THE BLACK FISH-A SHARK CAUGHT. June 10. (Lord's day.) Mr. Tyerman preach- | encircle two thirds of an oval figure. We were ed in the morning, from Matt. xvi 26: "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" and Mr Jones, in the afternoon, from Psalm 1. 15: "Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." The latter service was somewhat interrupted by the appearance of a vast shoal of what the sailors call black fish. Judging by the space which they occupied, there must have been several hundreds. Two boats were sent after them, and soon returned, June 11. This being Whit-Monday, we each with a prize. These were of that species remembered many of our dear friends and of whale called delphinus delphis, or the bottle- connexions, who were celebrating, in the land nosed dolphin. The length of the larger was that we love, their Sunday-school anniversatwenty feet, and its girth at the shoulder eleven.ries; and with these, in spirit, we held delightThe colour of the whole body was black, except a small white spot mid-way between the shoulders and the tail; the latter was divided into two lobes, forked, lying in the plane of the horizon, and thirty inches from tip to tip. The form sloped both ways, from the shoulders to the head, and also to the tail. The nose was truncated and remarkably blunt and angular. Two-thirds up the face was the blow-hole, through which the animal breathes. When the skin was removed this orifice would admit the open hand. reminded-and though the idea may seem fanciful, yet it was pleasing to ourselves amidst the still night, and on the far sea-that while we kept in constant view the cross, that cross on which our Saviour died for our redemption, we might venture to hope that the crown, the crown of life, which "the Lord, the righteous judge," hath promised to "give unto all them that love his appearing," might be bestowed upon "us (though so unworthy) in that day." The mouth was wide, provided with lips; and the jaws were armed with teeth, sharp, bent rather inward projecting an inch and a half from the gums, an inch in diameter at the root, and two inches asunder. The tongue was the size of that of a full-grown ox; the roof of the mouth hard, rough, and of a dark green. The eyes were larger than those of an ox. Two pectoral fins, hard and strong, about two feet and a half in length, and pointed, bent inward; these were articulated with the shoulder-blades by the ball and socket joint, as the upper part of the arm in the human subject. On the back was a protuberance of solid fat, like a fin, two feet high, diminishing towards the tail. The flesh was black-red; the heart about the bulk of an ox's; the lungs and liver large in proportion. In the stomach were found the remains of various fishes, as the John-dory, (zeus auratus), a conger-eel, (muræna conger), and the squid (sepia octopodia), or cuttle-fish, with several of their fine transparent eyes. The weight of the greater of these creatures must have been nearly a ton and a half. The fat was from one to two and a half inches thick; under the forehead seven inches. The blubber of both yielded ninety gallons of oil, of which the larger furnished two thirds. The stomachs were preserved and dried to make drum-tops, for which it is said their texture is admirably adapted. At night, (the sky being clear, after much cloudy weather), for the first time, we descried the constellation crux, or the cross. The four stars composing this glory of the southern hemisphere are of large but varying magnitudes, and so placed as readily to associate with the image of the true cross, the lowest being the brightest. Another beautiful constellation attracted our notice, nearly in the zenith. This was the northern crown, in which seven stars brilliantly Se ful communion. This day has been chiefly June 14. The weather being calm, we have lately made little progress. The sailors amused themselves with bathing and swimming about the ship; occasionally throwing themselves into the water from different parts of the vessel at considerable elevations. Robert, the Tahitian, however, excelled them all in this daring exercise. He climbed the foreyard, and from the end of it precipitated himself without fear or injury into the sea. The height could not have been less than forty feet. June 16. Two ships were seen this morning, at considerable distances on either side of ours. Perceiving that one of them was standing towards us, our captain manned a boat and went on board, thinking that the crew might be in want of some assistance. It was a Portuguese brig, laden with salt, and bound to one of the South American ports. On the captain's return, we paid a visit to the stranger, to vary the scene, which had become somewhat dull on our own vessel, from the long-continued calm. We were politely received, but could not help pitying the misery and discomfort of those on board; for though the sea was quite still, the water with them was running over the deck. On contrasting our tight, trim ship, and all its internal conveniences, with this crazy hulk, we felt truly thankful for our superior lot. This evening, while several of the crew were bathing, the captain and others from the deck observed a shark preparing to attack the boatswain, who was not aware of his peril till alarmed by their cries, warning him instantly to make for the ship. Happily he escaped, when the monster was within three yards of him, in the very attitude and act to seize his prey. A boat was immediately sent out to return the assault upon the enemy. The boatswain, whose choler had been most vehemently moved by his danger, finding himself left be EXPLOIT OF A TAHITIAN.