The Pacha of Many Tales
Page 9
VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER TWO.
"Hham d'illah! Praise be to God!" exclaimed the pacha, as the divanclosed. "This is dry work, hearing petitions for three hours, and not asequin to my treasury. Mustapha, has the renegade come back?"
"The kafir waits to kiss the dust of your sublime feet," replied thevizier.
"Let him approach, then, Mustapha," said the pacha joyfully; and therenegade immediately made his appearance.
"Kosh amedeid! you are welcome, Huckaback. We have had our earspoisoned since you quitted us. I forget where it was that you leftoff."
"May it please your highness, at the ending of my second voyage, inwhich--"
"I remember--when the Frankish woman god, stopped the leak. You mayproceed."
The renegade bowed; and commenced his third voyage, as follows--"Ibelieve that I stated to your highness, at the end of my second voyage,I determined to go to Toulon, and make some inquiry after my dearCerise."
"I recollect you did," interrupted the pacha, "but I tell you again, asI told you before, that I want to know nothing about her. Have thegoodness to skip all that part, or it will be five sequins out of yourgirdle."
"Your highness shall be obeyed," replied the renegade; who, after musinga short time, continued:--
THIRD VOYAGE OF HUCKABACK.
I was so affected at the intelligence of Cerise having destroyedherself, that I found it impossible to remain on shore. Having met withthe captain of a whaler, who expatiated on the fortune which might berealised by embarking in the speculation, I purchased a large ship, andfitted it out for a voyage to Baffin's Bay. This consumed all the moneyI had left, but as I expected to return with ten times the sum, I madeno scruple of parting with it.
My crew consisted of about thirty men, all strong fellows: ten of themEnglishmen, and the remainder from my own country. We stood to thenorthward, until we reached the ice, which floated high as mountains,and steering in between it, we at last came to a fine open water, wherea large quantity of whales were blowing in every direction. Our boatswere soon hoisted out, and we were extremely fortunate, havingtwenty-three fish on board, and boiled down before the season was over.
I now considered my fortune made; and the ship being full up to thebeams, we made all sail to return home. But a heavy gale came on fromthe southward, which drove all the ice together, and our ship with it,and we were in great danger of being squeezed to atoms. Fortunately, wemade fast in a bight, on the lee side of a great iceberg, whichpreserved us, and we anxiously awaited for the termination of the gale,to enable us to proceed. But when the gale subsided, a hard frost cameon, and we were completely frozen up, where we lay--the ice formed roundto the depth of several feet, and lifted the ship, laden as she was, outof the water.
The English, who were experienced fishermen, told us, that we had nochance of being released until next spring. I ascended to themast-head, and perceived that for miles, as far as the eye could scanthe horizon, there was nothing but one continued succession of icebergsand floes inseparably united. Despairing, therefore, of any release,until the cold weather should break up, I made all arrangements forremaining during the winter. Our provisions were very short, and wewere obliged to make use of the whale oil, but it soon produced suchdysenteries, that it was no longer resorted to.
After two months, the cold became intense, and our fuel ran short. Atthe end of three months the crew complained of scurvy, and could notmove about the decks. At the end of the fourth month, they had all diedexcept the chief harpooner, a fat porpoise of an Englishman, and myself.
The bodies remained on the deck, for the cold was so intense that theywould not have been tainted for centuries; and, as at the end of fivemonths, the provisions were all expended, we were again obliged toresort to the whale oil.
The whale oil produced a return of our complaints, and having no otherresource, we were forced by imperious hunger to make our repasts fromone of the bodies of our dead shipmates. They were so hard, that it waswith difficulty that we could separate a portion with an axe, and theflesh broke off in fragments, as if we had been splitting a piece ofgranite; but it thawed before the fire, which we had contrived to keepalight, by supplying it from the bulwarks of the quarter-deck, which wecut away as we required them. The old harpooner and I lived together onthe best terms for a month, during which we seldom quitted the cabin ofthe vessel, having now drawn down the third dead body, which we cut upas we required it with less difficulty than before, from the change inthe weather.
