154 THE OCEAN. 



the bow of the boat is speedily enveloped in smoke, 

 and instances are not unfrequent of the gunwale 

 even bursting into a flame, or even of the head of the 

 boat being actually sawn off by the line. To prevent 

 this, a bucket of water is always kept at hand, to 

 allay the friction. Accidents even still more tragic 

 sometimes occur from entanglements of the line. 

 "A sailor belonging to the John of Greenock, in 

 1818, happening to slip into a coil of running rope, 

 had his foot entirely cut off, and was obliged to have 

 the lower part of the leg amputated. A harpooner 

 belonging to the Hamilton, when engaged in lancing 

 a Whale, incautiously cast a little line under his foot. 

 The pain of the lance induced the Whale to dart sud- 

 denly downwards ; his line began to run out from 

 under his feet, and in an instant caught him by a 

 turn round the body. He had just time to call out, 

 'Clear away the line. — Oh dear!' when he was 

 almost cut asunder, dragged overboard, and never 

 seen afterwards." Many such-like anecdotes are on 

 record. 



When a boat is "fast" to the Whale, a little flag 

 is instantlv hoisted in the stern as a signal to the 

 ship, and other boats are at once despatched to its 

 assistance. Sometimes, before their help can arrive, 

 the united lines of the boats first sent are all run 

 out, in which case the men are obliged to cut the 

 line, and lose it with the Whale, or the boat would 

 be dragged under water. But generally some of the 

 free boats can approach sufficiently near the animal 

 on his return to the surface, to dart another harpoon 

 into his body; perhaps he again dives, but returns 



