Seven He Did Kill, But Owing To The Stormy
Agitated State Of The Water, He Could Not Get Any Of Them Aboard.
In one
however, which in a momentary interval of calm, was killed and secured
by a ship in company, he shared.
The oil and head matter of this fish,
he extolled as of an extraordinary fine quality. He was of opinion the
former would fetch ten pounds per ton more in London than that procured
on the Brazil coast. He had not gone farther south than 37 degrees;
and described the latitude of 35 degrees to be the place where the whales
most abounded, just on the edge of soundings, which here extends about
fifteen leagues from the shore; though perhaps, on other parts of the
coast the bank will be found to run hardly so far off.
On the following day (November 11th) the 'Mary Anne', Captain Munro,
another of the whalers, returned into port, after having been out sixteen
days. She had gone as far south as 41 degrees but saw not a whale,
and had met with tremendously bad weather, in which she had shipped a sea
that had set her boiling coppers afloat and had nearly carried them
overboard.
November 22d. The 'William and Anne', Captain Buncker, returned after
having been more than three weeks out, and putting into Broken Bay.
This is the ship that had killed the fish in which Melville shared.
Buncker had met with no farther success, owing, he said, entirely, to
gales of wind; for he had seen several immense shoals and was of opinion
that he should have secured fifty tons of oil, had the weather been
tolerably moderate.
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