Explore "Whale and its Foes" by James McIntyre on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Six hundred miles north of Cape Flattery, / On sea there seemed a floating battery, / And stream of blood did dye the water, / Sailors wondered what was the matter.
But they soon saw a great sword fish / With its bayonet make a quick rush, / Into which proved to be large whale, / And thrasher too did it assail.
The whale dived deep to save its life, / But thrasher eager for the strife, / Knew whale must rise for to get breath, / Then it would thrash the whale to death.
At last the great whale it arose, / And in distress it spouts and blows, / In anger sweeps its mighty tail, / Defensive weapon of the whale.
But thrasher high in air did leap, / And fell on monster of the deep, / The sword fish then it did advance, / And assaulted it with its lance.
Thus united foes soon do prevail, / And quick there floated a dead whale, / The thrasher now victorious winner, / From off the whale expected dinner.
But ship's crew they secured the prize, / Whale bone and blubber monster size, / Others fought but they only reap, / The spoils of mammoth of the deep.