56 THE CAPTURE. 



tlie boat alongside the fish, which by this time is done. 

 Just as the mate heaves his hat over in despair, the 

 boat glides against the monster's unwieldy carcass 

 at a portion of his body which secures us from the 

 sweep of his immense flukes, and the boatsteerer 

 springs to his feet, and, with nervous arm, drives his 

 harpoon to the socket in the yielding blubber. The 

 mate now loses his excited manner, and, throwing 

 the boat from the whale to escape the mighty efibrt 

 he makes for our destruction, again becomes the cool 

 and steady whaleman ; but our work is not yet done. 

 ISTo sooner is the fish struck, than ofi:' he goes, like a 

 charger with the' bit in his teeth, perfectly unman- 

 ageable, and for an hour we dash through the water 

 at locomotive speed, until the whale exhausts himself 

 with the violence of the effort. !Now comes the 

 order to haul line, and the boat is gradually drawn 

 into the whale's neighborhood, when a bomb lance 

 is discharged, and, fortunately, is lodged on the line 

 of the vertebra, disabling his whaleship from fartlier 

 fliglit. They were cognizant of our operations 

 aboard the ship, where the mastheadsman sung 

 out, "There he gives it to him," the moment we 

 fiistened ; and immediately after, " The larboard 

 boat's fast." The two boats on the cranes were 

 lowered away, manned, and pulled for the scene of 

 action. They arrived in about fifteen minutes after 

 the whale was struck. The waist boat was the second 

 fast. The fish was bleeding at every pore, hand- 

 lances having been darted into him. He attempted 

 to descend, but his debility from loss of blood pre- 

 vented him going but a few feet below the surface ; 

 he lay and rolled, opening wide his huge jaws, dis- 



