y allowed after the whale has been
secured aside of the ship, and before the commencement of the
operation of flensing. An unlucky circumstance once occurred in an
interval of this kind. At that period of the fishery, (forty or fifty
years ago,) when a single stout whale together with the bounty, was
found sufficient to remunerate the owners of a ship for the expenses
of the voyage, great joy was exhibited on the capture of a whale, by
the fishers. They were not only cheered by a dram of spirits, but
sometimes provided with some favorite "mess," on which to regale
themselves, before they commenced the arduous task of flensing. At
such a period, the crew of an English vessel had captured their first
whale. It was taken to the ship, placed on the lee-side, and though
the wind blew a strong breeze, it was fastened only by a small rope
attached to the fin. In this state of supposed security, all hands
retired to regale themselves, the captain himself not excepted. The
ship being at a distance from any ice, and the fish believed to be
fast, they made no great haste in their enjoyment. At length, the
specksioneer, or chief harpooner, having spent sufficient time in
indulgence and equipment, with an air of importance and
self-confidence, proceeded on deck, and naturally turned to look on
the whale. To his astonishment it was not to be seen. In some alarm he
looked a-stern, a-head, on the other side, but his search was useless;
the ship drifting fast, had pressed forcibly upon the whale, the rope
broke, the fish sunk and was lost. The mortification of this event may
be conceived, but the termination of their vexation will not easily be
imagined, when it is known, that no other opportunity of procuring a
whale occurred during the voyage. The ship returned home clean.

Flensing in a swell is a most difficult and dangerous undertaking; and
when the swell is at all considerable, it is commonly impracticable.
No ropes or blocks are capable of bearing the jerk of the sea. The
harpooners are annoyed by the surge, and repeatedly drenched in water;
and are likewise subject to be wounded by the breaking of ropes or
hooks of tackles, and even by strokes from each other's knives. Hence
accidents in this kind of flensing are not uncommon. The harpooners
not unfrequently fall into the whale's mouth, when it is exposed by
the removal of a surface of blubber; where they might easily be
drowned, but for the prompt assistance which is always at