414 ANOTHER ANECDOTE. 



these had saved their lives only by having recourse to 

 an expedient at which humanity stands aghast. The 

 third boat was never heard of, nor have any tidings of 

 the three castaways on Ducies Island reached civilized 



We might multiply almost indefinitely these painful 

 narratives. Nor are they without value ; inasmuch as 

 they bear a strong though indirect testimony to the courage, 

 endurance, and seamanship of the adventurous men who, 

 season after season, prosecute an enterprise beset by so 

 many forms of peril. It seemed to the old Latin poet that 

 the hero who first committed himself and his bark to the 

 mercies of the waves must have been armed in a triple 

 panoply of resolution ; what would he have said of the 

 gallant spirits who yearly dare the dangers of the whale- 

 fishery, and penetrate into the ice-bound straits and in- 

 lets of the Polar world ? 



Our next anecdote is derived from the record of an 

 American whaler. 



Early one morning, while cruising in the North 

 Pacific, he caught sight of a whale, and immediately 

 despatched a couple of boats in pursuit. They overtook 

 the " monster," delivered their harpoons, and having 

 " made fast," were rapidly towed by their struggling 

 victim out of sight of the ship. Meantime, another 

 whale made its appearance within a few yards of the 

 vessel. The captain had but one boat on board, but he 

 could not brook the idea of losing a goodly prize. He 

 ordered it to be lowered and manned, and leaving the 

 ship in charge of one seaman and two boys, took the 

 direction of it himself, and started in chase of the whale. 



