ANECDOTE OF A DUTCU WEALING CREW. 157 



who had, as they thought, secured their capture to the side 

 of the ship, after towing it in triumph from the scene of con- 

 flict, missing their prize. The crew were giving vent to 

 their delight, and the security seemed complete, for they 

 were sailing a long distance from the ice-banks. They were 

 having a good dinner to strengthen themselves before pro- 

 ceeding to the nauseous task of cutting up the animal. The 

 feast was prolonged, but at length the men selected for the 

 operation went on deck, with an air of importance, and full 

 confidence. What was their astonishment to find that the 

 whale was no longer alongside! It seems that the ship, 

 driven before the wind, had dragged at the animal, the cord 

 had broken, and the rich prize, which had caused so much 

 peril and fatigue, had sunk to the bottom of the seal 



A dead whale, if left in the water, soon putrifies : it swells 

 to an enormous size, until at least a third of the carcass ap- 

 pears above the surface of the Avater, and sometimes the 

 body bursts by the force of the air generated within. 



After the whale has been secured to the ship's side, the 

 next operation is what is called *' flensing," or securing the 

 blubber and. whalebone, which occupies about four hours, 

 and is, as may be well imagined, anything but an agreeable 

 occupation. The harpooners, having spikes on their feet to 

 prevent their falling from the slippery surface, begin with 

 a kind of spade and huge knives to make long parallel cuts 

 from end to end, which are divided by cross-cuts into pieces 

 of about half a ton. These are hoisted on deck, and after 

 being reduced into smaller pieces, are put into casks and 

 stowed away in the hold. When the flensing is proceeding 

 and reaches the lips, wliich contain much oil, the whalebone 

 is exposed and detached by means of bone handspikes and 

 bone knives, and is hoisted upon deck in one mass, where it 

 is split and stowed away. The two jaw-bones, for the quan- 

 tity of oil they contain, are taken on deck, after which the 



