SOUTH SEA FISHERY. 171 



approaches the fast fish as rapidly as possible, and 

 renews the contest. On thrusting or darting his 

 lance, the headsman calls out " Stern-all," when the 

 boat immediately recedes. Upon feeling the lance, 

 the whale generally plunges, and throws itself in all 

 directions, lashing the water with its tail, and threat- 

 ening destruction with its formidable jaw. The 

 dying struggles are sometimes tremendous, and the 

 boats at this time generally keep aloof, as otherwise 

 they might be dashed to pieces. (See Plate x.) 



The larger whales, such as yield eighty or more 

 barrels of oil, not being nearly so active, are gene- 

 rally, by expert whalers, killed easily, and with 

 less danger than the smaller ones. These enor- 

 mous creatures, however, are sometimes known to 

 turn upon their persecutors with unbounded fury, 

 destroying every thing that meets them in their 

 course. Mr. Beale was witness of an occurrence 

 of this sort, off the coast of Japan, in July 1832. 

 Captain William Swain of the Sarah and Eliza- 

 beth of London had, with two other boats, been 

 engaged in chasing a large whale nearly the whole 

 of the day. At four p. M. the captain was con- 

 siderably a-head of the other boats, and had suc- 

 ceeded in harpooning it; and, being a dexterous 

 whaler, he succeeded in lancing the animal twice 

 before it recovered from the blow; these wounds 

 having penetrated the chest, caused the abundant 

 ejection of blood through the spiracle : it however 

 suddenly descended to the depth of about forty fa- 

 thoms, and as suddenly rose, striking the boat with 



