WHALING AND FISHING. 



rises above the eastern horizon, gilds with his raya 

 the sails of a thousand vessels, as they lie spread 

 out upon the mirror-like surface of the sea. And 

 now our crew begin looking for acquaintances 

 among the vessels, My astonishment is unbounded 

 at hearing them name vessels distant from a 

 quarter of a mile to six or seven miles, and that 

 with perfect certainty of their correctness. To 

 such perfection has practice trained the vision of 

 these men that notwithstanding mackerel catch- 

 ers are scrupulously rigged alike, the crew would 

 point out not only schooners with which they 

 were acquainted, but also tell the hailing -places of 

 many which they had never seen before. 



As an old salt, I prided myself not a little on 

 my expertness in detecting differences in rig or 

 build, but was obliged here to give up my art as 

 completely beaten. For where I could not detect 

 the slightest distinguishing characteristic, the 

 experienced eyes of one of my companions would 

 at one glance reveal the whole history of the ves- 

 sel in question, and would enable him to tell, with 

 a certainty which scarcely ever failed, the place 

 where she was built, where rigged, and where at 

 present owned. This wonderful faculty is the 

 result of- keen eyes and long experience, and is 

 found nowhere else in such perfection as among 

 American fishermen. 



Lying to for a little while, to try for fish, we 

 shortly got under way, and stood on with the 

 rest of the fleet. The wind was from North west 



