IN THE SOUTH SEA IS.LAADS. IGo 



and ran within, what seemed to me, fearful proximity to the wounded 

 animal. The man in the bow rose deliberately, and poising his harpoon 

 for a moment, drove it up to the staff in the whale's side, shouting, as 

 he did so, at the top of his voice, '•'' Starn all.'''' The boat was in- 

 stantly driven backwards about twenty feet, and at the same moment 

 the whale dived head foremost, striking the sea a blow with his flukes ; 

 which might have been heard a mile. By this time, however, the poor 

 creature was so exhausted, that after running out the line for about a 

 minute, he broke water again. A third boat then approached him, run- 

 ning almost upon his side, the bow-man of which passed a long lance 

 into him and drew it forth again with the utmost coolness and uncon- 

 cern. After this finishing thrust, the whale did not dive, but shuddered 

 so as to agitate the sea all around him. All the boats then drew off 

 from him to the distance of perhaps a hundred feet, and in less than a 

 minute, he went into his '•'•Jliirry. " He whirled his immense carcass 

 once round, and lashed the sea with his tail until its surface was cov- 

 ered with a bloody foam ; then, after forging ahead a few yards, he 

 floated dead beside the boats. 



The ship immediately made sail, and ran along side the piize; and 

 then commenced the operation of " cutting in, " as it is called. This 

 was done by cutting off the blubber with sharp steel instruments called 

 "spades." The operation commences at the head. A large mass of 

 about two feet in width (which, in a fat animal, is from fourteen to six- 

 teen inches, in thickness,) is raised, and a hole made in the end of it, 

 into which a noosed rope is inserted, and prevented from drawing out 

 by a " tozzh " passed through the loop. The other end of this rope is 

 rove through a block on the end of the fore or main yard, and as the 

 cutting is continued in a spiral manner around the body of the animal, 

 the carcass rolling over and over in the sea, the hands at the other ex- 

 tremity of the rope sway away until the strip of blubber reaches the 

 block on the yaid, when it is severed, and swung in-board in readiness 

 to be cut up and put into the " try-pots. " Another piece of the blub- 

 ber is then raised and toggled in the same manner ; and thus the opera- 

 tion is continued until the whale is completely skinned. Tiie '•'■ case.^'''' 

 (i. e., the head,) is then cut off' at tlie foramen magnum or occipital hole. 

 The moment the vertebral connexion is severed, the whole head falls, 

 the snout going down vertically, and the occipital region lying horizon- 

 tally just above the surface of the sea. The head, or case, of a Sperm 

 Whale, such as I saw killed, is filled with liquid oil. This is pure 

 sperm, and is bailed out with buckets. I did not remain until this pro- 

 cess was completed, but, upon inquiring of the Captain what quantity the 



