THE WHALE FISHEET. 277 



a German bark two days out from Guadaloupe, bound to Gibralter, loaded with sugar. I informed 

 the captain of our situation, but he gave us no invitation to go on board. We had .sailed 750 

 miles in an open boat without food, and his treatment seemed rather hard. I begged of him to 

 give us food and water. He made no reply, but in about ten minutes his cook brought each one 

 of us a drop of water and one sea biscuit. I then requested accommodations for myself and men 

 aboard his ship, but he sternly refused. He told me to go aboard of another vessel which had 

 just hove in sight. I told the captain that he might shoot me and my men and throw us over- 

 board, but we would not willingly leave his ship and run the risk of not being seen by the other 

 vessel, which was quite a distance off. Finally the bark was hove to, and a signal set, which was 

 noticed by the other vessel. Shortly after this the captain insisted that I should leave with my 

 men and pull for the other vessel, and promised to lay by until he was sure the second vessel saw 

 us. With ibis promise we were helped into the boat, and as soon as our line was cast off the 

 yards of the bark was squared and she was off. I did not learn her name, as I had neither time 

 nor opportunity to do so. I only wish I had. The second vessel was about 2 miles away, and 

 proved to be the German bark A. Klochuian, Capt. Henry Abel, of Memie, who kindly took us on 

 board. The fare on board this vessel, consisting as it did only of water and hard-tack, was hardly 

 suitable for men in our condition ; but we rejoiced in the hope of temporary relief and in the 

 prospect of getting to land. We remained on board the Klochman twenty-two days, and finally 

 landed at Peusacola, Fla., where we were kindly treated and cared for by the Masons and Odd 

 Fellows, who provided us with the means to return to our friends. While in Pensacola I tele- 

 graphed to my agent at Provincetown for instructions, a;nd received word that the Edward Lee 

 had arrived home the day before. I sold my boat and deposited the money with Mr. Young, a 

 notary public, Captain Abel having made a demand on me for $65 for bringing us into port. I 

 had already given him $40 worth of whale-line before we landed, and I supposed that would 

 satisfy him for what he had done for us. We had the coarsest of fare while on his vessel. Twice 

 in the twenty-two days the captain gave me white bread, and the balance of the time I.had the 

 same as the foremast hands, which was, as I have before stated, merely water and hard-tack. 



6. THE METHODS OF SAVING THE COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS OF THE WHALE." 



CUTTING-IN AND TRYING-OUT. 



CUTTING-IN THE WHALE. The process known to the English as "flensing," to the Ameri- 

 cans as "cutting-iu," and to the old Nantucketers as "flinching" the whale is the act of removing 

 its oleaginous blanket and transferring it to the vessel; and the process of "trying-out" is the 

 reduction of the blubber to oil. 



When the ship-keeper perceives that a capture has been made, he makes sail, if possible, and 

 endeavors to shorten the distance between the vessel and the boats. Meantime every prepara- 

 tion is made to save the blubber. The cutting-spades and boarding-knives are brought on deck, 

 the officers' stages t are "slung" over the side of the vessel, the heavy cutting-tackles are sent 

 aloft, and the bulwarks removed in the waist of the ship to make a gangway. The whale is 

 brought alongside the vessel and fastened with its flukes forward to the starboard side wilh a 



"The methods employed in "cutting in" the whale; the oil making; preparation of whalebone; ambergris, &c., 

 will be more fully discussed in the section of this report on Preparation of Fishery Products. 



tThe cutting stage is a kind of platform suspended over the side of a ship by ropes, for the officers to stand 

 upon while cutting-in a whale. Of the earliest form there are two kinds; they are known as the "forward cutting 

 stage" and the "after cutting stage," from the fact that they are placed respectively forward and abaft the 

 gangway. They are made of spruce plank about 12 inches wide and vary in length on different ships. Some 

 vessels have discarded this kind altogether, while others still retain them, in addition to longer ones, known as 

 "outrigger stages." The "outrigger" is from 18 to 22 feet long, 20 feet being about the average length, and 15 to 