The ice continued breaking up, and all day and night we were startled atthe loud crashing which took place, as the icebergs separated from eachother. But my disgust at feeding upon human flesh produced a sort ofinsanity. I had always been partial to good eating, and was by no meansan indifferent cook; and I determined to try whether something morepalatable could not be provided for our meals; the idea haunted me dayand night, and at last I imagined myself a French restaurateur; I tied acloth before me as an apron, put on a cotton nightcap instead of my furcap, and was about to make a trial of my skill, when I discovered that Ihad no lard, no fat of any kind except train oil, which I rejected asnot being suitable to the "_cuisine Francaise_." My messmates who laydead, were examined one by one, but they had fallen away so muchprevious to their decease, that not a symptom of fat was to beperceived. Without fat I could do nothing; and as I thought of it indespair, my eye was caught by the rotundity of paunch which stillappertained to the English harpooner, the only living being besidesmyself out of so many. "I must have fat," cried I, fiercely, as Isurveyed his unwieldy carcase. He started when he observed the rollingof my eyes; and perceiving that I was advancing towards him, sharpeningmy knife, he did not think it prudent to trust himself longer in mycompany. Snatching up two or three blankets, he ran on deck, andcontrived to ascend to the main-top before I could follow him. There heheld me at bay, and I continued watching him from below with my largecarving knife in my hand, which I occasionally whetted. He remainedaloft all night, and so did I on deck, to get possession of him when heshould descend. I was so eager in my frenzy to obtain him, that I feltneither cold nor hunger; the weather during the day was now warm enoughto be pleasant, but the nights were piercing. My fat shipmate remainedin the top for three days and nights, during which period I neverremoved from my post. At the close of the third day he looked over thetop brim, and implored my mercy. When he showed himself I hardly knewhim, so much had he wasted away, and it then struck me, that if heremained aloft much longer he would have no more fat than the others,and would not serve my purpose. I therefore pledged him my honour, thatI would not attempt his life for ten days; and as he was perishing withthe cold, he agreed to the armistice, and once more descended to thedeck. But I was saved the crime of murder, for he was so ravenous whenhe came down, that he ate nearly the whole of a man's leg, and died fromrepletion during the night. I cannot express to your highness thesatisfaction that I felt at finding that the carcase of the harpoonerwas in my possession. I surveyed my treasure over and over again withdelight. I could now cook my French dishes. He was soon dissected, andall his unctuous parts carefully melted down, and I found that I had astock which would last me as long as the bodies which I had remaining toexercise my skill upon. The first day I succeeded admirably--I cookedmy dishes; and when they were ready I took off my night-cap and apron,passed my fingers through my hair, and fancied myself a garcon at arestaurateurs. I laid the cloth, put the dishes on the table, and whenit was complete, went on deck and then returned as the _bon vivant_ whohad ordered the dinner.
Never was any meal so delicious to my insane fancy. I devoured everything which I cooked, and drank water for champagne. I meditated uponwhat I should have for dinner on the ensuing day, and then retired to mybed. In the meantime the ice had separated, and the ship was againafloat; but I cared not: all my ideas were concentrated in the pleasuresof the table--and the next morning I went on deck to obtain a piece ofmeat, when I was astonished at a terrific growl. I turned
my head andperceived an enormous white bear, who was making sad depredations in mylarder, having nearly finished the whole body of one of my deadshipmates. He was as large as an ox, so large that when he made a rushat me, and I slipped down the ladder, he could not follow me. I againlooked up, and perceived that he had finished his meal. After walkinground the decks two or three times, smelling at every thing, he plungedoverboard and disappeared.
Glad to be rid of so unpleasant a visitor, I came up, and cutting offthe meat I required, again exerted my cookery, was again satisfied, andwent to sleep. I never felt so happy as I then did in my insanecondition. All I thought of, all I wished, I could command--myhappiness was concentrated in eating my fellow-creatures, cooked in aproper manner, instead of the usual method of bolting them down tosatisfy the cravings of imperious hunger. I woke the next morning asusual, and when I crawled on deck, was again saluted with the angrygrowl of the bear, who was busy making a repast upon another body--whenhe had finished he plunged into the sea as before.
