44 FISHES I HAVE KNOWN 



sound rating from the captain, who told him that 

 the ship might have been rammed and sunk if the 

 whale had been resentful. 



My next experience was on a voyage to South 

 America, the west coast. When in lat. 33 S., not 

 far from Juan Fernandez — sighted in the distance, 

 and recalling the Robinson Crusoe who did not 

 live on that island — a mighty rorqual came bowl- 

 ing along on our starboard beam, displaying above 

 the surface his dorsal fin like a danger-signal. He 

 must have been going at the rate of fifteen knots 

 an hour, for, though we were spanking along before 

 a good breeze, every sail set, he passed us as if we 

 were standing still. Most likely he was hurrying 

 to his fishing-grounds off the island, which swarms 

 with rock-cod, cavalhos, congers, and mullet. 



It is strange to think of these great rovers of 

 the seas, free to go and come from one island to 

 another, or to distant coasts in search of shoals of 

 prey in shallow waters. 



While off the coast of Peru, when I was walking 

 the deck on a bright moonlight night, the stillness 

 — for there was but little wind- — was suddenly 

 broken by a series of loud " blows," or spouts. 

 The ship was surrounded by whales ()-oung 

 sperms we thought they were), youngsters about 

 forty feet long. They were in playful mood. 



