48 THAT GREAT LEVIATHAN. 



instantaneous common impulse, evidently terror- 

 struck. 



Can a sperm whale be called a globe-trotter? 

 Be that as it may, the sperm whale migrates far 

 and wide. Ships cruise on the shores of Chili and 

 Peru at a distance of from two to one hundred 

 leagues from the shore, and you will often see 

 both in- and off-shore vessels doing nothing. At 

 other times all will be engaged. Where were the 

 whales while the ships lay idle ? Roving over the 

 broad seas, no doubt, and many a mile away, 

 a-taking of their ease. 



It is known to a solid certainty that whales 

 have been harpooned in the Atlantic ocean, and 

 have been afterward taken in the Pacific. The 

 marks on the irons proved the identity of the 

 whale every time. Old Blubber seems to travel 

 for change of scene. It is clear that he is not led 

 to migrate by any fear of the whalemen. Indeed, 

 whales are not easily driven away from their 

 feeding-ground by ships. 



But whatever the ups and downs of that whale 

 alongside the Swift, and whatever the vicissitudes 

 of his travelling days, one thing was clear. That 

 whale was dead. Like Marley of blessed memory, 

 he was dead as a door-nail. Unlike Marley, how- 

 ever, he could never come to life again. They 

 were cutting him in. I saw it done. 



