OLD WHALING DAYS. 73 



before our arrival. We made fast to the floe, and killed a 

 large unicorn or narwhal, whose horn measured nine feet. 

 I will now give one or two instances of what occurred while 

 whaling here. We killed one, and had to tow it four 

 miles to the ship. We had just sat down to take refresh- 

 ment, when a fall was called, the captain had struck a 

 whale, so had to leave our food untouched and go to his 

 assistance. From the time she was struck until she was 

 dead occupied twenty-six hours. She had taken us five miles 

 from the ship. If ever there was a diabolical whale this was 

 the worst. It would allow us to approach quite near, and 

 when in the act of delivering a lance, she would strike out 

 with her tail and fins in a most vicious manner. Although 

 we had four harpoons in her, she did not lose her strength, 

 and during the whole time it was perfectly calm, and the 

 water smooth. Many were the hair-breadth escapes we 

 had during the time. The mate's boat's crew and mine 

 did not taste any food for thirty hours. Two other 

 vessels in the neighbourhood fastened about the same 

 time and encountered similar difficulties, one being 

 worse off than we were. A bight of the line flew over a 

 harpooner's head and cut him nearly in two. I think he 

 belonged to the Pacific, of Aberdeen. To shew the 

 rapidity of the whale, I struck one, and she immediately 

 rushed under the floe down to the bottom. With the 

 exception of a few fathoms, the lines were all run out in 

 three and a half minutes. Each line is 120 fathoms long, 

 and there are five in each boat, making in all 600 fathoms, 

 or 3,600 feet, shewing her speed to be 1,000 feet per 

 minute. She was hauled up dead, having broken her neck. 

 The head had been embedded eight feet in the dark blue 

 mud. 



We plied to and fro, and gradually came south, some- 

 times at the middle ice, then inshore, and were often in 

 chase of whales, but could not get fast to any. We sent 



