Chap. XL WHALERS— THEIR DARING COURAGE. S9» 
same order and discipline is preserved at the different 
look-outs where the men land, while waiting till 
whales appear. If there is deep water, the boat is 
moored off the beach, with a shore-line ; if it is on a 
shallow coast, as between TVaikanae Point and Otaki, 
the boat is hauled up out of the tide and supported by 
chocks, and a boat-keeper constantly attends to her. 
Two fires are lighted for each crew ; at one are the 
headsman and boat-steerer, the rest of the men at the 
other. 
They have sometimes very hard work : in seasons 
when the whales are scarce, I have seen boats from 
Kapiti at Horowenita, a distance of fifteen miles to 
windward, half an hour after daylight. And the whole 
distance is rowed without a rest ; it is not until arrived 
on the ground selected for the day that the headsman 
allows them to peak their oars and light a pipe. 
They seem to dare the elements on almost all occa- 
sions. I have seen a whale-boat leave Wellington for 
Kaikora, to the south of Cape Campbell, in a gale of 
wind which kept many small coasters in, only because 
Black Murray, the chief headsman, thought his men 
had enjoyed drinking enough on their advances, and 
because he thought it easier to get them away to the 
station while they were intoxicated. He got safe across, 
having performed, by means of his own skill and pre- 
sence of mind, a task most difficult and dangerous even 
to a sober boat's crew. 
During the season of 1843, a whale pursued by seve- 
ral rival boats fied into the surf which breaks a quarter 
of a mile from the shore off Otaki in or after heavy 
weather. Most of the boats " hove-up " outside the surf ; 
and I believe none of the headsmen would have engaged 
even to land that day without capsizing. But " Bill the 
* " Steward," who was luckily heading a short, handy 
