NARROW ESCAPE. 67 



to like being packed as closely as possible for 

 mutual warmth. These four islands were 

 several hundred yards apart, and after feasting 

 our eyes for a little on the glorious sight, we 

 resolved to take them in succession, and not 

 to fire at first, but the wabuses had not been 

 long enough on the ice to have got properly 

 sleepy, and the discontented individuals in the 

 water gave the rest the alarm, so that we only 

 managed to secure four altogether. 



Solomon, our untried harpooner, acquitted 

 himself pretty tolerably on this his first fair 

 trial, for he killed one out of the first herd, 

 and two at a time out of the second, but on 

 the latter occasion he as nearly as possible 

 upset the boat by allowing one of the lines to 

 run over the gunwale aft of the notches, at the 

 bow : the boat most certainly would have been 

 upset, had it not been that it was ballasted 

 with the blubber of the one already killed ; as 

 it was, she was half filled with water, and Lord 

 David and the crew were on the point of jump- 

 ing out, when fortunately she righted again. 



This herd consisted chiefly of cows and 

 young bulls, and they then dispersed or got 

 out of reach amongst the ice. 



In the forenoon we discovered a huge bull, 



p 2 



