WHALING AND BEAR-HUNTING 251 



You beg or borrow, from the bos'n or laundry-maid, five 

 fathoms of rope log line is the best. Splice a metal eye 

 to the end to make a loop or lasso. Then you fix up a spar, 

 with a cross-piece, and stand as in this sketch, with the loop 

 larger than A, or to taste and cast over B, with right hand, 

 and haul taut with left hand. The next thing is to cast a 

 half-hitch over C. You imagine B is a bear's head and you 

 wish to throw a half-hitch over (C) a fore paw, so as to haul 

 the paw up to the neck and throw the bear. Then you can 

 try left-hand or right-hand casting over X, which is not so 

 easy ! 



To cast the first lasso loop (note position of hand and eye 

 in loop A) you swing the loop round the head and let fly 

 and let the coils of line in left hand go free. This is a little 

 difficult at first ; casting on the half-hitch is much easier if 

 you lay the line properly, as in Fig. (4). If you lay it as we 

 did at first, as in Figs. (1) and (2), the loop falls short as in 

 middle Fig. The idea is to have plenty line to your right, 

 so as to make a big flowing hitch, as shown in lower Fig. (4). 



Gisbert and I worked out this discovery in the morning till 

 we could put on hitches every time, and in the afternoon we 

 challenged the " Professor," as we call young Don Jose" 

 because of his skill in throwing the loop and his cousin, Don 

 Luis Velasquez, for a bottle of champagne, and holding our 

 hand, we easilybeat them and felt very slightly ashamed of our- 

 selves for taking advantage of our small discovery of a knack. 



