46 THAT GREAT LEVIATHAN. 



dotard, lives on a tiny red creature called brit, no 

 larger than a spider, but so numerous as to color 

 the water a yellowish red over whole acres. 



It is because of his choice of diet that the right 

 whale has his mouth filled with a huge sieve of 

 whalebone. That sieve is to let the brit through 

 and to shut bigger sea-things out. 



The arrangement is a decided success. I have 

 seen a right whale make a scoop of his broad lips 

 and rush through a field of brit (like a snow- 

 plow through a drift) and leave a trail of blue 

 water behind him. That is a sight to remember 

 and also a sound to remember, for when a right 

 whale is feeding he spouts with tremendous force. 

 At such a time you will have no hope of striking 

 him. 



But right whales don't concern me nor do I 

 concern right whales. We were after oil and we 

 wanted sperm whales or none. 



The oil is made from the blubber, mainly, and 

 the blubber covers the whale like a thick coating 

 of fat pork. In one sense it is a blanket ; it 

 keeps the whale warm in the coldest sea-water. 

 In another sense it is a shell — or even a padded 

 coat ; it relieves the tremendous pressure of the 

 water upon the whale's body when he sounds to 

 the depths of the sea. 



