Fighting the Whales | Page 8

with tremendous noise,
he fell flat upon the sea with a clap like thunder, tossed his flukes or tail
high into the air, and disappeared.
I was so amazed at this sight that I could not speak. I could only stare at
the place where the huge monster had gone down.
"Stand by to lower," shouted the captain.
"Aye, aye, sir," replied the men, leaping to their appointed stations; for
every man in a whale-ship has his post of duty appointed to him, and
knows what to do when an order is given.
"Lower away," cried the captain, whose face was now blazing with
excitement.

In a moment more three boats were in the water; the tubs, harpoons,
&c., were thrown in, the men seized the oars, and away they went with
a cheer. I was in such a state of flutter that I scarce knew what I did; but
I managed somehow or other to get into a boat, and as I was a strong
fellow, and a good rower, I was allowed to pull.
"There she blows!" cried the man in the crow's-nest, just as we shot
from the side of the ship. There was no need to ask, "where away" this
time. Another whale rose and spouted not more than three hundred
yards off, and before we could speak a third fish rose in another
direction, and we found ourselves in the middle of what is called a
"school of whales".
"Now, lads," said the captain, who steered the boat in which I rowed,
"bend your backs, my hearties; that fish right ahead of us is a
hundred-barrel whale for certain. Give way, boys; we must have that
fish."
There was no need to urge the men, for their backs were strained to the
utmost, their faces were flushed, and the big veins in their necks
swelled almost to bursting, with the tremendous exertion.
"Hold hard," said the captain in a low voice, for now that we were
getting near our prey we made as little noise as possible.
The men at once threw their oars "apeak", as they say; that is, raised
them straight, up in the air, and waited for further orders. We expected
the whale would rise near to where we were, and thought it best to rest
and look out.
While we were waiting, Tom Lokins, who was harpooner of the boat,
sat just behind me with all his irons ready. He took this opportunity to
explain to me that by a "hundred-barrel fish" is meant a fish that will
yield a hundred barrels of oil. He further informed me that such a fish
was a big one, though he had seen a few in the North-West Seas that
had produced upwards of two hundred barrels.
I now observed that the other boats had separated, and each had gone

after a different whale. In a few minutes the fish we were in chase of
rose a short distance off, and sent up two splendid water-spouts high
into the air, thus showing that he was what the whalers call a "right"
whale. It is different from the sperm whale, which has only one
blowhole, and that a little one.
We rowed towards it with all our might, and as we drew near, the
captain ordered Tom Lokins to "stand up", so he at once laid in his oar,
and took up the harpoon. The harpoon is an iron lance with a barbed
point. A whale-line is attached to it, and this line is coiled away in a tub.
When we were within a few yards of the fish, which was going slowly
through the water, all ignorant of the terrible foes who were pursuing
him, Tom Lokins raised the harpoon high above his head, and darted it
deep into its fat side just behind the left fin, and next moment the boat
ran aground on the whale's back.
[Illustration: "TOM LOKINS RAISED THE HARPOON"]
"Stern all, for your lives!" roared the captain, who, before his order was
obeyed, managed to give the creature two deep wounds with his lance.
The lance has no barbs to its point, and is used only for wounding after
the harpoon is fixed.
The boat was backed off at once, but it had scarcely got a few yards
away when the astonished fish whirled its huge body half out of the
water, and, coming down with a tremendous clap, made off like
lightning.
The line was passed round a strong piece of wood called the
"logger-head", and, in running out, it began to smoke, and nearly set
the wood on fire. Indeed, it would have done so, if a man had not kept
constantly pouring water upon it. It was needful to be very cautious in
managing the line, for the