OF THE SPERM WHALE. 
161 
is said to be in his flurrv, and some whalers state that 
he always dies with his head towards the sun, but of 
this I have never been convinced. When dead, the 
body always turns on its side, probably from the greater 
weight of the spine and dorsal muscles. 
In calm weather, great difficulty is sometimes ex- 
perienced in approaching the whale, on account of 
the quickness of his sight and hearing— under these 
circumstances the fishers have recourse to paddles 
instead of oars, and by this means they with great 
caution sometimes get near enough to dart the harpoon 
with success. When first struck, the whale frequently 
“ sounds,” or descends to an amazing depth, taking 
out perhaps the lines belonging to the four boats, 800 
fathoms! but afterwards, when weakened by loss of 
blood and fatigue, he becomes unable to sound to any 
great depth, and he then passes rapidly along the surface 
of the ocean, towing after him perhaps three or four 
boats. If he does not turn, the people in the boats 
draw in the line, by which they are attached to the 
whale, and thus easily come up with him even when 
going with great velocity, they then make use of the 
lance either by darting or thrusting, and so destroying 
their unoffending victim. 
The scenes which sometimes occur during the chase 
and capture of this whale defy description. Let the 
reader suppose himself on the deck of a South-seaman, 
cruising in the North Pacific Ocean at its Japanese 
confine— he may be musing over some past event, the 
