116 THE WHALEMAN'S ADVENTURES. 



Upon getting into a " gam" of whales, this 

 boat, together with that of one of the mates, 

 pulled for a single whale that was seen at a dis- 

 tance from the others, and succeeded in getting 

 square up to their victim unperceived. In a 

 twinkling the boat-steerer sprang to his feet, and 

 as he darted his second harpoon, the bow of the 

 boat grounded on the body of the whale, but 

 was instantly " sterned off," and before the 

 whale had sufficiently recovered from his sur- 

 prise to show fight, the "cedar," (viz. the boat, 

 so technically called from the material of which 

 it is usually built,) was out of the reach of his 

 flukes. 



The captain, who now took his place in the 

 bow of the boat, seized his lance, and the oars- 

 men again shot the boat ahead, but before he 

 could plunge the lance the whale pitched down 

 and disappeared. The line attached to the har- 

 poon, being of great length, is coiled very care- 

 fully and compactly in a large tub in the centre 

 of the boat ; from thence it passes to the stern, 

 and around a post called the loggerhead, firmly 

 secured to the frame of the boat ; and it is used 