-BOOBY-BIRDS. hind, immediately baited a large hook with about half a pound of pork, and suspended the line over the stern of the vessel, hoping to allure his late voracious pursuer to its own destruction. In less than five minutes his hope was realised; and his transport then was equal to his former rage, when he saw the shark fast upon his snare. It was quickly hauled on deck, by means of a rope dexterously noosed round its tail. The captive made a desperate floundering, but was overpowered and dispatched as easily as an animal so horribly tenacious of life could be. The motion of the heart actually continued for some minutes after it was taken out of the body. It may be observed, that for the bulk of the fish the heart was remarkably small, not being larger than a pullet's egg. The sailors called this the brown shark (squalus carcharias). It measured six feet in length. Not contented with what had been already taken, the hook was again baited, and presently another shark (squalus glaucus) was hoisted on board: this was eight feet long, and differed in various particulars from the former. It proved to be a female, which on being opened was found to include thirty-four young ones, each about a foot in length. June 17. Talking, during dinner, of the character of those islanders whom we hope soon to see, the captain said that on his last | voyage, when he had gone out as mate only, they had on board two New Zealanders, and a native of Tahiti. The latter, on many occasions, displayed fearless courage and prompt intelligence, of which he gave us a strange example. Late one evening, he (our captain, then mate) had struck a very large sperm whale, not far from the ship. The fish, after some convulsions, remained motionless for a considerable while, apparently about three yards below the surface of the water. The crew having waited in vain to see her rise, the captain of the vessel was afraid that he should lose her. On looking down earnestly, however, he thought she must be dead, the mouth being open. Hereupon he observed, that he should like to have a noose-rope thrown round the lower jaw; and told the Tahitian youth that he would give him a bottle of rum if he would venture to dive down and perform that office. The chief mate (our captain), whose harpoon was in the whale, protested against such an attempt as too hazardous; but the captain urged the necessity of making sure of so valuable a booty. The Tahitian, meanwhile, surveying the body as it lay, and tempted by the proffered reward, exclaimed, "Ay, ay, she dead-I go." Accordingly, taking the rope, ready for application, between his two hands, he lowered himself directly over the monster's mouth, put the noose over the lower jaw, placed his foot against the jaw to tighten the rope, and then buoyed himself up, sprang into the boat, and claimed his reward. The carcass was thus secured, (for happily the whale was dead,) and towed to the ship. We shall not inquire whether this story most displays the extraordinary boldness of the South Sea islander, or the inhuman cupidity of the European captain of that vessel. 5 June 20. The brilliancy of the sea this evening far surpassed what we had hitherto seen of the kind. The ship was going rapidly along, throwing up a furrow of foam about the bow. In this, the luminous appearances before mentioned glittered with peculiar delicacy; but it was after the foam had subsided in the frothless water (itself of a deep black hue,) that they displayed their full splendour, gliding, like millions of diamonds, in giddy succession by the side of the vessel, or flashing in her wake. Lifting our eyes above, we beheld the stars, in the absence of the moon, sparkling with unmitigated lustre, amidst a sky of such intense purity, that the heavenly bodies far excelled in glory their appearance through our native atmosphere. June 23. This day we passed the equator; when certain preposterous ceremonies, as usual, were observed on board, during which we did not escape a little sprinkling of salt water. June 24. (Lord's day.) Mr.Tyerman preached this morning upon deck, from Isaiah xxxiv. 17: "His hand hath divided it to them by line." His object being to improve the event of yesterday, he made the following observations: I. There is a line of being, which we all crossed when we were born; then we were endowed with a rational and intelligent nature; and then we entered upon our state of probation. II. There is a line of regeneration, dividing the moral world into two hemispheres, in one of which dwell the righteous, and in the other the wicked. This line must be crossed by all, before they can become Christians indeed, and enjoy the privileges of the gospel. III. There is a line of death, which we must each cross when we have finished our probationary course, and go before the tribunal of God to render an account of the deeds done in the body; but when, where, and how we shall cross this line, we know not. IV. There is a line which divides between heaven and hell: this, none shall ever cross who have once taken up their abode in either of those regions. In application it was remarked, that if we would not lament having crossed the line of being, nor fear crossing the line of death, we should be concerned to cross the line of regeneration; that when we fail on earth we may be received into everlasting habitations, on the right side of the line that divides heaven and hell. June 25. We have been agreeably interrupted in our usual occupations by the sight of many booby-birds (pelicanus sula) wheeling round the vessel, and pouncing upon such flying-fish as happened to be on the wing. Two were shot; one of which was brought on board. It was about two and a half feet in length, and measured five between the extremities of the wings. The inside was nearly all stomach, and contained five flying-fishes, three of them recently swallowed. This, and some other species, have been called boobies, from their excessive stupidity, and the marked silliness of their aspect. When they alight on the yards or rigging of vessels, they shiver, and shake their heads in a peculiar manner, and often suffer themselves to be taken with the hand. They have a re 6 MAGELLAN CLOUDS.