HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERY. 117 



observed a large sperm-whale* break water about twenty rods from the 

 ship. After lying there a few moments he disappeared, but immediately 

 came up agaiu about a ship's length off, and made directly for the ves- 

 sel, going at a velocity of about three miles an hour, and the Essex 

 advancing at about the same rate of speed. Scarcely had the mate 

 ordered the boy at the helm to put it hard up, when the whale with a 

 greatly accelerated speed struck the ship with his head just forward of 

 the fore-chains. "The ship," says the mate, from whose account this is 

 condensed, "brought up as suddenly and violently as if she had struck 

 a rock, and trembled for a few seconds like a leaf." The whale passed 

 under the vessel, scraping her keel as he went, came up on the leeward 

 side of her, and lay on the surface of the water, apparently stunned, 

 for about a moment; he then started suddenly off to leeward. Mr. 

 Chase immediately had the pumps rigged and set going. At this time 

 the vessel was beginning to settle at the head, and the whale, about 

 100 yards off, was thrashing the water violently with his tail, and open- 

 ing and closing his jaws with great fury. Signals had been set for the 

 return of the other boats, for the ship had already settled quite rapidly, 

 and Mr. Chase had given her up as lost. " I, however," writes he, 

 " ordered the pumps to be kept constantly going, aud endeavored to 

 collect my thoughts for the occasion. 1 turned to the boats, two of 

 which we then had with the ship, with an intention of clearing them 

 away, aud getting all things ready to embark in them, if there should 

 be no other resource left ; and while my attention was thus engaged lor 

 a moment, I was aroused with the cry of a man at the hatchway, ' Here 

 he is — he is making for us agaiu.' I turned around and saw him about 

 100 rods directly ahead of us, coming down apparently with twice his 

 ordinary speed, aud to me at that moment it appeared with tenfold 

 fury and vengeance in his aspect." A line of foam about a rod in width, 

 made with his tail, which he continually thrashed from side to side, 

 marked his oncoming. Mr. Chase hoped, by putting the helm hard up, 

 the vessel might cross the line of the whale's approach, and the second 

 shock be avoided, and instantly gave orders to that effect; but scarcely 

 had the course of the ship, already somewhat waterlogged probably, 

 been changed a single point, when the head of the whale crashed into 

 her bows, staving them completely in directly under the cat-head. The 

 speed of the whale at this time was about six miles an hour, the Essex 

 moving at about one-half of that rate. After the second assault the 

 whale passed under the ship as before, and out of sight to the leeward. 

 Whatever was to be done now, must be done with the utmost dis- 

 patch. They were in mid ocean, more than a thousand miles from the 

 nearest laud, their ship rapidly settling beneath them, and nothing to 

 save them but frail open boats, each of which must of necessity be 

 heavily loaded. The lashings of the spare boat were cut, and she was 



*lu the account given by the mate, Mr. Owen Chase, the length of this whale is 

 estimated at about 85 feet, (p. 26.) 



