64 WHALING AND FISHING. 



man are two. The four men at the cars are called 

 beginning at the bow, the bow-oarsman, midship- 

 mrsman, tub-oarsman, and stroke-oarsman. 



It 's the duty of the first named, aside frcm his 

 iaboi at the oar, to assist the boat-header in getting 

 <Hit his lances, when about to kill the whale. He 

 takes them out of their beckets, takes off and stows 

 away the sheaths which envelope the lance-heads, 

 and when hauling on the whale to lance, his par- 

 ticular office is to hold the line at special places on 

 the bow, to keep the boat in a convenient situation 

 to reach the whale. As being nearest to the seer e of 

 operations, and the boat-header's right hand man. 

 the bow-oarsman's place is considered one of spec- 

 ial honor, and he is first on the list for promol ion 



The midship-oarsman is chosen with especial 

 regard to his length of limb and stoutness of mus 

 cle, as he wields the longest and toughest oar in 

 the boat. The tub-oarsman throws water upon 

 the line when the whale is sounding rapidly, tc 

 prevent it from igniting from the violent friction ; 

 while the man at the stroke oar, as the name 

 denotes, gives stroke to the rest in pulling, and ig 

 also of material service to the boat-steerer in keep- 

 ing clear the line, and coiling it down as it is haul- 

 od in. 



The nameb of the officers are scarcely expres- 

 sive, at least to a landsman, of their duties. The 

 two most important operations, and those requir- 

 ing most skill in their execution, in capturing a 

 whale, are those of "going on to him" to harpoon, 



