106 THE WHALE AND 



Midnight Whaling. Giant Polar Whale. 



found it both difficult and dangerous to get oil, 

 although there were plenty of whales. Here- 

 after, doubtless, many ships will go there, and 

 I think there ought to be some provision made 

 to save the lives of those who go there, should 

 they be cast away." 



During the entire period of his cruise no ice 

 was seen, and the weather was ordinarily pleas- 

 ant, so that the men could work in light cloth- 

 ing. In most parts of the ocean there was 

 good anchorage, from fourteen to thirty-five 

 fathoms, and a part of the time the vessel lay 

 at anchor. The first whale was taken at twelve 

 o'clock at night. It was not difficult to whale 

 the whole twenty-four hours, it being so light 

 that it was easy to read in the cabin at mid- 

 night. The whales were quite tame, but dif- 

 ferent from any Captain Roys had ever before 

 taken. He captured three different species, 

 one of the largest yielding two hundred bar- 

 rels of oil. The first species much resembled 

 the Greenland whale, affording one hundred 

 and sixty or seventy barrels. The second was 

 a species called Polar whale, a few of which 

 have been taken before on the- Northwest Coast ; 

 and the third was a small whale peculiar to 



