were furnished only with a "maro" of "tapa," scanty in its proportions,
+but still enough to wrap round their loins. But when they were accepted
+for the vacant positions on board, they cast off even the slight apology
+for clothing which they had worn, flinging the poor rags to their
+retreating and rejected compatriots. Thus they were strutting about, in
+native majesty unclad, which, of course, could not be endured among even
+so unconventional a crowd as we were. So they were mustered aft, and,
+to their extravagant delight, a complete rig-out was handed to each of
+them, accompanied by graphic instructions how to dress themselves. Very
+queer they looked when dressed, but queerer still not long afterwards,
+when some of them, galled by the unaccustomed restraint of the trousers,
+were seen prowling about with shirts tied round their waists by the
+sleeves, and pants twisted turban-wise about their heads. Tui was
+called, and requested to inform them that they must dress properly,
+after the fashion of the white man, for that any impromptu improvements
+upon our method of clothes-wearing could not be permitted. As they were
+gentle, tractable fellows, they readily obeyed, and, though they must
+have suffered considerably, there were no further grounds for complaint
+on the score of dress.
+
+It has been already noticed that they were Roman Catholics--all except
+Tui, who from his superior mental elevation looked down upon their
+beliefs with calm contempt, although really a greater heathen than any
+of them had ever been. It was quite pathetic to see how earnestly they
+endeavoured to maintain the form of worship to which they had been
+accustomed, though how they managed without their priest, I could not
+find out. Every evening they had prayers together, accompanied by many
+crossings and genuflexions, and wound up by the singing of a hymn in
+such queer Latin that it was almost unrecognizable. After much wondering
+I did manage to make out "O Salutaris Hostia!" and "Tantum Ergo," but
+not until their queer pronunciation of consonants had become familiar.
+Some of the hymns were in their own tongue, only one of which I call now
+remember. Phonetically, it ran thus--
+
+"Mah-lee-ah, Kollyeea leekee; Obselloh mo mallamah. Alofah, keea ma toh;
+Fah na oh, Mah lah ee ah"--
+
+which I understood to be a native rendering of "O Stella Maris!" It was
+sung to the well-known "Processional" in good time, and on that account,
+I suppose, fixed itself in my memory.
+
+Whenever any of them were ordered aloft, they never failed to cross
+themselves before taking to the rigging, as if impressed with a sense
+of their chance of not returning again in safety. To me was given the
+congenial task of teaching them the duties required, and I am bound to
+admit that they were willing, biddable, and cheerful learners. Another
+amiable trait in their characters was especially noticeable: they always
+held everything in common. No matter how small the portion received by
+any one, it was scrupulously shared with the others who lacked, and this
+subdivision was often carried to ludicrous lengths.
+
+As there was so reason to hurry south, we, took a short cruise on the
+Vasquez ground, more, I think, for the purpose of training our recruits
+than anything else. As far as the results to our profit were concerned,
+we might almost as well have gone straight on, for we only took one
+small cow-cachalot. But the time spent thus cruising was by no means
+wasted. Before we left finally for New Zealand, every one of those
+Kanakas was as much at home in the whale-boats as he would have been in
+a canoe. Of course they were greatly helped by their entire familiarity
+with the water, which took from them all that dread of being drowned
+which hampers the white "greenie" so sorely, besides which, the absolute
+confidence they had in our prowess amongst the whales freed them from
+any fear on that head.
+
+Tui proved himself to be a smart harpooner, and was chosen for the
+captain's boat. During our conversations, I was secretly amused to hear
+him allude to himself as Sam, thinking how little it accorded with his
+SOI-DISANT Kanaka origin. He often regaled me with accounts of his royal
+struggles to maintain his rule, all of which narrations I received with
+a goodly amount of reserve, though confirmed in some particulars by
+the Kanakas, when I became able to converse with them. But I was hardly
+prepared to find, as I did many years after, upon looking up some detail
+in Findlay's "South Pacific Directory," this worthy alluded to as "the
+celebrated Sam," in a brief account of Futuna. There he was said to be
+king of the twin isles; so I suppose he found means to oust his rival,
+and resume his sovereignty; though, how an American negro, as Sam
+undoubtedly was, ever managed to gain such a position, remains to me
+an unfathomable mystery. Certainly he did not reveal any such masterful
+attributes as one would have expected in him, while he served as
+harpooner on board the CACHALOT.
+
+Gradually we crept south, until one morning we sighted the towering
+mass of Sunday Island, the principal member of the small Kermadec
+group, which lies nearly on the prime meridian of one hundred and eighty
+degrees, and but a short distance north of the extremity of New Zealand.
+We had long ago finished the last of our fresh provisions, fish had
+been very scarce, so the captain seized the opportunity to give us a
+run ashore, and at the same time instructed us to do such foraging as we
+could. It was rumoured that there were many wild pigs to be found,
+and certainly abundance of goats; but if both these sources of supply
+failed, we could fall back on fish, of which we were almost sure to get
+a good haul.
+
+The island is a stupendous mass of rock, rising sheer from the waves, in
+some places to a height of fifteen hundred feet. These towering cliffs
+are clothed with verdure, large trees clinging to their precipitous
+sides in a marvellous way. Except at one small bight, known as Denham
+Bay, the place is inaccessible, not only from the steepness of its
+cliffs, but because, owing to its position, the gigantic swell of the
+South Pacific assails those immense bastions with a force and volume
+that would destroy instantly any vessel that unfortunately ventured
+too near. Denham Bay, however, is in some measure protected by reefs
+of scattered boulders, which break the greatest volume of the oncoming
+rollers. Within those protecting barriers, with certain winds, it is
+possible to effect a landing with caution; but even then no tyro in
+boat-handling should venture to do so, as the experiment would almost
+certainly be fatal to boat and crew.
+
+We hove-to off the little bay, the waters of which looked placid enough
+for a pleasure-party, lowered two boats well furnished with fishing gear
+and such other equipment as we thought would be needed, and pulled away
+for the landing-place. As we drew near the beach, we found that, in
+spite of the hindrance to the ocean swell afforded by the reefs, it
+broke upon the beach in rollers of immense size. In order to avoid any
+mishap, then, we turned the boats' heads to seaward, and gently backed
+towards the beach, until a larger breaker than usual came thundering in.
+As it rushed towards us, we pulled lustily to meet it, the lovely craft
+rising to its foaming crest like sea-birds. Then, as soon as we were on
+its outer slope, we reversed the stroke again, coming in on its mighty
+shoulders at racing speed. The instant our keels touched the beach we
+all leapt out, and exerting every ounce of strength we possessed, ran
+the boats up high and dry before the next roller had time to do
+more than hiss harmlessly around our feet. It was a task of uncommon
+difficulty, for the shore was wholly composed of loose lava and
+pumice-stone grit, into which we sank ankle-deep at every step, besides
+being exceedingly steep.
+
+We managed, however, to escape without any mishap, for the drenching
+was a boon to our burnt-up skins. Off we started along the level land,
+which, as far as I could judge, extended inland for perhaps a mile and
+a half by about two miles wide. From this flat shelf the cliffs
+rose perpendicularly, as they did from the sea. Up their sides were
+innumerable goat-tracks, upon some of which we could descry a few
+of those agile creatures climbing almost like flies. The plateau was
+thickly wooded, many of the trees having been fruit-bearing once, but
+now, much to our disappointment, barren from neglect.
+
+A ruined house, surrounded by other vestiges of what had once been a
+homestead, stood in the middle of this piece of land. Feeling curious to
+know what the history of this isolated settlement might be, I asked
+the mate if he knew anything of it. He told me that an American named
+Halstead, with his family, lived here for years, visited only by an
+occasional whaler, to whom they sold such produce as they might have and
+be able to spare at the time. What their previous history had been, or
+why they thus chose to cut themselves off from the world, he did not
+know; but they seemed contented enough with their tiny kingdom, nor had
+any wish to leave it. But it came to pass that one night they felt
+the sure and firm-set earth trembling convulsively beneath their feet.
+Rushing out of their house, they saw the heavens bespread with an awful
+pall of smoke, the under-side of which was glowing with the reflected
+fires of some vast furnace. Their terror was increased by a smart shower
+of falling ashes and the reverberations of subterranean thunders. At
+first they thought of flight in their boat, not reckoning the wide
+stretch of sea which rolled between them and the nearest land, but
+the height and frequency of the breakers then prevailing made that
+impossible.
+
+Their situation was pitiable in the extreme. During the years of peace
+and serenity they had spent here, no thought of the insecurity of their
+tenure had troubled them. Though they had but been dwellers on the
+threshold of the mountain, as it were, and any extension of their
+territory impossible by reason of the insurmountable barrier around
+them, they had led an untroubled life, all unknowing of the fearful
+forces beneath their feet. But now they found the foundations of the
+rocks beneath breaking up; that withering, incessant shower of ashes
+and scoriae destroyed all their crops; the mild and delicate air changed
+into a heavy, sulphurous miasma; while overhead the beneficent face of
+the bright-blue sky had become a horrible canopy of deadly black, about
+which played lurid coruscations of infernal fires.
+
+What they endured throughout those days and nights of woe, could never
+be told. They fled from the home they had reared with such abundance of
+loving labour, taking refuge in a cave; for not even the knowledge that
+the mountain itself seemed to be in the throes of dissolution could
+entirely destroy their trust in those apparently eternal fastnesses.
+Here their eldest son died, worried to death by incessant terror. At
+last a passing whaler, remembering them and seeing the condition of
+things, had the humanity and courage to stand in near enough to see
+their agonized signals of distress. All of them, except the son buried
+but a day or two before, were safely received and carried away, leaving
+the terrible mountain to its solitude.
+
+As I listened, I almost involuntarily cast my eyes upwards; nor was I at
+all surprised to see far overhead a solitary patch of smoky cloud, which
+I believe to have been a sure indication that the volcano was still
+liable to commence operations at any time.
+
+So far, we had not happened upon any pigs, or goats either, although we
+saw many indications of the latter odoriferous animal. There were few
+sea-birds to be seen, but in and out among the dense undergrowth ran
+many short-legged brown birds, something like a partridge--the same, I
+believe, as we afterwards became familiar with in Stewart's Island by
+the name of "Maori hens." They were so tame and inquisitive that we had
+no difficulty in securing a few by the simple process of knocking
+them over with sticks. From the main branch of a large tree hung a big
+honey-comb, out of which the honey was draining upon the earth. Around
+it buzzed a busy concourse of bees, who appeared to us so formidable
+that we decided to leave them to the enjoyment of their sweet store, in
+case we should invite an attack.
+
+So far, our rambling had revealed nothing of any service to us; but just
+then, struck by the appearance of a plant which was growing profusely
+in a glade we were passing over, I made bold to taste one of the leaves.
+What the botanical name of the vegetable is, I do not know; but, under
+the designation of "Maori cabbage," it is well known in New Zealand. It
+looks like a lettuce, running to seed; but it tastes exactly like young
+turnip-tops, and is a splendid anti-scorbutic. What its discovery
+meant to us, I can hardly convey to any one who does not know what an
+insatiable craving for potatoes and green vegetables possesses seamen
+when they have for long been deprived of these humble but necessary
+articles of food. Under the circumstances, no "find" could have given us
+greater pleasure--that is, in the food line--than this did.
+
+Taking it all round, however, the place as a foraging ground was not a
+success. We chased a goat of very large size, and beard voluminous as
+a Rabbi's, into a cave, which may have been the one the Halsteads took
+shelter in, for we saw no other. One of the Kanakas volunteered to go in
+after him with a line, and did so. The resultant encounter was the
+best bit of fun we had had for many a day. After a period of darksome
+scuffling within, the entangled pair emerged, fiercely wrestling, Billy
+being to all appearance much the fresher of the two. Fair play seemed to
+demand that we should let them fight it out; but, sad to say, the
+other Kanakas could not see things in that light, and Billy was
+soon despatched. Rather needless killing, too; for no one, except at
+starvation-point, could have eaten the poor remains of leathery flesh
+that still decorated that weather-beaten frame.
+
+But this sort of thing was tiring and unprofitable. The interest of
+the place soon fizzled out, when it was found there was so little worth
+taking away; so, as the day was getting on, it was decided to launch off
+and start fishing. In a few minutes we were afloat again, and anchored,
+in about four fathoms, in as favourable a spot for our sport as ever
+I saw. Fish swarmed about us of many sorts, but principally of the
+"kauwhai," a kind of mullet very plentiful about Auckland, and averaging
+five or six pounds. Much to my annoyance, we had not been able to get
+any bait, except a bit of raw salt-pork, which hardly any fish but the
+shark tribe will look at. Had I known or thought of it, a bit of goat
+would have been far more attractive.
+
+However, as there was no help for it, we baited up and started. "Nary
+nibble ermong 'em!" growled Sam, as we sat impatiently waiting for a
+bite. When we hauled up to see what was wrong, fish followed the hook up
+in hundreds, letting us know plainly as possible that they only wanted
+something tasty. It was outrageous, exasperating beyond measure! At last
+Samuela grew so tired of it that he seized his harpoon, and hurled it
+into the middle of a company of kauwhai that were calmly nosing around
+the bows. By the merest chance he managed to impale one of them upon the
+broad point. It was hardly in the boat before I had seized it, scaled
+it, and cut it into neat little blocks. All hands rebaited with it, and
+flung out again. The change was astounding. Up they came, two at a
+time, dozens and dozens of them kauwhai, cavalle, yellow-tail,
+schnapper--lovely fish of delicious flavour and goodly size. Then one of
+us got a fish which made him yell, "Shark! shark!" with all his might.
+He had a small line of American cotton, staunch as copper wire,
+but dreadfully cutting to the hands. When he took a turn round the
+logger-head, the friction of the running line cut right into the white
+oak, but the wonderful cord and hook still held their own. At last the
+monster yielded, coming in at first inch by inch, then more rapidly,
+till raised in triumph above the gunwhale--a yellow-tail six feet long.
+I have caught this splendid fish (ELAGATIS BIPINNULATIS) many times
+before and since then, but never did I see such a grand specimen as this
+one--no, not by thirty or forty pounds. Then I got a giant cavalle. His
+broad, shield-like body blazed hither and thither as I struggled to ship
+him, but it was long ere he gave in to superior strength and excellence
+of line and hook.
+
+Meanwhile, the others had been steadily increasing our cargo, until,
+feeling that we had quite as much fish as would suffice us, besides
+being really a good load, I suggested a move towards the ship. We were
+laying within about half a mile of the shore, where the extremity of the
+level land reached the cliffs. Up one of the well-worn tracks a fine,
+fat goat was slowly creeping, stopping every now and then to browse upon
+the short herbage that clung to the crevices of the rock. Without saying
+a word, Polly the Kanaka slipped over the side, and struck out with
+swift overhead strokes for the foot of the cliff. As soon as I saw what,
+he was after, I shouted loudly for him to return, but he either could
+not or would not hear me. The fellow's seal-like ability as a swimmer
+was, of course, well known to me, but I must confess I trembled for
+his life in such a weltering whirl of rock-torn sea as boiled among the
+crags at the base of that precipice. He, however, evidently knew what
+he was going to do, and, though taking risks which would have certainly
+been fatal to an ordinary swimmer, was quite unafraid of the result.
+
+We all watched him breathlessly as he apparently headed straight for
+the biggest outlying rock--a square, black boulder about the size of an
+ordinary railway car. He came up to it on the summit of a foaming
+wave; but just as I looked for him to be dashed to pieces against its
+adamantine sides, he threw his legs into the air and disappeared. A
+stealthy, satisfied smile glowed upon Samuela's rugged visage, and, as
+he caught my eye, he said jauntily, "Polly savee too much. Lookee him
+come on top one time!" I looked, and sure enough there was the daring
+villain crawling up among the kelp far out of reach of the hungry
+rollers. It was a marvellous exhibition of coolness and skill.
+
+Without waiting an instant, he began to stalk the goat, dodging amongst
+the bushes with feet that clung to the steep sides of the cliff as well
+as the animal's. Before he could reach her, she had winded him, and was
+off up the track. He followed, without further attempt to hide himself;
+but, despite his vigour and ability, would, I fancy, have stood a
+microscopic chance of catching her had she not been heavy with kid. As
+it was, he had all his work cut out for him. When he did catch her, she
+made so fierce it struggle for life and liberty that, in the endeavour
+to hold her, he missed his insecure foothold, and the pair came tumbling
+over and over down the cliff in a miniature avalanche of stones and
+dust. At the bottom they both lay quiet for a time; while I anxiously
+waited, fearing the rash fool was seriously injured; but in a minute or
+two he was on his feet again.
+
+Lashing the goat to his body, and ignoring her struggles, he crawled
+out as far among the rocks as he could; then, at the approach of a big
+breaker, he dived to meet it, coming up outside its threatening top like
+a life-buoy. I pulled in, as near as I could venture, to pick him
+up, and in a few minutes had him safely on board again, but suffering
+fearfully. In his roll down the cliff he had been without his trousers,
+which would have been some protection to him. Consequently, his thighs
+were deeply cut and torn in many places, while the brine entering so
+many wounds, though a grand styptic, must have tortured him unspeakably.
+At any rate, though he was a regular stoic to bear pain, he fainted
+while I was "dressing him down" in the most vigorous language I could
+command for his foolhardy trick. Then we all realized what he must
+be going through, and felt that he was getting all the punishment he
+deserved, and more. The goat, poor thing! seemed none the worse for her
+rough handling.
+
+The mate gave the signal to get back on board just as Polly revived, so
+there were no inconvenient questions asked, and we returned alongside in
+triumph, with such a cargo of fish as would have given us a good month's
+pay all round could we have landed them at Billingsgate. Although
+the mate had not succeeded as well as we, the catch of the two boats
+aggregated half a ton, not a fish among the lot less than five pounds
+weight, and one of a hundred and twenty--the yellow-tail aforesaid. As
+soon as we reached the ship, the boats were run up, sails filled, and
+away we lumbered again towards New Zealand.
+
+As the great mass of that solitary mountain faded away in the gathering
+shades of evening, it was impossible to help remembering the sufferings
+of that afflicted family, confined to those trembling, sulphurous,
+ash-bestrewn rocks, amid gloom by day, and unnatural glare by night, for
+all that weary while. And while I admit that there is to some people a
+charm in being alone with nature, it is altogether another thing when
+your solitude becomes compulsory, your paradise a prison from which you
+cannot break away. There are many such nooks scattered about the ocean,
+where men have hidden themselves away from the busy world, and been
+forgotten by it; but few of them, I fancy, offer such potentialities of
+terror as Sunday Island.
+
+We had hardly lost sight of the land, when Polly's capture gave birth
+to a kid. This event was the most interesting thing that had happened
+on board for a great while, and the funny little visitor would have
+run great risk of being completely spoiled had he lived. But, to our
+universal sorrow, the mother's milk failed--from want of green food, I
+suppose--and we were obliged to kill the poor little chap to save him
+from being starved to death. He made a savoury mess for some
+whose appetite for flesh-meat was stronger than any sentimental
+considerations.
+
+To an ordinary trader, the distance between the Kermadecs and the Bay of
+Islands, New Zealand, roughly represents a couple of days' sail; but to
+us, who were apparently incapable of hurry under any circumstances, it
+meant a good week's bludgeoning the protesting waves before the grim
+outliers of the Three Kings came into view. Even then, although the
+distance was a mere bagatelle, it was another two days before we arrived
+off that magnificent harbour where reposes the oldest township in New
+Zealand--Russell, where rest the mortal remains of the first really
+Pakeha Maori, but which, for some unaccountable reason, is still left
+undeveloped and neglected, visited only by the wandering whalers (in
+ever-decreasing numbers) and an occasional trim, business-like, and
+gentlemanly man-o'-war, that, like a Guardsman strolling the West End in
+mufti, stalks the sea with never an item of her smart rig deviating by a
+shade from its proper set or sheer.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV. THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST
+
+In a comparative new colony like New Zealand, where the marvellous
+growth of the young state can be traced within living memory, from
+the privations of the pioneer to the fully developed city with all
+the machinery of our latest luxurious civilization, it is exceedingly
+interesting to note how the principal towns have sprung up arbitrarily,
+and without any heed to the intentions of the ruling powers. The
+old-fashioned township of Kororarika, or Port Russell, is a case very
+much in point. As we sailed in between the many islets from which the
+magnificent bay takes its name, for all appearances to the contrary, we
+might have been the first, discoverers. Not a house, not a sail, not a
+boat, broke the loneliness and primeval look of the placid waters and
+the adjacent shores. Not until we drew near the anchorage, and saw
+upon opening up the little town the straight-standing masts of three
+whale-ships, did anything appear to dispel the intense air of solitude
+overhanging the whole. As we drew nearer, and rounded-to for mooring,
+I looked expectantly for some sign of enterprise on the part of the
+inhabitants--some tradesman's boat soliciting orders; some of the
+population on the beach (there was no sign of a pier), watching the
+visitor come to an anchor. Not a bit of it. The whole place seemed a
+maritime sleepy hollow, the dwellers in which had lost all interest in
+life, and had become far less energetic than the much-maligned Kanakas
+in their dreamy isles of summer.
+
+Yet this was once intended for the capital of New Zealand. When the
+large and splendidly-built city of Dunedin, Otago, was a barren bush,
+haunted only by the "morepork" and the apteryx, Russell was humming with
+vitality, her harbour busy with fleets of ships, principally whalers,
+who found it the most convenient calling-place in the southern temperate
+zone. Terrible scenes were enacted about its "blackguard beach," orgies
+of wild debauchery and bloodshed indulged in by the half-savage and
+utterly lawless crews of the whaleships. But it never attained to any
+real importance. As a port of call for whalers, it enjoyed a certain
+kind of prosperity; but when the South Sea fishery dwindled, Russell
+shrank in immediate sympathy. It never had any vitality of its own, no
+manufactures or products, unless the wretched coalmines adjacent, with
+their dirty output, which is scoffed at by the grimiest tug afloat,
+could be dignified by the name.
+
+Remembering, as I did, the beauty, the energy, and prosperity of the
+great New Zealand ports, some of them with not a tithe of the natural
+advantages of Russell, I felt amazed, almost indignant, at its
+dead-and-alive appearance.
+
+Our anchor was no sooner down than the captains of the JAMES ARNOLD,
+MATILDA SAYER, and CORAL lowered and came on board, eager to hear or to
+tell such news as was going. As we had now grown to expect, all work was
+over immediately the sails were fast and decks cleared up, so that we
+were free to entertain our visitors. And a high old time we had of it
+that afternoon! What with songs, dances, and yarns, the hours flew
+by with lightning speed. Our Kanakas, too, were overjoyed to find
+compatriots among the visitors, and settled down to a steady stream of
+talk which lasted, without intermission, the whole night through. It was
+a wonderful exhibition of tongue-wagging, though what it was all about
+puzzled me greatly.
+
+Life on board those three ships, though described in glowing terms by
+the visitors, was evidently not to be mentioned for comfort in the same
+breath as ours. But we found that our late captain's fame as a "hard
+citizen" was well known to all; so that it is only ordinary justice to
+suppose that such a life as he led us was exceptional for even a Yankee
+spouter. Our friends gave us a blood-curdling account of the Solander
+whaling ground, which we were about to visit, the JAMES ARNOLD and CORAL
+having spent a season there that cruise. I did not, however, pay much
+attention to their yarns, feeling sure that, even if they were fact,
+it would not help to brood over coming hardships, and inclined to give
+liberal discount to most of their statements. The incessant chatter,
+got wearisome at last, and I, for one, was not sorry when, at two in the
+morning, our visitors departed to their several ships, and left us to
+get what sleep still remained left to us.
+
+A pleasant expedition was planned for the next day. Our visit being
+principally for wooding and watering, both of which it was necessary
+for us to do ourselves, Captain Count showed his usual promptitude in
+commencing at once. Permission having been obtained and, I suppose,
+paid for, we set out with two boats and a plentiful supply of axes for a
+well-wooded promontory to prepare a store of wood. Wood chopping is not
+usually looked upon as a sailor's pastime; but we had had considerable
+experience during the voyage, as a result of which most of us could
+swing an axe in fine style. But the Kanakas beat us all hollow.
+Delighted to get ashore again, pleased with the fine axes as children
+with new toys, they laid about them in grand style, the young trees
+falling right and left in scores. Anybody would have judged that we were
+working piece-work, at so much a cord, the pile grew so fast. There
+was such a quantity collected that, instead of lightering it off in the
+boats, which is very rough and dirty usage for them, I constructed a
+sort of raft with four large spars arranged in the form of an oblong,
+placing an immense quantity of the smaller stuff in between. Upright
+sticks were rudely lashed here and there, to keep the pile from bobbing
+out underneath, and thus loaded we proceeded slowly to the ship with
+sufficient wood for our wants brought in one journey. It was immediately
+hoisted on board, sawn into convenient lengths, and stowed away, the
+whole operation being completed, of getting between eight and ten tons
+of firewood cut, ferried, and stowed, in less than eight hours.
+
+Next day was devoted to watering; but as I have elsewhere described that
+necessary if prosaic occupation, I will not repeat the story. Sufficient
+to say that the job was successfully "did" in the course of the day.
+
+All the work being accomplished for which we had come, it only remained
+to give the crew "liberty." So the port watch, in their best (?) rig,
+were mustered aft; each man received ten shillings, and away they went
+in glee for the first genuine day's liberty since leaving Honolulu. For
+although they had been much ashore in Vau Vau, that was not looked upon
+in the same light as a day's freedom in a town where liquor might
+be procured, and the questionable privilege of getting drunk taken
+advantage of. Envious eyes watched their progress from the other ships,
+but, much to my secret satisfaction, none of their crews were allowed
+ashore at the same time. There were quite sufficient possibilities of
+a row among our own crowd, without farther complications such as would
+almost certainly have occurred had the strangers been let loose at
+the same time. Unfortunately, to the ordinary sailor-man, the place
+presented no other forms of amusement besides drinking, and I was
+grieved to see almost the whole crowd, including the Kanakas, emerge
+from the grog-shop plentifully supplied with bottles, and, seating
+themselves on the beach, commence their carouse. The natives evinced the
+greatest eagerness to get drunk, swallowing down the horrible "square
+gin" as if it were water. They passed with the utmost rapidity through
+all the stages of drunkenness. Before they had been ashore an hour,
+most of them were lying like logs, in the full blaze of the sun, on the
+beach. Seeing this, the captain suggested the advisability of bringing
+them on board at once, as they were only exposed to robbery by the few
+prowling Maories that loafed about the beach--a curious contrast to the
+stately fellows met with in other parts of New Zealand.
+
+So we set to work, and brought them on board again, handing them over to
+their compatriots by way of warning against similar excesses, although,
+it must be confessed, that they were hardly to blame, with the example
+of their more civilized shipmates before their eyes. Sam was energetic
+in his condemnation of both the Kanakas for getting drunk, and the
+captain for giving them any money wherewith to do so. The remainder
+of the watch fortunately concluded their carouse without any serious
+disorder. A few bruises bestowed upon one another, more in clumsy
+horseplay than real fighting summed up the casualties among them. By ten
+o'clock that evening we had them all safely on board again, ready for
+sore heads and repentance in the morning.
+
+During the day I had evolved a scheme, which I had great hopes of
+carrying out when our watch should be let loose on the morrow. When
+morning came, and the liberty men received their money, I called them
+together and unfolded my plan. Briefly, I proposed a sort of picnic at a
+beautiful spot discovered during our wooding expedition. I was surprised
+and very pleased at the eager way in which all, with the sole exceptions
+of Tui and his fellow-harpooner, a Portuguese, fell in with my
+suggestions. Without any solicitation on my part, my Kanakas brought me
+their money, begging me to expend it for them, as they did not know how,
+and did not want to buy gin.
+
+Under such favourable auspices as these, we landed shortly after eight
+a.m., making a bee-line for the only provision shop the place boasted.
+Here we laid in a stock of such savouries as we had long been strangers
+to, both eatables and drinkables, although I vetoed fire-water
+altogether. Beer in bottle was substituted, at my suggestion, as being,
+if we must have drinks of that nature, much the least harmful to men
+in a hot country, besides, in the quantity that we were able to take,
+non-intoxicant. We also took tea, sugar, milk, and a kettle, Thus
+furnished, we struck for the country, merry as a group of schoolboys,
+making the quiet air ring again with song, shout, and laughter--all
+of which may seem puerile and trivial in the extreme; but having seen
+liberty men ashore in nearly every big port in the world, watched the
+helpless, dazed look with which they wander about, swinging hands, bent
+shoulders, and purposeless rolling gait, I have often fervently wished
+that some one would take a party of them for a ramble with a definite
+purpose, helping them to a little enjoyment, instead of them falling,
+from sheer lack of knowing what else to do, into some dirty, darksome
+gin-mill, to be besotted, befooled, and debased.
+
+I do earnestly wish that some of the good folk in London and Liverpool,
+who are wringing their hands for want of something to do among their
+fellow-men, would pay a visit to sailor-town for the purpose of getting
+up a personally-conducted party of sailors to see the sights worth
+seeing. It is a cheap form of pleasure, even if they paid all expenses,
+though that would not be likely. They would have an uphill job at first,
+for the sailor has been so long accustomed to being preyed upon by the
+class he knows, and neglected by everybody else except the few good
+people who want to preach to him, that he would probably, in a sheepish
+shame-faced sort of way, refuse to have any "truck" with you, as he
+calls it. If the "sailors' home" people were worth their salt, they
+would organize expeditions by carriage to such beautiful places as--in
+London, for instance--Hampton Court, Zoological Gardens, Crystal Palace,
+Epping Forest, and the like, with competent guides and good catering
+arrangements. But no; the sailor is allowed to step outside the door of
+the "home" into the grimy, dismal streets with nothing open to him
+but the dance-house and brothel on one side, and the mission hall or
+reading-room on the other. God forbid that I should even appear to sneer
+at missions to seamen; nothing is farther from my intention; but I do
+feel that sailors need a little healthy human interest to be taken in
+providing some pleasure for them, and that there are unorthodox ways of
+"missioning" which are well worth a trial.
+
+I once took a party (while I was an A.B.) from Wells-street Home to the
+South Kensington Museum. There were six of them--a Frenchman, a Dane,
+a Russian Finn, two Englishmen, and an Irishman. Though continually
+sailing from London for years, this was the first occasion they had ever
+been west of Aldgate. The only mistake I made was in going too deep
+at one step. The journey from Shadwell to South Kensington, under the
+guidance of one familiar, through the hardest personal experiences, with
+every corner of the vast network, was quite enough for one day. So that
+by the time we entered the Museum they were surfeited temporarily with
+sight-seeing, and not able to take in the wonders of the mighty place.
+Seeing this, I did not persist, but, after some rest and refreshment,
+led them across the road among the naval models. Ah! it was a rare treat
+to see them there. For if there is one thing more than another which
+interests a sailor, it is a well-made model of a ship. Sailors are
+model-makers almost by nature, turning out with the most meagre outfit
+of tools some wonderfully-finished replicas of the vessels is which they
+have sailed. And the collection of naval models at South Kensington is,
+I suppose, unsurpassed in the world for the number and finish of the
+miniature vessels there shown.
+
+Our day was a great success, never to be forgotten by those poor
+fellows, whose only recreation previously had been to stroll listlessly
+up and down the gloomy, stone-flagged hall of the great barracks until
+sheer weariness drove them out into the turbid current of the "Highway,"
+there to seek speedily some of the dirty haunts where the "runner" and
+the prostitute: awaited them.
+
+But I have wandered far from the Bay of Islands while thus chattering
+of the difficulties that beset the path of rational enjoyment for the
+sailor ashore. Returning to that happy day, I remember vividly how,
+just after we got clear of the town, we were turning down a lane
+between hedgerows wonderfully like one of our own country roads, when
+something--I could not tell what--gripped my heart and sent a lump into
+my throat. Tears sprang unbidden to my eyes, and I trembled from head
+to foot with emotion. Whatever could it be? Bewildered for the moment,
+I looked around, and saw a hedge laden with white hawthorn blossom, the
+sweet English "may." Every Londoner knows how strongly that beautiful
+scent appeals to him, even when wafted from draggled branches borne
+slumwards by tramping urchins who have been far afield despoiling the
+trees of their lovely blossoms, careless of the damage they have been
+doing. But to me, who had not seen a bit for years, the flood of feeling
+undammed by that odorous breath, was overwhelming. I could hardly
+tear myself away from the spot, and, when at last I did, found myself
+continually turning to try and catch another whiff of one of the most
+beautiful scents in the world.
+
+Presently we came to a cottage flooded from ground to roof-ridge with
+blossoms of scarlet geranium. There must have been thousands of them,
+all borne by one huge stem which was rooted by the door of the house. A
+little in front of it grew a fuchsia, twelve or fourteen feet high, with
+wide-spreading branches, likewise loaded with handsome blooms; while the
+ground beneath was carpeted with the flowers shaken from their places by
+the rude wind.
+
+So, through scenes of loveliness that appealed even to the dusky
+Kanakas, we trudged gaily along, arriving pretty well fagged at our
+destination--a great glade of tenderest green, surrounded by magnificent
+trees on three sides; the fourth opening on to a dazzling white beach
+sloping gently down to the sea. Looking seaward, amidst the dancing,
+sparkling wavelets, rose numerous tree-clothed islets, making a
+perfectly beautiful seascape. On either side of the stretch of beach
+fantastic masses of rock lay about, as if scattered by some tremendous
+explosion. Where the sea reached them, they were covered with untold
+myriads of oysters, ready to be eaten and of delicious flavour.
+
+What need to say more? With oyster-feeding, fishing, bathing,
+tree-climbing, tea-making, song-singing the hours fled with pitiless
+haste, so that, before we had half emptied the brimming cup of joys
+proffered us, the slanting rays of the setting sun warned us to return
+lest we should get "hushed" in the dark. We came on board rejoicing,
+laden with spoils of flowers and fish, with two-thirds of our money
+still in our pockets, and full of happy memories of one of the most
+delightful days in our whole lives.
+
+A long night's sound sleep was rudely broken into in the morning by the
+cry of "Man the windlass." Having got all we wanted, we were bound away
+to finish, if luck were with us, the lading of our good ship from the
+teeming waters of the Solander grounds. I know the skipper's hopes were
+high, for he never tired of telling how, when in command of a new ship,
+he once fished the whole of his cargo--six thousand barrels of sperm
+oil--from the neighbourhood to which we were now bound. He always
+admitted, though, that the weather he experienced was unprecedented.
+Still, nothing could shake his belief in the wonderful numbers of sperm
+whales to be found on the south coasts of New Zealand, which faith was
+well warranted, since he had there won from the waves, not only the
+value of his new ship, but a handsome profit in addition, all in one
+season.
+
+Hearing this kind of thing every day made me feel quite hungry to reach
+the battle-field; but, for reasons which doubtless were excellent,
+although I cannot pretend to explain them, we started north about, which
+not only added nearly one hundred miles to the distance we had to go,
+but involved us in a gale which effectually stopped our progress for
+a week. It was our first taste of the gentle zephyrs which waft their
+sweetness over New Zealand, after sweeping over the vast, bleak,
+iceberg-studded expanse of the Antarctic Ocean. Our poor Kanakas were
+terribly frightened, for the weather of their experience, except on the
+rare occasions when they are visited by the devastating hurricane, is
+always fine, steady, and warm. For the first time in their lives they
+saw hail, and their wonder was too great for words. But the cold was
+very trying, not only to them, but to us, who had been so long in the
+tropics that our blood was almost turned to water. The change was nearly
+as abrupt as that so often experienced by our seamen, who at the rate of
+sixteen knots an hour plunge from a temperature of eighty degrees to one
+of thirty degrees in about three days.
+
+We, with the ready adaptability of seamen, soon got accustomed to the
+bleak, bitter weather, but the Kanakas wilted like hothouse plants under
+its influence. They were well fed and well clothed, yet they seemed
+to shrivel up, looking thinner every day, several of them getting deep
+coughs strongly suggestive of a cemetery. It was no easy task to get
+them to work, or even move, never a one of them lumbering aloft but I
+expected him to come down by the run. This was by no means cheering,
+when it was remembered what kind of a campaign lay before us. Captain
+Count seemed to be quite easy in his mind, however, and as we had
+implicit confidence in his wisdom and judgment, we were somewhat
+reassured.
+
+The gale at last blew itself out, the wind veering to the northward
+again, with beautiful, spring-like weather, just cool enough to be
+pleasant, and, withal, favourable for getting to our destination. We
+soon made the land again about New Plymouth, jogging along near enough
+to the coast to admire the splendid rugged scenery of the Britain of
+the south. All hands were kept busily employed preparing for stormy
+weather--reeving new running-gear, bending the strongest suit of sails,
+and looking well to all the whaling gear.
+
+In this active exercise of real sailor-work, the time, though long for
+an ordinary passage, passed quickly and pleasantly away, so that when
+we hauled round the massive promontory guarding the western entrance
+to Foveaux Straits, we were almost surprised to find ourselves there so
+soon.
+
+This, then, was the famous and dreaded Solander whaling ground. Almost
+in the centre of the wide stretch of sea between Preservation Inlet,
+on the Middle Island, and the western end of the South, or Stewart's
+Island, rose a majestic mass of wave-beaten rock some two thousand
+feet high, like a grim sentinel guarding the Straits. The extent of the
+fishing grounds was not more than a hundred and fifty square miles, and
+it was rarely that the vessels cruised over the whole of it. The most
+likely area for finding whales was said to be well within sight of the
+Solander Rock itself, but keeping on the western side of it.
+
+It was a lovely day when we first entered upon our cruising ground, a
+gentle north-east wind blowing, the sky a deep, cloudless blue, so
+that the rugged outline of Stewart's Island was distinctly seen at its
+extreme distance from us. To the eastward the Straits narrowed rapidly,
+the passage at the other end being scarcely five miles wide between the
+well-known harbour of the Bluff, the port of Invercargill, and a long
+rocky island which almost blocked the strait. This passage, though
+cutting off a big corner, not only shortening the distance from the
+westward considerably, but oftentimes saving outward bounders a great
+deal of heavy weather off the Snares to the south of Stewart's Island,
+is rarely used by sailing-ships, except coasters; but steamers regularly
+avail themselves of it, being independent of its conflicting currents
+and baffling winds.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV. ON THE SOLANDER GROUNDS
+
+Our opening day was an auspicious one. We had not been within the
+cruising radius more than four hours before the long-silent; cry of
+"Blo-o-o-w!" resounded from the mainmast head. It was a lone whale,
+apparently of large size, though spouting almost as feebly as a calf.
+But that, I was told by the skipper, was nothing to go by down here.
+He believed right firmly that there were no small whales to be found in
+these waters at all. He averred that in all his experience he had never
+seen a cow-cachalot anywhere around Stewart's Island, although, as
+usual, he did no theorizing as to the reason why.
+
+Eagerly we took to the boats and made for our first fish, setting
+alongside of him in less than half an hour from our first glimpse of his
+bushy breath. As the irons sank into his blubber, he raised himself
+a little, and exposed a back like a big ship bottom up. Verily, the
+skipper's words were justified, for we had seen nothing bigger of the
+whale-kind that voyage. His manner puzzled us not a little. He had not
+a kick in him. Complacently, as though only anxious to oblige, he
+laid quietly while we cleared for action, nor did he show any signs
+of resentment or pain while he was being lanced with all the vigour
+we possessed. He just took all our assaults with perfect quietude and
+exemplary patience, so that we could hardly help regarding him with
+great suspicion, suspecting some deep scheme of deviltry hidden by
+this abnormally sheep-like demeanour. But nothing happened. In the same
+peaceful way he died, without the slightest struggle sufficient to raise
+even an eddy on the almost smooth sea.
+
+Leaving the mate by the carcass, we returned on board, the skipper
+hailing us immediately on our arrival to know what was the matter with
+him. We, of course, did not know, neither did the question trouble us.
+All we were concerned about was the magnanimous way in which he, so to
+speak, made us a present of himself, giving us no more trouble to secure
+his treasure than as if he had been a lifeless thing. We soon had him
+alongside, finding, upon ranging him by the ship, that he was over
+seventy feet long, with a breadth of bulk quite in proportion to such a
+vast length.
+
+Cutting-in commenced at once, for fine weather there was by no means to
+be wasted, being of rare occurrence and liable at the shortest notice to
+be succeeded by a howling gale. Our latest acquisition, however, was of
+such gigantic proportions that the decapitation alone bade fair to take
+us all night. A nasty cross swell began to get up, too--a combination of
+north-westerly and south-westerly which, meeting at an angle where the
+Straits began, raised a curious "jobble," making the vessel behave in
+a drunken, uncertain manner. Sailors do not mind a ship rolling or
+pitching, any more than a rider minds the motion of his horse; but when
+she does both at once, with no approach to regularity in her movements,
+it makes them feel angry with her. What, then, must our feelings
+have been under such trying conditions, with that mountain of matter
+alongside to which so much sheer hard labour had to be done, while the
+sky was getting greasy and the wind beginning to whine in that doleful
+key which is the certain prelude to a gale?
+
+Everybody worked like Chinamen on a contract, as if there was no such
+feeling as fatigue. Little was said, but we all realized that unless
+this job was got over before what was brooding burst upon us, we should
+certainly lose some portion of our hard-won whale. Still, our utmost
+possible was all we could do; and when at daylight the head was hauled
+alongside for cutting up, the imminent possibility of losing it, though
+grievous to think of, worried nobody, for all had done their best. The
+gale had commenced in business-like fashion, but the sea was horrible.
+It was almost impossible to keep one's footing on the stage. At times
+the whole mass of the head would be sucked down by the lee roll of
+the ship, and go right under her keel, the fluke-chain which held it
+grinding and straining as if it would tear the bows out of her. Then
+when she rolled back again the head would rebound to the surface right
+away from the ship, where we could not reach it to cut. Once or twice it
+bounced up beneath our feet, striking the stage and lifting it with its
+living load several inches, letting it fall again with a jerk that made
+us all cling for dear life to our precarious perch.
+
+In spite of these capers, we managed to get the junk off the head. It
+was a tremendous lift for us; I hardly think we had ever raised such a
+weight before. The skipper himself estimated it at fifteen tons, which
+was no small load for the tackles in fine weather, but with the ship
+tumbling about in her present fashion, it threatened to rip the mainmast
+out by the roots--not, of course, the dead-weight strain; but when it
+was nearly aboard, her sudden lee wallow sometimes floated the whole
+mass, which the next instant, on the return roll, would be torn out of
+water, with all the force of the ship suddenly rolling the other way.
+Every splinter, every rope-yarn of her groaned again under this savage
+treatment; but so splendid was her construction that she never made a
+drop of water more than just sufficient to sweeten the limbers.
+
+It was with great and genuine satisfaction that we saw it at last safely
+lowered on deck and secured. But when we turned our attention to the
+case, which, still attached to the skull, battered alongside, any chance
+of saving it was at once seen to be hopeless. Indeed, as the old man
+said, it was time for us to "up stick" and run for shelter. We had been
+too fully occupied to notice the gradual increase of the wind; but when
+we did, there was no gainsaying the fact that it was blowing a very
+stiff breeze (ANGLICE, a violent gale). Fortunately for us, it was from
+the westward, fair for the harbour of Port William, on the Stewart's
+Island side of the Straits, so that we were free from the apprehension
+of being blown out to sea or on a jagged lee shore.
+
+While we were thus thinking during a brief pause to take breath, the old
+packet herself solved our last difficulty in emphatic fashion. She
+gave a tremendous lee lurch, which would inevitably have destroyed the
+cutting stage if we had not hoisted it, driving right over the head,
+which actually rose to the surface to windward, having passed under her
+bottom. The weather roll immediately following was swift and sudden.
+From the nature of things, it was evident that something must give way
+this time. It did. For the first and only time in my experience,
+the fluke-chain was actually torn through the piece to which it was
+fast--two feet of solid gristle ripped asunder. Away went the head with
+its L150 to L200 worth of pure spermaceti, disappearing from view almost
+immediately.
+
+It had no sooner gone than more sail was set, the yards were squared,
+and the vessel kept away up the Straits for shelter. It was a big
+improvement, for she certainly had begun to make dirty weather of
+it, and no wonder. Now, however, running almost dead before the gale,
+getting into smoother water at every fathom, she was steady as a rock,
+allowing us to pursue our greasy avocation in comparative comfort. The
+gale was still increasing, although now blowing with great fury; but, to
+our satisfaction, it was dry and not too cold. Running before it,
+too, lessened our appreciation of its force; besides which, we were
+exceedingly busy clearing away the enormous mass of the junk, which,
+draining continually, kept the decks running with oil.
+
+We started to run up the Straits at about ten a.m. At two p.m. we
+suddenly looked up from our toil, our attention called by a sudden lull
+in the wind. We had rounded Saddle Point, a prominent headland, which
+shut off from us temporarily the violence of the gale. Two hours later
+we found ourselves hauling up into the pretty little harbour of Port
+William, where, without taking more than a couple of hands off the work,
+the vessel was rounded-to and anchored with quite as little fuss as
+bringing a boat alongside a ship. It was the perfection of seamanship.
+
+Once inside the bay, a vessel was sheltered from all winds, the land
+being high and the entrance intricate. The water was smooth as a
+mill-pond, though the leaden masses of cloud flying overhead and the
+muffled roar of the gale told eloquently of the unpleasant state affairs
+prevailing outside. Two whale-ships lay here--the TAMERLANE, of New
+Bedford, and the CHANCE, of Bluff Harbour. I am bound to confess that
+there was a great difference is appearance between the Yankee and the
+colonial--very much in favour of the former. She was neat, smart, and
+seaworthy, looking as if just launched; but the CHANCE looked like some
+poor old relic of a bygone day, whose owners, unable to sell her, and
+too poor to keep her in repair, were just letting her go while keeping
+up the insurance, praying fervently each day that she might come to
+grief, and bring them a little profit at last.
+
+But although it is much safer to trust appearances in ships than in
+men, any one who summed up the CHANCE from her generally outworn and
+poverty-stricken looks would have been, as I was, "way off." Old she
+was, with an indefinite antiquity, carelessly rigged, and vilely unkempt
+as to her gear, while outside she did not seem to have had a coat
+of paint for a generation. She looked what she really was--the sole
+survivor of the once great whaling industry of New Zealand. For although
+struggling bay whaling stations did exist in a few sheltered places far
+away from the general run of traffic, the trade itself might truthfully
+be said to be practically extinct. The old CHANCE alone, like some
+shadow of the past, haunted Foveaux Straits, and made a better income
+for her fortunate owners than any of the showy, swift coasting steamers
+that rushed contemptuously past her on their eager way.
+
+In many of the preceding pages I have, though possessing all an
+Englishman's pride in the prowess of mine own people, been compelled
+to bear witness to the wonderful smartness and courage shown by the
+American whalemen, to whom their perilous calling seems to have become
+a second nature. And on other occasions I have lamented that our own
+whalers, either at home or in the colonies, never seemed to take so
+kindly to the sperm whale fishery as the hardy "down Easters," who first
+taught them the business; carried it on with increasing success,
+in spite of their competition and the depredations of the ALABAMA;
+flourished long after the English fishery was dead; and even now
+muster a fleet of ships engaged in the same bold and hazardous calling.
+Therefore, it is the more pleasant to me to be able to chronicle some of
+the doings of Captain Gilroy, familiarly known as "Paddy," the master
+of the CHANCE, who was unsurpassed as a whale-fisher or a seaman by any
+Yankee that ever sailed from Martha's Vineyard.
+
+He was a queer little figure of a man--short, tubby, with scanty red
+hair, and a brogue thick as pea-soup. Eccentric in most things, he was
+especially so in his dress, which he seemed to select on the principle
+of finding the most unfitting things to wear. Rumour credited him with a
+numerous half-breed progeny--certainly he was greatly mixed up with the
+Maories, half his crew being made up of his dusky friends and relations
+by MARRIAGE. Overflowing with kindliness and good temper, his ship was
+a veritable ark of refuge for any unfortunate who needed help, which
+accounted for the numerous deserters from Yankee whalers who were to be
+found among his crew. Such whaling skippers as our late commander hated
+him with ferocious intensity; and but for his Maori and half-breed
+bodyguard, I have little doubt he would have long before been killed.
+Living as he had for many years on that storm-beaten coast, he had
+become, like his Maories, familiar with every rock and tree in fog or
+clear, by night or day; he knew them, one might almost say, as the seal
+knows them, and feared them as little. His men adored him. They believed
+him capable of anything in the way of whaling, and would as soon have
+thought of questioning the reality of daylight as the wisdom of his
+decisions.
+
+I went on board the evening of, our arrival, hearing some rumours of the
+doings of the old CHANCE and her crew, also with the idea that perhaps
+I might find some countrymen among his very mixed crowd. The first man I
+spoke to was Whitechapel to the backbone, plainly to be spotted as such
+as if it had been tattooed on his forehead. Making myself at home with
+him, I desired to know what brought him so far from the "big smoke," and
+on board a whaler of all places in the world. He told me he had been a
+Pickford's van-driver, but had emigrated to New Zealand, finding that
+he did not at all like himself in the new country. Trying to pick and
+choose instead of manfully choosing a pick and shovel for a beginning,
+he got hard up. During one of Captain Gilroy's visits to the Bluff,
+he came across my ex-drayman, looking hungry and woebegone. Invited on
+board to have a feed, he begged to be allowed to remain; nor, although
+his assistance was not needed, was he refused. "An nar," he said, his
+face glowing with conscious pride, "y'ort ter see me in a bloomin'
+bowt. I ain't a-goain' ter say as I kin fling wun o' them 'ere bloomin'
+'arpoones like ar bowt-steerers kin; but I kin do my bit o' grawft wiv
+enny on 'em--don'tchu make no bloomin' herror." The glorious incongruity
+of the thing tickled me immensely; but I laughed more heartily still
+when on going below I was hailed as "Wot cher, chummy; 'ow yer hoppin'
+up?" by another barbarian from the wilds of Spitalfields, who, from the
+secure shelter of his cats'-meat round in 'Oxton, had got adrift, and,
+after being severely buffeted by tempestuous ill-fortune, had finally
+found himself in the comfortable old CHANCE, a haven of rest in the
+midst of storms. There were sixteen white men on board the CHANCE,
+including the skipper, drawn as usual from various European and American
+sources, the rest of her large crew of over forty all told being made up
+of Maories and half-breeds. One common interest united them, making them
+the jolliest crowd I ever saw--their devotion to their commander. There
+was here to be found no jealousy of the Maories being officers and
+harpooners, no black looks or discontented murmuring; all hands seemed
+particularly well satisfied with their lot in all its bearings; so that,
+although the old tub was malodorous enough to turn even a pretty strong
+stomach, it was a pleasure to visit her cheerful crowd for the sake of
+their enlivening society.
+
+Of course, under our present circumstances, with the debris of our
+late enormous catch filling every available space and loudly demanding
+attention, we had little time to spare for ship visiting. Some boat or
+other from the two ships was continually alongside of us, though, for
+until the gale abated they could not get out to the grounds again, and
+time hung heavy on their hands. The TAMERLANE's captain avoided Paddy as
+if he were a leper--hated the sight of him, in fact, as did most of his
+CONFRERES; but our genial skipper, whose crew were every whit as well
+treated and contented as the CHANCE's, and who therefore needed not to
+dread losing them, met the little philanthropist on the most friendly
+terms.
+
+The first fine weather, which came four days after our arrival, both
+our harbour mates cleared out. Characteristically, the CHANCE was away
+first, before daylight had quite asserted itself, and while the bases of
+the cliffs and tops of the rocks were as yet hidden in dense wreaths of
+white haze. Paddy lolled on the taff-rail near the wheel, which was held
+by an immense half-breed, who leant back and carried on a desultory,
+familiar conversation with his skipper; the rest of the crew were
+scattered about the decks, apparently doing what they liked in any
+manner they chose. The anchor was being catted, sails going up, and
+yards being trimmed; but, to observers like us, no guiding spirit was
+noticeable. It seemed to work all right, and the old ark herself looked
+as if she was as intelligent as any of them; but the sight was not an
+agreeable one to men accustomed to discipline. The contrast when the
+TAMERLANE came along an hour or so after was emphatic. Every man at
+his post; every order carried out with the precision of clockwork;
+the captain pacing the quarter-deck as if she were a line-of-battle
+ship--here the airs put on were almost ludicrous in the other direction.
+Although she was only "a good jump" long, as we say, whenever an order
+was given, it was thundered out as if the men were a mile away each
+officer appearing to vie with the others as to who could bellow the
+loudest. That was carrying things to the opposite extreme, and almost
+equally objectionable to merchant seamen.
+
+We were thus left alone to finish our trying-out except for such company
+as was afforded by the only resident's little schooner, in which he went
+oyster-dredging. It was exceedingly comfortable in the small harbour,
+and the fishing something to remember all one's life. That part of New
+Zealand is famous for a fish something like a bream, but with a longer
+snout, and striped longitudinally with black and yellow. I am ignorant
+of any polysyllabic prefix for it, only knowing it by its trivial and
+local appellation of the "trumpeter," from the peculiar sound it makes
+when out of water. But no other fish out of the innumerable varieties
+which I have sampled in all parts of the world could compare with the
+trumpeter for flavour and delicacy. These qualities are well known to
+the inhabitants of the large towns, who willingly pay high prices for
+the scanty supply of these delicious fish which they are able to obtain.
+Of other succulent fish there was a great variety, from the majestic
+"grouper," running up to over a hundredweight, down to the familiar
+flounder. Very little fishing could be done at night. Just as day was
+dawning was the ideal time for this enticing sport. As soon as the first
+few streaks of delicate light enlivened the dull horizon, a stray nibble
+or two gladdened the patient fishermen; then as the light strengthened
+the fun became general, and in about an hour enough fish would be caught
+to provide all hands with for the day.
+
+One morning, when a stark calm left, the surface of the bay as smooth
+as a mirror, I was watching a few stealthily-gliding barracouta sneaking
+about over the plainly visible bottom, though at a depth of seven or
+eight fathoms. Ordinarily, these fish must be taken with a live bait;
+but, remembering my experience with the dolphin, I determined to try a
+carefully arranged strip of fish from one recently caught. In precisely
+the same way as the dolphin, these long, snaky rascals carefully tested
+the bait, lying still for sometimes as long as two minutes with the bait
+in their mouths, ready to drop it out on the first intimation that it
+was not a detached morsel. After these periods of waiting the artful
+creature would turn to go, and a sudden jerk of the line then reminded
+him that he was no longer a free agent, but mounting at headlong speed
+to a strange bourne whence he never returned to tell the tale. My catch
+that lovely morning scaled over a hundredweight in less than an hour,
+none of the fish being less than ten pounds in weight.
+
+The Maories have quite an original way of catching barracouta. They
+prepare a piece of "rimu" (red pine) about three inches long, by an
+inch broad, and a quarter of an inch thick. Through one end of this they
+drive an inch nail bent upwards, and filed to a sharp point. The other
+end is fastened to about a fathom of stout fishing-line, which is in
+turn secured to the end of a five-foot pole. Seated in a boat with sail
+set, they slip along until a school of barracouta is happened upon. Then
+the peak of the sail is dropped, so as to deaden the boat's way, while
+the fishermen ply their poles with a sidelong sweep that threshes the
+bit of shining red through the water, making it irresistibly attractive
+to a struggling horde of ravenous fish. One by one, as swiftly as the
+rod can be wielded, the lithe forms drop off the barbless hook into the
+boat, till the vigorous arm can no longer respond to the will of the
+fisherman, or the vessel will hold no more.
+
+Such were the goodly proportions of this first Solander whale of ours
+that, in spite of the serious loss of the case, we made thirteen and a
+half tuns of oil. When the fifteen huge casks containing it were stowed
+in their final positions, they made an imposing show, inspiring all of
+us with visions of soon being homeward bound. For the present we were,
+perforce, idle; for the wind had set in to blow steadily and strongly
+right up the Straits, preventing any attempts to get out while it
+lasted. The time did not hang heavy on our hands, for the surrounding
+country offered many attractions, which we were allowed to take full
+advantage of. Spearing eels and flounders at night by means of a cresset
+hung out over the boat's bow, as she was slowly sculled up the long,
+shallow creeks, was a favourite form of amusement. Mr. Cross, the
+resident, kindly allowed us to raid his garden, where the ripe fruit was
+rotting by the bushel for want of consumers. We needed no pressing;
+for fruit, since we left Vau Vau, of any kind had not come in our
+way; besides, these were "homey"--currants, gooseberries,
+strawberries--delightful to see, smell, and taste. So it came to pass
+that we had a high old time, unmarred by a single regrettable incident,
+until, after an enforced detention of twenty days, we were able to get
+to sea again.
+
+Halfway down the Straits we sighted the CHANCE, all hands ripping
+the blubber off a sizeable whale in the same "anyhow" fashion as they
+handled their ship. They were in high glee, giving us a rousing cheer as
+we passed them on our westward course. Arriving on the ground, we found
+a goodly company of fine ships, which I could not help thinking too many
+for so small an area. During our absence, the TAMERLANE had been joined
+by the ELIZA ADAMS, the MATILDA SAYER, the CORAL, and the RAINBOW; and
+it was evident that no whale venturing within the radius of the Solander
+in the daytime would stand much chance of escaping such a battery of
+eager eyes. Only three days elapsed after our arrival when whales
+were seen. For the first time, I realized how numerous those gigantic
+denizens of the sea really are. As far as the eye could reach, extending
+all round one-half of the horizon, the sea appeared to be alive with
+spouts--all sperm whales, all bulls of great size. The value of this
+incredible school must have been incalculable. Subsequent experience
+satisfied me that such a sight was by no means uncommon here; in fact,
+"lone whales" or small "pods" were quite the exception.
+
+Well, we all "waded in," getting, some two, some one whale apiece,
+according to the ability of the crews or the fortune of war. Only one
+fell to our lot in the CACHALOT, but it was just as well. We had hardly,
+got him fast by the fluke alongside when it began to pipe up from the
+north-east. In less than one watch the sea was fairly smoking with the
+fierceness of the wind. We were unable to get in anywhere, being, with a
+whale alongside, about as handy as a barge loaded with a haystack; while
+those unfortunate beggars that had two whales fast to them were utterly
+helpless as far as independent locomotion went, unless they could run
+dead before the wind. Every ship made all snug aloft, and hoisted the
+boats to the top notch of the cranes, fully anticipating a long, hard
+struggle with the elements before they got back to the cruising ground
+again. Cutting-in was out of the question in such weather; the only
+thing possible was to hope for a shift of wind before she got too far
+out, or a break in the weather. Neither of these events was probable, as
+all frequenters of South New Zealand know, bad weather having there an
+unhappy knack of being as persistent as fine weather is brief.
+
+Night drew on as our forlorn and heavily handicapped little fleet bore
+steadily seaward with their burdens, the angry, ever-increasing sea,
+battering at us vengefully, while the huge carcasses alongside tore and
+strained at their fastenings as if they would rend the ships asunder.
+Slowly our companions faded from sight as the murky sky shut down on us,
+until in lonely helplessness we drifted on our weary way out into the
+vast, inhospitable Southern Ocean. Throughout the dark and stormy night
+our brave old ship held on her unwilling way right gallantly, making no
+water, in spite of the fearful strain to which she was subjected, nor
+taking any heavy sea over all. Morning broke cheerlessly enough. No
+abatement in the gale or change in its direction; indeed, it looked like
+lasting a month. Only one ship was visible far to leeward of us, and
+she was hull down. Our whale was beginning to swell rapidly, already
+floating at least three feet above the surface instead of just awash,
+as when newly killed. The skipper eyed it gloomily, seeing the near
+prospect of its entire loss, but he said nothing. In fact, very little
+was said; but the stories we had heard in the Bay of Islands came
+back to us with significant force now that their justification was so
+apparent.
+
+Hour after hour went by without any change whatever, except in the
+whale, which, like some gradually filling balloon, rose higher and
+higher, till at nightfall its bulk was appalling. All through the night
+those on deck did little else but stare at its increasing size, which
+when morning dawned again, was so great that the animal's bilge rode
+level with the ship's rail, while in her lee rolls it towered above
+the deck like a mountain. The final scene with it was now a question
+of minutes only, so most of us, fascinated by the strange spectacle,
+watched and waited. Suddenly, with a roar like the bursting of a dam,
+the pent-up gases tore their furious way out of the distended carcass,
+hurling the entrails in one horrible entanglement widespread over
+the sea. It was well for us that it was to leeward and a strong gale
+howling; for even then the unutterable foetor wrought its poisonous way
+back through that fierce, pure blast, permeating every nook of the ship
+with its filthy vapour till the stoutest stomach there protested in
+unmistakable terms against such vile treatment. Knowing too well that
+the blubber was now worthless, the skipper gave orders to cut the
+corrupt mass adrift. This was speedily effected by a few strokes of
+a spade through the small. Away went eight hundred pounds' worth of
+oil--another sacrifice to the exigencies of the Solander, such as had
+gained for it so evil a reputation.
+
+Doubtless a similar experience had befallen all the other ships, so that
+the aggregate loss must have run into thousands of pounds, every penny
+of which might have been saved had steam been available.
+
+That gale lasted, with a few short lulls, for five days longer. When at
+last it took off, and was succeeded by fine weather, we were so far
+to the southward that we might have fetched the Aucklands in another
+twenty-four hours. But, to our great relief, a strong southerly breeze
+set in, before which, under every rag of canvas, we sped north again.
+
+Steady and reliable as ever, that good south wind carried us back to
+our old cruising ground ere it blew itself out, and we resumed our usual
+tactics as if nothing had happened, being none the worse as regards
+equipment for our adventures. Not so fortunate our companions, who at
+the same time as ourselves were thrust out into the vast Southern Ocean,
+helplessly burdened and exposed defenceless to all the ferocity of that
+devouring gale, Two of them were here prowling about, showing evident
+signs of their conflict in the battered state of their hulls. The
+glaring whiteness of new planking in many places along the bulwarks told
+an eloquent story of seas bursting on board carrying all before them,
+while empty cranes testified to the loss of a boat in both of them. As
+soon as we came near enough, "gamming" commenced, for all of us were
+anxious to know how each other had fared.
+
+As we anticipated, every whale was lost that had been caught that day.
+The disappointment was in nowise lessened by the knowledge that, with
+his usual good fortune Captain Gilroy had not only escaped all the bad
+weather, but while we were being threshed within an inch of our lives
+down in the bitter south, he was calmly trying-out his whale (which we
+had seen him with on our outward journey) in the sheltered haven of
+Port William. Many and deep were the curses bestowed upon him by the
+infuriated crews of those two ships, although he had certainly done
+them no harm. But the sight of other people's good fortune is gall and
+wormwood to a vast number of people, who seem to take it as a personal
+injury done to themselves.
+
+Only two days elapsed, however, before we again saw an immense school
+of sperm whales, and each ship succeeded in securing one. We made no
+attempt to get more this time, nor do I think either of the others did;
+at any rate, one each was the result of the day's work. They were, as
+usual, of huge size and apparently very fat. At the time we secured our
+fish alongside, a fresh north-westerly wind was blowing, the weather
+being clear and beautiful as heart could wish. But instead of commencing
+at once to cut-in, Captain Count gave orders to pile on all sail and
+keep her away up the Straits. He was evidently determined to take no
+more chances, but, whenever opportunity offered, to follow the example
+set by the wily old skipper of the CHANCE. The other ships both started
+to cut-in at once, tempted, doubtless, by the settled appearance of the
+weather, and also perhaps from their hardly concealed dislike of going
+into port. We bowled along at a fine rate, towing our prize, that
+plunged and rolled by our side in eccentric style, almost as if still
+alive. Along about midnight we reached Saddle Point, where there was
+some shelter from the sea which rolled up the wide open strait, and
+there we anchored.
+
+Leaving me and a couple of Kanakas on watch, the captain, and all hands
+besides, went below for a little sleep. My instructions were to call the
+captain if the weather got at all ugly-looking, so that we might run
+in to Port William at once, but he did not wish to do so if our present
+position proved sufficiently sheltered. He had not been below an hour
+before there was a change for the worse. That greasy, filmy haze was
+again drawn over the clear blue of the sky, and the light scud began to
+fly overhead at an alarmingly rapid rate. So at four bells I called him
+again. He came on deck at once, and after one look round ordered
+the hands up to man the windlass. By eight bells (four a.m.) we were
+rounding the frowning rocks at the entrance of Port William, and
+threading our way between the closely-set, kelp-hidden dangers as if it
+were broadest, dearest daylight. At 4.30 we let go the anchor again,
+and all hands, except the regular "anchor-watch," bolted below to their
+bunks again like so many rabbits.
+
+It was very comfortable, cutting-in a sperm whale in harbour, after
+the dire difficulty of performing the same operation in a seaway. And,
+although it may seem strange, this was the first occasion that voyage
+that I had had a really good opportunity of closely studying the whale's
+anatomy. Consequently the work was exceedingly interesting, and, in
+spite of the labour involved, I was almost sorry when the job was done.
+Under the present favourable circumstances we were ready to cut the
+carcass adrift shortly after midday, the head, of course, having
+been taken off first. Just after we started to cut-in a boat appeared
+alongside with six Maories and half-breeds on board. Their leader came
+up and civilly asked the skipper whether he intended doing anything with
+the carcass. Upon being promptly answered in the negative, he said that
+he and his companions proposed hooking on to the great mass when we cut
+it adrift, towing it ashore, and getting out of it what oil we had been
+unable to extract, which at sea is always lost to the ship. He also
+suggested that he would be prepared to take reasonable terms for such
+oil, which we should be able to mingle with ours to our advantage. An
+arrangement was speedily arrived at to give him L20 per tun for whatever
+oil he made. They parted on the best of terms with each other, and as
+soon as we cut the carcass loose the Maories made fast, to it, speedily
+beaching it in a convenient spot near where they had previously erected
+a most primitive try-works.
+
+That afternoon, after the head was inboard, the skipper thought he would
+go ashore and see how they were getting on. I was so fortunate as to
+be able to accompany him. When we arrived at the spot, we found them
+working as I have never seen men work, except perhaps the small riggers
+that at home take a job--three or four of them--to bend or unbend a
+big ship's sails for a lump sum to be paid when the work is done. They
+attacked the carcass furiously, as if they had a personal enmity against
+it, chopping through the massive bones and rending off huge lumps of
+the flesh with marvellous speed. They had already laid open the enormous
+cavity of the abdomen, and were stripping the interminable intestines
+of their rich coating of fat. In the maw there were, besides a large
+quantity of dismembered squid of great size, a number of fish, such as
+rock-cod, barracouta, schnapper, and the like, whose presence there was
+a revelation to me. How in the name of wonder so huge and unwieldy a
+creature as the cachalot could manage to catch those nimble members
+of the finny tribe, I could not for the life of me divine! Unless--and
+after much cogitation it was the only feasible explanation that I could
+see--as the cachalot swims about with his lower jaw hanging down in its
+normal position, and his huge gullet gaping like some submarine cavern,
+the fish unwittingly glide down it, to find egress impossible. This may
+or may not be the case; but I, at any rate, can find no more reasonable
+theory, for it is manifestly absurd to suppose the whale capable of
+CATCHING fish in the ordinary sense, indicating pursuit.
+
+Every part of the animal yielded oil. Even the bones, broken up into
+pieces capable of entering the pot, were boiled; and by the time we had
+finished our trying-out, the result of the Maories' labour was ready for
+us. Less than a week had sufficed to yield them a net sum of six guineas
+each, even at the very low rate for which they sold us the oil. Except
+that it was a little darker in colour, a defect that would disappear
+when mixed with our store, there was no difference between the products
+that could be readily detected. And at the price we paid for it, there
+was a clear profit of cent. per cent., even had we kept it separate and
+sold it for what it was. But I suppose it was worth the Maories' while
+thus to dispose of it and quickly realize their hard earnings.
+
+So far, our last excursion had been entirely satisfactory. We had not
+suffered any loss or endured any hardship; and if only such comfortable
+proceedings were more frequent, the Solander ground would not have any
+terrors for us at least. But one afternoon there crept in around the
+eastern horn of the harbour three forlorn and half-dismantled vessels,
+whose weather-worn crews looked wistfully at us engaged in clearing up
+decks and putting away gear upon the finishing of our trying-out. Poor
+fellows! they had seen rough times since that unforgettable evening when
+we parted from them at the other end of the island, and watched them
+slowly fade into the night. Two of them were so badly damaged that
+no further fishing was possible for them until they had undergone a
+thorough refit, such as they could not manage there. One was leaking
+badly, the tremendous strain put upon her hull in the vain attempt to
+hold on to the two whales she had during the gale having racked her
+almost all to pieces. The third one was still capable of taking the
+ground again, with sundry repairs such as could be effected by her crew.
+But the general feeling among all three crews was that there was more
+loss than gain to be expected here, in spite of the multitude of whales
+visiting the place.
+
+As if to fill up their cup, in came the old CHANCE again, this time with
+a whale on each side. Captain Gilroy was on the house aft, his chubby
+red face in a ruddy glow of delight, and his crew exuberant. When he
+passed the American ships, as he was bound to do very closely, the
+sight of their scowling faces seemed to afford him the most exquisite
+amusement, and he laughed loud and long. His crew, on the impulse of the
+moment, sprang to the rail and cheered with might and main. No one could
+gainsay that they had good reason, but I really feared for a time that
+we should have "ructions," As Paddy said, it was not wise or dignified
+for those officers to be so angry with him on account of his success,
+which he frankly owned was due almost entirely to the local knowledge he
+possessed, gained in many years' study of the immediate neighbourhood.
+He declared that, as far as the technical duties of whale-fishing went,
+all the Americans could beat him hollow; but they ought to realize that
+something else was needed here which no man could hope to have unless
+he were content to remain on the coast altogether. With which words of
+wisdom our skipper cordially agreed, bearing in mind his own exploits in
+the bygone time around those rugged shores.
+
+The strong breeze which brought Paddy and his whales home died down
+that night, enabling us to start for the grounds again--a concession
+gratefully received, for not the least of the hindrances felt there was
+the liability to be "wind-bound" for a long time, while fine weather was
+prevailing at the fishing grounds.
+
+We made a fine passage down the Straits with a leading wind, finding our
+two late companions still cruising, having managed to get their whales
+aboard without mishap, and being somewhat inclined to chaff our old
+man for running in. He gave a wink full of wisdom, as he replied, "I'm
+pretty ole whale myself naouw; but I guess I ain't too old to learn; 'n
+wut I learn I'm goin' ter use. See?" Of course the fine weather did not
+last long--it never does; and seeing the gloomy masses of violet-edged
+cumuli piling up on the southern horizon, we hugged the Solander Rock
+itself pretty close, nor ventured far to seaward. Our two consorts,
+on the contrary, kept well out and on the northern verge, as if they
+intended the next gale that blew to get north, IF they could. The old
+man's object in thus keeping in was solely in order that he might
+be able to run for shelter; but, much to his delight and certainly
+surprise, as we passed about a mile to the southward of the lonely,
+towering crags of the great rock, there came from aloft the welcome cry
+of "Sperm whale!"
+
+There was only one, and he was uncomfortably near the rock; but such a
+splendid chance was not to be missed, if our previous training was of
+any avail. There was some speculation as to what he could be doing so
+close inshore, contrary to the habit of this animal, who seems to be
+only comfortable when in deep waters; but except a suggestion that
+perhaps he had come in to scrape off an extra accumulation of barnacles,
+nobody could arrive at any definite conclusion. When we reached him, we
+found a frightful blind swell rolling, and it needed all our seamanship
+to handle the boats so that they should not be capsized. Fortunately,
+the huge rollers did not break, or we should hardly have got back
+safely, whale or no whale.
+
+Two irons were planted in him, of which he took not the slightest
+notice. We had taken in sail before closing in to him on account of the
+swell, so that we had only to go in and finish him at once, if he would
+let us. Accordingly, we went in with a will, but for all sign of life
+he showed he might as well have been stuffed. There he lay, lazily
+spouting, the blood pouring, or rather spirting, from his numerous
+wounds, allowing us to add to their number at our pleasure, and never
+moving his vast body, which was gently swayed by the rolling sea. Seeing
+him thus quiescent, the mate sent the other two boats back to the ship
+with the good news, which the captain received with a grave smile
+of content, proceeding at once to bring the ship as near as might be
+consistent with her safety. We were now thoroughly sheltered from sight
+of the other ships by the enormous mass of the island, so that they had
+no idea of our proceedings.
+
+Finding that it was not wise to take the ship in any closer, while we
+were yet some distance from our prize, a boat was sent to Mr. Cruce with
+the instructions that he was to run his line from the whale back to the
+ship, if the creature was dead. He (the mate) replied that the whale
+died as quietly as he had taken his wounds, and immediately started for
+the ship. When he had paid out all his line, another boat bent on, until
+we got the end on board. Then we merrily walked him up alongside, while
+sufficient sail was kept drawing to prevent her being set in any nearer.
+When he was fast, we crowded on all canvas to get away; for although the
+sea was deep close up to the cliff, that swell was a very ugly feature,
+and one which has been responsible for the loss of a great number
+of ships in such places all over the world. Notwithstanding all our
+efforts, we did get so near that every detail of the rock was clearly
+visible to the naked eye, and we had some anxious minutes while the old
+ship, rolling tremendously, crawled inch after inch along the awful side
+of that sea-encircled pyramid.
+
+At one point there was quite a cave, the floor of which would be some
+twenty feet above high-water mark, and its roof about the same distance
+higher. It appeared to penetrate some distance into the bowels of the
+mountain, and was wide and roomy. Sea-birds in great numbers hovered
+around its entrance, finding it, no doubt, an ideal nesting-place. It
+appeared quite inaccessible, for even with a perfect calm the swell
+dashed against the perpendicular face of the cliff beneath with a force
+that would have instantly destroyed any vessel unfortunate enough to get
+within its influence.
+
+Slowly, slowly we forged past the danger; but the moment we opened out
+the extremity of the island, a fresh breeze, like a saving hand, swept
+across the bows, filling the head-sails and swinging the old vessel
+away from the island in grand style. Another minute, and the other sails
+filled also. We were safe, all hands breathing freely once more.
+
+Now the wind hung far round to the eastward--far enough to frustrate
+any design we might have had of going up the Straits again. The old
+man, however, was too deeply impressed with the paramount necessity
+of shelter to lightly give up the idea of getting in somewhere; so he
+pointed her for Preservation Inlet, which was only some thirty miles
+under her lee. We crowded all sail upon her in the endeavour to get in
+before nightfall, this unusual proceeding bringing our two friends up
+from to leeward with a run to see what we were after. Burdened as
+we were, they sailed nearly two knots to our one, and consequently
+intercepted us some while before we neared our port. Great was their
+surprise to find we had a whale, and very anxious their queries as to
+where the rest of the school had gone. Reassured that they had lost
+nothing by not being nearer, it being a "lone" whale, off they went
+again.
+
+With all our efforts, evening was fast closing in when we entered the
+majestic portals of Preservation Inlet, and gazed with deepest interest
+upon its heavily wooded shores.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI. PADDY'S LATEST EXPLOIT
+
+New Zealand is pre-eminently a country of grand harbours; but I think
+those that are least used easily bear the palm for grandeur of scenery
+and facility of access. The wonderful harbour, or rather series of
+harbours, into which we were now entering for the first time, greatly
+resembled in appearance a Norwegian fjord, not only in the character of
+its scenery, but from the interesting, if disconcerting, fact that
+the cliffs were so steep-to that in some places no anchorage is found
+alongside the very land itself. There are, however, many places where
+the best possible anchorage can be obtained, so securely sheltered that
+a howling south-wester may be tearing the sea up by the roots outside,
+and you will know nothing of it within, except what may be surmised from
+the motion of the clouds overhead. It was an ideal place for a whaling
+station, being right on the Solander.
+
+We found it exceedingly convenient, and much nearer than Port William,
+but, from the prevailing winds, difficult of access in nine cases out of
+ten, especially when hampered with a whale. Upon cutting-in our
+latest catch, an easy explanation of his passive attitude was at once
+forthcoming. He had been attacked by some whale-ship, whose irons had
+drawn, leaving deep traces of their presence; but during the battle he
+had received SEVEN bombs, all of which had entered around his small,
+but had not exploded. Their general effect had been, I should think,
+to paralyze the great muscles of his flukes, rendering him unable to
+travel; yet this could not have taken place until some time after he
+had made good his escape from those aggressors. It was instructive, as
+demonstrating what amount of injury these colossi really can survive,
+and I have no doubt that, if he had been left alone, he would have
+recovered his normal energy, and been as well as ever. From our point of
+view, of course, what had happened was the best possible thing, for he
+came almost as a gift--the second capture we had made on these grounds
+of a like nature.
+
+At the close of our operations the welcome news was made public that
+four more fish like the present one would fill us bung-up, and that we
+should then, after a brief visit to the Bluff, start direct for home.
+This announcement, though expected for some time past, gave an amazing
+fillip to everybody's interest in the work. The strange spectacle was
+witnessed of all hands being anxious to quit a snug harbour for the sea,
+where stern, hard wrestling with the elements was the rule. The captain,
+well pleased with the eagerness manifested, had his boat manned for a
+trip to the entrance of the harbour, to see what the weather was like
+outside, since it was not possible to judge from where the ship lay. On
+his return, he reported the weather rough, but moderating, and announced
+his intention of weighing at daylight next morning. Satisfied that our
+days in the southern hemisphere were numbered, and all anxiety to point
+her head for home, this news was most pleasing, putting all of us in the
+best of humours, and provoking quite an entertainment of song and dance
+until nearly four bells.
+
+During the grey of dawn the anchor was weighed. There was no breath of
+wind from any quarter, so that it was necessary to lower boats and tow
+the old girl out to her field of duty. Before she was fairly clear of
+the harbour, though, there came a "snifter" from the hills that caught
+her unprepared, making her reel again, and giving us a desperate few
+minutes to scramble on board and hoist our boats up. As we drew out from
+the land, we found that a moderate gale was blowing, but the sky was
+clear, fathomless blue, the sun rose kindly, a heavenly dream of soft
+delicate colour preceding him; so that, in spite of the strong breeze,
+all looked promising for a good campaign. At first no sign could be seen
+of any of the other ships, though we looked long and eagerly for them.
+At last we saw them, four in all, nearly hull down to seaward, but
+evidently coming in under press of sail. So slow, however, was their
+approach that we had made one "leg" across the ground and halfway back
+before they were near enough for us to descry the reason of their want
+of speed. They had each got a whale alongside, and were carrying every
+rag of canvas they could spread, in order to get in with their prizes.
+
+Our old acquaintance, the CHANCE, was there, the three others being her
+former competitors, except those who were disabled, still lying in Port
+William. Slowly, painfully they laboured along, until well within the
+mouth of the Straits, when, without any warning, the wind which had been
+bringing them in suddenly flew round into the northward, putting them
+at once in a most perilous position. Too far within the Straits to "up
+helm" and run for it out to sea; not far enough to get anywhere that an
+anchor might hold; and there to leeward, within less than a dozen miles,
+loomed grim and gloomy one of the most terrific rock-bound coasts in the
+world. The shift of wind had placed the CHANCE farther to leeward than
+all the rest, a good mile and a half nearer the shore; and we could well
+imagine how anxiously her movements were being watched by the others,
+who, in spite of their jealousy of his good luck, knew well and
+appreciated fully Paddy's marvellous seamanship, as well as his
+unparalleled knowledge of the coast.
+
+Having no whale to hamper our movements, besides being well to windward
+of them all, we were perfectly comfortable as long as we kept to seaward
+of a certain line and the gale was not too fierce, so for the present
+all our attention was concentrated upon the labouring ships to leeward.
+The intervention of the land to windward kept the sea from rising to
+the awful height it attains under the pressure of a westerly, or a
+south-westerly gale, when, gathering momentum over an area extending
+right round the globe, it hurls itself upon those rugged shores. Still,
+it was bad enough. The fact of the gale striking across the regular set
+of the swell and current had the effect of making the sea irregular,
+short, and broken, which state of things is considered worse, as far as
+handling the ship goes, than a much heavier, longer, but more regular
+succession of waves.
+
+As the devoted craft drifted helplessly down upon that frowning barrier,
+our excitement grew intense. Their inability to do anything but drift
+was only too well known by experience to every one of us, nor would it
+be possible for them to escape at all if they persisted in holding on
+much longer. And it was easy to see why they did so. While Paddy held
+on so far to leeward of them, and consequently in so much more imminent
+danger than they were, it would be derogatory in the highest degree to
+their reputation for seamanship and courage were they to slip and run
+before he did. He, however, showed no sign of doing so, although
+they all neared, with an accelerated drift, that point from whence
+no seamanship could deliver them, and where death inevitable, cruel,
+awaited them without hope of escape. The part of the coast upon which
+they were apparently driving was about as dangerous and impracticable as
+any in the world. A gigantic barrier of black, naked rock, extending for
+several hundred yards, rose sheer from the sea beneath, like the side of
+an ironclad, up to a height of seven or eight hundred feet. No outlying
+spurs of submerged fragments broke the immeasurable landward rush of the
+majestic waves towards the frowning face of this world-fragment.
+Fresh from their source, with all the impetus accumulated in their
+thousand-mile journey, they came apparently irresistible. Against this
+perpendicular barrier they hurled themselves with a shock that vibrated
+far inland, and a roar that rose in a dominating diapason over the
+continuous thunder of the tempest-riven sea. High as was the summit
+of the cliff, the spray, hurled upwards by the tremendous impact, rose
+higher, so that the whole front of the great rock was veiled in filmy
+wreaths of foam, hiding its solidity from the seaward view. At either
+end of this vast, rampart nothing could be seen but a waste of breakers
+seething, hissing, like the foot of Niagara, and effectually concealing
+the CHEVAUX DE FRISE of rocks which produced such a vortex of tormented
+waters.
+
+Towards this dreadful spot, then, the four vessels were being
+resistlessly driven, every moment seeing their chances of escape
+lessening to vanishing-point. Suddenly, as if panic-stricken, the ship
+nearest to the CHANCE gave a great sweep round on to the other tack, a
+few fluttering gleams aloft showing that even in that storm they
+were daring to set some sail. What the manoeuvre meant we knew very
+well--they had cut adrift from their whale, terrified at last beyond
+endurance into the belief that Paddy was going to sacrifice himself and
+his crew in the attempt to lure them with him to inevitable destruction.
+The other two did not hesitate longer. The example once set, they
+immediately followed; but it was for some time doubtful in the
+extreme whether their resolve was not taken too late to save them from
+destruction. We watched them with breathless interest, unable for a long
+time to satisfy ourselves that they were out of danger. But at last
+we saw them shortening sail again--a sure sign that they considered
+themselves, while the wind held in the same quarter, safe from going
+ashore at any rate, although there was still before them the prospect of
+a long struggle with the unrelenting ferocity of the weather down south.
+
+Meanwhile, what of the daring Irishman and his old barrel of a ship?
+The fugitives once safe off the land, all our interest centred in the
+CHANCE. We watched her until she drew in so closely to the seething
+cauldron of breakers that it was only occasionally we could distinguish
+her outline; and the weather was becoming so thick and dirty, the
+light so bad, that we were reluctantly compelled to lose sight of
+her, although the skipper believed that he saw her in the midst of
+the turmoil of broken water at the western end of the mighty mass of
+perpendicular cliff before described. Happily for us, the wind veered to
+the westward, releasing us from the prospect of another enforced visit
+to the wild regions south of the island. It blew harder than ever; but
+being now a fair wind up the Straits, we fled before it, anchoring again
+in Port William before midnight. Here we were compelled to remain for
+a week; for after the gale blew itself out, the wind still hung in the
+same quarter, refusing to allow us to get back again to our cruising
+station.
+
+But on the second day of our enforced detention a ship poked her jibboom
+round the west end of the little bay. No words could describe our
+condition of spellbound astonishment when she rounded-to, cumbrously as
+befitting a ship towing a whale, and revealed to us the well-remembered
+outlines of the old CHANCE. It was like welcoming the first-fruits
+of the resurrection; for who among sailor men, having seen a vessel
+disappear from their sight, as we had, under such terrible conditions,
+would ever have expected to see her again? She was hardly anchored
+before our skipper was alongside, thirsting to satisfy his unbounded
+curiosity as to the unheard-of means whereby she had escaped such
+apparently inevitable destruction. I was fortunate enough to accompany
+him, and hear the story at first-hand.
+
+It appeared that none of the white men on board, except the redoubtable
+Paddy himself, had ever been placed in so seemingly hopeless and
+desperate a position before. Yet when they saw how calm and free from
+anxiety their commander was, how cool and business-like the attitude
+of all their dusky shipmates, their confidence in his ability and
+resourcefulness kept its usual high level. It must be admitted that the
+test such feelings were then subjected to was of the severest, for to
+their eyes no possible avenue of escape was open. Along that glaring
+line of raging, foaming water not a break occurred, not the faintest
+indication of an opening anywhere wherein even so experienced a pilot
+as Paddy might thrust a ship. The great black wall of rock loomed up
+by their side, grim and pitiless as doom--a very door of adamant closed
+against all hope. Nearer and nearer they drew, until the roar of the
+baffled Pacific was deafening, maddening, in its overwhelming volume of
+chaotic sound. All hands stood motionless, with eyes fixed in horrible
+fascination upon the indescribable vortex to which they were being
+irresistibly driven.
