FISHERIES 167 



raised. And if there was haste at all times, 

 what was there not when fleets of whalers under 

 different flags were together in the same 

 waters ? 



The approach, often made by changing the 

 oars for silent paddles ; the strike ; the flying 

 whale ; the snaking, streaking, zipping line ; 

 the furious tow, with the boat almost leaping 

 from crest to crest ; the long haul in on the 

 gradually slackening warp ; the lancing and 

 the dying flurry, were all exciting enough by 

 themselves. And when a whale showed fight, 

 charged home, and smashed a boat to splinters, 

 it took a smart crew to escape and get rescued 

 in time. A Greenland whale once took fifteen 

 harpoons, drew out six miles of line, and 

 carried down a boat with all hands drowned 

 before it was killed. Old sperms that had once 

 escaped without being badly hurt were always 

 ready to fight again. One fighting whale took 

 down the bow oarsman in its mouth, drowned 

 the next two, and sent the rest flying with a 

 single snap of its jaws. Another fought nine 

 hours, took five harpoons and seven bombs, 

 smashed up three boats, and sank dead — a 

 total loss. A third, after smashing a boat, 

 charged the ship and stove her side so badly 

 that she sank within five minutes. 



