362 
MOBY DICK; OR 
whale, both to mark its place on the sea, and also as token of prior 
possession, should the boats of any other ship draw near. 
The result of this lowering was somewhat illustrative of that 
sagacious saying in the Fishery, — the more whales the less fish. Of all 
the drugged whales only one was captured. The rest contrived to 
escape for the time, hut only to be taken, as will hereafter be seen, 
by some other craft than the Pequod. 
CHAPTEK LXXXVII 
SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS 
The previous chapter gave account of an immense body or herd of 
Sperm Whales, and there was also then given the probable cause in- 
ducing those vast aggregations. 
Now, though such great bodies are at times encountered, yet, as 
must have been seen, even at the present day, small detached bands are 
occasionally observed, embracing from twenty to fifty individuals each. 
Such bands are known as schools. They generally are of two sorts; 
those composed almost entirely of females, and those mustering none 
but young vigorous males, or bulls, as they are familiarly designated. 
In cavalier attendance upon the school of females, you invariably see 
a male of full grown magnitude, but not old; who, upon any alarm, 
evinces his gallantry by falling in the rear and covering the flight of 
his ladies. In truth, this gentleman is a luxurious Ottoman, swimming 
about over the watery world, surroundingly accompanied by all the 
solaces and endearments of the harem. The contrast between this 
Ottoman and his concubines is striking; because, while he is always 
of the largest leviathanic proportions, the ladies, even at full growth, 
are not more than one-third of the bulk of an averaged-sized male. 
They are comparatively delicate, indeed; I dare say, not to exceed 
half a dozen yards around the waist. Nevertheless, it cannot be 
denied, that upon the whole they are hereditarily entitled to embon- 
point. 
It is very curious to watch this harem and its lord in their indolent 
ramblings. Like fashionables, they are for ever on the move in 
