Moby Dick; Or, The Whale

Shark voracity and whaling spade deterrence

In other ocean regions where sharks are less abundant, their voracity can be diminished by vigorously stirring them with sharp whaling-spades. This method, though sometimes effective, occasionally seems only to stimulate them into greater activity rather than driving them away entirely.

Pequod anchor watch shark culling operations

The Pequod’s situation proved different. After Stubb set the anchor-watch following supper, Queequeg and a forecastle seaman came on deck and created immediate excitement among the sharks. They suspended cutting stages over the side and lowered three lanterns to cast long gleams over the turbid sea, then continuously struck at the sharks with their long whaling-spades, driving the keen steel deep into their skulls—the sharks’ seemingly only vital part.

Extreme ferocity of attacking sharks

The foamy confusion of the struggling sharks prevented the marksmen from always hitting their mark, revealing the incredible ferocity of their attack. The sharks viciously snapped at each other’s disembowelments and even bit their own bodies, bending like flexible bows until entrails seemed swallowed repeatedly by the same mouth. Even dead sharks remained dangerous, exhibiting a generic vitality in their joints and bones after individual life had departed. One shark nearly took Queequeg’s hand off when he tried to close its murderous jaw.

Whaling spade design and specifications

The whaling-spade used for cutting-in is made from the finest steel, approximately the size of a man’s spread hand, and generally corresponds to the garden implement of the same name—though with perfectly flat sides and a considerably narrower upper end than lower. This weapon requires constant sharpening, like a razor, and is fitted with a stiff pole handle measuring twenty to thirty feet in length.