128 Hoisting the Carcase on Board. 



and enthusiasm of the moment, though painful to 

 witness the death struggles of these huge, unwieldy 

 animals. 



It was eight o'clock before all our fish were 

 killed and alongside, when everything being pre- 

 pared for the process of " flinching/' the men were 

 sent to their supper, and at nine o'clock commenced 

 that operation. 



The fish at this early period of the season are 

 generally small, which can only be accounted for by 

 the supposition that the young fish always precede 

 the older ones on their journey up from the south. 

 In consequence of their small size, the operation of 

 11 flinching " is slightly different from that which I 

 have already described. No " cant " is used on 

 these occasions, but the fish is taken in, in four 

 hoists, with the fore and main spek tackles. This 

 process is called "worming." The first hoist is the 

 "jowl," which is the entire under jaw, including the 

 tongue ; the second is the " crown/' which com- 

 prises the upper jaw and the remainder of the head; 

 this will of necessity include the whalebone ; — the 

 head of a whale is about a third of the whole animal. 

 The third hoist is one fin and all the blubber from 

 the belly and one side ; and the last hoist is the 

 remaining fin, tail and blubber from the back and 

 other side, the carcase sinking as the last piece is 

 detached from it. It was past midnight before our 

 work was finished, and the last kreng disappeared 



