256 SALMON FISHING IN CANADA. 



they deemed it probable he would again rise to take 

 breath. This occurred several times, till at last, upon his 

 rising from his dive, which he did within a few feet of the 

 boat nearest to our yacht, he received the harpoon deep 

 into his flesh. Then arose a shout into the skies, and the 

 stern cry of "Back all" from the successful boat, was 

 answered by a chant from the other, 



"Laugh at fear! 



Plunge it deep, the barbed spear ! 

 Strike the lance in swift career ! 

 Give him line ! Give him line ! 

 Down he goes through the foaming brine." 



The instantaneous rush of the infuriated and wounded fish, 

 tearing the little boat freighted with human life through 

 the hissing waters, was terribly sublime. Such was the 

 velocity with which it flew that it literally cleaved out for 

 itself a channel through the deep, " a wall of waters on 

 the right hand and on the left," which was sufficiently 

 high to conceal the adventurous fishermen completely from 

 our view till they had attained a distance from us of, I 

 should say, about two miles, when the huge fish beginning 

 to become exhausted, commenced to move in a circle and 

 so to return towards us. 



At this period we perceived that, beside the whale in 

 which the harpoon was fixed, there was another of a much 

 larger size which accompanied every motion of the former ; 

 this we subsequently learned was the old or cow whale, 



