532 . SPERMACETI AND AMBERGRIS. 
assume its silky, crystalline appearance. The process of purifying it is rather a long and 
complicated one, consisting of various meltings and re-meltings, of squeezing through hair 
bags, and of treatment with a solution of potass. It is then sufficiently refined for 
commercial purposes, but if it should be required to be perfectly pure without any 
admixture of oil or extraneous substances, it is boiled in alcohol and is deposited im 
pearl-white laminated crystals, glistening with a silver sheen and separating easily 
into small scales. 
The amount of spermaceti which is produced from the head of a single Whale is very 
large indeed. From a Cachalot that only measured sixty-four feet in length, and was 
therefore by no means a large one, twenty-four barrels of spermaceti and nearly one 
hundred barrels of oil were obtained. 
Ambereris, that curious substance whose origin so long baffled the keenest inquirers, 
and which was formerly only found at rare intervals floating on the waves or cast upon 
the shore, is now often discovered within the intestines of the Cachalot, and is supposed 
to be a morbid secretion peculiar to the animal, and analogous to biliary calculi. Fifty 
pounds weight of this substance have been found in a single Whale, and on one occasion 
a sinele piece of ambergris of the same weight was discovered on the coast of the 
Bermudas by some sailors, who immediately deserted their ship and escaped to England 
with their valuable prize. The 
value of ambereris is rather vari- 
a able, but it is always a costly 
article. 
It is seldom, if ever, found in 
young and healthy Cachalots, so 
that a ship may make a very suc- 
cessful alee voyage, and yet 
return home without finding a 
single ounce of ambergris in all 
the Whales killed. Ambergris is 
generally employed as a perfume, 
and is prepared for the use of the 
purchaser by being dissolved in 
alcohol. 
SKULL OF SPERMACETI WHALE It sometimes happens that a 
stray Cachalot blunders into the 
shallow waters of the Bermudas, 
and being unable to discover the 
passage through which it passed, is caught like a mouse in a trap, and falls a ready 
victim to the intrepid and almost amphibious natives. 
As soon as a Whale is discovered in this helpless situation, the populace is all astir 
and full of excitement at the welcome news. Boats are immediately launched, filled 
with men bearing guns, lances, and other destructive weapons, which would be of little 
use in the open sea, but are very effectual in the shoal waters of these strange islands. 
No sooner does the Whale feel the sharp lance in its body, than it dives with its ordinary 
velocity, forgetting that it is no longer in deep water, and strikes its head against ae 
rocky bed of the sea with such unexpected force as to bring it to the surface half 
stunned. The hunters take advantage of its bewildered state to approach closely and 
to ply their deadly weapons with fatal effect. Some of these men are so cool and 
determined, that they will actually leap from their boats upon the Whale’s back, and, 
setting their shoulders to the butt of the spear, urge the sharp blade by the weight of 
their bodies. The Whale soon yields up its life under such circumstances, and the huge 
carcass is brought to shore amid the shouts and congratulations of the spectators. 
The fat and ivory of the slain animal are divided among the hunters who were 
actually engaged in the chase, but the flesh is distributed eratuitously to every one who 
chooses to ‘apply for it. Every one who can own a barrow or basket, bears it to the 
scene of slaughter, and is at liberty to take as much Whale’s flesh as he chooses. The 
