or the shark could not have darted towards its prey with
greater promptitude, and scarcely with greater velocity, than these two
boats. Very soon the whole herd was seen, swimming along against the wind,
an enormous bull-whale leading, while half a dozen calves kept close to
the sides of their dams, or sported among themselves, much as the
offspring of land animals delight in their youth and strength. Presently a
mother rolled lazily over on her side, permitting its calf to suck. Others
followed this example; and then the leader of the herd ceased his passage
to windward, but began to circle the spot, as if in complaisance to those
considerate nurses who thus waited on the wants of their young. At this
interesting moment, the boats came glancing in among the herd.

Had the competition and spirit of rivalry been at a lower point among our
adventurers than it actually was, greater caution might have been
observed. It is just as dangerous to assault a whale that has its young to
defend, as to assault most other animals. We know that the most delicate
women become heroines in such straits; and nature seems to have given to
the whole sex, whether endowed with reason or only with an instinct, the
same disposition to die in defence of the helpless creatures that so much
depend on their care. But, no one there now thought of the risk he ran, it
being the Vineyard against Oyster Pond, one Sea Lion against the other,
and, in many instances, pocket against pocket.

Roswell, as if disdaining all meaner game, pulled quite through the herd,
and laid the bows of his boat directly on the side of the old bull--a
hundred-barrel whale, at the very least. No sooner did the enormous
creature feel the harpoon, than, throwing its flukes upward, it descended
into the depths of the ocean, with a velocity that caused smoke to arise
from the chuck through which the line passed. Ordinarily, the movement of
a whale is not much faster than an active man can walk; and, when it runs
on the surface, its speed seldom exceeds that of a swift vessel under full
sail; but, when suddenly startled, with the harpoon in its blubber, the
animal is capable of making a prodigious exertion. When struck, it usually
'sounds,' as it is termed, or runs downward, sometimes to the depth of a
mile; and it is said that instances have been known in which the fish
inflicted great injury on itself, by dashing its head against rocks.

In the case before us, after running out