I now thought it high time to put an end to these depredations on mylarder, which in a few days would have left me destitute. My inventionwas called into action, and I hit upon a plan, which I thought wouldsucceed. I dragged all the bodies to the after part of the quarterdeck,and blocked it up before the cabin-hatch with swabs and small sails, soas to form a sort of dam about eight inches high. I then went below andbrought up forty or fifty buckets of train oil, which I poured upon thedeck abaft, so that it was covered with oil to the height of severalinches. On the ensuing morning the bear came as I expected, andcommenced his repast: I had stationed myself aloft, in the mizen-top,with several buckets of oil, which I poured upon him. His fur wasotherwise well saturated with what he had collected when he lay down onthe deck to devour one of the bodies more at his ease. When I hadpoured all my buckets of oil over him but one, I threw the empty bucketsdown upon him. This enraged him, and he mounted the rigging to berevenged. I waited until he had arrived at the futtock shrouds, when Ipoured my last bucket upon him, which quite blinded him, and then gainedthe deck by sliding down the back stays on the opposite side.
A bear can climb fast, but is very slow in his descent--the consequencewas that I had plenty of time for my arrangements. I ran below, andlighting a torch of oakum, which I had prepared in readiness, placed itto his hinder quarters as he descended. The effect was exactly what Ihad anticipated; his thick fur, covered in every part with oil, wasimmediately in a blaze, and burnt with such rapidity, that before hecould recover his feet on deck, he was like an immense ball of fire. Iretreated to the companion-hatch to watch his motions. His first actwas to return to the quarter-deck and roll himself in the oil, with anidea of quenching the flames, but this added fuel to them, and theanimal roaring in his agony at last jumped into the sea and disappeared.
Having thus rid myself of my intruder I returned to my cooking. Theship was now clear of ice, the weather was warm, the bodies of myshipmates emitted a fetid smell, but I saw and smelt nothing; all that Iobserved was that the barley which had been scattered on the deck by thefowls, had sprung up about the decks, and I congratulated myself uponthe variety it would give to my culinary pursuits. I continued to cook,to eat, and to sleep as before, when a circumstance occurred, which putan end to all my culinary madness. One night I found the water washingby the side of my standing bed-place in the cabin, and jumping out inalarm to ascertain the cause, I plunged over head and ears. The factwas, that the ship, when lifted by the ice, had sprung a-leak which hadgradually filled her without my perceiving it. My fear of drowning wasso great, that I ran into the very danger which I would have avoided. Idarted out of the cabin windows into the sea, whereas had I gone upondeck I should have been safe: for a little reflection might have told methat a vessel laden with oil could not have sunk--but reflection cametoo late, and benumbed with the coldness of the waters, I could havestruggled but a few seconds more, when I suddenly came in contact with aspar somewhat bigger than a boat's mast. I seized it to support myself,and was surprised at finding it jerked from me occasionally, as if therewas somebody else who had hold of it, and who wished to force me to letit go; but it was quite dark, and I could distinguish nothing. I clungto it until daylight appeared, when what was my horror to perceive anenormous shark close to me. I nearly let go my hold and sunk, soparalysed was I with fear, I anticipated every moment to feel his teethcrushing me in half, and I shut my eyes that I might not add to thehorrors of my death by being a witness to the means. Some minutes hadelapsed, which appeared to me as so many hours, when surprised at beingstill alive, I ventured to open my eyes. The shark was still at thesame distance from me, and on examination I perceived that the boat'smast or spar, to which I was clinging, had been passed through his nosein a transverse direction, being exactly balanced on either side. Theshark was of the description found in the North Seas, which is called bythe sailors the blind shark. I now perfectly understood that he hadbeen caught and _spritsail yarded_, as the seamen term it, and thenturned adrift for their diversion. The buoyancy of the spar preventsthe animal from sinking down under the water, and this punishment oftheir dreaded enemy is a very favourite amusement of sailors.
I summoned up all my courage, and being tired of holding on by the spar,resolved to mount upon his back, which I accomplished withoutdifficulty, and I found the seat on his shoulders before the dorsal fin,not only secure but very comfortable. The animal, unaccustomed to carryweight, made several attempts to get rid of me, but not being able tosink I retained my seat. He then increased his velocity, and we went onover a smooth sea, at the rate of about three knots an hour. For twodays I continued my course to the southward, upon my novel conveyancesduring which I had nothing to eat except a few small barnacles, and someparasitical vermin, peculiar to the animal, which I discovered under hisfins. I also found a small _remora_, or sucking fish, near his tail,but when I put it to my mouth, it fixed itself so firmly on both my lipsthat I thought they were sealed for ever. No force could detach it, andthere it hung like a padlock for many hours, to my great mortificationand annoyance, but at last it died from being so long out of water, andwhen it dropped off I devoured it.