+
+At last, just as the fringes of the back-beaten billows hissed up to
+greet them, they felt her motion ease. Instinctively looking aft, they
+saw the skipper coolly wave his hand, signing to them to trim the yards.
+As they hauled on the weather braces, she plunged through the maelstrom
+of breakers, and before they had got the yards right round they were on
+the other side of that enormous barrier, the anchor was dropped, and all
+was still. The vessel rested, like a bird on her nest, in a deep, still
+tarn, shut in, to all appearance, on every side by huge rock barriers.
+Of the furious storm but a moment before howling and raging all around
+them, nothing remained but an all-pervading, thunderous hum, causing
+the deck to vibrate beneath them, and high overhead the jagged, leaden
+remnants of twisted, tortured cloud whirling past their tiny oblong of
+sky. Just a minute's suspension of all faculties but wonder, then, in
+one spontaneous, heartfelt note of genuine admiration, all hands burst
+into a cheer that even overtopped the mighty rumble of the baffled sea.
+
+Here they lay, perfectly secure, and cut in their whale as if in dock;
+then at the first opportunity they ran out, with fearful difficulty, a
+kedge with a whale-line attached, by which means they warped the vessel
+out of her hiding-place--a far more arduous operation than getting in
+had been. But even this did not exhaust the wonders of that occasion.
+They had hardly got way upon her, beginning to draw out from the land,
+when the eagle-eye of one of the Maories detected the carcass of a
+whale rolling among the breakers about half a mile to the westward.
+Immediately a boat was lowered, a double allowance of line put into
+her, and off they went to the valuable flotsam. Dangerous in the highest
+degree was the task of getting near enough to drive harpoons into the
+body; but it was successfully accomplished, the line run on board, and
+the prize hauled triumphantly alongside. This was the whale they had now
+brought in. We shrewdly suspected that it must have been one of those
+abandoned by the unfortunate vessels who had fled, but etiquette forbade
+us saying anything about it. Even had it been, another day would have
+seen it valueless to any one, for it was by no means otto of roses to
+sniff at now, while they had certainly salved it at the peril of their
+lives.
+
+When we returned on board and repeated the story, great was the
+amazement. Such a feat of seamanship was almost beyond belief; but we
+were shut up to believing, since in no other way could the vessel's
+miraculous escape be accounted for. The little, dumpy, red-faced figure,
+rigged like any scarecrow, that now stood on his cutting-stage, punching
+away vigorously at the fetid mass of blubber beneath him, bore no
+outward visible sign of a hero about him; but in our eyes he was
+transfigured--a being to be thought of reverently, as one who in all
+those dualities that go to the making of a man had proved himself of the
+seed royal, a king of men, all the more kingly because unconscious that
+his deeds were of so exalted an order.
+
+I am afraid that, to a landsman, my panegyric may smack strongly of
+gush, for no one but a seaman can rightly appraise such doings as these;
+but I may be permitted to say that, when I think of men whom I feel glad
+to have lived to know, foremost among them rises the queer little figure
+of Paddy Gilroy.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII. PORT PEGASUS
+
+The wind still holding steadily in the old quarter, our skipper got very
+restless. He recalled his former exploits, and, firing at the thought,
+decided then and there to have a trip round to Port Pegasus, in the hope
+that he might meet with some of his former good luck in the vicinity of
+that magnificent bay. With the greatest alacrity we obeyed his summons,
+handling the old barky as if she were a small boat, and the same
+morning, for the first time, ran out of the Straits to the eastward
+past Ruapuke Island. Beautiful weather prevailed, making our trip a
+delightful one, the wonderful scenery of that coast appealing to even
+the most callous or indifferent among us. We hugged the land closely,
+the skipper being familiar with all of it in a general way, so that none
+of its beauties were lost to us. The breeze holding good, by nightfall
+we had reached our destination, anchoring in the north arm near a
+tumbling cascade of glittering water that looked like a long feather
+laid on the dark-green slope of the steep hill from which it gushed.
+
+We had not been long at anchor before we had visitors--half-breed
+Maories, who, like the Finns and Canadians, are farmers, fishermen,
+sailors, and shipwrights, as necessity arises. They brought us
+potatoes--most welcome of all fruit to the sailor--cabbages, onions, and
+"mutton birds." This latter delicacy is a great staple of their flesh
+food, but is one of the strangest dishes imaginable. When it is being
+cooked in the usual way, i.e. by grilling, it smells exactly like a
+piece of roasting mutton; but it tastes, to my mind, like nothing else
+in the world so much as a kippered herring. There is a gastronomical
+paradox, if you like. Only the young birds are taken for eating. They
+are found, when unfledged, in holes of the rocks, and weigh sometimes
+treble as much as their parents. They are exceedingly fat; but this
+substance is nearly all removed from their bodies before they are
+hung up in the smoke-houses. They are split open like a haddock, and
+carefully smoked, after being steeped in brine. Baskets, something like
+exaggerated strawberry pottles of the old conical shape, are prepared,
+to hold each about a dozen birds. They are lined with leaves, then
+packed with the birds, the melted fat being run into all the interstices
+until the basket is full. The top is then neatly tied up with more
+leaves, and, thus preserved, the contents will keep in cool weather an
+indefinite length of time.
+
+Captain Count was soon recognized by some of his old friends, who were
+delighted to welcome him again. Their faces fell, however, when he told
+them that his stay was to be very brief, and that he only required four
+good-sized fish to fill up. Inquiry as to the prevalence of sperm whales
+in the vicinity elicited the news that they were as plentiful as they
+had ever been--if anything, more so, since the visits of the whalers had
+become fewer. There were a couple of "bay" whaling stations existing;
+but, of course, their success could not be expected to be great among
+the cachalots, who usually keep a respectful distance from harbours,
+while they had driven the right whales away almost entirely.
+
+No one could help being struck by the manly bearing, splendid physique,
+and simple manners of the inhabitants. If ever it falls to the lot of
+any one, as I hope it will, to establish a sperm whale fishery in these
+regions, there need be no lack of workers while such grand specimens
+of manhood abound there as we saw--all, moreover, fishermen and whalers
+from their earliest days.
+
+We did not go far afield, but hovered within ten or fifteen miles of the
+various entrances, so as not to be blown off the land in case of sudden
+bad weather. Even with that timid offing, we were only there two days,
+when an enormous school of sperm whales hove in sight. I dare not say
+how many I believe there were, and my estimate really might be biassed;
+but this I know, that in no given direction could one look to seaward
+and not see many spouts.
+
+We got among them and had a good time, being more hampered by the
+curiosity of the unattached fish than by the pugnacity of those under
+our immediate attention. So we killed three, and by preconcerted signal
+warned the watchers on the lofty points ashore of our success. As
+speedily as possible off came four boats from the shore stations, and
+hooked on to two of our fish, while we were busy with the third. The
+wind being off shore, what there was of it, no time was to be lost, in
+view of the well-known untrustworthiness of the weather; so we started
+to cut-in at once, while the shore people worked like giants to tow
+the other two in. Considering the weakness of their forces, they made
+marvellous progress; but seeing how terribly exhausting the toil was,
+one could not help wishing them one of the small London tugs, familiarly
+known as "jackals," which would have snaked those monsters along at
+three or four knots an hour.
+
+However, all went well; the usual gale did blow but not till we had
+got the last piece aboard and a good "slant" to run in, arriving at our
+previous moorings at midnight. In the morning the skipper went down in
+his boat to visit the stations, and see how they had fared. Old hand as
+he was, I think he was astonished to see what progress those fellows had
+made with the fish. They did not reach the stations till after midnight,
+but already they had the whales half flenched, and, by the way they were
+working, it looked as if they would be through with their task as soon
+as we were with ours. Their agreement with the skipper was to yield us
+half the oil they made, and, if agreeable to them, we would take their
+moiety at L40 per tun. Consequently they had something to work for, even
+though there were twenty of them to share the spoil. They were a
+merry party, eminently good tempered, and working as though one spirit
+animated them all. If there was a leader of the band, he did his office
+with great subtilty, for all seemed equal, nor did any appear to need
+directing what to do. Fired by their example, we all worked our hardest;
+but they beat us by half a day, mainly, I think, by dint of working
+nearly all the time with scarce any interval for sleep. True, they were
+bound to take advantage of low water when their huge prize was high and
+dry--to get at him easily all round. Their method was of the simplest.
+With gaff-hooks to haul back the pieces, and short-handled spades for
+cutting, they worked in pairs, taking off square slabs of blubber about
+a hundredweight each. As soon as a piece was cut off, the pair tackled
+on to it, dragging it up to the pots, where the cooks hastily sliced it
+for boiling, interspersing their labours with attention to the simmering
+cauldrons.
+
+Their efforts realized twenty-four tuns of clear oil and spermaceti,
+of which, according to bargain, we took twelve, the captain buying the
+other twelve for L480, as previously arranged. This latter portion,
+however, was his private venture, and not on ship's account, as he
+proposed selling it at the Bluff, when we should call there on our way
+home. So that we were still two whales short of our quantity. What a
+little space it did seem to fill up! Our patience was sorely tested,
+when, during a whole week following our last haul, we were unable to put
+to sea. In vain we tried all the old amusements of fishing, rambling,
+bathing, etc.; they had lost their "bite;" we wanted to get home. At
+last the longed-for shift of wind came and set us free. We had hardly
+got well clear of the heads before we saw a school of cachalots away on
+the horizon, some twelve miles off the land to the southward. We made
+all possible sail in chase, but found, to our dismay, that they were
+"making a passage," going at such a rate that unless the wind freshened
+we could hardly hope to come up with them. Fortunately, we had all day
+before us, having quitted our moorings soon after daylight; and unless
+some unforeseen occurrence prevented us from keeping up our rate of
+speed, the chances were that some time before dark they would ease
+up and allow us to approach them. They were heading to the westward,
+perhaps somewhat to the northward withal, to all appearance making
+for the Solander. Hour after hour crawled by, while we still seemed to
+preserve our relative distance, until we had skirted the southern shore
+of the island and entered the area, of our old fishing ground. Two
+vessels were cruising thereon, well to the northward, and we thought
+with glee of the excitement that would seize them did they but gain an
+inkling of our chase.
+
+To our great delight, what we had hoped, but hardly dared expect, came
+to pass. The school, as if with one impulse, hauled up on their course
+four points, which made them head direct for the western verge of the
+Solander ground, and--what was more important to us--made our coming up
+with them a matter of a short time. We made the customary signals with
+the upper sails to our friends to the northward, who recognized them
+immediately, and bore down towards us. Not only had the school shifted
+their course, but they had slackened speed; so that by four o'clock we
+were able to lower for them at less than a mile distance.
+
+It was an ideal whaling day--smooth water, a brisk breeze, a brilliant
+sun, and plenty of whales. I was, as became my position, in the rear
+when we went into action, and hardly hoped for an opportunity of doing
+much but dance attendance upon my seniors. But fortune favoured me.
+Before I had any idea whether the chief was fast or not, all other
+considerations were driven clean out of my head by the unexpected
+apparition of a colossal head, not a ship's length away, coming straight
+for us, throwing up a swell in front of him like an ironclad. There was
+barely time to sheer to one side, when the giant surged past us in a
+roar of foaming sea, the flying flakes of which went right over us.
+Samuela was "all there," though, and as the great beast passed he
+plunged a harpoon into him with such force and vigour that the very
+socket entered the blubber it needed all the strength I could muster,
+even with such an aid as the nineteen-feet steer-oar, to swing the boat
+right round in his wake, and prevent her being capsized by his headlong
+rush.
+
+For, contrary to the usual practice, he paused not an instant, but
+rather quickened his pace, as if spurred. Heavens, how he went! The
+mast and sail had to come down--and they did, but I hardly know how.
+The spray was blinding, coming in sheets over the bows, so that I could
+hardly see how to steer in the monster's wake. He headed straight for
+the ship, which lay-to almost motionless, filling me with apprehension
+lest he should in his blind flight dash that immense mass of solid
+matter into her broadside, and so put an inglorious end to all our
+hopes. What their feelings on board must have been, I can only imagine,
+when they saw the undeviating rush of the gigantic creature straight for
+them. On he went, until I held my breath for the crash, when at the
+last moment, and within a few feet of the ship's side, he dived, passing
+beneath the vessel. We let go line immediately, as may be supposed; but
+although we had been towing with quite fifty fathoms drift, our speed
+had been so great that we came up against the old ship with a crash
+that very nearly finished us. He did not run any further just then, but
+sounded for about two hundred and fifty fathoms, rising to the surface
+in quite another mood. No more running away from him. I cannot say I
+felt any of the fierce joy of battle at the prospect before me. I had a
+profound respect for the fighting qualities of the sperm whale, and, to
+tell the truth, would much rather have run twenty miles behind him than
+have him turn to bay in his present parlous humour. It was, perhaps,
+fortunate for me that there was a crowd of witnesses, the other ships
+being now quite near enough to see all that was going on, since the
+feeling that my doings were full in view of many experts and veterans
+gave me a determination that I would not disgrace either myself or my
+ship; besides, I felt that this would probably be our last whale this
+voyage, if I did not fail, and that was no small thing to look forward
+to.
+
+All these things, so tedious in the telling, flashed through my mind,
+while, with my eyes glued to the huge bulk of my antagonist or the
+hissing vortices above him when he settled, I manoeuvred my pretty craft
+with all the skill I could summon. For what seemed a period of about
+twenty minutes we dodged him as he made the ugliest rushes at us. I
+had not yet changed ends with Samuela, as customary, for I felt it
+imperative to keep the helm while this game was being played. My trusty
+Kanaka, however, had a lance ready, and I knew, if he only got the ghost
+of a chance, no man living would or could make better use of it.
+
+The whole affair was growing monotonous as well as extremely wearying.
+Perhaps I was a little off my guard; at any rate, my heart almost leaped
+into my mouth when just after an ugly rush past us, which I thought had
+carried him to a safe distance, he stopped dead, lifted his flukes, and
+brought them down edgeways with a vicious sweep that only just missed
+the boat's gunwale and shore off the two oars on that side as if they
+had been carrots. This serious disablement would certainly have led to
+disaster but for Samuela. Prompt and vigorous, he seized the opportune
+moment when the whale's side was presented just after the blow, sending
+his lance quivering home all its length into the most vital part of
+the leviathan's anatomy. Turning his happy face to me, he shouted
+exultingly, "How's dat fer high?"--a bit of slang he had picked up, and
+his use of which never failed to make me smile. "High" it was indeed--a
+master-stroke. It must have pierced the creature's heart, for he
+immediately began to spout blood in masses, and without another wound
+went into his flurry and died.
+
+Then came the reaction. I must have exerted myself beyond what I had
+any idea of, for to Samuela I was obliged to delegate the task of
+fluke-boring, while I rested a little. The ship was soon alongside,
+though, and the whale secured. There was more yet to be done before
+we could rest, in spite of our fatigue. The other boats had been so
+successful that they had got two big fish, and what we were to do with
+them was a problem not easily solvable. By dint of great exertion, we
+managed to get another whale alongside, but were fain to come to
+some arrangement with the ELIZA ADAMS, one of the ships that had been
+unsuccessful, to take over our other whale on an agreement to render
+us one-third of the product either in Port William or at home, if she
+should not find us is the former place.
+
+Behold us, then, in the gathering dusk with a whale on either side,
+every stitch of canvas we could show set and drawing, straining every
+nerve to get into the little port again, with the pleasant thought that
+we were bringing with us all that was needed to complete our well-earned
+cargo. Nobody wanted to go below; all hands felt that it was rest enough
+to hang over the rail on either side and watch the black masses as they
+surged through the gleaming sea. They represented so much to us. Very
+little was said, but all hearts were filled with a deep content, a sense
+of a long season of toil fitly crowned with complete success; nor was
+any depression felt at the long, long stretch of stormy ocean between
+us and our home port far away in the United States. That would doubtless
+come by-and-by, when within less than a thousand miles of New Bedford;
+but at present all sense of distance from home was lost in the
+overmastering thought that soon it would be our only business to get
+there as quickly as possible, without any avoidable loitering on the
+road.
+
+We made an amazing disturbance in the darkness of the sea with our
+double burthen, so much so that one of the coasting steamers changed
+her course a bit to range up by our side in curiosity. We were scarcely
+going two and a half knots, in spite of the row we made, and there
+was hardly room for wonder at the steamboat captain's hail, "Want any
+assistance?" "No, thank you," was promptly returned, although there was
+little doubt that all hands would have subscribed towards a tow into
+port, in case the treacherous weather should, after all, play us a dirty
+trick. But it looked as if our troubles were over. No hitch occurred
+in our steady progress, slow though it necessarily was, and as morning
+lifted the heavy veil from the face of the land, we arrived at our
+pretty little haven, and quietly came to an anchor. The CHANCE was in
+port wind-bound, looking, like ourselves, pretty low in the water. No
+sooner did Paddy hear the news of our arrival in such fine trim than
+he lowered his boat and hurried on board of us, his face beaming with
+delight. Long and loud were his congratulations, especially when he
+heard that we should now be full. Moreover, he offered--nor would he
+take any denial--to come with the whole of his crew and help us finish.
+
+For the next four days and nights, during which the wind prevented the
+CHANCE from leaving us, our old ship was a scene of wild revelry, that
+ceased not through the twenty-four hours--revelry entirely unassisted
+by strong waters, too, the natural ebullient gaiety of men who were
+free from anxiety on any account whatever, rejoicing over the glad
+consummation of more than two years toil, on the one hand; on the other,
+a splendid sympathy in joy manifested by the satisfied crew under the
+genial command of Captain Gilroy. With their cheerful help we made
+wonderful progress; and when at last the wind hauled into a favourable
+quarter, and they were compelled to leave us, the back of our work was
+broken, only the tedious task of boiling being left to finish.
+
+Never, I am sure, did two ships' companies part with more hearty
+good-will than ours. As the ungainly old tub surged slowly out of the
+little harbour, her worn-out and generally used-up appearance would have
+given a Board of Trade Inspector the nightmare; the piratical looks of
+her crowd were enough to frighten a shipload of passengers into fits;
+but to us who had seen their performances in all weathers, and under all
+circumstances, accidental externals had no weight in biassing our high
+opinion of them all. Good-bye, old ship; farewell, jolly captain and
+sturdy crew; you will never be forgotten any more by us while
+life lasts, and in far other and more conventional scenes we shall
+regretfully remember the free-and-easy time we shared with you. So she
+slipped away round the point and out of our lives for ever.
+
+By dint of steady hard work we managed to get the last of our greasy
+work done in four days more, then faced with a will the job of stowing
+afresh the upper tiers of casks, in view of our long journey home. The
+oil bought by the skipper on private venture was left on deck, secured
+to the lash-rail, for discharging at the Bluff, while our stock of
+water-casks were carefully overhauled and recoopered prior to being
+stowed in their places below. Of course, we had plenty of room in the
+hold, since no ship would carry herself full of casks of oil; but I
+doubt whether, if we had borne a "Plimsoll's mark," it would not have
+been totally submerged, so deep did we lie. Wooding and watering came
+next--a different affair to our casual exercises in those directions
+before. Provision had to be made now for a possible four or five months'
+passage, during which we hoped to avoid any further calls, so that
+the accumulation of firewood alone was no small matter. We cleared the
+surrounding neighbourhood of potatoes at a good price, those useful
+tubers being all they could supply us with for sea-stock, much to their
+sorrow.
+
+Then came the most unpleasant part of the whole business--for me. It had
+been a part of the agreement made with the Kanakas that they were not to
+be taken home with us, but returned to their island upon the termination
+of the whaling. Now, the time had arrived when we were to part, and
+I must confess that I felt very sorry to leave them. They had proved
+docile, useful, and cheerful; while as for my harpooner and his mate
+Polly, no man could have wished for smarter, better, or more faithful
+helpers than they were. Strong as their desire was to return to their
+homes, they too felt keenly the parting with us; for although they
+had unavoidably suffered much from the inclemency of the weather--so
+different from anything they had ever previously experienced--they had
+been kindly treated, and had moved on precisely the same footing as the
+rest of the crew. They wept like little children when the time arrived
+for them to leave us, declaring that if ever we came to their island
+again they would use all their endeavours to compel us to remain,
+assuring us that we should want for nothing during the rest of our
+lives, if we would but take up our abode with them. The one exception
+to all this cordiality was Sam. His ideas were running in quite other
+channels. To regain his lost status as ruler of the island, with all
+the opportunities for indulging his animal propensities which such
+a position gave him, was the problem he had set himself, and to the
+realization of these wishes he had determinedly bent all his efforts.
+
+Thus he firmly declined the offer of a passage back in the ELIZA ADAMS,
+which our captain secured for all the Kanakas; preferring to be landed
+at the Bluff, with the goodly sum of money to which he was entitled,
+saying that he had important business to transact in Sydney before he
+returned. This business, he privately informed me, was the procuring of
+arms and ammunition wherewith to make war upon his rival. Of course we
+could not prevent him, although it did seem an abominable thing to let
+loose the spirit of slaughter among those light-hearted natives just
+to satisfy the ambition of an unscrupulous negro. But, as I have before
+noticed, from information received many years after I learned that he
+had been successful in his efforts, though at what cost to life I do not
+know.
+
+So our dusky friends left us, with a good word from every one, and went
+on board the ELIZA ADAMS, whose captain promised to land them at Futuna,
+within six months. How he carried out his promise, I do not know; but,
+for the poor fellows' sakes, I trust he kept his word.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII. TO THE BLUFF, AND HOME
+
+And now the cruise of the good old whaling barque CACHALOT, as far as
+whaling is concerned, comes to an end. For all practical purposes
+she becomes a humdrum merchantman in haste to reach her final port of
+discharge, and get rid of her cargo. No more will she loiter and pry
+around anything and everything, from an island to a balk of drift-wood,
+that comes in her way, knowing not the meaning of "waste of time." The
+"crow's-nests" are dismantled, taut topgallant-masts sent up, and royal
+yards crossed. As soon as we get to sea we shall turn-to and heave that
+ancient fabric of bricks and mortar--always a queer-looking erection to
+be cumbering a ship's deck--piecemeal over the side. It has long been
+shaky and weather-beaten; it will soon obstruct our movements no more.
+Our rigging has all been set up and tarred down; we have painted hull
+and spars, and scraped wherever the wood-work is kept bright. All gear
+belonging to whaling has been taken out of the boats, carefully cleaned,
+oiled, and stowed away for a "full due." Two of the boats have been
+taken inboard, and stowed bottom-up upon the gallows aft, as any
+other merchantman carries them. At last, our multifarious preparations
+completed, we ride ready for sea.
+
+It was quite in accordance with the fitness of things that, when all
+things were now ready for our departure, there should come a change of
+wind that threatened to hold us prisoners for some days longer. But our
+"old man" was hard to beat, and he reckoned that, if we could only get
+out of the "pond," he would work her across to the Bluff somehow or
+other. So we ran out a kedge with a couple of lines to it, and warped
+her out of the weather side of the harbour, finding, when at last we
+got her clear, that she would lay her course across the Straits to clear
+Ruapuke--nearly; but the current had to be reckoned with. Before we
+reached that obstructing island we were down at the eastern end of it,
+and obliged to anchor promptly to save ourselves from being swept down
+the coast many miles to leeward of our port.
+
+But the skipper was quite equal to the occasion. Ordering his boat,
+he sped away into Bluff harbour, only a matter of six or seven miles,
+returning soon with a tug, who for a pound or two placed us, without
+further trouble, alongside the wharf, amongst some magnificent clipper
+ships of Messrs. Henderson's and the New Zealand Shipping Co.'s, who
+seemed to turn up their splendid noses at the squat, dumpy, antiquated
+old serving-mallet that dared to mingle with so august a crowd. There
+had been a time, not so very far back, when I should have shared their
+apparent contempt for our homely old tub; but my voyage had taught me,
+among other things, that, as far as true comfort went at sea, not a
+"three-skysail-yarder" among them could compare with the CACHALOT. And
+I was extremely glad that my passage round the Horn was to be in my own
+ship, and not in a long, snaky tank that, in the language of the sailor,
+takes a header when she gets outside the harbour, and only comes up two
+or three times to blow before she gets home.
+
+Our only reason for visiting this place being to discharge Captain
+Count's oil, and procure a sea-stock of salt provisions and hard bread,
+these duties were taken in hand at once. The skipper sold his venture of
+oil to good advantage, being so pleased with his success that he gave us
+all a good feed on the strength of it.
+
+As soon as the stores were embarked and everything ready for sea,
+leave was given to all hands for twenty-four hours, upon the distinct
+understanding that the privilege was not to be abused, to the detriment
+of everybody, who, as might be supposed, were anxious to start for
+home. In order that there might be less temptation to go on the spree
+generally, a grand picnic was organized to a beautiful valley some
+distance from the town. Carriages were chartered, an enormous quantity
+of eatables and drinkables provided, and away we went, a regular
+wayzgoose or bean-feast party. It was such a huge success, that I have
+ever since wondered why such outings cannot become usual among sailors
+on liberty abroad, instead of the senseless, vicious waste of health,
+time, and hard-earned wages which is general. But I must not let myself
+loose upon this theme again, or we shall never get to sea.
+
+Liberty over without any trouble arising, and all hands comfortably on
+board again, the news ran round that we were to sail in the morning.
+So, after a good night's rest, we cast loose from the wharf, and, with
+a little assistance from the same useful tug that brought us in, got
+fairly out to sea. All sail was set to a strong, steady north-wester,
+and with yards canted the least bit in the world on the port tack, so
+that every stitch was drawing, we began our long easterly stretch to the
+Horn, homeward bound at last.
+
+Favoured by wind and weather, we made an average run of one hundred and
+eighty miles per day for many days, paying no attention to "great circle
+sailing," since in such a slow ship the net gain to be secured by going
+to a high latitude was very small, but dodging comfortably along on
+about the parallel of 48deg. S., until it became necessary to draw down
+towards "Cape Stiff," as that dreaded extremity of South America, Cape
+Horn, is familiarly called by seamen. As we did so, icebergs became
+numerous, at one time over seventy being in sight at once. Some of them
+were of immense size--one, indeed, that could hardly be fitly described
+as an iceberg, but more properly an ice-field, with many bergs rising
+out of it, being over sixty miles long, while some of its towering peaks
+were estimated at from five hundred to one thousand feet high. Happily,
+the weather kept clear; for icebergs and fog make a combination truly
+appalling to the sailor, especially if there be much wind blowing.
+
+Needless, perhaps, to say, our look-out was of the best, for all hands
+had a double interest in the safety of the ship. Perhaps it may be
+thought that any man would have so much regard for the safety of his
+life that he would not think of sleeping on his look-out; but I can
+assure my readers that, strange as it may seem, such is not the case, I
+have known men who could never be trusted not to go to sleep, no matter
+how great the danger. This is so well recognized in merchant ships that
+nearly every officer acts as if there was no look-out at all forward, in
+case his supposed watchman should be having a surreptitious doze.
+
+Stronger and stronger blew the brave west wind; dirtier, gloomier, and
+colder grew the weather, until, reduced to two topsails and a reefed
+foresail, we were scudding dead before the gale for all we were worth.
+This was a novel experience for us in the CACHALOT, and I was curious
+to see how she would behave. To my mind, the supreme test of a ship's
+sea-kindliness is the length of time she will scud before a gale without
+"pooping" a sea, or taking such heavy water on board over her sides
+as to do serious damage. Some ships are very dangerous to run at all.
+Endeavouring to make the best use of the gale which is blowing in the
+right direction, the captain "hangs on" to all the sail he can carry,
+until she ships a mighty mass of water over all, so that the decks
+are filled with wreckage, or, worse still, "poops" a sea. The latter
+experience is a terrible one, even to a trained seaman. You are running
+before the wind and waves, sometimes deep in the valley between two
+liquid mountains, sometimes high on the rolling ridge of one. You watch
+anxiously the speed of the sea, trying to decide whether it or you are
+going the faster, when suddenly there seems to be a hush, almost a
+lull, in the uproar. You look astern, and see a wall of water rising
+majestically higher and higher, at the same time drawing nearer and
+nearer. Instinctively you clutch at something firm, and hold your
+breath. Then that mighty green barrier leans forward, the ship's stern
+seems to settle at the same time, and, with a thundering noise as of
+an avalanche descending, it overwhelms you. Of course the ship's way is
+deadened; she seems like a living thing overburdened, yet struggling to
+be free; and well it is for all hands if the helmsman be able to keep
+his post and his wits about him. For if he be hurt, or have fled from
+the terrible wave, it is an even chance that she "broaches to;" that is
+to say, swings round broadside on to the next great wave that follows
+relentlessly its predecessor. Then, helpless and vulnerable, she will
+most probably be smashed up and founder. Many a good ship has gone with
+all hands to the bottom just as simply as that.
+
+In order to avoid such a catastrophe, the proper procedure is to
+"heave-to" before the sea has attained so dangerous a height; but even a
+landsman can understand how reluctant a shipmaster may be to lie like
+a log just drifting, while a more seaworthy ship is flying along at the
+rate of, perhaps, three hundred miles a day in the desired direction.
+Ships of the CACHALOT's bluff build are peculiarly liable to delays of
+this kind from their slowness, which, if allied to want of buoyancy,
+makes it necessary to heave-to in good time, if safety is at all cared
+for.
+
+To my great astonishment and delight, however, our grand old vessel
+nobly sustained her character, running on without shipping any heavy
+water, although sometimes hedged in on either side by gigantic waves
+that seemed to tower as high as her lowermast heads. Again and again
+we were caught up and passed by the splendid homeward-bound colonial
+packets, some of them carrying an appalling press of canvas, under
+which the long, snaky hulls, often overwhelmed by the foaming seas, were
+hardly visible, so insignificant did they appear by comparison with the
+snowy mountain of swelling sail above.
+
+So we fared eastward and ever southward, until in due time up rose the
+gloomy, storm-scarred crags of the Diego Ramirez rocks, grim outposts
+of the New World. To us, though, they bore no terrific aspect; for were
+they not the turning-point from which we could steer north, our head
+pointed for home? Immediately upon rounding them we hauled up four
+points, and, with daily improving weather climbed the southern slopes
+towards the line.
+
+Very humdrum and quiet the life appeared to all of us, and had it not
+been for the saving routine of work by day, and watch by night, kept up
+with all our old discipline, the tedium would have been insupportable
+after the incessant excitement of expectation to which we had so long
+been accustomed. Still, our passage was by no means a bad one for a slow
+ship, being favoured by more than ordinarily steadfast winds until we
+reached the zone of the south-east trades again, where the usual mild,
+settled wind and lovely weather awaited us. On and on, unhasting but
+unresting, we stolidly jogged, by great good fortune slipping across the
+"doldrums"--that hateful belt of calms about the line so much detested
+by all sailor-men--without losing the south-east wind.
+
+Not one day of calm delayed us, the north-east trades meeting us like a
+friend sent to extend a welcoming hand and lend us his assistance on our
+homeward way. They hung so far to the eastward, too--sometimes actually
+at east-by-north-that we were able to steer north on the starboard
+tack--a slice of luck not usually met with. This "slant" put all hands
+in the best of humours, and already the date of our arrival was settled
+by the more sanguine ones, as well as excellent plans made for spending
+the long voyage's earnings.
+
+For my part, having been, in spite of my youth, accustomed to so many
+cruel disappointments and slips between the cup and lip, I was afraid to
+dwell too hopefully upon the pleasures (?) of getting ashore. And after
+the incident which I have now to record occurred, I felt more nervous
+distrust than I had ever felt before at sea since first I began to
+experience the many vicissitudes of a sailor's life.
+
+We had reached the northern verge of the tropics in a very short time,
+owing to the favourable cant in the usual direction of the north-east
+trades before noted, and had been met with north-westerly winds and
+thick, dirty weather, which was somewhat unusual in so low a latitude.
+Our look-outs redoubled their vigilance, one being posted on each bow
+always at night, and relieved every hour, as we were so well manned. We
+were now on the port tack, of course, heading about north-east-by-north,
+and right in the track of outward-hound vessels from both the United
+Kingdom and the States. One morning, about three a.m.--that fateful
+time in the middle watch when more collisions occur than at any
+other--suddenly out of the darkness a huge ship seemed to leap right at
+us. She must have come up in a squall, of which there were many about,
+at the rate of some twelve knots an hour, having a fair wind, and every
+rag of sail set. Not a gleam of light was visible anywhere on board of
+her, and, to judge from all appearances, the only man awake on board was
+the helmsman.
+
+We, being "on the wind, close-hauled," were bound by the "rule of the
+road at sea" to keep our course when meeting a ship running free. The
+penalty for doing ANYTHING under such circumstances is a severe one.
+First of all, you do not KNOW that the other ship's crew are asleep or
+negligent, even though they carry no lights; for, by a truly infernal
+parsimony, many vessels actually do not carry oil enough to keep their
+lamps burning all the voyage, and must therefore economize in this
+unspeakably dangerous fashion. And it may be that just as you alter your
+course, daring no longer to hold on, and, as you have every reason to
+believe, be run down, the other man alters his. Then a few breathless
+moments ensue, an awful crash, and the two vessels tear each other to
+pieces, spilling the life that they contain over the hungry sea. Even if
+you escape, YOU are to blame for not keeping your course, unless it can
+be proved that you were not seen by the running ship.
+
+Well, we kept our course until, I verily believe, another plunge would
+have cut us sheer in two halves. At the last moment our helm was put
+hard down, bringing our vessel right up into the wind at the same
+moment as the helmsman on board the other vessel caught sight of us, and
+instinctively put his helm down too. The two vessels swung side by side
+amidst a thunderous roar of flapping canvas, crackling of fallen spars,
+and rending of wood as the shrouds tore away the bulwarks. All our
+davits were ripped from the starboard side, and most of our bulwarks
+too; but, strangely enough, we lost no spars nor any important gear.
+There seemed to be a good deal of damage done on board the stranger,
+where, in addition, all hands were at their wits' end. Well they might
+be, aroused from so criminal a sleep as theirs. Fortunately, the third
+mate had powerful bull's-eye lantern, which in his watch on deck he
+always kept lighted. Turning it on the stern of the delinquent vessel
+as she slowly forged clear of us, we easily read her name, which, for
+shame's sake as well as for prudential reasons, I withhold. She was a
+London ship, and a pretty fine time of it I had for the next day or
+two, listening to the jeers and sarcasms on the quality of British
+seamanship.
+
+Repairing damages kept us busy for a few days; but whatever of
+thankfulness we were capable of feeling was aroused by this hairbreadth
+escape from death through the wicked neglect of the most elementary duty
+of any man calling himself a seaman.
+
+Then a period of regular Western-ocean weather set in. It was early
+spring in the third year since our departure from this part of the
+world, and the north-easter blew with bitter severity, making even the
+seasoned old captain wince again; but, as he jovially said, "it smelt
+homey, n' HE warn't a-goin' ter growl at thet." Neither were any of
+us, although we could have done with less of a sharp edge to it all the
+same.
+
+Steadily we battled northward, until at last, with full hearts, we made
+Cape Navesink ("Ole Neversunk"), and on the next day took a tug and
+towed into New Bedford with every flag we could scare up flying, the
+centre of admiration--a full whale-ship safe back from her long, long
+fishing round the world.
+
+My pleasant talk is done. I wish from my heart it were better performed;
+but, having done my best, I must perforce be content. If in some small
+measure I have been able to make you, my friendly reader, acquainted
+with a little-known or appreciated side of life, and in any wise made
+that life a real matter to you, giving you a fresh interest in the
+toilers of the sea, my work has not been wholly in vain. And with that
+fond hope I give you the sailor's valedictory--
+
+SO LONG!
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Cruise of the Cachalot, by Frank T. Bullen
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+Project Gutenberg Etext of The Cruise of the Cachalot, by Bullen
+
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+The Cruise of the Cachalot
+
+Round the World After Sperm Whales
+
+by Frank T. Bullen
+
+June, 1998  [Etext #1356]
+[Date last updated: April 2, 2005]
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+Edition: 10
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+*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END*
+
+
+
+
+
+THE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT"
+
+ROUND THE WORLD AFTER SPERM WHALES
+
+FRANK T. BULLEN, F.R.G.S. FIRST MATE
+
+
+
+
+To
+
+Miss Emily Hensley
+
+In grateful remembrance of thirty years' constant friendship and
+practical help this work is affectionately dedicated by her
+humble pupil.
+
+*
+
+PREFACE
+
+In the following pages an attempt has been made--it is believed
+for the first time--to give an account of the cruise of a South
+Sea whaler from the seaman's standpoint.  Two very useful books
+have been published--both of them over half a century ago--on
+the same subject; but, being written by the surgeons of whale-
+ships for scientific purposes, neither of them was interesting
+to the general reader.  ["Narrative of a Whaling Voyage round
+the Globe," by F Debell Bennett, F.R.C.S. (2 vols). Bentley,
+London (1840).  "The Sperm Whale Fishery," by Thomas Beale,
+M.R.C.S.  London (1835).] They have both been long out of print;
+but their value to the student of natural history has been, and
+still is, very great, Dr. Beale's book, in particular, being
+still the authority on the sperm whale.
+
+This book does not pretend to compete with either of the above
+valuable works.  Its aims is to present to the general reader a
+simple account of the methods employed, and the dangers met
+with, in a calling about which the great mass of the public
+knows absolutely nothing.  Pending the advent of some great
+writer who shall see the wonderful possibilities for literature
+contained in the world-wide wanderings of the South Sea whale-
+fishers, the author has endeavoured to summarize his experiences
+so that they may be read without weariness, and, it is hoped,
+with profit.
+
+The manifold shortcomings of the work will not, it is trusted,
+be laid to the account of the subject, than which none more
+interesting could well be imagined, but to the limitations of
+the writer, whose long experience of sea life has done little to
+foster the literary faculty.
+
+One claim may be made with perfect confidence--that if the
+manner be not all that could be wished, the matter is entirely
+trustworthy, being compiled from actual observation and
+experience, and in no case at second-hand.  An endeavour has
+also been made to exclude such matter as is easily obtainable
+elsewhere--matters of common knowledge and "padding" of any
+sort--the object not being simply the making of a book, but the
+record of little-known facts.
+
+Great care has been taken to use no names either of ships or
+persons, which could, by being identified, give annoyance or
+pain to any one, as in many cases strong language has been
+necessary for the expression of opinions.
+
+Finally, the author hopes that, although in no sense exclusively
+a book for boys, the coming generation may find this volume
+readable and interesting; and with that desire he offers it
+confidently, though in all humility, to that great impartial
+jury, the public.
+
+F.T.B. Dulwich,  July, 1897.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+CHAPTER I - OUTWARD BOUND
+Adrift in New Bedford--I get a ship--A motley crowd--"Built by
+the mile, and cut off as you want 'em"--Mistah Jones--
+Greenies--Off to sea.
+
+CHAPTER II - PREPARING FOR ACTION
+Primitive steering-gear--Strange drill--Misery below--Short
+commons--Goliath rigs the "crow's-nest"--Useful information
+--Preparing for war--Strange weapons--A boat-load.
+
+CHAPTER III - FISHING BEGINS
+The cleanliness of a whale-ship--No skulking--Porpoise-fishing
+--Cannibals--Cooking operations--Boat-drill--A good look-out--
+"Black-fishing"--Roguery in all trades--Plenty of fresh beef--
+The nursery of American whalemen.
+
+CHAPTER IV - BAD WEATHER
+Nautical routine--The first gale--Comfort versus speed--A grand
+sea-boat--The Sargasso Sea--Natural history pursuits--
+Dolphin--Unconventional fishing--Rumours of a visit to the
+Cape Verdes--Babel below--No allowance, but not "full and plenty"
+--Queer washing--Method of sharing rations--The "slop-shop"
+opened--Our prospects.
+
+
+CHAPTER V - ACTUAL WARFARE. OUR FIRST WHALE
+Premonitions--Discussion on whaling from unknown premisses--
+I wake in a fright--Sperm whales at last--The war begins
+--Warning--We get fast--and get loose--In trouble--an
+uncomfortable situation--No Pity-Only one whale--Rigging
+the "cutting-stage"--Securing the whale alongside.
+
+
+CHAPTER VI - "DIRTY WORK FOR CLEAN MONEY"
+Goliath in trouble--Commence "cutting-in"--A heavy head--
+A tank of spermaceti--Decks running with oil--A "Patent"
+mincing-machine--Extensive cooking--Dangerous work--
+Three tuns of oil--A horrible mess--A thin-skinned monster
+--A fine mouth of teeth.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII - GETTING SOUTHWARD
+Captain Slocum's amenities--Expensive beer--St. Paul's Rocks--
+"Bonito"--"Showery" weather--Waterspouts--Calms--
+A friendly finback--A disquisition on whales by Mistah
+Jones--Flying-fishing.
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII - ABNER'S WHALE
+Abner in luck--A big "fish" at last--A feat of endurance--
+A fighting whale--The sperm whale's food--Ambergris
+--A good reception--Hard labour--Abner's reward--
+"Scrimshaw".
+
+
+CHAPTER IX - OUR FIRST CALLING-PLACE
+A forced march--Tristan d'Acunha--Visitors--Fresh provisions
+--A warm welcome--Goliath's turn--a feathered host--
+Good gear--A rough time--Creeping north--Uncertainty--
+"Rule of thumb"--navigation--The Mozambique Channel.
+
+
+CHAPTER X - A VISIT TO SOME STRANGE PLACES
+Tropical thunderstorms--A "record" day's fishing--Cetacean
+frivolities--Mistah Jones moralizes--A snug harbour--
+Wooding and watering--Catching a turtle--Catching a
+"Tartar"--A violent death--A crooked jaw--Aldabra Island
+--Primeval inhabitants--A strange steed--"Pirate" birds--
+Good eggs--Green cocoa-nuts--More turtle--A school of
+"kogia".
+
+
+CHAPTER XI - ROUND THE COCOS AND SEYCHELLES
+We encounter a "cyclone"--A tremendous gust--a foundering
+ship--To anchor for repairs--The Cocos--Repairing damages
+--Around the Seychelles--A "milk" sea--A derelict prahu
+--A ghastly freight--A stagnant sea.
+
+
+CHAPTER XII - WHICH TREATS OF THE KRAKEN
+"Eyes and no eyes" at sea--Of big mollusca--The origin of sea-
+serpent stories--Rediscovery of the "Kraken"--A conflict
+of monsters--"The insatiable nightmares of the sea"--
+Spermaceti running to waste--The East Indian maze.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII - OFF TO THE JAPAN GROUNDS
+A whale off Hong Kong--The skipper and his "'bomb-gun"--
+Injury to the captain--Unwelcome visitors--The heathen
+Chinee--We get safe off--"Death of Portagee Jim"--The
+Funeral--The Coast of Japan--Port Lloyd--Meeting of
+whale-ships.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV - LIBERTY DAY--AND AFTER
+Liberty day--I foregather with a "beach-comber"--A big fight
+--Goliath on the war-path--A court-martial--Wholesale
+flogging--a miserable crowd--Quite a fleet of whale-ships
+--I "raise" a sperm whale--Severe competition--An
+unfortunate stroke--The skipper distinguishes himself.
+
+
+CHAPTER XV - WHICH COMES UNCOMFORTABLY NEAR BEING THE LAST
+I come to grief--Emulating Jonah--Sharing a flurry--A long
+spell of sick-leave--The whale's "sixth sense"--Off to the
+Kuriles--Prepare for "bowhead" fishing--The Sea of
+Okhotsk--Abundant salmon--The "daintiness" of seamen.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI - "BOWHEAD" FISHING
+Difference between whales--Popular ideas exploded--The gentle
+mysticetus--Very tame work--Fond of tongue--Goliath
+confides in me--An awful affair--Captain Slocum's death--
+"Not Amurath an Amurath succeeds"--I am promoted.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII - VISIT TO HONOLULU
+Towards Honolulu--Missionaries and their critics--The happy
+Kanaka--Honolulu--A pleasant holiday.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII - ON THE "LINE" GROUNDS
+I get my opportunity--A new harpooner--Feats under the
+skipper's eye--Two whales on one line--Compliments
+Heavy towage--A grand haul.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX - EDGING SOUTHWARD
+Monotony--A school of blackfish--A boat ripped in half--A
+multitude of sharks--A curious backbone--Christmas Day--
+A novel Christmas dinner--A find of ambergris.
+
+
+CHAPTER XX - "HUMPBACKING" AT VAU VAU
+"Gamming" again--a Whitechapel rover--arrive at Vau Vau
+--Valuable friends--a Sunday ashore--"Hollingside"--
+The natives at church--Full-dress--Very "mishnally"--
+Idyllic cruising--Wonderful mother-love--A mighty feast.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI - PROGRESS OF THE "HUMPBACK" SEASON
+A fruitless chase--Placid times--a stirring adventure--a vast
+cave--Unforeseen company--A night of terror--We provide
+a feast for the sharks--the death of Abner--An impressive
+ceremony--an invitation to dinner--Kanaka cookery.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII - FAREWELL TO VAU VAU
+Ignorance of the habits of whales--A terrific encounter--
+VAE VICTIS--Rewarding our "flems"--We leave Van Vau--The
+Outward bounder--Sailors' "homes"--A night of horror--
+Sudden death--Futuna.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII - AT FUTUNA, RECRUITING
+A fleet of nondescripts--"Tui Tongoa" otherwise Sam--Eager
+recruits--Devout Catholics--A visit to Sunday Island--A
+Crusoe family--Their eviction--Maori cabbage--Fine fishing
+--Away for New Zealand--Sight the "Three Kings"--
+The Bay of Islands.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV - THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST
+Sleepy hollow--Wood and water--liberty day--A plea for the
+sailors' recreation--Our picnic--A a whiff of "May"--A
+delightful excursion--To the southward again--Wintry
+weather--Enter Foveaux Straits.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV - ON THE SOLANDER GROUNDS
+Firstfruits of the Solander--An easy catch--Delights of the
+Solander--Port William--The old CHANCE--"Paddy Gilroy"
+--Barbarians from the East End--Barracouta-Fishing--
+Wind-bound--An enormous school of cachalots--Misfortune--
+A bursting whale--Back on the Solander again--Cutting-in
+at Port William--Studying anatomy--Badly battered Yankees
+--Paddy in luck again.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI - PADDY'S LATEST EXPLOIT
+We try Preservation Inlet--An astounding feat of Paddy Gilroy's.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII - PORT PEGASUS
+Port Pegasus--Among old acquaintances--"Mutton birds"--
+Skilled auxiliaries--A gratifying catch--Leave port again
+--Back to the Solander--A grim escape--Our last whales
+--Into Port William again--Paddy's assistance--We part
+with our Kanakas--Sam's plans of conquest.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII - TO THE BLUFF, AND HOME
+And last--In high-toned company--Another picnic--Depart from
+the Bluff--Hey for the Horn!--Among the icebergs--
+"Scudding"--Favouring trades--A narrow escape from
+collision--Home at last.
+
+
+*
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+Without attempting the ambitious task of presenting a
+comprehensive sketch of the origin, rise, and fall of whale-
+fishing as a whole, it seems necessary to give a brief outline
+of that portion of the subject bearing upon the theme of the
+present book before plunging into the first chapter.
+
+This preliminary is the more needed for the reason alluded to in
+the Preface--the want of knowledge of the subject that is
+apparent everywhere.  The Greenland whale fishery has been so
+popularized that most people know something about it; the sperm
+whale fishery still awaits its Scoresby and a like train of
+imitators and borrowers.
+
+Cachalots, or sperm whales, must have been captured on the
+coasts of Europe in a desultory way from a very early date, by
+the incidental allusions to the prime products spermaceti and
+ambergris which are found in so many ancient writers,
+Shakespeare's reference--"The sovereign'st thing on earth was
+parmaceti for an inward bruise"--will be familiar to most
+people, as well as Milton's mention of the delicacies at Satan's
+feast--"Grisamber steamed"--not to carry quotation any further.
+
+But in the year 1690 the brave and hardy fishermen of the north-
+east coasts of North America established that systematic pursuit
+of the cachalot which has thriven so wonderfully ever since,
+although it must be confessed that the last few years have
+witnessed a serious decline in this great branch of trade.
+
+For many years the American colonists completely engrossed this
+branch of the whale fishery, contentedly leaving to Great
+Britain and the continental nations the monopoly of the northern
+or Arctic fisheries, while they cruised the stormy, if milder,
+seas around their own shores.
+
+For the resultant products, their best customer was the mother
+country, and a lucrative commerce steadily grew up between the
+two countries.  But when the march of events brought the
+unfortunate and wholly unnecessary War of Independence, this
+flourishing trade was the first to suffer, and many of the
+daring fishermen became our fiercest foes on board their own
+men-of-war.
+
+The total stoppage of the importation of sperm oil and
+spermaceti was naturally severely felt in England, for time had
+not permitted the invention of substitutes.  In consequence of
+this, ten ships were equipped and sent out to the sperm whale
+fishery from England in 1776, most of them owned by one London
+firm, the Messrs. Enderby.  The next year, in order to encourage
+the infant enterprise, a Government bounty, graduated from L500
+to L1000 per ship, was granted. Under this fostering care the
+number of ships engaged in the sperm whale fishery progressively
+increased until 1791, when it attained its maximum.
+
+This method of whaling being quite new to our whalemen, it was
+necessary, at great cost, to hire American officers and
+harpooners to instruct them in the ways of dealing with these
+highly active and dangerous cetacea.  Naturally, it was by-and-
+by found possible to dispense with the services of these
+auxiliaries; but it must be confessed that the business never
+seems to have found such favour, or to have been prosecuted with
+such smartness, among our whalemen as it has by the Americans.
+
+Something of an exotic the trade always was among us, although
+it did attain considerable proportions at one time.  At first
+the fishing was confined to the Atlantic Ocean; nor for many
+years was it necessary to go farther afield, as abundance of
+whales could easily be found.
+
+As, however, the number of ships engaged increased, it was
+inevitable that the known grounds should become exhausted, and
+in 1788 Messrs. Enderby's ship, the EMILIA, first ventured round
+Cape Horn, as the pioneer of a greater trade than ever.  The way
+once pointed out, other ships were not slow to follow, until, in
+1819, the British whale-ship SYREN opened up the till then
+unexplored tract of ocean in the western part of the North
+Pacific, afterwards familiarly known as the "Coast of Japan."
+From these teeming waters alone, for many years an average
+annual catch of 40,000 barrels of oil was taken, which, at the
+average price of L8 per barrel, will give some idea of the value
+of the trade generally.
+
+The Australian colonists, early in their career, found the sperm
+whale fishery easy of access from all their coasts, and
+especially lucrative.  At one time they bade fair to establish a
+whale fishery that should rival the splendid trade of the
+Americans; but, like the mother country, they permitted the
+fishery to decline, so that even bounties could not keep it
+alive.
+
+Meanwhile, the Americans added to their fleet continually,
+prospering amazingly.  But suddenly the advent of the civil war
+let loose among those peaceable cruisers the devastating
+ALABAMA, whose course was marked in some parts of the world by
+the fires of blazing whale-ships.  A great part, of the Geneva
+award was on this account, although it must be acknowledged that
+many pseudo-owners were enriched who never owned aught but
+brazen impudence and influential friends to push their
+fictitious claims.  The real sufferers, seamen especially, in
+most cases never received any redress whatever.
+
+From this crushing blow the American sperm whale fishery has
+never fully recovered.  When the writer was in the trade, some
+twenty-two years ago, it was credited with a fleet of between
+three and four hundred sail; now it may be doubted whether the
+numbers reach an eighth of that amount.  A rigid conservatism of
+method hinders any revival of the industry, which is practically
+conducted to-day as it was fifty, or even a hundred years ago;
+and it is probable that another decade will witness the final
+extinction of what was once one of the most important maritime
+industries in the world.
+
+
+*
+
+THE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT"
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+OUTWARD BOUND
+
+At the age of eighteen, after a sea-experience of six years from
+the time when I dodged about London streets, a ragged Arab, with
+wits sharpened by the constant fight for food, I found myself
+roaming the streets of New Bedford, Massachusetts.  How I came
+to be there, of all places in the world, does not concern this
+story at all, so I am not going to trouble my readers with it;
+enough to say that I WAS there, and mighty anxious to get away.
+Sailor Jack is always hankering for shore when he is at sea, but
+when he is "outward bound"--that is, when his money is all gone
+--he is like a cat in the rain there.
+
+So as MY money was all gone, I was hungry for a ship; and when a
+long, keen-looking man with a goat-like beard, and mouth stained
+with dry tobacco-juice, hailed me one afternoon at the street-
+corner, I answered very promptly, scenting a berth.  "Lookin'
+fer a ship, stranger?" said he.  "Yes; do you want a hand?" said
+I, anxiously.  He made a funny little sound something like a
+pony's whinny, then answered, "Wall, I should surmise that I
+want between fifty and sixty hands, ef yew kin lay me onto 'em;
+but, kem along, every dreep's a drop, an' yew seem likely
+enough." With that he turned and led the way until we reached a
+building around which were gathered one of the most nondescript
+crowds I had ever seen.  There certainly did not appear to be a
+sailor among them.  Not so much by their rig, though that is not
+a great deal to go by, but by their actions and speech.  One
+thing they all had in common, tobacco chewing but as nearly
+every male I met with in America did that, it was not much to be
+noticed.  I had hardly done reckoning them up when two or three
+bustling men came out and shepherded us all energetically into a
+long, low room, where some form of agreement was read out to us.
+Sailors are naturally and usually careless about the nature of
+the "articles" they sign, their chief anxiety being to get to
+sea, and under somebody's charge.  But had I been ever so
+anxious to know what I was going to sign this time, I could not,
+for the language might as well have been Chinese for all I
+understood of it.  However, I signed and passed on, engaged to
+go I knew not where, in some ship I did not know even the name
+of, in which I was to receive I did not know how much, or how
+little, for my labour, nor how long I was going to be away.
+"What a young fool!"  I hear somebody say.  I quite agree, but
+there were a good many more in that ship, as in most ships that
+I have ever sailed in.
+
+From the time we signed the articles, we were never left to
+ourselves.  Truculent-looking men accompanied us to our several
+boarding-houses, paid our debts for us, finally bringing us by
+boat to a ship lying out in the bay.  As we passed under her
+stern, I read the name CACHALOT, of New Bedford; but as soon as
+we ranged alongside, I realized that I was booked for the
+sailor's horror--a cruise in a whaler.  Badly as I wanted to get
+to sea, I had not bargained for this, and would have run some
+risks to get ashore again; but they took no chances, so we were
+all soon aboard.  Before going forward, I took a comprehensive
+glance around, and saw that I was on board of a vessel belonging
+to a type which has almost disappeared off the face of the
+waters.  A more perfect contrast to the trim-built English
+clipper-ships that I had been accustomed to I could hardly
+imagine.  She was one of a class characterized by sailors as
+"built by the mile, and cut off in lengths as you want 'em," bow
+and stern almost alike, masts standing straight as broomsticks,
+and bowsprit soaring upwards at an angle of about forty-five
+degrees.  She was as old-fashioned in her rig as in her hull;
+but I must not go into the technical differences between rigs,
+for fear of making myself tedious.  Right in the centre of the
+deck, occupying a space of about ten feet by eight, was a square
+erection of brickwork, upon which my wondering gaze rested
+longest, for I had not the slightest idea what it could be.  But
+I was rudely roused from my meditations by the harsh voice of
+one of the officers, who shouted, "Naow then, git below an' stow
+yer dunnage, 'n look lively up agin." I took the broad hint,
+and shouldering my traps, hurried forward to the fo'lk'sle,
+which was below deck.  Tumbling down the steep ladder, I entered
+the gloomy den which was to be for so long my home, finding it
+fairly packed with my shipmates.  A motley crowd they were.  I
+had been used in English ships to considerable variety of
+nationality; but here were gathered, not only the
+representatives of five or six nations, but 'long-shoremen of
+all kinds, half of whom had hardly ever set eyes on a ship
+before!  The whole space was undivided by partition, but I saw
+at once that black men and white had separated themselves, the
+blacks taking the port side and the whites the starboard.
+Finding a vacant bunk by the dim glimmer of the ancient teapot
+lamp that hung amidships, giving out as much smoke as light, I
+hurriedly shifted my coat for a "jumper" or blouse, put on an
+old cap, and climbed into the fresh air again.  For a double
+reason, even MY seasoned head was feeling bad with the
+villainous reek of the place, and I did not want any of those
+hard-featured officers on deck to have any cause to complain of
+my "hanging back."  On board ship, especially American ships, the
+first requisite for a sailor who wants to be treated properly is
+to "show willing," any suspicion of slackness being noted
+immediately, and the backward one marked accordingly.  I had
+hardly reached the deck when I was confronted by a negro, the
+biggest I ever saw in, my life.  He looked me up and down for a
+moment, then opening his ebony features in a wide smile, he
+said, "Great snakes!  why, here's a sailor man for sure!  Guess
+thet's so, ain't it, Johnny?" I said "yes" very curtly, for I
+hardly liked his patronizing air; but he snapped me up short
+with "yes, SIR, when yew speak to me, yew blank lime-juicer.
+I'se de fourf mate ob dis yar ship, en my name's Mistah Jones,
+'n yew, jest freeze on to dat ar, ef yew want ter lib long'n die
+happy.  See, sonny."  I SAW, and answered promptly, "I beg your
+pardon, sir, I didn't know."  "Ob cawse yew didn't know, dat's
+all right, little Britisher; naow jest skip aloft 'n loose dat
+fore-taupsle."  "Aye, aye, sir," I answered cheerily, springing
+at once into the fore-rigging and up the ratlines like a monkey,
+but not too fast to hear him chuckle, "Dat's a smart kiddy, I
+bet."  I had the big sail loose in double quick time, and sung
+out "All gone, the fore-taupsle," before any of the other sails
+were adrift.  "Loose the to-gantsle and staysles" came up from
+below in a voice like thunder, and I bounded up higher to my
+task.  On deck I could see a crowd at the windlass heaving up
+anchor.  I said to myself, "They don't waste any time getting
+this packet away."  Evidently they were not anxious to test any
+of the crew's swimming powers.  They were wise, for had she
+remained at anchor that night I verily believe some of the poor
+wretches would have tried to escape.
+
+The anchor came aweigh, the sails were sheeted home, and I
+returned on deck to find the ship gathering way for the heads,
+fairly started on her long voyage.
+
+What a bear-garden the deck was, to be sure!  The black portion
+of the crew--Portuguese natives from the Western and Canary
+Islands--were doing their work all right in a clumsy fashion;
+but the farmers, and bakers, and draymen were being driven about
+mercilessly amid a perfect hurricane of profanity and blows.  And
+right here I must say that, accustomed as I had always been to
+bad language all my life, what I now heard was a revelation to
+me.  I would not, if I could, attempt to give a sample of it,
+but it must be understood that it was incessant throughout the
+voyage.  No order could be given without it, under the
+impression, apparently, that the more curses the more speed.
+
+Before nightfall we were fairly out to sea, and the ceremony of
+dividing the crew into watches was gone through.  I found myself
+in the chief mate's or "port" watch (they called it "larboard,"
+a term I had never heard used before, it having long been
+obsolete in merchant ships), though the huge negro fourth mate
+seemed none too well pleased that I was not under his command,
+his being the starboard watch under the second mate.
+
+As night fell, the condition of the "greenies," or non-sailor
+portion of the crew, was pitiable.  Helpless from sea-sickness,
+not knowing where to go or what to do, bullied relentlessly by
+the ruthless petty officers--well, I never felt so sorry for a
+lot of men in my life.  Glad enough I was to get below into the
+fo'lk'sle for supper, and a brief rest and respite from that
+cruelty on deck.  A bit of salt junk and a piece of bread, i.e.
+biscuit, flinty as a pantile, with a pot of something sweetened
+with "longlick" (molasses), made an apology for a meal, and I
+turned in.  In a very few minutes oblivion came, making me as
+happy as any man can be in this world.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+PREPARING FOR ACTION
+
+The hideous noise always considered necessary in those ships
+when calling the watch, roused me effectively at midnight,
+"eight bells." I hurried on deck, fully aware that no leisurely
+ten minutes would be allowed here.  "Lay aft the watch," saluted
+me as I emerged into the keen strong air, quickening my pace
+according to where the mate stood waiting to muster his men.  As
+soon as he saw me, he said, "Can you steer?"  in a mocking tone;
+but when I quietly answered, "Yes, sir," his look of
+astonishment was delightful to see.  He choked it down, however,
+and merely telling me to take the wheel, turned forrard roaring
+frantically for his watch.  I had no time to chuckle over what I
+knew was in store for him, getting those poor greenies collected
+from their several holes and corners, for on taking the wheel I
+found a machine under my hands such as I never even heard of
+before.
+
+The wheel was fixed upon the tiller in such a manner that the
+whole concern travelled backwards and forwards across the deck
+in the maddest kind of way.  For the first quarter of an hour,
+in spite of the September chill, the sweat poured off me in
+streams. And the course--well, if was not steering, it was
+sculling; the old bumboat was wobbling all around like a drunken
+tailor with two left legs.  I fairly shook with apprehension
+lest the mate should come and look in the compass.  I had been
+accustomed to hard words if I did not steer within half a point
+each way; but here was a "gadget" that worked me to death, the
+result being a wake like a letter S.  Gradually I got the hang
+of the thing, becoming easier in my mind on my own account.
+Even that was not an unmixed blessing, for I had now some
+leisure to listen to the goings-on around the deck.
+
+Such brutality I never witnessed before.  On board of English
+ships (except men-of-war) there is practically no discipline,
+which is bad, but this sort of thing was maddening.  I knew how
+desperately ill all those poor wretches were, how helpless and
+awkward they would be if quite hale and hearty; but there was
+absolutely no pity for them, the officers seemed to be incapable
+of any feelings of compassion whatever.  My heart sank within me
+as I thought of what lay before me, although I did not fear that
+their treatment would also be mine, since I was at least able to
+do my duty, and willing to work hard to keep out of trouble.
+Then I began to wonder what sort of voyage I was in for, how
+long it would last, and what my earnings were likely to be, none
+of which things I had the faintest idea of.
+
+Fortunately, I was alone in the world.  No one, as far as I
+knew, cared a straw what became of me; so that I was spared any
+worry on that head.  And I had also a very definite and well-
+established trust in God, which I can now look back and see was
+as fully justified as I then believed it to be.  So, as I could
+not shut my ears to the cruelties being carried on, nor banish
+thought by hard work, I looked up to the stately stars, thinking
+of things not to be talked about without being suspected of
+cant.  So swiftly passed the time that when four bells struck:
+(two o'clock) I could hardly believe my ears.
+
+I was relieved by one of the Portuguese, and went forward to
+witness a curious scene.  Seven stalwart men were being
+compelled to march up and down on that tumbling deck, men who
+had never before trodden anything less solid than the earth.
+
+The third mate, a waspish, spiteful little Yankee with a face
+like an angry cat, strolled about among them, a strand of rope-
+yarns in his hand, which he wielded constantly, regardless where
+he struck a man. They fell about, sometimes four or five at
+once, and his blows flew thick and fast, yet he never seemed to
+weary of his ill-doing.  It made me quite sick, and I longed to
+be aft at the wheel again.  Catching sight of me standing
+irresolute as to what I had better do, he ordered me on the
+"look-out," a tiny platform between the "knight heads," just
+where the bowsprit joins the ship.  Gladly I obeyed him, and
+perched up there looking over the wide sea, the time passed
+quickly away until eight bells (four o'clock) terminated my
+watch.  I must pass rapidly over the condition of things in the
+fo'lk'sle, where all the greenies that were allowed below, were
+groaning in misery from the stifling atmosphere which made their
+sickness so much worse, while even that dreadful place was
+preferable to what awaited them on deck.  There was a rainbow-
+coloured halo round the flame of the lamp, showing how very bad
+the air was; but in spite of that I turned in and slept soundly
+till seven bells (7.20 a.m.) roused us to breakfast.
+
+American ships generally have an excellent name for the way they
+feed their crews, but the whalers are a notable exception to
+that good rule.  The food was really worse than that on board
+any English ship I have ever sailed in, so scanty also in
+quantity that it kept all the foremast hands at starvation
+point.  But grumbling was dangerous, so I gulped down the dirty
+mixture mis-named coffee, ate a few fragments of biscuit, and
+filled up (?) with a smoke, as many better men are doing this
+morning.  As the bell struck I hurried on deck--not one moment
+too soon--for as I stepped out of the scuttle I saw the third
+mate coming forward with a glitter in his eye that boded no good
+to laggards.
+
+Before going any farther I must apologize for using so many
+capital I's, but up till the present I had been the only
+available white member of the crew forrard.
+
+The decks were scrubbed spotlessly clean, and everything was
+neat and tidy as on board a man-of-war, contrary to all usual
+notions of the condition of a whaler. The mate was in a state of
+high activity, so I soon found myself very busily engaged in
+getting up whale-lines, harpoons, and all the varied equipment
+for the pursuit of whales.  The number of officers carried would
+have been a good crew for the ship, the complete afterguard
+comprising captain, four mates, four harpooners or boat-
+steerers, carpenter, cooper, steward and cook.  All these
+worthies were on deck and working with might and main at the
+preparations, so that the incompetence of the crowd forrard was
+little hindrance.  I was pounced upon by "Mistah" Jones, the
+fourth mate, whom I heard addressed familiarly as "Goliath" and
+"Anak" by his brother officers, and ordered to assist him in
+rigging the "crow's-nest" at the main royal-mast head.  It was a
+simple affair.  There were a pair of cross-trees fitted to the
+mast, upon which was secured a tiny platform about a foot wide
+on each side of the mast, while above this foothold a couple of
+padded hoops like a pair of giant spectacles were secured at a
+little higher than a man's waist.  When all was fast one could
+creep up on the platform, through the hoop, and, resting his
+arms upon the latter, stand comfortably and gaze around, no
+matter how vigorously the old barky plunged and kicked beneath
+him.  From that lofty eyrie I had a comprehensive view of the
+vessel.  She was about 350 tons and full ship-rigged, that is to
+say, she carried square sails on all three masts.  Her deck was
+flush fore and aft, the only obstructions being the brick-built
+"try-works" in the waist, the galley, and cabin skylight right
+aft by the taffrail.  Her bulwarks were set thickly round with
+clumsy looking wooden cranes, from which depended five boats.
+Two more boats were secured bottom up upon a gallows aft, so she
+seemed to be well supplied in that direction.  Mistah Jones,
+finding I did not presume upon his condescension, gradually
+unbent and furnished me with many interesting facts about the
+officers.  Captain Slocum, he said, was "de debbil hisself, so
+jess yew keeps yer lamps trim' fer him, sonny, taint helthy ter
+rile him." The first officer, or the mate as he is always called
+PAR EXCELLENCE, was an older man than the captain, but a good
+seaman, a good whaleman, and a gentleman.  Which combination I
+found to be a fact, although hard to believe possible at the
+time.  The second mate was a Portuguese about forty years of
+age, with a face like one of Vandyke's cavaliers, but as I now
+learned, a perfect fiend when angered.  He also was a first-
+class whaleman, but an indifferent seaman.  The third mate was
+nothing much but bad temper--not much sailor, nor much whaler,
+generally in hot water with the skipper, who hated him because
+he was an "owner's man."  "An de fourf mate," wound up the
+narrator, straightening his huge bulk, "am de bes' man in de
+ship, and de bigges'.   Dey aint no whalemen in Noo Bedford
+caynt teach ME nuffin, en ef it comes ter man-handlin'; w'y I
+jes' pick 'em two't a time 'n crack 'em togerrer like so, see!"
+and he smote the palms of his great paws against each other,
+while I nodded complete assent.
+
+The weather being fine, with a steady N.E. wind blowing, so that
+the sails required no attention, work proceeded steadily all the
+morning.  The oars were sorted, examined for flaws, and placed
+in the boats; the whale-line, manilla rope like yellow silk,
+1 1/2 inch round, was brought on deck, stretched and coiled down
+with the greatest care into tubs, holding, some 200 fathoms, and
+others 100 fathoms each.  New harpoons were fitted to poles of
+rough but heavy wood, without any attempt at neatness, but every
+attention to strength.  The shape of these weapons was not, as
+is generally thought, that of an arrow, but rather like an arrow
+with one huge barb, the upper part of which curved out from the
+shaft.  The whole of the barb turned on a stout pivot of steel,
+but was kept in line with the shaft by a tiny wooden peg which
+passed through barb and shaft, being then cut off smoothly on
+both sides.  The point of the harpoon had at one side a wedge-
+shaped edge, ground to razor keenness, the other side was flat.
+The shaft, about thirty inches long, was of the best malleable
+iron, so soft that it would tie into a knot and straighten out
+again without fracture.  Three harpoons, or "irons" as they were
+always called, were placed in each boat, fitted one above the
+other in the starboard bow, the first for use being always one
+unused before, Opposite to them in the boat were fitted three
+lances for the purpose of KILLING whales, the harpoons being
+only the means by which the boat was attached to a fish, and
+quite useless to inflict a fatal wound. These lances were
+slender spears of malleable iron about four feet long, with oval
+or heart-shaped points of fine steel about two inches broad,
+their edges kept keen as a surgeon's lancet.  By means of a
+socket at the other end they were attached to neat handles, or
+"lance-poles," about as long again, the whole weapon being thus
+about eight feet in length, and furnished with a light line, or
+"lance-warp," for the purpose of drawing it back again when it
+had been darted at a whale.
+
+Each boat was fitted with a centre-board, or sliding keel, which
+was drawn up, when not in use, into a case standing in the
+boat's middle, very much in the way. But the American whalemen
+regard these clumsy contrivances as indispensable, so there's an
+end on't.  The other furniture of a boat comprised five oars of
+varying lengths from sixteen to nine feet, one great steering
+oar of nineteen feet, a mast and two sails of great area for so
+small a craft, spritsail shape; two tubs of whale-line
+containing together 1800 feet, a keg of drinking water, and
+another long narrow one with a few biscuits, a lantern, candles
+and matches therein; a bucket and "piggin" for baling, a small
+spade, a flag or "wheft," a shoulder bomb-gun and ammunition,
+two knives and two small axes.  A rudder hung outside by the
+stern.
+
+With all this gear, although snugly stowed, a boat looked so
+loaded that I could not help wondering how six men would be able
+to work in her; but like most "deep-water" sailors, I knew very
+little about boating.  I was going to learn.
+
+All this work and bustle of preparation was so rapidly carried
+on, and so interesting, that before supper-time everything was
+in readiness to commence operations, the time having gone so
+swiftly that I could hardly believe the bell when it sounded
+four times, six o'clock.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+FISHING BEGINS
+
+During all the bustle of warlike preparation that had been going
+on, the greenhorns had not suffered from inattention on the part
+of those appointed to look after them.  Happily for them, the
+wind blew steadily, and the weather, thanks to the balmy
+influence of the Gulf Stream, was quite mild and genial.  The
+ship was undoubtedly lively, as all good sea-boats are, but her
+motions were by no means so detestable to a sea-sick man as those
+of a driving steamer.  So, in spite of their treatment, perhaps
+because of it, some of the poor fellows were beginning to take
+hold of things "man-fashion," although of course sea legs they
+had none, their getting about being indeed a pilgrimage of pain.
+Some of them were beginning to try the dreadful "grub" (I cannot
+libel "food" by using it in such a connection), thereby showing
+that their interest in life, even such a life as was now before
+them, was returning.  They had all been allotted places in the
+various boats, intermixed with the seasoned Portuguese in such
+a way that the officer and harpooner in charge would not be
+dependant upon them entirely in case of a sudden emergency.
+Every endeavour was undoubtedly made to instruct them in their
+duties, albeit the teachers were all too apt to beat their
+information in with anything that came to hand, and persuasion
+found no place in their methods.
+
+The reports I had always heard of the laziness prevailing on
+board whale-ships were now abundantly falsified.  From dawn to
+dark work went on without cessation.  Everything was rubbed and
+scrubbed and scoured until no speck or soil could be found;
+indeed, no gentleman's yacht or man-of-war is kept more
+spotlessly clean than was the CACHALOT.
+
+A regular and severe routine of labour was kept up; and, what was
+most galling to me, instead of a regular four hours' watch on and
+off, night and day, all hands were kept on deck the whole day
+long, doing quite unnecessary tasks, apparently with the object
+of preventing too much leisure and consequent brooding over their
+unhappy lot.  One result of this continual drive and tear was
+that all these landsmen became rapidly imbued with the virtues of
+cleanliness, which was extended to the den in which we lived, or
+I verily believe sickness would have soon thinned us out.
+
+On the fourth day after leaving port we were all busy as usual
+except the four men in the "crow's-nests," when a sudden cry of
+"Porps!  porps!" brought everything to a standstill.  A large
+school of porpoises had just joined us, in their usual clownish
+fashion, rolling and tumbling around the bows as the old barky
+wallowed along, surrounded by a wide ellipse of snowy foam. All
+work was instantly suspended, and active preparations made for
+securing a few of these frolicsome fellows.  A "block," or
+pulley, was hung out at the bowsprit end, a whale-line passed
+through it and "bent" (fastened) on to a harpoon.  Another line
+with a running "bowline," or slip-noose, was also passed out to
+the bowsprit end, being held there by one man in readiness. Then
+one of the harpooners ran out along the backropes, which keep the
+jib-boom down, taking his stand beneath the bowsprit with the
+harpoon ready.  Presently he raised his iron and followed the
+track of a rising porpoise with its point until the creature
+broke water. At the same instant the weapon left his grasp,
+apparently without any force behind it; but we on deck, holding
+the line, soon found that our excited hauling lifted a big
+vibrating body clean out of the smother beneath.  "'Vast
+hauling!" shouted the mate, while as the porpoise hung dangling,
+the harpooner slipped the ready bowline over his body, gently
+closing its grip round the "small" by the broad tail.  Then we
+hauled on the noose-line, slacking away the harpoon, and in a
+minute had our prize on deck.  He was dragged away at once and
+the operation repeated.  Again and again we hauled them in, until
+the fore part of the deck was alive with the kicking, writhing
+sea-pigs, at least twenty of them. I had seen an occasional
+porpoise caught at sea before, but never more than one at a time.
+Here, however, was a wholesale catch.  At last one of the
+harpooned ones plunged so furiously while being hauled up that he
+literally tore himself off the iron, falling, streaming with
+blood, back into the sea.
+
+Away went all the school after him, tearing at him with their
+long well-toothed jaws, some of them leaping high in the air in
+their eagerness to get their due share of the cannibal feast.
+Our fishing was over for that time.  Meanwhile one of the
+harpooners had brought out a number of knives, with which all
+hands were soon busy skinning the blubber from the bodies.
+Porpoises have no skin, that is hide, the blubber or coating of
+lard which encases them being covered by a black substance as
+thin as tissue paper.  The porpoise hide of the boot maker is
+really leather, made from the skin of the BELUGA, or "white
+whale," which is found only in the far north.  The cover was
+removed from the "tryworks" amidships, revealing two gigantic
+pots set in a frame of brickwork side by side, capable of holding
+200 gallons each.  Such a cooking apparatus as might have graced
+a Brobdingnagian kitchen.  Beneath the pots was the very simplest
+of furnaces, hardly as elaborate as the familiar copper-hole
+sacred to washing day.  Square funnels of sheet-iron were loosely
+fitted to the flues, more as a protection against the oil boiling
+over into the fire than to carry away the smoke, of which from
+the peculiar nature of the fuel there was very little. At one
+side of the try-works was a large wooden vessel, or "hopper," to
+contain the raw blubber; at the other, a copper cistern or cooler
+of about 300 gallons capacity, into which the prepared oil was
+baled to cool off, preliminary to its being poured into the
+casks.  Beneath the furnaces was a space as large as the whole
+area of the try-works, about a foot deep, which, when the fires
+were lighted, was filled with water to prevent the deck from
+burning.
+
+It may be imagined that the blubber from our twenty porpoises
+made but a poor show in one of the pots; nevertheless, we got a
+barrel of very excellent oil from them.  The fires were fed with
+"scrap," or pieces of blubber from which the oil had been boiled,
+some of which had been reserved from the previous voyage. They
+burnt with a fierce and steady blaze, leaving but a trace of ash.
+I was then informed by one of the harpooners that no other fuel
+was ever used for boiling blubber at any time, there being always
+amply sufficient for the purpose.
+
+The most interesting part of the whole business, though, to us
+poor half-starved wretches, was the plentiful supply of fresh
+meat.  Porpoise beef is, when decently cooked, fairly good eating
+to a landsman; judge, then, what it must have been to us.  Of
+course the tit-bits, such as the liver, kidneys, brains, etc.,
+could not possibly fall to our lot; but we did not complain, we
+were too thankful to get something eatable, and enough of it.
+Moreover, although few sailors in English ships know it, porpoise
+beef improves vastly by keeping, getting tenderer every day the
+longer it hangs, until at last it becomes as tasty a viand as one
+could wish to dine upon.  It was a good job for us that this was
+the case, for while the porpoises lasted the "harness casks," or
+salt beef receptacles, were kept locked; so if any man had felt
+unable to eat porpoise--well, there was no compulsion, he could
+go hungry.
+
+We were now in the haunts of the Sperm Whale, or "Cachalot," a
+brilliant look-out being continually kept for any signs of their
+appearing.  One officer and a foremast hand were continually on
+watch during the day in the main crow's-nest, one harpooner and a
+seaman in the fore one.  A bounty of ten pounds of tobacco was
+offered to whoever should first report a whale, should it be
+secured, consequently there were no sleepy eyes up there.  Of
+course none of those who were inexperienced stood much chance
+against the eagle-eyed Portuguese; but all tried their best, in
+the hope of perhaps winning some little favour from their hard
+taskmasters.  Every evening at sunset it was "all hands shorten
+sail," the constant drill rapidly teaching even these clumsy
+landsmen how to find their way aloft, and do something else
+besides hold on to anything like grim death when they got there.
+
+At last, one beautiful day, the boats were lowered and manned,
+and away went the greenies on their first practical lesson in the
+business of the voyage.  As before noticed, there were two
+greenies in each boat, they being so arranged that whenever one
+of them "caught a crab," which of course was about every other
+stroke, his failure made little difference to the boat's
+progress.  They learned very fast under the terrible imprecations
+and storm of blows from the iron-fisted and iron-hearted
+officers, so that before the day was out the skipper was
+satisfied of our ability to deal with a "fish" should he be lucky
+enough to "raise" one. I was, in virtue of my experience, placed
+at the after-oar in the mate's boat, where it was my duty to
+attend to the "main sheet" when the sail was set, where also I
+had the benefit of the lightest oar except the small one used by
+the harpooner in the bow.
+
+The very next day after our first exhaustive boat drill, a school
+of "Black Fish" was reported from aloft, with great glee the
+officers prepared for what they considered a rattling day's fun.
+
+The Black Fish (PHOCAENA SP.) is a small toothed whale, not at
+all unlike a miniature cachalot, except that its head is rounded
+at the front, while its jaw is not long and straight, but bowed.
+It is as frolicsome as the porpoise, gambolling about in schools
+of from twenty to fifty or more, as if really delighted to be
+alive.  Its average size is from ten to twenty feet long, and
+seven or eight feet in girth, weight from one to three tons.
+Blubber about three inches thick, while the head is almost all
+oil, so that a good rich specimen will make between one and two
+barrels of oil of medium quality.
+
+The school we were now in sight of was of middling size and about
+average weight of individuals, and the officers esteemed it a
+fortunate circumstance that we should happen across them as a
+sort of preliminary to our tackling the monarchs of the deep.
+
+All the new harpoons were unshipped from the boats, and a couple
+of extra "second" irons, as those that have been used are called,
+were put into each boat for use if wanted.  The sails were also
+left on board. We lowered and left the ship, pulling right
+towards the school, the noise they were making in their fun
+effectually preventing them from hearing our approach. It is
+etiquette to allow the mate's boat first place, unless his crew
+is so weak as to be unable to hold their own; but as the mate
+always has first pick of the men this seldom happens.  So, as
+usual, we were first, and soon I heard the order given, "Stand
+up, Louey, and let 'em have it!" Sure enough, here we were right
+among them.  Louis let drive, "fastening" a whopper about twenty
+feet long.  The injured animal plunged madly forward, accompanied
+by his fellows, while Louis calmly bent another iron to a "short
+warp," or piece of whale-line, the loose end of which he made a
+bowline with around the main line which was fast to the "fish."
+Then he fastened another "fish," and the queer sight was seen of
+these two monsters each trying to flee in opposite directions,
+while the second one ranged about alarmingly as his "bridle" ran
+along the main line. Another one was secured in the same way,
+then the game was indeed great.  The school had by this time
+taken the alarm and cleared out, but the other boats were all
+fast to fish, so that didn't matter.  Now, at the rate our "game"
+were going it would evidently be a long while before they died,
+although, being so much smaller than a whale proper, a harpoon
+will often kill them at a stroke.  Yet they were now so tangled
+or "snarled erp," as the mate said, that it was no easy matter to
+lance them without great danger of cutting the line.  However, we
+hauled up as close to them as we dared, and the harpooner got a
+good blow in, which gave the biggest of the three "Jesse," as he
+said, though why "Jesse" was a stumper.  Anyhow, it killed him
+promptly, while almost directly after another one saved further
+trouble by passing in his own checks.  But he sank at the same
+time, drawing the first one down with him, so that we were in
+considerable danger of having to cut them adrift or be swamped.
+The "wheft" was waved thrice as an urgent signal to the ship to
+come to our assistance with all speed, but in the meantime our
+interest lay in the surviving Black Fish keeping alive.  Should
+HE die, and, as was most probable, sink, we should certainly have
+to cut and lose the lot, tools included.
+
+We waited in grim silence while the ship came up, so slowly,
+apparently, that she hardly seemed to move, but really at a good
+pace of about four knots an hour, which for her was not at all
+bad.  She got alongside of us at last, and we passed up the bight
+of our line, our fish all safe, very much pleased with ourselves,
+especially when we found that the other boats had only five
+between the three of them.
+
+The fish secured to the ship, all the boats were hoisted except
+one, which remained alongside to sling the bodies.  During our
+absence the ship-keepers had been busy rigging one of the cutting
+falls, an immense fourfold tackle from the main lowermast-head,
+of four-inch rope through great double blocks, large as those
+used at dockyards for lifting ships' masts and boilers. Chain-
+slings were passed around the carcases, which gripped the animal
+at the "small," being prevented from slipping off by the broad
+spread of the tail.  The end of the "fall," or tackle-rope, was
+then taken to the windlass, and we hove away cheerily, lifting
+the monsters right on deck.  A mountainous pile they made.  A
+short spell was allowed, when the whole eight were on board, for
+dinner; then all hands turned to again to "flench" the blubber,
+and prepare for trying-out.  This was a heavy job, keeping all
+hands busy until it was quite dark, the latter part of the work
+being carried on by the light of a "cresset," the flames of which
+were fed with "scrap," which blazed brilliantly, throwing a big
+glare over all the ship.  The last of the carcases was launched
+overboard by about eight o'clock that evening, but not before
+some vast junks of beef had been cut off and hung up in the
+rigging for our food supply.
+
+The try-works were started again, "trying-out" going on busily
+all night, watch and watch taking their turn at keeping the pots
+supplied with minced blubber.  The work was heavy, while the
+energetic way in which it was carried on made us all glad to take
+what rest was allowed us, which was scanty enough, as usual.
+
+By nightfall the next day the ship had resumed her normal
+appearance, and we were a tun and a quarter of oil to the good.
+Black Fish oil is of medium quality, but I learned that,
+according to the rule of "roguery in all trades," it was the
+custom to mix quantities such as we had just obtained with better
+class whale-oil, and thus get a much higher price than it was
+really worth.
+
+Up till this time we had no sort of an idea as to where our first
+objective might be, but from scraps of conversation I had
+overheard among the harpooners, I gathered that we were making
+for the Cape Verde Islands or the Acores, in the vicinity of
+which a good number of moderate-sized sperm whales are often to
+be found.  In fact, these islands have long been a nursery for
+whale-fishers, because the cachalot loves their steep-to shores,
+and the hardy natives, whenever and wherever they can muster a
+boat and a little gear, are always ready to sally forth and
+attack the unwary whale that ventures within their ken.
+Consequently more than half of the total crews of the American
+whaling fleet are composed of these islanders.  Many of them have
+risen to the position of captain, and still more are officers and
+harpooners; but though undoubtedly brave and enterprising, they
+are cruel and treacherous, and in positions of authority over men
+of Teutonic or Anglo-Saxon origin, are apt to treat their
+subordinates with great cruelty.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+BAD WEATHER
+
+Nautical routine in its essential details is much the same in all
+ships, whether naval, merchant, or whaling vessels.  But while in
+the ordinary merchantman there are decidedly "no more cats than
+can catch mice," hardly, indeed, sufficient for all the mousing
+that should be done, in men-of-war and whaleships the number of
+hands carried, being far more than are wanted for everyday work,
+must needs be kept at unnecessary duties in order that they may
+not grow lazy and discontented.
+
+For instance, in the CACHALOT we carried a crew of thirty-seven
+all told, of which twenty-four were men before the mast, or
+common seamen, our tonnage being under 400 tons.  Many a splendid
+clipper-ship carrying an enormous spread of canvas on four masts,
+and not overloaded with 2500 tons of cargo on board, carries
+twenty-eight or thirty all told, or even less than that. As far
+as we were concerned, the result of this was that our landsmen
+got so thoroughly drilled, that within a week of leaving port
+they hardly knew themselves for the clumsy clodhoppers they at
+first appeared to be.
