THE CHASE OF THE BLUE WHALE 191 



It lashed the sea into white spume with its flippers and 

 raised its head frequently right out of the water, opening 

 its immense jaws. The leviathan of the deep was fighting 

 hard with death, but the harpoon had penetrated its vitals, 

 and its struggles only lasted about two minutes. Soon it 

 grew weaker and weaker, until, casting forth a thin spout 

 of red blood, it threw up its tail and sank in one mighty 

 swirl. 



The first operation in raising the dead whale from the 

 bottom is to take in the slack line. This is done by one 

 man mounting the rigging and placing the rope over a 

 strong running pulley, which receives play by means of a 

 powerful spring or heavy lead concealed in the hold of the 

 ship. At first all is easy, and then the line receives a 

 tremendous strain as it lifts the carcase from the depths. 



The winch is set in motion, and with each rise of the 

 ship we notice the " give " of the line and the utility of the 

 spring which prevents the strain being either sudden or 

 excessive. 



For half-aa-hour the powerful steam reel goes pounding 

 on until the finer line of the gun rope comes up over 

 the side. Then looking down you see the yellow grey 

 ghost appear far below in the limpid depths. In another 

 moment the mystery has developed into form, and the great 

 Blue Whale comes floating to the surface, with the hilt of 

 the harpoon buried in its side. 



Johanessen now passes a rope over the tail whilst I 

 make some colour sketches and notes immediately after 

 death — an important point for the artist, as whales lose their 

 rich colour very rapidly, and are generally inaccurately 

 represented in books. 



The rope on the tail is attached to a strong chain which 



