164 DANGERS TO WHALERS FROM THE IGE. 



singular circumstance which could not be accounted for, a 

 turn of the line flew over his arm, in an instant dragged him 

 overboard, and plunged him under water to rise no more! 

 So sudden was the accident, that only one man, who had his 

 eye on him at the time, was aware of what had happened ; 

 BO that when the boat righted — which it immediately did — 

 though half full of water, they all at once, on looking round 

 at the exclamation of the man who had seen him launched 

 overboard, inquired, * What has got Carr?' It is scarcely 

 possible to imagine a death more awfully sudden and unex- 

 pected." 



Some boats of the whale-ship Aimwell being in pursuit of 

 these monarchs of the ocean, harpooned one. When struck, 

 the animal only dived for a moment, and then rose again be- 

 neath the boat, struck it in the most vicious manner with 

 its tail and fins, broke and upset it, and then disappeared. 

 The crew, seven in number, got on the bottom of the boat; 

 but the unequal action of the lines, which remained entan- 

 gled with the boat, rolled it over occasionally, and thus 

 plunged the men repeatedly beneath the water. Four of 

 them recovered themselves, and clung to the boat ; but the 

 other three were drowned before assistance could arrive. 



In the Arctic seas the whalers are exposed to many dan- 

 gers from the ice. About the year 1856, Captain Deuchars, 

 a most experienced navigator, in command of a fine strong 

 vessel, the Princess Charlotte, lost it in Melville Bay. It 

 was a fine morning, and all on board were anticipating a 

 very successful voyage; the steward had just reported 

 breakfast ready, when the captain, seeing the floes of ice 

 closing together ahead of the ship, remained on deck to see 

 her pass safely between them ; but they closed too quickly 

 — the vessel was almost through when the points of ice 

 caught her sides abreast of the mizzen-mast, and passing 

 through, held the wreck up for a few minutes, barely alloAv- 

 ing time enough for the crew to escape and save their boats. 



