The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1859-01-01
Written for the Council Bluffs Nonpareii.
SKETCHES OF THE SEA-NO. 2.

H
If catching a whale i glorious sport,
"cutting in" is disngreeable drudgery, and
"tryins out" is Internationally abominable.
The tlubbcr, which forms canting all over
the whale, from to 90 inches in thickness,
is stripped of and slowed in the hold. The
head is then cut open, and, from great
reservoir in the upper part of it, the oil
which contains the speruaceti is dipped out.
The quantity taken from this cavity is SO
great that, when whalemcn give the figures
on shore, they often staggcr the belief Of
landsmen, and expose themselves to the
imputation Of s'yarning it, so l am well
aware Of the risk incur, when assert tina,
from the head of one whale we dipped out
seven barrels of oil! When stripped, the
carcass is suffered to float away as food for
sharks which gorge themselves upon it like
ravenous wolves. The blubbcr, in great
s'blanket- pieces" four or five feet wi ID
eight or ten feet long, is now spaded into
chunks about six inches by twenty, which
are taken to the mincing machine and sliced.
just as our housewives slice pork to fry
This done, it is ready for the kettle. These
containing several barrels each, are set in
brick-work on deck, and the fires beneath
them are kept blazing night and day till the
greasy task is done; but, o! the interme-
diate horrors between the commencement,
and completion of this detcstable job =
Ye landsmen, who have packed your por.
cine thousands, and, night after night
watched the bubbling lard, can form but q
faint conception of the beauties OF "tryine
out" whale.
! Grease! grease!! all over the dc;k,
Grease! grcase!! wherever you go;
In your dreams you wade to your neck
In rivers that srcasiIy flow.
And often, q rough sea lends IN addition.
al charm to the greasy scene; and, while
the ship tumblcs about among the wave,
like drunken man, the crew tumble about
in the oil in the most charming and slippery
confusion. Two of them start for the ''try
works." with tub of blubber, but ere
they are half why there, the ship gives a
lurch and away they 60 blubber and al
into the lee seuppers. Such n lu oh slops
the oil over into the fires, and grand con
hagration frightens all hands and calls GU,
their wits to extinguish it. Occasionally a
foam crested wave breaks wit, q plish
against tho ships side, and the Fragments
come dancing over the rail as il to clean the
deck. Idle attempt. Hercules might cleanse
the Augcan stables. but should he try his
hand on the decks of whaler, he would
give up the task in disgust, and swear by
his knotty club that all the gods in the
Grecian and Roman calendar would "slip
up" if they tried it. Four hours you toll
and slip and growl, when oiled from head
to foot and bcgrimed with smoke. you are
relieved by the other watch and 60 below
to take nap. Divcsting yourself speedily
Of your greasy garments, and stacking them
where you can don them as quickly, YOU
"tnrn in" Five minutes, and your unchain-
cd fancy, regardless of magnet, steel or Po-
lar star, has sped with the speed Of light
over the oc can ard is ,stling COSBY among
the Household deties Of home. Out wit
your ronping sister, and awny into the
great orchard where ten years ago you guided
the toddling steps of this same sis, and
taught her prattIing tongue to lisp the name
of your favorite apple. Ten fleeing years
have wrought but little change in that old
tree, and the boughs droop low with their
luscious burden, as in days of yorc. Lightly
you shake the lowliest, and while Lottic is
| gathering up the corner Of her apron to
form a basket in which to carry some of the
pumpest and rosicst fruit to mother, you
seize a big apple and bite it-your teeth 60
through the smooth and tempting rind, and
set together with a gnash, in grease. Re-
'ncmbcring yet, too well, the pranks of boy
hood, you steal into the pantry, and true to
the memory of early days, stick your jack
knife over the latch to prevent surp-r Q,
and choosing the incest looking h,put your
lips over the edge and take slp-detcsta-
BILE! The golden cream covers nauseous
dose Of grease. Over the fields, leaping the
brook and climbing the hill, you HE away to
deacon BIS. Stopping in the garden ten
minutes to chat with the old lady and praise
her sage and onions, you steer straight for
the kitchen where Annie is getting dinner.
and after SCOUTING up till the dear girl
to threatens box your ears, you promise bet
ter behavior. Very demurey YOU watch her
pairing the taters, when suddenly, before
she has time to scream, you arc sealing your
promise with kiss. AS your lips press
hers, the nectar of the gods seems stat"
by contrast, but when they part, unutterablc
horrors you have been slipping gredse.-
The shock awakes you-home and mother,
and Lottie, and Annie, are ten thousand
miles away. You mentally ransack your
vocabulary Of hard names to find n suitable
epihet for the man who invented whaling.
You have rejected score Of jaw-brcakins
polysyllabcs not bitter enough, when the
greasy herald of coming toll, peers into the
forecastle, and the w:ll-known cry "turn
OUT" dsturbs you phianthropc labors and
star,les your snoring messmates. You
hardly waste as much time with your toilet
as n fifth avenue genus homo monkey would,
prior to An exhibition of himself on Broad
way, and before the Other watch have
dotted their greasy garments, you are lug
ging tubs and slicing blubbcr again. But,
do not for moment, suppose, dear reader,
that we slept every alternate four hours
On the contrary, during the arduous bust
ness of "trying OUT" we found time to jot
down in our greasy log-books, the greasy
incidents of the day; and, if we saw vcs-
sci heave in sight, while it was our Swatch
below" we scratched q line to the good
folks ut home, and rs she passed US, sent a
boat alongside with our letters, and some
times got pape's with late news from the
civilized world. On such occasions, we
installed a good reader as gassy medium