AIT. X*^ v.] IMrORTAXT ACTION' nESPECTIKG A WHALE. 519 



menfs boats, and their harpoons struck her. She was sti'uck 

 five or six times, and was at last killed. The captain of the 

 Neptune expostulated with the captain of the Experiment, 

 observing, that it was impossible the latter should dispute 

 his title, as his harpoon, which was first struck, had all along 

 remained fixed to the boat. He said, that it was evident he 

 had never left the pursuit of the fish ; on the contrary, in- 

 stead of cutting the line with a hatchet, to save the lives of 

 the crew, he had given the whale the boat, in order that 

 when it arose again, it might appear like a buoy crying out, 

 " This is the fish of the Neptune."" He added, that the boats 

 of the Neptune were at hand to assist ; surely, then, he could 

 not pretend to have any right to keep the whale. " Aye, 

 marry, do I," replied the other, " and I claim your harpoon, 

 line, and boat, too ; and, by God's providence, I will have 

 them."" This phrase was not without its meaning ; for the 

 people of Greenland, not the most cultivated and polished 

 place in the world, had a notion that every thing they found 

 afloat, God's providence sent, and so they kept it. The 

 captain of the Neptune did not think proper to decide the 

 difference by force of arms, but said he should refer it to 

 the laws of this country. Upon his return, he was anxious 

 to avoid litigation, and applied for his line and boat ; but the 

 defendant said, " When you get your fish, you shall have 

 your line and boat, but not before." The Learned Counsel 

 submitted, that the principle on which this case ought to be 

 decided was this : It was not because a particular person 

 struck a fish, and his hai-poon remained in her, that she was 

 his property ; it must appear that he was in pursuit of her, 

 and of that fact some evident sign was required. If a boat's 

 crew found that a fish was too strong for them, they had al- 

 ways an hatchet ready to cut the line ; and when they pre- 

 ferred their own safety to the fish, any one miglit afterwards 

 pursue it ; but if they meant to retain the occupancy, they 

 kept the line fixed to the boat. The boat's crew of the Nep- 

 tune had done the latter ; they had never quitted the line, 

 but had, at the peril of their lives, given the whale the boat. 



