214 SPERM WHALE CAPTURED. 



captain of the Prince Eegent, who, both with his own 

 countrymen and strangers, bears the unenviable noto- 

 riety of being a niggard, refused to give them a 

 single thing. Thej^ left him and went alongside a 

 Maurii schooner, where their wants were supplied — 

 the semi-civilized man, who is sneered at by his more 

 polished cotemporar}-, displaying the most humanit3^ 

 Afterward they were seen to go into Open Bay, take 

 aboard several men who had deserted from the Lady 

 Emma, and direct their boat to the northward, where 

 we will leave them, until, in the due course of the 

 narrative, their further exploits are developed. 



On the 15th the sun arose amid a pretty fresh gale 

 of wind. Directly after breakfast we sighted sperm 

 whales. The weather looked rather dubious; but 

 we wanted oil very bad — so down went our boats and 

 after them. They were slightly to windward of us, 

 and it was impossible to force our boats to the 

 weather, in the teeth of both sea and wind, so, at 10 

 o'clock, the boats returned aboard. At 11 we tried 

 it again ; at 12 again returned, ate dinner, and, not 

 at all discouraged by the two preceding failures, at 

 two o'clock dropped our boats a third time, after 

 having beat up with the ship to windward of the 

 school. The third attempt proved successful, and, 

 fortunately, the fish struck ran but very little, and 

 was easily disposed of Some idea may be formed of 

 the hardships of the whaleman's life, from a recountal 

 of this day's work. During the whole time that the 

 boats were down, the rain descended in torrents, and 

 the sea was so rugged that it was only by incessant 

 bailing that the boats were kept from swamping. 

 Added to this, the weather was quite cool, and the 



