"Hard down with your tail, there!" cried a second
to another, which, close to our gunwale, seemed calmly cooling
himself with his own fan-like extremity.
All whale-boats carry certain curious contrivances,
originally invented by the Nantucket Indians, called druggs.
Two thick squares of wood of equal size are stoutly
clenched together, so that they cross each other's grain at
right angles; a line of considerable length is then attached
to the middle of this block, and the other end of the line
being looped, it can in a moment be fastened to a harpoon.
It is chiefly among gallied whales that this drugg is used.
For then, more whales are close round you than you can
possibly chase at one time. But sperm whales are not every
day encountered; while you may, then, you must kill all you can.
And if you cannot kill them all at once, you must wing them,
so that they can be afterwards killed at your leisure. Hence it is,
that at times like these the drug, comes into requisition.
Our boat was furnished with three of them. The first and second were
successfully darted, and we saw the whales staggeringly running off,
fettered by the enormous sidelong resistance of the towing drugg.
They were cramped like malefactors with the chain and ball.
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