108 PROCEEDINGS IN 



ceedings which we have now been considering are 

 free from numerous perils. In a high sea the flen- 

 sing itself is often difficult or impossible ; and 

 those upon the body of the fish are exposed to con- 

 siderable risk. Sometimes they fall into the whale's 

 mouth, at the imminent hazard of being drowned. 

 In the case of a heavy swell, they are drenched, and 

 often washed over by the surge. Occasionally they 

 have their ropes broken, and are wounded by each 

 others' knives. Mr. Scorseby mentions an instance 

 of a man, who, after the flensing was completed, 

 happened to have his foot attached by a hook to the 

 carcass, when it was inadvertently let go. He 

 caught hold of the gunwale of the boat ; but the 

 whole immense mass was now suspended by his 

 body, occasioning the most excruciating torture, and 

 even exposing him to the risk of being torn asunder ; 

 when his companions contrived afresh to hook the 

 carcass with a grapnel, and brought it back to the 

 surface. 



In the account which we have presented of the 

 capture, all circumstances are supposed to be fa- 

 vourable ; but often it is the very reverse. A storm 

 may arise, and a fog often envelopes the whole 

 operations ; immense islands or floes, i. e. masses of 

 field-ice, may be impelled upon them by the tem- 

 pest, and with such velocity as to overwhelm them 

 in a moment, or a frost may make them fast in its 

 hard and icy grasp. It is such incidents as these 

 which make this employment one of the most trying 

 and hazardous that can be pursued : while they 



