THE KII COAST. 125 



by his pursuers, and it' a second net is successfully got 

 round him, his capture is certain. Wearying himself 

 by frantic endeavours to get clear of the net, he soon 

 lies exhausted at the surface, and is then put out of 

 his misery by tough spears and other weapons. 



Whales' flesh is much esteemed by the natives, and 

 finds its way from these fisheries to all the large cities. 

 During the winter months it may be seen in the pro- 

 vision-shops in Kobe, and a most uninviting kind of 

 food it looks. At Katzura, a small town, where a few 

 boats are kept, the inhabitants told me they had caught 

 fifty whales in one season, and during half-a-century 

 had lost only one man in the pursuit. At this place 

 (Katzura) are several mineral springs, the waters of 

 which are famed for their curative properties, particu- 

 larly in cutaneous diseases ; so much so, that I was 

 assured by the natives seven days were sufficient for 

 all ordinary cases, and fourteen for the most serious. 

 The effect on a friend of mine whom I took there was 

 marvellous ; in about ten days an old wound, which 

 had been open for years, was healed. I believe my 

 friend, besides bathing seven or eight times a day, 

 drank as many bottles full of the water, so that a very 

 radical cure might have been anticipated. When he 

 went down to the spring, a mere hole in the rocks above 



