We cut a round hole through the blubber, round the fin or arm, shoved a strop or loop of rope through from the under side of the blubber and pulled that taut on to a sort of button of oak called a toggle on the outside surface of skin. Then, with the winch’s hook and chain hooked on to the strop, we pulled away, by steam power gradually raising a strip of blubber about two feet in width and of about eight inches in depth off the whale, as the body slowly revolved in the water, cutting it clear of the flesh with the flensing blades from the dory or flat-bottomed boat.
From the illustration you may form an idea of how the blubber is “made off.” The head and tail parts were treated separately. Finner whales on a landing-stage on shore are stripped or flensed from end to end with an instrument like a sabre on a long shaft, but if we have to strip or flense one at sea, we shall have to do so in the same way as this sperm whale.
We worked late and turned in, all very tired. The sharks that came round us to feed on our whale were a new experience to most of our northern sailors; they grew quite excited about them; some of them, instead of sleeping, stayed on deck to kill sharks. To kill one single-handed seemed to be the great ambition.
The first mate at breakfast to-day related how he harpooned his shark, fifteen feet long, in the morning watch, dropped a running bowline round its tail, and with a tackle got it on board by himself, and Henriksen, his elder brother, quietly described a cross with his knife’s point on our galley roof!
But it was quite true; and other men did so—a seaman-like piece of work. The harpooning is easy as shelling peas, but to make fast the line to a belaying pin and get a running bowline round the tail, and then hitch on a tackle and purchase to that and heave the shark outward single-handed needs sailorlike neatness and quickness rather than great strength.
We let the youngsters have their fill of shark-killing; when each has killed or helped to kill one, the novelty will wear off, and they will get accustomed to their company, and will not stop work to pay them more than a passing attention with the flensing blades.
At early dawn we recommence at the whale; our crew have not yet quite mastered the process, but they will do it. We have strong winches if few men, fifteen is our complement, about sixty used to tackle the job in the old style.
With practice and our captain’s ingenuity and determination we will get Case, Junk, and all on board before midday meal. It is a thorough bit of sailor’s work, every dodge of purchase block and pulley needed.
We have the junk now on board; it was a big hoist, and at the next port of call we will get some extra thick wire back-stays to strengthen our masts, and so heave the next head on board with greater ease.