226 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [6] 



When the whale is exhausted the boat eucleavors to come to close 

 quarters for the purpose of administeriug the coup de grace with the 

 lance, for which puri)ose the harpoouer endeavors to haul the boat right 

 over the whale's back. A Bottle-nose Whale cannot go away with- 

 out making "aback," that is, by lowering his head and arching his 

 back, bringing the leverage of his tail to bear ; so long therefore as the 

 boat is able to keep the whale's head up, his tail, the organ of locomo- 

 tion, hangs powerless, or almost so, beneath the boat's bottom and the 

 animal, in spite of its violent eftbrts to free itself, is soon dispatched. 



When the dead whale is brought alongside the operation of flensing 

 commences. This is performed as follows : A rope is thrown from the 

 ship and a running loop put over the whale's tail. Four harpoouers 

 then enter a boat and one of them cuts a hole in the head and a rope is 

 run through, by means of which the steam winch heaves the whale up 

 and down. The harpoouers then cut the head half off, and after cutting 

 another hole in the blubber behind the shoulder and reeving a rope 

 through, the head is cut off altogether and hoisted on board. After the 

 head is on board the tail is hauled up to the surface, bringing the whale 

 into a Iiorizontal position, and the main-speck is hooked on to the hole 

 cut behind the shoulder. The hari^ooners then make a cut along the 

 body to within 4 feet of the tail, where a cross cut is made through the 

 blubber. At the end of the fore-and-aft cut a second hole is made and 

 a rope is hove through it to which the fore-speck is attached. The har- 

 poouers then commence to separate the blubber from the body, the 

 steani winch at the same time heaving on the main, and the capstan on 

 the fore-speck. The body-slip is thus gradually separated from the 

 body, being half torn by the steady strain of the two specks, the har- 

 poouers at the same time cutting with their spades the siuues and 

 muscles which bind the blubber to the body. The " body-slip," when 

 clear off the carcass, is hoisted on board and spread out on the deck 

 with the skin side up. The tail and rump are then separated from the 

 body and also hoisted on board. The body itself thus turned out of the 

 blanket of fat, with which it was invested, is allowed to sink into the 

 sea. The crew then scrape the skin off the body-slip and cut the blub- 

 ber into square pieces which are put below for the present to be " made 

 off" in the usual manner when opportunity offers. The head is also 

 scraped and the blubber cut off. The oil, too, is extracted from the jaws, 

 after which it is thrown overboard. The tail is reserNed to serve as 

 chopping blocks in the subsequent process of "making off," which need 

 not be described here. Last of all the hose is rigged, and when the highly 

 necessary operation of deck washing is concluded, the crew are again 

 ready to man their boats for a fresh capture. When the crew are in 

 working order and every man has come to know his place, the whole 

 process of flensing, from the time the whale is brought alongside until 

 the decks are washed down and the ship clear, does not occupy more 

 than fifteen minutes. 



