Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1890-03-07

HOSTING BLANKET STRIP OF BIuBBER.
But here we were with biz whale
fcvcnty-four feet long dashed alongside of
the old ship, lying to with manyarl
aback. The whale was iii fine condition,
the feeding ground Astounding with
cutie fish, mollusks and other danties
i'll which cctaceans delight. We could
therefore afford to pay little heed to the
destruction of our boat, though we well
knew that IT meant certain percentage
OF loss TO us, to he deducted from our
share at the end..of the voyage We HAD
good days work before us The carcass
of the whale had to be stripped of its
blubber, the head cleared of the sncr-
macetic, and the teeth, which arc of Il
fair quality of ivory, extracted from the
lower jaw.
After the body was dashed to the ship
with chains, the business began. 4
powerful masthead tackle was hooked on
to transverse slip of blubber close tn
the neck. This was taken to the winch
md set up taut- Then the men working
on platform rugged outside the vessel,
cut through the blubbcr with sharp
spades. Then they hove on the winch
and the immense "blanket pieces as the
bmbbcr is termed, came off in strip
some six feet wide, being cut into con-
vcnient lengths. This process continued
until the whale was stripped of its cover
ing of blubbcr Then the head was cut
on and its reservoir of fatty matter from
wheh spermaccti is made was emptied
OF its rich juices, five men working like
beavers filling up buckets with the prec-
ious stuif, which was holsted up on deck
as soon as filled.
After the last piece of blubber and the
last fragment of head fat had been hoisted
ON deck the boys congregated aft and
gave the old sperm whaling cheeu:
"Hurrah for ive-and-f forty more!"
Ana then we piped to supper, we'll
satisfied with our days work.
At four o'clock next morning we
turned TO. There was Il busy day be-
fore us, the blubber having to be tried
out into oil and the oil put into the
casks. And here let me tell YOU before
forget it that the cooper on board o
whaler used to be very important per-
sonage and one with strong sense of his
own dignity.
just lew feet aeaft the foremost on
the APijah Adams there were two big
iron caldrons embedded on q base of
brickwork. These were the stry pots in.
which the blubber was boiled. Abaft
this was the copper cooler in which the
oil was cooled previous to being pumped
into the casks.
The operation of melting the blubber
is very simple. All we had to do was to
take care that the blubber was dry be-
fore being put into the caldrons. The
blubber cut into. thin slices soon parts
with its oil under the influence of roar
ing fire, and the "scraps," as the refuse
matter is termed, in turn are added to
the flames, making the best of fuel The
oil passes to the cooler and thence flows
into the casks in the lower hold. Only
upon rare occasions did fire break out
on any of the old New Bedford whalers
while oil was being tried out. OF course
if wet bIubbcr is thrown into a caldron
OF boiling Oil the inevitable overflow is
very likely to be followed by serious
confagration.
Sharks follow whalers by the score.
The sperm whale seems to like warm
climates and so does the shark. The red
| flesh OF the whale is coarse and of strong
flavor. Personally can't say that han
kcr after it, but some of the South Se:,
Islanders take to it i'll very kindly fashion