162 WHALE-FISHERY. 



one of the officers, who, commanding from thence 

 an extensive prospect of the surrounding sea, keeps 

 an anxious watch for the appearance of a whale? 

 assisted by a telescope, he views the operations of 

 any ship which may be in sight at a distance; and 

 occasionally sweeps the horizon with his glass, to 

 extend the limited sphere of vision, in which he is 

 able to discriminate a whale with the naked eye, to 

 an area vastly greater. The moment that a fish is 

 seen, he gives notice to the " watch upon deck," 

 part of whom leap into a boat, are lowered down, 

 and push off* towards the place. If the fish be large, 

 a second boat is immediately despatched to the sup- 

 port of the other. When the whale again appears, 

 two boats row towards it with their utmost speed; 

 and though they may be disappointed in all their at- 

 tempts, they generally continue the pursuit, until 

 the fish either takes the alarm, and escapes them, or 

 they are recalled by signal to the ship. When two 

 or more fish, appear at the same time in different 

 situations, the number of boats, sent in pursuit, is 

 commonly increased; and when the whole of the 



gaged in piloting- the ship, through crowded ice, or for ob- 

 taining a more extensive view of the sea around, when look- 

 ing out for whales. In difficult situations, a master's pre- 

 sence at the mast-head is sometimes required for many hours 

 in succession, when the temperature of the air is from 10° 

 to 20° degrees below the freezing point, or more. It is 

 therefore necessary for the preservation of his health, as well 

 as his comfort, that he should be sheltered from the gale. 



