The bow-boat, after leaving the ship’s side, pulled in the direction where the boat-lights had last appeared; but it was not until after they had cut from the fish, that they found the other boats, whose men, from their fatiguing duty and benumbed members, were not just then particularly delighted at the idea of pulling ten or twelve miles back without refreshment: they therefore hailed the arrival of the bow-boat with acclamation. They hove up; and, after having satisfied their appetites, the bottle was passed around, and each indulged in a hearty swig: then, with renewed vigor, they bent to their oars, and regained the vessel. This unfortunate result would not have occurred had we had the least breeze, to keep anywhere in the neighborhood of the boats; nor, had there been land anywhere within a reasonable distance, the mate, who in no wise lacks energy, would not have cut; but, under the circumstances, he acted with discrimination in withdrawing the boats whilst there was a chance of their doing so with safety. No doubt, had he remained attached to the whale, it would have been as difficult for us to find our boats the succeeding day as it was to find the carcass of the fish, which, despite our utmost endeavors--thoroughly going over the ground--we never afterwards saw. How it was that this whale sustained life so long, whilst the vital current was swiftly escaping from his system, it is difficult to account for. He was lanced in the same place as other whales we had taken, and which expired in the course of several hours. It was done, too, by men who were no novices, either in handling the lance, or in combating the whale. Not a few shook their heads, mysteriously; and one, in a spirit of confidence, broadly stated to me, that the creature was not a whale, but Lucifer himself, who had assumed this form to puzzle mankind; and hence he accounted for the tenacity of life displayed. This opinion, of course, I could not subscribe to; but I found it futile to attempt to satisfy my superstitious shipmate that all might be produced by natural causes. My opinion being, that the whale was of such a prodigious size, (every man who was in the boats stating him to have been the largest of the cachelot species they had ever seen,) and his vitals were covered with so thick a coat of blubber, that the lances were of insufficient length to deal a mortal wound. This view of the matter, after many arguments, _pro_ and _con_, was finally adopted, as being the most probable of any advanced.