THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 21! n 



" Tlie hen keeps charge of her young nearly a 

 twelvemonth, during which time tliey change and 

 complete their plumage ; and in teaching them to 

 swim, the mother has frequently to use some artifice ; 

 for when the young one refuses to take the w^ater, 

 slie entices it to the side of a rock and cunningly 

 pushes it in ; and this is repeated until it takes the 

 sea of its own accord."* All the species are arrant 

 thieves, each losing no opportunity of stealing mate- 

 rials during nest-building time, and even the eggs 

 from each other, if they are left unguarded. They 

 are usually thought, when seen at sea, to indicate 

 that land is at no great distance ; but this indication 

 is not always correct, for they are occasionally seen 

 v6ry far from any shore, and, indeed, with their 

 swimming powers, one can readily imagine that the 

 space of a few leagues would be no object of concern. 

 The Crested Penguin, in particular, lives in open 

 sea ; it has been seen some hundreds of miles from 

 land, voyaging in pairs, male and female. 



Tlie chief object of commercial speculation in the 

 Pacific is the pursuit of the Sperm ^Vliale, than 

 which the whole wide range of human enterprise 

 affords no occupation of more daring adventure, or 

 more romantic interest. A crew of thirty or foi-tv 

 hardy fellows leave their native land, and boldly 

 steer away to the most distant parts of the globe. 

 The tempestuous sea of Cape Horn soon finds them 

 hotly engaged in striking their giant game; or, if 

 Ihey find it not here, they do not hesitate to stretch 

 away to the shores of New Zealand, or even to seek 



* Voyage towards the South Pole, p. 55. 



