134 
deck, the fleshy parts are pared off, and 
it is then placed, piece by piece, on a 
block, having three iron spikes in the top 
to keep it steady; here it is skinned by 
a harpooner, and is then ready for chop¬ 
ping. This operation is performed by 
the boat-steerers, who cut the blubber 
into pieces of about one foot long, and 
three inches square at the ends. When 
it is chopped , they push it off the bench 
into the speck trough , placed by the side 
of the hatchway, having what is called a 
a lull hag attached to a hole in the bot¬ 
tom for the purpose of letting down the 
chopped blubber to a tub in the hold. The 
blubber is afterwards put, piece by piece, 
into the bung-hole of the casks, which 
are all fixed for that purpose previous to 
the vessel’s leaving home. 
The Balcena Mysticetus , notwithstand¬ 
ing its immense size, is exposed to the 
multiplied assaults of various enemies in¬ 
habiting its own element. Of these, the 
