THE AMERICAN WHALEMAN. 295 



to end in the death of the greater whale, and its enormous 

 tongue becomes the food of the victor. It is also affirmed, 

 that when the buoyant tongue is removed, the right whale 

 sinks through the weight of the bone in the head. I in- 

 quired from my informants whether they had ever found the 

 wounds or scars of conflict on the tongue of the right whale, 

 and they had not. And, rather than give up their pet theo- 

 ry, they insist that every whale thus attacked is killed, and 

 every whale thus killed .sinks, never to rise again. 



The captain lowered his boat, and gave chase; but the 

 roughness of the sea, the erratic movements of the killers, 

 and their short risings, prevented our getting on. They 

 manifested no fear of the boat, as they rose and rolled about 

 it, giving us a good chance to observe them at some distance, 

 but evading closer examination. The killer is considered 

 the most beautiful of the medium-sized whales. Their form 

 is slender, and they are agile and graceful in their move- 

 ments. They are of a jet black, as polished and lustrous as 

 satin. Near each eye is an oval spot of pure white, large 

 enough to form a marked contrast with the general color. 

 A cimeter-like fin on the back projects above the water, 

 and is a conspicuous object as the graceful creature glides 

 about. 



Captain B , to his other accomplishments, adds that 



of boat - builder, and he is now engaged in mending and 

 painting a battered boat, to put on the Hawaii market in 

 exchange for refreshments. Such craft are in great demand 

 at the Islands, and from past tinkerings this one has become 

 too heavy for our purposes. From repeated accidents, all 

 our boats are somewhat dilapidated, in fact ; but it is won- 

 derful to see the restoration of a shattered boat under the 

 hand of a skillful workman. If the keel and gunwales be 

 not broken, the splintered wreck will be right and tight in 

 a few days. For this purpose a store of light cedar-boards, 



