OCEAN FISH AND OCEAN FISHING 43 



tons of living whale flesh had rubbed up against 

 her sides. There was, however, no getting rid of 

 the creatures, and they kept us company for some 

 time, doing their ten knots an hour without any 

 apparent effort. 



Seen so close, their skin looked remarkably 

 smooth and oily, and their somewhat clumsy- 

 looking frames beautifully adapted for slipping 

 through the water with a minimum of resistance. 



Until we neared Port Philip Heads we saw no 

 more whales, except a great distance off ; but one 

 lovely morning, when the land about Cape Otway 

 was sighted, and the sweet scent of mimosa blossom 

 and the not unpleasant pungent smell of bush-fires 

 was in our nostrils, two gigantic sperm whales, bull 

 and cow, deliberately crossed our bows near the 

 surface, so close that if the breeze had freshened at 

 the moment we should have run them down or 

 been forced to alter our course. 



Everybody crowded on to the forecastle head, 

 whence they could trace their full outline, as with 

 the greatest nonchalance they slowly, very slowly, 

 forged ahead and just cleared our cut-water. One 

 of the passengers, armed with a rifle, before we 

 could stop him, impulsively fired a shot at the bull, 

 who took not the slightest notice of the ball as it 

 buried itself in the blubber. The man received a 