-MARINE RAINBOWS. morseless enemy of their own tribe, the man-ofwar bird, (pelicanus aquilus,) which rushes upon them, and by severe blows with its pinions and bill forces the booby to surrender the prey from between its beak, which the spoiler instantly swallows. June 28. The flying-fish which we have seen for some days past are much larger than those that appeared in higher latitudes. Several storm-birds (procellaria pelagica), or Mother Cary's chickens, have been observed. The spectacle of the nocturnal heavens (under their new aspect, adorned with constellations never seen in the north,) has been occasionally enlivened of late by meteors of great splendour, emerging from immensity, and as suddenly absorbed, leaving darkness more sensibly dark from the effect of the momentary lucid interval. June 30. We descried two whales this morning. They were of the Greenland species (balæna mysticetus), or right whale, as the sailors significantly call them. These are distinguished from the sperm whale by the manner in which they spout, the former having the spiracle, or breathing hole, at the top of the head; consequently, when they breathe, the column of water which they eject rises perpendicularly. On the contrary, the sperm whales having the corresponding aperture in the nose, the water is thrown horizontally. The two which we now saw, not being of the sperm kind, our captain did not order chase of them. We observed one of these "hugest of things that swim the ocean stream," twice come up to breathe, and each time it cast forth a large volume of water to the height of from twenty to thirty feet, not in a fountain form, but in a cloud of spray, that something resembled a small ship, in full sail, at a distance. are always on the look-out for new objects-by the swift and graceful motions of the noddy (sterna stolida), a bird which skims, like a swallow, along the smooth surface of the ocean, clamouring and snapping up the flying-fishes that cross its flight. July 8. We find ourselves in the midst of "the great and wide sea, wherein are things innumerable, both great and small," according to the language of the Psalmist. The deep was full of animation, and the surface turbulent with the pastime of leviathan and his attendants. Birds of different kinds followed the whales, and perched on their backs when they emerged, to pick off the small insects, like lice, which prey on these enormous creatures, and often make large holes in their well-lined flanks. July 10. A shoal of sperm whales (physeter macrocephalus) passed us, within a quarter of a mile from the ship. They were known by their brown colour, and their peculiar manner of spouting; but the wind blew too hard to allow our crew to venture after them. This species of whale, as well as the Greenland and finbacked, grows sometimes to the length of from eighty to ninety feet. The head is immense in proportion to the body; and it is in the cavities of the skull that the valuable matter, called spermaceti, is found, in a liquid form. To obtain this, a hole is made in the cranium, whence it is taken out with buckets, in very great quantities. Our captain, who has long been employed in this fishery, tells us that he has sometimes laded as much as four and even five hundred gallons of spermaceti out of the head of a single whale. July 11. The wind having been boisterous last night, as we were contemplating the agitation of the waters this morning, on the lee quarter, the sun at the same time shining brightly, we were pleased on beholding, for the first time, many marine rainbows, which were formed on the spray from the tops of some of the higher waves. The prismatic colours were vivid and distinct, though the bows were evanescent. The albatross begins to show itself on this stage of our course. It is a majestic fowl, especially when seen among the pintado-petrels, great numbers of which are continually on the wing in our wake. July 2. This evening one of the Magellan clouds appeared in the south, about ten o'clock. Of these there are three, called after the Portuguese navigator, whose name is thus recorded at once in heaven and on earth, by being associated with these beautiful phenomena in the southern hemisphere, and also with the straits at the extremity of the South American peninsula, both of which he discovered on the first voyage made by man round the world, though he unfortunately perished before he had personally accomplished it; leaving that honour to his companion Cano, who brought the vessel home. The nebula before mentioned are of the colour of the galaxy, and probably, like it, composed of a multitude of stars, indiscernibly small. The galaxy itself, from these Austral regions, is much more clearly defined to the eye than in England.panions alighted around it, but for what purpose It seems a vast attenuated cloud, most delicately white, and