86 THE WHALE AND 



The Try Pots. The Fires. Fire Accidents. 



pots, which are two or three in number, firmly 

 set in brick work, and each will contain a hogs- 

 head of oil. A small quantity of oil is first put 

 in each, and, soon as it becomes heated, fresh 

 blubber is added, until the pots are full, when 

 a portion from each is bailed out with a large 

 ladle into a copper cooler, from whence it is 

 received into casks and stowed below. The 

 operation of boiling continues day and night 

 until the whole is finished, and sometimes, when 

 whales are plenty, the fires are not put out until 

 the ship is filled. 



With such an intense fire over a wooden deck 

 and frame for weeks together, and with tarred 

 cordage and canvass above, both of which would 

 burn like tinder, it may seem strange that so 

 few ships take fire. Close attention and un- 

 tiring vigilance can alone prevent it. If the 

 " pen" under the works, which should be kept 

 full of water, happen to spring aleak in the 

 night without being observed, a short time only 

 would be sufficient to envelop the ship in flames. 

 Sometimes, too, a pot full of boiling oil will 

 burst, without any apparent cause, and let its 

 contents into the fire beneath. Several ships 

 have been lost bv such an accident. 



