WHALING AND FISHING. 



CHAPTER VI 



LHK " Cruising Ground " What constitutes Whale Ground- 

 How the Haunts of Whales are Discovered The Discipline 

 of a Whaleship on a cruise Monotony of the Life Drawing 

 water Portuguese Man-of-war Cape St. Mary's, of Mada- 

 gascar Raising a Fin-back " There she blows" A false 

 Alarm Sperm Whales Preparation for lowering "Going 

 on to a Whale " " Give it to him ! "The Whales run Thi 

 Chase The last Desperate Effort, and accompanying Mishap 

 " Getting stove " A furious Whale We are picked up, and 

 lose the Whale. 



"So WE are at last upon our cruising ground," 

 said all, with a great degree of satisfaction, as 

 orders came forward one evening, that at sundown 

 we would shorten sail, and heave to for the night. 

 It seemed like a fulfillment of one purpose of our 

 voyage, and as it made a break in the monotony of 

 our life, all hailed the fact with pleasure. 



So much had been said of "good whaling 

 ground," "cruising grounds," etc., that even I was 

 looking for some peculiarity in the color of the 

 water, the strength of the breeze, or the quality 

 of the atmosphere, to distinguish this from the 

 other parts of the ocean. But there was nothing 

 of the kind. The sea was as deeply blue, the 

 breezes as gentle, and the air as hazy as it gene- 



