296 The Story of the New England Whalers 



Davis, in his Nimrod of the Sea, tells about 

 the work of another fighting whale which made 

 such a terrific onslaught upon the boats that the 

 crew of the ship were entirely demoralized, and 

 the captain felt obliged to make port in order to 

 give the men a chance to run away, a privilege 

 of which they availed themselves promptly. 



Right whales also fight back, though but rarely. 

 A Long Island captain, whose name is not given, 

 relates a story of a fight with one of these whales 

 (it can be found in Starbuck's history) that seems 

 well worth quoting verbatim: 



"My second mate had fastened to a large whale 

 that seemed disposed to be ugly; so I pulled up 

 and fastened to her also. I went into the bow 

 and darted my lance, but the whale rolled so that 

 I missed the life and struck into the shoulder 

 blade. It pierced so deep into the bone (per- 

 haps through it) that I could not draw it out; the 

 whole body of the whale shivered and squirmed as 

 if in great pain. Then turning a little, she cut 

 her flukes, taking the boat amidships. The broad- 

 side was stove in, and the boat rolled over, the 

 crew having jumped into the sea. I cut the line 



