Sketches Afloat with the Whalers 261 



mate's boat, as it had that of the mate, and liter- 

 ally bit it into kindling wood. 



Captain Deblois was a fighting man; the fact 

 that he had gone afloat where it was the whaler 

 custom for a captain to remain on the ship and 

 allow the mates to do the fighting, proves that he 

 was a man of aggressive courage. But when he 

 had once more picked his men from the sea (they 

 had escaped as before by jumping overboard), he 

 headed for the ship, and when there he sent the 

 mate to gather up the oars and such other debris 

 as might have escaped the fury of the whale. 

 In his view it was his duty to fill his ship with oil, 

 and not to "whale for glory," as persistence in 

 fighting a whale of this kind was sometimes called. 



The mate, however, was of more reckless dis- 

 position. He gathered the debris as ordered, and 

 then, when returning to the ship, managed to get 

 within range of the whale and thrust a lance into 

 it. Unfortunately, however, he failed to reach 

 a vital point, and the whale, ignoring the small 

 boat, made a dash at the ship, striking her abreast 

 the foremast and crushing in her side. She sank 

 so rapidly that the crew were unable to secure 



