In the toggles a wooden match-like pin was inserted through the head of the harpoon to hold it straight. This broke as soon as pull was exerted on the line and the head turned as shown in fig. E. F--An effective darting gun used against Right and Bowhead whales. A short gun barrel was mounted on the end of the pole. On one side of this was inserted a harpoon attached to the line. Reaching half way to the point was a rod, which on coming in contact with the skin of the whale, exploded the charge in the chamber and discharged a bomb. The whole instrument was thrown in the same manner as a harpoon, the gun-pole being retrieved by a line attached to the boat, the iron remaining in the whale. Except in the case of lone bulls, guns were of no use among sperm whales; the discharge scared the herd--or as the whaleman said, “gallied the pod.” G--An English double flued iron with “stop withers.” H--The Greener gun--used by Dundee whalers in the Arctic. J--The harpoon--with slot and travelling ring--fired from the Greener gun. [Illustration] _THE WHEEL_ This type of steering wheel known as “shin cracker” was peculiar to the Yankee whaleships. The wheel was mounted on the tiller and the helm was moved by means of tackle which ran around the drum, through sheaves and blocks to the bulwarks. Consequently, when the steersman turned the wheel he walked back and forward with it across the deck. In the deck over him there was a small hatch through which he could watch the sails. [Illustration] _THE FOC’S’LE_ The foc’s’le was reached by a hatch, forward of the mainmast, which also served as the only inlet for daylight and fresh air. In some cases the ceiling was so low that any man above average height could not stand upright. In heavy weather the deck was never dry, due to leaky hawse pipes and dripping oilskins, and in the tropics it was a furnace. Altogether, the combined odours of unwashed bodies, unwashed clothes, bilge water, tobacco and oil lanterns, made it a noisome habitation. The men’s bunks were ranged in a double tier along the sides and their sea chests, lashed to the deck, served as benches. [Illustration] _THE WINDLASS_ This ancient contrivance known as a log windlass was only a slight improvement over its predecessor in which the barrel was laboriously turned by wooden bars or “handspikes” inserted in holes. In the one shown a ratchet mechanism was added, and when weighing anchor or cutting in a whale, four or five men on each side pumped the brake handles up and down. One has but to compare this heartbreaking relic to the modern steam or electric winch to appreciate the truth of the captain’s allusion to a yachting cruise. [Illustration] _THE GALLEY_