THE " MAKING-OFF." 397 



A fair average-sized fish, measuring between forty and 

 fifty feet in length, yields about thirteen tons of oil, and, 

 including the whalebone, is worth about .800. 



We now come to the " making-off." This operation is 

 reserved for a quiet day, in order that, when once begun, 

 it may not be interrupted until completed. 



The blubber being again hoisted on deck, is seized by a 

 couple of men on each side, who, with their pickics, drag 

 it to a couple of harpooneers, also on each side, by whom 

 it is cleansed of all kinds of refuse, and cut up into pieces 

 of about twelve or sixteen pounds weight. These men 

 are called " krengers." The blubber is then thrown for- 

 ward to the remaining harpooneers, who are stationed on 

 each side of the deck near a " clash," or iron stanchion, 

 about three feet high, with five iron spikes on the top. 



Each harpooneer, or " skinner," as he is called while en- 

 gaged in " making-off," has an assistant, or "clasher," who 

 picks up the pieces of blubber having skin on with a pair 

 of clash -hooks, and places them on the top of the clash. 

 With a long knife the skinner dexterously removes the 

 skin, and the blubber is then deposited in a heap called 

 the " bank," directly in front of the " spek trough," that 

 is, a large oblong trough, about eighteen feet in length, 

 and two feet in width and breadth, which stands immedi- 

 ately above one of the hatchways. In the middle of this 

 trough a hole, about a foot square, is fitted with a long 

 canvas shoot or hose, called a " lull," which opens into the 

 tank intended for the reception of the blubber. The lid 

 of the trough, turned back, and supported by props, forms 

 a capital table, about three feet high, on which are placed 

 the blocks cut from the whale's tail. Behind these blocks 



