vain to think
of clearing up; had they attempted that, the men would have been
over-tasked without any good being accomplished. There was only one
course open to those who didn't like it, and that was--to "grin and bear
it."

"Cutting out" and "trying in" are the terms used by whale-men to denote
the processes of cutting off the flesh or "blubber" from the whale's
carcase, and reducing it to oil.

At an early hour on the following morning the first of these operations
was commenced.

Ailie went about the decks, looking on with mingled wonder, interest,
and disgust. She stepped about gingerly, as if afraid of coming in
contact with slimy objects, and with her nose and mouth screwed up after
the fashion of those who are obliged to endure bad smells. The
expression of her face under the circumstances was amusing.

As for the men, they went about their work with relish, and total
indifference as to consequences.

When the largest whale had been hauled alongside, ropes were attached to
his head and tail, and the former was secured near the stern of the
ship, while the latter was lashed to the bow; the cutting-tackle was
then attached. This consisted of an arrangement of pulleys depending
from the main-top, with a large blubber-hook at the end thereof. The
cutting was commenced at the neck, and the hook attached; then the men
hove on the windlass, and while the cutting was continued in a spiral
direction round the whale's body, the tackle raised the mass of flesh
until it reached the fixed blocks above. This mass, when it could be
hauled up no higher, was then cut off, and stowed away under the name of
a "blanket-piece." It weighed upwards of a ton. The hook being lowered
and again attached, the process was continued until the whole was cut
off. Afterwards, the head was severed from the body and hoisted on
board, in order that the oil contained in the hollow of it might be
baled out.

From the head of the first whale ten barrels of oil were obtained. The
blubber yielded about eighty barrels.

When the "cutting out" was completed, and the remnants of bone and flesh
were left to the sharks which swarmed round the vessel, revelling in
their unusually rich banquet, the process of "trying in" commenced.
"Trying in" is the term applied to the melting of the fat and the
stowing of it away in barrels in the form of oil; and an uncommonly
dirty process it is. The large "blanket-pieces" were cut into smaller
portio