A fighting bull sperm would often turn and attack the boat, and only the skill of the boatsteerer kept it out of range of the snapping jaws and thrashing flukes. Boats have been destroyed at one mouthful, and those of the crew as were unable to leap clear. Such was the rage of some whales that they returned again and again to the broken fragments until they were reduced to matchwood. [Illustration] “_A NANTUCKET SLEIGH RIDE_” Should the whale run the crew unshipped their oars and faced forward, a turn of the line was made round the loggerhead, and “playing the fish” began. The boat’s tub and loggerhead were the equivalent of the reel on the trout fisherman’s rod, and the same tactics were employed as in trout fishing, except that the boat followed the whale at a speed of fifteen or more knots an hour. The boatsteerer snubbed the line by the loggerhead and the crew at each indication of slackening of speed hauled in. Shorter and shorter the line grew as the whale tired, and closer to his flank drew the boat’s bow, where the mate stood ready to exercise his time honoured privilege of delivering the final thrust. A Nantucket sleigh ride, as it was called, often took the boat miles beyond the horizon, and the crew were often obliged to wait many hours, even days, to be picked up by the ship,--indeed in cases of storm or fog there are tragic instances of boats never having been found. [Illustration] _LANCING_ To kill the whale at a single thrust required the greatest skill, and the boat to be laid on at the right spot. The mate, awaiting the moment when he could reach the “life,” made repeated thrusts with his lance in order to weaken the victim. The success of the final stroke was proclaimed by “spouting red”--and the dying whale went into a “flurry,” which consisted of swimming round in a gradually diminishing circle until with a final thrashing of his giant flukes he rolled over on his side “fin out.” [Illustration] _TOWING TO THE SHIP_ If more whales were in the vicinity, the dead one was “waifed” with a small red flag and the pursuit resumed. A whale usually ran to windward--leaving the ship far to leeward, shorthanded, and faced with a long beat to pick up her boats. A line was made fast by a hole cut in the flukes, the boats were connected, and all hands put their backs into the arduous task of towing back to the ship. [Illustration] _CUTTING-IN DIAGRAM_ A--Jaw of the Sperm whale B--Case C--Junk D--White Horse E--Blanket or blubber, which was stripped from the carcass in a spiral fashion. The blubber hook was inserted in a hole, _f_, for the first cut. G--H--Head and lips of the Bowhead. The latter were very rich in oil. The same method of stripping was employed in all species of whales. [Illustration] _REMOVING THE LOWER JAW OF A SPERM WHALE_