An uncommonly large whale, the body of which was larger
than the ship itself, lay almost at the surface of the water,
but was not perceived by any one on board till the moment
when the ship, which was in full sail, was almost upon him,
so that it was impossible to prevent its striking against him.
We were thus placed in the most imminent danger, as this gigantic
creature, setting up its back, raised the ship three feet at least
out of the water. The masts reeled, and the sails fell altogether,
while we who were below all sprang instantly upon the deck,
concluding that we had struck upon some rock; instead of this we
saw the monster sailing off with the utmost gravity and solemnity.
Captain D'Wolf applied immediately to the pumps to examine
whether or not the vessel had received any damage from the shock,
but we found that very happily it had escaped entirely uninjured."
Now, the Captain D'Wolf here alluded to as commanding the ship
in question, is a New Englander, who, after a long life of unusual
adventures as a sea-captain, this day resides in the village
of Dorchester near Boston. I have the honor of being a nephew
of his. I have particularly questioned him concerning
this passage in Langsdorff.
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