SHORE-WHALING: A WORLD INDUSTRY 



423 



THE HARPOON AS IT STRIKES THE WHALE 



In addition to the rope, the harpoon carries a bomb, which is exploded three or four feet 

 inside the whale and usually kills the huge animal instantly. The black cloud is the smoke 

 from the discharge. 



spirit of the place was infectious, and as 

 I splashed about in the blood and grease 

 doing my own work, I talked and joked 

 with the cutters in bad Japanese, causing 

 screams of laughter when I seriously in- 

 formed them that "the sun was very hot 

 water" by the quite natural mistake of 

 substituting the word "atsui-yu" for 

 "atsui" (hot). 



Almost every night we would be 

 awakened by the long-drawn wail of a 

 ship's siren whistle, bringing the news 

 of more whales. If I did not at once 

 stir, the little amah (servant), always 

 devoted to my interests, would quietly 

 slide back the paper screen to the sleep- 

 ing-room and say, 11 Andrew s-sar Go 

 Hogei zva kujira torri mashita" (Hogei, 

 No. 5 caught whales). When I had rolled 

 out of the comfortable futons and begun 

 to dress, I would hear little Scio-san pat- 

 tering about in the other room, gathering 



my pencil, note-book, and tape meas- 

 ure. Looking like a beautiful night- 

 moth in her bright-colored kimona, with 

 the huge bow of her obi (sash) always 

 neatly arranged, she would be there to 

 help me into the greasy oil-skins and 

 rubber boots, and clump along in front 

 to the wharf, lighting the way with a 

 "chochin" (paper lantern) that I might 

 not bump my head on the eaves and 

 rafters of the low station sheds. 



Every day Scio-san religiously went to 

 her ugly little stone joss in the play- 

 house temple on the hillside and prayed 

 that the "America-san" might catch 

 many whales and porpoises for the 

 hakubutsu-kwan (museum) in the won- 

 derful, fairy city across the Pacific, of 

 which he had so often told her. And 

 when the season was ended and she had 

 ventured to ask the America-san to 

 himself thank the joss, and to please her 



