ONE REASON WHY SO MANY WHALERS ARE LOST. 329 
expressed great surprise, and gues.ied that he’d “better 
be taking another observation soon;” and, upon being 
pressed a little further on the same subject, he candidly 
acknowledged that he had not used his chronometer for 
a month, — having been too busy with whales to pay any 
attention to the position of his ship. At that we ceased 
to wonder over the loss of so many whalers : our only 
wonder was that so many ever reached home in safety. 
I have already remarked that we were in search of a 
reported coal-mine. We had heard from a whaling-cap- 
tain that it existed along the northern part of that coast, 
and that he had once picked up a boat-load of it on the 
beach, which burned beautifully in his stove, &c. &c. But 
unfortunately ho liad not taken any observations for some 
weeks at the time of his discoveiy, and -was consequently 
unable to give us its latitude within any thing like rea- 
sonable limits. We only knew, therefore, that there was 
said to be coal along that coast at some point, and that, 
unless \ve found it, the “old John” would soon bo left to 
depend upon her sails alone for motive-power and our 
chances of over reaching San Francisco be alarmingly 
decreased. We consequently kept a good look-out as Ave 
ran along the broken shore, and in the end Avere amply 
rcAvarded for our pains. 
It Avas about tAvo liours after the noon of July 30 
that we throAV our maintopsail to the mast, stopped the 
engine, and hove to off the entrance of Avhat promised 
to be a -fine and extensive harbour, AAdiich avc subse- 
quently determined to be in lat. Gl° 15' N. and long. 
161° 31' E, We had followed the coast doAvn very closely 
heretofore; and, as the general appearance of the land 
