[5] THE BOTTLE-NOSE WHALE FISHERY. 225 



For tlie following- tlescrii)tion of the mode of capture and subsequent 

 disposal of the Bottle-nose Whale I am indebted to Capt. David Gray, 

 of the S. S. Eclipse, of Peterhead, by whom this new industry has been 

 mainly developed and most successfully prosecuted : * 



In fishingfor Bottle-nose Whales the arrangements are much the same 

 as those adopted for the pursuit of the Greenland Whale; the crew are 

 divided into three watches, each watch mans two boats, and if necessity 

 requires it a seventh boat is manned by the odd hands of the different 

 watches. It requires one harpooner, one boat-steerer, and four oarsmen 

 to man each boat, and the custom is when a whale is seen, for the watch 

 on deck to man two boats and lower away ; if either of them should get 

 fast a "fall" is called and all hands immediately turnout and are ready 

 to man the other boats if required. When a boat gets fast the nearest 

 boat to the fast one at once pulls up and bends the end of his whale 

 line on to the end of the fast boat's lines, the other boats pull ahead of 

 the fast boat and await the whale coming up to breathe, and it is then 

 the duty of the nearest boat to pull up and strike in a hand harpoon, 

 and kill the whale f the other boats then are free to get fast in a loose 

 whale should opportunit}' offer. 



Each boat carries three w'hale-lines, each 120 fathoms long, and they 

 are carefully coiled into the stern, about 8 fathoms of the lower end be- 

 ing left out, which is called the " stray-line," and is required for another 

 boat to bend on to. The upper end of the whale-line is brought forward 

 along tlie center of the boat and is passed through a notch in the boat's 

 bow called a "sheer-cleat." This is required to prevent the lines from 

 running over the boat's side and thereby endangering a capsize. The 

 whale-line is then bent on to a rope about 10 fathoms long called the 

 "fore- goer," which is coiled into a tub in the boat's bow, and when the 

 harpoon is attached to the fore-goer and rammed home in the gun the 

 whole apparatus is ready for use. 



Immediately upon getting fast in a whale the harpooner holding the 

 whale-line in his hand takes three or more turns with it round a strong 

 piece of wood in the boat's bow called the " billet-head" and allows it to 

 run through his hands. The boat-steerer and line manager are at the 

 same time employed in watching the lines and seeing that they do not 

 foul. If the lines should happen to foul the boat-steerer at once calls 

 out to the harpooner "foul lines," and he immediately takes the turns 

 of the whale-line off the billet-head and lifting the line out of the sheer- 

 clete allows the lines to run over the bow till they are clear. If the har- 

 pooner should hesitate in taking off his turns from the billet-head and 

 in lifting the lines out of the sheer-clete there is great danger of their 

 becoming jammed and the whale taking the boat down. 



A whale-boat also carries one hand harpoon and two lances, the hand 



harpoon is on the American principle, a " toggle-iron," and the lances 



are about 6 feet long, of which the stock is 2 feet and the spear is 4 



feet. 



S. Mis. 40 15 



