WHALE HUNTING WITH GUN AND CAMERA 



is fastened. Forty or fifty fathoms of a somewhat 

 smaller line, called the "forerunner," are coiled on a 

 heavy iron pan just under the gun, giving slack to 

 be carried with the harpoon as it flies through the 

 air. 



From the pan the rope passes backward over a 

 roller in the bow of the ship to a double winch just 

 in front of the bridge and down into the hold, where 

 a thousand fathoms (6,000 feet), or more, are car- 

 ried. By means of the winch the whale is "played" 

 as one would use a reel on a fishing rod, and after the 

 animal has been killed it is hauled to the surface and 

 fastened to the side of the ship. 



The harpoon lines are made of the finest Italian 

 hemp and tested for a breaking point of eighteen tons, 

 but the forerunner is tested for only fifteen or sixteen 

 tons. Seme, made especially for use in hunting the 

 giant blue whale, will resist a strain of twenty-eight 

 tons. If a tight line is kept and there are no sudden 

 jerks the ropes seldom break. 



Not far beyond the winch the mast is stepped, bear- 

 ing near its peak a small barrel, called the "crow's 

 nest," from which the whales are sighted. 



The vessels carry a crew of ten or twelve men be- 

 side the captain, who is usually also the gunner. In 

 Japan vessels are required by the coasting laws to have 

 a Japanese in command, and consequently a native 

 captain is employed who takes the ship in and out 

 of the harbor. He is really the pilot, and the vessel 

 is turned over to the Norwegian gunner as soon as 

 the open sea is reached. 



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