A New London ship was once holding a reception on board for some natives, and each of the crew was endeavoring in some way to amuse the guests. One seaman took out his set of false teeth, thinking he would provide entertainment; but instead the natives became so alarmed that they tumbled over the side into their canoes and made their retreat as quickly as possible. The crew was asked on shore for a return visit; but an invitation to the exhibitor of the teeth was not forthcoming, and he was obliged to remain alone on the ship, much to his disappointment. Captain Gardner of Nantucket stated that in thirty-seven years he spent only four years and eight months at home, and Captain North, also of Nantucket, figured that he had sailed one million one hundred and ninety-one thousand miles. Nothing could have equalled the joy of returning home after a long voyage, and the anxiety to reach port was almost unbearable. Often a vessel ran into bad winds and had to anchor for days a few miles off shore, and there is one case known of a ship being blown to sea and lost after having actually come within sight of New Bedford Harbour. Many a whaleman has laughed at this story. It was customary for the first mate to keep the log book. One day he was intoxicated, so the captain entered the day’s events, noting that “the mate was drunk all day.” The next day the mate protested, but the captain said that it was true and must remain on the records. The mate resumed his charge of the diary, and got more than even with his superior officer by recording on the following day that “the Captain was sober all day.” WHALING IMPLEMENTS AND WHALEBOATS [Illustration: This picture, taken by Roy C. Andrews, Esq., of the American Museum of Natural History, on his last whaling expedition, shows a bomb exploding in a whale.] [Illustration: WHALING IMPLEMENTS. Figure 1. Harpoon with one barb. Figure 2. Harpoon with two barbs. Figure 3. The “toggle iron.” Figure 4. The lance for killing the whale by reaching its “life.” Figure 5. A spade used in small boats for making holes in the blubber after capture and on the whaleship for cutting the blubber from the body of the whale. Figure 6. A bomb lance. Figure 7. The “boarding knife” used for making holes in the strips of blubber for the hoisting hooks. Figure 8. The dipper used to bail oil out of the “case,” or head, and from the try-works into the cooler. Figure 9. A piece of whalebone as it comes from the whale. Figure 10. A strainer used for draining the scraps from the oil.]