WHALE FISHERY. 575 



mouih, when it is exposed by the removal of a surface 

 of blubber, where they might easily be drowned, but for 

 prompt assistance. 



' I was once witness of a circumstance, in which a 

 harpooner was exposed to the most imminent risk of 

 his life, by a very curious accident. The harpooner 

 stood on one of the jaw bones of the fish, with a boat by 

 his side. In this situation, while he was in the act of 

 cutting away the carcass of the fish, a boy inadvertently 

 struck the point of the boat-hook, by which he usually 

 held the boat, through the ring of the harpooner's spur, 

 and in the same act, seized the jaw bone of the fish 

 with the same instruments, and thus, the poor harpoon- 

 er was pinned to the fish. The carcass was disengag- 

 ed, and began to sink. The harpooner threw himself 

 towards the boat, but being entangled by the foot, he 

 fell into the water. Providentially he caught hold of the 

 boat with both hands, but being overpowered by the 

 sinking mass, he was on the point of relinquishing his 

 grasp, when some of his companions got hold of his 

 hands, while others threw a rope round ins body. The 

 carcass of the fish was now suspended entirely by his 

 body. He remained in this drradful state, until means 

 were adopted for drawing it back to the surface of the 

 water.' 



The process of extracting the oil from the blubber thus 

 procured, is a simple one. The blubber, which is a sort 

 of solid liit, is exposed in large boilers to the action of 

 heat, and the oil is separated. Sometimes this is done 

 on board the ships at sea, at other times the blubber, 

 previously cut into small pieces, is stowed in casks, and 

 is brought home in this state, that it may be tried out 

 more conveniently on shore. 



The whale fishery is a very important branch of the 

 business of this country. The chief to\vns from which 

 it is carried on are Nantucket and New Bedford. There 

 are in the former fifty manufactories of oil and candles. 

 There are now sixtytwo ships belonging to the port, and 

 six ships are building for the whaling business. The 

 value of this fleet as fitted for sea amounts to about 

 2,000,000 dollars. 