apparently nearer to the earth than the starry concave that swells into infinity above, and shines out in the lustre of the brightest constellations of both hemispheres. July 5. The monstrous figures, and unwieldy floundering of the fin-backed whales (balana physalus), which often reach the length of eighty or ninety feet, but are of no value to the fishers, yielding little oil, greatly amused us this morning, till our attention was diverted-for we July 12. The thermometer stood this morning at 55. The anchors were removed from the bow to the deck. We are daily making every necessary preparation for doubling Cape Horn. A pintado was shot, and fell into the water, when immediately the large flock of its com we did not discover. A small bird, about the size of a thrush, called by mariners the quartermoon bird, because its wings, when expanded, bear some resemblance to the crescent moon, joined the feathered tribes which, day and night, follow in the wake of our vessel. It is of a light grey colour, and glides with great swiftness close to the water, precisely directing its curvilinear flight according to the undulation of the sea. July 14. We had much thunder and light A HARD GALE.-TURPINS.-CAPE-HORN. ning last night. During the storm, a fiery meteor, apparently the size of a man's head, shot through the atmosphere, and fell into the sea near our ship. The light which it diffused was so sudden and intense that night became as noon-day. Had it struck our vessel, we might have all perished on the spot, and no record of our end been discovered till the day of judgment. We are in the hands of God, and on Him, whom all the elements obey, is our sole dependence. July 18. A magnificent albatross, snowy white, except the tips of the wings, which were dark brown, came suddenly near our ship this forenoon; then passed away, like an apparition of beauty. This might be deemed a bird which had attained full maturity, or rather great age, not only by its size, but by the pure colour of its plumage, which, in the younger ones, is much more dusky. Towards night the gale came on with such fury that there was no rest for us in our beds; but," in the multitude of our thoughts within us," the remembrance of friends afar off, and of God ever present with us as with them, "refreshed our souls." July 19. Having requested the captain to inform us whenever anything novel or striking was to be seen from deck, by day or by night, he sent for us early this morning to witness the approach of a tremendous squall. Sky and ocean, indeed, wore an aspect so wild and menacing that we landsmen might well have been excused if we had felt greatly appalled. From overwhelming fear, however, we were graciously preserved by Him whose strength is made perfect in weakness. To us it was intensely interesting to observe the vigilant care which marked the countenance of our commander, whose rapid glances seemed to take in, at once, every part of the ship, and the whole surrounding hemisphere of horrors and perils; especially eyeing, with instinctive jealousy, the quarter from which the instant storm was coming down in its fury, and prepared in a moment to meet it with all the resources of his skill, and the capabilities of his vessel; to see that half of the crew whose watch it was, standing, each at his post, (alongside of brace, tack, sheet, or lift,) waiting with an air of prompt yet patient attention for the sudden and urgent commands that might be given; but particularly to behold the timoneer (the man at the helm), whose hands firmly grasped the wheel, and whose eye alternately, anxiously, intelligently glanced from the compass-box to the sails, from the sails to the eye of the captain, and thence again to the compass. The picture, the reality, which this scene presented, was sublimely affecting, and produced an exaltation rather than a depression of mind, amidst all the terrors of conflicting elements around us. A fall of snow that followed covered the deck four inches deep. The squall, however, passed away without having harmed us. July 24. Several grampuses (delphinus orca) passed the stern of the ship this morning. This species is called by seamen the killer, from its successfully attacking and destroying whales. 7 When the latter, even in a shoal, find a grampus among them, they are said to be so terrified that those which have young ones take them upon their backs, and leave them completely out of the water to preserve them from the ravenous enemy. The tongue of the whale is the delicacy which the grampus seizes in his assault, and he tears it out with surprising dispatch. July 26. In the afternoon we were near the Falkland Islands, which lie off the Straits of Magellan. Whale-porpoises and penguins were the principal novelties discovered within the last few days. Our captain and crew have often spoken of an animal which they call Turpin, found on the Galipagos Islands, on the west coast of South America, near the equator, about ninety degrees west longitude; to-day we have taken down a description of it. They represent this creature as a species of tortoise, the shell of which is black, carinated and reflected at the neck. The scutilla is oval and composed of irregular plates; the head and eyes are small, the neck slender and much longer than in other species of the tortoise, being about twenty-eight inches in one of the middle size. The legs are twelve inches in length, the foot consisting of five toes, the claws of which are hooked and strong. Turpins, at different ages, are found from three inches long to six feet; some being a load