CETACEOUS FISHES. 253 



CHAPTER V. 



OP THE CACHALOT AND ITS VARIETIES. 



THE Cachalot, which has generally gone under the name of the 

 spermaceti whale, till Mr. Pennant very properly made the distinc- 

 tion, by borrowing its name from the French, has several teeth in the 

 under-javv, but none in the upper. As there are no less than seven 

 distinctions among whales, so also there are the same number of dis- 

 tinctions in the tribe we are describing. The cachalot with two fins 

 and a black back ; the cachalot with two fins and a whitish back ; 

 that with a spout in the neck ; that with a spout in the snout ; that 

 with three fins and sharp-pointed teeth ; that with three fins and 

 sharp-edged teeth ; and, lastly, the cachalot with three fins and flat- 

 ted teeth. 



This tribe is not of such enormous size as the whale, properly so 

 called, not being above sixty feet long, and sixteen feet high. In con- 

 sequence of their being more slender, they are much more active 

 than the common whale ; they remain a longer time at the bottom ; 

 and afford a smaller quantity of oil. As in the common whale the 

 head was seen to make a third part of its bulk, so in this species the 

 head is so large as to make one half of the whole. The tongue of 

 this animal is small, but the throat is very formidable ; and with very 

 great ease it could swallow an ox. In the stomach of the whale 

 scarce any thing is to be found ; but in that of the cachalot there are 

 loads of fish of different kinds ; some whole, some half-digested, some 

 small, and others eight or nine feet long. The cachalot is, therefore, 

 as destructive among lesser fishes as the whale is harmless ; and can 

 at one gulp swallow a shoal of fishes down its enormous gullet. Lin- 

 nseus tells us that this fish pursues and terrifies the dolphins and por- 

 poises so much, as often to drive them on shore. 



But, how formidable soever this fish may be to its fellows of the 

 deop, it is by far the most valuable, and the most sought after by man, 

 as it contains two very precious drugs, spermaceti and ambergris. 

 The use of these, either for the purposes of luxury or medicine, is so 

 universal, that the capture of this animal, that alone supplies them, 

 turns out to very great advantage, particularly since the art has been 

 found out of converting all the oil of this animal, as well as the brain, 

 into that substance called spermaceti. 



This substance, as it is naturally formed, is found in the head of 

 the animal, and is no other than the brain. The outward skin of the 

 head being taken off, a covering of fat offers about three inches thick ; 

 and, under that, instead of a bony skull, the animal has only another 

 thick skin that serves for a covering and defence for the brain. The 

 first cavity, or chamber of the brain, is filled with that spermaceti 

 which is supposed of the greatest purity and highest value. From 

 this cavity there is generally drawn aoout seven barrels of the cleat- 



