186 WHALING 



confronted with the dilemma of adopting permanently an aquat- 

 ic existence for which even a South Sea Islander is scarcely 

 suited, or returning to the Sharon^ eventually swam back to the 

 ship and, climbing on board again, hid in the forehold, where in 

 the fullness of time they found him and doubtless — although on 

 this my informant is silent — gave him ample reasons to repent 

 of his murderous career. At any rate, they kept him in irons 

 until they reached Sydney, and there they handed him over to 

 the police. 



Such were the dangers of the presence of man — ^uncivilized 

 man — on board a whaleship. But the absence of man, and 

 separation from the whaleship, were far worse. Those young 

 third mates, Jones and Clough, were gallant lads beyond all 

 question, but the difficulties and dangers that they faced were 

 not completely beyond the control of men of their calibre — as 

 they amply proved. On the other hand, no amount of daring 

 attack or of clever scheming could alarm the wide ocean or 

 bring food and water from an unmoved sky. These were the 

 enemies — ocean and sky — of all whalemen who, having low- 

 ered for whales and given chase, failed to find, or to be found 

 by, their ships again. 



Thus it happened, in the eighteen-'forties, that three boats' 

 crews from the barque Harriet of Freetown had as narrow an 

 escape as any whalemen could desire to be saved from. The 

 Harriet had lowered for whales, and two of the boats, each 

 having struck one and got it alongside the barque, followed the 

 third, which was of! on a ''Nantucket sleigh ride." 



About nine o'clock in the evening, when the three boats killed 

 the whale, the Harriet was still in sight; but a gale of wind blew 

 up, they lay by the whale all night, and in the morning there was 

 no sign of their vessel. For three days they lay beside the whale 

 then, abandoning it, they stood to the west in hope of picking up 

 a sail. When they were a week from the Harriet they caught 

 and ate a shark. It was their intention to reach the Kingsmill 

 Islandf, if possible, but a second gale forced them to He to for 

 thirty-six hours. They had been eleven days in the boats, with 



