35S WHALE-FISHERY. 



he had previously struck a harpoon, incautious- 

 ly cast a little line under his feet that he had just 

 hauled into his boat, after it had been drawn out 

 by the fish. A painful stroke of his lance in- 

 duced the whale to dart suddenly downward, his line 

 began to run out fiom beneath his feet, and in an in- 

 stant caught him by a turn round his body. He had 

 but just time to cry out, " Clear away the line," — 

 " O dear !" when he was almost cut asunder, drag- 

 ged overboard, and never seen afterwards. The line 

 was cut at the moment, but without avail. The 

 fish descended a considerable depth, and died ; from 

 whence it was drav.'u to the surface by the lines 

 connected with it, and secured. 



Fishers throxvn Ovcrhoard^ hy the jerking or 

 sudden heeling of the Boats, in consequence of 

 Blows from Whales. — On the 3d of June 1811, a 

 boat from the ship Resolution, commanded at the 

 time by myself, put off in pursuit of a whale, and 

 was rowed upon its back. At the moment that it wa3 

 harpooned, it struck the side of the boat a violent 

 blow with its tail, the shock of which tlircAv the 

 boat-stcerer to some distance into the water. A re- 

 petition of the blow projected the harpooner and 

 line-manager in a similar way, and completely 

 drenched the part of the crew remaining in the 

 boat, with the sprays. One of the men regained 

 the boat, but as the fish immediately sunk, and dre^v 



