162 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



You ain't turned white yet — lower away ! Cooper! Wbere's Cooper 1 ?* 

 As soon as we are clear, wear round — let run that davit fall ! — wear 

 round and make a short board — haul up your tackle, boy. Keep to 

 windward all you can, Cooper! Pull a little off the weather bow, Mr. 

 Grafton, and then set your sail ! Haul in these gripes towing over the 

 quarter. By thunder, there's Worth's boats all down! coming with a 

 fair wind, too ! Out oars, lads." 



The Pandora had luffed to, and dropped her boats a mile to windward, 

 and they were coming down before the breeze, wing-and-wing, with their 

 paddles flashing in the sunlight, and their immense jibs guyed out on 

 the bow-oar as studding-sails, promising to stand about an equal chance 

 for the whale with ourselves. The larboard boat, to which I belonged, 

 proved the fastest of the three, and had a little the lead. After pulling 

 a few quiet strokes to windward, Father Grafton set his sails, and, as 

 he gave the order to " peak the oars and take the paddles," seemed as 

 cool and calm as when engaged in the most ordinary duty on board. 

 There was no confusion or bustle in his boat, but, with his practiced eye 

 fixed upon the huge spermaceti, he kept encouraging us in a low, dry 

 tone, as he conned the steering-oar with such skill that he seemed to 

 do it without effort.t 



* Usually the cooper is also head ship-keeper while the boats are down, if the cap- 

 tain is in one. 



t Exciting scenes have often occurred where boats from rival ships contended for 

 the prize, which by the law of whaling belongs to the first " fast" boat. Many years 

 ago an English, a French, a Portuguese, and an American ship lay becalmed within a 

 radius of a mile of each other in the South Pacific, when "a whale was "raised." With 

 a celerity peculiar to whaling, a boat from each ship was down and in pursuit. The 

 American whaleman is the only man who attends exclusively to his own duty; the 

 oarsmen leave it to their officers to watch the whale and only attend to getting the boat 

 through the water. Says the boat-steerer of the American boat in Ids account of the 

 race: "Placing the palm of my left hand under the abaft oar, while with my right I 

 guided the boat, and at each stroke threw a part of my weight against it, our boat 

 would 'skim the water like a thing of life.' A few moments from the start brought us 

 up with the Portuguese. The crews of the different ships witnessing the chase, the 

 excitement was tremendous. Our shipmates cheered us as we came up with the first 

 boat, and as we passed, the whale again made its appearance. Singing out to the men, 

 'There she blows! She's an eighty-barrel — right ahead. Give way, my boys!' &c, 

 we were soon alongside the Frenchman. The Frenchman was too polite to oppose us, 

 and we passed him with ease. The English boat was now about ten rods in advance, 

 and the whale about one and three-fourths of a mile. Now came the trial. The Eng- 

 lish boat was manned by the same number of stout, active hands as our own, and, see- 

 ing us pass the other boats, their whole strength and force was put to the oar. We 

 gained on them but slowly, and such was the excitement of the race that we were in 

 danger of passiug over where the whale had last 'blowed.' At this moment the Eng- 

 lish boat-steerer noticed the manner in which I had placed my left hand and weight 

 against the oar. Instantly laying hold of his own in a like manner, his first effort broke 

 it short at the lock. Thus disabled, he gave us a hearty curse as we shot past him 

 like a meteor. We had been so excited with the race that we had lost sight of the 

 whale. As luck would have it, at this instant she 'blowed' but a few rods ahead. In 

 a moment we were fast, and ' all hands stern.' * *. * That whale stowed us down 



