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Updated: June 21, 2025
Had they not in view, more likely, a "finback" mammifer, as well known by the name "jubarte," which is provided with a dorsal fin, and whose length may equal that of the "right" whale? Captain Hull and his crew could not yet decide, but they regarded the animal with more desire than admiration.
The Indians are very jealous in regard to this distinction. Every Indian family has a distinguishing crest, or "totem," as it is called in some places. This crest is usually some bird, or fish, or animal; particularly the eagle, the raven, the finback whale, the grisly bear, the wolf, and the frog.
The evening light, however, was still good enough for a shot, and Hank, at the bow, was swinging the heavy gun from side to side on its stand to assure himself that it was in good condition. Owing to the approaching darkness, there was no time to wait for an exact shot, and Hank fired at the big finback on the first opportunity.
Thankful took up the paper first and read aloud what was written upon it. "For Thankful, with a larst merry Christmas from brother Jed. I am going away and if you want me I will be at New Bedford for two weeks, care the bark Finback." "'I am goin' away'," repeated Thankful. "Goin' away? Are you goin' away AGAIN?" "I I was cal'latin' to. I'm goin' cook on a whaler." "Cook! You a cook!
"What's the difference between a 'finback' and a 'humpback, Hank?" asked the boy, after the canvas had been stowed, the vessel under auxiliary steam having speed enough to keep up with the cetaceans, "are they 'right' whales?"
A humpback is more in bulk an' has only a short fin on the back, it's a clumsy beast an' throws the flukes of the tail out of the water in soundin'. Now, a finback is built more for speed an' has a big fin on the back that's where it gets its name. The big sulphurbottom is a kind of finback, an' is the largest animal livin'. I've seen one eighty-five feet long!"
But the Little-piked, or rostrata, is found inshore along the north and east, the Bottle-nose on the north, the Humpback on the east and south; and the Finback and Sulphur-bottom are common and widely distributed, especially on the east.
"Finback?" the boy queried. "Gray whale, I reckon," answered the gunner. "Devil-whale? Oh, Hank!" the boy cried, his eyes shining with excitement. "I hope it is!" "That shows how little you know," the other replied. "Are you going to harpoon him?" Hank looked at the boy, smiling slightly at his utter fearlessness. "I wish you were aboard the ship," he said, "an' I would.
The whales, pursued to excess, were becoming rare. The "right" whale, which bears the name of "North Caper," in the Northern Ocean, and that of "Sulphur Bottom," in the South Sea, was likely to disappear. The whalers had been obliged to fall back on the finback or jubarte, a gigantic mammifer, whose attacks are not without danger.
GEORGE. "I remember reading that there are three sorts of whales the finback, the right whale, and the sperm whale; but I should like to hear how they are caught."
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