74 THE WHALEMAN S ADVENTURES. 



taking fire by friction around the loggerhead. 

 Then he stopped, and blindly thrashed and 

 rolled about in great agony, so that it seemed 

 madness to approach him. By this time, how- 

 ever, the captain came up and boldly darted 

 another harpoon into his writhing body. The 

 enraged whale raised his head above the water, 

 snapped his horrid jaws together, and in his 

 senseless fury lashed the sea into foam with 

 his flukes. The mate now, in his turn, ap- 

 proached near enough to bury a lance deep 

 in his vitals, and shouted again, at the top of 

 his voice, 'Stern all!' A thick stream of 

 blood, instead of water, was soon issuing from 

 his spout-holes. Another lance was buried ; 

 he was thrown into dying convulsions, and ran 

 around in a circle ; but his flurry was soon 

 over ; he turned upon his left side, and floated 

 dead. We gave three hearty cheers, and took 

 him in tow for the ship, which was now about 

 fifteen miles off." 



This towing of captured whales is no boy's 

 play; although it is one of the pleasantest 

 parts of a whaleman's duty, it is also often 



