Evening in the North 299 



lease the acid which set off the charge. In turn, this charge, even if 

 not lethal in itself, caused the arms to fly open, thereby firmly an- 

 choring the rope to the quarry. The modern harpoon is little differ- 

 ent, though improvements have been made in design, new explosives 

 are used, and even an electric charge has been tried as a substitute 

 for the chemical one. 



This invention was far-reaching in its implications because it not 

 only greatly enhanced the chance of hitting whales up to some fifty 

 yards away, but also greatly increased the Hkelihood of remaining 

 fast to them once struck. It also made possible the pursuit and cap- 

 ture of the fin whales, or rorquals, which had always before been 

 beyond man's reach because they sink promptly when dead, and 

 often even before they die. The device thus did away for all time 

 with the ridiculous little shallop, or whaleboat, for a one-ton gun 

 had to be mounted on a large ship. Here, however, was where Svend 

 Foyn and the industry ran into a snag that held up the universal 

 adoption of the gun for fifteen years. 



There were plenty of vessels big enough to carry the gun, but in 

 the mid-eighteen hundreds there were none fast enough and at the 

 same time maneuverable enough to bring the gun within fifty yards 

 of the fast rorquals with sufficient surety to make their pursuit 

 worthwhile. On the other hand, there weren't enough right, sperm, 

 bottle-nosed, or other whales left to render the use of large, slow 

 ships practicable. The adoption of the gun had therefore to await 

 the development of a special type of ship, the "whale chaser." This 

 was also a Norwegian invention and it was perfected rather rapidly. 



It turned out to be a small, sturdy vessel, thirty feet long by 

 twelve to thirteen feet in beam, but with a draught of only eight to 

 nine feet. It was, at first, schooner-rigged, though the taller mast was 

 almost amidships and mounted a small crow's-nest, while the shorter 

 was far aft and carried only a small steadying canvas which was 

 either gaff-rigged or a trysail. The smokestack rose from the middle 

 of the after third of the vessel, and there was a small wheelhouse 

 fo'ard of this. A platform extended over the rather tall bows and 

 upon this the gun was mounted. These little vessels looked rather 

 Hke the early steam trawlers and drifters, but had flared bows, a lot 

 of sheer, a very low freeboard, and rounded bottoms to facilitate 

 rapid turns. They rolled, pitched, and performed other quite incx- 



