DANGERS OF THE FISHERY. 219 



Such are the dangers which are continually 

 incurred in the whale fishery, equal almost to 

 those of the field of battle. We often wonder 

 that so many escape with their lives from a 

 battle field ; and we equally wonder that, com- 

 paratively, so few perish in this most hazardous 

 pursuit. A boat, almost as frail as a bubble, 

 approaches the side of a whale, slumbering upon 

 the ocean, fifty or sixty feet in length, and a 

 harpoon is plunged into his body. His efforts 

 to destroy his tormentors or escape from them, 

 as we have again and again learned, are terrific. 

 The ocean is lashed into foam by blows from 

 his enormous flukes, which would almost dash 

 in the ribs of a man-of-war. Often he rushes at 

 the boat with lightning speed and with open jaws, 

 and it is crushed like an egg-shell in his mouth. 



In this frightful warfare many are maimed, 

 and many lives are annually lost. But some 

 whales are worth between two and three thou- 

 sand dollars, and this is majestic game to hunt. 

 He, however, who earns his bread through the 

 pi'rils and hardships of this pursuit, has truly a 

 hard lot in life. He is but a transient visitor 



