THE WHALE FISHERY. 285 



hook, and the fluke-chain adjusted as before mentioned. This is a much better and quicker method 

 than when the buoy and line is used, and although this instrument, which ia also known as the 

 " Joe Crook," is not familiar to the majority of whalemen, its importance will be very readily 

 appreciated by them. 



Large ropes were formerly used for fastening the whale to a vessel, but I believe very few of 

 them, if any, are to be found now. Sometimes a large rope may be used when a vessel is towing 

 a whale or in veering out a whale in heavy weather when it would be impossible for her to lay by it. 

 This rope is made of manilla, usually manufactured for the purpose, and varies in size from 7 to 

 11 inches in circumference. It is slack laid and about the same kind as those carried by the large 

 steamers on Long Island Sound, for instance, and is sometimes stradded to prevent chafing. 



BOILING AND STOWING THE OIL. 



DUTIES OF CREW. During the process of boiling out the oil (described in the section on 

 PREPARATION OF FISHERY PRODUCTS), which includes the preparation of the blubber before 

 cooking, the master has general supervision of the work, but the mate attends to all business that 

 requires active superintendence. Both the officers and men, with the exception of the cooper, 

 stand their regular watches before the try- works day and night. On some vessels the first officer 

 is exempt from such a duty. It is expected that the officers should only superintend the boiling 

 of the oil, but oftentimes they perform as much manual labor as the petty officers. 



The boat-steerers stand their watches before the works, and if they find time they also rig 

 their boats for another capture. 



The men perform the menial duties of the ship. Two in each watch are kept at work in the 

 blubber-room preparing the blubber for the mincer. This is the blubber-room gang; it is headed 

 by a man in each watch, who is regularly appointed to fill this position during the voyage; his 

 assistant, however, is not regularly appointed, the selection being made from any of the foremast 

 hands composing that watch. If the machine is used for mincing, three or four men may be needed: 

 one to "feed," one to "hook off," or remove the blubber, one to trim the thick pieces of fat, and 

 probably one or two to keep the apparatus in motion. But when the mincing is done by hand, 

 the services of one man in each watch only are required for slicing the fat. 



The other men of the watch carry horse-pieces from the main hatch to the mincer, lipper up 

 decks, remove scraps, bail out oil, stand their mast-heads, serve their tricks at the wheel, or lend 

 a hand wherever and whenever needed. 



The cooper is seldom on duty at night, that is, if he is industrious and prepares a sufficient 

 number of casks during the day to last the watch over night. It is also his duty, during the day, 

 to grind the blubber knives, or to bail the oil from the cooling tanks. 



The Arctic ships have watch and watch (six hours each) when boiling. In sperm whaling, on 

 some ships the watches are set, for instance, from 7 a. m. until 11.30 a. in. This gives the forenoon 

 watch below half an hour for dinner ; the other watch goes below at 12 m. and is called at 4 p. in. 

 One watch gets supper at 6, and the other at 6.30. At 7 p. m. the watch is set for the night, 

 dividing the time until 7 in the morning. In the morning the watch below is called at 6.30, in 

 order that the men may get breakfast in time to be on deck at 7. 



The duties of the crew during the operation of running down the oil into the casks in the hold 

 of the vessel from the receptacles in which it cools on deck vary somewhat, both on the different 

 vessels and in the sperm and Arctic fisheries. The sperm whalemen have more sea-room and 

 more time at their disposal when stowing down than the Arctic whalemen. It is also important 

 that they should exercise unusual care in this process, without involving the question of time, for 



