THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 2t3 



comjjlete its destruction ; but which was not done, 

 however, without considerable difficulty, the AMiale 

 continuing to descend the moment either of the boats 

 got nearly within dart of him. But after an hour's 

 exertion in this w^ay, six out of the ten boats which 

 were now engaged got fast to him by their harpoons, 

 but not one of them could get near enough to give 

 him a fatal lance. He towed them all in various 

 directions for some time, taking care to descend 

 below the surface the moment a boat drew up over 

 his flukes, or otherwise drew near, which rendered it 

 almost impossible to strike him in the body, even 

 when the lance was darted, although the after part of 

 his ' small ' was perforated in a hundred places ; from 

 these wounds the blood gushed in considerable quan- 

 tities, and as the poor animal moved along, towing 

 the boats, he left a long ensanguined stain in the 

 Ocean. At last, becoming weak from his numerous 

 and deep wounds, he became less capable of avoiding 

 his foes, which gave an opportunity for one of them 

 to pierce him to the life ! Dreadful was, that moment, 

 the acute pain which the leviathan experienced, and 

 which roused the dormant energies of his ffigantic 

 frame. As the life-blood gurgled thick through the 

 nostril, the immense creature went into his ' flurry ' 

 with excessive fury ; the boats were speedily sterned 

 off, while he beat the water in his dying convulsions 

 with a force that appeared to shake the firm founda- 

 tion of the Ocean."* 



Few occurrences in a long voyage are more gene- 

 rally interesting and exciting tlinii tlu; sight, ami 



• Hist, of Sperm Wh.ile, p. 17G 



