60 COLLISION — FOUL LINE. 



the boatsteerer missing whales, aud in a third striking 

 one with the irons, causing him to spout blood ; but 

 most of the chief mate's line being run out, he bent 

 to his that belonging to the bow boat. On its passage 

 from the tub, it brought with it a formidable array 

 of harpoons and lances, with which it had become 

 entangled. "Foul line," was sung out, the line 

 severed, and the whale allowed to go adrift. "We 

 saw him for some time afterward, and bending to our 

 oars, we pulled to windward with a will, in pursuit 

 of him, but to no purpose. Whilst chasing him to 

 windward, the bomb-lance gun, in the mate's boat, 

 went off without leave, and pierced a hole through 

 the head of the boat, so disabling her, that she had 

 to return aboard ; as we all did at noon. Afterward the 

 whale came close to the ship, and, peaking his flukes, 

 gave us a view of our line, wound in a thousand 

 contortions around his small and tail. We a<2:aia 

 lowered for him, but without success. 



On the 12th of November, a merchant barque ran 

 across our stern, which, on speaking, we discovered 

 to be the Eliza Carrew, of Boston. So far, all was 

 very well ; but on crossing our stern, she luffed up 

 under our lee, and, our sails taking the wind from 

 hers, she became unmanageable. The next moment 

 she was aboard of us, crushing the lee boats to 

 pieces, carrying away cranes and davits, snapping 

 off the spanker-boom, and carrying away the entire 

 larboard mizzen rigging. After a short interval she 

 got clear from us, when we found that she had not 

 escaped scot free. We saw that her maintopsail 

 yard was snapped off outside the head ear-ring, her 

 foreyard carried away in the slings, and about twenty 



