placed some hopes of
the opiate working from the creature being totally unaccustomed to such
a dose.

"I had reason to think that it took immediate effect, for before an hour
had elapsed, he snored so loudly that we could scarcely hear ourselves
speak, though we were fully a mile distant from his head. I now made
sail for the middle of his body, where I judged that there would be more
fat and less sense of feeling. It took us a day to reach the spot; then
heaving the ship to, we lowered the boats to land on the serpent's back.
It was, I assure you, nervous work at first, and we had no little
difficulty in climbing up his sides, which were uncommonly slippery; but
we succeeded at last, and forthwith set to work with knives and saws to
cut into his back. At first we made but little progress, in consequence
of the barnacles, which covered his skin to the depth of some feet, but
when we got fairly through the skin we found to our great joy that there
was as good blubber as we had ever cut out of a fat whale. We,
therefore, made up our fires, and as we cut out the flesh we sent it on
board to be boiled. So hard did we work, that in ten days we had cut a
channel deep enough to admit the ship, and had besides got a full cargo
of the finest oil that had ever been seen.

"We accordingly hoisted in the boats, made all sail, and ran smack on to
the very centre of the serpent's back. We had, however, not got quite
over when, our keel tickling him, I suppose, he awoke partially, and
letting his tail slip out of his mouth, off he went in a northerly
direction, at the rate of forty knots an hour, with the good ship
Diddleus on his back.

"We quickly clewed up the sails, or our masts would to a certainty have
gone over the side. On we went in this way for three days, when the
opium again making him drowsy, he put his tail into his mouth, as a
little child does its thumb, and once more went off to sleep. The
movement caused the ship to glide off into the sea outside the circle,
and there being a strong southerly wind, you may be sure we lost no time
in making all sail to get clear of so awkward a customer. The people
set up a shout of joy when they saw him like a large island floating
astern of the ship. I ordered them to be silent lest they should wake
him up, and told them not to be too sure that we were yet altogether
clear of him. As it turned out, I was right.

"For two days we sailed on without anything unusual hap