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CALIFORNIA ILLUSTRATED. 
watched him day after day, until one night, as the light fell 
dimly on his pallid features, a slight convulsion passed over him, 
and his jaw fell. This closed the scene ; from this moment his 
mind had been wandering in the dark labyrinths of forgetfulness. 
The fever had left him, and given place to that dreaded malady, 
the scurvy, with which he had now become reduced almost to 
helplessness. His feet and limbs were swollen to double their 
usual size, their purple hue denoting the fearful state to which 
his system was reduced. The name of this unfortunate man was 
E. W. Clark, Jr., of West Boylston, Mass. He gave me his 
name, and the address of his friends, at a time when he had but 
little hope of ever seeing them, with the request that I should 
write them the particulars of his death. 
On the 16th, we were surrounded by porpoises; our first 
matet being an old harpooner, descended into the martingale of 
the ship, his harpoon being attached to a rope which passed 
through a tackle-block above, and was manned b}^ about thirty 
passengers. At the first plunge of the ship, he “let go” the 
harpoon, taking effect in the back of a porpoise; “haul away,” 
and the huge monster was swinging in the air. This was a mo¬ 
ment of intense excitement; the harpoon had passed almost 
through the body, but in hauling him from the water, it had 
drawn out, holding only to a half-inch of the skin. One strug¬ 
gle and he would have been released; but the auspicious moment 
passed, and at the word “ ease away,” he was safely shipped on 
our forecastle deck. His struggles now were fearful; his throes 
causing the very spars to tremble. He strikes another and 
another, both of which are safely drawn on board. He strikes a 
fourth, and after hauling it several feet from the water, it falls 
from the harpoon and rushes through the water, staining its 
wake with blood. We are now well supplied with fish, but of 
a kind not calculated to tempt the appetite. 
