"Of course it goes without saying that when a whale was sighted, the whalemen were in for a hard job, a harder job than the uninitiated could ever appreciate. The chase, the capture, the , the were dangerous and inordinately wearisome. But the chase and the capture, too, had their better sides. The love of a princely sport thrilled the whalemen when the cry of "blows" came from aloft."
George Francis Dow

January 1, 1970