Butte record., 1855-09-08

then dragged beneath the surface and
even although the line is severed at the
moment by the ak kept in readiness, the
man is usually gone. Yet more appall-
ing is the calamity which occasionally
befalls an entire crew, when the struck
whale is diving perpendicularly. 1t has
happened repeatedly on such an occasion,
that the line has whirled round the log
gerhead, or other fixture of the boat !;
and that in the twinkling of an eye, al
most ere prayer or ejaculation could
be uttered, the boat, crew, and all, have
been dragged down into the depths of
the ocean. Such, too, is the pressure
of the water upon boat when it de-
cends to a certain depth, that on being
DR. wn to the surface again, it will not
float, owing to the fluid being forced into
the pores of the planks, not only by the
mere density Of the ocean, but also by
the rapid rate at which the whale has
dragged it, 1t has happened many a
time, that boat at dista ance from the
ship has been seen to disappear suddenly,
pulled bodily down by harpooned whale,
not vestage of boat or crew being ever
seen On the surface again If we re-
gard whaling merely as manly hunt or
chase, quite apart from its commercial
aspects, we think it is far more exciting,
and requires more nerve and more prac-
ticed skill, and calls into exertion more
energy, more endurance, more stout
heartedness, than the capture of any
other creature-not even excepting the
lion, tiger, or elephant.
But let us return to our own captured
cachalot. You perceive that tie men on
board the ship are preparing to receive
it. They have placed some short spars
outside the vessel to facilitate operations,
and have removed a dozen feet of the
bulwark in front of the platform to which
we before rected attention. The cut
ting falls are also all ready, and the ship
itself is hove-to. We will anticipate
what ensues, and describe it for you
The dead whale floats buoyantly--al-
though in some rare instances it will
sink-alongside the ship, where it is
well secured, and stage is slung over
the vessels side, from which the officers
overlook and direct operations, sc. The
blubber between the eye and pectoral fin
is cut through with the spade, which is a
triangular shaped instrument, as sharp
as razor, attached to long shaft or
handle. A man now gets upon the whale
his boots being spiked to prevent slip
ping-and fixes the hook of the falls to
it. The windlass is then manned, and
lifts up the detached blubber, the spades
cutting away and the whale slowly turn
ing over at the same time. The strip of
blubber thus in course of separation is
about four feet in breadth, and is called
a blanket-piece. 1t is cut in a spiral
direction, and lowered on deck when it
reaches up to the head of the cutting
falls. Fresh hold is then taken, and the
operation is continued until the whale is
entirely fenshed. IF the whale is a
small one, the whole of the head is at
once cut off, and hoisted bodily on deck
but if large one, its important parts
are separately secured. Finally, the
skeleton is cut adrift, to float or sink, as
may happen. The entire operation oc-
cupies at least ten hours, if the whale is
very large.
During this cutting-up affair, the water
far and near is red with blood, and great
focks of petrels, albatrosses, &C., hover
about to pick up the floating morsels.-
Swarms of sharks also never fail to at.
tend and so voracious are these crea-
lures, that the men have to strike al
them with their spades, to prevent then
from devouring the whale piecemeal, ere
its remains are abandoned to fish ant
fowl as their legitimate prey. Although
the whalers generally kill many shark
on such occasions, it is said that if I
man slips from the carcass of the whale
into the midst of these devourers, the,
. seldom attempt to injure him. Person
ally, however, we can not say that W,
{ should like TO put the generosity of Mes
sieurs Sharks to such test.
, The blubber is carefully separates
from the bits of flesh which may adher
to it preparatory to boiling, an operation
$ first undergone by the head matter ,whic
is kept distinct from tie body matter
g the former yielding spermaceti, the latte