Sportsmen of ample means and leisure often the shrinkage which goes on at an ever-accelerating rate of such free hunting-grounds as still remain. Owing to the wonderful facilities for travel to increased wealth, they foresee, not, perhaps, the of the great wild animals which alone they consider of their high prowess, but such close of them in the near future that the free delight of the hunter will surely disappear. Therefore it may be considered to point out from the vantage ground of personal experience some aspects of sport at sea which will certainly not suffer by comparison with any hunting on land, no matter from what point we regard it. It will readily be conceded that one of the chief drawbacks to the full of sport in wild lands is the large amount of personal suffering upon the hunters by evil climates and transport difficulties. It is all very well to say that these things are part of the programme, and that taking the rough with the smooth is of the very essence of true sportsmanship. That need not be disputed while denying that there is anything attractive in the idea of becoming a permanent from or being to the of madness by the unceasing[219] of a gang of wily children of nature with the idea that the white is delivered over to them as a by “the gods of things as they are.” The of sport consists in the dangers of the chase, the successful use of “shikar,” the of conscious superiority over the lords of the creation, and not, as some dull souls would assert, in the gratification of instincts of blood-lust, or the exercise of cruelty to animals for its own sake. Neither does it consist in across fetid swamps, groping through steaming forests, or with leathern tongue and aching bones over glowing sands, a prey to all the plagues of Egypt by nearly every other ill that flesh is heir to. No; few of us need persuading that any of these horrors are the unavoidable necessary concomitants of sport, they are endured because to all appearance any hunting worthy the name is not to be obtained apart from them.  
From all such sport at sea is free. A well-appointed yacht, built not for speed but for comfort, need not be to afford as satisfactory a “hunting-box” as any sportsman could reasonably desire. And for the question of cost—it may be high enough to satisfy the for felt by the most wealthy spendthrift, or so low as to become far cheaper than a hunting expedition to Africa or the Rockies. For a successful sporting voyage a sailing , or at most an screw-steamer of low power, is best, for the great game of the ocean is full of alarms, and[220] must needs be approached with the utmost silence and . As for the question of equipment, it seems hardly necessary to say that everything should be of the very best, but not by any means of the most expensive quality . All such abominations as -guns, bombs, &c., should be barred, the object being sport, not . Given sufficient , with the resources of science now at the purchaser’s disposal, it is quite possible to reduce whaling, for instance, to as tame an affair as a hand-fed pheasant battue or tame-rabbit coursing, neither of which can surely by any stretch of courtesy be called sport. The old-fashioned hand , the long, slender lances that, except for of workmanship and material, are the same as used by the first of the vast sea-mammals, these should be the sportsman’s weapons still if he would taste in its integrity the primitive delight of the noblest of created beings in the assertion of his birthright, “Dominion over the fish of the sea and over the of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth.”
 
The best type of vessel for a sporting cruise at sea is what is known to as a “barquentine,” a vessel, that is to say, of some 250 tons register, with three masts, square-rigged at the fore—after the style of the well-known Sunbeam. In her davits she should carry three whaleboats, such as the Americans of New Bedford or Rhode Island know so well how to build, the handsomest and most sea-worthy of all boats ever built. The whaleboats built[221] in Scotland, though strong and serviceable, are less elegant and handy, being more fitted for rough handling among ice-floes, into which rough neighbourhoods the sea-sportsman need never go—should not go, in fact, for the best display of his powers. The whale-line, made in the old whaling ports of New England—tow-line as it is locally termed—cannot be beaten. It possesses all the . Light, silky, and of amazing strength, it is a perfect example of what rope should be, and is as much superior to the unkind, harsh hemp-line of our own islands as could well be imagined. From the same place should be obtained the services of a few whaling experts, accustomed, as no other seafarers are, to the chase of the -whale, the noblest of all sea-monsters. Advice as to fishing-tackle would be out of place, except the general remark that, as in the deep seas the angler will meet with the doughtiest opponent of his skill the ocean contains, he must needs lay in a stock of tackle of the very strongest and best. Tarpon fishing is a fairly good test of the trustworthiness of gear, but whoso meets the giant albacore in mid-ocean, and overcomes him, will have a fish to which the tarpon is but as a seven-pound to a lordly . All the appliances known to for the capture and preservation of the smaller habitants of the deep sea ought to be carried, for, although not strictly sport, this work is deeply interesting and useful, besides affording a pleasant variety of occupation.
 
But, passing on to the actual conditions of conflict,[222] let us suppose the sportsman cruising in the North Atlantic between the Verde Islands and the West Indies—a wide range, truly, but no part of it barren of the highest possibilities for pleasure. A school of sperm whales is sighted, the vessel is carefully manœuvred for the weather-gage of them, and this being obtained, the boats are softly lowered, sail is set, and, with the fresh trade-wind, away they go leaping to . The utmost precaution against noise must be taken, because the natural susceptibility of the whale to sound is as delicate as the receiver of a telephone. No amount of oral instruction would here be of any avail without long experience, which, since it can be hired, there is no need to waste time and patience in acquiring. Assuming, therefore, that the preliminary difficulty of approach to the sensitive monsters has been overcome, and there but a few of rapidly distance between the boat and the unconscious whale, who could satisfactorily describe the sensations crowded into those few remaining moments of absolute quiet, the tension of expectation, the of the result of the approaching conflict? The object of attack is the of living animals, he is in his own element, to which the assailant is but a visitor on sufferance, and he may in so fierce and tremendous a fashion that no amount of skill, courage, or energy shall suffice to protect the aggressor from his fury. But there is no thought of drawing back, the swift-gliding boat rushes high up on to the broad bank of flesh, and with a long-pent-up yell the harpoon is . It enters the[223] black mass noiselessly, the weight of its pole bends the soft iron over as the attached line stretches out, and as the boat slowly, so slowly, backs away, the leviathan, amazed and infuriated, thrashes the quiet sea into masses of , while the thunder of his blows like the of a distant cannonade. At this time certain necessary rearrangements, such as furling and stowing sail, make it impossible, even if it were wise, to approach the indignant whale, and as a general thing by the time these preparations are complete he has sought the shelter of the depths beneath, taking out after flake of the coiled line. With ordinary care, especially where only one boat is engaged, it would seldom happen that all the line would run out, and the game be lost. Usually, after an of about twenty minutes, during which the line is slacked away as slowly and as possible, it is felt to give, and the slack must be hauled in with the utmost smartness, a sharp look-out being kept meanwhile upon the surrounding surface for a sudden white glare beneath—the cavity of the whale’s throat, as he comes bounding to the surface with his vast wider than a barn-door. It is at this time that the true excitement, the joy of battle, begins. For in most cases the huge animal has come to fight, and being in his turn the aggressor, his enemies must exert all their skill in boatsmanship, preserve all their coolness and , since a mistake in tactics or loss of presence............