2 5 & 
NATURAL HISTORY 
and six lines, each one hundred and twenty fathoms 
long, fastened together. 
As soon as the whale is struck with the harpoon it 
: -ts into the deep, carrying the instrument off in his 
body; and so rapid is its motion, that if the line was to 
entangle, it would either snap like a thread, or overset 
the boat: one man therefore is stationed to attend only 
to the line, that it may go regularly out, and another is 
also employed in continually wetting the place it runs 
against, that the wood may not take fire from the friction. 
On the whale’s return to breathe, the harpooner inflicts 
a fresh wound, till at length, fainting from loss of blood, 
the men venture the boat quite up to him, and a long 
steeled lance is thrust into his breast and other parts, 
whiui soon puts an end to his existence. 
oen the carcase begins to float, holes are cut in the 
fins and tail, and ropes being fastened into these, he is 
towed to the ship, where he is fastened along the larboard 
side, floating with his back on tiie water. 
in order to take out the bluober and whalebone, seve- 
ral men now get upon the animal with iron calkers or 
spurs, to prevent their slipping, and separate the tail, 
which is hoisted on deck. They then cut out square 
pieces of blubber, weighing two or three thousand pounds 
each, which by means of the capstan, are also hoisted 
up* These are cut into smaller pieces, which are thrown 
into the hold, and left for three or four days to drain. 
When all the blubber is cut from the belly of the fish, 
it is turned on one side, by means of a piece of blubber 
left in the middle, called the cant, or turning piece. 
They then cut out this side in large pieces as before, and 
also the whalebone, with the gums, which are preserved 
entire, and hoisted on deck, where the blades are cut and 
separated, and left till the men have time to scrape and 
clean them. The whale is next turned with its back up- 
wards, and the blubber cut out from the back and crown 
bone: they conclude the whole by cutting the blubber 
from the other side. Before, however, the remainder of 
the body is left to float away, they cut out the two large 
upper jaw-bones, which are hoisted on deck, cleansed, 
