CUTTING IN A SPERM WHALE. 75 



to separate the head from the body, and when the 

 jaw is loose, heave it in. Cutting ofi' the head 

 consumes, if a large whale is the subject, from two 

 to four hours, according to the dexterity of the 

 manipulator ; if a proficient handles the spade, it is 

 a work of but little trouble, but if a bungler, he 

 wearies everybody's patience out beside his own. 

 The head, when completely clear, is made fast to the 

 ship's quarter by a strong chain, and the body then 

 hove in. When the small is cleared away, the 

 head is hooked on to and hove out of the water, 

 then separated into two portions, known as the case 

 and junk, and separately hove in. If the whale is 

 very large the case is bailed overboard, so as not to 

 endanger the ship's spars by so heavy a heave — in 

 this case we hove it in. Whilst heaving in our last 

 body piece, to which the flukes were attached, they 

 swung around and knocked the second mate and a 

 boatsteerer overboard, with spades in their hands. 

 They soon were recovered and on deck safe again. 



We now had him all aboard. The jaw was dragged 

 forward and secured, and several employed in cutting 

 the blubber from the pans ; it measured twenty feet 

 in length and had in it forty-eight ivory teeth, many 

 of them weighing a pound or more. The case was 

 then opened, and a boatsteerer jumped into and pre- 

 pared to dip out the unctuous matter, which in this 

 part of the head is fluid ; for what purpose designed 

 I know not, but no doubt it is a provision of Provi- 

 dence that has its uses, although we cannot discern 

 them. From this vast receptacle for oil we bailed 

 some twelve barrels of the pure spermaceti. The 

 JLink was then cut into horse pieces, and these, with 



