The boats of the Dolphin had "cut from him," because, after a long run to windward, he "sounded," taking out three lengths of line, and coming near carrying all hands to the bottom.
The Rorqual's boats had met with worse luck than this, for three of them had been knocked into splinters, and several of their men killed and wounded by the sweep of those terrible "flukes." We found the crew of this ship sober enough as they related their experience.
Such accidents are very common among whalemen; but when a number of them are successively caused by the efforts of a single well-known individual, the animal becomes famous throughout the fleet—as if he were a leviathan Bruce, or Tell, or Hereward, gallantly defending the invaded rights of his race.
How many of the big, shy fellows we chased to no purpose! for, as our boats were paddled cautiously upon a school, some one of the wary creatures would turn a small black eye upon us, then put himself leisurely in motion, like a steamboat gliding from a pier-head, increasing his speed as he went, and all the others would depart with him, leaving only the vacant water and their long white wakes behind.
The Canova and the Luminary were much in company, and often we could hear the cheery voice of old Burdick from his quarter-deck.
At length the way of the two ships became much impeded by ice. All about us were floating masses, which in the slant polar sunbeams took on hues of exceeding beauty. Some of these moving islands were very high, and reminded us of immense cathedrals with hundreds of glittering windows; others were low and far-reaching, like treeless plains. But in all the open channels, the spouts of great right-whales went up like crystal fountains. We could see them close at hand, and away off on the horizon. A spectacle so inspiring I had never looked upon before, nor have I since.
Back to the mast went the maintopsail of each ship, and down splashed her four boats. Captain Wayne, of the Luminary, looked nervously in the direction of his old acquaintance Burdick, and called upon us to give way in earnest.
What a chase it was! around points of the ice, through narrow channels, up temporary lagoons, and anon in the broad, open sea.
The game avoided us. Pull as silently as we would, the great leviathans would still glide away at the very moment we seemed about to close with them.
In one of the ice-formed lagoons, round as the "round table" of the famous knights, and perhaps a mile in diameter, there were at least a dozen of the animals, "blowing," "breaching," and "turning flukes." This place we finally entered for a dash at the school.