for four or five men. They live entirely on shore, feeding upon plants, and resort much to springs and rivulets of fresh water, where they are generally taken. Though so strong, in some instances, as to carry four or five men standing upon their backs, they are so slow of motion as to be easily caught; when turned upon their backs they are unable to recover their legs, and are thus secured. Their flesh is such excellent and nourishing food that we are informed a ship's crew is never weary of it; and they are, therefore, eagerly sought by sailors at the landing places. As these animals are exceedingly abstemious, and can live for months without eating (in a state of torpor), they are particularly useful on long voyages in the South Pacific. When taken, these live lumps of stock are stowed away, like dead lumber, in the hold between decks, and constitute a valuable store of fresh provisions. The female lays a considerable number of eggs, which are spherical and about three inches in diameter; these she buries in the sand, where they are hatched by the heat of the sun. July 29. (Lord's day.) The sun rose bright from the sea, which was but lightly in motion, the wind being moderate. We have found this indeed a Sabbath, a day of rest and holy pleasure, amidst the loneliness of savage lands in view, and meeting oceans, on which we are sailing, round Cape Horn. This celebrated point, "placed far amidst the melancholy main," presents none of those tremendous horrors (though still in the depth of winter) with which, the captain and crew tell us, it is almost always invested. Mr. Tyerman preached in the morning from Psalm cxxi. 4: "Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." At the close of his discourse he mentioned the 8 ANECDOTE OF MR. TYERMAN.-DOUBLING CAPE HORN. following circumstance. "Yesterday was the of Wapping, was coming up the river, in Bugsby's hole, a little below Blackwall, a gust of wind upset the boat, and all on board perished.' That was the identical boat on which I was to have embarked. I could scarcely believe my eyes; I read the paragraph again and again. There it was, and there it remained, speaking the same words. I cannot express the horror and consternation of my mind. I was constrained to exclaim, 'This is the finger of God! Who am I, that God should in so wonderful a manner interpose for my deliverance? What a warning against Sabbath-breaking! What a call to devote myself to the Lord and his service!'-A warning which I took, and a call which I humbly hope I was thenceforward enabled to obey: For God speaketh once, yea twice; yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night; when deep sleep falleth upon man, in slumberings upon the bed; then He openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, that He may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing.'" Job xxxiii. 14, 18. July 31. Our course has been W. S. W. with little interruption. At noon we were about 105 miles short of the meridian of Cape Horn. The captain prognosticated that we should soon have some genuine Cape Horn weather. This he inferred from the aspect of the sky, and the heaving of the ocean, continually on the increase, though the breeze was inconsiderable. Every swell of the waves seemed a mile in extent, having what the sailors call a long foot; that is, the sea rose and fell gradually and majestically, not short and abruptly as we have generally observed to be the case, especially in the Bay of Biscay. These long-footed swells are almost peculiar here, and would seem to have been appointed by Providence, (in that merciful economy which forgets not to care for man, even where he most seldom ventures,) to render these seas navigable, which, according to our captain, they would not be in fresh weather, were the waves as precipitous, and liable to break suddenly, as they are in most parts. To-day we have had the first heavy fall of snow. Aug. 1. Having reached a southern latitude, 59°, 30', sufficiently high for doubling Cape Horn, and being in the longitude of the latter, we wore ship, and took a northern course to avoid meeting icebergs in the night, which are not unfrequent here. We escaped; indeed, we saw none, though the snow-birds, which roost upon them, were our visiters. By doubling Cape Horn is meant, not merely passing that point of land, but sailing quite round the other side of the extreme peninsular projection of South America, into the Pacific Ocean. Aug. 5. We began to shape our course in a W. N. W. direction, to obtain the advantage of the trade winds, when we reach their region. The captain and crew daily express their surprise at the unwonted continuance of that propitious weather which has hitherto brought us safely through the very realm of tempests, where Anson, Byron, and other navigators, suffered so much. Aug. 7. A sailor being aloft, eight or nine feet above the leeward shrouds, his foot slipped, and he fell over the rail into the clue, or lower corner of the mainsail, which was stretched a little above the leeward bulwark. The captain, having seen his first slip, ran to help him, and providentially caught the poor fellow just as he was sliding off from the sail into the water. Had he not been rescued that moment, he must have been drowned, for the ship was going at great speed, and the boats were lashed upon the deck. Happily he received no serious harm. The same man had fallen from the deck into the hold of the vessel in the London Dock before she sailed; and then had as narrow an escape from death, though with a severe contusion on the head. |