Greasy luck

Chapter 45: REMOVING THE LOWER JAW OF A SPERM WHALE

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About This Book

A richly illustrated sketchbook that documents the techniques, equipment, and daily life of traditional whaling through detailed plates and diagrams. Sequential images and captions depict fitting out, sail handling, whaleboats, harpooning and lancing, the struggle of the chase, cutting-in and rendering blubber, shipboard trades and tools, and shore activities such as gams and recruiting. A foreword frames the material by contrasting the romantic image of sail whaling with mechanized modern whaling, while the artwork emphasizes technical accuracy, danger, and the labor and culture of the whalemen.

REMOVING THE LOWER JAW OF A SPERM WHALE

Cutting in was always done on the starboard side of the ship, and if possible, to windward, so that wind pressure on the sails tended to lift the side of the vessel and sustain the great weight of blubber coming aboard.

The sketch shows the cutting stage rigged out, the huge tackle made fast to the jaw, and the mates on the stage disjointing it with their spades.

The jaw had no commercial value whatever. When a particularly large one was taken, stripped, and dried, it made a picturesque gateway for the captain’s garden at home, and the great teeth were used by the crew for their “scrimshaw” work.