Whaler's Hand Lance
Object Details
- Cole, Luther
- Description
- After harpoons fastened the whale and whaleboat together, a whale was given plenty of time and rope to dive, try to swim away, and otherwise wear itself out. Once the exhausted animal returned to the surface to breathe, the whaleboat approached it, and a hand lance, also known as a killing iron, was used to actually dispatch the animal.
- Hand lances had long shafts, to allow the point to penetrate deep into the whale’s body in search of the thick neck arteries. The tips of the killing irons were leaf or oval shaped and extremely sharp, so that they cut on the way in and on the way out, and were easier to remove and stab repeatedly. Cutting the neck arteries prevented the animal from deep diving and hastened its bleeding to death.
- This nickel-plated example was manufactured and donated by Luther Cole of Fairhaven, Mass.
- Credit Line
- U.S. Fish Commission through Luther Cole
- 1880s
- ID Number
- AG.056357
- accession number
- 012326
- catalog number
- 056357
- Object Name
- harpoon, spear-type
- Physical Description
- iron (overall material)
- nickel-plated (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 70 3/8 in; x 178.7525 cm
- Place Made
- United States: Massachusetts, Fairhaven
- Related Publication
- Brown, James Temple. The Whale Fishery and Its Appliances
- On the Water online exhibition
- Related Web Publication
- http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Fisheries
- Cultures & Communities
- Work
- Industry & Manufacturing
- Natural Resources
- Transportation
- On the Water exhibit
- Exhibition
- On the Water
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- National Museum of American History
- used
- Whaling
- related event
- The Development of the Industrial United States
- Record ID
- nmah_866833
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a6-e4cf-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
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