160 THE CRUISE OF THE " CACHALOT." 



SO baffling, that at various times during our passage in 

 it appeared as if nothing could prevent us from getting 

 stuck upon some of the adjacent hungry-looking coral 

 reefs. Nothing of the kind happened, however, and wo 

 came comfortably to an anchor near three other whale- 

 ships which were already there. They were the Diego 

 Ramirez, of Nantucket ; the Coronel, of Providence, Ehode 

 Island ; and the Grampus, of New Bedford. These were 

 the first whale-ships we had yet seen, and it may be 

 imagined how anxious we felt to meet men with whom 

 we could compare notes and exchange yarns. It might 

 be, too, that we should get some news of that world 

 which, as far as we were concerned, might as well have 

 been at the other extremity of the solar system for the 

 last year, so completely isolated had we been. 



The sails were hardly fast before a boat from each 

 of the ships was alongside with their respective skippers 

 on board. The extra exertion necessary to pilot the 

 ship in had knocked the old man up, in his present weak 

 state, and he had gone below for a short rest ; so the 

 three visitors dived down into the stuffy cabin, all 

 anxious to interview the latest comer. Considerate 

 always, Mr. Count allowed us to have the remainder of 

 the day to ourselves, so we set about entertaining our 

 company. It was no joke twelve of them coming upon 

 us all at once, and babel ensued for a short time. They 

 knew the system too well to expect refreshments, so we 

 had not to apologize for having nothing to set before 

 tliem. They had not come, however, for meat and drink, 

 but for talk. And talk we did, sometimes altogether, 

 sometimes rationally; but I doubt whether any of us 

 had ever enjoyed talking so much before. 



