Having a good fair wind, we set the boat's sail. In
a short time we were close to the whale. Being stroke-oarsman, it was my
duty to keep the sheet of the sail in my hand, having one turn around a
cleat. The boat-steerer stands up with a harpoon ready. Soon we were
right on top of the fish, the sheet was "let go," a harpoon was thrown
just as we were going over the whale's back, and then the fun began. The
line leads from the tub to a post in the stern of the boat--two turns
around it--and thence through a cleat in the boat's bows. The tub was
alongside me. I was kept busy throwing water on the line, so that the
friction would not set fire to the post, or "loggerhead." The mate was
holding that rope in his hand all the time, just keeping all the strain
on it possible without sinking the boat. If he had let a kink get into
that line as it came from the tub, the boat and crew would have gone
under water in quick order. If he had let the line slip off the
"loggerhead" it would probably have killed every man in the boat. The
noise and sawing of that rope, with the smoke and steam from the
"loggerhead," I can remember to this day. The whale stopped sounding at
last. We were watching which way the line would point as the whale was
coming up, and discovering that the line was directly under us, we got
away from that spot in a very lively manner, as that was a sure sign
that his whaleship intended to have a fight with the boat. They
frequently play that trick, and the crew have to jump into the water,
provided they have a chance to do so. In a few minutes our friend came
to the surface, spouted water, and then started off "dead to
windward"--they invariably do so--at a terrific speed. The boat-steerer
and mate now changed places, and all the men except myself reversed
positions, so as to face the boat's bow. They hauled in the line, and I
coiled it carefully back in the tub. When alongside of the whale, the
mate threw a lance as often as possible, aiming at a point just behind
the fin, at what is called the "life." It is a mass of very large veins
just under the backbone, that is used by the whale as a reservoir for
the extra blood which it requires while under water. When that is once
cut, a whale spouts blood instead of water. Down he went again. We had
to keep up that sort of work for about two hours, until finally the
blood was thrown from the spout, and we were completely covered with it.
In a little while our capture began