At length, on the morning of Saturday, June 28th, the welcome cry was heard from masthead, “T-h-e-r-e she b-l-o-w-s!” All were aroused, and it was not long before our boats were down and after him, for it was a “lone whale.” The bow boat soon fastened, and just as all hands were congratulating themselves that we should soon have a whale alongside, the irons drew, and the whale left for parts unknown. “Just our luck,” was the exclamation, and all returned to the ship with long faces, and “slightly” discouraged. It was now eight months since we had taken a drop of oil, and we were twenty months out, with but three hundred barrels. The prospect of two thousand barrels in four years looked very dark just then. However, the old man endeavored to console us by saying, “It is a long lane that has no turning, boys!” And we found this adage true, for the next morning we lowered down, and in less than an hour had a hundred-barrel sperm whale alongside, which caused every face to brighten, and before the decks were fairly cleared up we took another, which made us eighty barrels, making one hundred and eighty barrels in less than one week, more than half as much as we had been twenty months in getting. Thus it is; whaling is more a lottery than any thing else. While cutting in the last whale, we discovered a ship running down to us, which soon came within hailing distance, and proved to be the British bark “Medina,” from Hong Kong, bound to San Francisco, with a load of Chinese emigrants. We were now enjoying beautiful weather. During the days hardly a cloud was to be seen, and the atmosphere as clear as a bell. The nights were lovely, warm, and pleasant, and many of the crew preferred bringing their mattresses on deck and sleeping in the open air to sleeping below. One night Portugee Manuel, among the rest, was thus quietly taking a nap, but it happened to be his watch on deck, and he did not feel disposed to keep awake when he should. One of the watch, thinking to have a little sport, tied him fast to a large hog who was quietly reposing not far off, and then, taking a rope’s end, commenced belaboring the porker, who started up and off, dragging the “Gee” very unceremoniously with him. This somewhat surprised Manuel, who was not accustomed to this novel mode of locomotion, and, on being released, he swore vengeance (in Portuguese) against hogs and Yankees.