As proof that the whale was ours, the harpoon9 sticking in its back bore the brig's name, and fast to the haft and floating far out on the sea in a tangled10 mass was the 800 fathoms11 of line from the brig's two tubs. Our first work was to recover the line. As this had to be straightened out and coiled in the boats, it was a long and tedious job. Then with a short sharp spade, a hole was cut through the whale's flukes and a cable passed through and made fast. With both boats strung out along the cable, the men bent12 to the sweeps, hauling the carcass slowly toward the brig. Meanwhile the vessel13 had been sailing toward us. So we had but a hundred yards or so to pull.
The loose end of the hawser14 was passed through the hawse-hole in the starboard bow and made fast to the fore-bitt. In this way the flukes were held close to the bow. As the brig made headway under short sail, the great body washed back against the vessel's side and lay upon the surface, the head abreast15 the wheel on the quarter-deck—which will give an idea of the whale's length.
The gang-plank16 was taken from the bulwarks17 and a cutting stage lowered over the whale. This stage was made of three broad planks18. Two projected from the ship's side, the third joined their outer ends. Along the inside of the third plank was a low railing. Two officers took their station on the outer plank with long-handled spades to cut in the blubber. The spade was enough like a garden spade in shape to suggest its name and was fastened to a long pole. Its cutting edge was as sharp as a razor.
A block and tackle was rigged above the whale, the upper block fastened to the cross-trees of the main mast and the tackle carried forward to the windlass. A great hook was fastened into the whale's blubber, and everything was ready for the cutting in.
As the officers with their spades cut under the blubber, the sailors heaved on the windlass. The blanket piece of blubber began to rise. As it rose, the officers kept spading under it, rolling the whale over gradually. Thus the whale was peeled much as one would peel a roll of bologna sausage. When the great carcass had been rolled completely over, the blanket piece of blubber came off. The upper end of it fast to the tackle hook was up almost against the cross-trees as the lower end swung free. The largest blanket pieces weighed perhaps ten tons. Six were taken off in the process of skinning. The weight of the whale, I should estimate, was roughly something like one hundred tons, perhaps a little more.
When the blanket piece was cut free from the whale it swung inboard, and as it came over the main hatch, it was lowered into the hold. There men fell upon it with short spades, cutting it into small pieces and distributing them equally about the ship to prevent the vessel from listing. It took most of the day to strip the whale of its blubber. When this had been finished the great flensed carcass stretched out along the ship's side a mass of blood-red flesh. The final work was cutting in the "old head."
Long John with an axe19 climbed down upon the whale's back. As it was his boat that had struck the whale the cutting in of the head was his job. Nobody envied him the task. The stripped body of a whale offers a surface as slippery as ice. As the waves rocked the whale, Long John had much ado to keep his footing. Once he fell and almost tumbled into the water. Finally he cut himself two foot-holds and began to wield20 his axe, raining blows upon the neck. He chopped through from the upper neck surface into the corners of the mouth, thus loosening the head and upper jaw21 from the body. The lower jaw is devoid22 of teeth. The tackle hook having been fixed23 in the tip-top of the head's bowlike curve, the windlass men heaved away. Up rose the head above the bulwarks and swung inwards.
"Lower, lower away!" cried the mate.
Down came the head upon the deck and a great cheer went up. The "old head" was safe. Immediately afterwards, the mate came forward with a bottle of Jamaica rum and gave each man a swig. "Bringing in his old head," as it is called, is a memorable24 event in cutting in a whale, and is always celebrated25 by dealing26 out a drink all around.
Great hunks of meat were cut out from the carcass. These were hung over the bow. The meat was served in the form of steaks and sausages in both forecastle and cabin. And let me give my testimony27 right here that whale steak is mighty good eating. It tastes something like tender beef, though it is coarser grained and of ranker flavor. We preferred to eat it as steaks, though made into meat balls with gravy28 it was extremely toothsome. I do not know how whale would taste if served on the home table, but at sea, after months of salt horse and "sow belly," it was delicious. The hunks became coated with ice over the bow and kept well. They lasted us for several weeks.
