2OO The Story of the New England Whalers 



" For a couple of days we met with no success, 

 although we had a very aggravating chase after 

 some smart bulls we fell in with. . . . They 

 went away gayly along the land, not attempting 

 to get seaward, we straining every nerve to get 

 alongside of them. Whether they were tantaliz- 

 ing us or not I cannot say, but it certainly looked 

 like it. In spite of their well-known speed we 

 were several times so close in their wake that 

 the harpooners loosed the tacks of the jibs to 

 get a clear shot; but as they did so the nimble 

 monsters shot ahead a length or two, leaving 

 us just out of reach. It was a fine chase while 

 it lasted, though annoying; yet one could hardly 

 help feeling amused at the way they wallowed 

 along. ... At last after nearly two hours of 

 fun they seemed to have had enough of it, and 

 with one accord headed seaward at a greatly 

 accelerated pace, as who should say, 'Well, 

 s'long, boys/ ... In a quarter of an hour 

 they were out of sight." 



The stories of what has been done by the fight- 

 ing whales have seemed so remarkable that a 

 special chapter is devoted to them. Of the 



