"The right whale (Balaena mysticetus), of which this was a specimen, supplies practically all the whalebone. It grows from the sides of the upper jaw, three hundred blades hanging down on each side."

Identifier: voyagetoarctici00lind (find matches)
Title: A voyage to the arctic in the whaler Aurora
Year: 1911 (1910s)
Authors: Lindsay, David Moore, 1862-
Subjects: Aurora (Ship) Whaling
Publisher: Boston : Dana Estes & Co.
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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one sweep of the boat-steerers oar gave him his shot. The gun wentoff, the foregoer sprang into the air and everyman shouted: A fall! a fall! The whale hesi-tated a few seconds before going down, andMatheson put in a hand-harpoon also. He wasnot ten feet from the whale when he fired, andalmost touching when he put in the hand-harpoon.The fast boat now hoisted its jack and the fishwent down and started towards the south side ofthe Sound, past the ships stem. We pulled inthis direction for all we were worth, the boatnearest the fast boat standing by it so as to supplymore lines if necessary. When we had pulledhard for ten minutes, we slowed down, the boatskeeping some distance apart, and shortly after,fifty yards from us, the whale came up. Immedi-ately a second boat, the mates, got fast, the hugecreature going down at once, and away we wentagain. When our quarry next appeared, about fif-teen or twenty minutes later, the nearest boat im-mediately began lancing, and presently we were at
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CopNTight by Lliderwooil and Underwood, N, Y. Bone on Deck and Blubber Coming on Board IN THE WHALER AURORA 159 it. Unfortunately we all liad our backs to the sceneof action, except the boat-steerer and harpooner.The heavy blast, every time it breathed, soundeduncomfortably close. In a few minutes the boat-steerer called, * Back, all! and we immediatelybacked Avater, the whale hitting the water onceor twice with his tail and going down; again wewere off, but not so far this time. When he nextappeared he rolled about a good deal and we wereafraid to go close, so the second mate fired aWelshs rocket under one of his flukes and thenwe all backed off. The rocket was fired from aharpoon gun. It had a charge of powder in itstrocar-shaped head, and a fuse running down theshaft. When this exploded the whale plungedfearfully and lashed the water with his hugehorizontal tail. After this he was quiet and thewater shot from his blow-hole was blood-stained.We now closed in again, and lances were p

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