28 To the River Plate and Back 



Hearts of muscle could not keep up in the race against 

 the tireless heart of steel, which unceasingly pulsed 

 within the great ship. 



For two days before we reached Bahia whales were 

 rather numerous. We often saw them spouting. The 

 water driven from their nostrils looks like a puff of 

 rifle-smoke. None of those which I happened to see 

 was very near to the ship, but an excitable gentleman 

 informed me one day that in the morning, while I 

 was at breakfast, a whale had been seen alongside, 

 " and, " he said, " he stood up on his hind legs and looked 

 me full in the face.' I naturally regretted having 

 missed so marvelous a spectacle. In my wanderings 

 to and fro upon many seas I have often seen whales. 

 The largest number which I ever saw at one time was off 

 the Banks of Newfoundland, in the fall of the year 1877. 

 We fell in with a school of sixteen finbacks. Some of 

 them were huge fellows. Having ' ' the freedom of the 

 rigging,' I went aloft, and from my lookout near the 

 masthead I had a fine opportunity to observe them. 

 They came quite close to the vessel, and one of them, 

 when within half a cable's length, breached, throwing 

 himself almost entirely out of the water. The sea was 

 quite calm, and it was exceedingly interesting to look 

 down into its glassy depths and follow the movements 

 of the monsters as they raced with the ship. The 

 racing instinct appears to be almost universal among 

 animals. I have observed it in the case of dolphins, 

 porpoises, and whales. It is common in dogs, as every- 

 body knows. I have even observed it in the case of 

 butterflies. Riding with a friend one afternoon from 

 La Plata to Ensenada, I noticed that specimens of 

 the common Thistle-butterfly (Pyrameis) frequently 

 rose from beside the road and flew along, racing with 



