iS# ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. XI, 
whale-line by taking a turn or two round it. On this, 
too, it is customary to cut a notch for every whale 
killed by the boat. The old-fashioned boats were ge- 
nerally made to pull five oars, the rowers of which 
were called respectively, beginning from the bow, the 
boat-steerer, bow-oarsman, midship-oarsman, tu])-oars- 
man, and after-oarsman. Boats are now built, how- 
ever, for the shore-parties, to pull six, seven, and even 
eight oars. I believe an uneven number is the best, 
as in that case there remains an equal force on each 
side of the boat when the boat-steerer, who is also 
harpooner, stands up to do his work. The boat is 
steered by means of a long and ponderous oar, called 
the steer-oar, which leans on a piece of wood fixed to 
the stern-post, and is confined to its place by a strap 
reaching from the top of the stern-post to the end of 
the support. The oar, however, moves freely in this 
loop, and is generally covered with leather for eighteen 
inches of its length to protect it from wear and tear. 
Close to the handle is a transverse iron peg, which is 
held with the right hand, and serves to turn the oar. 
The headsman stands up to steer in the stern-sheets, and 
exhibits great skill in the management of the steer-oar, 
which is twenty-seven feet long in large boats. In a 
rough sea, an inexperienced }»erson would not fiiil to be 
thrown overboard by it, but a whaler manages it with 
great ease and grace. The oars pull between thole- 
pins, which always have a small thole-mat and spare 
pin attached, and are also protected by leather. On 
the opposite side of the boat to the tholes, below the 
level of the thwarts, a piece of wood with a small niche 
is strongly fixed to the side of the boat. This is for 
" peaking the oars," or placing the handles into, with- 
out taking the oar out of the thole, so that the blade of 
the oar remains out of reach of the water, whether 
