148 THE BARQUE COLUMBUS. 



movement of the shark and dragged him ou deck. 

 The wound inflicted was severe but not dangerous. 

 Sharks around a whale, generally, are contented with 

 what they pick up from his carcass, and to the pleni- 

 tude of this kind of food for their ravenous appetites, 

 the boatsteerer owes his safety. In this case the 

 sufferer was barefooted, and his flesh being covered 

 with spermaceti, probably the shark thought it a 

 dainty piece of blubber. 



The barque Columbus also captured a large whale 

 on this same da3^ In 1855, this barque visited Vasse 

 and carried away a prisoner, agreeing to place him 

 aboard some merchant ship, on the first opportunity. 

 This was accordingly done, for which the captain 

 received, it was said, a large sum of money — the 

 criminal being well-provided with funds. Whilst we 

 lay in Yasse, it leaked out, somehow or other, that 

 the government intended seizing the vessel on her 

 next entry into a colonial port. When we saw her 

 we gave her the news, and it was timely, too, as 

 they were just going in to discharge men, whom 

 they had engaged in Vasse the preceding year. 



The ground that we were now on is off Cape Chat- 

 ham. There we remained until the middle of Febru- 

 ary, when, with as much sail set as the old ship would 

 stagger under, and a westerly gale on the quarter, 

 Ave resumed our passage for New Zealand, which had 

 been interrupted by the appearance of sperm whales. 

 The passage had but little to mark it, except that we 

 went in the course of it through the northern borders 

 of the Antarctic Ocean. On the 22d (Washington's 

 birthday) we entered the South Pacific, and after a 

 spanking run of fourteen days, we sighted land and a 



