xii FEROCITY OF THE CACHALOT 365 



One of the reasons for the pursuit of the Sperm Whale is 

 the desire to obtain that extremely valuable product ambergris. 

 This substance has long been known ; but its true nature was 

 for centuries in dispute. In Dr. Johnson's Dictionary (so 

 recently as the edition of 1818 !) ambergris is provided with 

 alternative definitions : it is either the excrement of birds washed 

 off rocks, or honeycombs that have fallen into the sea ! 



An old writer asserted of ambergris that it was " not the scum 

 or excrement of the whale, but issues out of the root of a tree, 

 which tree, howsoever it stands on the land, alwaies shoots forth 

 its roots towards the sea, seaking the warmth of it, thereby to 

 deliver the fattest gum that corns out of it, which tree other- 

 wise by its copious fatness might be burnt and destroyed." 

 These " explanations " were caused by the fact that ambergris is 

 sometimes found floating in the sea. Ambergris is, of course, a 

 product of the intestinal canal of the Sperm Whale ; it seems to 

 be of the nature of cholesterin, and its place of origin was con- 

 clusively proved by finding the beaks of cuttle-fish imbedded in 

 it. When first extracted from the alimentary canal it is of 

 greasy feel and consistency ; later it hardens, and acquires its 

 characteristic sweet earthy odour. Ambergris is used mainly as 

 a vehicle for scents, and is a costly substance. A piece weighing 

 130 Ibs. was valued at 500. Though now entirely used in 

 connexion with perfumery, it was held by the ancients to be of 

 great value as a specific in certain diseases. 



The Sperm Whale is chiefly a tropical animal. Examples 

 that have been cast up on our shores are strayed individuals. It 

 often goes about in herds, which seem to be composed of females. 

 Its food is chiefly cuttle-fishes, and it is said to have a pre- 

 dilection for those colossal cuttle-fishes whose existence has 

 until recently been doubted. Mr. Bullen has sketched a conflict 

 between these two giants of the deep. On the other hand it is 

 said that its large throat, more than big enougli to swallow a man 

 (the Whale is credited with being that which swallowed Jonah), 

 does not usually admit fishes larger than Bouitos and Albacores. 



The ferocity of the Cachalot has been denied and affirmed. 

 It certainly has great strength, for it am throw itself com- 

 pletely out of the water. Captain Scammon thinks that ships 

 which are mysteriously lost at sea, with no obviously assignable 

 cause, are sometimes the victims of the furious rushes of a bull 



