But not to speak of the quality of these articles of sailors'
fare, the abundance in which they are put onboard a whaling
vessel is almost incredible. Oftentimes, when we had occasion to
break out in the hold, and I beheld the successive tiers of casks
and barrels, whose contents were all destined to be consumed in
due course by the ship's company, my heart has sunk within me.

Although, as a general case, a ship unlucky in falling in with
whales continues to cruise after them until she has barely
sufficient provisions remaining to take her home, turning round
then quietly and making the best of her way to her friends, yet
there are instances when even this natural obstacle to the
further prosecution of the voyage is overcome by headstrong
captains, who, bartering the fruits of their hard-earned toils
for a new supply of provisions in some of the ports of Chili or
Peru, begin the voyage afresh with unabated zeal and
perseverance. It is in vain that the owners write urgent letters
to him to sail for home, and for their sake to bring back the
ship, since it appears he can put nothing in her. Not he. He
has registered a vow: he will fill his vessel with good sperm
oil, or failing to do so, never again strike Yankee soundings.

I heard of one whaler, which after many years' absence was given
up for lost. The last that had been heard of her was a shadowy
report of her having touched at some of those unstable islands in
the far Pacific, whose eccentric wanderings are carefully noted
in each new edition of the South-Sea charts. After a long
interval, however, 'The Perseverance'--for that was her name--was
spoken somewhere in the vicinity of the ends of the earth,
cruising along as leisurely as ever, her sails all bepatched and