2GG MAEJNE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. 



abroad — and especially the channel which led to it — yet, soon after our arrival, 

 a large fleet of ships hovered for weeks ofl: the entrance, or along the adjacent 

 coast, and six of the numher succeeded in finding their way in. The whole force 

 pursuing the whales that season numbered nine vessels, whicli lowered thirty boats. 

 Of this number, at least twenty -five were daily engaged in whaling. The different 

 branches of the lagoon where the whales congregated were known as the "Fish- 

 pond," "Cooper's Lagoon," "Fort Lagoon," and the "Main Lagoon." The chief 

 place of resort, however, was at the head -waters of the Main Lagoon, which may 

 be compared to an estero, two or three miles in extent, and nearly surrounded by 

 dunes, or sand -flats, which were exposed at neap tides. Here the objects of pur- 

 suit were found in large numl:)ers, and here the scene of slaughter was exceedingly 

 picturesque and unusually exciting, especially on a calm morning, when the mirage 

 would transform not only the boats and their crews into fantastic imagery, but the 

 whales, as they sent forth their towering spouts of aqueous vapor, frequently tinted 

 with blood, would appear greatly distorted. At one time, the upper sections of 

 the boats, with their crews, would be seen gliding over the molten -looking surface 

 of the water, with a portion of the colossal form of the whale appearing for an 

 instant, like a spectre, in the advance ; or both boats and whales would assume 

 ever -changing forms, while the report of the bomb -guns would sound like the 

 sudden discharge of musketrj^ ; but one can not fully realize, unless he be an ej^e- 

 witness, the intense and boisterous excitement of the recliless pursuit, by a large 

 fleet of boats from different ships, engaged in a morning's whaling foray. Numbers 

 of them will be fast to whales at the same time, and the stridden animals, in their 

 efforts to escape, can be seen darting in every direction through the water, or 

 breaching headlong clear of its surface, coming down with a splash that sends 

 columns of foam in every direction, and with a rattling report that can be heard 

 beyond the surrounding shores. The men in the boats shout and yell, or con- 

 verse in vehement strains, using a variety of lingo, from the Portuguese of the 

 Western Islands to the Kanaka of Oceanica. In fact, the wdiole specta-cle is 

 beyond description, for it is one continually changing aquatic battle -scene. 



It was no unusual occurrence for the whales, after being struck, to run in 

 different directions, thereby endangering collisions with the boats, or crossing lines ; 

 and it was frequently only by the most dexterous management of the crews that 

 serious disasters were avoided. Sometimes a line was cut, or let go, and again 

 recovered, or the whale escaped with the harpoon. Our tenders being anchored at 

 the scene of action, afforded an excellent opportunity to observe, from their mast- 

 heads, all that was transpiring. One dull, quiet morning, with a light fog -cloud 



