258 TEE CRUISE OF THE "CACHALOT,'' 



CHAPTER XXI. 



PROGRESS OF THE ** HUMPBACK " SEASON. 



It will probably be inferred from the foregoing paragraph 

 that we were little troubled with visits from the natives 

 next day ; but it would be doing them an injustice if I 

 omitted to state that our various " flems " put in an 

 appearance as usual with their daily offerings of fruit, 

 vegetables, etc. They all presented a somewhat jaded 

 and haggard look, as of men who had dined not wisely 

 but too well, nor did the odour of stale whale-meat that 

 clung to them add to their attractions. Eepentance for 

 excesses or gluttony did not seem to trouble them, for 

 they evidently considered it would have been a sin 

 not to take with both hands the gifts the gods had so 

 bountifully provided. Still, they did not stay long, feel- 

 ing, no doubt, sore need of a prolonged rest after their 

 late arduous exertions ; so, after affectionate farewells, 

 they left us again to our greasy task of trying-out. 



The cow proved exceedingly fat, making us, though 

 by no means a large specimen, fully fifty barrels of oil. 

 The whalebone (baleen) was so short as to be not worth 

 the trouble of curing, so, with the exception of such pieces 

 as were useful to the " scrimshoners " for ornamenting 

 their nicknacks, it was not preserved. On the evening 

 of the third day the work was so far finished that we 



