THE WHALES. 



561 



During the period from 1835 to 1872, that is, cover- 

 ing thirty-eight years, 19,943 ships were engaged in 

 the Whale industry; they secured 3,671,772 barrels of 

 spermaceti as well as 6,553,014 tons of oil, and real- 

 ized from them the sum of 8272,274,916. In Scam- 

 mon's estimation they must have killed annually 

 3,865 Sperm Whales and 2,875 Whalebone Whales, 

 to which must be added one-fifth of this amount as 

 the proportion of wounded which escaped final cap- 

 ture, so that one must count the total number of 

 the Whales caught or in any way destroyed within 

 this period to be no less than 292,714. 



Methods of The capture of the Whale, though 

 Hunting the accidents happen during the hunt, is, 

 Whale. on t ne vvhole, less dangerous than 



the voyage in itself, if it leads into ice-bound parts 

 of the sea. During many years the commerce sus- 

 tains heavy losses. Fortunately human lives are 

 seldom lost in the shipwrecks, as the sea is usually 

 calm and the crew have sufficient time to make 

 their way to another ship. Whale-fishing is not only 

 a dangerous and arduous undertaking, however, but 

 also a very uncertain one. Up to a few decades ago 

 the fishing was mainly done by ships fitted out for 

 long cruising, and they hunted principally three of 

 the largest species: the Greenland Whale, the 

 Right Whale and the Sperm Whale, which repre- 

 sented a value of from $3,750 to $10,000 apiece, 

 according to its condition and the state or the 

 market. The method of capture is as follows: 

 When the ship has reached the whaling grounds, it 

 cruises back and forth, and two Men are usually 

 on the lookout on the mast. When Whales are 

 sighted the call, "There they spout!" throws the 

 entire crew into excitement. "The behavior of the 

 animals under inspection," says Pechuel-Loesche, 

 "the manner of the spouting, the shape of the back 

 and tail-fin, enable experienced whalemen to recog- 

 nize with tolerable certainty, whether they have met 

 the species of Whale that they have been seeking, 

 or any other Whale the capture of which is at all 

 remunerative. When this question has been settled, 

 the captain gives the order for lowering the boats, 

 of which the large whaler usually has four. These 

 boats are from twenty-one to twenty-seven feet long 

 and about six feet broad, of light but perfect build, 

 devoid of keel and pointed at both ends, so that 

 they can go backwards and forwards with equal 

 facility, and may be quickly turned. The weapons 

 include about four harpoons, several lances, a very 

 heavy gun, which shoots wedge-shaped grenades, a 

 short blubber-spade, a hatchet and a strong knife, 

 which are placed in the stern of the boat within 

 convenient reach of the harpooner. The compass, 

 a ladle, and a small cask containing ship's biscuit, 

 a lantern, candles and matches, are placed in the 

 stern locker; another small keg with drinking water 

 usually lies in the middle of the boat. The most 

 important part of the capturing implements is the 

 line, about an inch in thickness, about three hundred 

 and fifty fathoms in length and made out of the best 

 quality of hemp. It is coiled in spiral form in two 

 flat tubs behind the row-benches, with the most con- 

 scientious care, as any tangle, occurring while it is 

 being run out, would entail an accident. From the 

 end of this rope left outside of the tub the harpooner 

 takes a length of five to eight fathoms and affixes 

 two harpoons to it. These an experienced thrower 

 hurls against the Whale, at its first approach, in 

 rapid succession; and to enable him to grasp them 

 securely, they are placed on a low stand to his right. 



"A good harpooner must be sure of his aim at a 

 distance of four or five fathoms. Generally, however, 

 he goes much nearer the Whale, sometimes even 

 letting the boat touch it, so that the harpoon is 

 thrown instead of being thrust into its body. This 

 intrepid mode of attack leaves nothing to be desired 

 in regard to precision of stroke, but i, is the most 

 dangerous. As soon as the harpoon is fast, the boat 

 is rowed backwards, away from the Whale, with 

 all possible speed. This moment is always fraught 

 with peril; by chance or intentionally the wounded 

 animal may capsize the boat with its huge tail, or 

 hurl it into the air or smash it from above as if it 

 struck down upon the frail craft with a gigantic fly- 

 flopper. If the frightened Whale flees (in a deep 

 part of the sea it usually dives perpendicularly, in 

 shallow water it swims off at a slight depth), the 

 line rolls off the next instant; sometimes from one 

 hundred to one hundred and fifty fathoms are un- 

 reeled in one minute. The crew has to be on a 

 sharp lookout then, for whoever is entangled by 

 the line is generally lost. After this the boat is 

 "fast." Steersman and harpooner change places; 

 the latter had the task of attacking the Whale, but 

 the prerogative of killing it belongs to the former. 

 Then only begins the real struggle and the greater 

 danger. Naturally nobody thinks of stopping a 

 diving Whale; any large Whale would pull the boat 

 down with it, as a fish does the light piece of cork 

 which forms the float of a fishing line. If the animal 

 dives very deep, the next boat is called upon, and 

 its line is added to that already attached to the 

 harpoons; if the Whale does not come up quickly 

 enough, the last fathom of line may go overboard — 

 and then the Whale is free. It is very seldom that 

 the boatsmen succeed in regaining possession of the 

 line, by rowing in the direction which the animal 

 has taken and fishing up the dragging line after its 

 reappearance. 



"In most cases the line of one boat is sufficient, 

 however. The Whale may dive to the depth of one 

 or two hundred fathoms and stay there, scarcely 

 moving. If the line begins to be loose it is pulled 

 up with joint efforts, to incite the prey to rise. If the 

 uncouth fellow takes this proceeding amiss, however, 

 it baffles any attempt to bring it to the surface with 

 irresistible force and goes deeper down. Thus the 

 struggle back and forth goes on according to the 

 size and species of the animal for ten, twenty or 

 thirty minutes, and in some rare cases for double 

 this time, until the Whale begins to realize the need 

 for air and rises. The direction of the line shows 

 whereabouts it will appear and a second boat en- 

 deavors to surprise and engage it there, planting 

 additional harpoons in its body; only when this has 

 been accomplished does success seem assured. At 

 this point the wounded animal either turns upon its 

 tormentors or makes an effort to escape by darting 

 along the surface, as it can not dive immediately for 

 lack of breath. Then begins a mad pursuit, the ani- 

 mal only drawing out a few fathoms of the line 

 which is securely hitched to the boat but ready to be 

 cast off in an instant. The dark, gigantic body 

 shoots through the waves, puffing and snorting, 

 while the water parts and is hurled up in milk-white 

 masses as the animal, by furious strokes of its tail, 

 endeavors to free itself. Two or three boats, filled 

 with intrepid sailors, fly in pursuit of the Whale. 

 They disappear among the foaming, splashing, tow- 

 ering waves, often seeming to sink during their mad 

 course over and through the surging waters, but 



