amply sufficient for the purpose.

The most interesting part of the whole business, though, to us
poor half-starved wretches, was the plentiful supply of fresh
meat. Porpoise beef is, when decently cooked, fairly good eating
to a landsman; judge, then, what it must have been to us. Of
course the tit-bits, such as the liver, kidneys, brains, etc.,
could not possibly fall to our lot; but we did not complain, we
were too thankful to get something eatable, and enough of it.
Moreover, although few sailors in English ships know it, porpoise
beef improves vastly by keeping, getting tenderer every day the
longer it hangs, until at last it becomes as tasty a viand as one
could wish to dine upon. It was a good job for us that this was
the case, for while the porpoises lasted the "harness casks," or
salt beef receptacles, were kept locked; so if any man had felt
unable to eat porpoise--well, there was no compulsion, he could
go hungry.

We were now in the haunts of the Sperm Whale, or "Cachalot," a
brilliant look-out being continually kept for any signs of their
appearing. One officer and a foremast hand were continually on
watch during the day in the main crow's-nest, one harpooner and a
seaman in the fore one. A bounty of ten pounds of tobacco was
offered to whoever should first report a whale, should it be
secured, consequently there were no sleepy eyes up there. Of
course none of those who were inexperienced stood much chance
against the eagle-eyed Portuguese; but all tried their best, in
the hope of perhaps winning some little favour from their hard
taskmasters. Every evening at sunset it was "all hands shorten
sail," the constant drill rapidly teaching even these clumsy