As often as not the chest was worth more than the contents.
HOMEWARD BOUND
Instead of sailing for home when the ship was full, many whalers discharged their oil at the Hawaiian Islands or San Francisco and set out for more.
This oil was put aboard large cargo ships capable of carrying the catch of several whalers, and taken round the Horn to New York, Boston, or the whaleships’ home port.
But at last the “spouter” was filled up and ready for the long passage home, the captain served grog, and all hands were hailed aft to “splice the main brace.”
“SCRIMSHAW”
With a four or five months’ passage home before him, the whaleman occupied himself by carving and fashioning all manner of articles out of bone and whales’ teeth;—scrimshaw work. He had usually some particular person in mind as he scraped and sawed, filed and drilled, often with tools made from nails or odd bits of metal.—Model ships or boats, knives, forks, combs, ladles, yarn winders, bodkins, and a thousand other nick-nacks were turned out.
The favourite article however was the “jagging wheel,”—a contrivance for decorating pie crust and pastry, and many were the variations on the handles of these jaggers.