CETACEA. 



Carcass of the Whale. 



A. The Harpoon. 



B. The Lanco. 



of Greenland, where Whales are yet abundant, but where the prevalence of icebergs make the fishery e^ en 

 more perilous than before. 



As the Whale was first pursued for its flesh, so the elastic substance called whalebone, lining its jaws, 

 was next the commercial object chiefly contemplated. This article was, at one time, in such demand, that 

 England paid the Dutch one hundred thousand pounds a year for it. Now, the Whale is valued mainly 

 for its blubber, the substance furnishing train oil. This blubber, which is the animal's fat, lies immediately 

 beneath the skin, encompassing the whole body, fins ind tail. Its thickness varies from eight to ten and 

 from ten to twenty inches, according to the locality. The lips of the Whale are nearly pure blubber, and 

 yield from one to two tons of clarified oil each. When fresh, the blubber does not smell unpleasant, but 

 ere long becomes tainted and offensive. 



A Greenland ship, besides a master and surgeon, carries a crew of forty or fifty men, including several 

 classes of officers, such as harpooners, hoat-steerers, line-managers, carpenters, coopers, &c. She has, 

 generally, six or seven boats, which being the principal means of prosecuting the fishery, are so" hung 

 round her, that they can be detached almost instantly. 



After the Whale is killed and cut up, the blubber and bone are stowed in the ship ; but all previous 

 operations are performed in the boats. The chief instruments, with which every boat is provided, are two 

 harpoons, and six or eight lances. The harpoon is wholly of iron, and about three feet long, consisting of 

 a shank with a barbed head, each barb having an inner and smaller barb reversed. To the shank is 

 attached a line about two inches and a quarter in circumference, and one hundred and twenty fathoms long. 

 Each boat has six of these lines, making jointly seven hundred and twenty fathoms, or four thousand 

 three hundred and twenty feet. The harpoon is commonly thrown by the hand, though sometimes pro- 

 jected from a sort of gun, and its use is simply to strike and hook the fish, which is then killed with the 

 lance. The lance is a spear, six feet long, consisting of a handle of fir, fitted with a steel head, very thin 

 and exceedingly sharp. It is not flung, like the harpoon, but held fast and thrust into the animal's body. 

 When a Whale is lying on the surface of the water, unconscious of the approach of its foes, the fishers 

 row close upon it, and the harpoon is buried in its back. The wounded creature, in its agony, makes a 

 convulsive effort to escape. This is a moment of peril. The boat is exposed to be violently struck by its 

 head and fins, and especially by its enormous tail, which sometimes sweeps the air with such fury, that 

 boat and men are both liable to a common destruction. 



a»2) 



