four in the afternoon
Happily no lives were lost on this occasion , for it would have indeed been grievous to have seen our shipmates sacrificed to the MANES of a mere black-fish , after successfully encountering so many mighty whales . The episode gave us a great deal of unnecessary work getting the two halves of the boat saved , in addition to securing our fish , so that by the time we got the twelve remaining carcasses hove on deck we were all quite fagged out . But under the new regime we were sure of a good rest , so that did not trouble us ; it rather made the lounge on deck in the balmy evening air and the well-filled pipe of peace doubly sweet . Our next day 's work completed the skinning of the haul we had made , the last of the carcasses going overboard with a thunderous splash at four in the afternoon . The assemblage of sharks round the ship on this occasion was incredible for its number and the great size of the creatures . Certainly no mariners see so many or such huge sharks as whalemen ; but , in spite of all our previous experience , this day touched high-water mark . Many of these fish were of a size undreamed of by the ordinary seafarer , some of them full thirty feet in length , more like whales than sharks .