272 HISTORY AND DETAILS OF WHALING. 



on board know their individual lays, all, therefore, have ur- 

 gent, personal considerations to secure both for themselves and 

 employers the greatest quantity of oil. -' 



The captain's lay is from one tenth to one eighteenth of all 

 the oil which is obtained ; the first officer's, or mate's lay, from 

 one seventeenth to one twenty-fifth ; the second officer, from 

 one thirtieth to one fortieth ; the third mate, from one fortieth 

 to one fiftieth ; the fourth mate, from one fiftieth to one sixti- 

 eth; four boat steerers, each about one eightieth; "green 

 hands," or those " before the mast," not far from one hundred 

 and seventy-fifth lay. 



Each whale boat, when properly pointed, has six men. Some 

 ships man five boats, others four ; barks four, brigs three, and 

 schooners two and three. 



Each vessel carries nearly double the number of whale boats 

 which it needs. The whale boats, which combine lightness and 

 strength, are always kept hanging over the sides and upon the 

 quarters of the ship, ready furnished for pursuit, so that, on 

 the appearance of a whale being announced from aloft, one or 

 more boats can be despatched in less than a minute. 



When a boat approaches the whale sufficiently near to strike, 

 which is sometimes close alongside, and at other times on the 

 top of his back, the boat steerer, who has the forward oar, im- 

 mediately "peaks" it, and taking his position at the head of 

 the boat, with harpoon in hand, he hurls it with all his ener- 

 gy, and generally with such force and precision, that he buries 

 the fatal iron in the body of the whale, and sometimes he is 

 killed almost instantly. 



" The harpoon with which the whale is first struck is a 

 most important weapon, made of the toughest iron, somewhat 

 in the form of an anchor, but brought to an edge and point. 

 Instead of steel being employed, as is commonly supposed, the 

 very softest iron is chosen for this important implement, so 

 that it may be scraped to an edge with a knife. A long staff 

 is affixed to the harpoon by which it is wielded. Connected 



