new would be their share. They were of a dirty grey
colour, with white breasts and strong crooked bills, formed to tear
flesh easily, and able to give a very severe bite. Then there were
numbers of the arctic gull, who may be considered the pirate of the icy
regions, as he robs most other birds, not only of their prey, but of
their eggs and young. The sea-swallow, or great tern, however, like an
armed ship of size, bravely defends himself, and often beats off his
antagonist; while the burgomaster a large and powerful bird, may be
looked upon as a ship of war, before whom even the sea-swallow flies
away, or is compelled to deliver up his prize. There were a few also of
the ivory gull, a beautiful bird of immaculate whiteness. They are so
timid that they dare not rest on the whale, but fly down, and while
fluttering over it, tear off small bits, and are off again before the
dreaded burgomaster can come near them.

But now to our prize. First, the harpooners secured to their feet what
we called spurs, that is, spikes of iron, to prevent them from slipping
off the back of the whale, on which they now descended. I and three
other youngsters were meantime ordered to get into two of the boats,
into which were thrown the blubber-knives and spades, bone-knives, and
other instruments used in the operation in which they were about to
engage.

Our duty was to keep alongside the whale, to hand them what they
required, and to pick any one up who should by chance fall into the
water. The specksioneer, or chief harpooner, took post in the centre of
the rest to direct them. The fat is, as it were, a casing on the
outside of the whale, so that it can easily be got at. With their
blubber-knives the men then cut it into oblong pieces, just as a fish is
cut across at table; and with their spades they lifted it from the flesh
and bones, performing the same work on a larger scale that the
fish-knife does. To the end thus first lifted a strap and tackle is
fastened, called the "speck-tackle," by which those on deck haul it up.
This operation is called "flensing."

As the huge mass is turned round and round by the kent-tackle, the
harpooners continue cutting off the slips, till the whole coat of fat is
removed. The fins and tail are also cut off; and, lastly, the
whale-bone is cut out of the mouth. The whale-bone is placed in two
rows in the mouth, and is used instead of teeth, to masticate the food,
and to catch the minute anim