WHALE FISHERY OF NEW ENGLAND 49 



which allowed him to come to the surface more dead than alive; also 

 occasionally the entangled arm or ankle would be torn off, thus freeing 

 the man and allowing him to rise. 



Two harpoons were thrown if possible, and then it was customary 

 for the harpooner to exchange places with the boat-steerer, who got 

 ready his lance, which he plunged in and hauled out again until the 

 whale went into his "flurry" and rolled over dead, or "fin out" as it 

 was called. Often the whale would get frightened or "gallied," or 

 would jump in the air or "breach," and therefore great care was taken 

 to avoid his attacks. When the whale " breaches " the tail becomes very 

 conspicuous, and one old salt used to say that an additional tail appeared 

 after every glass of grog. 



Scoresby speaks of a whale which drew out from the different boats 

 ten thousand four hundred and forty yards, or nearly six miles, of rope. 

 It was necessary when the line of one boat was nearly exhausted to 

 bend on the end to a new rope in another boat and so on, and of course 

 often miles of rope and many harpoons would be lost if the whale 

 escaped. When the line was drawn out rapidly it was necessary to 

 pour water over the snub post to keep the rope from burning. 



There have been races almost as exciting as a Harvard-Yale race 

 when the boats of different nations have been dashing for a whale, 

 which is prized at between three thousand and four thousand dollars. 

 Many years ago an English, a French, a Dutch, and an American ship 

 lay becalmed in the Pacific, when suddenly a whale was "raised." 

 All four ships lowered and raced across the waters, with the American 

 in the rear. In a few minutes the Yankee passed the Dutchman, who 

 yelled "donner und blitzen!" The American captain encouraged his 

 men by shouting "Thar she blows, she's an eighty-barreler, break the 

 oars, lads!" and soon the French were left astern with curses of "Le 

 diable." The Englishmen were still ahead; the American boat-steerer 

 now began to help the stroke oarsman by pushing his oar, and their 

 boat crept up slowly upon their only rivals. The English boat- 

 steerer also grabbed his stroke's oar, but it snapped off at the rowlock, 

 and the Americans overtook them and captured the whale. Another 

 international race took place in Delagoa Bay, which has become a 

 classic among American whalemen. Again an English and a Yankee 

 whaleboat were chasing a whale, and, in some manner, the former was 

 able to cut in between the whale and the Americans, and as the English 

 harpooner was reaching for his iron, the American harpooner "pitch- 

 poled" his harpoon over the English boat, and his iron made fast. 



After a capture came the long, hard row back to the ship, then the 

 tedious process of "cutting in" and "trying out." First of all the 

 head, or "case," was cut off and tied astern while the strips of blubber 

 were cut from the body and hauled on board, as next shown, by 

 means of huge tackles from the mast. Blubber averages in thickness 

 from twelve to eighteen inches, and if cut four and one-half inches 

 thick would carpet a room sixty-six feet long by twenty-seven wide. 

 Then the head was either bailed out, if it were a sperm whale, or else 



