His eyes glistened as he swayed the swivel to and fro to make sure that the engine
of destruction worked well. Both Whales were under the sea for a quarter
of an hour by my watch, and then burst up about a quarter of a mile ahead,
throwing a cloud of spray thirty feet into the air.
‘ “ Full speed ahead ” and then “ safte ” (slowly) and we ran up within fifty yards
of the rolling slate monsters which were now travelling fast, although not wild.
When a shot seemed imminent, they both disappeared from view, after about
twelve surface dives, and we lost them again for another ten minutes. When
next viewed the larger Whale was half a mile astern, so we turned and went for
him again, only reaching the animal in time to see him disappear for the third
time. The actual big dives of this Whale lasted io, 15, 14, i i £ and 20 minutes,
and we then left him as the Captain considered the other one might be tamer.
This however did not prove to be the case. While racing to cut off the Whale
during one of its surface appearances, we spied a third Blue Whale spouting
about half a mile to the east, so the order to turn was given, and we approached
and hunted it (another bull) for some time. At first the three Whales joined
forces but later separated. Luck seemed quite against us, when one of the Blue
Whales was suddenly joined by two very large Finbacks which we had not
previously seen.1 The advent of these newcomers seemed to quiet the larger
animals. They made several short dives and then disappeared almost under our
bows, and yet passing onward so that a shot seemed certain if they rose again.
I It was a moment of intense excitement when the two Finbacks rolled up
right in front of our bows and within easy shot, but the Captain and I were
gazing fixedly into the green and clear depths, looking for the Blue Whale, when
far away down beneath the water I saw a great copper-grey form rising rapidly
right underneath the ship. The Captain signalled with his hand to the man at
the wheel, turning the vessel off a point just as the ghostly form of the Whale,
growing larger and larger every moment until it seemed as big as the ship, burst
on the surface beside us, and broke the water within ten yards. In a moment
we were drenched in blinding spray as the Whale spouted in our faces. I turned
my arm to protect my camera and to click the shutter as the Captain fired his
gun. The latter planted the harpoon fairly in the great creature’s lungs, and in
a swirl of blood it sank.
When pursuing these three Whales, the difference in the appearance ot the two species in the water was most marked.
The two Blue Whales could be easily distinguished both when rising and going down at a depth of four or five fathnm^