42 Cheerful Anticipations. 



difficulty that must necessarily ensue in attempting 

 to capture a whale amidst such heavy ice. 



However, no one despaired, and "all hands " 

 manned the line, resolved to bring the fish home, 

 carry away the line, or draw the harpoon. Every 

 one worked well and cheerily, knowing that £1,000 

 was at the other end of the line. It was with no 

 little surprise and wonder that I witnessed, for the 

 first time, the enormous power and strength of these 

 leviathans of the deep. Not only were we being 

 towed by the monster through the pack, but with 

 such rapidity that we were frequently brought into 

 violent contact with the heavy floes. 



Things were beginning to look brighter ; heavy 

 strains had been brought on the line, and still 

 everything held ; the men were singing cheerily, 

 and already counting up their oil money ; more than 

 half the line had been hauled in, and we were all 

 confidently looking forward in a short time to behold 

 our prize. Suddenly a more than usual strain came 

 upon the line, a quick and sudden jerk, the line ran 

 in easily, and we knew our fish had escaped. A 

 bitter sense of disappointment seemed instanta- 

 neously to settle upon everybody. " She's gone ! " 

 was re-echoed through the ship ; no more jokes 

 were cracked, no longer was any singing heard, and 

 the line was hauled in slowly and silently. 



The fish had been struck with two harpoons — 

 the gun and the hand ; the latter, it appeared, had 



