odies one by one ceased their gambols, floating
supine.

So far, all had been gay; but the unlucky second mate must needs go and
do a thing that spoiled a day's fun entirely. The line runs through a
deep groove in the boat's stem, over a brass roller so fitted that
when the line is running out it remains fixed, but when hauling in it
revolves freely, assisting the work a great deal. The second mate had
three fish fast, like the rest of us--the first one on the end of the
main line, the other two on "short warps," or pieces of whale-line some
eight or ten fathoms long fastened to harpoons, with the other ends
running on the main line by means of bowlines round it. By some mistake
or other he had allowed the two lines to be hauled together through the
groove in his boat's stem, and before the error was noticed two fish
spurted off in opposite directions, ripping the boat in two halves
lengthways, like a Dutchman splitting a salt herring.

Away went the fish with the whole of the line, nobody being able to get
at it to cut; and, but for the presence of mind shown by the crew
in striking out and away from the tangle, a most ghastly misfortune,
involving the loss of several lives, must have occurred. As it was, the
loss was considerable, almost outweighing the gain on the day's fishing,
besides the inconvenience of having a boat useless on a whaling grounds.

The accident was the fruit of gross carelessness, and should never have
occurred; but then, strange to say, disasters to whale-boats are nearly
always due to want of care, the percentage of unavoidable casualties
being very small as compared with those like the one just related. When
the highly dangerous nature of the work is remembered, this statement
may seem somewhat overdrawn; but it has been so frequently corroborated
by others, whose experience far outweighs my own, that I do not hesitate
to make it with the fullest confidence in its truth.

Happily no lives were lost on this occasion, for it would have indeed
been grievous to have seen our shipmates sacrificed to the MANES of a
mere black-fish, after successfully encountering so many mighty whales.
The episode gave us a great deal of unnecessary work getting the two
halves of the boat saved, in addition to securing our fish, so that by
the time we got the twelve remaining carcasses hove on deck we were all
quite fagged out. But under the new regime we were sure of a good rest,
so that did not trouble us; it ra