THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 253 



The oil is afterwards extracted from the 'blubber 

 and junk by exposing them to the action of fire in 

 large pots, the skinny portions which remain serv- 

 ing for fuel: and the spermaceti is purified in the 

 same manner. The products are then stowed away 

 in barrels in the vessel's hold. 



The following narrative, from the interesting work 

 of Mr. Beale, gives us a vivid picture of this excit- 

 ing pursuit: "At daybreak, one fine morning in 

 August, as our first mate was going aloft to look 

 out for Whales, he discovered no less than three 

 ships within a mile of us; but they were situated 

 in various directions. We soon discovered them to 

 be whalers, who, like ourselves, were cruising after 

 the Spermaceti Whale, and, therefore, their appear- 

 ance only had the effect of redoubling our vigilance 

 in the look-out, so that we might, if possible, be 

 the first to obtain the best chance, if one of those 

 creatures hove in sight. And it was not long be- 

 fore a very large Whale made his appearance right 

 in among the ships. The water was smooth at the 

 time, for we had but a light air of wind stirring, 

 so that our boats were instantly lowered without 

 the loss of time of bringing the ship to. But, al- 

 though we managed matters as quietly and secretly 

 as possible, we found the moment our boats quitted 

 the ship's side, that all the others had been as vigi- 

 lant as ourselves, and had also lowered their boats 

 after the Whale. The whole of them immediately 

 began the chase, nine boats in all, being three from 

 each ship. They all exerted themselves to the ut- 

 most, and, as we expected, in vain; for before any 



Y 



