44 TEE CRUISE OF TEE " CACEALOT:' 



the ■whale-line, which at death had been " rove " 

 through a hole cut in the solid gristle of the tail ; but 

 now it became necessary to secure the carcase to the 

 ship in some more permanent fashion. Therefore, a 

 massive chain like a small ship's cable was brought 

 forward, and in a very ingenious way, by means of a 

 tiny buoy and a hand-lead, passed round the body, one 

 end brought through a ring in the other, and hauled 

 upon until it fitted tight round the " small " or part of 

 the whale next the broad spread of the tail. The free 

 end of the fluke-chain was then passed in through a 

 mooring-pipe forward, firmly secured to a massive bitt 

 at the heel of the bowsprit (the fluke-chain-bitt), and all 

 was ready. 



But the subsequent proceedings were sufficiently 

 complicated to demand a fresh chapter. 



