498 THE FRANKLIN SEARCH— 18^8-51. 



to pull us bodily under the floe. But then allowing the line to run out, the 

 strain was partly removed, and the boat's head again rose, but only to be 

 again dragged downwards. Upwards of twenty minutes had elapsed since 

 we had ' got fast,' and the strain now began to slacken, but it was full time — 

 we were drawing nigh the 'bitter end.' The welcome sound of a gun was 

 heard, and in a few seconds, looking down the edge of the floe we could see 

 one of our boats with the well-known blue 'jack' flying. A few fathoms 

 more of line were rapidly drawn out, and then the strain as suddenly ceased. 

 We commenced hauling them in, and whilst doing so, could see a third boat 

 ' get fast.' The rest of the boats were now at hand, and as she appeared at 

 the surface, closely surrounded her, and busily plied her with their lances. 

 It was in about an hour and a half from the time we first struck her that we 

 heard the distant cheers announcing her death. From the time the second 

 boat had got fast we had been busily engaged hauling in our lines, and thus 

 slowly approaching the cluster of boats round the dying whale. But long 

 ere we had finished this they had succeeded in kilUng her, and she was 

 lying safe and sound, made fast to the edge of the floe. The boats now col- 

 lected and prepared to tow the dead fish to the ship. This was even more 

 tedious than hauling in the lines, but as I had volunteered to take my place 

 in a boat, I said not a word, but tugged away at my oar in silence. Luckily, 

 however, one or two fish were seen near us, in pursuit of which our boat and 

 another cast off" from those which were towing. The moment we were again 

 in chase, fatigue and languor vanished, and we stretched to our oars as 

 heartily as we had done when we first left the ship. 



" We had a long, but a fruitless pull, and in the meantime a light breeze 

 had sprung up, and we could see that the ship had ' cast off' from the land 

 ice in the bay, and was working down towards the boats and dead fish. We 

 pulled towards her at once, and I was not a little glad to be able to stretch 

 myself on deck again, after nearly forty-eight hours' confinement to the 

 thwart of a boat. A hearty welcome from the captain, who was not a little 

 astonished to find me so fresh after my labours, and the tempting sight of 

 smoking beef-steaks and earl^/ potatoes on the cabin table soon made me all 

 right, nor did I feel half so fatigued as I might have expected, and was later 

 than even my usual time of retiring to my narrow berth in the little closet 

 off" the cabin, which was by courtesy termed the doctor's state-room. 



"Two or three days after this, I had another opportunity of closely 

 witnessing the death of a whale. She had been struck in a crack but a short 

 distance from the ship. All the crew, except the ' watch,' who were on the 

 ' bran,' were sound asleep in their berths below, fatigued after some days' 

 hard labour. It is a most laughable scene to see a ' fall ' called under such 

 circumstances. The one or two hands who were walking quietly and gently 

 on deck a second before, in order not to disturb the fatigued men below, are 



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