A LONG BLUE WHALE CHASE 



winch swallowed more and more of the coveted line. 

 With the powerful glasses I could see that at times 

 the water about his back was tinged with red, and 

 knew that the working of the hundred-pound harpoon 

 between his shoulders was making an ugly wound and 

 letting gallons of blood flow from his great veins. 



Finally only one line besides the leader for the 

 harpcon was out and I had already begun to work 

 the camera whenever the whale rose to blow. The 

 wind had nearly died but had left a tremendous swell, 

 and the little ship was rolling and tossing like a 

 thing possessed. Captain Olsen, against his better 

 judgment, was drawing the whale in for a second 

 shot when the line slacked away as the ship dropped 

 into the hollow of a great swell, then tightened sud- 

 denly and parted with a crack like a pistol shot when 

 she rose on the crest. 



With an cath Olsen shouted for full speed, and 

 fired as the great body disappeared beneath the sur- 

 face. It was a long chance but he made it, and we 

 gave a wild yell as the harpcon shot over the water 

 in a wide semi-circle and dropped upon the whale's 

 back. There w;as a sudden jerk, a muffled explosion, 

 and the line slacked away again, leaving a great crim- 

 son patch staining the surface. The ship plunged for- 

 ward through it and I saw the bits of torn and mangled 

 flesh which told the story all too plainly the bomb 

 on the tip of the harpoon, as it exploded, had blown 

 the iron out and the whale was free. 



We lay to with the engine stopped to see what 

 would happen next. Little was said; almost the only 



135 



