52 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



tained was barely sufficient to pay the outfits, estimating the labor as a 

 part thereof. This mode of conducting the business was universal, and 

 has continued to a very considerable extent to the present day.* Ex- 

 perience taught the people how to take advantage of the different 

 markets for their oil. Their spermaceti oil was mostly sent to England 

 in its unseparated state, the head matter being generally mixed with 

 the body oil,t for, in the early part of whaling it would bring no more 

 when separated than when mixed. The whale-oil, which is the kind 

 procured from the species called " right-whales," was shipped to Boston 



that they were of sound and seasoned wood, lest they might leak his oil in the long 

 voyage ; the blacksmith forged his choicest iron in the shank of the harpoon, which he 

 knew, perhaps from actual experience, would be put to the severest test in wrenching 

 and twisting, as the whale, in which he had a one hundredth interest, was secured; 

 the rope-maker faithfully tested each yarn of the tow-liue, to make certain that it 

 would carry 200 pounds' strain, for he knew thai one weak inch in his work might lose 

 to him his share in a righting monster." — (Nimrod of the Sea, pp. 48, 49.) 



* 1835. 



t The difference between " head " and " body " matter of the sperm whale can be best 

 understood by reference to the following description of cutting in and diagram copied 

 from Scammon's " Marine Mammalia : " " The first procedure after the animal is fastened 

 to the ship, is to cut a hole through the blubber, between the eye and fiu, at A, as seen 

 in the accompanying outline sketch, then, after cutting the scarfs on each side and 

 aronnd the end of the first blanket-piece, a blubber-hook, attached to one of the cut- 

 ting-tackles, is inserted into the hole at A, and the piece raised by means of the tackle 

 Until the whale is rolled on its side ; then the line of separation between the upper jaw 

 and junk is cut, as from L to C, and if a large whale, the line of separation is cut be- 

 tween the junk and case, as from B to E, and a cut is made across the root of the case 

 from E to F ; a scarf is also made around the root of the lower jaw, from near the cor- 

 ner of the mouth to G. A chain-strap is then put on the jaw near H and hooked or 

 shackled to the second cutting-tackle, and raised by that purchase, while the other 

 tackle attached to the piece is slackeued off, if need be, so as to let the whale roll upon 

 its back; when, by means of the tackle attached, and by cutting away the tongue and 

 the adhering flesh, the jaw is wrenched from its socket and placed on deck. This 

 being accomplished, the first tackle, which is attached to the piece, is hove up by 

 means of the windlass, until the whale is rolled over to its opposite side, when I he lines 

 of separation are cut to correspond to those made opposite. Holes are then mortised 

 through the head close to the upper jaw-bone, near I, at the end of the junk, near J, 

 and at the root of the case, near K, and through these holes straps are rove, and lines 

 are made fast to those of the junk and case. The second cutting-tackle is then hooked 

 in the strap which is around the upper jaw at I; the fluke-chaiu is slackeued off, and 

 the first tackle fastened to the piece is lowered, when all hands heave on the head- 

 tackle, forcing the whale down again, and thus bringing the creature's head up, and 

 the body nearly to a vertical position. The officers upon the cutting-stage with their 

 keen spades cut away between the bones and junk from L to C, and the enormous 

 weight of the whole fatty mass of the head hanging down opens the gash between it 

 and the skull-bone ; then, cutting cross the end of the junk and root of the case, from 

 E to F, completes the process of cutting off the head, which is temporarily made fast 

 to the ship's quarter. The fluke-chain is then hauled in again, and the blubber is rolled 

 from the body in the same manner as that of a baleen- whale, until coming to the region 

 of the small, when it is unjointed just behind the vent, and the remaining posterior 

 portion of the animal is hoisted on board in one mass. The head, as it is termed, is 

 then hauled up to the gangway, and one of the tackles is hooked into the junk-strap at 

 J, and by means of this cutting-tackle purchase, the head is taken in whole, if the 



