is shot
from a gun, but being difficult to adjust, it is seldom used. Each
boat is likewise furnished with a "jack" or flag fastened to a pole,
intended to be displayed as a signal whenever a whale is harpooned.
The crew of a whale-ship are separated in divisions, equal in number
to the number of the boats. Each division, consisting of a harpooner,
a boat-steerer, and a line-manager, together with three or four
rowers, constitutes a "boats crew."

On fishing stations, when the weather is such as to render the fishery
practicable, the boats are always ready for instant service. The
crow's nest is generally occupied by one of the officers, who keeps an
anxious watch for the appearance of a whale. The moment that a fish is
seen, he gives notice to the "watch upon deck," part of whom leap into
a boat, are lowered down, and push off towards the place. If the fish
be large, a second boat is despatched to the support of the other; and
when the whole of the boats are sent out, the ship is said to have "a
loose fall." There are several rules observed in approaching a whale
to prevent the animal from taking the alarm. As the whale is dull of
hearing, but quick of sight, the boat-steerer always endeavors to get
behind it; and, in accomplishing this, he is sometimes justified in
taking a circuitous rout. In calm weather, where guns are not used,
the greatest caution is necessary before a whale can be reached;
smooth careful rowing is always requisite, and sometimes sculling is
practiced. It is a primary consideration with the harpooner, always to
place his boat as near as possible to the spot in which he expects the
fish to rise, and he conceives himself successful in the attempt when
the fish "comes up within a start," that is, within the distance of
about two hundred yards.

Whenever a whale lies on the surface of the water, unconscious of the
approach of its enemies, the hardy fisher rows directly upon it; and
an instant before the boat touches it, buries his harpoon in his back.
The wounded whale, in the surprise and agony of the moment, makes a
convulsive effort to escape. Then is the moment of danger. The boat is
subjected to the most violent blows from its head, or its fins, but
particularly from its ponderous tail, which sometimes sweeps the air
with such tremendous fury, that boat and men are exposed to one common
destruction.

The head of the whale is avoided, because it cannot be penetrated with
the harpoon; but any