ILLUSTRATIVE ANECDOTES. 287 



from each other ; when, by a singular coincidence, 

 the harpooners each struck his fish at the same 

 moment. They were a mile from the ship. Ur- 

 gent signals for assistance were immediately dis- 

 played by each boat, and in a few min\ites one of the 

 hai-pooners was under the necessity of slipping the 

 end of his line. Fortunately the other fish did not de- 

 scend so deep, and the lines in the boat proved ade- 

 quate for the occasion. One of the fish being then 

 supposed to be lost, five of the boats out of seven at- 

 tended on the fish which yet remained entangled, 

 and speedily killed it. A short time afterwards, 

 the other fish supposed to be irrevocably lost, was 

 descried at a little distance from the place where it 

 was struck ; — three boats proceeded against it ; — ^it 

 was immediately struck, and in twenty minutes 

 also killed. Thus were fortunately captured two 

 whales, both of which had been despaired of. They 

 produced us near 40 tons of oil, value, at that time, 

 1400 /. The lines attached to the fish last killed, were 

 recovered in a remarkable manner. The harpooners 

 were busily engaged in attempting to secure them, 

 when the harpoon, by which alone they were pre- 

 vented from sinking, slipped out ; but as it descend- 

 ed in the water, it luckily hooked the lines belong- 

 ing to another boat, ))y which both harpoon and 

 lines were preserved. 



