Torrey's Narrative; or, The Life and Adventures of William Torrey

by William Torrey

CHAPTER X.

Description of the Whale Fishery. Being again on board a whale ship, I propose giving my readers a brief description of the Whale, and of the manner of capturing them.

There are a number of varieties of whales; the three principal of which are the common Greenland, or what sailors call the right whale, the "razorback" or "finner;" and, thirdly, the cachelot or sperm whale. These three varieties do not differ very essentially in their general structure, though each has its peculiarities. The common full grown right whale varies in length from fifty to seventy feet. Many exaggerated notions are held respecting the size of the whale. Writers of standard works of history have stated that they were frequently found an hundred and fifty or sixty feet in length; and that they had been found even of the extreme length of two hundred and fifty feet. But such is not the fact; they seldom will exceed the length above stated, and measure round the body, directly behind the head, from thirty to forty feet. The head is of great size, and occupies one third of the whole extent from snout to tail. The greatest circumference of the body is just back of the head, whence it tapers sharply away towards the tail. The mouth of the whale is extremely large and long, and will admit, when opened wide, a whaleboat with its crew, if placed crosswise of the jaw,—cases have been known where the whole length of a boat has thus been taken in. The animal has no fin upon the back, and the two side fins are five or six feet broad, and nine or ten feet in length. The tail or "flukes," as the seamen term it, is some twenty-five feet broad, in the shape of a crescent, and is appended horizontally. This is a dangerous and powerful instrument with which the whale often deals destruction to men and boats, or whatever chances to be in the way during what the sailors term her "flurry," or when she is in the agonies of death. Boats are frequently thrown high into the air, and broken into ten thousand pieces by a stroke from the whale's "flukes." The eyes of the whale are not larger than those of an ox,—the color of the body is mainly black; the under part of the head and abdomen partly white, and partly of a speckled gray. The two spout-holes of the "right" whale are on the top of the head, and descend perpendicular into it for the length of twelve inches or so to the windpipe. The throat is quite small; an inch and a half is the extreme diameter of the gullet in the largest right whales. The food of these whales is, of course, of a very minute nature; they feed upon a multitude of smaller inhabitants of the ocean; and the mouth is provided with a remarkable apparatus, composed of numerous whale-bones extending from the centre of the arch to the lips, tapering away into mere bristles, and forming a kind of fringe, by which means the small particles of food are retained; not so with the sperm whale; they are distinguished by having teeth in the lower jaw, and but one spout-hole on the upper part of the snout. The sperm whale attains to a great size; sometimes reaching the length of eighty feet; the head is of enormous bulk, and ends abruptly in front. It has a small hump like a camel on the back; and the side fins are also of small size; they generally have from forty to fifty teeth which fit into cavities in the upper jaw.

In this whale the gullet is large enough to admit a man; and the food is large fish, principally "squid." A fine oil is obtained from the head of the sperm whale called spermaceti, and from its intestines ambergris. The sperm whale's spout can be seen at the distance of three miles, and is easily distinguished. This whale does not produce as much oil as the other variety, but it is much more valuable; they fight fiercely among themselves, locking jaws with one another, and exerting themselves in the most powerful manner; but they do not attack a boat or man, and are easily frightened away. They are fond of their young, and of one another, and will commonly remain near to a wounded companion. They have the ability, on noticing any object, to communicate intelligence to their companions four or five miles—though the manner in which this is done remains a secret. It is often seen to leap entirely out of water for the purpose, as is supposed, to rid themselves of crabs and sucking-fish which are fond of fastening upon their bodies. This act is termed by the sailors "breaching." The swordfish and others frequently attack the whale with the utmost audacity.

I have given my readers a brief account of some of the general features and peculiarities of the whale; and I shall now proceed to describe briefly the manner of catching them. No species of fishing can compare in interest with the whale-fishery. The magnitude of the object of the chase, and the perilous character of the seas which it peculiarly frequents, are features which prominently distinguish the profession of the whale-fisher from all similar pursuits. Before proceeding to the account of capturing one of these monsters, I will speak of the whaleboat and its appurtenances used for the purpose.

The whaleboat is from twenty-two to thirty feet in length, and is provided with five or six oars. It is so formed as to float lightly on the water, move with speed, and turn easily round. The best are composed of straight, one-half inch cedar boards, ruppled and bent to the required shape, by which means their elasticity is greatly increased—the rapid and dangerous movements of the whale render these various qualities indispensable. The principal weapons with which the whale-fishery are supplied are the harpoon and lance. The harpoon is an instrument about three feet long, composed of iron, and consists of three conjoined parts—the socket, shank, and withers or barbs. Much attention is paid to the manufacture of the shank of the harpoon because on its flexibility the retention of a harpooned whale depends. If the shank should break during the plunges of the whale, the animal is lost. The lance is a more simple instrument; it is about ten feet long, and has a sharp flat point or tongue of steel seven inches long. This instrument and the harpoon, together with lines and boat, are all the apparatus actually necessary for capturing a whale.

On the ship reaching the fishing ground, preparations are immediately made for commencing the business of capture. Three or four boats are always kept suspended from the cranes, by the side of the ship, in such a position that they can be lowered into the water with their complement of men and the whole necessary apparatus, in the space of one minute.

Previously to this time the harpoons and line have been got in order. The socket of the harpoon is furnished with a stock or handle, six or eight feet long, and fastened in its place by means of a splice of strong rope called a foreganger. To this is attached five or six fathoms of line, called the stray line; and this is connected with the other lines of the boat, neatly coiled up in each boat, and about 4300 feet of rope, made of the best hemp, and about two and a half inches in circumference. A hatchet, bucket, and a few other articles, are put into the boat.

When on the fishing ground, a man is kept constantly at the mast-head on the look out for whales, and to give the notice to the men on deck of the appearance of one upon the surface—which he does by crying out "there she blows," or "there she spouts," which is responded to by the captain on deck, who inquires "where away." The direction being ascertained, one or more of the boats are lowered, manned by the respective crews of each to row out, and if necessary give chase to the whale—every boat eager to reach him first. There is much competition between the different boats to see which shall first "fasten," or get a harpoon into the whale; and this is sometimes carried to such extreme length, that the unfortunate rear boat, seeing no chance of success themselves, will throw every obstacle in the way of the other to prevent their securing the whale; and sometimes go so far even as to purposely frighten the whale away—thus seriously injuring the interest of the owners as well as the whole crew. But this is not allowed in well disciplined ships; for there the officer who goes in each boat is required to guard against it.