118 VOYAGE INTO 



they pursue the icJiale. It is made of the finest and softest 

 hemp, and not daub'd with tarr, but it doth swell in the 

 water, and so it grows hard. The harpoonier darts his har- 

 poon with the right hand at the fish. When the \ohale is 

 hit with the harpoon, all the men that are in the long-boat 

 turn themselves about and look before them, and they lay 

 their oars nimbly upon the sides of the long-boat. There is 

 a man in the long-boat, whose business it is to look after the 

 rope ; for in each of these long-boats there is a whole heap 

 of lines, between the two seats or benches ; this heap is 

 divided into three, four, or five parts, and each of them is of 

 eighty, ninety, to one hundred fathoms long ; the first of 

 them is ty'd to the fore-runner or small line ; as the whale 

 runs under the water, they tye more and more line to it, and 

 if in one boat there should not be enough, they make use of 

 those that are in the other long-boats. These ropes or lines 

 are thicker and stronger than the fore-runner, and are made 

 of strong and tough hemp, and are tarr'd over. The line-fur- 

 nisher, or the man that doth look after the ropes, and also 

 the other men that are in the long-boat, must have great care 

 that the ropes or lines may not be entangled when they run 

 out so swift, or that they may not run towards the side of the 

 long-boat, for then the long-boat would be overset and many 

 lose their lives, if other long-boats were not near to their 

 assistance. The line must run just before, in the middle of 

 the long-boat, that is called the state by the seamen, and by 

 reason of this strong and violent motion the wood and rope 

 would be set on fire ; but to prevent this the harpoonier hath 

 a wet rag tied to a stick (like unto a mop) ready at hand, 

 wherewith he wets the wood without ceasing. The other 

 three men that are in the long-boats take also care of the 

 lines, as well when they are let out as when they are taken 

 in again ', and when they cannot hold it with their hands, 

 they wind it about the staves of the boat, and so they do stop 

 it from going any further. Another, that is called the steers- 



