"CUTTING IN" THE BLUBBER AND "TRYING OUT" THE OIL The scene that took place on board ship after we caught our first fish was most wonderful.

We commenced the operation of what is called "cutting in", that is, cutting up the whale, and getting the fat or blubber hoisted in.

The next thing we did was to "try out" the oil, or melt down the fat in large iron pots brought with us for this purpose; and the change that took place in the appearance of the ship and the men when this began was very remarkable.
When we left port our decks were clean, our sails white, our masts well scraped; the brass-work about the quarter-deck was well polished, and the men looked tidy and clean.

A few hours after our first whale had been secured alongside all this was changed.

The cutting up of the huge carcass covered the decks with oil and blood, making them so slippery that they had to be covered with sand to enable the men to walk about.