{"id":"01KF7FPSDQ81N3P4JBADA3KQEB","cid":"bafkreifhum2lfpe4k33qyrnjyz3wwffxkat6u2s2eabk5lqrsqjgzmnhlu","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":15119,"extracted_at":"2026-01-18T02:42:20.407Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 4","source_file":"01KESYVB66H8YEVTN88DWE9W8D","start_line":15066,"text":"upon flinging the third, in the act of tossing overboard the clumsy\r\nwooden block, it caught under one of the seats of the boat, and in an\r\ninstant tore it out and carried it away, dropping the oarsman in the\r\nboat’s bottom as the seat slid from under him. On both sides the sea\r\ncame in at the wounded planks, but we stuffed two or three drawers and\r\nshirts in, and so stopped the leaks for the time.\r\n\r\nIt had been next to impossible to dart these drugged-harpoons, were it\r\nnot that as we advanced into the herd, our whale’s way greatly\r\ndiminished; moreover, that as we went still further and further from\r\nthe circumference of commotion, the direful disorders seemed waning. So\r\nthat when at last the jerking harpoon drew out, and the towing whale\r\nsideways vanished; then, with the tapering force of his parting\r\nmomentum, we glided between two whales into the innermost heart of the\r\nshoal, as if from some mountain torrent we had slid into a serene\r\nvalley lake. Here the storms in the roaring glens between the outermost\r\nwhales, were heard but not felt. In this central expanse the sea\r\npresented that smooth satin-like surface, called a sleek, produced by\r\nthe subtle moisture thrown off by the whale in his more quiet moods.\r\nYes, we were now in that enchanted calm which they say lurks at the\r\nheart of every commotion. And still in the distracted distance we\r\nbeheld the tumults of the outer concentric circles, and saw successive\r\npods of whales, eight or ten in each, swiftly going round and round,\r\nlike multiplied spans of horses in a ring; and so closely shoulder to\r\nshoulder, that a Titanic circus-rider might easily have over-arched the\r\nmiddle ones, and so have gone round on their backs. Owing to the\r\ndensity of the crowd of reposing whales, more immediately surrounding\r\nthe embayed axis of the herd, no possible chance of escape was at\r\npresent afforded us. We must watch for a breach in the living wall that\r\nhemmed us in; the wall that had only admitted us in order to shut us\r\nup. Keeping at the centre of the lake, we were occasionally visited by\r\nsmall tame cows and calves; the women and children of this routed host.\r\n\r\nNow, inclusive of the occasional wide intervals between the revolving\r\nouter circles, and inclusive of the spaces between the various pods in\r\nany one of those circles, the entire area at this juncture, embraced by\r\nthe whole multitude, must have contained at least two or three square\r\nmiles. At any rate—though indeed such a test at such a time might be\r\ndeceptive—spoutings might be discovered from our low boat that seemed\r\nplaying up almost from the rim of the horizon. I mention this\r\ncircumstance, because, as if the cows and calves had been purposely\r\nlocked up in this innermost fold; and as if the wide extent of the herd\r\nhad hitherto prevented them from learning the precise cause of its\r\nstopping; or, possibly, being so young, unsophisticated, and every way\r\ninnocent and inexperienced; however it may have been, these smaller\r\nwhales—now and then visiting our becalmed boat from the margin of the\r\nlake—evinced a wondrous fearlessness and confidence, or else a still\r\nbecharmed panic which it was impossible not to marvel at. Like\r\nhousehold dogs they came snuffling round us, right up to our gunwales,\r\nand touching them; till it almost seemed that some spell had suddenly\r\ndomesticated them. Queequeg patted their foreheads; Starbuck scratched\r\ntheir backs with his lance; but fearful of the consequences, for the\r\ntime refrained from darting it.\r\n\r","title":"Chunk 4"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KF7FPMFSMJT6NVJR448ANF6Z","peer_label":"Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KF7FPMFSMJT6NVJR448ANF6Z","peer_label":"Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"partOf"},{"peer":"01KF7FPKDT5SHSH1ZQV6ABHQCA","peer_label":"Moby Dick; Or, The Whale","peer_type":"book","predicate":"partOf"},{"peer":"01KESYJX0Z6XE0HWTS5N3SDG0B","peer_label":"The Classics","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KF7FPSCE4AMQQ7EN8NED9S94","peer_label":"Chunk 5","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"next"},{"peer":"01KF7FPSDHEM1S675WSQ5W9ZJB","peer_label":"Chunk 3","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"prev"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-18T02:42:20.855Z","ts":"2026-01-18T02:42:28.905Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KF7FCDA7SCSJ6A30TDPDSJQV"}}