46 The Story of the New England Whalers 



build the huts, erect the spars, build the boats, 

 and buy the necessary gear. When one crew went 

 in chase of a whale, the others, summoned by a 

 signal, joined as soon as possible. When a whale 

 was killed the crews united to save the oil at try 

 works erected near the beach for the purpose, and 

 all shared alike in the product. 



The work of getting the blubber into the pot was 

 particularly laborious. The huge carcass had to 

 be towed to the surf, and these men knew whether 

 it was easier to tow it head first or tail first. At 

 the beach the blubber was dragged from the car- 

 cass by means of a sort of capstan called a crab, 

 after which it was cut into chunks that could be 

 lifted into a cart. 



As these men labored on the beach they were wet 

 with the spray and with the sweat of their toil; 

 they were chilled by the north wind's blast; they 

 were smeared over with the grease of the blubber, 

 and they were stung by the flying sand that the 

 wind carried; but they kept the pot boiling. 



As on Long Island, the Indians were employed. 

 They soon learned to use the white man's weapons, 

 and because they accepted as pay the unmarket- 



