TRAPPING THE WHALE. 497 



and imagined we could hear the distant sound of the guns and the shouting 

 of ' falls ' about the ships, which could just be seen. We were in no very 

 good humour at the idea of not being in the thick of it, but we had no 

 reason to complain as it turned out, for we learned, on our return, that 

 the fish had never gone into the bay, and that scarcely any one had seen 

 them on this occasion but ourselves. But we now had a good chance. A 

 fish was seen beside the ice at no great distance from us, but beyond a ' fair 

 start.' I have noticed a peculiarity about the whale, that if there is a piece 

 of ice within sight it will run towards it, and come to the surface beside it. 

 And when beside a floe, it always rises beside its edge, and never appears 

 at any distance from it. And, moreover, if there should be a crack or bight 

 in the floe, it is ten chances to one it wiU rise to blow in it, in preference to 

 the outer edge of the floe. This is well known to the whalers. Such a crack 

 being now opposite to us, and at such a distance from where the whale was 

 last seen, it was likely she would rise there next, and we pulled towards it. 

 Here we lay for some minutes in breathless expectation, our oars out of the 

 water, and the harpooner silently motioning with his hand to the boat- 

 steerer which way to 'scull.' Up in the very head of the crack the water 

 was now seen to be circling and gurgling up, ' There's her eddy' quietly 

 whispers our harpooner: 'A couple of strokes now, boys — gently — that'll do.' 

 Looking over my shoulder, I could see first the crown, then the great black 

 back of the unsuspecting whale, slowly emerge from the water, contrasting 

 strangely with the bright white and blue of the ice on each side — then 

 followed the indescribable, hurstling roar of her blast. But short breathing 

 time had she — for, with sure aim and single tug of his trigger-string, the 

 keen iron was sent deep in behind her fin. 'Harden up, boys!' he cries, 

 and the boat is pulled right on to the whale, when he plunges the hand- 

 harpoon deep into her back, with two hearty digs. The poor brute quivered 

 throughout, and for a second or two lay almost motionless ; then diving, and 

 that with such rapidly increasing speed that the line was whirled out of the 

 boat like lightning. The usual signals were now made to the other boats 

 that we were 'fast.' 



" For the first few minutes the lines were allowed to run out without 

 interruption, then one, two, three turns were successively thrown round the 

 'bollard.' This had the effect of stopping her speed somewhat, but the line 

 still ran out with a great strain. The boat's bow was forcibly pressed 

 against the ice, and crushed through the underwashed ledge to the solid floe 

 beyond; the harpooner sitting upon his 'thwart,' allowing the lines to run 

 through his hands, which were defended by thick mits : stopping the progress 

 of the fish as much as he could, as the rest of the boats were still some 

 distance from us. Every few minutes the fish seeming to start off as with 

 renewed strength, the boat's bow would be pulled downwards, threatening 

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