ed unsuccessful. The captain took, the matter very
quietly: "A good riddance, more thorough scoundrels I never had under
me," he observed. To show his confidence in the rest he allowed the
whole crew to go on shore, first one watch and then the other, for three
days each, but as most of them were drunk all the time they would have
been better on board. Sailing for the Marquesas, instead of the
runaways we shipped six Kanakas, or natives, an Englishman, a
beachcomber, or runaway sailor, who had been living on the island for
several years, a Portuguese, and a Sandwich Islander. I mention them to
show the heterogeneous materials of which the crews of English whalers
were composed.

Touching at Dominica we sailed for Samoa, where we remained for some
time, and thence proceeded off the Kingsmill group, and from this to the
Japan whaling ground. While on this station we got so damaged in a
typhoon that we had to make the best of our way to Honolulu, in the
Sandwich Islands, to refit. This accomplished we returned to the
Marquesas to land the natives we took from thence, having obtained as
many hands as we required at Honolulu. Another season having come
round, we again cruised for nearly two months in the neighbourhood of
the Galapagos. By this time Medley, having been long out of his
apprenticeship, was rated as an able seaman, and young as I was I could
do the duty of one as well as any of the old hands, and better than
those we had shipped to supply the places of the deserters and
mutineers; besides which I had as good a knowledge of navigation as any
of the mates. I had no longer to turn the grindstone or to sweep out
the cabin, those and similar duties being performed by a young Sandwich
Islander, but still the captain declined to give me up my indentures, or
rather to have my name placed on the articles as an able seaman. Of
course I could not demand what I asked, so I had to submit; indeed the
captain probably thought me unreasonable.

Calm as is in general this part of the Pacific, there are occasionally
storms of terrific violence. We experienced one when cruising some way
to the southward of the Galapagos, but as we had plenty of sea room and
were prepared for it we escaped without material damage. Two days
afterwards, while the boats were away in chase of a whale, and I was
aloft looking out for the appearance of others, I sighted a sail to the
south-west standing towards us. I announced the fact by t