216 SHIP LAPWING GAMMONED. 



continning set, we squared our yards and ran off to 

 her. She proved to be the brig Julia, of Hobartown, 

 five months out, with twenty-eight tons of sperm oiL 

 Her reason for showing her colors was, that she had 

 on board a boat's crew, who, with two other boats' 

 crews, now ashore in the vicinity, belonging to the brig 

 Maid of Erin, of Hobartown, separated from their ves- 

 sel, having lowered for whales just at nightfall, and 

 lost sight of the brig in their eagerness to capture 

 whales. There was no one aboard the Maid of Erin, 

 except a few inexperienced hands, and the boat's crew 

 expressed their apprehensions of some casualty to her, 

 should it come on to blow. What the result was I 

 never learned, as a short time afterward we left the 

 cape, proceeding northward to Kangaroo Island. See- 

 ing no whales, we changed our course to the west- 

 ward, passing the Eecherche Islands, and having a fine 

 view of Pollock's Reef — a dangerous line of rocks, 

 a long distance from the main land, extending for 

 several miles, over which the sea roars and tumbles in 

 huge broken masses, impressing the beholder with a 

 sense of danger as he gazes upon it. Just before reach- 

 ing this locality we saw right whales, but could get 

 nowhere near them. Soon afterward we gammoned 

 the ship Lapwing, of I^ew Bedford ; she brought 

 letters from home for us, but gave them to the Alex- 

 ander, supposing that we still remained off' New 

 Zealand. Whilst gammoning with her, a line of dan- 

 gerous reefs was sighted close to us, and, during the 

 night and following day, we carried sail to get a wide 

 berth from it, and ran the old ship into a school 

 of sperm whales. We lowered away our boats. The 

 second mate fastened, and the whale sounded, taking 



