CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



cetacea not being nearly so abundant as in the 

 case of the mysticetus. At the same time, the 

 blubber of the sperm-whale is valuable, and is 

 converted into sperm-oiL The sailors know this 

 whale at a great distance, by the act of blowing, 

 which it performs with great regularity, at inter- 

 vals of ten minutes or so. The sperm-whale is 

 timid before man, yet it fights fiercely with those 

 of its own race. Fights usually take place when 

 male whales, or bulls, as they are called one or 

 two of which always attend a particular herd of 

 females meet with rivals. They lock jaws with 

 one another, and exert a dreadful degree of power 

 at one another's cost. When alarmed, or har- 

 pooned, they sometimes roll over and over on the 

 surface of the water in an amazing manner. Still, 

 they are not furious or dangerous towards the 

 mariner, but are commonly killed with ease. The 

 sailors call a herd a school, and the old bulls the 

 schoolmasters. The females are said to be smaller 

 than the males by a fourth. They are, like the 

 Greenland whale, very fond of their young, and 

 also of one another ; so much so, that by cautious 

 management, a whole herd may be destroyed, as 

 they will scarcely quit a wounded companion. In 

 this whale, the gullet is wide enough to admit a 

 man, and the animal feeds on large fish. A cepha- 

 lopodous mollusc, called squid by the sailors, is 

 its chief food in deep seas. The mode of killing 

 these leviathans of the deep is almost always the 

 same, and whether they are Greenland or sperm 

 whales, the harpoon is the instrument commonly 

 used. Various new methods for killing the whale 

 have been tried such as a mortar to project shells 

 into them, also a gun from which to fire the har- 

 poon but without much success. 



THE SPERMACETI WHALE-FISHERY. 



Some years ago, very little was known either 

 about the natural history of the sperm-whale or 

 of the great value of its products to mankind. It 

 was only when one of these mighty animals 

 happened to be stranded, that its oil was obtained ; 

 and the valuable spermaceti was popularly sup- 

 posed to be derived from a different source. In 

 those days, this substance was exceedingly scarce, 

 and only to be purchased at druggists' shops as an 

 ointment or medicine. In course of time, the value 

 of the animal came to be discovered, its haunts 

 were eagerly sought out, fleets of ships set off to 

 explore, and its capture soon became a valuable 

 source of gain, especially to the enterprising sailors 

 of the American merchant-service. 



The cachalot is certainly the largest inhabitant 

 of the sea, the most valuable to man, and the most 

 formidable to do battle with. The substances 

 derived from it are sperm-oil, spermaceti, and 

 occasionally ambergris. The South Sea whalers 

 are vessels of about four hundred tons, and are 

 smart, well-rigged ships, manned by expert seamen, 

 who are paid by a share of the proceeds of the fish- 

 ery. They provide for a long cruise : it lasts, on an 

 average, from three to four years ; and they differ 

 in many respects from the Greenland ships, as 

 they carry a furnace and boilers, called trypots, for 

 the purpose of extracting the oil as soon as a fish 

 is captured. The crew averages from about thirty 

 to forty people, including the master, surgeon, 

 mates, harpooners, &c. The best possible arrange- 

 ments are made for the health of the crew, and the 



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vessel is always kept as clean as the nature of the 

 business carried on will admit. Five boats are 

 usually attached to the whaler, provided with every 

 requisite ; chief among which is the whale-line, 

 made of fine manilla hemp, two-thirds of an inch 

 thick. 



The great hunting-field for the sperm-whale is 

 the Pacific Ocean. When the ship arrives on 

 likely 'ground,' a sharp look-out is kept both for 

 single whales and the school, or shoal, often to 

 be seen led by one or two of the larger males or 

 ' bulls.' The sperm-whales are in ordinary circum- 

 stances shy, and it requires much caution before 

 those in pursuit can come so near a single fish as 

 to strike it with a harpoon. Successive watchers 

 are stationed upon each mast-head to keep a 

 look-out not in a 'crow's-nest,' like the Green- 

 land whaler, but simply on the cross-trees, as the 

 South Sea ships are not provided with a crow's- 

 nest. When the magic cry 'There she spouts !' 

 is sounded by the look-out, the crew start at once 

 into a state of the greatest excitement. The boats 

 are instantly lowered ; the crew rapidly take their 

 places, and away they pull, straining every nerve 

 to come up with the huge leviathan before it dives. 

 Arrived within reach of the animal, the command 

 is given : ' Stand up, and give it to him.' The 

 harpooner, dropping his oar, seizes his iron 

 dart, and poising it high above his head, with 

 unerring aim hurls it deep into the flesh of the 

 gigantic cachalot. ' Stern all ! ' is now the cry, 

 and the boat is backed out of reach of the stricken 

 whale, while all the time the line is hissing over 

 the gunwale with fierce velocity. The line runs 

 out all its length ; the boat, dragged by the whale, 

 flies through the water, ' like a shark all fins.' 

 As a whaleman says, ' whole Atlantics and Pacifies 

 seem passed as they shoot on their way.' 'At 

 length, tormented and wounded to death, the 

 gigantic whale gets into that state known as the 

 flurry, which may be described as the last dying 

 flicker of the candle. After being " overwrapped 

 in impenetrable and boiling spray, the whale once 

 more rolls out into view," surging from side to 

 side ; spasmodically dilating and contracting his 

 spout-hole, with sharp, cracking, agonised respira- 

 tions. At last, gush after gush of clotted red gore, 

 as if it had been the purple lees of red wine, shot 

 into the frighted air ; and falling back again, ran 

 dripping down his motionless flanks into the sea.' 



The next business is to tow the large carcase to 

 the ship, where it is cut up, and the blubber boiled, 

 for the purpose of extracting the oiL It is first 

 firmly lashed to the side of the vessel, or sus- 

 pended by appropriate gear from her rigging. 

 The work of flensing, or cutting off the blubber 

 or fat, must be expeditiously performed, for the 

 hungry sharks, smelling the blood from afar, 

 quickly surround the dead mass, anxious to obtain 

 a meal. These devouring monsters congregate 

 round the ship, and in a few hours the valuable 

 mass would be reduced to a heap of bones, were 

 it not speedily cut into strips, and carried on 

 board. This process is performed by the crew, 

 who are armed with sharp-cutting spades made 

 for the purpose. A great mass is first cut away, 

 and then hauled on board by means of a block 

 and tackle. The head is got into the ship in one 

 great mass, and then conies the command : ' Haul 

 in the chains let go the carcase.' ' The vast 

 tackles,' says Melville, 'have now done their du 



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