ON THE SOLANDER GROUNDS. 327 



• 



time in my experience, the fluke-chain was actually torn 

 through the piece to which it was fast — two feet of solid 

 gristle ripped asunder. Away went the head with ita 

 £150 to ;6200 worth of pure spermaceti, disappearing 

 from view almost immediately. 



It had no sooner gone than more sail was set, the 

 yards were squared, and the vessel kept away up the 

 Straits for shelter. It was a big improvement, for she 

 certainly had begun to make dirty weather of it, and no 

 wonder. Now, however, running almost dead before the 

 gale, getting into smoother water at every fathom, she 

 was steady as a rock, allowing us to pursue our greasy 

 avocation in comparative comfort. The gale was still 

 increasing, although now blowing with great fury ; but, 

 to our satisfaction, it was dry and not too cold. Eunning 

 before it, too, lessened our appreciation of its force ; 

 besides which, we were exceedingly busy clearing away 

 the enormous mass of the junk, which, draining con- 

 tinually, kept the decks running with oil. 



We started to run up the Straits at about ten a.m. 

 At two p.m. we suddenly looked up from our toil, our 

 attention called by a sudden lull in the wind. We had 

 rounded Saddle Point, a prominent headland, which 

 shut off from us temporarily the violence of the gale. 

 Two hours later we found ourselves hauling up into the 

 pretty little harbour of Port William, where, without 

 taking more than a couple of hands off the work, the 

 vessel was rounded-to and anchored with quite as little 

 fuss as bringing a boat alongside a ship. It was the 

 perfection of seamanship. 



Once inside the bay, a vessel was sheltered from all 

 winds, the land being high and the entrance intricate. 

 The water was smooth as a mill-pond, though the leaden 

 masses of cloud flying overhead and the muffled roar of 



