Sketches Afloat with the Whalers 281 



a funny sensation at first to get into a deckful 

 of blubber, with the slimy stuff around your 

 exposed cuticle, and oil squashing out of your 

 shoes at every step." 



As a rule, the men found some pleasure in dip- 

 ping their hardtack into the boiling oil, and thus 

 recooking it into a sea dainty. The flesh of the 

 young whales was eaten, especially that of the 

 humpback. In some ships a barrel of flour 

 was brought on deck and the cook was kept 

 busy making doughnuts while the boiling was 

 in hand. Sailors from ships commanded by the 

 strong men of the fishery men who did not feel 

 obliged to resort to cruelty to preserve discipline 

 always spoke of boiling out the oil as a "squan- 

 tum," which is the Nantucket word for a picnic, 

 and they were known to call the boat ride which 

 was taken when a struck whale towed the boat 

 far from the ship a "Nantucket sleigh ride." 



In foul weather no master could make the work 

 of cutting in anything less than a terrible hard- 

 ship, especially if the ship were in high latitudes. 

 And the boiling, which had to be done on deck 

 without shelter, was of course also a hardship. 



