Jared supervised the cutting off of the
valuable head, which came up onto the deck.
Then he shouted to the smith to get started with the cutting in of
the blubber, and got back into the whaleboat. “Where's the pod?”
“Four points off starboard, sir,” came the shout from aloft.
“Very good, lads. Down you come, before you bake up there. Go
sharpen the knives.”
“Aye, Captain,” Almira called.
He gave Al a huge wave and smile, feeling that strange burst of
sensation in his chest again which almost choked his breath.
Then he loaded the second tub, dragged out the spent one, and
gripped another lance to test it.
"All ready, men?"
"Aye, sir," they chorused.
"Then cast off."
With the tang of salt brine in his nostrils and the brisk breeze at
his back, he manned the tiller eagerly as they got underway once
more. This was the life indeed. He only hoped Al and his brother
would come to love it as much as their father Jed had.
Almira got back on deck and stood by in case she was needed for
processing the blubber to render it down into oil. She was sorry she
had not had a chance to wish Jared luck before he had gone out
again. She certainly had plenty to do, but felt oddly at a loose end
as she watched them rowing off into the distance.
She dragged her attention back to the matter at hand. Once the boat
was gone, the men lowered a cutting in platform down toward the
whale carcass, and the smith stood on it and began to carve into the
blubber with an implement which looked like a hoe.
After making two big gouges in the side, he bored a hole. The cooper
lowered a huge hook from a winch above their heads, and placed it in
the hole.
As they cranked the winch, the whale began to turn, and the blubber
began to peel off in huge strips like the rind of an orange.
After about fifteen feet or so, the smith cut into the strip and cut
a hole in the next piece of blubber sticking up, and began the whole
process all over again. The huge strips, which the smith called
blanket pieces, then went down to the blubber room, where the rest
of the men were assembled. They cut them into smaller ones called
horse pieces, and then laid those onto a cutting table.
There the horse pieces were hacked into Bible leaves, so-called
because they resembled a fat book with the spine the skin of the
whale. The fires had been lit under the try pots, and the men began
to throw the Bible leaves into them. The once-white sails now became
black with acrid, evil-smelling smoke as they tried the blubber,
rendering it into precious whale oil.
Al was convinced she was going to choke. She understood the value of
the oil, but had had little idea how arduous and disgusting the task
was to obtain it. Her mother had kept her well away from the try
works, busily working at her lessons and sewing.
She could see now that had taken a great deal for granted when she
had been living a sheltered life with her parents, kept busy with
the duties of a typical young Victorian woman, spending most of her
time in the cabin with the other children. She had never been out on
the rolling decks awash with sea water, blood, and oil.
Living ashore these last few years had made her forget the stench
and soot.
It made her admire her mother all the more, that she had been able
to raise five children, two of them almost to adulthood, without any
major mishaps despite the hardship of life at sea.
Now that she was working as an ordinary crewman with Jared Starbuck,
she began to appreciate how hard the life was that her father and
Jared had chosen as a young man. A prospective whaler captain not
only had to possess all of the skills required for a good sea
captain, he also had to supervise the trying out and barreling of
the oil like the manager of a factory.
The ship was really a
valuable head, which came up onto the deck.
Then he shouted to the smith to get started with the cutting in of
the blubber, and got back into the whaleboat. “Where's the pod?”
“Four points off starboard, sir,” came the shout from aloft.
“Very good, lads. Down you come, before you bake up there. Go
sharpen the knives.”
“Aye, Captain,” Almira called.
He gave Al a huge wave and smile, feeling that strange burst of
sensation in his chest again which almost choked his breath.
Then he loaded the second tub, dragged out the spent one, and
gripped another lance to test it.
"All ready, men?"
"Aye, sir," they chorused.
"Then cast off."
With the tang of salt brine in his nostrils and the brisk breeze at
his back, he manned the tiller eagerly as they got underway once
more. This was the life indeed. He only hoped Al and his brother
would come to love it as much as their father Jed had.
Almira got back on deck and stood by in case she was needed for
processing the blubber to render it down into oil. She was sorry she
had not had a chance to wish Jared luck before he had gone out
again. She certainly had plenty to do, but felt oddly at a loose end
as she watched them rowing off into the distance.
She dragged her attention back to the matter at hand. Once the boat
was gone, the men lowered a cutting in platform down toward the
whale carcass, and the smith stood on it and began to carve into the
blubber with an implement which looked like a hoe.
After making two big gouges in the side, he bored a hole. The cooper
lowered a huge hook from a winch above their heads, and placed it in
the hole.
As they cranked the winch, the whale began to turn, and the blubber
began to peel off in huge strips like the rind of an orange.
After about fifteen feet or so, the smith cut into the strip and cut
a hole in the next piece of blubber sticking up, and began the whole
process all over again. The huge strips, which the smith called
blanket pieces, then went down to the blubber room, where the rest
of the men were assembled. They cut them into smaller ones called
horse pieces, and then laid those onto a cutting table.
There the horse pieces were hacked into Bible leaves, so-called
because they resembled a fat book with the spine the skin of the
whale. The fires had been lit under the try pots, and the men began
to throw the Bible leaves into them. The once-white sails now became
black with acrid, evil-smelling smoke as they tried the blubber,
rendering it into precious whale oil.
Al was convinced she was going to choke. She understood the value of
the oil, but had had little idea how arduous and disgusting the task
was to obtain it. Her mother had kept her well away from the try
works, busily working at her lessons and sewing.
She could see now that had taken a great deal for granted when she
had been living a sheltered life with her parents, kept busy with
the duties of a typical young Victorian woman, spending most of her
time in the cabin with the other children. She had never been out on
the rolling decks awash with sea water, blood, and oil.
Living ashore these last few years had made her forget the stench
and soot.
It made her admire her mother all the more, that she had been able
to raise five children, two of them almost to adulthood, without any
major mishaps despite the hardship of life at sea.
Now that she was working as an ordinary crewman with Jared Starbuck,
she began to appreciate how hard the life was that her father and
Jared had chosen as a young man. A prospective whaler captain not
only had to possess all of the skills required for a good sea
captain, he also had to supervise the trying out and barreling of
the oil like the manager of a factory.
The ship was really a
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