+
+We had now been eight days out, and in our leisurely way were
+making fair progress across the Atlantic, having had nothing, so
+far, but steady breezes and fine weather.  As it was late autumn
+the first week in October--I rather wondered at this, for even in
+my brief experience I had learned to dread a "fall" voyage across
+the "Western Ocean."
+
+Gradually the face of the sky changed, and the feel of the air,
+from balmy and genial, became raw and cheerless.  The little wave
+tops broke short off and blew backwards, apparently against the
+wind, while the old vessel had an uneasy, unnatural motion,
+caused by a long, new swell rolling athwart the existing set of
+the sea.  Then the wind became fitful and changeable, backing
+half round the compass, and veering forward again as much in an
+hour, until at last in one tremendous squall it settled in the
+N.W. for a business-like blow, Unlike the hurried merchantman who
+must needs "hang on" till the last minute, only shortening the
+sail when absolutely compelled to do so, and at the first sign of
+the gales relenting, piling it on again, we were all snug long
+before the storm burst upon us, and now rode comfortably under
+the tiniest of storm staysails.
+
+We were evidently in for a fair specimen of Western Ocean
+weather, but the clumsy-looking, old-fashioned CACHALOT made no
+more fuss over it than one of the long-winged sea-birds that
+floated around, intent only upon snapping up any stray scraps
+that might escape from us.  Higher rose the wind, heavier rolled
+the sea, yet never a drop of water did we ship, nor did anything
+about the deck betoken what a heavy gale was blowing.  During
+the worst of the weather, and just after the wind had shifted
+back into the N.E., making an uglier cross sea than ever get up,
+along comes an immense four-masted iron ship homeward bound.  She
+was staggering under a veritable mountain of canvas, fairly
+burying her bows in the foam at every forward drive, and actually
+wetting the clews of the upper topsails in the smothering masses
+of spray, that every few minutes almost hid her hull from sight.
+
+It was a splendid picture; but--for the time--I felt glad I was
+not on board of her.  In a very few minutes she was out of our
+ken, followed by the admiration of all.  Then came, from the
+other direction, a huge steamship, taking no more notice of the
+gale than as if it were calm.  Straight through the sea she
+rushed, dividing the mighty rollers to the heart, and often
+bestriding three seas at once, the centre one spreading its many
+tons of foaming water fore and aft, so that from every orifice
+spouted the seething brine. Compared with these greyhounds of the
+wave, we resembled nothing so much as some old lightship bobbing
+serenely around, as if part and parcel of the mid-Atlantic.
+
+Our greenies were getting so well seasoned by this time that even
+this rough weather did not knock any of them over, and from that
+time forward they had no more trouble from sea-sickness.
+
+The gale gradually blew itself out, leaving behind only a long
+and very heavy swell to denote the deep-reaching disturbance that
+the ocean had endured. And now we were within the range of the
+Sargasso Weed, that mysterious FUCUS that makes the ocean look.
+like some vast hayfield, and keeps the sea from rising, no matter
+how high the wind.  It fell a dead calm, and the harpooners
+amused themselves by dredging up great masses of the weed, and
+turning out the many strange creatures abiding therein.  What a
+world of wonderful life the weed is, to be sure!  In it the
+flying fish spawn and the tiny cuttle-fish breed, both of them
+preparing bounteous provision for the larger denizens of the deep
+that have no other food.  Myriads of tiny crabs and innumerable
+specimens of less-known shell-fish, small fish of species as yet
+unclassified in any work on natural history, with jelly-fish of
+every conceivable and inconceivable shape, form part of this
+great and populous country in the sea.  At one haul there was
+brought on board a mass of flying-fish spawn, about ten pounds in
+weight, looking like nothing so much as a pile of ripe white
+currants, and clinging together in a very similar manner.
+
+Such masses of ova I had often seen cast up among the outlying
+rocks on the shores of the Caribbean Sea, when as a shipwrecked
+lad I wandered idly about unburying turtle eggs from their snug
+beds in the warm sand, and chasing the many-hued coral fish from
+one hiding-place to another.
+
+While loitering in these smooth waters, waiting for the laggard
+wind, up came a shoal of dolphin, ready as at all times to attach
+themselves for awhile to the ship. Nothing is more singular than
+the manner in which deep-sea fish will accompany a vessel that is
+not going too fast--sometimes for days at a time.  Most
+convenient too, and providing hungry Jack with many a fresh mess
+he would otherwise have missed.  Of all these friendly fish, none
+is better known than the "dolphin," as from long usage sailors
+persist in calling them, and will doubtless do so until the end
+of the chapter.  For the true dolphin (DELPHINIDAE) is not a fish
+at all, but a mammal a warm-blooded creature that suckles its
+young, and in its most familiar form is known to most people as
+the porpoise.  The sailor's "dolphin," on the other hand, is a
+veritable fish, with vertical tail fin instead of the horizontal
+one which distinguishes all the whale family, scales and gills.
+
+It is well known to literature, under its sea-name, for its
+marvellous brilliancy of colour, and there are few objects more
+dazzling than a dolphin leaping out of a calm sea into the
+sunshine.  The beauty of a dying dolphin, however, though
+sanctioned by many generations of writers, is a delusion, all the
+glory of the fish departing as soon as he is withdrawn from his
+native element.
+
+But this habit of digression grows upon one, and I must do my
+best to check it, or I shall never get through my task.
+
+To resume then: when this school of dolphin (I can't for the life
+of me call them CORIPHAENA HIPPURIS) came alongside, a rush was
+made for the "granes"--a sort of five-pronged trident, if I may
+be allowed a baby bull.  It was universally agreed among the
+fishermen that trying a hook and line was only waste of time and
+provocative of profanity! since every sailor knows that all the
+deep-water big fish require a living or apparently living bait.
+The fish, however, sheered off, and would not be tempted within
+reach of that deadly fork by any lure.  Then did I cover myself
+with glory.  For he who can fish cleverly and luckily may be sure
+of fairly good times in a whaler, although he may be no great
+things at any other work.  I had a line of my own, and begging
+one of the small fish that had been hauled up in the Gulf weed, I
+got permission to go aft and fish over the taffrail.  The little
+fish was carefully secured on the hook, the point of which just
+protruded near his tail.  Then I lowered him into the calm blue
+waters beneath, and paid out line very gently, until my bait was
+a silvery spot about a hundred feet astern.  Only a very short
+time, and my hopes rose as I saw one bright gleam after another
+glide past the keel, heading aft.  Then came a gentle drawing at
+the line, which I suffered to slip slowly through my fingers
+until I judged it time to try whether I was right or wrong, A
+long hard pull, and my heart beat fast as I felt the thrill along
+the line that fishermen love.  None of your high art here, but
+haul in hand over hand, the line being strong enough to land a
+250 pound fish.  Up he came, the beauty, all silver and scarlet
+and blue, five feet long if an inch, and weighing 35 pounds.
+Well, such a lot of astonished men I never saw.  They could
+hardly believe their eyes.  That such a daring innovation should
+be successful was hardly to be believed, even with the vigorous
+evidence before them.  Even grim Captain Slocum came to look and
+turned upon me as I thought a less lowering brow than usual,
+while Mr. Count, the mate, fairly chuckled again at the thought
+of how the little Britisher had wiped the eyes of these veteran
+fishermen.  The captive was cut open, and two recent flying-fish
+found in his maw, which were utilized for new bait, with the
+result that there was a cheerful noise of hissing and spluttering
+in the galley soon after, and a mess of fish for all hands.
+
+Shortly afterwards a fresh breeze sprang up, which proved to be
+the beginning of the N.E. trades, and fairly guaranteed us
+against any very bad weather for some time to come.
+
+Somehow or other it had leaked out that we were to cruise the
+Cape Verd Islands for a spell before working south, and the
+knowledge seemed to have quite an enlivening effect upon our
+Portuguese shipmates.
+
+Most of them belonged there, and although there was but the
+faintest prospect of their getting ashore upon any pretext
+whatever, the possibility of seeing their island homes again
+seemed to quite transform them.  Hitherto they had been very
+moody and exclusive, never associating with us on the white side,
+or attempting to be at all familiar.  A mutual atmosphere of
+suspicion, in fact, seemed to pervade our quarters, making things
+already uncomfortable enough, still more so.  Now, however, they
+fraternized with us, and in a variety of uncouth ways made havoc
+of the English tongue, as they tried to impress us with the
+beauty, fertility and general incomparability of their beloved
+Cape Verds.  Of the eleven white men besides myself in the
+forecastle, there were a middle-aged German baker, who had bolted
+from Buffalo; two Hungarians, who looked like noblemen disguised
+--in dirt; two slab-sided Yankees of about 22 from farms in
+Vermont; a drayman from New York; a French Canadian from the
+neighbourhood of Quebec; two Italians from Genoa; and two
+nondescripts that I never found out the origin of.  Imagine,
+then, the babel of sound, and think--but no, it is impossible to
+think, what sort of a jargon was compounded of all these varying
+elements of language.
+
+One fortunate thing, there was peace below.  Indeed, the spirit
+seemed completely taken out of all of them, and by some devilish
+ingenuity the afterguard had been able to sow distrust between
+them all, while treating them like dogs, so that the miseries of
+their life were never openly discussed.  My position among them
+gave me at times some uneasiness.  Though I tried to be helpful
+to all, and was full of sympathy for their undeserved sufferings,
+I could not but feel that they would have been more than human
+had they not envied me my immunity from the kicks and blows they
+all shared so impartially.  However, there was no help for it, so
+I went on as cheerily as I could.
+
+A peculiarity of all these vessels, as I afterwards learned, was
+that no stated allowance of anything was made.  Even the water
+was not served out to us, but was kept in a great scuttle-butt by
+the cabin door, to which every one who needed a drink had to go,
+and from which none might be carried away.  No water was allowed
+for washing except from the sea; and every one knows, or should
+know, that neither flesh nor clothes can be cleansed with that.
+But a cask with a perforated top was lashed by the bowsprit and
+kept filled with urine, which I was solemnly assured by Goliath
+was the finest dirt-extractor in the world for clothes.  The
+officers did not avail themselves of its virtues though, but were
+content with lye, which was furnished in plenty by the ashes from
+the galley fire, where nothing but wood was used as fuel.  Of
+course when rain fell we might have a good wash, if it was night
+and no other work was toward; but we were not allowed to store
+any for washing purposes.  Another curious but absolutely
+necessary custom prevailed in consequence of the short commons
+under which we lived.  When the portion of meat was brought down
+in its wooden kid, or tub, at dinner-time, it was duly divided as
+fairly as possible into as many parts as there were mouths.  Then
+one man turned his back on the carver, who holding up each
+portion, called out, "Who's this for?" Whatever name was
+mentioned by the arbitrator, that man owning it received the
+piece, and had perforce to be satisfied therewith.  Thus justice
+was done to all in the only way possible, and without any
+friction whatever.
+
+As some of us were without clothes except what we stood upright
+in, when we joined, the "slop chest" was opened, and every
+applicant received from the steward what Captain Slocum thought
+fit to let him have, being debited with the cost against such
+wages as he might afterwards earn.  The clothes were certainly of
+fairly good quality, if the price was high, and exactly suited to
+our requirements.  Soap, matches, and tobacco were likewise
+supplied on the same terms, but at higher prices than I had ever
+heard of before for these necessaries. After much careful inquiry
+I ascertained what, in the event of a successful voyage, we were
+likely to earn. Each of us were on the two hundredth "lay" or
+share at $200 per tun, which meant that for every two hundred
+barrels of oil taken on board, we were entitled to one, which we
+must sell to the ship at the rate of L40 per tun or L4 per
+barrel.  Truly a magnificent outlook for young men bound to such
+a business for three or four years.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+ACTUAL WARFARE. OUR FIRST WHALE
+
+Simultaneous ideas occurring to several people, or thought
+transference, whatever one likes to call the phenomenon is too
+frequent an occurrence in most of our experience to occasion much
+surprise.  Yet on the occasion to which I am about to refer, the
+matter was so very marked that few of us who took part in the
+day's proceedings are ever likely to forget it.
+
+We were all gathered about the fo'lk'sle scuttle one evening, a
+few days after the gale referred to in the previous chapter, and
+the question of whale-fishing came up for discussion.  Until that
+time, strange as it may seem, no word of this, the central idea
+of all our minds, had been mooted.  Every man seemed to shun the
+subject, although we were in daily expectation of being called
+upon to take an active part in whale-fighting.  Once the ice was
+broken, nearly all had something to say about it, and very nearly
+as many addle-headed opinions were ventilated as at a Colney
+Hatch debating society.  For we none of us KNEW anything about
+it. I was appealed to continually to support this or that theory,
+but as far as whaling went I could only, like the rest of them,
+draw upon my imagination for details. How did a whale act, what
+were the first steps taken, what chance was there of being saved
+if your boat got smashed, and so on unto infinity.  At last,
+getting very tired of this "Portugee Parliament" of all talkers
+and no listeners, I went aft to get a drink of water before
+turning in.  The harpooners and other petty officers were grouped
+in the waist, earnestly discussing the pros and cons of attack
+upon whales.  As I passed I heard the mate's harpooner say,
+"Feels like whale about.  I bet a plug (of tobacco) we raise
+sperm whale to-morrow."  Nobody took his bet, for it appeared that
+they were mostly of the same mind, and while I was drinking I
+heard the officers in dignified conclave talking over the same
+thing.  It was Saturday evening, and while at home people were
+looking forward to a day's respite from work and care, I felt
+that the coming day, though never taken much notice of on board,
+was big with the probabilities of strife such as I at least had
+at present no idea of.  So firmly was I possessed by the
+prevailing feeling.
+
+The night was very quiet.  A gentle breeze was blowing, and the
+sky was of the usual "Trade" character, that is, a dome of dark
+blue fringed at the horizon with peaceful cumulus clouds, almost
+motionless.  I turned in at four a.m. from the middle watch and,
+as usual, slept like a babe.  Suddenly I started wide awake, a
+long mournful sound sending a thrill to my very heart.  As I
+listened breathlessly other sounds of the same character but in
+different tones joined in, human voices monotonously intoning in
+long drawn-out expirations the single word "bl-o-o-o-o-w."  Then
+came a hurricane of noise overhead, and adjurations in no gentle
+language to the sleepers to "tumble up lively there, no skulking,
+sperm whales."  At last, then, fulfilling all the presentiments of
+yesterday, the long dreaded moment had arrived.  Happily there
+was no time for hesitation, in less than two minutes we were all
+on deck, and hurrying to our respective boats.  There was no
+flurry or confusion, and except that orders were given more
+quietly than usual, with a manifest air of suppressed excitement,
+there was nothing to show that we were not going for an ordinary
+course of boat drill.  The skipper was in the main crow's-nest
+with his binoculars presently he shouted, "Naow then, Mr. Count,
+lower away soon's y'like.  Small pod o'cows, an' one'r two bulls
+layin' off to west'ard of 'em."  Down went the boats into the
+water quietly enough, we all scrambled in and shoved off.  A
+stroke or two of the oars were given to get clear of the ship,
+and one another, then oars were shipped and up went the sails.
+As I took my allotted place at the main-sheet, and the beautiful
+craft started off like some big bird, Mr. Count leant forward,
+saying impressively to me, "Y'r a smart youngster, an' I've
+kinder took t'yer; but don't ye look ahead an' get gallied, 'r
+I'll knock ye stiff wi' th' tiller; y'hear me?  N' don't ye dare
+to make thet sheet fast, 'r ye'll die so sudden y' won't know
+whar y'r hurted."  I said as cheerfully as I could, "All right,
+sir," trying to look unconcerned, telling myself not to be a
+coward, and all sorts of things; but the cold truth is that I was
+scared almost to death because I didn't know what was coming.
+However, I did the best thing under the circumstances, obeyed
+orders and looked steadily astern, or up into the bronzed
+impassive face of my chief, who towered above me, scanning with
+eagle eyes the sea ahead.  The other boats were coming flying
+along behind us, spreading wider apart as they came, while in the
+bows of each stood the harpooner with his right hand on his first
+iron, which lay ready, pointing over the bow in a raised fork of
+wood called the "crutch."
+
+All of a sudden, at a motion of the chief's hand, the peak of our
+mainsail was dropped, and the boat swung up into the wind, laying
+"hove to," almost stationary.  The centre-board was lowered to
+stop her drifting to leeward, although I cannot say it made much
+difference that ever I saw.  NOW what's the matter, I thought,
+when to my amazement the chief addressing me said, "Wonder why
+we've hauled up, don't ye?"  "Yes, sir, I do," said I.  "Wall,"
+said he, "the fish hev sounded, an' 'ef we run over 'em, we've
+seen the last ov'em.  So we wait awhile till they rise agin, 'n
+then we'll prob'ly git thar' 'r thareabonts before they sound
+agin."  With this explanation I had to be content, although if it
+be no clearer to my readers than it then was to me, I shall have
+to explain myself more fully later on.  Silently we lay, rocking
+lazily upon the gentle swell, no other word being spoken by any
+one.  At last Louis, the harpooner, gently breathed "blo-o-o-w;"
+and there, sure enough, not half a mile away on the lee beam, was
+a little bushy cloud of steam apparently rising from the sea.  At
+almost the same time as we kept away all the other boats did
+likewise, and just then, catching sight of the ship, the reason
+for this apparently concerted action was explained.  At the main-
+mast head of the ship was a square blue flag, and the ensign at
+the peak was being dipped.  These were signals well understood
+and promptly acted upon by those in charge of the boats, who were
+thus guided from a point of view at least one hundred feet above
+the sea.
+
+"Stand up, Louey," the mate murmured softly.  I only just stopped
+myself in time from turning my head to see why the order was
+given.  Suddenly there was a bump, at the same moment the mate
+yelled, "Give't to him, Louey, give't to him!" and to me, "Haul
+that main sheet, naow haul, why don't ye?" I hauled it flat aft,
+and the boat shot up into the wind, rubbing sides as she did so
+with what to my troubled sight seemed an enormous mass of black
+india-rubber floating.  As we CRAWLED up into the wind, the whale
+went into convulsions befitting his size and energy.  He raised a
+gigantic tail on high, threshing the water with deafening blows,
+rolling at the same time from side to side until the surrounding
+sea was white with froth.  I felt in an agony lest we should be
+crushed under one of those fearful strokes, for Mr. Count
+appeared to be oblivious of possible danger, although we seemed
+to be now drifting back on to the writhing leviathan.  In the
+agitated condition of the sea, it was a task of no ordinary
+difficulty to unship the tall mast, which was of course the first
+thing to be done.  After a desperate struggle, and a narrow
+escape from falling overboard of one of the men, we got the lone
+"stick," with the sail bundled around it, down and "fleeted" aft,
+where it was secured by the simple means of sticking the "heel"
+under the after thwart, two-thirds of the mast extending out over
+the stern.  Meanwhile, we had certainly been in a position of the
+greatest danger, our immunity from damage being unquestionably
+due to anything but precaution taken to avoid it.
+
+By the time the oars were handled, and the mate had exchanged
+places with the harpooner, our friend the enemy had "sounded,"
+that is, he had gone below for a change of scene, marvelling no
+doubt what strange thing had befallen him.  Agreeably to the
+accounts which I, like most boys, had read of the whale fishery,
+I looked for the rushing of the line round the logger-head (a
+stout wooden post built into the boat aft), to raise a cloud of
+smoke with occasional bursts of flame; so as it began to slowly
+surge round the post, I timidly asked the harpooner whether I
+should throw any water on it.  "Wot for?" growled he, as he took
+a couple more turns with it.  Not knowing "what for," and hardly
+liking to quote my authorities here, I said no more, but waited
+events.  "Hold him up, Louey, bold him up, cain't ye?" shouted
+the mate, and to my horror, down went the nose of the boat almost
+under water, while at the mate's order everybody scrambled aft
+into the elevated stern sheets.
+
+The line sang quite a tune as it was grudgingly allowed to surge
+round the loggerhead, filling one with admiration at the strength
+shown by such a small rope.  This sort of thing went on for about
+twenty minutes, in which time we quite emptied the large tub and
+began on the small one.  As there was nothing whatever for us to
+do while this was going on, I had ample leisure for observing the
+little game that was being played about a quarter of a mile away.
+Mr. Cruce, the second mate, had got a whale and was doing his
+best to kill it; but he was severely handicapped by his crew, or
+rather had been, for two of them were now temporarily incapable
+of either good or harm.  They had gone quite "batchy" with
+fright, requiring a not too gentle application of the tiller to
+their heads in order to keep them quiet.  The remedy, if rough,
+was effectual, for "the subsequent proceedings interested them no
+more."  Consequently his manoeuvres were not so well or rapidly
+executed as he, doubtless, could have wished, although his energy
+in lancing that whale was something to admire and remember.
+Hatless, his shirt tail out of the waist of his trousers
+streaming behind him like a banner, he lunged and thrust at the
+whale alongside of him, as if possessed of a destroying devil,
+while his half articulate yells of rage and blasphemy were
+audible even to us.
+
+Suddenly our boat fell backward from her "slantindicular"
+position with a jerk, and the mate immediately shouted, "Haul
+line, there! look lively, now, you--so on, etcetera, etcetera"
+(he seemed to invent new epithets on every occasion).  The line
+came in hand over hand, and was coiled in a wide heap in the
+stern sheets, for silky as it was, it could not be expected in
+its wet state to lie very close.  As it came flying in the mate
+kept a close gaze upon the water immediately beneath us,
+apparently for the first glimpse of our antagonist. When the
+whale broke water, however, he was some distance off, and
+apparently as quiet as a lamb.  Now, had Mr. Count been a prudent
+or less ambitious man, our task would doubtless have been an easy
+one, or comparatively so; but, being a little over-grasping, he
+got us all into serious trouble.  We were hauling up to our whale
+in order to lance it, and the mate was standing, lance in hand,
+only waiting to get near enough, when up comes a large whale
+right alongside of our boat, so close, indeed, that I might have
+poked my finger in his little eye, if I had chosen.  The sight of
+that whale at liberty, and calmly taking stock of us like that,
+was too much for the mate.  He lifted his lance and hurled it at
+the visitor, in whose broad flank it sank, like a knife into
+butter, right up to the pole-hitches.  The recipient disappeared
+like a flash, but before one had time to think, there was an
+awful crash beneath us, and the mate shot up into the air like a
+bomb from a mortar.  He came down in a sitting posture on the
+mast-thwart; but as he fell, the whole framework of the boat
+collapsed like a derelict umbrella.  Louis quietly chopped the
+line and severed our connection with the other whale, while in
+accordance with our instructions we drew each man his oar across
+the boat and lashed it firmly down with a piece of line spliced
+to each thwart for the purpose.  This simple operation took but a
+minute, but before it was completed we were all up to our necks
+in the sea.  Still in the boat, it is true, and therefore not in
+such danger of drowning as if we were quite adrift; but,
+considering that the boat was reduced to a mere bundle of loose
+planks, I, at any rate, was none too comfortable.  Now, had he
+known it, was the whale's golden opportunity; but he, poor
+wretch, had had quite enough of our company, and cleared off
+without any delay, wondering, no doubt, what fortunate accident
+had rid him of our very unpleasant attentions.
+
+I was assured that we were all as safe as if we were on board the
+ship, to which I answered nothing; but, like Jack's parrot, I did
+some powerful thinking.  Every little wave that came along swept
+clean over our heads, sometimes coming so suddenly as to cut a
+breath in half.  If the wind should increase--but no--I wouldn't
+face the possibility of such a disagreeable thing.  I was cool
+enough now in a double sense, for although we were in the
+tropics, we soon got thoroughly chilled.
+
+By the position of the sun it must have been between ten a.m. and
+noon, and we, of the crew, had eaten nothing since the previous
+day at supper, when, as usual, the meal was very light.
+Therefore, I suppose we felt the chill sooner than the better-
+nourished mate and harpooner, who looked rather scornfully at our
+blue faces and chattering teeth.
+
+In spite of all assurances to the contrary, I have not the least
+doubt in my own mind that a very little longer would have
+relieved us of ALL our burdens finally.  Because the heave of the
+sea had so loosened the shattered planks upon which we stood that
+they were on the verge of falling all asunder.  Had they done so
+we must have drowned, for we were cramped and stiff with cold and
+our constrained position.  However, unknown to us, a bright look-
+out upon our movements had been kept from the crow's-nest the
+whole time.  We should have been relieved long before, but that
+the whale killed by the second mate was being secured, and
+another boat, the fourth mate's, being picked up, having a hole
+in her bilge you could put you head through.  With all these
+hindrances, especially securing the whale, we were fortunate to
+be rescued as soon as we were, since it is well known that whales
+are of much higher commercial value than men.
+
+However, help came at last, and we were hauled alongside.  Long
+exposure had weakened us to such an extent that it was necessary
+to hoist us on board, especially the mate, whose "sudden stop,"
+when he returned to us after his little aerial excursion, had
+shaken his sturdy frame considerably, a state of body which the
+subsequent soaking had by no means improved.  In my innocence I
+imagined that we should be commiserated for our misfortunes by
+Captain Slocum, and certainly be relieved from further duties
+until we were a little recovered from the rough treatment we had
+just undergone.  But I never made a greater mistake.  The skipper
+cursed us all (except the mate, whose sole fault the accident
+undoubtedly was) with a fluency and vigour that was, to put it
+mildly, discouraging.  Moreover, we were informed that he
+"wouldn't have no adjective skulking;" we must "turn to" and do
+something after wasting the ship's time and property in such a
+blanked manner.  There was a limit, however, to our obedience, so
+although we could not move at all for awhile, his threats were
+not proceeded with farther than theory.
+
+A couple of slings were passed around the boat, by means of which
+she was carefully hoisted on board, a mere dilapidated bundle of
+sticks and raffle of gear. She was at once removed aft out of
+the way, the business of cutting in the whale claiming precedence
+over everything else just then.  The preliminary proceedings
+consisted of rigging the "cutting stage."  This was composed of
+two stout planks a foot wide and ten feet long, the inner ends of
+which were suspended by strong ropes over the ship's side about
+four feet from the water, while the outer extremities were upheld
+by tackles from the main rigging, and a small crane abreast the
+try-works.
+
+These planks were about thirty feet apart, their two outer ends
+being connected by a massive plank which was securely bolted to
+them.  A handrail about as high as a man's waist, supported by
+light iron stanchions, ran the full length of this plank on the
+side nearest the ship, the whole fabric forming an admirable
+standing-place from whence the officers might, standing in
+comparative comfort, cut and carve at the great mass below to
+their hearts' content.
+
+So far the prize had been simply held alongside by the whale-
+line, which at death had been "rove" through a hole cut in the
+solid gristle of the tail; but now it became necessary to secure
+the carcase to the ship in some more permanent fashion.
+Therefore, a massive chain like a small ship's cable was brought
+forward, and in a very ingenious way, by means of a tiny buoy and
+a hand-lead, passed round the body, one end brought through a
+ring in the other, and hauled upon until it fitted tight round
+the "small" or part of the whale next the broad spread of the
+tail.  The free end of the fluke-chain was then passed in through
+a mooring-pipe forward, firmly secured to a massive bitt at the
+heel of the bowsprit (the fluke-chain-bitt), and all was ready.
+
+But the subsequent proceedings were sufficiently complicated to
+demand a fresh chapter.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+"DIRTY WORK FOR CLEAN MONEY"
+
+If in the preceding chapter too much stress has been laid upon
+the smashing of our own boat and consequent sufferings, while
+little or no notice was taken of the kindred disaster to Mistah
+Jones' vessel, my excuse must be that the experience "filled me
+right up to the chin," as the mate concisely, if inelegantly, put
+it.  Poor Goliath was indeed to be pitied, for his well-known luck
+and capacity as a whaleman seemed on this occasion to have quite
+deserted him.  Not only had his boat been stove upon first
+getting on to the whale, but he hadn't even had a run for his
+money.  It appeared that upon striking his whale, a small, lively
+cow, she had at once "settled," allowing the boat to run over
+her; but just as they were passing, she rose, gently enough, her
+pointed hump piercing the thin skin of half-inch cedar as if it
+had been cardboard.  She settled again immediately, leaving a
+hole behind her a foot long by six inches wide, which effectually
+put a stop to all further fishing operations on the part of
+Goliath and his merry men for that day, at any rate.  It was all
+so quiet, and so tame and so stupid, no wonder Mistah Jones felt
+savage.  When Captain Slocum's fluent profanity flickered around
+him, including vehemently all he might be supposed to have any
+respect for, he did not even LOOK as if he would like to talk
+back; he only looked sick and tired of being himself.
+
+The third mate, again, was of a different category altogether.
+He had distinguished himself by missing every opportunity of
+getting near a whale while there was a "loose" one about, and
+then "saving" the crew of Goliath's boat, who were really in no
+danger whatever.  His iniquity was too great to be dealt with by
+mere bad language.  He crept about like a homeless dog--much, I
+am afraid, to my secret glee, for I couldn't help remembering his
+untiring cruelty to the green hands on first leaving port.
+
+In consequence of these little drawbacks we were not a very
+jovial crowd forrard or aft.  Not that hilarity was ever
+particularly noticeable among us, but just now there was a very
+decided sense of wrong-doing over us all, and a general fear that
+each of us was about to pay the penalty due to some other
+delinquent.  But fortunately there was work to be done.  Oh,
+blessed work!  how many awkward situations you have extricated
+people from!  How many distracted brains have you soothed and
+restored, by your steady irresistible pressure of duty to be done
+and brooking of no delay!
+
+The first thing to be done was to cut the whale's head off.  This
+operation, involving the greatest amount of labour in the whole
+of the cutting in, was taken in hand by the first and second
+mates, who, armed with twelve-feet spades, took their station
+upon the stage, leaned over the handrail to steady themselves,
+and plunged their weapons vigorously down through the massive
+neck of the animal--if neck it could be said to have--following a
+well-defined crease in the blubber.  At the same time the other
+officers passed a heavy chain sling around the long, narrow lower
+jaw, hooking one of the big cutting tackles into it, the "fall"
+of which was then taken to the windlass and hove tight, turning
+the whale on her back.  A deep cut was then made on both sides of
+the rising jaw, the windlass was kept going, and gradually the
+whole of the throat was raised high enough for a hole to be cut
+through its mass, into which the strap of the second cutting
+tackle was inserted and secured by passing a huge toggle of oak
+through its eye.  The second tackle was then hove taut, and the
+jaw, with a large piece of blubber attached, was cut off from the
+body with a boarding-knife, a tool not unlike a cutlass blade set
+into a three-foot-long wooden handle.
+
+Upon being severed the whole piece swung easily inboard and was
+lowered on deck.  The fast tackle was now hove upon while the
+third mate on the stage cut down diagonally into the blubber on
+the body, which the purchase ripped off in a broad strip or
+"blanket" about five feet wide and a foot thick.  Meanwhile the
+other two officers carved away vigorously at the head, varying
+their labours by cutting a hole right through the snout.  This
+when completed received a heavy chain for the purpose of securing
+the head.  When the blubber had been about half stripped off the
+body, a halt was called in order that the work of cutting off the
+head might be finished, for it was a task of incredible
+difficulty.  It was accomplished at last, and the mass floated
+astern by a stout rope, after which the windlass pawls clattered
+merrily, the "blankets" rose in quick succession, and were cut
+off and lowered into the square of the main batch or "blubber-
+room." A short time sufficed to strip off the whole of the body-
+blubber, and when at last the tail was reached, the backbone was
+cut through, the huge mass of flesh floating away to feed the
+innumerable scavengers of the sea.  No sooner was the last of the
+blubber lowered into the hold than the hatches were put on and
+the head hauled up alongside.  Both tackles were secured to it
+and all hands took to the windlass levers.  This was a small cow
+whale of about thirty barrels, that is, yielding that amount of
+oil, so it was just possible to lift the entire head on board;
+but as it weighed as much as three full-grown elephants, it was
+indeed a heavy lift for even our united forces, trying our tackle
+to the utmost.  The weather was very fine, and the ship rolled
+but little; even then, the strain upon the mast was terrific, and
+right glad was I when at last the immense cube of fat, flesh, and
+bone was eased inboard and gently lowered on deck.
+
+As soon as it was secured the work of dividing it began.  From
+the snout a triangular mass was cut, which was more than half
+pure spermaceti.  This substance was contained in spongy cells
+held together by layers of dense white fibre, exceedingly tough
+and elastic, and called by the whalers "white-horse." The whole
+mass, or "junk" as it is called, was hauled away to the ship's
+side and firmly lashed to the bulwarks for the time being, so
+that it might not "take charge" of the deck during the rest of
+the operations.
+
+The upper part of the head was now slit open lengthwise,
+disclosing an oblong cistern or "case" full of liquid spermaceti,
+clear as water.  This was baled out with buckets into a tank,
+concreting as it cooled into a wax-like substance, bland and
+tasteless.  There being now nothing more remaining about the
+skull of any value, the lashings were loosed, and the first
+leeward roll sent the great mass plunging overboard with a mighty
+splash.  It sank like a stone, eagerly followed by a few small
+sharks that were hovering near.
+
+As may be imagined, much oil was running about the deck, for so
+saturated was every part of the creature with it that it really
+gushed like water during the cutting-up process.  None of it was
+allowed to run to waste, though, for the scupper-holes which
+drain the deck were all carefully plugged, and as soon as the
+"junk" had been dissected all the oil was carefully "squeegeed"
+up and poured into the try-pots.
+
+Two men were now told off as "blubber-room men," whose duty it
+became to go below, and squeezing themselves in as best they
+could between the greasy masses of fat, cut it up into "horse-
+pieces" about eighteen inches long and six inches square.  Doing
+this they became perfectly saturated with oil, as if they had
+taken a bath in a tank of it; for as the vessel rolled it was
+impossible to maintain a footing, and every fall was upon blubber
+running with oil.  A machine of wonderful construction had been
+erected on deck in a kind of shallow trough about six feet long
+by four feet wide and a foot deep.  At some remote period of time
+it had no doubt been looked upon as a triumph of ingenuity, a
+patent mincing machine.  Its action was somewhat like that of a
+chaff-cutter, except that the knife was not attached to the
+wheel, and only rose and fell, since it was not required to cut
+right through the "horse-pieces" with which it was fed.  It will
+be readily understood that in order to get the oil quickly out of
+the blubber, it needs to be sliced as thin as possible, but for
+convenience in handling the refuse (which is the only fuel used)
+it is not chopped up in small pieces, but every "horse-piece" is
+very deeply scored as it were, leaving a thin strip to hold the
+slices together.  This then was the order of work.  Two
+harpooners attended the try-pots, replenishing them with minced
+blubber from the hopper at the port side, and baling out the
+sufficiently boiled oil into the great cooling tank on the
+starboard.  One officer superintended the mincing, another
+exercised a general supervision over all.  There was no man at
+the wheel and no look-out, for the vessel was "hove-to" under two
+close-reefed topsails and fore-topmast-staysail, with the wheel
+lashed hard down.  A look-out man was unnecessary, since we could
+not run anybody down, and if anybody ran us down, it would only
+be because all hands were asleep, for the glare of our try-works
+fire, to say nothing of the blazing cresset before mentioned,
+could have been seen for many miles.  So we toiled watch and
+watch, six hours on and six off, the work never ceasing for an
+instant night or day.  Though the work was hard and dirty, and
+the discomfort of being so continually wet through with oil
+great, there was only one thing dangerous about the whole
+business.  That was the job of filling and shifting the huge
+casks of oil.  Some of these were of enormous size, containing
+350 gallons when full, and the work of moving them about the
+greasy deck of a rolling ship was attended with a terrible amount
+of risk.  For only four men at most could get fair hold of a
+cask, and when she took it into her silly old hull to start
+rolling, just as we had got one half-way across the deck, with
+nothing to grip your feet, and the knowledge that one stumbling
+man would mean a sudden slide of the ton and a half weight, and
+a little heap of mangled corpses somewhere in the lee scuppers--
+well one always wanted to be very thankful when the lashings were
+safely passed.
+
+The whale being a small one, as before noted, the whole business
+was over within three days, and the decks scrubbed and re-
+scrubbed until they had quite regained their normal whiteness.
+The oil was poured by means of a funnel and long canvas hose into
+the casks stowed in the ground tier at the bottom of the ship,
+and the gear, all carefully cleaned and neatly "stopped up,"
+stowed snugly away below again.
+
+This long and elaborate process is quite different from that
+followed on board the Arctic whaleships, whose voyages are of
+short duration, and who content themselves with merely cutting
+the blubber up small and bringing it home to have the oil
+expressed.  But the awful putrid mass discharged from a
+Greenlander's hold is of very different quality and value, apart
+from the nature of the substance, to the clear and sweet oil,
+which after three years in cask is landed from a south-seaman as
+inoffensive in smell and flavour as the day it was shipped.  No
+attempt is made to separate the oil and spermaceti beyond boiling
+the "head matter," as it is called, by itself first, and putting
+it into casks which are not filled up with the body oil.
+Spermaceti exists in all the oil, especially that from the dorsal
+hump; but it is left for the refiners ashore to extract and leave
+the oil quite free from any admixture of the wax-like substance,
+which causes it to become solid at temperatures considerably
+above the freezing-point.
+
+Uninteresting as the preceding description may be, it is
+impossible to understand anything of the economy of a south-sea
+whaler without giving it, and I have felt it the more necessary
+because of the scanty notice given to it in the only two works
+published on the subject, both of them highly technical, and
+written for scientific purposes by medical men.  Therefore I hope
+to be forgiven if I have tried the patience of my readers by any
+prolixity.
+
+It will not, of course, have escaped the reader's notice that I
+have not hitherto attempted to give any details concerning the
+structure of the whale just dealt with.  The omission is
+intentional.  During this, our first attempt at real whaling, my
+mind was far too disturbed by the novelty and danger of the
+position in which I found myself for the first time, for me to
+pay any intelligent attention to the party of the second part.
+
+But I may safely promise that from the workman's point of view,
+the habits, manners, and build of the whales shall be faithfully
+described as I saw them during my long acquaintance with them,
+earnestly hoping that if my story be not as technical or
+scientific as that of Drs. Bennett and Beale, it may be found
+fully as accurate and reliable; and perhaps the reader, being
+like myself a mere layman, so to speak, may be better able to
+appreciate description free from scientific formula and nine-
+jointed words.
+
+Two things I did notice on this occasion which I will briefly
+allude to before closing this chapter.  One was the peculiar skin
+of the whale.  It was a bluish-black, and as thin as gold-
+beater's skin.  So thin, indeed, and tender, that it was easily
+scraped off with the finger-nail. Immediately beneath it, upon
+the surface of the blubber, was a layer or coating of what for
+want of a better simile I must call fine short fur, although
+unlike fur it had no roots or apparently any hold upon the
+blubber.  Neither was it attached to the skin which covered it;
+in fact, it seemed merely a sort of packing between the skin and
+the surface of the thick layer of solid fat which covered the
+whole area of the whale's body.  The other matter which impressed
+me was the peculiarity of the teeth.  For up till that time I had
+held, in common with most seamen, and landsmen, too, for that
+matter, the prevailing idea that a "whale" lived by "suction"
+(although I did not at all know what that meant), and that it was
+impossible for him to swallow a herring.  Yet here was a mouth
+manifestly intended for greater things in the way of gastronomy
+than herrings; nor did it require more than the most casual
+glances to satisfy one of so obvious a fact.  Then the teeth were
+heroic in size, protruding some four or five inches from the gum,
+and solidly set more than that into its firm and compact
+substance.  They were certainly not intended for mastication,
+being, where thickest, three inches apart, and tapering to a
+short point, curving slightly backwards.  In this specimen, a
+female, and therefore small as I have said, there were twenty of
+them on each side, the last three or four near the gullet being
+barely visible above the gum.
+
+Another most convincing reason why no mastication could have been
+possible was that there were no teeth visible in the upper jaw.
+Opposed to each of the teeth was a socket where a tooth should
+apparently have been, and this was conclusive evidence of the
+soft and yielding nature of the great creature's food.  But there
+were signs that at some period of the development of the whale it
+had possessed a double row of teeth, because at the bottom of
+these upper sockets we found in a few cases what seemed to be an
+abortive tooth, not one that was growing, because they had no
+roots, but a survival of teeth that had once been perfect and
+useful, but from disuse, or lack of necessity for them, had
+gradually ceased to come to maturity.  The interior of the mouth
+and throat was of a livid white, and the tongue was quite small
+for so large an animal.  It was almost incapable of movement,
+being somewhat like a fowl's. Certainly it could not have been
+protruded even from the angle of the mouth, much less have
+extended along the parapet of that lower mandible, which reminded
+one of the beak of some mighty albatross or stork.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+GETTING SOUTHWARD
+
+Whether our recent experience had altered the captain's plans or
+not I do not know, but much to the dismay of the Portuguese
+portion of the crew, we did but sight, dimly and afar off, the
+outline of the Cape Verde Islands before our course was altered,
+and we bore away for the southward like any other outward-
+bounder. That is, as far as our course went; but as to the speed,
+we still retained the leisurely tactics hitherto pursued,
+shortening sail every night, and, if the weather was very fine,
+setting it all again at daybreak.
+
+The morose and sullen temper of the captain had been, if
+anything, made worse by recent events, and we were worked as hard
+as if the success of the voyage depended upon our ceaseless toil
+of scrubbing, scraping, and polishing.  Discipline was indeed
+maintained at a high pitch of perfection, no man daring to look
+awry, much less complain of any hardship, however great. Even
+this humble submissiveness did not satisfy our tyrant, and at
+last his cruelty took a more active shape.  One of the long
+Yankee farmers from Vermont, Abner Cushing by name, with the
+ingenuity which seems inbred in his 'cute countrymen, must needs
+try his hand at making a villainous decoction which he called
+"beer," the principal ingredients in which were potatoes and
+molasses.  Now potatoes formed no part of our dietary, so Abner
+set his wits to work to steal sufficient for his purpose, and
+succeeded so far that he obtained half a dozen.  I have very
+little doubt that one of the Portuguese in the forecastle
+conveyed the information aft for some reason best known to
+himself, any more than we white men all had that in a similar
+manner all our sayings and doings, however trivial, became at
+once known to the officers.  However, the fact that the theft was
+discovered soon became painfully evident, for we had a visit from
+the afterguard in force one afternoon, and Abner with his brewage
+was haled to the quarter-deck.  There, in the presence of all
+hands, he was arraigned, found guilty of stealing the ship's
+stores, and sentence passed upon him.  By means of two small
+pieces of fishing line he was suspended by his thumbs in the
+weather rigging, in such a manner that when the ship was upright
+his toes touched the deck, but when she rolled his whole weight
+hung from his thumbs.  This of itself one would have thought
+sufficient torture for almost any offence, but in addition to it
+he received two dozen lashes with an improvised cat-o'-nine-
+tails, laid on by the brawny arm of one of the harpooners.  We
+were all compelled to witness this, and our feelings may be
+imagined.  When, after what seemed a terribly long time to me
+(Heaven knows what it must have been to him!), he fainted,
+although no chicken I nearly fainted too, from conflicting
+emotions of sympathy and impotent rage.
+
+He was then released in leisurely fashion, and we were permitted
+to take him forward and revive him.  As soon as he was able to
+stand on his feet, he was called on deck again, and not allowed
+to go below till his watch was over.  Meanwhile Captain Slocum
+improved the occasion by giving us a short harangue, the burden
+of which was that we had now seen a LITTLE of what any of us
+might expect if we played any "dog's tricks" on him.  But you can
+get used to anything, I suppose: so after the first shock of the
+atrocity was over, things went on again pretty much as usual.
+
+For the first and only time in my experience, we sighted St.
+Paul's Rocks, a tiny group of jagged peaks protruding from the
+Atlantic nearly on the Equator. Stupendous mountains they must
+be, rising almost sheer for about four and a half miles from the
+ocean bed.  Although they appear quite insignificant specks upon
+the vast expanse of water, one could not help thinking how
+sublime their appearance would be were they visible from the
+plateau whence they spring.  Their chief interest to us at the
+time arose from the fact that, when within about three miles of
+them, we were suddenly surrounded by a vast school of bonito,
+These fish, so-named by the Spaniards from their handsome
+appearance, are a species of mackerel, a branch of the SCOMBRIDAE
+family, and attain a size of about two feet long and forty pounds
+weight, though their average dimensions are somewhat less than
+half that.  They feed entirely upon flying-fish and the small
+leaping squid or cuttle-fish, but love to follow a ship, playing
+around her, if her pace be not too great, for days together.
+Their flesh resembles beef in appearance, and they are warm-
+blooded; but, from their habitat being mid-ocean, nothing is
+known with any certainty of their habits of breeding.
+
+The orthodox method of catching them on board ship is to cover a
+suitable hook with a piece of white rag a couple of inches long,
+and attach it to a stout line. The fisherman then takes his seat
+upon the jibboom end, having first, if he is prudent, secured a
+sack to the jibstay in such a manner that its mouth gapes wide.
+Then he unrolls his line, and as the ship forges ahead the line,
+blowing out, describes a curve, at the end of which the bait,
+dipping to--the water occasionally, roughly represents a flying-
+fish.  Of course, the faster the ship is going, the better the
+chance of deceiving the fish, since they have less time to study
+the appearance of the bait.  It is really an exaggerated and
+clumsy form of fly-fishing, and, as with that elegant pastime,
+much is due to the skill of the fisherman.
+
+As the bait leaps from crest to crest of the wavelets thrust
+aside by the advancing ship, a fish more adventurous or hungrier
+than the rest will leap at it, and in an instant there is a dead,
+dangling weight of from ten to forty pounds hanging at the end of
+your line thirty feet below.  You haul frantically, for he may
+be poorly hooked, and you cannot play him.  In a minute or two,
+if all goes well, he is plunged in the sack, and safe.  But woe
+unto you if you have allowed the jeers of your shipmates to
+dissuade you from taking a sack out with you.
+
+The struggles of these fish are marvellous, and a man runs great
+risk of being shaken off the boom, unless his legs are firmly
+locked in between the guys. Such is the tremendous vibration that
+a twenty-pound bonito makes in a man's grip, that it can be felt
+in the cabin at the other and of the ship; and I have often come
+in triumphantly with one, having lost all feeling in my arms and
+a goodly portion of skin off my breast and side, where I have
+embraced the prize in a grim determination to hold him at all
+hazards, besides being literally drenched with his blood.
+
+Like all our fishing operations on board the CACHALOT, this day's
+fishing was conducted on scientific principles, and resulted in
+twenty-five fine fish being shipped, which were a welcome
+addition to our scanty allowance.  Happily for us, they would not
+take the salt in that sultry latitude soon enough to preserve
+them; for, when they can be salted, they become like brine
+itself, and are quite unfit for food.  Yet we should have been
+compelled to eat salt bonito, or go without meat altogether, if
+it had been possible to cure them.
+
+We were now fairly in the "horse latitudes," and, much to our
+relief, the rain came down in occasional deluges, permitting us
+to wash well and often.  I suppose the rains of the tropics have
+been often enough described to need no meagre attempts of mine to
+convey an idea of them; yet I have often wished I could make
+home-keeping friends understand how far short what they often
+speak of as a "tropical shower" falls of the genuine article.
+The nearest I can get to it is the idea of an ocean suspended
+overhead, out, of which the bottom occasionally falls.  Nothing
+is visible or audible but the glare and roar of falling water,
+and a ship's deck, despite the many outlets, is full enough to
+swim about in in a very few minutes.  At such times the whole
+celestial machinery of rain-making may be seen in full working
+order.  Five or six mighty waterspouts in various stages of
+development were often within easy distance of us; once, indeed,
+we watched the birth, growth, and death of one less than a mile
+away.  First, a big, black cloud, even among that great
+assemblage of NIMBI, began to belly downward, until the centre of
+it tapered into a stem, and the whole mass looked like a vast,
+irregularly-moulded funnel.  Lower and lower it reached, as if
+feeling for a soil in which to grow, until the sea beneath was
+agitated sympathetically, rising at last in a sort of pointed
+mound to meet the descending column.  Our nearness enabled us to
+see that both descending and rising parts were whirling violently
+in obedience to some invisible force, and when they had joined
+each other, although the spiral motion did not appear to
+continue, the upward rush of the water through what was now a
+long elastic tube was very plainly to be seen.  The cloud
+overhead grew blacker and bigger, until its gloom was terrible.
+The pipe, or stem, got thinner gradually, until it became a mere
+thread; nor, although watching closely, could we determine when
+the connection between sea and sky ceased--one could not call it
+severed.  The point rising from the sea settled almost
+immediately amidst a small commotion, as of a whirlpool.  The
+tail depending from the cloud slowly shortened, and the mighty
+reservoir lost the vast bulge which had hung so threateningly
+above. Just before the final disappearance of the last portion of
+the tube, a fragment of cloud appeared to break off.  It fell
+near enough to show by its thundering roar what a body of water
+it must have been, although it looked like a saturated piece of
+dirty rag in its descent.
+
+For whole days and nights together we sometimes lay almost "as
+idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean," when the deep blue
+dome above matched the deep blue plain below, and never a fleck
+of white appeared in sky or sea.  This perfect stop to our
+progress troubled none, although it aggravates a merchant skipper
+terribly.  As for the objects of our search, they had apparently
+all migrated other-whither, for never a sign of them did we see.
+Finbacks, a species of rorqual, were always pretty numerous, and
+as if they knew how useless they were to us, came and played
+around like exaggerated porpoises.  One in particular kept us
+company for several days and nights.  We knew him well, from a
+great triangular scar on his right side, near the dorsal fin.
+Sometimes he would remain motionless by the side of the ship, a
+few feet below the surface, as distinctly in our sight as a gold-
+fish in a parlour globe; or he would go under the keel, and
+gently chafe his broad back to and fro along it, making queer
+tremors run through the vessel, as if she were scraping over a
+reef.  Whether from superstition or not I cannot tell, but I
+never saw any creature injured out of pure wantonness, except
+sharks, while I was on board the CACHALOT.  Of course, injuries
+to men do not count.  Had that finback attempted to play about a
+passenger ship in such a fashion, all the loungers on board would
+have been popping at him with their revolvers and rifles without
+ever a thought of compunction; yet here, in a vessel whose errand
+was whale-fishing, a whale enjoyed perfect immunity.  It was very
+puzzling.  At last my curiosity became too great to hear any
+longer, and I sought my friend Mistah Jones at what I considered
+a favourable opportunity.  I found him very gracious and
+communicative, and I got such a lecture on the natural history of
+the cetacea as I have never forgotten--the outcome of a quarter-
+century's experience of them, and afterwards proved by me to be
+correct in every detail, which latter is a great deal more than
+can be said of any written natural history that ever I came
+across.  But I will not go into that now.  Leaning over the rail,
+with the great rorqual laying perfectly still a few feet below, I
+was told to mark how slender and elegant were his proportions.
+"Clipper-built," my Mentor termed him. He was full seventy feet
+long, but his greatest diameter would not reach ten feet.  His
+snout was long and pointed, while both top and bottom of his head
+were nearly flat.  When he came up to breathe, which he did out
+of the top of his head, he showed us that, instead of teeth, he
+had a narrow fringe of baleen (whalebone) all around his upper
+jaws, although "I kaint see whyfor, kase he lib on all sort er
+fish, s'long's dey ain't too big.  I serpose w'en he kaint get
+nary fish he do de same ez de 'bowhead'--go er siftin eout dem
+little tings we calls whale-feed wiv dat ar' rangement he carry
+in his mouf."  "But why don't we harpoon him?"  I asked.  Goliath
+turned on me a pitying look, as he replied, "Sonny, ef yew wuz
+ter go on stick iron inter dat ar fish, yew'd fink de hole bottom
+fell eout kerblunk.  W'en I uz young 'n foolish, a finback range
+'longside me one day, off de Seychelles.  I just done gone miss'
+a spam whale, and I was kiender mad,--muss ha' bin.  Wall, I let
+him hab it blam 'tween de ribs.  If I lib ten tousan year, ain't
+gwine ter fergit dat ar.  Wa'nt no time ter spit, tell ye;
+eberybody hang ober de side ob de boat.  Wiz--poof!--de line all
+gone.  Clar to glory, I neber see it go.  Ef it hab ketch
+anywhar, nobody eber see US too. Fus, I t'ought I jump ober de
+side--neber face de skipper any mo'.  But he uz er good ole man,
+en he only say, 'Don't be sech blame jackass any more.' En I
+don't."  From which lucid narration I gathered that the finback
+had himself to thank for his immunity from pursuit.  "'Sides,"
+persisted Goliath, "wa' yew gwine do wiv' him?   Ain't six inch
+uv blubber anywhere 'bout his long ugly carkiss; en dat, dirty
+lill' rag 'er whalebone he got in his mouf, 'taint worf fifty
+cents.  En mor'n dat, we pick up, a dead one when I uz in de ole
+RAINBOW--done choke hisself, I spec, en we cut him in.  He stink
+fit ter pison de debbil, en, after all, we get eighteen bar'l ob
+dirty oil out ob him. Wa'nt worf de clean sparm scrap we use ter
+bile him.  G' 'way!"  Which emphatic adjuration, addressed not to
+me, but to the unconscious monster below, closed the lesson for
+the time.
+
+The calm still persisted, and, as usual, fish began to abound,
+especially flying-fish.  At times, disturbed by some hungry
+bonito or dolphin, a shoal of them would rise--a great wave of
+silver--and skim through the air, rising and falling for perhaps
+a couple of hundred yards before they again took to the water; or
+a solitary one of larger size than usual would suddenly soar into
+the air, a heavy splash behind him showing by how few inches he
+had missed the jaws of his pursuer.  Away he would go in a long,
+long curve, and, meeting the ship in his flight, would rise in
+the air, turn off at right angles to his former direction, and
+spin away again, the whir of his wing-fins distinctly visible as
+well as audible.  At last he would incline to the water, but just
+as he was about to enter it there would be an eddy--the enemy was
+there waiting--and he would rise twenty, thirty feet, almost
+perpendicularly, and dart away fully a hundred yards on a fresh
+course before the drying of his wing membranes compelled him to
+drop.  In the face of such a sight as this, which is of everyday
+occurrence in these latitudes, how trivial and misleading the
+statements made by the natural history books seem.
+
+They tell their readers that the EXOCETUS VOLITANS "does not fly;
+does not flutter its wings; can only take a prolonged leap," and
+so on.  The misfortune attendant upon such books seems, to an
+unlearned sailor like myself, to be that, although posing as
+authorities, most of the authors are content to take their facts
+not simply at second-hand, but even unto twenty-second-hand.  So
+the old fables get repeated, and brought up to date, and it is
+nobody's business to take the trouble to correct them.
+
+The weather continued calm and clear, and as the flying-fish were
+about in such immense numbers, I ventured to suggest to Goliath
+that we might have a try for some of them.  I verily believe he
+thought I was mad.  He stared at me for a minute, and then, with
+an indescribable intonation, said, "How de ol' Satan yew fink yew
+gwain ter get'm, hey?   Ef yew spects ter fool dis chile wiv any
+dem lime-juice yarns, 'bout lanterns 'n boats at night-time,
+yew's 'way off." I guessed he meant the fable current among
+English sailors, that if you hoist a sail on a calm night in a
+boat where flying-fish abound, and hang a lantern in the middle
+of it, the fish will fly in shoals at the lantern, strike against
+the sail, and fall in heaps in the boat. It MAY be true, but I
+never spoke to anybody who has seen it done, nor is it the method
+practised in the only place in the world where flying-fishing is
+followed for a living.  So I told Mr. Jones that if we had some
+circular nets of small mesh made and stretched on wooden hoops, I
+was sure we should be able to catch some.  He caught at the idea,
+and mentioned it to the mate, who readily gave his permission to
+use a boat.  A couple of "Guineamen" (a very large kind of
+flying-fish, having four wings) flew on board that night, as if
+purposely to provide us with the necessary bait.
+
+Next morning, about four bells, the sea being like a mirror,
+unruffled by a breath of wind, we lowered and paddled off from
+the ship about a mile.  When far enough away, we commenced
+operations by squeezing in the water some pieces of fish that had
+been kept for the purpose until they were rather high-flavoured.
+The exuding oil from this fish spread a thin film for some
+distance around the boat, through which, as through a sheet of
+glass, we could see a long way down. Minute specks of the bait
+sank slowly through the limpid blue, but for at least an hour
+there was no sign of life.  I was beginning to fear that I should
+be called to account for misleading all hands, when, to my
+unbounded delight, an immense shoal of flying-fish came swimming
+round the boat, eagerly picking up the savoury morsels.  We
+grasped our nets, and, leaning over the gunwale, placed them
+silently in the water, pressing them downward and in towards the
+boat at the same time.  Our success was great and immediate.   We
+lifted the wanderers by scores, while I whispered imploringly,
+"Be careful not to scare them; don't make a sound."  All hands
+entered into the spirit of the thing with great eagerness.   As
+for Mistah Jones, his delight was almost more than he could bear.
+Suddenly one of the men, in lifting his net, slipped on the
+smooth bottom of the boat, jolting one of the oars.  There was a
+gleam of light below as the school turned--they had all
+disappeared instanter.  We had been so busy that we had not
+noticed the dimensions of our catch; but now, to our great joy,
+we found that we had at least eight hundred fish nearly as large
+as herrings.  We at once returned to the ship, having been absent
+only two hours, during which we had caught sufficient to provide
+all hands with three good meals.  Not one of the crew had ever
+seen or heard of such fishing before, so my pride and pleasure
+may be imagined.  A little learning may be a dangerous thing at
+times, but it certainly is often handy to have about you.  The
+habit of taking notice and remembering has often been the means
+of saving many lives in suddenly-met situations of emergency, at
+sea perhaps more than anywhere else, and nothing can be more
+useful to a sailor than the practice of keeping his weather-eye
+open.
+
+In Barbadoes there is established the only regular flying-fishery
+in the world, and in just the manner I have described, except
+that the boats are considerably larger, is the whole town
+supplied with delicious fish at so trifling a cost as to make it
+a staple food among all classes.
+
+But I find that I am letting this chapter run to an
+unconscionable length, and it does not appear as if we were
+getting at the southward very fast either.  Truth to tell, our
+progress was mighty slow; but we gradually crept across the belt
+of calms, and a week after our never-to-be-forgotten haul of
+flying-fish we got the first of the south-east trades, and went
+away south at a good pace--for us.  We made the Island of
+Trinidada with its strange conical-topped pillar, the Ninepin
+Rock, but did not make a call, as the skipper was beginning to
+get fidgety at not seeing any whales, and anxious to get down to
+where he felt reasonably certain of falling in with them.  Life
+had been very monotonous of late, and much as we dreaded still
+the prospect of whale-fighting (by "we," of course, I mean the
+chaps forward), it began to lose much of its terror for us, so
+greatly did we long for a little change.  Keeping, as we did, out
+of the ordinary track of ships, we hardly ever saw a sail. We had
+no recreations; fun was out of the question; and had it not been
+for a Bible, a copy of Shakespeare, and a couple of cheap copies
+of "David Copperfield" and "Bleak House," all of which were mine,
+we should have had no books.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+ABNER'S WHALE
+
+In a previous chapter I have referred to the fact of a bounty
+being offered to whoever should first sight a useful whale,
+payable only in the event of the prize being secured by the ship.
+In consequence of our ill-success, and to stimulate the
+watchfulness of all, that bounty was now increased from ten
+pounds of tobacco to twenty, or fifteen dollars, whichever the
+winner chose to have.  Most of us whites regarded this as quite
+out of the question for us, whose untrained vision was as the
+naked eye to a telescope when pitted against the eagle-like sight
+of the Portuguese.  Nevertheless, we all did our little best, and
+I know, for one, that when I descended from my lofty perch, after
+a two hours' vigil, my eyes often ached and burned for an hour
+afterwards from the intensity of my gaze across the shining waste
+of waters.
+
+Judge, then, of the surprise of everybody, when one forenoon
+watch, three days after we had lost sight of Trinidada, a most
+extraordinary sound was heard from the fore crow's-nest.  I was,
+at the time, up at the main, in company with Louis, the mate's
+harpooner, and we stared across to see whatever was the matter,
+The watchman was unfortunate Abner Cushing, whose trivial offence
+had been so severely punished a short time before, and he was
+gesticulating and howling like a madman.  Up from below came the
+deep growl of the skipper, "Foremast head, there, what d'ye say?"
+"B-b-b-blow, s-s-sir," stammered Abner; "a big whale right in the
+way of the sun, sir."  "See anythin', Louey?"  roared the skipper
+to my companion, just as we had both "raised" the spout almost in
+the glare cast by the sun.  "Yessir," answered Louis; "but I
+kaint make him eout yet, sir." "All right; keep yer eye on him,
+and lemme know sharp;" and away he went aft for his glasses.
+
+The course was slightly altered, so that we headed direct for the
+whale, and in less than a minute afterwards we saw distinctly the
+great black column of a sperm whale's head rise well above the
+sea, scattering a circuit of foam before it, and emitting a
+bushy, tufted burst of vapour into the clear air.  "There she
+white-waters!  Ah bl-o-o-o-o-o-w, blow, blow!"  sang Louis; and
+then, in another tone, "Sperm whale, sir; big, 'lone fish,
+headin' 'beout east-by-nothe." "All right.  'Way down from
+aloft,"  answered the skipper, who was already half-way up the
+main-rigging; and like squirrels we slipped out of our hoops and
+down the backstays, passing the skipper like a flash as he toiled
+upwards, bellowing orders as he went.  Short as our journey down
+had been, when we arrived on deck we found all ready for a start.
+But as the whale was at least seven miles away, and we had a fair
+wind for him, there was no hurry to lower, so we all stood at
+attention by our respective boats, waiting for the signal.  I
+found, to my surprise, that, although I was conscious of a much
+more rapid heart-beat than usual, I was not half so scared as I
+expected to be--that the excitement was rather pleasant than
+otherwise.  There were a few traces of funk about some of the
+others still; but as for Abner, he was fairly transformed; I
+hardly knew the man.  He was one of Goliath's boat's crew, and
+the big darkey was quite proud of him.  His eyes sparkled, and he
+chuckled and smiled constantly, as one who is conscious of having
+done a grand stroke of business, not only for himself, but for
+all hands.  "Lower away boats!"  came pealing down from the
+skipper's lofty perch, succeeded instantly by the rattle of the
+patent blocks as the falls flew through them, while the four
+beautiful craft took the water with an almost simultaneous
+splash.  The ship-keepers had trimmed the yards to the wind and
+hauled up the courses, so that simply putting the helm down
+deadened our way, and allowed the boats to run clear without
+danger of fouling one another.  To shove off and hoist sail was
+the work of a few moments, and with a fine working breeze away we
+went.  As before, our boat, being the chief's, had the post of
+honour; but there was now only one whale, and I rather wondered
+why we had all left the ship.  According to expectations, down he
+went when we were within a couple of miles of him, but quietly
+and with great dignity, elevating his tail perpendicularly in the
+air, and sinking slowly from our view.  Again I found Mr. Count
+talkative.
+
+"Thet whale 'll stay down fifty minutes, I guess," said he, "fer
+he's every gill ov a hundred en twenty bar'l; and don't yew
+fergit it."  "Do the big whales give much more trouble than the
+little ones?"  I asked, seeing him thus chatty.  "Wall, it's jest
+ez it happens, boy--just ez it happens.  I've seen a fifty-bar'l
+bull make the purtiest fight I ever hearn tell ov--a fight thet
+lasted twenty hours, stove three boats, 'n killed two men.  Then,
+again, I've seen a hundred 'n fifty bar'l whale lay 'n take his
+grooel 'thout hardly wunkin 'n eyelid--never moved ten fathom
+from fust iron till fin eout.  So yew may say, boy, that they're
+like peepul--got thair iudividooal pekyewlyarities, an' thars no
+countin' on 'em for sartin nary time."  I was in great hopes of
+getting some useful information while his mood lasted; but it was
+over, and silence reigned.  Nor did I dare to ask any more
+questions; he looked so stern and fierce.  The scene was very
+striking.  Overhead, a bright blue sky just fringed with fleecy
+little clouds; beneath, a deep blue sea with innumerable tiny
+wavelets dancing and glittering in the blaze of the sun; but all
+swayed in one direction by a great, solemn swell that slowly
+rolled from east to west, like the measured breathing of some
+world-supporting monster.  Four little craft in a group, with
+twenty-four men in them, silently waiting for battle with one of
+the mightiest of God's creatures--one that was indeed a terrible
+foe to encounter were he but wise enough to make the best use of
+his opportunities.  Against him we came with our puny weapons, of
+which I could not help reminding myself that "he laugheth at the
+shaking of a spear."  But when the man's brain was thrown into
+the scale against the instinct of the brute, the contest looked
+less unequal than at first sight, for THERE is the secret of
+success.  My musings were very suddenly interrupted.  Whether we
+had overrun our distance, or the whale, who was not "making a
+passage," but feeding, had changed his course, I do not know;
+but, anyhow, he broke water close ahead, coming straight for our
+boat.  His great black head, like the broad bow of a dumb barge,
+driving the waves before it, loomed high and menacing to me, for
+I was not forbidden to look ahead now.  But coolly, as if coming
+alongside the ship, the mate bent to the big steer-oar, and swung
+the boat off at right angles to her course, bringing her back
+again with another broad sheer as the whale passed foaming.  This
+manoeuvre brought us side by side with him before he had time to
+realize that we were there.  Up till that instant he had
+evidently not seen us, and his surprise was correspondingly
+great.  To see Louis raise his harpoon high above his head, and
+with a hoarse grunt of satisfaction plunge it into the black,
+shining mass beside him up to the hitches, was indeed a sight to
+be remembered.  Quick as thought he snatched up a second harpoon,
+and as the whale rolled from us it flew from his hands, burying
+itself like the former one, but lower down the body.  The great
+impetus we had when we reached the whale carried us a long way
+past him, out of all danger from his struggles.  No hindrance was
+experienced from the line by which we were connected with the
+whale, for it was loosely coiled in a space for the purpose in
+the boat's bow to the extent of two hundred feet, and this was
+cast overboard by the harpooner as soon as the fish was fast.  He
+made a fearful to-do over it, rolling completely over several
+times backward and forward, at the same time smiting the sea with
+his mighty tail, making an almost deafening noise and pother.
+But we were comfortable enough, while we unshipped the mast and
+made ready for action, being sufficiently far away from him to
+escape the full effect of his gambols.  It was impossible to
+avoid reflecting, however, upon what WOULD happen if, in our
+unprepared and so far helpless state, he were, instead of simply
+tumbling about in an aimless, blind sort of fury, to rush at the
+boat and try to destroy it.  Very few indeed would survive such
+an attack, unless the tactics were radically altered.  No doubt
+they would be, for practices grow up in consequence of the
+circumstances with which they have to deal.
+
+After the usual time spent in furious attempts to free himself
+from our annoyance, he betook himself below, leaving us to await
+his return, and hasten it as much as possible by keeping a severe
+strain upon the line.  Our efforts in this direction, however,
+did not seem to have any effect upon him at all.  Flake after
+flake ran out of the tubs, until we were compelled to hand the
+end of our line to the second mate to splice his own on to.
+Still it slipped away, and at last it was handed to the third
+mate, whose two tubs met the same fate.  It was now Mistah Jones'
+turn to "bend on," which he did with many chuckles as of a man
+who was the last resource of the unfortunate.  But his face grew
+longer and longer as the never-resting line continued to
+disappear.  Soon he signalled us that he was nearly out of line,
+and two or three minutes after he bent on his "drogue" (a square
+piece of plank with a rope tail spliced into its centre, and
+considered to hinder a whale's progress at least as much as four
+boats), and let go the end.  We had each bent on our drogues in
+the same way, when we passed our ends to one another.  So now our
+friend was getting along somewhere below with 7200 feet of
+1 1/2-inch rope, and weight additional equal to the drag of
+sixteen 30-feet boats.
+
+Of course we knew that, unless he were dead and sinking, he could
+not possibly remain much longer beneath the surface.  The
+exhibition of endurance we had just been favoured with was a very
+unusual one, I was told, it being a rare thing for a cachalot to
+take out two boats' lines before returning to the surface to
+spout.
+
+Therefore, we separated as widely as was thought necessary, in
+order to be near him on his arrival.  It was, as might be
+imagined, some time before we saw the light of his countenance;
+but when we did, we had no difficulty in getting alongside of him
+again.  My friend Goliath, much to my delight, got there first,
+and succeeded in picking up the bight of the line.  But having
+done so, his chance of distinguishing himself was gone.  Hampered
+by the immense quantity of sunken line which was attached to the
+whale, he could do nothing, and soon received orders to cut the
+bight of the line and pass the whale's end to us.   He had hardly
+obeyed, with a very bad grace, when the whale started off to
+windward with us at a tremendous rate.  The other boats, having
+no line, could do nothing to help, so away we went alone, with
+barely a hundred fathoms of line, in case he should take it into
+his head to sound again.  The speed at which he went made it
+appear as if a gale of wind was blowing and we flew along the sea
+surface, leaping from crest to crest of the waves with an
+incessant succession of cracks like pistol-shots.  The flying
+spray drenched us and prevented us from seeing him, but I fully
+realized that it was nothing to what we should have to put up
+with if the wind freshened much.  One hand was kept bailing the
+water out which came so freely over the bows, but all the rest
+hauled with all their might upon the line, hoping to get a little
+closer to the flying monster.  Inch by inch we gained on him,
+encouraged by the hoarse objurgations of the mate, whose
+excitement was intense.  After what seemed a terribly long chase,
+we found his speed slackening, and we redoubled our efforts.  Now
+we were close upon him; now, in obedience to the steersman, the
+boat sheered out a bit, and we were abreast of his labouring
+flukes; now the mate hurls his quivering lance with such hearty
+good-will that every inch of its slender shaft disappears within
+the huge body.  "Layoff!  Off with her, Louey!"  screamed the
+mate; and she gave a wide sheer away from the whale, not a second
+too soon.  Up flew that awful tail, descending with a crash upon
+the water not two feet from us.  "Out oars!  Pull, two!  starn,
+three!"  shouted the mate; and as we obeyed our foe turned to
+fight.  Then might one see how courage and skill were such mighty
+factors in the apparently unequal contest.  The whale's great
+length made it no easy job for him to turn, while our boat, with
+two oars a-side, and the great leverage at the stern supplied by
+the nineteen-foot steer-oar circled, backed, and darted ahead
+like a living thing animated by the mind of our commander.  When
+the leviathan settled, we gave a wide berth to his probable place
+of ascent; when he rushed at us, we dodged him; when he paused,
+if only momentarily, in we flew, and got home a fearful thrust of
+the deadly lance.
+
+All fear was forgotten now--I panted, thirsted for his life.
+Once, indeed, in a sort of frenzy, when for an instant we lay
+side by side with him, I drew my sheath-knife, and plunged it
+repeatedly into the blubber, as if I were assisting is his
+destruction.  Suddenly the mate gave a howl:  "Starn all--starn
+all!  oh, starn!"  and the oars bent like canes as we obeyed.
+There was an upheaval of the sea just ahead; then slowly,
+majestically, the vast body of our foe rose into the air.  Up, up
+it went, while my heart stood still, until the whole of that
+immense creature hung on high, apparently motionless, and then
+fell--a hundred tons of solid flesh--back into the sea.  On
+either side of that mountainous mass the waters rose in shining
+towers of snowy foam, which fell in their turn, whirling and
+eddying around us as we tossed and fell like a chip in a
+whirlpool.  Blinded by the flying spray, baling for very life to
+free the boat from the water with which she was nearly full, it
+was some minutes before I was able to decide whether we were
+still uninjured or not.  Then I saw, at a little distance, the
+whale lying quietly.  As I looked he spouted, and the vapour was
+red with his blood.  "Starn all!"  again cried our chief, and we
+retreated to a considerable distance.  The old warrior's
+practised eye had detected the coming climax of our efforts, the
+dying agony or "furry" of the great mammal.  Turning upon his
+side, he began to move in a circular direction, slowly at first,
+then faster and faster, until he was rushing round at tremendous
+speed, his great head raised quite out of water at times,
+clashing his enormous jaws.  Torrents of blood poured from his
+spout-hole, accompanied by hoarse bellowings, as of some gigantic
+bull, but really caused by the labouring breath trying to pass
+through the clogged air passages.  The utmost caution and
+rapidity of manipulation of the boat was necessary to avoid his
+maddened rush, but this gigantic energy was short-lived.  In a
+few minutes he subsided slowly in death, his mighty body reclined
+on one side, the fin uppermost waving limply as he rolled to the
+swell, while the small waves broke gently over the carcass in a
+low, monotonous surf, intensifying the profound silence that had
+succeeded the tumult of our conflict with the late monarch of the
+deep.  Hardly had the flurry ceased, when we hauled up alongside
+of our hard-won prize, in order to secure a line to him in a
+better manner than at present for hauling him to the ship.  This
+was effected by cutting a hole through the tough, gristly
+substance of the flukes with the short "boat-spade," carried for
+the purpose.  The end of the line, cut off from the faithful
+harpoon that had held it so long, was then passed through this
+hole and made fast.  This done, it was "Smoke-oh!"  The luxury of
+that rest and refreshment was something to be grateful for,
+coming, as it did, in such complete contrast to our recent
+violent exertions.
+
+The ship was some three or four miles off to leeward, so we
+reckoned she would take at least an hour and a half to work up to
+us.  Meanwhile, our part of the performance being over, and well
+over, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, lazily rocking on the
+gentle swell by the side of a catch worth at least L800.  During
+the conflict I had not noticed what now claimed attention--
+several great masses of white, semi-transparent-looking substance
+floating about, of huge size and irregular shape.  But one of
+these curious lumps came floating by as we lay, tugged at by
+several fish, and I immediately asked the mate if he could tell
+me what it was and where it came from.  He told me that, when
+dying, the cachalot always ejected the contents of his stomach,
+which were invariably composed of such masses as we saw before
+us; that he believed the stuff to be portions of big cuttle-fish,
+bitten off by the whale for the purpose of swallowing, but he
+wasn't sure.  Anyhow, I could haul this piece alongside now, if I
+liked, and see.  Secretly wondering at the indifference shown by
+this officer of forty years' whaling experience to such a
+wonderful fact as appeared to be here presented, I thanked him,
+and, sticking the boat-hook into the lump, drew it alongside.  It
+was at once evident that it was a massive fragment of cuttle-
+fish--tentacle or arm--as thick as a stout man's body, and with
+six or seven sucking-discs or ACETABULA on it.  These were about
+as large as a saucer, and on their inner edge were thickly set
+with hooks or claws all round the rim, sharp as needles, and
+almost the shape and size of a tiger's.
+
+To what manner of awful monster this portion of limb belonged, I
+could only faintly imagine; but of course I remembered, as any
+sailor would, that from my earliest sea-going I had been told
+that the cuttle-fish was the biggest in the sea, although I never
+even began to think it might be true until now.  I asked the mate
+if he had ever seen such creatures as this piece belonged to
+alive and kicking.  He answered, languidly, "Wall, I guess so;
+but I don't take any stock in fish, 'cept for provisions er
+ile--en that's a fact." It will be readily believed that I
+vividly recalled this conversation when, many years after, I read
+an account by the Prince of Monaco of HIS discovery of a gigantic
+squid, to which his naturalist gave the name of LEPIDOTEUTHIS
+GRIMALDII!  Truly the indifference and apathy manifested by
+whalers generally to everything except commercial matters is
+wonderful--hardly to be credited.  However, this was a mighty
+revelation to me.  For the first time, it was possible to
+understand that, contrary to the usual notion of a whale's being
+unable to swallow a herring, here was a kind of whale that could
+swallow--well, a block four or five feet square apparently; who
+lived upon creatures as large as himself, if one might judge of
+their bulk by the sample to hand; but being unable, from only
+possessing teeth in one jaw, to masticate his food, was compelled
+to tear it in sizable pieces, bolt it whole, and leave his
+commissariat department to do the rest.
+
+While thus ruminating, the mate and Louis began a desultory
+conversation concerning what they termed "ambergrease." I had
+never even heard the word before, although I had a notion that
+Milton, in "Paradise Regained," describing the Satanic banquet,
+had spoken of something being "grisamber steamed."  They could
+by no means agree as to what this mysterious substance was, how
+it was produced, or under what conditions.  They knew that it was
+sometimes found floating near the dead body of a sperm whale--the
+mate, in fact, stated that he had taken it once from the rectum
+of a cachalot--and they were certain that it was of great value
+--from one to three guineas per ounce.  When I got to know more
+of the natural history of the sperm whale, and had studied the
+literature of the subject, I was so longer surprised at their
+want of agreement, since the learned doctors who have written
+upon the subject do not seem to have come to definite conclusions
+either.
+
+By some it is supposed to be the product of a diseased condition
+of the creature; others consider that it is merely the excreta,
+which, normally fluid, has by some means become concreted.  It is
+nearly always found with cuttle-fish beaks imbedded in its
+substance, showing that these indigestible portions of the sperm
+whale's food have in some manner become mixed with it during its
+formation in the bowel.  Chemists have analyzed it with scanty
+results.  Its great value is due to its property of intensifying
+the power of perfumes, although, strange to say, it has little or
+no odour of its own, a faint trace of musk being perhaps
+detectable in some cases.  The Turks are said to use it for a
+truly Turkish purpose, which need not be explained here, while
+the Moors are credited with a taste for it in their cookery.
+About both these latter statements there is considerable doubt; I
+only give them for what they are worth, without, committing
+myself to any definite belief in them.
+
+The ship now neared us fast, and as soon as she rounded-to, we
+left the whale and pulled towards her, paying out line as we
+went.  Arriving alongside, the line was handed on board, and in a
+short time the prize was hauled to the gangway.  We met with a
+very different reception this time.  The skipper's grim face
+actually looked almost pleasant as he contemplated the colossal
+proportions of the latest addition to our stock.  He was indeed a
+fine catch, being at least seventy feet long, and in splendid
+condition.  As soon as he was secured alongside in the orthodox
+fashion, all hands were sent to dinner, with an intimation to
+look sharp over it.  Judging from our slight previous experience,
+there was some heavy labour before us, for this whale was nearly
+four times as large as the one caught off the Cape Verds.  And it
+was so.  Verily those officers toiled like Titans to get that
+tremendous head off even the skipper taking a hand.  In spite of
+their efforts, it was dark before the heavy job was done. As we
+were in no danger of bad weather, the head was dropped astern by
+a hawser until morning, when it would be safer to dissect it.
+All that night we worked incessantly, ready to drop with fatigue,
+but not daring to suggest, the possibility of such a thing.
+Several of the officers and harpooners were allowed a few hours
+off, as their special duty of dealing with the head at daylight
+would be so arduous as to need all their energies.  When day
+dawned we were allowed a short rest, while the work of cutting up
+the head was undertaken by the rested men.  At seven bells (7.30)
+it was "turn to" all hands again.  The "junk" was hooked on to
+both cutting tackles, and the windlass manned by everybody who
+could get hold.  Slowly the enormous mass rose, canting the ship
+heavily as it came, while every stick and rope aloft complained
+of the great strain upon them.  When at last it was safely
+shipped, and the tackles cast off, the size of this small portion
+of a full-grown cachalot's body could be realized, not before.
+
+It was hauled from the gangway by tackles, and securely lashed to
+the rail running round beneath the top of the bulwarks for that
+purpose--the "lash-rail"--where the top of it towered up as high
+as the third ratline of the main-rigging.  Then there was another
+spell, while the "case" was separated from the skull. This was
+too large to get on board, so it was lifted half-way out of water
+by the tackles, one hooked on each side; then they were made
+fast, and a spar rigged across them at a good height above the
+top of the case.  A small block was lashed to this spar, through
+which a line was rove.  A long, narrow bucket was attached to one
+end of this rope; the other end on deck was attended by two men.
+One unfortunate beggar was perched aloft on the above-mentioned
+spar, where his position, like the main-yard of Marryatt's
+verbose carpenter was "precarious and not at all permanent." He
+was provided with a pole, with which he pushed the bucket down
+through a hole cut in the upper end of the "case," whence it was
+drawn out by the chaps on deck full of spermaceti. It was a
+weary, unsatisfactory process, wasting a great deal of the
+substance being baled out; but no other way was apparently
+possible.  The grease blew about, drenching most of us engaged in
+an altogether unpleasant fashion, while, to mend matters, the old
+barky began to roll and tumble about in an aimless, drunken sort
+of way, the result of a new cross swell rolling up from the
+south-westward.  As the stuff was gained, it was poured into
+large tanks in the blubber-room, the quantity being too great to
+be held by the try-pots at once.  Twenty-five barrels of this
+clear, wax-like substance were baled from that case; and when at
+last it was lowered a little, and cut away from its supports, it
+was impossible to help thinking that much was still remaining
+within which we, with such rude means, were unable to save.  Then
+came the task of cutting up the junk.  Layer after layer, eight
+to ten inches thick, was sliced off, cut into suitable pieces,
+and passed into the tanks.  So full was the matter of spermaceti
+that one could take a piece as large as one's head in the hands,
+and squeeze it like a sponge, expressing the spermaceti in
+showers, until nothing remained but a tiny ball of fibre.  All
+this soft, pulpy mass was held together by walls of exceedingly
+tough, gristly integrument ("white horse"), which was as
+difficult to cut as gutta-percha, and, but for the peculiar
+texture, not at all unlike it.
+
+When we had finished separating the junk, there was nearly a foot
+of oil on deck in the waist, and uproarious was the laughter when
+some hapless individual, losing his balance, slid across the deck
+and sat down with a loud splash in the deepest part of the
+accumulation.
+
+The lower jaw of this whale measured exactly nineteen feet in
+length from the opening of the mouth, or, say the last of the
+teeth, to the point, and carried twenty-eight teeth on each side.
+For the time, it was hauled aft out of the way, and secured to
+the lash-rail.  The subsequent proceedings were just the same as
+before described, only more so.  For a whole week our labours
+continued, and when they were over we had stowed below a hundred
+and forty-six barrels of mingled oil and spermaceti, or fourteen
+and a half tuns.
+
+It was really a pleasant sight to see Abner receiving as if being
+invested with an order of merit, the twenty pounds of tobacco to
+which he was entitled.  Poor fellow! he felt as if at last he
+were going to be thought a little of, and treated a little
+better.  He brought his bounty forrard, and shared it out as far
+as it would go with the greatest delight and good nature
+possible.  Whatever he might have been thought of aft, certainly,
+for the time, he was a very important personage forrard; even the
+Portuguese, who were inclined to be jealous of what they
+considered an infringement of their rights, were mollified by the
+generosity shown.
+
+After every sign of the operations had been cleared away, the jaw
+was brought out, and the teeth extracted with a small tackle.
+They were set solidly into a hard white gum, which had to be cut
+away all around them before they would come out.  When cleaned of
+the gum, they were headed up in a small barrel of brine.  The
+great jaw-pans were sawn off, and placed at the disposal of
+anybody who wanted pieces of bone for "scrimshaw," or carved
+work.  This is a very favourite pastime on board whalers, though,
+in ships such as ours, the crew have little opportunity for doing
+anything, hardly any leisure during daylight being allowed.  But
+our carpenter was a famous workman at "scrimshaw," and he started
+half a dozen walking-sticks forthwith.  A favourite design is to
+carve the bone into the similitude of a rope, with "worming" of
+smaller line along its lays.  A handle is carved out of a whale's
+tooth, and insets of baleen, silver, cocoa-tree, or ebony, give
+variety and finish.  The tools used are of the roughest.  Some
+old files, softened in the fire, and filed into grooves something
+like saw-teeth, are most used; but old knives, sail-needles, and
+chisels are pressed into service.  The work turned out would, in
+many cases, take a very high place in an exhibition of turnery,
+though never a lathe was near it.  Of course, a long time is
+taken over it, especially the polishing, which is done with oil
+and whiting, if it can be got--powdered pumice if it cannot. I
+once had an elaborate pastry-cutter carved out of six whale's
+teeth, which I purchased for a pound of tobacco from a seaman of
+the CORAL whaler, and afterwards sold in Dunedin, New Zealand,
+for L2 10s., the purchaser being decidedly of opinion that he had
+a bargain.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+OUR FIRST CALLING-PLACE
+
+Perhaps it may hastily be assumed, from the large space already
+devoted to fishing operations of various kinds, that the subject
+will not bear much more dealing with, if my story is to avoid
+being monotonous.  But I beg to assure you, dear reader, that
+while of course I have most to say in connection with the
+business of the voyage, nothing is farther from my plan than to
+neglect the very interesting portion of our cruise which relates
+to visiting strange, out-of-the-way corners of the world.  If
+--which I earnestly deprecate--the description hitherto given of
+sperm whale-fishing and its adjuncts be found not so interesting
+as could be wished, I cry you mercy.  I have been induced to give
+more space to it because it has been systematically avoided in
+the works upon whale-fishing before mentioned, which, as I have
+said, were not intended for popular reading.  True, neither may
+my humble tome become popular either; but, if it does not, no one
+will be so disappointed as the author.