On the third day I observed land at a distance; it appeared to be anisland, but I had no idea what it could be. My steed continued hiscourse straight towards it, and being blind ran his nose right upon theshore; before he found out his mistake I slipped off his back, andclimbing the steep side of the island, was once more, as I thought, onterra firma. Tired with long watching. I lay down and fell fastasleep.
I was awakened by something touching me on the shoulder, and opening myeyes, I perceived that I was surrounded by several people, whom Inaturally inferred to be the natives of the island. They were clad indresses, which appeared to me to be made of black leather, consisting ofa pair of trousers, and a long pea-jacket, very similar to those worn bythe Esquimaux Indians, which we occasionally fell in with in theNorthern Ocean. They each held a long harpoon, formed entirely of bone,in their right hands.
I was not a little surprised at being addressed in the Patois dialect ofthe Basques in my own country, which is spoken about Bayonne and otherparts adjacent to the Pyrenees. To their questions I answered, that Iwas the only survivor of the crew of a whaler, which had been frozen upin the ice, during the winter; that she had filled with water, and thatI had saved myself upon the back of a shark.
They expressed no surprise at my unheard-of conveyance to the island; onthe contrary, they merely observed, that sharks were too vicious toride; and asked me to accompany them to their town, an invitation whichI gladly accepted. As I walked along I observed that the island wascomposed of white porous pumice-stone, without the least symptoms ofvegetation; not even a piece of moss could I discover--nothing but thebare pumice-stone, with thousands of beautiful green lizards, about teninches long, playing about in every part. The road was steep, and inseveral parts the rock was cut into steps to enable you to ascend.After an hour's fatiguing walk,
which I never should have accomplishedin my weak state, without the assistance of the islanders, we arrived atthe summit. The view which met my eye was striking. I was on the peakof a chain of hills, forming an immense amphitheatre, encircling avalley which appeared about fifteen miles in diameter, and the majorpart of which was occupied by a lake of water.
I could discern what appeared to be the habitations of men on differentparts of the lake; but there was not a tree or a shrub to be seen.
"What," demanded I of the man who appeared to take the lead of the restof the party, "have you no trees here?"
"None whatever; and yet we can do very well without them. Do you notobserve that there is no mould; that the island is composed entirely ofpumice-stone?"
"I do," replied I. "Pray what is the name of your barren spot--and inwhat part of the world are we?"
"As for its name, we call it Whale Island," replied the man; "but as forwhere we are, we cannot exactly tell ourselves, for we are a floatingisland, being composed entirely of pumice-stone, whose specific gravity,as you must know, is much lighter than that of water."
"How strange," observed I; "I cannot believe that you are in earnest."
"And yet not quite so strange as you imagine," replied my conductor."If you examine the structure of this island, from where you now stand,you will perceive at once, that it has been the crater of some largevolcano. It is easy to imagine, that after having reared its head abovethe surface of the sea, by some of those sudden caprices of ever-workingnature, the base has again sunk down, leaving the summit of the craterfloating on the ocean. Such is our opinion of the formation of thisisland; and I doubt whether your geologists on the continent wouldproduce a more satisfactory theory."
"What? you have communicated with Europe, then?" cried I, delighted atthe hopes of return.
"We have had communication, but we do not communicate again. In thewinter time, this island, which, strange as it may appear to you, doesnot change its position many hundred miles in the course of centuries,is enclosed with the icebergs in the north: when the spring appears, weare disengaged, and then drift a degree or two to the southward, seldommore."
"Are you not then affected by the winds and tides?"
"Of course we are: but there is a universal balance throughout nature,and every thing finds its level. There is order, when there appearsdisorder--and no stream runs in one direction, without a counter stream,to restore the equilibrium. Upon the whole, what with the undercurrents, and the changes which continually take place, I should saythat we are very little, if at all, affected by the tides--which may beconsidered as a sort of exercise, prescribed by nature to keep the oceanin good health. The same may be affirmed with respect to the winds.Wind is a substance, as well as water, capable of great expansion, butstill a substance. A certain portion has been allotted to the world forits convenience, and there is a regularity in its apparent variability.It must be self-evident, when all the wind has been collected to theeastward, by the north-west gales which prevail in winter, that it mustbe crowded and penned up in that quarter, and, from its known expansivepowers, must return and restore the equilibrium. That is the reasonthat we have such a long continuance of easterly winds, in the months ofFebruary and March."