When the carcass was cut adrift it went floating astern. Flocks of gulls29 and sea birds that had been constantly hovering30 about the ship in hundreds waiting for the feast swooped31 down upon it. The body washed slowly out of sight, still swarmed32 over by the gulls.
The head rested in the waist near the poop. It was, I should say, twelve feet high at the crest33 of the bow, and suggested some strange sort of tent. I stepped inside it without bending my head and walked about in it. Its sides were shaggy with the long hair hanging from the teeth or baleen34, and the interior resembled, in a way, a hunter's forest lodge35 made of pine boughs36. If the head had been in a forest instead of on the deck of a ship it would have formed an ideal shelter for a winter's night with a wood fire burning at the opening.
Only the lower tip of the head or what we might call the nose rested on the deck. It was supported otherwise upon the teeth. I now had my first opportunity to see baleen in its natural setting. The teeth viewed from the outside looked something like the interior of a piano. The whale's gums, following the bony skeleton of the jaw, formed an arched and undulant line from nose tip to the back of the jaw. The front teeth were six inches long; the back ones were ten feet. Each tooth, big and little alike, was formed of a thin slab37 of bluish whalebone, almost flat. The largest of these slabs38 were six inches broad at their base in the gum. The smallest were an inch. All tapered39 to a point. They were set in the gum with the flat surfaces together and almost touching40. They were extremely pliant41 and at the outer ends could be pulled wide apart. The inner edges were hung with black coarse hair, which seemed exactly like that of a horse's tail. The hair on the small front teeth was an inch long perhaps; on the back teeth, it was from six to ten inches long.
Such teeth are beautifully adapted to the animal's feeding habits. The baleen whale feeds on a kind of jelly fish. We saw at times the sea covered with these flat, round, whitish living discs. The whale swims through an area of this food with its mouth open. When it has obtained a mouthful, it closes its jaws42. The water is forced out between the slab-like teeth; the jelly fish remain tangled in the hair to be gulped43 down.
Our first job after the cutting in of the whale was to cut the baleen from the jaw. It was cut away in bunches of ten or a dozen slabs held together by the gums and stowed away in the hold not to be touched again until later in the voyage.
While the baleen was being prepared for stowage, the lid was removed from the try-works, uncovering the two big copper44 caldrons. A fire was started in the furnace with kindling45 and a handful of coal, but kept going thereafter with tried-out blubber called "scrap46." Two men dressed in oil-skins were sent down into the blubber-room as the portion of the hold was called in which the blanket pieces of blubber had been stowed. Their oil-skins were to protect them from the oil which oozed47 from the blubber. Oilskins, however, are but slight protection as I learned later when I was sent into the blubber room at the taking of another whale. The oil soaks through the water-proof oil-skins and saturates48 one's clothes and goes clear through to the skin leaving it as greasy49 as if it had been rubbed with oil.
A whale's blubber lies immediately beneath its skin, which is black and rubbery and about a quarter of an inch thick. The blubber is packed between this thin covering and the flesh in a layer of pink and opalescent50 fat from six inches to two feet thick. The blubber is so full of oil that the oil exudes51 from it. One can squeeze the oil from a piece of raw blubber as water from a sponge.
The two blubber-room men with short handled spades cut the great blankets of blubber in what in whaling parlance52 are called "horse pieces." These horse pieces are two or three feet long and about six inches wide. They are pitched into tubs on deck and the tubs dragged forward to the mincing53 vat54. This is an immense oblong tub across the top of which is fastened a plank. Two sailors with mincing knives are stationed at each end of the plank. The mincing knife is like a carpenter's drawing knife, except that the edge is on the outside. The sailor lays a horse piece along the plank. Then grasping the mincing knife by its two handles, he passes the blade back and forth55 from side to side across the blubber until it has been cut into leaves something like those of a book, each leaf perhaps a quarter of an inch thick and all of them held together at the back by the black skin. Thus minced56 the horse pieces are pitch-forked into the caldrons that are kept bubbling with boiling oil. When the oil has been boiled out of them, the horse-pieces, now shrunken and twisted into hard, brittle57 lumps, called "scrap," are skimmed off and thrown into a vat at the port side of the try-works to be used later as fuel in trying out the remainder of the blubber. The oil is ladled off into a cooling vat at the starboard side where, after it has cooled, it is siphoned into hogsheads or tanks and these are later stowed in the hold.
