The Orion with three humpback whales at Sechart, Vancouver Island.
The modern shore station is usually situated in a bay or cove not far from the open sea. The flensing slip and carcass platforms are the most striking portions of the establishment, and these are surrounded by boiling vats, the machine for drying the flesh, the engine house, wharf, bunk houses, offices, and the dwelling of the manager, the whole forming an imposing group of buildings.
Many of the whaling stations have very comfortable quarters and those on the bleak islands of the South Atlantic are even luxurious. The manager’s house is often beautifully furnished, with electric light, bathrooms, and even steam heat, so that when one becomes accustomed to the all-pervading odor from the “dryer,” the station is a delightful place at which to work. Although each one differs in respect to food, nevertheless the meals are for the most part excellent, for the managers realize that if their men are to be contented they must be well fed.
The whaling ships usually return to the station each night and, if one is free from seasickness, furnish a rather inviting home for a short stay. They are trim, high-bowed vessels of about one hundred tons burden, ninety to one hundred feet long, and have a speed of from nine to twelve knots per hour. Round-bottomed to facilitate speedy manipulation, they ride the water like a cork but roll and pitch almost beyond belief in the slightest seaway.
Most striking of all the upper works is the harpoon-gun mounted upon a heavy iron support at the very bow. It is a short cannon, 51½ inches long, with a 3-inch bore, and turns easily upon a swivel up and down and from side to side.
At the butt end, under a short wooden handle, is an iron lever, the trigger, which when pressed upward explodes the gun. The charge is 300 to 375 drams of very coarse, black powder which is sewed up in a cheesecloth sack and rammed home from the muzzle; then come wads of oakum, hard rubber or cork, and wool, after which the harpoon, well greased, is pushed in and hammered solidly into place with a wooden mallet. Some guns require more powder than others but if too much is used the iron will be bent as it leaves the muzzle.
The harpoon is 76 inches in length, and has a double shaft, at the end of which are 4 twelve-inch flukes, or barbs; these are tied to the shaft but spread widely upon entering the whale’s body and prevent the iron from drawing out. The harpoon is tipped with a hollow point, called the “bomb,” which is filled with powder and ignited by a time fuse set for the desired interval. Three or four seconds after the gun is fired the bomb bursts, frequently killing the whale almost instantly.
The harpoon is made of the best Swedish iron and weighs one hundred and ten pounds. After it has been fired into the body of a whale it is usually badly bent and twisted, but the tough, elastic iron can be straightened by the station blacksmith and made as good as new.
