378 NIMROD OF THE SEA; OR, 



waves, and the whirl of the line through the " chocks," which 

 gave a sequel to my story of the right whale. 



In the early spring of the Southern seas, the latter part of 

 September, we reached our cruising-ground off Chiloe Isl- 

 and. The first indication that we were on whaling-ground 

 were the red winrows of right-whale feed, or ** brit," which 

 in long clouds reddened the surface. We were not long in 

 waiting before, several whales were seen feeding on the rich, 

 red pasture-field spread about us. The boats were lowered 

 at once ; and as we pulled on to a large whale feeding, with 

 its great basket elevated to the spout-hole, and slowly plow- 

 ing its way across our bows, the captain laid us on just abaft 

 the head. My old habit of -avoiding the head of the sperm- 

 whale led to the mistake of heaving the harpoon at his sub- 

 merged body on the opposite side of the boat. On feeling 

 the prick, the whale -settled away, and my iron came back 

 doubled up. It had struck him fairly, but had not entered. 

 We were at a loss to account for the mishap ; but further 

 experience taught us that when the whale is doubled into a 

 bow in any direction, there is formed in the concave " slack 

 blubber." This is impenetrable to the best-thrown harpoon. 

 Ignorantly my iron had been hurled against slack blubber, 

 and we lost that whale. 



Mr. F did better. He pulled on much in our manner, 



and his iron was planted just behind the blow-hole. The il- 

 lustration appended shows the whale as it appeared to the 

 astonished whaleman the moment after it was struck. 



" Why," said Hinton, afterward, " I could have sworn in 

 court that it had a dozen tails, and they were all going quick, 

 too." 



We had little trouble in killing it : we worked about the 

 head, pricking the nose whenever it came down on the boat, 

 and causing it to mill, or turn short in its course, and afford 

 us good chances at the life. It ran less than was usual with 



