120 MARINE MAM3IALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. 



time/ when landing, the boat's crew are obliged to jump into the water, to hold and 

 steady the boat, that it may not be staved on the beach, or swept out by the reced- 

 ing undertow. In fact, a heavy surge always beats upon- those frozen, rock- bound 

 shores, varied only by the combing seas, that dart higher yet up the precipitous 

 cliffs, when urged on by the oft -repeated gales that sweep over the southern por- 

 tions of the Indian Ocean. 



Captain Cook, the celebrated explorer, on his voyages of discovery in the Res- 

 olution, when he visited Kerguelen Land, called it the Island of Desolation, on 

 account of its barren and uninhabitable appearance, although it possessed fine har- 

 bors, where the hardy mariner could rest securely with his ship during the violent 

 winter storms. But not so at Herd's Island. The Sea Elephant oil- ship, breasting 

 the changing winds and waves to procure a cargo, is officered by the most fearless 

 and determined men, who have had experience in whaling, sealing, or Sea Elephant 

 hunting in those rough seas. The majority of the men are shipped at the Cape de 

 Verde Islands, they being of a muscular race, who have proved themselves to be 

 excellent hands for the laborious work. The ship, when first sent out, is provided 

 with a "double crew," and is accompanied by a small vessel, of a hundred tons or 

 less, for a "tender." On arriving at the island, the ship is moored with heavy 

 chains and anchors, and every other preparation is made for riding out any gale 

 that may blow toward the land. The sails are unbent, all the spars above the top- 

 masts are sent down, and, with the spare boats, are landed and housed during the 

 "season," which begins about the middle of November, and ends in the middle of 

 February. Quarters are provided for that portion of the ship's company which is 

 assigned to duty on shore. The habitation is a small hut, properly divided off 

 into apartments — one for the mates, one for the steerage officers, and another for 

 the men. This dwelling is no larger than necessity demands. Its walls are built 

 of the detached pieces of lava, or bowlders, nearest at hand ; rough boards and 

 tarred canvas, supplied from the ship, form the roof, which must be made water- 

 proof and snow -proof. During the day, light is admitted to each room through a 

 single pane of glass, or a spare deck or side light— perhaps found among the 

 rubbish on board the vessel; and doors are made after the fashion of "good old 

 colony times," with the latch -string ever swinging in the wind. In this dank 

 habitation, planted between an iceberg on one side and a bluff volcanic mountain 

 on the other, these rough men of the sea at once adapt themselves to their several 

 situations, and all the discipline is maintained that they would be subject to if on 

 board ship. The high surf at this island renders it impracticable to haul off the 

 blubber in "rafts," as at Desolation Island and on the coasts of the Californias : 



