His CAPTORS. 137 



Grounding on a Whale's Back. A Round Turn. 



a twinkling the boat-steerer sprang to his feet, 

 and, as he darted his second harpoon, the bow 

 of the boat grounded on the body of the whale, 

 but was instantly " sterned off," and before the 

 whale had sufficiently recovered from his sur- 

 prise to show fight, the " cedar" was out of the 

 reach of his flukes. 



The captain, who now took his place in the 

 bow of the boat, seized his lance, and the oars- 

 men again shot the boat ahead, but before he 

 could plunge the lance the whale pitched down 

 and disappeared. The line attached to the har- 

 poon, being of great length, is coiled very care- 

 fully and compactly in a large tub in the cen- 

 tre of the boat ; from thence it passes to the 

 stern, and around a post called the loggerhead, 

 firmly secured to the frame of the boat ; and it 

 is used for checking the line by friction as it 

 runs out, a " round turn" being taken for that 

 purpose. From the loggerhead the line passes 

 along the whole length of the boat between the 

 men, and leads out through a notch in the bow 

 to the harpoons, two of which are always at- 

 tached to the line's end. 



Soon as the whale disappeared, the line com- 

 menced running through the tub so rapidly, 