+
+We had made but little progress during the week of oil
+manufacture, very little attention being paid to the sails while
+that work was about; but, as the south-east trades blew steadily,
+we did not remain stationary altogether.  So that the following
+week saw us on the south side of the tropic of Capricorn, the
+south-east trade done, and the dirty weather and variable
+squalls, which nearly always precede the "westerlies," making our
+lives a burden to us.  Here, however, we were better off than in
+an ordinary merchantman, where doldrums are enough to drive you
+mad.  The one object being to get along, it is incessant "pully-
+hauly," setting and taking in sail, in order, on the one hand, to
+lose no time, and, on the other, to lose no sails.  Now, with us,
+whenever the weather was doubtful or squally-looking, we
+shortened sail, and kept it fast till better weather came along,
+being quite careless whether we made one mile a day or one
+hundred.  But just because nobody took any notice of our progress
+as the days passed, we were occasionally startled to find how far
+we had really got.  This was certainly the case with all of us
+forward, even to me who had some experience, so well used had I
+now become to the leisurely way of getting along.  To the laziest
+of ships, however, there comes occasionally a time when the
+bustling, hurrying wind will take no denial, and you've got to
+"git up an' git," as the Yanks put it.  Such a time succeeded our
+"batterfanging" about, after losing the trades.  We got hold of a
+westerly wind that, commencing quietly, gently, steadily, taking
+two or three days before it gathered force and volume,
+strengthened at last into a stern, settled gale that would brook
+no denial, to face which would have been misery indeed.  To
+vessels bound east it came as a boon and blessing, for it would
+be a crawler that could not reel off her two hundred and fifty
+miles a day before the push of such a breeze. Even the CACHALOT
+did her one hundred and fifty, pounding and bruising the ill-used
+sea in her path, and spreading before her broad bows a far-
+reaching area of snowy foam, while her wake was as wide as any
+two ordinary ships ought to make.  Five or six times a day the
+flying East India or colonial-bound English ships, under every
+stitch of square sail, would appear as tiny specks on the horizon
+astern, come up with us, pass like a flash, and fade away ahead,
+going at least two knots to our one.  I could not help feeling a
+bit home-sick and tired of my present surroundings, in spite of
+their interest, when I saw those beautiful ocean-flyers devouring
+the distance which lay before them, and reflected that in little
+more than one month most of them would be discharging in
+Melbourne, Sydney, Calcutta, or some other equally distant port,
+while we should probably be dodging about in our present latitude
+a little farther east.
+
+After a few days of our present furious rate of speed, I came on
+deck one morning, and instantly recognized an old acquaintance.
+Right ahead, looking nearer than I had ever seen it before, rose
+the towering mass of Tristan d'Acunha, while farther away, but
+still visible, lay Nightingale and Inaccessible Islands. Their
+aspect was familiar, for I had sighted them on nearly every
+voyage I had made round the Cape, but I had never seen them so
+near as this.  There was a good deal of excitement among us, and
+no wonder. Such a break in the monotony of our lives as we were
+about to have was enough to turn our heads. Afterwards, we
+learned to view these matters in a more philosophic light; but
+now, being new and galled by the yoke, it was a different thing.
+Near as the island seemed, it was six hours before we got near
+enough to distinguish objects on shore.  I have seen the top of
+Tristan peeping through a cloud nearly a hundred miles away, for
+its height is tremendous.  St. Helena looks a towering, scowling
+mass when you approach it closely but Tristan d'Acunha is far
+more imposing, its savage-looking cliffs seeming to sternly
+forbid the venturesome voyager any nearer familiarity with their
+frowning fastnesses.  Long before we came within working distance
+of the settlement, we were continually passing broad patches of
+kelp (FUCUS GIGANTEA), whose great leaves and cable-laid stems
+made quite reef-like breaks in the heaving waste of restless sea.
+Very different indeed were these patches of marine growth from
+the elegant wreaths of the Gulf-weed with which parts of the
+North Atlantic are so thickly covered.  Their colour was deep
+brown, almost black is some cases, and the size of many of the
+leaves amazing, being four to five feet long, by a foot wide,
+with stalks as thick as one's arm.  They have their origin around
+these storm-beaten rocks, which lie scattered thinly over the
+immense area of the Southern Ocean, whence they are torn, in
+masses like those we saw, by every gale, and sent wandering round
+the world.
+
+When we arrived within about three miles of the landing-place, we
+saw a boat coming off, so we immediately hove-to and awaited her
+arrival.  There was no question of anchoring; indeed, there
+seldom is in these vessels, unless they are going to make a long
+stay, for they are past masters in the art of "standing off and
+on."  The boat came alongside--a big, substantially-built craft
+of the whale-boat type, but twice the size--manned by ten sturdy-
+looking fellows, as unkempt and wild-looking as any pirates.
+They were evidently put to great straits for clothes, many
+curious makeshifts being noticeable in their rig, while it was so
+patched with every conceivable kind of material that it was
+impossible to say which was the original or "standing part."
+They brought with them potatoes, onions, a few stunted cabbages,
+some fowls, and a couple of good-sized pigs, at the sight of
+which good things our eyes glistened and our mouths watered.
+Alas! none of the cargo of that boat ever reached OUR hungry
+stomachs.  We were not surprised, having anticipated that every
+bit of provision would be monopolized by our masters; but of
+course we had no means of altering such a state of things.
+
+The visitors had the same tale to tell that seems universal--bad
+trade, hard times, nothing doing.  How very familiar it seemed,
+to be sure.  Nevertheless, it could not be denied that their sole
+means of communication with the outer world, as well as market
+for their goods, the calling whale-ships, were getting fewer and
+fewer every year; so that their outlook was not, it must be
+confessed, particularly bright.  But their wants are few, beyond
+such as they can themselves supply. Groceries and clothes, the
+latter especially, as the winters are very severe, are almost the
+only needs they require to be supplied with from without.  They
+spoke of the "Cape" as if it were only across the way, the
+distance separating them from that wonderful place being over
+thirteen hundred miles in reality.  Very occasionally a schooner
+from Capetown does visit them; but, as the seals are almost
+exterminated, there is less and less inducement to make the
+voyage.
+
+Like almost all the southern islets, this group has been in its
+time the scene of a wonderfully productive seal-fishery.  It used
+to be customary for whaling and sealing vessels to land a portion
+of their crews, and leave them to accumulate a store of seal-
+skins and oil, while the ships cruised the surrounding seas for
+whales, which were exceedingly numerous, both "right" and sperm
+varieties.  In those days there was no monotony of existence in
+these islands, ships were continually coming and going, and the
+islanders prospered exceedingly.  When they increased beyond the
+capacity of the islands to entertain them, a portion migrated to
+the Cape, while many of the men took service in the whale-ships,
+for which they were eminently suited.
+
+They are, as might be expected, a hybrid lot, the women all
+mulattoes, but intensely English in their views and loyalty.
+Since the visit of H.M.S. GALATEA, in August, 1867, with the Duke
+of Edinburgh on board, this sentiment had been intensified, and
+the little collection of thatched cottages, nameless till then,
+was called Edinburgh, in honour of the illustrious voyager.  They
+breed cattle, a few sheep, and pigs, although the sheep thrive
+but indifferently for some reason or another.  Poultry they have
+in large numbers, so that, could they commend a market, they
+would do very well.
+
+The steep cliffs, rising from the sea for nearly a thousand feet,
+often keep their vicinity in absolute calm, although a heavy gale
+may be raging on the other side of the island, and it would be
+highly dangerous for any navigator not accustomed to such a
+neighbourhood to get too near them.  The immense rollers setting
+inshore, and the absence of wind combined, would soon carry a
+vessel up against the beetling crags, and letting go an anchor
+would not be of the slightest use, since the bottom, being of
+massive boulders, affords no holding ground at all.  All round
+the island the kelp grows thickly, so thickly indeed as to make a
+boat's progress through it difficult.  This, however, is very
+useful in one way here, as we found.  Wanting more supplies,
+which were to be had cheap, we lowered a couple of boats, and
+went ashore after them.  On approaching the black, pebbly beach
+which formed the only landing-place, it appeared as if getting
+ashore would be a task of no ordinary danger and difficulty.  The
+swell seemed to culminate as we neared the beach, lifting the
+boats at one moment high in air, and at the next lowering them
+into a green valley, from whence nothing could be seen but the
+surrounding watery summits.  Suddenly we entered the belt of
+kelp, which extended for perhaps a quarter of a mile seaward,
+and, lo! a transformation indeed.  Those loose, waving fronds of
+flexible weed, though swayed hither and thither by every ripple,
+were able to arrest the devastating rush of the gigantic swell,
+so that the task of landing, which had looked so terrible, was
+one of the easiest.  Once in among the kelp, although we could
+hardly use the oars, the water was quite smooth and tranquil.
+The islanders collected on the beach, and guided us to the best
+spot for landing, the huge boulders, heaped in many places, being
+ugly impediments to a boat.
+
+We were as warmly welcomed as if we had been old friends, and
+hospitable attentions were showered upon us from every side.  The
+people were noticeably well-behaved, and, although there was
+something Crusoe-like in their way of living, their manners and
+conversation were distinctly good.  A rude plenty was evident,
+there being no lack of good food--fish, fowl, and vegetables. The
+grassy plateau on which the village stands is a sort of shelf
+jutting out from the mountain-side, the mountain being really the
+whole island.  Steep roads were hewn out of the solid rock,
+leading, as we were told, to the cultivated terraces above.
+These reached an elevation of about a thousand feet.  Above all
+towered the great, dominating peak, the summit lost in the clouds
+eight or nine thousand feet above.  The rock-hewn roads and
+cultivated land certainly gave the settlement an old-established
+appearance, which was not surprising seeing that it has been
+inhabited for more than a hundred years.  I shall always bear a
+grateful recollection of the place, because my host gave me what
+I had long been a stranger to--a good, old-fashioned English
+dinner of roast beef and baked potatoes.  He apologized for
+having no plum-pudding to crown the feast.  "But, you see," he
+said, "we kaint grow no corn hyar, and we'm clean run out ov
+flour; hev ter make out on taters 's best we kin."  I sincerely
+sympathized with him on the lack of bread-stuff among them, and
+wondered no longer at the avidity with which they had munched our
+flinty biscuits on first coming aboard.  His wife, a buxom,
+motherly woman of about fifty, of dark, olive complexion, but
+good features, was kindness itself; and their three youngest
+children, who were at home, could not, in spite of repeated
+warnings and threats, keep their eyes off me, as if I had been
+some strange animal dropped from the moon.  I felt very unwilling
+to leave them so soon, but time was pressing, the stores we had
+come for were all ready to ship, and I had to tear myself away
+from these kindly entertainers.  I declare, it seemed like
+parting with old friends; yet our acquaintance might have been
+measured by minutes, so brief it had been.  The mate had
+purchased a fine bullock, which had been slaughtered and cut up
+for us with great celerity, four or five dozen fowls (alive),
+four or five sacks of potatoes, eggs, etc., so that we were
+heavily laden for the return journey to the ship.  My friend had
+kindly given me a large piece of splendid cheese, for which I was
+unable to make him any return, being simply clad in a shirt and
+pair of trousers, neither of which necessary garments could be
+spared.
+
+With hearty cheers from the whole population, we shoved off and
+ploughed through the kelp seaweed again.  When we got clear of
+it, we found the swell heavier than when we had come, and a rough
+journey back to the ship was the result.  But, to such boatmen as
+we were, that was a trifle hardly worth mentioning, and after an
+hour's hard pull we got alongside again, and transhipped our
+precious cargo.  The weather being threatening, we at once hauled
+off the land and out to sea, as night was falling and we did not
+wish to be in so dangerous a vicinity any longer than could be
+helped in stormy weather.  Altogether, a most enjoyable day, and
+one that I have ever since had a pleasant recollection of.
+
+By daybreak next morning the islands were out of sight, for the
+wind had risen to a gale, which, although we carried little sail,
+drove us along before it some seven or eight knots an hour.
+
+Two days afterwards we caught another whale of medium size,
+making us fifty-four barrels of oil.  As nothing out of the
+ordinary course marked the capture, it is unnecessary to do more
+than allude to it in passing, except to note that the honours
+were all with Goliath.  He happened to be close to the whale when
+it rose, and immediately got fast.  So dexterous and swift were
+his actions that before any of the other boats could "chip in" he
+had his fish "fin out," the whole affair from start to finish
+only occupying a couple of hours.  We were now in the chosen
+haunts of the great albatross, Cape pigeons, and Cape hens, but
+never in my life had I imagined such a concourse of them as now
+gathered around us.  When we lowered there might have been
+perhaps a couple of dozen birds in sight, but no sooner was the
+whale dead than from out of the great void around they began to
+drift towards us. Before we had got him fast alongside, the
+numbers of that feathered host were incalculable.  They
+surrounded us until the sea surface was like a plain of snow, and
+their discordant cries were deafening.  With the exception of one
+peculiar-looking bird, which has received from whalemen the
+inelegant name of "stinker," none of them attempted to alight
+upon the body of the dead monster.  This bird, however, somewhat
+like a small albatross, but of dirty-grey colour, and with a
+peculiar excrescence on his beak, boldly took his precarious
+place upon the carcase, and at once began to dig into the
+blubber.  He did not seem to make much impression, but he
+certainly tried hard.
+
+It was dark before we got our prize secured by the fluke-chain,
+so that we could not commence operations before morning.  That
+night it blew hard, and we got an idea of the strain these
+vessels are sometimes subjected to.  Sometimes the ship rolled
+one way and the whale another, being divided by a big sea, the
+wrench at the fluke-chain, as the two masses fell apart down
+different hollows, making the vessel quiver from truck to keelson
+as if she was being torn asunder.  Then we would come together
+again with a crash and a shock that almost threw everybody out of
+their bunks.  Many an earnest prayer did I breathe that the chain
+would prove staunch, for what sort of a job it would be to go
+after that whale during the night, should he break loose, I could
+only faintly imagine.  But all our gear was of the very best; no
+thieving ship-chandler had any hand in supplying our outfit with
+shoddy rope and faulty chain, only made to sell, and ready at the
+first call made upon it to carry away and destroy half a dozen
+valuable lives.  There was one coil of rope on board which the
+skipper had bought for cordage on the previous voyage from a
+homeward-bound English ship, and it was the butt of all the
+officers' scurrilous remarks about Britishers and their gear.  It
+was never used but for rope-yarns, being cut up in lengths, and
+untwisted for the ignominious purpose of tying things up
+--"hardly good enough for that," was the verdict upon it.
+
+Tired as we all were, very little sleep came to us that night--we
+were barely seasoned yet to the exigencies of a whaler's life
+--but afterwards I believe nothing short of dismasting or running
+the ship ashore would wake us, once we got to sleep.  In the
+morning we commenced operations in a howling gale of wind, which
+placed the lives of the officers on the "cutting in" stage in
+great danger.  The wonderful seaworthy qualities of our old ship
+shone brilliantly now.  When an ordinary modern-built sailing-
+ship would have been making such weather of it as not only to
+drown anybody about the deck, but making it impossible to keep
+your footing anywhere without holding on, we were enabled to cut
+in this whale.  True, the work was terribly exhausting and
+decidedly dangerous, but it was not impossible, for it was done.
+By great care and constant attention, the whole work of cutting
+in and trying out was got through without a single accident; but
+had another whale turned up to continue the trying time, I am
+fully persuaded that some of us would have gone under from sheer
+fatigue.  For there was no mercy shown.  All that I have ever
+read of "putting the slaves through for all they were worth" on
+the plantations was fully realized here, and our worthy skipper
+must have been a lineal descendent of the doughty Simon Legree.
+
+The men were afraid to go on to the sick-list. Nothing short of
+total inability to continue would have prevented them from
+working, such was the terror with which that man had inspired us
+all.  It may be said that we were a pack of cowards, who, without
+the courage to demand better treatment, deserved all we got.
+While admitting that such a conclusion is quite a natural one at
+which to arrive, I must deny its truth. There were men in that
+forecastle as good citizens and as brave fellows as you would
+wish to meet--men who in their own sphere would have commanded
+and obtained respect.  But under the painful and abnormal
+circumstances in which they found themselves--beaten and driven
+like dogs while in the throes of sea-sickness, half starved and
+hopeless, their spirit had been so broken, and they were so kept
+down to that sad level by the display of force, aided by deadly
+weapons aft, that no other condition could be expected for them
+but that of broken-hearted slaves.  My own case was many degrees
+better than that of the other whites, as I have before noted; but
+I was perfectly well aware that the slightest attempt on my part
+to show that I resented our common treatment would meet with the
+most brutal repression, and, in addition, I might look for a
+dreadful time of it for the rest of the voyage.
+
+The memory of that week of misery is so strong upon me even now
+that my hand trembles almost to preventing me from writing about
+it.  Weak and feeble do the words seem as I look at them, making
+me wish for the fire and force of Carlyle or Macaulay to portray
+our unnecessary sufferings.
+
+Like all other earthly ills, however, they came to an end, at
+least for a time, and I was delighted to note that we were
+getting to the northward again.  In making the outward passage
+round the Cape, it is necessary to go well south, in order to
+avoid the great westerly set of the Agulhas current, which for
+ever sweeps steadily round the southern extremity of the African
+continent at an average rate of three or four miles an hour.  To
+homeward-bound ships this is a great boon.  No matter what the
+weather may be--a stark calm or a gale of wind right on end in
+your teeth--that vast, silent river in the sea steadily bears you
+on at the same rate in the direction of home.  It is perfectly
+true that with a gale blowing across the set of this great
+current, one of the very ugliest combinations of broken waves is
+raised; but who cares for that, when he knows that, as long as
+the ship holds together, some seventy or eighty miles per day
+nearer home must be placed to her credit?  In like manner, it is
+of the deepest comfort to know that, storm or calm, fair or foul,
+the current of time, unhasting, unresting, bears us on to the
+goal that we shall surely reach--the haven of unbroken rest.
+
+Not the least of the minor troubles on board the CACHALOT was the
+uncertainty of our destination; we never knew where we were
+going.  It may seem a small point, but it is really not so
+unimportant as a landsman might imagine.  On an ordinary passage,
+certain well-known signs are as easily read by the seaman as if
+the ship's position were given out to him every day.  Every
+alteration of the course signifies some point of the journey
+reached, some well-known track entered upon, and every landfall
+made becomes a new departure from whence to base one's
+calculations, which, rough as they are, rarely err more than a
+few days.
+
+Say, for instance, you are bound for Calcutta.  The first of the
+north-east trades will give a fair idea of your latitude being
+about the edge of the tropics somewhere, or say from 20deg. to
+25deg. N., whether you have sighted any of the islands or not.
+Then away you go before the wind down towards the Equator, the
+approach to which is notified by the loss of the trade and the
+dirty, changeable weather of the "doldrums."  That weary bit of
+work over, along come the south-east trades, making you brace
+"sharp up," and sometimes driving you uncomfortably near the
+Brazilian coast.  Presently more "doldrums," with a good deal
+more wind in them than in the "wariables" of the line latitude.
+The brave "westerly" will come along by-and-by and release you,
+and, with a staggering press of sail carried to the reliable
+gale, away you go for the long stretch of a hundred degrees or so
+eastward.  You will very likely sight Tristan d'Acunha or Gough
+lsland; but, if not, the course will keep you fairly well
+informed of your longitude, since most ships make more or less of
+a great circle track.  Instead of steering due East for the whole
+distance, they make for some southerly latitude by running along
+the arc of a great circle, THEN run due east for a thousand miles
+or so before gradually working north again.  These alterations in
+the courses tell the foremast hand nearly all he wants to know,
+slight as they are.  You will most probably sight Amsterdam
+Island or St. Paul's in about 77deg. E.; but whether you do or
+not, the big change made in the course, to say nothing of the
+difference in the weather and temperature, say loudly that your
+long easterly run is over, and you are bound to the northward
+again. Soon the south-east trades will take you gently in hand,
+and waft you pleasurably upward to the line again, unless you
+should be so unfortunate as to meet one of the devastating
+meteors known as "cyclones" in its gyration across the Indian
+Ocean.  After losing the trade, which signals your approach to
+the line once more, your guides fluctuate muchly with the time of
+year.  But it may be broadly put that the change of the monsoon
+in the Bay of Bengal is beastliness unadulterated, and the south-
+west monsoon itself, though a fair wind for getting to your
+destination, is worse, if possible.  Still, having got that far,
+you are able to judge pretty nearly when, in the ordinary course
+of events, you will arrive at Saugor, and get a tug for the rest
+of the journey.
+
+But on this strange voyage I was quite as much in the dark
+concerning our approximate position as any of the chaps who had
+never seen salt water before they viewed it from the bad eminence
+of the CACHALOT's deck.  Of course, it was evident that we were
+bound eastward, but whether to the Indian seas or to the South
+Pacific, none knew but the skipper, and perhaps the mate.  I say
+"perhaps" advisedly.  In any well-regulated merchant ship there
+is an invariable routine of observations performed by both
+captain and chief officer, except in very big vessels, where the
+second mate is appointed navigating officer.  The two men work
+out their reckoning independently of each other, and compare the
+result, so that an excellent check upon the accuracy of the
+positions found is thereby afforded.  Here, however, there might
+not have been, as far as appearances went, a navigator in the
+ship except the captain, if it be not a misuse of terms to call
+him a navigator.  If the test be ability to take a ship round the
+world, poking into every undescribed, out-of-the-way corner you
+can think of, and return home again without damage to the ship of
+any kind except by the unavoidable perils of the sea, then
+doubtless he WAS a navigator, and a ripe, good one.  But anything
+cruder than the "rule-of-thumb" way in which he found his
+positions, or more out of date than his "hog-yoke," or quadrant,
+I have never seen.  I suppose we carried a chronometer, though I
+never saw it or heard the cry of "stop," which usually
+accompanies a.m. or p.m. "sights" taken for longitude.  He used
+sometimes to make a deliberate sort of haste below after taking a
+sight, when he may have been looking at a chronometer perhaps.
+What I do know about his procedure is, that he always used a very
+rough method of equal altitudes, which would make a mathematician
+stare and gasp; that his nautical almanac was a ten-cent one
+published by some speculative optician is New York; that he never
+worked up a "dead reckoning;" and that the extreme limit of time
+that he took to work out his observations was ten minutes.  In
+fact, all our operations in seamanship or navigation were run on
+the same happy-go-lucky principle.  If it was required to "tack"
+ship, there was no formal parade and preparation for the
+manoeuvre, not even as much as would be made in a Goole billy-
+boy.  Without any previous intimation, the helm would be put
+down, and round she would come, the yards being trimmed by
+whoever happened to be nearest to the braces.  The old tub seemed
+to like it that way, for she never missed stays or exhibited any
+of that unwillingness to do what she was required that is such a
+frequent characteristic of merchantmen.  Even getting under way
+or coming to an anchor was unattended by any of the fuss and
+bother from which those important evolutions ordinarily appear
+inseparable.
+
+To my great relief we saw no more whales of the kind we were
+after during our passage round the Cape.  The weather we were
+having was splendid for making a passage, but to be dodging about
+among those immense rollers, or towed athwart them by a wounded
+whale in so small a craft as one of our whale-boats, did not have
+any attractions for me.  There was little doubt in any of our
+minds that, if whales were seen, off we must go while daylight
+lasted, let the weather be what it might.  So when one morning I
+went to the wheel, to find the course N.N.E. instead of E. by N.,
+it may be taken for granted that the change was a considerable
+relief to me.  It was now manifest that we were bound up into the
+Indian Ocean, although of course I knew nothing of the position
+of the districts where whales were to be looked for.  Gradually
+we crept northward, the weather improving every day as we left
+the "roaring forties" astern.  While thus making northing we had
+several fine catches of porpoises, and saw many rorquals, but
+sperm whales appeared to have left the locality.  However, the
+"old man" evidently knew what he was about, as we were not now
+cruising, but making a direct passage for some definite place.
+
+At last we sighted land, which, from the course which we had been
+steering, might have been somewhere on the east coast of Africa,
+but for the fact that it was right ahead, while we were pointing
+at the time about N.N.W.  By-and-by I came to the conclusion that
+it must be the southern extremity of Madagascar, Cape St. Mary,
+and, by dint of the closest, attention to every word I heard
+uttered while at the wheel by the officers, found that my surmise
+was correct.  We skirted this point pretty closely, heading to
+the westward, and, when well clear of it, bore up to the
+northward, again for the Mozambique Channel.  Another surprise.
+The very idea of WHALING in the Mozambique Channel seemed too
+ridiculous to mention; yet here we were, guided by a commander
+who, whatever his faults, was certainly most keen in his
+attention to business, and the unlikeliest man imaginable to take
+the ship anywhere unless he anticipated a profitable return for
+his visit.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+A VISIT TO SOME STRANGE PLACES
+
+We had now entered upon what promised to be the most interesting
+part of our voyage.  As a commercial speculation, I have to admit
+that the voyage was to me a matter of absolute indifference.
+Never, from the first week of my being on board, had I cherished
+any illusions upon that score, for it was most forcibly impressed
+on my mind that, whatever might be the measure of success
+attending our operations, no one of the crew forward could hope
+to benefit by it.  The share of profits was so small, and the
+time taken to earn it so long, such a number of clothes were worn
+out and destroyed by us, only to be replaced from the ship's
+slop-chest at high prices, that I had quite resigned myself to
+the prospect of leaving the vessel in debt, whenever that
+desirable event might happen.  Since, therefore, I had never made
+it a practice to repine at the inevitable, and make myself
+unhappy by the contemplation of misfortunes I was powerless to
+prevent, I tried to interest myself as far as was possible in
+gathering information, although at that time I had no idea,
+beyond a general thirst for knowledge, that what I was now
+learning would ever be of any service to me.  Yet I had been dull
+indeed not to have seen how unique were the opportunities I was
+now enjoying for observation of some of the least known and
+understood aspects of the ocean world and its wonderful
+inhabitants, to say nothing of visits to places unvisited, except
+by such free lances as we were, and about which so little is
+really known.
+
+The weather of the Mozambique Channel was fairly good, although
+subject to electric storms of the most terrible aspect, but
+perfectly harmless.  On the second evening after rounding Cape
+St. Mary, we were proceeding, as usual, under very scanty sail,
+rather enjoying the mild, balmy air, scent-laden, from
+Madagascar. The moon was shining in tropical splendour, paling
+the lustre of the attendant stars, and making the glorious Milky
+Way but a faint shadow of its usual resplendent road.  Gradually
+from the westward there arose a murky mass of cloud, fringed at
+its upper edges with curious tinted tufts of violet, orange, and
+crimson. These colours were not brilliant, but plainly visible
+against the deep blue sky.  Slowly and solemnly the intruding
+gloom overspread the sweet splendour of the shining sky, creeping
+like a death-shadow over a dear face, and making the most
+talkative feel strangely quiet and ill at ease.  As the pall of
+thick darkness blotted out the cool light, it seemed to descend
+until at last we were completely over-canopied by a dome of
+velvety black, seemingly low enough to touch the mast-heads.  A
+belated sea-bird's shrill scream but emphasized the deep silence
+which lent itself befittingly to the solemnity of nature.
+Presently thin suggestions of light, variously tinted, began to
+thread the inky mass.  These grew brighter and more vivid, until
+at last, in fantastic contortions, they appeared to rend the
+swart concave asunder, revealing through the jagged clefts a
+lurid waste of the most intensely glowing fire.  The coming and
+going of these amazing brightnesses, combined with the Egyptian
+dark between, was completely blinding.  So loaded was the still
+air with electricity that from every point aloft pale flames
+streamed upward, giving the ship the appearance of a huge
+candelabrum with innumerable branches.  One of the hands, who
+had been ordered aloft on some errand of securing a loose end,
+presented a curious sight.  He was bareheaded, and from his hair
+the all pervading fluid arose, lighting up his features, which
+were ghastly beyond description.  When he lifted his hand, each
+separate finger became at once an additional point from which
+light streamed.  There was no thunder, but a low hissing and a
+crackling which did not amount to noise, although distinctly
+audible to all.  Sensations most unpleasant of pricking and
+general irritation were felt by every one, according to their
+degree of susceptibility.
+
+After about an hour of this state of things, a low moaning of
+thunder was heard, immediately followed by a few drops of rain
+large as dollars.  The mutterings and grumblings increased until,
+with one peal that made the ship tremble as though she had just
+struck a rock at full speed, down came the rain.  The windows of
+heaven were opened, and no man might stand against the steaming
+flood that descended by thousands of tons per minute.  How long
+it continued, I cannot say; probably, in its utmost fierceness,
+not more than half an hour.  Then it slowly abated, clearing away
+as it did so the accumulation of gloom overhead, until, before
+midnight had struck, all the heavenly host were shedding their
+beautiful brilliancy upon us again with apparently increased
+glory, while the freshness and invigorating feel of the air was
+inexpressibly delightful.
+
+We did not court danger by hugging too closely any of the ugly
+reefs and banks that abound in this notably difficult strait, but
+gave them all a respectfully wide berth.  It was a feature of our
+navigation that, unless we had occasion to go near any island or
+reef for fishing or landing purposes, we always kept a safe
+margin of distance away, which probably accounts for our
+continued immunity from accident while in tortuous waters.  Our
+anchors and cables were, however, always kept ready for use now,
+in case of an unsuspected current or sudden storm; but beyond
+that precaution, I could see little or no difference in the
+manner of our primitive navigation.
+
+We met with no "luck" for some time, and the faces of the
+harpooners grew daily longer, the great heat of those sultry
+waters trying all tempers sorely.  But Captain Slocum knew his
+business, and his scowling, impassive face showed no signs of
+disappointment, or indeed any other emotion, as day by day we
+crept farther north.  At last we sighted the stupendous peak of
+Comoro mountain, which towers to nearly nine thousand feet from
+the little island which gives its name to the Comoro group of
+four.  On that same day a school of medium-sized sperm whales
+were sighted, which appeared to be almost of a different race to
+those with which we had hitherto had dealings.  They were
+exceedingly fat and lazy, moving with the greatest deliberation,
+and, when we rushed in among them, appeared utterly bewildered
+and panic-stricken, knowing not which way to flee.  Like a flock
+of frightened sheep they huddled together, aimlessly wallowing in
+each other's way, while we harpooned them with the greatest ease
+and impunity.  Even the "old man" himself lowered the fifth boat,
+leaving the ship to the carpenter, cooper, cook, and steward, and
+coming on the scene as if determined to make a field-day of the
+occasion.  He was no "slouch" at the business either.  Not that
+there was much occasion or opportunity to exhibit any prowess.
+The record of the day's proceedings would be as tame as to read
+of a day's work in a slaughter-house.  Suffice it to say, that we
+actually killed six whales, none of whom were less than fifty
+barrels, no boat ran out more than one hundred fathoms of line,
+neither was a bomb-lance used.  Not the slightest casualty
+occurred to any of the boats, and the whole work of destruction
+was over in less than four hours.
+
+Then came the trouble.  The fish were, of course somewhat widely
+separated when they died, and the task of collecting all those
+immense carcasses was one of no ordinary magnitude.  Had it not
+been for the wonderfully skilful handling of the ship, the task
+would, I should think, have been impossible, but the way in which
+she was worked compelled the admiration of anybody who knew what
+handling a ship meant.  Still, with all the ability manifested,
+it was five hours after the last whale died before we had
+gathered them all alongside, bringing us to four o'clock in the
+afternoon.
+
+A complete day under that fierce blaze of the tropical sun,
+without other refreshment than an occasional furtive drink of
+tepid water, had reduced us to a pitiable condition of weakness,
+so much so that the skipper judged it prudent, as soon as the
+fluke-chains were passed, to give us a couple of hours' rest.  As
+soon as the sun had set we were all turned to again, three
+cressets were prepared, and by their blaze we toiled the whole
+night through.  Truth compels me to state, though, that none of
+us foremast hands had nearly such heavy work as the officers on
+the stage.  What they had to do demanded special knowledge and
+skill; but it was also terribly hard work, constant and
+unremitting, while we at the windlass had many a short spell
+between the lifting of the pieces.  Even the skipper took a hand,
+for the first time, and right manfully did he do his share.
+
+By the first streak of dawn, three of the whales had been
+stripped of their blubber, and five heads were bobbing astern at
+the ends of as many hawsers.  The sea all round presented a
+wonderful sight.  There must have been thousands of sharks
+gathered to the feast, and their incessant incursions through the
+phosphorescent water wove a dazzling network of brilliant tracks
+which made the eyes ache to look upon.  A short halt was called
+for breakfast, which was greatly needed, and, thanks to the cook,
+was a thoroughly good one.  He--blessings on him!--had been busy
+fishing, as we drifted slowly, with savoury pieces of whale-beef
+for bait, and the result was a mess of fish which would have
+gladdened the heart of an epicure.  Our hunger appeased, it was
+"turn to" again, for there was now no time to be lost.  The
+fierce heat soon acts upon the carcass of a dead whale,
+generating an immense volume of gas within it, which, in a
+wonderfully short space of time, turns the flesh putrid and
+renders the blubber so rotten that it cannot be lifted, nor, if
+it could, would it be of any value.  So it was no wonder that our
+haste was great, or that the august arbiter of our destinies
+himself condescended to take his place among the toilers.  By
+nightfall the whole of our catch was on board, excepting such
+toll as the hungry hordes of sharks had levied upon it in
+transit.  A goodly number of them had paid the penalty of their
+rapacity with their lives, for often one would wriggle his way
+right up on to the reeking carcass, and, seizing a huge fragment
+of blubber, strive with might and main to tear it away.  Then the
+lethal spade would drop upon his soft crown, cleaving it to the
+jaws, and with one flap of his big tail he would loose his grip,
+roll over and over, and sink, surrounded by a writhing crowd of
+his fellows, by whom he was speedily reduced into digestible
+fragments.
+
+The condition of the CACHALOT's deck was now somewhat akin to
+chaos.  From the cabin door to the tryworks there was hardly an
+inch of available space, and the oozing oil kept some of us
+continually baling it up, lest it should leak out through the
+interstices in the bulwarks.  In order to avoid a breakdown, it
+became necessary to divide the crew into six-hour watches, as
+although the work was exceedingly urgent on account of the
+weather, there were evident signs that some of the crew were
+perilously near giving in.  So we got rest none too soon, and the
+good effects of it were soon apparent.  The work went on with
+much more celerity than one would have thought possible, and soon
+the lumbered-up decks began to resume their normal appearance.
+
+As if to exasperate the "old man" beyond measure on the third day
+of our operations a great school of sperm whales appeared,
+disporting all around the ship, apparently conscious of our
+helplessness to interfere with them.  Notwithstanding our
+extraordinary haul, Captain Slocum went black with impotent rage,
+and, after glowering at the sportive monsters, beat a retreat
+below, unable to bear the sight any longer.  During his absence
+we had a rare treat.  The whole school surrounded the ship, and
+performed some of the strangest evolutions imaginable.  As if
+instigated by one common impulse, they all elevated their massive
+heads above the surface of the sea, and remained for some time in
+that position, solemnly bobbing up and down amid the glittering
+wavelets like movable boulders of black rock.  Then, all suddenly
+reversed themselves, and, elevating their broad flukes in the
+air, commenced to beat them slowly and rhythmically upon the
+water, like so many machines.  Being almost a perfect calm, every
+movement of the great mammals could be plainly seen; some of
+them even passed so near to us that we could see how the lower
+jaw hung down, while the animal was swimming in a normal
+position.
+
+For over an hour they thus paraded around us, and then, as if
+startled by some hidden danger, suddenly headed off to the
+westward, and in a few minutes were out of our sight.
+
+We cruised in the vicinity of the Comoro Islands for two months,
+never quite out of sight of the mountain while the weather was
+clear.  During the whole of that time we were never clear of oil
+on deck, one catch always succeeding another before there had
+been time to get cleared up.  Eight hundred barrels of oil were
+added to our cargo, making the undisciplined hearts of all to
+whom whaling was a novel employment beat high with hopes of a
+speedy completion of the cargo, and consequent return.  Poor
+innocents that we were!  How could we know any better?  According
+to Goliath, with whom I often had a friendly chat, this was quite
+out of the ordinary run to have such luck in the "Channel."
+
+"'Way back in de dark ages, w'en de whaleships war de pi'neers ob
+commerce, 'n day wan't no worryin', poofity-plukity steamboats a-
+poundin' along, 'nough ter galley ebery whale clean eout ob dere
+skin, dey war plenty whaleships fill up in twelve, fifteen,
+twenty monf' after leabin' home.  'N er man bed his pick er
+places, too--didn' hab ter go moseyin erroun' like some ol' hobo
+lookin' fer day's work, 'n prayin' de good Lord not ter let um
+fine it.  No, sah; roun yer China Sea, coas' Japan, on de line,
+off shore, Vasquez, 'mong de islan's, ohmos' anywhar, you couldn'
+hardly git way from 'em.  Neow, I clar ter glory I kaint imagine
+WAR dey all gone ter, dough we bin eout only six seven monf' 'n
+got over tousan bar'l below.  But I bin two year on er voy'ge and
+doan hardly SEE a sparm while, much less catch one.  But"--and
+here he whispered mysteriously--"dish yer ole man's de bery
+debbil's own chile, 'n his farder lookin' after him well--dat's
+my 'pinion.  Only yew keep yer head tight shut, an' nebber say er
+word, but keep er lookin', 'n sure's death you'll see."  This
+conversation made a deep and lasting impression upon me, for I
+had not before heard even so much as a murmur from an officer
+against the tyranny of the skipper.  Some of the harpooners were
+fluent enough, too.
+
+Yet I had often thought that his treatment of them, considering
+the strenuous nature of their toil, and the willingness with
+which they worked as long as they had an ounce of energy left,
+was worth at least a little kindness and courtesy on his part.
+
+What the period may have been during which whales were plentiful
+here, I do not know, but it was now May, and for the last few
+days we had not seen a solitary spout of any kind.  Preparations,
+very slight it is true, were made for departure; but before we
+left those parts we made an interesting call for water at
+Mohilla, one of the Comoro group, which brought out, in
+unmistakable fashion, the wonderful fund of local knowledge
+possessed by these men.  At the larger ports of Johanna and
+Mayotte there is a regular tariff of port charges, which are
+somewhat heavy, and no whaleman would be so reckless as to incur
+these unless driven thereto by the necessity of obtaining
+provisions; otherwise, the islands offer great inducements to
+whaling captains to call, since none but men hopelessly mad would
+venture to desert in such places.  That qualification is the
+chief one for any port to possess in the eyes of a whaling
+captain.
+
+Our skipper, however, saw no necessity for entering any port.
+Running up under the lee of Mohilla, we followed the land along
+until we came to a tiny bight on the western side of the island,
+an insignificant inlet which no mariner in charge of a vessel
+like ours could be expected even to notice, unless he were
+surveying. The approaches to this tiny harbour (save the mark)
+were very forbidding.  Ugly-looking rocks showed up here and
+there, the surf over them frequently blinding the whole entry.
+But we came along, in our usual leisurely fashion, under two
+topsails, spanker, and  fore-topmast staysail, and took that ugly
+passage like a sailing barge entering the Medway.  There was
+barely room to turn round when we got inside, but all sail had
+been taken off her except the spanker, so that her way was almost
+stopped by the time she was fairly within the harbour.  Down went
+the anchor, and she was fast--anchored for the first time since
+leaving New Bedford seven months before.  Here we were shut out
+entirely from the outer world, for I doubt greatly whether even a
+passing dhow could have seen us from seaward.  We were not here
+for rest, however, but wood and water; so while one party was
+supplied with well-sharpened axes, and sent on shore to cut down
+such small trees as would serve our turn, another party was
+busily employed getting out a number of big casks for the
+serious business of watering.  The cooper knocked off the second
+or quarter hoops from each of these casks, and drove them on
+again with two "beckets" or loops of rope firmly jammed under
+each of them in such a manner that the loops were in line with
+each other on each side of the bunghole.  They were then lowered
+overboard, and a long rope rove through all the beckets.  When
+this was done, the whole number of casks floated end to end,
+upright and secure.  We towed them ashore to where, by the
+skipper's directions, at about fifty yards from high-water mark,
+a spring of beautiful water bubbled out of the side of a mass of
+rock, losing itself in a deep crevice below.  Lovely ferns, rare
+orchids, and trailing plants of many kinds surrounded this fairy-
+like spot in the wildest profusion, making a tangle of greenery
+that we had considerable trouble to clear away.  Having done so,
+we led a long canvas hose from the spot whence the water flowed
+down to the shore where the casks floated.  The chief officer,
+with great ingenuity, rigged up an arrangement whereby the hose,
+which had a square month about a foot wide, was held up to the
+rock, saving us the labour of bailing and filling by hand.  So we
+were able to rest and admire at our ease the wonderful variety of
+beautiful plants which grew here so lavishly, unseen by mortal
+eye from one year's end to another.  I have somewhere read that
+the Creator has delight in the beautiful work of His will,
+wherever it may be; and that while our egotism wonders at the
+waste of beauty, as we call it, there is no waste at all, since
+the Infinite Intelligence can dwell with complacency upon the
+glories of His handiwork, perfectly fulfilling their appointed
+ends.
+
+All too soon the pleasant occupation came to an end.  The long
+row of casks, filled to the brim and tightly bunged, were towed
+off by us to the ship, and ranged alongside.  A tackle and pair
+of "can-hooks" was overhauled to the water and hooked to a cask.
+"Hoist away!"  And as the cask rose, the beckets that had held it
+to the mother-rope were cut, setting it quite free to come on
+board, but leaving all the others still secure.  In this way we
+took in several thousand gallons of water in a few hours, with a
+small expenditure of labour, free of cost; whereas, had we gone
+into Mayotte or Johanna, the water would have been bad, the price
+high, the labour great, with the chances of a bad visitation of
+fever in the bargain.
+
+The woodmen had a much more arduous task.  The only wood they
+could find, without cutting down big trees, which would have
+involved far too much labour in cutting up, was a kind of iron-
+wood, which, besides being very heavy, was so hard as to take
+pieces clean out of their axe-edges, when a blow was struck
+directly across the grain.  As none of them were experts, the
+condition of their tools soon made their work very hard.  But
+that they had taken several axes in reserve, it is doubtful
+whether they would have been able to get sufficient fuel for our
+purpose.  When they pitched the wood off the rocks into the
+harbour, it sank immediately, giving them a great deal of trouble
+to fish it up again. Neither could they raft it as intended, but
+were compelled to load it into the boats and make several
+journeys to and fro before all they had cut was shipped.
+Altogether, I was glad that the wooding had not fallen to my
+share.  On board the ship fishing had been going on steadily most
+of the day by a few hands told off for the purpose.  The result
+of their sport was splendid, over two hundred-weight of fine fish
+of various sorts, but all eatable, having been gathered in.
+
+We lay snugly anchored all night, keeping a bright look-out for
+any unwelcome visitors either from land or sea, for the natives
+are not to be trusted, neither do the Arab mongrels who cruise
+about those waters in their dhows bear any too good a reputation.
+We saw none, however, and at daylight we weighed and towed the
+ship out to sea with the boats, there being no wind.  While busy
+at this uninteresting pastime, one of the boats slipped away,
+returning presently with a fine turtle, which they had surprised
+during his morning's nap.  One of the amphibious Portuguese
+slipped over the boat's side as she neared the sleeping SPHARGA,
+and, diving deep, came up underneath him, seizing with crossed
+hands the two hind flippers, and, with a sudden, dexterous twist,
+turned the astonished creature over on his back.  Thus rendered
+helpless, the turtle lay on the surface feebly waving his
+flippers, while his captor, gently treading water, held him in
+that position till the boat reached the pair and took them on
+board.  It was a clever feat, neatly executed, as unlike the
+clumsy efforts I had before seen made with the same object as
+anything could possibly be.
+
+After an hour's tow, we had got a good offing, and a light air
+springing up, we returned on board, hoisted the boats, and made
+sail to the northward again.
+
+With the exception of the numerous native dhows that crept lazily
+about, we saw no vessels as we gradually drew out of the
+Mozambique Channel and stood away towards the Line.  The part of
+the Indian Ocean in which we now found ourselves is much dreaded
+by merchantmen, who give it a wide berth on account of the
+numerous banks, islets, and dangerous currents with which it
+abounds.  We, however, seemed quite at home here, pursuing the
+even tenor of our usual way without any special precautions being
+taken.  A bright look-out, we always kept, of course--none of
+your drowsy lolling about such as is all too common on the
+"fo'lk'sle head" of many a fine ship, when, with lights half
+trimmed or not shown at all, she is ploughing along blindly at
+twelve knots or so an hour.  No; while we were under way during
+daylight, four pairs of keen eyes kept incessant vigil a hundred
+feet above the deck, noting everything, even to a shoal of small
+fish, that crossed within the range of vision.  At night we
+scarcely moved, but still a vigilant lookout was always kept both
+fore and aft, so that it would have been difficult for us to
+drift upon a reef unknowingly.
+
+Creeping steadily northward, we passed the Cosmoledo group of
+atolls without paying them a visit, which was strange, as, from
+their appearance, no better fishing-ground would be likely to
+come in our way.  They are little known, except to the wandering
+fishermen from Reunion and Rodriguez, who roam about these islets
+and reefs, seeking anything that may be turned into coin, from
+wrecks to turtle, and in nowise particular as to rights of
+ownership.  When between the Cosmoledos and Astove, the next
+island to the northward, we sighted a "solitary" cachalot one
+morning just as the day dawned.  It was the first for some time
+--nearly three weeks--and being all well seasoned to the work
+now, we obeyed the call to arms with great alacrity.  Our friend
+was making a passage, turning neither to the right hand nor the
+left as he went.  His risings and number of spouts while up, as
+well as the time he remained below, were as regular as the
+progress of a clock, and could be counted upon with quite as much
+certainty.
+
+Bearing in mind, I suppose, the general character of the whales
+we had recently met with, only two boats were lowered to attack
+the new-comer, who, all unconscious of our coming, pursued his
+leisurely course unheeding.
+
+We got a good weather gage of him, and came flying on as usual
+getting two irons planted in fine style.  But a surprise awaited
+us.  As we sheered up into the wind away from him, Louis shouted,
+"Fightin' whale, sir; look out for de rush!"  Look out, indeed?
+Small use in looking out when, hampered as we always were at
+first with the unshipping of the mast, we could do next to
+nothing to avoid him.  Without any of the desperate flounderings
+generally indulged in on first feeling the iron, he turned upon
+us, and had it not been that he caught sight of the second mate's
+boat, which had just arrived, and turned his attentions to her,
+there would have been scant chance of any escape for us.  Leaping
+half out of water, he made direct for our comrades with a vigour
+and ferocity marvellous to see, making it a no easy matter for
+them to avoid his tremendous rush.  Our actions, at no time slow,
+were considerably hastened by this display of valour, so that
+before he could turn his attentions in our direction we were
+ready for him.   Then ensued a really big fight, the first, in
+fact, of my experience, for none of the other whales had shown
+any serious determination to do us an injury, but had devoted all
+their energies to attempts at escape.  So quick were the
+evolutions, and so savage the appearance of this fellow, that
+even our veteran mate looked anxious as to the possible result.
+Without attempting to "sound," the furious monster kept mostly
+below the surface; but whenever he rose, it was either to deliver
+a fearful blow with his tail, or, with jaws widespread, to try
+and bite one of our boats in half.  Well was it for us that he
+was severely handicapped by a malformation of the lower jaw.  At
+a short distance from the throat it turned off nearly at right
+angles to his body, the part that thus protruded sideways being
+deeply fringed with barnacles, and plated with big limpets.
+
+Had it not been for this impediment, I verily believe he would
+have beaten us altogether.  As it was, he worked us nearly to
+death with his ugly rushes.  Once he delivered a sidelong blow
+with his tail, which, as we spun round, shore off the two oars on
+that side as if they had been carrots.  At last the second mate
+got fast to him, and then the character of the game changed
+again.  Apparently unwearied by his previous exertions, he now
+started off to windward at top speed, with the two boats sheering
+broadly out upon either side of his foaming wake.  Doubtless
+because he himself was much fatigued, the mate allowed him to run
+at his will, without for the time attempting to haul any closer
+to him, and very grateful the short rest was to us.  But he had
+not gone a couple of miles before he turned a complete somersault
+in the water, coming up BEHIND us to rush off again in the
+opposite direction at undiminished speed.  This move was a
+startler.  For the moment it seemed as if both boats would be
+smashed like egg-shells against each other, or else that some of
+us would be impaled upon the long lances with which each boat's
+bow bristled.  By what looked like a handbreadth, we cleared each
+other, and the race continued.  Up till now we had not succeeded
+in getting home a single lance, the foe was becoming warier,
+while the strain was certainly telling upon our nerves.  So Mr.
+Count got out his bomb-gun, shouting at the same time to Mr.
+Cruce to do the same.  They both hated these weapons, nor ever
+used them if they could help it; but what was to be done?
+
+Our chief had hardly got his gun ready, before we came to almost
+a dead stop.  All was silent for just a moment; then, with a
+roar like a cataract, up sprang the huge creature, head out, jaw
+wide open, coming direct for us.  As coolly as if on the quarter-
+deck, the mate raised his gun, firing the bomb directly down the
+great livid cavern of a throat fronting him.  Down went that
+mountainous head not six inches from us, but with a perfectly
+indescribable motion, a tremendous writhe, in fact; up flew the
+broad tail in air, and a blow which might have sufficed to stave
+in the side of the ship struck the second mate's boat fairly
+amidships.  It was right before my eyes, not sixty feet away, and
+the sight will haunt me to my death.  The tub oarsman was the
+poor German baker, about whom I have hitherto said nothing,
+except to note that he was one of the crew.  That awful blow put
+an end summarily to all his earthly anxieties.  As it shore
+obliquely through the centre of the boat, it drove his poor body
+right through her timbers--an undistinguishable bundle of what
+was an instant before a human being.  The other members of the
+crew escaped the blow, and the harpooner managed to cut the line,
+so that for the present they were safe enough, clinging to the
+remains of their boat, unless the whale should choose to rush
+across them.
+
+Happily, his rushing was almost over.  The bomb fired by Mr.
+Count, with such fatal result to poor Bamberger, must have
+exploded right in the whale's throat.  Whether his previous
+titanic efforts had completely exhausted him, or whether the bomb
+had broken his massive backbone, I do not know, of course, but he
+went into no flurry, dying as peacefully as his course had been
+furious.  For the first time in my life, I had been face to face
+with a violent death, and I was quite stunned with the awfulness
+of the experience.  Mechanically, as it seemed to me, we obeyed
+such orders as were given, but every man's thoughts were with the
+shipmate so suddenly dashed from amongst us.  We never saw sign
+of him again.
+
+While the ship was running down to us, another boat had gone to
+rescue the clinging crew of the shattered boat, for the whole
+drama had been witnessed from the ship, although they were not
+aware of the death of the poor German.  When the sad news was
+told on board, there was a deep silence, all work being carried
+on so quietly that we seemed like a crew of dumb men.  With a
+sentiment for which I should not have given our grim skipper
+credit, the stars and stripes were hoisted half-mast, telling the
+silent sky and moaning sea, sole witnesses besides ourselves, of
+the sudden departure from among us of our poor shipmate.
+We got the whale cut in as usual without any incident worth
+mentioning, except that the peculiar shape of the jaw made it an
+object of great curiosity to all of us who were new to the whale-
+fishing.  Such malformations are not very rare.  They are
+generally thought to occur when the animal is young, and its
+bones soft; but whether done in fighting with one another, or in
+some more mysterious way, nobody knows. Cases have been known, I
+believe, where the deformed whale does not appear to have
+suffered from lack of food in consequence of his disability; but
+in each of the three instances which have come under my own
+notice, such was certainly not the case.  These whales were what
+is termed by the whalers "dry-skins;" that is, they were in poor
+condition, the blubber yielding less than half the usual quantity
+of oil.  The absence of oil makes it very hard to cut up, and
+there is more work in one whale of this kind than in two whose
+blubber is rich and soft.  Another thing which I have also
+noticed is, that these whales were much more difficult to tackle
+than others, for each of them gave us something special to
+remember them by.  But I must not get ahead of my yarn.
+
+The end of the week brought us up to the Aldabra Islands, one of
+the puzzles of the world.  For here, in these tiny pieces of
+earth, surrounded by thousands of miles of sea, the nearest land
+a group of islets like unto them, is found the gigantic tortoise,
+and in only one other place in the wide world, the Galapagos
+group of islands in the South Pacific.  How, or by what strange
+freak of Dame Nature these curious reptiles, sole survivals of
+another age, should come to be found in this lonely spot, is a
+deep mystery, and one not likely to be unfolded now.  At any
+rate, there they are, looking as if some of them might be coeval
+with Noah, so venerable and storm-beaten do they appear.
+
+We made the island early on a Sunday morning, and, with the usual
+celerity, worked the vessel into the fine harbour, called, from
+one of the exploring ships, Euphrates Bay or Harbour.  The anchor
+down, and everything made snug below and aloft, we were actually
+allowed a run ashore free from restraint.  I could hardly believe
+my ears.  We had got so accustomed to our slavery that liberty
+was become a mere name; we hardly knew what to do with it when we
+got it.  However, we soon got used (in a very limited sense) to
+being our own masters, and, each following the bent of his
+inclinations, set out for a ramble.  My companion and I had not
+gone far, when we thought we saw one of the boulders, with which
+the island was liberally besprinkled, on the move.  Running up to
+examine it with all the eagerness of children let out of school,
+we found it to be one of the inhabitants, a monstrous tortoise.
+I had some big turtle around the cays of the Gulf of Mexico, but
+this creature dwarfed them all. We had no means of actually
+measuring him, and had to keep clear of his formidable-looking
+jaws, but roughly, and within the mark, he was four feet long by
+two feet six inches wide.  Of course he was much more dome-shaped
+than the turtle are, and consequently looked a great deal bigger
+than a turtle of the same measurement would, besides being much
+thicker through.  As he was loth to stay with us, we made up our
+minds to go with him, for he was evidently making for some
+definite spot, by the tracks he was following, which showed
+plainly how many years that same road had been used.  Well, I
+mounted on his back, keeping well astern, out of the reach of
+that serious-looking head, which having rather a long neck,
+looked as if it might be able to reach round and take a piece out
+of a fellow without any trouble.  He was perfectly amicable,
+continuing his journey as if nothing had happened, and really
+getting over the ground at a good rate, considering the bulk and
+shape of him.  Except for the novelty of the thing, this sort of
+ride had nothing to recommend it; so I soon tired of it, and let
+him waddle along in peace.  By following the tracks aforesaid, we
+arrived at a fine stream of water sparkling out of a hillside,
+and running down a little ravine.  The sides of this gully were
+worn quite smooth by the innumerable feet of the tortoises, about
+a dozen of which were now quietly crouching at the water's edge,
+filling themselves up with the cooling fluid.  I did not see the
+patriarch upon whom a sailor once reported that he had read the
+legend carved, "The Ark, Captain Noah, Ararat for orders";
+perhaps he had at last closed his peaceful career.  But strange,
+and quaint as this exhibition of ancient reptiles was, we had
+other and better employment for the limited time at our disposal.
+There were innumerable curious things to see, and, unless we were
+to run the risk of going on board again and stopping there,
+dinner must be obtained.  Eggs of various kinds were exceedingly
+plentiful; in many places the flats were almost impassable for
+sitting birds, mostly "boobies."
+
+But previous experience of boobies' eggs in other places had not
+disposed me to seek them where others were to be obtained, and as
+I had seen many of the well-known frigate or man-o'-war birds
+hovering about, we set out to the other side of the island in
+search of the breeding-place.
+
+These peculiar birds are, I think, misnamed.  They should be
+called pirate or buccaneer birds, from their marauding habits.
+Seldom or never do they condescend to fish for themselves,
+preferring to hover high in the blue, their tails opening and
+closing like a pair of scissors as they hang poised above the
+sea.  Presently booby--like some honest housewife who has been a-
+marketing--comes flapping noisily home, her maw laden with fish
+for the chicks.  Down comes the black watcher from above with a
+swoop like an eagle.  Booby puts all she knows into her flight,
+but vainly; escape is impossible, so with a despairing shriek she
+drops her load.  Before it has touched the water the graceful
+thief has intercepted it, and soared slowly aloft again, to
+repeat the performance as occasion serves.
+
+When we arrived on the outer shore of the island, we found a
+large breeding-place of these birds, but totally different to the
+haunt of the boobies.  The nests, if they might be so called,
+being at best a few twigs, were mostly in the hollows of the
+rocks, the number of eggs being two to a nest, on an average. The
+eggs were nearly as large as a turkey's.  But I am reminded of
+the range of size among turkeys' eggs, so I must say they were
+considerably larger than a small turkey's egg.  Their flavour was
+most delicate, as much so as the eggs of a moor-fed fowl.  We saw
+no birds sitting, but here and there the gaunt skeleton forms of
+birds, who by reason of sickness or old age were unable to
+provide for themselves, and so sat waiting for death, appealed
+most mournfully to us.  We went up to some of these poor
+creatures, and ended their long agony; but there were many of
+them that we were obliged to leave to Nature.
+
+We saw no animals larger than a rat, but there were a great many
+of those eerie-looking land-crabs, that seemed as if almost
+humanly intelligent as they scampered about over the sand or
+through the undergrowth, busy about goodness knows what.  The
+beautiful cocoa-nut palm was plentiful, so much so that I
+wondered why there were no settlers to collect "copra," or dried
+cocoa-nut, for oil.  My West Indian experience came in handy now,
+for I was able to climb a lofty tree in native fashion, and cut
+down a grand bunch of green nuts, which form one of the most
+refreshing and nutritious of foods, as well as a cool and
+delicious drink.  We had no line with us, so we took off our
+belts, which, securely joined together, answered my purpose very
+well.  With them I made a loop round the tree and myself; then as
+I climbed I pushed the loop up with me, so that whenever I wanted
+a rest, I had only to lean back in it, keeping my knees against
+the trunk, and I was almost as comfortable as if on the ground.
+
+After getting the nuts, we made a fire and roasted some of our
+eggs, which, with a biscuit or two, made a delightful meal.  Then
+we fell asleep under a shady tree, upon some soft moss; nor did
+we wake again until nearly time to go on board.  A most enjoyable
+swim terminated our day's outing, and we returned to the beach
+abreast of the ship very pleased with the excursion.
+
+We had no adventures, found no hidden treasure or ferocious
+animals, but none the less we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
+While we sat waiting for the boat to come and fetch us off, we
+saw a couple of good-sized turtle come ashore quite close to us.
+We kept perfectly still until we were sure of being able to
+intercept them.  As soon as they had got far enough away from
+their native element, we rushed upon them, and captured them
+both, so that when the boat arrived we were not empty-handed.  We
+had also a "jumper," or blouse, full of eggs, and a couple of
+immense bunches of cocoa-nuts. When we got on board we felt quite
+happy, and, for the first time since leaving America, we had a
+little singing.  Shall I be laughed at when I confess that our
+musical efforts were confined to Sankey's hymns?  Maybe, but I do
+not care.  Cheap and clap-trap as the music may be, it tasted
+"real good," as Abner said, and I am quite sure that that Sunday
+night was the best that any of us had spent for a very long time.
+
+A long, sound sleep was terminated at dawn, when we weighed and
+stood out through a narrow passage by East Island, which was
+quite covered with fine trees--of what kind I do not know, but
+they presented a beautiful sight.  Myriads of birds hovered
+about, busy fishing from the countless schools that rippled the
+placid sea.  Beneath us, at twenty fathoms, the wonderful
+architecture of the coral was plainly visible through the
+brilliantly-clear sea, while, wherever the tiny builders had
+raised their fairy domain near the surface, an occasional roller
+would crown it with a snowy garland of foam--a dazzling patch of
+white against the sapphire sea.  Altogether, such a panorama was
+spread out at our feet, as we stood gazing from the lofty crow's-
+nest, as was worth a year or two of city life to witness.  I
+could not help pitying my companion, one of the Portuguese
+harpooners, who stolidly munched his quid with no eyes for any of
+these glorious pictures, no thought of anything but a possible
+whale in sight.
+
+My silent rhapsodies were rudely interrupted by something far
+away on the horizon.  Hardly daring to breathe, I strained my
+eyes, and--yes, it was--"Ah blow-w-w-w!"  I bellowed at the top
+of my lung-power, never before had I had the opportunity of thus
+distinguishing myself, and I felt a bit sore about it.
+
+There was a little obliquity about the direction of the spout
+that made me hopeful, for the cachalot alone sends his spout
+diagonally upward, all the others spout vertically.  It was but a
+school of kogia, or "short-headed" cachalots; but as we secured
+five of them, averaging seven barrels each, with scarcely any
+trouble, I felt quite pleased with myself.  We had quite an
+exciting bit of sport with them, they were so lively; but as for
+danger--well, they only seemed like big "black fish" to us now,
+and we quite enjoyed the fun.  They were, in all respects,
+miniature sperm whales, except that the head was much shorter and
+smaller in proportion to the body than their big relations.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+ROUND THE COCOS AND SEYCHELLES
+
+Hitherto, with the exception of a couple of gales in the North
+and South Atlantic, we had been singularly fortunate in our
+weather.  It does happen so sometimes.
+
+I remember once making a round voyage from Cardiff to Hong Kong
+and the Philippines, back to London, in ten months, and during
+the whole of that time we did not have a downright gale.  The
+worst weather we encountered was between Beachy Head and
+Portland, going round from London to Cardiff.
+
+And I once spoke the barque LUTTERWORTH, a companion ship to us
+from Portland, Oregon to Falmouth, whose mate informed me that
+they carried their royals from port to port without ever furling
+them once, except to shift the suit of sails.  But now a change
+was evidently imminent.  Of course, we forward had no access to
+the barometer; not that we should have understood its indications
+if we had seen it, but we all knew that something was going to be
+radically wrong with the weather.  For instead of the lovely blue
+of the sky we had been so long accustomed to by day and night, a
+nasty, greasy shade had come over the heavens, which, reflected
+in the sea, made that look dirty and stale also.  That well-known
+appearance of the waves before a storm was also very marked,
+which consists of an undecided sort of break in their tops.
+Instead of running regularly, they seemed to hunch themselves up
+in little heaps, and throw off a tiny flutter of spray, which
+generally fell in the opposite direction to what little wind
+there was.  The pigs and fowls felt the approaching change
+keenly, and manifested the greatest uneasiness, leaving their
+food and acting strangely.  We were making scarcely any headway,
+so that the storm was longer making its appearance than it would
+have been had we been a swift clipper ship running down the
+Indian Ocean.  For two days we were kept in suspense; but on the
+second night the gloom began to deepen, the wind to moan, and a
+very uncomfortable "jobble" of a sea got up.  Extra "gaskets"
+were put upon the sails, and everything movable about the decks
+was made as secure as it could be.  Only the two close-reefed
+topsails and two storm stay-sails were carried, so that we were
+in excellent trim for fighting the bad weather when it did come.
+The sky gradually darkened and assumed a livid green tint, the
+effect of which was most peculiar.
+
+The wind blew fitfully in short, gusts, veering continually back
+and forth over about a quarter of the compass.  Although it was
+still light, it kept up an incessant mournful moan not to be
+accounted for in any way.  Darker and darker grew the heavens,
+although no clouds were visible, only a general pall of darkness.
+Glimmering lightnings played continually about the eastern
+horizon, but not brilliant enough to show us the approaching
+storm-cloud.  And so came the morning of the third day from the
+beginning of the change. But for the clock we should hardly have
+known that day had broken, so gloomy and dark was the sky.  At
+last light came in the east, but such a light as no one would
+wish to see.  It was a lurid glare, such as may be seen playing
+over a cupola of Bessemer steel when the speigeleisen is added,
+only on such an extensive scale that its brilliancy was dulled
+into horror.  Then, beneath it we saw the mountainous clouds
+fringed with dull violet and with jagged sabres of lightning
+darting from their solid black bosoms.  The wind began to rise
+steadily but rapidly, so that by eight a.m. it was blowing a
+furious gale from E.N.E.  In direction it was still unsteady, the
+ship coming up and falling off to it several points.  Now, great
+masses of torn, ragged cloud hurtled past us above, so low down
+as almost to touch the mastheads.  Still the wind increased,
+still the sea rose, till at last the skipper judged it well to
+haul down the tiny triangle of storm stay-sail still set (the
+topsail and fore stay-sail had been furled long before), and let
+her drift under bare poles, except for three square feet of stout
+canvas in the weather mizen-rigging.  The roar of the wind now
+dominated every sound, so that it might have been thundering
+furiously, but we should not have heard it.  The ship still
+maintained her splendid character as a sea-boat, hardly shipping
+a drop of water; but she lay over at a most distressing angle,
+her deck sloping off fully thirty-five to forty degrees.
+Fortunately she did not roll to windward.  It may have been
+raining in perfect torrents, but the tempest tore off the surface
+of the sea, and sent it in massive sheets continually flying over
+us, so that we could not possibly have distinguished between
+fresh water and salt.
+
+The chief anxiety was for the safety of the boats.  Early on the
+second day of warning they had been hoisted to the topmost notch
+of the cranes, and secured as thoroughly as experience could
+suggest; but at every lee lurch we gave it seemed as if we must
+dip them under water, while the wind threatened to stave the
+weather ones in by its actual solid weight.  It was now blowing a
+furious cyclone, the force of which has never been accurately
+gauged (even by the present elaborate instruments of various
+kinds in use).  That force is, however, not to be imagined by any
+one who has not witnessed it, except that one notable instance is
+on record by which mathematicians may get an approximate
+estimate.
+
+Captain Toynbee, the late highly respected and admired Marine
+Superintendent of the British Meteorological Office, has told us
+how, during a cyclone which he rode out in the HOTSPUR at
+Sandheads, the mouth of the Hooghly, the three naked topgallant-
+masts of his ship, though of well-tested timber a foot in
+diameter, and supported by all the usual network of stays, and
+without the yards, were snapped off and carried away solely by
+the violence of the wind.  It must, of course, have been an
+extreme gust, which did not last many seconds, for no cable that
+was ever forged would have held the ship against such a
+cataclysm as that.  This gentleman's integrity is above
+suspicion, so that no exaggeration could be charged against him,
+and he had the additional testimony of his officers and men to
+this otherwise incredible fact.
+
+The terrible day wore on, without any lightening of the tempest,
+till noon, when the wind suddenly fell to a calm.  Until that
+time, the sea, although heavy, was not vicious or irregular, and
+we had not shipped any heavy water at all.  But when the force of
+the wind was suddenly withdrawn, such a sea arose as I have never
+seen before or since.  Inky mountains of water raised their
+savage heads in wildest confusion, smashing one another in
+whirlpools of foam.  It was like a picture of the primeval deep
+out of which arose the new-born world.  Suddenly out of the
+whirling blackness overhead the moon appeared, nearly in the
+zenith, sending down through the apex of a dome of torn and madly
+gyrating cloud a flood of brilliant light. Illumined by that
+startling radiance, our staunch and seaworthy ship was tossed and
+twirled in the hideous vortex of mad sea until her motion was
+distracting. It was quite impossible to loose one's hold and
+attempt to do anything without running the imminent risk of being
+dashed to pieces.  Our decks were full of water now, for it
+tumbled on board at all points; but as yet no serious weight of a
+sea had fallen upon us, nor had any damage been done.  Such a
+miracle as that could not be expected to continue for long.
+Suddenly a warning shout rang out from somewhere--"Hold on all,
+for your lives!"  Out of the hideous turmoil around arose, like
+some black, fantastic ruin, an awful heap of water.  Higher and
+higher it towered, until it was level with our lower yards, then
+it broke and fell upon us.  All was blank.  Beneath that mass
+every thought, every feeling, fled but one--"How long shall I be
+able to hold my breath?"  After what seemed a never-ending time,
+we emerged from the wave more dead than alive, but with the good
+ship still staunch underneath us, and Hope's lamp burning
+brightly.  The moon had been momentarily obscured, but now shone
+out again, lighting up brilliantly our bravely-battling ship.
+But, alas for others!--men, like ourselves, whose hopes were
+gone.  Quite near us was the battered remainder of what had been
+a splendid ship.  Her masts were gone, not even the stumps being
+visible, and it seemed to our eager eyes as if she was settling
+down.  It was even so, for as we looked, unmindful of our own
+danger, she quietly disappeared--swallowed up with her human
+freight in a moment, like a pebble dropped into a pond.
+
+While we looked with hardly beating hearts at the place where she
+had sunk, all was blotted out in thick darkness again.  With a
+roar, as of a thousand thunders, the tempest came once more, but
+from the opposite direction now.  As we were under no sail, we
+ran little risk of being caught aback; but, even had we, nothing
+could have been done, the vessel being utterly out of control,
+besides the impossibility of getting about.  It so happened,
+however, that when the storm burst upon us again, we were stern
+on to it, and we drove steadily for a few moments until we had
+time to haul to the wind again.  Great heavens!  how it blew!
+Surely, I thought, this cannot last long--just as we sometimes
+say of the rain when it is extra heavy.  It did last, however,
+for what seemed an interminable time, although any one could see
+that the sky was getting kindlier.  Gradually, imperceptibly, it
+took off, the sky cleared, and the tumult ceased, until a new day
+broke in untellable beauty over a revivified world.
+
+Years afterwards I read, in one of the hand-books treating of
+hurricanes and cyclones, that "in the centre of these revolving
+storms the sea is so violent that few ships can pass through it
+and live."  That is true talk. I have been there, and bear
+witness that but for the build and sea-kindliness of the
+CACHALOT, she could not have come out of that horrible cauldron
+again, but would have joined that nameless unfortunate whom we
+saw succumb, "never again heard of."  As it was, we found two of
+the boats stove in, whether by breaking sea or crushing wind
+nobody knows.  Most of the planking of the bulwarks was also
+gone, burst outward by the weight of the water on deck.  Only the
+normal quantity of water was found in the well on sounding, and
+not even a rope-yarn was gone from aloft.  Altogether, we came
+out of the ordeal triumphantly, where many a gallant vessel met
+her fate, and the behaviour of the grand old tub gave me a
+positive affection for her, such as I have never felt for a ship
+before or since.
+
+There was now a big heap of work for the carpenter, so the
+skipper decided to run in for the Cocos or Keeling islands, in
+order to lay quietly and refit.  We had now only three boats
+sound, the one smashed when poor Bamberger died being still
+unfinished--of course, the repairs had practically amounted to
+rebuilding.  Therefore we kept away for this strange assemblage
+of reefs and islets, arriving off them early the next day.
+
+They consist of a true "atoll," or basin, whose rim is of coral
+reefs, culminating occasionally in sandy islands or cays formed
+by the accumulated debris washed up from the reef below, and then
+clothed upon with all sorts of plants by the agency of birds and
+waves.
+
+These islands have lately been so fully described in many
+different journals, that I shall not burden the reader with any
+twice-told tales about them, but merely chronicle the fact that
+for a week we lay at anchor off one of the outlying cays, toiling
+continuously to get the vessel again in fighting trim.
+
+At last the overworked carpenter and his crew got through their
+heavy task, and the order was given to "man the windlass."  Up
+came the anchor, and away we went again towards what used to be a
+noted haunt of the sperm whale, the Seychelle Archipelego.
+Before the French, whose flag flies over these islands, had with
+their usual short-sighted policy, clapped on prohibitive port
+charges, Mahe was a specially favoured place of call for the
+whalers.  But when whale-ships find that it does not pay to visit
+a place, being under no compulsion as regards time, they soon
+find other harbours that serve their turn.  We, of course, had no
+need to visit any port for some time to come, having made such
+good use of our opportunities at the Cocos.
+
+We found whales scarce and small, so, although we cruised in this
+vicinity for nearly two months, six small cow cachalots were all
+we were able to add to our stock, representing less then two
+hundred barrels of oil.  This was hardly good enough for Captain
+Slocum.  Therefore, we gradually drew away from this beautiful
+cluster of islands, and crept across the Indian Ocean towards the
+Straits of Malacca.  On the way, we one night encountered that
+strange phenomenon, a "milk" sea.  It was a lovely night, with
+scarcely any wind, the stars trying to make up for the absence of
+the moon by shining with intense brightness.  The water had been
+more phosphorescent than usual, so that every little fish left a
+track of light behind him, greatly disproportionate to his size.
+As the night wore on, the sea grew brighter and brighter, until
+by midnight we appeared to be sailing on an ocean of lambent
+flames.  Every little wave that broke against the ship's side
+sent up a shower of diamond-like spray, wonderfully beautiful to
+see, while a passing school of porpoises fairly set the sea
+blazing as they leaped and gambolled in its glowing waters.
+Looking up from sea to sky, the latter seemed quite black instead
+of blue, and the lustre of the stars was diminished till they
+only looked like points of polished steel, having quite lost for
+the time their radiant sparkle.  In that shining flood the
+blackness of the ship stood out in startling contrast, and when
+we looked over the side our faces were strangely lit up by the
+brilliant glow.
+
+For several hours this beautiful appearance persisted, fading
+away at last as gradually as it came. No satisfactory explanation
+of this curious phenomenon has ever been given, nor does it
+appear to portend any change of weather.  It cannot be called a
+rare occurrence, although I have only seen it thrice myself--
+once in the Bay of Cavite, in the Philippine Islands; once in the
+Pacific, near the Solomon Islands; and on this occasion of which
+I now write.  But no one who had ever witnessed it could forget
+so wonderful a sight.
+
+One morning, a week after are had taken our departure from the
+Seychelles, the officer at the main crow's-nest reported a vessel
+of some sort about five miles to the windward.  Something strange
+in her appearance made the skipper haul up to intercept her. As
+we drew nearer, we made her out to be a Malay "prahu;" but, by
+the look of her, she was deserted. The big three-cornered sail
+that had been set, hung in tattered festoons from the long,
+slender yard, which, without any gear to steady it, swung heavily
+to and fro as the vessel rolled to the long swell.  We drew
+closer and closer, but no sign of life was visible on board, so
+the captain ordered a boat to go and investigate.
+
+In two minutes we were speeding away towards her, and, making a
+sweep round her stern, prepared to board her.  But we were met by
+a stench so awful that Mr. Count would not proceed, and at once
+returned to the ship.  The boat was quickly hoisted again, and
+the ship manoeuvred to pass close to windward of the derelict.
+Then, from our mast-head, a horrible sight became visible.  Lying
+about the weather-beaten deck, in various postures, were thirteen
+corpses, all far advanced in decay, which horrible fact fully
+accounted for the intolerable stench that had driven us away.  It
+is, perhaps, hardly necessary to say that we promptly hauled our
+wind, and placed a good distance between us and that awful load
+of death as soon as possible.  Poor wretches!  What terrible
+calamity had befallen them, we could not guess; whatever it was,
+it had been complete; nor would any sane man falling across them
+run the risk of closer examination into details than we had done.
+It was a great pity that we were not able to sink the prahu with
+her ghastly cargo, and so free the air from that poisonous foetor
+that was a deadly danger to any vessel getting under her lee.
+
+Next day, and for a whole week after, we had a stark calm such a
+calm as one realizes who reads sympathetically that magical piece
+of work, the "Ancient Mariner."  What an amazing instance of the
+triumph of the human imagination!  For Coleridge certainly never
+witnessed such a scene as he there describes with an accuracy of
+detail that is astounding.  Very few sailors have noticed the
+sickening condition of the ocean when the life-giving breeze
+totally fails for any length of time, or, if they have, they have
+said but little about it.  Of course, some parts of the sea show
+the evil effects of stagnation much sooner than others; but,
+generally speaking, want of wind at sea, if long continued,
+produces a condition of things dangerous to the health of any
+land near by.  Whale-ships, penetrating as they do to parts
+carefully avoided by ordinary trading vessels, often afford their
+crews an opportunity of seeing things mostly hidden from the
+sight of man, when, actuated by some mysterious impulse, the
+uncanny denizens of the middle depths of the ocean rise to higher
+levels, and show their weird shapes to the sun.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+WHICH TREATS OF THE KRAKEN
+
+It has often been a matter for considerable surprise to me, that
+while the urban population of Great Britain is periodically
+agitated over the great sea-serpent question, sailors, as a
+class, have very little to say on the subject.  During a
+considerable sea experience in all classes of vessels, except
+men-of-war, and in most positions, I have heard a fairly
+comprehensive catalogue of subjects brought under dog-watch
+discussion; but the sea-serpent has never, within my
+recollection, been one of them.
+
+The reasons for this abstinence may vary a great deal, but chief
+among them is--sailors, as a class, "don't believe in no such a
+pusson."  More than that, they do believe that the mythical sea-
+serpent is "boomed" at certain periods, in the lack of other
+subjects, which may not be far from the fact.  But there is also
+another reason, involving a disagreeable, although strictly
+accurate, statement.  Sailors are, again taken as a class, the
+least observant of men.  They will talk by the hour of
+trivialities about which they know nothing; they will spin
+interminable "cuffers" of debaucheries ashore all over the world;
+pick to pieces the reputation of all the officers with whom they
+have ever sailed; but of the glories, marvels, and mysteries of
+the mighty deep you will hear not a word.  I can never forget
+when on my first voyage to the West Indies, at the age of twelve,
+I was one night smitten with awe and wonder at the sight of a
+vast halo round the moon, some thirty or forty degrees in
+diameter.  Turning to the man at the wheel, I asked him earnestly
+"what THAT was."  He looked up with an uninterested eye for an
+instant in the direction of my finger, then listlessly informed
+me, "That's what they call a sarcle."  For a long time I wondered
+what he could mean, but it gradually dawned upon me that it was
+his Norfolk pronunciation of the word "circle."  The definition
+was a typical one, no worse than would be given by the great
+majority of seamen of most of the natural phenomena they witness
+daily.  Very few seamen could distinguish between one whale and
+another of a different species, or give an intelligible account
+of the most ordinary and often-seen denizens of the sea.  Whalers
+are especially to be blamed for their blindness.  "Eyes and no
+Eyes; or the Art of Seeing" has evidently been little heard of
+among them.  To this day I can conceive of no more delightful
+journey for a naturalist to take than a voyage in a southern
+whaler, especially if he were allowed to examine at his leisure
+such creatures as were caught.  But on board the CACHALOT I could
+get no information at all upon the habits of the strange
+creatures we met with, except whales, and very little about them.
+
+I have before referred to the great molluscs upon which the sperm
+whale feeds, portions of which I so frequently saw ejected from
+the stomach of dying whales.  Great as my curiosity naturally was
+to know more of these immense organisms, all my inquiries on the
+subject were fruitless.  These veterans of the whale-fishery knew
+that the sperm whale lived on big cuttlefish; but they neither
+knew, nor cared to know, anything more about these marvellous
+molluscs.  Yet, from the earliest dawn of history, observant men
+have been striving to learn something definite about the marine
+monsters of which all old legends of the sea have something to
+say.
+
+As I mentioned in the last chapter, we were gradually edging
+across the Indian Ocean towards Sumatra, but had been checked in
+our course by a calm lasting a whole week.  A light breeze then
+sprang up, aided by which we crept around Achin Head, the
+northern point of the great island of Sumatra.  Like some
+gigantic beacon, the enormous mass of the Golden Mountain
+dominated the peaceful scene.  Pulo Way, or Water Island, looked
+very inviting, and I should have been glad to visit a place so
+well known to seamen by sight, but so little known by actual
+touching at.  Our recent stay at the Cocos, however, had settled
+the question of our calling anywhere else for some time decidedly
+in the negative, unless we might be compelled by accident;
+moreover, even in these days of law and order, it is not wise to
+go poking about among the islands of the Malayan seas unless you
+are prepared to fight.  Our mission being to fight whales, we
+were averse to running any risks, except in the lawful and
+necessary exercise of our calling.
+
+It would at first sight appear strange that, in view of the
+enormous traffic of steamships through the Malacca Straits, so
+easily "gallied" a creature as the cachalot should care to
+frequent its waters; indeed, I should certainly think that a
+great reduction in the numbers of whales found there must have
+taken place.  But it must also be remembered, that in modern
+steam navigation certain well-defined courses are laid down,
+which vessels follow from point to point with hardly any
+deviation therefrom, and that consequently little disturbance of
+the sea by their panting propellers takes place, except upon
+these marine pathways; as, for instance, in the Red Sea, where
+the examination of thousands of log-books proved conclusively
+that, except upon straight lines drawn from point to point
+between Suez to Perim, the sea is practically unused to-day.
+
+The few Arab dhows and loitering surveying ships hardly count in
+this connection, of course.  At any rate, we had not entered the
+straits, but were cruising between Car Nicobar and Junkseylon,
+when we "met up" with a full-grown cachalot, as ugly a customer
+as one could wish.  From nine a.m. till dusk the battle raged
+--for I have often noticed that unless you kill your whale pretty
+soon, he gets so wary, as well as fierce, that you stand a gaudy
+chance of being worn down yourselves before you settle accounts
+with your adversary.  This affair certainly looked at one time as
+if such would be the case with us; but along about five p.m., to
+our great joy, we got him killed.  The ejected food was in masses
+of enormous size, larger than any we had yet seen on the voyage,
+some of them being estimated to be of the size of our hatch-
+house, viz. 8 feet x 6 feet x 6 feet.  The whale having been
+secured alongside, all hands were sent below, as they were worn
+out with the day's work.  The third mate being ill, I had been
+invested with the questionable honour of standing his watch, on
+account of my sea experience and growing favour with the chief.
+Very bitterly did I resent the privilege at the time, I remember,
+being so tired and sleepy that I knew not how to keep awake.  I
+did not imagine that anything would happen to make me prize that
+night's experience for the rest of my life, or I should have
+taken matters with a far better grace.
+
+At about eleven p.m. I was leaning over the lee rail, grazing
+steadily at the bright surface of the sea, where the intense
+radiance of the tropical moon made a broad path like a pavement
+of burnished silver.  Eyes that saw not, mind only confusedly
+conscious of my surroundings, were mine; but suddenly I started
+to my feet with an exclamation, and stared with all my might at
+the strangest sight I ever saw.  There was a violent commotion in
+the sea right where the moon's rays were concentrated, so great
+that, remembering our position, I was at first inclined to alarm
+all hands; for I had often heard of volcanic islands suddenly
+lifting their heads from the depths below, or disappearing in a
+moment, and, with Sumatra's chain of active volcanoes so near, I
+felt doubtful indeed of what was now happening.  Getting the
+night-glasses out of the cabin scuttle, where they were always
+hung in readiness, I focussed them on the troubled spot,
+perfectly  satisfied by a short examination that neither volcano
+nor earthquake had anything to do with what was going on; yet so
+vast were the forces engaged that I might well have been excused
+for my first supposition.  A very large sperm whale was locked in
+deadly conflict with a cuttle-fish or squid, almost as large as
+himself, whose interminable tentacles seemed to enlace the whole
+of his great body.  The head of the whale especially seemed a
+perfect net-work of writhing arms--naturally I suppose, for it
+appeared as if the whale had the tail part of the mollusc in his
+jaws, and, in a business-like, methodical way, was sawing through
+it.  By the side of the black columnar head of the whale appeared
+the head of the great squid, as awful an object as one could well
+imagine even in a fevered dream.  Judging as carefully as
+possible, I estimated it to be at least as large as one of our
+pipes, which contained three hundred and fifty gallons; but it
+may have been, and probably was, a good deal larger.  The eyes
+were very remarkable from their size and blackness, which,
+contrasted with the livid whiteness of the head, made their
+appearance all the more striking.  They were, at least, a foot in
+diameter, and, seen under such conditions, looked decidedly eerie
+and hobgoblin-like.  All around the combatants were numerous
+sharks, like jackals round a lion, ready to share the feast, and
+apparently assisting in the destruction of the huge cephalopod.
+So the titanic struggle went on, in perfect silence as far as we
+were concerned, because, even had there been any noise, our
+distance from the scene of conflict would not have permitted us
+to hear it.
+
+Thinking that such a sight ought not to be missed by the captain,
+I overcame my dread of him sufficiently to call him, and tell him
+of what was taking place.  He met my remarks with such a furious
+burst of anger at my daring to disturb him for such a cause, that
+I fled precipitately on deck again, having the remainder of the
+vision to myself, for none of the others cared sufficiently for
+such things to lose five minutes' sleep in witnessing them.  The
+conflict ceased, the sea resumed its placid calm, and nothing
+remained to tell of the fight but a strong odour of fish, as of a
+bank of seaweed left by the tide in the blazing sun.  Eight bells
+struck, and I went below to a troubled sleep, wherein all the
+awful monsters that an over-excited brain could conjure up
+pursued me through the gloomy caves of ocean, or mocked my pigmy
+efforts to escape.
+
+The occasions upon which these gigantic cuttle-fish appear at the
+sea surface must, I think, be very rare. From their construction,
+they appear fitted only to grope among the rocks at the bottom of
+the ocean.  Their mode of progression is backward, by the
+forcible ejection of a jet of water from an orifice in the neck,
+beside the rectum or cloaca.  Consequently their normal position
+is head-downward, and with tentacles spread out like the ribs of
+an umbrella--eight of them at least; the two long ones, like the
+antennae of an insect, rove unceasingly around, seeking prey.
