252 The Story of the New England Whalers 



did not yield much oil, but the chase was more 

 realistic than rowing aimlessly around the ship 

 and harpooning a log. Moreover, the flesh of 

 these whales is very good eating, and fresh meat 

 is a treat at sea. 



Meals were served at 7 130 A.M., at noon, and at 

 5 P.M. Meat, usually boiled, and bread were 

 dumped in bulk into pans and carried from the 

 galley, or cook room, to the forecastle, where the 

 men divided it and ate it from small pans. For 

 drink they had tea and coffee sweetened with 

 "longlick" molasses. On the better class of 

 ships the cooks made scouse, a mixture of hard- 

 tack (soaked in water) and meat; or of beans, 

 hardtack, and meat; or potatoes, hardtack, and 

 meat. The memory of scouse whets the appetite 

 of every old sailor long after he leaves the sea. 

 Duff was a mixture of flour, lard, and some kind 

 of cheap fruit, such as dried apples. The mixture 

 was boiled in a bag and then served with molas- 

 ses. "Plum duff" was stuffed with raisins and 

 served in the cabin. The meat of blackfish and 

 porpoises was often boiled with "doughboys," 

 or dumplings that were not afflicted with any- 



