82 WHALING AND BEAR-HUNTING 



went as quickly down. We were glad it had not touched 

 us, or we would have had quick work to get into our 

 boat, and our little steamer would have made a deep-sea 

 sounding. 



About three hundred and sixty fathoms ran out before 

 we saw further sign ; running over the two ringing barrels 

 of our strong steam winch, five times round each barrel 

 with the brake such as you see on a railway engine wheel 

 hard down and burning ; then foam appeared a quarter of 

 a mile in front, and our whale's flippers, then the mighty 

 flukes of its enormous tail, slowly threshing the sea into 

 white. To right and left it travelled, towing us ahead 

 whilst our engine reversed at eight knots but not for long. 

 We managed to wind up some line and got the gun loaded 

 again, thinking it might take another harpoon to stop it, 

 for lancing from the small boat in such a heavy sea would 

 have been too dangerous, even if possible. 



It was a short fight. At ten-thirty we harpooned it ; at 

 eleven- thirty we had it alongside ; a weight and line thrown 

 over its tail ; took out a heavy chain which was shackled 

 round above the tail and hauled by the steam winch to our 

 port bow beside the anchor davit, then with the huge body 

 with its lovely white corded underside above water surg- 

 ing alongside we steamed ahead. It seemed to be about 

 seventy feet and would probably weigh about seventy tons, 

 and it made us lie well over to port. To float it a little 

 higher out of the water, we drove a pointed tube with 

 holes in its side through the white kid skin, and blew in air 

 and steam. We began our day's hunting at three A.M. and 

 wound up and started home at eleven- twenty P.M. We have 

 to go, without waiting for another whale, for we fear the 

 station hands may be standing idle and we have ninety 

 miles to cover at not much more than six miles an hour, 

 for the dead whale alongside stops our speed. 



No two whale hunts are alike ; one trip you come 

 home with a " clean ship " and empty bunkers, the 

 next you get two or even three whales in a couple 

 of days and come home at once and give all hands, 

 Shetlanders and Norsemen on shore, work for night and 



