On the 25th of June, 1812, one of the harpooners belonging to the
Resolution, of Whitby, under my command, struck a whale by the
edge of a small floe of ice. Assistance being promptly afforded, a
second boat's lines was attached to those of the _fast-boat_, in a
few minutes after the harpoon was disgraced. The remainder of the
boats proceeded at some distance, in the direction the fish seemed
to have taken. In about a quarter of an hour the fast-boat, to
my surprise, again made a signal for lines. As the ship was then
within five minutes sail, we instantly steered towards the boat,
with the view of affording assistance by means of a spare boat we
still retained on board. Before we reached the place, however, we
observed four oars displayed in signal order, which by their number,
indicated a most urgent necessity for assistance. Two or three men
were at the same time seen seated close by the stern, which was
considerably elevated, for the purpose of keeping it down; while the
bow of the boat, by the force of the line, was drawn down to the
level of the sea, and the harpooner, by the friction of the line
round the bollard, was enveloped in smoky obscurity. At length, when
the ship was scarcely 100 yards distant, we perceived preparations
for quitting the boat. The sailor's pea-jackets were cast upon the
adjoining ice, the oars were thrown down, the crew leaped overboard,
the bow of the boat was buried in the water, the stern rose
perpendicularly and then majestically disappeared. The harpooner
having caused the end of the line to be fastened to the iron ring at
the boat's stern, was the means of its loss;[13] and a _tongue_ of
the ice, on which was a depth of several feet of water, kept the
boat, by the pressure of the line against it, at such a considerable
distance, as prevented the crew from leaping upon the floe. Some
of them were therefore put to the necessity of swimming for their
preservation, but all of them succeeded in scrambling upon the ice,
and were taken on board of the ship in a few minutes afterwards.
[13] "Giving a whale the boat," as the voluntary sacrifice of a boat
is termed, is a scheme not unfrequently practised by the fisher when
in want of line. By submitting to this risk, he expects to gain
the fish, and still has the chance of recovering his boat and its
materials. It is only practised in open ice or at fields.
I may here observe, that it is an uncommon circumstance for a fish
to require more than two boats' lines in such a situation; none of
our harpooners, therefore, had any scruple in leaving the fast-boat,
never suspecting, after it had received the assistance of one boat
with six lines or upward, that it would need any more.
Several ships being about us, there was a possibility that some
person might attack and make a prize of the whale, when it had
so far escaped us, that we no longer retained any hold of it; as
such, we sat all the sail the ship could safely sustain, and worked
through several narrow and intricate channels in the ice, in the
direction I observed the fish had retreated. After a little time it
was descried by the people in the boats, at a considerable distance
to the eastward; a general chase immediately commenced, and within
the space of an hour three harpoons were struck. We now imagined
the fish was secure, but our expectations were premature. The whale
resolutely pushed beneath a large floe that had been recently
broken to pieces by the swell, and soon drew all the lines out of
the second fast-boat; the officer of which, not being able to get
any assistance, tied the end of his line to a hammock of ice, and
broke it. Soon afterwards, the other two boats, still _fast_, were
dragged against the broken floe, when one of the harpoons drew out.
The lines of only one boat, therefore, remained fast to the fish,
and this with six or eight lines out, was dragged forward into the
shattered floe with astonishing force. Pieces of ice, each of which
was sufficiently large to have answered the purpose of a mooring
for a ship were wheeled about by the strength of the whale; and
such was the tension and elasticity of the line, that whenever it
slipped clear of any mass of ice, after turning it round, into the
space between any two adjoining pieces, the boat and its crew flew
forward through the crack, with the velocity of an arrow, and never
failed to launch several feet upon the first mass of ice that it
encountered.
While we scoured the sea around the broken floe with the ship,
and while the ice was attempted in vain by the boats, the whale
continued to press forward in an easterly direction towards the sea.
At length, when 14 lines (about 1680 fathoms) were drawn from the
fourth fast-boat, a slight entanglement of the line, broke it at the
stem. The fish then again made its escape, taking along with it a
boat and 28 lines. The united length of the lines was 6720 yards, or
upwards of 3-3/4 English miles; value, with the boat, above 150_l._
sterling.
The obstruction of the sunken boat, to the progress of the fish,
must have been immense; and that of the lines likewise considerable;
the weight of lines alone, being 25 hundred weight.
