FORTUNE FAVORS US. 215 



wiud was at sucli a height that double-reefed topsails 

 were all the ship would bear ; yet, despite all this, 

 the brave fellows, when they came aboard, although 

 chilled through and wet to the skin, made light of 

 the difficulties, and stated their willingness and even 

 eagerness to encounter the same hardships again for 

 another whale. The wind continuing, we had a 

 troublesome job the next day in getting him aboard. 

 The following Wednesday, as if fortune was deter- 

 mined to make us some reparation for the former 

 sparsity of her favors, we again saw whales, captured 

 one and got him all aboard the same day — making 

 over two hundred barrels of sperm oil taken by us 

 in ten days. The James Allen was in sight of us when 

 we captured the last two, and had the same chance ; 

 her miscarrying, therefore, can be attributed only to the 

 fact of her boats' crews being unaccustomed to boat 

 duty, and unable to compete with ours — her old 

 crew being pretty nearly all^gone, and her boats now 

 manned by men who never saw a whale before. I 

 think that this should be a sufficient inducement for 

 whaling captains to treat their crews well, so as to 

 retain them, when, at the end of two years, they 

 make a good port, they may not have an inefficient, 

 almost helpless crew, instead of able hands to do 

 their behests. 



The next Sunday, unlike the two preceding ones, 

 was a day of rest — on one of the former being 

 engaged in whaling, and on the next in cutting-in. 

 Being a fine day we gammoned with the James 

 Allen ; whilst so employed, we noticed a brig to lee- 

 ward with her colors set at the mizzen-peak. At 

 first, little attention was paid to her; but the colors 



