114 THE INHABITANTS OF THE SEA. 



•and then it floats inert and lifeless on the waters. As soon as 

 death is certain — for to the last moment a convulsive blow of 

 the mighty tail might dash the overhasty boat to pieces — the 

 whale is lashed by chains to the vessel's side, stripped of his 

 valuable fat, and then left to float, a worthless carcase, on the 

 heaving ocean. 



And now, man having taken his share, there begins a mag- 

 nificent feast for -birds and fishes. Crowds of fulmars, snow 

 birds, or kittiwakes, flock together from all sides to enjoy the 

 delicious repast; but their delight, so rare is perfect felicity 

 on earth, is but too often disturbed by their terrible rival the 

 blue gull (Lotus glaucus), which, while it rivals them in rapa- 

 city, surpasses them all in strength, and forces them to disgorge 

 the daintiest morsels. Meanwhile sharks, saw-fishes, and whatr 

 ever else possesses sharp teeth and boldness enough to mix 

 among such formidable company, are busy biting, hacking, 

 scooping, and cutting below the water line, so that in a short 

 time, notwithstanding its vast bulk, the carrion disappears. 



The catching of the whale does not always end so fortunately 

 as I have just described. Sometimes the line becomes en- 

 tangled, and drags the boat into the abyss ; or the tail of the 

 animal, sweeping rapidly through the air, either descends upon 

 the shallop, cutting it down to the water's edge, or encounters 

 in its course some of the crew standing up (such as the heads- 

 man or harpooner), who are carried away and destroyed. 

 Thus Mr. Young, chief mate of the " Tuscan," was seen flying 

 through the air at a considerable height, and to the distance of 

 nearly forty yards from the boat, ere he fell into the water, 

 where he remained floating motionless on the surface for a few 

 moments, and then sank and was seen no more. 



Sometimes, particularly among the sperm-whales, desperate 

 characters are found, that without waiting for the attack, rush 

 furiously against the boats sent out against them, and seem 

 to love fighting for its own sake. Bennett describes an en- 

 counter of this kind which he witnessed in the South Sea. The 

 first effort of the whale was to rush against the boat with his 

 head. Having been baffled by the crew steering clear, he next 

 attempted to crush it with his jaws ; failing again, through the 

 unaccommodating position of his mouth, he remedied this defect 

 with much sagacity, for approaching impetuously from a distance 