"You said that you had communication with Europe?"
"We have occasionally visits perforce, from those who are cast away inships or boats; but the people who come here, have never returned. Thedifficulty of leaving the island is very great: and we flatterourselves, that few who have remained any time with us, have ever feltthe desire."
"What--not to leave a barren rock, without even a blade of grass uponit."
"Happiness," replied my conductor, "does not consist in the variety ofyour possessions, but in being contented with what you have;"--and hecommenced the descent of the hill.
I followed him in a melancholy mood, for I could imagine little comfortin such a sterile spot.
"I am not a native of this island," observed he, as we walked along; "itis more than four hundred years since it was first inhabited, by thecrew of a French vessel, which was lost in the Northern ocean. But I donot wish to leave it. I was cast on it in a whale-boat, when separatedfrom the ship in a snow-storm, about twenty-five years ago. I am now amarried man, with a family, and am considered one of the wealthiestinhabitants of the island, for I possess between forty and fiftywhales."
"Whales!" exclaimed I, with astonishment.
"Yes," replied my conductor, "whales, which are the staple of thisisland, and without them we should not be so prosperous and so happy aswe are. But you have much to see and learn; you will by-and-byeacknowledge that there is nothing existing in the world, which, fromnecessity and by perseverance, man cannot subject to his use. Yon lakewhich covers the bottom of our valley, is our source of wealth andcomfort, and yields us an increase as plentiful as the most fertileplains of Italy or France."
As we arrived close to the foot of the hills, I perceived several blacksubstances on the shores of the lake. "Are those whales?" inquired I.
"They were whales, but they are now houses. That one by itself is mine,which I hope you will consider as yours, until you have made up yourmind as to what you will do."
We descended to the beach, and his companions, wishing me good morning,left me with my conductor, who led the way to his house. It wascomposed of the skin of one entire whale, much larger than ever I hadseen in the Northern ocean. The back-bone and ribs of the animal servedas rafters to extend the skin, which wore the resemblance of a longtent; it was further secured by ropes, formed of the twisted sinewswhich passed over the top, and were made fast to stakes of bone firmlyfixed in the ground on each side. When I entered, I found to mysurprise that there was plenty of light, which was supplied fromwindows, composed of small panes of whalebone ground down very thin, andat the further end the head and skull of the animal formed a kitchen,the smoke from the fire escaping through the spiracles orbreathing-holes above.
On each side of the room into which I was ushered were raised seats,covered with seal skins, and the other end of the house was divided offwith a species of black skin, into sleeping apartments for the master ofthe house and his family. There was not the least smell, as Ianticipated before I entered this strange dwelling-place.
I was introduced to his wife, who welcomed me with cordiality. She wasdressed in the same dark skin as her husband, but of a much finertexture, and had a scarlet cap on her head, as well as scarlet trimmingsto the front and bottom of her dress, which on the whole was not onlycomfortable but becoming in its appearance.
A bowl of milk was presented to me, to refresh me after my walk and longabstinence.
"How!" observed I, "have you milk here without pasture?"
"Yes," replied my host, "drink it, and tell me if you think itpalatable."
I did so, and found it very little different from the asses' milk of myown country--perhaps with a little more acidity of taste. In the meantime several varieties of shellfish, and a large cheese, were placedupon the table, which, as well as the stools, was composed entirely ofbone.
"And cheese, too?" said I.
"Yes, and you will find it not bad. It is the milk of the whale whichyou have drank--and the cheese is prepared from the same."
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"Friend Huckaback," observed the pacha, "I think you are telling melies. Who ever heard of whale's milk?"
"Allah forbid that I should attempt to deceive a person of yourhighness's judgment; it could only end in mortification and defeat tomyself."
"That's very true," observed the pacha.
"Your highness has not called to mind, that the whale is whatnaturalists call a `hot-blood animal,' with arteries and circulation ofblood similar to the human species; and that it brings forth its youngalive, and nurses it at the breast."
"Very true," observed the pacha. "I had forgot that."
