Page:The crater; or, Vulcan's peak.djvu/374

 134 THE CRATER; often raised as high as the lower mast-heads, or as far as the purchase will admit of its being carried, when a trans verse cut is made, and the whole of the fragment is lowered on deck. This &quot; blanket-piece&quot; is then cut into pieces and put into the try-works, a large boiler erected on deck, in order, to be &quot; tryed-out,&quot; when the oil is cooled, and &quot;started&quot; below into casks. In this instance, the oil was taken on board the Abraham as fast as it was &quot; tryed-out&quot; on board the Henlopen, the weather admitting of the transfer. But that single whale was far from being the only fruits of Betts discovery. The honest old Delaware seaman took two more whales himself, Socrates making fast, and he killing the creatures. The boats of the Henlopen also took two more, and that of the Abraham, one. Betts in the Martha, and the governor in the Mermaid towed four of these whales into the southern channel, and into what now got the name of the Whaling Bight. This was the spot where Betts had tryed out the first fish taken, and it proved to be every way suitable for its business. The Bight formed a perfectly safe harbour, and there was not only a sandy shoal on which the whales could be floated and kept from sinking, a misfortune that sometimes occurs, but it had a natural quay quite near, where the Rancocus, her self, could lie. There was fresh water in abundance, and an island of sufficient size to hold the largest whaling esta blishment that ever existed. This island was incontinently named Blubber Island. The greatest disadvantage was the total absence of soil, and consequently of all sorts of herb age ; but its surface was as smooth as that of an artificial quay, admitting of the rolling of casks with perfect ease. The governor no sooner ascertained the facilities of the place, which was far enough from the ordinary passage to and from the Peak to remove the nuisances, than he de termined to make it his whaling haven. The Abraham was sent across to Rancocus Island for a load of lumber, and extensive sheds were erected, in time to receive the Henlopen, when she came in with a thousand barrels of oil on board, and towing in three whales that she had actually taken in the passage between Cape South and the Peak. By that time, the Rancocus had been moved,