+
+The imagination can hardly picture a more terrible object than
+one of these huge monsters brooding in the ocean depths, the
+gloom of his surroundings increased by the inky fluid (sepia)
+which he secretes in copious quantities, every cup-shaped disc,
+of the hundreds with which the restless tentacles are furnished,
+ready at the slightest touch to grip whatever is near, not only
+by suction, but by the great claws set all round within its
+circle.  And in the centre of this net-work of living traps is
+the chasm-like mouth, with its enormous parrot-beak, ready to
+rend piecemeal whatever is held by the tentaculae.  The very
+thought of it makes one's flesh crawl.  Well did Michelet term
+them "the insatiable nightmares of the sea."
+
+Yet, but for them, how would such great creatures as the sperm
+whale be fed?  Unable, from their bulk, to capture small fish
+except by accident, and, by the absence of a sieve of baleen,
+precluded from subsisting upon the tiny crustacea, which support
+the MYSTICETAE, the cachalots seem to be confined for their diet
+to cuttle-fish, and, from their point of view, the bigger the
+latter are the better.  How big they may become in the depths of
+the sea, no man knoweth; but it is unlikely that even the vast
+specimens seen are full-sized, since they have only come to the
+surface under abnormal conditions, like the one I have attempted
+to describe, who had evidently been dragged up by his relentless
+foe.
+
+Creatures like these, who inhabit deep waters, and do not need to
+come to the surface by the exigencies of their existence,
+necessarily present many obstacles to accurate investigation of
+their structure and habits; but, from the few specimens that have
+been obtained of late years, fairly comprehensive details have
+been compiled, and may be studied in various French and German
+works, of which the Natural History Museum at South Kensington
+possesses copies.  These, through the courtesy of the authorities
+in charge, are easily accessible to students who wish to
+prosecute the study of this wonderful branch of the great
+mollusca family.
+
+When we commenced to cut in our whale next morning, the sea was
+fairly alive with fish of innumerable kinds, while a vast host of
+sea-birds, as usual, waited impatiently for the breaking-up of
+the huge carcass, which they knew would afford them no end of a
+feast.  An untoward accident, which happened soon after the work
+was started, gave the waiting myriads immense satisfaction,
+although the unfortunate second mate, whose slip of the spade was
+responsible, came in for a hurricane of vituperation from the
+enraged skipper. It was in detaching the case from the head
+--always a work of difficulty, and requiring great precision of
+aim.  Just as Mr. Cruce made a powerful thrust with his keen
+tool, the vessel rolled, and the blow, missing the score in which
+he was cutting, fell upon the case instead, piercing its side.
+For a few minutes the result was unnoticed amidst the wash of the
+ragged edges of the cut, but presently a long streak of white,
+wax-like pieces floating astern, and a tremendous commotion among
+the birds, told the story.  The liquid spermaceti was leaking
+rapidly from the case, turning solid as it got into the cool
+water.  Nothing could be done to stop the waste, which, as it was
+a large whale, was not less than twenty barrels, or about two
+tuns of pure spermaceti.  An accident of this kind never failed
+to make our skipper almost unbearable in his temper for some days
+afterwards; and, to do him justice, he did not discriminate very
+carefully as to who felt his resentment besides its immediate
+cause.
+
+Therefore we had all a rough time of it while his angry fit
+lasted, which was a whole week, or until all was shipshape again.
+Meanwhile we were edging gradually through the Malacca Straits
+and around the big island of Borneo, never going very near the
+land on account of the great and numerous dangers attendant upon
+coasting in those localities to any but those continually engaged
+in such a business.
+
+Indeed, all navigation in those seas to sailing vessels is
+dangerous, and requires the greatest care.  Often we were obliged
+at a minute's notice to let go the anchor, although out of sight
+of land, some rapid current being found carrying us swiftly
+towards a shoal or race, where we might come to grief.  Yet there
+was no fuss or hurry, the same leisurely old system was
+continued, and worked as well as ever.  But it was not apparent
+why we were threading the tortuous and difficult waters of the
+Indian Archipelago.  No whales of any kind were seen for at least
+a month, although, from our leisurely mode of sailing, it was
+evident that they were looked for.
+
+An occasional native craft came alongside, desirous of bartering
+fish, which we did not want, being able to catch all we needed as
+readily almost as they were.  Fruit and vegetables we could not
+get at such distances from land, for the small canoes that lie in
+wait for passing ships do not of course venture far from home.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+OFF TO THE JAPAN GROUNDS
+
+Very tedious and trying was our passage northward, although every
+effort was made by the skipper to expedite it.  Nothing of
+advantage to our cargo was seen for a long time, which, although
+apparently what was to be expected, did not improve Captain
+Slocum's temper.  But, to the surprise of all, when we had
+arrived off the beautiful island of Hong Kong, to which we
+approached closely, we "raised" a grand sperm whale.
+
+Many fishing-junks were in sight, busily plying their trade, and
+at any other time we should have been much interested in the
+quaint and cunning devices by which the patient, wily Chinaman
+succeeds so admirably as a fisherman.  Our own fishing, for the
+time being, absorbed all our attention--the more, perhaps, that
+we had for so long been unable to do anything in that line.
+After the usual preliminaries, we were successful in getting fast
+to the great creature, who immediately showed fight.  So skilful
+and wary did he prove that Captain Slocum, growing impatient at
+our manoeuvring with no result, himself took the field, arriving
+on the scene with the air of one who comes to see and conquer
+without more delay.  He brought with him a weapon which I have
+not hitherto mentioned, because none of the harpooners could be
+induced to use it, and consequently it had not been much in
+evidence.  Theoretically, it was as ideal tool for such work, its
+chief drawback being its cumbrousness.  It was known as "Pierce's
+darting gun," being a combination of bomb-gun and harpoon,
+capable of being darted at the whale like a plain harpoon.  Its
+construction was simple; indeed, the patent was a very old one.
+A tube of brass, thickening towards the butt, at which was a
+square chamber firmly welded to a socket for receiving the pole,
+formed the gun itself.  Within the chamber aforesaid a nipple
+protruded from the base of the tube, and in line with it.  The
+trigger was simply a flat bit of steel, like a piece of clock
+spring, which was held down by the hooked end of a steel rod long
+enough to stick out beyond the muzzle of the gun three or four
+inches, and held in position by two flanges at the butt and
+muzzle of the barrel.  On the opposite side of the tube were two
+more flanges, close together, into the holes of which was
+inserted the end of a specially made harpoon, having an eye
+twisted in its shank through which the whale line was spliced.
+The whole machine was fitted to a neat pole, and strongly secured
+to it by means of a "gun warp," or short piece of thin line, by
+which it could be hauled back into the boat after being darted at
+a whale.  To prepare this weapon for use, the barrel was loaded
+with a charge of powder and a bomb similar to those used in the
+shoulder-guns, the point of which just protruded from the muzzle.
+An ordinary percussion cap was placed upon the nipple, and the
+trigger cocked by placing the trigger-rod in position. The
+harpoon, with the line attached, was firmly set into the socketed
+flanges prepared for it, and the whole arrangement was then ready
+to be darted at the whale in the usual way.
+
+Supposing the aim to be good and the force sufficient, the
+harpoon would penetrate the blubber until the end of the trigger-
+rod was driven backwards by striking the blubber, releasing the
+trigger and firing the gun.  Thus the whale would be harpooned
+and bomb-lanced at the same time, and, supposing everything to
+work satisfactorily, very little more could be needed to finish
+him.  But the weapon was so cumbersome and awkward, and the
+harpooners stood in such awe of it, that in the majority of cases
+the whale was either missed altogether or the harpoon got such
+slight hold that the gun did not go off, the result being
+generally disastrous.
+
+In the present case, however, the "Pierce" gun was in the hands
+of a man by no means nervous, and above criticism or blame in
+case of failure.  So when he sailed in to the attack, and
+delivered his "swashing blow," the report of the gun was
+immediately heard, proving conclusively that a successful stroke
+had been made.
+
+It had an instantaneous and astonishing effect.  The sorely
+wounded monster, with one tremendous expiration, rolled over and
+over swift as thought towards his aggressor, literally burying
+the boat beneath his vast bulk.  Now, one would have thought
+surely, upon seeing this, that none of that boat's crew would
+ever have been seen again.  Nevertheless, strange as it may
+appear, out of that seething lather of foam, all six heads
+emerged again in an instant, but on the OTHER side of the great
+creature.  How any of them escaped instant violent death was, and
+from the nature of the case must, ever remain, an unravelled
+mystery, for the boat was crumbled into innumerable fragments,
+and the three hundred fathoms of line, in a perfect maze of
+entanglement, appeared to be wrapped about the writhing trunk of
+the whale.  Happily, there were two boats disengaged, so that
+they were able very promptly to rescue the sufferers from their
+perilous position in the boiling vortex of foam by which they
+were surrounded.  Meanwhile, the remaining boat had an easy task.
+The shot delivered by the captain had taken deadly effect, the
+bomb having entered the creature's side low down, directly abaft
+the pectoral fin.  It must have exploded within the cavity of the
+bowels, from its position, causing such extensive injuries as to
+make even that vast animal's death but a matter of a few moments.
+Therefore, we did not run any unnecessary risks, but hauled off
+to a safe distance and quietly watched the death-throes.  They
+were so brief, that in less than ten minutes from the time of the
+accident we were busy securing the line through the flukes of our
+prize.
+
+The vessel was an unusually long time working up to us, so slow,
+in fact, that Mr Count remarked, critically, "Shouldn't wonder if
+th' ole man ain't hurt; they're taking things so all-fired easy."
+By the time she had reached us, we had a good few visitors around
+us from the fishing fleet, who caused us no little anxiety, The
+Chinese have no prejudices; they would just as soon steal a whale
+as a herring, if the conveyance could be effected without, more
+trouble or risk to their own yellow skins.  If it involved the
+killing of a few foreign devils--well, so much to the good.  The
+ship, however, arrived before the fishermen had decided upon any
+active steps, and we got our catch alongside without any delay.
+The truth of Mr. Count's forecast was verified to the hilt, for
+we found that the captain was so badly bruised about the body
+that he was unable to move, while one of the hands, a Portuguese,
+was injured internally, and seemed very bad indeed.  Had any one
+told us that morning that we should be sorry to see Captain
+Slocum with sore bones, we should have scoffed at the notion, and
+some of us would probably have said that we should like to have
+the opportunity of making him smart.  But under the present
+circumstances, with some hundreds of perfectly ruthless wretches
+hovering around us, looking with longing eyes at the treasure we
+had alongside, we could not help remembering the courage and
+resource so often shown by the skipper, and wished with all our
+hearts that we could have the benefit of them now.  As soon as
+dinner was over, we all "turned to" with a will to get the whale
+cut in.  None of us required to be told that to lay all night
+with that whale alongside would be extremely unhealthy for us,
+great doubt existing as to whether any of us would see morning
+dawn again.  There was, too, just a possibility that when the
+carcass, stripped of its blubber, was cut adrift, those ravenous
+crowds would fasten upon it, and let us go in peace.
+
+All hands, therefore, worked like Trojans.  There was no need to
+drive us, nor was a single harsh word spoken.  Nothing was heard
+but the almost incessant clatter of the windlass pawls, abrupt
+monosyllabic orders, and the occasional melancholy wail of a
+gannet overhead.  No word had been spoken on the subject among
+us, yet somehow we all realized that we were working for a large
+stake no less than our lives.  What! says somebody, within a few
+miles of Hong Kong?  Oh yes; and even within Hong Kong harbour
+itself, if opportunity offers.  Let any man go down the wharf at
+Hong Kong after sunset, and hail a sampan from the hundreds there
+that are waiting to be hired.  Hardly will the summons have left
+his lips before a white policeman will be at his side, note-book
+in hand, inquiring his name and ship, and taking a note of the
+sampan's number, with the time of his leaving the wharf.  Nothing
+perfunctory about the job either.  Let but these precautions be
+omitted, and the chances that the passenger (if he have aught of
+value about him) will ever arrive at his destination are almost
+nil.
+
+So good was the progress made that by five p.m. we were busy at
+the head, while the last few turns of the windlass were being
+taken to complete the skinning of the body.  With a long pent-up
+shout that last piece was severed and swung inboard, as the huge
+mass of reeking flesh floated slowly astern.  As it drifted away
+we saw the patient watchers who had been waiting converging upon
+it from all quarters, and our hopes rose high.  But there was no
+slackening of our efforts to get in the head.  By the time it was
+dark we managed to get the junk on board, and by the most
+extraordinary efforts lifted the whole remainder of the head high
+enough to make sail and stand off to sea.  The wind was off the
+land, the water smooth, and no swell on, so we took no damage
+from that tremendous weight surging by our side, though, had the
+worst come to the worst, we could have cut it adrift.
+
+When morning dawned we hove-to, the land being only dimly visible
+astern, and finished taking on board our "head matter" without
+further incident.  The danger past, we were all well pleased that
+the captain was below, for the work proceeded quite pleasantly
+under the genial rule of the mate.  Since leaving port we had not
+felt so comfortable, the work, with all its disagreeables,
+seeming as nothing now that we could do it without fear and
+trembling.  Alas for poor Jemmy!--as we always persisted in
+calling him from inability to pronounce his proper name--his case
+was evidently hopeless.  His fellows did their poor best to
+comfort his fast-fleeting hours, one after another murmuring to
+him the prayers of the Church, which, although they did not
+understand them, they evidently believed most firmly to have some
+marvellous power to open the gates of paradise and cleanse the
+sinner.  Notwithstanding the grim fact that their worship was
+almost pure superstition, it was far more in accordance with the
+fitness of things for a dying man's surroundings than such scenes
+as I have witnessed in the forecastles of merchant ships when
+poor sailors lay a-dying.  I remember well once, when I was
+second officer of a large passenger ship, going in the forecastle
+as she lay at anchor at St. Helena, to see a sick man.  Half the
+crew were drunk, and the beastly kennel in which they lived was
+in a thick fog of tobacco-smoke and the stale stench of rum.
+Ribald songs, quarrelling, and blasphemy made a veritable
+pandemonium of the place.  I passed quietly through it to the
+sick man's bunk, and found him--dead!  He had passed away in the
+midst of that, but the horror of it did not seem to impress his
+bemused shipmates much.
+
+Here, at any rate, there was quiet and decorum, while all that
+could be done for the poor sufferer (not much, from ignorance of
+how he was injured) was done. He was released from his pain in
+the afternoon of the second day after the accident, the end
+coming suddenly and peacefully.  The same evening, at sunset, the
+body, neatly sewn up in canvas, with a big lump of sandstone
+secured to the feet, was brought on deck, laid on a hatch at the
+gangway, and covered with the blue, star-spangled American Jack.
+Then all hands were mustered in the waist, the ship's bell was
+tolled, and the ensign run up halfway.
+
+The captain was still too ill to be moved, so the mate stepped
+forward with a rusty old Common Prayer-book in his hands, whereon
+my vagrant fancy immediately fastened in frantic endeavour to
+imagine how it came to be there.  The silence of death was over
+all.  True, the man was but a unit of no special note among us,
+but death had conferred upon him a brevet rank, in virtue of
+which be dominated every thought.  It seemed strange to me that
+we who faced death so often and variously, until natural fear had
+become deadened by custom, should, now that one of our number lay
+a rapidly-corrupting husk before us, be so tremendously impressed
+by the simple, inevitable fact.  I suppose it was because none of
+us were able to realize the immanence of Death until we saw his
+handiwork.  Mr. Count opened the book, fumbling nervously among
+the unfamiliar leaves.  Then he suddenly looked up, his weather-
+scarred face glowing a dull brick-red, and said, in a low voice,
+"This thing's too many fer me; kin any of ye do it?  Ef not, I
+guess we'll hev ter take it as read."  There was no response for
+a moment; then I stepped forward, reaching out my hand for the
+book.  Its contents were familiar enough to me, for in happy pre-
+arab days I had been a chorister in the old Lock Chapel, Harrow
+Road, and had borne my part in the service so often that I think
+even now I could repeat the greater part of it MEMORITER.  Mr.
+Count gave it me without a word, and, trembling like a leaf, I
+turned to the "Burial Service," and began the majestic sentences,
+"I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord."  I did not
+know my own voice as the wonderful words sounded clearly in the
+still air; but if ever a small body of soul-hardened men FELT the
+power of God, it was then.  At the words, "We therefore commit
+his body to the deep," I paused, and, the mate making a sign, two
+of the harpooners tilted the hatch, from which the remains slid
+off into the unknown depths with a dull splash. Several of the
+dead man's compatriots covered their faces, and murmured prayers
+for the repose of his soul, while the tears trickled through
+their horny fingers.  But matters soon resumed their normal
+course; the tension over, back came the strings of life into
+position again, to play the same old tunes and discords once
+more.
+
+The captured whale made an addition to our cargo of one hundred
+and ten barrels--a very fair haul indeed.  The harpooners were
+disposed to regard this capture as auspicious upon opening the
+North Pacific, where, in spite of the time we had spent, and the
+fair luck we had experienced in the Indian Ocean, we expected to
+make the chief portion of our cargo.
+
+Our next cruising-ground is known to whalemen as the "Coast of
+Japan" ground, and has certainly proved in the past the most
+prolific fishery of sperm whales in the whole world.  I am
+inclined now to believe that there are more and larger cachalots
+to be found in the Southern Hemisphere, between the parallels of
+33deg. and 50deg. South; but there the drawback of heavy weather
+and mountainous seas severely handicaps the fishermen.
+
+It is somewhat of a misnomer to call the Coast of Japan ground by
+that name, since to be successful you should not sight Japan at
+all, but keep out of range of the cold current that sweeps right
+across the Pacific, skirting the Philippines, along the coasts of
+the Japanese islands as far as the Kuriles, and then returns to
+the eastward again to the southward of the Aleutian Archipelago.
+The greatest number of whales are always found in the vicinity of
+the Bonin and Volcano groups of islands, which lie in the eddy
+formed by the northward bend of the mighty current before
+mentioned.  This wonderful ground was first cruised by a London
+whale-ship, the SYREN, in 1819, when the English branch of the
+sperm whale-fishery was in its prime, and London skippers were
+proud of the fact that one of their number, in the EMILIA, had
+thirty-one years before first ventured around Cape Horn in
+pursuit of the cachalot.
+
+After the advent of the SYREN, the Bonins became the favourite
+fishing-ground for both Americans and British, and for many years
+the catch of oil taken from these teeming waters averaged four
+thousand tuns annually.  That the value of the fishery was
+maintained at so high a level for over a quarter of a century was
+doubtless due to the fact that there was a long, self-imposed
+close season, during which the whales were quite unmolested.
+Nothing in the migratory habits of this whale, so far as has ever
+been observed, would have prevented a profitable fishing all the
+year round; but custom, stronger even than profit, ordained that
+whale-ships should never stay too long upon one fishing-ground,
+but move on farther until the usual round had been made, unless
+the vessel were filled in the mean time.
+
+Of course, there are whales whose habits lead them at certain
+seasons, for breeding purposes, to frequent various groups of
+islands, but the cachalot seems to be quite impartial in his
+preferences; if he "uses" around certain waters, he is just as
+likely to be found there in July as January.
+
+The Bonins, too, form an ideal calling-place, from the whaling
+captain's point of view.  Peel Island, the principal one of the
+cluster, has a perfect harbour in Port Lloyd, where a vessel can
+not only lie in comfort, sheltered from almost every wind that
+blows, but where provisions, wood, and water are plentiful.
+There is no inducement, or indeed room, for desertion, and the
+place is healthy.  It is colonized by Japs from the kingdom so
+easily reached to the westward, and the busy little people, after
+their manner, make a short stay very agreeable.
+
+Once clear of the southern end of Formosa we had quite a rapid
+run to the Bonins, carrying a press of sail day and night, as the
+skipper was anxious to arrive there on account of his recent
+injuries.  He was still very lame, and he feared that some damage
+might have been done to him of which he was ignorant.  Besides,
+it was easy to see that he did not altogether like anybody else
+being in charge of his ship, no matter how good they were.  Such
+was the expedition we made that we arrived at Port Lloyd twelve
+days after clearing up our last whale.  Very beautiful indeed the
+islands, appeared, with their bold, steep sides clad in richest
+green, or, where no vegetation appeared, worn into a thousand
+fantastic shapes by the sea, or the mountain torrents carving
+away the lava of which they were all composed.  For the whole of
+the islands were volcanic, and Port Lloyd itself is nothing more
+than the crater of a vast volcano, which in some tremendous
+convulsion of nature has sunk from its former high estate low
+enough to become a haven for ships.
+
+I have said that it was a perfect harbour, but there is no doubt
+that getting in or out requires plenty of nerve as well as
+seamanship.  There was so little room, and the eddying flows of
+wind under the high land were so baffling, that at various times
+during our passage in it appeared as if nothing could prevent us
+from getting stuck upon some of the adjacent hungry-looking coral
+reefs.  Nothing of the kind happened, however, and we came
+comfortably to an anchor near three other whale-ships which were
+already there.  They were the DIEGO RAMIREZ, of Nantucket; the
+CORONEL, of Providence, Rhode Island; and the GRAMPUS, of New
+Bedford.  These were the first whale-ships we had yet seen, and
+it may be imagined how anxious we felt to meet men with whom we
+could compare notes and exchange yarns.  It might be, too, that
+we should get some news of that world which, as far as we were
+concerned, might as well have been at the other extremity of the
+solar system for the last year, so completely isolated had we
+been.
+
+The sails were hardly fast before a boat from each of the ships
+was alongside with their respective skippers on board.  The extra
+exertion necessary to pilot the ship in had knocked the old man
+up, in his present weak state, and he had gone below for a short
+rest; so the three visitors dived down into the stuffy cabin, all
+anxious to interview the latest comer.  Considerate always, Mr.
+Count allowed us to have the remainder of the day to ourselves,
+so we set about entertaining our company.  It was no joke twelve
+of them coming upon us all at once, and babel ensued for a short
+time.  They knew the system too well to expect refreshments, so
+we had not to apologize for having nothing to set before them.
+They had not come, however, for meat and drink, but for talk.
+And talk we did, sometimes altogether, sometimes rationally; but
+I doubt whether any of us had ever enjoyed talking so much
+before.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+LIBERTY DAY--AND AFTER
+
+There is generally current among seamen a notion that all masters
+of ships are bound by law to give their crews twenty-four hours'
+liberty and a portion of their wages to spend every three months,
+if they are in port. I have never heard any authority quoted for
+this, and do not know what foundation there is for such a belief,
+although the practice is usually adhered to in English ships.
+But American whale-ships apparently know no law, except the will
+of their commanders, whose convenience is always the first
+consideration.  Thus, we had now been afloat for well over a
+year, during which time, except for our foraging excursions at
+the Cocos and Aldabra, we had certainly known no liberty for a
+whole day.
+
+Our present port being one where it was impossible to desert
+without the certainty of prompt recapture, with subsequent
+suffering altogether disproportionate to the offence, we were
+told that one watch at a time would be allowed their liberty for
+a day.  So we of the port watch made our simple preparations,
+received twenty-five cents each, and were turned adrift on the
+beach to enjoy ourselves.  We had our liberty, but we didn't know
+what to do with it.  There was a native town and a couple of low
+groggeries kept by Chinamen, where some of my shipmates promptly
+invested a portion of their wealth in some horrible liquor, the
+smell of which was enough to make an ordinary individual sick.
+There was no place apparently where one could get a meal, so that
+the prospect of our stay ashore lasting a day did not seem very
+great.  I was fortunate enough, however, to foregather with a
+Scotchman who was a beach-comber, and consequently "knew the
+ropes."  I dare say he was an unmitigated blackguard whenever he
+got the chance, but he was certainly on his best behaviour with
+me.  He took me into the country a bit to see the sights, which
+were such as most of the Pacific islands afford.  Wonderful
+indeed were the fantastic rocks, twisted into innumerable
+grotesque shapes, and, along the shores, hollowed out into
+caverns of all sizes, some large enough to shelter an army.  He
+was quite familiar with the natives, understanding enough of
+their queer lingo to get along.  By his friendly aid we got some
+food--yams, and fish cooked in native fashion, i.e. in heated
+holes in the ground, for which the friendly Kanakas would take no
+payment, although they looked murderous enough to be cannibals.
+It does not do to go by looks always.
+
+Well, after a long ramble, the Scotchman and I laid our weary
+bodies down in the shade of a big rock, and had a grand sleep,
+waking up again a little before sunset.  We hastened down to the
+beach off the town, where all my watchmates were sitting in a
+row, like lost sheep, waiting to be taken on board again.  They
+had had enough of liberty; indeed, such liberty as that was
+hardly worth having.  It seems hardly credible, but we were
+actually glad to get on board again, it was so miserable ashore,
+The natives were most unsociable at the port, and we could not
+make ourselves understood, so there was not much fun to be had.
+Even those who were inclined to drink had too little for a spree,
+which I was not sorry for, since doubtless a very unpleasant
+reception would have awaited them had they come on board drunk.
+
+Next day the starboard watch went on liberty, while we who had
+received our share were told off to spend the day wooding and
+watering.  In this most pleasant of occupations (when the weather
+is fine) I passed a much more satisfactory time than when
+wandering about with no objective, an empty pocket, and a hungry
+belly.  No foremast hand has ever enjoyed his opportunities of
+making the acquaintance of his various visiting places more than
+I have; but the circumstances attendant upon one's leave must be
+a little favourable, or I would much rather stay aboard and fish.
+Our task was over for the day, a goodly store of wood and casks
+of water having been shipped.  We were sitting down to supper,
+when, in answer to a hail from the beach, we were ordered to
+fetch the liberty men.  When we got to them, there was a pretty
+how-d'ye-do.  All of them were more or less drunk, some
+exceedingly quarrelsome.  Now, Mistah Jones was steering our
+boat, looking as little like a man to take sauce from a drunken
+sailor as you could imagine.  Most of the transformed crowd ya-
+hooing on the beach had felt the weight of his shoulder-of-mutton
+fist, yet so utterly had prudence forsaken them that, before we
+came near them, they were abusing him through all the varied
+gamut of filthy language they possessed.  My democratic
+sentiments are deeply seated, but I do believe in authority, and
+respect for it being rigidly enforced, so this uncalled-for scene
+upset me, making me feel anxious that the gibbering fools might
+get a lesson.  They got one.
+
+Goliath stood like a tower, his eyes alone betraying the fierce
+anger boiling within.  When we touched the beach, his voice was
+mild end gentle as a child's, his movements calm and deliberate.
+As soon as we had beached the boat he stepped ashore, and in two
+strides was in the middle of the snarling group.  Further parley
+ceased at once.  Snatching the loudest of them by the breast of
+his shirt with his right hand, another one by the collar with his
+left, he flung himself backwards towards the boat, knocking the
+interveners right and left.  But a protruding fragment of rock
+caught his heel, bringing him with his captives to the ground in
+a writhing mass.  The rest, maddened beyond restraint of fear,
+flung themselves upon the prostrate man, the glimmer of more than
+one knife-blade appearing.  Two of us from the boat--one with the
+tiller, the other brandishing a paddle--rushed to the rescue; but
+before we arrived the giant had heaved off his assailants, and,
+with no other weapons than his bare hands, was doing terrific
+execution among them.  Not knowing, I suppose, whether we were
+friendly to him or not, he shouted to us to keep away, nor dare
+to interfere.  There was no need.  Disregarding such trifles as
+a few superficial cuts--not feeling them perhaps--he so
+unmercifully mauled that crowd that they howled again for mercy.
+The battle was brief and bloody.  Before hostilities had lasted
+five minutes, six of the aggressors were stretched insensible;
+the rest, comprising as many more, were pleading for mercy,
+completely sober.  Such prowess on the part of one man against
+twelve seems hardly credible; but it must be remembered that
+Goliath fought, with all the moral force of the ship's officers
+behind him, against a disorganized crowd without backbone, who
+would never have dared to face him but for the temporary mania
+induced by the stuff they had drunk.  It was a conflict between a
+lion and a troop of jackals, whereof the issue was never in doubt
+as long as lethal weapons were wanting.
+
+Standing erect among the cowering creatures, the great negro
+looked every inch a mediaeval hero.  In a stern voice he bade his
+subjugated enemies to get into the boat, assisting those to do so
+who were too badly hurt to rise.  Then we shoved off for the
+ship--a sorrowful gang indeed.
+
+As I bent to my oar, I felt very sorry for what had happened.
+Here were half the crew guilty of an act of violence upon an
+officer, which, according to the severe code under which we
+lived, merited punishment as painful as could be inflicted, and
+lasting for the rest of the voyage.  Whatever form that
+punishment might take, those of us who were innocent would be
+almost equal sufferers with the others, because discrimination in
+the treatment between watch and watch is always difficult, and in
+our case it was certain that it would not be attempted.  Except
+as regarded physical violence, we might all expect to share
+alike.  Undoubtedly things looked very unpleasant.  My gloomy
+cogitations were abruptly terminated by the order to "unrow"--we
+were alongside.  Somehow or other all hands managed to scramble
+on board, and assist in hoisting the boat up.
+
+As soon as she was secured we slunk away forward, but we had
+hardly got below before a tremendous summons from Goliath
+brought us all aft again at the double quick.  Most of the fracas
+had been witnessed from the ship, so that but a minute or two was
+needed to explain how or why it begun.  Directly that explanation
+had been supplied by Mistah Jones, the order was issued for the
+culprits to appear.
+
+I have before noticed how little love was lost between the
+skipper and his officers, Goliath having even once gone so far as
+to give me a very emphatic opinion of his about the "old man" of
+a most unflattering nature.  And had such a state of things
+existed on board an English ship, the crew would simply have
+taken charge, for they would have seen the junior officers
+flouted, snubbed, and jeered at; and, of course, what they saw
+the captain do, they would not be slow to improve on.  Many a
+promising young officer's career has been blighted in this way by
+the feminine spite of a foolish man unable to see that if the
+captain shows no respect to his officers, neither will the crew,
+nor obedience either.
+
+But in an American ship, so long as an officer remains an
+officer, he must be treated as such by every man, under pain of
+prompt punishment.  Yankee skippers have far too much NOUS to
+allow their hands to grow saucy in consequence of division among
+the after-guard.  So now a sort of court-martial was held upon
+the unfortunates who had dared to attack Goliath, at which that
+sable hero might have been the apple of Captain Slocum's eye, so
+solicitous was he of Mistah Jones' honour and the reparation to
+be made.
+
+This sort of thing was right in his line.  Naturally cruel, he
+seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself in the prospect of making
+human beings twist and writhe in pain.  Nor would he be baulked
+of a jot of his pleasure.
+
+Goliath approached him, and muttered a few words, meant, I felt
+sure, to appease him by letting him know how much they had
+suffered at his strong hands; but he turned upon the negro with a
+savage curse, bidding him be silent.  Then every one of the
+culprits was stripped, and secured to the lash-rail by the
+wrists; scourges were made of cotton fish-line, knotted at
+intervals, and secured to a stout handle; the harpooners were
+told off as executioners, and the flogging began.  Perhaps it was
+necessary for the maintenance of discipline--certainly it was
+trivial compared with the practice, till recently, in our own
+army and navy; but I am glad to say that, compelled to witness
+it, I felt quite sick--physically sick--trembling so in every
+limb that my legs would not support me.  It was not fear, for I
+had nothing to fear had I been ever such a coward.  Whatever it
+was, I am not sorry either to have felt it or to own it, even
+while I fully admit that for some forms of wickedness nothing but
+the lash seems adequate punishment.
+
+Some of the victims fainted, not being in the best condition at
+the outset for undergoing so severe a trial; but all were treated
+alike, buckets of salt water being flung over them.  This drastic
+reviver, while adding to their pain, brought them all into a
+state of sufficient activity to get forward when they were
+released.  Smarting and degraded, all their temporary bravado
+effectually banished, they were indeed pitiable objects, their
+deplorable state all the harder to bear from its contrast to our
+recent pleasure when we entertained the visiting crews.
+
+Having completed our quantum of wood, water, and fresh provisions
+for the officers, we got under way again for the fishing grounds.
+I did not see how we could hope for a successful season, knowing
+the utterly despondent state of the crew, which even affected the
+officers, who, not so callous or cruel as the skipper, seemed to
+be getting rather tired of the constant drive and kick, now the
+normal condition of affairs.  But the skipper's vigilance was
+great.  Whether he noted any sign of slackness or indifference on
+the part of his coadjutors or not, of course I cannot say, but he
+certainly seemed to put more vigour into his attentions than had
+been his wont, and so kept everybody up to the mark.
+
+Hitherto we had always had our fishing to ourselves; we were now
+to see something of the ways of other men employed in the same
+manner.  For though the general idea or plan of campaign against
+the whales is the same in all American whalers, every ship has
+some individual peculiarity of tactics, which, needless to say,
+are always far superior to those of any other ship.  When we
+commenced our cruise on this new ground, there were seven whalers
+in sight, all quite as keen on the chase as ourselves, so that I
+anticipated considerable sport of the liveliest kind should we
+"raise" whales with such a fleet close at hand.
+
+But for a whole week we saw nothing but a grampus or so, a few
+loitering finbacks, and an occasional lean humpback bull
+certainly not worth chasing. On the seventh afternoon, however, I
+was in the main crow's-nest with the chief, when I noticed a ship
+to windward of us alter her course, keeping away three or four
+points on an angle that would presently bring her across our bows
+a good way ahead.  I was getting pretty well versed in the tricks
+of the trade now, so I kept mum, but strained my eyes in the
+direction for which the other ship was steering.  The chief was
+looking astern at some finbacks, the look-out men forward were
+both staring to leeward, thus for a minute or so I had a small
+arc of the horizon to myself.  The time was short, but it
+sufficed, and for the first time that voyage I had the privilege
+of "raising" a sperm whale.  My voice quivered with excitement as
+I uttered the war-whoop, "Ah blo-o-o-o-w!" Round spun the mate on
+his heel, while the hands clustered like bees roused from their
+hive.  "Where away--where?" gasped the mate.  And I pointed to a
+spot about half a point on the lee bow, at the same time calling
+his attention to the fact that the stranger to windward was
+keeping away.  In answer to the skipper's hurried queries from
+below, Mr. Count gave him the general outline of affairs, to which
+he replied by crowding every stitch of canvas on the vessel that
+was available.
+
+The spout I had seen was a good ten miles off, and, for the
+present, seemed to belong to a "lone" whale, as it was the only
+one visible.  There was a good breeze blowing, as much, in fact,
+as we could carry all sail to, the old barky making a tremendous
+commotion as she blundered along under the unusual press of
+canvas.  In the excitement of the race all our woes were
+forgotten; we only thought of the possibility of the ship getting
+there first.  We drew gradually nearer to the stranger, who, like
+us, was carrying all the sail he had got, but, being able to go a
+point or two free, was outsailing us.
+
+It was anybody's race as yet, though, when we heard the skipper's
+hail, "'Way down from aloft!" as he came up to take our place,
+The whale had sounded, apparently heading to leeward, so that the
+weather-gage held by our rival was not much advantage to him now.
+We ran on for another two miles, then shortened sail, and stood
+by to lower away the moment he should re-appear, Meanwhile
+another ship was working up from to leeward, having evidently
+noted our movements, or else, like the albatross, "smelt whale,"
+no great distance to windward of him.  Waiting for that whale to
+rise was one of the most exciting experiences we had gone through
+as yet, with two other ships so near.  Everybody's nerves seemed
+strung up to concert pitch, and it was quite a relief when from
+half a dozen throats at once burst the cry, "There she white-
+waters!  Ah blo-o-o-o-w!"  Not a mile away, dead to leeward of
+us, quietly beating the water with the flat of his flukes, as if
+there was no such thing in the watery world as a whale-ship.
+Splash! almost simultaneously went the four boats.  Out we shot
+from the ship, all on our mettle; for was not the skipper's eye
+upon us from his lofty eyrie, as well as the crew of the other
+ship, now not more than a mile away!  We seemed a terrible time
+getting the sails up, but the officers dared not risk our
+willingness to pull while they could be independent of us.
+
+By the time we were fairly off, the other ship's boats were
+coming like the wind, so that eight boats were now converging
+upon the unconscious monster. We fairly flew over the short,
+choppy sea, getting drenched with the flying spray, but looking
+out far more keenly at the other boats than at the whale.  Up we
+came to him, Mr. Count's boat to the left, the other mate's boat
+to the right.  Almost at the same moment the irons flew from the
+hands of the rival harpooners; but while ours was buried to the
+hitches in the whale's side, the other man's just ploughed up the
+skin on the animal's back, as it passed over him and pierced our
+boat close behind the harpooner's leg.  Not seeing what had
+happened to his iron, or knowing that we were fast, the other
+harpooner promptly hurled his second iron, which struck solidly.
+It was a very pretty tangle, but our position was rather bad.
+The whale between us was tearing the bowels of the deep up in his
+rage and fear; we were struggling frantically to get our sail
+down; and at any moment that wretched iron through our upper
+strake might tear a plank out of us.  Our chief, foaming at the
+mouth with rage and excitement, was screeching inarticulate
+blasphemy at the other mate, who, not knowing what was the
+matter, was yelling back all his copious vocabulary of abuse.  I
+felt very glad the whale was between us, or there would surely
+have been murder done.  At last, out drops the iron, leaving a
+jagged hole you could put your arm through. Wasn't Mr. Count mad?
+I really thought he would split with rage, for it was impossible
+for us to go on with that hole in our bilge.  The second mate
+came alongside and took our line as the whale was just commencing
+to sound, thus setting us free.  We made at once for the other
+ship's "fast" boat, and the compliments that had gone before were
+just casual conversation to what filled the air with dislocated
+language now.  Presently both the champions cooled down a bit
+from want of breath, and we got our case stated.  It was received
+with a yell of derision from the other side as a splendid effort
+of lying on our part; because the first ship fast claims the
+whale, and such a prize as this one we were quarrelling about was
+not to be tamely yielded.
+
+However, as reason asserted her sway over Mr. Count, he quieted
+down, knowing full well that the state of the line belonging to
+his rival would reveal the truth when the whale rose again.
+Therefore we returned to the ship, leaving our three boats busy
+waiting the whale's pleasure to rise again.  When the skipper
+heard what had happened, he had his own boat manned, proceeding
+himself to the battle-field in expectation of complications
+presently.  By the time he arrived upon the scene there were two
+more boats lying by, which had come up from the third ship,
+mentioned as working up from to leeward.  "Pretty fine ground
+this's got ter be!"  growled the old man.  "Caint strike whale
+'thout bein' crowded eout uv yer own propputty by a gang bunco
+steerers like this.  Shall hev ter quit it, en keep a pawnshop."
+
+And still the whale kept going steadily down, down, down.
+Already he was on the second boat's lines, and taking them out
+faster than ever.  Had we been alone, this persistence on his
+part, though annoying, would not have mattered much; but, with so
+many others in company, the possibilities of complication, should
+we need to slip our end, were numerous.  The ship kept near, and
+Mr. Count, seeing how matters were going, had hastily patched his
+boat, returning at once with another tub of line.  He was but
+just in time to bend on, when to our great delight we saw the end
+slip from our rival's boat.  This in no wise terminated his lien
+on the whale, supposing he could prove that he struck first, but
+it got him out of the way for the time.
+
+Meanwhile we were running line faster than ever. There was an
+enormous length attached to the animal now--some twelve thousand
+feet--the weight of which was very great, to say nothing of the
+many "drogues" or "stopwaters" attached to it at intervals.
+Judge, then, of my surprise when a shout of "Blo-o-o-w!" called
+my attention to the whale himself just breaking water about half
+a mile away.  It was an awkward predicament; for if we let go our
+end, the others would be on the whale immediately; if we held on,
+we should certainly be dragged below in a twinkling; and our
+disengaged boats could do nothing, for they had no line. But the
+difficulty soon settled itself.  Out ran our end, leaving us bare
+of line as pleasure skiffs.  The newcomer, who had been prowling
+near, keeping a close watch upon us, saw our boat jump up when
+released from the weight.  Off he flew like an arrow to the
+labouring leviathan, now a "free fish," except for such claims as
+the two first-comers had upon it, which claims are legally
+assessed, where no dispute arises.  In its disabled condition,
+dragging so enormous a weight of line, it was but a few minutes
+before the fresh boat was fast, while we looked on helplessly,
+boiling with impotent rage.  All that we could now hope for was
+the salvage of some of our line, a mile and a half of which,
+inextricably mixed up with about the same length of our rival's,
+was towing astern of the fast-expiring cachalot.
+
+So great had been the strain upon that hardly-used animal that he
+did not go into his usual "flurry," but calmly expired without
+the faintest struggle.  In the mean time two of our boats had
+been sent on board again to work the ship, while the skipper
+proceeded to try his luck in the recovery of his gear.  On
+arriving at the dead whale, however, we found that he had rolled
+over and over beneath the water so many times that the line was
+fairly frapped round him, and the present possessors were in no
+mood to allow us the privilege of unrolling it.
+
+During the conversation we had drawn very near the carcass, so
+near, in fact, that one hand was holding the boat alongside the
+whale's "small" by a bight of the line.  I suppose the skipper's
+eagle eye must have caught sight of the trailing part of the line
+streaming beneath, for suddenly he plunged overboard, reappearing
+almost immediately with the line in his hand.  He scrambled into
+the boat with it, cutting it from the whale at once, and starting
+his boat's crew hauling in.
+
+Then there was a hubbub again.  The captain of the NARRAGANSETT,
+our first rival, protested vigorously against our monopoly of the
+line; but in grim silence our skipper kept on, taking no notice of
+him, while we steadily hauled.  Unless he of the NARRAGANSETT
+choose to fight for what he considered his rights, there was no
+help for him.  And there was something in our old man's
+appearance eminently calculated to discourage aggression of any
+kind.
+
+At last, disgusted apparently with the hopeless turn affairs had
+taken, the NARRAGANSETT's boats drew off, and returned on board
+their ship.  Two of our boats had by this time accumulated a
+mountainous coil of line each, with which we returned to our own
+vessel, leaving the skipper to visit the present holder of the
+whale, the skipper of the JOHN HAMPDEN.
+
+What arrangements they made, or how they settled the
+NARRAGANSETT's claim between them, I never knew, but I dare say
+there was a costly law-suit about it in New Bedford years after.
+
+This was not very encouraging for a start, nor did the next week
+see us do any better.  Several times we saw other ships with
+whales alongside, but we got no show at all.  Now, I had hoped a
+great deal from our cruise on these grounds, because I had heard
+whispers of a visit to the icy Sea of Okhotsk, and the prospect
+was to me a horrible one.  I never did take any stock in Arctic
+work.  But if we made a good season on the Japan grounds, we
+should not go north, but gradually work down the Pacific again,
+on the other side, cruising as we went.
+
+Day after day went by without any fresh capture or even sight of
+fish, until I began to believe that the stories I had heard of
+the wonderful fecundity of the Coast of Japan waters were fables
+without foundation, in fact.  Had I known what sort of fishing
+our next bout would be, I should not have been so eager to sight
+whales again.  If this be not a platitude of the worst kind, I
+don't know the meaning of the word; but, after all, platitudes
+have their uses, especially when you want to state a fact baldly.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+WHICH COMES UNCOMFORTABLY NEAR BEING THE LAST
+
+All unversed as I am in the finer shades of literary
+craftsmanship, there is great uncertainty in my mind whether it
+is good or bad "art" to anticipate your next chapter by
+foreshadowing its contents; but whether good or bad art, the
+remembrance of my miseries on the eventful occasion I wish to
+describe was so strong upon me as I wrote the last few lines of
+the previous chapter that I just had to let those few words leak
+out.
+
+Through all the vicissitudes of this strange voyage I had
+hitherto felt pretty safe, and as the last thing a man
+anticipates (if his digestion is all right) is the possibility of
+coming to grief himself while fully prepared to see everybody
+else go under, so I had got to think that whoever got killed I
+was not to be--a very pleasing sentiment, and one that carries a
+man far, enabling him to face dangers with a light heart which
+otherwise would make a nerveless animal of him.
+
+In this optimistic mood, then, I gaily flung myself into my place
+in the mate's boat one morning, as we were departing in chase of
+a magnificent cachalot that had been raised just after breakfast.
+There were no other vessels in sight--much to our satisfaction
+--the wind was light, with a cloudless sky, and the whale was
+dead to leeward of us.  We sped along at a good rate towards our
+prospective victim, who was, in his leisurely enjoyment of life,
+calmly lolling on the surface, occasionally lifting his enormous
+tail out of water and letting it fall flat upon the surface with
+a boom audible for miles.
+
+We were as usual, first boat; but, much to the mate's annoyance,
+when we were a short half-mile from the whale, our main-sheet
+parted.  It became immediately necessary to roll the sail up,
+lest its flapping should alarm the watchful monster, and this
+delayed us sufficiently to allow the other boats to shoot ahead
+of us.  Thus the second mate got fast some seconds before we
+arrived on the scene, seeing which we furled sail, unshipped the
+mast, and went in on him with the oars only.  At first the
+proceedings were quite of the usual character, our chief wielding
+his lance in most brilliant fashion, while not being fast to the
+animal allowed us much greater freedom in our evolutions; but
+that fatal habit of the mate's--of allowing his boat to take care
+of herself so long as he was getting in some good home-thrusts
+--once more asserted itself.  Although the whale was exceedingly
+vigorous, churning the sea into yeasty foam over an enormous
+area, there we wallowed close to him, right in the middle of the
+turmoil, actually courting disaster.
+
+He had just settled down for a moment, when, glancing over the
+gunwale, I saw his tail, like a vast shadow, sweeping away from
+us towards the second mate, who was laying off the other side of
+him.  Before I had time to think, the mighty mass of gristle
+leapt into the sunshine, curved back from us like a huge bow.
+Then with a roar it came at us, released from its tension of
+Heaven knows how many tons.  Full on the broadside it struck us,
+sending every soul but me flying out of the wreckage as if fired
+from catapults.  I did not go because my foot was jammed somehow
+in the well of the boat, but the wrench nearly pulled my thigh-
+bone out of its socket.  I had hardly released my foot, when,
+towering above me, came the colossal head of the great creature,
+as he ploughed through the bundle of debris that had just been a
+boat.  There was an appalling roar of water in my ears, and
+darkness that might be felt all around.  Yet, in the midst of it
+all, one thought predominated as clearly as if I had been turning
+it over in my mind in the quiet of my bunk aboard--"What if he
+should swallow me?"  Nor to this day can I understand how I
+escaped the portals of his gullet, which of course gaped wide as
+a church door.  But the agony of holding my breath soon
+overpowered every other feeling and thought, till just as
+something was going to snap inside my head I rose to the surface.
+I was surrounded by a welter of bloody froth, which made it
+impossible for me to see; but oh, the air was sweet!
+
+I struck out blindly, instinctively, although I could feel so
+strong an eddy that voluntary progress was out of the question.
+My hand touched and clung to a rope, which immediately towed me
+in some direction--I neither knew nor cared whither.  Soon the
+motion ceased, and, with a seaman's instinct, I began to haul
+myself along by the rope I grasped, although no definite idea was
+in my mind as to where it was attached. Presently I came butt up
+against something solid, the feel of which gathered all my
+scattered wits into a compact knub of dread.  It was the whale!
+"Any port in a storm," I murmured, beginning to haul away again
+on my friendly line.  By dint of hard work I pulled myself right
+up the sloping, slippery bank of blubber, until I reached the
+iron, which, as luck would have it, was planted in that side of
+the carcass now uppermost.  Carcass I said--well, certainly I had
+no idea of there being any life remaining within the vast mass
+beneath me, yet I had hardly time to take a couple of turns round
+myself with the rope (or whale-line, as I had proved it to be),
+when I felt the great animal quiver all over, and begin to forge
+ahead.  I was now composed enough to remember that help could not
+be far away, and that my rescue, providing that I could keep
+above water, was but a question of a few minutes.  But I was
+hardly prepared for the whale's next move.  Being very near his
+end, the boat, or boats, had drawn off a bit, I supposed, for I
+could see nothing of them.  Then I remembered the flurry.  Almost
+at the same moment it began; and there was I, who with fearful
+admiration had so often watched the titanic convulsions of a
+dying cachalot, actually involved in them.  The turns were off my
+body, but I was able to twist a couple of turns round my arms,
+which, in case of his sounding, I could readily let go.
+
+Then all was lost in roar and rush, as of the heart of some
+mighty cataract, during which I was sometimes above, sometimes
+beneath, the water, but always clinging with every ounce of
+energy still left, to the line.  Now, one thought was uppermost
+--"What if he should breach?"  I had seen them do so when in
+flurry, leaping full twenty feet in the air.  Then I prayed.
+
+Quickly as all the preceding changes had passed came perfect
+peace.  There I lay, still alive, but so weak that, although I
+could feel the turns slipping off my arms, and knew that I should
+slide off the slope of the whale's side into the sea if they did,
+I could make no effort to secure myself.  Everything then passed
+away from me, just as if I had gone to sleep.
+
+I do not at all understand how I kept my position, nor how long,
+but I awoke to the blessed sound of voices, and saw the second
+mate's boat alongside, Very gently and tenderly they lifted me
+into the boat, although I could hardly help screaming with agony
+when they touched me, so bruised and broken up did I feel.  My
+arms must have been nearly torn from their sockets, for the
+strands of the whale-line had cut deep into their flesh with the
+strain upon it, while my thigh was swollen enormously from the
+blow I received at the onset.  Mr. Cruce was the most surprised
+man I think I ever saw.  For full ten minutes he stared at me
+with wide-open eyes.  When at last he spoke, it was with
+difficulty, as if wanting words to express his astonishment.  At
+last he blurted out, "Whar you bin all de time, ennyhaow?  'Cawse
+ef you bin hangin' on to dat ar wale ev'sence you boat smash, w'y
+de debbil you hain't all ter bits, hey?"  I smiled feebly, but
+was too weak to talk, and presently went off again into a dead
+faint.
+
+When I recovered, I was snug in my bunk aboard, but aching in
+every joint, and as sore as if I had been pounded with a club
+until I was bruised all over. During the day Mr. Count was kind
+enough to pay me a visit.  With his usual luck, he had escaped
+without the slightest injury; neither was any other member of the
+boat's crew the worse for the ducking but myself.  He told me
+that the whale was one of the largest he had ever seen, and as
+fat as butter.  The boat was an entire loss, so completely
+smashed to pieces that nothing of her or her gear had been
+recovered.  After spending about a quarter of an hour with me,
+he left me considerably cheered up, promising to look after me in
+the way of food, and also to send me some books.  He told
+me that I need not worry myself about my inability to be at work,
+because the old man was not unfavourably disposed towards me,
+which piece of news gave me a great deal of comfort.
+
+When my poor, weary shipmates came below from their heavy toil of
+cutting in, they were almost inclined to be envious of my
+comfort--small blame to them--though I would gladly have taken my
+place among them again, could I have got rid of my hurts.  But I
+was condemned to lie there for nearly three weeks before I was
+able to get about once more.  In my sleep I would undergo the
+horrible anticipation of sliding down that awful, cavernous mouth
+over again, often waking with a shriek and drenched with sweat.
+
+While I lay there, three whales were caught, all small cows, and
+I was informed that the skipper was getting quite disgusted with
+the luck.  At last I managed to get on deck, quite a different-
+looking man to when I went below, and feeling about ten years
+older.  I found the same sullen quiet reigning that I had noticed
+several times before when we were unfortunate.  I fancied that
+the skipper looked more morose and savage than ever, though of
+me, to my great relief, he took not the slightest notice.
+
+The third day after my return to duty we sighted whales again.
+We lowered three boats as promptly as usual; but when within
+about half a mile of the "pod" some slight noise in one of the
+boats gallied them, and away they went in the wind's eye, it
+blowing a stiffish breeze at the time, It was from the first
+evidently a hopeless task to chase them, but we persevered until
+recalled to the ship, dead beat with fatigue.  I was not sorry,
+for my recent adventure seemed to have made quite a coward of me,
+so much so that an unpleasant gnawing at the pit of my stomach as
+we neared them almost made me sick.  I earnestly hoped that so
+inconvenient a feeling would speedily leave me, or I should be
+but a poor creature in a boat.
+
+In passing, I would like to refer to the wonderful way in which
+these whales realize at a great distance, if the slightest sound
+be made, the presence of danger. I do not use the word "hear"
+because so abnormally small are their organs of hearing, the
+external opening being quite difficult to find, that I do not
+believe they can hear at all well.  But I firmly believe they
+possess another sense by means of which they are able to detect
+any unusual vibration of the waves of either air or sea at a far
+greater distance than it would be possible for them to hear,
+Whatever this power may be which they possess, all whalemen are
+well acquainted with their exercise of it, and always take most
+elaborate precautions to render their approach to a whale
+noiseless.
+
+Our extraordinary want of success at last so annoyed the skipper
+that he determined to quit the ground and go north.  The near
+approach of the open season in those regions probably hastened
+his decision, but I learned from Goliath that he had always been
+known as a most fortunate man among the "bowheads," as the great
+MYSTICETAE of that part of the Arctic seas are called by the
+Americans.  Not that there is any difference, as far as I have
+been able to ascertain, between them and the "right" whale of
+the Greenland seas, but from some caprice of nomenclature for
+which there is no accounting.
+
+So in leisurely fashion we worked north, keeping, of course, a
+bright look-out all the way for straggling cachalots, but not
+seeing any.  From scraps of information that in some mysterious
+fashion leaked out, we learned that we were bound to the Okhotsk
+Sea, it being no part of the skipper's intentions to go prowling
+around Behrings Sea, where he believed the whales to be few and
+far between.
+
+It may be imagined that we of the crew were not at all pleased
+with this intelligence, our life being, we considered,
+sufficiently miserable without the addition of extreme cold, for
+we did not realize that in the Arctic regions during summer the
+cold is by no means unbearable, and our imagination pictured a
+horrible waste of perpetual ice and snow, in the midst of which
+we should be compelled to freeze while dodging whales through the
+crevices of the floes.  But whether our pictures of the prospects
+that awaited us were caricatures or no made not the slightest
+difference.  "Growl you may, but go you must" is an old sea-
+jingle of the truest ring; but, while our going was inevitable,
+growling was a luxury none of us dare indulge in.
+
+We had by no means a bad passage to the Kuriles, which form a
+natural barrier enclosing the immense area of the Okhotsk Sea
+from the vast stretch of the Pacific.  Around this great chain of
+islands the navigation is exceedingly difficult, and dangerous as
+well, from the ever-varying currents as from the frequent fogs
+and sudden storms.  But these impediments to swift and safe
+navigation are made light of by the whalemen, who, as I feel
+never weary of remarking, are the finest navigators in the world
+where speed is not the first consideration.
+
+The most peculiar features of these inhospitable shores to a
+seaman are the vast fields of seaweed surrounding them all, which
+certainly helps to keep the sea down during gales, but renders
+navigation most difficult on account of its concealment of hidden
+dangers.  These islands are aptly named, the word "Kurile" being
+Kamschatkan for smoke; and whether it be regarded as given in
+consequence of the numerous volcanoes which pour their fumes into
+the air, or the all-prevailing fog fostered by the Kuro Siwo, or
+Japanese counterpart of the Gulf stream, the designation is
+equally appropriate.
+
+We entered the Okhotsk Sea by the Nadeshda Channel, so-named
+after Admiral Krusenstern's ship, which was the first civilized
+vessel that passed through its turbulent waters.  It separates
+the islands Rashau and Mantaua by about twenty miles, yet so
+conflicting and violent are the currents which eddy and swirl in
+all parts of it, that without a steady, strong, fair wind it is
+most dangerous to a sailing vessel.  Thenceforward the navigation
+was free from difficulty, or at least none that we could
+recognize as such, so we gave all our attention to the business
+which brought us there.
+
+Scarcely any change was needed in our equipment, except the
+substitution of longer harpoons for those we had been using, and
+the putting away of the bomb-guns. These changes were made
+because the blubber of the bowhead is so thick that ordinary
+harpoons will not penetrate beyond it to the muscle, which,
+unless they do, renders them liable to draw, upon a heavy strain.
+As for the bombs, Yankees hold the mysticetae in such supreme
+contempt that none of them would dream of wasting so expensive a
+weapon as a bomb upon them.  I was given to understand by my
+constant crony, Mistah Jones, that there was no more trouble in
+killing a bowhead than in slaughtering a sheep; and that while it
+was quite true that accidents DID occur, they were entirely due
+to the carelessness or clumsiness of the whalemen, and not in any
+way traceable to a desire on the victim's part to do any one
+harm.
+
+The sea was little encumbered with ice, it being now late in
+June, so that our progress was not at all impeded by the few
+soft, brashy floes that we encountered, none of them hard enough
+to do a ship's hull any damage.  In most places the sea was
+sufficiently shallow to permit of our anchoring.  For this
+purpose we used a large kedge, with stout hawser for cable, never
+furling all the sails in case of a strong breeze suddenly
+springing up, which would cause us to drag. This anchoring was
+very comfortable.  Besides allowing us to get much more rest than
+when on other cruising-grounds, we were able to catch enormous
+quantities of fish, mostly salmon, of which there were no less
+than fourteen varieties.  So plentiful were these splendid fish
+that we got quite critical in our appreciation of them, very soon
+finding that one kind, known as the "nerker," was far better
+flavoured than any of the others.  But as the daintiest food
+palls the quickest, it was not long before we got tired of
+salmon, and wished most heartily for beef.
+
+Much fun has been made of the discontent of sailors. With food
+which is considered a luxury ashore, and wonder expressed that
+if, as we assert, the ordinary dietary of the seaman be so bad,
+he should be so ready to rebel when fed with delicacies.  But in
+justice to the sailor, it ought to be remembered that the
+daintiest food may be rendered disgusting by bad cookery, such as
+is the rule on board merchant ships.  "God sends meat, but the
+devil sends cooks" is a proverb which originated on board ship,
+and no one who has ever served any time in a ship's forecastle
+would deny that it is abundantly justified.  Besides which, even
+good food well cooked of one kind only, served many times in
+succession, becomes very trying, only the plainest foods, such as
+bread, rice, potatoes, etc., retaining their command of the
+appetite continually.
+
+I remember once, when upon the Coromandel coast in a big Greenock
+ship, we found fowls very cheap.  At Bimliapatam the captain
+bought two or three hundred, which, as we had no coops, were
+turned loose on deck. We had also at the same time prowling about
+the decks three goats, twenty pigs, and two big dogs.
+
+Consequently the state of the ship was filthy, nor could all our
+efforts keep her clean.  This farmyard condition of things was
+permitted to continue for about a week, when the officers got so
+tired of it, and the captain so annoyed at the frequent loss of
+fowls by their flying overboard, that the edict went forth to
+feed the foremast hands on poultry till further orders.  Great
+was our delight at the news.  Fowl for dinner represented to our
+imagination almost the apex of high living, only indulged in by
+such pampered children of fortune as the officers of ships or
+well-to-do people ashore.
+
+When dinner-time arrived, we boys made haste to the galley with
+watering mouths, joyfully anticipating that rare delight of the
+sailor--a good "feed."  The cook uncovered his coppers, plunged
+his tormentors therein, and produced such a succession of ugly
+corpses of fowls as I had never seen before.  To each man a whole
+one was allotted, and we bore the steaming hecatomb into the
+forecastle.  The boisterous merriment became hushed at our
+approach, and faces grew lengthy when the unwholesome aspect of
+the "treat" was revealed.  Each man secured his bird, and
+commenced operations.  But oh, the disappointment, and the bad
+words!  What little flesh there was upon the framework of those
+unhappy fowls was like leather itself, and utterly flavourless.
+It could not well have been otherwise.  The feathers had been
+simply scalded off, the heads chopped off, and bodies split open
+to facilitate drawing (I am sure I wonder the cook took the
+trouble to do that much), and thus prepared they were cast into a
+cauldron of boiling salt water.  There, with the water fiercely
+bubbling, they were kept for an hour and a half, then pitchforked
+out into the mess kid and set before us.  We simply could not eat
+them; no one but a Noumean Kanaka could, for his teeth are equal
+to husking a cocoa-nut, or chopping off a piece of sugar-cane as
+thick as your wrist.
+
+After much heated discussion, it was unanimously resolved to
+protest at once against the substitution of such a fraud as this
+poultry for our legitimate rations of "salt horse." so, bearing
+the DISJECTA MEMBRA of our meal, the whole crowd marched aft, and
+requested an interview with the skipper.  He came out of the
+cabin at once, saying, "Well, boys, what's the matter?" The
+spokesman, a bald-headed Yankee, who had been bo'sun's mate of an
+American man-of-war, stepped forward and said, offering his kid,
+"Jest have a look at that sir."  The skipper looked, saying,
+inquiringly, "Well?"  "D'yew think, sir," said Nat, "THET'S
+proper grub for men?"  "Proper grub!  Why, you old sinner, you
+don't mean to say you're goin' to growl about havin' chicken for
+dinner?"  "Well, sir, it depends muchly upon the chicken.  All I
+know is, that I've et some dam queer tack in my time, but sence I
+ben fishin' I never had no such bundles of sticks parcelled with
+leather served out to me.  I HEV et boot--leastways gnawed it;
+when I was cast away in a open boat for three weeks--but it
+wa'n't bad boot, as boots go. Now, if yew say that these things
+is boots, en thet it's necessary we should eat'em, or starve,
+w'y, we'll think about it.  But if yew call'em chickens,'n say
+you're doin' us a kindness by stoppin' our'lowance of meat wile
+we're wrastlin' with 'em, then we say we don't feel obliged to
+yew, 'n 'll thank yew kindly to keep such lugsuries for yerself,
+'n give us wot we signed for."  A murmur of assent confirmed this
+burst of eloquence, which we all considered a very fine effort
+indeed.  A moment's silence ensued; then the skipper burst out,
+"I've often heard of such things, but hang me if I ever believed
+'em till now!  You ungrateful beggars!  I'll see you get your
+whack, and no more, from this out.  When you get any little
+extras aboard this ship agen, you'll be thankful for 'em; now I
+tell you."  "All right, sir," said Nat; "so long as we don't hev
+to chaw any more of yer biled Bimly crows, I dessay we shall
+worry along as usual."  And, as the Parliamentary reports say,
+the proceedings then terminated.
+
+Now, suppose the skipper had told the story to some of his shore
+friends, how very funny the sailors' conduct would have been made
+to appear.
+
+On another occasion long after, when I was mate of a barque
+loading mahogany in Tonala, Mexico, the skipper thought he would
+practise economy by buying a turtle instead of beef.  A large
+turtle was obtained for twenty-five cents, and handed over to the
+cook to be dealt with, particular instructions being given him as
+to the apportionment of the meat.
+
+At eight bells there was a gathering of the men in front of the
+poop, and a summons for the captain. When he appeared, the usual
+stereotyped invitation to "have a look at THAT, if you please,
+sir," was uttered. The skipper was, I think, prepared for a
+protest, for he began to bluster immediately.  "Look here!"  he
+bawled, "I ain't goin' to 'ave any of your dam nonsense. You WANT
+somethin' to growl about, you do."  "Well, Cap'n George," said
+one of the men, "you shorely don't think we k'n eat shells, do
+yer?"  Just then I caught sight of the kid's contents, and could
+hardly restrain my indignation.  For in a dirty heap, the sight
+of which might have pleased an Esquimaux, but was certainly
+enough to disgust any civilized man, lay the calipee, or under-
+shell of the turtle, hacked into irregular blocks.  It had been
+simply boiled, and flung into the kid, an unclean, disgusting
+heap of shell, with pieces of dirty flesh attached in ragged
+lumps.  But the skipper, red-faced and angry, answered, "W'y, yer
+so-and-so ijits, that's wot the Lord Mayor of London gives about
+a guinea a hounce for w'en 'e feeds lords n' dooks. Only the
+haristocracy at 'ome get a charnce to stick their teeth in such
+grub as that.  An' 'ere are you lot a-growlin' at 'avin' it for a
+change!"  "That's all right, cap'n," said the man; "bein' brort
+up ter such lugsuries, of corse you kin appreshyate it.  So if
+yer keep it fer yer own eatin', an' giv us wot we signed for, we
+shall be werry much obliged."  "Now, I ain't a-goin' to 'ave none
+o' YOUR cheek, so you'd better git forrard.  You can betcher life
+you won't get no more fresh messes this voy'ge."  So, with
+grumbling and ill-will on both sides, the conference came to an
+end.  But I thought, and still think, that the mess set before
+those men, who had been working hard since six a.m., was unfit
+for the food of a good dog.
+
+Out of my own experience I might give many other instances of the
+kind, but I hope these will suffice to show that Jack's growling
+is often justified, when both sides of the story are heard.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+"BOWHEAD" FISHING
+
+Day and night being now only distinguishable by the aid of the
+clock, a constant look-out aloft was kept all through the twenty-
+four hours, watch and watch, but whales were apparently very
+scarce.  We did a good deal of "pelagic" sealing; that is,
+catching seals swimming.  But the total number obtained was not
+great, for these creatures are only gregarious when at their
+rocky haunts during the breeding season, or among the ice just
+before that season begins.  Our sealing, therefore, was only a
+way of passing the time in the absence of nobler game, to be
+abandoned at once with whales in sight.
+
+It was on the ninth or tenth morning after our arrival on the
+grounds that a bowhead was raised, And two boats sent after him.
+It was my first sight of the great MYSTICETUS, and I must confess
+to being much impressed by his gigantic bulk.  From the
+difference in shape, he looked much larger than the largest sperm
+whale we had yet seen, although we had come across some of the
+very biggest specimens of cachalot.
+
+The contrast between the two animals is most marked, so much so,
+in fact, that one would hardly credit them with belonging to the
+same order.  Popular ideas of the whale are almost invariably
+taken from the MYSTICETUS, so that the average individual
+generally defines a whale as a big fish which spouts water out of
+the top of his head, and cannot swallow a herring.  Indeed, so
+lately as last year a popular M.P., writing to one of the
+religious papers, allowed himself to say that "science will not
+hear of a whale with a gullet capable of admitting anything
+larger than a man's fist"--a piece of crass ignorance, which is
+also perpetrated in the appendix to a very widely-distributed
+edition of the Authorized Version of the Bible.  This opinion,
+strangely enough, is almost universally held, although I trust
+that the admirable models now being shown in our splendid Natural
+History Museum at South Kensington will do much to remove it.
+Not so many people, perhaps, believe that a whale is a fish,
+instead of a mammal, but few indeed are the individuals who do
+not still think that a cetacean possesses a sort of natural
+fountain on the top of its head, whence, for some recondite
+reason, it ejects at regular intervals streams of water into the
+air.
+
+But a whale can no more force water through its spiracle or blow-
+hole than you or I through our nostrils.  It inhales, when at the
+surface, atmospheric air, and exhales breath like ours, which,
+coming warm into a cooler medium, becomes visible, as does our
+breath on a frosty morning.
+
+Now, the MYSTICETUS carries his nostrils on the summit of his
+head, or crown, the orifice being closed by a beautifully
+arranged valve when the animal is beneath the water.
+Consequently, upon coming to the surface to breathe, he sends up
+a jet of visible breath into the air some ten or twelve feet.
+The cachalot, on the other hand, has the orifice at the point of
+his square snout, the internal channel running in a slightly
+diagonal direction downwards, and back through the skull to the
+lungs.  So when he spouts, the breath is projected forward
+diagonally, and, from some peculiarity which I do not pretend to
+explain, expends itself in a short, bushy tuft of vapour, very
+distinct from the tall vertical spout of the bowhead or right
+whale.
+
+There was little or no wind when we sighted the individual I am
+now speaking of, so we did not attempt to set sail, but pulled
+straight for him "head and head."  Strange as it may appear, the
+MYSTICETUS' best point of view is right behind, or "in his wake,"
+as we say; it is therefore part of the code to approach him from
+right ahead, in which direction he cannot see at all.  Some time
+before we reached him he became aware of our presence, showing by
+his uneasy actions that he had his doubts about his personal
+security.  But before he had made up his mind what to do we were
+upon him, with our harpoons buried in his back.  The difference
+in his behaviour to what we had so long been accustomed to was
+amazing.  He did certainly give a lumbering splash or two with
+his immense flukes, but no one could possibly have been
+endangered by them.  The water was so shallow that when he
+sounded it was but for a very few minutes; there was no escape
+for him that way.  As soon as he returned to the surface he set
+off at his best gait, but that was so slow that we easily hauled
+up close alongside of him, holding the boats in that position
+without the slightest attempt to guard ourselves from reprisals
+on his part, while the officers searched his vitals with the
+lances as if they were probing a haystack.
+
+Really, the whole affair was so tame that it was impossible to
+get up any fighting enthusiasm over it; the poor, unwieldy
+creature died meekly and quietly as an overgrown seal.  In less
+than an hour from the time of leaving the ship we were ready to
+bring our prize alongside.
+
+Upon coming up to the whale, sail was shortened, and as soon as
+the fluke-chain was passed we anchored.  It was, I heard, our
+skipper's boast that he could "skin a bowhead in forty minutes;"
+and although we were certainly longer than that, the celerity
+with which what seemed a gigantic task was accomplished was
+marvellous.  Of course, it was all plain-sailing, very unlike the
+complicated and herculean task inevitable at the commencement of
+cutting-in a sperm whale.
+
+Except for the head work, removing the blubber was effected in
+precisely the same way as in the case of the cachalot.  There was
+a marked difference between the quantity of lard enveloping this
+whale and those we had hitherto dealt with.  It was nearly double
+the thickness, besides being much richer in oil, which fairly
+dripped from it as we hoisted in the blanket-pieces.  The upper
+jaw was removed for its long plates of whalebone or baleen--that
+valuable substance which alone makes it worth while nowadays to
+go after the MYSTICETUS, the price obtained for the oil being so
+low as to make it not worth while to fit out ships to go in
+search of it alone.  "Trying-out" the blubber, with its
+accompaniments, is carried on precisely as with the sperm whale.
+The resultant oil, when recent, is of a clear white, unlike the
+golden-tinted fluid obtained from the cachalot.  As it grows
+stale it developes a nauseous smell, which sperm does not,
+although the odour of the oil is otto of roses compared with the
+horrible mass of putridity landed from the tanks of a Greenland
+whaler at the termination of a cruise.  For in those vessels, the
+fishing-time at their disposal being so brief, they do not wait
+to boil down the blubber, but, chopping it into small pieces,
+pass it below as it is into tanks, to be rendered down by the
+oil-mills ashore on the ship's return.
+
+This first bowhead yielded us eighteen tuns of oil and a ton of
+baleen, which made the catch about equal in value to that of a
+seven-tun cachalot.  But the amount of labour and care necessary
+in order to thoroughly dry and cleanse the baleen was enormous;
+in fact, for months after we began the bowhead fishery there was
+almost always something being done with the wretched stuff--
+drying, scraping, etc.--which, as it was kept below, also
+necessitated hoisting it up on deck and getting it down again.
+
+After this beginning, it was again a considerable time before we
+sighted any more; but when we did, there were quite a number of
+them--enough to employ all the boats with one each.  I was out of
+the fun this time, being almost incapable of moving by reason of
+several boils on my legs--the result, I suppose, of a long
+abstinence from fresh vegetables, or anything to supply their
+place.
+
+As it happened, however, I lost no excitement by remaining on
+board; for while all the boats were away a large bowhead rose
+near the ship, evidently being harassed in some way by enemies,
+which I could not at first see.  He seemed quite unconscious of
+his proximity to the ship, though, and at last came so near that
+the whole performance was as visible as if it had been got up for
+my benefit.  Three "killers" were attacking him at once, like
+wolves worrying a bull, except that his motions were far less
+lively than those of any bull would have been.
+
+The "killer," or ORCA GLADIATOR, is a true whale, but, like the
+cachalot, has teeth.  He differs from that great cetacean,
+though, in a most important particular; i.e. by having a complete
+set in both upper and lower jaws, like any other carnivore.  For
+a carnivore indeed is he, the very wolf of the ocean, and
+enjoying, by reason of his extraordinary agility as well as
+comparative worthlessness commercially, complete immunity from
+attack by man.  By some authorities he is thought to be identical
+with the grampus, but whalers all consider the animals quite
+distinct.  Not having had very long acquaintance with them both,
+I cannot speak emphatically upon this difference of opinion; so
+far as personal observation goes, I agree with the whalers in
+believing that there is much variation both of habits and shape
+between them.
+
+But to return to the fight.  The first inkling I got of what was
+really going on was the leaping of a killer high into the air by
+the side of the whale, and descending upon the victim's broad,
+smooth back with a resounding crash.  I saw that the killer was
+provided with a pair of huge fins--one on his back, the other on
+his belly--which at first sight looked as if they were also
+weapons of offence.  A little observation convinced me that they
+were fins only.  Again and again the aggressor leaped into the
+air, falling each time on the whale's back, as if to beat him
+into submission.
+
+The sea around foamed and boiled like a cauldron, so that it was
+only occasional glimpses I was able to catch of the two killers,
+until presently the worried whale lifted his head clear out of
+the surrounding smother, revealing the two furies hanging--one on
+either side--to his lips, as if endeavouring to drag his mouth
+open--which I afterwards saw was their principal object, as
+whenever during the tumult I caught sight of them, they were
+still in the same position.  At last the tremendous and incessant
+blows, dealt by the most active member of the trio, seemed
+actually to have exhausted the immense vitality of the great
+bowhead, for he lay supine upon the surface.  Then the three
+joined their forces, and succeeded in dragging open his cavernous
+mouth, into which they freely entered, devouring his tongue.
+This, then, had been their sole object, for as soon as they had
+finished their barbarous feast they departed, leaving him
+helpless and dying to fall an easy prey to our returning boats.
+
+Thus, although the four whales captured by the boats had been but
+small, the day's take, augmented by so great a find, was a large
+one, and it was a long time before we got clear of the work it
+entailed.
+
+From that time forward we saw no whales for six weeks, and, from
+the reports we received from two whalers we "gammed," it appeared
+that we might consider ourselves most fortunate in our catch,
+since they, who had been longer on the ground than ourselves, had
+only one whale apiece.
+
+In consequence of this information, Captain Slocum decided to go
+south again, and resume the sperm whaling in the North Pacific,
+near the line--at least so the rumour ran; but as we never heard
+anything definitely, we could not feel at all certain of our next
+destination.
+
+Ever since the fracas at the Bonins between Goliath and his
+watch, the relations between Captain Slocum and the big negro had
+been very strained.  Even before the outbreak, as I have remarked
+upon one occasion, it was noticeable that little love was lost
+between them. Why this was so, without anything definite to guide
+one's reasoning, was difficult to understand, for a better seaman
+or a smarter whaleman than Mistah Jones did not live--of that
+every one was quite sure.  Still, there was no gainsaying the
+fact that, churlish and morose as our skipper's normal temper
+always was, he was never so much so as in his behaviour towards
+his able fourth mate, who, being a man of fine, sensitive temper,
+chafed under his unmerited treatment so much as to lose flesh,
+becoming daily more silent, nervous, and depressed.  Still, there
+had never been an open rupture, nor did it appear as if there
+would be, so great was the power Captain Slocum possessed over
+the will of everybody on board.
+
+One night, however, as we were nearing the Kuriles again, on our
+way south, leaving the Sea of Okhotsk, I was sitting on the fore
+side of the try-works alone, meditating upon what I would do when
+once I got clear of this miserable business.  Futile and foolish,
+no doubt, my speculations were, but only in this way could I
+forget for a while my surroundings, since the inestimable comfort
+of reading was denied me.  I had been sitting thus absorbed in
+thought for nearly an hour, when Goliath came and seated himself
+by my side.  We had always been great friends, although, owing to
+the strict discipline maintained on board, it was not often we
+got a chance for a "wee bit crack," as the Scotch say.  Besides,
+I was not in his watch, and even now he should rightly have been
+below.  He sat for a minute or two silent; then, as if compelled
+to speak, he began in low, fierce whispers to tell me of his
+miserable state of mind.  At last, after recapitulating many
+slights and insults he had received silently from the captain, of
+which I had previously known nothing, he became strangely calm.
+In tones quite unlike his usual voice, he said that he was not an
+American-born negro, but a pure African, who had been enslaved in
+his infancy, with his mother, somewhere in the "Hinterland" of
+Guinea.  While still a child, his mother escaped with him into
+Liberia, a where he had remained till her death, She was,
+according to him, an Obeah woman of great power, venerated
+exceedingly by her own people for her prophetic abilities.
+Before her death, she had told him that he would die suddenly,
+violently, in a struggle with a white man in a far-off country,
+but that the white man would die too by his hand.  She had also
+told him that he would be a great traveller and hunter upon the
+sea.  As he went on, his speech became almost unintelligible,
+being mingled with fragments of a language I had never heard
+before; moreover, he spoke as a man who is only half awake.  A
+strange terror got hold of me, for I began to think he was going
+mad, and perhaps about to run a-mok, as the Malays do when driven
+frantic by the infliction of real or fancied wrongs.
+
+But he gradually returned to his old self, to my great relief,
+and I ventured somewhat timidly to remind him of the esteem in
+which he was held by all hands; even the skipper, I ventured to
+say, respected him, although, from some detestable form of ill-
+humour, he had chosen to be so sneering and insulting towards
+him.  He shook his head sadly, and said, "My dear boy, youse de
+only man aboard dis ship--wite man, dat is--dat don't hate an'
+despise me becawse ob my colour, wich I cain't he'p; an' de God
+you beliebe in bless you fer dat.  As fer me, w'at I done tole
+you's true,'n befo' bery little w'ile you see it COME true.  'N
+w'en DAT happens w'at's gwine ter happen, I'se real glad to tink
+it gwine ter be better fer you--gwine ter be better fer eberybody
+'bord de CACH'LOT; but I doan keer nuffin 'bout anybody else.  So
+long."  He held out his great black hand, and shook mine
+heartily, while a big tear rolled down his face and fell on the
+deck.  And with that he left me a prey to a very whirlpool of
+conflicting thoughts and fears.
+
+The night was a long and weary one--longer and drearier perhaps
+because of the absence of the darkness, which always made it
+harder to sleep.  An incessant day soon becomes, to those
+accustomed to the relief of the night, a burden grievous to be
+borne; and although use can reconcile us to most things, and does
+make even the persistent light bearable, in times of mental
+distress or great physical weariness one feels irresistibly moved
+to cry earnestly, "Come, gentle night."
+
+When I came on deck at eight bells, it was a stark calm.  The
+watch, under Mistah Jones' direction, were busy scrubbing decks
+with the usual thoroughness, while the captain, bare-footed, with
+trouser-legs and shirt-sleeves rolled up, his hands on his hips
+and a portentous frown on his brow, was closely looking on.  As
+it was my spell at the crow's-nest, I made at once for the main-
+rigging, and had got halfway to the top, when some unusual sounds
+below arrested me.
+
+All hands were gathered in the waist, a not unusual thing at the
+changing of the watch.  In the midst of them, as I looked down,
+two men came together in a fierce struggle.  They were Goliath
+and the skipper.  Captain Slocum's right hand went naturally to
+his hip pocket, where he always carried a revolver; but before he
+could draw it, the long, black arms of his adversary wrapped
+around him, making him helpless as a babe.  Then, with a rush
+that sent every one flying out of his way, Goliath hurled himself
+at the bulwarks, which were low, the top of the rail about
+thirty-three inches from the deck.  The two bodies struck the
+rail with a heavy thud, instantly toppling overboard.  That broke
+the spell that bound everybody, so that there was an
+instantaneous rush to the side.  Only a hardly noticeable ripple
+remained on the surface of the placid sea.
+
+But, from my lofty perch, the whole of the ghastly struggle had
+been visible to the least detail.  The two men had struck the
+water locked in closest embrace, which relaxed not even when far
+below the surface.  When the sea is perfectly smooth, objects are
+visible from aloft at several feet depth, though apparently
+diminished in size.  The last thing I saw was Captain Slocum's
+white face, with its starting black eyes looking their last upon
+the huge, indefinite hull of the ship whose occupants he had
+ruled so long and rigidly.
+
+The whole tragedy occupied such a brief moment of time that it
+was almost impossible to realize that it was actual.  Reason,
+however, soon regained her position among the officers, who
+ordered the closest watch to be kept from aloft, in case of the
+rising of either or both of the men.  A couple of boats were
+swung, ready to drop on the instant.  But, as if to crown the
+tragedy with completeness, a heavy squall, which had risen
+unnoticed, suddenly burst upon the ship with great fury, the
+lashing hail and rain utterly obscuring vision even for a few
+yards.  So unexpected was the onset of this squall that, for the
+only time that voyage, we lost some canvas through not being able
+to get it in quick enough.  The topgallant halyards were let go;
+but while the sails were being clewed up, the fierce wind
+following the rain caught them from their confining gear, rending
+them into a thousand shreds.  For an hour the squall raged--a
+tempest in brief--then swept away to the south-east on its
+furious journey, leaving peace again.  Needless perhaps to say,
+that after such a squall it was hopeless to look for our missing
+ones.  The sudden storm had certainly driven us several miles
+away front the spot where they disappeared, and, although we
+carefully made what haste was possible back along the line we
+were supposed to have come, not a vestige of hope was in any
+one's mind that we should ever see them again.
+
+Nor did we.  Whether that madness, which I had feared was coming
+upon Goliath during our previous night's conversation, suddenly
+overpowered him and impelled him to commit the horrible deed,
+what more had passed between him and the skipper to even faintly
+justify so awful a retaliation--these things were now matters of
+purest speculation.  As if they had never been, the two men were
+blotted out--gone before God in full-blown heat of murder and
+revengeful fury.
+
+On the same evening Mr. Count mustered all hands on the quarter-
+deck, and addressed us thus:  "Men, Captain Slocum is dead, and,
+as a consequence, I command the ship.  Behave yourself like men,
+not presuming upon kindness or imagining that I am a weak,
+vacillating old man with whom you can do as you like, and you
+will find in me a skipper who will do his duty by you as far as
+lies in his power, nor expect more from you than you ought to
+render.  If, however, you DO try any tricks, remember that I am
+an old hand, equal to most of the games that men get up to.  I do
+want--if you will help me--to make this a comfortable as well as
+a successful ship.  I hope with all my heart we shall succeed."
+
+In answer to this manly and affecting little speech, which
+confirmed my previous estimate of Captain Count's character, were
+he but free to follow the bent of his natural, kindly
+inclinations, and which I have endeavoured to translate out of
+his usual dialect, a hearty cheer was raised by all hands, the
+first ebullition of general good feeling manifested throughout
+the voyage.  Hearts rose joyfully at the prospect of comfort to
+be gained by thoughtfulness on the part of the commander; nor
+from that time forward did any sign of weariness of the ship or
+voyage show itself among us, either on deck or below.
+
+The news soon spread among us that, in consequence of the various
+losses of boats and gear, the captain deemed it necessary to make
+for Honolulu, where fresh supplies could readily be obtained.  We
+had heard many glowing accounts from visitors, when "gamming," of
+the delights of this well-known port of call for whalers, and
+under our new commander we had little doubt that we should be
+allowed considerable liberty during our stay.  So we were quite
+impatient to get along fretting considerably at the persistent
+fogs which prevented our making much progress while in the
+vicinity of the Kuriles.  But we saw no more bowheads, for which
+none of us forward were at all sorry.  We had got very tired of
+the stink of their blubber, and the never-ending worry connected
+with the preservation of the baleen; besides, we had not yet
+accumulated any fund of enthusiasm about getting a full ship,
+except as a reason for shortening the voyage, and we quite
+understood that what black oil we had got would be landed at
+Hawaii, so that our visit to the Okhotsk Sea, with its resultant
+store of oil, had not really brought our return home any nearer,
+as we at first hoped it would.
+
+A great surprise was in store for me.  I knew that Captain Count
+was favourably inclined towards me, for he had himself told me
+so, but nothing was further from my thoughts than promotion.
+However, one Sunday afternoon, when we were all peacefully
+enjoying the unusual rest (we had no Sundays in Captain Slocum's
+time), the captain sent for me.  He informed me that, after
+mature consideration, he had chosen me to fill the vacancy made
+by the death of Mistah Jones.  Mr. Cruce was now mate; the
+waspish little third had become second; Louis Silva, the
+captain's favourite harpooner was third; and I was to be fourth.
+Not feeling at all sure of how the other harpooners would take my
+stepping over their heads, I respectfully demurred to the
+compliment offered me, stating my reasons.  But the captain said
+he had fully made up his mind, after consultation with the other
+officers, and that I need have no apprehension on the score of
+the harpooners' jealousy; that they had been spoken to on the
+subject, and they were all agreed that the captain's choice was
+the best, especially as none of them knew anything of navigation,
+or could write their own names.
+
+In consequence of there being none of the crew fit to take a
+harpooner's place, I was now really harpooner of the captain's
+boat, which he would continue to work, when necessary, until we
+were able to ship a harpooner, which he hoped to do at Hawaii.
+
+The news of my promotion was received in grim silence by the
+Portuguese forward, but the white men all seemed pleased.  This
+was highly gratifying to me, for I had tried my best to be
+helpful to all, as far as my limited abilities would let me; nor
+do I think I had an enemy in the ship.  Behold me, then, a full-
+blown "mister," with a definite substantial increase in my
+prospects of pay of nearly one-third, in addition to many other
+advantages, which, under the new captain, promised exceedingly
+well.
+
+More than half the voyage lay behind us, looking like the fast-
+settling bank of storm-clouds hovering above the tempest-tossed
+sea so lately passed, while ahead the bright horizon was full of
+promise of fine weather for the remainder of the journey.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+VISIT TO HONOLULU
+
+Right glad were we all when, after much fumbling and box-hauling
+about, we once more felt the long, familiar roll of the Pacific
+swell, and saw the dim fastnesses of the smoky islands fading
+into the lowering gloom astern.  Most deep-water sailors are
+familiar, by report if not by actual contact, with the beauties
+of the Pacific islands, and I had often longed to visit them to
+see for myself whether the half that had been told me was true.