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My conductor resumed as follows: "As I told you before, the whale is thestaple of this island. You observe that his skin serves us as a house;from his bones we form all our implements--from his sinews, our thickestropes down to our finest thread. The dress we wear is composed of thebelly-part of the skin, dressed with a sort of soap, composed of thealkali obtained from the sea-weed which abounds in the lake, and the oilof the whale. His blubber serves us for fuel and candle; his flesh formeat, and the milk is invaluable to us. It is true, we have otherresources; we have our lizards, and a variety of fish and shell fish;and when we are shut up in the winter among the icebergs, we procure theflesh and skins of the seals and the polar bear. But we have novegetable of any kind; and although the want of bread may at first heunpleasant, a few weeks will reconcile you to the privation. But it istime to repose after your fatigues--I will report your arrival to thegreat harpooner, after I have shown you to your chamber." He thenconducted me to an inner room, where I found a couch, composed of theskins of the polar bears, on which I threw myself, and in a few minuteswas fast asleep.
The next morning I was awakened by my host. "If you wish to see thewhales milked, this is the hour that they are called in; a short walkwill explain more to you than many hours' conversation."
I arose perfectly refreshed from my long nap, and followed my conductor.We passed a large tank. "This is our water; we are obliged not towaste it, although we have a sufficiency; the tank is coated by acement, formed of lime, obtained by the burning of the shells of fish.We make all our vessels, that are submitted to the fire, of the samesubstance, mixed with pounded lava; it is burnt in the fire, and glazedwith sea-salt."
We arrived at the edge of the lake, where we came to a large shallowdock, cut out of the lava in the side, in which were about two dozenyoung whales, who followed my host as he walked round the edge.
"These are my calves; we do not admit the mothers until we have firstdrawn off what milk we require."
Several men now came down to the beach: one of them blew a horn, formedout of a part of the horn of a sea unicorn, and immediately a herd ofwhales collected at the sound, and swam towards the beach. They allanswered to their names; and when the men waded in the water up to theirknees, quietly grounded on their sides, so as to present one of theirudders to them, clear of the water. This was squeezed by four men, andthe contents received into a large pail, composed of the bones of awhale, neatly hooped together by the same substance.
As soon as the breast of the animal was empty, with a lash of its tailit recovered the deep water, and swam round and round in small circles,near to the spot.
"We always leave one breast for the calf," observed my host; "when theyare all milked, I shall open the pen and let the mothers in."
"What are those enormous whales which are playing at a distance?"
"They are our whale oxen," answered my host; "we find that they grow toan enormous size. Our houses are built of their skins."
"Is that a dead whale on the beach?"
"It is one of our whale boats," replied he, "but formed, as yousupposed, from the skin of a whale, hardened by frequent applications ofoil and lime. We use them to catch the whales when we want them."
"You do not use the harpoon, then?"
"Only when we kill; in general we noose the tail, and fasten the rope toone of these boats, which are so buoyant, that the whale cannot take itdown, and soon tires with his own exertions. I am now speaking of themales reserved for breeding, or strange whales, who sometimes find theirway into our lake during the winter: our own are so domesticated fromtheir infancy, that we have little trouble with them; but it is timethat we return."
"Here," observed any host, as we passed a whale-house, "is one of ourmanufactories; we will step in. This is the common stuff of thecountry, which is used for partitions in houses, etcetera. This is afiner sort, such as I wear at present. Here we have the skin of thewhale calf, which is usually worn by the women. This is the mostexpensive article of our manufactures; it is the belly-part of thecalf's skin, which being white, admits of a dye from the murex--a shellfish, very common on our shores."
"Have you money?" inquired I.
"None--we exchange; but the chief article of exchange, and which servesas money, is the whale cheese, which keeps for years, and improves inquality. That fine cloth is worth eight new cheeses a square yard,which is very dear."
We arrived at the house, where we found our repast ready; an excellentstew received my commendation.
"It is one of our favourite dishes," replied my host; "it is made oflizards' tails."
"Lizards' tails!"
"Yes; I am about to procure some for dinner, and you shall see mypreserve."
In the course of the day I walked with my host a short distance up thehill, when we stopped at a large pit, covered with a net-work, made ofwhales' sinews. The man who accompanied us, descended, and soonreturned with a pail full of lizards, confined by a similar net overthem. He then took them out one by one, and pulled their tails, whichwere immediately left in his hand. He then notched the stump, and threwthe animal into the pit.
"Of what use is it to return the animals?" observed I.
