eleven o’clock in the morning
To be sure , the monotony of life on board must have seemed unbearable to the Canadian , who was accustomed to freedom and activity . It was a rare event that could excite him . That day , however , a development occurred that reminded him of his happy years as a harpooner . Near eleven o'clock in the morning , while on the surface of the ocean , the Nautilus fell in with a herd of baleen whales . This encounter did n't surprise me , because I knew these animals were being hunted so relentlessly that they took refuge in the ocean basins of the high latitudes . In the maritime world and in the realm of geographic exploration , whales have played a major role . This is the animal that first dragged the Basques in its wake , then Asturian Spaniards , Englishmen , and Dutchmen , emboldening them against the ocean 's perils , and leading them to the ends of the earth .