170 The Story of the New England Whalers 



flukes. The length of the largest, as measured 

 fore and aft, is from six to eight feet, while the 

 breadth across both is from twelve to fifteen feet. 

 These figures have a special interest when it is 

 known that many a venturesome whaler has 

 driven his boat in under the rising flukes, to a 

 place where nearly a hundred square feet of that 

 most deadly weapon rose above him. 



It is said that the right whale received its name 

 through the custom of the early European whalers 

 in speaking of it as the right kind to capture. 

 The sperm whales were not pursued in the early 

 days, apparently. Whales that produced plenty of 

 oil and bone were the "right" whales to capture. 

 In time, however, it was observed that there 

 were several kinds of oil-and-bone whales. The 

 early whaler explorers who went hunting along 

 the polar ice found one that they named bow- 

 head, from the shape of the head as seen above 

 water. Another whale was named humpback 

 because of the shape of its back. It was noted 

 that the humpback had folds of skin under its 

 chin, and that its fins were of extraordinary 

 length. An examination of the records of 



