38 HULL SCIENTIFIC AND FIELD NATURALISTS’ CLUB. 
utmost to break away. We were soon wet through with their 
plunging, and had to use all our force to keep them back. We 
were getting into less water, and as the ebb-tide was getting spent 
every effort was made to get the captives driven on to the ‘‘ness” 
in the river, which is about two hundred yards broad, as this was 
the only suitable place to strand them. By this time we were 
in about six or seven feet of water, and formed a double line, con- 
sequently our quarry could scarcely pass under our boats. The 
final struggle then came. The whales had only just sufficient 
water to cover them; we were frequently carried on their backs, 
and had difficulty in keeping our places in the boats. I used the 
prong of my boat-hook with good effect on one that reared itself 
against our gunwale. As soon as it was struck it bellowed just 
like an angry bull, and rushed partly out of the water. The 
others immediately followed suit, and were stranded. It was 
rather dangerous to go near their tails, notwithstanding the fact 
that they had become weak with thrashing the sand. 
It only wanted an hour to “flood,” and all had to be ready by 
that time, as the incoming tide at Goole during the “springs” is 
very strong. The boats were placed out of danger, and we each 
secured our prize. The whale I got was a small one; on the 
other side of the boat was a larger one—and as I could only 
secure one animal, I handed the small one to my neighbour and 
secured the other ! 
I took a large clasp-knife and cut the throat of my captive. It 
began to strike right and left, and my neighbour, who was the 
captain of a schooner that was lying in the dock, sent his crew to 
help us. I gave our whale the blade and nearly the length of my 
arm, but could not make it bleed. There was a farm labourer 
standing by with a “ hedge-slasher,” which has a blade about two 
feet long. This he lent to me, and I buried the blade and nearly 
all the shaft in the whale before it bled, and then several gallons 
of blood came from it. 
The animals floated in with the tide, and those of us who 
wanted to get into the dock did so, whilst others landed their 
prizes on the river bank, to be eventually cut up and boiled. 
I took mine into the dock, and heaved it on to the wharf; it was 
fifteen feet long, and weighed one ton, five hundredweights. We 
put it on a rulley, and carted it to my garden. This was ona 
Saturday. On Sunday no work was done, but we had plenty of 
sightseers. We cut it up on Monday, and I got all the blubber 
off on the following day. One of my men asked for the carcase, 
and he said he could get twenty shillings each for the large ones, 
and twelve shillings each for the small ones, at some manure 
works up the canal. He got eight or nine inside a lighter, but 
a eee 
