n6 
THE LIVING WORLD. 
As early as the time of Alfred the Great, of England, whale fisheries were 
known, and of modern peoples, the Spanish and Portuguese, the Italians, the 
Dutch or Hollanders, the English and the American Yankees have succeeded 
to the control of the fishery. A whale-ship starts out nowadays for a three 
years’ voyage, 
and carries a 
crew of up¬ 
wards of thir¬ 
ty-five men. 
The smaller 
boats used for 
the pursuit of 
the whale are 
about thirty 
feet in length 
and six feet 
wide, prowed 
at each end. 
The oars are 
held by thole¬ 
pins, and the 
harpoon line 
is paid out 
through me¬ 
tallic grooves. 
An outfit for 
one of these 
boats is more 
varied than 
the miscel¬ 
lany gathered 
together for a 
school pic-nic. 
Extra sup¬ 
plies of oars, 
paddles, row- 
locks, thole¬ 
pins, har¬ 
poons, lances, 
knives, ropes, 
hatchets, a 
compass, a n 
anchor, boat¬ 
hooks and 
a death wound. finally the 
bomb-thrower 
or whale Gatling gun. Every one of the crew has. special duties, and there is 
the strictest observance of that order which is “ Heaven’s first law.” 
The decreasing supply of whale oil has been compensated by the many 
