it and leaned sleepily against the wheel.
The officer of the watch shut his eyes to it,
and nodded on the sky-light. I, with head and
arms resting on the bulwarks, was chewing a
quid, when from the topmast crosstrees a clear
voice rang out, " There she spouts! Blackskin
ahead! There, there she blows again!"
—"Where away?" shouted the mate.—"Three
points on the weather bow. Hurrah! There
she breaches clean out! Single spouts—a
school of sparms! " The quiet people of the
ship were wakened up as though they had all
suddenly been galvanized, and jumped about
with a delirious activity. The captain rushed
up half-dressed from his cabin, with one side
of his face elaborately lathered, and a little
rivulet of blood trickling from the other.
The men blocked up the fore scuttle, and
tumbled over each other in their eagerness
to reach the deck. Then followed rapid
orders, rapidly executed. The ship, which
had been slipping along under double-reefed
topsail, foresail, and mizen, was easily hove
to. " Haul up the foresail! Back the mainyard!
Pass the tubs into the boats. Bear
a hand, and jump in! See the tackle falls
clear. Ready? "—" Ay, ay, sir; all ready!"
—' Lower away! " The falls whizzed through
the davit heads; the men, already seated at
their oars, struck out the instant the boats
touched the water. Among the men who
struck out I was one, and I was then about
for the first time to commit assault and battery
against the monarch of the sea, and help,
if possible, to part leviathan among the merchants.

I take upon myself now to describe a whale
boat. South Sea whalers may be distinguished
at sea by their boats; they usually
carry five, sometimes seven, hung over the side
by tackles attached to wooden or iron cranes,
called davits, the bow of each boat hanging
from one davit and the stern from another.
The tackle falls are carefully coiled upon the
davits, so that they can be let go with a certainty
of running clear; and to the bottom
of the tackle blocks is attached a weight
which instantly unhooks them when the boat
touches the water. The boats are of peculiar
shape; made low, and of great beam amidships,
they gradually taper towards each end.
Head and stern are alike, both sharp as a
wedge, and raised by a gentle curve which
traverses the whole length of the boat. The
whale boats, being made in this way, are
nearly flat-bottomed in the middle, and have
little hold of the water. Their light build,
sharp stems, and rounded sides, give them
great swiftness; and their width and low
centre of gravity cause them to be, when
properly managed, very safe. They are
steered by a long and heavy oar, which passes
through a rope strap attached to the sternpost.
The long leverage gives to the steersman
great power over his boat, and enables
him to alter her direction, or to turn her
round in far less time than if he used the
common rudder. In the stern of the boat
is fixed a strong, round piece of timber called
the loggerhead, to which the towing rope is
affixed, and which also serves to check the
line when fast to a whale. The head-sheets
are covered in by a strong board having a
deep circular cut on its inner edge, used by
the harpooner as a support when in the act
of striking. The harpoon, or " iron " as we
whalers call it—I say we whalers on
the strength of my first cruise—is made of
the very best wrought iron, so tough that
it will twist into any shape without breaking.
It is about three and a half feet in length, with
a keen, flat, barbed point at one end, and at
the other a socket, in which is inserted the
point of a heavy pole or staff. The whale line
is firmly fastened to the iron itself, and
then connected with the staff in such a manner
that, when the blow is struck and the
line tightens, the staff comes out of the
socket, leaving only the iron in the whale.
If this plan were not adopted, the heavy pole,
by its own weight and its resistance to the
water, would tear out the iron, and so we
should lose the fish. When in chase, the
harpoon lies on the boat's head with its point
over the stem ready for immediate use. Two
harpoons are frequently fastened to the same
line. Beneath the gunnel in the bows
are several brackets, containing a hatchet,
knives, and a couple of lances. The whaler's
lance resembles, in some measure, the harpoon
—but instead of barbs, it has a fine steel
blade, and is only attached to a short hand
line. Leather sheaths are provided for all
instruments when not in use.

In the stern, or sometimes in the middle
of each whale boat, is the tub. In this the
line is coiled with the greatest care, as the
least hitch, when it is running out, would
probably turn the whole boat's crew into the
water. The line—which though small is of
great strength—passes along the whole length
of the boat, between the rowers, and runs on
a roller fixed into the stem. The rollocks,
in which the oars work, are muffled with rope
matting. Every oar is fastened to the boat
with a strong; lanyard (a piece of small line),
so that, when in tow of a whale, it can be
tossed overboard—hanging by the lanyard—
and leave all clear for the line to run out.
Some boats are fitted witli iron rollocks that
move on a swivel; by these, the oars can be
brought parallel to the boat's length, and yet
remain shipped ready for use.

Each boat is usually manned by five hands
and a headsman. The headsman steers
during the chase, and afterwards he kills the
whale, but does not " fasten to her " with the
iron. He has sole charge of the boat; and
every officer of a whaler is supposed to be a
headsman. Each of the boat's crew bears
a particular title, thus—there are the after
or stroke oar's-man, the starboard and larboard
midship oars-rnen, and the bow oarsman
or boat-steerer. The bow oarsman—who