THE AMERICAN WHALE-FISHERY. 273 



anchor is weighed, and her prow is turned once more to frozen seas. The temper- 

 ate hititudcs are passed, and she emerges into a region of gloom, where fo^:, mist, 

 and storm follow in quick succession, varied at long intervals with clear weather, 

 which reveals a nearly ice -fettered ocean on one hand, and a snow- clad mountain 

 coast on the other. A treacherous channel may be open between the shore and 

 the main body of the ice, but it is thickly beset with floes ; and among these the 

 whale -ship threads her way along the Kamschatka shore, if bound to the Arctic, 

 through Bchring Sea and Strait, unless she is delayed l)y captures en route. At 

 length, about mid- summer, having arrived at the icy barrier of the Arctic Ocean, 

 the vessels cruise "off and on," along its margins, in quest of the Bowhead. 

 Following the belt of open water, in their persistent search, ships sometimes pass 

 far beyond Point Barrow ; but it is not long before the autumnal gales drive them 

 from this haunt, when they again return to warmer latitudes, and a port of recruit 

 is sought, where all hands are refreshed ; when, if (he ship is not full, perhaps a 

 cruise is made in the southern hemisphere, upon tlie coast of New Zealand, or 

 Australia, and the Indian Ocean, before Ixung fairly on their homeward passage. 

 Many a ship, which would have otherwise returned willi a broken voyage, has 

 been fdled by taking her last season on the New Zealand, or New Holland (as 

 Australia was formerly called) ground. And, as has been mentioned in that por- 

 tion of this work devoted to the chronological history of the American whale-fish- 

 ery, the New London and Sag Ilarljor whalemen were noted for pai'suing their prey 

 in stormy latitudes ; and when referring to the former, we ha\-e frequently heard 

 the remark made, "0, they are under -water fellows!" Some thirty years ago, an 

 incident transpired which vividly portrays the perseverance witli whicli the fishery 

 was then prosecuted. A New London ship, and another from Sag Harbor, having 

 been unfortunate in their eftorts to obtain a full fare of oil and bone upon the 

 North-western Coast, resorted, as a last effort, to the coast of Australia, where the 

 two captains met during a "gam" off Geographe Bay. This place being an open 

 roadstead, exposed to the heaviest prevailing gales of that region, was considered 

 an unsafe anchorage ; but the two captains, with their officers, concluded if the 

 ships could possibly ride them out, that during the intervals of moderate weather 

 enough whales could be taken to fill both vessels. They all agreed tliat they 

 had but little choice between going home with empty ships, and dragging ashore 

 in a gale of wind. Accordingly, l^y agreement, both vessels anchored in the best 

 positions, and, as a forlorn hope, began the battle — not only with the whales, Ixit 

 with the boisterous elements of the Indian Seas. All the ground -tackle of both 

 vessels was laid down to the best advantage ; and when a gale came on, heavy 



SL\KiNE Mammals.— 35. 