The trying out of the whale gave several delicacies58 to the forecastle menu. Hardtack biscuit soaked in buckets of sea water and then boiled in the bubbling caldrons of oil made relishing59 morsels60. The crisp, tried-out blubber, which looked like honey-comb, was palatable61 to some. Black whale skin freed of blubber and cut into small cubes and pickled in salt and vinegar had a rather agreeable taste, though it was much like eating pickled rubber. These things with whale steaks and whale sausages made trying-out days a season of continual feasting.
At night "scrap" was put into an iron basket swung between the two chimneys of the try-works and set on fire, making a flaring62 yellow blaze which lighted the ship from stem to stern and threw weird63 shadows everywhere. The beacon64 not only gave us plenty of light to work by, but advertised the brig's good luck to any ship which happened in sight of us. In the blubber-room, holes were cut in a blanket piece and rope yarns65, having been rubbed upon the blubber, were coiled in the hole and lighted. As they burned they lighted the oil from the blubber. These unique lamps had all the oil in a ten-ton blanket piece to draw on. It was only the wick that ever gave out. New strands67 of rope yarn66 had to be provided from time to time. Three or four of these lamps blazing and spluttering made the blubber-room bright.
Working night and day, it took three days to cut in and try out the whale. While the work was going on, the decks were so greasy that we could run and slide anywhere for long distances like boys on ice. After the whale had been tried out and the oil casks had been stowed below, we fell upon the decks and paint work with lye and water. Hard work soon had the ship looking as bright as a new pin.
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1
breached
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| 攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反 | |
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belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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abdomen
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| n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分) | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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7
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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8
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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harpoon
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| n.鱼叉；vt.用鱼叉叉，用鱼叉捕获 | |
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10
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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11
fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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12
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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13
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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hawser
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| n.大缆；大索 | |
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15
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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16
plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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18
planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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19
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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20
wield
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| vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等) | |
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21
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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22
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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23
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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24
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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26
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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28
gravy
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| n.肉汁；轻易得来的钱，外快 | |
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29
gulls
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| n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 ) | |
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30
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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31
swooped
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| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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33
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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34
baleen
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| n.鲸须 | |
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35
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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36
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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37
slab
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| n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上 | |
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38
slabs
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| n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片 | |
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39
tapered
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| adj. 锥形的，尖削的，楔形的，渐缩的，斜的 动词taper的过去式和过去分词 | |
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40
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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41
pliant
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| adj.顺从的；可弯曲的 | |
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42
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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43
gulped
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| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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44
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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45
kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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46
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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47
oozed
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的过去式和过去分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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48
saturates
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| 浸湿，浸透( saturate的第三人称单数 )； 使…大量吸收或充满某物 | |
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49
greasy
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| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
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50
opalescent
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| adj.乳色的，乳白的 | |
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51
exudes
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| v.缓慢流出，渗出，分泌出( exude的第三人称单数 )；流露出对（某物）的神态或感情 | |
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52
parlance
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| n.说法；语调 | |
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53
mincing
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| adj.矫饰的；v.切碎；切碎 | |
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54
vat
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| n.(=value added tax)增值税，大桶 | |
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55
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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56
minced
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| v.切碎( mince的过去式和过去分词 )；剁碎；绞碎；用绞肉机绞（食物，尤指肉） | |
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57
brittle
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| adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的 | |
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58
delicacies
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| n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到 | |
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59
relishing
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| v.欣赏( relish的现在分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望 | |
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60
morsels
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| n.一口( morsel的名词复数 )；（尤指食物）小块，碎屑 | |
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61
palatable
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| adj.可口的，美味的；惬意的 | |
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62
flaring
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| a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的 | |
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63
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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64
beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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65
yarns
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| n.纱( yarn的名词复数 )；纱线；奇闻漫谈；旅行轶事 | |
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66
yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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67
strands
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| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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