44 THAT GREAT LEVIATHAN. 



make ready for the work that would turn me into 

 a slavish minion. 



Even before the boats had come in and had got 

 the whale alongside and well into the fluke-chains, 

 the grinding of spades began. 



Often and often I had heard men of the sea tell 

 how a whale was cut in and tried out, but now, 

 with my own lucky eyes, I was to see the thing 

 done. 



But before I describe how the whale was cut in, 

 I must say something about whales in general. 



There are many kinds, but only two are of 

 importance to whalemen. The right whale is 

 sought for his bone. The sperm whale is sought 

 for his blubber. "We of the Swift were sperm 

 whaling. 



Pictures of whales are uniformly deceptive. 

 They give the impression that a good part of the 

 animal (not fish, — a whale is a hot-blooded mam- 

 mal) can be seen above the surface of the sea. 

 They also indicate that a whale's spout is made 

 of water. It is no such thing. All you can 

 commonly see of a whale from the ship's deck is 

 his spout and that is a mere column of vapor. 

 It's his breath. Get that once in mind and you'll 

 never call a whale a fish. You never saw a fish 

 breathe air. You never found a fish warm enough 