+Of course, to a great number of seafaring men, the loveliness of
+those regions counts for nothing, their desirability being
+founded upon the frequent opportunities of unlimited indulgence
+in debauchery.  To such men, a "missionary" island is a howling
+wilderness, and the missionaries themselves the subjects of the
+vilest abuse as well as the most boundless lying.
+
+No one who has travelled with his eyes open would assert that all
+missionaries were wise, prudent, or even godly men; while it is a
+great deal to be regretted that so much is made of hardships
+which in a large proportion of cases do not exist, the men who
+are supposed to be enduring them being immensely better off and
+more comfortable than they would ever have been at home.
+Undoubtedly the pioneers of missionary enterprise had, almost
+without exception, to face dangers and miseries past telling, but
+that is the portion of pioneers in general.  In these days,
+however, the missionary's lot in Polynesia is not often a hard
+one, and in many cases it is infinitely to be preferred to a life
+among the very poor of our great cities.
+
+But when all has been said that can be said against the
+missionaries, the solid bastion of fact remains that, in
+consequence of their labours, the whole vile character of the
+populations of the Pacific has been changed, and where wickedness
+runs riot to-day, it is due largely to the hindrances placed in
+the way of the noble efforts of the missionaries by the
+unmitigated scoundrels who vilify them.  The task of spreading
+Christianity would not, after all, be so difficult were it not
+for the efforts of those apostles of the devil to keep the
+islands as they would like them to be--places where lust runs
+riot day and night, murder may be done with impunity, slavery
+flourishes, and all evil may be indulged in free from law, order,
+or restraint.
+
+It speaks volumes for the inherent might of the Gospel that, in
+spite of the object-lessons continually provided for the natives
+by white men of the negation of all good, that it has stricken
+its roots so deeply into the soil of the Pacific islands.  Just
+as the best proof of the reality of the Gospel here in England is
+that it survives the incessant assaults upon it from within by
+its professors, by those who are paid, and highly paid, to
+propagate it, by the side of whose deadly doings the efforts of
+so-called infidels are but as the battery of a summer breeze; so
+in Polynesia, were not the principles of Christianity vital with
+an immortal and divine life, missionary efforts might long ago
+have ceased in utter despair at the fruitlessness of the field.
+
+We were enjoying a most uneventful passage, free from any
+serious changes either of wind or weather which quiet time was
+utilised to the utmost in making many much-needed additions to
+the running-gear, repairing rigging, etc.  Any work involving the
+use of new material had been put off from time to time during the
+previous part of the voyage till the ship aloft was really in a
+dangerous condition.  This was due entirely to the peculiar
+parsimony of our late skipper, who could scarcely bring himself
+to broach a coil of rope, except for whaling purposes.  The same
+false economy had prevailed with regard to paint and varnish, so
+that the vessel, while spotlessly clean, presented a worn-out
+weather-beaten appearance.  Now, while the condition of life on
+board was totally different to what it had been, as regards
+comfort and peace, discipline and order were maintained at the
+same high level as always, though by a different method--in fact,
+I believe that a great deal more work was actually done,
+certainly much more that was useful and productive; for Captain
+Count hated, as much as any foremast hand among us, the constant,
+remorseless grind of iron-work polishing, paint-work scrubbing,
+and holystoning, all of which, though necessary in a certain
+degree, when kept up continually for the sole purpose of making
+work--a sort of elaborated tread-mill, in fact--becomes the
+refinement of cruelty to underfed, unpaid, and hopeless men.
+
+So, while the CACHALOT could have fearlessly challenged
+comparison with any ship afloat for cleanliness and neatness of
+appearance, the hands no longer felt that they were continually
+being "worked up" or "hazed" for the sole, diabolical
+satisfaction of keeping them "at it."  Of course, the incidence
+of the work was divided, since so many of the crew were quite
+unable to do any sailorizing, as we term work in sails and
+rigging.  Upon them, then, fell all the common labour, which can
+be done by any unskilled man or woman afloat or ashore.
+
+Of this work a sailor's duties are largely made up, but when good
+people ashore wonder "whatever sailors do with their time," it
+would be useful for them to remember that a ship is a huge and
+complicated machine, needing constant repairs, which can only be
+efficiently performed by skilled workmen.  An "A.B." or able
+seaman's duties are legally supposed to be defined by the three
+expressions, "hand, reef, and steer."  If he can do those three
+things, which mean furling or making fast sails, reefing them,
+and steering the ship, his wages cannot be reduced for
+incompetency.  Yet these things are the A B C of seamanship only.
+A good SEAMAN is able to make all the various knots, splices, and
+other arrangements in hempen or wire rope, without which a ship
+cannot be rigged; he can make a sail, send up or down yards and
+masts, and do many other things, the sum total of which need
+several years of steady application to learn, although a good
+seaman is ever learning.
+
+Such seamen are fast becoming extinct.  They are almost totally
+unnecessary in steamships, except when the engines break down in
+a gale of wind, and the crowd of navvies forming the crew stand
+looking at one another when called upon to set sail or do any
+other job aloft. THEN the want of seamen is rather severely felt.
+But even in sailing ships--the great, overgrown tanks of two
+thousand tons and upwards--mechanical genius has utilized iron to
+such an extent in their rigging that sailor-work has become very
+largely a matter of blacksmithing.  I make no complaint of this,
+not believing that the "old was better;" but, since the strongest
+fabric of man's invention comes to grief sometimes in conflict
+with the irresistible sea, some provision should be made for
+having a sufficiency of seamen who could exercise their skill in
+refitting a dismasted ship, or temporarily replacing broken
+blacksmith work by old-fashioned rope and wood.
+
+But, as the sailing ship is doomed inevitably to disappear before
+steam, perhaps it does not matter much.  The economic march of
+the world's progress will never be stayed by sentimental
+considerations, nor will all the romance and poetry in the world
+save the seaman from extinction, if his place can be more
+profitably filled by the engineer.  From all appearances, it soon
+will be, for even now marine superintendents of big lines are
+sometimes engineers, and in their hands lie the duty of engaging
+the officers.  It would really seem as if the ship of the near
+future would be governed by the chief engineer, under whose
+direction a pilot or sailing-master would do the necessary
+navigation, without power to interfere in any matter of the
+ship's economy.  Changes as great have taken place in other
+professions; seafaring cannot hope to be the sole exception.
+
+So, edging comfortably along, we gradually neared the Sandwich
+Islands without having seen a single spout worth watching since
+the tragedy.  At last the lofty summits of the island mountains
+hove in sight, and presently we came to an anchor in that
+paradise of whalers, missionaries, and amateur statesmen--
+Honolulu.  As it is as well known to most reading people as our
+own ports--better perhaps--I shall not attempt to describe it, or
+pit myself against the able writers who have made it so familiar.
+Yet to me it was a new world.  All things were so strange, so
+delightful, especially the lovable, lazy, fascinating Kanakas,
+who could be so limply happy over a dish of poe, or a green
+cocoa-nut, or even a lounge in the sun, that it seemed an outrage
+to expect them to work.  In their sports they could be energetic
+enough.  I do not know of any more delightful sight than to watch
+them bathing in the tremendous surf, simply intoxicated with the
+joy of living, as unconscious of danger as if swinging in a
+hammock while riding triumphantly upon the foaming summit of an
+incoming breaker twenty feet high, or plunging with a cataract
+over the dizzy edge of its cliff, swallowed up in the hissing
+vortex below, only to reappear with a scream of riotous laughter
+in the quiet eddy beyond.
+
+As far as I could judge, they were the happiest of people,
+literally taking no thought for the morrow, and content with the
+barest necessaries of life, so long as they were free and the sun
+shone brightly.  We had many opportunities of cultivating their
+acquaintance, for the captain allowed us much liberty, quite one-
+half of the crew and officers being ashore most of the time.  Of
+course, the majority spent all their spare time in the purlieus
+of the town, which, like all such places anywhere, were foul and
+filthy enough; but that was their own faults.  I have often
+wondered much to see men, who on board ship were the pink of
+cleanliness and neatness, fastidious to a fault in all they did,
+come ashore and huddle in the most horrible of kennels, among the
+very dregs and greaves of the 'long-shore district.  It certainly
+wants a great deal of explanation; but I suppose the most potent
+reason is, that sailors, as a class, never learn to enjoy
+themselves rationally.  They are also morbidly suspicions of
+being taken in hand by anybody who would show them anything worth
+seeing, preferring to be led by the human sharks that infest all
+seaports into ways of strange nastiness, and so expensive withal
+that one night of such wallowing often costs them more than a
+month's sane recreation and good food would.  All honour to the
+devoted men and women who labour in our seaports for the moral
+and material benefit of the sailor, passing their lives amidst
+sights and sounds shocking and sickening to the last degree,
+reviled, unthanked, unpaid.  Few are the missionaries abroad
+whose lot is so hard as theirs.
+
+We spent ten happy days in Honolulu, marred only by one or two
+drunken rows among the chaps forward, which, however, resulted in
+their getting a severe dressing down in the forecastle, where
+good order was now kept.  There had been no need for interference
+on the part of the officers, which I was glad to see, remembering
+what would have happened under such circumstances not long ago.
+Being short-handed, the captain engaged a number of friendly
+islanders for a limited period, on the understanding that they
+were to be discharged at their native place, Vau Vau.  There were
+ten of them, fine stalwart fellows, able bodied and willing as
+possible.  They were cleanly in their habits, and devout members
+of the Wesleyan body, so that their behaviour was quite a
+reproach to some of our half-civilized crew.  Berths were found
+for them in the forecastle, and they took their places among us
+quite naturally, being fairly well used to a whale-ship.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+ON THE "LINE" GROUNDS
+
+We weighed at last, one morning, with a beautiful breeze, and,
+bidding a long farewell to the lovely isles and their amiable
+inhabitants, stood at sea, bound for the "line" or equatorial
+grounds on our legitimate business of sperm whaling.  It was now
+a long while since we had been in contact with a cachalot, the
+last one having been killed by us on the Coast of Japan some six
+months before.  But we all looked forward to the coming campaign
+with considerable joy, for we were now a happy family, interested
+in the work, and, best of all, even if the time was still
+distant, we were, in a sense, homeward bound.  At any rate, we
+all chose so to think, from the circumstance that we were now
+working to the southward, towards Cape Horn, the rounding of
+which dreaded point would mark the final stage of our globe-
+encircling voyage.
+
+We had, during our stay at Honolulu, obtained a couple of grand
+boats in addition to our stock, and were now in a position to man
+and lower five at once, if occasion should arise, still leaving
+sufficient crew on board to work the vessel.  The captain had
+also engaged an elderly seaman of his acquaintance--out of pure
+philanthropy, as we all thought, since he was in a state of semi-
+starvation ashore--to act as a kind of sailing-master, so as to
+relieve the captain of ship duty at whaling time, allowing him
+still to head his boat.  This was not altogether welcome news to
+me, for, much as I liked the old man and admired his pluck, I
+could not help dreading his utter recklessness when on a whale,
+which had so often led to a smash-up that might have been easily
+avoided.  Moreover, I reasoned that if he had been foolhardy
+before, he was likely to be much more so now, having no superior
+to look black or use language when a disaster occurred.  For now
+I was his harpooner, bound to take as many risks as he chose to
+incur, and anxious also to earn a reputation among the more
+seasoned whalemen for smartness sufficient to justify my
+promotion.
+
+The Kanakas shipped at Honolulu were distributed among the boats,
+two to each, being already trained whalemen, and a fine lot of
+fellows they were.  My two--Samuela and Polly--were not very big
+men, but sturdy, nimble as cats, as much at home in the water as
+on deck, and simply bubbling over with fun and good-humour. From
+my earliest sea-going, I have always had a strong liking for
+natives of tropical countries, finding them affectionate and
+amenable to kindness.  Why, I think, white men do not get on with
+darkies well, as a rule, is, that they seldom make an appeal to
+the MAN, in them.  It is very degrading to find one's self looked
+down upon as a sort of animal without reason or feelings; and if
+you degrade a man, you deprive him of any incentive to make
+himself useful, except the brute one you may feel bound to apply
+yourself.  My experience has been limited to Africans (of sorts),
+Kanakas, natives of Hindostan, Malagasy, and Chinese; but with
+all these I have found a little COMARADERIE answer excellently.
+True, they are lazy; but what inducement have they to work?  The
+complicated needs of our civilized existence compel US to work,
+or be run over by the unresting machine; but I take leave to
+doubt whether any of us with a primitive environment would not be
+as lazy as any Kanaka that ever dozed under a banana tree through
+daylight hours.  Why, then, make an exalted virtue of the
+necessity which drives us, and objurgate the poor black man
+because he prefers present ease to a doubtful prospective
+retirement on a competency?  Australian blackfellows and Malays
+are said to be impervious to kind treatment by a great number of
+witnesses, the former appearing incapable of gratitude, and the
+latter unable to resist the frequent temptation to kill somebody.
+Not knowing anything personally of either of these races, I can
+say nothing for or against them.
+
+All the coloured individuals that I have had to do with have
+amply repaid any little kindness shown them with fidelity and
+affection, but especially has this been the case with Kanakas,
+The soft and melodious language spoken by them is easy to
+acquire, and is so pleasant to speak that it is well worth
+learning, to say nothing of the convenience to yourself, although
+the Kanaka speedily picks up the mutilated jargon which does duty
+for English on board ship.
+
+What I specially longed for now was a harpooner, or even two, so
+that I might have my boat to myself, the captain taking his own
+boat with a settled harpooner.  Samuela, the biggest of my two
+Kanakas, very earnestly informed me that he was no end of a
+"number one" whale slaughterer; but I judged it best to see how
+things went before asking to have him promoted.  My chance, and
+his, came very promptly; so nicely arranged, too, that I could
+not have wished for anything better.  The skipper had got a fine,
+healthy boil on one knee-cap, and another on his wrist, so that
+he was, as you may say, HORS DE COMBAT.  While he was impatiently
+waiting to get about once more, sperm whales were raised.
+Although nearly frantic with annoyance, he was compelled to leave
+the direction of things to Mr. Cruce, who was quite puffed up
+with the importance of his opportunity.
+
+Such a nice little school of cow-whales, a lovely breeze, clear
+sky, warm weather--I felt as gay as a lark at the prospect.  As
+we were reaching to windward, with all boats ready for lowering,
+the skipper called me aft and said, "Naow, Mr. Bullen, I cain't
+lower, because of this condemned leg'n arm of mine; but how'r yew
+goin' ter manage 'thout a harpooneer?" I suggested that if he
+would allow me to try Samuela, who was suffering for a chance to
+distinguish himself, we would "come out on top."  "All right," he
+said; "but let the other boats get fast first, 'n doan be in too
+much of a hurry to tie yerself up till ya see what's doin'.  If
+everythin's goin' bizness-fashion', 'n yew git a chance, sail
+right in; yew got ter begin some time.  But ef thet Kanaka looks
+skeered goin' on, take the iron frum him ter onct."  I promised,
+and the interview ended.
+
+When I told Samuela, of his chance, he was beside himself with
+joy.  As to his being scared, the idea was manifestly absurd.  He
+was as pleased with the prospect as it was possible for a man to
+be, and hardly able to contain himself for impatience to be off.
+I almost envied him his exuberant delight, for a sense of
+responsibility began to weigh upon me with somewhat depressing
+effect.
+
+We gained a good weather-gage, rounded to, and lowered four
+boats.  Getting away in good style, we had barely got the sails
+up, when something gallied the school.  We saw or heard nothing
+to account for it, but undoubtedly the "fish" were off at top
+speed dead to windward, so that our sails were of no use.  We had
+them in with as little delay as possible, and lay to our oars for
+all we were worth, being fresh and strong, as well as anxious to
+get amongst them.  But I fancy all our efforts would have availed
+us little had it not been for the experience of Mr. Cruce, whose
+eager eye detected the fact that the fish were running on a great
+curve, and shaped our course to cut them off along a chord of the
+arc.
+
+Two and a half hours of energetic work was required of us before
+we got on terms with the fleeing monsters; but at last, to our
+great joy, they broke water from sounding right among us.  It was
+a considerable surprise, but we were all ready, and before they
+had spouted twice, three boats were fast, only myself keeping
+out, in accordance with my instructions.  Samuela was almost
+distraught with rage and grief at the condition of things.  I
+quite pitied him, although I was anything but pleased myself.
+However, when I ranged up alongside the mate's fish, to render
+what assistance was needed, he shouted to me, "We's all right;
+go'n git fas', if yew kin."  That was enough, and away we flew
+after a retreating spout to leeward.  Before we got there,
+though, there was an upheaval in the water just ahead, and up
+came a back like a keelless ship bottom up.  Out came the head
+belonging to it, and a spout like an explosion burst forth,
+denoting the presence of an enormous bull-cachalot.  Close by his
+side was a cow of about one-third his size, the favoured sultana
+of his harem, I suppose.  Prudence whispered, "Go for the cow;"
+ambition hissed, "All or none--the bull, the bull."  Fortunately
+emergencies of this kind leave one but a second or two to decide,
+as a rule; in this case, as it happened, I was spared even that
+mental conflict, for as we ran up between the two vast creatures,
+Samuela, never even looking at the cow, hurled his harpoon, with
+all the energy that he had been bursting with so long, at the
+mighty bull.  I watched its flight--saw it enter the black mass
+and disappear to the shaft, and almost immediately came the
+second iron, within a foot of the first, burying itself in the
+same solid fashion.
+
+"Starn--starn all!"  I shouted; and we backed slowly away,
+considerably hampered by the persistent attentions of the cow,
+who hung round us closely.  The temptation to lance her was
+certainly great, but I remembered the fate that had overtaken the
+skipper on the first occasion we struck whales, and did not
+meddle with her ladyship.  Our prey was not apparently disposed
+to kick up much fuss at first, so, anxious to settle matters, I
+changed ends with Samuela, and pulled in on the whale.  A good,
+steady lance-thrust--the first I had ever delivered--was
+obtained, sending a thrill of triumph through my whole body.  The
+recipient, thoroughly roused by this, started off at a great
+lick, accompanied, somewhat to my surprise, by the cow.
+Thenceforward for another hour, in spite of all our efforts, we
+could not get within striking distance, mainly because of the
+close attention of the cow, which stuck to her lord like a calf
+to its mother.  I was getting so impatient of this hindrance,
+that it was all I could do to restrain myself from lancing the
+cow, though I felt convinced that, if I did, I should spoil a
+good job. Suddenly I caught sight of the ship right ahead.  We
+were still flying along, so that in a short time we were
+comparatively close to her.  My heart beat high and I burned to
+distinguish myself under the friendly and appreciative eye of the
+skipper.
+
+None of the other boats were in sight, from our level at least,
+so that I had a reasonable hope of being able to finish my game,
+with all the glory thereunto attaching, unshared by any other of
+my fellow-officers. As we ran quite closely past the ship,
+calling on the crew to haul up for all they were worth, we
+managed actually to squeeze past the cow, and I got in a really
+deadly blow.  The point of the lance entered just between the fin
+and the eye, but higher up, missing the broad plate of the
+shoulder-blade, and sinking its whole four feet over the hitches
+right down into the animal's vitals.  Then, for the first time,
+he threw up his flukes, thrashing them from side to side almost
+round to his head, and raising such a turmoil that we were half
+full of water in a moment.  But Samuela was so quick at the
+steer-oar, so lithe and forceful, and withal appeared so to
+anticipate every move of mine, that there seemed hardly any
+danger.
+
+After a few moments of this tremendous exertion, our victim
+settled down, leaving the water deeply stained with his gushing
+blood.  With him disappeared his constant companion, the faithful
+cow, who had never left his side a minute since we first got
+fast.  Down, down they went, until my line began to look very low,
+and I was compelled to make signals to the ship for more.  We had
+hardly elevated the oars, when down dropped the last boat with
+four men in her, arriving by my side in a few minutes with two
+fresh tubs of tow-line.  We took them on board, and the boat
+returned again.  By the time the slack came we had about four
+hundred and fifty fathoms out--a goodly heap to pile up loose in
+our stern-sheets.  I felt sure, however, that we should have but
+little more trouble with our fish; in fact, I was half afraid
+that he would die before getting to the surface, in which case he
+might sink and be lost.  We hauled steadily away, the line not
+coming in very easily, until I judged there was only about
+another hundred fathoms out.  Our amazement may be imagined, when
+suddenly we were compelled to sleek away again, the sudden weight
+on the line suggesting that the fish was again sounding.  If ever
+a young hand was perplexed, it was I.  Never before had I heard
+of such unseemly behaviour, nor was my anxiety lessened when I
+saw, a short distance away, the huge body of my prize at the
+surface spouting blood.  At the same time, I was paying out line
+at a good rate, as if I had a fast fish on which was sounding
+briskly.
+
+The skipper had been watching me very closely from his seat on
+the taffrail, and had kept the ship within easy distance.  Now,
+suspecting something out of the common, he sent the boat again to
+my assistance, in charge of the cooper.  When that worthy
+arrived, he said, "Th' ol' man reckens yew've got snarled erp'ith
+thet ar' loose keow, 'n y'r irons hev draw'd from th' other.  I'm
+gwine ter wait on him,'n get him 'longside 'soon's he's out'er
+his flurry.  Ole man sez yew'd best wait on what's fast t' yer
+an' nev' mine th' other."  Away he went, reaching my prize just
+as the last feeble spout exhaled, leaving the dregs of that great
+flood of life trickling lazily down from the widely expanded
+spiracle.  To drive a harpoon into the carcass, and run the line
+on board, was the simplest of jobs, for, as the captain had
+foreseen, my irons were drawn clean.  I had no leisure to take
+any notice of them now, though, for whatever was on my line was
+coming up hand-over-fist.
+
+With a bound it reached the surface--the identical cow so long
+attendant upon the dead whale.  Having been so long below for
+such a small whale, she was quite exhausted, and before she had
+recovered we had got alongside of her and lanced her, so
+thoroughly that she died without a struggle.  The ship was so
+close that we had her alongside in a wonderfully short time, and
+with scarcely any trouble.
+
+When I reached the deck, the skipper called me, and said several
+things that made me feel about six inches taller.  He was, as may
+be thought, exceedingly pleased, saying that only once in his
+long career had he seen a similar case; for I forgot to mention
+that the line was entangled around the cow's down-hanging jaw, as
+if she had actually tried to bite in two the rope that held her
+consort, and only succeeded in sharing his fate.  I would not
+like to say that whales do not try to thus sever a line, but,
+their teeth being several inches apart, conical, and fitting into
+sockets in the upper jaw instead of meeting the opposed surfaces
+of other teeth, the accomplishment of such a feat must, I think,
+be impossible.
+
+The ship being now as good as anchored by the vast mass of flesh
+hanging to her, there was a tremendous task awaiting us to get
+the other fish alongside.  Of course they were all to windward;
+they nearly always are, unless the ship is persistently "turned
+to windward" while the fishing is going on.  Whalers believe that
+they always work up into the wind while fast, and, when dead, it
+is certain that they drift at a pretty good rate right in the
+"wind's eye."  This is accounted for by the play of the body,
+which naturally lies head to wind; and the wash of the flukes,
+which, acting somewhat like the "sculling" of an oar at the stern
+of a boat, propel the carcass in the direction it is pointing,
+Consequently we had a cruel amount of towing to do before we got
+the three cows alongside.  Many a time we blessed ourselves that
+they were no bigger, for of all the clumsy things to tow with
+boats, a sperm whale is about the worst.  Owing to the great
+square mass of the head, they can hardly be towed head-on at all,
+the practice being to cut off the tips of the flukes, and tow
+them tail first.  But even then it is slavery.  To dip your oar
+about three times in the same hole from whence you withdrew it,
+to tug at it with all your might, apparently making as much
+progress as though you were fast to a dock-wall, and to continue
+this fun for four or five hours at a stretch, is to wonder indeed
+whether you have not mistaken your vocation.
+
+However, "it's dogged as does it," so by dint of sheer sticking
+to the oar, we eventually succeeded in getting all our prizes
+alongside before eight bells that evening, securing them around
+us by hawsers to the cows, but giving the big bull the post of
+honour alongside on the best fluke-chain.
+
+We were a busy company for a fortnight thence, until the last of
+the oil was run below--two hundred and fifty barrels, or twenty-
+five tuns, of the valuable fluid having rewarded our exertions.
+During these operations we had drifted night and day, apparently
+without anybody taking the slightest account of the direction we
+were taking; when, therefore, on the day after clearing up the
+last traces of our fishing, the cry of "Land ho!"  came ringing
+down from the crow's-nest, no one was surprised, although the
+part of the Pacific in which we were cruising has but few patches
+of TERRA FIRMA scattered about over its immense area when
+compared with the crowded archipelagoes lying farther south and
+east.
+
+We could not see the reported land from the deck for two hours
+after it was first seen from aloft, although the odd spectacle of
+a scattered group of cocoa-nut trees apparently growing out of
+the sea was for some time presented to us before the island
+itself came into view.  It was Christmas Island, where the
+indefatigable Captain Cook landed on December 24, 1777, for the
+purpose of making accurate observations of an eclipse of the sun.
+He it was who gave to this lonely atoll the name it has ever
+since borne, with characteristic modesty giving his own great
+name to a tiny patch of coral which almost blocks the entrance to
+the central lagoon. Here we lay "off and on" for a couple of
+days, while foraging parties went ashore, returning at intervals
+with abundance of turtle and sea-fowls' eggs.  But any detailed
+account of their proceedings must be ruthlessly curtailed, owing
+to the scanty limits of space remaining.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+EDGING SOUTHWARD
+
+The line whaling grounds embrace an exceedingly extensive area,
+over the whole of which sperm whales may be found, generally of
+medium size.  No means of estimating the probable plenty or
+scarcity of them in any given part of the grounds exist, so that
+falling in with them is purely a matter of coincidence.  To me it
+seems a conclusive proof of the enormous numbers of sperm whales
+frequenting certain large breadths of ocean, that they should be
+so often fallen in with, remembering what a little spot is
+represented by a day's cruise, and that the signs which denote
+almost infallibly the vicinity of right whales are entirely
+absent in the case of the cachalot.  In the narrow waters of the
+Greenland seas, with quite a small number of vessels seeking, it
+is hardly possible for a whale of any size to escape being seen;
+but in the open ocean a goodly fleet may cruise over a space of a
+hundred thousand square miles without meeting any of the whales
+that may yet be there in large numbers.  So that when one hears
+talk of the extinction of the cachalot, it is well to bear in
+mind that such a thing would take a long series of years to
+effect, even were the whaling business waxing instead of waning,
+While, however, South Sea whaling is conducted on such old-world
+methods as still obtain; while steam, with all the power it gives
+of rapidly dealing with a catch, is not made use of, the art and
+mystery of the whale-fisher must continually decrease.  No such
+valuable lubricant has ever been found as sperm oil; but the cost
+of its production, added to the precarious nature of the supply,
+so handicaps it in the competition with substitutes that it has
+been practically eliminated from the English markets, except in
+such greatly adulterated forms as to render it a lie to speak of
+the mixture as sperm oil at all.
+
+Except to a few whose minds to them are kingdoms, and others who
+can hardly be said to have any minds at all, the long monotony of
+unsuccessful seeking for whales is very wearying.  The ceaseless
+motion of the vessel rocking at the centre of a circular space of
+blue, with a perfectly symmetrical dome of azure enclosing her
+above, unflecked by a single cloud, becomes at last almost
+unbearable from its changeless sameness of environment.  Were it
+not for the trivial round and common task of everyday ship duty,
+some of the crew must become idiotic, or, in sheer rage at the
+want of interest in their lives, commit mutiny.
+
+Such a weary time was ours for full four weeks after sighting
+Christmas Island.  The fine haul we had obtained just previous to
+that day seemed to have exhausted our luck for the time being,
+for never a spout did we see. And it was with no ordinary delight
+that we hailed the advent of an immense school of black-fish, the
+first we had run across for a long time.  Determined to have a
+big catch, if possible, we lowered all five boats, as it was a
+beautifully calm day, and the ship might almost safely have been
+left to look after herself.  After what we had recently been
+accustomed to, the game seemed trifling to get up much excitement
+over; but still, for a good day's sport, commend me to a few
+lively black-fish.
+
+In less than ten minutes we were in the thick of the crowd, with
+harpoons flying right and left.  Such a scene of wild confusion
+and uproarious merriment ensued as I never saw before in my life.
+The skipper, true to his traditions, got fast to four, all
+running different ways at once, and making the calm sea boil
+again with their frantic gyrations.  Each of the other boats got
+hold of three; but, the mate getting too near me, our fish got so
+inextricably tangled up that it was hopeless to try and
+distinguish between each other's prizes.  However, when we got
+the lances to work among them, the hubbub calmed down greatly,
+and the big bodies one by one ceased their gambols, floating
+supine.
+
+So far, all had been gay; but the unlucky second mate must needs
+go and do a thing that spoiled a day's fun entirely.  The line
+runs through a deep groove in the boat's stem, over a brass
+roller so fitted that when the line is running out it remains
+fixed, but when hauling in it revolves freely, assisting the work
+a great deal.  The second mate had three fish fast, like the rest
+of us--the first one on the end of the main line, the other two
+on "short warps," or pieces of whale-line some eight or ten
+fathoms long fastened to harpoons, with the other ends running on
+the main line by means of bowlines round it.  By some mistake or
+other he had allowed the two lines to be hauled together through
+the groove in his boat's stem, and before the error was noticed
+two fish spurted off in opposite directions, ripping the boat in
+two halves lengthways, like a Dutchman splitting a salt herring.
+
+Away went the fish with the whole of the line, nobody being able
+to get at it to cut; and, but for the presence of mind shown by
+the crew in striking out and away from the tangle, a most ghastly
+misfortune, involving the loss of several lives, must have
+occurred.  As it was, the loss was considerable, almost
+outweighing the gain on the day's fishing, besides the
+inconvenience of having a boat useless on a whaling grounds.
+
+The accident was the fruit of gross carelessness, and should
+never have occurred; but then, strange to say, disasters to
+whale-boats are nearly always due to want of care, the percentage
+of unavoidable casualties being very small as compared with those
+like the one just related.  When the highly dangerous nature of
+the work is remembered, this statement may seem somewhat
+overdrawn; but it has been so frequently corroborated by others,
+whose experience far outweighs my own, that I do not hesitate to
+make it with the fullest confidence in its truth.
+
+Happily no lives were lost on this occasion, for it would have
+indeed been grievous to have seen our shipmates sacrificed to the
+MANES of a mere black-fish, after successfully encountering so
+many mighty whales.  The episode gave us a great deal of
+unnecessary work getting the two halves of the boat saved, in
+addition to securing our fish, so that by the time we got the
+twelve remaining carcasses hove on deck we were all quite fagged
+out.  But under the new regime we were sure of a good rest, so
+that did not trouble us; it rather made the lounge on deck in the
+balmy evening air and the well-filled pipe of peace doubly sweet.
+
+Our next day's work completed the skinning of the haul we had
+made, the last of the carcasses going overboard with a thunderous
+splash at four in the afternoon. The assemblage of sharks round
+the ship on this occasion was incredible for its number and the
+great size of the creatures.  Certainly no mariners see so many
+or such huge sharks as whalemen; but, in spite of all our
+previous experience, this day touched high-water mark.  Many of
+these fish were of a size undreamed of by the ordinary seafarer,
+some of them full thirty feet in length, more like whales than
+sharks.  Most of them were striped diagonally with bands of
+yellow, contrasting curiously with the dingy grey of their normal
+colour.  From this marking is derived their popular name--"tiger
+sharks," not, as might be supposed, from their ferocity.  That
+attribute cannot properly be applied to the SQUALUS at all, which
+is one of the most timid fish afloat, and whose ill name, as far
+as regards blood-thirstiness, is quite undeserved.  Rapacious the
+shark certainly is; but what sea-fish is not?  He is not at all
+particular as to his diet; but what sea-fish is? With such a
+great bulk of body, such enormous vitality and vigour to support,
+he must needs be ever eating; and since he is not constructed on
+swift enough lines to enable him to prey upon living fish, like
+most of his neighbours, he is perforce compelled to play the
+humble but useful part of a sea-scavenger.
+
+He eats man, as he eats anything else eatable because in the
+water man is easily caught, and not from natural depravity or an
+acquired taste begetting a decided preference for human flesh.
+All natives of shores infested by sharks despise him and his
+alleged man-eating propensities, knowing that a very feeble
+splashing will suffice to frighten him away even if ever so
+hungry.  Demerara River literally swarms with sharks, yet I have
+often seen a negro, clad only in a beaming smile, slip into its
+muddy waters, and, after a few sharp blows with his open hand
+upon the surface, calmly swim down to the bottom, clear a ship's
+anchor, or do whatever job was required, coming up again as
+leisurely as if in a swimming-bath.  A similar disregard of the
+dangerous attributes awarded by popular consent to the shark may
+be witnessed everywhere among the people who know him best.  The
+cruelties perpetrated upon sharks by seamen generally are the
+result of ignorance and superstition combined, the most infernal
+forces known to humanity.  What would be said at home of such an
+act, if it could be witnessed among us, as the disembowelling of
+a tiger, say, and then letting him run in that horrible condition
+somewhere remote from the possibility of retaliating upon his
+torturers?  Yet that is hardly comparable with a similar atrocity
+performed upon a shark, because he will live hours to the tiger's
+minutes in such a condition.
+
+I once caught a shark nine feet long, which we hauled on board
+and killed by cutting off its head and tail.  It died very
+speedily--for a shark--all muscular motion ceasing in less than
+fifteen minutes.  It was my intention to prepare that useless and
+unornamental article so dear to sailors--a walking-stick made of
+a shark's backbone.  But when I came to cut out the vertebra, I
+noticed a large scar, extending from one side to the other, right
+across the centre of the back. Beneath it the backbone was
+thickened to treble its normal size, and perfectly rigid; in
+fact, it had become a mass of solid bone.  At some time or other
+this shark had been harpooned so severely that, in wrenching
+himself free, he must have nearly torn his body in two halves,
+severing the spinal column completely.  Yet such a wound as that
+had been healed by natural process, the bone knit together again
+with many times the strength it had before--minus, of course, its
+flexibility--and I can testify from the experience of securing
+him that he could not possibly have been more vigorous than he
+was.
+
+A favourite practice used to be--I trust it is so no longer--to
+catch a shark, and, after driving a sharpened stake down through
+his upper jaw and out underneath the lower one, so that its upper
+portion pointed diagonally forward, to let him go again.  The
+consequence of this cruelty would be that the fish was unable to
+open his mouth, or go in any direction without immediately coming
+to the surface.  How long he might linger in such torture, one
+can only guess; but unless his fellows, finding him thus
+helpless, came along and kindly devoured him, no doubt he would
+exist in extreme agony for a very long time.
+
+Two more small cows were all that rewarded our search during the
+next fortnight, and we began to feel serious doubts as to the
+success of our season upon the line grounds, after all.  Still,
+on the whole, our voyage up to the present had not been what
+might fairly be called unsuccessful, for we were not yet two
+years away from New Bedford, while we had considerably more than
+two thousand barrels of oil on board--more, in fact, than two-
+thirds of a full cargo.  But if a whale were caught every other
+day for six months, and then a month elapsed without any being
+seen, grumbling would be loud and frequent, all the previous
+success being forgotten in the present stagnation.  Perhaps it is
+not so different in other professions nearer home?
+
+Christmas Day drew near, beloved of Englishmen all the world
+over, though thought little of by Americans.  The two previous
+ones spent on board the CACHALOT have been passed over without
+mention, absolutely no notice being taken of the season by any
+one on board, to all appearance.  In English ships some attempt
+is always made to give the day somewhat of a festive character,
+and to maintain the national tradition of good-cheer and goodwill
+in whatever part of the world you may happen to be.  For some
+reason or other, perhaps because of the great increase in
+comfort; we had all experienced lately, I felt the approach of
+the great Christian anniversary very strongly; although, had I
+been in London, I should probably have spent it in lonely gloom,
+having no relatives or friends whom I might visit.  But what of
+that?   Christmas is Christmas; and, if we have no home, we think
+of the place where our home should be; and whether, as cynics
+sneer, Dickens invented the English Christmas or not, its
+observance has taken deep root among us.  May its shadow never be
+less!
+
+On Christmas morning I mounted to the crow's-nest at daybreak,
+and stood looking with never-failing awe at the daily marvel of
+the sunrise.  Often and often have I felt choking for words to
+express the tumult of thoughts aroused by this sublime spectacle.
+Hanging there in cloudland, the tiny microcosm at one's feet
+forgotten, the grandeur of the celestial outlook is overwhelming.
+Many and many a time I have bowed my head and wept in pure
+reverence at the majesty manifested around me while the glory of
+the dawn increased and brightened, till with one exultant bound
+the sun appeared.
+
+For some time I stood gazing straight ahead of me with eyes that
+saw not, filled with wonder and admiration.  I must have been
+looking directly at the same spot for quite a quarter of an hour,
+when suddenly, as if I had but just opened my eyes, I saw the
+well-known bushy spout of a sperm whale.  I raised the usual
+yell, which rang through the stillness discordantly, startling
+all hands out of their lethargy like bees out of a hive.  After
+the usual preliminaries, we were all afloat with sails set,
+gliding slowly over the sleeping sea towards the unconscious
+objects of our attention.  The captain did not lower this time,
+as there only appeared to be three fish, none of them seeming
+large.  Though at any distance it is extremely difficult to
+assess the size of whales, the spout being very misleading.
+Sometimes a full-sized whale will show a small spout, while a
+twenty-barrel cow will exhale a volume of vapour extensive enough
+for two or three at once.
+
+Now although, according to etiquette, I kept my position in the
+rear of my superior officers, I had fully determined in my own
+mind, being puffed up with previous success, to play second
+fiddle to no one, if I could help it, this time.  Samuela was
+decidedly of the same opinion; indeed, I believe he would have
+been delighted to tackle a whole school single-handed, while my
+crew were all willing and eager for the fight.  We had a long,
+tedious journey before we came up with them, the wind being so
+light that even with the occasional assistance of the paddles our
+progress was wretchedly slow.  When at last we did get into their
+water, and the mate's harpooner stood up to dart, his foot
+slipped, and down he came with a clatter enough to scare a
+cachalot twenty miles away.  It gallied our friends effectually,
+sending them flying in different directions at the top of their
+speed.  But being some distance astern of the other boats, one of
+the fish, in his headlong retreat, rose for a final blow some six
+or seven fathoms away, passing us in the opposite direction.  His
+appearance was only momentary, yet in that moment Samuela hurled
+his harpoon into the air, where it described a beautiful
+parabola, coming down upon the disappearing monster's back just
+as the sea was closing over it.  Oh, it was a splendid dart,
+worthy of the finest harpooner that ever lived!  There was no
+time for congratulations, however, for we spun round as on a
+pivot, and away we went in the wake of that fellow at a great
+rate.  I cast one look astern to see whether the others had
+struck, but could see nothing of them; we seemed to have sprung
+out of their ken in an instant.
+
+The speed of our friend was marvellous, but I comforted myself
+with the knowledge that these animals usually run in circles
+--sometimes, it is true, of enormous diameter, but seldom getting
+far away from their starting-point.  But as the time went on, and
+we seemed to fly over the waves at undiminished speed, I began to
+think this whale might be the exception necessary to prove the
+rule, so I got out the compass and watched his course.  Due east,
+not a degree to north or south of it, straight as a bee to its
+hive.  The ship was now far out of sight astern, but I knew that
+keen eyes had been watching our movements from the masthead, and
+that every effort possible would be made to keep the run of us.
+The speed of our whale was not only great, but unflagging.  He
+was more like a machine than an animal capable of tiring; and
+though we did our level best, at the faintest symptom of
+slackening, to get up closer and lance him, it was for some time
+impossible.  After, at a rough estimate, running in a direct
+easterly course for over two hours, he suddenly sounded, without
+having given us the ghost of a chance to "land him one where he
+lived."   Judging from his previous exertions, though, it was
+hardly possible he would be able to stay down long, or get very
+deep, as the strain upon these vast creatures at any depth is
+astonishingly exhausting.  After a longer stay below than usual,
+when they have gone extra deep, they often arrive at the surface
+manifestly "done up" for a time.  Then, if the whaleman be active
+and daring, a few well-directed strokes may be got in which will
+promptly settle the business out of hand.
+
+Now, when my whale sounded he was to all appearance as frightened
+a beast as one could wish--one who had run himself out
+endeavouring to get away from his enemies, and as a last resource
+had dived into the quietness below in the vain hope to get away.
+So I regarded him, making up my mind to wait on him with
+diligence upon his arrival, and not allow him to get breath
+before I had settled him.  But when he did return, there was a
+mighty difference in him.  He seemed as if he had been getting
+some tips on the subject from some school below where whales are
+trained to hunt men; for his first move was to come straight for
+me with a furious rush, carrying the war into the enemy's country
+with a vengeance.  It must be remembered that I was but young,
+and a comparatively new hand at this sort of thing; so when I
+confess that I felt more than a little scared at this sudden
+change in the tactics of my opponent, I hope I shall be excused.
+Remembering, however, that all our lives depended on keeping
+cool, I told myself that even if I was frightened I must not go
+all to pieces, but compel myself to think and act calmly, since I
+was responsible for others.  If the animal had not been in so
+blind a fury, I am afraid my task would have been much harder;
+but he was mad, and his savage rushes were, though disquieting,
+unsystematic and clumsy.  It was essential, however, that he
+should not be allowed to persist too long in his evil courses;
+for a whale learns with amazing rapidity, developing such cunning
+in an hour or two that all a man's smartness may be unable to
+cope with his newly acquired experience.  Happily, Samuela was
+perfectly unmoved.  Like a machine, he obeyed every gesture,
+every look even, swinging the boat "off" or "on" the whale with
+such sweeping strokes of his mighty oar that she revolved as if
+on a pivot, and encouraging the other chaps with his cheerful
+cries and odd grimaces, so that the danger was hardly felt.
+During a momentary lull in the storm, I took the opportunity to
+load my bomb-gun, much as I disliked handling the thing, keeping
+my eye all the time on the water around where I expected to see
+mine enemy popping up murderously at any minute.  Just as I had
+expected, when he rose, it was very close, and on his back, with
+his jaw in the first biting position, looking ugly as a vision of
+death.  Finding us a little out of reach, he rolled right over
+towards us, presenting as he did so the great rotundity of his
+belly.  We were not twenty feet away, and I snatched up the gun,
+levelled it, and fired the bomb point-blank into his bowels.
+Then all was blank.  I do not even remember the next moment.  A
+rush of roaring waters, a fighting with fearful, desperate energy
+for air and life, all in a hurried, flurried phantasmagoria about
+which there was nothing clear except the primitive desire for
+life, life, life!  Nor do I know how long this struggle lasted,
+except that, in the nature of things, it could not have been very
+long.
+
+When I returned to a consciousness of external things, I was for
+some time perfectly still, looking at the sky, totally unable to
+realize what had happened or where I was.  Presently the smiling,
+pleasant face of Samuel bent over me.  Meeting my gratified look
+of recognition, he set up a perfect yell of delight.  "So glad,
+so glad you blonga life!  No go Davy Jonesy dis time, hay?"  I
+put my hand out to help myself to a sitting posture, and touched
+blubber.  That startled me so that I sprung up as if shot.  Then
+I took in the situation at a glance.  There were all my poor
+fellows with me, stranded upon the top of our late antagonist,
+but no sign of the boat to be seen.  Bewildered at the state of
+affairs, I looked appealingly from one to the other for an
+explanation.  I got it from Abner, who said, laconically, "When
+yew fired thet ole gun, I guess it mus' have bin loaded fer bear,
+fer ye jest tumbled clar head over heels backwards outen the
+boat. Et that very same moment I suspicion the bomb busted in his
+belly, fer he went clean rampageous loony.  He rolled right over
+an' over to'rds us, n' befo' we c'd rightly see wat wuz comin',
+we cu'dnt see anythin' 'tall; we wuz all grabbin' at nothin',
+some'rs underneath the whale.  When I come to the top, I lit eout
+fer the fust thing I c'd see to lay holt of, which wuz old
+squarhead himself, deader 'n pork.  I guess thet ar bomb o' yourn
+kinder upset his commissary department.  Anyway, I climed up onto
+him, 'n bime-by the rest ov us histed themselves alongside ov me.
+Sam Weller here; he cum last, towin' you 'long with him.  I
+don'no whar he foun' ye, but ye was very near a goner, 'n's full
+o' pickle as ye c'd hold."  I turned a grateful eye upon my dusky
+harpooner, who had saved my life, but was now apparently
+blissfully unconscious of having done anything meritorious.
+
+Behold us, then, a half-drowned row of scarecrows perched, like
+some new species of dilapidated birds, upon the side of our late
+foe.  The sun was not so furiously hot as usual, for masses of
+rain-laden NIMBI were filling the sky, so that we were
+comparatively free from the awful roasting we might have
+expected:  nor was our position as precarious for a while as
+would be thought.  True, we had only one harpoon, with its still
+fast line, to hold on by; but the side of the whale was somehow
+hollowed, so that, in spite of the incessant movement imparted to
+the carcass by the swell, we sat fairly safe, with our feet in
+the said hollow.  We discussed the situation in all its bearings,
+unable to extract more than the faintest gleam of hope from any
+aspect of the case.  The only reasonable chance we had was, that
+the skipper had almost certainly taken our bearings, and would,
+we were sure, be anxiously seeking us on the course thus
+indicated.  Meanwhile, we were ravenously hungry and thirsty.
+Samuela and Polly set to work with their sheath-knives, and soon
+excavated a space in the blubber to enable them to reach the
+meat.  Then they cut off some good-sized junks, and divided it
+up.  It was not half bad; and as we chewed on the tough black
+fibre, I could hardly help smiling as I thought how queer a
+Christmas dinner we were having.  But eating soon heightened our
+thirst, and our real sufferings then began.  We could eat very
+little once the want of drink made itself felt.  Hardly two hours
+had elapsed, though, before one of the big-bellied clouds which
+bad been keeping the sun off us most considerately emptied out
+upon us a perfect torrent of rain.  It filled the cavity in the
+whale's side in a twinkling; and though the water was greasy,
+stained with blood, and vilely flavoured, it was as welcome a
+drink as I have ever tasted.  Thus fed, and with our thirst
+slaked, we were able to take a more hopeful view of things while
+the prospect of our being found seemed much more probable than it
+had done before the rain fell.
+
+Still, we had to endure our pillory for a long while yet.  The
+sharks and birds began to worry us, especially the former, who in
+their eagerness to get a portion of the blubber, fought, writhed
+and tore at the carcass with tireless energy.  Once, one of the
+smaller ones actually came sliding up right into our hollow; but
+Samuela and Polly promptly dispatched him with a cut throat,
+sending him back to encourage the others.  The present relieved
+us of most of their attentions for a short time at least, as they
+eagerly divided the remains of their late comrade among them.
+
+To while away the time we spun yarns--without much point, I am
+afraid; and sung songs, albeit we did not feel much like singing
+--till after a while our poor attempts at gaiety fizzled out like
+a damp match, leaving us silent and depressed.  The sun, which
+had been hidden for some time, now came out again, his slanting
+beams revealing to us ominously the flight of time and the near
+approach of night.  Should darkness overtake us in our present
+position, we all felt that saving us would need the performance
+of a miracle; for in addition to the chances of the accumulated
+gases within the carcass bursting it asunder, the unceasing
+assault of the sharks made it highly doubtful whether they would
+not in a few hours more have devoured it piecemeal.  Already they
+had scooped out some deep furrows in the solid blubber, making it
+easier to get hold and tear off more, and their numbers were
+increasing so fast that the surrounding sea was fairly alive with
+them.  Lower and lower sank the sun, deeper and darker grew the
+gloom upon our faces, till suddenly Samuela leaped to his feet in
+our midst, and emitted a yell so ear-piercing as to nearly deafen
+us.  He saw the ship!  Before two minutes had passed we all saw
+her--God bless her!--coming down upon us like some angelic
+messenger.  There were no fears among us that we should be
+overlooked.  We knew full well how anxiously and keenly many
+pairs of eyes had been peering over the sea in search of us, and
+we felt perfectly sure they had sighted us long ago.  On she
+came, gilded by the evening glow, till she seemed glorified,
+moving in a halo of celestial light, all her homeliness and
+clumsy build forgotten in what she then represented to us.
+
+Never before or since has a ship looked like that, to me, nor can
+I ever forget the thankfulness, the delight, the reverence, with
+which I once more saw her approaching.  Straight down upon us she
+bore, rounding to within a cable's length, and dropping a boat
+simultaneously with her windward sweep.  They had no whale--well
+for us they had not.  In five minutes we were on board, while our
+late resting-place was being hauled alongside with great glee.
+
+The captain shook hands with me cordially, pooh-poohing the loss
+of the boat as an unavoidable incident of the trade, but
+expressing his heart-felt delight at getting us all back safe.
+The whale we had killed was ample compensation for the loss of
+several boats, though such was the vigour with which the sharks
+were going for him, that it was deemed advisable to cut in at
+once, working all night.  We who had been rescued, however, were
+summarily ordered below by the skipper, and forbidden, on pain of
+his severe displeasure, to reappear until the following morning.
+This great privilege we gladly availed ourselves of, awaking at
+daylight quite well and fit, not a bit the worse for our queer
+experience of the previous day.
+
+The whale proved a great acquisition, for although not nearly so
+large as many we had caught, he was so amazingly rich in blubber
+that he actually yielded twelve and a half tuns of oil, in spite
+of the heavy toll taken of him by the hungry multitudes of
+sharks.  In addition to the oil, we were fortunate enough to
+secure a lump of ambergris, dislodged perhaps by the explosion of
+my bomb in the animal's bowels.  It was nearly black, wax-like to
+the touch, and weighed seven pounds and a half.  At the current
+price, it would be worth about L200, so that,
+taken altogether, the whale very nearly approached in value the
+largest one we had yet caught.  I had almost omitted to state
+that incorporated with the substance of the ambergris were
+several of the horny cuttle-fish beaks, which, incapable of being
+digested, had become in some manner part of this peculiar
+product.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+"HUMPBACKING" AT VAU VAU
+
+Another three weeks' cruising brought us to the end of the season
+on the line, which had certainly not answered all our
+expectations, although we had perceptibly increased the old
+barky's draught during our stay.  Whether from love of change or
+belief in the possibilities of a good haul, I can hardly say, but
+Captain Count decided to make the best of his way south, to the
+middle group of the "Friendly" Archipelago, known as Vau Vau, the
+other portions being called Hapai and Tongataboo respectively,
+for a season's "humpbacking."  From all I could gather, we were
+likely to have a good time there, so I looked forward to the
+visit with a great deal of pleasurable anticipation.
+
+We were bound to make a call at Vau Vau, in any case, to
+discharge our Kanakas shipped at Honolulu, although I fervently
+hoped to be able to keep my brave harpooner Samuela.  So when I
+heard of our destination, I sounded him cautiously as to his
+wishes in the matter, finding that, while he was both pleased
+with and proud of his position on board, he was longing greatly
+for his own orange grove and the embraces of a certain tender
+"fafine" that he averred was there awaiting him.  With such
+excellent reasons for his leaving us, I could but forbear to
+persuade him, sympathizing with him too deeply to wish him away
+from such joys as he described to me.
+
+So we bade farewell to the line grounds, and commenced another
+stretch to the south, another milestone, as it were, on the long
+road home.  Prosaic and uneventful to the last degree was our
+passage, the only incident worth recording being our "gamming" of
+the PASSAMAQUODDY, of Martha's Vineyard, South Sea whaler;
+eighteen months out, with one thousand barrels of sperm oil on
+board.  We felt quite veterans alongside of her crew, and our
+yarns laid over theirs to such an extent that they were quite
+disgusted at their lack of experience.  Some of them had known
+our late skipper, but none of them had a good word for him, the
+old maxim, "Speak nothing but good of the dead," being most
+flagrantly set at nought.  One of her crew was a Whitechapelian,
+who had been roving about the world for a good many years.
+
+Amongst other experiences, he had, after "jumping the bounty" two
+or three times, found himself a sergeant in the Federal Army
+before Gettysburg.  During that most bloody battle, he informed
+me that a "Reb" drew a bead on him at about a dozen yards'
+distance, and fired, He said he felt just as if somebody had
+punched him in the chest, and knocked him flat on his back on top
+of a sharp stone--no pain at all, nor any further recollection of
+what had happened, until he found himself at the base, in
+hospital.  When the surgeons came to examine him for the bullet,
+they found that it had struck the broad brass plate of his cross-
+belt fairly in the middle, penetrating it and shattering his
+breast bone.  But after torturing him vilely with the probe, they
+were about to give up the search in despair, when he told them he
+felt a pain in his back.  Examining the spot indicated by him,
+they found a bullet just beneath the skin, which a touch with the
+knife allowed to tumble out.  Further examination revealed the
+strange fact that the bullet, after striking his breast-bone, had
+glanced aside and travelled round his body just beneath the skin,
+without doing him any further harm.  In proof of his story, he
+showed me the two scars and the perforated buckle-plate.
+
+At another time, being in charge of a picket of Germans, he and
+his command were captured by a party of Confederates, who haled
+him before their colonel, a southern gentleman of the old school.
+In the course of his interrogation by the southern officer, he
+was asked where he hailed from.  He replied, "London, England."
+"Then," said the colonel, "how is it you find yourself fighting
+for these accursed Yankees?"  The cockney faltered out some
+feeble excuse or another, which his captor cut short by saying,
+"I've a great respect for the English, and consequently I'll let
+you go this time.  But if ever I catch you again, you're gone up.
+As for those d-----d Dutchmen, they'll be strung up inside of
+five minutes."  And they were.
+
+So with yarn, song, and dance, the evening passed pleasantly
+away; while the two old hookers jogged amicably along side by
+side, like two market-horses whose drivers are having a friendly
+crack.  Along about midnight we exchanged crews again, and parted
+with many expressions of good-will--we to the southward, she to
+the eastward, for some particular preserve believed in by her
+commander.
+
+In process of time we made the land of Vau Vau, a picturesque,
+densely wooded, and in many places precipitous, group of islands,
+the approach being singularly free from dangers in the shape of
+partly hidden reefs.  Long and intricate were the passages we
+threaded, until we finally came to anchor in a lovely little bay
+perfectly sheltered from all winds.  We moored, within a mile of
+a dazzling white beach, in twelve fathoms.  A few native houses
+embowered in orange and cocoa-nut trees showed here and there,
+while the two horns of the bay were steep-to, and covered with
+verdure almost down to the water's edge.  The anchor was hardly
+down before a perfect fleet of canoes flocked around us, all
+carrying the familiar balancing outrigger, without which those
+narrow dugouts cannot possibly keep upright.  Their occupants
+swarmed on board, laughing and playing like so many children, and
+with all sorts of winning gestures and tones besought our
+friendship.  "You my flem?" was the one question which all asked;
+but what its import might be we could not guess for some time.
+By-and-by it appeared that when once you had agreed to accept a
+native for your "flem," or friend, he from henceforward felt in
+duty bound to attend to all your wants which it lay within his
+power to supply.  This important preliminary settled, fruit and
+provisions of various kinds appeared as if by magic.  Huge
+baskets of luscious oranges, massive bunches of gold and green
+bananas, clusters of green cocoa-nuts, conch-shells full of
+chillies, fowls loudly protesting against their hard fate, gourds
+full of eggs, and a few vociferous swine--all came tumbling on
+board in richest profusion, and, strangest thing of all, not a
+copper was asked in return.  I might have as truly said nothing
+was asked, since money must have been useless here.  Many women
+came alongside, but none climbed on board.  Surprised at this, I
+asked Samuela the reason, as soon as I could disengage him for a
+few moments from the caresses of his friends.  He informed me
+that the ladies' reluctance to favour us with their society was
+owing to their being in native dress, which it is punishable to
+appear in among white men, the punishment consisting of a rather
+heavy fine.  Even the men and boys, I noticed, before they
+ventured to climb on board, stayed a while to put on trousers, or
+what did duty for those useful articles of dress.  At any rate,
+they were all clothed, not merely enwrapped with a fold or two of
+"tapa," the native bark-cloth, but made awkward and ugly by
+dilapidated shirts and pants.
+
+She was a busy ship for the rest of that day.  The anchor down,
+sails furled and decks swept, the rest of the time was our own,
+and high jinks were the result.  The islanders were amiability
+personified, merry as children, nor did I see or hear one
+quarrelsome individual among them.  While we were greedily
+devouring the delicious fruit, which was piled on deck in
+mountainous quantities, they encouraged us, telling us that the
+trees ashore were breaking down under their loads, and what a
+pity it was that there were so few to eat such bountiful
+supplies.
+
+We were, it appeared, the first whale-ship that had anchored
+there that year, and, in that particular bay where we lay, no
+vessel had moored for over two years.  An occasional schooner
+from Sydney called at the "town" about ten miles away, where the
+viceroy's house was, and at the present time of speaking one of
+Godeffroi's Hamburg ships was at anchor there, taking in an
+accumulation of copra from her agent's store.  But the natives
+all spoke of her with a shrug--"No like Tashman.  Tashman no
+good."  Why, I could not ascertain.
+
+Our Kanakas had promised to remain with us till our departure for
+the south, so, hard as it seemed to them, they were not allowed
+to go ashore, in case they might not come back, and leave us
+short-handed.  But as their relatives and friends could visit
+them whenever they felt inclined, the restriction did not hurt
+them much.  The next day, being Sunday, all hands were allowed
+liberty to go ashore by turns (except the Kanakas), with strict
+injunctions to molest no one, but to behave as if in a big town
+guarded by policemen.  As no money could be spent, none was
+given, and, best of all, it was impossible to procure any
+intoxicating liquor.
+
+Our party got ashore about 9.30, but not a soul was visible
+either on the beach or in the sun-lit paths which led through the
+forest inland.  Here and there a house, with doors wide open,
+stood in its little cleared space, silent and deserted.  It was
+like a country without inhabitants.  Presently, however, a burst
+of melody arrested us, and borne upon the scented breeze came oh,
+so sweetly!--the well-remembered notes of "Hollingside."
+Hurriedly getting behind a tree, I let myself go, and had a
+perfectly lovely, soul-refreshing cry.  Reads funny, doesn't it?
+Sign of weakness perhaps.  But when childish memories come back
+upon one torrent-like in the swell of a hymn or the scent of the
+hawthorn, it seems to me that the flood-gates open without you
+having anything to do with it.  When I was a little chap in the
+Lock Chapel choir, before the evil days came, that tune was my
+favourite; and when I heard it suddenly come welling up out of
+the depths of the forest, my heart just stood still for a moment,
+and then the tears came.  Queer idea, perhaps, to some people;
+but I do not know when I enjoyed myself so much as I did just
+then, except when a boy of sixteen home from a voyage, and
+strolling along the Knightsbridge Road, I "happened" into the
+Albert Hall.  I did not in the least know what was coming; the
+notices on the bills did not mean anything to me; but I paid my
+shilling, and went up into the gallery.  I had hardly edged
+myself into a corner by the refreshment-stall, when a great
+breaker of sound caught me, hurled me out of time, thought, and
+sense in one intolerable ecstasy--"For unto us a Child is born;
+unto us a Son is given"--again and again--billows and billows of
+glory.  I gasped for breath, shook like one in an ague fit; the
+tears ran down in a continuous stream; while people stared amazed
+at me, thinking, I suppose, that I was another drunken sailor.
+Well, I was drunk, helplessly intoxicated, but not with drink,
+with something Divine, untellable, which, coming upon me
+unprepared, simply swept me away with it into a heaven of
+delight, to which only tears could testify.
+
+But I am in the bush, whimpering over the tones of "Hollingside."
+As soon as I had pulled myself together a bit, we went on again
+in the direction of the sound, Presently we came to a large
+clearing, in the middle of which stood a neat wooden, pandanus-
+thatched church.  There were no doors or windows to it, just a
+roof supported upon posts, but a wide verandah ran all round,
+upon the edge of which we seated ourselves; for the place was
+full--full to suffocation, every soul within miles, I should
+think, being there.  No white man was present, but the service,
+which was a sort of prayer-meeting, went with a swing and go that
+was wonderful to see.  There was no perfunctory worship here; no
+one languidly enduring it because it was "the right sort of thing
+to show up at, you know;" but all were in earnest, terribly in
+earnest.  When they sang, it behoved us to get away to a little
+distance, for the vigour of the voices, unless mellowed by
+distance, made the music decidedly harsh.  Every one was dressed
+in European clothing--the women in neat calico gowns; but the
+men, nearly all of them, in woollen shirts, pilot-coats, and
+trousers to match, and sea-boots!  Whew!  it nearly stifled me to
+look at them.  The temperature was about ninety degrees in the
+shade, with hardly a breath of air stirring, yet those poor
+people, from some mistaken notion of propriety, were sweating in
+torrents under that Arctic rig.  However they could worship, I do
+not know!  At last the meeting broke up.  The men rushed out,
+tore off their coats, trousers, and shirts, and flung themselves
+panting upon the grass, mother-naked, except for a chaplet of
+cocoanut leaves, formed by threading them on a vine-tendril, and
+hanging round the waist.
+
+Squatting by the side of my "flem," whom I had recognized, I
+asked him why ever he outraged all reason by putting on such
+clothes in this boiling weather.  He looked at me pityingly for a
+moment before he replied, "You go chapella Belitani?  No put bes'
+close on top?"  "Yes," I said; "but in hot weather put on thin
+clothes; cold weather, put on thick ones."  "S'pose no got more?"
+he said, meaning, I presumed, more than the one suit.  "Well," I
+said, "more better stop 'way than look like big fool, boil all
+away, same like duff in pot.  You savvy duff?" He smiled a wide
+comprehensive smile, but looked very solemn again, saying
+directly, "You no go chapella; you no mishnally.  No mishnally
+[missionary=godly]; very bad.  Me no close; no go chapella; vely
+bad.  Evelly tangata, evelly fafine, got close all same papalang
+[every man and woman has clothes like a white man]; go chapella
+all day Sunday."  That this was no figure of speech I proved
+fully that day, for I declare that the recess between any of the
+services never lasted more than an hour.  Meanwhile the
+worshippers did not return to their homes, for in many cases they
+had journeyed twenty or thirty miles, but lay about in the
+verdure, refreshing themselves with fruit, principally the
+delightful green cocoa-nuts, which furnish meat and drink both
+--cool and refreshing in the extreme, as well as nourishing.
+
+We were all heartily welcome to whatever was going, but there was
+a general air of restraint, a fear of breaking the Sabbath, which
+prevented us from trespassing too much upon the hospitality of
+these devout children of the sun.  So we contented ourselves with
+strolling through the beautiful glades and woods, lying down,
+whenever we felt weary, under the shade of some spreading orange
+tree loaded with golden fruit, and eating our fill, or rather
+eating until the smarting of our lips warned us to desist.  Here
+was a land where, apparently, all people were honest, for we saw
+a great many houses whose owners were absent, not one of which
+was closed, although many had a goodly store of such things as a
+native might be supposed to covet. At last, not being able to rid
+ourselves of the feeling that we were doing something wrong, the
+solemn silence and Sundayfied air of the whole region seeming to
+forbid any levity even in the most innocent manner, we returned
+on board again, wonderfully impressed with what we had seen, but
+wondering what would have happened if some of the ruffianly
+crowds composing the crews of many ships had been let loose upon
+this fair island.
+
+In the evening we lowered a stage over the bows to the water's
+edge, and had a swimming-match, the water being perfectly
+delightful, after the great heat of the day, in its delicious
+freshness; and so to bunk, well pleased indeed with our first
+Sunday in Vau Vau.
+
+I have no doubt whatever that some of the gentry who swear at
+large about the evils of missionaries would have been loud in
+their disgust at the entire absence of drink and debauchery, and
+the prevalence of what they would doubtless characterize as
+adjective hypocrisy on the part of the natives; but no decent man
+could help rejoicing at the peace, the security, and friendliness
+manifested on every hand, nor help awarding unstinted praise to
+whoever had been the means of bringing about so desirable a state
+of things.  I felt that their Sabbatarianism was carried to
+excess; that they would have been better, not worse, for a little
+less church, and a little more innocent fun; but ten thousand
+times better thus than such scenes of lust let loose and
+abandoned animalism as we witnessed at Honolulu. What pleased me
+mightily was the absence of the white man with his air of
+superiority and sleek overlordship. All the worship, all the
+management of affairs, was entirely in the hands of the natives
+themselves, and excellently well did they manage everything.
+
+I shall never forget once going ashore in a somewhat similar
+place, but very far distant, one Sunday morning, to visit the
+mission station.  It was a Church mission, and a very handsome
+building the church was.  By the side of it stood the parsonage,
+a beautiful bungalow, nestling in a perfect paradise of tropical
+flowers.  The somewhat intricate service was conducted, and the
+sermon preached, entirely by natives--very creditably too.  After
+service I strolled into the parsonage to see the reverend
+gentleman in charge, whom I found supporting his burden in a long
+chair, with a tall glass of brandy and soda within easy reach, a
+fine cigar between his lips, and a late volume of Ouida's in his
+hand.  All very pleasant and harmless, no doubt, but hardly
+reconcilable with the ideal held up in missionary magazines.  Yet
+I have no doubt whatever that this gentleman would have been
+heartily commended by the very men who can hardly find words
+harsh enough to express their opinion of missionaries of the
+stamp of Paton, Williams, Moffat, and Mackenzie.
+
+Well, it is highly probable--nay, almost certain, that I shall be
+accused of drawing an idyllic picture of native life from first
+impressions, which, if I had only had sufficient subsequent
+experience among the people, I should have entirely altered.  All
+I can say is, that although I did not live among them ashore, we
+had a number of them on board; we lay in the island harbour five
+months, during which I was ashore nearly every day, and from
+habit I observed them very closely; yet I cannot conscientiously
+alter one syllable of what I have written concerning them.  Bad
+men and women there were, of course, to be found--as where not?
+--but the badness, in whatever form, was not allowed to flaunt
+itself, and was so sternly discountenanced by public (entirely
+native) opinion, that it required a good deal of interested
+seeking to find.
+
+But after all this chatter about my amiable friends, I find
+myself in danger of forgetting the purpose of our visit.  We lost
+no time in preparation, since whaling of whatever sort is
+conducted in these ships on precisely similar lines, but on
+Monday morning, at daybreak, after a hurried breakfast, lowered
+all boats and commenced the campaign.  We were provided with
+boxes--one for each boat--containing a light luncheon, but no
+ordered meal, because it was not considered advisable to in any
+way hamper the boat's freedom to chase. Still, in consideration
+of its being promptly dumped overboard on attacking a whale, a
+goodly quantity of fruit was permitted in the boats.
+
+In the calm beauty of the pearly dawn, with a gentle hush over
+all nature, the lofty, tree-clad hills reflected with startling
+fidelity in the glassy, many-coloured waters, the only sound
+audible the occasional cra-a-ake of the advance-guard of a flight
+of fruit-bats (PECA) homeward from their nocturnal depredations,
+we shipped our oars and started, pulling to a certain position
+whence we could see over an immense area. Immediately upon
+rounding the horn of our sheltered bay, the fresh breeze of the
+south-east trades met us right on end with a vigour that made a
+ten-mile steady pull against it somewhat of a breather.  Arriving
+at the station indicated by the chief, we set sail, and,
+separating as far as possible without losing sight of each other,
+settled down for the day's steady cruise. Anything more
+delightful than that excursion to those who love seashore scenery
+combined with boat-sailing would be difficult to name.  Every
+variety of landscape, every shape of strait, bay, or estuary,
+reefs awash, reefs over which we could sail, ablaze with
+loveliness inexpressible; a steady, gentle, caressing breeze, and
+overhead one unvarying canopy of deepest blue.  Sometimes, when
+skirting the base of some tremendous cliffs, great caution was
+necessary, for at one moment there would obtain a calm, death-
+like in its stillness; the next, down through a canyon cleaving
+the mountain to the water's edge would come rushing with a shrill
+howl, a blast fierce enough to almost lift us out of the water.
+Away we would scud with flying sheets dead before it, in a
+smother of spray, but would hardly get full way on her before it
+was gone, leaving us in the same hush as before, only a dark
+patch on the water far to leeward marking its swift rush.  These
+little diversions gave us no uneasiness, for it was an unknown
+thing to make a sheet fast in one of our boats, so that a puff of
+wind never caught us unprepared.
+
+On that first day we seemed to explore such a variety of
+stretches of water that one would hardly have expected there
+could be any more discoveries to make in that direction.
+Nevertheless, each day's cruise subsequently revealed to us some
+new nook or other, some quiet haven or pretty passage between
+islands that, until closely approached, looked like one. When, at
+sunset, we returned to the ship, not having seen anything like a
+spout, I felt like one who had been in a dream, the day's cruise
+having surpassed all my previous experience.  Yet it was but the
+precursor of many such.  Oftentimes I think of those halcyon
+days, with a sigh of regret that they can never more be renewed
+to me; but I rejoice to think that nothing can rob me of the
+memory of them.
+
+Much to the discomfort of the skipper, it was four days before a
+solitary spout was seen, and then it was so nearly dark that
+before the fish could be reached it was impossible to distinguish
+her whereabouts.  A careful bearing was taken of the spot, in the
+hope that she might be lingering in the vicinity next morning,
+and we hastened on board.
+
+Before it was fairly light we lowered, and paddled as swiftly as
+possible to the bay where we had last seen the spout overnight.
+When near the spot we rested on our paddles a while, all hands
+looking out with intense eagerness for the first sign of the
+whale's appearance.  There was a strange feeling among us of
+unlawfulness and stealth, as of ambushed pirates waiting to
+attack some unwary merchantman, or highwaymen waylaying a fat
+alderman on a country road.  We spoke in whispers, for the
+morning was so still that a voice raised but ordinarily would
+have reverberated among the rocks which almost overhung us,
+multiplied indefinitely.  A turtle rose ghost-like to the surface
+at my side, lifting his queer head, and, surveying us with stony
+gaze, vanished as silently as he came.
+
+What a sigh!  One looked at the other inquiringly, but the
+repetition of that long expiration satisfied us all that it was
+the placid breathing of the whale we sought somewhere close at
+hand, The light grew rapidly better, and we strained our eyes in
+every direction to discover the whereabouts of our friend, but,
+for some minutes without result.  There was a ripple just
+audible, and away glided the mate's boat right for the near
+shore.  Following him with our eyes, we almost immediately beheld
+a pale, shadowy column of white, shimmering against the dark mass
+of the cliff not a quarter of a mile away.  Dipping our paddles
+with the utmost care, we made after the chief, almost holding our
+breath.  His harpooner rose, darted once, twice, then gave a yell
+of triumph that ran re-echoing all around in a thousand eerie
+vibrations, startling the drowsy PECA in myriads from where they
+hung in inverted clusters on the trees above.  But, for all the
+notice taken by the whale, she might never have been touched.
+Close nestled to her side was a youngling of not more, certainly,
+than five days old, which sent up its baby-spout every now and
+then about two feet into the air.  One long, wing-like fin
+embraced its small body, holding it close to the massive breast
+of the tender mother, whose only care seemed to be to protect her
+young, utterly regardless of her own pain and danger.  If
+sentiment were ever permitted to interfere with such operations
+as ours, it might well have done so now; for while the calf
+continually sought to escape from the enfolding fin, making all
+sorts of puny struggles in the attempt, the mother scarcely moved
+from her position, although streaming with blood from a score of
+wounds.  Once, indeed, as a deep-searching thrust entered her
+very vitals, she raised her massy flukes high in air with an
+apparently involuntary movement of agony; but even in that dire
+throe she remembered the possible danger to her young one, and
+laid the tremendous weapon as softly down upon the water as if it
+were a feather fan.
+
+So in the most perfect quiet, with scarcely a writhe, nor any
+sign of flurry, she died, holding the calf to her side until her
+last vital spark had fled, and left it to a swift despatch with a
+single lance-thrust.  No slaughter of a lamb ever looked more
+like murder.  Nor, when the vast bulk and strength of the animal
+was considered, could a mightier example have been given of the
+force and quality of maternal love.
+
+The whole business was completed in half an hour from the first
+sight of her, and by the mate's hand alone, none of the other
+boats needing to use their gear.  As soon as she was dead, a hole
+was bored through the lips, into which a tow-line was secured,
+the two long fins were lashed close into the sides of the animal
+by an encircling line, the tips of the flukes were cut off, and
+away we started for the ship.  We had an eight-mile tow in the
+blazing sun, which we accomplished in a little over eight, hours,
+arriving at the vessel just before two p.m.  News of our coming
+had preceded us, and the whole native population appeared to be
+afloat to make us welcome.  The air rang again with their shouts
+of rejoicing, for our catch represented to them a gorgeous feast,
+such as they had not indulged in for many a day.  The flesh of
+the humpbacked whale is not at all bad, being but little inferior
+to that of the porpoise; so that, as these people do not despise
+even the coarse rank flesh of the cachalot, their enthusiasm was
+natural.  Their offers of help were rather embarrassing to us, as
+we could find little room for any of them in the boats, and the
+canoes only got in our way.  Unable to assist us, they vented
+their superfluous energies on the whale in the most astounding
+aquatic antics imaginable--diving under it; climbing on to it;
+pushing and rolling each other headlong over its broad back;
+shrieking all the while with the frantic, uncontrollable laughter
+of happy children freed from all restraint.  Men, women, and
+children all mixed in this wild, watery spree; and as to any of
+them getting drowned, the idea was utterly absurd.
+
+When we got it alongside, and prepared to cut in, all the chaps
+were able to have a rest, there were so many eager volunteers to
+man the windlass, not only willing but, under the able direction
+of their compatriots belonging to our crew, quite equal to the
+work of heaving in blubber.  All their habitual indolence was
+cast aside.  Toiling like Trojans, they made the old windlass
+rattle again as they spun the brakes up and down, every blanket-
+piece being hailed with a fresh volley of eldritch shrieks,
+enough to alarm a deaf and dumb asylum.
+
+With such ample aid, it was, as may be supposed a brief task to
+skin our prize, although the strange arrangement of the belly
+blubber caused us to lift some disappointing lengths.  This whale
+has the blubber underneath the body lying in longitudinal
+corrugations, which, when hauled off the carcass at right angles
+to their direction, stretch out flat to four or five times their
+normal area.  Thus, when the cutting-blocks had reached their
+highest limit, and the piece was severed from the body, the folds
+flew together again leaving dangling aloft but a miserable square
+of some four or five feet, instead of a fine "blanket" of blubber
+twenty by five.  Along the edges of these RUGAE, as also upon the
+rim of the lower jaw, abundance of limpets and barnacles had
+attached themselves, some of the former large as a horse's hoof,
+and causing prodigious annoyance to the toiling carpenter, whose
+duty it was to keep the spades ground.  It was no unusual thing
+for a spade to be handed in with two or three gaps in its edge
+half an inch deep, where they had accidentally come across one of
+those big pieces of flinty shell, undistinguishable from the grey
+substance of the belly blubber.
+
+But, in spite of these drawbacks, in less than ninety minutes the
+last cut was reached, the vertebra severed, and away went the
+great mass of meat, in tow of countless canoes, to an adjacent
+point, where, in eager anticipation, fires were already blazing
+for the coming cookery.  An enormous number of natives had
+gathered from far and near, late arrivals continually dropping in
+from all points of the compass with breathless haste.  No danger
+of going short need have troubled them, for, large as were their
+numbers, the supply was evidently fully equal to all demands.
+All night long the feast proceeded, and, even when morning
+dawned, busy figures were still discernible coming and going
+between the reduced carcass and the fires, as if determined to
+make an end of it before their operations ceased.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+PROGRESS OF THE "HUMPBACK" SEASON
+
+It will probably be inferred from the foregoing paragraph that we
+were little troubled with visits from the natives next day; but
+it would be doing them an injustice if I omitted to state that
+our various "flems" put in an appearance as usual with their
+daily offerings of fruit, vegetables, etc.  They all presented a
+somewhat jaded and haggard look, as of men who had dined not
+wisely but too well, nor did the odour of stale whale-meat that
+clung to them add to their attractions. Repentance for excesses
+or gluttony did not seem to trouble them, for they evidently
+considered it would have been a sin not to take with both hands
+the gifts the gods had so bountifully provided.  Still, they did
+not stay long, feeling, no doubt, sore need of a prolonged rest
+after their late arduous exertions; so, after affectionate
+farewells, they left us again to our greasy task of trying-out.
+
+The cow proved exceedingly fat, making us, though by no means a
+large specimen, fully fifty barrels of oil. The whalebone
+(baleen) was so short as to be not worth the trouble of curing,
+so, with the exception of such pieces as were useful to the
+"scrimshoners" for ornamenting their nicknacks, it was not
+preserved.  On the evening of the third day the work was so far
+finished that we were able to go ashore for clothes-washing,
+which necessary process was accompanied with a good deal of fun
+and hilarity.  In the morning cruising was resumed again.
+
+For a couple of days we met with no success, although we had a
+very aggravating chase after some smart bulls we fell in with, to
+our mutual astonishment, just as we rounded a point of the
+outermost island. They were lazily sunning themselves close under
+the lee of the cliffs, which at that point were steep-to, having
+a depth of about twenty fathoms close alongside.  A fresh breeze
+was blowing, so we came round the point at a great pace, being
+almost among them before they had time to escape.  They went away
+gaily along the land, not attempting to get seaward, we straining
+every nerve to get alongside of them.  Whether they were
+tantalizing us or not, I cannot say, but certainly it looked like
+it.  In spite of their well-known speed, we were several times so
+close in their wake that the harpooners loosed the tacks of the
+jibs to get a clear shot; but as they did so the nimble monsters
+shot ahead a length or two, leaving us just out of reach.  It was
+a fine chase while it lasted, though annoying; yet one could
+hardly help feeling amused at the way they wallowed along--just
+like a school of exaggerated porpoises.  At last, after nearly
+two hours of the fun, they seemed to have had enough of it, and
+with one accord headed seaward at a greatly accelerated pace, as
+who should say, "Well, s' long, boys; company's very pleasant and
+all that, but we've got important business over at Fiji, and
+can't stay fooling around here any longer."  In a quarter of an
+hour they were out of sight, leaving us disgusted and outclassed
+pursuers sneaking back again to shelter, feeling very small.  Not
+that we could have had much hope of success under the
+circumstances, knowing the peculiar habits of the humpback and
+the almost impossibility of competing with him in the open sea;
+but they had lured us on to forget all these things in the ardour
+of the chase, and then exposed our folly.
+
+Then ensued a week or two of uneventful cruising, broken only by
+the capture of a couple of cows--one just after the fruitless
+chase mentioned above, and one several days later.  These events,
+though interesting enough to us, were marked by no such deviation
+from the ordinary course as to make them worthy of special
+attention; nor do I think that the cold-blooded killing of a cow-
+whale, who dies patiently endeavouring to protect her young, is a
+subject that lends itself to eulogium.
+
+However, just when the delightful days were beginning to pall
+upon us, a real adventure befell us, which, had we been attending
+strictly to business, we should not have encountered.  For a
+week previous we had been cruising constantly without ever seeing
+a spout, except those belonging to whales out at sea, whither we
+knew it was folly to follow them.  We tried all sorts of games to
+while away the time, which certainly did hang heavy, the most
+popular of which was for the whole crew of the boat to strip,
+and, getting overboard, be towed along at the ends of short
+warps, while I sailed her.  It was quite mythological--a sort of
+rude reproduction of Neptune and his attendant Tritons.  At last,
+one afternoon as we were listlessly lolling (half asleep, except
+the look-out man) across the thwarts, we suddenly came upon a
+gorge between two cliffs that we must have passed before several
+times unnoticed.  At a certain angle it opened, disclosing a wide
+sheet of water, extending a long distance ahead.  I put the helm
+up, and we ran through the passage, finding it about a boat's
+length in width and several fathoms deep, though overhead the
+cliffs nearly came together in places.  Within, the scene was
+very beautiful, but not more so than many similar ones we had
+previously witnessed.  Still, as the place was new to us, our
+languor was temporarily dispelled, and we paddled along, taking
+in every feature of the shores with keen eyes that let nothing
+escape.  After we had gone on in this placid manner for maybe an
+hour, we suddenly came to a stupendous cliff--that is, for those
+parts--rising almost sheer from the water for about a thousand
+feet.  Of itself it would not have arrested our attention, but at
+its base was a semicircular opening, like the mouth of a small
+tunnel.  This looked alluring, so I headed the boat for it,
+passing through a deep channel between two reefs which led
+straight to the opening.  There was ample room for us to enter,
+as we had lowered the mast; but just as we were passing through,
+a heave of the unnoticed swell lifted us unpleasantly near the
+crown of this natural arch. Beneath us, at a great depth, the
+bottom could be dimly discerned, the water being of the richest
+blue conceivable, which the sun, striking down through, resolved
+into some most marvellous colour-schemes in the path of its rays.
+A delicious sense of coolness, after the fierce heat outside,
+saluted us as we entered a vast hall, whose roof rose to a
+minimum height of forty feet, but in places could not be seen at
+all.  A sort of diffused light, weak, but sufficient to reveal
+the general contour of the place, existed, let in, I supposed,
+through some unseen crevices in the roof or walls.  At first, of
+course, to our eyes fresh from the fierce glare outside, the
+place seemed wrapped in impenetrable gloom, and we dared not stir
+lest we should run into some hidden danger.  Before many minutes,
+however, the gloom lightened as our pupils enlarged, so that,
+although the light was faint, we could find our way about with
+ease. We spoke in low tones, for the echoes were so numerous and
+resonant that even a whisper gave back from those massy walls in
+a series of recurring hisses, as if a colony of snakes had been
+disturbed.
+
+We paddled on into the interior of this vast cave, finding
+everywhere the walls rising sheer from the silent, dark waters,
+not a ledge or a crevice where one might gain foothold.  Indeed,
+in some places there was a considerable overhang from above, as
+if a great dome whose top was invisible sprang from some level
+below the water.  We pushed ahead until the tiny semicircle of
+light through which we had entered was only faintly visible; and
+then, finding there was nothing to be seen except what we were
+already witnessing, unless we cared to go on into the thick
+darkness, which extended apparently into the bowels of the
+mountain, we turned and started to go back.  Do what we would, we
+could not venture to break the solemn hush that surrounded us as
+if we were shut within the dome of some vast cathedral in the
+twilight, So we paddled noiselessly along for the exit, till
+suddenly an awful, inexplicable roar set all our hearts thumping
+fit to break our bosoms.  Really, the sensation was most painful,
+especially as we had not the faintest idea whence the noise came
+or what had produced it.  Again it filled that immense cave with
+its thunderous reverberations; but this time all the sting was
+taken out of it, as we caught sight of its author.  A goodly
+bull-humpback had found his way in after us, and the sound of his
+spout, exaggerated a thousand times in the confinement of that
+mighty cavern, had frightened us all so that we nearly lost our
+breath.  So far, so good; but, unlike the old nigger, though we
+were "doin' blame well," we did not "let blame well alone."  The
+next spout that intruder gave, he was right alongside of us.
+This was too much for the semi-savage instincts of my gallant
+harpooner, and before I had time to shout a caution he had
+plunged his weapon deep into old Blowhard's broad back.
+
+I should like to describe what followed, but, in the first place,
+I hardly know; and, in the next, even had I been cool and
+collected, my recollections would sound like the ravings of a
+fevered dream.  For of all the hideous uproars conceivable, that
+was, I should think, about the worst.  The big mammal seemed to
+have gone frantic with the pain of his wound, the surprise of the
+attack, and the hampering confinement in which he found himself.
+His tremendous struggles caused such a commotion that our
+position could only be compared to that of men shooting Niagara
+in a cylinder at night.  How we kept afloat, I do not know.  Some
+one had the gumption to cut the line, so that by the radiation of
+the disturbance we presently found ourselves close to the wall,
+and trying to hold the boat in to it with our finger-tips.  Would
+he never be quiet?  we thought, as the thrashing, banging, and
+splashing still went on with unfailing vigour.  At last, in, I
+suppose, one supreme effort to escape, he leaped clear of the
+water like a salmon.  There was a perceptible hush, during which
+we shrank together like unfledged chickens on a frosty night;
+then, in a never-to-be-forgotten crash that ought to have
+brought down the massy roof, that mountainous carcass fell.  The
+consequent violent upheaval of the water should have smashed the
+boat against the rocky walls, but that final catastrophe was
+mercifully spared us.  I suppose the rebound was sufficient to
+keep us a safe distance off.
+
+A perfect silence succeeded, during which we sat speechless,
+awaiting a resumption of the clamour.  At last Abner broke the
+heavy silence by saying, "I doan' see the do'way any mo' at all,
+sir."  He was right.  The tide had risen, and that half-moon of
+light had disappeared, so that we were now prisoners for many
+hours, it not being at all probable that we should be able to
+find our way out during the night ebb.  Well, we were not exactly
+children, to be afraid of the dark, although there is
+considerable difference between the velvety darkness of a dungeon
+and the clear, fresh night of the open air.  Still, as long as
+that beggar of a whale would only keep quiet or leave the
+premises, we should be fairly comfortable.  We waited and waited
+until an hour had passed, and then came to the conclusion that
+our friend was either dead or gone out, as he gave no sign of his
+presence.
