56 



fortunate inventor found himself possessed of more than $2,000,000. En- 

 couraged by this example, companies were organized to exploit this source 

 of profit, to such an extent that in 1887 there were no less than thirty-five 

 whaling vessels on the coast of Finmark. In good years they captured from 

 twelve hundred to thirteen hundred finbacks. According to the Norwe- 

 gian Fisheries Journal four companies alone in 1911 captured fourteen 

 hundred and seventy-two finback whales, and in the Antarctic seas around 

 South America, not less than ten thousand finbacks and humpbacks were 

 killed. In 1913 nine companies with thirty-two steamers were established 

 in the South Shetlands, and they caught more than three thousand whales. 



The early days of whaling, as we have seen, was "shore whaling" by 

 means of small boats, and all the whales attacked and captured were those 

 which approached close to the shores and could be seen :from the land. 

 This whaling was carried on by means of harpoons and lances. The first 

 Nantucket whaling vessels were small, thirty-ton sloops fitted for cruises 

 of a few week's duration and after capturing one whale they returned to 

 port. From the small sloops of those early days the vessels were increased 

 in size until large bai-ks, ships and brigs were in almost universal use. The 

 tools, weapons and implements of those early days were not well adapted 

 to the capture and cutting up of whales, and the later whalers found it 

 diflScult to improve upon them. The most improvement made was the har- 

 poon-gun invented by Svend Foyn in 18G7. This gun is heavily constructed 

 throughout and has a bore of three inches and placed in the extreme bow 

 of the whaling vessel. The harpoon is a very heavy missle, weighing sev- 

 eral hundred pounds. A bomb containing roughly a pound of powder is 

 screwed on to the haiTDOon, and the latter then rammed home and in the 

 same manner shot. Coiled upon the iron plate under the gun muzzle is the 

 "doregoer", made of the best Italian steam tarred hemp, four and half 

 inches in circumference, one end of which is attached to the harpoon about 

 eighteen inches from the point. Attached to the other end of the "foregoer" 

 is one of the main whale lines from the winch, this line being of Russian 

 steam-tarred hemp, about four hundred fathoms in length, and of five and 

 a half inches circumference. Thus equipped a vessel is ready for action. 



Near the top of the mast head is located the lookout barrel, from which 

 point of vantage the lookout can cover a much larger area than a man on 

 deck would be able to do. As soon as a whale is sighted the vessel is run 

 as close to it as possible, and when within range the gun is fired. A time 

 fuse is attached to the bomb on the harpoon, this being ignited by the dis- 

 charge of the gun, and five seconds after the discharge the bomb ex- 

 plodes. On the shaft of the harpoon are barbs, which expand on entering 

 the body of the whale, making it next to impossible for the harpoon to be 

 drawn out. As soon as struck the whale sounds and goes to the bottom. 

 These animals have enormous strength and will at times tow the vessel 

 several miles before beginning to weaken. As soon as the line slackens it 

 is snubbed around a heavy steam winch on the deck just ahead of the 

 bridge, after which the wounded whale is played in much the same manner 

 that a fish is played by an expert angler, a continual strain being kept on 



