Moby Dick; Or, The Whale

Line Specifications

The whale-line measures only two-thirds of an inch in thickness but possesses remarkable strength. Its 51 yarns can each suspend 120 pounds, giving the entire rope a capacity of nearly three tons. The line typically extends over 200 fathoms in length for sperm whale fishing.

Coiling the Line

The line is coiled spirally in the tub, forming a round, cheese-shaped mass of densely layered concentric spirals with only a small central tube at the axis. Extremely careful precautions are essential, as any tangle or kink would sever someone’s limb or body when the line runs out. Some harpooneers spend nearly an entire morning stowing the line properly, threading it through blocks high aloft to ensure it is completely free of wrinkles and twists.

English and American Tubs

English whaleboats use two smaller tubs instead of one, continuously coiling the same line through both. This arrangement fits better in the boat without straining it, whereas the American single tub—nearly three feet in diameter—creates bulky freight for boats with only half-inch thick planks. The American tub under its painted canvas cover resembles a wedding cake being presented to the whales.

Lower End Safety

Both ends of the line remain exposed. The lower end terminates in an eye-splice hanging disengaged over the tub’s edge, an arrangement serving two critical purposes: first, to allow easy attachment of additional line from neighboring boats when a whale sounds deeply; second, to prevent the boat from being dragged down into the sea if the whale runs out the line at smoking speed—a disaster that would make the boat irretrievable.

The Line’s Course

Before lowering for the chase, the line’s upper end is routed aft around the loggerhead, then forward along the entire boat, resting crosswise on oar handles so it jogs against each rower’s wrist. The line passes between the men as they alternate sides and is kept in place by wooden pins at the prow chocks. It then hangs in a slight festoon over the bows before being recoiled on the bow box and attached to the short-warp connected to the harpoon, with the path involving numerous details too tedious to enumerate.

Perils of the Oarsmen

The whale-line encircles the entire boat in complicated coils, involving all oarsmen in its perilous contortions. To a landsman, the men appear as Indian jugglers with deadly snakes sportively festooning around them. A first-time participant in the boat experiences involuntary shudders when imagining the harpoon’s imminent darting and the subsequent horrible movements. Yet through habit, the men display gay sallies, mirth, jokes, and repartee while pulling into death’s jaws with halters around every neck.

Whaling Disasters

The line explains repeated whaling disasters where men are taken from boats and lost. When the line is darting out, being seated in the boat resembles sitting amid the whizzings of a steam engine in full play, made worse by the boat’s rocking motion that pitches occupants without warning. Only through simultaneous self-adjustment can one escape being dragged away.

Life and the Line

Melville compares the line’s graceful serpentine repose before action to the calm before a storm—the wrapper containing terror. All men live enveloped in whale-lines, born with halters around their necks, but only when caught in death’s sudden turn do mortals realize life’s silent, subtle, ever-present perils. The philosophical landsman at his evening fire with a poker beside him feels no more terror in the whale-boat than in his own home.

KAPITEL 61. Stubb Kills a Whale.

This chapter chronicles Stubb’s successful hunt and killing of a sperm whale. Beginning with Queequeg’s prophecy about encountering whales after seeing the squid, the narrative follows Ishmael’s enchanted watch at the mast-head, the sudden sighting of a massive whale, and the subsequent chase. The detailed account describes Stubb commanding his crew, the harpoon strike, the dangerous line work, the violent battle with lances, and the whale’s eventual death. The chapter concludes with Stubb contemplatively scattering his pipe ashes over the water, marking the completion of the hunt.