+
+That being settled, we anchored the boat, and lit pipes,
+preparatory to passing as comfortable a night as might be under
+the circumstances, the only thing troubling me being the anxiety
+of the skipper on our behalf.  Presently the blackness beneath
+was lit up by a wide band of phosphoric light, shed in the wake
+of no ordinary-sized fish, probably an immense shark.  Another
+and another followed in rapid succession, until the depths
+beneath were all ablaze with brilliant foot-wide ribands of green
+glare, dazzling to the eye and bewildering to the brain.
+Occasionally, a gentle splash or ripple alongside, or a smart tap
+on the bottom of the boat, warned us how thick the concourse was
+that had gathered below.  Until that weariness which no terror is
+proof against set in, sleep was impossible, nor could we keep our
+anxious gaze from that glowing inferno beneath, where one would
+have thought all the population of Tartarus were holding high
+revel.  Mercifully, at last we sank into a fitful slumber, though
+fully aware of the great danger of our position.  One upward rush
+of any of those ravening monsters, happening to strike the frail
+shell of our boat, and a few fleeting seconds would have sufficed
+for our obliteration as if we had never been.
+
+But the terrible night passed away, and once more we saw the
+tender, irridescent light stream into that abode of dread.  As
+the day strengthened, we were able to see what was going on
+below, and a grim vision it presented.  The water was literally
+alive with sharks of enormous size, tearing with never ceasing
+energy at the huge carcass of the whale lying on the bottom, who
+had met his fate in a singular but not unheard-of way.  At that
+last titanic effort of his he had rushed downward with such
+terrific force that, striking his head on the bottom, he had
+broken his neck.  I felt very grieved that we had lost the chance
+of securing him; but it was perfectly certain that before we
+could get help to raise him, all that would be left of his
+skeleton would be quite valueless to us.  So with such patience
+as we could command we waited near the entrance until the
+receding ebb made it possible for us to emerge once more into the
+blessed light of day.  I was horrified at the haggard, careworn
+appearance of my crew, who had all, excepting the two Kanakas,
+aged perceptibly during that night of torment.  But we lost no
+time in getting back to the ship, where I fully expected a severe
+wigging for the scrape my luckless curiosity had led me into.
+The captain, however, was very kind, expressing his pleasure at
+seeing us all safe back again, although he warned me solemnly
+against similar investigations in future.  A hearty meal and a
+good rest did wonders in removing the severe effects of our
+adventure, so that by next morning we were all fit and ready for
+the days work again.
+
+It certainly seemed as if I was in for a regular series of
+troubles.  After cruising till nearly two p.m., we fell in with
+the mate's boat, and were sailing quietly along side by side,
+when we suddenly rounded a point and ran almost on top of a bull-
+humpback that was basking in the beautiful sunshine.  The mate's
+harpooner, a wonderfully smart fellow, was not so startled as to
+lose his chance, getting an iron well home before the animal
+realized what had befallen him.  We had a lovely fight, lasting
+over an hour, in which all the marvellous agility with which this
+whale is gifted was exerted to the full in order to make his
+escape.  But with the bottom not twenty fathoms away, we were
+sure of him.  With all his supple smartness, he had none of the
+dogged savagery of the cachalot about him, nor did we feel any
+occasion to beware of his rushes, rather courting them, so as to
+finish the game as quickly as possible.
+
+He was no sooner dead than we hurried to secure him, and had
+actually succeeded in passing the tow-line through his lips,
+when, in the trifling interval that passed while we were taking
+the line aft to begin towing, he started to sink.  Of course it
+was, "let go all!"  If you can only get the slightest way on a
+whale of this kind, you are almost certain to be able to keep him
+afloat, but once he begins to sink you cannot stop him.  Down he
+went, till full twenty fathoms beneath us he lay comfortably on
+the reef, while we looked ruefully at one another.  We had no
+gear with us fit to raise him, and we were ten miles from the
+ship; evening was at hand, so our prospects of doing anything
+that night were faint.
+
+However, the mate decided to start off for home at once, leaving
+us there, but promising to send back a boat as speedily as
+possible with provisions and gear for the morning.  There was a
+stiff breeze blowing, and he was soon out of sight; but we were
+very uncomfortable. The boat, of course, rode like a duck, but we
+were fully exposed to the open sea; and the mighty swell of the
+Pacific, rolling in over those comparatively shallow grounds,
+sometimes looked dangerously like breaking.  Still, it was better
+than the cave, and there was a good prospect of supper.  Long
+before we expected her, back came the boat, bringing bountiful
+provision of yams, cold pork and fruit--a regular banquet to men
+who were fasting since daylight.  A square meal, a comforting
+pipe, and the night's vigil, which had looked so formidable, no
+longer troubled us, although, to tell the truth, we were heartily
+glad when the dawn began to tint the east with pale emerald and
+gold.  We set to work at once, getting the huge carcass to the
+surface without as much labour as I had anticipated.  Of course
+all hands came to the rescue.
+
+But, alas for the fruit of our labours!  Those hungry monsters
+had collected in thousands, and, to judge from what we were able
+to see of the body, they had reduced its value alarmingly.
+However, we commenced towing, and were getting along fairly well,
+when a long spur of reef to leeward of us, over which the sea was
+breaking frightfully, seemed to be stretching farther out to
+intercept us before we could get into smooth water. The fact soon
+faced us that we were in the remorseless grip of a current that
+set right over that reef, and against its steady stream all our
+efforts were the merest triviality. Still, we hung on, struggling
+desperately to keep what we had earned, until so close to the
+roaring, foaming line of broken water, that one wave breaking
+farther out than the rest very nearly swamped us all.  One blow
+of an axe, one twirl of the steer-oars, and with all the force we
+could muster we were pulling away from the very jaws of death,
+leaving our whale to the hungry crowds, who would make short work
+of him.  Downcast indeed, at our bad luck, we returned on board,
+disappointing the skipper very much with our report.  Like the
+true gentleman he was, though, recognizing that we had done our
+best, he did not add to the trouble by cursing us all for a set
+of useless trash, as his predecessor would have done; on the
+contrary, a few minutes after the receipt of the bad news his
+face was as bright as ever, his laugh as hearty as if there was
+no such thing as a misfortune in the world.
+
+And now I must come to what has been on my mind so long--a
+tragedy that, in spite of all that had gone before, and of what
+came after, is the most indelible of all the memories which cling
+round me of that eventful time.  Abner Cushing, the Vermonter had
+declared at different times that he should never see his native
+Green Mountain again.  Since the change in our commander,
+however, he had been another man--always silent and reserved, but
+brighter, happier, and with a manner so improved as to make it
+hard to recognize him for the same awkward, ungainly slab of a
+fellow that had bungled everything he put his hand to.  Taking
+stock of him quietly during our day-long leisurely cruises in the
+boat, I often wondered whether his mind still kept its gloomy
+forebodings, and brooded over his tragical life-history.  I never
+dared to speak to him on the subject, for fear of arousing what I
+hoped was growing too faint for remembrance.  But at times I saw
+him in the moonlit evenings sitting on the rail alone,
+steadfastly gazing down into the star-besprent waters beneath
+him, as if coveting their unruffled peace.
+
+Two-thirds of our stay in the islands had passed away, when, for
+a wonder, the captain took it into his head to go up to the chief
+village one morning.  So he retained me on board, while the other
+three boats left for the day's cruise as usual.  One of the
+mate's crew was sick, and to replace him he took Abner out of my
+boat.  Away they went; and shortly after breakfast-time I
+lowered, received the captain on board, and we started for the
+capital.  Upon our arrival there we interviewed the chief, a
+stout, pleasant-looking man of about fifty, who was evidently
+held in great respect by the natives, and had a chat with the
+white Wesleyan missionary in charge of the station.  About two
+p.m., after the captain's business was over, we were returning
+under sail, when we suddenly caught sight of two of our boats
+heading in towards one of the islands.  We helped her with the
+paddles to get up to them, seeing as we neared them the two long
+fins of a whale close ahead of one of them.  As we gazed
+breathlessly at the exciting scene, we saw the boat rush in
+between the two flippers, the harpooner at the same time darting
+an iron straight down.  There was a whirl in the waters, and
+quick as thought the vast flukes of the whale rose in the air,
+recurving with a sidelong sweep as of some gigantic scythe.  The
+blow shore off the bow of the attacking boat as if it had been an
+egg-shell.
+
+At the same moment the mate stooped, picked up the tow-line from
+its turn round the logger-head, and threw it forward from him.
+He must have unconsciously given a twist to his hand, for the
+line fell in a kink round Abner's neck just as the whale went
+down with a rush.  Struggling, clutching at the fatal noose, the
+hapless man went flying out through the incoming sea, and in one
+second was lost to sight for ever.  Too late, the harpooner cut
+the line which attached the wreck to the retreating animal,
+leaving the boat free, but gunwale under.  We instantly hauled
+alongside of the wreck and transferred her crew, all dazed and
+horror-stricken at the awful death of their late comrade.
+
+I saw the tears trickle down the rugged, mahogany-coloured face
+of the captain, and honoured him for it, but there was little
+time to waste in vain regrets.  It was necessary to save the
+boat, if possible, as we were getting short of boat-repairing
+material; certainly we should not have been able to build a new
+one.  So, drawing the two sound boats together, one on either
+side of the wreck, we placed the heavy steering oars across them
+from side to side.  We then lifted the battered fore part upon
+the first oar, and with a big effort actually succeeded in
+lifting the whole of the boat out of water upon this primitive
+pontoon.  Then, taking the jib, we "frapped" it round the opening
+where the bows had been, lashing it securely in that position.
+Several hands were told off to jump into her stern on the word,
+and all being ready we launched her again. The weight of the
+chaps in her stern-sheets cocked her bows right out of water, and
+in that position we towed her back to the ship, arriving safely
+before dusk.
+
+That evening we held a burial service, at which hundreds of
+natives attended with a solemnity of demeanour and expressions of
+sorrow that would not have been out of place at the most
+elaborate funeral in England or America.  It was a memorable
+scene. The big cressets were lighted, shedding their wild glare
+over the dark sea, and outlining the spars against the moonless
+sky with startling effect.  When we had finished the beautiful
+service, the natives, as if swayed by an irresistible impulse,
+broke into the splendid tune St. Ann's; and I afterwards learned
+that the words they sang were Dr. Watts' unsurpassable rendering
+of Moses' pean of praise, "O God, our help in ages past."  No
+elaborate ceremonial in towering cathedral could begin to compare
+with the massive simplicity of poor Abner's funeral honours, the
+stately hills for many miles reiterating the sweet sounds, and
+carrying them to the furthest confines of the group.
+
+Next day was Sunday, and, in pursuance of a promise given some
+time before, I went ashore to my "flem's" to dinner, he being
+confined to the house with a hurt leg.  It was not by any means a
+festive gathering, for he was more than commonly taciturn; his
+daughter Irene, a buxom lassie of fourteen, who waited on us,
+appeared to be dumb; and his wife was "in the straw."  These
+trifling drawbacks, however, in nowise detracted from the
+hospitality offered.  The dining-room was a large apartment
+furnished with leaves, the uprights of cocoa-nut tree, the walls
+and roof of pandanus leaf.  Beneath the heaps of leaves, fresh
+and sweet-scented, was the earth.  The inner apartment, or
+chamber of state, had a flooring of highly-polished planks, and
+contained, I presume, the household gods; but as it was in
+possession of my host's secluded spouse, I did not enter.
+
+A couch upon a pile of leaves was hastily arranged, upon which I
+was bidden to seat myself, while a freshly cut cocoa-nut of
+enormous size was handed to me, the soft top sliced off so that I
+might drink its deliciously cool contents.  These nuts must grow
+elsewhere, but I have never before or since seen any so large.
+When green--that is, before the meat has hardened into
+indigestible matter--they contain from three pints to two quarts
+of liquid, at once nourishing, refreshing, and palatable. The
+natives appeared to drink nothing else, and I never saw a drop of
+fresh water ashore during our stay.
+
+Taking a huge knife from some hiding-place, Irene handed it to
+her father, who at once commenced to dig in the ground by his
+side, while I looked on wondering and amused.  Presently he
+fished up a bundle of leaves bound with a vine-tendril, which he
+laid carefully aside. More digging brought to light a fine yam
+about three pounds in weight, which, after carefully wiping the
+knife on some leaves, he proceeded to peel.  It was immediately
+evident that the yam was perfectly cooked, for it steamed as he
+removed the skin, revealing the inside as white as milk.  Some
+large, round leaves were laid in front of me, and the yam placed
+upon them.  Then mine host turned his attention to the bundle
+first unearthed, which concealed a chicken, so perfectly done
+that, although the bones drew out of the meat as if it had been
+jelly, it was full of juice and flavour; and except for a slight
+foreign twang, referrible, doubtless, to the leaves in which it
+had been enwrapped, I do not think it could have been possible to
+cook anything in a better way, or one more calculated to retain
+all the natural juices of the meat.  The fowl was laid beside the
+yam, another nut broached; then, handing me the big knife, my
+"flem" bade me welcome, informing me that I saw my dinner.  As
+nothing would induce him to join me, the idea being contrary to
+his notions of respect due to a guest, I was fain to fall to, and
+an excellent meal I made.  For dessert, a basketful of such
+oranges freshly plucked as cannot be tasted under any other
+conditions, and crimson bananas, which upon being peeled, looked
+like curved truncheons of golden jelly, after tasting which I
+refused to touch anything else.
+
+A corn-cob cigarette closed the banquet, After expressing my
+thanks, I noticed that the pain of his leg was giving my friend
+considerable uneasiness, which he was stolidly enduring upon my
+account rather than appear discourteously anxious to get rid of
+me.  So, with the excuse that I must needs be going, having
+another appointment, I left the good fellow and strolled around
+to the chapel, where I sat enjoying the sight of those simple-
+minded Kanakas at their devotions till it was time to return on
+board.  Before closing this chapter, I would like, for the
+benefit of such of my readers who have not heard yet of Kanaka
+cookery, to say that it is simplicity itself.  A hole is scooped
+in the earth, in which a fire is made (of wood), and kept burning
+until a fair-sized heap of glowing charcoal remains.  Pebbles are
+then thrown in until the charcoal is covered.  Whatever is to be
+cooked is enveloped in leaves, placed upon the pebbles, and more
+leaves heaped upon it.  The earth is then thrown back into the
+cavity, and well stamped down.  A long time is, of course, needed
+for the viands to get cooked through; but so subtle is the mode
+that overdoing anything is almost an impossibility.  A couple of
+days may pass from the time of "putting down" the joint, yet when
+it is dug up it will be smoking hot, retaining all its juices,
+tender as jelly, but, withal, as full of flavour as it is
+possible for cooked meat to be.  No matter how large the joint
+is, or how tough the meat, this gentle suasion will render it
+succulent and tasty; and no form of civilized cookery can in the
+least compare with it.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+FAREWELL TO  VAU VAU
+
+Taking it all round, our visit to the Friendly Islands had not
+been particularly fortunate up till the time of which I spoke at
+the conclusion of the last chapter.  Two-thirds of the period
+during which the season was supposed to last had expired, but our
+catch had not amounted to more than two hundred and fifty barrels
+of oil.  Whales had been undoubtedly scarce, for our ill-success
+on tackling bulls was not at all in consequence of our
+clumsiness, these agile animals being always a handful, but due
+to the lack of cows, which drove us to take whatever we could
+get, which, as has been noted, was sometimes a severe drubbing.
+Energy and watchfulness had been manifested in a marked degree by
+everybody, and when the news circulated that our stay was drawing
+to a close, there was, if anything, an increase of zeal in the
+hope that we might yet make a favourable season.
+
+But none of these valuable qualities exhibited by us could make
+up for the lack of "fish" which was lamentably evident.  It was
+not easy to understand why, because these islands were noted as a
+breeding-place for the humpbacked whale.  Yet for years they had
+not been fished, so that a plausible explanation of the paucity
+of their numbers as a consequence of much harassing could not be
+reasonably offered.  Still, after centuries of whale-fishing,
+little is known of the real habits of whales, Where there is
+abundance of "feed," in the case of MYSTICETA it may be
+reasonably inferred that whales may be found in proportionately
+greater numbers.  With regard to the wider-spread classes of the
+great marine mammalia, beyond the fact, ascertained from
+continued observation, that certain parts of the ocean are more
+favoured by them than others, there is absolutely no data to go
+upon as to why at times they seem to desert their usual haunts
+and scatter themselves far and wide.
+
+The case of the cachalot is still more difficult.  All the
+BALAENAE seem to be compelled, by laws which we can only guess
+at, to frequent the vicinity of land possessing shallows at their
+breeding times, so that they may with more or less certainty be
+looked for in such places at the seasons which have been
+accurately fixed.  They may be driven to seek other haunts, as
+was undoubtedly the case at Vau Vau in a great measure, by some
+causes unknown, but to land they must come at those times.  The
+sperm whale, however, needs no shelter at such periods, or, at
+any rate, does not avail herself of any.  They may often be seen
+in the vicinity of land where the water is deep close to, but
+seldom with calves.  Schools of cows with recently born young
+gambolling about them are met with at immense distances from
+land, showing no disposition to seek shelter either.  For my
+part, I firmly believe that the cachalot is so terrible a foe,
+that the great sharks who hover round a gravid cow of the
+BALAENAE, driving her in terror to some shallow spot where she
+may hope to protect her young, never dare to approach a sperm cow
+on kidnapping errands, or any other if they can help it, until
+their unerring guides inform them that life is extinct.  When a
+sperm whale is in health, nothing that inhabits the sea has any
+chance with him; neither does he scruple to carry the war into
+the enemy's country, since all is fish that comes to his net, and
+a shark fifteen feet in length has been found in the stomach of a
+cachalot.
+
+The only exception he seems to make is in the case of man.
+Instances have several--nay, many times occurred where men have
+been slain by the jaws of a cachalot crushing the boat in which
+they were; but their death was of course incidental to the
+destruction of the boat.  Never, as far as I have been able to
+ascertain, has a cachalot attacked a man swimming or clinging to
+a piece of wreckage, although such opportunities occur
+innumerably.  I have in another place told the story of how I
+once saw a combat between a bull-cachalot and so powerful a
+combination of enemies that even one knowing the fighting
+qualities of the sperm whale would have hesitated to back him to
+win, but the yarn will bear repetition.
+
+Two "killers" and a sword-fish, all of the largest size.
+Description of these warriors is superfluous, since they are so
+well known to museums and natural histories; but unless one has
+witnessed the charge of a XIPHIAS, he cannot realize what a
+fearful foe it is.  Still, as a practice, these creatures leave
+the cachalot respectfully alone, knowing instinctively that he is
+not their game.  Upon this memorable occasion, however I guess
+the two ORCAS were starving, and they had organized a sort of
+forlorn hope with the XIPHIAS as an auxiliary who might be relied
+upon to ensure success if it could be done.  Anyhow, the
+syndicate led off with their main force first; for while the two
+killers hung on the cachalot's flanks, diverting his attention,
+the sword-fish, a giant some sixteen feet long, launched himself
+at the most vulnerable part of the whale, for all the world like
+a Whitehead torpedo.  The wary eye of the whale saw the long,
+dark mass coming, and, like a practised pugilist, coolly swerved,
+taking for the nonce no notice of those worrying wolves astern.
+The shock came; but instead of the sword penetrating three, or
+maybe four feet just where the neck (if a whale has any neck)
+encloses the huge heart, it met the mighty, impenetrable mass of
+the head, solid as a block of thirty tons of india-rubber.
+
+So the blow glanced, revealing a white streak running diagonally
+across the eye, while the great XIPHIAS rolled helplessly over
+the top of that black bastion.  With a motion so rapid that the
+eye could scarcely follow it, the whale turned, settling withal,
+and, catching the momentarily motionless aggressor in the lethal
+sweep of those awful shears, crunched him in two halves, which
+writhing sections he swallowed SERIATIM.  And the allied forces
+aft--what of them?  Well, they had been rash--they fully realized
+that fact, and would have fled, but one certainly found that he
+had lingered on the scene too long.  The thoroughly-roused
+leviathan, with a reversal of his huge bulk that made the sea
+boil like a pot, brandished his tail aloft and brought it down
+upon the doomed "killer," making him at once the "killed."  He
+was crushed like a shrimp under one's heel.
+
+The survivor fled--never faster--for an avalanche of living,
+furious flesh was behind him, and coming with enormous leaps half
+out of the sea every time.  Thus they disappeared, but I have no
+doubts as to the issue.  Of one thing I am certain--that, if any
+of the trio survived, they never afterwards attempted to rush a
+cachalot.
+
+Strange to say, the sperm whale does not appear to be a fond
+mother.  At the advent of danger she often deserts her offspring
+and in such cases it is hardly conceivable that she ever finds it
+again.  It is true that she is not gifted with such long "arms"
+as the BALAENAE wherewith to cuddle her young one to her
+capacious bosom while making tracks from her enemies; nor is she
+much "on the fight," not being so liberally furnished with jaw as
+the fierce and much larger bull--for this is the only species of
+whale in which there exists a great disproportion between the
+sexes in point of size.  Such difference as may obtain between
+the MYSTICETA is slightly in favour of the female.  I never heard
+of a cow-cachalot yielding more than fifty barrels of oil; but I
+have both heard of, and seen, bulls carrying one hundred and
+fifty.  One individual taken by us down south was seventy feet
+long, and furnished us with more than the latter amount; but I
+shall come to him by-and-by.  Just one more point before leaving
+this (to me) fascinating subject for the present.
+
+To any one studying the peculiar configuration of a cachalot's
+mouth, it would appear a difficult problem how the calf could
+suck.  Certainly it puzzled me more than a little.  But, when on
+the "line" grounds we got among a number of cows one calm day, I
+saw a little fellow about fifteen feet long, apparently only a
+few days old, in the very act.  The mother lay on one side, with
+the breast nearly at the waters edge; while the calf, lying
+parallel to its parent, with its head in the same direction, held
+the teat sideways in the angle of its jaw, with its snout
+protruding from the surface.  Although we caught several cow-
+humpbacks with newly born calves, I never had an opportunity of
+seeing THEM suck.
+
+Gradually our pleasant days at Vau Vau drew to a close.  So quiet
+and idyllic had the life been, so full of simple joys, that most
+of us, if not all, felt a pang at the thought of our imminent
+departure from the beautiful place.  Profitable, in a pecuniary
+sense, the season had certainly failed to be, but that was the
+merest trifle compared with the real happiness and peace enjoyed
+during our stay.  Even the terrible tragedy which had taken one
+of our fellows from us could not spoil the actual enjoyment of
+our visit, sad and touching as the event undoubtedly was.  There
+was always, too, a sufficiently arduous routine of necessary
+duties to perform, preventing us from degenerating into mere
+lotus eaters in that delicious afternoon-land.  Nor even to me,
+friendless nomad as I was, did the thought ever occur, "I will
+return no more."
+
+But these lovely days spent in softly gliding over the calm,
+azure depths, bathed in golden sunlight, gazing dreamily down at
+the indescribable beauties of the living reefs, feasting daintily
+on abundance of never-cloying fruit, amid scenes of delight
+hardly to be imagined by the cramped mind of the town dweller;
+islands, air, and sea all shimmering in an enchanted haze, and
+silence scarcely broken by the tender ripple of the gently-parted
+waters before the boat's steady keel--though these joys have all
+been lost to me, and I in "populous city pent" endure the fading
+years, I would not barter the memory of them for more than I can
+say, so sweet it is to me.  And, then, our relations with the
+natives had been so perfectly amicable, so free from anything to
+regret.  Perhaps this simple statement will raise a cynical smile
+upon the lips of those who know Tahati, the New Hebrides, and
+kindred spots with all their savage, bestial orgies of alternate
+unbridled lust and unnamable cruelty.  Let it be so.  For my
+part, I rejoice that I have no tale of weeks of drunkenness, of
+brutal rape, treacherous murder, and almost unthinkable torture
+to tell.
+
+For of such is the paradise of the beach-comber, and the hell of
+the clean man.  Not that I have been able to escape it
+altogether.  When I say that I once shipped, unwittingly, as
+sailing-master of a little white schooner in Noumea, bound to
+Apia, finding when too late that she was a "blackbirder"--"labour
+vessel," the wise it call--nothing more will be needed to
+convince the initiated that I have moved in the "nine circles" of
+Polynesia.
+
+Some time before the day fixed for our departure, we were busy
+storing the gifts so liberally showered upon us by our eager
+friends.  Hundreds of bunches of bananas, many thousands of
+oranges, yams, taro, chillies, fowls, and pigs were accumulated,
+until the ship looked like a huge market-boat.  But we could not
+persuade any of the natives to ship with us to replace those
+whoso contract was now expiring.  Samuela and Polly were, after
+much difficulty, prevailed upon by me to go with us to New
+Zealand, much to my gratification; but still we were woefully
+short-handed, At last, seeing that there was no help for it, the
+skipper decided to run over to Futuna, or Horn Island, where he
+felt certain of obtaining recruits without any trouble.  He did
+so most unwillingly, as may well be believed, for the newcomers
+would need much training, while our present Kanaka auxiliaries
+were the smartest men in the ship.
+
+The slop-chest was largely drawn upon, to the credit of the crew,
+who wished in some tangible way to show their appreciation of the
+unremitting kindness shown them by their dusky friends.  Not a
+whisper had been uttered by any native as to desire of
+remuneration for what he had given.  If they expected a return,
+they certainly exercised great control over themselves in keeping
+their wishes quiet.  But when they received the clothing, all
+utterly unsuited to their requirements as it was, their beaming
+faces eloquently proclaimed the reality of their joy.  Heavy
+woollen shirts, thick cloth trousers and jackets, knitted socks;
+but acceptable beyond all was a pilot-suit--warm enough for the
+Channel in winter.  Happy above all power of expression was he
+who secured it.  With an eared cloth cap and a pair of half
+boots, to complete his preposterous rig, no Bond Street exquisite
+could feel more calmly conscious of being a well-dressed man than
+he.  From henceforth he would be the observed of all observers at
+chapel on Sunday, exciting worldly desires and aspirations among
+his cooler but coveting fellow-worshippers.
+
+The ladies fared very badly, until the skipper, with a twinkling
+eye, announced that he had "dug up" some rolls of "cloth"
+(calico), which he was prepared to supply us with at reasonable
+rates.  Being of rather pretty pattern, it went off like hot
+pies, and as the "fathoms" of gaudy, flimsy material were
+distributed to the delighted fafines, their shrill cries of
+gratitude were almost deafening.
+
+Inexorable time brought round the morning of our departure.
+Willing hands lifted our anchor, and hoisted the sails, so that
+we had nothing to do but look on.  A scarcely perceptible breeze,
+stealing softly over the tree-tops, filled our upper canvas,
+sparing us the labour of towing her out of the little bay where
+we had lain so long, and gradually wafted us away from its lovely
+shores, amid the fast-flowing tears of the great crowd.  With
+multitudinous cries of "Ofa, al-ofa, papalang" ringing in our
+ears ("Good-bye; good-bye, white man"), we rounded the point,
+and, with increasing pace, bore away through the outlying islands
+for the open sea.  There was a strong trade blowing, making the
+old barky caper like a dancing-master, which long unfamiliar
+motion almost disagreed with some of us, after our long quiet.
+Under its hastening influence we made such good time that before
+dinner Vau Vau had faded into nothingness, mingling like the
+clouds with the soft haze on the horizon, from henceforth only a
+memory.
+
+We were not a very cheerful crowd that night, most of us being
+busy with his own reflections.  I must confess that I felt far
+greater sorrow at leaving Vau Vau than ever I did at leaving
+England; because by the time I was able to secure a berth, I have
+usually drunk pretty deep of the bitter cup of the "outward
+bounder," than whom there is no more forlorn, miserable creature
+on earth.  No one but the much abused boarding-master will have
+anything to do with him, and that worthy is generally careful to
+let him know that he is but a hanger-on, a dependant on
+sufferance for a meal, and that his presence on shore is an
+outrage.  As for the sailors' homes, I have hardly patience to
+speak of them.  I know the sailor is usually a big baby that
+wants protecting against himself, and that once within the four
+walls of the institution he is safe; but right there commendation
+must end.  Why are good folks ashore systematically misled into
+the belief that the sailor is an object of charity, and that it
+is necessary to subscribe continually and liberally to provide
+him with food and shelter when ashore?  Most of the contributors
+would be surprised to know that the cost of board and lodging at
+the "home" is precisely the same as it is outside, and much
+higher than a landsman of the same grade can live for in better
+style.  With the exception of the sleeping accommodation, most
+men prefer the boarding-house, where, if they preserve the same
+commercial status which is a SINE QUA NON at the "home," they are
+treated like gentlemen; but in what follows lies the essential
+difference, and the reason for this outburst of mine, smothered
+in silence for years.  An "outward bounder"--that is, a man whose
+money is exhausted and who is living upon the credit; of his
+prospective advance of pay--is unknown at the "home."  No matter
+what the condition of things is in the shipping world; though the
+man may have fought with energy to get his discharge accepted
+among the crowd at the "chain-locker;" though he be footsore and
+weary with "looking for a ship," when his money is done, out into
+the street he must go, if haply he may find a speculative
+boarding-master to receive him.  This act, although most unlikely
+in appearance, is often performed; and though the boarding-
+master, of course, expects to recoup himself out of the man's
+advance note, it is none the less as merciful as the action of
+the "home" authorities is merciless.  Of course a man may go to
+the "straw house," or, as it is grandiloquently termed, the
+"destitute seaman's asylum," where for a season he will be fed on
+the refuse from the "home," and sheltered from the weather.  But
+the ungrateful rascals do not like the "straw house," and use
+very bad language about it.
+
+The galling thing about the whole affair is that the "sailors'
+home" figures in certain official publications as a charity,
+which must be partially supported by outside contributions.  It
+may be a charitable institution, but it certainly is not so to
+the sailor, who pays fully for everything he receives.  The
+charity is bestowed upon a far different class of people to
+merchant Jack.  Let it be granted that a man is sober and
+provident, always getting a ship before his money is all gone, he
+will probably be well content at the home, although very few
+seamen like to be reminded ashore of their sea routine, as the
+manner of the home is.  If the institution does not pay a
+handsome dividend, with its clothing shops and refreshment bars,
+as well as the boarding-house lousiness on such a large scale,
+only one inference can be fairly drawn--there must be something
+radically wrong with the management.
+
+After this burst of temper, perhaps I had better get back to the
+subject in hand.  It was, I suppose, in the usual contrary nature
+of things that, while we were all in this nearly helpless
+condition, one evening just before sunset, along comes a sperm
+whale.  Now, the commonest prudence would have suggested letting
+him severely alone, since we were not only short-handed, but
+several of our crew were completely crippled by large boils; but
+it would have been an unprecedented thing to do while there was
+any room left in the hold.  Consequently we mustered the halt and
+the lame, and manned two boats--all we could do--leaving the
+almost useless cripples to handle the ship.  Not to displace the
+rightful harpooner, I took an oar in one of them, headed by the
+captain.
+
+At first my hopes were high that we should not succeed in
+reaching the victim before dark, but I was grievously
+disappointed in this.  Just as the whale was curving himself to
+sound, we got fairly close, and the harpooner made a "pitch-pole"
+dart; that is, he hurled his weapon into the air, where it
+described a fine curve, and fell point downward on the animal's
+back just as he was disappearing.  He stopped his descent
+immediately, and turned savagely to see what had struck him so
+unexpectedly.  At that moment the sun went down.
+
+After the first few minutes' "kick-up," he settled down for a
+steady run, but not before the mate got good and fast to him
+likewise.  Away we went at a rare rate into the gathering gloom
+of the fast-coming night.  Now, had it been about the time of
+full moon or thereabouts, we should doubtless have been able, by
+the flood of molten light she sends down in those latitudes, to
+give a good account of our enemy; but alas for us, it was not.
+The sky overhead was a deep blue-black, with steely sparkles of
+starlight scattered all over it, only serving to accentuate the
+darkness. After a short time our whale became totally invisible,
+except for the phosphoric glare of the water all around him as he
+steadily ploughed his way along.  There was a good breeze
+blowing, which soon caused us all to be drenched with the spray,
+rendering the general effect of things cold as well as cheerless.
+Needless to say, we strove with all our might to get alongside of
+him, so that an end might be put to so unpleasant a state of
+affairs; but in our crippled condition it was not at all easy to
+do so.
+
+We persevered, however, and at last managed to get near enough
+for the skipper to hurl a lance into the brightness of which the
+whale formed the centre.  It must have touched him, for he gave a
+bound forward and disappeared.  We suddenly came to a standstill,
+but in a moment were whirled round as if on a pivot, and away we
+went in the opposite direction.  He had turned a complete
+somersault in the water beneath us, giving us a "grue" as we
+reflected what would have happened had he then chosen to come
+bounding to the surface.  This manoeuvre seemed to please him
+mightily, for he ran at top speed several minutes, and then
+repeated it.  This time he was nearly successful in doing us some
+real harm, for it was now so dark that we could hardly see the
+other boat's form as she towed along parallel to us about three
+or four lengths away.  The two boats swung round in a wide
+circle, rushing back at each other out of the surrounding
+darkness as if bent on mutual destruction.  Only by the smartest
+manipulation was a collision avoided, which, as each boat's bows
+bristled with lances and harpoons, would have been a serious
+matter for some of us.  However, the whale did not have it all
+his own way, for the skipper, having charged his bomb-gun,
+patiently laid for him, and fired.  It was rather a long shot,
+but it reached him, as we afterwards ascertained, making an
+ugly wound in the small near his tail.
+
+Its effect upon him was startling and immediate. He rushed off at
+so furious a rate dead to windward that for a great while we had
+all our work cut out to keep her free by baling.  The sea had
+risen a little, and as we leapt from one wave to another the
+spray flew over us in an almost continuous cloud.  Clearly our
+situation was a parlous one.  We could not get near him; we were
+becoming dangerously enfeebled, and he appeared to be gaining
+strength instead of losing it.  Besides all this, none of us
+could have the least idea of how the ship now bore from us, our
+only comfort being that, by observation of the Cross, we were
+not making a direct course, but travelling on the circumference
+of an immense circle.  Whatever damage we had done to him so far
+was evidently quite superficial, for, accustomed as we were to
+tremendous displays of vigour on the part of these creatures,
+this specimen fairly surprised us.
+
+The time could only be guessed at; but, judging from our
+feelings, it might have been two or three nights long.  Still, to
+all things an end, so in the midst of our dogged endurance of all
+this misery we felt the pace give, and took heart of grace
+immediately.  Calling up all our reserves, we hauled up on to
+him, regardless of pain or weariness.  The skipper and mate lost
+no opportunities of lancing, once they were alongside, but worked
+like heroes, until a final plunging of the fast-dying leviathan
+warned us to retreat.  Up he went out of the glittering foam into
+the upper darkness, while we held our breath at the unique sight
+of a whale breaching at night.  But when he fell again the effect
+was marvellous.  Green columns of water arose on either side of
+the descending mass as if from the bowels of the deep, while
+their ghostly glare lit up the encircling gloom with a strange,
+weird radiance, which reflected in our anxious faces, made us
+look like an expedition from the FLYING DUTCHMAN.  A short spell
+of gradually quieting struggle succeeded as the great beast
+succumbed, until all was still again, except the strange, low
+surge made by the waves as they broke over the bank of flesh
+passively obstructing their free sweep.
+
+While the final touch was being given to our task--i.e. the
+hole-boring through the tail-fin--all hands lay around in various
+picturesque attitudes, enjoying a refreshing smoke, care
+forgetting.  While thus pleasantly employed, sudden death, like a
+bolt from the blue, leapt into our midst in a terrible form.  The
+skipper was labouring hard at his task of cutting the hole for
+the tow-line, when without warning the great fin swung back as if
+suddenly released from tremendous tension.  Happily for us, the
+force of the blow was broken by its direction, as it struck the
+water before reaching the boat's side, but the upper lobe hurled
+the boat-spade from the captain's hands back into our midst,
+where it struck the tub oarsman, splitting his head in two
+halves.  The horror of the tragedy, the enveloping darkness, the
+inexplicable revivifying of the monster, which we could not have
+doubted to be dead, all combined to stupefy and paralyze us for
+the time.  Not a sound was heard in our boat, though the yells of
+inquiry from our companion craft arose in increasing volume.  It
+was but a brief accession of energy, only lasting two or three
+minutes, when the whale collapsed finally.  Having recovered from
+our surprise, we took no further chances with so dangerous an
+opponent, but bored him as full of holes as a colander.
+
+Mournful and miserable were the remaining hours of our vigil.  We
+sat around poor Miguel's corpse with unutterable feelings,
+recalling all the tragical events of the voyage, until we reached
+the nadir of despondency.  With the rosy light of morning came
+more cheerful feelings, heightened by the close proximity of the
+ship, from which it is probable we had never been more than ten
+miles distant during the whole night.  She had sighted us with
+the first light, and made all sail down to us, all hands much
+relieved at our safety.  We were so sorely exhausted that we
+could hardly climb on board; and how we hoisted the boats I
+hardly know.  The whale was secured by the efforts of the
+cripples we had left on board, while we wayfarers, after a good
+meal, were allowed four hours' sound, sweet sleep.
+
+When we returned to our duties, the first thing that awaited us
+was the burial of the poor body.  Very reverently were the last
+sad offices performed, the flag hoisted half-mast, the bell
+solemnly tolled.  Then we gathered at the gangway while the
+eternal words of hope and consolation were falteringly read, and
+with a sudden plunge the long, straight parcel slid off the hatch
+into the vast tomb ever ready for the dead sailor.
+
+Our dead out of sight, work claimed all our attention and energy,
+wiping with its benificent influence all gloomy musings over the
+inevitable, and replacing them with the pressing needs of life.
+The whale was not a large one, but peculiar to look at.  Like the
+specimen that fought so fiercely with us in the Indian Ocean, its
+jaw was twisted round in a sort of hook, the part that curved
+being so thickly covered with long barnacles as to give the
+monster a most eerie look.  One of the Portuguese expressed his
+decided opinion that we had caught Davy Jones himself, and that,
+in consequence, we should have no more accidents.  It was
+impossible not to sympathize with the conceit, for of all the
+queer-looking monstrosities ever seen, this latest acquisition of
+ours would have taken high honours.  Such malformations of the
+lower mandible of the cachalot have often been met with, and
+variously explained; but the most plausible opinion seems to be
+that they have been acquired when the animal is very young and
+its bones not yet indurated, since it is impossible to believe
+that an adult could suffer such an accident without the broken
+jaw drooping instead of being turned on one side.
+
+The yield of oil was distressingly scanty, the whale being what
+is technically known as a "dry skin."  The blubber was so hard
+and tough that we could hardly cut it up for boiling, and
+altogether it was one of the most disappointing affairs we had
+yet dealt with.  This poorness of blubber was, to my mind,
+undoubtedly due to the difficulty the animal must have had in
+obtaining food with his disabling defect of jaw.  Whatever it
+was, we were heartily glad to see the last of the beast,
+fervently hoping we should never meet with another like him.
+
+During the progress of these melancholy operations we had drifted
+a considerable distance out of our course, no attention being
+paid, as usual, to the direction of our drift until the greasy
+work was done.  Once the mess was cleared away, we hauled up
+again for our objective--Futuna--which, as it was but a few
+hours' sail distant, we hoped to make the next day.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+AT FUTUNA, RECRUITING
+
+Sure enough, in accordance with our expectations, break of day
+revealed the twin masses of Futuna ahead, some ten or fifteen
+miles away.  With the fine, steady breeze blowing, by breakfast-
+time we were off the entrance to a pretty bight, where sail was
+shortened and the ship hove-to.  Captain Count did not intend to
+anchor, for reasons of his own, he being assured that there was
+no need to do so.  Nor was there.  Although the distance from the
+beach was considerable, we could see numbers of canoes putting
+off, and soon they began to arrive.  Now, some of the South Sea
+Islands are famous for the elegance and seaworthiness of their
+canoes; nearly all of them have a distinctly definite style of
+canoe-building; but here at Futuna was a bewildering collection
+of almost every type of canoe in the wide world.  Dugouts, with
+outriggers on one side, on both sides, with none at all; canoes
+built like boats, like prams, like irregular egg-boxes, many
+looking like the first boyish attempt to knock something together
+that would float; and--not to unduly prolong the list by
+attempted classification of these unclassed craft--CORACLES.
+Yes; in that lonely Pacific island, among that motley crowd of
+floating nondescripts, were specimens of the ancient coracle of
+our own islands, constructed in exactly the same way; that is, of
+wicker-work, covered with some waterproof substance, whether skin
+or tarpaulin.  But the ingenious Kanaka, not content with his
+coracles, had gone one better, and copied them in dugouts of
+solid timber.  The resultant vessel was a sort of cross between a
+butcher's tray and a wash-basin--
+
+"A thing beyond
+Conception:  such a wretched wherry,
+Perhaps ne'er ventured on a pond,
+Or crossed a ferry."
+
+The proud possessors of the coracles, both wicker and wood, must
+have been poor indeed, for they did not even own a paddle,
+propelling their basins through the water with their hands.  It
+may be imagined what a pace they put on!  At a little distance
+they were very puzzling, looking more like a water-beetle grown
+fat and lazy than aught else.
+
+And so, in everything floatable, the whole male population of
+that part of the coast came to visit us.  We were speedily the
+centre of a great crowd of canoes, some of which were continually
+capsizing and spilling their occupants, who took no more notice
+of such incidents than one would of a sneeze.  Underneath a
+canoe, or on top, made but little difference to these amphibious
+creatures.  They brought nothing with them to trade; in fact, few
+of their vessels were capable of carrying anything that could not
+swim and take care of itself. As they came on board, each crossed
+himself more or less devoutly, revealing the teaching of a Roman
+Catholic mission; and as they called to one another, it was not
+hard to recognize, even in their native garb, such names as
+Erreneo (Irenaeus), Al'seo (Aloysius), and other favourite
+cognomens of saints.
+
+A laughing chattering good-tempered crowd they were--just like a
+bevy of children breaking up, and apparently destitute of the
+slightest sense of responsibility. They spoke a totally different
+dialect, or maybe language, to that of Vau Vau, for it was only
+an isolated word here and there that Samuela could make out.  But
+presently, going forward through the crowd that thronged every
+part of the deck, I saw a man leaning nonchalantly against the
+rail by the fore-rigging, who struck me at once as being an
+American negro.  The most casual observer would not have mistaken
+him for a Kanaka of those latitudes, though he might have passed
+as a Papuan.  He was dressed in all the dignity of a woollen
+shirt, with a piece of fine "tapa" for a waistcloth, feet and
+legs bare.  Around his neck was a necklace composed of a number
+of strings of blue and white beads plaited up neatly, and
+carrying as a pendant a George shilling.  Going up to him, I
+looked at the coin, and said, "Belitani money?"  "Oh yes," he
+said, "that's a shilling of old Georgey Fourf," in perfectly good
+English, but with an accent which quite confirmed my first idea.
+I at once invited him aft to see the skipper, who was very
+anxious to find an interpreter among the noisy crowd, besides
+being somewhat uneasy at having so large a number on board.
+
+To the captain's interrogations he replied that he was "Tui
+Tongoa"--that is, King of Tonga, an island a little distance
+away--but that he was at present under a cloud, owing to the
+success of a usurper, whom he would reckon with by-and-by.
+
+In the mean time he would have no objection to engaging himself
+with us as a harpooner, and would get us as many men as we
+wanted, selecting from among the crowd on board, fellows that
+would, he knew, be useful to us.
+
+A bargain was soon struck, and Tui entered upon his self-imposed
+task.  It was immediately evident that he had a bigger contract
+on hand than he had imagined.  The natives, who had previously
+held somewhat aloof from him in a kind of deferential respect, no
+sooner got wind of the fact that we needed some of them than they
+were seized with a perfect frenzy of excitement.  There were, I
+should think, at least a hundred and fifty of them on board at
+the time.  Of this crowd, every member wanted to be selected,
+pushing his candidature with voice and gesture as vigorously as
+he knew how.  The din was frightful.  Tui, centre of the frantic
+mob, strove vainly to make himself heard, to reduce the chaos to
+some sort of order, but for a great while it was a hopeless
+attempt.  At last, extricating himself from his importunate
+friends, he gained the captain's side.  Panting, almost
+breathless, with sweat streaming off him, he gasped out, "Oh,
+cap'n, dese yer darn niggers all gone mad!  Dribe 'em oberbord;
+clar 'em out, 'n I'll stan' by to grab some o' der likely ones as
+de res' scatter."   "But what about the wages?" said the skipper.
+"I'm not goin' ter give 'em whatever they like to ask."   "You
+leab it ter me, cap'n.  I bet you'll be satisfy.  Anyhow,
+dishyers no time fer tradin'; de blame niggers all off dere coco-
+nuts.  Anybody fink you'se payin' off 'stead o' shippin', an'
+deyse all afraid dey won't get 'nough."
+
+Unpleasant as the job was to all of us, it had to be done; so we
+armed ourselves with ropes'-ends, which we flourished
+threateningly, avoiding where possible any actual blows.  Many
+sprang overboard at once, finding their way ashore or to their
+canoes as best they could.  The majority, however, had to swim,
+for we now noticed that, either in haste or from carelessness,
+they had in most cases omitted to fasten their canoes securely
+when coming alongside, so that many of them were now far out to
+sea.  The distance to shore being under three miles, that
+mattered little, as far as their personal safety was concerned.
+
+This summary treatment was eminently successful, quiet being
+rapidly restored, so that Tui was able to select a dozen men, who
+he declared were the best in the islands for our purpose.
+Although it seems somewhat premature to say so, the general
+conduct of the  successful candidates was so good as to justify
+Tui fully in his eulogium.  Perhaps his presence had something to
+do with it?
+
+We now had all that we came for, so that we were anxious to be
+off.  But it was a job to get rid of the visitors still remaining
+on board.  They stowed themselves away in all manner of corners,
+in some cases ludicrously inadequate as hiding-places, and it was
+not until we were nearly five miles from the land that the last
+of them plunged into the sea and struck out for home.  It was
+very queer.  Ignorant of our destination, of what would be
+required of them; leaving a land of ease and plenty for a
+certainty of short commons and hard work, without preparation or
+farewells, I do not think I ever heard of such a strange thing
+before.  Had their home been famine or plague-stricken, they
+could not have evinced greater eagerness to leave it, or to face
+the great unknown.
+
+As we drew farther off the island the wind freshened, until we
+had a good, whole-sail breeze blustering behind us, the old ship
+making, with her usual generous fuss, a tremendous rate of seven
+knots an hour.  Our course was shaped for the southward, towards
+the Bay of Islands, New Zealand.  In that favourite haunt of the
+South-seaman we were to wood and water, find letters from home
+(those who had one), and prepare for the stormy south.
+
+Obviously the first thing to be done for our new shipmates was to
+clothe them.  When they arrived on board, all, with the single
+exception of Tui, were furnished only with a "maro" of "tapa,"
+scanty in its proportions, but still enough to wrap round their
+loins. But when they were accepted for the vacant positions on
+board, they cast off even the slight apology for clothing which
+they had worn, flinging the poor rags to their retreating and
+rejected compatriots.  Thus they were strutting about, in native
+majesty unclad, which, of course, could not be endured among even
+so unconventional a crowd as we were.  So they were mustered aft,
+and, to their extravagant delight, a complete rig-out was handed
+to each of them, accompanied by graphic instructions how to dress
+themselves.  Very queer they looked when dressed, but queerer
+still not long afterwards, when some of them, galled by the
+unaccustomed restraint of the trousers, were seen prowling about
+with shirts tied round their waists by the sleeves, and pants
+twisted turban-wise about their heads.  Tui was called, and
+requested to inform them that they must dress properly, after the
+fashion of the white man, for that any impromptu improvements
+upon our method of clothes-wearing could not be permitted.  As
+they were gentle, tractable fellows, they readily obeyed, and,
+though they must have suffered considerably, there were no
+further grounds for complaint on the score of dress.
+
+It has been already noticed that they were Roman Catholics--all
+except Tui, who from his superior mental elevation looked down
+upon their beliefs with calm contempt, although really a greater
+heathen than any of them had ever been.  It was quite pathetic to
+see how earnestly they endeavoured to maintain the form of
+worship to which they had been accustomed, though how they
+managed without their priest, I could not find out.  Every
+evening they had prayers together, accompanied by many crossings
+and genuflexions, and wound up by the singing of a hymn in such
+queer Latin that it was almost unrecognizable.  After much
+wondering I did manage to make out "O Salutaris Hostia!" and
+"Tantum Ergo," but not until their queer pronunciation of
+consonants had become familiar.  Some of the hymns were in their
+own tongue, only one of which I call now remember.  Phonetically,
+it ran thus--
+
+"Mah-lee-ah, Kollyeea leekee;
+Obselloh mo mallamah.
+Alofah, keea ma toh;
+Fah na oh, Mah lah ee ah"--
+
+which I understood to be a native rendering of "O Stella Maris!"
+It was sung to the well-known "Processional" in good time, and on
+that account, I suppose, fixed itself in my memory.
+
+Whenever any of them were ordered aloft, they never failed to
+cross themselves before taking to the rigging, as if impressed
+with a sense of their chance of not returning again in safety.
+To me was given the congenial task of teaching them the duties
+required, and I am bound to admit that they were willing,
+biddable, and cheerful learners.  Another amiable trait in their
+characters was especially noticeable:  they always held
+everything in common.  No matter how small the portion received
+by any one, it was scrupulously shared with the others who
+lacked, and this subdivision was often carried to ludicrous
+lengths.
+
+As there was so reason to hurry south, we, took a short cruise on
+the Vasquez ground, more, I think, for the purpose of training
+our recruits than anything else.  As far as the results to our
+profit were concerned, we might almost as well have gone straight
+on, for we only took one small cow-cachalot.  But the time spent
+thus cruising was by no means wasted.  Before we left finally for
+New Zealand, every one of those Kanakas was as much at home in
+the whale-boats as he would have been in a canoe.  Of course they
+were greatly helped by their entire familiarity with the water,
+which took from them all that dread of being drowned which
+hampers the white "greenie" so sorely, besides which, the
+absolute confidence they had in our prowess amongst the whales
+freed them from any fear on that head.
+
+Tui proved himself to be a smart harpooner, and was chosen for
+the captain's boat.  During our conversations, I was secretly
+amused to hear him allude to himself as Sam, thinking how little
+it accorded with his SOI-DISANT Kanaka origin.  He often regaled
+me with accounts of his royal struggles to maintain his rule, all
+of which narrations I received with a goodly amount of reserve,
+though confirmed in some particulars by the Kanakas, when I
+became able to converse with them.  But I was hardly prepared to
+find, as I did many years after, upon looking up some detail in
+Findlay's "South Pacific Directory," this worthy alluded to as
+"the celebrated Sam," in a brief account of Futuna.  There he was
+said to be king of the twin isles; so I suppose he found means to
+oust his rival, and resume his sovereignty; though, how an
+American negro, as Sam undoubtedly was, ever managed to gain such
+a position, remains to me an unfathomable mystery.  Certainly he
+did not reveal any such masterful attributes as one would have
+expected in him, while he served as harpooner on board the
+CACHALOT.
+
+Gradually we crept south, until one morning we sighted the
+towering mass of Sunday Island, the principal member of the small
+Kermadec group, which lies nearly on the prime meridian of one
+hundred and eighty degrees, and but a short distance north of the
+extremity of New Zealand.  We had long ago finished the last of
+our fresh provisions, fish had been very scarce, so the captain
+seized the opportunity to give us a run ashore, and at the same
+time instructed us to do such foraging as we could.  It was
+rumoured that there were many wild pigs to be found, and
+certainly abundance of goats; but if both these sources of supply
+failed, we could fall back on fish, of which we were almost sure
+to get a good haul.
+
+The island is a stupendous mass of rock, rising sheer from the
+waves, in some places to a height of fifteen hundred feet.  These
+towering cliffs are clothed with verdure, large trees clinging to
+their precipitous sides in a marvellous way.  Except at one small
+bight, known as Denham Bay, the place is inaccessible, not only
+from the steepness of its cliffs, but because, owing to its
+position, the gigantic swell of the South Pacific assails those
+immense bastions with a force and volume that would destroy
+instantly any vessel that unfortunately ventured too near.
+Denham Bay, however, is in some measure protected by reefs of
+scattered boulders, which break the greatest volume of the
+oncoming rollers.  Within those protecting barriers, with certain
+winds, it is possible to effect a landing with caution; but even
+then no tyro in boat-handling should venture to do so, as the
+experiment would almost certainly be fatal to boat and crew.
+
+We hove-to off the little bay, the waters of which looked placid
+enough for a pleasure-party, lowered two boats well furnished
+with fishing gear and such other equipment as we thought would be
+needed, and pulled away for the landing-place.  As we drew near
+the beach, we found that, in spite of the hindrance to the ocean
+swell afforded by the reefs, it broke upon the beach in rollers
+of immense size.  In order to avoid any mishap, then, we turned
+the boats' heads to seaward, and gently backed towards the beach,
+until a larger breaker than usual came thundering in.  As it
+rushed towards us, we pulled lustily to meet it, the lovely craft
+rising to its foaming crest like sea-birds.  Then, as soon as we
+were on its outer slope, we reversed the stroke again, coming in
+on its mighty shoulders at racing speed.  The instant our keels
+touched the beach we all leapt out, and exerting every ounce of
+strength we possessed, ran the boats up high and dry before the
+next roller had time to do more than hiss harmlessly around our
+feet.  It was a task of uncommon difficulty, for the shore was
+wholly composed of loose lava and pumice-stone grit, into which
+we sank ankle-deep at every step, besides being exceedingly
+steep.
+
+We managed, however, to escape without any mishap, for the
+drenching was a boon to our burnt-up skins.  Off we started along
+the level land, which, as far as I could judge, extended inland
+for perhaps a mile and a half by about two miles wide.  From this
+flat shelf the cliffs rose perpendicularly, as they did from the
+sea.  Up their sides were innumerable goat-tracks, upon some of
+which we could descry a few of those agile creatures climbing
+almost like flies.  The plateau was thickly wooded, many of the
+trees having been fruit-bearing once, but now, much to our
+disappointment, barren from neglect.
+
+A ruined house, surrounded by other vestiges of what had once
+been a homestead, stood in the middle of this piece of land.
+Feeling curious to know what the history of this isolated
+settlement might be, I asked the mate if he knew anything of it.
+He told me that an American named Halstead, with his family,
+lived here for years, visited only by an occasional whaler, to
+whom they sold such produce as they might have and be able to
+spare at the time.  What their previous history had been, or why
+they thus chose to cut themselves off from the world, he did not
+know; but they seemed contented enough with their tiny kingdom,
+nor had any wish to leave it.  But it came to pass that one night
+they felt the sure and firm-set earth trembling convulsively
+beneath their feet.  Rushing out of their house, they saw the
+heavens bespread with an awful pall of smoke, the under-side of
+which was glowing with the reflected fires of some vast furnace.
+Their terror was increased by a smart shower of falling ashes and
+the reverberations of subterranean thunders.  At first they
+thought of flight in their boat, not reckoning the wide stretch
+of sea which rolled between them and the nearest land, but the
+height and frequency of the breakers then prevailing made that
+impossible.
+
+Their situation was pitiable in the extreme.  During the years of
+peace and serenity they had spent here, no thought of the
+insecurity of their tenure had troubled them.  Though they had
+but been dwellers on the threshold of the mountain, as it were,
+and any extension of their territory impossible by reason of the
+insurmountable barrier around them, they had led an untroubled
+life, all unknowing of the fearful forces beneath their feet.
+But now they found the foundations of the rocks beneath breaking
+up; that withering, incessant shower of ashes and scoriae
+destroyed all their crops; the mild and delicate air changed into
+a heavy, sulphurous miasma; while overhead the beneficent face of
+the bright-blue sky had become a horrible canopy of deadly black,
+about which played lurid coruscations of infernal fires.
+
+What they endured throughout those days and nights of woe, could
+never be told.  They fled from the home they had reared with such
+abundance of loving labour, taking refuge in a cave; for not even
+the knowledge that the mountain itself seemed to be in the throes
+of dissolution could entirely destroy their trust in those
+apparently eternal fastnesses.  Here their eldest son died,
+worried to death by incessant terror.  At last a passing whaler,
+remembering them and seeing the condition of things, had the
+humanity and courage to stand in near enough to see their
+agonized signals of distress.  All of them, except the son buried
+but a day or two before, were safely received and carried away,
+leaving the terrible mountain to its solitude.
+
+As I listened, I almost involuntarily cast my eyes upwards; nor
+was I at all surprised to see far overhead a solitary patch of
+smoky cloud, which I believe to have been a sure indication that
+the volcano was still liable to commence operations at any time.
+
+So far, we had not happened upon any pigs, or goats either,
+although we saw many indications of the latter odoriferous
+animal.  There were few sea-birds to be seen, but in and out
+among the dense undergrowth ran many short-legged brown birds,
+something like a partridge--the same, I believe, as we afterwards
+became familiar with in Stewart's Island by the name of "Maori
+hens."  They were so tame and inquisitive that we had no
+difficulty in securing a few by the simple process of knocking
+them over with sticks.  From the main branch of a large tree hung
+a big honey-comb, out of which the honey was draining upon the
+earth.  Around it buzzed a busy concourse of bees, who appeared
+to us so formidable that we decided to leave them to the
+enjoyment of their sweet store, in case we should invite an
+attack.
+
+So far, our rambling had revealed nothing of any service to us;
+but just then, struck by the appearance of a plant which was
+growing profusely in a glade we were passing over, I made bold to
+taste one of the leaves.  What the botanical name of the
+vegetable is, I do not know; but, under the designation of "Maori
+cabbage," it is well known in New Zealand.  It looks like a
+lettuce, running to seed; but it tastes exactly like young
+turnip-tops, and is a splendid anti-scorbutic.  What its discovery
+meant to us, I can hardly convey to any one who does not know
+what an insatiable craving for potatoes and green vegetables
+possesses seamen when they have for long been deprived of these
+humble but necessary articles of food.  Under the circumstances,
+no "find" could have given us greater pleasure--that is, in the
+food line--than this did.
+
+Taking it all round, however, the place as a foraging ground was
+not a success.  We chased a goat of very large size, and beard
+voluminous as a Rabbi's, into a cave, which may have been the one
+the Halsteads took shelter in, for we saw no other.  One of the
+Kanakas volunteered to go in after him with a line, and did so.
+The resultant encounter was the best bit of fun we had had for
+many a day.  After a period of darksome scuffling within, the
+entangled pair emerged, fiercely wrestling, Billy being to all
+appearance much the fresher of the two.  Fair play seemed to
+demand that we should let them fight it out; but, sad to say, the
+other Kanakas could not see things in that light, and Billy was
+soon despatched.  Rather needless killing, too; for no one,
+except at starvation-point, could have eaten the poor remains of
+leathery flesh that still decorated that weather-beaten frame.
+
+But this sort of thing was tiring and unprofitable. The interest
+of the place soon fizzled out, when it was found there was so
+little worth taking away; so, as the day was getting on, it was
+decided to launch off and start fishing.  In a few minutes we
+were afloat again, and anchored, in about four fathoms, in as
+favourable a spot for our sport as ever I saw.  Fish swarmed
+about us of many sorts, but principally of the "kauwhai," a kind
+of mullet very plentiful about Auckland, and averaging five or
+six pounds.  Much to my annoyance, we had not been able to get
+any bait, except a bit of raw salt-pork, which hardly any fish
+but the shark tribe will look at.  Had I known or thought of it,
+a bit of goat would have been far more attractive.
+
+However, as there was no help for it, we baited up and started.
+"Nary nibble ermong 'em!" growled Sam, as we sat impatiently
+waiting for a bite.  When we hauled up to see what was wrong,
+fish followed the hook up in hundreds, letting us know plainly as
+possible that they only wanted something tasty.  It was
+outrageous, exasperating beyond measure! At last Samuela grew so
+tired of it that he seized his harpoon, and hurled it into the
+middle of a company of kauwhai that were calmly nosing around the
+bows.  By the merest chance he managed to impale one of them upon
+the broad point.  It was hardly in the boat before I had seized
+it, scaled it, and cut it into neat little blocks.  All hands
+rebaited with it, and flung out again.  The change was
+astounding.  Up they came, two at a time, dozens and dozens of
+them kauwhai, cavalle, yellow-tail, schnapper--lovely fish of
+delicious flavour and goodly size.  Then one of us got a fish
+which made him yell, "Shark! shark!" with all his might.  He had
+a small line of American cotton, staunch as copper wire, but
+dreadfully cutting to the hands.  When he took a turn round the
+logger-head, the friction of the running line cut right into the
+white oak, but the wonderful cord and hook still held their own.
+At last the monster yielded, coming in at first inch by inch,
+then more rapidly, till raised in triumph above the gunwhale--a
+yellow-tail six feet long.  I have caught this splendid fish
+(ELAGATIS BIPINNULATIS) many times before and since then, but
+never did I see such a grand specimen as this one--no, not by
+thirty or forty pounds.  Then I got a giant cavalle.  His broad,
+shield-like body blazed hither and thither as I struggled to ship
+him, but it was long ere he gave in to superior strength and
+excellence of line and hook.
+
+Meanwhile, the others had been steadily increasing our cargo,
+until, feeling that we had quite as much fish as would suffice
+us, besides being really a good load, I suggested a move towards
+the ship.  We were laying within about half a mile of the shore,
+where the extremity of the level land reached the cliffs.  Up one
+of the well-worn tracks a fine, fat goat was slowly creeping,
+stopping every now and then to browse upon the short herbage that
+clung to the crevices of the rock.  Without saying a word, Polly
+the Kanaka slipped over the side, and struck out with swift
+overhead strokes for the foot of the cliff.  As soon as I saw
+what, he was after, I shouted loudly for him to return, but he
+either could not or would not hear me.  The fellow's seal-like
+ability as a swimmer was, of course, well known to me, but I must
+confess I trembled for his life in such a weltering whirl of
+rock-torn sea as boiled among the crags at the base of that
+precipice.  He, however, evidently knew what he was going to do,
+and, though taking risks which would have certainly been fatal to
+an ordinary swimmer, was quite unafraid of the result.
+
+We all watched him breathlessly as he apparently headed straight
+for the biggest outlying rock--a square, black boulder about the
+size of an ordinary railway car.  He came up to it on the summit
+of a foaming wave; but just as I looked for him to be dashed to
+pieces against its adamantine sides, he threw his legs into the
+air and disappeared.  A stealthy, satisfied smile glowed upon
+Samuela's rugged visage, and, as he caught my eye, he said
+jauntily, "Polly savee too much.  Lookee him come on top one
+time!" I looked, and sure enough there was the daring villain
+crawling up among the kelp far out of reach of the hungry
+rollers.  It was a marvellous exhibition of coolness and skill.
+
+Without waiting an instant, he began to stalk the goat, dodging
+amongst the bushes with feet that clung to the steep sides of
+the cliff as well as the animal's.  Before he could reach her,
+she had winded him, and was off up the track.  He followed,
+without further attempt to hide himself; but, despite his vigour
+and ability, would, I fancy, have stood a microscopic chance of
+catching her had she not been heavy with kid.  As it was, he had
+all his work cut out for him.  When he did catch her, she made so
+fierce it struggle for life and liberty that, in the endeavour to
+hold her, he missed his insecure foothold, and the pair came
+tumbling over and over down the cliff in a miniature avalanche of
+stones and dust.  At the bottom they both lay quiet for a time;
+while I anxiously waited, fearing the rash fool was seriously
+injured; but in a minute or two he was on his feet again.
+
+Lashing the goat to his body, and ignoring her struggles, he
+crawled out as far among the rocks as he could; then, at the
+approach of a big breaker, he dived to meet it, coming up outside
+its threatening top like a life-buoy.  I pulled in, as near as I
+could venture, to pick him up, and in a few minutes had him
+safely on board again, but suffering fearfully.  In his roll down
+the cliff he had been without his trousers, which would have been
+some protection to him.  Consequently, his thighs were deeply cut
+and torn in many places, while the brine entering so many wounds,
+though a grand styptic, must have tortured him unspeakably.  At
+any rate, though he was a regular stoic to bear pain, he fainted
+while I was "dressing him down" in the most vigorous language I
+could command for his foolhardy trick.  Then we all realized what
+he must be going through, and felt that he was getting all the
+punishment he deserved, and more.  The goat, poor thing! seemed
+none the worse for her rough handling.
+
+The mate gave the signal to get back on board just as Polly
+revived, so there were no inconvenient questions asked, and we
+returned alongside in triumph, with such a cargo of fish as would
+have given us a good month's pay all round could we have landed
+them at Billingsgate.  Although the mate had not succeeded as
+well as we, the catch of the two boats aggregated half a ton, not
+a fish among the lot less than five pounds weight, and one of a
+hundred and twenty--the yellow-tail aforesaid.  As soon as we
+reached the ship, the boats were run up, sails filled, and away
+we lumbered again towards New Zealand.
+
+As the great mass of that solitary mountain faded away in the
+gathering shades of evening, it was impossible to help
+remembering the sufferings of that afflicted family, confined to
+those trembling, sulphurous, ash-bestrewn rocks, amid gloom by
+day, and unnatural glare by night, for all that weary while.  And
+while I admit that there is to some people a charm in being alone
+with nature, it is altogether another thing when your solitude
+becomes compulsory, your paradise a prison from which you cannot
+break away.  There are many such nooks scattered about the ocean,
+where men have hidden themselves away from the busy world, and
+been forgotten by it; but few of them, I fancy, offer such
+potentialities of terror as Sunday Island.
+
+We had hardly lost sight of the land, when Polly's capture gave
+birth to a kid.  This event was the most interesting thing that
+had happened on board for a great while, and the funny little
+visitor would have run great risk of being completely spoiled had
+he lived.  But, to our universal sorrow, the mother's milk failed
+--from want of green food, I suppose--and we were obliged to kill
+the poor little chap to save him from being starved to death.  He
+made a savoury mess for some whose appetite for flesh-meat was
+stronger than any sentimental considerations.
+
+To an ordinary trader, the distance between the Kermadecs and the
+Bay of Islands, New Zealand, roughly represents a couple of days'
+sail; but to us, who were apparently incapable of hurry under any
+circumstances, it meant a good week's bludgeoning the protesting
+waves before the grim outliers of the Three Kings came into view.
+Even then, although the distance was a mere bagatelle, it was
+another two days before we arrived off that magnificent harbour
+where reposes the oldest township in New Zealand--Russell, where
+rest the mortal remains of the first really Pakeha Maori, but
+which, for some unaccountable reason, is still left undeveloped
+and neglected, visited only by the wandering whalers (in ever-
+decreasing numbers) and an occasional trim, business-like, and
+gentlemanly man-o'-war, that, like a Guardsman strolling the West
+End in mufti, stalks the sea with never an item of her smart rig
+deviating by a shade from its proper set or sheer.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST
+
+In a comparative new colony like New Zealand, where the
+marvellous growth of the young state can be traced within living
+memory, from the privations of the pioneer to the fully developed
+city with all the machinery of our latest luxurious civilization,
+it is exceedingly interesting to note how the principal towns
+have sprung up arbitrarily, and without any heed to the
+intentions of the ruling powers.  The old-fashioned township of
+Kororarika, or Port Russell, is a case very much in point.  As we
+sailed in between the many islets from which the magnificent bay
+takes its name, for all appearances to the contrary, we might
+have been the first, discoverers.  Not a house, not a sail, not a
+boat, broke the loneliness and primeval look of the placid waters
+and the adjacent shores.  Not until we drew near the anchorage,
+and saw upon opening up the little town the straight-standing
+masts of three whale-ships, did anything appear to dispel the
+intense air of solitude overhanging the whole.  As we drew
+nearer, and rounded-to for mooring, I looked expectantly for some
+sign of enterprise on the part of the inhabitants--some
+tradesman's boat soliciting orders; some of the population on the
+beach (there was no sign of a pier), watching the visitor come to
+an anchor.  Not a bit of it.  The whole place seemed a maritime
+sleepy hollow, the dwellers in which had lost all interest in
+life, and had become far less energetic than the much-maligned
+Kanakas in their dreamy isles of summer.
+
+Yet this was once intended for the capital of New Zealand.  When
+the large and splendidly-built city of Dunedin, Otago, was a
+barren bush, haunted only by the "morepork" and the apteryx,
+Russell was humming with vitality, her harbour busy with fleets
+of ships, principally whalers, who found it the most convenient
+calling-place in the southern temperate zone.  Terrible scenes
+were enacted about its "blackguard beach," orgies of wild
+debauchery and bloodshed indulged in by the half-savage and
+utterly lawless crews of the whaleships.  But it never attained
+to any real importance.  As a port of call for whalers, it
+enjoyed a certain kind of prosperity; but when the South Sea
+fishery dwindled, Russell shrank in immediate sympathy.  It never
+had any vitality of its own, no manufactures or products, unless
+the wretched coalmines adjacent, with their dirty output, which
+is scoffed at by the grimiest tug afloat, could be dignified by
+the name.
+
+Remembering, as I did, the beauty, the energy, and prosperity of
+the great New Zealand ports, some of them with not a tithe of the
+natural advantages of Russell, I felt amazed, almost indignant,
+at its dead-and-alive appearance.
+
+Our anchor was no sooner down than the captains of the JAMES
+ARNOLD, MATILDA SAYER, and CORAL lowered and came on board, eager
+to hear or to tell such news as was going.  As we had now grown
+to expect, all work was over immediately the sails were fast and
+decks cleared up, so that we were free to entertain our visitors.
+And a high old time we had of it that afternoon!  What with
+songs, dances, and yarns, the hours flew by with lightning speed.
+Our Kanakas, too, were overjoyed to find compatriots among the
+visitors, and settled down to a steady stream of talk which
+lasted, without intermission, the whole night through.  It was a
+wonderful exhibition of tongue-wagging, though what it was all
+about puzzled me greatly.
+
+Life on board those three ships, though described in glowing
+terms by the visitors, was evidently not to be mentioned for
+comfort in the same breath as ours. But we found that our late
+captain's fame as a "hard citizen" was well known to all; so that
+it is only ordinary justice to suppose that such a life as he led
+us was exceptional for even a Yankee spouter.  Our friends gave
+us a blood-curdling account of the Solander whaling ground, which
+we were about to visit, the JAMES ARNOLD and CORAL having spent a
+season there that cruise.  I did not, however, pay much attention
+to their yarns, feeling sure that, even if they were fact, it
+would not help to brood over coming hardships, and inclined to
+give liberal discount to most of their statements.  The incessant
+chatter, got wearisome at last, and I, for one, was not sorry
+when, at two in the morning, our visitors departed to their
+several ships, and left us to get what sleep still remained left
+to us.
+
+A pleasant expedition was planned for the next day.  Our visit
+being principally for wooding and watering, both of which it was
+necessary for us to do ourselves, Captain Count showed his usual
+promptitude in commencing at once.  Permission having been
+obtained and, I suppose, paid for, we set out with two boats and
+a plentiful supply of axes for a well-wooded promontory to
+prepare a store of wood.  Wood chopping is not usually looked
+upon as a sailor's pastime; but we had had considerable
+experience during the voyage, as a result of which most of us
+could swing an axe in fine style.  But the Kanakas beat us all
+hollow.  Delighted to get ashore again, pleased with the fine
+axes as children with new toys, they laid about them in grand
+style, the young trees falling right and left in scores.  Anybody
+would have judged that we were working piece-work, at so much a
+cord, the pile grew so fast.  There was such a quantity collected
+that, instead of lightering it off in the boats, which is very
+rough and dirty usage for them, I  constructed a sort of raft
+with four large spars arranged in the form of an oblong, placing
+an immense quantity of the smaller stuff in between.  Upright
+sticks were rudely lashed here and there, to keep the pile from
+bobbing out underneath, and thus loaded we proceeded slowly to
+the ship with sufficient wood for our wants brought in one
+journey.  It was immediately hoisted on board, sawn into
+convenient lengths, and stowed away, the whole operation being
+completed, of getting between eight and ten tons of firewood cut,
+ferried, and stowed, in less than eight hours.
+
+Next day was devoted to watering; but as I have elsewhere
+described that necessary if prosaic occupation, I will not repeat
+the story.  Sufficient to say that the job was successfully "did"
+in the course of the day.
+
+All the work being accomplished for which we had come, it only
+remained to give the crew "liberty."  So the port watch, in their
+best (?) rig, were mustered aft; each man received ten shillings,
+and away they went in glee for the first genuine day's liberty
+since leaving Honolulu.  For although they had been much ashore
+in Vau Vau, that was not looked upon in the same light as a day's
+freedom in a town where liquor might be procured, and the
+questionable privilege of getting drunk taken advantage of.
+Envious eyes watched their progress from the other ships, but,
+much to my secret satisfaction, none of their crews were allowed
+ashore at the same time.  There were quite sufficient
+possibilities of a row among our own crowd, without farther
+complications such as would almost certainly have occurred had
+the strangers been let loose at the same time.  Unfortunately, to
+the ordinary sailor-man, the place presented no other forms of
+amusement besides drinking, and I was grieved to see almost the
+whole crowd, including the Kanakas, emerge from the grog-shop
+plentifully supplied with bottles, and, seating themselves on the
+beach, commence their carouse.  The natives evinced the greatest
+eagerness to get drunk, swallowing down the horrible "square gin"
+as if it were water.  They passed with the utmost rapidity
+through all the stages of drunkenness. Before they had been
+ashore an hour, most of them were lying like logs, in the full
+blaze of the sun, on the beach.  Seeing this, the captain
+suggested the advisability of bringing them on board at once, as
+they were only exposed to robbery by the few prowling Maories
+that loafed about the beach--a curious contrast to the stately
+fellows met with in other parts of New Zealand.
+
+So we set to work, and brought them on board again, handing them
+over to their compatriots by way of warning against similar
+excesses, although, it must be confessed, that they were hardly
+to blame, with the example of their more civilized shipmates
+before their eyes.  Sam was energetic in his condemnation of both
+the Kanakas for getting drunk, and the captain for giving them
+any money wherewith to do so.  The remainder of the watch
+fortunately concluded their carouse without any serious disorder.
+A few bruises bestowed upon one another, more in clumsy horseplay
+than real fighting summed up the casualties among them.  By ten
+o'clock that evening we had them all safely on board again, ready
+for sore heads and repentance in the morning.
+
+During the day I had evolved a scheme, which I had great hopes of
+carrying out when our watch should be let loose on the morrow.
+When morning came, and the liberty men received their money, I
+called them together and unfolded my plan.  Briefly, I proposed a
+sort of picnic at a beautiful spot discovered during our wooding
+expedition.  I was surprised and very pleased at the eager way in
+which all, with the sole exceptions of Tui and his fellow-
+harpooner, a Portuguese, fell in with my suggestions.  Without
+any solicitation on my part, my Kanakas brought me their money,
+begging me to expend it for them, as they did not know how, and
+did not want to buy gin.
+
+Under such favourable auspices as these, we landed shortly after
+eight a.m., making a bee-line for the only provision shop the
+place boasted.  Here we laid in a stock of such savouries as we
+had long been strangers to, both eatables and drinkables,
+although I vetoed fire-water altogether.  Beer in bottle was
+substituted, at my suggestion, as being, if we must have drinks
+of that nature, much the least harmful to men in a hot country,
+besides, in the quantity that we were able to take, non-
+intoxicant.  We also took tea, sugar, milk, and a kettle, Thus
+furnished, we struck for the country, merry as a group of
+schoolboys, making the quiet air ring again with song, shout, and
+laughter--all of which may seem puerile and trivial in the
+extreme; but having seen liberty men ashore in nearly every big
+port in the world, watched the helpless, dazed look with which
+they wander about, swinging hands, bent shoulders, and
+purposeless rolling gait, I have often fervently wished that some
+one would take a party of them for a ramble with a definite
+purpose, helping them to a little enjoyment, instead of them
+falling, from sheer lack of knowing what else to do, into some
+dirty, darksome gin-mill, to be besotted, befooled, and debased.
+
+I do earnestly wish that some of the good folk in London and
+Liverpool, who are wringing their hands for want of something to
+do among their fellow-men, would pay a visit to sailor-town for
+the purpose of getting up a personally-conducted party of sailors
+to see the sights worth seeing.  It is a cheap form of pleasure,
+even if they paid all expenses, though that would not be likely.
+They would have an uphill job at first, for the sailor has been
+so long accustomed to being preyed upon by the class he knows,
+and neglected by everybody else except the few good people who
+want to preach to him, that he would probably, in a sheepish
+shame-faced sort of way, refuse to have any "truck" with you, as
+he calls it.  If the "sailors' home" people were worth their
+salt, they would organize expeditions by carriage to such
+beautiful places as--in London, for instance--Hampton Court,
+Zoological Gardens, Crystal Palace, Epping Forest, and the like,
+with competent guides and good catering arrangements.  But no;
+the sailor is allowed to step outside the door of the "home" into
+the grimy, dismal streets with nothing open to him but the dance-
+house and brothel on one side, and the mission hall or reading-
+room on the other.  God forbid that I should even appear to sneer
+at missions to seamen; nothing is farther from my intention; but
+I do feel that sailors need a little healthy human interest to be
+taken in providing some pleasure for them, and that there are
+unorthodox ways of "missioning" which are well worth a trial.
+
+I once took a party (while I was an A.B.) from Wells-street Home
+to the South Kensington Museum. There were six of them--a
+Frenchman, a Dane, a Russian Finn, two Englishmen, and an
+Irishman. Though continually sailing from London for years, this
+was the first occasion they had ever been west of Aldgate.  The
+only mistake I made was in going too deep at one step.  The
+journey from Shadwell to South Kensington, under the guidance of
+one familiar, through the hardest personal experiences, with
+every corner of the vast network, was quite enough for one day.
+So that by the time we entered the Museum they were surfeited
+temporarily with sight-seeing, and not able to take in the
+wonders of the mighty place.  Seeing this, I did not persist,
+but, after some rest and refreshment, led them across the road
+among the naval models.  Ah! it was a rare treat to see them
+there.  For if there is one thing more than another which
+interests a sailor, it is a well-made model of a ship.  Sailors
+are model-makers almost by nature, turning out with the most
+meagre outfit of tools some wonderfully-finished replicas of the
+vessels is which they have sailed.  And the collection of naval
+models at South Kensington is, I suppose, unsurpassed in the
+world for the number and finish of the miniature vessels there
+shown.
+
+Our day was a great success, never to be forgotten by those poor
+fellows, whose only recreation previously had been to stroll
+listlessly up and down the gloomy, stone-flagged hall of the
+great barracks until sheer weariness drove them out into the
+turbid current of the "Highway," there to seek speedily some of
+the dirty haunts where the "runner" and the prostitute: awaited
+them.
+
+But I have wandered far from the Bay of Islands while thus
+chattering of the difficulties that beset the path of rational
+enjoyment for the sailor ashore.  Returning to that happy day, I
+remember vividly how, just after we got clear of the town, we
+were turning down a lane between hedgerows wonderfully like one
+of our own country roads, when something--I could not tell what--
+gripped my heart and sent a lump into my throat.  Tears sprang
+unbidden to my eyes, and I trembled from head to foot with
+emotion. Whatever could it be?  Bewildered for the moment, I
+looked around, and saw a hedge laden with white hawthorn blossom,
+the sweet English "may."  Every Londoner knows how strongly that
+beautiful scent appeals to him, even when wafted from draggled
+branches borne slumwards by tramping urchins who have been far
+afield despoiling the trees of their lovely blossoms, careless of
+the damage they have been doing.  But to me, who had not seen a
+bit for years, the flood of feeling undammed by that odorous
+breath, was overwhelming.  I could hardly tear myself away from
+the spot, and, when at last I did, found myself continually
+turning to try and catch another whiff of one of the most
+beautiful scents in the world.
+
+Presently we came to a cottage flooded from ground to roof-ridge
+with blossoms of scarlet geranium.  There must have been
+thousands of them, all borne by one huge stem which was rooted by
+the door of the house.  A little in front of it grew a fuchsia,
+twelve or fourteen feet high, with wide-spreading branches,
+likewise loaded with handsome blooms; while the ground beneath
+was carpeted with the flowers shaken from their places by the
+rude wind.
+
+So, through scenes of loveliness that appealed even to the dusky
+Kanakas, we trudged gaily along, arriving pretty well fagged at
+our destination--a great glade of tenderest green, surrounded by
+magnificent trees on three sides; the fourth opening on to a
+dazzling white beach sloping gently down to the sea.  Looking
+seaward, amidst the dancing, sparkling wavelets, rose numerous
+tree-clothed islets, making a perfectly beautiful seascape.  On
+either side of the stretch of beach fantastic masses of rock lay
+about, as if scattered by some tremendous explosion.  Where the
+sea reached them, they were covered with untold myriads of
+oysters, ready to be eaten and of delicious flavour.
+
+What need to say more?  With oyster-feeding, fishing, bathing,
+tree-climbing, tea-making, song-singing the hours fled with
+pitiless haste, so that, before we had half emptied the brimming
+cup of joys proffered us, the slanting rays of the setting sun
+warned us to return lest we should get "hushed" in the dark.  We
+came on board rejoicing, laden with spoils of flowers and fish,
+with two-thirds of our money still in our pockets, and full of
+happy memories of one of the most delightful days in our whole
+lives.
+
+A long night's sound sleep was rudely broken into in the morning
+by the cry of "Man the windlass."  Having got all we wanted, we
+were bound away to finish, if luck were with us, the lading of
+our good ship from the teeming waters of the Solander grounds.  I
+know the skipper's hopes were high, for he never tired of telling
+how, when in command of a new ship, he once fished the whole of
+his cargo--six thousand barrels of sperm oil--from the
+neighbourhood to which we were now bound.  He always admitted,
+though, that the weather he experienced was unprecedented.
+Still, nothing could shake his belief in the wonderful numbers of
+sperm whales to be found on the south coasts of New Zealand,
+which faith was well warranted, since he had there won from the
+waves, not only the value of his new ship, but a handsome profit
+in addition, all in one season.
+
+Hearing this kind of thing every day made me feel quite hungry to
+reach the battle-field; but, for reasons which doubtless were
+excellent, although I cannot pretend to explain them, we started
+north about, which not only added nearly one hundred miles to the
+distance we had to go, but involved us in a gale which
+effectually stopped our progress for a week.  It was our first
+taste of the gentle zephyrs which waft their sweetness over New
+Zealand, after sweeping over the vast, bleak, iceberg-studded
+expanse of the Antarctic Ocean.  Our poor Kanakas were terribly
+frightened, for the weather of their experience, except on the
+rare occasions when they are visited by the devastating
+hurricane, is always fine, steady, and warm.  For the first time
+in their lives they saw hail, and their wonder was too great for
+words.  But the cold was very trying, not only to them, but to
+us, who had been so long in the tropics that our blood was almost
+turned to water.  The change was nearly as abrupt as that so
+often experienced by our seamen, who at the rate of sixteen knots
+an hour plunge from a temperature of eighty degrees to one of
+thirty degrees in about three days.
+
+We, with the ready adaptability of seamen, soon got accustomed to
+the bleak, bitter weather, but the Kanakas wilted like hothouse
+plants under its influence.  They were well fed and well clothed,
+yet they seemed to shrivel up, looking thinner every day, several
+of them getting deep coughs strongly suggestive of a cemetery.
+It was no easy task to get them to work, or even move, never a
+one of them lumbering aloft but I expected him to come down by
+the run.  This was by no means cheering, when it was remembered
+what kind of a campaign lay before us.  Captain Count seemed to
+be quite easy in his mind, however, and as we had implicit
+confidence in his wisdom and judgment, we were somewhat
+reassured.
+
+The gale at last blew itself out, the wind veering to the
+northward again, with beautiful, spring-like weather, just cool
+enough to be pleasant, and, withal, favourable for getting to our
+destination.  We soon made the land again about New Plymouth,
+jogging along near enough to the coast to admire the splendid
+rugged scenery of the Britain of the south.  All hands were kept
+busily employed preparing for stormy weather--reeving new
+running-gear, bending the strongest suit of sails, and looking
+well to all the whaling gear.
+
+In this active exercise of real sailor-work, the time, though
+long for an ordinary passage, passed quickly and pleasantly away,
+so that when we hauled round the massive promontory guarding the
+western entrance to Foveaux Straits, we were almost surprised to
+find ourselves there so soon.
+
+This, then, was the famous and dreaded Solander whaling ground.
+Almost in the centre of the wide stretch of sea between
+Preservation Inlet, on the Middle Island, and the western end of
+the South, or Stewart's Island, rose a majestic mass of wave-
+beaten rock some two thousand feet high, like a grim sentinel
+guarding the Straits.  The extent of the fishing grounds was not
+more than a hundred and fifty square miles, and it was rarely
+that the vessels cruised over the whole of it.  The most likely
+area for finding whales was said to be well within sight of the
+Solander Rock itself, but keeping on the western side of it.
