On Sunday, November the 8th, we sighted sperm whales, and though the weather was foggy and disagreeable, the boats were lowered; but, after being down all the forenoon, we returned at 1 o’clock, and ate dinner. At half past one we dropped boats again, when the waist-boat fastened to an immense whale, which ran very rapidly; but he soon began to spout thick blood, and we counted him as ours. On the appearance of blood, the bow-boat cut her line, and came aboard. The captain, observing that the whale continued on in his course, lowered away, and lanced him also; but still he would not turn up, although incessantly discharging blood from his spout-holes and the various lance-wounds in his body. Night approached, and still the whale kept going ahead. The rain was descending in torrents, whilst not the slightest vestige of a breeze rippled the surface of the water; so the boats, together with their locomotive attachment, were gradually widening their distance from the ship. Directly after nightfall, the captain returned with his boat, leaving directions for the others to keep up good lights in their boat-lanterns; so that we might very easily know their whereabouts. On arriving aboard, the bow-boat was dispatched with refreshments and a couple of bottles of New England rum, to revive those who had been sitting in their boats drenched to the skin; and, surely, if there ever was a moment when men needed an alcoholic stimulus to enable them to withstand exposure, it was on this occasion. Just after the bow-boat left, we lost sight of the light of the boat-lantern in the distance, and did not recover it again until midnight, when we discovered the boats coming toward us, with the dead body of the whale, as we believed, in tow; but were chagrined to find that they had cut from him, which, unavoidable as it was, was far from being pleasant, after the trouble and pains-taking he had caused us. They stated, that they were out of sight of the ship’s light; that the whale showed no more signs of exhaustion than at sunset; and, as the weather looked very threatening, there appeared to be no other recourse left them but to return: so, after a consultation, in which all hands were included, the line, not however without many regrets, was severed, and the monster allowed to go on his way, and die alone--his surviving more than a few hours being out of the question.