"Because their tails will grow again, by next year."
"But why, then, were the stumps notched in the middle?"
"That they might have two tails instead of one, which is invariably thecase," replied my host.
But I will not tire your highness with an account of all that I saw, andwhich occurred during my stay on that island. If I were to enter intothe excellence of their government, which consisted of a greatharpooner, and two councils of first and second harpoons, or of themanners and customs of the inhabitants, ceremonies at births, andmarriages, and deaths--of their amusements, and their ingenious supplyof all their wants, it would afford materials for at least two volumesquarto, without margin. I shall therefore confine myself to stating,that after a sojourn of six months, I became so impatient to quit theisland, that I determined to encounter any risk, rather than notaccomplish it.
My host, and all the principal inhabitants, finding that no persuasionscould induce me to stay, consented at last to furnish me with the means,which I had hit upon to make my escape.
I omitted to mention to your highness, the whales had been rendered sodocile, that they not only were used for draught on the lake, but evenfor carrying on their backs. I never could be persuaded to mount one, Ihad such a horror of being seated on a fish's back, after my travellingon the shark; but I had often crossed the lake in one of the great whaleboats towed by one or two of the animals fastened to it by loops overtheir tails. This conveyance suggested to me the idea of my escape,which I proposed to make by means of one of these large whale boats,covered completely in, and to be towed out of the mouth of the lake byone of the draught whales.
At my request, a boat was prepared, and covered in with whalebonewindows, to admit light; a stock of provisions were supplied mesufficient for a long voyage; and the whale being _put to_, I departedamidst the tears and lamentations of the friendly islanders, who lookedupon me as a man bent upon my own destruction. But I was aware that thefishery would soon commence, and had great hopes of being picked up byone of the vessels. I was soon clear of the lake; and the lad who wason the back of the draught whale, having towed me out in pursuance ofhis orders, until the island appeared like a cloud on the horizon, castme loose and hastened back, that he might return home before dark.
For three weeks I remained in the inside of this enormous boat, orrather I may say fish tossed upon the waves, but without injury, fromits extreme buoyancy. One morning I was awakened from a sound sleep bya sudden blow on the outside of my vessel. I imagined that I had comein contact with an iceberg, but the sound of voices convinced me, thatat last I had fallen in with my fellow creatures. A harpoon was nowdriven in, which I narrowly escaped, and a volley of execrationsfollowed, by which I knew immediately that the people were English.
After a few minutes, they commenced sawing a hole in the side of mywhale boat; and a piece being removed, a head was put in. Fearful ofanother harpoon, I had raised up my large white bear's skin as adefence, and the man perceiving it, immediately withdrew his head,swearing that there was a white bear in the belly of the whale. Theboat shoved off and they commenced firing musket balls, which pierced myboat through and through, and I was obliged to lie down at the bottom tosave my life. After about twenty shots, the boat again came along side,and a man, putting his head in, and perceiving me at the bottom of theboat, covered over with the bear's skin, imagined that the animal hadbeen killed, and reported to his companions. With some degree ofapprehension they climbed in at the hole which they had cut, when Ilifted up my bear's skin, and made my appearance, dressed in the blackskin worn by the inhabitants of Whales' Island. This frightened themstill more; one roared out that it was the devil, and they all ran tomake their escape at the hole by which they entered, but in theireagerness they prevented each other.
It was with difficulty that I convinced them that I was harmless, whichI did at last; and having explained in a few words how I came there,they permitted me to go with them on board of the ship. The captain wasvery sulky when he heard the story; he had imagined it to be a deadwhale, and had ordered it to be towed alongside, to cut off the blubber.Disappointed in his expectations, he swore that I was a Jonas, who hadcome out of the whale's belly, and there would be no luck in the ship,if I remained. The sailors, whose profits in the voyage were regulatedby the number of fish taken, thought this an excellent reason forthrowing me overboard; and had there not been two sail in sight,standing towards them, I certainly should have had some more adventuresto narrate. At last they consented to put me on board of one which hadhoisted French colours. She was from Havre, and having twelve fish onboard, was returning home. The captain consented to give me a passage,and in two months I was once more in my native country.
Such, your highness, were the adventures of my third voyage.
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"Well, the story of the island was rather too long," observed the Pacha,"but, altogether, it was amusing. Mustapha, I think it is worth tenpieces of gold."