362 AN ILLUSTRATIVE ANECDOTE. 



tomer. After about three-quarters of an hour's hard 

 pulling, chasing her first in one direction and then in 

 another, until the men were so weary as nearly to drop 

 at their oars, they succeeded in closing up, and giving 

 her another harpoon ; immediately on receipt of which 

 she flew off at a terrific rate, towing the two boats fully 

 six knots an hour, and drawing out the line with such 

 velocity that the bows of the boat were enveloped in the 

 smoke caused by the friction. 



" We had a very near shave," says Captain Markham, 

 " one time, of being taken down altogether. The fish 

 having stopped to blow for a few minutes, the line, which 

 from the extreme friction had burned a deep scar round 

 the bollard (or block on which it runs), cooled, and 

 adhered to the wood. The fish suddenly took it into her 

 head to go straight down ; the line would not render, the 

 bows of the boat were dragged under water, and the 

 water came rushing in over the harpooneer. This saved 

 \\ s ; for the water, lubricating the line, allowed it to 

 render, and the boat righted, though not before a large 

 quantity of water had been shipped. We should, indeed, 

 have been placed in a most dangerous and unpleasant 

 predicament ; for, had the line not rendered, nothing 

 could have saved the boat from being taken down, and 

 our chance of escape would have been very small." 



About five o'clock other boats came to their assist- 

 ance, when five more harpoons were buried in the mon- 

 ster's flesh, and several lances plunged in, but all appa- 

 rently to no avail, she would not die. Three rockets 

 were also fired into her huge bulk. Eventually the ship 

 came up, and took the lines from one of the boats on 

 board ; yet, mirabile dictu ! the fish actually towed the 



