THE BOWHEAD, OR GREAT POLAR WHALE. 63 
scarf is cut along the body and through the blubber, to which one end of a tackle 
is hooked, the other end being made fast on shore ; then as the tide falls the ani- 
mal is literally skinned, the carcass rolling down the bank as the process goes on. 
The bone is extracted from the mouth as the animal is rolled over and presents the 
best opportunity. As soon as the blubber is taken off it is "rafted,"* and lies in 
the water until taken on board ship. The water being very cold, the blubber 
remains in its natural state for a long time, retaining the oil with but small loss. 
While the whaling is going on in this wise, the captain and the "ship -keepers" 
improve every opportunity to work the vessel near the whales. If there is an 
opening between the ice and the shore, she is at once worked through, either by 
towing, kedging, or sailing. On meeting an adverse wind or tide, the vessel is an- 
chored with a very light anchor, so that if beset by ice unexpectedly, in the night 
or during the dense fogs which prevail, the vessel will drift with the floe, thereby 
avoiding the danger of being cut through. Heavy fogs prevail until the ice disap- 
pears, and the circumscribed clear water being crowded with vessels and boats, much 
care and maneuvring is exercised to prevent accident. These fogs frequently are so 
dense that no object can be seen much farther off than a ship's length ; conse- 
quently, at such times cruising and whaling in the bays is full of excitement and 
anxiety. A ship may be lying quietly at anchor one moment, and the next be 
surrounded by a field of ice, or the close proximity of another vessel may be re- 
vealed by the splashing of the water under her bow. Then comes the blowing of 
horns, the ringing of bells, the firing of guns, or pounding on empty casks, to in- 
dicate the ship's position, in order to avoid collision. 
Neither fog nor drifting ice, however, prevents the whalers from vigorously 
prosecuting their work. In thick weather, when neither the spout of the whale 
nor the animal itself can be seen, its hollow -sounding respiration may be heard a 
long distance. In such instances the boats approach as near as can be judged 
where the sound was heard, and if the animal is found and captured, it is at the 
risk of the boats coming in contact with passing ships, ice, or what not — and, too, 
not knowing with any degree of certainty what part of the bay they may be in, 
the first and main object being to capture the whale at all hazards. This being done, 
it is taken in tow by the boats, or is anchored. Then, if the crew can not discover 
their own ship, but meet with another, the custom is to go on board to eat or 
sleep, if necessary, and when recruited, or the fog lifts so as to give them a chance 
of finding their own vessel, they are supplied with provisions, if needed, until they 
* Tied together with ropes in a sort -of raft. 
