Incidents of a whaling voyage : to which are added observations on the scenery manners and customs, and missionary stations of the Sandwich and Society Islands : accompanied by numerous lithographic plates . iate business of the voyage. With the excep-tion of a whale we saw a few days before reachingFayal, which proved to be the Jin-hack^ a species veryrarely taken by the whaler, we have not seen the spoutof a whale since leaving the United States, a period of amonth and a half For the greater part of this time thelook-outs have not been stationed at mast-head, owing tothe rough weather we hav
Incidents of a whaling voyage : to which are added observations on the scenery manners and customs, and missionary stations of the Sandwich and Society Islands : accompanied by numerous lithographic plates . iate business of the voyage. With the excep-tion of a whale we saw a few days before reachingFayal, which proved to be the Jin-hack^ a species veryrarely taken by the whaler, we have not seen the spoutof a whale since leaving the United States, a period of amonth and a half For the greater part of this time thelook-outs have not been stationed at mast-head, owing tothe rough weather we have constantly encountered. About eight oclock yesterday morning, the ship wasthrown into confusion by the welcome cry There sheblo-o-o-ws, sounded several times from away? was asked by the captain on deck. Right ahead—a school of sperm whales. And indeed,about a mile off, a frequent succession of mist-like puffs,rising above the sea, to the height of five or six feet, indi-cated our proximity to a school of sperm whales. Everyone hurried upon deck at the first sound, and every thingwas in a state of commotion. Come down from aloft—haul up the mainsail and spanker—helm down—back. ATTACK AND CAPTURE OF WHALES. 57 the maintopsail—clear away your boats—lower awaystarboard and larboard ! shouted the captain in a breath ;and in an instant the ship was lying motionless uponthe sea. A rattling of boat-tackle-falls, several plungesin quick succession, and the fleet boats glided swiftly overthe billows, with their long oars flashing in the morningsun. In a few moments, after surrounding the spotwhere the whales were last seen, they hove up, toawait their re-appearance, while those of us on boardwere watching with breathless interest for the whales tocome up. In fifteen or twenty minutes, there sheblows, there she blows 1 was quickly repeated by halfa dozen eager spectators. Their re-appearance was soonperceived by the boats, and pursuit was instantly givenby on
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecad, booksubjectwhaling, rotate270, whaling
