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Updated: May 1, 2025
But having, no doubt, accompanied the chase at the time the cachalot had been harpooned, they were now staying by a dead body, from an instinct that told them its destroyers would return, and supply them with its flesh in convenient morsels, while occupied in flensing it. "Ugh!" exclaimed the sailor; "they look hungry enough to bite at any bait we may throw out to them.
At some time or other this shark had been harpooned so severely that, in wrenching himself free, he must have nearly torn his body in two halves, severing the spinal column completely.
On the 29th of May, a whale was harpooned by an officer belonging to the Resolution. It descended a considerable depth; and, on its re-appearance, evinced an uncommon degree of irritation. It made such a display of its fins and tail, that few of the crew were hardy enough to approach it. Another boat immediately followed, and unfortunately advanced too far.
The latter, engaged, as appearances indicated, in the process of "trying-out" the blubber of some whale lately harpooned, was "laying-to" against the wind; and, of course not making much way, nor caring to make it, through the water.
At last one of the harpooned ones plunged so furiously while being hauled up that he literally tore himself off the iron, falling, streaming with blood, back into the sea. Away went all the school after him, tearing at him with their long well-toothed jaws, some of them leaping high in the air in their eagerness to get their due share of the cannibal feast. Our fishing was over for that time.
Two boats had gone after the whales the larboard and the starboard, the former commanded by the first mate, the latter by Captain Deblois. The whale which they had struck, was harpooned by the larboard boat.
Any place is good enough, as long as I've lived; and I've been everything you can think of almost but a tailor or a soldier. I've been a boundary rider; I've sheared sheep; and humped my swag; and harpooned a whale. I've rigged ships, and prospected for gold, and skinned dead bullocks, and turned my back on more money than the old man would have scraped in his whole life. Ha, ha!"
The habit of the fish is to swim during calms with one of the hind fins out of water, and it is then harpooned from a boat. I have myself seen petrels perched upon them; and directly one of these fish was hoisted on board the sailors looked for the parasites and found them. Their dimensions were: Total length 1.0 inch. Length of tails 0.57 inches. Ditto of fore part of body 0.25 inches.
Be it distinctly recorded here, that the Nantucketers were the first among mankind to harpoon with civilized steel the great Sperm Whale; and that for half a century they were the only people of the whole globe who so harpooned him.
"As a whaler I have followed many a cetacean, harpooned a great number, and killed several; but, however strong or well-armed they may have been, neither their tails nor their weapons would have been able even to scratch the iron plates of a steamer." "But, Ned, they tell of ships which the teeth of the narwhal have pierced through and through."
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