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Indeed, some of our richest and most enterprising
merchants have dated their prosperity from one of these voyages.
The short, bluff-looking man pacing the quarter-deck was Captain Price
Bottom; and a more honest-hearted old salt never sailed the sea. His
great skill in killing whales had made him famous among whalemen
throughout the Pacific. He had made three successful voyages, bringing
home cargoes that had enriched his owners, put money in his own pocket,
and secured him a reputation he esteemed of more value than a fortune.
In truth, he regarded whales just as a terrier does rats, and found his
highest enjoyment in killing them. And yet nothing pleased him better
than when a whale showed pluck, as he called it, and made a square,
fierce fight for his life. A man had a chance then to show his skill and
power over the brute, he said. He held, too, that man's highest object
in life was to know how to kill a whale skilfully; and he heartily
despised the whale "as would submit quietly to the harpoon, and die like
a lubber.


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