So long as the fourth fast-boat, through the medium of its lines,
retained its hold of the fish, we searched the adjoining sea with
the ship in vain; but, in a short time after the line was divided,
we got sight of the object of pursuit, at the distance of near two
miles to the eastward of the ice and boats, in the open sea. One
boat only with lines, and two empty boats, were reserved by the
ship. Having, however, fortunately fine weather, and a fresh breeze
of wind, we immediately gave chase under all sails; though, it must
be confessed, with the insignificant force by us, the distance of
the fish, and the rapidity of its flight considered, we had but
very small hopes of success. At length, after pursuing it five or
six miles, being at least nine miles from the place where it was
struck, we came up with it, and it seemed inclined to rest after its
extraordinary exertions. The two dismantled or empty boats having
been furnished with two lines each, (a very inadequate supply,)
they, together with the one in a good state of equipment, now made
an attack upon the whale. One of the harpooners made a blunder; the
fish saw the boat, took the alarm, and again fled. I now supposed it
would be seen no more; nevertheless, we chased nearly a mile in the
direction I imagined it had taken, and placed the boats to the best
of my judgment, in the most advantageous situations. In this case
we were extremely fortunate. The fish rose near one of the boats,
and was immediately harpooned. In a few minutes two more harpoons
entered its back, and lances were plied against it with vigour and
success. Exhausted by its amazing exertions to escape, it yielded
itself at length to its fate, received the piercing wounds of the
lances without resistance, and finally died without a struggle. Thus
terminated with success, an attack upon a whale, which exhibited the
most uncommon determination to escape from its pursuers, seconded
by the most amazing strength of any individual whose capture I
ever witnessed. After all, it may seem surprising, that it was not
a particularly large individual; the largest lamina of whalebone
only measuring 9 feet six inches, while those affording 12 feet
_bone_ are not uncommon.[14] The quantity of line withdrawn from
the different boats engaged in the capture, was singularly great.
It amounted, all together, to 10,440 yards, or nearly six English
miles. Of these, 13 new lines were lost, together with the sunken
boat; the harpoon connecting them to the fish having dropt out
before the whale was killed.
[14] It has been frequently observed, that whales of this size are
the most active of the species; and that those of a very large
growth are, in general, captured with less trouble.
"_Fishers thrown overboard, by the jerking or sudden heeling of
the Boats, in consequence of blows from Whales._--On the third of
June 1811, a boat from the ship Resolution, commanded at the time
by myself, put off in pursuit of a whale, and was rowed upon its
back. At the moment that it was harpooned, it struck the side of
the boat a violent blow with its tail, the shock of which threw the
boat-steerer to some distance into the water. A repetition of the
blow projected the harpooner and line-manager in a similar way, and
completely drenched the part of the crew remaining in the boat,
with the sprays. One of the men regained the boat, but as the fish
immediately sunk, and drew the boat away from the place, his two
companions in misfortune were soon left far beyond the reach of
assistance. The harpooner though a practised swimmer, felt himself
so brushed and enervated by a blow he had received on the chest,
that he was totally incapacitated from giving the least support to
his fellow sufferer. The ship being happily near, a boat which had
been lowered on the first alarm, arrived to their succour, at the
moment when the line-manager, who was unacquainted with the art of
swimming, was on the point of sinking, to rise no more. Both the
line-manager and harpooner were preserved; and the fish, after a few
hours close pursuit, was subdued.
A large whale harpooned from a boat belonging to the same ship,
became the subject of a general chase on the 23d of June, 1809.
Being myself in the first boat which approached the fish, I struck
my harpoon at arm's length, by which we fortunately evaded a blow
that appeared to be aimed at the boat. Another boat then advanced,
and another harpoon was struck, but not with the same result;
for the stroke was immediately returned by a tremendous blow from
the fishes tail. The boat was sunk by the shock; and, at the same
time, whirled round with such velocity, that the boat-steerer was
precipitated into the water, on the side next to the fish, and was
accidentally carried down to a considerable depth by its tail.
After a minute or so, he arose to the surface of the water and was
taken up, along with his companions, into my boat. A similar attack
was made on the next boat which came up; but the harpooner being
warned of the prior conduct of the fish, used such precautions,
that the blow, though equal in strength, took effect only in an
inferior degree. The boat was slightly stove. The activity and skill
of the lancers soon overcame this designing whale, accomplished
its capture, and added its produce to the cargo of the ship. Such
intentional mischief on the part of a whale, it must be observed, is
an occurrence which is somewhat rare."
From a work, entitled, "A Statistical, Commercial and Political
Description of Venezuela, Trinidad, Margarita, and Tobago."