+
+It was a lovely day when we first entered upon our cruising
+ground, a gentle north-east wind blowing, the sky a deep,
+cloudless blue, so that the rugged outline of Stewart's Island
+was distinctly seen at its extreme distance from us.  To the
+eastward the Straits narrowed rapidly, the passage at the other
+end being scarcely five miles wide between the well-known harbour
+of the Bluff, the port of Invercargill, and a long rocky island
+which almost blocked the strait.  This passage, though cutting
+off a big corner, not only shortening the distance from the
+westward considerably, but oftentimes saving outward bounders a
+great deal of heavy weather off the Snares to the south of
+Stewart's Island, is rarely used by sailing-ships, except
+coasters; but steamers regularly avail themselves of it, being
+independent of its conflicting currents and baffling winds.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+ON THE SOLANDER GROUNDS
+
+Our opening day was an auspicious one.  We had not been within
+the cruising radius more than four hours before the long-silent;
+cry of "Blo-o-o-w!"  resounded from the mainmast head.  It was a
+lone whale, apparently of large size, though spouting almost as
+feebly as a calf.  But that, I was told by the skipper, was
+nothing to go by down here.  He believed right firmly that there
+were no small whales to be found in these waters at all.  He
+averred that in all his experience he had never seen a cow-
+cachalot anywhere around Stewart's Island, although, as usual, he
+did no theorizing as to the reason why.
+
+Eagerly we took to the boats and made for our first fish, setting
+alongside of him in less than half an hour from our first glimpse
+of his bushy breath.  As the irons sank into his blubber, he
+raised himself a little, and exposed a back like a big ship
+bottom up.  Verily, the skipper's words were justified, for we
+had seen nothing bigger of the whale-kind that voyage.  His
+manner puzzled us not a little.  He had not a kick in him.
+Complacently, as though only anxious to oblige, he laid quietly
+while we cleared for action, nor did he show any signs of
+resentment or pain while he was being lanced with all the vigour
+we possessed.  He just took all our assaults with perfect
+quietude and exemplary patience, so that we could hardly help
+regarding him with great suspicion, suspecting some deep scheme
+of deviltry hidden by this abnormally sheep-like demeanour.  But
+nothing happened.  In the same peaceful way he died, without the
+slightest struggle sufficient to raise even an eddy on the almost
+smooth sea.
+
+Leaving the mate by the carcass, we returned on board, the
+skipper hailing us immediately on our arrival to know what was
+the matter with him.  We, of course, did not know, neither did
+the question trouble us.  All we were concerned about was the
+magnanimous way in which he, so to speak, made us a present of
+himself, giving us no more trouble to secure his treasure than as
+if he had been a lifeless thing.  We soon had him alongside,
+finding, upon ranging him by the ship, that he was over seventy
+feet long, with a breadth of bulk quite in proportion to such
+a vast length.
+
+Cutting-in commenced at once, for fine weather there was by no
+means to be wasted, being of rare occurrence and liable at the
+shortest notice to be succeeded by a howling gale.  Our latest
+acquisition, however, was of such gigantic proportions that the
+decapitation alone bade fair to take us all night.  A nasty cross
+swell began to get up, too--a combination of north-westerly and
+south-westerly which, meeting at an angle where the Straits
+began, raised a curious "jobble," making the vessel behave in a
+drunken, uncertain manner.  Sailors do not mind a ship rolling or
+pitching, any more than a rider minds the motion of his horse;
+but when she does both at once, with no approach to regularity in
+her movements, it makes them feel angry with her.  What, then,
+must our feelings have been under such trying conditions, with
+that mountain of matter alongside to which so much sheer hard
+labour had to be done, while the sky was getting greasy and the
+wind beginning to whine in that doleful key which is the certain
+prelude to a gale?
+
+Everybody worked like Chinamen on a contract, as if there was no
+such feeling as fatigue.  Little was said, but we all realized
+that unless this job was got over before what was brooding burst
+upon us, we should certainly lose some portion of our hard-won
+whale. Still, our utmost possible was all we could do; and when
+at daylight the head was hauled alongside for cutting up, the
+imminent possibility of losing it, though grievous to think of,
+worried nobody, for all had done their best.  The gale had
+commenced in business-like fashion, but the sea was horrible.  It
+was almost impossible to keep one's footing on the stage.  At
+times the whole mass of the head would be sucked down by the lee
+roll of the ship, and go right under her keel, the fluke-chain
+which held it grinding and straining as if it would tear the bows
+out of her.  Then when she rolled back again the head would
+rebound to the surface right away from the ship, where we could
+not reach it to cut.  Once or twice it bounced up beneath our
+feet, striking the stage and lifting it with its living load
+several inches, letting it fall again with a jerk that made us
+all cling for dear life to our precarious perch.
+
+In spite of these capers, we managed to get the junk off the
+head.  It was a tremendous lift for us; I hardly think we had
+ever raised such a weight before. The skipper himself estimated
+it at fifteen tons, which was no small load for the tackles in
+fine weather, but with the ship tumbling about in her present
+fashion, it threatened to rip the mainmast out by the roots--not,
+of course, the dead-weight strain; but when it was nearly aboard,
+her sudden lee wallow sometimes floated the whole mass, which the
+next instant, on the return roll, would be torn out of water,
+with all the force of the ship suddenly rolling the other way.
+Every splinter, every rope-yarn of her groaned again under this
+savage treatment; but so splendid was her construction that she
+never made a drop of water more than just sufficient to sweeten
+the limbers.
+
+It was with great and genuine satisfaction that we saw it at last
+safely lowered on deck and secured. But when we turned our
+attention to the case, which, still attached to the skull,
+battered alongside, any chance of saving it was at once seen to
+be hopeless. Indeed, as the old man said, it was time for us to
+"up stick" and run for shelter.  We had been too fully occupied
+to notice the gradual increase of the wind; but when we did,
+there was no gainsaying the fact that it was blowing a very stiff
+breeze (ANGLICE, a violent gale).  Fortunately for us, it was
+from the westward, fair for the harbour of Port William, on the
+Stewart's Island side of the Straits, so that we were free from
+the apprehension of being blown out to sea or on a jagged lee
+shore.
+
+While we were thus thinking during a brief pause to take breath,
+the old packet herself solved our last difficulty in emphatic
+fashion.  She gave a tremendous lee lurch, which would inevitably
+have destroyed the cutting stage if we had not hoisted it,
+driving right over the head, which actually rose to the surface
+to windward, having passed under her bottom.  The weather roll
+immediately following was swift and sudden.  From the nature of
+things, it was evident that something must give way this time.
+It did.  For the first and only time in my experience, the fluke-
+chain was actually torn through the piece to which it was fast
+--two feet of solid gristle ripped asunder.  Away went the head
+with its L150 to L200 worth of pure spermaceti, disappearing from
+view almost immediately.
+
+It had no sooner gone than more sail was set, the yards were
+squared, and the vessel kept away up the Straits for shelter.  It
+was a big improvement, for she certainly had begun to make dirty
+weather of it, and no wonder.  Now, however, running almost dead
+before the gale, getting into smoother water at every fathom, she
+was steady as a rock, allowing us to pursue our greasy avocation
+in comparative comfort.  The gale was still increasing, although
+now blowing with great fury; but, to our satisfaction, it was dry
+and not too cold.  Running before it, too, lessened our
+appreciation of its force; besides which, we were exceedingly
+busy clearing away the enormous mass of the junk, which, draining
+continually, kept the decks running with oil.
+
+We started to run up the Straits at about ten a.m. At two p.m. we
+suddenly looked up from our toil, our attention called by a
+sudden lull in the wind.  We had rounded Saddle Point, a
+prominent headland, which shut off from us temporarily the
+violence of the gale. Two hours later we found ourselves hauling
+up into the pretty little harbour of Port William, where, without
+taking more than a couple of hands off the work, the vessel was
+rounded-to and anchored with quite as little fuss as bringing a
+boat alongside a ship.  It was the perfection of seamanship.
+
+Once inside the bay, a vessel was sheltered from all winds, the
+land being high and the entrance intricate. The water was smooth
+as a mill-pond, though the leaden masses of cloud flying overhead
+and the muffled roar of the gale told eloquently of the
+unpleasant state affairs prevailing outside.  Two whale-ships lay
+here--the TAMERLANE, of New Bedford, and the CHANCE, of Bluff
+Harbour.  I am bound to confess that there was a great difference
+is appearance between the Yankee and the colonial--very much in
+favour of the former.  She was neat, smart, and seaworthy,
+looking as if just launched; but the CHANCE looked like some poor
+old relic of a bygone day, whose owners, unable to sell her, and
+too poor to keep her in repair, were just letting her go while
+keeping up the insurance, praying fervently each day that she
+might come to grief, and bring them a little profit at last.
+
+But although it is much safer to trust appearances in ships than
+in men, any one who summed up the CHANCE from her generally
+outworn and poverty-stricken looks would have been, as I was,
+"way off."  Old she was, with an indefinite antiquity, carelessly
+rigged, and vilely unkempt as to her gear, while outside she did
+not seem to have had a coat of paint for a generation.  She
+looked what she really was--the sole survivor of the once great
+whaling industry of New Zealand.  For although struggling bay
+whaling stations did exist in a few sheltered places far away
+from the general run of traffic, the trade itself might
+truthfully be said to be practically extinct.  The old CHANCE
+alone, like some shadow of the past, haunted Foveaux Straits,
+and made a better income for her fortunate owners than any of the
+showy, swift coasting steamers that rushed contemptuously past
+her on their eager way.
+
+In many of the preceding pages I have, though possessing all an
+Englishman's pride in the prowess of mine own people, been
+compelled to bear witness to the wonderful smartness and courage
+shown by the American whalemen, to whom their perilous calling
+seems to have become a second nature.  And on other occasions I
+have lamented that our own whalers, either at home or in the
+colonies, never seemed to take so kindly to the sperm whale
+fishery as the hardy "down Easters," who first taught them the
+business; carried it on with increasing success, in spite of
+their competition and the depredations of the ALABAMA; flourished
+long after the English fishery was dead; and even now muster a
+fleet of ships engaged in the same bold and hazardous calling.
+Therefore, it is the more pleasant to me to be able to chronicle
+some of the doings of Captain Gilroy, familiarly known as
+"Paddy," the master of the CHANCE, who was unsurpassed as a
+whale-fisher or a seaman by any Yankee that ever sailed from
+Martha's Vineyard.
+
+He was a queer little figure of a man--short, tubby, with scanty
+red hair, and a brogue thick as pea-soup. Eccentric in most
+things, he was especially so in his dress, which he seemed to
+select on the principle of finding the most unfitting things to
+wear.  Rumour credited him with a numerous half-breed progeny--
+certainly he was greatly mixed up with the Maories, half his crew
+being made up of his dusky friends and relations by MARRIAGE.
+Overflowing with kindliness and good temper, his ship was a
+veritable ark of refuge for any unfortunate who needed help,
+which accounted for the numerous deserters from Yankee whalers
+who were to be found among his crew.  Such whaling skippers as
+our late commander hated him with ferocious intensity; and but
+for his Maori and half-breed bodyguard, I have little doubt he
+would have long before been killed.  Living as he had for many
+years on that storm-beaten coast, he had become, like his
+Maories, familiar with every rock and tree in fog or clear, by
+night or day; he knew them, one might almost say, as the seal
+knows them, and feared them as little.  His men adored him.  They
+believed him capable of anything in the way of whaling, and would
+as soon have thought of questioning the reality of daylight as
+the wisdom of his decisions.
+
+I went on board the evening of, our arrival, hearing some rumours
+of the doings of the old CHANCE and her crew, also with the idea
+that perhaps I might find some countrymen among his very mixed
+crowd.  The first man I spoke to was Whitechapel to the backbone,
+plainly to be spotted as such as if it had been tattooed on his
+forehead.  Making myself at home with him, I desired to know what
+brought him so far from the "big smoke," and on board a whaler of
+all places in the world.  He told me he had been a Pickford's
+van-driver, but had emigrated to New Zealand, finding that he did
+not at all like himself in the new country.  Trying to pick and
+choose instead of manfully choosing a pick and shovel for a
+beginning, he got hard up.  During one of Captain Gilroy's visits
+to the Bluff, he came across my ex-drayman, looking hungry and
+woebegone.  Invited on board to have a feed, he begged to be
+allowed to remain; nor, although his assistance was not needed,
+was he refused.  "An nar," he said, his face glowing with
+conscious pride, "y'ort ter see me in a bloomin' bowt.  I ain't
+a-goain' ter say as I kin fling wun o' them 'ere bloomin'
+'arpoones like ar bowt-steerers kin; but I kin do my bit o'
+grawft wiv enny on 'em--don'tchu make no bloomin' herror."  The
+glorious incongruity of the thing tickled me immensely; but I
+laughed more heartily still when on going below I was hailed as
+"Wot cher, chummy; 'ow yer hoppin' up?"  by another barbarian
+from the wilds of Spitalfields, who, from the secure shelter of
+his cats'-meat round in 'Oxton, had got adrift, and, after being
+severely buffeted by tempestuous ill-fortune, had finally found
+himself in the comfortable old CHANCE, a haven of rest in the
+midst of storms.  There were sixteen white men on board the
+CHANCE, including the skipper, drawn as usual from various
+European and American sources, the rest of her large crew of over
+forty all told being made up of Maories and half-breeds.  One
+common interest united them, making them the jolliest crowd I
+ever saw--their devotion to their commander.  There was here to
+be found no jealousy of the Maories being officers and
+harpooners, no black looks or discontented murmuring; all hands
+seemed particularly well satisfied with their lot in all its
+bearings; so that, although the old tub was malodorous enough to
+turn even a pretty strong stomach, it was a pleasure to visit her
+cheerful crowd for the sake of their enlivening society.
+
+Of course, under our present circumstances, with the debris of
+our late enormous catch filling every available space and loudly
+demanding attention, we had little time to spare for ship
+visiting.  Some boat or other from the two ships was continually
+alongside of us, though, for until the gale abated they could not
+get out to the grounds again, and time hung heavy on their hands.
+The TAMERLANE's captain avoided Paddy as if he were a leper--
+hated the sight of him, in fact, as did most of his CONFRERES;
+but our genial skipper, whose crew were every whit as well
+treated and contented as the CHANCE's, and who therefore needed
+not to dread losing them, met the little philanthropist on the
+most friendly terms.
+
+The first fine weather, which came four days after our arrival,
+both our harbour mates cleared out.  Characteristically, the
+CHANCE was away first, before daylight had quite asserted itself,
+and while the bases of the cliffs and tops of the rocks were as
+yet hidden in dense wreaths of white haze.  Paddy lolled on the
+taff-rail near the wheel, which was held by an immense half-
+breed, who leant back and carried on a desultory, familiar
+conversation with his skipper; the rest of the crew were
+scattered about the decks, apparently doing what they liked in
+any manner they chose.  The anchor was being catted, sails going
+up, and yards being trimmed; but, to observers like us, no
+guiding spirit was noticeable.  It seemed to work all right, and
+the old ark herself looked as if she was as intelligent as any of
+them; but the sight was not an agreeable one to men accustomed to
+discipline.  The contrast when the TAMERLANE came along an hour
+or so after was emphatic.  Every man at his post; every order
+carried out with the precision of clockwork; the captain pacing
+the quarter-deck as if she were a line-of-battle ship--here the
+airs put on were almost ludicrous in the other direction.
+Although she was only "a good jump" long, as we say, whenever an
+order was given, it was thundered out as if the men were a mile
+away each officer appearing to vie with the others as to who
+could bellow the loudest.  That was carrying things to the
+opposite extreme, and almost equally objectionable to merchant
+seamen.
+
+We were thus left alone to finish our trying-out except for such
+company as was afforded by the only resident's little schooner,
+in which he went oyster-dredging.  It was exceedingly comfortable
+in the small harbour, and the fishing something to remember all
+one's life.  That part of New Zealand is famous for a fish
+something like a bream, but with a longer snout, and striped
+longitudinally with black and yellow.  I am ignorant of any
+polysyllabic prefix for it, only knowing it by its trivial and
+local appellation of the "trumpeter," from the peculiar sound it
+makes when out of water.  But no other fish out of the
+innumerable varieties which I have sampled in all parts of the
+world could compare with the trumpeter for flavour and delicacy.
+These qualities are well known to the inhabitants of the large
+towns, who willingly pay high prices for the scanty supply of
+these delicious fish which they are able to obtain.  Of other
+succulent fish there was a great variety, from the majestic
+"grouper," running up to over a hundredweight, down to the
+familiar flounder.  Very little fishing could be done at night.
+Just as day was dawning was the ideal time for this enticing
+sport.  As soon as the first few streaks of delicate light
+enlivened the dull horizon, a stray nibble or two gladdened the
+patient fishermen; then as the light strengthened the fun became
+general, and in about an hour enough fish would be caught to
+provide all hands with for the day.
+
+One morning, when a stark calm left, the surface of the bay as
+smooth as a mirror, I was watching a few stealthily-gliding
+barracouta sneaking about over the plainly visible bottom, though
+at a depth of seven or eight fathoms.  Ordinarily, these fish
+must be taken with a live bait; but, remembering my experience
+with the dolphin, I determined to try a carefully arranged strip
+of fish from one recently caught.  In precisely the same way as
+the dolphin, these long, snaky rascals carefully tested the bait,
+lying still for sometimes as long as two minutes with the bait in
+their mouths, ready to drop it out on the first intimation that
+it was not a detached morsel.  After these periods of waiting the
+artful creature would turn to go, and a sudden jerk of the line
+then reminded him that he was no longer a free agent, but
+mounting at headlong speed to a strange bourne whence he never
+returned to tell the tale.  My catch that lovely morning scaled
+over a hundredweight in less than an hour, none of the fish being
+less than ten pounds in weight.
+
+The Maories have quite an original way of catching barracouta.
+They prepare a piece of "rimu" (red pine) about three inches
+long, by an inch broad, and a quarter of an inch thick.  Through
+one end of this they drive an inch nail bent upwards, and filed
+to a sharp point. The other end is fastened to about a fathom of
+stout fishing-line, which is in turn secured to the end of a
+five-foot pole.  Seated in a boat with sail set, they slip along
+until a school of barracouta is happened upon.  Then the peak of
+the sail is dropped, so as to deaden the boat's way, while the
+fishermen ply their poles with a sidelong sweep that threshes the
+bit of shining red through the water, making it irresistibly
+attractive to a struggling horde of ravenous fish.  One by one,
+as swiftly as the rod can be wielded, the lithe forms drop off
+the barbless hook into the boat, till the vigorous arm can no
+longer respond to the will of the fisherman, or the vessel will
+hold no more.
+
+Such were the goodly proportions of this first Solander whale of
+ours that, in spite of the serious loss of the case, we made
+thirteen and a half tuns of oil.  When the fifteen huge casks
+containing it were stowed in their final positions, they made an
+imposing show, inspiring all of us with visions of soon being
+homeward bound.  For the present we were, perforce, idle; for the
+wind had set in to blow steadily and strongly right up the
+Straits, preventing any attempts to get out while it lasted.  The
+time did not hang heavy on our hands, for the surrounding country
+offered many attractions, which we were allowed to take full
+advantage of.  Spearing eels and flounders at night by means of a
+cresset hung out over the boat's bow, as she was slowly sculled
+up the long, shallow creeks, was a favourite form of amusement.
+Mr. Cross, the resident, kindly allowed us to raid his garden,
+where the ripe fruit was rotting by the bushel for want of
+consumers.  We needed no pressing; for fruit, since we left Vau
+Vau, of any kind had not come in our way; besides, these were
+"homey"--currants, gooseberries, strawberries--delightful to see,
+smell, and taste.  So it came to pass that we had a high old time,
+unmarred by a single regrettable incident, until, after an
+enforced detention of twenty days, we were able to get to sea
+again.
+
+Halfway down the Straits we sighted the CHANCE, all hands ripping
+the blubber off a sizeable whale in the same "anyhow" fashion as
+they handled their ship.  They were in high glee, giving us a
+rousing cheer as we passed them on our westward course.  Arriving
+on the ground, we found a goodly company of fine ships, which I
+could not help thinking too many for so small an area.  During
+our absence, the TAMERLANE had been joined by the ELIZA ADAMS,
+the MATILDA SAYER, the CORAL, and the RAINBOW; and it was evident
+that no whale venturing within the radius of the Solander in the
+daytime would stand much chance of escaping such a battery of
+eager eyes.  Only three days elapsed after our arrival when
+whales were seen.  For the first time, I realized how numerous
+those gigantic denizens of the sea really are.  As far as the eye
+could reach, extending all round one-half of the horizon, the sea
+appeared to be alive with spouts--all sperm whales, all bulls of
+great size.  The value of this incredible school must have been
+incalculable.  Subsequent experience satisfied me that such a
+sight was by no means uncommon here; in fact, "lone whales" or
+small "pods" were quite the exception.
+
+Well, we all "waded in," getting, some two, some one whale
+apiece, according to the ability of the crews or the fortune of
+war.  Only one fell to our lot in the CACHALOT, but it was just
+as well.  We had hardly, got him fast by the fluke alongside when
+it began to pipe up from the north-east.  In less than one watch
+the sea was fairly smoking with the fierceness of the wind.  We
+were unable to get in anywhere, being, with a whale alongside,
+about as handy as a barge loaded with a haystack; while those
+unfortunate beggars that had two whales fast to them were utterly
+helpless as far as independent locomotion went, unless they could
+run dead before the wind.  Every ship made all snug aloft, and
+hoisted the boats to the top notch of the cranes, fully
+anticipating a long, hard struggle with the elements before they
+got back to the cruising ground again.  Cutting-in was out of the
+question in such weather; the only thing possible was to hope for
+a shift of wind before she got too far out, or a break in the
+weather.  Neither of these events was probable, as all
+frequenters of South New Zealand know, bad weather having there
+an unhappy knack of being as persistent as fine weather is brief.
+
+Night drew on as our forlorn and heavily handicapped little fleet
+bore steadily seaward with their burdens, the angry, ever-
+increasing sea, battering at us vengefully, while the huge
+carcasses alongside tore and strained at their fastenings as if
+they would rend the ships asunder.  Slowly our companions faded
+from sight as the murky sky shut down on us, until in lonely
+helplessness we drifted on our weary way out into the vast,
+inhospitable Southern Ocean.  Throughout the dark and stormy
+night our brave old ship held on her unwilling way right
+gallantly, making no water, in spite of the fearful strain to
+which she was subjected, nor taking any heavy sea over all.
+Morning broke cheerlessly enough.  No abatement in the gale or
+change in its direction; indeed, it looked like lasting a month.
+Only one ship was visible far to leeward of us, and she was hull
+down.  Our whale was beginning to swell rapidly, already floating
+at least three feet above the surface instead of just awash, as
+when newly killed.  The skipper eyed it gloomily, seeing the near
+prospect of its entire loss, but he said nothing.  In fact, very
+little was said; but the stories we had heard in the Bay of
+Islands came back to us with significant force now that their
+justification was so apparent.
+
+Hour after hour went by without any change whatever, except in
+the whale, which, like some gradually filling balloon, rose
+higher and higher, till at nightfall its bulk was appalling.
+All through the night those on deck did little else but stare at
+its increasing size, which when morning dawned again, was so
+great that the animal's bilge rode level with the ship's rail,
+while in her lee rolls it towered above the deck like a mountain.
+The final scene with it was now a question of minutes only, so
+most of us, fascinated by the strange spectacle, watched and
+waited.  Suddenly, with a roar like the bursting of a dam, the
+pent-up gases tore their furious way out of the distended
+carcass, hurling the entrails in one horrible entanglement
+widespread over the sea.  It was well for us that it was to
+leeward and a strong gale howling; for even then the unutterable
+foetor wrought its poisonous way back through that fierce, pure
+blast, permeating every nook of the ship with its filthy vapour
+till the stoutest stomach there protested in unmistakable terms
+against such vile treatment. Knowing too well that the blubber
+was now worthless, the skipper gave orders to cut the corrupt
+mass adrift. This was speedily effected by a few strokes of a
+spade through the small.  Away went eight hundred pounds' worth
+of oil--another sacrifice to the exigencies of the Solander, such
+as had gained for it so evil a reputation.
+
+Doubtless a similar experience had befallen all the other ships,
+so that the aggregate loss must have run into thousands of
+pounds, every penny of which might have been saved had steam been
+available.
+
+That gale lasted, with a few short lulls, for five days longer.
+When at last it took off, and was succeeded by fine weather, we
+were so far to the southward that we might have fetched the
+Aucklands in another twenty-four hours.  But, to our great
+relief, a strong southerly breeze set in, before which, under
+every rag of canvas, we sped north again.
+
+Steady and reliable as ever, that good south wind carried us back
+to our old cruising ground ere it blew itself out, and we resumed
+our usual tactics as if nothing had happened, being none the
+worse as regards equipment for our adventures.  Not so fortunate
+our companions, who at the same time as ourselves were thrust out
+into the vast Southern Ocean, helplessly burdened and exposed
+defenceless to all the ferocity of that devouring gale, Two of
+them were here prowling about, showing evident signs of their
+conflict in the battered state of their hulls.  The glaring
+whiteness of new planking in many places along the bulwarks told
+an eloquent story of seas bursting on board carrying all before
+them, while empty cranes testified to the loss of a boat in both
+of them.  As soon as we came near enough, "gamming" commenced,
+for all of us were anxious to know how each other had fared.
+
+As we anticipated, every whale was lost that had been caught that
+day.  The disappointment was in nowise lessened by the knowledge
+that, with his usual good fortune Captain Gilroy had not only
+escaped all the bad weather, but while we were being threshed
+within an inch of our lives down in the bitter south, he was
+calmly trying-out his whale (which we had seen him with on our
+outward journey) in the sheltered haven of Port William.  Many
+and deep were the curses bestowed upon him by the infuriated
+crews of those two ships, although he had certainly done them no
+harm.  But the sight of other people's good fortune is gall and
+wormwood to a vast number of people, who seem to take it as a
+personal injury done to themselves.
+
+Only two days elapsed, however, before we again saw an immense
+school of sperm whales, and each ship succeeded in securing one.
+We made no attempt to get more this time, nor do I think either
+of the others did; at any rate, one each was the result of the
+day's work.  They were, as usual, of huge size and apparently
+very fat.  At the time we secured our fish alongside, a fresh
+north-westerly wind was blowing, the weather being clear and
+beautiful as heart could wish.  But instead of commencing at once
+to cut-in, Captain Count gave orders to pile on all sail and keep
+her away up the Straits.  He was evidently determined to take no
+more chances, but, whenever opportunity offered, to follow the
+example set by the wily old skipper of the CHANCE.  The other
+ships both started to cut-in at once, tempted, doubtless, by the
+settled appearance of the weather, and also perhaps from their
+hardly concealed dislike of going into port.  We bowled along at
+a fine rate, towing our prize, that plunged and rolled by our
+side in eccentric style, almost as if still alive.  Along about
+midnight we reached Saddle Point, where there was some shelter
+from the sea which rolled up the wide open strait, and there we
+anchored.
+
+Leaving me and a couple of Kanakas on watch, the captain, and all
+hands besides, went below for a little sleep.  My instructions
+were to call the captain if the weather got at all ugly-looking,
+so that we might run in to Port William at once, but he did not
+wish to do so if our present position proved sufficiently
+sheltered.  He had not been below an hour before there was a
+change for the worse.  That greasy, filmy haze was again drawn
+over the clear blue of the sky, and the light scud began to fly
+overhead at an alarmingly rapid rate.  So at four bells I called
+him again.  He came on deck at once, and after one look round
+ordered the hands up to man the windlass.  By eight bells (four
+a.m.) we were rounding the frowning rocks at the entrance of Port
+William, and threading our way between the closely-set, kelp-
+hidden dangers as if it were broadest, dearest daylight.  At 4.30
+we let go the anchor again, and all hands, except the regular
+"anchor-watch," bolted below to their bunks again like so many
+rabbits.
+
+It was very comfortable, cutting-in a sperm whale in harbour,
+after the dire difficulty of performing the same operation in a
+seaway.  And, although it may seem strange, this was the first
+occasion that voyage that I had had a really good opportunity of
+closely studying the whale's anatomy.  Consequently the work was
+exceedingly interesting, and, in spite of the labour involved, I
+was almost sorry when the job was done.  Under the present
+favourable circumstances we were ready to cut the carcass adrift
+shortly after midday, the head, of course, having been taken off
+first.  Just after we started to cut-in a boat appeared alongside
+with six Maories and half-breeds on board. Their leader came up
+and civilly asked the skipper whether he intended doing anything
+with the carcass. Upon being promptly answered in the negative,
+he said that he and his companions proposed hooking on to the
+great mass when we cut it adrift, towing it ashore, and getting
+out of it what oil we had been unable to extract, which at sea is
+always lost to the ship.  He also suggested that he would be
+prepared to take reasonable terms for such oil, which we should
+be able to mingle with ours to our advantage.  An arrangement was
+speedily arrived at to give him L20 per tun for whatever oil he
+made.  They parted on the best of terms with each other, and as
+soon as we cut the carcass loose the Maories made fast, to it,
+speedily beaching it in a convenient spot near where they had
+previously erected a most primitive try-works.
+
+That afternoon, after the head was inboard, the skipper thought
+he would go ashore and see how they were getting on.  I was so
+fortunate as to be able to accompany him.  When we arrived at the
+spot, we found them working as I have never seen men work, except
+perhaps the small riggers that at home take a job--three or four
+of them--to bend or unbend a big ship's sails for a lump sum to
+be paid when the work is done.  They attacked the carcass
+furiously, as if they had a personal enmity against it, chopping
+through the massive bones and rending off huge lumps of the flesh
+with marvellous speed.  They had already laid open the enormous
+cavity of the abdomen, and were stripping the interminable
+intestines of their rich coating of fat.  In the maw there were,
+besides a large quantity of dismembered squid of great size, a
+number of fish, such as rock-cod, barracouta, schnapper, and the
+like, whose presence there was a revelation to me.  How in the
+name of wonder so huge and unwieldy a creature as the cachalot
+could manage to catch those nimble members of the finny tribe, I
+could not for the life of me divine!  Unless--and after much
+cogitation it was the only feasible explanation that I could see
+--as the cachalot swims about with his lower jaw hanging down in
+its normal position, and his huge gullet gaping like some
+submarine cavern, the fish unwittingly glide down it, to find
+egress impossible.  This may or may not be the case; but I, at
+any rate, can find no more reasonable theory, for it is
+manifestly absurd to suppose the whale capable of CATCHING fish
+in the ordinary sense, indicating pursuit.
+
+Every part of the animal yielded oil.  Even the bones, broken up
+into pieces capable of entering the pot, were boiled; and by the
+time we had finished our trying-out, the result of the Maories'
+labour was ready for us.  Less than a week had sufficed to yield
+them a net sum of six guineas each, even at the very low rate for
+which they sold us the oil.  Except that it was a little darker
+in colour, a defect that would disappear when mixed with our
+store, there was no difference between the products that could be
+readily detected.  And at the price we paid for it, there was a
+clear profit of cent. per cent., even had we kept it separate and
+sold it for what it was.  But I suppose it was worth the Maories'
+while thus to dispose of it and quickly realize their hard
+earnings.
+
+So far, our last excursion had been entirely satisfactory.  We
+had not suffered any loss or endured any hardship; and if only
+such comfortable proceedings were more frequent, the Solander
+ground would not have any terrors for us at least.  But one
+afternoon there crept in around the eastern horn of the harbour
+three forlorn and half-dismantled vessels, whose weather-worn
+crews looked wistfully at us engaged in clearing up decks and
+putting away gear upon the finishing of our trying-out.  Poor
+fellows!  they had seen rough times since that unforgettable
+evening when we parted from them at the other end of the island,
+and watched them slowly fade into the night.  Two of them were so
+badly damaged that no further fishing was possible for them until
+they had undergone a thorough refit, such as they could not
+manage there.  One was leaking badly, the tremendous strain put
+upon her hull in the vain attempt to hold on to the two whales
+she had during the gale having racked her almost all to pieces.
+The third one was still capable of taking the ground again, with
+sundry repairs such as could be effected by her crew.  But the
+general feeling among all three crews was that there was more
+loss than gain to be expected here, in spite of the multitude of
+whales visiting the place.
+
+As if to fill up their cup, in came the old CHANCE again, this
+time with a whale on each side.  Captain Gilroy was on the house
+aft, his chubby red face in a ruddy glow of delight, and his crew
+exuberant.  When he passed the American ships, as he was bound to
+do very closely, the sight of their scowling faces seemed to
+afford him the most exquisite amusement, and he laughed loud and
+long.  His crew, on the impulse of the moment, sprang to the rail
+and cheered with might and main.  No one could gainsay that they
+had good reason, but I really feared for a time that we should
+have "ructions," As Paddy said, it was not wise or dignified for
+those officers to be so angry with him on account of his success,
+which he frankly owned was due almost entirely to the local
+knowledge he possessed, gained in many years' study of the
+immediate neighbourhood.  He declared that, as far as the
+technical duties of whale-fishing went, all the Americans could
+beat him hollow; but they ought to realize that something else
+was needed here which no man could hope to have unless he were
+content to remain on the coast altogether.  With which words of
+wisdom our skipper cordially agreed, bearing in mind his own
+exploits in the bygone time around those rugged shores.
+
+The strong breeze which brought Paddy and his whales home died
+down that night, enabling us to start for the grounds again--a
+concession gratefully received, for not the least of the
+hindrances felt there was the liability to be "wind-bound" for a
+long time, while fine weather was prevailing at the fishing
+grounds.
+
+We made a fine passage down the Straits with a leading wind,
+finding our two late companions still cruising, having managed to
+get their whales aboard without mishap, and being somewhat
+inclined to chaff our old man for running in.  He gave a wink
+full of wisdom, as he replied, "I'm pretty ole whale myself
+naouw; but I guess I ain't too old to learn; 'n wut I learn I'm
+goin' ter use.  See?"  Of course the fine weather did not last
+long--it never does; and seeing the gloomy masses of violet-edged
+cumuli piling up on the southern horizon, we hugged the Solander
+Rock itself pretty close, nor ventured far to seaward.  Our two
+consorts, on the contrary, kept well out and on the northern
+verge, as if they intended the next gale that blew to get north,
+IF they could.  The old man's object in thus keeping in was
+solely in order that he might be able to run for shelter; but,
+much to his delight and certainly surprise, as we passed about a
+mile to the southward of the lonely, towering crags of the great
+rock, there came from aloft the welcome cry of "Sperm whale!"
+
+There was only one, and he was uncomfortably near the rock; but
+such a splendid chance was not to be missed, if our previous
+training was of any avail.  There was some speculation as to what
+he could be doing so close inshore, contrary to the habit of this
+animal, who seems to be only comfortable when in deep waters; but
+except a suggestion that perhaps he had come in to scrape off an
+extra accumulation of barnacles, nobody could arrive at any
+definite conclusion.  When we reached him, we found a frightful
+blind swell rolling, and it needed all our seamanship to handle
+the boats so that they should not be capsized.  Fortunately, the
+huge rollers did not break, or we should hardly have got back
+safely, whale or no whale.
+
+Two irons were planted in him, of which he took not the slightest
+notice.  We had taken in sail before closing in to him on account
+of the swell, so that we had only to go in and finish him at
+once, if he would let us.  Accordingly, we went in with a will,
+but for all sign of life he showed he might as well have been
+stuffed.  There he lay, lazily spouting, the blood pouring, or
+rather spirting, from his numerous wounds, allowing us to add to
+their number at our pleasure, and never moving his vast body,
+which was gently swayed by the rolling sea.  Seeing him thus
+quiescent, the mate sent the other two boats back to the ship
+with the good news, which the captain received with a grave smile
+of content, proceeding at once to bring the ship as near as might
+be consistent with her safety.  We were now thoroughly sheltered
+from sight of the other ships by the enormous mass of the island,
+so that they had no idea of our proceedings.
+
+Finding that it was not wise to take the ship in any closer,
+while we were yet some distance from our prize, a boat was sent
+to Mr. Cruce with the instructions that he was to run his line
+from the whale back to the ship, if the creature was dead.  He
+(the mate) replied that the whale died as quietly as he had taken
+his wounds, and immediately started for the ship.  When he had
+paid out all his line, another boat bent on, until we got the end
+on board.  Then we merrily walked him up alongside, while
+sufficient sail was kept drawing to prevent her being set in any
+nearer.  When he was fast, we crowded on all canvas to get away;
+for although the sea was deep close up to the cliff, that swell
+was a very ugly feature, and one which has been responsible for
+the loss of a great number of ships in such places all over the
+world.  Notwithstanding all our efforts, we did get so near that
+every detail of the rock was clearly visible to the naked eye,
+and we had some anxious minutes while the old ship, rolling
+tremendously, crawled inch after inch along the awful side of
+that sea-encircled pyramid.
+
+At one point there was quite a cave, the floor of which would be
+some twenty feet above high-water mark, and its roof about the
+same distance higher.  It appeared to penetrate some distance
+into the bowels of the mountain, and was wide and roomy.  Sea-
+birds in great numbers hovered around its entrance, finding it,
+no doubt, an ideal nesting-place.  It appeared quite
+inaccessible, for even with a perfect calm the swell dashed
+against the perpendicular face of the cliff beneath with a force
+that would have instantly destroyed any vessel unfortunate enough
+to get within its influence.
+
+Slowly, slowly we forged past the danger; but the moment we
+opened out the extremity of the island, a fresh breeze, like a
+saving hand, swept across the bows, filling the head-sails and
+swinging the old vessel away from the island in grand style.
+Another minute, and the other sails filled also.  We were safe,
+all hands breathing freely once more.
+
+Now the wind hung far round to the eastward--far enough to
+frustrate any design we might have had of going up the Straits
+again.  The old man, however, was too deeply impressed with the
+paramount necessity of shelter to lightly give up the idea of
+getting in somewhere; so he pointed her for Preservation Inlet,
+which was only some thirty miles under her lee.  We crowded all
+sail upon her in the endeavour to get in before nightfall, this
+unusual proceeding bringing our two friends up from to leeward
+with a run to see what we were after.  Burdened as we were, they
+sailed nearly two knots to our one, and consequently intercepted
+us some while before we neared our port.  Great was their
+surprise to find we had a whale, and very anxious their queries
+as to where the rest of the school had gone.  Reassured that they
+had lost nothing by not being nearer, it being a "lone" whale,
+off they went again.
+
+With all our efforts, evening was fast closing in when we entered
+the majestic portals of Preservation Inlet, and gazed with
+deepest interest upon its heavily wooded shores.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+PADDY'S LATEST EXPLOIT
+
+New Zealand is pre-eminently a country of grand harbours; but I
+think those that are least used easily bear the palm for grandeur
+of scenery and facility of access.  The wonderful harbour, or
+rather series of harbours, into which we were now entering for
+the first time, greatly resembled in appearance a Norwegian
+fjord, not only in the character of its scenery, but from the
+interesting, if disconcerting, fact that the cliffs were so
+steep-to that in some places no anchorage is found alongside the
+very land itself.  There are, however, many places where the best
+possible anchorage can be obtained, so securely sheltered that a
+howling south-wester may be tearing the sea up by the roots
+outside, and you will know nothing of it within, except what may
+be surmised from the motion of the clouds overhead.  It was an
+ideal place for a whaling station, being right on the Solander.
+
+We found it exceedingly convenient, and much nearer than Port
+William, but, from the prevailing winds, difficult of access in
+nine cases out of ten, especially when hampered with a whale.
+Upon cutting-in our latest catch, an easy explanation of his
+passive attitude was at once forthcoming.  He had been attacked
+by some whale-ship, whose irons had drawn, leaving deep traces of
+their presence; but during the battle he had received SEVEN
+bombs, all of which had entered around his small, but had not
+exploded.  Their general effect had been, I should think, to
+paralyze the great muscles of his flukes, rendering him unable to
+travel; yet this could not have taken place until some time after
+he had made good his escape from those aggressors.  It was
+instructive, as demonstrating what amount of injury these colossi
+really can survive, and I have no doubt that, if he had been left
+alone, he would have recovered his normal energy, and been as
+well as ever.  From our point of view, of course, what had
+happened was the best possible thing, for he came almost as a
+gift--the second capture we had made on these grounds of a like
+nature.
+
+At the close of our operations the welcome news was made public
+that four more fish like the present one would fill us bung-up,
+and that we should then, after a brief visit to the Bluff, start
+direct for home.  This announcement, though expected for some
+time past, gave an amazing fillip to everybody's interest in the
+work.  The strange spectacle was witnessed of all hands being
+anxious to quit a snug harbour for the sea, where stern, hard
+wrestling with the elements was the rule.  The captain, well
+pleased with the eagerness manifested, had his boat manned for a
+trip to the entrance of the harbour, to see what the weather was
+like outside, since it was not possible to judge from where the
+ship lay.  On his return, he reported the weather rough, but
+moderating, and announced his intention of weighing at daylight
+next morning.  Satisfied that our days in the southern hemisphere
+were numbered, and all anxiety to point her head for home, this
+news was most pleasing, putting all of us in the best of humours,
+and provoking quite an entertainment of song and dance until
+nearly four bells.
+
+During the grey of dawn the anchor was weighed.  There was no
+breath of wind from any quarter, so that it was necessary to
+lower boats and tow the old girl out to her field of duty.
+Before she was fairly clear of the harbour, though, there came a
+"snifter" from the hills that caught her unprepared, making her
+reel again, and giving us a desperate few minutes to scramble on
+board and hoist our boats up.  As we drew out from the land, we
+found that a moderate gale was blowing, but the sky was clear,
+fathomless blue, the sun rose kindly, a heavenly dream of soft
+delicate colour preceding him; so that, in spite of the strong
+breeze, all looked promising for a good campaign.  At first no
+sign could be seen of any of the other ships, though we looked
+long and eagerly for them.  At last we saw them, four in all,
+nearly hull down to seaward, but evidently coming in under press
+of sail.  So slow, however, was their approach that we had made
+one "leg" across the ground and halfway back before they were
+near enough for us to descry the reason of their want of speed.
+They had each got a whale alongside, and were carrying every rag
+of canvas they could spread, in order to get in with their
+prizes.
+
+Our old acquaintance, the CHANCE, was there, the three others
+being her former competitors, except those who were disabled,
+still lying in Port William.  Slowly, painfully they laboured
+along, until well within the mouth of the Straits, when, without
+any warning, the wind which had been bringing them in suddenly
+flew round into the northward, putting them at once in a most
+perilous position.  Too far within the Straits to "up helm" and
+run for it out to sea; not far enough to get anywhere that an
+anchor might hold; and there to leeward, within less than a dozen
+miles, loomed grim and gloomy one of the most terrific rock-bound
+coasts in the world.  The shift of wind had placed the CHANCE
+farther to leeward than all the rest, a good mile and a half
+nearer the shore; and we could well imagine how anxiously her
+movements were being watched by the others, who, in spite of
+their jealousy of his good luck, knew well and appreciated fully
+Paddy's marvellous seamanship, as well as his unparalleled
+knowledge of the coast.
+
+Having no whale to hamper our movements, besides being well to
+windward of them all, we were perfectly comfortable as long as we
+kept to seaward of a certain line and the gale was not too
+fierce, so for the present all our attention was concentrated
+upon the labouring ships to leeward.  The intervention of the
+land to windward kept the sea from rising to the awful height it
+attains under the pressure of a westerly, or a south-westerly
+gale, when, gathering momentum over an area extending right round
+the globe, it hurls itself upon those rugged shores.  Still, it
+was bad enough.  The fact of the gale striking across the regular
+set of the swell and current had the effect of making the sea
+irregular, short, and broken, which state of things is considered
+worse, as far as handling the ship goes, than a much heavier,
+longer, but more regular succession of waves.
+
+As the devoted craft drifted helplessly down upon that frowning
+barrier, our excitement grew intense. Their inability to do
+anything but drift was only too well known by experience to every
+one of us, nor would it be possible for them to escape at all if
+they persisted in holding on much longer.  And it was easy to see
+why they did so.  While Paddy held on so far to leeward of them,
+and consequently in so much more imminent danger than they were,
+it would be derogatory in the highest degree to their reputation
+for seamanship and courage were they to slip and run before he
+did.  He, however, showed no sign of doing so, although they all
+neared, with an accelerated drift, that point from whence no
+seamanship could deliver them, and where death inevitable, cruel,
+awaited them without hope of escape.  The part of the coast upon
+which they were apparently driving was about as dangerous and
+impracticable as any in the world.  A gigantic barrier of black,
+naked rock, extending for several hundred yards, rose sheer from
+the sea beneath, like the side of an ironclad, up to a height of
+seven or eight hundred feet.  No outlying spurs of submerged
+fragments broke the immeasurable landward rush of the majestic
+waves towards the frowning face of this world-fragment.  Fresh
+from their source, with all the impetus accumulated in their
+thousand-mile journey, they came apparently irresistible.
+Against this perpendicular barrier they hurled themselves with a
+shock that vibrated far inland, and a roar that rose in a
+dominating diapason over the continuous thunder of the tempest-
+riven sea.  High as was the summit of the cliff, the spray,
+hurled upwards by the tremendous impact, rose higher, so that the
+whole front of the great rock was veiled in filmy wreaths of
+foam, hiding its solidity from the seaward view.  At either end
+of this vast, rampart nothing could be seen but a waste of
+breakers seething, hissing, like the foot of Niagara, and
+effectually concealing the CHEVAUX DE FRISE of rocks which
+produced such a vortex of tormented waters.
+
+Towards this dreadful spot, then, the four vessels were being
+resistlessly driven, every moment seeing their chances of escape
+lessening to vanishing-point.  Suddenly, as if panic-stricken,
+the ship nearest to the CHANCE gave a great sweep round on to the
+other tack, a few fluttering gleams aloft showing that even in
+that storm they were daring to set some sail.  What the manoeuvre
+meant we knew very well--they had cut adrift from their whale,
+terrified at last beyond endurance into the belief that Paddy was
+going to sacrifice himself and his crew in the attempt to lure
+them with him to inevitable destruction.  The other two did not
+hesitate longer.  The example once set, they immediately
+followed; but it was for some time doubtful in the extreme
+whether their resolve was not taken too late to save them from
+destruction.  We watched them with breathless interest, unable
+for a long time to satisfy ourselves that they were out of
+danger.  But at last we saw them shortening sail again--a sure
+sign that they considered themselves, while the wind held in the
+same quarter, safe from going ashore at any rate, although there
+was still before them the prospect of a long struggle with the
+unrelenting ferocity of the weather down south.
+
+Meanwhile, what of the daring Irishman and his old barrel of a
+ship?  The fugitives once safe off the land, all our interest
+centred in the CHANCE.  We watched her until she drew in so
+closely to the seething cauldron of breakers that it was only
+occasionally we could distinguish her outline; and the weather
+was becoming so thick and dirty, the light so bad, that we were
+reluctantly compelled to lose sight of her, although the skipper
+believed that he saw her in the midst of the turmoil of broken
+water at the western end of the mighty mass of perpendicular
+cliff before described. Happily for us, the wind veered to the
+westward, releasing us from the prospect of another enforced
+visit to the wild regions south of the island.  It blew harder
+than ever; but being now a fair wind up the Straits, we fled
+before it, anchoring again in Port William before midnight.  Here
+we were compelled to remain for a week; for after the gale blew
+itself out, the wind still hung in the same quarter, refusing to
+allow us to get back again to our cruising station.
+
+But on the second day of our enforced detention a ship poked her
+jibboom round the west end of the little bay.  No words could
+describe our condition of spellbound astonishment when she
+rounded-to, cumbrously as befitting a ship towing a whale, and
+revealed to us the well-remembered outlines of the old CHANCE.
+It was like welcoming the first-fruits of the resurrection; for
+who among sailor men, having seen a vessel disappear from their
+sight, as we had, under such terrible conditions, would ever have
+expected to see her again?  She was hardly anchored before our
+skipper was alongside, thirsting to satisfy his unbounded
+curiosity as to the unheard-of means whereby she had escaped such
+apparently inevitable destruction.  I was fortunate enough to
+accompany him, and hear the story at first-hand.
+
+It appeared that none of the white men on board, except the
+redoubtable Paddy himself, had ever been placed in so seemingly
+hopeless and desperate a position before.  Yet when they saw how
+calm and free from anxiety their commander was, how cool and
+business-like the attitude of all their dusky shipmates, their
+confidence in his ability and resourcefulness kept its usual high
+level.  It must be admitted that the test such feelings were then
+subjected to was of the severest, for to their eyes no possible
+avenue of escape was open.  Along that glaring line of raging,
+foaming water not a break occurred, not the faintest indication
+of an opening anywhere wherein even so experienced a pilot as
+Paddy might thrust a ship.  The great black wall of rock loomed
+up by their side, grim and pitiless as doom--a very door of
+adamant closed against all hope.  Nearer and nearer they drew,
+until the roar of the baffled Pacific was deafening, maddening,
+in its overwhelming volume of chaotic sound.  All hands stood
+motionless, with eyes fixed in horrible fascination upon the
+indescribable vortex to which they were being irresistibly
+driven.
+
+At last, just as the fringes of the back-beaten billows hissed up
+to greet them, they felt her motion ease.  Instinctively looking
+aft, they saw the skipper coolly wave his hand, signing to them
+to trim the yards.  As they hauled on the weather braces, she
+plunged through the maelstrom of breakers, and before they had
+got the yards right round they were on the other side of that
+enormous barrier, the anchor was dropped, and all was still.  The
+vessel rested, like a bird on her nest, in a deep, still tarn,
+shut in, to all appearance, on every side by huge rock barriers.
+Of the furious storm but a moment before howling and raging all
+around them, nothing remained but an all-pervading, thunderous
+hum, causing the deck to vibrate beneath them, and high overhead
+the jagged, leaden remnants of twisted, tortured cloud whirling
+past their tiny oblong of sky.  Just a minute's suspension of all
+faculties but wonder, then, in one spontaneous, heartfelt note of
+genuine admiration, all hands burst into a cheer that even
+overtopped the mighty rumble of the baffled sea.
+
+Here they lay, perfectly secure, and cut in their whale as if in
+dock; then at the first opportunity they ran out, with fearful
+difficulty, a kedge with a whale-line attached, by which means
+they warped the vessel out of her hiding-place--a far more
+arduous operation than getting in had been.  But even this did
+not exhaust the wonders of that occasion.  They had hardly got
+way upon her, beginning to draw out from the land, when the
+eagle-eye of one of the Maories detected the carcass of a whale
+rolling among the breakers about half a mile to the westward.
+Immediately a boat was lowered, a double allowance of line put
+into her, and off they went to the valuable flotsam.  Dangerous
+in the highest degree was the task of getting near enough to
+drive harpoons into the body; but it was successfully
+accomplished, the line run on board, and the prize hauled
+triumphantly alongside.  This was the whale they had now brought
+in.  We shrewdly suspected that it must have been one of those
+abandoned by the unfortunate vessels who had fled, but etiquette
+forbade us saying anything about it.  Even had it been, another
+day would have seen it valueless to any one, for it was by no
+means otto of roses to sniff at now, while they had certainly
+salved it at the peril of their lives.
+
+When we returned on board and repeated the story, great was the
+amazement.  Such a feat of seamanship was almost beyond belief;
+but we were shut up to believing, since in no other way could the
+vessel's miraculous escape be accounted for.  The little, dumpy,
+red-faced figure, rigged like any scarecrow, that now stood on
+his cutting-stage, punching away vigorously at the fetid mass of
+blubber beneath him, bore no outward visible sign of a hero about
+him; but in our eyes he was transfigured--a being to be thought
+of reverently, as one who in all those dualities that go to the
+making of a man had proved himself of the seed royal, a king of
+men, all the more kingly because unconscious that his deeds were
+of so exalted an order.
+
+I am afraid that, to a landsman, my panegyric may smack strongly
+of gush, for no one but a seaman can rightly appraise such doings
+as these; but I may be permitted to say that, when I think of men
+whom I feel glad to have lived to know, foremost among them rises
+the queer little figure of Paddy Gilroy.
+
+
+*
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+PORT PEGASUS
+
+The wind still holding steadily in the old quarter, our skipper
+got very restless.  He recalled his former exploits, and, firing
+at the thought, decided then and there to have a trip round to
+Port Pegasus, in the hope that he might meet with some of his
+former good luck in the vicinity of that magnificent bay.  With
+the greatest alacrity we obeyed his summons, handling the old
+barky as if she were a small boat, and the same morning, for the
+first time, ran out of the Straits to the eastward past Ruapuke
+Island.  Beautiful weather prevailed, making our trip a
+delightful one, the wonderful scenery of that coast appealing to
+even the most callous or indifferent among us.  We hugged the
+land closely, the skipper being familiar with all of it in a
+general way, so that none of its beauties were lost to us.  The
+breeze holding good, by nightfall we had reached our destination,
+anchoring in the north arm near a tumbling cascade of glittering
+water that looked like a long feather laid on the dark-green
+slope of the steep hill from which it gushed.
+
+We had not been long at anchor before we had visitors--half-breed
+Maories, who, like the Finns and Canadians, are farmers,
+fishermen, sailors, and shipwrights, as necessity arises.  They
+brought us potatoes--most welcome of all fruit to the sailor--
+cabbages, onions, and "mutton birds."  This latter delicacy is a
+great staple of their flesh food, but is one of the strangest
+dishes imaginable.  When it is being cooked in the usual way,
+i.e. by grilling, it smells exactly like a piece of roasting
+mutton; but it tastes, to my mind, like nothing else in the world
+so much as a kippered herring.  There is a gastronomical paradox,
+if you like.  Only the young birds are taken for eating.  They
+are found, when unfledged, in holes of the rocks, and weigh
+sometimes treble as much as their parents.  They are exceedingly
+fat; but this substance is nearly all removed from their bodies
+before they are hung up in the smoke-houses.  They are split open
+like a haddock, and carefully smoked, after being steeped in
+brine.  Baskets, something like exaggerated strawberry pottles of
+the old conical shape, are prepared, to hold each about a dozen
+birds.  They are lined with leaves, then packed with the birds,
+the melted fat being run into all the interstices until the
+basket is full.  The top is then neatly tied up with more leaves,
+and, thus preserved, the contents will keep in cool weather an
+indefinite length of time.
+
+Captain Count was soon recognized by some of his old friends, who
+were delighted to welcome him again.  Their faces fell, however,
+when he told them that his stay was to be very brief, and that he
+only required four good-sized fish to fill up.  Inquiry as to the
+prevalence of sperm whales in the vicinity elicited the news that
+they were as plentiful as they had ever been--if anything, more
+so, since the visits of the whalers had become fewer.  There were
+a couple of "bay" whaling stations existing; but, of course,
+their success could not be expected to be great among the
+cachalots, who usually keep a respectful distance from harbours,
+while they had driven the right whales away almost entirely.
+
+No one could help being struck by the manly bearing, splendid
+physique, and simple manners of the inhabitants.  If ever it
+falls to the lot of any one, as I hope it will, to establish a
+sperm whale fishery in these regions, there need be no lack of
+workers while such grand specimens of manhood abound there as we
+saw--all, moreover, fishermen and whalers from their earliest
+days.
+
+We did not go far afield, but hovered within ten or fifteen miles
+of the various entrances, so as not to be blown off the land in
+case of sudden bad weather. Even with that timid offing, we were
+only there two days, when an enormous school of sperm whales hove
+in sight.  I dare not say how many I believe there were, and my
+estimate really might be biassed; but this I know, that in no
+given direction could one look to seaward and not see many
+spouts.
+
+We got among them and had a good time, being more hampered by the
+curiosity of the unattached fish than by the pugnacity of those
+under our immediate attention.  So we killed three, and by
+preconcerted signal warned the watchers on the lofty points
+ashore of our success.  As speedily as possible off came four
+boats from the shore stations, and hooked on to two of our fish,
+while we were busy with the third.  The wind being off shore,
+what there was of it, no time was to be lost, in view of the
+well-known untrustworthiness of the weather; so we started to
+cut-in at once, while the shore people worked like giants to tow
+the other two in.  Considering the weakness of their forces, they
+made marvellous progress; but seeing how terribly exhausting the
+toil was, one could not help wishing them one of the small London
+tugs, familiarly known as "jackals," which would have snaked
+those monsters along at three or four knots an hour.
+
+However, all went well; the usual gale did blow but not till we
+had got the last piece aboard and a good "slant" to run in,
+arriving at our previous moorings at midnight.  In the morning
+the skipper went down in his boat to visit the stations, and see
+how they had fared.  Old hand as he was, I think he was
+astonished to see what progress those fellows had made with the
+fish.  They did not reach the stations till after midnight, but
+already they had the whales half flenched, and, by the way they
+were working, it looked as if they would be through with their
+task as soon as we were with ours.  Their agreement with the
+skipper was to yield us half the oil they made, and, if agreeable
+to them, we would take their moiety at L40 per tun.  Consequently
+they had something to work for, even though there were twenty of
+them to share the spoil.  They were a merry party, eminently good
+tempered, and working as though one spirit animated them all.  If
+there was a leader of the band, he did his office with great
+subtilty, for all seemed equal, nor did any appear to need
+directing what to do.  Fired by their example, we all worked our
+hardest; but they beat us by half a day, mainly, I think, by dint
+of working nearly all the time with scarce any interval for
+sleep.  True, they were bound to take advantage of low water when
+their huge prize was high and dry--to get at him easily all
+round.  Their method was of the simplest.  With gaff-hooks to
+haul back the pieces, and short-handled spades for cutting, they
+worked in pairs, taking off square slabs of blubber about a
+hundredweight each.  As soon as a piece was cut off, the pair
+tackled on to it, dragging it up to the pots, where the cooks
+hastily sliced it for boiling, interspersing their labours with
+attention to the simmering cauldrons.
+
+Their efforts realized twenty-four tuns of clear oil and
+spermaceti, of which, according to bargain, we took twelve, the
+captain buying the other twelve for L480, as previously arranged.
+This latter portion, however, was his private venture, and not on
+ship's account, as he proposed selling it at the Bluff, when we
+should call there on our way home.  So that we were still two
+whales short of our quantity.  What a little space it did seem to
+fill up!  Our patience was sorely tested, when, during a whole
+week following our last haul, we were unable to put to sea.  In
+vain we tried all the old amusements of fishing, rambling,
+bathing, etc.; they had lost their "bite;" we wanted to get home.
+At last the longed-for shift of wind came and set us free.  We
+had hardly got well clear of the heads before we saw a school of
+cachalots away on the horizon, some twelve miles off the land to
+the southward.  We made all possible sail in chase, but found, to
+our dismay, that they were "making a passage," going at such a
+rate that unless the wind freshened we could hardly hope to come
+up with them.  Fortunately, we had all day before us, having
+quitted our moorings soon after daylight; and unless some
+unforeseen occurrence prevented us from keeping up our rate of
+speed, the chances were that some time before dark they would
+ease up and allow us to approach them.  They were heading to the
+westward, perhaps somewhat to the northward withal, to all
+appearance making for the Solander.  Hour after hour crawled by,
+while we still seemed to preserve our relative distance, until we
+had skirted the southern shore of the island and entered the
+area, of our old fishing ground.  Two vessels were cruising
+thereon, well to the northward, and we thought with glee of the
+excitement that would seize them did they but gain an inkling of
+our chase.
+
+To our great delight, what we had hoped, but hardly dared expect,
+came to pass.  The school, as if with one impulse, hauled up on
+their course four points, which made them head direct for the
+western verge of the Solander ground, and--what was more
+important to us--made our coming up with them a matter of a short
+time.  We made the customary signals with the upper sails to our
+friends to the northward, who recognized them immediately, and
+bore down towards us.  Not only had the school shifted their
+course, but they had slackened speed; so that by four o'clock we
+were able to lower for them at less than a mile distance.
+
+It was an ideal whaling day--smooth water, a brisk breeze, a
+brilliant sun, and plenty of whales.  I was, as became my
+position, in the rear when we went into action, and hardly hoped
+for an opportunity of doing much but dance attendance upon my
+seniors.  But fortune favoured me.  Before I had any idea whether
+the chief was fast or not, all other considerations were driven
+clean out of my head by the unexpected apparition of a colossal
+head, not a ship's length away, coming straight for us, throwing
+up a swell in front of him like an ironclad.  There was barely
+time to sheer to one side, when the giant surged past us in a
+roar of foaming sea, the flying flakes of which went right over
+us.  Samuela was "all there," though, and as the great beast
+passed he plunged a harpoon into him with such force and vigour
+that the very socket entered the blubber it needed all the
+strength I could muster, even with such an aid as the nineteen-
+feet steer-oar, to swing the boat right round in his wake, and
+prevent her being capsized by his headlong rush.
+
+For, contrary to the usual practice, he paused not an instant,
+but rather quickened his pace, as if spurred.  Heavens, how he
+went!  The mast and sail had to come down--and they did, but I
+hardly know how.  The spray was blinding, coming in sheets over
+the bows, so that I could hardly see how to steer in the
+monster's wake.  He headed straight for the ship, which lay-to
+almost motionless, filling me with apprehension lest he should in
+his blind flight dash that immense mass of solid matter into her
+broadside, and so put an inglorious end to all our hopes.  What
+their feelings on board must have been, I can only imagine, when
+they saw the undeviating rush of the gigantic creature straight
+for them.  On he went, until I held my breath for the crash, when
+at the last moment, and within a few feet of the ship's side, he
+dived, passing beneath the vessel.  We let go line immediately,
+as may be supposed; but although we had been towing with quite
+fifty fathoms drift, our speed had been so great that we came up
+against the old ship with a crash that very nearly finished us.
+He did not run any further just then, but sounded for about two
+hundred and fifty fathoms, rising to the surface in quite another
+mood.  No more running away from him.  I cannot say I felt any of
+the fierce joy of battle at the prospect before me.  I had a
+profound respect for the fighting qualities of the sperm whale,
+and, to tell the truth, would much rather have run twenty miles
+behind him than have him turn to bay in his present parlous
+humour.  It was, perhaps, fortunate for me that there was a crowd
+of witnesses, the other ships being now quite near enough to see
+all that was going on, since the feeling that my doings were full
+in view of many experts and veterans gave me a determination that
+I would not disgrace either myself or my ship; besides, I felt
+that this would probably be our last whale this voyage, if I did
+not fail, and that was no small thing to look forward to.
+
+All these things, so tedious in the telling, flashed through my
+mind, while, with my eyes glued to the huge bulk of my antagonist
+or the hissing vortices above him when he settled, I manoeuvred
+my pretty craft with all the skill I could summon.  For what
+seemed a period of about twenty minutes we dodged him as he made
+the ugliest rushes at us.  I had not yet changed ends with
+Samuela, as customary, for I felt it imperative to keep the helm
+while this game was being played.  My trusty Kanaka, however, had
+a lance ready, and I knew, if he only got the ghost of a chance,
+no man living would or could make better use of it.
+
+The whole affair was growing monotonous as well as extremely
+wearying.  Perhaps I was a little off my guard; at any rate, my
+heart almost leaped into my mouth when just after an ugly rush
+past us, which I thought had carried him to a safe distance, he
+stopped dead, lifted his flukes, and brought them down edgeways
+with a vicious sweep that only just missed the boat's gunwale and
+shore off the two oars on that side as if they had been carrots.
+This serious disablement would certainly have led to disaster
+but for Samuela.  Prompt and vigorous, he seized the opportune
+moment when the whale's side was presented just after the blow,
+sending his lance quivering home all its length into the most
+vital part of the leviathan's anatomy. Turning his happy face to
+me, he shouted exultingly, "How's dat fer high?"--a bit of slang
+he had picked up, and his use of which never failed to make me
+smile.  "High" it was indeed--a master-stroke.  It must have
+pierced the creature's heart, for he immediately began to spout
+blood in masses, and without another wound went into his flurry
+and died.
+
+Then came the reaction.  I must have exerted myself beyond what I
+had any idea of, for to Samuela I was obliged to delegate the
+task of fluke-boring, while I rested a little.  The ship was soon
+alongside, though, and the whale secured.  There was more yet to
+be done before we could rest, in spite of our fatigue.  The other
+boats had been so successful that they had got two big fish, and
+what we were to do with them was a problem not easily solvable.
+By dint of great exertion, we managed to get another whale
+alongside, but were fain to come to some arrangement with the
+ELIZA ADAMS, one of the ships that had been unsuccessful, to take
+over our other whale on an agreement to render us one-third of
+the product either in Port William or at home, if she should not
+find us is the former place.
+
+Behold us, then, in the gathering dusk with a whale on either
+side, every stitch of canvas we could show set and drawing,
+straining every nerve to get into the little port again, with the
+pleasant thought that we were bringing with us all that was
+needed to complete our well-earned cargo.  Nobody wanted to go
+below; all hands felt that it was rest enough to hang over the
+rail on either side and watch the black masses as they surged
+through the gleaming sea.  They represented so much to us.  Very
+little was said, but all hearts were filled with a deep content,
+a sense of a long season of toil fitly crowned with complete
+success; nor was any depression felt at the long, long stretch of
+stormy ocean between us and our home port far away in the United
+States.  That would doubtless come by-and-by, when within less
+than a thousand miles of New Bedford; but at present all sense of
+distance from home was lost in the overmastering thought that
+soon it would be our only business to get there as quickly as
+possible, without any avoidable loitering on the road.
+
+We made an amazing disturbance in the darkness of the sea with
+our double burthen, so much so that one of the coasting steamers
+changed her course a bit to range up by our side in curiosity.
+We were scarcely going two and a half knots, in spite of the row
+we made, and there was hardly room for wonder at the steamboat
+captain's hail, "Want any assistance?"  "No, thank you," was
+promptly returned, although there was little doubt that all hands
+would have subscribed towards a tow into port, in case the
+treacherous weather should, after all, play us a dirty trick.
+But it looked as if our troubles were over.  No hitch occurred in
+our steady progress, slow though it necessarily was, and as
+morning lifted the heavy veil from the face of the land, we
+arrived at our pretty little haven, and quietly came to an
+anchor.  The CHANCE was in port wind-bound, looking, like
+ourselves, pretty low in the water.  No sooner did Paddy hear the
+news of our arrival in such fine trim than he lowered his boat
+and hurried on board of us, his face beaming with delight.  Long
+and loud were his congratulations, especially when he heard that
+we should now be full.  Moreover, he offered--nor would he take
+any denial--to come with the whole of his crew and help us
+finish.
+
+For the next four days and nights, during which the wind
+prevented the CHANCE from leaving us, our old ship was a scene of
+wild revelry, that ceased not through the twenty-four hours--
+revelry entirely unassisted by strong waters, too, the natural
+ebullient gaiety of men who were free from anxiety on any account
+whatever, rejoicing over the glad consummation of more than two
+years toil, on the one hand; on the other, a splendid sympathy in
+joy manifested by the satisfied crew under the genial command of
+Captain Gilroy.  With their cheerful help we made wonderful
+progress; and when at last the wind hauled into a favourable
+quarter, and they were compelled to leave us, the back of our
+work was broken, only the tedious task of boiling being left to
+finish.
+
+Never, I am sure, did two ships' companies part with more hearty
+good-will than ours.  As the ungainly old tub surged slowly out
+of the little harbour, her worn-out and generally used-up
+appearance would have given a Board of Trade Inspector the
+nightmare; the piratical looks of her crowd were enough to
+frighten a shipload of passengers into fits; but to us who had
+seen their performances in all weathers, and under all
+circumstances, accidental externals had no weight in biassing our
+high opinion of them all.  Good-bye, old ship; farewell, jolly
+captain and sturdy crew; you will never be forgotten any more by
+us while life lasts, and in far other and more conventional
+scenes we shall regretfully remember the free-and-easy time we
+shared with you.  So she slipped away round the point and out of
+our lives for ever.
+
+By dint of steady hard work we managed to get the last of our
+greasy work done in four days more, then faced with a will the
+job of stowing afresh the upper tiers of casks, in view of our
+long journey home.  The oil bought by the skipper on private
+venture was left on deck, secured to the lash-rail, for
+discharging at the Bluff, while our stock of water-casks were
+carefully overhauled and recoopered prior to being stowed in
+their places below.  Of course, we had plenty of room in the
+hold, since no ship would carry herself full of casks of oil; but
+I doubt whether, if we had borne a "Plimsoll's mark," it would
+not have been totally submerged, so deep did we lie.  Wooding and
+watering came next--a different affair to our casual exercises in
+those directions before. Provision had to be made now for a
+possible four or five months' passage, during which we hoped to
+avoid any further calls, so that the accumulation of firewood
+alone was no small matter.  We cleared the surrounding
+neighbourhood of potatoes at a good price, those useful tubers
+being all they could supply us with for sea-stock, much to their
+sorrow.
+
+Then came the most unpleasant part of the whole business--for me.
+It had been a part of the agreement made with the Kanakas that
+they were not to be taken home with us, but returned to their
+island upon the termination of the whaling.  Now, the time had
+arrived when we were to part, and I must confess that I felt very
+sorry to leave them.  They had proved docile, useful, and
+cheerful; while as for my harpooner and his mate Polly, no man
+could have wished for smarter, better, or more faithful helpers
+than they were.  Strong as their desire was to return to their
+homes, they too felt keenly the parting with us; for although
+they had unavoidably suffered much from the inclemency of the
+weather--so different from anything they had ever previously
+experienced--they had been kindly treated, and had moved on
+precisely the same footing as the rest of the crew.  They wept
+like little children when the time arrived for them to leave us,
+declaring that if ever we came to their island again they would
+use all their endeavours to compel us to remain, assuring us that
+we should want for nothing during the rest of our lives, if we
+would but take up our abode with them.  The one exception to all
+this cordiality was Sam.  His ideas were running in quite other
+channels.  To regain his lost status as ruler of the island, with
+all the opportunities for indulging his animal propensities which
+such a position gave him, was the problem he had set himself, and
+to the realization of these wishes he had determinedly bent all
+his efforts.
+
+Thus he firmly declined the offer of a passage back in the ELIZA
+ADAMS, which our captain secured for all the Kanakas; preferring
+to be landed at the Bluff, with the goodly sum of money to which
+he was entitled, saying that he had important business to
+transact in Sydney before he returned.  This business, he
+privately informed me, was the procuring of arms and ammunition
+wherewith to make war upon his rival.  Of course we could not
+prevent him, although it did seem an abominable thing to let
+loose the spirit of slaughter among those light-hearted natives
+just to satisfy the ambition of an unscrupulous negro.  But, as I
+have before noticed, from information received many years after I
+learned that he had been successful in his efforts, though at
+what cost to life I do not know.
+
+So our dusky friends left us, with a good word from every one,
+and went on board the ELIZA ADAMS, whose captain promised to land
+them at Futuna, within six months.  How he carried out his
+promise, I do not know; but, for the poor fellows' sakes, I trust
+he kept his word.
+
+
+*
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+TO THE BLUFF, AND HOME
+
+And now the cruise of the good old whaling barque CACHALOT, as
+far as whaling is concerned, comes to an end.  For all practical
+purposes she becomes a humdrum merchantman in haste to reach her
+final port of discharge, and get rid of her cargo.  No more will
+she loiter and pry around anything and everything, from an island
+to a balk of drift-wood, that comes in her way, knowing not the
+meaning of "waste of time."  The "crow's-nests" are dismantled,
+taut topgallant-masts sent up, and royal yards crossed.  As soon
+as we get to sea we shall turn-to and heave that ancient fabric
+of bricks and mortar--always a queer-looking erection to be
+cumbering a ship's deck--piecemeal over the side. It has long
+been shaky and weather-beaten; it will soon obstruct our
+movements no more.  Our rigging has all been set up and tarred
+down; we have painted hull and spars, and scraped wherever the
+wood-work is kept bright.  All gear belonging to whaling has been
+taken out of the boats, carefully cleaned, oiled, and stowed away
+for a "full due."  Two of the boats have been taken inboard, and
+stowed bottom-up upon the gallows aft, as any other merchantman
+carries them.  At last, our multifarious preparations completed,
+we ride ready for sea.
+
+It was quite in accordance with the fitness of things that, when
+all things were now ready for our departure, there should come a
+change of wind that threatened to hold us prisoners for some days
+longer.  But our "old man" was hard to beat, and he reckoned
+that, if we could only get out of the "pond," he would work her
+across to the Bluff somehow or other.  So we ran out a kedge with
+a couple of lines to it, and warped her out of the weather side
+of the harbour, finding, when at last we got her clear, that she
+would lay her course across the Straits to clear Ruapuke--nearly;
+but the current had to be reckoned with.  Before we reached that
+obstructing island we were down at the eastern end of it, and
+obliged to anchor promptly to save ourselves from being swept
+down the coast many miles to leeward of our port.
+
+But the skipper was quite equal to the occasion.  Ordering his
+boat, he sped away into Bluff harbour, only a matter of six or
+seven miles, returning soon with a tug, who for a pound or two
+placed us, without further trouble, alongside the wharf, amongst
+some magnificent clipper ships of Messrs. Henderson's and the New
+Zealand Shipping Co.'s, who seemed to turn up their splendid
+noses at the squat, dumpy, antiquated old serving-mallet that
+dared to mingle with so august a crowd.  There had been a time,
+not so very far back, when I should have shared their apparent
+contempt for our homely old tub; but my voyage had taught me,
+among other things, that, as far as true comfort went at sea, not
+a "three-skysail-yarder" among them could compare with the
+CACHALOT.  And I was extremely glad that my passage round the
+Horn was to be in my own ship, and not in a long, snaky tank
+that, in the language of the sailor, takes a header when she gets
+outside the harbour, and only comes up two or three times to blow
+before she gets home.
+
+Our only reason for visiting this place being to discharge
+Captain Count's oil, and procure a sea-stock of salt provisions
+and hard bread, these duties were taken in hand at once.  The
+skipper sold his venture of oil to good advantage, being so
+pleased with his success that he gave us all a good feed on the
+strength of it.
+
+As soon as the stores were embarked and everything ready for sea,
+leave was given to all hands for twenty-four hours, upon the
+distinct understanding that the privilege was not to be abused,
+to the detriment of everybody, who, as might be supposed, were
+anxious to start for home.  In order that there might be less
+temptation to go on the spree generally, a grand picnic was
+organized to a beautiful valley some distance from the town.
+Carriages were chartered, an enormous quantity of eatables and
+drinkables provided, and away we went, a regular wayzgoose or
+bean-feast party.  It was such a huge success, that I have ever
+since wondered why such outings cannot become usual among sailors
+on liberty abroad, instead of the senseless, vicious waste of
+health, time, and hard-earned wages which is general.  But I must
+not let myself loose upon this theme again, or we shall never get
+to sea.
+
+Liberty over without any trouble arising, and all hands
+comfortably on board again, the news ran round that we were to
+sail in the morning.  So, after a good night's rest, we cast
+loose from the wharf, and, with a little assistance from the same
+useful tug that brought us in, got fairly out to sea.  All sail
+was set to a strong, steady north-wester, and with yards canted
+the least bit in the world on the port tack, so that every stitch
+was drawing, we began our long easterly stretch to the Horn,
+homeward bound at last.
+
+Favoured by wind and weather, we made an average run of one
+hundred and eighty miles per day for many days, paying no
+attention to "great circle sailing," since in such a slow ship
+the net gain to be secured by going to a high latitude was very
+small, but dodging comfortably along on about the parallel of
+48deg. S., until it became necessary to draw down towards "Cape
+Stiff," as that dreaded extremity of South America, Cape Horn, is
+familiarly called by seamen.  As we did so, icebergs became
+numerous, at one time over seventy being in sight at once.  Some
+of them were of immense size--one, indeed, that could hardly be
+fitly described as an iceberg, but more properly an ice-field,
+with many bergs rising out of it, being over sixty miles long,
+while some of its towering peaks were estimated at from five
+hundred to one thousand feet high.  Happily, the weather kept
+clear; for icebergs and fog make a combination truly appalling to
+the sailor, especially if there be much wind blowing.
+
+Needless, perhaps, to say, our look-out was of the best, for all
+hands had a double interest in the safety of the ship.  Perhaps
+it may be thought that any man would have so much regard for the
+safety of his life that he would not think of sleeping on his
+look-out; but I can assure my readers that, strange as it may
+seem, such is not the case, I have known men who could never be
+trusted not to go to sleep, no matter how great the danger.  This
+is so well recognized in merchant ships that nearly every officer
+acts as if there was no look-out at all forward, in case his
+supposed watchman should be having a surreptitious doze.
+
+Stronger and stronger blew the brave west wind; dirtier,
+gloomier, and colder grew the weather, until, reduced to two
+topsails and a reefed foresail, we were scudding dead before the
+gale for all we were worth. This was a novel experience for us in
+the CACHALOT, and I was curious to see how she would behave.  To
+my mind, the supreme test of a ship's sea-kindliness is the
+length of time she will scud before a gale without "pooping" a
+sea, or taking such heavy water on board over her sides as to do
+serious damage.  Some ships are very dangerous to run at all.
+Endeavouring to make the best use of the gale which is blowing in
+the right direction, the captain "hangs on" to all the sail he
+can carry, until she ships a mighty mass of water over all, so
+that the decks are filled with wreckage, or, worse still, "poops"
+a sea.  The latter experience is a terrible one, even to a
+trained seaman.  You are running before the wind and waves,
+sometimes deep in the valley between two liquid mountains,
+sometimes high on the rolling ridge of one.  You watch anxiously
+the speed of the sea, trying to decide whether it or you are
+going the faster, when suddenly there seems to be a hush, almost
+a lull, in the uproar.  You look astern, and see a wall of water
+rising majestically higher and higher, at the same time drawing
+nearer and nearer.  Instinctively you clutch at something firm,
+and hold your breath.  Then that mighty green barrier leans
+forward, the ship's stern seems to settle at the same time, and,
+with a thundering noise as of an avalanche descending, it
+overwhelms you.  Of course the ship's way is deadened; she seems
+like a living thing overburdened, yet struggling to be free; and
+well it is for all hands if the helmsman be able to keep his
+post and his wits about him.  For if he be hurt, or have fled
+from the terrible wave, it is an even chance that she "broaches
+to;" that is to say, swings round broadside on to the next great
+wave that follows relentlessly its predecessor.  Then, helpless
+and vulnerable, she will most probably be smashed up and founder.
+Many a good ship has gone with all hands to the bottom just as
+simply as that.
+
+In order to avoid such a catastrophe, the proper procedure is to
+"heave-to" before the sea has attained so dangerous a height; but
+even a landsman can understand how reluctant a shipmaster may be
+to lie like a log just drifting, while a more seaworthy ship is
+flying along at the rate of, perhaps, three hundred miles a day
+in the desired direction.  Ships of the CACHALOT's bluff build
+are peculiarly liable to delays of this kind from their slowness,
+which, if allied to want of buoyancy, makes it necessary to
+heave-to in good time, if safety is at all cared for.
+
+To my great astonishment and delight, however, our grand old
+vessel nobly sustained her character, running on without shipping
+any heavy water, although sometimes hedged in on either side by
+gigantic waves that seemed to tower as high as her lowermast
+heads. Again and again we were caught up and passed by the
+splendid homeward-bound colonial packets, some of them carrying
+an appalling press of canvas, under which the long, snaky hulls,
+often overwhelmed by the foaming seas, were hardly visible, so
+insignificant did they appear by comparison with the snowy
+mountain of swelling sail above.
+
+So we fared eastward and ever southward, until in due time up
+rose the gloomy, storm-scarred crags of the Diego Ramirez rocks,
+grim outposts of the New World.  To us, though, they bore no
+terrific aspect; for were they not the turning-point from which
+we could steer north, our head pointed for home?  Immediately
+upon rounding them we hauled up four points, and, with daily
+improving weather climbed the southern slopes towards the line.
+
+Very humdrum and quiet the life appeared to all of us, and had it
+not been for the saving routine of work by day, and watch by
+night, kept up with all our old discipline, the tedium would have
+been insupportable after the incessant excitement of expectation
+to which we had so long been accustomed.  Still, our passage was
+by no means a bad one for a slow ship, being favoured by more
+than ordinarily steadfast winds until we reached the zone of the
+south-east trades again, where the usual mild, settled wind and
+lovely weather awaited us.  On and on, unhasting but unresting,
+we stolidly jogged, by great good fortune slipping across the
+"doldrums"--that hateful belt of calms about the line so much
+detested by all sailor-men--without losing the south-east wind.
+
+Not one day of calm delayed us, the north-east trades meeting us
+like a friend sent to extend a welcoming hand and lend us his
+assistance on our homeward way.  They hung so far to the
+eastward, too--sometimes actually at east-by-north-that we were
+able to steer north on the starboard tack--a slice of luck not
+usually met with.  This "slant" put all hands in the best of
+humours, and already the date of our arrival was settled by the
+more sanguine ones, as well as excellent plans made for spending
+the long voyage's earnings.
+
+For my part, having been, in spite of my youth, accustomed to so
+many cruel disappointments and slips between the cup and lip, I
+was afraid to dwell too hopefully upon the pleasures (?) of
+getting ashore.  And after the incident which I have now to
+record occurred, I felt more nervous distrust than I had ever
+felt before at sea since first I began to experience the many
+vicissitudes of a sailor's life.
+
+We had reached the northern verge of the tropics in a very short
+time, owing to the favourable cant in the usual direction of the
+north-east trades before noted, and had been met with north-
+westerly winds and thick, dirty weather, which was somewhat
+unusual in so low a latitude.  Our look-outs redoubled their
+vigilance, one being posted on each bow always at night, and
+relieved every hour, as we were so well manned.  We were now on
+the port tack, of course, heading about north-east-by-north, and
+right in the track of outward-hound vessels from both the United
+Kingdom and the States.  One morning, about three a.m.--that
+fateful time in the middle watch when more collisions occur than
+at any other--suddenly out of the darkness a huge ship seemed to
+leap right at us.  She must have come up in a squall, of which
+there were many about, at the rate of some twelve knots an hour,
+having a fair wind, and every rag of sail set.  Not a gleam of
+light was visible anywhere on board of her, and, to judge from
+all appearances, the only man awake on board was the helmsman.
+
+We, being "on the wind, close-hauled," were bound by the "rule of
+the road at sea" to keep our course when meeting a ship running
+free.  The penalty for doing ANYTHING under such circumstances is
+a severe one.  First of all, you do not KNOW that the other
+ship's crew are asleep or negligent, even though they carry no
+lights; for, by a truly infernal parsimony, many vessels actually
+do not carry oil enough to keep their lamps burning all the
+voyage, and must therefore economize in this unspeakably
+dangerous fashion.  And it may be that just as you alter your
+course, daring no longer to hold on, and, as you have every
+reason to believe, be run down, the other man alters his.  Then a
+few breathless moments ensue, an awful crash, and the two vessels
+tear each other to pieces, spilling the life that they contain
+over the hungry sea.  Even if you escape, YOU are to blame for
+not keeping your course, unless it can be proved that you were
+not seen by the running ship.
+
+Well, we kept our course until, I verily believe, another plunge
+would have cut us sheer in two halves. At the last moment our
+helm was put hard down, bringing our vessel right up into the
+wind at the same moment as the helmsman on board the other vessel
+caught sight of us, and instinctively put his helm down too.  The
+two vessels swung side by side amidst a thunderous roar of
+flapping canvas, crackling of fallen spars, and rending of wood
+as the shrouds tore away the bulwarks.  All our davits were
+ripped from the starboard side, and most of our bulwarks too;
+but, strangely enough, we lost no spars nor any important gear.
+There seemed to be a good deal of damage done on board the
+stranger, where, in addition, all hands were at their wits' end.
+Well they might be, aroused from so criminal a sleep as theirs.
+Fortunately, the third mate had powerful bull's-eye lantern,
+which in his watch on deck he always kept lighted.  Turning it on
+the stern of the delinquent vessel as she slowly forged clear of
+us, we easily read her name, which, for shame's sake as well as
+for prudential reasons, I withhold.  She was a London ship, and a
+pretty fine time of it I had for the next day or two, listening
+to the jeers and sarcasms on the quality of British seamanship.
+
+Repairing damages kept us busy for a few days; but whatever of
+thankfulness we were capable of feeling was aroused by this
+hairbreadth escape from death through the wicked neglect of the
+most elementary duty of any man calling himself a seaman.
+
+Then a period of regular Western-ocean weather set in.  It was
+early spring in the third year since our departure from this part
+of the world, and the north-easter blew with bitter severity,
+making even the seasoned old captain wince again; but, as he
+jovially said, "it smelt homey, n' HE warn't a-goin' ter growl at
+thet."  Neither were any of us, although we could have done with
+less of a sharp edge to it all the same.
+
+Steadily we battled northward, until at last, with full hearts,
+we made Cape Navesink ("Ole Neversunk"), and on the next day took
+a tug and towed into New Bedford with every flag we could scare
+up flying, the centre of admiration--a full whale-ship safe back
+from her long, long fishing round the world.
+
+My pleasant talk is done.  I wish from my heart it were better
+performed; but, having done my best, I must perforce be content.
+If in some small measure I have been able to make you, my
+friendly reader, acquainted with a little-known or appreciated
+side of life, and in any wise made that life a real matter to
+you, giving you a fresh interest in the toilers of the sea, my
+work has not been wholly in vain.  And with that fond hope I give
+you the sailor's valedictory--
+
+SO LONG!
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Etext of The Cruise of the Cachalot, by Bullen
+
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