AT SEA: ON THE WHALING GROUNDS 147 



of minutes (a fairly accurate test) was often truly astounding. 



Spouting was referred to as "blowing." Consequently 

 "There she blows!", or simply "B-1-o-o-w-s!", sung out from 

 the mast-head in long-drawn accents, was the time-honored 

 cry aboard every whaler when whales were sighted. This 

 "blowing" was accomplished with great regularity. Any 

 given whale exhaled a certain number of times, disappeared 

 below the surface with the supply of fresh air which had been 

 simultaneously inhaled, and came up again for the same num- 

 ber of exhalations at the end of a period ranging from forty 

 minutes to an hour. Sometimes the sperm whales traveled 

 in schools, in which case the sea would be dotted with spouts j 

 while at other times single individuals, practically always older 

 males, would be encountered. 



Next in interest to the cachalot, and fully as important com- 

 mercially, was the right whale. Most of the terms used in the 

 preceding paragraphs applied also to this species j but in addi- 

 tion it was accustomed to indulge in the peculiar habit of 

 "sweeping" its flukes from side to side with terrific force. 

 This, however, formed its only means of defense j whereas the 

 sperm whale, adding a pugnacious lower jaw, armed with rows 

 of great teeth, to the threat of its flukes, "was dangerous at 

 both ends." The right whale usually had a heavier coat of 

 blubber, and therefore yielded more oil than a cachalot of 

 equal length. Because of its fondness for cooler waters, it 

 never crossed the equator, and in fact was seldom seen in the 

 latitudes below twenty-five degrees 5 and because of this wide 

 separation there were noticeable differences between the indi- 

 viduals of the same species found in the northern and southern 

 hemispheres. In common with other cetacea, the right whale 

 seemed to possess a remarkable sense, very disconcerting to 

 the whalemen, which enabled it to know instantly whenever 

 another individual was wounded within a radius of several 

 miles. 



The bowhead was found in north polar waters. It differed 

 from the right whale in having no bonnet, or protrusion with 

 deepset barnacles, on its nosej and also in having a smoother 

 skin, longer head, and longer and smoother whalebone. In 

 other respects the two were essentially alike. 



