How long he might linger in such torture, one
can only guess; but unless his fellows, finding him thus
helpless, came along and kindly devoured him, no doubt he would
exist in extreme agony for a very long time.
Two more small cows were all that rewarded our search during the
next fortnight, and we began to feel serious doubts as to the
success of our season upon the line grounds, after all. Still,
on the whole, our voyage up to the present had not been what
might fairly be called unsuccessful, for we were not yet two
years away from New Bedford, while we had considerably more than
two thousand barrels of oil on board--more, in fact, than two-
thirds of a full cargo. But if a whale were caught every other
day for six months, and then a month elapsed without any being
seen, grumbling would be loud and frequent, all the previous
success being forgotten in the present stagnation. Perhaps it is
not so different in other professions nearer home?
Christmas Day drew near, beloved of Englishmen all the world
over, though thought little of by Americans. The two previous
ones spent on board the CACHALOT have been passed over without
mention, absolutely no notice being taken of the season by any
one on board, to all appearance.
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