46 FISHES I HA VE KNOWN 



as seen from the ship's deck) the monstrous pro- 

 portions of these leviathans. It must have been 

 over ninety feet long, and towered above our little 

 craft like a ship's hull. 



To tell the truth, we were all somewhat nervous, 

 as much depended upon the humour of the whale. 

 We knew that if, for instance, he were an old 

 bachelor, morose and cruel, that had been cast 

 out of the " school " to live alone, he might turn 

 upon us and crush the boat to pieces with his 

 jaws. 



Luckily, the cachelot proved peaceful, and, 

 majestically moving its tail, and winking at us 

 with one of its small eyes, took its departure. 



Arctic whales are generally found in the neigh- 

 bourhood of icebergs or ice-floes, where their food 

 abounds, but in Antarctic regions they are not 

 necessarily seen near ice. 



On one of my voyages, a memorable one, we 

 were driven far south in the South Pacific by 

 continuous northerly gales, and when in lat. 60° 

 ran into a vast collection of icebergs, amongst 

 which we remained more or less entangled for 

 twelve days. 



The following is an e.xtract from my old diary, 

 recording the incident : — 



"■December 12th. — Surrounded bv icebergs of 



